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Tag: pleasure

  • Good and bad pleasure (2) – By Femi Aribisala

    Good and bad pleasure (2) – By Femi Aribisala

    The pleasures of men are varied, “(King Ahasuerus) had ordered all the officers of his household, that they should do according to each man’s pleasure.” (Esther 1:8). But God prescribes only One pleasure for believers. That One pleasure is Himself.

    God hates what pleases men. Jesus says, “What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15).

    “God hates the pleasures of men

    God requires man to forsake his pleasures for His sake. He told me to forsake my favourite drinks, Coke and Fanta, and I have not had any of them in over 25 years..

    Some pleasures He will require you to forsake permanently for His sake. Others He will require you to forsake for a season or some days. But if you are His son, one thing is certain: He will require you to forsake your pleasures at some time or the other. Jesus says: “Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:33).

    God’s good pleasure

    God is passionately committed to His pleasure. He declares in Isaiah, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.” (Isaiah 46:10). He says of Cyrus: “He shall perform all My pleasure.” (Isaiah 44:28).

    God the Father declared from heaven that He was well pleased with Jesus on two occasions, at His baptism and transfiguration. He said: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17, 17:5).

    God was pleased because Jesus knew the “good pleasure” of God, and He was determined to do it.

    The Israelites thought it was their sacrifices and offerings that pleased God. But God kept sending His prophets to tell them He was not concerned about them. But they did not listen.

    The Holy Spirit spoke a Messianic psalm by the mouth of David: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, ‘Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of Me. I delight to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is within My heart.’” (Psalm 40:6-8).

    God was pleased with Jesus because the man Jesus did not come to the earth to do His own will, but the will of God. Jesus did not do what pleased Jesus but did what pleased God. This is all the more remarkable because what pleased God was not convenient for Jesus.

    “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” (Isaiah 53:10).

    The pleasure of the Lord was to put Jesus through a terrible ordeal so that man would be saved. Paul says:

    “Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him.” (Ephesians 1:9-10).

    Jesus did not pursue His own pleasure but was devoted to what gave pleasure to God. He knew that what gives pleasure to God is the salvation of men. As He said to His disciples: “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32).

    On the way to the cross, the man Jesus asked God the Father if there was any other way that His good pleasure in the salvation of men could be accomplished.

    “He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’” (Luke 22:41-42).

    The answer was that there was no other way. The good pleasure of the Lord in the salvation of souls could only be achieved with the cross. For man to be saved, Jesus would have to face a bruising and agonising death on the cross on behalf of all men. He would have to be a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Thereby, the good pleasure of God would be fulfilled through the redemption of men to eternal fellowship with God.

    “For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.” (Psalm 149:4).

    What is the work that God is doing in believers for His good pleasure? He is “working salvation in the midst of the earth.” (Psalm 74:12).

    The Father loves Jesus because Jesus agreed to embrace this plan of salvation, even though it was unpleasant. Jesus says:

    “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” (John 10:17-18).

    Jesus then tells us we are required to follow His example:

    “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honour.” (John 12:25-26).

    Who are those who love their lives in this world? They are those who are devoted to their own pleasures. They are those who do their own will. They are those who live in pleasure. Paul says: “She who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” (1 Timothy 5:6).

    Lovers of pleasure cannot be lovers of God. Lovers of pleasure cannot do the will of God. Jesus says: “Not My will but Yours be done.” But lovers of pleasure say, like Frank Sinatra: “I did it my way.”

    Avoidance of suffering

    Those who opt for the bad pleasures of this life and try to avoid suffering cannot enter the kingdom of God. This is because God has decreed, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22).

    Those devoted to bad pleasures who try to avoid tribulation easily fall into sin. Thus Elihu cautions: “Take heed, do not turn to iniquity, for you have chosen this rather than affliction.” (Job 36:21).

    We cannot learn obedience without suffering.
    Obedience requires us to do what we don’t want to do, or what we find inconvenient.

    Sacrifices of righteousness

    Why do believers fast? The classical answer says we fast to draw near to God, subdue the flesh and be spiritually minded. But we don’t just fast, we fast to the Lord. “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.” (Romans 11:36).

    We fast because Jesus returned to heaven, and we want to be near Him on earth. The scriptures tell us:

    “The disciples of John came to Him, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?’  And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.’” (Matthew 9:14-15).

    Those days are already here.

    But even more significantly, we fast because God hates the pleasures of men. When we fast, we fast our pleasures. God asks:

    ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ ‘In fact, in the day of your fast, you find pleasure.” (Isaiah 58:3).

    Then He counsels:

    “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honourable, and shall honour Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,” (Isaiah 58:13-14).

    Therefore, James cautions:

    “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:3).

    God is jealous that we find pleasure outside of Himself. He insists “(He) is the Desire of All Nations.” (Haggai 2:7).

    The word of God must be our food and drink. Jesus says:

    “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4).

    Jeremiah says to God: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16).

  • Coronavirus and the lovers of pleasure [2] – Femi Aribisala

    Femi Aribisala

    Benzak Uzuegbu was behind an okada motorcycle rider when they came across a ghastly car accident. He wondered what could have caused it as people were lying lifeless on the road.

    But the okada man had a ready response. “What killed these people,” he said, “is what kills most people.” “What can that be?” Benzak asked. “They are killed by enjoyment,” the man replied. “Most people are killed by enjoyment.”

    Solomon says: “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless, the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.” (Ecclesiastes 9:16-17).

    That is the case of Benzak’s okada rider. Lovers of pleasure are killed in their pursuit of “enjoyment” rather than their search for God.

    Deadly pleasures

    The current pandemic bedeviling the world is particularly deadly in the so-called market-economy countries because they are the pleasure capitals of the world. The most prominent among them is the United States of America. The country has only 4% of the world’s population, but it now accounts for a whopping 25% of COVID-19 infections and deaths.

    Americans are the quintessential lovers of pleasure. The American Constitution promises to facilitate “the pursuit of happiness.” The unending push for economic growth prescribes the promotion of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. As John is careful to point out, these are not of God but of the world. (1 John 2:16). Indeed, they are the mainsprings of sin in the world.

    In the United States, people are encouraged to buy even what they don’t need on credit, with monies they might not even have. So doing, jobs are created to mass-produce for consumers what is highly esteemed among men but is an abomination to God. (Luke 16:15).

    American pleasure-seekers cannot endure lockdowns. They don’t comply with social distancing regulations. They refuse to play safe by wearing masks in public. Despite the danger of COVID-19, they are flocking to the beaches, to the bars and pubs, and to parties and clubs. As a result, they are being infected by the millions.

    Official estimates now indicate that as many as 60 million Americans may have been infected.

    Useless pleasure

    Pleasure seekers do everything to avoid affliction. But the scriptures say affliction is good for us. The psalmist says to God: “Before I was afflicted, I went astray.” (Psalm 119:67). “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:71). Therefore: “Take heed, do not turn to iniquity, for you have chosen this rather than affliction.” (Job 36:21).

    Jesus learnt obedience by the things he suffered. (Hebrews 5:8). On His resurrection, He told His disciples that if He had not suffered, He would not have entered into glory. (Luke 24:26). The same imperative applies to believers. Christians who love pleasure and are not prepared to suffer cannot expect to enter into the glory of heaven.

    A baby is born through a woman undergoing birth pangs. Similarly, God has determined that: “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22). Accordingly, Paul says: “Our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.” (2 Corinthians 1:7).

    Pleasure, on the other hand, does not do anybody any good. Solomon, who established a laboratory of excessive living, discovered that pleasure is useless: “I thought in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.’ But that also proved to be meaningless. ‘Laughter,’ I said, ‘is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?’” (Ecclesiastes 2:1-2).

    He, therefore, reached a wise conclusion: “Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies- so the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4).

    Jesus was a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3). What is there to be happy about in this world of sins and sickness where souls are perishing every day. Thus, Jesus says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4). “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” (Luke 6:25).

    Amos is equally scathing: “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion. Woe to you who lie on beds of ivory, stretch out on your couches, eat lambs from the flock, who drink wine from bowls, but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” (Amos 6:1-6).

    Distraction of pleasures

    As in Charles Dickens: “A Tale of Two Cities,” today it is the best of times; and the worst of times. As the world gets technologically better: even so it gets more spiritually perverse.

    The world today is full of so many time-consuming and enjoyable things. It is full of distractions. There are so many eateries, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, stadiums, race tracks, casinos, arcades, museums, pubs, bars, clubs, nightclubs, and arenas for our entertainment. We now have motorcars, motorbikes, buses, planes, trains, and yachts for business and leisure. We have cell-phones, I-Phones, iPads, and laptops.

    Therefore, instead of reading the bible, many prefer to watch films on TV, YouTube, or Netflix. Others prefer to play video games or to surf the internet. We prefer to listen to talk radio or secular music than to listen to sermons or gospel songs and hymns.

    We prefer to watch Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United playing football than to spend quality time with God. We prefer to go to parties, weddings, and baby showers than to go to church. We prefer to spend time on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp than to prevail in prayer.

    Pleasing God

    But to draw nearer to God, we must fast our pleasures. (Isaiah 58:13-14). To know Christ, we have to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, as our spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1). To know Christ, we have to lose so many things that we have acquired in the world.

    Therefore, Paul says: “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8).

    Lovers of pleasure live to please themselves. It is written in the indictment of the church in the wilderness: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” (1 Corinthians 10:7). That was the total summation of their godless lives, and it ensured that none entered the Promised Land.

    But now: “The love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”(2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

  • Coronavirus and the lovers of pleasure – Femi Aribisala

    We are living in biblical times. These are the “last days” foretold in the scriptures. Paul warns Timothy that: “in the last days perilous times will come.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

    However, what he calls perilous is remarkably different from what we normally regard as perilous.

    Paul’s perilous times do not include the current rash of terrorists and suicide bombers. He does not refer to the rampant incidence of armed robbers and kidnappers. He is not concerned about global warming and natural disasters; such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis. He does not even pay attention to wars and civil unrest.

    Instead, Paul concentrates on the sins of the human heart. For him, perilous times will come because men will be lovers of pleasure, among other evils.

    Pleasure-seekers

    If you would like to wave this off as some inconsequential mumbo jumbo, think again. Take another look at the current coronavirus pandemic and you will discover that it is afflicting lovers of pleasure especially by the millions and killing them by the hundreds of thousands.

    For COVID-19 to be contained, there has to be a lockdown for a season, and there has to be social distancing, at least until an effective vaccine is developed. People also need to wear masks in public.

    But lovers of pleasure cannot abide by these guidelines. They cannot stay at home. They cannot do social distancing. Neither will they wear masks. They insist on going to the pubs, to the beaches, and parties. As a result, they are infected predominantly by the coronavirus and are dying like flies.

    God’s enemies

    You may well ask: “What is wrong with loving pleasure?”

    The truth is that, like money, the love of pleasure is the root of all kinds of evil. You cannot love two masters: if you love pleasure, you cannot love God. (2 Timothy 3:4).

    The man who loves God must hate sin. However, sin is pleasurable. Therefore, what is pleasurable is not necessarily of God. James asks: “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” (James 4:1).

    Wicked people enjoy their wickedness. But a child of God has been redeemed from the evil pleasures of this world. We must no longer enjoy sin: “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.” (Titus 3:3-4).

    David says: “In (God’s) presence is fullness of joy; at (His) right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11). However, the pleasures of the Lord are completely different from those enjoyed by men. (Isaiah 55:8-9).

    What is pleasurable to the flesh has no value whatsoever to the spirit. Therefore, those who want to be close to God must mortify the deeds of the flesh because God is Spirit.

    God lovers are debtors: “not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if (we) live according to the flesh (we) will die; but if by the Spirit (we) put to death the deeds of the body, (we) will live.” (Romans 8:12-13).

    Heavenly treasure

    As a young believer, I had one obsession: to end up in heaven. It was my singular prayer point. But one day, I was playing a videotape of a concert by the gospel singer, Ron Kenoly. Looking at the film, a friend of mine said excitedly: “This is what we are going to be doing when we get to heaven.”

    I suddenly discovered that, despite my preoccupation with heaven, I found the whole idea to be entirely disagreeable. I said in my heart: “How boring that would be?” and the Lord heard me. I could not find anything exciting about spending a week singing praise songs non-stop, how much more spending eternity doing so.

    So, the Holy Spirit engaged me in my obsession with heaven. “Femi,” he asked. “Why do you want to go to heaven?” I could not answer because the only reason why I wanted to go to heaven was to avoid the afflictions that I was told awaited those who go to hell.

    Then He dropped the bombshell. “Femi,” He said, “heaven is not for you. There is nothing in heaven that you like. There is no food in heaven. There is no sex there. None of the material possessions you crave are in heaven. Why would you want to spend eternity in such a boring place?”

    I learnt my lesson. Heaven is not for carnal lovers of the pleasures of the flesh. Heaven is for the spiritually-minded who love God.

    Stark choice

    Jesus says those given to pleasure cannot receive the word of God: “All too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so, they never grow into maturity.” (Luke 8:14). Accordingly, Solomon says: “He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.” (Proverbs 21:17).

    Without realizing it, we are often confronted with a stark choice: the love of God or the love of pleasure. The love of God entails affliction in the world, while the love of pleasure prescribes sin as a way of escape. Therefore, Elihu cautions: “Beware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction.” (Job 36:21).

    The scriptures tell us that: “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26).

    “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, who dwell securely, who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children’; but these two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day: the loss of children, and widowhood.” (Isaiah 47:8-9).

    Judgment of God

    That is the verdict of the current pandemic. The coronavirus is God’s “great army.” (Joel 2:25). He has sent it to the scornful who despise His ways.

    Right now, in the middle of this rampaging coronavirus, 250,000 motorbike riders are having a raucous rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, U.S.A. They are not wearing masks, neither are they observing any social distancing. They are having a good time, dicing with sickness and death.

    A reporter asked one of them: “Why are you doing this? Why are you taking this risk?” The man replied: “We just want to have some fun.” He asked another biker: “Are you not afraid of contracting the coronavirus?” “Hell No!” the man replied. “You’re going to get it sooner or later anyway.”

    Paul says: “she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” (1 Timothy 5:6). That is why COVID-19 is killing lovers of pleasure by the lorry-load, while lovers of God can take wise precautions. It is the judgment of God.

    Isaiah tells God: “When Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isaiah 26:9).