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Simply Obey

Exodus 40:16 NIV

16 Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.

Exodus 40:19, 25, 32 NIV

… [Moses did just] as the Lord commanded him.

Numbers 1:54 NIV

54 The Israelites did all this just as the Lord commanded Moses.

1. Obedience is an obligation, not an option.

Matthew 28:18-20 NIV

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

John 14:15 NIV

15 If you love me, keep my commands.

2. Obedience is the highest form of sacrifice.

1 Samuel 15:10-11a NIV

10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”...

1 Samuel 15:13 NIV

13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

1 Samuel 15:17-19 NIV

17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.  18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

1 Samuel 15:20-23 NIV

20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21  The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” 22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23  For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

3. Examine yourself to see if you are obedient.

2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?