Hearing God in the secret place is one of the greatest keys to living the Christian life. However, it must be linked with its corollary: radical obedience. We hear, and then we do. "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22, NKJV).
By "radical obedience," I mean immediate obedience that fulfills the commandment to its fullest measure. Radical obedience does not seek to comply to the minimal standards but pursues extravagant, lavish fulfillment. If Jesus says, "Sell all," then we sell all! Immediately.
The New Testament word for obedience, hupakoe, is a compound word of two Greek words, hupo, "under," and akouo, "to hear." So to obey is "to hear under." Obedience involves listening attentively with a heart of compliant submission and, then, obeying his word.
Implicit obedience starts, for every one of us, not in doing good works but in sitting at his feet and hearing his word. Devotion to the secret place is the saint's first great act of obedience. Jesus revealed this:
But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or
My brothers?" And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For
whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and
mother" (Mark 3:33-35, NASB).
The will of God in that moment was for the people to sit at Jesus' feet and hear his word. Until you attend to this responsibility first, you will be constantly frustrated in your inability to uncover the joys of radical obedience. Works of service gain their spiritual energy from the furnace of a fiery love relationship at Jesus' feet. The true fulfillment of serving Jesus is discovered when we get first things first: First we sit and listen, and then we go and do.
My friend, Steve Peglow, once told me he thought some people were "common law Christians." By that he meant they want the benefits of living with Jesus without making the commitment. But even as the full joy of living together is found only within the context of the commitment of marriage, so too the joy of following Jesus is found only in abandoning oneself to every word that proceeds from his mouth.
Some people put their best energies into creative thinking. However, God has a way of negating the plans of men: "The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever" (Psalm 33:10-11, NKJV). Instead of focusing on being creative, focus on being obedient. Give your best energies to waiting on God in his presence, listening for his voice, and then moving out in action only when he has spoken. There's no sense in coming up with your own ideas when it's only God's counsel that will stand! I'm saying it several different ways: The key is in hearing and obeying.
Oh what joy to hear his word and do it! The benefits are profound (I will mention only a few among many):
Obedience Unlocks Eternally Abundant Life. Jesus said, "'And I know that His command is everlasting life'" (John 12:50, NKJV). Coming from the master of understatement, these simple words contain far more impact than a cursory reading would reveal. Take that statement to your place of meditation and let him awaken you to the life-giving power of extravagant adherence to his command. The life that resides in him flows into you when you obey.
Obedience Incurs the Gaze of God.
God looks with special interest and affection upon the one who is devoted to obedience. He said it this way, '"But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word"' (Isaiah 66:2, NKJV). It's fantastic to just imagine it: You're in the secret place with his word before you, and you're trembling at the prospect of his speaking to you; He sees your willing spirit and conceives of ways to honor your devotion. Wow! To tremble at his word means firstly that we long for him to speak, and secondly that we tremble with ready diligence to act upon the word that comes. When we tremble for his word with this kind of keen anticipation, he fastens his gaze upon us in order to do good on our behalf.
Obedience Produces Greater Intimacy.
In my opinion, one of the most powerful statements Jesus made on earth is right here: "'He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him'" (John 14:21, NKJV). Jesus said obedience is the proof of love, and love brings us into incredible intimacy with the Father. Furthermore, obedience unlocks the affections of Christ and his self-disclosure to the human heart. There's nothing more I long for than for Jesus to manifest himself to me! For the hope of beholding him I will embrace any and every command of his mouth. I choose to obey him, not because I am energized by watching my obedience change people's lives, but because his presence is so sweet when I obey. My heart is enflamed with zeal for his closeness, and obedience only fuels that fire.
Obedience Builds Unshakable Foundations. "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them,
I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew
and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded
on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine,
and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his
house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And
great was its fall" (Matthew 7:24-27, NKJV).
You will notice that the storm comes both to those who do Jesus' sayings and those who don't do them. No one is exempt. Storms are most certainly headed your way. The only question is, will you survive? Will your foundations be strong enough to sustain the winds and floods? Those who walk in radical obedience have made themselves ready for the storm, and they will overcome. '"Oh, that you had heeded My commandments' Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea'" (Isaiah 48:18, NKJV). The greater the winds that assault the obedient, the more his righteousness rises up like mighty breakers, crashing on the shore in majestic thundering.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, gave us one of the greatest summations of obedience: '"What He says to you, do it'" (John 2:5). True servants are found sitting at Jesus' feet ('"Where I am, there My servant will be also,'" John 12:26). Then, when he speaks, they just do it. Servants don't try to give the Master a better idea; servants don't complain that they think the task is stupid; servants don't try to decide if they're in the mood to do it right now; servants don't decide if the task is within their dignity to perform it. They just do it. '"So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, "We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do'" (Luke 17:10).
The closer you get to God, the more obedient you must be. Some choose the level of obedience whereby they endeavor to avoid sin and choose righteousness. That was the level where the children of Israel, who knew God's acts, lived. Moses, however, knew God's ways. So Moses' level of obedience was of necessity much higher. The issue for Moses was no longer simply, "Is this action right or wrong?" The issue was, "What is God's command?" For example, when Moses was on the fiery mountain the command was, "Stay behind the cleft of the rock. Because if you come out from behind the protective rock and see My face, you'll die. You're so close to Me right now, Moses, that if you make a wrong move you'll see My face and have a cardiac arrest on the spot." Now, is there anything wrong or sinful about stepping out from behind a wall of rock? No. But when you're that close to God, it's imperative you follow his instructions to the letter and stay where he's putting you. It bears repeating: The closer you get to God, the more obedient you must be.
Used by permission. Excerpted from Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge, 2001,Oasis House PO Box 127 Greenwood, Missouri 64034-0127 www.oasishouse.net
