Getting God's Attention
Let's consider a time period when God's people drifted into a place that they selectively obeyed His Word.

Isaiah 66:2-4
My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the Lord, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. 3 But those who choose their own ways—delighting in their detestable sins—will not have their offerings accepted. When such people sacrifice a bull, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice. When they sacrifice a lamb, it’s as though they had sacrificed a dog! When they bring an offering of grain, they might as well offer the blood of a pig. When they burn frankincense, it’s as if they had blessed an idol. 4 I will send them great trouble—all the things they feared. For when I called, they did not answer. When I spoke, they did not listen. They deliberately sinned before my very eyes and chose to do what they know I despise.”

This is God telling Isaiah that the people have attempted to develop and maintain a relationship with Him on their own terms. God makes it clear, their chosen path is offensive. Honestly, what could man do to impress God?!?!?!

Isaiah 66:1
"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?"

But even in the midst of the correction, He straightaway gives what's required to enter an authentic relationship:

Isaiah 66:2
"I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.

The term 'I will bless' is the Hebrew verb defined as: "To look, to watch, to regard. It has the sense of looking somewhat intensely in a focused way at something."God is saying, "This is the person who I will pay close attention to.”

Three virtues are listed:
1.Humility
2.A contrite heart
3.Those who, 'tremble at my word.’ Let’s focus here.

The one who trembles at God's Word always exalts what God says above anything else.

Philippians 2:12
My beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Think of this statement not as Paul writing to the believers in Philippi, but as God speaking directly to us. Focus on the words, 'always obeyed;' it means unconditional. This would apply to whether you sense His presence or don't, whether you see Him moving on your behalf or don't, whether your prayer is answered in your expected time frame or not.

It is easy to obey God when you are in a conference setting and the presence of God is strong, when things are going your way, life is good, and people are nice to you.

But what about when a 'trusted' team member lies about you, and your fired from your position. Will you forgive according to His word or retaliate to get even? What if you're on a business trip, feeling lonely because your spouse has been critical. your team member, who's the opposite sex and good looking, compliments you, speaks to your need, then seductively offers to spend the evening together in the hotel room. No one will find out. Will you flee or accept? What if you're working late on your computer surfing the web for needed information for your job, but you run across something you shouldn’t be looking at? Do you engage?

These are incidents when God's presence seems absent. But here’s the key: If you tremble at His Word, you will obey no matter the circumstances because there is no greater precedence (priority).

The person who fears God always obeys. This person, at the core of his or her being, is unmovable from the following foundational truths:
1. God is the one who knows what's right for me.
2. God is pure love, and I am the focus of His love.
3. God will never tell me to do anything that is detrimental. Whatever He says will always end up best.
4. No matter what He says, I gladly choose to obey.

Imagine how your life would change for the better if you simply followed these truths?

What is one thing that would immediately change in your life if you did?

The 5 Proofs of a Person Who Trembles at God's Word
1.Obey God immediately.
2.Obey God even if it doesn't make sense.
3.Obey God even when you don't see a personal benefit.
4.Obey God even if it is painful.
5.Obey God to completion.

1. Obey God Immediately
There are numerous Scriptures we could look at, but to set a precedence we'll look at two statements from Jesus. Many missed opportunities are recorded in Scripture resulting from delayed obedience, in fact, too many to list, but I'll select one more that's riveting. Jesus says to a man:
Luke 9:59a "'Come, follow me.'

The man's response:
Luke 9:59b But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."

Wow, what an invitation, the Lord of all creation invites you to walk with Him! The man agreed, but with a condition, he said, "Lord first let me..." The man agreed to follow Jesus, but he delayed it by putting his personal interests first. He needed to go and bury his father. Scholars tell us in those times when a first-born son buried his father he received a double portion of the inheritance, while the other sons received a single portion. However, if he didn't fulfill his duty, it would fall to the second-born. His excuse seemed legitimate, and the delay didn't fall under the category of 'sin.' Money was more important than instant obedience to God. He missed his opportunity.

Another was given the same invitation. This man responded,
Luke 9:57-62 '"Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family."'

Again, we hear the word first; and again, his reason for delay didn't fall under the category of ‘sin.'

Then we read:
Luke 10:1 "After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face."

These two men would have been included in the seventy. But they delayed their obedience from a lack of godly fear.

When we are slow, or neglect, to obey God for any person (including ourselves) or purpose, we honor that person or purpose above honoring God. It's a lack of holy fear.

When what is not sin takes precedence over the word of the Lord, it becomes sin. I often hear people share, "God has been dealing with me about this matter for a couple months," and laugh it off as if it's trivial or comical. They lack holy fear! You betta get to it!

What if Moses delayed turning aside from his busy activities of tending the flocks to see the great sight of the burning bush (see Exodus 3)? What if Noah delayed building the ark? What if Abram delayed going to Canaan? His dad did, for he was the first called to go to Canaan. What his dad missed in his delay; Abraham fulfilled (see Genesis 11:31). Look at that verse:

Genesis 11:31 31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.
Moral: What you settle for your children will grow up in.

The bottom line is this:
When we tremble at His Word, we obey God immediately. If I delay my obedience to God's Word for personal excuses, I communicate that His will is secondary in importance.

2. Obey God Even if it Doesn't Makes Sense
Has the Holy Spirit led you to do something that didn't make sense? Most who've walked closely with God for any length of time would answer, “Yes.” But did it make sense after you obeyed; sometimes immediately, or even, a while later? The answer is almost always ‘yes.'

It's not a common occurrence that God asks us to do something that doesn't make sense to our understanding. But it does happen!

Here are some questions:
- Did it make sense to spit into the dirt and put the mud on a blind man's eye and then tell him to go wash it off?
- Did it make sense to pour water into wine containers in the middle of a wedding when what was needed was more wine?
- Did it make sense for a man to leave a city-wide revival meeting, one that God used him to initiate, and obey the command to go out in the middle of the desert?
- Did it make sense to walk around towering and fortified walls of a large city quietly for six days, and then on the seventh day, shout like crazy?- Does it make sense to forgive those who have hurt you, your family, or someone close to you? -- Shouldn't they pay?
- Does it make sense to love those who hate you? -- Shouldn't they be given the cold shoulder?
- Does it make sense to do good to those who have mistreated you? -­Shouldn't you 'get even' with them?
- Does it make sense to honor those who treat you dishonorably? -­Shouldn't they be told off?

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

The person who fears God obeys, even when it doesn't make sense. There are times God will tell us to do something that just doesn’t make sense to our own understanding. I find it interesting that God will not question our understanding at the Judgement Seat. He will question our knowing (Jesus), and our doing. Obedience doesn't require understanding. It requires knowing (knowing that Jesus who asked has your best interest in mind and he'll see you through), and doing (just do what he said!).

Matthew 11:19
"'Wisdom is shown to be right by its results."'

The Lord's wisdom far exceeds ours. The person who fears God obeys, even when it doesn't make sense.

3. Obey God Even When You Don't See a Personal Benefit
Here’s a sad reality, especially in the Western Church: To get believers interested in obedience, benefits must be emphasized.

Think about it.
1. Would we come 30 minutes early for a front row seat to hear a message on holiness?
2. Are book titles emphasizing obedience making the best-sellers lists?
3. Has leadership strayed from confrontational truth to accommodate this trend?
4. Have numerous ministers succumbed to the pressure of gratifying itching ears with inspiring stories, rather than calling God’s people to deny themselves to follow Jesus?

In shunning God's wisdom, we actually hurt ourselves.

Psalm 19:11
There is "a great reward for those who obey" God's Word.

It's dangerous to be motivated by incentives. Why? Because if the benefit isn't obvious, we won’t have the same resolve to obey God's instructions. Most likely it will be swallowed up by personal interests.

Esther Story - Esther 4:15-16
"Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die."

God had a specific thing for Esther to accomplish and it involved stopping the genocide of the Jewish people in Persia. Was she afraid of the king and what he might do? Of course! God knows we are influenced by fear, which is why he tells us 365 times in the Bible not to fear (one for every day!). But for Esther, there was one fear that trumped the fear of the king and his advisors: the fear of God.

This is why the fear of the Lord is so crucial, it motivates obedience, whether a reward is obvious or not.

Obedience motivated by a benefit is closer to selfishness than holy fear. This does’t mean there can’t be a benefit. Just like things: God doesn’t care if you have things, just don’t let things have you. God doesn’t care if you have a benefit from your obedience, just don’t let the benefit have you.

4. Obey God Even if it is Painful
Jesus is a great example of obeying God, even if it is painful. He willingly obeyed the Father's request even though it would necessitate tremendous suffering.

The night before the crucifixion, in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus cried out in anguish Matthew 26:39
"My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."

The conflict between obedience and self-preservation was so intense that Jesus sweat great drops of blood.

What motivated his degree of obedience? Hebrews 5:7
While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears ... And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.

His deep holy fear empowered Him to face and endure what human nature would run from.

In the same way we are told 1 Peter 4:1
Since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

An Important Point
False religion will seek out suffering for the sake of pleasing the 'god' it serves.
True Christianity seeks to obey God, and in the process faces a fallen world's resistance, and in turn, suffers from it. This is what pleases God, not seeking out hardship. Suffering can occur physically or mentally, the pain of either is very real. But true Christianity is about obeying God and his will, seeking his Kingdom, not personal gain, and not even suffering to make ourselves look more godly.

If we obey God, we know we are going to face resistance, so Peter instructs us to arm ourselves. Can you imagine a military going to war without any planes, ships, tanks, guns, bullets, knives, without any arms? Just the thought of it seems ludicrous. It's just as crazy for a believer to be unprepared to suffer, yet many are.

So what does an unarmed believer look like? What does he do? An unarmed believer will easily bypass hardship for the sake of self­ preservation. They will do anything as long as suffering isn’t involved because they know deep down they can’t endure it. They aren’t prepared for it.

5. Obey God to Completion
Let's return to Jesus' example, Matthew 26:53-34
"Don't you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?"

Obedience to completion was paramount to Jesus. Bevere tells a story that helps better explain this.
“In high school, I wasn't a believer, but there was a poster in our locker ­room that riveted me. I'd see it every afternoon after basketball practice. It had an athlete sitting with his head hung low saying, ‘I quit.’ Below that image was a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross saying, ‘I didn't quit.’ As an unbeliever that left an indelible impression on me. Now that I understand that Jesus could have avoided the gruesome treatment and brutal death, but rather chose to continue in obedience, until He could finally say, ‘It is finished,”=' it carries much more weight.”

When I read Isaiah 53, I can hardly do it without crying. The pain and torment he went through, and not just physical. In fact, the least amount of pain he experienced was physical. His pain was spiritual, emotional, psychological. His flesh separating was simply reflecting his spirit being separated. Yet he didn’t give up.

It is why verses like Hebrews 12:12-13 mean so much to me. If I refuse to give up, it means people can be healed, not be made lame.

Jesus set the ultimate example for us to fully obey - to the finish whatever God entrusts to us. Now we can better understand His instructions to the disciples when they cried out for their faith to be increased:
Luke 17:10
When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.”

Matthew Henry
“Doubting Christians say that they cannot give to Christ the glory of his love as they should, because they have not yet obtained the comfort of it; but this is wrong. First let Christ have the glory of it, let us attend him with our praises, and then we shall eat and drink in the comfort of that love, and in this there is a feast.

Christ's servants do not so much as merit his thanks for any service they do him: ‘Does he thank that servant? Does he reckon himself indebted to him for it? No, by no means.’ No good works of ours can merit any thing at the hand of God.”

You might hear this and think - man…Jesus is rude! The servant was working all day long and just wants to sit and eat and rest, but Jesus says, no you need to make me dinner and wait on me. Is that really who Jesus is? And what does it say about how we think about ourselves if this response is what we really think?

Matthew Henry
“When we have prepared for Christ's entertainment, have made ready wherewith he may sup, we must then gird ourselves, to attend him. This is expected from servants, and Christ might require it from us, but he does not insist upon it. He was among his disciples as one that served, and came not, as other masters, to take state, and to be ministered unto, but to minister; witness his washing his disciples' feet.”

“The best servants of Christ, even when they do the best services, must humbly acknowledge that they are unprofitable servants; though they are not those unprofitable servants that bury their talents, and shall be cast into utter darkness, yet as to Christ, and any advantage that can accrue to him by their services, they are unprofitable; our goodness extendeth not unto God, nor if we are righteous is he the better. God cannot be a gainer by our services, and therefore cannot be made a debtor by them.”

Translation: Your best doesn’t benefit God, and your service to him doesn’t make him a debtor to you, either. He doesn’t owe you because you obeyed. We are ever indebted to him because we were dead and he gave us life.

“He has no need of us, nor can our services make any addition to his perfections. It becomes us therefore to call ourselves unprofitable servants, but to call his service a profitable service, for God is happy without us, but we are undone without him.”

What is the point:
Obeying him completely is the least we could do for what he has done for us.

This message is entitled “Trembling at His Word.” I’d like to simply ask you this:

What has God told you to do that you haven’t done yet?

You may have a million reasons why you haven’t done it, but if he told you to do it, is there even one good reason you haven’t?

We see in the Word that God goes to extremes to get people into obedience. Sometimes it is voluntary obedience. Sometimes it is in exile. Sometimes it is at the tip of a sword.

What is it going to take for you to obey?

It might take surrender. It might take swallowing pride. It might take overcoming fear. It might take dealing with a hardship.

Or…it might take us actually valuing what He says over anything else.

I want you to ask the Holy Spirit to do 2 things:
- show you what is keeping you from doing what God told you to do
- give you the power and courage today to obey to completion.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?