Tuesday March 23rd, 2021
Memorize: Proverbs 29:25 Good News Translations (GNT)
« It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the LORD, you are safe. »
Read: 1 Samuel 15:18-30
18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’
19 Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else.
21 Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?
Listen!
Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
24 Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command,
for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.
25 But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”
26 But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the Lord’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”
27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe.
28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you.
29 And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”
30 Then Saul pleaded again, “I know I have sinned. But please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.”
Message:
The element ‘M’ in our equation for Resistance in the “Mathematics of Christ in You” (MCY) series that started on March 19 , stands for Men-Pleasing.
Some people just want to be known by all.
The problem with this however, is that you will begin to pay too much attention to what people think of you and you will be scared to offend them even when you are on the side of truth.
And Saul said to Samuel,
« “I have sinned by not following the LORD’s command or your instructions. I was afraid of the people and listened to them. »
1 Samuel 15:24GWT
In the Scripture above, Saul disobeyed God because he wanted to maintain his popularity amongst men.
Fame can create a major problem for you, and that is why I do not like it. You cannot live the life that you love to live; you cannot just stop by the road and buy roasted plantain when you feel like eating some. There are a lot of eyes on you.
Left to me, if I could do the work of God without showing my face everywhere, I would gladly do it. I thank God I am not after fame, so when people criticize me on social media because of my Bible-based beliefs, I don’t pay attention.
Some preachers can’t preach the truth anymore because they want to remain popular with the congregation.
The fear of people brings a snare (Proverbs 29:25).
Beware!
Sometime ago, I went to minister in a Church for a three-day programme. I had preached on faith and other topics and many souls had been saved. I then told the Pastor that I would like to preach a sermon on restitution on the last day. He pleaded with me not to do so, tagging it ‘hard teaching’.
He also added that some of the people I had gathered would leave because of this.
I told him I did not care about a big congregation headed for hell. What matters most is preparing these people to get to Heaven.
I have always told my children that I am a holiness preacher and so I will teach holiness until I die.
This will never change even if people decide to leave the Church because of the ‘hard teaching’. What I am after is ensuring that you make it to Heaven. You can call me old-fashioned, I don’t care.
If we get to Heaven together, you will thank me over there for teaching you holiness.
Men-pleasers seek fame at the expense of pleasing God and this ultimately leads to destruction.
Don’t please people and displease God.
Put Him first always (Matthew 6:33).
Prayer point: Ask God to take away every desire in you to be a men-pleaser.
Author: Pst E. A Adeboye
Texte edited by Naomie
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