June 20, 2005

• Friday’s Bible Study taught by Pastor Don

  
  

  Now that Xanga seems more stable.

  
  

  The Bible study was on 1 Samuel 17 and Philippians 4:10-13

  
  

  This is David and Goliath

  
  

  There is difference between humility and pride and how they work in battle.

  
  

  Philippians 4:10-13 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content; I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

  
  

  In important things I can remain directed and humble. I can do all things in he control of my flesh. No matter what the circumstances, I will be all right. I can accomplish through the ability of God, and not my own capabilities.

  
  

  2 misrepresentations of the above passage.

  
  

  1. Religious people don’t want to say I CAN, they think we need to say we are nothing, stay humble, just focus on the Lord.

  
  

  2. Name it claim it people boast that they can do all things in their flesh. They must labor, bring it on their self.

  
  

  You must realize that the content of yourself is the work of God. Without self-confidence you cannot serve people. God can’t use you, he needs us to believe in ourself somewhat, that God can take us and put us in the battle, that we can believe in ourselves, with God’s help, can do what God wants us to accomplish.

  
  

  The devil will use religious spirits to get you to mis-speak. You have to rap on yourself, you have to have the self-confidence that God can do something good with you.

  
  

  God provides the harvest, but you must do the reaping to draw in the harvest.

  
  

  Luke 6:38 – Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

  
  

  We need to be willing to pray that I will participate in my salvation (faith without works is dead), and I will use the blessings I get to serve with.

  
  

  Get confident that God loves you and cares for you, that when you pray, God hears you.

  
  

  We can use “I” in prayers.

  
  

  I Sam. 17: 4, 10  And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span….And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day, give me a man, that we may fight together.

  
  

  This Philistine has no back-up to his “I”. An “I” without backup is pride.

  
  

  I Samuel 17: 22-23 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers, Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gat, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines, and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them.

  
  

  David heard the Philistines words,

  
  

  1 Samuel 17: 26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the Living God?

  
  

  The Israelites feared the Philistine, and spoke that the king would give riches and his daughter to anyone who would dare to fight Goliath.

  
  

  David asked what am I going to get if I kill this guy. A Religious Spirit led person would say, you should be doing this for God, not asking for reward, etc.

  
  

  V. 28, Eliab, David’s oldest brother, gets very angry. He has a religious spirit, and tries to put David into his place, “…Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” This is not true, David came down at the behest of his father to deliver supplies to his brothers. He tries to put David in his place, that of a lowly shepherd, not a giant killer.

  
  

  V. 29-30 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause? Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

  
  

  Sometimes you have to be careful who you share your vision with. There are many nay-sayers out there, who will try to crush your dream or vision. There is a time when you have to step beyond just tending sheep and reach for the larger vision God gives you.

  
  

  v. 33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. Even the king said that David should quit.

  
  

  V. 34-36 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth, and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed a lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he had defied the armies of the living God.”

  
  

  V. 34 David said, I USED TO KEEP, implying that he has moved beyond the role of shepherd of sheep. This is the past tense.

  
  

  After you get off your knees God wants to elevate you. V. 35 David says I WENT OUT,  I CAUGHT -He had confidence in his ability, and used his past successes to build himself up, but it was not pride, because David had back up, David says YOUR SERVANT, and he has backup,

  
  

  V. 37 Moreover, David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion, and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine…

  
  

  While David said I in relation to the lion and the bear, he also realized that it was the LORD who delivered him from the lion and the bear, and he was able to translate the confidence gained from the past experiences to the present and trust that the LORD will give him backup against Goliath.

  
  

  We have to quit believing the devil’s excuses, and the devil will seek to give you many excuses to tell you that you cannot do what God says you can do.

  
  

  (One person at the Bible study commented that Goliath was felled by a rock (Christ is called the rock) and that against the laws of physics, when the rock hit Goliath, Goliath fell forward, not backwards- so that shows a supernatural intervention).

  
  

  The devil comes to you talking boldly about how things are not going to work out, lots of thoughts from the devil going through your head.

  
  

  You have to shut Goliath (devil) up by hitting his head, hit the devil in the head. The battlefield is in your head (your mind). The devil can only beat you if you let him hit you in the head (your thoughts),

  
  

  So, since the rock is Christ, hit the devil in the head with the Words of Christ.

  
  

  The level to which you estimate yourself will determine the altitude that God will bring you.

  
  

  Stop letting the devil defeat you through your thoughts, have confidence in Christ, that God will do a good work in you.

  
  

  Interesting Pastor Don note, before he became a pastor, he spent a season traveling with Harry Bellefonte as a back up saxophone player.

  
  

  Hope you enjoy this study.

  
  

  Heather

  
  

   

  • 11:38 pm
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