2011年3月24日星期四

God's Voice 4 Obeying The Voice of God.

When God looks down from heaven at you, what does he see? When you come to stand before his throne you will be standing in one of four positions. You will either be an enemy of God, a Child of God, a son of God or a friend of God. I'm sure that if we are honest with ourselves we would all like to be known as God's friend and not his enemy.


ENEMIES OF GOD

James 4:4"You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."

God has enemies! According to James 4:4 if you  choose to be a friend of the world then you will also make yourself God's enemy. An enemy of God is basically someone who is opposing his Kingdom from being established. Here are three ways you can make friendship with the world:

I. Walking in the advice of ungodly people.

Psalm 1:1"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." Walking in the counsel of the wicked means to receive advice from anything else other than the bible or biblical advice through another person. Every time you seek and act on wisdom that is not from God you make yourself a friend of the world/

2. Standing with sinners.
Psalms 1:1 "or standing in the way of sinners." Standing in the way of sinners means to live a life of continual disobedience to God. A sinner is not able to 'not sin'. Christians though, through the power of the Holy Spirit are able to 'not sin'. We can choose to obey or disobey God. When you continually disobey God you are standing in the way of sinners and thus make yourself a friend of the world.

3. Joining in with the mockers.

Psalm 1:1 "or sit in the seat with mockers". To sit in the seat of mockers means to join in with those who make fun at other people. When you 'mock' someone, what you are saying is "I am superior and greater that you therefore I can make fun of you." This is the sin of pride! The world system places people in a tower with the greatest and most significant at the top to the least at the bottom. Before God though we are all equals so we have no right to 'mock' others. When you do mock others you are making yourself a friend of the world. The next time you do make fun out of someone remember what the bible says "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble."

CHILDREN OF GOD

Matthew 18:3"And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change must  and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

A child of God is someone who is adopted into Christ's family. This means that God himself becomes your Father and other believers become your spiritual brothers and sisters. As a Father to you God take responsibility for your spiritual growth and development. He will teach and show you what to do, correct you when you do wrong and prepare you to receive your inheritance. If you want to become a child of God all you have to do is receive Jesus to  be your own personal Lord and savior. To do this you must first repent of your sin, confess that Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that he is alive and then live like it.

SON OF GOD

Galatians 4: 7"So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."

A son of God can approach God with confidence at any time. As a son of God you know that you are accepted by him and will always turn to him. Hebrew 4: 16"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." The greatest time  of need in a believer's life is the moment you committed an act of sin. The moment you sin you need to turn to God and receive his mercy. Every time you sin you drift further away from God until he is out of your life altogether. If you have done wrong and you know it, don't put off turning back to God. To become a son of God you must be led by the Spirit. Romans 8:14"because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." You are led by the Spirit when you hear God's voice and do what he says.

FRIENDS OF GOD

James 2: 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

When God looked at Abraham he didn't see an enemy, a child or a son, he saw a friend. He saw somebody who believed and trusted in him. God saw that he would stick closer to him than even his own family. John 15:14"You are my friends if you do what I command." To become a friend of God you must obey his commandment which is to love one another (John 15:12&17) v12 "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." 17This is my command: Love each other. There are 4 ways you can love someone in the same way that Jesus loves you:



I. Sacrifice

John 15: 13"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Jesus, becauce of his great love for you sacrificed his life so that you could be saved. The four ways in which you can also lay down our life for others is through prayer, giving money, and offering practical help. When you pray for someone else you are giving up your time and energy for them. During prayer time you are sacrificing your own life for the benefit and well being of others. When you give money you are not just giving finances you are also giving your life. The average person works between 30 and 40 hours a week for approximately $5 per hour. If God then tells that person to give $50, then that person will have to work 10 hours to earn that money. Helping others with practical help is also another way in which you can sacrifice your life for other people. When you help others you help carry their burden and make life easier for them.

2. Speaking the truth.

Ephesians 4: 15"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." Who is God that he should lie to us? Some people believe that lying can be honorable. This is wrong! The most honorable thing that you can do for someone is to tell them the truth. When you lie you disrespect, dishonor and humiliate others. Jesus loved us by never speaking anything that was false or deceitful and we should follow his example. It is important that you make sure your heart is right before you do this and that you do it under God's guidance and in love and wisdom.

3. Correction

Hebrews 12:6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” The word 'discipline' as used in Hebrews 12:6 means to correct. God corrects those he loves. This means if you do something wrong he will tell you what you did wrong and will show you what you should do instead. We too can love each other in the same way. If we ever see anyone doing something wrong we can love them by telling them what they are doing wrong and then showing them what they should do instead, while being careful not to judge.

4. Obedience to our call.

Philippians 2:8"And being found in appearances as man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!" Jesus' call was to die on the cross for mankind. For him to be the source of salvation he had to live a pure, sinless life and then sacrifice it. Jesus was obedient to his calling because he loved us more than he loved himself. By fulfilling the call of God that is on your life, you are loving others as Christ loved you.

CONCLUSION

Love is not an empty word we speak to those we are fond of, but is an act of your will. You can choose to love others by sacrificing, correcting, speaking the truth and obeying the call that has on your life.

PRAY
"Lord Jesus, help me to love others in the same way that you love me."











1 条评论:

  1. Assignment 1: Read Deuteronomy 28:1-14
    1. What will God do if you obey him? (v.1)
    2. What will be established if you walk in God's ways? (v.9)
    3. What are we not to turn aside from? (v.14)
    4. What does today's assignment say to you about obeying God?

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