OBEY, IN ALL THINGS

Obeying parents is the prerequisite for obeying the Lord.

Colossians 3:20, Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

The training ground for life is the home. It is the complete home with one mother and one father. It is not this manufactured home that the world tries to get you to fall for. It’s not two men or two women. It’s not a man and a woman being shacked up. It’s a marriage of one man and one woman for a lifetime. It is in this home that God is honored and we learn how to obey in all things.

This is the reason Satan desires to destroy the home. He desires for the husband to go outside the bounds of marriage to find sexual fulfillment. He desires that the woman to go outside the bounds of marriage for emotional fulfillment.

Hey friend, guard your heart! Protect it with everything you have! Because this is where Satan will attack and if you are not prepared, you will fall to His temptation.

JESUS COMMANDS SOMETHINGS

            Jesus does not make suggestions; He has given us commands to follow.

1 Corinthians 15:58, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

            Many people live their lives as if the commands in the Bible are just suggestions. Boy are they going to have a rude awakening if they get to Heaven. If a person takes God command of “Repent Ye” as a suggestion, they aren’t going to Heaven! If they take the command of “Go ye” as a suggestion, others wont be going to Heaven. If they take the command of “be ye” as a suggestion, they will miss out on God’s best for their life.

            Hey friend, Jesus commands somethings in the Bible! It would do us all good to follow those commands becoming the Christian He desires for us to be!

AN OBEDIENT LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN

            A Sunday School teacher once asked her class 'How is the will of God done in heaven?' One child answered, 'Cheerfully.'  Another, 'By everybody.'  A third 'All the time.'  But the best answer was, 'It is done without asking any questions.'" -D.L. Moody

Proverbs 6:20-23, My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

`           There are benefits of following Jesus. We don’t follow and obey for the benefits, we follow and obey the Word because we love Him. However, an obedient Christian will be following His Word recognizing the authority and being accountable to its commands. An obedient Christian will be following His Word, taking advantage of the benefits it produces such as being able to avoid adversity.

            Are you a hearer only? Do you tune into the online services listening to the Christ honoring music and Christ centered preaching? Do you ever do anything with what you have heard? Do you ever open a conversation with someone only to share Christ? That is what we are to be doing church. We are to be obedient to the Word; building bridges in order to see that family member, that co-worker, that drunk on the street come to know Jesus as Saviour. It is in our obedience that we show we truly love Him!

LOVE IS SPELLED OBEY

Wicked men obey from fear, good men, from love. –Aristotle

If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

Our obedience in serving the Lord comes from the love He has shown to us. In love He sent His Son to the Cross. In love He sent His Word to man. In love He sent His Spirit to be our comforter. In love He will save you and me from our sin. In love He’s coming back to get His people. In love He will not let sin enter Heaven’s gate. In love He will separate the saved from the lost. In love He will keep His Word.

What an example for you and I in the way we ought to obey and serve Him. It all should be done out of love! Love of the Lord!

OBEDIENCE IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE

           A Sunday School teacher once asked her class 'How is the will of God done in heaven?' One child answered, 'Cheerfully.'  Another, 'By everybody.'  A third 'All the time.'  But the best answer was, 'It is done without asking any questions.'" -D.L. Moody

            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. 1 Samuel 15:22

            Obedience is better than sacrifice in dealing with your salvation- For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8-9

            Obedience is better than sacrifice in dealing with your sanctification- That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24

            Obedience is better than sacrifice in following the Lord is service- I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2

It’s not our way but God’s so follow His way!

It’s not our will but God’s so follow His will!       

It’s not our work but God’s so do His work!

I DIDN’T LIKE CONVICTION…

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. John 16:7-11

             When I was growing up, Mom and Dad would take a notion every once and a while to tear my hide up. You see, I didn’t like the conviction I felt so I got the chastisement instead. Instead of obeying Mom and Dad, I did what I wanted to and suffered the consequences.

            Dad was about 5’9 and about 4’6 round. When that belt started coming out of his pants it sounded like a 70’s model Ford on an old highway that the cracks had been sealed, thump, thump, thump. When I heard that sound, I knew it was about to get on.

Long before I heard that fearsome noise, I felt a little conviction. Something in me said, “Don’t ride that bike up to Antoine’s house”. But I didn’t listen! I got on my bike and rode on. When I got home Mom was there…and the rest… is painful!

            Child of God, “Conviction is a privilege! It is none other than the voice of the Holy Spirit compelling us to turn from sin and make our hearts right with our Heavenly Father. Conviction means that God is working in us.”—Paul Chappell. Listen to the Spirit so you won’t feel the consequences!

HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE THE SAVIOUR?

When God measures a man, he puts the tape around the heart not the head. –Anonymous

If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

Obedience is the very best way to say “I love you!” How much are you being obedient to the Lord today? Have you obeyed Him when it comes to Bible reading? Have you obeyed Him in church attendance? Have you obeyed Him in sharing the Hope of the Gospel? In our obedience we reveal our love to our Saviour. How much do you love Him today?

GET UP, GET READY, and GO TO CHURCH!

Many people waste a lot of their lives gazing at the world!

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3

Fancy cars, fast women, luxurious houses, the next bar scene, thousands of Facebook friends, and whatever your heart places before our Lord and Saviour will send a lost man straight to hell and a saved man to an early grave. Isaiah says if you want peace in your heart, keep your mind on Jesus! Why? How? When?

Why— For a peace that passes all understanding. (Peace in knowing what happens after this life is over!)

How— With the love of God in your heart. (By going to Sunday School and Church!)

When— Continuously. (In the morning, at noon day, in the evening—keep your eyes and ears open to the things of God!)

EXCUSES, EXCUSES WE HEAR THEM EVERY DAY!

         Just suppose the Lord should take away the child whom the parents use as an excuse for staying away from church…

         A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. Luke 14:16-20

          What keeps you out of church? No, I’m not talking about the occasional miss for health, vacation, or work. I am talking about the one who claims to be a Christian yet they miss worshipping with their church family week after week. I am talking about the one that misses Sunday School and the mid-week services. I am talking about the one that misses fellowships and outings. What keeps you out of church?

            What if whatever that was, was taken from you? What if God took your property from you because you have placed it before Him? What if God took your wealth because you have made it your god? What if the Lord was to take one of your family members because you made them a god? Just for a simple reminder today consider with me the first commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

YOU NEED TO TAKE THE HARDEST PATH…SAY WHAT?

Keep us, Lord, so awake in the duties of our callings that we may sleep in thy peace and wake in thy glory. –Donne

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Colossians 3:23

Many people do not like nor want a challenge any more. They want their instant potatoes, books read to them, and groceries delivered to their door. Man what’s wrong with cutting yourself while peeling 5lbs of potatoes, a good nap while reading a book, or fighting the lines at the local grocery store? You can learn a lot about life by just taking the hardest path!

 

So on this Sunday morning how about doing something that is hard for a lot of people, GET UP, GET READY, and GO TO CHURCH! Trust me when I say you will learn a lot about life when you get there!