Childlike Obedience

(1Co 1:29) That no flesh should glory in his presence.
(1Co 1:30) But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
(1Co 1:31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

God uses what is considered foolish and despised in this world to reveal His truth, so that He alone will receive the glory. Otherwise, the powerful would boast that they had found the truth. Instead, God sent His Son to become a humble carpenter and to die in the most despicable way, on a cross. Jesus’ life and death reveals God and His wisdom. Since Christ not only imparts wisdom but also righteousness, the Christian cannot boast, except in the Lord

As obedient children we obey out of love as opposed to obedient slaves who obey out of terror. We have obedience of faith and not of dread.

“By faith, Abraham…obeyed.” His obedience was always a result of his faith. As you and I render true obedience it is the product of our faith.

Obedience is worked in us by the Spirit of the Lord, through our belief in the truth, love, and grace of our God in Christ Jesus.

You cannot hope to render obedience by forcing your conduct into a certain groove or by using unaided, determined effort. The road to obedience is a free-grace road, and that is receiving, by faith, the Lord Jesus, who is the gift of God and who “of God is made unto us…sanctification” (1 Corinthians 1:30)

We accept the Lord Jesus by faith, and He teaches us obedience, creating it in us. The more faith in Him that we have, the more obedience to Him we will manifest. Obedience naturally flows out of faith, “for as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7); and the holy obedience of a person’s life will be in proportion to the strength and purity of his faith in God, as He is revealed in Christ Jesus.

Consider the following:

The kind of faith that produces obedience, the kind of obedience that faith produces, and the kind of life that comes out of this faith and obedience. Let us trust the Holy Spirit for His gracious light.

Revival... A Call to Repentance

Will God send another great awakening? There are over 10,000 conferences that happen every year. The 'Revival Conference' is not to be just another conference but a honest, sincere, earnest plea for the desperate need of revival. There is no cost to attend the event. No materials will be sold. There will be no big bands. The conference will have the chief object to be God-glorifying. The speakers will come on their own accord trusting God for provision. There will be no emphasis on money during the event. The event will be a simple, apostolic, yearning for a genuine biblical revival in our day. The conference is hosted by the ministry of sermonindex.net and is a inter-denominational event.

The Obedience That Comes from Faith

A chief ingredient of heaven is that we will see the face of our Lord and "serve Him day and night in his temple."

Revelation 7:15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.

Where is His temple today. We, His Saints, are His living temple and we will serve Him through the obedience that comes from faith.

The obedience that comes from faith is a noble obedience. The obedience of a slave ranks only a little higher than the obedience of a well-trained horse or dog, because it reacts to the crack of the whip. When obedience is not done cheerfully it does not come from the heart and it is of little worth before God. If we obey because we have no choice in the matter and we would rather not obey if we had the opportunity then there is nothing in our obedience. The obedience of faith comes from an internal principle and not from some external requirement.

When trials and temptations come, the obedience of faith becomes essential to the sanctified soul. We are then prepared in the hour of losses and sufferings. There is no trial of life that can turn the soul full of grace from his passion for obedience.

May the Holy Spirit work in us so that, by faith, like Abraham, we may obey!

Obedience/Sanctification

Titus 2:14
...who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Redeem means "To purchase." With His death on the Cross, Christ paid the price to release us from the bondage of sin (Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace) to which every unbeliever is a slave. (Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.)

God's purpose in redeeming us is not only to save us from hell, He also wants to free us from sin so that we can produce good works that glorify Him (Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.)

Obedience does not go out the window, as some think. Obedience of the heart to the will of God is our salvation. Perfect obedience would mean perfect salvation.

Sanctification or obedience is the great purpose for which the Savior died. This is why we were chosen. (1 Peter 1:2.. elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.)

There is nothing in this election that says we are to continue in sin. We are called to be Saints. (Romans 1:7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: )

It is grace at work in our hearts that brings about the obedience. We are being conformed to the image of Jesus, our Brother, with whom the Father is "well pleased."

Obedience

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going." (Hebrews 11:8)

What a blessing it would be if we allowed the Holy Spirit to train us to obey. Our restoration would be complete. It would be heaven on earth if the whole world would obey the Lord. Perfect obedience to God would result in love among men, justice to all, and peace would be everywhere.
Our wills bring jealousy, hatred and war. If we would only obey the Lord's will, we would receive love, joy, rest and happiness.

By faith Abraham obeyed. It is true that we mourn our disobedience; but now we find joy in yielding ourselves as servants of the Lord. Our deepest desire is to do the Lord's will in all things.

It has been suggested by many badly instructed people that the doctrine of justification by faith is opposed to the teaching of good works, or obedience. There is no truth in this. We who believe in justification by faith teach the obedience of faith.

Faith is the foundation and the keeper of obedience. Men do not obey God until they believe Him. Faith is preached so that men may be brought to obedience. To disbelieve is to disobey.

A sign of practical obedience is found in the mind, the understanding, and the heart (soul); and this is expressed in believing the teaching of Christ, trusting in HIS work, and resting in HIS salvation.

Faith and obedience go hand in hand. If we want to do the work of God, we must believe on Jesus Christ whom He has sent. The work is the result of the faith which comes from God. We cannot pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. It is the faith that God gives us that allows us to go on to obey.

The Race of Faith

Hebrews 12

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

Paul tells us to lay aside every weight and sin and to run with endurance. A weight is anything that hinders a runner. He also says that as we run the race we are to look unto Jesus. He has done everything necessary for us to endure in our faith. We are to consistantly focus on Christ instead of our own circumstances. Our Lord's attention was not on the agonies of the Cross, but on the crown; not on the suffering, but the reward. This is the only way we can run the race of Faith. We cannot do it on our own. I have fallen short so many times trying to work things out in my own life. I would say a prayer and then immediately thereafter go about trying to fix things myself. It was only when I read this passage for what it really says that I understand that it's all Jesus. It's not me running the race on my own terms with my goals in mind, no matter how lofty and spiritual I may believe those goals are. Those goals are the heavy weights. When I look to Jesus those weights disappear. It is then that I am running that race by Faith.

When we think about the hostility that He endured of sinners, we should compare our sufferings to the torture Christ endured on our behalf.

Are You Still Carrying Around Those Burdens?

Are you still struggling under those heavy burdens? If you are, then stop it!! The Lord will bear the burdens of His righteous saints. That burden is a blessing if you let the Lord bear it. Stop working and striving to make yourself righteous! Only He is able to do that.

Burdens Cast on Him

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)

It is a heavy burden; roll it on Omnipotence. It is thy burden now, and it crushes thee; but when the Lord takes it, He will make nothing of it. If thou art called still to bear, "he will sustain thee." It will be on Him and not on thee. Thou wilt be so upheld under it that the burden will be a blessing. Bring the Lord into the matter, and thou wilt stand upright under that which in itself would bow thee down.

Our worst fear is lest our trial should drive us from the path of duty; but this the Lord will never suffer. If we are righteous before Him, He will not endure that our affliction should move us from our standing. In Jesus He accepts us as righteous, and in Jesus He will keep us so.

What about the present moment? Art thou going forth to this day's trial alone? Are thy poor shoulders again to be galled with the oppressive load? Be not so foolish. Tell the Lord all about thy grief and leave it with Him. Don't cast your burden down and then take it up again; but roll it on the Lord and leave it there. Then shalt thou walk at large, a joyful and unburdened believer, singing the praises of thy great Burden-bearer.

Whom Do You Trust?

Do you rely on yourself, your own wisdom or the wisdom of family or friends to get you through a situation. Don't do that! Get in the habit of trusting the only One who will deliver you. Have faith; He will NEVER let you down!

Implicit Trust

For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 39:18)

Behold the protecting power of trust in God. The great men of Jerusalem fell by the sword, but poor Ebed-melech was secure, for his confidence was in Jehovah. Where else should a man trust but in his Maker? We are foolish when we prefer the creature to the Creator. Oh, that we could in all things live by faith, then should we be delivered in all time of danger! No one ever did trust in the Lord in vain, and no one ever shall.

The Lord saith, "I will surely deliver thee," Mark the divine "surely." Whatever else may be uncertain, God's care of believers is sure. God Himself is the guardian of the gracious. Under His sacred wing there is safety even when every danger is abroad. Can we accept this promise as sure? Then in our present emergency we shall find that it stands fast. We hope to be delivered because we have friends, or because we are prudent, or because we can see hopeful signs; but none of these things are one-half so good as God's simple "because thou hast put thy trust in me."

Dear reader, try this way, and, trying it, you will keep to it all your life. It is as sweet as it is sure.

10 Reasons Why Michael Jackson's Life and Death Matter

As massive crowds gather outside the Staples Center in L.A. to commemorate the tragic life of a man, is there anything we can learn from Michael Jackson’s death? This short video gives 10 things we can learn from his death.

4th of July!

Today I am cellebrating freedom from sin and death given to me by my Savior Jesus Christ! Thank you, Jesus! All Glory to you, Lord!

More On Sanctification

I was full of pride when I thought that I could clean myself up by following some law or rule, or even listening to well-meaning family and friends (this includes others in the Body)to keep me on the Narrow Path. I was deceived. It was only when God showed me that it is not through my efforts, but through HIS grace that I am saved (daily). This is a very, very personal process. Others see what's on the outside; but the Spirit of God sees what lies deep down inside where others cannot see.

Salvation is not a once in a lifetime event. Salvation is a daily process of walking with the Savior and a dying to self. He directs us. He shows us. He gives us the strength to overcome.

"Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This [is] the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." (Zec 4:6)