OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

TOWARDS GOD.
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment”(Mark 12:30).

INTRODUCTION:
“Moreover, it is required of stewards, that man be found faithful”                

(1 Cor.4:2).

When God’s Word is abiding in the believer, his attitude is always: “The Lord lives in me!
So the life I live is not mine but the Lord’s ”. This attitude is imprinted in the heart of the
believer by the Holy Ghost as the Word of God is written in the heart by the Holy Ghost.
Jesus said, “I am the Life”, so the Word of God is made alive and is seen at work in the life
of the believer. John 15:7; Col. 3:16; 1John 2:14; Psa. 119:11; Jer. 20:9.The believer, abiding
in God’s Word has this attitude: “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”. The believer with
this attitude has been enabled by the Holy Ghost to die to self and live only through the
Word of God. In every aspect of the believer’s life, only the word of God is seen, proving
that we are living epistles: John 8:31; 2 Tim. 3:14; 2 Tim. 2:15; Psa. 1:2-3; 119:97. If we are
such, we have a responsibility towards our Lord and God. We must live up to this
responsibility by doing- (living)- the things we study in this lesson daily. We must not
deteriorate to the mediocre person Jesus detests: “So then because thou art lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:16). Jesus goes on to say:
“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but
their heart is far from me” (Math.15:8). And He calls such people “hypocrites” (Math.15:7).
Dear One, are you staying with Jesus or you will be one of those He has spud out?
TO BE SAVED:
Rev. 3:19″As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent”,
Acts 17: 30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men
every where to repent”.

The person who is not walking in a manner worthy of Jesus Christ is in need of repentance,
which is a genuine change of mind towards God and sin, change of heart and way of life.
This person needs to repent of sins and completely turn away from them. This is why God so
loved the world that He sent His only begotten son to die for every one so all should come to
God through Him. He came to deliver man from sin and the author of it (Luke 1:74-75).
Jesus is the only one to link man and God. All must be connected to God through Jesus
Christ. So the first sin man commits is to refuse to accept Jesus when one becomes of
accountable age.

Sorrow to repentance:
“Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were
made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the
world worketh death” 2Cor.7:9).

Realizing that one is convicted by God and sentenced to death for sins committed is a fearful
thing. This fear is put on us by God Himself and brings the sorrow into our soul because we
have wronged God. This death is brought upon man by sins that he commits against God.
But Jesus died instead of the sinner. Once the sinner believes this and confesses all the sins
and turns away from them, believing in Jesus Christ, submitting to Him so that He would
rule His life all through, all the sins are forgiven him. God no longer holds the sinner as
guilty for the sinner is justified in the eyes of God. God commands all sinners to repent (Rev.
2:5; Acts 17:30) and refusal to repent keeps the soul of the sinner in the death and bondage
of sin (John 8:34).

Once we have repented, we must never want to go back to sin again (John 5:14 “Afterward
Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no
more, lest a worse thing come unto thee”.
John 8:11: ” She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee:
go, and sin no more”.
Here, in these two scriptures, Jesus commands that the sinner should never go back to sin
again. But the devil tries to change these commands and cheat men that they can go on
sinning and repenting repeatedly. Not so. Anyone who teaches this doctrine is a minister of
Satan (2Cor. 11:13-15). A false minister is sent by the devil to mislead the people from
God’s will and truth so that they can go to hell. Let us be aware.

Heb. 10: 26 -29: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the
truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment
and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye,
shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted
the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done
despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
Let us be aware of this fact. to sin wilfully, knowing that we are committing sin and deciding
to go on and commit it, we are being derogatory to the Holy Spirit. There is no forgiveness to
those who are despiteful to the Holy Spirit.

Heb. 6: 4-6 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of
God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto
repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open
shame”.
Sinning deliberately is said to be crucifying the Lord Jesus again and putting Him to open
shame. Do we want to do this to the One we love so much? No, no, please.

Acts 1: 8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth”.
Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all
the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you”.

What we need to do after we have confessed and have been forgiven our sins by God while
He is in heaven, is to give ourselves and our all to God (Rom.12:1-2) and then ask Him to
give us His Holy Spirit. We must tarry at the throne of mercy praying, asking God to give us
His Spirit who would empower us to live a submissive life to Jesus. This tarrying should go
on until God moves and fills us with His Spirit of glory and power to keep away from sin.
When He is come in to indwell us, we shall never be mistaken. He will not wrestle us to the
floor and make us jibber-jabber with unknown jargon of tongues. No, No. But He will fill us
with such a heavenly glory and powerful joy and peace that we will not mistake His presence
within us. More so, our dislike for sin will be much more sharp and strong in us. Our love for
God and all that pertains to Godliness will be so great that we shall always want to be close
to God. Dear One, have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? Do you have power
to say no to sin, even if it means death to you or your loved one? If not so, you need to
submit to God and pray Him. You know your need and you are the only one who can get the
supplies you need from God (Luke 11:13).
TO LOVE AND MAGNIFY GOD WITH ALL WE HAVE (1Pet. 1:8).
Phil. 1:20: “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be
ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my
body, whether it be by life, or by death”.
Conversion prompts God to instil love of God into the converted soul (Rom.5:5). This gift of
love for God from God makes us have a goal in our life. This goal is to serve God out of
love. Therefore, the saint’s ambitions are to please the One he loves, Our Lord and Our God.
Everything we will do will be for His glory always. We THEREFORE AIM
TO GLORIFY HIM IN EVERYTHING WE DO because we love Him to the uttermost:

Here is the saint’s maxim: ‘Now that I am saved, “According to my earnest expectation and
my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now
also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death”. Because of my
love for Him, I give Him all my body to use as He wills at all times. I want Him to glorify
Himself through me’.

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. May those who love His
salvation say continually, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BE MAGNIFIED!
Luke 1:46; John 3:30; Romans 1:21; 1 Cor. 6:20.

TO WORSHIP GOD
John 4:23-24 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth”.
How much do I value and appreciate God for who He is? Matthew 2:11 “And when they
were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down,
and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him
gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh”. These wise men valued Jesus so much as to fall
down to worship Him and give Him presents. Do we truly value Jesus? When we come to
the church meetings, what is our attitude? Is it like the wise men had? Jesus said wherever
two or three gather in His name, He is there with them.

Math.4:10 ” 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” Many times, the devil comes to us
and tempts us to worship Him by doing the things He will for us to do. If we do those things
the devil suggests we do, we will be serving him (the devil). He may tempt us to do adultery,
tell a lie, steal, kill, swindle, etc, etc.. If we do what he puts in our minds, we are serving and
worshipping the devil. Let us always tell Him what God has written in His word and tell him
that it what we will do and that will settle it for us.

Luke 24: 50-52 ” And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and
blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and
carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy”
Many times, Jesus manifests Himself to us. He might visit us at night in a dream and hold a
wonderful discussion with us. Do we set time apart to worship Him after the manifestation is
finished? He might visit us while we are studying the bible and reveal wonderful truths to us,
expounding some secrets we never knew before. Do we really take time to worship Him and
thank Him? He might come to us in sickness and give us a healing touch. He might come to
us and give us the power to heal a sick person. We need to worship Him at all times. He
promised He would manifest Himself to us (John 14:12, 21). Let us take time to worship
God, not just for doing us good but at all times. He is the only one worthy of our worship.
Other scriptures to read:John 9:31; Phil. 3:3; Rev. 7:11; 11:16-17; 14:7; 15:4; 19:4; 19:10.
(20:4) 22:9.

TO PRAISE HIM………(Acts 2:46-47).

With my lips I tell how great and glorious God is and by my life I show that I really believe
God is everything He said He is.
Luke 2:20 “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that
they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them”. Whenever we are told about the God and
His works, do we take time to praise Him? When we are given by God what we have asked
Him for, do we take time to praise Him?

Luke 18:42-43 “And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And
immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people,
when they saw it, gave praise unto God”. It is rare these days to see people praising God for
the wonderful deed He does to man. He is our healer, our provider, our keeper, our protector.
Yet we never take time to praise Him. We need to repent of this negligence.

TO HONOR HIM (PUT HIM FIRST).(Col.1:18).

God honors those who honor Him. He is never a loser who puts God first.
Matthew 6:33 12:30; 15:8; 22:21; Mark 7:6; 12:17; Luke 2:49
TO BLESS HIM (Luke 24:53).
From my heart and with my lips I must speak well of God, ever blessing the One who has so
blessed me (Ephesians 1:3; Luke 2:28; 7:29; 13:35; 24:53; Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3.
TO THANK HIM (1 Thes. 5:18).
I can be thankful for all things because my God is working all things together for His glory
and my good. True thanksgiving should manifest itself in “thanksgiving”. Most of all I am
thankful for the gift of God’s abundant grace in the Person of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 9:15; Luke
2:38; 17:16; Rom. l:21; 6:17; 2 Cor. 2:14; 4:15; 8:16; 9:11; 9:15.
TO SERVE HIM (Acts 20:19).
As a believer I am free to serve Christ. What a wonderful slavery!
Matthew 4:10; 6:22-24; Luke 1:74 (2:37) 2:49; 4:8; 16;13; John 4:34; 9;4 (17:4) Acts 9:6;
13:2; 20:19; Romans 1:9; 6:22; 7:6; 12:11; 14:18; 16:12; 1 Cor. 15:10; 15:58; 2 Cor. 6:1;
6:4; Eph. 6:5-7; Phil. 2:16; 2:22; Col. 3:22-24; 4:12; 1 Thess. 1:3; 1:9; Heb. 9:14; 12:28; 1
Pet. 2:16; Rev. (1:1; 7:15; 19:5).
TO LOVE HIM (1 Peter 1:8).
Before I ever loved Him, He first loved me, even when I was dead in sin. I demonstrate my
love for Him by keeping His commandments. Faith is the root, love is the fruit (Gal. 5:6).
Matthew 10:37; 22:36-38; Mark 12:29-30; 12:33.
TO OBEY HIM (John 14:15).
God is so great that to disobey Him is unthinkable. Obedience is the very best way to show
that I believe. Obedience is love in action.
Luke (1:6; 2:39) 6:37-49; 9:35; 17:9-10; John 2:5; 14:15; 14:21-23; 15:9-10; Acts 4:19; 5:29;
7:37; 9:6; 1 Cor. 7:19; 2 Cor. 2:9; 10:5; Gal. 5:7; Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22-23; 1 Pet. 1:14; 1 John
2:3-5; 3:22; 5:2-3; Rev. 1:3; 3:8; 3:10; 14:12; 22:7; 22:9; 22:14.
TO PLEASE HIM (Eph. 5:10).
“I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face.” God is working in me that which is
well pleasing in His sight!
John (8:29); l Cor. 7:32; 7:34; 2 Cor. 5:9; Gal. 1:10; Eph. 5:10; 6:6-7; Phil. 3:8; Col. 1:10;
3:20; 3:22-23; 1 Thess. 2:4; 4:1; 2 Tim. 2:4; Heb. 11:5-6; 13:18; 13:21; 1 John 3:22.
TO CONFESS HIM (Mat. 10:32 Key verse).
The redeemed of the Lord need to say so. With our heart and with our lips we agree with
God that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He is the only Saviour.
Matthew 10:32; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; 12:8-9; Romans l0:9-10; 1 Timothy 6:12.
TO REFLECT HIM (SHINE FOR HIM) (2 Cor. 3:18).
May the beauty of the Lord Jesus be seen in my life. The world must not see the ugliness of
self and sin. As a child of God I bear the family likeness (1 John 2:29).
Matthew 5:16; John 3:30; Acts 4:13; 1 Cor. 15:49; 2 Cor. 3:18; Epb. 5:1; Phil. 2:15; 1 Pet.
2:9; 1 John 2:6.
TO TRUST HIM (2 Cor. 5:7).
Faith is the key to the Christian life. I was saved by faith and so I must live. Faith lays hold
of the facts in God’s Word and makes them real in my experience. Matthew 4:7; 6:25-34;
Mark 5:36; 11:22; Luke 4:12; 8:24-25.
TO FEAR HIM (Heb. 12:28).
Those who fear God need fear nothing else. May I be terribly afraid of doing anything that
would displease Him! May my conduct ever be affected by the consciousness of His Person
and Presence. Matthew 10:28; Luke 1:50; Acts 9:31; Romans 3:18.
TO FOLLOW HIM (John 8:31-32 ).
The demands of discipleship are great. I have decided to follow Jesus and there is no turning
back. I will sit at His feet, hear His Word, worship and follow Him! Matthew 4:19-22; Math.
8:19-22; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:11; John 1:37; Acts 9:6; Phil. 3:7-14; Rev. 14:4.
TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM (JOHN 15:4-5).
I can enjoy the life that I have in Christ. God has called me unto Himself that I might know
Him and walk with Him and enjoy His presence. Mark 3:14; Luke 10:39-42; John 15:1-7;
Acts 4:13; 1 Cor. 1:9
TO REJOICE IN HIM (Phil. 4:4).
Regardless of my circumstances, I can delight myself in the Lord, knowing that He is
working out His purpose to conform me to the image of His Son. Luke 1:47; 10:20; 24:52;
John 3:29; 15:11; Acts 5:41; 13:52;
TO REST IN HIM (Mat. 11:28-30).
I can cease from my own dead works and I can rest in the great God who works in me and
does works that are alive. Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:9-11.
TO LIVE FOR HIM (WALK WITH HIM) (2 Cor. 5:15).
I once lived for self but the cross has brought an end to that. Christ is now my life. In His life
I live (in His death I died), all for His glory. Romans 14:7-9; 2 Cor. 5:15.
TO STAND FIRM IN HIM (Phil. 4:1)
I have a perfect position in Christ Jesus. By faith I need to stand firm where God has already
placed me. 1 Cor. 16:13; Eph.6:13-14; Phil. 1:27; 4:1.
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