Dare to Obey God Instantly

Scripture

Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am well pleased.” Jesus was passionate about instantly obeying God the Father. This was His lifestyle, doing the will of God at all times and in all situations. Just look at the cross and that fact becomes obvious. Being a Christian male means making a sacred commitment that you will say “Yes” to God even before you know what He is asking of you. That means God’s will and your “Yes” are synonymous. Once you settle the issue that you are going to obey God, most of the questions and issues in your life become simplified. This is seldom the easy way.As a Wingman, you are focused on two things: discovering God’s will and doing God’s will. At age 30, Jesus began His public ministry with an obvious act of obedience. He was baptized by John the Baptist. This was a bold step announcing to the world Jesus’ intentionality to obey God, the Father.Although John the Baptist resisted baptizing the Son of God because he felt unworthy, he also obeyed God by baptizing Jesus. Baptism became the event in a believer’s life to boldly proclaim his identification with Christ. A godly man does not hide his Christianity but lovingly, boldly declares it in his words, actions, attitudes, and the things he doesn’t do.Obedience to God doesn’t mean a man is fearless; it simply means he has faced his fears and chosen to obey God in spite of them.

From these Scriptures we learn some specific lessons about masculinity:

1. Make it your mission daily to obey God, instantly doing whatever He tells you to do, when He tells you to do it, and where He tells you to do it.
2. Get your baptism in order.
3. Place your fear, convenience, and comfort on the altar. Tell God that doing His will is more important than your comfort or convenience.
4. Every day tell God: I am submitting my life to doing Your will. My answer is Yes.” Make this the first statement you make when you wake up each day and the last thing you think about before you go to sleep.
5. Pray daily that you will have the courage and the boldness to speak of your faith while being sensitive to your environment. Remember, boldness for God is not the same as being militant for God. One is attractive, the other turns people off.

When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.“Excuse me,” Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?”“Sorry,” the woman told him. “I’m supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person.”“But I’m starved,” the governor said.“Sorry,” the woman said again. “Only one to a customer.”Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. “Do you know who I am?” he said. “I am the governor of this state.”“Do you know who I am?” the woman said. “I’m the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.”

Always remember God is the One in charge. Someone has said, “He is in management and I am in sales.”