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. (1 Sam. 12:20-25)
Samuel addresses the people as Saul is now king and the time of the judges has come to a close. Samuel will still interact with Saul as prophet and priest but will no longer lead the people or deliver them from their oppressors. In his farewell address, Samuel reminds the Israelites of what they have wished for and what they will get, but also tells them, having got a king they are to obey the king even as they obey the LORD. Serving God is still required for the Israelites as a nation and as individuals and the Law is still in place even as their kings will also give commands and orders. Samuel would continue to serve and to pray for the people but the people of Israel would have to forward in obedience to God and in service to the king. Doing otherwise would lead to destruction and judgment.
The people had rejected the Lord as Judge and King and would now have men to rule over them just as the other nations around them. Samuel would no longer lead them in battle or deliver them from those who came against them, for they had their king. The people would still have to obey God and keep His Commandments for even the king was constrained by the Law of God. Disobeying the Law and straying from the statutes of God meant destruction and judgment just as it had under the judges, but even more so as they now had a king who was supposed to lead them in obedience as well as uniting the nation. God warned the people of the consequences of disobedience and rebellion in following any false way. The people of God were to follow the ways of God in all that they did and God would bless them for it, but rebellion would bring destruction from the LORD.
God’s grace means we are not consumed. Our sin separates us from God and only by His mercy can we receive forgiveness through repentance of sin and faith in Him and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary. The Christian, growing in Christ is to follow the ways of God as revealed in the Scriptures and die to self daily. We are to pray for those who are lost and under the judgment of God that they may repent and surrender to Him on His terms. We are to serve God by ministering to one another and to those not of the faith in order to earn the right to be heard as we reach the lost, teach the nations, and preach His Word. We are not to follow after our own agenda, or hold on to programs because of tradition which God has rejected, nor are we to do God’s work the way the world does its work. God is Holy and demands holiness from His people. He has instilled His righteousness in His people and we are to walk in His ways and go as He commands until He is done with us. The world may reject Him and us because of Him but we are to be obedient and faithful unto Him who has called us into His service and equipped us to engage and enable people to enjoy Jesus Christ.
God has sent those of us who are His saints and know Him out into this world to reach the lost that they might be saved from sin. He desires that His people strive to be holy and obedient unto Him that we might minister to those around us who are hurting and in need as He provides. We serve others, equipped with the Word of reconciliation and righteousness, rightly divided and fitly spoken, that they may see Christ in us, the hope of Glory. Our God has commanded us to love one another with an unfeigned love, even as He first loved us, and to disciple one another in the Word of God so that we may all grow in grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our Lord has commissioned those who are His with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to go where He sends us in the power of the Holy Spirit. As we go, we are to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness through repentance and reconciliation with the Father through faith in His Son, that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of God might have life in His Name.
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. God calls you to faith in Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary to pay your sIn debt. He has provided the only way of reconciliation with God, forgiveness from God, and Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is God the Son, to give you a new life in Christ. Turn away from yourself and your sIn and turn to Him alone for eternal Life, now and always.
In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet
The people had rejected the Lord as Judge and King and would now have men to rule over them just as the other nations around them. Samuel would no longer lead them in battle or deliver them from those who came against them, for they had their king. The people would still have to obey God and keep His Commandments for even the king was constrained by the Law of God. Disobeying the Law and straying from the statutes of God meant destruction and judgment just as it had under the judges, but even more so as they now had a king who was supposed to lead them in obedience as well as uniting the nation. God warned the people of the consequences of disobedience and rebellion in following any false way. The people of God were to follow the ways of God in all that they did and God would bless them for it, but rebellion would bring destruction from the LORD.
God’s grace means we are not consumed. Our sin separates us from God and only by His mercy can we receive forgiveness through repentance of sin and faith in Him and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary. The Christian, growing in Christ is to follow the ways of God as revealed in the Scriptures and die to self daily. We are to pray for those who are lost and under the judgment of God that they may repent and surrender to Him on His terms. We are to serve God by ministering to one another and to those not of the faith in order to earn the right to be heard as we reach the lost, teach the nations, and preach His Word. We are not to follow after our own agenda, or hold on to programs because of tradition which God has rejected, nor are we to do God’s work the way the world does its work. God is Holy and demands holiness from His people. He has instilled His righteousness in His people and we are to walk in His ways and go as He commands until He is done with us. The world may reject Him and us because of Him but we are to be obedient and faithful unto Him who has called us into His service and equipped us to engage and enable people to enjoy Jesus Christ.
God has sent those of us who are His saints and know Him out into this world to reach the lost that they might be saved from sin. He desires that His people strive to be holy and obedient unto Him that we might minister to those around us who are hurting and in need as He provides. We serve others, equipped with the Word of reconciliation and righteousness, rightly divided and fitly spoken, that they may see Christ in us, the hope of Glory. Our God has commanded us to love one another with an unfeigned love, even as He first loved us, and to disciple one another in the Word of God so that we may all grow in grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our Lord has commissioned those who are His with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to go where He sends us in the power of the Holy Spirit. As we go, we are to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness through repentance and reconciliation with the Father through faith in His Son, that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of God might have life in His Name.
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. God calls you to faith in Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary to pay your sIn debt. He has provided the only way of reconciliation with God, forgiveness from God, and Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is God the Son, to give you a new life in Christ. Turn away from yourself and your sIn and turn to Him alone for eternal Life, now and always.
In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet
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