The Faith That Pleases God
What is essential to pleasing God. Giving? Attending church? Witnessing? Praying? What is the key to pleasing God? What is the one thing without which we cannot please God? Faith, and particularly, the faith that pleases God.
Heb 11:5-6, says, “Without faith it is impossible to please him.” Enoch had this testimony, that he pleased God. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death.
Heb 11:6 says, “For he that cometh to God must believe that he is…” However, it doesn’t take faith, or much faith, to come to God. Many have prayed prayers like, “God if you are there…”, or “if you are God…”, or “Whoever you are, please help me.”
The rich young ruler came to Jesus looking for eternal life. Peter came to Jesus on the water with little faith, and doubting, Matt 14:31. If you think about it, Jesus draws all men to himself, Jn 12:32. They don’t all believe on him, but they are all drawn. So, coming to him doesn’t take much faith.
The Faith That Pleases God Is The Faith:
That Believes God Is
In Ex 3:14, at the burning bush, God identified himself as, “I am that I am.” When you first get saved, you’ll realize that he is the only true God. You’ll understand that he is not all those other so called gods.
However, as you grow, you’ll see that the faith that pleases God believes that he is. For instance, in Jn 6, when the multitude returned to Jesus the day after he fed the 5,000, he said, “I am the bread of life.” He was saying, the bread is not the answer to your need, I am.
In 1 Cor 10:13, when you bear a temptation, it’s not the escape you need but the “way to escape.” In other words, most of us look for the escape not the way. And Jesus said, “I am the way,” Jn 14:6. He’s saying, the escape is not the answer to bearing the temptation, I am.
In Jn 11, after Lazarus died, Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” Jesus replied, “Thy brother shall rise again.” Martha thought he was talking about Lazarus rising at the last day. He wasn’t. So, Jesus further stated, “I am the resurrection.” And then he raised Lazarus from the dead. He was saying, getting healed is not the answer to sickness and death, I am.
Whatever you’re facing or whatever your need, he is. Don’t spend your time looking for the thing you need or the answer that you think will work. Look for God. Have faith in God with the faith that believes he is. He is the answer; he is the solution.
That Believes God Is The Rewarder
God is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We are not to seek the seen solution to the apparent need. We are to diligently seek God, though he can’t be seen.
In Matt 8, the centurion diligently sought Jesus to come heal his son. In humility he explained that he was not worthy that Jesus should come under his roof. He knew that Jesus could just say the word and heal his son. Thus, Jesus rewarded the centurion’s faith and healed his son.
In Matt 15, the Canaanite woman diligently sought Jesus to cast the devil out of her daughter. She knew that he was the Messiah. Against the protests of the disciples and the opposition of the Lord, she persisted. She humbled herself. Thus, Jesus rewarded her faith and he healed her daughter.
In the gospels, this centurion and Canaanite woman are the only people who are noted for such great faith. They both diligently sought him, and he rewarded both of then for their faith. The faith that pleases God is the faith that believes the God is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
That Believes God Can Do Anything
No job is too big for God. The angel said to Mary, regarding the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, “With God nothing shall be impossible,” Lk 1:37.
God gave old Sarah a son. He gave the virgin Mary a son. The Lord raised Lazarus from the dead. And God raised his own Son from the dead. God can do anything.
In Matt 17:20, Jesus told his disciples, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.”
When Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection…” he asked her if she believed this. She didn’t really believe he could raise him right then. When he said to Peter, “Come,” Peter didn’t really believe that he could come all the way to Jesus in that storm.
Imagine what faith it took for the father of that son in Matt 17 to believe that Jesus could heal his son. After all those misfires from the disciples, he needed a lot of faith to believe that Jesus could do it. Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth,” Mk 9:23. The father replied, “ Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief,” Mk 9:24. He believed that Jesus could heal him.
Imagine the faith that Enoch had when God translated him, Heb 11:5. Evidently, Enoch believed God could translate him, and he did. Hence, Enoch’s faith became the example of the faith that pleases God.
Conclusion
The faith that pleases God is the faith that believes that God can do whatever you need. Quit looking at the need and the solution you see. Quit limiting God to what you already know he can do. Look to God. The faith that pleases God is the faith the believes He is. Believe that he is your rewarder when you seek him diligently. And believe that he can do anything, no matter how seemingly impossible. God is pleased with this kind of faith.