December 27, 2009 - Practice: Obey 4.4

Practices #4 – Obey

4.4 – Obedience Brass Tacks

 Genesis 3:1-8 (New International Version)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

God pronounces the consequences, and Adam Names Eve…

Genesis 3:20-23 (New International Version)
Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

Genesis 4:1-2 (New International Version)
Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.
    •    Qanithi ish et yaweh should be structured different.

Genesis 4:3-5 (New International Version)
In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Genesis 4:8 (New International Version)
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Genesis 4:11-12 (New International Version)
Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.

Trace the Lineage of Cain…
The last of Cain’s lineage is a man named Lamech…

Genesis 4:23-24 (New International Version)
Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."

We see that Eve ultimately figures things out… But the damage was already done.

Genesis 4:25 (New International Version)
Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted (established for me) me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him."

Question: Where did it start?

Forgiveness is a fundamental requirement of the Christian existence.

Matthew 6:14-15 (New International Version)
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Forgiveness is giving up our right to be angry.  It is not a foolish choice to allow another to hurt you over and over and over.

Luke 17:3-4 (New International Version)
So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."

Practice: Obey 4.3 - December 20, 2009

Practice #4 – Obedience
4.3 – Ultimate Obedience

Philippians 2:5-8 (New International Version)
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, 
taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

The Christmas Season is a perfect example of what Jesus meant when He said, “If you love Me, you will obey Me.”

Some thoughts on Christmas as a model for Obedience:

1.    Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus…
John 13:15 (New International Version)
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
When you look at people, what do you see?

Ephesians 2:10 (New International Version)
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The model of the Christmas story is this:
Whether a wise man or ignorant, rich or poor, a king or a servant, we must all follow Jesus’ lead and become a servant – both classes bowed before the king.  This was by His own choice, and His great pleasure to do.  Just as it should be for us.

2.    Jesus Modeled for Us What it Looks Like to Obey…
Matthew 16:24-25 (New International Version)
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

3.    He Gave Up Everything to be Nothing…
Philippians 2:7 (New International Version)
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

John 19:9-11 (New International Version)
and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

Daniel 2:20-21 (New International Version)
and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”

Job 1:20-21 (New International Version)
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. 
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

Acts 4:8-20 (New International Version)
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is 
 " 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone,’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name." Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

The Christmas story gives us a model of how we obey Jesus.  And every example in Scripture of those who lived by faith follows the same pattern.

*May this Christmas be filled with the reality of a love for Christ that leads to obedience.

Practice: Obey 4.2 - December 13, 2009

Practices #4 – Obey
4.2 – Lessons from the Race

Paul makes an interesting analogy for the Christian life.

1 Corinthians 9:23-25 (New International Version)
I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Some Lessons We Can Learn From the Race:

1. In Training, You Have to Start at the Beginning.

Jeremiah 12:5 (New International Version)
If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

• No one who runs a marathon starts out being able to run a marathon.

• Matthew 25 – Parable of the Talents

2. There are no shortcuts to running a marathon.

Galatians 5:6-8 (New International Version)
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.

3. Every Runner, in Every Run, Hits the Decision Point.

Character doesn’t come easy.

2 Timothy 4:7 (New International Version)
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

• If you stop running, you never get the privilege of finishing.

So What do We Do With That?

Hebrews 12:1-3 (New International Version)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Practice: Obey 4.1 - December 06, 2009

Practice #4: Obey
Obedience: Promise or Performance

Leviticus 18:4-5  
You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.
 
John 8:31-32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
 
I Samuel 15:22-23
But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."
 
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, "I tell you the truth, 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.

I.    Obedience is needed even when we are not in the mood.

  a.    If we only obeyed when we felt like it

  b.    Even when it is hard to obey

II.    Obedience is needed even when it is not convenient

  a.    Felix – we will talk at a more convenient time
    
    Acts 24:25
    As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said,
    "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you."
 
 b.    When it isn’t easy
 
  c.    Even when our schedule doesn’t allow it – could be that even God would have to make an
         appointment with us

  d.    Serving God is rarely convenient –
      i.    Having a baby is not convenient
      ii.    Going to school, going to work

III.    People of faith are willing to give their will to God’s will by being obedient

  a.    Abraham
    
    Genesis 22:1-3
 
    Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. Then God
    said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice
    him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." Early the next morning
    Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac.
    When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
 
  b.    Naaman
    
    II Kings 5:10-12
    Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh
    will be restored and you will be cleansed." But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he
    would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand
    over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better
    than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off
    in a rage.
 
  c.    Jesus
    
    Hebrews 5:7-9
    During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to
    the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 
    8Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he
    became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
    He learned obedience by the things he suffered
 
Conclusion

I.    Obedience is God’s way of refining us – Sanctification:
 
  a.    Relationships
  
  I Peter 2:23

    When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.                Instead,  he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

    i.    Marriage

    ii.    Friends

    iii.    Church

 b.    It rewards us with spiritual confidence

 c.    We imitate Christ when we obey