"IF"

As I was studying God’s Word the other day, my eyes fastened on the word “if” which Satan used to tempt Jesus in the desert. Interestingly if is used 805 times in the Old Testament and 602 times in the New Testament for a total of 1,407.

Satan confronted Jesus as though He were a mere man that could be tempted by Satan’s lies, just as he did with Adam and Eve. “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matthew 4:4). Three times, Satan challenged Jesus to prove Himself. However, the Son of God does not need to prove Himself to any person, let alone to Satan. Therefore, with each challenge, Jesus simply spoke the Word of God and after the third time, the devil left, and angels came and ministered to Jesus.

The promises in the Bible are conditional. Jesus always put the word “if” on man's side of responsibility and never on God's side. If man is obedient then God will do what He promises. The responsibility is first with man to obey God’s Word. Our responses to God’s commands affect our relationship with Him and determine how and what we receive. The examples below are only a few of many listed ifs throughout the Old and New Testaments:

1. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). 

2. Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me” (John 8:42)

3. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

4. “If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).

5. “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:23; Revelation 13:9)    

6. “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Hebrews 3:15).

7. “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the disease on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer” (Exodus 15:26).

8.“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if [you hear] My voice and open the door, I will come in to [you] and will dine with [you], and [you] with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

Obedience is key in receiving from God because the opposite of obedience is rebellion. “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth” (Deuteronomy 28:1).

Obedience is so important to God that when King Saul of Israel disobeyed His order to destroy all the Amalekites and all that they had, God sent Samuel, a judge and prophet, to tell Saul, “Has the Lord great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion (blatant disobedience) is as the sin of divination (witchcraft) and presumption (behavior that is arrogant, disrespectful, and transgresses the limits of what is permitted and appropriate). Because you have rejected the Word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king” (I Samuel 15:22-23). In other words, if we disobey God and His Word, all the good that we believe we do is but fifty rags before Him (Isaiah 64:6).

You may be asking why a loving God would want to destroy the Amalekites. They were a brutal, desperately evil and Godless people who practiced child sacrifice and worshipped many gods. (Sound familiar?) The Amalekites were also descendants from the grandson of Esau, who had spurned his God-given birthright and traded it for a pot of stew. The Book of Ester tells about the murderous Amalekite, Haman, who tried to exterminate all the Jews but ended up on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, the Jewish prime minister (Samuel 15:1-8; Exodus 17:8-14). God could no longer tolerate the Amalekites’ wicked ways nor their bent on annihilating the Jewish nation.

Obedience and disobedience are always at war with each other. Those at peace with their sin will always be at war with God and walking in disobedience. Sadly, King Saul became spiritually wayward and as a result of his disobedience to destroy all of the Amalekites, they were coming to attack. Saul then sought a medium to ask if he would be successful in the battle. Defeated, Saul took his own life (I Samuel 31).

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 tells us that God sets before us both a blessing and a curse. If we do not obey the commandments of the Lord but turn away from them, we will suffer a curse because of that disobedience. For that reason, we must always be listening for His direction and never forget that all God’s promises are conditional upon our obedience to Him.

Many ask how we hear God? If we make ourselves available to Him, He speaks to us through His Word and through the Holy Spirit who teaches all things and reminds us of His truth. However, if we have resentment, unconfessed sins, and unforgiveness, we distance ourselves from God. He also speaks through sermons, worship, wise counsel, the testimonies of others, godly teachers, our prayers, and during our quiet time if we listen for His Spirit to speak into our spirit.

PRAYER: FATHER, I never realized the importance of that powerful little word, “if.” Let me never forget that what may appear insignificant in Your Word, You have shown that “if” presents a choice that is conditional. “If” I am obedient then You will fulfill Your promises in my life. Help me to listen for Your voice and to desire obedience over my own will. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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