Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, the official podcast of Cross Christian Fellowship
Route 66 in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Burton is the lead pastor.
We're glad you're here.
Hey everybody, Pastor Burton here.
Welcome back to the sanctuary.
It's great to have you all with us.
And if it's your first time joining us, let me just take a moment to say welcome.
So last time we started talking about ego, our pride, and how because of it, we become
our own idol, right?
We do.
We become our own idol.
It becomes all about me.
We tell Jesus to hop in the back seat and just sit there and be quiet and enjoy the
ride.
And essentially what happens is we're doing this is we're trying to take him on a joyride
to hell and he's not going to abide by it.
He's not just going to sit there and be like, okay, it's cool.
No.
Even when someone tells us that we're doing the wrong thing, that we're making something
about ourselves, we're being selfish, we don't listen.
Instead we go on the attack.
We tell them all the ways that they're wrong and justify our own actions.
We try to act as though it's all right.
We're treating people like dirt.
And it's because even though we want to say it's between us and God, the fact of the matter
is, it's really just about us and our want to be in the limelight.
With that said, we're going to hop back in here really quick.
So when we do this, we're just like Saul when he lied about the full outcome of the battle
that he was in.
When he lied about sparing Agag and then the reason why all this livestock and plunder
was taken.
So let's pick back up where we left off.
Let's go back to 1 Samuel chapter 15 and we're going to start off right where we left off
in verses 16 through 19.
The word says, stop exclaim Samuel, let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.
Tell me he replied, Samuel continued, although you once considered yourself unimportant,
haven't you become the leader of the tribes of Israel?
The Lord anointed you king over Israel and then sent you on a mission and said, go and
completely destroy the sinful Amalekites, fight against them until you have annihilated
them.
So why didn't you obey the Lord?
Why did you rush on the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord's sight?
Enough!
Samuel's had enough.
He's no dummy.
He knows what's going on.
Think about it, he's in direct contact with the Lord.
He's hearing it straight from him.
Not only that, but he can hear and he can see the animals and everything.
He's not a dummy.
Like I said, he's no pushover and he's not about to stand by idly and let Saul hide behind
his own rhetoric.
He's calling him out.
He's calling out his sin and he's pointing out the fact that Saul has been put into a
position of leadership and that it's gone to his head.
He's allowed his pride to take over and his ego to run unchecked.
Really it's just running amok.
He's calling out that God sent him on a mission with a specific set of instructions and he
failed to complete the mission.
He's now putting him, Johnny, on the spot and asking him, why?
Why did you do that?
You were on a mission from God.
It kind of sounds like the Blues Brothers here, doesn't it?
Unfortunately it didn't have the happy ending.
It's like when we start to get into it with somebody and they don't actually want to listen
to what you're saying because you're not saying the things that they want you to.
Instead they start to turn it back to how they're right.
Instead of acknowledging their own sin.
Acknowledging the fact that they messed up.
Oh dude, sorry, yeah, you're right.
I messed up.
That's what we're about to see here.
Going back into our reading of 1 Samuel chapter 15, we're going to go back into verses 20
through 23 now and the word says, but I did obey the Lord, Saul answered.
I went on the mission the Lord gave me.
I brought back King Agag of Amalek and I completely destroyed the Amalekites.
The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was set apart
for destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.
Good Samuel said, Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?
Look, to obey is better than sacrifice.
To pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.
Saul is not mincing words here, is he?
And he's not lying about it, is he?
Well yes, he is.
He's absolutely doing that.
He's still lying.
He's still bought into his own nonsense.
He admits, yes, he had a mission.
Okay, so he has that part right?
And then what happens?
He tries to justify what he authorized to happen as if it's right.
Because even though it's not what should have happened, he's playing it to the tune of,
oh you know it's okay because he ends justifying the means, as long as it gets done, right?
Acting as if the intent was always about God and not serving his own selfish means.
His ego is in the way.
And if we're honest with ourselves, we all do this.
We all do the same thing.
We take shortcuts.
We twist things.
We refuse to listen to what we're being told.
We just wait to hear what we want to hear and then try to justify our own selfishness.
And we like to say things like, oh I'm conferring with God.
Oh, I'm taking this to God in my way.
Oh, I know how to do this for my God.
Just some of the small number of answers we've already built up in our little toolbox and
have ready to dispense when we need them.
But what is actually happening here, what you're doing, you have to ask yourself a few questions.
What you're doing, is it what was actually asked of you?
Is how you're doing something what's actually expected of you?
Are you actually trying to do something for the team and for God or is it just about you?
Wouldn't you agree that we all benefit from putting less of ourselves into the equation
and more of God?
Less of me and more of the team?
Instead of trying to take things over and do things in our own way, actually doing things
the way God has laid it out and told us to do them.
It's hard though.
It is.
It's hard.
I'll give you an example.
I love my wife.
I do.
I love her dearly.
We can all agree if you've been able to make it to our live church services and everything,
because I know on the stream it's not so hot.
But if you've ever heard her perform, she is a fantastic musician.
Absolutely wonderful.
However, when it comes to sitting down together and putting together a set list, even if it's
just something that we want to play together, not even necessarily a church, let me tell
you what, we will both butt heads over what we're putting together and we both get in
the way of what God is trying to do.
Instead of working together, much like everybody else that get into a little argument, we step
on each other's feet and it becomes a sparring match, instead of working together and having
a beautiful dance together.
The outcome when we do these things is that we're both hurt and we're both upset with
each other for a while.
And that's how every argument goes, whether it's with your friends or family, that's
just the way, even at work, this is the way that it goes.
The reality of it is, is that even though we all like to think of ourselves as a Samuel,
we're really more like Saul.
Or this might hurt if you're familiar with this, because we're going to take a look at
it, we're a lot like Nebuchadnezzar.
Let's take a quick look at him, let me refresh your memory on him.
Let's turn to Daniel chapter 5 verses 19 through 21.
So Daniel chapter 5 verses 19 through 21, and the word tells us, because of the greatness
he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages were terrified and fearful of him.
He killed anyone he wanted and kept alive anyone he wanted.
He exalted anyone he wanted and humbled anyone he wanted.
But when his heart was exalted and his spirit became arrogant, he was deposed from his royal
throne and his glory was taken from him.
He was driven away from the people, his mind was like an animal's.
He lived with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like cattle, and his body was drenched
with dew from the sky, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is ruler over human
kingdoms and sets anyone he wants over them.
Here's the thing, we all get caught up in ourselves and what ends up happening is we
begin challenging God's authority.
We become rebellious, we become arrogant, and instead of focusing on the cross, we turn
inwards and we think we know better than anyone else, including him.
Our lives begin to reflect an image of I love me instead of all love to he.
People don't react well to this.
They start shutting down.
They start turning away.
They'll deal with you because they have to, not because they want to.
And we all, every single one of us, needs to take notice.
You need to take notice because when it happens to you, it's a sign that you're doing things
wrong.
And as much as we as people don't like when we start seeing this arrogance, neither does
God.
And whether you want to admit it or not, it does impact your relationship with him, just
like it did with Saul.
To be a child of God, we have to turn to him and allow for him to rule over our lives fully,
completely.
We have to take ourselves out of that equation and make it all about him, which is what Saul
is being reminded of.
It's the same lesson that Nebuchadnezzar had to learn.
The ends don't always justify the means.
Throughout the Bible, we are told repeatedly, repeatedly, that it is better to be obedient
to God than to sacrifice.
We like to pray and use it as a bartering tool, saying things like, God, I'll change
this and I'll do that.
But if you'll just take care of this one thing for me.
We like to think of it like a barter tool or a trade-off, you know, that whole, you
rub my back, I'll rub yours.
But it doesn't work that way.
That's being selfish.
Our selfish nature is what separates us from God.
When we become rebellious, an arrogant idolatry of ourselves takes over.
Sin.
The idolatry of ourselves.
We're self-worshipping.
Sin, as we're told in Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Micah.
Sins are worthy of being put to death.
As many people remind you, the cost of sin is death.
The wages of sin is death.
Let's turn back to 1 Samuel, chapter 15.
1 Samuel 15, verses 24 through 25, the word tells us.
Saul answered Samuel, I have sinned.
I have transgressed the Lord's command and your words, because I was afraid of the people.
I obeyed them.
Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship the Lord.
We see Saul's already in bargaining mode here.
Like a small child that starts screaming, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it.
When they themselves have gone too far and they find themselves about to be punished.
Continuing on from verse 26, Samuel replied to Saul, I will not return with you because
you rejected the word of the Lord.
The Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.
When Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the corner of his robe and it tore.
Samuel said to him, the Lord has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today and
has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.
Furthermore, the eternal one of Israel does not lie or change his mind, for he is not
man who changes his mind.
Saul's time of excuses has come to an end.
It's time to pay the piper.
Nobody is buying his lies and nonsense anymore.
And it's the same for us.
When we try to put ourselves in a position to be in control of the universe, that we
speak the words and the universe will provide anything just because we demand it, like we're
little gods walking the earth and anything and everything that we want is at our fingertips.
We're no different.
At some point, we're all going to have to show the hands we've been dealt.
We're going to have to push to a breaking point.
Sadly, we often don't realize it.
But the time comes when we have to put things right.
Saul is learning here, as should we all.
There is a time of reckoning for each and every single one of us.
I'm going to share an illustration.
I'm sure some of you may have heard this before.
So there's a little boy.
He had quite the temper.
He was hot.
He was quick to anger.
He'd get mad, turn of a dime.
His dad took him out one day, walked up to the fence, gave him a bag of nails and a hammer
and told him every time he lost his temper, he needed to hammer a nail into the fence.
Now the first day came and that boy, he was hot.
He nailed in over 30 nails that day.
Now as time went on, he found it was easier and easier to control his temper than to drive
those nails into this hard fence.
And finally the day came and the boy didn't lose his temper at all.
Not once.
He was throwing.
He was ecstatic.
So he goes and he grabs his father and he says, hey, guess what?
I didn't lose my temper today.
I didn't have to put in a single nail.
So the father walked out now and he stood there with his son looking at the fence and
he tells the boy, now for every day that goes by and you're able to control your temper,
you can take out a nail.
Days passed, weeks, got into months and finally the boy came and tells his father, hey, all
the nails are gone.
I got every single one of them out.
I've been able to control my temper that long now.
So the father went out, led his boy to the fence, took a look at it.
Let's see here.
Well, you've done well.
You've done really good son, but I want you to take a look at all the holes in that fence.
The fence is never going to be the same as it once was.
When you say things and you do things in anger, they leave a scar and holes just like what
you see before you.
You can take a knife and you can stick it into a person and you can take it right back
out.
And it doesn't matter how many times you apologize, the wound is still going to be there.
And a verbal wound is just as bad as a physical one.
Now much like this child, our egos, they lead us to do and say things to others.
We do and say things to people we love and to people we should love.
We put up fences and walls of division without even realizing it and we cause a tremendous
amount of hurt.
Now the damage can be mended.
Through Christ it can absolutely be mended.
However, it cannot be fully undone.
God wasn't rejecting Saul as a person.
He was only rejecting him as King.
He could have gone back in repentance and looked for forgiveness, just like we all can,
and in doing so, Saul would have mended his relationship with God.
However, at this point, it was too late to get the kingdom back.
The damage was done.
And like him, when we carry on and we're following our ego and we're feeding it with our wants,
instead of God's, when we do the same damage that Saul did, we burn our bridge with God.
We absolutely do.
And eventually, it's going to give out.
Now we can go back in repentance.
We can absolutely go back.
We can repent and we can seek forgiveness.
And that bridge, it can be mended.
It can be built up.
It might even get to a point where it can hold the same weight or even improved on so
it holds even more.
However, how much better would it have been and how much faster would it have been built
up if that time hadn't been wasted and that damage wasn't done in the first place?
That time and hurt that caused things never to come into fruition.
Instead, something else had to be built.
Let's finish our last few verses here.
First Samuel 15 verses 30-34, the word tells us, Saul said, I have sinned.
Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel.
Come back with me so I can bow and worship to the Lord your God.
Then Samuel went back following Saul and Saul bowed down to the Lord.
Samuel said, bring me King Agag of Amalek.
Agag came to him trembling for he thought, certainly the bitterness of death has come.
Samuel declared, as your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless
among women.
And he hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
Samuel went to Rhema and Saul went up to his home in Gabea of Saul.
Even to the day of his death, Samuel never saw Saul again.
Samuel mourned for Saul and the Lord regretted he had made Saul king over Israel.
In the last few verses of this chapter, Saul finally does what he should have done in the
first place, but at great cost.
He was so concerned about saving face, so concerned about what others thought of him,
so concerned about his reputation, so concerned about the legacy he would be leaving, that
he sacrificed his relationship with God.
Now he finally realized it and mended what he could.
He even asked Samuel to go with him to worship God.
And this in itself though, this was a sign to the people that the relationship with God
needs to be first.
Not only that, but if Samuel had refused like he was starting to, then it's likely that
the people would have lost what little confidence they still had in Saul.
So he was desperately clinging to what he had.
I implore you, don't wait to get to this point of desperation in your own life.
Don't let the ego running rampant in your life take this kind of control.
Step back and evaluate all the things that you're seeing, all the things that you're
doing.
And stop lying to yourself about it.
Be honest.
Ask God to take off your blinders and to help you to recognize the places you've fallen
short, to help you mend what can be mended, and start following Him again.
We're all prodigal sons and daughters, you can come back.
Remember that everything on this earth is for God and about God and His Kingdom.
But He made the ultimate sacrifice for each and every single one of us so that we can
repent and rejoin Him in relationships as friends and family, not be sent away as an
unknown stranger.
Remember as you leave today, you are loved and you are blessed.
So go and be the church.