Pleasing People or Pleasing God
Pleasing People or Pleasing God
Devotional
The Christian life isn't a popularity contest. We can't seek to gain the approval of people and God at the same time. It is absolutely one or the other.
If we seek the approval of people, then God will reject us.
Seeking approval from people is a massive problem in the American Church. Church growth may look good, but it doesn't speak to a church seeking to please God; it shows that that church is great at pleasing people.
Discipling people is seeking to please God. Why? That is what Jesus commanded us to do. Discipling people is difficult and is guaranteed to offend them. However, seeking someone's spiritual growth and maturity is what God wants.
That process of growth is painful because being pruned hurts. We can only be properly pruned if we let people speak the hard truth about us to us. We can only help others to be pruned if we are willing to speak the hard truth to them. That involves not seeking to please people.
That is precisely what Paul was doing when he wrote his letter to the saints in Galatia. He saw where they were allowing heresy to infiltrate them and was seeking for them to cut it out. That would never have happened if Paul were trying to gain their approval. You don't call other people foolish and gain their approval.
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
Galatians 3:1
Paul said what needed to be said to the Galatians, not what they wanted to hear. Why? Because Paul sought to please God.
If we want to see the church in America be godly once again, we must be willing to say what needs to be said, regardless if it offends people.
We must be willing to please God once again.
More resources to help you:
On this show, I go through the Lord's Prayer to see how we can be aligned with God.
God commands us not to judge by appearance but by the heart of someone. How do we do this? What does that look like for us?
dear brother David----very good message...Holy Spirit was saying same thing to our church yesterday...i go to a very large church because only decent true bible teaching and believing fellowship within my reach....our dear lead Pastor not even 40 but has tremendous leadership and admin skills and strong gift of Mercy....he said he was stopped in his tracks by Ecclesiastes 7...i wont reprint all verses but highlights...."He who hates reproof is stupid"...believe ESV?...Attend funerals not just birthdays....reflect and meditate as often as you might celebrate....Accept rebuke, dodge flattery...choose integrity over opportunity...be patient when provoked...Endure suffering....i love the Body of believers brother David...for only place i honestly feel safe...but i was also praying for all grace and mercy Christ might afford that i bear authentic fruit of repentance in areas i was convicted....
Eph 6:13..:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand....vs 14..."Stand therefore..."....things are going to get far more difficult.Helps O Lord to draw near to You and Your Beloved Body in Jesus name amen...and people pleasing is actually a mark that we are backsliding....help us O Lord to Rest in You amen