August 19 Sermon - Learning
to Obey the Word of God
On the first night of
Peter sighed, “Master, we’ve fished out their all night and caught
nothing – It’s a waste of time.”
Jesus gave him a stern look, so finally Peter gave in. “Because you say
so, we’ll try again.”
When they got away from shore and put down the nets they caught a lot
of fish – so many they couldn’t get them into the boat. (Luke 5:1-7)
The point of the story is
obvious. Listen to the Word of the Lord
and obey it. Obedience can lead to
blessing.
Obedience is the sign of faith.
If you believe Jesus is the Son of God, then show it by trusting His
word and following it in your life. But
maybe you have to learn for yourself that God’s way is good for you.
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Some of our VBS students
explored the lesson with an exercise: make up rules for our water park. Part of the group protested: “We don’t want
any rules at all.”
What about a rule: “No eating in the pool”.
“Why?” the no rules group asked.
Do want to swim in water with Fritos, half eaten hot dogs, ice cream
bars and other trash?
No, so maybe some rules – boundaries are necessary – make our lives
better.
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Children seem to instinctively
know that one of their jobs is
to test our boundaries - children of all ages test their parents - why do
some teenagers die their hair green, or shave their heads? They see how far they can push us, and what they can get away with. By doing so, they not only learn about our
boundaries, but they learn about
their own.
Pastor Earnie Lantz has a T shirt that reads:
“How much can I get away with
and still go to heaven”
We are free to choose, but we
are responsible for our actions - we are
held accountable, not just at the day of judgment, but in this life
We must bear the consequences of our actions, as the
psalms say;
It was good for me that I was
afflicted, that I might learn thy
statues and commandments. Psalm 119:71
By bearing the consequences of my sin, I learned for myself that God’s law is the right way
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But we also suffer the consequences of the wrong
decisions of others around us. Other people’s actions, their sins, negatively affect our lives.
There is a lot of unmerited
suffering - we endure hard
times we don’t deserve.
Then it is easy to lose sight
of the big picture. But rather than
asking “Why me?”, it is more helpful
to say “Why not me?” Believers of all generations have faced
hardships – why should you and I be an exception?
We respected our earthly fathers who disciplined
us. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the
heavenly Father and live? ...But
God disciplines us for our own good. Hebrews
12:9
Who loves the child more? - the
parent who lets the child do whatever they want – never disciplines them – even
lets them do what might be harmful? Or
the parent who corrects trains and even disciplines the child, helping her
learn what is right?
Just as a loving parent disciplines his or her child, so God disciplines
those He loves. We are God’s children, and He cares for us. When
God corrects you, see it as proof of his love – and ask Him what it is He is
trying to teach you.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather
than pleasant; but afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews
12:11
Why doesn’t the Lord immediately come to our aid as soon as we ask?
Sometimes the Lord sees this
situation as an opportunity for us to
grow and mature. Something
that we must work through.
If the Lord immediately
rescued us, then we wouldn’t be able
to handle a similar situation
when it came up again in our lives.
The Lord, like a parent, is
concerned that we mature and grow.
Painful experiences that we must
now endure are NOT to be seen as punishment
– God does not cause suffering,
and God does not use suffering to
punish us.
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But suffering is the training
ground for Christian maturity. It
develops patience, teaches us to rely on God’s power.
The point is that the Lord uses the experiences of life to train us and prepare us for the future – to discipline us – to help us develop and mature.
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We can learn for ourselves by experience – and we can learn from the
heroes of the faith from the past – the countless believers who demonstrated
their faith in God by persevering in the face of harsh trials and
afflictions.
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so
closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1
We are not the first to
struggle with the problems we face. Many
endured more difficult circumstances than we have experienced. Their witness
can inspire us to keep on keeping on in the face of adversity. They focused on their faith in God and
trusted His promises.
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A man went to the racetrack.
Before the first race, he went to the area where the horses were getting
ready for the race, and he saw a priest standing by one of the race
horses. The priest appeared to be
praying and he made the sign of the cross over a particular horse. In the next race, that horse won.
The man decided to take advantage of that. He went back to the area where the horses
were readied, and there was that priest again.
He saw the priest go over to a horse, pray and make the sign of the
cross on the horse’s head.
The man ran to the betting window and wagered his money on that horse.
In the race, as the horses were rounding the turn, the horse he had bet
on collapsed, and fell over.
The man went looking for that priest and asked him what had gone
wrong. The priest replied: “Nothing”... and then commented, “You’re not
Catholic, are you?”
“No”, the man replied, “I’m Lutheran.”
The priest shook his head:
“That’s the trouble with you Protestants. You don’t know the difference between a
blessing and the Last Rites.”
Some, by faith, ultimately win
the race and are victorious.
Others, by faith, are simply
given the power to run the
race - to endure the struggle,
to persevere in the face of difficulties.
They were not spared by
their faith, but sustained
by faith.
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We can look to the example of the saints, who obeyed God’s word,
endured and were vindicated – and look to the example they followed - Jesus.
Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through
what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal
salvation for all who obey him. Hebrews
5:8
Though Jesus was the Son of God, it was necessary even for Him to learn
obedience – he was called upon to obey to an extent we’ll never
experienced. The trials and temptations
he felt were real – and the battle to overcome them difficult. But Jesus persevered and thus was made
perfect - complete.
He identified with us at the deepest level of anguish, and became one
with us, sharing all that we experience. So we can confidently trust in Christ.
Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and
perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross …Hebrews 12:1,2
Look to Jesus, the
perfector of our faith – God didn’t make his road smooth – didn’t protect
His Son from all of life’s difficulties – and Jesus, our leader, endured – persevered in faith.
Look to Jesus, He
understands our fears, our weakness, and our disappointments. He will
not abandon You, never let YOU down …
Look to Jesus, and
have courage, for He will never give us
more than we can bear,
but will always
provide a way out for us.
Look to Jesus, who
for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross …
Like Jesus, endure in faith because you
know that God has something better
waiting for you in the future…
Like Jesus, live in hope,
trusting that God will get YOU through
whatever comes your way in life,
Christ is for
you – on your side ready
to help, bless, strengthen
His grace is sufficient for
you
Look to Jesus,
and believe that your future will be
better - For He holds your future in His hand, and you are the beloved child of the heavenly Father.
May the God of HOPE, fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you
may overflow with hope .