1 Samuel 15:22-23 says So Samuel said has 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 heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. And stubborness is as iniquity and idolatry because you have rejected the word of the Lord He has also rejected you from being king.
The Bible tells it like it is. Disobedience is like witchcraft. God takes great delight in people that are obedeint to Him. Sacrifice is something you do for God but obedience comes from the heart flowing out of your love relationship with Him.
It is more than a list of rules to follow. When we sacrifice we are just returning to God something that was His in the first place. When we obey we are giving Him something that He can not obtain because of the free will He has given us. So, we need to love the Lord enough to say Lord I'll do what You want me to do, go where You want me to go and be what You want me to be.
We, as people, seem to have a lot of problems with the concept of obedience. We follow what the voice of God is telling us to do as long as it doesn't upset our comfort levels. We choose to skip over certain things He is commanding us. What about the idea of crucifying the flesh?
We need to be passionate lovers of Jesus Christ. Jesus give us a free will so that we might choose to be obedient because we love Him. The word obey appears over 165 times in the Bible so it must be pretty important to God.
Obey is defined as to give ear to, yield, submission to, comply with the orders of. God requires EXACT obedience. His commands are not negotiable. Jentezen Franklin said sacrifice is extra. Obedience is required. Then he went on to say we like the extra credit but we don't like the required assignments. Sacrifices are seen by men but God says He see the heart. The heart is where obedience comes from. Do you want to be popular with men or powerful with God?
I'll say yes Lord yes
To YOUR will and to YOUR way
I'll say yes Lord yes
I will trust YOU and OBEY
When YOUR Spirit speaks to me
With my WHOLE HEART I'll agree
And my answer will be YES, Lord YES
Prayer: Lord, May we happily obey Your voice. We want to be obedient the first time You speak to us Lord because we love You. Help us to listen carefully and do what You say with a heart full of love for You. Amen