WESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH
PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN
SERMON TITLE: TO FIRST PLEASE GOD, YOU MUST LEARN TO WALK WITH GOD
“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. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
TEXT VERSE: HEBREWS 11:5 “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”
What a great testimony to have, for a Christian to say, “I want to please God.” We could ask the question right now, “Have you pleased God this week?” I don’t know if you answered yes or not but I have to ask myself that question each day. I have to check in with God for myself and that’s what you need to do. I wonder are you trying to please God in the life style that you’re living? Is God pleased with what you’re doing?
Now look with me at Genesis 5:24 “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not, for God took him.”
We read to you how Enoch had a testimony that he pleased God. That’s what I want to do. There’s a lot of people that don’t do that. They are trying to in a lot of ways to please man and self. But I believe we need to please God before we please anyone else. We’re here for one purpose and one purpose only and that’s that no one should perish. That the Lost should come to repentance. We are here to please God and to please Him we must tell people about Him.
There’s a lot of people that aren’t pleasing God with the lifestyle their living and the things that they are doing. There’s people that have gotten out of the way. We need some God fearing Christians today that are willing to please God.
I want to preach on: To first please God you must learn to walk with God.
In Hebrews Enoch had a testimony that he please God but in Genesis he walked with God. You’ll never please God if we don’t first learn to walk with Him. A lot of people are walking away from God.
John 6:66 “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” That’s sad when you have a Christian saved by His grace, they’ve been birthed into the family of God, their sealed with the holy seal of promise, borned again and then their not pleasing God because their not walking with God.
In First Corinthian 10:5 “But with many of them God was not well pleased...”
A lot of people think they can hide things from God. You can’t hid anything from God. It don’t matter where you’re at, if you’re a born again believer, God is watching you this morning.
Romans 8:8 “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Most people think about God and Jesus but they forget about the Holy Spirit. That’s what dwells in us on the inside. There’s a lot of people that leave out the spirit of God.
Micah 6:8 says that we should walk humbly with our God. Don’t try to get proud and boastful. Just walk humbly. If God isn’t first in your life, you’ll be last.
First John 1:6 “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”
You can lie to me all you want to but the Bible says if you say you have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, you lie and do not the truth. God don’t like liars. You know why? The Bible says the devil is the father of it. There’s a lot of Christians that are lying and cheating and stealing against God today. You ever been going on a trip and decide to take a short cut? There’s a lot of Christians in the world talking short cuts on God. Coming to the house of God once a month is taking a short cut and you’ll never get where God wants you to be. Then you’ll come to church with $500.00 in your wallet and put a dollar in the offering plate. Then they think their some good tither and they’ve done their part. The Bible teaches us to give God our best. He gave us his best. There’s a lot of people not walking with God.
NUMBER ONE: We need to walk in faith. 2nd Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith and not by sight.” There’s a lot of people who if they don’t have that material portion in front of them, they don’t believe it. That’s what happened to doubting Thomas in the word of God. He said I don’t believe the Lords risen from the dead. He said I’ll have to see him for myself. I’ll have to pierce my hand into his side and see the nail prints on his hands before I’ll believe. Some Christians not only start doubting the Lord but they start doubting their salvation and church life, the ministry and the gospel. Start walking in faith. I’m not afraid because I walk by faith and not by sight. Get off the stool of do nothing and start living by faith. When you quit living by faith you start to become afraid of this world. Theirs Christians like that. Their afraid to do anything for God but they’ll do anything for you. Jesus came in that room the second time and old Thomas was there. He wasn’t there the first time. Jesus told Thomas he could touch him but that he should be able to feel him without touching him. Thomas believed. Do you believe God can do something for you this morning?
NUMBER TWO: We need to walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” We need to teach in the spirit, sing in the spirit, preach in the spirit, walk in the spirit because the flesh will profit us nothing. The Bible tells us about speaking in tongues. I’m going to tell you what my belief is on that and you can get mad if you want to. If you’re not talking in the spirit and you’re not edifying the body of Christ, you’re speaking in a false tongue. Because you can never edify the body of Christ in the flesh. But there’s a lot of people that’s trying to do it. Their trying to be what God wants them to be in the flesh instead of what God can make them in the spirit. We need to walk by faith and we need to walk in the spirit. There’s some Christians today that have gotten so far out of the will of God that they can’t hardly even feel the Spirit. Anytime you do something wrong in the eyes of God then you’re out of the will of God and you try to stand up and justify that you’re in the will of God,..you’re further backslid than you thought. The Spirit of God does not tear down but builds up. It heals...it does not hurt.
NUMBER THREE: We need to walk in the light. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. You know why Christians can’t have fellowship one with another? Their not walking in the light. You get close enough to God where his light shines on you, you’ll not have anything to get your brothers and sisters in Christ riled up. You know how we’re going to get along in heaven? We aren’t going to have any flesh. The Bible says we’ll have new bodies and new names. If I had to carry this body with me to heaven, I wouldn’t want it. If I had to live in heaven like I do down here, I wouldn’t want to go. But thank God there will be new bodies, new names, a new place, no flesh and no devil. When people see our light, it glorifies our father in heaven. Some Christians lay down their Christianity depending on who they are around. They’ll get around family members and talk about the weather. They’ll go to family reunions and they talk about the food and how they haven’t seen each other in a long time but they’ll never mention the Lord. But yet they claim to be Christians.
NUMBER FOUR: We need to walk worthy of the Lord. Ephesians 4:1 “Therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” Are you walking worthy? None of us is worthy of the Lord but are you walking worthy of the Lord? I’m still thinking about short cuts here. Too many are taking short cuts on God. We need to walk worthy of the Lord and not your wife or your husband, your friend, your Pastor. We need to realize that God is watching us and say, “Is what I’m doing pleasing unto God?” There will be some who leave here today and if they don’t accept what Christ has for them, they’ll start laying out on God. There is not in between line. We’re either for him or against him. God has given us what we need today and all we have to do is accept it and carry it home with us. We leave our burdens here and carry home our blessings. As your pastor I promise I won’t listen to people again. If Brother Ed stands up against me and I know he’s in the flesh and not in the will of God, I’ll walk away from him. Because I’m here to represent the Lord and nobody else. God holds me responsible.
NUMBER FIVE: We need to walk in truth. Second John verse 4 “I rejoiced greatly that I found thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.” I was talking to someone out in the parking lot and he said that at work in the break room a bunch of them was talking and cursing and he got up and said you don’t have to cuss to make a point. We don’t have to stand for that stuff. Stand up and tell people you’re a child of God and you’re different. You Christians who sit around listening to garbage are backslid otherwise you wouldn’t be listening to it. Stand up for God. Walk in the truth. The Bible says the truth will make you free.
NUMBER SIX: We need to walk in the fear of the Lord. Acts 9:31 “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.”
There’s nothing in this world that will help a church grow and that’s people walking in the fear of the Lord. There’s Christians out there that won’t even go in a video store because they sell trash. They do that because they fear the Lord. There’s some that won’t go to movies. There’s others that won’t go into a restaurant that sells alcoholic beverages. A lot of Christians now think there’s something wrong with them. “Why I don’t see anything wrong with going to a restaurant that sells alcoholic beverages.” Bless God, keep your mouth shut. If they want to fear God, let them. I wish I was more like them and less like me. We need to be afraid of God. We need to say that if we don’t do something, we know what God can do to us.
NUMBER SEVEN: we need to walk in love. We lack that more than we do anything. Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.”
The Bible says that Love is the fulfilling of the law. The greatest commandment in the Bible is to love the lord. The second is to love thy neighbor as thyself. Christians get so wrapped up in early things that they forget we are supposed to walk in love. The Bible says if you see that your brother hath need and you shut up your bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in you? That’s not just talking about money. You can pray for people and cal them. A lot of Christians are walking in lust instead of love. Theirs not a lot of Christians that loves those lost souls out there. They’ve lost their desire and their hunger and thirst to witness. Enoch walked so close to God that the Lord just took him. He didn’t even die. He just went home to be with the Lord. God’s looking at some Christians today that he’s not well pleased about.
LET US PRAY: Father, is my life style pleasing unto you. Am I doing all that I can for you? I can’t say that I am and I ask you Lord to help me. Let me grow and gain knowledge of the things that I need to enable me to walk closer to you. Help me to defeat Satan when he comes my way. I want to hear your voice again so plainly and clearly. I want to do all that I can for you to please you and to lead other souls to you. I thank you for all that you do for me even though I am not worthy of anything you do or give me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen
