Father and our God, we bow before you now. We love you. We thank you so much. Again, we thank you for time together as men, as brothers in the faith, those who are united to Christ and belong to him. We're here to, Lord, strengthen one another's hands. And in that, we acknowledge now that we can't do it apart from you, without your Spirit. And so we ask you now to come, to draw near, to speak to hearts, each of us, right where we are in life. Speak to us, minister to us, by the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, our Lord, we pray. Amen. Okay. Well, I had a bit of a change of my plan in my subject. Because I was going to give you just sort of a biographical overview on the life of Ulrich Zwingli, the Swiss reformer. I found that refreshing when I read it not long ago, and things I had no idea that I thought were encouraging. But I was redirected about a week ago, and I see now more and more why. Because the Lord seems to be doing things and has his own plans and agenda. And one thing that sparked it was in my daily Bible reading, I came across a passage in Isaiah. I'm in the Himalayas of Isaiah right now, between the 40th and 60th chapters. You guys know what that's like. It's incredible. And so in chapter 48 of Isaiah, he said, in verses 17 and 18, it says, Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, P-R-O-F-I-T, who leads you in the way you should go. Oh, that you had paid attention to my commandments. Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains. Their name would never be cut off or destroyed before me." So that passage triggered something in my mind. And I don't know if you all remember in the history of of the life of John Piper, but he retired from pastoral preaching when he was, I think, when he turned right around 70. And there was a conference right on the heels of that that a group of men surprised him because they knew of his retirement that was coming, and they wrote a book dedicated to him called For the Fame of God's Name. for the fame of God's name. So it's a book this thick, and it's a collection from men like Sinclair Ferguson, Sam Storms, all these other men that together, Al Mohler, just a group of them, Wayne Grudem, that they dedicated to him and to his life because he was so impactful in their lives. And so they honored him that way. And then there's a standout chapter in that book that Wayne Grudem wrote, and it's on the subject of Christian obedience. And when I read that passage, and I started thinking about the men's retreat, I thought, that's the thing to go with this time, this whole theme of Christian obedience. And so, Wayne Grudem's chapter there is fantastic, fantastic, and it's the structure and the guide for what I'm gonna be talking about today, because it's a marvelous, marvelous subject, this idea of Christian obedience. And a few years ago, I think a lot of you were here for it, we talked about the subject of spiritual disciplines, didn't we? And so this message will sort of piggyback on that, because obedience and discipline are not disconnected, are they? No, obedience is rooted in discipline, in spiritual discipline. And our disciplines in Christian obedience, they're not ends in themselves either. Just be obedient for obedience sake. Just be disciplined for discipline sake. That's not the way it is, is it? No, there's an end, there's a goal. And today at least, the goal for our obedience we want to see is that it pleases God. It pleases God. Not appease, like he's some kind of hard judge that we have to keep satisfied. No, please him. We can please him. So I want us to think this morning, and as men together afresh, clearly about this profound reality that we can actually please the living God. And it's by our obedience. And this is important because it must be the focus of our lives, of what could be more important. So what I'm going to do now, I'm going to take a few minutes and basically do just kind of a New Testament survey, just like the Word of God washed over us. in a way. I'm not expounding any one particular text. I want to see how the Word of God in general addresses this whole subject of Christian obedience. I started off by reading the Old Testament passage. There's Old Testaments full of it, but this is going to be a New Testament survey essentially. So if you're taking notes or you have something you're just jotting down the verse, it might be a good idea to jot these down and it can be maybe in the margins of your Bible. You can go back and use it as a trail about Christian obedience and pleasing God. And actually, it surprised me how often that the New Testament writers urge believers to do this, to please God by their lives, to please God by their obedience, by the action that they take. So I'm going to start with Ephesians 5.1. I'm sorry, 5.8. He says, walk as children of light and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. See that? Philippians 2 verse 13, for it is good, I'm sorry, it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Later in Philippians chapter four, verse 18, Paul says, I have received full payment and more. I'm well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. Colossians 1 10. So as to, Brother Philip preached on this not long ago, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing and the knowledge of God. 1 Thessalonians 4, 1. Finally then, brothers, as we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. Keep at it, more and more. 1 Timothy 2, 3. This is good. And he's talking about prayer, prayer for all people, especially those in high places, those in authority over us. This prayer, this is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior. Later in 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 4, look at this, ìBut if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn how to show godliness to their own households and to make some return to their parents. For this is pleasing to God and the sight of God." Hebrews 11.5, by faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death and he was not found because God had taken him. Now before he was taken, he was commended as what? having pleased God. The very next verse, Hebrews 11, 6, think about this. We all know this verse. Think about it in the context of my message. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, to please God. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. Then later in Hebrews 13, Verse 16, do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. And later in chapter 13, verse 21, right at the end, the end of the whole letter, he says, may the God of peace equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight. through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Last one here, 1 John 3.22. This is John speaking. Whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. Now, you starting to get the idea? God can be pleased and pleased by our obedience. And Paul's goal was to please God, wasn't it? The 2 Corinthians passage, 2 Corinthians 5-9, he said, so whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim, our aim to please Him, to please the Lord. And then he said in Galatians 1-10, he said, for am I now seeking the approval of men or of God? That's a good question, isn't it? Am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. And he didn't say preacher or apostle of Christ. He basically said I wouldn't be a Christian. If I were all about pleasing man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Because we're to please God, aren't we? 1 Thessalonians 2.4, he said, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, and brothers, we're entrusted with the gospel in our generation, aren't we? By God. We are here to hold the line. We are here to defend the truth, proclaim it. We have the gospel. And Paul says here, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, So we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. We're to please the heart-testing God. That's what we're about. That's what we're to be about and to be more about. We'll stop there, but we can see, can't we? We can see that this is a big topic in the New Testament in teaching. Pleasing God by our obedience. And it's important to point out, too, none of us are perfect in this, are we? No one's perfect in this, in pleasing God. We've all blown it. We've all fallen short at times. We all have. There's only one perfect God pleaser in all of the history of the world, right? Who with perfect consistency, perfect purity, perfectly pleased God, and that was the Lord Jesus himself. And remember, it is baptism, the voice from heaven, This is my son, my beloved son, with whom I am well-pleased. And in John 8, towards the end of that chapter, in verse 29, Jesus said that, and he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him, always, perfectly. That's all he was about, was always pleasing the Father. And as Christians, as Christian men, we may be here, we may be tired, but we're here to be refreshed and strengthened in this reality. But those who've been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to be motivated, aren't we, by the same thing. We're to be driven, motivated by what motivated Christ. Pleasing our Father, pleasing God, pleasing Him. I mean, do you want purpose? Do you want real purpose in your life? Then this ought to be central. And He's the example for us, isn't He? And then He sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts, into our lives, to counsel us, to comfort us, to convict us, to guide us, to help us in every way in this. And pleasing God is the opposite, isn't it? It would be the opposite of pleasing self or pleasing man. selfishness, self-pleasing, man-pleasing. This is about our perspective on pleasing God. I mean, the Apostle Paul said it, didn't he? He said it was his aim in life, whether we're at home or whether we're away. It was his deepest longing, his greatest pursuit. Is it your aim? Is pleasing God your real aim, or is it really? Or is it just kind of secondary, third, you know, if I get to it kind of thing? Or is it your central bullseye aim, the target? I mean, it'd be wonderful, wouldn't it, if we could leave here from this men's retreat with this greater desire, a fresh desire, a sincere desire, just sincere about it, of pleasing God. Being God-pleasing men, what kind of change and effect would that have in our own lives and the lives of others? It would be huge at home with our wives. How can I please God in how I love my wife, how I listen, how I pay attention? You know, as members of the local assembly, it's about, first and foremost, pleasing God, isn't it? Among our peers and friends, neighbors, We've been kind of talking about these things. First and foremost, what can I do to please God? At work, am I pleasing God? Yeah, pleasing your manager, boss, or even your self-employed doing quality work, that's one thing. But first, central, is am I pleasing God? And so we can see just from the verses I read, I read quite a few verses, didn't I, that there are all kinds of ways that we can please God. All variety of things. Like presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, for one thing, that pleases God. Not being conformed to the world. The world's not what's conforming and shaping you. You're not being conformed by the world, you're being conformed by God. That pleases Him. Not causing another Christian to stumble. that pleases God. Proclaiming the true gospel, giving financially to the needy, that pleases Him. Walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, good works, that pleases Him. Obeying oneís parents pleases Him. It pleases God. Praying for government authorities pleases God. Speak evil of no one. pray for them. Isnít that amazing? You please the living God by praying for the president and governors and those in authority. You may not realize it, but it does. Supporting oneís parents or grandparents pleases the Lord. It pleases Believing that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him, that pleases Him. Sharing what you have. See, there are all kinds of things that please God. And we want to make it clear. It shouldn't need to be made clear, but I just want to say it. It's obvious, but our pleasing God is not for our justification, is it? No, that doctrine is clear, it's unshakable. Justification, our salvation, is by faith alone, in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Period. So what's this about then? This pleasing God, it's not a contradiction to that, it's not contradictory to justification, it's complementary. It's complementary to justification by faith alone. Pleasing God by our obedience has everything to do with our sanctification, with our maturity, our growing, our growing in Christlikeness. That comes from Christian obedience to Him. One theologian wisely said that justification by faith alone does not mean that we please God in our daily lives by faith alone. obedience is required. Isn't that interesting? Justification by faith alone does not mean that our daily relationship with God depends on faith alone. Obedience is required. Any relationship with an authority structure depends on obedience, doesn't it? If there's going to be peace and if there's going to be a pleasing aspect, obedience is vital, it's important. And we've seen how the New Testament authors are so emphatic about this. They keep bringing it up. Paul, Peter, John, all are just bringing this up. Seek, aim, make it your goal in life to please the living God who created you. And your good works matter. These good works really are good works. They really matter. For example, think of some of these verses. I'm reading a lot of verses, but it's the Word of God that I want refreshing us and helping us here. But the importance of good works, like Jesus said in Matthew on the Sermon on the Mount, said in the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. We know that. But is that what we're living for? Is that what we're striving for? Ephesians 2.10, for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Walk in these things. He's prepared them, walk in it. Don't disobey, don't turn away, walk in this. It will be pleasing to God. 1 Timothy 6.18, they are to do good. to be rich in good works. That's God's desire. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. And Paul said to Titus, Titus 2.7, show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works. And in your teaching, show integrity, dignity, and sound speech, and on and on. And then later in Titus, he said, Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from the lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. See, good works matter. One more, Titus 3.8, the saying is trustworthy and I want to insist on these things. so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These are excellent and profitable for people." So you see how Paul is going on different levels to be rich in good works, to walk in these things God's prepared for you, to be a model for good works, to be zealous for good works, to be devoted to good works. This is not blasé. stuff. This matters to God, and this is what we need to be about, pleasing Him by our obedience, walking in these good works. And in Hebrews 10, 24, he said, ìLet us consider how to stir one another up to love and what? Good works. Stir one another up. It's like you have this picture of something to be stirred where something, whatever it is, has settled to the bottom of the liquid and you need to take something to stir that up, get it back up, stir it up. That's how we need to be with each other. If you have a massive, in Africa or someplace, they have these massive beehives, stir that thing up. Take something and that's what we're to do. We're to stir each other up to good works regularly. And I want us to see afresh that our good works really please God. We really can. We really can please Him by our good works. It's a pleasing aroma, it says. And you may have thought, well, my good works, aren't they just filthy rags? Aren't they filthy rags? No. Thanks for answering that correctly. No. That's totally false. That is false. I mean, if you're trying to earn favor with God, like your salvation, trying to earn your salvation and your right position with God through your good works, then yeah, in that light, in that sense, they are. They're as useless as filthy rags. They are, but that's false. Our good works are called good for a reason. They're called good by Paul. They are good and they are pleasing to him and they are life-changing. When you trust in Christ alone for your salvation, and you love and strive, you love God. You strive to obey Him and love and serve others. This does actually please Him. It brings pleasure to Him. He really is pleased with you when you live this way. I want to dig up a snippet here from an old, old, old document called the Westminster Confession of Faith. that Samuel Rutherford, Richard Sibbes, and these groups of guys put together, thought through carefully. Listen to this. It says, Notwithstanding the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in Him. Not as though they were in this life wholly unblameable and unreprovable in God's sight, but that He, looking upon them in His Son, is pleased to accept and reward those which are sincere.