Hello ladies....This Bible Study comes to you a few days early. If you aren't ready for it yet, just close it out and come back to it in a few days. I had to post it before I left town! Looking forward to reading your feedback when I return!
I don't know about you, but I have authority issues. I am stubborn and very naturally rebellious. I like to be in charge and tell other people what to do. In most settings, I like to make the plans and the decisions and feel really good about myself based on what I accomplish. Growing up in a Lutheran church, heaven felt like it was attained by following rules. By nature that is hard for me becuase my immediate reaction to rules is to do the opposite. And when I do "follow the rules" I get really frustrated if other people around me don't.
I am that person who, during a church service when asked to bow my head and close my eyes, I want to keep them open. When encouraged "everyone, raise your hands in worship" I want to keep mine down. If challenged to express freedom before the Lord, I want to sit. I want every decision to be MY idea and MY choice. I don't want to be told what to do. I have improved greatly in this area, but it has taken time and hard lessons. I have made very poor choices over the years just because it was the opposite of what I was told to do. When I first attended Northwest University, I made it my personal goal to break as many rules as I could. It sounds so dumb now, and so immature, but I bet a lot of you out there are nodding your heads because you relate. The result was always that I made my life harder than necessary and I ended up unhappy and in trouble. Part of growing up in life is learning to submit to authority and maturing as a Christian works the same way. I think many of us operate like this in our spiritual lives. We don't want to be told what to do, we don't want to relinquish control, essentially, we don't want to obey.
Obedience doesn't come easy. Obedience really should be defined first by what it is NOT. The opposite of obedience is rebellion. Rebellion is defined as:
1. Open, organized and armed resistance to one's government or ruler
2. Resistance to or defiance of any authority or control
That first definition was shocking for me. Look at it again and let's break it down.
OPEN: there is no hiding it, it is out there for all to see.
ORGANIZED: as in a systematice plan.
ARMED: taking up weapons to take into battle.
RESISTANCE: the act of opposing or straining against.
TO ONE'S GOVERNMENT OR RULER. Obviously this has application to earthly government and rulers, but look at it in relation to our spiritual life; God is our ruler.
Numbers 14:9 says "Do not rebel against the Lord." I Samuel 12:14 adds "and do not rebel against his commands..." Romans 13:2 tells us that rebellion will bring judgment on us. I don't WANT to rebel, but it is a part of my nature that I have to fight. You don't want to rebel either, but you have to fight that part of your nature too. Let's dig a little deeper.
The second definition of rebellion involves resistance to authority or control. I understand a little bit about resistance. We used to have a Bowflex. You've seen the commercials with that really ripped guy or gal pumping hard on the handles attached to thin little rods. You think "that doesn't look hard" and "I'd like to look like THAT." When we lived in California I decided that I wanted to start lifting weights. I wanted to be in shape (especially after having twins!) and I enjoy the workout of "pumping iron." After about a year of lifting cast iron weights I felt good, but I didn't really see much result in my physique. Around that time, Brandon and I got a bowflex. I loved that machine because it was easier on my joints than traditional weights, and because I could feel my muscles being "challenged". The Bowflex is all about resistance. You are pulling against a tension rod (the higher the "weight" the stronger the tension or resistance) that naturally pulls against you. Instead of picking up a weight that wants to obey gravity and fall to the floor, you are pulling against a rod that is pulling the opposite direction. The resistance was incredible for me in strength training. I saw immediate results. My arms had this incredible definition and I became much much stronger. People started commenting on how nice my arms looked and my husband was amazed at how much traditional weight I could now lift. Resistance is a powerful thing. The more we resist, the stronger we get. If we apply that spiritually, it is a scary thing. Scripture tells us to resist the devil, but instructs us NOT to resist God. Proverbs 29:1 warns us that "a man who remains stiff necked (resistant) after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed." The Lord was angry with the Israelites in Exodus 32:9 because they were "stiff necked". Resistance, stiff-neckedness (new word!) or rebellion leads to our slavery and ultimately, our destruction. And the more we resist, the stronger we get at resisting!
This Bible study that we are doing is all about freedom. I have a longing to see believers walk in freedom in their relationship with God. But there cannot be freedom without obedience. We ARE going to obey somebody or something. Either we will obey God, or we will obey sin (which comes as a result of obeying ourselves or our enemy). We cannot have freedom without obedience to God's authority; they go hand in hand. Beth Moore says "Freedom becomes reality when we yield to the authority of God. We are as filled with the Spirit as we are yielded to His lordship." There cannot be both obedience and resistance to the Lord.
Rewind back to my college days. So there I was, this girl who hated to follow rules. One day in a Bible class, the lecture was on the "Lordship" of Christ. The basic message was that there is a difference between accepting Jesus in your heart, and submitting to his rule in your life on a daily basis. That daily relationship and submission is "Lordship." It became crystal clear to me that day, that I had prayed a prayer for salvation, but I was not submitted to God's daily rule in my life. I hurried back to my room that day and I was faced with a decision; submit, or continue to rebel. The truth is, I was miserable in my rebellion. Purposeless, I was wandering around and around just like God's rebellious people for centuries before me. I chose to submit. I went against my nature, and asked God to rule me. My job, from that day forward, has been to obey.
Obedience is defined as "willing to obey, comply with, or submit to authority." Obedience is not always easy. Ask any child who still lives at home, they don't always want to do what Mom and Dad want them to do. Ask any employee how fun it is to "obey" the boss, he/she will usually have very strong opinions on that subject. And ask any Christian. When you know that God expects something of you, but it is hard to trust, or difficult to see how it is best, it is hard to obey. But it is expected of us. I expect my kids to obey; and I expect it immediately. They hear on a daily basis that "delayed obedience is disobedience." I want to obey my Lord. It isn't always easy, but I want to obey and I want to obey right away. To do that, I have to trust that He loves me and knows what is best for me.
So how DO we obey? Many of you may be thinking: "If God audibly told me what to do, I'd obey!" He has. He even wrote it all out for you. The Bible is full of instruction from the Lord that we are expected to obey. I have to say, it is hard for us to obey if we haven't read the instructions from our "boss!" Psalm 19 tells us a little about God's instruction to us:
vv 7-11 "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes...The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They aremore precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward."
That says a lot about God's word and how we should view it. How are you doing?
Your assignment:
1. Read Psalm 19 and re-write in what you feel is more current terminology.
2. Look through your Bible and see if you can find at least two Scriptures that have to do with
rebellion or disobedience and two that speak of obedience. What are the consequences and
rewards of disobeying or obeying.
3. Evaluate how you are doing in two areas:
Reading God's Word
Obeying Him.
Is there an area you are particularly struggling to obey in?
4. Share something with the group.
Have a great week studying and yielding!
di
I don't know about you, but I have authority issues. I am stubborn and very naturally rebellious. I like to be in charge and tell other people what to do. In most settings, I like to make the plans and the decisions and feel really good about myself based on what I accomplish. Growing up in a Lutheran church, heaven felt like it was attained by following rules. By nature that is hard for me becuase my immediate reaction to rules is to do the opposite. And when I do "follow the rules" I get really frustrated if other people around me don't.
I am that person who, during a church service when asked to bow my head and close my eyes, I want to keep them open. When encouraged "everyone, raise your hands in worship" I want to keep mine down. If challenged to express freedom before the Lord, I want to sit. I want every decision to be MY idea and MY choice. I don't want to be told what to do. I have improved greatly in this area, but it has taken time and hard lessons. I have made very poor choices over the years just because it was the opposite of what I was told to do. When I first attended Northwest University, I made it my personal goal to break as many rules as I could. It sounds so dumb now, and so immature, but I bet a lot of you out there are nodding your heads because you relate. The result was always that I made my life harder than necessary and I ended up unhappy and in trouble. Part of growing up in life is learning to submit to authority and maturing as a Christian works the same way. I think many of us operate like this in our spiritual lives. We don't want to be told what to do, we don't want to relinquish control, essentially, we don't want to obey.
Obedience doesn't come easy. Obedience really should be defined first by what it is NOT. The opposite of obedience is rebellion. Rebellion is defined as:
1. Open, organized and armed resistance to one's government or ruler
2. Resistance to or defiance of any authority or control
That first definition was shocking for me. Look at it again and let's break it down.
OPEN: there is no hiding it, it is out there for all to see.
ORGANIZED: as in a systematice plan.
ARMED: taking up weapons to take into battle.
RESISTANCE: the act of opposing or straining against.
TO ONE'S GOVERNMENT OR RULER. Obviously this has application to earthly government and rulers, but look at it in relation to our spiritual life; God is our ruler.
Numbers 14:9 says "Do not rebel against the Lord." I Samuel 12:14 adds "and do not rebel against his commands..." Romans 13:2 tells us that rebellion will bring judgment on us. I don't WANT to rebel, but it is a part of my nature that I have to fight. You don't want to rebel either, but you have to fight that part of your nature too. Let's dig a little deeper.
The second definition of rebellion involves resistance to authority or control. I understand a little bit about resistance. We used to have a Bowflex. You've seen the commercials with that really ripped guy or gal pumping hard on the handles attached to thin little rods. You think "that doesn't look hard" and "I'd like to look like THAT." When we lived in California I decided that I wanted to start lifting weights. I wanted to be in shape (especially after having twins!) and I enjoy the workout of "pumping iron." After about a year of lifting cast iron weights I felt good, but I didn't really see much result in my physique. Around that time, Brandon and I got a bowflex. I loved that machine because it was easier on my joints than traditional weights, and because I could feel my muscles being "challenged". The Bowflex is all about resistance. You are pulling against a tension rod (the higher the "weight" the stronger the tension or resistance) that naturally pulls against you. Instead of picking up a weight that wants to obey gravity and fall to the floor, you are pulling against a rod that is pulling the opposite direction. The resistance was incredible for me in strength training. I saw immediate results. My arms had this incredible definition and I became much much stronger. People started commenting on how nice my arms looked and my husband was amazed at how much traditional weight I could now lift. Resistance is a powerful thing. The more we resist, the stronger we get. If we apply that spiritually, it is a scary thing. Scripture tells us to resist the devil, but instructs us NOT to resist God. Proverbs 29:1 warns us that "a man who remains stiff necked (resistant) after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed." The Lord was angry with the Israelites in Exodus 32:9 because they were "stiff necked". Resistance, stiff-neckedness (new word!) or rebellion leads to our slavery and ultimately, our destruction. And the more we resist, the stronger we get at resisting!
This Bible study that we are doing is all about freedom. I have a longing to see believers walk in freedom in their relationship with God. But there cannot be freedom without obedience. We ARE going to obey somebody or something. Either we will obey God, or we will obey sin (which comes as a result of obeying ourselves or our enemy). We cannot have freedom without obedience to God's authority; they go hand in hand. Beth Moore says "Freedom becomes reality when we yield to the authority of God. We are as filled with the Spirit as we are yielded to His lordship." There cannot be both obedience and resistance to the Lord.
Rewind back to my college days. So there I was, this girl who hated to follow rules. One day in a Bible class, the lecture was on the "Lordship" of Christ. The basic message was that there is a difference between accepting Jesus in your heart, and submitting to his rule in your life on a daily basis. That daily relationship and submission is "Lordship." It became crystal clear to me that day, that I had prayed a prayer for salvation, but I was not submitted to God's daily rule in my life. I hurried back to my room that day and I was faced with a decision; submit, or continue to rebel. The truth is, I was miserable in my rebellion. Purposeless, I was wandering around and around just like God's rebellious people for centuries before me. I chose to submit. I went against my nature, and asked God to rule me. My job, from that day forward, has been to obey.
Obedience is defined as "willing to obey, comply with, or submit to authority." Obedience is not always easy. Ask any child who still lives at home, they don't always want to do what Mom and Dad want them to do. Ask any employee how fun it is to "obey" the boss, he/she will usually have very strong opinions on that subject. And ask any Christian. When you know that God expects something of you, but it is hard to trust, or difficult to see how it is best, it is hard to obey. But it is expected of us. I expect my kids to obey; and I expect it immediately. They hear on a daily basis that "delayed obedience is disobedience." I want to obey my Lord. It isn't always easy, but I want to obey and I want to obey right away. To do that, I have to trust that He loves me and knows what is best for me.
So how DO we obey? Many of you may be thinking: "If God audibly told me what to do, I'd obey!" He has. He even wrote it all out for you. The Bible is full of instruction from the Lord that we are expected to obey. I have to say, it is hard for us to obey if we haven't read the instructions from our "boss!" Psalm 19 tells us a little about God's instruction to us:
vv 7-11 "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes...The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They aremore precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward."
That says a lot about God's word and how we should view it. How are you doing?
Your assignment:
1. Read Psalm 19 and re-write in what you feel is more current terminology.
2. Look through your Bible and see if you can find at least two Scriptures that have to do with
rebellion or disobedience and two that speak of obedience. What are the consequences and
rewards of disobeying or obeying.
3. Evaluate how you are doing in two areas:
Reading God's Word
Obeying Him.
Is there an area you are particularly struggling to obey in?
4. Share something with the group.
Have a great week studying and yielding!
di
posted by Di Beals | 10:38 AM
1 Comments:
Chris I am so glad you posted on this. It is hard to allow oursleves to be humbled. That is a great picture that we treat God like our children treat us at times. Ouch! I think that hits home to several of us. Thanks for challenging us also in this area. It is a good perspective. Have fun in Disney World. You are awesome!
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