Jesus said we display our love for Him by keeping His commandments. If we call Him LORD and Master, than we need to do what He says. The world does all it can to allure us and gives us false hope through empty promises. For those who remain unswayed this world and the enemy of our souls is happy to load us down with sins and weights, tries to intimidate or frighten with threats, fears, and cares, and finally kills those who refuse to yield. As followers of Christ we must not obey or even entertain voices which earnestly cry out advice from all sides allegedly for our benefit, but heed the voice of our Saviour Jesus who has demonstrated His love by dying for us.
If we will follow Christ, then intentional actions must be taken on our part. It is our actions - not only our verbal profession or mental theoretical agreement - which show we are committed to honouring God with our obedience. A great picture of this is seen in 2 Kings after Jehu was anointed king over Israel. He was ordained and commanded by God to execute judgment on the wicked house of Ahab. After Jehu killed Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah, he rode on the same day to Jezreel to execute Joram's wicked mother, Jezebel. She was notoriously evil, practiced sorcery, shed much innocent blood, and embraced idolatry. When she heard of her son's death and that Jehu rode to her, she painted her face and arrayed herself with a royal tiara. She was the queen, and she would remain dignified to the end. Jehu rode into the city, and the queen looked down upon him with disdain to accuse him of treason from a window.
2 Kings 9:31-33 reads, "Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, "Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?" 32 And he looked up at the window, and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" So two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 33 Then he said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot." God had anointed Jehu as king. As king and servant of the most high God Jehu was answerable to no man or woman - even the daughter of a king. Jehu ignored her effort to put guilt upon him and asked, "Who is on my side? Who?" He commanded her attendants to her to throw her down, which they did without hesitation. Like dirty dish water or the contents of a bedpan (2 Kings 9:37), Jezebel was thrown down from the window and died in the street. Jehu unceremoniously trampled her with his horses and ran her over with his chariot. Whilst Jehu ate his lunch, wild dogs tore the carcass apart: a fitting end for a woman who killed righteous men, prophets, and children for sport.
In this story I see myself and all people as those eunuchs who were commanded to make a choice in an instant: they had to choose if they would remain loyal to queen Jezebel (and likely die with her), or to choose Jehu's side by obeying him as king. As Christians, Jesus is the King who has chosen us, and we have also chosen Him as our King. Whatever He says to us we must do it. In following Jesus there is not only one defining moment of choosing to obey Him as those eunuchs obeyed Jehu on that day: there must be many! If we will follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him. We must be willing to throw aside all sins, idols, and things which master our flesh at His command - not so we can prove to Jesus we are faithful followers - but so we can be. If those eunuchs valued the life of Jezebel as precious on that day they would have forfeited their own. We are saved by grace through faith, and real faith works. We are called to daily work out our own salvation, for in so doing God will work in and through us. As it is written in Philippians 2:12-13, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
God asks all today: "Who is on my side? Who?" It is obedience to His commands which provides our clear answer.
If we will follow Christ, then intentional actions must be taken on our part. It is our actions - not only our verbal profession or mental theoretical agreement - which show we are committed to honouring God with our obedience. A great picture of this is seen in 2 Kings after Jehu was anointed king over Israel. He was ordained and commanded by God to execute judgment on the wicked house of Ahab. After Jehu killed Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah, he rode on the same day to Jezreel to execute Joram's wicked mother, Jezebel. She was notoriously evil, practiced sorcery, shed much innocent blood, and embraced idolatry. When she heard of her son's death and that Jehu rode to her, she painted her face and arrayed herself with a royal tiara. She was the queen, and she would remain dignified to the end. Jehu rode into the city, and the queen looked down upon him with disdain to accuse him of treason from a window.
2 Kings 9:31-33 reads, "Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, "Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?" 32 And he looked up at the window, and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" So two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 33 Then he said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot." God had anointed Jehu as king. As king and servant of the most high God Jehu was answerable to no man or woman - even the daughter of a king. Jehu ignored her effort to put guilt upon him and asked, "Who is on my side? Who?" He commanded her attendants to her to throw her down, which they did without hesitation. Like dirty dish water or the contents of a bedpan (2 Kings 9:37), Jezebel was thrown down from the window and died in the street. Jehu unceremoniously trampled her with his horses and ran her over with his chariot. Whilst Jehu ate his lunch, wild dogs tore the carcass apart: a fitting end for a woman who killed righteous men, prophets, and children for sport.
In this story I see myself and all people as those eunuchs who were commanded to make a choice in an instant: they had to choose if they would remain loyal to queen Jezebel (and likely die with her), or to choose Jehu's side by obeying him as king. As Christians, Jesus is the King who has chosen us, and we have also chosen Him as our King. Whatever He says to us we must do it. In following Jesus there is not only one defining moment of choosing to obey Him as those eunuchs obeyed Jehu on that day: there must be many! If we will follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him. We must be willing to throw aside all sins, idols, and things which master our flesh at His command - not so we can prove to Jesus we are faithful followers - but so we can be. If those eunuchs valued the life of Jezebel as precious on that day they would have forfeited their own. We are saved by grace through faith, and real faith works. We are called to daily work out our own salvation, for in so doing God will work in and through us. As it is written in Philippians 2:12-13, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
God asks all today: "Who is on my side? Who?" It is obedience to His commands which provides our clear answer.
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