Drive It Out - Obedience Brings Life — Shane Idleman

The title of the message tonight and I love messages like this because they've been it's been burning in my heart all week. And usually if it's been if it's burning in my heart, guess what? You're going to leave here with the burning heart.

That's the that's the goal. And I believe that's one of the the wonderful things about preaching is some pastors. Some pastors, you know, they preach because that's their job and that's what they need to do.

Other pastors preach because they entertain and they're good speakers. But some pastors when they're filled with the spirit of god, there's a burden. There's a burden that has to be lifted and they have to declare to you what god has put on their heart.

Obedience Brings Life Through Love and Loyalty

And so the title of the message is drive it out. Drive it out obedience brings life. Obedience brings life and i'm not one of those guys who will shy away from the word obedience if obedience is done out of Love and loyalty for the lord.

It is powerful. If you obey because of legalism and rules and god is a hard task master. And I have to do these things you will be miserable. Obedience comes from a loving loyal heart. What child would not want to obey his father that knows what's best for him?

So obedience brings life and I don't know, you know any any any phd professor or Theologian will probably tear this sermon apart because it's all over the place. I I couldn't get it to tie in. You know, you want those three good points you want it to flow and and it just i'm just going to share my heart with You tonight if that's okay.

Disobedience, Spiritual Unrest, and Anxiety

Because I truly believe and please don't misunderstand. I believe that a lot of depression and anxiety. And us and christians when they're miserable can be tied often to disobedience. Now hear me i'm not saying that's the case all the time.

I know there's serotonin levels and and and noradrenaline and Neurotransmitters, I have a history in health and fitness and I know sometimes those chemicals are off and it will really affect the way. We feel that that's that's genuine.

But there's there's also something known as sin that comes in and makes a christian miserable and because we're disobeying god. We can become Hard and callous and cold and anxious and irritable and I want to speak to that a little bit tonight.

Israel’s Wilderness Journey and the Call to Drive Out Sin

And our marching orders are from the book of numbers numbers chapter 33. I'm going to be all over the old testament. So i'm not stopping at every single verse. And what I mean by marching orders for the promised land many of you know the story.

But i'll just give you the abridged version for those of you who don't. God led the children of israel out of bondage in egypt. He led them through the wilderness and what. What should have taken now i've had to check this out a few days a few times.

You'll you'll laugh at this. What could have taken the children israel maybe 11 days or a month or so to get to the promised land? Why did it end up taking them 40 years? If god says I can get you there in a few weeks.

But it takes you 40 years. It's the problem is not the distance. The problem's the heart. And it's grumbling and complaining. Grumbling and complaining and not trusting in god and not obeying god. He just kept them you ever you ever you know what the definition of insanity is.

Doing the same thing expecting different results. And he led them Through the wilderness and now they're getting ready to go into the promised land. He actually wiped out the entire generation except for caleb and joshua and he allowed the children of those grumblers and complainers to go in the promised land and the grumblers and the complainer said Oh our children are going to die in the wilderness and god says no you're going to die.

I'm going to bring your children into the promised land. So here's their marching orders and there's so many parallels. That we can get from the old testament paul actually said that the old testament was given for our admonishment our encouragement.

The principles are timeless in the old testament and you can draw so many things out from it. So god said this in numbers 33. When you go into the land drive out. Drive out all of the inhabitants of the land before you destroy all their carved images.

And cast down all their idols and demolish all of their high places. Basically get red get rid of their worship because it will influence you. It will pull you in the wrong direction. You can't worship both god and another system.

You can't worship both the bible and some other book. We don't worship the bible. You know i'm talking about you can't get direction from the bible and direction from some other book and you can't serve two masters.

So god said when you go into this land drive out the false worship. Why is that? Well, you have to remove places of worship that influence you. And we don't realize it today. But we do worship certain things and when we read the bible we think of this word worship.

We think of a carved image and they're bowing down and giving homage to it. And it's no different today than having a 50 inch screen something that we give homage to it. It's whatever we give our time and our our energy and our influence whatever Influences us and we begin to give our attention to it and and that we begin to worship it.

And there's a parallel there god says drive out these things. And that's why there was a prescribed place and a way to worship in the old testament. God said get rid of that and bring in the true worship of yahweh.

He also said after I give you the land do not be enticed back to the way they worship, isn't that interesting? God says drive them out and don't be enticed. Don't be enticed to come back and worship like they worshipped.

The Doctrine of Balaam and the Danger of False Worship

I was going to get to this in a little bit, but I just I just it's so heavy in my heart right now. There's something if you've been coming to westside christian fellowship a few years, you know, i've talked about this.

There's something called the doctrine of balaam. How many of you have heard of that? The doctrine of balaam. Well, if you read the bible, you'll you'll know that jesus talked about the doctrine of balaam.

What balaam was was a prophet and king balak hired him to come and curse the children of israel. So this king king bailap bailak looks down. He sees all the children of israel all throughout the land and he said hey come and curse these people.

So balaam came and and instead of cursing god's people. What did he do? He blessed them. He blessed them again, and he blessed them again and the king said what are you doing? I called you to curse them and then he says something very interesting.

I cannot curse What god is blessed? I cannot curse what god is blessed and that principle is for us today. God cannot curse. I'm, sorry, and the enemy cannot curse what god has blessed. But what did the doctrine of balaam do?

He taught the the people to seduce the children of israel. And draw them back into false worship draw them the women of the land begin to entice the men see. You got to drive sin out. You can't play patty cake with it.

You'll lose. It will destroy you or bring you down so the doctrine of balaam basically teaches you cannot curse what god is blessed. But the enemy will try to remove you from that blessed place and let me tell you tonight men.

There is a blessed place when you lead your family when you say we are going to church when we when you say we are removing that filth from our tv and from our internet when you begin to stand up and begin to Build the sanctity of marriage in your home and you begin to love your wife and die for your children.

And lead your family and when you begin to stop flirting with delilah. Oh, I can go there if you want. But that's the blessed place. Don't you understand? There's a shelter. There's a covering as we stay in god's word.

As we obey god's word, that's the shelter. That's the covering and when we're enticed to go back and go back. That's how the enemy pulls us away. That's why god says drive them out drive them out so they do not influence you any longer.

Blessings of Obedience and Repentance

And of course in deuteronomy many of you know, there are the blessings Of obedience when god says you obey me. I will bring water. I will bring rain. I will bring the harvest. I will bring things into your life.

There's there's something about obeying god that brings the blessings of god. And if you're getting discouraged, let me encourage you. All you have to do is is switch those words around discourage and say encourage.

To get back in the center of god's will just involves a beautiful word called repentance. We say lord, i'm Sorry, i've been out of your will i've been disobeying and I want to get back in your will and when the heart changes.

You're once again in the will of god and that obedience begins to bring blessings into your life. And the children of israel were were marked by god. And moses would often teach. To mark, you know to put something on your forehead and in your thoughts your head.

Your your would they would the phylacteries that the pharisees would put in different things and it would it would mark you and they also. Would we talked about marking your hand for doing things and and with the way you think and I just thought of we're all.

Looking at what possibly the mark of the beast could be the you know. The number six six six the number of a man and there is a a mark that people have to take and it's pretty clear. I know there's different thoughts on eschatology on this and but I don't if it doesn't look like it's going in that direction.

I don't know what it does because it looks like we are going in that direction and I believe that mark Is going to be a clear line of demarcation where you say jesus christ is my lord and savior. I am marked by god or he is not.

Three Signs of Being Spiritually Off Course

So I want to just share with you three signs that you may be off course. Are you ready for a conviction alert? Three signs that you may be off course number one. There is a restlessness because of disobedience.

There's a restlessness in your spirit. Psalms 32. When I kept silent about my sin my body wasted away through my groanings all day long. For day and night lord your your hand was heavy upon me. So when we've drifted off course, there's a restlessness.

There's a there's a there's a discord with god. I don't know if this will work. Let me see. It probably won't but I can try to do what brant was doing and it's not going to sound real good. Is it? Disc.

There we go. How's that? Is that? And i'll see what was that song. I can only imagine I can only imagine what is that that's discord. That's that. Stop it. Shame. That's discord. That doesn't sound right and that's what happens when there's a restlessness.

And there's a discord with god and things don't sound right and and i'm off and lord I need to get back to there's a restlessness that creeps in. And then number two as a result, there is a critical spirit.

There is always a critical spirit that comes in. And that takes a form of of being disgruntled and discouraged. And critical and negative. Amen. Can anybody relate yet? And then finally there is barrenness.

When there's something in our hearts that we need to drive out and we're being disobedient there's a barrenness there's. We're there we're being unfruitful in the things of god and how many of you are just existing?

Just going through the motions shane. I came to the stadium, but but I was dead during worship. I I get in my car and I just don't do anything for god and I just go through the motions and there's a Barrenness and I I want to submit to you that there might be something that you need to drive out.

The Consequences of Leaving Sin and Compromise in Place

That's why numbers continues if you do not drive out. If you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land. In other words if you do not push out those people who will lead you in a wrong direction if you do not push out that ungodly Entertainment if you do not push out that influence that is taking you down.

If you allow them to remain in the land, they will become barbs in your eyes. Your translation might say irritants in your eyes. Have you ever got a little something in your eye? Something you can barely see.

I remember I was in when I was in construction many years ago as a little sand pebble or something. It was all day just doing this. It just it just it's an irritant and and they said there'll be thorns in your side.

And they will harass you all the days of your life. Amen. That sounds like sin. That's why god said drive them out. Don't play around with sin. Don't play around with delilah. Don't play around with compromise.

Drive it out set a nail and a hammer nail it to the coffin and close that coffin. And if you do not drive them out. If they remain they will be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your side. Don't worry folks it gets encouraging sometimes the surgeon has to cut us.

Before we get healthy and god's word cuts us deeply. But I want to tell you tonight you do not have to walk in defeat when you understand the battle. So many people walk in defeat because they don't understand the battle.

Fighting for the Blessing and Staying in God’s Covering

God says drive it out. And it's interesting. I don't know how many of you caught this but God said go in and possess the land and you'll have a land flowing with milk and honey. They they will carry grapes on their shoulders.

That would almost be down to the ground and just go in and possess it and just it's all yours. But you're gonna have to fight for every square inch. They had to fight for every square inch of their blessing.

And you need to be encouraged tonight you don't have to walk in defeat. God says here is your blessing now fight for it. He says here is a place of safety and he said stay here in this covering of obedience.

Obeying god's word brings life. Obeying the principles of god brings life and fortitude and and strength and disobedience makes us miserable. And I love this verse in proverbs is a warning. Like a bird that wanders from the nest so is a man who wanders from his place.

Is that interesting like a bird that wanders from its nest so so high and protected way up there and the light stands. But when that bird comes down it becomes easy prey and he says so is a man who wanders from his place.

Who departs who strays who retreats and like I said earlier there. There's a place that god wants you to be and in that place. There is safety. So i'm going to also share just a few ways that will help you.

Completely Removing Sin and Destroying Its Influence

Here's some practical application. To drive these things out. You need to completely Push something out. You know when somebody walks out the door in a relationship and they say i'm done. That's what you got to do with the sin that is pulling you down.

I'm done. The problem is sometimes we begin to to not drive things completely out. We begin to play patty cake with it or or bring it back in and it begins to pull us away from god. Is it interesting if I was up even a little higher?

It would be just as easy for a little child almost to pull me down to them. Than it would be for me to pull them up. And these influence can pull us down number two. I want to encourage you destroy its influence.

Destroy its influence. Whatever is influencing you destroy it. And it's funny sometimes when I preach like this people say oh shane you're radical. You're a holy roller. You're extreme man. Well, it's either those options are lukewarm choose today who you will serve the lord as for me in my house.

We will follow our god wholeheartedly with our eyes set before him. There is no second place the race goes to the swift to the strong to those who persevere. There is no mediocre. If god's in god's word of finishing half-heartedly and embracing sin and compromising God says drive it out.

And yes, you will fall and yes, you will fail. That's why the bible says the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord and the lord will Hold you by his right hand when you fall. He will lift you up.

He will promote you. He will exalt you if you turn to him in your failures and your defeats. Think about that. We don't want the consecrated life anymore. We don't want the consecrated life we want the compromised life.

Small Compromises and the Enemy’s Deception

And i'm going to share something with you. I wish I knew many years ago. It's the small compromises that get you in trouble. Is it not it's the small compromises that get you in big trouble. Why is that because the enemy doesn't show you the pain and the anguish and the depression of that affair or that bad choice or the abortion.

He tempts you with the immediate gratification. And you begin taking the small compromises the small the small. Moves in the wrong direction. Is that how the enemy works? Oh, come on. That wasn't that bad.

That wasn't that bad. See that what that wasn't that bad. And you get over and you then you get over and you wonder how you got here. Watch out for the small foxes. They spoil the vine. Watch out for the small things that begin to.

I don't have time for god anymore. Like I used to I don't need to read the word as as much as I used to and I I kind of I kind of cringe when men tell me this well shane. I don't have. I don't have time to do all that.

I'm paying the bills. You've got to put god first. And when you destroy its influence, let me tell you this don't invite it back in. Don't invite it back in and many of you have heard of deliverance ministry.

Deliverance, Spiritual Warfare, and the Power of the Holy Spirit

And I don't know why people sometimes today don't believe in the demonic jesus cast out demons. He told his followers that you would speak in new tongues. You would drive out demons. You would do great exploits for god.

I don't know why that has shifted and changed now, and I guess we don't do that. I believe that we do. I believe that there is a demonic element and I believe that you can that people can experience massive deliverance.

But why is it when someone often when they've been delivered and they are set free they're back in bondage sometimes. Why is it because they invite things back in. They go back to relationships. They should never have went back into.

They start to experiment again with darkness and they never should have done that again. They they begin to invite back the very thing they threw out. And when you do all this when you push something out when you destroy its influence, you better put something in its place.

Amen. When you remove ungodly entertainment, you better put godly entertainment in. When you remove an ungodly relationship out of your life, you better put a godly relationship into your life. You can't just have a void a vacuum.

The enemy will work in idle hands. You've got to be busy doing god's work and bringing things that build you up and strengthen you. Come on, we know this in the health and fitness industry. If you get rid of a lot of junk food, you better put a lot of good food in.

It was it was funny. I started my youtube channel just a few years ago just to help some people. With weight loss and now it's grown into more of theology and politics and different things. But I still like to talk about health and fitness and somebody called me the pantry pastor.

Because one of my and I think you can still find it on youtube. I went into somebody's house and I went through their pantry and the refrigerator with the big hefty trash bag. And boy, do we clean house?

We got rid of all that junk food all the sodium nitrates and artificial colors and the and aspartame. And the junk and the processed foods and the genetically modified and all we just clean house. But what happens if I leave that way.

No, no, no, you got to bring in. You got to bring in the good stuff. And then you hide their car keys for about a week. But you get the principle right you got to put something in its place. God, I want I want to drive these things out shane.

I want to and we get emails. It seems like daily now shane. I want to drive out the pornography is so strong. The opiate addiction is so strong. The alcohol is so strong. The marijuana is so strong. The sexual lust is so strong and I tell the people you can't just grin and bear it and white knuckle it.

You need to put the power of the holy spirit into your life. Be full of the spirit of god and let him fight that battle for you get on your face and worship god. Yes, the addiction might start to draw you back.

But you discipline your body like paul said. I discipline my body and I put my body in Subjection and I trust in christ to see me through. Yes. There is a battle but the end of the day you can stand strong because god is your strength and god is your fortress.

Self-Discipline, Surrender, and Reliance on God

See we make we make two mistakes in this area. We tell people what just just just pray a little more and just just grin and bear it. We don't tell them that the strength is in the power of the spirit and fully surrendering their lives.

But on the other hand, sometimes you'll say well just cave in, you know, just you know, you're just flesh like nike slogan. Well, if it feels good doing. You know how many times that slogan has got me in trouble.

Temptation. The truth about temptation is there is a battle it's called spiritual warfare. And when temptation is at its greatest peak. That's when you call on god to say lord. I need you. I surrender to you and you begin to fill your mind with the thoughts of christ of holiness and of obedience and not out of Obligation but out of the dire necessity to love and and be loyal to jesus.

And that was my next point. Ask god for help and rely on him. I have to get this point across because I don't know how this happens but sometimes people think i'm talking all about willpower and you're just not self-disciplined enough and I'm, not i'm not saying all that.

But I am saying that self-discipline is a fruit of the spirit at least in my bible. Is it erased in your bible? Love joy, peace contentment. Long-suffering generous kindness self-control controlling yourself.

Through the power of the spirit. It can't be done. In the flesh. It can't be done. Naturally. It has to be done. Supernaturally. So you ask god for help and you rely on him. And then i've said this before you obey out of loyalty and love not about following rules.

Teaching Children God’s Loving Guardrails

And that's what you have to make sure you teach your your children. Parents maybe even tonight maybe do a study tomorrow. Everyone on the grass on this side in the grass on this side with the kids. Make sure you teach them this we don't have to do all these rules because there's a mean Angry god ready to kill you.

It's a loving god that wants what's best for you. The guardrails over the canyons of life are there to protect you not to stop you from having fun. God loves you. So he sets these things in place to help you.

Repentance, Revival, and Returning to Joy

And we have this view though that can get really distorted. If we're not careful. Can I tell you a story about robert robinson? Robert robinson. I love this story. He went to mock george whitfield in the 1700s.

That's not a good idea. I don't know if you know george whitfield is he was one of the flames of fire of revival that God used in the first great awakening and this man went to mock george whitfield. But the message haunted him.

For months the message haunted him and it was a simple message from john the baptist george whitfield and I can I can picture him With no microphone or anything and he preached what john the baptist preached.

He said you brood of vipers not very seeker sensitive. You brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath that is to come. Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance and don't say we are abraham's children.

God is able to raise up children of abraham from these very stones. And even now the ax is laid at the root of the tree you brood of vipers repent from the wrath that is to come. And then whitfield began to weep.

And he would say oh my here's my here's the wrath that is to come. The wrath that is to come the wrath of the lamb god's judgment being poured out. And this man began to break and he began to weep and call out to god later on.

And god saved him and he got involved in the ministry. But guess what? He strayed By everything. I just mentioned earlier began to stray from god a true prodigal story. And he was being he was in a miserable spot.

And he was on a stagecoach. And a lady said to him oh listen to these lyrics. I love this hymn. I love this hymn. And he ignored her and just it just just kind of pushed her away in his mind. And she said oh you have to listen.

I love this hymn and he finally set up and he said ma 'am. Ma 'am, i'm numb and happy. I'm the unhappy fellow who wrote that hymn. And he goes on to say oh if I could get back that joy again. Oh if I could get back the joy again the joy of my salvation when I first came to the lord.

And I was filled with fire. I was filled with the spirit joy marked my heart if I could just get back to that joy again. And thank god he did and he penned the famous lyrics that most of you know. Prone to wander Lord, I feel it prone to leave the god.

I love Lord here's my heart take and seal it seal it in thy courts above. Oh god. Take my heart and you seal it. I'm prone to wander. I can feel it god. Would you hold me? Would you draw me back? You're my anchor.

You're my security. And then there's a line that many people are confused about. When he says here I raise my ebenezer. And we think uh-oh. He's lost us. Here here I raise my ebenezer. You'll remember this.

I hope you never forget it because it's so important here I raise my ebenezer. All you have to do is go back to the hebrew language and it's with them in the prophet samuel. The philistines were defeating the children of israel a few different times.

And and the prophet samuel took this stone and he said here I raise my ebenezer which means stone of help. God we are calling on you. I raise my voice in the nation. America needs to hear our voice and we say god we cry out to you.

Our children need you. The pedophilia that is happening. God break it to an end. The sex trafficking god. Would you eliminate it? When have you when was the last time you went to a prayer meeting and got on your face?

And you cried for our nation and we wonder why this is happening. Listen, you can post some nice little thing on facebook. But that's a far cry from what joel said he said wrench your hearts. And not your garments.

Call on the name of the lord. Call the sacred assembly. Sound the alarm. God says turn to me with fasting and weeping and mourning. So let me leave you with that thought. Obedience brings life. Obedience brings life and the spirit-filled life folks drives it out.

Drives it out. I'm hoping before this ends. We might be able to let this go into october as well depending on what god does. And one of the nights I want to talk to you about the spirit-filled life because it is so important.

The Spirit-Filled Life and God’s Promise of Rain

So many christians are not operating in the life filled with the spirit. Oh, they know their bible. They come to church. But they're missing the spirit-filled life. And that's. I love so many old testament imageries of when god said I will send rain.

On a dry and barren land, isn't that interesting? He says I will send rain on a dry and barren land. Well, what okay? What does that mean to me? It means you have to prepare the soil. God says if you prepare the soil of your heart, I will bring rain down on a dry and bare barren landscape.

Oh god, let it rain in our culture today. Don't you love that song? Let it rain. Oh god, if you would let it rain in our homes, let it rain in our private lives god. We need you we call out to you like joel said call the sacred assembly.

Sound the alarm. Turn to god with all of your hearts with prayer and mourning and fasting. And I love if you keep reading joel. You'll know the passage in acts. Where the promise of that is and I will pour out my spirit.

I will pour out my spirit on your sons and your daughters. Your old men will dream dream. Your young men will will have visions. They will prophesy. I will pour out my spirit on my men servants and on my maid servants on that dry and thirsty and barren land.

I will pour out the spirit of god. Let me submit to you that that is our only hope. It's going to get really bad come november 2020. We have to turn to god almighty. Let us stand and worship. Let us stand and worship.

Repentance, Healing, and the Invitation to Salvation

And I want to just encourage you cry out to god say lord let it rain. How many of you are dry and barren? How many of you are dry and barren tonight? I want you to meet us in the prayer tents. Let's pray for a fresh filling of the holy spirit.

I might I might even be bold enough to pray for healing. Amen. Amen, do you believe in a god who still heals? A god who still heals and sets people free. God can restore your marriage and break your addiction.

So meet us at the prayer tent and I also want to baptize you. If you don't know who jesus christ is tonight, the bible is clear. All you have to do is repent of your sin. Say lord, I repent. I've been a prideful arrogant man.

I've been a prideful arrogant woman and I repent of my sin tonight. I need the spirit of the living god to save me and set me free. Oh god. I need you. Let it rain in my heart. Let it rain in my life.