Hebrews 11:6 NIV
[6] 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.
Glasgow audiences are notorious. If they like you, everything is good. If they don’t, you could be in trouble.
Glasgow sporting audiences, especially for Rangers or Celtic, are even more so. Have them with you and the noise they make is unbelievable. Between fifty-five and sixty thousand fans singing, dancing and chanting must be quite an incredible experience.
But if they turn, and they start booing and yelling and shouting, and it takes a very brave man or woman to perform under those circumstances.
Living to please other people can be a massive trap. It can rob us of our identity, or worse, our integrity.
But living to please God and make Him happy?
That is always the right thing to do.
The problem is: how do we do it?
If you’ve ever lived with a perfectionist who wants you to make them happy but will not tell you how, then you will know how miserable an experience that is, especially if they expect you to ‘just know’.
It will, I’m sure, encourage you tremendously to know that God is not like that. The Bible is clear on what pleases God.
One of the things that pleases God is faith, or trust, in Him. Because without this faith, we can do nothing else that pleases Him. Faith in Him is the foundation.
There are three aspects of this God-pleasing faith.
The first of these is that we must believe in Him. That is, we must believe that He exists.
This is, of course, completely obvious. How can you please someone whom you doubt exists?
But this also has another aspect. If our purpose is to bring God glory and live for His pleasure, then we rob ourselves of our primary purpose by disbelieving in Him.
So what am I saying?
Very simple. By choosing to abandon the idea of believing in God, despite the plentiful evidence to the contrary, atheists also abandon the very reason why they are alive.
And that is a tragedy. A deep, deep tragedy.
We live to bring pleasure to God. And to do that, we must first believe that He exists.
As the Bible says:
Psalms 14:1-3 NIV
[1] The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. [2] The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. [3] All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Deny the existence of God and this is a description of you, whether you like it or not.
As well as believing in Him, we also see that we must trust Him.
But how?
These verses state something very interesting – something that, thanks to the prevalence of the erroneous health, health and prosperity ‘gospel’, we are often afraid to say, but it does not stop it from being true:
Hebrews 11:6 NIV
[6] 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. https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.11.6.NIV
Do you see it? This verse states that seeking God will be worth our while.
It says God will reward our efforts.
It says that getting to know Him will always be worth our while.
Interestingly, the Greek word that is used here is ‘one who pays wages’ – one who gives what another is due.
But the Bible says God is way more than that:
Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV
[20] Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
In other words, when we seek God in faith, we don’t just get what we deserve, we get so much more and more than we could ever ask for or imagine.
So the writer to the Hebrews goes on to explain what we should do about this fact. If we believe in God and trust in Him to reward us more than we could ask of or imagine, then it stands to reason that we should come to Him.
We should see Him out. We should seek to know Him. We should seek to obey Him.
Isaiah 55:6-7 NIV
[6] Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. [7] Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.55.6-7.NIV
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
[13] You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. https://bible.com/bible/111/jer.29.13.NIV
When I was a student, bars and restaurants had a little trick – and I think nowadays, with the proliferation of allergies, they are not allowed to do this anymore. What they used to do was put little pots of salted peanuts on the table for you to munch on while you were waiting on your food and drink.
The aim was simple. The bars and restaurants made much more on the mark-up from their drinks than they did from the food. The salted peanuts, which were cheap even then, increased thirst and ensured that customers bought more higher-priced drinks.
Why am I talking about peanuts?
Because this passage should whet our appetite for God.
Because the evidence that He exists in nature ought to make us hungry and thirsty to learn more of Him, to seek Him out and know Him.
Because everything we know of Him ought to make us long to know more and more of Him.
This verse teaches us the three phases in our coming to God. We believe in Him. We acknowledge His existence. We believe that knowing Him will be good for us. And so we come. And we keep coming. And we keep coming.
Until God becomes the most important figure in our lives.
So tell me, friend, won’t you come to Him?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I believe in You. I know You exist. I know that knowing You will always be worth my while. And so I come. Openly. Honestly. Hiding nothing. Teach me what it truly means to have faith in You. Amen.
Questions
1. What are the two steps that we undergo before coming to God? Why are they necessary?
2. How does God reward those who seek Him?
3. Have you ever sought God? Will you do it today?
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