The Disciplines of
Christ - Part 7
The Art of Obedience
Intro: Obedience is not such a well liked word these days. Parents today seem
more concerned about their children liking them than being obedient. Maybe
that’s because parents don’t like the idea of obedience either. Even though
“live and let live” sounds nice, the consequences can be quite disparaging. Now
as we hit the halfway point of this study on the spiritual disciplines of Christ, this is
the perfect time to start enacting some of the changes we need to make in our
lives. Remember, if all we ever do is study the disciplines then all we become
are spiritual gym rats, who do nothing with their new found spiritual strength.
In order for our discipline to lead us to Godliness,
we have to start being obedient to the changes that God is calling us to make.
However, obedience is more than just doing what you’re told. The bible paints a
much different picture of obedience than we are used to. The biblical picture
of obedience is quite beautiful and nobody demonstrates it like Jesus. This
week’s lesson is a call to reclaim the beauty of obedience in our lives and
therefore, live in such a way that pleases our God and Creator.
The Discipline
– Obedience for the purpose of
Godliness.
The
Art of the Obedience
Luke 6:46 (NIV) - “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Let’s say you have a boss who has a
“degree” and that’s the only reason they made supervisor. You know more about
how to run the job because you’ve been on the job for years. However, they’re
the boss and you have to listen to what they say. It’s difficult to be obedient
to someone you don’t respect. Or maybe you have a parent who often says, “do what
I say, not what I do”. It’s then
difficult to be obedient to the parent because they have lessened their
creditability.
These are just a few of the examples
of people we are called to be obedient to in life that make it hard to “do what
they say”. To understand Godly obedience is to set aside any human experience
of obedience and realize that Godly obedience is what we were made for.
Godly obedience is to recognize that
his ways are higher than ours…that our way is foolishness compared to his ways.
To think otherwise is the highest form of disrespect and arrogance. For one to
think they know better than God is spiritual idiocy. The Prophet Isaiah puts it
this way:
Isaiah 29:16 (NIV) - You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to
be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not
make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know
nothing”?
This is why I say, when true Godly
obedience is demonstrated it is a creation of beauty. This is because true
obedience is to put ourselves into the hand of the potter.
Jeremiah 18:6 (NIV) - He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this
potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay
in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,
Israel.
Obedience to God is putting oneself
into his hands. We submit to him and let him do his work, and believe me he
does some pretty awesome work.
This takes faith; you have to
believe the creator knows better than you (the creation). And when you get
there it’s so liberating because it’s no longer just on you. That’s why Jesus says, “my yoke is easy
and my burden is light” (Mt. 11:30). That’s what full obedience
feels like. If your Christian faith doesn’t feel that way, then you are either
not being obedient like you should (and therefore are dealing with the
consequences of such) or as they clay you might be feeling the fire of life’s
kiln. We’ll talk more about the kiln before we finish, but for now—let’s look at
the beautiful example Christ gives for us in obedience in this weeks story.
The Story – The Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Questions to consider: What key
words in our story today give us insight into Jesus being obedient to God by
being baptized? Why was Jesus baptized in the first place? What do you make of
the heavens display that God puts on at Jesus’ baptism? What’s that all about? How does Jesus demonstrate
humility in his baptism?
Personal Commentary: This
may seem like an odd text to use as example of Jesus’ obedience to God. I could
have used the crucifixion story. Like the apostle Paul points out, it was Jesus’
ultimate example of obedience to God, Philippians 2:8 says – “And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a
cross!” In all actuality, we could have looked at just about any story
about Jesus as an example of obedience. He led a perfect life, so there was no
part of his life that was not an example of obedience to God. What makes this
story different is that it is the beginning of Jesus ministry (Lk 3:23). And so
that first step of obedience is always one of the hardest. It’s like there is
no turning back once we take that first step. We know that everything will be
different from that first step on. Therefore, that first step is crucial. God
confirms how crucial this act of obedience was for Jesus when the heavens open
up and the spirit descends and God speaks, “THIS IS MY SON” (BOOM! Can you
imagine being in the crowd that day) “WHOM I LOVE, WITH HIM I AM WELL PLEASED”. You know this is a huge deal when the entire
trinity is present all at once. Can you can image the talk of heaven on the morning
of that day? The excitement of the angels, the anticipation of the moment, this
is the event that will kick start everything. From this point on, the only event to rival this in
Heaven will be the end when Jesus walks the road to Calvary.
Now a couple things to note here
about the theology of Jesus’ baptism:
Moore explains it like this: In the
Jewish culture and history, the leader of a nation or people frequently took responsibility
for the actions of his/hers citizens. Kings were responsible for citizens,
fathers for children, and teachers for students. This is particularly true with
repentance. Nehemiah repented for the sins of his people—sins that he, himself,
did not commit. The same can be said for Ezra, Daniel, Isaiah, etc.
Thus Jesus’ baptism could be
understood by his countrymen as a corporate, rather than an individual, event.
In other words, he was baptized for the sins of the nation. If this is so, then
Jesus is making a bold assertion here. He claims to be the one true leader of Israel!
(Therefore), Jesus’ baptism now mirrors the cross, for in both, Jesus takes on
the sins of the nation.
Mark
Moore, Encounters with Christ, p. 17-18
Further Reading: John 1:1-18
The Application Questions:
1)
How was your baptism
an act of obedience that ushered a new change of course in your life?
2)
Why is it hard for some
to be obedient and be baptized? Is it because you believe it is easier to say a prayer or raise your hand
to be saved, is that the obedience Jesus asked for? If you haven’t been baptized by immersion in the likes of Jesus’
example, why not? What makes you so different than Jesus that you don’t need
show your obedience to God like Jesus did? Do you the creation know better than
the creator?
3)
GROUP DISCUSSION: Jesus demonstrates humility
in his act of obedience to God at his baptism and his crucifixion. Discuss as a
group how humility has played a part in your obedience to God or how it has
been a roadblock to your obedience to God? For those in the group that have
been changed by their obedience to God, describe the beauty and the goodness that
God has shaped in your life because of your obedience. What ugliness might
still be in your life without your obedience to God?
Strengthening your discipline of Obedience:
Obedience can be tough especially if you’re dealing with an addiction or a habit you have had for years. It’s as if these sins become a part of you. You actually identify yourself with these sins, for example, “Hi my name is ____________ and I’m an alcoholic.” I know AA has helped millions of people, but the one thing we are as Christians are new creations in Christ. We are no longer defined by our past or our sins. So here are a couple ways you can start strengthening your obedience to God.
1) You need to
rewire your thinking about your identity and you can do that through memorizing scripture that talk
about that.
2)
STOP treating God’s grace as a license
to sin! Romans 6:1-10 (NIV) - 6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may
increase? 2 By no
means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
3 Or don’t you know that
all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were therefore
buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was
raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new
life.
3) Don’t try to tackle them all at once.
Pick one or two areas of disobedience in your life, commit to making a step of
faith to be obedient to God in that area of your life. Tell somebody you trust
about your decision and ask them to keep you accountable.
4) Finally, if you are feeling the fire
of life’s suffering, it can be very difficult to be obedient. Whether it is God
testing you or you’re just dealing with the consequences of living in a fallen
world, it doesn’t matter, you MUST
realize that God intends to use your suffering for his Glory and to make you stronger
through your trials if you’ll let him. However, take this as a warning,
if you choose not to be obedient and go rogue from your faith during your time
of trials, with full intention of claiming grace and coming back to your senses
at some point—know this; God has no problem dragging you through the fire of
suffering again until he refines you for his purpose.
Praying through today’s discipline: Spend
some time in prayer over your lack of obedience to God. Specifically ask for
God’s help and the Holy Spirit to guide your thoughts to who you are as a new
creation in Christ. Humility is the key to obedience so pray for humility. Remember
praying for humility includes asking for forgiveness for your prideful thoughts
and actions. Ask him to help you trust
his ways. And for Him to forgive you for your thoughts of thinking your ways of doing
things were better than His ways.
Blessings,
Jason
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