Summary: Jonathan Edwards wrote “God is glorified not only by His glory’s being seen, but by it being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it…” The question before you is "Do you truly delight in God?"

Delighting in God

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself also in the LORD,

and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

Have you ever asked yourself - "Why was I created? What is the purpose of life?" In 1 Peter 4:11 we read. "That God in all things may be glorified." The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) wrote “God is glorified not only by His glory’s being seen, but by it being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it…” To delight in something or someone means to take pleasure or find enjoyment in it. Webster's 1828 dictionary says "delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy, and not dependent on sudden excitement." The question before you is "Do you delight in God and the things of God?"

I. Four things of God in which we should delight

A. Delight in God's Word

1. Psalm 112:1 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments."

2. Psalm 119:16 " I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word."

3. Psalm 1:1-3 " Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."

4. To experience true happiness - to be blessed of God - we need to "delight" in the law of the Lord. God does not say here that you will be blessed if you appreciate His Word, nor if you merely respect it. We are to delight in it. - copied

5. Jeremiah 15:16 " Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing (delight) of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts."

B. Delight in God's Presence

1. James 4:8 " Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

2. A clergyman, who could only compose his en absolutely alone and undisturbed, one day left his door unlocked, and his little three-year-old child softly opened the door and came in. He was disturbed, and a little impatiently asked, "My child, what do you want?" "Nothing, papa." "Then what do you come in here for?" "Just because I wanted to be with you," was the reply. To come into God's presence and wait before Him, wanting nothing but to be with Him — How that ought to be our heart's delight.

3. Psalm 73:28 " But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works."

4. Psalm 16:11 " You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

C. Delight in God's Will

1. Psalm 40:8 "I delight to do thy will, 0 my God!"

2. Obedience is the ecstasy of perfect love. - copied

3. We should always do God's will, even when we don't take delight in doing. Quite often, while doing His will God will change the painful task into pleasure, that which was reluctantly started becomes a joy! Whether or not it becomes delightful does not matter. Is it God's will? Then his will I must do. Satisfaction comes when God’s will is more important than our wants. - adapted from Our Daily Bread 1/27/2008

4. One person wrote, “Make Your will my heart’s desire.” I wanted not only to do His will, but to actually desire it for myself, as if it were my own will, and to even find joy and pleasure in doing His will. And to my great surprise He actually answered that prayer too."

D. Delight in God's People God wants us to delight in His people.

1. Psalm 16:3 " As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

2. The Bible tells us that taking delight in His people is such a character trait of His people that they can even be defined by it. You can know if a person has passed from death to life by whether they love God's people or not (1 John 3:14, John 13:35). Charles Spurgeon once said that the church is the greatest place on earth. Those who love Christ will love others who love Christ. It is as natural for Christians to delight in each other as it is for fish to swim in the ocean. - copied

3. Psalm 122:1 " I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

II. Reasons for which we do not delight in God

A. Because our idols have taken precedence

1. 1 John 5:21 "Little children, guard yourselves from idols."

2. Calvin once called the human heart an idol factory.

3. One person defined an idol as "anything, or anyone, that receives the primary focus of my energy or resources, which should first belong to God. The Bible calls this having a divided heart. Instead of making it our primary life passion to worship the Lord our God and to serve only him, we begin to separate our spiritual life from the practical aspects of life. We use our idols, instead of God, to provide identity or meaning in our lives. This is especially easy to do when those idols are positive things, or even people we love. The danger is that even our virtues can become vices—or idols—if they are not directed toward God." - copied

4. Exodus 20:3-5 (HCSB) " You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me."

5. Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon"

B. Because the world has distracted us

1. 1 John 2:15 " Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

2. The world is filled with sights and sounds and people to distract us from our walk with the Lord.

3. Andrew Gray (1634-56), a remarkably gifted Scottish preacher who went home to be with Christ at the age of 22, stated that "often our delight is in this present life, and not upon God. Our worldly mindedness, as it were, has eaten up all our love to God and has consumed all the delight that we had in Him."

4. 2 Timothy 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia

5. A man bought a new hunting dog. Eager to see how the dog would perform, the man took him out to track a bear. No sooner had they gotten into the woods than the dog picked up the trail. Suddenly he stopped, sniffed the ground, and headed in a new direction. He had caught the scent of a deer that had crossed the bear's path. A few moments later he halted again, this time smelling a rabbit that had crossed the path of the deer. On and on it went until finally the breathless hunter caught up with his dog, only to find him barking triumphantly down the hole of a field mouse. Sometimes Christians are like that hunting dog. We start out on the right trail, following Christ. But soon our attention is diverted to things of lesser importance. One pursuit leads to another until we've strayed far from our original purpose. Appar­ently this is what happened to one of the apostle Paul's compan­ions, for Paul wrote to Timothy, "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world." Every day we must renew our dedication to Christ or we will be drawn away by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. These worldly influences can divert even the most devout Christian. We easily pick up another scent and follow another trail, perhaps the pursuit of wealth, power, prestige, or pleasure. When we realize that has happened, we must admit our waywardness and ask God to get us back on the right trail. —D J De Haan, Our Daily Bread, Grand Rapids, MI.

C. Because we fail to persevere in prayer

1. Luke 18:1 " Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart."

2. How many of us often discount the value of prayer. The heart wanders off and gets entangled in trivial pursuits. The affections once closely bound to a desperate desire for communion with God are now fettered with mere trifles. - J. C. Ryle

3. Neglect of prayer is one of the greatest causes of backsliding.

4. John Wesley said, " "The neglect of prayer is a grand hindrance to holiness."

5. In prayer you draw near to God. His Word makes it abundantly clear: James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

D. Because we neglect His Word

1. Do you love to read the Word because the Author is in you? Or do you find it boring, a chore to read, or something to be used only when you are at church?

2. A recent poll, indicates that 35% of born-again Christians do not read the Bible at all. In addition, among those who say they read the Bible, the vast majority only read it during the one hour they attend church each Sunday morning. Numbers for Americans who read the Bible daily range from 16 to 25%.

3. Psalm 19:7-11 "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward."

4. John Piper in reply to the question "How can I come to delight in the Word of God" says "My answer would be twofold: pray for new taste buds on the tongue of your heart; meditate on the staggering promises of God to his people." - copied

5. Psalm 119:10-11 " With my whole heart have I sought thee: o let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

E. Because we try to distance ourselves from His body, the church.

1. Hebrews 10:23-25 " Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

2. "To live above with saints we love will certainly be glory. To live below with saints we know, that's another story." - copied

3. Ephesians 5:25 and Acts 20:28 make it clear that Christ loves the church and died for it.

4. Participation in a church is essential to the spiritual health of individual Christians. - Ephesians 4:11-12

5. We are not just to be bystanders but are to actively use our spiritual gifts in the church for the benefit of the body of Christ.

6. Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them".

Do you delight in God? Do you delight in His Word, desire being in His presence, ...His will, ...His people? Can we honestly say there is nothing we love more? Has anything taken precedence in your life over God? Have you been distracted by the world's allurements? Have you persevered in prayer? How much time are you spending in God's love letter to you, the Bible? Do you delight in being an active functional working part of the body of Christ? Delight is an attitude that leads to an action. Delighting must be followed up with doing. That which you delight in must be demonstrated by your life.