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Do You Obey God Out of Duty or Delight?

I have this teaching that I listen to 3-4 times a year by John Bevere called Intimacy with God. The teaching speaks to the core of me because being close to God is one of the things I most desire and need. In his teaching, John goes over the difference in obeying God out of law instead of delight. He mentions the scripture in Romans that talks about how the strength of sin is the law. He goes on to say that obeying God out of law is when God’s word is restricting us from what we really want to do instead of delight for God’s law. Not having a delight for God’s law and way, is an indicator that something is wrong in the heart. However, our God is so good that he will allow us to go through various situations to humble us and bring us back to the correct focus which is on him (See focus for the new year blog.)

Basically, God wants us as believers to get to the point where we are so in love with him, and his way of doing things that it becomes our delight. The very thing that we look forward to and take joy in. People who truly are delighted in the Lord are the ones that God gives the desires of their heart. Not those who seek God to get things. Our disposition as it relates to the desires of our heart should be that those desires are entrusted to him to bring to pass in his time. We should be at rest as we enjoy the Lord. There is some teaching in the church that encourages people to seek God only to get things, but that is not God’s will at all.

It is God’s pleasure to give us the kingdom meaning the things that are promised to us in his word, but his desire is to also be in relationship with us and to fellowship with us. Many of us do things out of repetition, fear, knowledge, or like robots, and even though the things that we are doing are right, it still isn’t enough for our relationship with God.

God desires to know us intimately and for us to know him intimately. He desires for us to be in tune with him so that if he speaks, we just simply listen and obey out of delight of knowing him. If many of us knew how good the God is that we say we worship, we’d be head over heels, skipping, jumping, smiling, and gazing with joy and such fullness that people would swear we were in love.

The truth is God’s word invites us to be in love with God. Jesus spoke of the different churches and says that he has against one church who dots every I and crosses every T the fact that they have forsaken their first love i. Can we say that we are in love with God? Can we say that we delight in his ways or his laws.

God’s stance is clear. He loved us so much that he humbled himself all the way to the cross enduring grief, shame, misunderstanding, physical and emotional pain. He was royalty, but did not focus on that when he came. He is the example of the greatest love in that he laid down his life for us whom he calls his friends. God is love. His love is the ultimate patience waiting and waiting for us to get the fact that he just wants us. Some singles have not yet gotten that they are single in this season because God just wants them all to himself. He loves us that much and then some.

The greatest pursuit of love known to man is the pursuit of God toward his creation man. We are so valued, desired, and sought after in the eyes of our creator that the word of God describes God’s love in terms of the width, depth, and breadth that he desires for us to know (Ephesians 3:17-19).

Christ’s love is deep and he wants to share it with us. He wants to be that confidant, friend, provider, covering, and lover of our soul to us. He embodies love because he is love. He is patient, kind, not self-seeking, keeps no record of wrong due to us being covered by the blood of Christ. He suffers long, isn’t envious of us, endures all things, hopes in all things toward us and everything that his word says about love.

He desires for us to know him and that there is no greater love than him especially before we get married because the one that God has for us is to love us like Christ, and God doesn’t want us to have any other god before him. He is a jealous God with a godly jealousy. I love the way Pastor Toure Roberts put it by saying that when we place something before God we put ourselves in a position of deficiency because no one can give us what we need to get and what we can only get from God.

I would imagine that when I do one day become in love with my husband, especially in the beginning, that I would delight to be with my husband. Just to be in his presence will be like whoa! I won’t have a problem doing things for him even when I don’t feel like it because I love him, not because he would now be my head as my husband, but because I love him.

God wants that to be our motivation as well. He wants us to obey him and keep his commandments because we love him not out of law. That is why he sent his son as the fulfillment of the law writing his law on our hearts and not just on scrolls. He wants obedience to be a natural part of our love relationship with him not out of fear, or control, but out of love, fear, reverence, and respect.

Lately, I’ve been falling more and more in love with God again and it is wonderful. Of course, I don’t want to keep this to myself so I invite all my readers to do the same. As you would prioritize a love partner, prioritize spending time with God not only speaking to him in prayer, but waiting quietly at times in prayer, singing songs to the Lord, and acknowledging him daily.

The more we fall in love with Jesus the easier it becomes to do what he commands in his word. At that point it no longer becomes a command, but our delight. That is when things begin to move on our behalf and favor overflows like rain, but don’t let the blessing be your motivation allow the Lord to be your motivation as he multiplies your love for him the more you take action to make him priority.

Other Related Scriptures:

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. James 4:8

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper. Psalms 1:2-3

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalms 37:4

i Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Revelations 2:1-4 KJV

To hear a portion of the teaching from John Bevere Click the video below:

https://youtu.be/zbRhCO_oySY

Also, the full CD set of this teaching can be purchased at the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Near-Life-Intimacy-God/dp/B005ELQCIO/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1427287449&sr=8-7&keywords=John+Bevere+Drawing+Near

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