Walking Obediently
1 John 2:3-6
May 21, 2006
If you were to find yourself in a courtroom standing before a Judge and a Jury, accused of being a Christian, a Jesus follower, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
John writes in v. 3 - "We know that we have come to know him "or more literally", we know that we have known him if we obey his commands." There is to be a connection, a relationship between knowing Jesus and obeying His commands. A connection between knowing Jesus and how we live our lives. Have you made that connection?
As you grow in your knowing of God has your obedience also increased?
Schools use report cards in part to measure and track a student’s performance.
Coaches use the win/loss columns or the box scores to determine whether their team is improving
Musicians attend competitions, recitals and the like to find out how they rank.
I saw a commercial recently that bragged about your car talking to your computer and then printing out for you what is wrong and right with it.
If you have stocks or a retirement account, you watch to see if they are going up or down.
We are a people, a culture that assesses.
determines.
calculates.
if our studies.
our team
our band
our car
our stocks are measuring up
on track
headed in the right direction.
And if they are not we take action quickly, don’t we?
Parents will hire a tutor
or change schools so that their child is on track
Musicians will practice harder and hire a teacher to get the result they are looking for.
Athletes - if they are serious about their sport and wanting to do well will put in the necessary work to get on the wining track.
There is a connection, a relationship between
where we want to end up
what we want for results
and putting in the time
training
being taught the things to get you there.
At Pastor’s gathering, Pastor Kirby from Northern Peaks told this story.
A doctor was meeting with the wife of one of his patients before the two of them would tell him what his situation was.
As the two conferred, the doctor explained to the wife how bad her husband really was. After many tests and lots of blood work his health wasn’t too good.
The wife, a bit shocked asked, "Well is there anything I can do? Anything I could change that might help him to get better?"
The doctor thought for a moment and then said yes, "Your husband needs to eat well, really well. For breakfast he needs, eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast. For lunch, not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but a nice sandwich, a deli sandwich with soup, salad and homemade pie for dessert. For dinner, the doctor went on, he needs a warm meal, meat and potatoes, and salad."
The wife was a bit stunned, but the doctor wasn’t through. "And the house, it needs to be clean, spotless, vacuumed, dusted, no junk piles, neat and orderly." Finally the doctor finished and the two of them went to talk and tell the husband the news.
As soon as the doctor and the wife walked in the room, the husband asked, "How am I? Is anything wrong?" And the doctor began to explain the man’s situation, how bad it was.
The man was stunned. Taken back, but finally got the courage to ask if anything could be done to help him out.
To which his wife quickly said, "No, honey, nothing can be done to help."
You and I can claim allegiance to God.
can claim that we know Him
but is their obedience’s in your day to day life that demonstrates your belief?
Has knowing God affected you -
your month
your calendar
your checkbook
your TV watching
your computer habits
What changes has knowing God brought into your life? For knowing him, having relationship with Him, will necessitate change, obedience to him.
If you have a hard time obeying God, you don’t know him that well.
I remember locker room conversations with my teammates who were wiped/all gooh-gooh-gah-gah over a girl. No longer would he join us at Brocker field for pick-up ball or join us at Burger King after the game, because he was with his girlfriend. We would say, "She has him wrapped around her finger."
Why, because as he got to know her,
his behavior changed,
his actions changed.
Friends - when you and I hear the word obey or obedience, do we think positively or negatively? Most of us negatively. It feels so constricting, so limiting - sometimes it is, except with God.
In Deuteronomy 32:46, Moses gives his farewell speech. He speaks his final words - listen (v. 46, 47). Moses came with Joshua, son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you-they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
With God, obedience always leads to life, life lived well.
Earlier on in Moses’ life, when he was asked by the people why all the rules and stipulations, Moses’ replies with 6:24, 25. In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?" Tell him: "The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."
Obedience to God, Moses says leads
prosperity/contentment
our righteousness.
Friends, when I am struggling in my obedience with God. When I find myself rebelling, at odds with God and his ways, it indicates that I have a love problem. I am failing to understand God’s desire for me and I think my way is better.
Obedience
Being obedient.
Make one right decision at a time for God, in his ways - leads me into a deeper and deeper knowledge of our God.
And as we do that time and time again, we become more fully what we were created to be.
John writes v. 3, "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands."
You can’t just say this.
You can’t just say- yeah; I’m a Jesus follower
yeah I believe.
This isn’t lip service stuff.
This isn’t a jabbing of the jaw.
This isn’t all mouth and not at all the person who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him." (v. 4)
Actions in other words are always louder than words
You can’t claim knowledge.
Claim understanding
Have an encyclopedia knowledge of God
Earn a Ph.D. in God and say -
I know God -
knowledge isn’t the measuring stick.
knowledge isn’t what is graded.
Obedience/Doing/Living is.
The Bible is clear, "Knowledge puffs up"/swells up/.
Inflates, "but love builds up." (1 Corinthians 8:1)
People won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
We lie to yourself.
We lie to our kids.
spouse
neighbors
if all church is
if all God is
if all the Bible is
is a course.
a class.
a compass to conquer
to master.
to earn an A in life.
That’s not how it works.
School can work that way.
The Stock Market.
Music - you can master these, but not God. We can’t master Him, but instead have you let him Master you. Is he your Master?
The way to be mastered.
The path to living into the truth of your life.
The guide to living free, free from the training wheels comes when you and I learn to walk as Jesus did.
John’s words (v. 6), "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."
Jesus is our example.
Jesus is our way.
By listening and then living it.
By learning and then walking it.
By reading and then doing it. You and I come to live out the life we were created to live. And our life becomes the fragrance of Christ to those perishing around around.
John is a Master at this.
He is urgent in his desire that the lives of those people match up with their head and their brain. And he is also realistic. He knows it is hard to change so he gives some incentive.
v. 5, "If anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him."
Wholeness/wellness/completeness/fulfillment comes and is a direct result of our obedience.
As we live into this we experience the love of our creator God. Yes!
And one more thing, John 14:21, John writes these words, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me." Now listen to the promise, to the incentive for obedience." He who loves me will be loved by my Father, (we just heard that) and I too will love him and show myself to him."
God promises to show himself to us.
that we will experience him.
Later in verse 23, Jesus goes further, "We will come to him and make our home with him."
Does obedience matter? Does living out what you believe make a difference? Absolutely. For how you live indicates what you truly believe.
The author Frederick Buechner writes this about the angel Gabriel as he goes to tell the Virgin Mary of God’s plans for her.
"She struck him as hardly old enough to have a child at all, let alone this child. But he had been entrusted with a message to give her, and he gave it. He told her what the child was to be named, who he was to be, and something about the mystery that was to come upon her. "You mustn’t be afraid, Mary,’ he said. As he said it, he only hoped she wouldn’t notice that beneath the great golden wings, he himself was trembling with fear to think that the whole future of Creation hung on the answer of a girl."
And fortunately for us she obeyed.
Mary’s obedience changed the world.
Friends the way you and I live.
The way you and I walk through each day
schedule our time.
Indicates what we believe.
And who we believe.
And what we trust in.
What changes in your life?
In your actions need to be made?
As you grow to know God more and more.
As you read his word,
pause for moments in your day to re-orient yourself to him.
As you worship in church
listen to Christian radio.
participate in a small group
allow Godly influence in you will change and your actions will as well.
How? Well in many ways it is a mystery, but in other ways it is not. This happens because God promises us so.
As we allow God to have his way in us,
we experience a love - a mature and complete love.
we are told that we will see him.
You and me.
Right here and right now.
Is that not motivation?
Verse 6, "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."
Yes? Yes!
So-
Friend, I end as I began.
If you were to find yourself in a Court Room. Standing before a Judge and a Jury. Accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
Amen!
