This sermon emphasizes the importance of immediate obedience to God's word, highlighting the consequences of delayed obedience and the impact it can have on individuals and families. It warns against the dangers of disobedience becoming a habit, likening it to being trapped by a lion. The message stresses the need for prompt action when God's commands are clear, drawing parallels to how we readily obey traffic lights but often hesitate to obey God's instructions.

Well, you see, a man has to act at the time of crisis in the right way. There's not a moment to lose. You know, this matter of obedience to God's word, we put it away on a shelf. I'll attend to this by and by. But you know the loss that comes from deferred obedience? You all probably know that old phrase, delayed justice is denied justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. Sometimes, you know, our courts take a long, long time before they declare a person innocent. This case has been foisted on this person. He's completely guiltless. And you make such a judgment after the man has been in prison for three years or two years or whatever time, which happens all the time in this world, in many places. Well, that is justice denied. It's a serious flaw in our system. Now, what about the serious flaw that is in taking your own time to obey God? We think nothing of it. We say, all right, we don't do that with the red lights. We don't say, hey, those red lights are not responding to me. When the red light comes on, we stop. We don't begin to argue with the system or the timing of the red light. Now, when it comes to the word of God, it's not like that. We don't act when action should be taken to correct the situation. Now, what if David stood by and debated for some time? Now, what am I supposed to do with this liar? Am I going to confront it? No, there was no time for all that kind of thinking. He needed to go and say, come on, and grab it before it was dead, and then to take on the lion. Yes, you know, when disobedience becomes a habit, it is worse than a lion. It gets hold of you and has you in its grip, and you feel, hey, this is the way to go, to yield to the lion just to be in its mouth until it crunches me. Yes, you're going to be crunched. There's no question about it. God's law is not negotiable. Neither the Senate nor the House nor any Parliament can amend God's commandments. Now, we are actually fighting against the living God, and who can do it? We say this is our system. This is how we have come to think in the 21st century. All those outmoded puritanical ideas are out. The history behind us of America's founding is out. I must get my own way. Now, my dear friends, when you get your own way, you are going to have the very forces of nature fighting against you. Who can fight when nature itself begins to fight against us? So, my friends, obedience has to be immediate. In my own life, I do not know how much I have lost through deferred obedience. It fills me with sadness. I will never know till I have to give an account to God. Deferred obedience, what it cost me and those around me. That's worse, you know. Those around me are the ones who are going to suffer a great deal. When a father disobeys God, the impact on the very character and destiny of that family is going to be different. So different. And when a mother disobeys God, it is going to affect the very nerves of the children, the harmony of the house, the peace in the house. We think nothing of saying, oh, I disagree with you. Any brat can walk up to our president and say, this is a free country, I disagree with you. And we feel we applaud the little brat. And we say, yes, boy, you're a courageous soul, you know. You took on the president today. No, my dear friends. No, no, no. That's not the way to go at all. We are like little brats having an argument with the living God. Who is good? You are not going to win in that argument. And a lot of people are going to suffer around you. Deferred obedience. Now when you turn to the 12th chapter of Matthew. Sorry, 18th chapter, which we just read now. Here is, again, a simile taken from sheep and a sheepfold. The 12th verse. How think you, if a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not lead the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? If so be that he find it. Truly I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep.