Pleasing God or pleasing men?

Obeying God or pleasing men????

Leonard Navarre – Valley View Christian Church – Edgewood, NM

Today’s Bible boost asks the question; are we pleasing God or pleasing people? Ever notice how most politicians feel that pleasing people is the key to getting elected.  Focus groups and lobbyists provide information about what the people want, and if they don’t give it to them, somebody else will.  It is not uncommon for politicians to change their “convictions” upon election.  However, those who study God’s Word, the Bible, even in politics God rules in the kingdoms of men and allows and appoints those who are in those governmental positions.

Paul in Galatians 1:10, states, “obviously, I am not trying to win the approval of people but of God.  If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be a servant of Jesus Christ.”

Paul faced tremendous pressure to change his message, to go along with tradition and even to change the entire gospel of Jesus Christ.  But he didn’t.  As Paul made mention, if we seek to please men, we are not the servants of Jesus Christ.

Our focus needs to be on eternity for the souls of men.  Our focus needs to be on obeying God’s Word in the here and now.  “It is not foolish to give up things we cannot keep, to gain things we cannot lose”- Jim Elliot

Here are some questions for you:  Should Noah have taken a poll before building the ark?  Should Moses have given the people a ballot to vote for God or for the golden calf?  How about Daniel and his Jewish friends?  Should they have taken a survey among all the captives to see whether they should obey the king’s servant or God’s instructions?  It’s absurd to believe that Jesus should have asked for a show of hands about whether to go to Jerusalem to die?  Of course, the popular opinion among the disciples was, “don’t go”.  But he steadfastly turned his face to Jerusalem to accomplish the task of going to the cross, bleeding and dying for our sins.

Abraham Lincoln was once asked if he felt that God was on his side and the side of the north on the slavery issue.  Lincoln correctly responded that he was not concerned whether God was on his side, but he was overly concerned that he was on God’s side.

It seems that we are more concerned about being politically correct than in being God correct.

Do you remember when Peter and the apostles were arrested and thrown in prison in Acts 5?  Their crime.  Of course, for healing the sick, the afflicted and preaching about salvation in no other name but Jesus Christ.  They were given strict orders to not preach in the name of Jesus Christ or tell how he died.  Here’s Peter and the apostles respond to this charge.  They said, “we must obey God rather than men.”

So my friends in a world that seems to only want to hear things that are “politically correct” it would behoove us to remember the words of Peter and the apostles which is our Bible Boost for today…

Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather men!”

Don’t give in!  Don’t give up and NO COMPROMISE!

I’m Pastor Leonard Navarre, of Valley View Christian Church, praying that we will obey God rather than men.