|
(Seeking out ways to Obey Jesus Christ)
"We may praise God in our actions and behavior. There my be many ways outward and manifestations of love, wonderment, and rejoicing besides our words. Our actions may speak these things as well and better than our voices. There are many things in themselves indifferent that may be manifestations of gratitude and are accepted of God when they are done with a grateful spirit and are no other than decent expressions of thankful sentiments in our minds, such as eating and drinking and decently adorning ourselves...
But the principle thing wherein praise is our behavior consists, and which is most acceptable to God, is cheerful obedience. However any may pretend that they thankfully take notice of God’s goodness, it is a vain pretence if they don’t study to please and honor Him. Men themselves will never accept thanks for any kindness where the behavior is crass and contrary. Those whose hearts are filled with praise will say, “what shall I render to the Lord of all His benefits?” They don’t offer that praise that glorifies God that don’t order their conversation aright and when do so, if it arises from a sense of His greatness and goodness, it is true and acceptable praise.” - (Jonathan Edwards, “It’s a very decent and comely thing that praise should be given to God”)
As I read this the other day I was struck in my heart by its penetrating truth, which exposes the human heart for what it really is. The particular thought which grab my conviction, as a wrestler would grab his opponent, was this. That true and deep praise which arises from living a life of joyful obedience was not only done when I happen to find a new commandment of Jesus and then follow it, but instead the deepest life of worship is accomplished when I actually go out my way to seek, find and discover for myself all and every command given by the Living God so that I my obey them all! This I believe shows or exposes the maturity of the Christian as they really are. This is the type of thing, which shows how much of a friend you are toward Jesus Christ.
NLT John 15:14, “You are my friends if you obey me.”
I am far to aware of how the sinful heart tries to deceive its host in thinking it is really a mature Christian rightfully following Christ when it is not. How many times when we feel and are slightly inclined that the following action, behavior or participation might be questionable before the Living Holy God. But instead of seeking out to find if it is, we are sinfully content on waiting for a long distant day where the answer might fall into our laps. We are far to busy pleasuring ourselves and finding satisfaction in our joking habits, TV habits, our casual church and giving ourselves to other people habits, to actually seek and discover every possible commandment and wise instruction given to us by Jesus Christ, so that we might obey each and every single one of them. That we might no longer live for ourselves by instead live for righteousness and the King of righteousness. Let us stop kidding ourselves with vain pretenses and know that our maturity of our friendship to God is easily known by how much and how HARD we actually go out our way to seek and find every possible way to joyfully obey our God and Savoir Jesus Christ.
Are you a true friend of Christ, or are you a friend of the world. How hard do you seek and discover new worldly ways to gratify your sinful flesh compared to how hard you personally seek and discover new ways to satisfy ourself by obeying God? God is not blind, He knows how the list would stack up today in your life! We say God is our friend, but is He really?
2 Corinthians 5:15, “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
1 Peter 4:2, “that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
Colossians 3:1, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.”
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him.”
Jesus Christ is the example to follow in this for in, John 14:31, Christ gives this explanation to why He had die and suffer on the cross, “that the world may know that I love the Father.” The world must know how much Jesus loves the Father. For in this supreme obedience Christ demonstrates the eternal Fame of the Most High God. For if Christ would still love to obey His Father even though it meant His willfully undergoing such horrific suffering, then how Grand of person the Father must be! For the Father’s worth and beauty must be at an unimaginable height since Christ would love His Father even under such a hard request. This should motivate us to desire and long to know such a One as Great as this! But notice how Christ demonstrates the Famousness of the Father and His love to His Father. His does it by obedience. And so we are lead to do the same. Recall the many times the four gospels mention how Christ sough solitude time to be in prayer with the Father. Doubtlessly much of this was spent in Seeking out ways to obey the Father by making Him and His Glory known. John 5:36, “the works which the Father has given Me to finish.” Christ constantly placed Himself to teaching His disciples, teaching the masses, eating with sinners, warning the religious, healing the hurting and every other possible way He could obey His Father, in the things the Father sent His Son to do. Observe how Christ purposely placed Himself personally before every possible economical, cultural and religious person that was around Him. He was seeking out every possible way to loving obey His Father. Christ is our example to follow in how to seek, find and to go out of our way to obey every command we might discover. To honor and worship the God we love, the God who made us His very own people by His infinitely valuable blood and tears. God has given us His word. We therefore have no excuse for not knowing what Christ demands from us. God has also given us; minds, souls, hearts, hands, feet, time, tools, talents, giftings and money therefore we have no excuse for not actually and physically obeying Christ in each and every single command.
|
