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Teaching And Research By: M. E. Arbaugh
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Better than the Blood
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Bulls and Goats
FROM THE CROSS TO THE RAPTURE
(Our part in the new covenant)
OBEDIENCE TO HIS WILL
LESSON TEN
Our part in the new covenant can be summed up in one word. OBEY. Obedience is not a popular word. From the bassinet onward we struggle against obedience. Since the fall of Adam, man has desired to do it his way, instead of God's way. We have failed to understand the true reason for obedience. God did not outline a bunch of rules for living because He is a dictator. He gave us rules so we could be blessed.
God's love for us is without measure. He loved us, unconditionally, before we acknowledged His existence. He went to the cross and poured out His love for us, when we were not even aware of His name. The book of Romans says He laid down His life while we were yet sinners. After we are born again, we are the beloved of the Father, because we have believed Jesus is the Son who has come from the Father. John 16:27. This love is not based on how many terrific things we have or have not done. It is not based on how super spiritual we are. It is based on our believing Jesus is the Son, come from the Father. Our behavior is not the condition for His love. He loves us because of who He is. But there is a difference between His loving us and His blessing us. His blessing us depends upon what we do. That doing is called obedience. Deuteronomy 28:1-13 "And it shall come to pass, if you will heed the voice of the LORD your God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, the LORD your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you will heed the voice of the LORD your God.
"Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the produce of your ground, and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle, and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
"The LORD shall cause your enemies that rise up against you, to be defeated before your face: they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand to; and he will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives to you.
"The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as he has sworn to you, if you will keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be in awe of you. And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, and in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give to you. The LORD will open to you his good treasure, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you shall lend to many nations, and you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and not be beneath; if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day, and are careful to observe them."
If we want the abundance of God in our lives. We must obey His written will. What is obedience? Obedience, is doing what God wants us to do, when He wants us to do it and doing it the way He wants us to do it. No matter how much it costs or how difficult it is, we are not to alter any of these things. Good theology is doing what He wants, when He wants, the way He wants.
How do we know what He wants? We read the written will of God (The Bible) and we listen for the inner witness of the Holy Spirit as He encourages us to move forward. We also hear Him through qualified men and women whose words line up with the written word of God.
A word of caution, when you want direction for your life do not run here and there seeking a word of personal prophecy. We all have the tendency to do this. It would be so much easier if we could just find the prophet and have him or her speak words over us. Then we wouldn't have to apply ourselves to the word in order to discover His will.
God has given us some standard instructions. These established rules are not open to debate. I once saw a bumper sticker that said, "God said it, I believe it and that settles it." Cute, but wrong. To be correct it should say, "God says it, that settles it, whether we believe it or not." When God says, "these things I command you" that settles it. We cannot live like sinners and expect to be blessed like saints. There is a difference between obeying the established will of God and the will of God for our individual lives. Everyone gets the same standard, established instruction, but there are different plans and directions for each of us. Many of us would feel blessed if we knew God's plan for next week. We want to know where we should go and what we should do. The Bible does not spell out whether we should move to Detroit or take a new job in El Paso, that is direction. If we want to hear from God concerning direction we must first obey His standard instructions. If we are not hearing from God concerning His plan and direction for our lives, then we need to check and see if we are obeying the standard instructions and the last direction we received.
It will do no good to plead, "give me more" unless we have obeyed that which He has already given us. We cannot be in open rebellion to the Word of God and expect to hear clear cut directions for daily living.
What does God want? He wants every man, woman, and child to be saved. It is not His will that any should perish. He gave His life for that purpose, He wants us to be born again.
He wants us to have health in our bodies. He bore our iniquities and our infirmities. Matthew 8:17 He took them and nailed them to the tree. They are gone, they are done away with. Cursed is every man that hangs on the tree. Jesus took the curse and was nailed to the tree in order that we might be free from the curse and enjoy the blessings of father Abraham. We are told to bless the Lord and forget not one of His benefits. He says He is the Lord who saves us from our sins and heals us. Psalm 103:1-3
He wants us to have our needs met and for us to prosper. Having enough for ourselves and enough left over to give unto every good work. "Beloved I would that you would prosper and be in good health." 3 John 2.
He wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We are not to be drunk with wine, where in there is excess, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "go to Jerusalem and wait until you are filled with the Holy Spirit." "While being in their company and eating at the table with them, He (Jesus) COMMANDED them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised...." Acts 1:4 AMP.
This was not an idle suggestion, He commanded us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Lest we loose sight of what we are discussing here, lets review. THE LOVE OF GOD is unconditional, it is God's nature to love. Before we are saved, He loves us because He is love. While we were yet in darkness, God gave His most precious possession in order that we might become His. That is Hased love, that is agape love. A love poured out for the benefit of the object that is loved.
After we are born again, God loves us because we have believed in His Son. John 16:27. Not because we have done so many terrific things, but because we have believed in Jesus. God's love is unconditional.
If we have not understood the difference between God's unconditional love and His blessing that is dependent upon obedience, that doesn't mean we starve to death. God is faithful. He gave the children of Israel manna, while they wandered in the desert. They were eating, but it got tiresome having "it" over and over. Manna means, "what is it?", so "what is it?", is what they had twice a day for forty years. During this same time, their shoes did not wear out.
They had good, forty year old shoes. The Israelites didn't realize they could have had milk, honey and huge grapes. Fear got in their way and clouded their understanding, so they weren't obedient. The result was sand in their forty year old shoes and "what is it?" twice a day. They experienced the unconditional love of God in the provision of shoes that did not wear out and manna; But they did not register when God said, "Obey My words and you will have abundance." Many of God's children today are at the same place. If we like new shoes and a variety of foods, then we will want to know what brings these things into our lives.
We need to understand that because God has loved us so much, we should say thank you. We do this by doing things that are pleasing to Him. By obeying His established rules. When we do, then He is able to bless us. The blessings of God are conditional upon obedience to His word. If we would be blessed, we must obey the Lord.
Obeying the Lord means doing what He wants, when He wants, the way He wants. If we try to do what He wants on our time table and in our way, that is not obedience, it is a form of rebellion. Obedience requires three things, what, when and way.
How do we know what, when and way? His word is the book of instruction that tells us what He wants done. When we buy an appliance or a car an operating manual comes with it. When we follow the manual, all will go well. If we don't, we may very well strip a gear and cause major damage.
Many of us say, "I want to follow God's plan, I want to measure up. I want to do what God wants me to do, but I'm always blowing it. I just don't understand what God wants me to do. I can really relate to the apostle Paul, who said, 'That which I would do, I do not.' How do we get to the place of obedience? How can we know? How do we reach the place of blessing?" WE NEED TO READ THE MANUAL. The manual is given to us so we may know. "According to Your steadfast love give life to me; THEN I will keep the testimony of Your mouth (hearing, receiving, loving and obeying it)." Psalm 119:88 AMP.
When we are born again, we are given the life of God, then we must learn how to let it flow through us. How do we do THAT? How do we walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh?
Many of us have been taught to daily put on the garment of praise and the full armor of God. We know this, right? Do we do it? We have to apply what we already know. Medicine that sits on the chest will not help us, it must be ingested or applied. After we are dressed in God's armor, we walk after the Spirit, by walking in love.
Insert your name in the following blanks and you will see how to do things that are pleasing to God. "______ endures long and is patient and kind; _______ is never envious nor boils over with jealousy; is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display his (her) self haughtily. _______ is not conceited, arrogant and inflated with pride; _______ is not rude (unmannerly), and does not act unbecomingly. _______ does not insist on his (her) own rights or his (her) own way, for _______ is not self seeking; _______ is not touchy or fretful or resentful; _______ takes no account of the evil done to him (her), pays no attention to a suffered wrong. does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. _______ bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, _______ has hopes that are fadeless under all circumstances and _______ endures everything without weakening." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7
Letting the life of God flow through us is simply, doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. Remember, He did not say men would know us by the gifts, but He did say they would know us by our love. When we are born again, we don't add Jesus to our lives, HE IS OUR LIFE. To present our bodies as a living sacrifice is to let that life flow through us.
It is an established rule of God that we praise Him. We praise Him not only with our mouths, but also with our lives. When we start walking with God, He says, one of us must change. Then He says, "I am the Lord, and I change not." To receive the blessings of God we must be obedient to the word.
We must hold loosely in our hands, the abundance of God, giving as freely as we have received.
God called each of us for a purpose. He has a plan for each of us. The pity is that most of us have never asked what it is. Some say, "well I asked, but He hasn't said. It's really nice that He speaks to some people, but He just doesn't speak to me." If we are not hearing from God after we ask, then we need to return to the last instruction we received and clear that up. If we haven't done what He has already given then we will not receive the next step.
We must be born again, spirit filled, in fellowship with Him, in fellowship with each other, walking in love, and we must be channels of His abundance.
Doing something because we are afraid to do otherwise is not real obedience. Example...millions of people have been taught they should go to church. They don't understand why church is important to God, but they have heard it pleases God, so they go. They think they are being obedient. That is not obedience, it is works. When we really hear the words of God and discover the church is a living breathing body that represents Jesus and the Father on the earth, then it's different. Church attendance is no longer a chore, its a pleasure. Now when we go to church and forsake not the assembling of ourselves together, it is obedience. Real Bible obedience is to hear and to do. To really hear means you understand. The word speaks of those who hearing do not hear. When we really hear the words of God, we hear them down in our spirits. Words enter in the mental realm, we understand in the spirit realm, then we do in the physical realm.
Lets talk about the opposite of obedience, disobedience. The words used to signify disobedience in both the Old and the New Testaments, actually mean, to bitterly oppose or to openly rebel. Ever notice when other people do the things that we do, we label them differently. If some one else takes a long time to do something, he's slow. But when we take a long time to do something, it's because we are thorough and meticulous. When the other fellow doesn't do something, he's lazy. If we don't do something, it is because we are just to busy. When our children don't obey us, we say they are rebellious and sinful. However, when we disobey God, we think of other things to call it, but it's the same thing. Calling an onion a rose, will not make it smell or look like one.
Overcoming
the
Enemies
of
Health
QUESTIONS?
COMMENTS!
Email M.E.A.
1 Samuel 15:17-26 LBV
"And Samuel told Saul, When you didn't think much of yourself, God made you
king of Israel. And He sent you on an errand and told you, 'Go and completely
destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.' Then why didn't
you obey the Lord? Why did you rush for the loot and do exactly what God
said not to? I have obeyed the Lord Saul insisted. 'I did what He told me
to and I brought King Agag but killed everyone else. It was only when my
troops demanded it that I let them keep the best of the sheep and oxen and
loot to sacrifice to the Lord.' Samuel replied, 'Has the Lord as much pleasure
in your burnt offering and sacrifices as in your obedience? Obedience is
far better than sacrifice. He is much more interested in your listening to
him than in your offering the fat of rams to him. Rebellion is as bad
as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols.
And now because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, he has rejected you
from being king.' 'I have sinned," Saul finally admitted. 'Yes, I have disobeyed
your instructions and the command of the Lord, I was afraid of the people
and did what they demanded. Please pardon my sin and go with me to worship
the Lord.' But Samuel replied, 'It's no use! Since you have rejected the
commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you from being the king of
Israel'."
Samuel was sent by the Lord to anoint Saul king over Israel. Sometime later, Saul was given instructions concerning the Amalekites. God said, Saul was to utterly destroy them and all of their animals. The battle was a clear victory for the Israelites, but Saul spared King Agag and all the best of the flocks. When Samuel confronted Saul, he said, "Praise the Lord, Samuel, I have completed all the Lord said to do." While Saul was yet speaking, the bleating of the sheep, and the lowing of the oxen could be heard. Saul blamed the keeping of the animals on his troops, he said they kept the best to offer them as sacrifice before the Lord. Because Saul desired the praise of the people more than the praise of God, he lost the blessing of God. He sought pardon, but was never given back his kingship, remember Esau, who sold his birthright to his brother Jacob (Genesis chapter 27). When he later wanted it back, the Bible says he found no place of repentance, even though he sought it carefully with tears. Hebrews 12 AMP There was no chance to recall the choice that he made. Obedience is better than sacrifice.
When Saul was small in his own sight, when he had a sense of deflated pride in his own abilities and efforts, it was then that God exalted him. When we start thinking we have the power to do it our way, instead of God's way, we are in deep trouble. That's rebellion. Rebellion is as bad as witchcraft. No matter what we call it, if we do it, we lose the blessing of God. We need to listen, understand and obey, so we won't lose our authority as kings on the earth.
Psalms 68:6 "God gives
families to the lonely, and releases those who are bound with chains: but
the rebellious dwell in a dry and parched land."
Next: LESSON ELEVEN
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