If we want to be pleasing unto God, we must find out what He loves, and what He hates.  After all, we cannot walk in one accord with God if we are not in agreement with Him, any more than we can walk in one accord with our fellow man if we are not in agreement with them.

What are some of the things the LORD loves? Here is a small list:

Psa 33:5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.  

Psa 37:28 For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 

Psa 146:8 The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: 

Pro 3:12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Pro 15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness. 

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

 

To put it very simply, the LORD loves what is right and good, and He loves those who heed His Words and do what is right and good.  There is nothing whatsoever perverse, froward or evil about Him.  He looks to the one who imitates Him, whose heart is stayed on His Word, whose words and works agree with Him.

Psa 33: 18  Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;  19  To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

So likewise, there are things that God hates, and it lists seven of them in Proverbs 6:16-19,

16  These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

 17  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

 18  An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

 19  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

It seems that if we love what God loves, and hate what God hates, it will go well for us.  But this goes far beyond simple obedience to a few rules.

What we REALLY NEED is a change of heart, a change in our very spirit.  We can make ourselves obey the letter of the law if we are diligent enough to think about everything we do, but THAT’S A LOT OF HARD WORK!  But when our spirit, soul, and body are in alignment with the Word of God, it comes without effort on our part.  The person who is always struggling to please the LORD is not truly “changed within”.  It is written in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21,

 17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

 19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

 20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

 21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

You see, unless we are a NEW CREATURE, we are always going to struggle to please God.  We will always see our shortcomings, our failures, and our weaknesses.  And that’s EXACTLY what the devil wants us to focus upon.  Like I said, we can force ourselves to obey God’s laws, but that never brings joy to anyone, except maybe a few prideful people who would say, “Look at me, I’m obedient to God.”

Rather, the one who has become a NEW CREATURE in Christ Jesus isn’t struggling to please God.  His or her nature has taken on the very Spirit of God, so that living in God’s Word, loving the things He loves, and hating the things He hates, is second nature.  Or should I say, “first nature”.  He or she no longer see themselves, but their mind is one with Christ.

When a person is struggling to overcome this or that, it shows that the carnal nature is still at work.  We are a three part being: we are first a spirit.  We have a soul, and we live in a fleshly body.  Before Christ, our human spirit runs our life, it dictates what our mind is stayed upon.  And of course, what is on our mind soon comes out of our mouth, and our actions reflect that.

Think of it like this: You go to church one day and receive Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Your spirit is “born again”, but as a baby in Christ, your mind is still the same as it was, as is your flesh.  So you hear the word of God as a “newborn”, and want to go back and hear some more.  But your mind, being what it has always been, decides to stay home, and your flesh agrees it wants to sit in your favorite recliner and watch the football game, so your “spirit man” is outvoted by your mind and your body.

But as your born again spirit man hungers and thirsts for the Word of God, the mind starts getting renewed, and the NEW CREATURE is beginning to take shape. And the mind decides it’s going to feed on the Word of God and before long it starts telling the flesh to “sit down and shut up, we’re not doing things like we used to anymore.”  Does that mean there won’t be relapses?  There may be, but the cure is to put more of the Word of God into this new creature, and more and more, until the old fleshly lusts have died off.

If you have two dogs, and you feed one, and starve the other, which will be stronger?  The one you FEED, of course.  Your soul is like that, you can feed it God’s Word, or you can feed it the world.  Whichever you feed your soul, will be the strongest in you.

It can be a very slow process, or a very quick one, and that all depends how fervently you are seeking to fill yourself with God’s Word.  He won’t force-feed you.  It has to be YOU asking for more of Him, YOU seeking His presence, YOU knocking on heaven’s door, “HEY YOU IN THERE, OPEN UP,  LET ME IN!!”

The simple answer to those who are struggling in their walk with the LORD, is that you’re still trying to love what the world loves, and that keeps you from walking in one accord with the LORD.  The more Word of God you put in there, the less room there is for the world’s view.  The NEW CREATURE is just that: NEW.  The old must decrease and leave.  The idea isn’t that you’re trying to force yourself to be in alignment with God’s Word, and if that’s what you’re doing, you will surely fail in the long run.  You may succeed for a time, just on the strength of your own will,  but in the long run, the flesh will win out.  That’s why you see so many backslidden Christians.  They were never a NEW CREATURE.  They were just an old creature with a new paint job.

You CANNOT renew yourself.  Every New Year people make resolutions to change this or that.  Usually by January 3rd, they’ve reverted back to the old way. That’s how far you can go on your own.  The only way to become a NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST JESUS is to let CHRIST renew you.  That renewal can only be done by GOD.  That’s right, it’s way above your pay grade.  All you can do is RECEIVE the gift of God, you cannot CREATE that renewed mind yourself.  You cannot renew your own spirit, only God can do that.

And He is offering YOU Himself right now.  He wants you and He to be in one accord.  He wants you and He to be so close that if you were any closer, you’d be on His other side.  Christ IN you, the hope of glory,  putting HIS Spirit in you, alongside your spirit, so you are no longer struggling to please Him.  It will be easy because you and He are one new creature.  It isn’t supposed to be God over here and you over there, trying to work your way over closer to Him, like being at a concert and you’re trying to get closer to the star and get a picture with them.

No, it’s being ONE with God, you no longer having to wonder, “Is this pleasing to God?”  I can assure you, that God does not have to ask Himself if what He is doing is right.  He is God, and He ONLY does that which is right and good, because that’s all He CAN do, it’s His very nature.  Well, as a NEW CREATURE, you’ll just automatically think and do like your heavenly Father, why?  Because He is IN you!  He is ONE WITH YOU!

So many of “God’s children” are like a rusted out old car that somebody put a bunch of body putty over the rust and slapped a new paint job on it.  And for a while, it looks pretty good, until the paint starts peeling, and the putty starts coming out, and the old junker underneath starts revealing itself again.  They missed out on the part that says “New Creature”.  But you don’t have to.

God wants to do it right with you, a complete rebuild from the inside out, eliminating the rust, and the mice eaten wiring, and worn out and out of alignment parts.  A NEW creation that will never rust out again!  Will you let Him do that for you today?

If you’re struggling today to please God, get out of the driver’s seat and let HIM drive.  He doesn’t want you to have to work at loving Him, any more than He is working to love YOU.  Love is His nature, He loves you because He IS love.  With His Spirit in YOU, when you look in the mirror, you will see Jesus.  The world will look at you and see Him.  And it will be easy.

It is written in Hebrews 4:9-16,

 9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

 10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

 11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

 12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

 14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

 15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

What is that mercy for? To remind us that He is in us, and we are in Him, and that we indeed are a new creature in Christ Jesus, no longer alone and struggling, but are in one accord with Him, His beloved, the apple of His eye.