Trust and Obey -- The Secret Power of Obedience!

Obedience is key to the Christian life.  If you are to be his diciple, learn to obey Him,

John chapter fourteen ,beginning at verse fifteen, says: Jesus said if ye love me keep my commandments and I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with your forever, even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you, I will not leave you comfortless.


Jesus is speaking of the importance of obedience, of living for Him since He died for you. So many people are looking for the secret of the Christian life where is it found? Well, I believe in the passage is actually one of the most incisive statements to help us to understand how to live victoriously of any passage in all of the Bible.

As the great old hymns says, "Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey."

So many folks give this idea very little thought at all!  Too many folks are openly disobedient. Too many churches are filled with disobedient people.

Do you know why many  people are not happy in their faith? They're saved bur they're enduring it rather than enjoying it. They're simply not being obedient Now, make no doubt about it -- there is no other way to be happy in Jesus us but to trust and obey.

Now, obedience is something we don't hear much about. We preach so much on salvation by grace through faith and we tell people that salvation is a gift of God, that sometimes if we talk about obedience people think we're legalist but I would have to agree with Martin Luther who said we're not saved by faith and works, but we are saved by a faith that works and James said that faith without works is. dead.;  The Bible states that there are so many things that hinge on our obedience.

Now there are three things I want you to learn tonight in this passage of scripture that we have before us. First of all, I want you to notice the motive for obedience, why do you obey the Lord? Point number one, the love of Christ, a love for Christ is the motive for obedience. Look if you will in John fourteen, verse fifteen, Jesus said if you love me, keep my commandments. Well, do you love Him?  What are you doing to prove it?

Our Lord makes it very clear and very plain that if we love him we will keep his commandments. Look if you will please in verse twenty one, he that hath my commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father and I will love.

The Burning Heart Habit of Well-Being

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like and do what you'd rather not. -- Mark Twain

Most know that the Hebrew word shalom is understood around the world to mean "peace." However, "peace" is only one small part of the meaning. "Shalom" is used to both greet people and to bid them farewell, and it means much more than "peace, hello or goodbye"....

Hebrew words go beyond their spoken pronunciation. Each Hebrew word conveys feeling, intent and emotion. Shalom is more then just simply peace; it is a complete peace. It is a feeling of contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony.

According to Strong's Concordance 7965 Shalom means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full. In modern Hebrew the obviously related word Shelem means to pay for, and Shulam means to be fully paid.

Of course, there is only one way to find TRUE shalom - and that is in the Word of YHWH. Many search for fulfillment, happiness and contentment in material possessions, money, sex, entertainment, etc. But those things do nothing to fill "that little hole in our soul" that only GOD can fill! Those things only serve to distract and prevent us from finding true peace...the shalom that can only come from Him who created and put all things into place.

If you'll recall, Yeshua is called Sar shalom, Prince of Peace, which perfectly describes the ministry and personality of our Messiah (Isaiah 9:6).

In other words, the word shalom is a mighty blessing on several levels!

Proverbs 18:21 tells us there is life or death in the power of the tongue. Therefore, whenever you employ the word "shalom" you are speaking into someone's life all the wonderful things that shalom means!

The Great Aaronic Blessing -- Numbers 6:24-26: YHWH bless you and keep you. YHWH make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. YHWH lift up His face upon you and give you SHALOM. In the name of Yeshua haMashiyach SAR SHALOM - the Prince of Peace.

We grow in four areas of life -- MPSR: Mental, Physical, Social, Religious  -- as Jesus grew.

 

^{Luke 2:52} And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

 

    In REGARDS TO MENTAL WELL BEING – 1. Never stop learning.  Read.  Nourish your mind.  Keep mentally active.

Have conversations with other people – do not just be a couch potato.  Live your own life with a flourish – do not just watch someone else live their life.
Ask God for wisdom.  He granted wisdom to Solomon and he will grant wisdom to you.

IN REGARDS TO PHYSICAL WELL-BEING

1.            Watch what you eat. Get good nutrition, not empty calories.
2.            Exercise physically on a daily basis.
3.            Drink water more than anything else.
4.            Walk whenever you can.

 

IN REGARDS TO SOCIAL WELL BEING...
1. Connect with the people around you

 2. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbors, at home, work or in your local community

 3. Social relationships are critical to our wellbeing

 IN REGARDS TO SPIRITUAL WELL BEING...

1. Our relationships are critical as well

2. I.e., our relationship with God and other Christians

3. Jesus died to reconcile us to God and to one another - cf. 2Co 5:17-20

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin^[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Christ and the local church are the means by which we can connect to God - cf. He 10:19-25

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

[If we focus on establishing connections related to our spiritual well being, connections conducive to our mental well being will follow. 

Indeed, I would contend that if one focuses on applying these steps in regards to spiritual well being, mental well being will naturally follow.  I.e., active participation with the local church is more important than one might think when it comes to our individual and mutual well being...!

Devotion -- The First Habit of the Burning Heart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written anonymously on the walls of a medieval castle were the following words:

You call me Master and Obey me not. You call me Light and See me not. You call me the Way and Walk me not. You call me Life and Desire me not. You call me Wise and Follow me not. You call me Fair and Love me me not. You call me Rich and Ask me not. You call me Eternal and Seek me not. You call me Gracious and Trust me not. If I condemn you, Blame me not.

These words could not be said about Stephen, for he was truly a deacon who was devoted to Jesus.  He is a great example of the devoted Christian.

A-Stephen was a Spirit-filled man:

Acts6:5-"....and they chose Stephen, a man full....of the Holy Spirit."

1)Because he was spirit-filled, they couldn’t resist him according to verse ten.

2)The secret of D.L. Moody was not in his education, nor his speech, nor his looks, nor his wealth but it was that he was a man full of the Holy Spirit.

B-Stephen was a Stable man:

Acts6:5-"....and they chose Stephen. a man full of faith."

1)He had a faith in that he believed something and and that something was the Lord Jesus Christ. He believed in Him so much that he was willing to die for Him.

2)Michael Faraday, the great scientist, was taken ill. When it became evident that the sickness that had fastened itself upon him would soon result in his death, a group of fellow scientists came to see him--not so much to talk about science as to talk about death. One of them said to him: "Mr. Faraday, what are your speculations about your future?" With evident surprise to them he replied: "Speculations! I have none. I am resting on certainties." Then he quoted II Tim. 1:12: "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

C--Stephen was a Strong man:

Acts 6:8-"And Stephen, full of faith and powers, did great wonders and miracles among the people."

1)The divine power of God was upon him, not to exalt him but exalt Jesus. And it was to be used in bringing people to Jesus.

After accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, a person begins an amazing adventure with God, a lifelong process of transformation from new believer to fully devoted follower. The transformation is the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.  The transformation is also partly our responsibility (see Philippians 2:12-13). We must learn to identify the leading of the Holy Spirit and respond in obedience. It is only as we are filled with the Holy Spirit that we can follow Christ, surrender to His Lordship, be conformed to

His likeness, and become fully devoted followers.  I believe that learning to identify the leading of the Holy Spirit, yielding our will to His, and responding in obedience

requires discipline. Specifically, I  believe that four spiritual disciplines are essential to becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ. Therefore, I encourage and challenge every believer to practice these four disciplines:

• Grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ

• Connect in Biblical community

• Serve in your God-given ministry

• Share the message of Jesus Christ

As we develop and exercise these patterns in our daily lives, we experience both personal

fulfillment as well as fruitfulness for His kingdom! he four patterns of devotion are interconnected components of the growth process, not independent activities. They work together to prepare you to successfully navigate your spiritual journey, make wise decisions, and withstand the hardships along the way.  Let’s examine each The Bible declares without equivocation that Jesus rose from the dead and that He’s alive forevermore. Because Jesus is alive, He can enter into personal relationships with people.  When you accept Christ as your personal Savior, you enter into the most intimate type of relationship two people can have with one another. We become God’s adopted children, and God becomes our personal Heavenly Father.

John 1:12 tells us that to every person who believes in Jesus Christ, to them God gives the

right/authority to become children of God. Galatians 3:26 echoes this, “For you are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.”

Fully devoted followers exhibit healthy, growing and vibrant relationships with Christ. God

desires growth from every living thing He has created, whether it is a mustard seed or a

Christ-follower. The Apostle Peter put it this way, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of

our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” (2 Peter 3:18). And so it is our goal to help every person grow spiritually and move forward on his or her spiritual journey.

In order to have this type of intimate relationship with Christ, we must realize that such a

relationship is possible. There are enormous segments of Christianity where this truth is not

taught, encouraged or believed. But what God wants us to experience is to know Him,

understand His heart, walk with Him and talk with Him like your best friend each and every dayabout everything. We also have to hunger and thirst for such a relationship with God. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

We need to be growing in obedience, not just in knowledge.In I Samuel 15:22, we learn that “to obey is better than sacrifice,” and James 1:22 urges us to be doers of God’s Word and not merely hearers. Jesus adds, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching” (John 14:23).  Devotion is a powerful habit of the heart that burns for Jesus.

 

Seven Habits That Transform Lives!

 

Seven Habits of the Burning Heart

Inspired by John Calvin, at our recent Acts 16:5 meeting, Dr. E. Stanley Ott shared the Seven Habits of the Burning Heart. Burning hearts remind me of the two men in the gospel of Luke: "They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32). When the Word of the Lord illumines our minds and opens our hearts, we get the special feeling of being strangely warmed like John Wesley's Aldersgate experience, or like the two men on the journey to Emmaus. The following list of seven habits are adapted from John Calvin's seal of a heart burning for God, as well as E. Stanley Ott's book, "Twelve Dynamic Shifts for Transforming Your Church."

1. Habit of DEVOTION: to grow in relationship with Jesus through worship and devotion.
2. Habit of WELL-BEING: to seek physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
3. Habit of BUILDING FAMILY/FRIENDSHIPS: to build relationships within families and friendship circles.
4. Habit of FELLOWSHIP: to spend time with other believers and community groups.
5. Habit of STEWARDSHIP : to manage one's money, sexuality, power, time, and speech
6. Habit of MINISTRY/MISSION: to nurture other people in well-being and discipleship
7. Habit of WORK: to offer up our work to god and standing up for Jesus in all situations. 

Grow spiritually beginning with any of the seven habits. Cultivate them. Develop them with the help of the Holy Spirit. Our aim in growing is in being blessed to bless others, and ultimately, bring glory to God.

 

Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and His Rightousness

So where are your priorities? Are you living simply to pad your bank account? What is the most important thing to you? Paul Tillich, a twentieth-century American theologian, says that whatever our highest priority is functions as a god for us. He calls it our "ultimate concern".

Whatever is our ultimate concern, that is our top priority. That is what functions like a god, whether we outwardly worship it or not. No matter what we say is most important, it is the thing that concerns us most which functions as a god for us. So what is your ultimate concern? Is it your family? Your church? Your job? Your wallet or pocketbook? What is your ultimate concern? Do you know?

How can you tell where your priorities lie? How can you determine what your ultimate concern is? Jesus gave us a clue when he said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Stores and manufacturers understand it when they take inventory on a regular basis. Taking a personal inventory of time, talent, and treasure may help us to see what those things of ultimate concern are for us. How many minutes are there in a year?

My daughter sings a song from the Broadway show Rent which tells that a year includes five hundred twenty five thousand six hudred minutes.  That is the time you get to spend in a a year. Time is the great equalizer.  You have the same amount of time in any given year that Bill Gates or Warren Buffett or the Koch Brothers have.  You cannot buy time.  It is given to you by God.  How do you use this precious gift? How have you spent that 525,600 minutes since last Labor Day? What have you spent your time on? Have you consciously evaluated your priorities and taken steps to change things you don’t like? Have you sought the kingdom of God in the time since last Labor Day? How do you measure that year?

Try this exercise at home sometime. Make a chart of your week. Mark off the time you sleep and time you work at your job. Now take an inventory of the other sixty some hours in your week. How many of those do you spend watching TV shows you could really care less about? How many of those hours do you spend on a hobby - maybe bowling or racing or cycling or camping or movies or whatever? How many of those hours do you spend in quality time with your spouse, parents, or children - not just existing in the same room with them, but engaging in conversation or interaction with them?

Then just for a shocker, add up all the hours you spend either in worship, Bible study, prayer, service, or personal devotion. Compare those numbers to see what your expenditure of time says about your priorities. What does the way you spend your time say about you?

Or try this exercise sometime. Look at the entries in your checkbook or computer budget program. Factor out bills like utilities, and compare how much money you spend on certain categories each week. How much money do you spend eating out or getting coffee from 7-11 or snacks from vending machines? How much money do you spend on hobbies - like racing, cable TV, cycling, camping, bowling, or movies? And then look at how much you give as an offering to God. What does the way you spend your money say about you?

Before you start jumping to conclusions here, I have nothing against any of the hobbies I’ve named. I have no problem with people having outside interests besides church and family. It’s healthy to be involved in enjoyable things. But when those things direct your life, it’s time for a change in priorities. When you are spending more time, energy, and money on those hobbies than anything else, they have become your ultimate concern. Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all the things that really matter will be added to you.

Jesus tells us to seek the kingdom of God first, and all the important things will be added to your life. He says if we place the kingdom of God and his righteousness as our top priority, we will receive an abundance of things that really matter. Don’t be afraid of what could happen. Give yourself to God completely.  This is the message of Jesus.

On this Labor Day weekend, take some time to look at how you spend your time, money, and energy. What are your priorities? What is your ultimate concern? Where is your treasure, and your heart? What is your use of time, money, and energy saying about what’s important to you? Are you seeking the kingdom of God?

So take some time to examine your priorities; to think about making adjustments if you’re not satisfied with the way things are now. For a Christian, every day should be able to be a day of Thanksgiving, a celebration of the gifts God gives us, like our ability to work and provide for our families, which we celebrate on Labor Day.   And this is a message for all of us from the Lord -- seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.

The Wisdom of the Sermon on the Mount

 

If you wish to be challenged by Jesus, just go to Matthew, Chapters 5-7, and read through the Sermon the Mount.  There are rich ideas there, many of which inspire us Christians to a deeper life in Christ.

The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6 and 7.^] It is the first of the Five Discourses of Matthew and takes place relatively early in the Ministry of Jesus after he has been baptized by John the Baptist and preached in Galilee.

The Sermon is the longest piece of teaching from Jesus in the New Testament, and has been one of the most widely quoted elements of the Canonical Gospels.  It includes some of the best known teachings of Jesus such as the Beatitudes, and the widely recited Lord's Prayer. To most believers in Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount contains the central tenets of Christian discipleship.

Matthew 5:3-12 discusses the Beatitudes. These describe the character of the people of the Kingdom of God, expressed as "blessings".^[ In Matthew, there are eight (or nine) blessings, while in Luke there are four, followed by four woes.^[

 

In almost all cases the phrases used in the Beatitudes are familiar from an Old Testament context, but in the sermon Jesus elevates them to new teachings. Together, the Beatitudes present a new set of ideals that focus on love and humility and they echo the highest ideals of Jesus' teachings on spirituality and compassion.

Matthew 5:13-16 prsents the metaphors of Salt and Light. This completes the profile of God's people presented in the beatitudes, and acts as the introduction to the next section.

There are two parts in this section, using the terms "salt of the earth" and Light of the World to refer to the disciples - implying their value.

In Matthew 6 Jesus condemns doing what would normally be "good works" simply for recognition and not from the heart.  The discourse goes on to condemn the superficiality of materialism and call the disciples not to worry about material needs, but to "seek" God's kingdom first. The Lord's prayer (6:9-13) contains parallels to 1 Chronicles 29:10-18.

The first part of Matthew 7, i.e. Matthew 7:1-6 deals with judging. Jesus condemns those who judge others before first judging themselves: "Judge not, that ye be not judged.

In the last part in Matthew 7:7-29 Jesus concludes the sermon by warning against false prophets, and emphasizing that humans are unable to do right ("bear fruit") apart from God.  Matthew 7:12 is the famous Golden Rule and Matthew 7:24-27 is the parable of the House Built on the Rock.

 

David Jeremiah - Stilling the Storms in Your Life