Lesson 18: Stand Victorious (1)
Read John 14:15-31 - https://www.bible.com/bible/59/jhn.14

We have talked about why church is important and how we are to be vulnerable to each other, and we have talked about what Jesus is doing now for us. The big question now is where do I find the strength to do what God asks me to do. Yes, Jesus' role for us in the church gives us strength, but there will be times we need support in our personal relationship with Him.

The first thing we must do is choose to be obedient. I have often heard Elizabeth Elliot talk about her experience when her husband, Jim, was killed by the very people they had come to tell about Jesus. She was left a young widow with a young child, living in a strange land. How do you go on? She made the statement often during her later ministry how she just "did the next thing." In our case, the "next thing" is to learn obedience at any cost.


Of course, obedience is not something which comes naturally to us. Most of us are taught independence and self-reliance from an early age. While I truly believe this pattern is of God, I also believe we as Christians must choose to submit to God as an intentional subjecting of our will to His. For someone who has lived under slavery or subjugation all their lives, being subject to God almost comes naturally but it also comes without thought or choice and often leaves the taste of bitterness in the mind of the Christian, just as they associated with their earthly rulers. If we, who are free, choose intentionally to submit and subjugate our will to God's, and do so with joy, we are indeed demonstrating to the spiritual world around us the exquisiteness of faith in God.

Obedience is something we see often in Scripture. In 1 Samuel 15:22 we are told obedience takes priority over sacrifice. This is counter to all religions mankind has ever created. In all of man's religions the priority is for the person to sacrifice to appease or placate God. It is always about the person giving up something in exchange for getting something from God. Sometimes it may even look like an act of obedience – the individual gives up their life to do what God has commanded – but the point is, the person is still expecting something in return from God. In contrast, our obedience is to be unconditional. It is not to be based on what we can get from God in exchange. Sacrifice is for what we can get while obedience is for what we give to God with a thankful heart.

*What is God asking of you right now?
*Are you choosing obedience?