Sunday, 6/1/2025

Obedience: The Key to Experiencing God's Power in Your Life

When it comes to our Christian walk, few principles are as fundamental yet challenging as obedience. The early apostles demonstrated that obedience isn't just about following rules—it's about aligning our hearts with God's will and experiencing His power in our lives.

What is true obedience to God?

True obedience goes beyond mere words or occasional compliance. It's a principle of life that characterized the early apostles. When they were arrested for preaching about Jesus, an angel of the Lord freed them from prison with clear instructions: "Go to the temple and give the people this message of life" (Acts 5:20).

Despite the danger, they immediately obeyed. They didn't worry about what people might think, weren't concerned about repercussions, and weren't afraid of consequences. They were simply concerned with living in obedience to Christ and proclaiming the truth.

Obedience is synonymous with saving faith. As Romans 1:5 tells us, we receive "grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his namesake." The verb used here means to submit to one in authority.

Why must we obey God rather than human authority?

When confronted by the religious leaders who had forbidden them to teach in Jesus' name, Peter and the apostles boldly replied, "We must obey God rather than human authority" (Acts 5:29). This statement reveals two important truths:

• God demands our obedience - In Deuteronomy 13:4, God told His people, "It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey Him. Serve him and hold fast to Him."

• God deserves our obedience - If God is God—and He is—and He has a will regarding our conduct—and He does—then we ought to obey Him because He is our Creator, our Redeemer, and our God.

For believers, there is no alternative to obedience. The only alternative is disobedience, which is sin against God.

How do our actions reveal our true heart?

Your words may say you love God, but what do your actions say? The things you do and don't do provide evidence of where your heart truly is.

As John wrote in 1 John 2:3-6: "We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him. Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."

Our obedience must be:

• Intelligent and intentional

• Immediate and irrevocable

• Comprehensive and universal

• Internal as well as external

What happens when we obey God?

The product of obedience in a believer's life is characterized by:

1. Healthy spiritual development

Acts 5:42 tells us that "day after day in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah."

Many Christians say they want to know God more intimately, but the path to deeper knowledge of God is through obedience. When you obey what God has taught you from His Word, you begin to know God on a deeper, more intimate level.

The reason many believers remain spiritual babes is because they don't obey the truth they've already been taught. Some pick and choose which commands to follow based on what's easier or more comfortable.

2. Holy dedication

Peter makes it clear that the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit is dependent upon obedience: "We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him" (Acts 5:32).

The reason why many people don't experience the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit is because they aren't obedient Christians. Every moment lived apart from the conscious fullness of the Holy Spirit is utterly wasted.

3. Happy discipleship

"The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name" (Acts 5:41).

Obedience will always involve sacrifice. For the early disciples, it meant being publicly maligned and beaten. Yet they went away rejoicing. Happy discipleship is the product of a life of obedience.

If a believer isn't living in peace and joy in their walk with Christ, the problem may be summed up in one word: disobedience. The remedy can also be summed up with one word: obedience.

Life Application

We're not likely to see any remarkable move of God in our hearts, lives, and churches until we give obedience the place of prominence it has in Scripture. Here are some questions to consider:

• Is there an area of your life where you're choosing to disobey God's clear commands?

• Are you picking and choosing which parts of God's Word to follow based on what's comfortable?

• If you're not experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, could disobedience be the reason?

• What small act of obedience is God asking of you today that could lead to greater spiritual growth?

The challenge this week is to identify one area where God is calling you to obey, and to take immediate action. Remember, it's the little acts of obedience that invite God's power to fully flow into our lives. When we prove ourselves faithful to the small whispers, we'll receive bigger whispers, and when we're faithful to those, God will do great things through us for His kingdom.

Will you obey Him today in whatever He's saying to you, whatever He's calling you to, whatever He's pleading with you about? Will you simply say yes and do what He's calling you to do?