"Am I Pleasing God?"

"That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." -(Col. 1:10)

I heard the story about how that a few years ago, a Monk set out on a spiritual quest to get closer to God; And this was also highly publicized. For a one year period, this man went to a certain location in the mountains to be off by himself- him and "God" that is. He stayed in a cabin with nothing but a cot to sleep on. The cot had no mattress, and he was allowed to have a blanket and a flat pillow; Each day, he was also allowed just the bare necessities of life, including water and enough food to survive, but no delicious foods or deserts. The purpose of all this- he declared- was to "deny his flesh". And every day, he determined to pray and seek the face of God. After the one-year period was over, he came down off the mountain, and was interviewed by a TV reporter, who asked him this question... "So, do you feel closer to God now? Certainly you must feel closer to Him, and greatly more spiritual, eh?" The Monk thought for a moment, and then, with a sad, frustrated expression replied ... "Not only do I not feel closer to God, I don't even know if there is a God!"
Some of you reading this, if you are a Christian, think of this man's quest as quite absurd- that he didn't need to go through all that trouble- and you are right. But... how many of us do our own quest to get "closer to God" in some way (or in other words... to be more pleasing to Him!).
I mean, we think if we read the Bible more, or in a certain way, or if we fasted regularly once a week, or if we prayed on a more consistent basis, or witnessed more; Why then we would certainly please Him more, right? Yet the truth of the matter... is that we are being just like this Monk: We are trying to earn something with God in our own efforts!

"For by GRACE are ye saved through FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST." - (Eph. 2:8-9)

As this scripture declares, we are saved through faith; But then, mysteriously, most Christians seem to think that living their Christian walk requires some different method: their WORKS to please God! And then they either feel condemned, or boast! They strive continuously to become a "better Christian". But what does the Bible tell us to do? It tells us to
"... grow in GRACE (through faith), and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." -(2 Pet. 3:18). It also tells us to "Fight the good fight of FAITH..." -(1 Tim. 6:12)

Now let us look at two people from the Bible who tried to please God by their sacrifices: The one was CAIN, and the other was ABEL...
"...And Abel was a 'keeper of sheep', but Cain was a 'tiller of the ground'. And in the process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of the flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect (was pleased) unto Abel and his offering.
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect (was not pleased). And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
And the LORD said unto Cain, 'Why are you angry? And why is your countenance fallen?
If you do well, shall you not be accepted (God being pleased)? and if you do not do well, (the) sin (offering) lies at the door (for you to offer)'. - (Gen. 4:2-7)

The two men pictured here in this passage represent the two types of "Christians" in our modern church world.
The one: Abel (the keeper of sheep), represents the spiritual man of faith in God's required sacrifice (a slain lamb, whose blood would be a covering for sin). Faith in this sin offering, in turn, was a type of us placing our faith solely in "the Lamb of God" - Jesus Christ, and His work of redemption for us on THE CROSS.
The other one: Cain (a "tiller of the ground"), represents the carnal religious man of the world. The "fruit of the ground" which he offers is his own sacrifice done in self-will and pride in his own efforts (or "works") to please God. Hard work, I'm sure, was evidenced by Cain in tilling his garden, weeding that thing, and then harvesting his vegetables. Except... that is not what God required!

"For without FAITH it is IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE HIM..." -(Heb. 11:6)

And then, we all know what happened... Cain got angry and jealous of Abel (because he pleased God, and Cain didn't), and ended up killing him in the field. According to 1 John 3:12, ... "Cain was of the wicked one (satan), and killed his brother... because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." But what made his works evil, and Abel's works righteous?
Cain's works were evil because he placed his trust in his way (himself), and his means (offering up the fruit of "the ground" to God- representing natural human self-effort in keeping "laws" or regimens of various sorts. The whole process smacked of pride & rebellion in doing things his own way and in his own ability.
Abel's works were righteous because he placed his trust in God's Way [the lamb, representing Jesus (see John 14:6), and God's Means [the lamb being slain and his blood shed (represents faith in THE CROSS/ THE BLOOD)].
The tragedy in the modern Church is that many believers are trying to mix in the ways of Cain (works of the law) with the Way of Abel (faith in Christ & the Cross) to try to please God in their daily walk, and then get frustrated when they realize that it just doesn't work! Natural man in his PRIDE, has a very hard time understanding that there is NOTHING HE CAN DO TO PLEASE GOD, TO BE.... "GOOD", TO BE..... "SPIRITUAL".
So what then is the answer- on how to please God? We have already alluded to this from our example:
God, Who is perfect, pure and holy has only ever been pleased with one Man: His Son Jesus Christ...
"For He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a Voice to Him from the excellent glory, 'This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am WELL-PLEASED." -(2 Pet. 1:17)

... and our faith in His sacrifice on the CROSS places us "IN HIM", Whose righteousness is then imputed (given) to us. For...
"... IN HIM IS NO SIN." - (1 John 3:5)

So, to summarize, in order to please God, daily we need to place Jesus and His work on the Cross as the sole object of our faith, and live this Life continually the same as on the day we were saved...
by grace through faith... in Jesus- the Way, and The Cross- the Means.
This gives the Holy Spirit the latitude to produce His Fruit in our lives (Gal. 5:22-23), give us victory over "the world" (1 John 2:15-16), "the flesh" (sin), and "the devil" (including the mental and physical sickness he inflicts), give us the desire & ability to be "good", and enable us by grace to do the spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, fasting, etc..
If we mix in our way (of pleasing God), our church's way, our denomination's way- whatever- we "frustrate the Grace of God" (Gal. 2:21) and hinder the the Holy Spirit's moving. The result:

[more worldliness, more dysfunction, less victory over sin, and sickness = MISERY! (not a good way to live, or to glorify God!)]

But "He that dwelleth in the secret Place of the Most High ("IN CHRIST"- through faith in THE CROSS), shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.." -(Psa. 91:1) Halellujah! Read the REST of Psa. 91 and be blessed! This is YOU!

To the Lord Jesus Christ BE power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing, and salvation, and thanksgiving for ever and ever. Amen!