This is an orange. Do you agree? This orange has inherent characteristics to it. It is smells a certain way, looks a certain way, tastes a certain way and has a specific texture to it. It is completely an orange.
Let’s let this orange represent us before we know Jesus. This orange could represent the average person just living their life. The natural tendency is to do whatever their nature tells them to do. They are just acting normal and don’t likely have any issue with that.
Let’s say this apple represents a follower of Jesus. This is someone who has accepted the gift of salvation offered in Him and has turned away from their sin and embraced Jesus Christ. They stand out in a world full of oranges. They are in no way similar except that they are fruit.
Is there anyway I can be an orange and an apple at the same time? Can I take the peel off the orange and sort of shape it into an apple? Can I peel the orange and the apple and place the peel on the orange? Does that work? You still will have an orange and you still have an apple.
Something completely different has to happen in order for an orange to become an apple. As an orange, naturally there is hatred, sin, death, and evil ruling the day. As a follower of Christ, there is influence to do those sinful things because we live immersed in it, but we are not controlled by it.
It is a complete change which in turn causes us to live completely different lives. It is something that we could never manufacture. The only way this could happen is to be born again as something different.
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – John 3:3
We need to be changed from the inside out. We cannot put on some outward show that fools the world into believing we are a follower of Jesus. Either we are or we are not. There is a complete transformation that takes place and it will be evident in your life. It is only by Jesus Christ that this transformation takes place. Therefore, it is only in Jesus Christ that we are allowed access into the Kingdom of God. Do you know Him?
My kids get on the school bus at about 7:15 a.m. every morning. While this would be a huge deal for any teenager, it has never been a factor for my kids. In fact, if they stay in their room past 6:15 a.m. we consider that sleeping in. This provides us with a luxury of time before school in the morning. One might think that this would make for a calm morning. One would be wrong.
We have found that the extra time actually creates a bit of malaise in the boys. They have time, so they might take a few extra minutes to get their shoes on. They will often stop to watch a few minutes of a television show or fight with their brother. All of a sudden they have 3 minutes until they need to be at the bus stop and they still are without shoes.
One morning I asked my 3rd grader if he was ready for school. His response: “pretty much.”
What does that even mean? How is someone pretty much ready? Either you are ready or you are not ready. We still operate in absolutes, even if many people think that truth changes based on feelings. I cannot be ready and not ready at the same time. The standard of readiness is something that is not determined by us, but by some standard beyond ourselves. There are certain criteria that need to be met in order for my son to be ready for school. He needs to have his shoes on, his teeth brushed, his lunch packed, and his homework put back together. He often needs a jacket or gloves as well.
This is the same principle we need to consider when it comes to our spiritual life. We know that we will exist forever; the question is where. Yesterday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. We celebrate that with such emphasis because it is the basis for our salvation. Without this sacrifice, our sins are not forgive, and we perish like we deserve. We are objects of wrath because of our sin and have no way of standing anywhere near a Holy God. But God loves us so much that He gave us a way, The Way, to Him in Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that if we confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart God raised Him from the dead we will be saved. There is no magic formula of good deeds and hoping in ourself. The work is completely in the hands of Jesus Christ. We are called to follow Him faithfully and surrender our hearts to Him.
Don’t waste time chasing things of the world. Much like my children before school, so many people wait until a later time to commit to Jesus. So many go through life thinking that they have so much time before needing to get things in order. Yet, we just don’t know when it will end. It is better to be ready than to leave it to chance because forever is a long time. The only way to be ready is to trust in Jesus Christ. When it comes time to stand before God the answer “pretty much” will not cut it.
Where is our King? Standing next to a pile of rubble that used to be a church building might cause people to ask that. How could God allow our church to burn down? It could be easy to look at a situation like this and say “We want this and this and that.” We are entitled to a new building with all of these fancy things. When we stand before God and tell Him what we want, we are just asking for trouble. Our King has not left His place of rule, but oh how easy it could be for us to lose sight of that in the scramble to do what we want to do.
In 1 Samuel 8 it was a different scenario, but people were telling God what they wanted- a King. They didn’t want just to have judges who told them things about God; they wanted a King!
The problem was that this was not what God had in mind for them. He was to be their King! He had a plan for a King to come, David, who would be a King after God’s own heart. He had a plan that through the line of David would come the King of Kings, our Savior, Jesus Christ. He even warns them about what would happen if they took ‘their’ king over ‘His’ King, but they didn’t care. They wanted it and they were going to get it.
In our time right now as a church we need to remember that God is our King. We must be careful not to be guilty of rejecting Him, or to somehow get in front of Him. We most certainly do not want to reject our King.
We Reject God as Our King by Rushing Ahead of Him
They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” – 1 Samuel 8:5
The nation of Israel already had a King, but they wanted a new one. Their reason — well, Samuel you are old for one and your kids aren’t doing the right things. Their request was a disguise for their real reason- the power and status that comes from having a king.
And listen to how blunt their request is: “Give us a king to lead us!”
They say haste makes waste. The reason they say that is that when people are in a hurry they miss things, or do things in a way that is not the most helpful. Things turn out better when we stop and think.
Right now as a church there are a lot of meeting place options for our ministries. We are in no hurry to make any big moves because we have a King. The building being destroyed does not change that at all. The fact that we don’t have all the fancy things we used to have doesn’t change anything. God is king. Now, we could act like them and say, “we must do what we have always done right now.” Doing that would be ignoring the place we are in and what God is doing among us.
We Reject God as Our King by Refusing to Listen
Samuel was upset by the request because it meant he wasn’t doing as good a job as they wanted. He immediately went to God with the request, and God answered.
And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. – 1 Samuel 8:7
God to Samuel no to take this personally because it was about their rejection of Him, not of Samuel. This came with warnings about how this king they wanted would lead. God told Samuel to let them know that if they decide to put their king in place, their king will not be a good king like He is. Samuel told them this but they did not listen.
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. – 1 Samuel 8:19
They refused to listen. Samuel inquired of God. The people heard the response and didn’t care because they had in their mind what they wanted.
We could be guilty of that as a church also if we inquire of God and press ahead with our own plans no matter what God tells us. This is one reason why we don’t rush because God might not be in a hurry to tell us. He might want us to wait, seek, and listen.
Wait a second! You caught a bigger fish. — Comparisons are dangerous
We Reject God as Our King by Making Outward Comparisons
The people looked around and saw the other nations around there with their fancy Kings and armies. Why can’t we have that? Comparisons are dangerous because everyone is in a different place and situation.
Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”- 1 Samuel 8:20
Their outward comparison got them into trouble, and Saul became their king. Saul was an awful king, but they were warned.
This is a danger for us also as we consider who we are. It might be easy to look at other churches and decide we want to do what they are going. We cannot compare ourselves to other groups, churches or people. We look to God alone as our King.
This is an orange. Do you agree? This orange has inherent characteristics to it. It is smells a certain way, looks a certain way, tastes a certain way and has a specific texture to it. It is completely an orange.
Let’s say this apple represents a follower of Jesus. This is someone who has accepted the gift of salvation offered in Him and has turned away from their sin and embraced Jesus Christ. They stand out in a world full of oranges. They are in no way similar except that they are fruit.
No Throw Aways 