GOD SPEAKS

After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.’ Acts 13:22

God chooses some for His work. We must remember that what we have is only by His grace. If God has chosen you for a purpose, do not think that there is none greater than you. We must learn to keep what we have. In other words, we need to keep the great things that God has freely given to us.

There might be many reasons why we lose certain great things received from the Lord. Let us see the case of King Saul.

Saul was chosen by God to be a king to His people. But he did not do according to His will. When we work with Him, we need to know follow Him. We cannot make our own ways of doing His things. Just because you are chosen by God for His ministry or work, you can never take it for granted that whatever you do will be accepted by the Lord. God will never change His principles. There may be difference in doing the things, but His intention shall never change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. HEBREWS 13:8.

Read this verse: Now he waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him and to ^[e]greet him. ¹¹ But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, ¹² therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not endure.  The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 1 SAMUEL 13:8-14.

There
may be different reasons why Saul lost his kingdom:

1. He could not
   wait until Prophet Samuel Comes.
2. He offered sacrifice to the Lord which was supposed to be
   offered by His Servant Prophet Samuel.
3. The situation was getting
   worse. He saw every one scattering from him and Prophet Samuel did not come
   before the appointed time. Therefore, he was afraid. This fear forced Saul to
   make offerings.

Just see what happened to King Saul who was chosen by God Himself. Here, the word of God says that the King Saul had not kept the commandment of the Lord and therefore, he lost his kingdom. What is the commandment of God given to Saul here? It could be waiting for His prophet Samuel who would show some God’s plan in a difficult situation to come out of the problem. But He did not wait and did his own plan. Situation could be difficult but we need to rely on God always. Here, Saul was already instructed to wait for Prophet Samuel. This was a direction from the Lord to this King Saul. Whatever may be the situation in our life, try to do only God’s will. The situation forces us to do many our own inventions to escape from the difficulties. But these may not help us. Learn always to seek His help. Rely on Him always. Seek his guidance in all situations. Wait for Him though it seems meaningless to our mind. Our God is a God who never leaves a man who puts his trust in HIM. My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. PSALMS 62:1. If you wait for the Lord, you will see silence and peace in your life. The fear of situation is really making everyone to make their own decisions. These fears rule in many lives.

We could notice that why Saul did not wait for Prophet Samuel? Was it not the fear of his enemies? Why did he offer sacrifices? Was it not his intention if he does it, he may get the Help of the Lord? Thus, we may see that Saul as a general human being he did it. His intentions may be right. Had we been in the same situation, what would have we done? It tells only one thing. Though what appears right in your sight may not be right from the point of view of the Lord. We may have our own reasons why we have done certain things in our life. But the reasons may not be justifiable in the presence of the Lord. What is Right in the sight of the Lord is Right and what is wrong is wrong. Here, we need to understand that the fear of uncertainty and fear of situation makes us to do our own will in many times. This exists in all our lives. We need to balance and manage it. This is the main reason why many of us do our wills. Putting entire trust in the Lord is very difficult but at the same time it is easy. It is easy because you need not to do anything except praying and asking Him to lead your life.

Therefore,
understand this:

(i) You may also a chosen person like King Saul. But always remember what happened to King Saul. This reminds us always as long as we do His will, we shall enjoy the privilege of being chosen from the Lord.

(ii) The fear of uncertainty and fear of situation does exist in all our lives. We could notice that it is this fear that made King Saul to disobey the commandment of the Lord. But He who manages them in prayer shall prevail till the end is a blessed one. It is because only those put their entire trust in the Lord can do this. Can you put your entire trust in your Lord Jesus in all kinds of situations and uncertainty?  Remember, when the Abraham came out of his father’s house and nation, he did not know where actually the Promised Land was. But he still believed it. We need such faith to witness and keep the great things from the Lord.

(iii) Never think that I am chosen by God and whatever I do shall be correct always. Our God does not show partiality. He has His own ways of doing things. God’s heart can be found in HIS WORD. Just follow it. He loves such people. This is the reason he chose DAVID to be the next king after King Saul. ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will. ACTS 13:22. He expects this from us. He expects more from us if you are chosen for a purpose.

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man; for he knew what was in man. John 2: 23-25

After accepting Jesus as your savior, it is required to notice that you need to continue your faith diligently. Many after accepting Him as the Lord, they simply leave their faith to air. They are negligent in continuing their faith. They do not care whether their faith is being protected or not. They are careless and underestimate the strength of their enemy Satan. Though Satan is defeated, he still works!

The strength of Satan lies in his mind and the weakness of the believers also lies in their mind. In this regard, it is pertinent to read this verse: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:11.  Look at this verse. Satan’s power lies in his mind. This is the reason it is written “ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”.  Armor is put on to save your selves in the battle. Look at the difference. The enemy uses his wiles, as his strength lies in his mind, to fight with you. But you have to use the armor of the Lord to escape from these wiles of devil. Therefore,  you need to be careful in continuing your faith in the Lord.

Satan thinks critically which you and I cannot understand. Our thinking is limited. You and I think around the small cares of this world and if there is any problem in your life, we may say that this is being created by the devil. Yes, this is true. But this is very simple thing to him. His thinking is very critical. Look at this instance from the Bible: Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. Jude 1:9.He argues about the body of Moses. We know Moses spoke a word against the congregation which made the Lord angry.  This was the reason he could not enter the Land of milk and honey. This became an opportunity for Satan to argue about the body of Moses with Michael the archangel.  See how Satan thinks! If you speak a word against the will of the Lord, he will catch you! If he can get a reason to argue against Moses, cannot he find more for you and me? His thinking is very critical.

Satan can do two things to deprive you from your faith.

(1) He can fail your faith:

If your faith is at the beginning stage, he uses this trick. He will try to fail your faith. Look at this verse: And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat :but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not : and when thou artconverted, strengthen thy brethren. Luke 22:31-32.

(2) He can prevent you using your faith/ He can make you to misuse your faith:

This is a peculiar situation where in you will not be able to use your faith properly. Here you hesitate to use your faith. You have to notice that you have to maintain two kinds of relations at a time on this earth. For example: Let us take the relation between you and your son. You have a relation with your son and a relation with God at a time.  If you have to correct your son, using your faith, who does a thing against the Lord, will you be able to say it to him directly that he is wrong in such thing? Or will you hesitate to tell the same to him? If you hesitate to correct your son, this may mean that you have given much importance to the relation between you and your son than the relation between you and your God. This would mean that you have committed yourself to the relation with your son. This happens not only with your son. It happens with even with all (believers or non-believers).

This is the cunning device used by the devil. This is the wile of the devil. Your relation with God is more important than any other person on this earth. The person could be your son, mother, husband, your friend, your colleague, a gentile friend etc.,

In this regard, it is important to deal with this situation. Look at Jesus how he had given an example. It is written – “But Jesus did not commit himself unto them…John 2:23-25”.  Also read: When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. John 6:15. In both situations, he had no problem. If all people come to him, this will be a good chance for Him to spread the Gospel. If they make him a king, will it create a problem? Yes.  This will give them a chance to be very close to Him so that He cannot teach them strictly. (This intimacy will not create any problem to the Lord.) But he had set an example before us that closeness may cause to commit you to others. This will create respect of persons in spiritual life. The Bible says-My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. James 2:1

In this regard, read the whole chapter of 13 of 1 Kings. Here you may see the prophet who came from Judah was able to speak the word of the Lord boldly with our respect of persons. He spoke all that the Lord had commanded against the King Jeroboam.

Lord told the Prophet from Judah three things:

(1) Speak against the King (about the altar)

(2) Do not take bread/water

(3) Do not come from the same way he has gone to Bethel.

He did all these three things. He spoke boldly. He gave importance to the relation with God than the relation with a king of the earth. The king Jeroboam could kill him but he did not afraid. Therefore, it can be said that he did not commit himself to the king.

But the same Prophet could not do these with the old prophet of Bethel. The old prophet deceived the prophet from Judah. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art ; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. 1 Kings 13: 18-19. The prophet from Judah could not say “NO” to the old prophet of Bethel. He hesitated because he thought he was also a man of God. This is the deception. This is how Satan thinks. He can make you not to use your faith in certain situations. Remember what Jesus has done. You should never commit your way to others so that you cannot use your faith. This prophet from Judah thought that the prophet was also instructed by the Lord and therefore went with him to eat and drink. Finally, he died there in the hand of lion. He gave importance to the relation between a prophet( appearing as Christian) than the Lord who has commanded him not eat and drink in Bethel. Shall the same Lord speak against His word? Shall He change his words often? Never think that other person is a Christian therefore I can agree with him everything whatever he says to you.  By doing so, you will commit yourself unto them and you can never say “No” if they do something against to the Lord. This is the wile of the devil. This is what you need to recognize.

The same characteristic can be observed in Prophet Elisha. Read this verse:So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 2 Kings 5: 10-12.  Look at what Prophet Elisha had done. He did not went out of his house to meet Naaman. He simply sent a messenger to Naaman , saying, wash yourself in Jordan seven times. He respected Naaman but he did not commit himself to him. He did not come out of his house to meet Naaman. This shows that he gave importance to tell the words of the Lord to Naaman than coming out of his house to stand before him and thereby committing himself to the power of a mortal man. As he did not commit himself to a man, he was able to speak the word of the Lord boldly. He had no respect of persons in faith matters. Respecting others in faith matters may cause you to hesitate to use your faith. This is the most dangerous wile of the devil.

Read these two verses simultaneously.

(1)        No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper;  Isaiah 54: 17

(2)        I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee     with mine eye. Psalms 32:8

What are these weapons? Who shall hold them? Who is your enemy? As you being Christian, you will have only one enemy- Satan. You cannot say –a neighbor next to my house is your enemy as this is against the doctrine of Christianity. In this regard, the Lord said – Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Matthew 19:19.  You may not like other’s attitude in certain matters but that should not be a cause to have hatred towards the others.

A weapon is used to hurt us or it is better to say a weapon is used to kill us. Therefore, it may be understood that these weapons are being used by our enemy to trouble us.  But remember that our God is capable to help you to dismantle all these weapons in all these circumstances.   The weapons are formed which may mean that they are cleverly devised. Most of the times, these weapons are devised in cruel thoughts of men. Cruel thoughts of men are more dangerous than a nuclear weapon. Here, Satan may also create/use such cruel minds of any man to hurt us. Therefore, weapons may mean cruel thoughts of men to harm or kill us.

As soon as they are formed in the cruel minds and before they are executed, Our Lord shall help you to escape from all these evils. In this regard, the promise of the Lord is with us. The Bible says- I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Psalms 32:8. The application of this promise in our lives shall fill you with great confidence. The instruction and teaching of the Lord will help you a lot.  The instruction may be either directly from the Lord or indirectly using men / any other means. The indirect method could be like use of HIS men to help you in this regard. This you need to understand.

Let us see some of the examples from the Bible.

1. And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David : and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee : now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself : 1 Samuel 19: 1-2. Look at this context. The weapon formed in the mind of Saul to kill David. But this cruel idea was revealed to David by Jonathan who is Saul’s son. It is better to say David was instructed by the Lord indirectly with the help of Jonathan.

2 (i)      When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Matthew 2: 3. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child ; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. Matthew 2:7-8. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. Matthew 2: 12

2 (ii)     And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in  a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word : for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Matthew 2: 13

Look at these two circumstances. The cruel thoughts (weapons formed to harm) of King Herod were to kill both the wise men and young child Jesus. These weapons could not be successful in the presence of the Lord. Lord defeated these weapons with His direct method.  God had sent His angel directly to convey the instruction to HIS people to escape from the lurking evil weapon of the Devil.

From the above, you may understand that the Lord our God is with us always. He is there for you. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. Though we may be unaware of all these weapons or cruel thoughts of men, remember always that there is the Most High God Jesus is with us. God has his own methods of communication/instruction to help you in all your circumstances. Be of good courage.

Keep your mind calm. Learn to control your thoughts under your control. The Bible talks about there exists definite connection between you mind and your health. Therefore, it is much essential for us to learn how to control our thoughts. Usually, the thoughts are generated in your mind either on your own initiative or from the influence of others. The stimulus for these may be from the words used, or from the thoughts brooding out of your lusts etc.  Whatever may be the source of these thoughts it must be known that these have a significant effect on your health. The health includes both negative and positive sides.

In this regard, let us see some of the instances from the Bible.

Case1:    And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the   side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died : for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel    forty years. And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered : and when she heard   the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed   herself and travailed ; for her pains came upon her. 1 Samuel 4:18-19.

                (i) What happened to Eli? He fell from off the seat backward. Why? Did anyone push him? Was he sick? Then how?. Just after listening the word about the ark of God- when he made mention of the ark of God, he fell backward.. The reporting person had came to Eli and told about the all incident happened. But you may notice that Eli fell backward before the listening the whole report. In other words, just after listening to the word ark of God, he fell backward. See the influence of words influenced on his mind. He lost his strength and lost his life too. Most of the times, you and I feel the same. The situations may be different in our lives. But the relation between your mind and your health does exist.

                (ii)  Look at Phinehas’ wife. The same type of relation between can be identified here too. It is written –when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. See the connection between the words she had heard and the how the pains came upon her. These “pains” came to influence on her body. She may have to experience these pains naturally later on but as of now it may be seen how the thoughts affected her immediately. It may be noticed that there was no time gap between hearing the tidings and delivery of her child Ichabod. This can prove that the thoughts in your mind can influence on your body.

Case 2:   And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day ? wilt thou not tell me ? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.2 Samuel 13:4.

                Look at Amnon!. He was a strong man but was gradually becoming lean from day to day. Why? He was controlled by his thoughts. Here the question does not arise whether the thoughts are bad intention or right intention. He was under complete control of his desire. His desire to have Tamar, his sister, dominated his body. This was the reason for his sickness: And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar ; for she was a virgin ; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do anything to her. 2 Samuel 13:2. The word of God is true. Therefore, it may be seen that his thoughts influenced on his mind which proves that there exists a relation between the mind and the body. The context in our lives may be different. But, your thoughts dominating your life will really ruin your health.

                Therefore remember the word from the Lord for you: Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23. We must learn to keep our heart (or say your mind) with all diligence. This is the source for our health. The issues of life flow from our hearts. The word of also confirms this in this verse: A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22. If you keep your heart a merry heart, it works like a good medicine. A good medicine cures diseases. Similarly, if you do not allow the thoughts to dominate your mind, it shall work as a good medicine. In other words, allowing unnecessary thoughts to dominate your mind, it shall work as a poison (opposite to medicine) and the same shall become a cause for your broken spirit. The broken spirit dries your bones. The bones will represent your body. Therefore, the connection between your mind and health is interrelated. Practically, the pressure of various thoughts will definitely try to influence our minds but we must learn to control them using the word of God. In this context always remember the promise from the Lord written in the Bible: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.1 Peter 5:7.