Sunday School Lesson #3: Josiah and the Power of Obedience
- Aug 20, 2020
- 4 min read
This Sunday School Lesson is based on II Kings 22:8-13; 18-20 from August 16, 2020.
Consider this Question:
How important is obeying the Lord to you? This lesson was focused on the importance of obeying the Lord despite of any and everything.
Let's get straight into it!
1️⃣ Lesson Point #1: Daily obedience first requires humility before the Lord.
1. Josiah rent his clothes (meaning he was in despair) when he discovered the wrath that was to come for Judah because of disobedience they’d been engaging in; this means that Josiah was not prideful and was humble and repentant before the Lord.
2. A few of the reasons why we do not obey the Lord when (in our flesh) we don’t want to is because:
3. It doesn’t make sense and therefore, we reason with the Lord. The danger with this is that the enemy uses reasoning as his gateway to confusion and doubt to/in our mind.
4. Lack of dependence on the Lord and His will for our lives.
5. We are uncertain of the fruit that would come from our obedience.
6. The deception that we know what is best for us, rather than believing the Lord knows what’s best for us.
7. Lack of faith in the Lord, and
8. Not trusting in and relying on His sovereignty.
9. In order to obey the Lord, it takes humility, commitment, discipline, self-lessness, willingness, and desire. The Lord can work with these things to help bring His will to pass in our live by HIS Spirit, power, and might. When we choose these attributes, God takes over and His will is done in and through us.
2️⃣ Lesson Point #2: Obedience to the Lord is expected because God is to be obeyed. Obedience is not determined by our earthly circumstances.
1. Even though Josiah was aware that destruction was to come and that he had a promise from the Lord that he would be saved from it, it enlightens us on what Josiah thought was more important than any other thing while he was reigning: obedience to the great Jehovah.
2. We must take this same posture: obedience over everything else. Point, blank, period.
3️⃣ Lesson Point #3: To obey is better than to succeed.
1. Though Josiah had his own plans concerning the restoration he wanted to see in Judah, he died before he could see them. In fact, once he passed on all of his efforts were undone by his son who reigned after him.
2. We obey God in faithfulness even when our obedience isn’t producing the results WE want them to produce because our thoughts and ways are not the Lord’s (Isaiah 55:8); therefore, though we aren’t succeeding in our plans doesn’t mean that the Lord’s will isn’t being done. We have to be careful to not forfeit ourselves from the race because we aren’t meeting goals that we set for ourselves that the Lord didn’t give us to achieve towards. We have to remain faithful and obedient to the process.
3. Another note on this point is that obedience is the placeholder to receiving the promises that the Lord spoke to us. A lot of times we don’t see the Lord’s promises requiring anything of us (and technically they don’t; the Lord doesn’t need our works to bring about His promises in our lives); however, it does require obedience and faithfulness; this is ALWAYS required.
4. Even still, we obey because the Lord is to be obeyed, and not because we merely want to receive from Him. We have to check our heart’s posture.
5. Scripture for encouragement: Psalm 18:25-26 KJV: “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.”
6. King Josiah showed himself to be obedient, God showed himself to be faithful to His Word and didn’t allow destruction to come until after King Josiah died and was buried in peace.
In summary, though on the outside Josiah’s reform and efforts seemed useless because he died before they had the total lasting effect that he desired, Josiah’s efforts had the lasting effects that GOD wanted them to have. This is why we must remain faithful even in apparent failure because we never know what the Lord is doing. Just because we do not reach what we set out to reach doesn't mean the Lord didn’t (and isn’t) having His way in and through our lives by our obedience and faithfulness; it does not mean that there wasn’t (or isn’t) any purpose or goal fulfilled.
Life Application Thought, Question, and Reflection:
This week, practice obeying the Lord when you hear His voice rather than second guessing, doubting, and reasoning with Him. Paraphrasing John 10:4,5, His sheep hear His voice and the voice of a stranger they do not follow. If your Spirit is resonating with the Spirit of God to obey in doing something, follow that voice. It’s a difference between not wanting to obey because of our flesh and not following a voice that isn’t God’s; we have to know the difference. It takes time to learn, but practice is the marker of learned behavior. Obeying the Lord is worth learning and most of the time we just need to mortify the deeps of the flesh through the Spirit (Romans 8:13) and follow.
Praying this blesses you today ❤️
Until Next Sunday's Lesson Recap.,
LaGerrica S. 🌻
Comments