Learning From Acts – The Life of Obedience

Acts 26:19 - “I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.”

What set Paul apart from many other Christian ministers was this: when the Lord corrected him, he immediately repented and became obedient to God’s revelation. We see this at his conversion (Acts 9), when he changed in a single moment from a man who persecuted the Lord Jesus to one who obeyed Him as God. This willingness to obey the revelation of the Lord was a crucial factor in his conversion, and was a trait throughout his apostolic ministry. The Lord made him one of the most fruitful preachers in the history of the church. The amazing fruit of his ministry came because of Paul’s zeal to obey the Lord’s revelation. The book of Acts provides a narrative biography of the Apostle Paul. One of its main themes is that the life of Paul was a life of obeying God’s revelation.

Paul’s first miraculous experience of hearing the Lord’s voice was truly extraordinary, with the Lord Jesus Himself speaking to Paul from heaven. The “revelation” here was direct and powerful: “Saul, Saul why do you persecute Me?” Paul did not understand before that his misguided zeal to serve God had actually led him to harm God’s Work. Paul’s response to this was immediate and decisive – he instantly humbled himself before the Lord Jesus. He obeyed His command to wait in Damascus for further instructions, and spent the next few days in prayer and fasting.

From then on, Paul heard from the Lord frequently, and each time he was careful to obey all that the Lord directed. The Lord told Paul to wait for a disciple named Ananias to come and lay hands on him for healing and the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Paul obeyed, and was then able to have fellowship with the saints in Damascus, and later Jerusalem. Later (Acts 13), the Lord revealed to the church that Paul and Barnabas should go on a missionary journey. Paul obeyed again. The Lord used him in preaching the gospel, in miracles, and in planting new churches.

During Paul’s second missionary journey, Acts 16:6-7 says that the Spirit would not allow them to go into Asia, and also would not allow them to go into Bithynia. Another revelation (16:9) came to Paul in a dream, when the Spirit directed them to go to Macedonia. Paul continued to follow the directions from the Lord, and as a result, a completely new region opened up for the gospel to advance. Then in Acts 18:9, the Lord revealed to Paul in a vision that he was not to be discouraged, but was to remain in Corinth, because God would protect him from attacks while he worked to establish the Corinthian church. Paul obediently remained there for the next eighteen months, establishing a strong church.

Acts 20:23 and 21:11 tell us that the Holy Spirit warned Paul that when he went to Jerusalem, he would be imprisoned. Paul had earlier revelations telling him to go to Jerusalem and preach there, so he was obedient, even though the Lord warned him there would be persecution. From the beginning to end, Paul was determined to obey everything that the Lord revealed to him, to put the Lord first. Because of this zeal and obedience, the Lord was able to use Paul’s life to bring deep spiritual blessings to many needy people. Today, we can follow this example and put God’s will first in everything we do.

1 Corinthians 11:1  - “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”