Obedience and Holy Spirit Gifts Testimony
March 28, 2024 10:54 AM
Sarah
Told to share 3-28-24
Obedience is necessary to give God glory when operating in His gifts, Words, commands, love, etc. This includes rest from our carnal understanding. From what we think is ‘good’.
1 Samuel 15 Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. 2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. 6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. 10 Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night. 12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord. 14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord. 26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. 30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. 31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord. 32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. 34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
King Saul did not rest from his own works, carnal understanding. He chose to change what God had told him to do, thinking that he could do what he thought was good (saving the Kenites and Agag the king of the Amalekites, and the good animals, etc.) He justified obeying his self, and was deceived by his own stubborn heart that would not bow to God. Saul’s self-deception is evident as Samuel questions him. Saul starts out by saying that he had obeyed what God had commanded him to do. God had His reasons why Saul was to destroy everything, but Saul questioned God and thought saving some was okay with God, since it seemed to be good. We need discernment to know good from evil, because our carnal minds are easily convinced that what we think is good is also thought of as good to God.
God considered what Saul thought to be good as rebellion, as witchcraft, as disobedience. Saul lost his throne over this sin. What the carnal self thinks is good is as filthy rags to God. (Isaiah 64) Our Father says that obedience is better than sacrifice, rebellion/disobedience to Word/obeying what we think is good is as witchcraft to God. (1 Sam 15:22-23)
Seek Father God about this. He gives each of His children faith, gifts, abilities. With fear of The Lord, let us follow His lead, give Him all glory, and not seek what we think is ‘good’, but only what Father says is good. Rest from our ways, walking in God’s higher Ways, with His help, to profit His church in these dark days.
Joel 2 God will use men and women in the last days, pours out His Spirit for the edifying of the Body of Christ, with God’s love (1 Cor 12, 13)
1 cor 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
In obedience today, I share this personal testimony as an example of a man of God obeying Father God not his understanding:
I had been married for 6 years with one child. We were not able to conceive another child. I had asked God for one more child, but had not told anyone about not being able to get pregnant again. We were led out of the ministry we had been in, and had started to attend a mega church in town. This church was not known to have people come to the alter for prayer during its services. One Sunday, Holy Spirit led the pastor to call people down to alter for prayer. I went for prayer regarding rooting out materialistic desires from my heart. My husband went with me.
We didn’t know the leader who came over to pray with us, as it was a large church. I told him my request for prayer regarding that I would not desire material things as I had been taught to while growing up.
The leader prayed silently for a few minutes. He COULD HAVE ignored what The Lord had revealed to him, because to the carnal understanding, it sounded bizarre, and here we were strangers to this man. He had no idea who we were, but he chose to obey what God told him.
Father God gave me a kind, gentle poke right into a sin of my lips that I had spoken years prior in anger, and in baby-Christian ignorance. God had closed my womb because of it. I had no idea, and had forgotten the words of my lips until this moment.
The leader chose to obey God’s Voice and said, “Tell me if this is way off, but The Lord is saying to pray to open your womb.” Immediately I fell down weeping, for this man had no idea how that was a direct message from Abba to me. My Father had gently reminded me of my sin and that it had caused my womb to be closed. I understood in that moment also the power of words, for blessing or cursing.
I knew exactly what The Lord God was telling me, and I repented in awe and amazement also, thankful that this man took the ‘risk’ to tell me what God had told him to say. He did not hold back something that seemed strange… and it became a huge testimony from My Father about many things through the years in my life, and of course in my second daughter’s life, who was growing in my womb 6 months after that godly man prayed with us! Praise to God Who is so kind to us! This is not a formula on how to get pregnant, it is a testimony to obey Abba’s Voice, and not lean on our own understanding when operating in gifts of Holy Spirit. Only obeying His lead brings blessing.
As related to this message, if we follow our own understanding, and do what we think is good: such as: this church leader could have simply ignored what seemed weird to him…and just prayed with us about materialism. I would not have known any different, and I would have been thankful that he prayed with us about materialism. But I would not have been directly spoken to and gently chastised by Father God. I may never have repented of something I had forgotten, maybe I had considered it to be benign. I may never have been blessed with another child, and that only because of a direct message from God to repent of something so He could bless us. How merciful God is to us! I pray for that man that he would always walk in obedience to Abba.
As related to this message, an encouragement to obey Father God, hear His Voice and obey it. If we don’t know what His will is, He will reveal it to us if we ask Him. Everything will always line up with Word, and if we need wisdom about something, Abba tells us to ask Him for it, and He will give it to us! He doesn’t want us to guess.
We must be careful to only do what God has told us to, do all He has told us to do, and not add what we think should be added. Our understanding needs to rest. Our ways need to rest. In the rest that Jesus gives us, as our carnal self is crucified with Him and we only want Him to live through us… much GOOD will be done. Only by obeying God in fullness and Truth, and not obeying anything from our carnal self, is God’s amazing work done. Miracles are born, for me – quite literally, and I praise Him forever for His lovingkindness!!
Please be encouraged in the gifts that Abba gives you. Seek Him as to how He is to be glorified in what His will in your life is. His children are not powerless, for He Himself abides within us! He is kind and patient with us, He will help us learn to exercise righteousness in the earth.
Please pray about this. Abba wants to pour out His Spirit on us all, may we all only operate according to all that His Holy Spirit has for us, with obedience and His love! May His light and gifts flow out of us to uplift the Body and to cause the lost to desire to know our Lord God, The Living God.
Bless you all, Praise and Bless The Lord God Almighty Who teaches us obedience and love – through His Son Jesus Christ Lamb of God, Who loves each of us so much!
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