I Samuel 17

Israelites faced the Philistinesverses 1-3

Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle

and were gathered together at Shochoh – which belongs to Judah

and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah – in Ephes-dammim

And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together

and pitched by the valley of Elah

and set the battle in array against the Philistines

And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side

and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side

and there was a valley between them

Description of Goliath givenverses 4-7

And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines

named Goliath – of Gath – whose height was six cubits and a span

and he had an helmet of brass upon his head

and he was armed with a coat of mail

and the weight of the coat was five thousand

shekels of brass

and he had greaves of brass upon his legs

and a target of brass between his shoulders

and the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam

and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron

and one bearing a shield went before him

Challenge of Goliath to the Israelitesverses 8-11

And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel – and said unto them

Why are you come out to set your battle in array?

Am not I a Philistine – and you servants to Saul?

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

IF he be able to fight with me – and to kill me

THEN will we be your servants

BUT IF I prevail against him – and kill him

THEN shall you be our servants

and serve us

And the Philistine said

I defy the armies of Israel this day

Give me a man – that we may fight together

When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine

they were dismayed – and greatly afraid

David’s three brothers in the army of Israelverses 12-15

Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah

whose name was Jesse

And he had eight sons

and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul

And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle

and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were

Eliab the firstborn – and next unto him Abinadab

the third Shammah

And David was the youngest – and the three eldest followed Saul

BUT David went and returned from Saul to feed his

father’s sheep at Bethlehem

Goliath challenged Israel for forty straight daysverse 16

And the Philistine drew near morning and evening

and presented himself FORTY DAYS

Jesse sends David to camp of Israel with suppliesverses 17-19

And Jesse said unto David his son

Take now for your brethren an ephah of this parched corn

and these ten loaves – and run to the camp to your brethren

and carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their

thousand – and look how thy brethren fare

and take their pledge

Now Saul – and they – and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah

fighting with the Philistines

David hears Goliath’s challengeverses 20-23

And David rose up early in the morning

and left the sheep with a keeper and took – and went

as Jesse had commanded him

And he came to the trench

as the host was going forth to the fight

and shouted for the battle

FOR Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array

army against army

And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage

and ran into the army – and came and saluted his brethren

And as he talked with them

BEHOLD – there came up the champion – the Philistine of Gath

Goliath by name – out of the armies of the Philistines

and spoke according to the same words

and David heard them

Saul offers of rewardverses 24-25

And all the men of Israel – when they saw the man

fled from him and were sore afraid

And the men of Israel

said

Have you seen this man that is coming up?

surely to defy Israel is he come up – and it shall be

that the man who kills him

the king will enrich him with great riches

and will give him his daughter

and make his father’s house

free in Israel

David asks soldiers questionsverse 26

And David spoke to the men that stood by him

saying

What shall be done to the man that kills this Philistines

and take away the reproach from Israel?

FOR who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy

the armies of the living God?

Soldiers answer Davidverse 27

And the people answered him after this manner

saying

So shall it be done to the man that kills him

Eliab confronts his brother Davidverse 28

And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke unto the men

and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David –

and he said

Why came you down hither?

And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?

I know your pride – and the naughtiness of your heart

FOR you are come down that you might see the battle

David’s questions reported to Saulverses 29-31

And David

said

What have I now done?

Is there not a cause?

And he turned from him toward another

and spoke after the same manner

and the people answered him again after the former manner

And when the words were heard which David spoke

they rehearsed them before Saul – and he sent for him

David tells Saul he will fight Goliathverses 32-33

And David

said to Saul

Let no man’s heart fail because of him

your servant will go and fight with this Philistine

And Saul

said to David

You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him

FOR you are but a youth

and he a man of war from his youth

David gives his battle history to Saulverses 34-37

And David

said to Saul

Your servant kept his father’s sheep – and there came a lion

and a bear – and took a lamb out of the flock

and I went out after him – and smote him

and delivered it out of his mouth

and when he arose against me

I caught him by his beard

and smote him and slew him

Your servant slew both the lion and the bear

and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them

seeing he has defied the armies of the living God

David said moreover

The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion

and out of the paw of the bear

HE will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine

And Saul said to David

Go – and the LORD be with you

David takes five smooth stonesverses 38-40

And Saul armed David with his armor

and put a helmet of brass on his head

also he armed him with a coat of mail

And David girded his sword on his armor – and he assayed to go

FOR he had not proved it

And David said to Saul

I cannot go with these – FOR I have not proved them

And David put them off him – and he took his staff in his hand

and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook

and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had

even in a script

and his sling was in his hand

and he drew near to the Philistine

Goliath insults Davidverses 41-44

And the Philistine came on and drew near to David

and man that bare the shield went before him

and when the Philistine looked about – and saw David

he disdained him – FOR he was but a youth and ruddy

and of a fair countenance

And the Philistine said to David

Am I a dog – that you come to me with staves?

And the Philistine cursed David by his gods

and the Philistine

said to David

Come to me – and I will give your flesh unto the fowls of the air

and to the beasts of the field

David replies to Goliathverses 45-47

THEN said David to the Philistine

You come to me with a sword – and with a spear

and with a shield

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 will the LORD deliver you into my hand

and I will smite you – and take your head from you

and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines

this day unto the fowls of the air

and to the wild beasts of the earth

That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel

and all this assembly shall know that the LORD

saves not with sword and spear

FOR the battle is the LORD’S

and HE will give you into our hands

David hits Goliath with a stoneverses 48-49

And it came to pass

when the Philistine arose – and came and drew nigh to meet David

that David hastened

and RAN toward the army to meet the Philistine

And David put his hand in his bag – and took thence a stone – and slang it

and smote the Philistine in his forehead

that the stone sunk into his forehead

and he fell upon his face to the earth

David kills Goliathverses 50-51

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone

and smote the Philistine – and slew him

but there was no sword in the hand of David

Therefore David ran – and stood upon the Philistine – and took his sword

and drew it out of the sheath thereof – and slew him

and cut off his head therewith

And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead – they fled

Philistines run with Israel chasingverses 52-54

And the men of Israel and of Judah arose – and shouted

and pursued the Philistines – until thou come to the valley

and to the gates of Ekron

And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim

even to Gath – and unto Ekron

And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines

and they spoiled their tents

And David took the head of the Philistine

and brought it to Jerusalem – BUT he put his armor in his tent

Saul wanted to know more about Davidverses 55-58

And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine

he said to Abner the captain of the host

Abner – whose son is this youth?

And Abner said

As your soul lives – O king – I cannot tell

And the king said

Inquire you whose son the stripling is

And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine

Abner took him and brought him before Saul

with the head of Philistine in his hand

And Saul said to him

Whose son are you – you young man?

And David answered

I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (377 “champion” [eesh] means great man, an adult person who is male, or show masculinity)

DEVOTION: Have you ever met someone who was over nine feet tall? I have not. I have meet individuals who were seven feet tall. To me anyone over six and a half feet is really tall.

The children of Israel didn’t want to enter the Promised Land because there were giants in the land. They saw these men and didn’t want to face them in battle. When they finally entered the land the oldest soldier, Caleb, wanted a region that had giants in it because he was not afraid of them. He knew that the LORD could defeat any giant. He was one of the two spies that told the children of Israel that they could defeat any enemy in the Promised Land if they were only trust the LORD.

Israel failed to trust the LORD and the LORD let a whole generation wander in the wilderness because of their lack of trust. Now here is another generation of Israelites who were facing a giant and they sinned again by not trusting the LORD.

Goliath was defying the LIVING GOD of Israel and no one came forward to face the giant. Young David faced him without any problem because he trusted the LORD to deliver him out of the hands of the giant.

We need to trust the LORD to help us defeat even nine feet tall giants in our life. Remember that David took up five smooth stones when he went to battle. Do you know the reason for five? Did he think he would miss the first four times? NO!! He knew that Goliath had four brothers and he was ready for them.

CHALLENGE: We need to be ready for any number of foes and realize that the LORD gives us enough ammunition to defeat them all.

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man that is come up?” Surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. (2778 “defy” [charaph[ means blasphemed, upbraid, taunt, annoy, to treat with contempt, ridicule, or rail)

DEVOTION: David found out there was a reward for the individual who defeated the giant. He was already anointed future king. He already was in the king’s court playing a musical instrument to ward off the evil spirit the LORD allowed in Saul’s life. He already knew that the LORD had filled him with the Holy Spirit. He already had seen the power of the LORD while he was watching his family’s sheep. He already was an expert with a slingshot.

Now he would have the possibility of marrying into the king’s family if he defeated the giant. Do you think this was all happening according to a plan the LORD had made before the foundation of the world? The answer is YES. God is never surprised by what is happening in the world. HE knew what David had to do to become someone the nation of Israel respected before he took the throne. All the activities of David to this point were planned by the LORD to help him take the throne.

So nothing is happening in our life that the LORD has not planned before the foundation of the world HE created. HE is working HIS plan in our life right now. If we are genuine believers HE is going to bless us during hard times and during good times all to help us become more like HIS Son.

Too often we don’t look at the whole picture of our lives. We look at little pieces and think that the LORD was not working during certain times. HE was not helping like we would like HIM too. That is a lie from the pit of hell. God knows us from the day of our birth to the day of our death.

CHALLENGE: As believers HE will never leave us or forsake us. We need to remind ourselves of this FACT and trust HIM.

: 26 And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? (2416 “living” [chay] means alive, absolute being, vigorous, robust, or quickened)

DEVOTION: There are many false gods in our world. Many nations make their own gods out of wood and other objects. Some use precious stones or gold. They bow down to them and pray to them thinking that they can help them during times of trouble. The worship of false gods has gone on since the time of Cain and Abel.

The God of the Bible wants us to worship HIM in spirit and in truth. HE wants us to realize that HE is a living God and that no statue or object can be made to represent HIM.

David understood who God was and what HE expected of HIS people. The other people in the army looked at the size of the giant and not at the size of the God who brought them out of Egypt.

Today we have a tendency to think of our God as small as compared to the rest of the world. It seems that things are changing in our worship services where it is more about the worshiper than the God we are supposed to worship.

Our God is the same God that the children of Israel followed through the wilderness. HE showed them HIS great power and yet they still fell into the trap of trying to worship something they could make with their hands.

Sometimes we find people can worship the church building more than the God who was the reason for the building of the building.

We need to be sure that we still have the God of the Bible in sight when we go to church to worship. It is not the people or place but the Creator of the Universe that we should come to worship.

We still serve a living God. HE is in the world today and HE wants us to be HIS witnesses to a corrupt generation.

CHALLENGE: Are we more like David or more like the children of Israel? Are we willing to face the giants the LORD allows in our lives?

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your heart; for you art come down that you mightest see the battle. (7455 “naughtiness” [roa’] means insolence, pride, haughtiness, swelling wickedness)

DEVOTION: Sibling rivalry is true in all families. The older children think that the youngest is spoiled. The youngest can get away with murder as far as the older children are concerned. The problem with growing up in a family is that everyone knows all the bad habits of the other. Once someone in the family becomes a follower of Christ, the only things that the other family members remember is all their sins of the past. They know that the sibling can’t change. They don’t even want to see the change if there is one. They just think that the individual is acting holier than thou and they want none of it, even if the change is real.

Here we have a brother’s opinion of his youngest brother. He thinks that David is bad. He thinks that David is forgetting his responsibility at home. He doesn’t like the fact that David even came to the battle. He thought he should just be quiet and go back home. He had a low opinion of his brother. He was not encouraging to David at all.

David was thinking of going against Goliath. His brothers had been there at least forty days listening to Goliath’s challenge. They were too afraid to confront Goliath and here is their little brother asking to go against him. David was convinced that he was challenging God and not just HIS army. He saw this as a matter of honoring the LORD.

There are times when people look at a family member and belittle them. That is not what the LORD would have us do to each other. We are to be encouragers of our family. We are not only to encourage our physical family, but also our spiritual family.

Are we encouraging those who attend church with us each Sunday? Are we really involved in their lives and needs? How much to we know or care about each other? We have the responsibility to pray for those who are in our world. Are we fulfilling our responsibility?

Jealousy is real in the life of every Christian and every family. If we see someone doing something, we think we could do better, what do we do? Or we might see someone with more gifts from the Holy Spirit than we have and wonder why the LORD hasn’t given us those gifts.

CHALLENGE: We need to be encouragers to those around us. If we are faithful in our encouragement of others, will the LORD bless us?????

: 47 And all this assembly shall know that he LORD saves not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. (6951 “assembly” [qahal] means congregation, company, multitude, convocation, army, horde, group of soldiers gathered for a military purpose or crowd.)

DEVOTION: David had a message for the Philistines and the rest of the world. The message was that the LORD didn’t need human armaments to win a war. HE is the creator of the universe and HE can defeat any enemy with as little as a young man and a stone.

The Philistines thought that their giant of a man could defy the Living God and get away with it. They had done this with other nations but they had picked the wrong nation to use this as a means for victory.

One man used of God can defeat any enemy no matter how big or small. One man obedient to the LORD can face any danger with no fear. David had put his trust in the LORD.

He knew that God had helped him in the past against animals that were stronger than him. He knew that they were nothing in the eyes of the LORD just like this giant was nothing against the LORD.

Saul didn’t realize this fact. The rest of the army didn’t realize this fact. Finally, neither did the brothers of David realize this fact. They were too busy being afraid instead of trusting the LORD.

We can see giants in our life and be like David or like the army of Israel. We have a choice to make each day when we enter the battle field against our enemy the devil and his minions. The choice should be to trust in the LORD will all our heart. It is easier said than done some days but it is what the LORD commands of all those who want to be obedient servants.

CHALLENGE: What are you going today when you enter the battle field? Trust and obey or doubt?

DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)

DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

God – Elohim (Creator)verses 26, 36, 45, 46

Living Godverses 26, 36

Armies of the living Godverses 26, 36

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 37, 45-47

LORD of hostsverse 45

God of the armies of Israelverse 45

God in Israelverse 46

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Philistinesverses 1-53

Fled after Goliath killed

Champion: Goliath of Gathverses 4, 16, 23, 26, 36, 42-51

Uncircumcised Philistine

Height: six cubits and a span

Coat of mail: 5,000 shekels of brass

Spear weighted 600 shekels of iron

Challenge to Israel

Disdained David

Cursed David by his gods

Killed by David

Uncircumcisedverse 36

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

Dismayedverse 11

Greatly afraidverse 11

Defy Godverses 25, 26, 36

Reproachverse 26

Angerverse 28

Prideverse 28

Naughtinessverse 28

Disdainedverse 42

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Servantverses 32, 34, 36, 58

Deliveranceverses 37, 46, 47

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Shochoh which belonged to Judahverse 1

Saul and men of Israelverses 2, 8, 11, 15, 25, 31-58

Pitched tents in valley of Elah

Forty days into battle

Promised the one who killed Goliath

Enrich him

Give his daughter

Make father’s house tax free

Heard words of David

Confronts David

Gives David blessing to go fight

Tries to put his armor on David

Wanted to know more about David

Armies of Israelverses 8, 24, 26, 53

Men of Israel sore afraid

Spoiled tents of Philistines

Davidverses 12, 14-55

Youngest son of Jesse

Is there not a cause?

Tells of defeating: lion & bear

Fights with staff and five smooth stones

States he comes in the name of the LORD

Took head of Philistine to Jerusalem

Put armor of Goliath in tent

Jesse had eight sonsverses 12-13

Three oldest sons at battle

Eliab

Abinadab

Shammah

Eliab – the eldest brotherverse 28

Confronts David

Calls him prideful

Naughtiness of his heart

Captain of the hosts: Abnerverse 55

Jesse the Bethlehemiteverse 58

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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QUOTES regarding passage

45–47 David’s responding taunt begins and ends with reference to the ineffectiveness and irrelevance of “sword and spear” (vv.45, 47; in short supply in Israel in any case; cf. 13:19, 22) when the God of Israel is involved in the battle (for other rhetorical features binding these three verses together, cf. Ceresko, “David’s ‘Boast,’ ” pp. 73–74 n. 56). “You” (Goliath; v.45, emphatic pronoun) and “I” (David; emphatic pronoun) possess weapons that belong to totally different realms (cf. 2 Chronicles 32:7–8; 2 Cor 10:3–4). David fights Goliath “in the name of” the Lord—that is, “as his representative” (BDB, p. 102; cf. 25:5, 9; 2 Sam 6:18; Exod 5:23; Deut 10:8; 2 Chronicles 14:11). One of the names of the “God of the armies of Israel” is the regal name “Lord Almighty” (lit., “Lord of Hosts/Armies”—although the Heb. word for “armies” is different in the two expressions and therefore “armies of Israel” cannot be used, without further ado, to define “Hosts” in the name “Lord Almighty”; cf. comment on 1:3 for details). Goliath is on perilous ground: To defy “the armies of Israel” (v.45) is to defy “the armies of the living God” (v.36; cf. comment on v.10) and is tantamount to defying God himself (the relative pronoun “whom,” which the NIV takes as referring to God in v.45, could also be translated “which” in reference to “armies”). (Youngblood, R. F. (1992). 1, 2 Samuel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, pp. 700–701). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

It was the Lord’s victory (1 Sam. 17:40–47). It’s unfortunate that this dramatic account is considered primarily a children’s story or the basis for an allegory about defeating the “giants” in our lives. While there are many applications of a Bible passage, there is only one basic interpretation, and the interpretation here is that David did what he did for the glory of God. David came to the contest in the name of the Lord, the God of the armies of Israel, and he wanted Goliath, the Philistine army, and all the earth to know that the true and living God was Israel’s God (v. 46). Goliath had ridiculed Israel’s God and blasphemed His name, but David was about to set the record straight. David saw this as a contest between the true God of Israel and the false gods of the Philistines.

God wants to use His people to magnify His name to all the nations of the earth. This purpose was involved in the call of Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3) and God’s choice of the people of Israel (Deut. 28:9–10). One purpose for Israel’s sojourn in Egypt and the judgments God sent against Pharaoh was the proclaiming of God’s name and glory to all the earth (Ex. 9:16). The parting of the Red Sea to let Israel out, and the opening up of the Jordan River to let them into Canaan, bore witness to all the nations that Israel’s God was the true God (Josh. 4:23–24). Even the building of the temple was a witness to the Gentile nations of Israel’s God so that they might know Him and fear Him (1 Kings 8:42–43). What the Lord did through David would be recorded and told around the world and bring great honor to the name of the Lord.

The very weapon that David used—a sling—was a shepherd’s weapon, almost the toy of a child, and yet God used it to defeat the giant and rout the Philistine army. When Goliath saw a lad coming with a sling in one hand and a staff in the other, he laughed at him. “Am I a dog that you come at me with a stick?” But David announced that his real power was the name of the Lord of Hosts, the name that Goliath and the Philistines had insulted. David wanted the whole assembly—Israel and the Philistines—to know that the Lord doesn’t need swords and spears but can deliver His people in His own way through the humblest of means. No wonder David and Jonathan became such fast friends, for they both had faith in a mighty God and wanted to fight His battles to glorify Him (1 Sam. 13:6; Pss. 33:16–22; 44:6–8). (Wiersbe, W. W. (2001). Be successful (pp. 94–95). Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications.)

17:45 in the name of the Lord of hosts. Goliath came out to battle in his own name; David came to battle in the name of the Lord of all the hosts (armies). Cf. Dt 20:1–5. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Sa 17:45). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

Ver. 45. Then said David to the Philistine, &c.] In answer to the contempt, he held him in, and to the threatening words he gave him: thou earnest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; the word for shield is not the same with that so rendered, ver. 41. which his armour-bearer carried before him, but with that translated a target, which was between his shoulders, ver. 6. however, they were all weapons of war, either defensive or offensive: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied; the Lord of all hosts, in heaven and in earth in general, and in particular the God of the armies of Israel; which he was at the head of, led on, protected and defended, having a kind and merciful regard unto them, and which this Philistine had defied, reproached, and blasphemed; and now David was come, by a commission from this great Jehovah, to vindicate his honour, and to avenge his people on him: he had asked for a man, and now the Lord of hosts, as the Jews observe, comes forth as a man of war, for the battle was his, as in a following verse; and David was his messenger, and came in his name, and was the man into whose hands he should be given. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 503). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

FROM MY READING:

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

FULL AND LASTING JOY

And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
1 John 1:4
The apostle is anxious that these Christian people, to whom he is writing, should have fullness of joy, though they are in the world, which lies under the power of the evil one.
Now that is the amazing thing that is offered and promised to us in the New Testament. It is by no means a message confined to this epistle. We see it in Paul’s epistle to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again, I say, Rejoice” (4:4). Our Lord promised in John 16:33, “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” He described the world as an evil place, and He forewarned His followers what to expect from it. He said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you”; but His great promise was that He would give them the joy that He Himself possessed. There would be a period at the crucifixion and before the resurrection when they would be unhappy and miserable. “But,” He said, “I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you” (John 16:22). He also said, “These things have I spoken unto you…that your joy might be full” (John 15:11) “the very word that John repeats in his first epistle.
That is Christ’s promise, and perhaps there is nothing that is more characteristic of the book of the Acts of the Apostles than this very note. If you are feeling tired and in need of a spiritual tonic, go to the book of Acts, and there you will find this irrepressible joy that these people had in confirmation of the Lord’s promise!
A Thought to Ponder: Christ described the world as an evil place, but His great promise was that He would give them joy. (From Fellowship with God pp. 23-24 by Martyn Lloyd-Jones.)

Unimaginable Promises

He has given us his very great and precious promises.

2 Peter 1:4

In our moments of greatest failure, it can be easy to believe it’s too late for us, that we’ve lost our chance at a life of purpose and worth. That’s how Elias, a former inmate at a maximum-security prison in New York, described feeling as a prisoner. “I had broken . . . promises, the promise of my own future, the promise of what I could be.”

It was Bard College’s “Prison Initiative” college degree program that began to transform Elias’ life. While in the program, he participated on a debate team, which in 2015 debated a team from Harvard—and won. For Elias, being “part of the team . . . [was] a way of proving that these promises weren’t completely lost.”

A similar transformation happens in our hearts when we begin to understand that the good news of God’s love in Jesus is good news for us too. It’s not too late, we begin to realize with wonder. God still has a future for me.

And it’s a future that can neither be earned nor forfeited, dependent only on God’s extravagant grace and power (2 Peter 1:2-3). A future where we’re set free from the despair in the world and in our hearts into one filled with His “glory and goodness” (v. 3). A future secure in Christ’s unimaginable promises (v. 4); and a future transformed into the “freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).

(By Monica La Rose, Our Daily Bread)

THE RESULTS OF THE HOUR

Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
John 12:31
The results of the hour are put very plainly by Jesus in John 12:31.What an hour this is! Do you not begin to see that it is the most momentous hour of all time? We talk about the pivotal points of history, but they are all nothing when you look at this.

“Now is the judgment of this world”—the whole world, in the sense that it is the hour in which the world was really revealed for what it is. It was there that sin was revealed. There, shown plainly and clearly once and forever, is the whole state of mankind apart from God.
The cross does not only reveal sin for what it is—at one and the same time it pronounces doom on the whole world and everything that belongs to that realm. The cross of Jesus Christ makes this great proclamation. Unless I believe in Him, unless I believe that His death at that hour is the only thing that reconciles me to God, I remain under the wrath of God. If I do not see that the wrath of God against my sin has been borne there by the Son of God, then the alternative is that I must experience the wrath of God. That is the essence of the Christian Gospel. I either believe that my sins have been punished in the body of the Son of God, or else they will be punished in me. It is the judgment of the world.
The world apart from Him is under the wrath of God, it is doomed, it is damned, and He alone can save it in that way. There was no other way, for God would never have allowed His Son to endure all that if there had been another way. It is the only way; so it is the judgment of the world.
A Thought to Ponder: This hour is the most momentous hour of all time.
(From Saved in Eternity p. 118, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Not This Man
“Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.” (John 18:40)
Unfortunately, this is the attitude of every generation toward its Creator and Redeemer. Jesus Christ “was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:10-11).
“Not this man!” they cried, and still cry today. “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). Even in a nation founded as a Christian nation, the name of Jesus Christ is banished from the schools, ignored in the halls of government, and blasphemed on the streets.
And whom did they choose instead of “this man”? They preferred Barabbas, who was not only a robber, but also a revolutionary and murderer (Luke 23:19). Today, they idolize the atheist Darwin, or the robber Lenin, or the revolutionary Mao, or the murderer Hitler, or any one of a thousand antichrists; but they will not have Christ.
What, then, will they do with Christ? “Away with him, away with him, crucify him” (John 19:15) was the cry even of the religious leaders during His life here on Earth, and it is little different today. “Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you,” proclaimed Peter (Acts 3:14). “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ” (Acts 4:26).
The rejection of Christ today is often more subtle, but it is just as real. Rulers, industrialists, scientists, educators, and commentators all say in deed, if not in word, that “[they] will not have this man to reign over [them]” (Luke 19:14). “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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