SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4
Scripture: Hebrews 11:32-33, 1 Samuel 15:12-23

Verses 20-21 state, “And Saul said to Samuel, ‘But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.’” Saul gave an excuse and God’s answer was directed at that excuse. Verses 22-23 state, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.” Judgment begins in the House of God and sometimes judgment is necessary to clean up the mess that’s been made. The rebellious cannot stand in the presence of the living God. Saul cried out in verses 25-26, “’Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.’ But Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.’” The judgment Saul failed to execute ended up coming back on him. If we are going to gain a harvest of nations today, we are going to have to follow the Spirit when He leads us to execute the judgment of God in prayer. And if, like Saul, we fail to execute God’s judgment, that judgment may very well come back on us. We cannot afford not to follow the Spirit when He leads us to declare God’s judgment. Judgment is starting in the House of the Lord and God is going to replace disobedient leaders with those who will frame tomorrow’s world by obedience and faith in His Word. Let’s make sure we are part of the answer and not the problem.