What makes God Happy? s30e157

You might wonder what makes God happy.  If you look for it, it is on every page of the Bible; Old Testament and New.

The real question practically is: Do I agree with God? Does what makes Him happy make ME happy? 

Please consider this thought for 7 minutes with me today. Then subscribe on Youtube. 

https://youtu.be/Q2XxShjpdUA

Transcript

What makes God Happy? 30e157

People. What if I don’t like CHURCHY PEOPLE? 

Let’s talk about the PEOPLE of God

If you want to be friends with God, it makes sense to be friends with the People of God in the house of God

When you become friends with God, you get a whole new set of friends.

Like getting engaged.  You get to know and commit to love her friends and relatives

A marker of your friendship with God is your friendship with those who God has made friends with.

         There is no alternative to being enthusiastic toward the people of God

         He’s enthusiastic about the people of God, His children , family, adoptees, , what is our problem

         What if I cannot be friends with the friends of God?, at least right now.

         Ask God to give you eyes to see them AS HE SEES THEM:

                  He saw them and esteemed them, right thru their sin

                  He VALUED them enough to exchange His Son’s life for

Pray for an inordinate affection towards the knuckleheads in the house of God

The Psalmist asked to dwell in the house of the Lord.  You find the LORD there of course, but uniquely, you also find His people there. 

When He directs you to HIMSELF, He almost always directs. You to His PEOPLE.

Why should I favor the people of God? Because God faithfully favors His peopl

God faithfully favors His people from the first page of the Bible until the last. We are the apple of His eye.  The Lord’s portion is His people. Dt 32. 

besides Himself,  People are the favorite thing of God, 

The Lord takes pleasure in His People! Ps 149 ….and so should you

Christian Fellowship is assumed on every page of the new testament

God feels disproportionately attached to those in His kingdom,

Sometimes you just gotta ask WHY? Don’t know but HE DOES demonstrate excessive bias, and so must you demonstrate such an excessive bias

God strangely calls people his friends. To be a friend of God is to be a friend of the knuckleheads that God is friends with.

God is inexplicably fond of His people, and if you are not similarly fond for His people, you have some explaining to do!!

WHERE is the correct place to gather and WHY is it this way? Where gather? Geography question: “I’ve stopped attending church.”Why cannot you do this online in your living room. 

Don’t let your grouchiness towards the people o f God mar your intimacy with God Himself.

Here is your assignment if you don’t like the church: Psalm 149: Sing to the Lord a new song. His praise in the assembly of the godly..   The Lord takes pleasure in His people.

And Ps 27One thing I have asked of the Lord…that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life

God Likes people sooooo much He promises the most valuable : Himself

He promises to be with them.

Ps91:    14      “Because he holds fast to me in love***********, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he knows my name. 

15    When he calls to me, I will answer him; 

I will be with him in trouble; 

Ps91 God is shadow close and I chose this. I choose Him. I put my stake in the ground in His shelter and in His shadow

He is With us in trouble. Quotes directly from God:

Trouble doesn’t go away, but the LORD PROMISES His presence

Over and over, the Psalms promise us trouble, at least recognize its reality

         Yes it will be trouble to fight temptation and sin internal and external:

         Yes, it will be trouble to have many stand against you because they stand against the Lord.

When many stand against you, it is time for your to stand WITH the people of God in the House of God.

One of the images that is repeated in the OT is “giving God your back”

         That is, physically turnin your face away from Him. Jer 32:33 they have turned to me their BACK and not their face.  Though I have taught them persistently , they have not listened to receive instruction.

Do you have a church you Love?

Do you have a people in that church that you love?

It is impossible to understand the truths of the OT and the NT outside of God’s interaction with the people of God. It is on every page.

So, don’t give the Lord your back on this.

It likely will mean fellowship, service, membership, commitment, financial generosity, inconvenience, and exhaustion. These will be the new markers as to whether you agree with this truth.

If you are going to experience the discipline of the Lord, where better to do then in a body, and even sometimes AS A BODY.

Sometimes, the Lord seeks to put us BACK in His good graces

 exactly by taking us OUT of His good graces—it is the story of the Bible.

A faithful, covenant keeping God who disciplines us back into 

If you are going to experience the THUMB of the Lords corrective attention, let’s do it together

If you are going to experience the COMFORT of the Lord, likely you will experience it in the Comfort of His people.  We often say in grief or death, How do people do this who don’t know the Lord?...and the people of the Lord

The people of God SHINE in grief.

If you are going to experience WORSHIP, PRAISE, Spiritual Awe, I hope you aim for it PERSONALLY.  I also hope you achieve it Corporately.

In conclusion, we are reviewing Psalms of 150 days study and exposure. 

We ask today: What makes God Happy? 30e157--PEOPLE

People. What if I don’t like CHURCHY PEOPLE? –not really a place to end on.

If that is you, don’t stop there. Ask God to help.  And you help God. Don’t “give God your back “ in this. Thanks.