David versus  Goliath 

1 Samuel 16:13 “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren:  and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David upon that day forward.  So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.”

David had been anointed King of Israel by Samuel, because King Saul, had been set aside for his disobedience to God’s command.

Of course, Saul was still King.  (The Lord would remove him when the time was right.)

And David, though anointed King,  still kept his father’s sheep.

Months passed, till:

The Philistines, who were enemies of Israel, had come up to fight against Saul and his army of Israelites, and three of David’s older brothers had been called up to join the army, and fight them.

But as they come into view of the Philistines, they are terrified to see and hear the taunting of a giant, named Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:4-9 “And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath,  of Gath,  whose height was six cubits and a span.

And he had a helmet of brass upon his head,  and he was armed with a coat of mail;  and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

And he had graves of brass upon his legs,  and a target of brass between his shoulders.

And the staff of his spear was like a weavers beam;  and his spears head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.

And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel,  and said unto them,  Why are ye come out to set  your battle in array?   Am I not a Philistine,  and ye servants to Saul?

Choose you a man for you,  and let him come down to me.

If he be able to fight with me,  and to kill me,  then will we be your servants:  but if I prevail against him,  and kill him,  then shall ye be our servants,  and serve us.”

This was quite a speech!   “I am a Philistine”,  but you are just “servants of Saul”.

Discounting Israel, and Israel’s God.

Defying God’s Purpose, for Israel was brought into possess the land, by God;  and defying God’s continued protection of His People.

Back, taking care of the family’s sheep, was David.   David loves the Lord, yet had not been called to go up against Goliath, either by the army (at that time they did not even know anything about David), or the Lord.

Until:

1 Samuel 17:17-18 “And Jesse said unto David his son,  Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn,  and these ten loaves,  and run to the camp of thine brethren; 

And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.”

David’s father sent him on an errand, to supply his brothers with some food from home.   Little did Jesse realize that in doing so,  he would set in motion the rest of David’s life work.

Yet, now it was just an errand, that David did with faithfulness:  He left the sheep with a keeper (for he did not neglect the small duties);   And went, rising up early to do as his father commanded.

As he came, the battle between the armies was setting up, and David came and spoke to his brothers.

At the same time,  Goliath came and taunted Israel again.  David heard the taunt, and knew that it was against Israel’s God, not just Israel.

So he wanted to hear what would happen to anyone who went up against this giant.

His brother was angry, thinking he had come just to see the battle; but David ignored the anger, and kept after his goal of learning about this giant’s challenge.

Saul, hearing about this man’s bold words against Goliath;  sent for him and questioned him.    David spoke just as boldly, when the reality of fighting this giant, was presented.

I must pause in the narrative, and explain that in our life time we are presented again and again with these things:

There will be simple errands the Lord will send us on that will change the course of our lives.   (Or the lives of others)

 We will be misunderstood, and have angry (a lot, sometimes) words thrown at us.

We must ignore the anger; and speak our words, or do our duty faithfully.

And we must be prepared to act in faith and boldness, on the Lord’s side.

1 Samuel 17:32 “And David said to Saul,  Let no man’s heart fail because of him;  thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. ”

Here, David presented himself as a warrior.  Not a soldier in Saul’s army, but a warrior for the honor of the Lord.

He told of God’s past protection against a lion and a bear; and saw no difference between them and this Philistine, because he hath defied the armies of the living God.

In other words, Goliath was not taunting men,  but God.  And in that case,  Goliath was in a lot of trouble;  even if he was a giant.

1 Samuel 17:34-37 “And David said unto Saul,  Thy servant kept his father’s sheep,  and there came a lion and a bear,  and took a lamb out of the flock:  

And I went out after him,  and smote him,  and delivered it out of it’s mouth: and when he arose against me,  I caught him by his beard,  and smote him,  and slew him.

Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear;  and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

David said moreover,   The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear,  he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.    And Saul said unto David,  Go, and the Lord be with thee.”

We must understand, that David trusted the Lord.   He felt, that since no one was going to fight Goliath, that God’s honor was being slandered.

And he realized that he should do something about it.

That his life would be forever changed;  he did not yet think about.  

There was no long preparation to fight Goliath:  Saul tried to give him his armor,  but David put them off;  for he had not used them before.  “He had not proved them”.

But instead, with confidence in God to deliver, David took what he knew.

(And so should we.  We should not get talked into conversations of philosophy, or other doctrine;  when what we need to say is about our Lord Jesus Christ and His work; in us and for us).

1 Samuel 17:40 “And he took his staff in his hand,  and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook,  and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had,  even in a script,  and his sling was in his hand:  and he drew near to the Philistine.”

Notice how the Holy Spirit in the Word does not magnify the means of deliverance which David took.  Instead He emphasizes that they are common, and simple.

(As Paul said, himself: “And I, brethren, when I came to you,  came not with excellency of speech or wisdom,  declaring unto the testimony of God. 

For I determined not to know anything among you,  save Jesus Christ, and him crucified”  1 Corinthians 2:1-2)

Now let us consider Goliath.  He was a champion:  had many battles, and won.   He was a giant.  Taller, and broader, and stronger than all the men of Israel, even Saul (of whom it was said he was head and shoulders above  the Israelites.  1 Samuel 10:23-24)

He did not want subjection to Israel, or the God of Israel;  he wanted to rule, and make these God fearing Israelites his servants.

He had taunted Israel for forty days, and not one Israelite had come to take his challenge.

He felt very confident that none could beat him, and so when he saw David, with his shepherd staff, he mocked.  He took it one step further, for he cursed David by his gods.     (I told you Goliath was in a lot of trouble.)

But now, for David. (This should be our position, any time we go to do our duty:  in work or battle.  We are to do it in faith, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ)

1 Samuel 17:45-47 “Then said David to the Philistine,  Thou comest to me with a sword,  and with a spear, and with a shield:  but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts,  the God of the armies of Israel,  whom thou hast defied.

This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand;  and I will smite thee,  and take thine head from thee;  and I will give the carcasses of the hosts of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air,  and to the wild beasts of the earth;  that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.”

For the battle is the Lord’s.   This we should realize for our work, as well.  If we have been sent, and are obedient; then the Lord will be with us, guide us, and will see His Will done.

1 Samuel 17:49-51 “And David put his hand in his bag,  and took thence a stone, and slang it and smote the Philistine in his forehead,  that the stone sunk into his forehead;  and he fell upon his face to the earth.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone,  and smote the Philistine,  and slew him;  but there was no sword in the hand of David.

Therefore David ran,  and stood before the Philistine,  and took his sword,  and drew it out of the sheath,  and slew him,  and cut off his head.   And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead,  they fled.”

All that David had told Goliath, happened.  Certainly by God’s Power, through faith.  But also by the means of David’s arm. 

God alone gives grace,  but He gives us the privilege of standing with Him, and acting for Him in certain situations.

The instruction was from the Lord, the Power was God’s,  the faith was by the Holy Spirit;  and the Lord chose to use David.

It should be the same with us.   Instruction, power, and faith to obey His Word to us, to do His Will for our lives.

But we must do it.

To Fail of the Grace of God

Hebrews 12:15 “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God;  lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you,  and thereby many be defiled;”

Grace is the unmerited favor of power.  It is a gift from God to His children.  God’s grace saves,  upholds us,  and strengthens us for the work.

So how can we “fail of the grace of God”?

Simply, by not using it.  

How many times have we asked for help;  and refused it, when it came, because we did not like the way it came?  

(“I will not take help from that person, they always think bad of me anyway.”     Really?   If God has sent that person to help you,  so what if you don’t like them?   Or even if they don’t like you?   Wouldn’t that make the miracle of help, so much better?)

How many times has God sent a trial for us to pass through, and  we have refused to do so, because we don’t think we can “handle it”?

When you do this, you are failing of the grace that God wanted to give you to go through this trial. 

(He sends us trials to make us stronger in His love, and faith.   

1 Peter 1:5-7 “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  

Wherein ye greatly rejoice,  though now for a season,  if need be,  ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:  

That the trial of your faith,  being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,  though it be tried with fire,  might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”)

And how many times have we thought that we are O.K.     We don’t need help with this.  We have done this many times.    

And then, because we have refused to take the fresh supply of God’s grace,  we fail:   either in our tongues, or in our reactions to something.

(The disciples thought this,  when they thought they would go back to fishing, after Jesus was crucified, and had arose.

John 21:3 “Simon Peter saith unto them,   I go a fishing.    They say unto him,   We also go with thee.    They went forth,  and entered into a ship immediately;  and that night they caught nothing.”)

We fail of the grace of God, when we allow the bitterness of resentment to “spring up”.    

Hebrew 12:15 “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God;  lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you,  and thereby many be defiled;”

There are resentments which are buried in our emotions.  Time has passed, and so we think that they are gone.   But they are just gone underground.  Someone’s actions may bring them all out again.

They are there,  because we have not removed them.   It is by the grace of God giving us forgiveness for the person that has hurt us, that removes them.

This is hard,  impossible in some situations, without His grace enabling us to do it!

But, if we won’t remove them,  they will “trouble you”.

They will “spring up” (This is such a good description of how they suddenly appear.)

A little thing can remind us of these.   And once it is in our heads again,  it  needs to be taken to the Lord.

God’s grace is a gift from our Lord, for now.   The grace of this day.  The grace for this hour, even.

How much we need it!     

Let us seek to RECEIVE all He has for us, and stop failing of the grace of God. 

Let us seek to yield to the Holy Spirit within,  and receive His revelations of the things which hinder our walk with Him.

And mostly,  let us receive all the “power of God through faith unto salvation” (our salvation),  for we are kept by it:  kept from the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil;  and kept close to Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:5 “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

True North on the Compass of Your Life.

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision,  the people perish:  but he that keepeth the law,  happy is he.”

There is, on the compass, a magnetic north,  which is not true North.

You can navigate with this, for short trips.

But when you have long trips over any length of time or of distance; you must be able to ascertain True North, or you will be off your point of destination, miles and miles.

We should all have a goal to which we are headed in life; and a way of getting there, which is not going to lead us in the wrong paths.

That goal keeps our eyes focused on the real purpose of our existence.

As Christians,  our purpose of life, should come from the Lord:

 Ephesians 2:10. “For we are his workmanship,  created in Christ Jesus unto good works,  which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

We are “created in Christ Jesus” or born again;  for a purpose.

Our purpose is to “walk” in the good works God appoints us, as individual Christians, to do.

So what is the True North in this walk?

It is making Jesus Christ, Lord of your life, so that you will know what to do, and will be empowered to do by His life, within you.

John 7:17 “If any man will do His will,  he shall know of the doctrine,  whither it be of God,  or whither I speak of myself.”

Hosea 6:3 “Then shall we know,  if we follow on to know the Lord:  his going forth is prepared as the morning;  and he shall come unto us as the rain,  as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”

As certain as this old earth keeps turning,  there will be sunrise tomorrow.

You may not be able to see it, for there may be clouds and the day dark and dreary;  but the sun will be there.

This says that we can rest easy in Christ;  we can expect Him to show us His Way for us, and for Him to give us His blessings (the former and latter rains),  in the time we need them.

It also encourages us, to follow Him. (How many scriptures do this very thing?)

He knows where we should be, and how we are to get there.

In life,  in attitudes, and in troubles;  with Him as our Lord and Savior;  we shall know.

Our whole life is a journey. (I used to tell a friend, life is an adventure. They thought of “lions” and “tigers”;  and they were not happy about the thought.  But I still think it is.)  It is a journey of a life time.  

And, lets face it,  we need help;  we need a guide, who loves us, to get us to the end.

We are to “walk” from here to heaven, with Christ Jesus.

That is a daily walk with Him.

That is how we grow to know Him more.

True North on the compass of our lives,  is to make Him Lord of our lives.  

Then we will see His Purpose for our lives, done.

Then we will get to the end in peace.

Let Us Go On

Hosea 6:3 “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord:  His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth”

To know about God;  that there is One, that He is up there “seeing” to things; is enough religion for some people.

Religion and everyday life are seen by these, as two separate and distinct issues.

Though they may not come out and say it, they agree with those that keep religion on Sunday’s and their real lives the rest of the time.

Let me tell everyone who names the name of a Christian:  Jesus Christ interferes with life;  namely our life.

He makes claims upon us.  He wants us.

Matthew 10:37-38 “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more that me is not worthy of me.

And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me , is not worthy of me.”

To know only about God is a knowledge that does not save.

They need to be drawn to Jesus Christ for themselves; for their need, for mercy.

Luke 18:9-14 “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,  God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

I fast twice in the week, I give titles of all that I possess.

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

The legalistic attitude is:  that God should be God,  and I’ll be me.  

In effect: “You stay up there in heaven,  watch offer me, keep me from harm,  deliver me, care for me, and take me home to heaven when I die;  I’ll stay down here and do nothing to terrible, go to church,  read my Bible when I need to and pray whenever I’m in trouble.”

The bargain struck, and the parties agree;  or so we imagine.  And off we go completely convinced of the soundness of our position.

Yet the sincere follower has heard the call of Christ; and has left the bargaining behind.     He has decided to follow Christ whithersoever He leads.

Matthew 16:24-25 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples,  If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

And this decision has far reaching consequences, both to ourselves, and any we come into contact with.

Christ’s life is Eternal Life.     It is Him we receive at new birth,  He is our life.  Eternal life is a condition of life,  as we receive His nature by the Holy Spirit.  

He places the love of God and His Word within, as well as a desire for holiness of life.

Faith, joy, peace, all the graces of God are at our disposal.

Philippians 3:8-14 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:  for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do,  forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

The prize?  This high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  This calling is to everyone who is born again.

We are called to bring forth fruit.

We are called to walk together with Christ.

We are called to obtain promises.

We are called to witness of Christ.

We are called to win Christ.

To win Christ: this is the goal of any true follower of Christ.

Not to win salvation: that is in Christ.

Not to win heaven:  that is the end of those who belong to Christ.

But to win Christ.

This is to “go on to know the Lord”

When you do,  you will also find His going forth with you in power and loving presence.

To follow on.       To go on.    To seek.     These are words we need to activate in our everyday lives.

And the One we need to follow after is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Read about Him.   Pray to Him.  To know Him is the real gain of all things.   Real satisfaction,  real joy,  real peace;  spiritual reality is in the experiential knowledge of Jesus.

Behold I stand at the door, and Knock.

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door,  and knock:  if any man hear my voice and open the door,  I will come into him,  and will sup with him, and he with me.”

This is Jesus, standing outside the door of the Laodicean Church,  knocking. 

He is Standing, so our Faithful Lord is showing that He is ready to do, for the church.   But He is outside, not inside, where He should be.

So, He speaks.  He lets His Voice be heard.

But it is to the individuals inside the church that He speaks.

“If any man (that is woman, boy and girl, as well) will hear my voice and open the door”.

It is never to a particular building, that Jesus speaks;  but to particular people.

Those that will “hear Him”.

There are many noises, and “voices” in this world.  They are all making demands on us:  our emotions,  our thoughts, and our time.

His Voice is the still, small voice in our hearts, calling us to “open to Him”. (1 Kings 19:11-12)

And what “door” are we to open to Him?

The door to our lives;  our everyday lives. 

This is to Christians, so the Lord Jesus is in our hearts;  but He is calling us to let Him in every part of our lives.

(When we rise up,  He is there.  

As we go out to jobs, school, doctor’s visits; wherever,  He is there.   

If we have sleepless nights,  He is there.)

Open to Me.

Open to fellowship.  “Let us sup together”.  

In Bible times, you never ate with an enemy,  but only with friends, family, or to honor a guest.

This call to “sup” means to let Him in your life as family.  Let Him sit at your table and talk with you.  Let Him lead you into all the ways at work, or relaxation that He wants.  

It is a life open and receptive to Him.

Do you want Him more than you have Him now?

Then open to Jesus.   He waits at the door of your life, for you to answer His call to you.

Come in , come in,  dear Lord Jesus; and let us have fellowship.  You lead, and I will follow.   I open my life to You.   A life open to and receptive to You.  Thank You,  Thank you, dear Jesus, for waiting for me.

Occupy Till I Come

Luke 19:12-13 “He said therefore,  A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom,  and to return.

                          And he called his ten servants,  and delivered them ten pounds,  and said unto them,   Occupy till I come.”

Of course Jesus is giving this story about His going back to heaven after being raised again;  and the ministry He gives His servants here.

“Occupy till I come” is a merchandise term.  It is to use what we have to get more, just as in a business.

But the thought here, is that you are gaining for Someone else.

As Christians, we are not our own.  We have been bought and redeemed with the high price of Jesus blood. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

And we are given His life and power by the Holy Spirit within.  He enables us with His grace.   This is the “pound” we are all given as His servants:  His faith and grace.

It is all done, as servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, out of love to him.

So how do we “gain” to show our love to Christ?

He has given us faith by the Holy Spirit when we were born again.  This faith shows us Christ, so that we can follow Him:

Jesus was obedient to the Father’s Will;  so we must be obedient to His Will for us.

He was kind and merciful;  so we must show that same kindness and mercy to others.

Jesus was a fighter for the Father’s Way;  not holding on to the traditions, when they conflicted with the spirit of God’s laws (example: healing the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath.  Tradition said it was “work”.   God said it was mercy. Matthew 12:10-13)

He did not turn from the Way to the cross, though it meant betrayal, shame, cruelty, and defilement under our sin.  He went and became sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

We are to use that faith and gain with it:

(2 Peter 1:5-8)

We are to gain (in Peter it says “add to”) virtue, first.

This virtue in the Greek is, “Artea”,  or power by the Holy Spirit.  The first thing God teaches us is that we are now given power to do, say, and stand, by the Holy Spirit. (It is quite a wonderful thing to realize that God’s Spirit is helping me , now,  in this situation of my life!)

The second thing we gain is knowledge.  We can not be around Someone, and not come to know Him better.   

And as we know Jesus better,  we learn more about ourselves;  both successes and failures show us,  us.

The third thing we gain is temperance.  This is to be even-tempered.   You learn to not let things “get” to you.  To see them as the Lord sees them.

The fourth things is patience.  How much in this hurry, hurry world we need this.

Patience with others,  and with ourselves. (We do not get discouraged,  when we in patience, wait on the Lord, to work things out.)

Godliness comes next:  this is growing up into Christ, and taking on the “family of God” resemblance.

Brotherly kindness has to do with our Christian brothers and sisters. (Yes, they can be trying;  but with the Holy Spirit’s enabling,  we can be considerate to them, even if they are not to us.)

And Charity,  or love.  And this is to show the same love to others as Christ does to us.

Luke 19:15-16 “And it came to pass,  that when he was returned,  having received the kingdom,  then he commanded these servants to be called unto him,  to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

                         Then came the first,  saying,   Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.”

This servant had yielded to the Holy Spirit and done all he could for His lovely and blessed Lord.

Luke 19:18 “And the second came,  saying,  Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.”

This servant had difficulties.  His gain had been smaller, because of doubts and cares which hindered him at the first;  but he had finally overcome by the faith given him, and he had gained five times more than he had been given!

Luke 19:20-21 “And another came, saying,  Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin; 

                           For I feared thee,  because you art an austere man:  and takest up that thou layedst not down,  and reapest that thou did not sow.”

What!!  This servant did not gain anything!   His dishonor was because he wanted to listen to the voice of the devil about God.

The devil convinced the man,  that if he did what he was told and tried to gain with the pound he had been given,  he might lose it.    He told the man he was better off just forgetting about it;     because the Lord was a very severe, and demanding God.

But this was not what the Lord had wanted.  He wanted this man to use the “pound” (which is the power of the Holy Spirit within),  and “gain” in his heart love, peace, and joy in the fellowship with Himself.    

This is gaining for the Lord;  for we are His inheritance.(Ephesians 1:18)

Luke 19:22-23 “But he saith unto him,  Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee,  thou wicked servant.    Thou knewest that I was an austere man,  taking up that I laid not down,  and reaping that I did not sow:

                           Wherefore thou gavest not my money into the bank,  that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?”

Sadly the Lord of this man judges him according to what he had wanted to believe. 

And asks him,  “If you really were afraid,  why didn’t you at least put my money in a bank where I could have received interest from it?”

What the Lord was really asking this man, was:

Why did you not show some interest in My gift of the Holy Spirit?  You “laid it up”,  or put it out of sight, as though it was a burden instead of a help.

You grieved My Holy Spirit by your hatred of my gift;

So, since you never really had it;    you will never have it.

Luke 19:24, 26 “And he said unto them that stood by,  Take from him the pound,  and give it to him that hath ten pounds.

                            For I say unto you,  that unto everyone which hath, shall be given;  and from him that hath not,  even that he hath shall be taken away from him.”

There are many who want to appear as the Lord’s servants,  which never really love Him,  or receive Him into their hearts and lives. (John 1:12)

They want to look good,  but never honor the Lord in their hearts.   They really hate the thought of doing for the Lord Jesus Christ!     

This man was one of these;  and he was seen at last for what he was,  and was judged by the Lord accordingly.

We are told by the Lord to use His gift of faith by the Holy Spirit and gain joy and peace in believing.

Not so, Lord

Peter was staying at a believer’s house, and had gone up on the roof to pray.  

There, he saw a vision.

Acts 10:11-15 “And saw heaven opened,  and a certain vessel descending unto him,  as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners,  and let down to the earth:

                         Wherein was all manner of four-footed beasts,  and wild beasts,  and creeping things,  and fowls of the air:

                         And there came a voice to him,  Rise, Peter, kill, and eat.

                         But Peter said,   Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.

                          And the voice spake unto him again the second time,  What God hath cleansed,  that call not common.”

“Not so, Lord.”

Can Jesus Christ really be Lord, if we are saying,  “Not so”?

You see Peter was thinking like a good Jew.  They had been commanded never to eat these “unclean” things;  yet God is using these foods as a lesson to His disciple.

They had been called to go out to all the world and preach the gospel to “all nations” (Matthew 28:18-20)

They were to preach of a crucified and risen Savior,  Jesus Christ.

And they were to teach others in the commandments that Jesus had given them.  

But so far, no Gentiles had been preached to.

“Do not call anything common or unclean, that I have cleansed.”

Peter was about to be sent to a Gentile’s house.   To preach Christ Jesus to these “unclean” people.   

Yet Jesus has just told Peter that if He sends him to preach to a people,  whoever they are;  they are not to be considered “common or unclean”.

The important thing was:  has the Lord “cleansed” them.

It is to be “Yes, Lord”; instead of “Not so, Lord”.

Yet Peter learned his lesson, and when the time came to go, and preach to this Gentile house;  he did.

What did he preach to them?    Jesus Christ, of course.

Acts 10:38-40, 42-43. “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power:  who went about doing good,  and healing all that were oppressed of the devil;  for God was with Him.

                                         And we are witnesses of all these things which He did both in the land of the Jews,  and in Jerusalem;  whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

                                         Him  God raised up the third day,  and showed Him openly;  

                                         And He commanded us to preach unto the people,  and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead.

                                         To Him  give all the prophets witness,  that in His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.”

And these Gentiles received the good news of Christ Jesus, and was given the gift of the Holy Spirit; and was baptized.

Acts 10:44-45, 48 “While Peter yet spake these words,  the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard the word.

                                   And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished,  as many as came with Peter,  because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

                                   And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.  Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”

It is as we say, “Yes, Lord”;  that His good news is spread abroad.  

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down.

Hebrews 12:11 “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:  nevertheless,  afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised thereby.”

Have you been exercised thereby?  Simply, have you learned from your failures?

You see, this term is from the training those of fighters that went into Roman arena for sport. 

They would be trained by a master trainer, and they would get plenty of bumps and bruises along the way.

To be “exercised thereby” is to learn, through all the training, how to use your hands and feet aright.

The training was strenuous and extensive.  It covered attitude, as well as form.  It covered strength, as well as technique.  And if you really wanted to learn,  the master trainer would often give extra time to teach you with harder things. (Yes, that usually meant more bruises.)

Here, it is talking about our learning from the hands of our Heavenly Father, who has to correct us, when we error; so we can learn to walk and stand aright.

Hebrews 12:12 “Wherefore lift the hands which hang down,  and the feeble knees:”

Our hands symbolize everything that we accomplish, in the will of God.  Everything that is our responsibility to do.

Therefore if they hang down; become weakened by discouragement or “weary in well doing” (Galatians 6:9), then we can not have the victory in the battle. (And sometimes the consequences of this discouragement, lasts for a long time)

Our knees are feeble, when our hearts begin to weaken, and our minds begin to wander.

They can hardly hold our weight;  for we are burdened with the cares of this life.

We have forgotten that we are yoked with Christ, and that we are to:

“Come to Him, all ye that labor and are heavy ladened”. (Matthew 11:28-30)

We are to come,  all through our life and walk,  to Christ, as our yoke partner.

Hebrews 12:13 “And make straight paths for your feet,  lest that which be lame be turned out of the way;  but let it rather be healed.”

Outward problems come when we do not maintain our way before God.

Perhaps we think we know what we should do.

Perhaps we have been careless in letting something “slip”.

Perhaps we have been too tired,  and feeling sorry for ourselves,  we have not put forth the effort,  or even asked for the strength we need.

Proverbs 4:25-27 “Let thine eyes look right on,  and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

                                 Ponder the path of thy feet,  and let all thy ways be established.

                                 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:  remove thy foot from evil.”

However we have stumbled in our ways,  we are to “straighten” them.  Set them right before the Lord, by confession and ask for joy and peace; strength and courage, to conquer our hinderances.

So that none that follow after will be turned aside by our lack of maintaining our way.

“Healed” is the ultimate goal of all who are in such a situation.  

Don’t doubt.  

Don’t fear.

Come to Christ, and be restored to spiritual health.

The verse says, “let it” be healed.

How often the Lord would give us joy for sorrow; and we have turned away from Him, because we want the circumstances to change,  not us.

You see, “happiness” has to do with our circumstances.   If they are good to us,  we are happy.

Joy, on the other hand,  comes directly from the Lord to us, through His Holy Spirit within.    It does not care about circumstances (and often comes in the worst circumstances, as we believe God),  because it cares only about our relationship to God.

He showed me once, that He would give joy a lot more often,  if I would “Let it”.

All this comes as our Heavenly Father corrects our failures, to bring us into a closer relationship to Him. 

When we see the correction;  to “let” ourselves be healed,  we must see our Father’s love behind them.

Hebrews 12:7, 9-10, 14 “If ye endure chastening,  God dealeth with you as with sons;  for what son is he who the Father chasteneth not?

                                          Furthermore,  we have had father’s of our flesh which corrected us,  and we gave them reverence:  shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of Spirits,  and live?

                                          For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure;  but He for our profit,  that we might be partakers of His holiness.

                                          Follow peace with all men,  and holiness,  without which no man shall see the Lord:”

His great love for us is the reason He corrects us.

The Good Samaritan 

We all know the story Jesus told here.  It was told to a man who wanted to “justify himself” or excuse himself from the responsibility of loving his neighbor.   He wanted to talk of high things,  religious things to other people, but to do what God wants for others,  he was quick to find an excuse:  Who is my neighbor?

Luke 10:30 “And Jesus answering said,   A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho,  and fell among thieves,  which striped him of his raiment,  and wounded him,  and departed,  leaving him half dead.”

Now this poor man who was robbed, was only half dead,  so there was hope for his recovery:    If he could get some help.

Luke 10:31 “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way;  and when he saw him,  he passed by on the other side.”

This priest was no help.  Although they were to offer sacrifices in the Temple;  they were to also help the people draw near to God in understanding and praise. 

Yet he did not take the opportunity to at least see if there was anything he could do spiritually for the man.   

After all the man was wounded, and maybe dying.

Instead, he walked to the other side of the road, and passed by.

Luke 10:32 “And likewise a Levite,  when he was at the place,  came and looked on him,  and passed by on the other side.”

This is worse:  the Levite came to the man,  looked on his misery, and said nothing.   No comfort, or questions.  He did not ask if he wanted him to contact his family,   nothing.

He just left.

Levites were to help the people who came to the Temple in any way they could.  They were the ones who could explain what God’s Word said for them to do, and would be the ones to help them.   But there was no spirit or action of help here.

He came,  looked at the man,  and left.    On the other side.

Luke 10:33 “But a certain Samaritan,  as he journeyed,  came where he was;  and when he saw him,  he had compassion on him,”

Finally, some compassion!    But wait!   This was a Samaritan.   

The Samaritans were half Jews,  and as such,  unclean to have fellowship with.

Some Samaritans resented this,  but this man did not worry who the wounded man was.       He just helped him.

And what help!  

Luke 10:34-35 “And went to him,  and bound up his wounds,  pouring in oil and wine,  and set him on his own beast,  and brought him to an inn,  and took care of him.

                          And on the morrow when he departed,  he took out two pence,  and gave them to the host,  and said unto him,   Take care of him:  and whatsoever  thou spendest more,  when I come again,  I will repay thee.”

He bound up his wounds,  taking his supplies to do so.   Taking time, in an unfriendly place (who knows whether the thieves would come back).

Then he placed him on his beast, and took him to a inn and took care of him through the night.

He then gave the inn-keeper money:  two days wages,  to care for him.

And promised to pay any other fee for caring for this man. 

The Samaritan did not know this man,  and if they had met on the streets of Jerusalem before this incident,  the man would probably have not even looked his way.

Yet he cared for him as if he were a brother.

Jesus turns to the lawyer, who wanted to justify himself:

Luke 10:36 “Which now of these three,  thinkest thou,  was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?”

The question was meant to awaken his heart to his own responsibility to others.

What would he answer.

Luke 10:37 “And he (the lawyer) said,  He that showed mercy on him….”

(Mercy here is kindness.  So he gave the right answer.  But if that is the answer,  what should he be doing!)

“…Then said Jesus unto him,    Go, and do thou likewise.”

You see, it is not just what we say, as Christians, that makes a difference.

It is what we do.

A Battle won by Prayer and Sword 

Israel, had come to a place where there were no streams or rivers.  No springs or wells, in their crossing the wilderness to go to the Promised land.

And they were two million strong, and thirsty.

So God told Moses to:

Exodus 17:6 “Behold, I will stand before thee upon the rock in Horeb,  and thou shalt smite the rock,  and there shall come water out of it,  that the people may drink.   And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

God gave them water from the rock;   and all were supplied!  All the people, cattle, sheep;  all were supplied.

Exodus 17:8 “Then came Amalek and fought with Israel in Rephidim.”

But then came Amalek.   Amalek was a wandering people.  Fighters, which took anything they could take.   

And when they heard of water at a place where no water was;  they decided to come and destroy the Israelites (after all they were mostly women and children), and take it for themselves.

So suddenly Israel was being attacked!  They had fought back as best they could, but they were not doing well.

Exodus 17:9 “And Moses said unto Joshua,   Choose us out men,  and go out,  fight with Amalek:  tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.”

Here was the plan.   Joshua, who was the fighting leader, chose out the best men to fight.

Moses and Aaron, and his son, Hur, would go to the top of the hill by the battle and raise the rod of God. 

(This rod was the shepherd’s rod which God told Moses to take into Pharaoh.  Remember it changed into a snake. It was the rod he raised over the Red Sea.  It was the symbol of God’s call to him.)

Exodus 17:10-11 “So Joshua did as Moses had said to him,  and fought with Amalek:  and Moses,  Aaron,  and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

                               And it came to pass,  when Moses held up his hand,  that Israel prevailed:  and when he let down his hand,  Amalek prevailed.”

Raising up this rod, which God had told him to take,  showed his prayer.

And when it was held up,  Israel was winning the battle against Amalek.

But when he let it come down,  they started to lose the battle.

Moses kept holding up as long as he could,  but he grew tired from holding it up by himself, so it would come down, and Israel would start to lose.  So:

Exodus 17:12-13 “But Moses hands were heavy;  and they took a stone,  and put it under him,  and he sat thereon,  and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands,  the one on the one side,  and the other on the other side;  and his hands were steady till the going down of the sun.

                              And Joshua discomforted Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”

As long as Moses hands held the rod up toward heaven,  Joshua and his men were winning.

And when Aaron and Hur helped Moses,  the battle was in their favor till there was no more sunlight to fight.

This is a great lesson for us.  For it shows how important our prayer is.

Moses did not act alone.   Joshua and his men needed to fight (even though they were not used to fighting).   

And Aaron and Hur needed to help strengthen Moses arms.

But the blessing was from the Lord.

Exodus 17:15 “And Moses built an altar,  and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi”

Jehovah-nissi  means The Lord my banner.   

When we fight our battles against our sin, the world’s attitudes, and the tricks of the devil:  we fight under the Banner of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is our protection.

Do we need to pray as Moses did?   Of course we need to keep in constant touch with the One who guides and helps us.  And the Lord gives us help, by the Holy Spirit strengthening our efforts.  And sometimes through others praying with us. 

What do we pray?  For God’s will done.

How do we pray?  Using His promises to us.

Do we need to use our sword, as Joshua did?   Of course we need to hold onto His Word, and keep the enemy at our sword’s point (or away from harming us, and taking what God has given us).

Both need to be used,  but the blessing is by the Lord to us.

He is our banner over us in every battle we have.  

Trust Him.

Hope (which is the confident expectation that He will do what He said) in His Word.

And He will give the Victory.