Title: Making God Laugh/Hebrews 11:4-7
Making God laugh is the goal of our lives. Because giving joy to God is our first purpose in life, we must find a way to achieve that purpose. Ephesians 5:10 says, “Test what is pleasing to the Lord.” Today's text is about what pleases God. How can we make God laugh? If you please God, you will achieve your purpose in life.
In Noah's day, the whole world was in a state of moral ruin. Everyone pleases himself, not God. God wanted to destroy all mankind. Then God found one who pleases him. The Living Bible translates the Bible as “Noah was a joy to God” (Genesis 6:8).
How to make God laugh?
God laughs when we love Him the most.
Noah loved God more than anything else. Furthermore, Noah loved God even when others did not. The Bible says that Noah was “a righteous man, perfect in his time, and he walked with God” (Genesis 6:9).
The amazing thing is that God wants to have fellowship with us. God made us to love us, and He wants us to love Him. God said, "I don't want your sacrifice, I want your love. I do not want your sacrifice, I want you to know me more” (Hosea 6:6).
God loves us deeply and wants us to love Him too. That's why God wants us to get to know Him and spend time with Him. This is why learning how to love God and to receive God's love should be the main purpose of our lives. Jesus called this the most important and great commandment. “Jesus said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).
God laughs when we trust Him completely.
The second reason Noah pleased God was that he trusted God completely. Even in situations he didn't understand, he trusted God. “By faith Noah heard God's warning of things not yet seen. He obeyed God and built an ark to save his family. By faith he let people know that the world was going wrong, and he became a man who entered into a relationship of righteousness with God” (Hebrews 11:7).
Imagine God coming to Noah and speaking to him. One day God came to Noah and said, “I am disappointed with the humans. The only person in this world who thinks of me is you. But Noah, when I look at you, I can smile I want you to build a big boat that can save you and the animals.”
Noah could have been suspicious. Noah had never seen rain. Because before the flood came, all the water on this earth was given by God by bursting the springs on the ground. So they never saw a rainbow. Also, Noah lived hundreds of miles from the nearest sea. Even if he learns to build a boat, how can he bring it to shore? All the animals had to be collected and cared for, but Noah had no complaints or excuses. Instead, he trusted God completely, and that pleased Him.
Fully trusting God means having faith that God knows what is best for our lives. We expect God to keep his promises, to help us when we run into problems, and to solve the impossible. The Bible says: The Lord “takes pleasure in those who fear him and those who hope in his lovingkindness” (Psalm 147:11).
It took Noah 120 years to build the ark. He must have had hard days. Year after year, there was no sign of rain, and he was treated as “a madman who believes that God is speaking to him.” But Noah continued to trust God.
In what areas of our lives should we trust God completely? We must trust in God's love for us and in His wisdom and power. “Without faith it is impossible to please” (Hebrews 11:6).
God laughs when we obey with all our hearts.
God did not tell Noah to “build any boat you want”. God gave detailed instructions on the size, shape, and materials of the ark as well as the number of each animal to be loaded onto the ark. Noah's response in the Bible was, "So Noah did, but he did all that God commanded him" (Genesis 6:22; Hebrews 11:7). Noah obeyed and obeyed every command of God. He obeyed God in the way and time he wanted. This is obedience with all your heart. It is natural for God to rejoice when he sees Noah.
If he had commanded us to build a large ship, wouldn't we have questioned it, opposed it, and put conditions on it? Noah did not do that. He truly obeyed God. Sincere obedience is obedience to anything God has commanded without any delay. You must not procrastinate. He doesn't even say, "I'll pray." You have to do it right away without hesitation. Every parent knows that to be narcissistic means not to do it.
God does not need to explain to us or give us reasons for what He commands. Even if understanding comes later, you must first obey. Immediate obedience will teach you much more than lifelong discussion and study of the Bible. There are also commands that you cannot understand unless you obey them.
Sometimes we try to be partial to God. We like to choose commands that are good to obey. An order that is unreasonable, difficult, expensive, and unpopular with people is excessive. I will go to church, but I will not tithe. I will read the Bible, but I will not forgive anyone who hurt me. But this partial obedience is disobedience. Sincere obedience is doing it with joy and zeal.
James said that we please God not only by what we believe, but also by what we do. Why does obedience please God so much? Because we can know that we love God through obedience. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
What God sees is the attitude of our hearts. To please God was the goal of Paul's life. “Therefore, whether we dwell or depart, we strive to be pleasing to the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:9). Is this our wish? When we begin to live in the light of eternal life, the question in the past, “How can I have more fun for myself?” is now changed to, “How can I bring more joy to God?” God is still looking for people like Noah who are willing to live for the joy of God. The Lord is always looking down on all mankind from heaven to see who is wise and who wants to please God. There is nothing that God does not do to those who please Him.