Pleasing God Through Faithful Generosity and Good Works

I have received full payment literally I have received all things for everything in other words everything I need just like he's going to say later God will supply every need God will supply every need you have so that's what's happened to me I have a full payment from you in app afroditi says a gift that you sent and more I'm just abounding so he's praising them again and it gets even better I am well supplied having received from a peffer Titus the gifts that you sent and here they are bumping it up beyond imagination. [00:15:44]

A fragrant offering that phrase is used one other place in the New Testament right here seasons 5 to walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God so the very same phrase that is used to describe Christ's dying love for us Paul is willing to use for their offering to him the gifts that you sent from a paradise are a fragrant offering analogous to like Christ giving himself up to the Father as a fragrant offering. [00:22:13]

Paul is willing to use for their offering to him the gifts that you sent from a paradise are a fragrant offering analogous to like Christ giving himself up to the Father as a fragrant offering and then he adds a sacrifice the analogy of of an Old Testament a sacrifice that was given to God according to his stipulations as a sign of our love to him in our faith in Him and thus pleasing to him a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God now that's what I want to linger on for a moment. [00:28:36]

I'm concerned that there are people who are misdirected in their zeal for justification by faith alone who say human beings since we're all infected with sin cannot please God nothing can be pleasing to God nothing can be acceptable to God except Jesus so all talk of our pleasing God by our behavior like sending gifts to the Apostle Paul as pleasing God our misdirected misconceived because only Christ can please God and we must trust Christ and are pleasing God is only in Christ pleasing God that's just not true. [00:35:40]

We are justified as ungodly our works our gifts to other Christians like the Philippians to Paul are not the foundation of our justification we must be just the K justified by faith and God looks upon us in our ungodliness as our faith unites us to Christ and he counts us righteous for Christ's sake that's true but this is also true namely that their gifts to Paul were acceptable to God and pleasing to God. [00:51:48]

There is a joyful way, faith way to work righteousness that causes God to come to you and meet you with being pleased those who remember you in your ways behold you were angry and we sinned in our in our sins we have been a long time and shall we be saved we have all become like one who is unclean and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment this is where Israel has sunk to and what that means is all their outward efforts to be righteous are indeed stinking to God. [01:06:36]

They have sent Paul gifts out of faith and they're frag they are a fragrant offering and acceptable and pleasing to God now let me just underline this because this is so important that we believe we can please God through faith in Christ as we do good works in the power of the Holy Spirit just look at a few things 2 Corinthians 5:9 so whether we are at home or away we make it our aim to please him Paul's whole life was making it his aim to please the Lord. [01:14:21]

Colossians 1:10 he's praying that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God colossians 3:22 Rijn obey your parents in everything this pleases the Lord don't tell your children they can't please the Lord if they trust Jesus rely upon the Holy Spirit and do what right first Thessalonians 2:4 just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel so we speak not to please man but to please God. [01:21:24]

Hebrews 13 do not neglect to do good and to share this is what the Philippians did what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God manifestly they were in Ephesians 4:18 or 1st Peter 2:5 like living stones you are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ now here's the closing question how do our deeds since we are not perfect by any means and no doubt all of our deeds have mixed motives how do they become pleasing to God. [01:27:12]

With faith even the imperfect works of faith can please God because God's blood in Christ cancels out the imperfections and what is left of our spirit inspired deeds by faith please God last step second Thessalonians 1:11 to this end we always pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling that doesn't mean deserving that means fit and suitable of his glorious calling and may fulfill every resolve for good so you have a resolve I want to do good today I want to treat my wife well today. [01:34:03]

I want to love my kids today I want to do honest work today I want to do good for other people that's my resolve and so Paul's praying for you here or he's praying for them and we pray for you that God would fulfill these resolves for good and they would become a work of faith that is he fulfils it because by faith you rely upon God to help you do this good that you longed to do in Christ and they become every work of faith by his power that's why they're pleasing to God their fruit of the Holy Spirit. [01:40:56]

Yes you are imperfect yes you must be justified on the basis of Christ's righteousness alone but don't ever think that in your justified state inhabited by the Holy Spirit following the Word of God trusting in His grace you can't please God you can you must live to please the Lord it's a sweet thing that God enables us to do this. [01:48:09]