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What Makes God Delightful?
Summary: Psalm 147:11,“The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love..”
What makes God delightful?
Have you ever wondered what makes God delightful?
One of the greatest privilege in Christian life and ministry is to Rejoice in the Lord always; The Bible repeatedly commands us to “rejoice in the Lord” (Phil 3:1; 4:4). The most important thing that any one of us can do in present times – and indeed at any time – is to delight ourselves in the Lord. Happiness depends on what happens; but delight is independent of happenings. That’s why it’s called joy “of the Lord.” Ezra told the people during restoration, “The joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10). The heart cry of the Psalmist was, “O Lord, will You not revive us again that Your People may rejoice IN You?” (Psalms 85:6). Yes, revival restores “joy and gladness” to God’s people (Joel 1:16)
First let us notice the following 4 texts that speak of God’s delight in his people.
1. Psalm 149:4 “For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.”
2. Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."
3. Psalm 147:11,“The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love..”
4. Deuteronomy 30:10 (NLT) “The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. “
God also commands us to delight in him. See the subsequent 4 texts.
1. Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
2. Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”
3. Psalm 43:4, “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.”
4. Psalm 16:11” You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
It is indeed a glorious thing to know that God Almighty desires a reciprocal relationship with His People. He longs to give us the desires of our heart just as much as He wants to receive our love. It is a bless-and-receive relationship. It is more blessed to give than receive. Try and give God thanks, praises and worship , each moment and be be more blessed by God Himself.
Placing our faith in Jesus Christ allows the Lord to fill us with His Spirit who will quickly begin moving things around to accommodate the tremendous abundance that God has for His People. Jesus has provided everything that we need to not only survive in this world but to thrive as well. He is the Way. So why are so many of God’s People living broke, busted and disgusted rather than in the lavish abundance of God which is their inheritance as God’s Children? How is that possible when everything seems to be falling apart, you may ask? The Lord will delight in your repentance, righteousness, obedience and faithfulness when you give all your heart and soul to Him. You will delight in the Lord by knowing and understanding His Plan for your life.
The word “delight” here is a Hebrew word that is only used about a half dozen times in the Bible; the word means something “delicate” or “soft” that a person would enjoy, and take delight in. Isaiah 66:11 uses it of a nursing child who delights in his mother. Isaiah 13:22 uses it of the “luxuries” that are found in palaces. Delight may be in people, or in things, or in various experiences. A “delight” is not merely a discipline; when you delight in something, your thoughts are constantly turning to it; you think of it early, often, and late. It makes you smile to think of it; it cheers your heart when other things oppress you. You do all that you do regarding it, purely because it IS your delight! A person’s delight may be found in any number of things – but the Bible commands us here to find our delight in the Lord. That same “delight” that we try to find in so many things, we are to find in HIM. Job 22:25-26 uses the same Hebrew word when it says: “The Almighty will be your gold and choice silver to you. For then you will delight in the Almighty.” We are to delight in God, like some do gold or silver or precious treasures.
Here is the picture of that mutually delightful love relationship that we are to have with the Lord: It is important at this point to realize that there is a commitment involved on our part if we are going to delight ourselves in the Lord. The Bible is the best source to see what delights the Lord Our God, let’s look at some of them.
What Makes God Delightful?
Here are 10 points we can meditate and do :
1. God is delighted when we seek Him wholeheartedly.
2. God is delighted when we love him supremely.
3. God is delighted when we serve him cheerfully
4. God is delighted when we trust him completely.
5. God is delighted when we obey him sincerely.
6. God is delighted when we walk in Holiness.
7. God is delighted when we delight in His Word.
8. God delighted when we praise and thank him continually.
9. God is delighted when we give Him Glory.
10. God is delighted when we do His will.
Point # :-
1. God is delighted when we seek Him wholeheartedly
This is what the LORD says to Israel: "Seek me and live; (Amos 5:4)
Prophet Amos exhorts the Israelites to repentance; and it was an address common to all, the message here through Amos reduces it to its simplest terms. Seek the Lord and live. This tells people that only in the Lord can their abundant and true life. Life encompasses true life in this world, and life eternal when this life is over. True life now means life showing, through seeking and obedience to God and faith in him, the joy of holiness, the practice of divine love, and the comfort of being under the guidance and protection of the Lord. In seeking the Lord is our only hope, the only hope of life and the escape from death. Bible says “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God. (James 2:23 RSV) What is remarkable is that Abraham was termed the friend of God. The great, almighty, ever-present and all-powerful, all-knowing God was the one who made this statement. This was not Abraham’s assessment of his relationship with God, nor how he thought about God. It was a statement that God made about Abraham. James was quoting from Isaiah 41:8 “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; (RSV)
Abraham was not perfect saint, but he was one of the great men mentioned in the Bible. His faith is cited for our example (Jas. 2, Heb. 11). Abraham is called a "friend of God" three times (James 2:23, 2 Chroni. 20: 7, Isa. 41: 8). Abraham was God's friend because of the quality of the character he possessed. "God regarded Abraham as his friend because he was seeking and ever faithful to God and always submitted his will to God's." The relationship Abraham enjoyed with God was a remarkable one by human standards – but tremendously encouraging for us. God is not a partial God. He is not a respecter of persons. God doesn’t involve Himself in cliques or narrow, exclusive groups of people that only a few can enter. Rather, He extends the hand of friendship to all of those diligently seek Him.
If we follow the example of our spiritual forefather Abraham by being in agreement with God, displaying loyalty and dependability towards God, and freely confiding in Him in all matters, then we too will be called the friends of God. Friendship with God is a worthy goal. Friendship is one of our most beautiful and intimate relationships. Only with a friend can we share our lives, our hopes, and our joys. In the past, when people tended to live in one place for long periods of time, they placed a high value on friendship. Today, however, it is often difficult to have a true friend. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; to do God’s will Bible says "A friend loves at all times." (Proverbs 17:17) Friends, who love us at all times, and whose closeness to us even transcends family relationships, are rare. Proverbs 18:24 says -"There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." True friendship demands commitment, and few are willing to take the responsibility necessary to live up to this biblical standard of friendship. While Jesus lived on earth, an essential part of His message was that God wanted to reestablish His covenant of friendship with man that had been broken by Adam and Eve's sin. Jesus said, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15: 14).
There's one thing above all else that God wants from His people. That is to know His presence. He desires us to know His presence in our lives and He really is calling us to know that He is with us. God's presence is His glory, and He is calling us into the stream of His glory. God wants us hungry, desperate, and jealous for His presence. So the first step in our quest for intimacy with the Lord is getting to know Him—who He is, what He does, how He thinks, and what He desires. Even though God is invisible and inaudible to our physical senses, a close relationship with Him is cultivated the same way human friendships are—through time spent together, communication, exposure, and shared interests.
What Makes God Delightful?
2. God is delighted when we love Him supremely
Jesus Christ revealed what you can do to make God delightful: In Gospel of Matthew: 22:37-39) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "
God is Pleased When We Love Him Supremely with Our Heart. The first and the greatest commandment is an implication of the greatest and most wonderful picture of the delight of God “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind…” (Luke 10:27, NIV)." If that's the commandment, then keeping it must please God more than anything else we can do. All the Jews knew that . . . "To love him (God) with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices (Mark 12:33 NIV)." When asked to identify the greatest commandment of all, Jesus put the two commandments together, with loving God coming first and loving our neighbor coming second. The reason for this order is because the second commandment rises out of the first. This means that loving God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength will have a profound effect on the way we treat others – be they those who are nearest and dearest, or those we have only just met, or those who have made themselves our enemy – because we will love them for God’s sake. In other words, the natural outcome of loving God more than anyone and anything else in your life is living to please God more than anyone or anything else in your life, including yourself . Therefore, when you love God the most, you will love others – not on the basis of how they are treating you, or whether you feel endeared to them, or even know them, but on the basis of pleasing the One whom you love the most. Or to say it just a bit differently: if you love God more than yourself, and more than anyone or anything else in your life, then you will love others as God would have you love them – which is as you love yourself.
God calls us to love one another, and that can be hard. Everyone you encounter is not lovable. In fact, some people are downright nasty. How can you love them? The secret lies in this "Love your neighbor as yourself" You are not perfect. You will never be perfect. You know you have faults, yet God commands you to love yourself. If you can love yourself despite your faults, you can love your neighbor despite his or her faults. You can try to see them as God sees them. You can look for their good traits, as God does. We cannot follow Christ and be haters. The two do not go together. To make God happy, you must be radically different from the rest of the world. Jesus' disciples are commanded to love one another and forgive one another even when our feelings tempt us not to. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."John 13:35. Pleasing God by loving him, your neighbor, and yourself is no small task. It will challenge you to your limits and take the rest of your life to learn to do well, but it's the highest calling any person can have.
Reflect on the “ingredient” of love in 1 Cor. 13. It is always pointed out to us that “Love is patient … kind… does not envy… does not boast… not proud… not rude.. not self-seeking… not easily angered… keeps no record of wrongs.” It is also emphasized that love “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.” But there are two words in 1 Cor. 13: 6 that are not highlighted, when “love” is being discussed. An important “ingredient” of love In NIV, they are “delight” and “rejoice.” NASB emphasizes “rejoice.” He, who loves, delights or rejoices. Thus, we could also read the greatest commandment this way: Delight in the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. “Delight yourself in the LORD…” Psalm 37:4.
What Makes God Delightful?
3. God is delighted when we serve Him cheerfully
“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalm 100:2)
Our joy and happiness is not merely in receiving blessing from God, but in rendering active service to our God and others out of love. We desire to obey and serve our heavenly Father in all things and to do His divine will at all time, not reluctantly, or of necessity, but cheerfully. God's will is our joy and delight. The happiest people in the world is not the wealthy or famous, not the erudite or men of high positions. Happy people are those who found their hope in God not only for this world but including the world beyond. Great joy belongs to those who serve Him with gladness. God desires that “Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly” (Psalm 68:3).
Moses warned Israel people, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of all things” (Deuteronomy 28:47-48).
The children of Israel were human beings just like you and I. We can learn many things from their failures. They failed to pay attention to the voice of the Lord, failed to serve the Lord with joy and gladness, failed to do what God had commanded them to do, and they found themselves in trouble with God as the result. God's judgment came down upon them. They were dealt with. And we will be dealt with, too, when we don't do right.
In all sorts of life circumstances we can get to centering on ourselves, our troubles, our challenges, and our obstacles in life. When one gets bogged down with the cares of this world, we need to consider what God’s word says about serving the LORD. Psalm 100 says serve the LORD with gladness; No matter what is going on in this world, God is still God and that fact will never change. God has not changed. Therefore, we are to “trust, obey, love, worship and serve the LORD with gladness” In other words, life is not really about us. Life is about the truth that the LORD is God — He made us and cares for us. “The LORD Himself is God; it is He who made us, and not we ourselves.” Serving the Lord with gladness describes the manner in which the people of God enjoy themselves as they live out their lives for God's glory in God's presence.
What Makes God Delightful?
4. God is delighted when we trust him completely
“But he takes pleasure in those who honor him, in those who trust in his constant love.”(Psalm 147:11 Good News Translations) "Blessed is the nation whose God is The Lord" (Psalm 33:12)
Trust is the foundation of every single relationship that we have. It is the primary element necessary for success. If there is no trust, then there is no relationship. To say that we love someone but that we do not trust them is impossible because love is a commitment. A commitment is a pledge, promise and obligation. If you want a relationship with God, there must be a union. Trust is reliance in the integrity, strength, ability and surety of a person or thing. Jesus said in John 14:1-3 (NLT) “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” The success or failure of my life rests in nothing more than my ability to love and trust the Lord. Bible says in Isaiah 26:2-4 (NLT)
“Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the LORD always for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.” Perfect peace is the benefit of those who trust the Lord in all things.
David was considered to be a man after God’s own heart, David says in Psalm 37:3-5
Trust in the Lord and do good, then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, And he will give you your heart’s desires Commit everything you do to the Lord, Trust him and he will help you. Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong – trust God instead. In other words, don’t envy ungodly people who seem to prosper, or envy ungodly things. Take your focus off the world around you and the evil that is going on in people’s lives and focus on who God is instead. The word trust means to have confidence in someone or something. It means to be secure in and to be bold. I like this. We can trust God, because of who he is, because he cares for us. To have confidence in someone means we know how they will behave towards us. Prov 3:5 “Trust the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”
Noah trusted God, he was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9) “Noah consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him.” (Genesis 6:9) God says “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6) “I don’t want your sacrifices - I want your love; I don’t want your offerings - I want you to know and trust me.” (Hosea 6:6) God is pleased when we trust him completely Trusting GOD completely means having FAITH that He knows what is best for your life.“He takes pleasure in those that honor Him; in those who trust in His constant love. (Psalms 147:11 TEV) In what areas of your life do you need to trust GOD completely? Trusting is an act of worship. Bible says that “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6) John Piper said “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”
What Makes God Delightful?
5. God is delighted when we obey him sincerely
“But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams”( 1 Samuel 15:22NLT )
We know the context of the above scripture; God’s instructions to King Saul were clear enough. Slay the Amalekites and destroy all their possessions. When Samuel met Saul in the morning at Gilgal, Saul confidently announced that he had done exactly what the Lord commanded. But truth always wins. The King then tried to cover his disobedience by blaming the people and by excusing them on religious grounds. He said, “The people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord.”
It was then he heard God’s convicting words, “Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams” Obedience is more important than rituals, sacrifices and offerings. We often hear people defending an unscriptural position or unscriptural associations on the ground that they can have a wider influence in this way. But God is not deceived by such specious rationalizations. He wants our obedience—only when we are walking in obedience with the Lord can we exert a godly influence on others.
We read about Noah, he did everything exactly as GOD had commanded him.” (Genesis 6:22)Noah obeyed completely (no instruction was overlooked), and he obeyed exactly (in the way and time GOD wanted it done).sincerely means doing whatever GOD asks without reservation or hesitation. “Obey him gladly” (Psalm 100:2) “Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live Ill sincerely obey. “(Psalm 119:33 LB) we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe. “ (James 2:24 CEV)We can bring pleasure to GOD through sincere Obedience; any act of obedience is also an act of worship. Why is obedience so pleasing to God? Because it proves that you really love him."If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” (John 14:15 TEV)
Ezekiel warned that disobedience leads to spiritual blindness, and to false teachings that seduce people to believe lies (Ezekiel 12:2; 13:2–19). This theme runs throughout the Old Testament...Disobedience needs the proper name. It is called “sin.” Jeremiah also warned that because people reject God’s word, and “each one walks according to the imagination of his own heart, so that no one listens to me… The prophets prophesy falsely… and my people love to have it so” (Jeremiah 5:31; 16:11–13). They substitute falsehood for the truth of the Word of God - fantasy religions, cults, bizarre ideologies like New Age, paganism, demonism, or atheism. The Bible also reveals that when God’s people do not obey Him, He allows a spirit of blindness to come over them, “because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments… the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear” (see Deuteronomy 28:47-48; 29:4).
Part 2 : What Makes God Delightful?
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