OBEDIENCE ..... A MUST READ Obedience can never be replaced with sacrifice. No matter how you dress it or present it , sacrifice can never take the place of obedience. Jesus said," I desire mercy, not sacrifice". A correlation to this statement is the scripture that says " It is not of him that willeth or runneth, but of God that showeth mercy" God does not deal with us, according to our sacrifices to him, i mean the things we claim we are doing for God. God deals with us, according to our obedience to his words. God does not need any man to do anything for him. He can use anything, even stones to get things done. Whatever he calls you to do ( which you might think it's for him) is not for him, it is for yourself, it is for your own good. If you don't do it, he remains God. It does not affect him. It only affects you. One great enemy of obedience is Our thinking that we are working for God or we are helping God to get things done. Uzzah had this erroneous thought. He put his hands to the ark of God with the thought of preventing it from falling down. The anger of the Lord smote him and he died there instantly. God has not told you to do it. Why do it? This is the scenario: If you are working in my company, i would rather have you obey my instructions as your Boss, than you making some sacrifices for the company. Obedience is all i need from you to achieve my company's objectives, not what you think is good, because what you think is good might not be good for the company or might not be in my style of operation as the owner of the company. Saul thought he was going to get an applause from God for keeping some large cattles to make a sacrifice to God, rather than killing them all as instructed by God, and he got the biggest shock of his life. You know the end of his story. Another enemy of obedience is religion. Religion has eaten deep the fabrics of many believers. You see many Christians engaging in 3, 4 or 5 departments of their church workforce. They think it's by activities. You see them doing this one, doing that one. They want to do everything. They think they are working for God, but most times they are actually working for their denomination. They are working tirelessly to promote their denomination ( they don't know anyway). Now, am not saying that you should not be zealous for the things of God. Am not saying you should not maximize your potentials in the church. What am saying is that you should give more importance to constant examination, personal development, knowing God for yourself, holiness and doing the will of God for you. Rest, relax, you cannot win all the souls in the world. Before you were born, souls have been perishing. When you die, souls will continue to perish. So why die before your time?. Take good care of your health. If it's by activities, Uzzah would have been blessed, and not terminated. Saul's kingship would not have been taken and given to David. It's not about diong things, it's about doing the things given to you. It's not about what you do, it's about what you do in obedience to what God told you. If you are not led by the Holy Spirit to go and preach in a particular place or to a particular person, i advise you not to go. You need to see Paul the Apostle and ask him his experience concerning the issue of going to where you are not led to go. And the last enemy of disobedience is the fear of men. Fear God, not men. Fear God that can kill both the body and the soul. In 1Samuel 13, Samuel instructed Saul not to leave Gilgal. He was to wait there for seven days for Samuel to meet him and give him some guides, before he offers a burnt offering to God. Saul disobeyed this instruction given by God through the mouth of Samuel, and offered the burnt offering to God, because he feared the Philistines who had gathered against the isrealite army at Michmash. Samuel told Saul that for this foolish act, his kingdom would not continue. OBEDIENCE IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE. SHALOM!