1 Samuel 23 - Key

v4

Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.

I noticed that when a problem arose, that David's men were afraid, it said, Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. Also, in v11,12, David asked the Lord two questions, and, after the Lord answered the first part, David asked the Lord the second part again, to get the rest of the answer.

When we pray about something, we shouldn't think "I already prayed about it, so I don't have to pray about it any more." When new concerns arise, it is OK to pray anew. We should "inquire of the Lord yet again."

Esther 6 - Application

Haman provided a funny example of how we shouldn't be proud and arrogant. Also, I've been reading in Proverbs lately.

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

If I want to gain wisdom, I need to hate pride and arrogance. I'll watch the way I talk to avoid talking proudly.

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Esther 6 - Key

v6

So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?

Haman really made a fool of himself because he was so arrogant and presumptuous. We should think about what would be good for other people in situations, instead of just thinking about what would be good for ourselves.

1 Samuel 23 - Outline

v1-4

when new concerns arose, David inquired of the Lord again to double check and make sure, before going to save Keilah

v5-13

when David was asking the Lord about what would happen in Keliah, he asked the Lord further for more specific details;
the people were ungrateful, that they would betray David after he risked his life to save them

v14-15

David was in the wilderness of Ziph

v16-18

Jonathan blessed David

v19-24

the Ziphites tried to betray David to Saul, but then David was in the wilderness of Maon

v25-29

the Lord delivered David after he was surrounded, by having Saul need to go back and defend the land from the real enemies

Esther 6 - Outline

v1-3

the Lord used sleeplessness to convict the King that he had not rewarded Mordecai for saving his life and the kingdom

v4-5

the Lord turned Haman's endeavors to do evil to Mordecai, into good

v6-9

Haman's arrogant presumption

v10-12

Haman made a fool of himself, and only succeeded in accomplishing the opposite of what he intended

v13-14

Haman started to find out that his splendid idea wasn't going to work

Matthew 12:1-21 - Key

v19

He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.

Even though Christ would have every right to brag, because He is the greatest of all, He was still very humble and meek. We should follow His example by not trying to make ourselves look better than other people, and not trying to force our own ways.

Application

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

If I want to gain wisdom, I need to hate pride and arrogance. I'll watch the way I talk to avoid talking proudly

Matthew 12:1-21 - Outline

v1-8

one greater than the temple

v9-13

it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days

v14-21

Jesus meekly fulfilled the prophesy that He wouldn't put Himself forward

unto the place of which God had told him

Genesis 22

v3

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

It says that Abraham rose up early in the morning, and it was to do what God had told him to do. We should obey the Lord from our hearts, including getting up early in the morning to do what we know that He wants us to do.

Esther 5 - Application

Proverbs 19:2

Also, [that] the soul [be] without knowledge, [it is] not good; and he that hasteth with [his] feet sinneth.

Haman was hasty in Esther 5, but Esther was patient. We should do things with all of our heart and all of our might, but we should also correctly prioritize to do the right thing at the right time.

This week, I'll remember to not worry about things that are off in the future; because, even if something does need to be done about something, it would not necessarily be best to try to take care of it right this minute.

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Matthew 11 - Application

v28-30

Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light.

This week, I'll keep reminding myself that choosing the right way of the Lord is actually going to end up being the easier way for me. Then I'll come to Him with the choices in my life, even if, at first, it seems like that is the harder way.

John 13:17

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

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Esther 5 - Key

v8

If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.

I saw from Esther's example, that I should be patient instead of hasty, in big and important situations.

v14

Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

There was a sharp contrast between Esther's patience and Haman's behavior. Haman ended up sealing his own doom, in his haste.

Esther 5 - Outline

v1

coming boldly to the throne of grace, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need

v2-3

the king held out the golden scepter

v4-8

instead of being hasty, Esther was biding her time

v9-12

Haman's false sense of security

v13-14

pride goes before the fall

Matthew 11 - Key

v29

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

A lot of times, I've had a problem with feeling like, if I do what the Lord wants in a certain decision, then it's going to be hard, and I'm not going to be happy. But the truth of the matter is actually that the hardship I find in my life is from making the wrong decisions in those times.

We should dare to stop and consider, and be willing to let ourselves realize, the magnitude of our moment-by-moment decisions in their relation to our walk with the Lord. For example, there's laziness: like sleeping in, watching videos, and surfing the web when we really should be spending time with the Lord or doing our job. If we choose the wrong thing, we are choosing against the Lord, and if we are going to Love Him we need to express that by choosing the right thing. So let yourself realize, "in this decision about right or wrong, I am really deciding whether I am going to choose the Lord or not." Don't be afraid to let the realization sink in, because it is true.

Then make the right choice: don't fear that it will be to hard to obey the Lord and do what we really know is right, because the Lord promises that is actually the way that ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Matthew 11 - Outline

v1-6

Jesus' works showed John the baptizer's disciples that Jesus is The One

v7-15

Jesus told the crowds about who John was

v16-19

the foolishness of the generation that wouldn't receive John or Jesus

v20-24

Jesus rebuked the cities of Judea for their lack of repentance despite his many miracles

v25-27

the Lord revealed Himself to the people that he wanted to

v28-30

rest in meekness

don't let it be grievous in your sight

Genesis 21

v12

And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

We shouldn't be too sad to give up the things that the Lord doesn't want for us (like causes for temptation to sin in our lives), because the Lord has much better things for us than that.

Esther 4 - Application

v16

Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which [is] not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

When there is a threat that upsets us, instead of just being upset, we should seek the Lord seriously and pray about it.

When I feel distressed about something, I'll trust the Lord about it through taking it to Him in some serious prayer.

Esther 4 - Key

v14

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, [then] shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for [such] a time as this?

We should be bold and diligent to work hard and do great things for the Lord and His people.

Esther 4 - Outline

v1-3

the Jews responded with much wailing, everywhere

v4-6

Esther was exceedingly grieved, and sent a messenger to ask Mordecai what the problem was

v7-9

Mordecai described what happened and asked Esther to appeal to the king

v10-12

Esther answered that there was a law that she would be killed, unless the king extended the scepter

v13-14

"...for [such] a time as this..."

v15-16

"...if I perish, I perish."

Matthew 10:24-42 - Key

v32

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

We shouldn't deny the Lord out of fear of people, family members, or even death or anything else. We should be bold to preach the gospel.

v27

What I tell you in darkness, [that] speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, [that] preach ye upon the housetops.

don't take past mercy for granted

Genesis 20

v6

And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

Abimelech had just taken Abraham's wife (but he had not yet touched her), because he did not know that she was already married. The Lord had mercy on him because he did it in innocence. But now that the Lord showed him the truth, the Lord didn't say it was OK to continue in going the same way.

v7

Now therefore restore the man [his] wife; for he [is] a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore [her] not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that [are] thine.

When the Lord has given mercy to us before, that doesn't mean that we can get away with being careless and taking His mercy for granted now. The Lord warned Abimelech to return Sarah, and that ...if thou restore [her] not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that [are] thine.

Maybe the Lord had mercy on us before because we did bad things without completely knowing better... but now that we know, it is extremely critical to make sure that we obey the Lord in what we now know.

"is it not a little one?"

Genesis 19

v20

Behold now, this city [is] near to flee unto, and it [is] a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, ([is] it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

I think that we say the same thing about sins in our lives, that Lot said about that city. We tend to make the excuse that a sin is just a little sin, so we can tolerate it and let it continue.

We should realize that all sins are significant, and that there is no such thing as "just a little sin."

Esther 3 - Key

v4

Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told them that he [was] a Jew.

I had always understood this passage to mean that Mordecai wouldn't bow down and do reverence to Haman because the Lord's people are not supposed to bow down and do reverence to anybody but the Lord. We should boldly stand for what we know the Lord wants us to do, like Mordecai did, even in the face of terrifying adversity.

Application

Acts 5:29

Then Peter and the [other] apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

I'll be bold to preach the gospel to people instead of being afraid of how people will respond to it.

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Matthew 10 - Application

v19

But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

We shouldn't get all worried about what we are going to do or say, especially in situations in the future. We should just trust that the Lord will let us know what we need, when we need it.

When I get worried about what I'll do about people who need the Lord, I'll stop worrying by remembering that the Lord will provide what I need.

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Esther 3 - Outline

v1-4

Mordecai wouldn't bow and reverence Haman like the king commanded

v5-9

Haman asked the king to have all this certain people killed

v10-14

the king approved, provided for, and published Haman's edict

v15

the king and Haman were nonchalant, but the palace city was perplexed

Matthew 10 - Key

v22

And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

The point will come where the Lord's people will be hated by everyone... But notice that says it is for Christ's name's sake.

We should keep doing what we already know we should, for His name's sake. We will end up getting hated by people for it, but it will be well worth it in the end.

v32

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 10 - Outline

v1-4

Jesus called the twelve apostles

v5-8

Jesus sent them forth

v9-10

the workman is worthy of his food

v11-15

shaking the dust off your feet for whoever will not receive you

v16-23

they will persecute you, but the Lord will give you what to speak

v24-33

do not people, but fear God and preach Him

v34-39

take up your cross

v40-42

rewards for receiving the Lord's people

work faithfully, as unto the Lord

Genesis 29

v20

And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him [but] a few days, for the love he had to her.

It made it easier for Jacob to serve Laban a long time for Rachel, because he was serving in love. We should work hard like that, to serve the Lord faithfully, out of love for Him.

Esther 2 - Application

Application

v20

Esther had not [yet] shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.

As Esther was a good example of being discrete, I'll work on thinking carefully before I tell people things.

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