I Will Choose Obedience

Jesus’ question in Luke 6:46 puts obedience right in front of every person who calls him Lord: “Why do you call me Lord and not do what I say?” Disobedience to a commanding officer, a coach, a teacher, or an employer brings real consequences, and willful disobedience to Jesus is no small thing. Fear, impatience, unreliable feelings, lack of trust in God’s character, and plain unbelief all pull hearts toward taking matters into their own hands.

Peter’s encounter at the lake gives the simple response faith requires: “Because you say so, I will.” Peter had worked all night, caught nothing, and knew fishing better than the carpenter standing in his boat. Jesus’ word, however, outweighed Peter’s experience, exhaustion, and inner dialogue. Peter obeyed, the nets filled, and the man who fell before Jesus as a sinful man left everything to follow him.

The Lord Jesus is neither legalistic Jesus, always mad and impossible to please, nor light Jesus, careless about how people live. Colossians presents the real Jesus as the image of the invisible God, the One through whom all things were made and held together. God’s commands carry weight because God is good, all-wise, and a perfect loving Father. The evil one still asks, “Did God really say?” and still tries to make God look like he is holding out.

God’s promptings do not always make sense on paper. Peter’s fishing trip did not make sense, a church plant did not make sense, and a move away from an established life did not make sense. The Holy Spirit, however, continues to confirm his direction and open doors where doors looked closed. Obedience is not always an emotional rush; sometimes it is a quiet, settled response to the Lord’s voice.

Jesus gives four clear asks to his followers. Love is to become the goal of life, not as a feeling but as action toward difficult, unlovable, prickly people. Forgiveness is a choice to release revenge and stop rehearsing the offense, made possible because Christ bore sin and every offense at the cross. Courage rests in Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the evil one, even while life remains hard in a broken world. Unity calls believers to hold tightly to the essentials of the faith while refusing to divide over secondary issues.

Christ has already lived what he asks. Jesus loved enemies, forgave from the cross, overcame the world, and prayed that his people would be one. His yoke is easy and his burden is light because the loving Lord never calls his people into a path he has not already walked.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Obedience begins with who speaks. Jesus’ commands are not arbitrary rules from a distant taskmaster. Christ is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and his goodness gives weight to every command. Faith grows when hearts stop measuring obedience by whether it feels reasonable and begin trusting the character of the One who speaks. [12:34]
• 2. Love is obedience in action. Jesus makes love the visible mark of his true followers, not religious performance or eloquent words. Love becomes real when it moves toward difficult, grouchy, and inconvenient people with the same mercy God gives. Christlike love is not sentimental; it is a choice to serve when affection alone runs thin. [23:46]
• 3. Forgiveness releases the right to revenge. Forgiveness does not pretend the wound was small or deny that evil happened. The cross takes the offense seriously because Jesus bore sin in his own body, including sins committed against wounded hearts. Freedom begins when a person releases vengeance to God and can genuinely pray blessing over the offender. [25:16]
• 4. Courage rests in Christ’s victory. Jesus does not promise a painless life in a broken world. Christ promises peace in himself because he has overcome sin, death, suffering, and the evil one. Hope becomes steady when it is placed in Jesus rather than people, money, jobs, health, or anything that can be taken away. [29:34]
• 5. Unity protects the witness of Christ. Jesus prays for unity because a divided church clouds the world’s view of the Father sending the Son. Unity does not require agreement on every secondary issue, nor does it mean that anything goes. Love holds believers together around Jesus, the gospel, and the essentials of the faith.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:52] - Why Call Jesus Lord?
• [06:18] - Why Hearts Disobey
• [07:41] - Peter’s Catch and Calling
• [09:48] - Because of Who Says So
• [12:09] - The Real Lord Jesus
• [14:31] - Obeying When It Makes No Sense
• [15:22] - Cleve and Lynn’s Story
• [21:40] - Pursue Love as the Goal
• [24:10] - Forgive as Christ Forgave
• [28:10] - Take Courage in Christ
• [30:34] - Strive for Unity
• [33:20] - Responding to God’s Prompting
• [35:50] - Prayer for Obedient Hearts

Bible Reading

Luke 6:46 — “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” [02:56]

Luke 5:1-11 — “On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’ And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.” [07:46]

Colossians 1:15-20 — “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” [12:23]

John 13:34-35 — “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” [22:04]

Observation questions

1. In Luke 5, what reasons could Simon Peter have given for refusing Jesus’ command to put out the nets again, and what words show that he chose obedience instead? [08:37]
2. What happens after the catch of fish, both in Peter’s response to Jesus and in the response of Peter, James, and John at the shore?
3. According to Colossians 1:15-20, what words describe Jesus’ relationship to creation, the church, and reconciliation? [12:30]
4. In John 13:34-35, what does Jesus say will show the world who his disciples are, and what does he not name as the identifying mark? [22:31]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus asks why people call him “Lord” but do not do what he says. What does this question reveal about the connection between trusting Jesus and obeying Jesus? [07:18]
2. Peter had experience, exhaustion, and an empty night of fishing behind him. Why does his response, “At your word I will let down the nets,” give a strong picture of faith?
3. Colossians says that all things were created through Jesus, for Jesus, and are held together in him. How does that truth challenge both the picture of Jesus as an angry taskmaster and the picture of Jesus as someone unconcerned with how his people live? [11:45]
4. Jesus commands his followers to love one another as he has loved them. What might it look like for love to be an action rather than merely a warm feeling, especially toward difficult people? [23:46]

Application questions

1. Where are fear, impatience, unreliable feelings, or unbelief most likely to pull you toward taking matters into your own hands instead of obeying Jesus? What would it look like to bring that area under his Lordship this week? [06:29]
2. Is there a clear command of Jesus that you have been delaying or explaining away? What is one small, concrete act of obedience you can take because he says so?
3. Is there a prompting from God that has stayed with you even though it does not make much sense on paper? How can you wisely seek confirmation through prayer, Scripture, and mature believers while remaining open to obeying? [19:40]
4. Who is a difficult, inconvenient, or “prickly” person in your life right now? What specific action could demonstrate Christlike love toward that person without pretending that their behavior is easy or good? [24:00]
5. Is there someone whose offense you continue to rehearse, bring up, or use as a reason to hold onto resentment? What could releasing revenge to God look like, and are you able to begin praying for God’s good work in that person’s life? [25:05]
6. Where has your hope become attached to something that can be taken away—such as people, money, health, work, or security? How can you take courage this week by putting your confidence more fully in Jesus, who has overcome the world? [29:49]
7. In a disagreement with another believer, are you more focused on being proven right or on understanding the other person and protecting unity? What is one conversation or attitude that Jesus may be asking you to approach differently? [31:44]