what I learned from a wise man this week

I had the great privilege of hearing T. F. Tenny preach this weekend.  I am so challenged and encouraged to mature in my relationship with Christ.  What fantastic messages I have heard and been challenged to mature in God.   I want to share one of the things he preached.  I am completely impacted and my thought process is completely changed by the words he spoke. I am still feeding on a table full of wisdom that was laid out before us. But, I want to share this great pearl of wisdom that resonated, rolled around inside me, crushed everything I thought before and caused me to emerge with a completely different perspective.

We are created for God's pleasure.

Let that sink in.

Philippians 2:15 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Revelations 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

It is God's plan to find pleasure with his people. We were created to bring Him pleasure.  I think if we go back to when he created man in the first place, He was wanting more.   He already had angels worshipping at all times, He obviously has heaven and all that existed.  But he did not have anyone choosing to love him, choosing to be with him and choosing to have a relationship with him.

I think about finding that one person with whom you want to spend the rest of your life.  I already knew I was loved by my parents and siblings. But we start longing for that love that chooses you.  I imagined that day when someone would want to marry me and what it would be like.  When that day came and that  nervous young man proposed, every emotion floods through.  Wow! He is choosing to me!  Choosing to love me! Choosing to spend the rest of his life with me! I also got to choose him.
In this marriage relationship,  one of the best things you can do to make a great marriage is do things that are all about pleasing your spouse.   I love making things for my husband.  I like to make his favorite foods and I like to get him things I know he wants.  I love to hear him say, "That's so nice, thank you."  I know that because he finds pleasure here with me,  He will definitely continue to return. He also does wonderful things for me, like sending my flowers at work, taking care of me when I am ill, taking out the trash, airing up my tire, etc. etc.  He makes sure he brings happiness to me.  When someone makes you happy and brings pleasure to you, you will return and be there.
Bishop T. F. Tenny spoke so eloquently on how Jesus wants to find pleasure with us.  He will be pleased with the time he spends with us.  When he hears our praise, and sees what we do that brings him pleasure, he is eager to be with us.  He is eager to 'come by.' He will 'need' to be with us, because we bring pleasure, just as we were intended.

I want everything I do, to bring pleasure to my Savior.  He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, He is the giver of life, He is our creator.  He does meet our needs and can do all things.  But do we spend more time asking and begging and nagging him for our needs that we forget to meet God's need?

God needs to find pleasure in us.

I am so thankful for what I heard from T. F. Tenny.  My life will be forever changed by this word.  My perspective of God is forever flipped and opened in new light of understanding.  I am more than just a human created to hope that God notices my prayers.  I was created for His pleasure.  My praise brings him pleasure. My acts of obedience and service bring him pleasure. My time in bible study and prayer bring him pleasure.  I never want to do anything that would displease him ever again.  I want to be pleasing, completely, utterly, forever, bringing pleasure to the Giver of my life.

Thank you Bishop T. F. Tenny for your great wisdom and sharing the words that God poured into you.
I completely give credit to this man for this post.