SAMUEL LEADS ISRAEL

PROCLAMATION

“And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, ‘If ye do return unto The Lord with all your hearts … He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’  Then the children of Israel put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served The Lord only.”  1 Samuel 7:3-4 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  The men of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of The Lord from Beth Shemesh as requested.  They kept the ark with them for twenty years. (1 Samuel 7:1-2)  Then the Israelites turned back to The Lord.  Samuel told them to put away their foreign gods and serve only The Lord, and He would deliver them out of the hands of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 2-4)  The Israelites put away their idols and gathered at Mizpah where they fasted and confessed with Samuel as their leader.  When the Philistines heard that they had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines led an attack against them. (1 Samuel 7:5-7)  Samuel offered a sacrifice unto The Lord and that same day The Lord thundered with a loud thunder and caused the Philistines to panic.  The men of Israel then rushed out and pursued and slaughtered the Philistines. (1 Samuel 7:8-11)  They so subdued the Philistines that the towns of Ekron and Gath which had been captured were restored to Israel. (1 Samuel 7:12-14)  Samuel continued as the leader of Israel all the days of his life. (1 Samuel 7:15-17)

 

APPLICATION

If we as believers, who are called Christians, would humble ourselves, and pray, and seek The Lord God, and turn from our wicked sinful ways, then He would forgive us and heal us and our land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)  We have heard The Word of God preached to us, but we need to internalize it and become doers of The Word. (James 1:22)  We also need to read and study The Word of God, (2 Timothy 2:15) so that we can grow in the knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18) and grow in holiness.  We should not stay babes in Christ and be fed The Word as milk instead of meat. (1 Corinthians 3:2)  We should want to grow spiritually.

 

BE DOERS OF THE WORD AND NOT JUST HEARERS

PROCLAMATION

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires … Do not merely listen to The Word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says … not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it, they will be blessed in what they do.”  James 1:19-25 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by James, the half-brother of Jesus, The Christ, (Galatians 1:19) under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the converted Jewish believers of the early church who were scattered after the crucifixion of Christ. (James 1:1) He wrote this letter to encourage them to keep the faith in the face of all types of trials. (James 1:2-4)  He told them to pray, and to believe and not doubt that their prayers would be answered. (James 1:6-8)  He also told them that blessed is the man who perseveres under trials for he will be rewarded. (James 1:12)  James ends this first chapter by urging them to be quick to listen and slow to speak.  Then he tells them that they should not be just hearers of The Word of God, but they should also be doers of The Word.  They will be blessed for that which they do. (James 1:25)  He says that they should keep themselves from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

 

APPLICATION

Unfortunately, most of the people in the world today do not read The Bible.  They watch and “read” the people of God.  Therefore, James encouraged all believers to be living examples of The Word of God.  The apostle Paul expressed the same thought in his letter to the believers in Corinth. (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)  We need to understand that our actions will speak louder than our words, so we cannot just read and talk about The Word of God; we have to also live it.  We have to “walk the walk” and walk God’s way.  It is the behavior of believers that will have the most profound effect on the world.  It is for the Christ-like behavior of believers that we will receive special blessings. (James 1:25)

 

HEARING THE WORD OF GOD DOES NOT MEAN UNDERSTANDING

PROCLAMATION

“They read from The Book of The Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.”  Nehemiah 8:8 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

In chapter five of The Bible Book of Nehemiah there is a report of an outcry from the people that they were suffering because of the famine and the taxes which they had to pay. (Nehemiah 5:1-5)  Then it detailed the actions that Nehemiah took to solve the problem. (Nehemiah 5:6-13)  After this, King Artaxerxes appointed Nehemiah to be the governor over the land of Judah. (Nehemiah 5:14)  Chapter six presents the continuing opposition from their enemies over the rebuilding of the wall. (Nehemiah 6:1-13)  In spite of this, the wall was completed in fifty-two days. (Nehemiah 6:15)  Chapter seven of The Bible Book of Nehemiah included the names of the men of Israel who had returned from exile, as it is reported in chapter two of The Bible Book of Ezra.  Afterwards, Ezra the priest read to the people from The Book of The Law of Moses and the people were instructed in The Law. (Nehemiah 8:1-9)  The people were taught the meaning of The Law so that they understood it. (Nehemiah 8:7-9)

APPLICATION
The Holy Word of God does not make sense to non-believers. (Matthew 13:13)  Parts of The Bible can even be confusing to believers. (Matthew 13:36)  That is why we are told to study The Word of God in order to be able to correctly understand it. (2 Timothy 2:15)  Preaching is more than just reading God’s Holy Word to the people, it also includes some explaining and teaching.  However, for a more in depth understanding of God’s Holy Word, one needs to attend Bible study sessions.  It is not enough for us to hear The Word of God; we need to also be doers of The Word (James 1:22) and we cannot do that if we do not understand it.

BE DOERS OF THE WORD OF GOD AND NOT JUST HEARERS

Proclamation:

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires … Do not merely listen to The Word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says … not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it, they will be blessed in what they do.”  James 1:19-25 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by James, the half brother of Jesus, The Christ, (Galatians 1:19) under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the converted Jewish believers of the early church who were scattered after the crucifixion of Christ (James 1:1) to encourage them to keep the faith in the face of all types of trials. (James 1:2-4)  He told them to pray, and to believe and not doubt that their prayers would be answered. (James 1:6-8)  He also told them that blessed is the man who perseveres under trials for he will be rewarded. (James 1:12)  James ends this first chapter by urging them to be quick to listen and slow to speak.  Then he tells them that they should not be just hearers of The Word of God but also doers of The Word.  They will be blessed for that which they do.  

Application:

Unfortunately, most of the people in the world today do not read The Bible.  They watch and “read” the people of God.  Therefore, James encouraged all believers to be living examples of The Word of God.  The apostle Paul expressed the same thought in his letter to the believers in Corinth. (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)  We need to understand that our actions will speak louder than our words, so we cannot just read and talk about The Word of God; we have to also live it.  We have to “walk the walk” and walk God’s way.  It is the behavior of believers that will have the most profound effect on the world.  It is for the behavior of believers that special blessing will be received.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO KEEP HIS WAYS

Proclamation:

“Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways.  Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it.  Blessed are those who listen to me … For those who find me find life and receive favor from The Lord.”  Proverbs 8:32-35 (NIV)

Explanation:

This proverb, like all but two of the proverbs, was written by King Solomon under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This eighth proverb was written from the perspective of wisdom speaking as a person.  Wisdom calls out to mankind to hear her words. (Proverbs 8:1-6)  The words of wisdom are trustworthy, true, just, and right. (Proverbs 8:6-9)  The words of wisdom are worth more than silver, or gold, or precious rubies. (Proverbs 8:10-11)  With wisdom comes prudence, knowledge, and discretion, in addition to good advice, sound judgment, and insight. (Proverbs 8:12-14)  Those who seek wisdom will find her and those who love her will be blessed. (Proverbs 8:17-21)  Harken to the words of wisdom and be blessed, (Proverbs 8:32-35) those who don’t, won’t be. (Proverbs 8:36)

Application:

The Word of God calls out to us to read it, to hear it, to study it, and to seek to understand it and gain wisdom.  We will be blessed if we not only hear The Word of God but become doers of The Word. (Proverbs 8:32, Romans 2:13, and James 1:22)  Believing and having faith and having knowledge of The Lord God without doing anything with it is useless. (James 2:18 and 2:26)