PLEASING GOD THROUGH SEXUAL INTEGRITY (6 OF 13)
by Drew Hunter
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
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Pleasing God through Sexual Integrity (6 of 13)
1-2 Thessalonians: Until He Comes
Drew Hunter
1 Thessalonians 4: 1-8
C.S. Lewis wrote an essay called ''the weight of glory.'' In it he wrote this: ''To please God . . . to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness . . . to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son - it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.''
Is it possible to please God? A God who has no need of anything. A God who is infinitely happy in himself, in the fellowship of the Trinity.
And yet, the Bible says that it is possible to bring pleasure to God.
That God could have pleasure... and that that pleasure could be somehow connected to you, and what you do. This is surprising.
It is surprising because the Bible is so clear that everyone has displeased God.
- We have all sinned and fallen short of reflecting God's glory. We have all turned away from him in our affections. We have valued the gifts more than the Giver. Because we haven't trusted him, Romans 8:8 describes all of us at one point: ''the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.''
- God has not been pleased by us. In fact, his wrath has rested over us.
- Yet Jesus took the wrath of God for all who trust him. He absorbed the divine displeasure for us.
- And now we stand before God cleansed. Holy, righteous, and pleasing in his sight. Isaiah 62 says that God delights in his people. He rejoices over us like a groom rejoices over a bride (Isa 62:4-5). So, God rejoices in his people.
But we can say more: God is not just pleased as we trust Christ... he is also pleased as we obey him.
Before we come to Christ, nothing we do ultimately pleases God. Because nothing is done out of faith. But as we trust in Christ, we begi ...
1-2 Thessalonians: Until He Comes
Drew Hunter
1 Thessalonians 4: 1-8
C.S. Lewis wrote an essay called ''the weight of glory.'' In it he wrote this: ''To please God . . . to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness . . . to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son - it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.''
Is it possible to please God? A God who has no need of anything. A God who is infinitely happy in himself, in the fellowship of the Trinity.
And yet, the Bible says that it is possible to bring pleasure to God.
That God could have pleasure... and that that pleasure could be somehow connected to you, and what you do. This is surprising.
It is surprising because the Bible is so clear that everyone has displeased God.
- We have all sinned and fallen short of reflecting God's glory. We have all turned away from him in our affections. We have valued the gifts more than the Giver. Because we haven't trusted him, Romans 8:8 describes all of us at one point: ''the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.''
- God has not been pleased by us. In fact, his wrath has rested over us.
- Yet Jesus took the wrath of God for all who trust him. He absorbed the divine displeasure for us.
- And now we stand before God cleansed. Holy, righteous, and pleasing in his sight. Isaiah 62 says that God delights in his people. He rejoices over us like a groom rejoices over a bride (Isa 62:4-5). So, God rejoices in his people.
But we can say more: God is not just pleased as we trust Christ... he is also pleased as we obey him.
Before we come to Christ, nothing we do ultimately pleases God. Because nothing is done out of faith. But as we trust in Christ, we begi ...
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