Blessing and Favour Through Obedience – Part 2

It is not just the motivation-to-works concept that bothers me about the obedience-blessing approach. What also bothers me about this whole thing is the way in which Christian teaching on the whole has tended to veer towards over-spiritualizing things and blowing things out of proportion. I feel that tendency towards sensationalism is found to a great extent in modern teaching on obedience. To illustrate what I’m getting at here, read the following article quoted below:

Did you know that when God spoke to Noah about building the ark, it had never even rained before? Can you imagine that? Noah knew people were going to make fun of him or call him crazy. I’m sure he had every opportunity to talk himself out of it. He could have come up with plenty of excuses. But Noah didn’t do that. He recognized that God had asked him to do a difficult thing, and he chose obedience. Noah didn’t run from the challenge; he chose to believe God. Noah’s obedience is what opened the door for God to supernaturally empower him to fulfill his destiny. Now he is one of the great heroes of faith.

If you will decide to do the difficult things God is telling you to do—even when it looks impossible—if you’ll choose to be obedient, then God will do more than you could ask or think. He’ll take you places that you’ve never dreamed of. He’ll bring up out of you gifts and talents that you never even knew you had. He’ll empower you to fulfill your destiny, and who knows, you may become the next hero of faith.

From Today's Word with Joel Osteen - June 8, 2009 [Devotional]

The above text is rather typical for popular, modern-day Bible teachers. Be honest, can you really say that you have not heard this kind of thing a hundred times before? The truth is that we love the thought of rising to such a challenge. It is exciting to put yourself in the place of one of the Old Testament heroes such as Noah, Joseph, Joshua, Caleb, Moses, Ruth or Esther.

There is always the feeling of excitement when you contemplate the thought that:

• God has some incredible, world-changing and impossibly difficult challenge set before you.
• These incredible challenges will always come to you packaged in some kind of supernatural, other-worldly means of guidance: a vision or an audible voice.
• There will be some sort of struggle on the inside as you battle with your own doubts and self-confidence – as if it is always going to be something that is not in your heart already; something that is not natural for you to do.

This epic struggle is seen throughout the Bible, especially the Old Testament. The Psalms depict many situations in which David struggles with his conscience and labours long and hard with his devotion to God. Then there is the classic tale of the Prophet Jonah who was told to go to a certain place and prophesy by the Lord; he disobeyed and was swallowed-up by a whale!