—To obey is better than sacrifice–1Sam.15:22

Our text comes from the words of Samuel to the rebellious king Saul. James urges us to “be doers of the Word” and that is just one of many verses that command us to obey God. An article in “Senior Living” illustrates our obligation to obey like this:

“Imagine that you are the president of a company and find it necessary to travel out of the country and spend extended time abroad. So you tell your employees, “Manage things while I’m away, and I’ll write you regularly. When I do, I’ll instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from my trip.”

So you leave and stay away for a couple of years. During that time, you write often, communicating your desires and concerns. One day you return. Walking up to the front door of the company, you quickly notice that everything is a mess—weeds are growing in the flower beds, windows are broken across the front of the building, and the secretary at the front desk is asleep!

Without hesitation, you call everyone together and ask, “What happened? Didn’t you get my letters?” Your employees answer and say, “Yes! We got all your letters. Some of us have memorized them. In fact, we even get together each week and talk about them!”

It doesn’t matter how much they would’ve read your letters. What really matters is whether or not they would’ve followed what you told them. In the same way, there are so many people who read the Word of God, yet they never truly do what it says.

So when it comes to the Bible, don’t just read—do! Follow God’s precepts for living and experience the full joy that comes with surrender and obedience.—Ask God to help you not just read His Word, but live it out each day!”

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you—-, Matthew 28:19-20

Sometimes we forget what we’re suppose to be doing. We get distracted from what is most important and spend our time majoring on minors. For the Christian there should never be any doubt about where our focus should be. David Jeremiah said,”Jesus spoke these words over 2,000 years ago. While the disciples did not scatter into the world immediately, once they began to be persecuted, they and the Word spread quickly. Since then, millions of disciples have taken the Gospel into their neighborhoods and around the world.

It is easy to put the early disciples on a pedestal, thinking they were somehow smarter, better equipped, or more courageous to share the Gospel than we are today. The truth is that they were ordinary men equipped and guided by God. They understood, just as David did when he fought Goliath, that the result of their efforts did not depend on them, but on God.

Today, we have the same commission that Christ assigned to His disciples. While His command may seem daunting, we have the same God with us, and He makes successful evangelism possible. Our only responsibility is to remain focused on Him. We can be confident in Him. He has the power to take our mustard seed faith and move mountains. Let’s remain committed to letting our light shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).”

The famous missionary, Hudson Taylor once said,”God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him.” The same God who saved you will use you to save others. Our commission never changes. Reaching others for Christ should be our constant and continuing work in the world.

We know a little of Christ as our Savior, but Oh! how small a portion have we seen of the fulness that is in Him! Believe me, if we did but realize the blessedness of free and full forgiveness in Him, we should be men of a different stamp.

The man who feels the blood of atonement sprinkled on his conscience — the man who enjoys assurance that he is washed, and justified, and accepted in the Beloved, this is the man who will be holy indeed, this is the man who will bear much fruit. He will labor cheerfully — he will suffer patiently — he will witness confidently — he will press on unflinchingly — he will love warmly. Redemption is ever fresh upon his mind, and his thought is, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits?”–J. C. Ryle

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”–Hebrews 13:17

Christian Herter is well-known as the fifty-third United States Secretary of State under President Dwight Eisenhower from 1959-1961, but held many different political positions throughout his life including Under Secretary of State, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, first United States Trade Representative, and governor of Massachusetts. A humorous story comes from his time spent campaigning for a reelection to the Massachusetts governorship. While on the road, he spent many days giving speeches, talking with voters, and traveling from town to town. As is typical with political candidates, his days were long and grueling, and he often looked forward to times when he could relax. One day he was scheduled to appear at a church picnic, and before he spoke to the crowd, he joined the attendees in a line for the potluck buffet.

As he progressed in the line, he reached a lady serving chicken. She served him one, but being especially hungry that day Herter asked, “Could I please have another piece of chicken?” The woman replied, “I’m sorry but I’m only supposed to give one chicken per person.” “But I’m starving,” he retorted. “Nope. One chicken for everybody” was her reply. While Governor Herter wasn’t normally a boastful man, he decided the extra piece of chicken was worth it, “Do you know who I am? I am the governor of this state!” Not missing a beat, the lady replied, “Do you know who I am? I am the lady in charge of the chicken. Now move along, sir.”

Hester thought his authority as governor would persuade the chicken lady to give him another piece, but he didn’t realize her authority at the picnic outranked his. While this is a humorous story about authority, God gives us a serious message about honoring the authority in our lives in Hebrews 13, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves.”–-Copied