“This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.” But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”
1 Samuel 8:11-20 NLT
If you study the Old Testament scriptures you’ll discover that from the time of this request for a king until Jesus, Israel served under kings who did right and kings who did evil, in the sight of the Lord. They got what the wanted but didn’t like what they got most of the time. God wanted them to be a standout nation, they wanted to be like everyone else. That desire has proven to be nothing like they envisioned. Even as God had taken the time to prepare them for what would ensue, a few made the decision for millions. That’s called the power of influence.
When a nation rejects God for fleshly selfish desires, the results are never good. Look around you. What do you see? If you’re a Spirit filled believer in Jesus Christ, you should have the ability to take the pulse of the nation you’re in. Who’s in control? What’s the spiritual climate like? Are we winning the war against secularism as a Church or have you even noticed? What are you hearing in the Spirit? Israel foolishly believed that by getting a king of their own making, and rejecting God’s plan that whatever problems they thought they had, real or imagined, would be solved by an earthly king.
It would’ve been great if these kings only served for a year or even months, but some of them served for a decade and did what the Bible describes as evil in the sight of the Lord. Everything God opposed, these kings championed. And everyone was affected none was exempt. I’ve written at length about the church’s apathy, so no need to repeat it here. Whatever nation you may be in reading these words, I pray that you’ll remain faithful to Jesus no matter what. Like Israel we’ve strayed from wanting God to rule over us, to choosing leaders of our fleshy desires. Leaders who will promise one thing but deliver another.
The world is shocked by what’s happening in Turkey right now, but why? Recep Tayyip Edrogen hasn’t changed who he is, the few who saw through the farce were overcome by the majority. Christians are freaking out in Turkey, unsure of what lies ahead of them. In China right now it’s worse than ever. This is the headline from an article I just read:
Chinese Government Tells Churches to Worship the Communist Party or be Closed
I’ve only mentioned two but there are many more. You won’t hear about this on CNN. This isn’t important to the secular world or even to the church who has become oblivious to what’s going on around the world. Dependence on anyone but God leads to domination. Think it can’t happen in a democratic nation? Think again. America is going to wake up to an America we do not know, because we have and are taking so much for granted. In the 1960’s one atheist woman took prayer out of schools, while the church said it couldn’t happen. More disturbing than the headlines I mentioned is the fear of resistance that has gripped the church. Where the apostles pushed back in the book of Acts, the church today is cowering and for reasons that defy logic. Before I share I’d like us to read Acts 4 as a refresher and what the Lord’s response was.
“While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000. The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Acts of the Apostles 4:1-12 NLT
“So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, Your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out Your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”
Acts of the Apostles 4:18-20, 29-31 NLT
Now I’ll share a part of the article you can access the entire article on CBN news:
The church's pastor was forced to include stories about Mao Zedong in his sermon that day, according to Bitter Winter.
"We do not dare to refuse these propaganda materials for fear that the government will ban our gatherings," a church member said helplessly. "We're powerless to challenge them."
I’ll share another familiar story from Jesus’ encounter with the blind man from birth and his parents reason for responding to the religious leaders in the way that they did.
“His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
John 9:20-23 NLT
Fear of whom? Whenever we raise up leaders who have no fear or reverence for God, we will end up fearing them. What’s the point of keeping the doors open if you have to preach what they want? I know I don’t live currently under a threat for being a believer in Christ, but why preach propaganda just to have a building to worship in? I’m totally lost. In that same country, many other Christians have had their buildings bulldozed, and their pastors imprisoned for refusing to compromise. So what’s different here? We read it in John’s gospel above. Fear of man can never replace reverence and fear of God. China was not always a communist nation, but weaknesses and vulnerabilities in a society, giving way to proposals of a better way, will produce what the woke generation calls progressive leadership and ideology that denies the Lordship of Christ, and promotes secularism.
So you have your king, now what? Are you ready for the changes that will eventually come out of the choices you’ve made? Ready for the agenda of the king? Not all rulers fear God. Israel didn’t know that the king they chose would eventually be replaced by others worse than the last. The warnings of God ignored will plunge individual lives and nations into darkness. Israel learned that fateful lesson, and we will too. The more we reject God and His laws, and I’m not speaking here of the Ten commandments, The more we push Him out of our nation and government. The less of His influence we’ll see over the nation’s conscience.
May the Holy Spirit quicken us to be sensitive to what’s happening around us. May we not become sellouts to fit into the world’s narrative of right and wrong. But follow closely and adhere to the Word of God. True peace will only be found in the Prince of peace, and true blessing will only be found in a nation whose God is the Lord. Psalm 33:12
When Israel had God fearing leaders everyone benefited, the entire nation prospered and enjoyed peace, God’s peace. Whenever they had Godless leaders, the opposite was true. We choose our leaders, but God can use the leaders if their will aligns with God’s plan for the nation or countries in which they serve Proverbs 21:1; Isaiah 45; or He will allow a nation to be overthrown if the people continually walk in disobedience. Daniel 1:1-2. We participate in the process by an act of our will, which God will never infringe upon or overrule. We don’t get to blame God for our choices. In the end God gave Israel what they asked for and they like we, had to live with the consequences of their desire. And so will we.
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant