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Bible Study Time, Sister Edith Tolbert, teacher
Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Remember our creator in the days when we are young; we need to choose to serve God when we’re young. Before a person gets involved in worldly habits, drugs, pleasures of this life and deep sin.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Our whole duty in life is to hear God and keep his commandments. Obedience is vital to our making heaven our home. Obeying part way but having our own way sometimes will not get us to heaven.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship no other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
God sets before us life and good, death and evil. Blessing or cursing. It all depends on whether we choose to obey God or not. Our creator commanded us to love God, walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments and we would have the blessing – But if we choose to be drawn away by others gods and not hear our creator, God, and only obey Him, we will be cursed.
1Samuel 15:1-3 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Samuel instructed Saul to kill all the Amalekites and destroy all that they had. “Don’t spare anything!”
1Samuel 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
They spared the king and the best of the sheep and oxen and all that was good and would not utterly destroy them.
God was displeased with Saul for disobeying. It grieved Samuel and he cried to God all night. When Samuel went to meet Saul, Saul said “I have performed the commandment of the Lord”
Samuel; asked “What is this bleating of sheep in my ear?”
Saul blamed the people for spearing the best of the sheep to sacrifice to the Lord. In Samuel 15:20-21 Saul said again “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord but the people took the spoil.”
Saul was not honest. He didn’t do what God said and then he blamed the people for the wrong.
I Samuel 15:22-23. Part obedience is rebellion and stubbornness. God does not accept part obedience and part our way.
Pay attention to these definitions:
Rebellion - - Openly resists authority or opposes any control, To feel strong aversion to, Defiance to any control
Stubbornness –Refusing to yield, obey or comply Determined to have ones way, Obstinate, Hard to handle
Obey – To carry out an order, To be guided by, Willing to do what is ordered.
Witchcraft – Sorcery- Having supernatural power by a compact with evil spirits
Saul was rejected by god even though he finally admitted he sinned and went against the commandment of God. Even though he asked pardon from his sin, he was never pardoned. Saul was not honest. You have to be honest in order to be saved and love God with all your heart. God doesn’t accept partial repentance.
Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself. He would not drink wine or eat the King’s meat. Daniel was young in his teens, away from family, no church, no one to encourage him. Sin and ungodliness was all around. Yet he had made up his mind not to sin. God does not give two different experiences. Salvation is all the same. You are the one who chooses to make your mind up not to sin, and then God will keep you. You may be the only one in school who is serving God. Drugs, alcohol, sex, all ungodliness maybe all around, but you can stand for God if you purpose in your heart not to defile yourself.
When they made the law not to pray to anyone but the King – Daniel stood. He prayed three times in a day to God anyway. We need the same determination. No matter what we face we can stand with God’s help if we fully make our mind up to serve and obey God.
It can’t be our parents experience, or our teachers or someone else’s—We have to have a personal relationship with God, then we can stand and obey God. Just having religion will not help us live free from sine. We have to repent and forsake sin to choose life and obey God.
Hebrew 5:8-9 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered. We may make mistakes, not do every thing just right but if our heart is determined to serve God We will learn obedience. Don’t give God up when we make a mistake. God will help us to do what is right.
Choose Life.
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