'UNDER the Mosaic law, obedience was looked upon as being "better than sacrifice, and to harken, than the fat of lambs." In Deuteronomy 5:29, Moses represents Almighty God declaring Himself as to this very quality in a manner which left no doubt as to the importance He laid upon its exercise. Referring to the waywardness of His people He cries:
"O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children after them." Deu_5:29
(Truth! Oh that there was such a heart in me so that I would Fear God and keep all His commandments ALWAYS. We need this HEART! We need a heart cleansed!
Psa_51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
God then, and God now would have us love Him and in loving Him, obey Him. His commands are commands of LOVE and nothing more.)
Unquestionably obedience is a high virtue, a soldier quality. To obey belongs, preeminently, to the soldier. It is his first and last lesson, and he must learn how to practice it all the time, without question, uncomplainingly. Obedience, moreover, is faith in action, and is the outflow as it is the very test of love. "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me." Joh_14:21
(When I read about a soldiers's first and last lesson is obedience it rings incredibly true. The first thing the army does is strip the young men and women of their individuality and make them obey their commands. They do this for sadistic purposes? Not unless you get a cruel leader. The leaders do this not out of pleasure but to assure that the young man and woman will obey in order to save their lives. Our Heavenly Father wants no less than our lives spared. Obeying without question is not a sign of weakness, it is not a sign of inferiority, it is not a sign of stupidity, it is a sign of the greatest intelligence, the greatest strength, the greatest superiority in comprehending that our Creator, our Savior wants us to obey Him out of LOVE. Obedience, we can comprehend it as human soldiers in a human army so we HAVE to comprehend obedience in spiritual soldiers in God's army.)
Furthermore: obedience is the conserver and the life of love.
"If ye keep My commandments," says Jesus, "ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love."
What a marvelous statement of the relationship created and maintained by obedience!
The Son of God is held in the bosom of the Father's love, by virtue of His obedience! And the factor which enables the Son of God to ever abide in His Father's love is revealed in His own statement, "For I do, always, those things that please Him."
(This is TRUTH! People don't want to talk about Jesus' obedience. They want to talk about His love as if it is separate from His obedience and it is not! Why can't we comprehend this? Why can't we see? Jesus KEPT his Father's commandments. Jesus OBEYED His Father, and this is LOVE. We make love something else, something mushy and something more about getting things. We talk about love but we leave out obeying, when love is obeying. )
The gift of the Holy Spirit in full measure and in richer experience, depends upon loving obedience:
"If ye love Me, keep My commandments," is the Master's word. "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever."
Obedience to God is a condition of spiritual thrift, inward satisfaction, stability of heart. "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the fruit of the land."
Obedience opens the gates of the Holy City, and gives access to the tree of life. Isa_1:19
"Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates, into the city." Rev_22:14
(TRUTH! So much truth! We need to pray for a cleansed heart. We need to pray for the will to obey. We need to pray and NEVER stop praying, all by the GRACE, the LOVE, the MERCY of GOD!)
Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 49)
"O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children after them." Deu_5:29
(Truth! Oh that there was such a heart in me so that I would Fear God and keep all His commandments ALWAYS. We need this HEART! We need a heart cleansed!
Psa_51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
God then, and God now would have us love Him and in loving Him, obey Him. His commands are commands of LOVE and nothing more.)
Unquestionably obedience is a high virtue, a soldier quality. To obey belongs, preeminently, to the soldier. It is his first and last lesson, and he must learn how to practice it all the time, without question, uncomplainingly. Obedience, moreover, is faith in action, and is the outflow as it is the very test of love. "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me." Joh_14:21
(When I read about a soldiers's first and last lesson is obedience it rings incredibly true. The first thing the army does is strip the young men and women of their individuality and make them obey their commands. They do this for sadistic purposes? Not unless you get a cruel leader. The leaders do this not out of pleasure but to assure that the young man and woman will obey in order to save their lives. Our Heavenly Father wants no less than our lives spared. Obeying without question is not a sign of weakness, it is not a sign of inferiority, it is not a sign of stupidity, it is a sign of the greatest intelligence, the greatest strength, the greatest superiority in comprehending that our Creator, our Savior wants us to obey Him out of LOVE. Obedience, we can comprehend it as human soldiers in a human army so we HAVE to comprehend obedience in spiritual soldiers in God's army.)
Furthermore: obedience is the conserver and the life of love.
"If ye keep My commandments," says Jesus, "ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love."
What a marvelous statement of the relationship created and maintained by obedience!
The Son of God is held in the bosom of the Father's love, by virtue of His obedience! And the factor which enables the Son of God to ever abide in His Father's love is revealed in His own statement, "For I do, always, those things that please Him."
(This is TRUTH! People don't want to talk about Jesus' obedience. They want to talk about His love as if it is separate from His obedience and it is not! Why can't we comprehend this? Why can't we see? Jesus KEPT his Father's commandments. Jesus OBEYED His Father, and this is LOVE. We make love something else, something mushy and something more about getting things. We talk about love but we leave out obeying, when love is obeying. )
The gift of the Holy Spirit in full measure and in richer experience, depends upon loving obedience:
"If ye love Me, keep My commandments," is the Master's word. "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever."
Obedience to God is a condition of spiritual thrift, inward satisfaction, stability of heart. "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the fruit of the land."
Obedience opens the gates of the Holy City, and gives access to the tree of life. Isa_1:19
"Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates, into the city." Rev_22:14
(TRUTH! So much truth! We need to pray for a cleansed heart. We need to pray for the will to obey. We need to pray and NEVER stop praying, all by the GRACE, the LOVE, the MERCY of GOD!)
Quoted from- 'THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER By E.M. BOUNDS' (Excerpt 49)
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