5.10.11 "Give Us What We Want"

"Give Us What We Want"

1 Samuel 8:1-9:27
John 6:22-42
Psalm 106:32-48
Proverbs 14:34-35


"Give us a king like all the other nations have..." (I Sam. 8:5)

"Give us free bread every day..." (John 6:31)

"... their love of idols was adultery in the sight of God." (Psalm 106:39)

There seems to be a recurring theme in the One-Year Bible reading today. There's incredible danger in being selfish. When we are selfish, we lose sight of all that is right. We are not living with Christ as our Lord.

In I Samuel, the people wanted to be like other nations. They were supposed to trust in the Lord for their guidance, but they determined that just wasn't working for them. When they approached the prophet Samuel with this request, he was pretty upset about it. He goes to the Lord about it.

"'Do as they say,' the Lord replied, 'for I am the one they are rejecting, not you - they don't want me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually forsaken me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but warn them about what it will be like to have a king!'" (I Sam. 8:7-9)

I find that to be a very sad scripture. It greatly saddens the Lord that the people refuse to accept his guidance, and he knows them well enough to know that their lesson may have to be learned the hard way. The people declare "give us what we want!" and they get it.

In John 6, Jesus sees through to the heart of the people. "'The truth of the matter is that you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you believe in me.'" (John 6:26)

What incredible love the Lord has for us. His patience is beyond what we can even understand. We are selfish people. Our prayer requests are more like a Christmas wish list than they are expressing a desire to know God more. We want him to give us what we want. We too easily forget that he is all we need.

Listen to the example that Christ sets for us. "For I have come here from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to have my own way." (John 6:38)

Oh that we would live THAT life. instead of petitioning for what we want we should be seeking his heart and his will. We need to know God. We need to hear his voice & walk in his ways. We need to subject our desires to him. Heaven forbid that some of our prayers are answered! When he allowed them to have a king, they found themselves given over to their own troubles. We must make sure that it's his will we want, and not earthly pleasures, or a desire to be like everyone else. We must want to know him!



Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

Pastor Greg Lathe

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