What does God delight in?

What does God actually delight in?

We spend so much of our lives chasing success, recognition, and the approval of others. But have you ever stopped to ask what brings joy to the heart of God?

In this first message of our Growing in Favor with God series, we discover that God has never hidden what He values. Through Isaiah 66, Micah 6, and Psalm 147, we see that God is not impressed by outward appearances or religious performance. Instead, He delights in people with humble hearts, faithful lives, and unwavering trust in Him.

Whether you've been following Christ for decades or you're just beginning your faith journey, this message will challenge you to stop living for the applause of the world and start living for the smile of your Heavenly Father.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

There's a reason we're here this morning. We don't celebrate with fireworks, we don't celebrate uh with a cookout necessarily, but we're here to gather around a table. We're here to recognize the one that gave a sacrifice for us. And as much as we think about the freedom we have here in America, as Ray alluded to in our Lord's Supper this morning, we have an incredible freedom because of what Jesus did for us, freeing us from the bonds of sin. And we gather every week to celebrate that. And what a blessing that is. And so as we've worked our way through one verse uh this year, uh we're gonna continue that trend here in the third quarter of 2026. Um, if you want to turn over there, hopefully you have it marked at this point or underlined. But we've been talking about Luke 252, if you didn't recognize that so far. And this is what it says and Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature. And if you've been with us this year, you know we've talked a lot about wisdom. We've talked a lot about growing in stature. And then it says, and in favor with God and man. So can you guess where we're going for the rest of the year? We're going in favor with God for this quarter, and then we'll talk about in favor with man for the final quarter of this year. So we're beginning a new series, you could say, today, as we talk about what it means to grow in favor with God. And I think as we make our way through, the first couple of topics were pretty easy, right? They're pretty easy to understand. We want to grow in wisdom, we want to grow in stature, but then when we get to this idea, how do we grow in favor with God? Doesn't he already love us? Doesn't he already care for us? Hasn't he already poured everything out for us and put it all on the line? And the answer is yes. So how do we grow in favor with God? And I think that's one of the most fascinating statements in all of Scripture because I think it raises that question of what does this actually mean? The Father has loved the Son for all eternity. So it doesn't mean when Jesus came to earth, he began to earn the Father's love. There's there's nothing that is implicated there in that verse. It doesn't mean God loved him a little more every year. The Father, again, had loved him for all eternity. And so if you're a Christian this morning, I want you to hear this very clearly. You cannot make God love you more than he already does through Jesus Christ. And I want you to see that. This isn't about earning something. This isn't about reaching this place where God can love me a little more. Because what I want you to see is he's already given it all for you. God loves you more than anything or anybody else ever will. And so this lesson, this series, this quarter isn't about trying to get a place in his family because you're already there. Jesus laid that out on the line for you. His grace is not earned, his love is never purchased by you. His acceptance isn't something that we need to work towards. But there's a difference between being loved by God and living life in a way that delights him, that brings delight to his face. And I want you to think about this. Twice during Jesus' ministry, the Father spoke down from heaven, and at his baptism, he said, This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. And then at the transfiguration, he said it again, This is my beloved son. I want you to just for a moment think about hearing those words. Imagine your life bringing joy to the heart of our heavenly father. I mean, isn't that what we want? When we give our lives to him, we we obey his word, when we seek him. That's our should be our goal. Bring delight to our heavenly Father. It's not because we're trying to earn heaven, not because we're trying to earn grace, but because when someone has loved you that deeply, the way that God loves us, our greatest desire should be living our lives in a way that brings honor to them. And I think we can see that in our physical relationships here on this earth. Those people that love you, don't you want to bring honor to them? Don't you want to please them? And I think the same should be true because God loves us more than anybody. And so we should long for a life. We should seek a life that brings honor to Him, one that pleases Him, one that He delights in. And I think that's what all of this is wrapped around as we talk about growing in favor with God and man. So for the next three months, we're asking a simple question. I think the first one is what kind of life delights the Father? And perhaps today we begin with the most basic question of all what actually delights God? So if we want to live a life that brings delight to him, the first thing we need to identify is what is it that he delights in? So that's where we're going this morning. Because if we're going to grow in favor with God, we first need to know what God values. And here's the beautiful thing about it: it's not a mystery, it's not something you need to seek and try to find somewhere else because it's all laid out for you right here in his word. It's not something that's hard to find, but simply studying our Bibles, studying this together, we can clearly see what he wants from us. And I say it's easy to know what he wants, but maybe not always easy to deliver on that each and every day. And we'll talk about what that means as we make our way through. But God has never hidden the answer to that question. When I was growing up, there was one place in our house that carried a surprising amount of importance. Maybe you're with me on this one, but that place was the refrigerator, right? And I'm not talking about what was inside. All that was important, but what I'm talking about is what was placed on the outside of the refrigerator. Did you have one of those growing up? You know, we came home with all kinds of things from school or from BBS or from Sunday school at church, and we brought these projects home to mom and dad all the time. And now, sometimes, let's be honest, they weren't quite museum quality, right? You look at some of them, and it's like somebody performed some kind of operation on that stick figure. I don't know what was going on there. We bring home a spelling test and half the page was marked up red. I don't know, but but every once in a while, you'd bring home that one piece that you're really proud of. And your mom or dad would look at it and say, hey, this is a good one. Let's put it up on the refrigerator. This was important. But even my best artwork, if you really look at it, doesn't really compare to maybe what some of the other kids in class were doing. But yet, it held this place of importance in our home. Some of my best artwork would never make it in any museum around the entire world. For some reason, it was displayed in our home right there on the refrigerator. Why do we do that? What's the importance of that? It's because it was a it wasn't because it was the best piece of artwork ever created, but it was there because it delighted the heart of my parents. It delighted the heart of someone that loved me. See it. It was there because it recognized that bond. There was more to it. It reflected a relationship. It was created by someone my parents loved, and so they wanted to display that on that place of importance in our home. So I want you to think about this. If God had a refrigerator, what is he gonna put on that refrigerator? What kind of life causes the father to smile? What kind of heart makes him say, that's exactly what I'm looking for in that moment, what you did, that choice you made, the way you responded, that is what I delight in. Because if we're honest, I think most of us spend our entire lives trying to get our artwork on the world's refrigerator, don't we? We're seeking these physical things. We chase the applause, we chase the recognition and the success. We're after those titles and the money and the influence and the followers. We're seeking promotions. We spend enormous amounts of energy trying to impress other people. But have we ever stopped to ask what is it that actually delights our God? Not what impresses the culture, not what is it that's going to get us the most applause, not what earns a headline, but what delights the Father. What is it that brings a smile to his heart? Here's the good news. Again, it's not a secret. Throughout Scripture, he tells us over and over again exactly what he values. So this morning, we're gonna make our way three places in Scripture. We only got three points this morning. And as we make our way through, we're gonna see very clearly what it is that God delights in each one of these passages. So if you're using your outlines this morning, the first one is God delights in humble hearts. And our text for this one is from Isaiah chapter 66. If you have your Bibles, I always encourage you to open them up and turn there with me as we work our way through this. The people of Israel at this time were incredibly proud of the temple. And understandably so. The temple was magnificent, it was beautiful, it represents God's presence among his people. But listen to how God begins this chapter. Isaiah 66 and verses 1 and 2. Thus says the Lord, heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What is the house that you would build for me? And what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look. He who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. Isn't that remarkable? God says, Heaven is my throne, the earth is simply my footstool. In other words, you think you're going to impress me with a building? I created the universe. And you think you can just erect something that's going to be impressive in my eyes? I spoke galaxies into existence. The earth itself is where I put my feet. Not something we celebrate, is where we put our feet, right? And so everything you have, God says, came from me. Everything you build is built with materials that I created. Everything you offer me already belongs to me in the first place. And then God says something incredible. But this is the one to whom I will look. Don't miss that. This is the one to whom I will look. God is telling us the kind of person that does capture his attention. It's not about things, it's not about building wealth and great buildings. He says, This is who is impressive to me. The person upon whom he looks with favor? Who is it? Is it the wealthiest? No. Is it the smartest person? No. Is it the most successful? The most talented? No. Again. The one who has memorized the most verses, perhaps. Even that is not who he delights in. He says, the one who is humble. He says, the one who is contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. This is what I want you to hear. God has never been impressed by impressive people. Did you hear that? God has never been impressed by impressive people. Instead, he delights in humble people. And I think humility is one of those words that's easy to misunderstand. So let's get a clear look at what we're talking about here. Some people think humility means putting themselves down all the time. He's going around saying, I'm no good. I can't do anything. I'm worthless. But that's not biblical humility. Look at this quote from C.S. Lewis. He says, Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. And in that simple phrase, I think we get the idea of what biblical humility should look like. It's simply seeing yourself rightly before God. It's recognizing that everything I have is a gift from Him. Every breath I take, every opportunity that is before me, every talent, every blessing, every accomplishment. And James reminds us every good and perfect gift you can, you know it is from above, comes down from the Father of lights. If that's true, then what exactly do I have to boast about? It's all been given to me by him. So how impressive can I be when I'm talking to him? Oh, that's a pretty good thing you did, but guess what? I made that. I gave you that. You're there because I gave you that talent. We can't be impressive enough to stand before him. So Paul asked the Corinthians, what do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why boast as though you earned it? You see, humility isn't denying God's gifts, but it's simply acknowledging their source. And here's why this matters because pride makes us independent, but humility makes us dependent. You see it? When it's all about me, I begin to boast. I begin to think about how great I am, and I become independent on my own. But when I live in humility, I recognize my need. I recognize my need for him, and therefore a dependence is built. Pride says, I got this, but humility says, God, I need you. Humility says, without Christ, I can do nothing, or without Christ, anybody, I ain't nothing. Right? We need him, and that dependence is built when we live a life of humility. Guess which one God delights in? The humble one. James says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Think about that. God doesn't simply overlook pride. It says he opposes it. But he pours out grace on a humble heart. Why do you think that's the case? I think it's because humble hearts know that they need him. And we have to come to him in humility in order to be received. Proud people don't ask for grace. Instead, they think they've earned it. Humble people know better. And I think one of the greatest dangers in Christian life is not becoming openly rebellious. Instead, it's becoming quietly self-sufficient. And we think we don't need anybody else or even God anymore. That's where Satan begins to whisper, you've got this, do it your way. Slowly we find ourselves drifting away from our dependence on him. That's perhaps the greatest danger we face in our culture here in 2026. The danger is beginning to think I've been a Christian for a long time. I know my Bible. I've got this. And before long, we're depending on our own experience instead of depending on Christ. Depending on knowledge instead of prayer. We depend on our own ability instead of God's grace. And I think that's why Jesus tells the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. You know it. One stood before God and said, God be merciful to me, for I am a sinner. The Pharisees stood up and said, I thank you that I'm not like that tax collector or anybody else. Jesus said it was the man that went home justified, is the one who said, Be merciful to me, I am a sinner. And why is that the case? Because God delights in humble hearts. I think that's really what it comes down to. Not impressive, but humble. Not perfect, but humble. So if we want to grow in favor with God, it doesn't begin with becoming more impressive. It begins when we become more dependent. It begins by recognizing every single day of our lives, I still need Jesus just as much today as I did yesterday. We never grow out of that. Number two, on your outlines, God delights in faithful living. So we're moving from Isaiah to Micah, and again, a very popular verse, one that you've probably heard many times before. The prophet Micah is speaking to a people who had become very religious. And before we criticize them, let's understand something. Religion was not their problem. They were still offering sacrifices, they were still going through the motions, they still had ceremonies, they still worshiped. From the outside, they probably looked like everything was fine, but somewhere along the way, they began to believe that if they just didn't up religious things, that God's gonna be pleased. And so listen to this conversation that unfolds. Uh Micah 6, uh 6 through 8. This is what Christian read for us this morning. With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings? With calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression? The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul. He has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. And and as I read through that, do you I do you hear the desperation in their questions? With what shall I come before the Lord? What does the Lord want from me? Would he be pleased with burnt offerings or thousand ramps? Is it gonna take tens of thousands of rivers of oil? What if I gave him the most valuable thing I have, my firstborn? You see what's happening here? In this moment, they're asking, what impressive thing can I do to make God happy? And you know how God responds? He says, You already know. I've already told you. In other words, it's not a mystery. You don't have to search hard for it, it's right there. I've already answered this. And then comes one of the most beautiful summaries of the Christian life that's found in Scripture. He says, Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God, and and notice what isn't in there. It doesn't include extraordinary accomplishment. It doesn't say, do justice and do some kind of spectacular act. Have this once-in-a-lifetime moment. There's no impossible standard, but it's simply live justly, love mercy, walk with God. What I want you to see is that is wonderfully ordinary. What a blessing that is. That it is ordinary. And I think that's exactly the point. I think we often think God is waiting for us to do something huge. He's looking for us to go on that big mission trip. He's looking for us to stand before a crowd of tens of thousands of people and proclaim his word. And we get we get these thoughts in our head that I've got to do something incredible in this moment. Have the opportunity to do those things. That's a great thing. But it's saying that those are great, but that's not the core of who you are. We begin to think if I could just do that, then God's gonna be really impressed. But God says, Well, what about today? Will you tell the truth today? Will you show mercy today? Will you be honest today? Will you love your neighbor today? Will you Keep your word today. Sometimes we're dreaming about doing something extraordinary for God while neglecting the ordinary things he's already asked us to do. I think our purpose is somewhere down the road, but God just says, do what's right in front of us. Make those everyday decisions. And I think that's one of Satan's favorite distractions. Satan gets us chasing dramatic obedience while ignoring daily obedience. But scripture consistently tells a different story. Jesus didn't say, Well done, my good and spectacular servant. No, you know what he says. Well done, my good and what? Faithful servant. See the difference? He's not seeking some spectacular accomplishment. He's seeking faithfulness, and that's the word. Faithfulness is doing and choosing Jesus on Monday morning. Faithfulness is being the same Christian at work as you are while you're in this building. Faithfulness is honoring your marriage even when no one is watching. Faithfulness is keeping your integrity when lying would be easier. Faithfulness is praying even when you don't feel like it. Faithfulness is opening up your Bible even when life gets busy. Faithfulness is worshiping even when life is hard. Showing up consistently. Faithfulness is not exciting every single day. In fact, most days it's quiet. Most days nobody notices. Most days there is not any applause. But guess what? God notices. There's an audience of one. Never underestimate the value of ordinary obedience. Something like one kind word or one act of forgiveness, one generous gift. Maybe it's one prayer or one difficult conversation that's handled with grace. Those things may never trend on social media. They may never make the newspaper headlines if anybody still reads the newspaper. But those things are what God notices. Those things are what's making waves in your journey in faith. Our lives are not usually changed by one giant decision. The Christian life isn't built on highlights, it's built on habits. Think about that. That's true in every aspect of our lives. It's about showing up and doing it every single day. I think about when I ran my first 10K, I've shared that story with you before, but I didn't become a runner when I showed up that night and ran that race in the middle of the woods and ran into tree branches and sprained my ankle. I became a runner every night when I was preparing, when I got off the news desk and took off and ran through that neighborhood over and over and over and over and over again. Same's true for us in our lives. It's not about some spectacular event, it's about choosing him every day, choosing him every moment, considering him with every decision you make, the little ones. About how I'm gonna respond in this moment, what I'm gonna wear today, how I'm gonna act when this comes my way, how I'm gonna celebrate, how I'm gonna respond when that car gets in front of me in traffic. All those little things add up. Because the Christian life isn't built on highlights, it's built on habits. And I know we got one more, we'll be quick. God delights in those who obey Him. Comes from Psalm 147. If you have your Bibles, one Psalm 147. As you're turning there, remember the word, excuse me, remember the world in which this Psalm was written. In this moment, military strength determined everything. If you had the strongest army, the fastest horses, the greatest warriors, then you're going to survive. So power meant security, strength meant victory. Kings measured themselves by the size of their armies. Nations admired military might. And honestly, if we're real, not much has changed. We still admire strength. We admire people who seem to have it all together. We admire independence, self-made people. Think about all the stories you've heard about the self-made person, people that don't need anyone's help. But then listen to these words. He does not delight in the strength of a horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him and those who hope in his steadfast love. Isn't that surprising? The Lord does not delight in the strength of your horse. Instead, he takes no pleasure in the legs of man. Instead, the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him and those who hope in his steadfast love. Do you hear the contrast in those things? The world admires strength, but God delights in trust. The world says, stand on your own two feet, but God says, come lean on me. This is where your strength is obtained. The world says, believe in yourself, but God says, believe in me. The world says, you can handle this, but God says, cast your burdens and your cares upon me. I think one of the greatest lies we believe is that God is most pleased when we appear strong. The scripture teaches the exact opposite of that. Our fundamental position as Christians, and I know I preach this a lot, but our fundamental position is recognizing our need for the Savior. When you become a Christian, you're lowered into that watery grave of baptism, you're saying that I'm a sinner. You're saying I can't do it on my own, and I need your help. It's you that are going to rescue me. And that's what pleases God. When we recognize our need. Faith isn't pretending everything is okay. Faith isn't ignoring reality. Faith isn't saying, I've got this. Faith says I don't have this, but God has this. But God has it taken care of. Faith says, I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know the one that holds tomorrow. Trust his way. I don't have to have all the answers. I don't have to understand everything, but I know my foundation is set in him. Hebrews tells us without faith, it is impossible to please him. Why? Because our faith declares something profound. It says, God, I trust you more than I trust myself. We have to be there in that moment and have that understanding in order for God to work in our lives. In God's kingdom, dependence is our strength. Think about it. When we pray, it means our dependence is in Him. When we worship, we're worshiping in dependence in Him. When we repent, it's in dependence of God. Every time we bow our heads before God, we're admitting something. I cannot live life without you. And so, according to Psalm 147, this is exactly that kind of heart that God delights in. That's why we gather here. That's why we submit to Him with our lives. Our final goal is to become the kind of people in their lives bring joy to the heart of the Father. As we step back from these passages, I want you to notice something. Isaiah never says God is looking for the most successful people. Micah never says God is looking for the most accomplished people. The Psalm never says God delights in the strongest people. Instead, it says God delights in humble hearts, God delights in faithful living, God delights in those who trust him. Blend with this. To become the kind of people whose lives bring joy to the heart of the Father, our goal is simply this. Become the kind of people whose lives bring joy to the heart of the Father. I've stood a lot beside a lot of hospital beds over the years, a lot of hospice rooms. I've preached a number of funerals. And through all that, I've noticed something. It's amazing how different our priorities become at the end of our time here. I've never had someone when I'm sitting there talking to them, they know their life is coming to the end. They never said, Hey, can you go grab my diploma? One other look at that. They never say, Can you go like pull up my bank statement? I just want to take another look at all the money that I've received. No, it's all about relationships and family. It's about living a life that brings glory and honor to him. They want forgiveness, they want peace, they want to know that they have loved others well. They want to know that they've been faithful to God, and they want to know that they're going home. Going home to live with God for eternity. Isn't that amazing? The things we spend our lives chasing become incredibly small in that moment. How many hours did you spend trying to earn a paycheck? How many hours did you spend trying to bring glory and honor to God? But instead, the things that God has been telling us all along in those final moments become incredibly big. Maybe that's because God has always known what really matters. Maybe that's because God has always been measuring our lives by a different standard. The world says be impressive, but God says be humble. The world says make a name for yourself, but God says walk faithfully with me. The world says be strong enough to handle yourself, but God says trust me. We have to ask these questions. Do you love me? Did you walk with me? Did you trust me? Are you answering those questions this morning? God delights in humble hearts. God delights in faithful living. God delights in those who trust him. Do you trust him? You put your faith in him. Are you walking in that path or on that path this morning? If you never made that choice to make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life, I encourage you to step out in faith to recognize your need for him and to see what truly honors him is to come to him with that humble heart, knowing your need for Jesus. If you need to be baptized this morning, we invite you to come forward. Or if it's just time to turn your life around, to rededicate your life to him. I want you to do that. If you just need the prayers of the church, please come.