Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
6 20 2023
Strength and courage are found in your Obedience!
What does that one piece of scripture say to you? 1 Chronicles 28:20
Based upon that truth how are you doing with gauging your growth in strength and courage these last few months? Obedience.
So, what does Obedience mean to you? Generally, you know the definition…but do you really? When was the last time you reminded yourself about the depth of that single word as it relates to your walk with God…as a father or a husband?
Websters says: submissive to the restraint or command of authority: willing to obey.
Whose authority? Whose commands? Submissive to who or what? What does it practically mean to you? Does it mean enough for you to fight yourself to do it?
Gal 5:17 “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish”.
What does the bible say about that word and how you practically apply his truths?
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). If you have become comfortable with something in your life that God calls sin, hear this challenge that someone spoke: “If you are at peace with God, you will be at war with your sin. But if you are at peace with your sin, you will be at war with God? So, who are you at peace with?
Let me cut to the chase. We believe in God. So what… Satan believes in God but he still does what he chooses. Obedient? Not on his best day! Deceitful, manipulative, and self-serving, all the while orchestrating his half-truths into something to serve his end…the flesh. All the while making, whatever he is doing, not look so bad and selling it to you.
We are frankly afraid to fully trust God. We want peace with God, but we would prefer not to fight anything to have it. But to be at peace with complacency is to be at war with God! When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death… it is a real challenge to trust God…obey God. We may actually suffer some loss, convenience, and some comfort to walk in obedience to God. What price have you paid lately to offer up any sacrifice to God? The sacrifice of praise?…in what situation have you praised him in the midst of your pain and suffering? The sacrifice of holding your tongue…or sharp judgment…your harsh opinion…your last ultimatum.
How about pride…or fear of exposure, don’t we too often live in fear?
The first pit we fall into is we cannot fully live a life of obedience in the flesh – in our own strength, yet we keep trying like it’s a matter of our will.
I CAN DO THIS! Is that not flaming pride?
Mark 6:45 talks about Jesus sending the disciples to the other side of the lake. They were told where to go and they went. It says the wind was set against them, but they pushed through, making progress and headway although the way was turbulent. They were obedient. But as we dig further into God’s word and into our walk with Christ, we discover that we will be continually walking into new areas of obedience that we will struggle with.
Are you just struggling with life in general, or are you struggling more in walking closely with God? The world struggles with jobs, money, time, and energy but what about obedience to God and His ways? His standards. His character. His examples? Ps 51:10 says obedience holds us back from allowing the Holy Spirit to “cleanse our heart and renew a right spirit in us!”
Roman 5: 19 says, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous”. When we are right with God…when we are obedient to God, we are justified through the death of Jesus. (Romans 5) Being right…being obedient brings us, peace, grace, joy, and love. Are you listening?
Jesus’ obedience even unto death, made us righteous. W.R. Newell wrote, “Jesus went to the Cross and suffered the penalty of death for man’s guilt so that the result is an active righteousness’, reckoned to man. The truth is we don’t really believe we died with him on that cross. BUT…WE DIED.
Do you struggle with obedience? Perhaps you need to let the Word of God remind you that the law has dominion over man only as long as he “lives.” (Rom 7:1).
As His bride, you no longer live. The work has been done.
Every religion involves doing something for God. But…Our God…Our Bible… says there is nothing we can do. Nothing we can offer up of our own.
God’s holiness was applied to us by grace…by the “Obedience of ONE!” Rom 5:19
In Acts 5:29, Peter tells the High Priest, “We must obey God rather than men.”
How will you obey God rather than man?
Know what God says, about 1000 issues. You cannot obey when you don’t know his word.
How do we do this?
Stay close to him daily: Pray without ceasing. Lead your family and inner circle to walk with you in his presence.
Stay close to your Christian circle: Acts 2:42
Don’t trust your strengths and abilities. Put on the armor of God. Trust the Holy Spirit within you.
It will only be by God’s Holy Spirit drawing us to be obedient to Christ that we will succeed. Anything else is building a house on sinking sand.
It will only be by my spirit, sayeth the Lord!
