Intro/Welcome:

It is so good to be with you this morning. We are wrapping up our teaching series of Fully Alive disciple. We have looked at values that we at this local body feel like God has called us to live out as fully alive disciples. Our hope througout this teaching series is to inspire and encourage you to live into these values. We as a teaching team feel very strongly that if you were to lean into these that you would begin to expereince what it means to be a fully alive disciple in Jesus Christ. Here is one last fly by of what we have covered in no particular order:

Passionately Rooted

Authentic Biblical Community

Healing Compassion

Uncompromising Love

Spirit Empowered

Today we are talking about the value of…

Radical Obedience:

Do you see the moment?

This theme of radical obedience serves as a challenge for us believers to fully commit our lives to God's will, regardless of personal cost or societal expectations.

Radical obedience entails embracing God's call without hesitation, leading to transformative encounters that reveal God’s faithfulness and power in our lives, as we join Him in His redemptive work.

My hope today is that Christians would evaluate their own level of obedience to God's word and calling, urging us to take bold steps of faith that may require leaving our comfort zones.

Today’s message will teach us that radical obedience is not just about following rules, but about fostering a deep relationship with God that transforms us and leads us to act courageously in our faith.

Throughout the Bible, the theme of radical obedience is played out through narratives or directly talking about obedience. In fact, in my studies this week I came across 330 passages that are connected to obedience in scripture. So I think it is safe to say the Bible has lots to talk about it when it comes to radical obedience.

Big Idea: True obedience to God may lead us into uncomfortable and challenging situations, but it is in these moments that we truly experience His presence and purpose in our lives.

Responding to God's call with radical obedience opens us to adventurous experiences of faith that reveal His goodness and empower us to become agents of change in our communities where we live work play and learn.

As I was sitting with the Lord this week in preparing for the teaching He wanted me to focus on 5 key moments that we can or could have as fully alive disciples of Jesus. Like I already said there are at least 330 passages that we could cover but for today we will have 5 conversations or 5 moments that we can have or could have. There might only be one of these that really stands out to you. And that is okay, try to hang with me the whole time. Because maybe one of these “moments” might come to you later on in you journey with Jesus.

Let’s dive into this first moment…But before we do we have a saying around here..

We get into the word, so the word gets into us.

1. Is this the ‘Go Moment’ for you?

Genesis 12:1–4 “The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.”

Abraham's willingness to leave his homeland at God's command is an inspiration for us today. When God called Abraham to go to a land that He would show him, Abraham's radical obedience led to the creation of a great nation and the fulfillment of God's promises.

Abram left his:

Land

Relatives

Fathers house.

Maybe one way to say this is leave everything that you are familiar with. Without going full our Bible nerd and going into the geographical context God was calling Abram from idol worship and cultural practices bathed in paganism. God was calling him out. God wanted him to go!

Abrams response was “he went.” And he did this at 75 years old.

This teaches us that sometimes God calls us to step into the unknown, promising His guidance and blessing. This could be a challenge for us to respond to God's calls with faith, trusting that He is faithful to lead us securely along His paths.

Abraham's call to leave his comfort zone and go into the unknown is a profound example of radical obedience.

Abram’s willingness to obey God's command, despite the uncertainties, set the foundation for a life full of God's blessings.

So what about us church family, reflect on areas in your life where God might be asking you to trust Him.

This sets the stage for understanding that obedience often requires leaving behind our known world for the promise of something greater.

2. Is this ‘your yes’ moment?

Luke 1:26–38 “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. Then the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.” Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?” The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. For nothing will be impossible with God.” “See, I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.”

Just look at this ‘yes moment’ in Mary's obedient response to the angel's announcement that she would bear the Son of God.

“may it happen to me as you have said,” should be the response of all believers.

Despite the potential for shame and misunderstanding in her cultural context, Mary's "yes" demonstrates her radical trust in God's plan. This moment invites us to consider how we respond to situations that challenge our trust in God. By looking at Mary's radical obedience, we are encouraged to embrace our own "yes," or "let it be," allowing God's purposes to come to fruition in our lives, even when it disrupts our own.

William Barclay puts things into perspective like this…

The Gospel of Luke The Paradox of Blessedness (Luke 1:39–45)

To be chosen by God so often means at one and the same time a crown of joy and cross of sorrow. The piercing truth is that God does not choose a person for ease and comfort and selfish joy but for a task that will take all that head and heart and hand can bring to it. God chooses us in order to use us.

It was not easy for Mary. In this cultural context at the extreme end the fact that she was pregnant before being married to Joeshp was a big deal and had the possibility of stoning. Scripture does give us the details that Joesph was considering divorcing her quietly as to not add more shame to her.

God chose Mary for his reasonings.

God in this moment, might be asking you to say yes to His will.

3. Is this your ‘drop everything’ moment?

Matthew 4:18–22 “As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter), and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. “Follow me,” he told them, “and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, preparing their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

The disciples immediately left everything to follow Jesus without hesitation. This radical obedience demonstrates the urgency and importance of obedience in the journey of faith. What is fascinating in the original language for the word immediately , is it means immediately.

So what about us church family, what immediate steps of radical obedience might be the Father wanting in our lives?

Is our faith in action, as Jesus calls each of us to follow Him closely? Are we willing to drop everything that we are familiar with?

Similar to Abram that we have talked about they were willing to drop their careers and family to be all in with Jesus. Their radical obedience involved abandoning their previous lives and livelihoods to embrace a new purpose. This demonstrates the willingness to respond promptly to Jesus’ call, trusting that He will lead us into a life of greater purpose and alignment with God’s mission. It suggests to us that true discipleship requires leaving behind what holds us back and stepping forward with faith.

4. Is this your ‘even-though’ moment?

Acts 9:10–19 “There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” “Here I am, Lord,” he replied. “Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. And after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time.”

Ananias’s ‘even-though’ reluctance to obey God’s instruction to meet Saul, is contrasted with his ultimate decision to trust God’s plan.

Ananias’s actions resulted in transformation not only for Saul but also for the early Church. Think about this in your own life, consider how your radical obedience might lead to impactful outcomes in God’s kingdom. God not only selects and calls people who will serve him in a visible and public way, but also those who support that work behind the scenes — like the little known Ananias

Even when God’s requests seem daunting, He equips us to carry them through.

Paul's encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus radically altered his life's direction and mission. Ananias's radical obedient response to God's call to minister to Paul further illustrates the impact of trusting God's plan, this ‘even though’ moment seems daunting. This suggests that embracing God's call can lead to personal transformation and significant influence within the community and overflows where we live, work, play and learn.

5. Is this your ‘empty-yourself’ moment?

Philippians 2:5–11 “Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

As the Apostle Paul became fully alive in his own discipleship he overflowed this truth of Christ's own radical obedience, as He humbled Himself and became radically obedient to death on a cross.

Jesus perfectly models the culmination of radical obedience by laying aside His divine privileges to fulfill God's redemptive plan.

Jesus emptied Himself of His divine privileges.

In embracing this passage, we might challenge ourselves to adopt the mind of Christ, valuing others above ourselves and obeying God's calling despite difficulty. This transforms our understanding of radical obedience into an act of love and sacrifice, leading to glorification and resurrection with Him.

Jesus’s entire earthly ministry was marked by radical obedience to the Father, culminating in His death on the cross.

Matthew 26:38–44 “He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And he came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open. After leaving them, he went away again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.”

Jesus’s example teaches us that true obedience may require sacrifice but leads to ultimate victory and fulfillment of God’s purposes. Friends, family, meditate on the cost and reward of obedience in your own life, Christ emptied Himself, and so should we.

Why, you might be asking…Why should I completly empty myself…

When we empty ourselves it is Jesus’ radical obedience that fills us.

This means every nook and cranny of our heart, mind, body, and soul. We empty ourselves of past hurts and hang ups. Pete Scazzero says we have to “go back in order to move forward.”

This might mean we need to take time and look at our family of origin, Abuse, trauma, addictions, old way of thinking and doing things. We need to empty ourselves or self deception, pride, narcisicm, our self rightneousness, which is all the “good” things we do that “out weight” the bad things.

So why do we need to be emptied, other than Jesus modeled it for us..

We are filled with Jesus’ radical obedience and we can be fully alive disciples who are radically obedient to the Father.

I want to leave you with Jesus’ words that he spoke to his closest friends. I want you to listen to them, I want you to read them, and I want you to ponder them for just a few moments. My hope is that the Father will use this MOMENT to speak to you about radical obedience, if He hasn’t yet.

John 14:15 ““If you love me, you will keep my commands.”

John 14:18–21 ““I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live too. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, you are in me, and I am in you. The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I also will love him and will reveal myself to him.””