What is something that you are inclined to obey, or that you follow the lead or bidding of? Obedience is a part of everyone’s life, but sometimes people may choose to obey things which they really shouldn’t, or they have misplaced loyalty in certain things or people when they should be obedient to something else.
For example, sometimes young adults may have a certain set of rules that they have been given to them by their parents and are expected to follow, but they may be influenced by their friends at school to do something different, something their parents specifically told them not to do. At that moment they have a choice to make: who are they going to obey? Will they serve and obey the will of their parents or are they going to listen to someone else?
When you serve something you “perform duties or services for an individual or an organization.” You are a “servant,” much like one would serve someone such as a king, doing and carrying out their decrees and wishes.
Everyone has someone (or something) which they serve, but in the life of a Spirit-filled believer of the teachings of the Holy Bible there is One who needs to be served above and over anything else, and it is our Lord God, something which Joshua was adamant about doing.
Joshua 24:14-15 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Here was a man who placed himself entirely at the service of the Lord. There may have been others around him who chose to serve other things, other false gods made of stone and wood, but there was only one God who Joshua and his family were going to serve, and he wasn’t going to let anyone else change his mind.
That is a great example that we all need to follow, because as Christians we need to keep ourselves always in the service of the Lord, and make certain that we forsake the ways of our old, sinful past, and turn from serving sin to serving Christ.
Romans 6:6-7 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
For he that is dead is freed from sin.
One thing which we must always remember is that when we turn away from our sins to serve the Lord, the devil will try to lead us back into sin and try to enslave us back again into our former wicked deeds. This may happen in different forms, whether it be in the form of someone posing as a pastor somewhere, while they are actually just wolf in disguise, or a close friend or family member who tries to get you to engage in activities that are completely contrary to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. It is the types of people who are need to mark out and avoid so that we continue to keep ourselves free from the control of sin.
Romans 16:17-18 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
It may not even be a person who could be the stumblingblock to a person’s faith. Someone’s faith and service to the Lord may be tested by various temptations that one may have a weakness to. For some it may be the love of money, and for some it may be worldly possessions. For others if may be fame, among a host of other things. There are many vices in the world that one may have to resist, and must resist, if they are to be a true servant of the Lord. Whatever it is, everything else must be pushed aside if it interferes with your service to Christ.
Hebrews 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
The life of a Christian is one that keeps the Lord at the top of everything else. He is our utmost priority, and His Word is our guide that we must follow, for “it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
In Christ
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 