Isaiah 1:19 "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land" (KJV)
Every one of us has been disobedient and paid the price for it at some point. "Obedience" is doing everything you know to do according to the Word of God.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (KJV) "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: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God."
But that was Old Testament. Does this apply to the new?
James 1:25 (KJV) But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, hebeing not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall beblessed in his deed.
James 1:25 (EE) 'So do not just listen to God's message and then forget it. It is a completely good message that makes people free. Look at it carefully and keep it in your mind. Do what it tells you to do. God will bless anyone who lives in that way. '
God always has a plan and He is always good, even when we don't see it. Obedience will yield blessing. We can't just hear these words, we have to do them. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy - YOU! He wants to hurt YOU and your relationship with God. (Read the story of Job.) In what ways do you think God is calling you to be obedient to Him?
When you obey, you put it into action; you don't just listen, you have to DO it and put it into motion. When you need God to show up, remember God wants you to show up. How do you need to show up today?
Read Jeremiah 3 - (referring to verse 3) What if God doesn't heal you or bless you because of your lack of obedience? (Referring to verse 10-12) God wants your heart and you should want God above anything else. If you love somebody, you WANT spend time with the one you love. You don't just go to someone you love when you need something. Do you go to God when you DON'T need money? Do you go to Him when you DON'T "need" something? Try to thank Him for the things you have everyday that are not promised. Try praying without asking God for something. Simply give Him thanks.
In Jeremiah 3:13-16 we read that God will give us all that we need and that He is kind and forgiving and generous. He will use His Word to transform our minds. He will give us preachers and teachers that love God and teach what is right. These teachers are gifts to the church for the perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, the edifying of the body of Christ. What gifts do you believe God has given you?
Read Romans 12:1-2 Once your mind is changed and transformed, you will know God's will for your life - that you be blessed, healed, forgiven, and set free.
We are not ordinary people. We are peculiar and holy and have been set apart to do the will of God. We are gifts to the earth. These gifts are varied - Ephesians 4:11 - these are gifts from God and for God - so that the people of God might be fully equipped to do the work to develop - until we attain oneness. How do we attain oneness?
"If you are not at the stature of Christ, then you have a lot of work to do." God might still be working on you, but are you allowing the work to transform you? How long will it take? How will we do it?
Wednesday, October 23, we are going to come together to pray and cry out to the Lord together.