Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church
When an answer does notcome right awau, or in a reasonable, am I willing to wait?
When an answer does not come right away, or in a reasonable time, am I willing to wait?
1 Samuel 13:7-12 NIV
As we heard 2 weeks ago, in the Book of Judges, the people of Israel were continually going through the cycle of: Rebellion, Discipline, Repentance, and Deliverance by judges. The last verse in Judges gives you an idea what was going on during that time: Judges 21: 35, "In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit."
1 Samuel 8:19-20 NIV
1 Samuel 8:22 NIV
1 Samuel 13:2-12 NIV
1 Samuel 13:12-15 NIV
Samuel, as a priest, had the right according to God’s established order, to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people. But Saul, as king, did not have that right. And when Saul didn’t wait for Samuel to perform the sacrifice, but did it himself, God rejected him as King.
This mistake may seem trivial and pardonable on the surface, but Saul’s actions, as the first king of Israel, put his own thinking ahead of God’s established order. And that would be a bad precedent to set at the beginning of Israel’s monarchy.
God had a plan, but it was not the plan that Saul was imagining, so he ran ahead of God and tried to force things his own way. And the result was not good.
Luke 2:25-32 NIV
Our Gospel this morning tells us of a man called Simeon, who waited for God’s time to be shown that promised King. That King was of course the Lord Jesus, who came at the proper time. And this King Jesus was also a Priest, but He didn’t offer an animal sacrifice; He offered the sacrifice of His own Body and Blood on the altar of the cross, for the forgiveness of all our sins, including the times we try to force God’s plans by running ahead of Him.
So, what can we do to help us wait on the Lord and not run ahead of Him? We study the Bible to grow in our faith and learn more about God’s ways, we pray seeking His will for our lives, we connect with others in Christian fellowship and we serve others so that God can love them through us. You know where I am going with this right? A great way to do that is in a CGS Community, where we Connect with each other, Grow in our faith and Serve others.