Galatians 1:10; Romans 8:5-8; Matthew 17:5; I John 2:6
Christ the beloved Son of God came to raise up sons unto God. he lived to please the Father and He has saved us so that we too can please Him in all things and at all time. He wants every one of us to live like the Lord Jesus Christ of whom He testified: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him”
The lack of desire, decision and determination to please Lord with your character, dressing, in fact, in all things, at all times is evidence of a carnal nature and proof of insensitivity to the Spirit of God. when someone is born again pleasing the Lord will be (1) priority in his life, the most important thing in his life (2) his purpose for living; in any situation, condition, place and community he finds himself, his purpose for living will be to please the Lord. (3) his pursuit in learning; the reason why he studies the Bible, attends Christian fellowships and listens to sermons (4) proof of his love to the Lord (5) pattern of his lifestyle (6) his principle in labour; he does not work just to receive salary (7) Parameter and perimeter for his liberty; like Christ, the liberty he enjoys is always guided by the decision and determination to please the Lord.
1. SINFUL LIFESTYLE THAT PROVOKES THE LORD
Romans 1:28-32; Jeremiah 32:30-33; Ezekiel 8:17,18; Psalm 106: 29; 73: 6 – 11; 109:18,19; Isaiah 3:8-24; Zephaniah 1:8,9; Deuteronomy 22:5
To please the Lord, we must know those things that displease Him; we must know the kind of character, conduct and behaviour that provoke the Lord. We must not be like the children of Israel who purported returned but only to provoke the Lord to anger with their evil deeds. On the contrary, the Lord expects a returning backslider to have a change of life, a change of disposition and a change of behaviour. We provoke the Lord when we did not only behave like the Egyptians (the world) but also seem to add a new angle to their evil and corrupt lifestyles. Sinful actions do displease and provoke the Lord. Salvation leads us to love the Lord and to avoid any act that can provoke Him.
2. SCRIPTURAL LIFESTYLE THAT PLEASES THE LORD
2 Timothy 2:4; I Thessalonians 4:1; Romans 12:1,2; 15:3; John 8:29; I John 2:15-17; I Timothy 2:8
We do not entangle ourselves with the beliefs and practices of the world because we want to please God. True Christians will not conform to the dress patterns, burial ceremonies and lifestyle of the world; if we are true followers of Christ, we will not please ourselves but always seek to do those things that please our heavenly Father ‘for even Christ pleased not himself”. To please the Father, we must do the will of God in all things and at all times.
The life that pleases God is one built on Scriptural principles. These should guide us in all things and at all times. These principles apply to our character, behaviour, our morals and to in fact, everything that we do, especially our dressing. There are some principles that need to guide our style of dressing. These are
(1) The purpose of our dressing – it must be to cover our nakedness properly, neatly and appropriately – Revelation 2:16.
(2) Precaution in our dressing – we should dress in such a way as to avoid being classified with the wrong kind of persons as was the case with Judah’s daughter-in-law and Moses, on account of their attires – Genesis 38:20-22; Exodus 2:16-19.
(3) Preservation of souls and moral values in our dressing – it must be with the aim of not constituting an object of temptation to other souls – Romans 12:1,2.
(4) Precept concerning our dressing – it must be with the aim of keeping to God’s word which remains the same at all times and in all ages – Deuteronomy 22:5; I Timothy 2:9.
(5) the practice in dressing – it must be with the aim of letting moderation rule our sense of dressing; we are neither archaic not too modernistic – Luke 21:34; Phillippians 4:5.
(6) Purity through our dressing – our dressing should be to promote purity and make for a Rapturable life, rather than mere adornment – I Peter 3:3,4.
(7) the priority – the ultimate goal of our life should be to please the Lord so that any time He comes we will be able to go with Him – Isaiah 43:7,21; Hebrews 12: 14; 11:5.
Recommended Reading
How To Build A Good Prayer Life
Top Ten Lessons from the Life of Saul
Secrets Of Raising A Giving Church
3. SOBER LIFESTYLE PROCLAIMED BY THE LORD
Luke 21:34-36; Mark 4:18, 19,23-25; Luke 12: 34-48; Titus 2:2,4,6,12; I Timothy 2:9,15; I Peter 5: 5-8; I Thessalonians 5:6; I Peter4:7, 15-18.
The kind of life that the Lord advocates is a sober lifestyle at all times – times of wedding, funeral, naming ceremony, church service, office hours or school time. The Lord wants us to live a sober life, a life that He approves and a life that pleases Him. There will be punishment for the people that know the Word of God but don’t obey. The Lord calls us to a life of sobriety – the aged men and women and the young. Our character and conduct should reflect sobriety, watchfulness, prayerfulness, obedience and faithfulness to the teachings of the Lord. We should not be careless, frivolous and deliberately disobedient to the Word of God. it is only as we live in accordance with His Word that we will have hope
of being raptured at His coming. “The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” The conviction that we have and the way we live may bring sufferings and persecution across our paths, but we are not to relent in our efforts.