Are You Being Disobedient to God?

What if the problem isn't that God is silent? What if he already spoke?And what if the frustration you're feeling, that confusion, that lack of peace and that constant inner tension you've been feeling is not because God abandoned you, but because you've been resisting what he already told you to do? Now, that's not an easy question. It's certainly not a comfortable question, but it is a necessary one.Because a lot of believers today are asking God for a breakthrough, asking God for clarity, asking God for peace, asking God for a fresh word while completely ignoring the last word he already gave them. So today I want to lovingly, honestly, and biblically ask you this. Are you being disobedient to God? Yeah, you heard me right.Are you being disobedient to God? Now, I'm not saying that to condemn you, certainly not trying to embarrass you.And I don't want you to feel like there's no hope, but to help uncover the thing that may be standing between you and freedom, between peace and really that deep intimacy with God that your soul is so desperate for. I want you to stay with me today. Because if the Holy Spirit puts his finger on something today, this message is not about pushing away from God.It's actually about bringing you back.Hello, I'm Ralph Estep Jr. And this is the place where every week we strip away confusion, we confront those cultural lies, and we center ourselves back on the truth of God's word. And today's episode is for the person who deeply loves God, who wants to do the right thing, who wants to grow.But deep down, you know there's this area of your life where you've been resisting him. Maybe you've delayed. Maybe you've excused it. Maybe you dressed it up in a spiritual language. Maybe you've called it timing or processing.Maybe you've called it I'm praying about it. When the truth is, God already made this crystal clear.And now you're wrestling with the consequences of holding on to something he told you to release. Are you avoiding something he told you to do? So let's go there today. Because healing begins with honesty. Freedom begins with repentance.And obedience opens the door to peace. Friends, we live in a culture that teaches self rule. We talked about this last week.Do what feels right, follow your heart, protect your comfort, live your truth, set your own boundaries, define your own moral reality and answer for yourself. That is the spirit of this age we're living in. But the kingdom of God doesn't run on self will. It runs on surrender.And one of the greatest deceptions in modern Christianity is this idea that you can call Jesus Lord without actually letting him lead. You can sing the songs, you can post the verses. You can go to church.You can talk about purpose, you can talk about favor, talk about being blessed, and still be actively resisting what God is requiring of you. That's why Jesus said it. Look at Luke, chapter 6, verse 46. He says, why do you call me Lord, Lord? And do not do what I tell you.And trust me, I hear that verse cuts deep because it exposes a contradiction. If he is Lord, then I don't get the final authority. If he is Lord, my feelings don't outrank his truth.If he is Lord, my preferences don't get the last word. And if he is Lord, obedience matters. And this is where so many people get uncomfortable.Because we all want that comfort of God without the correction of God. We want his promises, but we sure don't want his pruning. We want all his blessings, but we don't want to accept his boundaries.We want the benefit of relationship without the responsibilities of surrender. But love and obedience are tied throughout Scripture. I'm going to get right into that today.Jesus said In John, chapter 14, verse 15, he said, if you love me, keep my commandments. Now, I'm not saying that because obedience earns his love, but obedience reveals trust. And I want to say something important right here.Disobedience is not the only big, obvious scandalous sin people preach about. Disobedience can be subtle. I've seen it polished. I've seen it look spiritual. It can be worn in those church clothes on Sunday.It sits right in the sanctuary. Hey, it even holds the microphone sometimes. It leads ministries all over the world.And it can smile on the outside while still resisting God on the inside. Let's look at Saul. We're going to look at 1st Samuel, chapter 15. God gave Saul a very clear instruction. But Saul didn't choose that.Saul chose partial obedience. He did some of what God said, but not all of it. And then when Samuel confronted him, Saul tried to make it sound spiritual.It's what he essentially said. He said, I kept some things back for sacrifice. But Samuel answered with one of the strongest truths in Scripture. Obedience is better than sacrifice.And I want to say that again because we really need to park here for a second. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Let me break it down for you in simple terms.God isn't impressed when we try to substitute religious activity for surrender. He's not looking for performance. He's asking for obedience. He's not looking for excuses.He isn't asking for your spin on the matter, he's asking for your yes. One of my favorite gospel songs is I Choose to say yes, I'll just say yes. But then James goes even farther. Look at James 4:17.It says, if anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do is sin, you can't get much clearer than that. If you know the good you ought to do and you don't do it if you're disobedient, what is Scripture telling us? It is sin.And that means disobedience is not only doing what is wrong, it's also refusing to do what is right when God has already made it clear. And I want to make this plain. If God told you to forgive, now I'm getting ready to step on some toes.But if God told you to forgive and you refuse to do that, that matters. If God told you to stop compromising and you keep entertaining it, that matters.If God told you to let go of a relationship that is pulling you away from him and you keep holding on, that matters.If God told you to apologize, if he told you to be honest, if he told you to serve, to step out, to stop hiding, to stop feeding that secret sin, to stop numbing yourself, to stop living double minded and you don't do it, that matters. And many times the issue isn't that we need more revelation. He's already told us. The issue is we haven't obeyed the revelation he's already given us.But I want to go a little deeper into this. One of my main contentions here is disobedience often begins as delay. Most people don't wake up one day and say, I'm gonna rebel against God.I don't know anybody that says, and I'm just today, I'm gonna rebel against God. That's not usually how it starts. Is starts smaller. It starts with that delay, that hesitation, that negotiation.You say to yourself now, lord, not yet. Maybe you know, I know what God said, but. And I see the problem is that but becomes the doorway to disobedience. I want to say this loud and clear.Delayed obedience is still disobedience. Let that sing in for a moment. We often treat delay like this harmless middle space.But when God has made something clear, I'm talking crystal clear, and we keep pushing it off, we're not being neutral at that point. We are actively resisting. We are actively rebelling. Now, some people will call delayed discernment.Well, I'm waiting to see what God is going to say for me. Some people have called delayed wisdom. Some people even call it waiting for confirmation. And I can't argue with some of that.There are absolutely seasons where discernment is needed. That's one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, discernment. Yes, we should seek God. Yes, we should test what we hear.But, friend, once God has confirmed a matter, constant delay is not discernment anymore. That is avoidance. And avoidance is expensive. Because every time you delay obedience, you train your heart to tolerate resistance.That's why it says in Hebrews 3:15, it says, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. And I just want to point out something here. Notice that hardening is connected to hearing.See, the danger is not only hearing God and saying no, that's big enough danger. But the danger is hearing Him.So ignoring him so often, putting him off so often that your heart slowly becomes less responsive, and you stop trembling at conviction. You stop moving quickly when he speaks to you, and you start to normalize that tension in your life. And then what happens?After a while, you don't even realize how far your heart has drifted. And that's why some believers feel spiritually numb. And it's not because God left. He's still there. But they have repeatedly muted his voice.They're not listening to him anymore. And I want to say this with compassion. Being tempted is not the same as being disobedient. There's a difference.Being in a struggle is not the same as being disobedient. If you need time to heal, that's not the same as being disobedient. Asking questions, dare I say asking God questions, is not disobedience.But, friend, when God keeps pressing on the same area and you know it in your heart, you know it deep down in your soul, and you keep defending it, you keep avoiding it, you keep renaming it, or you keep delaying it. That's where the danger is. Which leads me to my second point today. Partial obedience is not full surrender.Saul is such a powerful picture because he didn't completely reject God's instruction, did he? He just kind of edited it. He tweaked it out a little bit. A lot of people do that. I've done that. We want to do the convenient part.We'll do the public part.They want to look the part so they look spiritual, but they hold back on the part that cost them their pride, their comfort, maybe their appetite, their image and their control. That's what I'm talking About when I say partial obedience. But, friend, partial obedience is still disobedience.You can't obey God on your terms and call it surrender. That's not surrender. That's management. That's remaining in control. That's staying on the throne while trying to make Jesus your consultant.Friend, Jesus is not meant to be our consultant. He's made to be our Lord. And so much of modern Christianity has become exactly that. People want Jesus to advise them.Oh, I want Jesus to encourage me and inspire me and rescue me when I'm sick and when I'm hurt and bless me. But Jesus, don't interrupt me. Don't confront me. Don't require anything costly. But Jesus doesn't just come to improve your life.He comes to be the Lord over it completely. So what does partial obedience look like today? It looks like this. It's saying, God, I'll serve you, but don't touch this relationship.I know I'm living in sin. This relationship isn't good, but I'll serve you. But you can't call me out on that. It looks like.You know what, Lord, I'm going to post about faith, but I'm not going to stop to compromise. Well, I'll tell everybody about faith, but I'm still going to do what I shouldn't be doing.It looks like I'm going to go to church, but, man, when I'm sitting there, I'm going to still be mad at people. I'm still going to entertain that bitterness. It looks like this. I'm going to tithe in church, but I'm still not going to be honest.In business, it looks like I'll pray, Lord, but I'm never going to forgive. Yeah, I want purpose, Lord, but I don't want purity. I want peace, Lord, but I'm not willing to let go.And I want breakthrough, Lord, but I don't want that obedience to cost me anything. I can't do that. And here's the hard truth that we need to hear today.Sometimes the thing that you call spiritual warfare is actually the inner friction of resisting God. Sometimes that unrest that you feel in your soul isn't because God is distant. I've heard so many people say that to me.Well, Ralph, the issue is God has abandoned me. God has left me. That's not why you're feeling unrest. You're just denying what he said to you.Sometimes it's because his hand is present on the very area that you're not willing to surrender. And, friend, that pressure there is mercy because God loves us so much that he doesn't want us to stay comfortable while we're drifting away.Which leads me to my third point today. Disobedience always costs more than you think. We think, oh, I'll be disobedient. It's no big deal. God loves me. I'm saved all those things.And see, here's the problem. The enemy will sell us disobedience as cheaper than obedience. He lies to us. He tells us, just hold on a little longer. You can do it.You can sustain us. Hide it a little longer. Just keep compromising, keep delaying. Protect yourself, Maintain control. Don't obey quite yet. You can do that later.And that's going to feel easier in the moment because we don't want to confront those things. But disobedience always sends a bill later. It's kind of like that credit card that you go charge up. Feels good today.But, man, when you get that bill and you're paying it for years, you paid it. And if you're being disobedient, it's going to cost you peace. It's going to cost you clarity. It's going to cost you intimacy.It's going to cost you confidence in prayer. It's going to cost you spiritual sensitivity. And yes, it can even cost you relationships. It can cost you influence.And in many cases, it can affect the people connected to you. Let's look at Jonah. When Jonah ran from what God told him to do, the storm didn't only affect Jonah, it affected everybody on the boat.And that's important, because disobedience is never as private as we think it is. It reaches so much farther than we can even imagine. Because just consider this. Somebody right now is watching your life.Somebody is being impacted by your choices. Somebody is being helped or hindered by whether you obey God. And that's why this matters so very much.But I also want to say this disobedience doesn't always make your life fall apart overnight. Sometimes that's why people keep doing it. Because when you're living in that disobedience, you might think, well, nothing happened. It's no big deal.I'm still functioning the business owner. I'm still making money. I'm ripping people off left and right. I'm still making money, though. I'm still smiling. Look, I'm smiling. I'm still getting by.But, friend, that outward function doesn't align with inner alignment. You can look fine. Trust me on this. You can look fine on the outside, and you can be completely off course.You can Stay busy and keep lying to yourself. But you could be completely spiritually out of step. And yeah, you can still be producing, but still be disobedience.And if you're not careful, you're going to start measuring God's approval by your visible success instead of your surrendered heart. And that's a super dangerous place to live. Well, now I want to take a few moments and just talk about how this contrasts with current culture.The whole reason I do this show, my whole point of this show is truth today, what you see around you in culture. And let's go back to what scripture says. And culture says something that we hear every day, just do what makes you happy.How many times have you heard that in the last hour? Well, if it makes me happy, I'm going to do it. Our whole world revolves around things that make us feel good, things that make us happy.But the Word says something different. The word says, trust God even when obedience costs you. What do you think that means? What does it mean when we say obedience cost you?It might mean that you're not happy. It might mean that you feel hurt. But you got to trust God even when an obedience costs you. Because guess what, friend? He knows better than you do.If you've truly surrendered, if he is truly the Lord of your life, that obedience can cost you. Culture also says, follow your heart. We talked a lot about that on the last show. We talked about how the heart is deceptive. And the Word says it.The Word says the heart can be deceptive, so submit it to God. Culture says, do what feels authentic. Man, I hear this constantly. Oh, just. It's authentic. You can do it.But the Word says something drastically different. The Word actually says, die to yourself. Die to yourself and follow Christ. Give it all away. Give it up to follow Him.Culture tells us to protect your peace at all costs. But the word says something a little bit more different than that. It says sometimes peace comes after obedience, not before it.But we sure don't want to hear that because we're protecting our peace. But maybe you're not getting to peace because you're living in disobedience.And until you obey, until you surrender, you're never going to get to that peace. Culture tells us you deserve what you want, man. How many times have you heard that one? You deserve whatever you want to get.But the Word says something completely different. It says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? Were you searching after what you want?And that's why I dare Say so many believers fear torn today because they're trying to mix a cross centered gospel with a self centered culture. And that mixture is going to keep you unstable, friend. God isn't calling you to occasionally consult him. He's not your attorney on speed dial.He's calling you to surrender it all to Him. Which leads me to my next point. God's conviction is an invitation, it's not a rejection. Now here's the beautiful part.This is the part that should put a smile on your face. Because when God exposes that disobedience in your life, he's not doing it to destroy you.So many of us think, well, he just doesn't want me to be happy. He wants me to live by what he says. But he doesn't realize how much that impacting me. No, friend, he's doing it to restore you.That conviction that you're feeling in your heart is actually mercy. When I was in high school, one of the I went to a Catholic high school and one of the nuns said, ralph, she wrote it in my yearbook.She said, always follow your conviction. And that's lived with me to today. And I often thought about, well, why? Because conviction is mercy.Conviction says this is an area that needs to come back into alignment. Contrast that with condemnation. Condemnation says you're hopeless, hide it from God. But that's not what conviction is telling us.Conviction is telling us hold, oh, come back, get aligned. That feeling of conviction draws you near where that condemnation just pushes you away. Conviction is very specific.Condemnation is vague and crushing. That's why the devil uses it, because it's so vague. Conviction says repent and condemnation tells us to run. You see the difference there?Are we repenting or are we running? Christ is calling you back, friend. He's calling you back to repent. He's not asking you to run away.And if you're listening right now and the Holy Spirit has put his finger on something, that's not proof that God has given up on you, friend. That is proof that he's still pursuing you. It's proof that he still loves you. It's proof that he's calling you even higher. Think about Peter.This is a tough story, but Peter failed Jesus publicly. He denied Christ. He broke under pressure. Man, I probably would have done the same thing. How about you?But Peter came back in repentance and Jesus restored him. Now I want to contrast that with Judas. A lot of people don't talk about Judas. He's like the third tier.We all talk about Judas, but Judas also failed we all know the story. But instead of running to Jesus, what did Judas do? He ran deeper into despair. See the difference? Peter repented, Judas ran.The difference was not who failed. They both failed. The difference was who returned. And I want to speak to somebody right now. I want to tell you right now, return, friend.Don't hide, don't justify, don't keep layering excuses, just return.First John, chapter one, verse nine, tells us that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That means that there is cleansing on this other side of confession.There is mercy on the other side of repentance, there is peace on the other side of obedience. Now, right now, you might be feeling broken. You might be saying, ralph, man, I am so far out of alignment, I don't even know where to get started.Well, friend, I want to give you right now three practical keys to come back into alignment. And these are just absolutely practical. First thing you've got to do is you've got to name the area.Honestly, stop speaking in vague generalities like, oh, I'm sinning, I'm doing this. No, be honest. Name it. What is it? Is it pride? Is it bitterness? Is it sexual compromise? Is it dishonesty? Is it fear? Is it control? Is it unforgiveness?Is it that relationship God told you to leave? Is it that assignment that God told you to start a truth that God told you to speak out loud? Or maybe it's a habit he told you to break.Freedom starts when honesty begins. So name it. That's the first thing. Second thing, stop renaming your disobedience. I am sick and tired of people calling rebellion personality.Well, that's just my personality. No, that's rebellion. Don't call compromise wisdom. Don't call fear discernment. Don't call delay timing.When the issue is resistance, call it what it is, because once you stop renaming it, you can actually repent of it. If you don't name it, if you don't stop changing the name of it, you never get back to repentance.Third thing, you gotta obey the next clear instruction. It's so easy to get overwhelmed trying to fix everything at once. Listen, I'm gonna say something that's kind of harsh.I was out to dinner with my stepmother on Saturday night, and she says, ralph, she said, I just feel so broken. It seems like everybody around me has got it all together. And I said, hey, you know what? We are all broken. Every one of us is broken.And I Said to her something simple. I said, start today with one thing, just one thing. Just obey the next thing.Maybe it's time to make that call and offer forgiveness that you needed to do for years. Maybe it's time to finally end that feeling of compromise, delete that number, that relationship that you know is not good for you.Finally tell the truth to somebody. Apologize, confess to someone. Find an accountability partner. Hey, open your Bible again. Go back to praying.As I said to her, I said, listen, here's something I can encourage you to do. Open your Bible and just say, lord, I don't understand any of this. I'm broken. But Lord, I know if you just show me the way.I said to her, I said, just take one verse a day. Don't feel like you got to figure it all out at night, but just take that step. Obedience is not one big, big thing. It's built on one surrendered.Yes, at a time. What did we say earlier? I'll just say yes, but I want to slow down for a second because I really want you to sit with this.What has God already made clear to you? What has he already said? You know what, Ralph, you need to stop doing this or you need to start doing this. What has he already made clear to you?Where have you been? Calling Delayed discernment. I'll get to it later, Lord. Yeah, I know what you're saying. It's not convenient for me right now.Lord, where have you been doing most of what God said while keeping back part you still want to control over. I'm going to get real specific now.What relationship, what habit, what mindset, what hidden compromise is at this very moment disrupting your peace because God's already dealt with it, but you just keep resisting him. And what would change in your life today if you fully surrender that area to him today? Because you need to hear me on something.The answer is not more pretending. The answer is not more performance. The answer is not more spiritual language. The answer is super simple. It's repentance and obedience.And maybe right now this goes a little deeper than one area. Compromise for you, maybe. The truth is you've never truly surrendered your life to Jesus at all.Yeah, you want his help, but you've never given him your heart. Sure, you want his peace, but you've never made him. Lord of your life. Friend, today can be your day. Jesus died for your sins.He rose again and he offers forgiveness. He offers new life and he offers restoration. Like my stepmother. I told her this. I said, you don't need to clean yourself up first. Come to him broken.And if you want to surrender your life to Jesus today, you can do that right now. Your whole dynamic of your life can change right now. Why don't you pray this with me, Jesus?I come to you right now and Lord, I confess that I have sinned and I have gone my own way all the time. But I believe you died for me and I believe you rose again. Forgive me Lord. Cleanse me Lord, and make me new. I surrender my life to you right now.I ask you to be my savior, be my Lord and teach me to follow you. Teach me to obey you and fill me with your spirit. I'm broken Lord, but make me new. And I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.Friend, if you prayed that from your heart, this isn't the end. The most beautiful thing in the world is this is the beginning.And I want to encourage you right now if you prayed that prayer, if you felt like this has changed something, go find a good Bible believing church. And I say Bible believing because there are a lot of churches out there that don't focus on the Bible.Do your research, go find a Bible believing church. And I want to encourage you to read your Bible every single day. Now listen, it's not easy, it's not going to make a lot of sense to you.But like I said to my stepmother, just read it, pray about it. Ask the Lord to speak to you and I'd love to hear from you as well.You can go to TruthUnveiledwithRalph.com/decision and I'll put a link in the show notes. I would love to hear with you. I'd love to pray with you. I'd like to help you on your spiritual journey. I have a heart for helping people.So please let me hear from you today.If this ministry is impacting your life, do me a favor and go to truthunveiledwithRalph.com/decision and just tell me what's going on in your life. But now let me pray for everyone else listening. Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for every person under the sound of my voice.Search all of us Lord, and reveal anything in us that is resisting your will. Lord, show us where we've delayed, where we've compromised, where we've just justified disobedience and where we need to come back into alignment.Lord, I just ask that you would give us soft hearts and give us courage to repent and give us strength to obey quickly. Lord, break every chain of fear and pride and stubbornness and restore peace where there has been inner conflict.I Just ask that you will restore clarity where there's been confusion and, Lord, restore intimacy where there's been distance. And let this be the moment, Lord, where we stop resisting you and start trusting you fully again. And I ask this in Jesus name, Amen.If today's message has hit you hard, I don't want you to just say, this was powerful. I want you to respond. Obey whatever God put his finger on. Deal with it today. Not next week, not someday. Do it today.Because maybe today the Holy Spirit showed you an error where you've been resisting God. But hear me clearly, this is not the end of your story. God is not exposing it to shame you. He's revealing it so he can heal you.His mercy is still available. His grace is still reaching. And Europeans, starting today, can finally open that door to restoration into peace and a renewed fellowship with Him.The Bible says In Joel, chapter 2, verse 13, it says, Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He's slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Friend, that means no matter how far you've drifted, you can still come back.No matter how long you've delayed and put it off, you can still say, yes, there is hope for the one who returns to God. This is Truth Unveiled with Ralph. And remember, God's correction isn't meant to crush you. It's meant to call you back home.Why don't you come back home today and I'll see you next time. God bless you.