SACRIFICE, OBEDIENCE AND THE EXPECTATIONS OF MEN.
Today, I will be sharing with us on SACRIFICE, OBEDIENCE AND THE EXPECTATIONS OF MEN.
Sacrifice is what men give or do to get the attention of God.
Obedience is what God tells man to do to have His attention.
Expectations of men is wh itat men give or do to get the attention or approval of or to please his fellow men.
It is important that we understand this, so let's go through each of those definitions carefully again.
Each one of them is important and has its place but they are not all of equal priority.
Because they are not of equal priority, it is important we know what comes first and what comes next.
Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith did all three but not on equal scale.
Waking up early and climbing up the mountain to be with His Father (God) was sacrifice, Mark 1:35, Luke 6:12, Matthew 14:23.
Submitting Himself to death on the cross was obedience, John 12:27, John 18:11, Phillipians 2:8&9. Raising the dead, healing the sick and teaching the disciples were all acts of Obedience, Luke 4:18, John 12:49-50.
Bringing money out of the mouth of a fish to pay tax was satisfying the expectations of men, Matthew 17:24-27. Turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee was satisfying the expectations of man(Jesus's mother), John 2:1-11.
Every spiritual activity that we do comes under any of these three every time. These three does not attract the same kind of response from God.
You can pray, fast, give, study the Bible as a sacrifice or as an act of obedience or to meet the expectations of men.
Often times we all start out our Christian walk either on the level of fulfilling the expectations of men or on the level of sacrifice but rarely on the level of obedience.
Let me explain what I mean. There are some that after getting born again, their salvation came with a strong passion to know the Lord.
So they started on the level of sacrifice, doing everything they can to seek God in order to know Him better without any human agency instructing them to do so. They just littered everywhere with sacrifice.
This is common among those whose souls began to desire God in the night, Isaiah 26:9&10. By night, I mean in the time of trouble or great challenge.
This kind of desire is also common among those who had a strategic encounter with Jesus like Paul, Acts 9.
However it is not limited to them only, there are those too who started on the level of sacrifice without any challenge or trouble in their lives or any special encounter.
There are some that after getting born again, they needed a lot of discipling and it was their discipler that began to give them instructions on how to seek the Lord.
So, when they pray or read the Bible or fast or go to church it is not really because they desire God so much but to satisfy their discipler.
They know their discipler will check to see if they read their Bible or pray so they quickly rush to do it before his or her call comes in.
They are not seeking God on the level of sacrifice yet but on the level of meeting the expectations of men.
The goal is that at some point, they will cross from seeking God to meet the expectations of men to seeking Him on the level of sacrifice.
At the level of sacrifice, our pursuit of God is born from within not from without and as such we don't need human agency to persuade us to seek God. All the push is coming from inside us not from outside.
The goal of your pursuit is God Himself not your discipler. The person of God has become interesting enough to you to make you intentionally offer sacrifices to Him without any external persuasion.
So you decide to sacrifice some sleep to pray, sacrifice watching home videos to study the Bible. Sacrifice your breakfast to fast. Sacrifice making some money on Sunday morning to go to church.
Now, there is a difference. Before, you do those things to meet up with what is expected of you but now you have suddenly realized your need for God and you are doing it because you want to know Him, Phillipians 3: 10.
As you pray and fast and read the Bible and go to church you are not thinking of quickly finishing the number of chapters you were asked to read or meet up with the hour of prayer, you are actually looking for God doing those things, desiring to know Him more, Phillipians 3:10. God is the reason not man.
I have an excercise for us this morning. ASK YOURSELF THIS QUESTION: HAVE I BEEN SEEKING GOD ON THE LEVEL OF MEETING THE EXPECTATIONS OF MEN OR ON THE LEVEL OF SACRIFICE?
Whatever your answer is, it is not to let you feel bad. It is because you can always improve and move on to the next level.
(To be continued)
PEACE
SALVATION PRAYER
Anything short of you being born again and living a life of holiness and purity hurt Jesus so much. But you can make things right here and now by saying this simple prayer and mean it genuinely from your heart:
Lord Jesus I come to you today. I acknowledge that I am a sinner and I cannot help myself. I repent of all my sins and I forsake them. Jesus, I invite you into my life, be my Lord, be my Saviour.
Wash me by your precious blood, forgive my sins and write my name in the book of life. From this day, I promise to follow you all the rest of my life. Help me Lord, in Jesus name, Amen. Congratulations you are now born again!
PEACE
CONTACT US:
folwams@gmail.com
+2347033299066
OUR SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES
Twitter account: @OTEGBADE OLAYIN8
Facebook: Otegbade Olayinka
Whatsapp: +2347033299066
Instagram: Otegbade Olayinka
Telegram: FOLWAMS
Call: +2348052105284
Blog site: folwams.blogspot.com
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
AUDIO OF THE WEEK
WATCHWORD FOR THE YEAR
AE YOU NEW ON THIS SITE? THANKS FOR COMING , WE HAVE A GIFT FOR YOU!
CLICK THE LINK BELOW
Comments