by Mrs. Anastasia Rebello
A few years ago if I was asked to speak on this particular topic "Blessings of Obedience" I would not have been able to do any justice to the Topic as I was a very disobedient child but after my encounter with Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit I realized that it was the most important of all virtues. In religious life “Obedience” is a virtue that is exalted above the virtues of poverty and chastity. Some of us may say, we are not religious, but aren't we striving for a place in our eternal home? Don’t we all want His blessings ? The secret is, if we want God‘s Blessing in every area of our life then we need to put “Obedience” at the top of our list. I need to obey God in every area, that means giving Him the first place in every area and every day of my life not only on Sundays or Wednesday evenings. I know it is very easy to tell our kids that they need to obey, but when it comes to us, can we do it? It is a question we must ask ourselves.
The word “Obedience” comes from the Latin word “Obedire” which means to “to harken to” or to “listen to”. In today's world obedience gives the idea of mere subjection of one human being to another, which is incompatible with human freedom. But today I speak to you about the Power that you can walk in when you obey the Lord. It is better to walk with it than without it. Have you heard that favorite line ? "ITS MY LIFE", Well at one time it used to be my favorite line. It literally means I do not want anyone to interfere with me including God. But today as most of us here love Jesus dearly let us see what John 14:21 tells us: "Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father and I will reveal myself to him". In the same chapter John 14:24 says: whoever does not love me does not keep my word
Are you not here because you love Jesus ? Remember the topic that was preached last Wednesday, Return to your First love. Well to do that we need to walk in a Lifestyle of Obedience. Like a wife's love for her husband did not manifest until she said I do at the altar and married. So also, it is the same with Jesus.
There are several examples of people in the Bible who obeyed and received God's best blessing for them, Like in Genesis 22:1-19 .It tells of the story of Abraham and His son Isaac and How the Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Although I am sure it must have filled Abraham with pain he understood to do the will of God.
Lets read Genesis 22:15 –19.
As we see Abraham’s Obedience was prompt and complete, Though his heart must have been torn, He obeys and passes the test. He experiences God's blessings. A commitment to God can be painful but always fruitful.
On the other hand we have the example of our First parents Adam and Eve. They disobeyed and were out of the garden of Eden. The serpent tempted Eve and she gave in and destroyed what God had planned for them. Today God wants each of us to be apart of his Blessings. He wants us to have power and authority over the devil and live a victorious Christian Life. This particular blessing comes only through Obedience.
The foundation of obedience
All through God’s word there are a lot of promises but they all have some conditions attached. Similarly, in order to build a good building, the most important thing is to have a firm / strong foundation, other wise it will be like the house built on sand. So also in our journey with the Lord we need to have a foundation on a life built on Obedience to God’s word. If we want to see miracles in our life we should remember what Mary said to the servants in John 2v5 at the wedding at Cana “Do whatever he tells you”. We need to move progressively into a life style of Obedience.
How do we obey GOD ?
There are three realms of authority that God has put in our lives:
- First stage: Submitting to God’s Authority.: It means Obeying His word in every area of your life. God wants the first place in our lives. We are not going to have any “Mainline” blessings if God is “Sidelined” in our lives. Now it is not for only preachers, teachers of the Word or priests, but for all of us present here. In my own life when I was asked to quit my business as a Fashion designer and serve the Lord, had I not obeyed I would have missed out on what was God’s best plan for me, because delayed obedience is Disobedience. Today it gives me great Joy in sharing God’ s word than designing the numerous garments that I designed at one time. The joy I receive each time I share His word is so immense that no Human mind can comprehend.
- Second Stage: Submitting to authority He has placed over us: Romans 13:1: says “Let every person be subordinate to higher authorities for there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been established by Him”. Those include civil authorities, bosses in offices, principals in the case of teachers and in our case our Parish priest and our prayer group leaders. One must remember that without authority there would be confusion. Remember the story, The Tower of Babel in the Bible, Without authority each one of us would be building our own Towers. I am reminded of an incidence: In a particular convent the superior asked a novice to water a stick, the novice obediently watered the stick and in a few weeks the stick grew. Even if we sometimes find it difficult to honor the person, we are supposed to honor their position or the office they are in. Even sometimes when they are wrong, we as Christians should continue doing the right thing until God will reward us. Our Model is Jesus. Let us see Philippians 2:6-9. Here Jesus became obedient unto death on the cross. He was extremely obedient to the will of the Father, which is also expected of us.
- Third Stage: Taking authority over ourselves. In other words we need the fruit of self control over our own actions. Like when we are at work it would be wrong for us to procrastinate and have long coffee breaks or to indulge in playing games on the internet when we are supposed to be working. We must be willing to submit to all authority that God places over us, He will not allow anyone to take advantage. Anything that God asks us to do, He will give us the power through the Holy Spirit. When Obedience becomes difficult, we need to pray “God , I need more grace”. In my weakness you are my strength.
Stand Firm, do not look back
The Devil always wants to drive us back to in the worst situations, where we have recouped from. Sometimes, early morning when we get up, we are bombarded with negative emotions. Like in the time of Nehemiah and the Israelites the devil tried his best to divert their attention. We should not be surprised. It is essential that we do not give up. In fact we have to dig our heels deeper into what we are doing and the only way is through perseverance. God’s grace is greater than any attack of the enemy. Galatians 6:9 says If we do not loose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right ...In due time and appointed season we shall reap a harvest.
Doing things HIS way
We need to progressively move into a lifestyle of Obedience. It starts in our daily life with the little acts of obedience that God delights in.
- We have got to take responsibility for our own actions. It is true that sometimes the devil is responsible for our heartaches and miseries in our lives but there is a good possibility that we have kept the door opened. We have to stop blaming people or situations for our temper which sometimes could be triggered for very silly issue. If you take responsibility you will find peace.
- Murmuring is another tendency we need to conquer. Women especially have this problem. But one must remember in the book of Numbers chapter 14 the continuous complaining of the Israelites led to their downfall. We need to be thankful for the situation we are in. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16.We need to release the right to get even. If we try to get back at people for what they did to us, we are going to miss out on God’s plan for us. As Jesus says if someone slaps you on one cheek give him the other. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. He will bring justice in our lives. He will restore us no less. Read Isaiah 61:7 .There are many areas one could list but God is asking us the one specific hindrance that is stopping the blessings of God in our life. Like the Rich young man in Mark10, wealth was his hindrance. Money, wealth, possessions and influence with certain people have the potential of holding us back from our powerful walk with God.
The Blessings of A life of Obedience.
To give up something for Jesus means to live a life of total surrender. But when one does that, it puts the person in a powerful position with God. There are rewards for a life of surrender because Mark 10:29,30 says, Truly I tell you there is no one who has given up house brothers or sisters or mother or father or lands for the Gospel sake who will not receive a hundred times as much now in his time….
It scares me to think what would have happened to my life had I not been willing to give up my well established career. Please remember God never takes anything that is good for us. He always Blesses. If you know in your heart, He wants you to give up something or walk away from something, be obedient and do it. Blessings will follow with your obedience and change will take place. But once you make the decision stick to it .It is not easy and takes time to learn. I know some of the things that God ask us doesn't make sense at all. But follow your heart and continue to ask for His grace, and God will give it to you.
Amen