Step 4: OBEDIENCE
Topic 1: Obedience establishes us
Pastor Maselo Mosomane
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25
After preaching to the multitudes Jesus concludes His sermon by demanding action from His audience. It is like He was saying; “now that you have heard me, what are you going to do about it?” While they were still scratching their heads He went on to give them an illustration. He paralleled a man who hears and does what he hears with a builder who digs his foundation and build it upon the rock. Jesus calls this builder “a wise man”
When we hear and put to action what we have learned; Jesus calls us wise men and women. Hearing makes one knowledgeable but acting upon what you’ve heard makes one wise. We might as well turn it around and say, instruction produces knowledge and knowledge acted upon produces results. Jesus calls the ability to act on instruction, wisdom.
We need both knowledge and action in order to grow in the spirit. We need instruction and performance. Knowledge must precede action and action must always follow instruction. Someone once said; “inspiration without information is dangerous.” I am tempted to flip the coin and here’s what I found; “information without inspiration makes one poor.”
How many people are out there who are literally breathing the word but never get up to do something? They are like a car without wheels. You may fill the tank and turn the key and rev the engine; it will still not move for it has no wheels. Many churches are full of precious people who are able to recite the bible from Genesis to Revelation but lack action. Hear me well my friend; we must be filled with the word of God; we must have a treasure of the word in our hearts as Jesus says in Matthew 12:35; “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.” But the exercise does not end up there my friend. We must know the word, alright, but we must also walk the word. We must walk the talk. It is not over until we learn to walk the talk. It is not over until we learn to practice what we preach.
Obedience is acting on what you have heard. We can all hear the same instruction but it is only those who will stand up and do something about what they heard who will have results. Hearing is the starting point but practicing what you’ve heard is running the race. Hearing alone will not bring results; but once the two are paired together success is inevitable. Jesus says; “whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them.” We don’t succeed just because we have heard; we succeed because we practice what we heard.
Jesus is the perfect picture of obedience. He was sent to the earth to perform the toughest task ever. He was sent to come and die for undeserving sinners. Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit writes to Christians in Rome; “Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” Romans 5:7-8 NLT. Jesus obeyed the Father and die for us and it is “…by one Man’s obedience (that) many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19
All the days He stayed on earth He obeyed in every respect. “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” Philippians 2:8. He was willing to give up His rights and go through these excruciating pains to show us that no level of pain or suffering must stop us from obeying God. “…though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” Hebrews 5:8
The act of hearing and doing as Jesus illustrates, strengthens the foundation of one’s lives. Knowledge is cemented upon the rock (the truth) when it is acted upon. It is easy to remember what you did more than just what you heard. The disciples of Jesus did not have a problem writing the Gospels because they were there when He performed the miracles. They were ready to go when He sent them to go and practiced what they have learned. They came back bubbling with joy; “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name” Luke 10:17.
Spiritual growth is learning to hear from God and practicing what you heard. Many people will tell you what God told them but few will tell you what they did with what God told them. Christians today have become more like men of Athens. “For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing” Acts 17:21
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