12Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. 13And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 14But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. 1 Samuel 12:12-14
I call this chapter “Spiritual Bankruptcy”. One being that it is chapter 13. Secondly, we see the results of Saul getting to a point where he over extends himslef and suffers from spiritual bankruptcy. Saul “forced himself and offered a burnt offering”. It is always seems odd when you see someone suffer consequences while doing what appears to be right.
Motive matters (period)
When of the blessing and dangers of being in the ministry for a few years that somethings have been a habit in my life. We do not even question going to church or if we will participate in certain events. However, without having to question if we will do something we often do not stop to think about why we we are doing what we do. Our motives matter, as we see in this story. Saul saw sacrifice/service as what God wanted most. In his desire to be blessed of God he offered a sacrifice that God explicitly said He did not want.
Saul thought sacrifice was better than obedience. This happens we put ourselves at the center of all that is happening in our lives. I serve God and He blesses me becomes our creed. When we should believe I obey God He does as He pleases and that is what is best for the world.
Tuesday morning a friend of mine, Chris Waye, preached a great message in 3 minutes at the GA Independent Baptist Preachers Fellowship. He challenged all of us to realize we do what we do because the love of God constrains us. It was a wonderful challenge to take a good look at our motives. So even though I will be doing much of the same things during the short time on earth I still need to regularly question while I do what I do. I do not want to end up spiritual bankrupt as Saul did.
