Obey Your Authorities Deut. 11:18-20 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
In life, the Lord has given you authorities to guide you, to protect you and to care for your well-being and the well-being of others. You are to obey your authorities in this life. When you do things will go well for you.
Obey the Bible – Deut 11:18-20 – the Bible is your supreme authority in your life and it will guide you all of your days – I used to think that the Bible was there to simply show me that everything fun in life was wrong and that everything good in life was boring – I saw the Bible as a strait jacket – I thought that if I did what it said I would only be doing it because I OUGHT TO – but then I started doing what it said and found out that I do what it says not because I HAVE TO but because I WANT TO – the place of greatest satisfaction, peace, joy, rest, success, and so many other things is in obedience to God’s words. Wesley’s private seal read, “Believe-Obey-Live.”
Obey your parents – Prov 6:20-23 – your parents are your first human authority and you should always do what they say, when they say – parents do not be reluctant to lay down the law and to enforce it when you are disobeyed – you must be firm and principled in your commands – you must also live in accord with God’s words so that your commands are strengthened by the authority of God – the centurion was a man under authority and so his orders were carried out by his subordinates – likewise when you obey God’s words, your commands have more weight. Lincoln’s mother made him promise her on her death bed that he would never drink whiskey or smoke tobacco. He promised and he kept his promise.
Obey the law – Rom 13:1-5 – the laws of the country are, for the most part, good for you – they should ALL be obeyed – when you break the law, you break the ordinance of God – when you obey the law, you have the assurance that you can proceed in life quietly, peaceably, godly and honestly – parents, if you break the law, don’t be surprised when your children don’t want to obey you – perhaps they learned to rebel by watching you – when the laws truly go contrary to the Bible, then follow the Bible – for instance, some things are legal that are contrary to the words of God. Sparta’s safety lay in her citizens knowing how to obey.
Obey your teachers – Prov 5:12-13 – for the most part, your teachers will have your best interest at heart – so obey them – get used to taking orders from men and follow those orders – obedience helps you to build good character – now because some teachers are not godly you will encounter a conflict when they teach things that are contrary to the Bible – go with the Bible. A new employee proved himself obedient and trustworthy in moving a pile of bricks and thus became his employer’s agent in the sugar market.
Conclusion: When you neglect to obey your authorities, you are a rebel – when you rebel against them, you rebel against God – and when you rebel against God you are in big trouble – you step out from the protection of their commands and enter the realm where the devil has control – that’s why rebellion is as the son of witchcraft [1 Sam 15:23] – you don’t have any idea how to handle yourself in the devil’s realm – but you can be sure that his ultimate desire will be to win you over in your liberty from these authorities until he can completely destroy you. The safest place to be in the world is in complete obedience to the Bible, your parents, the law and your teachers.