It really is not hard to obey God, if/when He has your whole heart.

It can be hard  to obey God when the flesh nature, or that ‘old man’, is still alive and calling the shots, but he is supposed to be ‘dead’. (Gal. 5:24; Rom.6:2-6).

Why is it necessary to put that ‘old nature to death’ death, you ask? Well, aside from the fact we are commanded to put him to death, (Col.3:5,9), that carnal man/nature is hostile towards God and will not submit to God’s law. (Rom. 8:7-8). (Imagine trying to swim across a lake with a hundred pound ball/chain tied around you.)

If we continue to live for the flesh nature, we cannot please God (Rom. 8:8). Oh, and one other little detail many have overlooked is where Paul writes and forewarns us that if we continue to ‘live for the flesh, we will die’. (Rom. 8:13). And also....if we continue to practice the deeds of the flesh, we will not...inherit the kingdom of heaven. (Gal. 5:21)

I know his can sound confusing and even alarming, if this information has not been made clear to you before; but thank God for His mercy and patience with us as we are living in a time where He is trying to awaken us from our slumber. 

If you love Jesus, you will do what He says. (John 14:15). If He is Lord of your life, you will do what He says. (Luke 6:46) And His commandments are not burdensome or hard to follow. (1 John 5:3). In fact, He said His burden was light and His yoke was easy. (Matt.11:28-30)

So why does it ‘seem hard’ to obey God? I would submit to you that just maybe...He does not have your whole heart. And please don’t take offense to that. I was telling someone recently that it is easy to think in our mind, that we have totally surrendered to God, only to discover we really have not when God tests our hearts, which He indeed will do (Deut. 8:2; 1 Thess.2:4). Do you remember how King Saul thought He had fully obeyed God and put all the Amalekites to death, when in fact he had not? (1 Sam. 15:13-15)

Think about trying to drive a car before releasing the parking/emergency brake. You can tell right away something is not right because it’s ‘hard’ to drive. But when you release that brake, it drives just like it was designed to do and it is no longer difficult or hard. In fact, it can be effortless.

And so it is when we just surrender all to Him. Friends....it should not take a lifetime to get to that place of total surrender either. Truth be told, we were supposed to do that ‘up front’, which is why Jesus stressed we ‘count the cost’. Yet, many of us have taken the painful and ‘long scenic’ route to find this place when it was not necessary at all. And let me be clear here: when you come to Jesus with your whole heart, it’s not like your whole heart is made pure in that exact moment. You have simply ‘handed the keys over to Jesus’ and given Him permission to BEGIN the work of sanctification, or...the purifying of your heart. This only can happen IF...you ‘continue to abide’ in Him. (But you have been instantly forgiven of all sins)

I’ll tell you what is hard...and that is trying to live this walk of faith in your own power and strength, all the while you have that ‘ball and chain’ (old man-flesh nature) tied around you; or if your heart is still divided.

Wanting to question and debate as to whether you are ‘saved’ in that moment is fruitless, and it’s the wrong question to be asking. Clearly, IF...you are abiding in Him, there is no better place you could be, so of course you are ‘saved, as you are ‘being saved’, and ‘will be saved’....IF....IF....IF...you ‘continue till the end’. (Matt. 24:13; Col. 1:21-23). Plenty of people start the journey... but not all finish. (John 6:66)

When Jesus preached His ‘Sermon on the Mount’, He had much to say in declaring what God’s kingdom was all about, who would be entering and who would not and what those who did enter would look like. He referred to God’s ‘law’ frequently, even making the point that He had not come to do away with the law, but on the contrary...He came to fulfill it. (Matt. 5:17) When others came asking how they too, might ‘inherit eternal life, He pointed them to the law, God’s commandments- (Matt. 19:17; Luke 10:25-28)

Keep in mind, when the scriptures were first handed down to us, they were not written in chapters and verses; man added those later and it sure does make it easy to study and look up things. So when you read/study the text I refer to here, it is broken down into three chapters, Matt. - 5,6, & 7. In the first part of Jesus’ sermon, found in chapter 5, He really seems to be ‘raising the bar’, as I like to say when it comes to mentioning the law and what God expects of us. This is pretty easy to see in verses 27-42 as He offers up specific examples dealing with murder and anger and adultery and lust.

Then, as if to add an exclamation point before He is anywhere close to wrapping up this famous ‘sermon’, Jesus lays down the ‘end goal’ as to what we are to ‘be’ – as in “you shall be ‘perfect’, just as your Father in heaven is perfect”. (5:48). Now I know that word ‘perfect’ rubs folks the wrong way, so if we want to look at the Greek word’s meaning, it uses the word ‘complete’. But nonetheless, we are then going to be ‘complete’...”just as the Father in heaven is complete.” (Oh, go read James 1:4 if you would while we are on this).

Now pay close attention here because I think I have a better understanding as to what has led to so much confusion, frustration, and discouragement for so many sincere believers over the years. (And I know this is what has compelled me to write and share these lessons daily with whoever has ‘ears to hear’.)

There has been no shortage of messages preached and fingers wagged at us over the years telling us what we ‘need to be, ought to be, and better be!’. We’ve been told of our ‘need to get right’, oftentimes using dramatic and emotional means to spark an emotional, yet short-lived response in us. But what has been terribly lacking with all this ‘ought to be’ preaching...is the disappointing lack of instruction on: “how to be!” (Yeah...read that one more time if you would please)

Failure to fully understand, and then not only walk out for ourselves, but then fail to teach others to do, (which is what ‘making disciples is all about- Matt. 28:19-20)...has led to all the discouragement and frustration for so many people. This in turn has made them rather susceptible to deceptive teachings that want to offer a 'easier way' through that wide gate. (Matt. 7:13-14)

Case and point: many people struggle with controlling their eating and gain more weight over time and suffer the consequences of obesity. These same people can tell you the years of tears they have shed ‘trying to do better’ along with all the failed diets and attempts to lose those extra pounds. Do you know what this does then? It sets them up for these ‘quick and easy’ methods to ‘melt those pounds away in no time’. Need I say more?

For many people (not all, but many) the challenge has been with bringing fleshly appetites under control. So if I can find some quick and convenient and easy way to help me shed the extra weight...and ‘still eat all those things I love’, with no serious consequences...then how wonderful is that? And yet, there are  people who find themselves in a position to hire and pay a personal coach to assist them, and have found great success as they made great strides, not only in losing weight, but have also learned how to develop a much healthier and ‘disciplined’ lifestyle when it comes to eating and exercise. (Don't get ahead of me here on this comparison now)

Do you think it is possible that countless people have experienced something similar in their ‘walk of faith’? Think about it...we ‘know what we ought to be and want to be and should be, but we just fail repeatedly at getting to be...’like Jesus’. And honestly, it really boils down to not wanting to ‘pay the price’....and take up our cross daily, which we are told by Jesus to do. (Luke 9:23). And once again, I would submit to you that it has more to do with there being a shortage of ‘Spirit led personal coaches’ offering up...for free, the training and ‘making of disciples’ so that we could see more overcoming believers today that are truly walking in the power of the Spirit, enabled by His grace.

So when ‘spiritual con men’ (a.k.a. ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’) come along peddling a much ‘easier way to heaven’, is it any wonder why we ‘buy in’ to ‘another gospel’ while ‘following another Jesus and even receiving another spirit’. (2 Cor. 11:3-4; 1 Tim. 4:1; Matt. 24:4-5,11; Acts 20:29; 2 Pet. 2:1-3). And instead of magical pills or ‘corrective surgery’, they offer up a ‘simple doctrine’ that you can receive and all will be well with your soul. And they sure know how to sell it to you to the point that you can have that ‘false peace’ that I spoke about in yesterday’s message. This all feeds in to the great ‘falling away’ from the faith that Paul mentions there in 2 Thess. 2:3.

 

Let me assure you here: I am in no way suggesting, hinting, nor implying that anyone is 'saved' or 'enters the kingdom' because they just 'got it together and tried harder to do better'.  This is all about coming to terms with realizing that many are not where they 'ought to be', even though a false peace and false sense of security has lulled them into thinking they are.  So when you read or hear the words of Jesus as He tells us to 'make every effort to enter the narrow gate, for many will seek to enter and will not be able', while at the same time He speaks of this wide path many do find themselves on not realizing where it leads' (Luke 9:23; Matt. 7:13-14)...do you ask yourself just who those people are He was talking about?