I just finished twenty six days of intensive ministry by email to hundreds of people who saw me on Sid Roth, asking for prayer. The majority were asking for healing, or salvation for family members. Some were in financial straits, and some needed jobs. Some wanted to know what God wanted them to do. And some asked for things that even a non-believer would know God would not look favorably upon.

As I was preparing to write, I asked the LORD what to write today, and I heard “To obey is better than sacrifice”. That is a quote right out of 1 Samuel 15:13-26.
13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

This is one of the saddest things I’ve read in the Bible. Like we all, Saul was not perfect, but he thought he was doing the will of God, by hearkening to the counsel of his people in not destroying utterly all the Amalekites, and saving the best of the animals for sacrifice to God. And yet he KNEW that Samuel, God’s Prophet, had told him to utterly destroy ALL of them, all of their goods, and all of their animals. Why did Saul not then completely obey God?

Why do WE not completely obey God, when we know His will? Does OUR will ever get in the way? Does “popular opinion” ever get in the way? Do we ever presume we know better than God, and that God will see the error of His way and take our advice after all? Hello, is anyone home?

You can read this passage and rightly see, God was not pleased. He had raised Saul from a nobody, to King, in order for God to fulfil His will upon the Amalekites. All Saul had to do was obey, for God himself would assure the victory to Saul. What’s so hard about that? What would WE have done, had it been US instead of him in that same situation? It’s easy to say, “Well, I would have obeyed God….” But we need to look at our own track record; how well have we obeyed God in even the LITTLE things, let alone in something big like this? Could WE pass the test? Well, we COULD, but WOULD WE?

God is quick to forgive our sins, but we still have to live with the consequences of our disobedience. You know, almost all of our problems are brought on by our own actions. We can try to blame our misfortunes on the devil, and indeed, he DOES cause some of them, but the vast majority are cause by our outright disobedience to God’s Word.

We will say you get a speeding ticket on the way to work. God’s Word says to “honor the king”, in other words, obey the laws of the land. We do what we want, so if the speed limit is 70, and everyone else is doing 80, we drive 80 with them, and lo and behold, we get singled out and stopped and get a ticket. Well, EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT, Officer, why am I getting stopped? You broke the law, and you KNOW you did, and you did it on purpose, that’s why!

It’s just little things like that which get us in trouble, a little disobedience here, a little there, and the sad thing is, we KNOW BETTER. But we do it anyway, hoping to not get caught. A simple speeding ticket goes on your record, your insurance goes up, you pay a fine and court costs, maybe even a lawyer fee, all for what? So we can say “I did it MY way”? Is it worth it?

Saul’s disobedience cost him his kingdom, AND the life of his beloved son, AND his own life. Let HIS disobedience serve as a deterrent to YOUR disobedience. Back in 1 Samuel 12:14-15, it is written,
14 If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God:
15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.

Know this; the LORD is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, HE CHANGES NOT! Disobedience carries the same penalty today that it did from the Garden of Eden. If you would live well and have good days, then, OBEY THE LORD. If not, the destroyer waits at the door, to kill, and to steal, and to destroy. Hear the words of Christ Jesus in John 10:10; “The thief cometh not, but for to kill, and to steal, and to destroy, but I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” It is indeed God’s will that you live joyfully in the place the LORD has given you, and abide in health and blessing. Now, what’s YOUR will? You show God YOUR will by your obedience to Him. Enough said!

There are some of you that KNOW you are called to go preach the Gospel, or to give to help finance the preaching of the Gospel, or to do some other service for God, but your own will is standing in the way of your obedience to God.  What will you tell Him when you stand before Him in that day of judgment?  Will you make an excuse like King Saul did?  You can see how far that got him, and it will get YOU just as far.  God is so very gracious to those who obey Him, why not be one of them?