From the Archived, Pay Attention Series - Pt 2 Listening To Hear

This is part 2 of the Pay Attention series. 

It was originally shared in 2013 as the beginning of my journey in Podcasting. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are tuned into Abba Silence Ministries. Recently, I have
been looking over what God's words says about reminders. Listen
to this. Two Peter chapter one, verse twelve says, so
I will always remind you of these things, even though
you know them and are firmly established in the truth

(00:22):
you now have tewod Peter chapter three, verse one says,
dear friends, this is not my second letter to you.
I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate
you to a wholesome thinking. And two Timothy chapter one,
verse sixcess For this reason, I remind you to fan
into flame the gift of God which is in you

(00:44):
through the laying on of hands. With those scriptures in mind,
for the next couple of weeks, we are going to
review a powerful word of God that was previously taught
here on Ourba Silence Ministries.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
This is Abba Silence Ministries breaking change by opening the
eyes of the blinde, helping the deaf to hear, empowering
the lane to walk through, unlocking a practical application of
the infallible word of God Isaiah sixty one and one
and now Minister Jody Sorrino.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
Barber, welcome back to Abba Silence ministries. I'm so glad
that you were able to join us. For those of
you who are joining us for the first time, my
name is Minister Jody, and it is such a blessing
to have you with us. You know, our brothers and
sisters in these other countries are really going through. Occasionally

(01:59):
I get pictures sent to me from different ministries, and
they have been asking that we keep them in prayer
as they join us in taking a stand for our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and places where Christians are
persecuted for their beliefs. As a matter of fact, let's
pray for them right now, Father God, in the name

(02:19):
of Jesus, we humbly approach your throne to stand in
the gap for our international brothers and sisters all over
the world who are choosing to serve You by making
Jesus Christ their Lord and savior. Father God, nothing is
hidden from you. You know the things that they are
suffering for their choice to serve you. I can't help
but to think of your word in Matthew chapter twenty four,

(02:42):
where we're told that many will suffer, and because of this,
I don't pray for the suffering to end, but instead
I pray that your servants are strengthen to endure that
which they are going through as they wait on you.
I pray that their faith is increased as well as
their joy. I pray that through their stand many more

(03:02):
souls are reached and saved for your kingdom. You said
in Jeremiah chapter twenty nine, verse seven, that we were
also to seek the peace and prosperity of the city
to which we find ourselves in exile, because if it prospers,
we will prosper. So I pray that you grant them favor, Father,

(03:23):
in the various countries that they live in, and with
the various leaders of those countries. By the God, you
said that the heart of the king is in the
hands of the Lord. So I ask, according to your word,
that hearts are favorably turned towards these ones, towards our
brothers and sisters internationally, but not just internationally. I pray

(03:44):
for the Body of Christ as a whole, that not
only our doors miraculously open for them that no man
can close, but each individual is strengthened and encouraged in
their resolve to be a witness of You, Father, and
to glorify and magnify your name in season and during
troublesome times, touch the hearts of your servants worldwide, so

(04:08):
that we will all begin to include each other in
our personal prayers, and that we begin to truly intercede
on behalf of one another, especially those suffering persecution for
their choice to choose Jesus Christ as Lord and savior
over their lives. For you said that the prayers of

(04:29):
the righteous aveileth much, and that those who have faith
the size of a mustard see can speak to the
mountains to be moved, and they will moved. You said
that science, miracles and wonders will accompany those who believe.
We believe, Father, and that is why we're standing in
the gap right now, requesting an increase of your mercy
and grace, favor, and the strength to endure for those

(04:52):
suffering through trials and tribulations. Right now, I thank you
for providing all of us with our daily necessities. Thank
you for protecting all of us in such a mighty way.
I thank you right now for the science, miracles and
wonders that you're pouring out as you deliver us all
out of our trials, safe, guiding us all from our
enemies and strengthening us through your word, giving us mighty

(05:16):
testimonies about your goodness. I thank you right now for
the answered prayers. I lift the entire body of Christ
up to you, the men, the women, and the children,
and I thank you for them, as I plead the
protective covering of the blood of Jesus over them all
in Jesus dear name, I pray Amen to our international

(05:36):
brothers and sisters. You are not forgotten and you are
not going through alone. So keep pressing your way and
remember God is faithful. In the one hundred and seventh Psalmn,
he promised to deliver us out of all of our distresses.
He said that his word will not return to him void,
so you can expect to receive the promises of God

(05:57):
to you. Just remember that Jesus said that he who
endures to the end will be saved. So continue to
stand and don't give up. Don't give in, and don't
give out. Amen a man. As we prepare to get
into today's message, which is actually a continuation from last

(06:19):
week's message, let us pray, Father God, it is with
willing hearts that we come to you, ready to listen,
ready to pay attention to your instruction to us throughout
the Proverbs. You beseech us to listen to you, to
pay attention to your laws, your commandments, and your orders.
In the Book of Deuteronomy, you told us of the
benefits of listening and the consequences of ignoring your word.

(06:43):
Father God, all of us gathered here today have tried
it our way, and we all agree that our way
does not work. We desire to be a people taught
by you. So help us, Father Police, to understand your
word that we are studying. We don't just want to
hear it. We don't just want to read the words.
We desire to be able to apply that which we

(07:05):
are reading from your word in our everyday lives. And
in order to do that, we seek out your blessing
upon this study. Father God, open the ears of each
one of us present at this time to hear your
Holy Spirit speaking clearly and directly to each of us
as we read and discuss your word. Grant us hearts

(07:26):
that are fertile ground for the seed of your word
to be planted in it, so that what we are
learning will produce good fruit in our lives. Father God,
in the name of Jesus, I ask for my spirit
to be decreased so that your most holy Spirit can
be increased within me. As you use me to direct
this Bible study. Touch my lips so that only what
you give me to speak is what will be spoken

(07:48):
to your people. Grant me Father a tongue that can
be heard and understood, so that your people will be edified, encouraged,
and inspire to act upon your word spoken and read.
I submit myself this ministry and this Bible study to
you in Jesus name. I pray Amen. As I mentioned

(08:08):
earlier today is a continuation of the message God spoke
to me a couple of weeks ago, and which continues
to be on my heart even now. This message initially
was that we need to pay attention to how we wait.
Now I say we, because after God corrected me with
this message, I begin to understand that the message was

(08:29):
about being patient and that God was calling us to
examine ourselves in the area of how we're demonstrating this
fruits of His Holy Spirit in our day to day lives.
Once I understood this, God positioned me to share this
message with others to encourage them to not give up,
to not give in and to not give out under

(08:51):
the pressures of the various trials that they found themselves
going through. As I enter into what is now my
third week of meditating this word and trying to walk
it out in my day to day activities, what I
found is that it began to evolve, and I found
that the Holy Spirit wasn't just dealing with me about
being more patient. I began to hear Him say to

(09:14):
me more and more to pay attention or listen, and
it seemed as if no matter what I was reading
or meditating upon, the word was the same, pay attention, listen.
I began to look at this word as it played
out all around me. I examined myself in various scenarios

(09:36):
of my interactions with others in church services, whether I
was out and about or at home having a personal
study time. I examined myself first, which God has been
calling me to do, and then I looked for examples
in others. And what I found is that just because
we have ears to hear does not mean that we

(09:57):
are listening. And this is confirmed by God because even
God said to Ezekiel at Ezekiel chapter twelve, verse two,
son of Man, you are living among a rebellious people.
They have eyes to see, but do not see, in
ears to hear, but do not hear, for they are
a rebellious people. And I'm here to tell you today

(10:19):
that this was not an isolated incident, because even Jesus
had to correct his chosen twelve, those who had an
up close and personal relationship with him, those whom he
personally trained and poured into after he miraculously fed thousands,
not once, but twice in their presence. Listen to what

(10:40):
Jesus said to them at Mark, chapter eight, verse seventeen
through twenty one. Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them,
why are you talking about having no bread? Do you
still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do
you have eyes but failed to see in ears but

(11:02):
fell to hear? And don't you remember when I broke
up the five loaves for the five thousand and how
many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up? Twelve? They replied.
And when I broke up the seven loaves for the
four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?
They answered? Seven? He said to them, do you still

(11:25):
not understand? Now? Let me draw some light on both
of those scriptures before we move on. In the Book
of Ezekiel, God sent Ezekiel to speak to the House
of Israel, to God's people, and God said to Ezekiel
about his own people, that they have ears, but they
do not hear. God called his own people rebellious. Similarly,

(11:49):
Jesus in the Book of Mark was reprimanding his own
disciples for their failure to pay attention, for their failure
to listen. He was saying to them, and I'm paraphrasing them,
you spend all this time with me. I personally train
and teach you. I pour into you things that I
don't share with everyone. I empower you to do works

(12:11):
just as I am doing, and you still don't get it. Now,
let's make this personal, because remember God is talking to
all of us today. He is saying to us. You
go to church every Sunday, some of you go midweek. Also,
some of you throughout the week listen to church services
on radio, on television, on the computer. Some of you

(12:33):
have reached out for titles of service, and some of
you have done deep in your studies and pressed in
your lessons under the anointing. Now, While all of this
is good and fine, is the power of God not
evident in your life? Do you also have eyes that
cannot see and ears that cannot hear? Are you also

(12:54):
without understanding what is it that God is saying to us?
I found that I'm a visual learner, So in order
for me to understand what I'm hearing, I have to
be able to see it or picture it. So God
will show me myself in my role as a wife
and or a mother, in my role as a daughter

(13:16):
and or a sister, in my role as a friend.
He will show me myself in reference to my role
as a student and or employee, and especially what I
be shown myself as it relates to my being a
Christian and or minister with a ministry. Once I can
understand how to apply what I'm being told in my

(13:39):
own life and the various roles that I play, then
I am allowed to share this using examples that others
will understand and be able to apply also, such as
this example. If any of you are listening now are parents,
how many times do you have to tell your child
to do something like clean up their room, take out

(14:00):
the garbage, or any other direction you give? Now you
know that they heard you when you first spoke to them,
But did they pay attention? Were they listening so that
they could obey? How many times do you have to
tell them to do something? Can you tell when your
child is paying attention to you or not? For those

(14:22):
of you who are not parents but are tuned into
this broadcast, how do you listen when someone is speaking
to you? As a matter of fact, everyone write this
question down on your papers, because remember, God is calling
us to examine ourselves, So write this down. How do
you listen when you are being told something that you

(14:44):
want to hear? And how do you listen when you
are being told something that you do not want to hear?
Did you get that? You need to know how it
is that you listen. And in order to figure this out,
you need to compare how you listen when you're being

(15:04):
told something that you want to hear to how it
is you listen when you're being told something that you
do not want to hear. There is a difference. Now,
as parents, we're prone to agree that there is a
communication problem, namely a listening problem, and we like to
say that it is the children with the problem or

(15:26):
mates who are having communication issues, will blame each other,
saying that they the opposing mate doesn't listen. Right now,
you might even be thinking of a person or a
situation in which someone did not listen to you. But
let me stop you right there, because this is not
about placing blame on someone else. This is not one

(15:47):
of those church sermons where you can say, brother or sister,
soul and soul should have been listening to this one.
God is calling us to examine ourselves. He is talking
to you, and he is talking to me. He is
telling us to pay attention to listen. He is not
talking about or to the children. He is talking to

(16:11):
the adults. He is not singling out one specific group
over another. He is talking to all of us individually,
but especially to those who are taking the lead, to
those who are in positions of authority, to those whom
He have chosen to be his servants. Listen to what

(16:31):
he says to us. At Hebrews chapter three, verse fifteen.
So as the Holy Spirit says today, somebody say today today,
if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion, during the time of
testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me,

(16:53):
though for forty years they saw what I did. This
is why I was angry with that generation. I said,
their hearts are always going astray, and they have not
known my ways. So I declared on oath in my anger,
they shall never enter my rests. See to it, brothers

(17:14):
and sisters, that none of you have a sinful, unbelieving
heart that turns away from the Living God. But encourage
one another daily, Say daily, Encourage one another daily, as
long as it is called today, so that none of
you may be hardened by sins deceitfulness. We have come

(17:36):
to share in Christ. If indeed we hold our original
conviction firmly to the end, as has just been said today,
if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion. Who were they who
heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses let

(17:57):
out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for
forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose
bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God
swear that they would never enter his rest? If not
those who disobeyed, so see that they were not able
to enter because of their unbelief. That was Hebrews Chapter three,

(18:21):
verses eight through nineteen. But let me repeat to you
verse fifteen. The Holy Spirit says today, if you hear
his voice, do not harden your hearts. In other words,
we're not gonna harp on missed opportunities of the past,
and we're not gonna put this counsel on hold for
tomorrow because tomorrow is not guaranteed. We are going to

(18:41):
focus on right now today, God said, somebody say today,
So we're gonna start right now, right now. If God
speaks to you to go, to do, or to speak out,
do not harden your hearts. Now. Are you saying in
your heart that that is not you, that your heart

(19:02):
is not hardened. Are you saying that you do listen
when God speaks to you. Are you saying that you
don't ever ignore God when he speaks to you through
the Holy Spirit. Well, that's commendable. Let me ask you
a question, though, have you ever in your day to
day activities, and we're not talking about your church service,

(19:22):
but in your everyday life, have you ever said something
told me to do, or something told me to go,
or something told me to say whatever, it is that
you were being told but you didn't listen. Or have
you ever said, man, I should have when you did
not do go or say something that was in your

(19:44):
heart to say, do or go? Did you harden your
heart when you heard his voice? Or what about this?
In the Book of ezek Your chapter three, in chapter
thirty three, we're taught about accountability, and we're told that
if we do not warn someone of their wicked way
to preserve them alive, and they ended up dying because

(20:08):
of that wickedness, we will be held accountable. But if
we warn them and they do not listen, we won't
be held accountable. The fact that this is mentioned twice
in the Bible, in chapter three of Ezekiel and again
in Ezekiel Chapter thirty three solidly confirms this. So now,
if we become privy to information that can have harmful

(20:31):
consequences and we don't warn the person involved, God will
hold us accountable. Now, talking to a friend and associate,
a confidant, a next door neighbor is not the same
as talking to and warning the actual person involved. So
how do you handle such matters when their rise, say
at work, at home, at school, amongst your peers in

(20:55):
your neighborhood or at church. Do you choose to not
let listen, to not obey what God tells you to do,
which is to warn simply because you are afraid of
how the person or others will respond to you. Do
you choose to not say anything and instead say, that's
none of my business. If your next door neighbor's roof

(21:18):
was on fire, would you leave the comforts of your
house to warn them? If a burglar was stealing your
neighbor's car or breaking into their home, would you pick
up a phone and down nine one one to call
the police? What would you do? Don't answer that, but
think about it and think about how it applies to
whether or not we are individually hardening our hearts. Now,

(21:41):
let's turn the tables a little and apply these same
questions to our dealings with our Christian brothers and sisters.
And remember that Jesus said at John chapter thirteen, verse
thirty five that his disciples are known by the love
we have for each other. So here's the question. If
you become are that your brother or sister, titled or not,

(22:03):
is about to make a bad decision that could have
some dire consequences, Would you warn them in a spirit
of mildness, as Galatians chapter six, verse one tells those
who have spiritual qualifications to do? And notice that it
said those with spiritual qualifications, It did not say those
with titles. Or would you not say anything to them

(22:27):
because you don't want them or anyone else to get
mad at you or criticize you for speaking? Would you
reason that they should know better and leave it at
that without trying to lovingly warn them? What about if
your brother or sister is carp sinning? Would you begin
to intercede in their behalf in prayer, as First John
chapter five, verse sixteen says, Or would you say nothing

(22:51):
or do nothing because you don't want to be accused
of judging? You might be able to see some gray
lines in those scenarios. But there is one thing that
I know about love. Love will cause you to jump
out in front of a speeding car to push another
out of the way. Love will cause you to fight
off a bear to protect someone you care about who

(23:11):
is in danger. When you love, you don't consider the
consequences to yourself when you're trying to protect another. But
who will go to such an extreme when their hearts
is hardened. Who will extend themselves in ministry when their
hearts is hardened? Who will press long hours in serving

(23:32):
another when their hearts is hardened? Who will be willing
to die for another when their hearts is hardened? Who
can serve at all when the heart is hardened? And
how can your light shine in this dark world? If
your heart is hardened? God says, the day you hear

(23:56):
his voice, harden not your heart. Who was he talking to?
Not the world, but to his servants. Listen to what
God said regarding his servants, his chosen ones. Turn your
bibles to Isaiah chapter forty two, verses eighteen through twenty five.
We're gonna look at as a matter of fact, let's

(24:19):
look at the opening verses. First, Isaiah chapter forty two,
starting at verse one. This is what God says about
his servants. He said, here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one, and whom I delight. I will put
my spirit on him, and he will bring justice to
the nations. He will not shout or cry out or

(24:40):
raise his voice in the streets. A bruised read he
will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not
snuff out and faithfulness. He will bring forth justice. He
will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice
on earth in his teaching. The islands will put their hope.
This is what God, the Lord, says, the creator of

(25:02):
the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the
earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath
to its people and life to those who walk on it.
I the Lord, have called you in righteousness. I will
take hold of your hand. I will keep you and
will make you to be a covenant for the people,
and a light for the gentiles, to open eyes that

(25:25):
are blind, to free captives from prison, and to release
from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. I am
the Lord, that is my name. I will not yield
my glory to another, or my praise to idols. See
the former things have taken place, and new things I
declare before they spring into being, I announce them to you.

(25:47):
That's encouraging, isn't it. God says of his chosen servant
that he delights in him, and that he will put
his spirit upon this one. We all want that to
be said of us. Don't we we all want God
to delight in us and to put his spirit within us.
Don't we skip down verse eighteen and let's see what
else God says about his servants Isaiah, chapter forty two.

(26:12):
And we're gonna now look at verse eighteen. It says,
hear you death, look you blind, and see who is
blind but my servant and death like the messenger I sin,
who is blind, like the one in covenant with me, blind,
like the servant of the Lord. You have seen many things,
but you pay no attention. Your ears are open, but

(26:33):
you do not listen. It please the Lord for the
sake of his righteousness, to make his law great and glorious.
But this is a people plundered and looted, all of
them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They
have become plundered with no one to rescue them. They
have been made loop with no one to say send

(26:54):
them back. Which of you will listen to this or
pay close attention in time to come? Who handed Jacob
over to become lout and Israel to the plunderers? Was
it not the Lord against whom we have sinned, For
they would not follow his ways. They did not obey
his law. So he poured out on them his burning anger,

(27:17):
the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet
they did not understand. It consumed them, but they did
not take it to heart. A question was asked in
last week's message that I want to reiterate. That question
was does God see us the way we see ourselves?

(27:38):
And or do we see ourselves the way God sees us.
God is telling us to pay attention. He is telling
us to listen. We think that we are listening, and
so when some trials and tribulations come upon us, we
blame the devil. Yet is it possible that some of

(28:00):
the trials and tribulations that we face could have would
have been avoided had we simply paid attention and listened
to God when he spoke to us through the Holy Spirit,
through his written word, the Bible, through his servants, whom
he has called and chosen to shepherd us, to watch

(28:21):
over us, to counsel us, to pray for and with us,
to correct us, to stand in the gap for us.
We give too much credit to the devil. He is
not responsible for everything that happens to us. Some stuff
happens to us simply because we fail to pay attention. Remember,

(28:43):
he says to us today, when we hear his voice, hearden,
not our hearts. God is telling us to examine ourselves
in this matter. We know whether or not we are listening,
whether or not we are truly paying attention. And each
of us learn different. Each of us also listen different.

(29:05):
You had to understand that not everyone here with their ears.
Did you know that you can hear with your eyes,
your mind and your heart also? Come on, now, think
about it. Those who are physically death, though they have ears,
how do you think they hear so that they can
understand what's going on around? I want to see things

(29:26):
for the way they really are. Open our eyes opens, mom. See,
as God has been impressing upon me the need to

(29:48):
pay attention and listen, I found that not only was
I asking for my heart to be open to see him,
but I was also asking for my heart to be
open to hear him. And as we prayed, we asked
God to prepare our hearts to receive His world. Amen. So,
with this in mind, I decided that I wanted to

(30:10):
research every scripture in which God spoke to us to
pay attention. In order to do that, I first wanted
to make sure that I understood what it meant. And
here are the definitions that I found for pay attention.
You might want to jot these down because in your
personal Bible studies, when you run across one of these definitions,

(30:30):
you will know that God is right there telling you
to do what that's right pay attention. Pay attention is
defined as to give care, to give thought, to to consider,
to follow, to hear, to heed, to hearken, to listen,

(30:54):
to mind, to obey, to observe, to watch, to take,
to heart, and to take notice of. Now that is
not all of the definitions, of course, but those are
the ones that stood out to me. My next step
was to examine different Bible translations in which pay attention

(31:14):
might be worded different for some Bible verses, and what
I found was some of the definitions listed above were
actually used in some verses, such as the King James
version and the Amplified Bible, which uses the word hearken,
and the New International Version, which says heed. The message
Bible says listen in First Samuel, chapter fifteen, verse twenty two.

(31:37):
As a matter of fact, turn your bibles there, since
I've already studied this one in reference to paying attention.
We will close out today's Bible study with a discussion
of this verse. Do you have it first Samuel, chapter fifteen,
verse twenty two, and I'll be reading it from the
New World translation, and I encourage you to follow along

(31:57):
with your various versions and translations. It says, in turn,
Samuel said, does Jehovah have as much delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Look,
to obey is better than a sacrifice. To pay attention
than the fat of rams. Let me repeat that, to

(32:21):
obey is better than a sacrifice, and to pay attention
than the fat of Rams. Now did some research on
the surrounding scriptures to see why Samuel made that comment,
And what I found was that at the time Samuel
made this comment, he was talking to King Saul, who

(32:43):
by this time was being rejected by God because not once,
but twice he disobeyed God. As a matter of fact,
before I tell you of what happened, let's read first Samuel,
chapter fifteen, verse twenty two again, and this time will
include verse twenty three. Also. It says, in turn, Samuel said,

(33:06):
does Jehovah have as much delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Jehovah. Look to
obey is better than a sacrifice. To pay attention than
the Phatorams. Verse twenty three says, for rebelliousness is the
same as the sin of divination and pushing a head,

(33:27):
presumptuously the same as using uncanny power and terror. Film
Since you have rejected the word of Jehovah, he accordingly
rejects you from being keen. As I started to mention
when I researched these verses to see what caused Samuel
to say this to Saul. Saul had by this time

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demonstrated a spirit of disobedience twice. The first time is
when Saul was first made king over Israel and he
was told to go ahead of Samuel to Gilgal, which
is one of the places that sacrifices were offered up.
Samuel told Saul to go to Gilgal and to keep
waiting there for seven days until Samuel came to him

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to tell them what to do. This is found at
first Samuel chapter ten, verse eight, But what stood out
to me was verse nine, which said that as soon
as he turned to his shoulder to go from Samuel,
God began changing the heart of his into another. Now

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to understand what was happening with Saul, you have to
look back a few verses prior where it was first
mentioned that Saul was changing, And what happened was that
the spirit of God became operative on him, so that
he began to speak as a prophet, being surrounded by
other prophets. So now Saul, the newly chosen King of Israel,

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is given instructions from Samuel to go to Gilgal, where
his kingship was going to be reconfirmed with and sacrifices,
and he was told to keep waiting there until Samuel arrives.
But the minute he turned to leave Samuel, his heart
began to change. Did he pay attention to what he

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was told to do? Did he pay attention to wait?
In chapter twelve we see that Saul did go to
Gilgel as he was told to, But in the process
of that transition, he picked a fight with the Philistines,
and now that they were stirred up against the Israelites,
the people were afraid. Now, remember Saul was told to

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keep waiting until Samuel arrived, and then he will be
told what to do. He was not told to go
and start fights and get the people in the lands
third up against them. Remember also that Saul had God's
spirit operative among him, so that he spoke like the prophets.

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Yet Saul was not told to offer up any sacrifices.
He was not told to king himself. He was not
told to ordain himself before it was time for him
to be ordained. Amen. Saul was told to wait for Samuel,
but the people were afraid because the Philistines were stirred

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up against them, and Samuel was taking too long to come,
and King Saul pushed ahead. He took it upon himself
to offer up the sacrifices, and no sooner than he
did that guests who showed up, that's right, Samuel. And
because of this disobedience, Saul was reproved by Samuel in

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Chapter thirteen Versus thirteen and fourteen. Samuel told King Saul,
you have acted foolishly. You have not kept the commandment
of Jehovah, your God, that he commanded you, Because if
you had, Jehovah would have made your kingdom firm over
Israel to time and deafinite, and now your kingdom will

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not last. Jehovah will find for himself a man agreeable
to his heart, and he will commission him as a leader.
Because you did not keep what Jehovah commanded you to do.
Do you remember the first message that God gave us
to pay attention to how we wait? King Saul was

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rejected by God because he didn't wait. He pushed ahead.
So for everyone who has chosen Jesus Christ to be
their Lord and savior and chosen to obey God, here
is warning number one. When we are being chosen by
God for a specific purpose, whatever that purpose is, we

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need to not push ahead. We need to not step
outside of the law's precepts and orders that God gave us,
regardless of what the situation looks like. We need to
wait on the Lord and keep waiting until we receive
an answer from the Lord. If we're waiting on a

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word from God, a message to give to his people,
we need to keep waiting for it until we get it.
We do not want to push your head and speak
what we feel need to be spoken to God's people,
especially when we're being used as God's mouth piece. I
don't think any of us wants to deal with the
accountability of saying something that God did not tell us

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to say. If one is waiting to be appointed to
an office, they need to keep waiting until they are
properly appointed and anointed for the office. They do not
need to push your head and appoint themselves, because to
do so will not put you in a favorable position
with God, Who's anointing. We need to be able to

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feel the responsible ability of the offices we have been
positioned in. If one is waiting for a direction on
how to proceed in a certain manner, keep waiting. Don't
push your hand and try to work it out for yourselves.
Keep waiting on God, or you will cause yourselves more
problems than you bargained for. Taking these warnings to heart.

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Can we see any areas where we might have pushed
a head instead of waiting on the Lord in our
day to day lives. As I continue to reflect on
what I was reading in First Samuel, it occurred to
me that Saul was new at being a king. He
didn't have any former training, and there was no prior
human kings to whom he could look to as an example.

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This was all the more reason why he needed to
pay attention to what God spoke to him through the
prophet Samuel. Nevertheless, God called Saul again, giving Saul specific
instructions for battle against the nation, the nation of the Malakites.

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God said that they were to put to death the men, women,
and children, as well as all of the animals, and
that they were not to have compassion on any one
of them. This is in chapter fifteen. Just like the
first time, Saul started off right, he did go up
against this nation to destroy them, as he was told,

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but he did not do it exactly as he was
told to. He not only let the king live, but
he also and the people kept the best of the
flock that they were told to kill. Also. Now listen
to their reasoning. They said in verse fifteen that they

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kept the best of the flock so that they could
sacrifice it to God. But that's not what God told
them to do, and that is why Samuel made the
comment to Saul about obedience being better than a sacrifice
and paying attention better than the phatorams. You see, God
owns it all. He's the creator of the earth and

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all that is in it, so he didn't need them
to justify their disobedience. This is the second warning that
we need to keep in mind. We do not want
to justify disobedience. God is a just God. There is
no excuse for disobedience. Remember Noah when it came to

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building the Ark, he paid attention to all that he
was told to do, and the Bible says that he
did just so. He didn't cut corners on any area,
and because of that lives were saved. There is no
justification for disobedience. God's word is clear. If there is

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anything that we are doing that we are excusing. When
the Bible is clear on how God feels, we need
to act now to obey. God said today when you
hear his voice, do not hearten your hearts. Now. Here's
the last warning. King Saul said in First Samuel chapter fifteen,

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verses twenty four and twenty five that the reason that
he overstepped the law of Jehovah was because he feared
the people. This warning is to people in positions of authority.
Romans chapter thirteen, verse one through four says that those
in position of authority are placed in these positions by God.

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Just as God has placed you in position, he can
also remove you from position. Those of us who are
in positions of authority are accountable to God. Therefore, we
are never to disobey God because we fear the people
whom God has positioned us to be over. When you
reject the word of God out of fear of man,
God will reject you. I encourage you to look at

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what happened to Saul because of his obedience, and then
take courage from what God spoke to Ezekiel. God for
warned Ezekiel that the nation of Israel, that God's people
were rebellious, hard headed, and stiff necked. God for warned
Ezekiel that the people wouldn't listen to him because they

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were refusing to listen to God. God told Ezekiel that
he was not to be afraid of the people that
he was being placed in charge of, and that he
would be given a face of flint like theirs, enabling
him to stand. God is strengthening you to do the
job he has appointed you to do. It is God's

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anointing on you that would empower you. So continue to
look to God, continue to wait on God, and above all,
pay attention so that you can obey God. Let's close
out in prayer. Father, God. It is in the name
of Jesus that we come before you asking for forgiveness

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for the areas in which we have fallen. Short. Father,
I can't help but to think of the answer that
you gave to King Solomon when he prayed to you
after dedicating the newly built temple to you. And you
said to him that if you shut up the heaven
that there be no rain, or if you commanded the
locusts to devour the land, or if you send pestilence
sickness among us, that if we who are called by

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your name, would humble ourselves and pray and seek your
face and turn from our wicked ways. You said that
you will hear us from heaven, and that you will
forgive us our sins and heal our lands. Father, we
are humbling ourselves before you now. We are trying to
pay attention to listen now to what you are saying
to us. Help us, Father, grant us ears to hear

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and hearts to receive your word. Forgive us, Father, for
the mistakes of our past, and bless our efforts to
today to right now not hiden our hearts. When we
hear your voice, strengthen us, Father, to make the changes
necessary in our lives, so that we are no longer
being disobedient to you, so that we are no longer

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pushing ahead and not waiting on you, so that we
are no longer acting out of a lack of faith
in any area of our lives in which your Holy
Spirit has convicted any one of us. Change our hearts. Father,
as we begin to chase after you, to seek your faith,
to obey you, and pay attention to what you are
speaking to us through your servants, through your word, and

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through your Holy Spirit, we thank you for your laws, reminders,
and orders. We thank you for the loving way in
which you discipline and correct us. We are choosing to
serve you, Lord, and to be a people who are
taught by you. We have chosen Jesus to be more
than savior over our lives, and now we want to

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demonstrate those choices by choosing to listen to you, to
pay attention when you speak to us. In Jesus' name,
we submit ourselves to you, asking you to have your
way with us, and thanking you for your mercy, for
your grace, and for hell you forgive in a large way.
Thank you, Father, in Jesus' name I pray amen