Print this pageHow The Good Go Bad | "King Me" | June 27-28, 2009 |
Food for Thought
For the week of June 28, 2009
(Questions and Scriptures for further personal study)
1. 1 Samuel 8 tells the story of Israel asking for a king so they could be like all the other nations that surrounded them. Even though Saul was appointed king, this was not God’s desire for His people. He wanted them to be set apart, obedient to His law, and as a result, different than the world around them. We can make the same mistake as the Israelites by trying to conform to the world around us. What are some of the greatest pressures we face in today's world that try to mold us into something other than what God wants?
What are some ingredients found in the following Scriptures that, if mixed into your life, can help you resist that pressure to conform?
Joshua 1:6-9
"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. [7] Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. [8] Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. [9] Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." [NIV]
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. [2] Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. [NIV]
1 Peter 1:13-16
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. [14] As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. [15] But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; [16] for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." [NIV]
James 4:4-8
You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. [5] Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? [6] But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."
[7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [NIV]
2. Pastor Chris took a good look at Saul’s impatience in the midst of an incredibly stressful situation (1 Samuel 13). If you put yourself in Saul’s shoes, do you think you could have obeyed God by waiting for His timing? Read the following Psalms to get an idea of how important it is to simply wait on God.
Psalm 27:11-14
Teach me your way, O Lord;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
[12] Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.
[13] I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
[14] Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord. [NIV]
Psalm 37:7
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes. [NIV]
Psalm 40:1
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry. [NIV]
Psalm 59:9
O my Strength, I watch for you;
you, O God, are my fortress, [NIV]
Psalm 130:5-8
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
[6] My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
[7] O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
[8] He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins. [NIV]
When do you find it difficult to wait for God?
What helps you to wait for Him?
3. Saul paid a high price for his partial obedience in 1 Samuel 15. Do you think Saul would have fully obeyed if he had remembered what God said in Deuteronomy 28? We are also called to obey God and know that our obedience will always precede His blessing. How does this knowledge motivate you to obey what you know? Are you more motivated by the blessings that follow obedience or the consequences that follow disobedience?