Speaker: Bro. Froilan Hong , Administration / Media & Arts Director, The Lord's Flcok Catholic Charismatic Community

“ The Consequences of Not Listening to God ”

Obedience – Doing What God Says

O bedience is doing what God says, doing exactly the way He wants it, and obeying until it is finished. The struggle in obedience has been the problem of God's people since biblical times. This struggle is related to listening.

Cases of Disobedience in the Bible

A. Disobedience of Adam

I n the Book of Genesis, God gave man this order: “ You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die .” (Genesis 2:16-17). Man disobeyed God's command and ate the forbidden fruit so he was banished from the garden of Eden . (Genesis 3:23).

B. Disobedience of Moses

I n the Book of Numbers, there was a famine in the land. The Israelites kept on complaining to Moses at the desert because they did not have water to drink. The Lord said to Moses, “ Take the staff and assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron, and in their presence order the rock to yield its waters. From the rock you shall bring forth water for the community and their livestock to drink .” (Numbers 20:7-8). Because of his anger to the Israelites, Moses had a problem in listening. He became impatient and he struck the rock twice with his staff instead of just commanding it. (Numbers 20:10-11).

T he Lord said to Moses, “Because you were not faithful to me in showing forth my sanctity before the Israelites, you shall not lead this community into the land that I will give them. ” (Numbers 20:12 ). Moses did not reach the Promised Land.

C. Disobedience of Saul

D uring the reign of King Saul, the prophet Samuel was to offer the holocaust but was delayed in coming to Gilgal . Saul's men were afraid of the Philistines; they began to slip away from Saul. Saul became anxious and offered up the holocaust without waiting for Samuel. He had just finished this offering when Samuel arrived. (1 Samuel 13:8-12).

S amuel told Saul , “ You have been foolish! Had you kept the command the Lord your God gave you, the Lord would now establish your kingship in Israel as lasting; but as things are, your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and has appointed him commander of his people, because you broke the Lord's command. ” (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

S aul disobeyed God a second time. Through Samuel, God ordered Saul to kill all the Amaleks as God's punishment, but Saul did not obey completely. He was reproved and confronted by Samuel: “ Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams. For a sin like divination is rebellion, and presumption is the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he, too, has rejected you as ruler.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

Disobedience – Major Consequence of Not Listening to God

D isobedience is the major consequence of not listening to God and not hearing. We hear sounds but we do not pay much attention to the message. Let us value every message that God gives us. Let us learn to listen very well to the Lord. Listening is very important! Not listening results in disobedience!

The Many Other Consequences of Not Listening to God

1) I f we do not listen very well to God's word, we will tend to hear and follow the wrong voice.

E ve did not give full value and attention to God's command not to eat of the forbidden fruit; so she became vulnerable to the wrong voice – the serpent's voice. Eve had second-hand information only. The injunction (order) was given to Adam by God not to eat of the fruit; Adam just told Eve.

G od said to Adam, “ Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, cursed be the ground because of you!” (Genesis 3:17)

W hy is the penalty big and not proportional to the small offense? Disobedience, whether it is small or big, is still disobedience.

W hen we become out of focus on God's word, we tend to listen to and follow the wrong voice.

2) W hen we divert our attention away from God's word, we can easily be deceived.

•  In Eve's case, she was distracted by the voice of the serpent.

•  Moses was distracted by his impatience.

•  Saul was distracted by his fear and anxiety. (1 Samuel 13:8-12), He was also distracted by the fat sheep of the Amaleks (1 Samuel 15:9).

3) W hen we fail to listen to God, we will be acting on our own. When we do so, we may not realize that we are expressing our own independence are active rebellion against God's will. We have pride when we are independent of God's will and we follow our own will.

4) W e make decisions that appeal to the flesh rather than to the Spirit .

•  Eve's decision was triggered by an appeal to the flesh. “ The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.” (Genesis 3:6).

•  Moses' decision to strike the rock came from the flesh, not from the Spirit. “‘ Listen to me, you rebels! Are we to bring water for you out of this rock?' Then raising his hand, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff. ” (Numbers 20:10-11).

•  “He [Saul] and his troops spared Agag and the best of the fat sheep and oxen, and the lambs. They refused to carry out the doom on anything that was worthwhile, dooming only what was worthless and of no account .” (1 Samuel 15:9).

M an has three pre-occupations: physical satisfaction, desire for pleasure; and a desire for power through knowledge and wisdom. Our decisions should not be made based on our pre-occupations with the flesh. They should be based on what appeals to the Spirit.

5) W e excuse ourselves from our wrong-doings and blame other people. Often, we blame others for our own wrong doings and faults instead of us assuming the responsibilities ourselves.

•  Adam blamed Eve. “ The woman whom you put here with me–she gave me fruit from the tree. ” (Genesis 3:12). Eve blamed the serpent. “ The serpent tricked me into it, so and I ate it. ” (Genesis 3:13).

•  When Saul was confronted by Samuel, he said, “ But from the spoil the men took the sheep and oxen, the best of what had been banned, to sacrifice to the Lord their God in Gilgal. ” (1 Samuel 15:21)

6) W e suffer the consequences for our disobedience. Nobody else should be blamed. We bear the brunt for our wrong-doings and lack of obedience.

•  Adam was banished from paradise.

•  Moses did not set foot on the Promised Land.

•  Saul did not finish his reign as king of Israel and was replaced by David.

7) W e cause others around us to suffer because of our disobedience.

•  The original sin of disobedience of Adam affected all of mankind.

•  With Saul's disobedience, he spared the life of Agag, king of Amalek. One of Agag's descendants, Haman, sought to destroy all the Jews.

8) I f we do not listen to God, we miss out on God's best. God has prepared the best of everything for all of us. His plans for us are for our welfare and to give us a future full of hope . (Jeremiah 29:11). If we are deaf to God's word, we will miss out on God's promises and His blessings, favors, and graces!

•  Adam and Eve missed out on paradise. (Genesis 3:23).

•  Moses missed out on the Promised Land. (Numbers 20:12 ).

•  Saul missed out on his lasting kingship. (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

T hese Biblical characters were all basking in God's glory, but because of their disobedience, they missed out on the Lord's best.