To The Man Who Please Him

To The Man Who Please Him

 

Ephesians 5:8-10

Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

Today as I read Ecclesiastes 2:26:

“To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness”

This led me to a bible study on pleasing God. How can I please Him?

I asked my children what they think we can do to please God. These are the answers I got from my 2-8 year olds.

1.      Obey God

2.      Worship God

3.      Offering yourself to God

4.      Do Right

5.      Be peaceful

6.      Be good

Then I said, well, let’s check the concordance and see what we can find out about pleasing God.

Psalm 69:31

“I will praise God’s name in song
    and glorify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord more than an ox,
    more than a bull with its horns and hooves.”

God is pleased with our worship, amen! “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalm 100:2) It is such a sweet aroma and offering to the Lord to praise and worship Him in spirit and truth. God is more pleased with our praise and songs and glorifying Him with thanksgiving than with sacrifices of animals on an altar.

Hebrews 11:6:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

So we must believe, as Abraham trusted God and it was accounted to him as righteousness, we must also have faith, and this pleases God.

1 Kings 3:10-12

“The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.”

James 1:5 is like this and says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

God will give us wisdom if we ask Him. It is His will to give us good things. 

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Our faith leads us to ask to ask God for wisdom. This is pleasing to the Lord.

1 Chronicles 29:17

“I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.”

God is pleased with our honesty. The truth shall set us free. It will lead us back to Ecc. 2:26 as all these verses do; God will then give us wisdom, knowledge, and happiness.

Hebrews 13:16

“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

God loves a cheerful giver. Giving of our time, our money, our things, and sharing them pleases God.

Proverbs 15:8

“The prayer of the upright pleases him.”

Our prayers are pleasing to the Lord. So when we think about skipping our prayers, we can know that if we do pray we are pleasing God, so this is a good thing, to pray. Paul says, pray without ceasing. Our prayers should go on and on, worse than the Energizer bunny. Everything in our lives and those around us should be filled with prayer and supplication, talking to God.

Colossians 3:20

“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”

I speak this often to my children and remind them that their obedience pleases God and just like God’s plans for us are good, parents have the best interests of the children in mind as well. I teach my children not to lie, not to talk back, hit, or say unkind things, to read and pray, to be diligent in all they do, and their obedience pleases God.

1 Timothy 2:1-5

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Our godliness and holiness is seen among the people and by God. God is pleased in our prayers for others because it is his desire for all to be saved and not that anyone should perish but to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Romans 12:1

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

Our bodies are important to God and created for His good pleasure to be used for His glory. When we keep ourselves from evil and offer up to Him our own selves, as a sacrifice is offered on the altar, holy unto God, this too pleases the Lord.

Philippians 4:18

“I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”

Our gifts and offering to the Lord which we give to our pastors, teachers, missionaries and preachers for the gospel’s sake, are pleasing to the Lord. Paul says they are a “fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice.”

1 Timothy 5:4

“But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.”

Caring for our families pleases the Lord. God placed us all in a family of His choosing. It was not our choice but it is up to us to choose to do right to those who have raised us and repay them for their love towards us. Even if they did not raise us the way we think we should have been raised, it is our duty to love others as we love our selves or as we believe we should have been treated, do to them likewise.

In closing, God will then give us wisdom, knowledge, and happiness when we do these things. We went back over the list my children gave me and compared them to scripture. All those that they mentioned are in scripture and they were correct. Praise God! Let us all look forward to pleasing God this New Year and every year to come!

Walk In The Spirit,

Prophetess Deanna Mack

 

 

 

 

 

 

Build My House-Part I

Build My House

We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, Amen? Amen!

We also know that, we must watch and pray, that we do not enter into temptation; for the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Does somebody know what I’m talking about here?

Turn in your bibles to Haggai 1. Now the book of Haggai is only 2 short chapters long but full of meat but let’s pray that God open our spiritual eyes,  that we may see this physical account of Israel building God’s house the way God wants us to see it today, Amen?!?

Now let’s read 1:2-

“Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built.”

 God wants us always building His house. In season and out of season we must be prepared (2 Tim. 4:2). So there is a constant preparation for the kingdom that needs to be taking place. Amen?!?

But we say, I don’t have time for that right now or I’ll get to it later. We are not making time for God right now. But it’s time to make God’s work the center of our attention! Build my house saith the Lord.  Amen! Build My House!

Now, let’s continue with 1:3-5.

“Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.”

Here we go, what does our house look like? The things we want, the outward appearance, the fleshly or carnal things in our lives…we make sure we complete these things, but God’s house, the spiritual man, lay waste? Our house is looking all good while God’s house looks a mess. We are concerned with the outward appearance but God is concerned with our hearts.

V5 says “Consider your ways.” I like that the NIV says “Give careful thoughts to your ways.” Are our ways lining up with the word of God? Are we walking in the flesh rather than the spirit? What are we doing? Where are we going? And who is leading us? Now watch God repeat this in later verses.

Verses 6-7:

^“Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.”

In all our work, where is our money going? Why does is seem to disappear faster than we receive it? Why does it seem we are still missing something? Consider your ways says the Lord. God wants us to take a look at ourselves for a moment here and consider our ways.

Verses 8-9:

“Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.”

God wants to take pleasure in us. He wants to be glorified in us. The NIV uses the word honored. He wants to be honored in us. How? Go up to the mountain. Take some time away for God. Spend some time with him. Go and consider your ways and see if you are lining up with HIS ways. Go up with prayer and THE WORD OF GOD and BUILD HIS HOUSE. Amen!

Verse 9 says He blew on their stuff.  God will blow on our blessings---and poof it’s gone like the wind. You know what he’s going to do with our blessings if we don’t build his house? Not only is he going to blow on it, but  he’s going to give our blessings to the one who IS building HIS house; His good and faithful servants. Who much is given more will be given.

Matthew 13:12 says, “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”

Matthew 25:28 says, “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

But why will God take away their stuff? Why will God take away or blow on your goods, your blessings?

Verse 9 continues and says it’s because of the condition I have left HIS house while I run to do my OWN business. We are busy doing what we want to do, building our own house, and God’s house lie dormant.

We wonder why we are not spiritual anymore. We wonder why we are not connecting with God anymore. We wonder why we can’t hear him like we use to. Well, what has changed? Did you use to build God’s house, but now you’re more concerned about you and the cares of life? Maybe you have never experienced a spiritual connection with God. Well, have you spent quality time with him in the word of God and prayer earnestly seeking him with all your heart?

We need to build God’s house… and make God’s work the center of our attention.  We spend too much time focused on worthless things and little or no time with the Lord. God knows our hearts. We get what we put in and our blessings are connected to the building of His house.

Verses10-11:

“Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.”

The bible says because of us, the blessings are bound up. It is because God’s house, our spiritual man, STILL lay in ruin.

WE withhold our own blessings from God. We are not CONSIDERING GOD’S WAYS, therefore, he BLOWS on our finances, he BLOWS on our increase, and he WITHHOLDS the windows of heaven from breaking forth for our own good because we need to be seeking HIM. But what are we doing? We are building up the things of this world more so than the things of God in our lives.

Little do we know, that if we just build this spiritual house, God’s house, (for we are the temple of God, the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people), God will set our things in order. Amen! If we build his house, our house will be in order, and we will be blessed.

Verse12-13:

“Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord. Then spake Haggai the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord.”

Then, they obeyed God and feared him. It’s like a child when they are chastened for wrong doing. They take heed, AFTER they have received correction and a withholding of blessing. Then, they obey and then, they fear. When God corrects us and blows on our stuff and withholds his goodness, then we need to follow in suit like a child, and obey and fear God like the father that he is.

God says He is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. We are his bride, but the rod is but a reach away so be mindful how you build his house.

1 Cor. 3:10-11 says, “But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

If we are not grounded and founded in Christ FIRST, we are at a great disadvantage and lost. Our foundation must be the Lord Jesus and we must build upon that, the word of God and prayer, to reap in the spirit and in the physical.

Verse 14:

^“And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.”

God stirred up the spirit of the people and they went forth and worked on the House of the Lord.

There needs to be a STIRRING in the spirit of the people, but for that STIRRING to go forth, we have to put on obedience and the fear of the Lord and build God’s house on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

How many of you know that when GOD stirs up something, there is going to be a shifting in the atmosphere?

Saints of God, He is calling us and desiring us to be stirred up in the spirit, so that WE can do the works of the LORD. It’s time to work in the house of the Lord. We are his house and He is with us and will dwell in us. We must make him our habitation. Hallelujah!

Walk in the Spirit,

Prophetess Deanna Mack