Lesson on Financial Management

Last few weeks I had a wonderful experience dealing with my wife's and my mobile phone. First, it was my wife's phone that had a problem with charging, and then my phone whose screen went blank. In trying to solve these two phone problems I learned a precious life lesson on finance; to save or not to save.

When my wife told me about her phone problem I tried to repair it at the earliest but I was too busy and wanted to do it fast and cheap. First I took it to a shop nearby that wanted to charge me Rs. 1500. But I decided to repair in another local market a kilometer away from home. When I went there it was repaired for Rs. 600 only. But a few days later the same charging problem, occurred. But every time I took the phone to the repair shop, I was told that it was alright and the man did not want to do anything further. Today morning the phone went completely drained out of battery and I had no choice but to repair it immediately wherever. At first, I thought to go to the same repair man as I already paid him, so I could save on the repair cost. Somehow the Lord did not allow me to go there and arranged my circumstances that I could not go there though I planned to. Therefore, I went to the shop nearby, and this time the same shop that I took the phone to before, agreed to replace the charging port with Rs. 700, which I readily agreed to, and it was repaired finally.

With my phone when I enquired about the cost of repairing I was quoted Rs. 3,500 for the first copy and Rs. 5000 for the original screen from Samsung. But I was in a hurry and needed the phone immediately and went to the local market and repaired it for Rs. 2,200. It worked for a couple of days and everything went blank again. When I took the phone to the repair man, I was told that the repair had no guarantee and they will not be responsible for anything after the work; no refund, no replacement, nothing. Therefore, I had no choice but ended up buying a new phone due to the urgency of the need. 

In the above two cases, I wanted to save money and tried my best to control my expenses. The more I tried to save money, the more I ended up spending. Then the Lord impressed me within that He has given me sufficient money to pay for the cost of repairing and also supplied me sufficiently to buy a brand new phone. When there is a need to use money I need to use it. I did nothing for luxury or for anything beyond my necessity. All that I spent was for what was actually needed. 

I felt cheated by the repairman in the local market. There indeed was a thought to vent my anger some way or the other. But the Lord indicated to me inwardly and outwardly to not visit that shop ever again, though I seriously wanted to. I forgave the person who cheated me on the two mobile repairs and on top of it, I learned my lesson on financial management.

The lesson is, to spend where and when it needs to be spent. Money comes,. money goes, it is the Lord who provides to meet all my needs. Trying to save money under the guise of financial management will not solve the problem. I should not be a lover of money but be a lover of men so that through the gospel as many as possible can be saved. Money should not be an obstacle in my pursuit of the Lord, and I shall not love money.

Similarly, for the last two weeks, there had been a gospel preaching in the city. For this, I also did my best to participate in the gospel preaching with the trainees and saints among the local resident of the city. For this, I need to use my car and joyfully spent money on fuel. In the same principle, use money when needed, especially for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

For the love of money is a root of all evils, because of which some, aspiring after money, have been led away from the faith and pierced themselves through with many pains. 1 Timothy 6:10

Surprise Brotherly Visit

Love one another warmly in brotherly love; take the lead in showing honor one to another. Romans 12:10

An elder brother came to visit the literature office last Monday.  I was not aware of who he was until he introduced himself. Initially, I was not sure if I should spend time with him as another brother was with him. As a host, I felt my responsibility was to simply give him hospitality by serving him water, coffee, and snacks. But after all these formalities, I felt the need to sit with him to listen to him what he had to say and why he visited us.

He is a doctorate degree holder in a branch of study in Vedanta and a born-again believer from Brahmin background whose close relatives also believed into the Lord Jesus Christ. As from such a background, he went through a lot of persecution from his community yet those did not deter him from following the Lord Jesus faithfully. On the contrary, he became a testimony to many of his community members and has now been serving the Lord full-time though independently. He happened to be a friend of one of our brothers in the church life and has touched some crucial truths the Lord has recovered through the ministers of the age. He was very impressed with some basic fundamental truths on Christ being the life-giving Spirit (1 Corn. 15:45b) and calling upon the Name of the Lord. 

In fact, he has been a freelance evangelist and a traveling preacher who is being invited by different Christian groups nationally. But in his heart, he has a deep appreciation for the ministry of Brother Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and to his own testimony, he has been pursuing the truths and ministering the truths to the people he has been invited to minister to.

When he requested for ministry books I displayed a good number of selected titles. On sensing his hunger and thirst for the truth, I felt the burden to gift to him whatever ministry books he would like to read. Though he wanted to purchase, I decided o give him as gifts and pay for him through the offering I received recently. 

As we were fellowshipping, it was lunchtime and I felt the burden to invite him over for lunch. The matter being decided promptly, I felt it best to take him to a restaurant nearby. Therefore, we went and had fellowship over lunch at a restaurant serving Chinese cuisine. Before he left, he also enquired about the Holy Bible, Recovery Version, which I included along with the other books as a gift. He was so thankful for the time of fellowship, the hospitality, and the gifts of ministry books.

I have no idea why the Lord brought him to us and why we had such an impromptu fellowship with these many gifts. I believe the Lord has something to carry out through this newly established brotherly relationship. Perhaps, a breakthrough among our fellow Christians for the spread of the ministry of the word and also for the recovery of the truths among many of God's children. Of course, nothing is an accident in a believer's life. Therefore, in time, the Lord will manifest the reason for this surprise brotherly visit.

Lord, bless my brother and make him a channel of blessing to many of Your seekers and lovers. 

Serving God

Serving God According Revelation by Faith

The book of Genesis reveals God's heart's desire for man to receive Him as food and drink, and thus being satisfied with God will issue in serving Him according to God and His revelation. Sandwiched between the rivers and the tree of life is man to work on the garden of Eden and keep it. This is the principle God set up for man to serve God.

The source of our service is God Himself. It is imperative for man to partake of God first to be able to serve. 

Gn 2:10And a river went forth from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became four branches.
Gn 2:11The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that goes around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
Gn 2:12And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.
Gn 2:13And the name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that goes around the whole land of Cush.
Gn 2:14And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one that goes east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 

Gn 2:15And Jehovah God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and to keep it.

Gn 2:16And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may eat freely,
Gn 2:17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of it you shall not eat; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

Rv 22:3And there will no longer be a curse. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him; 

Jn 4:14But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. 

Jn 4:34Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

All spiritual service begins with revelation. The revelation is that God desires to satisfy man first by feeding Him with Himself as food and drink, so that man can serve Him. Violation of this principle set up by God will result in spiritual death. For this reason, the sabbath rest commanded by God in the Old Testament demands man to enjoy God as rest first, else the judgment of violation is death. For this very reason, many servants of God face spiritual death due to a lack of revelation.

Is 30:15For thus says the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest you will be saved; In quietness and in trust will be your strength; But you were not willing.

Examples of serving according to the natural man:

Uzzah's Hand: The Ark of God was to be carried by the serving priests, but a non-priest carried the Ark here.

2S 6:3And they set the Ark of God upon a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.
2S 6:7And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error, and he died there by the Ark of God.

Ananias and Sapphira: 

Ac 5:1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property

Ac 5:2And put aside for himself some of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it. And he brought some part of it and laid it at the feet of the apostles.

Ac 5:3But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to deceive the Holy Spirit and to put aside for yourself some of the proceeds of the land?

Ac 5:4While it remained, was it not your own? And when it was sold, was it not under your authority? Why is it that you have contrived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.

Ac 5:5And when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and expired; and great fear came upon all those who heard this.

The difficult situation is the real test of the serving ones. Even without the test, do we still use Uzzah's hand and act deceitfully like Ananias and Sapphira? Be reminded of Uzzah's hand and never act naturally even in times of difficulties. May the Lord be able to gain a testimony among us that is pure. That we may serve the Lord by faith trusting in Him and never do anything without faith. 

1Ti 1:4Nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.

Rm 14:23But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it is not out of faith; for all that is not out of faith is sin.

Seeing that we are not and that God is all, will keep us in rest and allow the great I Am to work in us and through us. This will cause faith to rise up within us; we will be resting and enjoying the Lord as the tree of life and the river of life. Thereby, enabling us to serve according to this revelation.

Lord, grace us to serve You according to revelation and in faith all the days of our lives.

Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Mt 28:19Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The past two years were barren years as far as the gospel preaching was concerned. the pandemic had stopped all physical going out to preach the gospel which we used to do every Saturday. Even when the pandemic seemed to be over, the gospel preaching was not fully recovered as it should have been. Therefore, the Lord in His mercy and sovereignty arranged a two-week propagation in the city of Gurugram. I was blessed to be able to participate in the gospel preaching in coordination with the saints and the trainees.

Lk 10:1Now after these things, the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to come.

Every morning and afternoon we came together to pray, pray-read the word of God, fellowship, and formed teams to go out. Every day we spent about two hours pre-lunch and another two hours post-lunch. Even the team was sovereignly arranged in such a way that we could learn to coordinate.

Announcing the Gospel House to House

Ac 14:7And there they announced the gospel.
Ac 14:21And when they had announced the gospel to that city and had made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.

This time I consecrated myself to participate in all the gospel preaching and actively involved in it. The Lord graced me to do so. Therefore, from day one, team by team we went street by street, house to house, door knocking for the preaching of the gospel in a selected sector in the city. Every time we went out, the Lord gave us some good contacts; to listen to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to call upon the Lord Jesus' name, to pray the sinner's prayer for salvation, to invite us into their home for a time to hear us out, to offer us something to drink as we ventured out in the peak summer time when the temperature was between 52 to 45-degree Celcius. But the outward condition did not matter to us at all. The power of God's grace was upon us that the heat that I normally find hard to bear meant nothing when I went out to preach the gospel. There was no change in the temperature nor the outward situation, but the change was within and upon me. The Lord covered me by His grace, and what was difficult outwardly meant nothing as the Spirit led me on. This is my personal testimony.

A Cup of Water

Mt 10:42And whoever gives to one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.
Mk 9:41For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name that you are Christ’s, truly I say to you that he shall by no means lose his reward.

Remembering the word of the Lord well, I personally would not reject whenever the new ones whose door we knocked on, offered us something to drink in the hot summer. They obviously were witnesses of our sweat as we stood at their doors awaiting their response, and when they did so, many of them were moved with compassion to at least offer a glass of water due to the hot weather. Many offered water to drink, and by faith, I always accepted the offer and drank. In that way, I got more opportunities to speak to them the gospel and interact with them, and on top of all, I wanted the Lord's words to be fulfilled in their lives. "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name that you are Christ’s, truly I say to you that he shall by no means lose his reward."

Counted Worthy

Ac 5:41So they went from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the Name.

Not all will receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. We did experience a few rejections and in two houses we were bitterly scolded, abused, and shouted at. But we never responded according to their anger and temper, rather we swallowed their bitter words with a smile and walked away thanking them. There were sons of peace who would receive us and there also were some who would reject us. Either in acceptance or rejection, glory be to God and we count it worthy to be honored with the blessing of the gospel!

Glorious Gospel

Lk 10:16He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.

Lk 10:17And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.

Lk 10:18And He said to them, I was watching Satan fall like lightning out of heaven.

The gospel is of the Lord Jesus Christ. We only represented Him in His gospel.  Whoever received the gospel received the Lord Jesus Christ, whoever rejected, rejected the Lord. In either case, whenever we came back from the gospel preaching we came with joy and rejoicing. For Satan was defeated and sinners heard the gospel and got saved. Only the Lord knows how many of the people we preached the gospel to,  got saved! And how many would be saved in the future as the word of God preached will not return void; it will bear forth fruits one day, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and others thirtyfold! As farmers, we simply sowed the seed of the gospel, the divine life, to people's hearts, into which the Lord will follow up to convict them and save them one day. In fact, much sooner than later.  The result is up to the Lord.

Praise the Lord for the glorious gospel preached in our city Gurugram! Lord, save the people of Gurugram for Your strong testimony!

Shepherding in Shillong

Last month, in fellowship with the brothers who serve the Lord's work in India, I went to visit the saints in the church in Shillong. Every time I visited the church, there was something new the Lord was doing. This time the visit was to fellowship with the brothers and get to know their standing and situation as there was a need to clarify who was standing for what testimony of the church. 

My burden this time was to simply follow the brothers and learn from them. As such, unlike before, I let the brothers take the lead in every matter concerning the items of fellowship and the sequence of meetings.  In fact, this time I functioned more like a host than a guest and I was glad I was graced to be able to do that.

Thank the Lord for the Lord's sovereignty! The Lord gave wisdom to the brothers in all the fellowship. From the very first meeting, the concern and real situation of the saints were manifested. Some of the saints were not clear about the church in the universal aspect and some were not even clear about the aspects of salvation. Therefore, this time, we could render timely help according to the need of the saints.

In all the fellowship I learned how the Spirit was moving and what the Spirit was speaking to the church. Only when I was asked to say something did I share what was in my heart. On Saturday morning I was asked to share first whatever burden I had, but I had only one burden, to follow the Lord's burden released through the brothers. Therefore, I echoed what they had shared the previous night on the apostles' teaching and gave my own testimony of how the Lord led me to partake of the apostles' teachings through the ministry of the word. 

On Saturday night, when the local brothers came together, they were each given time to speak what was their main concerns, and in that way, we could know what the need of the brothers was. Based on the sharing and concerns of the local brothers, on the Lord's day, we addressed their concerns. The portion allotted to me was to minister on the assurance, security, and joy of salvation. Therefore, I prayed and prepared and ministered to the saints the key points with supporting Bible verses. And the other brothers also ministered on the vision concerning the church. Through all the fellowship the Lord accomplished what was in His heart for the church in Shillong this time.

On the last night of my stay in Shillong after the other brothers have left for Aizawl, I could continue to fellowship with the four saints who have seen the vision of the church clearly and are taking the stand on the ground of oneness. We all enjoyed the testimony of the Lord's move in the North East and how the Lord raised up and recovered the local churches in Manipur and Mizoram. Later a brother also joined in. Out of the burden the Lord gave me, I shared from the book, The Vision and Building Up of the Church, which I also gifted 20 copies to the key saints in the church there. As we prayed after the fellowship, the brother who joined us late was so convicted by the Lord that he started weeping and weeping and could not pray at all. When we finished the prayer, he hugged another brother and the two agreed to come together often for pursuing the truth in the book gifted to them.

Thus having released the Lord's burden for Shillong this time, I flew back to Delhi to be on time for two weeks proportion that had just begun in the church in Gurugram.

The Lord was sovereign in arranging this visit to Shillong as He also provided the timely financial supply to fly to and fro from Delhi to Shillong and for all the other expenses. When the Lord leads He also supplies, spiritually and financially to meet His need through us who cooperate with Him for His move.

Lord, bless the church in Shillong!

Gospel Amidst Storm

This is good and acceptable in the sight of our Savior God, Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to be borne in its own times. For which I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I speak the truth; I do not lie), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-7

Gospel preaching has always been a spiritual battle as this is a battle to save sinners for whom Christ died. Jesus Christ the Savior of the world died for all men yet there is a need to herald this good news to all men so that all men may hear the gospel and believe into Him. Without the heralding of the glad tiding, how can all men possibly know who and what the Lord Jesus had done? Therefore, the church and the saints' unique responsibility is to preach the gospel; this is also the great commission Jesus Christ commissioned before His ascension.

Mt 28:19Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Last Saturday, as usual, a brother and I paired up to preach the gospel in the shopping area in our neighborhood. In coordination, we followed the Lord's leading in each one and as we walked around we preached the gospel to whoever comes our way. At one point my brother suggested that we take a round of the shopping complex and meet people along the way. As we did so, the Lord had placed the right people at the right time for us to preach the gospel. There were three open contacts out of the many we have met. 

A food delivery boy was waiting for his order to be confirmed. He was browsing through things on his phone. As we approached and preached the gospel to him, he showed signs of interest. We further preached the gospel in detail and also led him to pray the sinner's prayer to receive the Lord.  Based on eye contact, his response, and the Spirit's witnessing within our spirit, we could sense that he was a son of peace. We got his contact number and gifted him a New Testament in Hindi.

As we walk by the road, we saw a man waiting for someone with his two-wheeler nearby. As we preached the gospel he immediately echoed from within his being that he believed into the Lord Jesus Christ. I was rather surprised and asked him further when he first believed, he said about 5 years ago. He was so excited that we could meet him and shared the word of God with him. He even promised to come to visit us on the following Lord's day, which he did with his wife, son, and brother-in-law.

When he visited, I felt the burden for him was to minister the truth concerning baptism. As he and his wife confessed that they both believed into Jesus inwardly already, we still preach the gospel to confirm his understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, we all read together a lesson on "The Mystery of Human Life" in Hindi. And further led them to call upon the Lord's name and pray the sinner's prayer. Since they were very firm in their faith, we also helped them to know the meaning and need for baptism. Therefore, we ministered to them the eight significances of baptism. We, therefore, prayed for them and encouraged them to pray and consider their baptisms. We also set up a home meeting on Saturdays to start the coming week.

Another secret seeker and lover of the Lord Jesus Christ were also met after meeting the one described above. This one also has a strong faith in the Lord and has been a regular audience of a Christian preacher online. For a few years now, he has been in touch with the Christians and has inwardly developed his faith by daily reading the Bible. After we met this one, we invited him to the meeting as there were also storms of dust disturbing us standing on the roadside. A few minutes later, two of his colleagues also came and joined us after their work. To the three of them, we ministered the truth concerning baptism as they already believed and are yet to be baptized. 

These were the Lord's blessings in the gospel preaching. It was such an encouragement and an incentive to me especially. In fact, for the past month, we have been preaching the gospel and though we got some contacts who listened to us, we have not been able to make the second contact. The feeling was like sowing seeds in the air with no definite result that the seed would take deep root in the soil and grow. Looking at the result I was inwardly very discouraged though I did not express it to anyone else. As the church, we go out regularly no matter what. Therefore, when the Lord gave some seekers it was really a reward and an incentive to go on preaching the gospel. Only the Lord knows if these ones will be baptized and be shepherded into the church life, but one thing is for sure, the word of God we preached to them will not go in vain. 

This is an experience of gospel preaching amidst an inward spiritual storm trying to discourage us and the outward dusty storm trying to stop us from preaching the gospel; gospel amidst storms.

May the Lord continue to work in them and bring them to full salvation. That they all may be baptized and shepherded into the church to become remain fruits for the Lord's testimony.

Holy Warnings From Godly Men

Eli, the priest of Jehovah in Shiloh, under whose priesthood the Aaronic priesthood had become stale and waning is a holy reminder not to be old but be ver fresh and new in the continual exercise of our spirit. To be stale means to lose freshness and do things just in form without the exercise of the spirit. The word of God was rare when the priest who had received the word of God could have the Lord's speaking if the priest was normal. What a warning!

1S 14:3Including Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of Jehovah in Shiloh, wearing an ephod; and the people did not know that Jonathan went.
1S 23:16Then Jonathan the son of Saul rose up and went to David at Horesh, and he strengthened his hand in God.
1S 23:17And he said to him, Do not be afraid, for the hand of Saul my father will not find you; and you will become king over Israel, and I will be second to you; and even Saul my father knows that.
1S 23:18And the two of them made a covenant before Jehovah. And David remained in Horesh, and Jonathan went to his house.
But Saul disobeyed and rebelled against God's word and lost his kingship and his kingdom. This is a holy warning in our relationship with God and His heart's desire today. To not obey God's word absolutely will result in spiritual death and loss of spiritual inheritance; in fact, physical death even along with those who joined in rebellion.

Normally, in the priesthood, the first thing that a priest should do is to speak for God (Exo. 28:30); a priest must be a person who is intimate with God, who is one with God, who knows the heart of God, and who speaks forth the unique and healthy teaching of God’s eternal economy (1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3). But this was not the case with Eli and his sons. Besides, he did not discipline his sons as he could, thereby his sons had completely degraded in their services as "priests". As priests in the New Testament today, we must come to the Lord to hear His speaking day by day, even moment by moment.

Is 50:4The Lord Jehovah has given me the tongue of the instructed, that I should know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens me morning by morning; He awakens my ear to hear as an instructed one.

Is 50:5The Lord Jehovah has opened my ear; And I was not rebellious, nor did I turn back.

This is a holy warning from the life of Eli, while still serving as a priest but could have been rejected by God. Today, we need to learn from Eli to have high regard for what God has given us; not to regard anyone or anything higher than God.

 1S 2:12Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know Jehovah,

1S 2:17And the sin of the young men was very great before Jehovah, for the men despised the offering of Jehovah.

1S 2:22Now Eli was very old, and he heard of all that his sons did to all Israel and how they lay with the women who were engaged in service at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

1S 2:23And he said to them, Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.

1S 2:24No, my sons; for it is not a good report that I hear Jehovah’s people spreading.

1S 2:25If one man sins against another man, God will arbitrate for him; but if a man sins against Jehovah, who will arbitrate for him? But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for Jehovah was pleased to kill them.

1S 2:27And a man of God came to Eli and said to him, Thus says Jehovah, I revealed Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt as slaves to Pharaoh’s house.

1S 2:28And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod before Me. And I gave the house of your father all the offerings by fire of the children of Israel.

1S 2:29Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering, which I have commanded in My habitation, and honor your sons more than Me by making yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?

1S 2:30Therefore Jehovah the God of Israel declares, I surely said that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever; but now Jehovah declares, Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who spurn Me will be lightly esteemed.

Samuel, was a priest, a judge, a prophet, a judge, and a man of prayer. He too had his failure as he appointed his two sons as judges among the children of Israel. The warning here is to not let our natural relationship come in between God and our service.

1S 2:35And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in My heart and in My mind; and I will build him a sure house, and he will go before My anointed continually.

1S 12:23Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I would sin against Jehovah by ceasing to pray for you, but I will instruct you in the good and right way.

1S 8:1Now when Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.

1S 8:2And the name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba.

1S 8:3But his sons did not follow in his ways, but turned aside after unjust gain and took bribes and perverted justice.

Jonathan, the son of Saul, knew that one day David would be the king of Israel. He was also aware that the leading of God was with David. In fact, in his time, God's anointing was upon David; the minister of the age at that time was David, and Jonathan knew it.

But Jonathan did not follow David due to his natural relationship with his father Saul whom God rejected. Therefore, he lost the proper and adequate enjoyment of his portion in the good land promised by God; he stayed with his father, and as a tragic result, he suffered the same fate as his father and died with him in battle.

1S 31:2And the Philistines chased Saul and his sons; and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons.

1S 31:6So Saul and his three sons and his armor bearer, as well as all his men, died that day together.

The holy warning here is, as God’s mercy has brought us to come into contact with the ministry of the age who ministers the present truth, we must also take up the courage to forsake past ministries and enter into God’s present ministry.

Saul was chosen and anointed by God.

1S 9:17And when Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah declared to him, Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. This man shall rule over My people.

1S 10:1Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it upon his head, and he kissed him and said, Jehovah anoints you ruler over His inheritance.

1S 10:24And Samuel said to all the people, See him whom Jehovah has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people. And all the people shouted and said, Long live the king!

But Saul disobeyed God and God reckoned it as a sin of rebellion and divination. He was not absolute in obeying God's word. besides, he tried to set up his monarchy within the kingdom of God; a work with the Work of God despite being an anointed of God. Selfish ambition and rebellion are strictly to be avoided in our service to God. 

1S 13:13Then Samuel said to Saul, You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of Jehovah your God, which He commanded you. For now Jehovah would have established your kingdom over Israel forever;

1S 13:14But now your kingdom will not continue. Jehovah has sought a man according to His heart for Himself, and Jehovah has appointed him ruler over His people; for you have not kept that which Jehovah commanded you.

1S 15:19Why then did you not obey the voice of Jehovah, but flew upon the spoil and did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah?

1S 15:23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, / And insubordination is like idolatry and teraphim. / Because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, / He has also rejected you from being king.

1S 28:17And Jehovah has done for Himself just as He spoke through me, for Jehovah has torn the kingdom out from your hand and given it to an associate of yours, to David.

1S 28:18Because you did not listen to the voice of Jehovah and did not execute His burning anger upon the Amalekites, therefore Jehovah has done this thing to you this day.

David was chosen and anointed by God. He had many positive points concerning him; a man after God's own heart, who respected God's anointing upon Saul who tried to kill him, and he also enjoyed God's presence and blessing.

1S 16:1And Jehovah said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, though I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have selected for Myself a king among his sons.

1S 16:12So he sent for him and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And Jehovah said, Arise; anoint him, for this is he.

1S 16:13And Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of Jehovah rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

However, David failed in the matter of indulgence of the lust of his flesh.

2S 11:2And late one afternoon David rose from his bed and went for a walk on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at.

2S 11:3And David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, This is none other than Bath-sheba the daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite.

2S 11:4And David sent messengers and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) And she returned to her house.

2S 11:14Then in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

2S 11:15And he wrote in the letter, saying, Put Uriah in the forefront of the hardest battle, and withdraw from him that he may be struck down and die.

2S 11:27And when the mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to his house; and she became his wife and bore a son to him. But the thing that David did displeased Jehovah.

Regardless of our attainment in our spiritual life, we are still men in the flesh; the flesh is the flesh as long as blood runs in our veins. Anyone is vulnerable to falling. No one is an exception, however spiritual and aged he may be. Beware! 

The failure of David must warn us of the indulgence of the flesh in a serious way. In fact, he was tempted simply by a mere idle look when he should have been fighting on the war field. This covetous look led him to commit adultery followed by murder. This should be a stern spiritual warning to all of us.

Lord, preserve us by Your mercy and grace. We cannot but You can.