Sunday Sermons
Renewed by Obedience
Renewed by Obedience
Just the other day the thought struck me that in all my years of being a Christian and preaching the gospel I have never experienced anyone coming up to me and asking, "Mark, what does God love and desire? What pleases Him? What does He really want from me?" Why is it that we often spend so much of our lives focused on what we think we need or want and what will make us happy and ignore concentrating on what will bring joy to the One who gave us the gift of life?
He Has Told Us
If you are wondering about what God really does want and what His "love language" is, He has made His will clearly known on this matter as well as all other topics of relevance. The answer is that God loves when we obey His wise and holy instructions:
- "Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22).
- "For I delight in loyalty, rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6).
- "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word" (John 14:23)
- "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments" (1 John 5:3).
It is Easy to Walk away Sad
The Bible is filled with example after example of where people heard the word of God from not only the prophets and apostles, but even from Jesus Himself – God in the flesh – and walked away without obeying what Jesus said:
- "But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property" (Matthew 19:22).
Note that this young man, who had actually taken the time to come to Jesus and who seemed to be so interested and earnest in serving God and going to heaven (19:16), still walked away from Jesus without obeying His simple and clear instruction. We might wonder, "How could he do that? Why would he choose to walk away, knowing he was in rebellion, and grieving in the process? How could he live with himself?"
Personal Application
Through the writer James the Holy Spirit actually warns Christians against doing exactly the same thing.
- "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22).
Do you see that the Holy Spirit is not talking about people who refuse to attend gatherings in which Scripture is taught. He is actually talking to people who read the Bible, who gather to study, pray and listen to the truth, and then walk away without obeying what they just read. The danger is that we can gather with the best intentions, have a good attitude, be very involved in the class or the study, cry, hug, greet one another, and walk away without doing what the text says.
He Went Away Grieving
How do I feel at the completion of a period of study and worship? Do I leave sad? Guilty? Troubled? May I suggest that leaving with any negative emotion should be to us a red flag. Leaving "down" often means that I am hearing and understanding what God says in Scripture, but I am not applying it to my own life. We are not meant to live continually with this exhausting, draining, discouraging, and completely unnecessary disharmony of conscience.
The Truth about Disobeying Him
God never treats disobedience to His will as a trivial thing. "For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you" (1 Samuel 15:23). In God's sight, simply ignoring His instruction is the same as being involved in the darkness of witchcraft or pagan idol worshipper. He deserves our willing submission.
The Thrill of Obedience
May I suggest to all of us, including myself, that leaving a period of study, prayer and worship feeling sad is not the way to live. There is a much better what to live. The good news is that the Bible frequently exhorts us that we can change at any moment we choose. Cain could have quickly done the right thing and felt better immediately (Genesis 4:7). David wasted an entire year of his life living in disabling and crippling guilt and rebellion(Psalm 32). Once he repented and confessed his sin, he was renewed and all of that burden was lifted. The devil has tried to convince us that words such as "repent" and "obedience" are negative words, yet given the refreshing nature of both these decisions, repentance and obedience are two of the most positive concepts in the world.
The Message of Change
John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2), Jesus (Matthew 4:17), and Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38) all preached a message of change. Repentance is such a glorious word and full of hope. Why? Because it means that you and I can stop, turn around and do the right thing any time we choose. We don't have to spend the precious years of our lives waiting for something to happen, or simply stuck in the miserable rut of hearing the word, feeling sad, doing nothing, hearing the word again, feeling sad again, and doing nothing.
Do I Have Peace?
The devil tries to convince us to remain as we are, put off baptism, delay spiritual growth, and delay or avoid sharing the gospel with others. He tries to frighten us with all the possible negative things that might happen. "They will reject you". "You will lose friends". "The new life is an unknown, better to stay with what you know (but aren't that thrilled about)". "You will probably fail, so no use trying". "That conversation will probably go bad". The question for us is that if we have been buying into excuses like these, can we honestly claim to have any measure of true, deep peace? How is this all working for us?
Paul: I Obey and I Have Peace
- "Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God" (Acts 20:26-27).
So Do Something
- Instead of thinking that a conversation about God with a lost friend might go wrong, forge ahead and tell them about Jesus anyway. Instead of worrying about losing a friend, let's believe what Jesus said, that He will always be with us (Matthew 28:20).
- Instead of saying, "I have had no peace in this area of my life for years". Say, "I am tired of hearing God's word, doing nothing and being sad. That stops right now".
- Instead of saying, "I am going to keep making this excuse and suppress this truth (Romans 1:20). I am going to change that. No more excuses. Just a happy and clear obedience. That is how you were meant to live.
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
