A Christian Voice Nanosermon
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Nanosermon Script:
How do we please the Lord? Can anything we do please the Lord? Is it necessary to try to please the Lord? And if it is, what things please the Lord?
Now you might think, hang on, I’m a Christian, I trust in Jesus as my Saviour, so God just IS pleased with me. His grace means I don’t actually need to do things to please him.
Hmmm. The expression ‘please the Lord’ occurs just twice in the King James Version. Here’s one occurrence, in the book of Proverbs, chapter sixteen and verse seven:
Prov 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
It’s possible to please the Lord
OK, so, firstly, it must be possible to please the Lord, because scripture shows us a specific benefit from doing just that.
Now having faith pleases the Lord for sure, because we read of Abraham in Genesis chapter fifteen and verse six:
Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
In the book of Hebrews, chapter eleven and verse six, the Bible says:
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
So we are going to take that as a given. Faith pleases the Lord. But secondly, did you notice the word in Proverbs said, ‘When a man’s WAYS please the Lord?’ Not just when a man pleases the Lord because of his faith, but when your WAYS please him. That’s things you do.
It’s not religious works
Now I want to be clear, because you could take this completely the wrong way. You could think, if I spend a bit more time in prayer, or if I read my Bible more, that will please the Lord. Let me tell you, nowhere in Scripture can I see such religious works on their own pleasing the Lord.
Spending more time in prayer doesn’t necessarily please the Lord. Of course you should speak to the Lord in prayer, but it’s your conduct during the rest of your day which determines whether the Lord hears you.
Reading your Bible more doesn’t necessarily please the Lord. Of course you should read it, but if you don’t put it into practice, you are wasting your time.
That word from Hebrews said you must believe that God rewards those who DILIGENTLY seek him, and the reason for seeking the Lord in his word is to discover his ways, know his mind, find what pleases him in your day to day living and then to do it.
Doers of the word
Here’s the Apostle James, chapter one and verse twenty-two:
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
In other words, don’t fool yourself into thinking that just reading God’s word a bit more or spending extra time in prayer will please him. You have to turn faith into action.
Not even church-going or youth ministry or being in the choir will please the Lord when your day-to-day walk is wrong.
It’s quite simple. It’s your obedience to his moral law which will please the Lord. You’ll find God’s law all through your Bible reading. Ask him in prayer to reveal it and to help you keep it.
And then, well, it’s just possible you have a colleague at work who hates you, or some family member who fell out with you. We’ll call them your ‘enemies’, for want of a better term.
So the scripture says that when your ways please the Lord, he will make those enemies be at peace with you. That is a great benefit. I’ve had that experience and I want you to have it too.
Be obedient, not religous
God will turn their hearts to you if your ways please him. But don’t be religious, be obedient. And be joyful about it. Because here is the other occurrence of the expression ‘please the Lord’, in Psalm sixty-nine and verse thirty:
Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
So you see that it’s not religious works, but a humble heart full of praise doing works of righteousness which pleases the Lord and brings peace into your life.
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