You Have No Idea What's Hanging On Your Obedience

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Luke 1:26-56

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” 

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home. 

 
 

The angel Gabriel announces to the virgin Mary that she will give birth to God’s promised Son whose kingdom shall never end. 

You have absolutely no idea what’s hanging on your obedience. Like Mary, obedience opens up opportunities that cannot come any other way. 

What call to obedience are you resisting? What might be waiting on the other side? 

 

Moses Halfway Obeys

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Exodus 4:18-20

18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

 
 

Moses goes back to his father-in-law but he doesn’t leave for Egypt at once. Did you catch that? It is only when the Lord again speaks to Moses in v.19 that he finally loads up his family on a donkey and begins the trek back to Egypt.

How many times have I been halfway obedient? Meanwhile, the Lord wants to use me to bring his message of rescue and salvation to other people, and my reluctance to fully obey is delaying the good things God has for others.

 

Why The Three Days Request?

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Exodus 3:15-22

15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

 
 

Here, God lays out the entire plan:

- How Moses will speak to the Israelites;
- How God will bring them from slavery into the Promised Land;
- How God will show his power and strike Egypt;
- How the Israelites will take wealth with them from Egypt.

But did you notice that strange detail—which we’ll see Moses enact later—when God says that the Israelites are to ask Pharaoh for permission to journey three days into the wilderness? Why?

Remember, Exodus is about God shaping his people for mission. One of the essential things for Israel to learn is that it is God’s power that brought them out of Egypt and not Pharaoh’s kindness nor their stubborn requests. So, God has the people ask for a holiday knowing that Pharaoh will refuse, and thereby proving that God rescued them and that they should trust him.

What, on reflection, in your past should make you trust God more?

 

You Have No Idea What's Hanging on Your Obedience

 

LUKE 1:26-56

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

 
 

The angel Gabriel announces to the virgin Mary that she will give birth to God’s promised Son whose kingdom shall never end.

You have absolutely no idea what’s hanging on your obedience.
Like Mary, obedience opens up opportunities that cannot come any other way.

What call to obedience are you resisting? What might be waiting on the other side?

 

What Big Thing Does God Want to Start From Your Small Step?

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Nehemiah 7:5-73 is the sort of thing people skip over when they read the Old Testament, as verses 6-73 are simply a census list of the returned exiles.

BUT

That boring detail is actually a key step to an amazing spiritual breakthrough.

 
 

Nehemiah has a sense that the Lord wants him to take a census of the people:

Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. [Nehemiah 7:5]

Nehemiah is obedient to the Spirit’s prompting, and he begins to gather the people for a census. The rest of the chapter is a list of the exiles.

Who cares?

The reason this matters is that chapter 8 (coming tomorrow) tells us that when Nehemiah gathers the people together for the census, there is an amazing revival among the people! (Again, more tomorrow.)

Today, we read that Nehemiah feels prompted to take a census, and that small obedient step leads to a big spiritual breakthrough.

 
 

Here’s my question for you: what small obedient step do you feel as if the Lord is asking you to take TODAY? What if there is a BIG BREAKTHROUGH waiting in your future that all depends on your small step today?

 

Obedience-->Blessing [Psalm 128]

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Stop over-thinking it!

Psalm 128 reminds us again of the Bible’s clear teaching:

obedience leads to blessing.

Stop over-thinking it. Where do you need to be obedient today?

 

P.S. Isn’t it interesting that the images the psalmist uses to illustrate blessing are all domestic? We get it totally BACKWARDS—we think the primary form of prosperity is OUTSIDE the home, whereas the Bible sees prosperity’s ultimate form to be domestic harmony and abundance.

1 Personal Note and 2 Quick Thoughts on Today's Reading

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Happy Thanksgiving!

One of the things I’m thankful for is that you folks actually read these little posts every day. There’s just one month left—let’s finish strong!

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

-John 8:31-32

Notice the reoccurring theme?

  1. True disciples are those who actually do what Jesus said;

  2. If you do what he says, then you’ll know the truth.

Obey first, and gain insight second.

“‘Very truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”

-John 8:58


The reason they get so angry is because “I Am” is how God identifies himself to Moses on Exodus chapter 3. Jesus is here claiming to be Israel’s God, which the Jews take to be blasphemy.

Here’s the question:

If you had been a devout Jew at the time of Jesus, how would you have responded to him?

 

Today’s Scripture

John 8:31-59