Lizzie shares a short word in season regarding suffering, and then Jonathan teaches through the Old & New Testaments on the subject of obedience. In Ezekiel 36, we get a prophetic promise / solution to the inward problem of man - a deadened spirit. The Man Christ Jesus came to say, “Here I am! I have come to do Your will”. In His obedience, Jesus serves as the template for every disciple after Him, which is why “obey” is at the center of the Great Commission. It’s less about doing obedience, and more about submitting to the obedient One within us. For the “how”, Jonathan takes us through hearing and knowing the first person Holy Spirit in the book of Acts, and then finishes with some practical examples of two disciples in Colorado. “Those who heed instruction will prosper"
Disobedience Brings Death
Genesis 3:17 (NIV)
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
Obedience Brings Blessing
Genesis 22:16-18 (NIV)
16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Problem = Within not Without
Prophetic Solution - Ezekiel 36:25-29
Ezekiel 36:25-29 (NIV)
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you.
Looking for The Man
Hebrews 10:9 (NIV)
9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second.
Hebrews 5:8-9 (NIV)
8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered
9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
Romans 5:19 (NIV)
19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Disobedience of the one man = Many Sinners
Obedience of The One Man = Many Righteous
Jesus Constantly Referencing This Issue: Hear + Obey
Build your house on the rock by obedience
Matthew 7:24 (NIV)
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Join My Family by obedience
Luke 8:21 (NIV)
21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
Blessings for obedience
Luke 11:28 (NIV)
28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Hearing MUST be met with simple obedience
Otherwise - Self Deception - James 1:22-25
James 1:22-25 (NIV)
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror
24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
At the Center of the Great Commission = Obedience
Why?
Because We Love Him!
John 14:23 (NIV)
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
2 John 6 (NIV)
6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
How?
The Holy Spirit is the Helper / Teacher / Guider / Reminder
INTERNAL OBEDIENCE TO THE TRANSFORMING HOLY SPIRIT
Internal Solves External
Obedience begins with hearing His Voice & knowing His person
Intro to the First-Person Holy Spirit Leading & Directing
God’s Kingdom Coming - not by Man’s Wisdom but By Spirit’s Leadership
1) Phillip - Acts 8:29
Acts 8:29 (NIV)
29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
2) Peter - Acts 10:19, 11:11-12
Acts 10:19, 11:11-12 (NIV)
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you.
11:11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.
12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.
3) Barnabas & Paul - Acts 13:1-2
Acts 13:1-2 (NIV)
1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
4) “It Seemed Good” - Acts 15:28
Acts 15:28 (NIV)
28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:
5) Prevented from entering - Acts 16:6-7
Acts 16:6-7 (NIV)
6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
6) Warning Paul - Acts 20:23
Acts 20:23 (NIV)
23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
7) Warning Paul via Saints/ Agabus - Acts 21:4,11
Acts 21:4, 11 (NIV)
4 We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
Proverbs 16:20 (NIV)
20 Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.
Fear Keeps Us from Obedience
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear