Gospel—John Bilisoly
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Once again, I'd like to welcome you to the gospel meeting as uh, was done Friday night and Saturday night. Umm, maybe you were out those, there's someone here that was at those gospel meetings that is still struggling with, umm, salvation that still has not come to the Lord Jesus as Savior, to accept him as Savior as a remedy for their sins through the work of the cross and his shed blood.
If you're in that case, I'd like to share with you that there's a verse in the book of Job, I think it's the 33rd chapter, and somewhere down around verse 14, and a man named Eli Hugh is speaking to Job and he says this God speaketh once, yeah, twice. Yet man perceiveth it not.
I don't know if this is your third Gospel meeting, this conference. I don't know, umm, if you're going to refuse again, I don't know how many times God will allow you another opportunity. That doesn't say that in that verse. It doesn't say God speaketh three times. Perhaps he will give you another opportunity, but the important thing is don't put it off.
I'd like to sing #6.
And in particular, I, umm, was wanna emphasize the second verse of number six on our hymn hymn sheet. Sin and death. No more will shall reign. Jesus died and lives again in the glorious highest height. See him. God's supreme delight. I was just struck by those words. God's supreme delight.
Umm, what I have on my heart this evening or this afternoon.
Is to speak about what pleases God that we have in his word. And I wanna look at that subject and see what we can find. It's a, it's a big subject. We won't be able to cover all the references, but it's a wonderful subject to think of what pleases God. Man is in this world to see what he can find to please himself. Perhaps you're feeling that way. What can I find to please myself?
Well.
I hope that by the end of this meeting you will see value in seeking to do what pleases God. Well, let's sing this to Him. Maybe someone can raise the tune for us.
God and mercy satisfied.
One realistic on my life.
Yeah, no worries already.
To die remembrance like again.
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Little rain.
Every.
Song at last will hold you through the pride of my own.
You might have heard the story about the man that was walking and looking in the windows of the shops and he went by a clock shop and there was a clock there in that window that had a plaque that had been.
Inscribed upon and it was on that mounted on that clock and it had two words another time.
And as I recall the story, if I remember right, that man was a man that was under conviction, but he was one that often would say another time he would hear the glad tidings and he would say another time and that spoke to him. And as I understand or remember, I believe that he was saved through that. Maybe you are like that tonight, Maybe you are saying.
Another time, maybe you have said that many times.
You know, you don't know if you're going to have another time. So we would urge upon you tonight as you hear the Gospel that if you are still in your sins, turn to the Lord Jesus. Don't say another time. You don't know what will happen. You don't know if you'll have another opportunity. Well, as I mentioned, I wanted to speak about things that we are told that please God.
And we know that.
When we talk about the word please, we're talking about it in the, in its verb tense. It means to, to satisfy, to bring gratification to, uh, to delight. It Could we could refer to it that way. And I wanted to look at that subject in Scripture. So to start with, let's turn to.
Umm, Hebrews Chapter 11, because we want to establish at the very beginning.
Uh, concerning this thought of pleasing God, we want to establish a few things here right from the start. So we find in verse six of Hebrews 11, we find some words that are very emphatic. We cannot misunderstand what it is saying. It says without faith, it is impossible to please Him.
For he that cometh to God must believe that he is.
And that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Dear one, tonight in this room, I wanna establish at the very outset of this little meeting that without faith it is impossible to please God. That's what the word of God says. Who are you gonna believe? You're gonna believe your own reasoning mind or the reasons of men or are you going to listen to God's word that says.
Without faith, it's impossible to please him.
What is faith?
Faith is, uh, as we sometimes sing is a very simple word, though little understood. You know, it's, it's umm, it's never ceased to amaze me how.
Men and women go on every day of their lives and in a sense they are living out and practicing this thought of faith and I'll explain what I mean. I call it subconscious faith. Umm, I noticed that some moved around in their seats to different locations and came in a little closer. I appreciate that.
Umm Barry, I noticed you moved over here and I I wanted to ask you.
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When you moved into that road there, did you have any concern that that light fixture that you're under might fall down? No, OK. I mean, uh, Barry wasn't concerned about that or I'm sure he wouldn't have moved his sister and her husband and his wife into that role. Umm, how about all of us here? Did we have any thoughts that we might, uh.
Come into this room and that this whole ceiling could collapse on us.
I don't think we even gave it a thought. Uh, we climb into our cars, we take off down the road, we're coming up on the a stop sign or a stop light and we get into break. We begin to break. Do we have any concerns or thoughts that these brakes might not work and I'm going to go flying through that light. We probably don't even think about that most of the time.
We put a lot of faith in that which man has done.
We have faith that however they anchored these lights, the architects, that we're pretty sure they're gonna stay up there. So we're not really concerned about sitting under Maori, Jim, that they're gonna fall down and do a lot of damage. Umm, you know, there's just so many examples like that. We get on the elevator. Many of us are using the elevators, some of us are using the stairs.
Uh, not because of this, but umm, we get on those elevators.
And we don't even think that they're not gonna work. I got stuck on an elevator once and it wasn't very pleasant. Uh, we were probably on it at all 20 minutes or so before, uh, help came and they were able to, to override whatever was wrong with the elevator and, and get us down. Umm, things fail like that, but we have a lot of faith, umm, on in what man has has done, isn't it? Isn't it rather, umm, amazing, isn't it?
To remarkable that men put so much faith in what their fellow man has created that they depend on you climb on the airplane and you probably have had this thought. I usually do is I hope these are good pilots. Uh, I hope they're sober. I hope they, uh, really have a desire to, to get us to our destination safely. Uh, we think about those things, we pray about those things, but we don't live in fear of those things.
But you know, people in the world, you think, why aren't they in fear of that, that these things could all fail and yet they'll trust man, but they won't trust God. They won't trust God concerning their eternal souls, destiny. Doesn't that remarkable that man put so much faith in everything else. But when it comes to God, when it comes to divine things, No, no, he's, he's.
He turns away from it. He doesn't have the faith to believe.
Because faith is a gift from God. And dear ones, tonight I hope that if you are in your sins, I hope that you will be given the faith to believe the gospel tonight. So without faith, it is impossible to please him. We'll turn to one more verse to establish this fact in another way. Enrollments, uh, given to us there a little differently.
In Romans chapter 8.
So the apostle Paul here is is talking about the flesh that principle of evil that is in every man that was born in Adam's race. That's all of us has this principle of evil at work in him that Paul is calling the flesh and he says in verse eight they so then they that are in the flesh cannot.
Please God.
Pure ones tonight. Take God at his word. Here is 2 uh.
Two testimonies to the fact that without faith and in the flesh you cannot please God. God has given adequate testimony to the fact that nothing outside of faith will please him. And so why try? Why are you trying to come up with your own scheme, your own estimation of what might please God?
Whatever it might be, maybe you think that if you.
Give to worthy causes of your means, money or whatever that might be, that will please God. Umm, maybe you think that if you seek to do the best you can and and live, umm, an upright life before your fellow man, you don't cheat him, you don't cheat your employer. You, you seek to live in an honorable way that that will please God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
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They that are in the flesh cannot please God.
How planar can God make it to us that there is no way to please him outside of faith, faith in what he has done and which we'll get into now. Let's go to umm. Now that we've established that, let's go back and let's start at the beginning. We, we've talked some about creation, the wonders of creation, the marvel of it. Let's look at a verse in Psalm 115.
I think it's so amazing to think about the creation, the heavens and so on, and the stars and the sun, the moon, so many things. But here in Psalm 115, Psalmist says in verse 3.
Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. You know, I, I think it's good to establish that at the beginning too, that God, when he created the heavens and the earth, he created it according to his pleasure. And we're told that when we look at that record of creation in Genesis 1.
And he creates different aspects of what we know of of as our world now.
It says he saw that it was good, and then he creates man and in his own image and likeness. And when he's done with that, he says at the end of it he saw that it was very good. You know, God did these things as God as he pleased. He didn't take, umm, instructions from anyone else but God.
Created them for His pleasure.
And it says that for his pleasure, they are and were created these different things. So you think of all the variety of, in the animal Kingdom, you think of, uh, uh, the celestial creation and so on. It's all for God's pleasure. He it was, wasn't it what they are and were created for his pleasure. And then when you think of man made in his likeness and image, I think there's a difference there.
Umm, sometimes the image is more the thought of, of a reflection of something else without Rea really any, uh, regard to its like the features. It's not so much that it looks alike, but it, it represents something else kind of like the Lord. It says of the Lord that he was the image of the invisible God. Uh, he represented, you might say the Godhead and we'll look at a verse for that.
Umm, sometimes we look at a child and we say, look at a little boy and we we, we see his father and we say.
He's the image of his father. Umm, we don't make anyone an offender for a word, but in the way it's used in, uh, our Bible, in the, the Old Testament, it would be better to say he's, he's the likeness of his father because likeness has to do with characteristics that are similar and so on. And so when, uh, when Seth was born, I'll, I'll just read that verse because it kind of brings the two together.
And in Genesis chapter five, you don't need to to turn to it, but it says and Adam lived in 130 years verse four or verse 3.
And begat a son in his own likeness and in his own likeness after his image and called his name Seth. So, umm, Seth, not only, uh, in a sense, you might say, had some features of, of his father that you would say, oh, that's that, that must be one of Adam's sons. Umm, he also was to represent his father.
And when God created man, he created man to represent him on this earth, to be his representative. He, He made him in his image.
And in his likeness, I think that's beautiful to think about, uh, God doing that and doing it as he pleased. Uh, another verse to support this thought of God doing as he pleased in creation is in the 135th Psalm. So just turn over a few pages in your Bibles to Psalm 135.
And it says in verse 6 whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven and in earth.
In the seas and in and all deep places. So the Lord did as he pleased. He He had a perfect plan, and He didn't consult with you and I. And He did it in perfection, and He did it for His pleasure.
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Now let's, uh, so, so to carry that on, God creates man in his own image and in his likeness and man doesn't do a good job of representing him. And pretty soon it wasn't long before, very short time later, sin comes into the world and the representation of God is ruined by sin. Uh, that which man was to represent.
God to be God's representative on his behalf.
Man fails in that. So God has now a situation where that what she created in His likeness and image is not representing him, is not like Him at all. And so God has to go back to work. You might say God has to begin to deal with this situation that we call sin that came into His creation.
And so.
We know that, uh, God does deal with that. He deals with it through the flood. And as we've, we've had in these meetings, umm, there was a, a new earth that Noah and his wife and his sons and their wife stepped out onto, but it wasn't long before man failed again in his representation of God and, and being in God's image. And so sin comes back in.
And spoils it. And this goes on and on and on. And so we know that God has to bring in.
Something else. And that is where salvation comes in through the work of His Son the Lord Jesus. And so let's see what God the Godhead does concerning this issue. Let's go to Colossians and read a verse.
There I mean Colossians chapter one.
What is God going to do concerning this?
Well, in Colossians chapter one.
It says in verse 19.
For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.
We could look at a little different translation of that and we could, uh, read it this way. For in him all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell. For in him the Lord Jesus, all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell. So we know that, umm, God is going to send his Son, the Lord Jesus.
And the Lord Jesus is going to be the representation.
On this earth of the Godhead, it's marvelous to think about that God coming down in the person of a man to represent him. Beautiful to think of the Lord being, uh, presented in this way, in this, in this, uh, Colossians one. And it says that it pleased.
The Godhead.
It pleased the Godhead to do this.
Isn't that marvelous to think that man had ruined God's perfect creation and.
Had UMM made a a terrible mess of things and God sends his Son in the likeness of man into this world to represent him concerning this, But if the Lord would have just come as God's representation?
And lived a perfect upright life, which he did. What would that have failed you and I as sinners? And so God goes further in that, doesn't he and what he's doing here. And so we have, uh, we have not only the Lord Jesus coming in time into this world, representing the Godhead as a man on this earth.
But we see him living a life down here.
As a man going through the experiences that you and I go through and culminating in the cross. But before we get to that, let's look at the testimony of his life that we have so often in the word of God. And let's go to Second Peter to pick up on this. So in Second Peter chapter one.
It says.
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Second Peter chapter one and verse 17.
Well, I'll read in verse, uh, sixteen. Start there, for Peter is speaking here, for we have not followed cunningly devised fables.
When we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His Majesty, For he received from God the Father honor and glory. When there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Now, we won't take the time to look at the references to these, but there's six times in the Gospels that this expression, umm, this is my beloved son and whom I am well pleased are given. There's three in Matthew, there's one in Mark, there's one in Luke, and there's this one that we have in Peter.
So, umm, 6 times.
And we have this expression, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. It's like, uh, God is, is not only going to mention it to us once. He's not only going to mention it to us twice, he's going to keep reminding us of this. And then all of the witnesses that he uses the, the writers of the gospels, umm, with the exception of John, he gives us this expression, This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.
This one, that God that represents the Godhead that came into this world, this one perfectly satisfies the heart of God. He is one that God is well pleased with. And so if we want an example of one that pleases God.
Of a man on this earth that pleases God. Let's look at the Lord Jesus. He's our supreme example.
We have 4 gospels that detail to us his life, umm, down on this earth. We also have the Spirit of Christ given to us in the Psalms. So we have much in scripture to encourage us as men concerning a man that was in this world that perfectly honored and glorified the Father and one in whom God could say I am well pleased.
Beautiful. He holds a distinct place that no other man.
Could possibly hold in all of God's thoughts and God's counsels and God's heart of love. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. You know, we had quite a bit this morning in our morning meeting about him doing the will of his Father, even when that will meant going to Calvary's cross and being made sin the sinless one. We cannot.
Begin to enter into what that meant to him.
To be made soon, but he did it in perfect obedience to His Father. And I was thinking this morning in the meeting of that verse in John eight, I think it is. And it's somewhere around verse 29. And it says this at the end of the verse. It says the Lord is speaking to those his own and those around him. And he says, I do always.
Those things please my father. Now none of us could ever say that.
Of any relationship that we were in, whether it was husband to wife, wife to husband, uh, child to parent, none of us could ever say. I do always those things that please my father. I do always those things that please my wife. That would be very presumptuous and and absolute lie, but this one did always those things.
That pleased his father. What a wonderful one we have to look to.
He's our example, umm, he's the, the, the standard, you might say, uh, the one that we look to, the pattern for us. He's the one that we can look at if we want to see what pleases God. Look at his life, look at what he did in different situations. Look how he responded when he was, uh.
Umm tormented because our brother was bringing out after at the close of the meeting.
His tormentors, what they did to him, look at how he responded. We can learn so much from looking at him. He's the one that pleased the Father. Now let's, uh, let's go on and look at, uh, a verse in Isaiah 53 that we're familiar with.
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So we talked about this one that came into this world and the testimony of God concerning Him and how He walked in perfect obedience to His Father.
Always honoring him.
And then, like I said, he could have been here and done all of that. But where would we be if it wasn't for the work of Calvary's cross? And so God goes further. He sends this blessed One who is all his delight to represent him. And then it says in verse 10, we're going to look at just this verse.
Of Isaiah 53 yet it pleased.
Jehovah to bruise him, he hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. Have you ever pondered that and thought about that? The significance of and what I'm what I have to say is gonna be very shallow. I'm sure it will only be scratching the surface of of this subject.
Of how the Lord pleased God in His work on the cross.
But here it seems more that the emphasis is on it. Please God to bruise him. And you might say, why would it be put that way? Why would it be put that God was pleased to bruise him well?
For one thing, when you think of.
The glory that was brought to God the Father concerning the question of sin. Sin had come into His creation and here was one who was going to answer to that in a perfect way, and God was going to be glorified as a result of His work concerning this question of sin.
God was going to be not only glorified, but he was going to be eternally satisfied by the sacrifice that the Lord was, was going to make on Calvary's cross because of sin. And we don't have time to, to go into it, but umm, I, I'm sure you've enjoyed and heard this before that when John sees, umm, the Lord Jesus.
In John one there, and he makes that proclamation, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away.
The sin of the world that it's not sins there because it's it's dealing more with the question of sin the the larger issue of sin. It's not the Lord's dying for my sins and his propitiation for my sins there. It's it's taking away the sin of the world. And because of his work on the cross, the Lord Jesus has not only provided a remedy for my sins individually, but he settled.
The question of God.
Concerning sin and not only settled the question, but he's his because of his work on the cross. The the final outcome of that work will be that sin will be eradicated. When we get to the eternal state, there will be no such thing as sin. It will have been eradicated the work of Calvary's cross.
Is so far reaching that the Lord as the Lamb of God, God's providing.
Has taken away the sin of the world. It's it's still future in the sense that the final, umm, you might say the, the completion of that has not been seen yet. We still live in a scene of sin. We still see the effects of sin in the Millennium. There's still going to be sin. It's going to be judged every morning. Umm, it will be a righteous reign. But when we get to the, the eternal state, righteousness will dwell. Sin will have been completely eradicated.
And it's because the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world. I think it's marvelous to try and enter into that. I feel like I explained, uh, it very feebly, but, but just to leave that, that little, uh, seed with you, uh, what a wonderful, far reaching effect his work has had. Well, I need to move on in this first. That goes on to say.
Umm, he shall see his seed Will stop there a minute. He shall see his seed. I think this is another beautiful thought.
You know, for a Jew to not have any posterity, to not have any children was a thing of shame. It was a, it was a very, umm, hard thing for a Jew to bear not having children. An example that comes to mind is with, uh, Zacharias in umm, in Luke's Gospel chapter one, we see him there, he and his wife Elizabeth, she was barren. That was a thing of reproach for a Jewish woman.
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And it looked as if, you know, the Lord could speak of being cut off in the midst of his days, and it looked as if the Lord was going to pass out of the scene with no seed, with no posterity. And that would have been a, a very much of A reproach. But it says here in this prophecy, which is amazing, that Isaiah would bring it out in this way.
He shall see his seed.
You know, our brothers, uh, uh, just have the, the address of brother Doug. He talked about 1/4 of wheat falling into the ground and dying that we have in John 12 There. And if it, uh, corner wheat FA except it fall into the ground and, and diet a bite us alone. But if it dieth, it bring us forth much fruit. And so you think of, of the Lord Jesus there as that corner wheat as he was, umm, gave up his life.
And as a result of that, after that work was finished.
Umm, he can then say in Hebrews 2, he can, as it were, present all of his seed before the Father, and he can say, Behold, I and the children which thou hast given me. Isn't it beautiful to think that his seed, he shall see his seed. Yes, He was cut off in the midst of his days, but God ruled overruled in all of that, and as a result of his obedience, he is going to have.
Uh, tremendous result from that, a bountiful harvest. And he's still harvesting souls today, as our brother said, and we can share with him in that. That's a wonderful privilege. That's why we have gospel meetings. But I just enjoyed that thought of he shall see his seed. He's going to have a spiritual posterity. He's going, he's got, he's bringing many sons to glory. I hope you're among that.
Number this evening that you can say that you are his, that you are going to to be among that seed. What a wonderful thing that is. And then it goes on to say.
He shall prolong his days well.
Because of his death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus has an old death. Death hasn't been destroyed yet. And Paul can talk about the last enemy to be destroyed in in First Corinthians. I think it's maybe in the first chapter and I can't remember for sure.
He says the last enemy to be destroyed is death. So we know there is a coming day when again, as a result of what the Lord has done on Calvary's cross, death is going to be destroyed. It's not destroyed yet, but it has been annulled. The power of death has no more claim over us. Umm, in a sense. So when we pass away, if the Lord calls us home before his coming.
It's looked at as sleep, because sleep is something that's temporary.
And so you and I as believers that pass away, we are asleep in Jesus. We're not dead in the sense of, of death as we think of it. And so he shall prolong his days resurrection. Just think of that. He's, uh, risen from among the dead and he's the glorified man and the glory of death has no more power over him.
It, it can't touch him. It's he's, uh, we, we get it so beautifully in the.
The 15th of of First Corinthians. At the end there it says, uh, he says.
Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is thy sting, O brave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus has an old death. What a wonderful thing. And then it says.
At the end there and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. What does that mean? Well, I think at least this much that, uh, because of what the Lord Jesus again has done, blessing can go out to all the earth, uh, because of, of his work. And so it's wonderful, isn't it, to see these, these things that have been.
The result of his work on the cross? Well, let's just, uh, pick up a few more here before we finish up.
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Umm wanna go on now to umm, another one in UMM.
First Corinthians, chapter one.
Something else that pleases God.
First Corinthians chapter one and verse UH-12.
21.
For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the preaching of foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Now back up just a few verses to verse 18.
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. You know this is a wonderful thing, that umm, it says here that it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. You know, when you think about it from a purely natural earthly standpoint.
The story of the cross. Someone being taken.
And crucified and put to death who has come as the Savior, as the deliverer to the natural heart of man. That sounds like foolishness. To take someone and put them to death and say that that's going to be the means of salvation and blessing is hard for man to conceive. And to him is foolishness. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.
So you and I that have been saved, well, we we look back, don't we? We've been brought into God's family and we can see the value.
Of what the Lord Jesus did on the cross and the absolute necessity of it. But standing on the other side, it's hard for the natural man to see this. He just thinks that God's plan of salvation is foolishness. But oh, it's wonderful, isn't it, that it's that very thing that man would say is foolish, it pleases God to have.
The cross preached, the cross of Christ preached and present, the Lord presented as the Savior of sinners.
Whenever God hears that it pleases him, it tells us that it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. I'm sure thankful for those that preach to me. I don't uh, remember much about it, but because I was had the privilege of being brought up in a Christian home and from my very earliest memories I was brought to where the gospel was preached.
And I do remember this assurance of my salvation coming when I told my mother one time.
That I was the saved, that I was the Lord's. I don't remember a specific moment of being saved. I'm not sure that, uh, we, we have to know that I'm, I'm thankful that we don't, umm, it's nice when we can, when we have that memory, but I, I believe with all my heart that I am his and he delights when we have opportunity. And it doesn't have to be at a setting like this.
When we can preach the cross of Christ to those that need salvation and know that when we're doing it, don't worry about umm, and I say that as I'm, I'm not umm, I'm not an example of an evangelistic person. I wish I was more bold. I, I, umm, just value those that have that courage. But just think of this, that whenever you're doing that, you're pleasing God whenever you're telling.
Available the cross of Christ God is pleased. I think that's nice to a nice encouragement for us to keep giving out the gospel. OK, let's go to one that we covered in our our reading meetings. I'll just do it briefly and 1St I mean in Ephesians chapter one, umm but and that's the thought of the election.
That we were chosen. Uh, I think that's so wonderful to think of, of being.
Chosen so.
As I understand it, and this is a simple way of putting it, uh, someone explained it this way, that election has to do with our person, that we've been chosen, We've been, uh, brought into a place of favor. So it has to do with, with me, with, uh, uh, me as a person. And predestination has more to do with the position that I've been put into. So election has to do with me, my person.
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Predestination has to do with what I've been placed into, I've been placed into the, the family of God. I've been, I've been brought into a, a place of favor. Isn't that wonderful? They're both true. They go together, but they're at least distinct to that degree. And I'm sure there's more, but it says in, uh, first four, according as you have chosen us and him before the foundation of the world.
Before you were born, God said. I'm going to take that one.
And I'm going to bring them into blessing even before they're born. I know about them. I know that they're gonna be born on a certain date and at a certain age, they're going to accept my son as their Savior. I will bring them in That God predestinated us. He chose us, or first he chose us. And then it says, uh, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love having predestinated us. Verse 5 unto the adoption of children.
By Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. I wanted to bring this out. God elected you. God chose you. God predestinated you according to His pleasure, because it pleased Him to do it. Not because you deserved it, not because you merited it, not because He knew that you were going to be a wonderful servant for Him, but in spite of who we are, in spite of our failures, in spite of.
Everything God said sovereignly and divinely, He said I'm gonna choose that person to bring him into blessing because I want to. I think it's beautiful to to see that that God does this at his because it's according to the good pleasure of His will. He wants to. He wanted to choose you. He wanted to predestinate you. Isn't that wonderful? Just thank him. Don't try and understand it.
Don't, uh, get caught up with saying, well, I don't understand why he chose me and I failed so much and so on. That puts in the focus on the wrong in the wrong place. Just thank him for it. He did it according to the good pleasure of his will. I don't understand it, but thank him. And if it reduces you to tears, that's OK. Just, uh, let him, let him speak to you in that way. All right?
Umm, First Corinthians again.
I wanna look at uh, chapter 12 now. So God sent his son because it pleased him to provide a savior. Umm, and now he's, we've learned a little bit about what he's done towards us and his love and his good pleasure. And now what he has done and, and saving one here and saving one there is, is he has joined us together.
Into a body, the body of Christ. And so we have in.
In First Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 18, it says, but now hath God set the members, every one of them in the body as it hath pleased him. Now I think that's very important because, umm, I think if we laid a hold of that in our souls, it would take care of some of the problems that we have as being members of this body. And as we know with our umm, human bodies there are.
Members that we perceive to be more important than other members.
And so on. And we can get hung up on that. But I think, uh, what I like to see in this is that I like to look at it as a whole, that our body works together as a whole and the body of Christ works to should work together as a whole. And that God has set every member in his body as it has pleased him. So what right do I have to say? Well, I would rather be this member or I would rather function like that member.
That's doing what I want to do. That's doing what pleases me.
See, that's the problem is and that's when when problems come in is when we start looking and saying I'm not real happy with the part that I have. I, I feel like I'd like to do a little more. God have set the members in the body as it have pleased him. Well, I'll just leave it there. There's a lot more that could be said about that. Umm, brother Steve.
Umm rule was sharing with me that there was some brothers that came and put a new rough on roof on his house. I don't know if you all knew that.
But, uh, that was a nice thing to do and he said I never really, uh, he shared with me this, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I passed it on. He said I never really fully understood, umm, the significance of that, that gift that's called helps until this happened to us. He said I got, umm, a fresh.
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Uh, understanding of what it means to be a help. So, uh.
I thought that was nice. Uh, there, there they were just, umm, working away on the roof. Probably most of us didn't know it. And uh, they were being a real help to him and his wife. So God had set the members in the body as it had pleased him. Not you or I, not what we'd like, but what God delighted to do or what God pleased to do.
OK, just a couple more Umm.
I just wanted to mention briefly Galatians one because.
It's, umm, this vessel that the Lord raises up, not to put attention on this vessel, uh, the Apostle Paul, but it does tell us in, uh, verses 15 and 16 of Galatians, one that pleased God to raise him up. And I, I think as we look at that, the glory still goes to the Lord because it's him that pleased to take someone like the Apostle Paul.
Who was such a umm, He called himself, umm, umm, insolent and overbearing. He calls himself, uh, I think he says a blasphemer. He persecuted the Church of God and so on. But God in his grace picks him up and he says in verse UH-15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal his Son and me, that I might preach him among the heathen immediately.
I conferred not with flesh and blood.
Neither when I up to Jerusalem and so on. So he just is bringing before the Galatians here the fact that it pleased God to separate him. And I just, uh, enjoyed that, uh, aspect there that, uh, Paul recognized that he was a chosen vessel of God because of God's grace, his sovereign grace. He chose him to use him for him.
Umm, I think in a sense we could all say that with, uh, with the apostle that it pleased God.
To separate us from our mother's womb. And I know in, in this sense, Paul was raised up in a special way, uh, to fulfill a specific purpose and a need in God's dispensation. But each of us in a sense has been called, as we mentioned earlier, OK, Just, uh, just wanna finish up here. Umm, what I wanna talk briefly about in a few minutes here about a man named Enoch. Because, umm, Enoch is very special.
Me, uh, for a reason I'll mention here, uh, in just a minute, but if you go back to the 11Th of Hebrews.
In chapter Chapter 11 and verse 5.
We read about Enoch.
Says inversified by faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him for before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God. So the last little part of what I want to talk about is maybe some exhortation for us as believers. Uh, if you're not the Lord's umm, still listen because our desire would be for you to be able to be brought into the family of God through.
Faith in his son, the Lord Jesus. And that someone like Enoch, Enoch would be an encouragement to you. And we don't have a lot about him. Umm, but it says that he pleased God. And I thought about this a little bit and wondered if we can learn anything as to what it was about him or about what we're told about him that.
Uh, gives us to know that he, I mean in that as to why he pleased God.
That's what I'm trying to say. Uh, what? What was it about Enoch that pleased God? Well, we don't know specifically, but this is simple, but I just enjoyed this for myself. Is that he pleased God because he walked with God. That's what it says here. It says umm.
He had this testimony that it, it says he had this testimony that he pleased God. And we'd have to look back in umm, in Genesis to see that it says that he walked with God. But that's to me that that's the secret is, is he walked with God And, and as he walked with God, umm in companionship, he became, you might say, more and more attached to him just like.
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Umm happens here. I mean you see a couple start together and they.
They share things together and so on, but that, that relationship gets deeper and deeper and more meaningful and, and more and more is conveyed and, and the longer they are together, they begin to, uh, almost be able to read each other's thoughts to some extent. Sometimes it's a little bit unnerving. Umm, those of you that have experienced that.
And my wife and I have had that experience and uh, uh, it's neat in a way, but it's also.
It, it makes you realize, umm, what a, a responsibility those relationships and, and to think of him walking with God and, and as it were, enjoying communion and fellowship with God. It says he walked with in the garden in the cool of the day without him and Eve before sun came in. So he walks with Enoch and it's like, umm, if I can say Revere reverently, it's like he's saying I want to have his company with me all the time. And so he just trans.
Out of the scene, umm, and takes him and you know, I don't know that this is absolutely the case, but as far as I can tell from the, the research and if someone knows differently, I appreciate knowing, but I believe that this is the only individual in scripture of all of the individuals that are named in scripture or that we have a record of where it says he pleased God. Uh, and I'm not saying I many, many of the.
Testament Saints and New Testament Saints please God. It's obvious that, that Ruth, the Moabites please the Lord. It's obvious that umm, Abraham, umm, pleased God, but I couldn't find anyone else where specifically said using that word that they please God except Enoch and I, I thought that was interesting. Umm, I don't know, uh, I, I hope that's, that's right. But anyway, take that for what it's worth and, and enjoy it and.
Justin enjoyed the thought of him pleasing God because he walked with God.
Just a couple more without much comment. And 1St Thessalonians 4, I'll just, I'll just read these, umm, because they're, they're pretty much self-explanatory. Uh, here's one that tells us how we ought to walk and to please God. It brings the two together like with Enoch. So in first Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse one. Furthermore than we beseech you, brother, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus.
That as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
First, uh, not first, the Hebrews 13.
Verse 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Do you want to please God? Don't forget to do good and to communicate. Umm, I'll let you decide what communicate means. And then a little further in that chapter, umm.
In verse 21.
I'll just read verse 20 now. The God of peace that brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his well working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight. Beautiful, isn't it? And then, uh, I just, uh, noticed today is, umm, the brother in the morning meeting was reading from.
Ephesians, I mean in Philippians, uh, it says in umm.
Chapter 2, it says umm, verse 14, no, the verse 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. So uh, may the Lord encourage us in this. Umm, there is one that umm I have for the children that says, children, obey your parents and the Lord.
For this is well pleasing.
Unto the Lord. We don't have very many children here, but for any that are here, uh, there's a specific exhortation for you to be that will be pleasing to God, as if you obey your parents in the Lord.