Elevate to the Next Level
“Living in God’s Promises”
Watch on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcmzI59k0rs
Here's a question I’d like you to consider for a moment.
Who in the Bible showed the greatest faith? Was it Noah, who built the Ark? Was it Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation? Or was it the prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Elijah? Each of these, and many more whose stories are in the Bible, demonstrated great faith. However, the person with the greatest faith was the most unlikely of all— a Roman Centurion.
The story is found in the eighth chapter of Matthew’s gospel.
Jesus had just entered the city of Capernaum, near the Sea of Galilee. The centurion came and begged Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus then surprised His Jewish audience by saying that He would go with the centurion to his house and heal his servant.
Now, it wasn’t the fact that He was going to heal the servant that shocked them, but that Jesus was going to the centurion’s house. For you see, oral tradition stated that if you entered the house of a Gentile, you would become defiled.
But the centurion told Jesus that such a trip wasn’t necessary. He probably knew his house was unclean according to Jewish law, but more importantly, he understood obedience and authority.
He said, “All you have to do is speak the word, and it’ll be done, because not only am I a man under authority, but I have men under my authority, and if I tell them to do something, they’ll do it.” (Matthew 8:8-9 Paraphrased) The implication is that they’ll do it without question.
After hearing what the centurion said, Jesus marveled and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” Then He said to the centurion, “Go your way, as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” (Matthew 8:10, 13)
And it says that at that very hour the servant was healed. Now, from this story, is the key to having great faith.
The key to great faith is linking God’s authority with our obedience.
This understanding is what made the centurion’s faith so great. You see, faith and obedience go hand in hand. When you trust someone, you’ll do what they say. If you don’t, then trust really isn’t there. But isn’t that what Noah, Abraham, and the rest of the greats of faith did?
And the answer is obviously yes, but consider this: The Centurion wasn’t Jewish. He didn’t know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, what he did know is that wrapped up in Jesus is all the power and authority of God. In other words, it is the kind of faith that says, “If Jesus said it, I believe it, and that settles it.”
God has linked trust in Him—that is, faith—with obedience. And so, here’s another key to great faith. All of God’s promises are conditioned on our following His directions. And when we do, God says we’ll have success and a life lived to its fullest.
And guess what, this isn’t just New Testament stuff I’m talking about; it dates all the way back to the Old Testament.
“Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” (Deuteronomy 5:33 NIV)
God has made incredible promises and linked them to our obedience. It’s what is known as the “if,” and “then,” promises of the Bible. If we obey what He says, then He promises that He’ll save us, watch over us, take care of us, and provide for our needs.
If we follow God’s directions, we are told that we’ll be happy, live longer, lack nothing good, experience perfect freedom, gain greater wisdom, dwell in peace and security, achieve success and prosperity, and be esteemed in the kingdom of God.
Therefore, behind God’s promises is the premise of our obedience to His word.
God gives us His commandments, which aren’t just suggestions. They’re in His word so we can live our lives to the fullest. And while God’s commandments might seem unfair or unreasonable, God always knows what’s best. God’s not trying to cramp our style or limit our lives.
Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life, and that more abundantly.” (John 10:10b NKJV)
From our perspective, these commands don’t make much sense, like giving God the first ten percent of what we make. It’s called the tithe. Or if someone hurts us, we’re supposed to forgive them, not return their evil with our own.
But no matter how unreasonable these commandments sound, God instructs us to obey anyway. It’s a matter of trust, it’s a matter of faith, and since God created us, He knows what’s best for our lives.
Obedience to God’s word is our declaration of faith, and it’s the key that unlocks all of God's promises. Today, in our series on elevating our discipleship to the next level, I’d like to explore how we can receive God’s promises through our obedience.
The first way is that our obedience to God’s word should be immediate.
Obey God Immediately
Don’t delay, wait, procrastinate, put off, or make excuses. Instead, in the immortal words of Nike, “Just Do It.”
“I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.” (Psalm 119:60 NIV)
If there’s ever a time to be in a hurry, this is it. When God tells us to do something, we should do it immediately, regardless of how we feel. Additionally, we don’t need to understand something to gain from it.
I don’t understand how something as heavy as a commercial airplane can take off or fly at such high altitudes, but I still benefit from flying on one.
I don’t understand how computers or the Internet work, but I benefit from the time I save.
I also don’t understand how engines work, but I still benefit from driving a car.
I don’t always understand God’s commands, but following them has greatly benefited me. For example, the command to tithe. We often struggle to see how giving a tithe can help when we’re in debt and unable to pay our bills. Still, God promises to open the windows of heaven and remove the devourer that’s taking it all away.
Every parent knows that sometimes when we tell our children not to do something, they’ll ask, “Why.” Most of the time, our response is, “Because I told you so.”
The reason we do this is because it takes too long to explain, especially to someone who’s not old enough to understand. One day they will be, but not now. Right now, we just hope we’ll be around when that happens before we die of frustration.
Maybe this is why God calls us His “children.” As God’s children, we tend to do the same. When God tells us to do something, we ask, “Why.” It’s as if God says, “Because I told you, and I know more about this than you do, for My ways and thoughts are much higher than yours, so for now, you’ll just have to trust Me.”
And just as a side note, it’s pretty audacious of us to question the Creator of the universe whether He’s doing it right or even if He knows what He is doing.
It also helps when we obey God with the right attitude. But even if our attitude is wrong or negative, it’s still better to obey.
Again, do we tell our children to clean their room only when their attitude is right? If that were the case, their rooms would never get cleaned.
We are also called to walk by faith, not by feelings. That’s because our feelings lie to us, and we often believe them instead of God’s word. Therefore, we should do what is right according to God’s word, whether we feel like it or not, and we should do it immediately, not later.
Here’s a question. “What if God responded to our needs with the same speed that we obey Him, or respond to His commandments?”
If God tells us to do something, we should do it immediately. However, if we keep praying about it, that becomes the same as delayed obedience, and here’s something we all need to understand: delayed obedience is disobedience.
The second thing we need to understand to receive God’s promises regarding our obedience is that we need to obey what He says completely.
Obey God Completely
We can’t just cherry-pick God’s word.
“Blessed are those who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart.” (Psalm 119:2 NIV)
Seeking God wholeheartedly means obeying Him fully. To do this, there are two truths we must consider.
a. God Doesn’t Change
God’s standards for right and wrong have always remained the same and will never change.
“I am the Lord, I do not change.” (Malachi 3:6a NKJV)
If it was wrong 6,000 years ago, then it’s still wrong today. Lying was wrong back then, and it’s still wrong now. Cultures change, popular opinions change, many things change, but truth doesn’t. Truth remains constant. If truth changes, then it wasn’t truly true to begin with. What’s right is right, and what’s wrong is wrong, regardless of what people think.
b. God’s Ways Aren’t Ours
God has a much better perspective than ours because He can see what we can’t. He knows the future, but we don’t. The Apostle James said, “But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.” (James 4:11b NLT)
Let me give an analogy. Trying to see from God’s perspective is much like an ant trying to see life from our perspective. We’re not capable of seeing it as God sees it. He’s infinite, and we’re finite! He’s all-knowing; at best, we know that we don’t know. So, we need to trust God and His word.
The Lord said, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV)
Did you know that the oldest temptation isn’t lust, gluttony, or pride? It’s the desire to be like God, and with that temptation comes our doubting God’s word. Satan asked, “Did God really tell you not to eat from this tree?” (Genesis 3:1 Paraphrase)
Every time we’re tempted, Satan uses this same line. He hasn’t changed his strategy. He says, “I know God says this, but is that what God really means? This is the 21st century, the Bible was written over 2,000 years ago, so God surely didn’t mean it for today!”
Faith is not just trusting God, but also doing it God’s way. Solomon said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
The Bible also mentions another army commander, a Syrian named Naaman. He had leprosy. No one in Syria could cure him, so he traveled to Israel because he heard that the prophet Elisha could. He came with all his pomp and circumstance, only to be met by Elisha’s servant, who told him that Elisha said to dunk himself seven times in the Jordan River.
He initially hesitated at the suggestion and felt offended, but he did it anyway and was healed. It wasn’t the water that healed him; rather, it was his obedience. Although he didn’t feel like it, he still followed through. He didn’t stop after the first few times but dunked himself all seven times. He obeyed completely.
This brings out another truth: Partial Obedience is Disobedience.
Now, the third point about our obedience is that it should be done joyfully.
Obey God Joyfully
“I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.” (Psalm 119:47 NKJV)
The psalmist finds joy in obeying God’s commands. It’s enjoyable to do what God says.
God is the creator of this world. He made each of us, so we should follow His directions for life. Furthermore, these commands are not burdensome, but a source of joy. When you love someone, you don’t mind doing what they ask.
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3 NKJV)
When we realize how much God loves us and what He’s done for us, we’ll love to follow His commandments. When we understand that God's love was so great He gave His Son to die for us so we can have eternal life, then following His commands isn't burdensome at all; instead, it becomes a pleasure.
God measures our love for Him not by what we say but by our obedience. Jesus said that if we love Him, then we’ll keep His commandments.
Obey God Continually
Life is like a race, not a hundred-yard dash but a marathon. Therefore, our obedience needs to be continuous, not sporadic, so we can reach the finish line.
“Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. I am determined to keep your decrees to the very end.” (Psalm 119:111-112 NLT)
Obeying God is something we will want to do until our last breath.
“Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end.” (Psalm 119:33 NKJV)
Conclusion
We need to come to God by faith, saying, “Whatever you say, Lord, I will follow.” But here’s the point: why should God tell us anything when we haven’t done what He’s already said?
Here is what I believe is another truism: God isn’t going to give us further revelation until we act on the revelation He’s already given.
Therefore, obedience is the key to receiving God’s promises.
What does our obedience to God's word, will, and way reveal about our faith? Is our obedience to God immediate or delayed, complete or partial, joyful or reluctant, or is it continual or sporadic?
Receiving God’s promises is all about obeying by faith. By faith, we obey. That’s the key to God's promises. Obedience is the key to God’s promises, and that is what it means to “Live in God’s Promises.”
