Biblical Obedience — Denny Kenaston

Transcript

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold.

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These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. I was thinking this morning, what a safe place to be. That we can receive such admonitions from our brothers that the pulpit is open and free.

And we who live in materialistic Lancaster County can be admonished about our materialism. What a good and a safe place to be. We've been in Ecclesiastes ourselves at home and reading over those verses there in chapter 2, we decided, you know with children who grow up in this area where we live, maybe it would be good if we memorized Ecclesiastes chapter 2, verse 1 through 11.

We just said those words this last week. If you think about it, we Americans are in a very unusual situation. You read down through that list and you think, oh my, that's the life of a king. But you see us Americans, we have grown up in a world where we all can live the life of a king.

And basically, we can give ourselves whatever we want and we can buy whatever we want. And we can relate to Solomon when he says, I built me houses. And on and on goes the list. I think it would be good for us to help our children to memorize those verses, all of them.

And come down there to the last one where the man who did it all says, it was empty, it didn't satisfy, it didn't meet my need, it didn't do what I thought it would do. And dear children and young people, it won't.

It won't. I thank God that we're in a place where the antidote to that which we read is continually laid before us. The antidote, that which will cure us from that. And that is, fully surrendered, Lord divine, I will be true to thee.

That's the only antidote. It is the only safe way to walk through this materialistic society that we live in. I know no other way but to be fully consecrated to God each and every day. I'm also very grateful for the children's lessons that we have here.

Biblical Obedience as the Foundation of Faith

Very simple, very practical. I'm not sure how many churches have had goats in their Sunday morning service, but I'm grateful that we do have very practical children's lessons. Well, this morning I want to address the subject of biblical obedience.

I want to take a long look at obedience this morning. Then, biblical obedience. Obedience is at the foundation of true biblical faith. Modern evangelical theologians have separated faith and obedience at a great cost to the church.

And maybe even a cost to us. Modern evangelical theologians have separated faith and obedience. But if you go to the Bible, you will find that faith and obedience are almost synonymous. They're almost the same word.

And many times you find the two of them very closely connected together. Paul, in the book of Romans, speaks of the obedience of faith. Interesting that those two would be put together. The obedience of faith.

Looking up the word obedience, I came upon these two words. One Greek word, which is a word translated obey, is the Greek word pitho. And it means to be persuaded to obey. The other word, which is very closely related to it, is the word pistou, which means to trust.

These words are closely related and the one flows from the other. Thus, we get the song, trust and obey. It's not an accident that the songwriter put those two words together. Trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.

To be persuaded to obey and to trust in God, those two flow together. As we put our trust in God, we find our hearts being led to obey. And as we come to God with a willing heart to obey, we find our heart easily trusting in God.

These two are hard to separate. Trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. Now, the main word for obedience is, let me see if I can say it here, hupakoi. And it means to hear under.

I thought that was interesting as I looked up this word obey. It, first of all, does not give a word of action, but rather an attitude of the heart. And we see from that, the heart of the matter of obedience is the heart.

God looks way beyond the actions that we may do. And we will see this more clearly as we get into the message. But even this main word for obedience, it doesn't mean to do something. It means to hear with a submissive heart.

From this word we can see that the foundation of true biblical obedience is the heart. Maybe you've noticed it in the book of Proverbs. I have. How many times in the book of Proverbs the father is pleading with the son.

And as he pleads with the son for obedience, he doesn't use the word obey. He uses the word, my son, hear the instruction of your father. My son, give ear under the instruction of your father. My son, attend to my words.

These are all beautiful expressions of the heart of obedience. Obedience is a heart issue, not just actions. This heart distinction is very important as we will see. As we look further in our meditation on obedience.

We begin to see that motivations have a lot to do with true biblical obedience. And thus again, God looks back at the heart. I think of the example of the apostle Paul, who met the Lord on the road to Damascus.

And the first words that came out of his mouth as he came face to face with the Lord Jesus. Were words that had the spirit of obedience in them. He said, who art thou? Lord. Who art thou, Lord? And then the next words confirmed his obedient, hearing heart.

As he said, what will thou have me to do? Jesus did not appear to Saul on the road to Damascus to give him a one way ticket to heaven. Paul said these words in Romans chapter 6 and verse 17. Ye were the servants of sin.

We can relate to that this morning, can't we? Ye were the servants of sin. But, ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto you. Every one of us sit here this morning.

If we've been born again, it is because we obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto us. It was more than a mental assent to some teachings that we heard. But, we obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto us.

Now, this reflection on obedience this morning can be applied several ways. First and foundationally, it can be applied to God. Obedience is the foundation of the true Christian faith. Whether we obey, why we obey and how we obey, these are important issues when we look at our Christian life.

So, obviously, we look at this matter of obedience and we look at the fact that it's a heart issue between us and God. We see salvation. But, I want to also note, secondly, that obedience has a lot to do with many human relationships.

Children to your parents. Wives to your husbands. Servants to your employers. All of us to the magistrates that are around us. And even to elders in the church. Or, if you have a school teacher. Obedience from the heart applies to all of these relationships.

The Prodigal Son and Four Levels of Obedience

As we move along through this meditation, we will see that these two crisscross each other again and again. Now, let's turn for a reading in the Scriptures to Luke, chapter 15. Which is where we will be spending most of our time.

In Luke, chapter 15, we're going to read the story of the prodigal son. And we want to draw out of this story four levels of obedience. You look for them while we read through these verses the first time.

There are four levels of obedience in this story of the prodigal. Luke 15, verse 11. And he said, a certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.

And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country. And there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land.

And he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. And he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat.

And no man gave unto him. Praise God for verse 17. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare. And I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee.

And am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight. And am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him.

And put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. And bring hither the fatted calf and kill it. And let us eat and be merry. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to be merry.

Now his elder son was in the field. And as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come and thy father hath killed the fatted calf because he hath received him safe and sound.

And he was angry and would not go in. Therefore came his father out and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee. Neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment.

And yet thou never gave me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me and all that I have is thine.

It was meat that we should make merry and be glad. For this thy brother was dead and is alive again. And was lost and is found. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, This thy word lays before us this morning.

Wisdom and insight in your heart. Oh, we pray that you'll break the bread to us this morning. And help us to understand your heart first of all. Secondly, Father, Help us to understand our own hearts.

And God, relationships that surround all of our lives. Father, we pray that you'll break the bread to us by your Spirit, God. Grant us that grace this morning to see into this passage of Scripture. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Four levels of obedience we see in this portion of Scripture. The first is very clear to us. We're looking at the heart of a prodigal. We're looking at the heart of a young man who does not want to do his father's will.

Oh, we may on the surface look at this portion of Scripture and simply say, he wanted to get his inheritance and go out and live up his own life. But if you look deeper than that, this is not a son who just wanted to go and live his own life.

This is a son who did not want to do his father's will. No, I don't want to keep my father's commandments. This is the first level of obedience. Whether it's on the level of God, or whether it's on the level of human authority, we will see as we go down through this Scripture, these two are very closely tied together.

If a son rises up or a daughter rises up in their heart, and their heart says of their earthly father or mother, I don't want to keep my father's commandments. That son or that daughter is walking on dangerous ground.

Soon they will also walk away from their heavenly father's commandments, because these two are inseparable in anyone's home. So, whether it is on the level of God, or whether it's on the level of human authorities, here we have the heart of a young man who has closed itself up.

A heart that refuses to hear the voice of his father. A heart that has hardened itself against the voice of his father. Devastation is down the road for this kind of a heart. The other day as we sat in family devotions, speaking, addressing the subject of how dangerous it is to know, to have light, to have received light, to know what is right, but to continue to live in a way that is wrong.

We were considering the dangers of such a posture of heart. This is exactly where this young man was. He knew what was right. He knew his father's voice. He knew what his father's blessing was all about.

He knew what his father wanted him to do. But in his heart, his heart said, I do not want to do my father's will. You may be here in this room this morning with that kind of a heart. You may be a boy.

You may be a girl. You may be a young man or a young lady sitting here. You may be a grown man sitting here, or a woman sitting here in this auditorium this morning. But somehow, for some reason inside of your own heart, your heart has closed itself up to the Father's will, or the will of those who surround you, the authorities that God has placed in your life.

This young man, we see what he did. Once his father gave him the inheritance that he had coming to him, we see what he did. But this young man didn't do this overnight. He pondered a long time before he left.

There were many struggles that took place inside of this young man's heart before he finally drew the line in front of his father and said, Father, give me that which is mine. Long before those words came out of his mouth, there were many struggles taking place inside of his heart.

And those struggles were struggles which said basically this, I do not want to do my Father's will. What a dangerous place to be. It's interesting to me, especially in this first point of the sermon, how these two draw themselves together, and how that yes, while rejecting his Father's will, it eventually led to him rejecting his heavenly Father's will.

And maybe in the beginning, this young man probably didn't imagine what he would do when he finally left his Father's house. He probably thought in his own mind, Oh, I won't do this, and I won't do this.

Yes, I'm going to get all that money. Yes, I'll have those treasures in my hand that we heard about earlier, but I won't do this with them, and I won't do this, and I won't do that. But oh, he did not know what he was doing when he walked away from his Father's will, and his life began to go down, and his life went down further than he ever imagined that it would go.

And that's the way it is in every one of our human hearts. If we reject the Father's will, the life goes down, and it goes down farther than what we ever imagined it would. You see, we have the false imagination that we will be able to control ourselves and keep ourselves in line.

Oh, we'll just go a little ways from the Father's will. We'll just go a little ways from our Father's house, but we end up going much further than we ever dreamed that we would go. And doing things that we never dreamed we would ever do.

The stories are endless of those who chose to reject their Father's will and go their own way. And I would just say this before we move on to the second point and look at the other brother. I don't know who I'm speaking to this morning, or if I'm speaking to anyone on this point this morning, but I would just encourage you.

It is no little thing. It is no little thing for a child to close up its heart to the voice of its Father. It's no little thing to close up your heart to the voice of your mother. It's not a little thing to close up your heart to the voice of the authorities which God has placed in your life.

It is no little thing. Notice those words. God has placed in your life. And if God has placed in your life, and you reject that which God has placed in your life, you reject God at the same time, and the path can only go down.

Now, I praise God this morning, maybe I'm only talking to one or two on this point, but maybe there's a boy in this room this morning. Maybe there's a girl sitting in this room this morning. You're just beginning to imagine those kind of thoughts.

Those struggles are just beginning to rise up inside of your heart. Maybe you're one of those who contemplated, well, I'm just going to get out of here someday when I get bigger, and I'm going to do what I want to do.

Maybe you've been contemplating those thoughts, and God just sent my voice along your way this morning to warn you of the dangers of what you're thinking. It's not uncommon for boys, or even girls, to think in their mind, I'm going to run away.

I'm just going to run away. I don't like the way things are at my house, and I think I'll just run away. Yes, the prodigal, he didn't like the way things were at his house either, and he ran away. But, oh, he had no idea how far away he would run, and how low he would get before he finally came to himself.

You say, oh, Brother Denny, we would never do that. We've been raised in a Christian home. We would never go that far away. We know what is right. We would never go as far as that prodigal went. We've had training in our hearts.

Oh, my friend, you do not know the depth of the darkness of a rebellious heart. Remember, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. And in rebellion, you walk in such darkness, you will find yourself on paths that you never dreamed of.

That's the first level of obedience. I will not do my Father's will. Let's look at the other brother next in this parable. What is the level of obedience of the other brother in this parable? For a while, he looks pretty good.

But let's look deep into his heart a bit as we check the purity of his level of obedience. His heart said, I have to keep my Father's commandments. I have to keep my Father's commandments. With him, it is an obligation.

With him, it is a matter of have to. With him, it's a matter of religious obedience. Look at verse 28. We get some insight into his heart. He finds out that his brother came back and his father received him happily and he was angry.

Imagine such a thing rising up in the heart of a son who stayed home, who took care of the things that his father wanted him to do, who was out there in the field day by day taking care of all the things that his dad wanted him to care for.

And now his heart is angry and he would not go in. Therefore came his father out and entreated him, and he answering said unto his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee. Neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment.

And yet, thou never gavest me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

We see this second son and we see in this second son religious obedience. We can't turn back there, but if you notice the first couple of verses in this chapter, chapter 15 of Luke, you will see that the Lord Jesus is addressing the hearts of the Pharisees who are looking on with disdain as He reaches out to the publicans and the sinners.

He's addressing the heart of the religious Pharisees. Obedient? Oh, very obedient. Clear to the word? Very much so. Keep all the jobs and kittles? They'll do it like nobody else. Yet, nonetheless, it is a religious obedience.

It's an obedience that says, look what I have done. It's an obedience that says, you owe me something for what I have done. And you are not giving it to me. This religious obedience is not from the heart.

It's not from the heart. It's not done out of the right motive. Who knows what this man's motivations were? God does not tell us. And I believe He does that on purpose to help us to examine our own hearts.

Why we do what we do. I've learned this through the years. God, in His kindness, dashes our expectations to the ground when our heart is moving in religious obedience. When our heart is saying, what's in it for me?

When our heart is saying, look what I have done. God, in His kindness, dashes our expectations to the ground just like He did right here with this son. He dashed his expectations to the ground. He passed him up and went to the other brother.

He exalted the least expected to be exalted. God did that. And in thus doing, He dashed the expectations of the religious obedient one to the ground. And look at the reaction that comes out of that religious obedient heart.

Anger. Anger. God does this in many ways. Sometimes He'll pass over us and exalt someone else. Sometimes He passes over us and lets someone else get a name. And through that reveals our own envious heart.

Hmm... I don't like what's happening in that person. I don't like how that person is getting all of the attention. God reveals our religious obedience as He dashes our expectations to the ground. Consider this also on a human level.

Not just on a spiritual level, but on a human level. Many times we do what we do even on a human level out of a have to instead of a get to attitude. What is the difference on the job of the man who works because he has to and the man who works because he wants to?

What is the difference between the two of those? Which one do you think will get the promotion when it's time to move someone on into a place of leadership on the job? The one who worked because he had to or the one who worked because he wanted to?

Religious obedience. God is not happy with this level of obedience. Though there is activity there very clearly, God is not pleased with this level of obedience. Though this son is out there doing his work, though he's out there plowing the field, though he's out there caring for his father's things, yet his heart is engaged in such a way that he's looking out for himself and he's being motivated by things which are not right.

Much is lacking though the activity is there. Let's move on to the third level of obedience. Looking back at verse 17, we find the obedience which flows out of this kind of a heart. I am not worthy. I am not worthy.

In verse 17 -19, we see the prodigal coming to himself and he says, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Make me as one of the hired servants. Let me be a slave. Here we see the humility of a bond slave. Here we see the lowly attitude of an unprofitable servant. Who is willing to do anything. Who feels unworthy that he would be given anything to do.

Yet he comes asking, Could I be just your bond servant? Could I just do anything that you want me to do? Would you just let me be the doorkeeper in the house of the Lord? Would you allow me to vacuum the floors?

Would you allow me to be the janitor? Just let me do anything, Father. I'm not worthy to be called your son. Would you let me do anything? There's no look what I have done in the heart of this one. There is no you owe me something in his heart.

We can see that very clearly. There is no merit in this man's heart. Obedience from a humble, unworthy heart is all we see there. Ah, we begin to tune ourselves in to the heart of biblical obedience. Oh, think about it.

Each and every one of us could find ourselves in that very place as we realize that God has allowed me something to do. I think of the words of the Apostle Paul, whom God allowed something to do in his kingdom, yet all of his life he never got away from this very attitude right here.

He felt himself an unworthy servant, not even worthy to be called an apostle, yet the Lord had mercy on him. There is no merit in this man's heart. He doesn't have anything to bring to the Father. He doesn't have any good things to give.

He doesn't have a lot of talents that he can walk up there and offer to the Father. He's simply low to the ground. He has nothing to say except, Father, would You allow me to be one of Your bondservants?

Yes, now we are getting down to the core, the foundation of biblical obedience. Again, remember the Apostle Paul as he met the Lord there on the road to Damascus and he heard those words coming out of the mouth of Christ, I am Jesus.

I am Jesus. Oh, the power that is in those words! Oh, the revelation of the wrongness of Paul's direction, all wrapped up in those simple little words. Who art Thou, Lord? I am Jesus. That's all Paul needed to hear.

A volume of sin, a volume of error, a volume of transgression, a volume of iniquity is in those words. I am Jesus. And what could Paul say? But what wilt Thou have me to do? This also applies on a human level as well as a spiritual level.

Think about it as you ponder the different human relationships that you find yourself in. Children with your parents, wives with your husbands, those who have a job and work somewhere. That lowly attitude that says, Oh, if I could just be a servant in this place, I would be grateful.

I mean, give the boss ten of those, he would never turn one of them down. Oh, for that lowly attitude that simply says, Oh, if I could just be a servant for my boss. Oh, if I could just be a servant and wash my husband's feet.

Oh, if I could just be a servant and relieve some of the burdens of the ministers in the church. You fill in the blanks there with whatever human relationships you find yourself in. The lowly attitude of a servant.

Obedience Motivated by Gratitude and Love

But let's move on to the fourth level of obedience. Aren't we glad that God doesn't stop there with the prodigal in verse 19? The fourth level of obedience, the overwhelming motivation of gratitude and love.

What a beautiful combination we find in these words. We have a prodigal sitting there in a pig pen somewhere, eating husks for breakfast, coming to himself and facing the reality of where he's at. And his heart cries out, Oh, if I could just be a servant in my Father's house.

What a beautiful attitude to come to the Father. But God doesn't stop there, does He? Yes, we need that attitude. Yes, that should be our heart. Yes, that's the right way to come to the Father. But the Father doesn't stop there.

Hallelujah. He doesn't stop there. And He arose and came to His Father. But look what His Father does. When He, the prodigal, the filthy, smelly prodigal, when He, the prodigal, the rebel, the one who was going his own way, the one who was not willing to do his Father's will, when He was yet a great way off, His Father saw Him and had compassion and ran and fell on His neck and kissed Him.

And the son said unto Him, Father, yes, that's right, son. Don't you change your attitude. Don't you change your attitude, even though the Father just fell on you and kissed your neck. Don't you change your attitude, even though the Father ran to you with all of His heart and wrapped His arms around you.

Don't you change your attitude, son. The son said unto Him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven and in Thy sight and am no more worthy to be called Thy son. Would You just let me be a servant in Your house?

Yes, O son. Don't ever get away from that attitude. But the Father said to His servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it and let us eat and be merry.

For this My son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and He is found and they began to be merry. What a beautiful picture we have here this morning of the relationship now that is taking place between a father and a wayward son who has come back to God.

Here we see the foundation of repentance which no man shall see the Lord without it. It doesn't matter who you are. There is a foundation of repentance that must be laid. And here we see it so clearly laid in the hard attitude of this son.

We also see the element of faith because he rose up and said, I will go back to my Father's house. My Father will receive me. He had that attitude of faith in his heart. And we also see his desire to obey.

He's not going back to the Father that he can get a ticket to heaven. But his heart's attitude is, Oh, just to be a servant with my Father, that's all I want to do. But look at the Father's response. Love.

Compassion. Forgiveness. Blessings. Acceptance. Provision. And on and on we could go. Oh, what a picture of the biblical doctrine of justification by faith. Here comes this prodigal having wasted everything, having departed from his Father's will completely and in its entirety, having gone his own way and gone way further than he ever dreamed he would go.

But yet, when he comes with that heart, that lowly heart that says, I am done with my own ways. I will return to my Father's house. There, the Father accepts him, puts a robe around him, falls on his neck and kisses him, and receives him into His home, not as a slave, but as a son.

This is a picture of justification, brothers and sisters. This is exactly what God does with each and every one of us. This is something that we we shall never get away from. The heart attitude of the Father, though the failure of the Son was there, He received him with love, with compassion, with forgiveness, with blessings, with acceptance and provision.

Yes, in a sense, the Father looked at the Son and said, Just as if I never sinned. Stamped it across His life. You have come back to Me. You come back in repentance. You see who I am. You come with a willing heart that says, anything, Lord?

Anything? Right. Justification by faith is so clearly seen in these verses. Now, let me ask you this question. What kind of a servant will this be? Praise God for the lowly attitude that He came with.

But look at how much more of a servant He will be as you realize. Yes, He's got a humble heart that says, I'm not worthy to do anything for my Father. But, oh God, would You let me do anything? And the Father puts a robe on Him and brings a fatted calf and gives Him shoes to wear and puts a ring on His finger and has a holy celebration for His Son has come home.

What kind of a servant do you think that Son will be in His Father's house in the days ahead? Praise God for the lowly attitude of an unworthy servant. But when the lowly servant becomes an accepted son, you get service like you can never imagine.

And that's the heart of God for each and every one of us. Service like that. You move into a realm of obedience which is untouched before. Into a realm of obedience which glorifies God. In a realm of obedience that transforms the servant into a loving son.

This is what justification does to each and every one of us. Oh, it's true. May we never get away from the lowly attitude of the servant who said, I will arise and go to my Father, and maybe He'll let me be one of His hired servants.

May we never get away from that hard attitude, but at the same time realize that the Father runs to meet us when we come to Him, puts out His arms, wraps them around us, and accepts us, gives us a new robe and puts it on our back, puts a ring on our finger and shoes on our feet, and accepts us into the family and gives us a place to sit among His sons.

Hallelujah! That's what God does for each and every one of us. This is biblical obedience, brothers and sisters. This is the wellspring of biblical obedience right there. Anything short of that is lacking.

I'm sure you can see that. Something is missing in any other kind of obedience than that. Let's drop down again on the human level for just a moment. There is a difference, isn't there? There is a difference when there is that flow of love and acceptance in any of our human relationships.

We know, yes, we know, our son is our son and he must obey us. We know our daughter is our daughter and she must obey us. We know our wife is our wife and she must obey us. We know I'm the boss and you're the worker and you must obey me.