In the second message of our series called Prepare the Way, Pastor Mel draws from Matthew 3:1-3 to emphasize preparing the way for God's blessings through complete obedience, illustrating the concept with the story of King Saul from 1 Samuel 15, where Saul's partial compliance in destroying the Amalekites—sparing King Agag and the best livestock while claiming to sacrifice them to God—resulted in divine rejection, as "obedience is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22). Defining blessing as divine favor and happiness (from Hebrew "barak" meaning to bless or kneel, "esher" for happiness, and Greek "makarios" for blessed or happy), he contrasts it with Luke 11:27-28, stressing that true blessing comes from hearing and practicing God's word rather than mere rituals or good intentions, warning that disguising disobedience with spiritual excuses or fear of people leads to regret and loss, as seen in Saul's downfall (1 Chronicles 10:13-14). He concludes with John 14:15-21, urging that loving Jesus manifests in obeying His commandments, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and that partial obedience equals complete disobedience, blocking the revelation of God's glory and favor.
