B-A-C
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- Joined
- Dec 18, 2008
- Messages
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It seems I hear so many Christians pray something like...
God lead in your paths, give me wisdom, give me direction. Oh God please show me what to do.
That's not a bad prayer. I've prayed something similar many times.
So then God shows us what we need to do... or what we need to NOT do.
The problem is... we don't do it. Or we do part of it.
I am reminded of the story of Saul when he lost his kingship over the Israelites.
1 Sam 15:2; "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt.
1 Sam 15:3; 'Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"
God tells Saul, totally wipe these people out. Now some people have a problem with this.
They see God as all loving - but notice it says God is punishing them "for what he did to Israel".
But why kill the children and infants? Why kill the sheel and camels?
Sometimes what God tells us to do, doesn't make sense to us. It seems it didn't make sense to Saul either.
Saul had a "better way". Sometimes we have a better way than God (or so we think).
So Saul and the army go to fight...
1 Sam 15:7; So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
1 Sam 15:8; He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1 Sam 15:9; But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
However he didn't really obey God. Not 100%. He spared king Agag and he spared the sheep and oxen.
No sense in wasting all that good livestock. The thing is, when God tells us to do something, He doesn't
mean do part of it, some of it, half of it. He means.. do what I tell you.
So God says...
1 Sam 15:11; "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night.
God says "he has turned back from following Me" ... "and has not carried out my commands".
God was sorry that He made Saul king over Israel.
Saul was deceiving himself. Which is what we do sometimes.
1 Sam 15:13; Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD."
1 Sam 15:14; But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
1 Sam 15:15; Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed."
Saul tells Samuel, I did what God told me to do. I think he is convinced in his heart that he did what
God told him to do (only he did it better, because he saved the animals to sacrifice).
1 Sam 15:18; and the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.'
1 Sam 15:19; "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD?"
1 Sam 15:20; Then Saul said to Samuel, "I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
Samuel tells Saul, no you didn't obey God. You didn't exterminate them. You didn't wipe out the spoils,
you took them. You did what was evil.
This next verse is quoted often (usually out of context it is repeated in Hebrews 10)
1 Sam 15:22; Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
The point is, God would rather have us obey Him in the first place, than to have to make a sacrifice because
we sinned.
There is a price for sin. There is always a consequence.
1 Sam 15:23; "For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king."
1 Sam 15:24; Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.
1 Sam 15:25; "Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the LORD."
1 Sam 15:26; But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel."
So God takes the "kingdom" of Israel away from Saul.
..............................
I've noticed if we keep ignoring and disobeying the Holy Spirit, He quits telling us what to do.
Why should God give us direction and guidance if we don't do what He says anyway?
God knows all the steps of the journey of your life. But He often won't tell what step number 12 is,
unless we've done step number 11.
Why should God keep telling us what to do in the future, when we don't obey Him in the present?
God lead in your paths, give me wisdom, give me direction. Oh God please show me what to do.
That's not a bad prayer. I've prayed something similar many times.
So then God shows us what we need to do... or what we need to NOT do.
The problem is... we don't do it. Or we do part of it.
I am reminded of the story of Saul when he lost his kingship over the Israelites.
1 Sam 15:2; "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt.
1 Sam 15:3; 'Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"
God tells Saul, totally wipe these people out. Now some people have a problem with this.
They see God as all loving - but notice it says God is punishing them "for what he did to Israel".
But why kill the children and infants? Why kill the sheel and camels?
Sometimes what God tells us to do, doesn't make sense to us. It seems it didn't make sense to Saul either.
Saul had a "better way". Sometimes we have a better way than God (or so we think).
So Saul and the army go to fight...
1 Sam 15:7; So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
1 Sam 15:8; He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1 Sam 15:9; But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
However he didn't really obey God. Not 100%. He spared king Agag and he spared the sheep and oxen.
No sense in wasting all that good livestock. The thing is, when God tells us to do something, He doesn't
mean do part of it, some of it, half of it. He means.. do what I tell you.
So God says...
1 Sam 15:11; "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night.
God says "he has turned back from following Me" ... "and has not carried out my commands".
God was sorry that He made Saul king over Israel.
Saul was deceiving himself. Which is what we do sometimes.
1 Sam 15:13; Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD."
1 Sam 15:14; But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
1 Sam 15:15; Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed."
Saul tells Samuel, I did what God told me to do. I think he is convinced in his heart that he did what
God told him to do (only he did it better, because he saved the animals to sacrifice).
1 Sam 15:18; and the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.'
1 Sam 15:19; "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD?"
1 Sam 15:20; Then Saul said to Samuel, "I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
Samuel tells Saul, no you didn't obey God. You didn't exterminate them. You didn't wipe out the spoils,
you took them. You did what was evil.
This next verse is quoted often (usually out of context it is repeated in Hebrews 10)
1 Sam 15:22; Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
The point is, God would rather have us obey Him in the first place, than to have to make a sacrifice because
we sinned.
There is a price for sin. There is always a consequence.
1 Sam 15:23; "For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king."
1 Sam 15:24; Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.
1 Sam 15:25; "Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the LORD."
1 Sam 15:26; But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel."
So God takes the "kingdom" of Israel away from Saul.
..............................
I've noticed if we keep ignoring and disobeying the Holy Spirit, He quits telling us what to do.
Why should God give us direction and guidance if we don't do what He says anyway?
God knows all the steps of the journey of your life. But He often won't tell what step number 12 is,
unless we've done step number 11.
Why should God keep telling us what to do in the future, when we don't obey Him in the present?
