Leadership And Obedience

Nations, kingdoms and organizations have leaders who have commanding authority and influence to direct their affairs.

Regarding the Kingdom of heaven, which created the Church in the world, God is its supreme leader with ministers as servant-leaders. It is, therefore, not surprising when Scripture names Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18).

Now, at the heart of all the functions of leadership is communication by which instructions, laws, commands, promises, and other pieces of information are given.

This implies that God like all leaders speaks to His people concerning His will which must be done on earth. God speaks to all His children, particularly apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers who are set in the Church as servant-leaders.

When God instructs or commands His servants, it is expected that they humbly obey Him. Similarly, when Church leaders communicate God’s message to people they must obey it.

However, many people disobey pastors or refuse to keep their words. Even when God through His prophets instructed the people of Israel, they refused to keep His commands.

“But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you. ’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward” (Jeremiah 7:23-24).

“So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips” (Jeremiah 7:27-28).

You can clearly see that the people of Israel disobeyed the Word of the Lord spoken to them by Jeremiah and other prophets. Their disobedience continued to the time of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus began preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of heaven, He expected that people who called upon His name would believe in Him, but they refused. So, in Luke 6:46, Jesus questioned their attitude, saying “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

Then in Luke 6:47-48, Jesus revealed the importance of keeping His words when He said, “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them…is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built”

However, in Luke 6:49, the Lord said, “But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Leaders know how frustrating and discouraging it is when people they speak to refuse to obey them. Will you continue to issue commands to stubborn people? Will you not stop speaking to them?

One day, when God sent Ezekiel to speak to the people, the prophet was unwilling to go, but God encouraged him to go and not to be disobedient like them.

“And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me…And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them” Ezekiel 2:3-5).

The situation remains the same today. God speaks commands His servants, but many disobey Him; and pastors communicate God’s commands for Christians to observe them, but many disregard them. Yet, the same people cry to God in prayer and expect Him to grant their requests.

Are we also disobedient, stubborn snd hypocrites with no fear of God in our lives? Who is worth hearing and obeying, God or us?

Samuel says, “…to obey is better than sacrifice…” (1 Samuel 15:22). And Isaiah, adds that, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 1:19-20).

By James Quansah