P r a c t i c a l L e s s o n s f o r U n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e Wo r d o f G o d

Obedience Always Brings Blessing

KEY PASSAGE: Psalm 24:1-5 | SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE: Mark 9:41 | Luke 6:21-23| Romans 8:28 | 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 2 Timothy 4:7 | Hebrews 13:5

SUMMARY:
Obedience always brings blessing.
Maybe your response to this statement is:That may be true for you, but it hasnt been true in my life. If you feel that way, its possible that you have been expecting the Lord to answer your prayers in a certain way. As a result, you have missed how He wanted to bless you. What is a blessing, anyway? I define it as anything that is an expression of Gods goodness and love towards us. Answers to prayer, miraculous provision, and unexpected favor are some examples. We easily recognize these as Gods gifts. But sometimes He chooses to bless us in different ways. For instance, He gives us strength and joy in the midst of hardship, and He uses our suffering to mature us spiritually. Gods blessings come in a variety of forms. But we can be assured that obedience to Him always brings blessing.

Joshua followed the Lords command in battle. Instead of operating according to typical military strategy, the army marched around Jericho for seven days. After that, God caused the wall surrounding the city to fall, giving the Israelites the victory.
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David honored God by refusing to harm His anointed king, Saul. As a result, David was made king at just the right time.
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Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord when the Aramites attacked Judah. God promised that He would give His people the victory. As Judahs choir sang songs of praise, the enemy destroyed themselves in confusion, and Jehoshaphats army didnt even have to fight.
I I Peter cast his net in the middle of the day at Jesus command. Consequently, he caught an enormous amount of fish. More importantly, he saw Christ for who He was, and ultimately became one of the most influential apostles.

SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES:
Biblical Examples
I God asked Noah to build a large boat. It preserved his family during the flood. I The Lord called Abraham to leave his homeland and follow Him. Not only did Abraham experience great material prosperity, he ultimately became the father of the nation of Israel. I Moses obeyed God by telling Pharaoh to free the Israelites. The people were freed from slavery, and Moses became one of the most important spiritual leaders.

God called Paul to follow Jesus. This meant accepting the theology of the people he had been persecutingthe first Christians. Because he chose to obey God and take the gospel to the Gentiles, He became the most influential apostle.
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Types of Blessing
Gods gifts arent always obvious. But when you obey Him, He may bless you with: Peace, joy, and contentment. These internal qualities often result when we step out in faith and obey God.
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Spiritual growth. The next time God challenges us to do something, we have more faith to obey.
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Eternal blessings. When we stand before God on judgment day, we will be rewarded for our obedience. Scripture says we will be honored even for small things (see Mark 9:41; Luke 6:21-23).

To prevent pride. Suffering reminds us that all good things are gifts from God, not things we earn by our own efforts.

Suffering before Blessing

The first effect of obedience often is not blessing, but suffering. Sometimes, what God requires of us will initially lead to pain and hurt. So when we experience difficulty, we shouldnt assume that weve made a mistake or that He has abandoned us. Lets look at two significant examples of suffering as an initial result of obedience: Moses followed Gods command to lead His people out of Egypt. Although Moses was afraid, he went to Pharaoh and demanded that Gods people be set free. At first, things didnt go wellMoses miracles were easily mimicked by the Egyptian magicians, and Pharaoh refused to give in. Then, once the people were set free, it wasnt long before they began to complain about life in the desert and Moses leadership. Another time, they made an idol in the form of a calf and began to worship it instead of the Lord. Despite these challenges, Moses is known as the most important leader in the Old Testament.
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I To remove idols from our lives. Anything that we worship, aside from the Lord, is a problem. He causes all things to work together for our good (Rom. 8:28). So if he removes a good thing from our lives, He must have a purpose, even if we cant see it at the time.

To deepen our understanding of His ways. When God does something and we arent sure why, we can anticipate learning something new about how He operates. I To demonstrate His faithfulness to His children. In suffering, you and I have the opportunity to become living examples of the goodness of God. Others watch how we respond to overwhelming adversity, and recognize His loving care.
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CONCLUSION:
If you obey God, can you expect His blessings? Yes. But remember that His choice of blessing may be different from yours. Even in your loss and pain, you can see Gods goodness. Perhaps He is using your suffering to draw you closer to Himself. Or He may use it to remove from your life those things that hinder your fruitfulness for Him. The Father loves you enough to bless you with the removal of anything that keeps you from walking in the center of His will. And often His blessings are not things that can be touched or seen. Sometimes the best way God can enrich our lives is to reveal to us more of who He is. If you walk step by step in His will, He will bless you in ways that will surprise you.

Paul obeyed God by preaching the gospel. As a result, he suffered tremendous persecution, danger, and physical abuse (2 Cor. 11:23-27). Part of his mistreatment included being falsely accused and thrown in jail. However, he considered it a joy to suffer for the cause of Christ. Because he was imprisoned, he had time to write the life-changing books of Colossians, Philippians, Ephesians, and Philemon. And at the end of his life, he said, I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course, I have kept the faith (2 Tim. 4:7). His obedience resulted in supernatural blessing.
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What are Gods purposes for our suffering?

To purchase the message
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To bring us to the end of ourselves. We become most useful to Him when we rely on Him completely. If we respond correctly to loss and suffering, we will find blessing through it.

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