"Does the Lord have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice, And to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as reprehensible as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as reprehensible as false religion and idolatry.
Since you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.” 1 Samuel 15:22-23 NASB
A great deal about willful obedience and willfull disobedience can be found in the response to King Saul's disobedience to the command of the Lord Jesus. Jesus Himself quoted this part of the Bible to others as well.
Now...reread Chapter 12 of Romans again.
"Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another. However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if prophecy, in proportion to one’s faith; if service, in the act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching; or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12 NASB
We see right in the beginning words about sacrifice.
Jesus had told people to go learn what that meant that He desires obedience over sacrifice.
We are guilty of sin once we pass that age of accountability. It's on us. To pass that point is to enter a room with the lights out and be grabbed and hear it declared "GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!". Because that's what we become.
For those who have found the light of Jesus Christ, salvation comes and they see things they never did before. Because the light of Christ illuminated their world.
We are still tempted by the things in the darkness. Tempted to rejoin what we have left because of the desirability offered.
King Saul let temptation go to his head.
He was given orders and didn't obey. Went as far as to be so full of himself that he set up a monument to himself.
Samuel had an affection for Saul it's easy to see. But he was told by Jesus to let go of that. He was rejected by Him for His purpose of leading the people.
Was reading also still in Luke today too. Jesus eluded to obedience and sacrifice in His response to someone asking about eternal life, what to do to inherit it.
"And behold, a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” But wanting to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” Luke 10:25-37 NASB
There are more truths than these about obedience and disobedience. We do see enough that we can realize it's willfully done, either way. We choose to obey or we choose not to.
For the unbelieving in their darkness they are obeying their sin nature and are carrying their death sentence with them.
Their reliance upon self to be "good" will never grant them the eternal life they desire. Without the Spirit of God it is impossible to please God.
Willful. We are the professionals at excuses but when it comes down to it we will find an excuse to fit our desires.
Saul did. The Lawyer was looking for a loophole to use. We, either believer or unbelieving look for rational reasons to continue in sin verses obedience. Adam and Eve started it.
We are indeed in a fast paced world. Information overload is everywhere. It's on purpose. To prevent rational thought. To prevent clear thinking and prevent peaceful existence. But it's nothing new.
Read throughout the Gospels of how often Jesus created ways to get away from even the hustle and bustle of His day to be with His Father.
It involved sacrifice. Sacrifice of sleep and of time.
We too are to seek understanding of obedience and sacrifice. We too are to learn to obey in the face of great temptation.
It may mean not going somewhere or not doing something that we really want to see or do.
We often jump ahead of God and are left disillusioned because it didn't work out. Why? The real reason was we didn't obey and wait.
We see the language Samuel used.
Reprehensible. Wow. How often do you consider how offensive you are to a Holy God? (Wow again as I just read what I just wrote.)
We need a proper understanding of what God says is disobedience to fully grasp it.
We see the instruction given by the writers of the New Testament to young Churches. We see what Paul wrote to Timothy, a young Pastor.
We CAN pray for wisdom, but do we?
We CAN pray but do we?
We CAN obey but are we?
We CAN make what matters to God matter to us, but do we?
Giving God an hour on Sunday isn't necessary a "sacrifice" allowing you to go do life your way the rest of the week.
Whining about getting up earlier to spend time with Jesus isn't helping your case about understanding sacrifice either.
Using any worldly excuses automatically puts you in the wrong.
You can’t understand the things of God without spending time with God.
You can’t understand the basics of obedience over sacrifice without learning about it from God.
Looking at today’s writing this doesn't scratch the surface...but does give you, my Dear Reader, an idea of some things.
Do YOU desire what God does?
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