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Many people have received Christ as Savior but not as Lord of their lives. When Christ becomes Lord, our self-ways no longer rule us. But when Christ is not Lord of our lives—whew!—self-ways or the flesh is in charge.
We are children of God,
and like all children
we need to learn obedience.
It takes Almighty grace to take the next step when there is
no vision and no spectator—
the next step in devotion,
the next step in your study,
in your reading,
in your kitchen;
the next step in your duty,
when there is no vision from God,
no enthusiasm and no spectator. It takes far more of the grace of God, far more conscious drawing upon God to take that step, than it does to preach the Gospel. ~Oswald Chambers
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Obedience is not works. We may quote various Scriptures that remind us that we are
crucified with Christ and dead to sin; but reminding ourselves of something and actually obeying are two different things. We can know something and yet not apply it.
Christians often miss that God is at work through circumstances and relationships in their lives. Their flesh rises up when circumstances or relationships bump them, and they give in to the flesh. Then they “repent" with words, try to add more disciplines to their lives, but really they're living in religious works which is why there is not victory over repetitive carnal behaviors.
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EXAMPLE
1
Works of Religious Ritual
Let's say your house is in an uproar for any number of reasons, one of which may be your lack of child training.
So every morning for a week you get up and you read the Bible and you pray that God would give you wisdom for each child-training situation (sounds good).
Then a child-training situation comes up and you yell at your children. You come back to God and repent, knowing you were wrong to yell.
You do this for about a week—meet with God every morning, read the Bible, pray for wisdom—and then slack off because you're getting tired of the same old same old.
You still yell at your children because they still are not changing.
Why aren't my children changing? you wonder.
You continue to seek the Lord for wisdom.
You're reading your Bible.
You're praying.
You even go to church on Sunday and seek Godly ladies for counsel.
You read all the right child-training books and try to apply what's in the books, but you can't even get your children to listen to you, let alone obey you.
You become frustrated with the whole situation.
The morning devotion and prayer time go by the wayside.
Sunday worship seems lacking in luster.
Pretty soon you're in a depression.
This example illustrates works of the flesh.
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EXAMPLE
2
Uncompromising Obedience
For the anger of man
does not achieve the
righteousness of God.
~James 1:20
One who knows the right thing to do
and does not do it,
to him it is sin.
~James 4:17
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On the other hand, let's say in your spirit you know you should not yell at your children but, instead, train them. James 1:20 and 4:17 pop into your mind.
You specifically confess—agree with God—that you are sinning when you act out in anger against your children (a specific sin) and are tired of it and you want to change.
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You pray throughout the day that He will help you boldly face the child-training "opportunities" that present themselves.
One morning one of your children spills milk at the breakfast table. Normally, this mistake would send you through the roof, and you would begin yelling various things about the child’s carelessness.
However, this particular morning, you begin to open your mouth to yell... but instead of yelling, you willingly respond to the Spirit's Voice and obey. You hold in all that fleshly stuff you want to yell and you don't yell. You really want to yell—really really really bad. But you don't.
Perhaps you run to the garage instead and yell outloud (you are struggling with your flesh) and ask God to help you respond the way a Christian mother would.
So you return to the table—eyes red from crying, throat sore from yelling and screaming in the garage—and you say, "Oh, dear, the milk spilled. Let's clean it up. Next time, please give your sister a sippy cup. Let's start breakfast."
Notice that in this example the child simply made a mistake, so you didn't need to take authority over sin issues in the child's life.
In this particular everyday circumstance,
there was no training involved for the child,
only training for you.
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Let’s scrutinize these two examples.
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Example 1
Notice that here was no specific time that you listened to the Spirit.
You only went through the Christian discipline rituals, bargaining with God:
“If I do A, B, and C,
then God do X, Y, Z.”
You missed the crucial point that the purpose of tense, overwhelming circumstances in your life is get your attention so God can transform you.
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Example 2
Notice in this example that you were letting the Holy Spirit prick your heart related to a specific sin in your life: lack of the fruit of the Spirit, particularly lack of self-control.
- You must be listening for the Voice of the Spirit to convict you.
- Then you must resolve that you will obey that Voice.
The Spirit won't knock you on the head and force you to obey. You must choose obedience.
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The encouraging thing about Example 2 is one day, just out of the blue it will seem, the same incident will happen again and instead of having to run to the garage to wrestle with your flesh, you will handle the situation without your self-ways taking over.
You will be amazed when that happens and so very thankful because you will know that your willing obedience to the Voice of the Spirit in all things, not just things related to child training, has opened the door for the Spirit of God to mortify your flesh—deprive it of power over you—and produce a fruit of righteousness in your life: self-control.
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He completed the work He began because you were serious about seeking Him as demonstrated by willing obedience in your personal conduct which opened the door that allowed Him to enter in to your life and change you.
Being confident of this,
that He who began
a good work in you
will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus.
~Philippians 1:6
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A Disobedient Child
Disobedience is part of the relationship parents experience with a rebellious child.
When children are rebellious and consequently disobedient, parents have a hard time reaching their hearts.
Our relationship with God, our Father, has similarities.
He won't reach the heart of a disobedient child, not because He doesn't love the child, but because the child does not honor, value, love, and obey Him.
If you love Me,
you will obey what I command.
~John 14:15
Do not be lazy about
obedience.
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Were you struggling with the flesh in the second example?
Yes.
Did you obey in your personal conduct?
The answer is yes.
Did you cooperate with God so He could mortify your flesh—deprive it of its power over you? Yes! [As the flesh dies, because it is without power, you become empty of “self” ways and God can fill you with His Life.]
But let's say you didn't.
If you continue to yell at your children—even though you don't want to, even though God is pricking your heart—you are what is called "doubleminded" (James 1:2-8) and shall not receive anything of the Lord.
Obeying God is not works; it is... well, it is obedience.
If you continue to yell, you are simply being disobedient in your personal conduct to the Voice of the Lord.
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If we don't know the love of God as a reality in our own lives, we will have a hard time obeying Him.
That's why worshipping God for Who He is, is so vital to Christian life.
Worship occurs moment by moment for the abiding Christian who thanks Him for Who He is—Truth, Light, Love, Power, the Way, Bread of Life, Son of Man, Son of God, my righteousness—and sees Him in His creation and in the circumstances and relationships of real life.
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WORKS:
doing things for God,
bargaining with God.
OBEDIENCE:
opening the door to transformation as you respond to God,
walking with God.
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Treasures
By
Martha Snell Nicholson
(1898?-1953)
One by one He took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
Until I was empty-handed;
Every glittering toy was lost.
And I walked earth's highways, grieving.
In my rags and poverty.
Till I heard His voice inviting,
"Lift your empty hands to Me!"
So I held my hands toward heaven,
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches,
Till they could contain no more.
And at last I comprehended
With my stupid mind and dull,
That God COULD not pour His riches
Into hands already full!
Martha Snell Nicholson, who was an invalid most of her life, was used of God to inspire many through the hundreds of poems of praise and encouragement that she wrote, and through her autobiography,
His Banner Over Me.
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While you are waiting on God, continue to obey the seemingly small things He is showing you about your personal conduct which reflects what is in your heart.
If you obey once, He will not change you instantly.
You must wait for the change... but while you are waiting, obey.
The more you obey in the little things, the more empty of self-ways you become and the more He can fill you up.
Become serious about obeying Him, because if you love Him, you will obey Him.
Your personal conduct reflects your obedience or lack thereof.
Personal Note: When my daughter was 14, she shared the poem (to your left) with me. She said it spoke to her about why it's important to allow God to deprive the flesh of its power (and to ultimately become be empty of self).
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Lord,
empty us of self ways
as we obey You in our personal conduct.
Put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the flesh.
~Romans 13:14
Other articles in this series:
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