"GIVE ME...GIVE ME...GIVE ME!!!"

Philippians 2:1-11

I want to preface this by saying being obedient to Lord is only possible through the power of His Spirit.

Obedience to the Lord is something we all should seek to do.  We should want  to please God with how we conduct our lives and the contents of our hearts.  But sometimes we are obedient to God because we are seeking the reward of obedience and not to please Him, this ought not be.  Seeking a blessing because of your obedience is not true obedience rather is trying to bribe God. And God cannot be bribed (Deuteronomy 10:17).  It's like saying "God I will read Your Word if you give me a new job."  It just does not work.  Not only is this selfish it is prideful because we are telling God we will do His Will only if He fulfills our desires.

When we read Philippians 2 we find Paul discussing humility (Philippians 2:1-6).  When we arrive to verses 7 through 11 Paul focuses on the life of Jesus an example of humility. Jesus willing appeared as a slave as opposed to appearing as a royal king (Philippians 2:7).  But He humbled Himself more still  by becoming obedient until death  (Philippians 2:8).  Jesus was not looking at what God could do for Him or what God would reward Him with.  Jesus was only concerned about doing God's Will.  He just wanted to please His Father.  He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that Lord's Will be done despite how He felt (Matthew 26:39, 42).  Jesus only wanted to please Father and do His Will because His love for God outweighed the desires of to do His Will.  This is how we respond in regards to God's Will.  Obedience should come from a heart that wants to please God and not from a heart that seeks rewards.


The true blessing in obedience is being obedient and not the reward to come.  When we focus on the reward we will only have peace and joy when we get the reward we want.  But if we the reward of our obedience does not meet our expectations we can easily become bitter and anger at God.  Although our bitterness and anger stem from our selfish heart.  We are simply mad because we did not get what we wanted so now we are throwing a tantrum like an undisciplined child.    But when we focus on pleasing God our joy is complete because we know we have pleased the Father.   God did reward Jesus for His obedience (Philippians 2:9-11) but that is not why Jesus did it.  He died for us and was obedient until death so that we may come to know God and be forgiven for our sins.  It is my prayer that we can model this in our walk with Christ.  That we will walk in obedience to God not because we want something in return but because we simply please the Lord.  Stay focused you can do this.


In His JOY!