1 Samuel chapter 13
King Saul had been given an order. It was to wait. Samuel was coming to Gilgal to offer a sacrifice. Saul had attacked and provoked a large Philistine army and the Israelites were afraid.
Samuel had said to wait for 7 days. He was late. So Saul decided to offer the sacrifice himself. It's easy to criticise Saul. Some of the Israelites were deserting, and Saul was under great pressure. But his impatience and fear led to presumption. Eventually, that led to his death and the end of his royal dynasty.
Some years ago, I started a low key Bible school. We needed to rent some space. My wife said that the Lord had shown us where it was to be. So we checked out the space. It was already fully occupied. OK, so wife was wrong. Or not....
We tried a number of times. Then we found out that the terms of the lease precluded us from using the space. Checkmate. Or not...........
The Lord nudged me to go talk to the people there yet again. I've learned enough to know that it's better to obey than to argue. My thoughts were contrary even as I drove there. I was met at the door. "We are in the same position as you. We are looking for somewhere." The owner had passed away and the family decided to sell the building.
The site had been bought by a firm of accountants that I "happened" to deal with. They demolished the old building. About a year passed and the site was vacant. We kept waiting. There was a lot of vacant office space in our town, but we were convinced that we were meant to be there.
The new building was a vast improvement. We signed the lease even before the fit out was complete. It was well worth the wait.
Brethren, how much better it is to have God's best, even if you have to wait. Faith is able to wait. Many preachers talk about faith as if God was a spiritual ATM who was required to please us. It is the opposite. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Faith will be tested. Abraham went ahead of God and produced Ishmael. Saul went ahead of God and lost his crown. The consequences for us may not be as drastic and God can make all things work together for our good. But the Christian life can be hard enough without self inflicted injury.
Do a word search; use something like Bible Hub. "Wait for the Lord", "Wait for...." comes up seven times. Is God saying something to you?
King Saul had been given an order. It was to wait. Samuel was coming to Gilgal to offer a sacrifice. Saul had attacked and provoked a large Philistine army and the Israelites were afraid.
Samuel had said to wait for 7 days. He was late. So Saul decided to offer the sacrifice himself. It's easy to criticise Saul. Some of the Israelites were deserting, and Saul was under great pressure. But his impatience and fear led to presumption. Eventually, that led to his death and the end of his royal dynasty.
Some years ago, I started a low key Bible school. We needed to rent some space. My wife said that the Lord had shown us where it was to be. So we checked out the space. It was already fully occupied. OK, so wife was wrong. Or not....
We tried a number of times. Then we found out that the terms of the lease precluded us from using the space. Checkmate. Or not...........
The Lord nudged me to go talk to the people there yet again. I've learned enough to know that it's better to obey than to argue. My thoughts were contrary even as I drove there. I was met at the door. "We are in the same position as you. We are looking for somewhere." The owner had passed away and the family decided to sell the building.
The site had been bought by a firm of accountants that I "happened" to deal with. They demolished the old building. About a year passed and the site was vacant. We kept waiting. There was a lot of vacant office space in our town, but we were convinced that we were meant to be there.
The new building was a vast improvement. We signed the lease even before the fit out was complete. It was well worth the wait.
Brethren, how much better it is to have God's best, even if you have to wait. Faith is able to wait. Many preachers talk about faith as if God was a spiritual ATM who was required to please us. It is the opposite. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Faith will be tested. Abraham went ahead of God and produced Ishmael. Saul went ahead of God and lost his crown. The consequences for us may not be as drastic and God can make all things work together for our good. But the Christian life can be hard enough without self inflicted injury.
Do a word search; use something like Bible Hub. "Wait for the Lord", "Wait for...." comes up seven times. Is God saying something to you?
I don't know those that "Many preachers talk about faith as if God was a spiritual ATM who was required to please us. ". I know Gods word OT promises. Some say over 7000 and those are yes for us that like Isaac are the children of promise. The fact we love the lord our God with all our heart soul and mind.. we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. To not know how much He loves to give. Yes some that love Him trust Him obey Him have got off in some silly areas that do not touch salvation.