A Life Pleasing to God

The title of my sermon today is “A Life Pleasing to God.” Think for a moment what it takes to have a life pleasing to God. Foremost I think it would please God if we all made a decision to place our faith and trust in Him and developed that covenant relationship that He has always desired to have with us. God wants us to be saved.

But that’s not what I am talking about today. Today we are going to assume that you are a Christian, that you have already made that profession, now what? What do you do from this point to have a life pleasing to God?

I want you to take just a moment and think about what kind of life you could live that would be pleasing to your earthly father or earthly mother. Or think, as a parent, what kind of life your children could live that would be pleasing to you. I think you will be able to find some parallels in this to a life pleasing to God.

1 Thessalonians 4:1–12 ESV

1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. 9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

The first point is that a Life Pleasing to God:

Improves Continually

In verse one, Paul states; although you are doing as we ask, you should do so more and more. He is saying there should be continual improvement. We should never get to a point in our walk with God where we say “Okay Lord, I've made all the improvements I can make, I am as good as I am ever going to be, I have reached the pinnacle of what it means to be in Your will.

This is the attitude that the Pharisees had. They held themselves out as those who had reached the top level in their relationship to the Lord. Paul also addresses this subject in the Book of Philippians. You see Paul, when he was known as Saul, had reached that upper level in the religious hierarchy of the Jews.

Philippians 3:4–14 (ESV)

4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Here Paul establishes his credentials as an exalted leader in the Jewish religious tradition. He had followed the religious requirements, circumcised at the proper time; He had the prerequisite background, of the people of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; He had studied and held what amounted to a PhD in his religion; He was a persecutor of the church meaning he had persecuted that crazy religious cult that had grown up around this rabble-rouser known as Jesus Christ; but then goes on to say:

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

All of the progresses that Paul had made in religious life, all the rank that he had achieved, all the honor that he had gained from being a member of that high Jewish order, means nothing in comparison to having Christ. He considers it to be so much garbage in comparison to his relationship with Jesus Christ.

(in order that I may gain Christ) 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

As a Jew Paul was seeking to obtain righteousness on his own authority by following the law but has since discovered that he was wrong about how to achieve that righteousness that he sought, that righteousness comes from God by faith in Christ.

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

When Paul writes this letter to the Philippian church, he had been preaching Christ for about thirty years, but he says he has not yet obtained his goal, he is not yet perfect, he is not yet flawless, but he is pressing on toward that goal because Jesus has made him his own. Then Paul states: And because Jesus Christ has made me his own, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul intends to continually improve in his walk with God, he intends to continue to grow. We know that anything that doesn’t grow is dead.

Or think of it this way. You all know that I am a great fan of airplanes. What makes an airplane different from any other form of transportation. A horse and buggy, a locomotive, a ship, a person walking alone; all of these can come to stop and stay still or even reverse direction. But an airplane cannot do that. If an airplane comes to a stop it falls from the sky. That is the nature of our faith-life, we must continue to press forward or otherwise we will fall.

Going back to 1 Thessalonians Paul gives us a couple guidelines to help us see if we are truly living a life pleasing to God:

2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

When Paul uses this language, like the Gentiles, he is basically saying “like the unsaved world” because the church at Thessalonica was mostly made up of converted Gentiles.

6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

And here we find our second characteristic of a Life that Pleases God is that it:

Instills Holiness

Verse 7 tells us that God has called us to holiness.

The goal in these rules is control. These days so many are out of control. Sexual promiscuity in the Greek and Roman world was out of control, as it is here in our modern times. But getting our lives under control is where holy living leads us. Today our food appetites are often out of control. Our desire for money is often out of control. Our desire for power over people is out of control. Our desire for pleasure is lifted to an obsession, often resulting in drug addiction and alcohol abuse. The goal is control. “For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness.”

Leviticus 11:45 ESV

45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Verse 6 warns us of judgement for improper behavior, but judgment is not the only motive for upright living. God did not call us on the basis of uncleanness, as though this was a state to be maintained, but he called us in such a manner that invokes His involvement in making us holy. What this is saying is that to disregard this particular instruction is to disregard God Himself who gives His Spirit to us to make us holy.

D.L. Moody, the famous revivalist, was speaking to a large audience. He held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there," but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.

9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,

Lessons God has taught need no reminders from men.

10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more,

Here we see the theme repeated of doing more and more, of continual improvement.

11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,

12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

In this last two verses we find our third point and that is that to Live a Life Pleasing to God:

Inspires Others

Paul is saying that your walk with the Lord is an important reminder to the world.

Why is Paul making all this fuss, why does Paul care whether they are working or idle? For two reasons; First, because Paul wanted to win the respect of outsiders.

Paul was not concerned about popularity. He did not need the unbelieving community to validate or approve the church. Instead, he wanted us to realize that how we live is noticed, noticed and remembered.

If we are habitually late for work, or gain a reputation as the office gossip, or constantly treat others in a rude or un-courteous fashion, it hurts the name of Christ.

Unbelievers who are observing us do not separate our faith from our behavior, nor should we. The church may still be slandered, but if so, let it be without grounds. Our desire as believers should be to live exemplary lives.

Second, Paul was concerned that these believers not be dependent on anybody. This was a call to financial independence. We are not to make ourselves a burden to anyone. Of course, we make allowances for who are truly in need that they may accept the generosity of others, but to presume upon brotherly love and generosity and so evade the responsibility of work and providing for oneself or family was not acceptable to Paul.

1 Peter 2:12 ESV

12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Sometimes we have no idea how important our example is to others.

For many years Monterey, California, was a pelican's paradise. Monterey is a coastal town. Years ago, as the local fishermen cleaned their fish, they would fling the less desirable parts of the fish out to the pelicans. Of course, the pelicans loved this, but they soon became fat, lazy, and contented.

Eventually the method of processing the fish was changed and nothing was offered to the pelicans. When the change came the pelicans made no effort to fish for themselves. They waited around and grew week and thin. Many starved to death. They had forgotten how to fish for themselves.

The problem was solved by importing new pelicans from the south, birds accustomed to foraging for themselves. They were placed among their starving cousins, and the newcomers immediately started catching fish. Before long, the hungry pelicans followed suit, and the famine was ended.

The world today is starving for examples of a life pleasing to God.

Conclusion

Do you live a life that is pleasing to God? Does your relationship with Jesus improve continually? Are you closer in tune with God this year than you were last year?

Do you allow the Sprit to instill holiness in you? Are you so filled with the Spirit that there is little room for anything else?

Does your life inspire others? Do people look to you as the example of a life pleasing to God?