Day 3

3 - JESUS OBEYS THE FATHER

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 26:39

Finish these statements.

• Rules are meant to be __________. (I bet you didn’t say “obeyed”)
• It’s better to ask forgiveness than ________________. (Permission? Really? So we know we’re doing wrong, but we go ahead with it anyway?)
• The speed limit is… a) important; b) a suggestion; c) a nuisance. (Aren’t we allowed to drive 10 miles over the speed limit before we get a ticket?)

Why is obedience so hard for us to understand?

Perhaps nowhere in our culture is obedience better understood than in the military.

UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) Article 92 states:

Any person subject to this chapter who:

1. violates or fails to obey any lawful general order or regulation;
2. having knowledge of any other lawful order issued by a member of the armed forces, which it is his duty to obey, fails to obey the order; or

is derelict in the performance of his duties; Shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

Obedience is a big deal is the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard. Failure to obey a direct order has significant consequences. Their actions have the potential to put not only themselves but their entire unit at needless risk. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Corpsmen depend on one another. They have to trust their commander. They have to trust the code.

Jesus understood obedience. He didn’t just expect it from others. He honored His Commander (the Father). He honored the code (the Scriptures).

Consider the Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 2:5-11. What do they tell us about how Jesus honored the Father?

Jesus was “obedient to death, even death on a cross.” Now we might think that kind of obedience was easy for Jesus because He was God, but remember, the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus “had to be made like His brothers in every way."

Read Hebrews 4:15 & 5:8.

• What does this tell us about the meaning of obedience in Jesus’ life?

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Delayed obedience… is disobedience!

Partial obedience… is disobedience!

Unknown obedience… is disobedience!

Wouldn’t it be amazing if our understanding of obedience in our home, our youth ministry or our church exceeded that of the military. Impossible? Not really. An obedience motivated by love beats an obedience motivated by fear by a long shot.

Apart From Him…

• Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a sensitivity to how and where the Father wants you to obey today. If you listen, He will lead.

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Walking As Jesus…

• Make a list of at least 10 things you already know God wants you to do today. These can be very simple, like: Read the Bible, Pray, Speak the Truth…. Revisit your list at the end of the day and see how you did at obeying in simple, obvious ways.

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• My Personal Disciple-Making Plan: