Discussion - Why am I doing this?

As you begin to walk in your purpose and grow in your relationship with God, you realize that life is so much better -- however it's nothing like you're use to. It's like your eyes become open, and you see things that you were oblivious to previously; some things good and some thing scary. Depending on what type of relationship you have with God, you may even be able to discern the differences between the Holy Spirit and evil spirits to the point where you can tell an evil spirit "BE GONE" and it'll feel as if it has left your presence. All these things may come as you advance in your relationship with God, but regardless of where you are at spiritually, one thing that can be agreed on is you have to be OBEDIENT.

The bible actually says in 1 Samuel 15:22 that obedience is better than sacrifice, and a lot of times sacrifice is included in our obedience. If you look in the book of Genesis, you will see the story of a man named Abraham, who God made a covenant with through a vision. His covenant went as follows:

 "He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”" - Genesis 15:5 

At first glance, that may not seem like much, but that's a pretty big deal! However, even after saying that, Abraham still had to make a sacrifice unto the Lord down the line... 

He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it? So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. - Genesis 15:7-11

Sacrifices are always necessary when following God. It seems like every time I hear of a story concerning someone getting saved or deciding to live according to God's will, there's always something that has to be given up first. Listen to this particular story found in the book of Luke:

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’ “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” - Luke 18:18-22

So based on this man's story,

1. He has been obedient 

2. He's kept to the "rules" 

...now the only thing left is to sell EVERYTHING that he has and give it to poor, and then follow Jesus. Be honest, what would you do in this situation? Are you willing to give up EVERYTHING to follow Jesus? Well it's this kind of sacrifice that shows God how serious we are about doing God's will and inheriting eternal life. 

The saddest part about this is the fact that it's even a question. The only answer should be yes, but for some reason we struggle with obedience and sacrifice. We get so caught up in our own lives and our wants that we miss out completely what God wants. Also, we are afraid, because usually what God wants from us seems "uncomfortable" or "sad".

...but if we take a second and think about it, we are actually just in our feelings, and we are probably wanting to live according to what we want as opposed to what God wants. God is a jealous God, and He doesn't want anything or anyone getting more praise than Him in our lives. It's with good reason; too... I mean just look around -- everything great comes from Him -- down to the very air that we breathe on a daily basis! 

At some point we have to get to a place where when God tells us to do something -- we just do it. We need to put ourselves to the side and do what God says right away. God never fails, so whatever it is that He has planned for our lives has to be great. He just wants to see how much we love Him; and what lengths we are willing to go to please Him. You never know what's on the other side of obedience. 

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God,because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,  I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” - Genesis 22:9-18

You know what goes good with obedience? FAITH. You've heard the scripture "Faith without works is dead"... well the works part is obedience. You have to BELIEVE that what you're being obedient in will harvest great results for your future. What is faith, you ask?

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." - Hebrews 11:1

With ALL of this being said, there are only 3 questions...

1. Do you want to go to Heaven?

2. Have you been obedient?

3. What are you holding on to that's holding you back from progressing? 

Episode 2 airs THIS SUNDAY.