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Lessons In The Valleys: The Valley Of Strength (Elah) - 1 Samuel 17 Read 1 Samuel 17:1-3. Define mountains and valleys in our lives. Some examples: The Valley of the Shadow of Death (Psalm 23), The Valley Of Trouble (Hosea 2), the Valley of Baca (Weeping, Psalm 84). Then 1 Samuel 17:16. 40 is symbolic of a time of testing. Examples: - Spies checking out the promised land. Numbers 13:25-33. - 40 years wandering in the wilderness. - Jesus’ temptation by Satan in the wilderness. - After Jesus’ resurrection, time spent showing He was alive.   Giants of Gath - Anakim: - See Numbers 13:25-33; Joshua 11:21-22; 1 Chronicles 20:4-8. If the Israelites had destroyed the Canaanites as the Lord had commanded them to do, there would never have been this battle. As the verses in this section show, Goliath and his four brothers came from one of the cities that they did not conquer by faith.   Comparison between Goliath, Saul, and David, and their strengths:   Size: Goliath – 9 ½ feet ...

Lessons From The Life Of Jacob: Part One - Jacob, The Plain Man Genesis 25:27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. For nineteen years, Rebekah was barren and had no children. Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife. In their twentieth year of marriage, God answered his prayers and Rebekah gave birth to twins. While these boys were struggling together in her womb, God made a promise to her - that the eldest son would serve the younger. The line of the younger son would be the one that God would bless and cause to prosper. Genesis 25:22-24 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered w...

Diligently Seeking The Lord Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. The word for “ diligently seek ” means: to search out, i.e. (figuratively) investigate, crave, demand, (by Hebraism) worship.   Crave? Don’t you wish we all had the driving desire to be close to the Lord Jesus Christ, insomuch that we persevere and choose to do so, that we intensely yearn to diligently seek Him on a day to day basis; yeah, even on a moment by moment basis?   This pursuit is something I fail at so often, yet something I should always strive for! Oh, to be so close to the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, that nothing else matters - none of the trials or troubles we face, none of the glitter and pomp of this world, none of the prestige and honour the people of our society so desperately seek.    Oh to be like Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus an...

When Life Doesn't Go As You Planned Joseph was born the eleventh son of a family of twelve brothers and one sister. He was the oldest child of his father Jacob's (Israel's) favourite wife, Rachel. His mother died giving birth to the youngest son in the family, Benjamin. Genesis 37:2-4 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. In the book of Genesis, we can see four major disappointments in Joseph's life - things that he did not plan on, but that had a major impact on his life and future plans...

God Of Second Chances Sermon Audio Numbers In The Bible Series: Day 59 - The God Of Second Chances This is the story of a young man that failed the Lord miserably, and was later given a second chance. In Acts chapter 12, the apostle James was captured and beheaded by king Herod, and Peter was also imprisoned, facing a similar fate within a matter of days. But the Lord had other plans. He sent an angel to release Peter from prison, and Peter went to the house where the early church was having a prayer meeting on his behalf: Acts 12:12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. As most reading this no doubt know that the apostle Paul (first called Saul) is a very prominent figure in the New Testament. Much of the book of Acts is taken up with him and those who were involved in his three missionary journeys. He was in Jerusalem with Barnabas. When they left there to head back to ...

Jacob's Fear Of The Lord Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. The fear of the Lord is used in two different senses in the Word of God: For believers, the fear of the Lord is such an awe, reverence, and love for the Lord God that they depart from evil - that they desire to turn from sin and also get any sin right that they have allowed to come into their lives. To the lost, the fear of the Lord is more a terror, a dread, such a fear of His power and His judgment that they are overwhelmed. (See 2 Corinthians 5:11.) Better to trust the Lord for salvation, and then have the only fear in your life that pleases Him: the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. In Genesis 34, we have the story of Jacob's daughter, Dinah, and her fornication with Shechem, a lost man. When her family found out what had happened, they were understandably upset. Genesis 34:1-5 And D...

At The Feet Of Jesus One of my favourite Bible characters is Mary of Bethany, Lazarus' sister. Every time we see her, she is at the feet of Jesus. The circumstances of each situation are different, and we can glean some principles from them. 1) Sitting Submissively Luke 10:38-42 Now it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Here we see Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to His Word and learning from her Lord. Jesus comme...

The Twelve Apostles #3 - Thomas The Doubter In the four Gospels, we actually only have the accounts of the salvation of six of the twelve apostles: Andrew and John, Peter, Philip, Nathanael, and Matthew. The situations surrounding the other six and how they came to Jesus is not covered therein - however, they were more than likely with Jesus almost since the beginning of His public ministry, after His baptism by John the Baptist and His temptation in the wilderness. (See Acts 1:21-22 and John chapter 1) Thomas was also known as Didymus - both names mean "The Twin" (Didymus being the Greek equivalent of Thomas). While we know nothing about his twin, whether he ever got saved or not, or how close they might have been in appearance or in their relationship as siblings, this was obviously something that characterized Thomas in some way. Other than the three lists of the twelve apostles given in the Gospels, there are five other times where Thomas is mentioned specifically by name...