08/06/09

Do not be led by man but by God

1 Corinthians 7:23 - Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

One of the greatest things that angered God against the Israelites was when they asked for a human king even though the Lord was leading them and had delivered them from all adversaries.

We are people of the flesh living in carnal desires and therefore tend to always rely on physical things. We tend to trust man more than God. Many a times, in this weakness we follow the person who bought us to the Lord and land up rejecting God whom we need to follow.

The mission of every person working as a shepherd for God's Kingdom is to bring the lambs to a stage where in they can be led by the One Shepherd - Holy Spirit. But many land up following another sheep but not the true Shepherd.

Even Jesus who is the Good Shepherd did not lead them all the way; He too bought them to a stage and handed them over to the Holy Spirit. After Pentecost the fire that was within them was so much that the very nature of each one of them changed.

The Father paid the price; Jesus being man obeyed the Father and became the way to lead all to the Father. We too must be like Jesus connecting people to the Father.

If you have been blessed by someone who opened your eyes to know God, grow to a stage but stop following the person and start following God. If you believe in Jesus Christ the Spirit of God is given unto you. By you not following the Holy Spirit and continue following man is insulting God.


[ Prayer Starter ]

Father God, You paid a heavy price to redeem me. Lord, I thank You and ask You to bless those whom You have send to bring me to know You. Lord, now I want to be led by You alone and want to be an instrument to lead others like me to You. I ask this in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]

1 Samuel 8:4-20
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)