To Love, Honor, and Obey
John 14:15
It’s that time of year again
-when ridiculous amounts of money will be spent on things that will
be used or worn only once
-when stress levels peak at record highs
-when more energy is invested in what will last a few hours than in
what is intended to last a lifetime
-when most women want the day to go on forever...and most men
fear that it will
It’s wedding season...and along with all of the candles, lace, flowers,
and beauty, there are spats, squabbles, tears, and downright tirades
-ah, the beauty of love
--somewhere in the middle of all of that, I come in...armed with
my yellow legal pad and my Pilot, blue gel pen, I help try to
pull together a ceremony that will result in me saying, “I now
pronounce you husband and wife.”
-of course, the most important part of the wedding is the exchange
of vows—you can skip the bridal march, rings, and unity candle
and still have a wedding—but you can’t bypass the vows
--many couples tell me they just want “the usual”
Marty Blase didn’t want the usual...so he wrote his own vows...in the
end, however, his bride-to-be balked on his idea of memorable vows
-I’ll give you the shortened version
Groom à
Yes, I'll love with all my heart
From now until death do us part,
And I will love her when we're rich,
And when we're broke and in a ditch,
And when we're fit, and when we're sick,
(Oh, CAN'T we get this finished quick?)
And I will love through good and bad,
And I will love when glad or sad,
And I will have, and I will hold,
And if I might now be so bold,
I'll love her my entire life,
Yes, I WILL take her as my wife!
Pastor: Then if you'll take her as your wife,
And if you'll love her all your life,
And if you'll have, and if you'll hold,
From now until the stars grow cold,
And if you'll love through good and bad,
And whether you're happy or sad,
And love in sickness, and in health,
And when you're poor, and when in wealth,
And if you'll love with all your heart,
From now until death do you part,
Yes, if you'll love her through and through,
Please answer with these words: “I do!”
You're married now! So kiss the bride,
But please, do keep it dignified.
Wedding vows have changed from when some of you were married
-for example, in the 62 weddings I have officiated in the last 12
years, I have never used the word “obey” in the bride’s vow
--and it wasn’t in my wedding ceremony, either
As you’ve heard Ephesians 5:21-33 already this morning, you’ll
remember from last week how Paul used the analogy of marriage to
instruct us on the relationship between Christ and His Church
-there’s a great deal going on in that passage...more than we can
cover this morning, but the point is that as the Church we are in a
unique relationship with Christ
--He loves us, the Church, sacrificially and unconditionally
---Romans 5:8 à God
demonstrates His own love for us in
this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
But what does the wife, or in this case the Church (that’s us!) do in
response to Christ’s love?
-we are in the third part of a six-part series of message about what
followers of
Jesus do
--we began at the very beginning (which is, by the way, “a very
fine place to start”) with belief...how it is God’s grace that
saves us by working through our imperfect faith-trust
--and last week we tied that together with loving each other—
which Jesus says is the identifying mark of His followers
But just as belief leads to love, so love should lead to obedience
-John 14:15 à If you love Me, you will obey what I command.
--this is in no way shortchanging grace...it’s not some additional
requirement written in Greek and hidden in the fine print
--obedience isn’t a means of securing God’s love...instead it is
a rather natural expression of our love for Him
Think about it for a moment
-if you are a believer, if you have placed your very life in the nail-
pierced hands of Jesus, if you claim He is the Lord of your life, if
you love Him...why wouldn’t you want to do what He asks of you?
--consider the fact He loves you (so much so He died for you)
--He wants what’s best for us...and He knows what’s best for us
--and He knows us
---He knows us better than anyone else—He knows our
secrets, our big-time failures, our God-given gifts and our
God-given potential
Sometimes the problem lies with our understanding of who He is
-we want Him to be our Savior...to forgive us...to let us into heaven
(and to keep us out of hell)
--but we’d really prefer if He’d just leave us alone...we’re not too
keen on Him being our Lord
-but we can’t do that...we can’t make that distinction...we’re not
choosing options like we’re buying a new car...as if His Lordship
is like power windows
--Lord is who He is
-saying, “I want Jesus as my Savior, but not my Lord” is a little like
saying, “I want to buy a Caravan, but not a Dodge.”
--yeah, try that one at Woody’s
It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that John’s first letter to believers not
only addresses belief and love, but then ties them all together with
obedience
-Read 1
John 2:3-6; 3:10, 23-24; 5:1-5
We obey because we trust Him
We obey because we love Him
We obey because He asks us to do so
We obey because it is an act of submission to His Lordship
Back in the Gospel of John, Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd
-to the disciples, this was a familiar and powerful image—something
that’s a little lost in the translation for us
--shepherds weren’t out there frolicking with the sheep...they
were responsible for these valuable animals...they were to
lead them to water, grass, and shade...they were to defend
them from predators like wolves, lions, and bears
-Jesus then makes
this incredible statement in John 10
à I am
the
Good Shepherd. The Good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep. I know my sheep and my sheep know Me...My
sheep
listen to My voice; I know them, and they
follow Me.
--did you catch that?
---as His sheep, we know Him...we listen to His voice...and we
follow Him
--why would we do that?
---because as our Shepherd, Jesus has laid down His life for
us...He knows us...He calls to us...and He leads us
--perhaps the better question is why would we not obey Him?
*Who knows where the good grass is—the shepherd or the sheep?
*Who knows where the cool water is—the shepherd or the sheep?
*Who knows the dangers and threats—the shepherd or the sheep?
*Who is better equipped to fend off the bad guys—the shepherd or
the sheep?
And why is it that we question His wisdom...His leading?
-why is it that we wonder if He really knows what He’s doing?
-...if He really wants what’s best for us?
-...if He really loves us?
--we do things like that because we often act like dumb sheep...we
convince ourselves that we are wiser than the shepherd...that
we can look out for ourselves just fine...and if we could just do
what we want then we would be much happier
Why do
sheep need shepherds?
-because it is the nature of sheep to wander
away and put
themselves in mortal danger...in other
words, they’re not too bright
--shepherds have used staffs, rods,
dogs, and pens to keep
wayward sheep from straying from the
safety of their care
Jason
Bellows tells how modern shepherds have developed a metal
hoof-proof grid that
is built into the ground and surrounds the flock
-like a cattle guard, the sheep can’t walk
over the 8-foot wide grate
--this has worked pretty well until last
year in
shepherds learned they were dealing
a group of sheep who
weren’t only prone to wander, they
were also smart
-one particular sheep figured out the
weakness of the supposed
hoof-proof grid...and once it did, the
others followed
--the sheep simply laid
down and rolled the 8 feet to freedom
-by the time they were rounded up, they had
spread throughout the
countryside, destroying countless
vegetable and flower gardens
along the way
--they escaped again...and again
---their tiny little sheep brains
were probably telling them that
the shepherds were keeping
them from all the fun...from
the good life
--but the shepherds were trying to
save their little sheep lives
---some sheep wandered away, never
to be seen again,
some were killed by dogs,
and some were on the
receiving end of a car-sheep
encounter of the third kind
We are like that, aren’t we?
-we know more than God...we want what’s on the other side...we
can handle it...and after we’ve tasted the grass on the other hill,
we’ll come back—later—but now we’ve got some living to do
--and all along we’re thinking that God is keeping us from the
good life...He’s keeping us from freedom
---sounds an awful lot like what the serpent said to Eve and
Adam in the Garden...
Listen carefully to the third stanza of a great hymn
O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Not a bad daily reminder...not a bad daily prayer
Don’t misunderstand me, while we do benefit from obeying, the
primary reason we obey is not because of what it will do for us
-we obey because of a debt of love
--love must motivate all that we do...otherwise it is worthless
---Read
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
-we obey because we love God
--2 John 6 à And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His
commands.
-we obey simply because of who Christ is
--that alone is clear and sufficient motive for us to obey Him
---He is Creator, Sustainer
---He is Savior, Lord
---He is the Good Shepherd
---He is the Bridegroom of the Church
---He is the crucified Christ
---He is risen, victorious, conquering Lord
--Read
Luke 17:7-10
Some might have been holding out for me to give you a checklist of
all the things you need to do
-I won’t do that
--what will produce longer-lasting growth is for you to immerse
yourself in the Gospels...learn with understanding what Jesus
taught and how He lived
--pray for guidance...listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit
--but then ACT!
-James 1:22 à Do not
merely listen to the word, and so deceive
yourselves. Do what
it says.
James has this frustrating way of stripping away our excuses
-we’ll obey, we rationalize, when we learn more about the Bible
-we’ll obey, we claim, when God speaks directly to me
-but the truth is, you probably already know what you need to do
--sometimes Christians get so wrapped up in the details of what
God wants us to do that we overlook the blatantly obvious found
in Scripture...the best first step is simply to open His Word
--James 4:17 à Anyone,
then, who knows the good he ought to
do and doesn’t do it, sins.