Wednesday, June 26, 2013
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Gary had a hotel on the Jersey Shore. It's one of those big, old rambling hotels with a lot of style the East Coast is famous for; kind of a bed and breakfast place. Now, if you had just taken over a hotel, what would be your greatest need? Well, of course, fill the rooms! How do you get all these rooms filled to pay off all that you've just invested in the place?
Well, a man stopped and offered to fill Gary's hotel for a week. That sounded pretty good. Gary was about to give in to the possibility, but he asked this important question, "Who'll be staying here?" The man said, "Oh, it's senior week! Our seniors will come down and take over your hotel for a week." Gary thought about that, thought about the kind of damage and mayhem that those high school students could do with a week of senior partying. And he very wisely said, "No, thank you."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fill It Right Or Leave It Empty."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Samuel 13. Let's get a little background. Saul is in a dilemma. He is the king of Israel, his enemy the Philistines are marching their troops. He is wanting to get to battle and stop this enemy. He's waited a week, and there's one thing they needed to do before they went. They had to present a burnt offering to the Lord. That was the way to seek God's favor to present that offering. That's a good thing to do.
The problem was only a man of God could do that, like a priest. Samuel promised he'd be there in seven days. It is the seventh day, the troops are leaving, the enemy troops are amassing, the day is almost over, so Saul decides to do something. He invades holy ground and he himself - not a priest - offers the sacrifice. That's a good thing to do, right? It's the wrong way to do it.
It's kind of like Gary who needed to fill his hotel. That was a good thing to do, but he knew there was a wrong way to meet that need. Saul knew that the end he was working toward was positive, but the means were wrong. He went ahead because he was in a jam.
1 Samuel 13:10, "Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived." Samuel asks, "What have you done?" Saul explains his predicament, and he says, "'I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.' 'You acted foolishly,' Samuel said. 'You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom.'" Listen to this, "Now your kingdom will not endure.'"
There's a principle here: When you're in a jam, it's tempting to compromise, especially if the result would be something good. Don't do it! It will cost you what you need the most. It will cost you God's blessing. You have a need right now. You have a chance to meet that need if you just shave the truth a little bit, if you allow yourself to get into a romantic relationship with someone who doesn't know Christ or who doesn't love Him as much as you do, if you just give in to a temptation to get even a little bit, if you just take matters into your own hands because after all, God hasn't come through yet, right?
Look at the price Saul paid. I've often thought impatience may cost us God's will more than any other thing we do. And the end does not justify the means. It is better to have your need unmet than to cross God's line to save the situation. That hotel owner knew it was better to fill it right or leave it empty because of the damage that would be left behind. When it comes to meeting your needs, don't panic because God is taking longer than you think He should. Let God fill that need the right way. It's worth the wait.