“I REGRET THAT I HAVE MADE SAUL KING”

MEMORY VERSE: Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. 1 Samuel 15:10-11

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 111 - 113

God in His infinite mercy can make the last to become the first. In 1 Samuel 16, He anointed David, the last born, to be king over Israel thereby making him the first, not only in his family but, in the nation of Israel. He can turn a prisoner into a prime minister (Genesis 24). 1 Samuel 2:8 says, “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them.” In 1 Samuel 9:21 the Lord chose Saul, a young boy from the least family in Benjamin (smallest tribe in Israel) to be king. Several months later, the Lord sent him to destroy the Amalekites. When Saul got there, he spared Agag, king of the Amalekites, and killed others. He destroyed the worthless things and kept the good things for himself. 1 Samuel 15:10-11 says, “Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.”

Just as God regretted that He made Saul king, God is regretting over some of His children. Many of them were close to Him when they were looking for visa to travel abroad.They rarely missed church service; they ran from sin especially fornication. The moment they got their visa and traveled abroad, they became a totally different person. They stopped going to church. They began to live in sin – they now smoke, drink, party late night, fornicate and so on. Many used to win souls before they traveled out of the country, but today , they no longer have time for bible studies. Before God provided jobs for some of us, we were punctual in mid-week service. Before God provided jobs for some of us, we used to evangelize and do outreaches. Now, we no longer have time to do those things we used to do. Before many of our single sisters got married, they used to attend workers meeting. Several years into marriage, they no longer go to church. The Lord is regretting over some in ministry. Before the Lord called them into ministry, they used to have time for Him. In the beginning, the ministry was all about Jesus. Today, it is no longer so. The Holy Spirit no longer has a say in the ministry. His ways are now counted as old fashioned. The Lord is saying i regret calling 'so and so' into ministry. God is regretting over some of us because the same gift He gave to us to populate His kingdom is what we are using to populate the kingdom of hell. Friend, have you changed like Saul? For those who are yet to change like Saul i.e. still standing, ask the Lord to give you the grace to remain standing. If you sense in your spirit that God is regretting over your life, you better repent and ask for mercy.

NOTE: Man has a history of disappointing God. Are you going to add to the list of those who will disappoint God in this generation or you will be one of the very few He will say thus concerning, "I am happy I created ‘so and so’"

PRAYER: Father, help me never to disappoint you.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

THE BEST WAY TO RESPOND

MEMORY VERSE: And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, Acts 9:11

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelation 4-6

The best way to respond to any challenges that comes your way is to pray. The best way to respond when things go out of hands is to pray. When i was young, mum will always say, “Everything requires prayer. When things are going as planned, you pray because you want God to keep it that way. When things are not going as planned, you pray because you want God to turn it around.” Back then, i did not understand what she meant but today i know better. If you are single, you need to pray. If you are married, you need to pray. If you are yet to have kids, you need to pray. If you have kids, you need to pray. When things are going well, please pray. When preparing for exams, please pray. In the exam hall, please pray before you start. When you finish, before submitting your exam papers, please pray. After submitting your exam papers, please pray. One may ask, is there a need to pray after submitting my exam papers? Yes! You need to commit your examiners into the hands of God. You do not want your examiners to mark your exam papers after an argument with their partner or after loosing something valuable. It is a proven fact that examiners tend to be generous with marks when they are happy. Before you visit your GP/ doctors, pray for the right diagnosis. If any member of your family is going for an operation, you need to pray for the surgeons and the nurses. No man is above mistake, doctors and specialist do get it wrong. Many a times they mis-calculate, so you need to commit them into the hands of the ‘One’ who has never made a mistake or mis-calculated.

If you notice that you and your wife/husband are arguing a lot, please pray about it. Before discussing any sensitive issue in your marriage, first of all pray so that it will not escalate into a big fight or argument. Moreover, please, do not always seek to win an argument with your husband/wife, you may win all the argument and loose a godly husband/woman. If God has called you into ministry and your wife is not as supportive as she should be, pray to God about it. Ask the One who called you to call her too. When Saul ran into problems on his way to Damascus, he prayed. Acts 9:11 says: “And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth.” Let us look at the last three words, “behold, he prayeth.” Not behold, he crieth or behold, he complaineth against God or worse behold, he saith there is no God. When Saul opened his eyes and found that he could no longer see, he responded by praying. When things do not go as planned, some of us respond by not paying our tithes. Some respond by staying at home instead of going to church. Some respond by quitting their post in the vineyard of God. Some respond by saying there is no God. Some respond by blaming people in their family. Responding to challenges of life in this manner will only prolong the problem not solve it. The only one who can solve that challenge is God, why not take it to Him and stop looking for people to blame. The reason why God sent Ananias to Saul is summarised in the last four words of Acts 9:11- “for, behold, he prayeth”. Saul received help because he responded to his challenges by engaging in prayers.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Remember to always start your prayers with thanksgiving.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please send help to me today.

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SAUL DIED

MEMORY VERSE: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Joel 2- Amos 3

BIBLE STUDIES: 1 Samuel 16: 14-17

There are two types of death – physical death and spiritual death. Physical death is inevitable. One day, we will all die (If rapture does not take place). Death is a debt, you and I owe, one day we will pay it back. After the physical death, the next thing is judgement. Hebrews 9:27 says and as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement. If anyone tells you that he or she speaks to the dead, please do not pay attention to the individual. What that person speaks to, is a demon not the spirit of the dead. Do not waste your time online, looking for where to buy an Ouija board. You cannot contact your dead relative with an Ouija board. If you have one, in the interest of your family well being, throw it away or else, your house will become an abode of demons i.e. haunted. The word of God says, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:15).

There is another death called spiritual death. Genesis 2:17 says But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. When the Lord said to Adam, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, God was talking of a spiritual death, separation from God, not a physical death. Spiritual death comes through deliberate, willful, intentional, planned, disobedience to God. The moment Adam ate the fruit; he did not fall and die. Actually, after that, he still spoke and walked around like a living person. After his disobedience, He lost his innocence and the presence of God began to terrify him. He lost fellowship and God stopped visiting him in the garden.
As far as heaven was concerned, Saul died the day he disobeyed God by sparing Agag and the fat cows. The moment Samuel questioned him, instead of repenting, he started to give excuses, God cut him off from Himself. Since there is no vacuum in nature, the moment the Spirit of God left him, another spirit took over. 1 Samuels 16:14 says but the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. Are you beginning to die spiritually? Does your heart still prick you when you tell little white lies? When was the last time, God visited you in your dream? Is prayer becoming a burden? Spiritual death is worse than physical death because it is gradual. One can be dead for months and not know. Search yourself carefully this morning; ever since you did that thing, despite your heart pricking you, you know you have not had peace. You know your prayer life is no longer the same. You know you no longer feel His presence like you used to when you worship Him. Deep within you, you know something is not right. Why not go to Him this morning and ask Him to have mercy.

ACTION: Repent today and ask Him to give you a second chance.

Bro Samuel |Reaching the world for Jesus.