Worship That Obeys

INTRODUCTION

Recap Series — O COME LET US ADORE HIM

Looking at the Christmas story from the perspective of worship

What worship is, why we worship, etc.

If you remember back a couple of weeks, we said that “Worship is our natural response to the revelation of who God is and what he’s done.”

Worship is a divine dialogue as God reveals himself, and we respond.

Patterned all throughout scripture.

Clear example: Isaiah 6

Isaiah transported to throne room of heaven, and there’s a back and forth that occurs. God speaks, Isaiah responds.

This morning we’re going to continue that dialogue — the back-and-forth between God and his people. But I want us to see something…

There’s a dialogue between God and Isaiah, and culminates in Is. 6:8….

Isaiah 6:8 “8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.””

God’s call to worship doesn’t stop at praise and adoration — the dialogue continues into a call to obedient service.

Why we have an “invitation” at the end of worship services.

God speaks to us through his Word, preached from the pulpit, and we give an opportunity to respond in obedience publicly.

Here’s the thing… That invitation to obedience doesn’t stop when we say amen.

Worship extends beyond a Sunday service into a lifestyle of following Jesus.

See, true worship always leads to obedient action.

That means…

Obedient when it’s costly and difficult

Obedient when it’s quiet and no one notices

Obedient when the call doesn’t make sense

A clear example of this is the life of Jospeh, the earthly father of Jesus.

I would argue Joseph is one of the most overlooked characters in the entire storyline of Christmas.

He doesn’t sing a song.

He doesn’t preach a sermon.

He doesn’t even speak a recorded word in scripture.

Yet his obedience is as much an act of worship as anything else that IS recorded.

Turn with me to Matthew chapter 1, and we’ll look at what obedience looks like in the life of Joseph, and how an obedient life is a worshipful life.

READ: Matthew 1:18-25

PRAY

1. Obedience is worship because it aligns us with God’s purpose.

Biblical Pattern of Obedience

I want to highlight something for us, to help us understand obedience a little better.

Throughout scripture, we see a pattern emerge — just like the pattern of worship as dialogue. This pattern deals with obedience to God.

PATTERN: Obedience = Life/Blessing, Disobedience = Death/Curse

That language feels really unfamiliar to us, and has a tendency to be misunderstood if we’re not careful.

For example, “Oh if I do what God says, he’s going to bless me.” Code for, if I’m good enough, and I do all the right things, God will do good things for me.

OUR OBEDIENCE BECOMES TRANSACTIONAL.

OR, “We’re under the new covenant! Christ defeated death, and we’re no longer under the curse of sin!” Code for, God is gracious so I have no obligations.

OUR OBEDIENCE BECOMES OPTIONAL.

LIFE

As the Bible defines it, life is intimate, ongoing relationship with Jesus, bearing fruit and experiencing blessing.

Connection with God, and with his design and purpose for creation.

When we’re walking in step with God’s plan/purpose for us as believers, we experience life — in the fullest sense.

DEATH

As the Bible defines it, death is separation from God caused by sin, broken fellowship, and spiritual barrenness.

Separation from God and his design and purpose for creation.

When we’re not walking in step with God’s plan/purpose for us, we experience spiritual death.

Often, we refer to spiritual death only in the eternal sense — HELL.

REALITY: Death is not only a separation from God, but from his intentions toward us.

You can be saved and still be separated.

Separation in finances.

Separation in relationships.

Separation in physical health.

Separation in fellowship with God.

When we are disobedient — we aren’t living the way God intends for us to live —we miss out on the life and blessings he has for us, and instead experience death and curse — separation from what God intends for our lives.

Result: Our lives feel out of whack. Understand, not every issue or hardship in life is a direct result of sin, but it certainly can be — and it warrants some self-examination.

Struggling financially — Are you stewarding money the way God calls us to?

Struggling Marriage — Are you loving your wife the way calls us to? Wives, are you submitting to your husbands leadership?

Struggling Relationally (Feeling isolated) — Are you experiencing and engaging in community (i.e. the Church) the way he calls us to?

When we aren’t obedient, it’s not just a personal issue — we’re maligned against God’s purpose for us.

Instead, Joseph’s obedience puts him directly in the center of God’s plan for redemption.

That’s just it: Obedience keeps us connected to the life God intends—not just saved, but aligned.

Aligned to where we feel closeness and fellowship with him.

Aligned to where our homes are structured the way he intended, rather than chaotic and dysfunctional.

Aligned to where we have meaningful relationships with other believers, who help us continue to live a life of faithful obedience.

We can be saved, but not aligned.

We went to Topgolf yesterday, with all of Lauren’s family. 7 adults, and 6 kids from a 3mo, to 7 year olds.

If you’ve never been, Topgolf is more than just a driving range. All your shots are digitally tracked, and there are different games you can play. It’s not just about how far you can hit the ball — each game will have different targets that you want to hit to earn points.

You learn quickly that it’s not about how hard you hit the ball, but where you hit the ball. You’ve got to be aligned with the rules of the game. Otherwise, you can swing has hard as you want to over and over again, and still come up empty.

Often our lives feel like that — we swing and swing, and we’re swinging for fences. But we’re not aligned with God’s purpose for our life — we’re not living the life of obedience that he’s called us to. You’re saved, but you’re not aligned.

Joseph faced a decision where both answers seemed morally right.

Divorce Mary and move on, or stay and raise a child that wasn’t his.

The targets both looked the same. But only one was aligned with God’s purpose.

Joseph doesn’t make the decision based on what seems easiest or safest, but on where God is acting.

He chooses alignment with God’s purpose over self-preservation.

But notice something else….and this happens long before we ever get to Matthew 1.

2. Obedience is worship because it orders our lives around God’s Word.

See, Jospeh’s obedience flows from a life already shaped by God.

Matthew 1:19 “19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”

JUST = RIGHTEOUS in other translations.

Implication: This moment with the angel doesn’t create a heart of obedience in Joseph, it reveals it.

In other words, Joseph lived a life of obedience, not a moment of obedience.

This is where we hear a sermon about obedience, and sometimes I think we miss the mark.

We sit waiting on an angelic encounter like Joseph had, in order to be obedient.

It’s like we say, “Ok God! Tell me what to do and I’ll do it!”

Meanwhile, he’s already told us exactly what to do in His Word.

Let me explain it this way…

General/Particular Obedience

In scripture, there are two kinds of “Words,” or instructions from God. Because we respond when God speaks, there’s 2 kinds of obedience: Rhema Obedience, and Logos Obedience.

Rhema Obedience: Particular. A call that comes to a specific person, at a specific time and place, for a specific purpose.

Joseph’s encounter with the angel is one example.

God calls a person or group to do a specific thing.

Logos Obedience: General.

Pursuit of God’s design — plan/purpose — for the life of the believer by living the way he has called us to live in Scripture, His revealed Word.

DAILY GRIND OF CHRISTIANITY.

Living how God has called all of us to live as believers.

Love God and Others

Live holy and distinct lives

Exhibit integrity and Godly character

Practice spiritual disciplines

Be a faithful witness

If you’re a parent, you know what it means to give your kids instruction. There are times that I tell my kids exactly what I want them to do. Take out the trash, clean their room, come eat dinner, etc.

However, there’s other times where my expectations are just implied. At this point in their lives, my kids know how Lauren and I expect them to act in public. They may need a refresher every now and then, but generally speaking they know how they’re to behave. They know how they’re to treat adults — especially those in authority. They know how we expect them to behave at school, and in class here at church.

I don’t have to brief them every morning on exactly what I expect them to do every moment of the day. When a teacher tells them to do something, they don’t have to come ask me what they should do — they know what I expect!

God’s done the same for us — he give us a guide for our lives in His Word. He shows us how he expects us to live. He tells us how we’re to respond in different situations.

Joseph was a righteous man — he was already living those understood expectations.

In the context of Matthew’s Gospel, a “righteous man” would have been following the commands of God in the Law. More importantly, he would have been seeking after the God who wrote the Law.

I want you to see this…Joseph’s righteousness — his logos obedience — leads directly to his rhema obedience.

Obedience in the little things puts us in position to be obedient in the big this.

When we’re obedient, with aligned with God and his purpose, and we’re built around His Word.

IN OTHER WORDS: When we are walking in faithful Logos Obedience, we are connected with God — abiding in him. When that happens, the nudges of the Holy Spirit become much more apparent. Why? Because we’re in tune with him.

Sometimes, God speaks in angelic encounters, burning bushes, and blinding lights. But more often than not, he speaks in a still small voice — gently nudging us toward his plan.

Henry Blackaby tells a story of a high-level executive who was walking through Blackaby’s “Experiencing God” study. As part of the study, participants are encouraged to listen for the “nudges” of the Holy Spirit, and to be obedient to them.

This particular businessman was flying out for a very important acquisition meeting for his company. Alot of money was on the table, and he needed to make a commanding first impression. He didn’t have time to go his hotel after landing, so he word his suit and tie to the airport, and on the flight.

As he was getting dressed that morning, he reached for his trusty “power tie” that always turned heads. But something told him to grab a different tie — one from his alma mater, that had their university’s logo patterned across it. Definitely not something to wear into a board room.

Unsure of himself but wanting to be obedient, he put the tie on and headed to the airport. Not long after he sat down on the plane, the gentleman in the seat next to him looked over and noticed his tie. “I graduated from there too!” The conversation launched from there. Through the course of their flight, this businessman was able to lead his new friend to Christ — all because he was sensitive to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

Because Joseph has already been living faithfully:

He recognizes God’s voice

He doesn’t resist or rationalize

He’s positioned to respond

Notice his response… when he’s obedient to the rhema word that God gives him, it’s not the easy or safe decision.

Joseph has more questions that answers I imagine.

And yet, he did as the the angel of the Lord commanded him.

3. Obedience is worship because it trusts God without full explanation.

That’s just it — ultimately, obedience is about trust.

We have to trust that God’s plan/design is ultimately good.

We have to trust that it’s ultimately for our good.

Think about Joseph’s situation for a minute.

Young, single man. His fiancee turns up pregnant — obviously not his.

She says, “It’s from the Holy Spirit…”

That’s like I showed up to give you an apple pie, and you know I don’t have an oven. When you ask how I made it the only thing I can tell you is “God did it.”

You’re going to be suspicious!

He’s trying to figure out what the right thing to do is. He’s probably heartbroken and confused. Then to add to it, here comes the angel.

Now, he’s got an assignment from the Lord.

But here’s the thing…

He’s given an instruction, but not an explanation.

He’s given direction, but not detail.

He’s told what to do — not how it will turn out.

God asks for obedience before he gives understanding.

Joseph doesn’t know:

How Mary will be treated (she could be stoned to death).

Whether anyone will believe him.

What this will do to his reputation.

How long this calling will last.

What kind of father he’ll be to a child that isn’t his.

What he does know:

God has spoken

God is trustworthy

Joseph trusts the character of God over the outcome of obedience.

Why? Because he knew God.

His trust wasn’t naive optimism.

It wasn’t spiritual bravado.

It wasn’t even blind obedience.

It was relational trust.

See, Joseph doesn’t obey because the plan makes sense.

Joseph obeys because he knows the God who gave the plan is faithful.

Here’s the things: It’s easier to trust God when we’re walking in daily obedience.

Obedience forms familiarity.

The more you find yourself being obedient to the life God calls you to live, the deeper your relationship with him grows.

Obedience is the pathway to intimacy.

Familiarity builds confidence.

I’m familiar with my house. I can tell you when I walk in, which seat on the couch is going to be the most comfortable. I can tell you where things are in cabinets. I can tell you how to use the tv, or the coffee maker.

Why? I KNOW MY HOUSE.

When we’re familiar with God, we have confidence in him!

We’ve seen his goodness.

We’ve experienced his faithfulness.

We’ve witnessed his kindness.

Confidence fuels trust.

Joseph can trust God in the unknown because he’s known God in the ordinary.

Parents, isn’t this really what we want from our kids? When I give them an instruction, they may not fully get it at the time. They don’t see the dangers that I do. They don’t know the pitfalls in front of them if they don’t follow a certain path.

That’s ok — I don’t necessarily want them to know all that. I want them to know they can trust me, and that I always have their best interest at heart.

That’s the premise of trusting God in obedience. It doesn’t mean not having questions, not being afraid, not struggling. It means obeying before everything is clear. It means saying yes before seeing the full picture. It means submitting while holding unanswered questions.

Obedience is worship when we trust God’s character even when we don’t understand His plan.

CONCLUSION

The question this morning, is what is God calling you to be obedient to do?

Maybe there’s an area of your life that needs some realigning.

You’ve been swinging and swinging and it feels like you’re getting nowhere.

Really what it is is one part of your heart that you’re trying to hold on to.

“Take everything else, but don’t touch this.”

You realign through surrender — let go and give him control.

Control means doing what he’s called you to — not, “Ok God, here it is, now fix it my way.”

Maybe you look at your life and realize, I not living the way God expects me to live.

If you lay your life over the Bible and the two don’t line up, the Bible’s not the one that’s wrong.

The Bible gives an “R” word for how to come back — repent.

Turn from sin, and turn back toward Jesus.

Maybe God’s given you a rhema word — something specific.

Called you to ministry/missions — maybe just across the street.

Called you to serve in a particular ministry.

Called you to salvation.

Shown you that something in your life is missing — and it’s him.

GOSPEL

PRAY

CLOSE