FR. PHIL EBERHART
OCT 1, 2017
THE PRIORITY OF OBEDIENCE
Ezek 18:1-4,25-32
get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!
Ps 25:1-14(15-21)
4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD;*
teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;*
for you I wait all the day long.
Phil 2:1-13
Let the same mind be in you that was in
Christ Jesus,... he humbled himself and became obedient
Mt 21:28-32
Which of the two did the will of his father?”... change your minds and believe him.
Over the past 10 DAYS OF AWE I've had the opportunity to share our three fold stool - our three steps of discipleship ... of action and movement in serving the Lord on a daily basis:
WILLINGNESS
AVAILABILITY
OBEDIENCE
Today I want to talk about the point of the three-fold way: The Priority of Obedience
What's it ALL about?
Jesus said it over and over and over and over ... you get the picture, right?
In preparing for the sermon I looked up the word OBEY and found that Jesus only used it about 25 times, depending on the translation you use. And then I went to Mt 7, the end of the chapter. Turn there with me if you have your bible or your phone.
[Mat 7:20-25 NLT]
20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. 21 "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' 23 But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.' 24 "Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock.
I stumbled across a Greek word ... I don't often preach on a single Greek word...
Obey only happened about 45 times in the Gospels, but this word happens 579 times in the NT, 290 times just in the Gospels!!
Its the word "DO"
ποιέω
G-4160 in Strong's Concordance
Its the word "DO"
nearly 600 times. Is there a message there?
I want you to DO what I tell you!
Jesus said it would be a primary sign of our love for Him!
[Jhn 14:15-16 NLT]
15 "If you love me, [you will] obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.
James, the little brother of Jesus, said that it is the key to our life
[Jas 1:22-25 NLT]
22 But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
I want you to DO what I tell you!
Willingness and Availability only take us so far ... Obedience is the point.
Willingness and Availability are the preparation for Obedience!
You have to set your mind to live "according to the Spirit."
We all struggle at the point of Obedience!
We struggle with our own flesh, we struggle with our fears, we struggle with our desires to sin, to do our OWN THING.
Willingness and Availability are the discipline of "setting your mind"
Turn to Romans 8.
[Rom 8:2, 5-6 NLT]
2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. ... 5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
Willingness and Availability are about fixing you "decider" - Obedience is about your "doer."
Be a "doer" of the Word, James said. Not a hearer only!
He warns us about this as the quickest way to self-deception!
Any kind of deception is bad, but Self-Deception is king!
We think we're doing good, but something else is going on! Come back to Matt 7 again.
[Mat 7:20-21 NLT]
20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. 21 "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
I want to come back to our readings now for today: Look at the specific phrases, grab a pen and underline them...
Ezek 18:1-4,25-32
get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!
Ps 25:1-14(15-21)
4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD;*
teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;*
for you I wait all the day long.
Phil 2:1-13
Let the same mind be in you that was in
Christ Jesus,... he humbled himself and became obedient
Mt 21:28-32
Which of the two did the will of his father?”... change your minds and believe him.
Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
The season of our year that just finished yesterday with the Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur, is a season for the Jews, not unlike our Lent. A time of reflection, of self assessment, a time of repentance and amendment of life. A time to take stock of your self and to seek the face of God.
This morning I wanted to urge you to do just that - our themes across our readings this morning are very lenten! Change your minds... and believe! ACT! Don't just read the Word ... DO IT!
NIKE HAS IT RIGHT... "JUST DO IT!"
It was the instruction of Mary, Jesus' mother at the Wedding in Cana... to the servants...
"Just Do What He Says."
It's there ... right there ... that the simplicity and the beauty of the Gospel hit the road!
Willingness and Availability prepare us to listen to Jesus on a moment-by-moment basis, but if we are not willing to do what He tells us to do... We are No where!
If our willingness is separated from obedience, we are NO WHERE!
If our willingness joins itself to obedience, we move from NO WHERE to NOW HERE!
JESUS IS NOW HERE!
We become HIS hands and feet, his eyes, and ears and mouth.
This week I've discovered afresh how much that one letter shift means, and what His presence can accomplish. I have criss crossed the city, probably over a 1000 miles in these 10 Days, praying in what feels like every church, every ministry, every nook and cranny of the Kingdom! And the presence of God has been with us, tangibly as we have met with pastors and people, with those who minister on Colfax, from East to West and on I-25 from North to South. We have spent this past 10 Days making a giant sign of the Cross over Denver!
I want to close this morning with a commissioning. God is about to move us out! Not just of this worship space but out literally into the world. I want to pray some more! I want to commission you to be willing, to be available and to be obedient.
If you want that commissioning, for your home, for your family, for you workplace, for the places you go and the people you see, come up. We have seen the anointing of God do amazing things this week, and I want to continue that flow here today.
Come quickly as I pray:
Jesus, You are the Lord who did! You came and did the will of Him who sent you and you finished His work! Lord, fill us this morning with that same Spirit that you had, The same mind that you had, to humble ourselves and do God's will, in God's way, and in God's time. Let us be your servants, Lord, in every place You send us. Help us to be willing and available to You, but most of all, help us to be obedient - to do what we Hear you saying - as we go through each day. Let Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is Heaven! and Use us, Lord, USE US! In Jesus Name. AMEN.
(Anointing time)
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