Benefits of Obedience
When we are born again, we made a decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. As our Savior He saved us from personally paying the penalty for our sins in hell by paying the price for us. Embracing Jesus as Lord indicates we have accepted Him as the overseer of our life. We agree to put Him in charge which means we made a decision to live according to God's ways and not ours. Many people may have accepted Jesus as their Savior but not as their Lord. That is, they are hoping they are going to heaven without having to live God's lifestyle. Jesus addresses these people in the Book of Matthew,
"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" (Matthew 7:21-23).
Jesus tells us, people may call Him Lord but He is not unless they are doing what the will of the Father is which is living according to the Word of God. As stated in John 1:1 Jesus and the Father are the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In verse 14 we are told, " And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." indicating Jesus. We are to make the Word Lord.
God's Word brings us great benefits. God does not want us to obey His Word because He is a harsh taskmaster or wants to make it hard. Not at all! The reason God has given us His Word to follow is so He can protect, bless and bring us into our full redemption in Christ. To accept Christ's invitation is totally to our advantage.
According to John 17:17, the Word is truth. Choosing to believe God's Word as true is an extremely important decision. Our belief in the truthfulness of the Word becomes our motivation to follow the Bible. When the Word is our absolute truth, we will wholeheartedly embrace the Word and obey it. As our truth it becomes the final authority on all matters, the measuring stick upon which we can base our life, thoughts, actions and decisions.
What Is God's Will for My Life
Christians sometimes question and wonder what God's will is for their life? What does God want me to do or accomplish? Fundamentally, God's will is for us to obey His Word. When we obey God's Word we are pleasing and in accord with His perfect will.
James, Jesus' half-brother, says, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22). When we don't take the Word of God seriously, study and apply it, we put ourselves at a great disadvantage. We may think, "Oh, I don't have to do what the Bible says, I'll be all right." Ultimately, we are fooling ourselves and playing into the enemy’s hand.
To ignore and disobey the Word of God is sin. Sin interferes with our relationship with God and blocks God from working in our lives. When we ignore our Father's will we are acting similar to a wayward child thinking they know better than the parent. In the long run it's not going to be better, there will frequently be consequences.
Romans 6:23 tells us, "The wages of sin is death." Like a boss paying his employees' wages, sin pays out wages. You get something back with sin and its not always what you want. There's an ever present sowing and reaping law governing the earth (Genesis 8:22). Regardless of how we try avoiding its effects, we can't. Sin begets death meaning death to things like our finances, marriage, job, mental well-being, and more. It opens the door for the enemy to work in our lives and bring destruction (John 10:10).
Our destinies include the plans, purposes, blessings and callings God has for us. God's plans for each of us are good and include health, peace, prosperity, security, stability, and truth. God has blessed every person on earth with a calling or assignment to fulfill. These assignments are extremely satisfying and use our talents, abilities, skills, backgrounds and experiences. We will never achieve what God foreordained unless we walk in obedience to His Word. Jeremiah 29:11 discloses, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." When we are disobedient or rebellious we eclipse God's extraordinary purpose for our lives. Until we understand God's loving Lordship and the power behind obedience, we will keep pushing out further and further God's blessings through our disobedience.
We all want to be in charge of our lives. At some point we look at the Word of God or at other Christians and think obedience will take the fun out of life. Yet, when we start obeying the Word and see the power emitted by living in accordance with God's will, we quickly learn God's way is superior to our own way. We can have peace in the midst of trouble, supernatural help in times of need, a sound sleep, favor, health and wholeness in every area of our lives. The Bible encourages us in Matthew 6:33 to, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." When we act in line with God's righteous ways we open ourselves up to all else being given to us.
I remember the day I personally made the decision to commit to abiding by God's commands. My life was in shambles. I recognized I desperately needed God's power in my circumstances and emotions. It seemed I had lost complete control and nothing was working. I thought certainly since God was all-powerful He could do a better job with my life than I had. The key to my help was for me to do things God's way by obeying His Word. When I began to embrace the Word as my truth and obey, it opened the door for God to bring the favorable change I needed just as He promises everyone who seeks Him.
The Sanctification Process
When we are living in obedience, the Bible teaches we are actually walking in the Spirit of God. The Word is Spirit (John 6:63). When Jesus was on earth, living as a man, Jesus taught us to lean upon and live according to the Spirit rather than according to his flesh. The flesh includes our mind, will, emotions and bodies. In John 6:63 it says, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."
There is a sanctification process which occurs when we obey God's Word. Jesus says in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by Your truth.Your word is truth." Sanctification leads to holiness. It takes us "from glory to glory" (1 Corinthians 3:18). God wants to transform us through His Word into the very image of His Son, to be as His Son and do the same works of His Son (John 14:12). It is a progressive work that occurs while on earth. As we endeavor to obey the Word, our behavior, thoughts, words, emotions will line up with Jesus' eventually culminating in it being said of us, "As he is so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).
What kind of life does the Spirit give us? It gives us the God-kind of life. When our lives are based on the Word of God we are living in conformity to the Spirit of God. The Word raises us over the confines of the worldly way of thinking, being and living and brings access to the power of God not only on our lives but in us.
Walking after the Spirit is where liberty is found. By embracing the efficacy of the Word as our standard of conduct, it opens the way to freedom from torment and control by the enemy. Some people think obeying the Word of God will put them in bondage. They falsely believe it is too restrictive and they won't be able to enjoy life. God Who loves us would never steal our joy and happiness. In matter of fact, He wants us to live in continual peace, joy and love. Amazingly, this is exactly what Jesus came to bring us, an abundant full life.
John 10:10 says, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." The Amplified Bible version says, "...I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]." There is no one else who can offer an enjoyable full life on earth but a loving God!
I've mentioned here a few of the many benefits of letting obedience to the Word have priority. God is a good God. He loves us. He wants us to have good things. God has a plan for our life which exceeds our highest expectations and it will be through our obedience we can gain manifestation of that overflowing life!