DAY 10 | Demonstrating a Life of Obedience

It is my hope that as you follow Jesus, you’ll start to LIVE like Jesus. Living like Jesus means to pattern your life after the practices of Jesus. So far we’ve discussed how Jesus was dependent on the Holy Spirit, displayed devotion to God, and developed healthy relationships. Today, as we wrap up week two of our study together, I want to share the final principle to living like Jesus:

Jesus Demonstrated a Life of Obedience

Jesus came to earth on a mission to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). This mission and ministry was given from God the Father. Jesus’ earthly life was an obedient life to the will of God the Father.

Just hours before Jesus would be arrested and nailed to the cross, Jesus was found praying to God in a garden. While praying, Jesus said the following:

Luke 22:41-42
41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

Not my will, but yours, be done. This statement reflects the heart of Jesus as He went to the cross to die for our sins. Also, this statement sounds similar to the one found in the Lord’s prayer.

Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

In the same way, the Christian life should live out the expression of “Your will be done.” Your life center around submission to God’s will. Love for God is expressed in our obedience, and obeying God reflects the love of Christ to those around us. Obedience is a key component in our mission to make disciples.

Philippians 2:5-8
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

John 14:15
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
How do you center your life around obeying God? Let me share a verse and a picture of what it looks like:

James 1:22-25
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Seat = BE
Your identity as a child of God is secure. Nothing you will do can make God love you more or less. You have been saved by grace through faith.

Pedal 1 = KNOWING
You cannot obey God’s Word if you do not know God’s Word.

Pedal 2 = DOING
You are not meant to simply hear God’s Word, but live it out throughout your week.

When you trust that your identity in God is secure (BE), you are free to enjoy the ride through pushing the pedals of KNOWING and DOING the Word of God. Knowing without doing does not produce life change. Doing without knowing leaves you aimless and without direction. Instead, choose to push on both pedals, and watch your Christian journey take off.