HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 236
page A234
Obedience continued
Obedience seems like such an authoritarian concept. Does God really require
absolute obedience?
• DE U T E R O NO MY 6 :1 8 | “Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well
with you.”
These passages demonstrate clearly that God’s demand for obedience is based on his
commitment to our well-being.
• NU MB E R S 2 0 :1 2 | [God said to Moses and Aaron,] “Because you did not trust me enough
. . . you will not lead them into the land!”
Disobedience always brings negative consequences, even for a spiritual leader.
• E PH E S I A NS 5 :6 | For the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.
Disobedience is sin and leads to separation from God.
• NU MB E R S 1 7 :1 2 -1 3 | Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed! We
are dead! We are ruined! Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the Lord
dies. Are we all doomed to die?”
As soon as we stop obeying God, we lose our perspective on what is not only important
but also right.
• PH I L I P P I A NS 2 :6 -8 | Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as
something to cling to. . . . He humbled himself in obedience to God.
O
• H E B R E W S 5 :7 | And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.
Jesus is our model for obedience, even when obedience means suffering.
HelpFinder
What can I do to be more obedient to God?
• E X O DU S 3 2 :7 -8 | The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people
whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they
have turned away from the way I commanded them to live!” (See note on page 81.)
• J A ME S 1 :2 5 | But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you
do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
Immerse yourself daily in God’s Word to teach and remind you what a community of believers
looks like. Following God’s Word sets you free from slavery to sin and all its ugly consequences, so that you can be free to obey the Lord and enjoy all his wonderful blessings.
• 1 S A MU E L 1 5 :2 2 | “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice.”
Obedience to God involves listening to what he says. Only when you truly listen will you
know how to fully obey him.
• 1 S A MU E L 7 :3 | “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of
your foreign gods. . . . Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will
rescue you.”
Repentance is necessary for an ongoing relationship with God. Turn away from anything
that prevents you from worshiping and obeying God wholeheartedly.
• PH I L I P P I A NS 2 :1 2 -1 3 | Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with
deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to
do what pleases him.
When God requires you, God empowers you. Not only does God guide you into the ways
that are best for you, but he also gives you the power to live according to those ways.
• J O H N 1 4 :1 5 -1 7 | “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and
he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who
leads into all truth.”
The power God gives you is his own Holy Spirit, who is also called the Counselor. As a
counselor, he comes alongside you not only to advise and inspire you but also to live and
work in you. Even as the air you breathe empowers your physical body, so the Holy Spirit
empowers your obedience.
