BE FAITHFUL IN THE MIDST OF A WORLD OF UNFAITHFULNESS
BE FAITHFUL IN THE MIDST OF A WORLD OF UNFAITHFULNESS
If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well. But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king. —I Samuel 12:14-15
Listen… disobedience and rebellion against the commandment of our Lord God Almighty will not go well. None can stand against Him. He is the all-powerful King of Creation and it is futile to go against Him. How amazing that puny little man desires to be master of their own lives instead of being servant and friend to the One who first loved us, even when we were in our trespasses and sins.
Today, it is true that there are those who act and proclaim “evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 50:20). Recently a “talk show TV host” said, “That abortion was not mentioned in the Ten Commandments.” How pathetic of a statement is that! The darkened mind is given over to dishonest and deceptive thinking. Consider our culture and see how it is living and moving toward more and more rebelliousness. These are concerning times for our culture and society. But, brothers and sisters, fellow followers of Jesus, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). Be faithful, that is what our Lord calls us to. “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (I Corinthians 15:58). Yes, be faithful and set your face like flint (Isaiah 50:7) and “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
The “the hand of the LORD will be against” “those will not obey the voice of the LORD.” That is not a good place to be. But it will go well with those who listen to Him and obey Him, applying to life what He says.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” —Matthew 7:24-27
The disobedient and foolish who do not want to put God’s Word into practice, that don’t want to follow our Lord, well, they will experience disaster in one way or another now. But the real tragedy is that after they die, they will hear from our Lord, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). So, brother and sisters, fellow followers of Jesus, let us be faithful to the mission Jesus has called us to of being witnesses for Him and making disciples for Him. Let us bring the good news of the gospel to them that “God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (II Timothy 2:26). Yes, Dear Father, may we be faithful to what our Lord Jesus has called us to by the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Dear Son Jesus. Yes, so may it be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9siuU-X62OE