by Dottie McElreath

We are blessed by so much that God does for us that we sometimes tend to discount what happens when we don't obey, but I myself would not be where I am today if it had not been for God's displeasure and I am truly thankful that I have hopefully gotten my punishments behind me. Do you truly think that God does not punish you for not obeying him? If He holds up the blessings in your life are you not being punished?

God's nature is to give and give and give for in the giving His love shows so abundantly, but it is in our nature to take and take and take with no thankfulness in our hearts for the giver and this is the carnal nature that we all have so when you come to God and desire to be a chosen person for Him then He begins to change the nature of the giving. He teaches you to ask for what you formerly took for granted and to seek His presence more than carnal man by changing who you desire to be around and then He gives you the desire to do for Him, to live only for Him, to give Him your life because without Him you are truly nothing and you realize that.

When you choose this special walk, you walk in obedience because to not do this is death to your spirit. If you are surrounded by His spirit then you know when you do something wrong immediately and another person, a fellow brother or sister will go right on their merry way, not accountable as you are, and you realize that God chose you also.

Many years ago I saw a blessed lady lay hands on the sick, one of which was me, and they recovered and I said, "God, I want to do that." He replied, "Pay the price she paid and you can." The price is total obedience and this is a price we all will pay or we'll pay the price if we don't; so now let's read about what happened to the ones who disobeyed.

Exodus 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: This tells us that Moses had attained a position with God that few ever attain and this special closeness did not stop God from punishments that Moses had earned. This alone tells you that the closer you are to God when you mess up, the more severe your punishment is. A baby in the Lord is allowed to mess up with a minimum of discipline just as a physical baby is dealt with according to his age and knowledge of wrong and right.

Numbers 20:8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. Before, when Moses had brought forth water, he had been instructed to strike the rock which was symbolic of the striking or piercing of Jesus for the water and blood to flow, and the reason for the speaking was to teach us to speak for the flowing of the anointing and Moses, in his anger, spoke out; although justified, against the children of Isreal.

Numbers 20:9-12 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. {10} And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? {11} And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congrega­tion drank, and their beasts also. {12} And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

Aaron's punishment was soon to be carried out although he was not the one to handle the rod. Apparently, because they both shared in this ministry they both received equal punishments. Moses had longer time but the same sentence was carried out for both. This shows us that we can receive the same punishment as they did. The Promised Land is equal to our ministries that God has called us too and as they were never allowed to see it then we will never see the full potential that we have visualized or even worse, not see it at all if we don't obey every personal instruction that God gives us to do.

Numbers 20:24-26 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah. {25} Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor: {26} And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there. Aaron's ministry was passed to his son, where would yours go?

Numbers 20:27-28 And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. {28} And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.

Deuteronomy 3:24-27 O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might? {25} I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. {26} But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. {27} Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and north­ward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

Deuteronomy 32:49-52 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: {50} And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: {51} Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. {52} Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 34:4-7 And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.{5} So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. {6} And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. {7} And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

Have you noticed that Moses was told to not pray anymore about the situation? Have you thought how agonized he was over what he had done? Blessed anointed ones of God let's don't go there. When God tells you something good or bad and you don't see results soon you tend to disregard it. Moses knew from experience that God wouldn't forget it although I have to admit I have wanted God to just look over that error. Did He? Uh,Uh, not in my lifetime. We are experiencing spiritual breakthroughs all over the world and people are realizing that they can walk in the kingdom of God now and there is no limit to where we can go in God and since He created the world He alone controls it. If you need finances to go wholeheartedly into the ministry, He's the bank. If you need healing, He's the doctor. Anything you need He can and will do, just ask and also ask Him to change you into a willing vessel to receive the outpouring of His anointing and let the water break forth from the rock, just ask and ye shall receive.

Have you chosen something you want to do for God and told Him basically, let me do this and Lord, I don't want to do that, whether it be prophesying, or teaching, or helping other minis­tries, or singing, saying Lord, let me be an intercessor, because you know I can't stand up in front of people, so Lord I can't be a preacher, evangelist or singer maybe. The first thing that usually happens is that He tells you to do something you said you didn't want to do. Sound familiar? Let's read what happens when you run from what God told you to do and remember it can happen to you.

Jonah 1:3-7, 10, 12, 15, 17 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare there­of, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. {4} But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. {5} Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. {6} So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. {7} And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. {10} Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. {12} And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. {15} So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. {17} Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Now we get to what we all do. We run right smack into trou­ble every which way we turn. When we see no way of surviving one more blow we cry out to God and He answers sometimes before the prayer is done.

Jonah 2:1-7, 9, 10 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, {2} And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. {3} For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. {4} Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. {5} The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. {6} I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. {7} When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. {9} But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. {10} And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Jonah 3:1-2 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, {2} Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

Jonah still had to do what God had called him to do just as we will still have to do what He wants us to do, but someday we will learn intelligence and quit fighting against God before we lose what we hold as most precious.

If you've never fought against the will of God, you will because its your nature to have a will of your own, just don't fight too long or you may not have a job to do for God after all because some people have to sit on the bench and do nothing to make the rest of us not want to go there. Please, learn obedience.

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