Obedience to God's Call
The Bible says that “obedience is better than sacrifice”; when God calls us we need
to be obedient. Lets look through the scriptures and see how when God called
many people were obedient to His call and was used to do mighty things for the
Lord Yahweh.
Abram who is later called Abraham was called by God (Genesis 12:1-3) “Now the
Lord Yahweh had said to Abram, get you out of your country, and from your
kindred, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. And I will make
of you a great nation, and, I will bless you, and make your name great; and you
shall be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses
you; and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed”. When we look at verse 4
we see Abram’s obedience, it says “so Abram departed, as the Lord Yahweh had
spoken to him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old
when he departed out of Haran”. I don’t think that there is anyone that don’t know
Abraham.
We see the opposite with Jonah, he was disobedient to the call of God (Jonah 1:1-
3) “now the word of the Lord Yahweh came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying.
Arise go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come
up before Me. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord
Yahweh and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish; so he
paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the
presence of the Lord Yahweh”. Jonah didn’t want them in Nineveh to repent and be
spared, but after being in the sea three days, he repented, then when God called
him again, he went and Nineveh repented and was spared.
Isaac heard the call of God to stay in a famine land, and because he obeyed he
was blessed (Genesis 26:1-6) “and there was a famine in the land, beside the first
famine that was in the days of Abraham, and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the
Philistines to Gerar. And the Lord Yahweh appeared to him, and said, go not down
into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell you of. Sojourn in this land, and I will
be with you, and will bless you; for to you, and to your seed, I will give all these
countries, and I will perform the oath which I swear to Abraham your father. And I
will make your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give to your seed
all these countries; and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
Because that Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments,
My statutes, and My laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar”. Isaac’s obedience brought
him the blessing (Genesis 26:12-14) “then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in
the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord Yahweh blessed him. And the man
waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great. For he had
possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants; and the
Philistines envied him”.
Elijah the prophet was called of God, he prophesied to kind Ahab that it would not
rain (I Kings 17:1-7) “and Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead,
said to Ahab (the king), as the Lord Yahweh God of Israel lives, before whom I
stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And
the word of the Lord Yahweh came to him, saying. Get you from here, and turn you
eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall
be that you shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you
there. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord Yahweh, for he went
and dwelled by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens bought
him bead and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he
drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that he brook dried up,
because there had been no rain in the land”. Elijah obeyed and was kept safe.
Elijah got another word from the Lord Yahweh. It says “and the word of the Lord
Yahweh came to him, saying. Arise, get you to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon,
and dwell there; behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you.
So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city,
behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks, and he called to her, and
said, bring me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she
was going to bring it, he called to her, and said, bring me, I pray you, a morsel of
bread in your hand. And she said, as the Lord Yahweh your God lives, I have not a
cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; and, behold, I am
gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may
eat it and die. And Elijah said to her, fear not; go and do as you have said; but
make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it to me, and after make for you and for
your son. For thus says the Lord Yahweh God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not
waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord Yahweh sends
rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and
she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not,
neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord Yahweh, which He
spoke by Elijah” (I Kings 17:8-16). This time his obedience caused also the widow
woman and her son to be blessed with him.
God calls us to accept Jesus Christ as our savior and lord, and live through Jesus.
Jesus says in John 15:4-7 “abide in Me, and I in you; as the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself; except it abide in the vine; no more can you except you abide in Me. I
am the vine, you are the branches, he that abides in Me, and I in him, the same
brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me,
he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them, and cast them
into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you”. But many in the world
today are trying to get to God some other way.
Jesus Himself had to be obedient to the call of God, Jesus was called of God to
come and redeem mankind, and even though His flesh didn’t want to go to the
cross, after praying to the Father to see if there was another way, in the garden of
Gethsemane; He said in Mark 14:36 “and He said, Abba, Father, all things are
possible to You, take away this cup; from Me; nevertheless not what I will, but what
You will”.
We thank God that Jesus was obedient, because we were heading toward hell, but
we were spared because of His obedience. Just think of what God can do through
you, and make a commitment to be obedient to the call of God.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: October 21, 2011
The Bible says that “obedience is better than sacrifice”; when God calls us we need
to be obedient. Lets look through the scriptures and see how when God called
many people were obedient to His call and was used to do mighty things for the
Lord Yahweh.
Abram who is later called Abraham was called by God (Genesis 12:1-3) “Now the
Lord Yahweh had said to Abram, get you out of your country, and from your
kindred, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. And I will make
of you a great nation, and, I will bless you, and make your name great; and you
shall be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses
you; and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed”. When we look at verse 4
we see Abram’s obedience, it says “so Abram departed, as the Lord Yahweh had
spoken to him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old
when he departed out of Haran”. I don’t think that there is anyone that don’t know
Abraham.
We see the opposite with Jonah, he was disobedient to the call of God (Jonah 1:1-
3) “now the word of the Lord Yahweh came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying.
Arise go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come
up before Me. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord
Yahweh and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish; so he
paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the
presence of the Lord Yahweh”. Jonah didn’t want them in Nineveh to repent and be
spared, but after being in the sea three days, he repented, then when God called
him again, he went and Nineveh repented and was spared.
Isaac heard the call of God to stay in a famine land, and because he obeyed he
was blessed (Genesis 26:1-6) “and there was a famine in the land, beside the first
famine that was in the days of Abraham, and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the
Philistines to Gerar. And the Lord Yahweh appeared to him, and said, go not down
into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell you of. Sojourn in this land, and I will
be with you, and will bless you; for to you, and to your seed, I will give all these
countries, and I will perform the oath which I swear to Abraham your father. And I
will make your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give to your seed
all these countries; and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
Because that Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments,
My statutes, and My laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar”. Isaac’s obedience brought
him the blessing (Genesis 26:12-14) “then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in
the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord Yahweh blessed him. And the man
waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great. For he had
possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants; and the
Philistines envied him”.
Elijah the prophet was called of God, he prophesied to kind Ahab that it would not
rain (I Kings 17:1-7) “and Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead,
said to Ahab (the king), as the Lord Yahweh God of Israel lives, before whom I
stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And
the word of the Lord Yahweh came to him, saying. Get you from here, and turn you
eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall
be that you shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you
there. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord Yahweh, for he went
and dwelled by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens bought
him bead and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he
drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that he brook dried up,
because there had been no rain in the land”. Elijah obeyed and was kept safe.
Elijah got another word from the Lord Yahweh. It says “and the word of the Lord
Yahweh came to him, saying. Arise, get you to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon,
and dwell there; behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you.
So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city,
behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks, and he called to her, and
said, bring me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she
was going to bring it, he called to her, and said, bring me, I pray you, a morsel of
bread in your hand. And she said, as the Lord Yahweh your God lives, I have not a
cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; and, behold, I am
gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may
eat it and die. And Elijah said to her, fear not; go and do as you have said; but
make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it to me, and after make for you and for
your son. For thus says the Lord Yahweh God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not
waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord Yahweh sends
rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and
she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not,
neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord Yahweh, which He
spoke by Elijah” (I Kings 17:8-16). This time his obedience caused also the widow
woman and her son to be blessed with him.
God calls us to accept Jesus Christ as our savior and lord, and live through Jesus.
Jesus says in John 15:4-7 “abide in Me, and I in you; as the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself; except it abide in the vine; no more can you except you abide in Me. I
am the vine, you are the branches, he that abides in Me, and I in him, the same
brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me,
he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them, and cast them
into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you”. But many in the world
today are trying to get to God some other way.
Jesus Himself had to be obedient to the call of God, Jesus was called of God to
come and redeem mankind, and even though His flesh didn’t want to go to the
cross, after praying to the Father to see if there was another way, in the garden of
Gethsemane; He said in Mark 14:36 “and He said, Abba, Father, all things are
possible to You, take away this cup; from Me; nevertheless not what I will, but what
You will”.
We thank God that Jesus was obedient, because we were heading toward hell, but
we were spared because of His obedience. Just think of what God can do through
you, and make a commitment to be obedient to the call of God.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: October 21, 2011
