Manhunt | August 1, 2026 | Pastor Jim Kilmartin | Rock City Church

The call to obedience comes in plain and hard: life can be done in the flesh, or life can be done with the Holy Spirit. Doing things for God is not the same as doing things with God, and the difference shows up in pressure, family decisions, vacation plans, sports, school, jobs, and the quiet places where nobody else sees. Obedience becomes “the ultimate knowledge and understanding” because the real question is not whether God has spoken, but whether a man trusts God enough to obey when the word feels unglamorous, unsexy, and unappealing.

First John 2 names every man’s battle with no softness: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The world is passing away, and the lust of it is passing away, but the one who does the will of God abides forever. The flesh wants to feel it, the eyes want to have it, and pride wants to be somebody. Those battles do not disappear because a man is older, married, anointed, or in ministry. David fell in his sixties, not as a reckless kid, because transition and peace can make a man vulnerable when mission gets lost.

Jesus in Matthew 4 shows how the battle is won. The Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness, not so He would fall, but so He would overcome. The devil came at Him with bread, with what the eyes could see, and with a twisted version of Scripture. Jesus answered with the Word of God and stayed obedient to the Father’s voice. The sheep in John 10 live the same way: they know the Shepherd’s voice, and they do not follow strangers.

John 10 and Psalm 23 bring the promise together. Jesus is the door, the Shepherd, and the way into pasture. Men do not find peace by sneaking into pleasure some other way. False pleasure is a counterfeit, and the thief always comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Christ gives life, life more abundantly, but that abundance is found through surrender, repentance, and obedience.

The desires inside a man are not the problem. Every man longs for an adventure to live, a battle to fight, and a beauty to rescue. The enemy tries to redirect those desires toward pleasure, comfort, selfish ambition, and consumption. God calls men back to mission, prayer, family, church, brothers, and the vulnerable. Every man is called to shepherd something, and every man’s battle is obedience to the voice of God.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Obedience hears before moving Obedience becomes more than doing the right thing after all the details make sense. Obedience trusts the voice of God when the flesh wants a faster, shinier, more impressive path. A man learns grace when he refuses to move just because pressure, opportunity, or desire says move. [04:08]
• 2. Wilderness can train real victory The wilderness is not always proof that something went wrong. The Spirit led Jesus there so temptation could be faced and overcome by the Word and the Father’s voice. A good Father does not always make the path easy, because ease without obedience can leave a man weak when the real battle comes. [15:12]
• 3. Eyes either covenant or compromise The lust of the eyes usually starts with a lingering look, not a huge fall. David’s rooftop shows that a man can win public battles and still lose private ones when his eyes are not trained. Job’s covenant with his eyes gives language for a serious kind of holiness that refuses to negotiate with desire. [43:34]
• 4. Mission protects men from distraction A man without mission eventually invents distractions. David’s failure came when he was not where he was supposed to be, and the same danger remains when purpose gets replaced by comfort. God given masculinity needs an adventure to live, a battle to fight, and a beauty to rescue, but those desires must stay surrendered to the Spirit. [50:24]
• 5. Humility asks for needed help The pride of life says, “I got this,” even when wisdom is sitting across the table. Humility is not weakness, but strength under God’s authority. A man goes further through obedience, surrender, and counsel than through proving he can figure everything out alone. [48:54]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:23] - Doing Life With God
• [04:08] - Obedience Is Ultimate Understanding
• [10:23] - Every Man’s Battle
• [15:12] - Jesus Overcomes in the Wilderness
• [19:03] - The Shepherd’s Voice
• [25:22] - Shepherding What God Entrusts
• [31:22] - Jesus Is the Door
• [34:24] - Adventure, Battle, and Beauty
• [39:39] - Fighting the Flesh
• [43:34] - Training the Eyes
• [47:01] - Killing the Pride of Life
• [50:24] - Mission Over Distraction
• [53:11] - Prayer Targets and Intentional Shepherding
• [56:02] - Surrender to the Voice of God

Bible Reading

1 John 2:15-17
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” [10:23]

John 10:1-10
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” [19:03]

Matthew 4:1-11
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you, and, In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve. Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.” [15:12]

Observation questions

1. In 1 John 2:15-17, what three battles are named, and what does the passage say is happening to the world and its desires? [10:23]
2. In John 10:1-10, what are the differences between the shepherd and the thief, and how do the sheep respond to each one?
3. In Matthew 4:1-11, what were the specific temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness, and how did He answer each one? [15:12]
4. What are some everyday areas of life where obedience to God’s voice was brought into view—things like family decisions, school, sports, work, or rest? [01:23]

Interpretation questions

1. 1 John says the world and its desires are passing away, but the one who does the will of God abides forever. How does that change the way a person should think about temptation in the moment?
2. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness and overcame there. What does that show about hard seasons that do not feel pleasant or easy? [15:12]
3. John 10 says the sheep know the Shepherd’s voice and will not follow a stranger. What might it look like in real life to confuse a stranger’s voice with the Shepherd’s voice? [23:45]
4. The pride of life often says, “I can handle this on my own.” Why is asking for help sometimes one of the clearest signs of humility and obedience? [48:54]

Application questions

1. Where is the pressure strongest right now to make a decision in the flesh instead of waiting for God’s voice—family, money, work, relationships, schedule, or something else? What would slowing down and obeying look like there? [04:08]
2. The lust of the eyes usually starts small, with a lingering look instead of a dramatic fall. What settings, habits, or screens tend to weaken vigilance, and what would it look like to make a real covenant with the eyes? [43:34]
3. A man without mission eventually invents distractions. Where has comfort, entertainment, or drifting started to replace purpose? What mission needs to be picked back up? [50:24]
4. Every person is shepherding something—children, marriage, friendships, work, younger believers, or a home. What has God placed in your care right now, and how intentionally is it being shepherded? [25:22]
5. False pleasure always promises life some other way, but Jesus says He is the door. Where is the temptation to look for peace, relief, or satisfaction somewhere other than Christ? [31:22]
6. Humility asks for needed help. Is there an area where pride has kept you from reaching out for counsel, accountability, or prayer? Who would be a wise person to talk to this week? [48:54]
7. Intentional prayer helps a person fight for what God has entrusted to him. What are two or three specific prayer targets that need fresh attention right now? [53:11]