Seventh-day Adventist® Church

Which person in the world do you want to please the MOST? Have you ever given thought to this question? I am sure if you should give thought to this question, the following people would come to mind.

• Wife
• Husband
• Mother
• Father
• Girlfriend
• Boyfriend
• Significant other
• Best Friend

And the list could go on and on…

I am sure that for some of us we may have “God” in that list, but based on the way the question was asked, one could assume that I was referring to which human being in the world, since the question said “persons”. Could it be that although we ask questions, we see God as God and not as a person? Could it be that even within the confines of the church, we are encouraged to revere and worship God but not to focus on pleasing Him? Could it be that we have been socialized to see obeying the commandments of God as being different from pleasing him?

This morning as you take some time to think about the above questions in terms of an answer that you would provide for each, at the same time, look at what the Apostle Paul said in Hebrews 11:6. Here Paul makes the point that you MUST have FAITH in order the please God. We already know that the word FAITH means:

conviction of the truth of anything, belief;

in the New Testament: - of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it".

So, Paul is saying that in order for us to please God we must be convicted of the truth that God is a rewarder of them seek Him. We must believe in God and what He said in His words before we will be able to please Him. So, what does it mean to please God? The Larry Pierce’s Outline of Biblical Usage provides the following information on how the Greek word “euaresteō” for “please” can be used in this passage of scripture: "to be well pleased with a thing".

So, in order for God to determine that our words, thoughts and actions are “well pleasing” to Him, we MUST have FAITH in Him. Here Paul shows that there is a direct relationship with the measure of faith or belief that God gives to us and everything that we do and say are well pleasing to Him. This text is making the point that we need to ask God to help us to exercise the gift of faith that He has given to us in such a way that it transforms our heart and allows us to have words, thoughts and actions that are pleasing to Him.

Pleasing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1c3m8mRb8g