There are a lot of people out there looking for the secret of the Christian life. So, where is it found? Are you ready? Here it is: trust and obey. That's it! Seriously, there really is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. Let me explain a little here. You see, the average Christian is disobedient. And, on top of that, the average Church is filled with disobedient people.
Do you want to know why people are not happy in their faith? They're saved, but they're enduring faith rather than enjoying it. They're just not being obedient, plain and simple Now, I realize that some of you are grumbling about this. But, there is no other way to be happy in Jesus besides to trust and obey. As a matter of fact, obedience is what I'd like to concentrate on today.
It's when we obey God and step out in faith and do the things that God asks of us (not on our strength but his) that we experience God working through us in a powerful way. Obedience is crucially important in the life of a Christian. I think that this is where some of us run into trouble.
We forget that God is in control, not us. He gives us the free choice to obey him or not. God will not control our choice, and if we choose the wrong path not only are there consequences for us, but many times for others as well. The point is, there are consequences for our disobedience.
Without a doubt, our obedience reveals our love for God. Jesus said, our obedience reveals our true love for God (John 14:15). God tells us he wants us to love him with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, and all of our strength. Consider obedience a sort of determinant of our love of God. We are measured by our love for God; not how we feel about God, but our affection for God.
Consequently, our love is measured by our obedience. Are we obeying his commands, following his teachings, doing what he tells us to do? Everything else is just empty talk. Anyone can say they love God, but the proof is when we obey God. We obey God’s commands because we love God.
The reverse never works, we can’t obey our way into a love for God. In other words, I can’t make myself love God more by doing certain things like following God’s commands. Look at it this way, obedience doesn't grow our love for God, it flows out of our love for God.
How many of you have kids? When you ask them to do something, what are your expectations? That they will do it, right? Your kids may do what you ask for several reasons. Maybe they do it because they're afraid of the punishment they might receive if they don’t. Or, perhaps they're afraid of being grounded, given time out, etc. In other words fear is the motivation.
It may be they do it because they know they'll be rewarded. Perhaps their allowance is tied to whatever you were asking them to do. Maybe they do it because they know you'll make them feel guilty about not doing it (sounds familiar). Conceivably, they might do what you ask because they know you love them, and they want to please you (I know it doesn't happen that way very often).
Here's the interesting thing, we can be similarly motivated to obey God. We can be motivated by fear (hell, punishment), reward (heaven, crown of righteousness, Jesus saying to us “well done good and faithful servant”), guilt (you sinner), but God desires for us to be motivated out of love for him.
What happens when we obey God out of love? Look at John 14:21. Notice in this passage, who is the one Jesus shows himself or reveals himself to? The one who loves and obeys him. That's exactly what we have been talking about today. God wants you to experience him in your life. Jesus wants to reveal himself. He wants you to personally experience his spiritual presence, his power.
To conclude, if you are wondering why you aren't experiencing God in a personal way, maybe you need to ask yourself, "Am I obeying what God has already revealed for me to do, or what he has laid on my heart to do through the Bible, prayer, sermon?" It may be that God is not sharing more with us because we haven’t obeyed what God has already revealed to us.
Our obedience determines what God will be able to do through us. The limit on our experience of God is our obedience. We can’t go any higher, or deeper with God than our level of obedience.
Scripture: John 14:15; Luke 6:46; James 1:22; James 2:24; Matthew 7:14; 2 Corinthians 2:9; Hebrews 5:9
Prayer: Dear Father, please help me as I go out in this day. Help me realize that the power to help others rests with me. Amen
God loves you!
Olivia
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