Stand Still And Watch God – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Thursday, April 11, 2019
Chapters: I Samuel 12-14
Message: Stand Still And Watch God

Hello My Friend,

I do not have to tell you that life moves fast because it seems the older you get the quicker it does, someone asked me how I was, and whenever people ask us that question most of us just say, “Good” or “Okay”, and yet we are far from that, I responded by saying, “I’m tired, fed up with life, but I am good.” Life does take a toil on us, and if we are not careful life will start to feel more like defeat than victory. When life feels defeated it is time to stand still and watch what God can do. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” – Hebrews 10:35-36.

“For ye have need of patience,” Patience is not one of my strengths, oh, I have no problem waiting, but the more affliction I face for being in God’s will the less patience I have. I even told God that I was tired of being tried by the devil, by the world, and even by Him. Then He bluntly reminded me that other people have it far worse than I do because they choose not to obey Him. Now, how is that for conviction? The children of Israel were tired of the constant battle between them and the Philistines, and the oppression they faced. They were not satisfied with God being their king, they wanted an earthly king. And God obliged, He called on Samuel to anoint Saul to be king. Now, Samuel was not pleased at all by this, and had some words with them.

“And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand. And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. And Samuel said unto the people, It is the LORD that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers. And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king. Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.” – I Samuel 12:1,3-7,12-13.

“behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.” The oppression that a country faces has nothing to do with its leader, but everything to do with who their king is. Any country that chooses God as King will prosper, but the second they choose the earthly king over Him there will be consequence as they are trusting the man or woman over the one who actually put them in office. We all need a leader to make sure we follow the Law, both God’s and mans, one who is not biased, easily persuaded, or conceded. Let me tell you, oppression comes to our own lives so that God can remind us of what He has gotten us through before When we choose Jesus to be our King, He will teach us God’s Law, to obey mans law, and even when not to obey mans law when it goes against God’s Law. As soon as the people heard Samuel the immediately felt convicted of choosing an earthly king over God.

“And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.” – I Samuel 12:19-25.

“I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you:” Let me tell you, the most honorable thing we can do as a Christian is pray for God’s people, our leaders, and even our enemies, and often. As long as God sees fit to keep us on earth, it is important that we not only pray, but teach the good and the right way, and as long as we fear God He will deliver us, and receive the promise. People before us died in faith waiting to receive the promise of the man God would send to save them, and yet they were still saved by their faith. “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” – Romans 4:2-3,20-22.

“And being fully persuaded that,” You see, it is not that we are not going to have bad days in which our faith will be tried to the limit, it is being fully persuaded that God is able, and as long as we know that, our weakness in faith will supersede any doubts or fear we have. Since I can remember I never enjoyed waiting for people to do things for me, in fact, if I had to wait longer than expected I was quick to go do it myself. I know that attitude has kept me from seeing God do many things in my life. Patience is the foundation of a great relationship with God, learning to wait on Him is the key to receiving so much more from Him, and is some cases being impatient can cause God to take things away from us. Now, Saul did great in his first year as king, the second year things started to change a little bit. You see, the Philistines were not happy that Saul was king over all the land, so they rebelled, and a was breaking out, he was supposed to wait for Samuel, but he delayed in arriving at the appointed time, and instead of waiting for Samuel, Saul took things into His own hands and offered a sacrifice to God.

“And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.” – I Samuel 13:8-14.

“And he tarried seven days,” Can I tell you that God never delays? It may seem like we are waiting, and waiting to for Him to show up, but He knows the exact time to show up. I can fuss at God for one thing, and then He reminds me of another time He was there for me. Many times it is not about our lack of faith, it is our inability to refrain from doing things our own way. Now, all Saul had to do was repent and ask God to forgive him and I am sure God would have changed things for him, instead he takes things into his own hands again. This time, he ordered Israel to fast during the battle, including the army, if anyone did they would be put to death. Saul’s son Jonathan, not knowing the order, ate some honey and encourages fellow soldiers to do so, but this caused a huge problem because the men were so hungry they turned into savages. Once again, Saul tries to get God’s attention by building an altar and offering a sacrifice to Him, he actually thought it was the people who sinned that was at fault, and if he offered an offering God would forgive them.

“And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food. Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood. And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD. And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.” – I Samuel 14:24,29,32,35,38-39,45.

“Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” Saul was willing to kill his own son for doing what was right than admit he made a bad decision in how he handled everything. God has much to show us, and give us, we must realize that He is also a just God and will give and take as He sees our faithfulness and willingness to follow His will, even when we are tired and fed up with being tried. Are we always going to be in His will? No. Will He take things from us when we are not? Yes. However, He is still faithful, and will never go back on His promise to give us eternal life through our faith in His Son. And as long as we hold on to the promise He will bless us with other things. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” – James 1:2-6.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.” – I Samuel 12:22.

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your mercy and grace, and for the liberty You have given me when I accepted Your Son as my Saviour. You know that I want to live my life according to Your will if you were to evaluate me right now I know You will find a willing heart, but I also know there are some things that I need to work on. There are no excuses for disobeying Your commands, especially when I learn of something You do not approve of. Lord, open my heart, reveal to me anything that I need to repent of, and forgive me of my sins, Give me Your power, lead me and guide me, help me to improve on my weaknesses and train me how to increase my skills to serve You with all my heart, mind, and soul. I love You, and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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