Sunday Recap for 10/8, What do we do when we want something good but for all the wrong reasons?

Sunday Recap for 10/8, What do we do when we want something good but for all the wrong reasons?

Sunday, October 8, Evident Grace Fellowship looked at 1 Samuel 7:15-8:19.

1 Samuel 7: 15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. And he built there an altar to the Lord.

8:1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

We attempted to answer this Big Picture Question:

What can we do when we want something good but for all the wrong reasons?

And we found these three answers:

  1. Worship
  2. Pray
  3. Obey

Worship

1 Samuel 7: 15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. And he built there an altar to the Lord.

8:1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

Samuel was a good priest, leading the people in worship each year.  He offered sacrifices for their sins, and He judged their conflicts.  Unfortunately, he didn’t lead his family very well, and his sons didn’t follow in the leadership

If we want to understand our motives, we have to keep our hearts grounded in worship so as we don’t fall into mistakes like this where we value our jobs over our families.

Pray

1 Samuel 7: 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord.

Samuel prays to God when the people demand a king.  What they want is good.  Why they want it is bad.  Prayer sifts through motives.  Here is a simple way to pray:

ACTS

A – Adoration.  Praise God for what you love about Him.

C – Confession.  Confess your sins to God and ask for forgiveness.

T – Thanksgiving.  Thank God for the things in your life.

S – Supplication.  Ask God for the needs of your life.

Obey

1 Samuel 7: 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

Samuel is told to obey God.  God tells them people they can have the king they want, even if it is rejecting God.  We cannot understand our motives if we are not seeking to obey God.

Big Picture Question:  What can we do when we want something good but for all the wrong reasons?

Truth:  Worship and obedience purify your prayer’s motives.

Application:  Live knowing that God intends for your prayers to be purified by honest worship and intentional obedience.

Action:  Refine your desire through the accountability of someone who will be honest with you.

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