Title: Partial Obedience
Memorize: So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22 (Nkjv)
Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 15:1-11 (Nkjv)
[1] Samuel also said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord.
[2] Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.
[3] Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
[4] So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah.
[5] And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley.
[6] Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
[7] And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
[8] He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
[9] But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
[10] Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,
[11] “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night.
Message:
should be followed to the letter. This is very common among believers today. If you obey God 99 per cent and leave out 1 per cent, it is still counted as disobedience. Therefore, to please God, your obedience must always be 100 per cent. When your obedience to God is partial, you are simply telling Him that you disagree with what He has said. When God gives you an instruction, He is not interested in your opinion about it; all He wants is your total obedience. Learn from Saul, who was dethroned by God because he didn’t obey God’s instruction to the letter.
There are rewards for total obedience, like what happened to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. There are also consequences for partial obedience, as seen in the life of Moses in Numbers 20:7-12. Those who do not follow God’s instructions to the letter never end well. In the name that is above every other name, you will end well.
Key Point:
Obey God to the letter.
Hymn 35 – ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, “Thus saith the Lord.”
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!
O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.
I’m so glad I learn’d to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend,
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
Bible In One Year: Daniel 6:1-28, 2 Peter 3:1-18
Authors: Pastor E.A. Adeboye and Pastor Folu Adeboye