Abounding Grace

Guest (Male): Pleasing God or pleasing yourself or others, which will it be for you? Abounding Grace is next.

Would you be described as a people pleaser? Do the opinions of others move you? Today on Abounding Grace, let's be encouraged to be a God pleaser instead. It's with Galatians 1:10 in view that we bring you today's study in the word from Pastor Ed Taylor. Here he is now with part two of Don't Be a People Pleaser.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Open your Bibles. Galatians chapter one is where we are today in verse 10. You'll remember that the churches in Galatia were enjoying salvation and the freedom that they have in Christ until these false teachers came to town. They're known as the Judaizers.

They are either the same men that followed Paul around or some of the same men and then the young people, their kids and the young people that they trained, they came in. We're using the modern-day word to describe it that's more common to us. We don't use Judaizers very much but that's the technical term to describe them. But what we would call them today are the legalists. These are the legalists.

Following Christ is not enough. For them, you want to be saved? They came into town. You want to be saved? This is how you're saved. It's not what Paul said. Paul didn't tell you the truth. Instead, here's what you need: to be circumcised and then keep the law the rest of your life.

Which basically set up these precious saints to follow man and not God because how do I know if I'm doing it right? How do I know if I'm following all the rules? They've set up a man-made religious system, which there are many of those today, to follow man and not God.

Notice with me verse 10, chapter one. For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Remember the pathos of this passage, the emotion. Don't forget the emotion. Paul is upset. As any good pastor would be when his flock is being ripped off by liars and manipulators.

Because if you are a people pleaser, then one thing you may see more of in your life is people coming into your life seeing that and taking advantage of you. It's one of those personality traits that gets taken advantage of all the time in the world, in the church, where there are just those that are strong in personality and they can sniff that out in someone and then they attach themselves and they draw you to themselves.

They see that you may want friendship or you may want connection, but you actually have something that they want. They desire your money. They desire your devotion, but they really, really desire your full commitment to them so that they become the one that tells you how to live life. That's not God's will for you. That's what was happening with the churches in Galatia and Paul says, stop it.

These guys are liars. Remember what he said in verse eight? He said even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we preached, let him be accursed. Remember that word is anathema. Let them spend an eternity of judgment apart from God. That's how bad they are. And he says it twice at the end of verse nine as well. Let him be accursed. Let him be anathema. These guys are no good.

The same principle applies today. Somebody comes along and wants to take advantage of you, wants to use this church in some way to get into your life so they can steal from you, they can harm you, they can hurt you, they can take you away. This is no small thing that Paul's dealing with. And it's no small thing any pastor that sees that happening in their church, they should be upset too.

They should get out the rod. You know how the shepherd has the staff and the rod. Wolves need to be dealt with. You know that, right? Wolves need to be dealt with. And they're not pets. Oh, nice little wolf, you're so nice, you're so cute. Get out of here. Unless you get saved and then you can become. Wolves can become sheep in the church, but very rarely, unfortunately. It's very rare. That's where Paul is.

It's like he's saying, I know it's been hard. So I know in nine verses and a couple sentences, the letter has already been hard. But let me tell you something. I'm not writing to you to please man. I'm writing you to please God. That's how God brought me into your life when I taught you the gospel and the reality of your sin in a pagan world, all this false worship. I'm also doing it now. I want to tell you the truth.

His enemies had accused him of being a compromiser. His enemies had accused him of being a liar. His enemies had accused him of teaching a false gospel. And this just blows my mind. I'm sure many of you, this has happened to you. It's happened to me on more than one occasion and it just trips me out. I don't get it. But you're sitting across with someone, you're trying to resolve something, and then they start accusing you of stuff. They start saying stuff about you and that you never did, but that they're doing right now as they're accusing you. Has that ever happened to you?

It's just unbelievable. Nehemiah said he had people accusing him and he says, this stuff isn't true. You're making it up in your own mind. That's what's happening with Paul. It's nothing new. You thought you were the first one it happened to? You're not. They're doing that with Paul.

The very things that Paul was not and the very things that the false teachers were, they flipped it around to try to gaslight Paul and try to make it his fault, try to use it against him because if they can separate the leadership of Paul from the churches, they would have more power. And Paul's going, I don't have none of that nonsense.

They are not telling you the truth. These false teachers were the man pleasers. These false teachers were the ones that chose to twist and pervert the truth of God for their own power. He says it later on. Notice chapter four and verse 17. Actually, pick up in verse 16. He says it later because the whole letter is a very challenging letter.

He says, have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? They zealously court you, but for no good. Yes, they want to exclude you that you may be zealous for them. Paul came with a message for the churches to be zealous for Christ. These guys came in and go, you got to understand what's happening. They want you to follow them and that is not good.

Let's step back for a second and go, how did Paul become so confident? Now, I know he had a strong personality, but I don't believe that's what he's speaking of from in this letter, a strong personality. Because he doesn't know yet that this is the exact words of God for the churches. He doesn't know that yet. He's just writing of emotion. He's writing of experience. He's writing of the knowledge of the word of God.

He doesn't know yet these are exactly the words of God coming through him. So where did he get this confidence? I'm going to give you three things because the same place he got his confidence, you can have your confidence as well. You want to stand for what's strong in life and to please the Lord, these are yours as well. Let me give them to you and we'll look at them briefly.

Number one, why was Paul so confident? He knew grace personally. He knew grace personally. He remembers Damascus and the road to Damascus in Acts chapter nine. He remembers the Lord met him there. He remembers who he was and now who he is. Why? Because he knew grace. He knew the power of God through the message of the gospel. He knew the power of God through the blood of Jesus Christ.

He knew the power of God that would change a man like him, this Pharisee of Pharisees. Paul understood as he looked back on his life that by living a strict legalistic judgmental appearance-focused life of a Pharisee, that his goal before Christ was actually just to please men, which is what Jesus condemned.

He spoke to the Pharisees and what did he say? You guys, you're like whitewashed tombs. You look good on the outside, but you are filled with dead men's bones. Chapter 23 is such a strong of Matthew's gospel, such a strong statement about this outward appearance just wanting to impress people attitude that the Pharisees had. Paul had that too. He knew what it's like.

He knew grace. He knew the power of God. He says in verse one of chapter one that his ministry didn't come from man. Remember Paul the apostle, not from men or through men, but through Jesus Christ. His ministry didn't come from man. Neither did his message. Look at chapter one verse 12. We'll get to later, but notice in verse 12, neither have I received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Why would he be fearful of man? Man has had nothing to do with his changed life. His only interaction with religious men almost destroyed his life and disrupting all the churches and all the families. He's like, no, he knew grace. And you do too. You know the grace of God. You have a testimony.

It's so important that you share that testimony. How many times have you found yourself, and I know I have, sharing my testimony, I'm sharing with someone and as I'm listening to it, I'm like, I'm blown away. It's hard to believe that's the life I'm living. That's not somebody else's story that I read, not some missionary. This is the work of God.

So when I'm reminded in my own life of what God has done in my life, it makes me less prone to worry about what you think about me. Now, it's not like you're going to go and be arrogant and just plow through people. That's not from the Lord either. You're not walking in the fruit of the spirit. However, you can have a strength about you to say, you got an opinion about my walk right now? Where were you when I was lost? Where were you?

I don't remember you picking me up from jail. I don't remember you helping me when I had to pay that fine. I don't remember. Where were you? And you're going to roll into my life right now and tell me I'm not really saved? Get out of here. How could you tell me I'm not saved? I know grace. I know grace. That's Paul was confident. You do too. It makes you confident.

Number two, Paul knew suffering intimately. Why's that important? Well, you remember the book of Galatians is written to a series of churches, not just one church. And it was while Paul was planting the churches in Galatia that something really important happened to him. Would you turn back to Acts 14? It's been a while since we saw this, but I want you to see it. Acts chapter 14.

Not only did Paul know grace personally, but he also knew suffering intimately. And when you have suffered, it changes you. When you have suffered and the Lord has comforted you and the Lord has encouraged you and the Lord's come to you and the Lord has revealed himself to you and you know him as the God of all comfort and you cling to him and he's your all in all, it gives you confidence when people's opinions try to sway you.

Even your own, even your own opinions can sway you. Notice what happens. This is huge. Acts 14, pick up in verse 19. It says then the Jews from Antioch and Iconium, they came there and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. In planting the churches in Galatia, Paul almost died.

They beat him up. They crushed him. They left him for dead. Or we might say today, they beat him half to death. Everybody thought he was dead. And so it was the blood that was shed in his commitment to the Lord in order to plant these churches and now these guys are going to roll into town and undermine. It's almost like Paul's going, don't you remember?

I love you guys. I'm willing to die for you. Why would you listen to them? Why are you listening to them? When you and I suffer, it changes us fundamentally on the inside. It gives us a deeper faith. We're more connected to the Lord and less connected to people's opinions about our behavior because you're abiding in Christ.

Number three, what gave Paul this confidence? He knew God's favor powerfully. Number one, he knew grace personally. Number two, he knew suffering intimately. And number three, he knew God's favor powerfully. 2 Corinthians chapter five, verse nine. Therefore, we must make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to him.

This theme is everywhere in the Bible. If you look for this, you'll see it everywhere. This idea of honoring, pleasing the Lord. This phrase pleasing is used multiple times. He says, whether we're present or absent in your presence, we're going to be well-pleasing to him for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are well known to God and I trust also are well known in your consciences. Paul sums it up. He says, whether I'm here or there, alive here, alive in the presence, my goal is to please God, which is a great way to live your life. You're just not worried about what people think.

You're singularly concerned with God and pleasing him. Again in Colossians chapter one, verse nine. So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives. And we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. Verse 10. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord and you'll continually do good, kind things for others. All the while you'll learn to know God better and better.

This one verse, these two verses are a Bible study altogether. I love this. You have knowing God better and better. You have that along with on the other side, you have the sense of always honoring and pleasing the Lord. Honoring and pleasing the Lord on one side, knowing him better and better on the other side. And in between, doing good, being kinder. Isn't that what the world needs through your life?

It's abiding in Christ. It is trusting him with your life, honoring him and pleasing him, knowing him better and better. And the fruit of that, being good and kind. And it's coming out of your life. Such a powerful way to live your life. Paul, as he's writing these difficult things, was confident in the Lord. I met a young believer not too long ago. He put it this way: I want to be as zealous for God as I was for the devil.

I wish I would have said that. That's the desire of my life. I want to give more of my life to the Lord than I ever gave to this world, I ever gave to the devil, I ever gave to myself. And that was a lot. Like many of you, I have a personality that's all in. You flip the switch, you get it all. And that is not a very good personality to have for addictions and trouble and crime. Not good.

But it's a beautiful personality to have serving the Lord where you just all in, flip the switch and you're all in. And do I always please the Lord? Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, but I'm growing in that area. Glory to glory, strength to strength. Paul stood strong and goes, you guys listen, you could tell the difference between someone that's pleasing men and someone that's pleasing God.

I want you to examine my life. What I'm saying is true. Notice he says at the end of verse 10, I would not be a servant of Christ if I was a man-pleaser. You're not honoring God when you try to please men, when you're trying to appease everyone and try put this fire, put this fire, put this fire, put this fire, put this fire.

You can't even remember all the people you and instead of just cultivating the fire in your heart that God has started and letting it burn brightly. Paul was not a politician. He was an ambassador. His task was not to play politics, but to proclaim a message. These Judaizers, these legalists, on the other hand, were cowardly compromisers who mixed law and grace hoping to please both Jews and Gentiles, but never asking whether or not they were pleasing God.

And they did much damage to the church of Jesus Christ, which means they did much damage to people, to families, kids. It affects lives. You may still be unconvinced. You may still not see this as a very significant issue in your life, but I pray you would be. This theme is throughout the Bible. This temptation to please God, please yourself, please God, please this culture, please God, try to please everyone. It's all throughout the Bible.

Let me give you one more example. Would you turn over to Joshua chapter 24 where at the end of conquering the promised land, they end up only really taking 10% of all that God had given them. They had left giants. They didn't completely wipe them out, going to be a difficult life. Joshua is very close now to death. In chapter 24, it's only a few verses after what we read in verse 14 that Joshua will go home to be with the Lord.

And he gives these final words, these final words that resonate through all of time and eternity to us right now. And he says in chapter 24, notice verse 14. Now therefore fear the Lord, serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord.

And that's his call. It's time right now, church, serve the Lord. Put away your false idols. Put away your fear of man. And let's choose to follow the Lord. And then notice what he says. He follows up. And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord. You know why he adds that? Because some just don't want to serve God with their lives. They don't want to deal.

They want that label of Christianity. They want enough Christianity in them where your conscience feels good and you feel good this week because you were in church, but you really don't want to follow the Lord. And that's what Joshua is. If you think it's evil, if you think it's that bad, do you really, is that really the life? You've seen the victory. You've seen the faithfulness. You've seen all this in your life.

If you really think it's evil to serve the Lord, then what does he say? Choose yourselves. You have a choice. Choose yourselves this day who you'll serve, who you'll please. It's a choice. That's a matter of choice. Even if that's how you feel today, go yeah, I mean, I'm dabbling in. I really don't want to be here. I'm here for my kids. Whatever the reason is, the Bible says okay. We'll meet you where you're at.

You got a choice to make. Today's the day of choice. Choose you this day whom you will serve. Notice here's your options: the gods, the false gods of that your father served other side of the river, the gods of the Amorite, all the idolatry of the day. And then Joshua goes, look, you got a choice to make, but let me tell you mine because it might encourage you. And how it resonates with our heart, doesn't it?

But as for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord. And that's the choice. As for me and my house, I'm going to fear God, serve him in sincerity and truth. I'm going to put away idolatry, serve the Lord. I'm going to abide in Christ. I'm going to trust him. I'm going to obey him. I'm going to not be worried about man's opinions about me.

That's not to say you might not receive advice or counsel. Don't misunderstand this. You cross and I cross a line when I let other people's opinions of me change me from following the Lord and letting God be the ruler of my life because Jesus said it is impossible to serve two masters. You can't. You can't. It's not possible.

You can't have two master passions in your life. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6:24, no one can serve two masters. He'll hate one, love the other. There is power in your choices. As someone once said, I've owned it as my own now, we make our choices and then our choices make us.

And today we are a sum. We are the sum total today of all the choices we made previously, all the decisions that we made. Which tells me that the future can be different based upon my choices to please the Lord when I like Joshua say, you know what, I know there's a lot of opinions and I know there's a lot of attitude, but I'll tell you this, I've made the choice. As for me and my house, I'm going to serve the Lord. And anybody that wants to follow, if you think it's evil to serve the Lord, that's on you, but you're making the wrong choice. But in my house, I want to serve the Lord.

Guest (Male): This is Abounding Grace and you're listening to a message from pastor and Bible teacher Ed Taylor. Catch a replay when you visit aboundinggraceradio.com or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Here in the month of May, we've picked out an excellent book written by Chuck Smith called When the Storm Hits. If you're struggling with life's burdens, this is a must-read. From the ability to discern spiritual warfare and how it can affect our emotions, to the realization that God is intimately aware of everything we are going through, this book will restore hope and peace to the weariest of believers.

God may not always deliver us from the storms of life, but he is faithful to be with us as we go through them. And we'll send you a copy with our thanks for a gift of $25 or more to Abounding Grace. Please remember it is through your financial support that we're able to come to you day by day on stations all across the nation.

Your gift, whatever the size, would be greatly appreciated and put to good use. Request your book today by calling us toll-free at 877-30-GRACE. Again, 877-30-GRACE. You can also order the book online at calvaryco.store. And if you'd rather not have the book but still want to make a donation, that can be done rather easily at aboundinggraceradio.com.

And we'd like to connect with you before the day is done. Say hello. Tell us what God is up to in your life when you visit aboundinggraceradio.com and then click on contact us. Don't miss our next study with Pastor Ed tomorrow on Abounding Grace and may God richly bless you with his abounding grace.

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