Walking in Obedience

SUMMARY

In this New Year's sermon, Karl Ihfe delves into the question of how we measure a good life or a good year. He begins by referencing Psalm 128, which states, "Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to Him" (Psalm 128:1). Ihfe explains that this fear is not terror, but a reverent awe of God that leads to obedience.

Ihfe then turns to Jesus' teachings, particularly the Sermon on the Mount, to illustrate what a life of obedience looks like. He focuses on Matthew 7, where Jesus provides four images to help understand true discipleship: the narrow gate, the good tree, doing God's will, and building on the rock. These images emphasize the importance of not just knowing about Jesus, but actively living out His teachings.

The sermon concludes with a call to action for the congregation to either reaffirm their commitment to walking in obedience or to make that commitment for the first time. Ihfe encourages listeners to leave old habits behind and embrace new ones that align with God's will, emphasizing the importance of community support in this journey.

TRANSCRIPTION:

Amen. Well, happy New Year, everybody. It's so good to be together. How do you measure whether or not you've had a good year in the past? What are some of your metrics that you use to determine whether it's been a good year, a tough year, a bad year?

There's a lot of them out there. I was looking at online this week just to see how do people tend to judge some of the survey research institutions to see what they come up with? A lot of folks do it by setting New Year's resolutions. Now, last year I asked, who are my New Year's resolutions? And it was like me and one of the.

So I'm not going to ask you to do it. You're a little too shy for that. But Pew Research, they made some phone calls last year, last January to ask who makes New Year's resolutions. And the number one age group that makes them 18 to 29 year olds, almost half, 49% make a new Year's resolution. So way to go, guys.

It turns out the older you get, the less likely you are to make a New Year's resolution. Now, there may be some wisdom in that, and we kind of know, yeah, yeah, we know what that means. But not only that, what are the most popular resolutions made? If you just had to guess, PW called and asked folks, and number one, was diet exercise related? Right.

A lot of folks tend to gauge their year. Do I look the same as I did last year? Now, the older you get, if you can say yes to that, you're like, score you. When we're younger, we're like, oh, no, what happened? There are a lot of ways to measure a year.

What's that going to look like this year? I wanted us to launch into a new year, a new series. Thinking about this idea, often you've heard this phrase, out with the old, in with the new. And that's kind of where this series title came from. We're in with the new.

What does it look like to walk into a new year bringing some new habits? Kaye referred to this just a moment ago in Herion meditation. How do we become more like Jesus in the year ahead? What are some things that we could begin to walk in together that might help shape and form us into the kind of people that we need to be, that God has called us to be, but that our community needs us to be that Lubbock needs the Broadway Church to be this kind of body. We want to spend some time thinking about this together.

Turns out this question, though, is not a New one. It's not a recent question folks have been asking for a long time. What's it look like to live a good life? How's my year going? How's my life going?

You heard the words that Emma read just for us a couple of minutes ago in Psalm 128 is the Psalmist was wrestling with what does it look like to build a good life? How do I measure what a good life looks like? The psalmist tells us, blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to Him. You will eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house.

Your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Yes, this will be a blessing for the man who fears the Lord. The psalmist says, one of the ways that we walk in step with God is we learn to fear Him. Now, this isn't just this idea of being terrorized or completely afraid of Him. This is the idea of standing in awe, of reverence, of recognizing that God is God and we are not, that he created us and he loves us and he's called us to be his people.

Thessalonians says, those who choose to walk that way begin to experience blessing. But it's not this quid pro quo, as we often like to reduce things down to, like, I do this for you and you do this for me. You may remember that parable that Jesus told about the brothers and the one prodigal kind of runs away and he comes back and the older brother gets upset. Remember the argument he has with his dad? All these years I've been slaving for you and you didn't give me squat.

Loose translation.

This idea of I behaved this way, so you owe me. That's not what the psalmist is talking about here. He is s saying, no, no, no. Those who understand, who recognize, who understand who God is, who learn to live in awe of him, that all of a sudden their lives begin to take on a different shape and form, that they start to conform and be transformed into a way of living where blessing starts to happen as a result of that kind of life that we live with love and joy and peace, and in doing so, we begin to experience the fruit of that. It's an amazing thing.

The psalmist says those who fear the Lord walk in obedience. And so we're going to talk some today about this walking in obedience. This was a theme that Jesus picked up in his own ministry. If you follow him through the Gospels, if you listen to what he says, and you watch the life that he lives. You see him taking on this challenge of the Psalmist in 1:28.

Walking in obedience, Jesus modeled this life. In fact, this morning, if you have your Bible, flip over to Matthew chapter five. We're going to look at Jesus most famous sermon, the greatest sermon ever preached, where he begins to unpack this life with God, what that begins to look like and how that compares to the life of the day. And he starts out with this incredible reminder, or maybe it was this incredible learning for them, that there's blessing available to you no matter what your life circumstance is, that God's presence and peace and power. It's available to you anytime, whether you're mourning or rejoicing, whether you're working or unemployed, whether you're in a meaningful, deep relationship or really wondering, is there someone out there for me?

Jesus says, blessed are those who are willing to walk in obedience to God. He begins to name these ways that relationships begin to look different. As chapter five continues. In chapter six opens up, he starts pointing in, zeroing it on relationships. Specifically, he talks about anger and rage and malice and lust and slander and fighting.

He says, that's the way of the world, but not so with you. Instead, we're going to live a different way. We're going to live with grace and forgiveness and hope and peace and gentleness. In fact, he points in chapter six to this generous way of living.

Says, I want you to live in such a way that you recognize that the Father in heaven is watching you. So when you give or when you pray, or when you take some time to fast, to practice these disciplines that we're going to try to practice together this spring as a church family. He says, when you take and partake in those, you don't have to do that in front of people. You don't have to tell them about how awesome you are at it. Instead, he says, you know the Father is s watching and he will bless you.

He will change you. He will transform you. And it's an amazing thing, allowing the kingdom of God to come into our lives and it begins to spill out into the lives of the people connected all around us. Jesus says, in fact, if we really understand who God is, we can live in a way where we don't have to worry about anything. Now just imagine that for a minute.

Imagine if you could live your life where you didn't have to worry. He doesn't say, so just check your brain at the door. He doesn't say, bad things are never going to happen to you again. He says, no, no, no. When we understand who God is in that, with God life, we understand nothing can separate us from him, not even death.

And in knowing that truth, if we could live without that kind of fear, then we don't have to worry about anything. It doesn't mean we don't try. It doesn't mean we don't do our best to serve and love and give and to help people when they're struggling. But he says, don't forget that nothing separates us from this amazing God who created us. You see, if we get sucked into it, we get sucked into the comparison trap.

And one of the more popular metrics for measuring how well my year went was, how did years go? Too bad. Sorry. We get into this comparison game. So I said, well, at least I'm not.

Well, at least I didn't. At least I. And that's not the way Jesus says we're going to live. So again, he invites us to consider a different way. So as chapter seven opens up, and this is where I want us to spend the remaining time we have together this morning, thinking about this idea of obedience.

What happens if we as a church agree to begin walking in the way of obedience? He gives us four pictures. Jesus gives us four pictures here in Matthew 7, beginning in verse 13, to help us not miss it. He says, enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction.

And many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life. And only a few find it. The first picture Jesus gives us is this narrow gate versus the broad gate. He says, enter through the narrow way.

Like there's a particular way to live God's life. There's a way. You enter into it, but it's not as obvious as some might think. In Jerusalem, a city built with walls all around it, there were particular places built into the wall that you could get into the city. And some of those were small enough that only one person or one animal could go in at a time.

Others were huge, enormous gates that would swing on hinges and you could walk a lot of people in. And Jesus takes this image and he says, finding the way of God, it's like entering the narrow gate that there's a particular way that we go and through. And it doesn't mean by this, he doesn't mean doctrinal correctness, which is what I kind of grew up thinking. The narrow way is being right on everything. And the way we know that is true is there are Some people that we have seen in our churches who don't understand all the doctrines, but man, they just reek of the aroma of Christ, right?

They understand that loving and kindness and generosity and sacrificial service. They can't help it. Well, there are others. They could tell you the doctrine of anything, any issue, any topic, book, chapter, verse, right? But their hearts are filled with anger and frustration and divisiveness and bitterness.

So let's not lose our sight. It's not that doctrine isn't important. It's very important. But what Jesus says, the narrow way. Are the kind of folks who learn to open themselves, stop through obedience to Christ and his work in us that we get to know who Jesus is.

You see, the broad gate is just doing it however you want to do it. I'll study whenever, however, but I'm not going to listen to someone else. The narrow gate is doing what Jesus says is the best way to go. The first image he gives us is this broad and narrow way. The second one is a good tree and a bad tree.

And he says, watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they're ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them. Jesus says, on our journey of faith, on our journey of discipleship, he warns us about folks who would mislead us, who look good on the outside, but on the inside, where it really matters. He says they're ruled by their own desires, their own wants, and he calls them wolves in sheep's clothing.

Pretty vivid image of the day. They fake following Jesus by their behavior. On the outside, they look one way, but on the inside they're very different. And Jesus says it's not hard to spot these folks, like it may at first. But he says the way you do it is you just watch them and you watch the fruit of their lives.

Watch how they relate to other people. Are their relationships being nurtured and growing, and developing? Or are their relationships starving and dying and withering? He says, just watch the fruit of their lives. You can't fake fruit.

He says, watch the tree and what it produces. Says in our discipleship, Jesus reminds us we're aiming at becoming the kind of tree that produces good Fruit. We're not just aiming for the fruit. So to simply just start acting a certain way, he says, that's not the goal. We can't manufacture it on our own.

We have to allow God to change us, to help us begin to produce fruit, right? So the gate, the tree, the third image he gives us, doing God's will or doing good deeds. Right? Following close to the same image, he says. Verse 21.

Not everyone who says to me, lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you away from me, you evildoers.

Jesus says, those we can trust are those who learn who he is.

Those we can trust are those who learn and do what Jesus says to do. And this begins by putting our trust and our allegiance fully in Jesus. You know, some of us coming here this morning have been at this for a while. We've been following Jesus for a while, and this may seem like kind of old hat to us. Others may be brand new to this thing and going, well, who is Jesus?

Who is this person? We're so glad you're here. You're in the right place. Because this is what we're going to chase after this year is learning more about who Jesus is and what his will is and what he says is the best way to live. The authors of the New Testament, Jesus himself taught this.

But the gospel writers and the New Testament writers, they all pointed back to this way of living that flowed out of a love, a genuine love for Jesus, that as that love deepens and it grows, it can't help but flow out into our lives in different manifestations.

See, Jesus, brother James said, just knowing who Jesus is isn't enough. Just knowing about him, just knowing about God, it's not enough. In fact, James would go so far to say, hey, that's great, you can recognize them. So do the demons. What separates you from being a true disciple is not just that you know who Jesus is, it's that you're living it out, that you're trying to embody it.

Not perfect. Not that you got it all right every time, but rather that you are learning from the inside out how to love and then to live into that way of life. You see, obedience goes well beyond, he says. This righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, it's got to be more than just a behavior that we do. It's got to be a life that we live.

That question, am I doing this because it's God's will, or is it just another good deed? Am I managing people's impression? So we have the gate, we have the tree here. Jesus has given us a picture of doing God's will. This last image he gives us is the hear and do versus the hear and don't.

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law.

Jesus says, the final image I'll give to you of the person who seeks to live the way of God. It's like a builder who builds a house on a rock that no matter what happens in life, because storms are going to happen in life, he says, the winds are going to come and the rain is going to fall and the streams are going to rise up and flood. He says, but if you built your house on a solid foundation on the rock, then your house will survive. He says, that's what it looks like for someone who hears all that I'm saying and not only takes it in and says, yes, I agree. I believe that's a good way, but then says, actually, I'm going to try to start living it out.

I'm going to try to start becoming that kind of person. He says, that kind of disciple actually builds an indestructible life. Now hear me. This doesn't mean everything works out perfectly every time. This doesn't mean relationships always go the way I think they're going to go, that work always is up and to the right, that sometimes we're going to face some pretty incredible challenges.

But what we find in a life that's built on the rock is that we're never alone, that we're always surrounded with others who care for us genuinely, that we root and nestle ourselves into a life of community built upon fellow brothers and sisters who follow and are Trying to practice the ways of Jesus and that God's peace is with us, strengthening and encouraging us. See this kingdom life, a life of discipleship was described all through the New Testament. And every time again, they keep pointing back to this way of love. In fact, in a couple of weeks we're going to talk about learning how to walk in love, but committing to and saying, God, I'm going to let you be the ruler, the authority in my life. That the decisions that I make, I'm going to allow you to have influence and direction on them that I'm going to choose to be obedient to your call.

You know, one of the reasons we gather every week is Gary reminded us next Sunday we're going to be gathering our Bible classes. We'll have kid connection. We have all these different environments as a way to practically get involved, to get together in God's word, to humble ourselves, to try to become obedient to who he is. This year, my great hope for us is as we're taking out the old and bringing in the new, that we might either reaffirm our commitment to walking in obedience or maybe for the first time express that desire. You know, last Sunday we got to begin our worship with Sweet Laden giving her life to Christ in baptism.

Perhaps that's your opportunity this week. Maybe God has s been tugging on your heartstrings. He's been helping open your eyes and your ears to seeing that some of the decisions and the ways that you're living, it's not leading toward a greater, deeper understanding of who Jesus is and being a more devoted disciple. And so maybe for you it's taking on Christ and baptism. And maybe you've been at this game for a while and what you need is encouragement.

You need support, you need help, you need prayers. We'd love to be that for you in this next year as we continue to learn how to walk in the way of obedience. God, that's my prayer for us, this church for this year. Rather that you would help us to take out the old and bring in the new. I got some of our habits.

We just need to leave back in 2025 and pick up some new ones. But Father, for that to happen, we're going to need your help. We're going to need your help not only through your scripture and through your Holy Spirit prompting and leading in us, but God, we're going to need you to gather people around us who can encourage us and challenge us and support us and help us take our next step. So God, would you do that work in us today? Would you give our spirits, our hearts, may they be sensitive to your leadings that I know some of us are in some relationships right now that we need to see some new life brought in?

God, would you give us a willing heart to be obedient to your way? Whether that's to be the first to apologize, to humble ourselves. Maybe it's to offer forgiveness to someone who has hurt us. ###D maybe it's some other way that we need to be at work in our communities, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, in our homes. God, whatever it is, would you open us up to it?

Would you help us to be obedient to the call in our lives? Father, may you open our eyes as well to see the gift of community that you've given to us here at Broadway that we can lean on each other and that in these amazing relationships you give to us, you help us to find the strength to take our next step. God, thank you for Jesus who led the way in a life of obedience, of doing what you would have him do, of saying what you have asked him to say. God, may we live in that same life. We pray in 2025.

All this in Jesus name, Amen.