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“Jesus answered them and said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to

eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His

seal.’” John 6:26-27

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“Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus then said to them,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of

heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to

the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will

not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:31-35

Do we really believe that?

If we truly did, we would always do only what we knew pleased the Lord and never sin.

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Jesus has been slowly building this magnificent concept of God abiding in us since John 6!

Let’s recall the historical progression to God’s zenith position for mankind.

1. God created mankind and engaged them in free and intimate communion and participation.

2. Man sinned and God had to restrict man’s perception of God’s presence to a remote and forbidding location.

Did you ever wonder why a God so loving and personal would do that for so long; from Adam to the

cross?

I’ve known a lot of Christians who complain that waiting on God to get around to doing what needs to

be done can be torture beyond reason. He often seems to not care in the slightest and seems to be in

no hurry to do anything important to us

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Jesus has been slowly building this magnificent concept of God abiding in us since John 6!

Let’s recall the historical progression to God’s zenith position for mankind.

1. God created mankind and engaged them in free and intimate communion and participation.

2. Man sinned and God had to restrict man’s perception of God’s presence to a remote and forbidding location.

Since all the Father really wants is fellowship and communion with man, it is God who holds the record

for the longest wait for what is wanted. God waits STILL for what He wants even though man is now

free to engage God!

It is interesting that following Adam’s sin, they immediately attempt to “hide from the presence of

God.” How can you hide from an omnipresent God?! Let’s invest some time in this.

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Let me set you up for the lesson.

When Adam and Eve sinned, they tried to run away from God and hide themselves from Omnipresence.

When Peter doubted the instruction of Jesus to go out into the waters for a catch after a night of failure,

when the boats were so filled with fish that they began to sink, Peter said, “Depart from me Lord, for I

am a sinful man.”

Have you ever wondered at the sense of his logic?

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I think I understand the reality now.

When we doubt, we sense the emptiness that is inherent in doubt, because only God possesses what

we need. We feel the loneliness because doubt rejects all God wants to produce.

We actually separate ourselves emotionally from God when we choose unbelief, and emptiness

becomes our companion. We feel the cold, empty reality of running away from God in unbelief.

Peter felt the coldness of his unbelief and his patronization of Jesus when He told them to launch their boats again. The disparity between his ability

and Jesus’ ability, drove Peter’s words.

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Adam and Eve felt the emptiness of their rejection of faith and separated themselves where Peter

requested that Jesus separate Himself from Peter.

It all came from the same deep agony – the cold, empty existence of independence from God – which

can be a good thing if we see it properly.

There are two steps to this. The first is cause and effect. We sin in independence and we feel empty as the natural result of independence. Then God drives man even further from His perceived Presence with the pronouncement of a curse as the result of the sin. The purpose of the curse is to intensify the

emptiness and drive man to repentance.

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Let’s follow God’s work with King Saul.

Saul is placed in a faith challenging situation that is designed to drive him more deeply into faith, just

like God did with Joseph, Job, Abraham, Moses …

1. God tells Saul exactly what to do in faith. (1Sam 10:8)

2. Saul doubts God, relies on himself and sins. (1Sam 10:8)

3. God rebukes Saul and pronounces a curse to drive him deeper into the pain of independence. (1Sam 13:13-14)

4. Saul ignores the design of the curse and lives unchanged.5. God gives Saul another chance to build his faith. (1Sam 15:1-3)

6. Saul runs to independence and sins again in unbelief. (15:9)

7. This time God raises the consequences:1. Your reign as king will end (this is the second statement of the same thing).2. You no longer have access to my prophet Samuel who has given you My instructions.

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Let’s learn what NOT to do from King Saul.

Saul is placed in a faith challenging situation that is designed to drive him more deeply into faith, just

like God did with Joseph, Job, Abraham, Moses …

1. God tells Saul exactly what to do in faith. (1Sam 10:8)

2. Saul doubts God, relies on himself and sins. (1Sam 10:8)

3. God rebukes Saul and pronounces a curse to drive him deeper into the pain of independence. (1Sam 13:13-14)

4. Saul ignores the design of the curse and lives unchanged.5. God gives Saul another chance to build his faith. (1Sam 15:1-3)

6. Saul runs to independence and sins again in unbelief. (15:9)

7. This time God raises the consequences:1. Your reign as king will end (this is the second statement of the same thing).2. You no longer have access to my prophet Samuel who has given you My instructions.

Does Saul feel the loneliness of independence from God and repent by running toward Him? In

other words, does the design of God by increasing the consequences bring repentance?

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“For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord

and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. “Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with

you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go, Saul

seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” Then he said, “I have sinned; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, that I

may worship the LORD your God.” 1 Sa 15:23-30

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“For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord

and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. “Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with

you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go, Saul

seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” Then he said, “I have sinned; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, that I

may worship the LORD your God.” 1 Sa 15:23-30

The goal behind the curse was to make Saul feel the full consequence of independence, but Saul

blamed the people for his choices.

Even after Samuel walks away, never to see Saul again, when Saul feels overwhelmed by the

circumstances God sent him to promote repentance, Saul goes to a witch, which was a

capital offense (1Sam 28)!

That is what happens to the human mind when we reject God’s use of a curse or hardship!