God's Word

OBEDIENCE LEADS TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Importance of Obedienc
Obedience is the fruit of true repentance.' Obedience leads us to spiritual growth.

Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT)
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.
26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.
27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

No matter how many scriptures we read or sermons we listen to, we will never grow spiritually without obeying and applying God's Word in our life.

Obedience leads to spiritual growth because.

1. OBEDIENCE INVITES THE HOLY SPIRIT TO WORK IN US

John 14:26 (NIV)
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The Holy Spirit came to us to be our Teacher and to remind us of God's Word. However, it's not automatic! We need to yield to and obey Him so that He can work in us.

There's a wonderful story in the book of Acts about how the Holy Spirit worked through the apostles. They preached the gospel about Jesus boldly and performed many miracles; even the shadow of Peter that fell on the sick brought healing. However, the Sadducees, including the high priest and his associates, were filled with jealousy and ordered the apostles to be put in jail. But that night, an angel came and released them, instructing them to continue preaching about the new life in Christ.
The next day, the officers discovered that the apostles were gone, despite the locked gates and guards standing at the doors. When they found out that the apostles were preaching again in the temple courts, they arrested them calmly and brought them before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.

Acts 5:27-32 (NIV)
27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.
28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood.”
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.
31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.
32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

The apostles' obedience to God unleashed the Holy Spirit's power, resulting in miracles and, most remarkably, the transformation of many who came to believe in Jesus as their Messiah.

Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Our salvation grows as we continually choose to obey God.

Obedience leads to spiritual growth because.

2. OBEDIENCE ALLOWS US TO EXPERIENCE GOD'S GRACE

1 Corinthians 15:10 (NIV)
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
Paul worked harder than any of the other apostles, yet he knew it was only by God's grace that he accomplished all He did, fulfilling the instructions given to him by God.
He truly experienced the power of God's grace because he obeyed fully, even in the midst of intense suffering and persecution.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.

James 4:6 (NLT)
And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”

Disobedience is rooted in pride, while obedience reflects humility before the Lord, and it's in humility that we receive more of His grace.

Obedience leads to spiritual growth because.

3. OBEDIENCE HELPS US TO KNOW JESUS MORE DEEPLY

2 Peter 3:17-18 (NIV)
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

Daniel 3:17-18
If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

King Nebuchadnezzar threatened the lives of the three friends into worshiping the false idol. Their response was a resounding no!

“But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods…”.

Make us think doesn’t it?
We know God saves us.
We know there is eternal life. But if faced with trials such as the three friends encountered, how will we respond? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not love their lives even unto death.
Their love for God overcame their fear of death.
They knew God’s salvation would come…one way or another.

OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN,
How will I respond?
Only You know my heart.
One way or another, I know You will save. And this I know…

…for I know that You are able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think, according to the power that works in me.
Ephesians 3:20