Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today we will explore embracing obedience to God.

Numbers 20:7‭-‬12 (NLT) shares…
and the Lord said to Moses, “You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock.” So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the Lord. Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. “Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?” Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”

And 1 Samuel 15:17‭-‬23 (ERV) shares…
Samuel said, “In the past you didn’t think that you were important, but the Lord chose you to be the king. So you became the leader of the tribes of Israel. The Lord sent you on a special mission. He said, ‘Go and destroy all the Amalekites. They are evil people. Destroy them all! Fight them until they are completely finished.’ So why didn’t you listen to the Lord? You did what the Lord said is wrong because you wanted to keep what you took in battle.” Saul said, “But I did obey the Lord! I went where the Lord sent me. I destroyed all the Amalekites. I brought back only one—their king Agag. And the soldiers took the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” But Samuel answered, “Which pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obeying his commands? It is better to obey the Lord than to offer sacrifices to him. It is better to listen to him than to offer the fat from rams. Refusing to obey is as bad as the sin of sorcery. Being stubborn and doing what you want is like the sin of worshiping idols. You refused to obey the Lord’s command, so he now refuses to accept you as king.”

Consider…
Yesterday the Holy Spirit transformed our thoughts about God’s love. He helped us to appreciate that His Fatherly disciplinary-love affirms that we’re His children. We also, acknowledged that the purpose of His punishment is to transform our disobedience into obedience.

Today we will do an autopsy on the disobedience of two men of God, as a cautionary tale. From both stories, we will discover common components of disobedience that we should learn from. It is important that we learn from both Moses and King Saul because as Winston Churchill wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

So let’s begin the autopsy, to discover the anatomy of disobedience…

• First, both Moses and King Saul had a relationship with God. Moses was called a friend of God Exodus 33:11); was inspired by God to write the first five books of the Bible; and was the type and shadow of Jesus Christ, the Savior and deliverer of enslaved people prescious to God. Saul was chosen by God to save the enslaved Israelites from their enemy, the Philistines (1 Samuel 9:16); and was anointed by God to be the first king of Israel (1 Samuel 10:1) – Therefore, our first observation is that we are chosen by God to do the good things He planned for us (Ephesians 2:10 & 1 Peter 2:9)
• Next, both men initially obeyed God and followed His directions to the letter. Moses delivered the Children of Israel from Egypt and Saul rescued the Israelites from the Philistines. Both led God’s people for over forty years. That’s important, because our next observation is that we too start out with complete obedience when we first accept His call on our lives. However, time has a way of diminishing our complete dependence and reliance on God. We begin to hear less and do more.
• Which leads us to the next observation from these two holy men of God. God gave them complete instructions. Our first scripture says, “the Lord said to Moses, “You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there”. In our second scripture, we read that Samuel told Saul, “The Lord sent you on a special mission. He said, ‘Go and destroy all the Amalekites. They are evil people. Destroy them all! Fight them until they are completely finished.’” – The lesson here is that God gives complete instructions.
• The next discovery is the enemy still uses the trick of partial obedience, like He did with Eve. The first scripture says, “So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the Lord. Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock”. And the second scripture says, “Saul said, “But I did obey the Lord! I went where the Lord sent me. I destroyed all the Amalekites.” – The lesson here is don’t be fooled by “obeying” part of God’s complete instructions.
• That leads us to the next observation, which is partial obedience leads to full disobedience. Notice what Moses did, in the first scripture, after he demonstrated partial obedience to what God’s directive. The passage reads, “Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?” Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out.” – Moses struck the rock, as he did in a previous assignment. However, God explicitly told him to SPEAK to the rock, not shout at the people and strike the rock in anger. As for our other teacher Saul, let’s read the rest of his response to Samuel’s indictment, “I brought back only one—their king Agag. And the soldiers took the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” Which part of God’s instruction to destroy everything and fight until it is completely finished is ambiguous? – Our lesson here is, listen to all of what God wants and none of what we want. There’s one more subtle but profound statement that Samuel made that explains the reason we, Moses, and Saul disobey God’s complete instructions. He said, “In the past you didn’t think that you were important, but the Lord chose you”. I believe we have a tendency to become important in our minds, when God chooses and uses us. But let me remind you that, “…As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – James 4:6b NLT
• Lastly, there are consequences to disobedience. In Moses’ case we read, [But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”]. And in Saul’s story we read, [You refused to obey the Lord’s command, so he now refuses to accept you as king.]

So disectiing the anatomy of disobedience we see…

• God chooses for us to have a relationship with Him to do the good things He planned for us.
• We start out our faith walk with complete obedience to, and reliance on God.
• God gives complete instructions. There’s no ambiguity in His expectations.
• The enemy still uses the trick of partial obedience to God’s complete instructions. Don’t be fooled.
• Partial obedience leads to full disobedience.
• We have a tendency to become important in our minds, when God chooses and uses us.
• We need to listen to all of what God wants and do none of what we want.
• There are consequences to disobedience.

Prayerfully, knowing the anatomy of disobedience will help you to embrace full obedience.

In closing, remember Jesus’ words. He said, “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” – John 14:21 NLT

So you see, obedience is God’s love language. He’s watching to know that you love Him. Obey and show Him, I love You

Today’s song is…
Obedience
https://youtu.be/0xPXlEsa4ic?si=r8MYdkT4gQOHCF3L

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)