THE SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE -
(Cultivating the Spirit of Obedience)
CENTRALITY OF OBEDIENCE - Our text: Romans 1:5 - The Purpose of Gospel Preaching is OBEDIENCE OF FAITH
1 PETER 1:2 – says “Chosen according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by means of sanctification by the
Spirit, into OBEDIENCE and into sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 5:9 says “Christ saves those
who are obeying Him.
A)
The Spirit of Obedience
Ezekiel
36:26-28, King James Version (KJV)26 A new heart also will
I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.27 And I
will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye
shall keep my judgments, and do them.28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I
gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
In Ezekiel
36:26-28, we see the Spirit, the enabling and the blessing. The whole
essence of obedience is blessing. The spirit of obedience enables you to
obey God’s voice and ultimately enjoy the blessing.
Just as there is a spirit behind obedience, there
is also a spirit behind disobedience. When you cannot find yourself obeying the
commands of the Lord which has blessings attached to it, know that the spirit
of disobedience is at work against you but today, it shall be destroyed in the
name of Jesus!
Obedience or disobedience is beyond the capacity
of man to obey or disobey. There is a spirit behind both disobedience and
obedience. No child wants to wake up and disobey God; there is a spirit of
disobedience working against them. Every time Satan moves you to disobey
God, he wants you to rot.
Deut.28:1
-And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of
the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I
command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high
above all nations of the earth: 2 And all these
blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the
voice of the Lord thy God.
B)
The Spirit of Disobedience - Eph.2:1-3
-And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein
in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of
the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as
others.
Why you need the Spirit of Obedience 1. Man in his natural state is disobedient
arrogant and rebellious. When man fell, the devil put the spirit of
disobedience in him. When God first created man, He spoke to him and he became
a living soul; when Satan spoke to man, he became a dead soul. You need the
spirit of obedience to prevail.
2. Satan is aware that obedience pleases God and
it is the master key to your lifting. Satan doesn’t want it to be well with
you. Disobedience takes people backward and obedience forward (Jeremiah 7:23-24).
C. Definitions of Obedience
The general concept of obedience both in the Old and New
Testament relates to hearing or
hearkening to a higher authority.
One of the Greek terms for obedience conveys the
idea of positioning oneself under someone by submitting to their authority and
command. Another Greek word for obey in the New Testament means "to
trust."
According to Holman's Illustrated Bible
Dictionary a succinct definition of biblical obedience is "to
hear God's Word and act accordingly."
So, biblical obedience to God means, simply, to
hear, trust, submit and surrender
to God and his Word.
Obedience is not only to God but to men with
higher spiritual authority. God is the believer’s ultimate leader but because
we do not have the capacity to always hear, He ordained spiritual leaders (Hebrews 13:7). Even Pastor,
listens to higher spiritual authority.
Jesus is the chief shepherd but we also have
under-shepherds for the sake of those who lack capacity to hear from the chief
shepherd. Obedience is a test also.
D) Eight Reasons Why Obedience to God
Is Important
1. Jesus Calls Us to Obedience – John
14:15 - “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
2. Obedience Is an Act of Worship
Romans 12:1 And
so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God
because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the
kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship
him.
(NLT)
3. God Rewards Obedience - James
1:22–25
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes
himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he
who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a
forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he
does.
4. Obedience to God Proves Our Love –
1 Jn. 5:2-3
“By this we know that we love the children of God,
when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that
we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
5. Obedience
to God Demonstrates Our Faith - 1
John 2:3–6
”Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep
His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments,
is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the
love of God [a]is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He
who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
6. Obedience
Is Better Than Sacrifice – 1 Samuel 15:22
“So
Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As
in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And
to heed than the fat of rams.”
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us
cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God.”
8. Disobedience
Leads to Unbelief in God - Romans 5:19
For as by the one man's [Adam's] disobedience the many were made sinners, so
by the one man's [Christ's] obedience the many will be made righteous.
(ESV)
E) The effects of obedience: 1. It makes you willing. 2. It enables you to
be prompt. Abraham moved immediately he heard instruction. 3. It enables you to
obey absolutely (Exodus 25:40). 4. It
makes you fearless and enables you to take risks.
May that spirit of obedience come upon you
today! God is taking away a stony heart
and putting in you a new heart of flesh.
Dear Heavenly Father
I am thankful for your love. Show me Your will for me today. I want to
serve You and live for You! As I read Your Word, teach me and show me truth
today. I want to obey You and I want people around me to know that there is
something different about me. I want my actions to point them to You, Lord. You
deserve all of the glory! You deserve all of the praise! I trust in You and I
will do my absolute best to obey You today with your new Spirit! Thank You for
Your mercy and grace, Father! Amen.
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