Lesson for life from few Bible characters
Saul (Disobedience)
1 Sam 15:11 - I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.
1 Sam 15:11 - I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.
In this verse, God expresses regret over having chosen Saul as king because Saul had disobeyed God's instructions..........Saul was gradually moving away from God and his call.........In his fight against Amalekites, mentioned in 1 Samuel 15 God specifically instructed him to destroy everything completely but Saul spared the king of the Amalekites and the best of the livestock, contrary to God's command...............................When confronted by Samuel, the prophet and judge of Israel, Saul made excuses and shifted blame rather than taking responsibility for his actions.......God wants us to hear the word of God and act on it..........God expects us to align our will with His will
John 14:15 - If you love me, keep my commands.
1 John 5:3 - In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.
1 John 3:24 - The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them.
James 1:22 - Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
In order to obey, we must know what pleases the Lord—and that requires us to read and be familiar with Scripture. Go through the teachings of Christ and make efforts to practice it
David (Yielding to lust)
2 Samuel 11: 27....But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
2 Samuel 11: 27....But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
This was observation we see from the view concerning the sin he committed with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah.......David was praised as a man after God's own heart in the beginning......He slowly slipped away into immorality and ended up in grave sin.......At a time, when kings go to war, David chose to stay at home. When he walked around the roof, he happened to see Bathsheba bathing and he was attracted to her. David brought Bathsheba home and committed adultery.......David plotted to kill the husband (Uriah) of Bathsheba and killed him and later took her as his wife.
Few observations
David allowed his lustful desires to take control...... Instead of turning away from the temptation, he entertained sinful thoughts and acted upon them.........Uncontrolled lust will lead us on a path to self-destruction.
1 John 2:16.....All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world.
Like gravitational force, the lust inside us experience pull by the attractions of the world. The things we see, hear, smell, touch, taste has the potential to trigger the lust in us.
James 1:14 says each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
Lust will infect, corrupt and kill us gradually. We entertain lust out of curiosity. What started as experimental slowly takes control of our life. We allow lust because it is enjoyable. Exercising control over lust is self-control.
Proverbs 25:28 - A man without self-control is like a city broken into and le4 without walls
1 Cor 9:25-27 - Paul says that Christians need to exercise self-control like the athletes.
Colossians 3:5 - Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
We need to depend on God for the strength to overcome lust. Being led by the indwelling Holy Spirit produces self-control in us.
JUDAS (GREED)
Mathew 27:5
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
About a person
- who experienced extraordinary teachings and miracles in his life.
- who was a close disciple of Jesus
- who failed to control greed though being a disciple of Jesus
John 12:6.....He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
He had wrong attitude....His greed and love of money blinded his eyes from seeing the true spiritual life
Greed can be defined as the excessive desire to acquire or possess more than one’s need......Our greed may be because of the fearful need to store up surplus goods so that we will have so much for our future needs.
Recognition, reputation, comforts, conveniences and privileges offered in the society drives us to become rich and richer…..BUT WE LOOSE LOT OF THINGS IN THE PURSUIT OF RICHESS
Ecclesiastes 5:10 - -Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
Greed drives us to seek more and more and makes us dissatisfied with what we already have.
Greed drives us to seek more and more and makes us dissatisfied with what we already have.
In Lk 12:15-21, we read about a parable narrated by Jesus Christ to highlight the negativity caused by greed in a person’s life. He highlighted how a person who stores up treasures for himself will not be rich in what matters to God. He warned us to be watchful and to control greed in our lives.
Uncontrolled greed has the tendency to destroy our health, family and relationships in our life.......Greed forces us to take shortcuts, careless risks and to get involved in illegal, unethical and immoral activities.
Greed is the most socially accepted sin in our culture. But as children of God, we are advised in Bible to keep our life free from the love of money and to be content with what we have.
1 Tim 6:10 - For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Heb 13:5 - Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Simon the sorcerer (Hypocrisy and Sinful bondage)
Acts 8: 20-23..... 20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Acts 8: 20-23..... 20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
To a saved person, baptized person, ministering person
>> Looked Pious but were carnal.
>>Looked spiritual but acted selfish
Rigid observance of external forms of without genuine repentance.
- Looking at others fault and ignoring own sins
- Claiming as spiritual but in reality, driven by carnal desires
- Living a life like whitewashed tomb
>>>such type of life is harmful and dangerous
Hypocrisy is the contradiction between thoughts and words— keeping something in mind, saying and acting something else. It is a difference between life inside home and outside.
Hypocrisy is the contradiction between thoughts and words— keeping something in mind, saying and acting something else. It is a difference between life inside home and outside.
Ignorance is spiritual matters leads to Immaturity in Spiritual life. ......Inability to overcome carnality.
John 8:34 - Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
Reason for bondage is we yield to it
Reason for bondage is we yield to it
Rom 6:16 - Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
