PRAYER - "Prayerlessness - Like A Canary In A Coal Mine"
In the old days, coal miners carried a canary in a cage with them, down into the mines. The canary was a sign to them. If the canary died, it was a signal that toxic gases might be present, and they needed to quickly escape. Prayerlessness is like that. Any time you notice that nobody around you is praying, you should find another place, because death is in the midst.
Jeremiah 23:22 - "But if they had stood in my counsel, ...then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings."
PRINCIPALS - "The Righteous Branch Of David"
David's life was awfully tainted by personal sins. His sons' lives were fraught with shameful and evil behavior. Solomon scarcely inherited the throne, and in later life, gravely reproached it. Nevertheless, God immortalized David's diligent efforts to please his God by promising to raise up a righteous branch to his posterity. Messiah would descend from him -- a King of Kings, and Savior for all mankind.
Jeremiah 23:5 - "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth."
PRINCIPLES - "The Burden Of The LORD"
God demands that His burden (His strong desire) should never be misrepresented. If a prophet has a dream or a word from the LORD, he should accurately represent it. But God is adamantly opposed to anyone who presumes to declare the burden of the LORD inaccurately. This is a real indictment against many of the so-called prophetic ministries that are illegitimate.
Jeremiah 23:38-40 - "Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; ...I will ...cast you out of my presence."
PROPHECIES - "Jehoiachim (Jeconiah) Cut Out Of Messianic Line"
King Josiah's grandson, Jehoiachim (also called Jeconiah, or Coniah) was removed from the Messianic line because of his sins. "As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah ...were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; ...I will cast thee out." Coniah's descendants (including Jesus' step-father, Joseph) were denied kingship. God abandoned Solomon's descendants. Through David's son, Nathan, Mary descended, passing kingship to Jesus.
Jeremiah 22:30 - "Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, ...for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah."
Here’s another OMBS
Saul And The Amalekites
God commanded Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites. "Slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." With 210,000 men, Saul smote the city, but captured King Agag and kept the best animals to make sacrifices. God called him stubborn, rebellious and disobedient. That day, God rejected him from being king. Always carefully obey God.
1 Samuel 15:22 - "Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as
in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the
fat of rams."
Rebellion Is As Witchcraft, Stubbornness As Idolatry
Samuel told Saul that God chose him to lead Israel when he was little in his own sight. But stubborn disobedience ruined him, and God rejected him. Samuel called for Agag, the Amalekite king, and in front of Saul, cut Agag into pieces - doing Saul's unfinished job. Samuel walked out and never saw Saul again. Stubbornness and rebellion reject God and His word.
1 Samuel 15:23 - "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king."
I Have Provided Me A King
God took the kingdom from Saul. Samuel said He "hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou." God knew all along that Saul would fail. God was angry at Israel for being impatient for an earthly king. Did God intentionally give them a loser to teach them a lesson? God knew that David would someday rule, but they would not trust Him until that day. Do not be impatient. God has a plan.
1 Samuel 16:1 - "...I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons."
Samuel Prays In Fear
Samuel grieved over Saul's failure, but God rebuked him and ordered him to Bethlehem to pick a king from Jesse's sons. Samuel was afraid Saul would find out. He prayed, "How can I go? ...he will kill me." God instructed him to take a heifer and make a sacrifice. "I will show thee what thou shalt do." Even great men of God like Samuel are sometimes gripped with fear. But prayer is still the answer. God wants you to call on Him.
1 Samuel 16:4 - "And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem."
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