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C-76 11/4/56 THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM - PART VI
There are plenty of people who are willing to follow Christ half-way. They do not want to be pagans. They desire something more than that. But they have no intention whatsoever of disowning themselves. The descriptive symbol of their lives is a perfectly balanced scale with just enough religion included to keep life on an even keel, but not a milligram more. It's as if their major objective is to "just get by". They have reduced Christian commitment to its absolute minimum. They have refined it down to a palatable capsule they can swallow with ease and, as a result, have deprived themselves of the delectable delights which can only come through full-scale, disciplined, sacrificial living. It is against this bleak and disheartening backdrop that I plead this morning for the kind of astonishing life which will go all the way in absolute obedience to the High Command of heaven. Do not think I am urging something easy for I'm not. But, as a Christian, you will never know the real meaning of the abundant life, nor will you fully appropriate the power of God which is hidden within you, unless you accept the disciplines of Christianity and submit obediently to the laws which govern God's Kingdom. Actually, there isn't anything worthwhile which doesn't require discipline. Which doesn't cost much in the way of obedience. You cannot, for instance, make use of the tremendous power of electricity to light your home unless you are willing to obediently submit to the rigid laws of electronics. You must make the proper electrical connections and contact before the power of electricity can cause the fixtures in your home to function. You cannot experience the full pleasure and profit of travel unless you are willing to submit yourself and your automobile to the disciplines of traffic. Obedience to the law of the road is essential if you are to get the greatest possible enjoyment out of your car. Dr. Ron Meredith, pastor of The First Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, tells how, as a small boy, he lived in Minnesota where the weather gets mighty cold at times. To help keep warm, he had one of those old-fashioned buttoned sweaters. It had a lot of buttons on one side and a lot of button holes on the other. As a kid, he learned something about obedience from that old sweater. "I discovered something," he says, "and it has worked every time. If, when I buttoned it, and I had an extra button at the top, I always had an extra button hole at the bottom. It never failed. Never. And I learned there is only one law regarding the buttoning of a sweater. If you want to come out right at the top, you have to start right at the bottom and keep right all the way up." Now, that's a pretty homely illustration, but that's why I like it! It's so simple and obvious. It shows us there's only one way we're ever going to make it in this business of being a Christian. We've got to start right and keep right all the way. There is no such thing as believing in obedience "a little bit". Either we accept the disciplines of
the Christian life, or we don't. There's no middle ground. There can be no compromise on the
matter of our obedience to the Lordship of Christ in our life if we are going to come out right in
the end. And so, as we come to the final sermon in this series and tackle the Key of Kingdom called Obedience, I want to give you three basic principles and then, at the end, add a "therefore". God's Rights And Our Freedom Strangely enough, while God is in a position to demand obedience, He doesn't. As the poet put it, God does not want disciples who are puppets, who obey Him because He pulls a certain string, who jump at His command because He gives a gesture which requires it. He wants disciples who obey Him out of love. Who recognize He has something better for them than they can plan for themselves and thus willingly obey Him without thought of cost or consequence. George Washington once complained that his plans were held up because the soldiers would not obey his orders until time was taken to explain why the commands were necessary. "I hope", he said, "that the time will arrive when they trust my leadership enough to obey my commands without delay or argument." That time did arrive. The army became efficient and won the war against fantastic odds. That's the kind of obedience God wants and is in a position to expect. But, while He is in a position to expect it, He does not demand it. He will not resort to coercion to get it. He will not force His blessings upon those who do not want them and who do not appreciate them. He only longs that His disciples will reach the point in their dedication where they trust His leadership enough to willingly obey His commands without delay or argument. There is still the matter of local option. We still have the right to exercise free choice. We can accept the disciplines of God. We can reject them. Our decision determines the direction our Christian experience will take. The measure of our obedience will be the measure in which the power of God flows into our lives. The second basic principle is that "You cannot control the other fellow's opportunities "You cannot control the distance your head shall be above the ground There is a tremendous amount of wisdom in those lines, for each of us who is taking seriously this task of living and is earnestly trying to get from life as much as it has to offer, recognizes that self-discipline is a major key to success in that venture. We can never know true happiness apart from obedience to the things which matter most. The most miserable people I know are the people who are undisciplined, who live unrestrained lives, who are motivated by the emotions of the moment, who refuse to submit to the disciplines and demands of life. They have mistaken liberty for license and free will for anarchy, and there can never be happiness and harmony where there is license and anarchy. Time Magazine reports in it's November 8th, 1954 issue that 95 musicians recently assembled on the stage of Carnegie Hall. There was the usual hush which preceded the appearance of the conductor, but no conductor appeared. Instead, the big orchestra began to play to a full house and an empty podium. The group playing was Arturo Toscannini's famed symphony. Superbly trained, the men played with perfect balance and beautiful phrasing as if the maestro himself were conducting it. They received a great ovation. They had played under his leadership so long that without his physical presence, his spirit directed them. When the score read "pianissimo," they played pianissimo. When it read "forte," they played forte. But suppose each of those musicians had decided to interpret the music according to his own emotions and feelings? Suppose he decided to indulge his own particular tastes and desires? There would have been chaos! There can be no music apart from absolute obedience to the disciplines imposed by the conductor and the writer of the manuscript. Refusal to obey the instructions of the musical score can only result in discord. Real harmony demands rigid discipline in exactly the same way obedience is essential to true happiness. The third basic principle is that Let me show you what I mean. When you were born into this world and became the child of your parents, you became their child forever. If, when you were small, they asked you to do something and you refused to do it, that didn't mean you were no longer their child. It simply meant that for a moment, the fellowship between you was broken. There was a strained relationship and, because they were unhappy, you were unhappy. Later on when you went to them and said, "Forgive me, I'm sorry," and you did the thing which they had asked you to do, that did not suddenly make you any more their child than you were before. But, because you were an obedient child, the fellowship between you was restored. The tension was removed and there was joy and contentment. Well, the same thing is true in the Christian life. When you became a Christian, you became God's child forever. When you fail to do the things which He asks of you, when you refuse to submit to the disciplines of the Christian life, it doesn't mean you are no longer His child and your soul is lost. It does mean, however, the fellowship between you has been broken. The sense of closeness with your Heavenly Father is strained. You find prayer loses its power. The fellowship of other Christians loses its appeal. And with it all there is an inner sense of dissatisfaction which makes life uneasy. When you come to Him and say, "Father, forgive me," when you submit to the disciplines of the Christian life, when you obey Him come what may, you find the fellowship restored and a growing sense of inner joy and contentment. Settle this clearly in your mind. Obedience does not determine your salvation, but simply the measure of your spiritual maturity. Actually, disobedience is always evidence of immaturity. Only a juvenile rebels against legitimate restrictions and restraints. Only an overgrown child refuses to submit to the disciplines of life. We've all met the fellow who refuses to go to church because his parents forced him to go when he was young. Up until a week ago, I thought I had a pretty good answer for that one. I would suggest, "Did your parents force you to brush your teeth when you were a child? Have you stopped brushing your teeth just because they made you do it when you were young?" I always thought that was a fairly decisive argument until a week ago when I met a fellow back in New Jersey who said, "That's exactly why I don't brush my teeth! My parents made me do it when I was young!" Well, that fellow was giving all the signs of immaturity. He also had a mouth full of teeth which were about to fall out I might add. He refused to grow up, recognize life has certain demands and, if he is going to make proper use of the physical equipment God gave him, he must abide by the rules of good hygiene. Sometimes we meet a youngster who refuses to study. That's evidence he hasn't matured sufficiently to see that if he's going to make use of the mind God gave him, he must discipline that mind and obey the laws of learning which are essential to intellectual growth. Sometimes we meet a spiritual rebel. When we do, it's just proof of the fact that here is a person who hasn't grown up enough to realize he is more than a body, that he is an immortal soul and if he is going to fully develop the soul which God has given him, he must submit to the laws of the Kingdom of God. So there you have the three basic principles. God Has A Right To Demand Obedience But He Doesn't. He leaves it up to us! Obedience is essential to real happiness. Obedience is a sign of spiritual maturity. Now, let me add The "Therefore." And don't ever forget that serious Christian living is always an upsetting experience! We often think of Christianity as a comfortable religion, and it is. No other faith offers such comfort and security. But, as Dr. Curtis Nims says so eloquently, "The gospel is not only to comfort the afflicted, but to afflict the comfortable." Someone once asked Daniel Webster, "What is the most solemn thought which has ever entered your mind?" He replied without hesitation, "The most solemn thought I have ever had--and I have had it often--is my personal accountability to Almighty God." We cannot escape the fact that every one of us is accountable to God for the use we make of the spiritual and material resources He has entrusted to us and the degree of our obedience to His highest call. That does not mean you must give up your job and become an itinerate preacher. It does not mean leaving America to go into the dark jungles of distant lands across the seas. What is does mean is being an obedient servant to Jesus Christ right here. Right now. On The Street Where You Live. God has a job for you to do which is distinctly your own and, it is a task which in all probability can be accomplished right here and right now. There is a story about a man who opened a donut shop and hung up a sign saying, "We Have The Finest Donuts In Town." Shortly thereafter, another man opened a store immediately across the street and displayed a sign saying, "We Have The Finest Donuts In The United States." Shortly thereafter, a third donut shop opened down the street and the proprietor hung out a sign saying, "We Have The Finest Donuts In The World." Not long thereafter, a fourth donut shop opened and this proprietor, not to be outdone, boasted, "We Have The Finest Donuts In The Universe." Finally, the improbable happened and a fifth donut shop opened far down at the end of the street. Everyone was anxious to see what kind of sign this owner would hang out. When they went to look, they discovered a most meaningful message, "We Have The Finest Donuts On This Street!" That's it, you see. That's the real crux of the matter. Your responsibility as a Christian is On The Street Where You Live. God does not expect you to become another Billy Graham or Norman Vincent Peale, but God does want you to be an obedient servant to Him right here. Right now. A Christian who will recognize the disciplines of Christian stewardship. A Christian who will see his time and talent as a sacred trust. A Christian who will tithe, not because it makes sense to him, but because God commands it. A Christian who, in every way, will give evidence of spiritual maturity. A Christian who will make every human effort to be the man or woman God wants him or her to be. Not tomorrow, but today. Not somewhere else, but here. On The Street Where You Live. KEYS OF THE KINGDOM - OBEDIENCE There are plenty of people who are willing to follow Christ half way. But they have no intention of disowning themselves. A descriptive symbol for their lives is a perfectly balanced scale - with just enough religion to keep life on even keel, but not a milligram more. Unfortunately, such folk never really know the meaning of a truly abundant life. To add new dimensions to your experience
of the Christian life, try unconditional and absolute obedience. Not tomorrow,
but today. Not somewhere else, but here - on the street where you live! Pick
the one area in which you continue to feel defeated. Surrender it to God. Pledge
absolute obedience to Him in this area and claim the victory He has promised
you:, "I can do all
things through Christ." |