Is Pleasure Sinful?
<p>
No.
<p>
Can Pleasure be sinful?
<p>
Yes.
<p>
 God experiences Pleasure .  He created us to experience Pleasure .
<p>
No Pleasure by God:
<dir>
 Ezekiel 18:32 <br><i>
For I have no Pleasure in the Death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God : wherefore turn yourselves, and Live ye.</i>
<p>
 Jesus told us to change our way of thinking about God ( Repent ).   
<p>
There are still too many Christians that think Sickness , Disease and Death somehow Glorify God - that it is His Will .
<p>
In order to Receive the Blessings that God has provided for you in Christ Jesus , you must Believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently Seek Him.  Diligence is a matter of focused Faith in His Word .
<p>
 Believe and be Healed !  Experience the Abundant Life that Jesus provides!
</dir>
Pleasure in giving us the Kingdom
<dir>
 Luke 12:32 <br><i>
 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Fatherâ€™s good Pleasure to give you the Kingdom .</i>
<p>
 Fear is the extreme result of Doubt .
<p>
Our Heavenly Father has given us the Kingdom .  It brought Him Pleasure to give it to us.
<p>
 Romans 14:17 <br><i>
for the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but Righteousness, and Peace , and Joy in the Holy Ghost .</i>
<p>
God wants us to think bigger than our Physical needs.  He wants us to be totally aware of His Love (imputed Righteousness ) so that we operate the Kingdom in Joy and Peace .
<p>
 Doubt is the only thing that keeps us from functioning as a Royal Priesthood .
<p>
 Believe God !
</dir>
Pleasure in His People
<dir>
 Psalm 149:4 <br><i>
For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will Beautify the meek with Salvation .</i>
<p>
Have you ever seen a person whose Physical Beauty was lacking but their smile and radiance made them attractive?
<p>
That`s us when we allow the Joy that Christ has given us to show through.
<p>
Think on Him!
</dir>
Pleasure in Fatness
<dir>
 Psalm 36:8 <br><i>
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.</i>
<p>
 Jesus told us to Seek God and His Righteousness and all the other Blessings of Life would flow to us.   Are you talking to Him?  He is the source!
</dir>
Pleasure in Prosperity 
<dir>
 Psalm 35:27 
Let them shout for Joy , and be Glad , that favour my Righteous cause: yea , let them Say continually , Let the Lord be Magnified , which hath Pleasure in the Prosperity of his Servant .
<p>
Let me See if I got this . . . the Creator and owner of All things gets Pleasure out of His servants prospering?
<p>
If You Know a ` Prosperity Gospel ` hater , share this verse with them . They have missed out on too many Blessings for too long and have denied God the Pleasure He would have gotten by them totally Believing in His Goodness and Receiving from His storehouse .
<p>
Expect God to do Great and Mighty things in your Life . That is His Pleasure !
</dir>
Pleasure in His Presence 
<dir>
 Psalm 16:11 <br><i>
Thou wilt shew me the path of Life : in thy Presence is Fulness of Joy ; at thy right hand there are Pleasures for evermore.
<p>
 Jesus is the Life .  Jesus prayed for our Joy to be full - it is in Him.  Jesus is at the right hand of the Father , where the Eternal Pleasures are.
<p>
Whatever your need, it is found in Christ Jesus !
</dir>
No Pleasure in Self Righteousness 
<dir>
 Job 22:3 <br><i>
Is it any Pleasure to the Almighty , that thou art Righteous ? or is it gain to him, 
that thou makest thy ways Perfect ?</i>
<p>
The answer to both these questions is No.
<p>
This is hard for Religious people to understand.  We all tend to think that our Good deeds are somehow gratifying to God .  The reality is that:
<ol>
<li> our Righteousness is as filthy rags
<li> it is Christ in us the Hope of Glory .
<li> it is God who gives the Will and the Power to do things pleasing to Him
<li> we are Saved by His Grace - unmerited favor
</ol>
<p>
This is liberating and it is powerful.  We all get frustraed by our failures.  The Truth is that we are His workmanship.
<p>
Revel in Him!  Praise Him!  Rest in Him!
</dir>
Pleasure in Work
<dir>
 Philippians 2:13 <br><i>
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.</i>
<p>
When we do something really good, it was God inspiring us and God giving us the strength to do it.  
<p>
He gets all the credit.  
<p>
On the flipside, when we fail ( Sin ) it was self that decided and self that did it.  But it was Christ who took the blame.
<p>
He gets all the credit.
<p>
What a wonderful God we serve!  Rest in Him.  Give Him Praise , Honor and Glory !
</dir>
His Pleasure is for us to Glorify Jesus 
<dir>
 2 Thessalonians 1:11 <br><i>
11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his Goodness , and the work of Faith with Power : 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the Grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ .</i>
<p>
How are we found ~worthy of His calling~?  <br>
We talk about the Goodness of God in Faith and Power .  We Glorify Jesus for His Grace to us.
<p>
If we don`t talk about Jesus we are not proving Worthy of Him.   But not talking about Jesus indicates our Relationship with Him is not where it should be.  Our Relationship is not where it should be because we don`t consider what He did for us; we don`t see our dependence on Him; we don`t understand His Love for us; we don`t see ourselves as He sees us.
<p>
When we appreciate His worthiness, then we become Worthy .
</dir>