Obedience: The Ability That Makes You a True Disciple

Obedience: the ability that makes you a true disciple

Jesus called twelve men to follow him. They took a first step, then a second, then a thousand more. As his ministry moved forward, he gave them instructions: go out without extra clothes, without food, enter people's houses, preach the word. And they obeyed. That very ability is what carried them all the way through. William N'GOM, in his exhortation at ICC Montreal on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, puts this word back at the center: obedience is not a detail, it is the defining mark of a disciple.

This is not simply good moral conduct. It is proof that you are truly following someone. And if you take the time to listen to this message, you will understand why the enemy fights this ability in you long before he ever attacks your marriage, your finances, or your job.

1. Obedience is the ability to submit to God

To obey is not simply to listen. It is not simply to hear. It is to submit to someone's will. When God speaks, obeying means doing. Without negotiating. Without first trying to understand every detail and every consequence.

William N'GOM likes to speak of the ability to obey rather than obedience on its own. Why? Because you do not just need to know that you must obey. You need something inside you to be made capable of doing it. And that ability is something that gets built.

2. The enemy attacks your obedience first

Do not fight the wrong battle. When the enemy comes into your life, it is not your marriage he is trying to attack first. It is not your job. Those attacks do come, but they are often the consequence of something else. What the enemy targets first is your ability to obey God.

He deploys every possible strategy to do it. False teachers, false pastors, people who invented themselves a ministry on the internet and spend their time saying, "Don't go to that church, that pastor is worthless." The goal behind that is not to protect you. It is to come and kill your ability to obey, not only the Lord, but also the people he has placed above you.

Society, too, conditions you not to obey. We break the laws of our country without feeling any embarrassment. As a result, when we walk into God's house, we no longer feel bothered about disobeying there either.

3. The two levels of obedience

When we come to Christ, there are at least two levels of obedience to understand.

The first level: obeying the written word. James 1:21-22 says: "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

This word has the ability to save your soul. So when the enemy attacks your obedience to the word, what is he aiming at? He wants to kill your soul. To obey is not to listen. It is to practice.

The second level: obeying the voice. John 10:27: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." Scientists say we have somewhere between 60,000 and 70,000 thoughts a day. In all that noise, which one is God's voice? What comes from you? What comes from the enemy?

That is why you cannot move forward with God without crying out to him. Without sitting in your room and saying, "Lord, I want to hear your voice. I don't want to do anything today until you speak to me." Those are the prayers God loves, because whoever hears his voice follows him.

4. Break the false reasoning that excuses you

James speaks of "deceiving yourselves" through false reasoning. These are the excuses we give ourselves to get out of the obligation to obey.

• "That's for pastors. We can't do that." False. That is a reasoning that excludes you from obedience to the word.
• "I'm a new believer, it's normal that I don't obey yet." False. When Paul arrived, he immediately put himself in motion. He did not say, "Excuse me, I just got here."
• "I'm too young." False. David went up to the throne at 17. Daniel was very young when he resolved not to defile himself at the king's table, even at the risk of his life.

Whether you have been converted for 10 years, 5 years, 2 years, or 2 months, you have the same ability to obey the word. It is not a matter of seniority. It is a matter of the heart.

5. Without obedience, you fall into religion

The opposite of obedience is not staying home. It is religiosity. The religious person is someone who comes to church every Sunday, sings, prays with others, takes part in everything, but does not obey a single specific command. He simply waits for God to act on his behalf.

William N'GOM cites a documentary he watched about Thailand: monks who were consecrated to their temple, but who were under the influence of opium when the police raided the place. The head of the monastery was wealthy, drugs were everywhere. That is what religion looks like when it is no longer inhabited by obedience. We do, but we do not obey. And one day, everything collapses.

6. Obedience is your proof of trust in God

When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham had every reason in the world to argue. He had waited years for that son. Yet he did not negotiate. He did not look for an alternative solution. He did not propose to God, "What if I bring you someone else's son instead, would that make up for it?" No. He obeyed.

Why? Because he knew who he was dealing with. He was dealing with the One who has the name above every other name, with the One who is all knowing and all powerful. When you truly know your God, you do not argue with his instructions.

By contrast, our lack of knowledge of God often makes us afraid. We are afraid to obey because we do not know the one who is speaking. A stranger you passed on the street who asked you to pick something up off the ground, you would ask a thousand questions. But when you know the person, when you know their worth, you do it without arguing. If you struggle to obey God, pray this prayer: "Lord, help me to know you."

7. Obey before you see the result

When God sends Ananias to Saul in Acts 9, he does not explain every detail to him. He does not say, "Go, because I am about to save the future greatest apostle in history." No. He simply tells him, "Go to such a house, do this." Ananias obeys without any awareness of what is about to unfold. And yet he enters into the history of the greatest apostle.

Sometimes you have to obey before you see the result. And sometimes, the gain is not even for you directly. The problem is that we always want to see our own direct interest before we move. If I tell you, "Go and evangelize," you do not see your interest in it. But if I tell you, "By going to evangelize, tomorrow you'll run into your sister's future husband," ah, now that becomes interesting. That is not the true motivation of a disciple.

8. Obedience opens up the promised blessings

Deuteronomy 28:1: "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth."

Joshua 1:7: "Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go."

To obey God is to succeed in your life. We often pray long prayers asking the Lord to intervene in our situation, when the key is already there. When you obey, God sets you high above. What is set high dominates. What dominates succeeds. It all follows from there. The word is simple. We are the ones who complicate it.

9. Your obedience blesses other people

You do not obey only for yourself. Romans 5:19: "For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous."

If you and I are here, it is because someone somewhere obeyed God. The apostle Ivan, in his living room, with his wife and children, started something. Did he know, 20 years ago, that this work would reach where it stands today, with its campuses all over the world? Maybe he had a vague idea. Certainly not every detail. He simply obeyed. Today, thousands of people have been converted through this work.

So stop underestimating yourself. Stop depriving others of the blessing of God, because your obedience is a source of blessing for multitudes.

10. Obey those God has placed above you

Hebrews 13:17: "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you."

A good disciple is one who embraces the vision of the one who is discipling him. Timothy would not have become Timothy if he had not followed in Paul's footsteps. Paul would not have become Paul if he had not followed in Barnabas's footsteps. We follow God through someone who follows God.

God has placed something in the life of your leaders for you. But if you do not obey, if you do not follow, if you have no reverence for that person, what God has deposited in them for you, you will never receive.

11. The disciple accepts to be stretched

Abraham was stretched. One morning he is told, "Sacrifice your son, the one you waited years for." You yourself have to find the wood for the sacrifice. You yourself carry the wood, climb the mountain for hours, with no rope, no hiking shoes. You suffer along the way, and when you arrive, you sacrifice your son.

William N'GOM shares a personal experience: a pastor asks him to go pray for a woman. He obeys. He arrives, the woman does not want to see him, she wanted the pastor. She speaks to him harshly. He is sweating. His soul is shaken inside. He had asked for none of this. At one point, he calmly says, "If you don't want this, that's fine." And then, she ends up asking him for forgiveness. That is it. The disciple is the one who accepts to be stretched, even when what he is asked to do does not please his soul.

Key takeaways

• Obedience is the defining mark of a disciple. Without it, you may attend church, but you remain merely religious.
• The enemy attacks your ability to obey first. The rest (marriage, work, finances) is often the consequence of that breach.
• Two levels of obedience: to the written word (James 1:21-22) and to the voice (John 10:27).
• "False reasonings" (too young, too new, "that's for pastors") are excuses that exclude you from the blessing.
• Your obedience does not concern you alone. There are multitudes behind you waiting for you to obey.

Personal application

• Is your current disobedience opening a door to the enemy that you are attributing to something else (marriage, work, finances)?
• What "false reasoning" are you using right now to excuse yourself from obeying a specific word God has given you?
• When did you last take a moment alone in your room to say, "Lord, I want to hear your voice, I won't move until you speak to me"?
• Could your pastor, your shepherd, your discipler give the same testimony about you that Paul gave about his church: "You have always obeyed"?
• Who around you will never know Christ if you refuse to obey what God is asking you to do today?

Verses cited

• James 1:21-22 · Receiving the implanted word and putting it into practice.
• John 10:27 · My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.
• Deuteronomy 28:1 · If you obey, the Lord will set you high above.
• Joshua 1:7 · Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you succeed in everything.
• Romans 5:19 · By the obedience of one, many will be made righteous.
• Hebrews 13:17 · Obey your leaders, they keep watch over your souls.
• Philippians 2:5-11 · Jesus, obedient to the point of death on the cross.
• Genesis 22 · The sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham.
• Acts 9 · Ananias sent to Saul of Tarsus.

FAQ

What does it really mean to obey God?
Obeying is not simply listening to the word or hearing it preached. It is submitting to God's will and putting it into practice. James 1:22 is clear: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." Hearing is one thing, practicing what you hear is another.

Why do I struggle so much to obey God?
Our struggle to obey often comes from two causes. First, the enemy actively fights your ability to obey, because he knows that is how he gains ground in your life. Second, you do not know God well enough. When you understand who you are dealing with (an all knowing, all powerful God, who has the name above every other name), you stop arguing with his instructions. Pray: "Lord, help me to know you."

Do I really have to obey my pastor, or only God directly?
Hebrews 13:17 calls us to obey our leaders, because they keep watch over our souls as those who will have to give an account. This is not blind obedience: it rests on the fruit you see in their lives. God has placed something in the life of your shepherds for you. Without obedience or reverence toward them, you will never receive that deposit. That is how Timothy became Timothy through Paul, and Paul became Paul through Barnabas.