The Danger Of Luke Warm Faith

Obedience and the Call to Authority

This morning we’re talking about obedience. Someone say obedience.

You might expect, on a Father’s Day, that we’d look at patriarchy in Scripture or the Father heart of God. There are many fatherhood-related messages we could draw from the Bible. And yet, this morning, we’re talking about obedience.

Why? It’s because of this church. It’s because I believe that, as men in the church, in our town, and in our society, we have a role to fulfil. Would you agree with me that we have a role to fulfil in our families, in our church, and in our communities? We have a role of leadership, a role of direction, doing our best to lead in a way that is fruitful and productive. Amen?

But here’s the challenge: we cannot hold a position of authority unless we ourselves come under authority. Does that make sense? Our authority does not come from ourselves. It doesn’t come from any human source, but from the Lord. Amen. And so our role, first and foremost, is to come under His authority.

We’re in a teaching series called “Christian-ish.” Someone say Christian-ish. This is week two, and we’re talking about obedience.

For those of you who weren’t here last week, here’s what I mean by “Christian-ish”: having a half-hearted faith, wearing the label of Christianity without truly following Jesus.

So that’s where we are this morning—obedience.

Are you ready to be challenged? I love being challenged. I was challenged this week by the Scriptures as I prepared this with the Lord, and I’m excited to share with you what challenged me. Is that all right?

If you feel offended this morning, I want to gently say: that’s your problem to take to the Lord. You’ll need to work that through with His grace, and I hope you’ll get over it. As I said last week, a pastor’s role is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.

And we’re continuing in that theme this morning: obedience.

The Deception of Selective Obedience

There is a common pitfall for us as Christians, and I’m going to call it “selective obedience.”

We will do what the Lord tells us to do… unless. Unless it feels too hard. Unless it feels like too much to ask. Unless, “Actually, Lord, I think I have a better plan than You.” Unless, “Well, I’m in a hurry, and I’m not going to wait for that.”

Selective obedience is the dangerous illusion that doing some of what God commands is enough. But really, it’s disobedience in disguise.

Who’s feeling challenged already?

Obedience. We don’t tend to feel very drawn to that word. In our culture, where we sit in 2026, I don’t think it’s a particularly attractive concept. The word itself can bring up ideas or feelings of something oppressive, or of enforcing a power dynamic that creates a clear hierarchy. And it clashes with the gospel of the world, which says, “You do you, and I’ll do me.”

So obedience doesn’t sound especially appealing to us.

Obedience to the Lord’s Authority

I want to ask for a show of hands in the room. Who here would say that you try to be good, that you try to be obedient to the Lord? Anyone?

There are quite a few hands. I’d say that’s a good 95%. The other 5% can see me at the end.

We do try to be good. We try to live within the scope of what is acceptable and what the Lord commands. But perhaps, even as we do that, we still try to retain our own authority.

Obedience, Conditional Blessings, and Grace

I want to share three Scriptures with you that talk about obedience. I’d love you to listen for a common theme in them.

The first is from Deuteronomy 5:33: “Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper.” Remember that one.

The second is Exodus 19:5: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.”

The third Scripture says: “If they listen and obey God, they will be blessed.”

Have you noticed the theme running through these passages? There’s an “if this, then that” pattern. God is asking for full obedience, but there’s also this sense that some of God’s blessings are conditional. If you keep the commands, if you keep the covenant, if you obey the Lord, then you will be blessed; then you will be His people. We see that theme throughout Scripture.

Now, if we’re not careful, this could start to sound like salvation by works. Many of us have heard that phrase before. Salvation by works is the idea that we earn our salvation by being good; that if we do enough good things, maybe even outweighing the bad, then we’ll be saved and enjoy heaven. That concept is not what the Bible teaches in any way.

So when we read these Scriptures, we might think, “Dom, this sounds a bit like salvation by works—if this, then that.” Church, we need to recognize the difference between an unconditional promise and a conditional blessing. Does that make sense? An unconditional promise and a conditional blessing.

Many of us understand this through the parent–child relationship. You might have children of your own, or at the very least you are a child of somebody. In that relationship there are constant, unconditional promises. Now, your experience may vary depending on how you grew up, but we know that, at its best, a parent loves their child no matter what. That’s an unconditional promise: “I will always be there for you. I’ll sit with you when you’re sick,” and so on.

But we also know there are conditional blessings in the parent–child relationship. We might say, “If you finish your homework, then you can have a friend round,” or, “If you eat your vegetables, then you can have pudding.” Anyone use that one?

So we see, both in Scripture and in everyday life, the pattern of unconditional promises and conditional blessings.

Unconditional Promise And Conditional Blessing

I was trying to think this week how much we go into on a Sunday morning, because I like going into stuff – explaining, exploring things and then sharing them with you. But if we did that every Sunday, we’d go from having a 45-minute preach, to what we do right now – which is still too long – to somewhere even longer than that. So we can’t do that. But I do need to share with you, and briefly mention, the covenants in the Old Testament.

Who’s heard the word “covenant” before? Covenant is basically an agreement between humanity and God. And really, there are five of them in the Old Testament that we see.

We see the Creation covenant in Genesis 1 and 2.
We see the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12–17.
We see the Mosaic covenant in Exodus 19–24.
We see the Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel, around chapter 7.
And we see the Priestly covenant in Numbers 25.

Each one of these covenants between humanity and God holds this concept of unconditional promise and conditional blessing.

But now we exist under, and experience, the New Covenant. Who’s heard that phrase, “New Covenant”? We’re under the New Covenant, and this New Covenant – humanity’s agreement with God – has that same balance, that same tension: unconditional promise and conditional blessing.

The unconditional promise is this: that Jesus died and rose again, offering forgiveness of sins and eternal life for all those who believe. Thank the Lord. Amen. But there is also conditional blessing. While salvation is a gift, there are certain blessings that flow from obedience to God. Does that make sense? God saves by grace and blesses through obedience. And that’s why God doesn’t want our partial obedience; He wants our full surrender.

It’s really important to understand that, while we are no longer under the covenants of the Old Testament, we are still under the New Covenant through Christ’s blood, and obedience is still a significant feature in the Kingdom of God.

Can I give you some words of Jesus that are really challenging to me? There are a few “scary” verses in Scripture – a few verses that make you question, “What does that fully mean, and am I fully, properly at work in that?” This is one of them. John 14:15: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Just let that rest for a minute, and consider what that means.

Our obedience to the Lord’s commandments is the outworking of our love. We obey the Lord not to be loved, but because we love the Lord. Our love for Him is the foundation of our obedience. Does that make sense?

In the Old Testament Scriptures, we saw this idea that our action came first: if we are obedient, then we receive the blessings of the Lord. But Jesus says that if we love the Lord, then obedience flows out of that. Are you with me this morning, Church?

Christianity is not behaviour modification. It’s not a set of rules and regulations handed down to us: “Tick these boxes, follow this, this, this and this, and then you’ll receive the blessings of the Lord.” That’s not what Jesus set out. That’s religion. Instead, we have a relationship. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

Religion says, “Obey me and I’ll love you.” But Jesus says, “I loved you while you were still my enemy.” And it’s out of that love He has for us that we love Him, and therefore want to, and desire to, keep His commandments. Our obedience is not a condition to be loved; it is the expression of our love for Christ. Does that make sense? So good.

So we’re called to obedience. That’s what Christ calls us to. He says, “If you love me, then an outworking of that – a natural, logical flow of that – is that you will keep my commandments.” There is an obedience that comes with love.

But Christ doesn’t just set a standard that He Himself didn’t meet. In Luke 22, Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, right before He’s taken to be crucified – taken to Pilate, then to Herod, then back to Pilate, and then to the cross. He’s in the garden, just Him and the Father, and He prays:

“Father, if it is your will, take this cup of suffering from me. However, not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus models in the crucifixion perfect, active obedience. Philippians 2:8 says, “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross.” Christ is the ultimate example of obedience. He doesn’t call us to obedience without modelling it Himself. He is the ultimate obedient person. Thank you, Lord, that we have that model.

We often focus on the death of Jesus – on the crucifixion, on His broken body, His spilled blood, and then the resurrection three days later. And that is right, because that is what earns our salvation. Amen. But before Jesus died for us, He lived for us. He lived the perfect life that we could never live. He was the one who kept the law to perfection. He was obedient not only in death, but in life as well. And every act of obedience that Jesus performed is credited to us through the cross. Thank you, Lord.

Adam and Eve failed in the garden when they took the fruit. Israel failed countless times in the wilderness as they sought the promised land. King Saul failed time and time again. David failed time and time again. I have failed time and time again. You have failed time and time again. We all fail every week. And yet Jesus obeys where everyone else fails – not partially, but completely. Every temptation, every command, Jesus keeps to perfection, and then demonstrates the ultimate act of obedience: first to the Father, then to death. Wow.

Isn’t it incredible that Jesus displayed and demonstrated full surrender so that you and I could see and learn what full surrender really looks like? Every other religion, doctrine, ideology, value system that tackles this kind of issue gives you a ladder to climb – things to do – salvation by works. But Jesus offers us a substitute. That is incredible. Thank you, Lord.

Now, who wants to be challenged even more? I use that word a lot. Who wants to be challenged even more? I’m here for it – that’s what the kids say. They also say, “What’s the haps?” Have you heard that? Not relevant to the sermon, but there we are. I’m just so cool. Anyway.

Disobedience to the Lord often starts with good intention to learn the Lord’s instruction and to obey it. But it comes when we begin to compromise. Scripture speaks into this as we become lenient, as we make excuses or give reasons for our actions that we think excuse us from them. These compromises start with a whisper.

There are a few Scriptures that shine a light on our nature, and again, I was challenged – I’m constantly challenged, because that’s what Scripture is written for: to challenge us, so that we can become more and more like Christ. Amen.

James 1:14–15 says: “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.”

Who thought they’d be hearing this on Father’s Day? You might have expected a message that says, “All fathers are great, we’re awesome, we’re going to do even more great.” And that is true through the Lord. But we are called to obedience. And I really feel that the message we have today about obedience is a foundation for the authority of Christ that operates through us. Amen. We’ve got to get the foundation right. I’m so excited, because we’re called to do so much in the name of the Lord and for the Lord.

Most of the time, we don’t set out to disobey, do we? Who sets out intending to disobey? No. We set out to be obedient and to avoid sin because of our love for Christ. That’s our aim, is it not? Sin comes from desire. That’s what James teaches us.

There’s some stuff about our nature that we need to understand, because our understanding of our nature will shape how we operate and where we go from here. But I need to warn you: it’s a bit uncomfortable. Is that okay? These are uncomfortable to hear because they challenge and reveal who we really are. It’s only by understanding this that we can figure out how to overcome it.

Genesis 8:21 says, “Every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.” The Scripture is talking about you and me. Psalm 51 says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

You might say, “Well, Dom, that’s Old Testament. We’re in the New Covenant now.” Paul writes in Romans 7:18–19, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.”

These are challenging Scriptures, Church. They cut to the very depth of who we are as humanity. Scripture reveals that we have a default proclivity and inclination to sin – to be disobedient.

Genesis 3, the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden taking from the tree, outlines this clearly. Eve took from the tree after being tempted by the serpent, who questioned God’s word: “Did God really say…?”

We often think of this as the moment where sin is introduced into the world. But there’s more to it than that, because disobedience was already present. Eve wasn’t the first to sin; Satan was. Satan fell from heaven for his pride. Disobedience had already occurred. So Genesis 3 is not primarily sin’s origin story; it is a depiction of the inclination of the human heart. All it took was a whisper of temptation.

Paul picks up on this in 2 Corinthians 11:3: “Just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray…”

I don’t wake up wanting to be prideful, but I like to be right. I don’t wake up wanting to be greedy, but I like to keep control of my money. I don’t wake up wanting to lust, but I like feeling desired. I don’t wake up wanting to gossip, but I like to be the person with information.

Something is revealed to us about our nature through Scripture, and it’s this: we don’t plan to drift from God. Disobedience is not usually our intention, but it is our inclination.

We need to understand that this is not an excuse we can ride out; it’s a valuable tool we can use. If we accept it – and we could reject it, we could say, “No, I’m not evil by nature, I’m not sinful by nature” – Scripture begs to differ. But for those willing to accept what Scripture tells us about our nature, we can use this as a tool.

Now I know that my human condition gives me a natural inclination toward temptation, which allows me to be dragged away by my evil desires and causes me to sin. Now I know that – and that’s a really useful thing to know if I do something with it.

I don’t want to sin. I love Jesus. And because I love Jesus, I want to obey Jesus. So what do I do about it? How do I overcome the disobedience that I’m inclined towards by my human nature and instead follow the example of the active obedience demonstrated by Christ?

I’ve got five points for you. This is what I’m trying to work towards myself.

First, we need to actually know what sin is. That’s a good start. Joshua 1:8 says, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth…” If I don’t know the will of God, how can I possibly hope to obey the will of God? Does that make sense? We need to understand: What is God’s will? What is God’s nature? And what does God detest? What goes against His nature and will?

If we don’t know that, then we don’t even have a map. We’re just flying blind. Knowing what sin is comes from Scripture. God reveals His nature through His Word. Amen. That’s why the Lord says to Joshua, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your lips” – because it is vital that we know it.

Second, I need to learn my own inclinations. The Bible tells me there is evil desire in my heart and that I am inclined to be tempted and to follow those desires. But it doesn’t tell me specifically what my particular temptations are. Scripture wasn’t written to me personally; it was written to us as the people of God.

So it’s on me to learn specifically what my own inclinations are. Am I inclined toward unrighteous anger? Toward pride? Toward sexual sin? Toward greed? I need to know where my weaknesses are. I need to know where I am weak to temptation. I already know I’m susceptible in general; now I need to know the specifics. Does that make sense, Church?

This is an exercise we all need to go on – a kind of self-discovery. That might sound a bit “new age,” but actually we need to understand our own hearts. And we can ask the Lord to reveal these things to us, can we not? “Lord, reveal to me…” The psalmist prays, “Search me, O God…” Psalm 139. “Search me, O God” is a scary prayer, but it’s essential if we are to understand ourselves more deeply and know our inclinations and temptations.

Third – and this is really hard – I need to share my inclinations. Not with everybody; don’t get up on a platform and treat it like an AA meeting. But you and I need to develop relationships with people we trust. People to whom we can hold ourselves to account.

We need accountability, we need prayer, we need our arms being held up in the battle. We can frame it like this: I go to a brother and say, “Listen, I love Jesus. Scripture tells me – and I know – that if I love Jesus, I will keep His commands. However, I also know I have a natural inclination to be tempted into greed. It’s something I’m really trying to watch, trying to bring under control by the Lord’s grace. I know that’s my natural human tendency. So, can you pray for me? Not just now, but in your own personal prayer time. Can you write it in your journal if you have one? And can you also, from time to time, ask me how I’m getting on with that? Can you ask me, ‘When was the last time you gave in to the temptation of greed?’ And if I try to skirt the question, press in a little?”

That’s how we can position it. We are called to build one another up and encourage one another in the faith. We’re not designed to do this alone.

Fourth, we can call on Christ’s strength. Praying ahead of time, and having people who are praying for us, is really important. Who knows we’re in a spiritual battle? Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities in the heavenly realms. So praying ahead of time is essential.

But who knows that the moment of temptation still comes anyway? Temptation comes through situations, opportunities – it’s very rarely planned. And it’s in the moment of temptation that I need Jesus. In that very moment.

Even just declaring the name of Jesus out loud, because even demons flee at the declaration of His name. Declaring the name of Jesus and His authority over that temptation, over that situation, and calling in that moment for the strength of Christ to become your strength.

Fifth, and this is really important: when we do fail – and I’m saying when, not if – our surrender and our repentance draw us closer to Him. James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” Acts 3 says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.”

Church, I want to encourage you: God is not demanding our perfection – certainly not in exchange for His love – but He is calling for our surrender, our repentance, and our returning ownership of our lives to Christ.

We know, and we need to know, that we have agency over our own lives – free will, autonomy, the ability to choose. But we do not have ultimate authority over our own lives. We have agency, but we don’t have authority. The Bible is clear. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”

It’s really hard to live our lives with agency, but not with ultimate authority. We’re not robots on a remote control that can’t possibly get stuff wrong. But we’re also not out here making up our own rules and flying by the seat of our pants – even though sometimes that is where we find ourselves. And it’s in those areas that we can be tempted by our own evil desires, where we have taken authority from God, or where we’re especially susceptible.

Why don’t you bow your heads. We’re going to take a bit of time to ask the Lord, “Search me, O God.” Are there areas in your life where you’re susceptible to temptation – in relationships, in marriage, in habits, finances, addictions, control, pride? These are the things we need to turn over to God, acknowledging that He has ultimate authority, that we are not our own, that His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

Because He held nothing back from us – not His comfort, not His reputation, not His body, not His blood, not His life. The One who gave everything for us now asks for everything.

We’re not saved by our obedience. We’re saved by Christ’s obedience. And that is a really good place to be, because if it were down to my obedience, I’d be in trouble. Those of us who have been saved by Christ’s obedience will increasingly desire to obey Him in every area of our lives – desiring not to be led by our own desires, but to seek His.

And I want to bring this back around to where we started. What is the point? What is the purpose? Why would we bother?

The purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ is to go into all the world and make disciples. To go into all the world preaching the gospel. To go into all the world baptising in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. It’s our calling to take authority in our communities – not in a militaristic way, but in a way that is influential: to influence society for good, to influence society ultimately toward Jesus, so that more may know His grace and love, so that more may accept Him as Lord and Saviour.

It is also to take authority in our families, in our workplaces – not our own authority, but the authority that comes from Jesus, the One who has all authority. But you and I cannot go around trying to bring authority if we ourselves don’t sit under authority. Otherwise we’re just out there being rogue, and that’s not helpful for anybody. In order to do what we’re called to do, there is a submission that’s required: a submission to His authority.

Since it is Father’s Day, I think we should pray for the men in our church – our brothers in Christ. You need to know: the person you’re standing next to is struggling with something. They just are, because they’re human. We’ve read enough Scripture this morning that reveals the nature of humanity. That’s your brother next to you. Scripture was written about them as much as it was written about you.

So we’re going to pray for one another, and we’re going to pray along these lines: that Christ has called each one of you to take His authority out from this place and into the world, demonstrating the love of Christ for all people, having authority over situations, circumstances, health crises, relational challenges, speaking the light and life of Christ. That is what you are called to do. You’re called to lead families, to lead in workplaces, to lead wherever you find yourself. You’re called to lead yourself. You’re called to walk in authority – and you are called first to come under authority.

So we’re going to pray.

Lord, we thank You that You are the ultimate demonstration of active obedience. Jesus, You are the One who kept the law. You are the One who lived the perfect life, the life we were originally called to live but ultimately cannot. We thank You that You lived the perfect life on our behalf. We thank You that every act of obedience is credited to us through the cross. We thank You that we don’t need to burden ourselves and worry about our salvation by trying to be “good enough,” obedient enough, because You have already dealt with that. We thank You, Lord, for the salvation we receive by Your obedience and Your blood. We thank You, Lord.

We acknowledge the call You have placed on Your Church to go, to preach Your Word, to take authority in our towns, streets, communities, workplaces, families – not our human authority, but the authority of Christ. We acknowledge the calling, and we also acknowledge what comes with the calling: that we can’t wield authority without first coming under authority.

So, Lord, we ask: Holy Spirit, would You speak to each one of us as brothers in Christ? Would You reveal to us – search us, O God – for those of us who need to understand more of ourselves, to understand where we are weak to temptation, where we are inclined to evil desires? Holy Spirit, would You reveal it to us?

And for those of us who already know – who already know the challenging areas, the tempting areas, who already know what we are inclined toward in our human nature – would You strengthen us, O God? We pray for the protection of the Lord over these men: that they would be protected from temptation, shielded from inclinations toward evil desires. We pray for brotherly bonds to begin to form, and for those that already exist to strengthen even more – bonds of accountability, bonds of praying for one another. We pray for these to be strengthened, so that we may strengthen one another, build one another up, encourage one another, just as You’ve called us to do.

We pray for the times – and if you’ve got your hand on a brother’s shoulder, just give it a squeeze – we pray for the times where temptation comes anyway. We pray for the moments in time: the lonely place, the dark place, the edge of the temper. We pray for those moments where temptation comes – and it does. And we speak ahead of time the name of Jesus into those situations. I pray, Lord, that You would invade in that time, that these men would have the strength to call upon the name of Jesus in that moment.

Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Lord.

Amen.

Covenant Promises and Obedient Participation

I was trying to think this week how much we go into on a Sunday morning. I love going into things, explaining and exploring them, and then sharing them with you. But if we did that in full every Sunday, we’d go from having a 45-minute preach – which is still too long – to something even longer. So we can’t do that.

But I do need to briefly mention the covenants in the Old Testament.

Who’s heard the word “covenant” before? A covenant is basically an agreement between humanity and God. In the Old Testament there are five main covenants that we see.

We see the Creation covenant in Genesis 1 and 2.
We see the Abrahamic covenant established in Genesis 12–17.
We see the Mosaic covenant established in Exodus 19–24.
We see the Davidic covenant established in 2 Samuel 7.
And we see the Priestly covenant in Numbers 25.

Each one of these covenants between humanity and God holds this pattern of an unconditional promise and a conditional blessing.

Now we live under and experience the New Covenant. Who’s heard that phrase, “the New Covenant”? Humanity’s agreement with God in the New Covenant carries that same tension of unconditional promise and conditional blessing.

The unconditional promise is this: Jesus died and rose again, offering forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all who believe. Thank the Lord. Amen. But then there is conditional blessing: while salvation is a gift, there are certain blessings that flow from obedience to God.

Does that make sense? God saves by grace and blesses through obedience. That’s why God doesn’t want our partial obedience; He wants our full surrender.

It’s really important to understand that, while we are no longer under the Old Testament covenants, we are still under the New Covenant through Christ’s blood. And obedience is still a significant feature in the kingdom of God.

Loving Christ Through Obedient Devotion

Can I quote you? Can I give you some words of Jesus that are really challenging to me?

There are a few scary verses in Scripture, a few verses that make you question, “What does that fully mean? And am I properly at work in that?” This is one of them. John 14:15: Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Just let that rest for a minute and consider what that means.

Our obedience to the Lord’s commandments is not the foundation of His love for us; our love for the Lord is the foundation of our obedience. We don’t obey the Lord in order to be loved. We love the Lord, and out of that love flows obedience. Does that make sense?

In the Old Testament Scriptures, we often see this idea that our action comes first: if we are obedient, then we receive the blessings of the Lord. But Jesus shows us that if we love the Lord, then obedience flows out of that love. Are you with me this morning, Church? It’s a challenging verse, but we need to know that Christianity is not behavior modification. It’s not a set of rules and regulations handed down to us—“Tick these boxes, do this, this, this, and this, and then you’ll receive the blessings of the Lord.” That’s not what Jesus set out. That’s religion.

Instead, we have a relationship. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

Religion says, “Obey me and I’ll love you.” But Jesus says, “I loved you while you were still my enemy.” It’s out of that love that He has for us that we love Him, and therefore we want to and desire to keep His commandments. It’s not a condition we meet to earn His love. Our obedience to Christ is the outworking of our love for Christ. Does that make sense? So good.

I’m challenged. Are you challenged yet, Church?

We are called to obedience, and that’s what Christ calls us to. He says, “If you love me,” then the natural, logical outworking of that is that “you will keep my commandments.” There is an obedience that comes with love. But Christ doesn’t just set a standard that He Himself didn’t meet.

In Luke 22, Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, right before He is taken to be crucified—taken to Pilate, to Herod, back to Pilate, and then to the cross. He’s in the garden, it’s just Him, and He’s praying to His Father. He says, “Father, if it is your will, take this cup of suffering from me. However, not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus models in the crucifixion perfect, active obedience. Then we read in Philippians 2:8, “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross.” Christ is the ultimate example of obedience. He doesn’t call us to obedience without modeling it Himself; He Himself is the ultimately obedient person. Thank you, Lord, that we have that model.

We often focus on the death of Jesus. We focus on the crucifixion, the broken body, the spilt blood, and then the resurrection three days later—and that is right, because that is what secures our salvation. Amen. But before Jesus died for us, He lived for us. He lived the perfect life that we could never live. He was the one who kept the law to perfection. He was obedient not only in death, but in life as well. And every act of obedience that Jesus performed is credited to us through the cross. Thank you, Lord.

Adam failed. Adam and Eve failed in the garden when they took the fruit. Israel failed countless times in the wilderness as they were seeking the promised land. King Saul failed time and time again. David failed time and time again. I have failed time and time again. You have failed time and time again. We all fail every week. And yet Jesus obeys where everyone else fails—not partially, but completely. Every temptation, every command, Jesus keeps to perfection, and then demonstrates the ultimate act of obedience: first to the Father, then to death.

Isn’t this incredible? Jesus displayed and demonstrated full surrender so that you and I could learn and witness what it is to be, and to see, full surrender.

Every other religion, doctrine, ideology, value structure—whatever you want to look at that tackles this kind of issue—gives you a ladder to climb, things to do: salvation by works. But Jesus offers us a substitute. That is incredible. Thank you, Lord.

Now, who wants to be challenged even more? I use that word a lot. Who wants to be challenged even more? All right, I’m here for it. That’s what the kids say. They also say, “What’s the haps?” Have you heard that? It’s not relevant to the sermon, but they say, “Hey, what’s the haps?” I’m just so cool anyway.

The Subtle Whisper of Disobedience

Disobedience to the Lord often doesn’t start with open rebellion. It usually begins with a good intention to learn the Lord’s instruction and to obey it. But it comes in when we begin to compromise.

Scripture speaks into this as we become lenient, as we make excuses or give reasons for our actions that we think excuse us. These compromises start with a whisper.

There are a few scriptures that shine a light on our nature. I’m constantly challenged by this, because that’s what Scripture is written for: to challenge us so that we can become more and more like Christ. Amen?

In James 1:14–15, James writes, “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.”

Who thought they’d be hearing this on Father’s Day? You might have expected a message about how all fathers are great, we’re awesome, and we’re going to do even more great things. And that is true through the Lord. But we’re called to obedience.

I really believe that this message about obedience is a foundation for the authority of Christ that operates through us. Amen. We’ve got to get the foundation right. I’m so excited, because we’re called to do so much in the name of the Lord and for the Lord.

Most of the time we don’t set out to disobey, do we? We set out to be obedient and to avoid sin because of our love for Christ. That’s our aim, isn’t it?

James teaches us that sin comes from desire. There are things about our nature that we need to understand, because our understanding of our nature will shape how we live and where we go from here.

But I need to warn you: this is a bit uncomfortable. Is that okay? These truths are uncomfortable to hear because they challenge us and reveal the nature of who we are. It’s only by understanding this that we can figure out how, in Christ, to overcome it.

Our Inborn Inclination to Disobedience

But Genesis 8:21 says, “Every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.” I just need you to know that the Scripture is talking about you and me.

Psalm 51 says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

You might say, “Well, Dom, that’s Old Testament. We’re in the new covenant now.”

Paul writes in Romans 7:18–19, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”

These are challenging Scriptures, Church. They are really challenging because they cut to the very depth of who we are, of what it means to be human. Scripture reveals to us that we have a default proclivity, an inclination, toward sin—to be disobedient.

Genesis 3, the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, taking the fruit from the tree, outlines this really clearly—the nature of humanity. Eve took from the tree. Many of us know the story. She was tempted by the snake, tempted to take the fruit from the tree that God had said not to eat from. The snake comes and says, “Did God really say, ‘Don’t eat from the tree’?”

We often say that this is the moment in time, this account, where sin is introduced into the world. Except there’s a bit more to it than that, because sin—disobedience—was already present. Eve wasn’t the first one to sin. Satan was. Satan fell from heaven for his pride. Disobedience had already occurred by this point.

So Genesis 3 is not a revelation of sin’s origin story; it’s a depiction of the inclination of the human heart. Because all it took was a whisper of temptation. “Just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

I don’t wake up wanting to be prideful, but I like to be right.
I don’t wake up wanting to be greedy, but I like to keep control of my money.
I don’t wake up wanting to lust, but I like feeling desired.
I don’t wake up wanting to gossip, but I like to be the person with the information.

Something is revealed to us about our nature through Scripture, and it’s this: we don’t plan to drift from God. Disobedience is not our intention, but it is our inclination.

But we need to know—this is not an excuse we can ride out. It’s a valuable tool we can use. If we accept that, and we could reject it—you might be here this morning thinking, “No, I’m not evil by nature. I’m not sinful by nature. That’s not me.”

Okay. The Scripture begs to differ.

But for those of us who are willing to accept what the Scripture tells us about our nature, we can use this as a tool. This is valuable information, because now I know that my human condition gives me a natural inclination toward temptation, which allows me to be dragged away by my evil desires and causes me to sin.

Now I know that—and that is a really useful thing to know.

Discerning Sin, Desire, and God’s Will

If I do something with it, I don't want to sin. I love Jesus. And because I love Jesus, I want to obey Jesus. So what do I do about it? How do I overcome the disobedience that I’m inclined towards by my human nature and instead follow the example of the active obedience demonstrated by Christ?

I’ve got five points for you. This is what I’m trying to work towards.

The first is that we need to actually know the sin. That’d be a good start, wouldn’t it? To know the sin. Joshua 1:8 says, “Let this book of the law not depart from your mouths.” If I don’t know the will of God, how can I possibly hope to obey the will of God? Does that make sense?

So firstly, understanding what sin is: What is God’s will? What is God’s nature? Versus, what does God detest? What is against the nature and the will of God? That’s the first thing. Because if we don’t know what that is, then we haven’t even got a map, have we? We’re just flying blind.

Knowing the sin is really key, and that comes from the Scripture. God reveals his nature through his Word. Amen. That’s why the Lord says to Joshua, “Do not let this book of the law depart from your lips,” because it’s really important that we know what it is.

The second thing is that I need to learn my own inclinations. See, the Bible tells me that there is evil desire in my heart, and I am inclined to be tempted and to follow those evil desires. But it doesn’t actually tell me what they are. It doesn’t give me a personalised list of my temptations and evil desires, does it? Because it wasn’t written to me personally; it was written to us as followers of the Lord.

So it is incumbent on me to learn, specifically for me, what my own inclinations are. Am I inclined towards unrighteous anger? Am I inclined towards pride? Am I inclined towards sexual sin? Am I inclined towards greed? I need to know where my weaknesses are. I need to know where I am weak to temptation. I already know that I’m susceptible in general; now I need to know the specifics. Does that make sense, Church? Yeah, that makes sense.

This is an exercise that we all need to go on, of self-discovery. That can sound a bit “hippie” or “New Age,” but actually we do need to understand our own heart. And we can ask the Lord to reveal these things to us, can we not? “Lord, reveal to me…” In fact, isn’t it in a psalm where the psalmist prays, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts; see if there is any offensive way in me”? Psalm 139. Isn’t that amazing?

“Search me, O God” is a scary prayer, but it’s essential to understanding who we are so that we can have a deeper understanding of ourselves. It’s only through that that we can know our own inclinations and temptations.

The third one is really hard. This is going to be a struggle. It’s a struggle for me, it’ll be a struggle for you, it’s a struggle for all of us. And it’s this: to share my inclinations. Now, not with everybody. Don’t get up on a platform and say, “I am inclined towards pride.” It’s not an AA meeting. I wouldn’t recommend that as a thing to do.

But you and I, we need to develop relationships with people that we trust, do we not? People to whom we can hold ourselves to account. This only comes through trust, but we need accountability. We need prayer. We need our arms being held up in the battle.

And we can position it like this. I go to Steve and I say, “Steve, listen, I love Jesus. The Scripture tells me, and I know anyway, that if I love Jesus, then I will keep his commands. However, I also know that I have a natural, human-nature inclination to be tempted into greed. It’s something that I’m really trying to watch, something that I’m really trying to control through the Lord’s grace, but I know it’s my natural inclination to be tempted into greed. So, Steve, can you pray for me? Not just now, but can you pray for me in your own personal prayer time? Write me in your journal if you’ve got one. Can you pray that I will be kept from the temptation of greed?”

And then this is going to be even harder: “Steve, can you periodically, and out of the blue, ask me how I’m getting on with that? Can you ask me, ‘Dom, when was the last time you gave in to the temptation of greed?’ And if I try to skirt the question, press me on it.”

That’s how we can position it, because we are building one another up. We are encouraging one another in the faith. We’re not designed to do this alone.

Preparing the Heart for Temptation

The fourth thing is that we can call on Christ’s strength.

Praying ahead of time and having people praying for us is really important. It’s essential, because we are in a spiritual battle. Scripture tells us that what we battle is not flesh and blood, but powers and principalities in the spiritual realm. So praying in advance is crucial.

But who knows that the moment of temptation still comes anyway? If I asked for a show of hands, everyone’s hand should go up. The moment of temptation comes anyway. Temptation comes through situations. It comes through opportunity. It’s very rarely planned.

And it is in that moment of temptation that I need Jesus. In the moment of temptation, I need Jesus. Declaring the name of Jesus—even just speaking the name of Jesus out loud—matters, because even demons flee at the declaration of His name. So declare the name of Jesus and His authority over that temptation, over that situation, and call, right there in the moment, for the strength of Christ to become your strength.

The fifth thing is this, and this is really important for us: when we do fail—and I’m saying when, not if—when we fail, our surrender and our repentance draw us closer to Him.

James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” We are also called to repentance in a continuous manner. Acts 3 says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.”

Surrendering Authority to Christ Alone

Church, I want to encourage you that God is not demanding our perfection—certainly not in exchange for His love. But He is calling for our surrender, our repentance, and for us to return the ownership of our lives to Christ.

We’re just about coming in to land on this, but we’re going to pray, because I feel like that’s really important. We know, and we need to know, that we have agency over our own lives. We have free will, we have autonomy, we have the ability to choose. But we do not have authority over our own lives. We have agency, but we don’t have authority.

The Bible is clear. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6, “You are not your own, you were bought with a price.” It’s really hard—and we shouldn’t underestimate this—it’s really hard to live our lives with agency over our lives, but not authority over our lives. We’re not robots on a remote control who can’t possibly get stuff wrong. But we’re also not out here just making up our own rules, flying by the seat of our pants, and making it up as we go along.

Except, sometimes that is exactly where we find ourselves, isn’t it? Sometimes that is where we end up. And these are the areas where we can be tempted by our own evil desires, where we have taken authority from God, or where we’re particularly susceptible to those desires.

Why don’t you bow your heads, and we’re going to take a bit of time to ask the Lord: “Search me, O God.” Are there areas in your life where you’re susceptible to temptation? Perhaps in relationships, in marriage. Perhaps a habit. Finances. Addictions. Control. Pride. These are the things that we need to turn over to God, acknowledging that He has the ultimate authority, that we are not our own, that His ways are not our ways, that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

Because He held nothing back from us—not His comfort, not His reputation, not His body, not His blood, not His life. The One who gave everything for us now asks for everything from us.

We are not saved by our obedience; we are saved by Christ’s obedience. And that is a really, really good place to be. Because if it was down to my obedience, I’d be pretty stuffed. Those of us who have been saved by Christ’s obedience will increasingly desire to obey Him in every area of our lives—desiring not to be tempted by our own desires, but to seek His.

The Church’s Mission and Authority

I want to bring us back around to where we started and ask: what is the point? What is the purpose? Why would we bother?

Church, the reason is this. We talk about this fairly regularly because it’s so important and so true. The purpose of the church of Jesus Christ is to go into all the world and make disciples. To go into all the world preaching the gospel. To go into all the world baptising in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

It’s our calling to take authority in our communities—not in a militaristic way or anything like that—but in a way that is influential. We’re called to influence society for good, to influence society ultimately towards Jesus, so that more may know His grace and love, so that more may accept Him as Lord and Saviour.

We’re also called to take authority in our families, in our workplaces—not our own authority, but the authority that comes from Jesus, the One who has all authority.

But you and I can’t go around trying to carry authority if we ourselves don’t sit under authority. Otherwise, we’re just out there being rogue, and that’s not helpful for anybody. In order to do what we’re called to do, there is a submission that’s required—a submission to authority.

Praying for Brothers in Christ

Since it is Father’s Day, I think we should pray for the men in our church—our brothers in Christ.

You need to know the person you’re standing next to is struggling with something. You just are, because they’re human. And we’ve read plenty of Scripture this morning that reveals God’s view of the nature of humanity. That’s your brother who’s standing next to you. The Scripture was written about them as much as it was written about you.

So we’re going to pray for one another. And we’re going to pray in this vein: that Christ has called each one of you to take authority—to take Christ’s authority—out from this place and into the world, demonstrating the love of Christ for all people. You are called to have authority over situations, circumstances, health crises, relational challenges; speaking the light and life of Christ is what you are called to do.

You’re called to lead families. You’re called to lead in workplaces. You’re called to lead wherever you find yourself. You’re called to lead yourself. You are called for authority, and you are called first to come under authority.

So we’re going to pray.

Lord, we thank you. We thank you that you are the ultimate demonstration of active obedience. Jesus, that you are the one who kept the law, that you are the one who lived the perfect life—the life that we were originally called to live, but ultimately can’t. And so we thank you, Lord, that you lived the perfect life on our behalf. We thank you, Lord, that every act of your obedience is credited to us through the cross.

We thank you, Lord, that we don’t need to burden ourselves and worry about our salvation through being good enough, through being obedient enough, because you have already dealt with that. We thank you, Lord, for the salvation that we receive by your obedience and your blood. We thank you, Lord.

And Lord, we acknowledge the call that you have placed on your church to go, to preach your word, to take authority in our towns, streets, communities, workplaces, and families. Not our human authority, but the authority of Christ. We acknowledge the calling, and we also acknowledge what comes with the calling: that we can’t wield authority without first coming under authority.

And so, Lord, we ask: Holy Spirit, would you speak to each one of us as brothers in Christ? Would you reveal to us—search us, O God—those of us who need to understand more of ourselves, who need to understand where we are weak to temptation, where we are inclined to evil desires? Holy Spirit, would you reveal it to us?

And for those of us in this place who already know—who already know the challenge areas, who already know the tempting areas, who already know what we are inclined towards in our human nature—would you strengthen us, O God? Would you strengthen us?

We pray for the protection of the Lord over these men, that they would be protected from temptation, that they would be shielded from inclination towards evil desires. We pray for brotherly bonds to begin to form, and for those that are already there to strengthen even more—those bonds of accountability, those bonds of praying for one another. We pray for these to be strengthened so that we may strengthen one another, build one another up, encourage one another, just as you have called us to do.

And we pray, Lord, for the times—now, if you’ve got your hand on a brother’s shoulder, just squeeze it—we pray for the times where the temptation comes anyway. We pray for the moments in time: the lonesome place, perhaps the dark place, perhaps the edge of the temper. We pray for those times where the temptation comes, and it does. And we speak ahead; we speak the name of Jesus into those situations.

And I pray, Lord, that you would invade in that time—right in that moment—and that these men would have the strength to call upon the name of Jesus in that time.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord.

Amen. Amen.