The Reprobate Mind

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King James Bible StudyAnd 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: Monday, April 12, 2021
Chapters: I Samuel 15-16
Message: The Reprobate Mind

Hello My Friend,

As I was reading the chapters for today this passage popped in my head, [Revelation 3:15-16,18-20  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.  18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.  19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.  20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.]

Well, actually the word, spew came to mind, the rest of it just fir as I was reading it. God is so merciful in that He gives several opportunities for a lost soul to come to His Son, and He redeem their soul. So many are intent on seeking redemption their own way that God, quite frankly, repents of saving them. In other words, God changes His mind, and instead of saving them, He has nothing more to do with them, and spews them out of His mouth, [Romans 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;]

I know that sounds harsh and unbelievable, but think about it, they want the blessings of God, they know the truth, that redemption comes from Christ alone, and yet continue to make up their own law, or even worse, way they got it from God. How do you think God is going to react? Saul received a great honor from God, as He made him the first king over His people, He chose him because his heart was on Him, but things changed drastically as he no longer had the same heart toward God. First, Saul took things into his own hands by offering up sacrifices to God by himself without a priest. Then he stated that huge debacle when he ordered the people to fast until they won the battle against the Philistine’s, the army was so starved that they became savages and he ended up being captured along with Jonathan. Now, God is giving him one more opportunity to redeem himself, God command that Saul get vengeance on Amalek.

[1 Samuel 15:3,6-9  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 6  And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.  7  And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.  8  And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.  9  But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.]

[And Saul said unto the Kenites,] The only sensible thing that Saul did in all this was to tell the Kenites to get out of there, these were descendants of Moses. Eventually, God is going to get vengeance on all who go against His people, and the only people who will be left are His, and that is why He tells us to get down from among them. Those who have a heart do not like to fight, and certainly do not like the thought of so many people losing their lives, even children, but these people were evil and would bring their children up that way, [2 Corinthians 6:15-17  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,]

[and would not utterly destroy them:] God did not even want Israel to take of their spoil because they were so corrupt, and yet, Saul disobeyed God’s order. After all this, God was not angry, He was quite sad and mournful, He repented of having made Saul king, meaning He changed His mind once and for all of having his family reign over His people. God sends Samuel to Saul, and confronts him about going against God’s commands.

[1 Samuel 15:11,13-14,18-20  It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. 13  And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.  14  And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?  18  And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.  19  Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?  20  And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.]

[Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD,] Only doing half of what God commands is not obeying Him, neither is adding to what He commands. When He commands that we must believe in the Gospel of His Son alone to be redeemed from hell, He means what He says. He did not ask us to accept Christ as our Saviour, then get baptized, He told us to believe upon His name alone and we will be saved. Doing anything else than what He commands is not obeying God and He will call us on that. Of course, Saul wanted forgiveness, but it was too late, Samuel stresses to him that obeying God is better than sacrifice.

[1 Samuel 15:22-26,28-29  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.  23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.  24  And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.  25  Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.  26  And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.  28  And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.  29  And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.]

[to obey is better than sacrifice,] God is very merciful and will forgive us a thousand times a day as long as we are repentant and sincere in our efforts, but He knew Saul’s heart, and He knows our heart and will repent of saving those who are not coming to Him with a sincere, willing, and repentant heart, [Genesis 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.]

[And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent:] God feels great grief in one of His own turning on Him, but He is righteous and just, and will not continue to watch His people go against His commands, without repentance. Repentance is more than just feeling great sorrow for sin, and turning from it, it is also changing your thinking. When we learn that the punishment for sin is hell, and look to Jesus to redeem us, we are changing our thinking from our own righteousness saving us to only Christ can save us. God will not repent of His decision to put a soul’s salvation in the hands of His Son, [Luke 9:34-35  While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.  35  And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.]

Disappointments come when we are let down by those we had so much faith in, but there comes a time when we must move on. God knows every heart, and if they turn their heart away from Him He will find someone else willing to do what they will not. Samuel saddened and disappointed over Saul, mourned, but now the time came for him to anoint a new king, God told him to snap out of it and sent him to a mans house who had eight sons.

[1 Samuel 16:1,4-7  And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 4  And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?  5  And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.  6  And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’S anointed is before him.  7  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.]

[Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature;] Remember, Saul is this big, tall guy, so, even Samuel assumes that God has chosen someone of a similar appearance. However, God was going to do it differently, this time He was going to choose someone that would be least expected.

[1 Samuel 16:10-13  Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.  11  And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.  12  And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.  13  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.]

[Now he was ruddy,] Remember, Jesse is the son of Obed, who’s mother is Ruth, so, this all lines up with prophecy. [Ruddy; Of a red color; of a lively flesh color, or the color of the human skin in high health.] This just means that his skin had a healthy glow about him. The ones whom have Christ in their heart and are the most useful to Him have a healthy glow about them that shines through them like no other, and are often the least expected, [John 15:16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.]

Well, things only got worse for Saul after Samuel told him that God was taking the throne from him and giving it to another. God took His Spirit away from him, and now, another spirit plagued him.[1 Samuel 16:14-17  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.  15  And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.  16  Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.  17  And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.]

[But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul,] We can give a great big THANK YOU to God for not doing this anymore, removing His Spirit from someone who does not repent of sin. You see, God’s Spirit did not always dwell with every believer before Christ came here in the flesh, He dwelt within the prophet or priest who then related His message to His servant. When you stop to think about it, God took His Spirit from them when they turned their heart away from Him, and in a sense, He still does that today. What I mean by that is, when we accept Christ as our Saviour we are fully trusting by faith, through God’s grace, that He saves our soul and as long as we believe that until we take our last breath, we will be saved. Sadly, many will lose their faith in Him, [Matthew 24:12-13  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.  13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.]

[and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.] That evil spirit is none other than Satan himself, and I am sure that what was troubling him was what he kept saying to him, something like, God had left him, does not love him anymore, and is taking his throne away from him. And that is exactly how people lose their faith in Christ, [Matthew 13:19-21  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.  20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;  21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.]

Jesus Christ Magnified: [1 Samuel 15:29  And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your mercy and grace, and for eternal life, which You have given me when I accepted Your Son as my Saviour alone. Thank You, Jesus, for taking my place on the cross, for dying for the sin I am guilty of, and for giving me life beyond the grave. You paid the price for my sin, and for that reason I pray that You keep me as Your faithful servant. Lord, Keep my heart tender and pure, always on my faith in You, watch over me, guide me, keep me as the apple of Your eye, the one who lives by faith and not by sight. Teach me, discern me, grow me, and show me what to learn, follow, and teach so that I am a blessing to others. I love You, and ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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