Transcription
Becoming God's Favorite: True Unconditional Obedience
Acts chapter 13 verse 22. And it says, "And when he had disposed him, referring to King Saul, he raised up David to be their king. Of him he bore witness and said, 'I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will.'" Praise ye the Lord!
Now, one of those very, very, very critical insights you must have about the dynamics of your relationship with God is that the favor of God flows predictably based on certain manifestations, actions, or attitudes as exhibited by men on the surface of the heart. One of those things that touches the heart of God so much is obedience. And we have found out that there are different levels of obedience.
A lot of people are partially obedient to God. This has been their record so far, and God is observant of it. And going forward, God also knows that they will remain partially obedient to him. And then there are some others who are on a higher level than this first group. The second-level believers and disciples, on this level, would very, very significantly obey God. Virtually almost most issues that will come up, instructions that will come up, counsel that will come up, they will obey God. However, whenever there is an instruction, a command, or a counsel from God that is going to make them put away something they are so much attached to, give up so much, give out so much, or do something that most people will be unwilling to do, whenever this happens, such a set of believers will excuse themselves. Sometimes they will give an excuse, even to God, on why they would not carry out that instruction. And then, sometimes, some of them would even contend with the channel through which God has spoken. Even when they hear directly, they will ignore it as if it was not the voice of God.
Then there is a much higher level, and that is where God wants you to be. There are so few believers. There are some few sons and daughters of Christ, and this has been a pattern from the Old Testament down to the present dispensation. There are few of God's people, believers, disciples, and even including servants of God, ministers of God, who will go to any extent in their obedience to what they have confirmed, what they have confirmed that God is instructing them to do.
So God is revealing to us here one principal reason why David was so dear to him. And from this insight, if you do the same thing as David, if you do the same thing as David, you will also have the same measure of favor flowing from God as well. God testified about David. He said, "I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart." Why? "Who will do all my will?" God is consistently looking for human instruments that will be absolutely obedient to whatever he tells them to do. And instructively, when God is giving to them an exclusive instruction this time, not even the general instructions from the word of God, God that is foundational, but in addition to your obedience to the written word of God, God is looking for this special set of reliable, dependable sons and daughters of God that whenever they are sure, they are very sure God is saying something to them in the reign of an instruction, in the reign of a command, irrespective of how difficult it is, irrespective of how painful it could be to them, irrespective of how unpopular, unpopular that instruction from God could be, they will go ahead and do what God has told them to do.
I pray that the grace of God will be upon you for greater obedience. That going forward in your journey of life, God will find you as one of those reliable sons and daughters of God that whenever he decides to give you an instruction to carry out, God will be confident about you, just like David, knowing fully well that you will surely carry out his instruction. May you be that man. May you be that woman. May you be in this elite group of obedient sons and daughters, because it's going to take you somewhere in the heart of God.
Said, "I have found someone after my own heart." In the Easy to Read Version, he said about David, "David the son of Jesse is the kind of person who does what pleases me." So, one of the ways you please God, one of the ways you impress God, one of the ways you consistently impress God, one of the ways through which you consistently win the heart of God, you win the love of God, you win the favor of God, is by all absolute and consistent obedience. Absolute obedience to whatever the Lord will lead you or tell you to do.
He said concerning David in the Easy to Read Version, "He would do." This is a projection now. "He would do everything I want him to do." And it was on that basis God chose him for such an esteemed assignment and office as king of Israel. God was sure that if I put this man there, whatever I tell him to do, once he knows that this is the voice of God speaking, he will carry it out, whether people around him like it or not, whether he personally even likes that thing or not, he would carry out my instruction.
The perfect will of God is emphasized in Romans chapter 12 verse 2. Romans 12:2, King James Version, says, "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." Now, take note of this. The perfect will of God would sometimes include details which include:
1. When, what exactly God has decided or approved should happen. The specific thing that God has decided or approved should happen.
2. How much of it that God has decided or approved. Sometimes God could go further and even specify the specific measure, the quality of what he wants to be done, the quantity of what he wants to release.
3. The way God prefers it to be done. This talks about a specific way or approach that God prefers that particular thing should happen. Sometimes God will specify the approach through which he wants a particular thing to happen. Sometimes a battle, sometimes even a battle. Yeah, instances in scriptures where even in a military confrontation, God spoke clearly that you will not need to fight in this battle. I am going to give you victory in a supernatural way. However, in most of those instances, you will still be on the warfront, but while complying with what God has said should be done, the hand and power of God will be made manifest. I pray for someone who is fasting and waiting on God right now over something that before the end of that period of expectation, you will see the hand of God in action, in the name of Jesus.
4. Who God prefers to use. So sometimes God will also mention who, who, who the specific person or group of people. Sometimes it could be a family. "Go to the house of Jesse." Sometimes it could be a tribe. "Oh, Judah shall step forward on behalf of the tribes of Israel in this battle." Sometimes it could be a nation. Who exactly God prefers to use could sometimes be specified.
5. Where God wants it to happen. This is not all the time. All of these details don't happen all the time. Sometimes God will mention the location. It will have a particular location in mind, the specific location where God wants that particular thing to happen.
6. When God prefers it to happen. This has to do with God's timing. God's timing. The specific timing within which God wants it to happen. The death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ was clearly, clearly, clearly designed by God to happen within three days.
7. Why God wants it to happen. This has to do with the primary purpose, the primary purpose for which God wants that particular thing to happen.
So, in the journey of life and in your relationship with God, you will need to pay a particular kind of price to advance in your relationship with God as a proof of your maturity as a disciple of Christ. And that price you will need to pay is a price of unconditional obedience. Unconditional obedience. Unconditional obedience.
There will be times where obedience to God's word or counsel in very difficult circumstances will be required. And from time past till the present hour, whenever circumstances like this arise, surprisingly, even servants of God fear God. Many disciples fear God. Many believers fear God.
When it comes to obedience to God's word in difficult circumstances, there will be times where you will need to drop your personal preference, your personal choice, in submission to God's will. We have also seen many believers back out whenever this kind of circumstance plays out. There will be times where you will need to sacrifice something much better in submission to God's will.
Now, I want us to take, we want to quickly look at three instances, and they have very, very, very deep insights that would be amplified in your spirit as you, as you listen to this. The verses of these scriptures that cover these three instances. First was what happened. God's dealing with a man, and this man happened to be a man of God, in fact, a prophet of God, and his name was Hosea.
Now, Hosea, chapter 1, verses 1 to 11, please open your scriptures. Now, our emphasis is on three scriptures here: first, two to three of Hosea chapter one, then verse six, and verses eight to nine. In verse two to three, he said, "This was a lost message to Hosea. If God was to give you this message, this was a direct message now to you, would you obey?" God said, "Go, marry a prostitute who has had children as a result of her prostitution." He said, "Do this because the people in this country have acted like prostitutes. They have been unfaithful to the Lord." And then, so this is where a greater percentage of believers, a greater percentage of disciples of Christ, a greater percentage of God's sons and daughters disappoint God. The moment God says something like this, God will be watching to see what needs to happen. Would she obey? Would he obey?
And it's quite interesting that this man did not even bother to have discussions with people. He didn't even begin to have meetings with people to discuss whether or not it's right for him to obey this instruction that he clearly knew was the voice of God. The Bible says in verse 3, "So Hosea married Gomer, daughter of Diblaim. He married her." This was a big, you know, this was a very controversial marriage that would have attracted a lot of, a lot of coverage in the media space in the present time. The news will have been all over town. Can you imagine this esteemed man of God that we all respect? Can you imagine who he has just chosen to marry? And it's not like a woman who was, who was a prostitute, no, a woman who is currently a prostitute and in the act of prostitution has even had children for different men. There were no husbands, but claims in prostitution. Why? Not because he has done something offensive to God, but because the people, God's people, had done something offensive to him. And to show, to symbolize and show what was going on, God told him to take this, carry out such, such, such a sensitive action.
So Hosea married Gomer, daughter of Diblaim. She became pregnant and gave birth to his son. And then he didn't stop there. He didn't even stop there. Then God went further. In verse 6, God told him to name the daughter. Gave him a very, very unpopular name, a name that was indicating that God will not show mercy, a name no father would give his own daughter. God said, "This is the name you will give to her." And then in verse 8 to 9, again, after they had, the mother had lost his daughter, she became pregnant and this time gave birth to a son. And God gave another unpopular name that no parent would want to give his own child. You know, things like this, people will ask, "How can God be telling you to do this? Are you sure? Can God really be the one telling you to do this? To marry a prostitute? To give your son this kind of name? Your daughter this kind of name?"
And then this is the question: If you were in his shoes, would you obey God? Would you obey God? It's a big question. To even make it to, you know, to make it, uh, to even show how, how deep it is. Not only would the majority not obey God, if God was to tell someone very close to you, and maybe you were with a person, and then you there was a, if you know, and a clear audible voice that you also had yourself while sitting with him, and the voice mentioned the name of your friend or your brother or that close or dear one to you and said, "Calling his name, go and marry that particular woman who is a prostitute." Do you know that the majority of believers, disciples, even having heard God say that, will advise that friend not to obey? They will advise our friend, "Do not obey." That is where we are. You know, we, people, most believers choose what to be from God.
There are many, you know, we have believe, most believers can go on a battle for God only if God tells them they will win. There are many believers who will never go on a suicidal mission for God, even when it is clear that this is God speaking. Jesus was going to die. He was going to die in obedience to divine plan and purpose. God will tell you. See, when God spoke to Zechariah, he said, "And you are going to name the newborn baby John." That name was a completely different name from the usual names in that family. So by the time Elizabeth conceived, had a son, and, you know, the relatives asked, "What is the name?" She said, "John." They said, "What? Nobody answers that name in the family." And they objected. And when they consulted Zechariah, he confirmed that the child must be called John. Now, the name John is a good name, yet it was resisted. How? What would have happened if that name was the kind of name that God now gave to Hosea to name both his daughter and his son? Names that were not carrying a good message. And you are saying, and you are saying, "This is God speaking."
So a lot of believers would not obey God in circumstances like this. And that is why you have seen some people pull out of a ministry because they were posted to serve in a rural, rural area. And rather than go and serve in a rural area, they get angry and they pull out of that ministry. In fact, some believers will even sit down, tell you, "This is a demotion." It is not about whether it is God speaking or God not speaking. We, you know, they evaluate things based on certain conditions, qualities, and standards. So if it is a posting to an environment that is, you know, much better, more sophisticated than the current one, it is, "Yes, that is God. Obey." Now, but when it is otherwise, you'll be surprised to see mature believers, including ministers of God, discourage that person from obeying. They want to give all kinds of, maybe they want to get rid of you, maybe they are trying to clip your wings, maybe they are jealous of your anointing, and so they want to move you to, you know, an obscure area. These are things that happen regularly.
One of those things that will make God love you more than others is your willingness to be whatever God tells you to do. And when I mean whatever, I mean whatever. With what you have heard so far, now, are you ready to do whatever God will tell you to do? May the Lord honor your willing heart to obey him, because he's going to take you to places that your credentials will never have taken you in life. If you're going to talk about credentials, then the brothers of David would have had better credentials to be appointed as king, but God saw something different, and that was what he was looking out for. And it was not common. It is not common to find a man or a woman that would be willing to choose whoever God tells him to, tells him or her to choose.
So when God's choice is in agreement with what you prefer, we quickly obey God and we quickly accept it is the voice of God. But when it is not what we want at all, a complete opposite of what we want, even when there is no way you can deny that this is the voice of God, we will still rebel and refuse to carry out the instructions.