Tag: Obey

Tested

They did not destroy the peoples,
as the Lord commanded them,
but they mixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
They served their idols,
which became a snare to them

Judges 3:1
Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal- hermon as far as Lebo- hamath. They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods

Exodus 15:25
There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer

Who likes to be tested?  If I am fit for the testing I don’t mind.  I remember training for a marathon and how there were routine testings of duration – how long could I run and at what pace.  Even before the marathon I only ran 21 miles as a test to give myself confidence that I could make a full marathon.  I was told 21 was the magic number and if you could do this you could finish.  Still you don’t know until you test your body against the challenge of 26 miles.  When I finished my first marathon it was then I knew I could make it.  The test was complete.  God gave the Israelites times of testing to see if they would obey.  There were those who would obey and many more who would not.  We are told to train ourselves up to be humble servants honoring and glorifying God.  Being tested helps us hold on firmer, see more of His holiness, deepen our faith, experience happiness, joy, peace, and learn what it means to follow God in good times and times of troubles.  Our training is never done when it comes to knowing God.  Keep your heart, mind and soul focused on humbly serving Him.  God may test you to grow your walk with Him.  He may test you to show you an area of your life that needs to change.

Jealous and Avenging

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty

Joshua 24:16
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.

Exodus 20:5
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Nahum 1:2
The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

Romans 2:5
But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well- doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self- seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil.

We talk much about God’s grace and mercy but we seem to forget to mention that He is a jealous, avenging, and wrathful.  Just reading these scriptures should give us a renewed perspective on this.  Wrath and fury on every human who does evil.  Issuing punishment of fathers to the 3rd and 4th generation of children.  Yesterday we read about the benefits of following / serving God and consequences of not.  Today these consequences are even more proclaimed.  The question we have to ask our selves is “am I limping along or am I fully committed to living a life that honors and glorifies God”?  There is no middle ground in serving God.  Notice how Joshua responded to the people when they said “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods” – He said “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God”.  I think Joshua, over the course of His life saw how many times their commitment was shallow and how easily, in times of peace and blessings, they so easily drifted away from God.  It is absolutely critical for us to examine our heart, mind, and soul on a daily basis and alignment with God’s word and the leading of the Holy Spirit – “ARE WE OBEYING”, “ARE WE FULLY COMMITTED”, “DOES MY WHOLE LIFE HONOR AND GLORIFY GOD”, “DO I SET MY MIND ON THINGS ABOVE AND WHAT IS PURE, HOLY, AND GOOD ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE AND NOT CULTURE”, and as one friend said to me recently, “ARE YOU ASKING GOD TO SERVE YOU OR ARE YOU SERVING GOD”.  God open our eyes, heart, mind, and soul to your holiness and lead us on paths that honor and glorify You.

Bring the Book

But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
He will render to each one according to his works

Nehemiah 8:1
And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard.

Ezra 7:6
this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him

Deuteronomy 28:61
Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you

Chronicles 34:19
And when the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.

After the walls were build and the gates repaired the people asked Ezra to read the Law of Moses.  All men and women who were able to understand were present and WANTED to hear these words.  There are many scriptures that speak of what happened to God’s chosen when they did not obey Him.  This should not be lost on anyone of us.  God established a new covenant through Christ – and as Paul put it “a new and better way”.  We live in a time of grace and mercy but scripture is clear that there is a time of judgement and reward coming.  I wonder if we spend much time on thinking about this.  What will be be held accountable for – when we are asked to love God with our whole heart, mind and soul, or love your neighbor as yourself, or take care of widows and orphans, or train up your self to be a workman not ashamed, or go make disciples, or fear not for I am with  you, or praise God continuously, or pray without stoping, or trusting in, relying on, clinging to God…..  The list can go on and on where by we fall short.  We must start by desiring God and then through His word grow in our understanding of what His purpose is for our life that brings honor and glory to Him.  There is so much more to being a child of His than going to church every Sunday.  It is living every day with thought of His purpose.

Brood of Vipers

You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell

We chase after many do’s and don’ts hoping to find something we can hang our assurance on.  This is known as a “performance” based salvation and is not what God seeks.  Scripture calls those who teach this practice different names; whitewashed, hypocrisy, blind.  We are not much different though are we.  We keep a ledger in our mind of the good and bad we do trying to be right in God’s eyes.  We will never be right in God’s eyes trying to perform good enough.  Paul said salvation is by the grace of God and not by works lest any man might boast.  We must be careful to keep our feet firmly planted on God’s grace and forevermore be thankful.  We will never find that peace of God’s that passes all understanding performing for it.  We only truly find a place of purpose, peace, rest, joy, stronghold, hope, love, mercy, kindness, faith….. when we listen and obey. Listening and obeying is not performing – it is choosing to humbly following  and be a servant to the Heavenly Father in whom you have placed your heart and soul because of what has been done through Jesus Christ – salvation and eternal life.

 

Matthew 23:24
These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel
For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self
For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness

1 Samuel 15:22
“Has 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 listen than the fat of rams

Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God

Sacrifice of Fools

Why do we try so hard to earn our way before God?  Do we think we can perform in such a way that it will make us right before God?   This type of thinking/life replaces the work of Christ and dilutes faith to keeping a ledger of the good and bad that we do and serves no purpose before the eyes of God. We can never do enough good to replace Grace.  Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to God but through me.  Choose to humbly confess sin and by faith know it is forgiven rather than trying to replace it with a ledger of good/bad.

Matthew 9:12
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. ’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners

Hosea 6:6
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings

1 Samuel 15:22
“Has 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 listen than the fat of rams

Ecclesiastes 5:1
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil

Isaiah 1:15
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause

Wisdom of this World

We can all point at others who we think serve things of this world.  Yet if I search my self there are definitely areas that remain my master.  Not all of the time but certainly self interest rather than being a humble servant.  A good place to start each day or to end each day would be with Psalms 139 23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!”Matthew 6:23

If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Romans 6:16
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness

James 4:4
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God

Proverbs 28:26
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool,
but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered

1 Corinthians 3:18
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God