BeBOLD: in Obedience

Pastor Gary

BeBOLD • Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

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This includes doing them when others wouldn’t do them and to the degree that others won’t do them.

Delayed obedience is disobedience

Partial obedience is disobedience

Acts 5:20 NIV84

“Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life.”

Acts 5:20

The apostles obeyed.

miraculously, the Sanhedrin let them go

The apostles rejoiced in spite of their difficulty

If we aren’t ready to suffer disgrace for Jesus, we aren’t ready to be bold for Jesus.

Being a disciple means we follow Jesus…if we can’t follow him completely, what’s stopping us?

What do we fear?

Transformed, not conformed

called out of not into the world

Holiness not happiness

Sanctified not safe

Holy living isn’t the path to knowing Jesus…knowing Jesus is the path to living holy.

Be holy as God is holy.

We are getting ready to get kids back in school and it got me to thinking back to my school days. You will probably find this hard to believe, but I got into a lot of trouble when I was a kid. First time I got sent to the principal was in 1st grade. The teacher gave us a test and my and my friend thought playing some tictactoe would be a better use of our time. the principal showed us that the test was actually better. But that was just he beginning. I couldn’t sit still in class; I was easily distracted, in fact the one thing I could focus on more than anything else was trying to distract other people in class.

As I look back, I lived in disobedience because I didn’t like being told what to do. It wasn’t that I thought the right thing wasn’t best thing to do…it was just more fun to do what I wanted. And frankly, I wanted to have fun, because having fun made me happy. And frankly, I didn’t respect the principal, the one who put the rules in place. It was pretty common for me to get in trouble at school.

It happened just last week. I was reading news on the internet, and as I got to the end of the article, I saw these pictures with links to other articles. I usually pass them by, but this time I failed. Before I realized what had happened, I had clicked on two or three of these.

You might not be as rebellious as I was when I was young, I’m not either. But do you find yourself drawn to doing things because of how they make you feel rather than who they help you become? How often do you chose the more difficult path? Would you say you live in search of happiness more often than holiness? The reality is, we never fall into doing the right thing. We don't slip into holiness.

The reality is, we never fall into doing the right thing. We dont slip into holiness.

We weren’t called to be happy though, we were called to be holy. The question is, how do we get to living bold holy lives?

We weren’t called to be happy though, we were called to be holy. How do we get to holy living?

Follow me on this. We can love our church, we can have dinners with great fellowship and engage our community, we can be spiritually uplifted in worship, we can sing powerful songs of God’s love for us, we can serve our neighbors, we can be a loving community of Godly people. But if we want to be disciples of Jesus, if we want to follow in the steps of Jesus, we will have to live set apart, holy lives, how do we do that? By choosing to live lives of obedience…bold obedience.

I don’t know pastor, I’m a simple man, I’m a simple woman, I’m not that bold. We can be bold. We can live a bold life. God doesn’t call us to something that is unattainable. Let’s look at how the disciples did it.

BeBOLD: In Obedience

I’m sure all of us would agree that the apostles were boldly obedient, but there were a few times they weren’t. They fell asleep when Jesus asked them to pray for him…that’s not very bold, that’s praying like me. Later, they ran away when he was arrested…that’s not being bold either. Peter denied Jesus when asked, that’s not bold. Thomas had to touch the wounds on Jesus’s body before he would believe it was really him, that doesn’t sound very bold either.

But once Holy Spirit power came upon these men, they began to live boldly. They could see how everything Jesus had told them had come true, they had to live this way.

People could see their boldness, and God blessed their obedience.

God worked all kinds of Signs and wonders, and in response, people believed in the story of the resurrection the Apostles were sharing resulting in more people being saved, beyond the first 5000.

The apostles had been sent by God to proclaim the good news and that was what they were doing. Even when they were arrested, they got right back to living boldly as soon as they were out.

They brought the sick on mats to be healed. They put the sick in the streets believing that just for Peter’s shadow to fall upon them they would be healed…and they were.

They brought the sick on mats to be healed. The put the sick in the streets believing that just for Peter’s shadow to fall upon them they would be healed…and they were.

Crowds gathered, the sick and tormented were healed, and the crowds gathered larger. Larger and larger.

This created a problem for the religious leaders. These Jesus followers were getting out of hand and if the sanhedrin didn’t handle it right, Rome would step in and handle them all and removing them from power. But they had to do something because it seemed everyone was becoming a follower of Jesus.

in, the people may just riot, which would bring Rome in too.

Acts 5:17–20 NRSV

Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said, “Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life.”

17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 "Go, stand in the temple courts," he said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life."

This is no surprise right. When Disciples act boldly for Jesus, opposition rises up.

BOLD OBEDIENCE USUALLY TRIGGERS OPPOSITION.

In this case, teh opposition got the apostles thrown in jail.

BOLD OBEDIENCE USUALLY TRIGGERS OPPOSITION.

They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, but unfortunately it probably was. We just don’t go around looking for the worst to happen when we are walking with Jesus.

This was their 2nd time in prison in just a few days. I’ve been to jail, it’s not a good place to be. I've visited people in Jail, they don’t like it either. But the apostles seem to take it in stride. This tells me that if i’m going to obey Jesus, I have to be OK with the consequences.

Not ready to face opposition for your obedience,

I would go even further, if we aren’t ready for opposition to our obedience, you probably aren’t ready to be used by God.

You’re not ready to be used by God.

Illustration:

I have a couple of friends over on KI. They launched and lead Celebrate Recovery there. Bobby and Cathy starting CR to help their son and others who struggle with overcoming life’s hurts, habits, and hangups with the help of the true higher power Jesus. A bold ministry. A few years into their work, their son got sober and came to faith in Christ. Bobby and Cathy overcame their own hurts, habits, and hangups. Everything seemed to be going up and to the right. Then Jeff their son, fell off the wagon. He got connected with some old friends and he overdosed and died.

Ephesians 6:12 NIV84

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

But Satan won’t win this, they are more committed to the ministry than ever before.

Their minsitry is

Our battle is not against flesh and blood, it is against powers and sponly to have their son die of an overdose.

My wife and I felt God calling us to ministry and we responded. We felt God calling us to ministry, but we also felt God calling my wife to be at home with our kids more. The reality is that as we obeyed God, we got poorer, and poorer. In fact we have never gotten back to making what we did before we entered ministry, but along the way we determined to be faithful, to tithe, even when we made very little, and you know what, God showed up every month. It was a bit stressful, but our bills were paid. It wasn’t easy, but we made it through.

This may be extreme, I agree. Satan our true enemy is usually much more subtle than he was with Bobby and Cathy. But we will be opposed when we try to be bold for God

Application:

It’s usually in the form of fears and doubts will

Downsize get out of debt…tempted to spend.

Come to Church on Sunday …there are going to be more attractive things to do

Come to Church on Sunday instead of travel league or sleep in, …but don’t our kids need to measure up?…to who’s expectations?

stop dating in order to devote yourself to God…I’ll be alone forever

Not date....but how will I find the one?

The reality is, when you follow in bold obedience, you will face Spiritual opposition. But if we can manage to focus on Jesus, through the opposition,

BOLD OBEDIENCE OFTEN RELEASES GOD’S MIRACLES.

The apostles found this to be true in an amazing way.

But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.

Think of all the times in Scripture that God told people to trust him. As they did, they experienced opposition, but they also saw God do amazing things, miraculous things. The Red sea parting, The fiery furnace, Nehemiah to rebuild the temple, on an on it could go. They shouldn’t be amazing to us, because when we walk in obedience to God—while it seems that God shows up…in reality, we are walking with God.

Illustration:

BUT IF NOT, Dunkirk

In the spring of 1940, the German army surrounded and trapped more than 300,000 British troops Dunkirk, a town in northern France. It appeared that the Allied army would face annihilation or surrender. When everything looked utterly hopeless, a British officer sent the following message, condensed into three powerful words: "But if not …." At the time it was a strong message of courage and of ultimate hope in the midst of trouble. The message conveyed that the British would stand defiantly against the Nazis and that God would provide a way through the dark night.

It was in this moment that the attack by the Nazi’s paused. For unknown reasons, the commanders of the army stopped the attack. And, through a miraculous outpouring of courage, the British managed to organize an amazing flotilla of hundreds of little ships that evacuated most of the Allied forces. Coincidence or miraculous?

"But if not" was their declaration of trust in God even if their mission failed. Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in they asked God to deliver them, but if not, they would remain faithful. Oh how they needed God, but they would hold fast, because they our actions are out of our faith.

But if not … words that speak to our hearts. But if not … words of hope and courage when the world seems dark and hopeless. But if not … words to live by; and for some, words to die by.

It explains a faith that resets in God, no matter what.

I don’t know what miracles you need in your life, but I do know that they don’t happen without bold obedience. They aren’t even necessary until we follow God to the end of our abilities.

You might say, God needs our obedience to do the miracles in our life that we are desperate for…That’s why miracles and the bold faith that brings them about will always require faith.

BOLD OBEDIENCE ALWAYS REQUIRES FAITH.

Faith that God is already at work in the things he calls us to join him in. This is the way that Jesus serves as our Lord, we obey as he calls.

"Go, stand in the temple courts," he said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life."

Illustration:

I know in our life, in our marriage, as we obeyed God’s call on our life, it seemed life got harder. You would think that following God would be the easiest thing to do in the church. But actually it is pretty tough.

In the spring of 1940, the German army was plowing through France despite the help from more than 300,000 British troops. Finally, the Germans surrounded and trapped most of the Allied forces at Dunkirk, a town in northern France. It appeared that the Allied army would face annihilation or surrender. Eventually, through a miraculous outpouring of courage, the British managed to organize an amazing flotilla of hundreds of little ships that evacuated most of the Allied forces. But before the evacuation, at one point when everything looked utterly hopeless, allegedly a British officer sent the following message, condensed into three powerful words: "But if not …." At the time it was a strong message of courage and of ultimate hope in the midst of trouble. The message conveyed that the British would stand defiantly against the Nazis and that God would provide a way through the dark night.

Application: Start SG, Business Startup, Tithe, Youth Leader, Seek reconciliation, Ask for date

"But if not" came straight from the prophet Daniel and his friends (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) facing the fiery furnace in Daniel chapter 3, they refused to go down in defeat. Instead, they declared their trust in God even if their mission failed. According to they asked God to deliver them, but if not, they would remain faithful. Oh how they needed God, but they would hold fast, because they our actions are out of our faith.

But if not … words that speak to our hearts. But if not … words of hope and courage when the world seems dark and hopeless. But if not … words to live by; and for some, words to die by.

But if not … words from God that still speak to our hearts today. But if not … words of hope and courage when the world seems dark and hopeless. But if not … words to live by; and for some, words to die by.

It explains a faith that resets in God, no matter what.

Application:

maybe God is calling you…But you hear all kids of doubts adn fears, reasons why not.

Start SG,

Business Startup,

Tithe,

Youth Leader,

Seek reconciliation,

Ask for date

If God calls you to it, God will see you through it.

It’s usually that simple, but boy oh boy we get caught up in the details, God isn’t as concerned with details it seems. God works out the details through each of us in our own gifting, our SHAPE. It just might be possible that God trusts the details to you and me; he did give us a mind after all.

At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.

What does this sort of bold obedience look like in your life?

Didn’t delay. Didn’t obey half way.

The apostles Didn’t delay. Didn’t obey half way. They acted right away. and followed all the way. They put their hand to the plow and did not look back. That would actually be disobedience.

That’s what obedience looks like your life.

DELAYED OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE. PARTIAL OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE.

Obey God completely & immediately.

God didn’t call so we could consider the calling. He didn’t ask us to obey so we could measure it. Think of your own child.

Clean your room before I get back.

High priest called Sanhedrin—sent for disciples—weren’t in jail!

I love you so much. Thank you for asking me to clean my room.

I love my room so much. I learned all the ways I can clean my room. I worked through 5 different studies on room cleaning. I learned all the different techniques for making a bed. I can even describe it all using ancient greek.

But your room is still a mess.

We don’t obey God in order to know Jesus. We obey God because we know Jesus.

Debbie Booge told me a story about soem high school kids. One of their friends was going away, joined the navy…well one of them felt compelled to gather their friends and pray for him. They rallied around him, they didn’t wonder what will people think? Does he want us to? They obeyed boldly because they love Jesus.

Look at what happened for the apostles. High priest called Sanhedrin—sent for disciples—because they weren’t in jail!

28 "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." 29 Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!

How can we be BOLD in prayer, together, and in obedience? It all comes from who we know Jesus to be.

Doing what others won’t, because we believe what others don’t.

How are we supposed to see Jesus different?

Simply that Jesus is Lord.

We are called to be transformed from the worlds way of thinking…not to conform to the worlds way of thinking.

Not called to be happy, but to be holy, and that brings joy just like the apostles left their beating because.

called out of not into the world

Holiness not happiness

Nothing else matters when Jesus is Lord

That’s the source of peace. You can know that peace today. Surrender your life to Christ, allow him to take the throne in your life and you will know the peace that passes all understanding.