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TranscriptIntroduction
Welcome to the final episode of our Celebrate God with Your Obedience Series.
If you haven’t caught the previous episodes, please check them out first. And if you’re back with us to see the best example of human obedience, will you please rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and/or Facebook? That would be so awesome, and I’m . . . absolutely sure . . . I could make a solid biblical argument for how rating this show on Apple Podcasts is truly an obedient thing to do. :-) Seriously, though, rating podcasts and leaving reviews are super valuable to the shows, so if this show has blessed you at all, will you please do that? Also, be sure to click the link in the description that will take you to today’s free episode notes, transcript, and discipleship resources. And, now let’s dive into today’s topic. Topic
Today we’re going to look to the perfect human example of obedience in order to motivate and inspire our own obedience.
And — of course — we all recognize that the only Person who obeyed perfectly in all he did, said, felt, thought, desired, and believed is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the second person of the godhead. And we introduced this idea on our last show, but today I want to flesh out our Lord’s obedience a little more. It really is important that we obey like Christ obeyed, so we need to give this topic our attention. But don’t tune out because we’re going to be discussing the most perfect obedience in the universe because you know you’ll never obey as perfectly as He did — in this life anyway. We are commanded to be holy as He is holy because that is the standard, it’s the expectation, and God always empowers us to do what He commands. So, though we won’t be absolutely sinless on this side of eternity, we are to mature so that we sin less and less. So, let’s start by investigating . . . Why Jesus obeyed. Of course, there were many reasons Jesus obeyed perfectly. First, He’s God. Second, His substitutionary atonement wouldn’t have worked if He had sinned. But — third — His obedience is an example to us of how we should obey. Luke 2:22-52 tells us that Jesus spent about 30 years quietly and submissively obeying not only His heavenly Father, but also the human authorities in His life. That’s a massive reality to which I frequently come back when I’m ministering to young people. I know that we’ve all — from time to time — felt like we were justified in not obeying our authority. Sometimes young people think the authority doesn’t know about what they’re talking. Sometimes they think the authority doesn’t deserve their obedience because of how the authority acted. Sometimes they just think the authority is dead wrong. But the reality is that Jesus obeyed every human authority He had. It didn’t matter if they communicated incorrectly, it didn’t matter if He had a better idea, it didn’t matter if He liked them or not . . . or if His authority liked Jesus or not . . . Jesus obeyed. And, as we saw a on our last episode, He obeyed because His purpose on this planet was not His own. Now, again, I feel the need to at least observe that the Truth of the Trinity is beyond us. It’s incomprehensible that three Persons can exist in a single entity, but it’s also unfathomable that those three Persons function in a hierarchy in Their unity. And I’m not here to try to explain that. I believe it’s truly incomprehensible. But the reality is true, and we need to believe it even if we can’t fully grasp it. So, it’s super important to acknowledge that the God of the universe submitted — again — not only did He submit to the Heavenly Father, He submitted to His human authorities. And we need to grapple with the why: Now, sometimes I read a passage and comment on it as we go, but today I’m going to share some principles from Jesus’ obedience that need to impact our lives, and I’ll illustrate them with verses as we go. There’s so much material about Christ’s obedience that I want to systematize it a bit. So, we’re going to look at 10 Principles of Obedience from the life of Christ. 1. Jesus understood the importance of submission and authority. In John 13:12-17 we read, “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you?’” For those of you who may not be familiar with this passage, the God of the universe had just removed His garments and washed twelve pairs of feet. One of those pairs was preparing to betray their Creator later that evening. But Jesus did it in order to give His disciples a powerful example; so it was natural for Him to ask if they understood the lesson. And He continues: “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” Here Jesus is teaching us one of the fundamental realities of the universe . . . everything has a hierarchy. Even God Himself chooses to function within a hierarchy. Presumably, the Trinity doesn’t need to function the way it does. On the other hand, since that’s the way God decided for it to work, I suppose it very much needs to function that way. But let’s not fry our minds on that discussion just yet. The point is God was never going to disagree with Himself. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit had perfect unity, and yet — despite that fact — there was no socialistic, communal, plurality of leadership. And it’s this reality that our sin natures try to undo at every turn. Think back to The Fall. As a result of Eve’s sin, in Genesis 3:16, God tells her, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” The phrase “your desire shall be for your husband” is not referring to some romantic desire. No, no, no. God told Eve that her desire was going to be for her husband’s authority in the relationship. You see, every human relationship is designed to mirror the Trinity . . . hierarchy in unity. Though the husband and wife are one flesh, the husband is still responsible to rule the home well and will be held accountable — in part — for the family’s sanctification — especially his wife’s. This is why God included “and he shall rule over you;” so Eve would understand that her new knowledge of good and evil would include both the good knowledge of her husband’s authority, but also the evil knowledge of the fact that she could manipulate and terrorize her husband into submission. So, here’s the application for us. A. We need to realize that we are subordinate to God. B. We also need to learn that God created us to be subordinate to our earthy authorities. So, our first lesson on obedience from Jesus is that hierarchy is a divine, universal reality that cannot and should not be escaped. Even Jesus submitted to His authority. And that leads us to the second lesson: because He understood His place in the hierarchy . . . 2. Jesus couldn’t act of His own power, and He didn’t exercise His own authority. Let’s consider John 5:19 and 8:28. In 5:19, Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” And in John 8:28 we read, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.” Isn’t that amazing? Jesus knew that He could do nothing of Himself. All of His marching orders came directly from His Father. And again, in John 8, He said, “I do nothing on my own authority.” That’s such an important understanding for our obedience because it acknowledges the reality that we don’t really have any authority. I Corinthians 4:7 uses this same type of principle to teach us not to boast. Paul says, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” Paul makes the observation that boasting is truly impossible when we and everyone else realize the reality that we don’t have anything that wasn’t given to us by God. There’s nothing about which any man can boast. In reality, boasting in ourselves is impossible. The same is true of authority: if we and everyone else simply acknowledged that we don’t have any authority over our own lives, then we would never try to exert it. I’m not trying to say that we won’t be able to boast, but everyone would simply understand the foolishness of it all. This is where Satan’s original problem started. In Isaiah 14:12-14 we read, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” This passage reveals to us the moment in time when sin first entered creation. Lucifer allowed himself to think that He could usurp God’s authority because he had the power to make himself like the Most High. And what’s really sad is that the title Satan used for God speaks to the fact that no one can be higher than He! Satan claimed he would rise higher than the MOST HIGH! There’s nothing and no one higher than the MOST High. Whereas Satan tried to exercise authority he didn’t have, Jesus knew it would be impossible to exercise authority He didn’t have. Here’s the application for us: A. As we learn that we were created to submit to God, we need to realize that we have absolutely no authority to contradict Him. Every time we sin and disobey God’s Law, it’s occurring as a result of the fact that we’re delusional enough to think we actually have the power to do so. But God’s authority is just like gravity. Very few people actually try unaided flight because they know they’re incapable of flight. The reality dispels the temptation. And the same should be true for us. If you truly grasp the reality that you don’t actually have any authority over your life, you’ll understand the futility of trying to exercise it. And that makes this second observation super important. B. Just like you need to submit to God, you need to submit to your earthly authority. We have no authority over our earthly authorities within the context that God has given them the authority over us. We must stop allowing ourselves to think we get to defy or command our authorities. To do so is not to attempt to exercise power over men that we do not have, we’re also trying to exercise power over God that we do not have. By refusing to submit to our earthly authorities, we’re refusing to submit to God’s expectation that we do. 3. Jesus only exercised the authority His Father gave Him. Jesus said and did many things. He taught truth that contradicted the spiritual leaders of the day. He threw people out of the temple. And He also exercised authority over demons and sin and death. But He was the first to admit that all that authority had been granted to Him by the Father. In John 10:17-18 we read, “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” When I teach the martial arts, from time to time I’ll give a lower belt charge over the class. This happens because I need to work with a student or split the class up. Anyway, I’ll confer my authority onto the lower belt, and — in that moment — two things are true. Number one, the class must obey that lower ranking student as if they’d obey me, and two, the child I’ve just put in charge must lead the class as I’d lead the class. If any of the students disobey the lower rank, they’ll receive the same consequence as if they’d disobeyed me, and if the student in charge leads the class incorrectly, they’ll have consequences too. We need to lead with a solid understanding that our authority has been granted to us from a higher Power, and we’re required to submit to the way that Authority wants us to use our power. Jesus did it. We can do it too. And as we learned in the Grow Your Worship Series, what we believe affects what we want. Therefore . . . 4. Jesus only wanted to do what pleased His Father. This is super important for us, because obedience that is a duty isn’t really obedience. John 8:29 says, “I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” This principle is simple, but it’s so important. We have to understand that if we truly believe God’s Word, we will want to obey. Obviously, we talked about this is great detail a few episodes ago when we discussed the motivation for obedience. And so the next logical question is, what pleases the Father? Well, we talked about that in grand detail in the first episode of this series. But this is how Jesus exemplified it . . . 5. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. And this goes for what He said as well. Jesus only said what He was taught to say by the Father. In John 5:19 we read, “The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” In John 8:28 we hear Jesus say, “I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.” Jesus perfectly did the right things, and He knew what those things were because He saw His Father do them. I think one of our biggest problems is that we don’t see the Father do anything. What I mean by this is we’re not in the Word consistently enough to really know how He thinks and speaks and acts and what He expects from us. This is why I’ve hammered so hard on the fact that we need to be studying the Scriptures if we truly hope to mature in our obedience. Alright, so by way of review, 1. Jesus understood the importance of submission and authority. 2. Jesus couldn’t act of His own power, and He didn’t exercise His own authority. 3. Jesus only exercised the authority His Father gave Him. 4. Jesus only wanted to do what pleased His Father. 5. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. And our next principle is that . . . 6. Jesus submitted even when His Father’s will seemed hard. Matthew 26:39 gives us an intimate look into a personal conversation between Jesus and the Father. Knowing the pain of the crucifixion and the agony of being temporarily separated from the Father, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Christ’s ability to do this is identical to our own. We can always obey if our authority is trustworthy. Now, I should clarify, you may have trustworthy authority, and yet still disobey them. This is due to the fact that you don’t truly believe your authority (be it man or God) is genuinely trustworthy in that situation. Even though God is perfectly trustworthy, we doubt Him. James 1:6-8 teaches us, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” When we doubt, we’re not going to obey. We’re not going to be stable. But I believe we can overcome this hurdle when we truly come to know God. It’s clear on every page of the Scripture, and it’s visible in every fiber of our lives. The key is to judge God’s trustworthiness by His character, deeds, and words, not by our personal definition of what’s right and fair and comfortable. Jesus knew that His Father’s way was best. God the Father can be trusted to only do what was in your best interest. And one of the reasons that Jesus trusted the Father is our next principle. 7. Jesus was confident in the fact that His Father wouldn’t leave Him. In John 8:29 we read, “And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” Jesus knew that God the Father was with Him and would not leave Him. He would be there expecting obedience; He would be there giving Christ the authority to do what was asked of Him. And for us — like we learned last time — God will be there to empower us to obey. I Corinthians 10:13 tells us, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” And Hebrews 13:5 comforts us with the promise that “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So, when it comes to learning to obey as Christ obeys, we need to recognize that God is actively working to make His children spiritually successful. Now, our eighth principle of divine obedience is quite startling. We just read John 8:29: “And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” Jesus said that the Father was with Him because Christ did what was pleasing to the Father. Now listen to John 10:17, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.” 8. Jesus’ motivation for obedience was His Father’s love. Now, I don’t know about you, but those phrases rocked me. “For this reason the Father loves me . . . .” “He has not left me alone for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” I don’t want to open a gigantic can of worms, but we’ve seen on a number of occasions that many of God’s promises to us are conditional. Is it possible that the love of the Father for the Son was contingent on the Son’s obedience? Well, I’m not prepared to answer that dogmatically, but there is an important lesson to be learned and applied to our own obedience. For God’s children, obedience is only possible when we’re living in the love of God. We obey God because we love Him, but we love Him because He first loved us. As we rest and flourish in the love of God, we will live in the light as He is in the light. But when we turn our back on that love, we writhe in the darkness of our sinfulness. I’m not suggesting that our disobedience separates us from the Love of God, but I am making the point that we are rejecting the love of God in our lives — the very power to obey Him and worship Him as He deserves — when we stop trusting Him. And that is a terribly sad reality. Now, moving on, even though Jesus’ obedience was motivated by God’s love . . . 9. Jesus’ obedience rarely led to comfort and convenience, prosperity, or personal pleasure. Obeying God doesn’t mean that life will always be roses. In fact, the Bible is quicker to predict our trials and testings than It is our safety and rest. In Matthew 16:21-23 we read, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ 23 But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’” The things God had prepared for His son were going to be hard — we already saw that. And even though obedience was going to bring Him discomfort and inconvenience, destitution, and personal sacrifice, He obeyed willingly knowing that the true blessings of obedience would outshine the hardships. And we must do the same if we want to obey like our Savior. Alright, we’re almost done . . . thank you for sticking with me. And this last truth leads to number . . . 10. Jesus’ obedience lead to blessing from His Father. Obviously, this is the important counterpoint to the last lesson. Though the world may hate us for our loyalty to God, God promises to bless us spiritually when we submit to Him. Of course, remember that doing the right thing in the right way just to receive a blessing is not true obedience. Therefore, we need to know that we will receive God’s blessing only when we do the right things in the right ways for the right reasons and in the right power. When we do that, obedience will always bring a blessing. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that too often we turn this upside down and think we’re blessed when we do what’s right in our own eyes because doing right in God’s eyes so often is difficult and uncomfortable and reaps negative responses from people. But it doesn’t matter what the world thinks. God always blesses obedience. We just need to understand what that blessing is and learn to truly appreciate it. For example, God promises peace, joy, contentment, thankfulness, the power to always to right, and so much more. In fact, we could keep listing out all the ways that God blesses obedience for weeks and weeks, but I challenge you to study those passages for yourselves. For now, though, listen to Philippians 2:5-11, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Wow! That is a future picture of the Father’s blessing on the Son for His perfect obedience. In a much smaller way, we have the surety that God will bless us in the now and in the not yet as we submit to Him. Conclusion
Alright, given the length of some of the episodes in this series, let’s wrap this up.
1. You need to understood the importance of submission and authority. 2. You must not act on your own power, and you should not exercise your own authority. 3. You must only exercise the authority God has given you. 4. You should only want to do what pleases God. 5. You should only do what you see the Father do in His Word. 6. Even when God’s will and your authority’s will seems hard, you must submit. 7. You should be confident in the fact that your Heavenly Father won’t leave you on your own. 8. One motivation for your obedience is that it requires that we be living in the love of God. 9. However, you should understand that obedience rarely leads to comfort and convenience, prosperity, or personal pleasure. But . . . 10. God will always bless us spiritually when we obey. If it was good enough for Christ, shouldn’t it be good enough for us? Please, share this series with your fellow disciples. We all need to mature in our obedience, our worship, and our love. As always, the episode notes are ready and waiting for you on our blog. You can find the link below. And join us next time as we seek to better know, love, and worship God and help the people in our lives do the same. To that end, we’ll be entering the beginning of a brand new celebratory year! And we’re going to start the year with a bang by deepening our knowledge and appreciation for God’s mercy!
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The Year Long Celebration of God is a discipleship experience designed to equip followers of Christ to better know, love, and worship Him as they help others in their lives do the same. We exalt God, teach His people how to practically worship Him every day of the year, and train them to disciple others.
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