What Is Your Chief End?

We'll begin our worship together by singing to God's praise in Psalm 29 in the Scottish Psalter

version, page 238 of the psalm books. We're singing from verse 1 to verse 5. The tune is

Amazing Grace, and this psalm reminds us of coming into the presence of God, coming to worship our

Lord. Give ye unto the Lord, ye sons, that of the mighty be all strength and glory to the Lord,

with cheerfulness give ye. And to the Lord the glory give, that to his name is due, and in the

beauty of holiness unto Jehovah. So we come to worship God with these words, verse 1 to 5, to God's praise.

Give ye unto the Lord Jesus, that of the mighty be all strength and glory to the Lord,

the Lord with cheerfulness give ye. And to the Lord the glory give, that to his name is due.

And in the beauty of holiness unto Jehovah.

God of majesty, the thunder and on multitude of water set doth he. A powerful voice,

O majesty, the thunder and on multitude of water set doth he. A powerful voice,

O Tumres

That comes out from the Lord most high.

The voice of that great Lord is full of glorious majesty.

The voice of the eternal God.

Asunder, see, the same.

Yea, God the Lord does see the spring.

That left and on does pay.

Amen.

Let's join together in prayer.

Now let us pray.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you anew for this day.

We thank you for the blessing that is ours to come to worship you and to praise your name together.

And we thank you for these words that we've sung together that remind us of how worthy you are of all our worship.

That you are the only one who is worth worshipping in this world.

And we thank you that as we come to worship, we have that reminder that you are a God who speaks to us.

That your word is powerful and mighty.

And even as we've sung that the voice of the Lord is a powerful voice that comes from you on most high.

And we pray that together as we worship you, we will know your blessing upon us.

That each one of us, Lord, will hear you and seek to know you more and more.

That as we learn about you, as we learn through your word in the church here and in Sunday school and Cresce and Tweenies as well.

That your word will be beautiful for us.

That it will be something that we treasure.

Something that we love to hear and to read for ourselves as well.

And teach us by it, Lord.

That you will show us your goodness and mercy all the days of our lives.

And that you will remind us that in you is all beauty and glory.

We can be distracted by so many things in this world.

And even from a young age, we can be caught up in looking for the things of this world that we think will satisfy us.

Whether it's technology or friendships or whatever it may be that lead us away from you.

But help us, Lord, to know you as a great friend who stays close to us.

So bless us together now, Lord.

Be with us.

Be with all the young ones here today as we will shortly go out to the Sunday school.

Lord, bless them and be with them.

And gather us all in your name here just now.

And watch over us, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

It's good for us to be together worshipping God.

We enjoy, I hope, worshipping God in different times during the week as well.

We worship him as we come and read his word together.

And we do that by ourselves as well.

It's good to read God's word.

He speaks to us through it.

That's what that psalm that we reminded us of.

That the Lord's voice is a powerful voice.

And he speaks to us.

I just want to think for a minute about where our treasure is.

In the Gospel of Luke, we read there in chapter 12, verse 34.

And it says these words,

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

So there's a question there for us.

Where is your treasure?

Treasure.

And what is your treasure?

Has anyone ever done a treasure hunt?

I'm sure a number of you have done treasure hunts at different points.

Whether it's maybe at a birthday party.

Maybe it's at a special time of year.

Very often at Easter time, there's a treasure hunt.

Or it might have been if you were at the holiday clubs the last couple of summers.

Or the explorers groups as well.

And you think about treasure hunts.

And what do you need when you're doing a treasure hunt?

Well, you need things like either a clue or a map.

So if you're going by clues, you find one clue, you read it,

and it will show you then where you go to find the next clue.

And you hope eventually you're going to find the treasure.

Or if you've got a map, it does the same thing, but in a different way.

The map will show maybe places you have to go to.

And it will show you the way to get there.

It will show you maybe lines on the map.

And you've got to follow these tracks, finding your way until you find the treasure.

And what's more exciting?

Is it looking and searching?

Or is it when you find the treasure?

Because sometimes you might find a treasure and you might be disappointed with it.

You might think, is that it?

Because after all that time hunting, is this all I get?

Maybe just a little pack of sweets or something like that.

And you think, oh, I should have got so much more.

I put so much effort into it.

Well, the Bible tells us that when we look to God, that we'll never be disappointed.

And every one of us here, not just the young ones, every one of us here,

from the youngest to the oldest, we're all on a treasure hunt in life.

We're all looking for something that's going to satisfy us,

that's going to make us happy and make us glad when we find it.

But so often we're looking in the wrong place.

And that's why Jesus says here,

where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

There will your heart be also.

And that means, what do you love?

What do you love in this life?

Are you looking for treasure away from God that you think,

this is what's going to make me happy?

Or are you looking for the treasure that God offers in his word?

That he gives us his own son to be our treasure.

That he gives us his word to show us the way to him.

We're on a journey, every one of us.

We're on a treasure hunt.

But what treasure are we looking for?

And where is our heart today?

Does your heart love God and his word?

Or does your heart love other things in this world?

The Bible tells us to love the Lord our God with all our heart.

And then we'll find our treasure in him.

And we'll rejoice all the days of our lives.

So we're all on a treasure hunt.

And let's all pray that our hearts will be seeking the right treasure.

The treasure that God offers us in his son, Christ Jesus.

Well, let's say the Lord's Prayer together now.

Amen.

Amen.

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to sing again to God's praise, this time in Psalm 40.

Again, we're in the Scottish Psalter version, Psalm 40, page 260 of the Psalm books.

We're going to sing from verse 7 to verse 10, the end of double verse 10, the tune is martyrdom.

Then to the Lord, these were my words.

I come, behold and see, within the volume of the book it written is of me.

To do thy will I take delight.

O thou my God that art, yea, that most holy law of thine I have within my heart.

It's about the treasure of having God's word in our hearts and to do God's will.

So we'll sing from verse 7 to 10 to God's praise.

pers, yes.

Amen.

Thanks.

Amen.

Thank you.

Amen.

Then to the Lord is where my words I come behold and see.

Within the volume of the book a treasure is of me.

To do thy will I take delight.

O come, my God, that art, yea, that most holy love of night.

I have within my heart.

Within the congregation grave, I rise just as to preach.

Though thou just so, O Lord, that I regret and not my speech.

I never parted within my heart until thy righteousness.

I thy salvation have declared and shown thy faithfulness.

Thy kindness which most loving is.

Conceal the lamb, not I.

Not from the congregation grave.

I have within my heart.

I am.

I am.

I am.

We're going to turn to reading God's Word in 1 Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians.

We take up our reading in chapter 3 and at verse 6.

And we read down into chapter 4 down to the end of verse 12.

1 Thessalonians chapter 3, reading from verse 6.

1 Thessalonians 3 · chapter mention

Now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us the good news of your faith and love.

And reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us as we long to see you.

For this reason, brothers, in all our desires and affliction, we have been comforted about you through your faith.

For now we live if you are standing fast in the Lord.

For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you?

For all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God,

as we pray most earnestly night and day,

that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you.

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all,

as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts,

blameless in holiness, before our God and Father

at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus

that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God,

just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification,

that you abstain from sexual immorality,

that each one of you know how to control his own body

in holiness and honour,

not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles,

who do not know God,

that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter,

because the Lord is an avenger in all these things,

as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

For God has not called us for impurity,

but in holiness.

Therefore, whoever disregards this,

disregards not man,

but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Now concerning brotherly love,

you have no need for anyone to write to you,

for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

For that indeed is what you are doing

to all the brothers throughout Macedonia.

But we urge you, brothers,

to do this more and more,

and to aspire to live quietly,

and to mind your own affairs,

and to work with your hands,

as we instructed you,

so that you may live properly before outsiders,

and be dependent on no one.

And so on.

And may God add his blessing

to that reading of his word.

Again, join together in prayer.

Let us pray.

O Lord, our gracious God,

you are a holy God,

who we have no right to approach in so many ways,

for we are unworthy of it.

We are unclean before you because of our sin.

We should not be able to stand upon

the very holy ground that you give to us.

And yet we thank you that you are a God

who has opened a way for us

to come through a name that is mighty,

a name that is powerful,

the one who is your own Son,

Jesus Christ,

that we have been taught

through him

how to approach you,

even how we approach you in prayer.

As he taught the disciples,

we are reminded ourselves

that that is how we can come

to call upon you

as our Father in heaven.

And we thank you

that there is that wonderful power

in that relationship

that we come,

bringing all our cares and concerns to you,

but first and foremost,

giving you praise and honor and glory.

And we do thank you, too,

that we have instruction

as to how we are to live

and that we are to seek to please you

more and more

as we have read

in these words before us.

And as we come to study them, Lord,

as we seek to learn from them,

may you help us

to have teachable hearts

and to know the power of your Spirit

speaking to us

that we would not grieve you.

We thank you that you are one,

even as we've read in these words,

too,

who has given his Holy Spirit to us.

And we pray, Lord,

that we would not seek

to grieve that Holy Spirit,

that we would not seek

to turn away from you

as many have done

and as many still do,

but that we would seek

all the more

to walk closely with you,

to walk humbly before you

and to walk in a manner

worthy of you.

And we know that we cannot

do this alone.

And we pray, Lord,

for your grace

and your mercy to help,

to help us

in all our different needs,

that we would keep our eyes

fixed on you,

that we would look to Jesus

as the one who is the author,

the perfecter of faith.

And even as a people of faith,

Lord, we know

how far short we fall

and how dependent we are upon you

day by day.

And so, Lord,

may you continue to build us up

as your people.

May you work in us

to make us

into the people

you would have us to be,

to take away

the many blemishes

that are in our hearts

and in our lives, Lord.

We know that we will never

be perfect in this world,

but we seek, Lord,

to be a people

who will always

look to please you

in whatever way we can.

And we thank you

that you do not leave us

alone in this,

but as we will study

your word together today,

we are reminded

that you are working in us.

And we pray

that we would know it

and that your church

would know it

and that the world

would know it,

that you are a God

who is mighty to work,

that you are a God

who is mighty to change,

to change even the most

wicked of heart

and to use it

for your glory.

So, Lord,

we pray your blessing

upon us as a people,

upon your word

as it goes out today,

that powerful word.

Lord,

we thank you

that it is

so powerful

because it is sent

from you.

It is not the words

of men,

but the words of God.

And we pray

that it will be heard

far and wide today,

that it will be received

with great gladness

and humbling

and repenting today.

And we pray that

throughout the world,

that as your word

goes out,

Lord,

you would accompany it

with your blessing.

blessed to us here as well,

Lord,

as we commit ourselves

to you.

And in this coming week,

Lord,

we ask that you would

go before us

to teach us

by your spirit

and by your word

in all things.

And as we look ahead

to a communion time

in our midst,

Lord,

we pray

for a sense,

a real sense

of your peace

and your blessing

over us,

a sense of your

building us up

together as a people

in brotherly love

as we have read of

in this passage as well.

That you would unite us

in the cords of love

and under the banner

of the gospel

to rejoice in your goodness

to us.

That we would make sure

our treasure is found

in you.

That we would seek first

the kingdom of God

and that all other things

would be added unto us.

And so, Lord,

guide us in this week ahead.

Guide us collectively

and individually

as well,

we pray

that as we approach

a communion season

we would do so

prayerfully,

praying for one another

and praying for ourselves

too

and praying

for your glory

to be in our midst.

Bless the preachers

who will come

to minister to us.

We pray for each of them

who will be involved

in the communion weekend.

We pray for Reverend

Angus McRae

and the Reverend

Carl MacDonald

as they prepare

for the weekend ahead,

Lord,

that you will guide them

by your spirit

that you will give them

the words to speak.

Words that will

both challenge

and convict us

but also encourage us

and build us up.

We pray for a real sense

of unity

in our time together.

We pray too, Lord,

for all aspects

of your church

not just here

in our midst

but throughout

our islands,

throughout our presbytery

here.

we pray for all

our congregations

as we begin

our communion season

again, Lord.

We pray that

there will be a sense

of your pouring out

your spirit over us

as a people,

reviving us in our hearts

and building up

your church.

We pray that

throughout our land,

Lord,

that your church

will be blessed by you,

that you would build it up

in our midst

and restore our land

once again

to be a place

where your name

is lifted high,

a place where your name

is glorified,

where we would not

be ashamed

of the name

of Jesus Christ,

that we would lift it up

as a banner over us,

the banner

that is so needed

in our day

and in our times.

We pray that

that as your people

go out in the world

far and wide

to all ends

of the earth,

we thank you

that you have

your people

called to minister

to young and old,

to men and women

throughout all the many

countries of this world,

even from our own midst

here, Lord,

we thank you

that you have called

people to serve you

and we pray for them,

Lord,

we pray your blessing

over everyone

of your people,

many who would feel

perhaps isolated

and lonely at times,

fearful even,

and yet, Lord,

to know

the great courage

that you are able

to give,

the blessing

of knowing

that you are with them.

We pray that

for all of us,

Lord,

together as a people

in homes and families

and all our different needs,

that we would know

your great faithfulness

to us, Lord,

that you never leave us

or forsake us.

And we pray, Lord,

for many who may be

needing you

in different ways

of times of ill health,

times of grief

and sorrow,

times of falling away

from you

in different ways.

we pray, Lord,

that your voice,

that mighty voice

would be heard by you,

by your people

near and far.

Continue to bless us

throughout this day,

Lord,

watch over us,

hear our prayers

collectively together

and individually too,

that as we offer up

our thanks

and our praise to you,

it will be acceptable

before you.

And we ask

all these things

knowing our sin,

knowing the sin

of our hearts

and thought,

word,

and inaction as well.

And we pray forgiveness

for all our sin.

Cleanse us anew,

we pray,

and go before us now

in all things,

teaching us by your Spirit

to walk closely with you

as we ask it

in Jesus' precious name.

Amen.

Amen.

Before we turn back

to look at our passage

this morning together,

we'll sing in Psalm 15.

Psalm 15,

in the Sing Psalms version,

in page 16

of the Psalm books,

we can sing

the whole of this Psalm.

The tune is

St. Andrew.

Psalm 15,

Lord,

who may stay

within your tent,

your sacred dwelling place,

and who upon

your holy hill

may live before your face,

whoever walks

a blameless path,

who acts

in righteousness,

and who will always

from the heart

sincerely truth express.

We'll sing

the whole of this Psalm

to God's praise.

Amen.

Lord,

who may stay

within your tent,

your sacred dwelling place,

and who upon

your holy hill

may live before your face,

who ever walks

a blameless path,

who acts in righteousness,

and who will always from the heart,

sincerely truth express.

He casts no blood on anyone,

nor does his day

in the wrong.

He has no sight

within his heart,

or slander

on his tongue.

He on the soul

to fear the Lord,

the worthless

in his eyes.

He gives the oath

which he has sworn,

however high the price.

He lets his money

and no charge,

no pride

can he

during the deathَ

will always stand secure.

Well, we can turn back together for a time

to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.

1 Thessalonians 4 · chapter mention

We're going to look at verse 1 to 8 in particular together.

Just now we can read from verse 1 there.

Finally then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus

that as you received from us how you ought to live

and to please God, just as you are doing,

that you do so more and more.

For you know that the instruction we gave through the Lord Jesus,

for this is the will of God,

your sanctification, and so on.

The title of this morning's sermon is

What is Your Chief End?

And I'm sure there's many of you here

who will be familiar with that question.

It's a question perhaps you've been familiar with

from a very young age.

What is the chief end of man?

Now, if you don't know where it's from,

if you're new to that question,

then it's from the Shorter Catechism,

which has been an important source of teaching

throughout the church for many generations now.

The Shorter Catechism is a collection of questions and answers

all based on the Word of God.

Here's one example of that.

It's a book.

Sometimes it's much smaller.

This actually contains the Westminster Confession of Faith

along with the Shorter Catechism and the Longer Catechism.

So you have these three different documents in one book,

but very often you find they come individually as well.

And the Shorter Catechism book is sometimes just a very small book.

And for many of us, we learned it in our young age.

And perhaps for some,

maybe the only question that you remember is,

what is the chief end of man?

And you know, the answer perhaps,

the chief end of man is to glorify God

and to enjoy him forever.

But what does that mean?

What does the question mean?

And what does the answer mean?

They're both important for us to understand,

even what Paul is writing to the Thessalonians here.

What is the chief end?

What is our purpose in life?

That's really what the question is asking.

What is our purpose?

And then the answer to that question is,

our chief end,

our purpose is to glorify God

and to enjoy him forever.

Glorify God means to give him all the worship

and praise that is due to him.

But what does it mean to enjoy him

and to enjoy him forever?

Maybe we think that's something

that's further down the road.

That's something maybe even for eternity,

that that's when we will enjoy him.

But it's not just for eternity.

Yes, there's a sense of the day will come

when we will fully enjoy him in that sense.

But that's not to say

that there shouldn't be any enjoying him today

and all the days of our lives.

And we enjoy him by growing in him.

And that's what this passage

that we're looking at together

is all about.

Enjoying him.

And as Paul is writing to the church

at Thessalonica here,

he's writing to them,

seeking this for them,

that they will be growing in the Lord,

that they will be going on

in the strength of the Lord.

And he's doing this in the way

that he's asking them

many different questions

to encourage them along the way.

And one question that you could maybe draw

from the reading that we've had today is,

are they the finished article?

And when we think of Paul writing to them,

we think of him speaking to ourselves

through his word today as well.

Are we the finished article?

If you look back just to the end of chapter 3 there

where we read the encouraging,

the report that they had

coming back from Thessalonica,

Paul was not there anymore.

He was writing to them to hear

how they were.

But Timothy had come back to him

with a report.

And the report gave him great comfort

and great joy because he was hearing

that they were going on

in their faith.

The question there is,

how is your faith?

And you could almost answer there for them,

their faith was strong.

They were going on in the Lord.

But Paul's great concern

and encouragement was

that they keep going,

that they press on,

that they don't lose heart along the way,

that they don't enter into trials

and temptations that will

make them fall away

from walking closely with the Lord.

And so he's writing

to encourage them.

So after all has been said

in this letter up until this point,

now he's focusing,

as you come into chapter 4,

how are we going to go forward?

How are we going to go on

from here?

And that's something

every Christian should always have in mind.

Every one of us should have in mind,

whether we're Christians here or not,

whether we're looking for the Lord.

The question is always

in the back of our mind,

where are we going from here?

Where are we going

from this service today?

What direction are we going in?

What are we leaning on

for help and understanding?

This week was a school report week,

a parents' evening

in the Nicholson,

which we were at.

And as with any parent evening,

it's always a time of looking at

where the child is now,

which is important.

But what always comes up

is the pathway for going forward.

What needs to be done

to achieve their aim,

their goal,

or their career.

There's always a sense

of a pathway going forward.

And for Paul,

this is almost like a report

that's coming back

from Thessalonica,

where God's children

are being reported

on their faith strong.

They're in a good place just now.

They're standing fast in the Lord,

as it says in verse 8

of chapter 3.

They're standing fast in the Lord.

That's great.

But now as you come into chapter 4,

it's,

but what's the pathway going forward?

Where do they go?

from here.

And he's already encouraged them

in their walk with the Lord.

In verse 12 of chapter 2,

we exhorted each one of you

and encouraged you

and charged you

to walk in a manner

worthy of God,

who calls you

into his own kingdom

and glory.

So they were charged,

they were called to this,

to walk in a manner

worthy of God.

Their pathway

was put before them.

But now he's reminding them

and challenging them

to keep going

in this way.

But there's a great reminder

here too

for them and for us

that even if we feel

that we're falling short

in so many ways.

And the reminder

is what we have

in verse 3.

For this is the will of God,

your sanctification.

that God is working

in them.

And God is working

in you and me.

That he doesn't leave us alone

in this pathway,

in this life of seeking

to please him.

It's not in our own strength

that we go on,

but through him

who works in us

for his glory.

And when we think of that

in light of what is

our chief end,

what is our main purpose,

what is our pathway

going forward,

we ask,

well,

is it to worship

and glorify God?

And is it to enjoy him now

and forever?

And so there's three things

I want us to take

from these verses

before us

this evening.

How we see God

working in us.

And the first thing is

in the opening verses

of chapter 4,

we see Paul encouraging

them to please God

more and more.

To please God

more and more.

Our lives are so often

dictated by goals

and targets.

When you think of

a parent's evening

and setting out

pathways and goals

in life,

they're important.

But it's also important

to remind

children and ourselves

the goal of

knowing God

is the greatest

of all.

Because we can get

so easily

distracted

by pathways

and lives

and career paths

and goals

in life.

It's in every aspect

of life

these days.

Targets

to be met.

Whether it's

in sports,

targets

to be met,

personal bests

to be gained.

Whether it's

in work,

targets

that we're set,

production,

or earning

certain amount

of money,

all of these things.

And then you have

life targets,

relationships,

and personal targets,

cars and houses

and promotions

and all of these things.

The list

can go on

where we see

a pathway in life

that is

all about us

and satisfying

ourselves

and achieving

our own goals.

And whether you

look at Paul's day

or our own day,

that's common.

It's common

in every generation

and every aspect

of life

where we can get

so entangled

in our own goals.

And our purpose

becomes

not to glorify God

but to make glory

for ourselves.

And not to enjoy

him forever

but to enjoy life

forever

as we see it.

And it's so easy

to go on the wrong path,

the wrong way.

And that's the warning

that's behind

what Paul is writing

to them here.

He knows this fact.

He knows

the distractions

that are so often

all around

in his day

and God's speaking

to us today

as well.

And so

as he's writing here

he's saying,

yes,

your faith

is strong at the moment.

You're standing

in the Lord

but where are you going?

Where are you going

from here?

And so he says

there in verse 1,

finally then brothers,

we ask and urge you

in the Lord Jesus

that as you received

from us

how you ought to live

and to please God

just as you are doing

that you do so

more

and more.

That this is

your ongoing

chief end,

chief purpose

to please God,

to enjoy him

more

and more.

A life

pleasing

to God.

And is that

the life

that you are living,

that I am living

today?

Is that my

chief end,

my chief purpose

today

to live a life

pleasing God

more

and more?

And the question

is,

well,

how?

How do we

please God?

How do we know

what is right

to do

and what is wrong

to do?

How do we decide

what is morally

right and what is

morally wrong?

You see the context

of Paul writing

here was a lot

of morality,

a lot of moral

issues that were

pulling them away

from God.

And it's the same

in our own world

too.

These issues

of life

are still always

there,

seem to pull us

away from God.

And how do we know

what is right

and what is wrong?

We can base it

on what we've

been brought

up with.

And that's fine

if we've been

privileged and blessed

with a Christian

upbringing,

our morals coming

from the Bible,

but what about

when that changes?

What if that's

never what we've

had?

What if we base

what is right

and wrong

on present culture

and ways of

thinking and laws?

If a law

changes to say

something that

was wrong

is now right,

or even the other

way around,

something that

was right

is now wrong.

How do we know?

What do we base

it on?

Francis Schaeffer

once said,

if there is

no absolute

by which to

judge society,

then society

is absolute.

If there is

no absolute

by which to

judge society,

then society

is absolute.

And is there

an absolute

for us?

Well,

if we believe

in God

and we believe

in his word,

there is,

because it is

found in the

word of God.

That is

our absolute

guide,

our absolute

instruction,

our absolute

way to our

chief end

to please God

is not

through society's

absolutes,

but through

the word of God.

And our prayer

would be that

society's

absolutes

would come

from the

word of God.

But when they

don't,

we still

remain in

God's word,

because our

desire should

be to

please God

more and

more.

And that's

a clear warning

in Scripture.

If we seek

to please

self,

we'll never

please God.

Romans 8,

Romans 8:8

verse 8,

those who are

in the flesh

cannot

please God,

it says.

And then

Romans 12

goes on

to outline

how we

can

please God.

Do not

be conformed

to this

world,

but be

transformed

by the

renewal of

your mind,

that by

testing you

may discern

what is

the will

of God,

what is

good and

acceptable

and perfect.

We find

it in the

word of

God.

God.

He's

saying,

please God

more and

more.

The question

for them

was,

are they?

And the

question for

us is,

are we?

Is that

our chief

end,

to please

God

more and

more?

We're

always

challenged.

I mean,

you think

of Psalm

15,

who can

stand

before the

Lord?

And there's

so many

things there

that if you

go through

them,

you think,

I can't.

I can't

stand before

God.

He who

honors,

who fears

the Lord,

he who

does right

to his

neighbor,

he who

has no

spite in

his heart

or no

slander in

his tongue.

You go

through that

list and

you think,

how is it

possible for

anyone to

stand before

God?

And that's

the reality

for us

too.

How can

any of

us please

God more

and more?

We know

it's

impossible.

Is a

life pleasing

to God

about making

changes

ourselves?

Well,

that's the

second thing

we want

to see

here.

Because if

you read

verse 2

to 4

and go

through that

yourself

without the

first sentence

of verse 3,

if you leave

out the

first part

of verse 3,

for this is

the will

of God,

your

sanctification,

you leave

that out

and read

verse 2

to 4,

you think,

I can

try and

do that

myself.

And this

is the

way many

people try

to approach

God.

We hear

what God's

word says

and what

we're going

to do is

we're going

to make

all the

changes

in our

own

lifestyle.

We're going

to make

all the

changes

in our

own

hearts

by ourselves.

We're going

to manage

this.

We're going

to do

it.

We're going

to set

a goal.

We're going

to achieve

it.

We've got

the pathway

marked out

before us.

I'm going

to be

someone whose

chief end,

whose chief

purpose is

to glorify

God and

to enjoy

him forever.

And we

try and

do it

ourselves.

But does

it work?

It doesn't.

We end

up failing

because

without God

it's impossible

to please

him.

And that's

the beauty

of this

verse.

That's the

beauty of

what God

teaches us

in his

word.

It is

God who

works in

us.

And that's

why you

have the

beginning

of verse

3.

For this

is the

will of

God,

your

sanctification.

God

working

in us.

John

Newton

once famously

said,

I'm not

what I

ought to

be.

And I'm

guessing

we could

all say

these

things.

I'm not

what I

want to

be.

I'm not

what I

hope to

be in

another

world.

But still,

I am

not what I

once used

to be.

But by

the grace

of God,

I am

what I

am.

By the

grace of

God,

I am

what I

am.

You see,

John

Newton

didn't

try and

change

his own

life.

He knew

that only

the Lord

could,

and his

grace

could.

And that

is what

we need

to remember

ourselves

as well.

That it

is God

who can

change

us.

And that's

the wonder

of this

passage,

how God

knows us,

and how

God gives

us these

encouragements

along the

way.

The blessing

of these

words should

not go

past us,

because we

can all

find that

sense of

struggling

along by

ourselves,

looking at

ourselves and

thinking,

if only I

could please

God,

but I

can't.

And we're

trying to

go on

leaning on

our own

strength.

But Paul

is saying,

look,

even when

you're

standing

firm in

the Lord,

don't get

complacent.

Don't think

you've

arrived,

don't think

you've

made it.

Instead,

keep looking

to the

Lord,

to please

him more

and more,

knowing the

will of

God is

your

sanctification.

Now,

what is

sanctification?

That's

important for

us to

know what

Paul is

saying to

us here.

When we're

thinking that

instead of

our chief

end is to

please

ourselves,

we're

wanting our

chief end

to glorify

God and

to enjoy

him forever,

what makes

the difference?

It is God

working in

us.

And again,

we can come

back to the

shorter

catechism,

which again

gives us an

answer for

what is

sanctification.

sanctification

is the

work of

God's

free grace,

whereby we

are renewed

in the

whole man

after the

image of

God and

are enabled

more and

more to

die unto

sin and

to live

unto

righteousness.

It is the

work of

God's

free grace,

where we

are enabled

more and

more to

die unto

sin and

to live

unto

righteousness.

And we

think,

can I

ever make

it?

Well,

again,

we come

back to

the fact

that it

is God

working in

us.

A man

once bought

a new

house.

And in

the backyard

of his

house,

there was

a tree,

a tree

just standing

by itself,

and he

didn't know

what kind

of tree

it was.

Nothing

marked this

tree out

in any

significant

way,

because he

bought the

tree in

winter.

When spring

came,

leaves and

tiny little

buds started

appearing on

the tree.

And for a

few days,

he marveled

at this

tree.

What a

beautiful

tree.

It's got

these beautiful

flowers.

And he

enjoyed them

for a few

days, but

then a

wind came,

and within

a few

hours, all

the leaves

and all

the flowers

were gone.

they were

scattered all

over the

back garden.

And he

was so

disappointed.

What a

mess.

What a

worthless

tree this

is.

This tree

isn't of

any use

after all,

he thought.

But then

the summer

came, and

he noticed

during the

summer that

there were

these small

buds now on

the tree,

but the

size of a

large nut.

And he

thought, oh,

it must be a

fruit tree.

And so

he took

down one

of the

buds, and

he bit

into it, and

he spat it

out immediately.

Tasted

horrible, so

sour.

And he

thought, again,

what a

worthless

tree.

It can't

even bear

good fruit.

I'm going

to cut

this tree

down in

winter.

But then

come the

autumn, and

what did he

notice on

the tree?

But a

large

produce of

red apples.

It had

taken time,

but from

the wee

blossoming

buds that

had been

seemingly

blown away

to the

sour-tasting

fruit that

he thought

was being

produced in

the summer,

he realized

that the

tree itself

had been

taken from

the ground

all this

time to

produce a

ripe crop

of apples.

And that's

a reminder

to us of

what the

work of

sanctification

is like.

Can we

bear fruit

by ourselves?

No.

Will we

make mess

of our

life over

and over

again sometimes?

Yes.

Will our

fruit sometimes

be sour and

bitter?

Yes.

But it is

God who is

working in

us, that

we might

bear fruit

at some

point that

is good.

And it

may be that

it's always a

mix of all

the different

ones, but

our desire,

our chief

end should

be to

glorify God

and to

enjoy him

forever.

We can so

easily lose

heart because

of our

mistakes, and

especially if

we're thinking

we can do

it by

ourselves.

We can't,

but we

remember God

is working

in you.

God is

making you

into what

he wants

you to

be, useful

and giving

all glory

to him.

Mistakes

along the

way, yes.

Bitterness

and sourness

along the

way, yes.

But that

we might

have a

produce, a

harvest at

the end.

And that's

the last

point I

just wanted

to take

from this

passage.

What is the

outcome of

our

sanctification?

What is he

looking at

that we

might be

holy?

In verse

seven it

says,

for God

has not

called us

for impurity

but in

holiness.

holiness.

What is

a holy

person?

We have

our own

idea perhaps

what a

holy person

is.

A holy

person is

someone who

goes to

church.

A holy

person is

someone who

reads their

Bible.

But is that

what the

Bible means

by what a

holy person

is?

At the

root of

what being

holy means

and the

idea of

being holy

is being

set apart.

And so

when you

come to

worship God

we worship

a holy

God.

He is the

one who

is to be

set apart

and worthy

of all

our worship.

In Exodus

20

the ten

commandments

the first

commandment

is you

shall have

no other

gods

before me.

There shall

be nothing

else in

your pathway

nothing else

as your

treasure

nothing else

as your

chief end

but God.

You shall

have no

other gods

before me

because he

is a

holy God.