Jump Start # 789

Acts 10:35 “But in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”

We are looking at what God expects from His people. One truth that this series reminds us is that God does not expect the impossible from us. He doesn’t do that. I love sports. If God said, “I expect everyone to throw the football like Peyton Manning,” just about all of us would be in trouble. Can’t do it. Physically impossible. Sometimes, we get the idea that what God expects is impossible. It’s not. We may feel that way because what He expects requires effort, attention, time, and commitment. What God expects is not something that we can just hurry through and be done with it. His expectations feel impossible because we may not want to give up the easy chair, the easy lifestyle, and the convenience and freedom of doing whatever we feel like. We can do what God expects!

Our study has shown that God expects us to be strong. God expects us to be faithful.

A third principle God expects is for us to be obedient to Him. Obedience, especially to what the Bible teaches, simply isn’t in vogue today. People like having their own interpretations to the rules. People like being able to have just as much religion as they like. Some want just a little bit. Some like more. Some want their lives smothered with it. Doesn’t matter, they think, just what ever your tastes may be. Sounds wonderful, but that’s not the spirit of the Bible. God never said that. He wants us to obey Him.

Consider:

• Mt 28:20 “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

• Heb 5:9 “And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation”
• John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come t him and make Our abode with him.”

• John 15:14 “You are My friends if you do what I command you.”

• Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed”

• 1 Corinthians 14:37 “If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.”

Our verse today reminds us of the importance of obeying God. Peter, the Jewish apostle, said to Cornelius, the Gentile, “every man that fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.” Every man! Every person! Respect God. Fear God. Do what is right. What is right is defined by God in the Bible. It’s not what I think is right. There has been times I turned down certain streets, thinking I was going the right direction when I wasn’t. There have been times when I wrote down an answer that I thought was right, but it wasn’t. What is right is not what I feel within me or what I want but what God says. He defines what is right. He tells us what He expects.

Peter is saying, God welcomes everyone that fears Him and obeys Him. Parents understand this principle. You want your child home by midnight. You expect to hear the door opening around midnight with your child walking in. If the child doesn’t come home until three in the morning, you are not happy, neither will he be once you are finished reminding him of the value and importance of OBEYING you. The government expects the citizens to obey. When I am pulled over for driving 25 miles over the speed limit, I’m in trouble. I didn’t obey. This principle is everywhere: at work, home, schools, business, taxes, speed limits. The same principle goes with God. He welcomes us when we fear Him and do what He says. Obey God.

He doesn’t want us changing what He said. He doesn’t want us trying to come up with something new and exciting. He never says, “Surprise Me.” Obey Me, is what He says. Do what I said. Do what is right. Follow the leader, Jesus. This is what God wants. This is what God expects.

This is hard for us when congregations don’t obey God. Instead of doing what is right, they do what they want. If a church is wiggly with what God says, is it any wonder that members think it is ok to do the same. Churches that are loose on this and that, or, no longer teach what God says, how can they please God? He wants all of us to obey Him. Some think following the Bible is too stuffy. Some think following the Bible won’t draw people. Instead, fun is in and doctrine is out. It doesn’t matter, some say, how you worship, what you believe, just love Jesus. That’s not what you find in the Scriptures. If you are worshipping at such a place, it’s about time you left. You need to find a place that is serious about God, serious about His word and serious about obeying Him.

You can obey God. You can do what is right. In a world that is rapidly moving downstream, you can still swim upstream. You can be holy in an unholy world. You can be righteous in a world that laughs at smut and has lost all sense of shame. You can be obedient to God in a disobedient society. People, including some in your family, will think you are weird. That’s ok, God welcomes you. It means you don’t watch what everyone else is watching. It means you walk away from some conversations. It means you find yourself on Sundays worshipping with God’s people. It means you give thought to your influence, your words, your appearance, and your attitudes. You are trying to obey God. You want God to welcome you. Some will think ill of you. Some will not invite you or include you. Some will mock you. That’s ok, you are welcomed by God. You are invited to His home, Heaven.

I love churches and families that are trying to obey God. You won’t find people selling popcorn or high wire acts or doing your taxes at churches that want to please God, but you will find solid Biblical teaching and serious and incredible worship of God. I fear that some may leave a church service and not know if they have been to the circus, rock concert or worship of God. Things should not be that way. Remember, our God is upon the throne, not a stage!

Do what is right. Do what is right, even if it is hard. Do what is right, even if that includes apologizing, forgiving, accepting or going out of your way. Do what is right.

If you make it your life to do what is right, God will welcome you! He expects you to do what is right.

Roger