April 11, 2014 - Friday

Start Time: 6:54 A.M.

End Time: 7:19 A.M.

Title: Samuel’s Farewell Speech

Scripture: 1 Samuel 12:1 – 25

God’s Message / God’s Promise / God’s Commands:

→Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these things, I will make it right.”  “You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.” Samuel said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is witness,” they said.

NOTES:

Ø God is our witness!  No matter what other people or our enemy accuse us of, know that God is our witness in everything we do in life.  Everything our hand touches, our mouth speaks, our mind thinks, even the deepest secrets we have are all laid down before the Lord so He knows the truth.  When the devil comes to accuse us of being weak or of not doing our job; let us know that God is our witness and He knows everything and has come to testify for us and not against us.  He offers no condemnation and has come to become our sole witness when we are at trial.  He does not hold our sin against us but will testify of His love and grace that will ultimately set us free from the accusations of our enemies!  Praise Jesus!

→Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up out of Egypt. Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the Lord as to all the righteous acts performed by the Lord for you and your ancestors.  “After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the Lord for help, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.  “But they forgot the Lord their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal,^[a] Barak,^[b] Jephthah and Samuel,^[c] and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around you, so that you lived in safety.

NOTES:

Ø God is faithful in delivering us from our enemies and bring us to safety, every time we call upon Him!  No matter what our mistakes are, or no matter how we neglect the Lord every time HE gives us our victory, no matter how stubborn we have become, when we call upon Him, He is faithful in coming to our rescue and bringing us to safety.  This is our God!  The God who has everlasting love for us, which we continually crush and tramp on.  God who is ever faithful and consistent in listening to us and hearing our cries, despite of the many errors we make, despite of the many disrespect or disgrace we give Him.  He is faithful in forgiving us and protecting us from our enemies!  Praise the Name of Jesus!  Who else is like Him?  No One!

→ “But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king.  Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you.  If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the 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 ancestors.  “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!  Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call on the Lord to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.” Then Samuel called on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel. The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.” “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. ²² For the sake of his great name the Lordwill not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. ²³ As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. ²⁴ But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; considerwhat great things he has done for you. ²⁵ Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”

NOTES:

Ø God can turn our unnecessary wimps into something useful, even if our wimps can sometimes cause hurt to our God!  Many times we fail to see the heart of God and we seek for something unnecessary that cause pain or hurt before our Lord.  Our selfish nature can bring pain to our God yet He does not act irrationally but instead He is patient and even hears our desires even when it is not important or even when it hurts Him.  He gives in to our requests even when our requests hurt Him but in the end, He uses it to teach us and help us grow.  Our God is all we need in life but many times we ask for things that are secondary to what is necessary and sometimes, it hurts our King for such request.  Yet, God allows us to learn from our own mistakes, He does not force His will upon us!  He allows us to make our decisions and learn from our mistakes.  He is a continuously teaching God.  Even in difficult times, He seeks to teach us so we may grow and mature.  Thank You Lord for Your patience in me.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, my one and only Savior.  My King and Lord; My Ruler, Father and Friend.  I am guilty of wanting unnecessary things in life and ended up hurting Your feelings many times.  I know that I seek for many things and was not satisfied of You even if You are more than enough.  I am like the Israelites, stubborn and foolish.  Lord forgive me for hurting You; forgive me for causing You pain.  Thank You because You are allowing me to make my own mistakes and learn from it.  Help me Lord to learn faster and to grow better that I may not continue to cause heartaches to You.  Thank You because You are ever faithful in delivering and bringing me to safety every time I cry or call upon You.  Despite of my stubbornness, or my foolishness, You are patient with me and continues to protect me when I am in trouble.  Thank You Lord that despite of my ignorance, you continue to be my witness when the devil comes to accuse me.  Thank you because You testify for me when I am under trial and the devil brings so much condemnation for all the things I have done wrong.  You break that condemnation Lord and offers forgiveness and new life.  Thank You Jesus for Your gift!  Thank You because You are my assurance at all times.  Truly Your love and grace is overflowing in me and I am grateful every day that I get to see a glimpse of Your goodness in me daily.  I Love You Lord.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen!