Key Passage: 1 Samuel 15:22-35

“Is God Absolutely or Relatively Trustworthy?”

Well, today I’ve decided to mash together two of the most critical “must do’s” in Christianity – and hence, the two that trip us up the most. Obedience and Absolute Truth collide to either dictate how we live for Christ or why we make excuses for why we won’t. Ultimately, and though we hate to admit it, this boils down to “who can I trust?” The world, or God? Human beings possess an inborn desire to trust. The politicians know it (let’s be honest, behind every political ad lies the theme of “you can trust me!”) Advertisers and marketers know it as well – consider this quote from Will Rogers: ““Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need.” Pretty much sums up the trust we place in today’s advertising / marketing tactics, huh? Guess who else knows it? God knows it. He knows that one of the most pressing need of any human being is… who can I trust? One of the greatest hurts in life is to discover that our trust has been misplaced. Let’s face it – even those closest to us will let us down at some point, causing a lack of trust. This is why marriages are failing, kids are being splintered from their parents, and morality is in a tailspin. So the question for today is not who CAN I trust, but who WILL you trust? Who CAN I trust involves the head. Who WILL I trust involves the heart – and God wants all of it – all of the time!

• Returning to a Recurring Theme…Obedience 1 Samuel 15:22-35

Why does disobedience drive God up the wall?

1. It seeks a name for itself instead of a name for God … remember, God is a jealous God and will NOT share his glory. Most people are more interested in making a name for themselves than in making a name for God through careful obedience. (1 Samuel 15:12; 17-18)
2. It elevates pleasure in things above pleasure in God … Christians constantly find pleasure in the things of this world rather than the things of God. (1 Samuel 15:19)
3. It consults the wisdom of self instead of being satisfied with the will of God … when we choose our ways over God’s, we actually esteem the direction of our own mind over God’s direction and become guilty of idolatry. (1 Samuel 15:23)
4. It puts the fear of man in the place of the fear of God … Saul feared the human consequences of obedience (peer pressure) more than he feared the divine consequences of sin. He feared the displeasure of people more than the displeasure of God. (1 Samuel 15:24)

• Following obedience up with the battle between relative and Absolute Truth

Bottom Line – Listen, our natural human inclination is to prefer pleasant lies in place of difficult truth. I fully understand it’s so much easier to subscribe to the world’s truth rather than walk in obedience to the Lord’s commands. What’s amazing is that when we believe in the Absolute Truth that is Jesus Christ, obedience becomes a natural and loving reaction, rather than a forced and seemingly impossible task!