A Passion to Obey Him - Part 1

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, December 9th. Do you love Jesus? Before you answer, let's listen to today's podcast.

It helps you understand the one thing that demonstrates desire for God above all else. I'm Charles Stanley. Welcome to the In Touch Podcast.

I'm Charles Stanley. Thank you for listening. Welcome to the In Touch Podcast. I'm Charles Stanley. Thank you for listening.

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast. I'm Charles Stanley. Thank you for listening. I'm Charles Stanley. Thank you for listening. I'm Charles Stanley. Thank you for listening. Welcome to the In Touch Podcast. I'm Charles Stanley.

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast. response to what happened the Bible says in verse 28 They said we gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name and behold you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man's blood upon us But Peter and the Apostles answered and said we must obey God rather than men The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you had put to death by hanging him on a cross He's the one whom God exalted to his right hand as a prince and a Savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins And we're witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him So when they heard this, of course, they were immediately Smitten with the conviction and so the Bible says as a result the Gamaliel stands up and they gives a little Dissertation and the result is in verse 40 they took his advice and after calling the Apostles in they flogged them and Ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus and then released them and look at verse 41 So they went on their way from the presence of the council rejoicing that they've been considered worthy to suffer shame for his name and Every day in the temple and from house to house They kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ why? They had a passion to obey the Lord Jesus Christ who was their resurrected Lord Now I want you to listen carefully Because you who are parents need to instruct your children very very early in life On the whole issue of a passion to obey God all of us Adults need to examine very carefully. Do we just like obeying him at times? Did we just have a desire that we just want to or do we genuinely have a passion to obey him?

What I want to share with you is very practical. Not only will it be a method of Developing a passion but also a way to evaluate that passion and of course the results of it now It would be easy if we could say now from this point on just start obeying God Just have a passion to obey God No one can issue that command of ours and no one can give you and me a passion to obey And now remember that a passion is not just the desire, but it is a strong intense overwhelming emotional desire that is something that dominates and governs something that permeates and saturates and influences and Impacts every single aspect of our life a passion to obey him So what I want us to see here is this it is something that evolves in our life It is something that develops in our life It is an attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ that doesn't simply come with salvation though That's the beginning but it is an evolutionary process. It is a progression it is the development of a strong ever-growing ever intensifying desire and hunger and thirst and yearning to obey him that dominates and controls and Saturates every aspect of our life. So where does it begin?

And what I want you to see is it begins on the very lowest level. That is the very foundation of the evolving of a passion to obey him begins where Probably most of us feel it and then I want to bring us to the ultimate that is the high stage These stages will not be the same in everybody's life They won't be this consecutive or particular order But they're there and it begins with this and I want you to jot them down there ten of them. First of all This whole idea of a passion for God that is to obey him evolves First of all, the first stage is a fear of the consequences of disobedience when you and I are growing up And we trust that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior One of the first things that we learned or should have learned is to obey God Because to fail to obey him will bring very disastrous consequences in our life and so the beginning stage is the fear the fear of the consequences of disobedience in our life as we see The result of the consequences of disobedience in someone else's life. So it begins with fear.

Somebody says well That's not a very good motivation. Yes, it is Listen, it's better to obey God out of pure fear than not to obey him at all because God understands that fear is the beginning That's where we get in as beginners to obey him. First of all because we fear secondly a Commitment to obey him that is the passion to obey him evolves and at some point We make a commitment Lord Jesus. I want to obey you.

I acknowledge that you're the Lord of my life. I Acknowledge that you have the right to govern and to guide My life that you have the right to call the plays in my life And therefore I choose to make a commitment to be obedient to you And sometimes that commitment we understand and sometimes we don't understand the consequences of that kind of a commitment But that's part of it And so at no area and no place here do we suddenly reach some pinnacle? But it is an evolving process that goes on in our thinking as we think in terms of obeying him number three an increasing knowledge of Christ that is as you and I begin to obey him and knowledge and Understanding of who Jesus Christ is who he is in us who we are in him what he's all about in life His purpose is his goals as we begin to increase in our knowledge and understanding of who the Lord Jesus Christ is our Hunger our passion to obey him will increase likewise number four Then somewhere along the way we develop a desire for God's best That is we're not satisfied with just what the world has to offer We develop a hunger for God's best and my friend when you begin to want God's best naturally That's going to be related to obedience because you soon discover as I obey him Something very good happens in my life as I choose to disobey him somewhere along the way It becomes very evident that we suffer and so the desire to want God's best is a stage and a part and an element in the evolutionary process of developing a passion to obey him number five and That is faith in his promised blessings. That is as you and I begin to read the scriptures Here's what happens we begin to say Well, here's what God promised if they would do this and they did this and here's what God did And so what we begin to realize is in the scriptures God makes promises of blessing to his children when they obey him and Also, he warns them admonishes them of the consequences of disobedience So first of all, we see that in the Word before long we begin to track that in our own life We say wait a minute Here's what God asked me to do. Here's what God challenged me to do But here's what I did and here was the consequence now. Here's what God challenged me to do That's what I did and this is the consequence So what happens is we begin to develop a faith in the promised blessings of God that if we obey him He will bless us.

Listen. This is an Irrevocable principle of Scripture that is every single act of obedience is Rewarded otherwise God would be in debt to us when you and I obey him God rewards us we don't get all the rewards down here some of it We're gonna get when we get to heaven but reward and blessing always follows obedience to him then number six which is similar to that and that is the recognition of Past blessing following our obedience as we develop a faith in him then what happens then we develop what? We're able to trace back and look back and see what God is doing in the process. That is he is Challenging us to be obedient. We obey him and he blesses us in return then number seven That is a realization that it is always wise somewhere along the way we begin to realize, you know It's really always wise to obey him somehow We think at times. Well, you know, I'm gonna do my own thing I know this is what God says, but at this point here's what I'm gonna do and you and I know in our heart There is no way to improve on God There's no way in the world for God to tell us to do something and we come out with a better idea Listen, you can't improve on infinite wisdom And so part of the process this evolving process is somewhere along the way we begin to realize it is always Wiser to obey God Then if you will jot down number eight That is the encouragement of others One of the stages in this evolving process of a desire or a passion to obey him is the encouragement of other people then Number nine another part of the evolving process is our concern for our testimony That is we have the privilege of having an impact on someone else's life And so that too becomes an influence in and a part of the evolving process of developing a passion to obey him You think about the kind of impact that you as a mother you as a father can have upon your children Very early in life.

Listen, not only are you saying son above everything else? I want you to obey God if you don't do anything else just obey God don't do what I tell you to do you do what God tells you to do if a child hears that over and over and Over and over what happens in that little mind and that developing mind is that they see first of all that their dad their mom reverences God Acknowledges God that mom and dad are being obedient to God and if mom and dad are being obedient to God There must be some reason then you get them in the scriptures. They see what's going on in your life They hear you talking about obeying God and what happens something very very strange happens And what it is is you set the sense of direction because of your concern I believe every parent wants to be a good testimony to their children we want to be a good testimony and encouragement and a witness to other people who are in the process of trying to make very difficult decisions in their life and when you on your job and your business in your home You make a very difficult decision that is a decision to obey God I guarantee you somebody out there else is watching and looking to see what you do So they'll decide well now if I were in that kind of a situation What would I do then they see God honor your obedience then what happens the next time they get in a similar situation? They say well, I remember what happened He obeyed God or she obeyed God and that's what God did for them I'm going to do the same thing that becomes a part of the evolving process in this whole idea of developing a passion to obey him a strong overpowering Sensitive desire to be obedient to him that desire to dominate into control permeate saturate influence impact every single aspect of our life and then number 10 and This is the last one and I want you to see where we've come from Number 10 is love and devotion to Christ This should ultimately be the final and ultimate motivation for all of our development of a passion to obey him that we love him That should be it but look where we've come from first of all we began down here on the lowest stage the lowest level of Obeying him because we fear him that is because we fear the consequences But we have graduated and we have evolved and we have we have moved up the ladder to now Our motivation is not fear of the consequences though. We still understand that but now our motivation is we just love him We love him for who he is Therefore our passion to obey him is motivated above everything else simply because he is Christ Because of who he is and our love and devotion and loyalty to him is all the motivation We need for developing and for having a passion to obey him So somewhere along the way in that list of ten stages of steps or elements you find yourself Are you still down here obeying him because you're scared not to? Or is it deep down inside that you have seen the consequences in other people's life as well as your own and? Have you come to the place that you say? Well, you know it makes no difference with anybody else ever knows or not I'm going to be obedient to God simply because I love him for who he is It is an evolutionary process and my friend isn't as a parent we should get that process going very very early in the life of our children and then You and I as their parents can encourage that and bring them through step after step as we interpret What's going on in their life and as the process begins to involve evolve?

God will begin to grow and to build into them as well as into ourselves a passion to be obedient to him That is overpowering everything else Every other influence in our life. The question is can I do this be this go there? Can I have this relationship and be obedient to Almighty God now? Let me ask you a question How many of you? Have ever said in your life Lord Jesus. I Choose to be obedient to you regardless of the consequences I'm going to do what you say do no matter what anybody else says or what happens or Are you one of those persons who has said well? I want to obey God listen want to and making a commitment to do it is entirely different You're one of those persons who've said well, yes, I'm gonna be obedient to him But you already in your mind have set limitations. And so you've drawn a line and you said well, I'm going to obey God except when I can't see my way clear then I'm not sure I'm gonna do it or if he requires too much I'm not certain that I'm gonna do it or if I'm afraid or if you know If I don't think I can do it and what we do is we subconsciously draw a line we subconsciously Decide what our reservations are going to be what our limitations are going to be and I want to ask you a very very sobering question if Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life.

Where did you ever get the idea that you had a right to draw a line on? Christ and to tell him that you're going to obey him up to a certain point You're going to obey him if you're going to obey him except you're going to obey him when? My friend he is not the Lord of your life and my life in a practical fashion If at any time and at any place we draw a line and say to him Lord I'm willing to obey you but I just can't handle that but let me ask you a question Have you ever in your life ever made a commitment to Jesus Christ? Lord Jesus on the basis of who you are the virgin born incarnate Son of God the Savior of the world the Lord of life and my very life the judge before whom I shall stand one of these days and Give an account of my life Lord Jesus I choose here and now to make a decision to obey you the rest of my life No matter what the consequences are now you and I are not going to obey him every single time But my friend there is something about coming to a decision whereby you say from this point on that which ultimately Govens my decision-making process is basically one thing. What does Almighty God want me to do? Thank you for listening to a passion to obey him If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or in touch ministries stop by in touch dot o RG This podcast is a presentation of in touch ministries Atlanta, Georgia