Things that Please God
(Revelation 4:11)
After reading through the entire Bible, we find a very unique verse in the book of Revelation. This verse shows the reason for why God created everything that he created. Everything was created for his pleasure. This includes man and give us the answer to why we are here. We are here to bring pleasure to our creator.
There are some other verses in the New Testament that show us that our lives should be pleasing unto God. (Galatians 1:10 ; Colossians 1:10 ; 2 Timothy 2:3-4)
Have you ever asked yourself the question how can I please God? The word of God gives us some definite things we can do to please God. In this lesson we will look at some of these things. When we look at ways to please God we will look at it from the angle of a child bringing pleasure to a parent. After all if we are saved then God is our father.
Things that are pleasing to God:
1) Obey our parents or other authority that God places in our lives (Colossians 3:20)
- Whether it is our parents or another authority we must realize that God places them there and we are to obey them (Romans 13:1-7).
- Really when we rebel against authority we are rebelling against God. This is displeasing unto God; therefore, to please him we must be willing to obey.
2) Being spiritually minded (Romans 8:5-8)
- In this passage Paul is discussing the difference between being fleshly and spiritual. The flesh is still corrupt after salvation and all it wants is to please itself. When we mind the things of the flesh over the things of God we are being carnally minded and not as pleasing unto God.
- In order to please God we must think about the things that are pleasing unto him and then do them. This is what is meant by being spiritually minded.
3) Our walk should please the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8)
- In this passage our walk is referring to things we do in our everyday life. We are told specifically to abstain from fornication and that we should know how to possess our vessel in sanctification and honor. We are also told not to defraud our brother in any matter.
- In verse 8 we see something very interesting that when we break these commands, we are not despising man we are despising God.
4) Escaping Evil Temptations (Ecclesiastes 7:26)
- In the verse we see that a woman who has a heart of snares and her hands are as bands should be avoided at all costs. We can use this as any form of temptation. We know the things that tempt us, and we should avoid those things no matter whether they are places, people, or worldly things for this is pleasing unto God.
5) Preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:21)
- It is God’s will according to 2 Peter 3:9 that all men should be saved, and according to our verse for this point it is the preaching of the Gospel that God uses to save people. Therefore, it has to be pleasing unto God when we tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ.
6) Exercise faith (Hebrews 11:6)
- One of the hardest things in life is to not know the answers. As saved people we want to understand everything that God does and why he does it. But I think that many times he doesn’t let us know everything because he wants us to have faith. Living by faith is pleasing to God.
In conclusion to this subject of pleasing God we would like to point out that doing the above things are very hard in the day and age we live in. But if we look doing what God says because it pleases him instead of a list of dos and don’ts then it will be easier to do what we are supposed to do.
Things that Please God : Handout
(Revelation 4:11)
1) What is our purpose according to Revelation 4:11?
2) List some other places in the word of God that shows us we should please God.
3) What are some things that we can do to please God?