Had My Reward?

I have recently decided to stop drinking alcohol in the interest of obeying God in keeping my body as a temple to the Lord, and to stay strong in the face of temptation.  Then last night, [my sister in law] and [her husband] came over and I had told [my wife] that I would not be drinking, so that she would understand why I was turning it down.  Then she told [my sister in law’s husband] that I wasn’t drinking.  I’m wondering now, whether God honors the act or whether “I have my reward”.

Now, thinking through it further, I have realized that I have claimed no reward.  In actuality, I have put myself in a position of persecution by choosing to obey God, and therefore likely honors the act.

By the way, I was only able to resist the temptation by asking for God’s strength and protection, both in preparation for the evening, as well as a couple of times during.

Rewards for Obedience

I have recently been convinced (through Amazing Facts as well as other timely reading) that drinking alcohol is a hindrance to my relationship with Christ.  Just as I have come to understand the blessing given for sexual purity (thoughts and deeds), I have a hunch that there may be a blessing awaiting me to claim for obedience to rejecting this temporal pleasure (of the flesh) as well.  Just as I have learned to call upon the Lord to shelter me from impure thoughts, I also can call upon Him to shelter me from other temptation (alcohol).  I need to:

1. Recognize the threat (either in advance or real-time)
2. Ask for shelter
3. Trust that shelter will be provided

Gaming

Reading back at old entries, I noticed my struggles with gaming.  Just as an update, I have only been lightly tempted with WoW, and have not played Fable in a while, not because I don’t want to, but because I’ve been too busy with God.

Session 14 – Obedience

http://www.bibleuniversity.com/Video/CourseID2/NR14.asx

• No one gets to Heaven because of what they know
  • Knowing what the mark of the beast is doesn’t get you into Heaven
• People get into Heaven because of their personal surrender to the Lord
• To whom much is given, much is required
• Recommended book: Practicing the Presence of God (very old book)
• God judges us according to what we know
• Hebrews 10:26 – “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.
• God is aware of and intensely interested in each of us personally (He’s aware of every conceivable thing in existence)
  • He wants a personal relationship (personal surrender) with each of us (He wants our love, like a loving father wants his child’s love)
  • Jesus wants to know each of us – and the word ‘know’ in the Bible is very very personal in nature (Adam knew Eve)
  • He wants to be married to each of us
  • He’s desperate to save / redeem as many of us as He can
• God doesn’t force us to do anything – our disobedience has their own consequences
  • He won’t ask you to give up anything that’s truly good
  • He will only take the things that will hurt you
• Those who persist in rebelling against God would not be safe in Heaven
  • They would bring their rebellious attitudes there
• Sin is like the bubonic plague – in order to be cured, you need a transfusion from a person who was exposed but did not succumb
• While justification is a moment, sanctification is a process –
  • Like building a house – one nail /brick at a time
  • Don’t worry about changing all at once
  • Follow what He presents to you
  • As you focus on obedience, ask God to help you
• Every commandment you obey has a blessing that comes with it
  • Tithing > prosperity
  • Honor father and mother > long life
  • Obey the Sabbath > find rest in Jesus
• God doesn’t hold a person accountable for lack of knowledge, but He does hold people accountable for rejecting knowledge (Hosea 4:6).  So you can’t say ‘I just won’t learn any more of His commandments, so I won’t be bound by them’
• Even the ‘little things’ count – in fact, there are no ‘little things’
• Obedience will never be convenient
• Deny yourself daily
• Following Jesus is the opposite of following the devil
  • Satan gives you the pleasure now and the penalty later (buy now, pay later)
  • Jesus says that there will be trouble in initially following, but the blessing follows immediately after. (pay now, and then be free)
    • Sometimes the initial decision is a tremendous battle
• God / Christ is able to keep us from falling
  • A Christian is a person who loves God so much, they would rather die than knowingly hurt Him
  • Most of us do not have that experience because we are not able to let go and let God have control
• Surrender is the only battle you win by giving up
  • Analogy: monkey trap – rice placed inside coconuts so that the monkeys can reach inside but can’t get their hand back out without letting go of the rice.  Poachers can simply walk up and grab the monkey.
• Your love for God is demonstrated by obedience (you obey because you love)
  • Saying you love God is not enough.  Jesus said that ‘if you love me then keep my commandments and I’ll pray the Father and He’ll send you the Holy Spirit.
  • How do you think Jesus feels when He died to save us from sin, and we say ‘thanks, Lord’ and run back to our sins?
• Trust – you don’t have to understand why God is commanding something
• Satan has an excuse or rationalization for every sin

The Rock San Diego – 6/22 sermon

• Good photography is the ability to use light potential
• God sees your potential – “a giant killer”
• See with your faith – not with your senses
• Through God’s eyes, not yours
• You don’t have all the information! 
• Your dilemma is like the giant – the whole point is for God to do something through you that you can’t do – you should constantly be over your head
• The bigger knucklehead you are, the more God gets the credit
• It’s not about you, it’s about God
• Identify your ‘used to’
• Trust Him – think of all He’s done for you when you haven’t been faithful, and think about what He’ll do if you ARE faithful
• Identify and confront your giant
• Your goliath is not something you have to beat – trust God
• Obstacles are nothing but hurdles – train yourself to overcome them
• Ask God what your Goliath is and what He wants you to do about it – do your part
• God wants you to be dependent upon Him