Obedience | THE BIBLE VIEW

The BIBLE VIEW #1006 — Serving God

In This Issue:
Is It My Life?
Obeying God
Gifts for Today’s Christians

Volume: 1006 May 19, 2025
Theme: Serve the Lord!

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Is It My Life?
Bill Brinkworth

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” Matthew 20:15

Does a Christian have the right to do whatever he wants with his life? According to God’s Word, no!
“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” Romans 9:20-21

The context in Matthew 20 is the millennial reign when Christ rules Earth for 1,000 years. It gives one an idea of what will happen during that time and how some will be rewarded.

In Jesus’ illustration, he told of how workers starting at different times of the day got paid what the master thought was fair. All were paid the same, whether they worked 10 hours or one hour. The “boss” was doing the hiring, and all agreed to work for what he offered them. The whole point of the illustration was to teach that the master was in charge, and it was by his rules they had to abide.

Although Matthew 20:15 was the reply of the landowner doing the hiring, it holds a great truth in describing a Christian’s relationship with the Lord. A Christian is not his own. We are purchased with Christ’s blood. We have a promise of Heaven. Everything after getting saved is a bonus! Let us surrender our lives and do with our lives what God would have us do!

When adults are asked what they want to do in their future, they usually tell you what they have figured out they would like to have happen with their lives. When a child is asked the same question, you similarly get a battle plan that he would like to see happen. Seldom does one answer, “Whatever the Lord wants me to do, I’ll do!”

Sadly, that open-invitation to do God’s will is rarely even thought of by Christians. Unfortunately, when you hear of people handing their lives over to God without any reservations, it is often only after they have tried it their way, and that way failed.

It would save much heartache and much of a “wasted” life if one would immediately, after one is saved, hand one’s life over to God as a signed, blank check to God. “Fill it in with what you want me to do God, and I will gladly, happily, and faithfully do it until you tell me otherwise!” Boy, would that attitude change lives and Christendom as we know it!

“Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord to Thee;
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love
At the impulse of Thy love.”
— Excerpt from Frances Havergal’s hymn, “Take My Life, and Let It Be”

Obeying God
Bill Brinkworth

In the introduction to his second letter to the Corinthian church (II Corinthians 1), Paul tells part of the secret of his success. The preacher was used of God because it was the “will of God” (vs. 1).

I say “part of his secret” because there was another factor not mentioned here, although Paul’s testimony throughout the New Testament made it clear what it was. It was God’s will that Paul, the one-time enemy of God and His people, got saved, became an apostle, and was used by God. It was critical that the preacher allowed himself to be used by God and did what God showed him to do.

This distinction between “God’s will” and obeying God’s commandments is very important. After being saved by trusting in Jesus’ work for them on the cross, most have a purpose in God’s mind. None of us are saved to sit and soak up God’s goodness. There is a spiritual war raging in this world (Ephesians 6:12), and it is always God’s will that each soldier of God participates in the battle.

I believe everyone is convinced and convicted of God’s will for them, at least once. The tugging spirit of God sometimes makes all feel guilty of involvement in sin. Many hear that “voice” encourage them to be saved. At times, they feel uncomfortable in their lifestyle and desire to change. Some do heed God’s encouragement to get them to do His will. Unfortunately, too many ignore it.

The encouragement of the Holy Spirit of God is soon not even listened to. They did not do God’s will, and eventually, because they chose not to obey it, the “voice” of the Holy Spirit no longer “speaks” to them. They never get used of God because they had chosen not to obey Him previously.

Paul ignored the “pricks” (Acts 9:5) of the Holy Spirit for a long time. He ignored God’s true calling for him as he watched his acquaintances kill the first martyr for Christ. Paul closed his ears to the cries and pleas of the Christians he had killed and persecuted.

One day, however, God’s will was clear to Paul. He heard the voice of the Son of God on the Damascus road, and he obeyed what Jesus told him to do. His life was different after that decision, and the world has never been the same because of his obedience.

God’s will for every one of us is to do something for Him. This, sadly, does not happen in too many cases. Many get saved. Some obey for a while. God has great plans to use them, but because of some act of disobedience, they never get used in the way God intended. The key to ever being used effectively by God, as was true in Paul’s life, is obedience to what one is shown to do.

It is God’s will that all that are saved serve Him. It is not His will that we disobey Him by putting off or ignoring what He has placed in our hearts to do. We can also have effective lives for Christ’s cause if we obey God’s will for our lives!

“The will of God will not take you where the power of God cannot keep you.”

Gifts for Today’s Christians
Bill Brinkworth

God has plans for every Christian. To better equip each child of God, each is given a gift to serve the Saviour. Some may have more than one gift. These are not the gifts the early church had before they were given the Word of God. These seven gifts (Romans 12: 6-8) are necessary to get the work of God done in today’s world. They include the gifts of:

Prophecy. This is not the same ability Old and New Testament prophets and Christians had. We have the entire plan of God in His written, preserved Word of God. We do not need to foretell the future as they did earlier. Today’s gift of prophecy is taking the Word of God and helping others understand it better. In his 1828 dictionary, Noah Webster defined the gift as the ability “to preach; to instruct in religious doctrines; to interpret or explain Scripture or religious subjects …”
Ministry. This God-given gift puts a great burden on a Christian to meet the needs of others.
Teaching. This is a gift that allows one to help others understand the things of God better.
Exhorting. This vital gift helps one be an encourager to others — a most needed gift, especially among God’s people.
Giving. This gift gives one the burden of meeting other’s needs by giving of things and themselves.
Ruling. This gift allows one to be a leader. Too many think they have it, but few have the God-given ability to lead God’s people.
Mercy. This gift gives one a heart to have understanding, patience, and kindness with others.

If you are a child of God, God does not plan for you just to sit. He desires that you serve Him and help others. He has given you at least one of the above gifts for this church age. What are your gift/gifts, and are you using them to help others, honor God, and bringing others to know and serve the Lord better?

Additional Reading on This Subject: God’s Toolbox (https://www.openthoumineeyes.com/lessons/toolbox.html)

The BIBLE VIEW #963 — Obedience

In This Issue:
I Should’ve Done It Right the First Time
A Better Work
Standing on the Inside
Obey God
A Child’s Song

Volume: 963 June 24, 2024
Theme: Obedience

I Should’ve Done It Right the First Time
Bill Brinkworth

The strong winds of a rainstorm pushed over a large 10’ by 10’ entranceway to my garden. On it hung the foliage of two seedless grape plants. The growth was massive, totaling at least 300 pounds. There the plant support lay after the storm, a tangled mess of plant and split oak posts.

When I built it, I knew I was using the wrong materials. I figured termites would appear out of nowhere and gobble the structure, but I did not want to spend the money at the time to buy the right timber and build it right. The future of the plants was not important to me at the time. However, the little creatures did find a meal, and it took a wind to emphasize the damage they had done.

Looking at the jumbled mess, I thought, “I should have done it right the first time. I ended up spending the money anyway.”

People go through life making similar discoveries. They learn the biblical way to live when they are younger. They heard testimony after testimony of how people learned about life the hard by making bad decisions that made their life not come out the way they wanted.

When hearing the testimonies, the young listeners vowed not to mess up their lives the same way. They purposed to be a good Christian, follow God’s commandments as closely as possible, and stay far from sin.

Often, when going through their teenage years, they fell for similar distractions and soon found their lives also in a tangled mess. With multiple marriages in their past, a habit of smoking, broken relations with families, legal problems, wrong decisions after wrong decisions, or other damage done by involvement in sin, they one day realized that they should have done their lives right the first time. They should have lived as God commanded in His Word because any other way does not work!

After purchasing pressure-treated lumber and rebuilding the arbor correctly, my next task was sorting out the mangled vines to salvage as much developing fruit as possible. Patiently, I went through each vine and, to my surprise, learned something else.

I realized that the plants were mostly vines and little fruit. I cut away much of the unproductive vines, disturbing one little toad, and one by one, cut away what did not have any fruit and put what was left on its new support. What now remained was at least one-third of what originally had been growing.

One may learn a similar lesson after getting to a point where one wants to start all over again and live the way God says to in His Word. It may be realized that a previous life-style was unproductive and even a waste of time before living God’s way.

Activities and things dumped for unscriptural living are often later seen as unimportant and hardly worth the priority given to them. That new car we had to have and the second job we needed to pay for it was not worth the time we missed seeing our children grow up and raising them properly. A fine house was a “must,” but it forced both parents to work, forcing the children to be raised by someone else with standards that were not the mother’s and father’s.

Church services that could have helped were missed because sports games were placed at a higher value. Now, we cannot even remember who played who or where the games were. All those things and other vain activities are now seen as a waste of our time and, in the long run, did not satisfy or help us.

Learn the lesson I learned from my collapsed grape arbor. We only have one life, and it needs to be lived the right way.

The world has no clue what the right way is. They try to fill their spiritual emptiness with activity and things. Those things are a temporary cover-up of real needs.

We are created to serve God, and His leadership is the only way we will ever have joy and fulfillment. Live your life according to the way His Word guides. God has raised billions of children, and when they do it His way, they will do it the right way the first time.

“Don’t pray to give God instructions — just report for duty!”
— Author Unknown

A Better Work
C. H. Spurgeon

“The ship is on fire!” was shouted. The bales of cotton were pouring black, horrible smoke. Safety was in question.

Passengers and crew were in extreme danger, but a capable captain was in command. He told those around him, “If you behave yourselves, I think I can get all to safety. All will be spared if you follow my instructions!”

If they trusted the captain, they would do as he ordered. No sailor or engineer would refuse to work the pumps or prepare the boats, neither would any passenger disobey any rule.

Because of confidence in their leader, they obeyed him at once. They believed his orders were wise, so they kept them. Neither their fear nor rashness would lead them to rush to and fro contrary to his bidding. When the boats were lowered and brought one by one to the ship’s side, those who were to fill them waited their turn in firm reliance upon the captain’s impartiality and prudence.

They got into the boats or waited on board, for they considered his orders were dictated by better judgment. Each man and woman firmly believed in the superior officer. Discipline was maintained.

Obedience to God’s commandments also proves genuine faith and trust in the Lord. There is no trust where there is no obedience.

Some say they trust Christ but do what they like. The faith which saves and is genuine is a faith that obeys.

“The acid test and proof of faith is obedience.” — Author Unknown

Standing on the Inside
Walter Knight

A mother repeatedly told her little boy to sit down. The boy continued to stand, disobeying his mother.

Finally, the mother went to him and plopped him down in a chair. Fuming, the boy said, “I may be sitting on the outside, but I am standing on the inside!”

How displeasing to God is our only outward obedience to His commandments, when inside we are very rebellious to Him.

“Obeying God may not be the easiest way, but it is the wisest.”
— Author Unknown

Obey God
Author Unknown

Implicit obedience is our first duty to God and one for which nothing else will compensate.

If a child at school is told to solve a math problem and copies an answer instead, the effort of cheating will not increase his mathematical ability. Likewise, we should obey God and do what he requires of us. Shortcuts cheat us from doing or learning what we should. God’s way is always the best.

A guide through an unknown country must be followed without question, or his followers will be lost. A captain commanding the direction of a vessel up a river must be obeyed by the pilot, or the ship will run aground. A soldier in battle must fight when and where he is ordered. When the conflict is over, he may see how following his commander’s orders got their side a victory. The farmer must also obey God’s natural laws of the seasons to have a bountiful harvest.

We must all obey God’s spiritual laws to reap happiness here and hereafter.

“Following God’s directions are the only way to get safely Home.”

A Child’s Song
Author Unknown

A child’s Sunday school song teaches an important truth:

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
Doing exactly what the Lord commands, doing it happily.
Action is the key — do it immediately, joy you will receive.
Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
We want to live pure; we want to live clean.
We want to do our best.
Sweetly submitting to authority, leaving to God the rest.
Walking in the light, keep our attitudes right,
On the narrow way.
For if you believe the Word you receive, You always will obey!

The BIBLE VIEW #907 — Obedience

In This Issue:
Be Obedient While You Have the Opportunity
Is He Really Your Lord?
A Benefit and Privilege
Don’t Question Orders

Volume: 907 May 15, 2023
Theme: Obedience

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Be Obedient While You Have the OpportunityBill Brinkworth

“Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1

Although Proverbs 27 is chock-full of life-directing wisdom, verse one should remind each one of us that our time on this Earth is not forever. Our life could change drastically or end before the sun sets today. No one knows how much time they have left. No one has the promise of tomorrow!

While we have the time, do not procrastinate. Do not put off:

Being saved. Although many put off being born again (John 3:3), they may not have tomorrow to do so. One’s opportunity to have God’s promise of an eternity with Him may soon be ended. Each time salvation is put off, one’s heart hardens and becomes more defiant to God’s calling.

One may have another day, but after having ignored the pleas of the Holy Spirit so often, the Spirit may no longer speak to one about securing their eternity (Romans 10:9) in Heaven. Each time one says “No” to the Spirit of God’s prodding and His commandments, one’s sensitivity to God’s calling is lessened.
“Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 4:7“
And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. 25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” Acts 24:24-25
Halting the sin(s) you have been convicted of doing. When a person is saved, the Holy Spirit convicts one of sin(s) that is/are prohibiting one’s spiritual growth. Putting off iniquity one was made aware of should be dealt with immediately. What if the rapture (I Thes. 4:16-18) or death takes one home before a “convenient time” to obey the Lord occurs? It would be too late. Obey the Lord now while there still is an opportunity.
Doing what the Lord laid on your heart to do. Has the Lord urged you to rebuild a broken relationship, get involved in a ministry, read your Bible, be faithful in church, make your testimony more godly, or something else? Do it now, as again, you may not have another chance to do so.
Being the Christian, spouse, parent, or child, God would have you be. You may never have another opportunity if you put it off any longer.

Most of us have had many days. We assume we will have more time, but we may not. This may be the last reminder one may have to obey what God has laid on their heart to do. Do it now, as no one knows how much more time they have left.

Is He Really Your Lord?
Bill Brinkworth

Often in prayers or conversations, God is called “Lord.” “I love you, Lord,” “Lord, we need your intervention in helping us out of this mess,” and “Lord, I’ll do whatever you show me to do” are often uttered. If, however, the situation is followed up on and the reactions observed of the one who requested of God, it may be wondered if God is really one’s “Lord.”

The title “Lord” implies that another is one’s master and is a supreme being, an absolute authority, and one’s ruler. If it is true that “Lord” has a Saxon definition meaning “sole bread giver,” then it also implies that the user of the address “Lord” is relying on God for all their provisions and needs. When God is addressed as Lord, is He really all that title implies?

If God truly is one’s Lord, one would do what God has told them to do. God would not have to speak to our hearts multiple times about reading His Word faithfully, halting the sin He convicted us of doing, changing a practice in our life, or doing anything His Spirit whispered to our hearts about doing. Total obedience would be given to God if He indeed were our Lord. “LORD, it’s not open to discussion. You show me, and I will do it!”
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:46

If God truly is Lord of your life, He should receive your total respect and honor. One obeying the Lord should never dispute, question, or refuse to do the bidding of one’s Master.
“A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? 7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. 8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.” Malachi 1:6-8

If God is truly your Lord, then there should be proof. You should notice how you have forsaken your will and way for His. Even those around you should see your priority in obeying God’s will!
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22
“(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” Romans 2:13
“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciple.” John 15:8

Calling God Lord, does not necessarily make Him one’s Lord. If we make God our Lord, it will be shown by our obedience and respect for Him.

Is His Lordship in your life clearly exhibited in the way you live? Is God truly your LORD?

“To live for self or God is the question we all face. How one’s life turns out depends on how the question was answered!” — Author Unknown

A Benefit and Privilege
Watson, 1696

God commands nothing from us that is not beneficial.”
“That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.” Deut. 6:2
God has His reasons for telling us to do something. We should not question why.
He bids us to repent. Why? That our sins may be blotted out.
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” Acts 3:19
He commands us to believe, and why? That we may be saved.
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:31
There is love in every one of God’s commandments!

“True obedience hath no lead at its heels!” — Adams, 1653

Don’t Question Orders
Spurgeon

“Sir,” said the Duke of Wellington to an officer of engineers who argued the impossibility of executing the directions he had received, “I did not ask your opinion, I gave you my orders, and I expect them to be obeyed.”

Such should be the obedience of every follower of Jesus. The Words, which He has spoken and had recorded, are our law! Our adherence to them should not be based on our judgments or fancies. We are to do our Master’s bidding and advance through flood or flame. We are to do as He tells us to do!

“Don’t pray to give God instructions. Just report for duty!”