Obeying God – Pt. 1 — A ‘Time With God’ Devotion

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Transcript

Good morning. Each weekday morning we open the Bible at this time of day and see what God has to say to us. Practical issues for our lives. We’re looking at a theme this week that is so practical to our lives, and yet sometimes we think it’s not practical at all, and in fact it’s old fashioned, and that is the idea of obeying God.

You need to know from the beginning that the problems we face in our lives, the problems of humanity, stem from disobedience to God. Here’s what the apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 5 verse 19. As by the one man, he’s talking about the first man, Adam, as by the one man’s disobedience, the many, that’s us, were made sinners. We were broken, so that we want to live selfish lives gratifying our desires no matter what it costs other people or ourselves or God.

This is the brokenness that came into our lives from the one man’s disobedience. Well, disobedience is taking yourself out of God’s good plan for your life.

That’s exactly what happened in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent who represents Satan. Eve says to the serpent, God did say you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

And you must not touch it, or you will die. You come down a little bit later when the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it, gave also some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

And then comes the sudden realization of good and evil, and they realize they’re naked. They’re afraid of God. When God comes into the garden, they hide from God, and God comes and calls out to Adam, where are you?

Adam answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and so I hid. And God said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?

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And Adab describes Eve giving him from the tree, and the Lord said to the woman, What is this that you have done? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

And then comes what we call the curse, the outcome, the consequences of their choice. Satan first is cursed because of his tempting them to disobey God. And then both the woman and the man are cursed. Not only they, but we as their descendants experience that curse and the brokenness that we are born with this selfish, sinful human nature.

That pushes us to disobey God just as they did.

Well I don’t know where you are today in your relationship with God, but you need to know God’s plan for you is born out of His love for you. It’s a good plan that will lead to healing and wholeness in your life. When you obey God, you are going to the doctor for medicine.

When you’re disobeying God, you’re pushing that medicine away. You’re going the path of destruction in your life. Adam and Eve, when they ate that fruit, they were deceived by the serpent who told them, ‘Actually, God doesn’t want what’s best for you, and you will end up being like God if you eat this.’ They believed Him and so they disobeyed God, and it only led to ruin. I wonder if you look at your life right now, would you have to say, the choices I have made are leading to ruin in my life?

There’s so much damage, so much destruction. Do you know that if you walk God’s way in life, God brings healing and wholeness. When you go your own way in life in ways that is opposed to God’s way in your life, it leads to destruction. What is God saying to you today? Is there an issue that you know you need to obey God in?

Then obey Him today and start on the path of healing.

I’m John North.

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