Why Obey God? – Part 3 — A ‘Time With God’ Devotion

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Transcript

Good morning. Here to help you to get your day started the best way possible, and that is by listening to God.

I wonder if you are aware that God wants to speak to you.

Yes, not just to all of us, not just general truth. God wants to speak to you personally today in your life. God knows you. He knows everything about you. He even knows the things no one else knows. He even understands things about you that you don’t understand about yourself. God knows you intimately.

He knows what the keys are that are going to make life full and meaningful for you. He created you. He knows your nature. He knows how He created you and what will make life come together for you. And at the heart of all that is your relationship with Him.

If you want God involved in your life, you have to deepen your personal relationship with God. Talking to him and listening to him is at the heart of that.

I want to take you today as we are talking this week about why we should obey God in our lives.

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I want to take you to Ephesians chapter 4, verses 29 and 30, where Paul writes to the church in Ephesus and in writing to those believers, those Christians there, he says to them,

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification.

That is for building someone up.

According to the need of the moment so that it will give grace to those who hear.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

You know, when you obey God, it helps your relationship with Him to grow stronger and more meaningful.

And God’s reminding us today in this passage that our relationship with Him is not just a way of life. It’s not a Christian club whose meetings we attend once a week on Sunday or twice a week if we go to a home group meeting. No, we are in a living relationship with God, and you know the reason to obey God in your life is not so that you don’t feel guilty. The reason to obey God is not because you have this sense of right and wrong and you want to try and do what’s right.

The heart of why you should make godly choices, do what’s right, obey God in your life, is to grow closer to God: is because it’s good for your relationship with Him, is because you want to walk with Him in close relationship.

And in this passage God is pointing out that when we disobey Him, it grieves Him. It hurts His heart of love for us.

And if we’ve truly made our relationship with God the most important relationship in our lives, which it ought to be, then we’ll hate to hurt him more than anyone else.

You know, in another passage, the apostle Paul challenges us to keep in step with the spirit.

And God’s inviting you to walk with Him today.

The only way you can do that is by honouring him and obeying him.

I’m John North.

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