Putting Christ First (Matthew 6:33; 1 Samuel 15:1-23)

A sermon preached on Sunday, September 5, 2010 at Hebron Baptist Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana by Pastor Joe Alain.

Series: Foundations: Lessons on Christian Living
First Sermon: “Putting Christ First”

Introduction to Series
In “Lessons on Christian Living” you will learn about eight principles and promises God has given you as his son or daughter, and the corresponding responsibilities and privileges you have in living a life that pleases God. Our first lesson is “Putting Christ First.” Who will you live your life for? What has first place in your thoughts and plans? Jesus often challenged his disciples to consider their commitment to him and his kingdom. One of those instances is found in Matthew 6:33, our focal verse for the day.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). As you begin to put him, his will, and his work first in your daily life, you will begin to fully experience God’s love and care, for he has promised to provide all of your daily needs.

What does it mean to put Christ first? Putting Christ first means following the Lord with complete obedience. We are going to learn what complete obedience means as we look at an account in the life of King Saul found in 1 Samuel chapter 15. An occasion of disobedience on the part of Saul leads God to declare what it means to put him first.

1. God’s Word Commanded (15:1-3)
Through Samuel the prophet, God brought “The message of the Lord” (v.1) to King Saul. “The Lord Almighty” is going to bring judgement upon the Amalekites (v.2). “Lord Almighty” is literally “Yahweh Sabaoth,” and means “The Lord of Hosts” or “Armies.” This name for God carries the idea of God’s sovereignty. He is the Lord, the Conqueror! According to the word of the Lord of Armies, the Amalekites are to be totally destroyed (v.3). The Hebrew word here for “totally destroyed” is a special word that means “the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.” The people are to be devoted to destruction and the destruction is to be complete.

God is perfectly just in punishing the Amalekites. There is a long history that has come before this command to annihilate them. The Amalekites, in their persistent refusal to fear God (Deut. 25:18), sowed the seeds of their own destruction. God is patient and slow to anger, “abounding in love and faithfulness” (Ex. 34:6); he nevertheless “does not leave the guilty unpunished” (v.7).

1. God’s word commanded
2. God’s Word Compromised (15:4-9)
How did Saul respond to this mission from God? He partially carried out the task (v.7) in that he preserved the life of Agag, king of the Amalekites (v.8-9a) and he spared the best of the sheep and cattle “and everything that was good” (v.9). That which they deemed to be good, “they were unwilling to destroy completely.” They merely destroyed that which they deemed “despised and weak.” The word “unwilling” is used elsewhere in Scripture to indicate the sin of rebellion.

Now this seems perfectly reasonable to you and I. Keep the good stuff and get rid of the bad. But the problem is that this is not what God told Saul and the people to do. And as we will see, partial obedience is not obedience at all.

3. Disobedience Condemned (15:10-21)
What Saul thought was a good thing God said marked a “turning away” from the Lord (v.10). To say that you are following the Lord and not doing what he has commanded you is contradictory. You cannot go forward at the same time you are going backwards. Disobedience is going in the wrong direction. Listen to what God has said. “So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deut. 5:32). And in Joshua 1:7, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (Josh. 1:7). Clearly, disobedience is turning away from the Lord. Are you following Jesus? Putting Christ first? Putting Him first means following the Lord with complete obedience.

After agonizing over the situation all night long (v.11), Samuel went looking for Saul. He had the unenviable position of having to address Saul’s disobedience. It’s not always easy being a prophet. Samuel clearly was grieved himself. Saul has been a disappointment, yet He had so much potential. Samuel finds Saul at Gilgal near Carmel where he had gone to erect a monument to celebrate his latest victory (v.12). No doubt this memorial was a great photo opportunity for Saul.

Saul greets Samuel in a pious tone of voice, “Bless the Lord! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions” (v.13). But Samuel says, “If that is so, why do I hear sheep bleating? Why do I hear cattle lowing?” (v. 14). “It seems as if I recall telling you exactly what God told you to do and did not involve keeping any sheep and cattle.” What about us? Are we carrying out the Lord’s commands, his instructions? Are we taking this Gospel message seriously and putting Christ first in our lives? Or like Saul have we become satisfied with partial, incomplete obedience which is not obedience at all?

Saul does what most people do when they are pinned against the spiritual wall, he blames someone else, here the soldiers who are under his leadership. “The soldiers . . .” were easy targets (v.15). Notice how Saul says “They” did this but “we” (meaning himself), “totally destroyed the rest.” Some general Saul is, he has just thrown his soldiers under the bus. Verse 9 makes it clear that Saul too is to blame. It’s easy to play the blame game, but the reality is there’s enough blame to go around. Saul even distances himself from the Lord in all this telling Samuel that God is “the Lord your God” rather than “the Lord our God” (v.21) even though Saul has just invoked the name of the Lord in a personal way and had claimed to have obeyed him (v.13).

You can almost hear Samuel’s disgust with Saul’s lame story about saving the best to sacrifice to God (see v.15) and he shouts to him to “Stop!” (v.16). Samuel has received a word from the Lord to Saul, a word that he probably is not going to like. What does Samuel remind Saul of?
(1) It was the Lord who promoted you (v.17)
“You were a nothing,” Samuel says, “but the Lord raised you up. Once you were small in your own eyes, once you did not concern yourself with building monuments to your glory (v.17). Once you walked in humility before God, but now no longer.”

(2) It was the Lord who anointed you (v.17)
“Saul, the Lord is the one who anointed you king of Israel. God is the king maker.”

(3) It was the Lord who commissioned you (v.18)
“He is the one who has sent you on His mission (v.18).” Saul took God’s clear Word and adapted it here and there. He thought he could improve upon God’s mission, but the reality is, God’s mission is not up for interpretation. It’s not up to us to add or subtract from God’s commands, it’s up to us to obey what He’s commanded.

Saul changed God’s mission because he didn’t like what God told him to do. The reality is, it really doesn’t matter if we think God’s mission is good or not. We are not the ones who decide if God’s plans are wise or not. God didn’t consult us before the foundation of the world to work out his plan.

As his servants, we simply are to say “Yes, Lord, you’re servant awaits.” God is the one who sends us on our mission. You don’t have to like it. It’s irrelevant. Jesus said to love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, who use you. Love one another. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Our obedience does not hinge on whether you agree or like God’s mission or not.

In speaking to Job as he complained about God’s character and how he works, God said “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? . . . Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth? . . . Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you ‘Here we are’?” (Job 38:4, 33; 35). Putting Christ first, we will follow the Lord with complete obedience.

The question to Saul is “Why did you not obey me?” (v.19). The seriousness of this act of disobedience is seen in the fact that it is called “evil.” Saul is in denial and he has deceived himself. “But I did obey the Lord” (v.20). You would never think anything is wrong according to Saul. Everything’s great! Listen to Saul as he describes to Samuel how he has carried out God’s command. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me” (v.20). And “I completely destroyed the Amalekites” (v.20) which was only partially true.

Disobedience is condemned, but . . .
4. Obedience Commended (15:22-23)
(1) A question (v.22a). What brings delight to God? Burnt offerings and sacrifices? Or “obeying the voice of the Lord”? It’s not that worship was bad or wrong, but when worship and ritual become a substitute for true religion, for obedience then we’ve missed God. We could ask the same question. Has our religion become a substitute for obedience to God?

(2) A precept (v.22b). The precept is stated twice for emphasis. “To obey is better than sacrifice.” Another way of saying it is “To heed is better than the fat of rams.” Putting Christ first means following the Lord with complete obedience. The “better” thing is obedience.

(3) A warning (v.23a). Disobedience is serious in God’s eyes because at the heart of disobedience is “rebellion.” Furthermore, the Bible says that “Rebellion is like the sin of divination” (Literally witchcraft). In what way is rebellion like witchcraft? In the Bible God condemns witchcraft because witchcraft is an attempt to know how to live in the present and see the future without God. When you and I go our own way, we are saying that we know best, we know how to guide our life without God. Disobedience is like witchcraft and at the heart of disobedience is a heart of “arrogance.”

Saul is not worthy to be king because he has “rejected the word of the Lord” (v.23b). To reject the word of the Lord is to place yourself outside the blessings and protection of God. Reject God’s Word and He will reject you. If only Saul had completely obeyed God, then he could have experienced the blessings of God “all these things would have been added to him,” but he did not put the Lord first. And from this point on, Saul was finished as leader of God’s people. It was just a matter of time but his downfall was sealed. He would continue to make poor choices and God would raise up a man after His heart in David to be king of Israel.

God is looking for people who will follow Him with complete obedience. Are you putting Christ first in your life? First in your heart? In your family? In your time, talents, and treasure? In your business? In your relationships? When the Lord is first, life falls into place, when He’s not, life falls apart. Jesus’ challenge to you is to “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe