This is Andy Thomas from the Masculine Journey Podcast where we discover what it means to be a wholehearted man. Your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting in just seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. If you were to choose one word, just one.
That would accurately reveal the true condition of your soul before God, what might that word be?
Well, stay with us, listen, and learn. You're listening to Until He Comes, a blend of prophetic and practical biblical studies with Dr. Greg Hinnett, author of The Second Coming of Christ, His Appearing, His Return, Our Preparation. And now, author and teacher Greg Hinnett. And that one word is obedience.
Yes, obedience is the manifest response of our entire being to God. More than anything else, obedience reveals the true inward state of our soul. it shows the true spiritual condition We are in. First Samuel two, verse three, states, The LORD is a God of knowledge. And by him actions are weighed, Now this presents the Lord standing by the scales of his justice.
And on the scales are our actions, not our religious words. But our real actions. These are on the scales of his judgment.
Now First of all, let's Clear something up. As Christians, if you are born again, you're not going to be judged whether you go to heaven or hell. That judgment has been settled. you have passed from death unto life. But as a Christian, you will be examined for your life works.
And those that are obedient will fall on the positive side and consistent acts of disobedience on the negative side. And you will either be rewarded for your consistent good works or you'll suffer the loss of rewards for your consistent disobedience to God. 2 John verse 8 makes this clear. Yeah.
So this is what we're talking about. the great judgment seat of Christ. You know, our salvation is entirely by grace and not at all by works. But once we're Christian, Once we're Christian, Our rewards are entirely by works And not By grace, Jesus said in Revelation twenty two, verse twelve, Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Very clearly.
Our rewards will be according to our individual works of obedience.
So, This topic should grip your attention. Obedience is arguably the most important topic in the Bible. The Bible's multitude of references on obedience reveal its immense importance in God's sight.
Now here are just a few of the Bible texts that show us how vitally important obedience is Yeah. 1 Samuel 15, 22, a well-known text, says, to obey. is better than sacrifice. and to hearken than the fat of rams. King Saul had been told.
to go on a mission and kill all the Amalekites and their animals and spare none. But he went and he killed All the people except the king and all the animals except the best, claiming that he wanted to come back and offer sacrifice with those animals to honor the Lord. But the prophet Samuel, seeing from God's perspective, said, Listen, What God wants is your obedience, not this sacrifice. Just do what he says. He doesn't want you to think up something to do in its stead.
Jeremiah seven twenty three states, Obey my voice and I will be your God. And you shall be my people. And walk in all the ways that I command you, that it may be well with you. This text promises that if we will be consistently obedient, God will consider us His own Precious people. You will be mine.
He will own us. That's my man. That's my woman. That's my church. That's my ministry.
It also shows that it will be well with us, that is, God's blessing will rest on us. The shalom of his peace can rest upon us. Exodus nineteen five says, If you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people. What a promise That if we will be consistently obedient to the Lord and His voice in our life, He will consider us one of His jewels. This is what He said in Malachi chapter 3, speaking of the Jewish remnant of the tribulation period, he said he considered them his jewels.
So the promise is also available to us to be his special. pressure. Ephesians six verse one says, Children, Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. And I think we would all agree this is right. But let me ask you a question: Is it right?
For you and I to order our children to obey us And use this text in doing so, while at the same time, we have areas of our life where we are consistently disobedient. I don't think that, that is right, and I think you agree with me.
Now Hebrews 5, 8 says, Though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. This tells us that Jesus as a boy learned the importance of obedience from his father Joseph and Mother Mary in their home. No doubt they talked about the things of God. They quoted scriptures from the Torah, the prophets, and from the writings And they told him biblical stories, the importance of obedience versus the dangers of disobedience. Then he heard this message also in his local synagogue every Sabbath day when the scriptures were read and commentaries were given on the text.
Then he heard homilies given by visiting rabbis who came to the synagogue in Nazareth. And in all this, he went through a learning process and he realized just how important. obedience is.
Now we know he took this to heart because He said, I delight to do thy will, O my God. That's in Psalm forty, verse eight, Christ speaking through the Spirit of prophecy. And then he said in John 8, 29, I do always those things that please him.
So Jesus considered Obedience to his father most important.
Well, the Bible has much to say about this. There are literally hundreds of biblical texts that talk about the vital importance of obedience. Deuteronomy is one book that emphasizes obedience. Jesus emphasized obedience in his teaching. James emphasized his teaching obedience in his teaching when he said If you have faith, Show me your works, meaning your corresponding actions of obedience.
So this is most important. One of the reasons it's most important is that God is looking for men and women he can trust in his service now. How can God use us to fulfill our ministry calling and help build His spiritual kingdom in souls? if we are consistently disobeying him in any area of our life or our heart.
So let's stop just a moment and consider. Are we disobeying the Lord in any issue in our life? Is there any area of consistent disobedience? If so, today is the day to get that right.
Now We want to see here also in this lesson today that every act of obedience to God sends him a message that is rich with meaning, full of significance and spiritually profound.
Now this message is sent every time we obey God's word, Every time we obey God's guidance, His checks or His prompts. Every time we obey God's call. For his calling is different in every individual life. Each one of us has a different path to follow and work to complete. But every time he sees an act of obedience, God gets a message.
Our acts of obedience are speaking to Him. What are they saying?
Well, they are revealing our true faith, Our true submission to him. as lord our true fear of Him that is the Awe of God and our true love for him.
Now we're going to talk about two of these Points in this remaining segment, and we will discuss the others. In part two.
So obedience is an expression of our faith. or what we truly believe. Belief of whatever kind commands action, and action of whatever kind. reveals our belief. Think about that.
Belief commands action. and actions reveal our belief.
So our consistent actions Reveal Our consistent thoughts. And our true beliefs. Whatever else we may say about our beliefs. It's our actions that reveal what we truly believe. For instance, Hebrews eleven, six says, He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Well if we diligently seek him. We do so because we believe he will reward us. If we do not diligently seek him, either we are ignorant of this text, we never heard it, or if we've heard it, We did not take it to heart. And we don't truly believe it. Because if we did We would obey it.
Now let's give some other examples. You know a Christian who is gossiping. All the time. Obviously does not believe that he or she will give account of every idle word in the day of judgment. Jesus explicitly stated this.
Hmm.
So if they've heard it and they continue to gossip, They don't believe there will be a day of accounting for them. And by the way, gossip is just such a terrible church sin.
So many times We cast aspersions on other people's characters to third parties, and they've never met the people that we're talking about, but they begin to form misjudgments and they begin to reject people, and they've never even met them. Gossip is a terrible sin. Then First Corinthians 11, thirty one says that if we would judge ourselves, we would not be Judged. This is most important because self examination is a requirement in a true disciple. And the only thing that hinders that is our examination of other people all the time.
That's why in Matthew seven, verses one through five, Jesus Took issue with our habit, the habit that That is derived from our old nature, whereby we love to look at other people. and think about where they're wrong, how they should correct themselves. They should do this, they should do that, they shouldn't do this, they shouldn't do that, they're right in this situation, they're wrong here. Oh, we give all kinds of time and thought to judging others. Jesus reverses that process and says, Look.
And I'm just paraphrasing here Matthew 7, 1 through 5. He sang Quit giving your time and attention to other people's perceived faults. Deal with your own. And then he ends that little segment by saying If we will get the beam, Out of our own eye, the major sins and faults, we will see clearly.
Well, that makes sense. You get something out of your eye, you can see. See clearly for what purpose? To then get the spec. Out of your brother's eye.
So, what he's really telling us, he's saying, stop judging others and start judging yourself. And if you'll do that, you will in that process grow in discernment. Accurate spiritual vision and then you can help others. First of all, because you see accurately. Secondly, because by examining yourself, you've gained a knowledge of what Solomon called the plague of our own heart.
And that gives you some compassion when you deal with others, and you're not dismissive or judgmental, you're compassionate and tender. in offering advice when asked.
Now Another text is Galatians 6.7. Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. And specifically, this text promises that if we sow to the flesh, we shall of the flesh reap corruption.
Well, if a Christian is consistently walking in fleshly sins. He or she obviously does not believe there will be a day of reckoning for that.
So their disobedience proves. They don't believe the text. And they don't believe God who inspired it. And then Avoiding sin. You know, holiness is an important issue, though we have tended to neglect it for some time in the American Church.
But Hebrews twelve, verse fourteen says, Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.
So the Christian who avoids sin. Knows that this is real and they do not want to have any part of sin because. They know that if they don't walk in holiness, they won't see the Lord now or later.
So again, their belief commands their action, and their action reveals. their true belief. Keeping company with sinners. Hm, this is important. First Corinthians fifteen thirty three says evil company Corrupts good morals.
You know, when you get saved, if you continue to keep close friendship. and share activities closely with people who are living in sin, practicing sin knowingly and impenitently, their conduct will affect your spiritual life. Your Spiritual life will not help them at all because this text tells you. Evil company corrupts good morals.
So if you separate, not with judgmentalism, but with compassion, but you know you just can no longer befriend these people, you still pray for them, you love them. If you do that, it's because you understand this is a reality. Then studying God's Word. The Bible says Study to show yourself approved unto God, A workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. If you believe that text, you're going to be studying the Bible.
Perhaps daily. I would recommend So that you can get to know God's Word. live by it and share it with others. If you're praying about every problem, It could be because you have read and you believe 1 Peter 5, 7. Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.
If you believe he cares for you. For you, you will cast all of your care upon him. And here's something that's very important. If you're preparing your life for Jesus, appearing. It may be because you have heard that Jesus is coming again and he issued readiness warnings in association with his prophecies of his return.
So, if you hear those prophecies that he is coming back and shall come again. And you read those warnings. About preparedness, that we must be ready and watching and living worthy or prayerful lives, getting to know Him, being faithful, etc. If you believe that. You're going to be living that way.
If you're not preparing your life for Jesus' appearing, Then you either have never heard that he's coming back, and sadly some Christians have not, Or you heard that message. and you don't believe it.
So you are a sleeping bridesmaid, That is described. In Matthew chapter twenty five. Those are just some examples of how Our belief controls our action. And our actions are Our consistent actions reveal Now Let's move on. Obedience demonstrates submission to Jesus' Lordship.
You know, there's nothing easier in the world than calling Jesus Lord. Yet, what we do and not what we say determines if he or another, namely self or Satan. Is our real Master Let me Ask you. Who is your lord? Who is your Lord?
You know, Lord means Master and ruler.
So, whatever or whoever rules us is, in fact, our Lord. And sadly, many Christians call Jesus Lord. But they're allowing other things. Or other people. To rule them.
Particularly self.
So Jesus is not their real Lord. You know, this is a heartache for Jesus. He expressed it in Luke 6:46. Why called ye me Lord, Lord? And do not the things Which I say.
In other words, why are you calling me Lord, but you're consistently disobeying me? These are those who give lip service but not. Life service. They claim inspiration is But they live in insubordination.
So this is Jesus. Heartache.
Now, I'm going to ask you again. Is Jesus heartbroken over you right now? You can change that. Or is he pleased? Because you were.
broken in his sight. You're living under his lordship. You're allowing him to rule you, not other people, not other things, not your self-will. This is such an important issue.
So many proclaim that he is their Lord. Yet They obey his commandments only when they're convenient or pleasant, If there's any sacrifice required at all, they disobey and think nothing of it. These people are not living under the Lordship of Christ. Lord, Lord, Christians sing his praises, but do not submit. To the authority of his word.
Or to his spirits leading in their life.
So they are saved, but Unsubmissive followers of him.
Now, the technical term for these. Christians, I called them Lord, Lord, Christians. The technical term is a carnal Christian. Paul describes this in his 1 Corinthian epistle. And He talks about the various attitudes that Denote And describe Carnality.
And it doesn't mean that these people are necessarily living in the lower sins of the flesh. It means that they have not. Progressed And learning to live the spiritual life, in learning to think spiritually, and having their minds. Renewed. It hasn't yet been important enough to them, apparently, and so.
They have come. as they are and they have remained. as they are, and this is not the plan of God. His will is described for all of us generally in Romans eight, twenty nine, that we should be conformed to the image of his son.
So here we've seen today in this first part of our discussion of obedience, oh, how vital obedience is and that it determines our eternity Not whether we will be saved or lost if we're a Christian, but What kind of eternity will we have? Will it be honorable or dishonorable, joyful or not joyful? This is most important, and we should decide these issues now. And realize that every act of obedience is sending God a message. It's telling Him that we do believe Him and we do consider Him our Lord.
Let me encourage you to think about these things, look up these scriptures and practice them, and we will talk about this subject again. This month, for a gift of any amount, we are offering Dr. Hinnant's book, Walking in His Ways, which describes 24 spiritual disciplines of a New Testament disciple of Christ. Whether a new convert or an experienced Christian, this book will speak to you in a timely way. For a gift of $60 or more, we'll send you the complete four-volume Hidden End Times Prophecy Collection, The Second Coming of Christ, The Tribulation Story, Revelation Notes, a verse-by-verse commentary on Revelation, and The Day of the Lord Commentary, which interprets all Old Testament prophecies and foreshadowings of the end times.
And if you are a Logos Bible Software user, you may purchase The Second Coming of Christ, The Day of the Lord Commentary, and Revelation Notes from the Logos Online Bookstore.
Now, again, Dr. Hinnett. And now it's time for some Q ⁇ A. Caleb from Kernersville, North Carolina asks, is it important to have good maps to show us places mentioned in the Bible? For instance, Daniel chapter 1, verses 1 and 2.
Yes, Caleb. Having good maps of biblical territories is always helpful in understanding biblical events. Maps may also lead us to meaningful insights related to the biblical text we are studying. The text you cited states, In Daniel's time Babylon's king Nebuchadnezzar removed furnishings from the Jewish temple and took them to the temple of his God in the land of Shinar, or Hebrew, Where was Shaynaur? It was in Mesopotamia, in the land of Babylonia, of which Babylon was the capital.
The land of Shinar was also the scene of the first recorded organized human rebellion against God at a place called Babel. Genesis nine one states that after the flood, God commanded Noah's sons to spread out over the earth, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. But Genesis 11, two reveals, instead of obeying God, the people settled in the land of Shinar. Aided by their newly developed technology, fired bricks, they built a massive tower, or ziggurat, to exalt their name, their pride, to honor their god Marduk, whose name was purportedly written on every brick, to arrogantly prove they could succeed in defiant independence of God, and to observe the heavenly bodies which they worshipped. God halted their proud project by confusing their languages again in the land of Shinar at a place called Babol, or Babel.
A wordplay on the Hebrew word. Bellel, meaning To confuse. Additionally, Revelation 18 tells us in the Great Tribulation, the beast's political capital will be known to God, or perhaps even to the world, as Great Babylon, implying it is the completion or final form of the organized human rebellion begun centuries ago in a place called the Land of Shinar. Email us your biblical questions today online at greghennettministries.org or call us at 336-882-1645. Or send us your letters to Greg Hennett Ministries, PO Box 788, High Point NC 27260.
If this message has blessed you, tell your friends. And please consider helping us stay on the air by sending your tax-deductible donation to Greg Hennett Ministries. Also, remember, you may download the Until He Comes podcast from your preferred podcast app. May you walk closely with Christ and trust and obey Him in your daily tests of faith and patience. Until he comes.
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