obedience – Resounding Shophar Ministries

Jesus, Our Savior

Jesus, our Savior, that is what many of us are looking for. We want to receive God’s love for us, and His forgiveness of our sins, and for many that is where it ends. Jesus can be our Savior, freeing us from the bondage and penalty of our sins, but to give Him the position of Lord in our life is another story. It’s almost as if all we’re wanting is “fire insurance”, enough of what God has to offer us through Jesus to keep us out of hell, but is that the kind of relationship Jesus is calling us to? Or is He wanting something more from us?

A well-known author made a point along these lines. He commented that many have come to the place that they believe who Jesus is and what He did for them, and that the basis of their prayer for salvation is based on their belief in Jesus, not a commitment to follow Him. Many seem to think that all they need Jesus to be is their savior, not realizing that Jesus is requiring a relationship defined as a follower of Jesus. In Luke 9:23-26 Jesus tells us what is required to be with Him; we need to deny ourselves, take up His cross daily, and follow Him.

In the New Testament, the word Savior is used more than 20 times in reference to Jesus. The words Lord and Savior together more than 15 times, but the word Lord by itself is used more than 700 times of Jesus. Jesus longs to be our Savior, but it appears that Scripture greatly emphasizes His role in our life needs to be that of Lord. Are you okay with Jesus being Lord in your life, or are you content with Him just being your Savior? It’s a tough question, but your answer could have potentially disastrous eternal consequences.

Some people think that just because they walked down an isle and said the “sinner’s prayer” they are a shoe-in for heaven. When we look at Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus makes it clear who will and will not enter into heaven. In verse 21 Jesus tells us not everyone who says to Him “Lord, Lord” will enter heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father. And in verse 23 we learn that those Jesus tells to depart from Him are those who practice lawlessness. Check out the irony in this. Here we have people who are doing the supernatural, and in Jesus’ name, yet Jesus tells them to depart from Him because they practice lawlessness. This tells us two things. The first thing is that just because someone can do the supernatural in Jesus’ name does not mean they are in right relationship with Him. This doesn’t mean that doing the supernatural is not of God, or that it’s not good or desired for us, but instead that this is not the barometer to gauge whether or not we are in right standing with Him. The second thing we learn is that Jesus is looking for those who do the Father’s will, not those who do as they deem is right and okay based on their own perceptions and opinions.

Those who do the will of the Father, and those who practice lawlessness even though they can do the supernatural. I think you can sum up the difference between the two with one statement; one group made Jesus their Lord, and the other group only saw Him as their savior. We see people in church circles who are quick to claim the promises and blessings of being a child of God, even moving in the supernatural with signs and wonders, yet at the same time they can be rebelling against God and His will for them. Perhaps God called them into full-time ministry and they decided to pursue a career more to their liking? Maybe it was to keep their mouth shut but they just can’t stand not gossiping or making comments whenever they choose to do so? Maybe God wanted them to move somewhere and they decided to stay put or move somewhere else? Or, it could be something as mundane as God telling them to give up sodas, but because they see nothing wrong with them they continue to drink them. Some may argue whether or not situations like what I just described could keep them out of heaven, but to argue that point is to miss the point. Besides the fact that choosing to go opposite of what God is calling you to, regardless of what it is, sends the message that your opinion is more important than God’s, there is a heart issue here. If a person is always trying to justify their decisions, or their behavior, as to why they are not being obedient to God or continue behaving in a way that is not honoring and pleasing to Him, the issue goes beyond the choice they made or the behavior they choose to continue in. The issue is an attitude of the heart. Is the attitude of your heart one that desires to obey and honor God in all areas of your life, or is it one that consistently tries to defend and justify themselves? A Christian with the right attitude will be quick to repent of sin in their life, which means turning away from the sin. A Christian with that attitude of the heart I believe experiences God’s grace without measure, covering sins in their life that they may not be aware or had opportunity to repent of, but a Christian with the wrong attitude of the heart could very possibly find themselves with the same group of people that Jesus turns away in Matthew 7:23.

A lot of people in the days we are living in see Jesus as only their savior. They are quick to accept and receive all the promises and blessings God can give them, including love and forgiveness, but sadly many of them don’t allow Jesus to be Lord in their life. Some have the mindset that our relationship with Christ is based solely on what He can and has done for us, giving very little to no thought that they have a responsibility in this relationship. They seem to think that salvation is an end in and of itself, and that nothing more is required of them outside of merely accepting it, seeing Jesus as only Savior, but what we learn from the above texts is that this is not the case. Jesus requires that we live with Him as Lord of our life, and that limiting Him to just our savior is not sufficient.

In my youth I was a part of a church youth choir that did some traveling. It was not your typical church youth choir in that we had at one time 175 youth in it, and the guys outnumbered the girls causing the Music Pastor to make adjustments to some of the music to accommodate this unique dynamic. One of the songs we sang is still a well-known song (not because of us), “I surrender all”, but one of the statements in the song that is not often heard was powerful and made an impact on me. The statement was, “If Jesus is not Lord of everything, then He’s not Lord at all”. Before you’re quick to say that Jesus is Lord in your life, stop and take a closer look at yourself and see if there are any areas that you’ve pretty much denied Jesus access to. You may be faithful to church on a regular basis, passionate to talk about Him to others, involved in various ministries, listen only to Christian music with Jesus bumper stickers on your car, but are there areas that by disregarding God’s will or instructions for you, some of which are found in His Word, you have told God that He is not Lord in your life?

Is Jesus your Savior, or is He both your Lord and Savior???????

John Johansson (Pastor John)

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Is It Legalistic?

I recently saw a post on Facebook with a picture of a prohibited left turn sign, and the caption with it referred to people who would view this sign as a suggestion. The problem with this is that the sign in the picture is not suggesting or making a recommendation on how to make your life better. This particular sign is classified as a regulatory sign, meaning you are required to obey it or risk significant negative consequences.

As I looked at this picture I thought of how many view the Christian life in much the same way. They either view the commands we find in scripture as mere recommendations if they are to experience Gods best in their life, or they simply see them as suggestions with the option to heed them or not. And even then, some choose to view any of the commands of God as legalistic and enemies of the grace God has given us.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a simple definition of “commandment” is; an important rule given by God that tells people how to behave.

In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus is asked by one of the Pharisees who was a lawyer which is the greatest commandment in the law. Jesus responded by telling him the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. He followed that up by telling him that the second was like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus proceeds to tell him that on those two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. This dialog was focused on the 10 commandments.

In John 14:15 Jesus tells us that if we love Him we will obey His commandments. Did you notice that? He wasn’t referring to the 10 commandments, but instead His own commandments. So, if that is the case then we need to see what it is that Jesus commanded of us to do. Below are just some of Jesus’ commands to His followers.

“Repent”, Matthew 4:17
“Be reconciled with your brother before offering your gift”, Matthew 5:23-24
“Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you”, Matthew 5:44
“Do not worry about your life, …”, Matthew 6:25-32
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, …”, Matthew 6:33
“Judge not, that you be not judged”, Matthew 7:1
Forgive others as God has forgiven you, Matthew 18:21-35
“Do not be deceived”, Matthew 24:4
“Watch therefore, and pray always …”, Luke 21:34-36
“Watch!”, Mark 13:37

For those who argue that the teachings of Christ prior to His resurrection do not pertain to us, citing the opinion that it would be legalistic to heed the teachings and commands of Jesus beforehand, let’s see what Jesus had to say about this after His resurrection.

After His resurrection Jesus gave clear instructions to the Apostles. Part of what He said touched on this very subject, telling them to “… teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, …”, Matthew 28:20. What He said told them to teach others to observe, or do, everything He had commanded them to do. There were no qualifiers expressed or implied in any way, like only those I gave after I resurrected, or ones that involved a particular subject matter or not, but instead He said “all”.

In I John 2:3-6; 5:3, we are told by the Apostle John that keeping and obeying the commandments is an indicator of whether or not we truly know Him. If we truly love God then we will keep and do His commandments, and if we don’t then we really don’t love Him. If it’s been a while since you’ve read I John, I encourage you to do so.

We live in a society that the measurement of ones love for another is based on the presence and intensity of passion and emotion for the other person. It is important for us to have passion and emotional love for God in our lives. Jesus told the church in Ephesus that no matter how much they were doing things right, they needed to return to their first love for Him, an intensely passionate love for Him. However, when Jesus and the Apostles mention our love for God, and the test for whether or not we truly love Him, they do not refer to passion and emotion, but instead one’s obedience to the commandments of God the Father and Jesus Christ. The obedience isn’t to gain salvation, but instead to demonstrate to Him, others, and ourselves that we truly love Him and are submitted to His lordship in our lives. This is the test, obedience to His commandments, used multiple times to see how real our love for Him is.

I’m reminded of the words of James in James 2. In this chapter James challenges others to show their faith without works, and that he will show his faith by his works. With that same train of thought a person can say, “Show me your love for God apart from obeying His commandments, and I’ll show you my love for God by my obedience to His commandments.” Many try to separate works from their relationship with Christ on that basis of grace, but Scripture tells us that our love for Him is manifest in our adherence to His commandments. We’re not talking salvation through works as that is not possible, because salvation is only by grace through faith. But, that doesn’t mean our relationship with Him is exempt from being obedient to Him.

I find that many who try to live their Christian walk apart from obedience to His commandments, citing to do otherwise is “legalistic”, are living their life as though they won’t be held accountable for their disobedience. With that I have seen that they tend to lack an appreciation for Christ and what He’s done for them, or any inclination that they need to live their life in such a way to demonstrate their love and appreciation for Him. This is a scary place to be in when Scripture plainly tells us that the love of God is not in us if we are not obeying His commandments. A lot of times this is evident especially so in their pocket books, where they seek to maintain control over their finances as though it is their own and not Gods, having no true desire to honor God with their money or to acknowledge that it’s all His to begin with. A Christian that has to find reasons for not tithing to God, much less more than the tenth, seeking “loopholes” of some sort to justify their behavior, is a person trying to split their allegiance between God and money, something that God will not tolerate. In fact, Scripture tells us whenever we put something or someone before Him it is idolatry.

What I’m trying to say in this blog is simple. We are quickly approaching the sudden return of Jesus for His bride, and Scripture is clear that many will be left behind even though they thought they were in good and right standing with Him. With this sudden appearing of Christ speedily approaching us we need to make sure we are ready for Him, and one of the ways we know that is to see if our love for Him is really what it ought to be.

Does your life reflect true love for Him and His lordship in your life? If not, I strongly encourage you to make whatever changes are necessary to get your life where it needs to be. We are all a work in progress, and that is where His grace and mercy comes in, but where is the attitude of our heart towards Him, sin, and being surrendered to His will and ways?

John Johansson

Is God About To Answer Your Prayer

Back in the 1980’s I had the pleasure of sitting in a series of weeklong meetings where Dr. Handel Price was the speaker. For those of you who have never heard of him, he was a powerfully anointed preacher of the Gospel who had at one time sat under the ministry of Evans Roberts and ministered with Smith Wigglesworth. The experience and knowledge of the Scriptures and the moving of the Holy Spirit that he brought to those meetings was priceless.

Of the many things he shared with us that week, one of the things that has continued to impact me to this day was his response to a question that we commonly hear in church circles, a question that many had asked him over the years. When people would hear of the miraculous things taking place in other countries and not so much here in America, they would simply ask him “why?” Why is it that other countries see so much of the miraculous and yet it seems to happen so sparingly here in America? His response to these questions was very simple and yet so profound. He told us that if God asks those in other countries to jump, they simply ask “how high?” But in America, if God were to tell us to jump we would respond by asking “why?” as if God needs to get our seal of approval before we will do what He’s wanting us to do.

What he so succinctly indicated was that it’s an issue of the heart. If we have the mindset that Jesus is Lord of our lives and we are His bondservants, then it doesn’t matter whether or not it makes sense to us. This is because we know He sees the big picture and wants nothing less than the best for His children. If, however, your mindset is one where you decide what you will and will not do in following Jesus, and how much you’re willing to give or pay for that relationship with Him, then your response to Him will be very different. You will find it entirely within your rights to decide which of His commands you will or will not obey.

Having the right attitude and mindset regarding Jesus and His place in your life will see Him move all the more on your behalf. If, on the other hand, you view your relationship with Christ as more of a partnership where you have equal say in your life, and that you have veto power, then the results could be different. Jesus will not, and does not, subject Himself to our opinions and how we think things should be, and He will not share the throne of our lives with any other, including ourselves.

So, our attitude towards Christ and His role and place in our lives plays a part in why we don’t see more of the miraculous than we would like to see. But, is there maybe another reason why we don’t see more of the miraculous?

Over the years I have heard many question why we don’t see more of the miraculous in our American churches. I’ve been in churches that believe God still wants to do the miraculous and come to church looking and expecting God to do that in their midst. I’ve also been in churches that believe God can do the miraculous but are so afraid of the “flesh” or the over-sensationalizing of what God does that they literally control or limit what the Holy Spirit is allowed to do and when. In doing so, they inadvertently stifle or quench the moving of the Holy Spirit, finding arguments to justify the position they have. I’ve also been to churches that believe God no longer does the miraculous, and if there is any miraculous that takes place then it is most certainly not of God. Personally, I believe that God not only still does the miraculous, but that He desires to do so whenever we are looking and open to Him doing so. But, is there another reason why we don’t see the miraculous more frequently in our churches? I think there is.

For decades there have been very significance advancements in the medical and scientific fields. We have seen the introduction of more and more antibiotics and cures, more and more advanced medical treatments and procedures, as well as advancements in various mobility assisted devices. In the process medical professionals have become better trained and more educated in the various medical field specialties that now exist. As a result, we have become more and more dependent upon the medical profession and its medications and medical treatments. This means we have become less dependent upon God for our health and healing.

No wonder we don’t see as much of the miraculous as other countries seem to see. Between having the wrong attitudes and mindsets, not being open to God wanting to still do the miraculous in our midst or trying to limit or control Him, to being more dependent upon the medical profession than God, perhaps these are at least some of the reasons we don’t see or experience more of the miraculous.

Well, this may change. I believe our dependence on the medical profession is about to change as more and more Americans find themselves without medical insurance or can no longer afford even the more basic of health care. In this situation, those who have been more dependent on the medical profession will find that they need to shift their dependence elsewhere. Some will return their dependency on Christ while others will endeavor to find it anywhere else but with Him. As the “Affordable Health Care Act” gets implemented more and more, perhaps this is Gods answer to the question of why we don’t see more of the miraculous in our churches. While the negatives of this new law becomes more and more apparent, and very little positive coming from it, perhaps the “silver lining” in this is that as we become more dependent upon God we will see Him do more for us than we ever had in decades.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not discounting the medical profession and how it has and can be a benefit to us, but when we are more dependent upon it than we are on God then we have a problem. In a way, we have basically made the medical profession an idol in our lives as we put it ahead of God for our health and well-being.

So, I say all of that to simply say, look to God and place your trust in Him for your health and well-being. The more we will do so I believe we will see God move in the miraculous on our behalf, and the more that happens the more people will see that Jesus is alive and well, and that He desires to do great and mighty things on our behalf.

Is God about to answer your prayer request asking to see more of the miraculous in our midst and on our behalf?