�Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.� (vs1-4)
We must do what God says, if we will have peace. His commands are BINDING, and they are for our good, because He blesses us in this way and none other.
Jonah thought that he�d have peace by casting himself into the sea, he thought God would meet him in death, and all problems would be over. He didn�t know that God had prepared a great fish, and he�d spend three days and nights - a picture of Christ suffering God�s wrath - in the heart of the whale, suffering for his sin - �And said, I cried by reason of my affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and you heard my voice� (Jonah 2:2). Before he got out the fish, he said, �I will pay that that I have vowed�, or, I will do what God says. Then, upon confessing that �salvation is of the Lord�, Jonah was spat out on the dry ground of no condemnation to preach unto Nineveh the preaching that God commanded (Jonah 2:9-3:3). So, Jonah couldn�t escape the command, and we can�t either. We can�t be happy or saved, unless we strictly obey what Jesus says.
Somehow, it comes into our carnal mind that salvation by grace means that I can do my own thing, and my heart breaks for Christians and false-professors who hold this lie in unrighteousness. We CAN�T be happy, because God CHASTENS whom He loves, and He cannot bless us in a way that is contrary to Himself. If He says, �Go and do�� �go to Nineveh, that great city and cry against it�, then we must go and speak His word.
Leave the consequences with God, but know that you have a better life and better reward by obedience, than by sin. Matthew 5:12 says, �Rejoice, and be exceeding glad�, in the here and now, �for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you�, so that God gives us joy as we are hated by men and ridiculed, which we cannot get cowering and choosing sin (Matt 5:12).
God sets before us BLESSINGS and curses, so that we may CHOOSE the good and hate the evil (Deut 30:15-18). Be wise, plan wisely, and prepare yourself for FUTURE good by doing God�s will now.
How often have you and I awoken from sin only to say, �It profited me not�, and �why did I do that? How foolish was I�? Let this word of Christ STOP you and me from sin before we commit it. Let us RETURN to the Lord by the Lamb�s blood to do His will now, obtaining fresh mercy from God to obey. We can obey by the grace that He gives, and we will certainly get the reward, as promised. It is not wrong to seek reward, so long as we seek it from God His way. He commands OBEDIENCE to be the apex of Christianity, that from a willing heart we do His will by the forgiveness that we�ve received. We are not only justified by faith, but we�re born from above, so that we love God and obey by the power He gives.
A rabbi decided to test the level of obedience in his disciples, so he called them together and posed a question. "What would you do if you were walking along and found a purse full of money lying in the road?" he asked. "I'd return it to its owner," said the disciple. "His answer comes so quickly, I must wonder if he really means it," the rabbi thought. "I'd keep the money if nobody saw me find it," said another. "He has a frank tongue, but a wicked heart," the rabbi told himself. "Well, Rabbi," said a third disciple, "to be honest, I believe I'd be tempted to keep it. So I would pray to God that he give me the strength to resist such a temptation and to be obedient in doing the right thing." "Aha!" thought the rabbi. "Here is the man I would trust."
"You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him." (Deut. 13:5)
Moses is preaching his final sermon to the generation of Israelites who will inherit the Promised Land, the sermon that we entitle Devarim or Deuteronomy, and it seems clear that one of his goals is to instill the fear of God in his listeners. Contemporary readers of Deuteronomy and the rest of the Torah, however, often have a problem with this concept. They see fear as a bad thing that we need to overcome, or at least as an immature stage on the journey with God. Yeshua-followers will sometimes cite the phrase "Perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18) to argue that fear of God might be okay for beginners, but we must grow out of it as we grow in love for God.
And lest someone claim that this is "Old Testament" teaching superseded in the New Testament, let's remember that Yeshua said it too: "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Mt 10:28). "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!" (Lu 12:5).
Literal fear of the Lord is for both non-believers and believers alike. What is so sad is most believers don�t understand how God was so �cruel� in the Old Testament and then He was like saved or something in the New Testament. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He brought judgments on sin with pestilences�, drought, and yes even sickness and death. To say that God does not do such things is to deny the God of Scripture. As believers, we are to have a literal fear of the Lord not just some quiet, little respect for Him. NO, we cannot lose our salvation; we never have to fear that. However, He does chasten those He loves and we do not get away with sin. A great example of this (not the only example) if found in Malachi 3:8-18:
8 Can a person rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How have we robbed you?' In tenths and voluntary contributions. 9 A curse is on you, on your whole nation, because you rob me. 10 Bring the whole tenth into the storehouse, so that there will be food in my house, and put me to the test," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. "See if I won't open for you the floodgates of heaven and pour out for you a blessing far beyond your needs. 11 For your sakes I will forbid the devourer to destroy the yield from your soil; and your vine will not lose its fruit before harvest-time," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. 12 "All nations will call you happy, for you will be a land of delights," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.
13 "You have spoken strongly against me," says ADONAI. "Yet you say, 'How have we spoken against you?' 14 By saying, 'There is no point in serving God. What good is it to obey his orders or to walk about as mourners before ADONAI-Tzva'ot? 15 We consider the arrogant happy; also evildoers prosper; they put God to the test; nevertheless, they escape.'" 16 Then those who feared ADONAI spoke together; and ADONAI listened and heard. A record book was written in his presence for those who feared ADONAI and had respect for his name. 17 "They will be mine," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, "on the day when I compose my own special treasure. I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. 18 Then once again you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the person who serves God and one that doesn't serve him.
Now we must remember there are two books, the are two judgments--- The Book of Remembrance and The Book of Life. As believers we will be judged for our works and have to give an account, in fact, we are told that we will give an account for every idle word that comes out of our mouth and we will be rewarded accordingly. The unsaved will not take part in this judgment- The Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:10-15, 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10), because before this judgment is the Great White Throne Judgment Revelation 20:11-15.
11 Next I saw a great white throne and the One sitting on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, both great and small, standing in front of the throne. Books were opened; and another book was opened, the Book of Life; and the dead were judged from what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 The sea gave up the dead in it; and Death and Sh'ol gave up the dead in them; and they were judged, each according to what he had done. 14 Then Death and Sh'ol were hurled into the lake of fire. This is the second death-the lake of fire. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was hurled into the lake of fire.
What is obedience?
� It is self-imposed discipline in response to Christ's love.
� It is uncompromising actions that fulfill God's instructions.
� It is putting into action the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has given us.
Obedience is the evidence of a relationship with God and keeps spiritual health in balance.
