Blake Jennings

Grace Bible Church

“Obedience”

Easy to Say, Tough to Do

Nehemiah 10

God calls us to rededicate ourselves today to fully obey Him. But that's no surprise! We all know we should be obeying God more faithfully. The question is, why don't we?! In this section of Nehemiah we learn how to silence the two most common objections we use to avoid rededicating ourselves to obedience.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Aug 28th, 1963

Context of Nehemiah

Ch 8-10 – Return to Worship

8 – Encounter God’s Word

9 – Respond in Confession

10 – Respond in (Re)dedication

(re)dedication

9:38-10:28 List of Participants

10:29 Oath to Obey

10:30-39 Specific Examples Given

- Intermarriage

“Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you.”

—Deuteronomy 7:3-4

- Sabbath

- Support worship

“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

—Matt 5:48

Our Application:

Rededicate yourself today to fully obey God

Rededicate to Obey

Objection #1: I don’t want to!

– Disobedience leads to slavery

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

—Romans 6:15-16

– Disobedience leads to painful loss

• Discipline in this life

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.”

—Revelation 3:19

• Loss of reward in the next

Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

—2 Corinthians 5:9-10

“He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations…”

—Revelation 2:26-27

Objection #2: It won’t work!

– This is a process, not an event

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

—Philippians 2:12-13

– Make it public

• For accountability

• For teamwork

– Make it detailed

• Focus on your weaknesses

• Detail a plan of action