Hebrews 11:6 (NIV): “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (underline added)
From this text, there are three (3) lessons that we can learn about Pleasing God.
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The Impossibility of Pleasing God Without Faith. “But without faith it is impossible (unfeasible, unworkable, unattainable, out of the question, not possible) to please Him.” We will not please God if we do not have faith. Religious activity does not always please God. Faithless religious ceremonies do not please God. Faithless giving does not please God. This verse proves two great facts:
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It is possible to please God;
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Faith is available to all (see John 3:16).
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What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says it is “the substance of things hoped for, it is the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is believing God and accepting His invitation.
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The Ingredients of the Faith That Pleases God. We must believe that God exists. It is one thing to pray, but another thing to believe God hears. It is one thing to worship, but another to believe that worship is accepted. We must believe God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Faith that pleases God is more than profession (James 2:14). Real faith changes lives (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Faith made Abel worship God
Faith made Enoch walk with God
Faith made Noah work for God
But 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. (Hebrews 11:6 KJV)
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The Invitation to Faith That Pleases God. “He that cometh to God must believe” is an invitation in the middle of the aforementioned verse. God continually invites us to faith in Christ. This invitation reminds us of John 6:37 (“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”). This verse is not only an invitation to come to Jesus, but an assurance that He receives all to come to Him.
We do what it takes to please individuals, spouses, children, employers, etc. My question to you today is, “What are you doing to please God?”
The Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack led to the United States’ entry into World War II. The Pearl Harbor Report demonstrated that not only were an admiral and a general unprepared, the authorities were unprepared and the whole nation was in a lethargy of self-satisfaction. In spite of all the evidence that an attack would come, people were amazed when it did.
This is the approaching judgment of God going to come upon the world; the Bible informs us that judgment is coming. Men are warned to flee from the wrath of God. They are warned that sudden destruction will come upon them, that it will come suddenly as a stroke of lightning from the east and the west and as unexpectedly as a thief in the night. In spite of all these warnings the world sinks in its lethargy of self-satisfaction. It will be awakened by a blow far ruder than Pearl Harbor, for just as the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, so are His judgments.
God simply will not allow any man to know true peace until that man first possesses divine righteousness. One reason for the terrible frustration of mankind is that peace and joy are sought without righteousness. But without the righteousness of God there can be no peace, and without the peace of God there can be no joy.
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