Approval Addiction Is a Faith Killer

John 5:44: "How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?"

He wasn't talking to atheists. He was talking to religious men who wanted to be seen. And that's still the real threat to the American church. Not atheism. Not some false religion out there somewhere. Pride, wearing a church suit, checking to see who noticed.

You can't serve two audiences. If you need the room to like you, you can't trust God, because trusting God sometimes means the room won't like you.

Walking with God honestly has always cost men the room's approval. Abraham left his family's blessing behind. Moses gave up Pharaoh's favor. David got rejected by his own brothers before he got picked by God. Paul told the Galatians straight: if he were still trying to please men, he'd have no business calling himself a servant of Christ.

Parents scroll their phones more than their kids do; church members are shaped more by likes than by conviction; pastors soften a hard truth because it might cost them a seat or two. Same root every time: we've traded God's approval for man's and called it wisdom.

You want real freedom? Stop needing the crowd. The moment you stop needing their applause is the moment you're finally free to actually serve God, instead of just performing for whoever happens to be watching.

Whose approval are you really chasing — man's, or God's? Hear the whole message, and let the word answer for you. Listen to the full sermon below.

Pastor Fortunato
Founding Pastor & Preacher of the Word.
Pilgrim Baptist Church — Cookeville, Tennessee

https://pilgrimbaptist.church/
https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/pilgrimbaptist/