To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice

I invite you to turn to chapter 15 of the first book of the prophet Samuel. Thank you, musicians—tremendous job, a blessing. Chapter 15 of the First Book of Samuel.

Brothers and sisters, I want to share with you a word that has been burning in my spirit all week, and it is actually a subject that has been percolating, bubbling up in my life over the past few months. It is a subject that seems so basic that, in a sense, it almost seems redundant, but it is so important, and we can never preach enough about it. It is the subject of obedience—obedience, obeying the Lord. And if you asked me for a title for this sermon—we always post the sermon titles on the Internet, and I wish I would always remember to help our brother Ernst Diehl and Esmeralda by giving them the sermon titles—but this time I remembered, and I want to put it there. It is related to the very account I want to speak to you about, 1 Samuel 15, and the title I would give it is “To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifices,” the words of the prophet Samuel himself.

I want to read this passage with you, 1 Samuel 15. We talk about prophecy, and I say that when the Lord places a burning word in our hearts and we preach that word, it is a prophetic word from God. Receive this word as a prophecy; receive this word as a word straight from the heart of God for you and for me, because I have already had to filter it through my own life, my own being, my own needs and shortcomings, and God has already spoken to me. I am conveying to you the fruit of that hand-to-hand struggle with the angel of God, also through His Word.

First Samuel, chapter 15. I am going to read verses 1 through 3, and then I will skip to around verse 7 and read through verse 23. The Word of the Lord says:

“...Then Samuel said to Saul—Saul, the great Hebrew king before King David—‘The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, heed the words of the Lord....’”

You know, one could stop right there and preach a sermon from this alone. God gives us an assignment, just as He gave Saul the task of carrying out a duty, a mission, a course in life, and our calling from God is to heed the Word of God, the commandments of the Lord. You know that obedience begins with an attitude, a posture, a way of behaving, and that behavior, that posture, is one of paying attention, being alert, being watchful for the word that proceeds from the mouth of God. If we heed the Word of God and take it seriously, then we will be able to obey; we will be able to align ourselves with the Word of the Lord.

God called Saul to the task of leading His people, and to do it well, he had to heed the Word of the Lord. Now, specifically, God had a word for him, a specific commandment for him, a mission that he had to fulfill, and there we are going to see how this whole matter of obedience unfolds.

Verse 2 says: “...Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, opposing him on the way when he came up from Egypt....’”

You know, God has a very long memory, but so that those of you who are not as familiar with the Bible or the history of Israel may understand, when Israel was in the wilderness, after they had left Egypt and were wandering in the wilderness during 40 years of pilgrimage, Amalek—a tribe more numerous and stronger than Israel—ambushed the Jewish people and deceitfully began attacking Israel from the rear, attacking the weak, the elderly, and the children. They displayed great viciousness; they displayed great hatred toward the Hebrew people. And throughout the centuries, Amalek—even today in Hebrew Jewish theology—is still viewed as a symbol of Satan and his hatred toward the people of God, that opposition which is so often unleashed against the people of God. God never forgot that treacherous, terrible attack by the tribe of Amalek against the Israelites when they were in the wilderness, and God swore eternal enmity against Amalek, while Amalek continually waged war against Israel. And so that is why God says to Saul, so that you understand the context, “You must destroy them.” Then He says, “I am going to punish what he did.” And look at this terrible directive. I chose this passage because it is very shocking. I am going to show you precisely why: because what this passage embodies, what it contains, is dramatic, and I believe my point becomes effective through it.

God says to Saul, “...Go now and strike Amalek”—speaking of the whole tribe, the whole nation, the Amalekites—“and destroy everything he has, and do not spare him. Kill.” That is a terrible word. “Kill men, women, children, and even nursing infants, cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys....”

He gave Saul a terrible mission, but there was a background to it. God knew the hearts of these people; He knew that they were a hardened tribe. God had given those people a long time to repent, and as He did with all the other tribes of Canaan, God waited for centuries before giving the land of Canaan to the Hebrews and taking it away from the tribes that were there, because He was waiting for them to fill the cup of their sin. And when the time came when there was spiritually no turning back for these people, God then commanded the Hebrews to leave Egypt and possess the land of Canaan, because God always prefers mercy before judgment; but a moment comes when the cup of God’s wrath is full, and then judgment comes.

That was the terrible command God gave Saul. Now verse 7 says: “...And Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt, and he took Agag, king of Amalek, alive....”

Notice this: here the problem begins. God tells him, “Destroy everything,” but he takes Agag, the king of Amalek, alive, “...but he killed all the people with the edge of the sword. And Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fattened animals, the lambs, and everything that was good, and they were unwilling to destroy them. But everything that was vile and worthless, that they destroyed....” And now here comes God’s response to this mixed action on the part of the Hebrew people: “...Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, ‘I regret’”—this is a rather anthropomorphic expression; it is as though God felt regret. Well, God knew this was going to grieve Him, but His wrath, His displeasure, was in the divine heart—“‘I regret that I made Saul king, because he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My words....’”

Brothers and sisters, God takes it very seriously when we do not carry out His Word, because God takes Himself seriously.

“...And Samuel was deeply grieved, and he cried out to the Lord all that night....”

I wonder what Samuel might have asked Him for. He spent the whole night crying out for Saul. Samuel loved Saul. Saul was like a spiritual son to Samuel. He had ushered him into the kingship, and I wonder how many times, brothers and sisters, people whom we love are living in disobedience. It may be one of our brothers or sisters; it may be a family member, a close friend, someone whom we greatly respect and love, but they are living in disobedience, contrary to the Word of God. And yet Samuel had to carry out the word of the Lord; he had to go to Saul and give him that terrible verdict. And that already brings us into the sermon, because so often today I see in society—and even within the church of Jesus Christ—so many of us allowing affection and fondness to cause us to drift away from carrying out and upholding the Word of the Lord. Every day I see more and more people saying, “Well, but I love those people, and what is wrong with it? They are such decent, good people,” and this and that, as though we could change God’s verdict simply because our affections tie us to those people.

We know that it is not so. Love, affection, and fondness have nothing to do, brothers and sisters, with the justice of God when it must be carried out. God’s justice is above our affections, yes or no? It is above our friendships; it is above our family ties; it is above our loyalties and our alliances. The Word of God is the Word of God, and we must obey it.

Samuel loved Saul; God loved Saul; but a spiritual principle was involved in this drama, and that principle had to be respected, had to be upheld. But I am struck by Samuel’s anguish, crying out all night. What might Samuel have said to Him? “Father, have mercy on him. Give him just a little more time. He is disobedient, but he is not a bad person. He has tried, but he is still not there, but....” God was clear with Samuel: “No, go and give him My word. He has not carried out My words.”

Then Samuel rose early. When God tells you to do something, even if you do not want to do it and even if it involves someone you love, do it quickly. Do not do it halfway. Samuel rose early.

I remember Abraham when God told him, “Sacrifice your son,” and it says that Abraham rose in the morning, made preparations, prepared the wood, and set out to carry out what God had told him—to sacrifice his son as well. Acts of obedience that are painful but must be carried out, because the Word of the Lord is much more powerful than any affection in our hearts. May the Lord grant us the integrity that Samuel displays here.

But that is not really my sermon; I am just pointing out a few little things along the way. Samuel rises early to go meet Saul in the morning, “...and Samuel was told, ‘Saul has gone to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself; then he turned, went on, and went down to Gilgal....’”

Before continuing, notice that—what he is doing. Saul made a monument to himself. You can see something of this man’s heart there and how it is connected to his record of disobedience. At the end of the day, there was spiritual pride in Saul’s heart; there was arrogance; there was an exaltation of himself rather than of God. And he shows it on several occasions later on. But I have always said that at the root of disobedience are pride and rebellion—the belief that we know more than God and the placing of our needs and appetites ahead of the Word of the Lord.

In this culture in which we live, which has strayed so far from God’s commandments, that is ultimately what we find: a culture that wants to build a monument to itself rather than to God.

The apostle Paul says that they honored the creature rather than the Creator, and for that reason God gave them over to a depraved mind, a failed mind. How often people want to build a monument to themselves and say, “We know more than God. This Word is already out of fashion. Nowadays our psychological, sociological, historical, and scientific knowledge has shown us that this is outdated,” and they want to erect a monument to themselves. Underlying everything is that attitude. And that is why I believe obedience is so important to God, because at the root of disobedience there is always doubt about God’s character. It is questioning: “Oh, yes, God said it, but perhaps those are just the little notions of an old man. He is already too old; He has been living this way for too many centuries, so let us bring Him up to date; let us bring the Word of God up to date.”

There is a disregard for the person of God. It is as though that were the root of humanity’s evil: rebellion, disobedience. What happened with Adam and Eve in Eden? It was an act of disobedience, and that is why this world has suffered so much throughout history. And before Adam and Eve, who was there? Lucifer, the most exalted angel God had created, who also wanted to put himself in the Creator’s place. He disobeyed the Lord, rebelled against Him, and that is why God detests disobedience, brothers and sisters. In fact, look at how He puts it here. I am going to pause there, but we will see more later. I do not want to get too far ahead of myself. Look:

“...Samuel came”—verse 13—“and Saul said to him, ‘Blessed are you of the Lord. I have carried out the word of the Lord....’”

Do you agree? “I have carried it out....” He had not carried out the Word of the Lord, but Saul was a superficial man, or perhaps he wanted to cover himself in advance, as we say. There was a little something in him telling him, “You have not obeyed; you have not done everything,” and he wanted to get ahead of it before they said anything to him.

“...I have carried out the word of the Lord.” Then Samuel said, “Aha, well”—I am adding that “aha”; it is a commentary—“then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear with my own ears?...”

The livestock were there lowing and making all kinds of noises and sounds, their very presence contradicting Saul’s claim that he had carried out the Word of the Lord.

“And what is that I hear? Is it a DVD or a CD or whatever, a recording of animals?” Those are the animals you refused to kill as God had told you.

“...And Saul answered, ‘Well, they have brought them from Amalek, because the people spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. But the rest, yes, we destroyed....’”

Explanations, explanations, justifications. I am also interested in the fact that he says, “to the Lord your God.” Saul did not know God well; he did not know Samuel’s God. Saul did not have true intimacy with God. You know, disobedience often arises from a lack of deep familiarity with the character of God.

How many of us take all kinds of liberties with God, including the one speaking to you, because sometimes we do not understand everything that the presence and holiness of God entail. There is superficiality; I believe many people sin out of ignorance of who God is. We underestimate God's seriousness; we underestimate how seriously God takes himself; we underestimate how weighty God's decrees are. When God says something, he does not mean less or more; no, he says what he says, and he means what he says. And what he means is what he says, no more and no less. The word of the Lord, the expressions of God, are—as the Bible says—refined seven times; they are passed through the sieve, and when they emerge, they emerge with precision.

Brothers and sisters, what God puts in his Word is what God intended to say. We cannot add to it; we cannot take away from it; we cannot stretch it so that more will fit; we cannot make it narrower so that less will fit. It is what God says, what we must accept, and what we must submit to. But many times, like Saul, we are playing games; we do not know God, we do not know how serious he is, we do not know how precise and exact God is in his commandments, in his principles, and in what he has established. And if God's people were more deeply acquainted with God's holiness, if we understood more.

But Saul speaks of “the LORD, your God.” Saul was a halfhearted Christian—and I am using that expression. He was a believer like those lukewarm believers, like so many politicians who say that they are Christians but do not have a genuine experience with God. They take liberties left and right, and then you see them playing games with the Word of God, trying to make the Word of God say what it has not said. And that is what we see here in this dialogue.

“...Oh yes, we—the people—spared the best of the sheep, but in order to sacrifice them; we did destroy everything else.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Let me tell you, Saul, what the LORD said to me last night.” And he replied, “All right, speak.”—Things seem to have cooled down a little there. I think Saul's enthusiasm waned somewhat, and he understood that this was serious. And Samuel said—“...Saul, although you were small in your own eyes, were you not made head of the tribes of Israel?...”—God is taking him on a journey through the past—“...And the LORD anointed you king over Israel, and the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, destroy the sinners of Amalek and wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ Why, then, did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but instead swooped down on the spoil and did evil in the sight of the LORD?” And Saul answered Samuel, “Well, on the contrary, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD...”

Brother, when God tells you something, do not try to argue against it. Do not enter into a dispute with God; do not enter into struggle and conflict with the Lord. Yield; submit. But Saul begins to justify himself: “...On the contrary, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and I have brought back Agag, king of Amalek, and I have destroyed the Amalekites. Well, the people took sheep and cattle from the spoil—the firstfruits of what was devoted to destruction—to offer sacrifices to the LORD, your God, in Gilgal...”

Look, now it seems that the people are the problem. Sometimes we try to pin things on others, to blame other people: my father and mother, who did this and did not do that and treated me this way; and society, which distorted things for me; and this and that. We are always blaming others. And look at these next two verses. As I was telling the church, this is my working Bible. If you look at these two verses, first I have them in bold, shaded with a pencil, highlighted—yellow, I have them in yellow—but not satisfied with that, I later underlined them during another reading, and after that I drew a vertical line beside them, and then I put a very large asterisk there so that I would not miss what it says here, because this is a very important spiritual principle. It says:

“...And Samuel said, ‘Does the LORD delight as much in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the words of the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to pay attention than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and stubbornness is like idols and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king...’”

A terrible picture. But it is a very, very graphic passage which, if we pay attention to it, can spare us many headaches, my brothers and sisters, and many tragic and difficult moments in our lives.

Let me briefly share with you, from a bird's-eye view, a few specific principles that emerge from this passage.

1. God is specific in what he asks and commands. Here in verse 3, we see that God gave Saul an order and was absolutely, perfectly clear about what he expected from Saul. And how terrible that order is, but God told him in great detail. He said, “Now go, strike Amalek, destroy everything he has, and do not spare him...” It applies to the entire nation, including its king: “...Kill men, women, children, and, just in case, even nursing infants...” I know that mothers at this moment—and all of us, really—shudder at the horror of that order, but it was very clear. That is why many people today try to wriggle away from certain verses in the Word of the Lord: because they offend the sense of justice and mercy and everything one has learned as a Christian about the heart of Christ and the values of the Gospel. You hear something like that and say, “But this was written by a sick psychopath, one of those genocidal people. That could not have come from the heart of God.” That is the human reaction to a word like that. But God was very clear, very specific: “...even nursing infants, cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys...” And he might have said, “Look, if you see a worm over there, cut it in half too. And if there is a little bird flying around, shoot an arrow at it too so that it does not escape.” The idea was utterly forceful, clear, detailed, precise, solid, and concise.

Brothers and sisters, when God says something, God... This is what I say: the words of the Lord are refined seven times. Over time, I have learned to respect the Word of the Lord as much as I can, because experience teaches me that when God says something and we violate it, even in the slightest, the consequences will surely come. God is detailed, and many times we think, “Well, no, God said that, but that is not exactly what he meant, I am sure,” and then we begin to play games with the Word. And how many of us allow ourselves all kinds of liberties. The Word of the Lord contains so many commandments and principles, and that is why we must know the Word, so that we can swim with its currents instead of against the current of the Word of God. We must be precise.

Brothers and sisters, I have learned to respect this Word, to love it, study it, and search it diligently. It says that if you were to search for it as for gold and silver, then you would understand wisdom. Brother, I want to tell you: look, I have seen how this Word is precise and trustworthy in everything. You can bank on it. When God gives you a command in any area of life—whether in the area of human relationships; in the area of your private life and thoughts; in the area of your finances; in the area of your work; in the area of your marriage; in the area of your children; in the moral, ethical, or financial area; or whatever it may be—in any area, God gives specific directions for your life. It is very much in our best interest to respect God's specificity and to walk within the Lord's commandments scrupulously and precisely. Search the Word of the Lord diligently, and then adhere to it precisely.

God told Saul exactly what he wanted; therefore, God is specific. Let us learn to respect what God commands.

2. That has a corollary, something added to it, something attached to it. It says that we must obey—this is the second principle—we must obey God to the letter. I wrote here in parentheses, “Partial is not enough.” Obeying God in part misses the mark; it does not meet the requirement.

In 1 Samuel 15, verse 9, you see here that it says, “...Saul and the people spared King Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle...” What did the Lord tell them? Kill it all. Even if it is the most beautiful cow in the world, you have to kill it. Even if you see in it the most beautiful, thickest steak, you have to kill it. You cannot spare it. And you have to kill everyone. They allowed themselves to be impressed by the king. Perhaps the king asked them for mercy or offered them this or that, and Saul, instead of carrying out the order, spared him, perhaps in a moment of false mercy. Ahab, another wicked king, spared Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, and God also punished him terribly. For there are moments when it is not time for mercy or grace. There are moments when showing grace and mercy, when God has told you that it is not the time for them, is disobedience and sin. It is a difficult word, brothers and sisters, because one would think, “Well, mercy and grace are for all times.” No. There are times when judgment is what is fitting. There are times when, if you love someone, what you must do is lovingly, with trembling and fear, give that person the Word of God; then it is up to them, and they must bear the responsibility. But woe to you if, when God tells you, “Look, warn that person who is walking on paths of destruction and sin,” you go and tell them, “Do not worry; everything is fine. God is a God of mercy. God comprehends; God understands. Do not worry.” That is terrible, and God punishes and judges the person who gives a word of peace when God is at war with an individual. It is the same in our own lives: we must comply to the letter.

To Saul's credit, he carried out the mission: he went to the place and killed all the people. But he spared just one person, and that was already enough for him to have disobeyed. He did not kill all the livestock, all the animals, as God had told him, and that brought God's judgment. How many of us are often obeying God in many significant areas of our lives, but there are areas we know are weak; a few nuts and bolts in the machinery are loose. And we say, “Well, I do not have time right now,” or, “No, later, another day, when I have more strength and feel more consecrated, then I will do this and that.” And we live schizophrenic lives. There are areas of our lives that are set apart from God, closed to the penetration of the Word of God, while in other areas we are doing well. But do you know what? We have an enemy of our souls who does not overlook areas of inconsistency. He comes before God and accuses us because of those areas, and they are breaches that we open to the enemy's attack.

In the Bible, there is the story of a king who went to war against the will of the Lord. The Bible says that when he entered the battle, he disguised himself so that they would not know he was the king. And Scripture says that some soldier shot an arrow into the air, and that arrow came blindly and struck the king between the two seams of his armor, through an opening in his armor; that is where the arrow penetrated. And that king ended up dying that same day. Why? Because he was disobedient.

And many times it is like that, brothers and sisters. Sometimes there are areas in our lives—we have 80 percent, 70 percent, or 90 percent in which everything is fine—but there is 10 percent, and that is where the devil shoots his arrow. The Bible says, “Give no place to the devil.” And “place,” in the original Greek, means: do not give him a foothold; do not give Satan even the tiniest hold; do not give him any room. Because he knows; he is an observer of humanity, and he knows where to grab hold of us. And many times there are numerous areas in our lives. There are people whom, well, he will not get through the area of finances or women, but he will get through the area of anger and resentment. Another person he will never get in the sexual area, but he will get through finances, human relationships, or something else. There are others whom the devil will not get through any financial problem, but he will get them through gambling, anger, or something else. And that is where we must be careful: Where are the holes in our armor? Which are the areas that we have not yielded to the Lord and that we need to...? We must examine ourselves in order to bring those areas to the Lord, so that the Lord may close and seal them, because one neglected area is enough to bring destruction into our lives, since we have an enemy. God is merciful, but there is an enemy, a prosecutor who accuses us, forgives no debt, and demands that judgment be carried out against the person who is disobedient. And we must seek out those areas and ask the Lord, “Lord, straighten out that area of my life.”

As the psalmist says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts; and see whether there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” Can you say amen to that?

3. Another principle that emerges from this passage: praise and rituals are no substitute for obedience. Look at what happens here. Saul says, “Oh, but those cows and those sheep—we kept them to worship the Lord. The temple finance department told me that if we saved 400 of the best cows at 400 dollars each, we would save 160,000 dollars that we could then use to pay for the temple and for worship, and this and that.” And God said, “I did not tell you to start calculating. No, I told you to kill everything. Before you give me sacrifice, I would rather you give me obedience.” That is what Samuel told Saul.

God does not delight in sacrifices as much as he delights in being obeyed. Brothers and sisters, how often do we want to bribe God? Let us see. How often do we think, “Well, going to church, giving offerings, and tithing will make God look upon me with a little more mercy and pay no attention to all the areas of my life that are in complete disarray”?

Or perhaps I serve on the board of deacons, I am at church every day doing this, I lead a cell group, I dance and praise the Lord joyfully, and this and that—but you are living in disobedience in areas of your life. There are areas of your life that you are not yielding to the Lord. Perhaps in your marriage you are not honoring your wife, and you are abusing your authority as the spiritual leader; perhaps you are being oppressive in your home. Perhaps you are speaking ill of your neighbor; perhaps there are other areas of your life that are not right with the Lord, and you think that simply because you give to the Lord or serve the Lord, that is enough.

I have learned that God cannot be bribed, that we must be as consistent as possible before God. Saul thought—and I believe it was merely a justification—that he could set these things aside. Samuel told him, “No, Saul, that is not how it is. This is a matter of obeying the Lord.”

In another passage—which I debated using as the basis for my sermon instead of this one—the Lord Jesus says to the disciples and the people, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I command?” The Lord often says the same thing to congregations and to us: “You are praising me, you are glorifying me, you are coming to church, you are giving your tithe, you are devoted in many things, but you do not do what I tell you in your spiritual life, your moral life, your ethical life, your character, and your human relationships.” Brothers and sisters, worship is no substitute for obedience.

4. Listen to this: our sense of justice and mercy is no better than God’s justice and mercy. I am going to say it again, because it may be confusing: our sense of justice and mercy is no better than God’s justice and mercy. Why do I say this? Because Saul placed his own sense of mercy—sparing Agag—ahead of God’s law, which said that they had to destroy everyone.

I see a problem in this society, and I increasingly see it in the evangelical church in the United States as well: the idea that we believe that, with time, we can somehow improve upon and fine-tune God’s love and mercy, and that by looking for loopholes and little workarounds here and there, we can be more merciful and loving than God.

Nowadays, for example, regarding same-sex marriage, how many people say, “But what is wrong with that? They love each other; they are people who also have a right to love.” Have you ever heard that? And who am I to say otherwise? It is not you; it is what the Word of the Lord says. “But my love, my mercy, brothers and sisters,” or, “He is my friend, he is such a good person, and I love him so much.” And do you know what? We are placing that first. Or, “I spoke with that person, and there is so much anguish and so much struggle within him that I have to believe this is from God.”

Look, the Word of God is the Word of God. Your sense of justice and mercy—you cannot be more merciful than God; listen carefully. You will never be able to improve upon the mercy, goodness, and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ—never. And I have always said that if God says something, that in and of itself makes it good, noble, just, and perfect. I am nobody to question what God says. My role, my part, is to submit—even reluctantly—to what God has said, to obey, and to say, “One day, when I get to heaven, I will ask Father God why he commanded me to do that and believe that.” And I assure you that God will sit down with you and say, “Look, this and this were the reasons,” and you will say, “Ah, now I understand.” And you will realize that it was exactly what was required in light of the whole economy of humanity.

How many times in our lives have we gone through things that seemed to make absolutely no sense, and then, years or months later, we see, “Wow, God really knows what he is doing. It makes so much sense,” and how we thank the Lord because he imposed his will upon us. Yes or no? Because that is how it is, brothers and sisters. Many times God humbles human reason to see whether or not we will honor and accept him. And if you bow your head and do things the way God said, even though it offends your reason, you will be blessed—even if it offends your sense of justice, even if it offends your sense of mercy.

When the Lord Jesus tells Peter, “Peter, cast the nets into the sea to catch fish,” Peter says to him, “But Lord, we were fishing all night under ideal conditions and did not catch a single fish.” But Peter adds, “Nevertheless, Lord, at your word I will cast the net.” In other words, “You know what you are doing.” And what happened? Peter caught a multitude of fish, so many that the boat was sinking, and he had to call others to come and help him haul in the fish. Why? Because when God says something, even if it seems crazy, even if it seems scandalous, even if it seems unjust, that is what stands. Woe to the one who rebels against it; but the one who receives the Word of the Lord is blessed and prospers. Let us never think that we can improve upon what God has declared.

Woe to the nation that seeks to place its own sense and definition of justice ahead of what God has determined.

5. We must obey and be faithful not only in what is acceptable and reasonable, but also in what is scandalous and offensive to reason. I already said it; that is the corollary of what I said before. That is why we must obey and be faithful not only in what is acceptable and reasonable, but also in what is scandalous and offensive to reason.

My brother, my sister, there are people here in this congregation right now—I say this prophetically—who have areas in their lives where, in order to align themselves with what God wants for their lives, they will have to do something that will tear their hearts apart. You will have to break with someone you love very much, and your soul will bleed, but you will have to do it; and if you do, you will be blessed. If you are stubborn and persist, judgment will come upon your life.

There are areas of your life that give you great pleasure, enjoyment, and satisfaction, that flatter you; but if you do not surrender them to the Lord, they will be the source of your destruction. It will hurt; you will wonder, “But why? What is wrong with that?” Because the Lord says so.

Another passage that came to mind this morning regarding this is where the Lord Jesus sends the disciples and tells them to ask some people they did not know to give that donkey to the Lord. This was when the Lord was about to enter Jerusalem in his triumphal entry, riding on a donkey. And notice what Jesus Christ says. He says, “And if they ask you why they have to hand over that donkey, tell them this: ‘Because the Lord needs it.’” Wow, that struck me. It is a beautiful verse.

Brother, when the Lord tells you to surrender something to him, surrender it, because that is what he says, that is what he wants, and that is what you must do. And if you do it, you will be blessed, even if your heart aches, even if your soul breaks, even if your very insides bleed. Do it, because there is great blessing in it. And when you correct that area and align yourself with the will of God, even if the path is painful, blessing will come into your life, God’s covering will come, peaceful sleep will come, and hope will come.

How many things lie hidden in our lives and prevent God from doing everything he wants to do in us? Look, there are people here in this church right now for whom God has an incredible bank account that he wants to pour out upon you, but he is waiting for you to align your life with his will. There are things God wants to do in your life—listen to me—and you wonder, “Why is blessing not coming into my life? Why, when I go to church, when I tithe, when I do all these other things, have I not seen God’s blessing?” Look, that area of your life that you need to bring into alignment with the Word of God—surrender it to the Lord. You will bleed, it will hurt, you will kick and scream, you will grow bitter, but when you do it, that thing will immediately leave and God’s blessing will enter your life. Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Word of the Lord says.

I am wrapping this up now. Another important point.

6. Sooner or later, disobedience brings disastrous consequences. The emphasis here is on sooner or later: sooner or later, disobedience brings disastrous consequences. Saul was a man who, from the very beginning of his reign, was disobeying the Lord; and if the Hebrews had possessed discerning eyes, they would have realized that something was wrong in this man’s heart. For when God blessed Saul, designated him as the first king of Israel, and placed his seal upon him, it says that when they went to present Saul—when Samuel went to present Saul before the congregation, before the people of Israel—Saul was nowhere to be found. And the people were asking, “Where is Saul?” but they could not find him. Do you know where they found him? Hidden away somewhere because he was afraid to appear. He was timid and afraid to present himself before the congregation. There was already something in this man’s heart that made him understand that he did not measure up to his calling. There was a lack of integrity in him. There was a sense of alienation, like when Eve and Adam hid from the presence of God because they knew they were in the wrong.

And time and again Saul rebelled against God; he was inconsistent in his walk. And God had mercy on him, but one day God said, “The cup is now full. Today is the day,” and called in every debt, with interest.

Brother, sister, do not allow it; do not take chances; let us not play games with God. Many times God’s mercy is long-suffering, and God gives us a very long rope, and we do and undo, and run around here and there, and there are inconsistencies in our lives, and we say, “Well, God knows. God is merciful,” and this and that and the other. And one day God yanks the rope and breaks our neck. Or one day the enemy collects what we owe, because he certainly forgives nothing, you know? He forgives nothing, and at times I am more afraid of… I am not afraid of God; I have reverence for God. But I am afraid of Satan because he is an accuser. He forgives no debt, has no mercy, and is always ready to collect on anything. And that is why we must walk uprightly.

Brothers and sisters, if I could emphasize in some way that the word I am giving is not meant to frighten you, but to bless you. If you take it seriously, Congregation Lion of Judah, God wants to do beautiful things in you. God wants to honor this people, lift them up, bless them, use them, and prosper them. But God says, “Before my blessing comes upon you, let us settle accounts. Get right with me; align yourselves with my Word. People of Lion of Judah, God says to you: I want to bless you, I want to pour out my grace upon you, I want to use you greatly, I want to demonstrate the truth of my Word toward you, and I want to give you everything I conceived in my heart before the foundation of the world. I have destined and prepared it for you. The gifts I made for you are ready, and my heart longs to give them to you.”

“Now get right with me. Set your walk in order; straighten the crooked paths. Lower what is too high; raise what is too low. Make what is excessive precise, and broaden what is too narrow. And when you align yourself, my blessing will descend upon you. When obedience becomes the rule of your life, my blessing will flow into your life like abundant fountains.” That is my word for the people of Lion of Judah on this day; it is the Word of the Lord.

People of God, this message is for you: obedience before sacrifice, purity before ostentation, integrity in small things and great things, holiness in public and in private, obedience to the Lord, integrity before God.

Lastly, because I want to end on a positive note: when we obey, we are blessed and prosper. I would like the musicians to come forward, please. Thank you. When we obey, we are blessed and prosper. I have something written here that says, “Obedience is the best conductor.”

In the world of science, there are different conductors of energy; some are better than others. For example, when it comes to electricity, copper is one of the best conductors, which is why electrical cords and wires are made of copper; copper is used, and there are conductors that are even better than copper. But the important thing is that I would say the best conductor of God’s blessings is obedience.

There are many other conductors of God’s blessing: praise is one, service is another, and tithing and giving to the Lord from your possessions as a priority is another conductor of God’s blessing. But of all the ones I know, the best is obeying the Lord, having a heart that is subject and submissive to the Lord, a heart that is tender toward the Lord, a heart like soft wax that, when God merely presses it just a little, immediately conforms to the image God imparts. May our hearts be like that; may our sensitivity toward the Lord be like that.

Brothers and sisters, I am convinced of how timely this word that I am sharing with you this afternoon is, and of how much it is a word for this moment. That is why I say that this is a prophetic word for you and for me, for I have been wrestling and struggling with it throughout all these days, these months. Today the Lord gives me the freedom to share it with you.

God wants to use us, bless us, and prosper us, but let us remember this, church—church, congregation listening to me—God wants every one of us to be spotless before him. You do not realize how greatly your Father desires to bless you and prosper you. If you understood how great God’s passion is at this time to bless his creature—man, humanity—and to use his church! But that cannot happen until we set things right before God.

As the prophetic word this morning said, the altar must first be put in order before the blessing comes. When Gideon was called by God to deliver Israel from the Midianites, he told him, “The first thing you have to do is tear down this statue that they have erected to the goddess Asherah; remove it from there, cut it down, and make a sacrifice to me with it.” Before the blessing comes.

You see, what idol is there in our lives? What things are there in your life, in my life, that we have placed ahead of God and obedience? And God says, “My people, my people, I want to use you. I have heard your cry, your appeal, your petition to see my glory descend upon New England and upon this nation, and I desire to grant it. But straighten your ways, correct your paths, prepare the way for my coming, and I will come. Prepare yourselves as clean vessels, and upon those vessels I will pour out my oil, my anointing, because my anointing is priceless and cannot be contaminated. My anointing will not descend upon unclean vessels.” Let us examine our ways, seek the Lord, and obey his word. Prepare a home; prepare a clean vessel in your life. Unstop ears blocked by unbelief, my brother, my sister, this afternoon, and leave here committed to the Lord, committed to walking uprightly before the Lord. Let us stop playing games with the Lord—I say this to myself first—no more games with the Lord, so that God may have a people, a people, a people, a people, a people capable of containing his glory.

What God wants most is his people, a people. Let us give the Lord a people worthy of his glory. Stand up.

Let us give our lives to the Lord; let us consecrate our lives to the Lord anew. Let us give the Lord what he wants from us. What he wants most is your heart. That is what he desires most today—more than sacrifice, tithes, time, effort, or work: your heart. “My child, give me your heart,” says the Lord, “and let your eyes look through my eyes.” Give your life to the Lord; consecrate it—your path—to the Lord right now.