1. ‘Heart and Spirit’
1 Samuel 16:1–13
David c.1000 B.C.—preceded by the Judges (Gideon, Samson etc.) and King Saul. David is the greatest King of Israel who forms and unites the 12 tribes as a single Kingdom. He wrote many Psalms.
God Chooses
Throughout scripture God chooses people to work through him. God chooses us now to bear fruit for him. John 15:16
What has God chosen you for?
God looks on the Heart
“do not look upon his appearance or the height of his stature… for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Sam 16:7
The heart is?…
…the centre of things, the seat of the will, the inner
self….the guts (as in gut reaction), innermost being.
Pr 4:23 “keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life.”
Matt 5:8 Jesus says “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God”
Eph 3:17 we comprehend the love of God through Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith.
How does that make us feel?
God sees the heart as a work in progress. God looks for a heart that is in line with His, that seeks to follow His.
1 Sam 13:14 “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him to be a ruler of his people”.
God Equips
God chooses, God calls and then God equips. God equips the called. e.g. Moses, the 12 Apostles, Paul.
God trains our hearts on the job, as apprentices, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
We are each chosen and each called. God will and does equip each of us to fulfil that calling.
Questions for discussion;
- What strikes you about this story from 1 Samuel?
- What are your reactions to the statement ‘We are each chosen and called and God will equip us to fulfil that calling’?
- What is your heart, your passion, what excites you, or angers you, what makes you react passionately? Perhaps this is God’s calling on you.
- Is anything preventing you from following your calling? What is it?
Perhaps you may want to ask someone else to help with this.
2. ‘God’s Timing’
2 Samuel 2: 1-7 and Psalm 16
God’s timing happens on a daily basis in our lives whether we actually realise that or not.
How do we know that God’s timing coincides with ours !?
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Stay close: God our first ‘port of call’ 2 Sam.2:1 “David inquired of the Lord…” Matthew 6: 33 “seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness”
In what ways do we say close to God ?
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Remain in contact: Make sure we are hearing all that God has to share with us 2 Sam. 2: 1b “to which city shall I go up” John 12: 49-50 “What I speak therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me” If Jesus needed to stay in contact how much more do we?
What sort of things may cause us to slip out of contact with God?
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Trust and timing Psalm 31: 14 “I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God’. My times are in your hands” Luke 23: 46 “Father into your hands I commend my spirit” Trust and timing go together. Wherever we are in life, however we feel, the key to God’s timing is trust.
No short cuts!!
Trust is something we learn, we learn to trust God by going through various experiences that require trust, by seeing God’s faithfulness in our own lives over and over again.
