Intro: How many times have you heard the word of God. How many years have you spent as a “christian”. Have you ever wondered why your life, both physical and spiritual remains the same? What stops you from doing what God wants? We need to start implementing the word of God in our lives so that we can impact the world. Your relationship with God is what will determine your obedience to Him. An intimate relationship with God, allows God to be the authority in your life which will unlock your obedience to him. Just like in the case of our regular employment. Our employers have become authorities in our lives, so we are never late to work. We work hard to fulfil our roles in that organisation, being diligent to follow all processes and procedures. So, likewise, unless God becomes an authority in your life you will never be able to be obedient to him.
Matthew 10: 4 & 27. – This chapter speaks of the intricate relationship between a shepherd and his flock. It is an intense relationship of familiarity built over time. The sheep know and trust the shepherd and follow him. They are completely dependent on him. God is our shepherd. He goes ahead of us and we must follow him. The essence of God is to feed and protect His own. It is unfortunate that we tend to ignore God because we are not close to Him. We do not lose anything when we have an intimate relationship with God, but we stand to gain everything. Supernatural things begin to happen because we start to believe in Him. We have not been given a spirit of bondage, (Romans 8:15). But rather we have been given the spirit of sonship where we have the authority to call ABBA Father. Declarations have already been made in the bible and we have been given that right to be called the children of the most high God. As God’s children, His power resides in us. It is therefore your responsibility to make those declarations applicable in your life. We will still remain in bondage if we do not have a relationship with God. In the story of Moses and the Israelites, when Moses went up Mt Sinai and was away for sometime, in their impatience, the Israelites built an alter and god’s to worship. It was their lack of a direct relationship with God that led to their little faith and ultimate sin.
Psalm 23. – This psalms only becomes relevant to you if you have the heart to believe. Whatever God has declared will stand always regardless of what you may currently be going through. An immature christian in times of struggles prays a prayer of questioning God for their troubles, but the prayer of a mature christian who has an intimate relationship with the Father, waits patiently in full knowledge that God remains God through all circumstances. Both the good and the bad. (Psalms 23:4) shows that there will be times of deep darkness. These times are inevitable, but you will not fear for you understand the principles of God. You understand that even in those times when God is silent, He is still present in our lives. Although Job, lost everything he held dear, he still did not lose his love for God. His relationship was never questioned or compromised. Such an intense relation is that which leads to the true obedience as witnessed in the story of Abraham when asked to sacrifice his son. Therefore your relationship with God will determine your strength and continuity in running this race called life! The value you place in it is what determines your actions.
Matthew 26:39. Jesus made a very deep plea to God in the time of suffering prior His crucifixion but even through His anguish His prayer was for God to still have His way. In the same way, we too must be able to allow God to do as He wills in our lives. Even though Jesus had the authority and power to defeat all His enemies, He still chose to humble himself out of obedience to His Father. Today, God is looking for that same level of maturity and intimacy with Him in us.
The deeper the relationship, the higher your obedience. You must understand the power balance. God is above and we are low. God speaks and we follow. Obedience there