Obedience
God is Sovereign…..and He claims His right….His prerogative, to rule.
Sometimes His rule is unseen, with those who are unthankful, and disobedient….for He rules and overrules in all circumstances.
Sometimes His rule is seen, with those whose obedience to His commands bring down peace, love and joy.
Obedience then is the one thing in life that will decide man’s destiny.
In the life of man, to obey God is the one thing needful.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep HIs commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
In our obedience, we “side with” God,…..or in our disobedience, we “side with” the Adversary of our souls, and his principal of rebellion.
(He said to our first parents……“Ye shall not surely die”. Genesis 3:4
“It won’t be like God has warned,…don’t worry….just do what you want…and I will tell you what you want.” So the Adversary tricked Adam and Eve…..and so he has tricked us down through the ages. Are we still listening to him?)
1 Samuel 15:22-23 “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected thee from being king.”
No amount of religious activity can ever take the place of simple obedience…..no matter what it costs you.
To fail to obey is to reject His Word to us……whether it is for a “better” idea, or reason, or just going after our lusts…..to fail to obey God is a rejection of His Word.
Jeremiah 7:21-23 “Thus saith the Lord of hosts,…
For I said not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:
But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.”
When the Lord first brought Israel out of Egypt, He did not give them a system of sacrifices, at first (actually it was months later, at Sinai)……but He told them to obey Him (Exodus 15:26)
And this is what He requires of us, as well…
…….because we love Him.
◦ John 14:21 “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me:….”
Obedience is our choice to follow Christ…..to give unto Him our hearts and hands….
…not just in words, but in real love, which believes His Word, holds on to it, and does it, though the whole world refuses Him.
Jeremiah 7:28, 9:3 “But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction:…..
And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth…..for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not Me, saith the Lord.”
They do not receive correction….and they know not Me, saith the Lord.
One criteria for spirituality…..is to be able to receive correction. (Hebrews 12:5-8)
God corrects those He loves…..for how much we need it! So that we may walk with Him closer,….with more blessing.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
The expected end for His purpose for us.
Though His purpose goes through trials, or storms, or corrections, or blessings….He does it to lead us to our expected end:
The Lord’s “well done, thou good and faithful servant”.
Will we be obedient and choose Him?
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 