Hearing God’s Command And Obeying Him Is Key Responsibility of Every Pastor (2)

I stated in the Part One that God gives special messages to people He appoints and sends to speak to His chosen people. The messages are often specific instructions God gives to His servants concerning their ministries.

We considered the examples of Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel as well as the apostles of Jesus Christ including Paul. All of them heard God’s commands and gladly obeyed Him.

In this Part, we want to focus on today’s ministers of the gospel. When we also hear what Jesus Christ tells us, we must humbly obey Him. We should resist the spirit of disobedience.

Sometimes, we may be tempted to disobey Christ, but we should be careful not to fall. When we are tempted to disobey the commands our God gives us, we must plead His mercy to see us through and overcome it.

It is dangerous to hear the words of God and disobey Him. God is sovereign, and He may take any action that He deems fit to punish any acts of disobedience.

When King Saul disobeyed the commands of God, he was rejected from being king over Israel (1 Samuel 16:1). That was a form of punishment for disobedience.

“…And Samuel said, ‘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, and to listen than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:17-22).

Obedience is always better than sacrifice in our walk with the Lord. We can plant churches, interpret scriptures or preach and teach the Word of God, and yet be disobeying Christ.

In other words, you can be sacrificing in the name of the Lord, and yet be disobeying Him. It is always better for us to do what God’s Word tells us.

We need to know whether we are at the centre of the will of God before we start labouring in the name of God. Otherwise we may labour for ourselves or the devil without knowing it.

And on the last day when our works are tested by fire, they may be revealed as having not been built on the foundation of Christ.

That was the situation in which Saul, Israel’s first king, found himself. He clearly heard God instructing him to “go and attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death all men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camel and donkeys” (1 Samuel 15:3).

However, Saul disobeyed the Word of the LORD Almighty by sparing “Agag, the King of Amalekites, and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lamb – everything that was good” (1 Samuel 15:9).

Saul’s disobedience to God’s instruction incurred the displeasure of the LORD. Consequently, God rejected him from being King over the people of Israel.

Interestingly, for some years, Saul continued to dress in royal robes and was seen as king of Israel, but spiritually God had rejected him.

By James Quansah

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