“For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created!” Revelation 4:11b (KJV)
“The Lord takes pleasure in His people.” Psalm 149:4 (GN)
WORSHIP: Living a life pleasing to God
“Because of God's great mercy... Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.”
Romans 12:1 (GN)
“Noah was a pleasure to the Lord.” Genesis 6:8 (LB)
WE GIVE GOD PLEASURE...
1. WHEN WE LOVE HIM ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE
"I don't want your sacrifices-- I want your love! I don't want your offerings--I want you to know me!” Hosea 6:6 (LB)
“Noah was a righteous man, he walked in close fellowship (relationship) with God.” Genesis 6:9b (NLT)
“God’s unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)
2. WHEN WE TRUST HIM COMPLETELY
“The Lord takes pleasure in those who honor him and trust in his constant love.” Psalm 147:11 (GN)
“By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was told... His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.”
Hebrews 11:7 (TM)
God: “I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.”
Psalm 50:14 (LB)
3. WHEN WE OBEY HIM WHOLEHEARTEDLY
“We please God by what we do and not only by what we believe.” James 2:24 (CEV)
“Noah obeyed and built a boat...” Hebrews 11:7 (CEV)
“Noah did everything exactly as God commanded him.” Genesis 6:22 (NLT)
“Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I'll wholeheartedly obey.” Psalm 119:33 (LB)
“Those who live by their natural inclinations can never be pleasing to God.” Romans 8:8 (NJB)
4. WHEN WE FULFILL HIS PURPOSES
“Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth!”
Genesis 9:1 (KJV)
“The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Psalm 37:23 (NLT)
“God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship -a different kind of "sacrifice"—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.” Hebrews 13:16b (TM)
“The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who are wise, who want to please God.”
Psalm 14:2 (LB)
“Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God.”
2 Peter 1:3 (TM)