The Position of Obedience Part I

The Position of Obedience Part I

Scripture Reading:  Kings 3:1-28; Nehemiah 3:26; Ephesians 5: 15-21

I want for you to spiritually grow your prayer life. Reading about the wisdom of Solomon indicates to God’s children that we become “dear” (Monday’s study) to him as we actively pursue asking and receiving wisdom from Him.  In these stories, we see God’s promises that when we are fully seeking His plan, we are given wisdom and clarity on life’s decisions that can take our lives from simply living to developing a sanctified legacy. God wants us to use His word as a lamp to our feet, but with each step have the ability to move forward with the same wisdom and clarity that King Solomon demonstrated.  

The story in Kings Chapter 3 tells of a dispute between two mothers. Both birthed a son, but one mother’s son died in the night as she was holding him and he suffocated, but scripture tells us that she “laid” on him, which possibly indicates that it was an accident. The grieving mother grabbed the other mother’s living son in the night and put the dead child in the other unsuspecting mother’s arms while she slept. When the guiltless mother awoke, she knew the dead child was not the son she gave birth to. The dispute reached the King, and in verse 3:27 we see that King Solomon discerns with clarity which lady is the actual mother of the living son and resolves the dispute.

1. Obedience requires asking for the wisdom of His will

In verse 9 what does it say Solomon asked the Lord for.  “ So give your servant a ________________ heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” Now, notice how the Lord answers in verse 10.  It says “The Lord was _____________that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for _____________ in administering justice, ¹² I will do what you have asked. I will give you a ________ and ________________ heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.”  The Lord rains down spiritual blessings on Solomon showing favor because Solomon’s genuine desire of his heart was to know the Lord’s will and honor His will in his life. Solomon also BELIEVED that apart from God’s wisdom, nothing could be truly successful and joyful.

We see in King Solomon’s life many similarities that compare with the blessed life of Abraham. In verse 13, the Lord gives Solomon “___________” and “___________” and promises Solomon “that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings for all of your days”. Well, if you remember from Genesis 18:18 and 24:1, the Lord “_____________” Abraham in _____ things.

We see in both of their lives, that neither of them asked the Lord for Earthly things and the fruits of their lives reflected the power of the Holy Spirit working through them to lead God’s people. Yet, the Lord blessed them in all things: spiritual blessings, financial blessings, social blessings, and physical blessings. They asked for wisdom and received wisdom and were great among their nations. The Lord blessed them with legacies that were never matched by any other individuals in the history of time.

2. Obedience means FULL surrender to His Will

Daily life brings along opportunities for jobs, extracurricular activities, parenting, friendships, family relationships and marriage, lifestyle decisions, and discipleship experiences.   In Solomon’s story in Kings verse 3:14, after Solomon received wisdom from the Lord, the Lord commands Solomon to “___________ in My ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” Solomon obeyed and the first thing he did after he “awoke” (remember the importance of being awake from Tuesday’s lesson) is he GAVE sacrifices to the Lord, offered ________   and  __________  offerings to  ___________  his people (refer to verse Kings 3:15).  Here we see the character of God: AWAKENING – GENEROSITY – SERVICE - Solomon being an imitator of God, (refer back to Monday and Tuesday readings).  

Walking in obedience as “dear” children of God means that we seek Him first, to ordain our day, identify the relationships and opportunities that are part of His design and not our own desires. John 3:30 says, “That ______ become _________________, and _____  become  _______________”. Asking and acting on this in every aspect of our life is true obedience.

Don’t miss this one!!! Look in Ephesians 5:15-19. Scripture commands us to walk “ __________________, not as fools, but as __________”. (17) “Therefore do not be ______________ , but know what the will of the Lord is. (18) And do not be ____________ with __________, in which is dissipation; but be ___________ with the ___________, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”. These are some of the clearest and most simple steps the Lord provides for us to know how to walk in His Will and experience the complete joy He promises.  The command to not be drunk with wine but Full of His Spirit basically tells us that our Earthly things, whether its food and beverage, furniture, clothes, recognition, reputation, self image, etc. can never fulfill us and should never be our crutch to experience any sort of “high”. True fullness of joy exists walking in His Spirit under the wings of the Lord’s will and nowhere else.  The completeness of joy He promises in John 15:5 is not obtainable or known by anything that we can own, achieve, or develop.   

3. Wisdom bears the fruits of worship, praise and thanksgiving

Go back and read Genesis 24. Wisdom through the generations was followed by worship and praise. “And I ___________ down and  _____________  the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.”

Go back and read Ephesians 5.

5 ¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (17) Instead, be ___________with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with ___________, hymns, and songs ___________ the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving ___________to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ezra 3:11 tells us that they built a house for the Lord for the children of God to worship in, and after they received wisdom, took action to build, when it was complete, scripture says, “With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.  When we receive wisdom from the Lord for our lives, we are to praise Him and thank Him. Active spirituality and obedience produces the fruits of worship, praise, and thanksgiving. When we love Him above loving ourselves, obedience is manifested in our life.

Take a minute to list a few praiseworthy fruits of the Spirit in your life:  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As you read through these scriptures, think about the moments in your life where you really needed wisdom and discernment. When a mother births a child, she is certain that it happened without any hesitation or doubt. She never forgets the experience of birth. Every one of you has been subject to a mother sharing her birth story. The level of certainty about our salvation and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives should be even greater than this.  Every step we take in every area of our life needs to begin on our knees before the Lord, asking like Solomon and Abraham and Isaac, for wisdom. Receiving wisdom from Earthly experts is powerless and receiving wisdom from the Lord is powerless without application in our lives. Fervent radical prayer, getting in the Word, and taking action with His Word as a lamp to our feet has to happen! Every day that we do not obey an active pursuit of His plan for our lives is a day that we live without the spiritual blessings and completeness of joy that He is holding for us. If we are walking in light, in love, and in wisdom, we can be sure that our next steps are His design and not our own and His promises for completeness of joy will be fulfilled…so Just Wise Up Already!,

Dig Deeper:

What areas in your life are you struggling right now to hear from Him? Where do you struggle most with having wisdom and discernment? What changes can you make in your day to prioritize time in His word and prayer to bear fruit of the Spirit?
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Prayer Direction:

Spend your prayer time today asking the Lord to give you wisdom in the specific areas you listed out in the dig deeper section. Ask the Lord to give you discernment on areas / circumstances / relationships in your life that you need to change or let go of.