Obedience
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 10789 |
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December 04, 2011 |
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 "Samuel said, 'Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.'" (1 Samuel 15:22-23)
In general, people do not obey something that disagrees with their own knowledge or experience. But when it comes to the works for the Lord, it is critical for us to obey God. Something might look impossible to obey within our human thoughts, but when we just believe in God and obey His word, God will be pleased and bless us.
When Moses, leader of Israelites' Exodus, obeyed the word of God, the Red Sea was parted and the sons of Israel could cross the Red Sea safely. When we obey in a certain situation where we otherwise could not obey, our faith will increase and we will be able to boldly show our faith.
But obedience cannot be carried out just with our zeal. Complete obedience can be accomplished only when we have a holy heart, the heart that resembles the heart of the Lord. What, then, do we have to do to have such a holy heart and obey?
First, you have to break down your fleshly thoughts.
Romans 8:6-7 says, "For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so." Just imagine you are rowing a boat. If you are rowing in the wrong direction you cannot reach your destination no matter how zealously you row. The place where you will end up will be completely wrong or you will end up drifting away. Similarly, as long as you have fleshly thoughts, you cannot completely obey God no matter how much you want to.
God is always speaking to you through the voice of the Holy Spirit, but you may go the path of disobedience if you follow your fleshly thoughts. Instead of the Holy Spirit's voice, you depend on your own thoughts that come from your experience or knowledge. You choose the way that seems to be right or good in your own opinion. In a spiritual sense this is the same as listening to the voice of Satan, the enemy of God. It is just as the Bible says, "… mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God."
You cannot obey if you do not break down your fleshly thoughts. At the same time, you cannot cultivate holiness either, which is something essential to cultivate obedience. It's because it will be difficult for you to realize what kinds of evil and deficiencies you have as long as you have fleshly thoughts. But if you deny yourself completely and rely on God, you will be able to see those things. You will also be able to cast them off.
Secondly, you have to arm yourself with the word.
Ephesians 6:13 says, "Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." The following verses tell us to gird our loins with truth; put on the breastplate of righteousness; to shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; take up the shield of faith; take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
To win the spiritual battle in obedience to the Lord, you have to arm yourself firmly with the word of the truth. You have to discard your fleshly thoughts and become powerful workers who stand firmly on the word. But the thing is in many cases these words remain in you as just pieces of knowledge. Namely, you know the word of God to a great extent, but you do not actually put the word into practice and thereby you do not cultivate the word in your heart.
Even though you put on the armor and hold the shield and sword in your hands, it is of no use if you cannot use them skillfully. It is similar with the word that is stored as knowledge in the head alone. It is useless. You cannot obey the word of the Lord if you do not practice it in your life.
For example, in Matthew 23:11, Jesus said, "But the greatest among you shall be your servant." Even though you have memorized this verse, you cannot serve others when you need to, if you have not cultivated it in your heart. You cannot serve because the desire to be served and to seek your own, and your pride will be activated. Also, if you have not cultivated the word in your heart to resolve your own problems, you cannot solve the problems of the church members with the word either. The word you've stored as only knowledge may contain your self-righteousness and frameworks, so you might misguide the church members.
Therefore, I hope you will arm yourselves by learning the word, and cultivating it in your hearts. You should have the ability enough to resolve any kind of problem that you may face in your life or in the performance of your duties with the word of God. The way is very easy and simple. First, start with going over the three sermons each week. Namely, review the messages for Friday all-night service, and Sunday morning and evening service. Imprint the word on your heart first, and pray to cultivate the word in your heart. Then, God will give you understanding. Also, He will give you the strength to cultivate it in your heart and practice it.
The real armament of the word that God desires of you is to cultivate in your heart and practice in your life the word that you hear and learn. Your fleshly thoughts will also be destroyed to the extent that you arm yourself with the word, and to that same extent you can obey the word of the Lord.
Thirdly, you have to pray fervently
Only then can the frameworks of your thoughts be destroyed and you will be able to put the word in your heart. But crying out with a loud voice, "Lord, Lord," for a long time is not necessarily fervent prayer. You can pray fervently, when you pray with all your heart. Now, what kind of prayer is to pray with all your heart? But today, I want you to think about how much thankfulness and love you have in your prayers.
Colossians 4:2 says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;" How much thanks do you offer up in your prayers? Those who are really thankful will always say thanks to a person who has given them some kind of grace. Those who are thankful for the grace of God will also enjoy giving thanks to God. They will give thanks again and again for the grace of saving them from death, the wage of sin; of healing them and answering their prayers; and of giving them beautiful kingdom of heaven.
Prayer is your conversation with God the Father. When you call on your dear God the Father wanting to see Him and talk to Him, when you give thanks for all His grace, how blissful that moment is! Therefore, I hope you will always remember the love and grace of God given to you each time you pray. Also, try to find the things for which you can give thanks to God and give glory to Him. Then, love will sprout in your heart and more grace will come upon you so that you can give thanks more.
As you give thanks for small things, you will have greater things to give thanks for. To that extent, you will have a more intimate relationship with God. Also, you will be able to pray with all your heart. You will enjoy your prayer so much that even a long period of time will feel like an instant. The prayer that you offer up with so much happiness and joy will be a beautiful fragrance before the Father God. I hope you will offer up such prayers of heart, fervent prayers everyday so you can experience the power of prayers.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said as follows: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." It is actually easy to live by the word of God. It's just that you feel that it is difficult because of your fleshly thoughts.
But if you just meditate on the word of God day and night and store up fervent prayers day by day, your fleshly thoughts will keep on diminishing. In joyfully obeying, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become the noble person who receives the love and blessings of God.
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