Do we have, what we seem to have?
Luke 8:18 “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”
“Which he seemeth to have”…..by outward appearance….he seems to have what he claims.
But by inward obedience….it is not his. He may agree with it, as doctrine….but does not obey it for his life.
The faith Christ places within us, demands certain things from us.
“…for whatsoever is not of faith, is sin.” (Romans 14:23)
That faith will never disappear….but it can be starved by lack of obedience …….becoming faithlessness……and the resulting actions be only outward show.
No amount of religious activity….will ever take the place of obedience.
Like Samuel told Saul….when he returned from the Amalekites:
(God had said to Saul, that these people were to be destroyed…completely.
God did not want “sacrifices” from the best of the spoil…..
……He wanted them completely destroyed because of the wicked way they fought against the march of Israel when they were coming to the Promised Land.
They would come up behind and kill the slowest and weakest of the people and children.)
1 Samuel 15:22-23 “And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the Word of the Lord, He has also rejected thee from being king.”
These verses used to bother me because of the lack of diligent obedience in my life, everyday……
……we are to be obedient….Christ said, “If ye love Me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
Isn’t that the real reason we hesitate to do His Will, or disobey….because we do not love Him as we should….something else has taken His place in our hearts?
Then these verses bothered me….because of “stubbornness”….
This is to “peck at”….we refuse this command because of this reason….
…..Oh, we would do it (we tell ourselves) except for this person or that circumstance….
…when actually we are being stubborn about having “our own way”
[Praise God for His Word which “bothers us”!]
(My husband dealt with a man once who was having a great many problems….and he asked my husband to pray for him….
….So my husband said, “Yes, I will pray that the Lord’s Will will be done in your life.”
And the man said, “Ok”…..then after a moment asked…..”Can you pray that my will will be done a little bit, too?” )
We laugh at that…..but aren’t we the same way…….we want our will done….”a little bit, too”!
We think we can “give” God “something” to please Him….but He has plainly said…
Psalm 50:13-14 “Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High:”
No amount of religious activity will take the place of simple obedience.
What does God want from us? Us.
Proverbs 23:26 “My son, give Me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe My ways.”
Samuel told Saul (it was not his first rebellion to God’s Word)………”because thou hast rejected the Word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king.”
But notice, it is from “being king”…..God, here, was giving Saul a chance to save his soul by repentance….not his kingship….that was to be turned over to David…
….but Saul could have repented from his rebellion and stubbornness….and turned to God.
1 Samuel 15:17 “Then Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?”
When Saul saw himself as a Israelite…..not king over them….God blessed him.
But kingship had changed his attitude about everything…..and he wanted all the praise, and honor that title held….
….forgetting it was just a title….without God’s blessing.
But to Saul…..if he could not be king….then, Forget it!
Saul then said all the right words….”I have sinned”…..but he blames the people…
“…because I feared the people.”
When God would not accept such a confession….then Saul showed his true desire…
1 Samuel 15:30 “Then he (Saul) said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.”
The Lord “thy God”…..not my God….for to reject God’s Word and authority in our lives, is to reject Him.
Matthew 21:44 “And whosoever shall fall on this Stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”
Here is the answer for stubborn hearts….for hesitate hearts….for double-minded hearts….
Our Rock.
We can “fall” on it…..leaving the broken pieces of our plans, failures and successes,…leaving our lives….by faith…falling into the arms of God and become broken to the world…..which is our spiritual enemy….
….and letting Him heal us, spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Or we can in the day of judgement see our lives be ground up as nothing.
Deuteronomy 33:27 “The Eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the Everlasting Arms: and He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”
Are we loving God….our Eternal God….and being obedient to His Word to us?
“Come, and fall on Me,” Christ says,….”into My Arms…and I will heal you.”
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 