Trust and Obey (2)
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John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family's housekeeper:
It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House.
"Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson."
"He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him."
"Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him."
"No, Mr. President. I work for him, not you. When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure. "Tell that woman I want her here in the White House."
Are we sure we know who it is that we are obeying today? Do we know who we work for? The question may not be as easy to answer as we might think. We obey God? Obey the World? Or do we obey ourselves? Obviously we say that we obey God but do we know why we obey God? Do we obey God because we realize and recognize His headship and none other. Or do we follow God because its just what everyone else is doing? Or do we obey God because we know what is best for us, hell is bad and heaven is good and Shane ya better listen is you want eternal bliss. So are we obeying God because we are listening to ourselves. Obedience is a topic of much lines shapes and colors.
Fascinating in the fact that our understanding and motivation really does affect the reality and authenticity of actual obedience. In the beloved Heidelberg Catechism question 91…
9 1. Q.But what are good works?
A. Only those which are done out of true faith, in accordance with the law of God, and to his glory, and not those based on our own opinion or on precepts of men.
As a standard… our obedience must consist of true faith, in accordance with the law of God, for God’s glory, and not based on the opinions or precepts or rules of man.
But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God.
“So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.
You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
How do we know then? Well honesty is a huge piece and of course the Word of the living God. We don’t obey because we don’t care. I do what I want. Nobody tells me what to do. And… Many times we don’t obey because we don’t know the Word of the living God. And this is what our psalmist is wanting to show us today.
I am overwhelmed with indignation,
for my enemies have disregarded your words.
Your promises have been thoroughly tested;
that is why I love them so much.
I am insignificant and despised,
but I don’t forget your commandments.
The grass withers the flower fades but the word of our God stands forever.
Passion
Love
Recall
The first thing we will look at today is the passionate response God’s people should display when the Word of God is disregarded. Second, we will see the loving response of God’s people to the tested Word of the living God. And finally we will see the life source of the people of God called the gospel of Jesus found in the Word of the living God.
Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world cause us to instinctively disobey the words of the living God, it is the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of the gospel that will cause us to see and burn with fervor for the scriptures.
I. Passion
- Overwhelmed with anger?
A. Spurgeon asks a question… Don’t we have some who profess to be Christians, who know the truth, but live as if they have forgotten it? Does it bother us?
B. Our psalmist reports a “Quin A” a jealousy or a zeal. It is a passion and or excessive fervor to do something or to accomplish some end. The idea here is that our psalmist could not bear to witness the actual act of people forgetting the Amazing Word of the living God. People around Him, who he called his enemies, not only had the audacity to disobey and neglect the commands of God, but they would forget or disregard the Word of God entirely.
C. Our psalmist burned with indignation. His zeal for the living God had consumed him. How in the world could they trample on such a wonderful thing? How in the world could they trample on such an amazing? How could they trample of such a sacred thing?
D. Is this an area where we find a bit of apathy? Does it bother us anymore that the Word of our God is being disregarded by masses in this world? Does it bother us at all that the Word of our God is being disregarded by masses in the church? Are we passionate about such things? Does zeal consume us?
E. Its funny sometimes I hear about Christians who get into trouble because of fighting because someone said something about our wives, our children, our mothers, but never our Lord? The blasphemy of Christ is rampant yes yes rampant. Don’t believe me… take a few moments checking out your pastors social media pages and see what they say. Never hear… somebody blasphemed Jesus and I couldn’t help myself, I had to crack him in the face. How come its different? Nobody and I repeat nobody talks about my mother that way. How come not Jesus?
F. Now for me its … I’m always going you are lucky you didn’t say that to my face. And I am asking for forgiveness because the zeal rises up and I get angry. I don’t care if you guys put me down, if you make fun of me, talk about my teeth, my weight, my race, but do not disrespect my king and my Lord. I’m not encouraging violence to blasphemers… but are you at least burning with indignation when Christ and His Word is disrespected?
G. Or are we too afraid to offend the world that we will let them disrespect our heavenly Father who loved us and gave us His Son just so that we can have a seat at the table? Too afraid to say something because we might get canceled by the culture? Too afraid to lose our reputation? Too afraid to lose what we have been given by the world or that we wont get what we want from the world. Too afraid to lose our friendship with the world? Our response…
You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.
Do we not believe the reality and truthfulness of the Word of God when it says…
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
In our culture we don’t sell our soul to the devil anymore, we just give it away to the culture so that they will be nice to us.
H. I know it. I get it. I’m in the market place everyday proclaiming the truth and the gospel. One 20 second video and the world will come down upon you with the worst insults, threats, disrespect, and hostility.
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
II. Love
- I absolutely love it.
A. The Hebrew here Saraph carries the idea of being tested and found to be of utmost quality. Now there is also the Hebrew Mey od - Strength, power, very… Not just tested… but thoroughly tested with much strength and power.
Spurgeon - “It is truth distilled, the embodiment of holiness. In the Word of God there is no mixture of error or sin. It is pure in its sense, pure in its language, pure in its spirit, pure in its influence, and all this to the very highest degree – very pure.”
Thomas Manton - “Vain conceits comfort us not in a time of trouble, but the word of God, the more it is tried, the more you will find the excellency of it. The promise is tried, as well as we are tried, in deep afflictions; but when it is so, it will be found to be most sure.”
B. It is always found to be true. I like to tell people who are critical of the Bible that they are not the first to unleash their case and they probably will not be the last, but the one thing that has been found in thousands of years of Biblical criticism… they all failed. In every attack and war over the purity and trustworthiness of the Bible in the end when the smoke clears and the dust settles… the Bible is still standing in all of its divine glory. Always. I absolutely love it.
C. I love that the Word of the living God cannot be thwarted by the efforts of mere men. I love that the Word of God cannot be undermined by the cleverest of the scheme of men. I love that the Word of God cannot be ultimately clouded by the curtains of worldly distractions crafted by the hand of man. I love that the Word of God may never ultimately be suppressed… try as they may try as they might, the power of the Holy Spirit will ensure that the Word of God will not return to Him void and it will accomplish its purpose. I love that even when the Word of God is attacked by even the visible church of God, it is still able to convict, restore, encourage, and instruct. I love that even when there is a famine of the Word of God a tiny crumb of it is still able to make one wise. I love that even when individuals try to ignore and run from the light of the Word of God, it still appears everywhere you go and everywhere you look. I know that the Word of God will win, because it aways wins. I love it. I love to obey it.
D. One person on social media said… Shane I do not understand, I have blocked you over and over again. And Yet here you are still. God must hate me. No God loves you. I love it.
III. Recall
- It’s 2 good 2 B forgotten.
A. There is no way to think that there is real godly obedience if it is divorced from the scriptures at all. Possible sure, because the law is written on our hearts. But there is this thing that affects us all that make following our hearts maybe not a good idea. It is the thing called sin. It is that thing that so easily besets us. it is that thing that cause us to conclude that when we desire to do good evil is right there with me. How deep is it?
The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
B. Yeah obedience is probably not something that comes naturally. Not normally. Not instinctively. And through the difficulty in life … in God’s love and mercy, He gave us the message of the gospel of Jesus in His word. And as wonderful as it is… it is not forgotten. For, every week I have preached here at CBC you have heart the good news of the gospel of Jesus. Though all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Though we are all by nature children of wrath. Though there is no one righteous no not one. Though there is no one on earth who always does good and never sins.
C. Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into world to save sinners. Jesus came into this world to seek and to save that whihc was lost. He became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
D. And the promises in the Word of the living God continue… All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
E. So awesome is this how can we forget the Words of the living God. Sharper than any twoedged sword. It is the very breath of the living God. Man does not live on bread alone. More precious than gold. More valuable than rubies. Let us walk in the light for He is in the light.
