Knowing & Doing God's will - Oswald Chambers
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23
“Our Lord never insists upon obedience; He tells us very emphatically what we ought to do, but He never takes means to make us do it. … That is why when Our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an IF…. The Lord does not give me rules, He makes His standard very clear, and if my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without any hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone else in competition with Him, viz., myself. …
When once God’s Redemption comes to the point of obedience in a human soul, it always creates. If I obey Jesus Christ, the Redemption of God will rush through me to other lives, because behind the deed of obedience is the Reality of Almighty God.
…according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:20-21
“We shall all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus on the point He has asked us to yield to Him. Paul says—“My determination is to be my utmost for His Highest.” To get there is a question of will, not of debate nor of reasoning, but a surrender of will, an absolute and irrevocable surrender on that point….
When we consider what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He does not know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point; He does know. Shut out every other consideration and keep yourself before God for this one thing only—“My Utmost for His Highest.” I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and for Him alone.
They laid hold upon one Simon, . . . and on him they laid the cross.” Luke 23:26
If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight, but it costs those who do not love Him a good deal. If we obey God it will mean that other people’s plans are upset, and they will gibe us with it—‘You call this Christianity?
Our human pride entrenches itself on this point, and we say— ‘I will never accept anything from anyone.’ We shall have to, or disobey God. We have no right to expect to be in any other relation than our Lord Himself was in (Luke 8:2-3)….
We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but we shall be a grief to our Lord. Whereas if we obey God, He will look after those who have been pressed into the consequences of our obedience. We have simply to obey and to leave all consequences with Him.”
I thank Thee, O Father… because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” Matthew 11:25
“…God does not cleanse us more and more from sin, but when we are in the light, walking in the light, we are cleansed from all sin. It is a question of obedience, and instantly the relationship is perfected. Turn away for one second out of obedience, and darkness and death are at work at once.
“All God’s revelations are sealed until they are opened to us by obedience. You will never get them open by philosophy or thinking. …
“The only way you can get to know is to stop trying to find out and by being born again. Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up…. The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens and the profoundest truths of God are yours straight away.”
“Moral problems are only solved by obedience… Intellectually things can be worked out, but morally the solution is only reached by obedience. One step in obedience is worth years of study, and will take us into the center of God’s will for us.”
No one can tell us where the shadow of the Almighty is, we have to find it out for ourselves. When by obedience we have discovered where it is, we must abide there–‘no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.’ That is the life that is more than conquerors because the joy of the Lord has become its strength, and that soul is on the way to entering ultimately into the joy of the Lord.” Bringing Sons unto Glory,
