Meekness, humility and obedience are mighty weapons. Jesus our Savior destroyed the works and plans of the devil and fulfilled the Father’s will on the earth through these weapons. Please take time to listen to this 12-minute-long recording.
Meekness and humility mean submission of one’s will to the will of another. Under this subject, we will discuss meek and humble character along with obedience to God and His Word. Jesus says, “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Mt. 11:29).
Of course, a believer must learn from Jesus; otherwise, often there is confusion. Out of fear, some submit to people who are possessed by demonic spirits, yet they think they are doing God’s will. Sometimes people blindly submit to an authority who through his words or deeds keeps others under his control and distracts them from the biblical truth. Jesus was submitted to God the Father: “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner’” (Jn. 5:19).
Jesus was submitted to the Father, and He tolerated neither demons nor merchandize in the Temple. He overturned the tables of moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves “Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves” (Mt. 21:12). When a person humbles himself before the Lord and learns from Jesus the Savior, he will know what to do in every situation, even if someone led by the devil tries to keep him under control, demanding and threatening that as a godly person, he has to obey their words.
Humility before God and submission to Him mean to exalt the Lord by allowing His will to be done, “that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). At first glance, this will can seem unattractive or even dangerous. Try to imagine how Mary and Joseph felt when they went from street to street with Mary who was due to give birth and were denied at every hotel, and she eventually had to give birth in a barn. This is how the Savior of mankind was born, the One Who was the Architect with the Father at the Creation. “I was the Architect at His side” (Pr. 8:30).
God highly values humility and obedience. The Bible says, “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.” (Pr. 22:4). In order to fulfill the will of the Father and save mankind, Jesus, being God, came to this earth in the appearance of man and exalted the Father by showing His will through all His works, and finally “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil 2:8). After death, by the almighty power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus the Savior rose to life and sat at the right hand of the Father, and God the Father “…put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over… the church, which is His body…” (Eph. 1:20-23).
In the life of an individual there are situations as well when he dies for himself, his own self is crucified, and he does the will of the Lord. The Lord sees it and rewards the one who places His Word over his own self.
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In the early 90s, thanks to the opportunities that God gave me, I studied in the Yerevan State University and worked in the Matenadaran – the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan. I have already chosen a subject for my thesis and was convinced that after graduation, I would devote myself entirely to science.
Along with that, for 5 years I had been volunteering as the head of the Social Ministry in the Word of Life Church. I thought that I would hand over the leadership of the ministry to someone who had a similar calling from the Lord and devote myself entirely to scientific activity. During all that period, I prayed every day according to Ephesians 1:17-18, asking that the eyes of my heart would be illuminated and I would learn about the calling given to me by the Lord. Neither me nor my instructor had any doubts that in future I would be one of the research workers in Matenadaran. Later I realized that it was the Holy Spirit Who led me to pray according to Ephesians 1:17-18, so that I could learn about my calling, the goal for which I came to this world, and the vision the Lord had for me.
One day, in a very unexpected way, the Holy Spirit told me in a soft voice, “Leave the Matenadaran and commit yourself fully to Me.” I understood that God wanted me to sacrifice everything that I had acquired through Him and enter into a sphere that was unknown and even undesirable to me – the social ministry – to do more. Of course, for 5 years, I had served people with love, selflessly helping within and even beyond my abilities. Only God knew what storms I had been through.
Probably during four months, although I do not remember exactly now, I kept asking God to change His directive, giving weighty arguments to convince Him. One day, when I turned to the Lord with another plea, the Holy Spirit told me, “I do nor force you.” I wanted to hear it so badly, but the intonation of His voice carried so much pain as if telling me, “If only you agreed and left everything!” That pain was as huge as my love for Him, so I said, “I will leave everything.”
Today looking back at my life, I understand the power of obedience. In four months after I quit my work, the Matenadaran underwent major changes up to closure of the department in which I worked. I can’t say that these changes were overall negative. However, after them, the Matenadaran ceased to be my wild dream.
So, what happened in my life and ministry after that? Even in my wildest dreams I could not imagine everything that God does in my life, and I believe that He will continue His work as long as I am faithful and obedient to Him. He is always with me, even when I unconsciously leave His hand and run after the desires of my own heart. He keeps His eyes on me, protects me from the deadly traps of the devil and draws me to Himself with bonds of love. I wrote about the miracles that happened in my life in my books and articles, and also shared them during interviews and sermons.
Every person needs to receive a word from the Lord for every situation and fulfill it instead of giving up and losing heart. When the Lord gives a word, He also creates opportunities for us to fulfill it. It is necessary to follow the word with accuracy and to fulfill it to completion.
When going to war against the city of Ai, Joshua already had a word from the Lord that he had to destroy all the spoil in Jericho, and not only he, but also any of the Israelite soldiers should not take anything from the spoil. He also had a promise from the Lord: “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you.” This promise was not fulfilled, because in the army, there was a disobedient person who had stretched out his hand to the spoil. This story is presented in the book of Joshua, chapters 7 and 8. Disobedience births defeat. Joshua and his army had victory only after they repented and heeded to the word received from the Lord.
As a result of Saul’s disobedience, God tore off his royal robe, which means that He took the kingdom from him (1 Sam. 13:13-14). As a result of disobedience, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden and were cursed (Gen. 3).
Every person can be tempted by a family member, an employer or anyone from their social circle. Someone can make them do something that is not pleasing to the Lord, although at first glance it might seem that it is done according to the will of God. Years ago, in the 90s, when Armenia was under blockade, and only few people had jobs, the leader of the church ministry I was in instructed us to gather and pray for Armenia every day at 10:00am. Of the whole group, I was the only one that had a job, so I suggested to have that prayer meeting outside of work hours, after 6:00pm. At first, the others did not agree and even considered me a rebel; however, I explained to them that my suggestion was not an act of disobedience, and moreover, they themselves needed to submit to the Word of God and pray to have jobs, because Jesus said: “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (Jn. 16:24). What would happen if I just blindly submitted?
Concluding questions:
How can we obey the Lord?
Through love.
How can we love?
Through knowledge and intimacy.
How can we draw closer to Him?
Through prayer life in our prayer closet. Also, through prayer in the tongues of the Spirit and building up our inner man: “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church” (1 Cor. 14:4). Through learning to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit (recommended books: “How You Can Be Led by the Holy Spirit” by Kenneth Hagin and “Who hears the voice of the Lord” by Gayane Hakobyan).