The greatest sin in the Church, and we're
going to discover just what it is.
There's no time to read these thirty-five
verses, but I am going to ask you
to turn with me to verse twenty-two
of 1 Samuel, chapter fifteen.
And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, and in
obeying the voice of the Lord, wherever ye
lead, I will follow you, would say, Behold,
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to
hearken than the pack of rams.
There was a time in the life of
Saul when he was very small in his
own eyes.
It was in that period of his history
that God broke through from heaven and answered
the cry of his ancient people, and anointed
through Samuel Saul to be king of Israel.
And we read that in those days the
speech of the Lord came upon Samuel.
But as we move into this fifteenth chapter
of 1 Samuel, the scene has changed.
The mood is different.
The man who was small in his own
eyes is now elected to choose his own
terms of obedience.
When God commanded him to do something which
notwithstanding its inconvenience, as we were hearing, he
decided that partial obedience was enough.
Partial obedience was enough.
Ninety-nine percent would do it.
God broke into that man's life with these
words, 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.
Today, as is part of the gospel, there
is no preacher here who would stand up
and confess to flagrant disobedience.
Your congregation would have voted yes.
But I wonder how many of us are
in this place, guilty to speak on what
I am.
Notice, I have sinned, for I have transgressed
the commandment of the Lord and obeyed the
voice of the Lord.
With all its attendance, ramifications, partial
obedience, he
saved Agag and the best of the oxen.
The message to learn, and I'll
say this if I describe a chain of
penalty or anything
that solemnizes my heart, to
commit total disobedience.
It violated the will of God.
But more than that, it was serious because
it dictated the work of God.
I have transgressed, he says, the word of
the Lord because I feared the people.
And when a man violates the will of
God, he
became immediately feared
of man, unmentionable,
festive, insufferable.
And I want to tell you, whether you're
saved or whether you
change things, but the
seriousness of the faculty of this partial obedience,
obedience, that
the reasons why, here
he is, a man, Peter,
that friend was
beloved Peter, who had pronounced him, it
was Peter, to obedience takes you to, your
daily quiet time with God, that morning Christ
with him, that lost soul between your wife
or your children.
Yes, my friends, the seriousness of partial obedience,
there is a savingness of partial obedience, there's
a penalty.
Did you know, my friend, there's such a
thing?
Yes, did you know that there's such a
thing?
As the copy said again, did you know
that there's such a thing?
He bowed down and never regained his kingdom.
He never regained his kingdom.
Because I have rejected from being king.
You can't put God,
there is the victory for partial sin.
And here is our text, the victory for
partial sin, to obey is better than sacrifice.
He called for a gag that came, even
so by the obedience of one.
Many were made one.
He came down and in the flesh, condemned
sin.
I say here tonight, that
word that came from Dr. Vance, it
isn't how many sins, what light you have
rejected, and there are no more enlightened than
ministers.
You are men who hold the book in
your hands.
You are men who fall over it.
You are men who have the blind eye.
You know, any text that applies to ministers
more than that word in James, to him,
a reservation in your
heart.
You know tonight, even as you bow your
head, that situation isn't solved.
You know, as you bow your head, that,
you know, as you bow your head, that,
to him it is sin.
And you're never going to see revival.
You're never going to see revival.
You're going to never have the fullness of
the Holy Spirit.
I'm waiting with eagerness to hear my brother
Bennett tell me how to receive the Holy
Spirit to them.
Obedience, which in the last analysis, is total
disobedience.
It's a new act of obedience.
A minister and member alike, obedience.
I say to you as I go, to
obey is better than sacrifice.