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Lord, thank you for the opportunity tonight. Once again, we ask God that you would settle our hearts and help us to listen to what you would speak. May we truly hunger for you and for your word, and may you fill us to overflowing. Quicken us by your Spirit and help us to receive the truth of your word. In Jesus' name, amen.

How many of you grew up in Sunday school and church? How many of you have that kind of background? If I ask you what we call the Lord's Prayer, what is it? Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. My kingdom come, my will be done. Is that how it goes? Ah, it's "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done." Actually, that small difference isn't such a small difference, is it?

When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray and used that example, he began by recognizing the sovereignty of who God is. When he addressed that prayer to "my Father," he was acknowledging that God is the one who reigns and that He is sovereign.

Tonight, we are going to take a look at a passage about a king, but a king who kind of forgot that. I want to remind you of a couple of things that Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians and in Romans. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, Paul tells us that these things, the things in the Old Testament, were written for our examples. They were intended that we should not lust after the things that they lusted after, so we could learn from them.

Also, they serve as examples and are written for our admonition upon whom the end of the ages has come. These things in the Old Testament apply very much to a Christian. I've met a lot of believers who feel that the Old Testament is not so profitable. But hasn't it been wonderful going through the prophets in the Old Testament to see how much they really apply to us today?

The same can be said for all of God's word. There is not any part that is there by mistake, and every part of it is for our admonition. It's for our learning. When it comes to examples like what we'll read about and talk about regarding King Saul tonight, we can find valuable lessons.

These things are written so that we can learn. You've heard that expression: those who forget history are destined to repeat it. Well, much of the Bible is written so that we won't make the same mistakes that some of the people had in times past.

I want to take a look with you at Saul's life, King Saul, who was the first king of Israel. I'm going to give you a little bit of background, since we're just jumping into this chapter. The nation of Israel, by design, was God's people. It was God's nation. He chose them as His special people, His special possession, if you will, if they would follow Him. He led the people out of Egypt hundreds of years before this through Moses. He brought them through the wilderness and led them by prophets, first Moses and then Joshua. After Joshua died, there arose judges. God really was the one who was reigning over the country. In fact, they call that period of history theocracy—the theocracy of Israel—because God reigned.

Toward the end of this period of judges, Samuel, the one who wrote this book, was the last of the judges. Israel had become envious of the nations around them. They looked at the other nations and said, "We want a king too, God, just like the other people." They forgot what a special privilege it was to be ruled by the Lord. As the people cried out for a king, the one that God chose was King Saul.

Let's look at the beginning of this chapter, thinking about, first of all, who Saul is. In verse 1, it tells us, "Samuel also said to Saul, 'The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel.'" Samuel is coming to remind Saul of this. "You remember back, Saul, when God sent me to anoint you?" We don't have time to go into the whole story, but I want you to turn back with me for just a second to chapter 10. There is something very important there when Samuel actually anoints Saul that we need to remember.

In chapter 10, verse 1, this is when Saul is being recognized and anointed as the new king of Israel. It says that Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him, and said,

Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance? Now that's an interesting phrase, isn't it? We're talking about King Saul there, but what does Samuel call him? Does he say God has anointed you king over the people today? He actually uses the phrase and the words, "You're the commander." Over who? Over your people? Over His people.

From the beginning of Saul's reign, he was reminded that, yes, he's king, he's a political figure, but he still was supposed to lead the people as God led him. He was still supposed to serve that function of a godly leader for the people of Israel.

Now, go back to chapter 15, where we are now. Samuel reminds him of that. "Remember, Saul, you're just the commander. You're the commander of the troops, the general, if you will. But God is the one who is the king. He is the sovereign."

Right away, Samuel gives him a charge: "Now, therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord." Heed. What we have here, first of all, is a command or a call to heed. Even though Saul was in a high place, Samuel said, "Saul, don't just listen to what God has to say, but actually carefully pay attention to it and follow it."

Thus says the Lord of hosts. With that warning, here's the message: "I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt." If you want to go back and look at that, you can actually find some history. Amalek was actually somebody that was an enemy of Israel for a long, long time. He was a descendant of Esau, which you can find in Genesis chapter 36.

You can see some battles taking place with Israel back in the time of Moses, and that's found in Exodus chapter 17 and Deuteronomy chapter 25. They were not friendly with Israel; in fact, they tried to hinder them from entering the promised land. They tried to do battle with them and did it in a way that was very unfair, if you will.

In fact, God mentions it here. He says to remember how they ambushed Him on the way. They would attack the rear and the weak. They wouldn't even fight like real men; they would go and try to attack those who were left behind and those who were weak. God remembered this and held it personally against them.

Why would God do that? There are several reasons, and I don't want to get off track. We could make a whole other sermon about that, but there are really a couple of main reasons why God would do this. One is that God promised Abraham back in Genesis chapter 12, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you." Amalek happened to fall into that second category. Because they had cursed Israel and fought against Israel, they were not just fighting against Israel; they were fighting against God. Therefore, God was going to pay them back.

Another key reason is that God allowed Israel to live in Egypt for about 400 years so that they would multiply, grow, and be ready to come out. God also says this was so that the fullness of the sin of Canaan and the surrounding nations would be filled up, making them ripe for judgment. In this passage, we see that Amalek is not just an ordinary people; Amalek actually represents sin.

So, God tells Saul, "Saul, I want you to deal with Amalek." Remember, for hundreds of years, Amalek has been a thorn in Israel's side. He ambushed them and did not treat them fairly when they came up from Egypt. So, what are you supposed to do about it?

Look at verse 3: "Now, go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey."

If we look at this, what's happening is that God is asking Saul to be His instrument. He wants Saul to be the sword in His hand to go out and do battle against Amalek because God is going to wipe them out. He commands Saul to wipe them out, actually. Saul was to be God's instrument of righteousness, justice, and mercy.

As the king of the nation, that was what he was to represent. Amalek represented sin, and God said we must deal with sin; it has to be cut off. Notice the specific instructions He gives to King Saul. He doesn't just say, "I want you to go out and fight them and do the best that you can." What does He actually command him to do? He says, "I want you to go out and utterly destroy."

There is a Hebrew word that can be translated as "the ban" or "dedicated." It refers to a special thing they did, meaning essentially that all of the spoil goes to God. It is dedicated to destruction so that it would be given to God in honor. You remember the city of Jericho as they entered the Promised Land? It is very similar to that, although God allowed Rahab and her family to live. Here, God says to wipe them all out—not just the men, but also the women, infants, nursing children, oxen, sheep, camels, and donkeys. That seems harsh.

However, when you remember that they represent sin, shouldn't we deal very severely with sin? How much grief in our lives happens when we tolerate sin? When we just say, "Okay, just a little bit is okay," that is not acceptable. This needs to be done 100%; they need to be wiped out. There was a command for Saul to heed God's instruction.

As Saul hears these things, I believe what we have in the second passage is a plan to head. There is a call to heed, and then Saul has a plan to head, or in other words, to be the head. Saul had lost perspective that God was the one who was his head. He started out very humble and meek, but it didn't take long for his pride to begin building.

In verse 4, it says that Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Tilaim: 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. Saul came to a city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. So far, so good; he is obeying the Lord.

He's going off. He's getting his people together, and he's waiting. Even better, it says in verse 6, "So the Kenites departed from the Amalekites." Here we have a differentiation from God. The Kenites were friendly to Israel. Remember, "I will bless those who bless you." So God took care of them.

Actually, you may not realize it, but Moses' father-in-law is called a Kenite. He's not just a priest of Midian; the book of Judges tells us he was a Kenite. This is actually Moses' in-law's family, if you will, and they were friendly to Israel the whole time. So we don't want to wipe them out or get them out of the way.

Up to this point, Saul is obedient, but we're going to see some indications here that Saul had some ulterior motives. It says, though, in verse 7, "And Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt." Everything up to that point is great. Saul is attacking. In fact, the amount of territory that's covered here is quite large. It looks great.

But then we get to verse 9. What happens? It says, "Now notice it says that they took Agag alive." What was God's instruction? Go out and wipe out the army and capture the king. That's not what God said. He said, "I want you to utterly destroy all. Don't spare men or women. Wipe everything out." But what did Saul do? He and the people captured the king alive. That was actually a common strategy and a common practice of his day.

When a king would go out to battle with an enemy nation, one of the things they would do to humiliate that nation is capture the king. Sometimes, as we see in other stories in the Bible, they would take retributive actions against that king. For example, they might cut off the king's toes because he had done the same to someone else. They would make an example of him by throwing him in prison or gouging out his eyes. Such practices were common in that day, and it would have elevated King Saul's reputation. In a sense, he was posturing himself to say, "I am much more powerful than this king is. Look at me."

It was not just King Agag that they kept alive; there were other things as well. Could it be that there was some kind of problem here? Possibly a problem of the lust of the eyes, similar to what Achan experienced when they went in to capture Jericho? God had commanded them not to take any of the spoil that belonged to Him. Yet, Achan saw the silver and the riches and thought, "Oh, I've got to have it."

Here we have King Saul leading his people, who were supposed to follow him in obedience. But what does he actually do? He leads them in disobedience. They go after the best of the sheep and the finest of the goods. Notice that it says they were unwilling to utterly destroy those things. So, what did they actually destroy? It states that they utterly destroyed everything despised and worthless. I find that a little ironic, but honestly, it is not that odd, because we often practice the same kind of thing.

God is asking King Saul and the nation to honor Him with the best, indeed to honor Him with all. Yet, they took steps to say, "Okay, we're going to give you all," but then they hesitated. "I can't quite get myself to sacrifice this one. How about this one?" So, what were they really offering God?

The leftovers. That's a whole other sermon about giving God leftovers, but that's essentially what I see taking place here. King Saul, instead of being obedient and leading his people with an example to obey the Lord, simply gave God the leftovers. He decided, "Okay, we're going to hang on to these things. We're going to hang on to the best of the sheep, the best of the oxen, and the king himself."

Now, the story gives us some insights, and we don't really know what would have ultimately happened had Samuel not confronted him. However, I can see that throughout these events, Saul is posturing himself. Maybe before they would sacrifice these things, they would breed them. I don't know; use your imagination. We don't know exactly, although we do know specifically that Saul disobeyed. Instead of recognizing God as sovereign, Saul said, "No, I'm King Saul. Obey me. Follow me." He didn't even have to use the words "obey me," because essentially he led by action, taking the spoil that they were not allowed to take.

Now, because Saul had taken these kinds of actions and led the people to follow in taking these kinds of actions, he had to be confronted. At first, there was this invitation, this command, if you will, to heed God. Then Saul's plan was to say, "No, I'm the head." But really, what we have in this section is that he makes an attempt to hide. He knows what the truth is, but when he's confronted, he doesn't want to admit it.

Beginning in verse 10, it says, "Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel." Samuel is a prophet; that's what a prophet is. The term "prophet" literally means "speak for me," someone who speaks for God. Whether it's about a future event or, in this case, a word of knowledge, he reveals something that has taken place. Here, God reveals to Samuel, saying, "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following me."

And has not performed my commandments. Wow, imagine what Samuel felt like. I tried to put myself in Samuel's shoes. Samuel was the last of the judges. He was a priest and a judge. Samuel grew up in special circumstances; he was dedicated to the Lord from being a small child, just after being weaned. He grew up in the tabernacle with the high priest, Eli, and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas.

If you read the Book of Judges, you'll see that Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas were not good examples. They were not godly leaders. Samuel desired to be a godly man and wanted Israel to follow the Lord. Then came King Saul, answering the people's cry for a king just like the other nations. Samuel warned them, saying, "I'll tell you what, you want a king? A king will tax you. A king will take the best of your horses and your sons. It's not really the advantage that you think it is." Samuel was grieved and felt insulted, as if it were a personal affront.

But one night, God comforted Samuel as he cried out, saying, "Samuel, the people aren't grumbling against you; they're grumbling against me." It was really God they had rejected, not Samuel. So now here was this king who had been anointed—here was King Saul. It says that King Saul was a head taller than everybody else; he looked great. In the beginning, he was zealous, but his zeal for the nation became misplaced. As he got it in his head that he was king of the nation, he began viewing the nation as his own instead of God's.

How Samuel's heart must have just broken! He must have thought, "Wow, I grew up in a bad situation." I remember growing up with Eli in the tabernacle, hearing the voice of the Lord calling, "Samuel, Samuel." Eventually, we figured out it was God. God prophesied to him about what would happen to Eli, pronouncing judgment upon Eli and his sons.

In the final battle that we see take place with his sons, Phineas and Hophni were killed, and the Ark of the Covenant was taken. Phineas' son was named Ichabod, which basically means "the glory has departed" or "inglorious." Samuel grew up in this era, witnessing how awful it is not to follow the Lord. Here they are, making the same mistake all over again, except this time it is their king whom they asked for. I'm sure Samuel's heart was broken, and God's heart was broken as well.

Verse 11 says, "I greatly regret that I set up Saul as king." I don't want you to get in your mind that God changes His mind; that's really not what's expressed here. In fact, look at verse 29 to avoid that mistake. Verse 29 makes it very clear: "The strength of Israel will not lie nor relent, for He is not a man that He should relent." In other words, God is immutable; God is unchanging. When it says that God was sorry, repented, or regretted, we are attributing human characteristics to God that we can relate to. Essentially, what is expressed here is that God was grieved over Saul's disobedience, and God changed the course that was laid out for King Saul.

God had promised King Saul that if he would obey the Lord, then God would prolong his kingdom. However, we see that Saul has not obeyed the Lord. This is not the first time this has happened. Because of Saul's actions, God was grieved and said, "I regret making him king." Why? Because he has turned back from following Me and has not performed My commandments. This grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night.

When Samuel rose up in the morning to meet Saul, he was told that Saul had gone to Carmel. Indeed, he set up a monument for himself and has gone around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal. Now, what did Saul do when he went to Carmel?

It says he set up a monument. He built a great altar to the Lord in memorial. Is that what it says? It says he made a monument for himself. The Lord is giving us a little insight here into Saul's heart and what's really taking place. You see, the battle was supposed to be for the glory of the Lord, but Saul took it and twisted it, saying, "No, I'm going to make this for my own glory. My kingdom come. My will be done. It's going to be for me." So he makes this monument for himself.

As he was doing that, he passed by and went down to Gilgal. Now, something else took place in Gilgal that I want you to be aware of. So keep your finger here, but turn back to chapter 13 for just a second. Chapter 13, beginning in verse 7, says that some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As Saul was still in Gilgal, all the people followed him trembling.

Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering.

Now what happened? As soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, Samuel came. Saul went out to meet him that he might greet him. Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.' Therefore, I felt compelled and offered a burnt offering."

Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. From now on, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel. But now your kingdom shall not continue."

In this, we see the second time that Saul has shown this lack of character and this lack of obedience in a significant way.

You see, in offering those offerings, that was something reserved for only the priests. Saul was not even of the right tribe; he was of the tribe of Benjamin, not the tribe of Levi. And so that was forbidden. God told him at that time through Samuel, "Okay, because you've been disobedient, I'm not going to let you be king for a long time. I'm going to take the kingdom away from you."

This is actually in chapter 15, the second time that it has been told to King Saul, "Look, because of what you've done, you're in big trouble." The thing that he had done was refuse to submit. He refused to obey the Lord. Back in chapter 15, it tells us, "Then Samuel went down to Saul and said to him, 'Blessed are you of the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.'" I think you should put a big smiley face in your Bible on that verse, because, wow, if that's not a bold-faced lie, I don't know what is.

"I've obeyed," Samuel. But then in verse 14, Samuel said, "What then is this?" Samuel hears the animals. "Saul, who are you kidding? What do you mean you've obeyed? What did God tell you? Let's review. What did God say you're supposed to do? Go and utterly destroy. Wipe them all out."

Saul says, "I've done it." Really? What are these animal sounds I keep hearing? Seeking to justify himself, Saul says, "They have brought them." Notice he doesn't say "I." He says, "They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God. And the rest we have utterly destroyed."

Not only is Saul hiding and denying, but he's also blame-shifting here. Notice what he says: "They've done. They've brought the sheep. They've done this. But we've utterly destroyed." He wanted to claim the things that were good but not the things that were bad. He's not fooling anybody, even though he thinks he might be. Samuel says to Saul,

I love this. Be quiet. Shut up, Saul. It's a respectful version of that. But put yourself in this situation. Remember, Saul is king. There's something else that's revealed here in this passage: Saul feared the people, while Samuel feared the Lord. Saul, the king, feared the people, but Samuel, the prophet, didn't even fear the king. He feared God. So, he dared to speak the truth. He said, "Saul, be quiet, and I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night." And Saul responded, "Speak on."

Saul tried to claim obedience, but what we see here, by his own admission in verse 15, is that the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen. One of the things I want to remind you of, and myself of, is that partial obedience is disobedience. In God's eyes, partial obedience is not going to cut it because God requires 100% obedience. When Saul said, "Hey, we've done this part, but we haven't done that part," remember that the law states if we're guilty of breaking one law, we're guilty of breaking them all.

Imagine that you're speeding down the freeway, and a highway patrolman pulls you over. You're doing 95 on the freeway, and you say, "But Mr. Highway Patrolman, I paid my taxes." Does he care? You broke the law of speeding. Partial obedience is disobedience in God's eyes, so that excuse isn't going to make it.

Saul is told here in verse 17, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not the head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?" God called him when he was insignificant. God called him His commander of God's army. As a matter of fact,

I skipped over it, but it even tells us that when he was speaking to him, it was in verse 2, the Lord of hosts. God, even when He was speaking to him, gave him reminders that, "Look, King Saul, I'm king. You're really just a general. You're the one that's supposed to follow Me and obey Me. I'm the Lord of hosts. I'm the Lord of the heavenly army, not just the earthly army."

He says, "Look, in verse 18, now the Lord sent you on a mission." God's the king; He can send kings on a mission and said, "Go and utterly destroy." Now, notice what He calls him in verse 18. "Go and destroy who? The sinners, the Amalekites." Because remember, essentially, that's what we're talking about here. Symbolically, the Amalekites were sin, and God wants to deal with sin completely.

In our lives, we're exhorted to deal with sin. In Hebrews, it tells us to set aside that weight that so easily ensnares us, that besetting sin, the things that weigh us down. The things that would hinder us from being fruitful in the Lord. God says, "Set it aside." We're told several times in the New Testament not to cast out demons, but to put off the flesh, put off the old man. Set those things aside and submit to the Lord.

In fact, even in James, it says, "Submit to God and flee from the devil, and he will flee from you." As you submit to God and set these things aside, then we're not going to be hindered in the way that we follow the Lord.

Saul was playing games with God, saying, "Yes, I have obeyed." You know what? Maybe in his heart, he really thinks he has obeyed. But let's see what God's perspective is. Saul said to Samuel in verse 20, "But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and gone on the mission which the Lord sent me and brought back Agag, king of Amalek. I've utterly destroyed the Amalekites." Oh, wait a minute. This is kind of doublespeak.

Isn't it? He says, "I've obeyed the voice of the Lord and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me." Is that true? Did he go on the mission? Yes, he went on the mission. He says, "and brought back Agag, king of Amalek." Now, I don't see that in the mission orders here. Did God say, "King Saul, I want you to bring back King Agag, king of the Amalekites, for me"? By that very statement, he's admitting that he really didn't follow his orders.

And he claims, "I've utterly destroyed the rest." Once again, he blame shifts in verse 21. He says, "but the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." The people took the plunder. Really, King Saul? Who's the king to give out the orders?

The second thing that we see in this passage about obedience when it comes to the Lord is that he's giving an excuse, saying, "we didn't do this so that we might obey later, so that we might do something later." We learn that partial obedience is disobedience. Here, we learn that delayed obedience is also disobedience. Whenever we delay and say, "God, I will follow you next year," or "God, I'll go ahead and do this next time," we must ask, what about now?

Particularly when it comes to sin and things that God has revealed in our lives, when we put that off, the whole time we are continuing in that sin. And so, God nails King Saul on this one. He won't let him get by with it. Here, we actually have God's judgment. It's a judgment to halt, a judgment for his kingdom to cease because of what's taking place.

It says here, "So Samuel said, has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?" It's a comparison here. Think about it.

The Old Testament and the Old Covenant contain much about appeasing God through sacrifices. When the people sinned, they would offer sacrifices. There were even peace offerings and fellowship offerings to show worship to God. However, God says, "It's not the outward things that I'm looking for, just merely outward things." The Scriptures tell us that God looks at the heart; He doesn't just look at the specific action.

Saul tried to cover up his disobedience by saying that sacrifice is good. God responded, "Does He really delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?" What is important to God? Is it outward religious actions? I asked you to raise your hand if you grew up in church. Perhaps some of you grew up in a very religious environment.

Coming back from the Philippines, I was surrounded by many very religious people. It grieves me to say this, and I say it in love: Hell is going to be filled with religious people. It is a sad thought that we can go through religious actions and believe that this will somehow please God. That was never the purpose of the law. The law was given to the children of Israel so that they might realize they need a Savior and that they cannot do it themselves. The law was meant to condemn, so they would feel convicted and cry out to the Lord. God gave them the sacrifices as a picture of what would come.

Even before the law, God promised that a Savior would come to redeem them. God says that what is important to Him is obedience. For the believer, God is looking for obedience. The non-believer cannot obey; the non-believer is a slave to sin.

But once we have given our life to Christ, God calls us to obedience. In fact, Jesus' own words in John 14:15 say, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Jesus isn't saying, "I want you to live by the Ten Commandments." Instead, He is saying, "I want you to obey my commandments."

When the religious leaders came to Jesus and asked, "What commandments must I follow? What must I do to inherit eternal life? What works, Jesus?" He simply replied, "This is the work that you believe on the one whom the Father sent." That's the work He wants us to do. Hebrews tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. For he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. God is looking for faith.

As Pastor Miles pointed out in our last Saturday night session in the book of James, practical faith shows itself through real action. So when Jesus says, "If you love me, obey me," the obedience comes as a response of love. John also tells us that we love Him because He first loved us. We are simply pouring out our love because He loves us so much. If He loves me that much, I will certainly obey Him.

Hosea 6:6 tells us a very similar truth: "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." The burnt offerings were something that God had instituted, but it was never about the law. The law was meant to lead them to a point of coming to God by faith. It was actually intended to bring them to a place of faith and trust in Him.

I know a passage that you are very familiar with. When David later sinned with Bathsheba, he confessed in Psalm 51:16-17, "For you do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it. You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise." Now, contrast that.

Saul is trying to justify his actions by saying, "Yes, we've done all of these things, and we're going to offer sacrifice. It'll be okay." But God responds, "Wait a minute. What's your attitude? Do you have a broken and contrite heart, Saul, over this disobedience? Do you see any contrition? Do you see any repentance in Saul over the things that are happening in this passage?"

What becomes clear is that Saul was primarily focused on building his own kingdom, making excuses, justifying his sin, and shifting blame, all the while being disobedient. God finally confronts Saul, saying, "Look, King Saul, sacrifices are okay, but to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams. It would have been much better just to obey."

Now, verse 23 is very challenging and contains some severe statements, but I think sometimes we need to be shocked into the truth. As Christians, we often categorize sins as big or little, thinking, "This is a really bad thing; this is not such a bad thing." However, in God's eyes, sin is sin. Every sin is the same. The things that we don't think are so ugly, God says, "Yes, they are. I want you to see them for what they really are."

What was Saul guilty of here? Verse 23 states, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft." How many of you, honestly, would consider joining the occult right now? Maybe after church, you could just go join a coven of witches down in Elfin Forest and have a sacrifice there. Would you do that? I pray that you wouldn't. But God says, from His perspective, when we are rebellious, it's the same thing. Ouch. That hurts.

What is the rebellion here? Some might say, "I don't see rebellion." The rebellion is the disobedience. Remember that God called Samuel His commander.

What Saul has actually done in the heat of battle is directly disobey a command from the king. What would happen today if a general disobeyed the president? For example, during a battle in Iraq or Afghanistan, if the president called and gave a direct order to that general, saying, "I want you to do this," and the general disobeyed, what would happen to that general? That's a pretty serious matter, isn't it?

In fact, this kind of situation has occurred in American history. During the Korean War era, there was a general named Douglas MacArthur and President Harry Truman. We have faced this problem before in this country, and it cannot be tolerated. From God's perspective, whenever we say, "No, I'm not going to do it your way; I'm going to do it my way," it is rebellion. In fact, all sin is rebellion against God. It doesn't matter what the specific sin is; we can categorize every single sin as rebellion against God.

You remember when David was confronted by Nathan the prophet regarding his sin with Bathsheba. In David's confession, he says, "Against you and you only have I sinned." How could David say that? He recognized that all sin is, first of all, against God.

Where was the root of sin, the very first sin that we see take place in the Bible? It was caused by pride, which rose up a rebellious spirit within Adam and Eve. God told them not to eat of the fruit, stating that this fruit was forbidden among all the trees in the garden. I imagine there were hundreds or thousands of trees—lots and lots of trees. Just this one tree was off-limits. So what did they do? They chose to eat from it. Of course, Satan deceived them; the serpent deceived Eve. The root problem, however, is that rebellion was present.

God says that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, sorcery, or divination, if you will. If you can't imagine...

If you find yourself taking place in something like that, you might think, "Hey, I'm okay. I'm better than those who practice witchcraft." But God says, "Wait, wait, wait." If you're rebellious, that's a serious thing. He goes on to say that stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Now, be honest with me. Are any of you stubborn? Stubbornness can manifest in various ways, and we can all be stubborn at times. However, this is against God. There are other words that describe stubbornness, such as insubordination and presumption. These are the things He is talking about here. He says that when you do these things—when you're presumptuous, when you're stubborn, when you're fighting against Him, when you say, "I'll do it my way"—you are in danger.

That reminds me of a popular song in the karaoke bars in the Philippines: "I Did It My Way." But don't we say that to God at times? "Yes, Lord, but..." I remember Pastor Richard in one of our classes, and it kind of shocked me at the time, but I'm glad he said it. He said, "You know what? At times, we have to get our big butts out of the way." We often say, "But, Lord, but..." Wait a minute. Those two things don't go together. Either He is Lord, or He is not Lord. He can't be kind of Lord. He either is Lord of all or not Lord at all.

God is challenging Samuel: "You did not honor Me. You rebelled. You were stubborn. You're fighting against Me." What happens when we fight against God? What do we know the result will be? Who's going to lose? Is God going to lose? Of course not; we are going to lose.

We might think we have it all together, just like King Saul. We might be self-deluded and think, "You know what? I'm pretty good. I've been walking with the Lord for a long time." This same pride can creep up in a Christian. "Oh, I've known the Lord for a long time. Wow, I read my Bible all the time." But what does the Word tell us? Knowledge puffs up. That can happen to us.

We can develop hearts of pride, hearts of arrogance, hearts that say, "I know how to do it. I've been raised in the church. I know how to play the game." All the while, we are playing this game of partial obedience. I call you to obey, not partially obey.

In 1 Corinthians 6:19, it says, "Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For we are bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your bodies and in your spirit, which are God's." Again, in chapter 7 of 1 Corinthians, it states, "Likewise, he who is called while free is Christ's slave." In their culture, they had slaves, and if we are freed men, we become Christ's slaves. In other words, we owe our lives to Him. We are His servants.

What did Paul call himself? In most of his letters, he starts off with, "Paul, a bondservant, slave." Even the mighty Apostle Paul, whom I have great respect for, was a great example, but his identity was a bondservant. For us, if we start thinking that we are something, we must take heed when we think we stand, lest we fall. Pride can grow, and it can lead us to become self-reliant.

I remember Pastor Mark used to have all sorts of counseling sayings and scriptures on his wall for counseling. One day, while browsing through his office, I came across one that said, "Prayerlessness is the greatest indicator of pride." Are we seeking the Lord, or do we think we can handle it ourselves?

When God gives instruction, if we are reading the Word of God, it is really not for head knowledge. It is to hear from God. When we do hear from God and recognize that He has told us something in His Word that we need to change or correct, how do we respond?

I say, wow, that's interesting. That's enough of that for now. If we want to pick and choose how we obey, we might as well take our Bible and say, "Okay, today I'll read this. No, I don't like that one. Tomorrow, no, I don't like that one either," and tear out what we don't like. But God gives us His whole counsel so that we might know who He is, that we might know how we're to worship Him and follow Him.

What was the result of what happened to Saul? Look at the end of verse 23. He says, "These sins are hideous in My sight. Rebellion is like witchcraft. Stubbornness is like idolatry. And because you have rejected the Word of the Lord, He has also rejected you." We may fool ourselves into thinking that because we're Christians, sin doesn't matter. Actually, we are forgiven, but sin does matter. There is always a consequence to sin.

Even as Christians, if we puff ourselves up in pride, if we refuse to obey or only partially obey, like what we see in the example of Saul here, how do you think God feels about you? Sin grieves God's heart. The number one reason that sin is an issue is because it grieves God's heart. If you go back to the Old Testament and look at all the "thou shalt nots," God didn't give those commands because He doesn't love us. He tells us those things because He does love us.

Raising a few children ourselves, do you tell your child, "Don't play with that plug over there" because you don't like the child? No, you do it because you're afraid the child is going to stick a fork in the plug and get hurt. Well, God has given us His Word partially as caution on how not to stumble and fall. Saul was warned several times about how not to stumble, but he didn't heed God's Word. He didn't honor God in His Word. And so, God told King Saul...

If you obey me, King Saul, you'll have a long dynasty, but if you won't, you'll be cut off. This is the second major thing that we see Saul has done. If you keep going in the book of Samuel, you see more. He tries to murder David a couple of times. God said, "Saul, you're cut off. Your kingdom's done." Even then, Saul didn't want to accept it. He says, "No, I'm still going to fight against God. I'll show Him." He finds out who the Lord's anointed is and tries to kill him. Why? So that he could still be king and his sons could hold on to his dynasty.

We can't fight against God. We can't outsmart God and do things our own way. Jesus said that we must worship God in spirit and truth, and that God is seeking such to worship Him. We can't do it our own way. That's been tried since the time of Adam. Adam tried religion his way; he called it a fig leaf, a cover over sin. It wasn't a very good solution. Not long after that, in the book of Genesis, you have men building the Tower of Babel, trying to get to God their own way. That's false religion—any religion trying to reach God on our own terms. But God stands in judgment; that won't work. It must come to be His way.

What is God's way? When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, the very first thing He said is, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." This literally means the poverty of spirit—the one who recognizes they are spiritually bankrupt, who needs Him, who is willing to come, obey, and sit at His feet. King Saul didn't lose his life here, but what he lost was his position and privilege.

We see a similar example in the New Testament. Even the Apostle Paul was concerned about being disqualified. In 1 Corinthians 9:25, he says, "Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we..."

As Christians, we do it for an imperishable crown. Therefore, I run thus, not with uncertainty. I find myself not disqualified, not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Even Paul was concerned about possibly becoming disqualified.

Now, I don't believe that passage talks about losing our salvation per se, but Paul recognized that it was a privilege, an honor, and a grace of God that he was allowed to be an apostle among the Gentiles. Paul said, "Look, I'm concerned that even as I'm preaching to you, I might lose that privilege." Actually, Paul talks about grace probably more than anybody in the New Testament, but many of the times he discusses grace, it isn't about salvation; it's about the privilege of serving, being an apostle, being a preacher, and reaching out to the Gentiles. That's a privilege God has given us.

Why does God not rapture us right to heaven when we're saved? Because He wants us to follow, in fact, the very command that Jesus gave before He ascended into heaven. What did He tell the disciples? "Go and make disciples." Well, who's going to make the disciples? The believers. What are we supposed to teach them? Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I commanded. How are we going to teach it if we don't live it? How are they going to learn?

Actually, the Scriptures tell us something very interesting. How many of you know Ephesians 2:8 and 9? "For by grace you have been saved through faith." You know that? If you don't know that, write it down. It's a very important passage on salvation by grace through faith. But Ephesians 2:10 follows that. It gives us our purpose, our calling. It tells us, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

To be honest with you, that verse is normally taken out of context. This is the way I normally hear that verse. "For we're His..."

Workmanship, His poema, His beautiful poetry, which is true, is created in Christ Jesus for good works. The stress and emphasis on the verse is that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. God has a purpose for you. God has a purpose for me. He is speaking to us and calling us to obey, just like He called King Saul to obey.

I would like to remind you of what the writer of Hebrews brings us back to in the book of Psalms. He says, "Today, if you will hear His voice, don't harden your hearts as you did in the day of rebellion." For King Saul, although I believe God forgave him for his actions, even asking for forgiveness, the consequences were done. The kingdom was taken; it was going to go to King David. In fact, if you look, Samuel deals with the situation. It's still undone. King Saul still did not fully obey.

It isn't until the end of the chapter that it tells us in verse 32, "Samuel said, 'Bring Agag, the king of the Amalekites, here to me.'" So Agag came to him cautiously and said, "Surely the bitterness of death is past." But Samuel replied, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. Samuel was zealous for the Lord, honoring exactly what God had told him to do.

To hack him in pieces was basically a statement: this is God's severe judgment on sin. God requires total obedience. I have a serious question for you to ask yourself: Who's on the throne of your life? Is it you, or is it God? When I'm talking about a throne, I'm saying, who's really in control of your life? Who are you living for?

Here's a quick test. Be honest with yourself. I'm not saying this to beat you up or to make you feel guilty. I just want you to really let the Lord search your heart.

Heart and my heart as we ponder this. Who's really on the throne? Here's a test: If Jesus truly is Lord, then what are we giving up in order to serve Him? If He's truly Lord, there would be something that we do that's beyond ourselves. If we only live for ourselves, then I have to question how that means I'm following Him.

The truth of this passage comes out when God actually asks us, commands us. He bids that we follow. Will we obey? If the answer is, "I'll follow you when it's convenient," well, that's delayed obedience. That's the same thing as disobedience. "I'll follow you a little bit. I'll follow you, Lord, but let me give you some conditions." What did Jesus say when people wanted to give conditions to following God? It isn't going to work. "Let the dead bury their own dead. You come follow me." Jesus wouldn't put up with the excuse. That's God's heart. He wants complete obedience from us—total surrender, total submission.

I don't want any of us to be deluded the same way that Saul was, saying everything's perfect when maybe there are areas of our life that God is challenging us on. He says, "I want you to follow me." He'll give us boldness to follow through. He'll allow us to obey. Jesus said in Luke 14:26, "If anyone comes to me and doesn't hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." And "whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."

How many of you want to be a disciple? I pray so. But Jesus said a condition of that is that we would deny ourselves, that we would put Him in first place, that we wouldn't be living simply for our own pleasure, but for His good pleasure. God, I'm...

I am concerned about the brand of Christianity that is popularized today, which suggests that if you come to Jesus, you will be healthy, wealthy, and prosperous. Now, who is that centered on? Is it centered on pleasing God, or is it centered on convenience for us? If that were the truth, why not come to God if He is just going to pour out lots of gold on me?

However, we see in Scripture that this is really not the truth of who God is. God is Almighty, and following Him comes at a cost. In fact, Jesus told us to count the cost before we follow Him. We must recognize that the Christian life is a life of suffering, a life of sacrifice, a life of submission, and a life as a bondservant.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus gives a parable to the disciples. He says there was a laborer out in the field, and when that laborer came in from the field, do you suppose that the laborer first goes in and takes care of himself? Or does the laborer go in and, the first thing he does, is make dinner for the master? The laborer sets about his business, makes the dinner, and does everything expected of him.

If the servant does those things, do you suppose the master sits down at the table and says, "Oh, thank you, servant, for going out of your way and doing this?" No, it is just an expected move. We, as bondservants, are expected to follow the commands and do the things that He asks us to do. That is not too much to ask.

Again, Paul said we were bought at a price; we are not our own. Therefore, we are to glorify God with our bodies. Last time I spoke, I reminded everyone to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God—voluntary things, as a peace offering, if you will—just pouring out our lives to God. This is another aspect of that same idea, although now we are responding to what God is asking of us. Both ways need to be considered.

To take place in our life, we just go about living our life for the Lord's glory. When God confronts us with the truth of His Word, we must obey. We say, "Yes, Lord. Here am I, your servant. I will follow you."

That's great. Lord, I pray that you would give us boldness and that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon us. Enable us, God, to follow you. Help us not to try to justify ourselves. Help us not to put off obedience or to say, "Yes, I'll partially follow you." Lord, help us to totally surrender to your sovereignty.

I pray for that spirit that David declared, a broken and contrite heart, an admission to you that, Lord, so many times, just as Paul said, we desire to do the right thing, but we don't do it. We recognize, God, that you don't condemn; there is no condemnation in Christ. Still, Lord, you call us to follow.

We pray, God, that you would help us make that fresh commitment to follow you. That we might have a victorious life, not trying to do everything ourselves, but simply listening to your voice and going where you call us to go, obeying specifically the things that you're commanding us to do. Help us to listen to you, Lord, and make in our hearts the desire to follow you.

These things I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.