Ezekiel 43:27
“And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.”
There is something inside of every child that wants their parents to be pleased with them. I have talked to several adults whose hearts are grieved because they want their parents to say that they are proud or pleased with them. It is simply a desire an adult has to get their parent’s approval and acceptance.
Likewise, like a child who desires the acceptance of their parents, so the child of God should truly desire the approval of their God. In the verse above, God said that he would “accept you.” The word“accept” means to be pleased with or to have one’s approval. In other words, God said that if Israel did certain things, He would be pleased with them and would approve of what they do. There are four things God expects before He gives His approval.
First, you must listen for His voice. Ezekiel said in verse 6, “And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house…” You will never get God’s approval unless you learn to listen to His voice. Samuel learned this lesson early in his life when he responded to the voice of God, and that is why He had God’s approval. God will never be pleased with you if you are not listening for His voice. I must ask you, are you listening for the voice of God, or is there so much noise from the world that you can't hear His voice? God will not be pleased with you if you don't respond when He speaks. God will always be pleased with the ear that is in tune to His voice.
Second, you must spend time at the throne of God. God told Ezekiel in verse 7 that Israel had defiled the place of His throne. Christian, nothing should take away from your personal time with God every day. You must spend time at the throne of God by reading the Scriptures and praying. God will never be pleased with you if you don't spend time with Him. Moreover, you will never know if God is pleased with you if you don't spend time at His throne. You will find at the throne of God what you must do to get His approval.
Third, verse 9 shows that you must acknowledge and put away sin to get God’s approval. God is never pleased with the Christian who holds on to their sin. Of course, the only way you are going to find what sin you need to put away is through listening to His voice while you are spending time at His throne. If you want God’s approval, you need to be honest with yourself and have such a tender heart towards Him that you are willing to put anything away that would hinder your fellowship with Him.
Fourth, verse 26 shows that you need to have a daily altar if you want God’s approval. God will never be pleased with your Christian life if the only time you spend with Him is at church. You need that daily time with Him. I’m not going to tell you how much time you need to spend with Him, but you need to have some time every day where you stop everything to go to the altar to listen for His voice.
It is not difficult to get God’s approval. It truly comes down to whether you are willing to take time for God to remove those things that would hinder your fellowship with Him. The closer you get to God, the easier you will find it to be to remove those things that keep you from having His approval.