Isaiah 1:19) If you are willing and obedient you shall eat THE GOOD OF THE LAND.
This means also that we will eat and enjoy the good taste of the goodness of God and the good life & taste of abounding grace. How? Through obedience and faithfulness to God continuously. When He sees we mean business and that we mean what we say and say what we mean TO HIM, then His smile and rejoicing with singing over us and our lives stretches and increases. This means He multiplies His Favor into us and into our lives and our daily joy and smile increases, not by mans power, nor by mans might, but by the Spirit of the Lords Favor for the Joy of the Lord is our gladness and strength.
When we turn from our sins and disobedience, and really start to bring forth fruits worthy of genuine repentance, God as always sees. Nothing is hid from His All Knowing. When we really on purpose with unwavering devotion make the decision to do Gods will and obey His voice (HIS SONS WORDS) and carry that covenant commitment out; We will start to see God and Jesus in diverse ways and in different manners manifesting themselves to us and in our lives as PROMISED.
Read John 14:21) He who has my commandments and keeps them (OBEYS THEM), he is the one who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I will come and manifest MYSELF to him.
Read Zephaniah 3:14-20....These verses reveal to us THE BLESSINGS that occur when the judgments or the spankings of the Lord for our sins and disobedience is finally removed from us and from our lives. It is liberating and Joy giving. Lets Read.
Zephaniah 3:14-17}
vs 14) Sing daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O Israel. Be glad and rejoice with ALL YOUR HEART, O daughter of Jerusalem.
vs15) The Lord has TAKEN AWAY YOUR CHASTISEMENTS (Judgements), He has cast out your opposition (Enemies). The King of Israel, the Lord of Glory, is in your midst. (He is manifesting Himself, His Presence to them) You shall see no more disaster or those chastisements.
16) In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear; Zion let not your hands be weak.
17) The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One will save; He will Rejoice over you with Gladness. He will Quiet you with His Love. He will REJOICE OVER YOU WITH SINGING......This means God is smiling again upon them and their lives with His Presence and Favor that yields inside them Gladness and Joy. Read John 15:9-14.
John 15:10-12) Jesus Speaking....If you keep my commandments (Obey Me), you will experience the reality of My Presence & Love; Just as I have kept My Fathers commandments for me and enjoy the reality of His Presence and Love.
vs 11) These things have I spoken unto you, so that My Joy may remain in you and that your joy be made full.
vs 12) This is my commandment for you that you love one another as I have loved you.
THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH AND THE OBEDIENCE OF BEING A DOER OF JESUS WORDS (OBEYING JESUS) IS THE KEY THAT UNLOCKS GOD AND HIS SON IN US AND IN OUR LIVES REALITIES AND MANIFESTATIONS. Now granted, there are special callings in which God selects vessels, even flawed people, to raise them up to show His Power in and thru, all at Gods own desire and choosing, not theirs. But to all believers God promises that He and Jesus will be extra real to us all (IF)(IF)(IF) we are dead to self, dead to the lust for this world, and constantly, faithfully do what Jesus hath told us to do and what he by the Spirit tell us to do.
John 15:14) You are my friends (Think about that. You are ALMIGHTY GODS FRIENDS) If you do whatever I command you. Yalahoolahoo, LOL. What a great close friend to have. He is speaking in this friendship manner about covenant interactions and transactions. You see we are all Gods children In Christ Jesus, that is if we have believed and received Christ into our hearts (See Revelation 3:19-22), but just like the prodigal son, you can choose to walk away from Gods House and Presence and His obedience path for you. It is your free will to do so. (Remember, He did not keep Adam and Eve from the bad tree. He fully honors and respects our own choices. We should all know this by now).
But out there walking on that Spirit quenching path of disobedience, God cannot approve and therefore He cannot rejoice over you with singing lest doing so you become deceived into thinking with God everything is acceptable when in fact it is not. Its to sinful a place for Him/His Spirit to agree with or to blend with. His Holy Spirit cannot harmonize with sin and disobedience therefore you will not experience His Friendship Benefits as much, neither the real joy of His Presence. The flow of His favor you have quenched because your heart is far from Him, even though he is right in the middle of you keeping His covenant promise to stick to you by the power of the Cross of Christ. You are ignoring Him and that unfriendly sin is making Him push the ignore him button back. You are reaping what you _ _ _ _ _? sowed
But when we with purpose of heart really give the Lord our life in obedience, we experience His fuller Friendship, His Blessings. His Presence With Persecutions from time to time. Sorry, no way around that in this world according to Jesus' teachings.
Have you ever had a really real good friend that loves you. One no matter the need, or the situation, you can trust him, you can confide in him and call upon his name for this or for that and you know fully in your heart you can count on him with friendship assurance and joy to faithfully respond to helping you and aiding you. That is what Jesus meant when he said. If you do whatever I say you will be my friend, Gods Friend.
Brothers & Sisters this is a most beautiful path and covenant friendship that God and Jesus His Son has offered to all of us, and He offers it to us now while we are on earth. He knows how much we really need He and the Fathers covenant friendship down here. But only few have experienced this great promises life and fuller relationship with Jesus. Why? Lack of real constant, unwavering devotion to Jesus to do all he commands of us and lack of humbleness of heart. Think about it. When you woke up this morning and you sat down to fill out todays agenda and activities, did you say, Lord my life and this day is all yours. What is on todays agenda. Or was your own mind going 90 to nothing filling up the page for todays events. See what I mean? Jesus said his covenant friendship is more fully experienced IF we do whatsoever He says for us to do. It is achievable.
Friends only a few have fully given the Lord all their hearts love and their all to His will. Some 30, some 60, some a hundredfold (Mark chapter 4). But God can turn it around so that we experience more of His covenant friendship benefits. Lets believe Him to do so forevermore.....Father you are the potter and we are the clay. Turn our clay into vessels of obedience to Jesus Christ in all things forevermore
In closing I want to give us a covenant friendship verse of scripture that tells and confirms all the light in this loving Jesus and obeying Jesus lesson. John 15:7-8.
John 15:7) (IF) you remain in me and My Words remain in you (This means you continue to believe me, obey My words, what I tell you, say to you. Remain is a continuing word of marrital level love, friendship, faithfulness and trustworthiness. You are known to Him as one who loves Him. You are dependable to Him. Willing and obedient to the terms of the marrital vows and covenant relationship.....If you remain in me and My Words remain in you (Believingly, Obeyingly) you shall ask your hearts desire and IT SHALL BE DONE FOR YOU. In other words as Jesus said in John 15:14 , you are my covenant friends IF you do whatever I ask of you. You do this and I will show you my covenant friendship to you; I will do what you desire and ask of Me. But notice. We must do what He desires and says to us FIRST. HE IS LORD AND HE IS ALWAYS BOSS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.The other way around is where the failure has come from. God is not our slave or our maid as if there in our lives just to be used now and then when we find we want Him or suddenly need Him. NO NO NO. He is I Am that I Am and it is and ever shall be as He first said about covenant friendship with God, the number one rule, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. In other words He is your everything. Your life, the breath you breath, your all in all and you love Him and obey him with marrital like covenant vow keeping, friendship, love and faithfulness. This is covenant interaction and transaction.
Friends, we cannot expect to plant the seeds of ignoring God and His Sons words in disobedience and unbelief and half hearted devotion in the garden of our life and reap God doing all we ask of Him. That is covenant transgression. That is broken friendship. It's time to GET REAL.....Amen
Thank You Lord for this Word of God today. Amen
deno......please share freely