April 15, 2021 – I'm Following Jesus

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: Thursday, April 15, 2021
Chapters: I Samuel 21-23, Psalms 17, 31, 34, 52, 56, 142
Message: Most Valuable Possession

Hello My Friend,

I told you before that my job evaluates us by how we take care of the customer, two of those factors are how we greet them and how we end the call. There are specific words that they are listening for when greet them, I have been with the company for three months now, and have always gotten 100% on them, but yesterday I received one that is 97%, with the comment that said I did good, but I can do better. I missed that special word in the greeting and lost three points for it. Let me tell you, it does not matter how many 100% scores I get, those are not what I remember, it is the less than 100% that stick out. It is also a great reminder that it does not matter how good we are, we cannot get to heaven on our own. We could do a million things for God, but there is only one thing that gets us to heaven, and that is putting our 100% faith and trust in Christ alone, [John 14:6-7 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.]

People will tell you all the time that God does not speak to His people today as He did before Christ came here in the flesh. I will tell you, that God is the same God today, and He not only speaks to His people, He lives within them all, and is seen through them. All you have to do is read His Word and you feel His presence, and I do not care how many times you read them, or which one that you read, there is something about the Psalms that always cut right through the heart. Unlike the rest of the Bible, it is the Psalms that opens your heart a little bit more as you have no choice, but to think upon them. They will convict you, encourage you, and give you the strength and courage to get through every affliction you face with Him. David wrote quite a few of the Psalms as he was running from Saul, in fact, he prayed to God constantly for being with him through it all.

[Psalms 31:5-8,12,16-17,21,23-24 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. 6 I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD. 7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; 8 And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room. 12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. 16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies’ sake. 17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. 21 Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. 23 O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. 24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.]

[I am like a broken vessel.] As much as we would like to shiny and brand new from the time we are saved, and no longer have to face affliction, the truth is, we need to be broken. We need to realize that Christ is the one who mends us and makes us shiny and like new. It is the afflictions in life that actually remind us that we are human, and broken into what seems like a thousand pieces, but Christ is the glue that fits each piece together so that we can become a reflection of Christ Himself, [Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.]

When Samuel anointed David and old him that he would be the next king I am sure he knew he did not think much about it, and I am sure that he felt a sense of pride when king Saul not only hired him to be his armorbearer, but Captain over the army, and gave his own daughter to him for his wife. Things took a turn for the worst when Saul became so fearful of David taking the throne from him that he wanted him dead, anyone that sided with David was a conspirator and needed to die. Now, on the run, hungry and tired, David finds himself at the tabernacle of God, he went to the priest for food.

[1 Samuel 21:1–6 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? 2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. 3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. 4 And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. 5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. 6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.]

[but there is hallowed bread;] Anytime we come before God we must be sanctified, redeemed and cleansed of our sins. There is only one way that we can stand before God sanctified and that is through the LORD Himself, we know Him to be Jesus Christ. When fear gets the best of us, when life gets the best of us, when affliction gets the best of us, our only option is Jesus Christ. Now, Someone else was at Nob, it was one of Saul’s men, Doeg, and he was willing to do anything to sell David out so that he could get recognition from Saul. David knew that Ahimelech would be in danger if he remained there, so, he takes the sword of Goliath with him as he had no weapons with him and was the only weapon in the sanctuary, and winds up in Gath.

[1 Samuel 21:7,10-15 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul. 10 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?]

[Is not this David the king of the land?] Now, it was out, everyone knew that David would be king. Many times we do not want to get other people involved in our affliction, so, we refrain from telling them what is going on, but it really does us a disservice to hide the truth as it does bring complications. I thought it would be an interesting contrast to put the prayers of David along side of the time he wrote them. Abimelech sees that something was not right with David’s, and sends him away, and that was when David says this prayer.

[Psalms 34:1-10 A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.]

[but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.] When we come to Christ we discover that even at our best we cannot do enough good. That is why when we look to Him we are lightened as He shines through us, [Matthew 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.]

Not one single faithful Christian needs to fear anything or anyone because Jesus is with them. And even those who have fallen out of their way, need not live in fear either, all they need to do is go straight to Jesus, and He will be right there for them. We all belong to Christ for one reason one, we trusted in Him to save our soul. By His grace alone we are saved, not of any works we do. Therefore, while we may endure some suffering, Christ is always with us, and forgives all sin when we come to Him, we just need to go to Him, and He will deliver us, [I John 1:9]. Now, when David’s family and friends found out where David was they came to him, and in fact, over four hundred people showed up.

[1 Samuel 22:1-5 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. 2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. 3 And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. 4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold. 5 And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.]

[Abide not in the hold;] it is fear that tends to make us hide from the challenges we face, but it is the challenges we face that teach us that God is our only option. God did not place that challenge in our lives so we could scour in a corner, He wants us to take it on with His help. Whenever we are afraid we need to give it over to God, stop worrying about it, and think about something else for a while. David realized this, [Psalms 142:1-5 Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. 2 I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble. 3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. 4 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. 5 I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.]

Jealousy is like a disease, it slowly spreads until it consumes and controls the person that it captures and stops at nothing to destroy what gets in its way. Saul became increasingly violent with an uncontrollable temper, he considered any opposition as treason, and when he found out that a priest helped David he ordered him and all his family killed. None of the men wanted to kill the man of God, but Doeg, and he did not hesitate.

[1 Samuel 22:16-18,21-23 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house. 17 And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD. 18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. 21 And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD’S priests. 22 And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house. 23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.]

[I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house.] The wicked will stoop to the lowest level to get where they want in this world, but God knows and sees all, and those who put their faith and trust in Him know that too. David wrote a Psalm relating to this incident to remind himself and everyone else that God is always with those who put their trust in Him, and gets vengeance on the wicked too, [Psalms 52:1-2,4-9 To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech. Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. 4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. 5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. 6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: 7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. 8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. 9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.]

[and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place,] While David had his share of discouragement sometimes, he never lost hope in God delivering him from those who were after him, and he was always willing to assist where God needed him. As David was fleeing from Saul the Philistines attacked the people in Keilah, David sought God’s guidance in whether or not to pursue.

[1 Samuel 23:8-13 And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9 And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. 10 Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down. 12 Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up. 13 Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.]

[They will deliver thee up.] It never hurts to keep asking God, in fact, He encourages it. If we are doing what we are supposed to be doing and the answer keeps changing, stop and think about what is really being asked. Many times God answers with the same response, but we do not listen because we want a certain answer and are not content until we get it. The only way the persistent prayer works is if it is in God’s will to begin with, [Psalms 17:3,6,13-15 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. 6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. 13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: 14 From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. 15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.]

[which is thy sword:] Our soul is our most valuable possession, Jesus died to save it, and Satan tries to take it. The second we accept Jesus as our Saviour, we became His possession, and there is absolutely nothing Satan can do get it. We are the apple of Christ’s eye because we are trusting Him with our soul. Our faith in Christ is our sword, and we can knock Satan down in a heartbeat, all we have to do when we are afflicted is call out Christ’s name, [Psalms 54:1-4 To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us? Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. 2 Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. 3 For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah. 4 Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.]

Jesus Christ Magnified: [1 Samuel 22:23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.]

Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You, for saving my soul and taking possession of it when I accepted You as my Saviour. I know that no matter what affliction I face, I belong to You, and nothing will ever change that. Touch each an every one of us from whatever affliction it is that we are dealing with, ease our fears, anxieties, and discomfort with Your power. I know I have done some crazy things out of fear and even tried to hide myself in my own cave in an attempt to get through my challenges on my own. I also know that the only way I could overcome them was to face them. Lord, You are our only option to handle the affliction we face, give us Your power to control our anger, tempers, and egos, let us not seek vengeance upon ourselves, but look to You for that, give us Your strength to love as You love, Your grace to break through our fears, Your wisdom to face every challenge head on, and let us not get caught up in those who are eager to sell us out for their own wicked advances. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. 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: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/readytofollowJesus/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/imfollowingjesus