Obey God to Experience Security, Love, Protection, and Reward
- Jack Selcher
- Aug 20
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 15
I started a regular exercise program. I felt tired for the first two weeks. I did not quit. Over time, exercise vastly increased my energy stores.
Obedience is similar. It is often inconvenient. It is sometimes painful.
Following Jesus meant giving up my job with the Pennsylvania Fish Commission in 1976. At the time, it seemed like a high price.
But the Lord has paid me back one hundred times what I gave up. Persevering obedience bestows outstanding benefits.
The obedient Christian is secure (Revelation 3:7–8). The quality small church in Philadelphia received the Lord’s unqualified praise because it increasingly trusted, obeyed, and loved Him and served others (Revelation 3:7–13).
Christ alone can open the door for that church and us into His eternal kingdom. When He does, no one can shut it. When He closes it, no one can open it.
To enter that kingdom requires repentance and faith. There is great security for those who know the Doorkeeper!
No one can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). Have you entered His kingdom through repentance and faith?
The obedient Christian is loved (Revelation 3:9). Many think no one cares about them. Jesus both loves us and enables us to love others.
The Jews in Philadelphia slandered and persecuted the Christians there. Unknowingly, they were Satan’s instruments.
They were sure they were right. They were not. Let us remember that when we are tempted to criticize others.
God protects the obedient Christian (Revelation 3:10). Christ made a promise to Christians who endure a sinful world’s opposition. It relates to 3.5 years of the Antichrist’s rule that will precede the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom.
Some think Christ promised to deliver believers from those difficult days. Others believe He promised deliverance through them. We would all vote to be kept from them, but we must prepare to go through them if necessary.
God rewards the obedient Christian (Revelation 3:11–12). Let us hold fast to the exclusive loyalty to Jesus that the Philadelphian Christians possessed, so we will not forfeit our victor’s crown.
What seductive influences in your life compete for that exclusive loyalty? The fear of rejection? The deceitfulness of wealth? The desire for other things? Making a name for yourself in this world?
Overcomers will be pillars in God’s temple, permanently in His presence. Christ’s three-fold inscription shows that the faithful belong to God, hold citizenship in the New Jerusalem, and are in a special way related to Him.
The obedient Christian is secure, loved, protected, and rewarded. It is often costly to obey the Lord, but the benefits far outweigh the costs. Both in and out of this world! What is your takeaway?
See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.
God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,090 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,150 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.
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