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My Primary Concerns When Considering Action

My Primary Concerns When Considering Action. Is this the best/most logical solution? What will those involved think of this decision? What will God think/is this the right thing?. I care too much about what other people think of me.

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My Primary Concerns When Considering Action

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  1. My Primary Concerns When Considering Action • Is this the best/most logical solution? • What will those involved think of this decision? • What will God think/is this the right thing?

  2. I care too much about what other people think of me

  3. “All the world’s a stage and allthe men and women are merely players.” As You Like It – Shakespeare

  4. Am I now trying to win the approval of men,or of God? If I were still trying to please men,I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10

  5. Approval is not a bad thing to desire. The question is, from who or where are youseeking that approval?

  6. The more you care about what others think of you, the less you will care about what God thinks of you.

  7. Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over His people Israel, so listen now to the message from the Lord. This is what theLord Almighty says… 1 Samuel 15:1-2a

  8. ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” 1 Samuel 15:2b-3

  9. ‘

  10. Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. He took Agag, king of the Amalekites, alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs – everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. 1 Samuel 15:7-9

  11. Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, becausehe has turned away from Me and has not carried out My instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night. Early in the morning, Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set upa monument in his own honor and has turnedand gone on down to Gilgal.” 1 Samuel 15:10-12

  12. When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in m years? What is the lowing of cattle that I hear?” 1 Samuel 15:13-14

  13. Saul answered, “The soldiers brought themfrom the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.” “Stop!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied. 1 Samuel 15:15-16

  14. Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And He sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evilin the eyes of the Lord?” 1 Samuel 15:17-19

  15. “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” 1 Samuel 15:20-21

  16. But Samuel replied, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

  17. Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel.” 1 Samuel 15:24-25

  18. “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them.” 1 Samuel 15:3a

  19. Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs – everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. 1 Samuel 15:7-9

  20. Saul answered, “The soldiers … spared the bestof the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.” 1 Samuel 15:15-16

  21. Lesson One Incomplete obedience = disobedience.

  22. God’s commandsdo not change based on circumstances.

  23. Common Excuses for Disobedience • “Compromising on this issue will gain me more friends, and I can be a better witness for God the more people I know.” • “But I obeyed most of the command!” • “But I did ____, which I thought would make your ‘suggestion’ better.”

  24. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

  25. Lesson One Incomplete obedience = disobedience.

  26. Lesson Two The appearance of holiness is not the same as holiness.

  27. Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.” 1 Samuel 15:24

  28. How to Tell if You Care More Aboutthe Opinion of Others than the Opinion of God: • You’re unlikely to confront. • You get defensive when you are confronted.

  29. “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me! I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle …” 1 Samuel 15:20

  30. How to Tell if You Care More Aboutthe Opinion of Others than the Opinion of God: • You’re unlikely to confront. • You get defensive when you are confronted. • You elevate yourself rather than letting God elevate you.

  31. Early in the morning, Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” 1 Samuel 15:10-12

  32. Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please honorme before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship theLord your God.” 1 Samuel 15:30

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