Three Main Things (10/1/12)

Shalom,

 

     Please begin by reading James 4:4-10.

 

     The call on our lives is to pursue our Lord God by submission, obedience, and dedication. These three things have always been our heavenly Father's expectation for those who would follow him. In the time of Jesus there were two groups seeking to be pure and holy before their God, the Essenes and the Pharisees. The problem with both groups is that they had extreme views and both fell into the trap of Col 2:20-22. "Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings."  Both groups lost sight of the fact that focusing on our flesh is problematic.  We must become more spiritually minded to be good followers of our Lord and God.

     The Essenes had strict rules of conduct.  They separated themselves from civilization and lived in the wilderness.  They refused to participate in Temple worship because they felt it was totally corrupt.  They practiced their own special purification rites.  This group was trying to attain a pure society by their extreme strictness.  The problem was they were trying to do it in their own strength.  But no matter how hard we work to subdue our flesh, we can't overcome it without our Lord's constant help.

     The Pharisees made life difficult for themselves and bitter for others according to what our Lord Jesus said about them.  They believed they were the only true interpreters of Yahweh and his Word.  Most of what we see of them in the Scriptures is bad, but bear in mind that they had their good points.  Many Pharisees truly sought purity in their lives.  In fact, the movement started as a holiness renewal.  Pharisee was a title of honor in Israel.  It took years of study to be accepted.  But no matter how many details we add to Yahweh's commands to help us avoid breaking them, those are only man-made rules and can't help us in the long run.

     Which brings us to us.  Are you satisfied with your spiritual maturity?  Are you living the faith-life you think you should be?  We need to feel good about the point we've reached, but we must never become self-satisfied because there's always more to achieve.  As long as we remain on this earth we'll never reach full spiritual maturity or knowledge.  It's something we have to continue to work at.  It's a never-ending search for a greater knowledge of our Lord and Savior, and a lifelong pursuit of his ways and purpose.

 

     The first thing is submission.  This is something most people don't like to talk about.  It's a subject that's believed to be outdated and antiquated, not something for the modern man.  Too many people think of submission as slavery or being overpowered in some way.  They believe it to be a forced giving up of power or privilege.  Part of our problem is that the modern definition of submission points only toward what someone else forces on us.  Biblical submission is given, not taken.

     When we submit to our heavenly Father we're making a conscious decision to yield to him in compliance and obedience.  We're making an agreement to abide by the decisions he makes for us, and to obey the commands and directions he gives to us.  We follow our Master's line of authority with a solid purpose and an intention to do what he asks with excellence.  We need an attitude like we find in these song lyrics: "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back."

     Rom 6:13 says, "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life."  The word we translate as "offer" literally means to stand beside ready to assist.  We're to avoid giving ourselves over to wickedness, and we're to submit ourselves to the will of our Lord God as his assistants in the presenting of the Gospel.  We're to look at the things we do from a perspective of how does this serve the purposes of my Lord and Master.  It shouldn't be a hard decision to choose between offering yourself to sin or holiness.

     There's also submission to leadership to be considered here.  Yahweh has allowed each leader to hold the position they're in.  Be they a pastor, a supervisor, a teacher, a policeman - whatever kind of leader we encounter - we're to submit to their leadership.  I know it's not always easy to think of some leaders as God's anointed, but like David we must staunchly serve even when the leader is out of favor with Yahweh.  If you don't like what someone over you is doing, don't talk bad about them.  They need your prayers and encouragement.  If you disagree with them, pray for them.  The Holy Spirit will work on them to make changes, or maybe he'll work on you to see things differently, possibly making some changes yourself.

 

     How do we prove our submission as right or godly?  With the second thing, obedience, of course.  We know that Saul lost his kingdom through disobedience because of Samuel's words found in 1 Sam 15:22.  "To obey is better than sacrifice."  We're warned about the consequences of disobedience throughout the Bible.  There are contrasts made between the children of obedience and the children of disobedience.  Obedience is important because we prove our faith by obeying the words of our Lord.  It's the best way to prove we have real faith, letting people see that living according to our Lord's rules is worth great effort on our parts.

     Jesus is our perfect example of obedience, and many of his words speak to us of its importance.  The man who built his house on the rock was the one who obeyed his words (Matt 7:24-27).  In John 14 we find three strong statements.  Verse 15, "If you love me, you will obey what I command."  Verse 21, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me."  Verse 23, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching."  In a short passage Jesus reminds us by repeating this simple message.

     Love and obedience go hand-in hand.  If we want Yahweh to live within us we must love and obey him.  The amount of love we have for our Lord God will be directly related to how much we're willing to obey him.  We must put total trust in him to guide and direct our lives.  He's proven himself to be extremely trustworthy throughout all time, so why do we have so much trouble obeying him?  It's the simple expression of the servant to his good Master.  He cares for us and provides us with everything we need.  Out of loving gratitude we serve him with even more love and a greater desire to please him.

 

     Which brings us to the third thing, dedication.  We have a sin nature lurking within us.  It's strong, but only as strong as we allow it to be.  It's only through dedication to Christian principles and commitment to a daily walk of faith that we can achieve spiritual maturity.  By dedication to following our Lord God, no matter what, we can submit and radically obey him.  By focusing on pleasing our heavenly Father by living in accordance with his standards, we can reap the benefits of a close relationship with him.

     Prov 23:26 says, "My child, give me your heart and let your eyes keep my ways."  Here's the solution to the majority of our problems.  Yes, we falter and stumble along the path of righteousness regularly.  But if we're dedicated to reaching the goal of being as much of our Lord's servant as possible we'll persistently get up each time we fall.  We'll do all we can to go on even when we don't feel like it or when we don't think we have the strength to go on.  When we're dedicated we overcome a lot of the things that hinder those who don't have a high level of commitment to their Lord.

     Don't give Yahweh excuses.  Very often we say, "I don't feel led," or "the Spirit isn't moving," or "I'm too tired."  Those comments are made mostly because of our insensitivity to the Holy Spirit.  It's not due to the Father, Son, and Spirit's lack of movement.  It's always our lack of willingness or motivation.  All our heavenly Father asks of us is that we act in accordance with his direction.  He promises results.  He provides results.  All we're giving is our effort.  We won't be successful because of our personal effort or intelligence or charisma.  We'll be successful because we were dedicated enough to submit and obey our Lord's direction.

     In Rom 12:1 we're told "to offer our bodies as living sacrifices."  The word offer here is the same as the one we spoke of earlier.  Yes, Yahweh has a one-track mind.  If we don't give ourselves to him he won't use us.  To be a servant we have to have a master.  To be what our Lord and Master expects us to be requires a willingness on our part to do what he asks when he asks it.  In what realm of this world is the servant allowed to reject the master's instructions?  None, right!  So why would we ever think that we could treat our heavenly Master with such disrespect?  Be a dedicated servant and let the first words out of your mouth be "Yes, Lord."

 

     Let's not be unprofitable servants, only doing what's required of us.  Let's strive to be more than what we are.  Let's work to become better and better at fulfilling our tasks.  Remember, no matter what level of spiritual maturity or knowledge we attain, there's always more.  The United States Army tells people, "Be all you can be."  Yahweh says, "Be all you can be, and more."  In Christ we can always go a little farther or do a little more or accomplish something greater.  Never forget that as you serve Yahweh, he provides the resources and empowers us to do his will.  We're never left to our own strength and ability.

     Let's strive for more of the good heavenly stuff.  Let's work to see miracles and healings and people receiving Jesus as their Savior.  Submit yourself to your Lord God.  Ensure that you remember that he's Lord and you're the servant.  Obey his Word and follow his instructions.  Listen carefully to what the Holy Spirit speaks to you as you pray and seek his direction.  Dedicate yourself to a spirit of persistent loyalty and a commitment to excellence.  Your heavenly Father deserves your best efforts.

 

     Blessings & Peace,  Mike