I believe that no act of obedience
should be thought of as insignificant. Every time we speak a kind
word, or put a shopping cart back in its proper place, the Light of the
world shines in darkness and the powers thereof are forced to acknowledge
defeat. In each obedient act, from opening a door for our wife, to
praying a critical prayer for a brother or sister at death's door, the
kingdom of God finds expression in the earth.
Jesus said the one who is faithful in the small
things will be put in charge
of large things. I believe He said this
because love and respect are best exemplified in the small things in life.
Obedience in a small area resounds with responsibility, commitment, and
sincerity; it resounds with respect for God and with working together
with Him. And every act of obedience (large and small) inherently
proclaims that Jesus is the Christ and that by the power of His love He
transferred us into His glorious kingdom, where His name is not only spoken,
it is honored.
Dear friends, because of His great love for
us Jesus offered Himself up,
a pure sacrifice for sins, and, in so doing,
He disarmed the rulers and authorities; that is, through the shedding
of His blood He rendered powerless and ineffectual the weapons that had
been used against the children of Adam since the Garden of Eden.
In His obedience unto death
the scripture was fulfilled, 'No weapon that
is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that accuses
you in judgment you will condemn.' And now we who believe in Him
may proclaim, "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their
vindication is from Him." Whosoever will may now forsake the futile
ways of our forefathers and partake of the inheritance of the saints, and
walk obediently with God through faith in Jesus. (The law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death,
and we are no longer bound to the selfish idiosyncrasies
of the old nature, but are free to put on
the godly virtues of the new. And
as we consider ourselves dead to the world
and alive to God, we find that He, in turn, works within us, both to will
and to work for His good pleasure; His kingdom comes, His will is
done, on earth as it is in heaven.)
We who have been so fortunate to taste the
mercies found in Jesus, and have received this great salvation, should
be living proof of these eternal truths. Through the blood of His
cross we should follow our Lord's example and continually offer ourselves
to His Father and our Father, becoming living sacrifices in all things;
to the end that the kingdom of God might find expression in us, and bear
fruit in the earth. We should be as branches grafted onto a vine,
who, having no sustenance in and of ourselves, now receive our lifeblood
from the obedient One who loved us to the uttermost.
As disciples of Jesus we are to testify of
Jesus; that is, we are to bear witness that God raised Him from the
dead and gave us life in His Spirit. We bear witness to these truths
in our obedience; for each act of obedience speaks of His blood of
the covenant, giving evidence before the principalities and powers, and
before all creation, that it is both powerful and perpetual; it is
both effectual and eternal. From everlasting to everlasting the blood
of Jesus flows from triumph to triumph in the actions and reactions of
those who hold the testimony of Jesus. May we be found in that flow,
bearing witness to its efficacy in all things, both the large and the small.
Jon Banks
