0076 - Hear ~ And Obey!
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Barnabas Bulletin ~ 0076 HEAR ~ AND OBEY!I am again challenged by the importance of our obedience to what ever God says to us as Christians. This is the whole emphasis of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Every person throughout the pages of the Bible was a total unknown “nobody” until one thing happened for them all ~ they heard the voice of God and obeyed. Once they obeyed what God said, they all started on a journey of becoming a known “somebody.” It was in their ability to hear from God strongly enough to physically act upon what He said that turned things around for them. The principle is no different for us today. Listen to what Jesus says in Luke 6:49 ~ “But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great” (NKJV).If we Christians do not learn to hear clearly God’s voice sufficient enough to quickly obey it, then Jesus says we are building without a foundation! That means we are doomed to fail and fall! In John 14:21-24 Jesus clearly tells us that the way He knows how much we love Him is by our obedience to what He says. If we love Him, we will do what ever He says! We cannot get it any simpler than that! Listening to, and loving Jesus, always demands a physical response on our part. We have to do something each time He speaks to us! That doing (or obedience) is what releases or unties His hands to fulfil what ever He has spoken to us ~ and to set our future up for us. I remember the time when God spoke to me about continuing to release Spiritual Gifts out of my life to the people. He said that every time I give a word of knowledge to people, my obedience in stepping out was the very thing that enabled Him to set my future up for me. Then He opened my eyes and I saw in the Spirit the results of words of knowledge I had given around the world, and how they opened many doors for me to step through and minister to many more.Every time it started with just one act of obedience to the voice of the Lord! Doing what ever Jesus says is a major principle of achieving greater things in God. My books and ministry have all started that way. The result is that we are now impacting many thousands of people in more than 90 nations of the world! I have learned to capture the voice of God when it comes, through obeying what ever He asks me as quickly as I can. It works! It produces good and much fruit! It glorifies God! Every time we hear from God we have to do something. Otherwise we are building without a foundation. We are working hard to produce very little. We are setting ourselves up to fail! And that is not God’s will at all for us. No wonder Mary, the mother of Jesus, was very clear in her statement: “Whatever He (Jesus) says to you, do it” (John 2:5). That principle turns impossibilities into possibilities; fruitlessness into fruitfulness, and multiplies our impact upon other people to help bring them to Christ like no other way I know. When He speaks ~ do what He says! It is really the only way that Jesus can prove to us Who He is, and that His ways are far better and higher than our ways ~ and His ways always work when we do exactly what He tells us. May we all continue to learn this powerful truth more and more in the days ahead. ~ Rodney W. Francis. Bible Readings: Psalm 29, Psalm 119; Please Pray This Prayer: “Dear Lord, in Jesus’ name I come to You, asking that You will forgive me for my apathy in responding to Your voice. Please help me to clearly discern Your voice more, to be sensitive to whatever You say, that I might demonstrate my love for You by my doing what ever You ask me. Set me free from doubts and fears that would rise up to prevent me from showing You my love. I long to love You more by my obedience to Your word. Thank You, Lord, for hearing my prayer, and for speaking to me. Help me to obey quickly. In Jesus’ name I pray these things, Amen.” The Gospel Faith Messenger Ministry, New Zealand. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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