BE121601
LIVE THE LIFE
5. Obedience is Prosperity.
For the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about LIVING the LIFE - which means experiencing a life of inward freedom from sin and outward transformation and joy. Of all the keys we’ve talked about to access that LIFE, Community, Discipline, Giving, Service, today’s key summarizes them all. That is, OBEDIENCE.
To help me explain this, I’d like to introduce you to the latest addition to the Thiessen family. His name is Manitoba, but we call him Toby for short. He’s an 8 month old Alaskan Malamute. He weighs almost 100 pounds and he ain’t done yet. He’s likely to be 120 it 150 lbs before he’s done.
Now, we’ve spent a lot of time and good money trying to train Toby because at 120 lbs, if he’s not well trained, we’re not just going to lose slippers and newspapers, we’re going to lose fingers and other body parts. How do you think that’s going? Well, let me put it this way:
You know those stories, like the one I heard this week, about a man who told his dog to stay by his forest cabin while he went to town. But a forest fire came up and the dog died because he didn’t move. He stayed right where he was, in perfect obedience to his master’s word?
This is not one of those kinds of dogs. You see, we have high hopes for Toby but really, he’s here today as an anti-illustration about OBEDIENCE. I’m sure it’s somehow our fault, but Toby is an extremely stubborn animal. Here are all the commands he’s supposed to know. Sit, come (here), stay, stand, heel, stop, down, shake and potty.
Now watch as I demonstrate Toby’s amazing submission and respect for me his master…
Toby, here. Toby sit. Down. Stay.
Now, I’m managed to get Toby into what we call a DOWN/STAY. (He’s supposed to be able to stay here for at least 30 minutes - with distractions. You should be able to say his name, praise him, and tempt him and out of sheer love for me, he should obey.)
As you can see, everything and everyone is more interesting to him than me. And I’ll tell you why: He doesn’t trust me yet. He doesn’t believe that I have his best interests in mind. He doesn’t believe that when I demand that he stop, it’s because I don’t want him to get lost. When I demand that he come, it’s because I know there are cars.
Toby is oblivious. We had a foul tempered Great Dane in his obedience class (that class is misnamed) and Toby just got right in her face. Duh huh?! Toby’s above the law. He fancies himself to know more than I do. So when we let him out for a potty break, he actually tries to sneak away from me.
If he can slip out of view, it takes him 3.6 seconds to run to the neighbors where someone is liable to run him over, or shoot him thinking he’s a wolf. Does Toby get this? Look at him. Clearly not. Now there is something we can do to help the situation. I will now let Toby know that I have treats. Watch the difference:
Toby come, Toby sit, Toby down. Toby STAY.
You see, self interest is a powerful motivator, isn’t it? When Toby knows he’s getting perks, it changes everything. The instructor has told us, never let your dog be dependant on snacks to obey. Why? Because you may not always have snacks, and they should be devoted to you as master, not their stomachs.
That’s what I want us to talk about this morning. But I should dismiss Toby before he sees one of your kids and he starts making lunch plans. Toby say goodbye. SHAKE! And HIGH FIVE!
When God was training a people to call his own he spent a lot of time and effort training them to obey just the way we’ve tried to TRAIN Toby. And I want you to pay careful attention to God’s obedience classes for the Israelites. Read Lev 25:17-22
17 I am the LORD your God.
18 Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land.
Now here is the premise of God’s law. God’s law is good and if we obey it we will live a life of abundance. We will be protected, defended, our lives will be enriched, we get to the end of the day and we’ll have provision, we’ll have aid.
Now as good as that sounds, we Christians know that we can never obey all of God’s law – but let me ask you this: does that mean the law is bad? Paul says, in Rom 7:7-12
What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I wouldn’t know what sin is without the law…. So then, the law is holy, and God’s commandments are holy, righteous and good.
The truth is God’s will for us is GOOD. And so God’s rules as the living expression of God’s will is always therefore about our health and life and prosperity.
Now, let me belabor this point because it’s all important for us to “live the life.” Do you Christian have a view of God that is different from that? Do you believe God has good things in mind for you? Do you believe he wants to bless you, to bring you into the abundant life, a life free from sin on the inside and joy and peace on the outside? Do you?
You say, Rick, I want that kind of life. But here’s the problem, you think that God is not for you, you think his face is not towards you. And so when it comes to obeying him, you think obedience is slavery. You’re like Toby over here, he thinks that listening to his master is all about punishment and curtailing of his freedom and NOT FUN. Even though you & I know that my interest is in his health, and his safety.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, we obey a few of God’s commands ritualistically because a few of them happen to suit our temperament or our sensibilities. The first rule Toby ever learned was Potty on command. Why? Because it’s a rule he WANTS to obey. Who wants to carry around a full bladder, right? So he was very obedient.
What about the rules and tests God sends us that DON’T suit our temperament, our sensibilities? It’s at that point that Toby says to his master, and we say to our master:
I don’t trust that you have my best in mind, so I’m not listening to you. It’s like a conversation I had with a long term Christian just this week who said, “I don’t trust that God won’t give me something and just when I’m enjoying it yank it all away from me.
It’s the OTHER SHOE syndrome and Allen Creek, lot’s of Christians live here. They’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. And let’s just right now cut to the chase – the bottom line in the OTHER SHOE syndrome is a backwards, non-BIBLICAL view of God. A view of God as petty, vindictive, capricious, unpredictable, volatile, even cruel.
Some of you will never Live the life until you stop worshipping a God based on half truth. You’re like the 600 million Muslims in this world who pride themselves that they worship the ONE TRUE God. But their image of God is warped and bent. And guess what? Their warped theology shows itself in a warped life. In societies that are dominated by power over the weak, and hatred of enemies. Why? Because Allah is like that.
And before you say, “Tell it Rick, shame on the Taliban!” wait just a minute. I’m sure there isn’t a large measure of Christendom who claim the Bible as their truth source who worship the exact same God. And this warped theology shows itself in warped spiritual lives. You’re not living the LIFE because you’ve never fully surrendered to a God you see as petty, vindictive, and angry.
So knowing that we approach God this way, what does God do? Look back at our passage.
19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety.
He offers us treats just like I offered Toby treats. God does this because he wants us to know that his rules, his standards, his will and calling for our lives always are about prospering us. For example,
- he gave us some rules about debt and some of you haven’t followed those rules and you’re paying the price.
- He gave us some rules about marriage and sex and some of us have not followed those rules and we’re paying the price or our kids are, or maybe we have obeyed and the land has yielded its fruit, you’re feeling protected.
God’s message is: OBEDIENCE is prosperity. Now I know that’s a controversial word. It’s controversial because some TV preachers talk about health and wealth and how following Jesus means you never have any problems and we all drive Cadillac’s.
That’s plainly unbiblical. Paul, the apostle, who taught the abundant life and lived the abundant life more than most, had many, many trials and pains. However, God lays down his commands he appeals to our self interest, he says, I am FOR you. Obey me and live! Obey and be blessed.
And sometimes friend, we can see the perk right now, and like Toby, whenever we see the instant perk, instant gratification, we snap to attention and obey. God’s not above having you obey in this way. He’s not. But like the dog trainer, obedience can’t always be about the instant perk.
You see, there are many times that God asks us to obey him and we can’t see the perk. Look at Toby. He doesn’t see the point in practicing sitting and staying. It’s like torture to him. Especially if he gets no treat directly afterwards. Now with that in mind, go back to our passage:
The context for these verses are rules that God has just laid down about letting the land rest every 7 years. Now, up till this point he’s offering treats, he’s saying, obey me and live the life! Obey me and walk in safety and blessing. Obey me and enjoy the fruit of the land. But because we’re smarter than dogs we can talk back and ask questions.
And the question on the Israelites mind is simple: wait a minute… how – if I obey your command to let the land rest every 7 years – how am I going to eat that year! Simple question. We don’t see the perk. How does obeying God help me? READ
20 You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?"
Now the instant we ask this question, friend we are at a crossroads. And it is not a crossroads of being “good” enough for God. Since the command makes no sense to you, you don’t even look at it as “bad” or “good”. You just look at it as dumb. It doesn’t make sense, it’s outside our ability to understand.
So therefore, it’s not a crossroads of morality per se – no, when we don’t understand God’s command, it’s a crossroads of FAITH! Trusting God that he is for us, that his face is towards us, that he loves us, that his will is GOOD.
Think about Abraham and Isaac. God asked him to sacrifice his son. No there’s a crossroads moment, but was it a moment of Abraham deciding to earn God’s favor by being good enough? Or was it a crossroads moment of FAITH – deciding whether or not he trusted God enough?
Clearly it was the latter. The test itself had nothing really to do with morality – except that TRUSTING God IS righteousness! In fact, God has no interest in Abraham killing Isaac. God didn’t NEED Isaac dead. He could make a million Isaac’s and kill them all and bring them all back to life again. He can make a whole planet of Isaac’s! He has no interest in a dead Isaac – he had a deep interest in Abraham’s FAITH!
Friends, God has interest in your faith. FAITH is the bigger issue in obedience. Do you trust God? Do you see God as good, do you believe he has your best in mind? Will you act on that belief and do just what he says? Saying,
“yes, Lord, because I love you. Yes Lord, because I trust you. Yes, Lord, because you are Good and you love me most!”
If you want God to work in your life, you have to get off the fence and you have to abandon yourself to God - holey and completely. If you want the Spirit to fill you and bring his abundant fruit and comfort to your heart, his power and life, friend, you have to TRUST God and show it by giving your life up to him. All of it.
Suppose you’re a doctor and one of your patients wants you to fix him of a certain ailment. You can treat the condition, but the man says, “by the way doc, I want you to fix me, but I don’t really want to take all your prescriptions and there’s a few symptoms I can’t tell you about.”
Then he says, “now don’t get me wrong doc, I like you, and there’s some things you’re going to tell me that I’m sure I’ll agree with and they’ll fit my lifestyle and temperament. But there’s some other things where I prefer just to judge for myself what I need and don’t need. K?”
What would you do? Well if you had any sense at all, you’d say, “well, you’re going to have to fix yourself because there is nothing I can do for you.” Until what? Until he entrusts his whole situation into your hands and is willing to OBEY you completely.
Friend, God must have your whole situation in his hands if you want him to pour his Spirit and his Life into you. No hesitations, no reservations. No more holding back, no more judging for yourself what’s right, not more hanging on to control.
Allen Creek, the key for you to experience all the life giving power of God, is to finally and completely abandon yourself to Him. And when I say that, I mean doing a wholesale exchange where you abandon your will and control of your heart, your tongue, your attitudes, your sex life, your hobbies, your money, your marriage, your kids, your work.
Everything on the altar. Everything! You have to give up all freedom of choice. ALL OF IT. And in making yourself a slave to Christ, you will only then truly be free. I think very few of us have ever really truly made ourselves Christ’s unquestioned slave! You have to be willing to do whatever God wants you to do.
Friend that’s what it means to obey. It’s an issue of FAITH. Will you trust God? Obedience is not about being good enough. That question was forever settled when God chose to send his son to a smelly stable. And that’s why there has to be a cross. No, friend, obedience is not about being good enough, it’s about trusting God enough.
And to trust God, some of you need a revamp on your image of God. Suppose your strong willed child comes up to you and says, “alright, parent, I’ve made up my mind, I’m going to let you be parent and I’m going to let you have your way from this time forward. I trust you and so I’m going to obey you implicitly, do what you think is best.”
How many of us would say,
“ah HA!! Now I’ve got my chance to make little Johnny’s life miserable! I will take away everything he likes. I’m going to make him do things he hates and give him all sorts of impossible commands to follow.”
No! Friend, stop being afraid of saying to your heavenly father, “YOUR WILL BE DONE.” Because his will is GOOD and he is for you and his face is towards you. The Bible says, “if God is for us, who can be against us? And if God did not spare his only son, how will his not also, along with him, graciously give us ALL things?”
Better and sweeter than health or friends or money or fame or ease of life is the perfect will of God for you and I! Jesus’ commands seem harsh to us,
- love your enemies,
- reconcile broken relationships,
- don’t be under the control of addictive substances,
- stop lying,
- stand firm against the lure of money, power or fame,
- seek the kingdom more than your own success,
- when you are wronged, don’t seek revenge.
But every time he lays down a rule, he also lays down a promise:
21 I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.
22 While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.
Whenever God asks for obedience he gives a promise. And he asks you to hang on to the promise with a white knuckle grip. Rom 4:20 says
Yet ABRAHAM did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.
We look at what God asks us to do, and we don’t know how it will work out in our favor. “What will we eat in the 7th year?” What then? What are we going to hang on to? God’s promises! Jesus said, don’t worry about your life. Take no care, instead, TRUST a God who promises you life and goodness. Will it be pain free? NO! But better and sweeter than health or friends or money or fame or ease of life is the perfect will of God for you and I! Job said, even if he takes my life, yet I will trust him!
Will you commit this morning, to NO LONGER being afraid to say, “my loving Father, THY WILL BE DONE! I trust you enough to obey and abandon myself to you now.” Jesus said, you have to lose your life, deny yourself. You have to become my unquestioned slave, and then, you will LIVE! You’ll FIND your Life! You’ll find everything you’re truly looking for.
And ultimately friend, it’s God. You’re not gaining anything by resisting him, when He’s everything you were made for! Surrender!
PRAYER.
