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The obedience of discipleship Daniel Patz, Lead Pastor Grace Church, Sunday Worship Matthew 7:21-27 June 7th, 2009 Matthew 7:21-27 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' (23) And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' (24) "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (25) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. (26) And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. (27) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." Luke 6:46-49 "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? (47) Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: (48) he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. (49) But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." INTRODUCTION Last week I brought before you the two parables of the Treasure and the Pearl. I talked about the joy of discipleship. This morning I want to talk to you about a joy although it may not appear that way to us at first or at all times. I want to talk about OBEDIENCE AND DISCIPLESHIP. I have three points this morning – Obey, obey the obedient One, obey by faith… 1. OBEY Obedience Ignored: Many will say – “Lord, Lord…” See Matt 7:21; Luke 6:46 Many hear but don’t do it… See Matthew 7:26 There are many professing believers who are not REAL believers and the indicator or evidence of this is their disobedience. I hope you listen and examine yourself this morning: - God may use this sermon for salvation - God may use this sermon for sanctification Obedience Required for Discipleship: Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. I am not saying that obedience is a work that we must perform to get saved. No, obedience is the necessary and sure result of one who truly believes in Jesus. If they say that they believe but do not obey and follow him, they have not truly believed. Mark 3:32-35 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you." (33) And he answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" (34) And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! (35) For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." John 14:23-24 Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (24) Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. 1 John 2:4-6 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, (5) but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: (6) whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. If Jesus has your heart – He will have your life and it is a life of obedience. When you come to Christ you accept something: My life now belongs to Jesus! My allegiance now belongs to Jesus! My obedience is now owed to Jesus! 2. OBEY THE OBEDIENT ONE Follow Jesus in Obedience: From Dave VanAcker – Jesus calls us to follow Him in our obedience. Everything he calls us to He has gone before and has done already. Jesus Obeyed For Us – The Cross/Gospel Romans 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Lord, Lord… Kurios and Doulos We are called to obey the One who is the Treasure and the Pearl. We are called to follow and obey the lover and savior of our soul. 3. OBEY IN FAITH Obedience as the Evidence of Faith: We obey not as a work but as the fruit of faith. So if we believed rightly we would not need this time of challenge. However, God uses this type of challenge to convict the true believe to ongoing obedience. He also uses it as a warning to unbelievers. Obeying our Patron Lord: He yoke is easy and His burden is light. We obey him as we would obey a loving Father who is out for our good. We obey Him as we trust in His wisdom, goodness and love. He does not command a bad thing for us. GETTING DOWN TO IT! Please be a hearer and a doer this morning. Please be a confessor and an obedient follower this morning. 1. To the DISOBEDIENT There are some in this room that are not believers. You may have confessed him as Lord, you may have done works in his name…but you are not truly obeying Him in the areas He is commanding you to obey Him in.
Repent and believe and obey Jesus! Salvation is free, but it will cost you everything. It will cost you your freedom of rule (if you really think you had it – you really are a slave to Satan and sin). 2. To the Convicted Saint What are areas in your life that you need to repent? Do you read and meditate on the Word of God? Is prayer a powerful and intentional element of your life? Do you have sins that you make excuses for but care little to fight against? Do you still view pornography? Are you fighting against it with accountability and counsel? Husbands, do you lead and love your wife? Are you spiritually leading? Wives, do you respect and submit to your husband? Fathers, do you lead spiritual your children? Mothers, are you gentle and loving as well as firm and wise? Do you let your husband lead? Singles, are you seeking GOD’s will for a spouse? Does He call the shots in how you think about dating? Fathers, are you harsh with your children? Children, are you obedient to your parents? Do you gossip? Do you regularly use critical speech? How important is the body of Christ? Did you plan your vacation with any thought towards the impact it may have on the body of Christ? Are you a member? Baptism? Have you been baptized as a believer? What holds you back? Why are you not in a discipleship group when you spiritual leaders have formed these groups with the purpose of helping your grow in Christ as a disciple? How do you spend your money? Do you give significantly as an act of worship and an expression that your money is really God’s? Do make the worship of God a priority? Do you prepare yourself to receive the Word of God? Do you have friends that are in sin but you have not lovingly confronted them though you know that you should? Are you obedient as a witness for Jesus Christ? Do you have neighbors or friends that you have known for years but you have never shared the Gospel with them or have not invited them to church? Have you reached out to people in this church that are not in your comfort zone? OBEDIENCE – doing what you are told, when you are told to do it, with a right heart attitude. |
