Obeying Without Delaying—Posted 09/30/2006



The story is told this way.

There was a man, a preacher, who was urged by the Holy Ghost to go and pray for a hospitalized man. Upon arriving at the
hospital, this preacher found the floor the sick man was being held on and made his way toward the sick man's room.

A nurse happened by and the preacher inquired of the sick man and was told by the nurse that he was too late, that this sick
man was already dead.

Wondering what God's purpose in all this was, the preacher insisted to the nurse that God had spoken to him to come and pray
for this sick man. Finally, the nurse stepped aside and the preacher went into the room.

Sure enough, there lay the sick man, under the sheet...dead.

No pulse. No heartbeat. No breath.

The preacher could have questioned God's motives. He could have felt dejected and confused. Who knows, maybe he did a
little?

But he remembered that God had spoken to his heart, "Go and pray for that sick man."

So, the preacher did. He prayed.

No thunder rolled in the heavens.

No voice spoke from Heaven.

No movement came from the dead man.

Nothing happened at all. Nothing.

The preacher left the hospital room.

He went home.

He did not question God. He went on living his life.

Several hours went by and the phone in the preacher's house rang.

It was the sick man. The dead man.

ALIVE. Did you see that correctly? A-L-I-V-E

The hospital workers had wheeled the dead man to the morgue, and the funeral director had come and taken the body to
prepare it for burial.

While the dead man lay on the table to have his bodily fluids drawn out, and to be embalmed, God breathed life back into that
man. He sat up on the table.

He was alive.

Why?

Because of one man's obedience.

One preacher understood the importance of obeying without delaying when God speaks.

This is an absolutely true account. This happened to the father of a man I personally know. Many of you who are reading this
may possibly know this man's son.

(you can even contact me if you want to know who this man is)

But sir, ma'am, young person, this happened.

Obeying without delaying...

Obedience is simply doing what you are told.

The dictionary reads as follows: obedience is the act of complying with the commands, orders, or instructions of one in
authority.

The Bible gives many examples of the benefits of obedience.

Joshua 1:8 tells you that obedience is the price of spiritual success.

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe
to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good
success." (emphasis mine)

Simply stated, you must "do" all that is in God's Word, to find success in your spiritual life.

God's Word says in I Samuel 15:22 that obedience is preferred over sacrifice by God.

"And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold,
to obey is better than to sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." (emphasis mine)

You are also instructed by Jesus in Matthew 7:21 that obedience is the only way to get to Heaven,

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father
which is in heaven." (emphasis mine)

Peter taught that obeying God took precedence over satisfying man in Acts 5:29.

"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."  (emphasis mine)

As you can see from scripture, obedience, man's ability to do as God desires, is what God is looking for the most.

Recall the story of the preacher. He obeyed God and did not see any immediate results, but he still obeyed.

He still "did".

God speaks to man all the time. Through preachers. Through teachers. Through friends and family. Through life itself. Through
the Holy Ghost during seasons of prayer.

God is speaking to someone now...through this very message.

He just wants your obedience. Your decision to follow His Word, to go His Way, to do His Will.

This will take faith my friend.

I strongly encourage you to take time to read Hebrews chapter 11. This is widely known as the "Faith Chapter".

I have recently been studying this chapter myself. So many of the great patriarchs of the Bible are listed in Hebrews 11, and their
faith in God is acclaimed in these verses.

But verse 39 is stunning in it's context. It reads,

"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received NOT the promise:” (emphasis mine)

The great "faithful ones" listed throughout these scriptures, including the likes of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, Moses and many more, all obeyed God's command through faith, but still did not "receive the promise".

This promise was the promised and coming Christ.

Jesus Christ was and is this promise to all who now come to God in full and absolute obedience.

You must yield to God's plan. This is obeying.

You must do as God says. This is obeying.

You must learn to trust God's voice regardless of the circumstances surrounding you. This is obedience.

And ultimately, you must immediately move when God says move.

This is obeying without delaying.

What will you do now?

II Corinthians 6:2 says,"...behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation.)”  (emphasis mine)