Jim Batterton - That night, January 9, 1989, I paced around my room. All of the memory verses I had ever learned were racing through my mind. I knew I really needed to be saved, and as I became increasingly more upset, I was realizing that I really didn’t know how to be saved...
Memory Verse: I Sam 15:22 Memory Verse Text: To obey is better than sacrifice.
Point 1: Notice how that God sent His prophet to Saul with a special message; "Hearken... unto the voice... of the Lord" (1 Sam. 15:1). Point 2: God had not forgotten about the sin of Amalek as seen in Exodus 17:8-14, nor had he forgotten His promised justice. As a result, Saul was given clear and complete instructions to destroy Amalek and everything related to him; God also gave him the power and people to accomplish His will. However, Saul considered his own materialistic thinking more important than the Lord's will and disobeyed Him by sparing Agag and the best of the flocks and herds. God saw that Saul "WOULD NOT utterly destroy them" (1 Sam. 15:9). Point 3: The Word of the Lord came to Samuel and Samuel went to tell Saul. Saul, however, claimed he had completely obeyed God and he tried to shift blame to the people for what he was ultimately responsible for (1 Sam. 15:13). Application: It is easy to "rearrange" God's Word so it sounds more pleasant to us. Point 4: Saul had been found out, so he began to plead for honor before the people and for the blessing of Samuel's company, but the time and opportunity for these things had already passed forever. Samuel instead did not hesitate to obey the Lord; he told Saul plainly, "Thou hast rejected the word of the Lord" and he refused to spend time with him (1 Sam. 15:26).
Notes: Samuel mourned for Saul in 1 Sam. 15:11. It is so sad that such a day ever had to come.
This Sunday School Curriculum guide is part of a 254 Sunday School Lesson Book available at www.gospelhall.org. See the Downloads Section of the site for a complete copy.
Jim Batterton
