The first book of Samuel at the 15th chapter. We're going to begin to read at the 10th verse of this portion. And we'll read down to the end of verse 23. 1 Samuel chapter 15 at the verse 10. And let us hear the Word of God. Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the Lord all night. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord, I have performed the commandment of the Lord. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleeding of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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? 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. 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. 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 fan of rams. 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 has also rejected thee from being king. We'll end our reading just there this morning. And we're assured that the Lord will add His blessing to this, the public reading of His word. Amen. It's good to be with you today in cold rain. We're thankful for the renewed invitation to come and to minister God's Word to you at the services this day. We're praying for the presence of the Saviour. Mr. Wiley mentioned the difficulty in coming forth to speak. I was thinking of the time we were in the Whitfield College and sat in Mr Cook's class. The first time I preached I didn't get on very well but I hadn't enough sense to know that I hadn't done very well and he left me no doubt of that before I left the class that day. The second time I preached he asked me to speak on the widow of Zarephath and the failing Barrel of Meal and he always asked you the same question, how do you think you got on today? and I told him I didn't think I'd get on very well and he said then in a manner of speaking we could say that you were scraping the bottom of the barrel. and the students very kindly after that referred to me as the barrel scraper any time that I had to speak on deputation or so on. Well it's good to be here. As I look around the congregation I see six or seven folk from Mullaglass present in the service as well. They've come down to keep an eye on me today and how things go in Coleraine. Just to say that we We did have a gospel campaign recently in an area called Glenann down in South Armagh. We put up a tent in that area and held a fortnight of evangelistic meetings. I spoke at those meetings myself and we were very encouraged by the mission. We had a good number of visitors come in from the locality. We broke new ground, made contact with some folk for the first time. There was one night in particular they mentioned the folk thought there was at least 10 unconverted folk that were present in the meeting. There was no break during the mission. We were a little disappointed about that. but would ask even that you might pray for those meetings, pray that God will have blessed his word that went forth at that time, that even yet we'll hear of those that have come to the Saviour. We're going to take as our text two verses there in 1 Samuel 15. 1 Samuel 15, verses 22 and 23. The Scriptures tell us, and Samuel said, that the Lord is 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 thought of rams. 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. I'd like you to think of a question just at the outset this morning. I'd like you to think of the question, what word would you choose to sum up your Christian life and your walk with God as it is just at this time? If you think of yourself, think of your own life, Don't think of anyone else in the service today, just focus on your own heart and think of one word that you might use to sum up your walk with God at this time. If I could give you some examples of well-known people in the scriptures, if you think of Caleb, we could use the word surrendered. The Bible says of Caleb, he was a man that wholly followed the Lord. If you think of Barnabas, that great character in the New Testament church, we would have to use the word of Barnabas. He was an encourager. That was the mark, the characteristic of his life. That name Barnabas means the son of exhortation. He was a man that continually exhorted and encouraged the saints of God. If you think of that husband and wife, Ananias and Sapphira, We would have to use the word liars to sum up their life and their conduct. The New Testament, the book of Acts, tells us that they lied. And even worse than that, they lied to the Holy Ghost. If you think of Jonah, the prophet, in the Old Testament scriptures, I think the word you'd have to use of Jonah was runaway. The Bible tells us of Jonah that he fled. He fled from the presence of the Lord. There's a one-word summary of many of the great characters of the Scriptures. But think of your own life. What word sums up your Christian life, your walk with God today? If we were to think of King Saul, and we've read of Saul in this portion of Scripture, The word that would sum up the life of King Saul, especially the latter half of his life, is the word disobedience. In the verse 11 of this chapter, it says, He hath not performed my commandments. He disobeyed God. Verse 19 as well begins with the words, Samuel is the speaker, Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord? The word disobedient sums up Saul's actions and it sums up Saul's conduct. He was a man that was disobedient to the Word of God. You see, God had given him a commandment. The commandment was he was to completely and utterly destroy the Amalekites and all their livestock. You find that commandment there in verse 3 of the chapter, Now go and smite Amalek. and utterly destroy all that they have and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." The command was clear. He was directed to completely and utterly destroy the Amalekites. But he didn't. He didn't listen to God. He didn't do God's Word. He didn't carry out the commandment of the Lord. Disobedience to God's Word sums up the life of King Saul. And we have to ask today, is the same true of someone even in this gathering? We want to think a little this morning about Saul's disobedience. And as we do, we want you to ask the question, are you like King Saul? Is there some command In the scriptures, is there some part of God's will that you're not carrying out, that you're still being disobedient to? So let's think a little about Saul's disobedience. You'll notice, first of all, the character of this disobedience. Look there at verse 23 of the chapter, the opening words of the verse. It says, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary to China, said, the greatest mission in the world is submission. Submission to God, submission to God's word and to God's will. But I have to say to you this morning, men and women, that Saul, King Saul, the first king of Israel, was not a submissive man. He did not submit himself to the authority of God's Word. You note those two words in that 23rd verse, rebellion and stubbornness. And those two words reveal the character of Saul, and they reveal the character of a disobedient person. You think of the word rebellion. It's in that strong language. Isn't it strong language to use of a child of God? And yet the reality is, if you disobey God, you're a rebel. You're a rebel to God and His truth. You think of it in the family context. If you knew a family that had a disobedient child, you would say that child's rebellious. Rebellious to the parents, to their commands, to their oversight. Well, it's exactly the same. It's exactly the same with a disobedient child of God. The Bible says they're rebellious. But disobedience is also characterized by stubbornness. The person who is stubborn is the person that's determined. They're not going to change. They're not going to listen. They're not going to do the things that they're asked. You know, the expression, as stubborn as a mule. You can picture the mule in your mind. It won't move. It doesn't matter what is done to it, even if it's pushed, if it's beaten, if you shout at it, if you twist its tail, the old mule won't budge. Well, that's what a stubborn Christian is like. They're not going to move. They're not going to move for anything. They're not going to move for anyone, not even for the command of God. The psalmist said, Be not as the horse and the mule. The Christians not to be characterized by that stubbornness of the old mule. You'll remember that the Bible is like a mirror. You looked in the mirror this morning, I'm sure, before you left home to see that your clothes were sitting as you wanted, to see that your hair was just right. Well, remember the Bible is like a mirror where to look into the perfect law of liberty. And as you look into the scriptures this morning, as you look at this picture of the disobedient Christian, you may see yourself. It's not a pretty sight, but the reality, if you're a disobedient child of God, then this is how you look. This is your character, rebellious and stubborn. I want to emphasize to you in the second place the comparison here of disobedience. What is disobedience compared with in these verses of Scripture? Well, look there at verse 23 again. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Disobedience is compared with witchcraft and idolatry. I'd like you to think of that. I'd like you to take that in today. Remember that in the Bible, witchcraft and idolatry are sins that receive the severest condemnation of God. They're described in the Old Testament Scriptures as abominable sins. And men and women, the message here is that disobedience is a serious thing. Disobedience to God is something that He describes as being very wicked. Isn't it true we often disobey God as if it were a small thing? As if it didn't really matter? We disobey God's commands, we turn us back on His will, and we never give it the slightest thought? But yet God wants you to understand today just how hellish, how heinous, how black, how dark, how awful the sin of disobedience really is. Saul was made to see that day how great his guilt was in the sight of God. And the Lord wants us to see exactly the same. It's as witchcraft and idolatry. J. Wilbur Chapman was a very famous evangelist in the United States. He served his time for a while under Billy Sunday and then he went out holding gospel campaigns, evangelistic crusades himself. He tells the story of a minister that he knew that preached in his congregation very plainly on sin. And he called sin that abominable thing that God hates. Sometimes when ministers preach messages, there are folk in the congregation that don't like them. And that was the case that day. One member of the congregation called him aside and started to rebuke him, started to tell him off, you ought not to use those sort of terms in this day and age in which we live. Don't use the word sin. Don't use that ugly description, the abominable thing God hates. When you're talking about sin, call it error, call it an oversight, call it a fault, call it a mistake. Call it what you like, but don't use those terms. The minister took a bottle of poison from the cupboard and he sat it down in front of this man, a member of his congregation. He said, do you think we should change the label on this bottle? and call it wintergreen? Would that not be very dangerous if we deceive people by the terms that we put on products such as this? You see, the message was, describe sin in the right way. Leave people in no doubt how awful, how terrible, how black it really is. And men and women, that's what God does here. He leaves you in no doubt just how wicked Disobedience to his word really is the comparison of disobedience. The third thing in the text is the covering of disobedience. You see, Saul went to great lengths to cover up his disobedience to God's word. There are several things that we could mention. I want to emphasize just one thing that he did, and that was to tell blatant and deliberate lies. Look there at the 13th verse of the chapter. Samuel came to Saul and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord. See the spiritual language he uses? Blessed be thou of the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord. You know the fact? The only person that Saul was fooling was himself when he said those words. He must have thought that Samuel was blind and deaf and stupid because the evidence that he had not obeyed God was all around him. Samuel went on to say in the next verse, what meaneth then this bleeding of the sheep in mine ear and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? You see, Samuel could hear the animals, could hear the sheep and the oxen. the animals that Saul had brought back from the Amalekites, the animals which should have been put to death. It was clear to Samuel that Saul was lying to him. And maybe, my friend, that's what you do. To cover up not doing God's will for your life, you've started to become a liar. Remember that lying is a serious thing. Do you know that verse we sometimes teach to the children in Sunday school and the children's meeting? Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. There's no watering down of the message there. Lying lips. It's only a wee white lie, you say. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. Think of Ananias and Sapphira again. They lied in order to cover up their sin. They were lying about their spirituality. They were lying about what they had done with the money. And what did the Lord do? He took them home. He cut them off. Their lives ended very abruptly. Doesn't it teach us lying? Lying about spiritual things in particular is a serious thing. There are those who attempt to cover their disobedience. I wonder, my friend, is that what you have been doing? Is that the way you've been living recent weeks and recent months? Well, remember this. There's no blessing upon that course of action. The Scriptures teach us that plainly. Solomon said, He that covereth his sins shall not prosper. It will not do you any good trying to hide your wrongdoing. Adam tried it in the Garden of Eden with the fig leaves, and man has been trying to cover over his sin and his wrongdoing ever since. You know, there's only one thing that you should cover your sin with, and that's with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. What you should do today with your disobedience is confess it, not cover it. James said, confess your faults one to another. John says in his epistle, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And brother and sister in Christ, that's what you need to do today. If you're out of God's will, if you're disobeying His command, confess your sin. and have it covered with the precious blood of the Saviour. There's a fourth thing I want you to see in this story. That is the cause of Saul's disobedience. We have that in verse 24 of the chapter. Verse 24 tells us, And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in thy words. And notice these words that follow. Because I feared the people. and obeyed their voice. Think of the question, why did Saul disobey God? Why did he do such a serious thing? It's because of his fear of the people of the nation. He didn't want to do something that would be unpopular in their sight. Saul was a man pleaser. He wanted to please men. instead of pleasing the Lord. Saul was concerned about public opinion. Saul had a greater fear of the men of Israel than he had of the God of heaven. I wonder, is it the same with you today? Is this the reason you're not willing to obey God? Is this the reason why you're not willing to do what he says and to carry out his will? It's because you're afraid of what people would say? You're afraid of what others would think. You're afraid of what your school friends would say about you. You're afraid of what the people in the office, in the place of employment might say about you. You're afraid that they might laugh and ridicule you in the sight of others. The fear of man. The Bible talks about two fears. The fear of man that brings a snare. The fear that grips the heart and gets you into bondage. causes you to do things that are wrong in God's sight. And then there's the fear of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of knowledge. And what we need to ask today is the question, which do we have? Which is it that marks our lives? Which is it that marks our conduct? What is it that marks our churches today? What is it that marks this land? The fear of man or the fear of God? William Gladstone was a very famous Prime Minister of this country in the 19th century. He was a man that loved the Saviour. He had the peace of God in his heart. It was evident by all around. The serenity in his life could be seen by others. He was asked on one occasion, is there nothing that really concerns you, Mr. Gladstone? And he paused for a moment and he thought, and then he said, there's one thing that concerns me about our land at the end of the 19th century. He said that there is a decrease, a major decrease in the fear of God among the people. I ask you, men and women, how much greater has that fear of God decreased in the last 100 years? Whenever Duncan Campbell went to the Isle of Lewis to preach in those great revival meetings, he was asked by one of the old elders of the church there in Stornoway. They asked him, are you walking with God, Mr. Campbell? It's not a good question. What if someone pointedly put that question to your heart today? Are you walking with God? Isn't it a challenging word? Duncan Campbell thought of that question, and then he gave this answer. He said, Sir, I believe I can say that I fear God. I know that every Christian, every Christian could say that today. Saul didn't fear God. Saul feared the people. If he had feared God, he would have obeyed his voice. Because the reality, brethren and sisters, is this. He who fears God, He fears no one else. He'll not fear man. He'll not fear the face of any man, as King Saul did. There's one other thing I'll leave with you about the story of Saul's disobedience. That's the consequence of his disobedience. It's there in verse 23, the end of the verse. If I could read to you from the middle of that 23rd verse, Samuel says, Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king." I'd like you to see there were serious consequences for Saul not obeying the voice of the Lord. Saul lost out. He lost out with God. He lost many blessings and many privileges as a result of the course that he took. He lost his character. We've noted already he became a liar, And he became a deceiver. He lost his character. He lost his companion as well. His friend. At the end of the chapter, in verse 35, we are told, Samuel came no more to see Saul. The man that had anointed Saul king of Israel. The man that had prayed for him. The man that had taught him the Scriptures and the will of God. He lost his companionship. He lost Samuel as a friend. And something else he lost. was the crown. That 23rd verse says, the Lord has rejected thee from being king. Samuel lost or Saul lost the kingdom. You see, men and women, what great losses he incurred. And I want you to see that it's always the same when you disobey God. There's no blessing upon the life of the man or the woman who is out of God's will. Sin is a barabbas. Sin is a robber. It will rob you of the blessing of the Lord in your life. You never prosper by disobeying God. You only have to think of Adam. When Adam disobeyed the Lord, he lost his righteousness, he lost his holiness, and he lost Eden. the beautiful, the perfect environment of Eden in which he was found. Think of the nation of Israel. They disobeyed God. They went off into idolatry. What was the result? They lost the land. The Lord carried them off into captivity. Think of Samson, the strongest man that ever lived. He didn't do God's will. He didn't live the vows of the Nazarite as he ought. Do you think of the serious consequences in the life of Samson? He lost his eyes. He lost his strength. He lost his liberty. Ended up grinding in the prison house of the Philistines. Think of Lot. Lot lifted up his eyes upon the well-watered plains of Jordan. Lot went and sojourned in that place. And he lost his wife. He lost his children. Aye, he lost his whole home. What warnings are these, brethren and sisters? You always lose out by disobeying God. Do you remember those words of John in the book of the Revelation? Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Isn't that an interesting statement? We rejoice today. You can't lose your salvation. We believe in the perseverance of the saints. I give unto my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish. You can't lose your salvation, but there is something you can lose. You can lose your reward. You can lose your crown. John clearly tells us that no man Take thy crown. You could live in such a way that you lose out on the judgment day. Someone else gets the crown. Someone else gets the reward. That ought to have been yours. King Saul lost his crown on earth. The kingdom was taken from him and given to David, the man after God's own heart. But I think as we read these verses, we could read a little deeper. He not only lost the crown on earth, But because he turned back from following after the Lord and died as a backslider, he lost his crown in heaven as well. There were consequences to his disobedience. Let me ask you, will it be the same for you? Lose out. Lose out in life. Maybe lose out in eternity because of a decision you make. to turn away from God and not obey the voice of the Lord. I say this to you in closing. Remember, there are two Sauls in the Scriptures, one in the Old Testament and one in the New. Both of them came from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul of Tarsus in the New Testament was different. There's a great contrast between Saul's life and the life of the first king of Israel. It is said of Saul of Tarsus, or he said of himself, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. The Old Testament saw, marked by disobedience, turning away from God. The New Testament saw, marked by doing the will of God for his life. And the great question, brethren and sisters, is which are you? Which of them are you like? The Old Testament Saul or the Saul of the New? The lesson of King Saul's life is this. It's a great lesson. I sum it up for you in these words. At all cost, at all cost, obey God. May the Lord burn the words of that 22nd verse into your heart. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fall of rams. May the Lord bless His Word to every heart. For Jesus.