One Night w/ Jakes

What's up everybody? This morning has been one of the best
I've had in a while. I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of
purpose, peace, and the presence of God. My mind is different, my
outlook is clearer, and I feel like the weight of the world has been
lifted off of my shoulders. These things have manifested because of
the powerful message I heard last night. I, along with Jason, went
to hear Bishop T. D. Jakes preach last night at Word of Faith
Cathedral. The aura and anointing on Jakes is unparalleled and
mighty in the Lord. If you've never heard him preach or read any of
his material, then you've robed yourself of the depth of riches God
has placed in this man. Last night was so amazing that we'll just be
regurgitating some of his main points this week. He preached from 2
Kings 4:1-17 … but this is the part we'll look at today:

1Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried
out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that
your servant feared the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my
two children to be his slaves." 2Elisha said to her, "What shall I
do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" And she
said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of
oil."

In verse 2 Elisha asked what he could do for the woman.
Jakes, in his expositional study of the book of Romans, found that
the grace mentioned in that book is one of promiscuity. Promiscuity?
Yep – lasciviousness, flaunting, and flirtatious. In essence God is
flaunting in the Red Light District like a lady of the night
asking "Do you want some of this good stuff I got?" lol. God has
power He's yet to use on anybody and is searching for somebody who
He can pour it out on. In this text Elisha asks her in that same
tone, almost daring her to ask him to do something on her behalf.
God is daring you to ask His help so He can show out for you.

Then Elisha asks her what she has in the house. This suggests that
what we're asking God to give us has already been provided. It's
funny that the main thing God intends to use to bless us is the very
thing we value the least. The fact that her house was empty implies
that she sold everything of apparent value in order to pay her debt.
So why didn't she sale the jar of oil? She probably thought it
insignificant and too small for anybody to desire. She could not
have been any more wrong! It's time out for you admiring the gifts
of others and in light of those assuming that God hasn't given you
anything special. Many a times we devalue our gifts because people
don't perceive us to be who God made us to be. In other words, you
cannot perform to the best of your ability when in a room where
people belittle your greatness. Speakers speak best in an auditorium
filled with people who know they can speak. So is the same with
Jesus in the life of a people. That's why Jesus couldn't work in
some people's lives. The word for you today is: Stop assessing your
gifting by other people's perception. If you let them define you
then they confine you. The problem is not with your ability to
perform but with their ability to perceive.

TDJakes (The Blessing) & RevDH (The Blessed)

He's Waiting On You!!!

All of us can agree that there are some things in our life that we
desperately need God to show up and put in order. The question that
I have to ask is "What's the hold up?" What is it that is keeping us
from experiencing the presence of God coming in our lives and putting
things in order. Newsflash….its not God!!! Wow what a statement to
come face to face with. Like you and I, the children of Israel were
in desperate need of God bringing their lives into order.

Psalm 81:10-14 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of
Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But my people would
not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over
to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. If my people
would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly
would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!"

The unfortunate reality is we like the children of Israel don't
listen and submit to God and as a result we delay the blessing of God
putting our lives in order. God desires to put our lives order and
bless us but our stubborn hearts delay the process. Today I
encourage to submit to God fully and experience His power.

God's Will

If you are anything like me you have frequently gone to God and 
asked, "What is your will for my life?" We ask this question with 
the hope that God will make clearly what it is we should be doing in 
our lives. Last week, while spending time in a devotional by Henry 
Blackaby, my entire paradigm was shifted as it relates to what God's 
will is for my life. Dr. Blackaby said `What is God's will for my 
life?' is not the right question. I think the proper question 
is `What is God's will?' Once I know God's will, then I can adjust 
my life to Him. In other words, what is it God is purposing to 
accomplish where I am? Once I know what God is doing, then I know 
what I need to do. The focus needs to be on God, not on my life!" 
Wow! There is nothing like coming face to face with a truth that 
will forever change the way you pray. Dr. Blackaby plainly states 
that in order to know what God's will is for our individual lives we 
must simply know what God's will is – period!

But `what is God's will?' I hear someone asking. God's will is what 
God does. In other words what I see God doing is God's will. John 
5:17,19tells us clearly that God will show us His will. Jesus 
states in these verses "My Father (God) is always at his work to 
this very day, and I (Jesus), too, am working. I tell you the 
truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he 
sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also 
does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does." 
Jesus speaks of how he only does what He sees the Father (God) 
doing. Everywhere around us God is already working to accomplish 
His will. As the example from this scripture shows, it is our 
responsibility to open our eyes, see what God is doing, then 
participate in His will. God's will is not hidden - but obvious. 
This week I challenge each of you to ask God to show you where He is 
working around you and join Him in His work.

Rev JP

Pigs & Chickens - September 22, 2008

This past weekend we had a guest preacher from Haiti to speak at
EBC. Of all the powerful statements Pastor Jean Marc Desire' made,
the most amazing analogy he gave was in the form of this story:
There was a pig and a chicken walking down the road one day.
As they walked, they noticed a sign on the front door of a local
diner that read: "We're asking for donations of eggs and bacon for a
charity breakfast for orphans." The chicken considered that it might
be a noble deed to donate to the diner so he asked the pig. The pig
replied with scorn, "No!" The chicken couldn't understand why the
pig became so angry all of a sudden. The chicken asked the pig why
he was trippin'. The pig responded, "It's easy for you to donate
because you can lay an egg and then walk away. But in order for me
to donate, I'd have to give my life. You'll only be making a
contribution but I'll be making a sacrifice." Wow! Consider the
depth of words of the pig. Jesus gave a similar example:

Mark 12:41-44 says … 41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and
began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury;
and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42A poor widow came
and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43Calling
His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this
poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;
44for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her
poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on."

Much like the contrast between the chicken and pig, is this example
of the rich people and the poor widow. The depth of our giving is
not in the quantity but in the quality. Too many Christian have a
shallow mindset in that we think we merely contribute to the church
or to the kingdom of God. For some, the mindset of giving a
contribution implies that they're doing God's church a favor. Ha!
That's a joke. The truth is that true Christians who enjoy a deep
intimate relationship with Christ, are called and willing to make
sacrifices to the advancement of God's kingdom. When we give to God,
either through time, energy, service, money, etc., we must always
give God our best. The only gift that pleases God, is one that cost
you something. Ultimately God should have all you; so let that gift
began with a sacrifice today, and please don't go on contributing to
God like unto a tip for a waitress.

Jean Marc Desire' (50%) RevDH (50%)

P.S. Wouldn't you appreciate more the gift from a loved one that
cost them something?

Study the Film - September 19, 2008

Sunday is absolutely my favorite day of the week (not because it's the
day I go to church but because football is played on Sunday, jk). For
those of you who don't know football coaches spend countless hours
studying film of their opponent in an attempt to gain some competitive
advantage that will ensure victory. When a coach studies film of an
opposing team they look for weaknesses that have been exposed by one 
of the teams previous opponents. 

When a coach watches film and notices a
weakness then develops a game plan to further expose and take 
advantage of that weakness. For example a coach may notice that the team he will
be playing against has a weakness for stopping long pass plays or that
he will be going against a rookie quarterback who isn't used to 
seeing a blitz. The coach realizes that if he can expose these weaknesses he
will experience certain victory. Just ask a football coach studies 
film to look for the weaknesses of his opponent we too must also study film
(scripture) to see the weaknesses of our opponent (Satan). The
unfortunate reality is that Satan who is our cunning and crafty
competition has studied more about us than we have about him. The 
bible gives us the game plan for defeating our enemy and if we stick to the
plan we will experience certain victory over the Satan's attacks.

"Be Strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the
full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the
SCHEMES of the Devil" Ephesians 6:10-11

There it is stated plainly in scripture. Sure victory over Satan can 
be done by trusting fully in God and wearing His armor. I challenge you
today to study Ephesians 6 and execute the plan.

P.S. Trusting God and wearing His armor is a daily practice, if you
don't practice daily you will surely loose the game.

The Sermon In Simba - September 18, 2008

One of my favorite movies of all time is … (drum roll please) … The 
LION King. Yeah, I know I'm a grown adult, yeah I know I got facial 
hair, and offspring … but nonetheless I love that movie `til this 
day. Remember: the King was Mufasa, who was revered in the Pride 
lands because of his deep voice and fearlessness. The movie opens 
with the birth of his son, Simba. As Simba grows older Mufasa gives 
him wisdom about the territory he will one day rule. Simba asks 
about the shaded area that is outta their kingdom. Mufasa calls that 
the Elephant Graveyard and sternly warns him never to go there. It 
happens later that curiosity leads Simba into the Elephant 
Graveyard; and when he gets there he runs into 3 hyenas that are 
anxious to rip his feeble lion body to shreds. Shenzi, Banzai, and 
Ed (3 hyenas) look at little Simba with contempt and disrespect, 
because they know he's in over his head. Simba, unaware of the 
reality that he's overpowered and out numbered, begins to roar with 
all his little strength. His roar was as weak as the meow of a house 
cat, lol. The 3 hyenas laugh, and close in for the kill. Simba keeps 
roaring, until the sound of a full grown lion erupts from his belly. 
The sound scares him more than it does the hyenas. What Simba didn't 
know was that his daddy (Mufasa) was behind him and it was Mufasa's 
roar that shook the ground. Mufasa then delivered Simba from the 
Hyenas.

1 John 4:3-4 says … every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not 
from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have 
heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4You … 
have overcome … because greater is He who is in you than he who is 
in the world. 

As Christians, we find ourselves in the very same predicament as 
Simba was in the Elephant Graveyard. The book of Revelation 
introduces the diabolical trio of Satan, the Beast, and the 
Antichrist. These 3 evil persons will wreak havoc on the world 
during the unfolding of the Last Days. Although we'll never face the 
beast, per se', we already face Satan and the Antichrist. These 3 
evil persons can be equal to the 3 hyenas that look at our feeble 
humanity and laugh with scorn. They know that they're stronger, 
faster, and deadlier than we are on our own. Imagine yourself 
surrounded by them, but because of the fight in you, you begin to 
roar with all your strength. Don't fret if they don't yield at 
first, whatever you do don't stop roaring. Because eventually you'll 
feel the power of One greater than you burst from within you and it 
will even scare you as well. You see the authority we operate in 
even scares us at times because of the mightiness of its power. Your 
roar is always backed up by the roar of your Father, the Lord Jesus, 
who is standing behind you the whole time. When the enemy lines up 
for battle, you line up against him. Why? Because you alone can send 
demons in a flight of fear.

RevDH 

P.S. At W.O.T.S. tomorrow night, we'll continue our HT and talk 
about the 3 hyenas: Satan, the Antichrist, and the Beast.

Vacation - September 16, 2008

We have all felt the excitement and anticipation of going on 
vacation. Vacation is so greatly anticipated because it's a chance 
to get away from the normal hustle and bustle of life and take some 
time for rest and relaxation. In planning a vacation we often spend 
countless hours on the Internet or even hire a tour guide to inform 
us of the exciting places and things we can do on our trip. It seems 
as if the more time we spend researching the place the more excited 
we become about the trip. The irony is that we invest time into 
researching a place we'll only visit for a few weeks at the longest. 
Why is it that so many of us haven't spent anytime researching the 
place we will be spending our eternity? If hours are spent 
researching a place we will be visiting for a few short days how 
much more time should be spent researching where we will spend 
eternity. I assure each of you that the more you study about 
eternity the more excited you will be about it. The more you study 
about eternity the more you will anticipate it. In Revelation an 
angel gave John the 3-D Virtual Tour of New Jerusalem – the capitol 
city of the New Earth.

Revelation 21
10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, 
and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven 
from God. 11It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was 
like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 
12It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve 
angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the 
twelve tribes of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east, three 
on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14The wall 
of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of 
the twelve apostles of the Lamb…16The city was laid out like a 
square, as long as it was wide …17He measured its wall and it was 
144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. 
18The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as 
glass. 19The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every 
kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second 
sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth 
sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth 
beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, 
and the twelfth amethyst. 21The twelve gates were twelve pearls, 
each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was 
of pure gold, like transparent glass. 22I did not see a temple in 
the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 
23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the 
glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations 
will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their 
splendor into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there 
will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be 
brought into it. 27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will 
anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose 
names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Wow! Sounds like the perfect vacation spot. Perfect weather – sunny 
and bright 24/7; Beautiful scenery and landmarks – precious stones 
and metals; Good cuisine – feasting, river of life, and the tree of 
life; the locals are nice – all godly people; safe and protected – 
no evil and crime; and the greatest attraction/celebrit y – JESUS! Be 
sure to get your passport (Salvation in Christ), your immunizations 
(crucified flesh), and your place reserved (Book of Life).

RevJP

PS If you want the realest pick me up … Read Revelation 20-22. The 
first 3 verses of Rev. 1 says your eyes are blessed for even reading!

DON'T BLINK - September 15

Since the earthly ministry and ascension of Christ,
Christians have been anxiously awaiting His return. Jesus' return is
known as the 2nd coming or 2nd advent of Christ. The question most
ask or assume they know the answer to is: "Will the world end when
Jesus returns?" The answer is NO. The return and reign of Christ is
actually down the line of progressive events that must take place
before all is said and done. The next major event in the unfolding
of the End Times is the Rapture of the Church. After the rapture the
earth will continue on for at least another 1,007 years – then it
will all end! The word rapture means to snatch something away
swiftly in an effort to save. In essence, the rapture will be like
God diving in front of a speeding bus to remove His church from the
path of destruction. The bible describes the rapture like this:

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
15For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are
alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede
those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with
the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then
we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be
with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15: 51-52
51Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will
all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be
raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

If anybody watched the Olympic events of swimming and track & field,
then you know who Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt are. Michael Phelps
is now the greatest Olympian of all-time and Usain Bolt is the
fastest man of all-time. In every final they competed in, they
shattered world records. They're so fast in the water and on the
track that if you blink, you'll miss them. The Rapture of the Church
however, will be faster than Michael Phelps in the pool, Usain Bolt
on the track, the speed of sound, and the speed of light – all put
together. In a split second we'll be caught up with Christ in the
air never to suffer in this earth again. The serenity in this is
that God will deliver you from all your trouble in the snapping of
His finger. That should put things in perspective. A message to the
ungodly: either get saved or don't blink because you'll miss the
whole show.

RevDH

PS If you want the realest pick me up … Read Revelation 20-22. The
first 3 verses of Rev. 1 says your eyes are blessed for even reading!

Street Signs - September 11

To is one of immense importance to the recent history of our
country. 7 years ago the World Trade Center of NYC was destroyed by
two high jacked commercial planes. I remember vividly watching the
tv as the 2nd plane lunged into the tower. I was a 9th grader at
Mays High School in Atlanta, and I was in my 5th period French
class. I'm sure you can remember exactly where you were and what you
were doing when it all went down. The thought of a world power with
financial and military force like the USA being caught off guard
shook my confidence. You see that day proved that America is not
impenetrable, impeccable, and unbeatable. Our nation is a kingdom of
this present world and subject to the elements of this present world.

However, it would behoove us not to lose heart totally. Realizing
that your faith is not secured in America should turn you to God, in
whom there is no failure. His kingdom is transcendant and above
earthly elements. Your true citizenship is in Heaven and you are
merely foreigners on this earth. When we spend eternity with God on
the New Earth we will not fear any such attacks from the enemy as
were experienced 7 years ago. The question of the hour is: "Are you
a citizen of God's kingdom?" In other words, "have you received
Jesus as Savior and claimed Him as Lord?" Our focus, hope, and
destiny is outta this world! Literally.

RevDH

PS The rapture and return of Christ will be as swift, unexpected,
and irreversible as the events of 9/11/2001. (2 Peter 3:10)

The End Times

The End Times

Wow! We must have had the best Word on the Street the other night of
all the ones we've done. The Hot Topic was "The End Times." When we
first introduced the HT mostly everybody had a look on their face of
disinterest in the taboo and gloomy subject. The most obvious
rebuttal was submitted by Radiance Lewis (oops, did I bust her out?
Lol). Radiance said, "I got too much to work out in the here and now
for me to be trying to think about the End Times." The truth is that
when we think about the end of the world, the book of Revelation,
and Armageddon we tend to tense up for fear of the unknown. Think
about it: the knowledge that causes you to be fearful is formed by
what you heard somebody else say, imagined yourself, or have seen on
a movie. (Because if we all had first hand info from reading
Scripture we'd be excited). God reveals the end verbatim in the book
of Revelation because He wants us to know exactly what will happen
and how it will happen. If we don't tense up we tend to respond like
Radiance; we have too much going on here to even consider there, but
Paul said …

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
16Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is
decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17For
momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of
glory far beyond all comparison, 18while we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are
eternal.

It is natural to have an earthly, temporal, here-and-now focus, but
Paul admonishes us towards a heavenly, eternal, unseen focus. The
question arises though: "What is the eternal weight of glory?"
Or, "What is the unseen eternal hope?" These along with other
questions like: "What is the Rapture?" "How will the earth
end?" "Explain the judgment?" What will heaven/hell be like?" All
these questions were answered in detail on Friday and will be
answered this week via Street Signs. During W.O.T.S. we were all
blown away by God's word and what He reveals about eternity. Would
you believe that when it was over every single person who thought
they didn't want to hear that HT was in awe at just how relevant it
was. Even Radiance (somebody pray for her, lol) said that's exactly
what she needed. The point is that when her attention was taken off
of the pain, confusion, and frustration of now and redirected to the
promise of eternal glory that will swallow up earthly problems . . .
Radiance (and all of us) could deal better with the here-and-now.
Know why? Because in the grand scheme nothing really matters at all
(somebody say preach Lauren Hill).

RevDH
PS If you want the realest pick me up … Read Revelation 20-22. The
first 3 verses of Rev. 1 says your eyes are blessed for even reading!

More Lessons Learned From The Life of Saul

More Lessons Learned from the Life of Saul

The underlining issue with King Saul was that he was not a
worshipper. When Samuel first met Saul and informed him that he
would be king, he gave Saul these directions: (1 Samuel 10:8)"And
you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down
to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings You
shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you
should do." The next verse says "9Then it happened when he turned
his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart." The question
is: "What was Saul's heart originally like and what did God change
it to?" What's disturbing about Saul is that he was not inclined to
a worshipful relationship with God; thus, God had to override his
spiritual deadness to give him a heart he didn't really have. This
may seem cool until you compare Saul to David (the one Samuel said
was better than him). David sought God naturally. David had the
heart (if you want to peek inside of David's heart, open the book of
Psalm and start reading anywhere) so God added the favor. Saul got
appointed but was not truly anointed.

So it happened that 7 days passed and Saul was waiting for Samuel in
Gilgal. 1 Samuel 13 says:
8Now he waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by
Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were
scattering from him. 9So Saul said, "Bring to me the burnt offering
and the peace offerings." And he offered the burnt offering. 10As
soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel
came; and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. 11But Samuel
said, "What have you done?"…13Samuel said to Saul, "You have acted
foolishly; … 14"But now your kingdom shall not endure The LORD has
sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has
appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept
what the LORD commanded you."

Here Saul goes again not following explicit directions but doing
what he thought was a good idea. The problem was that Saul's heart
lacked reverence; therefore he offered God sacrifices without
adhering to the protocol for doing such. Check this out: Saul didn't
build his first altar until 1 Sam 14:35. So how did he offer
sacrifices without an altar? You see it wasn't the routine of
sacrifice that honored God but the heart of the worshipper who
gladly submitted to the format of proper reverent worship. It's not
so much the worship God desires as much as it is the worshipper.
Saul thought he could approach God any kind of way. Bad Decision!
Then atop all that he blamed the people again for the whole thing.
Saul was a cowardly irreverent arrogant poor excuse for a leader.
Take heed and flee from all ways that seem Saul-ish.

RevDH

P.S. Common sense says: "Learn from your mistakes." Wisdom
says: "Learn from somebody else's mistakes." … Don't be like Saul.

Lessons Learned From The Life of Saul

In the book of 1 Samuel the people of God began to beg God
and His prophet, Samuel, to give them a king. Even though God had
been faithful to them, and they had no true need for a human king,
God satisfied their wishes. God sent Samuel to identify and anoint
Saul as the 1st king of Israel. The bible says of Darrell (… I mean
Saul, lol) that he was the most handsome man in the whole country.
He was tall, had broad shoulders, and physically he possessed the
stature of a natural born leader and warrior. When Samuel told Saul
he would be king . . . Saul replied, "Am I not a Benjamite, of the
smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the
families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in
this way? (1 Sam. 9:21)" In other words Saul could not believe he
could ever qualify to be the king. That was a decent start but his
true heart would be revealed later.

In chapter 14 God gave Saul strict directions to kill everyone and
destroy everything of the Amalekites. But Saul decided not to kill
their king and to keep all of the choice animals. So, God was
offended with his sin and sent Samuel to Saul and … Samuel
said, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of
the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over
Israel? … 28 So Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom
of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours,
who is better than you. (1 Sam. 15:17, 28)" Whoa that sucks! It may
seem like God was being harsh but let's examine what really happened:

1. God gave Saul explicit instructions of what exactly he was
suppose to do. However, Saul reasoned within himself to half do his
job then lie, blame the people, and pretend like he fulfilled the
will of God. (This sounds a lot like Adam in the Garden doesn't it?)
Saul probably didn't understand why even the good things should be
destroyed; but it was not about his understanding – it was about
God's commandment. The point is: Don't reason to do what you really
want to do when God has given you explicit instructions in His Word
of not doing those things. When we, as did Saul, do our thing
anyway, we are telling God our way is better than His.

2. Saul got the big head (this is a figure of speech. There is
nothing wrong with people who have big heads. Big heads = big brains
… at least that's what my mama used to tell me, lol) . Perhaps all
the wars he'd won and his physical stature caused his heart to get
conceited. The surest way to be humiliated is to get arrogant before
God. Samuel told Saul God was giving the kingdom to someone better
than him. That person is David. David didn't look better than Saul
but he was better. Saul was lofty and haughty in his heart but David
was a man after God's own heart.

RevDH

P.S. Common sense says: "Learn from your mistakes." Wisdom
says: "Learn from somebody else's mistakes." … Don't be like Saul.