The Expedience of Obedience | Part 2

How can we know that we're living in obedience?

Listen to Adrian Rogers. All true obedience is informed obedience. You must hear from God in order to obey God. Now just don't go out doing things just because you want to do them and think that you're living the Christian life. What God doesn't initiate, God doesn't appreciate. God is going to tell you what to do. And God has never promised to bless any endeavor that He has not committed.

Welcome to Love Worth Finding. Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers said obedience is the missing ingredient in so many Christians' lives. You know, being a Christian is a joyous thing. The reason we are not filled with joy in the Christian life could be a matter of disobedience. In Acts chapter 5, Peter and the other apostles have caused quite a stir by preaching about Jesus.

The religious authorities are trying to stop a revival that began. They command the apostles to stop preaching. Instead of obeying man, the apostles obeyed God. If you have your Bible, turn to Acts chapter 5. We'll begin in verse 27 as Adrian Rogers shares part 2 of The Expedience of Obedience. Now, I want to remind you of some basic things on your heart because I want you to be happy and I want you to be victorious.

And I am reminding you that when I'm speaking to you, I'm also speaking to myself. Now, the reason that some of us don't obey the Lord and understand this joy in obeying the Lord is we don't trust the Lord and we have difficulty taking commands from a stranger that we don't know. You get to know the Lord Jesus Christ and you will learn that His commands are not grievous. Now there are some people who say that, that God's will is always done in everything. God is the will of the Lord. God's will is not always done.

If God's will is always done, why did Jesus teach us to pray, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done? No, there are a lot of things that are not the will of God. And God will allow you to disobey him, and that does not diminish God's sovereignty at all. God gives man the power to rebel against him without diminishing God's sovereignty.

God has given man a choice. You can't choose to obey or you can choose not to obey. If I would ask, what can God not do? And you'd say, nothing, you'd be wrong. Let me tell you some things that God cannot do.

Now, we're talking about here that obedience is a decision. Let me give you some things that God can't do. I'll give you six things that God can't do. Because God is omnipotent, God can't fail. God cannot fail.

Ephesians 1, verse 11 says, He works all things after the counsel of his own will. It's impossible for God to fail. Number two is something else God can't do. God cannot do evil.

Titus 1, verse 2, In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began. God cannot lie. God cannot steal. God cannot do evil because he's a holy God.

I'll tell you something else God cannot do, and I've been building to this point. God cannot force loving obedience. God cannot force loving obedience. God cannot make you love him because it is a contradiction in terms.

Forced love is not love at all. God cannot force somebody to receive a gift. God will not force you to obey him. That doesn't mean that God loses his sovereignty. That simply means that there's certain things by God's very nature that God cannot do.

It's not that he cannot do them because he's limited in power. It is that he cannot do them because of his very nature. Now, I'm telling you that you must choose to obey him. Now, you cannot obey him unless he enables you to obey him.

We love him because he first loved us, and it is God that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Obedience to God is like breathing. Is breathing a gift of God? Well, you better believe it is because God gives you lungs and God gives you air.

But you can smother if you want. Obedience is a gift of God in the sense that God gives you the will, God works in you, but there comes a decision, and God is not going to force you to obey him. And don't you shrug your shoulders and say, well, if God wants it to happen, it'll happen.

No! There is, dear friend, a decision to be practiced. You must say, I will obey him. And these are the compelling reasons for obedience. Now, not only should we look at the reasons for obedience, we should recognize the requirements for obedience. Now, what are the requirements for obeying God? I want to mention some of them if you would really obey God. Number one, your obedience must be informed obedience. It must be informed obedience. How can you obey God if you don't know what it is that God wants you to do? Now, these apostles had had a command from God. You in Acts 5 begin looking in verse 17. Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees, and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in common prison. But now watch verse 19. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors and brought them forth and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to all the people, all the words of this life. Can be plainer. They were told what to do.

Go, do it. Now, the reason they were doing it is because they've been told to do it. All true obedience is informed obedience. You must hear from God in order to obey God. Now, just don't go out doing things just because you want to do them and think that you're living the Christian life. What God doesn't initiate, God doesn't appreciate. God is going to tell you what to do. And God has never promised to bless any endeavor that He has not commanded. There must be, number one, informed obedience. Number two, there must be intentional obedience. You see, doing right is not merely abstaining from doing wrong. It's very obvious that these apostles wanted to know the will of the Lord Jesus Christ. I try to present myself to the Lord every morning and say, Lord, I'm yours to command.

I want to hear from you. Junior Hill, an evangelist, he said when I wake up in the morning, I say, Good morning, General Jesus. This is Private Hill reporting for duty.

I like that. Good morning, General Jesus. This is Private Hill reporting for duty.

Have you reported for duty? You say, Well, it's not my fault. I don't know what God wants me to do.

Well, it just may be your fault. Put this verse down. Proverbs chapter 8, verses 32 and following. Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children, for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the post of my doors. Are you hearing God?

Are you reporting for duty? Now, here's the third thing. It must be immediate obedience.

Immediate obedience. You see, they are telling these apostles, Listen, we told you not to preach or teach in his name. That's very interesting. Well, let's just look at it again. Look in verse 28. Did we not straightly command you that you should not teach in his name, and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us? Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than man. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on the tree.

Him hath God exalted. They just said, Don't do that, and he's doing it. I mean, the minute he said, We told you not to preach.

Bang, he's preaching. I mean, immediately. Immediately. Hey, he's not waiting, he's not thinking about it. He is doing it. It is immediate obedience.

Now, let me tell you something. Procrastination is a form of disobedience. Procrastination is a form of disobedience. Be swift, my soul, to answer him.

Be jubilant, my feet. The best time to do the will of God is when you are aware that God wants it done. Friend, understanding can wait. Obedience cannot.

Understanding can wait. Obedience cannot. Psalm 119, verse 60, I made haste and delayed not to keep thy commandments. Ours is not the reason why. Ours is not to make reply. Ours is but to do or die.

And when God puts a period, don't you put a question mark. Immediate obedience. Number four, it must be inflexible obedience. You know what I mean by inflexible obedience?

I mean no matter what it costs. No matter what it costs, you cannot compromise with obedience. Now, these apostles knew that to obey, God could mean death. Look back in verse 33, chapter 5, verse 33. When these men had been preaching, the Bible says when the authorities heard that, they were cut to the heart and took counsel to slay them.

They are preaching with a cloud of a death sentence over their head. Inflexible obedience, no matter what. Now, selective obedience is not obedience at all. A man was bragging about his dog. He said, what kind of dog is he? He said, oh, he's a very smart dog, very trained. He said, well, show me what he can do. He said, well, when I go somewhere, all I have to say is are you coming with me or not?

And either he does or he doesn't. Well, we kind of decide what we want to do, and selective obedience is not obedience at all. Next, it must be impassioned obedience. I mean, doing the will of God from our heart.

It's obvious that you might as well have told the noonday sun not to shine as to tell these men not to preach and not to share the Lord Jesus Christ because they are full of passion, burning, blazing, emotional passion for the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you have a zeal for God? God, forgive our lukewarm, half-hearted, indifferent obedience. If you're going to serve him, serve him with joy. Romans chapter 6, verse 17, ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto you.

Now, let me go to the third and final thing here as we're talking. We've talked to you about the reasons for obedience, and we've talked to you about the requirements for obedience from this passage. Let me talk to you a little bit about the rewards for obedience. Remember, trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.

Let me tell you three things will happen when you begin to obey. Number one, the Spirit will be received. The Spirit will be received.

Look in verse 32. Here's what the apostle said, and we are witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him. We are witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him. Do you want spiritual power in your life? Friend, God is not going to give spiritual power to rebels. Why should God release the anointing power of the Holy Spirit upon your life when you're not living in obedience? God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him. The Holy Spirit is there to get his work done.

God cannot trust some people with spiritual power. I've often used this illustration. How many of you have ever taught a teen to drive an automobile? Let me see your hand.

All right, that'll brighten up your prayer life, won't it? Now, if you've taught somebody to drive an automobile, I was not there, but I think I know this much. You most likely showed them the brake pedal before you showed them the accelerator, and you most likely showed them the brake pedal before you gave them the ignition key. You said, first of all, that's what stops this thing, honey.

Isn't that right? Now, suppose that teen said, hey, Pop, I am not interested in the brake. Show me how to make it go. I'm not interested in how to make it stop.

I want to go. You just take the keys back and put them in your pocket, and you say you're not ready yet. Now, listen, you will never know the release of the Spirit until you know the restraint of the Spirit. You will never know the go until you know the no. God gives the Holy Spirit to those that obey him.

And even if you're not a rebel, why should God fill you with the Holy Spirit? I mean, a man pushes an automobile into the Texaco station. The fenders are flopping. The tires are flat. The gas tank has a hole in it. The headlights are broken. And a guy shoves it into the Texaco station. A man comes out.

Of course, they don't come out anymore. He says, what can I do for you? You say, well, fill her up. He said, what for? Oh, God, fill me with the Holy Spirit. God says, what for?

What for? Why should I give the Holy Spirit to you? God gives the Holy Spirit to those that obey him.

If you don't have power in your life, I'm going to tell you it's because you're living in disobedience. Now, what are the results? Number one, the Spirit is received. Number two, joy is achieved. Look in verse 41. The Bible says they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. You're going to be a joyful Christian when you obey the Lord. Disobedient Christians are not joyful Christians.

I see a lot of folks look like the picture on the driver's license. We need some joyful Christians. When we obey, the Spirit is received. When we obey, joy is achieved.

Now, I'll tell you something else. When we obey, the gospel is believed. Look, if you will, now in verse 42. And daily in the temple and in every house they cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Has God given you a command to share Jesus Christ? Answer me.

Yes. What is the alternative to obeying him? It is disobedience.

What is the result of disobedience? No spiritual power, and there's no joy in your life. God has given you a command to do it. Now, if you do it, will God bless your obedience? Will God give you the Holy Spirit and bless what you're doing?

Well, just go on to the next chapter. And in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplied. Listen, when you obey him, the Spirit is received, joy is achieved, and the gospel is believed. There are enough people in this very room right now to turn this city inside out, upside down, and right side up for Jesus Christ.

Is that not true? If we became obedient Christians, you think, well, you've done God a wild favor when you get here on Sunday morning. I mean, there are people who really call this, you say, well, this is the service. No, this is not the service. This is a service station.

The service is out there. You're just coming to get your tank filled a little bit. You're coming to get some instructions. You're coming to get some encouragement.

Friend, God has called us to rescue the perishing and care for the dying and snatch them in pity from sin in the grave, to weep over the erring one, to lift up the fallen one and to tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save. And no matter what else you're doing, if you are not sharing the Lord Jesus Christ, you're not an obedient Christian. I don't care how faithfully you attend. I don't care how eloquently you teach. I don't care how beautifully you sing. I don't care how generously you give.

I don't care how scrupulously you live. If you're not sharing Jesus Christ, you're living in disobedience, and you are guilty of high treason against Heaven's King. Now, that's true. Now, we can't all do it the same way. We cannot all be preachers, but we can all be reachers.

Some way, somehow, God wants this church to share Jesus Christ with His community. Now, if others are doing it, fine. We're glad to have the help.

But we cannot depend upon somebody else. We must say it is our responsibility, it is our duty, it is our joy, it is our privilege to do this. Now, let me come to a conclusion, and I want to ask some questions. Again, I want to ask, has God been speaking to you? Is God telling you to do something? Remember that procrastination is a sin. Is God telling you to give something? Then do it.

He put a dollar on the plate, and sung with might and main, when we ascend apart, it gives us inward pain. I'm going to give it one day, I just hate to let go of it. No, do it.

Do it. Is there somebody that you need to make restitution with? Somebody you need to go to and say, I'm sorry? You don't let things build up.

You don't let them fester. You do exactly what you're supposed to do when you're supposed to do it. Has God been laying something on your heart, some restitution you need to make? Somebody that you need to ask forgiveness? Is there some deed of kindness that you know you're supposed to do?

Why don't you do it? Is there some spiritual thing that you need to fulfill? Some of you ought to be baptized as a believer in Jesus Christ. You know what the Bible teaches about believer's baptism. You know exactly what you ought to do, but you've never been baptized for whatever reason. Maybe you think it's inconvenient. Maybe you don't want to ruin your hairdo.

Maybe you don't want to go in front of all those people. Listen, friend, to him that knows to do good and doeth it, not to him it is what? Sin. It is sin.

Now, I'm just saying, is there some point in your life where you are disobeying God? Remember that disobedience is as witchcraft. Disobedience is as iniquity. Disobedience is as idolatry.

It is not failing to pick up the paper that is the problem. It is the rebellion against God that is the problem. Don't stonewall God. Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.

And you can't just blow past something. I've read of a father and a son who were living together. The mother and the wife in that family had gone to heaven. It was a winter night.

The father and the son were settled down. The fire in the fireplace was burning out. The father said to his son, who was a grown boy, Son, would you put another piece of wood on the fire?

Go outside and get a log and put it on the fire. The son said, Dad, I'm busy. I'm doing something. I don't want to do it. The dad said, Son, listen, I'm your father.

You're living here under my roof. You're supposed to respect and obey me. Son, I'm asking you to put another piece of wood on the fire. The boy said, No, I'm not going to do it.

I'm not going to do it. He said, All right now, son, this time I'm telling you to do it. Put another piece of wood on the fire. And if you cannot obey me, you cannot live under this roof. The boy said, Is that the way it is? Well, all right. Then I will not live under this roof.

Good-bye. And walked out and slammed the door, went out into the cold, and left his father's house because he had not put another piece of wood on the fire. He stayed going for months, and he got to thinking, I am a fool, a sheer fool. My father loves me.

He would do anything for me. He asked me to do a small thing, and in my pride and arrogance, I said, No. And I turned my back on my own dear father. I have defied my father. I have been a fool. I wonder if my father would ever forgive me. He went back home, knocked on the door. When his father saw he was there, tears burst into the father's eyes, and he said, Dad, I was such a fool.

I was so full of arrogance and pride and selfishness and self-will. Daddy, I am so sorry for talking that way to you. Daddy, could you find it in your heart to forgive me and receive me back into the house?

My dad reached out like any dad would do, hugged him, kissed his neck, embraced him, and said, My son, oh, my son, welcome home. And then he said, Son, before you sit down, put another piece of wood on the fire. You know, there's no statute of limitations when it comes to obeying God.

There's certain things you don't just say, Well, I'm going to blow past. Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. And for you, if you've never been saved, that obedience comes with believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says when he comes again, he's taking vengeance and flaming fire on those who know not God and who obey not the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, obey him by giving your heart to him. Trusting him as your personal Lord and Savior, and you will find the joy of obedience is wonderful, incredible. It's the life that you would choose to live because he loves you so much, and he'll never ask you to do anything that would harm you or cause you to harm someone else. His commandments are not grievous.

Have you found that to be true in your life? There's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. Now, if you have questions regarding your faith in Jesus Christ, we'd love to offer an insightful resource on our website. It's our Find God's Love page. There you'll find answers you may need about your faith. Who is Jesus?

How can I know him? Go to lwf.org slash radio and click on the tab that says Find God's Love. We can't wait for you to explore the resources and find the hope and forgiveness that God wants you to experience.

Let us hear from you today. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message in its entirety, you can call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD. Request the title, The Expedience of Obedience. This message is also part of the insightful series, Living Supernaturally. For the complete collection, all 13 messages, call 877-LOVEGOD or you can order online at lwf.org slash radio or write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also purchase our new Bible studies, much like this message, in our online store.

Find that at our website, lwf.org slash radio. Would you like to have victory in your life? Know the will of God for your life and do it immediately, inflexibly and passionately. We're so glad you studied in God's Word with us today. Be sure to tune in next time for more from Adrian Rogers right here on Love Worth Finding. One of our Facebook friends wrote on our wall recently and said this, Pastor Rogers' preaching and teaching is much needed today.

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