1)\u00a0 “A Man After God’s Own Heart” (Jarrod Jacobs)
2)\u00a0 Be Holy (Jesse A. Flowers)
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“A Man After God’s Own Heart”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Jarrod Jacobs The answer to this question is not hard to find. In I Samuel 13:14, after Saul had sinned in offering the sacrifice before the battle with the Philistines (vv. 9-10), God inspired Samuel to condemn the action and then pronounce this judgment: \u201cYou have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you\u201d <\/em>(vv. 13-14). Notice David is not called \u201cthe\u201d man after God\u2019s own heart, but he is \u201ca\u201d man who fit this description. Evidently, God acknowledges that there are others who could also be described in this way. Friend, be honest and examine yourself (II Cor. 13:5). Could God describe us as a man\/woman \u201cafter His own heart\u201d? If not, why not? What part of our lives have we decided do not belong to the God of Heaven? Have we decided that we can\u2019t be a \u201cperson after God\u2019s own heart\u201d because we\u2019re not \u201cgood enough\u201d? I hope that through this study, it is made clear that it is not a matter of someone being \u201csinless,\u201d for this is impossible (Rom. 3:23). It is a matter of self-sacrifice for the Lord and the willingness to be corrected and repent to God when we see that we are in error. We need to learn to be that \u201cliving sacrifice\u201d for the Lord (Rom. 12:1-2) and give Him our all. Let us stand as David and be someone \u201cafter God\u2019s own heart.\u201d When we determine we will show humility, faith, patience, and obedience to God in our spiritual lives, we will be someone \u201cafter God\u2019s heart\u201d won\u2019t we? Let us learn a lesson from the life of David, and let us apply the attributes of his life to our own (Rom. 15:4; I Cor. 10: 11). When we do this, we will grow closer to God and do much to prepare ourselves for an eternity in Heaven.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.\u201d -2-<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesse A. Flowers 1) Hear<\/strong>\u00a0the gospel — for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31). Tebeau Street Sunday: 9 a.m. <\/strong>Bible Classes and 10 a.m. <\/strong>Worship Service.\u00a0\u00a0 Congregational Song Service<\/strong>: 5 p.m. for every first Sunday of the month.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wednesday: 7 p.m. <\/strong>Bible Classes<\/p>\n\n\n\n evangelist\/editor:\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).——————– Contents 1)\u00a0 “A Man After God’s Own Heart” (Jarrod Jacobs)2)\u00a0 Be Holy (Jesse A. Flowers) ——————– -1- “A Man After God’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2594"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2597,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594\/revisions\/2597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The statement above is well-known to most people. This statement, while not the exact Bible quotation, is based on the words of Scripture found in I Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22. In both passages, we see reference made to David, the second king of Israel. He was the one God describes as being \u201cafter His own heart.\u201d In fact, God makes it clear that David \u201cdid what was right in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite\u201d<\/em> (I Kings 15:5). What made David a man after God\u2019s own heart? What characteristics stand out when we think of this wonderful Bible character? Can we possess those characteristics today? Let us answer these questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat Made David A Man After God\u2019s Own Heart?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I Samuel 16 records God\u2019s selection of David as the next king of Israel. By simply reading I Samuel 13, we see that David was \u201ca man after God\u2019s own heart\u201d because he was obedient to the Lord! Evidently, God saw in David a characteristic not found in Saul, and that was his consistency and fortitude to continue to obey God even when it was hard to do! Those who read of the life of David have to be impressed with his consistency and faithfulness to the Lord through his life.
Another attribute that makes David \u201ca man after God\u2019s own heart\u201d would be his willingness to repent of sins. At no time should we equate \u201ca man after God\u2019s own heart\u201d with sinlessness. This is not the case with David because he sinned at times. Some recorded occasions of sin include the time he sinned with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah (II Sam. 11-12). Also, the time he allowed the ark to be brought back on the new cart; (resulting in the death of Uzzah) rather than looking for the Levites who could correctly transport the ark back to Jerusalem (II Sam. 6). On another occasion, David committed the sin of acting when God had been silent when he numbered the people (II Sam. 24). This resulted in the deaths of 70,000 men. In each case, David repented and determined to do better in the future. He relied upon God and went to God for forgiveness. His attitude is probably best summed up in his words, \u201cLet us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man\u201d <\/em>(II Sam. 24:14). With his godly attitude, it is not surprising that we read the following words of advice to Solomon: \u201cBe strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn\u201d<\/em> (I Kings 2:2-3).
In connection with the above, we also see David as a humble man. He humbly repented before God when he sinned. Notice also that though he was king of Israel, and the victor in many battles, he still remembered, \u201cThe Lord is my shepherd \u2026\u201d<\/em> (Ps. 23:1). He freely confessed, \u201cI am poor and needy\u201d<\/em> (Ps. 86:1). He was truly a humble man.
David was a man of faith as well. Remember that when he went out to meet Goliath in battle, he said, \u201cYou come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD\u2019s, and he will give you into our hand\u201d<\/em> (I Sam. 17:45-47). This is but one of many examples we could cite that shows David\u2019s great faith. He believed in <\/em>God, and believed God! Doesn\u2019t God expect the same of us today (Heb. 11:6)?
We can also say David was a patient man. Though chosen to be king over Israel (I Sam. 16), he did not lead some kind of coup, or rebellion against Saul. In fact, he would not lift a hand to harm \u201cthe Lord\u2019s anointed\u201d <\/em>in any way, nor did he encourage others to do harm to him (I Sam. 24:4-7)! He was patient and waited until the time was right to serve as king of Israel. Only after Saul\u2019s death, and the time of mourning was passed did he ask God if he ought to go to the cities of Judah (II Sam. 2:1). Even at that time, he did not just \u201cassume the throne\u201d! In addition to this, David\u2019s patience is seen when he wanted to build the Temple, but God would not let him do it (II Sam. 7). He was satisfied to gather the materials and wait for his son to build the Temple (I Chron. 22:2-4, 14-16, 29:2-7). He did not overrule God\u2019s decision and start building the Temple, but was patient and did as God wanted. What wonderful examples of patience by David.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCould It Be Said That You Are One After God\u2019s Own Heart?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
— Via The Old Paths,<\/em> Volume 21, Issue 13, May 25, 2014
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\u2014 NASB
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\u201cBut as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, \u2018Be holy, for I am holy\u2019\u201d (1 Peter 1:15-16).
Perhaps no attribute of God is emphasized more to us in the Scriptures than His holiness (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8). God is holy in that He is absolutely pure. He is unstained by sin and evil. He is perfect in every way. As the apostle John expressed it, \u201cGod is light and in Him is no darkness at all\u201d (1 John 1:5). And based upon God being holy, we His children are called upon to be holy too (1 Thess. 4:7).
The root idea of holiness is that of separation from a life of habitual sin and all worldly defilement. Holiness entails dedication (consecration) to the service of God. A life of holiness has always been required of God\u2019s covenant people (cf. Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:26), and such a requirement has always been based upon God\u2019s own holiness \u2013 \u201cbe holy, for I am holy.\u201d
The apostle Peter makes it abundantly clear to his Christian readers that we are not to simply be holy in certain areas of our life, but we are to be holy in ALL of our conduct (behavior). Our thoughts are to be pure and holy (Phil. 4:8). Our words (our speech) are to be completely holy (Eph. 4:29). Our lives are to be without spot and blameless (2 Peter 3:14). The clothing we wear is to profess our godliness (1 Tim. 2:9-10). The things that we watch, the audio that we listen to, and the places that we go must be rooted in our holiness.
In fact, a life of holiness ought to be our daily pursuit, knowing that we will not see the Lord or be with the Lord if it is absent from our life (Heb. 12:14). As Paul penned: \u201cBeloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God\u201d (2 Cor. 7:1). May we earnestly strive to \u201cbe holy and without blame before Him in love\u201d (Eph. 1:4).
\u2014 Via Articles<\/em> from the Knollwood church of Christ, January 2024\u00a0
——————–<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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2) Believe\u00a0<\/strong>in the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent\u00a0<\/strong>of sins.\u00a0 For every accountable person has sinned (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10), which causes one to be spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1) and separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 6:23). Therefore, repentance of sin is necessary (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).\u00a0 For whether the sin seems great or small, there will still be the same penalty for either (Matt. 12:36-37; 2 Cor. 5:10) — and even for a lie (Rev. 21:8).
4) Confess faith\u00a0<\/strong>in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized\u00a0<\/strong>in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21).\u00a0 This is the final step that puts one into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27).\u00a0 For from that baptism, one is then raised as a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17), having all sins forgiven and beginning a new life as a Christian (Rom. 6:3-4). For the one being baptized does so \u201cthrough faith in the working of God\u201d (Col. 2:12). In other words, believing that God will keep His word and forgive after one submits to these necessary steps. And now as a Christian, we then need to\u2026
6) Continue in the faith <\/strong>by <\/strong>living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Matt. 24:13; Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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CHURCH OF CHRIST<\/strong><\/strong>
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong><\/strong>Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
<\/a>https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go\/all.htm<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> (This is a link to the older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990.)
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