I would imagine if I ask 20 people this morning “What do you need”? I would get 20 different answers. Rest, peace, relationship, healing, job, car…. It seems we never have trouble finding an answer when that question is asked.
Last week we began a new series we are calling the Greatest, and this morning we want to look at the greatest need. The greatest need of the church, of believers, of the world.
I’m still struggling with the title---the greatest. I don’t think it means what it use to. When the Ringling Bro’s called their circus the greatest show on earth—it really was—for a while. Of course that title is applied to so many things now---this morning 324 million results on google. And what is the greatest today may be replaced tomorrow.
There are some things though—that will always be the greatest. Jesus answer to the greatest commandment still stands. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength.
The final words of Jesus we have called the Great Commission and that mandate is still, or should be still the number one mandate of the church.
Last week we talked about the Greatest Omission for the church is to not follow Jesus instructions to go and make disciples, and our commitment to begin to do everything we can to follow those instructions.
So—this morning we look at the Greatest Need.
And I believe that need is obedience.
Since the beginning of time—the Garden of Eden, the one thing that has caused man to suffer the most-----is disobeying God. The one thing that breaks the relationship God offers to us---disobedience.
One of the most often given instructions from God---is that we obey Him.
This is by no means an exhaustive list---but just read through these with me.
Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and yoru descendants. Ex 12:24
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Ex 19:5
Follow my decrees and be careful to boey my laws and you will live safely in the land. Lev 25:18
Be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly…Deut 6:3
To obey is better than sacrifice, 1 Sam 15:22
Mighty are those who obey his command…Joel 2:11
If anyone love me, he will obey my teaching. Ohn 14:23
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, John 15:10
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 1 John 2:5
This is love for God: To boey his commands. 1 John 5:3
God really wants us to obey him—and more than that—some of the last words of Jesus extend that beyond us.
Go make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and I am with you always.
Questions
1. Why is it so important to God that we obey Him?
We need to understand this. God does not give us directions to obey as some sort of power trip. He is not trying to prove His authority or his power over us. He has that—he can do whatever he wants---and giving us directions and us obeying does not make him more powerful nor does our disobedience make him less powerful. The reason God wants us to obey is the same reason a parent wants a child to obey. We know so much more then our children. Our desire for their obedience is because we want the very best for them---and God’s desire for obedience is the same. He wants the very best for us—and has given us directions that when obeyed accomplishes that life.
2. Why then do we disobey??
God also gave us the freedom to make the choice. To fully experience the joy of relationship their has to be choice. We disobey because we deep down, ultimately want to be the boss. We want to call the shots----so we do. And we pay the consequences.
I believe it’s why the church today only has glimpses of being like the church in the book of Acts. I mean when we read about that early church and we see a complete commitment to one another, to being in one accord, serving one another, growing in number daily, no one being in want, we get excited about that church. But do we see that church often in our time??? Not as much as we should.
Let me explain---and let me say this. I have fought all week the battle of this becoming a teaching that beats us down. It is not my heart that preaching be a spanking every week. And I hope by time we are done today we can start some positives of obedience. With that said—there are times when we have to be honest about our disobedience –and it may be hard to hear or hard to address---but unless we do---we never correct it.
Here’s why I think obedience is the greatest need in the church today.
1. We have a GAP.
We have settled for Biblical knowledge without Personal Action. And rather than admitting the gap and repenting of the gap, it has become accepted.
For example-----how many of us could stumble through the Great Commission if someone ask us? I mean we would maybe not quote it word for word, but we would get the meat of it? (raise hands) Okay—maybe 75% of us. Now—don’t raise your hands. How many of us have done it???
This was Jesus instructions to us---we are the church. To those of us who would call ourselves disciples---Go make disciples and teach them to obey everything-----we don’t do much teaching to obey everything because we have not obeyed everything.
And the sad part---is for most of us we would say—that’s okay.
But it’s not.
Listen---I don’t know how it was in your home or is in your home. I say was because my kids have grown and left home. But if, one of my kids came walked in the door and I said—Dear, your room is a mess, please go and clean it up. And then later they came back into the room and said. Dad, listen to this. “Dear, your room is a mess, please go and clean it up.” I would not jump up and congratulate them on their wonderful memorization of my request. I would not put a star on the frige, or buy them an award. And if they came in later and quoted it to me in the original greek language I would not think more of them. Or if they even told me that some friends were coming over to discuss what it might look like if they actually cleaned their room.
That scenario sounds ridiculous to us---but it’s what we have done with Jesus instructions.
Let’s take one teaching of Jesus--- the Sermon on the Mount. Just 3 chapters, 109 verses
Let’s just start there---Be salt, be light, be more righteous than the Pharisees, don’t be angry, don’t have impure thoughts, Marriage is for keeps, Don’t make promises you won’t keep, Turn the other cheek, love your eneimies, pray for those who persecute you, and that’s just one chapter.
Problem number one is the gap between knowing and doing.
Problem #2 is “We have forgotten we are followers”.
Here’s what I mean. How many of you remember Follow the leader?? Fun game, Someone is the leader, and the other follow. Not difficult.
The problem is that we have called our selves followers while not following. We have ask people to become followers of Jesus but not modeled or told them what it meant to be a follower.
Problem #3—We don’t to be questioned.
I am the first to get agitated if someone questions my obedience to God. I get defensive, and argumentative, and angry. I also over time get speculative, and when I calm down, get investigative and finally get honest.
It’s no fun questioning our obedience, but it is necessary if we are to really be who God wants.
What do we do??
I believe that the majority of believers in this room want to be obedient.
I believe that we understand God’s love for us and that we really do want to live humble, submitted lives to him. That being the case---how do we become obedient in this matter of ‘go make disciples’.
#1---Know
We need to know what Jesus says. We need to know the decisions that honor God and don’t honor God. The reason we default to following our feelings is because we often do not know what God’s words says.
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” That verse is in Psalm 119. It’s verse 11—let me read the words after it.
Praise be to you, O Lord, teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoinse in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees, I will not neglect your word.
#2—Go
We need to realize that our life is the going. Our daily activities are the mission field. That as we go---somewhere along the way we are to be making disciples—followers, batizing them, and teaching them to obey. Which is the third part
#3-Show. Our best way to teach people to obey is by obeying. The greatest influence is our obedience. When we control our anger. When we practice honesty even if it cost us. When we forgive when people hurt us. That is the way to teach people to obey.
Someone said, “our beliefs will find their way into our behavior.”
If we believe that God is our creator. That our sins separate us from him. That Jesus is the only answer. That our status as followers carries an expectation. Then we will obey the instructions of Jesus.
In 1989, Robert Fulghum wrote a best seller titled, All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten.
Trying to write a personal statement of belief he came to this conclusion:
“All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned.
Share everything, play fair, don’t hit people, put things back where you found them, clean up your own mess, Don’t take things that arent’ yours, say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody, wash your hands before you eat, flush, warm cookies and cold milk are good for you, live a balanced life—learn some, think some, and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the word, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.”
Everything we need to know is right here. Most of us have the knowledge of what we need to do-----now it’s time to obey.
