I want to begin this lesson
by asking you a question. That question
is, “Would you like to know HOW to please God?”
If I could cut through all of the religious
confusion and show you in just a very few simple words how to please God, would you listen
to those words, and would you apply
them to your life so that you could please God?
I want to begin our lesson today with a scripture in the book of Ecclesiastes.
Ec 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the “whole” matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man.
The answer to the age old question of life is given to us here in
only “fourteen” simple words. “Fear
God” are two of these words. “And keep
His commandments” are four of them, while “for this is the whole duty of man” are
the remaining eight. I want to look at
this scripture in the following way: We will discuss what “the conclusion of
the whole matter” means, then we will look at what it means to 1) “Fear God” after
which we will consider how to 2) “keep
his commandments” and finally we will discover the real life application (or definition)
of 3) “for this is the whole duty of man”.
To be able to please God, we must obviously DO what
God wants us to do in our
lives. Well what does God expect of us anyway? Does God want us to become involved in some
type of religion? Does God care if we
are honest? Does God want me to be rich
so that I can use my wealth for good? Does
God want me to be poor so that I will remain humble and relate to the needs of
the common man? What exactly does God want
from me and from my life? According to
Eccl 12:13: the conclusion, the end, the summary of this question begins with .
. . 1) Proper fear of God.
How much respect do we have
for the state trooper that is searching for speeders on the highway? We measure our degree of respect “or
fear” by how careful we are to “obey”
or to keep the speeding laws when we believe that a state trooper is “watching
us”. How much respect do we have for God
who literally has power over spiritual life and death?
Luke 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall
fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I
say unto you, Fear him.
We measure our degree of
respect or fear of God by how
careful we are to “obey” (or to keep) God’s word in our lives. So the first
step that every man takes toward “pleasing God” is understanding in his
heart that JUDGMENT after death is real, and that God has commanded us to
change (which means to repent) so that in judgment, we will not be cast into
hell with the unbelievers.
If we do not believe, then we
will not fear . . . Heb 11: 6 tells us that without FAITH it is impossible to
please Him . . . The point to this is –
if we do not believe the radar gun is working, then we will have nothing to
motivate us to slow down. If we do not
believe that God is watching, then there is nothing to motivate us to try to control
the sinful desires of our heart.
Acts 17:30 . . . but now (God) commandeth “all men”
everywhere to repent:
Ro 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the
Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God . . .
Which means that in the “day-of-judgment”
every man will agree (or confess) to God that his life was full of sin and
unrighteousness. The significance of
this confession before God in the day of our judgment is that our trust (our faith) in the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ is the ONLY righteous thing that we can ever possibly possess. This is literally the meaning of the song “when
I see the blood (of Jesus) I will pass over you”. Which begs the question . . . when you stand
in judgment before God, what will God see in your life? Will God see the blood of Jesus and pass His condemnation over
you, or will God see the sins of an unbelieving heart and condemn your soul to
an eternity in hell?
The second step that every
man takes toward “pleasing God” is . . . See
my next post, until then God bless.
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