It is striking that Jesus was a man of sorrows – not many see Jesus as a happy-go-lucky person, and yet his command is clear: “Rejoice.”

Today we address two commands of Jesus: One is to love God completely, and the other is to worship Him rightly. Obeying one command should flow into obedience into the other, and on a very practical level, we’re going to consider how this all plays out.

In an effort to express a perceived sacrifice for the greater good, a person will often exclaim, “It’s just the cross I bear!” But in the sage words of Inigo Montoya, “I do not think it means what you think it means.” We conveniently omit the last clause, which gives the real purpose for taking up your cross.

The world is one noisy place, but that is no excuse to turn a deaf ear to Jesus. Repeatedly throughout the Gospels, Jesus commands his audiences to listen up. Today we discuss why we should listen to Jesus, which is one of the most important discussions we will have. Why? Because if we don’t listen, it will be to our peril.

Following Jesus isn’t a lifestyle – it’s simply life – a new one, actually. Jesus commands that we abide in him. Abide is a word we don’t often use, and many consider it “Christian-eze.” Even so, it is a command of Jesus, and therefore it has a significant impact in how we are to live our lives.

It’s quite striking how many demands Jesus puts on people. Once you dive into the Bible to determine what those commands are, there can be no mistake – Jesus is after your heart. One thing is for certain, once you encounter Jesus, it’s impossible to be a casual believer!

One of Jesus’s last command to his disciples was to teach the nations to observe all that he commanded. This insinuates that; one, there were quite a number of commandments to learn; and two, that it’s not enough to know them – they need to be practiced. The first command is perhaps the hardest – repent.

It’s striking that people who don’t know Jesus view him as this granola-eating hippie, not concerned about how you live your life – it’s only grace-love-and-joy. If that’s your view of Jesus, be ready to be amazed – and maybe even blown away. He is a King, and this King has some commands that must be followed.

There are 613 laws in the Old Testament that the Israelite people were called to obey. Jesus fulfilled each and every one of those laws, giving believers a freedom that seemed scandalous to the first-century Jews. But Jesus was far from indulgent, and made a number of statements many view as commands – 50 actually. Surprised?

Any football coach, soldier, or life strategist will tell you that, “most of life’s battles are won or lost in the mind.” This is really just the modern-day equivalent to Paul’s admonishment to “take your mind captive,” and thus to be awake and sober-minded. But we must be ready for action, and take action, we must. It’s not enough to be ready. We must help others be ready as well. And that pursuit must be done with love.

We’ve learned that we are called to be ready. We’ve learned what we should be ready for, and the perils that we face. We’ve even identified the spiritual tranquilizers that render us inattentive to our peril. Now, what must we do to keep on our guard and to be ready?