Pleasing God - Pt. 7 — Kay Smith

Created for God's Pleasure

Revelation 411 don't turn just listen or put it in your notes if you want. We've used this a lot. I'm pleasing to God and we're continuing in the pleasing to God series this morning. But revelation 411 tells us that we were created that all things were created created for God's pleasure and That means that each one of us in this room were created for God's pleasure to be to his glory and his.

To be to his honor and to his praise and we have a choice We can live to please him or live to please ourselves and God is really impressed on my heart impressing on your heart living to please God. Living to bring joy to his heart by the way.

We live by our manner of living by our customs by our values by all these things pleasing the heart of God. It is probably the strongest influence in my life right now living to please the heart of God and I I think oh, I just want to say to every Christian I want to you know, sort of shake us all and say hey, look what's happening.

Running With Endurance to Honor Christ

There isn't much time. Let's give it all we've got. I feel like a cheerleader or coach, you know, come on. You're gonna win the games almost over we're in the last we're in the last quarter of the game in the last few minutes and We are going to win because God's Word said we should so give it all you've got run with all your might with all patience and endurance and just really get in there and start just doing Everything you can so if we have a chance of laying a crown at his feet That crown will just be filled in so heavy.

We can hardly get it off our heads not to wear ourselves. But to lay at the feet of Jesus, don't you want precious sheaves to lay at his feet? Don't you want gold and silver and I'm talking about the spiritual quality of gold and silver just to say Oh Lord You've done so much for me.

I just want to put all this at your feet. Come on. We'd have not much time and You know in pleasing him we become the strongest influence possible in our world. We do we become the strongest influence you cannot become a strong Influencing your world in any other way and the more you please him the stronger your influence.

And Orland wrote a book called disciplines of the beautiful woman and in the book She talks about cleaning out your closets and cleaning out your dresser drawers, and she uses two words which Really to me sum up what we as women ought to be doing in these last days and it doesn't have anything to do with housecleaning but the two words are eliminate and concentrate or Concentrate and eliminate and if you're taking notes write those words down this morning eliminate and concentrate.

Eliminating Clutter From the Christian Life

This morning let's concentrate on bringing joy to the heart of God by eliminating. Anything that clutters our lives or our walk with him, you know in your closet gets all cluttered. How hard it is to find anything and how much time it takes you have to you know.

Go through all and push back hangers and and it's such a mess. But when you get everything in order you walk to your closet and you pull the blouse out and you pull the skirt out. And it's so easy. We allow so many things to clutter our lives.

We waste so much Time just trying to move through the clutter to get to the things spiritually that we really ought to be doing. Turn to Romans 12 1 and 2 this morning. Let's read the two verses all together.

If you didn't go to Sunday school, I think that we did this a couple years ago in the class. We started learning the books of the Bible and every week we'd say the books of the Bible through. You know a few and we'd add a few each week if you've never done that.

Will you start doing it. Learn two or three each week. Genesis Exodus Leviticus Genesis? Just say I'm over and over and over and then go on and on and on and Start with the New Testament Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans first second Corinthians.

So that when you turn in your Bible, you can turn a lot quicker. I'm not complaining about my class, but it will be there especially when Chuck wants you to look for some minor profit profit like have a cook or Joan or one of those you start and people go.

Oh boy. I wish I knew the page number. It doesn't work that way. So Romans try it if you're new in the Lord or you never did go to Sunday school learn the books of the Bible by memory and in the front of every Bible there is a list of the books right as they Go and you'll find.

That's much easier to locate things in your Bible. Okay, Romans 12 1 and 2. Let's read it together. I Will of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice Holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world.

But be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove. What is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God? By way of review last week we talked about Paul be teaching us by the mercies of God by all that God had done for us in giving Jesus Christ on the cross in the last few months Chuck has come into a greater and deeper awareness of what God has done for him and In Chico and in reading he shared with the pastors both places.

He said for so many years I taught what we ought to be doing. We ought to be doing to receive a blessing from God, but he said, you know I'm seeing now. We look at what God has done for us and we respond to what he's done.

It's the response to him, you know, and I said to him Oh, I see submission and the husband loving his wife is the church in a brand new way. And he says what's that and I said, well the husband loves, you know.

People are saying which came first the chicken or the egg just a wife submit first and then he loves her does he love her. First and cry and she submits and I said I am just the responder you love me.

And I always respond with submission and if I'm not responding it's because you're not loving me as you should and I got out the door and down the hall and He knew I was kidding, haha. But Paul beseeched us by the mercies of God in other words he said stop and realize all that God has done for you and When you stop and think of all that he's done for you, you know, there's nothing Less that you can do then give him everything your body your soul.

Submit your entire life to me. We close the doors the little ones Crying I think are a bit disturbing. We talked last week about presenting our bodies our entire being and that means our bodies physical and our mind and emotions and will our soul and we talked about presenting which means dedicating.

The same word is used in Luke 2 22 when they took Jesus into the temple and they Dedicated him they presented his entire being unto God as Chuck says so often when he's dedicating all the Potential was dedicated unto God and Paul uses that same Greek word here present your bodies dedicate your bodies.

Give your mind completely to God your emotions completely to God your will completely to God. And I suggested that when Chuck does baby Dedications on Sunday morning that you not just pray for the baby.

That's being dedicated. But you yourself present yourself. Dedicate yourself anew unto God. I did that last Sunday morning and I pray that a lot of you did to just Set there and said Lord. I am yours completely my mind is yours my body's yours my soul's yours my spirit all are yours.

Living Sacrifice and Self-Denial

And Then we were we talked last week about giving him giving ourselves completely as a living sacrifice. Denying ourselves taking up our cross and follow him. We stress the fact that sacrifice always Means a loss to you or else.

It's not a sacrifice. It means a giving up of something that you like possessing. But when you give your life to Jesus you give it as a living sacrifice in response to all he's done for you. Now we're going to skip on to verse 2 and we're going to in a few weeks come back to verse 1.

Probably but this morning the Lord has impressed us on my heart so strongly just seven words. It's a seven word exhortation and it is. And be not conformed to this world. Say it all together and be not conformed to this world.

I wish I could take a Pin of iron and engrave this on your mind this morning. Be not conformed in this world. Living Bible says don't copy the customs and behavior of this world. And I say don't be squeezed into this world's mold.

Amplified Bible says do not be conformed to this world this age. Fashioned after and adapted to exit its external superficial customs. Barclay in his commentary on Romans says and this is so rich. Don't try to match your life to all the fashions of this world.

Don't be like a chameleon which takes its color from its surroundings. Is that good? Don't be like a chameleon or chameleon, whichever you say which takes its color from its surroundings. Don't let the world decide what you're going to be like.

Don't let the world decide what you're going to be like. The root word in Greek for the word used for conform is schema. Schema, and it means an outward form which varies from day to day from year to year.

Cultural Conformity and Changing Moral Standards

Some examples of changing customs 25 years ago. I'll go back. I'll say in the 1920s. If anybody went on the beach in a bikini. They probably would have been put in jail for indecent exposure. You've all seen pictures of the 20s bathing suits.

You know down in the hose and all that stuff with them and and how long they were and how covered they were and it Would have been considered indecent exposure. Bikinis are becoming modest in this day and age.

Just some of us that we and when we were in Hawaii this year a girl set out in front of our condominium. Which was right on the beach topless. Yes, she did and I wanted to go out and I was restrained by Brian and Cheryl who also were very angry.

But you know it was. I wanted to say you're offending me, and I don't like it, and that's the way it was anyhow. It's the way the world is now. We use words now that we couldn't use 20 years ago for instance when I was Expecting my children.

We did not say pregnant. How many women were in that age. I'm the only one over 50 here. Yeah, we did not say that word and it took me a long time to get used to it. And I don't consider myself prudish or strange or maybe you do, but I don't.

But we just did not say pregnant. You just didn't you said I'm anticipating or I'm expecting or you know or Something there are all these lovely little euphemisms that we use and Betty knows that it was true isn't very.

Yeah. We did and you know a more up-to-date. Example of schema or the changing day by day and and week by week or fashions fashions change so rapidly. Styles colors fashions. Polyester. I remember when polyester pantsuits came out I thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread, and you know you just oh boy I went to Israel nothing wrinkled, and it was marvelous.

Well now the young people do not like polyester. Do you know what they like you young people already know hundred percent cotton? Boy, they've never stood at an ironing board half a night getting that ironing done.

Hundred percent Cotton remember we used to wash it starch it hang it up bring it in dampen it and iron it. Oh girls listen. I beseech you. Don't get caught in that trap. Oh unless you like wrinkled clothes, which is supposed to be in too.

I understand. Why didn't all this happen 30 years ago? And I could have you really appreciate it appreciated it, then all Chuck's white shirts. I had to do all that with oh. And the current big problem in our society in our world today.

Every place we go we hear now you might know what this means who killed JR. What's it mean? Yeah, I've seen that JR for president bumper sticker, too. But isn't don't you hear that a lot who killed JR and everybody likes Dallas hmm?

The Biblical Meaning of “This World”

Don't be conformed to this world. Don't be swayed moved. Adapted to this vacillating unstable impermanent world system. Do not be conformed to this world. What does the Bible mean when it says world? It's not around globe with a map on it that you saw in the library at school when you're a kid is it and?

It doesn't mean the universe the cosmos it doesn't mean this created world of God that We go out. We look at full moon right now. It is in the moon absolutely gorgeous we flew from Sacramento to Chico in a private plane and a Little single-engine plane and and had lots of windows and the full moon just lit up all the terrain.

It was so Beautiful we had to yell to hear each other, but we're go isn't a beautiful moon. Beautiful night and Chuck was up by the pilot and and you know we're yelling back and forth and rejoicing in God's goodness to give us full moon and God wants us to rejoice in us when you look up in the sky and you see the stars and and You see the Sun on those bright days, and you see a flower, and you see a beautiful tree.

It's fine to thank God for those things. It's right. That's his created world, but what the Bible means when it refers to world like this. It means a system of living. The Greek word is a I o n which means an age.

Don't be conformed to this age. The things that are going on in your world right now this world. Don't be conformed to them. Don't be pressed into its mold. Don't be squeezed into its mold. That means the way people behave in this time.

More precisely it means the moral characteristics And value system of this age and this time. There are two kingdoms the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. One is ruled by God and one is ruled by Satan and the one the word refers to when it's talking about don't be conformed to this world is The world order that is ruled by Satan.

Now anything that comes out of that world Remember comes from the prince of the power of this air of the air in Greek there is a word now I don't know Greek, but I get this out of the commentary, and I enjoy it and you might too.

There is a word called kata. I think it's kata Sarka. It means a life Dominated by human nature at its lowest at its lowest. That is the world that the Bible is referring to when it tells us to love not the world Kata and then another word S a r k a life dominated by human nature at its lowest contrast it with kata and then another word ch r is to n Kristen kata Kristen or Kata Numa and you've heard the word Numa lots of time which means spirit which means a life dominated by Christ or by the Holy Spirit.

Contrast it are you living in the kingdom of light and doing the things that are done and Controlled by the kingdom of darkness and the things that are coming out of the kingdom of darkness in first John 2 15 in the Living Bible and don't turn to it.

Please just listen is the best description of the world that I can give you this morning of the world as the as Paul tells us not to be conformed to the world that he says Don't be conformed to. I had all my places marked in my other Bible.

So please bear with me this morning. Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you. For when you love these things you show that you do not really love God. And this is his description of this evil world I'm talking about for all these worldly things these evil desires the craze for sex.

The ambition to buy everything that appeals to you and the pride that comes from wealth and importance. These are not from God. They are from this evil world itself now. King James calls it the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life and These are the same three temptations that Satan brought to Eve in the Garden of Eden and you can read about it in Genesis and Exactly Genesis the third chapter.

He came to her with the same three temptations and Women today you are being pressed to conform to the world by these same three roads. Satan has not changed his tactics. He's doing the very thing today and Paul Says don't be conformed.

Don't be pulled into this thing. That's trapped that Satan has for you. Why shouldn't we be conformed to this world. I Just described it to you and you can tell from that but Jesus tells us in John 1430 that Satan is the ruler of this evil world.

Okay, Satan is the ruler the ruler of this world system and although we live in it We are not to be a part of it. The word tells us that we are to seek first. What kingdom? The kingdom of God. Seek first the kingdom of God.

Don't be conformed to this world system. Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all the things you need will be added unto you. We think that by walking in the worldly system We're going to get all our needs met and all the material things we need and blah blah blah.

God never designed it that way. He said when you seek me first, I'll add to your life Every single thing you need and I'm here this morning to tell you that he will and he does. David said the Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not Want and that means God supplied his every need. Okay Jesus also prayed as recorded in John the 17th chapter and the 15th and 16th verses. For his disciples and all who would believe on him.

Not that they would be taken out of this world. But they would be kept from the evil that is in the world. And then he said of his disciples. And he says of you as believers this morning. They are not of the world.

He said to God as he was in prayer on the 17th chapter of John. They are not of the world even as I am NOT of the world. You are not supposed to be a part of this present evil world in its lusts and desires.

Ambitions and goals you're supposed to have a whole different form of life and you are to get all your guidance and information and values from the kingdom of light in a book beyond called beyond humiliation by J. Gregory Mantle.

He describes the world as the Bible would describe world when we say be not conformed to it. The world has its own Prince. Its own court its own council its own laws its own principles. Its own maxims its own literature it is the counterfeit of God's Church and the devil's principle weapon for lowering and poisoning the heavenly life in the individual and the church.

What do you think of that? It is the devil's? Principle weapon for lowering and poisoning the heavenly life in the individual and the church. James 4 4 says it in an in an even stronger word James says if we're friends with the world this worldly system.

We're enemies of God. We're enemies of God if we're friends if we love this worldly system and all this junk that comes out of it this Craving for sex is this immorality that's coming out of it that the desire to possess material things and and This thing for fame wealth prestige great reputation and all that.

He said if you love all that stuff if you're friends with the world if that's what you like to walk with and be in Them and be a part of you're an enemy of God. We should ponder that we should think about it.

The Living Bible reads. You're like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband's enemies if you love this world system. You're like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband's enemies and then in first John 2 16 John expresses it in an even stronger way if you love the world.

The love of the Father is not in you. You know so many of us as Christians think oh, I'm born again. It's cool. It's marvelous. I can do anything. I want I can go out and see these rotten pictures. I can Drink all I want.

I can do this. I can do that. I can have all this sex I want. I can live any way I want. It's not true. If you want to live that way the love of God isn't in you. I Was talking to somebody recently who said I hadn't seen him in church a long time.

They said I don't like to go to church. I don't like to be in the sanctuary too many people. The person that sits next to me always choose gum drives me crazy. Da da da da da da da da. And I looked at him and I said, you know what you're saying.

You're saying that something's wrong with your relationship with God. Because when the love of the Father is in you you want to be with his people. You want to be in the sanctuary. I go in and I feel that love do you.

I Mean it comes in waves and I don't know anybody in the next row in front of me lots of times. Maybe the person I'm sitting next to I know and a few others I don't know an awful lot of people in Calvary.

It's impossible to know everybody and I'd love to but I don't and yet the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit Is so strong there. I Cannot tell you how many times in the sanctuary God has given me answers to life's problems.

Have you had it happen? You're sitting there and you know, we've had people get absolutely angry with Chuck first-timers. They'll say my friend told you all about me and Chuck hadn't seen their friend in six months, you know.

Chuck said no they didn't. You mean that God had something to say to me this morning about my life. Yes and We need to realize that whatever comes out of that Whatever we love in that evil world Proves a lack of the love of the father now I don't want to be an enemy of God and I don't want to lack his love in my life.

But if you love the world the love of the father isn't in you and we've got to think about these things this morning. Paul says in Galatians 6 14 and I'm paraphrasing it The world has been crucified to me and I to the world.

In other words he's so walked with Jesus Christ that the world was dead unto him and You know anything that's dead can't have any grip on you can it it can't grab you and pull you. The world was dead unto him and he was dead unto the world and He said you can follow my example.

We can follow Paul's example, oh I long to have the world completely dead unto me. No, pull it all from it. I don't want to be conformed to it. I don't want to be squeezed into its mold. I want to see it as God sees it and I want to be pleasing to the heart of God.

When your spiritual eyes are open to see this world order as we know it with all its fleeting phony competitive values and This whole thing was begun in the Garden of Eden by a woman being deceived. You too will have no love for the world or desire to be conformed to it or by it.

In addition John says this world is fading away and These evil forbidden things will go with it. But he that does the will of God will live forever. He that doeth the will of God will live forever ever.

Okay. There are pressure points of Satan on women to conform to this world system and they're very very strong most of us. Would readily agree this morning if we have a craze for sex and an ambition to buy everything that appeals to us and the pride.

That comes from wealth and importance. We wouldn't have much love for God in our heart. That isn't where most of us are this morning. But our Conformity to this world comes upon us in a much more subtle way.

Remember the serpent in the garden. He was the subtlest of all the beasts of the field. It's very clever Crafty he sneaks in in little ways and he causes to love something. Just a little bit more than we did yesterday something out of this world.

Love it just a little bit more. Want to be there just a little more little less of Jesus a little more of this and it sneaks in and it creeps in. Satan is also a liar and he presents these things to us as so desirable and so wonderful.

We just can't live without him. He also is a deceiver and His plan for you is recorded in John 10 10 is to kill and destroy you. The Bible says that thief comes but for it is steal and kill and destroy and that's what Satan that's his plan for your life.

God has a plan for your life and Satan has a plan for your life and Satan's plan is to destroy you eternally. We need to be aware of his tactics. We're told in the Bible. We're not ignorant of his devices.

But there is a terrible terrible pressure on women today to conform to this world. People think it's strange when you're a Christian and you don't want to party with them. Don't they they can't understand if you work in an office and you don't appreciate their crummy jokes and you walk away.

Sometimes you're a very lonely person in an office. I talked to a lady a few weeks ago that said okay, you know in my office. It's very lonely to walk with Jesus when they talk about the pleasures of the world and the weekends and all this stuff.

They've done on the weekend and I'm just not interested. She said they're not interested in me. It's lonely. You know, Jesus had a lonely walk to Calvary too, didn't he? He walked all alone up that hill Golgotha some of the places that we're Pressured to conform.

The World's Ideal Woman Versus God's Ideal

First of all, the world sets up its standard for the ideal woman and I want you this week I I did it quickly and I'm gonna take more time with it and I've done it before but I want to do it again. I want you to make two columns on a sheet of paper and write on one column the world's ideal Woman, and I want you to write all the descriptive words of the world's ideal woman what the world thinks is beautiful.

What the world says is ideal and some of the things you might write down is she's young. She's thin. She's beautiful. She's brilliant. She's career-oriented. She's sexy and the woman who doesn't measure up and who can Even Bo Derek.

I understand her husband doesn't think she's a ten. That's not wonderful. And the woman who doesn't measure up is made to feel of little value. It's no wonder that American women have such low self-esteem.

Is it look at the ideal that is set before us out of the kingdom of darkness? That Satan is the prince of the power of it and you know that by filling you with low self-esteem He creates needs in your life and then he convinces you that the only way they're going to be filled is by Measuring up to the world's idea if I could have a hairstyle Just like Farrah Fawcett or if I could have a hairstyle cornrows just like Bo Derek that takes 10 hours to fix if I could just have that if I just had the perfect figure if I Just had the perfect education.

I'd have it made and yet all Around us are signs that it simply is not true. I know brilliant women who don't know God and they are Miserable. I met a woman Oh several years ago who was miss and I won't tell you what state she was.

She was beautiful. She had a marvelous marriage at one time very wealthy man. She had darling children. She had all this this and this and she was one of the most unhappy women I ever met. Because she didn't have Jesus she was living in that other world and don't you ever Let Satan deceive you into thinking that if you had all this you would be happy.

We have Jane Mansfield with a perfect figure was a miserable woman. She died a drug addict and a heavy drinker. Marilyn Monroe's death her life what a mess on and on and on we can name Jean Harlow all these people.

That are these beautiful images. I don't think that Farrah Fawcett's doing so well these days whoever hears of her anymore. She's been replaced who cares, you know. That's the way the world is and it keeps replacing and you have to improve on the last one constantly these things do not satisfy and this ideal comes out of the kingdom of darkness and Every single woman in this room is being pressured one way or another to conform to it.

Have you ever gone in a room with pointed-toe shoes when round shoes were the vote? Oh Boy you really have to walk with Jesus to not care. Don't you our last year's color? Oh, you know, it's good to be released from that.

It is so good to be released from that. You don't have to conform to the world's standards. I don't care in this class if you wear jeans or if you wear a mink, it does not matter to me. What matters to me is where is your heart and what kingdom are you being ruled by if.

You're being ruled by the kingdom of light. You are free from that stuff. You don't have to be a hundred and twenty five and get anorexia nervosa to get down to 88 pounds. You're freed from it. You are.

They're finding now that a few pounds over is healthier. It's always Chuck rejoicing. Uh-huh. You know. They always said then was the best and they're finding that thin men died just as quickly very thin men.

Died just as quickly as the overweight way overweight and isn't that interesting new research? Oh boy, are we glad to hear that? But we have got to be aware because we're being pressured by this stuff.

You know if you wear a long hair and everybody wears short hair. There's a pressure if you do this if you know, whatever there is a pressure. I know girls teenage girls who say it is miserable to go down on the beach dress modestly.

Because their friends go. Oh, what a corny bathing suit, you know, or the boys just kind of look there. You know what a bore to see her when I can look at undressed Susie over here, you know, it's true.

It's true and we have to teach our girls that they are not of this world. They're not of the kingdom of darkness and they should dress like representatives and guided by the ruler of the kingdom of light.

Set down next in the other column God's ideal of the Christian woman. Oh. What is his ideal and I don't want you to? Just take a scripture that I'm going to give you this morning, but I want you to think it through.

What is God's ideal for me today? What qualities and characteristics does he want woven in my life? What does he want me to be like? Is it important to God that I'm beautiful? Is it important to God that I'm thin.

Is it important to God that I'm young? Is it important to God that I'm any of these things or what is God really interested in? One of my favorite scriptures on this and one that has helped me the most.

In this as a young when I was a young wife years and years ago back in them for some buggy days. Is first Peter the third chapter and I'm going to read it in Living Bible because I love it. First Peter 3 3 just listen.

Don't look it up. I want you to listen. Don't be concerned now. This comes out of the kingdom of life. This is God's ideal. This is just one of the faces of God's ideal for you. Don't be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on jewelry or beautiful clothes or hair.

Arrangement and I could add on figure or whatever else be beautiful inside your hearts. With the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. So precious to God that kind of deep beauty was seen in the saintly women of old who trusted God.

That's the kind of beauty that's God's ideal. That's what he wants for you. And you know, it is so freeing. It is so freeing when I was a little kid and I bear scars from this my mom for some reason or other.

Didn't think it was important to have neat school clothes and I had beautiful clothes for church. But the crummy is closed for school and I don't know why she was like that or why she did that but that's what she did and I got a calm and then I had an aunt that used to sew things for me sometimes and she sewed some of the strangest Looking outfits.

Oh. Talk about inner healing needs. I really and if that wasn't bad enough. I was such a skinny little thing. You know that could be true. Always but I was a real skinny scrawny little thing with sore throats all the time when I was like in the fifth and sixth grade and you know what my mom did.

Everybody wore bobby socks, but Kay Johnson, you know what she wore take this off tape black cotton bloomers that came almost to my knees and showed you know if I'd move my you know how your dress moves and these bloomers with Black heavy cotton hose now if that doesn't make you feel like a misfit.

It's a miracle. There's any normal see me at all today and I would go to school just like oh, you know. It was miserable. It was miserable and it took me years to get over that when I would go into a room I would just be so tense and everything had to be absolutely perfect.

I had an inheritance from my mom and dad when they died and you know what I spent most of it on Clothes I did. I was so absolutely Traumatized by that now by the time I got into junior high things changed and it got a little better.

But nevertheless that wounded and scarred me so badly now. I always had friends. It wasn't that my friends in fact, we're very sympathetic and and Sweet and all that but it was still that awful thing of having to walk in the school grounds like that and you know We moved to Los Arenas.