Stay & Obey
Listen and obey the Lord while there is still time. Turn to Jesus today. It is better to be faithful and obedient than offer meaningless sacrifice and continue to sin.
“Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them…But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle…I have carried out the Lord’s instructions. But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? 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.” Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil…Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.” 1 Samuel 15:1-24
Following Jesus is simple, but not easy. Like all we can tend to have a unique ability to justify our own actions and sinful nature. What Saul did was so relatable. God told him what to do, but he decided to twist the truth of what he was told so he could do what he wanted. God said, destroy the evil completely. So decided he would do most of it but in his own way justifying his actions by saying he would offer the disobedient portion back to God. Do you ever play games with God? Saul was playing games by saying he was doing right, but in his heart he knew what he did was wrong. He lied about it, tried to conceal it, but ultimately confessed he had sinned.
The foolish aspect of the story is that Saul acted as though God could not see or know his heart. Where are you living with sin or allowing sin? Where have you not eliminated evil completely where God is calling you to purify your life so you can be more filled with His presence? Many people try to manage sin rather than destroying it completely. God is not interested in you trying to get a passing grade of obedience. Jesus said love God with all of your heart, mind, and strength. There is a total commitment and devotion that God calls us to that continually calls us higher than where we currently are.
The truth of the story is revealed that in the last line when Saul confesses that he did what he did out of fear. He says that he feared man and ultimately more than God. Can you relate? Jesus has given us very direct command commands for how to live, love and be faithful to God. How often have we twisted the truth or chosen to do things our own way not following the commands of Jesus, but tried to justify what we did. This is so foolish. God knows and see everything. He knows our actions and our intentions.
Why do we listen to the enemy or allow fear to cause us to do what is not right and just? I think of an everyday example. We get angry or offended when someone else does something that harms us, but justify our unloving response by saying it was their fault. We gossip and slander, but justify it by saying we will pray for them. Son is still in, regardless of whether we think we can offer a sacrifice to justify it. God judges each person by whether they listen and obey, and our faith, faithful to him, regardless of whatever excuses we might make.
“I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise. I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart. I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate. No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.” Psalms 101:1-7
David becomes a king who has a faithful heart to God. He sang a song that shows how he served God alone. What can we learn from his mindset and how he approached each day? How does this contrast to what we saw in the life of Saul?
First and foremost, David sings of God’s ways, love, and faithfulness. The righteous standard for how we are called to live is not the best we can do, but obedience to the truth, righteousness and just standards of God. David says he will not look on evil, have any pardon it, or practice what he knows is wrong. How often are we a bystander and silent observer of gossip or ungodly actions? Doing nothing is doing something. Inaction is an action.
David declares he will have nothing to do with it. David was not perfect by any means, but he was blameless in that his heart measured his actions by how he was open to God. Is there anywhere in your life where you have been doing or are doing something that does not align with what Jesus teaches? Anywhere you have been surrounding yourself with sin and not speaking up?
“You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. How delightful is your love…How much more pleasing is your love than wine…You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming…Awake…Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.”
Song of Songs 4:7-16
The enemy of your life wants you to feel bad when you’re fall short. Jesus came to set you free from shame, guilt, and fear. He wants to speak life to you and help remind you of your divine design. One of the best practices you can employ is listening prayer. It’s a very beginning of the text today. Samuel started by telling Saul to listen to God. The same thing is true for us. Pause, quiet your mind and heart and listen to God.
What will you hear? The truth that you are beautiful and beloved, made in the image of God, prepared to do good work, and a person God delights in. Jesus wants to make you a fountain of his love, who understands your beauty. He wants to awaken and lift you up out of the life that conforms to the patterns of the world around you. Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross that we would be blameless in the eyes of God and become a new creation obedient to the God of love.
“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him” Malachi 4:1-2, 4
God has such a better plan for your life. He does not want you to experience the consequence of sin and death that awaits all those who do not believe in the Son of Man. God is so gracious. He warns us and makes a way for us to avoid the wrath we deserve for all our sinful ways. But, God is just and he warns all people of what will happen if they do not choose to follow Him.
Moving beyond what we are saved from, we should always remember what we are saved for. God wants to give you a life where you frolic and know you are well fed. His one reminder is that we might remember to revere and obey through daily discipline which open the doors to blessing and dwelling as His beloved. How does considering the eventual day of judgment help us follow Jesus closer today?
“Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And they sang a new song…No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. Then I saw another angel…He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.” Revelation 14:1-19
God tells us that there will be a day of judgment. Enlarge people want to do what is right. Saul wanted to do what was right, but he gave in to sin out of fear and the pressure of the corrupt world around him. God makes it very plain that you can either be a person who sings a new song as part of the redeemed or you will face the sickle? Seems like a pretty obvious choice for us to make, but it’s not easy to live out.
The angel gives great insight to John about how to stay holy. He says it requires patient endurance to be faithful and obedient. Isn’t that such great advice? Don’t we often give to send because we are in a hurry or because we feel worn out? The Greek word is hypomone and it means to remain under or abide under.
Picture someone carrying a heavy weight and refusing to quit because they have not reached the finish line. It means to feel pressure but not give in to sin because but your focus remains on your personal Savior. Where is your focus? Is it on the pressures you are feeling and problem solving? How could shifting your focus like David did to God's righteousness and faithfulness help you move forward?
This all connects to the lesson from Saul. God calls us to listen and obey. He wants us to dwell and abide and do what He does. As Christians we are little Christs, little reflections of what He modeled is faithfulness and obedience to the Father. Ask Jesus to speak to you today. Practice listening prayer and let Him carry your burdens. Stay and obey. Do the next right thing you know to do and your righteousness will shine like the sun as you reflect the Son of God.