Love Expressed in Obedience

sermonindex Aug 12, 2017

TOZER DEVOTIONAL
Sat, August 12, 2017
Love Expressed in Obedience
No matter what I write here, thousands of pastors will continue to call their people to prayer in the forlorn hope that God will finally relent and send revival if only His people wear themselves out in intercession. To such people God must indeed appear to be a hard taskmaster, for the years pass and the young get old and the aged die and still no help comes. The prayer meeting room becomes a wailing wall and the lights burn long, and still the rains tarry.

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Let any reader begin to obey and he will have the answer. "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him" (John 14:21).

Isn't that what we want after all?

Verse
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.
John 14:21

Thought
Obedience is the truest expression of our love to Christ. Not our emotional bursts of "worship" or our tears or solemn promises or extended hours of prayer. No, love expressed is obedience to His will as He has revealed it to us.

Prayer
O Christ, Your will for me personally You have revealed. I rise up to lovingly obey You.

InTheLight Aug 12, 2017

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Let any reader begin to obey and he will have the answer. "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him" (John 14:21).

Amen! There is a proper order to receiving the answer to our prayer for revival. Oswald Chambers said this;

"No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, "If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). He is saying, in essence, "Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before."

In Christ,

davidkeel Aug 13, 2017

This verse also testifies to this :

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands your sinners and purify your hearts you double minded. James 4v8.

The practice of doing this lead me into a personal revival. The lord will draw close when we obey. I longed to be close to Him like I was at first. When I was first saved.

And I put into practice all of the things we are taught in Christendom to try to attain this. Prayer, Bible reading, singing praise in my heart, fasting. All these are superficial to the actual surrendering of parts of our hearts that Christ wants. The place where sin reigns but Christ wants to reign and have full control and have an adoring heart a heart where he has asked for surrendering and it has been acheved. The real relationship has begun. Where he is captivated in love to us, willing to expose his vulnerable heart to us knowing we cannot be moved and wont any longer betray him and draw back. And wont be anymore swayed by temptation. When the Lord said "the devil has nothing in me". I believe he meant that he couldnt fall to anything the devil enticed him with.