The End

“The End” - Mark 13:1-13 - Audio - Video

Last week, Pastor Bill talked about Salvation from Hebrews. He said it means to be redeemed, to be delivered from the consequences of our sin through faith in Jesus Christ.

To continue on that subject today there is a past, present, and future aspect to our Salvation. The past happened when Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid the penalty for our sin. The present occurs now, we are no longer under the power of sin. We have an advocate to strengthen us through our trials and temptations. And finally, the future. One day we will be removed from the presence of sin when we are in our eternal home.

Today’s Scripture from the book of Mark continues to look at the future and is directed to the disciples. This is a passage that's not easy to fully understand or interpret. Such passages have been the basis for a lot of books, sermons, and teachings on the end times. We need to approach them with caution, not making them say things we want them to say and mean. Of course, this is always true with the Bible, or should be for us.

Jesus and his disciples are leaving the temple or passing by it at least. Someone comments to Jesus about the beauty of the temple. Built by Herod the Great, it was magnificent. It had marble pillars some forty feet tall. It had elaborate stone work, engraved by the most skilled stone cutters and craftsmen. Gold all around it. In the entrance to the Temple was carved an intricate cluster of grapes, symbolizing Israel as the people of God. They were awe-struck by it, but not Jesus. He had already wept over the city (see Luke 19:41-44).

He somberly says, "The days are coming when this temple will not be left standing, not one stone on top of another." We know that day did come in AD 70 when Rome destroyed the temple and most of Jerusalem.

Jesus saw where the misplaced religious zeal and nationalism would lead his people. Even their views of the Messiah were greatly shaped by such concerns, for they wanted a military messiah, one to overthrow the Romans and set up Israel as the great kingdom it had been under David - and greater than that!

A magnificent temple, filled each day with many people and impressive rituals would not save them. The One who could save them was in their midst but only to be himself a temple they would seek to destroy. The irony here is that you may recall that one of the chief charges brought against Jesus when he was brought to trial is that he predicted the
destruction of the temple, taking it to mean by some that he and his followers would do it.

The disciples, always ready to ask the wrong questions at the wrong times, want to know more about all of this, especially when it will happen (vs 3-4).

Jesus begins by warning them that many will try to lead them astray when they ask and seek answers to such questions. Teachers and false messiahs will come in his name (claiming to be sent by him to try to get their support and following) claiming that they have superior knowledge of the end times, even to the point of saying that it is near
or here's a sign that surely means it is near. Jesus simply and bluntly says, "Do not go after them." In other words, don't listen to them. They don't know what they're talking about.

So Jesus warns about those persons who claim to know far more than they possibly can about such things. Uncertain times cause some people to look for messiahs, for persons to reassure them, to lead them. But then he goes on to say that there are some things that must happen before that time comes. It will not come right after the fall of the temple that he has just predicted. Neither will it come when they are hearing about wars and rumors of wars. They are not to let such idle talk and speculations terrify them. The end is still not yet (vs 7).

Jesus says before the end there would be great conflicts between nations (vs 8) and would even influence the natural world. But still this was not the end.

He warns them that far from being taken up to Heaven in the rapture, they will suffer. They will be arrested, persecuted, and tried (just like what was about to happen to him). Still this was not the end. Such times, Jesus says, you are not to seek to be delivered from but see as opportunities to speak on behalf of God's kingdom and will (recall how Jesus used his own trial to do that).

He seeks to reassure them that when those days come God will be with them, God will give them the courage and the words they need to make a good defense and witness. (Just recall some of the stories in Acts about how the disciples did just this when brought before the authorities, who were often astounded that these were just unlearned
individuals and how bold they were).

Jesus warns them that they would be hated because of their faith, because they go and live by his name. But in the end they were in God's hands and the authorities, as powerful as they were, could not finally harm even one hair on their heads (as elsewhere Jesus had assured them that God had numbered every hair on their head - see Luke 12:7). They
could kill the body, as they would with Jesus, but that was not the end of him, was it? They tumbled his temple but in three days God raised it up!

Note how Jesus ends: "By standing firm you will gain life." Continue to work, to serve, to be faithful. Do not become distracted by those who would mislead you, even coming to you in my name. Keep focused on the work at hand.

The FUTURE is a major theme in our scripture today and the emphasis is on faithfulness in the midst of present troubles, not letting speculations about the future or the troubles of the present distract from the responsibilities of the present.

This still applies to us today. So often we get caught up in the minor troubles and annoyances in our lives, that we forget why we are here, which is to simply glorify God with all that we say and do. We have God’s Word, we know what the future holds. We simply need to continue in faithfulness.

Just talking about the future or prophesying the future is not living our lives out in faith. Trusting in a God who holds the future in his hands is how we live by faith. Jesus told us to BE READY. Jesus wants us to live out our faith.

Faith does not believe that God will make our lives comfortable and affluent. Faith knows that whatever situations we face God will be with us through those situations. Faith is not worrying about the future. Faith is believing and trusting God’s plan and carrying out His will for your life.
So when our circumstances shift from comfort to discomfort; when our world moves from certainty to uncertainty; and when perhaps even friends and family turn against us, these are not reasons to reject God or to cease to believe in him. They are the opposite. They are times to remind ourselves that Jesus predicted these events. They are times to stand firm.

Another theme running through the whole chapter is that of being alert and watchful. Verse 5 “watch out”, verses 9 and 23, “be on your guard”, verse 33, “be on guard, be alert”, and verses 35 and 37, “keep watch”.

Will Jesus return? Is He coming back? He said he will! He is coming back. Before that day, he’s told us what to expect. Jesus calls us to be alert, and not to worry even if circumstances are awful.
We need Jesus to stay on the right path and to live a full life! Let me give you an example.

Many years ago, the actor Charlton Heston had to learn how to drive a chariot with four horses for his part in the movie Ben Hur. He explained to an interviewer that after many weeks of chariot lessons he told the director, “I think I can drive the chariot all right but I’m not at all sure I can actually win the race.” The director, responded,” You just stay in the race and I’ll make sure you win.”

Today, Jesus asks us to stay in the race of life no matter what happens to us. And Jesus Christ promises us that as long as we are with Him …we will win the race of life. So the challenge for us this week is simply this. The disciples learned to live their faith one day at a time. Let us follow their example and the example of countless Christians who have gone before us—trusting, loving, serving—never knowing if this is our last day or not, but being assure that no matter what God is with us.

Applying what we’ve learned:

1. God has a glorious Kingdom waiting for us. He will be back to take us to the place he has prepared and to judge those whom have not accepted His gift of salvation. If you haven’t accepted Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, do it today. Don’t wait.

2. Whatever our current situation is, we are to remember why we are here. We are to glorify God. We are to go into all the world and spread the Gospel message. The best tool for spreading the Gospel is your life. Does it honor and Glorify God? Can people tell you are a Christian by the way you talk and act?

3. Remember, no matter how bad things get for us, and we know persecution will come to Christians before Christ returns, we are not to give up hope. Christ died for our sins and will be back for us.

4. Keep on living the spirit-filled life. We cannot simply sit around and wait for the rapture. We were put here to do a job, so lets do it to honor and glorify God.

Closing Prayer
Merciful God, we come before you this day as those who are often afraid to confess all the many ways in which we have disappointed and betrayed You. You have given us continual opportunities to serve and love others, but we have withdrawn into lives of selfishness and greed. We have turned our backs on others in need. We have denied the gifts you have given us. Your voice calls to us to come home, to come to you unafraid, to receive forgiveness and healing. Open our hearts this day to receive these magnificent blessings. Help us understand the many ways in which you love us, and help us share that love with all those whom we meet. For we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN.

Forgiveness

Click here for the audio message of Philemon 17-20

Forgiveness

Philemon was a prominent member of the Colossian church. The church met in his house, so he was probably wealthy. This letter was for him, his family and the church. Paul writes about forgiveness even though the word is never actually used.

So what is the story here. Well, we don’t know all of the details for sure, but we can piece some things together. First, we know that Philemon received Christ through Paul’s ministry. We know that Philemon was wealthy enough to have the church meet in his house, meaning it was probably a larger house than most people had.

We also know that Philemon had a least one slave named Onesimus. Onesimus was apparently not a believer because he stole from Philemon, probably money, and ran away to hide out in Rome.

At the time, there were many slaves in the Roman Empire. Some estimates claim maybe about 1/3 of the population were slaves. Slaves in Rome were an accepted part of daily life. There were so many slaves around that nobody really knew who the slaves were because they all blended into society.

These slaves could be doctors, musicians, teachers, artists, librarians, accountants or pretty much any job they could do. Slaves were not considered people, but were tools of their masters. They could still be bought, sold, or whatever. Of course, their masters had control and power over the slaves and no doubt there were severe abuses that took place.

However, the Romans began to realize that a contented slave worked harder and was more productive, so many masters treated their slaves decently. When accused of a crime, slaves were even given the right to a trial. Being a slave in Rome could in some ways be better than a freeman living in poverty.

Anyways, back to our story of Onesimus, Philemon’s slave. He fled to Rome to blend in with the population. While in Rome though, he somehow ran in to Paul and also received Christ into his life.

Paul grew to love Onesimus and wanted to keep him for use in the ministry, but he knew the right thing to do was to send the slave back to his master. Remember, James 4:17 says, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” That’s a tough portion of scripture for me and it was tough for Paul too.

Even though Onesimus was of great use to Paul in his ministry he knew what he had to do. By stealing and running away from Philemon, Onesimus had broken the law and defrauded his master. Paul knew those issues had to be dealt with, so he sent Onesimus back to Philemon with this letter.

As a side note, the New Testament never directly attacks slavery. Rather it simply recognizes it as a fact of life. Christianity does, however, undermine the evils that can occur with slavery by changing the hearts of both slave and master.

Had Paul or any other writer of the New Testament attacked slavery then the Gospel message, the Good News of Jesus Christ, the idea of repentance and a changed heart, would be hopelessly lost and confused with a message of social reform. Unfortunately, that is what many people are trying to do today.

So Paul writes this letter to his friend, his brother in Christ, Philemon, to accept his slave back and to treat him as a brother in Christ. Paul starts by appealing to the strong love and faith that Philemon has.

Paul knows that Philemon loves God, loves others, and loves himself. So if that is true, then here is your slave back. Yes, he did wrong and he realizes it but he has come to Christ and repented of his sin. Please accept him back not just as your slave, but as your brother.

Paul also says, hey you know I am an authority figure over you, I can simply command you to take back your slave, but I know I don’t need to do that because of who you are. I know that you too will do the right thing.

Paul also realizes that there was a physical or probably a monetary loss for Philemon, so Paul says send me the bill. I will repay it. Of course, Paul throws that little reminder in there that Philemon literally owes Paul his life because Paul is the one who brought him to Christ.

That is a debt that none of us can repay. The person that brings us to Christ should have a special place in our lives and Paul knew that. How can we repay that? We cannot. All we can do is to do the same for someone else and introduce them to Christ.

How this story ends we don’t know. But I like to believe that Onesimus returned to Philemon and was welcomed with open arms, not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. Someone who received the full forgiveness of their sins.

Today we live in a world where people are so focused on themselves and are not concerned with others or forgiveness. For a Christian, unwillingness to forgive is unthinkable. We are to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Failure to forgive others has its consequences.

It keeps that pain alive. It robs us of the joy of living, the joy of our salvation. It also produces bitterness. The longer you dwell on that pain the more bitter you become. Bitterness is sin and it can infect your entire body. Your speech becomes negative, your thoughts are turned toward revenge and you shut out any type of kindness or love toward others.

When this happens, of course, the door is open for Satan to jump into the situation. Once this happens, look out. Our fellowship with other Christians and even God will be hindered.

Forgiveness restores the believer to the place of maximum blessing from God. It restores the purity and joy of fellowship with God. Forgiveness is an important theme throughout Scripture, but here we see it in action in the lives of a slave and his master. What a wonderful lesson for us all to learn.

Is this a lesson that you need to implement in your life. If so, why not today? Is there someone that you need to forgive? Do you still hold a grudge about something?

Let the pain go. Bring back the joy of living and the joy of your salvation. Forgive them as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Closing Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for this lesson in your word this morning. We thank you for the forgiveness that you have given to us. Help us to forgive others so that the pain will be healed and our bitterness is replaced with love, joy, and peace.

We ask this in your son’s name, AMEN

Happiness

Happiness - Mark 12:28-34

All of us have some needs in life beyond the basics of food, clothing, shelter, and security. We see this in our Scripture this morning. All people need some type of self-worth, intimacy with others, and of course intimacy with God. All other laws of Scripture really hang on this great commandment.

In other words, if we are loving God and loving others, everything else falls into place and life works out for us and not only for us but for the glory of God. If we obey the great commandment, then we are really obeying all other commandments. Love God, love your neighbor, and love yourself.

So how do we do this? How does this give us a happy, fulfilling, meaningful life. This morning I would like to look at several key ideas that should make your life better.

First of all, commit your daily life to be a walk with Christ. Use every day and every opportunity that comes your way to glorifying God. Start each day with a prayer of thanksgiving. Ask God for the opportunity to bring Him glory today. Pray for self-control and the strength to get through whatever situations arise throughout the day.

Spend time each day not only talking to God, but reading and meditating on His Word to us and of course apply what you have discovered.

It seems as though our brains are programmed from childhood to be selfish and sinful. It seems as though we automatically lean toward doing the wrong thing. The more we do the wrong thing, the easier it is to deny that we are doing anything wrong in the first place.

The prophet Jeremiah saw this. He said, (Jeremiah 17:9) “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked who can know it.” We need to reprogram our brains with God’s Word, with godly things. If we are going to live a happy, content life then we need to align our thoughts with God’s Word, not the ways of the world.

We need to get rid of the garbage that is bouncing around in our brain and replace it with the faithful Word of God. Some of that garbage comes from others. Ephesians 4:26 tells us to get rid of our grudges daily. We all get angry sometimes, but we need to deal with our anger in appropriate ways.

I am convinced that another key of a happy, meaningful life is taking time and building your relationship with your spouse and children. Sure other close relatives, like parents, siblings, and so on have a high priority, but your spouse and children should always be at the top.

Sometimes conflicts arise when we are with family. It is important to address the issue and do whatever you can to resolve the conflict. Don’t ever seek vengeance on family members. Instead, create an atmosphere of healing love and leave the rest up to God.

No doubt family relationships are important, but so are friends. Fellowshipping with other Christians is important to your overall well being and spiritual growth. In Proverbs 13:20 Solomon writes, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

You can’t usually choose your family, but you can select your friends. Choose wisely. You will find that your friends will have an influence on you. If they are fellow Christians progressing on their spiritual journey then you feel that effect on your life as well. If on the other hand, they are Christians in name only, then you too will feel that effect on your life.

Now, that isn’t to say that we shouldn’t be friends with non-Christians because we should. In fact, our life should be a witness to those nonbelievers. We just need to make sure their worldliness doesn’t rub off on us. In fact, we need to rub off our Christ-likeness on them.

The idea is to obviously love others and be friendly and peaceful with all, but try to cultivate those deep relationships with other Christians that are also maturing in their faith. We all need friends. You know how you get friends? You go out and be friendly! We have to earn our friends.

Today, I think it is tough to have time for family and friends because our lives are so cluttered with stuff. They’re filled with activities and other things that just suck up our time. I find this especially true with families. It is like Mom and Dad are simply chauffeurs for their children taking them from one event to another, but never actually spending any time with them.

Many people’s lives seem to be very haphazard today. I think we all need a daily routine. One that includes a nice balance of the topics I have mentioned here this morning, but one that is also personally satisfying to you. It is the idea of being convinced that this is what God wants for your life and you find joy, peace, and satisfaction serving your Lord through your daily routine activities of life.

Your daily routine should include time for God, time for yourself, time for your family, time for your job, and of course time to glorify God through your life.

Finally, you want to be happy, you want to feel like you have a meaningful life, then each week do something nice for someone. It doesn’t matter who and it doesn’t matter what, just do something nice.

It can be a physical activity like raking leaves or cutting the grass. It can simply be a visit to someone who doesn’t get out much or maybe a phone call or card. It doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming, just do something nice for someone.

Ask God at the beginning of the week to show you someone who needs something this week and see it through. Do something nice for someone else. Not to get a pat on the back, but because this is what God wants from us.

I truly believe that if you love God, love others, and love yourself you will find doing all of the ideas mentioned here to give you that happy, meaningful, fulfilled life. Of course, for anyone who truly knows Jesus Christ and receives Him as Lord and Savior of their lives will indeed have a happy, eternal life with Him.

Closing prayer

Lord, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. Help us this week to focus our life on living out your will. Help us to love you, to love others, and to love ourselves. Make your desires our desires so that you will be honored and glorified through us.

AMEN

I Can’t Handle This

Click here for the audio message of 1 Corinthians 10:1-13.

In our Scripture this morning Paul reminds the Corinthians and us about the difficult situations that the Israelites went through. These things happened to them to provide an example for us, so that we would not fall into those same evils.

But all of us go through periods of struggles. Maybe you are struggling now. You know the Scripture lays out clear principles, but all you can think is, It’s just too hard, I can’t do this. I just can’t handle this anymore. We grumble just like our ancient ancestors.

Or maybe you’re not struggling with sin at all but rather a very painful circumstance—an illness, death, financial crisis, or conflict—that feels like it’s too much for you to handle. Whatever situation you’re in, God has a message for you.

I want to focus on one particular verse this morning. 1 Corinthians 10:13.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13) ESV

This passage has five hope-giving truths you must embrace in the midst of your struggle.

1. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.
You are not alone. You’re not the first person to go through whatever you are experiencing. Whether you’ve lost a loved one, your job, your marriage, or your battle against sin, there are millions of people around the world and throughout history who have experienced essentially the same thing. This should give you an incredible amount of hope.

You’re probably thinking, What hope is there in that? The answer is simply this: common problems have common solutions. Your situation has details that are unique to you, but at its core it is just like what many other people experience. Scripture was written to people who were in many ways like us.

They experienced pain and death; they had bad marriages and problems in church; they struggled with the same kinds of sin we do. Therefore, the solutions God gave them apply to us as well. Whatever your struggle is, the solution is in the Bible. You simply need to search for it and commune with God to provide the strength to find His solutions.

2. God is faithful.
No true Christian would deny God’s faithfulness. But maybe you’ve been tempted to wonder if He’ll be faithful to you. Make no mistake, “if we are faithless He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). God’s very character is at stake, and God will never be found lacking.

God’s faithfulness always overcomes sin and persecution. God promised His faithfulness to Israel, even after they’d committed unspeakable acts of idolatry (Ezekiel 16:59-63). God was faithful to David even after he sinned with Bathsheba. God was faithful to Peter even after he denied Jesus three times. Sin and impossible circumstances are no match for God’s faithfulness.

Maybe your are thinking God has abandoned you. Or maybe you feel guilty that you have abandoned Him. Well stop thinking that. God is there and has always been here. You may have ignored Him, but His arms are open and ready to welcome you once again.

3. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you’re able.
Whatever you’re facing right now, God’s grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9). It may not feel like it’s possible, but on the basis of God’s character and by His strength you can overcome your trial.

Maybe you’ve observed others going through difficult times and thought to yourself, I could never go through that. The truth is if God placed it into your life, He would give you the grace to go through it. Whatever you’re experiencing now, God gives you the grace to endure it. Once again, ask Him for the strength, the grace, and the mercy to endure through your trial, struggle, or temptation.

4. With the temptation He will also provide a way of escape.
This makes me think of the paratroopers dropped into enemy territory during WWII who need to make their way back to safety. He has no trap door or tunnels to crawl through; he won’t be rescued by helicopter or beamed to safety. He has to find a way through enemy territory.

In the same way, God has provided, in every situation, a path for you to take. There is always a choice of roads to travel. When faced with the temptation to sin, you can choose to succumb to it or you can choose to resist and flee.

When you are confronted with a difficult ordeal, you can succumb to despair and anxiety or you can endure with the strength He provides. Whatever your situation, God’s Word will light the way of escape and show you the path to follow to get you through the situation and out of enemy territory. Trust Him.

5. You will be able to endure it.
After reminding you that your situation is common, God is faithful, and He will strengthen and guide you through difficult times, Paul assures you if you follow God’s path, you can and will endure. If you’re weighed down with the pressures of life, God may not remove the burden, but He will strengthen your mind, body and soul to endure.

Think about it. The Bible isn’t only for people with simple problems—getting cut off on the freeway or plumbing issues. The Bible addresses all people and all problems, whether trivial (bad traffic, clogged faucet) or severe (life dominating sins, terminal illness).

The apostles had personally evangelized and taught many of the people to whom they wrote. Reading their letters you quickly realize people and churches had very difficult problems and they needed apostolic instruction.

In fact, the Hebrew Scriptures were for New Testament believers what the entire Bible is to us—“Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

So when you read 1 Corinthians 10:13, know for certain that no matter the depth of your temptation or trial, the Lord is faithful, He has provided your way of escape, and you can endure it.

Closing prayer

Lord, we thank you for our time together this morning. We are thankful for your grace, your mercy, and your love even when we can’t understand or make sense of the things that are happening in our lives.

Help us to trust you more fully with our lives knowing that you have a plan for each and every one of us individually and collectively.

AMEN

God’s Severe Mercy

Click here for the audio message of 2 Samuel 12:13-23

Last week we examined the incident with Bathsheeba. It essentially goes like this: David saw and desired Bathsheeba. He got what he wanted and then tried to cover things up at first by making it look like the husband was the father, then by simply having the father/husband killed.

So we see a few “small” sins cause a lot of problems. And as we saw last week and will continue to see today these problems didn’t just affect David. Bathsheeba lost her husband and as we will look at today, her child. Uriah lost his life. Joab, the commander of David’s army lost some integrity with the troops, and probably some loyalty among them as well. For sure, his leadership ability was called into question by the soldiers. And finally, several of David’s soldiers lost their life as well.

All because David saw, wanted, got, and covered up. Sometimes this type of thing happens to us as well. Hopefully, our actions don’t escalate to the level of David’s, but they could.

The idea of last week’s lesson was that these little sins can wear down our consciences to allow in more and more sin eventually severing our relationship with God. And that is exactly what Satan wants.

Now when we do sin, and we all do, we know that we can go to God for forgiveness and He will forgive. However, that does not mean that we won’t suffer earthly consequences for our actions. And that is today’s lesson.

The story starts off at the beginning of Chapter 12 with Nathan coming to David to tell him a story. He says, there once was a rich man and a poor man. The rich man was having a dinner for a friend and took the poor man’s only lamb and slaughtered it for the meal.

As we have seen before David was the best King that Israel has ever had and he tried to be fair to all. So, David didn’t like this story about a rich man taking what little a poor man had. So he told Nathan that this rich man should be punished, in fact, he deserves to die, but the law required that the man repay 4 times the price.

Nathan replies, well David you are that man! David was the rich man, Uriah the poor man, and Bathsheeba was the lamb. Nathan used a story or parable to get his point across to David. Jesus also used many parables, the only difference is most people didn’t understand the meaning. David clearly got the message here.

It is difficult for any of us to be truly objective about our own sin. I think we all realize that we aren’t perfect, but on the other hand we also think we aren’t that bad either. We don’t want to see our sin for sin because of our ego, our pride, or maybe even out of embarrassment.

Here is David, a man after God’s own heart. God has given David everything and has promised to continue to be with him throughout his life. But David wanted something else. David wanted Bathsheeba, even though he already had his three wives and all of King Saul’s wives.

He wanted more. David thought his way was better than God’s. How many times has that happened to us? We look and saw and said we want that, rather than looking at all that we do have.

Right after this story from Nathan, David goes to God and confesses his sin. Of course God forgives him as He forgives all of us, but David still has to suffer the consequences of his actions.

David committed adultery and murder, both offenses were punishable by death. Now David was spared by God, but his ancestors were plagued with violence. As we read this morning, his son with Bathsheeba died. Later David’s son Amnon is killed, so is his son Absalom and Adonijah.

Now many people always have the question why did this child die? Why did God do this? Didn’t God say he would not punish the child for the father’s sin? I cannot answer any of these questions and I don’t believe anybody can. We do not know the mind of God.

We do know that David had to live with the death of this child on his mind for the rest of his life. Maybe some of you have experienced this. That is no doubt a very tough thing to deal with.

Anytime someone starts talking about a situation like this I jump to verse 23, But now he is dead. . . Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” That is such a powerful statement.

The death of a loved one is always difficult to deal with, but we know that if they received Jesus Christ into their life as Lord and Savior, then we too can say with David, they will not return to us, but we shall go to them!

For children there is no if statement. Children go to be with God in heaven immediately upon death. And I don’t say that just to make someone feel good. I believe it to be true based upon God’s word and obviously David does too.

We look at the death of David and Bathsheeba’s son as a very sad, upsetting, terrible thing. And it is, don’t get me wrong, but look at the lives of the rest of David’s family. This child was spared all of that.

Why does God do the things He does? I have no idea, but I know that He has a plan and it’s a good one. Sure some things may seem wrong or crazy to us, but I trust God knows what He is doing.

God is good to us, even though we sin against Him. God is indeed merciful to us even though we will suffer for our actions. God is gracious to us, even when we turn our backs to Him.

Let us truly put our trust in God’s hands. Let us submit our lives to Him knowing that He does what is best, right, and just.

Closing prayer

Lord, we thank you for our time together this morning and these past several years. We are thankful for your grace, your mercy, and your love even when we can’t understand or make sense of the things that are happening in our lives.

Help us to trust you more fully with our lives knowing that you have a plan for each and every one of us individually and collectively.

AMEN

Facing Temptation

Click here for the audio message of 2 Samuel 11

Last time we left off with David bringing home the Ark of God to Jerusalem. He started off doing it his own way, but when God’s wrath was made known to them. David stopped and returned to God’s ways of doing things.

David gets the Ark to Jerusalem and decides he wants to build a temple for the Ark to stay in. God says no, but his son will do that. Instead God has much bigger plans for David.

God says to David that He will make his name great. He will give Israel a place to live. He will give David rest and make him victorious. Finally, God tells David that He will give him a son to succeed him, but also a Son that would rule forever. Of course, the immediate son was Solomon and Jesus Christ is the Son that rules forever.

After this David starts to see God’s Word come true. He is continuously victorious in battle and his name is made great. Then one day, David goes up on his roof and sees this beautiful woman and says, “I want that.” And as king, you pretty much get what you want.

We see then a bunch of what we would call small little sins continue to build up into a massive web of deceit and lies.

First our account of David and Bathsheeba starts off with David maybe being a little bit lazy or arrogant or egotistical. It is spring time and that is when the kings go off to war because during the winter it is cold and there is not as much food available. So kings go to war in the spring.

But not David. He stays back at his castle. Wakes up from a little nap and decides to go for a walk on his roof. So sin number one is David wasn’t doing what he should have been doing. He was idle and he got into trouble.

I’ve never been in the military, but I know some of you have been and I’ve talked with some of my friends who were. They would always tell me about how the Sergeant or whoever was in charge would always give them stupid ridicules things to do.

Why? Because if you have a bunch of soldiers sitting around doing nothing then they are going to get into trouble. This applies to any of us. This is what happened to David. But his sin doesn’t stop there.

David sees this beautiful women, now remember David is married already to a couple of other beautiful women, but he wants her. So David’s next little sin is desiring something that he doesn’t have.


Wow, how often has that gotten us into trouble as well. Even if we don’t act on that desire it still makes us feel bad that we can’t have whatever it is we want. David of course, being King can get what he wants, so little sin number three is David pursues Bathsheeba. Then comes sin number four, David sends for Bathsheeba, even after he finds out she was married.

Think about it. This entire situation could have been avoided if David had simply gone to war with his troops. Or didn’t look at Bathsheeba, or inquiry about her, or send for her.

Since David ignored his conscience through these little sins, he was good to go when Bathsheeba arrives at his bedroom. And that’s the point. Satan doesn’t attack us with this really massive temptation. He uses these small little sins as we call them to enable us to justify our actions.

Satan wears down our defenses and before you know it you are knee deep in some serious sin and separated from God. If you go home and read this entire chapter this afternoon or this evening you will see that God’s name is not mentioned until the very final sentence where it says, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.”

And that is what Satan wants. He wants to separate us from God. He wants us to do things that displease the Lord.

So now we have David committing several little sins that lead to adultery. I would like to say that it is at this point that David gets on his knees in prayer and repentance to God, but that isn’t what happens.

Instead of confessing his sins, he tries to cover them up by sending for Bathsheeba’s husband and tries to get him to sleep with her so it will look like the child is the husband’s. But Uriah is an honorable man and will not sleep with his wife no matter how hard David tries.

So David comes up with another plan. He sends a letter to his commander to have this man Uriah killed during battle. Unbelievable isn’t it! Here we have a man after God’s own heart, lusting after a married woman, impregnating her, trying to cover it up, then killing her husband. Unreal.

As you look at this web of lies and deception that David had built you see how many people it involved. Obviously David and Bathsheeba, but also David’s servants had to know what was going on and were no doubt sworn to secrecy. The king’s commander also had to realize that something was fishy with the letter that he received to have Uriah killed.

Of course Uriah has to pay for David’s sin with his life and not just Uriah but other soldiers died during the battle as well. Finally, we see next time that David and Bathsheeba’s child dies as a result of all this as well.

This is what happens when we stray from God. There is a lesson here for all of us to learn this morning.

One author wrote, “The process works like this. First, the thought is allowed to enter into our minds. Second, the imagination is sparked by the thought. Third, we feel a sense of pleasure at the fantasy and we entertain it.

Fourth, and finally, we engage in the evil action [giving in] to its urges. This is how little by little, temptations gain entrance and overcome us if they are not resisted at the beginning. The longer we let them overcome us, the weaker we become, and the stronger the enemy [is] against us.”

There’s an old saying,
Sow a thought – reap an action.
Sow an action – reap a habit.
Sow a habit – reap a character.
Sow a character – reap a destiny.

How true that is. We need to remember that we are what we make ourselves to be. We can be children of God or we can be children of Satan. Who are we going to listen to and trust with the everyday matters of life.

Closing prayer

Lord, we come to you now seeking your guidance in our everyday matters of life. Help us to turn from our temptations that we face. And when we do happen to give in and mess up, strengthen us to not cover up our sins, but to come to you for forgiveness. Grant us the grace, mercy and peace that you desire for us. AMEN.

God’s Wrath and Blessing

Click here for the audio message of 2 Samuel 6 read 1-11

Last time we looked at the range of emotions that David’s men went through when they returned to their hometown only to find it burnt to the ground and all of their belongings including their families was gone.

We saw how they were at first distressed, saddened at the sight. Then they blamed David and wanted to kill him. However, they went to battle the enemy after checking in with God’s plan. They were victorious and happy and celebrating until they got back from battle and didn’t want to share the loot.

After this battle, Saul knows he is finished and David will be king. At the end of 1 Samuel, King Saul is killed in a battle against the Philistines. Not only is Saul killed so is his son Jonathan, David’s buddy.

Some guy gets this great idea to go and tell David that King Saul is dead and he is the one that did it. David listens to this man describe Saul’s death, then David has him executed for killing the King.

All of Israel mourned and fasted at the loss of their King, including David and his men. After this, David is anointed King over Judah and Israel. He also gets his first wife, Michael back and gets the city of Jerusalem. And as I have said before, they all lived happily ever after. Well not really as we see in our scripture this morning.

Everyone is once again happy and excited. God has been good to them. They are finally bringing the ark of God home to Jerusalem. They are singing, dancing, playing music. It is truly an awesome time.

But then suddenly the ox stumbled a little bit and a man by the name of Uzzah reached out and grabbed the ark of God to steady it. God struck him dead right there on the spot. The party was over. No more singing. No more dancing. In fact no more moving the ark of God.

What a shock. Here was a guy that was just trying to help out and God struck him dead. What kind of a God would do that? I’ll tell you. A holy one. A righteous one.

See way back in the book of Numbers God goes into great detail about how the ark was to be moved. The Levities were to use poles and carry the ark, not put it on a cart and have oxen pull it. So David and his men were directly disobeying God.

God also said that no one was to touch the ark. They were to use the poles to lift it. The penalty for touching the ark was death. So no matter how innocently it was done, touching the ark was in direct violation of God’s law and was punishable by death.

This rule of God’s wasn’t just made up for God’s own fun and amusement. This was a means of preserving the sense of God’s holiness and the fear of drawing near to him without proper preparation.

Think about it. How many times do you come into worship and maybe aren’t prepared for it. Or maybe you just go through the motions of the service. This was always one of my disappointments with the Catholic church. While at Saint Francis I would see many people and students just go through the rituals and traditions without actually preparing their hearts for worship.

And you can bet once the mass was over, they went right back to their sinful ways. I’m not picking on the Catholics here, I’m just saying that is what I saw. And it can happen to any of us if we just go through the motions without preparing ourselves for worship of God the way He wants.

God wants us to have a relationship with Him and we need to have that relationship on His terms, not ours.

After Uzzah is struck dead by God, David becomes very angry. At first, probably a little angry at God for killing this man who was helping out. Then David probably realizes he was at fault for not obeying God and is angry with himself.

So David decides to leave the ark of God there for a little while to give God some time to cool off, so to speak. As if that will help. The ark is placed in the house of a Levite there. God blesses this house for the next three months.

David figures God’s wrath has subsided and decides to continue the journey to Jerusalem. This time, however, he follows God’s prescribed methods. In fact, after the first six steps, David sacrifices an ox and another animal to God.

When they finally get the ark to Jerusalem, David is so thrilled that he dances for joy in the street. He also makes an offering to God and gave everyone some food to eat.

So what’s in this story for us today. Well, I mentioned a few things all ready. One of course being the fact that we need to prepare ourselves when we come before the Lord to worship Him. In fact, we need to obey Him throughout our lives.

The main idea though is that our God is a God of wrath and a God of blessing. Most people and preachers talk about God’s love for us all the time, but rarely do they mention His wrath.

The God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament. Sure the Old Testament saints were under God’s laws. Today we are under His love, His grace. But jump to the end of the book. In Revelation God’s wrath will be back.

God’s holiness and goodness are most clearly revealed in the cross of Christ. God’s holiness demanded the death of His Son for our sins. But His goodness and love flow out from the cross offering us acceptance, forgiveness and eternal life.

Let us truly worship and thank the God who saves us.

Closing prayer

Lord we thank you for being a God of wrath and of blessing. We sure do enjoy the many blessings that you have given to each and every one of us. However, we know that you would not and could not be a holy and righteous God without wrath upon those who reject you and disobey you.

We ask that you will continue to strengthen us through our journey in life. We ask for your forgiveness when we wrong you by disobeying you. We pray that your will shall be done in and through us.

AMEN.

Finding Strength in the Lord

Click here for the audio message of 1 Samuel 30:3-10

Last time we saw David ready to kill not only this guy Nabal who insulted him, but all of his male servants as well. This was over nothing more than some offensive behavior. Thankfully, Nabal’s wife intercedes and stops the killing spree.

If you remember before that David had the opportunity to kill Saul, the person who was after his life. But David could only cut off a piece of Saul’s robe before his conscience got to him.

Right after this episode with Nabal, David again has the opportunity to kill Saul. This time however, David doesn’t listen to his friends. He simply takes Saul’s spear and his water jug while he is asleep.

David leaves and is given a small town to live in. More troops join David and they raid and destroy many cities. Saul comes to the complete realization that he will die and David will be king of Israel.

Of course the battle is not over though. When David returns to his home, he finds that it has been raided and burned to the ground. All of David's and his men’s possessions, their wives, their children, their livestock is gone.

All is lost. It’s hopeless. These men that have trusted David now return home to nothing. Everything they had is gone. The mood is very sad and depressed. No doubt, much of us would feel the same way if it happened to us.

David’s men become very angry at David for allowing this to happen. In fact, they become so angry that they want to stone David to death. Somehow, David manages to calm them down and seek God’s will.

David asks God point blank, “Should I go after these people?” and “Will I catch them?” God answers David in the affirmative. “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you.”

What a wonderful feeling that would have been. David returns to his men and tells them the good news and they are ready to fight for what is theirs. They come to a river that is difficult to cross so 200 men stay behind with some of the heavier baggage.

The other 400 men cross the river and slaughter the Amalekites from evening to evening. The men return victorious. They are shouting for joy because they have defeated the enemy and got all of their stuff back unharmed, including their wives, children, and animals.

But when the 400 men meet up with the 200 men that stayed behind with the baggage, they didn’t want to share in the spoils of war. David immediately steps in and says everyone had a part to play in this battle and everyone will share the spoils of war.

The emotional state of these people is amazing to me through this situation. First, they are really sad and depressed about losing everything they own. Then they are furious at David for allowing this to happen. So mad, in fact, that they want to kill him.

Then they listen to David and trust him again to go to war against the enemy. When they are victorious they are so happy. But then when they return home, they don’t want to share the loot. They let their greed take over.

Think about some past situations that you have experienced. Maybe you have felt similar emotions. Maybe you got mad. Maybe you wanted revenge. Maybe you were greedy. It happens. It is human nature.

The key to the lesson is David’s response. Sure, no doubt he felt similar sadness and anger at his lose. But he turned to God and asked God to show him the way. He came home to nothing, but he knew that God is always there and that is what makes him a man after God’s heart.

He found his strength in God during this time of distress. He didn’t give up. He didn’t run from God. He went right to God and asked him what to do. What a wonderful lesson for all of us to learn.

David sought God’s guidance. He trusted God with his life. He had a relationship with God. That is what God wants from all of us.

In verse 23, David says God “has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us.” I would bet that there were a few of David’s men that mumbled to themselves something like, “well yeah, that is true, but why did God allow the enemy to overtake our homes and families in the first place.”

You know, that is a question that many of us dwell on too often as well. We try to figure out why God would allow this type of thing to happen to me. Why was my child killed. Why did I get cancer. Why did I lose my job and have my house foreclosed on. Why did my spouse cheat on me. Why did God allow these things to happen to me.

The answer is simply we don’t know and we may never know during this lifetime why certain “bad” things happen to us. We simply need to trust in God’s love, His grace, and His mercy for us. God has a plan and He will use us to accomplish that plan.

More often than not, when bad things happen to us, there is a lesson for us to learn from the experience. It is a time to prove our faith to ourselves. Or to show where our faith is lacking.

Being a Christian doesn’t mean all of our earthly problems are going to go away. It simply means that when these problems arise we can take them to the One who will see us through them. Life isn’t always easy, but we must be faithful to God.

I would imagine each and every one of you out their today is facing some type of difficult or challenging situation right now. It may be health related. It may be family related. Or it may simply be dealing with the fact that you are aging and have trouble doing the things you used to do.

I am here to tell you though that whatever it is, there is hope. David knew that and he went to God to see him through the situation. We too should do the same.

Closing prayer

Lord of strength and hope, help us through whatever situations arise in our lives. Guide us with your grace and your mercy. Help us to always be faithful to you and bring you glory, honor, and praise from our actions.

AMEN.

Secure in the Lord

Click here for the audio message of 1 Samuel 25:10-19.

We see something interesting occurring here in chapter 25 this morning. If you recall from last week in chapter 24 we have David hiding out in a cave from Saul. Saul goes into the cave and David cuts off a piece of Saul’s robe.

David is filled with guilt because he attacked God’s anointed one that he exits the cave and confesses to Saul what he has done. David knew that God chose Saul and he knew that it would be clear when the time was right for David to assume the throne.

Again, David had lessons to learn and that is what we find again in our Scripture this morning. As I mentioned in chapter 24 David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he didn’t. In Chapter 26 David again has the opportunity to kill Saul, but doesn’t. But here in chapter 25 we have David being the aggressive one, ready to kill another man over an insult.

At some point in our lives we have all said or at least thought something like this: “I’ll get you for that.” Or “You’ll regret the day you did that to me.” Or “I don’t get mad, I get even.” When people mistreat us our human sinful nature takes over and we seek revenge.

We want to give them a taste of their own medicine. Although usually we don’t just give them a taste, we give them a mouthful. We don’t just get even, we like to kick it up a notch and get even plus a little something extra. That’s our human sinful nature. And that’s exactly what we see David about to do this morning.

David is insulted by Nabal and is ready to seek vengeance. See David and his men looked after Nabal’s men while they were out watching the sheep. No harm came to them. When it was time to celebrate the sheering of the sheep, David asked Nabal if they could be part of the festival.

Nabal insulted David and would not give him any food or let them participate in the fun. David gets very mad at Nabal and tells his men, “Strap on your swords.” Here David is, a man of God, ready to go a kill another man and not just the man, but all the males of the household.

See what I mean. We don’t just get even. We kick it up a notch to show that we really mean business and you messed with the wrong guy. David did the same thing. Thankfully, there is a beautiful woman that steps up to the plate and averts disaster.

Nabal is a rough, tough looking man, and apparently he wasn’t too swift. His name actually means fool and judging from his actions he was. His wife, Abigail on the other hand was very beautiful and intelligent.

Some of Nabal’s servants saw how Nabal treated David and they came to Abigail and told her the story. She immediately raced into action, getting food and supplies ready to repay David for his kindness to the shepherds watching over the flock.

She meets David as he is in route to kill Nabal. See, she knew, as most people did, who David was. She knew he was God’s choice to be the next King of Israel. She obviously knew her husband as well and what a fool he was.

Abigail humbly comes before David and asks for mercy. David blesses her for her discretion and her wisdom and bravery. David lets her return in peace and does not attack Nabal.

When Abigail returned to her house, she found Nabal drunk out of his mind. So she decided to let him sleep this one off. The next morning when Nabal got up, Abigail told him what she did. He had a heart attack and stroke which left him paralyzed for a few days before he died.

When David finds out that Nabal died, he goes and marries Abigail. Again, I would like to end the story by saying and they all lived happily ever after, but that isn’t the case.

Well, this is quite a story, but there were lessons that David needed to learn. And there are lessons that we need to learn as well.

First of all lets look at verses 12 and 13. “So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. And David said to his men, ‘Every man strap on his sword.’”

So David gets insulted and what does he do? He prepares to fight. He doesn’t think about the situation, he doesn’t ask his friends or his advisors for their thoughts or opinions. He doesn’t show mercy to this fool Nabal. Worst of all, he doesn’t go to God and ask Him what He wants done.

None of that, David simply says strap on your sword and lets go kill them all. How many times have we done that. We react to the situation without seeking the counsel of others and for sure not God.

That is a lesson we all need to learn. Think before you do something. Check in with God on the matter and see what it is that He wants done. There is a reason why you are in the situation you are in. See what God wants you to learn from the experience.

I think the main lesson of this episode in David’s life is to once again trust God. He knows what He is doing. He has a plan and He actively pursues that plan. His will shall be done.

Vengeance is mine says the Lord. We need to leave things up to God to take care of. Now that doesn’t mean we just sit at home in our recliner watching television. We need to take an active part in God’s plan. We just need to be sure that we are participating in God’s plan. God will take care of things on His timetable and in His way.

Many Christians today take a very active role in the protest of abortion clinics. Unfortunately, they are often times not carrying out God’s will with the things that they do and say. They are following their plan, not God’s plan. In fact, no doubt some of them are being used by Satan to continue his plan of making the name of God look bad.

Looking back at our story this morning, in the end how did things turn out? Nabal died. Nabal insulted God’s anointed one and he died. Now I don’t want to ruin the ending for you, but the same thing happens to Saul.

See Nabal and Saul did not respect David, God’s chosen one, and both men die.

The issue for us to think about this morning and this week is to look at the way we treat others when they mistreat us. Think about how trusting the situation to God can change your attitude and action involving that person.

If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If your enemy is thirsty, give him something drink. Love your enemies. That is what Jesus tells us. I know it is hard to do in this world today. But it is what God wants. It is what Christ did.

Closing prayer.

Lord, we ask for forgiveness this morning for those that we have wronged. We ask for the strength and courage and grace to show love and mercy to those that wrong us. Help us to better trust you with our lives.

Amen.

A Matter of Conscience

Click here for the audio message of 1 Samuel 24:1-7

Last week we looked at the friendship of Jonathan and David. We said that was an example of true friendship. The characteristics they had are the same ones that we should implement into our friendships as well.

They looked out for each other and truly cared about each others well being. They even risked their own lives for each other. They loved each other as they loved themselves. That is indeed true friendship.

This morning our story jumps a few chapters to chapter 24. In chapters 21 through 23 we see David on the run from Saul. As he is fleeing he meets and helps people along the way. Many of these people join him on his journey. In fact, he has quite a following of family, friends, and soldiers where our scripture lesson picks up this morning.

Saul finds out where David is at, so David hides out in a cave. Saul goes into the cave to relieve himself and David has the opportunity to kill the King. However, his conscience says no after he cuts into the robe of the king.

Think about the feelings and struggles that David must have been going through at this time. David knew he was going to be King and here is his chance to take the throne. Even beyond that, David had been fleeing for his life and he had a chance to end that. He had the chance to eliminate the person who was after him. He had the chance to get even.

But he didn’t do it. His conscience stopped him. Sure, his friends were trying to persuade him, saying this is the day that God has spoken of. God has put Saul into your hands; make your move.

What a tough decision this would be. Here you are, in the heat of the moment. You don’t really have much time for an internal debate you just need to act or not. Your friends are saying do it, but what is your gut saying. What is your conscience saying to you.

It sure looked like David was supposed to kill the king. This was the perfect opportunity. The question is, did God ever tell David that he was to kill the king? The answer is no. Sure, God told David he would be king, but he never told David to kill the king.

So David’s conscience, which is in tune with God’s will, says no. He feels guilt after cutting a piece of the King’s robe. David knew that Saul was given his power to rule from God and it would be up to God to remove Saul from the throne.

As I said, David’s friends thought this was the time. You know, we often rely on the counsel of friends when making decisions about what we should do. If we are surrounded by godly people, living godly lives then it is probably good advice. However, we still need to check in with God.

We must not do anything that will violate our conscience. We must not give in to peer pressure, especially when we know what is right.

A friend of mine has a daughter who is about 5 years old. For her birthday in August I think, she got a pillow pet. It’s like a pillow in the shape of an animal. In December, the kids were writing letters to Santa Claus. All of her friends wrote they wanted a pillow pet, so she wrote that in her letter too.

When she got home that night, she was crying her head off because she wrote to Santa that she wanted a pillow pet for Christmas, when that’s not really what she wanted. She gave in to peer pressure and she violated her conscience. And it hurt her.

Of course, that weekend Santa was at the school for a breakfast so her loving mother took her to sit on Santa’s lap and she was able to tell Santa what she really wanted. Which was an alarm clock by the way.

I realize this is a trivial example, but it makes the point clear. When we violate our conscience, when we are doing something that we know isn’t right, it hurts. It makes us sad, depressed, miserable, and so on.

David loved, trusted, respected, and obeyed God. God never told him to kill Saul, so he knew it was not his place to kill God’s anointed king. The guilt of just cutting Saul’s robe was too much for David to bear.

David emerges from the cave and confesses to Saul what he did. He showed Saul that he could have killed him, but he didn’t. David is not out to get Saul even though Saul is out to get David. David simply tells the king to think for himself rationally. God will be the judge.

Saul’s reaction to this confession was a humble one. Although we know that Saul is tormented by evil spirits, Saul confessed that David is more righteous than him. He even acknowledged that David would indeed be king one day. Of course, Saul wasn’t ready to relinquish the throne, but he knew that God put David next in line for the throne.

Sometimes in our lives we wonder why things happen to us. “Why me?” we often say. No doubt David had every right to say this with all that he had been through. But when you look back at these events that happened in David’s life or even your own life for that matter, you can see God’s hand at work.

God was with David every step of the way. Throughout all of these events there was a lesson that David needed to learn. The same is true for us today as well. We go through many struggles in our life and there is a lesson to learn. Sometimes the lesson is discipline for wrongdoing. Other times the lesson helps us to mature into the people that God wants us to be.

The question that we need to think about it is what does God want me to do. How can we know when to take matters into our own hands and when to leave them in God’s hands?

It is tough today. God spoke to the prophets of the Old Testament in a personal way. He often times told them exactly what to do. Today He doesn’t do that. We have His Word to rely on, but He doesn’t provide us with any new revelation.

We need to read God’s word and place it into action each and every day of our life. We need to be in communion with God through prayer. Ask Him to lead and guide us through life as He wants us to live. We need to look at the example of Jesus’ earthly life and live as much like Him as we possible can.

Of course, we always need to listen to our conscience. When it says no, pay attention. Don’t turn it off. Don’t ignore it. Block out what the world tells you and listen to your heart. Listen to God.

Closing prayer:

Lord we thank you for our time together again this morning. We thank you for the wonderful lesson’s of David. We thank you for shaping our conscience. Help us to listen to what you tell us. Help us to trust and obey you with our lives.

In Jesus name, AMEN.

True Friendship

Click here for the message of 1 Samuel 20:12-17.

We left off last time with the battle of David and Goliath. David knew that God was not only with him, but God was with all of his people. The Israelites would have been victorious without David had they realized that and trusted in God.

After David defeats Goliath he becomes something of a hero. This is how Jonathan and David become friends. In chapter 18 verse 1 we read, “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”

We also then hear of the women singing their song to praise David, Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed ten thousands. Saul becomes jealous of David.

In fact, Saul devises a scheme to get rid of David. He tells David that he can marry his daughter if he will go and fight the enemies, hoping that the enemy will kill David. David agrees and comes back victorious once again.

However, while David is away fighting the king gives his daughter to another man to marry. King Saul is surprised and upset when David returns alive. The king then finds out his other daughter is in love with David, so the king challenges David once again to go a kill one hundred enemy soldiers then he can marry Michal his other daughter.

David agrees and does so. This time the king allows the marriage to take place, but the king still wants David dead. So he finally just sends his soldiers over to his house to kill David. His wife helps him escape and this is where our scripture picks up this morning with the friendship of Jonathan and David.

David and Jonathan are soul brothers. They loved each other loyally and were devoted to each other. They loved each other as they loved themselves. They were committed to each other.

This type of friendship is tough to find these days. Most people are in relationships to see what they can get from it, not what they can give to it. But not these two people, they were dedicated to each other as we shall see.

It is interesting to note the fact that Jonathan who is Saul’s son would normally be the next in line for the throne. By rights Jonathan should be the next king. But he realizes that God has chosen David to be king. He isn’t jealous or envious or upset or deceitful or anything.

Jonathan simply loves David and supports him, looks after him, is kind to him, and cares for him.

This kind of reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

That really describes the relationship between Jonathan and David. Does that describe any of your relationships? Chances are this portion of scripture was read at your wedding, or you have received some type of wedding or anniversary gift with this scripture on it. Love is not just an idea or a thought or a feeling, it is an action.

We see that love in action with David and Jonathan. Relationships take work. Jonathan’s friendship and devotions to David put him at odds with his father. In fact, because of his dedication to David, Jonathan’s life was put at risk a few times.

In fact, Saul became very angry at Jonathan when David didn’t show up for the banquet. The King curses out Jonathan. Accuses him of shaming the family name for siding with David. Saul even acknowledges that David will be king and rubs it in Jonathan’s face. To top it all off, Saul throws his spear at Jonathan, his son!

But Jonathan remains dedicated and loyal to David. Friendship – relationships can be costly at times. They certainly aren’t free and they take work and dedication. It is about doing the right thing for the right reason.

Jonathan and David had this type of relationship. They had a deep connection to each other. Now we must not mistake this for any type of homosexual connection because there was none. This was a brotherhood type of soul connection.

Of course one of the big reasons they were drawn to each other is because they were both drawn to God. That is also another key to any relationship. There needs to be a common connection. In this case, it was serving God.

Today, I believe it is very difficult to find this type of true friendship. Most people are simply out for themselves. They give up when the going gets tough. They abandon their friendship when things don’t go their way.

That’s a real problem for us today. It is sad too. People are so focused on themselves that they miss out on a wonderful opportunity to have a deep and meaningful relationship with a friend.

Even in marriages people don’t find that friendship and I believe that is why so many marriages fail. The characteristics that David and Jonathan have for each other are what we need to cultivate in our friendships and our marriages.

I would also encourage you to find friendships and nurture them as well. Friendships are a necessity in life. We are so detached from each other these days. Sure, we stay in contact with facebook, twitter, and texting, but we don’t have that deep connection with others that we need.

One survey revealed that seven in ten do not know their neighbors. So I got to thinking about the main drag in Strongstown, 422 from the General Store to the Church. There are 19 occupied homes. Out of those 19 homes, I know who lives in 8 of them. I am not saying I am close with those 8 families, I am just saying I know who physically lives in them. And I have lived in Strongstown all of my life.

As a society we are indeed detached. As many as one third of the population has struggled with loneliness. It is an even bigger problem with the elderly and those that are not able to get out of their homes much.

This week, I would ask that you look again at the relationships that you have. Is there room for improvement? Can you be a better friend to someone? Can you start a new friendship with someone that needs a friend?

Do you need to rekindle your relationship with your spouse? How about with God?

Not all of your relationships will turn out to be close like Jonathan and David’s, but you’ll never know until you put forth the effort.

Closing Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for providing this great example of friendship between David and Jonathan. Help us to be more like them in our relationships. Draw us close to you and place people into our lives that will encourage us along our journey through life.

We ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN.

The Battle is the Lord’s

Click here for the audio message of 1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17:41-51

Last time in our study we saw God rejecting Saul as King. God instructs Samuel to go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem and anoint one of his sons as the new king of Israel. Samuel sees Jesse’s first born son and wants to anoint him. However, God says no.

Samuel continues to look at all of Jesse’s sons until only the young shepherd David is left. God tells Samuel that David is the one. Samuel needed to learn a lesson about looking at people for who they really are on the inside, not just what they look like on the outside.

God knows our hearts. He uses us as we are and molds us into what he wants us to be if we allow him to. David was chosen to be king because God knew his heart. And we see David trusting in God in our Scripture lesson this morning.

At the end of chapter 16, we see the spirit of God leaving Saul and a tormenting spirit is upon him. This causes Saul great mood swings. It brings him depression and fear. In order to cheer himself up he requests some music. So the kings servants find David who plays the harp beautifully. David ends up serving in Saul’s court.

Today’s lesson of course is that familiar story of David taking on Goliath. No doubt, we are all familiar with the story. It is probably a story that we heard as kids. Goliath was a giant. Every day he would challenge the Israelites to a fight.

The Israelites were afraid of Goliath though. And from a human standpoint I can see why. Goliath was a warrior. This is Arnold Swartzenegger as the Terminator or Sylvester Stallone as Rambo. You just don’t mess with guys like that.

From a spiritual standpoint though, the Israelites had forgotten that God promised to be with them. They were simply lacking in their faith. God had promised them victory if only they believed and trusted him.

Enter David, a man after God’s own heart. He shows up at the battlefield to bring some food and supplies to the troops. He finds out that Goliath has been taunting the Israelites for 40 days.

David starts to question the troops about the fight. He questions why the soldiers allow this man to defy, intimidate, embarrass, and shame the armies of God. David’s brother hears about this and basically tells David to get lost. No doubt he is a little jealous. After all, this kid is a Shepard, not a soldier.

King Saul hears about David’s activity and sends for him. David convinces Saul to allow him to fight the giant. Again, from a human standpoint, this is a ridiculous idea. David was young and inexperienced. Goliath was a seasoned veteran, a warrior.

The fate of Israel rested in his battle. If David loses then Israel is enslaved to the Philistines. Saul was taking quite a risk here.

Think about it for a minute. Normally, we select people who are humanly qualified to do a job. Likewise, we normally take on responsibilities for which we feel qualified. Sure faith is important, but it doesn’t remove the need for qualified people to do certain jobs.

We must continue to rely on God for strength and guidance in our lives. David surely did. As part of his conversation with Saul, David tells about his experience protecting his sheep from bears and lions. But David knew he was only able to protect his sheep because of God.

Because of his experiences, David is confident that he can defeat Goliath. David knows that God has been with him, is currently with him, and will be with him in the future as well. The same applies to us today as well.

Think about some of the events that have happened in your life. Surely looking back on things you can see God’s hand at work. No doubt you can still see God at work in your lives today as well. So why would you even think that He won’t be there for you tomorrow.

It’s time for the battle. David grabs five rocks and heads out to face off against the giant. Goliath basically laughs in David’s face and continuously insults him. Goliath has quite the attitude. But David has something better. He comes in faith with God on his side.

Of course, we know how the story ends. David flings a rock at Goliath that knocks him to the ground. David grabs Goliath’s sword and chops off his head. And as any good story ends, they all lived happily ever after, right? Well not quite as we shall see in the coming weeks.

The key lesson for this morning is the fact that the battle is the Lord’s. We must trust in God’s Word. Of course, in order to trust in His Word, we must know His Word. We must read and study His Word and continually place it into action in our lives.

No doubt, the Israelites knew God’s Word. They knew they were the chosen people. They knew that God would protect them, but they failed to take what they knew and place it into action.

Each of us face struggles and troubles everyday. Maybe there is a Goliath of a problem that we are trying to deal with. But we must put our faith into action like David did and trust that God will see us through whatever situation we are facing.

One of the great myths of our society and this is something that we even teach our children, is “if you set your mind to it, you can do anything.” That is simply not true. The message of the world is this: victory goes to the strong and the spoils of victory to those who are powerful.

Well as we see in our lesson this morning that is not God’s way. As we learned a while ago in our studies of the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the poor in Spirit, blessed are the humble, blessed are the weak and so on.

God has some different ideas, and David represents those ideas to us this morning. David sums it up best in verse 47 right before he kills Goliath, “And everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours. The Lord will give you to us!”

We can do nothing on our own, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. All things truly do work for good for those who love God and are called according to His will and purposes.

Let these be our words to live by this week.

Closing Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for these words of wisdom. Help us to truly trust in your word and act in ways that show our trust and confidence in your providence over our lives. Help us to realize that the battles of this world are not ours, but they are yours. We give you thanks for always being with us and ask for your continued patience with us as we journey through life.

AMEN.

God Looks at Hearts

Click here for the audio message of 1 Samuel 16:1-13

This morning we start our look at the life of King David. We won’t have enough time to cover every aspect on David’s life during this series, but we will hit the major events that give us guidance and encouragement in our own lives today.

The book of Samuel occurs right after the time of the judges. The Hebrew people no longer wanted to be ruled by judges they wanted a king. King never wanted a king for His people other than Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. But God gives His people what they want.

Now, we aren’t sure who the human author of the book of Samuel is. It starts with the birth of the prophet Samuel and ends with the last words of King David. The book covers most of the kingships or reign of Saul and David.

Our lesson picks up this morning with Saul being rejected by God as King. Before we get into the text any further I want you to think about something for a minute. Think about how a person’s appearance affects your initial opinion of them. Think it doesn’t? Take this little test.

You’re looking for a new leader in your organization and there are three candidates available.

Candidate #1 – hangs out with crooked politicians; consults with astrologists; has had a least two mistresses; is a chain smoker and drinks regularly

Candidate #2 – likes to sleep in late; used drugs during college; drinks heavily

Candidate #3 – a decorated war hero; vegetarian; doesn’t smoke; rarely drinks; faithful to one women

Based upon the appearance of these three candidates, which would you pick? Most people would probably choose candidate #3 because he sounds like an okay guy.

Candidate #1 describes Franklin Roosevelt. Candidate #2 describes Winston Churchill. Candidate #3 describes Adolph Hitler.

Appearances can be deceiving. That is why God looks at the heart of a person. Israel’s first King, Saul, was the ideal candidate. According to Scripture he was tall, handsome, and an impressive person. Unfortunately, he was also foolish and disobedient.

Our Scripture picks up with the prophet Samuel in a state of shock and grief over God’s rejection of King Saul. God tells Samuel to fill his horn with oil and go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, offer a sacrifice, and anoint one of his sons as King.

Samuel arrives as Jesse’s house sees the eldest son and prepares to anoint him as king, but God says no. This goes on with all of Jesse’s sons but God says no. Finally, Samuel asks if there are any more sons left and there is one. A shepherd boy in the field with the flock.

When David arrives God tells Samuel that he is the one. This was a lesson that Samuel had to learn. Samuel saw the eldest of Jesse’s sons who was tall and handsome. Samuel was looking at the external, whereas, God was looking at the internal things.

God looks at what the person is truly like inside. He looks at their heart. He looks at their emotions, their will, their intellect, their desires. He looks at their entire life.

What do we look at? Maybe the way a person dresses, how nice their hair looks, maybe their height or weight, muscles, and so on. Don’t believe me? Turn on the television or open a magazine.

Look at our movies stars, our models, and even our public officials. Most of them have a nice external appearance, but their inward self may be totally different. People are who they are, not what they look like.

That was the lesson that Samuel needed to learn and that is a lesson that all of us need to learn today as well.

If we were given the task of picking a King, most of us probably would not have picked David. Actually, as I demonstrated earlier, most of us would probably have picked Hitler!

David was a young adolescent doing a dirty job. Not only would he be ceremonially unclean, but he would have been physically unclean living out in the fields with the sheep. We probably wouldn’t think much of him, just some dumb farm boy or something like that.

But as we shall see David was a man after God’s own heart. Sure he wasn’t perfect and he messed up at times, sometimes with grave consequences, but he was in love with God. David was faithful to God and ready to serve Him, ready to do his will.

You know if you really think about it, a good Shepard would make a good king. Why? Well think about what a Shepard does. He takes care of his flock. He leads them to food. He protects them from enemies. He disciplines the ones that get out of hand. He cares for them when they are sick. He treats them fairly. He loves them.

That sounds like a pretty good leader to me. In fact, doesn’t that sound like our Shepard, Jesus Christ? It sure does.

The point of our lesson this morning is the fact that God looks at the heart of a person. We should do the same as well. Not only that, we should examine our own hearts to see what it says about us.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. Help us to me more like David, a man after your heart. Help us to be in love with you, to serve you faithfully all the days of our lives.

As we journey in life gives us the wisdom to see people for what they are, not for what they appear to be. We pray the same for our country as well. As we select new leaders, help us to choose people that will be good stewards of all that we have been blessed with.

We ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN.

Becoming Whole

Click here for the audio message of – James 5:12-20

We conclude our look at the epistle of James this morning. Over the past couple of months we have learned from James about several aspects of the Christian’s life. We are to stay faithful during trials and temptations.

We are to live out our faith with selfless love. We are to watch what we say, control our words, control our tongues. We are to be patience. We are to be humble. And we are to trust God rather than trust in our own abilities or riches.

In verse 12, James tells us to make our yes, yes and our no, no. When you say you are going to do something, then do it. When you promise someone something, then follow through and uphold your promise, uphold your word.

This also means to say what you mean. Speak the truth in love and you won’t ever have to worry about what the other person thinks. This idea once again reinforces the idea of controlling the tongue and having patience.

Think before you speak. Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 29:8, “Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.” Be wise, be loving, be patient.

James then starts to finish up his letter by writing about prayer. Whatever your situation is, pray. Pray if you are happy. Pray if you are sad. Pray for healing or pray for continued good health. Pray for suffering, confessions, each other, petitions, praise, supplications, and thanksgiving.

No doubt most of you have had experience with prayer. We’ve discussed prayer here many times. Some people still only pray when they need something. They view God as some type of genie in a bottle or something. He’s there when you need something, but other than that you leave me alone.

I think to some extent we are all like that. Our prayer life kicks in to overdrive when we are in trouble, sick, or in need of help. But in those good times, maybe we don’t praise God enough for the wonderful things He does in our lives. What a great time to do it, now today. This week as we celebrate Thanksgiving, make sure to thank the One who makes it all possible.

Later on today or this week, read back over the scripture this morning and try to make at least one of these types of prayer more a part of your life. I know some people keep prayer journals and look back through them to see how God has answered their prayers.

Each week at our Bible study we close with prayer and prayer requests. I always write them down in my notebook and it is interesting to look back through them and see what has been done. Our prayers are not always answered the way we think they should, but God does answer them.

In verses 14-16, James discusses physical and spiritual healing. We are to tell other people about our physical needs, our spiritual needs and ask them to pray for us. We are to pray with passion and energy.

James tells us to call the elders and other church leaders together for anointing, prayer, and confession. If you remember we did that here for Joyce about a year ago or so. We gathered around her here at the alter and I anointed her with oil and we prayed for her healing.

Now, I didn’t do anything special. I don’t have any super powers and there was nothing special about the oil in this bottle up here. But God listened to us. He heard our prayers and He answered them in a way that we can rejoice in but He answered our prayers according to His will.

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. These are the energetic, passionate prayers of godly people that activate the power of God to move in their lives or the lives of others.

James gives the example of Elijah from the Old Testament. This is probably once of the most notable illustrations of the power of prayer in the Old Testament. His prayers both initiated and ended a three and a half year drought. Now that is power. That is being in tune with God.

We are the same kind of person as Elijah was. He like all of the other Old Testament characters wasn’t a superhero or something. In fact, He was a man subject to similar passions as we are. But he was also a man who prayed with passion, and that is the kind of prayer we need today.

James closes his letter by telling us that we are responsible for each other. We are to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others. As they receive Christ into their lives, we are to help them grow and mature in the faith. This involves discipline and correcting them when they stray from the Word of God.

The closing words of James really express his primary objective of this letter. That is simply to confront those people that have a fake or dead faith. Rather than address these people and warn them directly, James tells the faithful believers to witness to those fellow believers that are not living in full obedience to God’s Word.

That is definitely something we need to continue to do today as well. Some believers have indeed strayed or wandered from the truth. This people are in danger and must be called back to a faithful life.

Maintaining open, sharing, praying relationships with other Christians will help keep us from getting stuck in a rut in our spiritual lives. These relationships help give us the strength that provides victory over our sin.

God has granted to all believers the ministry of reconciling wandering souls to Himself. When a so called believer’s life shows evidence that their faith is not real, it is our duty as a believer to witness and minister to them for genuine saving faith in God.
Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for our time studying the words of your servant James. We thank you for the many practical advice you gave us through him for our daily lives. Help us to truly implement them into our lives.

As we prepare to give our thanks this week, help us to remember to give thanks to you for all that you have done and for all that you will do for us. We thank you especially for sending your son into this world to save us from our sins.

We ask this in Jesus’ name.

AMEN

What Awaits

Click here for the audio message of – James 5:1-11

James continues his tests of faith in Chapter 5. Now James focuses on money and the believer’s view of money. This portion of Scripture is really divided into two sections, greed and patience and is addressed to the rich and the oppressed people.

James condemns the people who profess to be Christians, but really worship money. He tells them to look at their hearts again. He isn’t condemning their wealth, simply how they are using their money.

James declares that judgment awaits rich people because of their crimes. What are these crimes? The rich have hoarded their wealth. They have committed fraud in order to get more wealth. They are greedy. They live a life of luxury while others do not even have enough to survive.

If James were writing this letter today, I don’t think he would be addressing just the millionaires here in the United States. Even the poorest people here have it much better than many places around the world.

I believe as citizens of the United States we have been blessed by God many times over, but I think as individuals of the kingdom of God we will be judge based upon what God has given to us and how we have used or abused those blessings.

Do you consider yourself rich? Most people here would probably say no and that may be true based upon American standards. However, if I describe rich as having more than you need, I suspect everyone meets that standard. That’s how James described the rich.

Piling up riches can be like not trusting God. Now, I am not saying we shouldn’t save for things like retirement or education or a home or car or whatever. God doesn’t tell us not to plan. He tells us to trust Him and make Him a big part of our plan.

God takes care of His people. Think about some of the things that Jesus said during His sermon on the mount in Matthew chapter 5 through 7.

“…do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink…. Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, or reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” Matthew 6:25-26

“…your heavenly father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:32-34

James then speaks to the poor, they were the ones being persecuted and ruled over by the rich. He starts by telling them to be patient during their trials. This too shows where they place their trust. Trust God, not man. Trust God, not riches. Trust God, not works.

It is tough to watch everyone else around you getting stuff like new cars and big screen tv’s and such. It is tough not to want those things too. It is tough to see others live in luxury while you struggle to make ends meet. We need to be patient and trust in God and use whatever He has given us to further honor Him. Trust and obey.

But part of the problem is the fact that people don’t have patience. They want what they want and they want it now. That is partially why we are having this economic meltdown. People simply bought on credit more stuff than they could afford. They were trying to live a lifestyle beyond what their income supplied. The results are not surprising to me at all.

James gives several examples of patience in his letter. He says look at the farmer. He invests a bunch of money and time in seeds. He plants them and then pretty much trusts God and waits on Him to make the crop grow. Sure today, we have pesticides, fertilizers, and irrigation systems, but whether or not the farmer acknowledges it he is at the mercy of God to make his crop grow as well.

The farmer has to wait. He has to be patient because the crops don’t grow and produce fruits and vegetables overnight. It takes many months to produce a harvest.

James also mentions the patience of the prophets of the Old Testament. They proclaimed the arrival of the Messiah, but never actually saw the birth of Christ. Many of them were ridiculed and persecuted for their words, but they patiently endured and were proven right with the birth of Christ.

Finally, of course, anytime you think of biblical patience, I am sure Job comes to mind. He was being tempted by Satan, but he never gave in. He was patient and God showed he was not being punished for his sin.

Some of us can use some patience. Even if it is just the little things in life that get to us, like traffic or waiting in the checkout lines, we still need to trust God. Wait on the Lord, His timing is best.

The words of James speak to us this morning, not just about being rich or poor or being patient through our suffering, but they speak to us about the coming of Christ. The believer rejoices at the thought of Christ’s return, while the unbelievers are fearful of death. God will set things right when He returns, but it will be on His schedule and on His terms.

Wealth can be a blessing or a curse. It simply depends on the person’s relationship with God. A right relationship produces blessings whereas a wrong relationship will be like a curse. Are you blessed or cursed?

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for this practical advice on being patient. Help us to be like the farmers who trust in you for their harvest. Give us the patience that we need in our everyday matters of life.

But most importantly, help us to be patient in our faith and wait for your timing as you work in our lives. Give us the things that we need for today and help us to trust in you to take care of tomorrow.

We ask this in Jesus’ name.

AMEN