Obedience, Faith, & Agreement will Accompany a True Believer (and not Just When it's Convenient)

It’s been a couple weeks since my last blog post, so who’s ready for another Sunday sermon recap?!?

Actually, as an introduction, I’m also going to share a couple truths from last Sunday’s sermon as well. Pastor Morris Brown brought a word a week ago about God’s Word, our Absolute Truth, and Pastor Joe Green brought another one yesterday about Obedience, Faith, & Agreement.

The Word of God is not only full of power packed truths. It is the Absolute Truth. The final say. It does not return void. It will not return to the Father in Heaven without having accomplished what He intended it to do here on earth!

So why on earth would we not choose to obey it, have faith in it, and agree with what it says? I can tell you, the alternative doesn’t bode well temporarily and doesn’t end well in light of eternity.

God gave us His Word for a reason. He wants us to read it, apply it, and live by it. And the ONLY way to do that is through OBEDIENCE, FAITH, and AGREEMENT.

What does that mean?!? I’m glad you asked. Here’s an answer through the wisdom I gleaned from the words of Pastor Green...

Honestly, these three words are one in the same. Of course, if you looked them up in the dictionary, the definitions would vary, but hear me out as and you’ll better understand what I’m talking about as we look at a few passages of scripture and dig a little deeper into the meaning of and the power behind these three words.

I’ll start with the same question Pastor Green asked the congregation on Sunday morning:

Do you love love God or do you just like love God? In other words, where is your devotion?

Is your love merely lip service and maybe occasionally attending a church service, or is it all consuming so much so that it has you daily pursuing?

1 Samuel 30:6 tells us that king David “encouraged himself in the Lord.” We need to preach the truths of God’s Word to ourselves daily. I’m currently doing a series throughout the month of June on Instagram and Facebook as I walk through A Gospel Primer for Christians a little book by Milton Vincent. It has proved a powerful tool in my own walk with the Lord as I look at the reasons he gives to rehearse the gospel daily.

{And it’s not too late to join in. Just head on over to Instagram or Facebook and find me there. I post a new reason each and every morning throughout the month of June. Others engage in discussion throughout the day. This little daily discipline has not only been a helpful habit, but it’s also been a powerful practice.}

Daily. Every. Single. Day. Not just Sunday. Not just when we feel like it. Not just because so and so said it. We must be in the Word daily in order to hear a word from God daily. The Bible is our instruction manual. It teaches us and corrects us. It keeps us close to Him, lest we stray and lose our way.

We can try as we may in our own efforts to please God, but if the things we are doing to please him are not things He requires or desires, then what good are they? We see this in Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. Cain, a farmer, tried in his own efforts to please God with the fruit of his crops; however, only a blood sacrifice was good enough for a holy God, and Abel, a shepherd provided God with the firstborn of his flock. This was a sacrifice that pleased God. Cain’s offering, on the other hand, did not, and God reminded him of the power of obedience.

Obedience to God leads to freedom and acceptance. Disobedience leads to further bondage by sin.

Pastor Green likes to call certain hindrances to obedience “killer buts.” “I know what God‘s Word says, but…” “I know what I should do, but…“ We cannot gauge our Christianity on what we don’t do anymore (i.e. what sin we have already been set from or hangup God has helped us overcome), we must gauge it on what we are doing now. What fruit are we bearing? What cross are we carrying? How are we loving and serving God and others? Obedience, faith, and agreement will accompany true Christianity.

A couple verses I’m sure you’ve heard before are found in 1 Samuel 15. Samuel is talking to King Saul after the king refuses to obey exactly what the Lord asks of him in battle. Instead he brings back sacrifices to appease the Lord, but disobedience displeases Him more.

Verses 22 & 23 remind us:

“But Samuel replied, ‘What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.’” ~ 1 Samuel‬ ‭15:22-23‬

Did you get that? He compares rebellion to witchcraft and stubbornness to idolatry. God calls us to obedience. Obedience is greater than sacrifice. It’s about how we willingly obey and not about what we are willing to pay.

It takes faith to obey — agreement with a loving God who was willing to pay. He gave His life for you and me. He did that to set us free. Free to live. Free to serve. Free to obey.

And for a Christian, they should be one in the same.

Obedience, faith, and agreement. These will accompany a true believer — and not just when it’s convenient.