Today, we want to look at the second component of holiness - OBEDIENCE. To make it to Heaven in the life to come, you MUST walk in complete OBEDIENCE in this present world. Without complete obedience holiness is not complete. And without holiness you cannot make it to heaven.
God desires obedience motivated not by fear but by love and trust. “If you be (1) willing and (2)
OBEDIENT you shall eat the good of the land” (Isa. 1:19).
The instructions of God can be (1) disobeyed, or (2) obeyed.
What is disobedience? Disobedience is the outright refusal to comply with the instructions given by the authority.
Disobedience is sin and leads to immediate separation from God. “The terrible anger of God comes upon all those who disobey Him” (Eph. 5:6).
When you disobey the instructions of the LORD, you will go backwards and not forward. “But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward” (Jer. 7:23-24).
What about obedience? What does it mean to be obedient? To be obedient is to do as you were instructed or commanded. For instance, Moses did all as the LORD commanded him.
Numbers 27:22-23 says, “And Moses did as the Lord commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: 23 And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.”
To be obedient means to dutifully comply with the instructions of those in authority. It means to comply with or to be submissive to authority. To obey means to comply with (abide by) the instructions of those in authority.
What is authority? Authority is the power to give orders and make others obey it. Children who are told that they have to obey their parents in the Lord (Eph. 6:1-2) also consider that a harsh and cruel punishment.
Many wives also consider the command: wives obey your husbands in all things (Eph. 5:22), a harsh command.
But in 1 Corinthians 11:3 God said, “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”
In Genesis 3:16 God said to women, “Your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
One thing we should realize is that no matter where you are, there is always an authority to obey. But if you live in this world and say that you are not going to recognize authority, then you are heading for disaster.
Where there is no authority, where there is no leadership, anarchy is inevitable. That was the case in the Book of Judges where everyone did as he pleased. Without authority in any set up there will be confusion. And the move of God is hindered wherever there is confusion.
God is the ultimate authority! God’s way of exercising His authority over us is by means of His written Word.
Since the Father has now given the Son executive authority to rule the cosmos on His behalf (Matt. 28:18), Scripture now functions precisely as the instrument of Christ’s lordship over His followers (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
What about obedience? Are there some promises of God to them that completely obey Him? Yes O!
1. Obedience will bring great rewards to you. “Blessed (empowered to prosper) are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with their whole heart” (Ps. 119:2).
God said, “Obey Me, and I will be your God. . . . Only do as I say, AND ALL WILL BE WELL WITH YOU” (Jer. 7:23).
For instance, the woman of Zarephath obeyed the instructions the LORD gave her through His servant, and great rewards to the woman followed (1 Kings 17:13-16).
2. Obedience actually frees you to enjoy life as God intended, because it keeps you from becoming entangled or enslaved to those things that can distract you and eventually cause you heartaches.
3. Even though God’s command (instruction) sometimes appears to be difficult, or doesn’t make sense from our human perspective, obedience will always bring (1) blessing, (2) joy, and (3) peace.
4. God is faithful to those who obey Him (Ex. 19:5; Deut. 7:9).
5. Obeying God and ignoring evil advice brings lasting joy (Ps. 1:1).
6. Obedience will position you to eat the good of the land (Isa. 1:19-20).
7. Obedience will position you to spend your days in prosperity and your years in pleasures (Job 36:11-12).
8. Obedience will position you to receive the blessings of God (Ex. 23:24-29; Jam. 1:25).
9. Obedience to God often leads to peace. Obeying God is the first step on the path to peace. For instance, Asa’s reign was marked by peace because he “did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the LORD his God.”
“When Abijah died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king. There was peace in the land for ten years, for Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the LORD his God” (2 Chron. 14:1-2)
We have two types of obedience:
1. Partial obedience, and
2. Absolute, total or complete obedience.
What is partial obedience? The word “partial” means “not total.” It means “incomplete.”
Partial obedience means “incomplete obedience.” Partial obedience is the same as disobedience!
In 1 Samuel 15:1-23 we see an example of “partial obedience.”
What did the LORD instruct Saul to do? In 1 Samuel 15:2-3 the LORD said to King Saul, “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite (attack) Amalek, and utterly (totally or completely) destroy ALL that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”
But what did King Saul do? 1 Samuel 15:9-10 says, “But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs – everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed” (NIV).
How did the LORD feel about this partial obedience? In 1 Samuel 15:11 the LORD said, “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from Me, and has not carried out My instructions.”
What was the consequence of this partial obedience? King Saul did not completely obey the LORD, so the LORD rejected him from being king over Israel.
In 1 Samuel 15:26 the Samuel said to King Saul, “…You have rejected the Word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as King over Israel.”
Let us consider some of the instructions of the LORD:
1. God must be first in your life. “…seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).
Is God really first in your life? Is it not your career, business, family etc. that is first in your life? That is idolatry.
2. What is the instruction of the LORD to His children about marriage? “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel (unbeliever)? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (2 Cor. 6:14-16).
3. What is the instruction of the LORD to his children about submission? “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything” (Eph. 5:22-24).
“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17).
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (Jam. 4:7).
What is submission? Submission to God is obedience to God; doing exactly what He commands.
Then the Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.” . . . So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed him” (Gen. 12:1, 4).
There is a difference between submission and agreement. Let’s say your Pastor asks you to do something a certain way, and you think it is a great idea. You are in agreement. However, let’s say he asked you to do something a certain way, and you don’t think it is a good idea.
In order words, if you were to be in-charge, you would never have done it that way. This is where submission comes in.
At this point you’ve got a decision to make. God’s way of doing it would be to honour your leader by doing it the way he wants you to do it, without complaining. This is exactly how we submit. Remember the Lord would never permit you to submit to anything contrary to His Word.
4. What is the instruction of the LORD to His children about giving? Jesus instructed us saying, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal (give out) it shall be measured (given) to you again” (Lk. 6:38).
But this I say, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 8 And GOD IS ABLE to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Cor. 9:6-8).
5. What is the instruction of the LORD to His children about tithing? “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove Me now herewith, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:10-11).
6. What is the instruction of the LORD to His children about Evangelism? And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded (instructed) you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt. 28:18-20).
And Jesus said unto the disciples, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mk. 16:15-18).
“And the disciples went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following. Amen” (Mk. 16:20).
Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you” (Jn. 15:16).
“He that winneth souls is wise” (Prov. 11:30). “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Dan. 12:3).
7. In the area of dressing and adornment – jewelries: “In like manner (in the manner of holiness) also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel (simple, not the one that draws attention to you), with shamefacedness (an element of shyness) and sobriety (abstaining from excess); NOT WITH braided hair, or gold (jewelry), or pearls, or costly array; 10 But (which becometh women professing godliness – holy women) with good works” (1 Tim. 2:9-10, see the Igbo Translation).
What does it mean to adorn? To adorn means to make more attractive by adding ornament, colour etc.
What is ornament? An ornament is something used to beautify.
What is complete obedience? Complete obedience is the act or practice of following instructions, completely complying with rules or regulations, or submitting to somebody's authority.
God demands complete obedience. God wants us to do everything He commands us to do.
“Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him” (Gen. 6:22).
“You MUST obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following His instructions in every detail” (Deut. 5:32).
King Saul did not completely obey the LORD, so the LORD rejected him from being king over Israel.
“And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the Word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king” (1 Sam. 15:22-23).
God said, “Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. 22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: 23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto (with) you” (Jer. 7:21-23).
Jesus is our model (perfect example) for complete obedience, even when obedience meant suffering.
“Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights as God . . . He obediently humbled Himself” (Phil. 2:5-13).
In Genesis 22:1-18 we see another example of complete obedience. In Genesis 22:1-18 God said, “…. 16 This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed Me and have not withheld even your beloved son, I swear by My own self that 17 I will bless you richly. I will multiply your descendants into countless millions, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. They will conquer their enemies, 18 and through your descendants, all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed Me” (Gen. 22:1-18).
Conclusion: Remember: without complete obedience to God, you can never become holy, and without holiness you shall not see the LORD (Heb. 12:14).
- Your friend, I. I. MADUBUNYI (Head Pastor) Sept. 25th, 2016 @ HQs.
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