Don’t Ignore the Bible
In the chapter of 1 Samuel 15 we read that King Saul of Israel receives a Word from God to destroy the entire Amalekite nation, including women and children. The Amalekite people were like terrorists to the young Israelite nation as they escaped Egypt. (Exodus 17:8; Exodus 17:14-16; Deuteronomy 25:17-18) God tells us that these people had "no fear of God." And through Moses, God promised that He would eradicate these people from the earth. 300 years later God is ready to make good on His promise through Saul. I'm sure God wanted the Amalekites to repent and turn their hearts to Him. In Ezekiel 33:11 God says this, "I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live." He repeats Himself in 2 Peter 3:8-9 "But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent."
The Amalekites won't turn their hearts to God. They don't fear Him, and they continue to terrorize His people. So Saul receives the Word to destroy them and everything they own. And really he's all too willing to obey this command as the Amalekites have been a terror for hundreds of years. But Saul doesn't completely obey God. He keeps what he wants. He takes prisoners, livestock, and precious items. He fails to obey what God commanded him to do.
1. If you ignore God's Word you will find yourself in difficult situations without God’s help
Saul found himself in a difficult situation when Samuel confronts him on his disobedience. Saul ignores God’s Word when Samuel tells him to completely eradicate the Amalekites and all their possessions. Saul wasn’t given any wiggle room in the instructions. God is always specific about His instruction and expectation.
1 Samuel 15:3
Now go and completely destroy[a] the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”
When God tells us what He wants us to do, or not do, He expects obedience from us.
Matthew 5:24-27
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
God tells us how He wants us to live. If you don’t know His Word, then you don’t know what He has shared with you. Ignorance is not bliss. God will not give you a pass for not knowing His expectations. This is why you have His Word in your hands.
Saul had the audacity to tell Samuel that he “obeyed the command of the Lord”.
Do you have the same audacity this morning, or do you agree with Paul?
Philippians 3:12-20
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,[a] but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. 18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
The Bible records Jesus as saying “I tell you the truth” over 75 times.
Matthew 17:20
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, youcould say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. ”
Matthew 18:3
Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
John 8:51
I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”
I implore you; don’t ignore God’s Word or you will like Saul find yourself in a difficult situation without God’s help.
2. When you ignore God's Word the sounds of your disobedience is louder than your worship activity
1 Samuel 15:13-15
When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the LORD bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the LORD’s command!” “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded. “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the LORD your God. We have destroyed everything else.”
Samuel confronts Saul with his disobedience but Saul claims he obeyed what God told him to do, so Samuel asks, “then what is all that sound of cattle coming from?”
I want to ask the same question of you. What is all that noise? I hear the noise of addictions, sinful habits, lusts, I hear the Lord’s Name used as a cuss word, I hear the fighting, the bad attitudes, the pride, jealousy, the sexual immorality. I pray that you will make the choice this morning to allow God to break your bondage to these sins that weigh you down. Is the noise of your disobedience louder than your worship activity?
When Saul is confronted with the noise of his disobedience he quickly makes a justification. He claims he’s going to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Saul can go through the act of worship all he wants, he can sing, he can pray, he can take communion, and listen to a sermon, he can make whatever sacrifices he wants to make, he can celebrate as loud as he wants to, but, God will always hear the disobedience rather than the worship.
1 Samuel 15:22
“What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than your offering.
So you can make the same decision as Saul and justify your sinful behavior if you want to, but, a better choice is to humble yourself before God, drown the noise of sin by the weeping of your sorrow and then, truly then, you’ll have reason to celebrate. True worship comes from a pure heart seeking the values of Jesus Christ through His Word. How do we know what sin is? It’s in the Bible! God is specific about what sin is.
James 4:7-10
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
Isaiah 55:6-7
Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them.
Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Psalm 145:18
The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.
James 1:5-8
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
Matthew 15:8-18
‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[a]” Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.” Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.” “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.
3. If you continue to ignore God's Word your sin will eventually kill you
1 Samuel 15:24-26
Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and theLORD’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. 25 But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the LORD.” But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the LORD’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”
Even though Saul thought he could buy some forgiveness with worship, God knew his heart. Saul was rebellious and really not interested in pursuing holiness as a lifestyle. Compare his life with David's and you'll see the big difference, even though David made egregious errors, the difference was the heart of repentance between the two kings. Saul wasn't genuine. He wasn't sorrowful for the wrong he did, but, David was. David's repentance was genuine. David's heart was to pursue God and His righteousness. David's ancestor Jesus addresses what our attitude to sin must be:
Mark 9:43-47
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell[i] with two hands.[j] 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet.[k] 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.
Can I sin with just one eye or with just one hand or foot? Of course, Jesus is not intending us to take this literally, otherwise who would have any body parts? To understand this we need to know the source of our sin, which Jesus has already pointed out for us. In Matthew 15 Jesus said it was our heart that defiles us.
James 1:14
Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.
God’s Word is complete and the Word agrees with itself. Jesus said your heart is the source of your sin, and you should take every effort to eliminate from your life or environment anything that would lead you to sin.
Colossians 3:5-17
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.[a] 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,[b] circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,[c] slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Colossians 2:11-12
When you came to Christ, he performed a spiritual surgery—the cutting away of your sinful nature.[c] 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
Don’t make the same mistake as Saul and ignore God’s Word. Come to the Father with a heart for holiness and obedience and the Father will come close to you.
James 4:8
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
Don’t ignore the Bible. If you do you will find yourself in a difficult situation. Your disobedience will be louder than your worship activity. And your sin will kill you.
Give your life to Jesus and pay close attention to the Bible and be obedient! Then you may find yourself in difficult situations, but, you will have the Holy Spirit to help you. Your disobedience will be forgiven as you worship Him, and your sin will have no effect on you as Jesus will claim you as His own!
