WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.540 --> 00:00:12.480 Maybe seated. 2 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:21.440 Well, today, I was thinking that we would look at a topic rather than just a single passage. 3 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:28.180 We’re not in the middle of a series at the moment, so it’s a good opportunity to do that. 4 00:00:28.180 --> 00:00:34.420 I wanted to look at the topic today of obedience versus sacrifice. 5 00:00:34.420 --> 00:00:39.300 This is a theme that shows up throughout the Bible, throughout scripture. 6 00:00:39.300 --> 00:00:44.420 And that’s what I wanted to focus on this morning. 7 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:55.520 In the news lately, there’s been a lot of news about Popes and councils and cardinals. 8 00:00:55.520 --> 00:01:08.920 And if you have followed all of that, the previous Pope recently passed away, Pope Francis, and they had to pick a new one. 9 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:17.980 And you know, they picked a cardinal, his name is Robert Prevost. 10 00:01:17.980 --> 00:01:21.760 He’s the new Pope, Pope Leo. 11 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:24.300 He named himself. 12 00:01:24.300 --> 00:01:37.150 So, if you have seen any of this in the news, you’ve seen a lot of parades, a lot of priests doing interesting things. 13 00:01:37.150 --> 00:01:48.680 I’ve seen a video a couple weeks ago or last week about these priests, they’re wearing white hoods. 14 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:50.840 They were all chained together. 15 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:58.220 And this was in a town in Tuscany, Italy. 16 00:01:58.220 --> 00:02:02.640 Well, not in the region of Tuscany, Italy. 17 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:10.500 They were all chained together and they’re pulling these large timbers and they had to work together in order to make it down the street. 18 00:02:10.500 --> 00:02:13.920 And they were doing that as an act of sacrifice. 19 00:02:13.920 --> 00:02:30.020 They were pulling these chains, it kind of reminded me of Marley in Scrooge. 20 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:33.760 These chains he forged in life, that’s what it reminded me of. 21 00:02:33.760 --> 00:02:46.740 But they were doing it as an act of penitence or an act of sacrifice because they wanted to either atone for some sin or make their place better in the next life. 22 00:02:46.740 --> 00:03:00.700 I saw some other videos of some other devout Catholics crawling over stones in order to make their way up to a relic. 23 00:03:00.700 --> 00:03:05.020 I saw some others processing through the streets. 24 00:03:05.020 --> 00:03:13.320 They were whipping themselves with whips and some of them you could see the blood soaking through their shirts, their white shirts. 25 00:03:13.320 --> 00:03:24.180 These are all devout people, sacrificing their time, their lives, their bodies. 26 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:28.980 They’re doing this in order to present themselves as loyal priests and servants. 27 00:03:28.980 --> 00:03:31.680 They’re sacrificing in that way. 28 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:42.540 But I wonder if they’ve heard the words of the Savior who says, Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. 29 00:03:42.540 --> 00:03:50.640 Have they opened their Bibles not out of devotion to a ritual mass, but to know and love the Savior? 30 00:03:50.640 --> 00:03:55.660 So, when you’re seeing videos like that, you see a lot of pomp, you see a lot of show. 31 00:03:55.660 --> 00:04:03.120 You see a lot of gold and satin and jeweled crowns. 32 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:08.100 The statues they set up for themselves. 33 00:04:08.100 --> 00:04:11.000 But it’s all for the approval and applause of men. 34 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:15.020 The question is, do you see obedience to the word of God? 35 00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:19.440 That’s the question. 36 00:04:19.440 --> 00:04:23.540 The late Pope Francis, he had a quote. 37 00:04:23.540 --> 00:04:31.040 Pope Francis famously said, holiness means giving yourself in sacrifice every day. 38 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:34.820 And in a sense that’s true. 39 00:04:34.820 --> 00:04:38.580 But we need to remember the words of the Lord. 40 00:04:38.580 --> 00:04:42.180 Sacrifice and offering you have not desired. 41 00:04:42.180 --> 00:04:47.020 And we’re going to look at that a little bit today and see what that means. 42 00:04:47.020 --> 00:04:51.420 Probably one of the best examples of this is in 1 Samuel 15. 43 00:04:51.420 --> 00:05:01.640 I want to read this chapter to give us a little bit of a background of what’s going on. 44 00:05:01.640 --> 00:05:11.960 We just looked at this fairly recently in the morning Bible study when we were looking through 1 Samuel, the life of David. 45 00:05:11.960 --> 00:05:16.600 So you probably will remember what’s going on. 46 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:22.980 In 1 Samuel 15, Samuel says to Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people, over Israel. 47 00:05:22.980 --> 00:05:25.640 Now therefore, listen to the words of the Lord. 48 00:05:25.640 --> 00:05:34.800 Thus says the Lord of hosts, I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 49 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:46.100 Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him, but put to death both man and women, child and infant, oxen and sheep, camel and donkey. 50 00:05:46.100 --> 00:05:49.240 And Saul summoned the people and numbered them. 51 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:53.840 And so what happens is he comes against Amalek. 52 00:05:53.840 --> 00:05:57.400 He defeats them. 53 00:05:57.400 --> 00:06:07.600 But in verse 9 it says, But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly. 54 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:10.780 But everything despised and worthless they utterly destroyed. 55 00:06:10.780 --> 00:06:21.280 And the word of the Lord came to Samuel saying, I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands. 56 00:06:21.280 --> 00:06:25.000 Samuel then goes to Saul. 57 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:26.900 Saul greets him. 58 00:06:26.900 --> 00:06:33.700 Samuel says, what is this bleeding of the sheep I hear? 59 00:06:33.700 --> 00:06:36.880 Saul was happy with what he had done. 60 00:06:36.880 --> 00:06:41.900 He thought that he had done a good thing. 61 00:06:41.900 --> 00:06:45.980 Samuel says, wait and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night. 62 00:06:45.980 --> 00:06:52.500 And then he tells him. 63 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:57.980 Samuel says to him, The Lord sent you on a mission to go and utterly destroy the Amalekites. 64 00:06:57.980 --> 00:07:05.940 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 65 00:07:05.940 --> 00:07:11.900 And Saul said to Samuel, I did obey the voice of the Lord and went on mission, on the mission on which the Lord sent me. 66 00:07:11.900 --> 00:07:16.900 I brought back Agag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 67 00:07:16.900 --> 00:07:24.600 But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal. 68 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:35.470 And Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? 69 00:07:35.470 --> 00:07:41.710 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. 70 00:07:41.710 --> 00:07:47.960 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. 71 00:07:47.960 --> 00:07:55.040 Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king. 72 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:57.780 And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned. 73 00:07:57.780 --> 00:08:10.440 I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 74 00:08:10.440 --> 00:08:24.860 One of the things that you see that he had done earlier was he had defeated the Amalekites, he had done these things. 75 00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:27.640 He even set up a statue to himself in verse 12. 76 00:08:27.640 --> 00:08:29.880 He set up a monument for himself. 77 00:08:29.880 --> 00:08:38.340 And turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal. 78 00:08:38.340 --> 00:08:40.420 He begged Samuel to go with him. 79 00:08:40.420 --> 00:08:52.940 I guess so that he doesn’t look a certain way in front of the people again, afraid of the people, fearing people. 80 00:08:52.940 --> 00:08:56.740 Samuel says in verse 32, Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites. 81 00:08:56.740 --> 00:08:59.080 And Agag came to him cheerfully. 82 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:02.200 Agag says, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 83 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:08.560 But Samuel said, As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. 84 00:09:08.560 --> 00:09:13.240 And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal. 85 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:19.320 And Samuel went to Rama, but Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 86 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:22.500 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death. 87 00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:28.900 But Samuel grieved over Saul and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. 88 00:09:28.900 --> 00:09:32.110 So, I’m going to do just a few observations on this passage. 89 00:09:32.110 --> 00:09:36.180 And then but before that, let me pray for us. 90 00:09:36.180 --> 00:09:41.240 I that the Lord would bless our time together this morning. 91 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:44.340 Father, we do ask for your blessing. 92 00:09:44.340 --> 00:09:49.220 As we read your word, as we think about this important topic. 93 00:09:49.220 --> 00:10:03.180 Please illuminate our minds, our hearts, help us to hear your word, to obey it, that we would obey rather than offer sacrifice. 94 00:10:03.180 --> 00:10:09.750 that we would love you in ways that we have not before. 95 00:10:09.750 --> 00:10:13.580 So we ask for your help this morning in Christ’s name. 96 00:10:13.580 --> 00:10:17.360 Amen. 97 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:24.280 So, just a couple observations on this passage that we just read. 98 00:10:24.280 --> 00:10:31.100 The first is the heart of Saul was not inclined to do the will of God, but to do the will of men. 99 00:10:31.100 --> 00:10:39.020 He heard in a way the mission that God had for him to do, to destroy the Amalekites. 100 00:10:39.020 --> 00:10:53.680 This was a continuation of what God had told Joshua to do to rid the land of the Canaanites, the people who lived there. 101 00:10:53.680 --> 00:10:57.240 But he doesn’t quite do that. 102 00:10:57.240 --> 00:11:07.820 And what he does instead is instead of fearing God, he fears the people. 103 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:12.620 Another observation to make on this is about Saul’s intentions. 104 00:11:12.620 --> 00:11:21.980 When we look at that, we think, well, maybe Saul if his intentions were good, maybe that would have been better. 105 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:30.320 We see that initially we see, well, he wanted to present these things as offerings to the Lord. 106 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:34.080 Isn’t that a good thing to sacrifice to the Lord? 107 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:35.920 That is a good thing. 108 00:11:35.920 --> 00:11:47.420 And then we see later on, well, he was really afraid of the people, so that kind of mars the good intentions he had before, or we thought that he had. 109 00:11:47.420 --> 00:11:52.480 The interesting thing is, it doesn’t matter what his intentions were. 110 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:59.660 Even if he had good intentions, he still disobeyed the word of the Lord, and that’s the important thing that Samuel points out here. 111 00:11:59.660 --> 00:12:07.500 He says, has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? 112 00:12:07.500 --> 00:12:16.620 So, the Lord had given him a directive, had given him a certain action to take, and he does not do it. 113 00:12:16.620 --> 00:12:24.320 He doesn’t do it fully. 114 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:33.140 When you think of the sacrifices, how you have to have, you know, perfect lambs, you have to have certain things that are in the requirements of the law. 115 00:12:33.140 --> 00:12:36.760 Maybe some of the people at least had good intentions. 116 00:12:36.760 --> 00:12:40.160 Maybe Saul did have a good intention at first. 117 00:12:40.160 --> 00:12:43.880 He’s seeing these choice animals. 118 00:12:43.880 --> 00:12:49.220 He’s thinking, maybe, the Lord would be pleased if we offered this to him. 119 00:12:49.220 --> 00:12:52.300 But that’s not what the Lord is pleased with. 120 00:12:52.300 --> 00:12:56.440 The Lord is pleased with obedience. 121 00:12:56.440 --> 00:12:59.000 Obedience first of all. 122 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:11.020 And then the third observation I want to make on this passage is that God’s will is not frustrated. 123 00:13:11.020 --> 00:13:12.960 Saul doesn’t obey. 124 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:15.420 He doesn’t destroy the Amalekites completely. 125 00:13:15.420 --> 00:13:22.800 He spares the king, Agag the king. 126 00:13:22.800 --> 00:13:24.400 God’s will is not frustrated. 127 00:13:24.400 --> 00:13:32.720 He accomplishes his purposes regardless of the disobedience of his people or of Saul here. 128 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:37.720 I think it’s interesting that Samuel is a prophet. 129 00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:42.820 He’s basically an embodiment of the voice of the Lord. 130 00:13:42.820 --> 00:13:48.990 And it’s Samuel who finishes that work that God had commanded Saul to do. 131 00:13:48.990 --> 00:13:52.480 He it says Samuel hewed Agag to pieces. 132 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:55.620 He does what the Lord asks him. 133 00:13:55.620 --> 00:14:03.200 God is going to accomplish his work with or without us. 134 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:16.820 And by disobeying the Lord, Saul forfeited the opportunity to do something great. 135 00:14:16.820 --> 00:14:22.260 When we think about ourselves obeying the Lord. 136 00:14:22.260 --> 00:14:26.620 It’s not that we need to obey because otherwise this work isn’t going to get done. 137 00:14:26.620 --> 00:14:30.660 The idea is, we have the opportunity to obey. 138 00:14:30.660 --> 00:14:36.160 We have the opportunity to join with God in the great work that he’s doing throughout the world. 139 00:14:36.160 --> 00:14:43.240 And if we don’t obey, if we don’t do these things, we’re forfeiting that opportunity. 140 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:46.700 God’s work will still get done with or without us. 141 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:48.320 But he’s offering it to us. 142 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:57.420 He’s offering us the opportunity to join with him and to participate in this great work. 143 00:14:57.420 --> 00:15:06.220 As we find out later on in First Chronicles chapter 4, it’s the neighbor that’s better than Saul that Samuel says here. 144 00:15:06.220 --> 00:15:10.840 David, he’s the one who finishes the task that God gave to Saul. 145 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:15.940 First Chronicles 4, it says they destroyed the remnant of the Amalekites who escaped. 146 00:15:15.940 --> 00:15:22.580 And so David finally accomplishes what Saul refused to do. 147 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:25.340 So God’s work still gets done. 148 00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:34.380 But it’s not Saul who was able to do that. 149 00:15:34.380 --> 00:15:42.080 So, that’s one of the things to keep in mind as we’re thinking about this idea of obedience versus sacrifice. 150 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:48.740 Is that God is giving us the opportunity to obey. 151 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:53.740 God is giving us the opportunity to participate in what he’s doing throughout the world. 152 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:55.780 And so we’re to obey his commands. 153 00:15:55.780 --> 00:16:00.200 The question is, do we know what his commands are? 154 00:16:00.200 --> 00:16:03.820 And something that I want to talk about in a little bit later. 155 00:16:03.820 --> 00:16:10.580 But right now, let’s think about what obeying means. 156 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:14.800 What does this mean when it says obey? 157 00:16:14.800 --> 00:16:25.660 Samuel says, has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? 158 00:16:25.660 --> 00:16:41.040 So, there are two Hebrew words that I want to talk about today that I think will give us a really good idea of what the Lord is trying to teach us. 159 00:16:41.040 --> 00:16:44.960 And these are words that you’ve probably heard before. 160 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:56.160 But when you put them together, each one of these words doesn’t exactly have a counterpart in English. 161 00:16:56.160 --> 00:17:03.180 There’s more meaning in the Hebrew word than our English language can communicate in a single translated word. 162 00:17:03.180 --> 00:17:10.660 That’s why sometimes you’ll see different translations use different words because they’re trying to convey different parts of the meaning. 163 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:15.780 So, this word for obey is the Hebrew word Shema . 164 00:17:15.780 --> 00:17:21.740 And you’ve heard this before probably. 165 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:24.560 It means to hear. 166 00:17:24.560 --> 00:17:27.020 Literally, it means to hear. 167 00:17:27.020 --> 00:17:36.260 To really listen, to obey, to incline your heart to want to do this thing that’s being asked of you. 168 00:17:36.260 --> 00:17:41.340 And so the idea is that this isn’t just something that you hear. 169 00:17:41.340 --> 00:17:44.020 This isn’t something that you just do. 170 00:17:44.020 --> 00:17:56.220 You’re not just listening to words being spoken, but you’re hearing those words and you’re believing them so that they take root in your heart and it’s evidenced by not just obedience. 171 00:17:56.220 --> 00:18:00.860 Not just joyful obedience. 172 00:18:00.860 --> 00:18:04.720 But an obedience that comes out of a heart that loves God. 173 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:06.500 And that’s the point. 174 00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:16.400 So, in Deuteronomy 6, Deuteronomy 6:4, you have this passage that says, Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. 175 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:22.600 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 176 00:18:22.600 --> 00:18:27.220 The very first word of that passage is hear. 177 00:18:27.220 --> 00:18:30.080 Hear, O Israel. 178 00:18:30.080 --> 00:18:32.920 And that’s that word Shema . 179 00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:35.580 There it’s translated hear. 180 00:18:35.580 --> 00:18:43.120 Could be translated obey, as it is in First Samuel 15. 181 00:18:43.120 --> 00:18:52.320 The point is, it’s not just these are some commands that you have to do because you have to do them. 182 00:18:52.320 --> 00:18:53.660 That’s not the point. 183 00:18:53.660 --> 00:19:05.340 And that’s why when you hear some atheist or agnostics talking about this passage, they say something like, how can the Lord command you to love him? 184 00:19:05.340 --> 00:19:09.520 Isn’t that completely the opposite of what love is? 185 00:19:09.520 --> 00:19:14.880 If you commanded someone to love you, how can that be true love? 186 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:23.760 Well, because the point is, when he’s saying to obey or to hear, it’s premised on the fact that you do love God. 187 00:19:23.760 --> 00:19:30.560 And when you love him, when you obey him, you’re doing it not out of compulsion, but out of love. 188 00:19:30.560 --> 00:19:32.300 And that’s the point. 189 00:19:32.300 --> 00:19:42.980 And so, in First Samuel 15, when it’s saying as in obeying or as in hearing, which may be even better because it says as in hearing the voice of the Lord. 190 00:19:42.980 --> 00:19:44.560 Do you hear the voice of the Lord? 191 00:19:44.560 --> 00:19:46.120 Are you really listening? 192 00:19:46.120 --> 00:19:47.760 Are you taking that? 193 00:19:47.760 --> 00:19:50.140 Are you internalizing it? 194 00:19:50.140 --> 00:20:00.160 Do you have this desire in the core of your being to want to obey him because you love him? 195 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:01.540 That’s the idea. 196 00:20:01.540 --> 00:20:05.720 And that’s something that Saul didn’t have. 197 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:11.740 Saul didn’t obey the Lord because when it came down to it, he didn’t really love the Lord. 198 00:20:11.740 --> 00:20:13.920 And so that’s the point. 199 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:21.160 The point is we do these things not because we want to demonstrate that we love God, but we do these things because we love God. 200 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:29.200 And so this passage in Deuteronomy 6, hear Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is one. 201 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:36.840 You may have heard the word Shema because this is the first part of what is called the great Shema . 202 00:20:36.840 --> 00:20:49.040 It’s a Jewish prayer that devout Jews will pray twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening and then depending on the day, they have other prayers that they have to do in the middle. 203 00:20:49.040 --> 00:20:59.800 So devout Jews will recite this twice a day, as part of their devotion to their religion. 204 00:20:59.800 --> 00:21:06.690 It’s called a mitzvah or a religious command and there are hundreds and hundreds of religious commands that they’re supposed to do. 205 00:21:06.690 --> 00:21:09.820 And it’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? 206 00:21:09.820 --> 00:21:18.660 That they are requiring themselves to say these words every single day, multiple times a day. 207 00:21:18.660 --> 00:21:26.360 When what would the Lord Jesus say to them? 208 00:21:26.360 --> 00:21:33.200 So, when you see something like that, you see a dead ritual, you see man-made rules. 209 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:37.500 Are they actually hearing the voice of the Lord? 210 00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:46.040 And so, where is the just like the example we looked at with the Popes and the parades and everything. 211 00:21:46.040 --> 00:21:50.620 The question is, where is the simple obedience to the word of God? 212 00:21:50.620 --> 00:21:52.700 That’s the question. 213 00:21:52.700 --> 00:21:59.980 So, this idea of obeying or hearing, it’s not about ritual, it’s not about rules. 214 00:21:59.980 --> 00:22:08.840 It’s about listening to the voice of the Lord and you want to do his will because you love him. 215 00:22:08.840 --> 00:22:15.960 Jesus says, if you love me, keep my commands. 216 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:20.500 And again, you don’t keep his commands in order to prove that you love God. 217 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:22.160 That’s not the point at all. 218 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:32.160 The point is if you love him, you’ll naturally want to do the things that he’s asked you to do. 219 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:36.780 And that’s the point. 220 00:22:36.780 --> 00:22:46.200 One other thing for this from this passage is he says, behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams. 221 00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:50.740 He says, for rebellion is as the sin of divination. 222 00:22:50.740 --> 00:23:02.340 And so, you have certain sins that you rank as more horrible than others. 223 00:23:02.340 --> 00:23:10.080 So, if you think about witchcraft or Satanism or divination or consulting spirits. 224 00:23:10.080 --> 00:23:12.840 You think, well, that’s pretty out there. 225 00:23:12.840 --> 00:23:16.280 That’s pretty bad. 226 00:23:16.280 --> 00:23:20.300 But he says for rebellion is as the sin of divination. 227 00:23:20.300 --> 00:23:21.800 Why is that? 228 00:23:21.800 --> 00:23:23.080 So, you disobey God. 229 00:23:23.080 --> 00:23:26.580 God asked you to do something, but you don’t obey. 230 00:23:26.580 --> 00:23:30.000 Why is that just as bad as the sin of divination? 231 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:38.840 Well, it’s because you are not loving God, but you’re loving an idol. 232 00:23:38.840 --> 00:23:44.900 And 1st Corinthians 10, Paul says that if you sacrifice to idols, you’re what? 233 00:23:44.900 --> 00:23:48.060 Sacrificing to demons. 234 00:23:48.060 --> 00:24:00.140 So, if you make up an idol and you’re sacrificing to it, are you really loving God or are you loving some other spirit? 235 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:06.400 So, that is something that we really need to think about. 236 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:13.000 This idea comes up in lots of passages and we don’t have time to look at them all. 237 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:18.720 But I do want to take a look at Hosea chapter 6. 238 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:30.800 We’ll turn to Hosea chapter 6. 239 00:24:30.800 --> 00:24:36.880 So, verse 4 says, What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? 240 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:40.430 What shall I do with you, O Judah? 241 00:24:40.430 --> 00:24:47.840 For your loyalty is like a morning cloud and like the dew which goes away early. 242 00:24:47.840 --> 00:24:51.600 Therefore, I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets. 243 00:24:51.600 --> 00:24:54.080 I have slain them by the words of my mouth. 244 00:24:54.080 --> 00:24:59.040 Does that sound familiar to a passage we just read? 245 00:24:59.040 --> 00:25:02.540 Agag was hewn in pieces by the prophet Samuel. 246 00:25:02.540 --> 00:25:04.360 And what’s he saying here? 247 00:25:04.360 --> 00:25:08.720 Ephraim, Judah, he’s talking about them everyone collectively. 248 00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:14.040 Their loyalty to the Lord is like a morning cloud which just disappears. 249 00:25:14.040 --> 00:25:18.980 Therefore, the Lord is judging them for that. 250 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:29.120 Verse 6, For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 251 00:25:29.120 --> 00:25:37.220 Here, you have the same idea, God delighting not in sacrifice, but in what? 252 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:43.300 Here it says, my translation says loyalty from the New American Standard. 253 00:25:43.300 --> 00:25:51.280 If you have a King James or New King James, it should say mercy. 254 00:25:51.280 --> 00:25:54.220 You might have other words there. 255 00:25:54.220 --> 00:25:56.360 So why is it different? 256 00:25:56.360 --> 00:25:59.580 Why isn’t it just obedience like we read before? 257 00:25:59.580 --> 00:26:05.020 Why doesn’t it just say God delights in obedience rather than sacrifice? 258 00:26:05.020 --> 00:26:16.600 Turn to Matthew chapter 9. 259 00:26:16.600 --> 00:27:14.600 Because Jesus references this passage. 260 00:27:14.600 --> 00:27:19.120 Jesus says, so he’s talking to the Pharisees. 261 00:27:19.120 --> 00:27:25.700 Jesus is eating with tax gatherers and sinners. 262 00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:32.280 The Pharisees are questioning him about that and he says, Go and learn what this means. 263 00:27:32.280 --> 00:27:36.520 I desire compassion or mercy and not sacrifice. 264 00:27:36.520 --> 00:27:41.720 For I did not come to call the righteous but sinners. 265 00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:48.000 And so here again, he’s referencing this passage in Hosea. 266 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:54.860 And he’s using the word mercy or compassion. 267 00:27:54.860 --> 00:27:57.980 Not necessarily obedience. 268 00:27:57.980 --> 00:28:05.900 So, why is there a difference here when if he’s trying to communicate the same idea or a very similar idea? 269 00:28:05.900 --> 00:28:12.800 Well, this is where we get to the next Hebrew word that we talked about. 270 00:28:12.800 --> 00:28:31.000 This Hebrew word that shows up in this passage in Hosea, that’s translated loyalty or mercy or compassion, is the word hesed . 271 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:34.860 It’s a word that we may have talked about before. 272 00:28:34.860 --> 00:28:38.080 You may remember that word as well. 273 00:28:38.080 --> 00:28:47.540 But hesed is a very difficult word to translate from Hebrew to English because there’s so much that it conveys. 274 00:28:47.540 --> 00:28:57.260 That’s why you see different words in different translations because they’re trying to emphasize a certain part of the meaning of that word that’s being translated. 275 00:28:57.260 --> 00:29:14.000 So, when it says for I delight in loyalty, we’re emphasizing the loyalty to the covenant that God has made with his people. 276 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:21.300 Or the loyalty that covenant members should have for God. 277 00:29:21.300 --> 00:29:28.320 When it’s talking about mercy, we’re talking more about the heart of the Lord. 278 00:29:28.320 --> 00:29:49.280 So many times you hear the Lord being described as one full of compassion or mercy or full of loving kindness or full of how is it usually translated in ESV? 279 00:29:49.280 --> 00:29:51.860 Steadfast love. 280 00:29:51.860 --> 00:29:53.000 That’s that word. 281 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:54.620 That’s the word that we’re talking about. 282 00:29:54.620 --> 00:30:02.540 And so it’s emphasizing various different things, but when you think about it all together, that’s getting close to the meaning of this word. 283 00:30:02.540 --> 00:30:07.960 And so it’s translated mercy, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, loyalty. 284 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:10.980 And so it’s that whole range of meaning. 285 00:30:10.980 --> 00:30:19.340 And so when you’re thinking about it in terms of mercy, you’re thinking more of the heart, the heart of the person or the heart of God. 286 00:30:19.340 --> 00:30:24.080 When you’re thinking about loyalty, you’re thinking more of the action. 287 00:30:24.080 --> 00:30:36.560 And so when you look at various passages that use this word or this word shows up. 288 00:30:36.560 --> 00:30:42.600 Like for instance, Exodus chapter 20, the 10 Commandments. 289 00:30:42.600 --> 00:30:47.280 He’s saying, the Lord says, You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness. 290 00:30:47.280 --> 00:31:00.580 He says, for the Lord your God, I’m a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing loving kindness to thousands, or steadfast love to thousands. 291 00:31:00.580 --> 00:31:15.920 And it’s talking about that hesed love, that special love that he has on people that he is connected to in a relational way. 292 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:20.620 He says, showing loving kindness to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. 293 00:31:20.620 --> 00:31:22.480 It’s a very similar idea. 294 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:28.890 Or in Micah 6, the passage that Matthew read this earlier this morning. 295 00:31:28.890 --> 00:31:38.980 He says, Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams and 10,000 rivers of oil? 296 00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:45.480 He has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness. 297 00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:49.520 That’s that word, translated kindness or mercy. 298 00:31:49.520 --> 00:31:52.280 And to walk humbly with your God. 299 00:31:52.280 --> 00:32:11.120 And so we’re starting to get a picture of this idea of obedience, Shema , that idea that we were talking about, and then this hesed , which is this special relational love that the Lord has for us, and then we also have for the Lord. 300 00:32:11.120 --> 00:32:20.120 It’s a love that displays in deep relationships with people and in a deep relationship with God. 301 00:32:20.120 --> 00:32:29.180 Probably one of my favorite examples of this kind of love is in the life of David, David’s mighty men. 302 00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:39.580 It’s one of the best stories in the Bible of David wishing for a cool drink of water from the well in Bethlehem. 303 00:32:39.580 --> 00:32:55.240 And his some of his mighty men overhear him say that, and they fight their way into the city and get the water at the peril of their life and bring it back to David. 304 00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:56.450 It’s that kind of love. 305 00:32:56.450 --> 00:33:03.540 Something a love that has consequences to it. 306 00:33:03.540 --> 00:33:15.700 This kind of sacrificial love that the Lord has for us and is demonstrated in the work and action that we have for one another. 307 00:33:15.700 --> 00:33:21.480 We just went through the book of Esther, and the word comes up there as well. 308 00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:36.200 It’s when Esther pleased the official, pleased him and found favor with him, so he quickly provided her with food, maids, transferred her and the maids to the best place. 309 00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:42.460 The idea of finding favor is that kind of deep relational love. 310 00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:51.780 And so you can then infer the kind of relationship that Esther had with this official. 311 00:33:51.780 --> 00:33:59.940 It’s not just the official thought that she was, the best one out of the lot and then just randomly decided. 312 00:33:59.940 --> 00:34:10.680 No, the idea is that there is some love and sacrifice that was on Esther’s part as well. 313 00:34:10.680 --> 00:34:18.420 In Ruth chapter 1, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. 314 00:34:18.420 --> 00:34:20.180 May the Lord deal kindly. 315 00:34:20.180 --> 00:34:21.420 It’s that word. 316 00:34:21.420 --> 00:34:27.060 May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 317 00:34:27.060 --> 00:34:43.120 And so she’s asking that the Lord would have that same kind of love that Ruth has shown to her family and to Naomi. 318 00:34:43.120 --> 00:34:48.940 So, there are 240 some uses of this word. 319 00:34:48.940 --> 00:34:53.520 And so obviously we can’t talk about all of them, but that’s the idea. 320 00:34:53.520 --> 00:35:05.900 It’s this it’s more than just an action of loyalty or an action of mercy. 321 00:35:05.900 --> 00:35:10.980 It comes from a deep relationship with the Lord. 322 00:35:10.980 --> 00:35:16.700 A deep love for the Lord, and that’s how those two ideas connect. 323 00:35:16.700 --> 00:35:33.380 And so when we look at what Jesus is saying to the Pharisees here, what exactly is he saying? 324 00:35:33.380 --> 00:35:35.180 Let’s take a look at it one more time. 325 00:35:35.180 --> 00:35:51.280 In fact, shows up again in Matthew chapter 12 in a very similar way. 326 00:35:51.280 --> 00:36:08.820 If you look at Matthew chapter 12, so Matthew 9 and then Matthew 12, the Pharisees are concerned that the disciples are picking grain on the Sabbath. 327 00:36:08.820 --> 00:36:12.340 Jesus says to you, Something greater than the temple is here. 328 00:36:12.340 --> 00:36:22.600 In verse 7, But if you had known what this means, I desire compassion and not a sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. 329 00:36:22.600 --> 00:36:25.580 So what is he saying? 330 00:36:25.580 --> 00:36:27.160 What is the point? 331 00:36:27.160 --> 00:36:36.960 The point is that these people, the Pharisees, are more concerned with ritual. 332 00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:49.380 They’re more concerned with rule making, the rules that they have made for themselves, rather than obeying the voice of the Lord. 333 00:36:49.380 --> 00:36:51.880 Just like Saul. 334 00:36:51.880 --> 00:36:54.400 They’ve contrived all of these rules for themselves. 335 00:36:54.400 --> 00:36:59.520 They think themselves holy because they’re sacrificing in a way. 336 00:36:59.520 --> 00:37:10.960 They’re sacrificing each tenth leaf of their mint plant to the Lord, and they think that that makes them more holy. 337 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:17.320 But what Jesus is telling them is, “I desire compassion and not sacrifice. 338 00:37:17.320 --> 00:37:21.420 I desire mercy and not a sacrifice.” 339 00:37:21.420 --> 00:37:39.180 Mercy is and I think one of the reasons why he focuses on mercy is because mercy is one of those essential things that scripture marks out that is true of the righteous. 340 00:37:39.180 --> 00:37:43.520 Psalm 37 says, The righteous showeth mercy. 341 00:37:43.520 --> 00:37:50.620 An unrighteous person is not marked by the mercy that they show to people. 342 00:37:50.620 --> 00:37:57.320 Proverbs 14:31 says, He that honoreth the Lord hath mercy on the poor. 343 00:37:57.320 --> 00:38:05.180 And in the New Testament, Colossians 3 says, Put ye on as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies. 344 00:38:05.180 --> 00:38:07.840 This is something that should mark believers. 345 00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:13.720 Mercy is something that should mark believers. 346 00:38:13.720 --> 00:38:28.380 So just as Jesus makes this pronouncement on the Pharisees, there are lots of examples of modern day Pharisees. 347 00:38:28.380 --> 00:38:35.460 And we don’t have to go very far in order to see this same thing taking place. 348 00:38:35.460 --> 00:38:53.260 How many times do you see in different religions, and sometimes even in our religion, in Protestant Christianity, do you see people attempting some great sacrifice in order to make themselves holy? 349 00:38:53.260 --> 00:39:04.320 We talked about the sacrifices that some of the Catholic ascetics were doing, whipping their backs with the whips until they bleed. 350 00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:09.920 But not listening to the word of the Lord. 351 00:39:09.920 --> 00:39:17.500 Recently the on Google, you can search you can look and see how many times certain phrases are searched. 352 00:39:17.500 --> 00:39:26.220 And recently the phrase, “How to become Catholic” has surged 3 to 400%. 353 00:39:26.220 --> 00:39:30.400 Just because of the news and you’re seeing these things. 354 00:39:30.400 --> 00:39:37.220 And it’s natural for a human to see something like that and think, “I need to do some great thing. 355 00:39:37.220 --> 00:39:42.620 I need to do some great sacrifice in order to make myself acceptable to God. 356 00:39:42.620 --> 00:39:48.060 I need to do some great thing in order to win favor with God.” 357 00:39:48.060 --> 00:39:52.700 And it’s not just in Christianity, it’s in every world religious system. 358 00:39:52.700 --> 00:39:56.700 That’s the point of every world religious system. 359 00:39:56.700 --> 00:40:08.480 Muslims follow their seven pillars, some even sacrifice their own lives in hopes that it would win them a better place in the next world. 360 00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:12.440 And there’s a man named Amar Barati. 361 00:40:12.440 --> 00:40:21.720 He’s an Indian holy man and he’s known for having kept his right arm raised in the air for 52 years. 362 00:40:21.720 --> 00:40:29.820 After two years of intense pain, his arm, all of his muscles atrophied and it’s basically stuck there now. 363 00:40:29.820 --> 00:40:34.060 And he did this starting in 1973. 364 00:40:34.060 --> 00:40:41.280 He did this as a symbol of his devotion to the Hindu deity Shiva. 365 00:40:41.280 --> 00:40:44.780 And that is a great sacrifice. 366 00:40:44.780 --> 00:40:47.600 And what is it going to earn him? 367 00:40:47.600 --> 00:40:49.580 A dead arm? 368 00:40:49.580 --> 00:40:53.420 And a dead heart. 369 00:40:53.420 --> 00:41:00.360 You see it in Mormonism, baptizing for the dead, multiplying wives, going on mission, all in order to what? 370 00:41:00.360 --> 00:41:07.580 To win favor with God and a better place in one of their three levels of heaven. 371 00:41:07.580 --> 00:41:12.160 And it’s not just other religions, it’s in our religion as well. 372 00:41:12.160 --> 00:41:17.140 In Protestant Christianity, you see men sacrificing. 373 00:41:17.140 --> 00:41:38.000 You see men spending their lives to build up their ministry so that they can create a bigger conference, so that they can create a broader website reach, to have more views and subscribers to their podcasts, to sell t-shirts and hats and special edition vinyl records. 374 00:41:38.000 --> 00:41:44.000 To build their brand in the name of Christianity, but it’s really for the applause of men. 375 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:46.520 And so what’s the point of all of that? 376 00:41:46.520 --> 00:41:55.560 Wouldn’t it have been better to do simple obedience, simple Christianity? 377 00:41:55.560 --> 00:42:00.560 So we have three minutes for application. 378 00:42:00.560 --> 00:42:05.540 And I think the application is there already. 379 00:42:05.540 --> 00:42:08.360 There’s two points of application. 380 00:42:08.360 --> 00:42:12.600 One is for unbelievers and one is for believers. 381 00:42:12.600 --> 00:42:16.420 So the application for unbelievers is simple. 382 00:42:16.420 --> 00:42:25.660 The idea is you need to turn away from any idea of winning God’s favor by your sacrifices. 383 00:42:25.660 --> 00:42:27.080 You can’t do it. 384 00:42:27.080 --> 00:42:32.960 You can’t sacrifice something to win God’s favor and think that that’s going to earn you a better place. 385 00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:34.520 That’s not how it works. 386 00:42:34.520 --> 00:42:43.240 Matthew 7 says, Jesus says, Many will say to me on that day, Lord, did we not do all of these things? 387 00:42:43.240 --> 00:42:46.280 And Jesus declares to them, I never knew you. 388 00:42:46.280 --> 00:42:49.940 Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. 389 00:42:49.940 --> 00:43:02.140 So, the point is to open the word of God, not just listen to it, not just read it, but really hear, to hear what the Lord has to say. 390 00:43:02.140 --> 00:43:06.440 Obey when it says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. 391 00:43:06.440 --> 00:43:18.980 Believe in his work for your salvation only, not looking to your own work or your own sacrifice in order to do something, but you’re looking to his work and his finished work for you. 392 00:43:18.980 --> 00:43:26.020 The first command of Christ, the question I asked before, do we know what God commands us to do? 393 00:43:26.020 --> 00:43:28.720 Do we know what Christ commands are? 394 00:43:28.720 --> 00:43:35.980 The very first command of Christ in the gospels is in Matthew chapter 4, the first imperative. 395 00:43:35.980 --> 00:43:39.960 And it is repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 396 00:43:39.960 --> 00:43:49.700 The very first command that the Lord has for us is to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 397 00:43:49.700 --> 00:44:07.780 And so that’s the application for someone who is thinking that their sacrifice, their great thing that they’re doing for the Lord is going to help them in any way win favor with God. 398 00:44:07.780 --> 00:44:08.620 It can’t. 399 00:44:08.620 --> 00:44:09.480 It can’t. 400 00:44:09.480 --> 00:44:16.880 And we need to obey when Jesus says to repent from that. 401 00:44:16.880 --> 00:44:30.140 To turn to him and to rest in the finished work of Christ because he’s the one who has already done the work for us. 402 00:44:30.140 --> 00:44:33.120 The second application is for believers. 403 00:44:33.120 --> 00:44:47.500 And the application here is even as believers, we can still have a tendency to live in neglect of some of Christ’s commands. 404 00:44:47.500 --> 00:44:54.220 While justifying, and this is either consciously, a conscious justification or it can be subconscious as well. 405 00:44:54.220 --> 00:45:01.000 We justify it because we think that we’re doing some other thing or some bigger thing. 406 00:45:01.000 --> 00:45:03.880 We’re doing something for the Lord in other areas of our life. 407 00:45:03.880 --> 00:45:06.520 So we know that we need to work on this. 408 00:45:06.520 --> 00:45:08.640 We know we need to do better on this one thing. 409 00:45:08.640 --> 00:45:15.620 But we’re doing this bigger thing and that’s going to way outweigh. 410 00:45:15.620 --> 00:45:18.320 You see what I’m saying? 411 00:45:18.320 --> 00:45:30.220 And we don’t have to go through every single one of Jesus’ commands in order to identify what those things are because we know what those things are. 412 00:45:30.220 --> 00:45:34.460 Those areas of our life that we know that we need to work on. 413 00:45:34.460 --> 00:45:42.620 We know in actuality what it is is we know we need to be obedient to the Lord in. 414 00:45:42.620 --> 00:45:51.980 But we’re neglecting it because we think that we’re serving the Lord in these other better ways. 415 00:45:51.980 --> 00:46:00.400 The reason why I wanted to talk about this topic is because I recognize that that’s true of myself. 416 00:46:00.400 --> 00:46:08.320 I believe all of us have areas in our life that we know that we need to improve in and we know that we need to do better in. 417 00:46:08.320 --> 00:46:17.420 And this topic came to me while I was on the plane to Spain for a week. 418 00:46:17.420 --> 00:46:26.340 I’m about to get off the plane and I’m thinking, I’m spending my I’m basically sacrificing a week of my life here for the Lord. 419 00:46:26.340 --> 00:46:38.220 And I was thinking, it is amazing that for one thing, it is amazing that people have opportunities to do things like that for the Lord and it is a blessing. 420 00:46:38.220 --> 00:46:44.960 But at the same time, the moment I thought of that, I was kind of hit with this verse. 421 00:46:44.960 --> 00:46:50.940 It came right to my mind that the Lord loves obedience rather than sacrifice. 422 00:46:50.940 --> 00:46:58.340 And then all of those things that I know I have neglected in the past rushed through my mind. 423 00:46:58.340 --> 00:47:04.180 I’m thinking, I’m doing this what I consider a sacrifice to the Lord. 424 00:47:04.180 --> 00:47:10.880 But have I really obeyed him in all of these other areas? 425 00:47:10.880 --> 00:47:17.660 And that’s really why I wanted to talk about this topic this morning because it’s a sermon to myself. 426 00:47:17.660 --> 00:47:23.780 And something that I need to hear. 427 00:47:23.780 --> 00:47:30.920 So the point for believers is it’s simple. 428 00:47:30.920 --> 00:47:40.260 Obeying Christ’s commands is better than any special service or sacrifice that you may offer to him. 429 00:47:40.260 --> 00:47:42.460 Simple Christianity. 430 00:47:42.460 --> 00:47:54.500 If we’re not doing simple Christianity , we can’t expect our greater acts of service to be what God would delight in those. 431 00:47:54.500 --> 00:48:05.120 So I’m going to ask one question and this is something that I want to do tonight when we come back together this evening. 432 00:48:05.120 --> 00:48:12.440 The question is, we all know the Great Commission, go into all the world and preach the gospel. 433 00:48:12.440 --> 00:48:15.240 To every creature. 434 00:48:15.240 --> 00:48:20.160 Then it says, teaching them all Jesus says, Teaching them all that I have commanded you. 435 00:48:20.160 --> 00:48:30.360 Now, the question is, if I were to ask you to list out all of Christ’s commands, how well could we do it? 436 00:48:30.360 --> 00:48:37.180 Isn’t that an important thing for us as Christians to know what Christ has commanded of us? 437 00:48:37.180 --> 00:48:41.260 And so that’s what I want to do tonight is start thinking about some of those things. 438 00:48:41.260 --> 00:48:46.840 What are the commands that Christ has for us? 439 00:48:46.840 --> 00:48:48.400 A few of them. 440 00:48:48.400 --> 00:48:53.800 And there are hundreds actually. 441 00:48:53.800 --> 00:49:04.560 It’s kind of a loaded question because it takes all of the New Testament to understand all of Christ’s commands. 442 00:49:04.560 --> 00:49:07.200 But it is something to think about. 443 00:49:07.200 --> 00:49:13.540 A few of the commands of Jesus, last week we witnessed three baptisms. 444 00:49:13.540 --> 00:49:17.920 Baptism , it’s a wonderful thing that we were able to experience that last week. 445 00:49:17.920 --> 00:49:22.460 Baptism is sometimes called the first step of obedience because it is a command. 446 00:49:22.460 --> 00:49:25.420 It’s something that the Lord commands us to do. 447 00:49:25.420 --> 00:49:35.060 So last week we witnessed obedience to the Lord in a very real way. 448 00:49:35.060 --> 00:49:53.380 But with this idea of obedience over sacrifice, if you are attempting something great for God and you haven’t been obedient yet in baptism, we need to believe the Lord when he says to obey is better than sacrifice. 449 00:49:53.380 --> 00:49:56.240 Another command of the Lord is to pray . 450 00:49:56.240 --> 00:49:58.620 Jesus instructs us to pray multiple times. 451 00:49:58.620 --> 00:50:04.380 In Matthew 6, he says, When you pray, pray in this way. 452 00:50:04.380 --> 00:50:07.280 So, prayer isn’t optional for the believer. 453 00:50:07.280 --> 00:50:10.980 It’s something that the Lord wants you to do and commands us to do. 454 00:50:10.980 --> 00:50:25.700 But if you’re planning on sacrificing something big for the Lord, and you’re not being obedient in prayer, we need to listen to the Lord when he says to obey is better than sacrifice. 455 00:50:25.700 --> 00:50:27.620 We’re to read the scriptures . 456 00:50:27.620 --> 00:50:33.260 How many times did Jesus say to the Pharisees, Have you not read? 457 00:50:33.260 --> 00:50:37.140 How many times could he say that exact same phrase to us? 458 00:50:37.140 --> 00:50:41.400 Have you not read in the scriptures? 459 00:50:41.400 --> 00:50:47.440 There are many good Christian books out there. 460 00:50:47.440 --> 00:51:07.340 But if you’re thinking of dedicating yourself to reading a good book or learning something new about Christianity even, but you’ve neglected reading God’s word, we need to believe God when he says to obey is better than sacrifice. 461 00:51:07.340 --> 00:51:12.400 Another command of the Lord is to fellowship together as a church . 462 00:51:12.400 --> 00:51:18.380 Jesus in Matthew 18 and chapter 28 gives instruction for how a church should act. 463 00:51:18.380 --> 00:51:23.260 And in the book of Hebrews, we have the command to not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. 464 00:51:23.260 --> 00:51:39.520 So, if you’re sacrificing your time and energy during the week for the Lord, but yet neglect fellowship in your local church, again, believe the Lord when he says to obey is better than sacrifice. 465 00:51:39.520 --> 00:51:55.040 And so, we don’t need to go through every single command of the Lord in order for it to prick our hearts because I think that’s the job of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction when it needs. 466 00:51:55.040 --> 00:52:04.280 And so, I think all of us can recognize areas where we have neglected to be obedient. 467 00:52:04.280 --> 00:52:11.920 And we need to obey the Lord when he says to obey is better than sacrifice. 468 00:52:11.920 --> 00:52:27.980 Charles Spurgeon wrote, Noah’s sacrifice sent up a sweet savor before God, but in God’s sight, the obedience which led him to build the ark and enter in with his family was far more precious. 469 00:52:27.980 --> 00:52:29.950 And for this, his name is written among the champions of faith and handed down to us as a word of honor and renown. 470 00:52:29.950 --> 00:52:30.950 And so, what I want to do tonight is think about the commands of the Lord and how we can be better obedient. 471 00:52:29.950 --> 00:52:29.960 And in the meantime, I would like to just conclude with one more passage from the book of Mark. 472 00:52:29.960 --> 00:52:30.960 Because when we think about the Lord’s commands, we can be overwhelmed. 473 00:52:29.960 --> 00:52:29.970 And then we might think, what’s the greatest one? 474 00:52:29.970 --> 00:52:30.970 What’s the foremost? 475 00:52:29.970 --> 00:52:30.970 And of course, that’s the question this one scribe asked Jesus. 476 00:52:29.970 --> 00:52:30.970 And Jesus answered him in the book of Mark. 477 00:52:29.970 --> 00:52:29.980 Jesus answered and said, The foremost is, ‘ Hear, O Israel, ‘ Shema . 478 00:52:29.980 --> 00:52:31.180 ‘The Lord our God is one Lord. 479 00:52:31.180 --> 00:52:39.280 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 480 00:52:39.280 --> 00:52:42.880 And the second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 481 00:52:42.880 --> 00:52:45.280 There is no other commandment greater than these. 482 00:52:45.280 --> 00:52:52.480 The scribe said to him, Right, teacher, you have truly stated that he is one and that there is no one else beside him. 483 00:52:52.480 --> 00:53:02.680 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength and to love one’s neighbor as himself is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. 484 00:53:02.680 --> 00:53:08.980 When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of heaven. 485 00:53:08.980 --> 00:53:13.180 That’s what I would like us to think about as we close this morning. 486 00:53:13.180 --> 00:53:18.280 Father, we do come to you this morning as a people who are completely dependent on you. 487 00:53:18.280 --> 00:53:19.780 We know our own hearts. 488 00:53:19.780 --> 00:53:21.880 We know the tendencies that we have. 489 00:53:21.880 --> 00:53:32.080 The times that we have neglected your word, the times we have neglected fellowship with others, times we’ve neglected prayer or we ask that you would do a powerful work on us this morning. 490 00:53:32.080 --> 00:53:36.280 That we would believe you when you say to obey is better than sacrifice. 491 00:53:36.280 --> 00:53:37.780 Help us to see that. 492 00:53:37.780 --> 00:53:39.580 Help us to love you more. 493 00:53:39.580 --> 00:53:49.180 We recognize that this obedience is not a blind obedience out of compulsion, but it comes from a love that is deep within our very core, a love that you’ve placed there. 494 00:53:49.180 --> 00:53:58.180 So we ask for if there are anyone here today who don’t know you in that way, that don’t love you in that way, that you would change their heart. 495 00:53:58.180 --> 00:54:00.880 That you would give them a heart of flesh. 496 00:54:00.880 --> 00:54:03.280 That you would create joy in their heart. 497 00:54:03.280 --> 00:54:08.980 That they would see you and joyfully want to do the things that you have commanded us to do. 498 00:54:08.980 --> 00:54:12.280 Help us to obey you joyfully out of hearts of love. 499 00:54:12.280 --> 00:54:13.780 We do love you, Lord. 500 00:54:13.780 --> 00:54:15.580 We ask this in Christ’s name. 501 00:54:15.580 --> 00:54:15.880 Amen. 502 00:54:15.880 --> 00:54:19.780 If you would please stand as we close our time with the doxology. 503 00:54:19.780 --> 00:54:21.880 Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 504 00:54:21.880 --> 00:54:23.680 Praise him all creatures here below. 505 00:54:23.680 --> 00:54:25.480 Praise him above ye heavenly host. 506 00:54:25.480 --> 00:54:27.280 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 507 00:54:27.280 --> 00:54:29.280 Amen.