OBEDIENCE
Adapted From the writings of Oswald Chambers
A Goodsoil Discipleship Lesson - Bro. A. Madonio
"If you love me, you will obey what I command."
John 14:15
Lesson Introduction
What this lesson teaches:
* We learn that obedience is our free will choice - nobody else's. We see obedience as one piece to the "dying to self" exercise that we need to accomplish in order to be of any use to Jesus.
* This lesson must emphasize that we have no rights to ourselves, but that we lovingly give our "rights" to Jesus. He is number one in our lives. That is a basic concept that should be # 1, with breathing as # 2.
* We learn that an obedient soul is a pipeline of blessings to us and others around.
Scripture references used:
* John 14:15, Mark 8:34, 1 Corinthians 1:18, Luke 14:26, John 7:38
Other scripture that may be helpful:
* John 3:16 (I bet you know it!), Genesis 22:18, Exodus 24:7, Leviticus 18:4, Deuteronomy 6:3, Joshua 22:5; 24:24, 1 Kings 3:14, Jeremiah 7:22-23, Daniel 9:4, Joel 2:21, Jonah 3:3, Acts 5:29, Romans 2:13, 2 Corinthians 10:5
Discussion questions for study:
1. Did you read this lesson in preparation for this week's discussion?
2. Are we ever forced or coerced to obey Biblical teaching? Did Jesus ever force or coerce His disciples?
3. Did Jesus ever explain to His disciples about Heaven and Hell, or about the blessings of obedience? Why?
4. Do you think being resistant to obeying God's word is just being "naturally" stubborn? Might this be referred to as rebellion? Is this a sin?
5. Must you "take up your cross" in order to be obedient? Based on Luke 14:26, is Jesus serious about this commitment?
6. Can you see how your obedience to God can and will cause others to be blessed? Read John 7:38.
Answers from lesson in order of appearance: NO, NO, MINE ALONE, (VARIED), (VARIED), OBEDIENT, (VARIED), YES/NO, (VARIED), NOTHING, NOTHING, NO, NO, YES, RULES, LOVE, SOMEONE, SOMETHING, YES/NO, (VARIED), (VARIED).
Does Jesus ever insist upon obedience? ______________________________.
He tells us, very pointedly, what we ought to do, but He never brings to bear some divine force or power to make us obey. In the same way, were you forced by God to become a Christian? ________. Maybe your spouse or buddy dragged you kicking and screaming into church the night you came to the altar, but God allows you to make the choice for yourself. He operates in no other way.
So then, the choice to be obedient is whose? ______________________________.
We are all in here today, studying God's word, His ways,
and how we can apply them to our daily lives,
because we all made a singular choice
to begin laying down our lives for Jesus.
Jesus knows we have to choose for ourselves, that is why He so often prefaced His "discipleship" remarks with an "If." For example, the following verse in Mark . . . .
Mark 8:34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
What do you think it means to "take up your cross?" _______________________
_______________________________________________________________.
What do you think He means when He says "follow me?" ___________________
_______________________________________________________________.
Jesus is telling us how we can be disciples - how to be ______________________.
He is saying , "Give up your right to yourself and give it to Me."
How do individual personal rights and what our society today calls "freedom of choice" compare to the choices and rights Jesus is asking us to make a decision on? ______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________.
Are there any similarities at all? Can you understand now the following verse in a new light?
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Jesus is speaking of our "rights" from the perspective of an earthbound disciple, not from an eternal perspective. He is simply telling us how we ought to prioritize our lives, right now, in order to be His disciples. That is why He sounds so stern in the following passage from Luke . . . .
Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple."
WARNING WARNING WARNING:
NEVER interpret those words apart from the one who spoke them, and
NEVER interpret them out of context !!
NEVER interpret them out of context !!
Do these words of Jesus scare you? ________. Why? _____________________
________________________________________________________________.
The road to obedience (Yes, you don't arrive instantly, like they do in Star
Trek), the road of a true disciple, is long and frequently hard to travel.
Very often, those very same people that Jesus mentioned in Luke 14:26
are the ones that derail us in our efforts to "follow Him."
Jesus is simply saying that ___________, absolutely ___________
should be more important to us than Him.
Does this mean that we forsake our families and our jobs and attend church day and night 7 days a week? _________________.
Does this mean we should abandon our bedridden mother-in law to travel on a missions trip to Ethiopia? _______________.
Does this mean that Jesus was really being serious about commitment? _________.
Our Lord is serious about commitment. Remember, nothing, absolutely nothing should be more important to us than Him. Why do you think that is? (Hint: Are we important to God? Read John 3:16 if you have any doubts. He is simply asking us to make Him important too).
Our Lord does not give you ______________ you are forced to obey; He makes His standard very clear - If your relationship to Him is one based on ____________, you will do what He says without any hesitation, because . . . .
. . . . If you hesitate, it is because you love ___________ or ___________ else in competition with Jesus. If Jesus is not #1 in your life, He will back away until you choose to place Him in the position of Lord - Number 1.
Do you face daily problems? Who doesn't! Is your personal life busy and crowded? Are many of the daily bothers you face small, mean, petty, pesky or nagging?
If you, in spite of these daily struggles, triumphantly persevere in obedience to Christ in your daily walk of "following Him," then these "mean" and "pesky" occurrences become as pinholes in the fabric of your life,
through which you will be able to catch glimpses of the Face of God. And when you stand before Him, face-to-face, you will discover that through your obedience, many souls were blessed.
Does this seem plausible at all? ____________________ .
Why?________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________.
Can you describe a scenario (real or hypothetical) in which one person's obedience might lead to blessings being poured out on many?
_____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________ .
The Bible says that if I obey Jesus Christ, the REDEMPTION of God will rush through me and into other's lives.
Remember, we were REDEEMED by our REDEEMER - JESUS !
Also remember what redeemed means: liberate, deliver, rescue, ransom, and save.
John 7:38 "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,
streams of living water will flow from within him."
Because behind the
act of obedience is
found the Reality of
Almighty God !
