by Pastor Peter Lim
Big idea:
God requires our complete obedience
Are we living a life of Style/form more than substance?
1 Samuel 13-15
The Israelites wanted things their way over Yahweh way
I Samuel 13 depicted Samuel stern warning to Israel
God will establish the lives of those who obey Vs those who disobey Him will ultimately lose their heritage and destiny
1 Samuel 10:1
Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance?[a]
3 times God reminding Saul that Israel is His heritage. Both king and people were reminded of God's authority, including our own lives in modern living today.
Let's take God's warning seriously that He requires complete obedience
#1 warning:
Beware of fear and doubt amidst pressure of life
1 Samuel 13:5-7
The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand[a] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.
Saul and his army faced tremendous pressure, surrounded by Philistines. Samuel had instructed Saul to wait for seven days
Only high priest was authorised to offer sacrifices
But near seven days that Samuel did not arrive, Saul panicked and offered sacrifices himself. When confronted, Saul said Philistines will come and he had not sought the favour, and therefore, he offered sacrifices. He was faced with fear, having from 3000 men reduced to 600 men with no weapons. Saul was desperate
@ Saul was more concerned about bringing assurance to his army than seeking God's guidance or favour in battle
The sacrifices was a mere ritual to Saul..
Samuel rebuked Saul for the first time
1 Samuel 13:13-14
“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
Saul outrightly disobeyed God's command.
Offering sacrifices and seeking God's favour were only to be done by the high priest
GOD REQUIRES COMPLETE OBEDIENCE NOT Partial OBEDIENCE
@ Saul feared people more than he feared God and that led to wrong decisions
Saul was People-pleaser
# Application 1:
Be God-focused, not people-focused
(Following Jesus is counter cultural, frequently invite persecution)
Do we want God centred lives ruled by Godly values?
In a world pre occupied with likes, emoji, it is people pleasing at the expense of pleasing God, it hinders us from complete obedience. Our loved one souls are also at stake, we feared being rejected by being unfriended when we share the gospel with them.
#2 warning:
Beware of pride and spiritual ignorance
Jonathan, Saul's son knew that if God was with them, Victory will be with them
1 Samuel 14:18-20
Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.)[a] 19 While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
20 Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords.
Saul disregarded the law, treated God's presence of the Ark by handling carelessly, he was spiritually insensitive
Saul's motivation for fighting the Philistines was pride and personal vengeance
Saul used Israelites army to fulfill his own agenda
He has a form of religion but didn't truly know God
He put the army through unnecessary distress by caused them to sin against YahWeh and almost caused the death of his own son Jonathan
Saul was spiritually insensitive and ignorance
How to achieve complete obedience?
# Application 2:
Be spiritually attuned
(know God personally and intimately)
(don't perform religious duties)
To be spiritually attuned, we must know God intimately and understand what he requires of us
Get to know God personally and intimately
God appreciate a sincere heart that is completely obedience to Him
#3 warning:
Beware of rebellious tendencies
1 Samuel 15:3
Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
Total destruction is call "Chayrem" in hebrew
1 Samuel 15:15
Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
Obey better than Listen
Do not be Rebellious or act on Presumption
Disobedience is a rejection of God's ways
Sacrifice was part of obedience to God but never meant to be a substitute
Sacrifices are to be made out of obedience and sincere devotion to God
There was no genuine repentance in Saul even when confronted by Samuel
We find all sorts of things to justify our actions just like Saul
How do we achieve complete obedience?
# Application 3:
Be open to correction
(God requires our genuine repentance when we fall short)
(His intention is to restore us, not condemn)
(we are to embrace his correction through people)
(submit to one another)
(let's reflect and repent)
Our Grace Groups and life-on-life disciple-making process are avenues through which the church community can lovingly correct us.
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