I hope you have been following our series on obedience, and learning how to obey God. We have Father Abraham as our case study and I believe we have learnt one or two things in the past few days.
The truth is that obedience pays. The bible says Abraham obeyed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Wow! What a testimony.
This morning, I will be sharing with us how to obey God.
There are several ways by which you can obey God. Let us consider a few.
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. – Genesis 12 verse 1,4 (NKJV)
One way we are to obey God is by obeying Him wholeheartedly. Obey with all your heart, not part of your heart. In God, it is either you give him all or you give him none.
See what God says about your heart
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, – Deuteronomy 10:12 (KJV)
The same way you cannot love God halfheartedly is the same way you cannot obey God halfheartedly.
The obedience God recognizes is obedience that is devoid of grumbling or complaining.
When your parents ask you to do something for them, and you grumble, murmur, or complain, you lose the blessing therein.
Let’s learn to obey God wholeheartedly so we don’t lose our reward.
SINGLES – Practical Tips To Make Your Fiancée Happy
George who is in courtship with Lucy is frustrated. Lucy is always vacillating between two extreme emotions and poor George is at a loss on how to make her happy. If I can be experiencing this before marriage, what will happen after? George reasoned.
As a single in courtship, how do you make her happy?
1. Communicate;
It is important you keep in touch daily especially if you are not in the same place. If this all-important communication is not there, trust me, there will be issues coming up from time to time.
2. Apologize;
As singles, stop being egocentric and learn the art of apologizing quickly both ways. Don’t let your courtship be filled with memories of weeping, feeling down and out. It is not a good seed into your marriage.
3. Decisions;
As singles, take decisions together and don’t let her feel you are the superman that can do all things. If she relaxes and you run the relationship all by yourself, she would get used to that style and the help you ought to get from her when you are down will not be there. Don’t muffle her.
To be continued…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I receive wisdom to understand my partner and to love him/her more.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY I break free from all wrong mindsets about marriage in Jesus name.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. (Mal 2:15 KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Surprise your partner today. That does not include kissing, petting, sex etc. Reserve those till after marriage.
COUPLES – How To Make Your Wife Happy And Love You Forever
Mr. John is heavily frustrated. His wife is never happy. He has exhausted all the wisdom and skills in his arsenals, yet no hope. All his romantic antics have been displayed, all to no avail. He feels so incapable. What else can I do to make this woman happy?
Pleasing a woman really is not so much about doing so many things but doing what appeals to your wife specifically. Why do you need to ensure she is happy anyway? You need each other’s agreement to have spiritual potency. You need each other’s help to forge ahead as a couple. When she is happy, the home will be great too.
You see, the moment you prefer to hang out with the ‘boys’ rather than your wife, and you deliberately go home late, you are no longer in good terms with your wife and the devil can take advantage of that to bring all kinds of attacks, especially adultery.
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. (Pro 5:18 KJV)
1. Listen to what she is really saying.
Don’t watch television or read newspapers while she is talking to you. For your wife, attention means a lot to her.
Women are not logical, rather, they are emotional. So her discourse with you might seem illogical, but if you want to make your wife happy and your home great, you must make time to listen to her.
This is very important! In some countries, there are people who work as ‘listeners’ and all they do is listen to women talk and they are paid on an hourly basis. This is to let you know how important it is. If you allow the driver or cook to become the listener, a love affair might erupt over time. Spend time with her a lot.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I love my spouse dearly. I will honour my spouse in all ways.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY I receive grace to love my spouse dearly and to be faithful to him/her.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. (Mal 2:15 KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Surprise your spouse today by doing one of those things you use to do that made him/her happy when you were courting.
Still talking on the issue of obedience, this morning, I want to quickly show us a few practical ways to obey God as children.
Remember, we are considering the life and times of Father Abraham
Genesis 12 verse 1,4 (NKJV): Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
1. By being obedient to His Word.
The word is God. The only way you can be obedient to God is by obeying his word. If you disobey God’s word, it is as good as saying you have disobeyed God himself.
So dear children, my question to you this morning is; are you obedient to his word?
2. By being obedient to spiritual authority.
Oh yes. There are several authorities that have been placed over us as children. When you obey such authorities, you are obeying God.
Examples of constituted authorities include your school, your church, your family, and so on.
Note that no authority can spring up without the input of God Almighty. So when you obey them, you are obeying God.
There are many more ways we can obey God, but I hope you have been able to draw out lessons and action plans from the above as regards your obedience to God.
SINGLES – How To Be Sure Of Your Choice In Marriage
Being directed or led by God is the most important issue before marriage; when you are not led, it only leads to misery, pains, sorrow, and regrets.
My prayer is that you will not experience these. If your answer to that prayer is amen, now is the time to be sure that the person you are in love with is God’s choice for you.
Just because you are in love with someone does not give you enough basis to enter into a lifetime covenant with the person. It’s very easy to fall in love, all it takes is that person having all the qualities you admire, being physically attractive, spending time together, giving him/her a special place in your heart, thinking about him/her a lot and you’re already in love.
You’ll agree with me that it’s possible to fall in love with more than one person but only one person is qualified to be your wife/husband.
Once you have identified your spouse, you are no longer permitted to desire others, but to only admire them.
GOD then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man. The Man said, “Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man.” Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. –Genesis 2:22-24 (MSG)
The above scripture shows that God himself was very much involved in bringing the man and the woman together.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. –Romans 8:14 (KJV)
The question is, do you have God’s spirit? Are you born again? If yes, how are you working on your relationship with God? How consistently do you study God’s word?
What service do you render in a local assembly? How well you answer these questions will determine how well your spirit is developed to receive directions from God, not only in matters of your relationships but in all areas.
You must also make sure that the three aspects of you agree with the choice of your life partner.
Man is essentially a spirit; you have a soul and live in a body. Do these three (spirit, soul, and body) agree in perfect harmony.
Is there peace? Is he/she intelligent and emotionally mature?
Are you friends? Someone said friendship in marriage is about one soul living in two bodies.
Physically, does he/she meet your standard of beauty? Are you attractive to each other?
Go to any length to find adequate answers to these questions. Ask him/her a lot of questions. Find out where he/she is going. Can you fit in?
Is the guy a good leader? How well has he led himself? Can he lead you well?
Becoming sure is all about erasing every doubt or question in your heart about the person, the relationship, and the future. No one can be sure for you. Until you’re totally sure and convinced, don’t say YES!
Don’t tie the nuptial knots until all the knotty issues are resolved. I pray that God will send help your way in Jesus name!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I have direction from God. In my relationship decisions, I am being led by the Spirit of God. I am not confused in Jesus Name. I will not fall in love with the wrong person. The Spirit of God will help me to be sure.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY I destroy every spirit of distraction and deception in Jesus name.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Take me by the hand; Lead me down the path of truth. You are my Savior, aren’t you? Psalms 25:5 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Think deeply about your relationships and take an inventory
