On Being Sold Out to Jesus
You have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. (I Kgs. 21:20)
I Kgs. 21; I Sam. 13:13; II Sam. 12:7-9; II Chron. 24:20; Matt. 6:24; I Cor. 6:20
What Is God Saying?
Ahab reigned for twenty-two years and could have been one of Israel's great kings, but he had two problems. First, he was a spoiled child. When he took a fancy to something, he had to have it regardless of the pain it might cause others. He ruled a kingdom and was incomparably more prosperous than most or all of his subjects. Naboth was a good and quiet neighbor. His vineyard was near the palace. It was not important to the King, but it was a family inheritance of great value to Naboth. Since it was so convenient to the palace, Ahab decided that it should be his. Naboth refused to enter into a deal. The King sulked back to the palace, lay on his bed and refused to eat.
Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, contrived and carried out a plot to get Ahab the land. She had Naboth falsely charged with ‘cursing God and the King.’ Since this was a capital offence, Naboth was executed, and Ahab proceeded to take Naboth’s land. There was one colossal roadblock-Eijah. This strong man of God caught Ahab in the act. He wasted no words. He told it like it was-Ahab's act was more than self-centeredness. It was ‘selling himself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord.’
How Does This Apply To Us?
In every life, there is a watershed. Along America's Continental Divide, rainfall will make its way to one ocean or the other. On one side, the falling raindrops will go to the Pacific. On the other side, they will go to the Atlantic. There is also a spiritual divide. ‘No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon’ (Matt. 6:24). We are ‘bought with a price’ (I Cor. 6:20). We are sold out to Jesus. We will be tempted to compromise; we will sometimes slip and fall but we do not belong to evil. We glorify God.
Pray With Me
O Lord of my self, set up Your rule in the center of my being and help me always see that doing evil first calls for selling myself. Evil cannot bind me with chains of habit nor blind me with clouds of fear. Evil cannot haunt me with unforgettable guilt nor taunt me with failure. Evil cannot get the upper hand and banish from my life the joy of freedom and the gladness of an unstained conscience- until or unless I first sell myself.
O blessed Lord, help me to see that my self is not for sale- the title of ownership is in Your hands. Sold out to Jesus Christ, I have no right to bargain with my life. Sold out to Jesus Christ, I am His to own and use. Sold out to Jesus Christ, I am not my own. Bought with a price, I would glorify God in my body. Sold out to Jesus Christ, I am united to the Lord, one with Him: one spirit, one will, one purpose, one program, one ever-lasting victory, one glorious inheritance. Sold out to Jesus Christ, my self is secure through trial and sorrow, through disappointment and fear until I see my Redeemer as He is and praise Him as I ought.
Unto His name be the praise of my heart always. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Let there be no hesitation or doubt. In prayer, we are reaffirming that we belong to God. We are His tools for His use: hands for Him to bring help, v0ices for Him to speak to others, channels through which His blessings flow, reserv0irs to store His love and mercy for others. Thus, prayer, in its highest and truest sense, is the discovery of how God wants to use us this day and in these circumstances. That makes prayer a thrilling privilege instead of a dreary responsibility. That makes prayer.
