Obedience is of primary importance to our Creator God. He wants His children to do what He says to do when they are told to do it. This subject is thoroughly discussed in the Book of Luke, Chapter 5, verses 1-11, NKJV:
Four fishermen Called as Disciples:
(1) “So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the Word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,
(2) and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.
(3) Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
(4) When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’
(5) But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.’
(6) And when they had done this, they had caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
(7) So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
(8) When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’
(9) For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;
(10) and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.’
(11) So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”
Obedience is a wonderful thing to observe in the life of a believer. There is only one small problem that clings to most requests or commands for the believer to be obedient. That “tiny matter” is the eagerness with which most requests or commands are ignored or disobeyed. Obedience is really not an option when you are dealing with a command from God. It shouldn’t be an option for a command from another man either,… if the man is in a position of authority over you on the earth. Simply put, God does not instruct a person to do something for Him and His Kingdom, simply as a matter of giving him something to do to occupy his time. God definitely has a great sense of humor and He puts it out on exhibit many times in varied places. But, whenever He makes a direct request,…a direct command,…or instructs a believer to respond or perform in a specific manner or way,…it is not something to be casually, loosely, or sloppily treated,…responded to,…or attempted. The instruction from God in your life is to be obeyed immediately! That’s it, Period!
Now we adults,…we parents,…we who are in positions of authority in the civilian (non-military) world have lots of “wiggle room” in this authority arena. Political correctness in many different and varied forms pressure us into turning-the-other-cheek,…looking-the-other-way,…loosening-the-reins, if you will, in all too many situations and occurrences, instead of being totally obedient to the Word of God. Since most people today do not like to be held accountable they, consequently, don’t hold those under their assigned or appointed authority accountable either. May I say,…half a job done poorly is no better than a full job done poorly. Wrong is still wrong regardless of its location or amount,…regardless of the “intent” of the people involved.
May I remind you that God’s character and nature is such that He cannot lie, cheat, or steal. He has no problem at all holding His children accountable to His standards,…not man’s much lower standards. If it just happens that you personally have a real difficult time telling the truth, or you are a real procrastinator, or even worse you are an excuse maker rather than a doer or performer,…then may I encourage you to use up all of your excuses before you get to heaven and sit down in the Judgement Seat of Christ. You see, once your soul reaches that location, there will be no further chances for you to right any wrongs in your life or for you to do anything more about the use of your life on earth. Therefore no matter how good of a concocted excuse you may render to Father God, it will make no difference. He will not accept any excuses. You will have to play the hand you are holding and accept your just reward or lack thereof!
Are my words too strong for you? Are they too tough and compassionless? I certainly hope not, but just as a precaution, let’s not take my words alone, let’s follow my previous guidance which hopefully is shared by you. Let us go to The Word of God and see what He has to say regarding this issue of obedience. Please permit me to paint the picture for you to get into your own mind’s eye.
It is all recorded in the Book of Luke, In Chapter 5, Jesus is teaching to a large crowd of people on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret. He is “working His ministry.” He is busy. All of the sudden He stops talking and climbs into Simon’s boat and asks Simon to put the boat into the water close to the shore, where He continues to teach the gathered people.
There are two significant things that we can learn from this described situation:
1.) Simon was sitting in the boat with Jesus.
2.) This was not the first time that Simon has had contact with Jesus.
Simon had once before followed Jesus together with Andrew, James, and John (See Matthew 4 : 18-22; and Mark 1 : 16-20), but went back to his normal comfortable and relatively easy way of life,…fishing, as he had always known and done before he ever met Jesus Christ.
Permit me to inform you that your Comfort Zone, whatever it is, is also your Failure Zone. If you ever intend to become successful in life you will have to get out of your Comfort Zone and stretch yourself out into the Fringe of Fear, which is that prime location where God can use you and work His miracles through your weaknesses.
Now let us return to God’s Word.
This time with Simon now in his boat with Jesus, things were really quite different than the first time they were together. Jesus asks Simon to take his boat out into the deep water and then let down the fishing nets over the side of the boat. Now keep in mind that these fishermen have already been out in the sea and have been fishing all night long without any success. They have fished all night and have caught absolutely no fish! They went back into the shore empty-handed, cleaned up all of their gear, washed their fishing nets so as to prevent the nets from rotting and breaking. They are tired, sleepy, and most probably quite irritable. In spite of all of these conditions, take careful notice of Simon’s personal response to this strange request from Jesus Christ:
1.) He calls Jesus Master. This name is unique in that Luke is the only Gospel writer to use this title, which is used here to speak about authority. Simon Peter recognizes Jesus as being in a place of authority over him because he witnessed the miracles that Jesus performed and the power with which he taught the Scriptures in the synagogues.
2.) He obeyed. He not only recognized the authority which Jesus carried, but also responded with obedience. He did what Jesus asked him to do, not because he understood why, but because the authority over him told him to put out his nets.
What happens next can only be explained by God Himself. The nets were put down into the deep water and came back up with such a huge catch that the nets began to break apart because of the great weight of the fish in them. The catch was so large that it almost sank both of the boats! Once the nets were emptied and the catch lay in the bottom of the boats, Simon Peter fell onto his knees before Jesus, because he was so overwhelmed by his own insignificance in the face of God’s great blessing.
Let us take a quick moment and put the important pieces of this story together and see what really happened in a nutshell:
Peter hears the Word of God preached along with the crowd, then came a specific Word from Jesus coupled with a request that Peter doesn’t understand. Rather than sit there and question it, or rationalize why he can’t or won’t do what is asked, he makes a decision based on Jesus’ authority and because He told him to do so! That ever-so-wise choice positioned Peter to receive the blessings that Jesus intended for him and allowed him to leave everything and follow Jesus.
We can all learn a great lesson in life from this passage and its story. Are you wrestling with God right now over something that He has already told you to do,…or that He has placed on your spiritual heart? Jesus may be asking something of you that you really don’t fully understand,…or desire to do. The subject at hand is causing you to experience a crisis of belief, that is going to require you to muster up all of your faith and action to immediately begin performing. Are you failing to obey because you don’t understand why God is calling you to do what He has asked you to do?
This is exactly what happened to me three and one half years ago when God directed me to create this website and begin to share all that I had learned over my last thirty-six years in every area of my life, with all those who hunger for more knowledge and understanding of success within the realms of physical, emotional, and spiritual personal relationships. I argued with God into the wee early morning hours. I gave Him every good excuse I could think of as to why I could not do it. He did not listen to or accept any of my feeble excuses. I could not sleep, I had no peace or mental rest. The harder I fought God’s demands the more miserable He made life for me. I finally realized,…I was the problem. I was the disobedient one. I dropped to my knees and asked God for His forgiveness for my incredibly stupid selfishness. I sought out other people’s help who provided what I lacked technically. I did not have the knowledge so I humbled myself and listened to those men and women who knew more than I knew. At that point in time, I didn’t even know how to operate a computer. I had not typed a document since I graduated from college in 1969.
I became a better listener and followed the guidance of several great mentors. I went to work learning and then doing what other people were teaching me. I never before have written anything for publication, but I was counseled that if I wanted to write…then I should start writing. That I did and hopefully am continuing to improve with each posted article. I am not demanding all of the answers before I begin doing something that I don’t fully understand. I just BEGIN doing what I want to have happen as best I am able and let God guide me all the while making needed adjustments as I go along.
I do something towards the furtherance of my website every day of the week. I am spending hours each day in the Word of God. I am staying obedient to God’s call on my life no matter what may happen to me personally. I seek no man’s approval because God has given me my marching orders, and has not tried to change them. I had to put everything on the line,…be willing to sacrifice all of my accomplishments, if necessary, up to this point in my life. I had to put life-long personal relationships on the chopping block. The sacrifices have been painful and at times extremely humiliating,…BUT…I will obey the call that God placed on my heart in July 2011. I will not back-up or shut-up. I will not violate any of God’s Laws or man’s Laws unless man’s laws require me to violate God’s Laws.
If you are struggling with taking immediate and selfless decisive action to obey and follow God’s demand on your life,…may I exhort you to become like Simon Peter. Say “yes” to Him who has called you to commitment and to action in His service for His glory. Say “yes” to Him and experience the blessings that God has planned for you. Don’t miss out on something miraculous simply because of a lack of faith. Let the Lord Jesus be the Master of your life today and in all of the days to come!
Peace and Love to All of You…………….Poppa Bear