It\u2019s Not Always Easy<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s not always easy to smile and be nice, When we are called to sacrifice.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not always easy to put others first, Especially when tired and feeling our worst.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not always easy to do the Father\u2019s will. It wasn\u2019t so easy to climb Calvary\u2019s hill.<\/p>\n
But we as His children, should learn to obey; Not seeking our own but seeking His way.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not always easy to fight the good fight. But it is always good and it is always right!<\/p>\n
– Glenda Fulton Davis<\/p>\n
From video, \u201cThe Harvest\u201d, by Chuck King<\/p>\n
Dirty Room<\/b><\/p>\n
A friend often told me about the problems he had getting his son to clean his room. The son would always agree to tidy up, but then wouldn\u2019t follow through. After high school the young man joined the Marine Corps. When he came home for leave after basic training, his father asked him what he had learned in the service.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad,\u201d he said. \u201cI learned what \u2018now\u2019 means.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contributed by Jan King, Humor in Uniform, Readers Digest, May, 1996, p. 174.<\/p>\n
Root of all Evil<\/b><\/p>\n
Q:<\/b> Oswald Chambers said that the root of all sin is the suspicion that God is not good. Isn\u2019t it true that somehow we\u2019ve got a generation of kids — and perhaps their parents as well — who think that God is not good, that sin is attractive, and that God is a type of kill joy?<\/p>\n
A:<\/b> I think that\u2019s true. And that\u2019s why, in my relationship with my own children, I have hammered home the idea that within every negative precept – every \u201cThou shalt not\u201d — there are always two positive principles. One, God gives them to protect us. And second, He gives them to provide. He\u2019s not a cosmic killjoy who wants to take the fun out of life.<\/p>\n
My new book has many illustrations of this. One is the story of a high school guy who wanted to go swimming with his girlfriend at midnight. The neighbors down the block had a pool, and he knew it. So they ran down there and scaled the fence even though there were No Trespassing and Do Not Enter signs. Just as he hit the diving board, the girl yelled, but it was too late. There was only a foot of water in the pool. He broke his neck, and he\u2019s in therapy to this day. He didn\u2019t realize that the signs on the fence – the precepts – would have protected him.<\/p>\n
Josh McDowell, New Man, March\/April 1995, p. 55<\/p>\n
Usage Fee<\/b><\/p>\n
In the year 1210 King John of England had an idea. For many years the Royal Forest was available to all who paid the usage fee. Paying this tribute to the crown allowed nobleman and peasant alike to hunt, fish, and frolic on the regal property.<\/p>\n
The king, looking to reduce the strain on this resource and increase the empire\u2019s income (to help support the war with France), decided to raise the usage fee and restrict use of the forest to the upper classes. To carry out this decree, he appointed Thomas Mulberry as Royal Forester.<\/p>\n
However, it wasn\u2019t long before Thomas realized he had a problem. The king expected a certain amount of revenue each month, but there simply weren\u2019t enough customers among the upper classes to maintain the projected revenues.<\/p>\n
In order to keep to the crown\u2019s budget, Thomas decided to allow use of the forest by some of the local peasants at a discounted rate. This kept the king\u2019s coffers filled and, at the same time, still restricted the use of the land to the upper class and a relatively small number of peasants.<\/p>\n
After six months, the king summoned Thomas to report. \u201cWell, my Royal Forester, is my plan working as expected?\u201d asked the king.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, your highness,\u201d replied Thomas. \u201cRevenues are as projected.\u201d The king was obviously pleased. Added Thomas, \u201cThere was one problem, but I managed to solve it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas described how there were not enough noblemen to maintain the budgeted revenues and how he allowed some local peasants use of the land at a discounted rate. The king listened intently and offered an occasional \u201cUh-huh,\u201d or \u201cYes, I see.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following morning Thomas was hanged for treason.<\/p>\n
Tom O\u2019Keefe, writing in Magazine Week<\/p>\n
Kneel!<\/b><\/p>\n
Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then lord chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office. Hailsham recognized Marten among the group and cried, \u201cNeil!\u201d Not daring to question or disobey the \u201ccommand,\u201d the entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees!<\/p>\n
Today in the Word, July 30, 1993<\/p>\n
King Xerxes<\/b><\/p>\n
It is said that on his retreat from Greece after his great military expedition there, King Xerxes boarded a Phoenician ship along with a number of his Persian troops. But a fearful storm came up, and the captain told Xerxes there was no hope unless the ship\u2019s load was substantially lightened. The king turned to his fellow Persians on deck and said, \u201cIt is on you that my safety depends. Now let some of you show your regard for your king.\u201d A number of the men bowed to Xerxes and threw themselves overboard!<\/p>\n
Lightened of its load, the ship made it safely to harbor. Xerxes immediately ordered that a golden crown be given to the pilot for preserving the king\u2019s life — then ordered the man beheaded for causing the loss of so many Persian lives!<\/p>\n
Today in the Word, July 11, 1993<\/p>\n
First Duty<\/b><\/p>\n
Peter T. Forsythe was right when he said, \u201cThe first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Integrity Crisis by Warren W. Wiersbe, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991, p. 22<\/p>\n
Two Soldiers<\/b><\/p>\n
World War II was at its height. Forces were engaged in what was known as, \u201cThe Battle of the Bulge\u201d — or \u201cThe Christmas War of 1944.\u201d The fighting was fierce in the bitter cold and snow.<\/p>\n
The Allied Forces bombed and established control of a strategic area. The commanding officer turned to several of his men and said, \u201cSweep across that field, and kill all German soldiers still entrenched in the snow. I want no prisoners. Absolutely none!\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the American soldiers selected gives his account of what happened next. \u201cAs I walked, I immediately shot and killed two wounded and suffering soldiers.\u201d He continues, \u201cThen, suddenly I approached a tall, young guy with a broad Teutonic forehead. He was leaning against a tree. He wasn\u2019t wounded — simply exhausted. He had no food, no water, no comrades in sight, no ammunition. Fear, fatigue, defeat, and loneliness overwhelmed him. He spoke English with a beautiful vonderful-vorld-type accent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I noticed a little black Bible in his shirt pocket,\u201d he reminisces, \u201cwe started to talk about Jesus and salvation. \u201cWouldn\u2019t you know it, that lanky German soldier turned out to be a born-again Christian who deeply loved the Lord. \u201cI gave him water from my canteen; I even gave him crackers. Then, we prayed and read God\u2019s Word together. And we wept together too.\u201d His voice began to tremble, as tears splashed down his cheeks. His face began to reflect anguish.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems like only yesterday. We stood a foot or so apart, as he read a Psalm from his German Bible. Then, I read Romans 12 from my King James translation. He showed me a black-and-white picture of his wife and daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The soldier took a deep breath. \u201cYou see, in those days, I was a young man in my early twenties. I had just graduated from a Christian college in Illinois and hadn\u2019t had time to sort out my thoughts on the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe that\u2019s why I did what I did.\u201d I bid my German brother farewell, took several steps away, then returned to the soldier. Romans 13, the \u2018thou shalt not kill\u2019 commandment, the promises of eternal life, the Prince of Peace, the Sunday school distinction between killing and murder, the irrationality of war — all swirled in my mind<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the German soldier saw me returning, he bowed his head and closed his eyes in that classic prayer posture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it happened. I said three crisp sentences that I still repeat once or twice a week when I have nightmares about the war, \u2018You\u2019re a Christian. I am too. See you later.\u2019 \u201cIn less than a second, I transformed that defenseless Christian soldier into a corpse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Courage: You Can Stand Strong in the Face of Fear, Jon Johnston, 1990, SP Publications, pp. 155-157<\/p>\n
Faithful Dog<\/b><\/p>\n
How we admire the obedience a dog shows to its master! Archibald Rutledge wrote that one day he met a man whose dog had just been killed in a forest fire. Heartbroken, the man explained to Rutledge how it happened. Because he worked out-of-doors, he often took his dog with him. That morning, he left the animal in a clearing and gave him a command to stay and watch his lunch bucket while he went into the forest. His faithful friend understood, for that\u2019s exactly what he did. Then a fire started in the woods, and soon the blaze spread to the spot where the dog had been left. But he didn\u2019t move. He stayed right where he was, in perfect obedience to his master\u2019s word.<\/p>\n
With tearful eyes, the dog\u2019s owner said, \u201cI always had to be careful what I told him to do, because I knew he would do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our Daily Bread, January, 19<\/p>\n
Tough Yet Tender<\/b><\/p>\n
Every conscientious parent recognizes how difficult it is to exercise his God-given authority over his children. The delicate balance of being tough yet tender is not easy to maintain. Many parents intensify a rebellious spirit by being dictatorial and harsh. Others yield when their authority is tested. When a strong-willed child resists, the pressure to give in for the sake of peace and harmony can become overpowering.<\/p>\n
I am reminded of the mother who wanted to have the last word but couldn\u2019t handle the hassle that resulted whenever she said no to her young son. After an especially trying day, she finally flung up her hands and shouted, \u201cAll right, Billy, do whatever you want! Now let me see you disobey THAT!\u201d<\/p>\n
Our Daily Bread, August 7<\/p>\n
A Founder of SIM<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the impassioned pleading of a quiet little Scottish lady that linked my life with the Soudan,\u201d wrote Rowland Bingham (a founder of S.I.M.). \u201cIn the quietness of her parlor she told how God had called a daughter to China, and her eldest boy (Walter Gowans) to the Soudan. \u201cShe spread out before me the vast extent of those thousands of miles and filled in the teeming masses of people. Ere I closed the interview she had place upon me the burden of the Soudan.\u201d<\/p>\n
A year and a half later Bingham returned to Canada, alone. Walter and Thomas Kent lay buried in Nigeria\u2019s interior. \u201cI visited Mrs. Gowans to take her the few personal belongings of her son,\u201d he recalled. \u201cShe met me with extended hand. We stood there in silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she said these words: \u2018Well, Mr. Bingham, I would rather have had Walter go out to the Soudan and die there, all alone, that have him home today, disobeying his Lord.\u2019\u201d Our success in this venture means nothing less than the opening of the country for the gospel; our failure, at most, nothing more than the death of two or three deluded fanatics. Still, even death is not failure. His purposes are accomplished. He uses deaths as well as lives in the furtherance of His cause.<\/p>\n
Walter Gowans, 1983, a founder of SIM. On Dec. 4, 1893, Walter Gowans and Rowland Bingham of Toronto, Canada, and Thomas Kent of Buffalo, N.Y., landed at Lagos, Nigeria. Their aim was to establish a witness among the 60 million people of what was then commonly known as the Soudan, the area south of the Sahara between the Niger River and the Nile. Gowans and Kent died in the first few months. Bingham returned to Canada, formed a council, and went back to Africa in 1900. That attempt, too, was unsuccessful. In 1901 Bingham sent out a party that succeeded in establishing the Mission\u2019s first base, at Patigi, 500 miles up the Niger River. When these first SIM pioneers landed in Nigeria, Gowans was 25 years old, Bingham was two weeks away from his 21st birthday, Kent was 23.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Yielded Wills<\/b><\/p>\n
It is not the multitude of hard duties, it is not constraint and contention that advance us in our Christian course. On the contrary, it is the yielding of our wills without restriction and without choice, to tread cheerfully every day in the path in which Providence leads us, to seek nothing, to be discouraged by nothing, to seek out duty in the present moment, to trust all else without reserve to the will and power of God. Fenelon<\/p>\n
The Old Choice<\/b><\/p>\n
It is the old choice which still is presented to every soul; the old crisis which reappears in every experience. Caesar, or Christ, that is the question: the vast, attractive, skeptical world, with its pleasures and ambitions and its prodigal promise, or the meek, majestic, and winning figure of Him of Nazareth?<\/p>\n
The election remains for each of us. And the moment of the election, in the shaded and solemn \u201cValley of Decision,\u201d will be memorable in our history, when suns for us have ceased to shine!<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Our Captain<\/b><\/p>\n
Where our Captain bids us go, \u2018Tis not ours to murmur no; He that gives the sword and shield Chooses too the battlefield. Where we are to fight the foe.<\/p>\n
– Anonymous<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Quotes<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace. – Thomas a Kempis<\/p>\n
\u2022 One step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it. – Oswald Chambers, quoted in Our Daily Bread, March 4, 1993<\/p>\n
\u2022 Dr. B. J. Miller once said, \u201cIt is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it.\u201d – MBI\u2019s Today In The Word, November, 1989, p.11<\/p>\n
\u2022 The cost of obedience is nothing compared with the cost of disobedience. – Anon<\/p>\n
King of England<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve read that when Edward VI, the king of England in the 16th century, attended a worship service, he stood while the Word of God was read. He took notes during this time and later studied them with great care. Through the week he earnestly tried to apply them to his life.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the kind of serious-minded response to truth the apostle James calls for in today\u2019s Scripture reading. A single revealed fact cherished in the heart and acted upon is more vital to our growth than a head filled with lofty ideas about God.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Arabian Horses<\/b><\/p>\n
Arabian horses go through rigorous training in the deserts of the Middle East. The trainers require absolute obedience from the horses, and test them to see if they are completely trained. The final test is almost beyond the endurance of any living thing. The trainers force the horses to do without water for many days. Then he turns them loose and of course they start running toward the water, but just as they get to the edge, ready to plunge in and drink, the trainer blows his whistle. The horses who have been completely trained and who have learned perfect obedience, stop. They turn around and come pacing back to the trainer. They stand there quivering, wanting water, but they wait in perfect obedience. When the trainer is sure that he has their obedience he gives them a signal to go back to drink.<\/p>\n
Now this may be severe but when you are on the trackless desert of Arabia and your life is entrusted to a horse, you had better have a trained obedient horse. We must accept God\u2019s training and obey Him.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Roger Staubach<\/b><\/p>\n
Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in \u201871 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn\u2019t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a \u201cgenius mind\u201d when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team.<\/p>\n
Roger later said, \u201cI faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
John Kenneth Galbraith<\/b><\/p>\n
John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family\u2019s housekeeper:<\/p>\n
It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House. \u201cGet me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, wake him up. I want to talk to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Mr. President. I work for him, not you. When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure. \u201cTell that woman I want her here in the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n
Published by Houghton Mifflin, Reader\u2019s Digest, December, 1981<\/p>\n
The Governor<\/b><\/p>\n
When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished.<\/p>\n
As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse me,\u201d Governor Herter said, \u201cdo you mind if I have another piece of chicken?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry,\u201d the woman told him. \u201cI\u2019m supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m starved,\u201d the governor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry,\u201d the woman said again. \u201cOnly one to a customer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. \u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d he said. \u201cI am the governor of this state.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d the woman said. \u201cI\u2019m the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, pp. 5-6<\/p>\n
The Majesty of the Lawgiver<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not the importance of the thing, but the majesty of the Lawgiver, that is to be the standard of obedience…Some, indeed, might reckon such minute and arbitrary rules as these as trifling. But the principle involved in obedience or disobedience was none other than the same principle which was tried in Eden at the foot of the forbidden tree. It is really this: Is the Lord to be obeyed in all things whatsoever He commands? Is He a holy Lawgiver? Are His creatures bound to give implicit assent to His will?\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew Bonar, referring to the laws found in Leviticus, quoted J. Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness, p. 23.<\/p>\n
My Share<\/b><\/p>\n
Lord, it belongs not to my care Whether I die or live; To love and serve Thee is my share, And this Thy grace must give.<\/p>\n
If life be long I will be glad, That I may long obey; If short–yet why should I be sad To soar to endless day?<\/p>\n
Christ leads me through no darker rooms Than he went through before; He that to God\u2019s Kingdom comes, Must enter by this door.<\/p>\n
– Richard Baxter<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
There\u2019s Always <\/p>\n
Ron R. was discussing the fragility of many marriages with his girlfriend and posed the following question, \u201cWhat if you wake up one morning and don\u2019t love me anymore?\u201d<\/p>\n
She immediately responded, \u201cThere\u2019s always obedience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Company President<\/b><\/p>\n
Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out of the country and spend an extended period of time abroad. So he says to you and the other trusted employees, \u201cLook, I\u2019m going to leave. And while I\u2019m gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I\u2019m away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone agrees. He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers everything is in a mess–weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken across the front of the building, the gal at the front desk dozing, loud music roaring from several offices, two or three people engaged in horseplay in the back room. Instead of making a profit, the business has suffered a great loss. Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with a frown asks, \u201cWhat happened? Didn\u2019t you get my letters?\u201d You say, \u201cOh, yeah, sure. We got all your letters. We\u2019ve even bound them in a book. And some of us have memorized them. In fact, we have \u2018letter study\u2019 every Sunday. You know, those were really great letters.\u201d<\/p>\n
I think the president would then ask, \u201cBut what did you do about my instructions?\u201d And, no doubt the employees would respond, \u201cDo? Well, nothing. But we read every one!\u201d<\/p>\n
Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p. 242<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s Not Always Easy It\u2019s not always easy to smile and be nice, When we are called to sacrifice. It\u2019s not always easy to put others first, Especially when tired and feeling our worst. It\u2019s not always easy to do the Father\u2019s will. It wasn\u2019t so easy to climb Calvary\u2019s hill. But we as His … Continue reading “Obedience”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}