Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, August 14th. What do you think God is like? Your answer shapes your life more than you may realize. Stay with us on the InTouch podcast for compelling and encouraging reasons to obey God. When you're confronted with a decision to make to either obey or disobey God, what is your response?
You say, well, Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. You know what? When you start living a godly life, You won't put up with that sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. There may be failures at times, and there will be weaknesses in moments when all of us don't do exactly what he says do. But you won't have a lackadaisical, spasmodic attitude.
Well, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, because you are going to begin to realize that roller coaster living, and that's what that is.
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.
That's not godly living. That's not the way He wants us to live. And oftentimes, the reason we excuse ourselves is because we've never decided. Why do we choose to obey God? Is it obligation?
Is it necessity? What is the reason? And then I think sometimes we don't realize the kind of spiritual impact. that it has upon our life. When we do not obey Him, or when we obey Him for the wrong reasons.
I want you to turn, if you will, to Acts chapter 5. Let me give you a little background of what's happening. Peter and John. went to the temple. Here's a man who's been lame for 40 years.
And they say to him as he asks something from them, and Peter says, silver and gold have I none. But in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he says, rise and walk, grabs him up by the hand, pulls him up, and he stands up and he's healed. Everybody around gets excited.
So they're brought before the magistrates and they're questioned about what they're doing. And so Peter and John answered and said, whether it's right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge. We cannot stop speaking about what we've seen and heard. And they had seen, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ, crucifixion, resurrection, and all the rest.
So they let go and then they're preaching the gospel again. A lot of things are happening. People are being saved. Hundreds and hundreds of people are being saved. They get arrested again.
And this time, they get thrown in jail and the angel of the Lord lets them out. And so when they come looking for them, they can't find them. They're brought before the magistrates again. And listen to what happens in chapter 5, beginning in verse 27. When they had brought them, they stood them before the council.
The high priest questioned them, saying, We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name. That is the name of Jesus. And yet, you fill Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Listen to what Peter said. But Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you've put to death by hanging him on the cross. He's the one whom God exalted to His right hand as Prince and a Savior. to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things. And so is the Holy Spirit.
Whom God has given to those who obey Him.
Now here's the question. What is it that motivated this passion within him to say, We must obey God rather than men. Have you ever had to say that? I must obey God rather than you. I must obey God rather than men.
Or simply, I must obey God in this situation. Confronted with something that God has confronted you with, and you know in your heart, I must be obedient to Him, I must obey God. What is the passion? Within Peter, that caused him to say, we must obey God. Not obligation, not guilt, not afraid of him.
But what are the reasons?
So I'm going to ask you a question: why do you obey him? When you get confronted with those things in life, why do you obey? Do you obey because You're afraid to look over your shoulder because if you disobey him, he's going to get me. And there are a lot of people who live their whole life out of fear. Even after they're saved, they live their life in fear.
Suppose I do this, what's God going to think? I don't want to disappoint God. You know, you can't disappoint God. In order to disappoint someone, they have to have expectations of you. and not knowing what's going to happen.
You know what? God knows all about what you and I got to do. He's never disappointed. He already knows everything that's going to happen in our life, so he's not disappointed. He may be grieved by what we do, but it's no big surprise to him.
God doesn't want you obeying Him because you're afraid of what's going to happen and because you fear He's going to reject you and He's not going to love you anymore. Then why? What is the motivation? What is it that motivated the Apostle Peter standing before those people, knowing they could put him in jail and keep him there for a long time or take his life, whatever? What motivated him to say, We must obey God.
He knew something. He was motivated by the right thing.
So let's think about what those things are. And the first one, of course, is: we obey Him because we reverence Him. That is, we acknowledge who he is. We recognize who he is. And so, when you look at this fourth chapter, what the disciples are saying here.
When they are brought before the rulers, beginning in verse 8, then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers and elders of the people, If we're on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man as to how this man has been made well, Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, Whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone, that is Jesus is, which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, but there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. You know what motivated him? What motivated him is?
He knew. Listen, he had a reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew who he was. That is, he is the creator of the heavens and the earth. He's the giver of life to every single one of us.
And when Peter said, we must obey God. He knew who he was talking about. His love for us is unsurpassed. It's absolutely immeasurable. And when we think about the forgiveness of our sins, and we think about all that He is and all that He does.
We have a reason to stand in awe of Him. We sing that we stand in awe of him. That means we reverence him, we honor him, we adore him, we worship him because he's worthy of it. Why should you and I obey him? Because of who he is.
A second reason you and I should obey him, and one of the reasons that we ought to be motivated to do so, and certainly I think this was true of Peter and those apostles, is. We obey him out of pure gratitude. God the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, reached down. convicted you of sin. gave you the gift of faith.
I accepted your confession and your repentance. And what did he do? He saved you. And he redeemed you. And he glorified you and reconciled you and justified you and sanctified you.
He adopted you into His family so that every single one of us is a child of the living God once we trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. And He sent the Holy Spirit to seal us forever as one of His children. And you think about this. You and I are not saved today because of our good works, we're saved by His great grace. We're not kept saved by good works, but listen, by His eternal gift.
of eternal security. Who we are and what we are as the result of who He is and what He is, and His love and devotion for us. And the scripture says not only has he saved us, reconciled us, and changed us, living on the inside of us through the Holy Spirit. Enabling us every single day, providing for our needs, giving us direction for our life. He's planned our life, He has the path all laid out.
And he's promised to walk with us and to provide our needs every single day, no matter what's going on in our life. And when you think about so much that he's done that you're not even aware of, we talk about redemption. Did he pay the sin debt at the cross for your sins? You couldn't have done that. Only the sinless Son of God could die for them.
He chose to do that. Prepared your home in heaven. Wrote your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. Getting you ready to go there. And he has a place nobody can take but you.
When you think about all he's done for you, How can you and I do anything but obey Him, motivated by pure gratitude and thanksgiving? But there's a third reason, and I think certainly this also was a part of Peter's thinking when he said. We must obey God rather than man. Why? simply because We love him.
Peter certainly loved the Lord. And you know, when I think about all the things that Peter went through and how what a leader he was among the apostles, but In the most critical, crucial moments of Jesus' life. when he needed a friend as he'd never needed one before. He did not even do it. But can you imagine the penetration of the eyes of Jesus when his eyes met Peter's eyes and he simply The scripture says he looked upon Peter.
And Peter remembered, it went straight to his heart. His confession and repentance must have been weeping and weeping and weeping, but you know what? He had a love for Jesus that gave him courage. And confidence and assurance that nothing else in the world would. When we think about.
when he said, we must obey God rather than man. His love for him. His love for the Lord Jesus Christ. And you think about how He's loved us. And I think about all the different ways he's loved us, but I think one of the most significant is this: that he chose a plan for your life.
And I think as you think about that, let's look, for example, in Ephesians chapter 1 for a moment because. This is a wonderful passage, and oftentimes you think, well, does God care about me? Does God love me? We question all the things that we wonder about sometimes. Listen to what he says.
Chapter 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ? You know what that means? He has already.
Planned it. Store it up. It's provided for every single thing you and I will ever need. Our loving Heavenly Father is already prepared. Listen to this.
just as he chose us. in Christ before the foundation of the world. an awesome expression of his love for us. That He chose us. You know why you're saved?
Because God chose you. Listen, He says not only that, He predestined us to do what? to become a member of his family, adoption. as His sons through Jesus Christ.
Now watch this. To himself according to the kind intention of his will. You know why he did it? Because he wanted to. When you think about the fact of how he has loved us and the things he's done for us in our life, You think about the fact he says he lavished his grace upon us.
that God loves you enough to plan the best for your life. and is willing to walk with you through that plan. He has the path every single day laid out. And if you and I will follow that, We'll discover something about him that we could never discover any other way. He's so willing to express that love.
When I think about how much he loves us and all he's done for us that no one else can do, why do I need any other reason than the fact I just love him? We obey Him because we love Him. You won't love Him until you understand who He is. When you understand who he is, what's happened, your gratitude's going to begin to skyrocket. Why do you obey God?
Could you say that's because you understand who He is, the sovereign ruler of this universe, your Heavenly Father? Can you say that your heart is overflowing with gratitude for all that He's done in your life and all that He's doing and what you know He's going to do and things you don't know He's going to do? 'Cause you say it's because you just love him. And loving him is enough for you. There's another reason we obey him, and that's this, and that's because we trust him.
Why do you think The apostle Peter and his fellow disciples said, We must obey God. Here's the reason. Because they trusted him. You know what? You will not obey a God you don't trust.
And the reason you and I disobey him is this. We disobey him because at that moment Oh, in that situation, we don't trust him. What we're saying is he's not all he says he is. What we are saying is we know better than he does. He can't fix this.
I'll have to fix it myself. I can't wait on him because my timing is better. God doesn't understand all the circumstances. If He knew what I knew, He'd do it my way. You know what?
You don't obey a God, you do not trust. We should indeed obey Him. Because we trust Him. You and I come to situations and circumstances where we don't have the answer. He does.
He's never been confused or confronted or late. He's never been disturbed or upset or frustrated by some circumstance in our life. He loves us. He desires the very best for us. And listen.
He has chosen. to give you his best. if you will trust him. and wait for him and let him do it his way. Another reason you and I should obey him is this, and that is because When you and I obey him, we feel very secure.
Now think about this for a moment. They stood before their Accusers, Peter and John answered. Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge. We can't stop speaking about what we've seen and heard. They had courage.
Boldness. He said, We must obey God rather than men.
Now here's what happens. When you and I sin against God, Our conscience gets to working. That's not the only thing that begins to working. Sin fragments your thinking. Sin causes doubt.
Sin causes fear. Sin causes anxiety. Sin causes frustration. And sin causes a person to make decisions that are unwise.
Now There is an awesome sense of security that comes when you and I obey him. And when we obey him, God gives a sense of security that comes no other way. You see, when you and I obey him, And we ought to listen, we should obey it for the very security that it gives us. We ask, why is it some people can go through difficulty, hardship, and pain and come through it all somehow with a smile, a sense of confidence, and as hurtful as it may have been, how can they come through that? Is it by knitting grit?
No. Here's the reason. Because when a person is walking in obedience to the Father, The circumstances really don't make a lot of difference. Because the Father is going to give a sense of security. Strength.
courage, boldness, contentment. that nothing else in the world can give. And you see, there is no other answer. but that kind of assurance and boldness. What oftentimes would knock other people off just totally off the path?
You come along because you're walking in obedience to him and you know what? The devil may try you, tempt you, test you, give up, quit, run away, whatever it might be, and inside of you, the Holy Spirit is reminding you. You're walking in the presence of the Father, the sovereign ruler of this universe. I am here. I am with you.
I will enable you. I'll protect you. I'll walk you through this. You will come through it. I will bless you.
I will honor you. I will do things in your life far beyond your imagination. That is the testimony of the Spirit of God. When you and I walk obediently before Him. Listen to this: a loving Heavenly Father is not going to allow you, one of His children, They have a sense of security and boldness and confidence.
When he knows you're disobeying him. Living in disobedience. You are out of his plan. And you know what he does? He stirs up enough.
to bring us back to himself. We obey him because There is an awesome sense of security that comes in knowing that you're walking in the center of the will of God. This is the reason people can face death. Even through sickness, knowing that they are in the will of the Father. With this awesome sense of confidence.
The next time you're in a situation or a circumstance, and you're gripped with fear. Uncertainty, doubt, Ask yourself this question. Why would I a child of God? Unconditionally loved by the Heavenly Father. who's promised.
No weapon formed against me shall prosper. No plague shall come nigh me. Why am I afraid? And if you will examine it, more than likely you're going to find something that shouldn't be there. you're going to find something that's missing.
And that is, you see, There is no security. without obedience. And I want to encourage you to ask yourself the question. Isn't it about time? You started obeying your Heavenly Father.
And if you've never trusted him as your savior, If you're willing to confess your sins, you can pray this kind of a prayer. Father? Your words right? I've had it my way. I've been stubborn.
I want it my way. I'm not really happy. I'm not content. I don't really have joy and peace. I don't have any real genuine security.
I'm worried about this and fretting about that. And you see, people who are very wealthy, you think they don't have anything to worry about. Oftentimes, they've got more to worry about. You know why? They look back and see how hard they work to accumulate all of these material things.
And now they're worried to death about what's going to happen to them. They turn to drink, they turn to all kinds of things. You know what? Worried about God's blessings. Don't know what's going to happen when they die.
The major question ought to be what's going to happen to them when they die, not their material possessions. I'm simply saying, if you will ask Him to forgive you of your sins and to save you, He'll do it right now. And then what happens? you can stop being afraid of God. And remember that He is your loving Heavenly Father.
Jesus Christ is your Savior, Lord, Master, and Brother. and the Holy Spirit. Is your continuing enabler to help you to become the person God wants you to be. It is foolish. to live a life.
of disobedience. When so much is offered, to those who obey him. Thank you for listening to Reasons to Obey God. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org.
This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
