The 100 Fold Obedience lifestyle or the principle of abiding obedience:

By Apostle Carel Marais, preached at Harvester Reformational Church Pretoria, 18 March 2012

Gal 5:16-17 I say, then, Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another; so that you do not do the things that you wish. Mat 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.

Looking at Jesus we learn that He was so tuned into the Holy Spirit that he never made judgements by Himself but working in tandem with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that he will say nothing without the Father telling Him what to say.

John 8:28 I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me (NIV) Jesus operated in this 100 fold obedience lifestyle and I believe we can do the same.

If this is true we do not have to do anything than to work in tandem with the Father through the Holy Spirit. There is no pressure to preform. It is open ears trained to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit – connected with obedience that'll lead us into fruitfulness.

John 15:10 If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

You abide in Him if you do what he has commanded you to do. Your cue is obedience not performance. Jesus has already performed in your place. Concerning the effort of man, nothing can surprise Him. God is moved through obedience not performance.

Even the crown you are about to receive in heaven is not for what you have done out of yourself but for what you have been obedient to do.

Die to yourself, so that Christ may live in you. Die to your desires and ambitions, comforts, rights, aspirations, self, the big (I), coming into total obedience to God.

The question would be who we are preoccupied with? Are we preoccupied with Jesus as our source and owner of everything that we possess. Being then grateful for everything we have and using it with a greater sense of generosity and obedience.

Or by nature operating in the realm of the flesh being preoccupied with self and with the sense that we deserve more honor, more money, and more favor that we have received.

This results in a sense of entitlement that complains and demands more privileges and honor because of how we esteem our gifting, accomplishments, dedication or position.

Joh 12:24-25 Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. He who loves his life shall lose it. And he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.

Paul explains: 1Co 2:2 For I am determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. When connecting with the church in Corinth Paul was not interested in their prayer life, praise & worship or evangelism strategies – except if they knew Jesus and Him crucified.

This is called the principle of abiding obedience or the 100 fold obedience lifestyle. Stepping into beat with the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus did with the Father. Getting to know how God thinks, the way He acts, feeling what He feels in His heart.

You can only do this when you dig deep into the word and prayer – finding God's heart beat. You have to think like God to act like God – C Capps.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.

We have been given; because of Grace/God's unmerited favour – every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. Freely given but in order to receive this unmerited favour we need to cooperate with it. To receive grace given is to go beyond the mere acknowledgement of the truths about grace – in order to receive the benefits of grace we need to participate with the grace given.

Gal 5:16-17 I say, then, Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another; so that you do not do the things that you wish. Mat 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.

Walking in the Spirit is walking in all of the light we have received – just as the Father is walking in all the light that he has got we too must walk in all the light we have received.

It speaks of the 100 fold obedience lifestyle. Just as Jesus walked in all the light that he received from the Father we too must walk in all the light we have received.

Even a new born believer can walk in perfect obedience to the light that he/she has received. So we cooperate with that which is given freely with the understanding that the more we obey, the bigger the responsibility of walking out the light we have received.

The bigger the light we receive the bigger the responsibility we have to walk in that light – but also the bigger the measure with what we can experience that light. Our ability to experience God increases as the light increases and the light will always continue to increase.

This was Paul’s determined purpose in Phil 3:10 saying; that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly] and that I may in the same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in hope] (AMP)

I have found that the Holy Spirit will talk to us if we initiate the conversation. Very rarely it happens that the Holy Spirit instates the conversion and most of the time that he does instate the conversation it leads to correction and rebuke or some sort of intervention.

Most of the time we initiate the conversation and He will continue to speak as long as we stay engaged in that conversation. He will continue to lead – to show and to speak depending on how deep we will go.

So the question is how deep do you really want to go? When was the last time God spoke to you or when was it last that you initiated the conversation with Him?

We abide in Him through or obedience. If obedience is the verb of abiding then we will have perfect peace and joy and right standing with God.

The moment we step out of that what God requires from us we lose our peace and joy – and consequently our right standing with God. Being led by the Spirit is therefore not an external action but an internal lifestyle.

Jesus did what He was commanded to do out of a lifestyle of being led by the Spirit and the result was people got saved, healed and delivered wherever He went.

Jesus operated in this 100 fold obedience lifestyle and I believe we can do the same. It is then open ears trained to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit – connected with obedience that'll lead us into fruitfulness.