Being Successful The Commands of the Lord

Being Successful

The Commands of the Lord

Genesis 2:16-17

And the LORD God commanded the man,

“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

but you must not eat from the tree

of the knowledge of good and evil,

 for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

If you and I were to enjoy all the fruit trees in the world

If you and I are to enjoy freedom, liberty and be successful

We must learn to love the commands of the Lord

“And the LORD God commanded the man”

To command is to give an “authoritative order”.

To be successful the authority of God must be addressed.

Do we take the Lord’s Word as a command or a suggestion?

Is God’s Word an opinion or a command?

The writer in Proverbs says…

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

^{Proverbs 3:5-6}

Our trust in the Lord must be with our feelings and

understanding, emotions and logic, heart and mind.

Our path in life will never be straight if our heart and

mind are not fully submitted to the authority of the Lord.

Listen as God unpacks the first command to man…

 

And the LORD God commanded the man,

You are free to eat from any tree in the garden.

The Lord points out the freedom He gave to man.

When we look at the commands of the Lord, we

should first look at the freedom He has given us.

Think about it…

How many fruit trees are there in the world?

“Although it is not known exactly how many types of fruits

exist in the world, the answer numbers in the thousands.

Agriculturalists constantly cultivate new varieties of fruits;

for instance, at least 1,600 varieties of bananas exist as of 2014.”

Now shouldn’t that satisfy any desire for fruit?

Think of all the colors, shapes, sizes, and flavors.

The fruit trees make getting nourishment a pleasure.

There was freedom to eat from all of them.

So how restricting was God’s command…

“But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good

and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

If you and I are to enjoy freedom and liberty,

we must learn to love the commands of the Lord.

 Look at what the Psalmist says about

the commands, the laws of the Lord…

‘The law of the LORD is perfect…Trustworthy… Right…

Radiant… Pure… Firm… More precious than gold…

By them your servant is warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.”

If we are to be successful, we must

put above our emotions and thoughts

the authority of the Lord.

Be determines to make Him Lord of all.

Scripture Reading

Genesis 2:16-17

 And the LORD God commanded the man,

“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Psalms 19:7-11

The law of the LORD is perfect,

refreshing the soul.

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever.

The decrees of the LORD are firm,

and all of them are righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the honeycomb.

11 By them your servant is warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.