Obeying God Series

As we have spoken about experiencing God at work in our lives, we have identified seven realities associated with knowing and doing God’s will.

God speaks

1. God is always at work around us.

2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with us that is real and personal.

3. God invites us to become involved with Him in his work.

4. God speaks by His Holy spirit through His Word, through prayer, through circumstances, and through His church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.

5. God’s invitation for us to join Him in His work will always lead us to a "crisis of belief’ that requires faith and action.

6. We will have to make adjustments in our life in order to join God in what he is doing.

7. We come to know God by experience as we obey Him and he ac¬complishes His work through us.

Today, we will conclude this series by thinking together about reality number seven - obeying God.

Once we recognize the call of God, we must then decide whether or not be believe God can enable us to do what He is calling us to be a part of. Having affirmed out faith in the Lord, we then adjust our lives in order to be in a position to obey. Obedience is crucial, for without it, we will never do the will of God and experience His working in our lives.

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Yes, we must obey the call of God if we are going to experience the working of God. But what are the marks of true obedience? Well, true obedience is:

1. Timely.

When should I obey God? When I receive His command!

Just like the little girl said in Sunday School during their class’s study of the Lord’s Prayer. In discussing the request, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," the teacher asked, "How do you think God’s will is done in heaven?" The little girl answered , "I think it is done right away!"

We have said that God reveals His call in three phases: What, How, & When.

Until I am told when, I am, nevertheless, responsible for whatever the Lord has told me to do up until that point. I need to continue to walk in what He has revealed to me thus far, and then when He reveals my next step, I am to walk in that.

Jesus said, "Walk while you have the Light [keep on living by it], so that darkness may not overtake and overcome you." - John 12:35 (Amplified)

Every moment I hesitate to follow the call of God, is a moment I risk wandering around in darkness. Every moment I hesitate to follow the call of God is a moment I risk wasting my life, rather than investing my life. Therefore, I need to commit myself to living my life, walking in whatever light God has given me to walk in today.

The headlights of my car do not shine all the way from my car to my eventual destination. No, they shine a certain distance, which, when I have traveled that distance, I find that they shine out further.

It is the same way with walking in the light God gives. If I want to receive more light from the Lord tomorrow, I must walk in the light he gives me today.

2. Total - vs. 1; 13 - "fully obey"

True obedience is total obedience. That is why it is important to wait on the Lord to discern HOW He wants us to do what he is calling us to do. God’s will must be done God’s way.

To obey God, I must be willing to make the necessary adjustments, changes, or sacrifices required. But my motivation to do so comes from knowing that if I will give to God a full measure of obedience, I will receive a full measure of blessing.

DL Moody was the most prominent evangelist of his day, but when he first began to serve the Lord he could barely read and write. Yet, he went on the become one of the most powerful evangelists in the history of the church.

Although he had many limitations, he believed that he worked for a God who has no limitations. Early in his ministry he learned the powerful truth that shaped everything he did - he realized that God can use any Christian who is totally committed to Him.

In the early years of his ministry DL Moody, while on holiday in England, heard the British evangelist, Henry Varley say "The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him."