Obedience: Bringing the Inheritance



Picking up where we left off last week, I want to look at how obedience brings inheritance.

First off, if you would like to read through the other posts about obedience visit the archive here.

It Costs Everything

If we understand obedience the way God does (as a virtue for us, not against us), then we will see it as something that is a major blessing in our life. Think about it with me, when have you ever done something you know is wrong and thought it to be worth it? 

Confession: I drive too fast, and I'm always the one that gets caught for it. Friends of mine drive like Ricky Bobby everywhere and never get caught; I'm the guy that does it for five minutes and gets pulled over and issued a speeding ticket. Every time I think to myself, "that was stupid!" Now I will be paying the cost for the ticket for years to come. My point is, that we all have done things in our life we knew we shouldn't have, and said "that was stupid," wishing we would've never done that thing.

The hard part about obedience is that it will cost us our life, but the same is true of disobedience--it will also cost us our life, as in my illustration above. The question is, which price do we want to pay? Do we want to pay to obey or disobey? Both will cost us our life, but one will leave us rich and the other poor--one will bring life and the other steal it away. The Israelites in the Old Testament are a great example of this.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” -Genesis 12:1-3
Abraham, the father of the Israelite nation, was told by God to leave his home to gain a nation that will be shown to him (Gen 15:18, 17:7), which he did so but not without cost. It literally cost Abraham everything to obey God, his own name was even changed from Abram (the name we see here) to Abraham (Gen 17:5)! From Abraham would be Isaac and Jacob; from Jacob would be Joshua  who would be held captive in Egypt and save Israel from the famine. Moses would later be raised in Egypt, who then had Israel as slaves, to deliver Israel. Israel would then wander in the desert for 40 years, not inheriting the land promised to Abraham until Joshua--Moses' apprentice--would take them into the promised land (Jos 1:1-6). The obedience of Abraham passed through his life, through many generations, and through many centuries before the fullness of it came alive. Obedience cost Abraham his life, but I want to propose to you here that it was a low cost to pay in light of what he, the generations after him, gained. We should never underestimate the power of one act of obedience in our life. Abraham made one decision to obey and it blessed many generations after him.

Inheritance

It was through Abrahams life that he and others gained an inheritance. I want to say to you that the same is true for our life. We often will underestimate the power of obedience in our life thinking, what effect will this really have? We think that our obedience or disobedience stops with us, not realizing that both will affect generations after us, as it did with Abraham.

The point I want to make here is that obedience is the foundation of inheritance. Obedience establishes and inaugurates the constitution of God's promises over our lives. Yes, there are promises over our lives, but those things require obedience for fulfillment. Without obedience those promises are simply potential energy waiting for movement from us. A fulfilled promise requires obedience. Abraham moved in order to gain what was promised to him, and we too have to move in order to gain the promises over our life.

So, the question still remains, will we spend our life in obedience or disobedience? We will all spend our life somewhere, but the price we pay to obey will bring an inheritance for us and many generations after.

Are you wondering why God's promises over your life have not yet happened? Maybe it is because they are waiting from movement from you? Maybe it is because they will be fulfilled through generations after you? Choose today to obey--if Abraham shows us anything, it's that obedience is always worth it for us and the generations after us!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Church & Marriage: 3 Reasons its Helped Mine

Image
If the Church is the Bride of Christ, then it should be good for our marriage. I want to give you three reasons the Church has been good for my marriage: 1. My wife and I have weekly quality time together. This is especially important since we have kids. We get an hour and a half to enjoy each other's company, sometimes we even snuggle and kiss! This is also a time where we get to connect on a level much different than any other time or place during the week. Our sense of oneness is increased as we both pursue God--there is a dramatic weaving together that happens with God who created us, our marriage, and the Church as his Bride.  2. My wife and I have community around us. The best relationships my wife and I have ever had have come from our church-going life. There are people who know how to love well: they know how to treat you with respect and honor, they are there for you in hard times, they are people you can count on when you need them, they are people who know
Read more

How Complaining Can Become Your Coffin

Image
For everything there is a season,      a time for every activity under heaven. 2  A time to be born and a time to die.      A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3  A time to kill and a time to heal.      A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4  A time to cry and a time to laugh.      A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5  A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.      A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6  A time to search and a time to quit searching.      A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7  A time to tear and a time to mend.      A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 8  A time to love and a time to hate.      A time for war and a time for peace. -Ecclesiastes 3:1-8  Every season, or time period, in our life there is a certain identifying theme. These seasons can be full of joy, sorrow, wonder, excitement, disappointment, or heart-break. Some seasons in life we expect and plan for, and others we did not see coming. Take a
Read more

This is Who I am: Understanding Identity

Image
Why is it important to know our identity? Moreover, if God doesn't create our identity, then who or what will? If someone asked you, "who are you?" What would you say? Most of us might answer with what we do for a living, that we're a husband/wife, or give some cool nick name that our friends gave us. So, honestly, how would you answer that question? Answering this question, in whatever your answer is, is vastly important for all of life. Proverbs 27:19 gives greater insight, "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man" (NIV). This verse shows us that our "heart" (identity) impacts all of life. Our identity, like the heart, is the control center for all of life. It becomes of critical importance to know our identity because it is the control center for our life. Scripture shows us that there is a direct parallel to our identity (the core of who we believe ourselves to be) and the actions that we choose to take in life
Read more