LET US REASON TOGETHER

In Isaiah 1:18 ( NIV) it says, "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

The one thing we all must realize is that Father God still gives respect and honor to the OBEDIENT. He wants us to not only be obedient but wants us to participate in His plan for our lives by having us talk, discuss, and reason with Him in regard to our life.

When we had been in Missouri less than three years, He spoke our opening text to me and I decided to discuss it with Him. To make a long story short, He won out (as usual) and convinced me that I had been obedient but not willing. When we started our discussion, I was convinced that I had been both willing and obedient but after several minutes, I had to repent and admit that my willingness was truly lacking in that I did not like Missouri, especially in the wintertime. However, after us reasoning together it did not take me long to become willing and, as they say, the rest is history.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the comparison between King Saul and King David. In the following verses you can see an attitude that King Saul had. The prophet Samuel went to King Saul and said the Word of the Lord had spoken to him. Here in 1 Sam 15:3 (NKJV), it says, “Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”

That seems very simple but look what happened to King Saul. He lied about the battle and what he had accomplished, but made a great mistake that I see a lot of Pastors make (I did too). Look at 1 Samuel 15:13 (NKJV), Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him,"Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD." A straight lie but you cannot outfox the Lord! So listen to what Samuel answered, in verse 14, But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" In verse 15, it says in the NIV, Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest." King Saul was not willing to take the blame, he blamed the people (soldiers).

Look at verse 17 in the NIV, Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.' 19 Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?"

You can see King Saul’s attitude or haughtiness from verse 20 in the NIV, "But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal." This is the problem in the world today! No one wants to take the blame for anything, it has to be somebody else’s fault. King Saul was caught red handed but he thought that the good animals could be offered to the Lord. In verse 22, But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."

If you examine King David’s life you see from a natural prospective that King David really sinned more than King Saul – he lied, cheated, committed adultery and even murdered. However, we see from the book of Acts 13:22 in the NIV, that God said, “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” In order to understand this you have to go to Ps 51:3, in the NKJV. King David said, “For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight . . . .”

From all of this we can see that Father God is not looking for ability, but rather a pure and faithful heart. Nowhere in the Bible does it say He expects perfection. He is looking for people that are truly willing and obedient!