Actions Trump Words
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)
When God commanded Saul to settle accounts with some old enemies, the Amalekites, Saul partially obeyed. As a result, God rejected him as king. Saul’s sin may seem insignificant to us, but who are we to say that something is small if it is a big deal to God? Who are we to say that it doesn’t matter? If God says it matters, then it matters.
God looks at the heart. God sees things that we don’t see. And God could already see that Saul’s heart had turned away.
Some people say, “What’s wrong with having a little fun? I’ll know when to stop.”
But sin is sin, and “little” sins always lead to “big” sins. That’s where it starts.
I read about a Malaysian man who holds the world record for kissing venomous snakes. He has kissed a king cobra 51 times. We can have that attitude toward sin: I can handle this. It will never bite me. It will never get me. Then one day, that little kiss will prove to be your undoing. It will become a kiss of death.
As the prophet Samuel told Saul, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23).
Sometimes people who blatantly sin think they can make it up to God. They think, I’ll give more in the offering. . . . I’ll sing louder at church. . . . I’ll go to a midweek Bible study. But obedience is better than sacrifice. It is not a matter of obeying God whenever we find it easy or convenient or popular. Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14).
God wants us to obey Him. He is more interested in our actions than our words.
Copyright © 2015 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.
SPECIAL OFFER
What you don’t know can hurt you
Satan wants to do everything he can to derail you, to defeat you, to destroy you. There is an unseen spiritual battle taking place and each of us is instructed to put on spiritual armor and take our place on the battlefield
Unseen, by Pastor Jack Graham, is a great resource to help you fight the spiritual battle and win. It’s our gift to you in appreciation for your donation to Harvest Ministries this month.