John Bevere - Obeying God When It Doesn't Make Sense
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How important it is to walk in obedience to God's Word. Now, I don't want that to scare you because God never asks anything of us in the New Testament that He doesn't give us the power to do. So, that's the great news: you have the ability within you because of the Spirit of God that is in you and the brand-new nature Jesus put in you to obey His Word. Now you've got these people in Israel, and they're trying to establish their relationship with God on their own terms. God comes in and basically says, "Hey, what do you think you can do for me that's going to make me happy?"
But then He makes this statement in Isaiah 66:2: "I will bless those who are humble, have a contrite heart, and tremble at my Word." There's so much here. When He says, "I will bless," it means "I will pay close attention to." Now, when God says, "I'm going to pay close attention to," that gets my attention; to you, that gets my attention. All right, so here we are: God says, "I'm going to pay close attention to these three attributes—humility, a contrite heart, and those who tremble at my Word." We understand humility; we understand a contrite heart.
Let's talk about trembling at God's Word. What does it mean to tremble at God's Word? Well, the one who trembles at God's Word will always exalt what He says above everything else. Now, let's take us back to Philippians 2:12. Paul makes the statement, "My beloved, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
Now, there's so much here. Yes, this is Paul writing to the Philippians, but it's actually God speaking to us. So what God is saying is, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but in my absence. Now, what would God mean by "in my absence"? Because He’s everywhere. We're talking about His manifest presence. We're talking about when we're going through tremendous trials and tremendous temptations. Are we going to obey with the same resolve as when God is really blessing us at the moment?
So here's an example: it's easy to obey God when we're in a conference setting, when the Word of God is being preached and the manifest presence of God is there. But what if you're on a business trip, and you're lonely, and you get on the computer, and all of a sudden you find some pornography? Are you going to obey, or are you going to dive in? That's the question. What if one of your colleagues lies about you? Are you going to forgive, or are you going to get even? These are the things we face in the midst of a trial. Can we still obey God? Well, when you understand these four things, it makes it so much easier to obey God when you don’t sense Him.
Number one: God knows what is best for you.
Number two: God is pure love, and you are the object of His love.
Number three: God will never tell you to do anything that's detrimental, something that will bring harm to you.
And number four: I will always choose to do what He says is best for me because of the previous three reasons. So God gives you the ability to obey Him no matter what situation you’re facing. That is the great, great news, and there is tremendous blessing on the other side of our obedience.