OBEDIENCE TO SPOKEN WORD

."By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death". (Heb.11:5).

If this is the kind of event we all are expecting as the rapture, it is important for us to study this statement about Enoch. We ought to find out how Enoch walked that he was able to please God.

"Before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God. ..."

Since God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him, we must seek God. If we walk the same way as Enoch walked, we should be able to get the result as Enoch got. To go and meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the air, there is a measure of anointing we must get from the Lord to be able to go like that. Elijah also disappeared when a chariot of fire came and took him away.

We read from the bible that before Elijah left, he was being led by the Spirit of God from one place to another, from one city to another city. (2Kgs.2:4). This means, along with faith, he had obedience to the Spirit. So along with faith we must be people that obey instructions. Faith must obey. Faith must listen to the Father and obey the Father. The bible says "without faith, it is impossible to please the Lord". This is what I'm pointing out in this exhortation.

"He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

From the time of Adam through the time of Enoch, they lived for hundreds of years. They were eating vegetables till Noah, and had little or no disease. The only thing that was their enemy was death, and since God had said they must die in the day, none of them lived to 1000 years - which was a day with the Lord. At least in that generation, the only thing which was their enemy was death. Many of them simply lived long and then gave up the ghost rather than being weakened by disease. They all would know that the end-result of the curse upon Adam was the death they were all experiencing. They could work around the poverty and sorrow, but they could not work around death. However God had revealed to the seekers among them that they could still overcome death by walking with God. It had to be by revelation.

Enoch was able to believe and he did the walking and he got the blessing and pleased God. Walking with somebody is friendship. You must hear him and obey him.

The Lord said, "You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you." (Jn.15:14).

Once you are no more obedient, the friendship is lost. This is why I said, obeying instruction is very important when walking with the Lord. We see an example of this in Elijah the prophet. He was able to hear from heaven, and God was leading him step by step until he was taken away.

"And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elishah from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elishah, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elishah said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they both went to Bethel." (2Kgs.2:1-2).

Elijah was hearing from heaven. It has been prophezied also, that at the end of the world, the cloud of God's presence will rest upon the sons of God at this end of time. And from within the cloud of God's presence, God will be leading these elects step by step until they will be raptured. Anyone outside this cloud of God's presence is not one of the elects destined for the translation. From the time God descends upon these elect they will be hearing from God like Elijah. They are being prepared right now. They are being prepared in their corners, so that they can get to the stage where they can listen to God and obey the instruction that comes to them from the cloud of God's presence. God demands obedience. They are to obey to the letter!

You can see an example in Elijah. He was told finally to go to the river Jordan. He went and stood by the river, Elishah was still with him. Then the word must have come to him how-to, and he divided the river and crossed over. We can not tell how long they were both standing by the river, 5 minutes, or 30 minutes!

Elijah was sent from Bethel to Jericho, and then to Jordan. He was not just wandering around. There was a purpose of the Lord leading him about like that. It could be for "conditioning" Elijah. Think about it. Now that he was gone, wherever God took him, he is still a servant of God, still being led by God and still obeying God. When God is taking any person from one place to another like we see in Philip the evangelist in the book of Acts, the person has become a special agent of God which can be called upon at any time to be translated to an emergency situation.

This is very important. The disappearing, and appearing that followed Elijah the prophet, is from obeying instruction which he has been programmed for. God is actually programming his elect for the same type of job. He is programming us to be ready to be used for that kind of work. This is what is meant by obedience to instruction from the mouth of God himself. I call it "Obedience to the spoken word". This is the key thing for the rapture.

Somebody may say to me: "I will like God to talk to me too." However, if you want God to talk to you, the pre-requisite is this: God has already spoken to you in the bible. The written word to you and to me must be obeyed. If somebody won't line-up with the written word in the bible, anyone that is not obeying that, is not a good candidate for God to come and give you instruction directly from his mouth. If you cannot obey the written word, you very likely will not obey the spoken word that is going to come to you.God therefore is selecting those who have been totally commited to the bible.

You should now understand what apostle Peter wrote: "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2Pet.1:10-11).

Those who shall never fall are fit to begin to hear from God via the spoken word. Pure and simple. That is the first thing: you have to start from obedience to the written word.

The letters of the apostles to the church are part of the written word we must obey. Here is one:

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above and not the things on the earth. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." (Col.3:1-2).

Those who are obedient to these instructions of the bible, are the candidates for hearing direct instructions from the Lord.

"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked sometime, when ye lived in them."

(verse 8 is very important),

"But now ye also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him". (Col.3:8-10)

.If you begin to submit to instructions in the letters of the apostles, you are a ready candidate for God to begin to speak directly to you. I pray that the Lord will bless this word into the heart of the listener in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

Bro. Julius Adewumi

Gospel Distribution Ministry

USA