Do you like the word obedience? I hope so because it is a vital lesson for all of us to learn if we want to walk in the blessings of God – spiritually, mentally, physically, socially, financially and emotionally. We are told in the Bible that God tells us to hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord and to observe all his commandments; and when we do this, all blessings shall come upon us. That sounds good to me!

God tells us we will be blessed in our cities and countries, we will be blessed in our jobs and all that we put our hand to; our enemies will not succeed against us; our supply will not fail. The Lord shall make us the head and not the tail; that is, when we are obedient to his commands and we receive his blessings.

That is pretty awesome and seems like a pretty simple thing to do. But is it? Suffice to say, the life of obedience is a life of following Jesus Christ. If we commit ourselves to obey God, He will train us until obedience becomes a way of life. To the person living today the question might well be asked, how can we, in this world, be obedient to the Lords commands? That is impossible. After all, we are only human.

In Romans the 8th chapter the Apostle Paul writes just how this can be accomplished. Romans 8:1; “There is therefore now no condemnationto them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Paul says there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. What does it mean to be “in Christ.” Well we know the Word says, that “Jesus is the Word made flesh.” So to be “in Christ” we must be in the Word. We must be soaked in the Word. If we are in the Word, we are living that Word out in our lives and there is no condemnation in us. Then he goes on in verse 2 to say, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” We all know that until we were born again we were in that state of which Adam gave up his dominion and broke a law that God gave him. God told him that he could eat of every tree of the garden but one tree. Well, Adams mate/wife Eve thought it looked good, picked a nice juicy apple, bit into it and Adam didn’t stop her. Instead he joined her in breaking that command and they both ate of the tree. Result? Immediately they fell into the mortal, flesh experience and became afraid. The lesson here is that breaking god’s commands, even in the smallest way will always bring separation from God.

Remember this: If you are born again your spirit man is always in perfect relation with your heavenly father; that cannot be taken from you. However, your soul - your will, mind and emotions - makes choices, and wrong choices can separate you from sweet fellowship with your heavenly Father. There is a difference between relationship and fellowship.

We must not forget that while we are in this present world as born again believers, we are not of this world. Remember that our spirit has now been identified with Christ and while our mind and body may veer away from the prescribed path, which separates us from our fellowship with the Father, we can repent and find our way back. Romans 8:10-11: “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Here we see that the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead also dwells in us. In other words these bodies are subject to the worlds conditions but our spirit has been liberated and we can walk in the purity of His light. That’s not just words; we may be subject to the ills of this world in our body, but our spirit is alive in Christ and can bring our soul man back to Jesus – if we choose to do so. Therefore, even though our body has sinned, as long as we identify with Jesus we can repent, ask forgiveness for the trespass, and come back to the level of perfect life with God. In other words the more times we prove God’s presence with us in our spirit man, the more we can develop our bodies to live with Jesus and refuse to permit our body to be involved with any sinful act of this world. It is all a matter of choice. Everything we do is a choice we make. When we make choices according to God’s Word we walk in His blessings. However, when we choose the worlds way we enter the path of trouble in some way.

Romans 8:13 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye, through the spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” There it is again: you have the opportunity to choose. You can mortify (which means death) and choose the worlds way and die, -- or, you can choose the way of the spirit and live. The choice is yours.

Romans 8:14, 15 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

Now recall that you have a personal relation with God, the Father; Abba means daddy and that gets pretty sweet and personal; then in verse 16 we read, “The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:.” You belong to God. He is your father and He loves you. Learn to live with that in your heart every day. My Father loves me. He wants only the best for me. Do you think God put forth His Word and laws to make life hard for you? Of course not! He did it because He wanted to protect you. If you will determine to learn to walk in his Word and His laws you are set free from the evils of this world.

Now let’s look and see what Peter has to say about this. 1 Peter 1:13-16 KJV. ”Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ: As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation: Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Obedience involves commitment.

We can identify people who are committed to obeying God by two traits. They are truly committed and are primarily concerned about grieving the heart of their loving God, if they sin. And they are concerned with how the consequences of their sin will affect them and others. It is usually quite simple to tell when an individual is committed to the ways of the Lord. You can tell it by their talk and actions. We all may at times slip up on something and sin in one form or another, but the person who just flits it away and says, “God will forgive me” is not really committed to the life of God. A truly committed person will grieve over the simplest little sin and repent and make every effort not to do it again. He is genuinely concerned how it will affect him and those around him. If it is necessary he will go to the person and ask for forgiveness; the repentance is deep and real healing takes place.

Obedience always brings blessings while disobedience always brings some form of pain. When we make a wrong choice and are disobedient in some form - even in a small way - we separate ourselves from God and open ourselves up to Satan and his worldly domain. Guess what present he has for us? Pain and suffering, and it can also include just an unrest within. God never, never brings anything into your life but blessing and goodness, but when we choose to disobey and step away from His council and His Word, we receive the pain and suffering from Satan. We understand the curses listed in Deuteronomy 28 were factored in before Jesus came on the earth. When Jesus came He went to the cross and took our sin and nailed it to the cross, so the believer was freed from the curse. However, sin will always receive punishment. Sin will eradicate itself.

Once you are truly born again your spirit man is always perfect with the Father, but the flesh includes wrong choices we make and must pay a penalty for sin. For instance: getting drunk may cause an accident and cause you to lose a limb. Fornication may cause you to get pregnant and have to raise a child by yourself. Stealing may cause you to end up in jail. the use of illegal drugs can wipe you out financially and physically destroy your body. The list can go on and on. You can repent and get right with God and go on and live a godly life, but the scar of the sin remains. That is why God set forth his laws. He knew what would keep you safe and free in this present world. He loves you more than our human minds can understand and He wants only good, blessing, peace, and joy for you.

Believers will face only God’s loving chastisement, which is instruction through his word. Chastisement means to instruct. God does not instruct you by giving you cancer or a heart attack or losses. He instructs you through his Word. Can you picture the look Jesus gave to Peter after Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times? This was something that Jesus had already told Peter. That Loving look from Jesus must have been the most painful stare Peter would ever face. Have you ever felt the look of God upon you?

One might ask, well just how do I learn obedience? We learn to wait upon the lord in prayer. We read in Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” If we will learn his Word, stay in his Word, and wait upon the Lord, God will lead and guide us in every area of our lives. We may have to give up our plans; but rest assured His plan for our life is much better: and He will renew our strength to do whatever He calls us to do. The Word says He will renew our youth as the eagle. That sounds pretty good to me!

It is vital that we develop a love for the Word of God. Psalm 119:23 “Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in the statutes.” There are always going to be those who just don’t seem to be open to receive the Word; but you cannot allow that to bother you. Learn to meditate on his Word and learn to speak it out; practice it: go over it. Learn to love the Word before anything else and realize that to obey God often means a head-on collision with human reasoning and the world system. Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.” There may be times when we need to seek help from a godly person who is well versed in the Word. But as you grow in the Word you will find that you will have direct communication from God yourself and seldom need much outside help. However, if a need is not met, then go to your Pastor or someone you know who is walking in faith and the power of the Word, and ask them to pray with you. Come into agreement that the problem is met and trust God to bring forth the manifestation in your life.

It is good to realize sometimes God will allow us to walk in the dark so that we will learn to trust him. Proverbs 3:5,6“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” We must know that we can trust God, and not just rely on our own understanding. When we acknowledge Him, He directs our path. The unique thing about God’s creation – man – is, that He gave man the ability to choose. Obviously when we are operating from our mind and body we tend to head to the worlds way of doing things, and that often brings failure. We can, by choosing to go God’s way, find success and victory each and every day. What a blessing!

Does this mean there will never be some inner struggles? Romans 7:15-18 “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Paul makes it clear that the mortal body wants to do what is natural to the natural body; but we must again choose to follow God and refrain from the world’s way. The flesh does not usually want to get up early in the morning; but if you want to spend some quiet time with the Lord before your day begins, you have to speak to your flesh and tell it what it is going to do; it doesn’t tell you what it wants to do. And the closer we come to God, the easier it gets to truly walk with Him, and the more peace and inner joy you have.

We must all learn that there is no substitute for obedience. Deuteronomy 11:26-28. “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: 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 know.”

Yes, there are dark days in the world. We have been told that there will be wars and rumors of wars. Earthquakes and terrible things may occur. But stand with God and as you do, you are protected to the extent that not a hair on your head will be disturbed. Learn the 91st psalm. It is a wonderful shield of protection. Psalm 91:10 “There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come nigh your dwelling.” That is an awesome promise of God – ”if” you walk in obedience to his Word.

Learn to cast all the care upon the lord and leave the consequences of our obedience to God. Proverbs 16:3 “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.” A worldly person might ask, can I depend on God to fulfill this promise? If you don’t know Jesus as the Lord of your life, and God as your heavenly Father, there is nowhere else you can go. Remember God is all good. There is no evil or error in him. So when we rely on God and are expectant of His goodness and grace, that’s what He brings forth in our lives. I think the easiest example we can share is – “The same pool of water does not send forth sweet water and bitter.” So God, being all good, can only send forth what He is; and that is His goodness and His love.

As you receive these truths and learn to follow them, it’s a good idea to often check yourself to see just how you are doing according to scripture. Is there an area in your life where you have a struggle to remain obedient? What is preventing you from submitting your life totally? Is it relationships, your future, your job, health, children? Is it total submission to your loving Father God and the Lordship of Jesus?

If there appears to be anything which you are holding in your control, then you need to work on that area and submit it all to Jesus. There is no other way. You can’t fudge a little now and then and expect to be blessed by God. It hinders your walk with Him and holds you back from the fullness of God’s blessings in your life. So I urge you all to put God first; know His Word; commit your day and time to Him and He will open new doors of joy and blessings you never dreamed possible. Ask yourself: Am I ready to walk in obedience to His Word and receive His blessings?

Pastor Larry Buck: New Horizons Christian Center.