Great Expectations (Part 3) “To live obediently”
He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God.
He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God.
My youngest daughter asked my wife once, “which is the one you want me to do, obey or disobey?” We laughed and realized that we may have not been doing a great job of defining what obedience looks like and what disobedience looks like. The fact that she was only 3 years old at the time provided us with a lot of hope we could still workout her confusion. We still laugh when we think of her question.
Truth be told, disobedience is rarely due to a lack of understanding or confusion over terms. We as Christian men who know the basics of the bible understand more than enough of what God desires for us. God has provided us with clear pictures of obedience throughout scripture and his written standard of what it means to please the Lord. We struggle constantly with sin because there is a battle raging inside of us for the control of our lives.
For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. Romans 7:18
You and I don’t just battle what’s around us but it’s what’s in us that often take us down. Our sin nature is alive and well! Satan knows it and loves to use it to bring disobedience. It’s a spiritual battle! For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. Ephesians 6:12
I want to give you three ways to engage the battle so that we can live obediently before God.
• Don’t give Satan permission in any area of your life. When we play with sin and leave a door open for Satan he will take it. We all have weaknesses and we need to give God permission to work on those areas. Admit them and get accountability!
• Don’t give Satan the advantage. When an army goes to battle they want the advantage over their enemy. They use their strength to be aggressive against the attacks that may come. They don’t wait for their enemy to attack but they attack their enemy. Be aggressive in those places that are your spiritual battlefield. Use the Word of God as the powerful weapon it is to fight back against Satan’s tricks.
• Prepare for the battle. It will occur so count on it and get ready for the fight. The apostle Paul said it best. For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:13-17
