Preached in Markham Baptist Church, October 14,  2007

When I was a small boy I wanted to please my parents.  Everything I did, I did with an eye on pleasing them.  I wore what they wanted me to wear.  I acted like they wanted me to act.  I talked like they wanted me to talk.  This was not hardship in the least – I loved my parents and was loved by my parents, so it was only natural for me to want to please them.  Everything I did as a young boy I did with an eye on pleasing them.

When I became a teenager my attention shifted I lived to please, not my parents, but the girls.  Everything I did I did with an eye on them.  So I wore what I thought would gain their attention and admiration.  I tried out for teams that I thought would gain their favour.  It was only natural for me to want to please them – I loved girls – they may not have loved me – but that didn’t stop me from wanting to please them and do everything with an eye on them.

In my early twenties my view became increasingly narrow.  Now instead of wanting to please all the girls there was only one that I wanted to please and everything I did – I did with an eye on her – her name was Janet.  I wore what I thought she wanted me to wear.  I acted like I thought she would want me to act.  I talked like I thought she would want me to talk.  Everything I did I did with an eye on pleasing her. 

This was not a hardship in the least.  I loved Janet and she loved me in return.  So it was only natural to want to please her.  Everything I did I did with an eye on her.

When I went to University I studied with an eye on pleasing the academic standards of the day.  I spent long hours in reading the books, taking notes in the lectures, memorizing facts and analyzing ideas.  All with the view of pleasing the academics of the university. 

It was only natural – I wanted a degree and the only way I could get it was by meeting the standards set by the professors.  While at university everything I did I did with an eye on pleasing the academics of the university.

Now, I realize that I may be overstating all of this – but as I review my life I realize that these were and sometimes continue to be influences in my life.  There things I do and things I say for no other reason than to please another. 

And if you think about you would have to admit that there are times in life when all of us behave a certain way, say certain things, with an eye of winning the approval of a parent, a friend, a girl, a boy, a boss, a group.  It is part of who we are as human beings.  We want to be accepted, loved, appreciated, approved, welcomed.  We often live with an eye on pleasing others.

Of course this desire for approval can be defined as a childish characteristic.  It can be a dangerous characteristic if it is magnified and carried into adulthood.  Some adults can be so busy trying to please others that they lose all sense of reality and balance and become driven by unrealistic expectations with disappointing results. 

But the fact remains that the Christian is one who lives to please God.  We live with an eye on pleasing Him.  And this is far from being a childish behaviour – it is rather the mark of a mature Christian.  It is not a hardship, living to please God – for a Christian is one who loves God and knows he/she is loved by God.  So it is only natural for a Christian to want to please God.

And as we think of our fall theme Living in Light of Christ’s Return and our study of 1 Thessalonians, and what it means to practically live in light of Christ’s return, we would have to say that living in light of Christ’s return means that everything we do, we do to please God.  This is the message of ` Thessalonians chapter 2.

Everything we do, we are to do with an eye on pleasing God.  The passage begins:

“You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition.  For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.  As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others.”

Just pause there for a moment.  Here we have the heart of the Christian life.  We are living in relationship with the living God through faith in Christ – so as a result we seek to live lives that please Him.

And notice what this does - it raises our standards.  When we live lives that seek to please God, it raises our standards. It keeps us from using trickery, or flattery or putting on a mask – we aren’t looking for the praise of people – we live for the praise of God.  And so we can be genuine with people because we aren’t looking to win their favour – we are looking to please God. 

And this raises our standards – the praise of people – phooey! What is that?!!! We don’t aim so low. We are looking to please God – the Almighty One. We don’t look to win the praise of some king or prime minister – we are living to please the One who put that king or prime minister in power – the King of kings.  We aren’t out to win the favour of any person or administration or group – we live for the Lord of lords who sits enthroned above all things.  How can we aim so low as to live to please other people, when we have been touched by the grace of God, renewed by the power of God and indwelt by the Spirit of God? 

Our standards are so much higher – trickery?  We don’t need to use trickery, or falsehood or mask our greed – why?  Because we aren’t looking to win the praise of people  - we are looking to live lives of purity and integrity and honesty and graciousness to please our God who calls us to such high standards. 

We don’t look to win the praise of bosses and clients – we live and work as to the Lord.  Ephesians 6:5-7a says,“We work with singleness of heart, as we obey Christ, not only while our boss is watching us, … but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.  We render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not men and women.”

Looking to win the praise of people? How silly – we have a higher calling – we are living life under the watchful eye of the almighty God who is constantly watching over us. We have a much higher standard than pleasing people – we Christians live to please God. 

And because we have this standard we are free from trying any means possible to win the praise of people. 

Are you living to please God?  Is that the standard of you have set?  Or is your standard “If the customer is happy, then I’m happy”?  Is your standard, “happy wife, happy life?”  My friends your standard is too low – we live to please God. 

And we don’t do this to win God’s favour – we already have that. We seek to please Him because we have God’s favour in the person of Jesus Christ.

You know, when Bill Clinton went through that whole affair with Monica Lewinski, I remember reading an article about the presidents of the United States.  The article stated that most of the presidents in modern history were philanderers – cheating on their wives – except for one.  No one ever questioned his integrity or ever questioned his faithfulness - President Jimmy Carter.  I believe Jimmy Carter lives his life to please God.  He has a much higher standard because he’s looking to please God.  He realizes that it is God who tests his heart and it is God who is his witness. 

We live to please God. 

Now, this doesn’t mean that we won’t please others.  It doesn’t mean that we will be a surly lot – bullying our way over others, inconsiderate and bombastic – no, no.  Let’s read on.

Let’s pick it up at verse 6 again: “Nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.  But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.  So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.  You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.  You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright and blameless our conduct was toward you believers.  As you know we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”

Just pause there for a moment – when we seek to live lives that please God, not only do we gain a higher standard of ethics, principles, attitudes and behaviour, but we also fall deeply in love with people. 

Verse 8 says, “we loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel but our lives as well.” 

You see, when we live with an eye on pleasing God we realize that humanity matters to God.  People are precious to God.  People are loved by God and if we are going to live to please God then we will love others.

There’s a lot of talk in our church – I’ve been in meetings both formal and informal about the level of caring in our church. We ask how do we develop an atmosphere of love for one another  - where everyone old and new truly feels befriended and cared for?   How do we create that atmosphere?  And in these discussions everyone realizes that love for others is not programmed.  It can’t be planned and charted.

I would suggest to you that part of the answer is that we look to live lives to please God.  We stop trying to please a list of expectations put on us from others we may want to impress.  And we begin reassessing our lives – are we living lives that please God?  

I believe that as we do that we begin would go deeper in our caring for one another.  Verse 8 – isn’t that a beautiful description of the church? Isn’t that the kind of church we all want to belong to?  Don’t we all want to say, “We were loved so much at that church that they delighted to share with me not only the gospel of God but their lives as well.” 

Isn’t that kind of church we want to belong to? Where there is a great balance of sharing the gospel – of sharing what God is doing in our lives and sharing our very lives with others?  Isn’t that what we want for our church? 

Listen, it just doesn’t spring up because we’ve talked about it at some meetings, where everyone looks around and says I wish people would be more loving in this church.  And by talking about we think the task is done. 

No, listen - it begins with you, it begins with me. It begins with individuals having a desire to live for God – to please Him who said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” 

Pleasing God – we gain a higher standard – we gain a deeper love for others, and then look at the fruit it bears.  Verse 13-16: “And we also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.  For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved.  Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God’s wrath has overtaken them at last.”

Now pause there for a moment. The Thessalonians received the word of God they became imitators of the churches in Judea – that is the church that first walked in the way of Jesus Christ.

In the face of persecution they welcomed the Word.

Isn’t this the fruit of living to please God?  Others will turn to God and live for Him. 

To be sure there will be some who ridicule us and reject us – these are mentioned in the text. They’ve made a career of opposing God but God is fed up and is ready to put an end to it, says Paul.

But in spite of all that, there is fruit in living to please God. Here in the text, the Thessalonians turn from idols to the living God and a church is planted. 

And as you live for God, people see that – they recognize your integrity, your honesty, your ethics and there is fruit.

Throughout history we know those who live with an eye on pleasing God bear fruit.  Churches that live to please God bear fruit. People are attracted to those who have a singleness of vision for God.  People are inspired to do great things for God by those who live for God alone. People are drawn into the Kingdom by those who live for God and His praise alone.

In the book “The Hiding Place” Corrie Ten Boom tells the story of how she, her sister and father were part of an underground network of people who rescue Jews from the Nazi persecution and death.  Corrie naturally is the centre of the book.  But I could not help but be inspired by Corrie’s father.  Here is a man who lives to please God.  He isn’t exceptional by the world’s standards.  He’s an unassuming man, but he lives his life to please God.  Every morning he begins with a Bible reading – every day he runs his little clock shop with integrity, humour, charm and Christian love. If anyone in town is in need they can be sure that the Ten Booms will be there with a basket of food and some help. Every evening he ends his day with a Bible reading – and to me this man is a great hero and inspiration.

For here is a man living an unassuming little life in a little dutch town, but he lives that life with an eye on pleasing God, and as a result he rescues hundreds from death. He influences his daughter who becomes a great evangelist and influence around the world for generations. 

The fruit of living to please God.

And if that’s not enough there is also a reward – there is also a crown for those who live with an eye on pleasing God. Verse 17: “As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you – in person, not in heart – we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face.  For we wanted to come to you – certainly I, Paul, wanted to again and again – but Satan blocked our way.  For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?  Is it not you?  Yes, you are our glory and joy!”

Listen carefully – living lives that seek to please God is not without reward.   Paul speaks of our Lord’s return.  Again, understand, as I have said before  this is a glorious truth is not given to us as a huge threat. “You better watch out, you better not pout, you better not cry, I’m telling you why, Jesus Christ is coming again.  He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake.  He knows when you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.”

There is no threat connected with the coming of Jesus Christ, if you are in Christ.  The fact of our Lord’s return is meant to encourage us.  And here we learn that when our Lord returns there will be crowns and rewards given out.  

When Christ comes again you and I will receive crowns and rewards for our work done for the Kingdom of God.  Did you know that when you meet Christ at His return you will be given a reward for your service here on earth? It’s a Scriptural truth.  And it’s not hard to believe – we live right now as people who have been blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  He has chosen us, He had predestined us to be adopted into His family, He has given us His grace freely, we have been redeemed.  Read the first chapter of Ephesians and see all that is ours in Christ right now – why do you think it is unlikely that God will not also reward us when He comes again?

Paul says in our text - what is our crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes?   Is it not you?

The allusion here is to the old Greek Olympic.  You can see it in your mind’s eye - here is a foot race, the man sprints off the starting blocks, every muscle is strained.  There is not a part of this body that has been exercised and trained for this moment. And every muscle is now at work.  He tries to pass his competitors.  He flies to the finish line, he reaches it first and then he receives a crown.  A crown of laurel, or of ivy, is put on his head.

In itself it has no value - it’s a valueless thing - but it represents prestige honour, victory.  Now, if we live a life that seeks to please God that seeks to honour God, God will give us a crown, not of laurel, but of life, of testimony.

The crown in ancient times was given for something done – a race finished or a battle fought. It recorded and rewarded something done, and so with us, it will awarded to us with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” 

The crown in ancient times was a sign of appreciation.  Our Lord appreciates the work that we do here on earth on His behalf and will reward us accordingly.

The crown in ancient times meant reward. And so we too will be rewarded, not out of debt, it is not something that God has to give us, but wants to give us for that which we have accomplished in His name.

Crowns and rewards. There were some in Thessalonica, we learn from our text, who were saying that Paul was out to please men. And Paul silences all those critics and says, in effect saying, “To please men? To profit from men?  To gain the praise of men?  No, I worked amongst you for one reason to please my Lord, for the praise of the one who gave Himself for me.  All these things are nothing compared to the crown that awaits me in heaven.”

We are not told in Scripture what this crown will be like.  In I Corinthians it is called an incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:25)  In 2 Timothy it is called a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8).  James calls it a crown of life (James 1:12). 1 Peter calls it a “crown of unfading glory” (I Peter 5:4).

But will you follow me in this?  I plan to go and see what this crown of glory will look like.  We do not know what we shall be, but we have heard the word of God say, “When he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

So come let us go to Jesus.  First, let us go to the cross, and look at it and say, “I trust in you Jesus to be my Saviour.”

Then from His cross let’s go and take up our yoke for Him and say, “God I will follow You – I will live a life that pleases You. I will live by Your high standards.  I will love others, I will look to bear fruit for You.  I will live life to please You and You alone, my God, my Saviour, my Lord.”

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - October 2007

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