Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Mar 31st, 2020 Don’t Forsake the Way … by Pastor Corey Woolner

Today’s Passage – 1 Samuel 8 – 11 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here  to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Revelation 16 – 19, Revelation 20 – 22; Proverbs 31)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song –  Proverbs 3:5 & 6

Read the “0331 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.” (1 Samuel 8:3)

The Bible is alive! It is truly a living book! Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is quick…”. This has probably happened to you before, where you read a passage over and over and you read it again and the Holy Spirit highlights something in the passage. 

I have read these chapters many times like you probably have as well, but as I was reading for this devotion, I was thinking about Samuel and his sons. First Samuel chapter 8 and verse 3 is the thought today, “And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment”. They totally went in the opposite direction that their father, Samuel, had raised them in. 

Samuel was God’s man. One of his sons was named Joel – meaning “Jehovah is God!” The other named Abiah meaning “God is my Father!” Samuel knew God and he was close to the Lord God. 

Samuel served the Lord from his youth. He had a godly and a praying mom named Hannah who lent him unto the Lord not long after his birth. Samuel began serving the Lord and hearing the voice of God at a young age (1 Samuel 3). 

He was now an old man according to chapter 8 and verse 1. I admire Samuel’s faithfulness. I have the highest respect for men of God and women of God who are just faithful for the long haul. In the last 8 weeks at our church we’ve had the honor of having Dr. Paul Fedena, Pastor Charles Clark, Jr., and Missionary Jeff Bassett in to preach. All 3 of these men have been saved and serving God for over 40 years. Their faithfulness to our Lord inspires me and encourages me to keep my eyes on the Lord and keep serving Him in truth. 

Samuel wasn’t one of these fire cracker servants of the Lord – in it for a little while and made an impact, and then vanish away. Instead, he stayed faithful. 

His sons on the other hand made up their mind that they were going to go a different path. They would have grown up seeing their dad serving the Lord and seeing their dad praying. God was real to Samuel and his sons would have seen that. How sad that they didn’t walk in their fathers ways. 

Just like Joel and Abiah had a spiritual influence in their life, you do as well. There have been people that have influenced your life spiritually and you ought to thank God for those people. I think about in my life how I’ve had pastors, my parents, teachers, coaches, and friends influence me for the Lord. I don’t want to let them down. I don’t serve God for them, but one of the reasons I serve God is because of them. God uses people to encourage us and help us along the way. 

People have invested in you. People have influenced you in your Christian walk. Don’t turn aside and start following false doctrine, don’t turn aside and start following the latest trends in the world, don’t turn aside and start forsaking church and spiritual things. 

Don’t let it be that the “Samuels” in your life find out that you forsook the ways of the Lord God. Maybe you’ve been thinking about walking away, let me ask you to consider two things: Jesus Christ and the people that have spiritually influenced your life.