To Obey is better

Some time ago I ran across a wedding prayer that illustrates how we substitute religious talk for obedience. This is a girl praying on her wedding day asking God to Bless her:

“Dear God. I can hardly believe that this is my wedding day. I know I haven’t been able to spend much time with You lately, with all the rush of getting ready for today, and I’m sorry. I guess, too, that I feel a little guilty when I try to pray about all this, since Larry still isn’t a Christian. But oh, Father, I love him so much, what else can I do? I just couldn’t give him up. Oh, You must save him, some way, somehow.

You know how much I’ve prayed for him, and the way we’ve discussed the gospel together. I’ve tried not to appear too religious, I know, but that’s because I didn’t want to scare him off. But he’s not totally against you or anything. I can’t understand why he hasn’t responded. Oh, if he only were a Christian now.

Dear Father, please bless our marriage. I don’t want to disobey You, but I do love him and I want to be his wife, so please be with us and please don’t let it rain and spoil my wedding day.”

Let us Pray!
Silly story isn’t it, God here are my conditions. Take it or leave it!
But how many of say that very thing, Lord I know I should not do that and I know this too is wrong but just give me a little more time and right after I finish with this I will come and serve you so please keep sending me your blessing. Amen
God may be a God of love but He is also a God of order. With out order with out obeying is only confusion and destruction
Did you know that Obeying Leads to Wisdom and knowledge

 
Obeying your parents is one of the most difficult things to do as a teenager. This is a time that you want to spread your wings and do things on your own. You want your independence, and you want to prove you can be a responsible adult. Yet there is still a level of needing your parents to guide you through this time, and there is still so much you can learn from them while you’re still a teen.
There are times when obeying your parents can be really tough. We all think we know enough to make our own decisions. But do we really? God reminds us that it is a foolish man that does not seek to become more disciplined and wise
Proverbs 1:
7: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8: My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
The most important people in our lives are our parents. They can be the greatest guides we have in this life, and they can lead us in the path God has for us…if you let them. For most of us, our parents offer advice and discipline out of love, and we would do well to listen and learn from what they have to say.
Exodus 20: 12: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Do you realize that by obeying your Mother & Father it will help you to have a longer life. That is what Gods commandment is saying; if you honor them God will honor you.
If you read the book of Amos as you start reading you will find there a Father who is pleading with His children to do one thing and that is to just obey Him.

1. Why would that be? is it because he is a mean old man
2. Maybe his father did not let him do anything that was fun and he is doing the same to you
3. Maybe you think, Old people don’t know how to have fun anymore.
4. Even worse then His children not listen they go out and do exactly the opposite of what he spent his life teaching them.

That is a slap in the face to the Father

So why is the Father pleading for His children to Obey Him: Because He knows better then they do what they have need of. And like any Father He wants to give His children the things they need to make them happy not the things they think will make them happy.

But all the Father can see is how they have cast aside His gifts and trampled His Laws under there feet. Why would a Father want to continue to give them anything else? And the worse thing of all is for the children to turn away completely and go and give to someone else the respect and honor due only to the true Father.

When God first created mankind all God asked was one thing, just obey the things I tell you and all this is your forever.

Story: Adam & Eve God gave them the keys to the City and they blew it!
What if someone offered you to live in a paradise place where everything is paid for; a beautiful home the best cars money can buy. A place where you will never get sick or have any pain or sorrow, where you can go out and do anything and go any place in the world you wanted to go.

Wow that would be a dream come true. But there is only one little stipulation; way out in the back there is an old building. And you are told never to go in it for in the day you enter it or even open the door everything will be gone. How long do you think it will take before curiosity will get the best of you.

Is God particular about things He tells us to do? You better know it.
Lets look at what God told the Children of Israel when he was leading them to a land of Mike & Honey.

Deut:11:
23: Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.
24: Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.
25: There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.

Did you read that correctly, if you obey what God told you to do there shell not a man be able to stand before you.

26: Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
27: A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:
28: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

What did God want, only for them to obey what He told them, what did they do the opposite of what God told them to do. How can you expect God to bless you if you are not doing what he told you to do so he can protect you.

If someone is blessing you and giving you everything you need and want you to be happy. Would you be thankful, how would you show that you are thankful? By doing what they said right.

I tell you one of the hardest things in my life was raising my children, because I was pulling them one way, and the World was pulling them another. I provided for there every need; I gave them the best of what I could; even if I had to deny myself of something I made sure they did not lack.

What else could I have done as a father to show my children my love for them then to give then my very life?

God lead His people out of Egypt to a land of promises, to do this He called a man by the name of Moses to be there leader and guide.

Here is faith my friend. We need to learn to trust God at His word; If God is leading you to do something don’t worry about things getting in the way; Just trust God.

The very present of God was right there with the children of Israel everyday and yet they did not believe. All they did was to complain

Exodus:14:12: Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

Numbers:21:5: And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

Why were they mad and complaining, God was leading them out of being slaves, so why were they mad.

They could not see how God was going to provide for them. They were looking at all the problems when they should have trusted God.

They seen all the plague that God sent on the Egyptians and how He kept them safe.

They seen God divide the Red Sea for them to safely walk across and how God closed up the water and destroyed the entire Egyptian army.

They seen all this but they could not see how God could provide food and water for all of them.

I want to share something with you, if you were there with them you would more then liking been one of them rebelling against God. Why because that is human nature, and what we need to learn is to put human nature aside and blind fold our eyes and just trust God at His word.

Sometime we need to stop and think, if God created this world and everything in it then he can also create what is needed.

Let me ask you a question,
Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God.
Do you believe that the Bible is 100 percent true?

Turn with me to a very importance scripture, this scripture if the very foundation of God Himself 1st John:4:8: He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

What does the Bible say God is? LOVE

God is love and what do you do when you love someone. You want to make them happy correct.

Do you remember when you first got married, how if that special someone in your life asked you to do something how it was a joy to do it no matter what it was.

What made it a joy “LOVE” right and what does the Bible say God is God is love

1st John:4:16: And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Now that we understanding what God is like, lets look at what He tell us.

John:14:23: Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

John:14:15: If ye love me, keep my commandments.

I had people tell me that no one can keep all 10 commandments it is impossible that is why Jesus had to come and do away with them. Is that what the Bible says, I don’t think so. Jesus said if you Love me you will keep them and by keeping them the world will know that you love me.

A loving God would not make commandment that were impossible to keep.
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye CONTINUE IN MY WORD, then are ye my disciples indeed; And YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31, 32
Only those who OBEY God and OBEY what they learn from His word can continue growing in His truth.
Why are there so many supposed to be Bible scholars that can’t come to a good understanding of Scripture? The reason is that spiritual things “are spiritually discerned.” You must have Gods Holy Spirit working in you so that He will lead you into all Truth .
John:16:13: Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Obedience Brings You Closer to God
God is the father of us all. There is a reason why we use a term like father to describe our relationship with Him, because just as we are to obey our parents, we are to obey God. If we cannot obey our earthly parents, how are we to obey our Heavenly one?
Faithfulness comes out of obedience to God. As we learn to obey, we learn to be wise in making our decisions in life. As we learn to obey, we learn to open up our eyes and ears to God’s plan for us. Obedience is the first step in living a Christian life. It helps give us strength in our faith and the ability to overcome temptations that can lead us astray.

Obeying is not Hard
No one says obeying our parents is easy. Sometimes it feels like our parents are from a whole other world. Sure, they come from a different generation, and we may not always understand their reasoning.
However, we don’t always understand God, either, but we know that what God does is for our own good. In the case of our parents, it’s that way, too.
We need to realize, though, that there will be pitfalls in obeying our parents, and there will be times that obedience becomes so difficult. Yet obedience takes work.
How do we show Obedience?
1. Listen
2. Doing
3. Show Respect
4. Have Patience
5. Communicate

Heaven will be filled with only one kind of people, and that is people that totally trust God. 99.9% of the time. Will that be good enought?
That may be good for man but not with God, with God it is all or nothing.

You either have 100% faith that God will do what He says He will do or you will be truly Left Behind.

Matthew 7:
21: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22: Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23: And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Are you a Christian by Gods standards or a Christian by the World Standards? It will make a bight difference in the end as to where you will spend eternity!

Psalms 111: 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments:

Friend I pray that as you read this little sermon it will help you to understand more about Gods love for you. In fact the Father loves you so much that He sent His Son to this planet to show us how to live. He lived a life of Love and helping other, He lived a life of obeying His father commandments.

The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; We have all sinned and according to the law we must someday die. but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. All who by faith and obedience to God will live again by the grace that Gods Son Jesus has giving to all.

Gods Son gave His life for us why” John 15:23 Because God said that Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

God loves us, each and everyone of us, and He know what is best. Satan will do all he can to keep you from knowing God and knowing His love for you.

I am the way the truth and the Light

Don’t let Satan keep you from what is already yours. Jesus says if you love me show the world that you love me by doing the things I told you to do. If ye love me, keep my commandments. John:14:15:

God Bless and be with you all
Elder Tim McNab
Restoring Gods Truth Ministries

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