Rick said... Title: Fear, Worship and Listen Mentor: Samuel
S: 1 Samuel 12:14,15 "Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord 's commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. But if you rebel against the Lord 's commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.
O: Samuel was telling the Israelites as an old man about their history. He then made some simple conditional statements. If they would worship, fear, listen and not rebel...then that would show that they recognized the Lord as their King. If however they did not, God would lay his hand heavy on them (oppress them).
A: 1 Peter 5:5,6 seems to be a good cross reference. God gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud. Humility is worshiping , fearing, and listening to God.
P: God help me today to worship you, fear you more than fear man and listen to you and not the world. The world is shouting at me constantly, you speak everyday quietly ....help me to listen. Through Christ I am thankful your hand isn't heavy upon me,your burden is light, your yoke is easy. Thank you Jesus.
SCRIPTURE "Don't be afraid," Samuel reassured them. "You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don't turn your back on him. Don't go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you-they are totally useless! The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people. (1 Samuel 12:20-22) OBSERVATION The children of Israel have once again sinned against the Lord (thankfully we get to learn from their many mistakes!). Because of their insecurity and little faith, they crowned Saul as king without the guidance and or approval of God. The Israelites were scared of the enemies surrounding their land. These other countries had kings and powerful armies and Israel craved that same "guarantee" of protection and stability.
In their need to satisfy their wants and desires, they neglected the most important aspect of life - God. Instead of putting their faith in an all-powerful and all-knowing God, they put their confidence in a human being - flawed and fragile.
I said that we get to learn from their mistakes, but the truth is that we are no different. We sin all the time because of insecurities, lack of faith and upside-down priorities. The lessons to learn from this passage are that 1) God doesn't abandon us when we make mistakes and 2) we cannot abandon Him when we make mistakes. But here' s the hard part, we need to learn from those mistakes, repent and move on with improved attitudes and behaviors. APPLICATION Insecurity is at the root of so many of our sins. In our jobs, families, relationships, ministry and life we are led around on a leash by our insecurities. The need to feel accepted, valued and loved often times rule our actions and decisions and this leads to pain, hurt and suffering. If the Israelites had been secure in their relationship with God, they wouldn't have needed a king. If I was more secure in who I am in Christ, I wouldn't need to find fault with others in order to build myself up, I wouldn't need to test others' love by hurting them, I wouldn't make choices out of my weakness, but, instead, out of my strength in Him.
I need to repent, but learn, and observe, but also apply these lessons. PRAYER Dear Heavenly Father, Forgive me for the many times I let you down and sin. May my faith and security in You continue to grow so that I make wise decisions in all that I do. May my life, leadership and ministry inspire others to a deeper relationship with You and may I represent You well.
S: 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NLT) "But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent."
O: Paul was very concerned that people who were devoted to Jesus would be deceived and there were many people attempting to do accomplish this. Satan is the ultimate cause for deception and he did it to Eve.
A: In what ways am I being deceived by Satan? What ways am I being on the look out for deception in the church? For me personally my deception comes through the comfort perspective. If I am a Christian I deserve to be comfortable....or another is being deceived into thinking my life is my own.
P: Jesus, help me to be aware of deception in my life and the life of the church. For those areas above, I need your help in changing my perspective.
Rick said...
ReplyDeleteTitle: Fear, Worship and Listen
Mentor: Samuel
S: 1 Samuel 12:14,15 "Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord 's commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. But if you rebel against the Lord 's commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.
O: Samuel was telling the Israelites as an old man about their history. He then made some simple conditional statements. If they would worship, fear, listen and not rebel...then that would show that they recognized the Lord as their King. If however they did not, God would lay his hand heavy on them (oppress them).
A: 1 Peter 5:5,6 seems to be a good cross reference. God gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud. Humility is worshiping , fearing, and listening to God.
P: God help me today to worship you, fear you more than fear man and listen to you and not the world. The world is shouting at me constantly, you speak everyday quietly ....help me to listen. Through Christ I am thankful your hand isn't heavy upon me,your burden is light, your yoke is easy. Thank you Jesus.
Title: "Guaranteed" Protection
ReplyDeleteSCRIPTURE
"Don't be afraid," Samuel reassured them. "You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don't turn your back on him. Don't go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you-they are totally useless! The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people. (1 Samuel 12:20-22)
OBSERVATION
The children of Israel have once again sinned against the Lord (thankfully we get to learn from their many mistakes!). Because of their insecurity and little faith, they crowned Saul as king without the guidance and or approval of God. The Israelites were scared of the enemies surrounding their land. These other countries had kings and powerful armies and Israel craved that same "guarantee" of protection and stability.
In their need to satisfy their wants and desires, they neglected the most important aspect of life - God. Instead of putting their faith in an all-powerful and all-knowing God, they put their confidence in a human being - flawed and fragile.
I said that we get to learn from their mistakes, but the truth is that we are no different. We sin all the time because of insecurities, lack of faith and upside-down priorities. The lessons to learn from this passage are that 1) God doesn't abandon us when we make mistakes and 2) we cannot abandon Him when we make mistakes. But here' s the hard part, we need to learn from those mistakes, repent and move on with improved attitudes and behaviors.
APPLICATION
Insecurity is at the root of so many of our sins. In our jobs, families, relationships, ministry and life we are led around on a leash by our insecurities. The need to feel accepted, valued and loved often times rule our actions and decisions and this leads to pain, hurt and suffering. If the Israelites had been secure in their relationship with God, they wouldn't have needed a king. If I was more secure in who I am in Christ, I wouldn't need to find fault with others in order to build myself up, I wouldn't need to test others' love by hurting them, I wouldn't make choices out of my weakness, but, instead, out of my strength in Him.
I need to repent, but learn, and observe, but also apply these lessons.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father,
Forgive me for the many times I let you down and sin. May my faith and security in You continue to grow so that I make wise decisions in all that I do. May my life, leadership and ministry inspire others to a deeper relationship with You and may I represent You well.
In Jesus name,
Amen
S: 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NLT) "But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent."
ReplyDeleteO: Paul was very concerned that people who were devoted to Jesus would be deceived and there were many people attempting to do accomplish this. Satan is the ultimate cause for deception and he did it to Eve.
A: In what ways am I being deceived by Satan? What ways am I being on the look out for deception in the church? For me personally my deception comes through the comfort perspective. If I am a Christian I deserve to be comfortable....or another is being deceived into thinking my life is my own.
P: Jesus, help me to be aware of deception in my life and the life of the church. For those areas above, I need your help in changing my perspective.
Title: To Not Drift from Christ
ReplyDeleteS: 2 Corinthians 11:3 "But I am afraid that your minds will be led away from your true and pure following of Christ."
O: Paul was saying that the church could drift away from Christ.
A: I should not drift away from Christ.
P: Dear God, help me to know the things that would cause me to drift. Jesus you are my anchor and if I know you truly, you will keep me from drifting.