You Can't Please God And Man

Matthew 11: 16 – 19, "But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children." NKJV

I have discovered that some of the best teachings immerge from the hardest trials in life. Please take a moment to read chapter eleven so that you can get the full context of what Jesus was teaching and to whom He was directing His comments.

In the above scripture, Jesus is openly rebuking the cities that He had performed the majority of miracles in because the people refused to repent. Instead of repenting of their sins, the people who had witnessed and received miracles at the hands of Jesus turned on Him. When they should have been honoring Jesus as their Messiah, they tried to defame Him as a winebibber, a glutton, and a Friend of tax-collectors and sinners.

Jesus tells those who were present that day that John came to them neither eating nor drinking, and they accused him of being demon possessed. Jesus came eating and drinking, and they accused Him of many things as well. When I read these verses, the Holy Spirit spoke to me very clearly about the mindset or spirit that Jesus was confronting.

Even though the people had witnessed first-hand the mighty miracles of Jesus, they refused to submit to Him as their Savior and Lord. As a result of their rebellious ways, they tried to turn people against John and Jesus because they didn’t agree with the teachings of either of them.

As a pastor, I, too, have faced this type of persecution; people will try to kill your witness by attacking you on a “carnal level,” to create a diversion from the truths that are being taught. If you have experienced this type of persecution, then you know that it is futile to try and please someone who isn’t going to submit to the truth that you have spoken. It didn’t matter what John or Jesus did or didn’t do in their personal lives, they were never going to please those who had rejected the truth. Guess what? None of us will be able to please God and man. Therefore, at some point, we all have to make a conscious decision concerning whom we are going to please, God or man.

When the Holy Spirit revealed these truths that I’m sharing with you today, I better understood why Jesus began to rebuke the cities where He had performed His mighty works. He rebuked them because they had rejected the truth; and He let them know just how hard it would be for them on the Day of Judgment.

This shows us that God can heal anything but offense. The spirit of offense is very prevalent in the “church world” today. Offense isn’t a sickness or disease; it is a spiritual condition of the heart that must be brought before the Lord through repentance. Once a believer seeks forgiveness for becoming offended because of the truth, then they can be restored and reconciled with God through Christ.

We Can Only Serve One Master,
Pastor Asa Dockery