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Obedience: The Key to Gods Blessing Genesis 12:1-9; Nehemiah 1-3 A wealthy businessman, who was well known for being ruthless and unethical, told Mark Twain that before he died, he wanted to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He said that when he got there he wanted to climb to the top of Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments, and there read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top. I have a better idea, replied Twain, in his typical wit, You could stay in Boston and keep them. I believe that Jesus would have preferred that he stay in Boston and keep the commandments as well. But we always prefer some great religious experience to the routine of obedience. We would like some mountaintop emotion rather than actually showing the evidence of an obedient life. Thomas a Kempis; an early church father said this about obedience. Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace. Another wrote that: Joy is the byproduct of obedience Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl championships and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, admitted that his position as a quarterback who didnt call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a genius mind when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team. Roger later said, I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory. Obedience is hard isnt it? Its hard because to obey another means to put ourselves into a subordinate position to another. To be able to obey means that we need to be able to lay our pride aside and obey someone else. Just like in the illustration of Roger Staubach, he felt qualified to call his own

plays and run his own team. However it was only when he laid that pride down and place himself into a subordinate relationship to Coach Landry that his team found success. The same is true for you. The Bible says that we are to obey God. It is a command and we are to follow it. When God says jump we say how high God! When God says move we say to where God. We have to lay our pride down and place ourselves under the submission of our Heavenly Father. The problem with obedience is that we like to think that we know best, that we know what to do, that we have all the answers when in actuality we dont always know what is best, often time we dont know what to do, and most of the time we dont have all the answers so we need to rely on someone who does and that someone is God. Another issue with obedience is that we tend to try to compensate for our lack of obedience by sacrificing to God. We believe that by sacrificing certain things that that in some way cancels out our disobedience to God. 1 Samuel 15:22 speaks to this issue where Samuel says to Saul to obey is better than sacrifice. God doesnt want your sacrifice He demands your obedience. And we know this to be true but sadly we still attempt to make our own appointed sacrifices in the hopes that they will blot out our disobedience but they dont. These vain attempts at covering our disobedience with sacrifice often times leave us discouraged and wondering if God even notices us. God wants you to obey Him because that is always what is best for you. Gods way is always the best way. Now I believe that the heart of God grieves over us many times because He wants to bless us even more than we want to be blessed and it breaks His heart to see our vain attempts at receiving His blessings when He has made a simple way for us to be the recipients of His blessings. In the book of Exodus 18:5 we see God speak these words to His people: Now if you will obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole world is mine you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Now what does this mean? God is saying that His blessings were conditional upon the obedience of His people. If they would obey Him they would receive His blessings if they disobeyed they would receive His judgment. And here wee see the key to Gods blessings: Obedience. Obedience is a central theme throughout the Bible. From the story of creation to the end of Revelation; its difficult to turn a page that doesnt deal directly or indirectly with Gods call for obedience. Jesus repeatedly said follow Me. Now whether it is obeying Gods commands or discerning His will for our lives, God places a premium on our obedience. It is close to His heart. In out time however, obedience to God is often ignored, dismissed, or glossed over. Why? Because obedience confronts us right in our faces. It confronts our sin and our determination to do things our way. Why after all do we need Gods forgiveness and grace; because we are disobedient. Today I want us to examine: 1. The Biblical pattern of Obedience 2. How to restore God centered obedience in our lives. 3. Questions for heart reflection The Biblical Pattern of Obedience There are any of a number of good illustrations we could use from the Bible to teach the Biblical pattern of obedience and we will consider 2; Abraham and Nehemiah because they represent two of the ways God speaks to us. Lets consider Abraham. Turn to Genesis 12:1 First I want you to see that sometimes God speaks directly. You can easily follow the pattern of obedience in these verses and it separates easily into three parts. Part 1: God Initiates Verses 1-3

Notice that God is the originator, the facilitator. Also see that blessings for obedience are included here. I is repeated 4x in the 3 verses symbolizing Gods involvement. The word blessed occurs 4x The blessings for Abrahams obedience will go on after his death. Again God is the initiator.

Part 2: Abraham Responds Verses 4-6; 8-9 Abraham Obeys Hebrews 11:8 tells us that Abraham followed God not knowing where he was going. Abraham responded obediently to God. Part 3: God promises blessing verse 7 Abrahams obedience brought about Gods blessing Notice that it is a blessing that will follow after his death; He wont see this blessing fulfilled in his lifetime. Now lets consider Nehemiah. Turn to Nehemiah 1 I also want you to see that sometimes when God speaks He lays a burden upon your heart. Just as with Abraham you will see that the pattern of obedience here easily separates into 3 parts. Part 1: God burdened his heart about the walls of Jerusalem. - Verses 1-4 Upon hearing news about the walls of his home Jerusalem being torn down Nehemiah weeps and God burdens his heart to do something about it. Part 2: Nehemiah responds to his burden. Verses 1:4-2:9 Fasting Prayer Verses 5-11 1. Praise

2. Confession of sin 3. God remembering His covenant 4. Asking for God to give him favor before the king. Petitions the king Goes to Jerusalem Part 3: God blesses the work of his hands Nehemiah 6:15 The walls were completed in 52 days. God blessed Nehemiah because he was obedient to Him. The Importance of obeying God What about you? Is God speaking directly to you about something? Is He speaking to you about your need for salvation and baptism? Maybe he is speaking indirectly by laying a burden upon your heart about something He wants you to do. Know that: 1. God will direct you to what He wants you to do. 2. You will respond either positively or negatively. 3. Only positive responses to God will bring His blessings. Now lets look at how to restore God-centered obedience to our lives. I think that when we focus on eternal and godly things it helps us to see thins from Gods perspective and obedience comes more easily. But here are 4 principles that will help restore and reinforce a correct perspective on obedience. First, God centered obedience flows from and demonstrates my love for Jesus. Jesus said our love for Him and our willingness to obey His commands are directly correlated. John 14:23-24 says: If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. MY Father will love Him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.

In other words, if we love God, we will obey Him and He will live in us. Our prompt obedience to God especially amid distractions, demonstrates our love for God is real and our focus upon Him is steadfast. Furthermore, our obedience invites God to abide in us, deepening and strengthening our relationship with Him. Second (principle to help restore God centered obedience in our lives) God centered obedience strengthens our faith. Obedience doesnt always make sense to us. But if we trust God and put our faith in Him, we will obey even when it hurts to do so. We will not always understand Gods plans and there will be times when we must do or not do something out of an obedience to God that is rooted purely in a faith that God has things under sontrol. Faith is believing God will do what He has promised and obedience is backing up that belief with action. When you obey in faith, your faith is strengthened. Third (principle to help restore God centered obedience in our lives) God centered obedience brings Gods blessings. The Bible repeatedly teaches that God blesses us when we are obedient to Him. Abraham and his descendants were blessed because of his obedience. Solomon said that God blessed his father David because he was faithful, obedient, and upright in heart. Of course the life of Job illustrates that some blessings arent immediately obvious. Nor are Gods rewards for our faithfulness always something we will reap this side of heaven. But we mist remember that God has an eternal perspective and he wants us to be obedient with that perspective in mind. Fourth (principle to help restore God centered obedience in our lives) God centered obedience is a command, but not an oppressive one. Perhaps it seems paradoxical to say that we freely obey God out of obligation. But if we love God and if we are greatful for His forgiveness,

grace, and provision, why would we choose to repay Him by beings selfcentered? Choosing obedience over rebellion is the only proper response for children of God. The choice to follow Gods Words or ignore them was a gift He gave mankind at creation and that freedom is one essence of our humanness. Without it there is no need for obedience; it would just be part of our nature to blindly obey. So obedience to God makes our faith in Him and our love for Him more real and alive, and it is something He truly relished and blesses when we freely give it. Questions for Reflection Is there an area of your life or something in your life in which God has been speaking to you about that needs to change, but you have been resisting or delaying your obedience to Him? Has God given you a burden in your heart about something that He wants you to do? Perhaps something God wants you to begin here at Suburban? Have you turned away from obeying Gods Word, preferring instead to go your own way? Have you drifted away from God into casually following Him rather than following Him wholeheartedly?