The Power of Obedience

Evelyn Monteiro • May 13, 2024

Being obedient makes us instruments of power!

 

Many of you don’t see the potential God has placed in you. You compare yourself, put yourself down. You are still looking too much for the approval of others as the go-ahead, when really, it’s Jesus who should lead you, not the opinions of man.

 

Obedience is precious to God – “to obey is better than sacrifice” – 1 Samuel 15:22


But why?

Our obedience to the Holy Spirit in any situation is our protection. The enemy can’t touch you when you're doing what God told you to do.


I'll use a personal example: when I'm doing deliverance, pray for a person, I know, that by just using the exact word in that moment, can have a powerful effect, and change someone's life! A Word of Wisdom, an action at the right moment, can set a captive free! Because I've learned, that it's not me. I am totally reliant on the guidance of the Holy Spirit in everything I do. I want HIM to be in control. Therefore, as long as I move with the Holy Spirit, the enemy cannot overwhelm me! Yes, there are challenges, but they can't destroy me! 

Isaiah 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God."


This is all possible when we live lives completely committed to Him. A life of obedience to Christ Jesus!


Advantages of being obedient:

There are many advantages: blessing, wisdom, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY: We are God’s friends when we are obedient to His leading (John 15:14) – we can be entrusted more and more with power when we walk in obedience to Him! To be known by Jesus, to be His friend, is most important!


I want to give you an image of this to understand better: imagine a teenager, who just got his drivers license, being given a sportscar...

This sportscar has great power. However, would you really trust this teenager with such power? You will most probably say no. Why is that? Because, this teenager must first prove himself responsible in order to be trusted with such great responsibility. In the same way, the power, the anointing of the Holy Spirit does not come cheap. We must prove ourselves responsible & diligent in obedience and character in order to receive such grace.


LEARNING TO WALK IN OBEDIENCE IS THE PROCESS WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO BECOME INSTRUMENTS OF POWER!


Obedience means listening before doing and not just doing for the sake of doing something.


Obedience means you’re ministering from a relationship with God and not just works –

1 John 3:24 “the one who habitually obeys His word and follows His precepts, abides and remains in Him and He (God) in him.”

 


Obedience teaches us to grow in faith and closer to God - especially when the instruction does not make sense (Abraham and Noah) – Abraham is called the father of faith because he obeyed even when it made no sense. His commitment to God trumped everything.


Jesus did nothing without knowing that it was what He was supposed to do! Shouldn't we do the same? That is the key to be a powerful instrument!


Prayer:  Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do Your will, let Your Spirit lead me on level ground!”


Our obedience to God keeps us level! It keeps us solid!



Evelyn Monteiro

What Does It Mean To "Count It All Joy"?

By Evelyn Monteiro • April 22, 2025
This is the piece of scripture that sounds crazy and impossible to do! Then again, God would not instruct us, what we would not be able to do! James 1:2-3 "Consider it nothing but joy, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith (through experience) produces endurance (leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace)." The word "joy" in this verse has a profound meaning: "joy in its highest form" and "every kind of joy". God expects us to have joy in its highest form when we face challenges! How is that possible?! This verse links with Phil 4:6-7 "do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in every situation, by prayer with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts". Do you see the similarities? We should not allow fear to overwhelm us when we face challenges. Fear steals our joy! We must find a reason to celebrate God, thank God, reflect on His goodness, even in challenging times! When we do that, the Bible says, we will experience peace that no logic can explain!

Strategy of Satan: Intimidation

By Evelyn Monteiro • April 7, 2025
When someone is intimidating you, it means, they are trying to scare you, terrorize you, make you subdued, discourage you, trying to dominate you and push you around. They are trying to twist your arm and pressurize you. Now, read this: 1 Pet 5:8 "be sober-minded. Your adversary the devil prowls around LIKE a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." He's not a lion, he's just intimidating. And yet, the Bible also says: Prov 28:1 "The wicked flee when no one pursues them, but the righteous ARE AS BOLD as a lion." The devil is like a predator: it waits when you are at your most vulnerable, most tired, most scared, to strike! This is the only reason the Bible says the devil is like a lion. But YOU are a lion! You should be bold and confident and brave, even when you face danger and intimidation! It's not sin be scared, but it becomes sin when you allow fear to control your emotions and dictate the decisions you make. Remember, Jesus was scared too! He was very scared in the Garden of Gethsemane, BUT He continued to obey His Father.

What does it mean to "cover" in prayer?

By Evelyn Monteiro • March 24, 2025
Have you ever heard of the phrase "cover" it in prayer? It's a biblical principle. The Biblical definition of "covering" means to "conceal" or "wrap" or "protect" and even "disguise". Wow! This means, that when you pray properly over something or someone, when you really cover it in prayer, you are actually wrapping it, protecting it, concealing it...from who? From the enemy! Because your enemy is an opportunist according to 1 Peter 5:8! The enemy doesn't want you to receive your healing, breakthrough, help, whatever it is you're praying for. This is why, we must COVER it properly so that the enemy can't get an opportunity to frustrate, delay or stop our breakthrough! We cover our various food items in the fridge. Have you ever wondered why we do it? The scientific reason behind it is so that one item doesn't contaminate the other items.

Are You Hard On Yourself?

By Evelyn Monteiro • March 11, 2025
If you are hard on yourself, you struggle with condemnation. What is condemnation: - you actually disapprove yourself - you see yourself as a failure - you are critical & judgmental, especially when you've made a mistake - self-hatred - carry guilt of the wrongs & disappointments you've experienced - have many regrets and think about them often - blame yourself whenever something does not go "according to plan" If Romans 8:1 says that there should be no condemnation for those of us who believe in Jesus, then why are we hard on ourselves? In fact, this verse in the Amplified says "no guilty verdict, no punishment for those who are in Christ Jesus". And yet, we are hard on ourselves.

The Trap Of Familiarity

By Evelyn Monteiro • March 3, 2025
Let me first explain what familiarity is: To be "familiar" with someone, means you are acquainted with, close to, buddies with, casual with, attached to, comfortable with. It means that they are your friend. This message is not saying you shouldn't have friends, but it is teaching you something to be weary of: satan uses those closest to us to attack us, too! We are familiar with those closest to us, it is why it hurts so much when the people who should have your back, turn their backs on you. Job had those closest to him, turn on him - his friends, even his wife! The comments they made, the "advice" they were giving him, was going to cost him his salvation in his most difficult time. He had a choice to make. He did not allow the familiarity to his friends and wife, to affect his walk of obedience to God. And that is what I am teaching you in this message. 

Spiritual Blindness

By Evelyn Monteiro • February 24, 2025
2 Corinthians 4:4 states that Satan, the god of this world blinds the minds of the unbelieving to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This verse proves that satan wants us to be spiritually blind. What does spiritual blindness look like? * being rebellious * lacking in discernment * hardness of heart * religiousness * pride When we don't deal with the above mentioned, we become spiritually blind. We struggle to see what is really going on in our hearts and lives. When we are spiritually blind, we don't have understanding and revelation. We may have knowledge, but there is no wisdom.

Is My Rebellion Hurting My Spouse?

By Evelyn Monteiro • February 17, 2025
None of us are excluded from this. Because none of us don't have rebellion. We have a sinful nature and that sinful nature, no matter how hard we try, sometimes still gets the better of us and those closest to us get the brunt of it - like our spouses. What is rebellion? Rebellion is everything we do that is opposite to the fruit of the Holy Spirit: hardness of heart, pride, stubbornness, anger, frustration, bitterness, anxiety, controlling behavior, selfishness and the like. All those behaviors that do not resemble Jesus' character, is our rebellious, sinful nature. Our actions, words and behaviors, affect our spouse. When we stress, when fear is in control, we say and do things in haste - Prov 19:2 warns us that when we act in haste, we will make mistakes. How many of your decisions made in haste did not affect your spouse negatively? Of course it did! What affects you, affects your spouse! What about going to be in anger? Eph 4:26-27 teaches us not to go to bed angry and hold on to anger and offense because we give the enemy an access point to our lives when we do that! How many times did you not forgive and went to bed angry?

Is Fear Affecting My Brain?

By Evelyn Monteiro • February 10, 2025
How much is fear affecting your actions and behavior right now? Fear is a filter. It affects how your brain perceives, how it receives messages, handles situations and circumstances. According to 1 John 4:18, fear is a mindset, we expect punishment and we can't understand God's love for us when we are consumed with fear. According to Rom12:2 our minds should be renewed so that we can discern God's will. But when we are consumed in our thoughts by fear, that's not possible. Phil 4:6-7 shows how fear and the mind affect one another: "do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything by prayer, continue to make your requests know to God. And the peace of God, will guard over your heart and MINDS." We should not be having fear control our minds. Fear should not be the deciding factor in making decisions. Fear should not be the driving force behind your functioning, strategizing, planning, discerning and executing instructions.

The Alabaster Jar

By Evelyn Monteiro • February 3, 2025
An alabaster jar was made of the alabaster stone to keep ointments, oils and perfumes in. It kept the oils and perfumes pure and unspoiled. In Matt 26:6-13 a woman anointed Jesus with perfume that was kept in such a jar. She had to break it. It was filled with very expensive perfume, equivalent to a year's wages. What happened? She got rebuked for doing it! In the most holy and vulnerable moment, she was being rebuked, not by unbelievers, but by the disciples themselves! But she did something that they did not understand. It took TOTAL commitment for her to have broken that jar with all that perfume inside, not knowing how Jesus would respond. But Jesus saw her heart. She gave her all, no matter what others would say. It pleased Jesus.

The Root Of Your Problem

By Evelyn Monteiro • January 27, 2025
Things don't just happen. We must not just accept things in life. We have to ask questions, we have to investigate. Many believers today blame God for their problems because they don't understand what is really going on. But with understanding there is clarity and wisdom. The Bible makes it clear to us that most of our troubles are actually spiritually rooted! That means that most of your current problems are actually because of sin, because of the evil that is stealing, killing and destroying. But we find ourselves trying to solve spiritual problems in the flesh and we wonder why they problem doesn't go away?! We wonder why our prayers have no effect. That's because we don't pray the ROOT of the problem.
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