Sermon Starter

THE SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE

          When Evan Roberts was a small boy attending church in his native Wales in the 1880s, he heard his pastor say, “Never miss a church service because you don’t know when you will meet God.” Evan took that very seriously because he wanted so to meet God. Although he was relatively young, Evan never missed church. As an adult, he became a coal miner, and he still kept his commitment to church attendance. At age twenty-six, he went to Bible college and found that he did not make a good student. He would rather pray than study, continually crying out, “God, bend me.” 

          He returned home and asked his pastor if he could speak to his church. His pastor allowed him to speak to those who would remain after the Monday evening prayer meeting. Seventeen people stayed. Evan’s words had such a profound effect that the pastor asked him to speak at the midweek service. He ended up speaking every night for two weeks.

          Then the break came. A revival swept Wales, resulting in one hundred thousand conversions during a five-month period. It all began with a man who prayed, “God bend me,” and determined that he was going to be obedient to God no matter what the price.

          He had to begin paying that price as a young boy. His walk to church had required him to pass the ball park where all the other boys were playing. Because he refused to ever miss church, he had passed that park often, and every time he did, they had ridiculed him for going to church when he could have been playing.

          Things have changed so drastically today. If God asked a modern American Christian to attend special prayer meetings, they would have to consult their calendars. And yet at the same time, we think we're pretty close to revival in the land. If revival came on a night when we scheduled something else, we would probably miss it in the United States.

 

 

November 17, 2002, Pastor Phil Roland

Sheepfold Ministries

 

THE SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE

THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD

REV. 2:12-17 - Numbers 22-25

 

"Those who embrace the Spirit of Obedience develop the ability to Hear the Voice of God, Obey the Voice of God and make Godly choices for Righteousness.”          Pastor Phil

 

 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Matt. 5:4

 

 

EPHESUS - The Spirit of Poverty                

SMYRNA - The Spirit of Suffering   

PERGAMOS - The Spirit of Obedience       

THYATIRA - The Spirit of Righteousness

SARDIS - The Spirit of Mercy

PHILADELPHIA - The Spirit of Purity

LAODICEA - The Spirit of Completeness

 

MEEKNESS = prous = “PROUS” = Violence Under Control

 

I.  THE SPIRIT OF DISOBEDIENCE / Tolerance - Rev. 2:14,15

          A. Baalam - “A Pilgrim,”  “Lord of the People” - Midianite Prophet -                     Son of Pethor

                    1. Idol Worship - Baal Peor

                    2. Immorality - Moabite Women

          B. Nicolaitans - Emperior/Caesar Worship -

                    1. Jesus is Lord -

                    2. Caesar is Lord -

II.  THE SWORD OF THE LORD - Numbers 25:1-9; Rev. 1:16; 2:9

          A. The Two-Edged Sword of Judgment Passes “Through” Us

          B. Attracts those who are Judgmental

                    1. Removes those who work and walk in darkness

                    2. Word of God separates good from evil

III.  THE SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE

          A. Repentance - Dying to Self

          B. Surrender to God’s Will

          C. Spirit of Meekness - A Strong Desire to Obey God in All Things

                    1. Opposite of Pride

                    2. Opposite of Self-Centeredness

          D. Seeking God’s Holy Spirit Thru Prayer is the Key

 

THE SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE, TEXT:

Revelation 2:12-17

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,

          ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:

¹³“I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s       throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My
          faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

¹⁴But I have a few things against you, because you have there    those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak      to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel,
          to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual        immorality.

¹⁵Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the   Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
¹⁶Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight          against them with the sword of My mouth.

¹⁷“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the      churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone,    and on the stone a new name written which no one knows
          except him who receives it.”’

 

  

 

 

THE SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE, cont.

NUMBERS 25: 1-9

 “Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to          commit harlotry with the women of Moab.

²They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the   people ate and bowed down to their gods.

³So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the          LORD was aroused against Israel.

⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the        people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the      sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from           Israel.”

⁵So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his         men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”

⁶And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to          his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and      in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel,           who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of    meeting.

⁷Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the    priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and     took a javelin in his hand;

⁸and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust         both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman    through her body. So the plague was stopped among the    children of Israel.

⁹And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon Starter Notes, THE SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE

Eg.

          Newspaper Headline. . .

          “THE MEEKEST HORSE”

          The horse most submitted to its rider is the winner. . .

 

CONCLUSION

          Jesus is using his written word and the Holy Spirit to call us to repentance, if we only will listen.  To repent is really a simple thing, but ait can be an ardous struggle. It is nothing more than coming back under obedience to God. This is how we become overcomers. We overcome the world by coming under obedience to God.

          Some mistakenly suppose that overcoming the world means acquiring great material success and wealth, without developing an idolatrous attachment to it. But the picture Jesus paints for us is one of peaceful surrender to Him. We overcome the world by submitting to Him and allowing Him to make us more and more like Him.

          The Church in America is plagued with its own insistent desire to be recognized by this world's system of rewards: money, power, prestige, etc. If we refuse to lay down this desire, then Jesus has something against us: a lack of obedience and subsequently no meekness. This is a very grave matter because those who will rule and reign with Christ are the meek. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth!

          Christianity is filled with many things which seem like paradoxes to the human mind, but they are the most certain immovable truths in all of creation. In order to gain life, you must die. In order to inherit this earth, you must give it up.