Faith in an Age of Unbelief: Elijah and Elisha PART III
Rev. Aaron Bjerke
19 July 2015
1 Kings 19:1-18
Elijah Flees to Horeb
1Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make you life like that of one of them."
3Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." 6He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him an said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." 8So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The Lord Appears to Elijah
And the word of the Lord came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
11The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by."
Then a great an powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, by the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
14He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
15The Lord said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel--all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him."
ELIJAH'S DESCENT
--Elijah's God just defeated Baal.
--Elijah is depressed as he enters the wilderness.
--Moses was also depressed back in the day
--Difficult for us to admit that we're not doing well.
--Elijah doesn't pretend he's OK.
WILDERNESS
--v.3 He goes to the wilderness.
--v.5 The angel doesn't exhort or reprimand him--he feeds him.
--The angel touches him.
--v.8, 12-13 A spiritual experience.
--Do we over-spiritualize our life?
--Being downcast isn't about our spiritual nature.
--Could be other things like hunger, etc.
SPIRITUAL NATURE
--Rebuke-Elijah gets recommissioned
--v.9 Why aren't you where you're supposed to be as God commanded.
--Reflection - The question is also about his identity. Where are you when you have nothing left.
--Comfort (v.12) God can speak through a gentle whisper--through the sound of sheer grace.
Monday, November 30, 2015
Confrontation on Mount Carmel
Faith in the an Age of Unbelief: Elijah and Elisha PART II
12 July 2015
Rev. John Lin
1Kings 18:16-39
Elijah on Mount Carmel
How do we know which God is true
CONFRONTATION BETWEEN GODS
--Why choose one over the other?
--Not taking a position cripples us
--Intellectual delusions that when we thing all is relative, that statement is an absolute.
--We all believe we know the Truth.
--Socially unreasonable in that we might not take everyone's claims seriously when we say "all is relative.
DETECTING FALSE GODS
--What we sacrifice things for (money, power, relationships, comfort)
--v.28 Worshiping Baal is the modern day equivalent of worshiping our diversified circumstances.
--Works righteousness (v.27-29) Doing things expecting Baal to answer the prayers.
KNOWING TRUE GOD
--Drought--Sending water would not have turned the people to the True God.
--We see the light of God in the darkness and discomfort.
--v.37 Fire is the sign of judgement.
--God took the bull instead of the people
--JESUS
12 July 2015
Rev. John Lin
1Kings 18:16-39
Elijah on Mount Carmel
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you,Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
Three year drought challenges Baal.How do we know which God is true
CONFRONTATION BETWEEN GODS
--Why choose one over the other?
--Not taking a position cripples us
--Intellectual delusions that when we thing all is relative, that statement is an absolute.
--We all believe we know the Truth.
--Socially unreasonable in that we might not take everyone's claims seriously when we say "all is relative.
DETECTING FALSE GODS
--What we sacrifice things for (money, power, relationships, comfort)
--v.28 Worshiping Baal is the modern day equivalent of worshiping our diversified circumstances.
--Works righteousness (v.27-29) Doing things expecting Baal to answer the prayers.
KNOWING TRUE GOD
--Drought--Sending water would not have turned the people to the True God.
--We see the light of God in the darkness and discomfort.
--v.37 Fire is the sign of judgement.
--God took the bull instead of the people
--JESUS
Raising the Widow's Son
Faith in the an Age of Unbelief: Elijah and Elisha PART I
5 July 2015
Rev. Aaron Bjerke
1 Kings 17:7-24
Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath
--An age of Skeptics
HOPE OF A NATION
--v.7,10 No rain and a nation of poverty.
--Both the southern and northern kingdoms of Israel have turned away from God.
--King Ahab brought Baal worship to the Northern Kingdom through his wife Jezebel.
--v.1 Elijah claims to control the rain.
--v.7 Refers to spiritual dryness as well.
WIDOW'S HOPE
--v.12 She really thinks she'll die.
--Hope is wrapped in her dire circumstances.
--Everything eventually fades and fails.
--Hope will fade as does our circumstances.
--We jump ship from circumstances to circumstances because we don't think the problem is in us.
--The problem is the object of our hope--whatever that may be.
--We weave ourselves outside of our story.
--v.13 Don't be afraid--Our anxiety and fears are rooted in not wanting to lose something.
ELIJAH'S HOPE
--v.14; Hope is in God, not our circumstances.
--God's first act is to preserve life to someone who worships Baal (widow) through food and then through reviving her son.
--God crosses all boundaries to give His love.
5 July 2015
Rev. Aaron Bjerke
1 Kings 17:7-24
Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what theLord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”
19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”
22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”
Kings of Israel have abandoned their worship of God.--An age of Skeptics
HOPE OF A NATION
--v.7,10 No rain and a nation of poverty.
--Both the southern and northern kingdoms of Israel have turned away from God.
--King Ahab brought Baal worship to the Northern Kingdom through his wife Jezebel.
--v.1 Elijah claims to control the rain.
--v.7 Refers to spiritual dryness as well.
WIDOW'S HOPE
--v.12 She really thinks she'll die.
--Hope is wrapped in her dire circumstances.
--Everything eventually fades and fails.
--Hope will fade as does our circumstances.
--We jump ship from circumstances to circumstances because we don't think the problem is in us.
--The problem is the object of our hope--whatever that may be.
--We weave ourselves outside of our story.
--v.13 Don't be afraid--Our anxiety and fears are rooted in not wanting to lose something.
ELIJAH'S HOPE
--v.14; Hope is in God, not our circumstances.
--God's first act is to preserve life to someone who worships Baal (widow) through food and then through reviving her son.
--God crosses all boundaries to give His love.
For Mission
The Lord Praying PART II
28 June 2015
Rev. John Lin
John 17: 13-23
13"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have full measure of my joy within them. 14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may truly be sanctified.
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one--23I in them and you in me--so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you loved me.
Prayer of Jesus as he is close to death--most vulnerable.
Prayer begins with glory and ends with mission
NATURE OF MISSION
--Why do Christians feel the need to share their faith, since everything is relative, for example.
--We are always sharing our view of the nature of reality.
--Needs to be shared in a way with humility and respect.
--V.13; an overflowing joy
--V.18; Someone who is sent--I want people to experience this joy of being sent.
--Cause or goal important to attain; may require risk and sacrifice because it's more important than my own comfort.
--Hebrews 12--running that race.
--Joyful life experienced through mission.
CHARACTER OF MISSION
--V15-17; How they are to be sent
--In the world, but not like the world, sanctify them by the truth.
--Jesus is sent into the world.
--Other religions often talk about protection or escaping from the world.
--Material world is inconsequential--often based on moral commands to be rewarded by leaving the world.
--John had a vision that the heavenly city comes down and renews the world.
--Current universe is broken (sin).
--While we are part of the world, we should not be defined and subsumed by it.
--Sanctified means to be holy or set apart for a particular purpose.
--Can be expressed through moral beauty and character.
--People are to be drawn to it because it is beautiful and good.
--Jesus prays for them that they would be beautiful and good, kindness, patience.
--Critical trait of mission is that there is something so beautiful that people would be drawn to them by their character as much as they would be drawn to them by their message.
PURPOSE AND POWER OF MISSION
--V.21; Help people understand Jesus's mission.
--Jesus was sent, not just born into the world.
--Entered into the brokenness of the world and was utterly helpless on the cross.
--Brings a kingdom of a promised of a new world through sacrifice.
--Power comes from belief that we were the goal for what Jesus did.
--V.22-23; Be a part of this mission through intimate community with him and with others.
--Get out of our comfort zone and control.
--Be in community because its something that people are committed to.
28 June 2015
Rev. John Lin
John 17: 13-23
13"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have full measure of my joy within them. 14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may truly be sanctified.
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one--23I in them and you in me--so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you loved me.
Prayer of Jesus as he is close to death--most vulnerable.
Prayer begins with glory and ends with mission
NATURE OF MISSION
--Why do Christians feel the need to share their faith, since everything is relative, for example.
--We are always sharing our view of the nature of reality.
--Needs to be shared in a way with humility and respect.
--V.13; an overflowing joy
--V.18; Someone who is sent--I want people to experience this joy of being sent.
--Cause or goal important to attain; may require risk and sacrifice because it's more important than my own comfort.
--Hebrews 12--running that race.
--Joyful life experienced through mission.
CHARACTER OF MISSION
--V15-17; How they are to be sent
--In the world, but not like the world, sanctify them by the truth.
--Jesus is sent into the world.
--Other religions often talk about protection or escaping from the world.
--Material world is inconsequential--often based on moral commands to be rewarded by leaving the world.
--John had a vision that the heavenly city comes down and renews the world.
--Current universe is broken (sin).
--While we are part of the world, we should not be defined and subsumed by it.
--Sanctified means to be holy or set apart for a particular purpose.
--Can be expressed through moral beauty and character.
--People are to be drawn to it because it is beautiful and good.
--Jesus prays for them that they would be beautiful and good, kindness, patience.
--Critical trait of mission is that there is something so beautiful that people would be drawn to them by their character as much as they would be drawn to them by their message.
PURPOSE AND POWER OF MISSION
--V.21; Help people understand Jesus's mission.
--Jesus was sent, not just born into the world.
--Entered into the brokenness of the world and was utterly helpless on the cross.
--Brings a kingdom of a promised of a new world through sacrifice.
--Power comes from belief that we were the goal for what Jesus did.
--V.22-23; Be a part of this mission through intimate community with him and with others.
--Get out of our comfort zone and control.
--Be in community because its something that people are committed to.
Friday, November 27, 2015
For Glory
The Lord Praying PART I
Rev David Bisgrove
21 June 2015
John 17: 1-5, 24
1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
"Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life; that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Jesus is longing and telling us the meaning of life and ultimate reality
ESSENCE OF GLORY
--something transcendent.
--greater healing of the soul.
--Window in to the glory of God.
--Everything of this world is nothing compared to the glory of God.
PRIORITY OF GLORY
--v.24-love between the Father and Son had existed before creation.
--Self giving love is a dynamic currency.
--Father is the priority of our prayer life.
--Problems when we glorify other things and define our identity by it.
HOUR OF GLORY
--Staring at Jesus allows us to become more like Him.
--Jesus came to the world because we turned our back in Him.
--We are healed by fixing our gaze on him and giving our glory away.
Rev David Bisgrove
21 June 2015
John 17: 1-5, 24
1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
"Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life; that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Jesus is longing and telling us the meaning of life and ultimate reality
ESSENCE OF GLORY
--something transcendent.
--greater healing of the soul.
--Window in to the glory of God.
--Everything of this world is nothing compared to the glory of God.
PRIORITY OF GLORY
--v.24-love between the Father and Son had existed before creation.
--Self giving love is a dynamic currency.
--Father is the priority of our prayer life.
--Problems when we glorify other things and define our identity by it.
HOUR OF GLORY
--Staring at Jesus allows us to become more like Him.
--Jesus came to the world because we turned our back in Him.
--We are healed by fixing our gaze on him and giving our glory away.
David's Suffering
David: Man of Prayer PART X
14 June 2015
Rev. Ed Sirya
2Samuel 12: 15-23
15After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. 17The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
18On the seventh day the child died. David's attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, he wouldn't listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate."
19David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked.
"Yes," they replied, "he is dead."
20Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
21His attendants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!"
22He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."
PROBLEM OF SUFFERING
--David is initially in denial about suffering and takes God too lightly
--David is filled with sorrow and quickly repents.
--David still suffers and God uses it to change him.
--Suffering isn't always punishment from God.
--v.13 The Lord has taken away your sin and you won't die...but your son will die.
--Suffering can cause us to resent God.
--Suffering isn't condemnation.
POWER OF SUFFERING
--David showed contempt for the Lord and his son dies.
--David was the forgotten son out in the field and God made him great.
--Suffering can be a refining process from God.
--Suffering can make us stronger or weaker.
--Our true beliefs may come out when we are on the floor suffering.
--Trauma shatters belief systems and forces people to put their lives back together.
--God showed mercy towards David.
--We can know we're forgiven but not act like it.
--Sin is loving things more than God.
PROMISE OF SUFFERING
--In suffering, David responds in prayer and was deeper into the arms of God.
--David remembered a love that would not let him go.
--v.22...the Lord may be gracious--All is a blessing.
--v.20...David went to the House of the Lord, not his own house.
--When we suffer, we must put ourselves in the path of beauty.
--David's second son with Bathsheeba was Solomon which led to the line of Jesus.
--The point of life is not comfort--it's to glorify God.
--God understands our suffering because He suffered through Jesus.
14 June 2015
Rev. Ed Sirya
2Samuel 12: 15-23
15After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. 17The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
18On the seventh day the child died. David's attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, he wouldn't listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate."
19David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked.
"Yes," they replied, "he is dead."
20Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
21His attendants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!"
22He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."
PROBLEM OF SUFFERING
--David is initially in denial about suffering and takes God too lightly
--David is filled with sorrow and quickly repents.
--David still suffers and God uses it to change him.
--Suffering isn't always punishment from God.
--v.13 The Lord has taken away your sin and you won't die...but your son will die.
--Suffering can cause us to resent God.
--Suffering isn't condemnation.
POWER OF SUFFERING
--David showed contempt for the Lord and his son dies.
--David was the forgotten son out in the field and God made him great.
--Suffering can be a refining process from God.
--Suffering can make us stronger or weaker.
--Our true beliefs may come out when we are on the floor suffering.
--Trauma shatters belief systems and forces people to put their lives back together.
--God showed mercy towards David.
--We can know we're forgiven but not act like it.
--Sin is loving things more than God.
PROMISE OF SUFFERING
--In suffering, David responds in prayer and was deeper into the arms of God.
--David remembered a love that would not let him go.
--v.22...the Lord may be gracious--All is a blessing.
--v.20...David went to the House of the Lord, not his own house.
--When we suffer, we must put ourselves in the path of beauty.
--David's second son with Bathsheeba was Solomon which led to the line of Jesus.
--The point of life is not comfort--it's to glorify God.
--God understands our suffering because He suffered through Jesus.
David's Betrayal
David: The Man of Prayer PART IX
Rev Aaron Bjerke
07 June 2015
2Samuel 11:1-5, 14-17, 12:1-7
1In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite." 4Then David sent messengers to get her. She came up to him, and slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15In it he wrote, "Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."
16So while Joab had the city under seige, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17When the men of this city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
12:1The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man an prepared it for the one who had come to him."
5David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."
7Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
The story of David and Bathsheeba
v.1 David was a distant king and didn't go to war like he used to.
v.2 Events happened under darkness.
v.4+5 Lust was very active and happens fast.
Lust strips people of their dignity and recreates them into objects.
We become less human when we see others as what they can give us instead of how we cans serve them.
DAVID AND NATHAN
--Lust is hidden and operates covertly.
--Lust is rooted in the heart--the body goes where the heart leads.
--Lust requires our attention.
--Lust requires a friend to speak the truth--deep friendship and intentional community.
GOD AND DAVID
--Confrontation by God.
--Lust reflects a substute for the deep thirst for life itself.
--Let our lust point to Jesus...so we can know what it is to flourish.
Rev Aaron Bjerke
07 June 2015
2Samuel 11:1-5, 14-17, 12:1-7
1In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite." 4Then David sent messengers to get her. She came up to him, and slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15In it he wrote, "Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."
16So while Joab had the city under seige, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17When the men of this city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
12:1The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man an prepared it for the one who had come to him."
5David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."
7Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
The story of David and Bathsheeba
v.1 David was a distant king and didn't go to war like he used to.
v.2 Events happened under darkness.
v.4+5 Lust was very active and happens fast.
Lust strips people of their dignity and recreates them into objects.
We become less human when we see others as what they can give us instead of how we cans serve them.
DAVID AND NATHAN
--Lust is hidden and operates covertly.
--Lust is rooted in the heart--the body goes where the heart leads.
--Lust requires our attention.
--Lust requires a friend to speak the truth--deep friendship and intentional community.
GOD AND DAVID
--Confrontation by God.
--Lust reflects a substute for the deep thirst for life itself.
--Let our lust point to Jesus...so we can know what it is to flourish.
David's Passion
David Man of Prayer PART VIII
31 May 2015
Rev. John Lin
2Samuel 6:1-7; 16-22
1David again brought together all the able young men of Israel--thirty thousand. 2He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. 3They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.
6When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzza reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverant act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
16As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
17They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 18After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. 19Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
20When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"
21David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel--I will celebrate before the Lord. 22I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."
PASSION OF THE ARK
--Ark represented the Throne of God.
--An intimate and fiery presence of God with his people.
--David brings the ark back to the center of the Kingdom (the true King returns)
--v.1 Procession and parade to celebrate the return of the Ark.
DANGER OF THE ARK
--v.6+7 Death of Uzzah
--v.8 David is angry with himself because he underestimated the seriousness of sin.
--Rules of the Old Testament tells us that sin is serious.
--We are unclean and He is holy--We can not dwell together.
--We can't do anything on our own to bridge that wide chasm.
--David thought the good moral intentions could mitigate the reality of sin.
HOPE OF THE ARK
--Ark returns to Jerusalem by His doing, not our own.
--v.10-11 shows the relational nature with God.
--David was more deliberate about moving the Ark.
--Sacrificed a bull so that the only way the Ark returns is through a sacrifice.
--Ark represents the sacrifice of God.
JOY OF THE ARK
--David dances with servants and slave girls.
--David was not trying to protect his dignity or appearance.
--For David, it was about grace.
ADDENDUM
--v.23 Michal didn't carry the royal line.
--It was the flawed Bathsheeba that continued the lineage.
31 May 2015
Rev. John Lin
2Samuel 6:1-7; 16-22
1David again brought together all the able young men of Israel--thirty thousand. 2He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. 3They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.
6When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzza reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverant act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
16As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
17They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 18After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. 19Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
20When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"
21David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel--I will celebrate before the Lord. 22I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."
PASSION OF THE ARK
--Ark represented the Throne of God.
--An intimate and fiery presence of God with his people.
--David brings the ark back to the center of the Kingdom (the true King returns)
--v.1 Procession and parade to celebrate the return of the Ark.
DANGER OF THE ARK
--v.6+7 Death of Uzzah
--v.8 David is angry with himself because he underestimated the seriousness of sin.
--Rules of the Old Testament tells us that sin is serious.
--We are unclean and He is holy--We can not dwell together.
--We can't do anything on our own to bridge that wide chasm.
--David thought the good moral intentions could mitigate the reality of sin.
HOPE OF THE ARK
--Ark returns to Jerusalem by His doing, not our own.
--v.10-11 shows the relational nature with God.
--David was more deliberate about moving the Ark.
--Sacrificed a bull so that the only way the Ark returns is through a sacrifice.
--Ark represents the sacrifice of God.
JOY OF THE ARK
--David dances with servants and slave girls.
--David was not trying to protect his dignity or appearance.
--For David, it was about grace.
ADDENDUM
--v.23 Michal didn't carry the royal line.
--It was the flawed Bathsheeba that continued the lineage.
David's Mercy
David: The Man of Prayer PART VII
Dr. Timothy Keller
24 May 2015
1Samuel 26:7-14, 21-25
7So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck to the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him.
8Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy in to your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won't strike him twice."
9But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? 10As surely as the Lord lives," he said, "the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord's anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that near his head, and let's go."
12So David took the spear and water jug near Saul's head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the Lord had put them into a deep sleep.
13Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them. 14He called out to the army and to Abner son or Ner, "Aren't you going to answer me, Abner?"
Abner replied, "Who are you who calls to the king?"
21Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have been terribly wrong."
22"Here is the king's spear," David answered. "Let one of your young men come over and get it. 23The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord's anointed. 24As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble."
25Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, David my son; you will do great things and surely triumph."
So David went on hi way, and Saul returned home.
What it means for those that have wronged you.
LOVING A NEIGHBOR
--David could have killed Saul
--v.9; Saul is God's anointed, so he won't kill him.
--He was great, but he is also fallen; I will spare him in the hopes that he will find it again.
--We're all surrounded by people who don't deserve good treatment, because they are in the image of God, so they must be protected.
--God's image--they have a certain dignity to them (image could be physical, attitude, personality...)
--Give that person the treatment that God deserves since they are in His image.
--Weight of our neighbor's glory should be laid daily on my back--a load so heavy that only humility can carry it (CS Lewis)
--people have the potential to be angelic or demonic in the long run.
--we should be kind, non-abusive, etc.
LOVING AN ENEMY
--Somebody who's wronged us or owed us.
--v.10; the Lord will take care of it.
--Only God has the wisdom to know what he deserves and the right to give it to him.
--We live only by God's mercy, so it would be unjust to withhold it to others.
--By showing mercy, David shows that he will not become capable of cruelty as was Saul.
--By not forgiving, we sort of become something like them--makes us harder.
--David thinks respectfully of Saul and thus forgives him--refers to him as "my lord, the king"
--It hurts to forgive, because we're paying the debt of forgiveness.
LOVING A FOOL
--v21; I have acted like a fool - willfully blind to my own faults (Saul)
--Forgiveness is not being passive.
--v22 David goes on a hill and announces that he has Saul's spear and could have killed him.
--David doesn't trust Saul so he stays on the mountain top--he is not naive.
--David goes after Saul's hardness of heart.
--It's never loving to let people keep on sinning.
--He is confronting them for their sake, not for his own sake.
--Realistically and aggressively love people and confront them out of love.
WHERE TO GET THE POWER FOR DOING ALL THAT
--Learning to love God's anointed and how he loved you.
--Anointed one is done to save and serve his people.
--David is using his position not to serve himself.
--Jesus was also driven into the wilderness and didn't strike back.
--Humility is needed for forgiveness--we can't feel superior to them.
--Affirmation of who we are is in Jesus, not in worldly things.
--We live in a culture of self-assertion and should look towards self renunciation that comes from JC.
Dr. Timothy Keller
24 May 2015
1Samuel 26:7-14, 21-25
7So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck to the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him.
8Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy in to your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won't strike him twice."
9But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? 10As surely as the Lord lives," he said, "the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord's anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that near his head, and let's go."
12So David took the spear and water jug near Saul's head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the Lord had put them into a deep sleep.
13Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them. 14He called out to the army and to Abner son or Ner, "Aren't you going to answer me, Abner?"
Abner replied, "Who are you who calls to the king?"
21Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have been terribly wrong."
22"Here is the king's spear," David answered. "Let one of your young men come over and get it. 23The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord's anointed. 24As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble."
25Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, David my son; you will do great things and surely triumph."
So David went on hi way, and Saul returned home.
What it means for those that have wronged you.
LOVING A NEIGHBOR
--David could have killed Saul
--v.9; Saul is God's anointed, so he won't kill him.
--He was great, but he is also fallen; I will spare him in the hopes that he will find it again.
--We're all surrounded by people who don't deserve good treatment, because they are in the image of God, so they must be protected.
--God's image--they have a certain dignity to them (image could be physical, attitude, personality...)
--Give that person the treatment that God deserves since they are in His image.
--Weight of our neighbor's glory should be laid daily on my back--a load so heavy that only humility can carry it (CS Lewis)
--people have the potential to be angelic or demonic in the long run.
--we should be kind, non-abusive, etc.
LOVING AN ENEMY
--Somebody who's wronged us or owed us.
--v.10; the Lord will take care of it.
--Only God has the wisdom to know what he deserves and the right to give it to him.
--We live only by God's mercy, so it would be unjust to withhold it to others.
--By showing mercy, David shows that he will not become capable of cruelty as was Saul.
--By not forgiving, we sort of become something like them--makes us harder.
--David thinks respectfully of Saul and thus forgives him--refers to him as "my lord, the king"
--It hurts to forgive, because we're paying the debt of forgiveness.
LOVING A FOOL
--v21; I have acted like a fool - willfully blind to my own faults (Saul)
--Forgiveness is not being passive.
--v22 David goes on a hill and announces that he has Saul's spear and could have killed him.
--David doesn't trust Saul so he stays on the mountain top--he is not naive.
--David goes after Saul's hardness of heart.
--It's never loving to let people keep on sinning.
--He is confronting them for their sake, not for his own sake.
--Realistically and aggressively love people and confront them out of love.
WHERE TO GET THE POWER FOR DOING ALL THAT
--Learning to love God's anointed and how he loved you.
--Anointed one is done to save and serve his people.
--David is using his position not to serve himself.
--Jesus was also driven into the wilderness and didn't strike back.
--Humility is needed for forgiveness--we can't feel superior to them.
--Affirmation of who we are is in Jesus, not in worldly things.
--We live in a culture of self-assertion and should look towards self renunciation that comes from JC.
David's Friend
David: The Man of Prayer PART VI
Dr. Timothy Keller
17 May 2015
1Samuel 18:1-4; 19:4-7; 20:40-42; 23:15-18
18:1As 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. 2And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. 3Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.
19:4And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?" 6And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, "As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death." 7And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
20:40And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, "Go and carry them to the city." 41And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 42Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, 'The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.'" And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
21:15David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. 17And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this." 18And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
NECESSITY OF FRIENDSHIP
--Jonathan knows David will be king.
--David was in the most dangerous part of his life.
--The friendship bracketed out the danger surrounding David and contained the evil.
--Proverbs 17:17 - the friendship saves David.
--Adam was lonely in the Garden; although he was without sin, it wasn't enough.
--Adam was made in the image of God, so he needed friends.
ELEMENTS OF FRIENDSHIP
--Constancy - a friend stays; Proverbs 18:24
--A friend is not a user that just benefits.
--Transparency - open feelings.
--Open your schedule, decisions, and flaws to them. Proverbs 27:5
--Friends are sympathetic, compassionate, and share a common vision.
POWER TO BE A GOOD FRIEND
--Jonathan didn't use David or Saul for self interest, but was loyal to both of them.
--Jonathan didn't use David or Saul for self interest, but was loyal to both of them.
--Through the faith of a transforming friendship of Jesus Christ.
--
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Saul's Jealousy
David: The Man of Prayer PART V
Dr. Timothy Keller
10 May 2015
1Samuel 18: 1-14
1After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
5Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in his army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul's officers as well.
6When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7As they danced, they sang:
"Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands."
8Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" 9And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.
10The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice.
12Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. 13So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. 14In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him.
Saul's life is being destroyed by Envy.
WHAT ENVY DOES
--Born of Comparison, Desire, and Resentment.
--Saul compares David's tens of thousands with his own thousands.
--Not being satisfied with what we have, but wanting what they have. (v.9--a jealous eye)
--We begrudge them for what they have as if they don't deserve it, but I do.
WHAT ENVY DOES
--Envy robs you of all joy;
--If we got happier when others are happy, there'd be a lot of joy.
--Envy grows (v.10) -- a terrifying spirit that increased.
--God judges sin by giving you more of what you've chosen--He will let you go.
--God tells Cain that sin is crouching at your door before he kills Abel.
--Envy hides and our society encourages it (images of the body; make more money)
HOW CAN WE ESCAPE ENVY
--The example is Jonathan (v1-4)
--Comes right after Goliath; feeling that God has anointed David.
--Jonathan is Saul's heir so he has more to lose.
--He gives him his robe and armor.
--Jonathan is making himself vulnerable to David.
--Jonathan sees that God his bringing his salvation through David so he got out of the way.
--Jonathan helps us grasp the biblical meaning of love--true love can't envy.
--Secular love is more about our own enhancement.
--Love is putting our happiness into someone else's happiness.
--Jonathan shows us the "un-envyness" of God in Jesus Christ.
--Jesus is the true Jonathan.
--Jesus loves seeing us get what we don't deserve. His joy is in our happiness.
--Jonathan shows us the freedom of abdication--get off the throne of our lives.
--The example is Jonathan (v1-4)
--Comes right after Goliath; feeling that God has anointed David.
--Jonathan is Saul's heir so he has more to lose.
--He gives him his robe and armor.
--Jonathan is making himself vulnerable to David.
--Jonathan sees that God his bringing his salvation through David so he got out of the way.
--Jonathan helps us grasp the biblical meaning of love--true love can't envy.
--Secular love is more about our own enhancement.
--Love is putting our happiness into someone else's happiness.
--Jonathan shows us the "un-envyness" of God in Jesus Christ.
--Jesus is the true Jonathan.
--Jesus loves seeing us get what we don't deserve. His joy is in our happiness.
--Jonathan shows us the freedom of abdication--get off the throne of our lives.
Monday, November 23, 2015
David's Courage
David: The Man of Prayer PART IV
Rev. John Lin
03 May 2015
1Samuel 17:32-50
32David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
33Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth."
34But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."
Saul said to David, "Go and the Lord be with you."
38Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
"I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off. 40Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43He said to David, "Am I a dog, by his gods. 44"Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!"
45David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God of Israel. 47All those gathered here will know that it is not by the sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
48As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and fell facedown on the ground.
50Do David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
SAUL AND HIS FALLEN COURAGE
--All were afraid; his heart falls and retreats.
--True courage is for the heart to be kind even in danger.
--True hospitality when its costly.
--Courage isn't about expression, but about sacrifice.
--Courage is for the sake of others.
--Saul's great fear is to fail as a king.
--How do we react when failure is likely?
GOLIATH'S MISGUIDED COURAGE
--Goliath is technologically advanced, has high self esteem, and confidence.
--Goliath underestimates David.
TRUE COURAGE OF DAVID
--His heart doesn't fall in the face of real danger.
--David goes as a weak and vulnerable hero.
--Fix your eyes on something so wonderful in the face of fear.
--Hebrews 12:1-3 Don't lose heart.
Rev. John Lin
03 May 2015
1Samuel 17:32-50
32David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
33Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth."
34But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."
Saul said to David, "Go and the Lord be with you."
38Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
"I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off. 40Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43He said to David, "Am I a dog, by his gods. 44"Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!"
45David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God of Israel. 47All those gathered here will know that it is not by the sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
48As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and fell facedown on the ground.
50Do David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
SAUL AND HIS FALLEN COURAGE
--All were afraid; his heart falls and retreats.
--True courage is for the heart to be kind even in danger.
--True hospitality when its costly.
--Courage isn't about expression, but about sacrifice.
--Courage is for the sake of others.
--Saul's great fear is to fail as a king.
--How do we react when failure is likely?
GOLIATH'S MISGUIDED COURAGE
--Goliath is technologically advanced, has high self esteem, and confidence.
--Goliath underestimates David.
TRUE COURAGE OF DAVID
--His heart doesn't fall in the face of real danger.
--David goes as a weak and vulnerable hero.
--Fix your eyes on something so wonderful in the face of fear.
--Hebrews 12:1-3 Don't lose heart.
David's Anointing
David: The Man of Prayer PART III
26 April 2015
Dr. Timothy Keller
1Samuel 6:1-13
1The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."
2But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me."
3The Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, "I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate."
4Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?"
5Samuel replied, "Yes in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6When they arrived, Samuel say Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord."
7But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
8Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one either." 9Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the Lord chosen this one." 10Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The Lord has not chosen these." 11So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
"There is still the youngest," Jesse answered. "He is tending the sheep."
Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives."
12So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; this is the one."
13So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David, Samuel then went to Ramah.
IMPORTANCE OF TRUE BEAUTY
--v.6-7
--True beauty is internal and only seen through God's eyes.
--Heart and wisdom are the best characteristics.
--Our culture can't define evil, so we have a hard time talking about true beauty.
--So we focus on impressions and appearances
--Porn trains you to judge things by the content of the skin, not the internal character.
SOURCE OF TRUE BEAUTY
--v.13 True kingly character comes from the Holy Spirit.
--As seen in Hannah's song, the normal king leverages power for more.
--We focus on beauty because we know of our mortality.
SECRET OF TRUE BEAUTY
--v.10
--David was the runt of the litter....the male Cinderella.
--God often chooses outsiders.
--Jesus is true wisdom and power
--Beauty in the eyes of God.
26 April 2015
Dr. Timothy Keller
1Samuel 6:1-13
1The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."
2But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me."
3The Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, "I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate."
4Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?"
5Samuel replied, "Yes in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6When they arrived, Samuel say Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord."
7But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
8Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one either." 9Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the Lord chosen this one." 10Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The Lord has not chosen these." 11So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
"There is still the youngest," Jesse answered. "He is tending the sheep."
Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives."
12So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; this is the one."
13So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David, Samuel then went to Ramah.
IMPORTANCE OF TRUE BEAUTY
--v.6-7
--True beauty is internal and only seen through God's eyes.
--Heart and wisdom are the best characteristics.
--Our culture can't define evil, so we have a hard time talking about true beauty.
--So we focus on impressions and appearances
--Porn trains you to judge things by the content of the skin, not the internal character.
SOURCE OF TRUE BEAUTY
--v.13 True kingly character comes from the Holy Spirit.
--As seen in Hannah's song, the normal king leverages power for more.
--We focus on beauty because we know of our mortality.
SECRET OF TRUE BEAUTY
--v.10
--David was the runt of the litter....the male Cinderella.
--God often chooses outsiders.
--Jesus is true wisdom and power
--Beauty in the eyes of God.
Saul's Rejection
David: The Man of Prayer PART II
19 April 2015
Rev. John Lin (Keller mp3)
1Samuel 15: 10-26
10Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11"I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was very angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
12Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told "Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone down to Gilgal."
13When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord's instructions."
14But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?"
15Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest."
16"Enough!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night."
"Tell me," Saul said.
17Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18And he sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.' 19Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?"
20"But I did obey the Lord," Saul said. "I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gigal."
22But Samuel replied:
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of the rams.
23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king."
24Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 25Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord."
26But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!"
We know how we should live, but we just can't do it.
How and Why did Saul fail? How can we escape the thing that destroyed him
Amos 1+2 talk about how the Amalekites waged war.
HOW DID SAUL FAIL?
--Supposed to destroy the Amalekites without getting rich himself.
--Smite the Amalekites out of divine justice, not out of imperialism or profit.
--Adopted the values of the enemy that he was supposed to smite.
--Going to war to enrich himself.
WHY DID SAUL FAIL?
--Saul started out as a modest and humble man.
--We have an infinite capacity for self-deception which can lead to great evil.
--Self deception is know something at one level but choosing not to know it at another level because we don't want to know it.
-Romans 1 - We know but we hold down the truth of righteousness.
SAUL'S CAPACITY FOR SELF-DECEPTION
--v.15 - Saul didn't kill all the animals as the Lord ordered; he plundered.
--v.10 Lord tells Samuel that Saul has turned away.
--God's commands, even if it's harsh, are an act of justice.
--Saul sets up a monument to himself.
--Saul's a decent person that becomes power hungry and needy.
SYMPTOMS OF SELF-DECEPTION
--Blame shifting--soldiers did it
--Minimizing the sin (v.20) I obeyed mostly...but not completely.
--Maximizing the good - Religions moralism that can cover a cruel heart. We spared the best of the sheep to sacrifice to the Lord and destroyed the rest.
--God doesn't want our sacrifices, he wants us.
--Saul yearns to be meaningful.
--Though God made him great, he still felt small.
--Saul knows the commands...but not really based on his partial actions.
--v.24 Why doesn't God accept Saul's repentance. He said he's afraid of the men. He's not sorry for the sin, but rather for the consequences of the sin.
HOW DO WE ESCAPE WHAT DESTROYED SAUL
--v.17 - you were small in your own eyes and God made you a king.
--But now you are trying to make yourself big by making a monument.
--Arrogance is like the sin of idolatry.
--You will filter out any information that calls your self-image into question.
--All that Saul became was through sovereign grace.
--Deut 7:7-8 - Lord chose you cause he loved you not because you were great.
HOW DO WE LET IT SINK IN
--Hebrews 10-mad holy by the obedience of Jesus Christ.
19 April 2015
Rev. John Lin (Keller mp3)
1Samuel 15: 10-26
10Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11"I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was very angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
12Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told "Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone down to Gilgal."
13When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord's instructions."
14But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?"
15Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest."
16"Enough!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night."
"Tell me," Saul said.
17Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18And he sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.' 19Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?"
20"But I did obey the Lord," Saul said. "I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gigal."
22But Samuel replied:
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of the rams.
23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king."
24Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 25Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord."
26But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!"
We know how we should live, but we just can't do it.
How and Why did Saul fail? How can we escape the thing that destroyed him
Amos 1+2 talk about how the Amalekites waged war.
HOW DID SAUL FAIL?
--Supposed to destroy the Amalekites without getting rich himself.
--Smite the Amalekites out of divine justice, not out of imperialism or profit.
--Adopted the values of the enemy that he was supposed to smite.
--Going to war to enrich himself.
WHY DID SAUL FAIL?
--Saul started out as a modest and humble man.
--We have an infinite capacity for self-deception which can lead to great evil.
--Self deception is know something at one level but choosing not to know it at another level because we don't want to know it.
-Romans 1 - We know but we hold down the truth of righteousness.
SAUL'S CAPACITY FOR SELF-DECEPTION
--v.15 - Saul didn't kill all the animals as the Lord ordered; he plundered.
--v.10 Lord tells Samuel that Saul has turned away.
--God's commands, even if it's harsh, are an act of justice.
--Saul sets up a monument to himself.
--Saul's a decent person that becomes power hungry and needy.
SYMPTOMS OF SELF-DECEPTION
--Blame shifting--soldiers did it
--Minimizing the sin (v.20) I obeyed mostly...but not completely.
--Maximizing the good - Religions moralism that can cover a cruel heart. We spared the best of the sheep to sacrifice to the Lord and destroyed the rest.
--God doesn't want our sacrifices, he wants us.
--Saul yearns to be meaningful.
--Though God made him great, he still felt small.
--Saul knows the commands...but not really based on his partial actions.
--v.24 Why doesn't God accept Saul's repentance. He said he's afraid of the men. He's not sorry for the sin, but rather for the consequences of the sin.
HOW DO WE ESCAPE WHAT DESTROYED SAUL
--v.17 - you were small in your own eyes and God made you a king.
--But now you are trying to make yourself big by making a monument.
--Arrogance is like the sin of idolatry.
--You will filter out any information that calls your self-image into question.
--All that Saul became was through sovereign grace.
--Deut 7:7-8 - Lord chose you cause he loved you not because you were great.
HOW DO WE LET IT SINK IN
--Hebrews 10-mad holy by the obedience of Jesus Christ.
Hannah's Prayer
David: The Man of Prayer PART I
Dr. Timothy Keller
12 April 2015
1Samuel 1:3-11, 18-20; 2:6-10
3Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. 4Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5But Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. 6Because the Lord had closed Hannah's womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her til she wept and would not heat. 8Her husband Elkanah would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"
9Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord's house. 10In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11And she made a vow, saying, "Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
18She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
19Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah mad love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the Lord for him."
2:6"The Lord brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
7The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and exalts.
8He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
"For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's;
on them he has set the world.
9He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
"It is not by strength that one prevails;
10those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
"He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed."
Hannah - Desperate woman that radically changes her life through prayer.
HANNAH'S SORROW
--Barren woman; the other fertile wife is rubbing it in.
--She's not living up to the cultural ideals (bearing children)
--v.10 Deep anguish.
--Sadness comes from the polygamous marriage and she's unable to bear children.
--Every culture puts pressure for people to live up the cultural ideals.
--How successful are you? People that don't fit in are stigmatized.
HANNAH'S RESPONSE TO SORROW
--Her husband loves Hannah more than the other wife who is having the children.
--Hannah doesn't answer her husband or the other wife that is provoking her.
--She doesn't give in to building her life on her husband's affection.
--Hannah doesn't become enslaved to the things around her.
--v.9 Hannah stood up (similar to our understanding of "she put her foot down")
--She chooses not to have her culture and surroundings define her
--She decided to take decisive action and she prays.
--She finds peace right after praying, but she didn't get pregnant yet--so her peace wasn't conditional on having her prayer be answered with a child.
--She also dedicated her child to the priesthood which wouldn't have benefited her status.
--Her son couldn't own or inherit the father's stuff.
--Her son wouldn't live with her either.
--Her child would not be for her, but her child would be for God.
HANNAH'S SAVIOR
--She sees a pattern and a person in her song.
--v.6+7 Those who stumble are armed with strength.
--God shows his work through weakness.
--Pattern is that he works through suffering and weakness.
--Person - "His anointed" - The Messiah; there was no king of Israel at the time.
--Is she forseeing David....and Jesus?
--Parallels with Mary--mother of Jesus and her song which is based on Hannah's song.
--Restructure our heart to get cultural oppression off of our back.
Dr. Timothy Keller
12 April 2015
1Samuel 1:3-11, 18-20; 2:6-10
3Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. 4Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5But Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. 6Because the Lord had closed Hannah's womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her til she wept and would not heat. 8Her husband Elkanah would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"
9Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord's house. 10In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11And she made a vow, saying, "Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
18She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
19Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah mad love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the Lord for him."
2:6"The Lord brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
7The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and exalts.
8He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
"For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's;
on them he has set the world.
9He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
"It is not by strength that one prevails;
10those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
"He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed."
Hannah - Desperate woman that radically changes her life through prayer.
HANNAH'S SORROW
--Barren woman; the other fertile wife is rubbing it in.
--She's not living up to the cultural ideals (bearing children)
--v.10 Deep anguish.
--Sadness comes from the polygamous marriage and she's unable to bear children.
--Every culture puts pressure for people to live up the cultural ideals.
--How successful are you? People that don't fit in are stigmatized.
HANNAH'S RESPONSE TO SORROW
--Her husband loves Hannah more than the other wife who is having the children.
--Hannah doesn't answer her husband or the other wife that is provoking her.
--She doesn't give in to building her life on her husband's affection.
--Hannah doesn't become enslaved to the things around her.
--v.9 Hannah stood up (similar to our understanding of "she put her foot down")
--She chooses not to have her culture and surroundings define her
--She decided to take decisive action and she prays.
--She finds peace right after praying, but she didn't get pregnant yet--so her peace wasn't conditional on having her prayer be answered with a child.
--She also dedicated her child to the priesthood which wouldn't have benefited her status.
--Her son couldn't own or inherit the father's stuff.
--Her son wouldn't live with her either.
--Her child would not be for her, but her child would be for God.
HANNAH'S SAVIOR
--She sees a pattern and a person in her song.
--v.6+7 Those who stumble are armed with strength.
--God shows his work through weakness.
--Pattern is that he works through suffering and weakness.
--Person - "His anointed" - The Messiah; there was no king of Israel at the time.
--Is she forseeing David....and Jesus?
--Parallels with Mary--mother of Jesus and her song which is based on Hannah's song.
--Restructure our heart to get cultural oppression off of our back.
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