How Do You Measure Obedience….
The bible tells us that obedience is a very measurable commodity ….
Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.
So, how do you measure obedience.?....
Obedience to the Lord must be measured on a quantum scale….. because it gets over into quantum physics…..
Quantum measurements are the attempt to measure things that have no limits, which are immeasurably or inconceivably great, and which are endless, inexhaustible and infinite. (repeat that and let it sink in)
When God’s glory comes and touches the physical realm….it can only be understood on a quantum level….
We are given some incredible examples of Obedience measured on a quantum scale in the word of God…..
In John chapter two, we see Jesus, turning the water into wine….all they had was water, but the obedience of the disciples, released the quantum level of God’s glory into what normally would be impossible, and water became wine…
In 1 Kings 17:12-14, The woman with just a little oil and meal in the midst of great famine… (little is very measurable) She had something that was measurable and it was at its end, but by her obedience to the voice of God through the prophet, it was propelled into the quantum dimension.
In Luke 5:4-6 we see another example, was the miracle catch of fish…. the measure of what they had caught in the nets was nothing, (nothing is very measurable) but when they obeyed the Master’s voice, the quantum value of their catch through their obedience, began to sink the boats….
And my last example, in John 6:9-13, there is the multiplication of the bread and fish… when through the obedience of a little boy in giving his lunch, ( a little lunch is measurable) and those fish and chips, became enough to feed a multitude which probably numbered around 15 to 20 thousand people when you consider women and children….and there were 12 basketfuls left over, one for each unbelieving disciple!
Matthew 17:20 “And Jesus said unto them, verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, be remove to yonder place, it shall be moved and nothing shall be impossible unto you”.
God is measuring our lives, not by the measures and standards of our culture or our physical limitations. He is measuring them by the measure of His power and glory…..We won't be limping into heaven -- beaten down, depressed, whimpering, defeated, discouraged. No -- our Lord is going to bring greater power to his church. Yet this power won't be manifested merely in signs and wonders. Rather, it will be revealed in his people -- in the glorious transformation of obedient hearts and lives that are touched by God's quantum Glory.
If we are living in the last days, we should rise each day, excited that He has promised in the last days to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh….with quantum signs and wonders. The Lord is preparing us by bringing us through His school of obedience, which is unique for each one of us..— so we may see things we've never seen, heard or imagined. And I want to have a part in that. I want a greater measure of his glory in my life than I've ever had. And I want to see God's glory fill his church with such intensity it can't be measured with normal measurements.
Jesus states plainly that he measures out different amounts of his glory to us, according to how we measure out our hearts in obedience to him. Our part is simply to move ever closer to him -- in our worship, obedience and diligence.
Jesus assures us, in Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." He's saying, "Keep giving more of yourself to me -- and I'll keep pouring out more of my glory on you.
Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, v21 Unto Him be (exceeding) glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen”. I want to say that again "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think". (that’s a great description of quantum physics) or measuring the infinite….
The Greek word for aboundant means exceeding, excelling, super-abounding -- to have enough and to spare, over and above, excessive, exceeding abundantly above, beyond measure…..
Paul is saying, "God's glory in your life through your obedience is going to exceed all the moments and all the things you've gotten, up until now.
The Lord wants to supply you in all things, so you can serve him and make Him known at a quantum measure.
2 Corinthians 9:8 "God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work"
Our Obedience to God is a measurement of our love, Our Obedience to God is a measurement of our forgiveness, Our obedience to God is a measurement of our liberty….and Our Obedience to God is a measurement of our values.
All of the great principles in the kingdom of God are brought down to the real life situations where believers live in this finite world. God leaves no room anywhere for mere nominal Christianity, which is just another word for a life of compromise and disobedience.
Jesus' reserved His most scathing words for the self-righteous and self-deceived religious folks of His day, whose lives did not match their claims to holiness, their love, or their relationship and obedience to God.
Jesus called such people fools (that’s someone who refuses sound advice), He said they were hypocrites, (those who say one thing and do another), He used the term, blind guides, (those whose eyes are willfully closed to what they don’t want to see, but are trying to lead others) He said they were snakes,(because they would bite the ones who were trying to help them) and He said that they were whitewashed tombs, (that which had a form of Godliness without the power of God in their lives). Seven times He referred to them as blind and three times He called them vipers. He said He had come to destroy the “works” (the bondages, limitations, and manipulations) of the evil one.
The message of God is plain—we can measure our spiritual life by how much we obey--not by how much you know, how much you read or hear, or by how much you claim to have fellowship with God. Measure your life by what you actually do in obedience to God--not by what you intend to do or wish it was or know it should be.
Joyful, full and humble obedience to God, is the key to all that is vital in the Christian life. It is the obedient Christian who enjoys the constant and undimmed blessings and favor of God.
Obedience is the key to cleansing and wholeness. There is no other way to maintain an effective, holy life except to operate in God's instructions for wholeness…
Romans 11:16 “For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root is holy, so are the branches”.
The word Holy which is used here is, (hag-ee-ad'-zo…..which means reserved for, separated unto, set apart for)
By giving and honoring God’s portion, through first-fruits obedience, it releases His quantum measure…….first-fruits is the first part or the best part…. Our time, our talents, our increase, our energy, OUR LIVES, AND OURSELVES….He deserves the first-fruits, the best we can bring Him first, before anything or anyone else!
We ask for healing, but He desires for us to have wholeness, which is the alignment of body, soul and Spirit. This is what first-fruits does, it brings alignment of body, soul and Spirit….because it places the Lord in His rightful place in our lives…..
Obedience is the key to communion and intimate fellowship with God. It is as we walk in the light that we have fellowship with God and with God's children.
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin”.
Many people experience a "feeling of worship, and sense the nearness of His presence," as they sing choruses and worship anthems in the church meeting. Yet they continue in willful disobedience of God. All such "feeling" and "sensual experience" propagates a deception which is spiritual self-gratification instead of worship. Their sense of God's presence is emotional, not a deep longing for holy fellowship with God.
John 4:24 God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth. To claim to have fellowship with Him, while deliberately disobeying Him, is to willfully yield to the pull of darkness. To claim fellowship with God while walking in darkness is to move from the inner circle of fellowship to the outer circle fellowship and like so many, fellowship with Him begins to happen from a greater and greater distance.
Obedience is the key to spiritual understanding. We must choose to do God's will if we would know and walk in God's truth….
John 7:17 “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the truth, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. v18 He that speaks from himself seeks his own glory: but he that seeks the glory of God who sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness (false motives or agenda) is in him”.
We only understand the quantum realm of God as we spiritually discern the practical application of the will of God, and that requires the help of the Holy Spirit who is allowed to operate freely through our obedience. God has so much He longs to tell us, but the Spirit can teach us only as we surrender to His control, and as we please Him in yielded obedience.
Obedience is the key to confidence as we go to God in prayer. How do we know that He hears and that He will answer…
Acts 5:32 “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to them that obey him”.
1 John 3:21 "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him". Oh yes, failing to walk in the light as He is the light, cripples our prayers! Oh, how many are the unanswered prayers, because the praying person is not living in obedience to what they know of God's light!
Scripture tells us that after speaking to the women of the church, Peter turns to the men in 1 Peter 3:7 “Likewise, you husbands, dwell with your wives according to a correct knowledge of truth, giving honor unto the wife, as those who are heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered”. God says when we are not operating our homes in obedience to Him, by putting Him first, it can hinder our prayers…
Obedience is the key to blessing. Do you want to be blessed in your soul and blessed in all you do? Live in daily joyful obedience to God. Seek and walk in God's light. James speaks of those who live in God's Word and who walk in the light of its quantum glory.
James 1:25 "He will be blessed in all that he does". God pours out His blessings on those who are eager and active in obedience, those who welcome new light, new guidance, new opportunities to bring glory to God. Many are dry in their soul and unfruitful in their lives because they are so disobedient in practical matters like tithing, or in disciplining their lives to find time for prayer and meaningful, life transforming time in God’s word.
Malachi 3:10"'Test me and prove me in this' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it”. That sounds like “Quantum Glory” to me!!!!
Obedience is the secret key to all miracles. The opening of the Red Sea, the feeding of the five thousand, the raising of Lazarus, the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost--all were conditional on obedience. No promise is automatically fulfilled. Obey and you will receive. It’s how God measures everything in your life….Obedience is the key to advancing God’s kingdom in the earth. To a great measure, God's kingdom advances on the feet, the words, the prayers, and all the obedience of God's children. A Christian poet has written:
God has no hands but our hands to do His work today. He has no feet but our feet to lead men in His way. He has no tongue but our tongue to tell men how He died. He has no help but our help to lead them to His side. Of course all these things are only true as the Holy Spirit operates in and through us. Both are indispensable. The Holy Spirit guides, anoints, empowers, protects, and uses us. But our obedience is a cooperating all-essential part of God's kingdom strategy. He has ordained for the Spirit to work through us that we may achieve a quantum outcome.
Judges 15:14 “And when he (Samson) came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, (there’s another Quantum measure word) and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. v15 And he found the jawbone of a mule, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith”.
Measure your effectiveness by your obedience in allowing the Holy Spirit to use you and flow through you for the purposes of God.
You can Measure your love for Christ by your obedience to Christ. You are His friends if you do whatever He commands you… It’s not just “I respect, admire and appreciate God, it’s “I truly love Him”….
Listen to what He says: Luke 10:27 “And he (Jesus) answering said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself”. v28 And he said unto them, this do, and you shall live (the abundant life)”. Let me paraphrase this….”This do and you shall see God’s Quantum Glory”!!!! Hallelujah! This tells me that I can Measure how much of His Quantum Glory I will know in my life by how much I show forth my love for the Lord, by my obedience to Him!
You can Measure your faith by your obedience.
James 2:20 “Faith without corresponding action is useless”. To hesitate to give our obedience, as the voice of God through the Holy Spirit, leads and directs us, is prove of the condition of our faith. Obedience is the just another name for faith. No obedience - no faith. You will not live in obedience without faith, and neither will you live in faith without obedience. Jesus instructed His disciples, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”
Abraham was given a “Quantum measure” promise that was out of this world. It would seem way too good to be true. A promise that would seem impossible to really happen; some voice out of the sky saying, “From you, I will make a great nation”; I will bless all the families of the earth”. How would you feel to know that the entire earth was going to be blessed, through you? (Man, that’s a lot of pressure on anyone)….
You just don’t go out and live a “whatever” kind of life after hearing God tell you that! Abraham did not question. He demanded No Conditions when he heard it…He didn’t bargain with God, and he didn’t require any special benefits before he agreed to follow.
You can Measure The lordship of Christ in your life by your obedience. Obedience is a measure of the extent of Christ's rule and reign over the kingdom of your life.
Luke 6:46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not what I say?". What a searching question from Jesus. If Jesus were to speak to you in person today, would He break down your obedience, to the lowest common denominator? Would you leave your home, your family, and the land you loved and where you feel secure, for a place somewhere in the wild blue yonder? Abraham did. The destination was to be God’s choice. Perhaps every day, Abraham would ask God, “Is this it”? Or, “Are we almost there yet?” God would reply, “No, keep on going.” Abraham would give the command to break camp, and then turn around to the camel train, and say, “Camels, Ho!”…..(song) (off we go into the wild blue yonder, off we go into the sun….)
The reality is, that we are responsible for Two Forms Of Obedience… Obedience To the Logos and obedience the Rhema of God…. There is Logos Obedience to God's general commands, and Rhema obedience to God's individual and personalized commands. God's requirements, as taught in His Logos Word, are for every person. We are all responsible to obey them. You need to go no further for guidance than God's Word. That settles it, we believe it, we do it. And whether we believe it or not, that still settles it…
It’s what we will have to give an answer to, in the final balancing of the books and the final accounting of our lives…..Forgiveness of others, restitution as much as it is possible, speaking no evil of others, children's obedience of their parents, tithing, moral purity—and many other things which pertain to life issues are part of the Logos. These are matters of obedience, according to God's General Word, for every believer.
On the other hand Some of God's requirements, are by the Rhema word, and they are very personal. In these matters, one size does not fit all, but Rhema does not exempt us from the Logos of general obedience. God may give you personal convictions about things. And It is the obedience that He requires of you, specifically, that He may not require of everyone. He may call you to missionary service, to special sacrificial giving to His kingdom, to a specific amount of time in prayer, or to move in a certain direction with your life. He may not require these things of other folks in your circle of friendship. They are God's personal guidance to you.
In Genesis 22, Abraham's obedience was tested in an intensely personal manner by the demand that he offer Isaac to God on an altar.
In Acts 8:26-40, When God sent Philip on the road to Gaza to meet the Ethiopian eunuch, it was a personal obedience which God required.
In Acts 9:10-19, It was the obedience of Ananias that sent him to Saul of Tarsus after he was struck blind and was praying to God for understanding of all that was happening to him. Some of the prophets were given highly personal commands. Clear personal guidance becomes God's personal Rhema to you, and God will reward you for your obedience in quantum measures of His Glory.
You can Measure your obedience by how quickly you obey. It is always pleasing to God that you prayerfully double-check whatever you understand to be God's will. However, once we know God's will, our obedience should be glad and instant. God may guide us to a new act of obedience at any particular point in the future that is outside the box.
You can Measure your obedience by how gladly you obey. God values our willing obedience more than our grudging obedience. Obligation will give you what the natural realm can provide, but genuine, joyful obedience will usher you into His quantum glory!!!.
2 Corinthians 9:7 But this I say, He which gives sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which gives bountifully shall reap also bountifully. v7 Every man according as he purposes (Hahee-reh'-om-ahee….regards, esteems, gives value, has revelation) in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver. v8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound (there’s that quantum word) to every good work”. Just as God loves a cheerful giver, so He loves our cheerful obedience.
You can Measure your obedience by how faithfully you obey. When God assigns you a person to pray for or a form of service or blessing to others, be faithful until God answers, blesses, or changes your assignment. Measure your obedience by your faithfulness in perseverance, by your unwillingness to give up even when discouragement comes, by your ability to not look at the circumstances, but to continue to look to the author and finisher of your faith, for by him a good reward shall come.
Mrs. Dorothy Clapp was an older Christian lady in one of the eastern American states. God led her to take as her prayer assignment a public high school down the street. Day after day, month after month, year after year she faithfully obeyed her prayer task. She prayed for God to save young people in that school. Then she began to pray that God would not only save them but send them to the ends of the earth.
After twelve years of faithful praying she began to pray for a mischievous, trouble making young male student. She sent him a Gospel of John. For three more years she prayed, and at last God saved George Verwer. Before long George had led two hundred other students to Jesus Christ. Some of them went to college and began to meet daily for prayer and went out together in evangelism. Later, three of them went to Mexico to evangelize during their summer vacation. Before long, they were taking Christian youth to Spain. A few years later, they had their first multi-national European campaign.
Now, every year several thousand Christian young people from many nations join forces to evangelize, distribute literature, and reach the nations for Christ. Operation Mobilization is reaching costal ports by two gospel ships, training hundreds of youth each summer, and enlisting others in one and two-year short-term service assignments. And Its many "graduates" are strengthening the ranks of many Christian churches and organizations around the world. We can’t imagine the quantum glory that will be manifested as a result of our faithful obedience!
And It can all be traced back to one Christian lady who prayed for fifteen years for students at a high school. Only God has the total results recorded of her faithful obedience in prayer. In heaven, she is already rejoicing. But the full record will be tallied and her full reward will be given only at the judgment throne of Christ. There, before His assembled millions of saints, Jesus will call her forward, praise her for her faithfulness, and announce her quantum reward.
You can Measure your obedience by how humbly you obey. It is a privilege to obey God and be focused on the good of others. It is an honor to obey Him, to be given the privilege of being used by God. Be careful, however, to keep giving God all the glory. Keep low at Jesus' feet. Keep hidden behind His cross so that it is not you but Christ that is seen.
You can Measure your obedience by your motives. Beware of mixed motives. Do you obey because God demands it? Or do you obey because you rejoice and are eager to please God. If God wanted mindless robots, He could have made robots….He wants us to obey because we desire and love to obey Him. We can obey out of some sense of obligation or out of a feeling that we must perform good works, and lose our reward. Have we ever obeyed so people would be impressed with us, or to be seen by people and receive recognition from them?
Matthew 6:1 “Take heed that you do not give your offering before men, to be seen of them: otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven”. So, the moment we are doing the things of God to be seen of men, we lose our quantum measure reward. We also Do not seek to obey God as a performance to earn His favor, or to give Him a kind of spiritual bribe in order that He may do what we want Him to do for us. We also don’t obey God out of fear that He will punish us if we don’t…..We Obey Him and serve Him out of love, and out of an eager desire to please Him and give Him joy.
Measure your obedience by your motives.
Matthew 7:9 “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? v10 Or if he ask for a fish, will he give him a serpent? v11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him”?
You can Measure your obedience by how total it is. We are not truly obedient when we choose what we will obey and what we will ignore because we want our own way. Measure your yieldedness, your consecration, your commitment to God by how totally you obey and how faithfully you continue your obedience until God's goal is achieved.
When God gave Moses the plans for the tabernacle and the furniture, scripture tells us that he did not depart from anything the Lord gave him, and did all that God commanded concerning the tabernacle….
Exodus 39:32 “Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they. v33 And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, His tent, and all His furniture, His taches, His boards, His bars, His pillars, and His sockets, v34 And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering.”
Moses knew that their obedience was bringing God’s manifest presence into the earth, so he wanted his obedience to be total! When they were finished, the quantum glory of God, came and rested upon the tabernacle for all the world to see!!!
If you have never made that total surrender of your all, your life, your ambitions, your plans, your present and your future, then this very moment determine that in your place of prayer, you will make a total surrender to Jesus of everything for all time and eternity. If you once made a total surrender but have since by self-will allowed compromise to enter into your consecration, if you are less yielded than you once were, run to Him and renew your total commitment. Surrender today, in that place where you’ve struggled with obedience. It’s about bringing heaven into the earth, and that kind of glory deserves our total commitment, our total obedience.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. v25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock”.
We can measure our spiritual experience and our ministry by the immediacy, the joyfulness, and the totality of our obedience to the direction of God’s Logos and Rhema words in every detail of our daily life. Measure your life by your obedience, and know that God will bring what cannot be measured, and that which is waiting to come full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over into your life….
