June 22, 2003

Four Conversions
Soul of the Man Series
Speaker: Dave Gibbons

I Samuel 15:1-31
¹Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. ²This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. ³Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” ⁴So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah. ⁵Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. ⁶Then he said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites. ⁷Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. ⁸He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. ⁹But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and the cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. ¹⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: ¹¹ “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
¹²Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and has gone on down to Gilgal.”¹³When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” ¹⁴But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is the lowing of cattle that I hear?” ¹⁵Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”¹⁶ “Stop!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”“Tell me,” Saul replied. ¹⁷Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ ¹⁹Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” ²⁰ “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned to me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought Agag their king. ²¹The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
²²But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. ²³For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” ³⁰Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of the my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.”

The Rise and Fall of Saul

How can we live a life that is dynamic, full and honoring to God?

See that our obedience reflects the state of our hearts

Know The Folly of the 80/20

Case 1—Harry Silence isn’t always golden

Case 2—Nick Napalm

Case 3- Mike Makes, Shakes, Bakes and Fakes

“having a form of godliness but denying it’s power.” (2 Timothy 3:5)

Our Selective Obedience Shades reality

We create logical reasons

We even do spiritual gymnastics to alleviate our guilt,

Bottom Line: God Desires Whole-Hearted Obedience more than Half-hearted Ritual or Religion.

How?

Remember Our Ancient Mentors

Embrace the Four Conversions

1 Heart/Head
2 Work
3 Community
4 Your Wallet

2003 Message Archives