Charlotte Gambill | 3 Ways Your Obedience Gets Compromised

Hey, we're Todd and Julie Mullins, Senior Pastors here at Christ Fellowship Church, and we're so glad that you're tuning in for service today. Yeah, Christ Fellowship is one church that meets in lots of different locations, including right here with you. Yeah, and our prayer for you today is that you would sense God's love for you. See, I don't personally know all that you're going through today and what you're up against, but God does. And He hears your prayers, and He knows your name, and He's right here for you today as you call out to Him. Yeah, thanks again for joining with us today. We love you, and we're praying for you. God wants to exceed your expectations this year. What are you expecting God to do this year in your life? Those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish. We are a church for the one who is lost, that they will be found, and they will find their purpose in Jesus, the one who gave it all, so that we could experience life and life to the full. God has more in store than you have in mind, and I believe so much more that it's going to blow your mind. So come on, if you're not already, stand to your feet. Let's worship God together. Come on. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Whoa. Every hour, every minute of my life has been part of Your design. Lord, the whole world's in Your hands. Every tongue, every battle that I face God, You met me there with grace.

Every martyr served Your place. Through it all. Through it all, You've been so, so good. Kept Your word like You said You would. Your mercies are new every morning. Your steadfast love will never end. It's hope on faith in the evening. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Come on, if you're late. Here and now, looking back on where I've been. Still as good as You were then. There's no limit to Your love. Through it all, You've been so, so good. Kept Your word like You said You would. Your mercies are new every morning. Your steadfast love will never end. It's hope on faith in the evening. Lord, how great is Your faithfulness. Lord, how great. ♪ Baby it's a painful mess ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh ♪ ♪ Lord, how great, Lord, how great ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh ♪ ♪ Lord, how great it is, Your painful mess ♪ ♪ Painful mess ♪ ♪ Through it all, You've been so, so good ♪ ♪ Kept Your word, like You said You would ♪ ♪ Through it all, through it all, You've been so, so good ♪ ♪ Kept Your word, like You said You would ♪

♪ Your mercies, Your mercies are new every morning ♪ ♪ Set by His love, will never end ♪ ♪ His hope won't fade in the evening ♪ ♪ Lord, how great it is, Your painful mess ♪ ♪ Your mercies are new every morning ♪ ♪ Set by His love, will never end ♪ ♪ His hope won't fade in the evening ♪ ♪ Lord, how great it is, Your painful mess ♪ ♪ Lord, how great it is, Your painful mess ♪ ♪ Lord, how great it is, Your painful mess ♪ Come on, let's lift up and down in praise. Come on church, He is faithful. He is so, so, so good. Welcome to church. If we have not met before, my name is Hannah. I'm a little bit out of breath. You guys are excited this morning. I just wanna welcome you, if you've never been here before, welcome home to Christ Fellowship. We say that because we're a really big family here. We love to worship together, to celebrate together. And today we're celebrating something really special and that is those who are getting baptized today. Our church family has made a decision to follow Jesus, the very best decision they could ever make. And today they wanna share that with us. So we're gonna celebrate them. Pastor Lewis, would you tell us who's getting baptized today? Absolutely, well, I'm here with my friend, Lauren,

who's getting baptized today. And Lauren, this is a bunch of church family right here that are excited for you. Would you share a little bit about why you are getting baptized today? So I've been coming to Christ Fellowship for a few years now. And I just feel like God has brought me here and has been talking to me through prayer and God's word. And I'm just so excited to see what I have left and what he's gonna do for my life. And, oh, I'm sorry. That's incredible. No, he's really has changed me. I just, I praise Jesus and I cannot wait to see what he has in store for me, thank you. I love it, I love it. You said he's changed me, but it's been over time. It has. And this is just one marker in your story of saying, I belong to Jesus. And based off of that confession of your faith, it's time to baptize you today. You can grab your nose, grab your heart. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, buried in the likeness of his death, we raise you. Oh, what a privilege to be called his. Oh, what a privilege to be a son and daughter

of the most high. So, come on, all around this place, can we testify to his kindness, be a witness to his grace, his goodness that chases after us today? Oh, yes. Such kindness, such goodness. Oh, yes, yes. ♪ Praise the King, you're worthy ♪ ♪ God, you're worthy of all of this ♪ Oh, yes, He is, pour it out. ♪ You left the throne and chose the cross ♪ ♪ And now you're alive to rescue us ♪ ♪ The Savior then, the Savior now ♪ Oh, but it wasn't over. ♪ But even death was not the end ♪ ♪ You conquered all, so I could live ♪ ♪ Resurrected then, resurrected now ♪ Come on, anyone made new in Jesus today. ♪ Resurrected then, resurrected now ♪ ♪ I witnessed your faithfulness ♪ ♪ I see you breathe life within me ♪ ♪ So I pour out my praise again ♪ ♪ You're worthy, God, you're worthy of all of this ♪ ♪ Your promises never fail ♪ ♪ I've got stories I'll live to tell ♪ ♪ So I pour out my praise again ♪ ♪ You're worthy, God, you're worthy of all of this ♪ ♪ Yeah, oh, I pour it out, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, you're worthy, you're worthy, you're worthy, you're worthy ♪

♪ Oh, I've witnessed it today ♪ ♪ You're good and I've witnessed it ♪ ♪ You're strong and I've witnessed it ♪ ♪ You're constant and I've witnessed it ♪ ♪ Oh, I'm confident, come on, I stand in the confidence of Christ today ♪ ♪ You love and I've witnessed it ♪ ♪ You heal and I've witnessed it ♪ ♪ You save and I've witnessed it ♪ ♪ I'm so confident, I'll see it again and again ♪ ♪ You're good and I've witnessed it over and over ♪ ♪ You're strong and I've witnessed it over and over ♪ ♪ You're constant and I've witnessed it, oh, I'm so confident ♪ ♪ I'll see it again and again, you love and I've witnessed it, yeah ♪ ♪ You heal and I've witnessed it, oh, yes, you save, oh, you're good ♪ ♪ You save and I've witnessed it, I'm so confident, yeah, I'll see it again and again ♪ ♪ I'll see it again and again, I've witnessed your faithfulness ♪ ♪ I see you breathe life within, so I hold on my praise again ♪ ♪ You're worthy, I'm sure worthy of all of this ♪ ♪ Your promise is ever clear, I've got stories I live to tell ♪ ♪ I've got stories I live to tell, so I hold on my praise again ♪ ♪ You're worthy, God, you're worthy of all of this ♪ ♪ Oh, tell them again, you're worthy, God, you're worthy of all of this ♪ ♪ Oh, sing it again, you're worthy, God, you're worthy of all of this ♪ Come on, can we just sing that chorus again together as the church? ♪ Yes, I've witnessed your faithfulness, I've seen you breathe life within, so I hold on my praise again ♪ Come on, pour out your praise today. ♪ You're worthy, God, you're worthy of all of this ♪ ♪ Oh, tell them again, he's worthy, God, you're worthy of all of this ♪ Oh, exalt him today, church. Come on, begin to fill this room with worship and praise.

♪ Yes, you're worthy of all of this ♪ My whole life laid down before you, before the altar today. ♪ Oh, yes, you are, you're worthy of all of this ♪ Even this today as we gather. ♪ Oh, God, you are worthy, oh, you're worthy of all of this ♪ Just put them in the center of your life now. Would you just wait upon the Lord? Can we just be still? Just for a moment. Just wait upon the Lord. His strength. Confidence in Him. Listen. Let Him speak. Give Him room. Maybe we've made this complicated More than it was ever meant to be Hasn't it always been about the same thing Lord, bring us back to simple things You be the centre of it all My heart belongs to You My Saviour all in all You're the one I hold on to For the beauty of Your Name My soul will live to say Jesus, I love You Teach us to discern the moment When to serve And when to sit here at Your feet Keep us away to what's important Or just like me You chose the better thing Oh Jesus, be the centre You be the centre of it all

My heart belongs to You My Saviour all in all You're the one I hold on to For the beauty of Your Name My soul will live to say Jesus, I love You Be the centre, oh You Be the centre of it all My heart belongs to You My Saviour all in all You're the one I hold on to For the beauty of Your Name My soul will live to say Jesus, I love You Sing, oh how I love You Holy worship Oh how I love You Jesus, I love You And my whole life for Your glory My whole world for You only Everything for the honour of Your Name And if my days tell a story Let it be for You only Everything for the honour of Your Name And my whole life tell a story My whole world for You only Everything for the honour of Your Name And if my days tell a story Let it be for You only Everything for the honour of Your Name

Come on, you have a testimony And my whole life for Your glory And my whole world for You only Everything for the honour of Your Name And if my days tell a story Let it be for You only Everything for the honour of Your Name Oh how I love You Oh how I love You Jesus, I love You Oh how I love You Oh we sing Your praise ♪ Oh how I love You, Jesus I love You ♪ ♪ And my whole life for Your glory, my whole world ♪ ♪ For You hold me every day, for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ And if my name can tell a story, let it be ♪ ♪ For You hold me every day, for the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ Can I tell you the power today of putting Jesus at the center of your life? Everything changes because when you put Jesus at the center, His peace begins to center itself on your life and His hope and His joy and there's promises that you and I can walk in each and every day. Do you know you have access today that everything God's Word says you have access to? But we gotta put Jesus back at the center. The world is trying to pull your attention and our focus and distractions of life trying to get us to focus on the things that are temporary

but we fix our eyes back on that, which is eternal. Everything changes. I don't know what you're facing today. Maybe it's a diagnosis or a disease in your life. My Bible says in Psalm 103 that He heals every dis-ease. Anything that's stealing your peace today, He's there. Maybe you're facing a tension in your relationships. Can I tell you, you put Jesus at the center of the relationship and everything. I don't know what you're facing today but I wanna pray for you and I wanna give you a chance right now at the beginning of this service to put Jesus back in His rightful place at the center of our life. And if that's you today going, I just need to put Jesus back at the forefront of my mind, at the center of my life. Right now, would you lift your hands across this place and I wanna pray for you. God, His hands are going up around the room. Holy Spirit, I pray that you would help us to focus back on which is eternal, which is you. God, your name, it brings healing. Your name, it brings peace. Your name brings joy and hope and clarity and vision and purpose. And God, I pray today that as we focus back on you, God, that our eyes would lift up off of the things of the world and back onto you and everything would change.

And we're gonna give you all the honor and the glory today. And the church said, amen, amen. Come on, can we give Jesus praise today? I love it, church. No place I'd rather be than right here with you on a Sunday. Why don't you turn to one or two people around you, give them a high five and you can grab your seats today. Good morning, good morning. I'm gonna keep you on your feet. You're used to me by now. This is home for us and we're gonna pray and so we're gonna stay standing. But I wanna thank you, church, for the miracle that you are. This house blesses our house. This family blesses our family. And sometimes when you're in something this good, you don't realize just how much of life this house is to other people's lives. That's why taking that invite is so crucial because you get this every single week. You get the love and the prayer and the encouragement and the presence of God and this incredible worship. But you know people, you work with people, you live next door to people, you drop your school kids off at school with people that have no clue this is available. And so it would be so wrong of us to keep this to ourselves. And Easter is an incredible moment

for you to get to bring people into a moment like this and then let God do the rest. That person at work that's driving you crazy, bring them. Let God do the rest. That parent that you right now are seeing eye to eye with, bring them and let God do the rest. There's so many miracles that happen in this atmosphere. And we, in the worship, we give God our thanks and we give him our praise because he so deserves it. We adore him and we lift our burdens to him. But when it comes to the Word, we get ready for God to give us something. Isn't that incredible? That we come to give God our praise, but when we gather, he actually presences himself to give us something, to give us wisdom, to give us truth, to give us light to the areas that right now are confused or dark. And I don't know much about the game football that you play over here, but I do know enough to know that if you were on my team and I had the ball and I knew this was a good throw, I knew if I get this ball to your hands, we're gonna change the game. And so I take the ball and I throw it in the direction of the person that I know on my team is called the receiver but I get the ball and I go to throw it at the person whose job it is to receive and their hands are in their pocket or they're on the phone or they're distracted and I'm gonna think what in the

world we're about to change the game and you're not doing the job that your title says you're supposed to do when we come to the house of God we've given him our worship but now our posture must be that we right now are in the position of the receiver which means if you're distracted you're gonna miss the ball and if you miss the ball we can't change the game and some of you desperately need the game to change in your life right now in your marriage right now in your family right now so as God's word comes through the atmosphere you need to position yourself I don't know what you're bothered by distracted by I don't know what your concerns are today but would you just put them to one side for a moment so that God can speak to you in a way that only God can so God we posture ourselves and we position ourselves into the position of a receiver God that means that we have to quiet the noise in our head and arrest the thoughts in our head and position our hearts to be open and also God unclench our fists and say God I put my arms out my hands out God whatever it is I'm allowing you to breathe on it speak to it God we don't want to just be in the vicinity of your word we don't want to be close enough to where your word is being spoken but God we want your very word to enter our lives and change our lives so God we thank you for what we're about to receive and God I get out of the way and Holy Spirit I ask that you would have your way in Jesus name amen and amen you may take your seats so because I have been extended the privilege by your incredible senior pastors to come on a more regular basis and make this more family than it is to us than a lot of other places we may get to go that means I also get the privilege and the responsibility of coming and being part sometimes of your series which means by the way guys that when I ask them what are you doing and what are you teaching right now that means I then have to spend weeks going to God about just you this message is just for Christ Fellowship this is just for this family this means I've just been thinking about you a lot praying about you a lot and so I get to be on week three of this series that's about being close but close enough like being Christian but being Christian-ish being in with God but being sometimes slightly out as well as in with God having a little bit of mixture in our life and looking at all of the reasons why we don't want to be just close enough we want to be so close to God that we do not miss a thing about him or his will for our lives I think this is an essential series I think it is a crucial message for the church on the earth right now that seem to have a lot of areas that feel gray to me instead of hot or cold to me and God is looking for us to be red hot on the things that he is concerned about and the things he is invested

in and so I got given the subject of obedience you ready buckle up I told you to get into the position of the receiver I know this ball's gonna smack some of you in the face but we're friends okay I love you I've been praying for you so if it does smack you in the face I don't apologize for it I just say welcome it you probably need it right I guess before I dip into the subject of obedience I want to reframe it a little for us because I do think that when we use words like obey they sound so definite they sound so strong that we almost have this recoil on the inside of us because we feel that with the word obey or obedience comes somehow control of us or somehow a loss of maybe the freedom that we would like in our life and in our daily choices and I want you to understand that is a lie of the enemy that he began right back in the garden for right back in the garden where it all began God gave freedom to Adam and Eve he gave them so much room and so much blessing and so joy was in that experience of walking with God in the cool of the day and it was the lie of an enemy that began to question the obedience that their freedom required and it was the entrance of disobedience a comment that said did God really say that it was a questioning of what God had given them that required their disobedience therefore in reaction to the question and how many of you know they went from the freedom of the garden to hiding behind sin and shame because when you disobey you don't gain freedom you lose freedom let me explain it to you a little this way the gambles our family have only ever had one family pet his name was Jakey George he had two names because we let our children name him and they couldn't agree one chose Jake one chose George so we couldn't agree so he was Jakey George and so Jakey George was loved so loved by everyone in our family in fact so loved that he thought he ran the family and we went from dog owners to be owned by a dog and our dog was beautiful and he had so much freedom we lived in the countryside in England out of our backyard were fields and pastures he could run for miles there was freedom for this dog everywhere but Jake decided that that was not enough for him and so he was going to take on his own adventures and discover other areas that maybe he felt we were keeping him from and so we would get random phone calls on a regular occasion because he had a collar and people would call the number

and they would say excuse me do you have a big white golden retriever that's called Jakey George and we would say yes why are you calling because I have that dog sat in my living room eating my dog's food I don't know how he got in my living room but he is in my living room and actually he's climbing on my sofa could you come and remove your animal this didn't happen once it happened on multiple occasions we took the dog well my husband took the dog to obedience school we got kicked out of obedience school after night one and so this was not going well and so we had to begin to introduce things to Jake's world his disobedience meant we had to now remove some of his freedom now that he would not trust that we knew the space that he was free to roam him and he decided he knew better than us we had to start adding things to Jake's life that we did not want to add to Jake's life but because his disobedience meant that we could not trust him in the field that we had placed him now we had to put a leash on him and every time you disobey God the enemy gets to attach a leash to your life and I know you feel like he gives you a lot of space and I know you feel right now that you're running free but he has the leash and at any given time he can push the button and he can yank you right back into that place of guilt and shame and sin and so don't ever think for a moment that obedience is trying to keep something from you when you give your obedience to God he's trying to protect you from some things obedience obedience complete obedience is actually complete freedom to be under the one that protects you and guides you because you obey his principles Moses said it this way in Deuteronomy 5 verse 32 he told the people you must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God following his instructions in every detail stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land that you are about to enter and occupy Moses is letting him know if we do this God's way there's gonna be prosperity and life and overflowing life how sad what we read just a few chapters later that they don't end up in the prosperity that was theirs to enjoy because of their disobedience they get close enough to

the promised land but they don't possess the promised land listen friends do you want to live outside the promised land or do you want to live in the promised land it's not up to God it's up to us he's already said I'll bless you it's yours do As I've told you, but if you choose to disobey and listen to 10 bad reports over two good ones, if you choose to disobey and circle with a negativity and circle complaining about what you've had to leave, then you will allow the leash of your past to keep you from the promise of your present. And God's trying to get some of you into the land of blessing, but you've got to stop living in the disobedience right now of your convenience. Whoo, that was a lot. So we're gonna go on a little journey. We're gonna go on a little journey in the word of where do we begin to blur the lines from being fully obedient to being kind of sort of obedient to being, yes, God, I fully accept and work and walk your ways to God. I love you, but I have some of my own ways I would like to walk in. We're gonna look at two stories in the Bible. One, if you've been around church for any length of time, if you went to Sunday school back in the day, you will be familiar with one of these stories. The other one, maybe you've never known that it was in the Bible until this moment, you're welcome. I'm introducing you to a brand new Bible story,

but both of these stories have a parallel that I want us to walk alongside and learn from. One story is about one man of God. The other story is about another man of God. So both two, believe God, love God, serve God. Both of these stories are about God giving an assignment to these followers, these two disciples, these two stewards of the things of God, these two men that serve him, two men of God, two assignments from God. And both of these stories have two lions in them. Only they both end a little differently. One becomes lion proof and the other becomes lion food. I don't wanna scare you today, but maybe I'm gonna scare you today. Because in 1 Peter 5 verse eight, it says, be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. He just needs someone to devour. He doesn't need everyone at once to devour. He'll take whichever one has wandered off from the path of obedience. And now he knows you are vulnerable because of your disobedience to being devoured by the enemy. I want today to help lion proof your life for the enemy is looking for you to be devoured by him and our disobedience is permission for the enemy's interference. And so how did these two men end up

in two very different outcomes? Well, Daniel 6 is a well-established story. We know, or I'll let you know if you don't know, Daniel was a good man of God. He was a young man of God, disciplined man of God. And he lived in a place where there was idol worship. He was in exile and in a foreign land with foreign ways. And yet he still stayed truly obedient, fully obedient, not close enough, fully close to the things of God. He was fixated on his obedience to God and he would not compromise. Daniel 6 tells us in this foreign land, verse four, that they could not find any corruption in Daniel because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. He was known as an outstanding, disciplined man of God. It says that Daniel lived this life in a foreign land, what we're gonna read in 1 Kings 13, of another man of God that is given an assignment from God and he is a prophet of God and he is asked to go and do some things for God, which he does and yet on the way to doing them, he undoes them with his disobedience. Those compromises happen in three different ways and so I'm asking you three different questions today. Number one is this, is your obedience situational? See, Daniel was in a situation that made it hard to obey God. He was in a situation where everyone around him was worshiping other gods.

He was in a situation where actually to worship God meant that you were in trouble with the king and the other people that had power in the land. So the situation was not convenient for Daniel to stay. obedient to God, but in Daniel 6, verse 10, it tells us even though the situation was made near impossible to worship and pray to his God, that Daniel, it says, three times a day still got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. The situation was made worse for him as a believer. The situation was made more difficult for him to say that he loved and followed God because there was an edict, if you pray, it will not end well for you. If you give your worship to God and not our idols, you will end up being punished, but he did not care that the situation was difficult because he'd already made a commitment to God and his commitment was not situational. Is your obedience situational? When it looks good, feels good, sounds good, and is convenient to be obedient, you are fully obedient, but when the weather changes and the temperature gets a little hot and the situation gets a little bit more complex, your obedience begins to wane. In 1 Kings 13, we find this man who is a prophet of God. He, like Daniel, is on an assignment from God. This man is sent to confront idol worship.

He is sent to confront what is going on at the altar, and when he goes, he actually has to speak to the king. He goes in 1 Kings 13, it's a long story, so I will try and keep it short so we can move through this message, but in this story, which you can read for your homework today, you read about how this king is at the altar and the man of God shows up. The man of God begins to bring the word that God has given him. He cries out and he tells them they need to stop doing what they are doing at the altar, and as he brings the word from God, the altar splits in two and the ashes are poured out on it. There are signs and wonders following his obedience. The king goes to grab the man, and as he goes to grab this prophet in verse four, it says that his hand begins to be withered up and his hand begins to shrivel up, and so now the king is crying out, someone help me, and so the man of God in the power of God actually reaches out his hand and speaks the word and the king's hand grows back. So there's a lot going on. There is the power of God, the presence of God, and he's brought the word of God, he's been fully obedient. Then the king says to him after his hand is restored,

hey, why don't you come home with me for a meal and I will give you a gift. Sounds like a good deal to me, right? I did what you asked me, God, and now they want to reward me, God, and I'm a little hungry, God, so surely this is okay, God. But the word of God that had come to this man, this prophet, was that he was not allowed to go to anyone's home. He was not even allowed to eat or drink. He just must deliver the word and leave a different way that he came. So when he is offered this, the man of God answers the king, even if you were to give me half of your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat the bread or drink the water here, for I was commanded by the word of the Lord that you must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came. So he is fully being obedient. It's easy to be fully obedient when the power of God is in the atmosphere and the presence of God is palpable. I mean, the altar just split. I mean, God just restored a shriveled up arm. I mean, there were signs and wonders happening. I mean, the power around him, the miracles around him, it's pretty easy. It's pretty clear that in this atmosphere,

I am fully obedient. I recall exactly what God told me and he commanded me not to compromise, so I will not compromise. He's fully obedient in this situation. But then like Daniel, the situation changed, but unlike Daniel, his obedience did not remain. Further into the story, the man is getting a little tired. He now needs to get back. There's not the same miracle signs and wonders happening. He's not at the altar anymore and he's not near the king anymore. So now we find him sitting under a tree. He's sitting under a tree, he's a little tired, he's a little weary. As he sat under the tree, another man of God appears. This man of God comes to the same servant and says to him, hey, Why don't you come with me? Turn back with me and come and have some bread at my house. I'll feed you at my house. I'll give you refreshment at my house. And the man of God, knowing that that's not what God told him to do, in fact, he commanded him not to do it. He replies, but his language is a little less convincing. Verse 16, he says, well, I can't turn back and go with you. Wait a minute, earlier, you were commanded, now you can't. Earlier, you know, you know that you know God says, do not do this.

Now you're just like, well, I probably shouldn't come back to your house. And I probably shouldn't eat the bread or drink water in this place because I kind of been told by the word, you've been told by the word of God or you've been commanded by the word of God. It's amazing to me how we can have full obedience on Sunday and partial obedience on Tuesday. It's amazing to me how in this situation, I'm like, yes, God, absolutely, God. Yes, God, I believe it, God. But in a different situation, when I'm a little weary, when I'm under my tree, when I'm a little further away from the power and the presence and the atmosphere of the church and the people of God, it's amazing when the situation changes, how often so does our obedience. Do you have situational obedience? I'm gonna do what you tell me, God, in this situation, but I might have to reconsider it if the situation changes. I'm gonna tithe in this situation while everything's good in my finances, God, but if my situation economically changes, I might have to reconsider my obedience because my obedience is situational. It's not actually based on the principle. Do you have situational obedience? Daniel is in a situation that just got a lot worse

for someone that believes what he believes, and we as Christians are in a culture where it got worse for us to be the ones that believe what we believe. But if the culture begins to affect your obedience, we have a problem. And if you have situational obedience and you're one way in service, and then you're another way at your kitchen table, guess who's watching you? Your children are watching you. So you can't get upset when they're different at school than they are at church if they watch mom and dad do the same thing. Is your obedience situational? When you're in a place of prominence, do you have more obedience? But when no one's looking, is now your obedience different? Not only was there a situational effect on the obedience, on one but not on the other, but there was a relational effect. Is your obedience affected relationally? Daniel 6 tells us that the people causing the pressure around Daniel were actually the peers in his time. There were people that were training alongside him, people that were in the same position as he was in of influence. And it was his peers that were putting pressure on this rule change that he could not worship for they were jealous of Daniel

and they were envious of the favour that Daniel had. So there was peer pressure going on, but Daniel was not affected relationally by the peer pressure around him. And I wanna ask you the question today, do the peer pressure around you change the obedience within you? Do other people's voices have an ability to change the voice of God inside your own life? Is someone's presence about to alter your obedience? And if you're sat there saying, no, not me, not me Pastor Gamble, that would never be said of me. I just wonder if that is true or not. I just wonder if your behaviour changes when your ways tells you there's a police officer five miles up the road. Because your obedience is relational. If there's someone in a uniform, I'm gonna stick and be obedient to the speed limit. But if I don't see the presence of someone in a uniform, I'm gonna push the limit and I'm gonna be disobedient to the law of the land. But when the relationship shows up, suddenly your behaviour shows up. So if you don't believe that your behaviour has changed relationally, ask yourself some questions. I remember when our son was younger, he had a friend Thomas and Thomas came over for dinner after school one day and Thomas was this lovely boy and he came and he was so well-mannered.

and he was so polite and he put away his dishes and he said, please, and he said, thank you. And I said to Noah, you can have Thomas anytime. He was a joy to have. And so the next day at school, I made a point to find Thomas's mother to let her know what a great boy she had raised and how impressive he was. And he was teaching Noah some skills that Noah needed to learn. And I remember telling Thomas's mother and as the words are coming out of my mouth, Thomas's mother is looking at me like I'm speaking another language. Like I'm describing an alien from outer space. She's like, my Thomas. I'm like, yes, you're not confusing my Thomas with someone else's Thomas. I said, no ma'am, your Thomas is the only one we had in our house last night for dinner. And then she said out of the sound of her mouth, Thomas, come here. And I realized Thomas was in big trouble for Thomas was behaving one way in my house, but behaving a completely different way in her house. He had relational obedience. I don't know you, I better perform for you, but I'm just gonna be familiar at home and I'm just gonna do whatever I please at home. Daniel is not pressured by the peer pressure, but watch this in 1 Kings 13.

The walls are down, the language is changing, the prophet's a little tired. And so the man that comes to offer him food, he actually says to him this. Well, I too am a prophet. I'm just like you. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord to bring you back with me to my house so that you may eat bread and drink water. And the Bible says, but he was lying to him. So now we have someone who's acting like this man, says he has the same role as this man, says he's heard from God about this man, but he has not heard from God, he is making this up. And now his word versus what God's original word was. And now the prophet is wondering, okay, well, if you heard something different from God, and I am actually kind of hungry, and I am actually kind of tired, maybe I'll accept what God told you rather than what God told me, because what God told you suits me better in this moment. So be careful. Sometimes our relational obedience is even affected by people that say they love God like we love God and serve God like we serve God. And so you know what, I love God too, but I really feel that God will be fine if we compromise in our relationship. I don't think God minds

if we do something a little shady over here. You know, I serve God too, I love God too, and I'm not that committed, and it's okay for me. Be careful. The prophet is now being affected by this other man that is a prophet because he's using the word of God. But when God spoke to this man of God, the word was very clear. And the last time I checked, God is not confused, and he doesn't change his mind. So all of a sudden, when someone tries to tell you that God is doing something or wants you to do something, that is not what God told you, you have to remind yourself, God does not change his mind. The Bible says God changes not. So I have to bring what you're saying back to what God is saying, and I have to make sure that your relational influence on me is not trying to take my obedience from me. Where or whom changes your obedience? Whose presence do you get around when your obedience starts to be compromised? What circle do you find yourself in? What social media do you enter? And now your obedience is no longer full, it is partial. We live in a world that wants to convince you that they are right and you are wrong, which is why you have to hold fast like Daniel. Hold fast to what God said to you,

for it is what God said to you that is what is protecting you. Is your obedience situational? Is your obedience relational? And the third thing is this, is your obedience economical? In other words, is there an amount that you would consider too high to pay to stay obedient to what God asks you to do? Because obedience can be expensive. It's cheap to be disobedient, but actually the consequences of disobedience are not cheap. They are way more expensive than actually your. or obedience will ever cost you. It's expensive to be obedient, which is why some of us that are a little cheap don't like full obedience, because it's expensive when your name is Abraham, and the cost of full obedience is sacrificing Isaac. It's expensive when full obedience and your name is Noah looks like building an ark for year upon year upon year for something called rain that you've never even heard of. It's expensive being someone called Joseph who's asked to give full obedience, but the full obedience means you end up in a pit, and then you end up in a prison, and nobody seems to remember that you're down there underground waiting for someone to come and find you. It's expensive when you have full obedience. And so Daniel, his full obedience

is going to be very costly, because by disobeying the principles that the idol worship were requiring from him, and obeying instead God and what He asked of him, now, because he will not compromise his obedience, he's gonna be thrown into the lion's den. Here comes our first lion. His full obedience is now gonna cost him a night in a lion's den. When we fully obey Christ, you need to understand your full obedience is giving you full insurance. If you don't have full obedience, you don't have full insurance. See, you're fully saved. No one can take your salvation from you, but protection, that's another thing. You want God to protect your finance, He's gonna need some full obedience in your finance so that He can give you the insurance that goes with the full obedience. Your salvation is secure, but the protection and the provision, that requires some cooperation. That's like me purchasing an item. Say I purchased a speaker for our home, and it was very expensive, because we want a good sound, and I purchased the speaker, and I set it up in my home,

and I paid full price for it. But now I decide I would like to take the speaker into my yard, because I would like music in my yard. But see, the speaker I bought was an indoor speaker, but I just decide it doesn't matter, I'm gonna take it outdoor anyway, but then it rains, and now my speaker is ruined, and now it's not working. So I go back to the manufacturer, because there is a guarantee with the purchase that I've made, and I say, hey, I want another speaker, because I paid full price for this speaker, and there's a warranty on this speaker. The manufacturer's gonna say, did you follow the instructions that go with what we created? I say, well, kind of, sort of, ish, close enough. Well, did you take it somewhere it shouldn't be taken? Did you put it in an environment that I said not to put it in? Because if you violated the instructions that came as the guarantee with the product, I don't owe you any insurance on what you purchased from me, because you violated our agreement. And some of us are asking God to protect things, provide for things, deal with things that we actually created, because we broke the agreement that was in the manufacturer's instructions,

and God does not have to make up for what you decided to be disobedient in. Just remember the prodigal son. The prodigal son knows the father is in the house. The prodigal son knows there's a responsibility in the house. The prodigal son knows that in the house there is provision and there's inheritance and there's wealth and there's good things, but he just decides, I'm just gonna do it my way. So he wanders off just like my dog, Jake. He wanders off thinking freedom is out there somewhere, thinking freedom looks like being down the bar, being at the club, doing what I want, when I want, only to find that freedom, that freedom puts a leash on his life. Now he's in a place where he's eating the pig food. But I want you to see something. The father, which is a picture of God, he doesn't leave the house to go and fix him eating pig food. You made a choice. You know where the father's house is. You decided to go and do something that was not in the manufacturer's guide for your life. So the father's not running to the pig pen. He loves him and he's waiting patiently for him to come home, but the father's not running to him because he knows you chose to go outside. You chose to do something beyond.

And so I need you to know I love you and I'm right here for you. disobedience you want full coverage then you have to come fully home see the older prophet his obedience got watered down now the situation is different he's compromised now the relationship things being used he's compromised and it just feels a little expensive to carry on without food without water so he goes back to the man's house and as he sat at the table in the man's house the same man they invited him to the table says God's not happy with you God's not pleased with you you have disobeyed God by coming to my house so now this man is on his way from the house leaving but as he leaves the house in verse 24 it says he went on his way this prophet and when he went on his way he met a lion second lion but this lion did not become his provision and this lion did not become his protection this lion devoured him killed him and his body was left lying on the road with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it in other words the lion which if you think about lions if they're hungry they're not just gonna eat you they're gonna eat the donkey and also gonna eat anybody that passes by but this lion didn't touch anyone else just this man stood right next to the body because this lion was under the control of the lion of the tribe of Judah and sometimes we don't like to think that these things can happen because surely God's grace is sufficient and yes God is grace filled and yes God has mercy that flows but God also is a good father just like when you're a good parent and you don't reward your children's disobedience so why should God reward his there is a moment where we have to realize our salvation is secure but our protection requires cooperation our freedom in Christ is better than any other freedom that anyone can offer us but if we don't understand the compromising of obedience is the compromising of our insurance we will keep getting in trouble and then get mad of God but God didn't create the problem you did and I guess I want to ask you today is your life lion proof when the devourer shows up around your family and around mine does he find that there's a full insurance policy on this family or does he find this partial does

he find that you are fully obedient or does he know I can devour in their finances because they've never been fully obedient in their finances John 14 verse 15 this is God's words if you really love me this is God you will keep and obey my commands God I really love you then you will keep and obey my commands some of you today you are caught up on the leash of guilt on the leash of compromise and God wants to free you today who the Sun sets free is free indeed but freedom is not you running further from him it's running all the way back to him the prodigal found full restoration when he became fully obedient it's all across the house I'm just gonna ask you to close your eyes right where you are I don't know where this finds you today but I know God's finding you I know God's putting his finger on things maybe it's an area relationally where you're compromised maybe it's an area financially where you're holding back maybe it's an area in your decision-making or even it's an area in the way that you speak and talk and act you are one way in this situation but you are a completely different way in another and today God is not trying to condemn you in a way that judges you is trying to protect you protect you from a problem that you don't need to have to deal with if you'll come back into full obedience God will take care of any lion that is prowling and make them your pillow when you are fully obedient so as eyes are closed if you know today that your life is not where it should be with God you've been in and you've been out but you're not fully surrendered maybe you like the prodigal you come sometimes you don't other times just depending on the situation God today wants you to know that is no way to live that is not the way I designed for you to live so today if you need to surrender your life and you need to say God I'm sorry I come back I want to fully obey then right where you are right where you're sitting right where you're listening that's you just raise your hand right where you are God I thank you for the honesty God you can't help us until we get honest about where we need help take that same hand and just put it on your heart I'm gonna pray this prayer over you and I want you to

make it your own prayer today dear God today I come to you God I don't want to live my life this way in and out and obeying sometimes and not other times I don't want a convenient faith God I want to be all in for you and that means being fully obedient to you so God I surrender today and I ask you God for your full protection because I'm giving you my full obedience God I ask you to cover my sin and cover my shame God I ask you today for a fresh start as I put you first and center to my life God I thank you in this moment as we fully surrender that God you fully cover us and God I thank you today for lives turning from a way of compromise to a way of fully being in line with your word for our lives and God I promise and we promise today to give you our all just like you gave us our all God we give you all the thanks and all the glory for it in Jesus name amen and amen