I Samuel 19

• I Samuel 19:1 - This is a good summary of the rest of the chapter. Close friendship between David and Jonathan, but enmity from Saul toward David.
• I Samuel 19:6 - This is one of the times where Saul genuinely listened.
• I Samuel 19:9 - Saul seems to have been overtaken by fear. Yet David was showing love for Saul in serving by playing music.
• I Samuel 19:11 - Michal showed her love for David, saving his life. See Psalms 59:1-7. Compare how David and Saul handled fear. Saul wanted to eliminate the threat, but David cast his fear on God.
• I Samuel 19:23 - Saul refused to learn here. You cannot be successful if you try to work against God! God causing Saul to spend a day prophesying with no clothes on gave David more time to escape.

I Samuel 20

• I Samuel 20:1 - David wanted to make things right with Saul. Unfortunately, the issue could not be fixed from David’s side.

Introduction

• Acts 2:1-4, 14 - The Holy Spirit inspired these men to speak.
• The way God would change the world was through this message.
• Acts 2:37-42
• Acts 4:1-19 - They tried to limit the spread of the message. They realized that’s where the power was!

If the devil was desperately trying to suppress the gospel, what does that tell you???

• Romans 1:16
• Matthew 28:18-20
• Acts 6:9-10 - The Bible is a treasure! Steven died to give us Acts 7.
• Acts 28:8-9 - Paul was healing them even though he was still a prisoner. It was not about Paul. It was about the message.
• Acts 8:3-5 - Persecution spread the gospel even more.

If the gospel of Jesus is that important, we should …

Read it!

• Luke 4:16
• Discount for lifetime license to Dwell audio Bible: https://get.dwellbible.com/wardonwords

Read it carefully!

• Keep things in their context.
  • Psalms 14:1
  • I Corinthians 7:27
• Harmonize passages
  • Matthew 4:5-7 - The devil quoted scripture, but misapplied it. Jesus harmonized the scriptures.
• Compare translations.

Obey it!

• Acts 2:37
• James 1:22

Local churches are authorized to provide for worship and edification (continued)

Can’t the church practice FELLOWSHIP? (continued)

• Yes, a church should practice fellowship.
• But what does “fellowship” mean?
• Sharing in something (determined by the context)
  • (share, contribute, participate)
    • Philippians 4:15
    • Luke 5:10
    • I Corinthians 10:16
    • I Timothy 5:22
    • I John 1:7
  • The word fellowship is never used in the Bible in reference to a church meal.
    • Acts 2:42 - “Breaking bread” here likely means the Lord’s Supper.
  • Benchley has a fellowship hall - we’re in it studying the Bible right now!

A church should also practice EFIFICATION

• (build up, strengthen spiritually)
  • Acts 20:32
  • I Corinthians 14:26, 16, 40
  • Ephesians 4:11-12 - They were using the word of God to build up the body of Christ.
    • Pastors: Titus 1:9
    • II Timothy 2:2
    • Romans 10:17
• Think of it this way: if churches are not limited to the source of edification in the Bible—God’s word and worship—then where would the limit be (carnivals, concerts, sports, etc.)?
• Remember that there’s a difference between an individual and a church (Matthew 18:15-17; I Timothy 5:16).
  • Matthew 9:10; Acts 16:34
  • Acts 2:46
• What about the “love feasts” (Jude 1:12)?
  • II Peter 2:13; Jude 1:12
  • The Greek word behind “love feasts” is just agape.
• “What is Fellowship?” by David Smitherman

1 in 60 Rule

• One degree off course? After sixty miles, you’ll miss your target by an entire mile.
• Proverbs 4:25-27

Can I do this in the name of the Lord?

• Colossians 3:17 - This refers to both secular and spiritual activities. We should always be reflecting Jesus in what we do.
• Acts 4:10-12
• Galatians 2:20
• Hebrews 13:15 - Thankfulness to God can be a good indicator of our attitude.
• Romans 1:20-21
• I Thessalonians 5:18

Am I providing for the lust of the flesh?

• Romans 13:12-14 - Make no provision for lust!
• What am I feeding? Whatever I feed will grow.

Am I pursuing a course that daily leads to walking by the spirit?

• Galatians 5:16-21 - Walk in the spirit!
• Romans 6:23 - Sin results in spiritual death.
• Galatians 5:22-24
• Galatians 5:13
• Philippians 4:7
• II Corinthians 13:5

How do we measure how well we are staying on track as Christians?

Here are four signs you are doing well:

1. You are pursuing God.
   • John 15:5-12
   • I John 3:24
2. You are not focused on what the flesh desires.
   • Galatians 5:16-17
3. Your mind is set on walking in the spirit.
   • Romans 8:5-8
4. You are producing good fruit.
   • Matthew 7:15-16

I Samuel 17

• I Samuel 17:8-11 - See I Samuel 8:19-20. They wanted a king to fight their battles. They were falling into the trap of letting the enemy dictate the terms of the engagement. What Goliath demanded of them should have been of no consequence to them. The people forgot that God is much bigger than Goliath.
• I Samuel 17:28-30 - David’s brothers had a terrible attitude, but David was not dissuaded. When David arrived, they likely felt guilty for their own inaction when they should have been buoyed by his courage. We must be careful not to sit back and criticize when we should be acting.
• I Samuel 17:33-37 - God had protected David from lions and bears, so how much more so would God protect David from this man who dared to defy God! Don’t wait for big moments to show faith in God. See I Samuel 7:12 - “So far the LORD has helped us.”
• I Samuel 17:45-47 - The ultimate goal here was to show the power of God. We must always give the glory to God and that’s what David did here.

I Samuel 18

• I Samuel 18:6-9 - Saul missed the point entirely. God deserved all the glory.
• I Samuel 18:18, 23 - David showed his humility here.
• David, born in Bethlehem, went out to defeat a physical enemy. Jesus, born in Bethlehem, went out to defeat a spiritual enemy.