Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Turned Into Another Man Pt.6

Hallelujah! Amen! Just continue to pray concerning the outreach in Africa. We've received number of e-mails. God is doing some great things and it's exciting. We're just waiting for the timing of the Lord. The gentleman that's holding the land for us in Nairobi is a little antsy. They went through their elections without any violence, without any coups, and there's a change in government after close to thirty years, was it?--that Moi was president. He'd been elected for a four-year term and said that the constitution would go into effect after he was done, and it did. So he's stepping down; his party was defeated, and there wasn't a lot of violence, so people are optimistic right now. Because of that, this gentleman said he would honor the price he offered that land to us for, but if we don't take it, the price is going up and he's putting it back on the market. So we're just waiting to see what God says. So be prayerful; we're seeking the wisdom of God. Many of you have asked what you could do in giving toward that project, and really, it's not a project yet. We haven't felt led as to whether to obtain that land. When we do we'll let you know, and you'll be able to give as the Lord puts it on your heart. So be prayerful. We're just seeking the wisdom of God.

Also, the property in Kakamega and the ministry there--as we were sharing with you, they've [the government] now offered free education to elementary children, and it's caused a little bit of a stirring in the Kakamega church. We've just encouraged Charles by saying, "Don't worry. The people that are truly part of the fellowship are going to be there, and they're going to be supportive. It could just be God's way of putting His finger on hearts to find out who's committed and who's there for the loaves and the fishes." So be prayerful and hold his hands up. It's a whole new venture for him, and he's just a great man. I'm looking forward to you all getting to meet him. Someone came up to me just a little while ago and said God had put it on their heart to pay for his way to America to the next Pastors Conference, if the Lord leads, and so we're just seeking the Lord's will on that. I told those individuals, "Just hold on to your money, and if God says that would be wisdom, then we'll let you bless him in that particular way." So be prayerful; there are a lot of things that are taking place. Also, the purchase of the land in Kakamega--the guy that we're renting from said he'll give us the property for twelve months for nine months' rent if we'll pay the nine months up front; the guy needs some cash. So we're going to do that unless we decide to buy that piece of property there in Kakamega. So there are a number of decisions--we need your prayer, we need God's wisdom, and most of all, we just want the Lord honored. Amen?

Let's turn back to the book of Samuel; we'll pick up where we've been in our study. We've been contrasting the two kingdoms. We know that in the spiritual realm the two kingdoms are the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. Paul speaks of the kingdom of this world in 2 Corinthians 4:4, and he says that this world's system has a god, Satan--"the god of this world has blinded the eyes of natural man, lest they could behold the light of the glorious gospel." So, just like you and I were blind prior to being born again--you know, we were running around thinking we had the answers (or at least tried to give the impression that we did); we were walking in our own strength and pursuing our own glory and our own goals. Then all of a sudden, in the mercy of God, the Holy Spirit arrested us. Some of us had heard the gospel as little children and never received it; many of us weren't seeking God, but just supernaturally He sought us, and in a moment, our lives were changed. I know that's the way it happened to me--had no desire for the Lord Jesus in my life; I was serving my own flesh, and then God just arrested me in a moment. Changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, praise God; instantaneously born again. Your sins are taken from you and cast as far as the east is from the west, and we become that new creation! Aren't you thankful for the love of God this morning, the mercy of God? We didn't love Him; He loved us!

So when we contrast these kingdoms, don't think for a moment that those that are living in the kingdom of darkness, somehow God hasn't given them the same opportunity that you and I have had. God is not willing that any would perish. Amen? So remember that. The people that are in darkness are there because they love darkness. Isn't that what Jesus said? He said they love darkness because their deeds are (say it) evil. So the people that want to remain ignorant, the people that want to stay in darkness, are there willfully, because the Holy Spirit is always drawing people; God is not willing that any would perish. The light of this glorious gospel is being heralded on every street corner, in America especially. Tragically, it's perverted; it's been Americanized, and very few people are able to hear the unadulterated truth. Everybody apologizes for the Bible, tries to dilute it so it's not offensive, tries to take Christianity and make it politically correct, but Paul said, "I'm not ashamed of the pure gospel; it alone is the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16). When people hear the reality of this message of the lordship of Jesus Christ, the effect of His blood being shed for us, that there's no other way under heaven whereby men can be saved but through belief in the name of Jesus, it carries a power that, when that's embraced, sets people free! Those that take any lesser gospel have religion and are not new creatures, are not born again, are not what we've referred to as normative Christians.

The Bible says in Antioch, for the first time, they were called Christians. You know, I'm not too sure we shouldn't change our name, but I don't think the Scripture would permit that. But how many people are called "Christians" in America today? The word "Christian"--it says they were first called Christians in Antioch when the revival broke out. All the word "Christian" means is, what? Christ-like. How many Christ-like people do we find today among those that call themselves Christians? Christianity has just become religion in America, embraced by the majority, practiced by very few, defended with very little blood, because it's been amalgamated into the mainstream of the kingdom of darkness. As the prophet said, in the last days there's going to be a religious system that's going to arise; the book of Revelation calls it the great whore, as John the apostle speaks, and he says it's going to be a religious system that's going to become drunk with the blood of the martyrs. Jesus said it this way, "They're going to kill you and think they're doing God's service" (John 16:2).

That's what's just around the corner, and we need to contrast what the Bible says with what's being propagated as Christianity in our nation in our lifetime and find out where the truth is, so that we can know the truth, the Bible says, and the truth will make you free. Free from what? Not free from persecution, not free from adversity, not free from trials. You're still going to get colds like everybody else, you're going to have the same potential of experiencing disaster and tragedy as anybody else, but God's grace is sufficient for us. Free from what? Free from the kingdom of darkness, the lordship of Satan, the dominance of sin that's in every one of our members. Every one of us here, sin is still in us, but Paul says it's not the dominant force any longer if we've been buried and raised with Jesus Christ.

So when we contrast these two kingdoms of light and darkness, or as we've looked in Samuel and contrasted the two kings (King Saul with King David), we need to begin to identify what kingdom we're in by the way we live our daily lives--not what we say we believe, but the way we live, because John said, "It's he that doeth righteousness that is righteous" (1 John 3:7). Amen? So here we are, walking in the wisdom of God's power, as the redeemed of the Lord. Now in Samuel we see the contrast of these kingdoms, and it's very important for us to understand which kingdom we're in. Jesus said it this way: "By their fruit you shall know them" (Matthew 7:20). Now, we look around, and we're able to, many times, discern the fruit in other people's lives; it's much easier to see other people's faults than it is our own, isn't it? But the Scripture tells us that we're to judge ourselves so that we don't have to be judged. As we begin to look inwardly, the Spirit of God, in our study, has been telling us, "Search your heart and find out what manner of man you really are."

What we've concluded so far in our general overview is this: that King Saul was a man that was seeking his own will, was trying to build his own kingdom. King Saul was more concerned with what people thought about him than what God thought. King Saul was more interested in being glorified in the eyes of the people than he was in fulfilling his task of glorifying God in the eyes of the people. So that's what we've come up with, whereas David, in contrast, though outwardly a more wicked person--the sweet psalmist of Israel, the writer of the 23^rd Psalm, was an adulterer, was a murderer, was a man that was drunk with ambition and pride on a number of occasions. It wasn't always expressed, but even in his latter years he numbered Israel and brought a curse upon them, just to encourage himself in how great of a job he had really done. We want to primarily look at the good part of David's life, in this study. We're all very familiar with the bad part, but we want to refer to the sins in David, too, because God so clearly lays them out. Why? So that we could identify with him; so that as James spoke concerning Elijah the Prophet, we could understand that these people, whether it be an Elijah or whether it be a David, were men of like passions, just like you and I--flesh and blood, failed just like you and I fail--but ultimately they chose the glory of God over self‑will, ease, comfort, and glory of self. That's what it all boils down to in our daily choices.

So as we look back at King Saul, let's turn back to 1 Samuel for just a second and spend just a couple of minutes looking at some of the highlights again in review, and then we'll finish for this morning. A couple of the references that were made about Saul, we want to refer to again, because they're so relevant to where we are in this hour, in our pursuit of God. As King Saul is coming into his position, remember why he was there. First of all, Saul did not put himself forward; the people wanted a king. Don't miss that. Saul didn't come up like one of the--as we were just talking about the instability in Africa--he didn't come up like one of the warlords in Africa and take control of this nation. This man Saul was not a Stalin, a Marx, a Mussolini, a Hitler; he was invited to the throne. He was invited by a group of people who no longer wanted God to be their king but wanted an earthly king, who wanted to do it the way the world did it, who wanted to be politically correct. The New Testament says it this way: that they vote in, as pastors, men that will tell them what they want to hear; a people with itching ears who heap to themselves teachers that will tell them what they want to hear, who will do it the way the world does it, who will seek the path of least resistance (2 Timothy 4:3-4). There are two kingdoms: there's the kingdom of the flesh (the way the world does it), and there's the kingdom of God (the kingdom of light). There are two paths, Jesus said: there's a straight path, and there's a broad path (straight, meaning narrow). The broad path leads to destruction, and the straight path, the narrow path, has very few people that find it. But it's unto all, the Scripture says; whosoever can come, but there's a price to pay to get in that narrow path. It's death to self‑will, it's death to the world's system and the flesh's way of doing things, and it's complete surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ and complete surrender to the statutes of God to where we say, "Regardless of what I feel like, regardless of what anybody might say, this is truth! Let God be true and every man a liar."

Now watch and see if that's not what it boils down to right here when Samuel the Prophet is speaking to Saul. The people wanted a king--we're in chapter 12 now, verse 12, "...[and] the Lord your God was your king. [Now you've chosen a man, and so God has now given you your heart's desire, but I want to tell you something--and he's talking to the people; he says] If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandments of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God." This is very interesting here. What God is saying is this: "I'm giving you a king, but I'm still in charge." The Scripture says that the Lord raises and He brings down. The Scripture says that the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and He turns it whichever way He wants. He's telling the people, "Listen, I am ultimately in charge. You want a king? I'll give you a king, but listen: don't follow your king into idolatry; don't follow your king into a trust in the world's system and methodology."

Now let's contrast that with the New Covenant. God has set up a church, and in that church He has set gifts up (pastors, teachers); within the home, God has set up an order (the head of the woman is the man; children obey your parents--how?--in the Lord). In all of these that God has set up (every institution, the nations, the church, the home), God never relinquished supremacy of His moral law, of the Word of God! And He said, "I don't care who the leader is; I don't care what role he's in. I don't care if he's a husband, a father, a mother; I don't care if he's a deacon, a pastor; I don't care if he's the president of a nation. Listen to Me, people!" See, God doesn't save churches, and God doesn't save nations; He saves people, individuals. He said, "If you're going to follow Me, people--listen, if you as individuals are going to follow Me, you never allow any authority to usurp My role, and I'll keep you safe, and if you'll follow Me, I'll bless you and your king."

So many people always want to blame things on the leaders, you know! It's the leaders--my husband made me do this, my parents made me do this. The Bible makes it very clear--whether it be children under the authority of parents, whether it be congregations such as yourself--anytime those in authority speak contrary to this [Pastor holds up the Bible], we have no obligation to follow them. Amen?

Whether it be king, pastor, parent, let God be true and every man a liar. That's why you need to know what this says. That's why as children of God, you need to know what God has to say so that you can keep yourself in right relationship and in the process, protect the whole body! Listen to what He said. He says, "[If you will keep My commandments, I will bless you and the king that reigns over you.] But if ye [the people] will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord [we're reading verse 15], then shall the hand of the Lord be against you..." The New Testament says it this way: "My sheep know My voice, and another they will not follow" (John 10:4-5).

You all remember years ago the Jim Jones thing when all those people drank the Kool‑Aid and died down in Guyana. Some of you were here at that time. I'll never forget it. We were experiencing a big influx of people--we were experiencing a large increase in folks--and we had so many people here that morning that we ran out of communion cups and juice, and so the ushers real quickly ran back and got some paper cups and mixed Kool‑Aid. Talk about bad timing. I got a real kick out of that; those people drank in faith that day, I'll tell you, praise God! And everybody rises up in arms and gets concerned. More recently, the Waco [Texas] thing--the wackos in Waco. Here's this guy in Waco, David Koresh, and this ordeal down there. We've got the FBI down there, and they're shooting up the place and all of this kind of stuff. Everybody is saying, "These poor people," and I'm not saying, "These poor people"--I'm thinking, "These stupid people!" Now, do you have any compassion that--I just want to be truthful with you--I do feel bad for those people, but how can you be that stupid? If you've got a fourth grade education, you can read this and understand that what that guy was saying wasn't right. "My sheep know My voice, and another they will not follow." Amen? Now, yes, tragically these people were deceived and conned, but they were not God's sheep. You want to know who they were? They were people of the same system as Koresh--they were people who were looking for something for nothing; they were people that were not willing to accept the lordship of Jesus Christ and die to their own whims and their own wishes. Listen to what the Bible says is going to happen in the last days: these leaders will rise up, and they will deceive and be deceived. You want to know who can be conned? A dishonest man, somebody who wants something for nothing. You don't get something for nothing!

So here we are, coming into this last day, and the reason I'm taking a little bit of time this morning--this is a strong spirit that's in our society today, that we're fighting against. And in this last day, the Bible says, false prophets are going to arise; they're going to deceive many. We as a people are constantly trying to discern whether or not we're hearing the voice of God. It's a strong influence that this apostate religious system is giving off, and they do so much that is morally good and right--but let me share something with you. When you begin to look at what is morally good and right, that's being done by this system, ask yourself this final question: By what means is it being done, and who's getting the glory for it? Is it being done in the name of Jesus and is it being done for the name of Jesus? If it's not, it's not God--it's man.

Much of what's being done in our society today, whether it's the trivial things of handing out food and clothing to the poor--the Salvation Army today wouldn't know the gospel if it snuck up on them and bit them. "And having begun in the Spirit," the Bible says, "are we made perfect in the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3). How many of these organizations today, without shame and, in fact, with delight and boasting, will stand up and give a cup of cold water "in the name of Jesus," and it's all done in the name of religion; it's all done in the exaltation of the worth of man, man being idolized. Anything that's done toward man, to enhance man, that God doesn't get glory in, is idolatry! To make man big, to make man great, to speak of the worth of man, at the cost of God's glory, is idolatry! And it's so subtle in the way that it operates in our everyday life. Let's make it a little more blatant. Let's say that we just worship man! Now, most of us in this room are not willing to become humanists; see, humanists are just people that worship man, at the expense of God. Your atheistic humanists, those who say there is no God and that man is an entity unto himself, are very few; they're people who have studied, they've researched, they've studied philosophers, they've made a stand and a commitment. Most people are agnostics. You know, to be an agnostic is the easy way out. Basically, the agnostic just says, "I don't know--I don't know if there's a God or not. I'm just following the flow, man."

Now, this spirit that we're going to be opposing in the last days, this spirit of antichrist, will demand, for those of us who are children of light, a polarizing. How many of you see how quickly the gap between us and the world is increasing? They're following their god, and we're staying in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. There's a great gulf between us and the way the world thinks and approaches things, and we become weirder all the time, in a "Christian" nation--a nation that is "Christian" that doesn't want to talk about Jesus in school (and, of course, we have a solution for that; we have our own school), a nation that is now on the verge-- You all know that I don't get involved in politics at all, and yet for so many church leaders today, that seems to be the main focus, but I think that it does merit speaking toward. You've been seeing it on the news, this move toward partial birth abortion. To show how blind and how insane man can become, irrational--partial birth abortion, to where the child--you can actually bring the head out and suck the brain out of that baby, but if it happens to all of a sudden pop all the way out and it breathes and now you kill it, it's murder. Now, they murder them anyway; we all know what goes on--but how ludicrous! Who has the right to determine whether or not those last twelve inches merit murder or not?

It's insanity, and I'm not going to get distracted into that, but the point that I want to bring out is the irrational justifying of a secular humanist society that lives by existentialism instead of by absolutism of the Word of God. Anytime you move in existentialism, anytime you begin to determine truth based upon an individual circumstance, you're never going to arrive at truth. It's always going to be motivated by selfishness; it'll be perverted by your own self‑interest. Thank God there are still people around who are absolutists and say, "Let God be true and every man a liar." Now, we're not real popular today, and over the years, many of you have been here, and we've watched people leave this fellowship by the hundreds--over the years, thousands have left us. They'll cite all kinds of different reasons, but you want to know what the real reason is? They chose themselves over the lordship of Jesus; they chose selective truth over absolute truth. When it finally came to apply to them and their family, they weren't willing to do it. They could say "amen" when it was everybody else, but not when the Prophet Nathan came, put his finger in their face and said, "Thou art the man." When that happened to David, he responded differently than King Saul. David, a man after God's own heart--though he was a murderer, though he was an idolater--when he was approached with the Word of God and told, "Now, David, you sinned! You took an occasion for your flesh--you saw this woman, you lusted after her, your reputation was on the line, you covered up by killing her husband--and now I'm standing before you, and I want you to do something, right now, David! You will either accept or deny the Word of God; what are you going to do?" The thing that made David a man after God's own heart was not just his moral behavior (we see that was lacking), but when it came to acknowledging God's Word as true, when it came to acknowledging God's glory and not his own, he humbled himself to the Word of God and he said, "Yeah, I'm the man. God's not guilty--I'm guilty. Yes, the Word is true, even when it applies to me."

That's the difference between Saul and David, darkness and light, bondage and truth. You and I face it every day of our lives as we battle with the sin that's in our members and the conviction of the Holy Ghost, and every day of our lives, we deal with whether or not we're going to accept that as sin, as God puts his finger on our lives. And I'm not just talking about behavior--I'm talking about thoughts; I'm talking about motives. The fact of the matter is, we are "the man."

Now, the way to keep yourself free and the way to keep your family free and the way for us to keep this fellowship free is always to acknowledge this (the Bible) as absolute truth and to hold every leader-- Listen to me, children. I want to tell you this in the ears of your parents, so that your parents will know exactly what I'm telling you. There's only one way for us as a fellowship to remain absolutely free from the pressure of this world, and that's for you teenagers to keep the Word of God, regardless of what mom and dad are doing or saying. Now, when your parents are standing before you as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if they are not asking you to do anything contrary to the Word of God--contrary to the Word of God--they do not have to give you chapter and verse for everything they tell you. They don't have to give you a verse for going to bed when they say, "Go to bed." They're the authority. The powers that be, Romans 13 says, are ordained of God; you do what you're told--"Children, obey your parents in the Lord." But the moment any parent tells you to do something contrary to the Word of God, to take you after other gods, to move you into a secular realm of thought, or to pursue the gods of this world, the Scripture tells us very clearly how we respond to them. We reject their authority in lieu of the ultimate authority: the lordship of Jesus Christ, the Word of God. That's how you keep us safe as a fellowship.

Parents, you don't allow your children to be rebellious; that's how you keep us safe as a fellowship. Wives, you submit to your husbands, in the Lord; that's how you keep us safe as a fellowship. Husbands, you love your wives more than yourselves; stop being selfish--give yourself to your children and your family. Train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That's how you keep us safe as a fellowship--by being doers of the Word and not hearers only, and we all study the Word to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. We study, we know the truth, we do the truth, and there's no ability, now, for the enemy to come into our midst and seduce our minds with the spirit of antichrist, with the doctrines of Americanized Christianity, which is nothing more than secular humanism with spiritual jargon, Christian jargon.

Take your average Christian, give them a little situational ethics question, and give them the Word of God as one of their choices, and see how many of them will choose the Word of God. That's where you find out. Now, I don't mean just in the little quiz; put them there in life. Where are you? What are we going to do--fathers, I'm talking to you right now--in preparing our children to stand against the wiles of the enemy in this day? It doesn't take a genius to look around and see the rate of deterioration in our society, to see who the dominant forces are in our society today. It's the gay organizations, the homosexuals; it's the women's liberation--blatant in rebellion to the Word of God, as it speaks toward both of those forces that we're opposing.

What are you going to do? Well, the Scripture says this, look: "If you don't obey My Word, I'll be against you." We don't want to find ourselves there. The Bible says God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. We need to humble ourselves and do the Word of God. Though the whole world opposes us, if God is for us, what does the Scripture say? Who can be against us. Now, we need to humble ourselves to make that kind of a choice. "Do you believe that?" Well, you don't know until the pressure is put on, do you? Here's the good news for us, beloved. Chapter 12, verse 22, "For the Lord will not forsake his people [not because we're so great, but look] for his great name's sake..." You see, God hasn't blessed us because we deserve it; God has blessed us for His own glory, so that His grace and His power and His love could be seen in us, who are so unlovely. He's building a kingdom for His own purposes and for His own glory.

So the Prophet Samuel says, "[Now, here's what I'm going to do. I'd really just like to write you guys off; this is the way I feel. You guys have really ticked me off, but] as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will [look] teach you the good and the right way." There's a way that seems right to man; the end is destruction and death (Proverbs 16:25). The prophet's role--he says, "Listen, I'd rather just write you off, but God forbid. God's grace has been evidenced to me, and because I've freely received it, I'm going to freely give it, and here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to teach you." It doesn't come naturally. "I'm going to teach you," the prophet says, "the good and the right way." The Spirit says, "This is the way; walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). This way needs to be taught; it's not going to be something that comes naturally to us. It's something that has to be reinforced through instruction, through training, through discipline.

As we've shared in the past, so many of the folks that have decided to go somewhere else--not one person, as we've shared, has ever come back and said, "Here's what you're saying wrong. What you're teaching is not the Word of God." No one has ever come to me and said, "Your doctrine is not right." You know what the problem is? It's that we don't just talk about it; we require it. Now, how do you require it? How do we require this? Now, some of you have been around here for twenty or twenty-five years. Have you ever been physically accosted, tied up, and dragged into this place--more than once? [Congregants laugh.] How do you require things? How do you make your children obey you? How do you require your wife to submit to you? I'm talking to those of you that are in authority. Parents, how do you make your children obey? How do you make your role as head of the house representative of your Lord, your head, Jesus? It's very simple; the Bible tells us how God does it. He said, "If you do it this way, My presence will be with you and I'll be part of you and I'll fellowship with you, and I'll enable you and give you power to do more and be more obedient, and I will love you. And if you don't, I will not fellowship with you; I will not love you, because you're part of another kingdom. You have another god, and I'll have no other gods before Me."

So over the years, basically the way we require--how do you require? It's very simple. I can't tell you the people we've said this to; some of you sitting here right now, we've said, "Look, if you're not going to do the Word of God, you're still welcome to come and sit here in these meetings and hear the teaching, but we will not recognize you as a Christian." Authority--the keys of the kingdom, power of binding and loosing, that belongs to the church. If the sin merits it, then we will spiritually turn you over to Satan for the destruction of your flesh, but we're not going to knock on your door; we're not going to harass you. In fact, in our eyes, you're dead! Now, how simple is that? When we say we require it, all we mean in requiring that is: if you're going to fellowship with us, you're going to do things according to the Word of God; otherwise, we're not going to fellowship--we don't recognize you; we don't call you a Christian. Does that tick you off? Does that get your nose out of joint? We have no other recourse, because, see, I'm not going to tick God off! If you're asking me to choose between you and Father, I made that choice a long time ago.

Now, I'm trying to show you the spirit of these two kingdoms, because it's something we're going to have to deal with, and this may help some of you when you leave here, because some of you are going to get mad and leave here over the next months. We've got numerous situations going on right now that are so volatile within family relationships and choices that are teetering. There's no question in my mind that wrong choices are going to be made, and the point that we're trying to help you out with is this: Where are you going to go? It's not about whether the leadership in this organization here, this fellowship, holds you to a higher standard than another organization; it's not about us. Spiritual leaders are supposed to be transparent. I'm not giving you my opinion. If you can show me where what we're asking you to do is not in the Bible, then we have to change--or you do. You have to say, "I'm not going up to that church, man; those people aren't teaching the Word of God! I'm going to go somewhere where it's being taught and required, so that I can be delivered and I can be free from sin and my family can be assured that they're going to be prepared when Jesus returns." But if what we're telling you is the Bible, then I've got a question: Why aren't you doing it? And if you choose not to do it and then you choose to go to some other organization that justifies your sin, are you safe there?

Let me show you how safe you are. Turn over to chapter 15 for just a second. Now, the Bible says God spoke to Saul; He said, "Saul, when you were small in your own eyes, I was able to use you" (verse 17). But when he was commanded of God to go and destroy Amalek and refused to because of the people and because he was wanting to hold back some of the gain, the material, for himself (he wanted to prosper financially; he wanted to enjoy ease before the people), the judgment of God came on him. The Scripture says in 1 Samuel 15 down at verse 11, "It repenteth me [God says] that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments." All God is dealing with is whether you keep His commandments or not; it always boils down to whether you're going to do the Word or not, beloved. Now watch. "...And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night." He was interceding for someone that he loved.

As he approaches Saul, he says, "Saul, why didn't you keep the commandments of God [why didn't you do what the Bible says]?" And he said, "I did!" Now, God told him--you remember the story--God told him, "Go up there, kill Amalek, kill all that pertains to him--I want him killed, the women, the children, I want all the livestock killed." Now, many people who don't understand God or the Bible, they're horrified by stories like that. "What kind of a God is this?" You want to know what kind of a God this is? This is a God of love, because what does the Bible say? A little leaven does what? It leavens the whole lump. If you entertain sin, if you leave it around, it'll take you back over. God said, "I want you to be free, and to be free from sin, it has to be annihilated in your life." That's what these stories are all about.

The prophet goes and he looks at the man and says, "Why didn't you keep the Word?" Saul's response is, "I did! I did what God told me to do." And the famous saying that many of us are familiar with--Samuel says, "Then what is this bleating of sheep in my ears? If you did what God called you to do, how is it that I hear the bleating of sheep [verse 14] and the lowing of oxen?" Then Saul, as sin always does--when God confronted Adam with his sin, Adam's response was, "The woman Thou gavest me. I would have been okay, God, if it was just me and You, but You gave me this woman, and look what she did in my life." Stop blaming your wives, men. It's about you--it's the fact that you haven't had enough guts to stand up and seek God's glory and honor more than your own ease and comfort and your own emotions; the fact that, in this matriarchal society, you need some woman to wipe your nose and dress you in the morning and cook your meals and satisfy your physical lust! Why don't you lay some of that aside and honor God and become a priest that's sanctified, to save your household?

As the Scripture speaks to us, Adam says, "The woman Thou gavest me." It wasn't about Eve. All Adam had to do was stand up and say, "Look, God said not to do that, and we're not doing it." And after the woman ate, all Adam had to do at that particular time, instead of succumbing to his wife, was stand up and say, "God has set me as the authority on this planet, and Jesus, I come before You and I intercede for this woman. I ask You, somehow, to provide redemption for her. I don't know how to do it, but You're the one that loves us. Whatever's necessary to save this woman, I ask You to do it, and if she can't be saved, give me another one! And if the world can't be saved, make You another one! But the one thing I will not do, is bow my knee to sin!" And from Adam's bowing his knee, to the day we live, it's always somebody else's fault--"The woman Thou gavest me." "The parents that I had. I was raised in a home that was--" Yeah, so was I! "I was raised in a house with a bunch of alcoholics. I was mistreated--" Big deal! Join the club! It's about whether you want to honor God in your life as an individual or not. It's whether you choose the honor and the glory of God over the honor and glory of man; it's the contrasting of these two kingdoms that it always boils down to.

Now, listen! Here's a deceived man. This is how you know whether you're in darkness. This is how you know whether you're in death or not. The Bible says there's a way that seems right to man, but the end is death. If you sow to the Spirit, you reap life, but if you sow to the flesh, you reap what? Damnation, destruction. "Well, how is it that I'm hearing this in my ears?" "Well, you see, they, the people, spared the best" (verse 15). "Oh, Saul, when you were small [verse 17] in your own eyes, God anointed you." He fesses up later and says, "Well, you see, I was afraid that the people were going to leave me and I was going to lose my kingdom and we were going to be destroyed, and besides, I had a better idea than God's. I thought if we saved this stuff, we could offer it up to God and honor Him with these offerings." The Bible says God isn't interested in your offerings, He's not interested in your money, He's not interested in your talents! He wants your obedience, because obedience is better (look at verse 22) than sacrifice! "For rebellion [verse 23] is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [self‑will, self‑glory, self‑agenda, humanism] is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected [say it with me] the word..." Say it again--"the word." "Because thou has rejected the word..."

That's what it always boils down to. What does the Bible say about your situation? The Bible has an answer for every situation. It tells you what to do in every situation you're facing. Now, are you going to do it or not? It's that simple. "Yeah, but if I do that, I'm going to lose my job." Hey, what does the Bible tell you to do in this situation? "But if I do that, my wife's going to leave me." What does the Bible tell you to do? "But if I do that, my children are going to be." What does the Bible tell you to do? "If I do that, they're going to lock me up." What does the Bible...? People look at me and they say, "Are you a broken record?" How else can we respond?

You know, after thirty‑five years of doing this, I've heard most of the stories. The names change, the faces change, but the stories are always the same, and the answer, the solution to their problem, is always the same. I can solve any of your problems in a few minutes. I can solve the problems of every person in this room in just a few minutes; no question about it. Now, there's going to be consequences, and it's going to create other problems that are going to cause other decisions, that the Word gives solutions for, and ultimately all of those biblical choices will lead to the glory of God. And all of the choices contrary to the Word are as witchcraft and as idolatry and are death. Now, we don't realize that, because our adverse decisions, or even our right decisions, don't always bring immediate results. You can make a bad choice and never pay the consequence for a whole lifetime and look like God is blessing you, and the whole bit, and in the end, it comes back on you.

You want to know one of the great stories--we're out of time for this morning, but one of the great stories--I wanted to get to David leaving the city with the ark today, and I don't know why you guys got me so sidetracked. Maybe we'll get that tonight, but I wanted to deal with that story; it's so great, and the principles, I'm really excited about. You remember as David was leaving with the ark and he sent the ark back, as he's walking, Shimei (this is 2 Samuel 16) was running along and cursing David. You all remember that story? He's cursing King David as he's walking by--Shimei was from the house of Saul--and he's cursing him and throwing stones at him and throwing dirt in David's face. And David's mighty men were there watching this thing, and they said, "This guy's a dead dog, man! We'll just take him out!" David's men were bad! David said, "Leave him alone. God sent him here to ridicule me. Why don't you let him live, because you know what? Maybe what this guy is doing is right, because I am a dog, man! And the reason I'm leaving Jerusalem right now, the best I can understand, is this: because I didn't train my son Absalom up properly, and I worshipped him more than God, and because I killed my best friend, Uriah, because I lusted after his wife. I'm just reaping what I've sown. I deserve to be run out of town. Take the ark back; let God determine whether I should be king or not. If God wants me to fulfill this role, He'll bring me back; otherwise, I'm ready to take whatever God has got for me."

That's a man after His own heart! That's the brokenness of Psalm 51--a willingness to eat the bitterness of his own sin, as David sat there and watched his baby, conceived in adultery, die before his very eyes under the judgment of God and say, "The will of the Lord be done. God is good!" And Shimei mocks him and ridicules him and throws rocks at him and throws dirt in his face--and David leaves. Then when God restores him, he's coming back in and Shimei comes up, trembling, and he said, "David, forgive me!" One of David's men says, "You're out of here, Jack! The king is back!" And David said, "Leave him alone. The kingdom has been restored back to me this day. How can we shed blood? The reason I was exiled is because I was a bloody man." Everything really looks good, and then there's one obscure verse in Kings that a lot of people don't read. David is dying and he says, "Solomon, let me give you some advice. You know Joab, the guy that was my mightiest warrior? Kill him because he's defected. He served me faithfully, but he's defected; you can't trust him. The kingdom is now coming into your hands; take him out. He'll get you if you're not careful. He's got the same spirit as Absalom, whom he killed." It's easy to kill it in other people and let it live in yourself. The thing that Joab killed Absalom over was the very thing that took root in his heart. And then one obscure verse, and he says, "Do you remember Shimei? Give him what he deserves. I was a carnal, fleshly, sinful man, but I was God's anointed, and if he mocked my anointing, he'll mock yours. I'd advise you to kill him."

Your sins will find you out; there's a day of justice. They don't always come, and so therefore people are confused. They think, "Well, things look like they're going good for that guy. God must be blessing him." It doesn't work that way! It works according to justice, and justice is not ever fully expressed in time and space; justice is only seen in its eternal consequences. That's one of the greatest--and I don't want to waste the time--justice is one of the greatest philosophical arguments for the existence of an eternal, divine God; otherwise there is no point. There is no point--there is nothing to live for. There is no reason--we are nothing more than animals; we shouldn't even have laws to govern any land; it should belong to the strongest; no moral restraints should be put on us at all--we are animals. But if there is truth, if there is justice, then there's only one way that it can ever truly be met, and that's in the eternal realm; it'll never be experienced in the natural realm, and therefore we believe in God. We believe in an afterlife; we believe in justice. You will reap what you sow!

Father, we thank You for the Word of God, and we ask that You would just order our steps and cause us to be a people that walk in obedience to You. As we continue in studying Your Word tonight, Father, and we look at these biblical principles, we ask that You would cause us to be a people that seek truth and seek after light and life, a people that truly know the resurrected Jesus and not a Christianity that's been so perverted by the world and by humanism and by political correctness that you can't even recognize it as the gospel of Jesus Christ. A people that are willing to say, "Let God be true and every man a liar." A people that are willing to say, "Greater is He that's in me than he that's in the world." A people that are willing to say, "In me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. Sin is in my members, and I need the grace of God and the blood of Jesus to cleanse me and to empower me over sin. I need to be born again!"

Beloved, listen to me. If the Word of God makes no sense to you, if you do not have the ability to do the Word of God, you're not born again. You must be born again--then it makes sense, then you delight in doing the Word. You're not afraid to keep His commandments; you're afraid not to keep His commandments. Everything else is foolishness--His Word is truth!

So what do you do? You say, "Lord, I've lived for myself all of these years. I've had a mental belief in You, I've had a propensity toward spiritual things, but I have never fully surrendered my will to You, and I surrender my heart to You. I ask You, Jesus, to become Lord. I ask Your Word to be absolute truth and the map of every step that I take, and I will do nothing that doesn't agree with Your Word! I receive Your lordship, and I receive the benefit of the redemptive work of Your blood. I was a sinner; now I'm a son. I was an enemy; now I'm a friend. I lived for myself; now I am willfully Your slave. I have no will of my own; my will is to do Yours. Grant it, Father, in Jesus' name." You can be a new creation this morning. Sin's power can be broken in your life this morning, right now, with one decision. Today is the day of your salvation. Choose this day who you will serve. Let's stand before the Lord.

As Gary plays for us, just take a moment. There are lives here that are in the balance this morning; I sense it in my heart. Just begin to pray and ask that God's Spirit would give opportunity for those to be born again, those that need that infusion of life into their hearts this very moment. "Jesus, I need You as Lord! I need Your grace to keep Your commandments. I've lived for myself, and I want to live for You. I don't know how to go out or to come in, but I just want to serve in Your kingdom. I accept Your love, I accept Your lordship, I accept Your forgiveness, in the name of Jesus!" Don't leave here in the bondage to sin this morning. Don't leave here as a citizen of this world this morning. As we sing this chorus this morning, make a public stand. I'm going to ask you to just slip out of your chairs and come forward and stand here this morning and say, "I'm choosing Jesus!" Let's sing it together. You come if you mean it. "Lord, I give You..."

We can have some of the brothers come and pray with these. Glory, glory! Just begin to intercede for these that have come now. Let's believe that God would become a reality, that Jesus would assume that lordship in these lives. You found yourself in a backslidden state, maybe you've never known Jesus as your Lord, and you say, "This is the day--from this moment on." Glory, Jesus! Glory, Jesus! Just begin to pray with these that have come, and begin to lead them into that place and assure them of their salvation this morning. Find out whether their hearts are broken. Let them give you their testimony of their broken hearts. The rest of you begin to intercede. We're not in any hurry. God is dealing with lives this morning. Oh, Jesus! Oh, Jesus! Yes, Lord! "Lord, absolute surrender to Your righteousness, to Your lordship. I ask You, Jesus, to become Lord of my life!" Oh, thank You, Father!

This is the day, this is the decision of His lordship, this is the day that changes your life forever! You'll never be the same! You don't have to be dominated by sin anymore! Fear no longer has to rule in you! Your flesh is no longer the dominant force! We acknowledge Your love. We acknowledge Your provision of our deliverance from sin's power. We, Jesus, acknowledge You as Lord and Your Word as Truth! We love You, Lord! We love You, Lord. We acknowledge You alone--You, Jesus, the head of Your church. Your Word is absolute truth! Oh, Father, do the work in us. Sufficient, Lord! Sufficient, Lord! Sufficient, Jesus! Give us a new heart! Give us a new heart this morning, Lord--a heart of thanksgiving, a heart of faithfulness, a heart of obedience. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! No longer deceived and saying, "I'm doing what the Bible says." Saul said, "I was obedient!" That's the fruit of delusion, it's the fruit of unregeneration, when the Bible so clearly says what to do and you've done something less, and you say you've been obedient. There is no life, because you are the man!

Make it real, Jesus! Make it real, Jesus! Don't leave here like you came in this morning. If you are not absolutely sure, don't leave here like you came in here this morning. God's Spirit will not always strive, but thank God He has touched hearts this morning! This is the day of your salvation--note it--the day when it all changed. February 5, 1967--you know when it changes. You know when God gives you a new heart.

We just thank You for Your mercy, Father, and Your love. We thank You for the free gift through the blood of Jesus, and we just want to say thank You for hearts that have been touched, Father. Thank You for Your mercy and Your grace. Help us to lift up hands that are hanging down; help us to comfort the feebleminded--but we will not compromise Your truth. Let God be true and every man a liar. Amen. Amen.

Before you go, turn to somebody next to you and say, "Let God be true and every man a liar." Go in peace; God's love go with you, in Jesus' name.

Back to Top | Audio   |   Purchase Audio   |   Bible Teachings   |   Print