GreatExpectations:
Our mini study this morning is on the Consequences of Disobedience.
We know that God established the perfect time for all things to come to 
fruition from the foundations of time. And, so, He is the One Who calls to 
attention that part of us which needs to rise up and respond with a loud 
resounding, "Yes, Lord!" at that appropriately appointed time. He is like a 
Commander-in-Chief summoning His troops.
He rallies them, speaking commands that are intended to lead to life and 
victory, if obeyed. He has carefully and strategically studied all things. 
He knows what compliance with His commands will bring to the obedient 
soldier. That all-important, "Yes, Lord!" response can make all the 
difference in the situation at hand. It can, indeed, be a matter of LIFE or 
DEATH. And we know we are in a battle when it comes to obedience. Our own 
wills oftentimes rise up against the will of our Commander. But, it is vital 
that we trust Him Who leads us. And, as is the case in many battles, 
captives are taken.
And in battles such as we are talking about, it is our thoughts that must be 
taken captive!
The Word tells us that every thought of ours that would exalt itself above 
Him Whom we choose to serve must be pulled down and subjected to the 
Lordship of Jesus Christ.
It is another choice we must make in order to enjoy kingdom success here on 
earth.
Our God is for us and not against us and, so, we have everything to gain by 
obeying Him.
He also tells us in His Word that if we love Him, we will keep His commands.
Can we not say, then, that our obedience TO Him speaks of our love FOR Him?
That warrants some pondering. I once read where someone said they thought 
that, to God, our obedience was success for us. That made much sense to me 
as I considered how He only wants the best for His people. We are told that 
He has a plan for us, a plan for good (success, if you will). And, we are 
told that He plans for us to have a future and a hope. Obedience to Him can 
certainly bring this to pass, as He would never ask/require of us anything 
that would lead us anywhere but into truth and good. We need to weigh things 
out and count the cost in the area of disobedience (sin) vs. obedience.
Disobedience, then, can affect that plan for good, or success, that He has 
for us.
It can put us on a 'detour' as we set out to pursue secure passage on our 
journey through life.
Disobeying God, plain and simply put, us in sin. And, we are told in 
scripture that the wages of sin is death. Separation from God is the 
ultimate form of death.
We know that sin, that has gone unrepented, will cause eternal separation 
from God.
That, of course, is why we must be born again. But, as we go through life, 
saved though we may be, disobedience to our God puts a wedge between Him and 
us.
We know that there is NOTHING that can separate us from the love of God.
He loves us unconditionally. But fellowship, as God intended it, can suffer 
if we walk in disobedience before Him.
Is our sin (disobedience) forgivable? Of course it is, when we repent of it 
with all sincerity. We know that He is faithful to forgive and the Blood of 
Jesus cleanses us of all unrighteousness. But, do we always respond 
immediately to the conviction that the Holy Spirit brings upon us when we 
disobey God? No, we don't. Sometimes we walk in our unrighteousness for a 
while and when we do, we are somewhat alienated from our God.
Our disobedience brings a separation between Him and us.
Does He still love us when this happens? Certainly, He does. But, we 
encounter a stumbling block in our relationship with God when we live in 
disobedience before Him.
Walking in disobedience can hinder our growth in the things of God. It can 
impede our progress in Him.
Have you ever heard of healings that did not occur or breakthroughs that did 
not come about at times when seemingly earnest prayer has gone forth?
Sometimes, not always, but sometimes, it is later discovered that the 
problem was unconfessed sin (or disobedience).
Let's face it, we know when we are disobedient and we know, too, that the 
Holy Spirit does His job and shows us the need for repentance for our 
disobedience.
We just don't always do what is required of us when this conviction comes. 
And, we are miserable deep down inside if we are honest. So, here again, we 
can see how disobedience can take its toll on us.
Why should we choose to permit this interruption in the exchange between our 
God and us?
Why should we allow disobedience to have its way in us and in our lives.?
Why allow it to affect our enjoyment of kingdom success here on earth?
We can choose to say, "Yes, Lord!", can't we? And by so doing, we can save 
ourselves a world of grief.
Romans 5:19 ... “One man (Adam) disobeyed God, and many became sinners. In 
the same way, one man (Jesus) obeyed God, and many will be made right.”
We see here that disobedience brought sin into the world. And, things did 
not go well with Adam and Eve after their act of disobedience. They were 
subjected to many things after having disobeyed God. They were separated 
from Him and had to leave the garden where they had formerly walked with Him 
on a daily basis. They had to labour in the fields and work the land. And, 
there were other things, as well, if we read the account in Genesis.
So, disobedience carries with it its own set of consequences.
It did back in Adam and Eve's time and it does with us in the present. 
Hebrews 4:11-13 ... “Let us try as hard as we can to enter God's rest so 
that no one will fail by following the example of those who refused to 
obey.”
God's word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It 
cuts all the way into us where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the 
centre of our joints and bones.
And it judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts. The Word continues...
Nothing in the entire world can be hidden from God. Everything is clear and 
lies open before Him, and to Him we must explain the way we have lived.
We can see here that disobedience causes us to fail and it exposes us in the 
fullest sense and we are accountable to God for it.
Lastly, we will look at Ecclesiastes 12:13.
The Word says ... “Now, everything has been heard, so I give my final 
advice: Honour God and obey His commands because this is ALL people must do. 
(Caps mine)”
It says, quite clearly here, that IF we honour God and IF we obey Him, we 
are doing ALL we must do. It seems pretty apparent that HONORING and OBEYING 
God encompasses ALL that we must do unto Him. He is worthy of all honour 
(praise/respect/esteem).
And, He is certainly deserving of our obedience (compliance with His will).
We were fashioned to give Him honour and we know that obedience is better 
than sacrifice. We read this in His Word.
So, honouring Him and obeying Him is our reasonable service unto Him.
And, while it is right to honour and obey Him, He makes it beneficial for us 
to be in compliance with His commands. We receive LIFE and VICTORY as a 
result.
So, why receive the wages of sin (disobedience), which is death, in any of 
its forms?
Why suffer alienation from our God, why experience failure, why be exposed 
in our disobedience and be subject to the judgement it calls for? Let us, 
instead, obey and LIVE!
Hallelujah!


RevRun4Him:
In  searching  the issue of Consequences of Disobedience.
I turned to the stories we all have cut our teeth on. Moses came to heart first,
and in remembering His acts we can recall many a time,  he less than obeyed God..
But for this study the wilderness wandering seem appropriate:  When the children cried 
for water God instructed Moses to Smite the rock.  The second time water was saught,  God told Moses,  speak to the rock. But because of Moses anger, he chose to smite the rock the second time.This disobedience resulted in, forfeiting the promise land he had wandered and strove for over 40 years.. in his flesh He never entered in.
The second lesson is that of Lots wife.. Upon the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, they were instructed not to look back.  Yet, because of her desire and longing for her worldly life she turned for one last look, all to become a pillar of salt.
Extreme? Yes. To us, who have been blessed by Grace. The wages of sin is 
death, but the gift of God is eternal life. We know, because of the cross, 
because of JESUS, that we have grace, mercy and redemption of which we all must cry, 
Thank YOU. But even though Grace abounds. Sin still abounds. For we have 
all sinned and come short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is and will 
forever be, death. In the days before Christ.. The death often was swift. 
But because of Jesus, and the constant flowing fount, our death comrd slowly.
And  instinctively and  knowing the word, I believe this give us time to 
repent and turn away from our disobedience.
But a slow death is still death, the wage of sin is death, to you, it may be 
in your spirit man. Growing cold to the sound of that still small voice, it 
may be a hardened heart. Or an indifference to the things of God or His children. But death is death.   It may be sickness. Many a saint and sinner are  riddled with pain of bone and joint disease caused out of a lifetime of bitterness, unforgiveness, and 
unresolved deeds.   Our body responds to disobedience because disobedience is 
a seed, it is a deadly seed, a poison seed, sown into our minds and hearts. 
Un-attended it spoils the garden of our lives and kills all fruit of the 
spirit. We need to bere the life fruit to feed the dieing world.
How can we feed the sheep, if our fruit is withered on the vine, from weeds 
of unforgiveness or bitterness? We cannot. For the wage of sin is death and a price will be paid. Be it here, in this life, by never walking in the freedom we are intended or after, in loosing our soul, for a bit of bitter dregs.
So we come and  seek, to find life. For the gift of God is eternal Life.
The seed sown in your garden comes at times by our own words of unbelief, our 
own seeds of untruth. For example, speak, depressive phrases and you end up 
depressed.
For the wages of sin --- is ----death. How to turn this around? Ah but God. 
We are most thankful for Grace. For the blood of JESUS, the flowing fount, 
that comes to wash us clean, the Holy Spirit who brings conviction
Romans 8:1 “There are therefore now no condemnation to them which are in 
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
When we repent, we in fact become restored, placed back in right standing, 
when we denounce and cut all soul ties, generational curses and walk 
according to the spirit, again we are restored.
God Longs to restore his children. He gave His Son, that we might have LIFE, 
and have it abundantly. Life, Restoration, Liberty, Redemption, Freedom is 
all in the blood. Our Lords, Blood. That ever flowing, spot remover. Who 
cleanses us from all, ALL unrighteousness.
So repent, let the gardener come with the hoe, and rid you of all weeds.
Repent and let all wages be paid in full by the blood that covers all. The 
wages of sin is death,thats the law.   But, the law of Grace now abounds, as we have the, GIFT of Life,  His Name is JESUS.
Amen