Obedience, the first step in the process.

I thought I would share with you my notes and discussion questions from this past Wednesday evening at Bluegrass Bible Fellowship. I shared from a number of passages, but the key was Saul and the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15. A powerful lesson to us all. In the desire to live out "one anothering" I think obedience to God's way of life, including the hard parts, and those that defy human wisdom, are critical. I hope this message reflects the desire I have to give glory to God by living my life in His ways, though I fail too often, the Lord gives the strength and ability, we just have to submit wholly to Him.

The audio link should be up soon, and I will post it when I get it, for those who would rather listen than read, or those who want to do both. This is just a starter, some notes. We have had such wonderful talks about how to practically apply these principles, and hope that you all dive in, and see what God would have you to do, and then faithfully obey. A challenge for us all, and as we encourage and exhort one another, we have the promise that obedience pleases our Lord and King.

Wednesday November 11, 2009

Lesson: Following God in obedience, human wisdom vs. God's wisdom

Scripture reading: 1 Samuel 15

v.1-3 Saul's charge given- God commands to kill everyone and everything

v. 7-9 Saul kills MOST, but keeps "all that was good" and king Agag.

v. 10-11 The Lord speaks to Samuel about Saul's disobedience (part disobedience is insubordination and rebellion) God is grieved and decides to punish Saul by removing him as king.

v.12-15 Saul is confronted with his sin.

v.16-21 Saul's excuses begin, claiming to have obeyed, but God's work must be done God's way. We cannot use human reasoning to excuse ourselves. The Lord has spoken, we must obey!!!

v. 22 Obedience is better than sacrifice.

v.23 Partial obedience revealed for what it is- rebellion, insubordination,rejecting the word of the Lord.

v.24-25 Saul's half hearted excuse for repentance. FALSE!

v.26-28 Judgement pronounced, Saul will not be king.

v. 29- God is unchanging, just, and righteous. He must be obeyed

v.30-31 Saul gives in, we don't see repentance,but walks in the right path with Samuel

v.32-33 Samuel cleans up after Saul's sin and disobedience.

Heavenly man excerpt (Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway) - p.255 par.6

"I have learned that when the Lord tells us to do something there is no time for discussion or rationale, regardless of the situation we face. When we are sure God has told us to act, as I was on this occasion, blind obedience is called for. Not to obey God implies that we are wiser than Him, and that we know better how to run our lives than He does."

This is a man who lived in persecuted China, was in jail for preaching the Gospel, which seems silly and ill chosen as a profession, except that God told him to. Brother Yun had 3 signs given to him to act, 1) a passage of Scripture that was shared with him, 2) a vision from God, 3) another brother who told him to escape from the prison, as the Lord opened the door and commanded him to go. This was a death sentence, escapees were shot on sight. Yun had 2 broken legs, and had not stood for more than 6 weeks, yet God said "get up and walk out of the prison" all the doors opened. Think of Peter, think of the lame man who was told to get up and walk. When God speaks, you better listen.

Discussion:

Some questions that come to mind when comparing a few passages of Scripture with the tales of lives that have been radically changed by obedient servant. When we know how the Lord would have us act, to do anything less, to do it our own way, is disobedience, insubordination, and rebellion.

1) Why did Saul take God's plans and change them for his own way?

2) Was Saul repentant either time, or just sad he got caught?

3) What do we have in our lives that are semi-obedient and therefore NOT obedient?

4) Are our methods in all things matching up with Scripture?

5) If not/why not? How do we proceed from the place of recognition of sin and disobedience to full obedience?

6) Hudson Taylor said -"God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply." Our Gospel materials, our words, our approach to reaching the lost, our interaction with each other must all be done God's way, seeking His pattern and not making it up on our own.

Associated reading:

Other passages dealing with sin, obedience, and God's desire for our lives.

Romans 7:21-25- the desire to live righteously, and the battle with the flesh.

1 Corinthians 3:7-11- God's fellow laborers, but not our plans. The foundation for all things, Jesus Christ, the NT church pattern.

James 3:13-18- God's wisdom, fruit of the Spirit.

Admonish one another- a personal story

We spent this past weekend with brothers and sisters at their homes. The whole weekend, while seeing new homes, farms, and animals, and the beauty of God's creation could be wrapped up in a word as far as I see it. That word is "admonition". Of course, there was much else done and said, but the thing God showed me from this weekend was that admonition has a place and needs to be practiced properly in order to be effective for edification of the body of Christ.

Let's define the term for the sake of understanding. According to the Webster's 1828 Dictionary:
1. To warn or notify of a fault; to reprove with mildness.
2. To counsel against wrong practices; to caution or advise.(referred to in Col. 3)
3. To instruct or direct

Colossians 3 is a passage full of "one anothers" and is a great place to start reading when looking to see how the body of Christ ought to act. I had a great day Saturday visiting with an group of Christians and studying the Word of God together, then met for worship and teaching with a group of believers in a home. After the services ended, I was talking with a dear brother about many subjects, one of which was admonition.

This brother is one that I respect for his life lived for Christ. This man serves and cares for others often, and has a great knowledge of God's Word. I believe it is a logical outcome of living a life of "one anothering" to have brothers and sisters that you respect. We can learn much from each other and from our shared knowledge of God's Word with the Bible as our authority. I was talking to him about "one anothering" and this topic of admonition was brought up. I would find out later why, as this brother had been praying for my family and I.

As we talked further, he seemed hesitant to continue, but finally told me that there was something we needed to talk about. I had no doubt that whatever was on his mind was going to be fruitful, even if unpleasant to hear. This brother went on to admonish me about a certain fault in my life. He was not picking, not seeking to cause disorder, and only had my walk with the Lord and what was best for my family at heart. This is evident not only by knowing his heart, but also by the approach and my brother's hesitation. I encouraged him to say whatever needs to be said, as I know that I am not perfect by any means. I wondered as I look back if I would have received this counsel so well from a brother that was not walking as he should. I will leave that for personal thought, and would welcome input as always.

It is strange to me that I, a pig headed and stubborn man in the flesh, was able to take this admonition as encouragement and teaching. He had seen a fault and lovingly pointed it out. He did not point his finger, he did not speak loudly or even have a hint of pride as he spoke. I heard the love of Christ brought out in this discussion. I believe this is the way we should handle admonition.

My tendency as a large and loud man is to deal with a brother or sister in Christ as I would a small child. This authoritarian role is at times necessary for children, but as children mature they are able to understand more and more. This maturity process does hold many admonitions and corrections along the way. It is not my place to point fingers and intimidate people, but to love them and help them see from God's perspective.

This admonition is not an every day occurrence, but prayerfully considered when folks really need the help. The most important role for me, as I see it, is to be a good role model, to live in a Christ-like manner in all things and share how God is working.

Admonition must be done in love and for the purpose of teaching and encouragement, not to put oneself up to a higher position or exert authority. There are some cases in which we must look to Matthew 18 and such passages, but I think most times we would see it is God's way to gently and lovingly share a suggestion than to formally file a complaint. I wish I could say that I have always done this the right way, and at times I have been put in the role of correction. May we prayerfully seek God as to which role to play as we interact with those around us in our marriages, with our children, and with the family of God.

Mark Cowperthwaite