PLEASING GOD
R.S.Renton
Luke 3: 21,22; Genesis 13: 14-18; Hebrews 11: 5,6; 1 Thessalonians 4: 1
I have it on my heart, beloved brethren, to speak about pleasing God. We live in a world where men seek to please themselves. I suppose there never was a day such as the present when men devote themselves to pleasure; when men combine together to seek conditions where they may work less to gain the maximum pleasure for themselves. In the midst of these conditions, what it must be to God to have those down here who please Him. Would you like to be numbered amongst them? Would you like God to look down on you and say, That man, that woman pleases me? I know the reaction. You think you are too weak, you think you are too small and too insignificant to please God in any way. I want to show you, if the Lord helps me, that your pleasing God is not beyond you.
First of all, I want to speak of the Lord Jesus. What better subject, what better theme can any servant present to the people of God than the supreme moral excellence of Jesus? I have selected this passage from Luke's gospel for two reasons. One is that Luke presents the meat offering, and another is that the Father's voice calls attention personally to Jesus, signifying His own heart's satisfaction in Him. The meat offering is a very interesting offering. You will remember the ingredients - fine flour mingled with oil and frankincense. The fine flour, which Luke depicts for us, is the evenness and the perfection of the life of Jesus. Oh, beloved brethren, as I think of Him in this way, I think of the hymn (No.230):
'We wonder at Thy lowly mind,
And fain would like Thee be'.
There was the evenness without any predominant or salient feature in His character, all gloriously, supremely perfect, for as He walked here amongst men, grace, humility and love found full expression. In this part where we have read, "And it came to pass, all the people having been baptised, and Jesus having been baptised and praying", Luke presents to us the model in Jesus; as Peter says in another connection: "leaving you a model that ye should follow in his steps", 1 Pet 2: 21. Jesus in Luke's gospel is a model of dependence; He says "I do not seek my will, but the will of Him that has sent me", John 5: 30. I sometimes think of the feelings of the priest, as depicted for us in Leviticus (chap 2: 2), with the fine flour which was mingled with oil and the frankincense; he puts in his hand and takes out his handful, which would represent the measure of his appreciation of the excellence of Jesus. We read "and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense". Who could fully assess the fragrance of the holy life of Jesus in perfect manhood here but God Himself? With every other man there is a predominant feature. If you think of Paul, there was energy and zeal - that was characteristic of the man. If you think of Peter, you think of one with ardent affection; that was his predominant feature. In John you have a man of tender sensibilities and abstraction of thought. With Samson there was strength. If you think of Solomon you have wisdom as an outstanding quality. But with Jesus all was gloriously even and perfect, and the Father just delighted to have His Son down here in perfect, dependent manhood. So the heaven was opened. It says in Matthew that "the heavens were opened to him" (chap 3: 16) - to Him; Luke says "the heaven was opened" - what a sight! the heaven opened upon a praying Man. "And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon him", finding complacency there; and then we have "a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight". The "Thou" is emphatic, not 'this' but "Thou". On the mount of transfiguration Peter, not knowing what to say, said "Rabbi, it is good that we should be here; and let us make three tabernacles, for thee one, and for Moses one, and for Elias one. For he knew not what he should say". Then the voice said "This is my beloved Son: hear him" (Mark 9: 5-7), calling the attention of others to Christ. Oh, to have heaven's estimate of the Lord Jesus! You may say your estimate is small; we all would increasingly desire to grow in our apprehension and in our appreciation of Jesus. I commend to my brethren Mr Darby's Synopsis on Leviticus 2. You will find your soul nurtured as he delineates the features which marked Jesus. I could quote to you but I will not and I would ask you to get out the Synopsis and turn to Leviticus 2 and your soul will be satiated. If you do not get a quickening touch, get to the Spirit and ask Him why not. "Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight" - "in thee", as if the innermost feelings of the Father were fully expressed in His delight in Christ. Where every other man had proved a failure, where every other man had come short of the glory of God, the Father's eye could rest complacently in Jesus - "Thou"! This would relate doubtless to the Lord's private life of which we are told nothing - those secret eighteen years. What intimacy, what wealth, what glory, what supreme moral excellence shone out, what infinite delight for the Father's heart! "In thee I have found my delight". Beloved brethren, that was absolute. The Father's full delight centred in the Son. What did we sing in our hymn? -
'No thought of His e'er moved apart from Thine'.
let us feed on that, dear brethren -
'Each holy footstep gave Thee fresh delight;
Perfect expression of Thy will divine
Thou hadst in Him - come forth from glory bright '.
You will remember what it says in Colossians: "for in him all the fulness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell, and by him to reconcile all things to itself, having made peace by the blood of his cross", chap 1: 19,20. Let us so be occupied, for this should be our staple diet, beloved brethren, feeding on the moral excellence of Jesus. In the next chapter it says "For in him dwells" - suggesting complacency - "all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and ye are complete in him". This would relate to Christ where and as He is in glory. Might I ask you, beloved brethren, a simple question? Do you want anything other than Christ? The Colossians wanted Christ but evidently thought that philosophy and vain deceit would add to what they had. Oh to have our souls just satisfied with the glory of that Man! If that were so, what stature would develop with us! What praises would flow from us! What wealth when we gather together for the service of God! What light would unfold in our reading meetings! What prophetic power in our ministry meetings; the temple would function, everyone alive, everyone spiritually vibrant. May the lord help us that it may be increasingly so! Here was one Man, and the Father's full delight was vested in Him.
Now I want to speak of Abraham to show that if we are pleasing to God He will make it abundantly evident to us. Here in Genesis.13 we have Abraham and Lot. It says that Abraham was rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold (see v 2). There was no difficulty with the silver and the gold, but the controversy arose about the cattle. "And Lot also who went with Abram had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land could not support them" (vv 5,6). There was strife between the herdsmen of Abraham's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. But how magnanimous Abraham was! He says to Lot, let there be no strife. The land is before us: if you take the left, I'II take the right; if you take the right, I'll take the left. Beloved brethren, how magnanimous are we? Are we mean, niggardly, demanding? Abram might have said, Well, of course, I am your uncle and I should really have the preference. No, he was a man of principle, he was a spiritually wealthy man, he was a heavenly man characteristically. He says, You take the choice; I'II take what is left. And that pleased God. In our actions among the saints and in our daily work, God is looking on for He has a perfect assessment of everything and He can tell us when He is pleased with us. Would you like to have that sense? I certainly would. Would you like God to give you that assurance that in your walk, in your deportment, in the way you carry yourself, in the way you speak when you are so different from the general run of things, God may say, I am pleased with you. So it says "Jehovah said to Abram, after that Lot had separated himself from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land that thou seest will I give to thee, and to thy seed for ever". Oh, Abram would say, I did not expect this! You see how God can come in for the comfort and the stimulus and for the encouragement and the benefit of His people. It says in the Proverbs, "When a man's ways please Jehovah, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him", chap 16: 7. What can God not do, beloved brethren, if we are pleasing to Him? What would He not give us? God is not niggardly; He does not dole out in small portions. He makes this proposal to Abram when he had acted in this way as if to say, Abram, I am delighted with what you have done. Then He says "Arise, walk through the land according to the length of it and according to the breadth of it; for I will give it to thee". What is the reaction? Abram moved his tents. He was not told to move his tents.
The confirmation had come from God Himself of His pleasure in Abram in the bountiful way he had dealt with his nephew, and it says he "dwelt by the oaks of Mamre" - in a stable position - "which are in Hebron" - that is Colossians where the glory of Christ is brought before our view, range after range of divine glories. And it says "And he built there an altar to Jehovah". So God gets his full portion. That is in chapter 13. In chapter 14 he met the subtle suggestion of the king of Sodom who said "Give me the souls, and take the property for thyself" (v 21). Abram says "I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah, the Most High God, possessor of heavens and earth, if from a thread even to a sandal-thong, yes, if of all that is thine, I take anything" (vv 22,23). Abram would take nothing from the world, for he was independent of the world and its system; as I said, he was characteristically a heavenly man. And so he acts nobly, fortified as he was by Melchisedec the priest. Then God immediately speaks to him, as it says: "After these things the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not Abram; I am thy shield, thy exceeding great reward", chap 15: 1. If there had been any suggestion in Abram's mind that he had lost something by not taking the property - I am not suggesting that there was - God says "I am thy shield"; I am your protector; I will stand by you; I will support you; I will enrich you; "thy exceeding great reward". God Himself his reward - what recompense! And then we read "And he led him out" (v 5). I was interested in what Mr Taylor says (see Vol 51, p.214) that Jesus led him out. Jesus unquestionably. Think of being led out by Jesus. What a compensation! And He says to him "Look now toward the heavens, and number the stars" - in the previous section it would be the earthly family; now there is a heavenly family coming into view - "if thou be able to number them. And he said to him, So shall thy seed be! And he believed Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness" (vv 5,6). Oh how pleasing this must have been to Jehovah, to see one man characterised by faith, renouncing all the overtures that the world could offer, and God coming in supportingly and saying "I am thy shield, thy exceeding great reward".
In chapter 17 Jehovah says to him "walk before my face, and be perfect" (v 1). God makes a covenant with him, and then on that self-same day Abram puts into execution the covenant of circumcision - that self-same day. And would there be approbation from God? What greater than that three heavenly visitors should appear to him (see chap 18)? In chapter 22 God applies a test to him. It is good for us to remember, beloved brethren, that we are all under test. There is a classic by Mr Taylor, "Divine Trial and Exposure" (see Vol 87, p.65); it is good for us to read it betimes. How we match up is a question - we cannot say much. This is the final test to Abram, and when he answers to it God says "By myself I swear... that, because thou hast done this, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, I will richly bless thee, and greatly multiply thy seed, as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves" (vv 16-18). What a sense of divine approval must have possessed Abraham! And then we have in the parenthesis "And Bethuel begot Rebecca" (v 23) - that is the assembly coming on to view. Well, dear brethren, I cite these passages to indicate that when we please God there will always be abundant evidence of this fact from God Himself.
Now in Hebrews we have Enoch. It says of Enoch in the historical setting that he walked with God for three hundred years. He was sixty-five years old when Methushelah was born and he walked with God for three hundred years. What a wonderful thing! Mr Taylor said he would say reverently that Enoch selected God as his travelling companion (see Vol 77, p.371). What intimacy Enoch must have known during those three hundred years, and what possibilities for us in our day! Think of walking with God! It does not say God walked with him but that he walked with God. He must have been morally right and God must have delighted in his company. What communion, impartation and communications Enoch would enjoy during these three hundred years! I believe Mr Darby said that he had enjoyed unbroken communion for forty years, but Enoch walked with God for three hundred years, and he was not. He must have been missed. "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death". I believe verily that there are persons today who will not see death. Maybe all of us here will not see death. Beloved brother and sister, let that be a stimulus, for the Lord is certainly about to come, we are on the very eve of our translation. What consternation will beset this world when that takes place. "And he was not" - maybe young sisters not at the office, young brothers not at their posts. This will take place and I believe beloved brethren, when the church goes, God will immediately send a working of error or strong delusion and men will believe a lie. But for us who love our Lord Jesus, what it will be to be in scenes of unsullied bliss, just to behold the face of Jesus. Mr Darby pens in hymn 79 verse 8:
'There with unwearied gaze
Our eyes on Him we'll rest
And satisfy with endless praise
Our hearts supremely blest'.
I think that will be it, for we shall just gaze and gaze on His blessed face. That moment is imminent, dear brethren; it may be to-day. Someone said, If anyone said the Lord may come tomorrow, he is a wicked bondman. The rapture should ever be in our affections for it is in the Lord's affections, and He is just waiting the Father's time - the patience of the Christ - and then all the saints will be together without one shade of variation. You look at the breakdown and it breaks your heart, and I do not think there would be a family in this company without some sorrow, and the Lord brings in sorrow after sorrow to mellow our spirits, to break our wills, to make us ready for that moment when we shall see His face. Oh just to be, as was said in the reading, pliable in the Lord's hands. What can He not do with us if we are in that state of simple dependence, just waiting for Him? - not only waiting but watching, which is more active than waiting.
So it says of Enoch that he "was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him". It could be viewed as a type of the church being translated but this is the point I want to refer to: "for before his translation he has the testimony that he had pleased God". Beloved brethren, might I make an appeal to you? Might I make a suggestion to you? This is one individual singled out, and before his translation he has the testimony that he had pleased God. I wonder, could this tribute be rendered to you or to me? Would there be a desire engendered that it may be so? God says, as it were, Enoch, I love your company; I want you up here. He has been up there for how many years? Thousands of years. "Before his translation he has the testimony that he had pleased God".
Now in closing I want to refer to this passage in Thessalonians. I could hear someone say, I can understand Jesus being in every way pleasing to God, but I am not Abraham and I am certainly not Enoch. This letter was written to the Thessalonians, who I should think would be weeks old in the truth as some of us have been years: ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty - yes, fifty years in fellowship. How humbling to think of it! You would not speak of it boastingly; I would not, for how little I have to show for it and yet how quickly God can act; but some of us must be very, very slow learners. Here is a young company, and Paul in writing to them says they are "in God the Father" (chap 1: 1). What a place they had in the affections of the Father and of Paul as he writes affectionately to them! "For the rest, then brethren, we beg you and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, even as ye have received from us how ye ought to walk and please God". Now there is a very interesting footnote: 'I do not say 'to please', because then pleasing God would be a distinct object. Here it is rather 'to walk so as to please'. The point is, the 'how', that is, the manner of doing it, not that it ought to be an object, however true that may be'. Well beloved brethren, I feel tested as I read this passage. Believers a few weeks' old, "how ye ought to walk and please God, even as ye also do walk". And if anyone can say, Well, I think I can put myself into that category, I think I walk so as to please God, what does Paul say? "That ye would abound still more". As long as we are here, dear brethren, there is always room for increase, there is always room for development. May we freshly place ourselves in the hand of the Spirit of God! What better hands? Submitting, committing ourselves to Him that the work in our souls may be deepened, that we may enter into a greater realisation of all that into which we have been brought; and it may be, while we do not realise it, we will be found here pleasing God. May the Lord help us! There is always room for expansion, and if we have been on a line of self pleasing may we, with the object for our affections of Christ in glory and the presence in power of the Spirit down here ready to help us, dedicate and commit ourselves to be here more for the divine pleasure, for His Name's sake.
KILMARNOCK
26 March 1977