1 Kings 9
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
September 10, 2023
1 Kings 9:4-7 NIV
Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
Have you ever met a mature Christ follower?
How do you think their lives ended up so blessed and strong?
Luke 9:18-20 NIV
“Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" 19 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."20 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."
Direction #1 – A relentless pursuit of knowing Jesus.
Luke 9: 22-25 NIV
“And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." 23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”
Direction #2 – Embracing a daily denial of self.
We must constantly untangle ourselves from the consumer culture that robs our faith and contaminates our souls.
Luke 9:26 NIV
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
Direction #3 – A willingness to follow Jesus anywhere.
To follow Jesus is to move in the opposite direction of the world.
When we move in the opposite direction of the world, we”ll be opposed by the world.
Two kinds of suffering:
1. Suffering from living in a fallen world.
2. Suffering from living in opposition to the world.
Luke 9:27 NIV
“I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."
Direction #4 – A desire to see the Kingdom of Heaven break in here and now.
