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Obedience does it cost anything? I. Obedience what it means? a.

Obedience means that you may have to do some things that are hard, illogical, or even against your nature. You may have to give something away, forgive someone, or try something for which you have no natural talent. b. The New Testament word for obedience, hupakoe, is a compound word of two Greek words,hupo, "under," and akouo, "to hear." So to obey is "to hear under." Obedience involves listening attentively with a heart of compliant submission and, then, obeying his word. c. What does it really mean to be obedient? i. The Pharisees thought it meant following the law and the prophets perfectly. What Obedience requires a. Old Testament i. Genesis 22: 1-18 God called Abraham to offer his son Isaac. He was faithful even though the instruction seemed crazy. ii. Noah- Genesis 6:22, Hebrews 11:7 - in a world taken by evil, violence and corruption, Noah was a righteous man. However, Noah wasn't just a righteous man; he was the only follower of God left on the earth. The Bible says he was blameless among the people of his time. It also says he walked with God. Living in a society saturated with sin and rebellion against God, Noah was the only man alive that pleased God. It's hard to imagine such unwavering faithfulness in the midst of such godlessness. Over and over again, in the account of Noah's life we read, "Noah did everything just as God commanded." His life of 950 years, exemplified obedience. Noah's greatest accomplishment, however, was his faithful commitment to obey and walk with God all the days of his life. b. New Testament i. Joseph Matthew 1: 18-25 Joseph was told by the angel of the Lord to take Mary as his wife. He did what the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ii. Simon and Andrew- Luke 5: 1-11 Where Jesus got into a boat and ask Simon Peter to put out the boat further from the shore. He told Simon to let down his nets and because he obeyed, he got a large number of fish that the boat began to sink because of the boat was so full. Examine the life of Naaman i. 2 Kings 5:1-8 Naaman was a captain of the host of the king of Syria, honorable, a victor, a mighty man of valor but above all his achievements and victory, he was a leper. Leprosy is a horrible disease caused by bacterial infection. All of his successes were eclipsed by this horrible disease. He was told by a captive young girl from Israel about a prophet who is in Samaria that can cure him. When he went to the house of Elisha, however Elisha didnt bother to come out of his house instead a servant was sent out to give the message to Naaman that he should wash himself in Jordan River seven times. But instead of just obeying what the prophet had told him, he was angry and even belittled the Jordan river because the river of Damascus (their river) the Abana and Pharpar are far greater than the Jordan river and much cleaner. His ego, pride and selfsufficiency runs so deep within him that he wouldnt want to dip himself in the river of

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jordan. Naaman thought that his ideas were better than Gods instruction. His servant talked some sense into him. Elishas instruction was so simple. To just go wash in the Jordan seven times. When, Naaman believed that message and went. He washed himself in the jordan seven times. When he was finished washing, his leprosy was gone. His faith and obedience had resulted in his salvation and healing. IV. The Naaman spirit. a. Selfish pride. All of us or maybe some of us have this spirit, the Naaman spirit where we have deep rooted pride in life, especially knowing that we are from the only university in the Philippines. The ego , pride and self- sufficiency is bigger than our brains. Even though we have our own disease/ leprosy that needs healing, or areas in life that calls for obedience in what He is saying even though he never went out or we havent seen Him, we sometimes tend to present to God some options. We want God to work in our terms and not on His. Our self- sufficiency in the midst of needs b. Probably because of his position in the army and his favor with the King of Syria, maybe Naaman is used to getting his way and having people treat him with honor. Have you ever been like Naaman? Full of pride and stomp out in rage because the answer to your problem is not to your liking? He displayed an attitude of self-importance resulting in his arrogant disposition. c. Like Naaman we sometimes think that we are legend in our mind. If we think we are, perhaps we need to humble ourselves. d. Thats the overall sense of this story its about the importance of having enough humility to do something simple and straightforward rather than large and noticeable. Life lessons a. We learn from Noah that it is possible to remain faithful and pleasing to God even in the midst of a corrupt and sinful generation. Surely it wasn't easy for Noah, but he found favor in God's eyes because of his remarkable obedience. God blessed and saved Noah, just as he will faithfully bless and protect those of us who follow and obey him today. Our call to obedience is not a short-term, one-time call. Like Noah, our obedience must be lived out over a lifetime of faithful commitment. Those who persevere will finish the race. b. We learn from Abraham that sometimes obedience needs giving up the most treasured possession we have. c. From Joseph, that even though he was not the father of Jesus but still he obeyed the command of the Lord and took Mary as his wife even if it cost him his dignity and even if its illogical yet he obeyed. d. To Peter, though he knows from experienced that fishing in a broad daylight is totally opposite to what the norms in fishing is, but yet he never second doubted the word of the Lord. He says but because you say so. Obedience sometimes mean letting go of the nets. Letting go of what we normally do, letting go of our comfort zone. e. From the life of Naaman, that pride could never heal you, that pride could hinder your obedience to Him. That sometimes we tend to come to the Lord expecting Him to do great things/ miracle in our circumstances and yet when he give us the answer we then present our options to him. f. The path to obedience is not paved. Sometimes the path is a big jungle that you have to hurdle. Challenge a. What is/are the area/areas of your life that God is calling you to obedience. Is it in the area of your studies? Is it in your relationship? Is it in your family?

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