Discussion - When should I do it?

"Then Samuel said,  "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience?  Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams." -1 Samuel 15:22

I can honestly say that one of the hardest parts of being a Christian is being obedient the first time you're asked to do something. I have no idea why it's so hard to just do what God wants us to do when he wants us to do it. There are tons of stories in the bible that show how obedience payed off for people's good - but it seems like there are plenty more stories of being punished because of disobedience.

Disobedience has been around since what seems like the beginning of time. Even before Adam and Eve --the devil was disobedient and that's why he was cast down to earth in the first place. I've been reading the Old Testament and what I've realized is the Israelites (God's chosen people) share a lot of characteristics that we have today. I won't go into full detail as of how, but if you're familiar with the story of how God pulled the Israelites out of Egypt you can probably follow along just fine. (If not, read Exodus 1-15...it's a very good story...it won't hurt you to read it. Don't go watch the movie. I haven't viewed it but I have Christian friends that will agree that it's not on one accord with the bible.) As a matter of fact, later on in the bible you will find that the Israelites' disobedience and ungratefulness actually led to Moses' disobedience.  Moses' disobedience caused him to not be able to go into the promised land! He was able to see it, but wasn't able to enter it!

"And there was no water for the community, and so they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron. The people contended with Moses, saying, "If only we had died when our brothers died before the Lord! Why have you brought up the Lord 's community into this wilderness? So that we and our cattle should die here? Why have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring us to this dreadful place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink!" - Numbers 20:2-5


Keep in mind that God had brought them out of that terrible place that they had been enslaved in for hundreds of years and was leading them to a better place. We do the exact same thing in modern times. When we are enslaved to a certain place or situation, we pray hard for God to get us out and then as soon as God pulls us away from the situation we complain when things get a little tough and want to go back to THE SAME PLACE THAT GOD HAD TO PULL US OUT OF... 

Let us continue in the scripture...

"So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting. They then threw themselves down with their faces to the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. Then the Lord spoke to Moses: "Take the staff and assemble the community, you and Aaron your brother, and then speak to the rock before their eyes. It will pour forth its water, and you will bring water out of the rock for them, and so you will give the community and their beasts water to drink." So Moses took the staff from before the Lord , just as he commanded him." - Numbers 20:6-9


Here's where Moses messed up...in his irritation he did something he probably regretted instantly...

"Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community together in front of the rock, and he said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock for you? Then Moses raised his hand, and struck the rock twice with his staff. And water came out abundantly. So the community drank, and their beasts drank too. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust me enough to show me as holy before the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this community into the land I have given them." -Numbers 20:10-12


That's probably one of the saddest stories I've read in the bible so far. He was supposed to speak to the rock, and water would come out. Instead he hit it with his staff. This is a prime example of how other's disobedience can cause others to slip up on their journey.

The next story is the story of Saul (the first king of Israel) found in the book 1 Samuel. Chapters 8-28 pretty much explain his whole story, but for sake of this discussion we will only talk about his
downfall -- which was disobedience.

"Then Samuel said to Saul, "I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. Here is what the Lord of hosts says: 'I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed Israel along the way when Israel came up from Egypt. So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don't spare them. Put them to death - man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.'" - 1 Samuel 15: 1-3


"However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised and worthless." -1 Samuel 15:9

Do you ever do that? You know exactly what God wants you to do, but you still try to switch it up to fit your needs...



"When Samuel came to him, Saul said to him, "May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said." Samuel replied, "If that is the case, then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?" Saul said, "They were brought from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered." 1 Samuel 15: 13-15


The Lord sent you on a campaign saying, 'Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you have destroyed them.' Why haven't you obeyed the Lord ? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord 's estimation." Then Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the Lord ! I went on the campaign the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle - the best of what was to be slaughtered - to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." Then Samuel said,  "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience?  Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and presumption is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord , he has rejected you as king." -1 Samuel 15:18-23

When God tells you to do something, you have to do EXACTLY what he tells you to do. Saul believed that if he saved a few things to sacrifice to God that would be ok, but God was more focused on the OBEDIENCE rather than the SACRIFICE. (As we have already noted in a previous discussion, sometimes sacrifice comes with obedience, but not this particular time.)

But as sad as it may already seem for Saul it's way worse. The bible says Saul would pray and God wouldn't answer him in any form or fashion. Could you imagine that!? At one point being chosen by God and close to Him and then not hearing from Him at all -- what a horrible feeling that must've been. All because of disobedience -- probably stacked on top of other things, but that's what finished him.

"So Saul inquired of the Lord , but the Lord did not answer him - not by dreams nor by Urim nor by the prophets." -1 Samuel 28:6


As you can see, God does not take disobedience lightly. However, he doesn't take obedience lightly either. In the same amount of punishment you'll receive for being disobedient He can give you the same or more in blessings for being obedient. We all need to get to a place where we listen to God and follow His instructions all the way through. We also need to remain obedient even when we see others being disobedient. That way, we can live the life God planned us to have.

PS: Delayed obedience is still disobedience.
What are some things you think you can improve on? Let's discuss!

EPISODE 6 AIRS THIS SUNDAY AND IT'S GUARANTEED TO SURPRISE YOU. SEE YOU THEN! GOD BLESS.