Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 407 | There Is Reward in Keeping God’s Commandments

Transcript

407 | There Is Reward in Keeping God’s Commandments · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

• 0:00
  Music.
• 0:07
  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries,
• 0:11
  where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
• 0:18
  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
• 0:21
  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
• 0:25
  or on our website at watwm.org,
• 0:28
  we invite you to sit down with us as we look to the scriptures to learn more
• 0:33
  about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
• 0:38
  Living her life for Christ. She's a happy girl.
• 0:38
  Music.
• 0:48
  She's a happy girl.
• 1:02
  We fill our minds with so many things and place our trust in many things that will ultimately fail.
• 1:09
  Join us in this podcast from Woman at the Well Ministries as Kim takes us on
• 1:14
  a journey through the scriptures, revealing the firm foundation that a knowledge
• 1:18
  of God's word provides for those who seek the Lord.
• 1:22
  Listen to this message out of Proverbs 3 to discover the benefits of knowing and living God's Word.
• 1:29
  Our kind and most gracious to Heavenly
• 1:30
  Father, Lord, I thank you for this opportunity to come before you.
• 1:33
  I thank you for your love and your mercy and your amazing grace.
• 1:37
  And I just ask that you would flood our hearts with your presence,
• 1:40
  that you would open up our minds, that you would just remove me from the message.
• 1:46
  And Lord, just you speak what you would have each of us to hear and may it fall
• 1:50
  on fertile ground so that each
• 1:52
  of us would take away something that would make us grow closer to you.
• 1:57
  Lord, we lift up every prayer request and we just pray that you would just speak
• 2:01
  to us in great and mighty ways.
• 2:03
  And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
• 2:06
  Chapter 3, verse 1 reads like this, My son, forget not my law,
• 2:12
  but let thine heart keep my commandments.
• 2:15
  For length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee.
• 2:19
  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Bind them about thy neck.
• 2:24
  Write them upon the table of thine heart.
• 2:27
  So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
• 2:32
  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.
• 2:37
  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
• 2:41
  Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
• 2:47
  When we open up this chapter, he says, let thine heart keep my commandments.
• 2:56
  And I've thought about that for a long time. Like, what does it mean?
• 2:59
  And what is he trying to say to us?
• 3:01
  You know, the heart is the core of who we are. and
• 3:05
  i believe he's telling us that we need
• 3:08
  to make him and the
• 3:11
  obedience to his word our core
• 3:15
  foundation so that we know his word and we understand what he's saying to us
• 3:22
  and we we let our hearts keep those commandments so that what he says is what's leading us,
• 3:32
  What the Bible tells us to do, his commandments, is our marching orders.
• 3:38
  And then he says, when you do that length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee.
• 3:45
  So there is a return on the investment for following the ways of Jesus.
• 3:49
  And if you think about that, that makes perfect sense.
• 3:53
  Because, one, he has saved us to spread the gospel.
• 3:58
  And if we're doing that in the manner that he would have, we are certainly a
• 4:02
  positive here on earth in his kingdom.
• 4:06
  Two, we're living the life he intends for us to live.
• 4:10
  And John 10.10 says that he come that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
• 4:16
  And so if we're living that abundant life and we're living, as he says,
• 4:20
  live, then we're probably not doing things that are going to be destructive,
• 4:26
  that are going to add to the destruction that sin in this world already plays upon our lives.
• 4:33
  And so we see that he says, if we keep his commandments in our heart,
• 4:38
  your intent, your purpose, your goal is to obey his commandments,
• 4:44
  then you're going to be walking in his ways and your life is going to be in
• 4:49
  alignment with what God has for it to be.
• 4:52
  And then he says, let not mercy and truth forsake thee.
• 4:57
  Bind them about thy neck and write them up on the table of thine heart.
• 5:02
  Again, we're talking about our foundation. We're talking about what drives us,
• 5:07
  what motivates us, what inspires us.
• 5:10
  And scripture says that we are to keep his commandments in our heart and let
• 5:16
  them rule. But then he also says, write mercy and truth on your hearts.
• 5:25
  So we are to walk in truth. And the Bible says in John chapter 14,
• 5:28
  verse 60 says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
• 5:32
  And no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
• 5:34
  So if we have truth in our hearts and we're following truth, we are following Jesus.
• 5:41
  And the scripture says in John chapter 1, verse 14, that the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
• 5:47
  And so we are following Jesus.
• 5:50
  Then we are following the truth. and
• 5:53
  when we follow the truth we're going to have long
• 5:56
  days and we're going to have peace and
• 6:00
  the Lord's going to give that to us and so we're
• 6:03
  walking into to the verses that
• 6:06
  most of us know most commonly from Proverbs chapter 3 but we can't forget these
• 6:12
  first three verses and then look what he says in verse 4 he says so shall thou
• 6:18
  find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
• 6:24
  God will make our enemies lie down before us when we are following him in obedience,
• 6:29
  when we are doing what he asks us to do, when we are listening to his voice,
• 6:36
  when the still small voice of the Holy Spirit begins to instruct us and comfort us,
• 6:43
  and we begin to follow in obedience what he says, there's a lot to be added to us.
• 6:48
  And he says we'll find favor, not just in the sight of God, but we will find
• 6:53
  favor with man because God orchestrates our steps and we are following the way God would have us to.
• 7:02
  And in doing so, we get the blessings of God.
• 7:08
  So it's this wonderful circle of blessing.
• 7:11
  We do the right thing and we have peace and joy. We follow the commandments
• 7:17
  of God and make that the goal and the purpose of our life and the center foundation of who we are.
• 7:24
  And we find favor not only with God, but we find favor with man as well.
• 7:30
  And it is incredible that God would look down on man.
• 7:35
  In fact, in Psalms 8, he says, What is man that thou art mindful of him,
• 7:38
  and the son of man that thou visitest him?
• 7:41
  We are important to God. important enough
• 7:44
  that he gave his life for us we are
• 7:47
  loved by him so greatly that he shed his blood to pay a sin debt we owed that
• 7:53
  he didn't know so you can't doubt the love of god god is love and he stands
• 8:01
  beckoning us to come to him even tells us to come all you that labor and are.
• 8:08
  Take my yoke upon you because my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
• 8:13
  And he trades that for our trouble and our wickedness we see in Matthew 11, beginning in verse 28.
• 8:19
  It's incredibly important as we walk into verses 5, 6, and 7 that you comprehend
• 8:26
  the breadth and depth of the love that God has for you.
• 8:30
  And what he's asking you to do
• 8:33
  is live the abundant life by following him because he has a plan for you.
• 8:38
  Jeremiah 29 11 tells us he has a plan for us to prosper us, to give us a hope and an expected end.
• 8:46
  He has a great plan for you. And it's to live in his abundance of his blessings.
• 8:52
  Yes, his favor, but his joy, his peace. What would you give for peace?
• 8:58
  The world is giving everything they can for peace.
• 9:01
  And they're searching and they're seeking, but they're missing the point.
• 9:05
  You will never have peace until you have alignment with God.
• 9:09
  Because deep in your heart, deep in your soul, God has asked you to come to him.
• 9:16
  And you were created with his breath in you.
• 9:20
  And so our soul longs to be reunited and be restored with Jesus.
• 9:25
  And he says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
• 9:29
  He stands with nail-scarred hands saying, come to me.
• 9:34
  He's saying, call unto me, and I will answer thee and share the great and mighty
• 9:38
  things which thou knowest not in Jeremiah 33.
• 9:42
  He's saying, come boldly to the throne of grace that you would find help in
• 9:46
  time of need in Hebrews 4, 14 through 16.
• 9:50
  He explains that he's a high priest that knows what we've gone through because he's been here.
• 9:57
  He walked among man, yet he was sinless.
• 10:01
  And he says, bind these things on your heart. Be merciful and kind.
• 10:06
  We understand mercy and we understand kindness because every single day he extends
• 10:14
  that to us and he gives us unmerited favor.
• 10:18
  And here he says, you'll find favor and good understanding in the sight of God
• 10:23
  and man if you just follow what he says.
• 10:26
  We have nothing within ourselves that would enable us to stand in the presence
• 10:32
  of God, let alone stand in the presence of God in good favor.
• 10:37
  But because he loves us, because he cares for us, because he provided for us.
• 10:44
  Before we were even born, we not only can stand in his presence, we can have good favor.
• 10:51
  And in doing so, all he's asking is to live your best life possible.
• 10:56
  Live your best life means living in the will of God.
• 10:59
  He will protect you. He will help you. He will supply your need.
• 11:04
  He will give you peace. He will give you joy. He will direct you.
• 11:08
  He will instruct you. He will satisfy you.
• 11:12
  I'm afraid that many Christians today are not satisfied with Jesus.
• 11:19
  It's his old taste and see that the Lord is good.
• 11:22
  Everything about him is good. And he says in Romans 8, 28, that he works out
• 11:28
  all things for the good to them that love the Lord to them that are called according to his purpose.
• 11:33
  So the obstacles in our life, they don't surprise him. They don't overtake him.
• 11:38
  They don't overwhelm him.
• 11:40
  Even when we've put them there ourselves, he has a way of helping us to get out when we come to him.
• 11:46
  He says in 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive
• 11:50
  us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
• 11:54
  So if today is the first moment you thought, I need to get my heart in alignment with the God.
• 12:01
  If today is the first day you thought, I need to find his truth in my heart.
• 12:05
  I need to look at his word because the Psalmist David said that it's a light
• 12:10
  into our feet and a lamp into our path.
• 12:12
  If I am just now recognizing that this is the way, you can start right now.
• 12:20
  Because he is standing, loving you and asking you to come. Mrs. Whosoever.
• 12:28
  I've been caught a lot of things in my life, but the biggest opportunity came
• 12:33
  when I was caught at Whosoever.
• 12:36
  Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
• 12:41
  For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believeth
• 12:46
  in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
• 12:49
  So what does it mean to believe in him?
• 12:52
  Let's continue on with verse 5, 6, and 7.
• 12:55
  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.
• 13:01
  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
• 13:04
  Be not wise in thine own eyes.
• 13:07
  Fear the Lord and depart from evil. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.
• 13:12
  What does that mean for us in a practical sense?
• 13:14
  That means that you're not hedging your bets.
• 13:17
  I'm going to put some faith over here in Jesus, and I'm going to put some faith
• 13:20
  over here. I'm going to read all these self-help books, and I'm going to do what it says.
• 13:24
  And if they kind of seem to make more sense to me, then I'm going in that direction.
• 13:28
  No, we don't need self-help. We need to submit to God, our helper.
• 13:35
  And we need to allow him to rule and direct and instruct us.
• 13:41
  And when you trust him with all your heart, that means you give up your will.
• 13:45
  You recognize that you don't know it all.
• 13:49
  You can't see the future. You can barely remember the past. And you may not
• 13:54
  be recognizing the present.
• 13:56
  But Jesus Christ himself, the son of the most high God and the Holy Spirit that
• 14:01
  dwells within you knows no time.
• 14:04
  Time is not a boundary for them. They are living in the past,
• 14:07
  the present and the future all at once.
• 14:09
  And so as the things come into your life, which they allow through nail scarred
• 14:14
  hands, hands that have already proven their love for you, they understand what
• 14:18
  you need to make you who you ought to be.
• 14:20
  They understand what you need to know to live your best life possible.
• 14:26
  And all it requires of you is to trust in the Lord with all your heart and not
• 14:31
  lean into your understanding.
• 14:33
  To just realize that no matter how smart you are, no matter how much you know, know how many walls,
• 14:40
  how many degrees are pasted on your wall, you need to come to him like the woman
• 14:46
  at the well, realizing that you need what he has.
• 14:50
  And when you come to him in need and you ask him to fill you,
• 14:55
  he'll do for you what he did for the woman at the well and you will leave and never thirst again.
• 15:01
  You will be fully satisfied.
• 15:04
  But you got to trust in him.
• 15:07
  And you've got to know him to trust in him. So perhaps you need a little more time in the word.
• 15:14
  Says the study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not
• 15:17
  to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth in 2 Timothy.
• 15:22
  Here's what he's got to say. In all thy ways acknowledge him,
• 15:26
  and he shall direct thy paths. That's a guarantee.
• 15:32
  Acknowledge and pray. Let your prayer requests be made known.
• 15:35
  And with thanksgiving the peace of god shall keep your hearts and minds through christ jesus,
• 15:42
  that will keep him in perfect peace whose mind has
• 15:45
  stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee according to
• 15:48
  isaiah 26 3 and again he says call unto me in jeremiah 33 3 he says in matthew
• 15:55
  7 7 ask and it shall be given you seek and you shall find knock and it shall
• 16:01
  be open unto you he tells us in Jeremiah that you will find him when you seek
• 16:05
  him with your whole heart.
• 16:08
  Jesus loves me, this I know, or the Bible tells me so.
• 16:13
  And when I ask him, he delivers. He's our refuge.
• 16:18
  He's our strong tower. He's our buckler and our shield.
• 16:25
  He says that he layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. He's a buckler to
• 16:28
  them that walk uprightly.
• 16:32
  He says in verse 12 of Proverbs 2, he says to deliver thee from the way of the
• 16:37
  evil man, from the man that speaketh forward things.
• 16:41
  We can't neglect the ways of God.
• 16:44
  We need to acknowledge him, invite him into our life. And he says in Revelations
• 16:49
  3.20, behold, I stand at the door and knock.
• 16:52
  If any man will let me in, I'll sup with him.
• 16:54
  He's just waiting for you to say, hey, come be part of my life.
• 16:58
  And in verse 7, he says, be not wise in thine own eyes.
• 17:02
  That's just saying the same thing he said in 6. Don't trust on yourself. That's what he said in 5.
• 17:08
  Lean fully and wholly and completely on me. Then he says, fear the Lord.
• 17:14
  Know that he has judgment in
• 17:16
  his hands, that there's no more condemnation to them that love the Lord.
• 17:21
  But what he says so important in verse 7
• 17:24
  he says depart and in
• 17:27
  8 he tells you're rewarded with good health you can't
• 17:30
  out give god in your hearing we've read seven or eight verses we've spoken many
• 17:37
  more each of them tell us that if we give him just a little he gives us abundance
• 17:43
  and all he requires is that we trust him.
• 17:48
  And I've got good news. He's trustworthy.
• 17:52
  I've got amazing news. He's the most powerful, the all-knowing,
• 17:58
  all-loving God, and nothing can separate you from the love of God. He loves you.
• 18:06
  He's capable of holding you and keeping you, no matter how good you think you are.
• 18:12
  Even if you think you're all that and a bag of chips, you cannot do for you
• 18:17
  what God has already done is continuing to do.
• 18:25
  And what he wants to do. But he's a gentleman. He won't overpower you.
• 18:32
  You've got to invite him in. And you've got to trust him.
• 18:36
  And then you'll watch Ephesians 3.20 unfold in your life.
• 18:40
  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly. Above all that we ask or think.
• 18:48
  According to the power that works in you.
• 18:52
  I told you he was all powerful. scripture backs that up.
• 18:57
  So if you're living a life that has no power, it's not because of Him.
• 19:03
  It's because of how much you are allowing Him to work through you.
• 19:09
  Live your best life. Trust in the Lord, only not into your own understanding.
• 19:15
  Oh, how He loves you, and oh, how He loves me.
• 19:19
  I read it. It's truth, and it never fails. Let's pray.
• 19:26
  Music.
• 19:33
  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
• 19:37
  quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
• 19:40
  We pray today has been a blessing, and we encourage you to reach out to us through
• 19:44
  our app, our website, or our Facebook page.
• 19:47
  You can find our app by searching for Woman at the Well Ministries in your app
• 19:51
  store or through our website at watwm.org.
• 19:55
  We're on Facebook at facebook.com slash watwm.
• 20:00
  If you visit our website, you'll be able to subscribe to Bible Bits,
• 20:03
  a daily devotion written by Kim and delivered Monday through Friday by text message.
• 20:08
  Woman at the Well Ministries is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving
• 20:13
  our Heavenly Father. and it is through your loving and generous support that
• 20:17
  our ministry continues to bless others.
• 20:19
  To learn how to partner with Woman at the Well Ministries, please visit our website.
• 20:23
  Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
• 20:29
  We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
• 20:34
  Remember that God loves you, you.
• 20:37
  Music.