Lived Obedience to Jesus

Prayer

Unlived Obedience

Over the years I’ve come across a number of studies that all point to the same general conclusion: when it comes to behavior of Christians versus non-Christians, there’s not much difference

Now, there’s some caveats in the studies - how do you define who is a Christian (self-identity versus adherence to certain beliefs)

But on the whole, what the studies show is that Christians are more likely to buy lottery tickets, no more likely to help poor or homeless. Our divorce rate is same (some studies show it’s actually higher), and we’re just slightly better in terms of financial debt.

Which is little sobering, because there’s one thing that’s absolutely clear in Bible - obedience to God is central, it’s essential, it’s expected.

This is how Jesus lived - listen to these three verses in John, Jesus describing himself:

John 4:34, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

John 5:19, Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

John 6:38, For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

Jesus saw his entire life as one lived according to the will of the Father. Lived obedience.

Not simply how Jesus lived, but how we are to live. This is what it means to be a Christian. The very word Christian means “little Christ”, one who is like Christ, like Jesus.

A disciple is a follower, a learner. We’re learning from Jesus how to live. We obey what he teaches us.

And it’s not simply the definition of what it means to be Christian, disciple - it’s expectation of the Teacher, the Master.

Matthew 7:21 - Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

For this very basic reason. He is Lord. Jesus is Lord. Not in the sense of English nobility, just a title - my lord, my lady. But as in Master. Yes, sir. He has the authority, he is the big boss, the King.

Matthew 28:18-20 - Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

This is why all of creation responds to him in obedience. Matthew 8:27: The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

One day, everyone will acknowledge it, Philippians 2:9-11, Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We started last week to look at the Core Values that define us as a church, those fundamental beliefs that guide our decisions and motivate us to action.

Our Mission is to lead others into the abundant life of Jesus. That’s what we do. Our Values are why we do that. Last week, we talked about our first value, Kingdom First. Today, our second core value: Lived Obedience to Jesus. This is our main point this morning: We are committed to living a life of obedience to Jesus. To take seriously that he is Lord. Our Lord. Our King, our authority.

We do this by

Hearing the Words of Jesus and putting them into practice

Demonstrating our mutual commitment to engage in soul-training exercises

Commitment to obeying Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations

Focus on why soul training exercises, it speaks to what’s at the heart of issue of obedience - that we can actually learn to be obedient (because that’s tricky part)

Lived Obedience

Parable of the Two Sons, Matthew 21:28-32 -

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

We have the first son, who, in response to his Father’s command to go and work in the family vineyard simply says, “No, not gonna do it.”

This is incredibly rude response. Just blatant defiance on part of the son. No “honoring your father and mother here.” Audience would have been shocked. That boy needs a good whooping.

But, Jesus tells us, the son later changes his mind - he repents - and goes and does what the Father told him to.

Second son is exact opposite. His response is what you’d hope and expect from a child to his or her parent. It’s obedient, respectful. “I will, sir.”

See, that’s a good son. That’s a boy who was raised right.

Except, when push comes to shove, he fails to do what he’s told. Never goes to work in the vineyard.

So Jesus asks question, which of the two did what his father wanted? Who actually lived in obedience to the Father? Not just said the right things, but did what the Father wanted? Obviously, it was the first son.

Jesus is using this parable to contrast the worst of sinners - tax collectors, prostitutes - those who initially had not lived in obedience to God, but who repented, changed their minds in response to the proclamation of John the Baptist, over and against the so-called good people, who just appear to be good.

Story is essentially about unlikely group who did repent versus likely group who were unwilling to repent and live in obedience to the Father.

Here’s what we ought to take away from this - we are not good at obeying Jesus Christ. In fact, we’re downright bad at it. The statistics certainly bear that out.

Our disobedience (when I say “our”, I’m talking about mankind, humans collectively) is a central part of the story of the Bible.

Starts with very first two people, Adam and Eve, they had every advantage in world - world was good, everything they needed, only had one command they needed to obey - one). They couldn’t do it. They disobeyed God.

Continues right on through the pages of Old Testament, how God’s people, the Israelites, kept forsaking him, failed to obey his commands, went chasing after other gods.

And right into New Testament, where Jesus confronts the Pharisees, the so-called righteous ones, for their lack of righteousness. He tells crowds that their righteousness, their behavior must be greater than Pharisees. Which would have been hugely shocking to those listening, because Pharisees, teachers of the law, were religious experts, prime examples of what being obedience (or so they thought) looked like.

There’s takeaway for us - be careful about falling into trap of thinking, “I’m a pretty good person.” I’m better than most.

God has way of quickly exposing our shortcomings - Jesus did that with Pharisees over and over again.

He did it with the rich young ruler - who seemed to be really good at obeying all the commandments - that is, until Jesus told him to go sell everything he had and give it to the poor, then come follow him. Exposed his love of money over God.

To be obedient to Jesus is not simply to not murder anyone. It’s to live without anger towards others. I’m not talking just about yelling or cursing at others…but all those ways we let anger stir up inside of us. Those passive aggressive comments. That quick irritation.

To live obedience to the Father is not simply not to hurt others, but to love them, to be for their good. Which is active. That includes everybody. Even the jerk in your office. So called friend who talked about you behind your back. It’s not just that we’re not to curse those who curse us (which is hard enough), we are to bless those who curse us.

Live without judging others. Do you judge others? I do. I get impatient with others. I get preoccupied with wrong things. In my pride I refuse to admit when I’m wrong even when it’s clear that I am. Or I start seeing myself as better than others (because I drive right way, don’t engage in unhealthy habits, or how good I am in managing money). List goes on and on.

When we have learned to love God with all of our hearts, with all of our minds, with all of our souls, and with all of our strength - and to love our neighbors as ourselves - then we will have learned to be obedient to Father. Those are the two great commandments - everything else falls under these two.

I’m not saying all this for us to beat up on ourselves (this is where we put on helmet of salvation, trust that our sin is atoned for, we are forgiven), but to make the point that we are not good at being obedient. In fact, we’re quite terrible at it - why we needed Jesus to rescue us in first place.

But here’s thing: We can learn to be obedient. That’s why we follow Jesus! Why we identify ourselves as his disciples, his apprentices: Teach us, Lord!

Why we make this a core value - Lived Obedience to Jesus. I, we -want to be a people who do what Jesus teaches us to do.

This is why we keep coming back to idea of engaging in soul training exercises, in spiritual disciplines, because this is way we learn from Jesus to become like Jesus. Learn to live without anger, without lust, without being deceitful. We learn to be patient, to live with joy, peace, compassion, a willingness to serve.

Essential to remember this is about training, not about trying, to be obedient. Trying means we’re doing it out of our own willpower. We want to follow example of the first son, not the second. Second son thought he would and could do it - he didn’t. The first son was rooted in repentance, change in mind and heart - he had to learn a different way to be.

Idea of exercises, practices - this is true in every area of our lives, if you want to change your behavior, or learn a new skill, or get really good at something, you engage in training.

Second Sunday Supper at Mary & Randall’s house - Randall sat down at their piano and started playing some Mozart for us (you know, just a little Mozart). Mary made a point of telling us that Randall will practice his scales, working his way through basic notes. That’s how you get to be good at piano or any other musical instrument.

I’ve heard that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. Those athletes that juggle a soccer ball for hours, or dribble with either hand and pull up and drain a three. It’s because they have spent hours practicing and practicing.

Ricky is in masonry program over at PCTC, he showed me a brick wall that he and Isaac and another student made - reddish brick wall with a pumpkin made of orange and black bricks in the middle, pumpkin bricks stuck out a bit from rest of wall - it was impressive.

Where did you make that? In class. What are you going to do with wall? We’ll tear it down.

It’s practice, he’s in training to learn to be a master mason.

Same is true in learning to be like Jesus - who lived in absolute obedience to Father. If lived obedience truly is a core value (fundamental basic beliefs that guide our decisions and motivate us in our actions) AND we recognize that we’re not that good at being obedient THEN the proper response is to learn how to obey. To engage in soul training exercises. Practice spiritual disciplines.

Which is why every Sunday, as a part of our Teaching Time, I offer a couple of ways you can put into practice what Jesus is teaching us.

And I just want us to be honest here, to degree we choose not to put these into practice, then Lived Obedience to Jesus is not a core value for us. Our lives will be much like everyone else around us.

We’ll be more like the second son - who may have been very sincere in his response to his father when he told him he would go and work in the vineyard. But he ultimately failed to obey.

What kind of son / daughter am I? More like the first son or the second? Could you point to where God is working in your life? What is he teaching you? Do you see your identity as an apprentice of Jesus to point that you’re attentive to how you are (or are not) growing to be more like Jesus, lived obedience?

Very best athletes or artists or leaders (or whatever profession) always working on some aspect of their game, some skill, looking to improve. Training is continual.

What is it for you right now? Could you point to exercises you are intentionally engaged in on a day to day or week to week basis?

Spiritual Disciplines

Commit to a regular spiritual discipline. Start small, manageable.

Regular daily devotional time. 5 minutes of silent prayer every day. Sunday morning worship.

Then, after a few months, add to it. Develop a Rule of Life (trellis, training routine) - suggestions every Sunday.

Spiritual Formation Group - In January, begin a group focused on Emotional Healthy Spirituality

Inspiration - John 15:10 - If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

I used to struggle with this verse, it seemed to suggest that if we don’t obey God, then he will cease to love us. Conditional aspect of his love - he only loves us if we’re being good, obedient.

But I’ve come to realize that’s not what Jesus is saying at all. Obedience has to do with our hearts, our willingness to live with and under the reign of God. To be with King, a part of his Kingdom.

A disobedient, rebellious heart always separates us from God. It’s not that God ceases to love us, it’s that we become disconnected from his love.

Like the rebellious child who can no longer experience love of their parent, their hearts are set against it, they can’t receive it.

God’s desire is to give us life - there is no other way to life than being in a right relationship with him. He is King. Jesus is lord. To live in obedience to Jesus is to live in love with Jesus. That’s what Jesus is saying here.

I hope you’ll join with me in making this a core value - for yourself personally, and for us as a church - that our lives would be distinctly different because we learned to live in obedience to Jesus.