Our study this week was 1 Kings 13-14.....reading about kings Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Both men new God and identified themselves with God, yet both set themselves apart from God....until they were in trouble. Sounds familiar. As we read these accounts, it was crucial that we remembered that God is telling us the events through His eyes.
The passages that stirred the most discussion were 1 Kings 1 - 25 where a man of God was sent to Jeroboam to proclaim that God was angry about idol worship and that God was going to tear down the alter. Our discussion focused on this man of God who was very disciplined in carrying out God's instructions until he was deceived by another "prophet". God had instructed that the man was not to eat with the people and he was to leave the land by a different route from where he arrived. He was following God's instructions until the "prophet" said that an angel had told him to bring the man of God back to his house and feed him. The man of God then disobeyed God and ate with "prophet" which led to his death as he continued his journey.
There was a sense of sorrow for the man of God in the class because he was deceived and tricked into disobedience and he didn't deliberately intend to do wrong, but the bottom line is that he knew what God had instructed and nothing that happened change those instructions, except for what another had said. God did not change the instructions; a person did, and that is where the failing was.
We see this same thing in Christians and in the church itself today. God's instructions found in the Bible are very clear and concise, yet we bend them to accommodate our desires, our understanding, or to please others. We assume that God's word is open for interpretation and that He will accept our disobedience if we are bending them for a good reason. Just like the man of God eating with the "prophet", it's hard to see the damage done, yet God saw it as disobedience. If we are wondering why God doesn't seem to blessing us or our church ministries, we may want to look at the disobedience in our daily walks and teachings. God's instructions are clear and have not been change by God!
Something else that we see over and over in the Old Testament scriptures is that God used people (man of God, prophet sent by God, etc.) to deliver messages but also to be an example to the world. The people almost always knew that this person was sent by God. God will put us into situations and people's lives to deliver His word and to be an example, yet I think that far too often we may try to be more pleasing to the people than to God. We participate in the gossip, we nod acceptance to the unacceptable...we fail to be the
man or woman of God.
Discover and Proclaim the Truth of The Bible which is: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life." (John 3:16 NRSV). Jesus came to humanity to proclaim and give evidence to that love and He has commanded us to do the same. We, who believe, must not merely be followers, but we must be proclaimers of the Gospel Message and we can only do that by being filled with the love of God.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Sermon Replay Class....Oct. 12, 2011
We read scripture from 1 Kings and took a good look at King Solomon...the good and the bad. We saw in the early verses that Solomon recognized and appreciated the relationship that his father, David, had with God. I guess that we could say that he was raised in a Godly home and because of that, he gave God credit for his rise to the King seat over Israel. He knew of God's faithfulness and goodness.
In 1 Kings 3 we read that God asked Solomon what he wanted from God and the Solomon responded in Verse 9: Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people. Verse 10 - 13 is an amazing glimpse of God and how he responds to His children. (10) It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. (11) God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, (12) I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. (13) I give you also what you did not ask for, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you.
Verses 16- 27 relate a story where Solomon used the wisdom God had granted in resolving a conflict between two mothers and then we see in Verse 28: All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice. God's blessing set Solomon apart, a place of honor, but also glorified God. God's glory will rest on us when we are pursuing those things that will bring him glory.
We know that Solomon became probably the wealthiest man to ever live and we also know that he fell into a life of sin worshiping many gods and idols and seeking his own pleasures instead of God. But we also see where God kept His promise to Solomon....wisdom, wealth, and honor were his until he died. We even see where the honor God blessed him with lives on today with three books in the Bible written by Solomon....Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Solomon's humanity did not negate God's righteousness and sovereignty. God's plan and His will was and is accomplished by those who desire to please Him. Solomon's righteous prayer pleased God and God's response is a blessing for all of us today.
In 1 Kings 3 we read that God asked Solomon what he wanted from God and the Solomon responded in Verse 9: Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people. Verse 10 - 13 is an amazing glimpse of God and how he responds to His children. (10) It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. (11) God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, (12) I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. (13) I give you also what you did not ask for, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you.
Verses 16- 27 relate a story where Solomon used the wisdom God had granted in resolving a conflict between two mothers and then we see in Verse 28: All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice. God's blessing set Solomon apart, a place of honor, but also glorified God. God's glory will rest on us when we are pursuing those things that will bring him glory.
We know that Solomon became probably the wealthiest man to ever live and we also know that he fell into a life of sin worshiping many gods and idols and seeking his own pleasures instead of God. But we also see where God kept His promise to Solomon....wisdom, wealth, and honor were his until he died. We even see where the honor God blessed him with lives on today with three books in the Bible written by Solomon....Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Solomon's humanity did not negate God's righteousness and sovereignty. God's plan and His will was and is accomplished by those who desire to please Him. Solomon's righteous prayer pleased God and God's response is a blessing for all of us today.
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