1. Do You Believe Him? (verses 23-27)
2. Do You Obey Him? (verses 28-32)

As we begin our time in the scriptures, let me take a moment to discuss the response I received about last week's sermon.  During that sermon, we were examining the account of Jesus overturning tables in the temple. While I was teaching on what it would have been like if you were there when this happened, I overturned one of the tables that was sitting up front. I also overthrew a few chairs and yelled, "Get out of here!!" in a voice that sought to communicate great anger. I had quite a few of you comment on what I did. Some of you were surprised that I would do such a thing, but said that it really helped them understand what Jesus did in the temple. One man was sitting here near the front. He was nearly hit by a few of the chairs that went flying. He said that he didn’t realize how sitting near the front was such a dangerous thing. He made me laugh when he told me last Sunday, "Steve, when you begin talking about the crucifixion, I’m going to sit in the back."

This morning, my sermon is very simple. It is entitled, "Responding to Jesus." Do you realize that your eternal destiny is wrapped up in these words? There will be a day in the future, when you will find yourself face to face with Jesus Christ. He will either receive you into His glorious kingdom, where you will spend eternity worshiping Him. Or, you will be cast away from Jesus into eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46). The way in which you respond to Jesus demonstrates your destiny. If you respond favorably to Jesus, you will enter glory. If you rebel against Jesus, you will suffer in hell forever. The Bible is clear that there is salvation in no other name than the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12). Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father, but through Him (John 14:6). who believe in Jesus will love Him, adore Him, worship Him, long to please Him, and seek His glory. They will receive the life that He gives. But those who don’t believe in Jesus will question His words. They will prefer their own way, rebel against His commands, and refuse to repent so as to give Him glory. They will endure a Christ-less eternity.

In recent weeks as we have been expositing the gospel of Matthew, the stage has been set for the religious leaders to respond to Jesus. Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem, riding on a donkey in the midst of a procession which was declaring Him to be King! He arranged the details carefully, so that He would ride into Jerusalem upon a donkey in accordance with the prophecy made in Zechariah 9:9. In so doing, Jesus was proclaiming Himself to be the King of the Jews. Next, Jesus entered into the temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers, who were seeking to make a profit with their religion. The result was that Jesus "cast out all who were buying and selling in the temple" (Mat. 21:12). In so doing, Jesus was communicating how badly the Jewish system of worship needed to be reformed! And the religious leaders of Jerusalem had no option other than responding to Jesus in one way or another. They would either respond favorably or unfavorably. They could respond by repenting of their wicked ways, by accepting Jesus as their King, by submitting to His authority, and by working to reform their worship. Or, they could respond by refusing to believe in Jesus, by resisting the teaching of Jesus, by denying the claims of Jesus, and by destroying Him as a trouble-maker.

How did these religious leaders respond? We all know what took place. The religious leaders hated it when the multitudes were praising Jesus by saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" (Matt. 21:15). They surely hated Jesus’ actions in the temple as well.

In our text this morning we will clearly see how the Pharisees respond to Jesus.  The text breaks down quite nicely. In the first half of the text, we encounter the Pharisees questioning Jesus, because they didn’t believe Jesus. In the last half of the text, we encounter Jesus accusing the Pharisees, because they didn’t obey Jesus. As we go through the passage, I want to ask two questions of you: Do you believe Jesus? And, do you obey Jesus?  I want to ask you these questions because these questions clearly reveal the Pharisees hatred to Jesus. They didn’t believe Him. They didn’t obey Him. As a result, they killed Him. And these questions are at the heart of your eternity. As you respond to Jesus, do you believe Him? Do you obey Him?  Let’s begin our first point in verse 23, ...

1. Do You Believe Him? (verses 23-27)

"And when [Jesus] had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?" (Matt.21:23)

They wanted to know why Jesus thinks that He can come and ruin a profitable day at the temple. They had a nice thing going, the money was rolling in, and everything was going smoothly. Then Jesus storms in and overturns the tables, interrupting business for a few hours. What makes him think that He could do such a thing? It reminds me a bit of what took place this past year at Rock Cut State Park. As many of you know, every year, the Brandon family celebrates the longest day of the year by having a picnic someplace and staying out until the sun goes down to enjoy every last bit of sunshine that we can possibly enjoy. We often invite others to join us. This year was no exception. We told many of you that we would be at the Red Oak picnic shelter in the park. We said that we didn’t know what time we would arrive, but anyone that would be interested should join us at the Red Oak picnic shelter. We knew of about 5 or 6 families that were planning on joining us for the party. Lo and behold! When we arrived at Red Oak, we attempted to drive into parking lot, but there were some barricades blocking the way, which said, "Keep Out" on them. This was a most unfortunate turn of events for the Brandons, who were planning on celebrating this nice big party with many of you from the church. And so, I got out of my car and walked beyond the barriers to see what was going on. There were no cars in the parking lot and there was nobody around. I discerned no apparent reason why these barricades were blocking the way. So, I came back to the car, just as the Krauss family was driving up in their car. Just as they drove up, I moved the barriers to the side of the road. You should have seen the eyes of some of the Krauss girls! They just couldn’t believe that their pastor would do such a thing! But, the party must go on! We drove in and had a wonderful time. Pretty soon others came flooding into Red Oak, including many who weren’t even involved in our party! Now, there were a few times in which the park rangers came riding by, but we acted like nothing unusual had happened. Most people didn’t even know what took place. I must admit that they made me a bit nervous, but not nearly as nervous as if the park ranger happened to be riding by the entrance to Red Oak just as I was moving those barriers. If they had seen me do such a thing, he would have asked me exactly what these religious leaders asked Jesus, "By what authority are you doing these things?" (verse 23).

I didn't get caught doing this, but my wife did this week. She went to Sam's to pick up some photos that she had dropped off earlier in the week. She went to the photo counter as usual and waited for someone to come and help her get her photos, as she has done many times before. The regular procedure is that she picks them up and pays for them at the counter. She waited and waited, but no one came. Finally, a man came, but he didn't work in the department. She waited a bit more. Then, she noticed that there was a bin of photos on the counter. She also noticed that the bin had pictures arranged alphabetically, with the "B's" near her. So, with nobody around, she began to search in these photos for hers. Wouldn't you know it, a gal who worked in the photo department suddenly made her appearance and began questioning my wife concerning what she was doing. She may well have said, "By what authority are you doing these things?" (verse 23). (By the way, my wife told me that she was very apologetic to the gal behind the counter).

On the surface, the question the Pharisees put to Jesus appears somewhat reasonable. The structure of Jewish religion during Jesus’ day was that you had various schools in which Rabbis were trained. Upon completion of their training, they would be presented before the Sanhedrin as a candidate for being a Rabbi (which means teacher). Upon approval, they would have a ceremony in which this man would officially receive the title, "Rabbi," and be given authority to teach in the synagogues. The authority to teach was bestowed from teacher to disciple with the approval of the Sanhedrin. There are some Christian denominations that have much of the same structure today. You cannot stand in the pulpit of these churches until you have completed the approved schooling in their denominational school and have demonstrated your beliefs are consistent with that denomination. Once you are approved, you have the freedom to teach in their churches.

The Pharisees had difficulty in the fact that Jesus hadn’t been formally trained by any Rabbi. So, they asked Him, ... "Hey, Jesus, where’s your authority for the things that you are doing? You weren’t schooled in any of our officially approved schools. What gives you the audacity to think that you can go out and teach like you are doing? What makes you think you are the King? What gives you the right to revamp our religious system?"

Jesus responds to their question with a question of his own. Answering a question with another question was typical Rabbinic style. The story is told of the man who once asked his Rabbi, "Why do Rabbis always answer a question with another question?" His Rabbi thought a bit and replied, "Why shouldn't a Rabbi answer a question with another question?" Jesus’ answer in this verse is phenomenal. It forced the Pharisees to deal with their unbelief internally. He says, in verses 24 and 25, "I will ask you one thing too, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?" Jesus brings up the issue of John’s baptism.  Pointing to John's baptism is simply another way to refer to John the Baptist’s entire ministry. Jesus said, "O.K. now. ... Tell me about His ministry. Where was His authority from? From God or from man?" Jesus shifts the emphasis from earthly-generated authorities like Rabbis and schools of Rabbis to God-generated authority. What was great about using John as an example is that, to the best of our knowledge, he was like Jesus in that he wasn’t trained at any authorized Rabbinical school. John put forth the same message that Jesus did. His message was, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2; 4:17). Furthermore, the Pharisees hated John as much as they hated Jesus. The key to understanding the greatness of Jesus’ response comes in how the Pharisees reason through their answer. Look at verse 25,

And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude; for they all hold John to be a prophet." (Matt. 21:25b-26)

The reasoning here is really quite simple. They reasoned how that they were doomed with either answer. If they say that John’s baptism was from heaven, they show themselves to be unbelievers, for they neither believed John, nor Jesus. If they say that John’s baptism was from men, they risk going against the public opinion of the day. So, rather than answering the question, they simply said (as we read in verse 27), "We do not know." Now, there are some who may think that Jesus’ answer avoids the issue. But, it doesn’t. Jesus forces these chief priests and elders to deal with the issue at hand. The issue at hand was that they didn’t believe. They didn’t believe John. Nor did they believe Jesus. As they reasoned in their answer, they knew full well that they didn’t believe. Their profession of ignorance satisfied Jesus, who wanted them to realize that it was their unbelief that has brought them to this conclusion. Jesus simply replied to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things" (verse 27). The authority of Jesus was enough for anybody to see and know. It was plain and obvious to many.

As we have seen, the issue of authority has been a major theme in the gospel of Matthew. When Jesus began teaching, "He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes" (Matt. 7:29). When Jesus healed the paralytic, He made the point to demonstrate that "the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Matt. 9:6). When Jesus gathered His disciples to train them and send them out to preach the nearness of the kingdom, "He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness" (Matt. 10:1). This theme is raised once more at the end of the book of Matthew, when Jesus says, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18).

Jesus had incredible authority that He demonstrated through His teaching and His healing ministry. Others knew of His authority. There was a day when a Roman centurion came to Jesus, requesting that Jesus would heal his servant boy. When Jesus said, "I will come and heal him" (Matt. 8:7), the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it." (Matt. 8:8-9). What an incredible statement, told by a Roman policeman. He saw the authority of Jesus on display and he believed (Matt. 8:10).

It was clear that the authority of Jesus came directly from God. When Jesus healed the paralytic, He made specific connections between His healing ability and the working of God upon His life. Jesus said that He would raise the paralytic, that others might know that He had authority on earth to forgive sins (Matt. 9:6). Such authority can only come from God. Sadly, these Pharisees didn’t believe Jesus.

It does come down to you this morning, "Do you believe Jesus?" These Pharisees didn’t believe Jesus, and it was their doom. If you fail to believe Jesus, it will be your doom as well. When Jesus speaks, do you listen? Are you attentive to His words? At this point, how easy is it for all of us simply to say, "Sure, I believe Jesus!" "We are all in church right now, aren’t we?" "We are listening to His word right now, aren’t we?" "Didn’t we sing His praise a few moments ago?" But, I would like to probe a bit deeper this morning. I want to press you a bit in your faith.

a) When you sin, how do you respond?
Do you ever feel guilty because of your sin? Do you ever feel condemned by God because of your sin? The Bible tells us that there is "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). If you trust in Jesus, you will believe that His sacrifice upon the cross paid for all of your sin. There is no more guilt to be felt for one who is following Jesus! Certainly, there is room for repentance and sorrow and confession over our sin. But, there is no room for guilt, because we are set free in Christ! Remember the hymn that we often sing?

When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there, who made and end to all my sin.

It is Satan's ploy to stir the feelings of guilt within you, as if your sins have not been forgiven. A life that believes in Jesus will look to the cross and again be reminded of the utter and complete forgiveness that you have received! A life that believes in Jesus is a life of guilt-free living!

b) When circumstances turn against you, how do you respond?
Do you ever complain? Do you ever grumble at your circumstances? Jesus said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ... Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:18, 20). Jesus is faithful to His followers, never leaving their side. The All-Sovereign says to us, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). If you complain at your circumstances, in effect, you are saying one of two things. Either you are saying that you believe that Jesus has left you (which demonstrates that you don’t believe that Jesus will be with you always - Matt. 28:20). Or, you are saying that you believe that Jesus simply isn’t powerful enough to prevent the difficult circumstances to come into your life (which demonstrates that you don’t believe that Jesus has been given all authority - Matt. 28:18).

A life that believes in Jesus is a life utterly void of complaining! And when tragedy strikes, how will you respond? Suppose your son is killed in an automobile accident. Or, your baby is born with no pancreas. Or, your spouse is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Or, your house burns down in a fire. How will you respond? Will you respond in faith? Will you respond by believing that Jesus has all authority? Will you respond by believing that Jesus has not forsaken you in this trial? Will you be found believing that Jesus has brought the difficulty into your life, and believing that Jesus will sustain you through the difficulty? It is so important for you to think through these things NOW, so that when the tragedy strikes, you will lean on the grace of God to carry you through the difficult circumstances that He has brought in your life. Thinking through these things now will help you to believe and trust that Jesus has never lost control of your life, but that He has some ultimate purpose that exceeds our finite wisdom. And through these difficulties, you will praise and give thanks to Him.

Let’s turn our attention to the next question regarding responding to Jesus, ...

2. Do You Obey Him? (verses 28-32)

In verses 28-30, Jesus tells a simple story.  It ends with a simple question of application in verse 31. Depending upon what translation of the Bible version you are holding in your lap, the story might appear to be a bit jumbled, but that’s OK, the point is the same. Here is how the updated NAS version translates it,

But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, "Son, go work today in the vineyard." And he answered, "I will not"; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, "I will"; but he did not go. (Matt. 21:28-30)

The story is really quite simple. Jesus said that a man had two sons. To both of them, he said, "Go work today in the vineyard." One of the sons said, "I will not." One of the sons said, "I will." Both sons were confronted with the prospect of working in the vineyard. We don’t know what exactly they were being sent to do. Nor do we know the particular circumstances surrounding their habit of working in the vineyard. But, we do know that it was a difficult and dirty job. Perhaps it was pruning the vines. Perhaps it was weeding the field. Perhaps it was picking the grapes. They were all difficult jobs on the farm.

For some reason, one son expressed a willingness to go. For some reason, the other son expressed his desire to stay at home in the air conditioning. I can relate (as a parent) to children who respond this way. How many times have I asked my children to do something, only to be met with these two responses. There are times in which my children willingly say, "OK, dad!" and head off to do what was told of them. But, somehow, they don’t quite get the job done. There are other times in which my children resist what I say. It takes a bit of persuading some times. At times, repeating my wish is all that is needed. At times, raising my voice is what is needed. At other times, it takes other means to persuade them. I can also relate to being a son who responded this way. I remember growing up how I absolutely hated my father’s vacations. When it was vacation time for him, it was work time for us. When dad had a Saturday off, it meant that we had a Saturday on! We would work in the garden. We would work on the house. We would work on the lawn. We would build something, or we would dig something, or we would mow something. When my father would say, "Steve, let’s go! We have some work to do!" my response was often far from willing. Such battles are universal when parents are dealing with their children.

Consider the following comic strip that was in the newspaper this past Tuesday, (found on www.ucomics.com) ...

We can easily laugh, because we know how true this type of thing is. Whenever we are instructed to do something, it is naturally our tendency to resist. Why? Because we are sinful, selfish people, who want to do our own thing. But, the child who gets past his (or her) feelings and submits to the father’s will is a joy and a delight to his father.

Getting back to the parable that Jesus told, we find that in each case, they changed their minds. The one who initially refused to go, later regretted his disrespect for his father and ended up going out anyway. The one who initially said that he would go, didn’t follow through on his commitment. When I went over this sermon with my children last night, my daughter made the observation, "Dad! Both of the sons lied to their father!" It’s very true that they did. And yet, one of them did the will of the father. Jesus asked these religious leaders (in verse 31), "Which of the two did the will of his father?" This was a kindergarten question. It was obvious who did the will of the father. These religious leaders willingly told Jesus which one of them actually did the will of the father. Look at verse 31, "They said, ‘The first.’" Or, depending on the order that your Bible tells the story, your Bible might read, ‘They said, ‘the latter.’ At any rate, it was clear who did the will of his father! It was the one who regretted what he had said to his father, repented of his sinful response, and went ahead and did what he said that he would not do. This is the one who did the will of the father.

The principle is pretty easy. God isn’t interested in words! God is interested in a response of obedience!  This principle is repeated throughout the scripture. It is said in many different ways and in many different texts. Consider the following verses, ...

Luke 6:46, "Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?"
Matthew 23:2-3, "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them."
Luke 12:43, 47 "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds [doing his will] when he comes. ... And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes."
John 13:17, "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."
Romans 2:13, "Not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified."
James 1:22, "Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves."
James 2:26, "Faith without works is dead."
1 John 3:18, "Let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth."
Revelation 3:1, "I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead."

See, Jesus isn’t interested in hearing people say that they will follow God. He is interested in those who actually follow God. The rebuke came strong and hard to these Pharisees. Look at the end of verse 31,

"Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers and harlots did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him."  (Matt. 21:31-32)

To catch the full brunt of this statement, you need to realize that tax-gatherers and harlots were considered to be the greatest of sinners. These were the ones who had forsake the law of God. These were the ones who had said that they didn’t believe in God. These were those who went their own way, and lived for their own lusts. The tax-gatherers lived for their financial desires. The harlots lived for their sexual desires. At first they denied God, but when John came preaching a baptism of repentance, some repented and believed in his words. In so doing, they were like the son who said that He wouldn’t go into the vineyard, but afterwards he regretted saying that, and then went into the vineyard. Through their repentance and faith in John, they lived!

But, the religious leaders were different. These religious leaders professed outwardly to love and obey God. And when John came along, they refused to repent of their wickedness, so as to believe Him (verse 32). They were too busy in their self-proclaimed righteousness. They were too busy in their service of the temple. They were too busy in their sacrifices. In all of their religiosity, they forgot that the Lord had said, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6). This was a pattern of Israel for It’s all throughout the Old Testament. They constantly professed their allegiance to God. They constantly were involved in their religious activities. And yet, they didn’t obey. When they entered into the land, Joshua challenged them all saying, "choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Josh 24:15). And they pledged before Joshua, "We will serve the Lord!" (Josh. 24:21). "We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice" (Josh. 24:24). You can trace the history of Israel.  You will find they were far from staying true to these words. And the same type of thing happened again and again throughout the history of Israel. They constantly vocalized their allegiance to the Lord, their God. And yet, they lived in wickedness.

In our Bible reading, we have been reading through Jeremiah. This week, we read Jeremiah 7, which happens to illustrates this perfectly. In Jeremiah 7, they trusted in their sacrifices, saying, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD" (Jer. 7:4). And yet, the LORDsaid,

"I did not speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people.’ ... Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward" (Jeremiah 7:22-24).

Jesus wasn’t interested in the profession of the Pharisees. Jesus wanted them to, as verse 32 says, "feel remorse ... so as to believe Him." And in their belief, their obedience would follow.

And so, I ask you this morning, "Do You Obey Him?"  Fundamentally, the problem with the Pharisees is that they were all smoke and mirrors. They were all word and no action. His words aren’t hard. His words aren’t burdensome. In fact, in 1 John 5:3, we read, "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." His words are for our benefit. One of the biggest messages that looms in all of the Bible is this: If you obey, you will be blessed. But, if you disobey, you will be cursed. Do you know why this is? It’s because God’s words to us are for our own good and for our own protection. I have heard someone say, "When God says, ‘Don’t,’ He really means, ‘Don’t hurt yourself.’" When the Lord gives us instructions in the Bible, they are a bit like what you tell your children. You say, "Don’t touch the oven when it is hot!" Why? Because you will hurt yourself if you do. You say, "Don’t lean back on the chair!" Why? Because you might hurt yourself if you do. You say, "Don’t laugh with food in your mouth!" Why? Because might choke.

Proverbs tells us to keep away from the harlot. Why? Because "Her house sinks down to death, and her tracks lead to the dead; None who go to her return again, nor do they reach the paths of life" (Prov. 2:18-19). Paul instructs us not to place our desires in riches. Why? Because "those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction" (1 Tim. 6:9). Paul preached to those in Athens to repent! Why? Because Jesus will judge you someday (Acts 17:34). If you want to receive a favorable judgment, you need to be favorable to Jesus. The writer to the Hebrews tells us not to "go on sinning willfully" (Heb. 10:26). Why? Because if you do, "there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment" (Heb. 10:26-27).

J. C. Ryle once wrote, "How much religion among some members of the Church of England consists of nothing but churchmanship! It is Churchianity, and no more" (Practial Religion, p. 53).

Jesus doesn’t want "Churchianity" or "churchmanship." Jesus wants belief and obedience. Does that describe you? The story of these two sons is all about the contrast. Each of us will be like one of these sons. We will either be found doing the will of the father or not doing the will of the father. And as I said at the very beginning of my message this morning, your eternal destiny is wrapped up in these words. How do you respond to Jesus?

The simple message of Christianity all boils down to this: Do you believe Him? Do you obey Him? Do you believe in the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins 2,000 years ago? Do you believe that Jesus died in your place on Calvary? Do you believe that His sacrifice was sufficient to allow the all-holy God to forgive your sins? That's what you need to believe in order to be saved! Then, is your life a reflection of your belief? Do your actions betray your belief or give testimony to it?

There's a hymn that we have sung many times at Rock Valley Bible Church which gives this same message: Trust and Obey. The first stanza says this, ...

When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Believing and obeying Jesus in all circumstances is the pathway to joy. Are you on the path?

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on October 24, 2004 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rvbc.cc.