It is indeed an honor to come and stand before you brethren again. Tonight, I was here last August, and I had a great joy of just fellowshipping with all of you. Now, I am not a technological person, so I took it for granted that I can just give the brothers back their a flash drive and that they can get the thing running, and I realized that I should have done it earlier. So I was informed that my PowerPoint is not going to be up here, so they've been trying to work on it. But I will just tell you what the Lord is doing back in South Africa. Sometimes it's good to see pictures because you are so far, and so it's good to just see visuals. But just to again remind you, yes it's a reminder for all of us because that's what the scriptures really mandated us and thank you for Matthew chapter 28 pastor because that is really our mandate there. We don't need to try and think hard about our mission statements as a church because it's already given for us that we are to go and make disciples of all nations and we're here some of that here tonight, even in my sermon. But we at Christ Baptist Church, we have sat down and just thought about, how can we at least synthesize and just limit our mission? And by mission, I mean what really the Lord has given us. How can we limit ourselves so that we don't find ourselves doing too many things that we are not able to do well? And we believed, we sat down and said the Lord has really called us to the church. That's our primary responsibility. We are called to the local church, we are called to preach the word, we are called to equip the saints, we are called to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ within the local church, and we are called to evangelize the lost. And we do that in our church through church planting, through church strengthening, and through church revitalization. So those are the three areas of ministry we are involved in. Within our local church, or close to our local church, about 10 kilometers, that would be about seven miles from you, on the 4th of February this year, we just started a new church plant. Last year when I was here, I might have spoken about Simon Ramoroka, one of the brothers that he was an intern for a year at our church, and so we sent him out with one of our pastors plus five families from our church just to go and start a church. There are about 1,700 families around where we are starting this local church. And they have been meeting. So far, they have seen six people from the community coming, attending consistently for this past three to four weeks. So we praise God for that work. And if you can just pray for that ministry, that church planting, because God has called us to go and make disciples through church planting. We also continue with church revitalization in Johannesburg. That's one of the cities. If you fly from here, you will fly into Johannesburg. So that's a very big city. So in the eastern side part of Johannesburg, there is a church that has reached out to us. It's a Baptist Union church. So they reached out to us and said, this is a dying church. Are you able to? take over this church. And as a ministry at a church, we are blessed to have the seminary, Christ Baptist Seminary. And so with that, there's a man that I was mentoring. His name is Franz Fonseo. Found that he lived about an hour away from this church, and he was actually looking for ministry. So we connected him with that church. Last year in July, he was ordained as a pastor of that church revitalization. So he is now going through membership with the people that were there just to help them understand what it means to be a believer and to belong to a local church. The last report I got from France is that when he got, when he went there, there were about 12 people that were meeting. So, right now he's having about 32 people that are coming to that church. So, church revitalization is one of the things that we want to do as a church because many churches are dying, especially in the Baptist Union, are dying. So, our church with the seminary is well positioned to send men to those pulpits. We also continue the work in Zimbabwe with Pastor Simon Virago. Our missionary, William, and his wife, Sharon, they go to Zimbabwe and they help teach at the Bible College at the Chief Shepherd Baptist Church. But also, this last year, I had the privilege to go to Zimbabwe, which is our neighboring country. This church, the Chief Shepherd Baptist Church, has started a church plant. And so we went and just joined hands with them to help plant the church through our missionaries as well. So I had a privilege to go there for a week and preach at more like a tent crusade. We had over 100 people attending every evening where we got to preach the word. So the church is being planted there. Praise God that that church, the chief shepherd, had actually sent two men to Christ Seminary to be trained. One of them had just graduated on the 10th of February. With that being said, our Christ Seminary ministry has graduated nine men. on the 10th of February that are going out to those pulpits. So it's a great joy to see Mazu, it's his name, who's going back to Zimbabwe to work with Pastor Simon Wuragu to teach at a college, but also to help with that new church plant. So there's a lot that the Lord is doing through our church. One thing that I want to conclude with, and it's really at, this is my heart as a pastor of Christ Baptist Church, is that we are not able, as a local church, to do ministry alone. Partnerships are very important, and partners like you in ministry is what is getting us really going in ministry, both financially and in your prayers. We feel like we take on a lot that we as a local church alone cannot do. We cannot afford to run Christ's Seminary by ourselves. And but over the years, since 1997, the Lord has provided over and over again for our seminary to keep on running. We have just taken in first year students, 22 men that the Lord has brought our way. They have started in January for their studies. The Lord keeps them there. We know that over the years, the Lord does that. He sifts out. But we're looking forward to being with these men at a seminar and training them in expository preaching so they can go out and proclaim nothing but the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we are well-financed or well-taken care of by local churches like you through the Master's Academy International. But also, we recognize that all this other missions work we're doing, we cannot do it on our own. And AIT has been very helpful. Simon Ramuroka, who is our church planter, is supported by AIT. Salary comes through AIT. Simon Viragu in Zimbabwe, as well, is supported through AIT. And I know that you are partners with AIT. And we want to thank you for that financial support. What we, and I think this is the health of the church in South Africa, is that we're not sitting there looking for or striving to get pastors out in the pulpits. Christ's Seminary exists for that. What these men need is support. And so we are not really coming here to say, please give us men. We used to do that in the early stages of our ministries. But right now, the Lord has equipped men for the ministry, and they just need your support. And we thank you that you are doing that with us. So that's just a brief report from Christ Baptist Church. With that, I want to invite you to 1 Samuel chapter 15. We are at the Missions Conference. You may be wondering why 1 Samuel 15? Well, it is God's Word. Amen? Every God's Word is inspired by God. The Bible reveals God's mission, isn't it? Because our God, as the missiologists would say, is a missionary God. And the Bible is really a textbook about His mission, about His heart. Whatever you open in the Bible, it just shows us the heart of God to carry out His mission. Throughout the Bible we see different kinds of missions that the Lord puts man into and he appoints man for his own mission. Here in 1 Samuel 15 we find the man Saul, the first king of Israel that God will appoint and send him on a mission. And as he sends man on a mission, really two things will come out of The mission God has given us, it's either going to be obedience or disobedience. That's often the case. God's mission is clear for us and he calls us on mission with him. He calls us to obey. But we have a choice, either to obey or to disobey God's mission. Now that's what's coming to be clear in 1 Samuel 15. So what I want to do with us here tonight is really to check the fitness of our missionary heart. How fit are our heart for missions? So we're going to do some heart check tonight as we use this chapter. We know that we serve the God who, from creation, has always been about completing or accomplishing his redemptive plan. We talk about that, that the Bible reveals God's plan of redemption. And God, in doing so, he always communicates his plan to us so clearly. in clear terms that we should not be confused about what God requires of us. So whenever we fail on the mission, it is not because God has not been so clear, but it is because we have chosen to ignore what God has commanded us. As we come to 1 Samuel chapter 15 and as I was reading this passage, it struck me to see how many times 1 Samuel 15 refers to God's Word and God's clear command to man. So we're going to start right there with some observations and I want you to think with me as we observe what is in this text. What is in this text is really clear. Obey what God has commanded. Obey the voice of the Lord. Obey the commandments of God. Those are some of the phrases that you will see in 1 Samuel 15. So God's word is made mention of in 1 Samuel 15 at least 10 times. If you were to make an observation, look at verse 1, even before we read the text. It says, then Samuel said to Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people, over Israel. Now, therefore, listen to the words of the Lord. Listen to the words of the Lord. You can go down to verse 23 and you will see that the same phrase about the word of God is repeated. It says, for rebellion is as the sin of divination and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king. Go down to verse 26 and observe the same phrase concerning the word of the Lord. But Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you for you have rejected the word of the Lord and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel. So it is clear that this passage is about obedience to God's word. We also see the introductory formula, thus says the Lord of hosts in verse 2, just again to solidify the fact that what God is about to command Saul to do here is concerning his mission and his word. Verse 2, thus says the Lord of hosts. Also, God's Word is mentioned as my commandments or the commandments of the Lord. Look at verse 11. It says there, I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands. You can look again at verse 13. Samuel came to Saul and Saul said to him, blessed are you of the Lord, I have carried out the command of the Lord. And verse 19. Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord but rushed upon the spoil and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord? So you can see just with the sampling there that this text is about obedience to the word of the Lord. When God speaks, he speaks so that we can hear and obey. He calls us to obey His mission and He calls us to obey His commands. There is no doubt that the Word of the Lord in this chapter has the Word of the Lord at its center or at its core or at its heart. And we are called to perform what God commands us, not to transgress His commands. We are called to hear His voice when He speaks, and not to reject His word. And we know that failure to listen, and to perform, and to obey God's word, and instead choosing to reject, to transgress, and to disobey, has eternal consequences. Has lasting consequences. Our God, brothers and sisters, is an unchanging, holy God. He does not change and His holy character guarantees that we will suffer the consequences of disobeying His Word. For the narrator of 1 Samuel 15, verse 29 says, the glory of Israel will not lie or have regret. For he is not a man that he should have regret. In other words, he cannot change his mind. When God has spoken, he will carry out what he has spoken. And where there is disobedience, God is bound to act according to his holy character. He will meet our disobedience with appropriate judgment. Now with that understanding of the centrality of God's word and the unchanging character of God who speaks, I want to invite you to study 1 Samuel 15 with me in order to test the health of our hearts. How healthy are our hearts? That is the question we should be answering as we go through 1 Samuel 15. Verse 1 to 3 gives us the setting. And the setting has to do with God presenting his mission to Saul. God presents commands to King Saul in verse 1 to 3. Then Samuel said to Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 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. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has and do not spare him, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. Samuel calls Saul to listen to the words of the Lord. Do you notice that in verse one? Now this call is not given in a vacuum. We know that Saul had a disobedience problem. I want you to look back at chapter 13 verse 13 and notice the background to why the prophet Samuel has to say to Saul, now Saul listen. It's because he knew that Saul had this disobedience problem. Chapter 13, verse 13, Samuel said to Saul, you have acted foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. For now, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. You remember that the context there has to do with a sacrifice. Samuel told Saul to wait for him at least seven days, and he would come to Gilgal and sacrifice to the Lord. Saul waited seven days, but the Philistines were busy pressing on. And because of fear, and because people were scattering and leaving Saul alone, Saul could not stand. But out of fear, he decided to sacrifice the sacrifice that he wasn't supposed to sacrifice. And we are told that immediately after he did that on the seventh day, Samuel showed up. And right there, Samuel had to speak those words of verse 13. You, Saul, have acted foolishly. You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God. Which tells us that it doesn't matter what Saul was going through. If God said Samuel should be the one who sacrifices, Saul was to wait upon the Lord and trust God. But Saul failed in that and he disobeyed God. So it is within that background that Samuel emphatically said to Saul in 1 Samuel 15 verse 1, And the words of the Lord now follow in verse 2 and are introduced with this familiar prophetic introduction, thus says the Lord. And we know that each time this introductory statement appears, the speaker claims his message was from God. This is God speaking and not Samuel. This introductory statement appears more than 1,900 times in the scriptures. Thus says the Lord. God speaks and he calls us to listen. This tells us again, if God has to repeat this formula statement 1,900 times, it tells us that God speaks repeatedly and sadly, people repeatedly disobey His commandments. So Samuel introduces God here. as the Lord of hosts. He is the Lord of armies, as the translation would say. And when this name appears in the Old Testament, you know that there's battle to be fought. God is going out to battle. We need this Lord of Hosts as well as we carry out God's mission today. We need to be reminded of that. That our God, the God of the Old Testament has not changed. He is still that Jehovah Sabaoth, Yahweh Sabaoth. He still goes out. to fight with us. He is the Lord with us. Matthew 28, Jesus says, you go and carry out my great commission. Lord, I am with you to the end of the age. He is the one who fights the battle on the mission field. Doesn't the apostle Paul say to us in Ephesians 6 verse 10, finally be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. He does that because he knows we cannot fight our own battles. But God, Yahweh Sabaoth, he is the one who goes out in battle with us. In this story in 1 Samuel 15, God's enemies are the Amalekites. Saul is called to be God's agent or God's instrument to carry out God's mission, God's vengeance against Amalek. And the Lord of hosts said to Saul through Samuel in verse 2, I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now this opposition is recorded in the books of Moses. If you will, please turn back to the book of Exodus just to give you that context. Because you might be sitting here and wondering, how cruel can this God be? Who sends out a man to go and destroy people, men, women, infants, ox, camels, everything? You may be sitting there and you begin to wonder, what kind of a God is this? Well, let me show you from Exodus 17 that this is a kind of a God who keeps his word and his promises. And he will not go back on his word and he will not fail in what he has promised. As we read this, may this be a reminder to us that we can trust this God. He's got a long memory. He remembers. He does not forget. That's our God. Exodus chapter 17, verse 8 to 16. Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand. Joshua did as Moses told him and fought against Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Har were up to the top of the hill. So it came about when Moses held his hand up that Israel prevailed. And when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Haz supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then, here is God speaking. Then the Lord said to Moses, write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Moses built an altar and named it the Lord is my banner and he said the Lord has sown, the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation. You can also page over to Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 25 verse 17 to 19, we know that Deuteronomy basically means the second law of God repeating, Moses rewriting and repeating all that God has said before so that Israel will not forget. And that includes what Amalek has done and what God promised he will do. In Deuteronomy 25, verse 17 to 19, So he says here, as Moses writes, remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt. How he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary and he did not fear God. Therefore, it shall come about when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies in the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. You must not forget." So Moses tells them that. Now, when we come to 1 Samuel 15, 400 years has lapsed. And you may think Israel might have forgotten about this mission. But God never forgets. 400 years, God still remembers what Amalek did to Israel. And he calls Saul to carry out his oath to destroy Amalek. Which reminds us that God avenges his people. He fights for his people. So back to 1 Samuel 15, in verse 3, God gives Saul a clear, detailed, and specific command. Note that. Clear, detailed, and specific commands. God says to Saul, go and strike Amalek. Isn't that clear? Isn't it similar to go and make disciples of all nations? See, God's statements are clear and simple. Detailed, yes. Specific, yes. How specific? Go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. So the commands could not have been clearer. But I know again in your heart, you are offended by this God and you are asking, what kind of a God is this? The answer is, He is the kind of a God who keeps His promise. He is the avenger of His people. He is the God of justice. Amalek terrorized Israel and killed them when they were weak and weary. Killing those who were lagging behind. this God does not act against such cruelty, then you have a right to ask, what kind of a God is this? But if he acts against injustice, then you must fear and bow before this God. Amalek failed to fear and bow before this God. So Saul's mandate was clear. detailed and specific. All he needed to do was obey. Verses 4 to 7 presents Saul's response to the commands. We read that, and Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Tilaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. Saul said to the Canaanites, go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt. So the Canaanites departed from among the Amalekites, so Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He captured Agach, the king of the Amalekites, alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agach and the best of their sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. So Saul gathered soldiers, at least 200,000 soldiers in preparation for battle against Amalek. So God said, go. We see that Saul went to the city of Amalek. He strategically laid in wait or laid an ambush in the valley. But before attacking Amalek, we see that Saul shows kindness to whom kindness was due. He instructed the Canaanites to depart from among the Amalekites because, unlike the Amalekites, the Canaanites showed Israel kindness when they came up out of Egypt. Now after the Canaanites have departed, Saul and his troops pounced upon the Amalekites and defeated them as we see from Havilah as far as Shur. And the phrase from Havilah, as far as it shows, the extent of Saul's victory. His victory covered many territories of the Amalekites. Oh, how I wish the story ended right here, with victory. and with God and his people avenged against the Amalekites and with the mission carried out. If the story ended there, Saul would be a hero who did not only defeat the Amalekites but who would have also obeyed God's word. However, the story does not end here. What follows in the story is the revelation of Saul's unhealthy heart. And here is the point to apply. You cannot carry out God's mission if you are not ready to submit to God's clear instructions. You can never carry out God's mission if you are not ready and willing to submit to God's clear instructions. And this is where I want us to run some heart tests to see if our hearts are not disobedient. I know we expect obedience from our children, right? That's the word that our children really know well. But do we? Do we obey well? as adults, as believers who are called by God, we need to check our hearts today and see if we obey well. And if not, my aim tonight is not to discourage you, but it is to point you to Jesus Christ. It is to point you to the cross. So as we go through some tests here tonight, I want you to look to Jesus for sanctification. I want you to look to Jesus for forgiveness as well. Because there, that's where our hope lies. So that's what I want you to do. So let's expose our hearts to him. As God speaks to us tonight, just give him your heart because you know your heart. So let's run at least four tests and we'll close with this. This will be our points for tonight. I want to run four tests to check the state of your heart and my heart. So test number one, we find it in verses seven to nine. A disobedient heart. obeys partially. That word partial is important. A disobedient heart, as you check your heart whether you are obedient to God or disobedient, here is how you will know if you are disobedient. You will know with your partial obedience. And partial obedience is disobedience before God. Look again at verses 7 to 9 and we see Saul's partial obedience. Verse 8 says, And he took Agag, the king of the Amalekites, alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. And we also know in verse 9 that he took the best of the animals and only destroyed the worthless. Now, do you see a problem in this verse? Let's refresh ourselves of God's clear, detailed, and specific commands in verse 3. What did God command Saul? said to him, now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. Isn't that detailed? Isn't that clear? Saul could not come and say, but I wasn't sure if this really included Agath. I think that's something the Americans are dealing with right now, right? Whether that 14th amendment, whatever you call it in Colorado, does it include the president? God is clear. His constitution is clear. Agag is a man who belongs to Amalek. He should be destroyed. God never said keep anything to sacrifice. He said destroy them. Well, we're told here that he devoted to destruction all the people at the edge of the sword but he took Agak, the king of the Amalekites, alive. That is partial obedience and it is disobedience. I mean, I ask myself, what part of the command didn't Saul understand? Because when God speaks, he speaks in clear and detailed and specific terms. He leaves no room for ambiguity and confusion. As you can see in verse 9, as it continues, he was to utterly destroy even the best, the good. He was not told to only destroy the worthless and the despised. And I look at this, brothers and sisters, and I say this is a classic example of partial obedience. And notice that the culprit here, again, is not a little child, but is an adult, a leader, a king for that matter. Let's bring it home and I ask you, church, how is your obedience to Christ's commands? Let's start with the Great Commission, or maybe the Great Commandment. Matthew 22, love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. How do you do that? Is it partial obedience? You love those who love you and hate those who you dislike, or who don't care about you? Do you really love the Lord with all your being? You know, when the Bible says, love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and everything, it's basically saying, all your being is to love God. And if you do so, then the Great Commission should be carried out. Because to love your neighbor is to go and point them to Christ. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you." How obedient are we to the Great Commission? Are we partially obedient or are we fully obedient? How about church discipline in the church? Do we obey partially or do we obey fully? Do we only exercise it to the people that are not influential or is it all across the board where there is sin in order to keep the purity of the church? How about church attendance? Are we obedient to the gathering of the saints as Hebrews 10.25 tells us? To keep on gathering together especially since we see that the day is near. Many of us are disobedient to such clear commands. There are many commands in God's scriptures. That goes even to our families with our family responsibilities. God requires us to be obedient. Partial obedience is tantamount to disobedience. And let me tell you that your disobedience grieves God. Look at verse 10 and 11. God is grieved by Saul's disobedience. It says there, then the word of the Lord came to Samuel saying, I regret. This is God speaking. Now we may be sitting here and debating. That's what we like to do, debate. Can God regret? It says there, he regrets. Just feel what God is feeling as he condescends and he puts himself right there in our state to understand what it means. You get grieved, you get offended, you regret, don't you? God has emotions. He regrets. that he has made Saul king. It says, for he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands. And it says Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night. God told Samuel he regrets that he made Saul king. See, disobedience and every sin in general grieves our God. God here uses those human emotions to express His feelings against His people's sin. You will see the same in Genesis chapter 6, where God says, I regret that I've made man. Sin grieves God. Now, that does not mean God is not all-knowing. He knows everything. But he shows us how he hates sin and how it grieves his heart. So Saul grieved God's heart by turning back from following the Lord and by not performing his commands. And notice how Samuel responds to this. When Samuel had these words from the Lord, he too was grieved in verse 11. And Samuel was angry and he cried out to the Lord all night. And I ask myself and I ask you, is that our response to disobedience? Does it hurt us to see brothers and sisters disobeying God? Or do we reason within ourselves that it is none of our business? It is our business because we are called to be our brother's keepers. God calls us to that and it should grieve us when we see brothers and sisters living in disobedience. So concerned about God's glory, holiness, integrity, and all that God is, Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. Verse 12 tells us, says, Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul. And it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel. And behold, he set up a monument for himself, then tanned and proceeded on down to Gilgal. So we've seen that disobedient heart obeys partially. The second test for our hearts to see if we are really obedient is this, and you will know you are disobedient if your heart worships self. Prideful. Do you see it right there in verse 12? Where is Saul? setting up a monument for himself in Carmel. He's coming back, he's celebrating his own victory, and he's going to this particular place to establish a name for himself. See, the text is clear that Saul set the monument for himself. He was taking all the glory for himself. It was his victory and his glory. But that's not all. He sets his monument and then he tends to go to Gilgal. Notice that again in verse 12. Now notice that Gilgal was a place of sacrifice. It is a place where Saul was to wait seven days for Samuel to come and offer bent offerings and peace offerings in 1st Samuel 13. It was at this place where Saul's kingdom was renewed according to 1st Samuel 11. It was also at this place where Saul first disobeyed God. Now what do you think Saul is going to do at Gilgal after setting a monument for himself at Carmel? He is coming to sacrifice. Look at verse 21. Verse 21. Says, but the people took some of the spoils, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God, Ed, Gil, Gal. That's what he's going there to do. You would think that Saul has learned from that first foolish act of disobedience. You would think that he will play far from Gilgal. But no, he goes back to sacrifice. And this is about Saul and not God. He wants to look good. Finally Samuel meets Saul in verse 13, and upon seeing Samuel, Saul had the audacity to greet Samuel with a beatitude, blessed be you of the Lord. Really? I mean, this guy has crumbs around his mouth, and he still thinks he can greet Samuel as though nothing is wrong. I hope you're feeling what I'm feeling right now because this disobedience, this arrogance should really want us to look at Saul and punch him. Your heart should be boiling with anger. I'm afraid to add an adjective, holy anger, because we don't possess it. But when you hear a man like Saul saying, I have performed the commandment of the Lord, and he knows he hasn't, that should cause us to boil with anger, that holy anger of saying, you're making God a liar and a fool. See, that's a classic example of a self-deceived person. He believes his own lies. How can you call partial obedience the performance of God's commandment? But Samuel will not be flattered by Saul's blessing. He wasted no time. And by the way, this is a warning to many of us. Don't buy into blessed be you of the Lord. That's flattery. Stand for God. and speak for God. That's what Samuel does in this passage. smoothened by Saul's words and blessing. He wasted no time but confronted Saul's pride-filled and God-grieving partial obedience with this pointed question in verse 14. But Samuel said, what then is this blitting of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen which I hear You're blessing me and you're telling me you have performed God's command, but what is this behind you, Saul? See, we can learn from Samuel never to compromise nor beat around the truth when God's name and His glory are at stake. Mind you, this is not the first time Samuel confronts Saul with such an interrogative, hard-convicting question. He did it earlier in 1 Samuel 13, after Saul disobeyed God by offering that bent offering. And there again, Saul went out to meet Samuel and greeted him. But Samuel was quick to ask him, what have you done? What is this? What have you done? In both cases, we see that Saul never learned. Saul never takes responsibility for his disobedience. And this leads us to the third test of a disobedient heart. How are you doing, by the way? In your obedience, is it partial? Is it about you? Prideful? Here's the third one. A disobedient heart. abdicates responsibility or blames others. That's what Saul does. Saul blames his disobedience on the people and he blames it on Samuel and even blames it on the Philistines. If you were to go back to chapter 13 verse 11 to 12 you will see, oh I saw these guys were coming and I thought I really need to entreat the Lord. I need to get God's favor. Therefore, I needed to sacrifice to God. And as you go back to chapter 15, you notice that this was Saul's hard problem, and perhaps yours too, where Saul moves so quickly from I have performed the commandment of the Lord in verse 13 to they have brought them in verse 15. Do you notice the I and the they? When it looks good, it's I and we, but when it's going to be bad, it is they. They have done it. Saul wanted to look good, and he wanted to blame it on the people. He said in verse 15, the people spared the best, and the rest, Samuel, we, I was part of the we, have devoted to destruction, but the people spared the rest. But Samuel could not take this arrogant, blame-shifting attitude any longer. He said to Saul in verse 16, stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night. And you know what Saul does in response? Speak! That's arrogance. We quickly learn from this exchange that a disobedient person disdains confrontation. He hates it. Doesn't want to be confronted. You say to him, stop. He says to you, speak. What a disrespect towards the Lord and towards Samuel who anointed him king over Israel. But Samuel is not put off by Saul's attitude. He confronts this attitude in verse 17 with the words we should remember when we are tempted to disobey God in our arrogance. In verse 17, remember this believer. Samuel said, is it not true? Though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel. You deserved nothing. You were nothing, Saul. Your tribe, Benjamin, was nothing. It's the least. You have said it yourself, Saul, before. You are the least. Is it not true that God raised you up out of the dead and made you the head? of the tribes of Israel and the Lord anointed you king over Israel. Pastors need to be reminded of this as well. Whenever you feel like you want to take glory for yourself, remember you were nothing and you're still nothing. It is by grace for His glory. In summary, we were no bodies and God made us at least some bodies, isn't it? Why then do we disobey the voice of the Lord? Why do we do what is evil in the sight of the Lord? That's what Samuel asked Saul in verse 19. But Saul's heart at this time is so hardened that he could not take any confrontation nor take any counsel. He's gone far. His disobedience persists to an extent that he would disagree with God and he calls God a liar. This is the fourth and the last test of a disobedient heart, just to see if your heart is obedient or disobedient. You will know You are a disobedient, arrogant person when you disagree with God and thus calling God a liar. Look at verse 20 and 21 and we'll bring our message to conclusion. Then Saul said to Samuel, I did obey the voice of the Lord. Samuel has just said to him, You disobeyed and God has just taught me that. But Saul says, no, I did obey the voice of the Lord and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me and have brought back Agath the king of Amalek. Exactly, Saul. That's what we mean. Right? You did obey and you have Agath next to you. Pride blinds us. That's what disobedience does. That's what arrogance does. You believe your own lies. God sends you on a mission. You want to carry out your own mission and you come back and you say, I have done it for the Lord. No, that's for you. It's for your own monument. It wasn't for God. You can say to borrow from the New Testament language, Saul already has his reward. He's not going to get any reward from God. He wanted to be seen by man, he will get his reward here. So in verse 20 it says so, I've carried out the mission I have brought back Agag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. Verse 21, blame shifting. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction to sacrifice to the Lord. This bothers me. In verse 21, notice the next pronoun used there. He's not saying to the Lord, my God or our God, but saying to Samuel, to the Lord, your God. And that's why he would disobey Him. He doesn't really have a relationship with this God. He's the Lord your God. I am doing my bit. I am here to build my own name. That's what Saul is doing, and that's a great failure. Now, perhaps we need to apply this to missions as well, and I plead with American churches right here and say, whenever you decide to send us people to Africa or wherever to come on missions with us, please send us people who fear God, people that have been indetested that they have a relationship with God, because that's what we need. We don't need more adventurous people on the mission field. We're going out to the battlefield. You need people who know how to fight spiritually, who know this as my God, not your God. So here you can see that Saul is basically saying God is a liar. Because in my own standard, I have done what Saul had to do. My mission was to do that. If I want to save Agag, I will do it. If I want to sacrifice to your God, I will do it. By the way, the people wants to do it. But I carried out, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. Well, the last time we checked, God said, go and destroy everything. But he makes God a liar. And we know that God does not have any pleasure in sacrifices. Amen? God does not care about how many sacrifices you bring to him. He cares about obedience. And Samuel makes it clear in verse 22. Has the Lord as much delight in bent offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? That's what God cares about. When God says do this, He wants us to do that. He doesn't want us to add anything. He does not care so much about what you can bring to Him. Do what He has commanded. Don't innovate, don't add, don't subtract. Many missionaries fail because they want to add. They want to try and make missions look good by adding so many things and we fail on the mission field. Add social this or add messy that or add You know, sick and sensitive, dead, and all the things that we try in order to attract on the mission field, instead of standing like Paul and say, I know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. Because that's what the world needs. So Samuel says to him, God does not care about how many sacrifices you'll bring to him. He cares about your obedience. He said, go and strike Amalek utterly. You go and destroy as God has commanded you. And so at the end of it, Samuel says, because you have rejected God and his word, God has rejected you from being king. Those are the consequences. I was thinking about the phrase we often make, especially whenever we think of Jonah. And we say, you know what? God will accomplish his missions as he did with Jonah. If you are to try and go a different way, he will make sure that you get to where he wants you to be. And I look at that and say, that does not always happen. God can just take you out of the way. like he did with Saul and he would raise a king after his own heart to carry out his mission because God is not going to drag disobedient missionaries into the mission field. He will take people who love him and who care about the people and his obedience and he will send them out there. So God is looking for people with obedient hearts. If you partially obey, you are not obedient. If you call God a liar, when you say, I have, when God says you have not, you are arrogant, you are not obedient. If you are about building your own monument, you do not deserve, you do not belong in the mission field. God calls humble people who will, yes, sin like David would do, but would always cry out to God because they care about his name. And today with this message, I just want you to check your heart and see if you are fit to carry out the Lord's commands. God speaks, and when he speaks, he wants us to listen. So next time you read this Bible, remember these tests and ask yourself, how obedient is my heart? to the truth of God's word. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for using Saul really as a test for our hearts. And I pray, dear Lord, that what we have seen in Saul, you will help us to see if that is found in our hearts. No man can see what's going on in our hearts but you and ourselves. We plead with you that your spirit will be at work to expose our hearts where there is partial obedience that, Lord, we will cry out to you that we will not be partial, obedient people, but that we will obey you fully even if it's going to cost us. Expose our prideful hearts where we might have been doing things for ourselves or because of the fear of men. Lord, I pray that you will bring us to that heart of humility to where we will be able to say when you speak, yes, when we are confronted, we will be able to repent indeed. This we can only do when the Spirit of God is at work within us. Help us, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.