Becau\u00adse Moses dis\u00ado\u00adbey\u00aded God in the wil\u00adder\u00adness of Zin and did not do what God said, he was denied ent\u00adry into the Pro\u00admi\u00adsed Land. This shows us that God is not inte\u00adres\u00adted in part-time obe\u00addience on our part, he wants our total obe\u00addience. And in Isra\u00adel as well as Christ it beco\u00admes visi\u00adble that obe\u00addience is not apart from rela\u00adti\u00adonship, but is rela\u00adti\u00adonship-ori\u00aden\u00adted. This should chan\u00adge our under\u00adstan\u00adding of obe\u00addience and rela\u00adti\u00adonship, becau\u00adse the\u00adse two belong tog\u00ade\u00adther. The more we love God, the more we will want to be obe\u00addient to Him. The more we are obe\u00addient to him, the more we will abide in his love.<\/p>\n
God wants all your obe\u00addience! That is what today\u2019s ser\u00admon is about. And I belie\u00adve that obe\u00addience is a topic that is espe\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly dif\u00adfi\u00adcult in today\u2019s Swiss indi\u00advi\u00addu\u00adal socie\u00adty. Yes, we never grew up under a mon\u00adar\u00adchy, nor do most Swiss belie\u00adve that this can be a good thing. No the indi\u00advi\u00addu\u00adal must be asked and if over 51% are for or against, then the will of the peo\u00adp\u00adle is repre\u00adsen\u00adted. A mon\u00adar\u00adchy in which one ruler deci\u00addes and the others have to obey can\u00adnot be good. As a Chris\u00adti\u00adan, one might add: \u00abUnless this ruler were God\u00bb. \tSin has a des\u00adtruc\u00adti\u00adve cha\u00adrac\u00adter trait<\/p>\n \tHow do you see it? \tIn the Bible, obe\u00addience and love are put on the same level (cf. John 14:15)<\/p>\n \tWhe\u00adre else in the Bible do you see that obe\u00addience and love belong together? \tGive a con\u00adcre\u00adte step on how you can grow in obe\u00addience in your dai\u00adly life in the next week.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Becau\u00adse Moses dis\u00ado\u00adbey\u00aded God in the wil\u00adder\u00adness of Zin and did not do what God said, he was denied ent\u00adry into the Pro\u00admi\u00adsed Land. This shows us that God is not inte\u00adres\u00adted in part-time obe\u00addience on our part, he wants our total obe\u00addience. And in Isra\u00adel as well as in Christ it beco\u00admes visi\u00adble that obe\u00addience is not apart from\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":7051,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[],"wpfc_sermon_series":[81],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":["wpfc_sermon_series-creatio","wpfc-sermon-single","post-6841","wpfc_sermon","type-wpfc_sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"],"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nBut that is exact\u00adly why faith chal\u00adlenges us so much, becau\u00adse here in the Bible we read about a God who says: you can\u00adnot ser\u00adve two mas\u00adters: Eit\u00adher you ser\u00adve God, or you are obe\u00addient to your\u00adsel\u00adves, or to money, or to ano\u00adther god.
\nBut we Swiss somehow have trou\u00adble with it. I rea\u00adli\u00adsed this again the other day when I met my Leba\u00adne\u00adse fri\u00adend to read the Bible. He is still very young in the faith and tog\u00ade\u00adther we are wat\u00adching the conversion\/buses. A week later he came to me and said, \u00abHey Tinu I did it!\u00bb \u00abDid what?\u00bb I repli\u00aded. \u00abI gave away my finan\u00adcial secu\u00adri\u00adty and it\u2019s my turn to recon\u00adci\u00adle with my par\u00adents.\u00bb \u00abSo during the last week\u00bb, \u00abNo, of cour\u00adse the same week you told me\u00bb. You see, after this expe\u00adri\u00adence I was at first flab\u00adber\u00adgas\u00adted, becau\u00adse I am not used to such a quick obe\u00addience. And at the same time it thril\u00adled me.
\nWhich is why we are now deal\u00ading with it. And for that we go through the text of Deu\u00adte\u00adro\u00adno\u00admy 20 1\u201313.
\n\u00abAnd the who\u00adle con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon of the child\u00adren of Isra\u00adel came into the wil\u00adder\u00adness of Zin in the first month, and the peo\u00adp\u00adle abo\u00adde in Kadesh. And Miri\u00adam died the\u00adre, and was buried the\u00adre. And the con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon had no water; the\u00adr\u00ade\u00adfo\u00adre they gathe\u00adred them\u00adsel\u00adves tog\u00ade\u00adther against Moses, and against Aaron. And the peo\u00adp\u00adle dis\u00adpu\u00adted with Moses, say\u00ading, Alas, if we had peri\u00ads\u00adhed also, when our breth\u00adren peri\u00ads\u00adhed befo\u00adre the LORD<\/span>! And why have ye brought the con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon of the LORD<\/span> into this wil\u00adder\u00adness, that we should die here, we and our catt\u00adle? Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to bring us into this evil place, whe\u00adre the\u00adre is no sowing, whe\u00adre the\u00adre are neither fig trees, nor vines, nor pome\u00adgra\u00adna\u00adtes, nor even drin\u00adking water? And Moses and Aaron went away from the con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon unto the ent\u00adrance of the taber\u00adna\u00adcle, and fell on their faces. And the glo\u00adry of the LORD<\/span> appeared unto them. And the LORD<\/span> spa\u00adke unto Moses, say\u00ading, Take the rod, and gather the con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon tog\u00ade\u00adther, thou, and Aaron thy brot\u00adher, and speak unto the rock befo\u00adre their eyes, and it shall give them their water. So shalt thou pro\u00adcu\u00adre them water out of the rock, and shalt give the con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon and their catt\u00adle to drink. So Moses took the staff befo\u00adre the LORD<\/span>, as he had com\u00adman\u00added him. And Moses and Aaron gathe\u00adred the con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon tog\u00ade\u00adther befo\u00adre the rock; and he said unto them: Hear now, ye rebel\u00adlious: Will we get you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and smo\u00adte the rock twice with his staff. And the\u00adre flowed out much water; and the con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon drank, and their catt\u00adle also. And the LORD<\/span> said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Becau\u00adse ye have not belie\u00adved me, to sanc\u00adti\u00adfy me in the sight of the child\u00adren of Isra\u00adel, ye shall not bring this con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adti\u00adon into the land which I have given them. This is the Hader\u00adwas\u00adser, whe\u00adre the child\u00adren of Isra\u00adel dis\u00adpu\u00adted with the LORD<\/span>, and he show\u00aded hims\u00adelf holy in them\u00bb (Deu\u00adte\u00adro\u00adno\u00admy 20:1\u201313 SLT<\/span>).
\nI think when you read the text like this, one of the first thoughts that hits you is, \u00abWhat a harsh punish\u00adment for Moses. He dis\u00ado\u00adbey\u00aded only once and as a con\u00adse\u00adquence he is now not allo\u00adwed to enter the Pro\u00admi\u00adsed Land.\u00bb We don\u2019t want to get that into our heads, and that\u2019s exact\u00adly why we need to look at the text more clo\u00adse\u00adly. Whe\u00adre are we in the Bible at all?
\nThe fourth book of Moses is the fourth of five books. In the second book of Moses, the peo\u00adp\u00adle went out of Egypt to Mount Sinai, the\u00adre he makes the coven\u00adant with the Israe\u00adli\u00adtes and gives them the 10 Com\u00admandments. In the third book of Moses, the Israe\u00adli\u00adtes stay at Mount Sinai for 1 year and learn what a holy life befo\u00adre God looks like. And in the fourth book of Moses, the\u00adre is an account of lea\u00adding Isra\u00adel through the desert from Mount Sinai to the bor\u00adder of Cana\u00adan at the Jor\u00addan River. Here the Israe\u00adli\u00adtes sent out 12 scouts to explo\u00adre the land and becau\u00adse they no lon\u00adger trus\u00adted God, they took the con\u00adse\u00adquence of God sen\u00adding them into the desert for 40 years. 600,000 peo\u00adp\u00adle had died in the was\u00adted years in bet\u00adween. Through the bit\u00adter fruit of unbe\u00adlief, an enti\u00adre gene\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon was sil\u00adent\u00adly har\u00adve\u00ads\u00adted. And now the peo\u00adp\u00adle stand once again at the bor\u00adder of the Pro\u00admi\u00adsed Land.
\nAnd what do they do in the first ver\u00adses? They gather befo\u00adre Moses and Aaron again and reproach them for the scar\u00adci\u00adty of water. They would rather have peri\u00ads\u00adhed in the wil\u00adder\u00adness with their pre\u00adde\u00adces\u00adsors than have been dis\u00adre\u00adgard\u00aded by his mer\u00adcy. They would also rather return to Egypt, a land of which, howe\u00adver, they have no idea becau\u00adse they them\u00adsel\u00adves never lived there.
\nDo you under\u00adstand the peo\u00adp\u00adle were just spit\u00adting on the mer\u00adcy of God in the\u00adse ver\u00adses. For 40 years they were in the wil\u00adder\u00adness. A who\u00adle gene\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon was not allo\u00adwed to enter the land. And now after all the\u00adse years the peo\u00adp\u00adle were rebel\u00adling against Moses, Aaron and God again. We can hard\u00adly ima\u00adgi\u00adne the pres\u00adsu\u00adre Moses was under. All alarm bells must have been rin\u00adging in his mind. An inci\u00addent like 40 years ago could not be repea\u00adted under any cir\u00adcum\u00ads\u00adtances. It was impe\u00adra\u00adti\u00adve that they react, and they did.
\nThe first thing they do is go into the pre\u00adsence of God. Wit\u00adhout hesi\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon, they with\u00addraw from the raging crowd and seek refu\u00adge with God. It also seems that Moses and Aaron did not even try to give an ans\u00adwer to the peo\u00adp\u00adle. They wal\u00adked away from the assem\u00adbly and sur\u00adren\u00adde\u00adred to the living God.
\nSecond\u00adly, they heard what God told them to do, but then they dis\u00ado\u00adbey\u00aded. Ins\u00adtead of Moses say\u00ading to the rock that water should flow from it, he struck it twice with his staff. Befo\u00adre that he said, \u00abCan we get you water from this rock?\u00bb (Exodus 20:10 SLT<\/span>).
\nAt this point we are tempt\u00aded to find out how serious Moses\u00bb offence real\u00adly was. Did Moses take the glo\u00adry away from God here, or did he trust too firm\u00adly in his own strength?
\nThe thing is we don\u2019t know. The text does\u00adn\u2019t go into detail, the only thing it says is: \u00abBecau\u00adse you did not belie\u00adve me\u00bb (Deu\u00adte\u00adro\u00adno\u00admy 20:12 SLT<\/span>). And this was enough for God. Becau\u00adse sin brings consequences.
\nSin brings consequences!
\nAnd this is the first point of this mor\u00adning: sin brings con\u00adse\u00adquen\u00adces. The Bible also says \u00abthe wages that sin pays is death\u00bb (Romans 3:23 NG\u00dc<\/span>), the wages of every sin. So this is not so much about how serious Moses and Aaron\u2019s mista\u00adke was, but about the trait of sin itself.
\nAnd the Bible shows this trait again and again. As a con\u00adse\u00adquence of sin, Adam and Eve must lea\u00adve the pre\u00adsence of God. As a con\u00adse\u00adquence of sin, the son of David must die after com\u00admit\u00adting adul\u00adtery and mur\u00adder. Or in the New Tes\u00adta\u00adment, as a con\u00adse\u00adquence of sin, Hana\u00adni\u00adas and Sap\u00adp\u00adhi\u00adra fall dead after lying.
\nAnd just as unbe\u00adlief pre\u00adven\u00adted the peo\u00adp\u00adle from ente\u00adring the Pro\u00admi\u00adsed Land 40 years ear\u00adlier, unbe\u00adlief is now pre\u00adven\u00adting Moses from ente\u00adring the land. And unbe\u00adlief will also pre\u00advent you in life from ente\u00adring the cal\u00adling of God. And that is why I want to encou\u00adra\u00adge you this mor\u00adning, when you see sin in your life, again do ever\u00ady\u00adthing you can to throw it out of your life. This is exact\u00adly what Christ died for, \u00abso that our sin\u00adful natu\u00adre might be made inef\u00adfec\u00adti\u00adve and we no lon\u00adger have to ser\u00adve sin\u00bb (Romans 6:6 NG\u00dc<\/span>).
\nGod wants all your obedience!
\nAnd so I come to the second point: God wants all your obe\u00addience! What we see here in the text is a God who is not inte\u00adres\u00adted in half mea\u00adsu\u00adres. God wan\u00adted the who\u00adle obe\u00addience of his peo\u00adp\u00adle and he wan\u00adted the who\u00adle obe\u00addience of Moses. What does that do to us when we hear that? What is your pic\u00adtu\u00adre of obe\u00addience? May\u00adbe you think of your father or mother who sent you to the room and you had to obey them. Or may\u00adbe you think of a Putin and how ever\u00adyo\u00adne has to obey him and that it would be bet\u00adter to rebel against him. The Euro\u00adpean under\u00adstan\u00adding of obe\u00addience often smacks of cold\u00adness and lack of reference.
\nYet the Bible descri\u00adbes some\u00adthing com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly dif\u00adfe\u00adrent: Jesus says: \u00abIf you love me, you will keep my com\u00admandments\u00bb (John 14:15 NG\u00dc<\/span>) or \u00abIf you keep my com\u00admandments, you will abide in my love\u00bb (John 15:10 NG\u00dc<\/span>). So Jesus is put\u00adting obe\u00addience on the same level with love. HE<\/span> says if we love God we will be obe\u00addient and con\u00adver\u00adse\u00adly if we are obe\u00addient it helps us to abide in His love. So obe\u00addience to God is abso\u00adlut\u00ade\u00adly relational.
\nAnd this is not only the case in the New Tes\u00adta\u00adment, but also in the Old Tes\u00adta\u00adment. For when God gave the 10 Com\u00admandments to the Israe\u00adli\u00adtes at Mount Sinai, he declared to them: \u00abI will set my dwel\u00adling place in your midst, and my soul shall not abhor you; and I will walk in your midst and be your God, and you shall be my peo\u00adp\u00adle\u00bb (Exodus 26:11\u201312 SLT<\/span>). Do you under\u00adstand the 10 Com\u00admandments are not sim\u00adply a means of obe\u00addience, but the rela\u00adtio\u00adnal link bet\u00adween the peo\u00adp\u00adle of Isra\u00adel and God. That was always the idea.
\nAnd Moses never unders\u00adtood it any other way, which is why he also said at the end of his life: \u00abYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength!\u00bb (Deut. 6:5 SLT<\/span>).
\nBUT<\/span> if we belie\u00adve that God wants our who\u00adle heart, our who\u00adle soul and our who\u00adle strength, then we must also belie\u00adve that God wants our who\u00adle obe\u00addience. God was not inte\u00adres\u00adted in the 90% of Moses and neither in the 80% of you. God wants all your obe\u00addience. If Jesus had only been 99% obe\u00addient, then we would all be finished.
\nSo this mor\u00adning I want to chall\u00adenge you to chan\u00adge your under\u00adstan\u00adding of obe\u00addience and of rela\u00adti\u00adonship. The\u00adse two things belong tog\u00ade\u00adther like the lid on the pot.
\nNow how can this obe\u00addience ari\u00adse in our lives. In prin\u00adci\u00adple, we can do as Moses did. By going into the pre\u00adsence of God (taber\u00adna\u00adcle), by rea\u00adding the Word of God (hea\u00adring God\u2019s voice), by belie\u00adving the Word of God (unli\u00adke Moses) and by doing this. The more we belie\u00adve the Word of God and do this, the more obe\u00addience will come in our lives. If we give litt\u00adle faith to the Word of God, then we will always remain disobedient.
\n
\nQues\u00adti\u00adons for the small group:<\/p>\n
\n\tWhe\u00adre do you see sin in your life that you need to give up?<\/p>\n
\n\tHas your image of obe\u00addience chan\u00adged? If yes, descri\u00adbe how.<\/p>\n