HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 238
page A236
Obedience continued
• E Z E K I E L 2 0 :1 3 -1 5 | “But the people of Israel rebelled against me, and they refused
to obey my decrees there in the wilderness. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even
though obedience would have given them life. They also violated my Sabbath days.
So I threatened to pour out my fury on them, and I made plans to utterly consume them in
the wilderness. But again I held back in order to protect the honor of my name before the
nations who had seen my power in bringing Israel out of Egypt. But I took a solemn oath
against them in the wilderness. I swore I would not bring them into the land I had given
them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful place on earth.”
Disobedience to God forfeits God’s best for us.
• NU MB E R S 2 0 :1 2 | But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me
enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the
land I am giving them!”
Disobedience to God limits our future opportunities.
• E X O DU S 1 6 :2 0 | But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But
by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.
• L E V I T I C U S 2 6 :1 4 -1 6 | “If you do not listen to me or obey all these commands . . . I will
punish you.” (See note on page 117.)
• H E B R E W S 2 :1 | So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may
drift away from it.
O
HelpFinder
God seeks to keep us away from sin and trouble, and that is best accomplished when we
listen to his voice and obey his commands. Refusing to do that is like shutting down our
spiritual immune system. When we lose touch with God, we lose touch with the one who
gives us the immunity to withstand the onslaught of sin.
What if I disobey God? Do I get a second chance?
• 2 S A MU E L 1 2 :1 3 | Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you.”
• MAT T H E W 1 8 :2 1 -2 2 | Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive
someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but
seventy times seven!”
As long as you are sincere in confessing your disobedience (sin), God is always willing to
forgive.
• J O NA H 3 :1 -2 | Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time. . . . (See note on page 816.)
God loves to give second chances. How else would you have the opportunity to fulfill
God’s purpose for your life?
What if I have lived a life of disobedience?
• MAT T H E W 2 1 :2 9 | “The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and
went anyway.” (See note on page 883.)
It’s never too late to stop a life of disobedience to God and start a life of obedience to him.
All it takes is to be genuinely sorry for your sins and to ask God to forgive you so you can
start over.
PROMISES FROM GOD
• PSA L M 1 :1 -3 | Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand
around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing
fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
• H E B R E W S 8 :1 0 | “But this is the new covenant I will make . . . says the Lord: I will put my
laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will
be my people.”