The Obedience Dilemma pt. 2

Mark Finley: Matthew 6, verse 33 says, "Seek you first. Seek you what? Seek you first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Mark Finley: This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, "The Obedience Dilemma," Part 2. Enjoy, and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up-to-date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: So, Revelation's appeal, in Revelation 14, verse 7, "Fear God," is an appeal for priorities in our lives. It is an appeal to make Christ the priority of our life. Colossians 3, verse 2 says, "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things of earth."
Mark Finley: Notice the verb here, "set your mind." "Set your mind" means to make a conscious, decided choice. A decided choice to place Christ first in your life and to make your greatest desire to please Him.
Mark Finley: Now, what does it mean to give glory to God? Fearing God has to do with your thinking process, a thought process in which you desire to obey Him, to please Him in whatever He asks. Now, what does it mean to give glory to God? Because remember our text says, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come."
Mark Finley: So, in the hour of God's judgment, we live respectful, reverential lives that obey God, and we say, "God, whatever you ask me to do, I want to do." Giving glory to God has to do with our lifestyle. It has to do with the way we live. Fearing God has to do with what we think, the commitment in our minds to obey Him.
Mark Finley: Giving glory to God has to do with what we do, carrying out that commitment in our minds, in our lives. As you look at life today, there are many people that have this idea. They have the idea that their body is some kind of funhouse, and whatever is pleasurable, they want to do that, whether it's smoking, drinking, whatever they eat.
Mark Finley: Their idea is, "Look, what I take into my body is separate and distinct from my faith." Their idea is that I can believe in Christ, but yet I can act how I desire. When we come to Jesus Christ, we act not how we desire, but how He desires. We do not what we want, but what He wants.
Mark Finley: Our daily commitment is like the commitment of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Remember what Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane three times? He said, "Father, not my will, but your will be done." Was Jesus looking forward to the cross? Did He walk to the cross singing the doxology, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow"? Not at all.
Mark Finley: Jesus knew that He would be betrayed by Judas. He knew that His closest followers would forsake Him. He knew that He would have nails driven through His hands and be filled with pain and anguish. He knew as well that He would bear the sins of all humanity on Calvary's cross. Jesus knew that.
Mark Finley: He said, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me, but not my will." Jesus took the cup of suffering, the cup of sorrows to save you and me. As we come to Christ and enter into the depth of His love, life becomes not one insane desire for pleasure, but it becomes a deep commitment to do God's will, a deep commitment to please Him in all things.
Mark Finley: We pray with Jesus, "Father, not my will, but Thy will be done." We say, "Lord, I want to glorify You in everything. I want to glorify You in what I take into my body. I want to glorify You in the example that I make to other people." Some time ago, I was helping a dear lady quit smoking. She had smoked for over 30 years.
Mark Finley: She was a grandmother by now and loved her grandchildren, often told me about her grandchildren. And she was having this terrible struggle to quit smoking. I was praying for her, I was quoting the promises of God for her. And one day she came to see me and she said, "Pastor, you're never going to guess what." I said, "What is it?" She said, "I quit. I quit." I said, "Well, what, what motivated you? What prompted you?"
Mark Finley: She said, "You know, I was sitting in a chair at home, my favorite chair, watching my favorite TV program, and I had lit up a cigarette and I was smoking it. And my little granddaughter jumped up on my lap, little six, seven-year-old, and she looked in my eyes and said, 'Grandma, when I grow up, I want to light a cigarette just like you. I want to hold it just like you hold it, Grandma, and I want to smoke just like you.'"
Mark Finley: She said, "Look, Pastor, I love that girl so much. I know that I have the raspy throat. I know that I have the, the burning in my lungs. I know the potential. And Pastor, I would not want that for my daughter. My love for her, I, I give this up. I throw this down." If love for a granddaughter can cause a grandma to give up cigarettes. If love can do that, doesn't our love for Christ fill our hearts and say, "Lord, whatever it is, alcohol, tobacco, foods that are destroying my body, a lifestyle of worldliness and the pleasures of this world"?
Mark Finley: "Lord, I want to set my affection on things above. I want to give glory to You in what my eyes see. I want to give glory to You in what my ears hear. I want to give glory to You in everything I do." Somebody says, "Is not this legalism?" This is not legalism. This is Christianity. In Christianity, we live not to please ourselves. In Christianity, we live to please the living Christ.
Mark Finley: In Christianity, our desire is one thing. Our desire is to say, "Lord, whatever it is in my life, I desire to please You." Romans 12, verse 1 says, the Apostle Paul says, "I beseech you, that as I urge you, I admonish you, I beseech you therefore, brethren," that's brothers and sisters, men and women, "by the mercies of God, because God has given you mercy, because God has given you grace, because God has saved you by His love, by the mercies of God, that you present," notice, this is a volitional choice, "you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Mark Finley: Here the Apostle Paul makes this urgent appeal. He says, "I beseech you by the mercies of God to present your bodies." Now, notice, the New Testament Greek word for bodies is *somata*. Now, *somata* is an interesting word. What word do we get from the word *somata*? What word do we get from that in English? That's right, sum. You get sum or summary.
Mark Finley: And so what Paul is saying here is, I beseech you therefore that you present your bodies. And he uses the word for bodies as *somata*. What does that mean? It's better translated as the collective sum of who you are, your body, your mind, and your emotions. So, what Paul is saying is, "I'm beseeching you that you present your mind to Christ. You present your body to Christ. You present your emotions to Christ. You present the sum of everything you are to Christ."
Mark Finley: This is the message of that first angel, "Fear God, obey God, make a decision in your mind to respect Him, to please Him in everything you do, and let that be translated into your life to give glory to God in the things that you look at." How would you feel if Jesus were sitting next to you when you were flipping the dial of the television? How would you feel if Jesus were with you when you walked into that TV theater?
Mark Finley: How would you feel if He was sitting next to you when you were flipping through the Internet? How would you feel if Christ were with you in the late hours of the night when you're watching a late-late show? You see, Jesus invites us to give Him our minds. And He's given us in scripture a screen for our minds. You know, the Bible says in Philippians, chapter 4, verse 7 and 8, it says there that God is going to keep our minds.
Mark Finley: When the whole world's going to lose its mind to worldliness, to secularism, to humanism. Then he tells us how to put a screen on our minds. You know, I live in Virginia, and the state of Virginia, not far from Washington, D.C., and at the summertime, we like to open our windows. My wife and I love to get the draft to come through. And but we have screens on the windows. Why do you put screens on the windows? You put screens on the windows to keep the mosquitoes out.
Mark Finley: God puts a screen on our mind. Here in Philippians, chapter 4, the Bible puts it this way, in verse 8. "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are good report, if there's any virtue, any praise, think on these things." Whatever things are true. So, you fill your mind with that which is false, and then you try to read the Bible, and the Bible seems boring, insipid, and dull.
Mark Finley: But why? Because you filled your mind with fictitious tales. You fill your mind with violence and it changes your character, you become impatient much more quickly, because by beholding we become changed. It's a law of the mind that it gradually adapts itself on the subjects it's allowed to dwell. See, this message of the three angels is a message of restoration, to restore us into the image of God by the transformation of our thinking process and the transformation of our minds.
Mark Finley: And so God appeals to us to give Him our bodies, to give Him our minds, to give us our, give Him our emotions. Romans 12, verse 1. You know where it says there, "which is your reasonable service." I love the way Philip's translation puts it. "I beseech you therefore, brothers and sisters, I urge you, that you present your bodies, the sum of who you are, mental faculties, physical faculties, emotional faculties, as a living sacrifice."
Mark Finley: Well, Philip's translation says as an intelligent act of worship. So, when we come to Christ and give our whole lives to Him, and make the mental decision to fear Him, obey Him, or respect Him. When we make the decision to give glory to God in our hearts and minds, that indeed is an intelligent act of worship. In fact, 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 17 adds, "If anyone destroys the temple of God," see, we're temples, we are not a funhouse.
Mark Finley: "God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." So, our bodies are the temple of God. God longs for what we put into our minds and feed our brains with that mental food, what we feed our bodies with physical food, God wants to restore us into His image, so the image of God can shine gloriously without us and through us.
Mark Finley: We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers and effectively share with confidence His life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: You see, what you eat or drink impacts how you think. And so, as we eat food that is unhealthful, it clogs the bloodstream, the red blood corpuscles bringing oxygen to the brain. Where does the Holy Spirit communicate to us? Not from our, not through our big toes or our fingernails, but through our brains. And so, God longs for us to be in health, not only so we live six, seven, eight, ten, twelve years longer.
Mark Finley: Not only so that we will be free from many of the diseases that afflict the human race in this generation. He longs for us to have healthy bodies. He came for us to be in abundant health, certainly. John 10, verse 10 says, "I've come that you can have life and have it more abundantly." But there's something beyond that. The message of the first angel is to prepare us mentally and physically for the coming of Jesus.
Mark Finley: God longs through His Holy Spirit to prepare us for that great day when Jesus will come again. And He wants us to have clear minds so we think clearly, so we sense the moving of His spirit in our hearts and in our minds. So the appeal of Christ in this final generation is, "Place your body, place your mind, place your emotions on the altar as a living sacrifice to Christ."
Mark Finley: Paul says, "I beseech you, you present your bodies as a living sacrifice." It is an appeal to make God the center of our lives. For some people, appetite is the center of their life. For some people, entertainment is the center of their life. For some people, dress is the center of their life. But God appeals to you, God appeals to me to make Jesus Christ the center of our lives.
Mark Finley: We give glory to God as we reveal His character to the world through lives committed to doing His will in this final moment of Earth's history, in these last days of Earth's history, in this end time of Earth's history. There is a message. A message that's pictured as being carried by three angels in mid-heaven. The story of these three cosmic messages is more thrilling than any Star Wars trilogy or any Star Wars drama.
Mark Finley: It is the intergalactic struggle, the battle for the universe. It is the battle for the throne, and God sends a message to us. A message as is important for this generation as Noah's message for his generation. A message as important as John the Baptist to prepare men and women for the first coming of Christ. It is a message to restore men and women into the image of God.
Mark Finley: It is a message to restore men and women back to knowing Christ in a deep, intimate way. It is a message that restores the mind and the thinking process, a message that restores health to the body. It is a message to fear God, to reverence, respect Him, and make a commitment to obey Him. It's a message to give glory to Him. Give Him glory in everything we eat and drink and every single thing we do.
Mark Finley: It is a message of grace, a message of salvation in Christ that transforms our lives into obedient believers. Now, the Apostle Paul calls us out of the pettiness of our self-made worlds to the largeness of the worlds that Christ made. Paul was in a prison. He was there in the Mamertine Prison in Rome. Paul is an old man now. The year is in the mid-60s AD.
Mark Finley: Paul writes with trembling hand. There are deeply etched lines upon his face. And he writes about his life. He writes back to the church at Philippi that he visited approximately 10 years before. And Paul writes these words. He says, "Hold fast to the word of life." Paul makes an appeal, an appeal to the generation that then was, and that appeal is made to us as well. "Hold fast the word of life. Do not compromise your integrity and accept human tradition and man's opinions, but let your mind and heart be filled with the word of God. Hold fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ. Hold fast to the Bible, cling to the word of God. Let the living Christ change your life by His grace so you're obedient to the word. Hold fast to the word of life, so I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain or labored in vain."
Mark Finley: "Yes, I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith. I am glad and rejoice with you all." Paul says, "I'm rejoicing in the hope of Christ, the hope of His salvation, the hope of the cross that gives me the assurance that my sins are forgiven, the hope of Jesus' high priestly ministry there, that from the sanctuary above He'll give me power to endure this trial. The hope of His second coming." But Paul says, "I'm being poured out as a drink offering. I'm being poured out on the altar of sacrifice for Christ." Every single one of us pour out our lives for something.
Mark Finley: Paul poured out his life for Christ. He poured out his life to share Jesus, to live for Jesus, to be an ambassador for Christ. Every single one of us pour out our lives for something. You know, not everything that is legitimate is beneficial for the cause of Christ. I have people come to me all the time and they say, "Pastor, what's wrong with this? Pastor, what's wrong with that? Pastor, what's wrong with the next thing?" There are many things that may be legitimate, but as a Christian, not legalistically, you voluntarily choose not to do them. Why? Because you are so sold out for Christ.
Mark Finley: Now, look, there is legitimate entertainment for the Christian, but not everything that is indeed legitimate. We desire to do. Why not? Because our hearts are sold out 100% for Christ. Others may be able to do it, but you voluntarily because of love for Christ, say, "Look, I'm not interested in that. I'm not interested in that. I was interested at one time, but I have a bigger purpose to live. I have a larger purpose to live. I have a grander purpose to live. I have a greater purpose to live for. I'm no longer interested in that. Invest your life in Christ and for Christ." That is the deepest joy. That is the greatest happiness in life.
Mark Finley: Some people pour out their lives in their work. Other people pour out their lives in sports. We all are pouring out our lives for something. And Jesus says, "Pour out your life in commitment to me. Pour out your life in service for me. Pour out your life in witness for me." Some people pour out their lives in pleasure and entertainment. They are pleasure mad. Did you read about that interesting experience, experiment that one of the great Eastern universities did with monkeys?
Mark Finley: They wanted to find out what was the greatest drive in these monkeys. So they took an electrode and put it in the pleasure center of the monkey's brain. They identified where that pleasure center was in the monkey's brain. And as they put that electrode in his brain, they were able to push a button outside of the cage of the monkey that sent an electrical impulse across the wires, down into the electrical, through the probe, into the monkey's brain.
Mark Finley: Now the monkey, every time that electrical impulse would come, the monkey would jump up and clap and get happy, do cartwheels in the cage. Then they put food in the cage, press the electrode button. The monkey wouldn't eat the food, he was so excited about being so happy, so pleasurable. They put the most beautiful female monkey in the cage. He didn't care about that female at all. Didn't care about his children at all. All he wanted to do was have pleasure.
Mark Finley: Then you know what they did? They put the pleasure button in the cage and taught the monkey how to push the pleasure button. The monkey kept pushing it, pushing it, pushing it. The monkey actually killed himself from pleasure. There are scores of people in this life that are pouring their life out for worldly pleasure and entertainment. And as they do that, they are destroying their spiritual life because they're obsessed with the next greatest movie.
Mark Finley: They're obsessed with the next greatest music phenomena in the rock world. They're obsessed with the greatest next program on Netflix. And they're so absorbed with that that their spiritual life is being totally strangled. We all pour out our lives for something. Some people pour out their lives in pleasure and entertainment. Some people pour out their lives in time-consuming, all-absorbing, mind-numbing digital devices. Now these things are certainly not wrong used in proportion, used in moderation.
Mark Finley: But look, if that's what you're pouring your life out, if that destroys human relationships, if it absorbs your devotional time for Christ. You see, the three angels' message in this first angel's message, "to fear God and give glory to Him," is not some superficial message like some child waiting in a kiddie's wading pool to pick up pennies. I call you not to something superficial. I call you not to something that is simply child's play religion that makes you feel good.
Mark Finley: I call you today to something deep, to preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ, to fear God with all your heart, to live obedient, godly lives, to give glory to God. We all pour out our lives for something. Why not pour out your life for that which counts, that which matters for the Kingdom of God? Why not pour out your life for Jesus Christ and make Him number one in your life?
Mark Finley: Revelation will have a people that overcome. They overcome the worldliness and humanness that sucks the spiritual life out of us and strangles us. There are believers in every generation that have overcome. And Christ appeals to you today by His grace, through His power, to be an overcomer. Revelation 21, verse 7 says, at the end of time, "Those who overcome will inherit all things." God has something amazing for you, something beyond your wildest dreams.
Mark Finley: Don't throw it away for the cheap pleasures of this world. The Bible says that God will have a group of people, Revelation 14, verse 12, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." They keep God's commandments not out of some legalistic obligation, but changed by His love, charmed by His grace, redeemed by His power. They live obedient lives because they know that that is the very best way to live. They know that's the happiest way to live.
Mark Finley: Jesus said, "I've come that they might have life and they might have it more abundantly." Notice they keep the commandments of God and they have something. What do they have? The faith of Jesus, not simply faith in Jesus, but the quality of Christ's faith lives in them.
Mark Finley: You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.
Mark Finley: They have the faith of Jesus living in their lives because they know Christ. They've spent time with Christ. They've prayed to Him. They've opened the word, and Jesus has entered and changed their lives. We overcome not because of who we are, but because of who He is.