Saul Spared the Best and Lost the Kingdom: 7 Keys to Obedience

Sermon outline

Obedience is the one thing God has always required, and every act of obedience brings you closer to your miracle, while rebellion, like Saul's half-obedience, always costs you.

1. To obey is better than sacrifice

   Samuel the priest brought King Saul a clear instruction: totally destroy the Amalekites. Saul spared King Agag and the best of the livestock, set up a monument to his own honour, lied that he had obeyed, called the Lord 'your God' to Samuel and blamed the soldiers. God regretted making him king, and Samuel told him that rebellion is like divination and arrogance like idolatry, so the kingdom was torn from him.

   Illustration: In the Old Testament, kings went to war and brought a tenth of the spoils to the priest, who blessed them so they would keep winning; most believers carry a kingly anointing in the marketplace and need the blessing of a priest.

   “Everyone is on a mission, ladies and gentlemen. You are on a mission.”

   • 1 Samuel 15:1-35
   • Revelation 1:6
   • Genesis 14:18-20

2. Grace, and the whole counsel of God

   Some argue that this is the Old Testament and that grace will cover anything, but in Acts 5 Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit and fell down dead, and great fear came on the church. Grace, forgiveness and redemption are real, but so is the reverential fear of the Lord. Study to rightly divide the word, which in the Greek means to make a straight cut, so that you are not carried away by error or by preaching that only works up a sweat.

   Illustration: Like parents who love their children to bits but still discipline them, God has more than one attribute.

   “When you preach a truth at the expense of all other truth it becomes untruth.”

   • Acts 5:1-11
   • 2 Timothy 2:15
   • Hebrews 6:1-6

3. Study obedience

   Obedience simply means doing exactly what God instructs, and it takes discipline, focus and determination. It is the only thing God has ever required of man, which is why your smallest act of obedience is documented and celebrated by God. Blessed are those who hear the word and obey it, and Job says those who obey and serve Him spend their days in prosperity.

   Illustration: God gave Noah exact measurements for the ark and Moses accurate measurements for the tabernacle: He says what He means and means what He says.

   “Obedience is the only thing God has ever required of man.”

   • Luke 11:28
   • James 1:22
   • Job 36:11
   • Genesis 6:15

4. Despise disobedience

   Develop a hatred for evil in your heart and mind, because so much death and pain in the world comes from disobeying God's laws. Everyone misses the mark at times, and the blood of Jesus is there to forgive, but don't stay stuck there; every act of obedience is a step towards God.

   “You can only conquer what you hate. You'll never conquer what you tolerate.”

   • Proverbs 8:13

5. Fear God

   Fearing God means honouring Him, and many have forgotten how to honour parents, bosses and leaders. Being in God's house on the Lord's day is your appointment with Him, and your praying and tithing are signals that He matters to you. This is the whole duty of man, for God will bring every work into judgement.

   Illustration: If you keep criticising prosperity you will never have it, but if you learn to celebrate it, it will gravitate towards you.

   “What you respect will keep on coming towards you. What you do not respect will move away from you.”

   • Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

6. Examine the rewards of obedience

   Every instruction God gives is linked to a miracle in your future, and some of today's miracles come from yesterday's obedience. Don't grow weary in well doing, because there is a due season. God is not just going to do it because He is nice; He is waiting and watching for obedience, and He feels obligated to the obedient.

   “Each act of obedience shortens the distance between any miracle that you're pursuing.”

   • Galatians 6:7
   • Galatians 6:9
   • 1 John 3:22

7. Consider the consequences of your rebellion

   Rebellion is always punished, even if not today, and each seed of disobedience attracts tragedy; God will never advance you beyond your last act of disobedience, as Joshua learned at Ai when Achan hid the cursed thing. Get over offences quickly, and above all don't take up someone else's offence, because they can repent and move on while you stay stuck.

   Illustration: He admits he used to blame others for what he was doing, a scapegoat mentality, and once told one of his leaders that hurting people hurt people and look for someone to endorse their offence.

   “Hurting people hurt people.”

   • Joshua 7:1-12
   • Proverbs 1:28-31
   • Proverbs 4:23
   • Leviticus 16:21-22

8. Appreciate order

   Order is the accurate arrangement of things, and there is nothing wrong with order in your family, your home or the church. When you increase order in people and events you increase productivity, so plan your day carefully. Let all things be done decently and in order, even in the church car park.

   Illustration: When he fetches the children from school, it does not matter who you are: you wait at the locked gate until the teacher opens it and ask permission to take them. When he visits another church, he asks the parking attendant where he may park.

   “Unplanned days are incubators for your greatest mistakes.”

   • 1 Corinthians 14:40

9. Pray over every decision in your life

   Something happens when you pray that would not have happened had you not prayed, even if it makes no sense to the scientific mind, like anointing the sick with oil. Two people agreeing in prayer release God into action, and He prepares a table in the presence of your enemies. Prayer is about faith and constant communion, not only long hours; young people should take their desires to the Lord and sow a seed instead of pressuring their parents.

   Illustration: Smith Wigglesworth, he says, never prayed more than 15 minutes, but never went 15 minutes without praying. As a young Christian he never imagined driving a brand new car and looked only at third- and fourth-hand cars on Point Road, until his soul prospered and his thinking changed.

   “Something happens when you pray that would have not happened had you not prayed.”

   • James 5:16
   • James 5:14-15
   • Matthew 18:19
   • Psalm 23:5
   • Matthew 5:11
   • 3 John 2