“ Testimony of God. ” God is testifying that David is His faithful servant and His anointed. Saul perceives that David has what he has not in his life, but resists and hates that.
“ Dependence on the Spirit. ” We must look like the Gospel we proclaim. Paul didn't use the worldly carnal methods of trying to impress the listeners or to manipulate it. He wanted not that man may respond to him, but to respond to the Holy Spirit. He believed that, if the Gospel is preached faithfully, the Holy Spirit will use the preaching to save people.
“ The cross. ” The church must attain the unity of the faith regarding the cross of Christ. Paul's message was centered on the cross. Our message must be centered on the cross.
“ Dependence. ” God's purpose is that we might be totally dependent on Him and not in what we are or have. God will exalt Himself before our eyes and will show us our total unworthiness. God must increase and we must decrease, for our eternal happiness in Him.
“ Great God. ” A great Gospel, a great grace and a great God. God created in the early a church a blessed new society which is a taste of the blessed society which will be experienced by God's people in heaven.
“ Spiritual battle. ” David saw that Goliath was attacking God and that God will revenge this. And he saw that God can use him to destroy this enemy. David had spiritual eyes to see, when all the people saw only with physical eyes.
“ Seeing or listening. ” We must not trust in our seeing, but we must listen to what God speaks to us. We must not decide things in our understanding, but to seek God's guidance. Even Samuel was deceived to look to the face of man. But God sees the heart.
“ Repentance. ” A message about repentance. God calls the sinner back to Himself and promises that He will accept them. What He did for mankind in Christ demonstrated God's care for people.
“ Sad. ” A man with great natural gifts, but without spiritual light. A religion of salvation by morality, which is not biblical and it is deceiving people.
“ Preparation for death. ” I read yesterday in a Romanian writer that he said that you can live with God but we all die alone. Praise God this is not the truth! He knows nothing about our God, revealed in the Bible!
“ Excellent. ” I liked very much this idea: it is dangerous for the Church to marry with the spirit or the fashion of the world, because she will be soon a widow. The fashion changes, the Church remains a one generation movement.
“ Biblical. ” The content of the Word of God must be the cause and the content of Christian music. Salvation is for the whole man, not only for man's intellect and will, but also for his sentiments.
“ Spiritual war. ” A message about vengeance, holy war, submission and repentance. As Christians, our spiritual war with sin and with the dark spirits is as serious as Israel's wars in the OT. We must realize that we are in a spiritual war. Very good the distinction between Israel's wars in the OT and our spiritual was in the NT era.
“ Faithful servants. ” Ordination service. A message for preachers especially, but relevant for all God's servants. We must do God's work after God's plan in God's power. The apostolic succession is not about the function of some people, but about the message entrusted to us.
“ Great faith in God. ” The prayer of the disciples was full of God, full of Scripture and full of faith. God's sovereign rule and control of history wonderfully depicted.
10/26/11 8:31 AM
