"Make Us A King To Judge Us"

"Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou are old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." (1 Samuel 8:4-5).


Hello To All:

This message has been a long time in developing. I say developing, because I cannot write; nor can I deliver the message that our Lord Jesus Christ has for all of us - at a time of my choosing.  I must wait on God as He patiently and mercifully brings me to a place of certainty. Jesus of Nazareth is in control of this process. He leads and I follow. When He brings me to that place of certainty, then He sits me down and His message is delivered to all of us. Once again, that time is now at hand. Can we say thank you Jesus? Amen and Amen and Amen!

Before we turn to our opening text - let us consider, for a moment, why this message has been a long time in developing. Most of us, including myself, are too quick to jump to conclusions concerning what we believe to be the truth; or we are too quick to accept what others tell us, regarding what they believe to be the truth.

We often need to be reminded that our natural human mind is not capable of knowing the truth. It is written: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14). Now it is certain that all of us who belong to Jesus of Nazareth "have the mind of Christ," (see 1 Corinthians 2:16). The challenge for all of us, is to wait on the manifestation of Christ's mind, rather then relying on our own natural mind. It is only through Jesus Christ that the revelation of truth can come to us (please see the message of 8/28/12 titled: "Do we believe God: What is truth?").

Waiting upon Jesus Christ for the manifestation of His mind. Waiting upon Jesus Christ for the Spirit of God to bring us to the truth, can be a very challenging process. If you, my beloved brethren, are in that often difficult place of waiting, please consider these promises from our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in the King's Book.

1. "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." (John 14:15-18).

2. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26).

A possible summation of the above promises is this: "The Spirit of truth" - Who "dwelleth with you" - "And shall be in you" - "He shall teach you all things" - He shall "bring all things to your remembrance."  Another way to state these promises is this: The Holy Ghost - The Spirit of Truth - shall teach - and bring to remembrance - all things that Jesus of Nazareth teaches us. Thus, it can be rightly stated that we must be willing to wait upon the revelation of truth that can only come from Jesus of Nazareth. It is only then that we can know the truth and thus be set free by the truth. Amen and Amen and Amen.

Since, by the empowering and indwelling presence of Jesus of Nazareth, the waiting for this message has been accomplished, let us now look to our opening text and what it has to say about God's chosen people.  In this text, we see the evidence that the nation of Israel had come to a place, in the historical time line, that they wanted an earthly king - "like all the nations." Prior to this point, in the time line, God had been, exclusively, their King. But, things had changed; and God's chosen people wanted to be "like all the nations."

Join with me in giving careful consideration to God's response to the demand of His chosen people. We find written at 1 Samuel 8:7, the following: "And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."

"They have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." This is a very powerful indictment of a sinful people's condition. Prior to this, there were not any mediators between God and His people. Yes, there were prophets and judges. But, the prophets and judges were not rulers. They were not kings. The prophets and judges were appointed by God to guide His people and to serve His people. They were not appointed to rule over His people. On the other hand, an earthly king would rule over God's people. An earthly king would control God's people.

Please be careful, my beloved, about being tricked into thinking that somehow God' chosen people had found a way to avoid God's sovereign control of not only their lives but of all of His creation. Rather, if this is to be rightly understood - it must be recognized as another dramatic reminder of the mystery of the relationship between God's sovereignty  and the free will of not only His chosen  people, but of all people through out all of time. Let us be reminded of God's command to Samuel: "And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee."

God is always in control. He will allow us to submit ourselves to the control of others; just as He allowed His chosen people to have a king "like all nations." But, as we shall see, the next time we gather, Israel suffered because of their choice. There is always a consequence to endure, when our allegiance becomes divided (please see series of messages beginning 5/24/2014, titled: "Authority In The Church"). We must always be asking ourselves: Who controls my life? If our allegiance is divided - then our journey to "Victorious Discipleship In Jesus Christ," will be compromised. We will not be all that Jesus intends for us to be!

Who is in control? Have we accepted an earthly king to rule over our lives? Do we allow others to dictate to us what it means to belong to Jesus of Nazareth; or our we exclusively "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith," (Hebrews 12:2)?

When next we gather, we shall continue in our examination of this matter of: "Make Us A King To Judge Us."

Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus