the rewards of obedience 2006-08-20

Young Nak youngnakem.ca English Ministry _______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________ 650 McNicoll Avenue, North York, Ontario, M2H 2E1 (416) 756-4709

#4 The Rewards of Obedience Luke 12:42-48 Pastor Peter Yi August 20, 2006

Proposition: God will greatly reward us for our obedience.

Introduction:

There are several things we can be assured of when we obey the Lord. I want to talk about two of

them today. I hope they will serve as our motivation to continue living lives of obedience.

There is an increase in faith when we obey the Lord.

Obedience is always a matter of faith and trust in God. And when it comes to matters of

obedience there is always a spiritual battle that is going on. And it’s a battle over truth. This

battle is about whom I should believe. Should I believe God who says that if I do such and such

then certain results will occur? Or should I believe myself or others who may say things that are

contrary to what God says? Constantly, we face the proverbial “fork in the road” where we have

to make a choice. And before we make the decision to choose one path over the other, there is

an underlying struggle that is going on over truth.

Friends, our actions are almost always a reflection of the system of truth we believe in. If my

system of truth says that instant gratification is always better than delayed gratification, then I will

always do what gives immediate pleasure rather than waiting for something that will give me far

greater pleasure.

The system of truth for every Christian is not merely personal experience, nor is it pop culture

morality, nor is it the gospel according to Oprah. It has been and always will be the Bible.

Here’s what happens when we become distant from the Bible.

1. We lose intimacy with God.

2. We lose our objective sense of right and wrong.

3. We begin to value our opinions over God’s truth

And the list could go on, but those are some of the things that will happen.

So in order for us to be obeying far more often than disobeying. And in order for us to know what

is right and wrong we must keep the reading, meditating, studying, listening, and memorizing of



Scripture not as just some peripheral religious activity, but as the essential ingredient in our

spiritual diets. It was Jesus himself that said,

'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' (Matthew 4:4).

And do you remember the context in which Jesus said this? It was during a fierce battle with the

Devil and temptation. So if Jesus battled temptation with Scripture, shouldn’t we even more?

Even in the Old Testament Scriptures, Moses gave these foundational commands to the

Israelites.

Deuteronomy 6:6-96 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk

about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as

symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

God said the same thing to Joshua before the biggest faith test of his life. He was to succeed the

great Moses. The baton was passed onto him and as he looks over the great masses of people,

he’s probably thinking, “I’m no Moses”. “I can’t do the things Moses did.” And God is saying to

him. Hey Josh, I’m not asking you to be Moses, so don’t try to be like him. But know this, the

God of Moses is also your God. And so God says to him, Joshua 1: 8 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to

do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

David said the same thing in one chapter, in 175 verses. The longest chapter in all of the Bible,

the famous Psalm 119 is all about the Word of God. Here are a few highlights from it.

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?

By living according to your word.

11 I have hidden your word in my heart

that I might not sin against you.

18 Open my eyes that I may see

wonderful things in your law.

28 My soul is weary with sorrow;

strengthen me according to your word.

44 I will always obey your law,

for ever and ever.

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet



and a light for my path.

All this talk about the Bible because this is where we find God’s commands for us to obey. This is

where we find his promises for those who obey.

Here’s what happens.

1. We read the Bible.

2. God speaks to us through the Bible with a challenge. A challenge to confess, to trust, to obey,

to praise, to think and act differently.

3. And then there’s often times a conflict with our faith. Should I trust him? Can I trust him?

What happens if I do? What happens if I don’t?

4. And then we make a choice. The fork in the road.

And from that moment two things could happen.

If we choose to disobey several things will happen.

1. We displease God. We grieve the Holy Spirit.

2. We never really experience the fullness of the love and presence of God in our lives.

3. We lose all the benefits of obedience.

4. People are not impressed nor are they encouraged to follow in your footsteps.

5. We begin the journey of compromise.

6. And the list goes on.

But…if we choose to obey…the following things will happen.

1. God is pleased.

2. We are blessed.

3. People around us are blessed.

4. The church begins to accomplish its mission.

5. There’s the personal joy and satisfaction that the smile of God is upon me.

6. We witness personal spiritual growth in that we allow ourselves to experience the fullness of

the love and presence and pleasure of God in our lives.

It’s summed up perfectly in one of the verses in “Trust and Obey”, the hymn we’ve been singing

every week.



But we never can prove the delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay;

For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

So what happens is that every time we obey, we build up for ourselves pages and pages of

history. Our list of all the wonderful things God has done in our lives continues to grow and grow

and grow and then do you know what happens? Obedience gets easier.

There’d be times when I look at my life situation and I would get so depressed. I would get into

the ‘glass half empty’ mode. And I would wonder if the situation would ever change. And I would

share this with Linda and kinda sulk and complain about our situation. And then Linda, in her ever

so gentle way, would say, “Hey dummy, we didn’t get to where we are now on our own. It was all

God. He’ll provide for us. He’ll lead us. He’ll deliver us.” And I’d respond to her and say, “You

are absolutely right. God’s never let us down. He’s always been there for us. He’s always

provided for us. Look at the countless blessings we have because of him. And I know from how

God has worked in my past, he will continue to do more of the same and even greater things in

the future.”

Friends you will never test the goodness of God, his faithfulness, his promises, until we trust and

obey.

There is one more reward I’d like to mention today. And that is the reward of begin given

more work and responsibility.

Some people could hear that and say. “Uh…and how is that a blessing? Is that not a curse?

Isn’t that why we have unions? So no one works harder than others do, but we all work the same

average standards and get the same pay and benefits?”



NIV Luke 12:42-48 42 The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his

servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so

when he returns. 44 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But suppose the servant says to himself,

'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and

get drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will

cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

47 "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with

many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From

everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will

be asked.

Let’s look at today’s passage to build up our case.

Without exception every Christian is given certain responsibilities. It’s taught in this passage. The

passage describes us as managers whom the master put in charge of certain tasks. It this

passage the manager was in put in charge of his servants to give them food.

And this principle is also taught in other parts of Scripture like 1 Corinthians when it teaches on

spiritual gifts and the body of Christ. All of us are integral parts of the body and each of us has a

specific role or job in the greater church.

But let’s first take a look at the unfaithful person. The person who is not faithful, the person who is

not obedient is described as such.

1. This person is irresponsible.

2. This person takes advantage of the trust given to him and abuses it.

3. This person will be in for the shock of his life. The master will come back at a time he least

expects and will catch him in the act.

4. The master will “cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.” (There it is an

absence of faith match side by side with an absence of obedience).

5. This person knows what he should do, but doesn’t. There is blatant disobedience. (47) And

his punishment will be even more severe.

But here’s what happens to all who trust and obey their heavenly Father.



In verse 44 we discover that when the master returns and finds his worker or manager doing what

he was supposed to do, he will reward him. And what does he reward him with? More

responsibility.

44 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Friends, what an honor it is to be considered worthy of responsibility by the Lord.

This is what Jesus did with his disciples. He gave them a little bit of responsibility and tasks and

then gave them more.

This is what Paul did with Timothy. He took him along on his travels and then basically gave the

Ephesian church to him.

So what can we do with what we’ve learned?

• Start where you’re at. Whatever obedience challenge God has placed in front of you

today, start there.

• Take small steps.

• Be faithful

• Seek the advice and counsel of your leaders.

Conclusion:

Friends, God has designed his relationship with us to have certain rewards. And we enjoy these

rewards when we obey. The church needs people who will be faithful in the little things. The

church needs people who will obey in the little things. It’s through these little acts of obedience

that God begins to act in us and in his church.

In just a moment we will participate in communion. Allow this communion to be a time of

dedication to the Lord.

Let’s pray.

the rewards of obedience 2006-08-20

Documents