What is a Christian: By Devotion

Father, we thank you, Lord, for today. We thank you for this week. We thank you for the things you've already taught us, Lord, through your word.

Tonight, we want you to open our hearts and minds to understand more of what you have for us as your children. We love you, Lord, and that's why we're here and that's why we want to study the word of God. And that's why, Lord, we anticipate that what you're going to teach us tonight will stick with us not just for a brief moment, but for the rest of our lives.

We just thank you, Lord, that you have allowed us the opportunity to study your word. It's such a precious, precious tool. And we are so grateful that you've given it to us to equip us, to teach us, to lead us and to guide us, to comfort us and to move us on to maturity in Christ.

May that happen in all of us this evening, Lord, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Now, by now, hopefully, you have been able to understand and answer more of what it means to be a Christian. I hope that's the case because if someone was to ask you, what is a Christian, I'm sure that you'd be able to explain things maybe hopefully better than you could have seven weeks ago. But I'm sure that if someone asked you, what is a Christian, you would tell them that a Christian is known by their decision.

And that decision is based on Luke 9:23, right? That if any man come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. And so you'd also tell them that a Christian is known not just by the decision that he or she makes, but by the definition in Scripture. And that is in Philippians chapter 3, verse number 3, that we are the marked ones, we are the circumcision.

We worship God in spirit, we glory only in Christ Jesus, and we put no confidence in the flesh. That is the best definition of a Christian in the Scriptures, Philippians 3, verse number 3. You'd also be able to explain to them that a Christian is known by description. That is 2 Corinthians 5:17, that a Christian is described by being in Christ.

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things are passed away, behold, all things have become new. That's how a Christian is described in the Bible. They are in Christ and Christ is in them.

And then you'd be able to say, well, a Christian is also known by declaration. They have a declaration that they speak loudly, without hesitation, without reservation, that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God, that Jesus is the Messiah, and that he is God in the flesh. Every Christian understands that.

And next, a Christian is known by his dedication, Philippians 1, verse number 21, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. A Christian is dedicating to living for Christ because they want to live for no one else but the Christ. And then a Christian is known by his or her denunciation.

That is, they denounce the things of the world. So much so, they're willing to put to death the members of their body in order to glorify and honor the Christ. That's Colossians 3, verses 1 to 8. That was last week's lesson.

Tonight, I want to talk to you about the Christian's devotion. The Christian is devoted to one thing and one thing only. The difference between dedication and devotion is this.

A person who is dedicated is committed to one purpose. A person who is devoted is committed to one person. A person who is dedicated is committed to that purpose, but it demonstrates itself by a disciplined pursuit of fulfilling that purpose.

A person who is devoted is committed to one purpose, and to fulfill that purpose, they are deeply passionate toward that person. That's the difference between a Christian's dedication and a Christian's devotion. And so, what is the Christian devoted to? He's devoted to one thing.

It's summed up in one verse, 2 Corinthians 5, verse number 9, where the Apostle Paul said it very clearly this way, "...therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him." Paul says, I have one ambition. I have one drive. I have one passion.

I am completely devoted to doing one thing, and that is pleasing the Lord. You see, you are either going to please the Lord, or you're going to please yourself. It's very clear that in Romans chapter 1, that those whom the wrath of God is poured out upon are those who want to please themselves.

They want to worship the creature rather than worship the creator. And God pours out His wrath upon those people. Paul would say it this way in the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 5. He would say this, "...let no one deceive you," verse number 6, "...with empty words. For because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them. For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”

Paul says, seek to please the Lord. Walk as children of the light. Live in a way that honors and glorifies the name of the Lord. You were created for this purpose.

Revelation chapter 4, verse number 11. All things were created for His desire or for His pleasure. Everything was created for the pleasure of God.

Therefore, His creation is designed to please their God. Those who don't experience the wrath of God. When you seek to please yourself, it is foreign to the original purpose for which you were created.

The Bible says in Psalm 115, verse number 3, that the Lord is in the heavens. He does whatever He pleases. In Psalm 135, it says this in verse number 5, "...for I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does in heaven and in earth, in the seas, and in all the deep."

Interesting that Jesus said in John chapter 8, verse number 29, “I always do those things that are pleasing to the Father.” Our Lord's devotion was seen in that statement. I always do those things that are pleasing to the Father.

For us to be like Christ, we then too want to do all things that are pleasing to the Father. That was our Lord's ambition. That was our Lord's devotion.

That was Paul's ambition. That was Paul's devotion. That should be the devotion of every single believer.

They want to please the Lord. Over in Romans chapter 15, the Apostle Paul says these words in verse number 1. He says, "...now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell upon me.” Paul says, if you want to be like Christ, then you need to understand that Christ did not please himself. No, he sought to please his Father.

Therefore, you are looking out for the welfare of others. For those who want to please themselves are not looking out for the welfare of others. They're looking out for their own welfare.

But Christ wasn't that way. And so in order to be like Christ, then you want to please the Lord. Paul said in Galatians chapter 1, verse number 10, these words, "...for I am now seeking the favor of men or of God, or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ." Paul said, if I seek to please men, I cease to be a bondservant of Christ.

In other words, a bondservant seeks to please his master. So if I seek to please men, I cease to find the favor of God, or I cease to please God. Now, this is hard for us because we are narcissistic in nature.

Everything in our lives revolves around us, or so we think it does, or we want it to, right? We want it to revolve around us. We want people to please us. And we are more man-pleasers than we are God-pleasers.

Just ask yourself how you converse with other people so that they like you, and not confront them when they live in sin. That would make you a man-pleaser, not a God-pleaser. And if you're going to live out your devotion, you are devoted to pleasing God above all else.

That's so incredibly important. Over in Colossians chapter 3, Paul says these words, verse number 22, "...slaves in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do you work heartily as for the Lord, rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."

So whatever you do, you seek to please the Lord. The apostle Paul knew this. So in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, after he says in verse number 9, that it is his ambition to please God, he says in verse number 10, "...for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

Paul makes it very clear that the reason I please the Lord is because one day I will stand before my Lord. I will be judged before my Lord. And this is not a judgment of condemnation. This is not the great white throne judgment of Revelation chapter 20. That's a judgment for unbelievers, not for believers. This judgment is only for believers. And this judgment is what they call a bema seat.

And a bema seat was a raised platform where those who were winners of their athletic contest would stand upon and receive a wreath for their victory. Paul is talking about the judgment seat of Christ being that platform by which believers step up on and receive their crowns. And at that time, they will receive that which is done in their body, whether it be good, or whether it be bad, or whether it be evil.

That's not the word for, it's not the word paneros or kakia, which deals with evil, but it's the word phallos, which deals with worthless or useless. In other words, the things that you do based on the motive for pleasing God are those things that are good. Those that were based on the motive for pleasing myself, those things are useless, and they are burned up, and they are not attributed to whatever it is you have done, which you think in the name of Christ is because your motive was wrong.

Your motive was to please yourself. And God is the one who weighs the heart. God knows those things.

So God will judge you based on the motive of your heart as to why you did what you did. That's why Paul says, I make it my ambition. This is my sole devotion to please the Lord.

Please the Lord in how I speak. Please the Lord in what I do. Please the Lord above men.

The Bible says these words in the book of Hebrews, chapter 13, verse number 20. Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, through whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The right of Hebrews makes it very clear that God is working in you. The good shepherd is working in you to equip you, to put you together so that you will do those things that are pleasing to the Lord. Solomon said in Proverbs 16, verse number 7, when a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

That's just an incredible statement. When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Years ago, it must have been at least 20 years ago now, I was talking to an individual who had come to see me about his marriage.

And he came to me, he poured out his heart. He says, I need to leave my wife. I can't be with her anymore. I can't stand to be around her. I said, why can't you stand to be around your wife? He goes, she is the most critical person I've ever met. She doesn't support me in anything. In fact, I really believe that she is my biggest enemy. Therefore, I need to leave her.

I said, I got good news. He says, you got good news? I said, I got good, I got great news. He says, what's the good news? I said, well, by your own words, you said she was your enemy. And the Bible says you are to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

On top of that, you can do that because Romans 5:5 says that the love of God is shed abroad in your heart. In other words, the love of God is everywhere already in your heart. And Galatians chapter 5, verse 23 says the fruit of the spirit is love.

So here's the good news. You can love your wife who is your enemy because the love of God is shed abroad in your heart. And the fruit of the spirit is love. And the spirit of God is going to produce love in you that you might reach out and volitionally love your wife as Christ loved the church.

He goes, that's not good news. I said, that's great news. I said, what do you mean? That's the best news ever. See, you can do this. You're telling me you can't. I'm telling you, you can. Why? Because of what God's done. And when you, when you, listen, when a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

If your wife truly is your enemy, don't you want your wife to be at peace with you? If that's the case, then your ways must please the Lord. And how do you know you're going to please the Lord? By loving your wife as Christ loved the church. By nurturing her, by protecting her, by caring for her.

This is a great opportunity for you to demonstrate to your wife who Jesus Christ is. This is great counsel. He didn't accept the counsel, unfortunately. He didn't want to do that. He thought it was beyond him. I tried to help him understand that it wasn't beyond him because God is working in him so that he can please the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, so many times we forget that we have a, a responsibility to honor and glorify the name of Christ, to be pleasing to him. But the problem is, the problem is, as Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse number 2, that in the end times, men will be lovers of self and lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. And that's very true.

We really do love ourselves. So much so that we don't necessarily want to love other people and we certainly don't want to please the Lord because we're too busy trying to please ourselves. Solomon was this way, right? We read to you a couple of weeks ago from Ecclesiastes chapter two where Solomon said, I'm going to do this for myself.

I'm going to do this for myself. I'm going to do this for myself. And he lists all these things he did just for himself.

It was all empty. It was all futile. But why did, why did he do that? Well, the answer lies in the book of 2 Kings chapter 11, which says these words.

Now, King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughters of Pharaoh, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian and Hittite women. From the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, you shall not associate with them nor shall they associate with you for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods. Solomon held fast to these in love.

In spite of what God said, he held fast to those he loved. And then it says, he had 700 wives, princesses and 300 concubines. And his wives turned his heart away.

For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods. And his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord. His devotion was not to please the Lord.

His devotion was to please himself. His devotion was all about him. He was devoted to doing whatever suited him best.

Forget about what God said. Forget about what God commanded. He wanted to please himself.

And Ecclesiastes 2 says, he did not withhold one thing that would bring pleasure to himself. Not one. He found that it was all futile.

It was all empty. But his heart was turned away. It says, his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord.

His God as the heart of David, his father had been. David's heart was devoted to his God. Solomon's heart was not.

For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians. And after Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not follow the Lord fully as David, his father had done.

Then Solomon built a high place for Chemesh, the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech, the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. Thus also he did for all his foreign wives and burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord.

The God of Israel who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing that he should not go after other gods, but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. So the Lord said to Solomon, because you have done this and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Here's the king of Israel whose devotion was not to God, but to his own self. And it ended up dividing the kingdom of Israel.

God didn't do it till after Solomon died. God was gracious to Solomon. For 40 years as he reigned as king, there was no wars in Israel, complete and total peace. God had blessed him because of his father David. But yet when he died, the kingdom was divided simply because he was not devoted fully to the Lord as God.

You see, whatever you're devoted to, you love, right? Whatever you're devoted to, you love. That's why you need to stay true to the Lord. And so if you love your wife, you're devoted to your wife.

If you love your kids, you're devoted to your kids. If you're devoted to the Lord, if you love the Lord, you're devoted to the Lord. See, our devotion wanes because of our love for God. That wanes. And therefore we need to realize that the Christian is known by his devotion. He wants to please the Lord.

For those of you who love your wives, which I trust all of you do, you want to please your wife. Those of you who love your children, you want to please your children. Children love their wives, children love their parents, they want to please their parents, right? If you love your parents, you don't want to displease them. And if you love your wife, you don't want to displease her. If you love the Lord, you don't want to displease them. You want to please Him.

So the question comes, how do you please the Lord? Simple question, very simply answered in the scriptures. Let me answer it for you. You want to please the Lord? Those who please the Lord, please Him by proclaiming the message of the cross.

You please Him by proclaiming the message of the cross. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18. The wisdom of the world, for a sense in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God.

God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. When you proclaim the message of the cross, you please the Lord because He was well-pleased through the message that the world calls foolishness to bring about the salvation of lost souls. It's interesting that Paul would quote from the book of Isaiah as an illustration about the power of God.

When Sennacherib would come with the Assyrian army against Judah, Hezekiah would want to revert to the ways of wisdom, the counsel that he would receive from those in leadership. And God said, don't do that. Trust me. I am the all-powerful God. I will deliver you, but you gotta trust me. And God did.

The angel of the Lord came in one foul swoop, killed 185,000 Assyrians. And God made it very clear that your victory comes through me and my power, not through you and my power. And worldly wisdom.

Paul uses that as an illustration to say, you know what? God's gospel is powerful. The message of the cross is powerful. Just preach that message.

Your preaching does not make the message powerful. The message of the cross is powerful in and of itself. You don't make it powerful.

God made it powerful. That's why Paul said, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greeks. Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel.

Why? Because the gospel has the power in and of itself to save men. You being filled with the spirit don't make the gospel any more powerful than it is. It's powerful in and of itself. It's powerful enough to save people. That's why it's well-pleasing to the Lord when you proclaim the message of the cross.

But the cross is foolishness to the unbeliever. It's a stumbling block to the Jew. Remember in that encounter that Christ had with Peter and the apostles in Matthew chapter 16, when the great confession was made, that great declaration, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. When Christ said, who do men say that I am? Who do you say that I am? And then Christ said something very interesting.

He said, don't tell them what you just said. Instead, tell them this. Tell them that the son of man must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

Don't tell them that the Messiah is the son of the living God. Tell them that the Messiah is going to die and rise again. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, God forbid.

Why? Because the message of the cross is foolishness to the Jew. And the Bible says, cursed is everyone who hangs upon a cross. Peter knows that, so why would you take upon yourself a curse and die and rise again? But Christ says, this is what you need to proclaim freely for all to hear, because that's the message that's foolishness to the world, but is the power of salvation to men.

And Peter only had in mind the things of man. That's why Christ said, get thee behind me, Satan. Peter was being used by Satan to detract Christ from the mission of the cross, because the cross is central to the mission of Christianity, and we'll talk more about this in weeks to come.

But when you proclaim the message of the cross, it is pleasing to the Lord. So if you want to please him, you proclaim the message of the cross. Not only proclaiming the message of the cross is pleasing to the Lord, but living a life of faith is pleasing to the Lord.

Living a life of faith, Hebrews 11, verse number 6. For without faith it is impossible to please him. Impossible.

So in order to please the Lord, you must be living a life of faith. What is faith? Faith is defined by two words, trusting, obedience. That's what faith is.

Faith is, if you recall our study in Hebrews chapter 11, where we spent 17 weeks in Hebrews chapter 11, that faith is believing absolutely in what God said, and faith is behaving accordingly to what God said. That is trusting obedience. It behaves absolutely, or believes absolutely in everything that God said, without reservation, and then behaves accordingly to what God said.

That's faith. That's living the life of faith. That's why it says in Hebrews 11:5, about Enoch, that Enoch had this testimony that he walked with God and was well-pleasing to God, and God took him.

Enoch was well-pleasing to God. Why? Because he lived a life of faith. And therefore, in order to please God, you must live a life of faith.

And remember, Enoch was 65 years old, according to Genesis chapter five, when he began to walk with God. He died at age 365. So for 300 years, Enoch had this testimony that he pleased God.

That was a man of supreme devotion. He wanted to please his God. So the writer of Hebrews comes around and says, listen, without this kind of faith, it's impossible to please God.

For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Faith not only costs you, but faith always compensates you. It rewards those who diligently seek him.

So in order to please the Lord, you must proclaim the message of the cross. You must live a life of faith. That is, believing in what God has said.

Looking at his word, trusting what he says is true, and saying, Lord, you said it, it's true. I'm gonna follow it. No matter what others might think, what others might say, Lord, I'm gonna do what your word says, because I'm going to live a life of trusting obedience in the living God.

Amen. Number three, faith is proclaiming the message of the cross, living the life of faith, and exalting Jesus Christ, the son of God. When you exalt Christ, the son of God, when you lift Christ high, when you acknowledge his glory, when you acknowledge the fact that he is to be magnified in and through your life, that is, he is to be seen so big in your life, you please the Lord.

Matthew 3, verse number 17. The Lord at the baptism, the voice out of heaven, came, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to what Paul says in Colossians chapter 1, verse number 15. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominion or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. He is also head of the body of the church, and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in him.”

It pleased the Father for the fullness of the Godhead to dwell in him. He is preeminent, he is above all things, he's all powerful because he created all things, and therefore, all the fullness of God dwells in him. So whenever you exalt the Son, you are bringing pleasure to God because that's the Son that brought pleasure to God. Therefore, when you exalt the Son, you are pleasing the Lord.

John 5, verse 23 says, he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent the Son. In other words, he who does not exalt the Son, he who does not glorify the Son, he who does not put the Son first does not honor the Father who sent the Son. And therefore, in order to be well-pleasing to the Lord, you honor the Son of God.

So proclaiming the message of the cross, living a life of faith, exalting Jesus Christ the Son, therefore, asking God for wisdom brings pleasure to God. Asking God for wisdom. First Kings 3, God said to Solomon, ask me anything that you want and I will give it to you.

And Solomon asked, give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, to discern between good and evil, for who was able to judge the great people of yours? Verse 10, it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. Solomon asked for wisdom in order to discern between good and evil, and it pleased the Lord. So when you go to the Lord and you ask for wisdom, it brings pleasure to him.

Why? Because you're not relying upon human wisdom, you're not relying upon your own understanding, you're relying upon the Lord who gives you wisdom. Over in the book of Colossians, the first chapter, Paul says this, verse number 9. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Paul prays that they would be filled with spiritual wisdom, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him in all respects. In other words, we're asking God to fill you with all wisdom so that you can walk in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. You can't please the Lord without wisdom.

He says, bearing fruit in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthen with all power according to his glorious might for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience, joyously giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. In order to walk worthy of the Lord, those things must happen. In order for that to happen, you must ask God for wisdom that comes and it's pleasing to him.

Therefore, you begin to bear fruit because you are pleasing to the Lord. That's why James says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask, James 1, verse number 5. And those of you who ask, God gives generously.

God gives without condemnation, without rebuke so that you don't become a double-minded man but that you become a man singularly focused upon God. So if you lack wisdom, you ask for wisdom. Why? Because wisdom pleases God.

Pleasing God means you proclaim the message of the cross, you live a life of faith, you exalt Jesus Christ as son, you ask God for wisdom.

Number five, you stay away from sexual sin. You should know this, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. We spent many weeks here. Finally then, brethren, verse 1, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God, just as you actually do walk, that you excel still more for you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.

Paul says we want you to walk and please God. In order to walk a life that's pleasing to God, you must abstain from sexual immorality. So many people, so many people don't want to do that. Even in the church, they just don't want to abstain. Why? Because they're lovers of self, rather than lovers of God. They're lovers of pleasure, rather than they are lovers of God.

Those who are devoted to the Lord want to please the Lord. Your devotion begins to wane when you engage in sexual immorality. Why? Because you find yourself willing to give in to those sensual desires we talked about last week that need to be put to death so that you can walk in a manner that's pleasing to the Lord.

Staying away from sexual immorality is pleasing to God. And look at Solomon's life. He just could not stay away. 700 wives, 300 concubines. How do you celebrate an anniversary with 700 wives? How do you do that? There's not enough days in a year to celebrate an anniversary with all those wives. Right? But he could not forego his own pleasures, his own desires.

And therefore, his heart was turned away. He was not devoted to his God fully like his father David was. And he continued in sin.

And of course, the book of Ecclesiastes is a record of his downfall. And so we need to realize that in order to please God, you need to stay away from sexual sin. Number 6, you want to please God? Pleasing God comes because you imitate the Christ.

You imitate the Christ. John 8:29, we quoted to you earlier, says, I always do those things that are pleasing to the Father. So in order for us to please the Lord, we imitate the Christ.

We do what he did. We seek to please the Father because we want to imitate the Lord Jesus. How badly do you want to be like Christ? How badly do you want to walk like Christ? How badly do you want to be Christ-like in your behavior? Then you seek to please the Father as the Son pleased the Father.

Over in 1 John chapter 3, verse 22, John says, whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. You want to know why you ask for things and do not receive them? It's because you do not do things that are pleasing in his sight. Paul says we know, or John says, we know that when we ask, we receive what we ask because we keep his commandments and in keeping his commandments, we are doing those things that are pleasing in his sight.

So whatever you're asking God for and you're not getting an answer to, ask yourself this question, am I doing those things that are pleasing in the sight of God? Am I proclaiming the message of the cross? Am I living a life of faith? Am I exalting Jesus Christ, the Son, above myself and everything else? Am I asking God for wisdom? Am I staying away from sexual sin? And am I imitating the Christ? Because if you are, you will always do those things that are pleasing to the Father. Now, granted, Jesus Christ is the perfect Son of man. He is sinless and we are sinful.

That's why last week's lesson was so important, that we are constantly putting to death the members of our body. Why? Because it hinders us from pleasing the Lord. And that's why the Christian life is marked, not by perfection, but by progression.

Are we moving on toward maturity in Christ? Are we further along in our walk with the Lord now than we were yesterday and last week and last month and last year? That's the question that needs to be asked and answered.

Number seven, you please the Lord when you neglect not to share with others. Neglecting not to share with others. Had to have an N word there because I'm spelling the word pleasing. If you're taking notes, you know that. If you're not taking notes, you're not spirit-filled.

Anyway, neglecting not to share with others. Hebrews chapter 13, verse number 16. Do not neglect doing good and sharing for with such sacrifices, God is pleased.

What sacrifices? I told you on Sunday, I'll reiterate it this Sunday, that we are a priesthood of believers. Priests offer sacrifices. There are three sacrifices that all Christians offer.

Number one, the sacrifice of their person. Romans 12, verse number 2. We present our bodies a living sacrifice.

Number two, there is the sacrifice of praise, right? That's in verse number 15 or 14. Hebrews 13, we'll talk to you about that in a second. A sacrifice of praise.

So there's a sacrifice of my person. There's a sacrifice of my praise. Are you ready for the next one? There's a sacrifice of my purse, my money, my goods, right? You can say it this way.

There's a sacrifice of myself, a sacrifice of my song, and a sacrifice of my substance. Whatever words you wanna use, there are three sacrifices that every Christian offers as a priesthood of believers. And it becomes a sacrifice of my substance.

I'm not going to neglect others by hoarding everything for myself. There are people that are in need, and therefore I'm gonna offer up a sacrifice to those who are in need of my substance to help them in their time of need, to move them on to maturity in Christ, to help them understand that I love not just in word and in tongue, but in deed and in truth, as John says in 1 John chapter 3. That's why Matthew 25 is so important, right? At the judgment of the sheep and the goats, at the end of the tribulation in the Kidron Valley, right? That there is this great judgment where the sheep are on the right and the goats are on the left, right? And the Lord says to the sheep, when I was hungry, you fed me.

When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was in prison, you visited me.

And the sheep will say, when did we see you hungry? When did we see you thirsty? The sheep are perplexed. When were you in prison that we visited you? When were you naked that we clothed you? And Jesus says these words. When you did it to the least of these, my brethren, you did it as unto me.

It's a remarkable judgment. Why? Because you see the direct opposite happens with the goats. When Christ says, when I was hungry, you didn't feed me.

When I was in prison, you didn't visit me. When I was hungry or thirsty, you didn't give me something to drink. And when I was naked, you didn't clothe me.

And the goats say the same thing. When did we see you naked, hungry or thirsty, in prison? Christ responds, when you didn't do it to the least of these, my brethren, you didn't do it as unto me. You see, both were perplexed.

But you see, the sheep did it, and the goats did not. Why? Because inherent in your DNA as a Christian is the desire to do that which is pleasing to the Lord. You don't neglect to do good to those who are in need.

And so when there was a need with someone who was thirsty, they gave them something to drink. When there was a need for someone who was hungry, they fed them. When there was a need to visit someone in prison, they visited them.

When there was a need to clothe someone, they clothed them. And you know what? They did it simply because it was part of their spiritual DNA. They weren't doing it for recognition.

They weren't doing it for a crown. They weren't doing it so that at the sheep-goat judgment, they would be rewarded. No. They did it simply because it was part of their nature. So Paul, the writer of Hebrews, it might be Paul, I don't know, but the writer of Hebrews says, do not neglect in sharing with those who are in need. For with such sacrifices, God is pleased.

Neglecting not to share with others is pleasing to the Lord. You ever notice that sometimes we can hoard that which is ours and not be willing to share it with those who are in need? And that's just pleasing to the Lord, especially when it's in your power to do that which is good. And lastly, pleasing God comes when you give praise in His name.

That's the earlier verse in Hebrews chapter 13. Through Him, then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. Do you know that you please God when you offer up a sacrifice of praise? When you get to a place where you don't wanna praise and sing to God and thank Him, but you do anyway, that's a sacrifice.

That brings pleasure to God. And don't you wanna please Him? Of course you do. I love what the psalmist said in Psalm 69.

When he said these words, Psalm 69 verse number 30, I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving and it will please the Lord better than an ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs. There's one thing that will please God more than anything. That's offering a song of praise in His name simply because of who He is.

So I spelled out the word pleasing and gave you eight principles that if you follow, the Lord is pleased. This is our devotion, the Christian's devotion. As the Apostle Paul said, this is my ambition.

This is my soul desire. This is my driving passion. This is what I'm devoted to.

I'm going to please my God. How about you? I would trust that that's your prayer this evening. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for the word of God. We thank you, Lord, for the fact that you spell out what it means to be pleasing to you. Our prayer is that that's exactly what we would do.

That truly our efforts would be toward you. Forgive us, Lord, for always seeking to pleasure ourselves. We do love ourselves more than we ever should.

We do love pleasure more than we ever should. We should totally love God, be devoted to you. Our prayer, Lord, is that we would be so devoted to you that everything else pales in comparison to the glory of our God.

That we would exalt your name. That we abstain from sexual sin. That we live a life of faith, trusting obedience in our God.

That truly we would do good to others, help them in their time of need. That we give praise to your glorious name. That when we lack wisdom, we'd ask for wisdom.

To the God who gives to all men generously. And that we'd always proclaim the message of the cross. For it's that message that's the power of God unto salvation for all men.

We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.