What is God Saying? (1 Samuel 23:1-14; 2 Samuel 11: 1-15)
Have you ever heard God speak? If so, was His voice audible?
- Introduction:
Unfortunately in 2 Samuel 11, when he decide to sleep with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, David did not inquire of the Lord. His previous experience with the Lord could not prevent him from committing the grievous sins of adultery and murder. His decision to sleep with Bathsheba brought pain, suffering, heartache and disgrace to David and Israel. When all his efforts to entice Uriah to sleep at his (Uriah's) home failed, David devised a diabolical plan to remove Uriah from the surface of the earth. God never would have advised David to commit adultery and murder.
When we circumvent the counsel of the Lord, we end up doing regrettable and sinful things.
- The Judgement: 2 Samuel 12:7-14
God is not a respecter of persons. When we sin deliberately in whatever form or shape, there will be consequences. David's life was spared, his sins forgiven but he had to face the consequences of his sin.
"Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” (2 Samuel 12:10-14)
Is God speaking today? Anything one does without God’s approval is simply null and void. How did David hear the voice of God in the first instance and what prevented him from hearing God’s voice when he was planning evil with Bathsheba? The Bible tells us that "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
Is God speaking today? Anything one does without God’s approval is simply null and void. How did David hear the voice of God in the first instance and what prevented him from hearing God’s voice when he was planning evil with Bathsheba? The Bible tells us that "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
The fact that one heard God in the past does not really justify action in the present that is not directed by God. If you had an encounter with Him, what would He tell you? Would God tell you to put self first? Would He tell you to forsake the assembly of believers? Would He encourage you to relegate His Word to the background?
WHAT DO YOU THINK GOD WILL TELL YOU ABOUT YOURSELF? Would He endorse your lifestyle? If Jesus was to appear suddenly, would you be glad to receive Him or would you ask Him to come back so that you would have time to clean up?
- God’s Kindness and Unambiguity:
God is speaking to us today. He cares for us and it would do us a lot of good to obey Him. That way, we will avoid embarrassment via the dire consequences of ungodly decisions, unnecessary suffering and pain.
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32, NKJV)
“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:15-16)
We have a choice to make - obey God's commands or disobey His commands. Which option will you go for?
- Do You Love God?
Please find below some points arising from the above passages of Scripture to consider:
Abiding in Jesus: It is impossible to abide in Jesus and somewhere else at the same time. we must make a choice and decide which to go for.
Being a disciple of Jesus: Discipleship is a function of abiding in Jesus
Knowing the truth: Knowing the truth and applying it sets us free from sinful encumbrances. Therefore, freedom is predicated on obedience.
Loving Jesus: Loving Jesus cannot arise from a casual relationship with Him. We must be committed 100% to Him, following Him all the way.
Keeping the commandments of Jesus: Keeping the commandments of Jesus is the evidence that we love Him. To claim to love Jesus and then engage in behaviour contrary to His Word is a contradiction in terms.
Fellowship with God the Father: This is dependent on keeping the Word of God)
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25-34)
“Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalms 37:3-5, NKJV)
Conclusions:
God has never failed and will never fail to keep His promises.
Being a disciple of Jesus: Discipleship is a function of abiding in Jesus
Knowing the truth: Knowing the truth and applying it sets us free from sinful encumbrances. Therefore, freedom is predicated on obedience.
Loving Jesus: Loving Jesus cannot arise from a casual relationship with Him. We must be committed 100% to Him, following Him all the way.
Keeping the commandments of Jesus: Keeping the commandments of Jesus is the evidence that we love Him. To claim to love Jesus and then engage in behaviour contrary to His Word is a contradiction in terms.
Fellowship with God the Father: This is dependent on keeping the Word of God)
- God’s Promises:
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25-34)
“Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalms 37:3-5, NKJV)
Conclusions:
God has never failed and will never fail to keep His promises.
If there is a problem, God is not the instigator and neither can He be blamed for the consequences of our actions. In fact, we have a propensity to create problems just like David did. If we do not love and serve God unconditionally, we will be digging holes for ourselves.
Corona-virus or not, God is still on the throne; He is still in charge; He is more than able to take care of you; He will not leave you nor forsake you; He is still able to protect you in your going out and in your coming in.
OUR GOD IS ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF US AND TO BRING FULFILMENT IN TO OUR LIVES. AFTER ALL HE CREATED US AND HIS PLANS FOR US ARE GOOD AND PERFECT.
He is able more than able
To accomplish what concerns me today
He is able more than able
To handle anything that comes my way
He is able more than able
To do much more than I could ever dream
He is able more than able
To make me what He wants me to be
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.