THE IMPORTANCE OF OBEYING GOD

Presented by

Blake Brown

I know that I’m not very old. And I know that I still have a lot of stuff left to learn as I grow up. But even though I’m still young, there are some important things that I’ve already learned.

For example, I already know about some things that can save my life. I know that I cannot play baseball on a city street. If I do, I might get run over and killed by a car. I also know that I cannot do drugs, because if I do, some of those drugs could hurt me or cause me to die.

I also have learned that there are times when I have to obey people who are trying to help me. I know that if a traffic policeman tells me not to cross the street, I should obey him for my own safety. I know that if my teachers tell me to do something, it is because they are trying to teach me important lessons. And I know that if my parents tell me not to do something, it is for my own good.

But one of the most important lessons that I have learned is that if I disobey, then bad things happen to me. If I disobey my teachers, I get a bad conduct grade on my report card and I get in trouble when I get home. If I disobey my mom, my dad, or my granddad, I sometimes get a spanking. I don’t like spankings. And I don’t like getting in trouble. I’m beginning to figure out that the way to stay out of trouble is to do what I’m told. If I obey, I don’t get in trouble. Plus, I’m happier, and I have more fun. It also makes my parents and teachers happier when I am good instead of bad.

As I come to church, read my Bible, and prepare sermons like this, I am learning something else that is important. God expects us to obey Him, too. And when we don’t, bad things can happen to us. In Numbers chapters 20, God told Moses to speak to a rock so it would give water to the people. But Moses disobeyed God. As a result, God would not let Moses go into the Promised Land. In Genesis 19, God told Lot and his family to leave Sodom and not look back. But Genesis 19:6 says, “Lot’s wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” Lot’s wife died because she did not obey God. In 1 Samuel 15, God told King Saul to go fight a war. God also told Saul not to bring any people or treasures back from the war. But King Saul disobeyed God. He brought back both people and treasures. Because Saul disobeyed, God would not let him be king any more.

In 2 Peter 2:4, the Bible tells us what happened to some angels who did not obey God. Peter said, “God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell.” Hell is a place where God sends bad people who will not obey Him. That scares me. I don’t want to go to hell. I want to go to heaven where Jesus and God live.

But in order to go to heaven, I have to obey God and live a good Christian life. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” I know that I have to obey my parents if I want to go to heaven. And I know that I have to obey God, too. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” I do love Jesus. And I do want to obey Him. I hope you do, too, because I would like to live in heaven one day with all of you.