King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Chapters: I Samuel 24, Psalms 7, 27, 120
Message: He Shall Set Me Upon His Rock
Hello My Friend,
Integrity; Wholeness; The entire, unimpaired state of any thing, particularly of the mind; moral soundness or purity; uncorrupt; upright; honest. If there was any one thing that the devil will use to influence the faithful Christian it is their integrity. The devil despises our faith in Christ one, because he knows we belong to Christ, and cannot take our soul down to hell with him. And two, Christ shines through us as we remain moral and upright. You can be sure that, just like he did with Job, the devil is going to tempt us to try and remove our integrity from us, but we can overcome because God is rooting for us. “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” – Job 2:3.
“although thou movedst me against him,” The devil is the cause of such division between God and man, he knows that God despises sin, and will continuously try to move God against them. Again, God knows our heart, He is our judge, not the devil, and certainly not anyone else in the heavens or earth. Holding on to our integrity does not mean that we will never get tempted, never be tried, never be weak in our faith, or never be without sin. It does mean that our being upright before the eyes of God is more important than the temporary joy that would come to our flesh by giving into every lust imaginable. And that includes getting vengeance on those who afflict us for just living the way that God wants us to live, and our being blessed by God through our faithfulness. David knew he was never without sin, he constantly asked God to judge his right or wrong.
“The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me. Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins. My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.” – Psalm 7:8-16.
“and God is angry with the wicked every day.” Yes, God is angry at the wicked, and He shows that every single day, and yet He never denies anyone that opportunity to turn away from that wickedness, and to His Son. Let me tell you, we all have some wicked in us, given the right circumstance and our state of being, if we are not grounded in Christ, we are all capable of doing the most unthinkable things. Saul had been chasing David around for months, once he realized David was the one that God had chosen to be king, his jealousy had consumed him so much that he attacked anyone or town that helped David, even his own son. Now, it was Saul’s life at stake.
“And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily. And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” – I Samuel 24:1-6.
“that David’s heart smote him,” You see, holding on to our integrity does not mean that we are not going to make some decisions out of haste, but it does mean that we learn to stop before we fall. I have said it before, and I will say it until the day God brings me home, when we are grounded in Christ we may dangle on the edge of sin, but He will not let us fall. As long as we are grounded in Christ, we will never lose our integrity, and the only way that we can stay grounded in Him is to keep seeking Him, especially when we are being afflicted.
“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” – Psalm 27:4-6,11-14.
“Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies:” I heard a preacher say, “I’m not going to be in someone’s will to do evil.” Sometimes we get ourselves into situations because we get exposed to someone else whose intent is evil, which is why we need to be on the lookout at all times, and be alert wherever we go. I saw as a woman got her bag snatched from her as she walked out of a store distracted. We cannot avoid all the suffering we face, but we can be on guard to keep from adding to it. Nevertheless, when someone hurts us the first thing that comes to mind is vengeance. David never did understand why Saul had such hatred toward him. As Saul walks out of the cave David runs after him, and finally he asks him what he did.
“David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD’S anointed. Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.” – I Samuel 24:8-12.
“Wherefore hearest thou men’s words,” I suspect the whole time that there were many who were jealous of David themselves telling lies and accusations of David trying to kill Saul to take the throne from him. David realizes something, God had appointed Saul as king, and until He removed him from the throne, he could not take this mans life. No matter what people have done to us, we have no right to take the law into our own hands, God will never allow us to take a life in order to receive something He promised us. And if they have wronged us God will tell us how to handle it. Saul’s actions were based out of pure jealousy and pride, all he really had to do was repent to God and it would not have been so bad, instead he chose to go after God’s anointed. Saul finally realizes that it is only by the grace of David that he was not dead by now, and admits he will surely be king.
“And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.” – I Samuel 24:16-20.
“I know well that thou shalt surely be king,” Integrity is not something we lose instantly, it inches its way little by little as we allow the temptations of life to lure us away from the foundation of Christ, and into the sinking sand of Satan. How often are we confronted by those who are set out to destroy us only to offer them grace instead of retaliation when the tables are turned? There is a time to fight, and a time for grace, it is God who judges, and when we give it over to Him we are the better person. Yes, we are going to dangle on the edge of the Rock of Christ, but as long as we are holding on to His hand, He will never let go. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” – I Corinthians 3:11,13-15. Praise God!
Jesus Christ Magnified: “For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.” – Psalm 27:5.
Today’s Prayer: God, You make it easy to do the right thing, what is hard is those who want to challenge us, they will often bring difficulties to discourage or change us into their way of thinking, some may even try to harm us out of jealousy and fear. Lord, You are my Rock, my strength, my power, my grace to get through every one of my difficulties, nothing is too hard or impossible with You. So, as I walk with You by faith, trusting You, and waiting for You I know that everything will work out for good. In Your name Jesus. I pray. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus Missions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2019 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.