Obey God His Way, Not Yours

Reading of scripture today. Sometimes we re to a portion of a text that I'm preaching from, but as I Was preparing and realized that there was no good carving that up into a smaller chuck with that, would not give us the full context of the story that we needed to explore this passage together. Today, we're covering 1st Samuel. We are talking about kingship but we're also talking about how the the looking and the finding of the human leader, still leaves something greatly to be desired. No, no earthly human being is going to fit the need of what God intends for us. And that longing that emptiness that Boyd is intentional. It causes us to look elsewhere and we'll only find that satisfaction in Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and yet, that's exactly what was supposed to be happening for Israel. They were supposed to look and say, hey, we want a king that gets all, they think they've got their their gift from above soon. They'll find out that he is not nearly the gifts that they thought and even David who follows is very flawed and doesn't come up to the standard that God really sets for a good King. I want you to picture today a couple of men standing on a hillside area where it's plateaued off nearby. They have just finished a project of brickwork and they're very smug. They're very gratified at the completion of their project. It's a a a circumference of brick-and-mortar several feet in diameter one of them holds the blueprints of the project in their hand and they are on break. When one of the quality control men from other crew, approaches them to examine what they have accomplished and they're proud to show off the results of this and he comes over and he looks down into the center of this circumference, Sim Way down and says, he says, wow, that's pretty deep down there. He's like, yeah, where we worked hard on this and he's just bought, you know, I don't quite understand. What's the light that? I see way at the bottom down there? And he grabs the blueprints out of their hands. He says, you know, you idiots, you build a. Well, you were supposed to build a lighthouse and he turns the blueprints upside down Now, you know that they fold the blueprints. Exactly. He's they just got one thing wrong, it was oriented upside down, which course, made a complete. Catastrophe know, sometimes we think that when we are mostly, write mostly following instructions, mostly doing what God would ask us to do it, we ought to get a pat on the back. We got to get an attaboy And we might even think that God's a little bit unkind or that he's a little bit extreme when we read certain things in the Bible that thanks. But, you know, they they still seem to be doing quite well. They got it mostly, right? but the problem is We need to remember that when we're setting out to obey, God we need to obey God his way, not our way. We have already seen that King, Saul has a knack for playing by his own rules and previous chapters. I won't recount that in details, but let me just remind you back in Chapter 13, we saw all that, he did jump the gun, he offered a Priestly. Sacrifice problem is, he's not a priest. He was supposed to wait for Samuel to come and he was concerned because some of the people were starting to scatter from him and is as well. You know, I need to do it my way. And of course he was chastise severely by Samuel ultimately by God, for that act. But we see a what I would call a Cavalier Spirit to put it nicely in Saw. And we see that carrying on, in chapter 14, Pastor, Brian last Sunday. Covered that chapter for us, we see that among other things. So, rashly announces a time of national fasting. During a time of warfare, the soldiers needed to be able to eat. They needed nutrition while. It sounds pie us and it sounds religious, it was probably quite foolish on Saul's Park. Unbeknownst to saw that this has happened and unbeknownst to Jonathan his son. That's all had made this Proclamation. Jonathan consumed, some food during this prohibition time and when Saul becomes aware that his own son had eaten during the moratorium on food. So make makes a rash statement that he's going to kill his own son and the people have to prevent Saul from this foolish act on his part. So all this helps us to put together this image of Saul for us. His his psyche is thinking his logic, his heart. We can see that there are some valuable lessons to be learned in today's text about the bent of man's sinful nature and the friction with God's righteousness, but it really comes down to if God had made certain stipulations about how things need to happen and it was very clearly delineated to Saul what the mission was. And there was no question about that, really soft felt that he had the right and the privilege to tweak. What got it said, it may be thought that he was improving upon it. That certainly seems to be the case by how he responds to Samuel when he is confronted about his actions in about his choices. But this is dangerous, it is wrong. And it's sinful. We see that very strong statement that maybe were already familiar with it for the gym, red for us today. He says for Rebellion is as the sin of Witchcraft in verse 23 Rebellion, that's what God is calling Sol's, tweaking of the battle plan. You rebelled in doing so you might as well been involved in Witchcraft and what is what is witchcraft. It's it's the idea of going to other sources of deity for for strength, rather than to God. And God was not the one that was being accessed here. Saw it sort of put God on the shelf and said I'm going to do it my way. Goes on to say stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry the ideas, I'm going to do it my way that stubborn this made himself his own Idol, he was worshipping his opinion, his philosophy, his way of doing things. So today we want to explore two facets of this one. Is we need to see that are violation of God's guidelines, whatever they are. Is always an excusable. You know, there's going to come a day when people are going to be standing before. God in the Bible says, every mouth is going to be stopped. No one's going to be able to speak doesn't mean that. There's there's not going to be an attempt at excuses. We know that there's going to be proceeding that people. They're going to be saying things Lord, did we not? And I named you many wonderful Works in a week week we tried to interview. We did it our way in Jesus, going to say, I never knew you. You didn't you didn't come to me my way. You didn't come to me the father's way. And so the violation, no matter how small it might seem from a human perspective. If we're not following God's directives, it's still inexcusable Why we have a responsibility to hear God's instructions? I mean, it's not like that. We don't have God's truth at our disposal. We do. In Romans 1:18, it tells us that God has a way of pouring out his wrath on those who hold the truth, in unrighteousness that word hold doesn't mean they're holding it, grasping it as precious. It means just the opposite, they're suppressing it. They're literally holding it down there pushing it down. A neighbor comes to them and says, hey, can I share with you how the Lord has changed my life there? Like, you know what, you know. I'm happy for you, but I don't need to hear it. They're pushing down the gospel opportunity at work. Someone gives them a track and there they put it into a drawer and not wanting to make an awkward situation, but they don't want to read it. They they don't have time for the Bible and they push it down. They have the opportunity to hear what God has to say, but they press it down. Why? Because of their desire to remain unrighteous. They want to live the way they want to do. You say, well if I never read the Bible, how did they know they need to read the Bible? That's a good question. The Bible also tells us that they really know from creation. It goes on to say in Romans one that they've known from creation that God does exist but they intentionally resist hearing more truths I mean if they if they had an open mind rather than a closed mind and they looked around, they was like, wow, look at all of this Amazing Creation, all of that nature holds that there's no way that this could just happen. See Evolutions more than just a an aspect of science as some would like you to believe it's a very religious thing. It's man's best effort at trying to push down the glaring. Truth that there's intelligent design, that there is a creator that made all of this. There's no really other explanation for it. Even our own laws of thermodynamics tells us that with the passing of time things go into this order rather than greater order. It doesn't work that way. You can't produce what their say. They are not innocent, even though they've not heard because even though they may be ignorant of things, they have push down. They have suppressed it. They they knew that they did not want to know if I could put it that way. That might sound a little bit like a riddle, but that's about the best way. I know how to put it. They knew that they didn't want to know. That's a problem. We see this going on in Saul's part in life. Don't know what was going through his mind. Don't know if his mind was wandering as Samuel was talking to him. If he was already thinking, you know, well you know he's saying that every single amalekite needs to be killed but obviously the king would be an exception to that because the standard is that you always bring the, the king back is a trophy, it's to show your dominance. And you know what? Y'all wear deserves that, I could hear Saul saying something like that that definitely fits in some of the spirit of how he's talking in this chapter. Toy saves a gag and they were also supposed to kill all the the livestock and he doesn't do that, not even close to it. You say Samuel commands Saul to Harkin in verse 1. Literally the Hebrew word has the idea of listening with the intention intention of following through, it doesn't mean that just hit your eardrums. It doesn't even mean that you, you, you have cognizance of what it means. You know, I heard you, I understand do, it means that you plan to then act upon it appropriately. Nnn this is the problem. Samuel's telling him so you need to do this, but saw doesn't do it back that same here, award in this chapter appears, eight different times. I won't read them all off there, but they're listed for you there. Twice in verse 22. So, obviously, there was a big responsibility, placed on Saul to listen to understand, and then to respond accordingly, and he failed miserably. Samuel couldn't make salt do what he needed to do and you know what? No one can make you and I as Believers today, do what we're supposed to do. you can be told you could be explained to it, you can be discipled, you can be reminded, you can be confronted, but in the end, nobody can do your sanctification, but you You can choose to walk away from it. Make excuses all threat. But ultimately, all of us are responsible for what God gives to us is the guidelines and it's word. The crazy thing is that it's ultimately for our good. It really is going to be what leads us to Greater Joy in our life. We sometimes. Think if I do it exactly. That way, you know, then I'm going to miss out on something. You know, I'd have to pass on this relationship based on what I see and gods were and then I would be unhappy. Maybe God wants me to be unhappy. Well, that's a false assertion. God says, how do you know what, your happiness would look like if you obey me and trusted me? How could the beat the people of Israel be expected to be attentive to the voice of God? If their king is not going to be attentive to the voice of God, you might be tempted to read this and it's been really hard on saw. Okay, remember, this isn't the first go around like this. He's already had a couple failed situations. And also, more is expected of someone in leadership because they impact other people around them. Is children of God? We bear responsibility too long to know, what God's will is so we can submit to it. We already praying. Lord, as I read your word today, open up to me. What your expectations are, how I can best serve you, how I can worship you, how I can obey you, I want that, and if I don't want it, I want to want it help. Help my water, help, change my desire so that I desire to follow you. That's how we are to approach. God's truth in our life Tarkan. Also. Part of the inexcusable D of God's guidelines is reflected in our sinful performance. Revealing not just and Hoops, but literally a broken path. More is happening with saw here in this text then just failing to meet up to God's standards in this one situation here. Gone head Samuel pencil in verse 11. If you look down at your, your Bibles with me, notice what it says here, that it repenteth me that I have set Saul to be king. And and then it gives the reason because we see the word for, right. So that means for this reason and what is that reason? He turned back from following me. That's more than just, what's going on. In this one, particular, flawed fight with the amalekites. There is a change in Saul's mind, and his heart fundamentally, and how he's thinking about God submitting to God. Yielding the god pursuing God. He is literally changed his path. His path is now fundamentally his own path. I'm going to do it externally. I'm going to look like I'm serving, y'all way. I'm going to, I'm going to still pray. I'm so going to make sacrifices, you know because I'm around a bunch of other believers. But in his heart, he was far from God. Saul did not have any longing not in real Longing To please and obey God. He was very okay with violating his conscience and yet try to live a false life of devotion.

David who will be the next king?

Had a very different response when he found himself out of bounds in God's guidelines, didn't he? David learn to not violate God's laws intentionally and some 1913. He prayed. Keep back thy servant. He's talking about himself here. Keep back by servant. Also from what kind of sense, folks, presumptuous sins. We know what presumption is. Right. It means you know full well as we would say here in the south It wasn't like, oh, I wasn't aware of that, you know it and you do it anyway. And he says, I don't want, you know, I'm going to have enough hoopsters in my life where I'm not thinking about it. Like I know this is wrong but I'm going to do it anyway. And I'm still going to regret those. Those are just as wrong but I definitely don't want to become so hard-hearted I don't want to so callous, my conscience that I become okay with lip just living and disregard what God has to say. I don't want that to have dominion over me, you know, when we are actively walking with the Lord, I mean, when we are saying I am going to walk with the Lord, I'm going to try to have devotion for him, not just in the morning, but as I walk through the day, going to enjoy, Jesus going to find myself, praising him, when we're living that way throughout the day, it's really difficult to fall into Disobedience. It really is Joyce and 5 says, if you walk in the spirit, you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Keep wall actively walking in the spirit control yielded to him. And you'll find yourself falling into sin. If our minds are regularly pursuing that Spirit-filled life, our activities will reflect a Sanctified mindset. Paul talks about this in Romans, chapter 8, verses 5 and 6, and he basically says, there's basically to pass remember, that's how how Samuel kind describe this. Is that Saul had taken a different path. He says, on one hand for they that are after The Flesh, another word meaning of the word after think of pursuing, people that are pursuing or going after the flash. What do they do? They do mind, the things of the flesh, that's what their thoughts are about their contemplating. Their brain is on. That doesn't necessarily mean that their outdoor activities are on that, you know, all the time. But that's where their mind is on the other hand, this other path is but they, that are after the spirit, they mine, or they go after the things of the spirit. And then it says this inverse 64 to be carnally. Minded is death. And, and this isn't just talking about unbelievers here and it's not talking about eternal death necessarily here. But what are you saying? Here is when we have a adopt a mindset where we're drifting away from God, and we have no desire to really pursue him in our lives. It's it's going to just stop the life out of us. Our spiritual life is just going to be nothing on the other hand. If you say I want to be spiritually minded. I want to be able to do the spare. I want to rejoice in Jesus when it's hard. When it's easy. I understand that and what does that lead to a life and peace Abundant Life and peace. It's more than just looking at our life in the points of events where we failed and we send the real question here is cuz we all do that, right? We all said, we all come short, Even as Christians, we have to confess our sin knowing that he is faithful. And just to forgive us our sin. But the real question is, have we changed our mind path? Our heart path. Third thing to consider here is our in complete. Obedience is still disobedience. Think about a judge in a courtroom telling a man who has a restraining order against him to stay away from his ex-girlfriend, you know, he can the man could offer up all kind of excuses, you know, she doesn't understand me. I really love her. She really needs me and he can go on and on and push the issue, right? But the judge is going to look at this as Sir. Stay away from her. Do you understand me? You know, And a week later, guess what happens? The man is back in front of the judge. The police were called, he was taken into their custody. He stands before the judge and the judge says, I understand that you were back on your ex-girlfriends property and he says I only went back to the house to mow her lawn and show her that I was a changed man.

Question, did he break the law? Yes, or no. But, but his heart motive. Right. Look at his heart motive, he was, he was mowing her grass, you know? How could anyone be upset with that, right? The point was the judge had given a directive and the man disregarded, it, it doesn't matter what your motive is. You know, if we follow the logic of saw here, it would seem that he had a paid more than he disobeyed. So, what do you mean by that? Well, there are thousands of amalekites that got executed. And how many stayed alive? What? Egg a good thing. so it's like, you know what, don't be so hard on Saul here and as far as the livestock, wipe them all out and they did save some, but the only reason they save those Was for worshiping Jehovah, God. It almost makes you wonder is Saul trying to connive God? Is that what's going on here is he, is he thinking, how can God get mad with me if I'm going to make a sacrifice to him? And the answer is God is not tonight. You know, you cannot deny God, he sees the heart, he knows the motive. You might be able to pull the wool over some people's eyes, but not God's. The borough of bird Bible writes this in its notes on this text. It says in sacrifices. A man offers only the strange flash of the irrational animals, A lamb is a lamb, a cow's, a cow. It's it's it doesn't, it's not made in the image of God, right? It doesn't mean that it doesn't have any worth and God doesn't want sacrifices in the Old Testament. We understand that. But in the end, so I was trying to say, but I say really good Lambs to be able to sacrifice, whereas in obedience, if saw had obey, he he would have been offering up his own will. Which is rational or spiritual worship. My mind goes to Romans 12:1 and 2. Right? Where were told as Believers? Yes, God is interested in you Christians in the first century. Not under Judaism. He still wants sacrifices, but guess what? The sacrifice is that he wants from you. It's you. He wants you to make your own body a Living Sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto the Lord, which is your reasonable service. My mind is given to the Lord, my heart is given to the lord. It's quite a bit easier for us to bring some sort of substance in.

The Lord doesn't have his great Delight in offerings as in obedience.

You say we're not offering animals, but can there be a corollary? Could there be a similar thing here today? Could have Christian say I'm a regular tither You know I'm faithful in my attendance to church all with your good things. But deep in the heart, if this holy spirit's been prompting, that it same individual saying you know what? There's this individual that you were wrong 10 years ago and my Holy Spirit has reminded you a few times that you need to go and make this, right? You need to apologize and you need to make restitution for what you've done. And you reason in your mind and thank, you know, that's so awkward, they probably don't remember it. Now, it would be so costly if I did that, it would harm my family with what I would have to do to make restitution, you could go through and have all these different thoughts in your mind.

And you might be able to Calais your own conscience, but you'll never be truly worshipping. The Lord. We must look beyond the polite exterior, the plate exteriors offering sacrifices, and we need to look at the arrogance of a man who thought he had a better way than God. This is not the only time it happens in the Bible. There's many examples of this. Let me just give you another one. Here is a picture depicting Sam, 2nd. Samuel 16:7. The art was was being moved to its proper location but it was not being moved in its proper method. Moses had already told them. It's given this. That when when it's supposed to be moved it supposed to be carried using the staves that go through the rings that were built right into the Ark of the Covenant. It was supposed to be carried on the shoulders of the priest. Said they put it on a cart pulled by oxen. Along the journey. The ox stumbles and the cart pitches and a man standing nearby by the name of Aza reaches out to steady the ark, which means he had. He touched it in the Bible says that when he touched it. God smote him, he lost his life. For his error, what was this error? People, people bought them struggle over this account. This narrative inside, while you seem to be a little hard, he disobeyed scripture, but beyond that he was making God book commonplace. This is very similar to God. Moses saying, God, I know you told me to speak to the Rock in this location to bring up water, but I'm going to do it my way and I'm going to hit the rock, and in that incident, Moses lost his privilege to ever go into the promised land. Again, it's a similar thing. It was making, God looks simple and it may God look like, he could be used like a lucky rabbit's foot. I can use God for my way rather than I need to be used as God sees fit. Your God is Not unjust for exacting. A severe punishment on those who trivialize his stipulations to trivialize, God's word is ultimately to trivialize him personally. And so we need to appreciate the fact that there is here a violation of God's guidelines and we have to say that can never be okay. We can never just in her mind Justified say it's okay this circumstance allows for it. I've got extenuating circumstances but what happens when we do wrong because that will happen what's called for something called repel cats. And sometimes people seem to go through Penance while we watch them from the outside and and yet is it repentance. And this is such a helpful passage of scripture on what's a little confusing. Is we actually have three kinds of repentance or three different scenarios of repentance. One is Samuel because he tells him, if you remember, his gym was reading the, The Narrative that Samuel said, so I'm not going to go back with you and in an offer the sacrifice and then he changes his mind. He does go back, okay? But for the sake of time and to get to the Crux of what being dark about, he talked about the other two, what is the Bible saying that God protects And the other one is when it says that Saul repents but let's talk about God's repentance because God's repentance is, what I'm going to call a paradox. Now a paradox if you're not as familiar with that, that word means that you have something that seems like it doesn't go together. But in fact it does you know this truth and this truth. But how did these go together? I don't understand that.

In verse 11 and in verse 35 it tells us that God repent it. The problem is there's a very strong statement in the very middle of the chapter verse 29 and let me read it again for you. It says the strength of Israel and in your Bible, probably the strength and Israel or capitalized, it's a reference to God as the one who sustains them, the strength of Israel will not line or what. Repent. The liberal say you have a contradiction in your Bible. That's why I don't believe the Bible in, in all this mumbo-jumbo about Christianity because your Bible contradicts itself. Well, this is what we call in a ledge contradiction which is will see is actually no contradiction whatsoever. It's a paradox. Let me for the sake of helping out here give you an entirely different example of a paradox in scripture on it. But I just want you to be aware of that. You're going to come across these and Bible. This is one of my favorites is found in Proverbs chapter 26 and the verses are right next to each other versus four and five. And I'm not writing the whole verse out for us here. I'm just giving you the, the, the high point of it here. But it basically in verse for says, answer not, and I put it in all caps there because that's the answer, not a fool according to his folly and then you read the first part of verse five and it says, answer a full cording to his folly. And this point you're pulling the hair out of your head. You're thinking God, which is it? Do I answer a phone call in his folly or don't? I how can it be both, right? And the answer is, it can because each verse has a second part to it. And I think that the Holy Spirit through Solomon, wrote it this way, in Proverbs, to catch our attention, right? Because you definitely get your, you know, your attention. When you answer not an answer, okay? There are times that we don't answer. Because as that verse went on to explain, it will make us like him. Don't answer for corn to his folly. Lest you be like him. You know, don't don't bring yourself down to his level. There are times that we do answer because of his arrogance needs addressed. And you might, you might even say it in kind of a, a taunting way. Maybe something back to him, you've done that. Maybe even in child-rearing there's there's maybe a legitimate way that the child says something. And then you, you mimic them back so they can hear themselves, right?

So they the answer from these verses are don't do it. If it makes you appear foolish, but do if it affirms his his foolishness. So you need to know it's a pain, cuz the idea but both are true, it's not a contradiction. It's what we call a paradox. The goal in this case is for the foolish one to regret his behavior. Not feel that he is Justified in that behavior. Okay, that's all bonus. You got a sermon inside of a sermon today, okay. But hopefully you understand how a paradox works now. So we go back to 1st Samuel, 15 and we're saying, God says I don't repent and then it says God repented which is it emotional element of grief? Right? If you're really repentance no. Does that mean you're you know you're crying and sobbing and going through a box of tissues maybe but maybe not people grieve differently. Don't they? But it's it should be genuine at the Heart level, right? And how can you have you no repentance without there? Being some real remorse, some Heart Reef going on. There's a verse that will help us hear about God and repentance. If we go back to Genesis chapter 6, stalking about the flood, that's coming right? God's going to send judgment upon the world and it and it tells us he's looking at mankind. Their thoughts are wicked continually. And as a result, it says, and it repented the Lord see that it repented, the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him in his heart and I underline both those words so you could see the support and the further light that it showing on there. No question folks. How many of you think that this verse in Genesis 6:6 is saying God recognizes. Oops, I made a blunder. I didn't get it right back in Genesis 1 and 2. When I first met to Manatee that was an error, I need a mulligan, right? How many think that that's what this person is saying that that God completely blew it when he made mankind. It's not saying that. All right, he already went and said he made, man on the sixth day and behold it was good. It was good. That doesn't change. God doesn't make mistakes, but it doesn't mean that there isn't a remorse. Is he's looking on this. Now there's also the idea that God sometimes depicts himself in human terms though. He is a spirit so that we can understand him. No, he he's not going to become weak in an EPS in his grief. You know, he doesn't need to go to a griefshare group meeting because he's so much in grief. It's not that way. It's just recognizing God's looking at and what he wants us to know, I'm not. Okay with this. This is a problem. I'm not dispassionate about this. And we need to know that about our God so that we know what to be upset about to write. If God's upset with the wickedness in the world, his children ought to be upset with the wickedness in the world.

Saul rejects being a disciple of Yahweh and that, Grieves, or we would save, repents God, makes him sorrowful. Now again we talked about the sovereignty of God here. Did God. No. Even at the moment that he appointed Saul to be king, that this was going to happen, of course he did. He knows all things. He knows the end from the beginning, but he interacts with Life, along with us to teach us in this way, Y'all where tears, the Kingdom from Saul, and that is unrepentant, belie, made up of word there, you like that? Might my spell check was just angry with me with his big bread squiggly line. I'm like, I don't care. I'm leaving it in my eye like that unrepentant bowl. In other words, God's like this is what needs to be done. I can't leave him in the kingship. So there really is a praiseworthy Harmony going on here in God who is consistent in his dealings verse 29, taking saw out-of-office repenting and also sorry for his responses versus 11:35. Those are not a dogs with one another day dovetail together. And when we see that we like that's the kind of God, I get excited about worshiping them. I mean, he is that way but I can see how that's great. That's wonderful. That's God's repentance. It's a paradox. That's maybe I should have said that for the second because Renee go to a sad know, we're going to Sol's repentance. It's pretend His greeting to Samuel and verse 13, seems to be showing his, he's anxious to appear spiritual and obedient. Look, look back at verse 13, you know, Samuel comes to him and it almost you get to feel reading the verse at least to me anyway that you know, Samuel doesn't get to say anything. So I was like going right up to him and he wants to get the first words out of his mouth. He. Right of the Lord. I perform the Commandment of the Lord. Right. Hi Samuel may, the Lord bless you have done what God asked.

Almost tells me he knows deep in his heart that he's on disobedient, ground.

He's setting up to make, just self justify himself. In the remaining chapter Soul makes really three different appeals to their verbal and one that's more physical, but he's trying to appeal to Samuel as the representative of God. One one of them is in verses 24 to 25. One of them is verse 27, when he grabs a hold of the the bottom of sandals robe and tears it off, that's the physical appeal. And then verse 30 and Samuel responds to each of these, notice how he he responds to each of these three Appeals. verse 26, he refuses and the request is, please come back in front of the people and make sacrifice with me. I need to look good and I need you to stand with me so that I have your support. And Samuels responses. Nope, not going to do it. I will not return with thee answered. Then, of course, there's that demonstration where he lays hold on the skirt of his robe or his mantle, as it says, in the King James and, and Rents It, Or rips it and verses 28 and 29 say, Mill stopped at this point. Like, you know what your kingship is going to be given to someone else better than you, right? He's reinforcing this. You know, you're making this worse. And by the way, God's not going to change his mind on this verse 29. And Saul doesn't give up right? Verse 30. He says I have sent yet. Honor me. Now I pray thee before the Elders of my people and turn it in with me that I may Worship the Lord thy God. Think we can't underscore enough. How desperate saw is at this point and he saying things like, I need my sins forgiven. For what I'm really hearing here is, I don't want to lose face in front of the Lester L, the elders that lead the tribes and I can't lose that control and that respect. So for what was Saul? Sorry. He was definitely sorry that his political career career was on the Rox. There's no question about that. He was sorry that he was losing the support of Samuel will see much later that even after Samuel dies. He's so desperate for Samuels input, it goes to a witch to try to have Samuel conjured back up again. Spoiler alert.

What? All this means is that he needed to keep up the Optics to use today's terminology, right? We hear that is all. I know, it's all about the Optics. What is it all about the Optics? Sometimes people want to compromise and why they shouldn't compromise for the optic sake. How about genuine heartfelt, obedience and doing the right thing? Regardless of how many people hate you?

So it's really not truly. Sorry for his violation of God's commands because in verse 26, he he wants pardon so he can publicly worship. I need to go out there. I need to show myself a good Jew, good Hebrew. So I can make this sacrifice. But in verse 30, he only repeats his desire for public worship so that he will have honor before the elders. He stops talking about, I need to have my sins forgiven, I need to be having expunged. I need to be purged from my iniquities. He's losing all that one, cuz I really wasn't the important thing to him. he just saw that as a necessary prequel or step, so that he could keep up his image religiously, It really May reveal a great deal about his motives for the areas that he was compliant to God. Sometimes feel like going that way and like, well now we're seeing his heart. When the when the hot water falls into the cup, now, we know what kind of tea is in the bag, right?

And so for us today, we need to ask ourselves. Do I sometimes play a little loose with what God is directing me to do. Both clearly has work but also how the spirit of God moved upon me. Where in the Bible says, if a man know what to do good and do with it, not to him in the sand. And sometimes I know what I'm supposed to be doing and I don't do it and I and I and I sat there and I argue with God and I come up with some excuse is that make me feel okay about it, but I realize I'm not, I'm not getting the okay, thumbs up from God. Yeah, your situations unique. You know what? Just forget about that part of the Bible in your case in this situation. Doesn't do that. He's like, no, I'll give you the grace. I know. That's there. It's right. It works. It works for you. It works for everybody. Yeah, but I have certain Temptations, but no temptation has taken you, but such as is common to man, you have enough to see how God fate, how faithful God is. And he will not allow you to suffer Temptation above what you're able to be there, but he will with that same temptation to give you Grace, who give you his assistants. So that you may be able to parrots that you can have victory in it. No one knows how the story would have turned out if solid saying, you know what, I'm going to live by faith, will do what's right, no matter how hard it is.

He was a lover of people more than he was a lover of God. That was the problem with the Pharisees Jesus said in John 12:43. They love the praise of men. More than the praise of God they wanted. To hear the Applause and have the the favor of the masses more than they wanted to get to Heaven someday and hear God say Well done, good and faithful servant. So we need to just remind ourselves and reinforce and repurposing. Our hearts Lord help me to obey you your way. Help me not to try to connive and excuse my way into my system of Christianity. My system of sanctification, my Approach helped me to have a yielded spirit. Because I don't want to have a spirit of Witchcraft, I don't want to be idolatrous. But we would be, if we pursued our religious life, the way Saul dead. God has something so much better for us as his children. If we will walk by faith and not by sight. Father in Heaven. Thank you for your truth and words, help us to pull these things. Deep into our heart, help us to Muse on them, help us to examine our own thought processes, and Lord help us to Humble ourselves before you May we understand the need? To be meticulous. In our desire to follow your will to say Lord, you are Lord. I don't say it and just a patronising way. I say it from a heartfelt way. I don't want to be a pretender. I want to be genuine or made that flow from all of our hearts today. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.