[1 Samuel 9-12]
“Now the Lord had told Samuel the previous day, “About this time tomorrow I will
send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him to be the leader of my people
Israel. He will rescue them from the Philistines, for I have looked down on my people in
mercy and have heard their cry.”
[1 Samuel 13:8]
“Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him
earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come, Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping
away. So, he demanded “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul
sacrificed the burnt offering himself.”
[1 Samuel 16:14]
Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit
that filled him with depression and fear.
What do we learn from Saul?
1. God must be at the center of our lives
2. God calls us as we are and then changes us for His glory
3. Gods calls us to a life of obedience over sacrifice. God gave Saul a command to
destroy the Amalekites completely. Instead, Paul keeps the King alive and the best live
stock. When he is called out for his disobedience, he says that he kept the livestock in
order to make a sacrifice to God. To this Samuel says, Obedience is better than sacrifice.
A sacrifice is an offering to God as an attempt to show allegiance and honor to God.
Samuel’s response, makes it clear that true allegiance and honor to God is shown through
our obedience to his commands.
Our Obedience
– To first learn as disciples, then go teach others how to be disciples
– To love our neighbors as we love ourselves
– To be salt shakers in a seasonless world
– To offer the fullness of our humanity as a living sacrifice to Gods glory