Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
You absolutely cannot foresee and foretell what God is going
to do in your life until you obey him. If
God tells you take a baby step, you take it.
And if you don't know why you're going next, listen,
all you have to do is to obey God today.
He already has tomorrow perfectly in mind.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
We often learn right from wrong through trial and error.
That is, we discover what to do by making mistakes
and dealing with the consequences. Well, today I'm in touch
the teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley. You'll get biblical
advice on pursuing God's will for your life. Here's part
one of obeying God. Let's listen in to doctor Stanley.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
When you're making a very important decision in your life,
what's the ultimate question?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
You ask?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
What's the sort of the bottom line? Somebody says, well,
I ask the question, is this going to profit me?
Going to bring me pleasure? What are the folks are
going to think? What's the bottom line?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Question?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
That is safe every single time you come to decision.
The bottom line is am I obeying God? As you
heard me say many times, obey God. Leave all the
consequences to Him and the issue is simply this. If
I do that, I'm going to save myself a lot
of heartache, a lot of burdens, a lot of embarrassment,
(01:25):
and probably a lot of.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Loss in lots of ways.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
So this whole issue of obedience, oftentimes people don't like
to think about it. They say, well, you know that
many other subjects in the Bible that are much more
pleasant than obedience.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
But let me just say this.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
If you don't get that one straight, the rest of
them not going to work. And if you'll think about this,
when your children came into the world, what's one of
the things that you want to be sure that you
taught them what to obey you? And the silly, ridiculous
attitude an idea that people had a generation to go.
(02:02):
You do not spank your children, you don't discipline your children. Well,
then what you're saying is we teach them to be disobedient,
because think about this for a moment. Every child comes
into the world with an attitude of disobedience.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
So what do you do.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
You say, I must teach you to be obedient, right,
And so you go about teaching them to be obedient.
And some of us learn later than others, and some
of us learn earlier than others, but we all have
to learn obedience. If we don't learn obedience, we're not
fit to live with And so it's a vital part
of our life. Now have you ever thought about this
(02:39):
that you also have to learn to obey God. You
can't be passive about obedience. Obedience is an attitude and
an action we have to learn.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
How to carry out.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Would you consider yourself an obedient Christian? So I wanted
to think this whole idea of learning to be obedient
and how does a Christian learn obedience? We take it
for granted, and I think about how many people get
saved and they start coming to Sunday school or church,
whatever it might be, and somehow nobody ever sits them
(03:15):
down to say, now you.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Have to learn how to live this life.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
And we'll talk about discipleship and things like that, but
when he gets all down to the bottom line, it's
learning to be obedient to God. So if somebody said
to you, well, how do I learn to be obedient
or where do I start?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Well, that's what I want to do.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
This one is I want us to start, and I
want to deal with a verse subscription in Hebrews chapter five,
because it doesn't look like it fits what it says
in Hebrews chapter five, verse seven. And there are lots
of verses in the Bible about Jesus and his attitude
about obedience and about his own obedience to the Father.
But look at this sixth chapter or fifth chapter of Hebrews,
(03:59):
verse seven.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
In the days of his.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Flesh, he offered up both prayers and supplications, with loud
crying and tears to the one who is able to
save him from death. And he was heard because of
his piet And watch this, although he was the son,
that is, the son of God, he learned obedience from
the things.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Which he suffered.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And listening carefully, that does not mean that he was
disobedient and had to learn obedience.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
That's not it at all. But what that really means
is simply.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Is that in his humanity, in his humanity, was both
dead in humanity, in his humanity, he learned the impact
of full obedience to.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
The Father at the cross.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
That was, he knew all about everything, But when he
came to this issue of obedience unto death, and that's
what that's referring to. It's not referring to the fact
that he'd sinned, he's disobedient.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Now he had learned how to be obedient. He was
always obedient.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
And if you'll turn, for example, to a couple of pastones,
look in the John chapter eight for a moment, and
look what Jesus says here in this eighth chapter. So
Jesus said, when you lift up the son of Man,
you will know that I'm he and I do nothing
on my own initiative.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
But I speak those things as the Father taught me.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And so as he was growing up and learning to
listen to the Father, he was always obedient. And then
the sixth chapter, in the thirty eighth verse, looked at this,
if you will, Jesus said, for I have come down
from heaven not to do my own will, but the
will of him who sent me. And so everywhere you
find Jesus talking about his relationship to the Father, he says,
(05:41):
I only do those things I'll see the Father doing.
That was his whole perspective. So he didn't learn how
to be obedient from disobedience. He was learning the meaning
of full obedience to the Father that cost him his
life at the cross. So when you and I think
about obedience? How would you define it? Obedience is real
simple obedience says I do what God says, when he
(06:04):
says it, how he says it, for whatever reason he
says it, or with whom he says it. In other words,
it's all about him. There is not anything passive about
being obedient. It's active. It's a decision that you and
I make whether we will obey God or not in
whatever the situation may be. Now, what is the greatest
enemy to obedience? Partial obedience is the greatest enemy to obedience?
(06:32):
Because if I say, well, God told me to give
a tithe, then so I gave at least five percent. Well,
you say, well, in that obedience, obedience is doing what
he says, when he says, why he says, how he says,
where he says, or whatever it might be.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
It isn't partially.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
And I think a lot of people trust Jesus as
this saving a lot of times it's because nobody taught them.
And so they do us some things that they believe
that are right and are good, and then some things
they know that that really doesn't fit who they are
as followers of Jesus Christ. And so you ask him,
are you a Christian. Yes, Are you an obedient Christian?
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
And they can name you all the things that they
do partially or sought or sometimes. But obedience says, I
do what he says when he says, but whatever he reasons,
he says where he says, or with whom, if someone
else is involved, it isn't partial. It's an active act
on our part of being obedient. For example, when your
(07:30):
children are growing up and you said, eat everything on
your plate, they got in about halfway full, and you said,
I said everything you said, Look, look how much I
have already done. And sometimes when God works on our
heart and he tells us to do something and we
think we've done enough, we.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Think we've been obedient.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
In that getting a strict no define obedience. Obedience is
doing what God says when he says, do it, how
he says, do it, as long as he says do it.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
That doesn't mean that we are perfect. We will never
be perfect.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
But I see so many Christians who really believe that
they're walking in the spirit of God, who are allowing
things in that life that absolutely are not of God,
could not possibly be of God, and they rationalize it.
And rationalization is Satan's listen that Satan's attempt to keep
you off base.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
In your relationship to him.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
If I want God's best in my life, I must
be obedient to him. And if you'll think about how
wise that is. God, who is omniscient, I'm the present omnipotent,
loves us absolutely perfectly, and he's given us a course
to live. You can't improve on his course. He has
the best plan for every single one of us. He
has the best answer for every question we ask. He
(08:47):
has the best of everything. If we will follow him,
how do we follow him? We obey him or we
don't obey him. For example, somebody says, oh, what's a
cardinal Christian. Well, a cardinal Christian, if we put it
in terms of what we're talking about, is the person
who's been saved by the grace of God, but who
has reserved certain parts of their life to do what
they want to do, and they go to church and
(09:10):
they give and they read the Bible and pray. But
there's some things over here that there is Carnality. Is
that part of us, that's something within us that does
not want to be obedient to God, and so we
obey him in things which is convenient. Things are not convenient,
we don't and we think that we are obeying God,
and then we wonder oftentimes why doesn't God bless me?
(09:30):
And I hear people say I can't figure out why
God doesn't bless me?
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Why does he do this? And why does he do that?
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Well, the first place to look is within yourself and
ask yourself the question, Am I really and truly living
an obedient godly life? So when I think about the
number one enemy, partial obedience? Now, the second thing I
would say is simply this. The Garden of Eden was
the first school that God created for us to teach
(09:57):
his obedience.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
And what happens if you notice the Garden of Eden
what God didn't say.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
He didn't talk to Adam and Eve about faith, he
didn't talk to them about humility, He didn't talk to
them about anything, but one thing he said, there is
a tree in the midst of this garden that you
absolutely must not touch. Everything else is wide open and
absolutely totally satisfying, but there's one thing you can't touch
with that pain. The consequence thinking about this, think at
(10:25):
all the trees they had, he said, and don't touch
that one. So what do I do go straight to
that one. So many people don't realize you have to
learn to be obedient.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
All of us have failed.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Now, we all fail really because we desire our way
above God's way. So we choose to be disobedient. Well,
can I choose to be obedient?
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Yes? I can.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Now, when your children come into this world, they don't
know athing about obedience and disobedience.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
But isn't it interesting.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
They don't start out being obedient, They just start out
being disobedient.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Do they choose to do that? They don't realize what
they're doing. And it's almost like a lot of us
grow up and we never do learn what to do.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Obedience is God's way for his children, and it's the
best way. Listen, it's the best way every single solitary time.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
Amen, that's a little light. Let me ask you a question.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
If you believe that obedience is always God's best way,
say men, all right, then why don't you do it?
Because we have all kinds of reasons. Well, but you
don't know about this and this is what happens, and
this is the way they treated me, and here's what's
going on in my life, and here's my need.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
But remember what we said, is his way the best way? Yes?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
If I have a need and God allows that need,
is that the best way at that moment?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (11:58):
If I heard over something, is that the best way
at that moment? Yes, Because we say we believe that
God is engineering our circumstances so that all things have
worked together for our good. Now, he didn't say it,
wouldn't be hurtful, wouldn't be painful, wouldn't lose something, whatever
it might be. Obedience is God's absolute bottom line, and
(12:19):
most people are not willing to commit themselves to that.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Whatever God says is what I'm going to do.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
It'll bring you joy, it'll bring you pleasure, it'll bring
you enemies. But you and I must be obedient to
God to live out the life that He's calls to
live out. Most people are in trouble because they've disobeyed
some simple principle of God. And one of those simple principles,
and we continue to lay out there because it's so
simple and you don't forget it. We reap what we
(12:47):
saw more than we saw, later.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Than we sow.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Okay, if I know that's true, if I really truly
believe that, then I'm going to obey the principles that
God has given us. And think about this, all the
principles God's given us for our good, they're all for
our good. And so somehow we find ourselves in the
same classroom and we fail. The third thing I want
(13:09):
you to notice is this that Jesus is the pattern.
His life is the pattern for us. And this is
a beautiful way to put it. What Jesus said in
the fourth chapter of John. And he was talking to
the woman at the well. And as he's talking to her,
and the disciples had gone, And so Jesus said in
the thirty fourth verse, my food is to do the
(13:33):
will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Now what is he saying?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
He said, you know what fulfills me doing the will
of my father. What fulfills me is obeying the Father.
What foolfills me is walking in the Father's way. Look
at that my food. That is what satisfies me. What
energizes me is to do the will of him who
sent me, and to accomplish his work. And when I
(14:00):
look at these verses and look at the life of
Jesus and how he lived out his life, I love
this verse. Both of these, and He who sent me
is with me. He's not left me alone, for I
always do the things that please him to him. And
you know what I marked up in my Bible years ago,
and I thought my desire, I always want to do
the things that please him, and I continue today. That
(14:24):
probably one of the things that I am most grateful
for in my life that my grandfather sat down with
me for one week as an eighteen year old teenager
and told me something that has been like the guiding
light in my life. When he said to me, obey
God and leave all the consequences to him. I didn't
(14:46):
understand at the moment. I chuckled at it because what
he really said was obey God. And if God tells
you to run your head through a brick wall, head
for the wall when you get that God, and make.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
A hole for it. And so that was sort of
my response.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
But the I thought about it, this is what happens
if you obey God.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
You may lose some of your friends. You obey God.
You could lose your job. You obey God.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Some folks won't understand you. You obey God, oftentimes you'll
have conflict. But obedience is the bottom line, and here's
what Jesus said. He said, when you look at his
attitude and his actions, the thing that satisfied Jesus is
not how many people he had listening to him at
the sermon on the mount, all the crowds had followed
the fact that everybody thought that he was something special.
(15:32):
That's not what satisfied him. What satisfied him but satisfied
his soul. When he is out in the wilderness on
his knees early in the morning, talking to the Father,
what brought him the greatest delight was that he could
do the full will of the Father, that he could
walk in obedience. I asked you a question. Are you
happier when you know that you're obeying God? Are you
(15:56):
happier when you know that you're being disobedient?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Then why don't we obey him?
Speaker 1 (16:02):
If you'll think about the reasons people don't obey God, Well,
I may miss something. Are you going to miss something
that God, who loves you has planned your life? It
may be some things in life you need to miss,
and there's some things in life you need to be
there when it happens. And when you're walking in his will.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
You'll be there.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
You will not listen, you will not miss when you
walk in the will of God and be obedient to him. Now,
so with all that in mind, let's think about how
do we learn to obey God. You didn't come into
the world with knowing how. So I just want to
give you some things to consider in your own life,
because nobody knows your life like you do. But you
(16:43):
need to learn how to be obedient to God. And
the first one is simply this. You must first choose
to trust him. If you don't trust him, you're not
going to obey him. Because one of the primary reasons
we don't obey God is we don't believe what he says.
When God says, I'll will supply all your needs according
to his rigius and glory in Christ Jesus, when he
(17:04):
says that, and I go out and do something that
is ridiculous and something that is dishonest in order to
get something that I want I desire.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
What I've said is I don't believe God.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
So the second thing is this, we must determine to
be willing to wait upon God in prayer. Many times
God will tell us to do something and make it
very clear, but he doesn't say do it now. And
sometimes he doesn't say when he's going to do it,
but he just says, here's what I want you to do,
(17:38):
and well, Lord, now when. And sometimes you and I
may pray about something for a long time before we
get to go signal, and you say, well, what's that about.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Here's what it's about.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
It's about God loving you enough and knowing you perfect
that to know when you are.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Ready for whatever it is you're seeking.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Sometimes what you're looking for, where you're seeking is is
not anything disobedient.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
It may be.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Absolutely right down the center of the will of God,
but his timing is important, and especially for example, if
that relates to somebody else or some situation or your
job or whatever it might be. It's that getting ahead
of God that gets us in trouble. So ask yourself
a question. Do you have a difficult time waiting upon God?
(18:25):
And notice I said waiting upon Him in prayer? If
you're not praying about the will of God something that
you're questioning your life or you're trying to find his
will about, if you're not praying about it, before long,
you're a step right ahead of God. And the problem
is you're going to be out of God's will, and
I think one of a sixty second psalm. Look at
(18:45):
that for a moment. I can think for a moment
when I was really really needing God's guidance and direction
and leadership in an awesome way, and my heart was
heavy about it all, and so I was praying and
just asking God give me direction. And sometimes I'll just
flip through the description and say, God, you know what
I need to hear this morning. I don't know what
(19:06):
I need to hear, but you know what I need
to hear. You know where I am, you know what
I'm looking for. I want to be obedient to you.
What do I do at this point? And I'll never
forget this verse, My soul waits in silence for God.
Only from Him is my salvation. He only is my
rock and my salvation. My strong life shall not be
(19:28):
greatly shaken. And the fifth verse, my soul wait in
silence for God for my hope. Listen, my hope is
from Him. If you and I are going to be
obedient to God, we're going to have to learn listen
to follow on His time, not our time.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
You're listening to in Touch The teaching ministry of doctor
Charles Stanley, A life of obedience require that we learn
to wait on the Lord. It's a necessary discipline that
will keep us from making costly mistakes. Doctor Stanley's message
on the crucial nature of obeying God continues tomorrow. To
learn more about the importance of following the Lord precisely,
(20:14):
visit our website in touch dot org and to review
what you heard just now, follow the link to Today
on Radio. If you like to have a copy of
doctor Stanley's complete message, you can order over at the bookstore.
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(20:37):
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Encouragement is on the way in Today's moment with Charles Stanley.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
With the Thirty Life Principles Bible study, you'll enjoy a
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You'll explore doctor Stanley's thirty Life principles and learn how
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(21:15):
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Speaker 5 (21:21):
You've got to be willing to set aside time.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
That's a real victory.
Speaker 6 (21:24):
Just imagine what it would have been like to look
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This new book will give you an intimate look into
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(21:45):
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Speaker 7 (21:51):
From the Pastor's Heart is an in depth teaching letter
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Speaker 2 (22:07):
You're listening to in Touch Salvation is a gift of
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be returned, lost, or destroyed. Here's a moment with Charles Stanley.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
What I want to.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
Say is true of every single believer because of your union,
because you've received Jesus as you savior, and the Spirit
of God placed you into Christ and made you a
part of Him.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
He says.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
Now, your official, divinely stated position is that you're a
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and you have already qualified for are a jaunt inheritance
(23:02):
with Jesus Christ, which you and I will be able
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he says, what can separate us from the love of Christ?
And the ultimate conclusion is absolutely nothing. Who can pluck
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conclusion is no one. You are eternally secure, so that
(23:25):
every single believer who faces death can face death without fear,
without dread, because of a union that you and I
have in Christ Jesus.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
That union eternally.
Speaker 5 (23:37):
Secures us as children redeemed forgiven forever, the child of God,
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Speaker 2 (23:47):
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(24:08):
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faithful prayers and gifts
You absolutely cannot foresee and foretell what God is going
to do in your life until you obey him. If
God tells you take a baby step, you take it.
And if you don't know why you're going next, listen,
all you have to do is to obey God today.
He already has tomorrow perfectly in mind.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
We often learn right from wrong through trial and error.
That is, we discover what to do by making mistakes
and dealing with the consequences. Well, today I'm in touch
the teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley. You'll get biblical
advice on pursuing God's will for your life. Here's part
one of obeying God. Let's listen in to doctor Stanley.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
When you're making a very important decision in your life,
what's the ultimate question?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
You ask?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
What's the sort of the bottom line? Somebody says, well,
I ask the question, is this going to profit me?
Going to bring me pleasure? What are the folks are
going to think? What's the bottom line?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Question?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
That is safe every single time you come to decision.
The bottom line is am I obeying God? As you
heard me say many times, obey God. Leave all the
consequences to Him and the issue is simply this. If
I do that, I'm going to save myself a lot
of heartache, a lot of burdens, a lot of embarrassment,
(01:25):
and probably a lot of.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Loss in lots of ways.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
So this whole issue of obedience, oftentimes people don't like
to think about it. They say, well, you know that
many other subjects in the Bible that are much more
pleasant than obedience.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
But let me just say this.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
If you don't get that one straight, the rest of
them not going to work. And if you'll think about this,
when your children came into the world, what's one of
the things that you want to be sure that you
taught them what to obey you? And the silly, ridiculous
attitude an idea that people had a generation to go.
(02:02):
You do not spank your children, you don't discipline your children. Well,
then what you're saying is we teach them to be disobedient,
because think about this for a moment. Every child comes
into the world with an attitude of disobedience.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
So what do you do.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
You say, I must teach you to be obedient, right,
And so you go about teaching them to be obedient.
And some of us learn later than others, and some
of us learn earlier than others, but we all have
to learn obedience. If we don't learn obedience, we're not
fit to live with And so it's a vital part
of our life. Now have you ever thought about this
(02:39):
that you also have to learn to obey God. You
can't be passive about obedience. Obedience is an attitude and
an action we have to learn.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
How to carry out.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Would you consider yourself an obedient Christian? So I wanted
to think this whole idea of learning to be obedient
and how does a Christian learn obedience? We take it
for granted, and I think about how many people get
saved and they start coming to Sunday school or church,
whatever it might be, and somehow nobody ever sits them
(03:15):
down to say, now you.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Have to learn how to live this life.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
And we'll talk about discipleship and things like that, but
when he gets all down to the bottom line, it's
learning to be obedient to God. So if somebody said
to you, well, how do I learn to be obedient
or where do I start?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Well, that's what I want to do.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
This one is I want us to start, and I
want to deal with a verse subscription in Hebrews chapter five,
because it doesn't look like it fits what it says
in Hebrews chapter five, verse seven. And there are lots
of verses in the Bible about Jesus and his attitude
about obedience and about his own obedience to the Father.
But look at this sixth chapter or fifth chapter of Hebrews,
(03:59):
verse seven.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
In the days of his.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Flesh, he offered up both prayers and supplications, with loud
crying and tears to the one who is able to
save him from death. And he was heard because of
his piet And watch this, although he was the son,
that is, the son of God, he learned obedience from
the things.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Which he suffered.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And listening carefully, that does not mean that he was
disobedient and had to learn obedience.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
That's not it at all. But what that really means
is simply.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Is that in his humanity, in his humanity, was both
dead in humanity, in his humanity, he learned the impact
of full obedience to.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
The Father at the cross.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
That was, he knew all about everything, But when he
came to this issue of obedience unto death, and that's
what that's referring to. It's not referring to the fact
that he'd sinned, he's disobedient.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Now he had learned how to be obedient. He was
always obedient.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
And if you'll turn, for example, to a couple of pastones,
look in the John chapter eight for a moment, and
look what Jesus says here in this eighth chapter. So
Jesus said, when you lift up the son of Man,
you will know that I'm he and I do nothing
on my own initiative.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
But I speak those things as the Father taught me.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And so as he was growing up and learning to
listen to the Father, he was always obedient. And then
the sixth chapter, in the thirty eighth verse, looked at this,
if you will, Jesus said, for I have come down
from heaven not to do my own will, but the
will of him who sent me. And so everywhere you
find Jesus talking about his relationship to the Father, he says,
(05:41):
I only do those things I'll see the Father doing.
That was his whole perspective. So he didn't learn how
to be obedient from disobedience. He was learning the meaning
of full obedience to the Father that cost him his
life at the cross. So when you and I think
about obedience? How would you define it? Obedience is real
simple obedience says I do what God says, when he
(06:04):
says it, how he says it, for whatever reason he
says it, or with whom he says it. In other words,
it's all about him. There is not anything passive about
being obedient. It's active. It's a decision that you and
I make whether we will obey God or not in
whatever the situation may be. Now, what is the greatest
enemy to obedience? Partial obedience is the greatest enemy to obedience?
(06:32):
Because if I say, well, God told me to give
a tithe, then so I gave at least five percent. Well,
you say, well, in that obedience, obedience is doing what
he says, when he says, why he says, how he says,
where he says, or whatever it might be.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
It isn't partially.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
And I think a lot of people trust Jesus as
this saving a lot of times it's because nobody taught them.
And so they do us some things that they believe
that are right and are good, and then some things
they know that that really doesn't fit who they are
as followers of Jesus Christ. And so you ask him,
are you a Christian. Yes, Are you an obedient Christian?
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
And they can name you all the things that they
do partially or sought or sometimes. But obedience says, I
do what he says when he says, but whatever he reasons,
he says where he says, or with whom, if someone
else is involved, it isn't partial. It's an active act
on our part of being obedient. For example, when your
(07:30):
children are growing up and you said, eat everything on
your plate, they got in about halfway full, and you said,
I said everything you said, Look, look how much I
have already done. And sometimes when God works on our
heart and he tells us to do something and we
think we've done enough, we.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Think we've been obedient.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
In that getting a strict no define obedience. Obedience is
doing what God says when he says, do it, how
he says, do it, as long as he says do it.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
That doesn't mean that we are perfect. We will never
be perfect.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
But I see so many Christians who really believe that
they're walking in the spirit of God, who are allowing
things in that life that absolutely are not of God,
could not possibly be of God, and they rationalize it.
And rationalization is Satan's listen that Satan's attempt to keep
you off base.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
In your relationship to him.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
If I want God's best in my life, I must
be obedient to him. And if you'll think about how
wise that is. God, who is omniscient, I'm the present omnipotent,
loves us absolutely perfectly, and he's given us a course
to live. You can't improve on his course. He has
the best plan for every single one of us. He
has the best answer for every question we ask. He
(08:47):
has the best of everything. If we will follow him,
how do we follow him? We obey him or we
don't obey him. For example, somebody says, oh, what's a
cardinal Christian. Well, a cardinal Christian, if we put it
in terms of what we're talking about, is the person
who's been saved by the grace of God, but who
has reserved certain parts of their life to do what
they want to do, and they go to church and
(09:10):
they give and they read the Bible and pray. But
there's some things over here that there is Carnality. Is
that part of us, that's something within us that does
not want to be obedient to God, and so we
obey him in things which is convenient. Things are not convenient,
we don't and we think that we are obeying God,
and then we wonder oftentimes why doesn't God bless me?
(09:30):
And I hear people say I can't figure out why
God doesn't bless me?
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Why does he do this? And why does he do that?
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Well, the first place to look is within yourself and
ask yourself the question, Am I really and truly living
an obedient godly life? So when I think about the
number one enemy, partial obedience? Now, the second thing I
would say is simply this. The Garden of Eden was
the first school that God created for us to teach
(09:57):
his obedience.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
And what happens if you notice the Garden of Eden
what God didn't say.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
He didn't talk to Adam and Eve about faith, he
didn't talk to them about humility, He didn't talk to
them about anything, but one thing he said, there is
a tree in the midst of this garden that you
absolutely must not touch. Everything else is wide open and
absolutely totally satisfying, but there's one thing you can't touch
with that pain. The consequence thinking about this, think at
(10:25):
all the trees they had, he said, and don't touch
that one. So what do I do go straight to
that one. So many people don't realize you have to
learn to be obedient.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
All of us have failed.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Now, we all fail really because we desire our way
above God's way. So we choose to be disobedient. Well,
can I choose to be obedient?
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Yes? I can.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Now, when your children come into this world, they don't
know athing about obedience and disobedience.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
But isn't it interesting.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
They don't start out being obedient, They just start out
being disobedient.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Do they choose to do that? They don't realize what
they're doing. And it's almost like a lot of us
grow up and we never do learn what to do.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Obedience is God's way for his children, and it's the
best way. Listen, it's the best way every single solitary time.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
Amen, that's a little light. Let me ask you a question.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
If you believe that obedience is always God's best way,
say men, all right, then why don't you do it?
Because we have all kinds of reasons. Well, but you
don't know about this and this is what happens, and
this is the way they treated me, and here's what's
going on in my life, and here's my need.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
But remember what we said, is his way the best way? Yes?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
If I have a need and God allows that need,
is that the best way at that moment?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (11:58):
If I heard over something, is that the best way
at that moment? Yes, Because we say we believe that
God is engineering our circumstances so that all things have
worked together for our good. Now, he didn't say it,
wouldn't be hurtful, wouldn't be painful, wouldn't lose something, whatever
it might be. Obedience is God's absolute bottom line, and
(12:19):
most people are not willing to commit themselves to that.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Whatever God says is what I'm going to do.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
It'll bring you joy, it'll bring you pleasure, it'll bring
you enemies. But you and I must be obedient to
God to live out the life that He's calls to
live out. Most people are in trouble because they've disobeyed
some simple principle of God. And one of those simple principles,
and we continue to lay out there because it's so
simple and you don't forget it. We reap what we
(12:47):
saw more than we saw, later.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Than we sow.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Okay, if I know that's true, if I really truly
believe that, then I'm going to obey the principles that
God has given us. And think about this, all the
principles God's given us for our good, they're all for
our good. And so somehow we find ourselves in the
same classroom and we fail. The third thing I want
(13:09):
you to notice is this that Jesus is the pattern.
His life is the pattern for us. And this is
a beautiful way to put it. What Jesus said in
the fourth chapter of John. And he was talking to
the woman at the well. And as he's talking to her,
and the disciples had gone, And so Jesus said in
the thirty fourth verse, my food is to do the
(13:33):
will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Now what is he saying?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
He said, you know what fulfills me doing the will
of my father. What fulfills me is obeying the Father.
What foolfills me is walking in the Father's way. Look
at that my food. That is what satisfies me. What
energizes me is to do the will of him who
sent me, and to accomplish his work. And when I
(14:00):
look at these verses and look at the life of
Jesus and how he lived out his life, I love
this verse. Both of these, and He who sent me
is with me. He's not left me alone, for I
always do the things that please him to him. And
you know what I marked up in my Bible years ago,
and I thought my desire, I always want to do
the things that please him, and I continue today. That
(14:24):
probably one of the things that I am most grateful
for in my life that my grandfather sat down with
me for one week as an eighteen year old teenager
and told me something that has been like the guiding
light in my life. When he said to me, obey
God and leave all the consequences to him. I didn't
(14:46):
understand at the moment. I chuckled at it because what
he really said was obey God. And if God tells
you to run your head through a brick wall, head
for the wall when you get that God, and make.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
A hole for it. And so that was sort of
my response.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
But the I thought about it, this is what happens
if you obey God.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
You may lose some of your friends. You obey God.
You could lose your job. You obey God.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Some folks won't understand you. You obey God, oftentimes you'll
have conflict. But obedience is the bottom line, and here's
what Jesus said. He said, when you look at his
attitude and his actions, the thing that satisfied Jesus is
not how many people he had listening to him at
the sermon on the mount, all the crowds had followed
the fact that everybody thought that he was something special.
(15:32):
That's not what satisfied him. What satisfied him but satisfied
his soul. When he is out in the wilderness on
his knees early in the morning, talking to the Father,
what brought him the greatest delight was that he could
do the full will of the Father, that he could
walk in obedience. I asked you a question. Are you
happier when you know that you're obeying God? Are you
(15:56):
happier when you know that you're being disobedient?
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Then why don't we obey him?
Speaker 1 (16:02):
If you'll think about the reasons people don't obey God, Well,
I may miss something. Are you going to miss something
that God, who loves you has planned your life? It
may be some things in life you need to miss,
and there's some things in life you need to be
there when it happens. And when you're walking in his will.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
You'll be there.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
You will not listen, you will not miss when you
walk in the will of God and be obedient to him. Now,
so with all that in mind, let's think about how
do we learn to obey God. You didn't come into
the world with knowing how. So I just want to
give you some things to consider in your own life,
because nobody knows your life like you do. But you
(16:43):
need to learn how to be obedient to God. And
the first one is simply this. You must first choose
to trust him. If you don't trust him, you're not
going to obey him. Because one of the primary reasons
we don't obey God is we don't believe what he says.
When God says, I'll will supply all your needs according
to his rigius and glory in Christ Jesus, when he
(17:04):
says that, and I go out and do something that
is ridiculous and something that is dishonest in order to
get something that I want I desire.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
What I've said is I don't believe God.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
So the second thing is this, we must determine to
be willing to wait upon God in prayer. Many times
God will tell us to do something and make it
very clear, but he doesn't say do it now. And
sometimes he doesn't say when he's going to do it,
but he just says, here's what I want you to do,
(17:38):
and well, Lord, now when. And sometimes you and I
may pray about something for a long time before we
get to go signal, and you say, well, what's that about.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Here's what it's about.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
It's about God loving you enough and knowing you perfect
that to know when you are.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Ready for whatever it is you're seeking.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Sometimes what you're looking for, where you're seeking is is
not anything disobedient.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
It may be.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Absolutely right down the center of the will of God,
but his timing is important, and especially for example, if
that relates to somebody else or some situation or your
job or whatever it might be. It's that getting ahead
of God that gets us in trouble. So ask yourself
a question. Do you have a difficult time waiting upon God?
(18:25):
And notice I said waiting upon Him in prayer? If
you're not praying about the will of God something that
you're questioning your life or you're trying to find his
will about, if you're not praying about it, before long,
you're a step right ahead of God. And the problem
is you're going to be out of God's will, and
I think one of a sixty second psalm. Look at
(18:45):
that for a moment. I can think for a moment
when I was really really needing God's guidance and direction
and leadership in an awesome way, and my heart was
heavy about it all, and so I was praying and
just asking God give me direction. And sometimes I'll just
flip through the description and say, God, you know what
I need to hear this morning. I don't know what
(19:06):
I need to hear, but you know what I need
to hear. You know where I am, you know what
I'm looking for. I want to be obedient to you.
What do I do at this point? And I'll never
forget this verse, My soul waits in silence for God.
Only from Him is my salvation. He only is my
rock and my salvation. My strong life shall not be
(19:28):
greatly shaken. And the fifth verse, my soul wait in
silence for God for my hope. Listen, my hope is
from Him. If you and I are going to be
obedient to God, we're going to have to learn listen
to follow on His time, not our time.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
You're listening to in Touch The teaching ministry of doctor
Charles Stanley, A life of obedience require that we learn
to wait on the Lord. It's a necessary discipline that
will keep us from making costly mistakes. Doctor Stanley's message
on the crucial nature of obeying God continues tomorrow. To
learn more about the importance of following the Lord precisely,
(20:14):
visit our website in touch dot org and to review
what you heard just now, follow the link to Today
on Radio. If you like to have a copy of
doctor Stanley's complete message, you can order over at the bookstore.
The title is Obeying God Again. You'll find these resources
at in touch dot org. To call our text the
number is one eight hundred in touch. To write to us,
(20:37):
address your letter to in Touch Post Office box seventy
nine hundred, Atlanta, Georgia, three zero three five seven. Believers
have God's promise that he will be with them forever.
Encouragement is on the way in Today's moment with Charles Stanley.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
With the Thirty Life Principles Bible study, you'll enjoy a
rich exploration of God's Word designed as a ninety day
learning experien for individual use or in a group setting.
You'll explore doctor Stanley's thirty Life principles and learn how
to make the Bible look part of your everyday life,
because we can all benefit from a closer look. To
order the thirty Life Principles Bible Study, call one eight
(21:15):
hundred in touch or visit InTouch dot org slash store.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
You've got to be willing to set aside time.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
That's a real victory.
Speaker 6 (21:24):
Just imagine what it would have been like to look
over doctor Stanley's shoulder as he was spending time with
the scriptures. Doctor Stanley spent hours in preparation for his
sermons with photos of his Bibles, resources, and handwritten notes.
This new book will give you an intimate look into
doctor Stanley's daily walk with the Father God turned the
light on Charles F. Stanley's personal Bibles, books and notes
(21:45):
available now go to InTouch dot org, slash store.
Speaker 7 (21:51):
From the Pastor's Heart is an in depth teaching letter
the inspired by the teachings of doctor Charles Stanley. To
receive in touches from the Pastor's Heart letter, call one
eight hundred in touch or visit in touch dot org
slash Pastor's Heart.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
You're listening to in Touch Salvation is a gift of
God's grace and once received by faith, it can never
be returned, lost, or destroyed. Here's a moment with Charles Stanley.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
What I want to.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
Say is true of every single believer because of your union,
because you've received Jesus as you savior, and the Spirit
of God placed you into Christ and made you a
part of Him.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
He says.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
Now, your official, divinely stated position is that you're a
child of God, a purchased possession of His fully forgiven
of your sins. He says, you are a part of
the Kingdom of God. Your name is written in the
Lamb's Book of Life. You're a citizen of the Kingdom,
and you have already qualified for are a jaunt inheritance
(23:02):
with Jesus Christ, which you and I will be able
to enjoy for eternity. We have an eternal security. That's why,
he says, what can separate us from the love of Christ?
And the ultimate conclusion is absolutely nothing. Who can pluck
them out of my Father's hand, Jesus said, And the
conclusion is no one. You are eternally secure, so that
(23:25):
every single believer who faces death can face death without fear,
without dread, because of a union that you and I
have in Christ Jesus.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
That union eternally.
Speaker 5 (23:37):
Secures us as children redeemed forgiven forever, the child of God,
joining in his inheritance members of the Kingdom of God.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
To learn more about the most essential and secure friendship
you can have a relationship with God through faith in
Jesus Christ, visit us at in Touch Dorg. How are
you going to apply what you heard today? We'd love
to hear from you today Tomorrow on in Touch we'll
get a practical framework that will promote godly decision making.
(24:08):
I hope you'll join us Friday for more in Touch
the teaching ministry of doctor Charles Stanley. This program is
a presentation of in Touch Ministries Atlanta, Georgia and remains
on this station through the grace of God and your
faithful prayers and gifts
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