99 and a Half Won't Do!

A few years ago Hezekiah Walker had a song that said 99 and a half won’t do. The chorus went like this

 “ Lord I’m running…. trying to make 100, because 99 and a half won’t do”. 

Today, post will get right to the point. 99.5% obedience to what God is telling you to do, equals 100% disobedience to God.  In I Samuel 15 we come across an example.  I am going to paraphrase. The Prophet Samuel comes to Saul to let him know that God has made him king, and to heed (to give careful attention to)to the voice of the Lord.  Through Samuel God is telling Saul His plan to punish the Amalek, and then God gives Saul specific instructions. “Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all they have, and do not spare them. But kill man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (I Samuel 15:3 emphasis added).  What does all mean? The answer is all. These are pretty clear instruction, there is no grey area. God is very specific to the assignment.  Now Saul and his army roll up on the Amalekites and lay the smack down on them. Then we get to verse 8, “he also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive” (I Samuel 15:8 emphasis added). That's not what the plan was, but ok let’s keep reading verse 9 say “but the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatling, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, they utterly destroyed” (I Samuel 15:9 emphasis added).  That was not what Gods  plan was, it is the total opposite.

Paraphrasing in the Maurice version, God tells Samuel that our boy didn’t do what I told him to do.  Go check him.  So, Samuel finds Saul hanging out on the block admiring a monument of himself proud of his disobedience. Soon as Saul sees Samuel, he goes over to him and say “Blessed are you of the Lord, I have performed the commandment of the Lord” (I Samuel 15:13). Samuel response is in verse 14 was “REALLY! Then why do I hear all these animals and stuff”? (paraphrased in the Maurice version).  Then Saul response in verse 15  was “They keep all the good stuff and destroyed everything that was worthless” (paraphrasing in the Maurice version). It became Saul’s will verse God’s plan. He was blatant in his disobedience.  He knew that wasn’t what God had told him to do and he did it anyway.  Some of us are willfully being disobedient and expecting God to still show up on our behalf without realizing that there are consequences that come along with being disobedient.  For those of us that have children we expect them to do 100% of what is asked of them, when we ask.  If they don’t there is a price to pay. Why should we expect God to be any different. We figure we have an escape goat through repentance, but it does change the fact that God is still requiring us to do what was asked. 

As you read on you see that Saul tries to justify his disobedience by saying I did 99 and a half of what You asked and I was going to even give You a sacrifice off of it (I Samuel 15: 20 Maurice version). Let’s look at what God’s response was through Samuel and what Saul’s disobedience cost him. “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offering and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord. Behold to obey is better than sacrifice” (I Samuel 15: 22-23 emphasis added). He also adds in verse 23 that blatant disobedience is like practicing witchcraft and worshiping idols (I know you're thinking that couldn't be me).  God is very clear on the consequences “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king” (I Samuel 15: 23b).  What are you costing yourself and your family for being disobedience? Being disobedient removes you from the will of God. It  says in verse 35 "and the Lord regretted that He made Saul king over Israel". Does God regret He placed you where He wanted you, because your disobedience is causing more bad then good? I don't want God ever regretting that He chose me. He says in Isaiah 1: 19-20 "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel you shall be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken".

99.5% Obedience to what God tells you to do, Equals a 100% Disobedience to God !!!!