OBEDIENCE, "GOD'S DESIRED RELATIONSHIP WITH US

WELCOME TO PASTOR DR. CARLOTTA'S COUNSELING CENTER.

From the very beginning God's desired relationship with His beloved man, He has anchored that relationship on the fragile and powerful act of disobedience. Life and death are determined through one's obedience.

Obedience is a subject in today's world that is not very popular. Maybe because in the past, "obedience" carried a negative connotation. And in that context, obedience was used more often than not to indicate an adherence to a set of rules and regulations. When you actually begin to study the subject, obedience is the whole underlying principle of the Word of God. How pertinent this subject is to The Church today.

You cannot receive salvation with obedience. You have to obey God and come in line with His Word in order to accept Christ a your Savior. In Genesis we see obedience and disobedience through God's perspective as Adam's sons came to worship God. Abel conformed to God's laws and brought the proper animal sacrifice as he was suppose to according to God's instructions. But Cain wanted to come to God in his own way. He wanted to be recognized and approved by God bringing the sacrifice his way, not God's way, and yet still receive the blessings of God!

So Cain, being a farmer, brought the work of his own hands, the fruit of the ground, and offered them on the altar. God refused his sacrifice. Why? Because God had from the beginning told man how to please Him; and there-by to receive from Him. So Cain's own disobedience made receiving from God absolutely impossible. You will notice in the Old Testament, no one ever got into trouble until they disobeyed the laws of God. The same was true in the New Testament. And today, we do not get into trouble unless we disobey the Word of God. Of course you realize that God's Word is His Law.

Therefore, simply stated, the underlying theme of the Word of God is obedience without negotiations! Many people have trouble with this. They say, for example, that they cannot keep the Ten Commandments. But really we do not have to worry about the Ten Commandments if we will just remember one commandment: "Obey what God says!"

God is the creator of all things. He is the only one who can set into motion the laws of His Word, and we have no right or authority to negotiate with Him when it comes to those laws. God is the final authority. Usually people who are having difficulty lining up with God's Word are those who did not really want to obey God in the first place. They wanted to find a compromise with respect to His own Word. With God it is "yea and amen."

God has been specific in His Word so that we would have a clear-cut path on highway to follow; one in which there would be no confusion. The road signs in God's Word are not confusing, but straightforward. Furthermore, they will always lead us to victory, and eventually to heaven. Simply put, those road signs state, "Obey God, obey His Word!"

Obedience, lining up with God in His Word, is not a popular subject in this day and age, but is vital to the Body of Christ. Therefore, it is something we need to look at more carefully.

As a Scriptural setting, turn to 1 Samuel 15:1, "Samuel also said unto Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint thee to be King over his people, over Israel; so therefore HEARKEN thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord." Samuel is telling Saul to listen carefully to what God is saying and then be sure to do it!! That is what hearken means.

The very life, death, and resurrection of Jesus was all about His obedience to the Heavenly Father. Obedience precedes everything man does. Obedience is involved in every decision about who we want to influence our life. The dictionary states clearly that obedience is the due and willing submission to authority or control. It implies an eager, dutiful, attentive and yielding compliance to the desires and commands of God. By viewing the entire Bible, you will realize that every word is God's instruction on this subject. Obedience is of great spiritual importance.

In essence, the time man spends on this earth is short! It is a test choosing an eternal relationship through obedience to God. God is obedient to His own Word. Life for us becomes very abundant when we too, are obedient to the Word, to the One who became flesh in obedience. Even though God stresses in both Old and New Testaments the importance of sacrifice in out walk with Him, He himself made the ultimate sacrifice. He tells us in 2 Samuel 15:22 that "obedience is even better that sacrifice." Praise God!!!!!!

If you haven't accepted Christ as your Savior simply say in an audible voice, in all sincerity from the depths of your heart, "Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me of my sins and accept me as Your child. I accept You as my personal Savior and I promise to follow the instructions of Your Word from this day on. If I fail because I am human, please help pick me up so I can try again! Thank you, Jesus, for saving me from all my sins. AMEN."