David Zempel: Everybody tired? I was out there watching you pull on that inner tube, and I was thinking, oh, how I wish I was an inner tube. It's probably not true.

And then I thought, oh, how I wish I was young again. That is true. I'd have been out there with the best of you.

But I can say anything I want to, because you would have no idea. I grew up on a farm, and man, did I have muscles. That's back when we baled hay the real way.

You actually had to handle the bales. You didn't just let them dump on the ground and pick them up with a forklift. You had to actually haul them and put them in the hay mow.

And like I said last year, or last night, that was about 14 years ago, so things have changed a lot since then. I'm in 1 Samuel chapter 15. I hope that you can focus.

I always feel sorry for the people that have to sit over on the side because nobody ever preaches to you over here. So maybe I'll just stand over here and talk to you. Doing well?

Good. You were until I came over here. 1 Samuel chapter 15, I want to say a couple of things to you that may or may not make sense to you.

But I have preached to students and teens for over 40 years. And for the last 20, 30 years, when I preach to young people, I am really targeting the ones that want to do right.

I understand we're all at different places in our life, and there may be somebody in here, you've got your heels dug in so deep, so hard, not going to matter what anybody says, except by the grace of God, the Spirit of God gets a hold of you, you're not going to move, you're not going to budge, it's not going to happen. You came for whatever reason. Parents made you come, the youth pastor got you to come.

Somebody told you it was going to be fun, and it is. But you're really not interested in the spiritual perspective. That's okay.

I know God's bigger than you are. He can get to you.

but I'm really targeting in this message the young people that basically from your pastor's perspective your parents as best they know you you're not perfect you know that, they know that but you do want to serve God you do have a desire to do something that would matter in your youth group that would matter not only in your life but in other people's lives and you honestly have that desire that God would use you in some regard and that you would, at least in some

sense, honor Him.

But I want to talk about a serious sin. I know Dr. Jim talked about bitterness.

Brother Matt Weber challenged you in a couple of matters. What were they this morning? One was honesty.

What was the other one? Responsibility. taking responsibility for your own actions, being honest about your sin.

Dr. Jim talked to you about bitterness. I'm going to talk to you about a sin that somehow seems to sneak up on young people in a way where they kind of look around them and they think this isn't that big a deal.

It's really not that big a deal. I know I've got the problem, but it's not that big a deal. And I'm talking about the sin of disobedience.

Simple disobedience. Hey, everybody disobeys, right? And a whole lot of times our parents talk to us and we might sort of do what they tell us to do, but we don't really obey.

The teacher gives an assignment, but we don't carry through and get the assignment done. It's technically disobedience. There's certain rules at the school that you attend.

It doesn't matter if it's a public school, a private school, a home school. There's certain expectations, and you don't do them. And quite frankly, neither does anybody else.

It's not a big deal. It's kind of the way teenagers live. I came home.

I grew up on a dairy farm in central Wisconsin, the town of Wapaka, in case any of you know, that area up there. I came home from school and we did the same thing we always did.

We'd go up, change out of our school clothes, get into the work clothes, go out to the barn, get things ready to do, the chores to milk the cows, come in, eat supper, go back out, milk the cows, come in, do a little bit of schoolwork, go to bed, get up the next morning, do it all over again. One day I came home from school and there were some fresh baked cookies on the counter. And I knew my mother's desire.

You eat cookies after you eat your supper.

they're not a snack I could have had a peanut butter jelly sandwich I could have had some other things but not cookies but they were sitting right there now if they'd been oatmeal raisin it wouldn't have bothered me I'd have gone up and changed my clothes and gone out and done the chores I wouldn't have even been interested but these were chocolate chip with nuts in them and they looked good and they smelled better looked at them went up changed my clothes came back down

and looked at them again that was a mistake neatly arranged on the tray i think there were four cookies in a row may have been five and then three across so either there were 12 or 15 i don't remember exactly but i finally gave in and i took a cookie and if i put it back i could have put it back and things would have looked okay but i actually ate it.

Then I got thinking, that's pretty obvious. There's this cookie missing in this neatly arranged tray of cookies, and I started rearranging the cookies, trying to make it look like there wasn't anything missing. It didn't work.

No matter how I put them, they just didn't look right. I had disobeyed. Even though my mother hadn't said a word.

And it seems like there is something in young people and maybe in us adults as well that we kind of have in our culture today this idea if I disobey and nobody notices, it's not that big a deal. If I disobey and I get away with it, it's not that big a deal. We kind of get this sense the only time it's a problem is if I disobey and I get a whooping for it.

Then it's a problem. No disobedience is a problem whether you ever get caught or not.

it's a big deal now I'm looking at 1 Samuel chapter 15 and I don't want to take a lot of time with it because Pastor Weber said a lot of things that I maybe would have said and gave a lot of the illustrations I maybe would have given as he preached from Psalm 51 but I want to approach this passage in this way I want to give you six facts about this passage six facts that are just plain true then I'm going to come back

and actually preach the message and show you what happens in this matter of disobedience and where it takes us.

Let's bow our heads before the Lord, ask Him to speak to our hearts, and then we'll look at God's Word. Father, these young people have heard a lot today. They've enjoyed a lot.

They might in some sense be on information overload. Some of them may just want to get through the session and get on with the day, get to supper, whatever. But Father, by the grace of your Spirit, by the power of your Word, I pray that young people would be attentive.

I pray that they would hear what you have for them, even if there's one here that doesn't want to, that somehow, by your grace and the ministry of your Spirit, they'd be drawn into the message. But Lord, I pray with all sincerity, as I already expressed, that the young people here that want to do right, they want to be right, they want to live right, they want your power on their life, They want to make a difference in this world.

They want to make a difference in their youth group. They want to make a difference in their church, their school. They want their lives to count.

I pray, Father, for those young people specifically, that you would help them see that disobedience is a big deal. And I pray that you would work in their heart in such a way that they would be willing to deal with it. Even today, not only the disobedience specifically, but the attitude that tends to take them there.

In Christ's name I pray. Amen. Six facts.

Number one, the command was clear. We are talking about Saul. Was referred to in the first session this morning.

Samuel told him to go destroy Amalek. And we know that the command was clear because as we look at chapter 15, verses 1, 2, and 3, as that command was given, Saul, in verse 6, said to the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. Very clear, very obvious that Saul knew what he was supposed to do.

And I state to you this afternoon that there are things in your life, it's not open for debate, I'm not discussing, I'm not asking, I'm telling you there are things in your life that you know you're supposed to do that you're not doing. It's that simple. It's clear to you.

You know that you're not doing something that God wants you to do or something that your parents want you to do. Or on the other hand, you're failing to do something you've been told to do. but you refuse to do it.

I don't know if I said that right, but sometimes we do things we know we're not supposed to do and sometimes we don't do things we know we are supposed to do. I knew I wasn't supposed to eat the cookies. I didn't mean my mother there telling me.

She was out of the house. That's why I was tempted. Quite frankly, the things we do in our bedroom and the things that we do with our friends and the things that we say when our parents aren't around.

We know good and well that we're doing and saying and being what we're not supposed to be. It's clear to us, we know. Saul knew that he was told to utterly destroy the Amalekites.

Secondly, I notice that we often come up with what we think is a better idea. In verse 9, But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fatlings and the lambs and all that was good and would not utterly destroy them. They would not utterly destroy them.

He was told to utterly destroy them. Verse 3, utterly destroy all that they have and spare them not. But Saul would not utterly destroy them, but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

Saul said, I've got a better idea. Did you guys knock this over so I can't walk over here and preach to you? What's up with that?

Man. Some kids. Well, there.

I can get back over here. We know the story probably. Saul and the people decided that they would offer sacrifice, that which was good.

They thought, this is a better idea. We'll take these good sheep, these good ox, and we'll offer them to God as a sacrifice. I think I might need a drink.

Sometimes happens to us old people when we're preaching. We have a better idea. Sometimes when we disobey, it's not necessarily even this disposition of a really bad attitude toward our parents.

And I'll tell you, I knew I hired you for some reason. Remind me to pay you afterward. Yeah, that's good.

I'm going to hold this one. If I put it with my Bible, I'll just dump it on my Bible and then we'll have a problem. Quite frankly, young people, we find ways to justify.

That's all we're saying. We find ways to justify what we know is wrong. I'm going to save the illustrations.

I was thinking about a couple of things. But Saul spared the leader of the gang, so to speak, the king, and the best of the animals. Thirdly, in verse 15, we reveal that we have a dishonest heart.

We hear a clear command. We think we've got a better idea. We think there's a reason that it's okay for me to dress the way I'm dressing or to say the things that I'm saying or go the places that I'm going or have my friend call their mother and say that they're going to be with me and I call my mother and say I'm going to be with them.

and we go off and do something that we shouldn't. We just think we've got a better idea. Disobedience is never a better idea, no matter what it is we're doing.

We reveal a dishonest heart in verse 13. And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord, I have performed the commandment of the Lord. Had he?

Had he? Anybody awake? is the mic on?

Did he perform the commandment of the Lord? Did he destroy all? Did he utterly destroy all?

No. If you tell your parents you have the homework done and you've got two problems that aren't done, is it done? No.

It's not that hard. It's not rocket science. And so he had a dishonest heart.

I have performed the commandment of the Lord. In verse 20, Saul again says that he obeyed. And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me.

Baloney! That's a German term for hogwash. And hogwash is a farm term for nonsense.

He hadn't done it. So simple facts. There was a clear command.

He thought he had a better idea. He had a dishonest heart. And then, of course, he had a good excuse.

I'm going to do something spiritual. Saul said in verse 15, they have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God.

How can you possibly argue with this spiritual desire that I have? I'm going to worship God. But, Mom, I didn't go home because I went to church and went with the youth group.

It's still disobedience if she told you to come home. I have a better idea. I've got a good excuse.

But it all comes from a dishonest heart. We also end up with a distorted view of self. In verse 17, Saul said, When thou wert little in thine own sight, was thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel?

Now I am going to park here for just a minute because you are at that age. I want those of you that are 14, 15 years old, just raise your hand. It's okay.

I'm not going to pick on you that badly. And that may not be the exact age anymore because it seems like these things kind of shift down to a younger age. But especially you young men, I'm not mad at you.

I'm going to get a little bit passionate here. I'm not mad at you. But somewhere around 13, 14 years old, you think your mother is the dumbest thing that ever walked the face of the earth.

And I'm telling you, you are wrong. You get an elevated view of yourself. God is creating you, and He has designed you to be a leader, and He's designed you to make decisions on your own.

He's designed you to think through things and to make choices, and yet He still left you under authority. You have no right.

you listen to me you have no right to talk to your mother the way you've been talking to her now it's not every one of you guys but there's a whole lot of you you get about that age and you get a little bit too big my mother had the term you're too big for your britches and my daddy made sure that I adjusted my attitude when that happened your mother is always your mother she deserves your respect you ought to honor her you ought

to show her your respect with the attitude with the words you speak the way you walk away from her the way you shut the door the way that you handle yourself around her she is your mother have some respect for her some of you ladies you're not free from what I just preached either we get this attitude we roll our eyes we have that way we turn our head we have that way we suck air through our teeth and we communicate very clearly and very

simply mom, dad you don't know what you're talking about get with it I'm an adult if you're an adult you'll respect your mom and dad Sam said Saul you're getting too big for your britches you got a distorted view of yourself but here's where we then begin to do the preaching number six I'm going to review them with you just so that you have it in your head we said first of all we know the command we know what we're told to do we know

what's right we know what's wrong but we think we have a better idea we think we have one up on our parents and sometimes one up on God we reveal a dishonest heart as we begin to lie and deceive and misrepresent what we have done where we have been I love it when parents say where have you been?

nowhere what have you been doing? nothing yeah right Dishonest heart, a good excuse. Distorted view of self.

But number six, bottom line, we've committed a serious, serious sin. In verses 19 and then 22, Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but did fly upon the spoiled, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord. Young people, disobedience is serious sin.

It's evil. If that doesn't convince you, verse 22 in Samuel said, hath the Lord his great delight and burnt offering the sacrifice as in obeying the voice of the Lord. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams.

He's saying it's better to do what God's told you to do than conjure up in your mind that somehow you're going to use your disobedience to honor God. It's not going to happen. You cannot honor God with disobedience.

You can't worship Him with disobedience. It's an impossibility. And so he states very clearly in verse 23, for rebellion.

Now listen, we're talking about disobedience. And so is God. He said for rebellion.

For rebellion. Disobedience is rebellion. Your disobedience, young person, is rebellion.

It doesn't matter if it's disobedience toward a teacher, toward your pastor, toward your parents, or somebody else in authority. Disobedience is rebellion. And we need to be honest with what God says about it.

We say, well, I just did what everybody else does. No, it's rebellion. Disobedience is rebellion.

It says, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Ouch. I can't imagine any young person in here unless you've just really been drugging into a depth of folly and blind stubbornness about what God says, but I can't imagine anybody in here saying, I believe that getting involved in witchcraft honors God.

Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. It's pretty serious. Rebellion is resisting authority or control often openly.

It's defiance. It's that person that not just disobeys, but then looks to see if others are noticing that they disobeyed. Seeing what kind of response you can get from your friends with what you just did in the classroom.

Seeing what response you get from your siblings when you just spoke to your mother or your father that way. It is defiance! God says it's like the sin of witchcraft.

God's not impressed. And one of the most troubling things, and I see it more often than I would like to, is when somebody disobeys and then they laugh. And just as concerning to me is the person that disobeys and then you laugh at them.

It's not funny. This is serious. God says it's like the sin of witchcraft.

And then he goes on, as if that weren't enough, and says, Stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Stubbornness, the word means to push. The idea is resistance to authority or instruction.

It's insolence, it's rude, it's arrogant, it's lack of respect. He says it's like idolatry. Now, I'm not a real phenomenal Bible scholar.

I'm just a practical farm boy, but there are certain things that make sense to me. If God says that my disobedience is stubbornness and that's idolatry, what He's basically saying is you have established yourself. Do not miss this.

You have established yourself as God. You have established yourself as more important than any authority that God Almighty has put in your life. You have said, I know more than God knows.

I will do what I want to do. I don't care what God says. I don't care what my parents say.

I don't care what the youth pastor preaches. I don't care what these guys at this youth rally preach. I don't care.

I'm going to do what I want to do. It is stubbornness. And it's idolatry.

That's a serious sin. You're putting yourself in the stead of God. And you're saying, I know better than God knows.

In reference to the choices I'm making in life.

now young people that's the introduction now we don't need to take a long time on what I consider the message but what's really happened here and we're actually saying the same things over except I'm going to summarize it with three words that begin with D it starts with disobedience what we just talked about and many of you live here you start with a spirit of disobedience you decide the little things don't matter you decide the little instructions your parents don't matter those of you that

have a driver's license you get permission for the night to use your dad's car and he says I don't want you to break the speed limit and I want you home at such and such a time and you decide to break the speed limit you say what's the big deal even if your dad does if he asked you not to it's disobedience are you listening to God today it's disobedience and we think that it's just not a big deal and we get home five minutes

after 11 and he wanted us home at 11 o'clock it's disobedience and we can give all kinds of illustrations of the little ways that we fudge the absolutes that somebody has set up for.

Some of you attend a Christian school and there are certain rules as far as skirt lengths and dresses that you can wear and can't wear and tops that you can wear and can't wear and the type of slacks, guys, that you can wear and the type of shirts you can wear and not wear and you just fudge on it a little bit. It's disobedience. It is stubbornness.

And it's like witchcraft. And it doesn't matter if it's your hair. It doesn't matter if it's your makeup.

It doesn't matter if they've got standards in reference to jewelry. Good night, guys come to school sometimes with more jewelry than the girls have in their wardrobe. Oh boy, shouldn't have said that one.

Some of you do, don't you? Well, okay. Move on.

It doesn't matter what it is. You say, well, it's a stupid rule.

I went to college may be hard to tell but I went to college and the college I went to was pretty strict in its day and one of the things we had to do is we had to sign out of the dorm when we left the dorm we had to sign out and say where we were going and that sign out was at the door of the dorm and that dorm I don't remember how many students it held but quite a few and sometimes the

line would get backed up and it was because of this.

Kids would stand there and say, I'm 18 years old, I'm an adult. Why do I have to sign out of the dorm? Well, when I went to college, I was only 17.

I'd say, excuse me, I'm only 17. I need to sign out. I don't care how stupid you think the rule is.

If you're there, you have a responsibility to honor the authority God's put you under. It's a done deal. So, disobedience, it's a big problem.

So disobedience is basically rejecting the instruction. Disobedience is defying my authority. Disobedience is ignoring those that God has put me under.

It's a big deal. Has it ever occurred to you young people that if the only time you had to obey authority is when you agreed with them, you wouldn't need authority?

the whole point of authority is to direct you and to govern you when you don't agree with them nobody's going to agree with their authority all the time and since we live in a world with human beings nobody has perfect authority your authority is going to be fallible your authority is going to make mistakes your authority is going to be just point blank wrong sometimes and God still calls it disobedience and it's a problem for you so we got to deal with the fact that

disobedience is a big deal so disobedience then leads to deceit I have performed the commandment of the Lord and I think this is part of the reason that disobedience becomes such a big deal with young people because your parents as we said ask you, where have you been?

Nowhere. What have you done? Nothing.

Who were you talking to? Nobody. Who did you text?

I didn't. It leads to lying. I was talking about this in my high school Bible class.

I've taught high school Bible class in our Christian schools for the last 40 plus years. And I was talking about this matter of disobedience and being dishonest that, leading to dishonesty, and just finding ways to cover up for what we've done. And all the while I'm teaching that lesson, there was a student in the class, he was a good kid, but he just chattering that day.

Couldn't keep his mouth shut. Every few seconds he was whispering, he was saying something. And I don't think he was saying anything to make fun of me or anything like that.

That wasn't the point. He was just talking. He had too much honey nut Cheerios or something, I don't know, but he had something in him that morning, and he just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Tried to catch his eye and stare him down, give him that teacher look, and he just kept talking, kept talking. I finally called him by name. I said, this wasn't his real name, but I said, Bob, would you stop talking?

What was the very next thing he said? What was the next thing he said? I wasn't talking.

I said, what did you just do? He said, I lied to you. At least he was honest at that point.

It is such a natural response for young people to lie. And a lot of that lying is a direct result of being disobedient. Not doing what we know we were told to do.

Not accepting the instruction that we were given and we end up lying. Saul did. I didn't hear you.

I didn't know that's what you meant. I didn't know how to do it. Man, that was too hard.

I used to tell my kids, if you're convinced it's too hard to do it, it's a sure thing you won't do it. I tell them that because that's what my dad told me all the time. He said, it's a sure thing if you think it's too hard to do, you're not going to be able to.

It's not because it's too hard, it's just because we don't want to do it. But here's the thing that really gets me from this story. There was disobedience that led to deceit, just that natural response.

I did do everything that God told me to do. Yes, I did. Yes, I did.

Yes, I did. But that disobedience leading to deceit ends up with disrespect. Do you know what you're doing?

did Saul know what he was doing when Samuel said you haven't done what God told you to do and he said yes I have here a liar I want you to get it this big deal here a liar is calling the prophet of God a liar. And that is what you're doing with your parents. And that's what you're doing a lot of times with your teachers and your pastors and your youth pastors.

They confront you with some area of disobedience. You lie about it and you basically in the end say that you're the one, sir, that's lying. You're talking to somebody that God has appointed to be in your, is a safeguard for you, a person you.

But you're calling him a liar. He disagreed with Samuel. Samuel said, hogwash, you did not do what God told you to do.

I hear the sheep bleeding. That's a word, not bleeding, bleating. I hear the sheep.

I hear the cattle mooing, lowing. And I see this guy standing here. I know he's an Amalekite.

You did not do what God told you to do. Oh, yes, I have to. Samuel, you must be confused.

I did everything I was told to do. So he starts arguing. A lot of conflict would be eliminated in your home if you'd quit lying to your parents.

Start obeying them. Because you wouldn't have to argue about the things that they told you you didn't do that you were supposed to do. He not only disagreed, he argued, but then he blamed others.

That was covered thoroughly this morning. I won't belabor it. It's always somebody else's fault.

Always somebody else's fault. No, you disobey. And then he resisted.

And I don't know why this gets me every time I look at it. But I want you to notice it, and maybe it bothers you, maybe it doesn't bother you. But in verse 27, start with verse 26.

Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee. He said, I feared the people, I've obeyed their voice. Now therefore I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.

I'm going to come back to that in a minute, but Samuel said, I will not return with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle and rent it. I don't know what you think about that.

But here's a man of God, here's a prophet of God, Here's a guy that has the power of God in his life. And this man Saul that has been appointed to be king refuses to acknowledge his sin before God. He refuses to acknowledge his stubbornness, his spirit of witchcraft, his attitude that he's God and nobody can tell him what to do.

And the man of God who's been put there to point out to him his error, he grabs a hold of him. I want you to do what I want you to do. I'm going to say to young people, and I hope it makes impact, you might not tear your dad's shirt or trousers, but you'll tear his heart.

Be at home at night weeping. Your mama will be at home at night weeping because your disobedience will lead you to serious consequences. I don't know what got into me, but our youth group would go out on Sunday night after church.

Somebody in the church, an adult couple would invite us to their home, and we'd go there, have pizza, hang out, have a good time, head on home. One night we were having a good time. I knew what time my dad wanted me to be home on a Sunday night.

We were having a good time, and I just lost track of the time, and I knew, I mean, here I am lying to you right now, I knew it was later than it should be. I had almost a half an hour to drive home that night. It got later and later, and at some point I got beyond that time that I should have already been home.

I don't know what was wrong with me. I just didn't care, I guess. I don't remember exactly what time I got home, but I got in the car and I'm moving like crazy through deer-infested country, around the curves, driving with my brights on as much as I could, watching for the bright eyes in the ditch that were about to jump out in front of me.

I made it home safely. Came in the back door hoping my parents weren't here, and my mother came out of the bedroom, and she said, David, did you see your dad? First of all, I didn't want to see my mother.

I said, no, why? She said, he's out looking for you. I'm sure you were smashed up against a tree somewhere.

Here's the thing. I was pretty much an obedient child.

and that one time I came home late they could not think of any other possible explanation than I'd had a bad accident got hurt bad enough that I couldn't even get help of course that was before cell phones and all that I quickly went to bed but unfortunately my dad's car came home just shortly later he had actually met me on the highway and recognized me I didn't recognize him I was just watching for deer turned around and got home and put his car in

the garage and came in and sat on the bed beside me.

I didn't want him in my bedroom that night. My dad had a temper. It's just the way it was.

And he knew how to tan your hide when your hide needed to be tanned. And I just wanted to get it over with. And he sat there beside me in the bed and he said, Are you all right?

I said yeah I'm fine he said what happened I said I just laid his voice was breaking he said I was so worried and he got up and walked out of the bedroom I wish he had whipped me I wish he had whipped me I had broken his heart and I knew that I'd been wrong and all he did is got up and walked out and went to bed. I'm telling you, young people, you need to deal with disobedience.

He resisted the very person God put in his life to protect him, and he was proud. He said in verses 29 and 30, he said, The strength of Israel will not lie nor repent, for he is not a man that he should repent. Samuel talking to him, then he, Saul, said to Samuel, I have sinned.

Finally, I have sinned, but notice this lack of true repentance. Yet honor me now. I pray thee before the elders of my people and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.

I have sinned, but please still make me look good in front of my friends. Young people, you've heard it over and over. You've heard it from the testimony.

today. You may be willing to deal with your sin, but only if you can somehow come out looking good. God just wants you to humble yourself.

Let him break your heart over this thing that seems like it's not that big a deal, but it's disobedience. It is witchcraft. It is stubbornness.

It is a resisting. It's a pushing. It's idolatry.

It's you putting yourself in the place of God, and no person's going to get away with that. No person. And you need to come to the place where you say, I don't care what anybody thinks.

I don't care what anybody says. I'm getting right about this matter of disobedience. It's a big deal.

It's a problem. And it's a problem in my life. My dad's not perfect.

My mother seems like she's insane at times, but they are my parents, and I will from this day forward begin to respect them and honor them.

And when it comes to my preacher, and it comes to my Christian school, and it comes to my public school, and it comes to those situations where somebody else is telling me what to do, I'm going to understand that it is God working in my life to instill character in me and make me the person that I ought to be, and He is trying to protect me. And the moment I disobey, I am putting myself in a place where his judgment will come upon me.

Are you ready to deal with your disobedience? Are you ready to let God get a hold of your heart? Are you ready to be honest with the fact that your disobedience has no excuses at all?

You are committing sin like witchcraft, and you are stubborn, which is the same as idolatry to God. Bow your heads before him. Now I said, and I meant it with all my heart, I was preaching to the good kids because there's not a young person in here, likely not a young person in here that's obedient as you ought to be.

You find excuses you justify disregarding the authority God's placed in your life. I'm not just asking you're going to try to do better.

I'm asking you if you're going to go to the people that you consistently disrespect and dishonor with your disobedience whether they know you do or don't know you do are you willing to go home from this youth conference and look your mother in the eye young man look your daddy in the eye acknowledge to your parents I have been disobedient and God has dealt with me and by God's grace I'm going to honor you as I ought to.

For some of you, that might be a school teacher. Could be a boss at work. Could be a pastor, a youth pastor.

But I have not shown honor. I've talked behind your back. I've stirred up other kids against you.

I've stirred up my siblings against you. And it's wrong. It's serious.

And I want to make it right with God. That's your heart. I'm going to ask you to do two things.

First of all, I'm going to ask you to sit back up. Don't sit way over with your head down between your knees. Just sit up.

Put your backs against the seat. I'm going to ask you, with your heads bowed before your Lord and your eyes closed, has God spoken to you about this matter of disobedience? Are you ready to deal with it?

say yes I've got somebody I need to talk to I need an attitude adjustment I'm asking God for his grace pleading his forgiveness humbling myself before him that his grace might be available and I want you to pray for me I want you to pray with me there's some here like that this afternoon see disobedience is an issue and I'm asking God to help me with it would you slip your hand up before the Lord many just hold them up for a second others that

would join these now you're not just saying I'm going to try to do better you're saying I'm going to deal with this in a way where I talk to the person acknowledge my sin ask for their forgiveness and seek to show respect and honor are there others that would join these father I ask that you would show your grace and mercy to these that have raised their hands before you lord as we come to the invitation time this evening with the evening session I pray

that they would respond to any of the messages that they've heard today whether it was this morning or the message of bitterness this afternoon or some workshop session or the message here this afternoon on disobedience.

God, would you stir in the hearts of these young people a real passion to see and to know your forgiveness and thus your power poured out upon their life. God, would you help young people to deal thoroughly and honestly with this matter of disobedience, I pray. In Christ's name, amen.