Who Will Be King?

TRUMP VS HILLARY
WHO WILL OUR NEXT "KING" BE?

In reading 1 Samuel 8 it struck me that we as a nation seem to be crying out for the same thing as Israel.  In that day they decided that their leader and judge, Samuel, wasn’t enough.  They wanted more like the other nations for even Samuel’s sons had turned aside to dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.  The people said to Samuel, “Give us a king to lead us.” Because this displeased him, he went to the Lord and prayed.  And this is what the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” Let me repeat that, “but they have rejected me!” Sound familiar?  Let’s continue on. 

God said, “As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.” Hold on now, are y’all ready for this? Here’s the words of the Lord that Samuel told them who were asking for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.  He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord WILL NOT ANSWER you in that day.” Ouch! What are you hearing when you read this? Let God speak into your heart!

 Even with Samuel’s warning they still said, “NO! We want a king over us.” They wanted to be like the other nations. We’ve had other nations wanting a king to be like us, but slowly some are seeing the reality that we aren’t all we’re cracked up to be!  Amen! They wanted a king who would lead them and go out before them and fight their battles. Woah! Do you hear that? To this day we are still crying out “Give us a king!” And we are still just as sinful and blind. Truth is, God was meant to be their king just like he is meant to be our king today.  There was never supposed to be any other king but God. And we are still dethroning him to this very day! We cry out for our own selfish desires disregarding the evil that lurks behind our desires.  Friends, don’t join the masses of this world demanding your rights and desires because I tell you God WILL give them to us! Instead we need to be like Samuel, praying! Like Nehemiah, weeping, fasting and praying that God would strengthen our hands and our hearts and give us the opportunity to rebuild the walls! Oh dear friends, we have a responsibility to be the Godly leaders this world so desperately needs.  We have the chance to be like Abraham whose faith was credited to him as righteousness! He is our father. God has made him the father of many nations! Let’s pray like Abraham and ask the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah.  May the Lord look down upon us and find us faithful unlike Sodom and Gomorrah.  And when God moves us out DO NOT look back to see and weep for what we are being saved from.  

We are a sinful nation in need of our Savior Jesus Christ! We must pray for our leaders. Pray for God to change the hearts of sinful man and to spare us.  Yes, prophecy will be exacted, but God yearns to hear our hearts in prayer because he can and will change the course of things.  Let our faith go before us and our warrior feet follow God into battle. Raising up disciples who will go out and share the gospel of the good news of Jesus, leading the lost to salvation.  It is not pleasing to the Lord that any man should perish without him, oh but so many will! What are you going to do about it? I love how Samuel confronted the people with evidence of all the Lord had done for them. All the righteous acts done for them and their forefathers.  Oh that we would do the same with great boldness! God has already delivered us in so many ways and longs to do more, but I am afraid we have become so much like Israel and have begun demanding for our own selfish desires and disregarding the good that God has brought us and have FORGOTTEN THE LORD!  We have armies (evil) moving in on every side of us and we are still crying “Give us a king!” Soon the Lord will give us our king, what we have asked for. What, my friends, are you crying out for? What are you demanding? I pray that we would turn to demanding God’s justice and mercy, His will and not ours here on earth as it already is in heaven.  When things get hard and messier than they already are there will be those who will turn and ask God’s people to pray to our Lord because “they have added to all the other sins, the evil of asking for a king”. And we will come together and pray! Be careful what you are asking for in this election and from our next leader! 

 As it says, “If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and your king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God-good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.” Do not turn away! Serve the Lord with all your heart! God is king and He always will be! Now, let Him reign and be king of your life before it’s too late to call out to Him! We are not promised tomorrow, but in our pride we boast about what we will do tomorrow! Will you turn your life over to the one true king? Jesus Christ! Will you pray for God to be king of our nation?

 Do you believe that Jesus is the son of God who came down to earth as a man in order to take on your sins and diseases on the cross where he suffered greatly so you don’t have to and then died and rose again 3 days later to sit on the right hand of the Father? Will you ask for forgiveness of your sins and let Jesus be the Lord of your life, and finally putting him on in baptism for the forgiveness of your sins? Will you submit to him and his commands in all of your life? Life with Jesus is so beautiful! His peace that he gives is totally beyond our understanding. His grace reaches the highest of mountains! His grace inspires you to move to higher ground! His mercies are new EVERY morning! His love and forgiveness never run out! Your faith in Him can move mountains and your love for him and others will change this world! His commands are not burdensome, but instead bring fulfillment and life abundant in joy, peace, safety and goodness! Why do you wait? Step into his love for you and then storm the heavens with your prayers of thanksgiving and for his blessings and provisions upon our land and our leaders! Lord, give us the leader who will bring you glory! Amen and amen! 

In Christ alone

His willing warrior and servant,

Stephanie Goode