Don't Be Like Saul | Pr Alvin Keng

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

We hope this message will light up your day.

Okay, everybody say, don't be like Saul. Right, you all

know the show Better Call Saul? Right? If you watch

that show, it's a spin-off from Breaking Bad, I think.

I didn't watch Breaking Bad, neither did I watch the show.

But today, I'm going to introduce you another story. And

we're going to talk about Saul, okay? And I shared

this message, I think, if I'm not mistaken, last week,

or last week in PJ. And this message is quite

close to my heart because, you know, the wonderful thing

about our church, well, at least I can talk about

our church, I'm not sure about other churches, our church

is that when the preachers prepare the message... Pastor Kenneth

always gives us this encouragement that the message prepares you, actually.

Not the other way around. The message actually prepares you.

And I've many times experienced myself that when I prepare

a message, it's not just, it's relevant to me, but

it's also relevant to the church. And we really pray one, no?

We fear and trembling when we share a message. I'm

sure Pastor Stephen will understand that. And it's not just

about the eloquence of the word or the understanding of

the word, but it's really about the life that God

is leading us to live. Amen? It is the application

of the Word of God in our lives that makes

it alive, right? And that's why I believe in it

so much, you know? And this message ministered to me,

and I pray that it will minister to you as well.

You can turn to 1 Samuel 15, okay? And for

those of you thinkologians who like a more biblical title

to the message, you can write there, Obedience is Better

Than Sacrifice. Okay, but the title is Don't Be Like Saul, okay?

Don't Be Like Saul, okay? 1 Samuel chapter 15. So

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

let's read and then I will pause here and there

to share, but maybe we do a little bit of

Bible study this morning, okay? So it says here, oh,

why did I turn to 1 Kings? It's supposed to

be 1 Samuel. Let me turn to 1 Samuel. Suddenly

I see Rehoboam. I'm like, eh, this one different, different,

different person we are talking about. So if you know Saul,

Saul is actually the first king. of the Israelites. You

know the story, right? Actually, God, there's judges and then

there's Samuel, you know? So, of course, God brought the

people out of Egypt, right? From being under that rule,

came out of Egypt. They were living in the promised

land and they actually lived with judges. So, God appointed

judges to judge, right? Like how they did when they were,

when Moses was doing it. He was doing all the judging, okay?

And then the very smart father-in-law said, hey, you can't

do everything alone. Why don't you trust people? And that's

how we also have the structure of what we believe

in our church. You know, leader of 100, leader of 50,

leader of 10, stuff like that, okay? And that's what

they did. And then, of course, they judged. Basically, they

helped people count their problems. Two people fight. You all know, right?

When you hang around long enough with each other, you

will fight one. Or you all don't know? You didn't know?

oh my goodness, let me reveal, always try, let me

reveal to you, your life, right? Even in the same

family where you have everything in common, you will still

fight on, correct or not?

Right?

Because you have to understand the human condition. There's bound

to be friction. There's bound to be disagreements. There's bound

to accidentally step on people's toes. Just yesterday, my son,

I always tell, please don't, when you push the trolley,

don't push so near. And so happened, he didn't realise,

and he didn't mean it. He pushed and he hit

his younger brother's leg. It drew blood. Yeah, quite bad.

And I was like, and then the thing is, as

a father, you're like, do I scold him because he

didn't mean it? And he felt really bad after that.

So in the end, we're like, okay, you know, let

them calm down already. Then I bought ice cream. Then

after that, he's like, I don't want ice cream. Then

I'm like, okay, never mind. I'll buy it anyway, put

it in the fridge. Then after it calms down and

then we resolve it, then he suddenly comes, daddy, can

I have the ice cream? I say, sure, go ahead.

You know, we patch things up, right? That's redemption. That's forgiveness. Amen?

So can fight, can have challenges. Don't mean it one.

You don't mean it one. But you can still come together, right?

And I mean, in those days, that's what judges do. Okay,

they're like, okay, who wrong, who right, whatever. And then

the people, because they see what other people have. Hey,

this kingdom here, that kingdom there, very happening. Got king.

Got king. They worship, don't know why. Then God's like, hey, hello,

I'm your king. And they say, no, we don't want. Daddy,

we don't want. We want this. We don't want you.

We want this person. You sure or not? Your king

will be cruel to you. No, he's a man. No,

he'll mess things up. All these things, you know. We

don't want. We know. Do you know sometimes we are

like that? We ask God for something, not realising what

we're asking for, thinking that it's good for us. And

then we say, you know what, you know what, I

don't fight, you all go ahead, you all go for it.

And Saul was the first king. And Saul was the

perfect king. He was handsome, he was tall, he was talented.

Let's learn a little bit about him, okay? but I'm

asking you not to be like him. Okay. 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. Thus says the

Lord of hosts, I will punish Amalek for what he

did to Israel, how he ambushed him on his way

when he came out from Egypt. Now go and attack

Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have and do

not spare them, but kill both men and women, infant

and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. Okay. So,

Let's get a bit of context. So they wanted a king.

God appointed a king. But the king is still under

God's commandment, right? Correct or not? Correct? Because the CEO

appointed the general manager. You'll understand corporate terms. Recently, one

of my homies used corporate terms to explain Jesus and

I loved it. The part where Jesus was around for

40 days. He was doing handover to the disciples in

the 40 days. Then he left them. Then I'm like, oh,

that makes so much sense. So quite good. 40 days.

So just did his thing. He did revision with them

and all. Anyway, let's not get carried away. So basically

the CEO or the owner or the board of directors

appointed this CEO over his people. You all understand the terminology.

It's the same thing. Of course, this CEO got crown one.

So appointed him and say, hey, appointed you all these people,

now go and do this. And he even tell the why.

Why go and destroy Amalek and everyone else? Because Amalek,

when they were fleeing Egypt, Amalek, and this name Amalek,

you will see it come again and again. Amalek, Baal,

even in Nehemiah, also you hear. So God gave an instruction.

These guys are going to mess with you. Well, he

didn't say that. But he said, can you please clear,

clear this problem? once and for all, right? And then

both men, women, infant, nursing child, ox and sheep, camel

and donkey. That means, gautim, everyone. Just kill everyone, okay?

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

foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. How many of

you know, right? Or realize that Saul actually is quite capable?

Who could command? You mean 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000

men will just follow you just because you're king? For

those of you in leadership, you understand that that's not true, right?

Just because you're the boss, just because you're put as position,

do you think people will immediately listen to you? They won't.

They won't. You haven't proven yourself. So, I'm sure he

has certain charisma. I'm sure he was... When I read,

I'm like, wow, this guy got chops, man. Right? To

lead so many people. And then what happened? And then

he came to the city of Amalek and lay wait

in the valley. Then Saul said to Kenites, 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 from Egypt. So the

Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. Okay, so he recognized

this group of people called the Kenites and said, hey,

because you are nice to us, I'm nice to you,

please go on. But if not, we're going to kill everybody. Okay,

that's what he did. Right, quite fair, right? Quite a

nice guy, right? Okay. Okay. and Saul attacked them from

Hevelah all the way to Sheol, which is the east

of Egypt. 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 that

they utterly destroyed. Okay. So, let's do a bit of review. Okay. So,

God gave specific instructions to Saul from Samuel. God gave God,

the owner of the business, gave his CEO or the

general manager specific instructions on what to do, right? There

was not just that. It was also an affirmation to

the anointing and the call and instructions on what to

do with Amalek. And God also gave the reason why.

Make sense or not? Gave you specific instructions, affirm your

role again, right? And even tell you why do this, right?

Saul did as he was told. He did, he did.

In fact, he made certain judgment call. He might help us,

let's not. If you read further, you'll realize that God

had no issue with that. He didn't say, why didn't

you count him? No, he didn't. It was very clear. Amalekites,

that's it. Right? The people among them, let them go.

He didn't have any issue with that.

Okay?

So, it also shows you that when Saul makes certain

judgment call, God is okay with it. Right? Isn't that true? Okay?

Means okay lah. I empower you. You make the right call. So,

Saul did as he was told and successfully won the

battle and destroyed the Amalekites. But, there was a But,

there was a but. 1 Samuel 15, 9. But he

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. Why? Because it was good. Huh?

So wasted lah, God. Why destroy everything? These are all

good stuff. Don't lah. We keep, we keep, okay? But

everything else that they despised and worthless, they destroyed. Interesting ah?

So right or wrong? You can ask yourself. Correct or wrong?

Specific instructions. Follow but make a judgement call. So what

they saw was good and they didn't destroy it because

maybe it was wasteful. Right? But all that they despised,

they destroyed. How many of us here would actually look

at this situation and say it was a successful battle

and they were smart? These guys are very smart, man.

You know, I think you China businessmen, yeah, very smart.

Why you want to waste all these things for what? No, don't.

Don't waste. You know, I know God said destroy. How

many of you would say that this was a good call?

How many of you look at certain things we do

as a church and say, this is a good call.

It's a very wise thing. But maybe you don't fully

understand or don't know the instructions given. And then we

make judgment calls, okay? So the reality is they didn't

follow all the instructions and they applied their own translation

to what was good. Correct or not? They applied their

own translation understanding to what was good. Oh, like that,

like that. This is the way. Right? Let's read on.

Let's read on. So what happened? Okay, sorry. I kind

of lost my... Okay. Okay. Now, 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 back from following me and has not

performed my commandments. And he grieved Samuel and he cried

all day and night. Wah, this is very strong, man. Eh,

but he completed the job, right? Not fully, ah? So

when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul,

it was told Samuel, saying, 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 has all the chops, talented,

can lead 200,000 men. Power, power. Went and did all

that he did. Made a good judgment call at first,

but later on, don't know what judgment call he made

with the people. Right? And then, he didn't go back

to Samuel, no. How many of you will go and

report back to Samuel? Hey, I did it already ah.

Let's do a review. He didn't know. Because he was king,

he went instead, he went and built a monument for himself.

This is the great things I've done. This is the

great things I've done. He built a monument for himself.

Didn't go back to Samuel. Didn't go back to the Lord.

Built a monument for himself. And say, look at what

I've done. Okay? And then Samuel had to go and

find him. Right? Let's read on. Okay? Then Samuel went

to Saul and Saul said to him, Blessed are you

of the Lord. I perform the commandments of the Lord.

I think a lot of us will think that way also.

Look at what the wonderful thing I've done. Look at

the successful event I've done. Look at the amount of

people that came for the event. Look at all the people. Wah,

you know, how many salvation. Wah, let's write down, you know.

Look at all these things. Let's build a monument. Okay?

Let's read down now. We're doing Bible study, okay? Don't

feel so bad. I see some of you like, slowly, slowly,

the face like, that's why you say, don't be like Saul, okay?

Look at your neighbor and say, don't be like Saul.

Look at your other neighbour and say, don't worry, I'm

not like Saul. Let's learn, let's learn. Can we learn?

Can we learn? Okay, so let's read. So blessed are you.

But Samuel said, what then is this bleating of sheep

in my ears and the lowing of the oxen should

I hear? Interesting. Say, look, look at all that. Then

Samuel said, hmm, you did everything. What is this sheep

sound that I heard? And all these, you know, baba

sheep and all the belowing of the oxen. all the

mooing you hear, what is it? You did the commandment

of the Lord? Okay, and then let's see what the

reply ah. Let's see what the reply ah. 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 arrest will

utterly destroy. Sounds correct? Macam yes, tapi bukan? Gave instruction,

didn't really follow. Translate. Say, I did it. Samuel said, yeah,

but did you? Yes, I did. And I top it

off of all these things. It's for you and your God. Okay.

Let's follow the story. And then we'll do a review. Right.

Then Samuel angry already. Okay. Samuel said to Saul, be quiet.

And I will tell you what the Lord said to

me last night. And he said to him, speak on.

So Samuel said, Okay, let's pause here for a moment.

Remember I said just now, if you read on in

the Bible, later, later, later, we need Maya and all,

the Amalekites are still around. Don't you think when God

asked them to do this and He followed the instruction,

you wouldn't be dealing with all of that later? Actually, no,

not his problem because he's not around already. But his

legacy and his generations and the generation after that had

to deal with these same people because he didn't fully

complete what God asked him to do. So a lot

of times, right, when we don't listen or don't fully

follow everything, right, we actually, you know what, we may

not even be fully affected by our decisions, you know.

Do you know that? But do you know that maybe

your children, your children's children, your so on and so

forth will be affected by the decision that you made

that you didn't realize? Something to think about, okay? So,

let's see how Saul responded, okay? Lord sent an animation.

Then he said, 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?

He's calling it out. He said, hello, you didn't follow.

You still took all the bad stuff and then kept

and then you didn't follow. And let's see his reply.

Saul said to Samuel, But I have obeyed the voice

of the Lord and have gone on the mission on

which the Lord sent me and brought back King Agag

of Amalek. I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. Still trying

to defend himself. Still trying to defend himself. I destroyed, ma.

I did my job, ma.

Right?

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. Okay.

Okay.

How many of you now, let's pause a bit. How

many of you love this leader? He just threw his

people under the bus. He's like, I did it. I

did and I did and I brought King again. But

all these other fellas that I was leading wanted to

do this to honour you and God. I cannot stop them.

You like this leader? Do you like this CEO? Not

my fault. I did my part. They didn't do their part.

Is this a leader to you? Does this sound like

a leader to you? We don't like, right? We don't like. Wow,

so interesting. Let's see what he responds. So Samuel said,

Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices?

as in obeying the voice of the Lord. Say, God

prefer what? You mean God prefer us sacrificing? Lord, look ah,

I very faithful come to church every week ah. Lord,

look ah, I lift up my hand. Lord, look ah,

I never sleep ah for you ah. Lord, look ah,

look at all these sacrifices I made. Or is it

obedience to God's voice? Behold, famous scripture, to obey is

better than sacrifice. And to heed than the fat of rams. Means,

thank you for all the fat that you can sacrifice.

but listening to me is more important than that. Right?

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness

is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you've rejected the word

of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.

And I must say this, that Saul still became king

for many, many, many years after that. But he became

king under the people without God in the picture. Right?

And then God raised David from a young age. You know,

from God recognizing David as king to the point that

he became king, it was very long. David has his

own struggles. Right? Something interesting to learn about God. So

you can actually still get what you want, friends. But

is God there or not? You can actually still get

the position, the business, the wealth, the person you want

to get married to and all, but is God there

or not? Something to think about. Something to think about.

Okay?

Then Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I

have transgressed on the commandment of the Lord and your words,

because I feared the people and obeyed their advice. Okay. Repenting, repenting.

Let's repenting, okay? Now, therefore, please pardon my sin and

return with me that I may worship the Lord. Okay,

why must Samuel return to him? Okay, let's read on now.

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.

But didn't Saul say the right things after he, you know, okay,

he tried to cover up, but he said the right things.

And then Samuel said, nope, nope. Okay, let's see what

Saul said after that now. And Samuel turned around to

go away. Saul seized the edge of his robe and

he tore. Okay. 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. Then listen. And also the strength of

Israel will not lie nor relent for he is not

a man that he should relent. Meaning God is saying that, yes,

you don't have, you don't have, um, you don't have

God with you anymore, but God will not take away

the strength from Israel. Because God already said He will

be with His people. Correct? So, you might have a

The leader might not be in the right place, but

God is still there with the people. You catch that?

This is something we got to remember very clearly. Okay?

God is still with His people. Okay. So, let's read on.

What did Saul say?

Right?

Then he said, Saul, I have sinned. Yet honour me now, please,

before the elders of my people and before Israel and

return with me that I may worship the Lord your God.

Very interesting, this guy. That last line shows you what

is on his heart. He was still concerned with how

other people look at him. Follow me, Samuel. The guy

that has the word of the Lord, he didn't really

care about. whether God said or not, I don't think

he repented. That's why Samuel is quite clear. He's not repenting.

He's saying the right things. I'm telling you, Pastor Steven,

I'm telling you the right things. Tell Pastor Steven the

right things so that he will establish me again. I

tell you the right things but have my heart fully changed?

Not yet. Please follow me. And can I give you

another observation? Did Saul actually said, my God? Or it

has always been, your God, your God, your God, your God.

Got relationship ah? This guy is king over Israel now.

He's interesting. I read, I'm like, wah. Look at your

neighbour and say, don't be like Saul. So Samuel turned

back after Saul and Saul worshipped God. Samuel just left.

Saul's still trying to curry favour maybe. Then Samuel said,

bring Agag, king of the Amalekites, here to me. So

Agag came to him cautiously and Agag said, surely the

bitterness of death is past. I mean, kasihan this guy lah.

He's like, oh, seeing all this happen, like, uh, I

hope you forgive me ah. But no. Samuel said, as

your sword has made woman chalice, so your mother shall

be chalice among men. And Samuel hacked Agag into pieces

before the Lord in Gilgal. If you knew what this

guy did, you wouldn't be, you'd be like, yeah, tai

seh lah. You wouldn't. If you knew what king Agag did.

This is not a good guy ah, friends. You have

to understand why God does certain things. Sometimes we're like, oh,

how can it be like that? Have you seen the past?

You don't know the past. Maybe you don't even remember

the past. But when God gives an instruction and a commandment,

there's a reason to it. Right? 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. Nevertheless, Samuel mourned for

Saul and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul

king over Israel. Okay. Okay. Let's talk a little bit

about who Samuel is. Samuel is a prophet. Every time

there is a moment in time in the life of

the Israelites, there is always someone that is close to God,

listens to God, shares God's word. And of course, the Israelites,

depending on where they are at at that point of time,

they will either respect the prophet or they will stone

the prophet. That's why being prophet was a scary one.

Because you will say things that people don't want to

listen and then depending on their mood that day, you

either die or they respect you. Pastors are like that also, Stephen, unfortunately.

Depending on your mood. Either they stone you or they

like you. Thank God they like you for now. We

will see. But that's the reality. That's the way. That's

the reality. So Samuel was quite... You can learn a

bit from him because Samuel was... I can't remember the

prophet that took care of Samuel. But Samuel was given

to the Lord as a young child. And I remember

a story in the Bible. If you read 1 Samuel,

the first few chapters... Where Samuel woke up because God

was speaking to him. Samuel, Samuel. He woke up, he

went to the, you know, the head priest and say,

you call me ah? Middle of the night. Then he's like, no,

I didn't. Go back and sleep. What are you doing?

Then he's like, okay, go back and sleep. Then he

heard again, Samuel, Samuel. Huh? You call me ah? Huh? No,

I didn't. I'm still sleeping. Go back and sleep. Then

third time he went. Then he's like, then the priest,

thank God the priest smart lah. He's like, hmm. Okay,

the next time this happen, ask the question, God, are

you speaking to me? Then he's like, oh, okay. Then

he goes back. Then he said, God is speaking to me.

Then God spoke to him and then that is Samuel.

So Samuel knows what he's talking about. Correct or not?

You got to give him chops. But do you know

that Samuel also loved Saul? Although Saul was so difficult. See,

that was the last time he spoke to him, you know,

until Saul died, you know, many, many years after. Quite sad, right?

But he still had a heart for him. You know?

So let's learn a little bit. What can we learn

from this?

Right?

So Saul decided to trade God for what was good

in his eyes, their eyes.

Right?

That's what Saul wanted to do. Not just that, Saul

was so proud of his achievements that he set up

a monument for himself. I think we established that just now.

Right?

He also unfortunately justified his actions. Friends, can I encourage

you today? Wrong means wrong, don't justify. Wrong means wrong,

don't justify. Later we will learn what could have been

with the life of another person that did even worse

than this guy. This guy just didn't follow instructions. The

guy that I shared with you after this did far

more worse things than this guy, but somehow the Lord still,

you know, still called him a man after his own heart.

I think you roughly know who I'm talking about. He

justified his actions and said, this was the sacrifice that

we want to offer you, God. Then God said, God

told Samuel to rebuke Saul. He reminded Saul of his

past and his calling and anointing. See, the first time

when we receive rebuke sometimes, it's a reminder of where

we came from. Got to remember, don't forget where you

came from. Don't forget where you were. I tell you,

one of the biggest lessons I'm learning is that, you know,

when you come to a place where you have all

the power, all the authority, all the, you know, it's

very easy to forget where you came from. It's very

easy to be very proud of your current achievements. It's

very easy to get full of yourself. And not realising

that you are still a servant. Not realising that we're

still working under management. Right? Because we've got everything already.

You know? We've got to remember where we came from.

And when we get full of ourselves, there is a

very high tendency to forget where we come from. And Samuel, unfortunately,

had to point out that it was clear disobedience. Right?

But the sad thing is, Saul still defended himself. Not

just that he threw his people under the bus, no.

No.

This charismatic guy, that's why friends, can I give you

another warning? Just because someone can lead 200,000 people and

have a big crowd, doesn't mean the person is a

good leader. You got to think about it. Because as

you can see, this guy threw, and the people were

not there to see. If they were there, they would

stone him. He threw them under the bus. There was

no bus that time. He threw them under the oxen cart.

He didn't take full responsibility. Do you want to follow

this kind of leader that don't take responsibility over his actions? Man,

tough man. And later on, we learned that it was

clear for him that position and status was more important.

Until the last, follow me Samuel! So that the elders

can see that I can worship God, your God. Wah,

pelit man, this guy. It was also clear that Samuel

still kept for Saul but it was said that Saul

didn't learn his lesson. Didn't. Didn't learn his lesson. So

what can we learn from the Scripture? Let's learn together, okay?

Of course, obedience is better than sacrifice. That's something we understand.

But what's the depth of it? Well, the first thing

I can catch from this is when God gives clear instructions,

we should follow it and obey it without misinterpretation. What's

the context of it? Our church is called a movement.

There's a reason why Acts operates the way it operates.

We have a certain way where we move. We are

not the same with others. And God has given a

very clear mandate. And we have to be obedient towards it.

And it will look different. You get what I mean?

But the encouragement I have for all of us here

is whether we are used to it or not, the

moment the leadership and all of us here are obedient

to the call that God has for us, He will

lift you up. He will make all the other things

okay one. All the stuff that is not important are

the preferences one. You get what I mean? So that's

something we got to remember. Even for your own lives,

even when you are serving in ministry, right, we have

to recognize leadership. We have to understand that. The other

thing that can learn is the key nights were spared.

Do you notice that God didn't talk about the key

nights at all? So it also tells me that there

is also empowerment in leadership. And when you make the

right call and judgment, then good lah. But if you

misinterpret or interpret certain things that you know, it's not right,

then yeah lah, you get in trouble. Okay? This is

another thing, friends. If you think God's so cruel, God

actually gave Saul chances to admit his wrongdoing. I counted three,

four times. Until the part where he, you know, it's

like first time defend, second time defend. Third time, it's

okay lah. You know, really, Samuel's behaviour is consistent. Once

he behaves, he's just like, okay lah, you know, whatever

you say, doesn't matter, you're not learning. Sometimes you feel

like that, right? I tell you so many times already,

you're still not listening. I don't understand why. Do what

you want to do lah. And then still want, no,

must come, you must see my point, you must understand.

Do what you want to do lah, you're not listening.

And then the real, see long enough ah, the long

enough ah, the real heart comes out. Long enough, you

live it long enough right, you will see the real

thing come out, the real monster right, his head, me,

honour me, right? Sad lah, sad. And unfortunately, he was

not a good leader. He was not. But the people

didn't know, ma. They didn't know. Same way like, I

don't know what to say, right? They didn't know. Which

leader throws their people under the bus when they're in trouble?

But you see, I want to share with you that

we can also still come back to God if we

make a mistake. We can one. this could have ended differently.

But as you see, up to the last point, tear,

shirt and all, so he still never learnt. Still never learnt.

But I think we learnt, can one? Where do we

see this? 2 Samuel 11. You can turn to it.

We're not going to read it, okay? So, it's a count,

got no kids here, right? So I can be a bit, okay, great.

Because I did, I remember when I did this. I

did this in PJ, so I had to censor myself

a little bit. Okay? So, let me talk to you

about this guy named King David. Okay? So, 2 Samuel 11,

It's the account of how King David Watchporn committed adultery,

tried to cover up adultery when found out the girl

pregnant indeed, purposely got the husband back to lie with

the girl, the wife, so that she will get pregnant

so that he will be able to clear. And then

the husband was such an honoring guy to say, my

brothers are there fighting in the war. You see, when

they fight war, you know like football, they don't allow

the footballers to consume anyone before a match. Okay, enough

of you didn't know that, right? if you're a real athlete, right,

some of these things you cannot, like you spend time

but you don't consume it, right, for obvious reasons. So

he said, cannot, I cannot do anything with my wife

because my brothers are still out there, we're still in war.

And then, what happened? King David said, okay lah, you

don't want then, he asked his general to put this

guy in the front line, confirm die one. Then he died.

Then die already, right? He brought the wife, the lady

to his wife. Hello, brother! How many of you love

King David now? Love King David. You don't, right? You know, right?

Tried to cover up. Killed a man. Sent a man

to his death. But let me show you the difference

in reaction. Let me show you the difference in reaction

when God came and said, hello, what's happening? Look at

the difference in reaction. 2 Samuel 12, verse 13 to 14, okay?

2 Samuel 12:13–14

2 Samuel 12, 13 to 14. You guys okay? I

feel like everybody's super quiet now. I wonder why. You're

doing reflection, right? Reflection. Am I like that? No, no,

don't worry. Don't be like Saul. That's right. We learn

so that you don't become like that, okay? 2 Samuel 12,

2 Samuel 12:13

verse 13. What does it say? It says, so David

said to Nathan, okay, so anyway, what happened was, you know, okay,

so after that, the prophet that spoke to God was Nathan.

Nathan Chang from XPJ. Nathan is basically Samuel's head. So

it was after Samuel that it was Nathan. So Nathan

was the one. Then Nathan didn't direct with David. He

told him some chante story about some rich guy who

got lambs and then got poor guy got lambs and

then the rich guy took the poor guy's lamb to

feed his guests. And then he asked David, so which

one is wrong? And then David got angry. Of course

the rich guy. How can the rich guy do that

kind of stuff? Wah, can say some more. Then Nathan said,

you are the rich guy lah. Then he straight away,

let's read his reaction. He said, so David said to Nathan,

I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David,

the Lord has also put away a sin. Also has

put away a sin, you shall not die. It was

immediate one. You know why? Because David meant it when

he said, I've sinned. I've sinned. I tried to cover

my sin, but now it's not. I've sinned. However, because

of this deed, you have given great occasion to the

enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. The child also is

born of you, shall surely die. Okay, let me try

to take a step back. This is a deeper point.

This scripture here is super loaded. King David is the

king over Israel. He is the leader of Israel. Big deal, right?

Don't you think people will know that he did this?

And the Israelites were known as God's people. So when

Nathan say, however, because of this deed, you have given

great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme,

the child also is born of you shall surely die.

So unfortunately, the child died, right? But what did King

David do? He didn't just do something personal, no. He

did something that affected the whole nation, no. Not a

lot of times, right, when we are in a position

of leadership or a position where we have influence, right,

we don't realise our actions actually carry forth a lot

of things, one. That's why I always tell myself, a

lot of people can do but I cannot do. A

lot of people can enjoy all these things but I

cannot because I don't want to give people a chance

to talk bad about God. I don't want to give

people a chance to talk bad and blaspheme about the

God I serve because my actions will cause them to blaspheme.

Yeah lah, Christian also can like that lah. Wah, I

cannot tahan lah. But I wonder how many of us

are okay with it because God is understanding, He's caring,

He loves you. Whatever you do, He will forgive you one. Friends,

I think we need to grow up today. I'm not

saying He won't forgive you. He will. But are we

going to repent? Are we going to say, no, I'm

not going to do it? And that's what's happening. When

I read that, I'm like, wow, this is loaded, man.

This is loaded. Loaded. Have we ever considered this when

we are believers? Have we ever considered? Or do we

allow ourselves to do whatever we feel like doing? Because

there's always a way out. Right? And if you read on,

you will also see why God called David a man

after his own heart because he, so after that, he

was very sad. He tried to, for one week, fast

and pray for his son that was born out of

this issue. He tried his best and of course, he

didn't want to eat, he didn't want to do anything

and the people were worried like, this is the king,

you know, like, hey, he's not eating, how about if

he dies, how about? Because he hoped that God would

change his mind, you know, and again, God has in

the past changed or allow things according to his will.

But I think this one is like, cannot change it.

But David still tried. He still tried. Lord, please have

mercy upon. And the moment God's judgment came and the

child died, he straight away pick up himself, wash his...

And they didn't want to tell him. If you read,

I don't want to tell a scat. Don't know what

he'll do. He'll go crazy. Right? But once he heard,

he like, okay. He pick himself up, wash himself, and

he went and eat. Some of us here might be thinking,

crazy this father. Do all these things, he'd die, God,

you know, we look at all these things. But do

you know what I see? I see his relationship with

God and his trust with God. He owned up to

his mistake. He dealt with the consequences. Do you know

that when we make mistakes, even though sometimes God will

forgive us and He will restore us, but we still

have to deal with the consequences of our mistake? God

is not mocked, you know. It's not a get out, deal,

free card, no friends. Still got to deal with consequences

one of the decisions we made in life one. But

my encouragement to you is when God is with you,

you'll be okay. You'll be better. You will have a

testimony out of it. That's why I encourage people nowadays.

When I hear people having challenges, my simple response is,

it will be your testimony. And I'm not lying because

I've experienced it. Oh, got so many challenges, got all

these things that's not happening in my life. It will

be your testimony. It will be your testimony. And I've

seen how it has become different people's testimony. But are

you going to trust God for it? Or are we

going to try things our own way? So, after that,

he went, he ate, he bathed. You know what he did?

He went to worship God. He went to worship his God,

not your God. Don't you think David is a man

after God's own heart? That even though God had to

quote-unquote punish him, and he went through so much heartache

because of that, he admitted, yeah, Father, Daddy God, I

did wrong. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But this will not

affect my relationship with you. How many of us will

get angry at God just because we don't get what

we want? Is that a true relationship with God our Father?

Something to think about. Right? Oh, everything must perfect. Don't

perfect then I... Friends, that's why I'm very amazed and

I've come to understand the depth of my faith now.

I've come to understand this. That no matter rain or shine,

good or bad, difficult or not difficult, God is good.

God still deserves to be praised. God deserves my praise.

Whatever happens. Because I know He'll be good. But it

doesn't matter. Even if He doesn't answer my prayer, He's

still God. That's the truth.

Right?

I mean, of course, I hope that He'll answer my prayer.

Of course, I hope that He'll do different things. But

what's more important? Something we've got to come to terms with.

can you turn to your neighbor and say, don't be

like Saul? Turn to your other neighbor and say, can

you be like David, please? So friends, I got a

few questions for us. And I think it boils down

to also ourselves. I want us to reflect a little bit.

you know what's important to us today what's the most

important thing think about it we all have different important

things in our life so what's the most important thing

at this point of time what is it most important

right and can we use this as a reflection because

some of the important things in our life may be

against what the Lord wants us to do maybe And

we know it one, we know it one. This is

another thing that we have to understand. When you're naughty,

you know it one lah, friends. You know one. Did

King David know all he's doing? Of course he knew

what he was doing. But the problem with lying is

that a lie will become a bigger lie, will become

a bigger lie, will become a bigger lie and becomes death.

That's why don't lie. Don't let it go all the

way there. Stop it. Deal with it. Say sorry. Move on. Right?

Right?

Is our obedience and relationship with God the most important?

Or do we constantly sacrifice things to justify our desires

and ambitions and what we want? Is it a transactional relationship?

Or do we really have a relationship with God and say, God,

I obey you. Yeah, I'm saying no to this now,

but I know you have something bigger for me. Which

of these you think, as a believer... will bring you

greater joy and fulfillment in your life. Which of these?

Which of these also will bring God glory and help

us fulfill our destiny? Do you know that fulfilling your

destiny in God will bring you more joy and fulfillment?

Do you know that? I mean, if you don't know that,

then I'm telling you that now. It is, it is.

And the cool thing about, I mean, I'm sharing about Saul,

David and all, but I can, and maybe I'll give

you a personal reflection.

Right?

The reason why I say that this message is speaking

to me is because I also have to come to

terms with it myself. That am I going to trust

God for the next 20 years of my life? Or

am I going to do something else? I just joked

with my church friend just now that I have this problem.

My problem is I have itchy fingers. Okay? And I...

The thing is now, I know why. And I equate

it to the fivefold ministry anointing. People who are apostles

cannot sit still. We will go and do something about

it and about everything. And that can be a problem

also because if you go and do something that God

didn't ask you to do, then you get in trouble, right?

So you got to be sensitive to the Lord to

know when to move. But I've also got to be

okay with where I am today. I've got to be

okay with where God has placed me, even if he's

in a storm. And I tell you, after this revelation,

I'm like, okay, Lord, I don't want to be like Saul.

You know, he had so many people there. He had,

you know, he did so many great things. But you

called David a man after your own heart, even though

he messed up worse than Saul. He killed someone. He

did what he shouldn't do on a personal level.

Right?

But you honoured him despite all of that. I want that.

I want to be like David. I don't want to

be like Saul. Saul got all the accolades, all the,

you know, everything which the world paints, you know, and

we get starry-eyed, right? But I want to be like Saul. Sorry,

I want to be like David. I don't want to

be like Saul. See, the flesh keep coming out, right?

Say the wrong thing already. Friends, I hope that you

learn something today. And I hope that the Bible, even

through this sharing, the Bible will bring life to you.

You know, because the cool thing, like I think I

just shared just now, the message prepares you. That's the

cool thing that we have experienced, you know. Sometimes I

will talk to Pastor Sia when it's like, oh, we're stressed,

I don't know what to share today. And then God

deals with something in your life, then you're like, ah, yeah, okay, right,

all these things. But I feel it, you know. Because

He changes you, right? He changes you and He grows you,

you know. God has a plan for everyone here. I really,

truly believe it. But we must be willing to sacrifice

our flesh and to allow Him to move. And to

surrender our lives to Him and say, God, take over.

I don't know a lot of things. I'm not sure

a lot of things. Can you guide me? Can you

lead me? And then when He puts you in a

difficult situation, He's guiding you. They say, you pray for patience,

you will have opportunity to practice patience. You pray to

be long-suffering, you have a lot of opportunity to suffer long, long.

So be careful what you pray for. You want to

be generous? He will give you opportunity to be generous

even when you have nothing. Because when you have more,

things are not conditional one, you know, with God. Let

me show you another revelation from the Word. Why do

you think that God didn't need them to bring the

best fat and ram and sheep? they think that they're

doing God a favor, right? Or at least he thinks

they're doing God a favor, right? Do you know that

God doesn't need that? Do you know that God can

just provide? Do you know that the Israelites, before they

were there, hey, they were in the desert? No. They

were led, you're talking about people that have a legacy,

that they were led by a pillar of fire and cloud,

that when they say they were hungry and manna flying

from heaven, like literally money growing out of trees, this

is food coming from the sky. Okay? And you need

to help God by taking the spoils of war to

sacrifice to Him, He doesn't need it. It also tells

me the understanding of who God is in their life.

Because if we fully, truly understand God in our lives,

I don't think we will be so kan cheong. I

don't think we'll be so kan cheong to go for

that job, to go after that girl, to go and

pursue that dream. Because God can give you like that.

You get what I mean? He can give you above

and beyond more of what you can expect. It's in

the Word. So if you understand who God is in

your life, you won't be so concerned. Amen? To me,

that's encouragement. Yeah, I may not have a lot now,

but it doesn't mean that God doesn't have a lot.

I may not have it now, doesn't mean that God's

not going to, God's not going to honour me. You know?

I just need to be faithful. I just need to

trust Him. I just need to, I asked wrong and

He said sorry. I just need to be more like David.

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.