Live Faithfully and Obey Lovingly then Worship Sacrificially

Anything for an Hour

Some friends of ours we married for 20, had 5 kids, 2 bio kids and 3 adopted, multi-racial. He was former Navy submariner and worked at the nuclear power plant. He traveled a lot w/ his work. When he was home, everything looked and sounded fine.

Some friends of ours we married for 20, had 5 kids, 2 bio kids and 3 adopted, multi-racial. He was former Navy submariner and worked at the nuclear power plant. He traveled a lot w/ his work. When he was home, everything looked and sounded fine.

On the surface they looked like the kind of family you’d put on the church publicity brochure or web page. Perfect.

But, under the facade there was rot.

The wife found out the last 2 years of their marriage he had been having an affair w/ a woman half his age; he was 40 she was 19 or 20. She had no idea. He was a good liar.

When he was first found out he tried everything he could to make things right at home while he was there. He did things, bought things, fixed things like he never had before.

But, it never was enough.

He couldn’t write a check big enough to make up for the unfaithful, unloving, disobedient double life he’d been living.

Their marriage is ending and he’s planning on marrying his young mistress.

As appalled as we might be at his behavior, many Christians live this kind of live w/ God.

On Sunday we clean up, engage, serve, write a big check for the offering, pray deep prayers, and carry a tattered bible.

We look like and sound like we all in. We’re pretty good liars.

But the rest of the week we have mistresses.

We can be just about anything for an hour/week.

What about the rest of the time?

Don’t get me wrong, being here on Sunday is a priority. It’s better than being somewhere else.

Worship is important. You have sac’d the time and maybe dropped a significant check in the offering plate.

This is time and money you won’t get back. It is a sac.

When we give, God commands that it hurt just a little.

He is very generous w/ us, gives us a lot. Then, only asks for a little bit back.

This is a priority, but not our highest priority.

First, God wants us to believe.

Second, obey.

Third worship.

We are called live faithfully (believe, all in w/ Who Jesus is and What He says He will do) and obey lovingly (do what God assigns us to do in our marriage, family, church, finances, private life, and career because we love God not out of obligation) then worship sacrificially.

IOW: Live Faithfully and obey lovingly then worship sacrificially.

IOW: Don’t try to write a check on Sunday to cover the debt you incur w/ God Monday through Saturday.

It doesn’t work that way.

Sunday matters. But only after you live faithfully and obediently Monday thru Saturday.

Saul found this out the hard way in .

God’s Assignment

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 15:2–3 NIV

This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”

The Amalekites

Everything and everyone.

Sounds extreme, cruel to us today. But, this was the culture and their ancestors had made a big mistake and they made God mad.

Historical problem

500 years earlier they made God mad

History.

Their king, Amalek, set an ambush for Israel as they traveled from Egypt toward the PL

Israel was vulnerable. No trained army. No great weaponry. And, all the wealth of Egypt.

The Amalekites saw the opportunity to wipe out Israel, who had just plundered Egypt.

Joshua led Israel into battle while Moses watched from a hilltop.

As long as Moses’ arms remained raised, a posture of worship, Israel gained ground.

When his arms tired, he put them down, the Amalekites gained ground.

So, Aaron and Hur held Moses’ arms up until Israel completely won the battle.

500 years, God remembered and now was the time for Him to exact His revenge.

He sent Saul, on His behalf, to execute the judgment.

Here’s what Saul did.

Saul’s Action

1 Samuel 15:8–9 NIV

He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

Almost perfect

Everyone, except the king. And, everything except the best animals.

Partial obedience is still disobedience.

Saul directly and intentionally disobeyed what God assigned him and sent him to do.

Not only did it cause Saul a big problem w/ God, his disobedient actions led to future problem that Esther had to deal w/.

Future problem

Saul left some of Agag’s family alive.

Maybe he knew, maybe he didn’t

600 years in the future, Haman was an Agagite.

Haman was the bad guy in the book of Esther. He duped the king to sign a law that would lead to Israel’s annihilation.

He put up a pole where he planned to personally impale Mordecai, Esther’s cousin who raised her. And, passed a law encouraging the ethnic cleansing of all Jews. All this in retaliation for what Saul did to his ancestors.

God intervened and Haman was impaled on his pole and the Jews turned the tables and killed many Persians that day.

This entire episode could have been avoided, and Esther maybe never would have been written, if Saul had completely obeyed God that day.

These events, over 1000 years, all connected and God was intimately involved.

Just as the Amalekites stirred God’s anger, so did Saul. His disobedience didn’t cost him his life, but it cost him the throne.

God’s Anger

1 Samuel 15:10–11 NIV

Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

God regretted making Saul king.

He wasn’t surprised. This didn’t catch him off guard.

W/in the will of God, He gives us all the freedom to make choices. We reap the benefits and suffer the consequences.

Why doesn’t God intervene and prevent bad guys from doing bad things to good people.

Sometimes He does.

But, the same freedom you and I value He gives to everyone.

We don’t get to choose who gets to choose. Everyone does. And, some choices hurt other people.

But, God is gracious enough to intervene so that the consequences are not as bad as they could be for His children.

Saul made choices that He would grow to regret.

Eventually, his bad choices will cost him his life. Much sooner they will cost him his reign.

And, he never saw it coming.

His arrogance blinded him to how bad he really was.

Saul’s Arrogance

1 Samuel 15:12–15 NIV

Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

1 Samuel 15:

A monument in his honor

He was proud of his achievements. Not just this day, but all that he had done as king.

Remember, God chose him, he didn’t choose to be king. In fact, he was hiding among the baggage when they were looking to inaugurate him.

Boasted of his obedience

Samuel called him out

“What’s all that bleating and lowing I hear?”

Saul made excuses

The soldiers made me do it.

We took them so that we could sac them to the Lord.

Like getting caught robbing a bank and defending yourself by saying you did it so you could put the money in the offering plate Sunday.

So, what would God’s response be to such a magnanimous offer of worship?

God’s Answer

1 Samuel 15:19–22 NIV

Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Saul doubled down

“Why did you disobey?”

He was so proud of what he had done. Whether he understood or not how he had disobeyed (probably did), he was in the deep weeds w/ God.

When confronted he could have repented.

But, he repeated his excuses.

The soldiers made me do it.

We did it so we could make a big sacrifice to God.

Obedience is better than sacrifice

A faithful life. Obedience out of love and respect.

I am faithful to Sara and obedient to my vows b/c I love her and respect my relationship w/ her.

I don’t do it to get anything from her.

This is what God asks of us; to believe in Him and respect our relationship w/ him.

Obey His assignments and instructions regarding marriage, family, church, finances, personal life, and career.

Do these things b/c we love Him, not to get anything from Him.

God rejected Saul’s worship that day. Don’t bother. Don’t try to write a check at church for the debt you incur w/ God during the week.

God didn’t want the sacrifice. He didn’t want the animals. God doesn’t need our money.

If we need it He can print it and it will rain dollar bills on this building.

B/C Saul had rejected God, God rejected him as king. It was time for a new king.

Jesse’s 8th son, David will be chosen soon.

Attending a worship service and worshipping is of value. But, it’s not worth what you might think if the rest of your week is spent chasing mistresses.

Believe in Who Jesus is and what He says He will do.

Obey God out of love for Him not to get anything from Him.

Then worship sacrificially. It’s okay to write a big check.

But, don’t try to write a check on Sunday to cover the debt you incur w/ God Monday thru Saturday.

Applications

Vengeance

Let God handle whatever needs to be done. If someone hurts you God knows and is hurt, too.

He’ll handle it the right way, at the right time even if it takes a few years.

Just b/c you don’t see it doesn’t mean He’s not doing it. Or, will do it at some point in the future.

Life is too short and too difficult to hold grudges and plot people’s demise.

Let God do that.

Humble

Be careful not to hurt yourself patting yourself on the back.

It always goes better when we humble ourselves than if God has to humble us.

No monuments to yourself. Don’t boast in you obedience.

Chances are you missed something. But b/c God is gracious he accepts our flawed efforts w/out pointing out every shortcoming.

Stay humble and assume you’re not perfect.

Try hard

Try hard to do everything exactly the way God wants you to do it.

We may not be perfect but we can do whatever God calls us to do.

He never calls us to impossible. He frequently calls us to hard. But He provides everything we need to do everything He assigns us to do.

Saul thought one good worship service and a big sacrifice could cover his mistakes.

He couldn’t write a big enough check.

Jesus had to write that check, even for Saul.

Don’t even try to write a check on Sunday to cover the debt you incur to God Monday thru Saturday.

God wants all your heart all the time not just for an hour.

Live faithfully and obey lovingly then worship sacrificially.