Jesus as King versus human kings (Be careful what you ask for…)
I started writing this sermon weeks ago. It has been running through my head since it came to me. MANY of you have no clue the following chapter even exists in the Bible but I highly encourage you to read the entire thing. The old saying that if you “don’t remember/learn from history, you are destined to repeat it” is applicable here.
In this sermon, I teach you if you don’t know God’s MO (His way of thinking and doing things) you are likely to be unprepared when it comes time to pray in a manner that gets His attention. If you don’t even have time to read this chapter you are CHEATING YOURSELF of knowledge that you likely beg for… The Israelites were blessed far beyond their own bad behavior because even though God said He wouldn’t listen if the people asked for relief from a tyrannical leader/government, in this case, He chose to love His people and appointed King David to replace a sinful Saul.
Saul was the first King of Israel and he was chosen by the people because he was good-looking and charismatic. David was later chosen by God to redeem the people of their choice. Although he too turned out to be a sinner of the worst kind, he was repentant and God forgave him. David was neither good-looking nor charismatic, but He revered God. Saul and his son Jonathon were killed because of their sins against God because they did not seek to honor God, but rather to please themselves.
SO HERE IS THE IMPORTANT THING FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND: Jesus came as the King of Jews, yet He came to heal, help, love, and SERVE humanity. Human “Kings” are here to take your resources, and rights and to enslave you to themselves. They are motivated by greed, lust for power, and the need to control you. Jesus is motivated to give you free will, love you, give you more rights, and improve your quality of life. I think we can all agree governments become corrupt because of hunger for power and control, thus seeking to take away from you while our King, Lord Jesus seeks to GIVE! You must decide, do you want to have your life taken from you or do you want to be given the best life possible?
1 Samuel 8 -- Israel Asks for a King
8 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “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. 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 claim as his rights.”
Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: 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 male and female servants and the best of your cattle land 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, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.” But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”
Prior to King Saul being chosen by the people to lead them, God had appointed prophets and several judges (Book of Judges) to lead the people (with His guidance, power, and plan) away from their self-created enslavement to humans. Knowing the chronological events of the Bible helps you understand how we went from humans commuting with God directly in the Garden of Eden to all of us being enslaved to a government/monarchy/barbarian dictatorship. Sure there are other names for government heads, but you get my point.
Our country used to be a group of people founded UNDER God’s rule in a republic where people had many rights. Most importantly, our government was limited and built with checks and balances to control the power of each body so that we didn’t become a dictatorship. YET, in the last decades and becoming more and more obvious in the last few years, many have tossed God out and focused on giving their rights and powers to small groups of sinful people and a government that seeks to control and destroy our God-given rights. It is not too late to change our trajectory, but only if everyone stands up to humans and bows down only to God!
This Bible story should explain why we must fight against human rule and return to God as our example and leader. AMEN ><>
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Until next week, Lisa