Page Three: “Pleasing God By Being Grateful” 09/23/2012
And do you remember the story of a small boy offering his lunch to Jesus to feed a multitude? What specific thing did Jesus do that day? Here’s what John 6:10 says. “And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
(11) And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.” The story has been told of a young boy living in Paris at the end of the World War II. He had been orphaned by the atrocities committed within his city by the occupying Ger-man forces. He scrounged around the ruined city as best as he could to find food, clothes and shelter. But everyone was living in desperate times and he found that people either ignored him and or could find nothing to give him. Even the soldiers who had freed Paris from the German army seemed to not care about his situation. He had heard the Priest in the church, long before war had broken out, talk about God and Jesus and living the Christian life. But with the hell on earth that the war had brought he had since lost hope of any sense of Heaven. One cold morning, he was wandering down the street, staring into the windows of shops and cafés. He stopped outside the window of a small bakery. The smell of the fresh bread made his stomach ache with pain. He was so held by the smell and sights of the bakery, he didn’t notice the American soldier who had stopped in the street and had begun watching him with interest. The boy hardly noticed the G.I. as walked past him and into the store. He did however notice the large bag the baker was filling for the G.I. with rolls, breads, pastries and other foods. And the boy could hardly breathe when the soldier exited the shop, knelt down and handed him the bag. |
The boy looked at the G.I. with astonishment and gratefulness. Finally, he looked at the soldier and asked him the question that was running through his mind: “Mister, are you Jesus?”
Some of you here today are ungrateful. Or, you may be here today and have never seen the specifics when it comes to pleasing God by your gratefulness. So, my hope is that, after you see what the LORD says, you will do it. Here in Colossians chapter one you find four definite things you can do towards becoming someone who pleases God. Here’s what Paul wrote in verse nine. Colossians 1:9 “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (10) That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (11) Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; (12) Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:…” Exactly how does someone please God? Paul says this is how. “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, [1. by] being fruitful in every good work, and [2. by] increasing in the knowledge of God; [3. by being] strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; and [4. by] Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light…” |