Christian Crier
Here are seven Bible verses about pleasure.
First Chronicles 29:17 “I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.”
This verse was during the reign of King David as he was praying for Solomon, who would soon reign over Israel. God had made David aware that he was going to die and so David reminds all of Israel that God doesn’t delight in sacrifice as much as He does obedience, or as it says in the above verse, God takes “pleasure in uprightness,” meaning we can please God by living lives of obedience to His laws and the laws of man (Rom 13:1-5).
Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
The psalmist attributes the greatest pleasures of all to the Creator of all, but when a nation or person makes the pursuit of pleasure the goal of life, and then they have essentially created their own god. They worship their own pleasure as the ancient Israelites did, which caused God to speak through Isaiah, “Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children” (Isaiah 47:8).
Psalm 147:10-11 “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.”
To fear God means to have a deep, abiding, holy and reverential respect for God and for His Word because you can’t separate the Word of God from the God of the Word. He doesn’t take pleasure in feats of strength, man or beast, but in those who treat His name as holy and have high regard for His Word, but we can’t forget He takes pleasure “in those who hope in his steadfast love.”
Ezekiel 18:23 “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?”
Certainly God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, undoubtedly many skeptics reading this would beg to differ but He won’t take any pleasure in the death of the unrepentant. God again declares “I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live” (Ezk 18:32). The Apostle Peter knew this and wrote, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2nd Pet 3:9). God again speaks through Ezekiel, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel” (Ezk 33:11). Clearly, God takes no pleasure in those who reject Christ and will ultimately face destruction (rev 20:12-15).
Luke 8:14 “And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.”
In the Parable of the Sower, some of the seed (the Word of God) took root, but after a time, the pulls of the flesh drew them back into the world. All of the world’s desires and lust made obeying the Word too thorny for them to deal with. The “riches and pleasures of this life” choked out their belief and like a candle flickers in the wind, the wind of pleasures snuffed it out. Undoubtedly, this was a false conversion, which is undoubtedly repeating itself today in many churches. Having one foot in the world and one foot in the church will not work.
Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
It’s natural for us all to worry about tomorrow, both the saved and the unsaved, but for those who have trusted in Christ, the Apostle Paul tells us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:12-13). God is working in the Christian’s life. This is referred to as sanctification, a gradual process where we become more and more like Christ. There is no doubt as to the Source of this work in us as Jude wrote, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 1:24-25).
Hebrews 11:24-25 “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”
Moses had learned the secret of contentment, just like the Apostle Paul would learn thousands of years later and that would be to be content in all circumstances (Phil 4:11). He lived a life of delayed gratification. That is, Moses “considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward” (Heb 11:26). Moses must have known what the Promised Land would be like but more than a physical place, it was a place where the presence of God would be. Moses did speak with Jesus in fact, in the Transfiguration on the mount (Matt 17:1-8).
Conclusion
The pleasures of this world are all passing away. Only the Word of God will abide forever and so too will the children of God who have placed their trust in Christ. They find holy pleasure in obedient lives. They pursue the glory of God because that gives Him pleasure. We know that the pleasures in the coming kingdom cannot even be compared to what we’re going through now (Rom 8:18). We may see the word “pleasure” as totally inadequate in describing the time when we enter into the joy of the Lord. Imagine your joy upon hearing Jesus say to you, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt 25:34). The joy of that moment will exceed all the pleasures of all the world for all time.
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In