1Samuel 15:22-23, “22 But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry”
In Luke 6:46, Jesus asks this question, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? He is trying to show some common sense in this passage. He asks in the first part of his question, “Why do you call me Lord,” of your life and yet you don’t obey me as Lord? Doesn’t Lord have some clout to it, showing a place of supreme importance? In Hebrew the word Lord means “supreme in authority, controller, (as respectful title) God, Lord, master, sir”. Seeing this definition gives credence to his question. Think of a building land lord. He is the lord of that land. If the land lord says you can live here or you can’t live here, they are the lord of the land (building) and therefore their word goes. In the second aspect of His question notice he doesn’t say “You don’t hear the things I say,” but rather you “…do not do what I say.” The Message Bible says it like this, “Why are you so polite with me, always saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘That’s right, sir,’ but never doing a thing I tell you?” Jesus is trying to show the inconsistency that He sees, with calling the person in charge, Jesus, Lord, yet disobeying His will. You can’t call Jesus Christ Lord and yet still live completely contrary to His Word. If you do, it only proves that He is not really your Lord.
Matthew 7:6-8 illustrates this beautifully as Jesus says, He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” Notice the words near and far. These people Jesus is speaking of had lips that were near calling Him Lord, yet their heart of obedience was far from His heart and will. Jesus doesn’t want mere lip service, but a surrendered heart service. The position of your heart, near or far, will determine the position of your obedience.
Hear the words of doctor Luke as he wrote Jesus’ analogy on the wise and foolish builders. Luke 6:47-49 reads, “I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
Jesus is showing that there is no way your life is going to crash by the weather patterns of life when you are obedient to His word, but the disobedient life will have a complete collapse and total destruction. The testing ground will determine if the kind of person you profess to be, an obedience follower, is what you really are.
Consider the words of the Apostle Paul, In 1Corinthians 13 known as the “love chapter.” “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” I personally don’t promote this movie however a friend of mine used to utter these words from the movie Billy Madison when he said, “I see your lips moving but I can’t hear your words.” Jesus sees many lips moving but He wants those moving lips to translate into obedient words shown by a tested life which displays faithful obedience to the Lord.
Application: Do you call Him Lord, and if so where is you obedience? Where is your heart today near or far? Read Psalm 139:24 – 25, Blessings Pastor Phil
He Has Magnified His Word 