Every time they made $100 half of it disappeared. They entire nation was in an economic decline—all because they had disobeyed God. But what if an unholy thing touches a holy thing? III. So how about your heart? No, but the dirt on the plate rubs off on your hand. We feel like we’re so far away from what we should be that it’s easier to say, “What’s the use? The next day she remembered she wasn’t supposed to speak to God and tried not to. This week one of the ladies of our congregation asked a friend, “Do you ever get upset with people for no reason at all?” The friend answered yes—as most of us would have to do. Psalm 1, Psalm 119, Psalms 119:1-8, Psalms 73-150, Sermon Topics: Father Abraham's immediate and complete obedience to God first appeared to be the greatest heartbreak imaginable, but it turned into his greatest blessing.  This includes both peace and prosperity. Let it be a delight to you. We do OK as long as we’re in bed, it’s the stuff that happens after we get that gets us in trouble. But God says you don’t have to … The greatest blessing of obedience is the delight a child experiences knowing that his obedience has resulted in the honor and joy of a delighted parent. I. The moment you begin to obey God, he will begin to bless you life, and the years to come, you will reap a bountiful harvest. We never lose our temper as long as we’re not around other people. It’ a wonderful thing when you approach life with the knowledge that even in the worst moments God is not out to get you or to hurt you, he simply wants to bring you to a new and deeper relationship with himself. Each offering that you give is registered in the heavens. 138.]. Needless to say, these verses sound rather strange to our ears. Christ leads me through no darker rooms The holiness of life that is the mark of the redeemed of the Lord is still the theme of these verses. God Speaks . . 28:4). Leviticus 26:3-13. This is really a lesson about the pervasive power of sin. It’s always easy to question motives but this morning I’m going to start with the assumption that in your better moments you truly desire to please God. 26-28). The word, "blessed," is the plural of fullness mean overflowing with fullness which signifies "happy" [or better "happy, happy" or overflowing happiness] to some. Historically it took the Jews four years to finish rebuilding the temple. Haggai 2:12-19 1 Corinthians 15:33. God added... III. The Problem: Conditional obedience to God God Wants Your Heart. Sermon notes The blessings of obedience Leviticus 26:1-13. It is a sacrifice no one will forget…especially me. “‘From this day on I will bless you.’”. He wanted the hearts of the people to be fully devoted to him. The exiles that … Having trouble logging into your account? The meritorious ground of a believer's acceptance, and of the blessings he receives, is the obedience unto death of Christ (Romans 5:19-21). It refers to God's precepts which bear witness against sin and on behalf of holiness. Or consider this illustration. ''Most Christians are educated way beyond their level of obedience.'' But everything Haggai said would have made perfect sense to the Jews. God’s delight in obedience is good news because it shows that God’s grace is a glorious power and not just a flimsy tolerance of sin. Romans 1:5 …Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. Are you Mark and Joy’s parents?” Yes. First Key: “ WILLING ” Def: consent. Treasury of David. "Equipping and encouraging people to keep believing in Jesus", Copyright © 2020 Keep Believing Ministries. My sermon is really about all that stuff that happens after we get out of bed and the struggles we have each day to obey God. You normally don’t change your thinking overnight and you don’t break bad habits in one week. Obedience Brings Blessings. Sometimes when the harvest is delayed we are tempted to despair and to wonder if our work is in vain. From his example, we also learn how essential it is to obey Go… McLean, VA: Macdonald Publishing. could imagine. Even though we mean well, we all sometimes growl at perfectly innocent bystanders—like spouses, children, friends, and co-workers. Jesus Calls Us to Obey. “Thanks for not giving up on me. Sign up to join over 20,000 subscribers receiving our weekly sermon email. Recently some friends sent me a copy of a letter their young daughter had written to God. This morning I want to talk to you about the blessings of obedience. Now, our ways may not yet be God's ways, but if we press on by faith in God's Word the Spirit of God will enable us to walk in God's ways. But things are going to be different from now on.” Let’s draw two simple conclusions from this truth: After delaying for 16 years the Jews had finally started to rebuild the temple. But you’ve got to take those little steps every day in the right direction. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).  The Blessings of God are contingent upon the obedience of His people to allof His commandments. Lord Jesus, I know it was, hard for you to die, because it probably hurt more than anyone. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled. That will be my first question. Key Scriptures. But by starting to rebuild they were planting fresh seed in the ground. a. willing: deals with our will and our . Just be faithful and I promise the harvest will come in. When that glad day finally comes, no one will have any regrets. And the quicker you deal with God, the quicker you can get better and move on with your life. When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. and obedient, You shall eat the . "They also do no unrighteousness; They walk in His ways.". Or perhaps I should say that it’s easy in theory but difficult in practice. 4-6). It is a high degree of blessedness. Sin is like spaghetti sauce. [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's Application Commentary : Vol 2: Psalms-Malachi. Sermon: Laziness – Dec. 2, 2020 – Br. Blessings on Obedience 28 â€œNow it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lordyour God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lordyour God will set you high above all nations of the earth. Suppose your son walks on your clean carpet with dirty shoes, what happens? This prompted him to become more obedient to God's commands so that he might follow His ways (vv. The Blessings of Obedience. How dare you treat me this way?” she cried out. This blessing does not come upon us because of grim duty or because of legalistic, external performance. Will your clean hand make the dirty plate clean? God says, “You plant the seed and let me take care of the harvest.”. The obedience taught in the book of Pentateuch was indeed an order of obedience accompanied with blessing. Let me ask the question again. That night she told God never to speak to her again. Introduction: The truth that obedience to God brings blessing, is the first principle in understanding what it means to be a child of God. That’s the thing that counts today.”. Would we find Jesus Christ enshrined in your heart? “I have to apologize for all the trouble I gave you in Awana,” she said. You’ll only wish you could have done more. In preaching this sermon I’m going to make two assumptions. Our blessing is the honor God receives through our obedience. But Joan never did that. This morning I want to talk to you about the blessings of obedience. We’re usually not grumpy or nasty until someone gets under our skin. In Jesus Christ, we find the perfect model of obedience. If you’re life is messed up, you feel like everything around you is total darkness and you wonder if you’ll ever see the light again. God asked for her poverty. Then the woman gave her name and Joan remembered she had been in her Awana club 25 years ago. Her greatest anger was reserved for God. We sow and sow and sow and then wait for the harvest. [Notice that the holy life is a walk, or a steady progress, a maintained advance, a determined endurance.]. She just worked with the girl and prayed for her. Everything they touched turned sour. Notice, the steps she took as God directed her. Joan related a second story that happened recently when she and Frank were eating at the Thyme and Honey restaurant just a few blocks from here. THE POWER OF OBEDIENCE Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Preaching with Power 386-956-9018. Blameless literally is "complete, or having integrity." THE BLAMELESS BECOME BLESSED IN HIS WAYS, 1: 4-6. Rediscover Christmas - 2020 Advent Series, Denomination: Just keep on doing good, keep on serving the Lord, keep on helping others, keep on living for Christ, and in the end you will reap a bountiful harvest. God Blesses the Obedient (2 of 7) Series: God Blesses David Cawston Deuteronomy 15:5-6 One of the first conditions to God's blessing is to be obedient to His commands. I cannot imagine dying for a sinner like me. - John Maxwell ''One step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it.'' But Ezra is also a man whom God blessed, even though he is not so well known as those other men are. In these verses God reminds them of how things were before they began to rebuild the temple. good of the land; 1. Two more months passed and the people were downcast again and feltl like quitting. Whether I die or live; To love and serve Thee is my share, And this Thy grace must give. Then Haggai said, “‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the LORD. So Haggai delivers his third message to the people (2:10-19). Enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password. Two Curious Questions 10-13. You don’t plant today and harvest tomorrow. ... B. He wanted his people to turn to him with a whole heart and put him in the center of life. 2. THE BLAMELESS OF GOD ARE BLESSED, 1: 1-3. Obedience isn’t easy, is it? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. I want to give you my. Why don’t you trust me with your life?” So she decided to see what God could do. One day a large crowd pressed around Jesus while He preached (Luke 5:1-11). [Spurgeon, Charles. People with a bag mentality tend to believe that they must hold onto what they have. If you find your life in a bit of a mess today, just remember that you didn’t get where you are overnight. It’s true that God was behind their hard times, but he wasn’t doing it just to punish them, he wanted to get their attention and turn their hearts back to him. 148.] OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSING - DEUT. The Lord’s simple requests often serve as stepping-stones to life’s most wonderful blessings.-Simon Peter illustrates what can happen when we say yes to God. By President Thomas S. Monson. All gardeners understand this principle. You must live a life of sacrifice. They still had all their old problems and the temple was a long way from being finished. The wife was very angry over what had happened and was bitter over how she and her husband were treated. Disobedience would not have destroyed God's plan, but she would have missed the best God had for her. p. You must live a life of obedience – Gen. 12:4, 13:14-16, 15:18. 1, 2, 9,13, 14). Within a month they got discouraged and Haggai encouraged them to continue. The Lord wanted to use Peters boat as a floating platform from which to address the multitude, so He asked the future apostle to push the vessel out a little way from shore (v. 3)not in itself a particularly remarkable request. The man said, “I kept looking at your husband because many years ago I had to meet him before I could take Joy out on a date.” Frank and Joan hadn’t seen him in years, now he’s raising a Christian family for God’s glory. After all, if there’s no reward for obedience you might as well live like the devil. 6:5). And from then on, everyone that I encounter will probably need a lot of help from you. Scriptures: It’s from something called Frank’s Daily Chuckles. No, but the healthy person can easily catch a cold from the sick person. If life be long I will be glad, That I may long obey; If short--yet why should I be sad. The answer is no. As James says, “We all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). She had been a real troublemaker in Awana, the kind of kid you might be tempted to give up on. No doubt they faced continued opposition and discouragement all the way along. In those days surgery was done without anesthesia. The Psalmist is enraptured with the Word of God because the highest ideal of blessedness comes from being transformed by it. 3) It is goal oriented. I remember you saying, ‘God loves you and I love you too.’ I’ve never forgotten those words. When you see Jesus, you’ll never regret serving the Lord. Lord, I, also thank you for all the gifts you have given me. Two important keys in regards to obedience: A. Isa 1:19 If you are . ... Obedience Always Brings Blessing - Pastor Ed Lapiz Latest Preaching April 2018 - … “‘Now give careful thought to this from this day on—consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD’s temple. PRAYER LINE. For instance a pot might be holy because it was dedicated to the Lord’s use. I pray I will, use them in the way you want me to. So our psalmist delights in the fact that those who walk in wholehearted obedience to the Law, or the Word of God, are blessed (vv. If you have ever worked in a program like Awana, you know that all kinds of children attend. We first meet him in chapter 7 of the book that bears his name. Such seeking after God is to be the habit or practice of our life. In it God speaks directly to people who wondered why things weren’t getting better faster. Please help me to grow in your ways and read my Bible and. My beloved brothers and sisters, how grateful I am to be with you this morning. Some are well-behaved and others are a handful. THE CONDITION OF THE BLESSING. Then out of the blue God gives us a little reminder that the harvest comes in his time, not ours, but that nothing we do for the Lord is ever in vain. This holy walk is to be desired because God commands it (verse 4); therefore the devout soul prays for it (verse 5), knowing that his or her assistance and encouragement depend upon obtaining it (verse 6). So when they started to rebuild the temple, they expected their problems to disappear. Because God is holy, only holy objects could come into his presence. What happens? When a man acts in obedience to God’s word there is a blessing for it – Gen. 21:12-20, 22:1-2 and 16-18,. With that background these two question come into focus. I. Lord Jesus how we thank you for what our hearts have experienced tonight, how we thank you for sending the Holy Spirit. So the people began to wonder if it was worth to obey God. For many years she and Frank worked in the Awana program at Judson Baptist Church, one of our sister churches here in Oak Park. Pastor Anthony Artis (22) About Our Church. But after you are through blaming the world for the mess you are in, you still have deal with God. I smiled when I read that because it’s so typical of most of us. That’s why Proverbs 4:23 says “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” There’s an old gospel song that says, “How about your heart, is it right with God? And Pastor Richard Waialeale explained John 20:7 NLT that says, “while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings,” that the folded cloth meant that Jesus is coming back! Men of integrity are here described both by what they don't practice and what they do practice. God didn’t want a big house filled with empty hearts. our will to the will of In particular dead bodies were defiled or unclean and anyone touching a dead body himself became unclean. In the days to come we’ll all stand together before the throne of God and praise our Redeemer for his amazing grace. That is, as Christians we want to do the right thing and we want to please our Lord if we can. God had told them they were suffering because of their disobedience. The Lord’s simple requests often serve as stepping stones to life’s most wonderful blessings. They found it in her backpack. Think of it this way. Suppose a person with a cold kisses a person in perfect health. 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