The Lord says when loving Him, it should be paired up with obedience.

The Bible tells us that God used older men to see if they loved Him with obedience. God shows us that nothing can stop His kingdom from being built.

Noah was 600 years old when God asked him to build an ark. He loved God and was willing to obey. Because of that we were saved. God asked Abraham who was 100 years old and Sarah 99 years old to have a child. God chose them. They loved God and obeyed. Because of their obedience we now have the nation called Israel. Moses was about 85 years old, when God asked him to lead 2 million people out of bondage from Egypt. God used these men, to show us the power of Love and Obedience used together.

It continues today with this Portuguese man (Pastor Wayne) that went to Oregon. Because of his obedience and love for God, we have a Bible college in Oregon, Hawaii and Japan training young leaders for the Kingdom of God.

We can do things, without loving the person who is asking us to do it. When you go to the gas station and start to fill gas you could say to the owner that you don’t think the gas is worth $5.00 and try to pay only $2.50. But in the end you will still pay the $5.00 because we still need to obey what the Law says. The fact that we have to obey doesn’t mean that we love the gas station owner. We pay out of obedience.

However, the Lord wants us to love Him and part of that love is obedience. We find what love means in the scriptures "If you love Me, keep My commands... Whoever has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me... Anyone who loves Me will obey My teaching... Anyone who does not love Me will not obey My teaching..." (John 14:15, 21-24 NIV)

The Lord links the words “love” and “obedience” four times in this scripture. Love doesn’t flow out of doing, but it is impossible to love Him and not obey. Sometimes we get mixed up and obey for different reasons.

So let’s look at different motivations for obedience-

1.    Motivated by REWARDS.

This is very dangerous. We should instead be more like Paul who wrote, "...for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have... I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." (Phil. 4:11-13 NLT)

Typically though, we always want to get something for nothing. In this world there is a mode of thinking called W I I F M meaning What’s In It For Me. We live in a world that wants something in return for something. We don’t do things for nothing. The danger is when we turn that kind of attitude towards the Lord - when we tell the Lord that we will obey him but then set up some kind of conditions for Him. We tell the Lord if we obey, then he should give us things we want. And we all expect the reward soon, like right now. When God stops giving we tend to stop obeying Him. We feel a disconnect from God because He did not respond with what we wanted from him. However, we don't need to ask for God's blessing, it is always there. Paul says your obedience should not be based on what you will receive or circumstances. Regardless of the situation, you should always obey God. The Lord loves you so much He gives you His word. Are you willing to follow His word and just obey?

As the Bible says, "How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart."(Ps. 119:1-2) The Bible calls them blessed who follow Him with all their hearts and not a questioning kind of heart or a doubting kind of heart. They follow Him with all their hearts because they love Him so much.

Another reason we are obedient to God is because we are being …

2. Motivated by FEAR.

It is written, "Fear the Lord and turn away from evil." (Prov. 3:7) and "So then,...just as you have always obeyed,...work out your salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil. 2:12) The Bible tells us about fear. Fear tells us that we need to walk away or sometimes hide from something. We try so hard not to make mistakes because we don't want to be hammered by God and lose the rewards in Heaven. We live our lives just enough to get by and won't engage in the building of community. If we obey only out of a fear of God, then we are wrong. God is a loving God. We all make mistakes in life. But God is a forgiving God and loves us regardless of the mistakes so long as we turn our hearts back to Him. We should not be solely motivated by fear.

We are also obedient because we are …

3. Motivated by SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Why are we so good and holy when other saints are around? Because we are obedient through self righteousness - to look good on the outside but still not have the true love for God on the inside. Lets read what the Bible has to say about self righteousness; "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matt. 23:27-28)

Above all, we should be …

4. Motivated by LOVE, without question or DOUBT.

If God says He is a healer, He will heal. If He says he is a provider, He will provide. Even if you feel it doesn't make sense because you don't see it, are you willing to believe God at His word? We should all have the centurion’s faith as told in the Bible; "But the centurion said, 'Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed'... [When] Jesus heard this, He marveled and said... 'Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.'" (Matt. 8:8-10) The centurion had so much faith in the Lord, that he trusted Him at His word.

God tested Peter’s faith by letting Peter begin to sink in the water; "Peter said...'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.' And He said, 'Come!' ... But seeing the wind, [Peter] became frightened, and [began] to sink... Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'" (Matt. 14:28-31) In the midst of the storm the Lord told Peter to come. The Lord allows us to have storms in our lives weather it is in our marriages, careers or health to test us to see if we love him enough to trust and have faith in him. He wants us to obey Him even in the midst of a storm. If we can partner Love and Obedience together, how powerful it would be for the Kingdom of God. Let’s do it for our families, church and our community.

Study Suggestions:

1. What motivates you to obey God? Why?

2. How much faith do you have in trusting God at His word?

3. What does W.I.I.F.M. mean to you?

4.  Why not be motivated by rewards?

5.  What’s wrong with being self righteous?

6.  Why should you be motivated by love without question or doubt?