Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. - Romans 1:5-6
The heart of women’s ministry at First Baptist Church of Jonesboro, in 2009, will be to encourage the women in our fellowship and in our circles of influence to learn how to become more obedient in our walk with Christ. The scripture teaches that God is not only calling you to a life of obedience, but He wants you to pursue holiness.
Women of all ages are invited to be apart of this exciting journey as we search the scriptures to learn what can happen in our lives as we begin to say yes to God. Dr. Henry Blackaby says that “knowing and experiencing God is a progressive endeavor that depends on obedience.”
On the 3rd Thursday of each month, we will meet in the Celebration Room of the ROC for a time of Bible study and fellowship that we are calling Radical Obedience. At 6:30pm we will gather for a light supper and then spend an hour in Bible study. Each self-contained lesson will be led by a different teacher from our church family, followed by a time of discussion. The workbook guide for this study is entitled “A Woman’s Guide to Personal Holiness” written by Dr. Rhonda H. Kelley
Our first gathering for Radical Obedience was last Thursday night and it was great! On one of the coldest nights of the year, almost 100 women gathered at the church to fellowship together and study God's word.
Some of the teaching highlights are listed below, for complete notes see our church website at www.fbcjonesboro.com:
Isaiah 6:3 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”
R.C. Sproul states in his book The Holiness of God:
"Understanding that God is Holy is basic to our whole understanding of God and Christianity. What we understand about His person, His character and His attributes affect every aspect of our lives. Therefore, we must seek to understand what holy is. There can be no worship, no spiritual growth, and no true obedience without it. It defines our goal as Christians." The first mention of the word holy found in the Bible is in Lev. 11:44, God declared, “Be holy, because I am holy”
So you may be thinking what on earth does our women’s ministry theme for 2009, Radical Obedience, mean exactly? As God began to impress this idea on my heart last February, I began searching the scriptures to see if there was a formula or a recipe that was outlined to help us become not just obedient but instantly, immediately, radically obedient to God. The Holy Spirit led me to an in-depth study of Psalm 119.
As I began outlining that chapter, a pattern began to develop that continued to point towards total obedience to God in very practical ways. I quickly saw that in order to be obedient to God in every way, we must begin to pursue holiness!
I believe with my whole heart that God is calling His children to a new place of total trust and obedience, especially in this day and age that we live. So I truly believe that the Holy Spirit of God is working in the hearts of believers all over this world to call us to a new, more focused walk of obedience.
You might be thinking, “is she crazy……..obedience is one thing, radical obedience is another.” Well I am convinced that just a little bit of obedience is not enough, we must be wholeheartedly sold out to first seek God as Moses did and then purpose in our hearts to obey Him with an immediate urgency.
Let me give you an example, if you are married and the man you married came home one day and said, “honey, you know I love you and I want to always be faithful to you in our marriage.” Then you asked him, “What does faithful mean to you?” If he replied, “most of the time faithful, almost always I want to be faithful, or I will be faithful 50% of the time, for sure,” what would be your response to him? My response would be, “you have got to be kidding, you are either going to be faithful or else……”
Is it not the same with God when we choose a little obedience, or obedience most of the time or we want to be obedient, but it is just too hard? Ladies, whining before the Lord God Almighty about obedience is not a pretty picture.
I believe that Isaiah 52:1-2 is so applicable for where we need to stand today as believing women:
Awake, awake O daughters of Zion, put on your beautiful garments….shake the dust off your feet, arise, loose yourself from the bonds around your neck or whatever is holding you back?
Proclaiming, Habakkuk 3:9, “the Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery and my invincible army, He makes my feet like hinds fee and will make me to walk (not stand still in terror, but to walk and make spiritual progress upon my high places of trouble, suffering or responsibility.”
We are being called to walk in a place of radical obedience to our Most Holy God, proclaiming that He alone is Holy and you will march forward in the victory, promises and provision that He has made for His beloved as we seek Him with our whole heart. The whole heart issues include simple principles that we will explore during our time together this year, these are found in Psalm 119:2:
• Keeping His testimonies
• Seeking our Holy God continually
• Asking Him to show us His glory and His will for our lives
• Craving God alone with our whole heart.
As we follow these principles of pursuing holiness and walking in obedience then the scriptures tell us that we will be blessed and happy.
Holiness = Obedience = Holiness
As you reflect in the weeks ahead on the majesty of God who is HOLY, I would challenge you to begin asking yourself this question:
What does it mean for me to be holy?
Next month, we will look more closely at being a “holy people” in light of the Holy God that we serve.
May God bless you as you walk in obedience to His commands, today, tomorrow and in the days to come!
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