Text: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Introduction:
- Sometimes, there are Christians who seerve God based upon conditions such as: they serve God because God answers their prayers; or they serve God because their lives are good. But sometimes there are those who say that if God will just help them, they will obey Him from that day forward!
- But do we really have faith in God andd His Word the reason why we faithfully obey Him? Or can it be that our obedience is according to how He provide answers to our needs?” Or do we have a prayer in mind that if God will not hear will be enough for us to draw ourselves away from God? But what would we feel if God on the other hand will draw Himself away from us because we have not given Him that which He asks us to do?

I. Some thoughts to consider:
- While it is certainly true that God wiill provide for His faithful, our faith should go beyond our dependence of things in this life (Hebrews 11:6).
- Anytime there exists a separation fromm God and a Christian, that separation has started on the part of the Christian (Isaiah 59:1-2).

II. The apostle Paul as an example:
- The Apostle Paul serves as a great exaample of one who loved God and obeyed God without adding the condition “so long as God keeps giving to me.”
- Paul had a problem (verse 7); Paul broought that problem before God three times (verse 8); God answered Paul (verse 9a); Paul’s attitude (verses 9b-10).
- We can certainly say that our actionss speak a lot about our level of commitment to God (I John 3:18). This is saying that our love (especially for God) must not only be spoken or felt, but instead, it must be shown!

Conclusion:
What will you feel if after you have asked your child to do something tell you this: “Mom or dad, I will clean my room if you give me some ice cream first!” A parent may give the old “do it now” or may even reason with the child by pointing out who feeds, clothes, educates them, etc. We should be reminded therefore that conditional obedience would not bring us into the realm of blessings that God had promised us. We should not base our faith and obedience upon what God will do for us, but instead, we should consider what He has already done for us.

FEBRUARY 20, 2005