Obedience To God

Biblical definition of Obedience

"The moral virtue that inclines the will to comply with the will of another who has the right to command."

Jesuit theologian Father John Anthony Hardon

Therefore, a person who is rooted in obedience submits his will to the one who possesses legitimate authority over him

Submitting will requires us to let go of what we want to do and allow someone else to guide us in some areas

Obedience is a shrinking part of the Christian character

As we become more and more a self orientated society

Our priority is

What we like

What we want

What we think is right

Opinions that conflict with our own are often dismissed easily

Looking at the world around us tells us something about our “wisdom”

Environmental degradation

Animal species (white rhino gone)

Level of global warfare

Put toxins in our food

Sewer in our drinking water

What was medical “genius” 50 years ago we discover is actually harmful

Heroine cough syrop

cigarette ad

Radioactive water to drink

Labotomy

Tapeworms

Smoking on a plane

ME TOO MOVEMENT

Well those were way back when we did not have the science we do now.....

List of drugs that were recalled

If someone from outer space came to our planet-what would they say about us

Are we smart or stupid?

We are now relying on our own wisdom about what is spiritually right and wrong

You speak with anyone about faith and they speak as if they have a Phd in theology

We came from extraterrestrials

All Gods are the same- all lead to the same place

I am a good person

There is no God.

Based on humanities track record....maybe we should not trust our “wisdom” so much

We may not be right after all

We may need to submit to someone else’s idea of things instead of our own or society’s

The “me” priority when it comes to church is also growing

I have rarely heard someone looking for a home church say:

Where is a church that needs help and I can go and serve others and help it grow

this from Christians all over 10 years old in faith

I have often heard this statement about why people want to go to a church

It has great music (worship)

It has a lot of young people

It has a great Sunday School

It has......???

In this atmosphere of “me and what I want” emphasis

Obedience has a fight on its hands

Obedience is easy when we agree and want to do something

Obedience is tougher when we are simply called to obey

What does the bible say about obedience

Obedience is stressed so much in the bible because we are in a war

A war we cannot see, hear or judge on our own

We need to rely on God and his word and Spirit to guide us through this war

Why does basic training for war work so hard to eliminate the individual and their ideas and replace it with simple obedience?

John 14:15 NLT

“If you love me, obey my commandments.

The core characteristic of being a Christian is that we obey Christs commands

Mark 12:30–31 NLT

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Love your neighbor as yourself

What does that look like?

Sermon on the mount

Turn the other cheek (don’t allow offense)

Go the extra mile (show love through generosity)

Bless your enemy (people who dislike you and show it)

This will all take obedience…you will not FEEL like doing this

We will need to submit to God’s instructions on this and not rely on what we think is right

Fish-Peter-Obedience

In two instances God used obedience to change Peter’s life significantly

Luke 5:4–8 NLT

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”

In this case Peter had good reason to not obey

Tried all night was not working

Daytime fishing was not as successful as night time fishing

This small act of obedience resulted in Peter’s conversion and start of ministry

The second time this happened to Peter…Jesus has been crucified

John 21:4–6 NLT

At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

Peter again had good reason to not obey this stranger

It was again a morning of failure for Peter

No fish after trying all night

PLUS

Discouraged…confused…angry

But this simple act of obedience reinstated Peter in his ministry and started a new phase to his life.

Interesting note:

In both cases Peter did not recognize Christ for who he was

He took advice from someone who knew nothing about fishing (humility and submission)

What is God asking us to do today?

What stranger/ or person is actually Christ in your life, asking you to do something, change something, obey something?