David: A Heart Anchored in God’s Love

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

I Samuel 16:7

“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”

Psalm 63:3

Faithing It!

Guest Speaker: Samoa Asigau

“And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.”

Joshua 2:1

“True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went.”

Joshua 2:4-5

“And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.”

Joshua 2:11

You can be real with God.

Your hearing is demonstrated

by your confession.

Your action is a demonstration of faith.

“[A]nd in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”

James 2:25

“[B]y faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”

Hebrews 11:31

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”

Joshua 24:15

1) Have a vision for your life

2) Have a heavenly Hope

You were made for this.

I am hard pressed between th[is life and the next]. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

Philippians 1:23

Esther

Her people are exiled from Israel because of sin

She lives in a foreign land called Persia

A huge problem arises

God is hidden (the book never mentions God by name)

Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate.

Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them....”

Esther 3:8-9

...And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?

Esther 4:14

Our purpose is to allow God to use us for his purpose.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.

I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Esther 4:15-16

Our purpose comes from how we do our job not which job we have.

“If a person’s purpose is to be a street sweeper, they should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. They should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did their job well.” Martin Luther King Jr.

[S]ince we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. . . .

Hebrews 12:1-2

The Evolution of a Hero

GIDEON

For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.

Judges 6:3

They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey.

Judges 6:4

For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. Judges 6:5

And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.

Judges 6:6

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah. . . .

while . . . Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Judges 6:11

(Winepress Pic)

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

Joshua 6:12

A Recognition of True Identity

And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?

And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’

But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Joshua 6:13

And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”

Judges 6:14

A Release of Resentment and an Acceptance of Responsibility

And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.”

Judges 6:15

And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you. . . .”

Judges 6:16

A Willingness to Receive Assistance

An Initial Act of Courage

(no matter how small)

So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. Judges 6:27

BETWEEN A ROCK

AND A HARD PLACE

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

Temptations for Heroes Like Moses

Escapism: When we try to go back

Denial: When we get stuck

where we are

Endurance: When we go

all the way through

Heroes are convinced

that God has a plan.

“Tell the people to march toward Pi Hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, opposite Baal-zephon. Then Pharaoh will think, ‘Those Israelites are confused. They are trapped between the wilderness and the sea!’”

Exodus 14:2-3, NLT

People can make all kinds of plans, but only the Lord’s plan will happen.

Proverbs 19:21, NCV

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

Your plans for us are too numerous to list.

Psalm 40:5, NLT

We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him. They are the people He called, because that was His plan.

Romans 8:28, NCV

Heroes face their greatest fears

by looking at Someone greater.

The Egyptians – all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops – pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea….

Exodus 14:9, NIV

By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger, he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.

Hebrews 11:27, NIV

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:13, NIV

Heroes are willing

to take their next step of faith.

Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, “Leave us alone: let us serve the Egyptians?”

Exodus 14:11-12, NIV

Don’t be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you.

Exodus 14:13, NLT

Then the Lord said to Moses. Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the people to get moving!

Exodus 14:15, NLT

PRINCIPLE:

Do the one thing God is asking you to do next and God will do the rest.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

Exodus 14:21-22, NIV

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:17, NIV

A Hero:

Takes action

For the good of others

At a personal risk

Without regard for personal gain

(Wesley Autrey Pic)

[S]ince we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. . . .

Hebrews 12:1-2

NOAH

The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth,

and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

Genesis 6:5

So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.

Genesis 6:6

And the LORD said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth.”

Genesis 6:7

“Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky.

I am sorry I ever made them.”

Genesis 6:7

But Noah found favor with the LORD.

Genesis 6:8

Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. . . . Genesis 6:9

So God said to Noah, . . . “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. . . .”

Genesis 6:13-14

“I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives.

Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. . . .” Genesis 6:18-19

Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

Genesis 6:22

BUILD YOUR BOAT

If you want to stand out,

you’ve got to stand up.

(Tiananmen Square

tank man pics)

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Matthew 16:24-26

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 16:24-26

Persevere even when there’s no apparent progress.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

If you want to build a good boat,

you need the right tools.

[H]e walked in close fellowship with God.

Genesis 6:9

What kind of boat do you want to build?

(Wesley Autrey Quote)

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25

In Step With The Spirit

1. It’s about process,

not position.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

2. If you want to grow it,

you’ve got to own it.

[C]onfess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

James 5:16

3. Don’t forget it’s a fight.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the . . . spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.

Ephesians 6:12-13

4. Pray with your ears open.

[W]hen he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears. . . .

He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

John 16:13-15

5. Be a river not a swamp.

“Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

By this he meant the Spirit. . . .

John 7:38-39

6. Eat / Exert / Rest

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

7. Take joy in the journey!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Holy Spirit

You are welcome here

Come flood this place

And fill the atmosphere

Your glory, God,

Is what our hearts long for

To be overcome

By your presence, Lord

Melody or Mayhem

Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Healing, Miracles, Prophecy, Discernment, Tongues, Interpretation,

Leadership, Mercy, Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Administration, Evangelism, etc.

Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1

When we use our gifts, but don’t love,

we make noise but not music.

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,

and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:2 (ESV)

If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:3

Motive > Mastery

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside…

but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous…

but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Matthew 23:27-28

Love without gifts is not transferable.

Gifts without love is not transformational.

When we use our gifts without love:

- mutual resentment

- emotional burnout

- mediocre outcomes

When we use our gifts with love:

- deep fulfillment

- genuine joy

- true excellence

Love promotes spiritual health in you

and genuine harmony with others.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Gifts of the Spirit

Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Healing, Miracles, Prophecy, Discernment, Tongues, Interpretation ,

Leadership, Mercy, Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Administration, Evangelism, etc.

Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. . . .

1 Corinthians 12:1

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.

There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.

There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6

We are unified in our diversity.

We are diverse in our unity.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

1 Corinthians 12:7

You are gifted.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

1 Corinthians 12:7

Your gift is for others’ good.

Their gift is for your good.

If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?

If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

. . . If they were all one part, where would the body be?

1 Corinthians 12:17-19

As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!”

And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”

1 Corinthians 12:20-21

Embrace the gifts that God gave others.

Exercise the gifts that God gave you.