A JOYFUL HEART OF OBEDIENCE

Matthew 7:21-29 NLT

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,29 for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

1. OBEDIENCE IS THE FRUIT OF . 

John 14:21 NLT

21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

Obedience to the will of God is the pathway to perpetual honor and everlasting joy. Charles Spurgeon

2. OBEDIENCE IS REFINED BY . 
3. OBEDIENCE REQUIRES DISCIPLINED . 
4. OBEDIENCE PRODUCES A LIFE

1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

You may fear that the Lord has passed you by, but it is not so: he who counts the stars, and calls them by their names, is in no danger of forgetting his own children. He knows your case as thoroughly as if you were the only creature he ever made, or the only saint he ever loved. Approach him and be at peace. – Charles Spurgeon

Notes: