1 Samuel 17:1-51
Read - 1 Samuel 17:32-37
David took certain steps in setting this situation right that give us a clear picture of the walk of faith that should be exhibited in every Christ-Followers life. David shows us what faith does when faith is faced with giants, battles and obstacles.
I. FAITH REACTS
A Lesson to learn from this! When you accept Jesus as Lord, God places His Spirit within each of our hearts. Now, when one of life's giants appears in our view, there rises up within the heart of the child of God a desire to see that Giant fall! All around there may be those who tell us that the giant is too strong, or that we are unable to overcome it, but while the world and the faithless cry, "God can't!", there is One in our hearts Who rises up and declares with all the force He possesses, "God can, God can!"
II. FAITH RESOLVES
III.FAITH REMEMBERS
What made David's so determined to defeat Goliath? It was the same thing that motivated him to kill the lion and the bear. As the shepherd of the flock, he was responsible for protecting the sheep. So, he killed the attackers and delivered the sheep. When it came to Israel, David had already been anointed to be the next king of Israel (1Sam.16). In effect, he was their shepherd. When he saw the people being attacked by Goliath, he just reacted with the heart of a shepherd.
IV. FAITH RELIES
V. FAITH RECEIVES
Hebrew 11:1
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Week 5: The Big Rocks - Repentance
In Romans 7:19 the apostle Paul himself wrote, " For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”
Ezekiel 18:30 is a good summary of the Old Testament prophetic message. Ezekiel, speaking for God, said, "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.”
Mark 6:12: “They went out and preached that people should repent.”
Luke 15:7 tells us “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Acts 2, “Repent and be baptized…” Then in Acts 3, 'Repent and return so that your sins may be wiped away and the times of refreshing may come."
Acts 17: "God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent."
2 Timothy 2:25 “Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to acknowledge of the truth.”
2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:5).
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.” (Rev. 3:19).
1. Repentance Requires Change
The great preacher A. W. Tozer said: "Beware of vain and over-hasty repentance. And particularly let us beware of no repentance at all.'
He said in his church, "We are a sinful race, ladies and gentlemen, a sinful people. And until the knowledge has hit us hard, until it has wounded us, until it has gotten through and past our little theology department, it has done us no good. Lots of us believe in the total sinfulness of man who have never been wounded with the knowledge that we have sinned. Repentance is a wound I pray we all will feel."
Romans 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
When I have repented, there are two things that immediately happen. Number one, following repentance is confession.
1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
The second thing that happens when I genuinely repent is, not only will I confess my sin, I'll make restitution.
2. Repentance is not easy!
2 Corinthians 7:9 says: “yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.”
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Genuine conversion includes godly sorrow, repentance, and until that takes place there is no conversion. The person who is broken and undone in their sinfulness before God is ready to be converted. If repentance was easy, everyone would be doing it. It's not easy, because repentance requires changing your mind—really changing it, coming to the place where you can say, "If I could go back, I would do it differently." That's repentance. There is no pretending. There's no saying the phrase because it's the right one. The words have to reflect your heart.
3. How do I repent?
Luke 15:17-19:
"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'
Repentance involves my mind. Repentance involves my emotions. Notice also, though, that it involves the will.
Luke 3:8 says, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” You'll know you've got it done when you have this going on in your life:
• The absence of rationalization.
• Genuine sorrow.
• Open confession of sin.
James 5:16 says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
• Restitution.
Ezekiel 18:30 is a good summary of the Old Testament prophetic message. Ezekiel, speaking for God, said, "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.”
Mark 6:12: “They went out and preached that people should repent.”
Luke 15:7 tells us “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Acts 2, “Repent and be baptized…” Then in Acts 3, 'Repent and return so that your sins may be wiped away and the times of refreshing may come."
Acts 17: "God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent."
2 Timothy 2:25 “Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to acknowledge of the truth.”
2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:5).
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.” (Rev. 3:19).
1. Repentance Requires Change
The great preacher A. W. Tozer said: "Beware of vain and over-hasty repentance. And particularly let us beware of no repentance at all.'
He said in his church, "We are a sinful race, ladies and gentlemen, a sinful people. And until the knowledge has hit us hard, until it has wounded us, until it has gotten through and past our little theology department, it has done us no good. Lots of us believe in the total sinfulness of man who have never been wounded with the knowledge that we have sinned. Repentance is a wound I pray we all will feel."
Romans 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
When I have repented, there are two things that immediately happen. Number one, following repentance is confession.
1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
The second thing that happens when I genuinely repent is, not only will I confess my sin, I'll make restitution.
2. Repentance is not easy!
2 Corinthians 7:9 says: “yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.”
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Genuine conversion includes godly sorrow, repentance, and until that takes place there is no conversion. The person who is broken and undone in their sinfulness before God is ready to be converted. If repentance was easy, everyone would be doing it. It's not easy, because repentance requires changing your mind—really changing it, coming to the place where you can say, "If I could go back, I would do it differently." That's repentance. There is no pretending. There's no saying the phrase because it's the right one. The words have to reflect your heart.
3. How do I repent?
Luke 15:17-19:
"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'
Repentance involves my mind. Repentance involves my emotions. Notice also, though, that it involves the will.
Luke 3:8 says, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” You'll know you've got it done when you have this going on in your life:
• The absence of rationalization.
• Genuine sorrow.
• Open confession of sin.
James 5:16 says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
• Restitution.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Week 4: The Big Rocks - Baptism
Acts 16:22-34
Four defining decisions:
1. He decided to admit the real condition of his life.
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Acts 16:30
2. He decided to ask the most important question any of us can ask: What must I do to be saved?
"They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" -Acts 16:31
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
-Romans 10:9
3. He decided to repent and strike out in a new direction.
When a person believes in their heart and becomes a follower of Jesus, they start depending on God to make some changes in their life.
4. He decided to honor and obey the Lord by being baptized.
"immediately he and all his household were baptized." Acts 16:33
Simple questions you might have about baptism:
Why be baptized?
I could give a number of reasons right out of scripture, but really the one reason that should compel everyone to be baptized is that your leader and the forgiver of your sins commanded you to do it.
Everyone of the conversion stories in the book of Acts involved - someone admitting their life isn't working, putting their trust in Jesus instead of themselves, walking in a new direction, every one of them ends with the visible expression of baptism.
When am I ready to be baptized?
There's a pattern that we see over and over again in the bible. Here's an example from Acts 8:13, "Simon himself believed and was baptized."
Notice what he did first. He believed. And then he was baptized. The biblical sequence is to believe, and then be baptized.
How should I be baptized?
Baptize means to dip or immerse
Baptism is a drama in which you get to play Jesus in a reenactment of the core issues of our faith: his death, burial and resurrection and you can see that clearly in immersion. That was the pattern in the New Testament: going down into the water, coming up out of the water. So that's what I would encourage you to do.
Four defining decisions:
1. He decided to admit the real condition of his life.
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Acts 16:30
2. He decided to ask the most important question any of us can ask: What must I do to be saved?
"They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" -Acts 16:31
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
-Romans 10:9
3. He decided to repent and strike out in a new direction.
When a person believes in their heart and becomes a follower of Jesus, they start depending on God to make some changes in their life.
4. He decided to honor and obey the Lord by being baptized.
"immediately he and all his household were baptized." Acts 16:33
Simple questions you might have about baptism:
Why be baptized?
I could give a number of reasons right out of scripture, but really the one reason that should compel everyone to be baptized is that your leader and the forgiver of your sins commanded you to do it.
Everyone of the conversion stories in the book of Acts involved - someone admitting their life isn't working, putting their trust in Jesus instead of themselves, walking in a new direction, every one of them ends with the visible expression of baptism.
When am I ready to be baptized?
There's a pattern that we see over and over again in the bible. Here's an example from Acts 8:13, "Simon himself believed and was baptized."
Notice what he did first. He believed. And then he was baptized. The biblical sequence is to believe, and then be baptized.
How should I be baptized?
Baptize means to dip or immerse
Baptism is a drama in which you get to play Jesus in a reenactment of the core issues of our faith: his death, burial and resurrection and you can see that clearly in immersion. That was the pattern in the New Testament: going down into the water, coming up out of the water. So that's what I would encourage you to do.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Week 3: The Big Rocks... In Essentials, Unity
1 Corinthians 1:10; Acts 2:44
One of the ways we honor God as a church is by maintaining a spirit of unity.
Psalm 133:1 says, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” Jesus also emphasized the importance of harmony. He said, “All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:35). His final prayer in the garden of Gethsemane was, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me” (John 17:23).
Many of the New Testament letters appeal to the churches to refrain from division and live in harmony. Paul writes in Romans 14:19, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” In Ephesians 4:3 he says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
When churches bicker, it saps our energy, it quenches our spirit, and it negates our testimony.
3 ways that each of us can help to maintain the unity that we enjoy and that God so desires.
A. AVOID SILLY ARGUMENTS
When Paul was mentoring Titus, the young church leader, he wrote to him in chapter 3 verse 9, “Avoid foolish controversies.”
We need to avoid controversy and those kinds of issues for two reasons. Number one, they accomplish nothing.
A second reason foolish arguments are to be avoided is that they are potentially divisive.
B. Be Devoted to Each Other in Service
William Barclay wrote, “Half the trouble that arises in the church concerns rights, privileges, places, and prestige. Someone has not been given his or her place. Someone has not been thanked. Someone has been neglected. Someone has been given a more prominent place on the platform than somebody else and there is trouble.”
Humility is not thinking less of yourself. Humility is not thinking of yourself at all.
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).
Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant:” (Matthew 23:11).
There is hardly ever any bickering over the basin.
C. Continue to Follow the New Testament Example
You know the Christian Church is special and unique, because we base everything we believe in and stand for on the Bible. We don’t form committees and debate doctrine and pass our answers along to you. What we believe is not based on my opinion or Gus opinion, or the elders’ opinions, but it is based on scripture. When the Christian Church was pioneered…a group of church leaders got together and were frustrated with all the division and disunity in the body of Christ….and so they started a movement based on the Bible…Wow what a unique concept. Some of the earliest Christian Church slogans were: “Were not the only Christians, just Christians only.” “No book but the Bible” “No creed but Christ.” And I especially like this one, “In essentials unity. In non-essentials liberty. And in all things love.”
If you look in the book of Acts, the New Testament church began as a united church. The book of Acts is the story of the birth and growth of the church. And the defining moment in the birth of the church happened in Acts 2:1, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” Acts 4:32 says, “All the believers were one in heart and mind.”
It's about community... and community is not a vague thing in the book of Acts. And there's one word that just runs through it like a thread.
Acts 1:14, "All these were constantly together, devoting themselves to prayer."
Acts 2:1, "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place."
Acts 2:42,44, "They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…All who believed were together and had all things in common."
What's the word that just keeps running through it? It's "together."
Jesus prayed the night before He was crucified. He prayed for His disciples and He prayed for us…those who would believe in Him through their message…and His prayer was the same for both groups (That we would be one, just as He and the Father are one).
“Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up unto him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:15, 16).
One of the ways we honor God as a church is by maintaining a spirit of unity.
Psalm 133:1 says, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” Jesus also emphasized the importance of harmony. He said, “All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:35). His final prayer in the garden of Gethsemane was, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me” (John 17:23).
Many of the New Testament letters appeal to the churches to refrain from division and live in harmony. Paul writes in Romans 14:19, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” In Ephesians 4:3 he says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
When churches bicker, it saps our energy, it quenches our spirit, and it negates our testimony.
3 ways that each of us can help to maintain the unity that we enjoy and that God so desires.
A. AVOID SILLY ARGUMENTS
When Paul was mentoring Titus, the young church leader, he wrote to him in chapter 3 verse 9, “Avoid foolish controversies.”
We need to avoid controversy and those kinds of issues for two reasons. Number one, they accomplish nothing.
A second reason foolish arguments are to be avoided is that they are potentially divisive.
B. Be Devoted to Each Other in Service
William Barclay wrote, “Half the trouble that arises in the church concerns rights, privileges, places, and prestige. Someone has not been given his or her place. Someone has not been thanked. Someone has been neglected. Someone has been given a more prominent place on the platform than somebody else and there is trouble.”
Humility is not thinking less of yourself. Humility is not thinking of yourself at all.
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).
Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant:” (Matthew 23:11).
There is hardly ever any bickering over the basin.
C. Continue to Follow the New Testament Example
You know the Christian Church is special and unique, because we base everything we believe in and stand for on the Bible. We don’t form committees and debate doctrine and pass our answers along to you. What we believe is not based on my opinion or Gus opinion, or the elders’ opinions, but it is based on scripture. When the Christian Church was pioneered…a group of church leaders got together and were frustrated with all the division and disunity in the body of Christ….and so they started a movement based on the Bible…Wow what a unique concept. Some of the earliest Christian Church slogans were: “Were not the only Christians, just Christians only.” “No book but the Bible” “No creed but Christ.” And I especially like this one, “In essentials unity. In non-essentials liberty. And in all things love.”
If you look in the book of Acts, the New Testament church began as a united church. The book of Acts is the story of the birth and growth of the church. And the defining moment in the birth of the church happened in Acts 2:1, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” Acts 4:32 says, “All the believers were one in heart and mind.”
It's about community... and community is not a vague thing in the book of Acts. And there's one word that just runs through it like a thread.
Acts 1:14, "All these were constantly together, devoting themselves to prayer."
Acts 2:1, "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place."
Acts 2:42,44, "They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…All who believed were together and had all things in common."
What's the word that just keeps running through it? It's "together."
Jesus prayed the night before He was crucified. He prayed for His disciples and He prayed for us…those who would believe in Him through their message…and His prayer was the same for both groups (That we would be one, just as He and the Father are one).
“Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up unto him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:15, 16).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)