Samuel's Voice To Israel

This is the second of a three-part series concerning the three prophetic voices God used to speak to Israel during her history prior to Christ. Samuel was a prophet anointed by God to speak to the nation for Him during the end of the period of the judges. Israel had declined morally, spiritually and as a nation in general after the days of Joshua. The Lord sent Samuel to be the same type mediator as Moses. Again, Israel rejected wanting to hear from God directly and demanded Samuel give them a king. God told Samuel by doing this they were not rejecting Samuel - they were rejecting HIM. We would be wise to heed the lesson learned here for when we turn off the prophetic voice of God we always wind up with a Saul!

By Chris McDonald

TEXT: 1 Sam 3:19-4:1 - The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. 4:1 - And Samuel's word came to all Israel.

For Part One Of This Series - Read: Israel And The Mountain Of Darkness

The nation of Israel degenerated quickly after the deaths of Moses and Joshuah. The time of the Judges were some of the darkest in the nation's history other than Egypt's slave pits. The Bible said "every man did as he wanted to do."

Judges 21:25 - In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

That's a terrible state for anyone to reach - when God allows us to do what is right "in our own eyes." Man's vision of himself is depraved and distorted because of the fall. We can only see ourselves and our true condition when the Lord reveals it to us. Israel as a nation had reached a point where she no longer saw her condition as deplorable without God. There is nothing good in man's flesh - NOTHING! Give us over to our own desires and whims and we will do the most dastardly, heinous, wicked deeds imaginable. Modern society is a great example of this. Without strong leadership, any nation will go apostate. Without strong leadership, any church will backslide. Israel was no different - "there was no king in Israel." She had become a nation without focus and direction which led to cycles of apostasy, bondage, repentance, deliverance and then the cycle would start all over again through new apostasies and backslidings. It was a perpetual state Israel never broke for over 400 years.

God raised up some mighty men during this time to bring about Israel's deliverance - Gideon, Samson, Ehud, Barak and Deborah, Jepthath and others. These men were not perfect and some had some serious morality issues as in the case of Samson - but they were men filled with the power of God and chosen to set a nation free during a time of great darkness.

As the end of this time drew near, God raised up a young man by the name of Samuel who grew up in the house of Eli, a backslidden priest, to whom God would eventually send Samuel to to decree Eli's final end as not only as a priest but his life. As the young man grew older, the prophetic word of the Lord came to him at Shiloh and Samuel became the mouthpiece of God. It would be the second time in Israel's history that God would seek to dwell directly among His people and SPEAK TO THEM DIRECTLY through His prophet. God again reached out to the nation begging her to listen to Him and commune with Him and allow Him to SPEAK TO HER DIRECTLY. She had wandered for 400 years without a leader and now God would once again present her with a chance to deal directly with HIM - through the words of the prophet Samuel:

1 Sam 3:19-4:1 - The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD.
21 The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. 4:1 - And Samuel's word came to all Israel.

What a powerful statement - the Lord was with Samuel and did not let any of his words fall to the ground. Now that's power! This is the only such statement used in the Bible - and it was through Samuel's WORDS that the word of the Lord came to ALL OF ISRAEL. Get this picture in your mind. If God didn't speak to Samuel - then Israel did not hear from God. Samuel was the mouthpiece for God just as Moses had been at Sinai. Once again, Israel chose to reject the word of the Lord.

Give Us A King...

1 Sam 8:4-6 - So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

As Samuel grows old, his sons who were the leaders of Israel at the time, begin to backslide. As a result, the elders of Israel come to Samuel and say "appoint us a king." On the surface this seemed like a noble request since Samuel's sons had fallen into sin and Samuel himself had grown old and even though he was a prophet of God might have been losing some of his mental faculties to lead. But underneath this request was a sinister motive. Israel once again no longer wanted to hear from God directly. They wanted a KING to rule over them instead of a PROPHET.

As I write this I'm reminded of Paul Cain who has a tremendous gift flowing in his life. The Lord has used Paul Cain to speak a word from God that has delivered scores of people - possibly thousands. In one case Paul was ministering one night in a church in Sydney, Australia and was finding resistance to his message. Three preachers on the back row were thinking in their minds thoughts that Paul was reading while he was standing at the pulpit. After the service he spoke to a friend and told the friend what the preachers were thinking about him (and believe me the thoughts were not flattering). I'm amazed at times how the Lord literally uses people who are just cast off by the main-line church to bring about His greatest moves on the earth. It was at this same service where Paul Cain prophesied over a Baptist missionary couple who had just come back from the field. The lady had suffered with a sinus problem all her life and it had become so severe she would have to stay up at night rocking back and forth in a wheel chair because she couldn't sleep. In addition, the trauma of coming home from a missions trip weighed on both her and her husband of how the Lord was going to provide their needs and such.

As Paul began to minister, he called the couple out and told the lady he was seeing her in a vision rocking back and forth in a wheel chair at night and began to call out things about her that only GOD HIMSELF would have known and revealed to Paul. It was not just sinuses but an unknown blood disorder that had almost taken this lady's life without her even knowing it. As Paul called it all, the lady and her husband fell back under the power of the Holy Spirit. As Paul stood over her he said "and the nervous breakdown the devil has planned for you is stopped NOW." In addition, he called out about 6 other things that was wrong with her physically. He told her and her husband both they were not finished with the ministry but the Lord was going to recommission them for a new country.

Another instance was in a youth service in a west Texas town where another prophetic type person was being used to speak to a woman who had been battling nightmares. She had been to every psychologist in the book with no luck. One night at a prayer group she comes forward to be prayed for and as this man is laying his hands on her - the name "Jim" pops into his mind. He looks at her and says "Do you know who Jim is?" She looks pale when he says that name so the minister does not proceed with the questions but continues to pray. After the service, the young woman walks up to the minister crying and tells him that "Jim" was a man with whom she had went out with two months earlier and had gotten drunk with and wound up having sex with. Come to find out - "Jim" was a leader in high places with a local Satanic cult - and had evidently transferred a spirit of fear upon this woman. After the prophet led the woman in a prayer of repentance and renouncing the act of sex, he prayed for her again and rebuked the spirit of fear the Lord had revealed through prophecy. Had it not been for a prophetic word from the Lord, this woman would have went another six months possibly a year of continued nightmares with no deliverance.

The only reason I bring these two stories up and there are countless thousands of them I'm sure is the two individuals who were used by God in these manners are two of the most vilified men in the Body of Christ - especially Paul Cain. He has been labeled a fanatic, a heretic, satanic, the false prophet of Revelation and God knows what other names. As I heard him say on a recent tape, it's not "fun pulling up your name in a search engine on the internet and 10,000 articles come up calling you every name in the book." And I'm sure it's not. But the church NEEDS THE PROPHETIC WORD OF THE LORD FOR THIS HOUR! We need to hear from God! We don't need another sermon series. We don't need a new Sunday school theme. We don't need more books. We don't need more doctrines. We don't need another church building program. WE NEED TO HEAR A WORD FROM HEAVEN that will change this society we live in and set the captives free! The word of the Lord was REVEALED TO SAMUEL - and Israel said, we don't want you to be our leader any more - "give us a king."

The Coming Choice For the Church

The church of the 21rst Century is about to experience a prophetic change just like Israel experienced between the time of the judges and Samuel. Like Israel of old, we too are going to be given a chance to either choose intimacy with the Lord or we can choose our own king to whom we will let rule over us. There is a battle being waged in our day - it's an end-time battle of passions, an unprecedented competition between the altars of fire. The spirit of this world is out of control and vying for the attention of any half-interested soul. Many in this hour are falling prey to the other voices from the realm of darkness screaming "taste me, feel me, eat this, do that!" The spirit of "Hollywood" has seeped into our churches and we are no longer deliverance come to a generation of young people needing help - we are just going through the motions of church.

This fierce fight over the souls of men is just a signal that God is about to do something bigger. While it is bigger it is very simple. We are going to see a return to normal Christianity to the western church. The truth is we don't eve know what is normal anymore. People are going to return to their first love and the constraints of stale religiosity are going to be broken over us. A revolution of INTIMACY is coming to the CHURCH! Like John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, we too, shall learn to lean our heads on our Master's chest and rest in the sound of his heart beating in the rhythm of love.

This intimacy is tied directly into the prophetic word of the Lord. There are many ways we can approach the subject of prophecy and the prophetic. Some think of the prophetic in terms of the office of a prophet as a foundation of the Church.

Ephes. 2:20 - And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Ephes. 4:11 - And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Or we can define it in terms of the ministry of prophecy that some regard as the consistent or even residential operation of this grace:

1 Cor. 12:28 - And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

Romans 12:6 - Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

You can also identify the gift of prophecy that can be considered the occasional or circumstantial manifestation of the Holy Spirit given to edify, comfort and exhort the listener:

1 Cor. 12:10 - To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

1 Cor. 14:3 - But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

Prophecy may encompass in part what John saw under the throne as the Seven Spirits of God - the spirits of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge and fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-3). Some people in scripture had a variety of ministries in the prophetic realm in the Bible:

Anna, the prophetic intercessor
David, the prophetic psalmist of the Lord;
Gad, the seer,
Joseph, the prophetic administrator;
Jesus Himself - WHOSE TESTIMONY IS THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY

A message is truly prophetic ONLY if it comes from the heart of God, magnifies the beauty and Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ and draws the listener into greater love and obedience to Jesus Christ, our glorious Master and Lord (Revelation 19:10).

No matter how we wrap it up or try to define it in theological terms - these ministries are COMING BACK TO THE CHURCH. As a result of this revolution, a greater cry for intimacy between the Bride and the Bridegroom will be heard! As Jim Goll wrote in his book, The Coming Prophetic Revolution:

"If there is to be a revolution in the prophetic, then there must be a prophetic revolution in the Church. And if there is a prophetic revolution in the Church, there will be the greatest global awakening of authentic Christianity that this world has ever seen."

Prophecy: The Intimate Breath Of God

When God created man, he created man for one purpose - to have intimacy and prophetic expression with him. All mankind took on the very breath of God's mouth when God breathed into man's nostrils and he "became a living soul." That is what the prophetic life and intimate ministry are all about - human beings filled with the breath of God and then in turn exhaling into others the breath of life they have received from their Creator. That is what Jesus did as well. After His resurrection He appeared to His disciples, who were hiding for fear. He said, "As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you." Then Jesus breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

At the last supper with Jesus, John leaned back on the Lord's breast (John 13:25) and heard the heartbeat of the Saviour. He heard Jesus breathing - what a thought. That was how close John got the Messiah. It was God's original design that man and He become intimate with each other. He wants us ALL to be carriers of His breath and be so close to Him we can hear his very heart beating. Only people who get that close to God can be prophetic people! Samuel did not wake up one morning and say "Lord, I want to be a prophet for all of Israel." No, when God first called him as a child, he said "Lord, here am I, SPEAK, for your servant HEARS!" That's a HUGE key in this coming revival. The church will once again HEAR what the Lord is saying to her. God is looking for such vessels that he can put His mouth upon, as it were, and blow into them his Spirit, so that their lungs, their hearts, their souls, their bodies, their temples will be filled with the very breath of the Almighty. He wants us to be carriers of His most brilliant presence.

After God created Man, he made Woman for the man as a beautiful picture of the bridal connection between the coming Redeemer and the Church He would redeem with His blood.

Genesis 2:23-25 - And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. [24] Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. [25] And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

They were not self-absorbed and fearful but they walked with God and others in transparent love. Adam and Eve were just in such state. They were not overcome by guilt, nor were they driven by condemnation. They were not hiding behind whatever leaves they could find. They were naked, they were walking in honesty; they were enjoying intimate communion with God; and they "knew each other."

That is God's design for marriage, which is a picture of the union He preordained for us as the bride of Jesus Christ our glorious husbandman. This Master of ours wins our hearts with one glance of His eyes. And the amazing thing is, with ONE GLANCE of our own eyes shining back unto His undoes His hear as well! What a mystery!

Ephes. 5:22-32 - Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. [23] For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body. [24] Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. [25] Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; [26] That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, [27] That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. [28] So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself. [29] For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church: [30] For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. [31] For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. [32] This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Song 4:9 - Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

Adam and Eve were hiding from nothing. Their hearts were beating with love for one another and they were not ashamed. There were no barriers to intimacy - until sin broke the intimacy. When they sinned they lost ALL THEY HAD EVER known about God - unbroken communion and intimacy - what a horrible thought. Prior to sinning they would hear the Lord and run to His voice. After they sinned, they hid themselves in leaves. Israel chose to hide from God at Sinai and by rejecting Samuel - the prophetic connection between God and the nation. And the church continues to hide today!

The church has a choice. We can pursue this intimacy or it can continue to pursue death. God wants to walk with us and talk with us. This is why we were all born - to walk and talk with our Master in the garden of His love. This is intimacy. If you and I would radically return to the arms of His intimate love, I'm sure the church of the Lord Jesus Christ would be radically changed and awakened by the kisses of our Bridegroom:

Song 1:2 - Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

With the right set of lenses on we can see what the Lord is calling us to. He wants us to hear Him, see Him, following Him, walking in the echo of His footsteps. This is the heart of the PROPHETIC!. This is a prophetic generation and the church has been called to be a prophetic church. We have been called to be a people leaning against the bosom of Jesus with His heart pounding in our ears. Intimacy is the convergence of two hearts - His and ours! Those hearts must come into rhythm together, so that there is only one sound. This is the same word that came to Samuel in the days of the Judges. This is what God wanted from Israel. Israel said no - "we want a King." Will we as the 21rst Century Church walk down the same dark path and miss this great harvest that is ahead of us?

"It Is Not You They Have Rejected - They Have Rejected Me"

1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do." 10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king.

The Lord heard Israel's request and He quickly spoke to Samuel concerning the nation's choice. He said they were not rejecting Samuel but the choice of a king was a rejection of Him. Why did God say that? Was it so bad that Israel wanted a king ruling over them instead of a prophet? The truth is this. Israel was rejecting more than just Samuel. It was turning a deaf ear to the prophetic word of the Lord. She no longer wanted to listen to what God was saying. God said these actions had led to the nation's idolatry in the past during the dark ages of the judges. But God told Samuel to listen to them and let them have their way. He told him to warn them but God gave Israel what it wanted. There is a solemn warning for us today as well.

When we fight the prophetic ministry and stop listening to God, we are cutting off the life line to heaven. Death always follows! God warned Israel through Samuel that even though He was granting them their request they were going to suffer. God may give us what we want at times just to show us that we really don't know what 's best for us - ONLY HE DOES! God wanted to speak directly to His people through Samuel. The people wanted a man. How sad an exchange was that? But the church today has done the same thing. We have listened to men's interpretation of God's Word instead of listening to God Himself. Listening to God does not replace the pastor, prophet, teacher, apostle, evangelist or exhorter. But everyone of us with no exceptions need to hear from GOD for our own lives. Our pastor will be held accountable for how he leads us to be sure- but in the end if we have followed his teaching and it has caused us to miss out with God we TOO will be held accountable before HIM. It's imperative we have a WORD from God FOR TODAY FOR THE SITUATION FOR THE TIME WE'RE IN NOW! And the word God gives us will always agree with the written logos the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the canon of the Bible to pen.

Then We Will Be Like Other Nations...

1 Samuel 8:11-22 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

Israel's objection to having a Prophet as their leader was simple - "we will be like all the other nations." The problem with that is that God had not ordained Israel to just be "like all the other nations." They were going to be peculiar people, a ROYAL priesthood unto God. Sound familiar? That's what the Lord has ordained His church to be today yet we strive so hard still to be "just like everyone else." One reason most churches reject the moving and operation of the prophetic is because it takes them to a place that is foreign and lonely. It's hard for many to accept the fact God speaks through human vessels today just as He did in the days of the prophets and Samuel. This request for a king was sinister. Mark it down. God was not happy about it. He saw it for what it was - a rejection of the prophetic word He had sent through the mouth of Samuel.

One may argue and say "well Samuel was getting old and his sons were backslidden, so that gave these elders the right to ask for another type leader." No it didn't. God had ordained Israel to hear His word through Samuel and his lineage. Believe me. God would have dealt with Samuel's sons but even if He would have had to raise someone else up in the lineage of Samuel - He would have done what was necessary so He could communicate DIRECTLY with HIS PEOPLE! God's prophetic word sometimes comes to us in packages we reject because those packages have defects in them. But the bottom line truth is we ALL HAVE DEFECTS and if God didn't use DEFECTED vessels to carry His prophetic word then NO ONE WOULD EVER HEAR ANYTHING FROM GOD! Israel's request was a self-righteous, prideful boast that she could handle her affairs without God as long as He would give them a human king.

1 Samuel 8:21-22 - When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town."

When Samuel hears this he repeats the people's demand to God a second time and the Lord says "listen to them and give them a king." It was yet the second crossroads in Israel's history where she rejected the prophetic word of the Lord and brought judgment upon herself. At Sinai, she opted for Moses to go talk to God for her and bring her back the LAW which damned her under its requirements. Now, she opted for a king - which would turn out to Saul - a murderer, a tyrant and one who dealt with witches - instead of allowing God to rule her through the prophetic Word of God through Samuel and his lineage. Be careful pastor how you handle the prophetic ministry in your church. When you reject this type of ministry and the moving and operation of the Holy Spirit - you are asking for a Saul! Israel got what she asked for and we're going to get what we're determined to get today - a church system without God!

Samuel's Address At Mizpah

1 Sam 10:17-25 - Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the LORD at Mizpah 18 and said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.' 19 But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your calamities and distresses. And you have said, 'No, set a king over us.' So now present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans." 20 When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Marti's clan was chosen. Finally Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. 22 So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage." 23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." Then the people shouted, "Long live the king!" 25 Samuel explained to the people the regulations of the kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the LORD. Then Samuel dismissed the people, each to his own home.

Samuel brought the people to Mizpah to address concerning their new king. Before Samuel presented the nation their first king, he repeated again that what they were doing was being done in rejection of the Lord. But that was still not enough to keep the people from wanting a king. When the people went to find Saul he was not to be found. After inquiring from God, the Lord spoke directly to the people and said, "he has hidden himself among the baggage. Let that sink in. When you reject the prophetic word of the Lord you will always wind up with an alternative with baggage. Saul was already showing his true colors before Samuel even anointed him.

Isn't it interesting how we in the church put our faith and trust in men? I know the Lord wants us to operate in Body ministry and there is a part of that process that requires us to place ourselves under the authority of leaders in the Body of Christ. But the church today has gotten to a place that if a man tells us something about God we just believe it and don't question it whatsoever. If a pastor reads a passage of scripture and says "that's not for today," we believe it at face value and never inquire of the Lord. If a church stands up and says, "we're not going to let any of that 'Pentecostal' stuff come here because we think all of that is of the devil," we just applaud it and take it at face value. That is what Israel was doing with Saul. They did not care about whether he was going to be a tyrant. They were so anxious to get the constraints of being ruled by the prophetic word off of them they wouldn't have cared if the Lord would have told them Saul was found running around all of Jerusalem nude. They shouted, "Long live the king!" And the king did live a bit longer and drove Israel into a dark abyss with his treachery and murder and socerceries. To the natural eye, Saul was "head and shoulders taller than any of the others," a sharp looking individual on the outside. But inwardly, he had the character of a snake and one day wound up consulting witches.

HERE ME CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD. We always gravitate to the most conservative, the most affluent, the most well-dressed, the most articulate people in our churches and label them as leaders. At the same time, if someone who has had problems in their past, are not that affluent, not that rich, not that well-dressed and not that articulate comes into our midst speaking the "WORD OF THE LORD," we reject it outright and say, "give us the other as our leader." That is a cardinal sin of the church today. It's nothing new. We've been doing it from the beginning of church history. But some of the leaders we think will be great leaders usually wind up being wolves and being consulters of the devil. When you reject the prophetic word, you are opening the door for a SAUL to rule over you. Samuel and his boys were not perfect. They had perverted the ways of God before the people and God was not happy about that. But He had ordained them to "carry the word of the Lord to all of Israel." Israel said, "LONG LIVE THE KING!"

The Lord's Witness To Israel Concerning Samuel's Warning

1 Sam 12:5-25 - Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." "He is witness," they said. Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers. "After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. "But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. They cried out to the LORD and said, 'We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baal's and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.' Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely. "But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over us'-- even though the LORD your God was your king. Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God-- good! But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king." Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king." "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

Samuel rehearses in Israel's ears her history since Egypt. He reminds her of God's deliverance from Pharaoh and her backslidings after the days of Joshuah. He reminds the nation that GOD WAS HER KING for those times when there was no leaders and He spoke to her directly through prophets - especially Samuel. Samuel mentions himself in the list of judges whom the Lord sent to help Israel find her way. Samuel tells them "God has given you what you asked for." He asked them if its wheat harvest and to show them the Lord was not happy about their choosing a king he would ask the Lord to send thunder and rain. When it happened the people were afraid and repented before Samuel and the Lord. Friend, there is a distant sound of thunder being heard right now in the distance. Rain is coming too which speaks of the outpouring of the Spirit but the outpouring of the Spirit is going to coincide with great judgment. It's going to coincide with the world's most darkest plagues mankind has ever seen. We are living on that precipice right now. We are living in those days right now. We can have Saul if we want too but our man-made doctrines and theologies are going to swept away by this coming prophetic rain that is about to hit the Earth before the thunder comes and judgment falls. What will we choose? Will be cry for a king like Israel and REJECT the prophetic word of the Lord? Or will we open our hearts and HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT IS SAYING TO THE CHURCH IN THIS HOUR? It's our choice.

He also told them that even though they sinned that if they would faithfully serve the Lord and not turn after idols they would be preserved. He said the LORD was pleased "to make you his own." What a statement. Even though the nation had sinned against God, He was not going to forsake them if they continued to serve Him. But Samuel warned them - "if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away." And that's the warning to the 21rst Century Church. If we persist in our demands to handle the affairs of the Body of Christ in human fashion - we are going to be swept away. Jesus is the source of our life. He is not just part of our theological statements or creeds. He's more than just a name we use on Sunday morning in our messages and in our songs. He is the LIFE of the CHURCH. He is the HEAD OF OF THE BODY. He is the Bridegroom wanting so passionately to become intimate again with His Bride and SPEAK TO HER TODAY through the prophetic word of the SPIRIT! That's what I so desperately want in my life. I want to lay my head on His bosom and hear His heartbeat. I know when I do as I'm listening, He's singing a love song to me that tells me I belong to Him now and ALL MY SINS are under His blood and forgiveness. He also whispers to me that He's working ALL THINGS out for my good. He's whispering to me that the work He's started in me so long ago He's going to finish it one day and when I come forth, I'll be like PURE GOLD. He whispers to me that He doesn't condemn me for my failures and sins - He's come to redeem, not condemn. He's come to save, not to cast out. He's come to cleanse, not hold against. He's come to set free, not to put in bondage. He's come to love, not hate. He's come to confront, not hide and allow us to go on living without His precious Spirit dealing with us about our condition. He's come to heal the broken places of our lives if we will just tell Him where they are. He already knows. But He's wanting us to tell Him anyway. That's what God wanted to do with Israel. But Israel wanted a Saul and God gave her a Saul. I don't want a Saul ruling over me. I want to be lead by the SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD and hear the love songs coming from my Redeemer's mouth. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. That's the call of the Spirit for this generation. Are you hearing it today?

And He walks with me, and He talks with me

And He tells me I am His own

And the joys we share as we tarry there

None other has ever known!

I come to the garden alone,

While the dew is still on the roses,

And the VOICE I hear, falling on my ear,

The Son of God discloses

He speaks, and the sounds of His voice

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,

And the melody that He gave tome,

Within my heart is ringing