What Does God Want Me to Do? #4

Sunday, April 1, 2012

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).

Today is April Fools’ Day, but our world abounds with fools year-round. According to God’s Word, who is foolish?

Reigning from 1050–1010 B.C., Saul was Israel’s first king. Mostly a bad king, he repeatedly attempted to kill righteous David (1 Samuel 18:29–19:24, for instance) and Saul even consulted a witch (1 Samuel 28:7-25). But there was one instance of evil (foolishness) that cost Saul his throne: “And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept [obeyed] the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever” (1 Samuel 13:13).

The prophet Samuel told Saul to wait for him to offer a burnt offering (1 Samuel 13:8-12), but Saul proceeded to perform the offering without Samuel. God told Saul through Samuel, “Thou hast done foolishly.” Saul wanted to do his own thing (sin); he did not care what God’s spokesman said. Later on, Saul again ignored and disobeyed God’s Word (1 Samuel 15:2-35).

Sadly, lost people and most Christians are just as rebellious towards God’s Word as King Saul was. God’s spokesman to us Gentiles is the Apostle Paul (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11), but few people know and most do not care to know. These people are just as foolish as Saul was because they ignore God’s Word to them. They follow God’s will for Israel (Old Testament, Four Gospel Records, Acts, Hebrews through Revelation).

If you want to know God’s will for you (today’s Scripture), you must go to Bible books which document God’s current dealings with man, Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon. Paul wrote, “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37).

When you ignore Paul’s letters, you ignore the commandments of God to us, and by doing so, “thou hast done foolishly!”