Divine Majesty and Human Rebellion: A Call to Obedience

Devotional

Day 1: The Majesty of God and Human Rebellion

The majesty of God is evident in His creation and His control over nature, such as the sea obeying His command. This divine authority should inspire awe and obedience in humanity. However, there is a stark contrast between nature's obedience and humanity's rebellion. Despite God's numerous restraints and blessings, humans persist in sinning against Him. This rebellion is a grave offense against a holy God, highlighting the depth of human sinfulness. Reflecting on this, individuals are called to recognize the gravity of their disobedience and the need for humility and repentance. [06:13]

Jeremiah 10:12-13 (ESV): "It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses."

Reflection: In what ways have you been ignoring God's authority in your life, and how can you begin to acknowledge His majesty today?

Day 2: The Ineffectiveness of Human Restraints

Despite the many restraints God places on humanity, such as gratitude, Scripture, and personal experiences, humans continue to sin. This highlights the insufficiency of human efforts to achieve righteousness and the necessity of divine grace for true obedience. The sermon challenges individuals to recognize that their own efforts are not enough to overcome sin and that they must rely on God's grace to maintain obedience. This realization calls for a deeper dependence on God and a humble acknowledgment of one's limitations. [09:35]

Romans 7:18-19 (ESV): "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing."

Reflection: What is one area in your life where you have been relying on your own strength instead of God's grace? How can you shift your focus to depend more on Him?

Day 3: Gratitude as a Motivator for Obedience

Gratitude for God's salvation and blessings should be a powerful motivator for obedience. However, even this is often insufficient to prevent sin, revealing the stubbornness of the human heart and the need for ongoing grace. Believers are reminded that while gratitude is important, it must be coupled with a reliance on God's grace to truly transform their lives. This calls for a continual posture of thankfulness and dependence on God. [15:51]

Colossians 3:16-17 (ESV): "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Reflection: How can you cultivate a heart of gratitude that leads to genuine obedience in your daily life?

Day 4: The Consequences of Sin for Believers

Believers are reminded of the personal and spiritual consequences of sin, including the loss of God's presence and the pain of remorse. This serves as a warning to remain vigilant and dependent on God's grace to avoid falling into sin. The sermon encourages believers to reflect on their own struggles with sin and to seek God's help in overcoming them. It emphasizes the importance of repentance and the need to stay close to God to experience His presence and peace. [21:29]

Psalm 51:10-12 (ESV): "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit."

Reflection: What specific sins are hindering your relationship with God, and how can you seek His forgiveness and restoration today?

Day 5: The Call to Non-Believers

The sermon calls non-believers to recognize their guilt and the futility of self-reliance for salvation. It emphasizes the need for a new heart and the transformative power of God's grace, offering hope through faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and eternal life. This is an invitation to accept Christ's salvation, highlighting that despite the depth of one's sin, forgiveness is available through faith in Jesus. Non-believers are encouraged to consider the state of their hearts and the possibility of a new life in Christ. [39:08]

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (ESV): "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."

Reflection: If you have not yet accepted Christ, what is holding you back from receiving His forgiveness and new life today?

Sermon Summary

The sermon draws from Jeremiah 5:22-23, emphasizing the majesty and power of God as seen in creation and His control over nature, such as the sea obeying His command. This divine authority should inspire awe and obedience in humanity. However, the sermon highlights the stark contrast between nature's obedience and humanity's rebellion. Despite God's numerous restraints and blessings, humans persist in sinning against Him. The sermon challenges both believers and non-believers to reflect on their disobedience and the gravity of sin against a holy and loving God.

For believers, the sermon serves as a reminder of the many ways God has tried to restrain them from sin, including gratitude for salvation, the warnings of Scripture, personal experiences of sin's consequences, and the guidance of Providence. Yet, despite these, believers often find themselves rebelling against God. This rebellion underscores the need for God's grace to maintain obedience and the importance of humility and repentance.

For non-believers, the sermon is a call to recognize their guilt and the futility of trying to save themselves through their own efforts. It emphasizes the need for a new heart and the transformative power of God's grace. The sermon concludes with an invitation to accept Christ's salvation, highlighting that despite the depth of one's sin, forgiveness is available through faith in Jesus.

Key Takeaways

1. Believers:** The sermon calls non-believers to recognize their guilt and the futility of self-reliance for salvation. It emphasizes the need for a new heart and the transformative power of God's grace, offering hope through faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and eternal life. [39:08]
** [39:08]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:11] - God's Majesty in Creation
[00:44] - The Call to Fear God
[01:15] - Nature's Obedience vs. Human Rebellion
[02:53] - The Lesson from the Stars
[04:20] - Human Response to God's Power
[05:59] - The Greatness of Sin Against God
[06:41] - The Sea's Obedience
[09:03] - Restraints on Humanity
[10:42] - Historical Examples of Human Rebellion
[15:03] - Believers' Struggle with Sin
[19:31] - The Saints' Sin Against Love
[23:32] - Providence as a Restraint
[27:24] - A Message to Sinners
[35:38] - The Need for Divine Grace
[41:12] - Christ's Sacrifice and Salvation

Sermon Clips

The almighty power of Jehovah so clearly manifest in the works of his hands should constrain us his creatures to fear his name and prostrate ourselves in Humble reverence before his throne when we know that the sea however tempestuous is entirely submissive to the behests of God that when he saith hitherto shalt Thou come but no further it dares not encroach. [00:00:56]

God here contrasts The Obedience of the strong the Mighty the Untamed sea with the rebellious character of his own people, the sea saith he obeys me it never breaks its boundary it never leapeth from its Channel it obeys me in all its movements, but Man Poor puny man, the little creature whom I could crushes The Moth will not be obedient to me. [00:06:27]

The doctrine of the text seems to me to be this that without Supernatural means God can make all creatures obedient save man, but man is so disobedient in his heart there are only some Supernatural agency can make him obedient to God, while the simple agency of sand can restrain the sea without any stupendous effort of divine power more than he ordinarily puts out in nature. [00:09:56]

Adam is in the garden pure and holy he has restraints that one would think strong enough to prevent his committing a sin so contemptible and apparently unprofitable as that by which he fell, he is to have the whole Garden in perpetuity if he will not eat of that tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. [00:10:54]

The world has become corrupt it is altogether covered with iniquity, fourth comes a prophet, Enoch prophesies of the coming of the Lord declaring that he sees him coming with ten thousand of his Saints to judge the world, that world goes on as profane and unheeding as before, another Prophet is raised up and cries yet a little while and this Earth shall be drowned in a flood of water. [00:12:03]

The sea is restrained by sand, we admire the beautiful poetic fact, but man being naturally more ungovernable than the storm and more impetuous than the ocean is not to be tamed he will not Bend his neck to the Lord nor will he be obedient to the god of the whole Earth, but what of this fact you say we know it is true we do not doubt it. [00:14:09]

First then remember there is a Restraint of gratitude which to the lowly regenerated heart must necessarily form a very strong motive to obedience, I can conceive of nothing that ought so much to prompt me to obedience as the thought that I owe so much to God, o heir of Heaven thou cans look back to Eternity and see thy name in life's Fair book set down. [00:15:34]

The saint can look back on the time when sin hung like a millstone around his neck and he felt the terrible flame of remorse burning in his soul and knew how evil a thing and bitter it is to sin against God, and yet the Saints sins, now if the unconverted man's sins he does not sin against his own experience. [00:21:48]

There have been Seasons when the strong hand of sin has appeared for a while to get the Mastery over us and we have been dragged Along by some strong inherent lust, which we were prone to practice before our regeneracy, we were intoxicated with the lust, we remember how pleasurable it was to us in the days of our iniquity how we reveled in it. [00:23:57]

Ye Sinners God has a controversy with you he tames the sea but ye Will Not Be Tamed nothing but His Marvelous Grace exerted in you will ever check you in your lusts you have sinned against warnings and reproofs against providences mercies and judgments and still ye sin, o my hearers when you sin you do not sin so cheaply as others. [00:35:32]

I am glad thou knowest thy guilt but oh do not increase that guilt by seeking to wash it out in the foul stream of thine own resolutions, go and tell God that thou knowest thy sin and confess it before him and ask him to create in thee a clean heart and renewing the right spirit, tell him thou knowest that thou art rebellious. [00:38:38]

It is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save Sinners even the chief, art thou a sinner then he came to save thee, oh joyful sound I'm ready to LEAP in the Pulpit for very joy to have this to preach to thee I can clap my hands with Ecstasy of heart that I am allowed again. [00:40:46]

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