The Lord’s Delight 1 Sam 15: 22 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

If we can see from the scriptures the Lord’s delight, then we can do those things with the certainty that he will be pleased.  What are the things that are the Lord’s delight?  The Lord delights in:

Obedience – 1 Sam 15:22 – Samuel instructed Saul to kill all the Amalekites and to kill all their cattle.  Instead, he killed most of the Amalekites and most of their animals.  He spared King Agag and he spared the best of the sheep and oxen, telling Samuel that those animals were to sacrifice to the Lord.  In his mind, Saul believed that he had obeyed the Lord.  He hadn’t.

The nature of man is to do what he wants to do while doing just enough of what he thinks God wants him to do.  He thinks God should be pleased with his “sacrifice.”  For instance, men do as they please all week and then go to church on Sunday.  They go through their once a week ritual, and leave feeling good that they have done enough “sacrifice” to please God.  They’re just like Saul, who disobeyed God and thought he could buy God off with a burnt offering.  David found out that God wasn’t impressed with burnt offerings [Ps 51:16-17].  God delights in a broken and a contrite heart that obeys him.

If you want the Lord to delight in you, obey him.  Obedience is the Lord’s delight.  Be very careful to keep from disobeying God because of the pressure you feel from others.

Wisdom – Prov 8:30 – In Prov 8, wisdom is personified.  She cries to the sons of man, “O ye simple, understand wisdom: and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.”  God is looking for wisdom in us.  He is not interested in how clever or witty we can be with our inventions [Prov 8:12].  He delights to see us live by the wisdom that he offers us.  The Lord asked Solomon what he wanted and Solomon asked for wisdom and understanding.  Look what the queen of Sheba said when she saw and heard Solomon’s wisdom [1 Ki 10:6-9].  The Lord delighted in Solomon because of the wisdom by which Solomon lived, the wisdom that God had given him.

If you want the Lord to delight in you, learn his wisdom from the Bible and live by and speak with the wisdom he offers you.  Don’t waste your time trying to impress God with the wisdom of this world.  He’s not impressed.

A just weight – Prov 11:1 – the Lord likes a balanced scale.  He wants the weight that measures the items in the scale to be accurate.  And he wants the same weight used whether you are buying or selling.  It is not uncommon for a merchant to use a lighter weight in the scale when he’s selling and a heavier weight in the scale when he’s buying, so that he can make more money.  That’s unjust.

Men are commonly unjust.  They judge others more harshly than they judge themselves [Matt 7:1-5].  Apply the same measure to yourself as you do to others.  And use the right standard.  Judge yourself by the words of God.  And then line up with his judgment.  God delights in that.  God delights in you when you are upright [Prov 11:20], not when you justify yourself by your own measure.  God delights in you when you deal truly [Prov 12:22], not when you deal falsely while pretending that you’re right, like the hypocritical Pharisees did.

The prayer of the upright – Prov 15:8 – when you are obedient, when you live by God’s wisdom, when your life is properly balanced, and you pray, God delights in that.  We don’t pray nearly enough for the sole purpose of putting a smile on God’s face.  We pray, of course.  But wouldn’t it be something if we prayed right in line with the intercessory ministry of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ [Rom 8:26, 34]?  God would delight in those prayers.

Listen, God is not nearly as interested in how much you can do for him as he is in how much he can do through you.  And he works through you as you pray.  Everybody wants others to be impressed by their physical strength and talent.  Those things mean nothing to the Lord.  He takes no delight in your strength [Ps 147:10].  He delights in your prayer when you are upright.  

Mercy – Mic 7:18-20 – the Lord delights in mercy.  He is going to be merciful to Israel.  Until now, they have rejected Jesus Christ, their Messiah.  Yet, they will turn to him and God will have mercy on their iniquities, “because he delighteth in mercy.”  

If you haven’t received Jesus Christ, yet, and you are concerned about what will happen to you in eternity because of the sins you have committed, then trust Jesus Christ, who paid for your sins.  The Lord will pardon you because he delights in mercy.

Conclusion: the Lord delights in obedience, so, obey him.  The Lord delights in wisdom, so, read the Bible and ask him for wisdom, and then live by the wisdom his gives you.  The Lord delights in a just weight.  So, weigh everything by the standard of the King James Bible and apply it justly to you and to others.  The Lord delights in the prayer of the upright.  So, be upright and pray.  And if you aren’t saved yet, then turn from your sin and trust Jesus, because he delights in mercy.