November 26, 2006

Download PDA Sermon File

“What Does It Take?”

In a recent survey by George Barna’s Research Group, they made an attempt to measure self-descriptors of born again Christians.  They took a random sample of over one thousand adults and out of those, these were the responses of those who confessed to being born again Christians:

I wonder how many of these people would consider themselves “people pleasers.”  The type who is interested in gaining the acceptance and affirmation of those who surround them, those who set their value based on what others think, or who set their expectations according to others’ standards.  People pleasers are motivated by external factors, such as the need for outside (and usually conditional) approval.  They often do what others want in order to feel safe, worthwhile, or valued.  For some, it comes in packages where you feel your best just is not good enough.  For others, it may look like a nagging need to succeed in every area of life.  And even yet, it may just be a fear of rejection or a lack of security. 

Then again, I wonder how many of these people have just given up.  How many people do you suppose are tired and weary from trying to accomplish all that life throws at them?  How many of you are run down and exhausted and feel you just cannot fight the fight any longer?  We all, at times, need to slow down, take a breath, and realize that God is in control. 

Often, it seems as if our nature is to appease those around us, to make people more comfortable in their current situation, or to respond to their needs.  Most often times, it is because of our good natures and because we like to make life easier and more pleasant for others.  And sometimes, it is just to make life a little easier for us.  Either way, it is simply too easy to get bogged down in the dance of seeking to please others merely for the self-satisfaction of a job well done.  In fact, Paul addresses this issue a few times across the span of the Bible.  Here in 1 Thessalonians is one of those instances. 

Now, there are a few things to note about this passage before we read it.  First of all, Paul is writing this to the people of Thessalonica after he has left them.  He came from Philippi, stayed in Thessalonica for a while, then traveled on to Athens, then Corinth.  While in Athens, he sent Timothy to go back to check on the Thessalonians.  When Timothy returned to Paul in Corinth, his report was absolutely glowing about these people he had returned to visit.  These people had received the message in joy despite the suffering it brought because of the opposition to the message.  As well, they were becoming examples to all the Christians in Macedonia and Achaia.  Paul was so excited with how well these people were prospering and how fruitful God’s message had been amidst them that he immediately began writing them a letter to tell them how pleased he was.  He also sent this letter in part to make a strong case against some opposition he had been receiving.  You see, some of the Jews in the area were jealous of the crowd Paul was attracting and upset that he was taking away from their missions efforts so they began to spread rumors that he was not so sincere as he seemed and attempted to destroy his reputation. 

In response, he wanted the Thessalonians to understand that he was a workman approved by God sent with a particular message for these people.  He writes to them in chapter two, verses one through six, “You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure.  You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there.  Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, even though we were surrounded by many who opposed us.  So you can see that we were not preaching with any deceit or impure purposes or trickery.   For we speak as messengers who have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News.  Our purpose is to please God, not people.  He is the one who examines the motives of our hearts.  Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you very well know.  And God is our witness that we were not just pretending to be your friends so you would give us money!  As for praise, we have never asked for it from you or anyone else.”

Paul begins chapter two by encouraging the Thessalonians.  He says, “Our visit was not a failure.”  Fellow Thessalonians rejoice and give thanks!  God is good!  Though we were being persecuted and treated poorly, the message was still given by the grace of God!  This wouldn’t have happened if God had not intended it.  We’re not trying to manipulate you or mess with you in any way.  We are simply trying to send you the Good News straight from God so that you too may be blessed by His great mercy and grace.

He continues on saying that they have been tested and approved by God who has found them to be faithful and worthy to carry the Gospel message.  They have passed God’s test of authenticity and examination, and He has placed His confidence in them to proclaim His message.  Therefore, they speak His truth in order to please Him, not mankind.  You see, because they are right with God, they have no reason to seek to please men, but rather only God.  Besides, it is God who looks to the inner most at our hearts, not those who walk this earth with us.  Only His judgment and opinion matter, no one else’s, because right there, in the heart of that scripture, it says, “Our purpose is to please God, not people.  He is the one who examines the motives of our hearts.”

Some of us may be wondering how we are supposed to live lives that are centered on the pleasure of God.  The drive of our society is on any place but the pleasure of God.  What lengths will we not go to in order to attract the attention and delight of onlookers?  What, then, is the difference between Paul and us?  Paul has found his identity in Christ.  Not in others, not in the things that he does, not in the success that he finds, but in Christ.  Paul has said, “I’m enough because Christ was enough.  I need not gain respect and awe and attention from those I encounter.  Rather, I am satisfied with following God’s will and pleasing Him through it.  For in the end, it is only His pleasure that counts.”

So how do we come to the place where only God’s pleasure counts?  First, we must understand that we are acceptable and pleasing to God.  We must come to grips with the fact that God made each of us in His image, as His beloved creation.  We have been crowned with glory and honor.  He has reserved a place for us next to Him in His Kingdom.  How gracious a God we serve!  But, we must first understand in our hearts that we are acceptable and pleasing to God.

Romans 5:1-2 says, “Therefore (because God declared Abraham righteous as an example for us that God will also declare us to be righteous if we believe in God, believing that he brought Jesus our Lord back from the dead.   Romans 4.23-24), since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith (just as Abraham was), we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”  Christ has brought us to the highest place of privilege because we are marked with Christ’s righteousness.  When God the Father looks at us, all He sees is that righteousness and is fully pleased by us.  God doesn’t see what we see when we look in the mirror.  He sees not our faults or failures or inadequacies.  God doesn’t see those who were in serious debt.  God doesn’t see those who were skeptical or those who claim to be self-sufficient.  Instead God sees His children, His creation.  God sees righteous human beings that He loves so deeply and accepts unconditionally.

Colossians continues this line of thinking in chapter one, verses 22 and 23 saying, “As a result (of Christ’s death on the cross), he has brought you into the very presence of God and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.  But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly.  Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.” Just because you feel you cannot come to God being holy and blameless does not mean that God does not see you that way.  In your times of struggle, skepticism, criticism of yourself and others, anxiousness about making it through each day, remember that moment when you heard the Good News and the assurance that brought to your life.  Through Christ’s death on the cross, you have been brought into the very presence of God.  Imagine that: seeing Him, touching Him, breathing in His essence, and therefore you are now holy and blameless before Him without one solitary fault.  God sees you through a pair of eyes that are not human.  His expectations are far different from our own.  And what is it that God requires?  What does it take to be pleasing in His sight?  Micah 6:8 speaks to this in response to the questions of the people.  They are asking if the Lord would be pleased with sacrifices and offerings as a way to make Him glad.  Micah responds, “No, O people, the Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”  Basically, keep your hearts attuned to God and He will be pleased with you.  It is not a matter of what we can do but of who we are within.  We are, therefore, totally accepted by God, regardless of what the world, or in some cases ourselves, tells us.

            And of utmost importance, 1 John brings us to a point of absolute wonder.  We are deeply loved by God.  This point about the relationship between God and us seems one of the more difficult concepts to grasp.  For instance, Oprah Winfrey was quoted in Good Housekeeping in the early ‘90’s saying, “I discovered I didn’t feel worth [anything], and certainly not worthy of love, unless I was accomplishing something. I suddenly realized I have never felt I could be loved just for being.”  So few of us feel that we can be loved just because we are.  Yet, God brings us back into perspective.  In 1 John chapter four verses nine and ten, John writes, “God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  This is real love.  It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”  God made the greatest sacrifice of all so that we may be made right in His eyes.  How dare we think we are not good enough if God gave His all for our sakes?  God would not have given up His only Son for a world full of failures and people who are not worth it.  God deeply loves us, with an unconditional love full of patience, kindness, mercy, and trust.

It comes down to this, as long as we love God and seek after Him, we cannot fail Him.  He does not desire works of righteousness or perfection.  He just desires us, as we are, all of our imperfections included.  He loves us with an unconditional love, even when we fail.  As long as our hearts are in the right place, and we are not directly disobeying God, He is pleased.  God knows our hearts.  He has examined them, and has found us to be acceptable and pleasing.

Once we have discovered that God truly loves us, finds us to be pleasing, and accepts us on the basis of His expectations, not our own, we have to come to the realization that knowing and believing those things are all that matter.    In our lives, we must know that we are not here to try to please men.  Galatians 1:10 confirms this: “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?  Or am I trying to please men?  If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  We cannot be servant to two masters.  We must either please men or God, and certainly, seeking to please men is not an easy task.  Just look at the celebrities.  First, there are the girls: On tour, Britney Spears demands one box of mints, one bag of Doritos and seven clean and secured dressing rooms for her entourage at each show, the Destiny's Child girls refuse to drink from plastic or Styrofoam - and always demand fresh ginger root and a jar of honey on tour, and Julia Roberts always insists on a constant supply of organic milk in her trailer when filming.  Then there are the boys: Leonardo DiCaprio had to have new clothes daily on the set of Gangs of New York and then threw out the old ones from the day before, The Backstreet Boys require 24 peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches on every tour, and Ricky Martin asks for orange tints in the lighting to highlight his suntan.  Can you imagine living our lives in order to conform to the demands of those around us?  It’s simply impossible.

Rather God gives to us a much different command.  He says through the words of Paul in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”  We can spend all of our lives seeking to please those around us, looking to be perfect in our own eyes, and trying to succeed at every endeavor we attempt, but we must admit that perfection and constant success is not in our nature.  Instead, let the words of Paul soak into your heart.  Don’t be a part of this world.  God does not expect you to meet the expectations of a world that cannot keep a steady standard. 

Think to your own situation, even for something as easy as looking for a job.  For instance, in my generation it is often more acceptable to find a job that satisfies our calling, where we feel that we will enjoy our job the most.  However, for my generation’s parents, it is often what job will support you the best with pay and benefits.  My generation would far rather sleep on the streets and have a job they enjoy than get paid six figures and loathe every moment of it.  By what standard is one to follow when finding a job?  Who can tell because the generational standards change every so many decades.  

So, we are to not conform to the world but look to God for He will transform us.  We are not able to accomplish this understanding, or new life outlook, on our own.  The Holy Spirit must come into your life and transform your way of thinking.  Then understanding will come and you’ll realize what God wants you to do, not what Susie or Henry wants you to do, but what God wants you to do.  And do you see the reward?  “You will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”  The reassurance is there.  He has something in store for us and it is good, pleasing, and perfect.  By focusing on the attention and praise of God, rather than men, we are able to be within the will of God that is designed only for our good and His glory. 

And what does this mean for us?  Let’s go back to those percentages.  Imagine each of those claiming to be born again Christians were seeking only to please God, not themselves and not others.  What might those statistics look like?  There would be no one claiming to be self-sufficient or liking to be in control of their lives, for we realize we can do nothing without the power of God for His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  There would be no one claiming to be skeptical or searching for meaning and purpose in life because we would be actively living in the presence of God knowing that He has a will for us that is good, pleasing, and perfect.  No one would claim to be too busy or too stressed out because we would be able to say no knowing that God only desires us to invest our time in worthwhile tasks and knowing that His pleasure is more important than the approval of those who asked us to commit.  And no one would be personally struggling with finances because we would know God is in control of our money and has a plan for that as well.

You see, God knows our hearts and knows what we desire.  He knows it is not always easy for us.  He knows we cannot always accomplish all that we expect to or meet all of the standards and pressures we feel around us.  But what God does know is that we love Him dearly and desire to be in relationship with Him.  Learning to seek to please only God is not easy.  Take it from one who has been trying for more years than she cares to admit.  However, I encourage you from the depths of my heart to please seek it out, seek His heart.  God desperately wants you to know Him intimately, to share in that relationship with Him, and to understand that all He asks of you is your heart, your love.  What does it take to please God?  Nothing more than your devotion to Him.  To God, you are fully pleasing.  To God, you are totally accepted.  To God, you are deeply loved.  And above all, to God, you are significant. 

Allison Yankey

Allison@mulberryumc.org