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Are You Living to Please Others or the Lord? - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) February 6, 2024
We live in a world where the need to be liked and approved by others is incessant. Some are focused on how many likes they receive on their comments and pictures. It seems normal to do whatever it takes to get attention and be accepted by others. This desire is not a new phenomenon and didn't just begin in the age of social media. It has been a part of human psychology for a very long time.
It even created problems among some of the early disciples. For instance, the Lord used Apostle Peter at Cornelius's house to teach that even Gentiles could be part of the church. Yet, he eventually stopped fraternizing with them. Galatians 2 tells us this was because he succumbed to peer pressure from Christian Jews who wanted to hold on to the old way of thinking - that uncircumcised Gentiles were unclean and thus should not be among them. Peter's choice to agree with that group of believers caused Apostle Paul to chastise him publicly. Why did Peter ignore what the Lord had taught him? One could argue that the need to be liked by others played a role.
This highlights a question that today's believers must address: Who are you living to please? Are you focused on receiving approval from people or the Lord?
In Galatians 1:10, Apostle Paul wrote, "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."
Paul knew he couldn't appease human beings and remain a true servant of Jesus Christ. This must have been hard to do because people are social beings but he nevertheless stuck to his principles. He understood that his focus had to be on God and not on man. Similarly, James 4:4 warns that "friendship with the world means enmity against God." And as Christians, we can't ignore these scriptures because they speak directly to our relationship with God. After all, both James, the brother of Jesus, and Paul believed that to be servants of the Lord He must be the priority.
We therefore must be more concerned with how God sees us than how the world sees us. We must live our lives seeking to please Him and not be acceptable to people. This can be very difficult in our world where we are encouraged to put our principles to the side to be accepted by others.
Still, we must remember that God will help us once we commit. When He is the priority, what is normal for the people of the world will no longer be normal. Checking the news or social media won't be the first thing we do in the morning, for instance. Opening the Bible and praying will become the better alternative. Using foul language and listening to such will no longer feel appropriate. Rather than arguing and fighting, walking away from tense situations becomes the norm.
The choice to please God instead of man may seem hard to put into practice, but the rewards will always be worth it. Paul noted that the choice meant he could serve Christ. James said it meant not being an enemy of God. Are we willing to make the same choice so we can also enjoy these and other benefits? Will we focus on living lives that please people or will we aim to please the Lord?
To learn more on this topic, please read these related messages:
AMEN!
What did God say about the applications to you? Remember we had a looooong talk. This is part of the reason why I insisted you go find out God's will so that when the waiting begins, you can repeatedly remind Him of His word and promise.
So, if you have His word on the issue, after all, I know you fasted, then now is the time to proclaim whatever He told you. It is also the time to pluck His word from scripture and declare it over and over. You have to have a fighter's mentality right now. Not that of the defeated.
We mere mortals have to do these things because if not, the voice of satan gets louder. It will use people, past events in our lives, and even the misfortunes of others to discourage us. When that happens, we will take our eyes off Jesus and believe satan's lies instead.
Please my dear, remember Jairus in this moment. When he asked Christ for help, Christ started walking home with him. That meant that his miracle was on the way. Now, as we learned last week, someone came to tell Jairus his daughter was dead and that there was no need to bother Jesus anymore. What did Jesus say to that? He told Jairus "Don't be afraid, just believe."
You have to war with that knowledge. Every time the defeatist attitude rises in you, speak the very words of Christ. Remind yourself that even though all physical evidence pointed to the contrary, Jairus's daughter wasn't dead. She was just asleep and the word of God woke her.
That lesson from Jairus is your key right now. Apply it with great stubbornness. Don't let the enemy punk you on the verge of victory. Why do you think you keep having thoughts of failure? It is satan's tactic to break your faith because if satan can do that now, you will switch to fear and live there. That's what satan was trying to do to Jairus. Don't let it get away with this tactic with you again!
If you look at your life, I am certain you will see that what is happening now tracks with a pattern you've repeatedly experienced. Take a stand here and break the pattern.
I pray over you that in the name of Jesus, you will break every agreement with loss, failure, fear, doubt, and lack of self-confidence. Nothing the Lord did not plant in you can remain. You do not have the spirit of fear but have been filled with the spirit of power and the Spirit of the Lord. IJMN, Amen. (Please proclaim this, personalizing it and remembering it whenever the devil tries you).
You are God's child. Proclaim the Lord's word and fight for what God has in store for you. It shall be well with you.