Sermon Snippet – Your Command Is My Wish
INTRODUCTION – When I was a boy, it was common to say, “Your wish is my command.” It was an expression of agreeable willingness (although, when repeated often enough in a short period of time, it could also indicate that someone was being a bossypants). Based on Ephesians 5:18-21, I John 5:1-3, and other Biblical passages, I want to reverse that old saying to this new one: “Your command is my wish.”
1. MY WIFE’S COMMAND IS MY WISH
I believe that a primary purpose of my life is to make my wife’s challenging life a bit easier wherever and whenever I can do so. All she has to do is indicate her preference, and I want to do it. My beloved is not a bossypants, nor is she a harrying harridan, a truculent termagant, a virulent virago, a batty battle-ax, a hot-tempered harpy, or a sharp-tongued shrew. (English is a doubly rich language when it come to negative words.) I simply read Ephesians 5:18-21, give “thanks” for my wife, and endeavor to show my “fear of God” (not fear of my wife) by seeking the best for her. The following section (verses 22-33) speaks specifically of marriage. Of course, we know that some people take advantage of such an approach to life and become manipulative, controlling, abusive. Commands from such people cannot become our wishes, for they are outside the compassionate will of God. My wife’s command, though, is my wish.
2. THE CHURCH’S COMMAND IS MY WISH
We are engaged in considerable construction in the church sanctuary. I appreciate the insights, hard work, and financial support that such a renovation requires. I also appreciate being asked for my opinion on all aspects of this prodigious project. I again read Ephesians 5:18-21, and I arrive at a place that leaves the details in the capable hands of the congregation. I do not have a grand vision of the outcome. The finished product will be better and will honor God, for it is His house: “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1a). Soon we will be able to express the sentiments of David: “I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD’” (Psalm 122:1). Psalm 133 also rushes into my mind. The church’s command is my wish.
3. OUR SAVIOR GOD’S COMMAND IS MY WISH
I John 5:1-3 extends the thought of Ephesians 5:18-33 and of Psalm 133, especially by reminding us that our Lord’s precepts are not burdensome (“grievous”). Two key thoughts come to mind. First, as pastor, I must insist on sound doctrine, on “His commandments.” There can be no substitutes, no additions, no subtractions (Galatians 1:6-9). Second, cliques, divisions, factions – whatever we call them – cannot be accepted, because God’s “love” is pushed aside when such groups proliferate. Usually, unsound doctrine is at the bottom of such fissures, although other factors can build on that rotten foundation. When we believe what the Bible teaches, we can all pull in the same direction. It is my responsibility to carefully and consistently present the Bible, God’s Word, both in spoken sermons and in written messages. Our Savior’s command is my wish – for myself and for others.
CONCLUSION – To pull in the same direction, each one of us first needs a saving faith in Jesus Christ, God the Son (Matthew 11:28-30). Only then can we truthfully say to others and to our Lord, “Your command is my wish.” May the words of Psalm 119:32a be the honest expression of our hearts: “I will run the way of Thy commandments.” May we serve not because we feel that we have to but because we really want to.