THE ART OF

PLEASING GOD

ALLAN K. A. FORSON
 Unless otherwise stated, all Scriptures quotations are taken from the King
James Version of the Bible

Copyright © 2021 Allan K.A. Forson

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CONTENT
1. What it means to please God
2. Reasons why you must please God
3. Things that displease God
4. The dangers of displeasing God
5. Men Pleasers
6. The benefit of pleasing God
7. Practical ways of pleasing God

WHAT IT MEANS TO PLEASE GOD

 1 Thessalonians 4:1
Furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as ye have received
of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound

Revelations 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for
thy pleasure they were created.

We were all created with a purpose, and that purpose is to please God. Pleasing God is or
should be the ultimate goal of every believer called unto salvation. God’s greatest desire is
for his children to do things that please him and bring honor to him.
Anywhere we find ourselves; it should be our focus as born again Christians to please God
with our conduct and character. We mustn’t forget that one day we will all appear before the
judgment seat and account for our deeds as to whether they were good or bad. Whether it
pleased the Lord or not. For this reason, we need to be diligent about cultivating a standard
of living that truly pleases God.
God holds us to a higher standard of living as believers because; he has given us the grace to
carry it out. The grace of God was not designed by God to cover up for sins, but rather it is a
means of overcoming sin in all forms. Because we carry the grace of God, we can please
God through our deeds.
The mind of God is for his children to excel in all endeavors of life. It is for this very reason
that we should make every effort in ensuring we please God in every respect of life.
Whatever we do for God cannot change who He is. Anything God asks us to do is for our
good. What at all can man offer God that will add up to him? If God prescribes we pleasing
him, he isn’t begging us but rather, it's a means He is prescribing to better our lives in this
wicked and frustrating world. Material success should not be the goal of our lives—finding
the will of God for our lives with regards to living to please him must be of supreme
importance.
So, what does it mean to please God? Understanding what it means to please God can be
attained as we try to understand the meaning of the word to “please”
 To please is to make happy
 To please is to satisfy. To satisfy someone is to meet the needs of the person or to
fulfill the wishes or requirements of the person.
 To please is to give a preference to. Giving preference to a person is to make the
person your utmost choice over others or give the person preferential treatment.
Considering the definition above, we can now have a better understanding of what it means
to please God.
 To please God is to make God happy.
Making God happy is not a mystery. It is possible for us to live our lives in a manner that
will make God happy. Our actions and inactions can either make God happy or not.
Whatever we do that puts joy in the heart of God pleases him.
Jeremiah 9:24
………...for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
There are truly things that delight (gives joy/ happiness) to the Lord. It is every believer’s
responsibility to identify and do things that will make God happy because that is what
will make us please him. After all, our existence on this earth is to please him. Pleasing
God is to do things that make him happy.

 To please God is to satisfy him.

Jeremiah 7:23
But this thing commanded I them, saying, obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye
shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be
well unto you.

To satisfy someone is to meet the needs of the person or to fulfill the wishes or
requirements of the person. To satisfy God is to obey his word. We meet God’s requirements
by obeying his word. The greatest need of God can be met by obeying his word.
How to satisfy God is by total submission to his authority. The authority of God is his word.
Obedience to God’s word is an essential element of a covenant relationship with him.
Obedience to God’s word is a demonstration of our faith in God.
Christianity is all about satisfying God. Those who satisfy God are those who obey him
completely. An obedient child of God pleases God. Pleasing God can be achieved by our act
of obedience to him. Disobedience to God is great displeasure to him.
To please God is to be obedient to him.
Romans 6:16-17
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye
obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form
of doctrine which was delivered you

 To please God is to make God your priority.

 There are so many things that take our attention and devotion. Many of such things
include our jobs, our spouses, our kids, and others. All these things can demand so much of
us which if not handled carefully can be a form of distraction to our spirituality. When we
allow all these cares of the world, it will occupy our time, money, thoughts, and attention
and ultimately take the place of God in our life. Nothing should be more important to us than
our relationship with God.

Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these shall be added unto you.

The man who pleases God is the man who puts God above any other things despite the
challenges and the cares of this world. When you make it your goal to have a deep, intimate
relationship with God, it’s a way in which you live to please him. God is pleased with any
man who learns to keep him in his rightful place amidst his priorities.

The German writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said “Things which matter most must
never be at the mercy of things which matter least”. God does not want us to place
anything before him. The desire of God is to come first in every area of our lives.

Luke 10:41-42
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about
many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be
taken away from her.

A glimpse of the passage above demonstrates how people want to serve God in a way which
they consider important. Like Martha, God is not pleased with many as we are busily
engaged in other things which are of least importance to Him.
The art of pleasing God is the art of putting God first in your life. When God sees that in
everything about you his kingdom takes the ultimate place, he is pleased with you and his
reward will be upon you.

What is currently defining and controlling you? Are your motives coming from the position
of wanting to please God or something else? It is time to examine our lives, plans, purposes,
and pursuits to ensure we are leaving to please no other but God.

REASONS WHY YOU MUST PLEASE GOD

From the bible, there is great emphasis on us as believers to please God. We live in a
generation where we are tempted to please so many things apart from God. It is very
important to understand why God requires us to please him. Understanding why you must
please God will empower you to hold on to the grace of God to fulfill the divine assignment
of pleasing God above anything.

Why do you need to please God?

1. Pleasing God attracts his reward.

1 Corinthians 3:12-14
Now if any man builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed
by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he
hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward

Making a quality decision to please God attracts his reward. Pleasing God positions us to
receive the benefits of the blessing of God on this earth and when we get to heaven. The
works we do while we are alive will be brought before the judgment seat of Christ one day
and everything we did that had lasting eternal value will cause us to reap eternal rewards in
heaven. There are pleasurable rewards for those who please God. Anybody who learns to
please God has an assured blessing.

Hebrews 11:6
…………. for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.

The bible passage points to us that God is a “rewarder”. When a man’s ways please God, he
is blessed with both spiritual and physical blessings.
In the subsequent chapters, we will digest deeply into the rewards of pleasing God. But have
the understanding that, any man who pleases God is sure to have a reward from him.

2. Pleasing God shows your obedience.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 NLT

But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or
your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better
than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft and stubbornness as bad as
worshipping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as
king”
From Genesis to Revelation, a lot is being said about obedience to God. Several things come
together to fulfill our obedience to God. When we attempt to please the Lord, it is simply an
act to demonstrate our willingness to obey God.

According to Holman’s bible dictionary, “biblical obedience is to hear God’s word and act
accordingly”. Our very existence on this earth is to please God. The word of God demands
that our lives should be lived not to please any other thing but God himself.

1 Thessalonians 4:1
Furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as ye have
received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound

Nothing is more pleasing to the Lord than your obedience. Saul lost his throne because he
disobeyed the word of God. We are created to please God. Every effort we make to please
God is a reflection of our obedient hearts. When you please the Lord, you have fulfilled the
scripture through your act of obedience.

3. Pleasing God demonstrates your love for Him.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Deuteronomy 6:5
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
might.

The foundation of our Christian faith is love. God from the beginning demonstrated his love
to us even when we were sinners, by offering his only son to pay for our sins. God’s love is
everlasting; it has no end. What God expects from us in return for all the love he has shown
us is to reciprocate His love.

Deuteronomy 10:12-15
And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God to walk
in all his ways, and to love him. And to serve the lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy
soul, to keep the commandment of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for
thy good? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s thy God, the earth also with
all that therein is, Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he choose their
seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.

In the passage above, Moses was speaking to the children of Israel as a way of putting them
into remembrance. There were several nations present but God decided to choose the
children of Israel amidst other nations. He did that out of his love for them. God lead them
throughout their journey from the Land of Egypt and fought many battles for them with
diverse victories attached. Everything God did for them was out of Love. In return, Moses
cautioned the children of Israel to learn to love the Lord back because that is what will please
him.

God created and owns everything in the entire universe but he still requires something from
us that will eventually make him happy.

When two people are in love, they look for every opportunity to make each other happy- to
please each other. Every loving relationship is characterized by the art of pleasing each other.
Nobody has the intention of making the fellow unhappy and unsatisfied. Our relationship
with God is expressed the same way.

Any man willing to please the Lord is the man ready to demonstrate the love he has for God.
David was a man who had the mind to please God passionately. His whole being was deeply
into the expression of his love for God. David was a man who was consumed by an intense
love for his Lord.
Psalm 18:1, 49
I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. Therefore, will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the
heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

It is very true that David sinned shamefully against God. Yes, we know that David had the
weak areas of his life as we all do. Even though he made some terrible mistakes, yet God
called him “a man after my own heart”. Why? The reason is that; David’s love for the Lord
was authentic. He exhibited unconditionally that he loves God. David was a man who was
much concerned about his relationship with God. David’s heart was very sensitive to the
things of God. Whenever a man displays an unselfish desire to love God, it pleases him.

Loving God is demonstrated by spending time in his presence, listening to his voice,
thanking and praising him, and meditating on his word. This was the life of David and
Moses admonished the children of Israel to do the same.

I admonish you strongly to please God because that exhibit you love him. Make God your
priority. Make God your first love. Go all out to please your God.

Mark 12:30
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

4. Please God because that’s what we were created for

Revelation 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
 We were all created by God for a purpose, and that purpose is to please him. Our very
existence on this earth is for one reason; to please God, and nothing else. Every single thing
we do on earth is to give pleasure to God.

We were not created to just eat, drink, be merry and enjoy life.
We were not created to just have fun.
We were not created to just do our own thing.
We were not created to just pursue a career and make money.
We were not created to just please ourselves.
We were not created to just please men.
We were not created to just start and raise a family.
We were not created to just get married.
We were not created to just have sex.
We were not created to just go to school and earn a degree.
We were not created to just become religious.
We were not created to just merely exist until we die.
We were not created to just analyze everything and become a critic.
We were not created to just do nothing.
We were not created to just do many wonderful works.

God created us for His pleasure and so that we, as His creation, would have the pleasure of
knowing Him. Let it be your mission as a Christian to do nothing, rather than to please God
in everything you do.

5. Pleasing God shows our Gratitude

Revelation 4:9-11
And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who
liveth for ever and ever, 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne,
and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Romans 1:21
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but
became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened

God is our creator and has given us all the various things in our life including breathe that
keeps us alive. Every day we wake up in the morning to live another day due to His grace.
When any person does something for us we feel gratified. However, most of us are not used
to expressing gratitude to God for all the things He has given us.
When I was in school, I tried to pass my exams as a way of expressing my gratitude to my
dad for paying my school fees. As a child, I had no way of thanking my father for all he is
doing for me than to make him happy. When I bring my report card home, I see the smiles
on my father’s face and he feels thankful for not wasting his money in school.
As God’s children, we can’t pay him back for his goodness and mercy he shows. The only
way to thank him is to make him happy; to do things that please and glorify his name. If you
are ever grateful for all that the Lord is doing in your life, do things that please him. Live
your life to glorify him and he will be pleased with you.
 THINGS THAT DISPLEASE GOD

Just as God can be pleased, He can also be displeased. Some things displease God. There are
ways in which we can live our lives to displease God. When your ways are displeasing to
God, it is great harm to your destiny.

To displease God is to make him annoyed, dissatisfied, or unhappy with you. If God’s wrath
is against you, what is left of you?

There are a lot of things we do that poses the threat of God’s anger towards us. I am sure you
may not want God to be angry with you because if he does, you are finished!

What are some of the things that displease God?

1. Living in sin.
Ps 7:11
God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

God is displeased with men when they do evil. When we involve ourselves in living a sinful
life, it is a rebellion against His authority. Sin is disobedience to God’s law and it opposes
God’s holiness. God is displeased with sin because it is an act that shows ingratitude towards
his goodness and a transgression of the covenant.

Anytime we indulge in sin, it is a dishonor to God. Wherever and whenever sin exists, God’s
holy anger burns against it. Don’t become complacent with sin because sin greatly displeases
God. We need to pray earnestly that God will help us have the fear of Him and help us to
please him with our actions and words. We ought to seek God’s grace to put to death every
sin and pursue Christlikeness.

Colossians 3:5-11 ESV

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these
you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger,
wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that
you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being
renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew,
circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

2. Complaining and murmuring against God

Philippians 2:14-15
Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and
harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,
among whom ye shine as lights in the world
Job 14:1 tells us man’s life is full of trouble. Our world is currently in an
unprecedented disorder. Uncertainties and confusion are everywhere. Life package
comes with a measure of dark moments for everyone.

Perhaps as you are reading this book, you may be going through some series of
problems. Maybe you are currently in a state of confusion or desperation. It might be
that you’re struggling and probably that has made you doubt the goodness of God. It
can be that you are physically or internally sick. For some, you might be having
serious problems with your husband or wife and it’s tormenting you physically and
psychologically. Others may be experiencing serious oppositions and wounds that
have left a negative mark upon your life. Whatever the situation you may see yourself;
there is a spirit you must lock the door of your heart against. It is the spirit of
murmuring and complaining.

Murmuring and complaining displeases God greatly. It invites God’s anger and creates
a gap between man and God. It is a sign of loss of hope and faith in God. Whatever
you might be going through, you should not forget the victories that God has brought
your way before.

Ecclesiastes 7:14
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the
one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

God delivered the children of Israel from their terrible enemy- The Egyptians. The
Egyptians were a burden to them. They multiplied their sorrow and affliction; they
kept them in bondage and were taskmasters to them. Despite all these that the
Egyptians were to them, they looked back and desired Egypt because of garlic and
cucumber. Mercy!

Exodus 16:2-3
And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron
in the wilderness: 3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by
the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did
eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole
assembly with hunger.

In numbers 11:1, the complaints of the people displeased the Lord and his anger was
kindled, and fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them. Murmuring and
unholy complaining attract the anger of God. It can deny us of God’s peace, joy, and
promises. It is great displeasure to him.

Whatever situation you are in now may not be the best but be more conscious and
never allow anxiety to make you murmur and complain. The solution is to go on your
knees and pray to God who can turn your story around.
 Stop murmuring and complaining against God from today, it displeases God greatly.

3. Taking God’s Glory.

Acts12:21-23
And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an
oration unto them. 22 And the people gave a shout, saying, it is the voice of a god, and not of
a man. 23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the
glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

Isaiah 42:8
I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise
to graven images.

Isaiah 48:11
For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how my name should be
polluted? And I will not give my glory unto another.

Taking God’s glory makes you incur the wrath of his judgment. God takes his glory
very seriously. Many times, we glorify ourselves before God by our own words. Focusing on
ourselves, pride and self-praising are some of the means we take God’s glory. Whatever you
have or achieved is to the glory of God. When David sinned by counting the people, God
was displeased and became angry because the purpose was for self-glorification. 1 Chron.
21:1-8.
Herod was punished by God for not transferring the glory he was being given to God.
We should never be deceived to think all that is happening in our ministry and success of life
is because of how powerful we are. Everything we have is because God decided to make up
and give to us.
Learn to give God’s glory to him. Don’t take God’s glory. It is great displeasure to
him. All glory must be attributed to the Lord of Lords

4. Imperfect Sacrifices.

Malachi 1:6-8
A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour?
and if I be a master, where is my fear?saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my
name. And ye say, wherein have we despised thy name? 7Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar;
and ye say, wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, the table of the LORD is contemptible. 8
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?
Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD
of hosts. Malachi 1:6-8

In the old law, it was a demand that God should be honored with the sacrifice of a man’s
best. Every oblation was to be free from spot or blemish.
A lot of people have the mindset that anything at all can be offered to God. A lot of believers
offer imperfect or polluted sacrifices in our acts of worship, offerings, and acts of ministry
and service. A lot of people act towards God in a manner that they can’t act towards their
boss. Some people respect human authorities and offer the best services and gifts to them.
People humble themselves before human authorities and fear to insult them, but when it
comes to God, it is entirely different.
A lot of people offer the spare of their life to God. It is when they can do nothing that is
when they want to be devoted to God. A lot of people waste their strength in pursuit of
vanity and sin when they were young and full of youthful power. When they become weak,
tired, and ready to die, that is when they want to give themselves to God. Such sacrifices
displease the Lord. God demands proper honor and respect.

One day, a farmer went into his house and told the family a piece of good news: “The cow
just gave birth to twin calves, one brown and one white. Let’s give thanks to God. We shall
dedicate one of these calves to the Lord. We raise them and when the time comes, we will
sell one and give the proceeds to the Lord’s work and sell the other and keep the proceeds
for our needs.”

His wife asked him which he was going to dedicate to the Lord.

"There's no need to bother about that now," he replied, "We raise them for a time and when
the time comes, we'll do as I say."

A few weeks later, the farmer came back looking unhappy. "What happened?" his wife
asked. "I have bad news, the Lord’s calf just died.”

"Wait," said his wife, "how do you know that’s the Lord’s calf?"

"Yes," he said," I just decided it when I saw that the white one is dead, that’s the Lord’s
calf."

He gave the dead cow to the Lord. He kept what was alive to himself because to him, God is
up there, he doesn’t deserve the best. Any sacrifice, service, or ministry rendered unto the
Lord with least regard or dishonor displeases the Lord and attracts his wrath.

5. Mistrusting God.
Deuteronomy 1:32-33
But for all this, you did not trust the Lord your God, who goes before you on your way, to
seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way
in which you should go.

Mistrusting God displeases him. It is impossible to please God if we don’t trust in

him. God created us, loves us, and wants the best for us. Anytime you doubt God’s
sovereignty probably because of the circumstances you find yourself, it will make you
 not act on his commands or live the life he desires for you. Not trusting God is the root
of all sin. When Satan tempted Eve, he told her that God’s Word wasn’t trustworthy
and that God was holding back the best from her. Consequently, when she doubted
God, she ate of the tree.

Trusting in God takes away our fears. Many don’t trust God enough to obey his
principles. They prefer rather obey their feelings. God has proved himself to be
trustworthy. It is for this reason that he is not pleased with those who don’t trust him.
God is faithful in all his ways. Build your trust in him and destroy any seed of mistrust
in you against God and his ways.

Satan is very clever. He knows how important it is that believers trust in God. He
knows how harmful it is when we don’t trust in God. Satan is constantly using many
different strategies and wages war against us to make God seem untrustworthy. The
devil knows if he can make us think God is untrustworthy, he will win the battle. This
is why he is persistently trying to make God look unreliable. Satan brings sicknesses,
death, disasters, and several misfortunes our way, to paint God black.
Dear friend, if you want to be pleased with God, trust in him. Never allow the devil to
give you any reason to mistrust God. God hates any avenue of mistrust because he is a
faithful God.

6. Entanglement With The Affairs Of Life

2 Timothy 2:4
‘No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please
Him who hath chosen him.’

The apostle Paul warned Timothy about being entangled with “the affairs of this life”. Our
life on earth is warfare. Just as a soldier on active duty must not be distracted by non-military
affairs, a Christian "soldier" cannot be distracted by the things of this world because the
Kingdom of God is his priority. "Entanglement" speaks of a web within which a creature
becomes trapped, and worldly cares can become an entangling web. As believers, we are in a
battle. A battle against the evil one- the devil. A battle against sin. A battle ‘not against flesh
and blood but against principalities and powers and the rulers of darkness in this world’. We
as Christians are in a battle for the Lord. When we accepted Christ as our Saviour we joined
the ranks of God’s Army. We fight for the souls of men. We fight to fulfill the Great
Commission which Jesus gave to us.
The war we find ourselves in is the war to live a devoted life for the Lord and to cut off any
influence of the evil one from our lives. 2 Timothy 2:4 says that as Christians we need not
“entangle ourselves with the affairs of this life”. What this verse means is that none of the
things in this life should even get our attention, let alone sway us. There are so many things
that take our attention and devotion. Many of such things include our jobs, our spouses, our
kids, and others. All these things can demand so much of us and the bible warns us not to
entangle or get ourselves caught up in some of these things of this life. Fix your eyes on
God. Fix your eyes on heaven. Fix your eyes on eternity. Not things temporal.
The bible speaks to us in this way so that we Christians may please Him, God, who hath
chosen us. We do all this for God. It is God that deserves all the glory, honor, and praise. We
need to have a singular vision. A vision or mindset that is set upon the Lord and things of
Him. On things eternal, not temporal. If we desire to please God, we must stay untangled
from the world. When we allow ourselves to be trapped in the things of this life, it displeases
God who has called us.

7. Walking in the flesh rather than the spirit

Romans 8:8
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 8:5
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the
Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Walking in the flesh is to live a life that is subject to infirmities and calamities. Walking in
the flesh is hostile to God. God hates it. It is impossible for anyone who is dominated by the
flesh to please God. When you walk or live in the flesh as a believer, it makes you a natural
man. The natural man cannot be well-pleasing to God or cannot do what is well-pleasing to
God. Walking in the flesh affects your thoughts, interest, affection, and purpose. You think
fleshly, desire fleshly things and pursue fleshly things of life which has no eternal value.
Those who walk in the Spirit walk under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and the word of
God, not their flesh.
What controls your life? The flesh or the Holy Spirit? According to Gal. 5:20-21, those who
walk or live by the flesh produce the fruit of the flesh like sexual immorality, impurity,
sensuality, rebellions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, parties, and are constantly gratifying the
desires of the flesh. All those who walk in the flesh cannot please God; they irritate God and
bring his wrath upon themselves.

8. Rejecting or running from the call of God

Jonah 1:1-3
Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to
Nineveh, that great city,and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3 But
Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to
Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down
into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

In this captivating story, Jonah is called to preach the message of repentance to the sinful
people of Nineveh but instead, he takes a ship to Tarshish. This exemplifies the life of many
people who run from the call of God. God calls Jonah to proclaim judgment to Nineveh, but
Jonah resists and attempts to flee. Nineveh was the mission; Jonah was the chosen vessel to
be used by God to carry out His message. Nineveh in those days was corrupt and as the Bible
declares, wicked. God assigned Jonah to carry out this mission to deliver His Word to the
people of Nineveh. In Jonah’s decision to run away from his call, the Lord sent the wind and
caused a storm to hit the boat.

Jonah asked to be thrown off the boat to ease the storm. Running from your call impacts you
and others around you. Running from the call of God is selfish, prideful, and wicked. It’s
selfish because you’re disregarding what God wants you to do and you’re choosing personal
satisfaction rather than embracing God’s Will.

History has revealed the great displeasure of God towards people who run from the call of
God. In Africa, many experience difficult conditions of life when they refuse the call to serve
the idols of their father’s house. Where did satan get this idea from? He copied it from God.
There are destinies attached to your call. The call of God is not about yourself but people
God wants to help through you. He knows you from the foundation of your life. When you
try to run or reject the call of God, it displeases Him greatly simply because of the other
destinies that are involved and need to be helped through you.

God may be calling you now but you want to respond later. God is a right now God. Not a
later God. When talents are buried, when gifts are left unused, these are signs of running
from God. There are many gifted men and women who are not using their talents and gifts
for God. When someone has an unsettled spirit—never satisfied, always on the move,
looking here and there, these are signs of running from the call of God. The next sign that
someone is living life on the run is an inconsistency to church, or prayer, or any other
spiritual event.

Many of such people who run from the call find themselves in Tarshish. Tarshish is a place
where they will not be confronted with their lack of spiritual zeal. There are a lot of people
who have been used mightily in the gifts of God that now go to churches where the
manifestations of the Spirit aren’t allowed to flow. Tarshish isn’t necessarily a bad place; it
is just the wrong place. God is never happy with those who rejects or abandons his call.
Make peace with God by returning to the call for God to be pleased with you.

9. Idolatry
Exodus 20:5
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate me Exodus 20:5

It is clear from the bible that God hates idol worship. Idol worship is the high respect of
anything in one’s heart or life other than the genuine God. Any human desire that holds
importance over God’s will is idolatry. Idol worship is an immoral act and very disgusting to
God. Every child of God must hate idolatry just as God does. Deu 5:8-10.
Whoever indulges in idolatry gives a legitimate ground for satanic control. There are so-
called “born-again” folks who patronize native doctors, occult sanctuary priests for charms,
making inquirers for support or success.
God is against idols and their worshippers. The bible instructs us to worship only God. God’s
jealousy is activated when we involve in idolatry. We are not to bow to any image in the
likeness of Jesus, or any of the apostles or dead holy people. God instructs us not to make
any idol in the likeness of the moon, star, sun, or any creature. Idolatry is the cause of many
hardships, destitution, disorder, disgrace, rebuke, madness, disappointments, and servitude.
Idol worship displeases God because He sees it as a sin and abomination. Don’t be a server
of two masters. It brings the wrath of God. Stay away from idolatry!
 DANGERS OF DISPLEASING GOD
It is a fearful thing to be displeasing to God. Don’t take God for granted. He is a merciful
God but very fearful. The warning of displeasing God is a very frightening scene. Every one
of us should strive to never displease God because it is a dreadful and hurtful thing to do so
because of the dangers and consequences involved.
Many of us see God as a lenient being who will not punish us as long we can beg him for
forgiveness. We rather have proper respect and fear for Satan because we see him as
unmerciful. Yes, God is indeed merciful but get it clear, God chastises and corrects his
children. I beg of you to consider your ways to be sure God is not displeased with you. If
God is not happy with you, who else can be happy with you?
I remember when I was a kid. I recall moments in my life when my dad or mum was not
happy with me. One day, my mum sent me and I deliberately refused to go. This made my
mum lose a huge sum of money. He told my dad what I have done and my dad became
angrier with me than my mum. The following day, I went to my mum for money to go to
school because I was afraid my dad would skin me alive if I dare go ask him. My mum
angrily yielded at me and said “I have no money for you this week. You will have to walk to
school and back with no money as well for food”. The distance from my house to the school
was about 5km. Throughout that week; I walked to school on foot without food. Did my dad
and mum not love me? Not so but out of my disobedience it created an avenue for me to
displease them and they needed to correct me.
Hebrews 12:8
If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children
and not sons

If my mum and dad could punish me for displeasing them, how much more God. God
punishes those who displease him as a way of correcting them. God is displeased with all sin
no matter who does it. I will like to point out to you some dangers of displeasing God. Let
this put some fear in you so you can learn to do things that will be pleasing to God only.

1. Displeasing God provokes His wrath

Numbers 11:1
And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his
anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that
were in the uttermost parts of the camp

The anger of God is not something that resides in him by nature; it is a response to evil. It is
provoked. I want you to understand that, if there was no sin in the world, there would be no
wrath in God. Whatever God is angry at demonstrates what he hates and dislikes.
The anger of God is terrible. The entire nation of Sodom and Gomorra was wiped because
their ways displeased the Lord and provoked his anger. God sent fire to consume the
children of Israel when they displeased him by complaining and murmuring. Just as a parent
becomes angry at anything that would hurt his children, so God’s anger is directed at that
which would harm His people and their relationship with Him. God gets angry at the
wickedness in people, and He opposes that wickedness to turn them from evil. I beg of you
not to provoke God’s anger to yourself because it is a horrible thing. Anyone whose ways
displeases the Lord is calling for God’s righteous anger.
When God’s anger is against a person or a nation, there are often awful penalties. Take
Moses as an example. A dear friend of God, he was not allowed to cross over into the
Promised Land because instead of striking a rock once as he was instructed by God to do, he
struck it twice. Because of that one disobedient action that displeased the Lord, after
wandering in the desert with an ungrateful and rebellious people for forty years, he did not
get to put one foot on the promised ground. Numbers 20:6-12.
I fear much for those who are toying with the anger of God. There are a lot of things we do
as Christians that undermines our makers’ integrity. It is sometimes disheartening when
unbelievers point to the church the same sins the world is involved. Today, you can’t see
much difference between believers and unbelievers.
1 Corinthians 5:1-2
It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so
much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. 2 And ye are puffed up,
and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among
you.

I beseech you to consider your ways and be sure your life is not attracting God’s anger
because if God is angry with you, what will be left of you?

2. Displeasing God can make him reject you

1 Samuel 13:13-14
And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of
the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established
thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD
hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be
captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

1 Samuel 15:23
………………….Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee
from being king.

God rejected Saul because his ways displeased him. Saul did not obey God’s commands.
Saul set up a monument to honor himself for his victory in a war, raising himself above God.
Saul’s disobedience made him lose the opportunity to have a lasting dynasty of sons to reign
over Israel.
 3. Displeasing God opens the gate death

1 Chronicles 21:1-14
And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel…And God was
displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel….So the LORD sent pestilence upon
Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.

David was someone who knew the Lord. He was a man after God’s heart yet when he did
something that displeased the Lord; it opened the door of death into his kingdom. The sin of
numbering the people displeased the Lord and that took the lives of seventy thousand
innocent souls of David’s kingdom.
Any act that displeases God opens the gate of death. Death is the last weapon used by God.
When Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel go, the angel of death was released and
Pharaoh gave up. The spirit and agents of death are released whenever God smells an act that
displeases him. Wherever death is found, anything it captures stops working. This is the
reason why when a man dies, everything he is doing on this earth stops. God is a God that
killeth and maketh alive. 1Sam. 2:6. When the children of Israel displeased God in the
wilderness, they were all killed, and only Joshua and Caleb entered the Promised Land from
that generation. God warned Adam and Eve that the day they ate the fruit of the tree of life,
which indirectly is a way of displeasing him, they will die, and indeed they did die.
Many ministries, pastors, and believers have died physically and spiritually because their
ways displease the Lord. Many businesses, churches, and families are not working because
there is no life in them; the spirit of death has been released against it because their ways
displease the Lord. God warned satan not to touch the soul of Job because; the ways of Job
were pleasant to the Lord. I encourage you to check your ways. Many things about you can
stop working when the heaven begins to pick signals of things you do that displeases the
Lord. Never give grounds to satan to push the spirit of death over your endeavors.

4. Displeasing God attracts many diverse hurtful battles

2 Samuel 11:27
And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became
his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

2 Samuel 12:7-12
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee
king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8 And I gave thee thy master's house,
and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that
had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 9 Wherefore
hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah
the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the
sword of the children of Ammon. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house;
because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus
saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy
wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the
sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before
the sun.

When your ways are pleasing to God, he makes your enemies even to be at peace with you.
Prov 16:7. There are many battles of life we face not because it is satan who is after us. When
your ways displease the Lord, it is an invitation for sorrowful and awful battles of life.
David was sincerely loved by God. When he involved himself in the act of killing Uriah and
taking his wife, the Lord was displeased. This very act was the foundation for the many
battles and problems David had in his family and kingdom.
God sent Nathan to David and told him, because of killing Uriah and taking his wife,
 The Sword shall never depart from your house
 Evil will arise against you out of your house
 Your wives will be taken before your eyes and given them to your neighbor and he
shall lie with them in the sight of the sun
Shortly after this incident, controversy hit David’s house. It began with Ammon, David’s son
raping the sister Tamar. After a couple of years, Absalom killed his brother, Ammon, as
revenge for the rape of the sister Tamar. This was the fulfillment of the sword being released
against David’s house. It was the beginning of battles in the life of David.

After a while, Absalom, David’s son rose to be a great burden to David. Absalom rose and
diverted the heart of the people of the kingdom against David the king. The spirit of
disloyalty was released against David through his son Absalom. When your ways displease
the Lord, men will be disloyal to you. 2 Samuel 15:2-13

It was Absalom who set spies to overthrow David from his throne. 2 Samuel 15:10-11
It was Absalom who partnered with Ahithophel, David’s counselor to set a strong conspiracy
against David. 2 Samuel 15:12
It was Absalom who rose against David, to make him run and abandon his throne and
kingdom for his life with his head covered, walking barefooted, and crying to tarry at mount
Olivet. 2 Samuel 15:30

As David was running, it gave an opportunity to Shimei to curse, throw stones and dust at
David. On an ordinary day, Shimei would have never gotten such an opportunity to insult the
king. 2 Samuel 16:13

Absalom was advised by Ahitophel to publicly go into his father’s concubines who were left
behind to keep the house. 2 Samuel 16:21-22

Absalom was advised by Ahitophel to pursue, and capture his father with twelve thousand
military men. 2 Samuel 17:1-3
When I consider the terrible battles that David a man after God’s heart went through, I fear
to displease the Lord. When your ways are displeasing to the Lord, you will have no peace,
you will have no rest, you jump from one battle of life to the other and there will be no joy of
life in you. Mercy! The battles many are facing in their ministries, marriages, businesses and
other endeavors could be that their ways are displeasing the Lord.
I beg of you pastors and especially those who have the calling of God upon your life. Don’t
allow the call of God to bring problems and restless battles to you rather than being a
blessing. The God who has called you is very serious about his business. Don’t mess around
and be puffed up with the call. Don’t do what God hasn’t asked you to do. Don’t say things
God hasn’t asked you to say. Don’t take God’s glory after using you. Be sure you are
always at peace with the one who called you. The work belongs to God, not you. Just do
what God has asked you to do. We must try as much as possible to do things that please our
God.

5. Displeasing God makes him withdraw his presence

Psalms 51:11
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me

One way God reacts to show his displeasure is by withdrawing his presence. God never
withdraws his gracious presence from a person or a nation until they involve themselves in
things that displease him. It is very dangerous for God to withdraw His presence from you.
This is because;

 When God withdraws his gracious presence from a person, family, church, or nation,
it removes heavenly protection. When God’s presence is removed, you are bereft of
his protection. It is the presence of God that had preserved us from Satan’s cruel
power. It is the protection of God that shields us from the workings of Satan and
causes God’s care exercised through His angels over our travels, eating and drinking,
and everything we do. It is the presence of God that makes wherever we are, His eye
to be upon us. We are preserved from a thousand unseen dangers. Satan has laid
snares, but the Lord is constantly at work to save us from them.

 When God withdraws his presence, he leaves you to follow the judgment and counsels
of your own wisdom. Romans 1:18-32

 When God withdraws his presence, it makes God to stop listening to your prayers.
Jeremiah 11:14

 God’s presence can leave a church when he is displeased by what they do.
Ezekiel 5:11, Ezekiel 10:18-19
  God can hide his face when his presence is withdrawn
Psalms 13:1
How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

David, the Psalmist, is going through a season of feeling far from God. He depicts his feeling
of God’s absence as God forgetting him and hiding his face. While God can’t forget
anything, David felt forgotten by God. This expression refers to a period in which one feels
separated from God. The face of God is a figurative way to speak of God’s manifest glory
and power. David felt God’s glory and manifest power being hidden from him because it
was a time he was going a lot of difficulties but could not hear from God.   When we do
things that displease God, he hides from us because his eyes cannot look at iniquity. If God
is hidden from you, Satan will appear to you. When God is hidden from you, all good things
of life will also hide from you. Mercy!
 When God’s presence is withdrawn it takes the spirit of God away from you.

1 Samuel 16:14-15
But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled
him. And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

When the ways of a person, family, or church displease the Lord, and God’s presence is
withdrawn, it takes away the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is holy, righteous, and pure. He has
no sin neither does He sin. Any act that displeases God displeased him.
How do I know that the Holy Spirit has departed? You can know a person or church that the
Holy Spirit departed when the kingdom of God is not seen in the person. The kingdom of
God is righteousness, peace, and joy. If a person or congregation has no righteousness,
peace, and joy, the Holy Spirit has departed from the person or congregation. Another way
of knowing the spirit has departed is when there are no fruits of the Holy Spirit. The fruits of
the Holy Spirit are; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, and self-control. When the Holy Spirit is in a person, the fruits of the Holy
Spirit are manifested. If you cannot see the fruits of the Holy Spirit in a person or
congregation, the Holy Spirit has departed.
Another way of seeing the spirit has departed is if there is no power, no signs, and wonders.
If there are no miracles signs and wonders seen in a congregation, the Holy Spirit is not in
the congregation which leads to the preaching of powerless gospel.
 MEN PLEASERS

Colossians 3:22-23
Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye service, as men
pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the
Lord, and not unto men

Galatians 1:10
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should
not be the servant of Christ.

Acts 5:29
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men.

There are people whose motives are to please men or the world, rather than God. Men

pleasers are people who have a high priority in their lives to please other people, doing what
people want, making sure people’s perception of them is always right. Men pleasers try to
avoid anyone from being angry with them, etc. They seek the endorsement of men above the
approval of God. Many have become intoxicated and consumed by the need of the praise of
men. Men-pleasers are determined to be seen, recognized and approved by men. They justify
themselves before men. More often than not, they are hypocrites. They seek the endorsement
of men through deceitful pretenses. Certainly, they get very upset because it is in the nature
of the men they seek to please to be unthankful. The same people who shout “hosanna” to
you today will shout “crucify him” tomorrow. This attitude of trying to be a man-pleaser is a
trap and a setup for destruction for whoever is living this way. 

It is not possible to be both a man-pleaser and a God-pleaser at once. A man-pleaser can

never please God. Paul and Timothy are examples of men who were not willing to please
men but God.
We need people to get to certain height of life. We need the recommendation of men to open
certain doors for us. It was John the Baptist who recommended and helped to introduce Jesus
Christ into ministry. You need to have respect for people but any condition that will make
you put man before God should be considered carefully and not entertained. Whatever will
cause you to reverence man over giving reverence to God should be wrecked completely. It
is important to show respect to your boss, but the respect of your boss should not take the
place of God. Men pleasers are ready to sacrifice the place of God for man. Men pleasers are
ready to obey what men say contrary to what God is saying. Men pleasers will do what man
demands of them contrary to what God demands of them. That is a big error. God’s place
must not be competed for by anything else.
 Balaam A Man Pleaser
Balaam is a great example of a person who decided to please men rather than God. The
Moabites king, Balak, sent envoys to Balaam requesting that he come and curse the children
of Israel. God warned Balaam not to go with these princes of Moab. Balaam sent the envoys
away, but more returned and Balaam later on showed a desire to go with them. The Lord had
already given Balaam His response, but He gave Balaam the free-will to choose for himself
what he would do (Num. 22:9-21). God was not pleased with Balaam’s decision. The angel of
the Lord was sent to kill Balaam for his disloyalty and stubbornness against God (Num.
22:22-23). Balaam decided to delight men rather than our Lord.

Saul A Man Pleaser

When Saul decided to overstep his authority as king of Israel and sacrifice on behalf of his
army, he was pleasing men. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin; priests came from the tribe
of Levi and were the only people who could make sacrifices on behalf of God’s people. Saul
had a gap in judgment when his desire to please men outweighed his desire to please God (1
Sam. 13:8-12). The punishment for such a transgression was the kingdom departed from
Saul’s family (1 Sam. 13:13-14). God showed mercy to Saul that day! King Saul learned a
lesson of the consequences of being a people-pleaser. We should learn from the mistakes of
those who came before us so that we do not repeat them.

God requires preachers to "convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching,"
but this has been curved into nice messages by men-pleasers who fear to speak the truth of
the gospel. Many preachers trample over the truth to keep people happy. There are a lot of
mighty leaders and preachers who have fallen because they chose to please their people
rather than the God who chose and appointed them. The personal priority of every child of
God must be, to seek the approval of God, regardless of how men respond to how you do
your things.

God-pleasers cannot be men-pleasers because they don’t expect men to love them. Jesus
forewarns his disciples: “Everyone will hate you because of me.” (Matthew 10:22).

The decision is simple for a Christian. One must serve God rather than man throughout the
longevity of their lives (Acts 5:29). The Lord requires complete service to Him and His
kingdom; anything less is unacceptable. God has always asked man to love Him with all of
his heart, soul, and mind (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:36-37). Pleasing men will only last a short
season, but pleasing God shall last for eternity.
 The praise of men and public opinion

Jesus Christ on several occasions had confrontations with the Pharisees. One of the things
objectionable by Jesus Christ about the Pharisees was that: “They loved the praise of men
more than the praise of God.” (John 12:43). Even when men were drawn to his gospel, Jesus
remained wary of them. John says: “Jesus had no need that anyone should testify of man, for
he knew what was in man.” (John 2:24-25).

Jesus healed people and then instructed them to tell no one about it. When he wanted to raise
the dead, he would sometimes tell bystanders to leave. When the person is raised from the
dead, he would tell onlookers to see that no one knows about it. Clearly, he did not seek the
glory of men. He only sought the glory of God. God testified of Jesus: “This is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17). That was enough for him.

Don’t complicate your life by the desire to please men. The world makes unnecessary and
ungodly demands on people. It will entrap you by insisting you get married by a certain date
to a certain type. It will tell you to have a child by a certain time. It will dictate the number of
your children. It will stipulate you should aspire to a particular position or drive a specific
type of car.

Many destinies have crushed because of public opinion in contrast to obeying what God has
instructed them to. If all you do is to create a nice public impression which is against the will
of God, you are only harming yourself. Don’t live for the masses. Live for God only!

Jesus had a strong disregard for pleasing men. Jesus never cared about human praise. When
Jesus walked into a synagogue, a demoniac loudly acknowledged him as “Jesus of Nazareth,
the Holy One of God.” Jesus promptly shut him up and cast the demon out of him. This
shows the praise and flattery of men is often satanic. When Peter tried to discourage Jesus
from the cross, Jesus chastised him sternly: “Get behind me Satan! You are an offense to me,
for you are not mindful of the things that are of God, but those that are of men. The battle
between David and King Saul was as a result of the praise men. “Saul has killed thousand,
David has killed ten thousand”. This landed David in a serious life battle.

Be careful how you react to men’s praise. Men’s praise is deceitful. The devil uses it to lead
men astray. When the Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus into treason against Caesar, they tried
to set him up with praise. (Mark 12:14). But Jesus refused to take the bait. Solomon warns:
“The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.”
(Proverbs 27:21 ESV).

Don’t give in or make ungodly compromises. Let your terms of reference always be God and
the ways of Jesus. Jesus says: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16). Let them see your
good works and yet not glorify you. Let them only glorify your father in heaven.
Any man who desires to be praised has set himself up. God is against such a person. We
must praise God ONLY and not men. It is good to acknowledge human efforts and give
credit to whom it is due, but such must not result in praises of men. Rather, we should direct
all praises to God for the achievements of men. Never esteem man or the works of man. It is
an abomination before God

Dangers of pleasing men

a. Pleasing men diverts your attention and focus from God to man. You now decide to
make man happy instead of making God happy. When God is not happy with you, it is
a dangerous thing.

b. Pleasing men hinders the ultimate purpose of God for your life. It makes you go out of
God’s will and plan for your life. You forfeit doing what God has called you to do and
do what men want.

c. Pleasing men eludes you of the protection of God.

d. Pleasing men will wear you out easily as you are always trying to make people happy
with you against making God happy.

e. Pleasing men makes you strive in your strength. God sets aside as you decide to please
men. God doesn’t back you in such a pursuit so everything you do is with your
strength and might. Zechariah 4:6

f. Pleasing men sets you up for more hurts. Man’s heart is full of evil and ungratefulness.
Nothing you do for man can be appreciated. At last you will experience more hurt
from the same people you try to please. Jeremiah 17:9

g. When you decide to please men, you give room for people to use you or take
advantage of you. People will always use you to achieve their desires and dump you
painfully afterwards.

h. Pleasing men denies you the opportunity to know your real self because you are
always living your life according to the dictate of men.

i. Pleasing men attracts God’s wrath to you, and you automatically expose yourself to
the dangers of displeasing God.
 How to diagnose men-pleasers

It is important to know the people around you. Are they doing things from a genuine heart
towards God or are just trying to please men. You need to watch out more for people who
are men pleasers and guard yourselves accordingly. Such people need to be helped to focus
on God and not man.

Here are some ways you can diagnose men pleasers.

a. Men pleasers are addicted to approval from others. They live their lives on the opinion
of men, not of God.

b. Men pleasers have strong fear for rejection. They are always careful to do things that
will make people accept them even if it is against the will of God.

c. Men pleasers easily feel shattered when criticized. Once you are doing the will of God
you will encounter a lot of criticism. Men pleasers will do anything to please men so
to avoid being criticized

d. Men pleasers have a weak and poor self and interpersonal image. They feel inferior in
all things. They don’t believe in themselves, hence always seeking men approval.

e. Men pleasers are good pretenders. They can appear to be something they are not.

f. Men pleasers like to gain attention and acceptance from people. They always want to
direct human traffic to themselves.

The only way to breaking free from pleasing men is to be on God’s side. Decide from
today to please nothing else but God. In our relationship with people, God should be the
focus of every decision we take and it will help position us to pleasing nothing else but God.
 THE BENEFITS OF PLEASING GOD

Hebrews 11:6
………….that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

God rewards those who diligently seek him. There is nothing we do for God that is in vain.
God’s benefits of pleasing Him are enormous. God has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us
in all our ways and teach us the word. The Holy Spirit is there to help us live a life pleasing
to God so we can attract his blessing. When your ways please the Lord he fills your life with
many benefits. Let’s consider some of them.

a. Pleasing God makes you to enjoy God’s protection and divine escapes

Ecclesiastes 7:26
I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as
bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

In Daniel 3:8-25, the three Hebrew men were asked to bow down to the image of king
Nebuchadnezzar. Because they were men who had the mind of pleasing God but nothing
else, they refused. They were thrown into the furnace and miraculously, God protected and
helped them to escape the furnace. When your ways please the Lord, he protects you and
saves you from terrible conditions that can take your life. Divine protection and escape from
hazardous conditions is a guarantee for anyone whose ways pleases the Lord. He will be
with you no matter the fire, storm or prison. Nothing will hurt you nor harm you once you
decide to go all out for the Lord!

b. Pleasing God guarantees God’s continuous presence.

John 8:29
And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things
that please him

Acts 7:9
And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him

When your ways please the Lord, he will never leave you alone. There is a guarantee of his
presence all the time. He backs you up in all your assignments of life. If God is with, who
can be against you? His presence carries you along all the time.
Joseph got the backing of God for his life assignment. Despite all the envy of his brothers,
God’s presence kept him and guided him steadily until his dreams came to pass. When your
ways are pleasing to God, the presence of God enclaves you and no man by any way can
stop you from getting to your place of glory.

c. Pleasing God makes you enjoy divine peace.

Proverbs 16:7
When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

When you’re determined to please God, He gives you peace in your heart, even in the most
challenging situations. When your ways please the Lord, He makes even your enemies to be
at peace with you. There are so many troubles and challenges that disturb the peace of
humanity but when you please the Lord, peace of life is assured.

d. Pleasing God positions you to receive the anointing of the spirit.

Matthew 12:18
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put
my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Jesus was anointed because he was a son who pleased his father. Many servants of God
cannot receive the anointing because they are doing things that displease the Lord. Many are
stripped-off the anointing because all their actions are things that displeases God and
blasphemes his name. You cannot be anointed and stay anointed when your ways displeases
God. God releases his anointing upon vessels that pleases him. If you desire to receive the
anointing of the spirit, consider your ways to be sure they are pleasing to God.

e. Pleasing God makes you receive God’s approval

Matthew 12:18
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I
will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Jesus received the approval of his father because his ways pleased him. Jesus was announced
and introduced into ministry by God because he pleased him. For your ministry to be
approved of God, your ways must be pleasing to God. All the authority received by Jesus
was because his ways pleased the Lord. When God has not approved you, you lack authority.
If you want God to be on your side and accept you, decide to please him.

f. Pleasing God makes you become God’s beloved

 Matthew 12:18
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased…..

To be a beloved means to be much loved or to be loved dearly. When your ways please the
Lord you become someone who is loved dearly by God. It is true God loves everyone and
that’s the reason why he sent Jesus to come and die for the entire world. But when your ways
please the Lord, there is a place in God’s heart you occupy that ordinary men cannot. God
reserves a special kind of love for those who please him. If God loves you dearly, what good
thing of life will elude you? You live a life that even Satan will envy!

g. Pleasing God makes God to grant you your heart desires.

Psalms 37:4
Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

We all have things in our hearts that we desire to have in our lives. For some of us, it may be
children, financial breakthrough, health, promotion, or ministry growth. As long as the desire
that is in your heart aligns with God’s heart for you, He will grant them to you. When we
walk diligently in His ways, we end up pleasing God, and He, in turn, grants us the desires of
our hearts.

h. Pleasing God helps you to walk in the fear of God.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God,
to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart
and with all thy soul, 13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I
command thee this day for thy good?

To fear God is to have absolute reverence and awe for the almighty God, the creator of
all things. When we decide to please God, it causes us to fear to sin against Him,
because we want nothing else in this world than to be pleasing to Him, and to bring
honor to His name. We fear to cause Him sorrow or grief, knowing how incredibly
wretched sin is, how much God hates it, and how much it hurts Him when we sin.
When your ways please God, indirectly it helps you to live a holy and righteous life
and that attracts its accompanying blessings.

i. Pleasing God makes you to attract divine favour

Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

When the Lord’s favor is upon you, you will be able to qualify for things that you don’t
necessarily qualify according to the world standard. God will make you soar with wings
like an eagle in places where your human qualifications will never take you. We need the
favor of God to be upon us just the way it was upon Jesus for us to accomplish the
purposes of God. 

j. Pleasing helps you to escape the disappointments and vexations that tear the hearts of
men pleasers which fills their life with painful and sorrowful experiences. Many have
ended up disappointed in the attempt of pleasing man. God will never disappoint us.
He is too faithful for that. When you decide to please God, you save yourself from the
disappointment and hurts of men because men are naturally ungrateful.
 PRACTICAL WAYS OF PLEASING GOD

1 Thessalonians 4:1
Furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as ye have received
of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound
Revelations 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for
thy pleasure they were created.

Yes, it is possible to please God. The essence of the grace of God is to help us live a standard
of life that brings honor to God. Just us a father expects his child to do things that make him
happy, God also expects us to do things that bring joy and honor to him. There following are
some of the practical ways we can live our life to please our maker. Never forget that our
very existence on this earth is to give pleasure to God; nothing else!

1. Having faith pleases God.

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is
and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Faith pleases God than anything else. Pleasing God is attached to faith. Without faith, no
one can please God. Our Christian life is dependent on faith. Wherever there is faith, God is
pleased. Faith and pleasing God are inseparable. Every action we take based on faith pleases
God. There are a lot of good things we do that God doesn’t acknowledge because it was not
done out of faith.

The subject of faith is very foundational to our Christian living. Our salvation depends on the
faith we have in the gospel. Anytime we exhibit faith, it is a response to how we see and
understand God. The greatest thing that touches God’s heart and brings pleasure in God’s
heart in a special way is faith.

To have faith is to believe in, trust, hope, depend, rely and be obedient to God. Faith is the
rate of exchange between us and God. The Level of your faith determines what you draw
from the well of God’s goodness.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God; in fact, we cannot even begin to approach the
Lord and experience a personal relationship with Him without it. Faith is the atmosphere in
which the believer’s life is lived. We are called “believers” because we are continually
putting our faith, trust, and confidence in God.
The champions of the Old Testament like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses,
Joseph, Rahab, Gideon, and David all lived by faith. As they looked toward their future
hope, they relied on God to fulfill His promises (Hebrews 11:13–16). And they obeyed
God’s Word even when they did not understand it. This kind of walking by faith—accepting
as truth the things we cannot yet touch, feel, or see, and then acting on them in obedience—
is the prescription for living a life that pleases God. We may not see ourselves right now as
God does—holy and made righteous by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But when we accept the
evidence in God’s Word (Romans 10:17) and reach out in response to experience fellowship
with Him, then we begin to live by faith, and that pleases God.

Faith opens us up to God's will

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for
welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." God has a beautiful plan that
He wants us to fulfill, but that purpose He has for you is something so huge that you cannot
do it without God. That's why God asks us to trust Him - so we can do so much more
through and in Him.

God wants us to maximize this life that He has given us and He knows that without the
power of the Holy Spirit guiding us and the work of Christ motivating us, we will never be
able to live life to the full.

Faith is the strongest manifestation of our love for God

Many times we face battles and times when our faith and values will be challenged. When
faced with financial struggles, our hearts will be exposed to see whether we truly value God
or money more. When faced with persecution, we are tested to see whether we will value
God or our reputation - or even our own lives - more.

Just like a wife who is pleased when her husband chooses her above other people, God finds
pleasure in seeing us choose Him above all. Standing in faith proves to be one of the firmest
ways to express to God how much we love Him.

Faith is an expression of our honor of God

I can think of no other way that we honor God best than through of our faith. When we show
how we trust God, we speak through our words and actions of how mighty, able, powerful,
faithful, and glorious He is. A person who lives in faith by obeying God's Word will honor
Him in front of his or her family, officemates, schoolmates, church mates, and neighbors. Let
Abel it will determine the quality of sacrifice we render to God. Our sacrifices bring honor to
God and that pleases him greatly.

2. Be spiritually minded
Romans 8:6-8
 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the
carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God

Being "spiritually minded" is a high priority for living a spiritual life. Your mindset is an
evidence of your spiritual condition. John R. W. Stott said, “Our mindset expresses our basic
nature as Christians or non-Christians. It has eternal consequences and concerns our
fundamental attitude toward God. Paul contrasts two different kinds of people in the passage
above: "those who live according to the flesh” and “those who live according to the Spirit.”
Developing a spiritual mindset is something we must do. So, a spiritual mindset is not only
a reality, it is an evidence of your spiritual condition. It is also a responsibility. Setting your
mind on spiritual things is a command to be obeyed.

So, how do you set your mind on spiritual things? Here are four ways:

a. Fill your mind with the Spirit’s words. 

Paul tells us, in 2 Timothy 3:16, that all Scripture is God-breathed. Jesus said, “The words I
speak to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). And in 1 Corinthians 2, Paul says “we have
received . . . the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us
by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the
Spirit…” 1 Cor. 2:12-13a. These passages show us that the Spirit communicates through
Scripture. The Spirit works hand in hand with the word. To have a mind filled with and
shaped by Scripture is, therefore, to have a mind that is set on the things of the Spirit.

b. Ask for the Spirit’s help. 

You can’t set your mind on the things of the Spirit all by yourself. You can't do it without the
Spirit. So, pray for the Spirit of God to work in your heart and tune your mind to the things
of the spirit.

Prayer for the Spirit to do something in your mind and heart are good prayers to pray. God
answers those prayers and helps people who want to live a spiritual life.

c. Practice the presence of the Spirit every day.  This is essential to cultivating a
spiritual mindset – a mindset on the things of the Spirit. Realize he is right there with
you, wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing. In fact, he is not only with you. He
is in you. The Spirit of God is in you. He lives in your heart.

d. Be friends with spiritually-minded people

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

 2 Corinthians 6:14
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

The company you keep will have an influence on you. There are believers who still keep the
company of unbelievers in the name of helping them get saved. Many believers have been
turned from the Christian faith because of the friends they keep around them. Those you
relate with really matters. If your friends are spiritually minded, they will help you to
spiritually be minded but if they are carnally minded, they will influence you to be carnally
minded. Watch your relation and associations!

3. Having the fear of God

Psalms 147:11
The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him…………..

If God is love, then why does He command us to fear Him? The fear of the Lord isn’t about
being afraid of God; it’s about revering Him above all else. The Bible tells us to fear God,
not because it is good for Him, but because it is good for us to accurately recognize that He
is more powerful than anything else. Acknowledging this shows our deep respect for Him.

The proper fear and respect of God will motivate us to avoid sin (Exodus 20:20). It reminds
us that God will hold us accountable for our actions.

Fearing God allows us to rely on Him and revere Him—which can deepen our love for the
All-Powerful God. When we do that, we position ourselves to receive all the benefits that
come with putting God first in our lives because we please.

4. Walking in and keeping God’s Covenant

Isaiah 56:4
For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things
that please me, and take hold of my covenant.

One of the defining characteristics of God’s kingdom on earth, His Church, is the presence
of covenants. Covenants are sacred promises God makes with those who want to do the work
that will bring them back into His presence. This is what separates covenant makers and
keepers from those who don’t want to be bothered by such things.

5. Obedience to God.

1 Samuel 15:22
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in
obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than
the fat of rams.
In this passage, the prophet Samuel expressed God’s displeasure with Israel’s first king Saul.
Saul had disobeyed God’s direct command with the excuse that “the people” had wanted to
give what should have been destroyed to God instead. But God doesn’t want our physical
gifts if we are going to break His laws to give them!

Again, God doesn’t command us to obey just because it is good for Him, but because it is
good for us (Deuteronomy 10:13). His laws and commands are beneficial; and as a result of
obeying Him, we grow in godly, righteous character—we become more like Him! This is
how to please God.

The fact that obeying God is pleasing to Him is expressed in various ways throughout the
Bible. God has “pleasure in uprightness,” He will bless those who “keep My Sabbaths, and
choose what pleases me” and who “abstain from sexual immorality” and avoid breaking any
of God’s commandments (1 Chronicles 29:17; Isaiah 56:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-3).

6. Do the will of God

Hebrews 13:21
Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well
pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

What is God’s will? God’s desires, His commands, and His plans are expressed throughout
the Bible. In fact, the Bible was given to us to show us His will and to help us in a sense read
His mind. Studying the Bible, meditating on it, and praying about it are keys to gaining a
deeper understanding of His will.

Jesus Christ set the ultimate example of doing God’s will when He faced the terrible
scourging and crucifixion for our sins, yet prayed, “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be
done” (Luke 22:42). He was willing to give Himself totally to show His love and to do His
Father’s will.

If we want to learn how to please God, we must seek God’s help to always do His will as
well.

7. Preaching the gospel and focusing on kingdom advancement.

1 Corinthians 1:21
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

The gospel is preached because it pleases God to use men in that way. If this world, blinded
by their own wisdom does not know God, then how will they learn of him? It pleases God
when his preachers go into the world that no longer knows him and preaches his gospel to
every creature. God repented of his intent to destroy Nineveh when those people repented of
their wicked ways and believed what Jonah preached to them. God will save each and every
sinner that will turn from his wicked ways and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Every Christian
has been given the ministry of reconciliation, and you are expected to get out into this world
and preach the gospel. Participate in tract distribution, give out Bibles, record a salvation
sermon and pass them out, share gospel links online, do all that you can to get the gospel to
this world!
Each day is filled with a wonderful opportunity to tell someone about Jesus Christ and the
sacrifice he made for us. That is what it means to preach the gospel. Go to the ones you love,
work with, your neighbors, your friends, and then to complete strangers. Everyone will not
be excited to hear, but some will believe. Consider this, to them that believe, their sins will
be forgiven and their soul will be saved for all eternity, simply because you told them about
the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

8. Live a kingdom sacrificial life

Hebrews 13:16 NIV

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is
pleased. 

Merriam-Webster defines sacrifice as “the act of giving up something that you want to keep
especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone.” God wants us to let go of
the things we treasure.  He wants us to surrender it all to Him. This includes our possessions,
our attitudes, and our time.
Jesus was pleased with the poor widow because she gave everything.  She didn’t hold back a
thing from God. She was fully committed. It isn’t the size of our gift that counts. Small
things can often make a big difference.  It is about being willing and ready to give what you
have.
References
Running From the Call Sermon by Stephen Funder Burk, Jonah 1:1-4:1 - SermonCentral.com

christiantoday.com

GOD TV.com

The Consequences of Pleasing Men - Flatwoods church of Christ

lifehopeandtruth.com

Men-pleasers and god-pleasers | Femi Aribisala

christiantoday.com

Ways to Be Spiritually Minded (crosswalk.com)

Plenteous redemption.com

Copy Jesus.com