Obedience: Using the Map & Compass
July 14, 2002
Tell me what all of these names have in common…
Hitler, Mussolini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Mu’ammar Kaddafi, Saddam Hussein… How many of you would say, “They’re all tyrant leaders”?
True… but there’s something more. They were all people who were trusted by the masses. They were (& in some cases still are) leaders that sincere people placed their hope for liberation, meaning, fulfillment, a better life for them and their families… only to find themselves deeply disillusioned and disappointed.
And they’re not the only ones in that boat! See, a lot of people (drawn by their need to find meaning, purpose, and direction in life) have ended up following leaders or causes that eventually betrayed and deeply hurt them.
To the point that they have a fear of following anybody or anything. Instead, they silently declare to themselves… “I’ll never trust another person again… outside of myself. From now on… I call the shots! I make the rules! I am the captain of my own destiny!”
And in some ways, how can you blame them? I mean, how can you ever unconditionally trust another authority figure after you’ve been abused by a parent?
How do you cultivate a loving, trusting relationship with your marriage partner if you came from a broken home?
How can you learn to trust God, after His church deeply hurt you?
For a lot of people today, what they want the most – meaningful relationships – they’re afraid of the most. They want guidance and direction, but they don’t feel like there’s anyone out there they can trust!
And so they trust in themselves. Which leads to more problems than it solves… because people who trust themselves & that’s it, have only one real source of help.
What happens when you run into a situation you don’t have the answers for? What happens when you’re in deep trouble that’s over your head? Who do you turn to? Where do you go for answers?
Trust in others and we get burned, trust in ourselves…& we get lost! What we really need are a map and compass for life, and not only that… (like Hiker Hal found out)… we need to know how to use them!
Well, if you’re found yourself in this dilemma this morning, you’ve come to the right place! Because I think this mornings passage of scripture has the answers we’re looking for!
For those of you who haven’t been with us, we’re in a series of messages from the book of Psalms called, “The Psalms of Ascent”
Now, these are songs that the ancient Israelites used to sing as they made their way towards the temple to worship God. Sometimes their journey would take weeks or months, and so they had plenty of time to sing them.
Matt Morgado & I had to take make a fast trip to San Diego this week for our district conference, and so we spent a lot of our time in the car playing “Wheel of Fortune” on my little hand-held
…and another game I’d never heard of before called, “Alphabet”, where the object is to find all the letters of the alphabet in the signs along the road before the other person does!
I’m sorry to announce that he ‘smoked me’ in both games! But they helped us endure the almost 20 hrs. we spent on the road driving this week.
The same thing was true of these Psalms with the Israelites. They only difference was they actually had some redeeming value!
And as we’ve been reiterating week after week, each song (or psalm) is really symbolic of the path we take when we choose to follow God.
This mornings Psalm (Psalm 131) has to do with OBEDIENCE, & the main premise of this Psalm is this … God knows better than I do!
God knows what I need better than I do.
God knows how to handle my problems and challenges… better than I do.
God knows how to help me better than I know how to help myself!
In fact, I’d go so far as to say… that God wants for me, what I’d want for myself, if I knew what God knows! (need to hear that again?)
That being true. Because God knows better than I do, then it’s to my advantage to not only get to know Him, but to learn how to obey HIM!
Into this world of mistrust, betrayal and hurt… God dares to say to us… “Everyone else may be a liar… but you can trust ME!” I’m trustworthy! You can depend on my guidance. You can depend on my counsel. No matter how you’ve been burned, you can depend on my dependability!
God is so emphatic about this message that one of the 1st things he did when He came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ was to say to a group of 12 wandering, confused & angry men… “Follow Me!”
In fact, over 22x’s in scripture Jesus encourages people to follow Him.
That’s a pretty bold statement when you think about it! And amazingly, they saw something in Him that made them decide to do just that. They stopped what they were doing and followed him.
Now in case you think these guys were weak-willed Willy’s… you need to realize that Jesus drew followers who were leaders in their own rights.
They were businessmen, bureaucrats, social revolutionaries, thoughtful intellects and financiers… one of them was even an unrepentant skeptic named Thomas.
These men were no dummies! They were strong-willed, often impulsive risk-takers who gave Jesus ‘fits’ at times. But in the end after 3 intensive yrs. of 24 hr. a day exposure to him, these men (of vision and influence) turned their lives over to Him…followed him for the rest of their lives…. shaped the course of history, and even died for Him!
Now, before you dismiss Jesus as a reliable & trustworthy person to follow, you need to know that since his resurrection over 2000 yrs. ago, He’s been the leader of millions …. and has YET to betray, use, manipulate or disappoint ANY of those persons who’ve committed themselves to Him as fully devoted followers! (present company included!)
Christ is a time-tested Leader who STILL calls us to trust Him! And really He’s the only viable option!
Now once you agree that that’s true… once you’ve gotten tired of trying all the dead-end roads, & decided to wholeheartedly follow Jesus Christ … (which I’d encourage you to do that this morning at some pt. in the service)… you need to learn just how to carry that decision out.
With that in mind, let’s take a look this morning at this Psalm (Ps. 131) and see specifically how we can learn to obey and follow God.
(READ PS.131)
The first step in learning how to obey God is to …
1. Learn to BE HUMBLE
Write those words down in your notes, and then we’ll get back to them in a minute. But 1st, I want you to look again at the first line of that psalm… God, I’m not trying to rule the roost! I don’t want to be the ‘king of the mountain!”
I don’t know about you… but do you get the sense from this guy that he’s been there, done that… and doesn’t want to go there again? I do!
Here’s he’s saying, “God, I’ve tried all the alternatives… I’ve tried to be ‘king of the mountain’… and I got knocked on my can! Here’s a guy, who learned the hard way that trying to ‘rule the roost’, isn’t the way to win in life!
How many of you at one time, thought you were “king of the mountain”, only to be brought down hard to the mat by the circumstances of life? (may I see your hands?) If you haven’t… YOU WILL!
Trying to be ‘king of the mountain’ has a price to pay, because if you’ve ever played that game as a kid… you know, that you’re a target! Everybody’s out to tackle you and knock you to the bottom of the mountain!
I remember watching the movie “The Lion King” and the little cub named “Simba”, just couldn’t wait to be king! And in the movie after singing that very song, he finds out just what that means. Watch with me…
See, when you’re King of the Mountain, you don’t think you have to play by the rules. You think you’re above the rules, until you find yourself surrounded by a pack of hungry hyenas!
Humbling yourself before God means that you agree to obey and play the game by His rules!
I can’t tell you how many times I thought I could be king, and ended up in deep trouble! I was way out of my league! I had deliberately disobeyed God and found myself in BIG trouble!
Thankfully, at the last minute… the TRUE “King of the Mountain” stepped in, just in time and saved my bacon!
I learned very quickly that there are reasons for the rules! And God asks me to obey Him, (not because He wants to Lord it over me), but because He wants to keep me from harm!
Many of you probably remember the name “Chernobyl” from the news. It’s the site of the worst industrial accident in the world. Tons of nuclear contaminants where released into the atmosphere killing thousands of people in the late 80’s
But maybe you never heard how that accident happened. Turns out, that there were 2 electrical engineers in the control room that night, who were bored and started ‘playing around’ with the computers.
They were performing what the Soviets later described as an ‘unauthorized experiment’. Actually they were trying to see how long a turbine would ‘free wheel’ when they took the power off it.
Randy, you could probably do a better job of explaining this, but as I understand it, taking the power off of that kind of nuclear reactor is a very difficult and risky thing to do, because these reactors are very unstable in their lower ranges.
In fact, in order to get the reactor down to that kind of power, where they could try what they were doing, they had to manually override 6 separate computer-driven alarm systems!
One by one the monitors would come up flashing, “STOP! DANGER! WARNING!... and one by one, rather than call off their little game… they just blew through the alarms and kept going!
Eventually their experiment got out of hand and the reactor blew! The results of their foolishness, will be with us for thousands of years!
In the same way, when we decide to blow off God’s warnings and ‘free-wheel’ it, the results of our foolishness not only destroy our own lives, but the lives of innocent others!
Obeying God means to, humble myself and say, “God, you’re God, and I’m not! I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but You do! And so, I’m humbling myself and turning over the controls of my life to you. Show me what You want!”
At the end of this 1st vs. the Psalmist confesses… I haven’t meddled where I have no business, or fantasized grandiose plans…. I’ve kept my feet on the ground.”
Interestingly to me, the word “humble”, comes from the root word for ‘ground’ used here. Humbling ourselves before God is simply admitting that we don’t have any business meddling in God’s business, keeping our feet on the ground and allowing God to lead us!
After learning how to humble ourselves, if we’re going to obey God… we need to…
2. Learn to LISTEN
In the next vs. we read the words… “I’ve cultivated a quiet heart”.
See, after we’ve been humbled a few times by life… eventually we don’t want to hear what we have to say, or others have to say… we want to hear what GOD has to say!
Have you ever been watching a good movie in the theatre… and the person in back of you just won’t stop talking? You just want to turn around and brain-em!
You’re not interested in what anybody is saying at that moment… you want everyone to shut-up so you can hear what’s going on!
Don’t you just hate it when people are talking when you’re trying to listen?
Well, how do you think God feels? How many times do we talk when we should be listening to Him? We’re going on and on, yakking about what’s important to us… maybe we’re praying…and we never stop long enough to hear what God has to say!
How can you be obeying, if you can’t hear what He’s saying?
See, God is a real person, and one of the most basic claims of Christianity is that not ONLY is He real, but He speaks to people! All through the bible we see the phrase… “And God SAID!”
On Aug.7, 1961, 26 yr. old Major Gherman Titov, became the 1st Soviet cosmonaut to orbit the earth and return safely. Later, speaking at the Worlds Fair & recounting his moment of glory, he said, “Some say God is living there (in space). Well, I was looking, but I did not see anyone there!”
After hearing this argument from silence against God, someone quipped, “If he would have stepped out of his space-suit, he would have seen God!”
God is there alright, but sometimes we have to step out of our self-made ‘space suit of doubt’ to hear from Him! Right now there are thousands of invisible radio waves flooding this room.
But you can’t hear or see them… Does that mean they don’t exist? No! It simply means you don’t have a receiver!
In the same way, God is real… He exists… He wants to talk to each one of us… but we’ll never hear Him until we get a receiver. How do you get a receiver? By receiving Him!
By humbling yourself, admitting your sins and asking Him to be your Savior. By asking Him to forgive you for your stubbornness. By personally asking Him to come into your life.
Only then, can you begin to “cultivate a quiet heart”. You spend time developing a personal relationship with Him. See, without relationship, there’s no communication.
A lot of times when my wife speaks to me I either A) don’t hear her, OR b) when I do hear, I misunderstand what I hear! (now I realize, I’m probably the only male that’s ever felt that way!)
Men, there are 2 things you need to understand about women… and nobody knows what they are!
Now, if I have that much difficulty understanding my wife (who I’ve spent almost 22 years with come July 17th)… how much more would you expect to have communication problems with God?
But you know what? The more time I’ve spent getting to know her. The more experiences I’ve shared with her. The more I’ve listened to her… the better I’m getting at understanding her!
The same is true with God. Jesus said in John 10:27 (READ)
There are times when God speaks to me and I KNOW it’s Him! You say how? Because I’ve spent time with Him, talking to Him in prayer, reading His Words in the bible. We have this “sheep-to-shepherd” communication system… and I know His voice!
Now listen, God won’t speak to you, like He speaks to me! God spoke to Moses, from a burning bush… does that mean every time I want to talk to God I have to set a hedge on fire?
But He will speak, if you’ll take the time to quiet your heart & develop a relationship with Him! And when He speaks… you’ll know it’s Him!
3rdly, if you’re going to obey God, it’s going to require that you
3. Learn to WAIT
David says, “Like a baby content in it’s mothers arms, my soul is a baby content… I31:2b
Now I want you to pause for a moment and get that picture in your mind. Is there anything more peaceful than a baby sleeping in his mother’s arms?
See, that’s the picture God wants you to get when it comes to waiting for His instructions. I have to admit to you this morning that I don’t always know what God wants me to do in every situation, and I’m not always that content.
Some people think that pastor’s have this red phone on their desk, like the “Bat-Phone” in Commissioner Gordons office!
And everytime God wants him to do something, his red “God Phone” rings and He tells him what to do! Not true!
It doesn’t work that way! There are times when God doesn’t seem to be even returning my calls, let alone answering them!
I don’t know what He wants me to do! I’m willing… but He hasn’t given me any directions! And at those times, the most obedient thing I can do is to is to…WAIT!
I like how the Jerusalem Bible translates this vs…. “Enough for me to keep my soul tranquil and quiet like a child in it’s mother’s arms, as content as a child that has been weaned”.
See, the believer isn’t like the baby who’s screaming at the top of it’s lungs for God to answer… but more like a weaned child who rests quietly at his mothers side… happy just to be with her.
I heard of a woman this week on “Good Morning America”, who came on and bragged about the fact that her son was now 8 years old, and was still being breast fed.
Now, I’m sorry, but there’s something wrong with that! For starters, I want to ask, who needs it more? The little boy… or the mom?
See, there comes a point when as healthy and good as breastfeeding is, if it goes on too long, it becomes unhealthy!
Instead of seeing his mother as the wonderful person she is, the child begins to see her as nothing more than a way to satisfy his own desires. We need to be weaned from our mothers milk, so that we can go on in life.
Now those of you mothers who’ve breast-fed your children know that the transition from sucking infant to a weaned child, (from a squalling baby to a quiet son or daughter)… isn’t a smooth one!
In fact, it’s a battle! In no time, our little angel turns into a little devil if his/her expected meal isn’t delivered… and quick!
Did you know that God weans us too? See, when you 1st become a believer… God moves in such a quick and miraculous way sometimes, it’s amazing.
The problem is, if you’re not careful, you begin to expect Him to work that way all the time. In fact, when He doesn’t, we instantly throw a fit!
Just like the crowds who followed Jesus after He multiplied the loaves & fishes…we follow him because our stomachs are growling not because we want to hear what He has to say.
But listen, God doesn’t want us to be neurotically dependent on Him for what He can do for us. If you’re a follower of God this morning, He wants you to begin to love Him for who He is… not just for what He can do!
And so He weans us! And I gotta tell you… it’s not an easy time. What was once beautiful, turns ugly in a hurry! When we don’t get what we want, when we want it… we pitch a royal fit!
We cry… “God, why are you doing this to me? Why have you abandoned me? Why don’t you answer my prayers like you used to? Have I done something wrong?”
And then we get really nasty… If you don’t answer me, I won’t believe in you any more!
Well, just so you know… God hasn’t abandoned you… and you haven’t necc. done anything wrong… you’re being weaned! The apron strings are being cut so that you can grow up in your relationship with Him.
He’s teaching us to follow Him because of who He is, not because of what He does! He wants us to seek His face… not His hand!
So that whether the prayer is answered the way you want or not, you can have complete confidence that God is in control.
I think the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon had it right when he said that this Psalm, “Is one of the shortest Psalms to read, but one of the longest to learn.”
Eventually, as you walk the Christian way, you learn that regardless of how long you have to wait…God is faithful… and so I can rest contentedly in His arms waiting for HIS timing, not mine!
But it’s not a wait of hopelessness… it’s an expectant wait. Which leads to our last step in learning to obey God…
4. Learn to ACT
This psalm doesn’t just tell us to wait, but it tells us to wait with hope! (READ) In otherwords, there’s going to come a time when God gives direction, and when that time comes, we need to be ready to act!
I want you to listen to what God says to each one of us this morning in Jer.29:11 … “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord… plans to make you miserable, plans that you’ll regret the rest of your life!”
Is that what He says? NO! “plans to proper you and NOT to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future!”
In otherwords, God’s plans are plans filled with hope! Plans of purpose, plans that will give you a great future!
See, God isn’t some “Cosmic Kill-joy” in the sky, just waiting for you to have fun, so He can deal you a bummer! “Ooops, I see him smiling, gotta take care of that! BOOM! Got em!”
Listen, because you need to hear this. “God’s will is an expression of God’s love for you! And your obedience is an expression of your love for him!
In otherwords, God would never ask you to do something that would ultimately hurt you, or cause destruction in your life! That’s the devils job!
And whenever you obey God, the result is blessing! Earlier in Jer. 7:23 God says… (READ)
God wants us to obey His laws and directions so that it will be WELL with us, not because He wants to restrict our freedoms or control us in some way.
Now, because God’s motives for us are totally selfless, I can trust that when I obey Him… I’ll come out ahead… every time!
God gave us the 10 Commandments… are you obeying them? If not, you’re only short-changing yourself.
God told us how to raise and discipline our kids… are you obeying His instructions? If not… you’re the one that will get hurt.
Jesus told us to love our enemies, forgive people who’ve hurt us… are you obeying? If not, you’re missing out on a blessing!
See God’s commands aren’t given so you can pick and choose the ones you like and forget the rest. He expects us to obey ALL of them, because we love Him, and we know that He loves us!
Jesus said, Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” -John 14:21
According to that vs., the way we show that we love God is that we obey His commands. In fact, in I Jn. 2:3-6, the bible tells us that a person who says they love God, but don’t obey His commands is a liar! (READ)
See, God has shown us how to love Him, by showing us how to obey Him!
Earlier in this series we defined ‘discipleship’ as… ‘a long obedience in the same direction’. In otherwords, you can’t really call yourself a follower of Jesus, without a long term commitment to obedience.
The great thing is that if you’re open, God will guide and direct you each step of the way… but the prerequisite is always obedience.
So… Wait for God, Wait with hope. Hope now, hope always!
Lets Pray….
Do you say you love God this morning? Are you obeying His commands? Which ones are you choosing to ignore? Where are you being disobedient to God this morning?
God’s been talking to you, but you’ve been free-wheeling it! Disregarding His warnings. You need to know that eventually your disobedience will blow up in your face!
You need to decide right now to stop the disobedience, because you’re only hurting yourself & others.
Maybe you’re in a period of waiting. Are you tempted to give-up and doubt that God’s plans and timing are best?
How many of you need to learn how to listen? Could God be talking to you, but you’re just not listening? Maybe you need to spend more time with Him, getting to know His voice.
Do you need to humble yourself? I want to challenge you to voluntarily de-throne yourself, before someone else does!
Make Him your Lord and Savior. Receive Him. (explain)
PRAY
