Rooted In Relationship

‘…“O Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him? And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O Lord, God of Israel, please tell me”’ 1Sam.23:10-11.

Firstly, enquiring from the Lord is rooted in relationship with the Lord. We have people that don’t have any relationship with the Lord whatsoever. They are not interested in building a relationship with the Lord or living for Jesus. Then they get to a cross road and they expect heaven to answer. It does not work that way. ‘But David… told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and ask the Lord what he should do’ 1Sam.23:9. Note that priest was there. David did not ask for a prophet that will enquire of the Lord for him. David did not say, “priest you do the priestly work and get a prophet to enquire of the Lord for me”. Instead David requested for the ephod. David was neither a priest nor a prophet but he was operating as a priest and a prophet. Who should operate in the office of king, priest and prophet? Believers. In the Old Testament, the office of the king and the prophet were separated. But when Jesus came, He made us kings and priests to our God. Jesus unified the offices and made it accessible to everyone of us, not just the Pastors, Prophets, and Evangelists. David was behaving like a New Testament Christian in the Old Testament. Amazing! David could do what he did because he had built a relationship with God. It is commonly said and I am saying to you today, “dig the well before you begin to feel thirst”. In other words, build a relationship with Jesus before trouble comes or before you need to decide who your spouse should be.

The keys to relationship are: Communication – do you talk to the Holy Spirit on a day-to-day basis? Can He tell you to keep quiet and you obey? Can He tell you to sit down and you do it? Can He lead you to talk to people about Jesus and you do it? Can He tell you what not to wear and you don’t? Can He venture in those territories? Love – loving and adoring God. Respect for the things of God. Loyalty to Jesus – James puts it this way ‘…Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God’ James 4:4. Loyalty to God is key. If you are going to be loyal to the world, you are going to be disloyal to God.

Prayer [song]: Show me Your way, I want to walk with You. Show me Your way, I put my trust in You. The cry of my heart is to love You Lord, to live with the touch of Your hand. Stronger each day, show me Your way. Amen!