Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice | Pr Alvin Keng

You're listening to a message to go from X Church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

So, I need you all to repeat after me. Don't

be like Saul. Okay, let's try it again. Don't be

like Saul. Can you look at your neighbor and say,

don't be like Saul? Can you look at your other

neighbor and say, there's no one named Saul here? There's

nobody named Saul here. Anyway, if you are new and

your name is Saul, I'm so sorry. From what I know,

in my church, nobody named Saul. But got Paul lah.

But this is a different Saul we're talking about. It's

not the Saul in the New Testament. We're talking about

the Saul in the Old Testament. And if you prefer

a more spiritual title, that was the title of the

message today. But if you prefer a more spiritual title,

you can write, Obedience is Better Than Sacrifice. Okay, obedience

is better than sacrifice. So I was praying and asking God, Lord,

what shall you, what do you want to share with

your people this morning? And this is a message that

I think is for me, myself as well. As I'm

sharing with you, I'm also preaching to myself. You can

turn to 1 Samuel chapter 15. We're going to read

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

a little bit about Saul. Okay, 1 Samuel chapter 15.

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

Amen.

Amen.

And I hope you will be blessed with the message today.

Let me read.

And as I read, I will, as usual, expound on myself. Anyway,

I just want to clarify something that Alicia said. So

I find it very amusing that I've been hearing people

say that I'm very talented. I say that because last

week when I was in Cheras, that was the same

comment that Pastor Gloria said.

But let me, can I share with you something? I

don't know, maybe this like.

Self-dub or whatever. I don't know.

But can I share with you something that I don't

consider myself very talented, actually. In fact, growing up, I've

never heard people say that about me. And I don't

want to be a downer, but I want to be

honest in a sense that I don't think I'm very talented.

I think I'm just faithful. You all catch that?

Okay?

Okay. Let me give you a picture.

Because, and it's not the message today, I just thought

I share personal reflection, personal reflection. I mean, thank you

for the honour, appreciate it. I guess they say, you

just trust what people say about you, right?

Then that's you.

But as I think about it, I realised like, oh, okay,

I think I'm just faithful. And because I've been faithful

and consistent, that the Lord has expounded on my talents,

as in the parable of the talents. It's just that,

Because I know, personally, there are many more talented people

out there that are way better at me doing the

things that I'm currently doing. But they are not doing

it already. But I'm still here and doing it. So

maybe that's why there's that comment. Thanks so much. I

just thought I'd clarify that.

I don't know.

Maybe it's self-taught. If it's self-taught, then we'll see. But yeah,

it's just my own reflection. Okay, 1 Samuel chapter 15,

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

and I'm just going to try my best to do

a monologue, one-man show here. I still remember last time

in Ex-Church, we had this guy called David Sanborn. You

remember him? David Sanborn. I know everyone will remember because

we were around long enough. And he was, at the time,

church was just one place, right? And then this guy,

you never heard of David Sanborn? Man, he was with

us for a week. It was this guy from America

who was doing his play on King David, and he

was a one-man show. Yeah, it was quite interesting actually.

You know?

It's very interesting. Sorry, inside joke. The rest of you

don't get, it's fine. You just got to be there.

Let me go and read the word. First Samuel.

Samuel.

also said to Saul. So Samuel is the prophet Samuel.

And if you read the book of Samuel, you will

know that Samuel was a young boy and he was

given to the temple. And he was the young boy

that I learned something from as well, that when you

wake up in the middle of the night and someone's

calling your name, right, and you're alone in the house,

don't worry, it's not a ghost, right?

We all believers, right? If that happens, right, you just

need to ask this question.

God, is that you? Do you want to speak to me?

Because that's what Samuel did. And from a young age,

I think, I can't remember who was the priest in charge.

He woke up three times at night and he asked

the priest, do you call me? And they're like, no,

go back to sleep, right? And the third time, thankfully,

the priest was a bit more sengmok, okay, if you

understand Cantonese. And he said, oh, Samuel, the next time

the voice calls your name, say this, God, he said you.

And do you want to talk to me? What is it, Lord? Right?

And Samuel did that.

And from a young age, we know that Samuel the

prophet already hears God's voice. Right?

Very important point in this story. Okay?

So Samuel also said to Saul, the Lord sent me

to anoint you king over his people. And guys, it's

quite significant because if I remember correctly, Saul is the

first king from the Israelites. And he's not just the

first king. He was also a king that God didn't

want to appoint. He was a king that the people

forced him. We need to do this. Pastor, we need

to do this because everyone else is doing this. We

want to be like everyone else. And God's saying, no,

I can be your king. Don't need another person. But

they say, no, we want everyone else. And then God said, okay, fine, whatever.

And then he asked Samuel, prophet, to appoint Saul. And

Saul is the king. Let's read on now. So Samuel

also said to Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint

you king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore heed

the voice of the words of the Lord. Meaning it's

literally everyone lah, okay?

Everyone. Everyone.

So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telam, 200,000

foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. Okay, I'm going

to pause here a little bit and give you a context.

You know, Saul is the king and Samuel heard from

the Lord and Samuel said, you've been anointed over the people.

Do this.

And it's work now. Saul had to gather the people

and then bring them together, 2,000 people. And you got

to think about this. They had no organization. They were

not people of war. They were just a group of

people hanging around. They had maybe a certain sense of

government from Moses' time. So there was no system. So

Saul had to work out a system. He had to

gather 2,000 men to go and attack this other guy

because God said so.

You all catch that or not? You know, the way

I look at it, it's like he's starting a startup. Right?

He, you know, no concept about war. Start this war

and go and ambush this guy who is an expert. Right?

And what happened?

He gathered the people and he came to a city

of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. Then

Saul said to the Kenites, Kenites, wow, when I see Kenites,

I think about I am Ken.

Anyway.

Anyway. Go depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest

I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to

all the children of Israel when they came up of Egypt.

So the Canaanites departed from among the Amalekites. So Canaanites

is another group of people. They were there and he

gave them warning. I said, hey, we're going to destroy

all these guys. You better tell us first.

And they left, right?

And Saul attacked the Amalekites from Hevelah all the way

to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

Sounds like a big place, the people of Amalek.

He also took Agag 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, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs and

all that was good and were unwilling to utterly destroy

them but everything despised and worthless and they utterly destroyed.

Okay. Let's do a bit of reflection, guys.

Are you guys following me so far, the story?

You'll catch it.

So imagine this guy named Saul. I think Saul is

quite talented and capable, right? Because it's not easy to just...

You hear from Samuel and you have to gather a

group of people to say, we're going to go attack

this city, you know. And he gathered 2,000 people. I'm

sure there's coordination. I'm sure they trusted him, right? Will

you just trust a person just because they're your boss?

You won't, right?

And they're going to go and die, you know. Go

and attack someone else, no. I'm sure he has charisma.

I'm sure he has a certain level of ability. If not,

people won't follow him, right? I'm sure that people liked him, right?

You know, all these things.

So I don't think he was a person that was

like worthless, useless, tak guna one, you know? I think

he was talented. I think he was handsome. I think

it's written there. He was tall, right? He was charismatic.

He knew how to garner the favor of the people.

People were willing to die for him. Think about it.

Right?

And he had to organize this group of unorganized people

to go and attack a city. Of course, we can

argue and say, yeah, the Lord is with them. No,

but I think that there is a certain level of,

you know, what's the word?

Yeah, a certain level of capability that Saul has, right?

And he did it. But it's interesting what he did.

He went, he followed the instruction that was clear, but

he made a judgment.

Call, right?

Because he took to captive King Agag, right? Because he

was supposed to kill King Agag, but he took him captive.

And not just that, right? The people spat Agag and

the best of the sheep. the oxen, the fatlings, the

lambs and all that was good and were unwilling to

utterly destroy them. See, they were not willing to so

they went and destroyed everything but the good stuff they kept.

The good stuff. How many of you think it's a

good idea? It's a good idea.

It's a good idea, right? Don't you think it's a

good idea? They kept the good stuff, right? They were

not willing to let go. Huh? God say kill. Eh,

no lah, the lamb so fat. So many years being

fat already. Wah, this good breed. Wah, this thing over

here is very good. We should keep it. Think about it.

God gave instruction, but they are like, no. They tried, no,

but God is so good. So we're not willing to, right? However,

He continued to say, but everything despised and worthless, they destroyed.

Sounds quite convenient, ah? That the things that they felt like, oh,

this is not good enough. Okay, we follow instruction. But

this one is good, let's keep.

Right? Think about it. Okay, so let's reflect a little bit.

So God gave specific instructions to Saul through Samuel, correct?

Correct.

So we really establish that Samuel is hearing from God.

So you can't say, oh, Samuel cannot hear from God.

Maybe he cuckoo, maybe.

He, no.

He heard from God and he gave specific instructions, right?

That's what you heard.

And not just that, there was an affirmation and anointing

to the call that God has over Saul's life. Right,

you saw the first line or not? The Lord sent

me to anoint you king over his people, over Israel.

Now therefore heed the voice of the words of the Lord.

Y'all catch that? He's trying to tell Saul, Saul, remember,

don't forget where you came from. Because you are in charge.

You have this responsibility to lead the people according to

what God is asking you to do.

Y'all catch that? That's what he's saying, right?

So there was an affirmation, right? But there were specific

instructions on what to do with Amalek, right? And God

also gave the reason why. It was not just, suka suka,

just go and destroy. No. God gave the reason why.

Because when the people were going out of Egypt, this

joker came and attacked them.

Unprovoked.

So you better go and settle this problem now. And

let it not come back. Do you know that the

Amalekites were around many, many, many years after?

I wonder why. I wonder why.

And they came and kacau the people of Israel again.

Do you know when else they came and kacau? You

remember the time where, if I'm not mistaken, Nehemiah was

building the the wall, and there were still Amalek people there.

So many years later, you know, still got the same problem.

A lot of things you can learn from this scripture, right?

So did Saul do as he was told?

Yes, he did.

He did as he was told. But, so he successfully

won the battle, correct? He was smart, he lay in wait,

he cleared, they did as he was told. and destroyed

the Amalekites. But 1 Samuel 15, 9, which we read

just now, they spared Agag and the best of the sheep.

So they saw good things and they didn't want to

destroy it. Or can I use the word, they didn't

want to waste it. Waste lah.

God waste.

It's so good. How can I let it go? This

is such a good job. but you're missing Sunday. This

is such a good job. I hope I didn't hit any, any,

any chord. And again, it's not just about Sunday lah.

Okay? It's about honouring the Lord. Okay? But all that

they despised were destroyed. Oh, things that are not good. Okay, okay, okay.

Very easy, very easy. This one not good. Very easy.

As long as it doesn't mess with my schedule. Very easy.

Let's just clear it. But things that are good, that

I perceive as good, no, keep lah. Keep, keep.

So how many of us will look at it and

ask these questions now and say it was successful, better,

and they were smart?

Smart, right? These people, very smart.

But do you realize that they didn't follow all the

instructions and they actually applied their own translation on what

was good?

Y'all catch that?

They applied their own understanding and translation on what was

good based on what they saw and what they liked.

It wasn't based on what God said. very clearly.

And of course, now I'm telling you hindsight, why probably

did God say clear everyone, the Amaleks? Because they were

still a pain in the buttocks many, many, many, many,

many years later.

Let me ask you a similar question.

If you know that there's something in your life, I'm

not talking about people, okay, because this was then, okay, examples.

So don't, oh, this person is a pain in my life,

better get rid of it. Please don't do that. Please

don't do that. All life is precious.

But if you know there's something in your life that

is causing you pain, right, or has the potential to

cause you pain, wouldn't you get rid of it? But

what if there's something in your life that has the

potential to cause you pain, got a little bit of like,

what's that word? They use the word guilty pleasure. I

know I need to let go, but I want to

keep a little bit because there's still that part.

But it's okay. I'm not going to get fully.

affected because this small little thing that I want to

keep is going to be okay. Not realizing that 10

years down the road, this small thing will become a

big monster. Y'all catch that?

Y'all catch that?

So wouldn't we, shouldn't we, wouldn't we just obey God

and say, let's clear everything? Why keep that little one

thing that we think is good?

Okay?

Okay? So Saul decided to trade God for what was good,

if you think about it.

Correct or not? Because they didn't argue that it was bad, no.

It was good.

But Saul traded what was good. Basically, he traded God

for what was good. Let's read on.

Are you guys okay? Let's read on, right? So, verse 10.

Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel saying,

I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king,

for he has turned his back from following me and

has not performed my commandments.

Wah. How many of you.

Would be very sad if, don't even talk about God lah,

if someone else said it to you.

I greatly regret. Right?

And it grieves Samuel, because I think Samuel actually likes Saul. Okay,

later you read the scripture, you'll realise that Samuel actually

grieved for Saul. Because Samuel was the guy guiding this dude.

He was the one that is the harder leader. Use

context that we will understand. He was the discipler. I'm

sure he said, he's like, why you don't listen to God?

So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul,

it was told Samuel saying, Saul, so Samuel went to

see Saul and let's see what happened. Saul went to

Carmel and indeed he set up a monument for himself

and he had gone on around, passed by and gone

down to Gilgal.

Okay, this is very interesting.

This guy followed instruction, not fully. Not just that, he

kept the stuff that is good and removed the stuff

not good. Not just that, after that, he didn't even

consult God or Samuel. He go and build a monument, no.

for himself, for the victory of the battle. What does

that tell you about Saul?

Interesting, ah? Did he receive any instruction from God?

No. God just said, I anoint you, O people, go

and do this. Everything else is lost in translation already.

How many of us are like that? Very, very careful,

you know. Because sometimes we can come to a place where, Lord,

we are praying for something, we get a word, and

then after that, we go and we do things, right,

that actually is not in accordance to God's plan.

It's very dangerous. Let me share a little bit what happened. Okay? Right?

So that happened.

Then Samuel went to Saul and Saul said to him,

blessed are you of the Lord.

I have performed the commandment of the Lord. Wah, this guy.

This guy didn't realize at all what he just did.

Not just went, hey Samuel, look. Look at what I did.

Look at the wonderful thing I did on God's behalf.

How many of.

Okay, I don't want to ask this question. Maybe I

reflect on myself. Because I do ministry, I'm full-time. That's

why I say this message for me also. Will I

go and say, look at all the wonderful work I did.

Look at all the Christmas play. Look at everything, God.

Look at all the things I've done for you.

Okay?

But Samuel said, what then is the bleating of sheep

in my ears and the lowing of.

The oxen we are here?

Okay?

Okay?

And Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites

for the people spread the best of the sheep and

the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God and

the rest we have utterly destroyed. Wow, the plot thickens, guys.

The plot thickens. The plot thickens. Didn't follow full instruction,

never account, build a monument, came straight away, say, look

at all the wonderful thing I did. Then when Samuel

asked the question, are you sure or not? Are you

sure you did according to everything that the Lord has commanded?

What is this bleating sheep I hear? What is this

thing I hear? And then he can confidently come and say, hey, yes,

I brought this so that we can sacrifice it to

the Lord, your God.

He didn't say my God, no. You notice that? He

said your God.

How many of you by now, if let's say you're

the one giving instruction, I will go like, boy, not

so smart lah. Why you never follow daddy's instruction? I

already told you like that. See, when I say that,

I think my kids are feeling it because that's what

they hear. Are you all catching something or not? It's

a good Bible study for us to learn, right? Because

at the end of the day, all of us are

under God, right? And it's very important for us to

catch this because it also shows you that as human beings,

we can misinterpret a lot of things.

And it's actually quite dangerous if we do, right? But

let's read on, let's read on.

That's why I started the message saying, don't be like Saul, okay?

So let's not all be like Saul today. Later, I

will give you someone that we can be like, you know?

That also made a mistake, but we could learn from, right?

You guys okay, ah? Okay. So, not just that Saul

was proud of his achievements, he set up a monument

for himself, you know? Wah, this guy is like, I

think in our day and age today, it'll be like,

take photos and look at my wonderful, this wonderful thing

I've done.

Okay? Very easily, you can get there. Look at the numbers.

Look at all the wonderful, you know, it can become

like that.

We can be building the monument. Right? We can be

building a monument. He also justified his actions. Or more

like he justified his disobedience. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I know you said kill all the sheep, but I

decided to bring them back to sacrifice to God because

I'm sure he will appreciate it that I can use

this sheep to sacrifice to him. Is that really his intention?

You think about it. I don't think so. I think

the people saw that they like and they don't. Okay,

let me give you another perspective. These are the Israelites.

They have stories of God moving and leading them through

the desert in a pillar of fire and cloud. Don't

you think God can provide them some sheep and lamb?

You think about it. Don't you think God has better

things for them than someone else's sheep or lamb? What

did they see that led them astray? Something for us

to consider. Because there are a lot of things nowadays

that we see that can lead us astray. A lot

of lifestyles we see that can lead us astray. A

lot of our friends are doing things that we want

to do. Friends, can I tell you, I'm preaching to

myself in.

This as well.

Because there are a lot of things that people do

that I see, that I like, that I want to

do also. But is it really something that God is

allowing me to do at this point of time?

Not to say God won't let, no. Because I can

actually go to him. Right? Let's read on.

Okay.

So he said, he said, they have brought them. Very interesting,

his lingo. He didn't say me, you know. He said,

they have brought them, right, so that we can do

this for your God. Do you realize that for a king,

he has not taken responsibility at all do you guys

want to follow this king? I don't think I want

to follow this king, man. And then Samuel, he said.

Be quiet. And I will tell you what the Lord

has said to me last night.

I know, I know you did last summer, right? And

he said to him, speak on. So Samuel said, when

you were little in your own eyes, were you not

head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the

Lord anoint you king over Israel? Well, remind him again

of the calling. Remind him again of the calling, right?

Now the Lord sent you on a mission and said,

go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight

against them until they are consumed. Why then did you

not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you

swoop down on the spoil and do evil in the

sight of the Lord?

Let's see Saul's reply.

And Saul said to Samuel, but I have obeyed the voice.

Of the Lord.

I did it, Ma. I came to church on Sunday, Ma.

I did all the things I need to do, Ma. Right?

I gave, Ma. I went for missions, Ma. I went

for homes, Ma. I did all.

And gone on the mission on which the Lord sent

me and brought back Agag king of Amalek, I have

utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took the plunder,

sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should

have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your

God in Gilgal. Isn't that a cop-out? I did everything

but the people. Do you just hear what Samuel said?

Aren't you king of the people? Still not taking responsibility.

Say it, defend. This is the second time. Say it, defend.

So Samuel said, and this is where the famous scripture comes.

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. I think this is

a very important scripture that we need to catch as believers.

that the obedience to the Lord is more important than

telling God, God, see, I sacrificed all these things for you.

I sacrificed all these.

Things for you. Because at the end of the day,

God knows the hearts of men.

Right? And we've got to be very careful to not

deceive ourselves. Say, Lord, I did so much. I already

gave so much. I already sacrificed so much hours. But

if God actually asks us to do it, or God

asks us to do this one thing, which is actually

harder than all the things we just did, it's very

important to think about that.

Right?

Right? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to

heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as

sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He

has also rejected you from being king. Then Saul said

to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the

commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared

the people and obeyed their voice.

Sounds correct? Sounds correct, ah? So he repented, repenting. Okay,

let's listen. Now therefore.

asking Samuel, please pardon my sin and return with me

that I may worship the Lord. But Samuel said to Saul,

I will not return with you for you have rejected

the word of the Lord and the Lord has rejected

you from being king over Israel.

Samuel make it even clearer. And let's hear what Saul responded.

Right?

And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized

the edge of his robe and he tore. So Samuel

said to him, The Lord has torn the kingdom of

Israel from you today and has given it to a

neighbor of yours who is better than you. And also

the strength of Israel will not lie nor relent, for

he is not a man that he should relent. And

then this is Saul's response. Then he said, I have

sinned yet again. Honor me now, please, before the elders

of my people and before Israel and return with me

that I may worship the Lord your God.

He's still not getting it, friends. Are you reading the

text or not? Yeah, I'm reading. First response sounds correct.

I've seen. Please forgive me. Then Samuel said, no, you

cannot reject it. Sorry. I'm going to go. And then

he tore his robe. Drama. Can you imagine some Chinese drama?

I've seen. You know?

And then Samuel's like, no. God will tear it away

and give it to your neighbour. And then the real

thing comes out from his mouth. Follow me back so

that the elders can see. So that other people can see.

Follow me.

The heart of man. What was he concerned about? He

was still concerned about other people. He was not concerned

about God. He was not concerned about God at all.

Not concerned at all. He was more concerned about himself.

Which is sad, right? Don't you think it's quite sad?

He can say the right things though. I have sinned. Right?

Yet honour me now. I don't get this guy. What's

more important? So what happened?

Well, Samuel turned back after Saul and Saul worshipped the Lord.

A bit too late already, I think. Because I wonder

whether the worship that he worshipped was genuine. Because remember,

the Bible says that we will come a time where

we will worship in spirit and in truth.

And I think this is something that our extreme team

really understands.

That when we worship, leave your problems at the door,

come here and we worship the.

Lord to invite His presence. Right? Because God is bigger

than your problems. Right?

God is bigger than all these things. And we understand

that worship belongs to Him. But I wonder whether or

not Saul worshipped God in spirit and in truth. I

wonder whether or not. Because it's so clear, the condition

of his heart. Then Samuel said, bring Agag king of

the Malachites here to me. So Agag came to him

cautiously and Agag asked, surely the bitterness of death is past. Okay,

I'll be Kasyan king Agag. So anyway, okay, because there

are kids here, parents, you can read on more at home. Yeah,

and I'll read from verse 34. It says, then Samuel

went to Ramah and Saul went up to his house

at Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel went no more to

see Saul until the day of his death. Meaning until

the day Saul died, he never saw him really.

Right?

Nevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul. And the Lord regretted that

he had made Saul king over Israel.

Quite sad, huh? Quite sad. Samuel had to... So God

actually told Samuel to rebuke Saul for his actions. Okay?

And he reminded Saul of his past and his calling.

Okay?

You know, just a reflection, or even myself. You know,

sometimes when we get full.

Of ourselves, or the pride gets high, there's a very

high tendency to forget where we come.

From, actually.

Actually, a very high tendency to forget where we come from,

forget how we started, forget that, you know, it was

out of... You know, because once you reach a certain

level and a certain state in life, right, you are

big already.

You know?

And actually, it's very easy to forget where you came from.

There are many of us who came from nothing.

Right?

And Samuel had to point out that it was clear disobedience.

He was still trying to get out of it. He

was still trying to... It is an example and a

reflection of his character.

You know?

And that's the sad thing. Saul defended himself. And not

just that, he threw his people under the bus. This

is a king, you know, friends. Remember the charismatic, capable

guy that could lead 2,000 people to go and destroy

the Amaleks?

The moment he was seen as done wrong, you want.

This kind of leader? I don't want this kind of leader.

Straightway throw everybody under the bus. Their fault, their fault,

their fault, their fault. And straightway still want the glory.

Still want the glory. Right?

Sad ah?

Not just that he didn't admit his wrongdoing, he still

justified himself. Still use all the Christianese word. Yeah, use

this lamb and sheep to worship and sacrifice to you. Yeah,

I want to still know how to.

Use all the... It's not Christianese, but you get what

I mean, right?

I'm trying to bring relevance to our modern context. Worse still,

he blamed the people he was supposed to lead. So

we got to think about it. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

After.

Samuel was quite hard, then only he admitted, but he

still blamed people.

He didn't fully take responsibility.

It was clear that for Saul, position and status was

more important.

Don't you agree?

Because he still tried to ask Samuel to follow him

and honour him. But it was also clear that Samuel

still cared for Saul. But it's sad that Saul didn't

learn his lesson. Let me ask you a simple question.

Do you think.

that if Saul.

Fully repented properly and came back to Samuel, the story

will be different? Do you think so? I don't know,

let me ask you. For those of you who are

mature Christians, you think so? Well, I also believe so, right? Okay,

but before that, let's learn a little bit about what

we read here. Because at the end of the day,

when we read a word, it's for us to learn

and grow, right? So let's just learn, okay? What can

we learn from this scripture? I wrote down five points.

I'm sure there are more. You can write down your

own points. And if, let's say, you write down your

points for me, it's okay, you can keep it to yourself.

I just joke, I just joke. Because someone last time, right? Pastor,

I know you wrote five points. Let me give you

another five more points that next time you can use

for your message. Okay, thank you so much. Sorry, I'm

being very not nice now. So, of course, first is

obedience is better than sacrifice, right? So, something for us

to learn, believers. When God gives clear instructions... we should

follow it and obey it without any misinterpretation.

Y'all catch that? When God gives clear instructions, we should.

Follow it and obey it without any misinterpretation or other translation.

Very important, right?

And sometimes it's not easy because we don't fully understand

or know what is it yet. So let's say God

gives you something, a vision, a dream, an ambition or something.

Can I encourage you to don't rush into it? But instead,

allow it to come to fruition.

Right?

Can you prepare?

Can.

You can prepare.

You can prepare and do the necessary thing. But every

time you prepare, don't get ahead of yourself.

Walk with God. Because when we walk with.

God, He will lead us to the right place, the

right person, the right school, the right person you want

to marry. But when we only want to chase after

the ambition and the dream and all, then it will

get sidelined. God will get sidelined. As you can see

very clearly, that the most important thing was the kingship,

not God. God was the secondary thing. God was a

means to get the kingship.

That was it. Samuel was just a means to get...

You get me or not?

I just need to do all the right things to

get this.

I don't care about everything else. Right?

But when God gives us clear instructions, we should follow it.

And the only way we can follow it fully is

really the relationship part, I realise. Because if Saul had

a relationship with God, I think it would have been

a very different story.

You know?

Second thing, if I say we are still stuck at

the MLX, like, huh? Want to kill everybody?

Clear everybody? Do you read that the Kenites from the

movie Barbie? No, I'm just kidding. I am Ken. Ken

can do it.

Anyway, the Kenites, you're now new, you'll get it, okay? Yeah,

my wife has a shirt, I am Ken-aft.

Okay.

She wanted it, so I bought it for her. But

she's not Ken, she's Jess. The Kenites were spread. So

it's not about God want to kill everybody, you know. No, no, no, no, no.

Right? You know, because you could say, oh, but then

could they have... No, no, no, it's not about that.

There was a very clear reason why God asked Saul

to do this to the Amaleks. Because God knew that

they will come back later. Because if let's say the

Canaanites were going to cherry pass out with the Israelites,

God would have said, clear them also.

But he didn't. And they were living among the Amaleks.

So they were spared.

Right?

Okay? Third point.

God actually gave Saul, I think three or four chances

to admit his wrongdoing.

But we can see that he didn't.

Okay.

Let me give you our Father in Heaven's grace for us.

You can make mistake one. It's okay.

Friends, you can one. None of us are perfect.

Like I said, you know, maybe God gave you a desire, something,

and then you chase after it, and then maybe a

bit misinterpretation.

It's okay.

The moment there is clarity or the moment there is

the right word or the moment you speak to the

right counsel, don't reject counsel. Don't reject and say, no way,

this is not going to be it.

No.

Embrace it and say, hold, if you have people in

your life that you respect, that if you have people

in your life, like in our church, we have this

thing called huddle relationship and discipleship. If you have people

in your life that you trust, that you love to

speak into your life, if they have different perspective and

different understanding and different idea, it's okay.

Because they're supposed to give guidance. Don't fight them. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

God said I'm going to be a rich man, so

I'm going to find a way to do it. Let

me go and do this.

Don't, don't, don't fight.

Right? Right?

Because God gives us chances.

Right?

He will give us chances.

Right? But after a while, don't you think after a while,

if you are the girl and don't want to listen

at all, a bit hard to talk.

Just let you go. Correct or not? Let's be real

about this. Can I give you an encouragement?

You have to understand that this comes from a pastor's heart.

We need to learn to take responsibility of our actions.

Don't blame everything else. I realise a lot of people who,

in life, right, you cannot take responsibility.

If you made a mistake, make a mistake. It's okay, one.

Just say sorry and move on. Don't try and hide

it because it gets worse. Don't try and cover up

because it gets worse. Don't try and put yourself up

in a pedestal. None of us here are perfect. It

gets worse, friends.

Right?

Admit and move on. Learn from it and move on.

A lot of people don't know how to take responsibility.

It's always someone else's fault. Very clearly, you can see

what Saul's doing. It's always someone else's fault.

Yeah, fine.

Maybe they were influenced. Maybe he was influenced by them.

I wouldn't say that he was not influenced. Maybe he

cared more what the people think. But he had many

chances to say, I'm sorry because the people were not there,

you know. He still tried to defend himself.

Right?

But God will give you chances. So don't worry.

God gives you chances. But at the same time, I

would say, be careful lah. Because after a while, when

you become too tegel, you know, a bit hard to

talk to you.

How?

How?

Unfortunately, Saul was not a good leader. My fourth point.

Which leader throws his people under the bus when he's

in trouble? Okay, let me give you another perspective. You

know when the Lord gives us dreams, desires, ambitions in life,

when He leads us to do things, it is always

for our good. For our good, we will benefit from it.

And it's always also for the good of everyone else. Right?

And the glory always goes back to Him, not me.

The glory always goes back to God because He is

the one that determines everything. Just something for us here

who are holding positions and having responsibilities over people. It

doesn't matter whether the position that you have is in

church or as a boss, it doesn't matter. When God

gives you that opportunity to be a good leader, it

is always for your own benefit to grow, right? and

it's also always for the benefit of the people around you,

that they will experience God's love and mercy over their lives.

Through you. Right?

That's why it's so important that we also understand leadership

in this level.

You know, you might say, oh, no lah, no. No.

If you are the type of person that will be

put in a place where you will have many things

under you, you will lead.

Whether you like it or not. Right? Some people say, oh,

I don't like to lead. I don't like positions. Well,

you will.

And the problem is, if you don't realise that early,

then you will lead people to destruction. Because you think

you're living alone, but you're not. Right? And of course,

the fifth point is, we can still come back to

God even if we make a mistake. Because God gives

us chances to change. That's the wonderful grace that the

Lord has. Let me give you, and let me end.

With this story. Are you guys okay?

Okay?

Okay, a lot.

Again, something for us to learn, right? That's why when

we read the Bible, right? It's like, oh, people mess

up then. Then for us to learn now, you know?

So let's say you reflect and can relate to Saul.

Then I will say, don't be like Saul. Because we

can be like David.

2 Samuel 11, okay?

2 Samuel chapter 11.

2 Samuel 11 · chapter mention

I'm not going to read it, okay?

Because again, there are kids here and I will encourage

you to go read yourself at home because it's a

story about David, Bathsheba and Uriah, right? It's like some

Korean drama story happening here, okay?

Right?

So, 2 Samuel chapter 11 is the account of how

2 Samuel 11 · chapter mention

King David watched the thing he's not supposed to watch, right?

As adults, it's the P word in those days. Real life. Okay?

He watched that. He committed adultery. Okay? He tried to

cover up the adultery.

Right?

I give you a bridge version. So he was at home.

He saw someone bathing on the roof because his house

was higher, the roof was lower. And then after that,

he committed adultery because no one else around.

Okay?

Then after that, you know what happened? Commit adultery, never mind.

The lady got pregnant. Then he tried to cover up.

You know how he tried to cover up? He called

the husband back from the war, asked him to go

and lie with her. But of course, the husband was

an awesome guy.

He's like, no way. My brother's out there.

And then he's like, he cannot cover up. Then instead,

he decided to kill the husband. So he sent him

to the front lines and the husband died. And then

after that, he, you know, yeah, he killed a man.

King David, ah, Does this sound worse than King Saul?

Sounds way worse than King Saul.

Correct or not?

Sounds way worse than King Saul. But let's see what happened.

Let's look at the difference. 2 Samuel 12, verse 13

2 Samuel 12:13–14

to 14. So at this time, so Samuel was doing,

I think Prophet Samuel was taking care of Saul. Then

after that, he has a Hothai and his Hothai was Nathan.

Where's Nathan? Okay, Nathan's there, okay. So, Prophet Nathan was

the next guy. You know, I guess maybe because Samuel

went through so much heartache already, right? I think Nathan

didn't have to go through too much headache, you know,

during that time because he had King David. But he

was guiding King David at that time, right? He was

King David's harder leader or more like prophet, okay? And

what happened was, of course, God found out, right? Because

this is the king, you know? And God sent Nathan

to go and talk to David And not just that,

Nathan told him a story, you know, about a rich

man and a poor man with a sheep. Then the

rich man took the poor man's sheep and all these different,

different stories.

And King David got angry, you know, angry. How could

this happen?

You know, Nathan asked, the prophet Nathan asked the question,

so who was wrong? And then King David, of course

the rich guy lah, how can he be, you know,

doing this kind of thing? Then Nathan said, you are

the rich guy. Then David realised his sin was discovered. Right?

And let's read what did he do.

It's in 2 Samuel 12, verse 13 to 14.

2 Samuel 12:13–14

Right? It says here, So David said to Nathan, I

have sinned against the Lord. Sound familiar? Did Saul say

the same thing? Saul said the same thing. But he

said it in the first time. Okay?

And let's see the heart. I have sinned against the Lord.

And Nathan said to David, The Lord has put away

your sin. You shall not die.

Right?

However, because by this deed you have given great occasion

to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child

also who is born to you shall surely die.

Then Nathan departed the house. Okay. There's another.

It's very interesting when I read that line because what

did King David do? King David had a personal matter, right,

that he did. Of course, quite messed up. But when

I read Nathan saying... Because of this deed, you have

given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Meaning,

because God is just, God is holy, God's people should

be perceived as holy. Let me give you a perspective

of us. Jesus is sinless, friends. And all of us

here are disciples of Christ, correct? We follow Jesus. Means

that people out there will see us as Christ, correct

or not? So when things like this happen, right? And again,

I'm not blaming or pointing finger and saying, because all

of us need Jesus, okay? But think about it, when

we are following Christ, or what happened in King David's example,

the weight of it. It was a personal matter, but

because of what King David did, it gave other people

a chance to talk.

Bad about God.

Ayah, God, your king that you appointed, go and do this.

How can lah? And you say he's a man after

your heart. Something to think about for us. When I read,

I'm like, wow, quite serious. That's why, right, friends, another

thing I teach you about leadership, this is something I

learned a long time ago. There are a lot of

things that other people can do, I cannot do because

I'm a leader. There are a lot of things that

other people can, you know, and I don't say that

because I'm proud, I got authority. No, no, no. I

say that because my life is an example to everyone.

And I understand the weight of it.

Right? Of course, I'm not perfect. Those that know me

closely know that I'm quite cheeky one. Look up a

lot of nonsense. Say a lot of things I shouldn't say.

Like one of the jokes I say is, do you

know that I'm not a full-time pastor? I'm a lay pastor.

So my working hours is 9 to 5.30. After that,

don't call me. It's just a joke. It's just a joke.

It's just a joke. Okay? Being very cheeky.

But just something for us to think about that The

weight of responsibility. That's why a lot of times, a

lot of times in my life, when people come and

ask me for advice, I don't just think about you

and now. I think about your children, your legacy. I

think about the people you'll be leading. What's the best

decision for you to make now that will affect all

this generation?

Do you know that that's quite weighty?

Do you know that a lot of people, now when

they make decisions, they don't really care about their legacy?

They just do whatever they feel like doing. That's why

we have a lot of problems after that. That's why

we have a lot of issues now, friends. This is

quite close to me. That's why.

We have....

That's why families that are intact is quite rare. Can

I encourage you, if your family is strong, protect it.

Don't let the devil come and destroy it. Be the

example to the people around you. There are so many

broken families. There are so many broken kids because of

broken families.

So sad, right? So sad.

Let's think about it. Let's be concerned a little bit

more with the things we do.

Amen? So David admitted his sin immediately. He didn't try

to cover up.

Right? But he still had consequences. His son had to die.

The one that was going to be born. But do

you know that even with this happening, David's relationship and

trust with God was strong?

Because let me read on.

Right? So Nathan departed, and then the Lord struck the

child that Uriah's wife brought to David, And he became ill.

David therefore pleaded with God. So David still pleaded with God.

Pleaded with God for the child. He fasted, he prayed.

The elders arose, you know. And on the seventh day,

it came to pass that the child died and the

servants of David were afraid to tell him that the

child was dead. For they said, indeed, while the child

was alive, he spoke to him and he will not

heed our voice how can we tell him that the

child is dead he may do some harm 19 said

when David saw his servants were whispering David perceived that

the child is dead therefore David said to his servants

is the child dead and they said he is dead

and then this is the interesting thing so David rose

from the ground washed and anointed himself and changed his

clothes and he went into the house of the Lord

and worshipped People that look at this will think, crazy guy.

But when I see, I see this guy knows that

God dealt with him already. He couldn't change God's mind.

But since that is sorted, God still deserves the worship

and the glory because God is still God.

He understood that.

That's why God can say, David is a man after

my heart. You see the different concerns. Saul was still

more concerned with his face, with other people who see him.

He was still more concerned with the external. David is like,

whatever man.

I don't care. I don't care. I don't care.

The people around him was worried. He's like, whatever, I

don't care. It's okay.

Go.

Don't bother me. I need to fast and pray so

that God will change his mind. Because I know God can.

But the moment God done his will and didn't change

his mind, okay, I tried. Lord, you are still God.

I'm going to still worship you. You didn't answer my prayer.

I'm still going to worship you. How many of us

can have that kind of confidence with God in our lives?

It's one thing singing and praying and saying, God, You

are in control of everything. You are King of kings.

You are Lord of lords.

It's another thing to still accept God, still accept that

He has the best for you when bad things or

perceived bad things happen to you in your life. I

say perceived bad things. What is more important, friends? I believe, well,

I have not... Walk with Christ too long. 44 years old,

12 years old, received Jesus about 32 years. Like seriously

walking with Christ, maybe about 32 years. Okay, long enough.

Longer than not knowing Him. But there's one thing that

I can tell you that I encourage you. That God

is good. No matter what happens in your life, it

will be your testimony. That's my encouragement for people nowadays.

When bad things happen in their life, when challenging things

happen in their life, my simple answer is, it will

be your testimony. Because that's the truth. That's what I

fully believe in. It will be your testimony. Yes, bad

things can happen. Does that mean that God hates you?

No. Some of the bad things, actually you sendiri bring

to yourself one. But you don't want to admit. Right?

I say that because I do that to myself as well.

I'm like, God, sorry. Why are you going to do this?

Why go and say this? Why go and create this

problem for myself?

Right? Sorry a lot.

But God is good. God was still good to David

all the way. David had to deal with the consequences.

Were there consequences? Yeah, there's consequences. Do you know that

there's consequences to the decisions we've made in our life?

If you didn't know. But can I give you another thought?

I think I'd rather go through the consequences, although difficult,

with God rather than without God. Because I know when

I go through the consequences of my mistakes with God,

I will still come out stronger. But if I go

through the consequences of my mistake without God, I will

be running helter-skelter like a crazy person, not knowing how

to fix it. You look at the life of Saul

and you look at the life of David, very, very different. Friends,

until his dying day, Saul still don't want to let go, no.

In fact, he kept doing wrong thing after wrong thing

after wrong thing because he got desperate and desperate and desperate.

Because Saul was relying on himself, but David was relying on.

God. Amen?

Let me ask us a few questions to think about.

What is important to us today, friends? Got to think

about that. If you really truly admit, for some of us,

our pride and our comfort and our habits are more important, actually,

if you think about it. I want to challenge that today.

What is more important? Is our faith more important? Is

our pride more important? Is our goals and dreams and

ambitions more important? Or is God more important? Obedience and

our relationship with God. You know, one way to be

able to obey someone is to trust a person. If

you don't have a relationship with a person, how are

you going to trust a person?

Correct or not? So we got to build that relationship.

Right? We got to build that relationship. We got to

slowly trust. We got to slowly spend time, slowly experience

life together. slowly do things together, slowly move forward? Or

do we want to have a surface relationship with God?

Say the right things, do the right things, but have

no full understanding. I pray that everyone here will be

able to have a closer, deeper relationship with Christ. Because

when that happens, you know how to sacrifice. So which

one is more important? Obedience and relationship with God, our

sacrifice and our desires and ambitions and what we want.

Right?

If we think about it, which do you think will

bring you greater joy and fulfillment in life? You know,

I've heard, I mean, I listen to a lot of

those like podcasts and I also have an interest in entrepreneurship,

you know. And I think people have been recognizing that maybe,

you know, it's the pioneer spirit. You know, all of

us have giftings here. the five-fold ministry, right? Once in

a while, my apostolic keep coming out. Once in a while,

you do new thing, right? Then my wife have to

deal with it because I got a lot of new

things that are done at home.

Some have done.

And I've come to learn that the best joy and

fulfillment you can have in your life is just to

follow Christ. Because I've also heard those, you know, it's

very interesting. I've also heard someone, it was a business

podcast and someone said, so how much is enough? And

then they did a study and they said, actually, how

much you show you not enough one. The more money

you have, the more money you want for some. And

the people that have full fulfillment is able to cap

or at least they're able to evaluate their fulfillment not

with money and amount.

But with their lifestyle.

Very interesting. Didn't God say He'll give us life and

life more abundantly? Isn't that more important? Doesn't that bring

us greater fulfillment and joy? Yes, is chasing after prosperity good? Well,

I won't dispute that, but I don't think it's the

most important thing. And I think if that becomes the

most important thing in our life, we will come to

a place where it's interesting where the older you get,

the more you realize.

That there are other things more important.

I've heard so many billionaires and millionaires say, when they ask,

so what's the most important? If you go back in time,

what will you do? And a lot of them say,

I will spend more time with my kids. I will

spend more time with my family. It's very funny, you know?

It's kind of like, you don't know what you don't

have until you lose it.

Right?

But let me give you this encouragement. What would bring

God glory... and help us fulfill our destiny. I truly

believe that everyone here has a destiny in God. That's

my firm belief. And I pray that all of us

here will be able to experience God fully in our lives,

in every area. Because then that's where the testimonies come.

That's where the breakthrough and freedom come, you know, what

Jamie shared just now. The more we trust God, the

more He works in our lives, the more open we are,

then He will deal with us, you know, and lift

us up to another level.

That's how God works. Right?

The more we learn to trust Him and admit that

we are wrong at times, the more we grow. The

more pride we have in our lives, the more we

want to chase after and do the things we want

only without trusting God.

That's where we get in trouble. That's where we dig

our own pit. Right? I pray that everyone here will

be able to experience more of God.

Yeah.

I shared just now that this is a message that

I'm preaching to myself.

Right?

I don't have any specifics.

But I feel like I'm in a place in my

life where, you know, my wife joke and say, oh,

you're having midlife crisis.

I said, maybe. Midlife crisis. Right? But I feel like

it's going to be a new chapter. Right?

And I think Pastor came and he shared also 14

years new chapter, right? But I have to remind myself

time and time again to just trust God and be faithful.

Not to go do my own thing. Because when you

hear a new chapter, you're like, oh, now let me,

you know, do everything.

Oh, no, cannot.

And like, okay, God, thank you for the new chapter.

Thank you for this new thing that you're doing. Let

me wait and trust in you. Let me wait for

your voice and let me clarify whether you are saying it.

And then only I walk. Let me not so kan chiong.

Oh, you know, eh, FOMO ah, guys, you better go

and buy this or go invest in that or go

and do this.

If not now, you're going to lose out. Don't do that.

Sorry, I counter culture ah. I'll say, don't do that.

Don't solve for more. Build the relationship with God. Trust

in Him.

And He will... prosper you. Amen?

Yeah, I think extreme will come out already. And then

we can pray. Well, I hope that you enjoyed today's message.

Okay.

Turn to your neighbor and say, don't be like Saul.

Turn to your other neighbor and say, be like David.

Let's all be like David, people after God's own heart.

Amen.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit xchurch.org. We are also

active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing that this week

is going to be a good week ahead for you.

God bless.