Obedience

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Outline
Introduction
Acknowledgement
Foreward
PART 1 - A Life of Obedience
1. Experiencing Gods Rest through Obedience
2. Receiving Your Blessings and Miracles
3. Obedience: A Lifestyle
PART 2 The School of Obedience
1. Partial Obedience is equal to Disobedience
2. When Gods words are clear and specific your own personal ideas
do not count
3. Your good intentions can be contrary to Gods will
4. Winning an Argument before men does not justify you before God.
5. You can never find a good enough reason to disobey God
6. God is merciful but He still holds you accountable
7. Your obedience will be tested
8. Your obedience is the key to walking in Gods favour continually
9. When you find your heart unwilling to obey God, PRAY and ASK for
grace
10. When you have failed, only genuine repentance without minding
the consequences will restore you to favour with God.
Conclusion: Consequences of Disobedience
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Acknowledgement
I take immense pleasure in thanking Gods servant, and the man that nurture my moral and
spiritual upbringing, Professor F.M Aderibigbe Senior Pastor, Grace Covenant Centre. I have
become what I am in God because of your years of labour over me from childhood. Your deep
insight and teaching on this subject made it possible to express the inspiration in PART 2
The School of Obedience. Thank you for the efforts and time invested in reading, editing and
correcting this book.
I appreciate the work of Steve Kimes Senior Pastor, Anawim Christian Community; your
article on the Consequences of Obedience is just a perfect conclusion for this book.
My wife Ekemini supported, encouraged, and spurred me on in writing this book; her intellect
and insight improved every chapter. Our Children Revival, Restoration, and Renewal are fruits
of obedience; the dedication to them is propelled both by fatherly pride and by the hope that
they will indeed become tools of revival of truth and restoration of divine realities in the
church.
Special thanks go to Faleye Ibukun; my dear friend.
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Foreward
The School of Obedience! This is a school in which all Christian believers are automatically
enrolled from the topmost General Overseer in the church to the latest born again child of
God. It is real and serious at that. There may be postgraduate students but all are students
nonetheless.
The question Toyin has dared to ask in this book is, How are you faring in the School of
Obedience? Are you scoring the As or you are loaded with quite a number of carry over
courses that must be repeated before you advance to the next level?
This book reminds us of the important role of Obedience in our walk with God. It also
highlights several lessons we must not fail to learn. The benefits of these lessons are clearly
elucidated.
I like to commend the book to you since God has placed it in your hands. As you read may
your obedience quotient be heightened, and may your heart grow in its readiness to obey
Him who have called us to glory and virtue.
Prof. F. M. Aderibigbe
(Senior Pastor, Grace Covenant Centre)
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INTRODUCTION
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; Isa 1:19
I love the Message translation of this scripture If you'll willingly obey, you'll feast like
kings.Obedience is a product of the will, and not primarily of desire or feelings. It is not
whether you feel like it or not, it is what necessitates the exertion and engagement of your
will. Obedience is an obligation and not merely a voluntary action wherever it is expected.
When God gives instruction or sets standards, He requires a commitment and response of the
Will. Obedience is the only way you demonstrate your love for God and prove your loyalty to
His authority. Obedience is the key that unlocks Gods favour and unleash His blessings upon
an individual.
The entirety of our Christian lives and experience is summed up in obedience.
All the promises of God are premised on the action of obedience, and nothing else is required
to retain possession of Gods manifold blessings except by a continual responsible action of
obedience.
Christian obedience is NOT a surrendering of all responsibility for actions and behaviour;
rather it is taking responsibility and accountability for actions committed as a result of
instructions received. That is to say, when a man receives a word of instruction from the Lord,
he needs to first accept the instruction as his responsibility and thereafter engage his will
actively to execute the demands of such instruction. Likewise the case of a promise received,
he must first acknowledge such promise as his and then get actively engaged in obtaining the
promise.
Therefore, compliance as a response to a command, instruction, or promise received is
obedience.
Throughout the scriptures, many men and women at one time or the other in their lives
encountered Gods favour; such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Saul, David, Rehab, Ruth, Solomon,
Hannah, Mary, Paul and much more - even you. But one key factor common to all of them is
Obedience. Some among them enjoyed the favour and blessings of God, while some failed to
retain that favour of God as a result of Disobedience.
Today, one thing is clear; there is no one at a position of disfavour or disadvantage to God any
longer. As it is written; God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available
for everyone! Titus 2:11. (MSB) The grace (unmerited Favour) of God is now open to
everyone, including YOU. However, the grace is not without a responsibility neither the
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promise without a demand. teaching us that having denied ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live discreetly, righteously and godly, in this present world, Titus 2:12. (AMP) For
you to enjoy Gods fullness of Grace and the riches of His Glory, you will have to live the life
of grace: discreet, righteous, godly and obedient.
The only thing the life of grace requires is Obedience. What made you righteous as a believer
was because you obeyed the gospel, and all you will need to maintain this status of
righteousness, in and with God, is continual obedience.
This book is divided into three parts: (1) The Life of Obedience, (2) The school of obedience
and (3) The conclusion. Using King Saul as our case study, I will highlight and expose what
obedience is and what it is not, through hard lessons from King Sauls encounter with a God
that places high premium on obedience and grave consequences on disobedience.
Many Christians today elongate the fulfilment of Gods promises, prolong their destiny, delay
the manifestation of Gods blessings, and invalidate the operation of grace in their lives due
to disobedience, and many have suffered wreck and death of all sorts; financially, morally,
spiritually and physically as a result of one form of disobedience or the other in their lives.
Obedience to a believer is his lifeline; it is the only element that guarantees connection to
God. Disobedience is like the sin of witchcraft and rebellion before God, and it unleashes
Gods wrath. It quenches the operation of the Holy Spirit, and ultimately cuts the believer off
from Gods mercy.
It is an undeniable truth that your life would have been far better than what it is now, if you
had diligently obeyed, followed, and served God faithfully.
It is my desire that as you take time to read this book, you will begin to bask in an ever
increasing measure of Gods favour as you walk onward in obedience to God.
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PART 1
A Life of Obedience
A daily experience beyond heartless routine,
But a real expression of Love and reverence for God
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CHAPTER ONE
Experiencing Gods Rest through

Obedience
" Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts Let us therefore be zealous
and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and
experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of
unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell].
Hebrew 4: 7, 11(AMP)
It is pleasant to know that God desires a rest for his people. In fact, He had pre-planned and
furnished this rest for you from the foundation of the world.
Obedience has been that ONE

important key to entering Gods rest
and a vital tool in abiding in it
continually
For we who have believed do enter into the rest,

as He said, "I have sworn in My wrath that they
should not enter into My rest;" although the
works were finished from the foundation of the
world Hebrew 4:3
Rest from weariness, relaxation from affliction,

termination of endless motions or fruitless efforts of any kind, and leading a quiet peaceful
life is what God has worked for YOU and all mankind before the world began.
Nevertheless, obedience has been that ONE important key to entering Gods rest and a vital
tool in abiding in it continually. Everyone is being offered the opportunity of living and
experiencing rest from labour, pains, disappointments, traumas, and troubles of life on a daily
basis, but few consider this opportunity. Rather people prefer to get used to afflictions,
sufferings and unrest. They have accepted it as a way of life, since they know no better. They
have come to the conclusion that life must be lived the way it is, and that, it is only when
someone dies that he experiences rest from the troubles of this world.
Yet, a man that does not encounter, enter into, and experience Gods rest before he faces
death will never know rest forever. In fact he just enters an endless loop of agony, pain, and
inexpressible suffering.
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Whoever breaks a hedge

Disobedience is the cause of all human pains, suffering and agonies. Disobedience is a curse
personified; a gateway to bondage, a highway to afflictions, and ultimately, a track of agony.
While obedience to God is an exclusive blessing no eyes has seen, no ears has heard, and no
mind has conceived that is reserved for you.
Disobedience can be a simple neglect or total refusal to obey; violation of a command or
prohibition; the omission of that which is commanded to be done, or the doing of that which
is forbidden. Disobedience is non-compliance or non-conformity with an order or set
standards. Disobedience is the root of all sins, and the spark of all rebellion. Disobedience
often times streams from presumption and negligence. It ultimately blindfolds, hardens, and
corrupts conviction.
Are you living a life of disobedience to God? What is that sin in your hands that you have
allowed to furnish castle of curses in your life?
Have you allowed yourself to become dull and blindfolded by those neglected instructions
from God, and rather than seeing your negligence as the reasons for the storms and crisis in
your life, you are in a charade, chasing shadows through misdirected prayers?
He who digs a pit shall fall into it; and whoever breaks a hedge, a snake shall bite
him. Ecc 10:8
What has broken the hedge and opens the borders of your life to the Snake The Devils - is
disobedience to God and His ordinances.
Do you think disobedience is too little to hinder
your rest?
Or do you think some strong forces of darkness in
high places are the cause of your troubles and lack
of peace?
Disobedience is the root of all sins,

and the spark of all rebellion
Now let us reason together critically!

How powerful was the devil over Adam until he enticed him to disobey God?
How strong was the wickedness of Satan against Abraham?
How easily could the devil in all his might and proclaimed power afflict Job without Gods
permission?
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How strong was the curse of Balak and Balaam upon the Children of Israel, until they were
lured to disobey God by prostitution and idolatry?
The power of Satan is in his ability to deceive you and put you in a position against God. He
does this in no way other than through your disobedience to God. Sin entered the entire
human race through the disobedience of Adam, and salvation was bought for mankind also
through the obedience of Christ.
Today, the foothold of the Devil in many Christians life, home, business, family, marriage, and
career is disobedience.
Beloved, how long would you allow presumption and delusion plunder your blessings and
plague your destiny?
The power of Satan is in his ability

to deceive you and put you in a
position against God.
Your rest is important to God and He has worked it

out for you.
If only you will cry out to God to lead you by the
power of his Spirit in the pathway of obedience,
then you will begin to experience rest and find
peace in God.
Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of
God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the
same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell].
Hebrew 4: 11
The Lord is by this saying that you must strive and labour in faithful obedience, so that you
can experience the rest He has worked for you from the foundation of the world.
Rest in God is not achieved through warfare prayer; it is attained by the labour and consistent
walk of obedience.
The God-begotten are also the God-protected

Gods design is that you experience and enjoy rest in this life and in eternity. Nothing can
hinder you from this experience except disobedience. No devil, demon, witch, herbalist or
human being can hinder your experience of rest. Do not be carried away by religion. Satan
and his demonic associates cannot tamper with your rest except there is a foothold of
disobedience and sin in your life and relationship with God. It was when a foothold of
disobedience was established in King Sauls life that a demon began to torment and disturb
his rest.
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THE LORD said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him
from reigning over Israel? But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit
from the Lord tormented and troubled him. 1 Samuel 16: 1.14
Constant life of disobedience causes the Spirit of the Lord, who is the seal and guarantee of
God presence, to depart from you.
In Him you also who have heard the Word of Truth, the glad tidings (Gospel) of your
salvation, and have believed in and adhered to and relied on Him, were stamped with the
seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit Ephesians 1:3
Today among Gods children, Satan has blindfolded people not to see the exact cause of their
failures, suffering, afflictions and problems, as a result of their disobedient lifestyle to Gods
standards. Rather, he misguided and redirected their focus to be blaming and fighting
demons, people; father-in-laws, mother-in-laws, neighbours, and townspeople, about their
problem. He deceptively rigmarole them into a destructive, blindfolded, and fruitless prayer
engagement just to keep them in bondage. No wonder they go for deliverance year-in, yearout. They call it all sort names as annual
deliverance, quarterly firstborn deliverance,
True and lasting deliverance is not
women deliverance, fall down and die anointing
in warfare prayers. It is by the
service, and so on.
knowledge of the Truth.
Beloved, it is not warfare prayers that set you free
from the powers, oppressions, and manipulations of the evil ones. It is the Truth; the
understanding and the application of it, therein lies your deliverance. True and lasting
deliverance is not in warfare, fall-down-and-die prayers. It is by the knowledge of the Truth.
For it is written: And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. John 8:32.Your
problem is not the devil or the wicked people around you. Your focus rather should be God
and you alone.
We know [absolutely] that anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly]
practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and
protects him [Christ's divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and the
wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him]. 1 John 5:18
I understand how real your experiences are: the nightmares, the demonic dreams and
assaults, mysterious events and circumstances beyond the comprehension of your minds,
occultic operations around you, seem-to-be generational curses, and many of these things. I
well understood the interpretations that have been given to many of these experiences.
Indeed they are frightening and terrifying to the human mind. But the truth is this; these
experiences are not too complex to be handled by the Simplicity of Truth spread out in the
Word of God - the Bible.
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We know that we are of God, and all the world lies in evil. And we know that the
Son of God has come, and He has given us an understanding so that we may know Him who
is true. And we are in Him that is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and the
everlasting life.1 John 5:19-20
Know the Truth, Understand it, Obey it, and be FREE. That simple!
Know that you are born of God; you are a child of the True God and the Eternal Life.
Understand that because of who you are, and
Christ's divine presence within you, you are
Know the Truth, Understand it, Obey
protected and the devil and his evil agents CANNOT
it, and be FREE.
touch you.
Walk in Obedience and live your life in a way you
can remain protected by the power of God, knowing that everyone who has been born
of God does not continue to sin.
Enforce and Maintain your freedom by declaring your understanding of the Truth each
time the Devil and the evils ones come around with their intimidations.
It took me EIGHT (8) years to enter rest from all these intimidating experiences, and begin to
enjoy true liberty and freedom that the simplicity of the word of God has made available for
me. But you dont have to wait that long.
You can begin to enjoy rest and freedom today!
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Reality Check
Points to Note: Obedience is one vital key to entering Gods rest and abiding in it
What more have you learnt about experiencing Gods rest through obedience.
Verse to Memorize: We know that the person who has been born from God does not go on
sinning. Rather, the Son of God protects them, and the evil one cannot harm them. 1 John
5:18
Personality Check: How long will you allow disobedience to plunder you of your blessings
and plague your destiny?
List areas of your life God is calling you to obedience.
Prayer: Lord, please lead me by the power of Your Spirit in the pathway of obedience, so
that I will begin to experience rest and find peace in You, Amen.
For further help or counselling, contact us at Divine Realities Ministries

Helpline: +234 809 3333 224
E mail: info@divinerealities.org
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CHAPTER TWO
Receiving Your Blessings and Miracles

He said to Simon, Launch out into the deep and let your nets down for a haul. And
answering, Simon said to Him, Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken
nothing. Yet at Your word I will let down the net. And doing this, they enclosed a
great multitude of fish. And their net was being torn. And they signalled the
partners, those in the other boat, to come and help them. And they came and filled
both the boats, so that they were sinking.
Luke 5:4-7
The velocity of your blessing and the amount of it you receive is a direct effect of the swiftness
of your obedience and degree of faith. Obedience is as important as faith. In fact, where faith
is present, obedience must of necessity go along. Several times your obedience shows your
faith, as an action of faith is simply a demonstration of obedience.
If you were to be the lay man sitting before the
beautiful gate, and you heard and believed the
word of the Lord that saysrise up and walk.
What then must follow? You must obey! Without
such action of obedience being propelled by faith,
there would not be a miraculous expression of the
power of God in you.
The velocity of your blessing and the

amount of it you receive is a direct
effect of the swiftness of your
obedience and degree of faith
Obedience as an action of faith is what propels the miraculous. You cannot receive anything
from God without faith, and it is impossible for faith to be expressed without an action of
obedience, and there cannot be a manifestation of the miraculous or the blessing in your life
where obedience has not preceded it.
For instance, in 1 kings 17:9-16the widow of Zarephath had faith in the word of God Spoken
to her by Prophet Elijah, She expressed her faith by obeying the instruction the servant of the
Lord gave her, and as a result her blessing manifested.
Faith Activates, Obedience Unleashes

Faith activates Gods power for the miraculous, but Obedience unleashes its tangible
expression to the beneficiary. For the blessings of God to have noticeable manifestation in
your life, you must release it by your action of obedience. You engage the power of God to
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work in you and for you with obedience. Faith can be likened to the ignition of a car, but it
cannot move forward until you engage the gear system and accelerate. Obedience is that
gear system of your destiny, the faster you want to move the higher you engage the gear of
obedience and accelerate your actions.
The components of Gods instructions must not be necessarily understood before you obey.
In fact Gods orders are not meant for human analysis.
Yes, I mean every bit of my sentence. YOU ARE NOT TO ANALYSE GODS INSTRUCTIONS.
Obedience is what is expected of you and nothing more.
How would you have analysed the five loafs of bread to feed five thousand people, even if
you possess a Harvard Masters degree in logistics. Ok, lets assume you have a Doctorate
degree in fishery such as Peter, with all the dynamics and fishing techniques you have
employed all night in futility, and you now receive an instruction from a carpenter to cast back
your nets in the same water on which you had toiled all night, how responsive would you be
to such instruction.
But Peter did obey, not because he understood the instruction, but he obeyed because Jesus
commanded it
Faith activates Gods power for the

miraculous, but Obedience
unleashes its tangible expression to
the beneficiary
.Master, we have toiled all the night and have

taken nothing. Yet at Your word I will let down the
net Luke 5:5
The revelation of God and His word is a progressive
enterprise, so our understanding of Him progresses
as we walk with Him in consistent obedience
Whatever He says to you, do it

At the wedding in Cana, something happened, the wine got finished and Mary the mother of
Jesus simply went to Jesus and said they have no wine. But Mary just handed the servants a
key and left them with it.
She said Whatever He says to you, do it. Luke 2:5.
What a stunning statement!
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Did she know ahead of time that Jesus was going to say something?
But somehow it seems from her experience of walking with God, Mary had come to
understand that when you are expecting Gods miracle; watch out for His word and obey it.
Listen carefully to His word; hear what He says, then do it swiftly. As if Mary had told the
servants that: if you might just obey Him and do
all He asks you to do, then you will have the
Obedience is very vital and
miracle.
indispensible for your miracle and
I perceive the Lord will deal with you today in the
same manner.
blessing.
Are you ready and alert to listen carefully to His instructions?

Are you prepared to do what he would ask you to do to experience that miracle?
Then the matter is finished.
Eventually the miracle came because the servants obeyed Mary and had prepared ahead of
time to do whatever Jesus told them. No wonder the Prophet Isaiah exclaimed:
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; Isaiah 1:19
So obedience is very vital and indispensable for your miracle and blessing.
Throughout the Old Testament, Gods promises required that we hearken diligently and
observe to obey the commandment of the Lord.
You cannot just get-by without obedience. You must obey the Lord to partake of the blessing
and experience the miraculous.
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Reality Check
Points to Note: obedience is as important as faith.
Why is Obedience as vital as Faith?
Verse to Memorize: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
Isaiah 1:19
Personality Check: In what way has disobedience been hindering your faith?
What are the steps you need to take in obedience to Gods instructions to you.
Prayer: Lord, help me to obey Your word and act on it swiftly because that is the life am
called to live.

Helpline: +234 809 3333 224
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CHAPTER THREE
Obedience: A Lifestyle
It is through Him that we have received grace (God's unmerited favour) and [our]
apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name's sake
among all the nations
Roman 1:5
The Bible describes the entirety of the Christian life as OBEDIENCE. One sufficient word that
completely characterizes your entire life and experience as a believer is Obedience. It is not
just for the purpose of blessings and miracles alone you need to obey God. It is the life you
are called to live, and the life you have also been commissioned by grace to call others to live
as a believer.
The only way you demonstrate that you KNOW and LOVE God is by obeying and keeping His
instructions and commandments.
There is no other standard of life

you are expected to live through the
scriptures other than the Life Jesus
Christ lived Himself
The proof that we love God comes when we keep

his commandments and they are not at all
troublesome.1 John 5:3.
There is no other standard of life you are expected

to live through the scriptures other than the Life
Jesus Christ lived Himself. You cannot claim you have fellowship with God if you live in
disobedience to His will, principles, and ordinances.
Whoever says, I know Him [I perceive, recognize, understand, and am acquainted with Him]
but fails to keep and obey His commandments (teachings) is a liar, and the Truth [of the
Gospel] is not in him.
But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His
message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed,
reached maturity).
By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him: Whoever says he
abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in
which He walked and conducted Himself. 1 John 2: 4-6
Cultivating the Lifestyle

You grow deeper in the walk of obedience when you make it more than just a heartless
routine into a real demonstration of your love for God.
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To cultivate an obedient lifestyle, you need to first come to the realization that you are not
your own master, and that you are accountable to your saviour and Lord.
Since you confessed Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life by obeying the gospel, then you
should allow the consciousness of what you believe and profess to regulate your lifestyle. So
we then conclude that, if your lifestyle - whether in public or private, at home or at work, in
the market or business, in school or office - contradicts the gospel, you are not being obedient
to the faith.
By contrast, we can conclude with Apostle Paul in Roman 10:16 as an indirect reference to
the Jews who have not obeyed the gospel that anyone who is not obedient to the faith is an
unbeliever. That is to say, anyone who is not living in conformity to what his profession of
Faith in God and Christ necessitates, is living in disloyalty and disobedience to God, and
therefore he is an unbeliever.
The word of God calls unbelievers children of
disobedience, and likewise every professing
believer who has not considered it worthy to
cultivate a lifestyle of obedience in Christ.
You grow deeper in the walk of

obedience when you make it more
than just a heartless routine into a
real demonstration of your love for
God.
In which at one time you walked [habitually]. You

were following the course and fashion of this
world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the
power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still
constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the
unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God].Ephesians 2:2
Brothers and Sisters, you are the one responsible to cultivate this lifestyle. Neither angels, nor
spirits will do it for you. The grace of God was made available to you the very day you
confessed Jesus your Lord and Saviour; the Holy Spirit was given to you to empower your will
along this cause of action.
Knowing the power you carry on the inside to lead an obedient life, God admonishes you
saying:
For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of
Light [lead the lives of those native-born to the Light].Ephesians5:8
You need to walk as a child of light that you are. You need to look at those sins and traits of
disobedience in your life and take decisive actions against them. You need to deal with them
squarely and fast as you will deal with a burning fire on your garment. Stop giving them names
such as: my personal weakness, shortfalls and the likes. They are nothing but elements
that invite Gods wrath and furnish footholds for the devil in your life. God has handed you
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the power of grace to put them to death and destroy them completely by the action of your
Will.
Therefore, put to death whatever is worldly in you: your sexual sin, perversion, passion, lust,
and greed (which are the same thing as worshiping wealth). It is because of these sins that
God's anger comes on those who refuse to obey him. You used to live that kind of sinful life.
Also get rid of your anger, hot tempers, hatred, cursing, obscene language, and all similar
sins. Don't lie to each other. You've gotten rid of the person you used to be and the life you
used to live and you've become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in
knowledge to be like its Creator. Colossian 3:5-10
These elements of moral decadence are not yours to live with any longer.
You must put them to death.
Make up your mind, take actions against them prayer-fully and fasting-fully one after the
other, set for yourselves boundaries you cannot cross, look for a trusted, tested, and
dependable brother or sister in the Lord that can partner with you and support you all the
way, quit associations and resign from gatherings or clubs that can draw you backwards, join
fellowships and spiritual gathering that will aid your spiritual growth.
These elements of moral

decadence are not yours to live
with any longer.
In doing these things, you will be pleasing the Lord,

and be able to lead and live a life of obedience.
It is through Him that we have received grace (God's

unmerited favour) and [our] apostleship to promote
obedience to the faith and make disciples for His
name's sake among all the nations Romans 1:5
Empowered to Promote Obedience

The word of God says you have received two things: GRACE and APOSTLESHIP.
Everything that grace encompasses includes your salvation, gifts and baptism of the Holy
Spirit, capacity to bear fruits of the Spirit, and the ability to love and worship God in Truth and
in Spirit.
Likewise, you also received apostleship by which you are given power and authority for
effective witnessing.
By these endowments of grace and apostleship, you are not just saved and blessed to ensure
your own obedience, but also you are empowered to promote obedience to the faith you
profess by making disciples for Christ.
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As an apostle of Christ, you are responsible for promoting the gospel of Christ by your words
and actions in your sphere of influence; in your home, family, workplace, neighbourhood,
community, and society.
Do not forget that your effectiveness in promoting obedience amongst people is directly a
product of your own walk of obedience. You cannot offer what you do not possess. A tree can
only produce and multiply fruits after its kind, so also you can only produce your kind. If you
walk the walk of obedience, you will effectively work the work of obedience in peoples lives;
glorifying God
With that, brothers and sisters, I must close this chapter.
Strive for perfection; make sure that you improve. Accept my encouragement. Share the
same attitude and live in peace.
May the God of love and peace be with you. Amen.
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Reality Check
Points to Note: Obedience is a lifestyle not a routine.
List other points you can get from this chapter.
Verse to Memorize: for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light Ephesians 5:8
Personality Check: What are those sins and traits of disobedience in my life?
List decisive actions you will take against sins and traits of disobedience prayer-fully
and fasting-fully in your life
Prayer: Lord, let my spiritual growth be made evident in every areas of my life, amen.

Helpline: +234 809 3333 224
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PART 2
The School of Obedience

Gleaning of truth, practice of faith , training in righteousness,
Growing in grace, and increasing in favour with God.
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INTRODUCTION
Lessons from the School of Obedience

Essentially we are going to focus and learn practical important lessons from this part of the
book. The school of obedience is a school where every believer is enrolled. By the reason of
the newness of life you have received by faith in Christ Jesus, you are automatically a student
of obedience.
Hence, there are several lessons you have to learn. These lessons will be drawn from the book
of 1 Samuel 15: 1 35. By the help of the Holy Spirit, we will be illustrating TEN KEY practical
and solemn lessons on obedience through the life of King Saul.
I choose to provide a compressed version of the text from the Amplified version of the Bible,
so that we may grasp the context of King Sauls encounter with God through Prophet Samuel,
and then we will begin to draw out the lessons one after the other.
My prayer is that the Holy Spirit Himself will minister to your through this section of the book.
SAMUEL TOLD Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now listen
and heed the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, I have considered and will
punish what Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way when [Israel]
came out of Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all they have; do not
spare them, but kill man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
So Saul assembled the men and numbered them at Telaim--200,000 men on foot and 10,000
men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek and laid wait in the valley. Saul smote
the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.
And he took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, though he utterly destroyed all the rest of the
people with the sword. Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, oxen,
fatlings, lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but all that was
undesirable or worthless they destroyed utterly.
Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, I regret making Saul king, for he has
turned back from following Me and has not performed My commands. And Samuel was
grieved and angry [with Saul], and he cried to the Lord all night. And Samuel came to Saul,
and Saul said to him, blessed are you of the Lord. I have performed what the Lord ordered.
And Samuel said, what then means this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of
the oxen which I hear?
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Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the
sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but the rest we have utterly destroyed.
Then Samuel said to Saul, Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me tonight. Saul said to
him, Say on. Samuel said, Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but swooped
down upon the plunder and did evil in the Lord's sight?
Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and have gone the way which
the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag king of Amalek and have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites. But the people took from the spoil sheep and oxen, the chief of the things to be
utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.
Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a 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. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim
(household good luck images). Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has
rejected you from being king. And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed
the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their
voice. Now, I pray you, pardon my sin and go back with me, that I may worship the Lord.
And Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the
Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned to go
away, Saul seized the skirt of Samuel's mantle, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, The Lord
has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbour of yours
who is better than you. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie or repent; for He is not a
man that He should repent.
Saul said, I have sinned; yet honour me now, I pray you, before the elders of my people and
before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God. So Samuel turned
back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
Then Samuel said, Bring here to me Agag king of the Amalekites. And Agag came to him
cheerfully. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. Samuel said, As your sword
has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. And Samuel
hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went
up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.
And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death, though Samuel grieved over
Saul. And the Lord repented that He had made Saul king over Israel.
1 Samuel 15: 1 - 35
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CHAPTER ONE
Partial Obedience is Equal to

Disobedience.
Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. And
he took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, though he utterly destroyed all the rest of
the people with the sword. 1 Samuel 15:7-8.
My heart bled for King Saul while I pondered upon His achievements and great efforts. This
man indeed risked his life in the battle against the Amalekites; he fought them from one end
of the land to the other. We can conclude that he risked his life for the Lords cause. He left
the comfort of his palace, his wife, his home, his family and friends in the quest to obey God.
He assembled the men and numbered them at Telaim--200,000 men on foot and 10,000 men
of Judah. He did all in his capacity to prepare hard and well in obeying God. By human scale
and standards, King Saul would have scored a credit if not an excellent grade for his efforts.
For indeed he utterly destroyed all the rest of the
people with the sword
.....unfortunately God does not
For as the heavens are higher than the
measure by human scale. His ways
earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and
are far higher than mans ways.
My thoughts than your thoughts. Isa 55:9
I felt a deep sorrow in my heart for King Saul
because unfortunately God does not measure by human scale. His ways are far higher than
mans ways.
King Saul obeyed the Lord partially.
But the people took of the things to be utterly destroyed (V 22).
What ought to be utterly destroyed, Saul spared and consequently God charged and judged
him for disobedience. Man could be emotional about Sauls partial obedience considering
how far and how much he risked his life in this battle, and at least partially accepted his
amount of obedience. But not so with God, his sacrifice of obedience was totally rejected. As
far as God was concerned, he disobeyed.
A very solemn lesson to learn!
What is your attitude towards obeying Gods instruction?
Do you think you can continue to disobey the spirit of God and get away with it? God forbid!
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Do you place a high premium on absolute and total obedience in your life?
For God, it is not how far or how much you do for Him that matters; it is how well you do
what you have to do.
Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and
driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name? And then I will
say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly
[disregarding My commands] Mathew 7:22-23
God expects complete and total obedience from every believer, such as he expected from
King Saul. His standard of Judgement today is not by any means less than what it was in the
days of Saul, and to whom much is given, more will be demanded.
Today, God has given you a room called mercy and a priviledge called grace, what will you
make of them?
Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy of
punishment, the one who has trampled the Son of God, and who has counted the
blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted
the Spirit of grace? Hebrew 10:29
....God has given you a room called
mercy and a priviledge called grace,
what will you make of them?
What is the quality of your obedience to God?

Do you seek the Glory of God or your own glory?
How easily do your rationalise and compromise

godly principles to satisfy and fulfil your personal ambitions?
God is particular about how you obey him; in your service to him, in your walk with him, and
even in your sacrifices. You cannot serve God the way you like or worship Him the way that
suits your style. You either serve or worship God His way or never worship or serve him at all.
Are you so regular in church, and perhaps you are a minister, a worker, or even a church staff?
Oh, Praise God for that! Glorious!
But for what exactly do you seek God and how is the state of your heart before God?
Do you have a genuine love for God and a sincere desire to obey him?
Is it because of what you want to get from God such as: a good job, houses, cars, wife,
husband, and the head of your enemies, that you are seeking God just like Saul? If so, it is just
a matter of time, your true motive will be tested and exposed.
Be sincere dear friend, scrutinize your heart and expose every impure motive that soils your
sacrifice of obedience to God.
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My sincere prayer is that your efforts, sacrifices, and labours in your Christian walk will not be
fruitless.
Partial obedience is disobedience to God.
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Reality Check
Points to Note: Partial obedience is disobedience by Gods standard.
List other points from this chapter.
Verse to Memorize: Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought
worthy of punishment, the one who has trampled the Son of God, and who has counted the
blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the
Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:29
Personality Check: scrutinize your heart, is your sacrifice of obedience to God absolute or
partial?
List areas where impure motives have soiled your sacrifice of obedience to God.
Prayer: Lord, I confess my disobedience today and repent of them, amen.

Helpline: +234 809 3333 224
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CHAPTER TWO
When Gods words are clear and

specific, your own personal ideas do
not count
Now go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all they have; do not spare them, but kill man
and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
1 Samuel 15:3
Beloved, when God gives instructions, He means what He says and says what He means.
With absolute clarity and distinctive instruction God sent Saul on this mission:
...go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy
There was no ambiguity in the instruction; as a matter of fact the detail of the instruction
included how critical a precise execution of the mission was to God
Beloved, when God gives

instructions, He means what He
says and says what He means
Thus says the Lord of hosts, I have considered and

will punish what Amalek did to Israel, how he set
himself against him in the way when [Israel] came
out of Egypt (v2).
So the question of whether Saul understood in clear

terms the detail of the mission or not is not the issue.
The issue is that Saul became presumptuous and got obsessed by his own idea.
For Saul, certain things were too good for destruction. Here we find Saul bringing in his own
personal ideas:
Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, lambs, and all
that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but all that was undesirable or
worthless they destroyed utterly. (v 9).
I imagine Saul and his members presumptuously saying; Oh, God is good and his mercy
endures forever!
Some strong lessons we must learn here are these:
1.
Always use the word of God and the instructions you received from God to judge,
evaluate and interpret your ideas and inspirations.
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2.
NEVER use your ideas and inspiration to interpret or analyse the word of God or His
instructions.
3.
Do not filter the word of God through the veil of your presuppositions, prejudice, or
imaginations -It's delusional
4.
Always allow the word of God to be the judge of every attitude of your heart.
Your ideas and experiences are subjective; they can never be sufficient as a guidepost to
pleasing the Lord. Therefore, always subject your experiences or ideas, no matter how strong,
real, and ideal, to the light of the undiluted Word of God. NEVER use your experience to
interpret the Word.
It is easy to analyse and use Saul as a case study here, but how many times have you been
guilty of this error as well. May God show you mercy!
What is it that God has told you to do away with, but you still consider precious? Is it a
relationship? Is it a business? Or even a property?
Which area of your life or your walk with God has
He been pointing your attention to for such a long
time and nothing has been done about it till now?
Perhaps, you are in the same thought frame with
Saul, thinking that God would tolerate
disobedience as far as some things are concerned.
...always subject your experiences

or ideas, no matter how strong,
real, and ideal, to the light of the
undiluted Word of God.
But remember this:

God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. Has He
said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?
Numbers 23:19
As I am being inspired to write these things, I myself shudder at the standard of Gods demand
of obedience, and I can hear the echo of my very thought saying:
Oh Lord, have mercy on me
Are these not too strict and legalistic rules in a dispensation of grace? I pondered.
But the Spirit of the Lord answered me saying:
My grace is sufficient; the people of the old covenant did not have the power to will and to
do according to My good pleasure. But now that the power of grace is at work from the
inside of my people, they must awaken to this consciousness, and live as they ought to.
Here is the bottom line, when Gods words are clear and specific your own personal ideas,
peoples opinion or views do not count.
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Reality Check
Points to Note: Always use the word of God and the instructions you received from God to
judge, evaluate and interpret your ideas and inspirations.
List further lessons youve learnt from this chapter.
Verse to Memorize: God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He
should repent. Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make
it good? Numbers 23:19
Personality Check: In what ways have you been substituting Gods instruction with your
own ideas?
List those things God wants you to do away with and the decisive steps youll take in
obedience.
Prayer: Lord, help me to always allow Your word be the judge of every attitude of my heart.
Amen.

Helpline: +234 809 3333 224
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CHAPTER THREE
Your good intentions can be contrary

to Gods will
But the people took from the spoil sheep and oxen, the chief of the things to be utterly
destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.
Samuel said, has the Lord as great a 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. 1 Samuel 15: 21-22
As we further our insight into gleaning some vital lessons of obedience through King Sauls
encounter with God, it is important you know at this point that your good intentions can be
evil and contradictory to Gods will.
Good intention is not what pleases God but righteousness; doing what is right in his sight, as
well as obeying Him to the letter.
You can become evil in your actions towards God and yet be innocent with pure intentions in
your own eyes. You cannot flaunt wickedness against Gods principles, will, and ordinances
and not be guilty of evil doing.
Good intention is not what pleases
God but righteousness; doing what
is right in his sight, as well as
obeying Him to the letter.
Innocence, sincerity, and naivety are good, but not

enough to please God. But an understanding of his
will and action of total obedience wins the Lords
approval.
Do you know that King Saul had some good

intentions for sparing some of the things he brought in from Amalek?
They have brought them to sacrifice to the Lord your God (v 15).
Look, when obedience to God matters, the good intention you use to panel beat Gods
instructions do not count, rather such actions are EVIL.
Please pray with me now: Oh Lord, deliver me from Evil
Evil is anything that is not in conformity with established divine standards, principles,
precepts, and ordinance. Likewise, Wickedness is every evil disposition, action, or practice;
actions portraying a departure from the rules of the divine law, instruction or principle.
35 | P a g e
What are those actions of yours that do not conform to Gods standard?
You may be innocent about them; perhaps you consider them good for you or good for God.
Have you ever pondered if your appearance as a lady impresses God or arouses men? It might
be common and approved around, and in fact you may be comfortable in it, but is it bringing
glory to God as His child?
What are your ideologies about total separation from the world; its music, fashion, and
glamour, do you not still sing and dance, look, and seek the excitements of this world than
you do of God?
Young man! Do you care about how you live your life?
Or as far you are able to give big and fat to support Gods work and attend church services;
do you think the rest doesnt matter?
Pause and think; the way you do business, your operations in the office, and what about the
club, the beer and the girls?
Are you sure of your obedience to God in those
areas?
Man of God! Is what you are doing in your church
or with the mandate conforms to the principles of
God who called you?
Evil is anything that is not in

conformity with established divine
standards, principles, precepts, and
ordinance
What you have allowed to go on as practice among

the flock of God in your care, the way you raise money for the Lords work, and many of your
doctrines, are you sure the Lord approves?
Have you ever bothered to look into the scriptures and seek Gods face for the pattern after
which you should build the work? Or have you rather not been looking at men, building with
human philosophies, and after pattern of this world?
I would that you pray this prayer in understanding with me right now:
Oh Lord, open my eyes to every innocent evil in me, and expose all innocent acts of
wickedness so that I can walk with you more acceptably
No matter how pure a motive is, God has never accepted it as a substitute for obeying his
ordinances and principles.
Every manifestation of godly zeal and good intention without an understanding of Gods will
throughout the scripture has always resulted in casualties.
Let us draw a parallel lesson from King David, Uzzah, and the ark of the Lord:
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And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord with all their might, with songs,
lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.
And when they came to Nacon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God
and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled and shook it.
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for touching
the ark, and he died there by the ark of God.
David was grieved and offended because the Lord had broken forth upon Uzzah, and that
place is called Perez-uzzah [the breaking forth upon Uzzah] to this day.
David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, How can the ark of the Lord come to me? 2
Samuel 6:5-9
David was a man that burned with sincere zeal for God, and he demonstrated and maintained
a good heart before God all his life. In his zeal for God, he desired to grant the ark of the Lord
a resting place, and loved to honour God by carrying the ark with something befitting,
contemporary, and ideal to him. As a result:
They set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab in
Gibeah. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.2 Samuel 6:3,
God has His prescribed way of doing

things, so men ought to inquire of
him and ensure obedience is
achieved.
Innocently against God long lasting instruction:

And you shall put the poles into the rings by the
sides of the ark, so that the ark may be carried
with them. Exodus 25:14.
Davids innocence, sincerity, and naivety were not

enough to stop the outbreak of the Lords wrath; for God judges evil with vehement anger
and wrath wherever and in whomever he finds it.
David got upset and perhaps wondered why God would not accept contemporary technique
and modern day strategy in carrying the ark.
God made something clear to David, and he learnt a vital lesson from this experience that he
NEVER again compromised in his entire life, and the lesson is this: God has His prescribed
way of doing things, so men ought to inquire of him and ensure obedience is achieved.
For because you bore it not [as God directed] at the first, the Lord our God broke forth upon
us--because we did not seek Him in the way He ordained. 1 Chronicles 15:13
God exploded in anger against David because he did not make proper preparation and follow
instructions, and not because his intention was not good. He failed to seek the right way, the
proper method, and chose to do as he saw fit.
God cannot be impressed with new systems in as much as He has not established it. Today
we have produced many new carts through which we approach God, and in which we are
37 | P a g e
driving His work. Thus far, it is the mercy and grace of God that has kept us away from His
imminent wrath.
Dear friend, after David learnt this lesson the bitter way he wrote:
I watch for your ancient landmark words, and know I'm on the right track. Psalm 119:52
Today, will you seek the Lord as David did in contrition and genuinely inquire of the Lord how
to follow, walk, and serve the way He ordained and prescribed?
Remember dear friend, your motive may be pure and your intention may be sincere, but your
action can contradict Gods will and be evil before His sight.
Has the Lord as great a 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. 1
Samuel 15: 22
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Reality Check
Points to Note: Good intention is not what pleases God but righteousness and total
obedience.
List further points youve discovered in this chapter.
Verse to Memorize: For because you bore it not [as God directed] at the first, the Lord our
God broke forth upon us--because we did not seek Him in the way He ordained.
1 Chronicles 15:13
Personality Check: What are those actions of yours that do not conform to Gods
standard?
List practical steps you will take in order to repent of them.
Prayer: Oh Lord, open my eyes to every innocent evil in me, and expose all innocent acts of
wickedness so that I can walk with You acceptably.

Helpline: +234 809 3333 224
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CHAPTER FOUR
Winning an Argument before men does

not justify you before God.
Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and have gone the way which
the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag king of Amalek and have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites.
But the people took from the spoil sheep and oxen, the chief of the things to be utterly
destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.
1 Samuel 15; 20-21
Can you see that as Samuel confronted Saul, Saul concentrated on trying to justify himself
before Samuel. He was more concerned about Samuel than he was about God himself. Even
if Samuel justified Saul, would God justify him? No!
As a matter of fact, at some point in time having done something wrong, have you not many
times put on an outlook to justify yourself before men? You bring forth arguments and clever
defence to look nice and clean before men, regardless of how you look before God.
All the arguments Saul was bringing forth was:
to sacrifice to the Lord your God(v 15, 21).
But God was not impressed. God can never be
impressed with human arguments; however
clever.
God can never be impressed with

human arguments; however clever.
Does it matter to you if people get born again or not, so far God is blessing you, your enemies
are dying, your family is doing well, and you are paying your tithe regularly, Gods burden and
concern about the sinner is not your business?
Dear friend, since when has God been calling you into ministry, and who does what you need
to do in ministry is not your concern?
Does it matter how you make your money, so far you give a fat offering to God and bless the
Pastor with special seeds, how God feels about it is history?
Does it matter the technique you use to gather the crowd, in as much as they are gathered in
the Lords name and you are helping God grow his church, what God wants is inappropriate?
40 | P a g e
How many times has God confronted you with these issues and many more through the
witness of His Spirit upon your conscience? But with your intelligent and clever arguments,
you have eventually quenched the voice of the Holy Spirit.
To God all such arguments are ungodly and unrighteous, and for that reason he judged Saul
condemned.
For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because the thing which may be known
of God is clearly revealed within them, for God revealed it to them Romans 1:18-19
Beloved, what God has given you is a long rope, and it is dangerous to continue in pretence
to God and even before men.
How many times have you deceived a brother or a sister into believing that you are what you
are not? You know how well to speak the church language, but you know how deceptive you
are. How many of what you do in secret are kept hidden, even from your pastor and
members?
If you do not bother to acknowledge

God through your obedience, God
will quit bothering you and let you
run loose
The effect of this position could be eternally

consequential and devastating.
And even as they did not think fit to have God in

their knowledge, God gave them over to a
reprobate mind, to do the things not right...;who,
knowing the righteous order of God, that those practicing such things are worthy of death,
not only do them, but have pleasure in those practicing them. Romans 1: 28:32
What God is saying from the scripture above is simple. If you do not bother to acknowledge
God through your obedience, God will quit bothering you and let you run loose. God forbid!
I beseech you therefore, in view of Gods mercy, think deeply about this matter and settle
with God now.
Winning an Argument before men and even within you will not justify you before God.
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Reality Check
Points to Note: Winning an argument before men and even within you will not justify you
before God.
List other points youve noted in this chapter.
Verse to Memorize: And even as they did not think fit to have God in their knowledge, God
gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do the things not right, Romans 1:28
Personality Check: Have I been listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit?
List areas were you have quenched the voice of the Holy Spirit through your
arguments and ask for forgiveness.
Prayer: Father, in every way I have not acknowledged You through my obedience,
Forgive me Lord. Amen.

Helpline: +234 809 3333 224
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CHAPTER FIVE
You can never find a good enough

reason to disobey God
Samuel said, has the Lord as great a 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.1 Samuel
15:22
When God has spoken, what reason or excuse do you have or want to give that He did not
know about ahead of time?
When He told Saul to UTTERLY destroy the
Amalekite and all they have, did He not know
some oxen were fat? Did he not know that He
Himself ought to be worshiped?
It is a bitter pill to swallow that you

can never find a good enough
reason to displease the Lord
See! No excuse or reason is good enough to

disobey God.
Many times we console ourselves and say: I will disobey God on this matter, He must
understand, the situation is beyond me, the circumstance has overtaken me, I am not the
only one involved, even pastors are doing it, my case cannot be different among the
multitude, I am not the one who murdered Jesus, I was led to do that, and so many of such
rash and presumptuous conclusions.
But friend, it is a bitter pill to swallow that you can never find a good enough reason to
displease the Lord.
Samuel said to Saul: will the Lord delight in your good reasons and excuses as much as He
delights in your obedience to him?
Noah was a just and righteous man, blameless in his [evil] generation; Noah walked [in
habitual fellowship] with God. Genesis 6:9
I chose to make a note of reference to Noah, I marvelled at the account of this man.
He had every reason in this world not to obey God. There was no example of godliness around
him, no preacher of righteousness to admonish him, no moral support whatsoever to
encourage him, no laws or rules to live by, and no congregation to fellowship with.
He lived in the midst of opposition, oppression, humiliation, and absolute evil. The wickedness
around him was so thick and gloomy to the point of Divine concern and regret. And in the
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midst of all that, God gave him strange instructions; to do things that have never happened
or with any precedence.
Yet Noah, despite all the odds obeyed God to the letter.
But you, despite all that the grace through Christ Jesus has made available, and with all the
works of the Holy Spirit within you, you still justify you stubbornness and disobedience with
flimsy excuses.
Put the power of grace to work in

your life; make it effective by being
resolute and determined to glorify
God with your actions and
behaviour.
I charge you today; do not take the grace of God

for granted. Rather put the power of grace to work
in your life; make it effective by being resolute and
determined to glorify God with your actions and
behaviour.
Make up your mind to please God with your life,

and put aside everything that can weaken your determination: habits, friends, materials,
events, and all parasitic sins.
Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that
is set before us, looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that
was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the
throne of God. Hebrew 12:1-2
With this great cloud of witnesses among which are: Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David,
Paul, Peter, and all the believers who have gone ahead of you, it will be impossible to find
genuine and honest reasons to continue living in disobedience to God.
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Reality Check
Points to Note: No reason is good enough to disobey God.
List other lessons you learnt from this chapter.
Verse to Memorize: Samuel said, has the Lord as great a 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.1 Samuel 15:22
Personality Check: what reasons have made you disobey God in the past?
List those things weakening your determination to please God and how you can
overcome them.
Prayer: Lord, deliver me from the lust of my heart so that my obedience can be absolute.
Amen.

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CHAPTER SIX
God is merciful but He still holds you

accountable
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he also will reap.
Galatians 6:7
This chapter is sensitive. I want you to be calm, careful, and understand clearly.
It is undisputable; God is merciful.
Gods estimate is the fact that He makes us responsible for our actions and makes us
accountable for them. Gods mercy does not mean he will not hold you accountable for your
actions and behaviours.
Gods mercy and readiness to
Some people often deliberately disobey God and
forgive does not exclude an
think some days of prayer and fasting, with a
individual from facing the
countenance of remorse will undo or avert the
consequences or result of his
consequence of their disobedience.
actions.
God is faithful and Just to forgive all sins, but what
those people often overlook is the fact that, Gods love necessitates Him to allow you feel the
pain of chastening and discipline. In other words, God by His mercy forgives, but by His love
punishes and holds you accountable.
As much as I have worked with God, I have come to a realisation through hard learned and
painful experiences that Gods mercy and readiness to forgive does not exclude an individual
from facing the consequences or result of his actions.
Yes, it is true that: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9.
God is faithful, but He still holds you accountable for your actions. He will not deny His word.
He is always ready to forgive and blot out your sins, and will also cleanse you from every stain
of unrighteousness. God is Faithful to forgive, but Just not to overlook disobedience which is
unrighteousness.
You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God, Your God, has anointed
you with the oil of gladness above Your fellows." Hebrew 1:9
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You need to understand the nature of love to realize that

true love is not administered by emotions but guided by
principles. Likewise, mercy is not overlooking the wrong
committed, but a response of judgement founded on
understanding.
...true love is not

administered by emotions
but guided by principles
Therefore, it is impossible to mock God with disobedience and think you can display some
emotions, having contravened the principles of Love, and not reap the consequences of your
actions. Not so!
The process of cleansing which is often experiential conveys Gods Justice. This process entails
chastening, rebuke, and trainings in righteousness. It is often painful and unpleasant to those
who are willing to subject themselves to it.
Therefore be humbled under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time,
I pet 5:6.
It is an act of love and just for a father to discipline his child, so also God demonstrates His
love to his children by demanding accountability for their actions, and through the cleansing
process of discipline and hardness, He purges them from unrighteousness.
For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even
scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.
You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with
sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?
Hebrew 12:6-7
Cleansing is not what is done without involving the person being cleansed, such as cleaning
up a wound, washing off a blemish, cleaning a shit. The person involved must of necessity
experience this process however unpleasant, shameful, and
painful. So also when God cleanses, He does not exclude us
The wound of disobedience
from its experience, but His love only makes grace sufficient
and sin may be cured by the
for us to bear its agonies.
mercy of God, but its scar
may remain.
For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems
grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable
fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it
[a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness--in conformity to God's will in purpose,
thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God]. Hebrew 12:11
As a believer, you must realise that, the wound of disobedience and sin may be cured by the
mercy of God, but its scar may remain.
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For instance, a child of God that indulged in fornication and gets pregnant outside wedlock;
God will forgive her of fornication, but she must be responsible for the baby. Or a believer
that got involved in fraud and is sentenced to prison for his crime; God will forgive him of his
sin, but he may have to go to jail and manage the societal stigma of an ex-convict.
Friend, you can minimize the pains of discipline, grieves of foolishness, and the agonies of
chastisement by living a life of obedience.
God is merciful but He will hold you accountable.
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Reality Check
Points to Note: Gods mercy does not mean he will not hold you accountable for your actions
and behaviours.
List other new things youve learnt.
Verse to Memorize: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that
he also will reap. Galatians 6:7
Personality Check: how can you minimize the pains of discipline, grieves of foolishness and
the agonies of chastisement by living a life of obedience?
List what youve always believed about Gods mercy and check if its true according to
Gods word.
Prayer: Lord help me to always remember that You love me especially during times of
chastisement.

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CHAPTER SEVEN
Your obedience will be tested

Until the word of the Lord tried and tested him. Psalm 105:19
No man receives Gods approval until he has been tried and tested by the word and the
instruction of the Lord.
Excuse me, if you have not paid attention to any of the lessons, please pay attention at this
point.
God will test your obedience.
One of the things that are so marvellous to consider in the scripture is the fact that God just
likes to test peoples obedience. This He does to reveal the state of Mans heart. He wants to
expose the hidden intents of our hearts. He will give you His
word and then give you time to prove it.
God will test your
obedience.
God tested and proved Abraham several times.
By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. And he
who had received the promises offered up his only-begotten son, Hebrew11:17.
Jesus Christ also was not spared.
THEN JESUS was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted
(tested and tried) by the devil. Mathew 4:1.
It is clear from the scriptures that before God approves any man or use him greatly, He puts
such a man through several and rigorous testing. And most times the person being tested
does not know he is going through a test. The test of obedience comes along, and entwines
with normal lifes encounters.
He can use different ways to test your obedience. It was just the delay of Samuels coming
that God first used to test Sauls obedience. Little did Saul realise that Samuels delay was a
test of his obedience and approval for an enduring kingship and reign over Israel.
And just as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came! Saul went out to
meet and greet him. Samuel said, What have you done? Saul said, Because I saw that the
people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and
that the Philistines were assembled at Michmash, I thought, The Philistines will come down
now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord. So I forced myself to
offer a burnt offering.
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And Samuel said to Saul, You have done foolishly! You have not kept the commandment of
the Lord your God which He commanded you; for the Lord would have established your
kingdom over Israel forever; But now your kingdom shall not continue; the Lord has sought
out a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince and ruler over
His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you. 1 Samuel 13:10-14
Another opportunity was presented Saul to prove his obedience to God but he blew it again.
With benefit of hindsight from Sauls confession because I feared the people and obeyed
their voice1 Samuel 15:24, I came to understand that it was possible that the people just
gathered, sat him down, and advised Saul saying:
See this commandment the Lord gave you is too harsh and hard. How can you see beautiful
and good things like these and want to destroy them. Spare them! Spare them!! As a matter
of fact, part of them we will use in sacrificing to the Lord
The test of your obedience
will reveal who you really
are at heart.
But unknown to Saul, even all the things the men were
saying was a test of his obedience. It is as if to say, look if
you truly determine to serve God, when you face a little
opposition, would you still stand or melt?
I want to say it again; your own obedience will be tested.

Then it will be revealed what kind of person you really are. Whether you truly want to do the
Lords will or a little discouragement and slight opposition will make you agree with what is
in your heart.
Dear friend, the test of your obedience will reveal who you really are at heart.
I will conclude this chapter with a song and prayer I learnt some years back. I sing it each time
I perceive my heart is getting sick and cold towards God.
Keep my heart, steadfast before you Lord

Eager to hear your voice, and follow
Keep my heart, yearning to know you more
Able to hear your word, and obey
Keep my heart, following in your direction Lord

Keep my heart, Holy and light
So innocent and undefiled
King of Love, Lord most high
So beautiful and bright
Morning star, Keep my heart
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Reality Check
Points to Note: The test of obedience says a lot about who you are.
Explain what you understand by your obedience will be tested.
Verse to Memorize: By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had
received the promises offered up his only-begotten son, Hebrew11:17.
Personality Check: What is your reaction when you face oppositions? Do you
stand or melt?
Explain your reaction to a particular opposition you found really challenging.
Prayer: Lord, keep my heart seeking after You at all times and in every way. Amen.

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CHAPTER EIGHT
Your obedience is the key to walking in

Gods favour continually
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being
king.1 Samuel 15:23
If you are going to remain in favour with God, obedience is the key.
You must keep obeying God. God rejected Saul because he rejected the word of the Lord
through acts of disobedience.
Samuel in a way told Saul:
Since you have not maintained your status of favour with God by rejecting His word, you
can no longer continue in this position of favour with God as king over His people. Therefore,
you have been replaced as king.
What a sad note! He eventually became a dummy
king. The anointing of the king left him and rested
on David.
To remain in favour with God,

obedience is the key.
An anointed king immediately became a tormented king:

But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented and
troubled him. 1Samuel 16:14

It is a terrible and miserable experience losing the key to the Lords favour.
I pray that you will not lose your key of favour, in Jesus Name.
I shed tears considering the account of the later days of King Saul. He became so spiritually
destitute, miserable, and desperate. He hungered and craved for divine presence but was not
at his reach any longer.
When Saul inquired of the Lord, He refused to answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or
by the prophets. 1 Samuel 28:6
He even fasted, sorted, and became weary in finding the Lords favour but it became too late
for him
And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all day nor all night1 Samuel
28:30.
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I pray that it will not become too late before you realise how keen God takes this matter of
obedience.
Disobedience turns the Lord from you and makes you an enemy of God. God becomes an
enemy to whoever is not in favour with him. God became an enemy to Saul because of
Disobedience.
Samuel said, why then do you ask me, seeing that the Lord has turned from you and has
become your enemy? The Lord has done to you as He said through me He would do; for [He]
has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to your neighbour David. Because you
did not obey the voice of the Lord or execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the
Lord has done this thing to you this day. 1 Samuel 28: 16-18
The game of disobedience is grievous and dangerous. It is like a thin thread on the high sea
to tread. Its consequences are not at all affordable. Its effects are unbearable.
Giving attention to the word of the Lord is the secret of being in constant tune with the Favour
of the God.
David wrote:
Giving attention to the word of the

Lord is the secret of being in
constant tune with the Favour of
the God.
Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might

not sin against You Psalm 119:11.
Obedience is the key to continual favour with God.
For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord

bestows [present] grace and favour and [future] glory (honour, splendour, and heavenly
bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly Psalm 84:11
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Reality Check
Points to Note: Obedience is the key to remaining in Gods favour.
What other lessons did you get from the chapter?
Verse to Memorize: Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You
Psalm 119:11.
Personality Check: Explain practically how you can maintain constant tune with the favour
of God.
Prayer: Lord, to be obedient to You is my heart cry. Help me so to do.

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CHAPTER NINE
When you find your heart unwilling

to obey God, PRAY and ASK for grace
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the
humble James 6:4
God understands our frailty; He knows we are human at best. He is not a God who does not
know our tendencies or our weaknesses. Likewise, our Lord Jesus Christ can sympathize with,
and intercede for us because He, just like us, underwent the ordeal and trials of temptation
but without sin.
We have a Lord who is not out of touch with our reality. He went through weakness, testing,
and experienced it all.
For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a
shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation,
but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.
Hebrew 4: 15
Apostle James tells us that God gives more grace.
We have a Lord who is not out of
You need to face up to your weaknesses and
touch with our reality. He went
inadequacies squarely and ask God for more
through weakness, testing, and
grace to obey. You need to humble yourselves
experienced it all.
before
God
and
acknowledge
your
insufficiencies and liabilities before Him.
Sometimes you ought to tell the Lord; Lord, I am weak in this matter, Help me. And the Lord
who answers prayers will answer your prayer.
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the
throne of God's unmerited favour to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures]
and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help,
coming just when we need it]. Hebrew 4:16
If you are struggling over a matter, whether to obey God or not, and you are saying to yourself:
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If I obey God in this matter, all these fat oxen (my job, car, houses, family, wealth, friends,
years of education, or all such things providing satisfaction and precious at sight), I will slay
and they will all be a waste?
If you are in such a state, just ask God right now to give you grace to obey him and to
strengthen you with might to please him.
Such prayers are precious, and God delights in answering them.
For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure
Philippians 2:13
Anytime you want to see his good pleasure fashioned out in your life, then talk to him and
say:
Please work within me to WILL and to DO of this your good pleasure
You will find strength and overcome every temptation in Jesus Christ Name.
See, we have no excuse to fail or fall before any mountain, because He gives more grace.
What is needed to overcome any circumstance or mountain is GRACE.
Therefore, when you find your heart unwilling to obey God, PRAY and ASK for grace!
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Reality Check
Points to Note: Grace is essential to overcoming any circumstances or moving mountains.
List other conclusions you arrived at in this chapter.
Verse to Memorize: For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good
pleasure Philippians 2:13
Personality Check: Have you ever found yourself unwilling to obey God?
What step will you take if you find yourself in such situation again?
Prayer: Lord, give me grace to obey You and strengthen me with might to please You.

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CHAPTER TEN
When you have failed, only genuine

repentance without minding the
consequences will restore you to
favour with God.
Saul said, I have sinned; yet honour me now, I pray you, before the elders of my people and
before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.
1Samuel 15:30
Your willingness to approach God
for mercy with genuine attitude and
actions of repentance is what
guarantees your restoration.
Thus far, we have considered nine (9) vital lessons

of obedience from Sauls life, and we have realised
how critical obedience is to walking in favour with
God.
However, we may fail and fall into the sin of

disobedience at certain times in life. But when you have failed, only genuine repentance
without minding the consequences will restore you to a position of favour with God.
For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by
calamity Proverb 24:16
Your willingness to approach God for mercy with genuine attitude and actions of repentance
is what guarantees your restoration.
I considered Saul and discovered that he admitted that he had sinned. But to truly repent
without minding the consequences was too difficult for him. The effect of his sin upon his
relationship with God did not bother him as much as his face before his elders. As a matter of
fact, his concern was for his image before his elders and the people.
yet honour me now, I pray you, before the elders of my people and before Israel.
Ultimately, there was neither fear nor the love of God in Him, but the fear of men and the
love of things.
Do you love and fear God?
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There cannot be contrition for genuine repentance in your heart if you do not love and fear
God. It is difficult to seek mercy from the person for whom you hold no love or fear.
Saul begged Samuel, please let the show continue; let us give a good impression and image
before this people that things are alright. He seeks and values honour of men, yet he is not
mindful of the Lords honour. How God feels about him did not matter to him, what mattered
was how to ensure people feel and think God is still with him. King Saul by his action mocked
and ridiculed God. He did not acknowledge his transgression nor accepted his sin as grievous.
Are you like Saul? Whose impression do you value most, God or Man?
When there is genuine repentance, you wont mind the consequences if a man is truly
repented and he is confronted with the fact that he has stolen something, he would be willing
to repay it all. This is genuine repentance.
See, Lord, the half of my goods I [now] give [by way of restoration] to the poor, and if I
have cheated anyone out of anything, I [now] restore four times as much. Luke 19:8
Genuine repentance brings restoration into Gods favour.
Moreover, when David was confronted by Prophet Nathan about his sin of adultery and
murder in 2 Samuel 12:1- 20, he immediately acknowledged his sin in the presence of all, no
show continued in the palace for seven days, he
was mindless of everything but God, he mourned,
Genuine repentance brings
fasted and sought the Lords face.
restoration into Gods favour.
David therefore besought God for the child; and
David fasted and went in and lay all night [repeatedly] on the floor. His older house servants
arose [in the night] and went to him to raise him up from the floor, but he would not, nor did
he eat food with them. And on the seventh day the child died. David's servants feared to tell
him that the child was dead, for they said, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and
he would not listen to our voices; will he then harm himself if we tell him the child is dead?
2Samuel 12:16-18
See the disposition of a man that genuinely sought forgiveness from God. It was never
mentioned where King Saul mourned or even asked God for mercy. Rather all he asked was
for Samuel to honour him before his people.
David sought no honour, rather he cried out earnestly for seven days for mercy. He gave
himself no false sense of peace until he secured one from God. He committed the sin secretly
and when God exposed him, he did not cover it.
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He exclaimed I have sinned against the Lord, and unlike King Saul who never acknowledged
he sinned against the Lord Saul said, I have sinned; yet honour me now. I pray you, before
the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord
your God.
David understood that forgiveness and cleansing must precede acceptable worship and that
God desires mercy and not sacrifice
Excuse me, when you have fallen and failed God. Seek not to appease God by false sacrifices.
It further demonstrates how presumptuous, arrogant, unrepentant and unreal you are at
heart.
For You delight not in sacrifice, or else would I give it; You find no pleasure in burnt offering.
[I Sam. 15:22.]
My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart
[broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You
will not despise.
Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then will You delight
in the sacrifices of righteousness, justice, and right, with burnt offering and whole burnt
offering; then bullocks will be offered upon Your altar.
Psalm 51:16-19
When you have fallen and failed
God, seek not to appease God by
false sacrifices.
You may have fallen, or you may have disobeyed

God. But having fallen is not an excuse to remain
fallen. You can rise again.
Rejoice not against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the
Lord shall be a light to me. Micah 7:8
It is good to have a man who is genuinely repentant. Is your heart contrite for genuine
repentance?
Nevertheless, the Lord requires your obedience as you walk with him in your Christian
journey. And if you have fallen, the Lord will restore you today in the name of Jesus.
The Lord is watching your progress.
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Reality Check
Points to Note: Genuine repentance brings restoration into Gods favour.
List other new discoveries you made from this chapter.
Verse to Memorize: Rejoice not against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall arise; when I
sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me. Micah 7:8
Personality Check: Are you in a fallen state right now?
List practical steps you will take not to remain in that fallen state.
Prayer: Lord, restore me in fellowship back to you. Amen.

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CONCLUSION
Consequences of Disobedience
The consequences of sin do not have to be our end.
Reconciliation is possible through the cross of Jesus!
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Evil is simply disobedience to the basic things God has asked us to do.
Evil is not reserved to people like Hitler or Stalin, criminals and child pornographers.
We desire what God has not given us yet and so we pursue to do that which God has
commanded us not to do. This is rebellion against our rightful Lord, and the littlest
disobedience, without repentance, will cause us to be trapped in a cycle of sin that will have
at least some of the following consequences.
1. Uncleanness
The first consequence of sin is that you become defiled before God.
God will no longer desire to associate with you, even as you would not want to
associate with someone who has not bathed in months.
You are unable to approach God in prayer, except in repentance, and until you
repent you are unable to be in Gods presence. (Mark 7:21-23; Zechariah 7:12-13;
Isaiah 1:11-17; I John 1:5-7)
2. Evil desire
Sin begins with an evil desire and it perpetuates evil desire as well. One desires what
one can have or obtain, not what one can do for God or others.
Eventually, ones mind is obsessed with thoughts of doing evil. (James 1:14; Romans
1:28; I John 2:16)
3. Bad reputation
Sin begins with an evil desire and it

perpetuates evil desire as well
People will see you as untrustworthy.

They will feel they have a right to judge you and no longer want to be around you.
They will also think badly of God and Jesus and their names will be blasphemed
because of your actions. (Ezekiel 36:17-21)
4. Increased disobedience
You will desire to have more of what you gained in your disobedience.
Since the gains of disobedience are fleeting and temporary, you will head deeper
and deeper into disobedience and rebellion against the Lord.
One also develops a community of disobedience, developing friends that encourage
each other to sin, away from the Lord. (James 4:2-3; Romans 1:32)
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5. Mental illness
You will no longer be able to think correctly about yourself, your life, others around
you, the world or God.
What God says is true, you will call a lie; what God says is real, you will call a fantasy.
Soon you will live in accordance with that false reality, instead of Gods truth. Not all
mental illness is a result of sin or Satan, but living in sin absolutely leads to mental
illness. (Romans 1:21-22)
6. Inability to love others

The Lord will take away the love he gave you to serve others. You will want to do
good to others, but you will not be able to.
Even the good that you do is a double-edged sword, causing harm even when you do
good. (I John 4:8, 20)
The Lord will take away
any amount of rulership
you have, because you
have proved yourself
unworthy.
7.
Broken relationships
You will hurt those whom you love and who love you.
Eventually they will turn away from you to seek safer
relationships.
Those who live with you will no longer listen to you or

want to be around you. (Matthew 18:17; I Corinthians 5:9-11)
8. God will take away what little authority you have

The Lord will take away any amount of rulership you have, because you have proved
yourself unworthy.
You will lose money; no one will listen to you; you will be hated by those who live
with you or are under youemployees, children, spouse, roommates, church
members, etc. (I Samuel 15:23; Psalm 37:9)
9. Earthly punishment
The Lord will punish you for your sin. This will often happen in direct connection to
your sin.
For instance, someone involved in sexual immorality will get a sexually transmitted
disease. Someone involved in stealing will be arrested.
65 | P a g e
Other consequences may happen as well, though, including sickness, blindness, loss
of food or shelter, and separation from ones community. (However, not everyone
who experiences sickness, homelessness or poverty is judged for sinsee Job)
(Deuteronomy 28:58-61)
10.Bondage to Enemies
God will hand you over to the gods whom you are serving and you will only gain
what they have, which is misery, death and horror.
He will also possibly hand you over to the police or other governmental authorities
to punish you. (Judges 2:11-14; Romans 1:24-28)
11.Not receiving the promises of

God
The disobedient will not inherit the
kingdom of God.
The disobedient will not inherit the

kingdom of God.
They will not gain the resurrection.

They will not receive Gods blessings.
They will seek the Lord and not find him.
They will listen to Gods word and not understand it.
They will think they will receive all of what God has in store for the righteous and
they will gain none of it. (I Corinthians 6:9-10)
12.Causing others not to receive Gods kingdom

Because you are living in hypocrisy, others will think that they can follow God as you
do. Then they will receive the same consequences as youpunishment, dishonour
and death. (Matthew 23:15)
13.Rejection of God
Eventually the one in sin will realize their hypocrisy and decide that they never really
wanted to follow God in the first place. They reject any word of the Lord and become
an open enemy of God.
At this point, there is no turning back and the final consequence of sin is inevitable.
(Romans 1:20-23; Hebrews 6:4-6)
66 | P a g e
14.Judgment according to deeds

Whatever one does to another that is what that one will receive on the final day
before God.
So if one grants judgment to others, they will receive judgement. If they never show
mercy, they will not receive mercy. (Luke 6: 36-38)
15.Death
The final consequence of disobedience is death.
The Lord will hand you over to the power of death, under the control of Satan and he
will destroy you.
You will be in fire and torture and punishment for eternity. (Matthew 13:41-42;
Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:12-15)
The consequences of sin do not

have to be our end. All of these
consequences can be reversed
through the cross of Jesus!
All of us need forgiveness.

The consequences of sin do not have to be
our end. All of these consequences can be
reversed through the cross of Jesus!
However, if something is separating you from

God, repeat this ancient prayer with sobriety and sincerity.
Jesus came to make the hope expressed in this prayer a reality for anyone who will ask!
O loving and kind God, have mercy.
Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions.
Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt.
Let me be pure again.
For I admit my shameful deed-it haunts me day and night.
It is against you and you alone I sinned and did this terrible thing.
You saw it all, and your sentence against me is just.
Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right
desires.
Dont toss me aside, banished forever from your presence.
Dont take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey
you.(Psalm 51:1-12 TLB)
67 | P a g e
Reality Check
Points to Note: Sin begins with an evil desire and it perpetuates evil desire as well.
List other points from this chapter.
Verse to Memorize: For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they
shall inherit the earth. Psalm 37:9
Personality Check: Is any of the consequences of sin listed above evident in your life?
According to the chapter, explain how you can reverse the consequences of sin.
Prayer: O Lord, I cry to you. Help me to live a life above sin. Amen.

Helpline: +234 809 3333 224
68 | P a g e

Obedience

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1|P ag e

THIS WORK SHOULD NOT BE SOLD

Experiencing Gods Rest through

Obedience has been that ONE

For we who have believed do enter into the rest,

Rest from weariness, relaxation from affliction,

Whoever breaks a hedge

Disobedience is the root of all sins,

Now let us reason together critically!

The power of Satan is in his ability

Your rest is important to God and He has worked it

The God-begotten are also the God-protected

List areas of your life God is calling you to obedience.

For further help or counselling, contact us at Divine Realities Ministries

Receiving Your Blessings and Miracles

The velocity of your blessing and the

Faith Activates, Obedience Unleashes

Faith activates Gods power for the

.Master, we have toiled all the night and have

Whatever He says to you, do it

Are you ready and alert to listen carefully to His instructions?

Why is Obedience as vital as Faith?

For further help or counselling, contact us at Divine Realities Ministries

There is no other standard of life

The proof that we love God comes when we keep

There is no other standard of life you are expected

Cultivating the Lifestyle

You grow deeper in the walk of

In which at one time you walked [habitually]. You

These elements of moral

In doing these things, you will be pleasing the Lord,

It is through Him that we have received grace (God's

Empowered to Promote Obedience

List other points you can get from this chapter.

For further help or counselling, contact us at Divine Realities Ministries

The School of Obedience

Lessons from the School of Obedience

Partial Obedience is Equal to

What is the quality of your obedience to God?

How easily do your rationalise and compromise

List other points from this chapter.

Prayer: Lord, I confess my disobedience today and repent of them, amen.

For further help or counselling, contact us at Divine Realities Ministries

When Gods words are clear and

Beloved, when God gives

Thus says the Lord of hosts, I have considered and

So the question of whether Saul understood in clear

...always subject your experiences

But remember this:

List further lessons youve learnt from this chapter.

For further help or counselling, contact us at Divine Realities Ministries

Your good intentions can be contrary

Innocence, sincerity, and naivety are good, but not

Do you know that King Saul had some good

Evil is anything that is not in

What you have allowed to go on as practice among

God has His prescribed way of doing

Innocently against God long lasting instruction:

Davids innocence, sincerity, and naivety were not

List further points youve discovered in this chapter.

List practical steps you will take in order to repent of them.

For further help or counselling, contact us at Divine Realities Ministries

Winning an Argument before men does

God can never be impressed with