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| Marc Chagall - Obedience (Abraham & Isaac) |
Obey:
To
comply with the commands, orders or instructions of a superior, or with the
requirements of law, moral, political or municipal; to do that which is
commanded or required, or to forbear doing that which is prohibited.
Scripture goes
to great lengths to tell us to obey. Obedience
is not optional, it is required. But
obedience is not demanded from an unforgiving taskmaster either, it is from our
Creator God who loves us and also wants us to love Him. As
Keith
Green once said in his song about Jesus “…you put this love in my heart”. God knew that sinful mankind would not come to love Him on his own with a love that He would find acceptable, so He purposed to love us by expressing His love in us through His Son Jesus.
Green once said in his song about Jesus “…you put this love in my heart”. God knew that sinful mankind would not come to love Him on his own with a love that He would find acceptable, so He purposed to love us by expressing His love in us through His Son Jesus.
Romans
5:8 (The VOICE) (emphasis mine)
5
And hope will never fail to satisfy our deepest need because the Holy Spirit that
was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love.
6
When the time was right, the Anointed One (Jesus) died for all of us
who were far from God, powerless, and weak. 7 Now it is rare to find
someone willing to die for an upright person, although it’s possible that
someone may give up his life for one who is truly good. 8 But think
about this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful
love to us in a tangible display—the Anointed One (Jesus) died for us.
So our
desire to obey is not just our own, it is the spirit of Christ within us which
draws us by His love to repentance and to obedience. This is a love with benefits; we are drawn
into right relationship with God through the power of the Holy Spirit. So the question must be asked “what is the
purpose of my obedience?” The answer to that question is two-fold:
1. God receives benefit by us being compelled by
love to respond to Him, God desires to show His glory in us and through us as
we submit to Him and obey Him.
2. We receive benefit as we obey, Jesus
promises us a new life with Him, and a position in His Kingdom of love. That is right, we come under the employ of
our loving heavenly King.
Charles Spurgeon said it well:
(re:
Revelation 5:10)
"…and
hast made us unto our God kings and priests." First of all, he made us
kings and priests, virtually, when he signed the covenant of grace. Far, far
back in eternity, the Magna Charta of the saints was written by the hand of
God, and it needed one signature to make it valid. There was a stipulation in
that covenant that the Mediator should become incarnate should live a suffering
life, and at last endure a death of ignominy (shame, disgrace); and it
needed but one signature, the signature of the Son of God, to make that
covenant valid, eternal, and "ordered in all things and sure."
…The
most honorable of all monarchs have ever been esteemed to be those who had a
right not only to royal, but to sacerdotal supremacy—those kings who could wear
at one time the crown of loyalty, and at another the mitre of the priesthood,
who could both use the censer and hold the sceptre—who could offer intercession
for the people, and then govern the nations. Those who are kings and priests
are great indeed; and here you behold the saint honored, not with one title, or
one office, but with two. He is made not a king merely, but a king and a
priest; not a priest merely, but a priest and a king. The saint has two offices
conferred upon him at once, he is made a priestly monarch, and a regal priest. (From the Message “The Kingly Priesthood of the Saints” delivered
January 28th, 1855)
Obedience is
a high calling, it is not just something that we arbitrarily do, obedience defines
us, shapes and molds us into the people of God, in short it transforms us. It brings us to a place where we under-stand (or stand-under) the authority of God.
Obedience is
based in trust, trust that God is honorable, and capable of keeping His
word. God’s word is inviolate and sure,
God has shown Himself trustworthy to mankind time and time again.
Even in
times of suffering, our obedience in faith solidifies our resolve to trust Him because He is faithful to the very end. Jesus proved this by going to the cross.
Hebrews
5:7-8 (The VOICE)
7
When Jesus was on the earth, a man of flesh and blood, He offered up prayers
and pleas, groans and tears to the One who could save Him from death. He was
heard because He approached God with reverence. 8 Although He was a
Son, Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered.
I am
personally acquainted with many seasons of suffering, suffering can easily make
me bitter and resentful if I do not recognize that the package that
suffering comes in may not fit my understanding or my paradigm of Christian
life. God does not want to create
obedient automatons (or robots) who
just spout scripture and say Christian slogans, He wants lovers who fall madly
in love with Him. He is searching for a
bride who is willing to be washed clean by His suffering, and even share in that suffering. I have found that the key to suffering
well is not to treat suffering as an adversary, but to welcome suffering as a friend
that will inevitably change us and bring us closer to Jesus, if we allow it to
complete it’s work in us.
James
1: 2-5 (The VOICE)
2-4
Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters. As difficult as they
are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will
blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure. And true
patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey
and cross the finish line—mature, complete, and wanting nothing. 5
If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to
do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need. He gives lavishly
and never scolds you for asking.
One purpose
of obedience is to affirm our resolve to trust God even when our situation
seems hopeless, God wants to establish an attitude of will in our minds that is
confident with the outcome, even if it does not turn out the way we want it to. The goal is that God gets the glory, not us. As far as this Christian Journey is concerned
we are just along for the ride.
1
Samuel 15:22-23 (TheVOICE)
22
…Does the Eternal One delight in sacrifices and burnt offerings
as much as in perfect obedience to His
voice?
Be certain of this: that obedience is
better than sacrifice;
to heed His voice is better than
offering the fat of rams.
Obedience is the response of someone who is in a relationship of trust with God. We trust
God, we depend on him, we are interactive with him, but God takes the lead here.
Obedience is better than sacrifice because we are letting God be God and remaining in our proper place with him, the place of dependence and surrender to his
goodness.
Mark
12:33 (TheVOICE)
33
…to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength and to love our
neighbors as ourselves are more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice
we could ever give.
This type of
obedience in response to God’s love always leads to intimacy and dependence.
This isn’t
the Christianity I grew up with, but it is definitely the Christianity I grew
into.
Click the Red & White Arrow ↓ below to listen to the song
You Put This Love In My Heart
Words and
Music by Keith Gordon Green
I found it hard to believe
Someone like you cared for me
You put this love in my heart
I tried but could not refuse
You gave me no time to choose
You put this love in my heart
I want to know where the bad feelings go
When I'm depressed and I get down so low
And then I see you coming to me and it's alright
I want to tell you right now
I'm not afraid to say how
You put this love in my heart
There are sometimes when I doubt
But you always find me out
You put this love in my heart
'Cause when I see all that you've done for me
It's hard to doubt, I just have to believe
'Cause you followed and proved it all of your life
Well I know
The loneliness I had before
Is gone now
I'll never feel it anymore
'Cause your love has released me
From all that's in my past and I know I can believe you
When you say I'll never be forsaken
Your love is gonna last
There's so much more I should say
If I could just find a way
You put this love in my heart
Is all this real or a dream
I feel so good I could scream
You put this love in my heart
I want to know where the bad feelings go
When I'm depressed and I get down so low
And then I see you coming to me and it's alright
You put this love in my heart
You put this love in my heart
You put this love in my heart
1977 (Renewed
2005) 1978 AprilMusic INC. All Rights
Reserved
*In reference to the New International Version of the Bible
The music above is copyrighted by the respective artists, and is demonstrated here for educational purposes only.
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