The Only Applause That Matters

The Only Applause That Matters - #5943
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

It was the moment the young man had waited for and had prepared
for over many months. It was his premiere appearance as a concert pianist.
The audience had heard a lot about his amazing talent, and they packed out
this prestigious concert hall to hear him. They weren't disappointed. In
fact, his masterful playing brought them to their feet for a thunderous
standing ovation at the end of the concert. Backstage, the young man's
manager said, "They want an encore, man! Get out there!" The pianist looked
strangely dejected, and he said, "No, I'm not going back out there." His
manager said, "But they love you, man! Look at them! They're all on their
feet!" "Not all," was all the young man could say. "Look in the balcony."
The manager peeked around the curtain and he saw one white-haired old man in
the balcony who wasn't standing or applauding. "Hey, come on! That's one old
man! So what?" The pianist looked down at the floor and he said, "That's not
one old man. That's my teacher."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today
about "The Only Applause That Matters."

It didn't matter to that concert artist what the crowd thought.
Only one opinion mattered. Only one man in that multitude was the one he
wanted to please - his teacher. You know, that's how God has wired you and
me to live. To please your teacher - your Creator. Sadly, we tend to lose
sight of Him in our desire to get the applause of the crowd around us.

Jesus has given us six powerful words to live by in our word for
today from the Word of God. These words in John 8:29 are simple, but they'll
change your life if you'll make them the core value of your life: "I always
do what pleases Him." Jesus lived only for His Father's approval. That's why
the greatest moment of His life was at His baptism when the heavens opened
and He heard His Father say, "You are My Son...with You I am well pleased"
(Luke 3:22). It didn't matter whether the crowd was cheering or jeering.
Jesus knew He was okay if His Father thought He was okay.

That's an important reminder for us approval junkies, who tend
to mold ourselves to please other people. It's like we have this ticket we
keep trying to get people to validate for us. "Hey, do you like me? Do you
like what I'm doing? What do I have to do to get you to stamp my ticket?"
It's called "Please Disease" spending so much of your life trying to please
others. But there's never enough applause is there? There's never enough
approval. And somewhere in all the pleasing, you lose yourself and you lose
the pleasure of the only One who can satisfy your heart - your Lord Jesus
who died so you could live for Him! 1 Corinthians 7:23 says, "You were
bought at a price; do not become slaves of men." Paul knew he had to choose
once and for all who he was going to live for and who he was going to live
to please. He said, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God?
If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ"
(Galatians 1:10).

So who are you living to please: the boss, the pastor, your
family, your friends, the church, some guy or girl, the community? They
didn't die for you. Their rewards don't hold a candle to His. The early
church leader, Stephen, knew that. He had stood up for the truth on the
streets of Jerusalem and the crowd was not applauding. They were screaming
at him, throwing rocks at him to shut him up once and for all. "But," the
Bible says, "Stephen...looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and
Jesus standing at the right hand of God."

The Bible tells us that Jesus is usually sitting at His Father's
right hand, but not this day. He's standing, honoring his faithful servant
Stephen. And Stephen has the courage to keep doing the right thing, even at
the cost of his life, because his teacher is standing. His teacher is
saying, "Well done."

I hope that's where you're looking for your approval. The only
applause that matters is the applause of heaven. Anything is worth doing to
get that; nothing is worth losing it.

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