(1) Pleasing the Lord should be the great ambition of every believers' heart. As you can see, one of the motives is the Bema.
(2 Cor 5:9-10) "Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. {10} For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
(1 Th 4:1) "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more."
(2) Pleasing the Lord is not only to be a primary aim of every believer, but something at which we should all seek to excel, not to be accepted, but because we love the Lord and because of future rewards.
(Heb 13:21) "Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
(3) Ability to please the Lord is ultimately the result of His work in our lives as the Great Shepherd.
(Eph 5:8-10) "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: {9} (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) {10} Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord."
(1 Th 4:1) "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more."
(4) Pleasing the Lord involves discovering and doing what pleases the Lord through living in the light of the Word. Pleasing the Lord means doing His will.
(1 Th 2:4) "But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts."
(Gal 1:10) "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."
(5) Pleasing the Lord begins in the heart or the inner person.
(Col 1:9-10) "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; {10} That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;"
(Col 3:22-24) "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: {23} And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; {24} Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."
(6) Pleasing the Lord rather than men ought to be the motive for ministry, for marriage, and everything we do. Seeking to please men for selfish reasons ruins our capacity to follow the Lord, take a stand for truth or principle, love others unselfishly, and to thus function as God's servants. [4]
(1 Th 2:15) "Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:"
(7) When we fail to please the Lord, we ultimately become hostile or at least useless not only to God, but to men. The only way to meet the needs of men is by first seeking to please the Lord by putting His agenda first.
(Rom 8:8) "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."
(Rom 14:17-18) "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. {18} For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men."
1 Thessalonians 4:1 and 4:5 must be linked together. When men do not know God, they will be controlled by their lust patterns without any concern for pleasing God.
(1 Th 4:1) "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more."
(1 Th 4:5) "Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:"
(8) Those who are in the flesh and who do not know God (unbelievers), or those who are walking by the flesh (carnal believers) are incapable of pleasing God. Spirit filled believers are the only ones who have the spiritual capacity to please the Lord. These are those who manifest the fruit of the Spirit.
(1 Cor 3:3-4) "For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? {4} For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?"
(Rom 15:1-6) "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. {2} Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. {3} For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. {4} For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. {5} Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: {6} That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(1 Cor 10:33) "Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved."
(9) Pleasing God means learning to live for others and not simply to please ourselves. God pleasers are neither men pleasers nor self-pleasers. The only time we should seek to please men is when we seek to benefit them by putting their needs above our own for their edification or salvation. This may mean displeasing them through tough love.
(Gal 5:17) "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."
(10) The sinful nature or the flesh is a constant threat and antagonist to pleasing the Lord and ministering to others because of its inherent selfishness, whereas the filling of the Spirit is the means by which we are able to please Him.
(Col 1:9-10) "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; {10} That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;"
(Rom 14:17-18) "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. {18} For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men."
(11) Pleasing God is to touch every sphere, area, and aspect of the believers life. The aim of pleasing God should have no restrictions or compartments.
(Col 3:22-24) "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: {23} And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; {24} Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."
(12) Pleasing God reaches into the work place. This illustrates the previous principle. Every believer has the responsibility to honor Christ in his work as a God pleaser, as one who does his work as unto the Lord, and not as a men pleaser. To do so ultimately causes us to please our employers through God honoring performance.
(13) Counting on our future rewards is to be a constant source of motivation.
(2 Tim 2:4) "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."
(Luke 19:13) "And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come." [9]
(2 Cor 5:9) "Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him."
(14) We are warned against entanglements which hinder our capacity to please the Lord in doing His business as His servants and stewards of His grace.
(Phil 1:10) "That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;"