John 8:55 “Yet you do not know him or recognise Him, and are not acquainted with Him, but I know him. If I should say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I know him and keep His word [obey His teachings, am faithful to His message].
keep His word This is the secret of doing His will OBEYING HIM
What is Obedience to God?
To obey God means to willingly respond to His wishes and demands.
God’s claims on our lives are born out of His Fatherly love and wisdom.
So true obedience is the intelligent choice to comply with God’s loving intentions.
Obedience to God is never negotiable!
Obedience is closely interrelated with:
The fear of God
Deuteronomy 6:1-2 NLT These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life.”
Deuteronomy 8:6 NLT “So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him.”
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NLT “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.”
1 Samuel 12:14 NLT “Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognise the Lord as your God.”
Salvation
Matthew 7:21 NLT “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”
Hebrews 5:8-9 NLT “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.”
John 3:36 NLT “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”
Faith
Romans 1:5 NLT “Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.”
Romans 16:26 NLT “But now as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him.”
Love
1 John 2:5 NLT “But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.”
1 John 5:3 NLT “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.”
2 John 1:6 NLT “Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.”
Humility
Philippians 2:5-8 NLT “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
Answered prayer
1 John 3:22 AMP “And we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders [observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us] and [habitually] practice what is pleasing to Him.”
Obedience is a key to spiritual usefulness
It qualifies us to co-operate with God according to His desire and plans:
1 Peter 1:14-15 AMP“It is conducive to sanctification: “[Live] as children of obedience [to God]; do not conform yourselves to the evil desires [that governed you] in your former ignorance [when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel]. But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living.”
1 Peter 1:22 AMP “Since by your obedience to the Truth through the [ Holy ] Spirit you have purified your hearts for the sincere affection of the brethren, [see that you] love one another fervently from a pure heart.”
It is pre-conditional to receiving the Holy Spirit:
Acts 5:32 AMP “And we are witnesses of these things, and the Holy Spirit is also, Whom God has bestowed on those who obey Him.”
It is essential for exercising spiritual authority:
Joshua 1:1-9 NLT “After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.
I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.
For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually.
Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Cornerstones for true Obedience
God’s work on the heart:
Deuteronomy 30:6-10 NLT “The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!
7 The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you.
8 Then you will again obey the Lord and keep all his commands that I am giving you today.
9 “The Lord your God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests, for the Lord will again delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors.
10 The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.”
Ezekiel 36:27 NLT “And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”
Hebrews 13:20-21 NLT “Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.”
Responding out of love
John 14:15 NLT “If you love me, obey my commandments.”
John 14:23 NLT “Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”
John 14:31 NLT “but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.”
Submission
James 4:7 NLT “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Hebrews 13:17 NLT “Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.”
Titus 3:1 NLT “Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.”
There are distinguished portraits of obedience in the Scriptures
- Ex. Noah (Genesis 6:13-22; 7:5, 9, 16)
- Ex. Abraham (Hebrews 11:8, Genesis 22:15-18)
- Ex. Rechabites (Jeremiah 35:1-19)
Our best example of obedience is Jesus
He sought God’s will above His own
John 5:30 AMP “I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord–but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me.”
John 6:38 AMP “For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will and purpose but to do the will and purpose of Him Who sent Me.”
He learned to obey
Hebrews 5:8 NLT “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.”
He obeyed joyfully
Psalms 40:7-8 KJV “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, 8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
John 4:34 NLT “Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.”
He obeyed absolutely
John 8:29 NLT “And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.”
He obey unto death
Philippians 2:8 NLT “he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
We reap what we sow
Fruits of obedience:
God’s rich blessings (read for yourself Deuteronomy 28:1-14)
Exodus 20:6 NLT “But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”
Security
Leviticus 25:18-19 NLT “If you want to live securely in the land, follow my decrees and obey my regulations. 19 Then the land will yield large crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it.”
Isaiah 48:18 NLT “Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.”
Success
Joshua 1:7-8 NLT “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”
1 Kings 2:3 NLT “Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go.” (Have you ever wondered why Jews are so successful in spite of all they have gone through?”
Fruits of disobedience
God’s wrath
2 Chronicles 34:21 NLT “Go to the Temple and speak to the Lord for me and for all the remnant of Israel and Judah. Inquire about the words written in the scroll that has been found. For the Lord’s great anger has been poured out on us because our ancestors have not obeyed the word of the Lord. We have not been doing everything this scroll says we must do.”
John 3:36 NLT “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”
Misery
Jeremiah 29:17-19 NLT “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “I will send war, famine, and disease upon them and make them like bad figs, too rotten to eat.
18 Yes, I will pursue them with war, famine, and disease, and I will scatter them around the world. In every nation where I send them, I will make them an object of damnation, horror, contempt, and mockery.
19 For they refuse to listen to me, though I have spoken to them repeatedly through the prophets I sent. And you who are in exile have not listened either,” says the Lord.”
Bondage
2 Kings 18:11-12 NLT “At that time the king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and placed them in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 12 For they refused to listen to the Lord their God and obey him. Instead, they violated his covenant—all the laws that Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded them to obey.”
Romans 6:16-23 NLT “Don’t you realise that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.
17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.
18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right.
21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.
22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The Scripture that has geared me to this message!
Luke 5:32 KJV “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 5:32 New Living Translation
I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
The seriousness of disobedience
– It disturbs the order of God’s moral universe
- It hinders the purposes of God
- It promotes the interest of the powers of darkness
- It is viewed by God as abominable as witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23 NLT “Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”)
- It implies a disrespect for God’s character and His rightful claims
– It is based on rebellion stemming from pride because of selfishness
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