OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION [eight]

(…continues from part seven…)

8)            Noah. Of Noah it is said, “But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee” (Genesis 6:18). There were probably more than two million people in the world. Only eight souls, led by the patriarchal Noah were righteous enough to be saved from the impending annihilation. In a mad sinful world, Noah made a difference. He lived to please the Most High. His obedience earned him the patriarch of today’s world population.

                Abraham became the father of faith. Genesis 22:1-3 “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2) And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.” What he did sounds stupid and callous. Faithfulness to the word of God has always made the person of faith look stupid. Human philosophy has succeeded in vitiating God’s word of instruction. Satanism.

                And when Abraham passed the trial, we read from the Scripture, “And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17) That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18) And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:16-18). If God had to swear by His name, knowing that there is nothing by which He could swear, this is an accentuation of the act of faith.

Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David [1Samuel 18:11].

                David. Even though King Saul was very erratic and deserved to die at the hand of David whom he pursued with the wicked intent of killing without no just cause, David given the opportunity, would do no such thing – this is the difference between the one who fears God and the one who does not. 1Samuel 24:4-6 “And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily. 5) And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. 6) And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” David’s loyalty to the crown and the military head of Israel would not allow him to kill even an enemy who desperately sought after his life. But the more important reason for not wanting to end the life of Saul was the divine ministerial office King Saul held.

The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master

                At another opportunity which the LORD God furnished David with is when the Bible says, “So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them” (1Samuel 26:12). Again, against the plausibility of military advice his lieutenant offered him, David ostensibly asked himself, “What would the LORD, my God, expect me to do?” The prevalent ethical code of divine will of “The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed:” of verse eleven prevailed in Davidic reasoning.

                None can become God’s child unless he gets born again. Soteriological establishment requires obedience to John 3:3 and submission to Romans 10:9-10 culminating in the process of the prayer involved. John 3:3 emphatically asseverates, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” This is the spiritual regeneration every intelligent being of terra firma must conform to. The perfection of this new birth, midwifed by the Holy Spirit, is the prayerful rendition of Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

                The driving force of redemption is the exhibitive character of faith. Every word of the prayer of salvation otherwise called ‘sinners’ prayer’ must be accompanied by faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

a reminder note with a quote of John 14:6 about Jesus

                Say this prayer, meaning it with all your heart:

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!” 

(…to be concluded…)

Read part seven here

Get the concluding part nine. Click.

OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION [seven]

(…continues from part six…)

7)            Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” This is why we should, after having criticized our leaders constructively, obey them, pray for them, and do everything in order not to have any ill feeling towards them. If they choose never to do the will of the Creator who puts them there, that will be their problems.

                James 3:3 “Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.” Doing the bidding of its master is the worth of the domestic animals, the horse inclusive. To ensure the obedience of the horse we apply the use of bridles for effective control. It must be controlled if it is going to be useful. To be useful to the cause of Jehovah, what did He do? He gave us some ‘dos’ and ‘do nots’. Even in man’s perfection of Adamic state – before the fall –, he had to abide by certain rules. In our fallen state what do we need? More rules to perfect our paths of righteousness, of course. Obedience is the key to Godly life.

                1Peter 1:22 “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:” to keep the tempter at bay. We do have lots of obedient acts to perform – all contained in the holy writ. 1Peter 3:1 “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;” which is not difficult to perfect: for the wives do have a perfection of a pattern in a great woman, Abraham’s wife. 1Peter 3:6 “Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.” You cannot be the daughter of Sarah if you neglect your submissive duties to your own husbands. Satan will do everything to make it difficult for the woman to show Godly obedience to her husband. He was the evil one who derailed the first woman of Eden. The woman was the first to have acquired knowledge of good and evil. The satanic slant is still with the woman; she would like to exercise that evil proclivity.

                1Peter 4:17 “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” Afflictive decisions await even the Church of God for improper teaching of the word of God. Did the risen Christ not promise to remove non-burning candles which were indicative of non-complying churches? If God would not spare people of His sanctuary, how worse is to be expected of unregenerate souls? Tragedy. But, the Christian is a blessed soul. The Christian’s life, knit with that of God the Father, is constantly watched over by the divinity of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ, the Author of our salvation: all because we have chosen to obey the eternal word of God, the Creator. Amen.

And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering

                We can learn from those who obeyed and submitted to the will of God.

                Abel. Genesis 4:3-4 “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4) And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:” Cain, the first born of humanity, decided to act the way he deemed fit. He forsook the instruction of God as passed to him by his father, the progenitor of the entire mankind, Adam. Divine forgiveness is perfected only by blood, so, God told Adam after He Himself had killed two sacrificial animals to save them from death to do the same, periodically. Abel heeded this instruction of blood sacrifice. He came before the LORD God with a sheep, the blood of which God used to cleanse Abel of his sins, just the same way Jesus would come to do a once-and-for-all substitutionary death for all mankind. Abel keyed into the futuristic finished work of the cross of Calvary. He, by his obedience, accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. Faith in the word of God and the attendance obedience goes a long way to please God eternally, sometimes without one knowing it.

I give unto you power to tread on serpents

                Say this prayer, meaning it with all your heart:

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!” 

(…to be continued…)

Read part six here

Get part eight. Click.

OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION [six]

(…continues from part five…)

6)            2Thessalonians 1:8 “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:” is the ominous fate awaiting unruly rejection of God’s command. That nothing seems to happen when we commit certain evil deeds cannot be interpreted to mean that God is either unaware or is unconcerned. Sooner than later, judgment comes, knocking ominously at the life of the evil doer.

                2Thessalonians 3:14 “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.” Scriptural epistles are contents of Holy Spirit’s breathed didacticism. They are Divine instructions that accompany us in our earthly journeys. Repudiation of scriptural establishments renders such perpetrators elements of anathema.    

“be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates”

                Titus 3:1 “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,” is the divine charge to His children. Authorities of governance are ministers of the Most High – whether they are God’s children or not. Disrespect to them is a direct confrontation with the Creator, who has appointed them. The word ‘principalities’ is arche (ar-chee’): ‘1. (properly abstract) a commencement. 2. (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank).’ Exousia (e-xou-siy’-a) is the Greek for ‘powers’. It means ‘1. authority, privilege, permission, the right to do something. 2. (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom. 3. (objectively) mastery (concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence.’ The next to be obeyed is ‘magistrates’, which is peitharcheo (pei-thar-che’-ō): ‘1. to be persuaded by a ruler. 2. (genitive case) to submit to authority. 3. (by analogy) to conform to advice.’

“And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation…” (Hebrews 5:9)

                In chief order of state administration in the Apostolic days is the Roman emperor. Kings, Presidents and Prime Ministers will, in these days pass for the arche, who hold executive posts of national administrations. Governors of States (holding executive office could be arche), their equivalents, Federal Ministers and State Commissioners, to whom powers are delegated are the exousia. The legislative arm of the Roman Senate could be in this official role. Court judges are the peitharcheo. The three tiers or arms of government, no doubt, got its establishment here. The Bible will not allow us to obey them when they ask us to do things contrary to the word of God.

                Hebrews 5:9 “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;” and this is in reference to the humanity of the incarnate Christ, who as a man, went through the sufferings of Adamic realities of sinfulness, not that He committed any sin, but that He had to partake of human frailties, and having accomplished through the obedience of His own word, those who will obey God, through His accomplishments, they are endowed with the eternality of salvation. The words ‘made perfect’ is teleioō (tel-i-o’-o) ‘to complete, that is, (literally) accomplish, or (figuratively) consummate (in character). What is ‘author’? It is aitios (ah’-ee-tee-os): ‘causative, that is, (concretely) a causer.’ Aitios is the same as aiteō (ahee-teh’-o) which means: ‘to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require.’

“And being made perfect…(Hebrews 5:9)

                Now, the significance of teleioō is the accomplishment of a set goal. The consummation of this bourne is the death, burial and most importantly, the ultimate resurrection. This divine substitutionary death of the cross attracted divine legitimacy of Christ’s Authorship of the soteriological cause. Jesus Christ, therefore, is the sole cause of eternal salvation. Disobedience to the finished work of the cross leads, ultimately, to the eternality of hellish death. If the Bible says, “For all have sinned”, it does include every living intelligent being on the terra firma. If Jesus obeyed the set rules of salvation, those who wish to partake of this spiritual salvageability must show obedience as well.

                Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Imagine if father Abraham had not obeyed God’s instruction, who would have spoken a word about him? Obedience stood Abraham out. Abraham has the enviable title of ‘Father of faith’ all because he chose to believe and obey the word of God. We should likewise obey God’s word, whether it makes religious, psychological or philosophical sense or not.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise [Mat 21:16]

Say this prayer, meaning it with all your heart:

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!” 

(…to be continued…)

Read part five here

Get part seven. Click

OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION [five]

(…continues from part four…)

5)            Proverbs 30:17 “The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.” Had the LORD God not reeled out the Ten Commandments to the hearing of the Israelites, in the wilderness, where the first of human to human relationship of the Decalogue says in the 5^th, “Honour thy father and thy mother:” with the beneficent addendum, “that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee” (Exodus 20:12)? It must of necessity follow that when an offspring rejects the fifth commandment, he is definitely calling for a short-lived life. The father, as the head, is known to be the priest of the family. The father, ergo, owns both the gregarious and the spiritual headship of the family. The mother, being one with the father, is to be accorded the same honour. The parents, having been around before the children, ought to know best, the mind of God. The truth is that every marriage is supposed to constitute two born again people. Marriage is strictly between God’s children. Adam and the first woman were God’s son and daughter.

“What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”

                Matthew 8:27 “But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” Is this not an indictment of man’s disobedience to the word of God? If elements will obey the command of the Lord Jesus, the Word of God, does the obedience of a soulless wind not smear the stiff-necked stance of intelligent humans with ignominy? But I know that some will love to say that Jesus Christ is not human like us. Remember Jesus once told His human hearers, “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you”(Luke 17:6)? Application of faith is tantamount to obeying the word of God which is utilized in show of faith. Even the elements must obey the command of the words of our mouths when faith is dispatched from our hearts concerning a matter.

                Acts 5:29 “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” This is the bottom line: obedience to the word of God is non-negotiable. When man decides to usurp the Godhood of the Most High he should be reminded that he is treading the path of the Antichrist. Many wicked people (Vladimir Putin and other politicians) will act the script of the Antichrist before the emergence of the ultimate son of perdition (2Thessalonians 2:3-4). Romans 6:12 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Allowing Satan to engender lust of the sinful flesh evokes an endangerment of our spiritual health. An obligation that tends to tear us between the course of Jehovah – on one hand – and the evil, appeal tug of carnality on the other, should not be an allowability.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord

                Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.” The word ‘right’ is dikaios (d̮iy’-kai-os), meaning: ‘1. equitable. 2. (of character) righteous. 3. (of action or decision) right. 4. (by implication) innocent.’ The righteousness of parental obedience is located in the Lord: meaning that the adherence to God’s guiding instructions is the only hope of achieving social, moral and spiritual rectitude, as far as God is concerned. Unless our acts are guided by the revealed word of God, we are simply doing all we can to please the Devil, our enemy. Colossians 3:20-22 20) “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. 21) Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. 22) Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:” Haplotes (ha-plo’-tees) is the Greek for ‘singleness’ and it means: ‘(subjectively) sincerity (without dissimulation or self-seeking). (Objectively) generosity (copious bestowal).’

                Children, parents and servants have obedient roles to play in ‘pleasing’ the Lord. ‘Pleasing’ is euarestos (ev-a’-re-stos) ‘fully agreeable.’ A wise person will, without any smidgeon of doubt, do everything to obey, according to the good Book, God’s inspired Word, the Bible. Does it not say, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2Timothy 3:16)?

Christianity is the only way of the soteriology

Say this prayer, meaning it with all your heart:

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!” 

(…to be continued…)

Read part four here

Get part six. Click.

OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION [four]

Israel learnt obedience from the holy mouth of God.

(…continues from part three…)

4)            Exodus 19:5 “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:” is the divine charge to Israel. No nation boasts of this ‘peculiarity of treasure’. The Hebrew for ‘peculiarity of treasure’ is cgullah (seg-ool-law’) meaning: ‘wealth (as closely shut up).’ The nation of Israel up till now and till the second coming of Jesus Christ, remains untouchable. Israel produced the Saviour of the world. Israel of Shem was the first to propagate the soteriology. It is suicidal to reject God’s instruction. Jehovah is not just another object of veneration; HE owns the entire heaven and the earth. He alone is the Almighty.

                Exodus 23:21 “Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.” Is this One to beware of not the Second Member of the Godhead? His (God’s) name is in Him because this is none other than EMMANUEL – God is with us a.k.a. Jesus Christ. When Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it, Paul made us to understand that Jesus – in His pre-incarnation manifestation – stood on that rock. The name JESUS, the Hebraic Yehoshua means ‘Jehovah is Saviour’, authenticating God’s prophetic name in Him. The chicanery of Islam teaches that Exodus 23:21 is in prophetic reference to Muhammad. For his irreverent act, Moses did not set his leadership foot on the Promised Land. Disobedience is evil. 

Samuel reproves King Saul for performing burnt offering sacrifice [1Samuel 13:11-14]

                1Samuel 15:19 “Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?” King Saul brought into the land of Israel those things he was told to annihilate. He spared the life of an evil king ‘Agag (ag-ag’) whose name means: ‘1. flame.’ This Amalekitish king, like other ones, constitutes disturbing consuming fire of destruction to the children of Israel spiritually. Greed and ill-affection towards the very well-fed rams and the handsome visage of Agag blinded Saul’s loyalty to God. King Saul lost his rulership of God’s own people.

                Proverbs 15:32 “He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.” Man may be a free moral agent, but the hard truth that calls for digestion is the fact that God still gave the first couple some dos and do nots; to prove that God must be put into serious consideration. They were free to eat from all the surrounding trees save the one called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They would not live to complete a thousandth year or another one thousand years of existence if they should come into disobedience. Death was God’s promise for disobedience. ‘Refuseth’ is the Hebraic para` (paw-rah’) and means ‘1. to loosen. 2. (by implication) to expose, dismiss. 3. (figuratively) to absolve, begin.’

The Bible – God’s protocol

                This word, para` , teaches that the ‘refusal’ of God’s word is indicative of giving oneself too much freedom; in fact, it gives a picture of one leering at the Creator. Definition two says that a disobedient person, having got himself exposed to Satanism, finds it sporty dismissing the LORD’s instruction. The receipt of Lucifer’s didacticism, based on Satanism, gives a person every stance of excuse, thereby absolving one of disobedient act; and lo and behold, he has begun a new life of belligerence against the will of God. The next word, ‘instruction,’ is muwcar (moo-sawr’) it means ‘1. (properly) chastisement. 2. (figuratively) reproof, warning or instruction. 3. (also) restraint.’ That God has always warned His intelligent creation cannot be debunked. The disobedient soul, ergo, is on a suicidal mission, because ‘despiseth’ is ma’ac (maw-as’) in Hebrew and it means ‘1. to spurn. 2. (intransitively) to disappear.

“Father Abraham….for I am tormented in this flame…” [Luke 16:24]

                 The lives of those who would dare refuse to get born again, which the Holy Spirit is doing everything possible, through Christianity in the propagation of eternal life in Jesus, will find themselves disappearing before the presence of the thrice holy God; hell is the eternal abode. It may sound like a Hollywood script, but it is not. It is the gospel truth. ‘Getteth’ is qanah (kaw-naw’): ‘1. to erect, i.e. create. 2. (by extension) to procure.’ 3. (especially) to purchase. 4. (causatively) to sell. 5. (by implication) to own.’ What is ‘understanding’ of this verse? It is leb (laɓe): 1. the heart. 2. (figuratively, very widely) the feelings, the will, and even the intellect. 3. (likewise) the center of anything.’ To the obedient people of God, the reality of their being bestows on them a representative capacity of God’s righteous perpendicularity. They stand erect in spiritual adoration of the Most High. They have allowed a creation of divine affinity in their lives. The heart of an obedient person freely wills to do God’s bidding, love Him and seek none but the LORD God.

Say this prayer, meaning it with all your heart:

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!” 

(…to be continued…)

get part three here

read part five, click.

OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION [three]

“And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?

(…continues from part two…)

3)            The Creator of the marriage institution is the only One who can help maintain this institution. We understand that the Woman was the first to dip her life into sin; it will not be easy for her who first walked into the evil way to practise humility. One of the chief reasons why affine establishments go awry is the inability of the woman to submit her personality to the man. Unfortunately, most wives do not realize that the husband is the representative of Christ in that marriage – disrespect to husband is disobedience to the God of creation.     

Marital rift comes from disobedience to the express word of God.

                Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” The heads of governmental institutions are scripturally said to be ‘ministers’ of God. Diakonos (d̮iy-a’-ko-nos) is the Greek for ‘minister’ found in Romans 13:4, meaning, ‘1. an attendant, a servant. 2. (genitive case) a waiter (at table or in other menial duties). 3. (specially) a male Christian serving in a specific function and post (i.e. tending the widows and the poor, teaching, pastoring, etc).’

                The same ‘ministers’ in Romans 13:6 is leitourgos (lei-tour-ğos’) ‘1. a public servant, i.e. a functionary in the Temple or Gospel. 2. (genitive case) a worshipper (of God) or benefactor (of man).’ Whether they believe in the finished work of Jesus, making them born again Christians or not, they are working for God in governance. God had good reasons to get the likes of Adolf Hitler, who started the Second World War, Idi Amin, the terrorizing President of Uganda, Vladmir Putin, who unleashed an unwarranted annihilating war on Ukraine, Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, Roman Emperor notorious for his monstrous vice and fantastic luxury (was said to have started a fire that destroyed much of Rome in 64 A.D.) but the Roman Empire remained prosperous during his rule (37-68), and many others will, one day, answer to the ultimate Judge, Jehovah God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

                James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Yielding to God is an engenderment of humility on the part of the submitter. The truth of scriptural protrusion here is that having yielded to the Most High, a resisting strength against the Devil – that leaves the evil one fleeing from you – becomes practically inevitable. It is for the indoctrination of humility that saw Jesus, the Lord of lords, at His incarnation, walked lowly strides of earthly sojourn. 1Peter 5:5, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” Submission, a cousin to meekness, leads one to pious disposition of humility, ergo, a teachable spirit. The spirit of righteous docility is evidently in friendship with the Divinity. An imperious soul is, indubitably, in direct enmity with the LORD God.

Obey:

                What is obedience? It is simply doing what one is told to do. Obedience, which is not, in anyway, an allusion to a namby-pamby disposition, is a breeder of trust and eirenic coexistence. Obedience must flow from a volitionary heart: which does not do so just to cringe for a favourable conditionality.

Genesis 22:18 “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” The word ‘obeyed’ is shama` (shaw-mah’) in Hebrew meaning: ‘to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc).’ Abraham was blessed by God.

“…for now I know that thou fearest God” [Genesis 22:12]

                What did Abraham do to be so blessed? His acquiescent disposition to God’s direction and the unprecedented sacrificial task earned him the father of faith and through his seed the whole world is soteriologically blessed. By giving up Isaac, his only son, having sent away Hagar and Ishmael, Isaac’s half-brother, Abraham had set up the possibility of the ultimate sacrifice of the Golgotha cross – without which Jesus would not have received the legitimate pattern to die for the world. Without the crucifixion of the Lamb of God there could not be the salvation of one soul. Abraham’s obedience to God’s word made it possible for God to provide His own eternal Son for the perfect sacrifice. Amen.

For disobedience Pharaoh perished, pursuing Israel.

                Exodus 5:2 “And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.” Pharaoh of Egypt refused an intelligent understanding of Jehovah’s word. Pharaoh rejected the eternal direction of God, and what was the outcome? Pharaoh perished. Is it not stupefying, reading of Pharaoh’s bent on thwarting God’s plan for Israel, Jehovah’s professed firstborn? One of the established facts of Satanism is the blockage of the victim’s heart from practising the fear of Jehovah. Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” Pharaoh had his heart turned to imperviousness that disallows the permeation of godliness.

                Say this prayer, meaning it with all your heart:

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!” 

(…to be continued…)

Read part two here.