Obedience You Never Experienced But Desperately Need

1
Obedience You Never Experienced But Desperately
Need

• Learning a heightened awareness and practice of
  obedience that glorifies God

2
Introduction

• The generation of parents who have (and are)
  giving their children all that they did not
  have growing up we are now reaping their fruit.
• The last two generations in this country has seen
  a dramatic increase in wealth and prosperity.
• Yet, these same two generations havent learned
  to respect authority and thus the rampant
  immorality that exists in our society today.
• So lacking in understanding and practice of
  submitting to the authority of others we can see
  the rotten influence of society within the Lords
  church
• Many Christian families have children who
  question authority, even disregard it.
• Others simply obey yet their hearts are far from
  honoring their parents/adults.
• Then comes the generation of adult Christians
  who have a very shallow understanding and
  practice of obedience.
• For Christians to live a life that brings glory
  to our God we must
• Look to the kind of obedience that this world
  and many Christians have not experienced.
• Learn from their examples of obedience and
  practice the same kind of commitment to our
  Father in heaven.

3
Obedience YOU Never Experienced

• Obedience of the Rechabites. Jer. 35
• Background
• From the Kenites (apparently associated with the
  Midianites) who showed kindness to the
  Israelites who came into Canaan as a part of
  Gods people. 1 Chr. 255 (Num. 1029 Jdg. 411)
• Jonadab (Jehonadab) was a zealous man who loved
  God and hated evil. 2 Ki. 1015-17
• Longstanding obedience to Jonadabs decree Jer.
  35
• Not to drink wine, build houses, plant seeds or
  vineyards.
• In other words, they would completely live in a
  manner that would force them to depend upon God
  for their sustenance and safety.
• Attitudes against Jonadabs decree exist today
• We should live with the freedom of Christ as the
  things of Jonadabs decree are not inherently
  sinful.
• Others simply would rebel saying that Jonadab was
  oppressive or that his decrees were antiquated
  (note the reason for his ancestors living in city
  of Jerusalem. Jer. 3510-11).
• Instead, we should have the attitude of the
  Rechabites toward their father Jonadab. Cp. Eph.
  61-2
• Obedience of Jephthahs daughter. Judg. 11
• Background
• Jephthah born of a harlot, but a valiant warrior
  who was kicked out of his family. Jdg. 111-2
• His brothers (and the Gileadites) begged him to
  be head over them to fight against the Ammonites
  who were oppressing them. Jdg. 115-6
• Jephthahs vow 30 If You will indeed deliver
  the people of Ammon into my hands, 31 then it
  will be that whatever comes out of the doors of
  my house to meet me, when I return in peace from
  the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lords,
  and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.
• The Lord delivered the Ammonites into Jephthahs
  hands who defeated them. Jdg. 1132-33
• Yet, he was brought low when his daughter was the
  first to come out to him.
• His daughter, however, understanding the
  significance of keeping a vow (Dt. 2321-23) was
  also a child who has learned true obedience. Cp.
  Jdg. 1139-40

4
Obedience You Desperately Need to Learn

• Volunteering slave-ship to Jesus Christ.
• Those who become Christians voluntarily submit to
  Christ as slaves of righteousness. Rom. 616
• More than that, it is a complete devotion to the
  headship of Jesus Christ.
• So, with a Master whose word is faithful, how can
  we live as rebellious servants of the kingdom?
  Rom. 620-22 Matt. 624
• This type of magnificent obedience should be
  manifested in all areas of our lives.
• In the home. Eph. 61-3
• In the church. Heb. 1317
• In society. Tit. 31

5
Conclusion

• It is a crying shame that we lack the kind of
  biblical obedience that is seen in Gods word.
• It is time for many professing Christians to
  start living the kind of obedience that we have
  never experienced but desperately need to glorify
  our God.