Samuel chapter 15, and very familiar passage for people that listen to preaching preach and occasionally read their Bibles. For everybody else, it's not familiar. Okay? First Corinthians, I mean, first Samuel chapter 15. We are going to pick up the story here about Saul. And this was the turning point in Saul's life when the Lord decided he should no longer be king over Israel. This is the time that he was removed from being king, although he still held office, right? So a lot of times we elect people in November, right? But the current president still holds office for a period of time until the new president takes office, right? On the 21st or 29th of January. But Saul kind of extended that and stayed longer out of rebellion. 1 Samuel chapter 15. Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people over Israel. Now, with great power comes great responsibility. God gave you a position. He also gave you something He wants you to do, right? You're the king. Now, therefore, hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid weight for him and the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have and spare them not. But slay both man and woman, infant, suckling, ox, sheep, camel, and ass. And Saul gathered the people together and numbered them and tell them 200,000 footmen and 10,000 men of Judah. Saul came to a city of Amalek and laid wait in the valley and Saul said to the Canaanites Go depart and get you down from among the Amalekites lest I Destroy you with them for you should kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt, so the Canaanites departed from among the Amalekites and Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah and until thou comest to Shur, which is over against Egypt. And he took Agag, in verse 8, the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the ox, and of the fatlings, and of the lambs, All that was good and would not utterly destroy them, but everything that was vile and refused they destroyed utterly. Then came the word of the Lord to Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has 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 up a place and has gone about and passed on down to Gilgal. And Samuel came to Saul and 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? And look at verse 23. He said this, verse 22, And Samuel said, Hath the Lord? as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices and obeying the voice of the Lord? That's a question. And that's one thing that we all need to ask ourselves. Okay? Does God delight in my sacrifice as much as my obedience? Because a lot of times people would like to go to the bar on Saturday, and come show God they love Him on Sunday, put some money in the plate, and if they drink a lot, put a little extra money in the plate, dress a little bit nicer, okay? I'm not that bad. I know I did this, but I also did this. Has your wife been great delight in roses, as in you just not being an idiot? Right? He said this. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king." Brother Mark, can you ask the blessing on the service this morning, the sermon? Father in heaven, thank you for the time that our pastor puts into studying. I pray that you'd be with little Bez right now as he's healing. And Lord, I pray that we not be not distracted from the message, Lord, because rebellion takes on so many different shapes and forms, Lord. It can be taking place right now with someone in this room. Lord, I pray that you would, I pray that we would remain soft in our hearts, Lord, that our hearts would not be hardened. Lord, and if there's something that we need to fix that, that your word would address it. Father in heaven, I pray, Lord, that if there's something in my life right now, Lord, you'd help me to see it. Lord, I pray that for all these good people here, God. Give pastor the spirit, give them clarity. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Now, witchcraft is one of the works of the flesh in the Bible that comes from the word pharmakeia or pharmacy, you know, where we get our drugs and things from, and it's associated with drug use. Witchcraft is associated with the occult, Wicca, witches, wizards, Halloween, satanists, black magic, necromancy, astrology, the occult, causing their children to pass through the fire, devil possession, fallen angels, familiar spirits. Witchcraft. Now, there's not a person in here, probably, that would knowingly want to be involved in the sin of witchcraft. Right? There's people sitting in this room that have come to me worried because the coup d'andatus Did some kind of chicken bloody mumbo-jumbo and you're worried about the black magic in him Casting a spell on you and you're terrified about that and we worked through that in the bible You don't have to fear that if you're born again, but uh in the the san antonio culture in the hispanic culture there they're terrified of that and they would not want to be involved in that The Anglo culture is just oblivious and thinks it's all dumb when there's actually something to it. And then on the other side, it's feared when it's not understood God can take care of that. So both are wrong, right? So this this witchcraft they they listen nobody in here Most people in here do not celebrate Halloween because they don't want to be associated with the devil most people in here would not even allow their children to read a Harry Potter book because they do not want to be associated with witchcraft and wizards and casting spells and Right, and that's how most people are in here and and nobody in here would go to a gathering Where a bunch of Satanists were sacrificing an animal and drinking its blood you wouldn't just go there and hang out You would not There's people in here that would not even walk into a Pentecostal church because you don't want to get any voodoo cast on you, right and There's people in here that you you won't even walk into a Catholic Church because of the spirits and the things that you think about that But I want you to look at this in verse 23 It says this rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft Now Saul at the end of his life was involved in witchcraft Right Saul, at the end of his life, was trying to conjure up the dead and speak to spirits, and he was spending time with a witch, and he ate his last meal with a witch. Rebellion is the starting point that ends in witchcraft. You know what Marilyn Monroe said, and he's very evil and does a lot of crazy music, right? He said Satan I Have no idea what happened But I appreciate it. He said Satan is the ultimate symbol of rebellion right and so He said this Saul you might not be guilty of witchcraft but But what you were involved in is just as bad. Is that not what he said? Now, if I preached a message up here about witchcraft, I'd probably get a lot of amens. But you'd go home and say, well, that doesn't really apply to my life. You know? Because Baptists don't practice witchcraft, but what we practice is just as bad. Rebellion is as I said, listen, everybody gets worried when they see little Johnny cutting the head off of an animal and sacrificing an animal in the backyard. That bothers parents. But it does not bother parents when Johnny tells them no. You're treating the animal the wrong way. But they don't get bothered when they say no to authority. They don't get bothered when they say come here and they go hither. They don't get bothered when they say do this and they do that. But the Bible says that rebellion is as witchcraft. So you have to view it the way that God views it. You would take it seriously if your child was cutting the head off of an animal. I hope you would. That's not healthy for children to do. You should also take it seriously if the same child is rebellious. Now, furthermore than that, we need to look into our heart and see where we have rebellion in us. What is rebellion? It's open resistance to authority. It's throwing off of authority. It's an uprising. It's a revolt. It's insurrection. It's revolution. It's insurgence. It's rioting. It's disorder. It's unruliness. It's unrest. You see all these people busting shops down and flipping over police cars and burning the city down. It is not a cause, it is rebellion. You don't see the disciples doing that when the Roman government was a whole lot worse than the American government. Right? That is rebellion. It's it's when you and I decide that we are going to throw off our authority And we are going to do as we jolly well, please It's a universal problem Now Here's one thing. I noticed about rebels because I Spent most of my life as a rebel. I mean I was born in Georgia You know what's on the side of Stone Mountain. I which they're probably going to blow up the mountain because of it, but that's another story. And I was raised in Tennessee. I mean, stars and bars, right? And my dad used to make fun of me. He's like, the war is over. You lost. He said, I wish I could go back to the winning side. We lived in the South, right? But I was a rebel. But I'm not talking about that kind of a rebel. I got over that, thank the Lord. But also, here's one thing about rebels. They don't recognize that they are rebels. No rebel thinks that he's a rebel. he thinks everything else is the problem and and and and something's going on with everyone else and and If you're a rebel, you know what you're gonna do You're gonna brush this message aside You're gonna get mad about it. You're gonna say I don't agree with that Why would he say something like that and you won't even investigate why it bothers you? So if there's a crime scene and And you don't know who did it. You know what you do if you're an investigator? You look for DNA. Right? Because everybody has DNA that is unique to them. Okay? You can find a fingernail, fingerprint, you can find some blood, some body fluid, and you can find out who committed the crime. Right? Rebels also have a DNA. Okay. And rebellion is the DNA that is left at this crime scene that Saul did, right? And so since we can't recognize if we're rebels, we're gonna look at the DNA of a rebel, and if it's there, we'll be able to recognize it in our life and get it out of our life, and get it out of our children's life, and do something about it, right? So, number one, there is a disdain for authority. This is the DNA of a rebel. There's a disdain for authority. Look at verse number one. He said this. Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord hath sent me to anoint thee. Now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the Lord. And verse 3, Go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have. Isn't this clear? Spare them not, slay both, man and woman, infant, sunkling, ox, sheep, camel, and ass. There is no ambiguity. It's absolutely clear. This is what I want you to do. This is God that's commanding you to do. And look at verse 9. But Saul and the people, what? There was a disdain for authority. Was there not? And he didn't listen. Was he told what to do? Yes. Did he do it? No. Why? Because he was the king. And nobody was going to tell the king what to do. And I don't care how high you get in life, you have to understand that there's always a higher authority. Even when Jesus Christ was on His earth as a man, He submitted Himself to the authority of His Father, even though He was God. Right? He submitted Himself to the authority of the government, even though He was God. And it doesn't matter how high you get, you will always be at a place where you are under authority. And there was an authority over him. And it was the Word of God that came through Samuel, the prophet of God. And that's how God spoke in those days. And he did not obey what God wanted him to do. He lied about Samuel. He put his hand on him to try to stop him and tore his clothes. And listen, here's the thing. If you're a rebel, Nobody can tell you what to do Nobody You have a disdain for authority How many times have you been dealing with a rebel and You said this You can't do this. This is not right. This is not right in the sight of God. This is not right. I don't want you to do this. And maybe I'm your husband or maybe I'm your parent or whatever, but you can't do this. This is not right. Maybe you're dealing with your husband and you're like, This is not according to God. This is not right. You can't do this. And they would not listen to you when you said, let's go talk to the preacher. Let's go talk to a police officer. Let's go talk to somebody. Let's ask somebody else in a position of authority, and hopefully you will listen to them. Have you ever been there? And then you take them there and try to get them to listen to them, but you find out that there is no authority in their life that they will listen to, including God. And it doesn't matter if the whole world and all the church and God Himself was standing there saying, you should not do this, this is wrong, they would proceed forward and do it anyway. Because nobody's going to tell you what to do. I'm grown. I make my own decisions. I'm an adult. Don't preach to me. You can't tell me what to do." The greatest faith that the Lord saw was He saw a man that said, I am a man under authority, and I say to one, go and he goeth, and another, come and he cometh. He was under authority, and the Lord said, that is the greatest faith. That's what I've seen, and that's what I like. And listen. This is not just for you, okay? This is for me as well. And I think everybody should have somebody in their life that they will listen to. I describe the pastorate as this, talking people off the wall. I'm a hostage negotiator. Don't do that. Don't, no, no, no, no, no, just time out! Stop! I'm a hostage negotiator. I'm also an ex-girlfriend. When people walk out of the church, you know how it feels to me? It feels like I'm getting dumped every time. And I get dumped all the time, right? And then, anything you say can and will be held against you. That's the three phrases you can describe the pastor with, right? But I believe that even as I'm a hostage negotiator and I try to talk people off the wall, I need someone in my life like that. Because sometimes I'll have a wrong decision I'm about to make. And that life, that person that's in my life like that is Brother Peacock. He's my pastor, he's who I go to. And when Michelle and I are talking about something and can't figure it out, and I said, you know what, I'm just gonna do this. And she says, okay, but I understand that you're in charge, but I think that you're wrong, and maybe we should go to somebody a little further up the chain and see what they think about this. So her and I will go and get on the phone, or we'll sit down with them and we'll talk to them. And sometimes, you know what, he says, you're wrong. And here's the biblical reason why you're wrong, because the authority over all of us is the Bible. And here's what you're not seeing, and here's where you're not looking at it properly. And you know what that has saved me? Years of pain and suffering. But if you're a rebel, I don't need to talk to anybody. I know what I'm going to do when I'm going to do it, and I have a disdain for authority. You know what the problem is, is throwing off authority as you throw off your protection. You know what Saul did? He threw off his protection that day, because that was the last day that the Lord talked to him. He decided he didn't care what Samuel told him and what God was telling him to do. All rebels despise authority. Did you read about the couple that got booted off the airplane the other day because they wouldn't fasten their seatbelts? Sir, you have to fasten your seatbelt before you take care. You can't tell me what to do. This is America. No, this is Delta. Fasten your seatbelt or I'm not going to do it. Well, they come and the captain comes up and says, sorry, bud. You're getting off the plane. The authorities are coming. And he clicks it together. I have it on. Come on, let's go. He's like, no, it's too late. You delayed the plane. The authorities are on the way. You're getting kicked off. I'm sorry. You know? I was sitting on a flight next to a pilot that told me that story. And he said, I just wonder what people think. They just have an absolute disdain for authority, and they want to die on every hill and fight for every hill like it's a cause, because they have nothing else to fight for. I know a preacher that got beat up at a checkpoint because they say, hey, let's turn over. We don't want to search your car. I have a constitutional... Okay, dummy. Get beat up. Okay, that's not what the Bible says in Romans chapter 13. Look at Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13. You know, look, I have a long history of knowing rebels. Listen, my DNA on my father's side was spelled rebellion. That's all I knew growing up. All I ever heard growing up, you know, society wants you to do this. I'm not going to do it. Dad, I'm getting married. Come to my wedding. I don't go to weddings. Society expects that of you. I mean, that is my stock on my father's side. And on my mother's side, my grandfather was a colonel, and he was all about authority. So I'm like, what? Sir, license and registration. This is my dad. Where are you going? Where are you coming from? License and registration. Can you speak? Are you a mute? Is there something wrong with you? Sure, step out of the car. Put your hand behind your back. Now you're sitting in a jail cell. Next morning, click, click, open. You are free to go. I want to see the judge. I was unconstitutionally arrested. I demand a trial by jury. Sir, you're not charged with a crime. I don't care. 30 days later, my dad comes home, and nothing was accomplished. One time he was sitting on a park bench in downtown Atlanta, and he tells this story to me as I'm a kid, like it's a good thing, and I grow up thinking this is a good thing. This is a heroic story. And so he's sitting on a park in downtown Atlanta, reading his Bible. He was homeless back then. Big beard, you know, looked like Duck Dynasty before they ever made the beard popular, you know. Sitting there, reading his Bible, and the police officer comes up and he says, Sir, you need to go down to the park. There's working people down here. So my dad said, okay, and he got up and started walking to the park, and he said, then I thought, this is America. So he goes and sits back on the park bench. The cop walks up and he said, sir, you need to go to the cop. I mean, go to the park. There's working people down there. That's what he tells the cop. Put your hands behind your back. And he ends up over and over and over. Listen. Don't fight the wrong battles. You don't have to die on every hill. You're not a hero because you walk on the grass when people tell you not to. You're not a hero. Everyone's so worried about your constitutional rights. What about your biblical rights? You have two rights. You have the right to die. You earned it, the wages of sin is death. And you have the right to pay for your sins. Those are your only two rights. But we live in Laodicea, the rights of the people, the Constitution. You are nuts. You are just a rebel that's trying to come up with a cause, and you're actually rebelling against God, Romans 13. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. There's no power but of what? The powers that be are ordained of what? Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of what? And they that resist shall receive to themselves what? They'll go to jail. That's not saying the temporary damnation. You'll go to jail for 30 days. For the rulers are not a terror to good works, but to what? Will thou be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise the same, for he is a minister of what? for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid." Hey, listen. God ordained them. He put them there for your protection. And when you resist the power, you resist God. You see? All rebels have a disdain for authority, and their real problem is with God, and they cannot even see it. You're not a hero. You are a rebel. And it doesn't matter what the authority is, they just will not conform and will not be put in a box. They have to stand out and they have to be different. That's all I knew my whole life. Stand here. No, I'm going to stand over here. Sit here. No, I'm going to stand. I'm only under the authority of God. He set me free. You are a rebel. I refuse to because society, okay, get run over by a car. They go off into destruction. If Samuel can't tell you who's wrong. You're wrong, who can? Let me ask you this. Is there anyone in your life that can say, hey bud, you're going astray, that you would listen to and consider and reconsider? Listen, a lot of us were raised without having rebellion taken out of us by our parents. So we have to recognize it in ourselves and willingly submit it and give it to God and learn to appreciate authority. Because no one can make you submit. You have to give it to God. You're not fighting anyone, you're fighting yourself. The Bible talks about the fallen angels, and it says that they are despised government. 2 Peter 2.10. He talks about the fallen angels in Jude chapter 1 and verse 8, and it says, the filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, speak eagle of dignities. There's a disdain for authority. There is a disregard for instruction. He said all. He said, wipe them all out and kill all of it. And he amended it to his liking and he killed some of them and he spared Agag and the best of the sheep. God said, take all of them and kill all of them, but he kept some. I know you want me to do this way, but I know a better way that takes less efforts and I can cut corners. come out further ahead. And if I want what's best for me, I have to buck the system. I have to do things my own way. God is not favorable with that. He killed Uzzah for touching the ark, and He killed 50,000 people for opening it and looking it in to the ark. The Lord says, do something, and we say, why? And He says, I don't have to tell you why. Just do it. I will tell my children to do something just to test their level of obedience. It doesn't even have to make sense. I just want to know if you're going to obey. The root of a rebellion is to know what the instructions are and what God wants you to do and then do something else. It's willing disobedience to anything God wants us to do. Listen, partial obedience is disobedience. Partial rebellion is total rebellion. God, I will obey you in this area. I'll do this, this, and this. I'll do everything you want me to do, but I'm not going to do this. You know what you're saying? God, I'm the boss, and I want you to be okay with me doing what I want to do. It's total rebellion. And it's as the sin of witchcraft. There's a disdain for instruction. He said, kill them all, and he did some. God said all, and he did some. God said, all, and he did some. And you know what Baptists do? God says, all, and they do some. God says, do this, and they do this. God says, stand, and they sit. God says, sit, and they stand. God says, pray, and they spend. God says, don't, and they do. God says, all, and they say some. That's rebellion. I can't afford to. They make excuses. Listen. Rebellion will always manifest itself through a person's pocketbook. And how I know that is because money is power, and you're not going to give your power away. He struggles with tithing. It's not biblical. It's not New Testament. You should take your money and give it to help the poor. I'm like that's a good point Judas already brought that up Right Why wasn't this money sold for 300 pence and given to the poor? Not that he carried the poor hair developed the poor but he was a thief and he carried the bag He wanted the money in his control. I Don't believe in tithing, you know you should just give and people should give vegetables and people should do this and and you should just help your neighbors and and I'm like, well, okay, how come you don't then? I don't believe in tithing. You know what? I was talking to someone and I said, you know, Okay, let's test your theory and I said don't even give me the answers to this question But I said since the day you stopped tithing and you stepped out of church because it's wrong to tie Then you should just give your money to the help the poor I said if you would tally the total amount that you've given from that day to this day I guarantee you it less represents less than 1% of of your paycheck, and I guarantee you that maybe you did it one time or two time, not in excess of $100. You know what people's problem is? It's not the money. It's, I'm not going to submit to the authority of God. I'm going to rebel against God. I'm gonna keep this in my control so I can do what the Bible says where your treasure is there where your heart be also and You know where that is. It's in your control Is you're a rebel? He has problem with tithing he has problems with taxes. He has problems with budgets because nobody's gonna tell him what to do Isaiah 30 and verse 8, now go, you don't have to turn there, write it before them in a table and note it in a book that it may be for the time to come forever and ever. This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of God. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son which will not obey the voice of his father, do you know what God wants you to do? Then do it. Find out what God wants you to do. This is what Brother Stocker said. He's coming to our men's retreat. Find out what the devil wants you to do. What does God want me to do in this situation? What does the devil want you to do? Does God want me to tithe? Well, I don't know. Does the devil want me to tithe? No. No. Okay? And choose sides. It's as simple as that. What does God want? What does the devil want? And then just choose sides. You know what a rebel does? He has a total disregard for instructions. He makes his own rules up as he goes through life. And that brings us to the next step in the path of rebellion. Look at verse 13. It says this, that there is a... And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord, I have performed the commandment of the Lord. Did he? No. Samuel comes walking up to King Saul, and King Saul knew what he did, and Samuel has not even opened his mouth, and he says to him, Blessed be thou of the Lord. Hallelujah! Shum-a-lum-a-lum-a. Blessed. Hallelujah! He is worthy! What have you been doing? I have been performing the commandment of the Lord. I've been preaching on the street. I've been passing out tracts. I've been tithing. I gave 6,384 tracts out the other day. Who said anything about tracts? Who said anything about performing the commandment? He's overcompensating like the gay man in the gym or the feminist pouring concrete. Right? Overcompensating. Listen, it's fake worship. What have you been doing? Performing the commandment of the Lord. Do you know what it is? It's a dismissal of sin. It's dismissing what you're doing and saying it's not really sin, but boy, that's really good to hear. And Samuel says, oh, that's good to hear, but what meaneth this bleeding of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen? Baa! Moo! Baa! Baa! Moo! Dead cows don't moo! Those sheep, they don't seem very dead. It's something, I smell a rat. Something smells fishy. How are you doing? I'm doing good. Really? You've been going to church? I haven't been going to church. If you're doing good, why am I worried about you? Why am I grieved? You notice his sin bothered Samuel more than it did him? I wish I could get people to be as bothered about their sin as I am. Samuel's losing sleep over Saul's sin. Saul's not losing any sleep. He's just dismissed it, and it smells a rat. I was in Bible school one time, and I had a roommate, and he had a girlfriend, I woke up the next morning and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and I'm like, what are you doing here? Oh, we were having a Bible study and praying and I fell asleep. Oh! Moo! Something just doesn't add up. But you know what a rebel always does? He just dismisses everything that he's doing, and then he did it in such a way that it didn't bother him. It says in here, everything in verse 9 that was good and would not utterly destroy, but everything that was vile and refused, he destroyed utterly. Well, I'm going to get rid of this. I don't like that. I agree that that's wrong. But this, I'm going to keep this. What would you talk it what would you say somebody was a good person and generous as all they did was give away Garbage, but they didn't give it away anything that they liked Everything that to him. Oh, I can find a purpose for this and use this It's like people going through an old person's house after they died. Oh, I can take this you can keep that I And, well, why are you keeping this? God said not to keep it. Oh, I'll sacrifice it to the Lord. In Gilgal. Well, then why did you go to Carmel? I'm going to sacrifice it to God. I'm going to give it to Him. And then he lies about it in verse 13. And then when his sin stopped bothering him, because look what he did in verse 15. They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice them to the Lord. and the rest we utterly destroyed." He dismissed it. When I'm not doing it, it's not really wrong. I mean, after all things are lawful for me, all things are not expedient. I mean, is there anything really inherently wrong about sheep and oxen? I mean, did not God grow sheep and oxen? Did He not say that every herb bearing seed was good and He saw it and it was good? And did not He make this? I mean, a little sheep and oxen for thy stomach's sake. and he spiritualized it. I can thank God for it, and I can give this to God, and he justified it and dismissed it. Listen, if I stop going to church, then I can spend time with them, and I can reach them. How are you going to reach them for God when they know that you should be in church, and you told them you should be in church, and now you're not in church, and they're going to reach you for the world? Well, I know that if I date him, maybe God put me in his life, maybe God put me in her life to bring them to Jesus. Why would God take you and put you in their sorry, disgusting, raunchy life to reach them for Jesus? I mean, He put you there where there's somebody that doesn't love God, doesn't want to go to church, doesn't want to read their Bible, doesn't want to sing the songs of Zion, doesn't want to have anything to do with God, and God put you there to reach them? And you think one day with you is going to turn him or her to Jesus? And you are sadly... God doesn't send you to the hog pen to get a spouse. But you spiritualize it. You spiritualize it. If I don't pay my taxes, then I can give it to God. One time I had a business, and I had to write the IRS. I was sitting in Florida, and I had to write them a check for $25,000. And I said, Lord, why don't I just give it to you? If I give it to you, will you protect me from the IRS? I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll give half of it to you, and I'll keep half of it. That way, if something goes wrong, I can... No. Stop trying to spiritualize what is wrong and what God doesn't... It's never right to do wrong to get a chance to do right. There's a disdain for authority. There's a disregard for instruction. There's a dismissal of sin. There's a diversion of accountability. Look at verse 21. People verse 20. I did everything I was supposed to do but the people took up the spoil and the sheep when you're faced with that when a rebel is faced with this sin, and he can't deny it because There's the sheep that's bleeding and there's the cow that's mooing a rebel always then shifts accountability diversion of accountability and he blames it on something else because they are not going to change and in order to maintain their rebellion they will face nothing and They're too full of self and full of pride, and they're not little. He said, when you were little, in verse 17, in thine own sight. But you're not little in your own sight anymore. You're big. You can't be told what's wrong. And the spirit of rebellion always blames something else and someone else, because as long as it's their fault, you will never change. It's a personal bias. I did everything I was supposed to do but they. marriage counseling She he she he and I listen to that for a while and I say hold on I can't change she and he but you can change you. So tell me what you did wrong. Where are you wrong? Well, I can't do because my wife and I can't because my husband I Are they gonna stop you wake up in the morning and go to church? You spend money on all this other stuff you don't think that you You don't let them tell you what to do when it comes to buy a dress. Give something to the Lord. Them, and they always blame and shift the blame. You know, you've got to take accountability. Adam, why did you do it? That woman you gave me, I mean, she came over there with that fruit looking all pretty. I mean, what's a guy supposed to do? What's he supposed to do? I mean, it's her fault! And when you get the rebellion out of your life, the excuses go away. And you stand before God and you say, it's not my brother, it's not my sister, it's not my mother, but it's me, O Lord. Standing in the need of prayer. It's me. I'm the problem. I can't control the people, the people and them, but it's me. What am I supposed to do? Tell me what's wrong with you, not with the world, not with your spouse, not with your children, not with the pastor, not with the church. What is wrong with you? Pastor, why doesn't the church Go so winning. Why doesn't the church feed the homeless and feed the hungry? Why doesn't the church do this? Or why doesn't the church have a bus ministry? Why doesn't the church do this? Hey, let me ask you something. Are you saved? Yeah. You part of the church? Yeah. Do you go so winning? No. I'm like, well, that's why. Because you don't. So get back to me when that changes, and then we'll talk. What is your responsibility? A rebel always diversion of accountability. There's a difficulty in leadership. He said the people. The people. Every rebel. can never lead people in his life like he's supposed to lead because he doesn't understand authority and he's not there to serve people. He's there to have people serve him. And he doesn't understand authority. You will never get over what God has put you over until you get under what God has put you under. You will never get over What God has put you over until you get under what God has put you under. The people. Rebels have a problem with the position of a pastor, with the position of a husband, with the position of a father, with the position of a boss, with the position of a police officer, with the position of a president, with the position of an ordinance, with the position of a speed limit sign. with the position of a teacher, with the position of a professor, and yet they want to have authority over people in their life. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 17 says this, Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, that they must give account that they may do it with joy. Who gave account for these people? The people or Saul? But he didn't have authority, so he didn't take authority, but he still gave account for his authority. He didn't understand authority, he didn't take authority, but he still had to give account for the authority he should have had and should have been under. Rebels have a problem. Listen, you take any rebel and take them to Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 17, Any rebel. And you know what they'll say? Who is them? Who is it? I'm like, I don't know. You tell me. You're the one that has a. Who is it? Are you talking about yourself? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Well, that's in the book of Hebrews. There is no way you can spin that that doesn't apply then. No way you can spin it. And then the next thing they'll do is, I'll take them to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and 13 and 12, but it says, And we teach you, brethren, to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord. Pauline epistles. Who's he talking about? And esteem them highly and love for their work's sake. Oh boy, they have a problem with that. Why? Because there is a difficulty in leadership in their life. And if you're a rebel, you have difficulty with the pastor, with the husband, you have difficulty with your boss, you have difficulty with the people that are under you, you have difficulty with... If you're not under authority, I'm a man under authority, and I say to one, go, and he goes. And they say, I have a problem with the position of a pastor. And they get up there, and they think they know what God wants you to do. They read the Bible, and they yell at you and tell you stuff. And you know what? I don't like that. So I said, well, I'm sorry. What are you going to do about it? I'm going to go start my own church. And then what are you going to do? Well, I'm going to tell other people what to do. And they're not going to listen to me, because I'm going to attract another bunch of rebels around me. Let me ask you, do you have a problem with the leadership in your life that God has placed you in? And if you do, maybe it is because you're not under the authority that God has put you under. When a husband is under the authority of a loving Savior, he can be a loving husband. When a boss is under the authority of a loving boss, he can be a loving boss. There's a difficulty in leadership, and this is the last thing, and we'll beat the Methodists to Shonies. Or what's the place we always go in Texas with all the buffet, and it's not really a buffet, and you see everything, and you get it, and you can get the Lou Anne size. What's that place? What? Luby's. Okay. When we're done, we can beat the Methodists to Luby's. They'll be done. at this rate. Okay. Lastly, there's a disposal of love. And this is very sad, but there was no doubt that Samuel loved Saul. I mean, look at verse 11. The Lord said, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me. and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the Lord." When? And Samuel rose when? You know, he loved him enough to stay up all night praying about him, and rose early in the morning to go see him. And Saul rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he doesn't even know that this person loved him and cared about him and was worried about him and stayed up all night praying for him. There was no doubt that he cared about him and he loved him. Look at verse 24. Thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold of the skirt of his mantle and rent it." Where do you think you're going? You can't leave me standing here like this in front of these people and embarrass me. Remember, I'm the king of Israel! Don't you dare walk away. I still have a purpose for you, buddy. Verse 31, So Samuel turned again after Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord. Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag, the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately, and Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. Saul still wouldn't do his job. And then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house, to Geba of Saul. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. You know, this thing that Saul did grieved Samuel for the rest of his life, but Saul had no problem working away, walking away, because a rebel's highest loyalty is to himself, and he will walk away and stay away rather than humble himself and repent. If you're a rebel, your biggest fear is that you'll be exposed for who you are. Now, at that point of exposure, You know what a lot of people do? They turn tail and run. I can't go there. People know what I did. I can't go there. Listen, there's nobody more forgiving and loving than the church. There's nobody that wants to see you come to a place of repentance more than the church. There's nobody that would weep with you and be thrilled with you if you genuinely repented and came to a place of repentance and gave a testimony and you said, I was nothing but a worm. I was a skunk. I was a scoundrel. I took God for granted. I took my family for granted. I took my church for granted. I was a horrible person. I did so many wrong things, but I repent and I'm sorry. Would you guys forgive me? There's nobody that would be more excited about that than the church. There's nobody that would have been more excited about that than Samuel would have. But Saul just left, and Samuel's there grieved, and Saul doesn't care. He never cared until he was facing the point of his death. And he knew he was going to die. Then you know what he wanted to do? What did he want to do? But what happened to Samuel? He was dead. It was too late. He disposed of love. Just walked away. When my late wife passed away, an hour later, I got a call. And they said she tried to reach out to me. She tried to make things right with me last week. But I didn't want anything to do with it. Six or seven people called me within the course of 24 hours with the same story. Family called. But it was too late. It was too late. And the thing that grieves me the most about rebels is I see them walk and go off to the hog pen and go where they want to go. And every time I think about them, it grieves me. Not because they walked out on me, but they walked out on God. That was how Saul communicated with God. God communicated with him back in those days through the prophet, through the preacher, and walked out. And he never spoke to the Lord again for the rest of his days. And when I see rebels, I always pray. I say, Lord, please. Please. Help them repent. Help them turn back. Don't wait until it's too late. And some of you rebels are sitting on these pews, and you're just as far from God as Saul is. You're just as far away from the Lord as Saul is. And while it was too late for Saul, it's not too late for you. Do you have a disdain for authority? Does it bother you? Do you have a disregard for instructions? You don't care what God said. You don't care what way He said to do it. Do you dismiss your sin? Do you ignore it? Do you just, no, it's okay? I have performed the commandment of the Lord. When you are finally faced with it and you can lie about it no more, do you divert and say it's someone else's fault? It's the way... Stop blaming your parents the way you were raised. Take accountability. It is your stinking fault. Do you have difficulty in the leadership positions in your life? And are you willing to dispose of love? And that is the DNA of a rebel. And I'm going to have the piano player come and begin to play. And if the rest of you will bow your heads and close your eyes. The altar's open. You can either come pray and do business with God, or maybe you can come pray for a rebel that God has put on your heart. But whatever the case is,