We are serving a living God who is always looking for our outstretched hands to cater for the needs of those ready and willing to walk with Him. God does not take cognizance of our outward appearance but He looks into our hearts and what qualities is God hoping to find in our hearts, before we can be accepted as a man and woman after God’s own heart? God is looking for somebody with the qualities He found in David, the poor shepherd boy. God is looking for men and women “after His own heart” (1samuel 13:14) “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.” God wants you to walk with Him, when He turns right, He wants you to turn right, when He says stop, advance no further, He wants you to stop and when He says advance and I will be with you, He wants you to obey and have courage and boldness without doubting Him and when He advises you to remain patient and persevere, He has a reason and He wants you and expects you not to take your life in your hands and do what seems best to you. You must know that what burdens you, also burdens Him. He is always by your side, He knows your hearts desires, ever before you ask. In fact, what you will become in life, has already been predetermined by Him before you were formed in your mother’s wombs, so if we are told these facts, why do we still or why should we still find it difficult to fear or trust Him? When you are a man or a woman after God’s own heart, you will be deeply sensitive to spiritual things. In 2 Chronicles 16:9, God explains it this way “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him……” What type of qualities is God looking for in us, which He found in David, to have entrusted such great responsibilities into his hand and even entered into eternal covenant with him? Too many to mention but the most outstanding of them all are; heart-for –God; integrity, honesty, spiritually inclined, humility and good character. God is looking for men and women whose hearts are His completely. Let us look at 1Samuel 13:14 “But now thy kingdom shall not endure: the LORD hath sought out for Himself a man after his own heart, and…..” You may be asking what God commanded King Saul to do. 1Samuel 15:3 “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay every man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” Well Saul went to the battle as commanded by God and did destroy all the Amalekites but also decided to use his own discretion just like we always do when we are given specific instruction, we feel we know better or we have the right to do what we think is right in our own eyes, even though it is the voice of God, handed down to us, from the mouth of a man or a woman of God’s own heart, to safe our soul. The voice of God is the voice of man, if you cannot obey those in positions of authority, like your parents, your teachers, your pastors and your leaders, then how could you have ears to hear when God is speaking to you through them? King Saul, used his discretion by sparing the life of the king of Amalek, Agag and also he allowed his soldiers to carry all the fat flocks of sheep, cows, and other things which to God knew had been polluted and corrupt, hence should be destroyed. If truly we know Who God is, is He not able to raise better flocks of domesticated animals from the stones of the earth, who created all these things in the first instance, is He not? Why did Saul have to do what pleases him and also listened to the voices of his captains? This is a direct message to all leaders from the head of church to the youngest leader in any organization. We must remember, we shall always be faced with this kind of situation, when God’s instructions to us as a leader are specific, but at that time, those who are near to us, because of their sentimental reasons, will want to force or persuade us into making wrong choices and thereby ending up putting a square peg into a round hole; but when you are now called to account for your wrong choices, they will not be there to bear the consequences with you. God cannot be manipulated; He is God of uprightness, God of discipline and God of righteousness and not God of favoritism, like many church leaders, which had been the cause of the downfall of many churches. If you want to walk with God, you just have to obey His strict orders, in-order to be a man or a woman after God’s own heart. God sent prophet Samuel to king Saul to pronounce His judgement upon him for not obeying God, in 1samuel 15:17-23 “And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, …………………………. And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” How many of us today are righteous enough in our own eyes that can point accusing fingers at Saul or condemn him for rebellion because rebellion breeds insubordination, stubbornness, disobedience and disregard for good advice which would improve our relationship with God and safe us from avoidable crisis and unpleasant emotions and consequences. So Saul lost his highly esteemed position and fell from grace to dust. May that never be our portion in Jesus name, but we have to exhibit the characteristic virtues of David.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 03:18:20 +0000
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