WHAT MAKES GOD SMILE

The smile of God is the goal of your life. Since pleasing god is the first goal of your life, your most important task is to discover how to do that. The bible says “figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.” Fortunately, the bible gives us clear example of a life that gives pleasure to God. This was NOAH.
In Noah’s day, the entire world had become morally bankrupt. Everybody lives as he/she pleases just as what we are experiencing these days. No one is interested in the things that will please God instead; we look out for the things that will please us. This is one of the things things that is making God to regret making man. God became so disgusted with human race in those days that he decided to wipe all human being from the earth. But there was only a man named Noah, who made God smile, the bible says “Noah was a pleasure to the Lord”. God said “this man brings me pleasure, he makes me smile. I’ll start over with his family” just like what he planned to do with Moses when the people of Israel sinned against Him. Because Noah brought pleasure to God, that’s why we are alive today. From Noah’s life, we learn the five acts of worship that make God to smile.

God Smiles When We Love Him Supremely:

Noah loved God more than anything else in the world, even when no one else did! The Bible tells us that the entire life, “Noah consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with God.” This is what God wants from everyone that claims to be His: a close relationship. It’s the most astounding truth in the universe. That our creator wants to fellowship with us. God made you and me to love us, and He longs for you and I to love Him back. He says “I don’t want your sacrifices; I want your love, I don’t want your offerings- I want you to know me.”
Can you sense God’s passion for you in this verse? God deeply loves you and desires you love Him back. He longs for you to know Him and spend time with him. This is why learning to love God and be loved by Him should be the greatest objective of your life. Nothing else comes in importance. Jesus called it the greatest commandment. He said “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”

God Smiles When We Trust Him Completely:

The second reason Noah pleased God was that he trusted God, even when it did not make sense; likewise the other people in the Bible who trusted God in the mist of opposition, because they knew that God never fail. God did not disappoint them for trusting in Him. by faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of the dry land, he was warned about something he could not see, and he acted on what he was told ….as a result, Noah became intimate with God. David defeated Goliat, Shedrack and his colleague were able to overcame the burning fire, Daniel was saved from lions den. Etc
Just imagine this scene: one day God comes to Noah and says “I am disappointed in human beings. In the entire world, no one but you think about me. But Noah, when I look at you I start smiling. I’m pleased with your life, so I’m going to flood the world and start over with your family. I want you to build a giant ship that will save you and the animals” Just as he told Moses when the people of Israel sinned against Him, he asked Moses that He want to wipe the people away and start over with him. There were three problems that could have caused Noah to doubt. First, Noah had never seen rain, because prior to the flood, God irrigated the earth from the ground up. Second, Noah lived hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean. Even if he could learn to build a ship, how would he get it to the water? Third, there was the problem of rounding up all the animals and caring for them. But Noah didn’t complain or make excuses. He trusted God completely, and that made God smile.
Trusting God completely means having faith that he knows that is best for your life. You expect him to keep his promises help you with problems, and do the impossible when necessary. The Bible says ‘He takes pleasure in those that honor Him; in those who trust in His constant love.”
It took Noah 120yrs to build the ark. Imagine how he would have faced as a result of obeying God. He may have faced many discouraging days, much mockery, he may have also faced with critics and so on, but in all this he did not give up. He kept on trusting God.
In what areas do you need to trust God completely? Remember, trusting is an act of worship .The Bible says “without faith it is impossible to please God”.

God Smiles When We Obey Him Wholeheartedly:

Saving the animal population from a worldwide flood required great attention to logistics and details. Everything had to be done just as God prescribe it. God didn’t say “Build any old boat you’d like, Noah” He gave very detailed instructions as to the size, shape, and materials of the ark as well as the different numbers of animals to be brought on board. The Bible tells us Noah’s response: “so Noah did everything as God had commanded him.” notice that Noah obeyed completely (no instruction was overlooked), and he obeyed exactly the way and time God wanted it done. That is wholeheartedness. It is no wonder God smiled on him.
If God asked you to build a giant boat, don’t you think you might have a few questions or reservations? Noah didn’t. He obeyed God wholeheartedly. Partial obedience is disobedience, and wholehearted obedience is done joyfully with enthusiasm. The Bible says “Obey him gladly”. This is the attitude of David. “Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I will wholeheartedly obey”.
When James was speaking to Christians, he said, “We please God by what we do and not only what we believe.” God’s word is clear that you can’t earn your salvation. It comes by grace, not your effort. But as child of God you can bring pleasure to your heavenly Father through obedience. Any act of obedience is also an act of worship. Why is obedience so pleasing to God? Because it proves you really love him. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”.

God Smiles When We Praise And Thank Him Continually:

Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God love it, too. He smiles when we express our adoration and gratitude to him.
Noah’s life brought pleasure to God because he lived with a heart of praise and thanksgiving. Noah’s first act the after surviving flood was to express his thanks to God by offering a sacrifice, The Bible says “then Noah built an alter to the Lord …… and sacrificed burnt offering on it”.
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we don’t offer animal sacrifices as Noah did. Instead, we are told to offer God “the sacrifice of praise” and “the sacrifice of thanksgiving”. We praise God for who he is, and we thank God for what he has done. David said, “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord.”
An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy.
Worship works both ways, too. We enjoy what God has done for us, and when we express that enjoyment to God, it brings him joy, but it also increases our joy. The book of psalm says, “The righteous are glad and rejoice in his presence; they are happy and shout for joy.”
God Smiles When We Use Our Abilities: After the flood, God gave Noah these simple instructions; “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth…….everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”
God said, “It’s time to get on with your life. Do the things I designed you to do. Make love with your spouse. Have babies. Raise families. Plant crops and eat meals. Be humans! This is what I made you to be!
You may feel that the only time God is pleased with you is when you are doing “spiritual” activities, like reading the Bible, attending church, praying or sharing your faith. And you may think God is unconcerned about the other parts of your life. Actually, God enjoys watching every detail of your life, whether you are working, playing, resting, or eating. He does not miss a single move you make. The Bible tells us, “The steps of the righteous are guided by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives”.
Every human activity, except sin, can be done for God’s pleasure if you do it with an attitude of praise. You can wash dishes, repair a machine, sell products, preach the gospel, write a computer program, and grow a crop, and raise a family for the glory of God.
Like a proud parent, God especially enjoys watching you use the talents and abilities He has given you. God intentionally gifted us differently for his enjoyment. He has made some to be athletic or mathematics or music or a thousand other skills. All these can bring a smile to God’s face. The Bible says, “He has shaped each person in turn; now he watches everything we do”
You don’t bring glory or pleasure to God by hiding your abilities or by trying to be someone else. You only bring him enjoyment by being you. Anytime you reject any part of yourself, you are rejecting the wisdom of God and sovereignty in creating you. God says you have no right to argue with God (your creator). You are merely a clay pot shaped by the potter. The clay doesn’t ask, “Why did you make me like this?”
God gains pleasure in watching you enjoy his creation. He gave you eyes to enjoy beauty, ears to enjoy sounds, your nose and taste buds to enjoy smells and tastes, and the nerves under your skin to enjoy touch. Every act of enjoyment becomes an act of worship when you thank God for it. In fact, the Bible says, “God… generously gives us everything for our enjoyment.” God even enjoys watching you sleep.
God is looking for people like Noah, David, Daniel, Abraham, etc in our generation. People who willing to live for the pleasure of God. The Bible says, “the Lord look down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who are wise, who want to please God”
Will you make pleasing God the goal of your life? There is nothing that God won’t do for the person totally absorbed with this goal.
Remember “The Lord is pleased with those who worship him and trust his love”