Last Tuesday, we discussed how important it is to seek out daily service moments to help prepare our hearts for Kingdom living. That is one way we can make a difference in the lives of others. But to better prepare our hearts for Kingdom living, we must also learn to build relationships with others who share our same goals, values, and hopes. We must seek out relationships to help us learn to support those in need while finding people who can lift our hearts as we travel through rough roads.
“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46-47 ESV).
From the beginning, early Christians knew the importance of seeking each other out. God never intended us to be islands trying to make it through this world alone. No, Jesus has brought together men and women to encourage, uplift and cheer each other on. He has given us the ability to walk with people who understand what our commitment to Him is. This is a wonderful jewel in the treasure Jesus has provided us.
But for me, that meant I would have to take the initiative to seek out others and get to know them. After all, Christians are still people. They only know what we need if we share our needs with them. They will only understand who we are if we drop our guard and appear authentic before them. And the powerful thing I have realized is that other people are just as eager and open to wanting to find someone like me as I want to find someone like them. Not that I am such a great, interesting, or entertaining person, but because I love the same God they love, and I am walking down the same road they are walking down. People do not want to build a relationship simply because they think I can overcome the same challenges they face. They want to build a relationship because I sometimes fail, but I am determined to get back up, just like them.
I learned that the idea of reaching out to others is such a powerful part of preparing my heart for Kingdom living that Satan doubles down on convincing me this is either a waste of time or that no one would be interested in building a relationship with me. After all, it will be just a matter of time before I say something stupid or embarrassing.
And yes, I sometimes say stupid things. I sometimes tell an awkward joke that is taken wrong. Sometimes I hurt someone without realizing it because I say something insensitive without thinking. Sometimes I embarrass myself and want to crawl under a rock. And Satan keeps whispering into my ear, “It’s not worth pursuing relationships with God’s people. They are ready to pounce and to judge. It’s best to keep to yourself.”
Sometimes I listen. But the more I listen to that kind of thinking, the lonelier and more isolated I become, and Satan starts to get leverage on me. The truth is, Satan understands that his job gets exponentially tougher when I build relationships with others. He’s not stupid. He knows:
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.
For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!
Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone,
two will withstand him--a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 ESV).
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV).
What I am talking about goes beyond just attending church services with each other, though I think this is a powerful and needed thing for us all. No, I am talking about getting to know our brothers and sisters. Spending time with them outside the assembly strengthens our bond of worship when we come together. It’s the way we become excited when we see a friend and long to catch up with them. Isn’t this what we all really want?
But we are people. This kind of relationship will not happen automatically, nor will it develop deeply without the commitment of time and an investment of service. So I learned I must start down a long road to cultivate these relationships. They are not built overnight, and not all will grow to the depth of others. And that’s okay. Building these kinds of relationships isn’t done in a sprint, they are cultivated over a marathon.
I love to set up an hour to meet with someone over coffee just to get to know them outside church services. Sometimes this leads to many other meetings, phone calls, or messages. Sometimes, not so many. But you know what? There is no one whom I reached out to that I don’t feel closer to. And after that first awkward meeting takes place, the rest is downhill.
But it involves me taking that first step. This has become such a powerful part of preparing my heart for Kingdom living. This process of building relationships teaches me to love, invest in others, and stop looking at things only through my eyes. When we go through the process of building relationships, we learn how to become better servants of the Lord. We learn to be more like Jesus.
Who knows how deeply these relationships will grow? But as I engage in trying to build them, I become a better person. After all, isn’t this the purpose of Kingdom living; having a heart that learns to have more of others and less of me?
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4 ESV).
I am in 1 Samuel in my daily Bible reading. We read about the rise and fall of a great man as king.
Saul had everything going for him as king, including the support of God. In fact, it was God who choose Saul as King. Yes, he was the hand-picked leader who God Himself chose.
We often hear that David was chosen as a man after God’s heart and assume that the people chose Saul. But that wasn’t the case.
God chose both men. But God chose Saul after the people’s hearts; that is, He chose someone who was “kingly” in the way people thought a king should be. Saul was an impressive specimen of a man, standing head-and-shoulders above other men.
But he was still a man chosen by God to be king. However, when God was ready to replace Saul as king, He chose someone after His heart who was “kingly” in the way He thought a king should be. David had a shepherd’s heart, and that’s just the kind of person God wanted to be king over His people.
God’s first choice of king didn’t live up to his potential though God loved him and gave him every opportunity to thrive. He sinned against God and was more concerned about his appearance in the eyes of the people than repenting before the Lord.
Because of this, we read one of the most tragic verses in the Bible:
“And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.” (1 Samuel 15:35 ESV).
“The Lord regretted that he made Saul king over Israel.” What a terrible place to be. Yet this was because Saul refused to walk with God. It wasn’t because Saul made mistakes, for God is full of mercy and grace to imperfect people who humble themselves in repentance. We see this in God’s next choice as king, David.
I don’t want God to have any regrets about me. If He does, it will be because I quit walking with Him, not because I make mistakes.
In 1 Samuel 2, we read Hannah’s prayer. God had opened her womb in response to her pleading for a child. She told the Lord that if He gave her a son, she’d devote him to His service all his life.
The prayer in 1 Samuel 2 is her prayer of praise to God. It’s amazing to me that Hannah is full of praise to God, knowing she would have to send her son away.
Do you think that Hannah wanted to send her firstborn away? She could have been distressed, but instead, she found a way to rejoice in what the Lord did for her.
It shows us that even when things happen we don’t want, we can still praise the Lord. It shows us we can still praise even when we must sacrifice something precious to the Lord. Hannah found joy in the Lord’s promise, even when it meant she had to fulfill her vow and release her son to the Lord.
Sometimes, we have to find joy in serving the Lord, even when it means sacrificing to the Lord. Hannah had to sacrifice what she loved most to the Lord, yet she did so gladly.
I want to be like Hannah. I want to be able to sacrifice to God without resentment for doing so.
I’m in the book of 2 Samuel in my daily Bible reading. King David had such a rollercoaster of a life.
He started as a fearless youthful shepherd boy, killing lions and bears to save his sheep. Then, God killed a giant by His hand, and David served in the king’s court.
God gave him victories in battle and favor in the people’s sight. But Saul’s jealousy burned against him, and David found himself running from Saul with only a step between him and death.
During these days, David experienced deep depression and anxiety, yet he leaned on the Lord to work through it.
Even when David became king, he allowed sin to come between him and God. God killed the first son Bathsheba bore him, and then God raised a sword in his house.
David had to flee from his son Absalom, and eventually mourn the third death of one of his sons.
Through all of this, David was an imperfect man. But what made him a man the Lord loved was that he never stopped walking with God. He stumbled, but he did not go his own way.
When we stumble, God still loves us. We may have to endure our own rollercoasters in life, but let us have the same heart David had. Let’s get back up and continue walking with God when we stumble.
God is gracious to imperfect people. But He will let us go our own way if we quit walking with Him. In this, let us follow in David’s steps and not in Saul’s steps.
I finished up 2 Samuel in my daily Bible reading. It tells of Absalom’s rebellion against his father, King David.
In this rebellion, sides are taken. One person who leaves David and places his loyalty with Absalom is Ahithophel. This counselor’s advice was credited as coming from God by both David and Absalom.
I often wonder why Ahithophel was so quick to change his loyalty. He was Bathsheba’s grandfather. Perhaps he never forgave David for killing his granddaughter’s husband and bringing disgrace upon his family when David committed adultery with Bathsheba. We don’t know for sure, but this wise man took the first chance to betray king David.
The first advice he gives Absalom when the rebellion happens is to run after David immediately to strike him while David is still confused. But another adviser, who secretly works for David to thwart Ahithophel’s counsel, condemns Ahithophel’s advice and offers his counter-advice. Absalom rejects Ahithophel’s advice and follows Hushai’s advice instead. This is how Ahithophel responds:
“When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.” (2 Samuel 17:23 ESV).
Have you wondered what caused Ahithophel to take such drastic actions when his advice wasn’t followed? The Bible doesn’t say for sure, but remember, this wise man was sought after because he understood things that others didn’t. God had given him a spirit of wisdom that no one denied.
It is likely that Ahithophel understood what was going on and realized that Absalom’s rebellion was doomed by God. That left him in a no-win situation. He had cast his lot against the Lord’s anointed king, and he knew it was a matter of time before he’d have to answer for this betrayal.
Each of us faces a similar choice. At some point, we come to terms with the fact that we have cast our lot against the Lord, and it is a matter of time before we will have to face the music and be held accountable for our rebellion.
But our Lord is rich in mercy and grace. All we need to do is repent and kneel in submission to Him, and Jesus will take us back and remember our rebellion no more.
But many of us will commit spiritual suicide rather than repent and turn to Jesus. What a sad state to be in when forgiveness and life are choices we have before us.
Will we set our house in order and receive the wages of our rebellion against God, or will we turn to Him and receive his mercy and grace today?
When Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate responded to the Jews by saying he found no fault in Him:
“Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” (Luke 23:4 ESV).
This is important in so many ways.
Perhaps one of the most beloved purposes for this statement is in Jesus being declared the pure, perfect lamb without blemish.
God only accepted the perfect lamb for sacrifices, and Pilate declared Jesus a fitting lamb for the terrible deed that was about to happen.
Jesus was the spotless lamb who would lay His life down for each one of us.
God is held to no moral standard.
God IS the moral standard.
Good is good because God defines what good is.
Evil is evil because God defines what evil is.
God can hold anyone accountable to His standard.
God answers to no authority.
This is precisely what it means to be sovereign.
We get no say in the matter.
We get no vote.
We simply choose to submit to His sovereignty today,
Or we will submit on the Day of Judgment.
We can not rebel against God’s sovereignty forever with impunity.