Conflicts in the home are often instigated by stubbornness and lack of communication.

Parents often complain that their children, especially teenagers, do not listen to them.

The Bible states that children must obey their parents in the Lord.

It, therefore, means that parents should always seek the Lord for direction in raising their children.

Consequences of Disobedience

Disobedience led to the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden resulting in a curse upon the entire earth.

The only remedy to cleanse the curse of sin was sacrifice. God performed the first sacrifice of an animal in the Garden of Eden to cover the nakedness of sin (Genesis 3:20).

Consequently, during the Old Testament period a clean animal was sacrificed yearly by the priest for the remission of sins (Leviticus 1).

Finally, God put an end to the sacrifice of animals and offered up His Son as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of mankind (Hebrews 7:27).

Disobedience also led to the downfall of Saul, the first king of Israel (1 Samuel 15).

Saul disobeyed God’s explicit instructions to destroy the enemies including the animals.

The king decided to hold on to the best animals thinking that he needed to sacrifice them to God.

But this was not God’s instruction to him.

Thus, the Lord rejected Saul as king over His people.

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.” 

(1 Samuel 15:22-23 NKJV)

A prideful heart will lead to disobedience and outright defiance to the authority of God.

God considers disobedience and rebellion as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness as the iniquity and idolatry.

 A stubborn person is stuck in his ways and will not budge even when God is speaking to him.

Unfortunately, such individual cannot discern the voice of God.

The sacrifice that God desires

Christ was obedient to the will of God and He offered Himself to be the ultimate sacrifice for humanity.

But, God still requires sacrifice from His people. He does not want a dead sacrifice.

God wants us to offer our bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him (Romans 12:1).

The Lord also desires a broken spirit and a repentant heart. He said that He will never reject you when you come to Him with this sacrifice (Psalms 51:17).

Our Thanksgiving and praise to God in spite of our circumstances are also living sacrifices to God (Psalms 116:17; Jeremiah 33:11).

Sacrifices are important to God, but He also values other features within His people

• God desires mercy and compassion from His people (Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13).
• The Lord desires righteousness and justice from His people (Proverbs 21:3).
• The Lord also desires for us to have a knowledge of Him instead of the physical sacrifice (Hosea 6:6).
• Loving God with all your heart and soul and loving one another as yourself is more pleasing to God than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices (Mark 12:33).

Other Adverse Effects of Disobedience

Disobedience and stubbornness are practiced in the homes when children are unruly, and parents and guardians are set in their ways.

Parents who are inflexible with their rules even when they are in error will result in tension and confusion in the homes.

Bishops, pastors, and leaders in the church are disobedient and stubborn when they are fixated in traditions and rituals.

They refused to incorporate the younger generations in all the services not just the young people service.

For example, the Lord has been proclaiming to the Church to do more teaching of His Word instead of preaching so that the younger generation will understand.

Even though preaching is necessary, harvesting the younger generations can only be done through teaching.

Preaching appeals to the emotion while teaching appeals to the understanding.

Thus, preaching produces people who are emotional in the church and love to perform.

When the Word is preached, they will scream, jump, and dance but they do not necessarily understand the Word.

Teaching the Word of God will give you knowledge and understanding which will result in a change life.

The younger generations desperately need to understand the Bible, but the leaders continue to preach, and the young people continue to sleep in the churches.

As a result, many young people are becoming despondent and leaving the church while others are not inclined to join the Church because of the spiritual stumbling blocks.

Thus, the Church has become stagnated with a lack of growth.

Solution

Every member of the body of Christ (leaders and members) need to humble themselves and repent.

We need to root out the sin of witchcraft (stubbornness and rebellion) from our homes and churches and allow the Lord to cleanse us.

Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 

(Ephesians 5:1-2 NKJV)

Remember if we reject the Word of the Lord, He will also reject us. (1 Samuel 15:23)

Additional References: 2 Timothy 4:2; Isaiah 61:1; Jonah 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7, 27; 24: 14; Mark 16:15

What do you think the younger generations need in the church?