It feels odd being at service with God :) but without him :(
1 Samuel 30:1-6, "1 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God."
In the above passage about David and Ziklag, David and his people had covered 40km a day for 3 days (think of your route march and you can imagine how tired they must be!).
They returned home to find homes on fire and families held captive.
David was also facing a rebellion too as his people wanted to stone him (v6).
However, God turned things around.
1 Samuel 30:11-12, "11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. 12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights."
David did not ignore the dying man but had compassion on the man.
He showed the man unexpected care and kindness.
1 Samuel 30:13-14, "13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and whereare you from?”
And he said, “I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick. 14 We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
What would you do when you meet someone who destroyed everything you considered your life?
Matthew 5:46-47, "46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?"
It is easy to love those who love us but we need to do more.
The love of God surpasses all understanding.
Luke 4:18-19, "18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
God wants us to show unexpected love, kindness and care.
The Egyptian felt more than pain and hunger, he felt abused and betrayed.
Matthew 22:36-39, "36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second islike it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’"
The bible can be summarised in two lines:
Loving God wholeheartedly (v36-37) and,
Loving people fervently (v39)
Christianity is about LOVE.
John 3:16-17, "16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Soul-winning is not to hard-sell God but to love people.
We are the 'light of the world', every time a soul is saved, the city becomes one soul brighter! We need to have compassion for a world without vision.
"Find a hurt and heal it. Look for a need and meet it."
Arise and Build is not about buildings but about building lives.
An old woman with fractured arm;
A 5-year-old with terminal cancer growing up in a brothel;
A 34-year-old mentally challenged lady was raped and found to be pregnant but gave birth to a healthy girl.
All these people were touched by God's people and eventually came to know God.
Perhaps, the reason why I exist is for the man who reached out and 'saved' me. ;)
More importantly, we exist to touch more lives and to bring more people to the House of God! :D
No comments:
Post a Comment