WALKING IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD ENSURES OUR ULTIMATE VICTORY. 

SCRIPTURE | Judges 4:1-21 

1 CENTRAL TRUTH 

Obedience is the right response to authority, but we often practice conditional obedience: we’ll obey if what we’re asked to do is pleasant, if it doesn’t cost us too much, or if it’s not too difficult. If we’re only willing to obey God and follow Him under certain circumstances, then our hearts aren’t totally surrendered to Him. 

2 KEY QUESTION 

WHEN HAVE YOU PUT LIMITS ON OBEYING GOD? IS CONDITIONAL OBEDIENCE STILL OBEDIENCE? 

3 KEEP IN MIND 

The word obedience often makes our students roll their eyes. Culture has influenced many of us to think of obedience as a negative thing. We’re annoyed when we have to obey our parents, our coaches, and even the law. We want to find loopholes, and at the heart of this thinking is the desire to rebel. Sin, at it’s core, is rebellion against God. In our flesh, our hearts are bent toward rebellion—against authority. We even see evidence of this truth in the garden of Eden when humans rebelled against the authority of God. But obedience is good. We can help students see that obedience to the Lord leads to life because it leads us to follow Jesus. It leads us to walk in His ways. We can reframe how we think of obedience and know that obedience pleases our Father in heaven. 

4 APPLICATION 

WHAT IS GOD CALLING YOU TO DO THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO DO? HOW CAN YOU OBEY ANYWAY? 

5 THE WIN 

FOR THE STUDENT: We must be real with our students and let them know God will likely ask them to do something difficult one day. If they’re never challenged to do difficult things, then they may want to ask if they’re listening to God’s voice. 

FOR THE LEADER: We can be assured that God will call us to do hard things. As leaders, many of us have experienced saying no to God, but we’ve also experienced the joy and peace that result in saying yes, even when it hurts. Be willing to share both of these experiences with your students.