Obey…And Leave the Results to God

And I’ll just tell you one that’s very personal to me. I signed up for Medicare this week. That got me thinking about my life, you know. I mean, Medicare’s for old people. I’m glad Livestream doesn’t pick up the cheap shots that are going on right now here in the room.

That’s a good thing. You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about my life because in November I will turn 65, maybe 65. Yeah, you know, I’ve been asked by people They continue. I knew this might be risky, but weird from a lot of people. How old are you anyway?

You know, and when were you born? You know, stuff like that. And so anyway, I Looking back. I know way back to my childhood. I I found myself Remembering something that turns out I was quite well known for.

Though not a very flattering thing to admit to you. Let me explain. Yeah. No, it’s not that I was a Raider fan or something like that. It’s related actually to my message today.

It’s the topic on my mind. I recalled words that I had heard often when I was young this last week for reasons that you’ll see in a moment. And along with being young, I’m going to say I was fairly defiant as a kid. There’s not a surprise look in the room right now. Okay.

You’ve heard me tell enough stories about my rather rowdy days and the fact that my parents were called in by the dean of Students in my high school and said Steve’s gonna be one of four things. He’ll be either a preacher a politician a policeman or a prisoner and And I you’ve heard me say I came close on all of those. So the truth is God had a lot of work to do in my case and he’s done that work So this defiant kid as I’ve been described by those in my family Here’s a great picture of how it went. It went something like this. I was given a directive as a child Something that every parent gives a child Steve blush a brush flush and hush.

It was just kind of the nighttime ritual, right? And my response was unlike my brother and my sisters I would stop and look at them and say why in that tone and practice answer was Because I said so right Now if I was at that point slow to respond and I was let’s call it persuasion was applied and And it caused me to eventually comply It doesn’t take long to learn that brush flush and hush are easier than I Spanking on my little bottom to prompt

that outcome But the truth was I was complying on the outside But there was this I was still this hardcore rebel on the inside It’s like yeah Maybe hush, but that’s it So since I’m a fairly quick study I noticed my older brother two years older and my older sister four years older and it didn’t seem to turn out that way for them on a regular basis and And honestly I started wondering what you know even as a kid how come they don’t get it I

mean how come they don’t you know have these compliance measures implemented in their case You know why then I started looking at them like are you weird? Why are you so compliant? This is a little guy thinking these thoughts. Why are you so compliant?

You know was it why am I picked on because clearly I’m being singled out here was my Rather illogical assessment of the situation and then I started thinking maybe this is that Third-born trauma, you know, you’ve heard of it, right? It’s a thing. It’s really a thing out there and they were happy with the first a girl the Second a boy and then me right so I’m thinking I’m taking it all personally, but I wondered why Why at the basic level? Why did they obey? And what was it in me?

That didn’t want to I’ve asked that question for years of little kids I was a coach years ago of my kids sports teams basketball softball I remember asking That team and I’ve asked kids since so what is it that makes you do what you’re told to do by your mom or dad or both and Their answers were very revealing in fact so revealing that they I think spill over into the question. That’s more important than my childhood Why do we obey or in some cases disobe?

God our heaven Father you see the connection now so let me share their answers their first answer was what do you would guess fear? Why do you obey your parents? Well, it was it was obvious there you better or else You know and and there was a gulp in their answer and and it was you know if you don’t obey they knew what Persuasion meant in my family and they apparently did the same kind of approach in their family there were spankins there were restrictions in

Those things motivate Then came another one which was interesting and I remember it well, and it’s pretty consistent respect You know they are your parents after all and and that makes them in charge and They they that was enough for some kids there there They know what they’re talking about and by the way the Bible agrees with that Ephesians chapter 6 says of the first commandment with a promise children Obeyed your parents, right?

So we get that one and the promises a long life a long and good life. That’s not a bad payoff for obeying your parents The third was trust and I found that kind of interesting trust that your parents know What’s best for you? Why do you obey it? Well, cuz they’re my parents. It’s not just you know the respect that they’re my parents, but they look it’s working for them was some thinking in that response so I Trust them that they they know that I need

proper nutrition and I need things like rest and an occasional bath as a kid They know those things here’s another one though, and I can really relate to this one as well to avoid their disappointment That was a big deal to me powerful powerful to me Sometimes it was that look My mother loved me no matter what my dad was very conditional with the look with the look Steve do this why I mean the look was Really?

You know I had it good with child number one and child number two, but there’s you he never said that and I think he was pretty proud, but So the fear of disappointment and of course the fear of those words. Why did you? So Steve why did you do finish the sentence? I had plenty to pick for oh Why didn’t you meaning I? Told you not to why didn’t you obey me?

Perhaps one or more of those are on your list – you think of your childhood you think of kids that you have Even kid grandkids today you see some of the same patterns That roll out as to why we do or don’t obey parents that said There’s one more reason And it seems to me to be the highest reason of all And I’m not making this up Because the Bible says so My Bible’s open to the 14th chapter of John there are four Books in the

Bible we call them. These are Gospels Matthew mark Luke and the fourth one is John if you’re New to your Bible. We want you to know that that’s good information the 14th chapter out of 21 chapters Okay, so doing the quick math work two-thirds of the way through John when we land on this page The Bible describes this reason for us. It’s It’s love Why do you obey your parents? The highest reason you can The same exact thing as you will read with me now is

true in John 14 when Jesus says it’s love They’re inseparably linked in fact So let’s call love the this morning the lasting motive the enduring motive the Sustainable motive Think gas in your tank as a motive the sustainable motive for obedience I want us to visit now an intense and Very intimate evening that Jesus is having with his disciples.

There’s a context statement that will entice you to read further Then we have time for this morning and that is this is chapter 14 of John It’s part of one evening that is reported and it takes five chapters for John to tell us what took place on this the last evening Jesus had with his disciples before the next morning He was on a cross giving his life for them and for us Okay, so John 13 14 15 16 and 17 actually all happened that night Okay,

we’re in the second chapter. They’re in the room John chapter 14 and As most of you were there, I want to have you hear these really impactful words by Chuck Colson and he makes a connection. He’s with Jesus now, so I’m sure he’s seeing how how true his connection was in a book that he wrote that continues to impact my life it’s called loving God and it’s when Chuck Colson went from criminal to a converted center and Follow her a passionate follower of Jesus Christ He

said this in that book of the connection. We’re trying to draw attention to here this morning a passionate desire to obey and please God is the beginning of loving God Some of you are writing that down. I’ll say it again a passionate desire Something in you says I I don’t know exactly why but I Want to do this.

I want to do what he says. We heard Angelina say that when God told me I wanted to do it I Got to say there’s got to be love there. Maybe there’s lesser reasons, but I think that’s present for sure So here’s the deal Colson said it’s a passionate desire to obey and please God Which marks the start of loving God? Okay So this the last night he places a high priority on obedience If you love me he starts verse 15 keep my commandments Some of

your versions say obey me Same story starts with if you love me Obey me I will ask the father and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever He’s introducing the Holy Spirit the spirit of truth The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him But you know him for he lives with you and I love this expression and it’s not a mistake in the text And we’ll be in you That’s the game changer the Holy

Spirit walked with people Since Pentecost which we’ve looked at in Acts chapter 2 and we’re going to return to Acts and our study and finish the book of Acts in two weeks from today the Holy Spirit since Acts chapter 2 and His coming as promised by Jesus to live inside of us anybody who bows their knee to Jesus And says I surrender to you I confess my sins to you I plead with you for forgiveness Will not only be forgiven but have the Holy Spirit come

to take up residence in us. Amen That’s so cool.

That’s amazing. It’s not a book you have to follow It’s not you know get down some you know some commands and learn to live them It’s welcome the Holy Spirit who’s gonna help He will live in you live with you and be in you. I will not leave you as orphans Jesus continues I will come to you Before long the world will not see me anymore. What was that true? But you will see me because I live You also will live on that day you will

realize something Think of a light bulb going turning on you’re gonna have this aha moment that I am in my father And you are in me and I am in you That’s why I called this an intense and intimate conversation we’re listening into the one who loves me Will be loved by my father and I too will love them and show myself to them Now there’s a break my text has it in different color to announce it Judas not the betrayer is scary it different Judas

disciple said Lord why do you intend to show us?

Why are you gonna reveal yourself to us and not to everyone else? Jesus replied anyone who loves me and you do will obey my teaching My father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them Anyone who does not love me Will not obey me he will not obey my teachings these words you hear are not my own they belong to the father Who sent me? Did you hear what he’s saying at the heart of this love is the motive

of? Our obedience verse 15 is worth reading again and again if you love me Keep my command Keep my commandment seems to be the thing that we emphasize and not for Not incorrectly it’s an important thing it’s obedience But we need to start with the love part We need to say as Jesus said in a question form really if you love me and you say you do think of the Watch my fingers. This is vertical And this is horizontal.

Okay, if you love me then live it out obey me Do as I have commanded you to do That there’s a there’s a an empowerment being described in the next two verses 16 and 17 which has to do with this needed helper Phillip answer used to tell the different titles Of the Holy Spirit helper comforter encourager Interceder Romans 8 all and many more and he would mention those he’d say have you have you stopped? Recently and wondered why he was given all those labels the Holy Spirit is one proper noun proper language for him Why is he the helper? Why is he? This this Empower or he’s your advocate here to help you Nancy says very simply you know why? Because you need help That’s it Help has arrived I’m not with you anymore.

I’m within you I’m living in a in a way to empower you This is this is to top the list Reasons in fact for why we obey God because obedience Let’s just admit it out loud is not easy at times It’s really easy to do a lot of Christian things when we’re together, isn’t it? I mean I feel like that I’m married to a wonderful Christian woman She’s married to a Christian man And you notice I left out wonderful but No, we it’s easy Most of

the time we have to work at it, too I Work at a Christian job Not everybody behaves like Christians that come in the door I’m not what I’m saying I’m saying I don’t have to hide the fact that I’m a Christian I don’t even have to hide my Bible. I have about a stack of them in my office of different translations and if you came With some bad behavior to confess You’re trembling you’re not sure how to get it out Somewhere in there you’re gonna expect

me to bring out the Bible and do better than what I have to give you I’m gonna try to find What God has to say to you that’s my priority this so you know But that’s not true in other jobs You can have an affair on your hands you could commit adultery and and any other job says who cares do not bring that into the workplace It’s not easy to work there Some of us are probably faced with the hardest thing of all and when it

comes to obedience this will test you to forgive someone who hasn’t even Admitted they’re sorry See what I mean so obedience is tied to this love thing for good reason for good cause Because you can you can choose one of us Those other ways well, I’m I’m gonna get through this Because I fear God so I’m gonna obey him or or because I Respect God or trust God or even don’t want God to be disappointed and all of those might play a part But Jesus is

saying take your game up It’s about love Keep your eyes on me and the love you see in me for you and things are gonna look differently You’ll suddenly feel this high-octane fuel Start to course through your veins to help you obey when it’s not easy to do And I could go on and on with a bunch of other examples God wants obedience from his people. Here’s the deal no matter what The circumstances might be and no no matter what the There’s not a condition here

it’s just a question do you love me if you love me It’s gonna it’s gonna translate into obedience Love is motivated many people in this book our Bible to obey In fact, it’s a long list for example Most of the great figures In the Old Testament You want to look at a list of them go to Hebrews 11? Freshen up you’ve been there before but maybe check it out with what I’m saying most of those people in the Old Testament died Without seeing the outcome of

what had been promised to them How do you do that?

How do you stay focused? And Obedient to do what God asked you to do that’s extraordinary And and you stay at what sustained them through such things We got time look at this hold right here and go over to chapter 11 of Hebrews It’s your near the back of the Bible here Hebrews 11 just go to verse 32 okay turn there Hebrews chapter 11 verse 32 What sustained these people to do what I’m about to read? The the writer here of Hebrews says what more shall

I say? He’s been given example after example Abraham and Moses and Jonah and all these people He says I don’t have time to tell you about Gideon Barak Samson Jepthah about David and Samuel in the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms administering justice and Gained what was promised who shut the mouths of lions? The fury of the flames Escape the edge of the sword whose weakness was turned to strength who became powerful in battle and routed foreign enemies We don’t even have time to mention all

their names women received back their dead raised to life again There were others who were this list is even painful to read they were tortured they refused to be released so that they may might gain an even better resolution verse 36 some face jeers and Flogging that’s beaten beyond belief Even chains and imprisonment and they were put to death by stoning they were sawn in two they were killed by the sword They hid in sheep skins goat skins destitute persecuted mistreated the world was not worthy

of them they wandered in deserts and mountains and lived in caves and in holes in the ground Why I?

Submit to you it wasn’t that they were afraid of God They had a love for God. They had a love that said I want you God to get all the glory. I don’t see how you can with what I’m going through but because I love you and because I I believe that you have a That works together for the good Romans 8 verse 28. I will steadfastly stand there. Amen It’s where I’m going to stay I think everyone I’m putting words in their mouth, but I think they would say the same If the Old Testament is too far away, you can’t relate take Paul the Apostle We’re learning a lot about him in our study of acts and if you if you realize came from and then the energy that sustained him How could it be anything beloved he in his career as a Jesus follower?

He was not always that read Acts chapter 9 and you’ll see But when he met Jesus everything changed and he followed Jesus with all of his heart Okay, and and here’s the deal he planted churches all over the Mediterranean and then late in his life About to turn for home and be with Jesus What did those churches look like those flourishing centers of worshipers? Not a chance They were a series of small struggling groups In fighting Struggling with understanding theology and in some cases embracing bad

thought Bad thinking But still he obeyed I want to tell you two other examples three real quick the first there’s a guy named Cotton Mather. Do you remember that name in history? It’s a it’s actually US history. He was a great colonial Pastor in the American history books who prayed for revival I just can’t even fathom this I I got stuck when I read this about him this week He prayed for revival several hours a year That would be a huge commitment in my mind a

month You know where I’m going a day a day he prayed for this and the great awakening which happened in America Actually happened it began the year he died and turned for home You wonder how many days I didn’t do the calculation but over 20 years of praying hours every day and The year he died is the year the great awakening happened in America Debbie and I just saw with some friends the Jesus Revolution and how many cried in that movie I did we did there

was these tears of remembering it we were there we were Not that old but we were there and and it was powerful and And long before that there was obedience that powered that was powered in Cotton Mather with love then comes along some Unforgettable unforgettable development in Britain William Wilbur force I was freshly impressed with the fact that he he gave 50 years of his life to abolishing slavery 50 years and it was on his deathbed exhausted that the campaign against human bondage was successful 50

years Obedience sustained by love And here’s one that any missionary tears up to to hear Hudson Taylor Life long mission in a Probably a guy that will spend a lot of time with Jeremiah because he gave his life on a mission to turn Judas around to repent of their sins and he gave 40 years of his life Hudson Taylor longer than that his whole life in Asia planting seeds of the gospel very sparse fruit But ask any Chinese lover of Jesus today and they will tell

you the roots trace all the way back to Hudson Taylor planted intended seeds of the gospel The rest is history right powerful stuff obedience despite circumstances and Obedience despite the outcome So that’s a big list I just mentioned long long ago and more in our last several centuries of people who obeyed God in a sustained way because of love it was the motivator that kept them Pressing ahead.

It’s the evidence. Let me show you again as as you look at three verses Just we’ve read them already whoever has my commands verse 21 and keeps them is the one who loves me Obedience is evidenced in our love That’s verse 21 look just a little down the page of verse 23 anyone who loves me will obey my teaching 1 to 1 relationship here and verse 24 anyone who does not love me You don’t have gas in your tank is what he’s saying here You don’t

have the needed stuff to do what I’m commanding you to do to live for me We can talk all we want about loving God and we do that a lot The purpose of worship is to draw us into his presence and cause us To respond in love to what he’s done Ron quoted 1 John 4 10 this morning we love Because he first loved us That’s true and if we’re if we’re not obeying him then in Jesus words I’ll read it again verse 24. I’m not

sure you’re loving me The way I’m describing Love is a fuel and it powers people to do as they are commanded to do by God I hear people say you know, I love God a lot and then when they get to sections of scripture 1 Peter 4 for example says we all been given a gift and we’re supposed to use that gift and And they’re not using their gift. They say things like well, you know what I? Don’t have time in my schedule Am I going

too far to say it and don’t call it love?

Let’s just say there’s a there’s a couple of clicks off there Or here’s another one if Jesus said give to me and he does a lot 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 for example tell us He’s given us resources for for his glory and for our good Sometimes we miss the first part and say no, I don’t this church is so willing to release resources When I say that I don’t mean everybody I mean there are some that I have a hold back and they say Well,

you know, I will when I can afford to I will give when I can afford to and and I’m just saying well I just don’t see conditions like that or caveats like that in the Bible So let’s talk about it if that’s been a sticking point for you You might even hear a broad word. We sang about it already trust Trust me Jesus says trust in the Lord with all of your heart Proverbs 3 verse 5 says Not on the biggies and ignore the little ones

in everything trust me with all your heart Okay, so if he says that and we say things like well, I will Lord, but there’s limits I have my limits That’s in the area that I have I’m not I’m not there Can you at least agree pray a prayer Lord? I want to show my love for you by By trusting you you’ve told us to trust you you expect us to obey that So obedience is evidenced in loving God Oswald chambers in his book my utmost for

his highest said this if my relationship to him is that of love I will obey what he says without hesitation If my relationship to him is that of love then I’m gonna do what he says to do Without hesitation Do you I Want you to please be reminded that I don’t I don’t say that Because it’s something to make you squirm. I Say that to confess to you. I’ve been squirming all week All right, this is not an easy message We’ve already established some of the

things he asks us to do are not easy to do But he still puts that in front of us That we obey as Oswald would say without hesitation And and it seems to me to be fair to what God expects of us.

It’s it really isn’t hard At some level or complicated is there something if it is for you hard or complicated is there something that’s holding you back from living your whole life in loving obedience to him You think about that it’s not Sunday obedience It’s not in some ways obedience. It’s every day every way The Apostle John wrote in one of his postcards first second and third John he wrote those and in first John chapter 5 he says this for this is the love of God

I’m about to tell you verse 3 that we obey his commands and he adds this and his commands almost like he’s trying to say don’t bristle don’t Step back don’t fold your arms and resist His this is the love of God that we obey his commands and his commands If you love him are not difficult to obey God never gave us a single command in his word that we couldn’t obey Don’t know the help of the Holy Spirit. Don’t try it on your own. You will

stop short But say Holy Spirit. This is a tall mountain and I get winded quick Help me climb it Will you bow with me this morning?

Have there been let me say it again while you’re more reflective for a moment just to close your eyes Let God talk to your heart if if there are limits on your obedience Would you be honest enough to say maybe there’s a love problem in my heart I’m not sure what it is maybe that’s Psalm 139 says search me. Oh God. I need your help to search this out Lord There’s a moment to do that now this morning If something stands in your way from obeying

Jesus all the way Then give it to God and ask him a simple prayer ask him to take it out of the way If obeying God for you Is on and off I know of only one remedy To give him full access to your heart today Ask him to grow a heart of love in you for him that will result in joyful obedience To everything he asks I’ll obey you Lord. Is that your yes this morning? If there’s things in the way Will you pray to

him as we sing and respond to him now

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 5,047 words.