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Obedience is Better Part 2
Obedience is Better
John 14:23 (NIV) – [23] Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
John 15:10-11 (NIV) – [10] If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. [11] I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
1 Samuel 15:13-24 (NIV) - [13] When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.” [14] But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” [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.” [16] “Stop!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied. [17] Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. [18] And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ [19] Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?” [20] “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. [21] The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.” [22] But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. [23] For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.” [24] Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.
1. Partial obedience to God’s specific instructions.
2. Subjective interpretation of God’s objective commands
3. Overestimation of our own importance
4. Unwillingness to take personal responsibility
"Rather than confessing his sin, Saul sought to justify his disobedience. He believed it was for a worthy purpose, and he failed to take responsibility for his actions and blamed the people instead." (Thomas Constable’s Notes)
5. Blaming others for our mistakes
Proverbs 21:3 (NIV) – [3] To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Jeremiah 7:22-23 (NIV) – [22] For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, [23] but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.
6. Fear of what others may think, say, or do
Proverbs 29:25 (NIV) – [25] Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV) – [5] Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” [6] So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
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By Bakersfield First Assembly
5
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Obedience is Better
John 14:23 (NIV) – [23] Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
John 15:10-11 (NIV) – [10] If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. [11] I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
1 Samuel 15:13-24 (NIV) - [13] When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.” [14] But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” [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.” [16] “Stop!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied. [17] Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. [18] And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ [19] Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?” [20] “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. [21] The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.” [22] But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. [23] For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.” [24] Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.
1. Partial obedience to God’s specific instructions.
2. Subjective interpretation of God’s objective commands
3. Overestimation of our own importance
4. Unwillingness to take personal responsibility
"Rather than confessing his sin, Saul sought to justify his disobedience. He believed it was for a worthy purpose, and he failed to take responsibility for his actions and blamed the people instead." (Thomas Constable’s Notes)
5. Blaming others for our mistakes
Proverbs 21:3 (NIV) – [3] To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Jeremiah 7:22-23 (NIV) – [22] For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, [23] but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.
6. Fear of what others may think, say, or do
Proverbs 29:25 (NIV) – [25] Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.
Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV) – [5] Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” [6] So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”