23-0709p Transcript

Preacher: Mike Mathis

(0:59) Good evening to those that are here, and physically at the building, to the visitors, and those that are on the phone. (1:14) Good evening.

We want to welcome you and hope that what we say and do tonight will be uplifting to you. (1:28) And I will continue with the lesson that was started this morning of pleasing God. (1:39) Now, just quickly to highlight what was said this morning, that it should be our desire to please God.

(1:59) And Proverbs 16, 7 says that when a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (2:16) And it’s easy to please God, because God says what he means, and he means what he says, and he’s straightforward with it. He’s not wishy-washy.

He doesn’t change it. (2:35) And what then is will? He is not for man to tamper with. (2:46) We learn some things that are not pleasing to God, such as the things that are mentioned in Proverbs 16 and 19 that God hates.

(3:03) And being in the flesh and vain worship. There are such things as vain worship. (3:15) Then we talked mainly about what pleases God.

(3:23) We talked about children being obedient to parents, being commanded to obey their parents. (3:34) In Colossians 3, 20, it says, (3:36) Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to God. (3:47) And there is some advice to the fathers to bring up their children in the training and admonition of the Lord.

(4:00) It is the fathers who need to have the responsibility to teach the children. (4:13) But nowadays it seems as if what is supposed to be the parents' job seems to be handed over to the schools. (4:26) The schools are giving the children, the students, anything and everything, whether it pleases parents or not.

(4:43) But then, let’s continue in this discussion. (4:53) And the reading that Roger read in your hearing was speaking about iniquity. (5:07) We learn in Genesis 5, beginning with verse 21, (5:18) Enoch lived 65 years and begot Methuselah.

(5:25) After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had sons and daughters. (5:35) So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. (5:42) And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

(5:49) The Hebrew writer then says that Enoch had this witness, or had this testimony, that he pleased God. (6:09) Walking with God meant that Enoch looked to God and he followed the will that God wanted him in that patriarchal age to do. (6:31) And he was pleasing to God.

(6:37) And it says that by faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and was not found because God had taken him. (6:57) For before he was taken, he had this testimony that he pleased God. (7:05) Now, are we walking with God? (7:13) To be walking with God would mean to be obedient to Him, to be seeking Him, to make the sacrifices that He expects us to make.

(7:31) We are obedient to Him. (7:34) That is what walking with God is. (7:40) And there are those people that would decry doing things, and they call it, and they say all we have to do is to believe.

(8:01) But in this chapter, if these people were raised, this is known as the hall of faith. (8:16) And these people have faith. (8:21) The people that have faith such as Abel, it is by faith that Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.

(8:36) It was by faith that Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and he was not found because God had taken him. (8:49) And that was because it is stated here that he pleased God, that God let him not see death. (9:07) And in verse 6 it says, but without faith it is impossible to please God.

(9:16) For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. (9:31) So faith is necessary to please God. (9:36) But these people in this book, if they were studied, they would know that these people by faith did something.

(9:47) They had faith. (9:49) And they did things that God told them to do. (9:55) And so if we are going to be pleasing to God, we must have faith.

(10:06) And we must realize that God is. (10:10) We come to him. (10:12) We must believe that he is, that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

(10:23) If we seek him, we will be rewarded. (10:34) Another thing that pleases God is worshiping God in spirit and in truth. (10:46) In the Gospel of John, chapter 4, beginning with verse 21, Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman.

(11:08) Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. (11:23) You worship what you do not know. (11:27) We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews.

(11:35) But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. (11:46) For the Father is seeking such to worship him. (11:54) God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

(12:03) Notice that he said spirit and truth. (12:11) Sometimes people have the spirit or the attitude to worship God, but they don’t do it according to truth. (12:21) As we learned this morning, when the Pharisees confronted Jesus as to why his disciples did not eat with washing hands as these leaders did, (12:40) they went through a ritual in cleaning their hands, making sure that their hands were really clean.

(12:56) They wanted to know why they didn’t keep the tradition of the elders. (13:04) Well, he asked them, why do you transgress the commandment of God? (13:18) They wanted so much to be listened to when it comes to their ritual, their command in washing their hands. (13:31) And yet when it comes to obeying God’s commandment, namely that of the children, honoring their father and mother, (13:49) and this is talking about when these children have become old enough, (13:55) and the parents of these children have grown old, that they have a responsibility.

(14:07) Since the parents care for them, they need to honor them and support them. (14:18) And he says, and then God said that these that did not honor father and mother were to be put to death. (14:33) You know, those two men, I don’t personally know them, but my brother back home, he was telling me about these boys cursing their mother, even beating her.

(15:00) And I just thought to myself, it is fortunate that these boys didn’t grow up under the law of Moses as Jewish children. (15:19) These boys would have been subject to death if the people would keep their law. (15:31) But these religious leaders paid so much attention to their traditions.

(15:40) And Jesus was telling them that their worship was in vain. (15:47) They had vain worship. (15:50) There is such a thing as vain worship, that is empty worship.

(15:55) There is such a thing as worshiping God in spirit and in truth. (16:01) And we need to do both. (16:03) We need to have the spirit.

(16:07) We also need to have the truth. (16:10) Sometimes we get carried away. (16:13) We have the truth, but sometimes we don’t have the spirit.

(16:20) But we need both. (16:21) If we are going to please God, for God is seeking worship that pleases Him, and it must be done in spirit and in truth. (16:37) Now, going from the Gospel of John now to the first letter of John, I’m going to read 1 John 3, beginning with 22 and reading 24.

(17:02) And whatever we ask, we receive from Him. (17:09) Because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. (17:19) This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave us commandments.

(17:36) Now, He who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in Him. (17:44) And by this we know that He abides in us by the spirit whom He has given us. (17:54) This spirit here is capitalized.

(17:58) The S is capitalized. (18:00) It means the Holy Spirit. (18:03) But here is what is pleasing in His sight, that we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

(18:18) One of those things is that we believe on the name of Jesus Christ. (18:26) Now, a person that is not a Christian is told to believe, to believe the Gospel. (18:40) And is told to believe this.

(18:45) That is the start. (18:50) Jesus said that He that believeth in me, I forget now how to say something about it. (19:09) Except you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.

(19:15) But it is important to believe on the name of Jesus Christ. (19:21) This will lead one, or should lead one, to obey Him and follow His commandment that he should turn away from sin, (19:34) and be buried in baptism for the remission of his sins. (19:39) He should continue believing on the name of Jesus Christ.

(19:46) We are commanded to love one another. (19:53) It says that he who keeps His commandments abides in Him. (20:01) This reminds me of what Jesus said in the 15th chapter of the Gospel of John, (20:12) when He is telling them about the Father being the husband man and He being divine.

(20:24) He told His disciples to abide in Me and I in you. (20:33) As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, (20:39) neither can you unless you abide in Me. (20:46) I am the vine, you are the branches.

(20:51) He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit. (20:58) For without Me you can do nothing. (21:03) If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered.

(21:12) And they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned. (21:21) Well, He says abide in Me and I in you. (21:28) Now, unless we abide in Him, we cannot bear fruit of our own selves (21:39) because it needs to abide in the vine, needs to be living in the vine.

(21:49) And if it is separated from the vine, it is dead. (21:54) Along the way it will wither and it will be cast forth (22:02) and they burn these branches that are withered and are no good. (22:12) But now what does that mean to abide in Him? (22:16) Well, let’s go on and read here.

(22:21) If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, (22:26) you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. (22:33) By this My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit, (22:40) so you will be My disciples. (22:43) As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you.

(22:50) Abide in My love. (22:55) Here is the answer. (22:57) If you love Me, if you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, (23:07) just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

(23:14) These things I have spoken to you, (23:17) that My joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. (23:25) This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. (23:34) That’s one of those commandments.

(23:39) And that is the commandment that He’s giving here, that we love one another. (23:47) And this is the commandments. (23:52) If we’re not going to keep His commandments, (23:58) we’re not going to abide in Him, (24:01) and He certainly is not going to abide in us.

(24:06) And we’re not going to please God if we’re not going to obey His Son, (24:15) because the Father sent Him, (24:19) and Jesus has obeyed God’s commands. (24:27) Just as He came to this earth, (24:32) He willingly went to the cross to die for us. (24:37) He was in the grave three days, (24:41) and He arose on the third day.

(24:43) That gives us hope. (24:47) And if we keep His commandments, He abides in us. (24:54) We abide in Him, and He abides in us.

(24:59) So we need to keep His commandments. (25:05) By this we know the Son will maybe ask the question, (25:11) someone may pop the question, (25:15) now how do we know when we aren’t doing what God wants us to do? (25:23) We’re supposed to read in His Word those things that we need to read. (25:31) But if we’re wanting to know, (25:37) here is what He says in chapter 5, (25:45) beginning with verse 13.

(25:49) These things I have written to you, (25:52) who believe in the name of the Son of God, (25:56) that you may know, K-N-O-W, (26:01) that you have eternal life, (26:05) and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. (26:13) Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, (26:17) that if we ask Him according to His will, (26:22) we have asked of Him. (26:25) In other words, we can know because of what is written.

(26:31) We can know that we don’t need to make a checklist, (26:39) but when we read what’s in the Word, (26:44) we can know if we’ve kept that or not, (26:47) or if we’ve just let it go. (26:50) But we need to keep these commandments in order to please God. (26:58) Now in conclusion, I want to read from 1 Thessalonians.

(27:05) I want to read several passages from 1 Thessalonians. (27:17) And the first one is 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 4. (27:33) But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, (27:41) even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. (27:52) We need to realize that God is the one that is testing our hearts, (28:00) and He is the one that we need to please.

(28:05) Now in the same chapter, in verse 15, (28:12) I’m going to read verse 14. (28:57) So these people do not please God when they persecuted the prophets, (29:06) when they even killed the prophets, and also the Lord Jesus. (29:16) They persecuted them, and they did not please God when they did that.

(29:25) But it was in God’s determinate counsel that Jesus died at the hands of unruly men. (29:36) Now the last passage in 1 Thessalonians is chapter 4, verses 1 and 2. (29:48) Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus (29:54) that you should abound more and more just as you received from us (30:01) how you ought to walk and please God, (30:09) for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. (30:18) You see, it ought to be that we want to please God, (30:24) not self and not our fellow man.

(30:29) Because you see, you try to please man, (30:33) you’re going to get frustrated because we need to please Him. (30:45) So the invitation that I want to give now is (30:51) let us, right now, if we’re not pleasing God, (30:58) to start doing what is pleasing in His sight. (31:02) Let us keep His commandments.

(31:05) Let us do what is pleasing to Him. (31:12) Because, as I said, it’s easy to please God because He is straightforward. (31:20) And He says what He means, and He means what He says.

(31:26) And if there’s anyone there that wants to start pleasing Him, do that now. (31:37) And if there’s any other thing that you want to be made known, (31:42) why not do so while we stand and while we sing.