GOD KNOWS YOU

 GOD KNOWS YOU 

Bible Passage: EXODUS 13: 17-22

 

WHEN WE GOT THE WRONG ROAD

BIBLE PASSAGE: 2 SAMUEL 17:1-29

• Picture taken from Google
• Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page
• Lesson ideas taken from: http://markmcmillion.com/the-council-of-ahitolphel
• https://counselingoneanother.com/2014/03/05/the-tragedy-of-ahithophel

NOVEMBER 01, 2020

MEMORY VERSE

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”  PROVERBS 4:23

INTRODUCTION:

Are you confidently enough to say, “I am in the right road”? What is the feeling of being lost and don’t know where to go? This is self-explanatory; we all know the feeling. Being lost in life journey has a big difference. It’s life and death situation; it’s our destination and our future which is vital or important.

Do you believe that all of us can choose the wrong road? If non-believers can and so, can we, right?

 

Every one of us wants to have good Christian family, right? We want all our family members would go to the same road as ours but what if this is not the way what we want it goes. The reality is we don’t really know what is right from wrong unless we go directly to the expert of choices, and the best counsellor which is our Almighty God, our Saviour and Creator of all things. He is the expert of life because He created it. May this lesson will remind us that possible things might happen to our families.  

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  WE ALL HAVE THE POSSIBILITY TO CHOOSE THE WRONG ROAD (2 SAM. 11:3, 23:34).

 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

 

We’ll talk about two characters in this part. First is David. We all know the ups and downs in David’s life. Along the way of his life, he made a big mistake and chose the wrong way. These were the starting points of life full of pains. Of course, God forgave him, but the consequences of his sins had just started. 2 Samuel 12: 10-11 says, ^“

 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

These things really happened in David’s life. TO tell some, three of his sons – Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah – each caused serious problems (2 Samuel 13:14-17).

 

There was another person whose name also began with an “A,” who revolted against him as a betrayer. This man, Ahithophel, had been a close advisor to David and could even have been called “the smartest man in the world.” “Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom” (2Sam 16:23). He evidently came out of his own retirement and joined the revolt of Absalom as his trusted advisor (2 Sam 16:23).

 

What is often overlooked, however, is that Ahithophel evidently became part of David’s family by marriage. Who is Ahithophel? Two passages explain that Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:3 with 23:34). One need not speculate too much to see that when David “took” Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:4), Ahithophel must have left David’s service. Later, the crafty Absalom must have assumed (correctly) that Ahithophel would jump at the opportunity to get revenge against David so he asked him to come out of retirement – an offer that the old man simply could not refuse.

 

We can see in these situations that a believer like David, can choose the wrong road or decisions in life.  And Ahithophel, an unbeliever, had chosen the wrong path in his life. Everyone is prone to disobedience or wrong path in life, and this is how this lesson implies to every one of us; we need to be careful.

2.   WHATEVER LOSES, PAINS AND FAILURES WE HAVE, GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL (2 SAM. 15:29-31).

             ²⁹ Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried             there.³⁰ And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his             head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his         head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.³¹ And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is             among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of             Ahithophel into foolishness.

Let’s read these verses. Can you imagine the painful circumstances David experienced in these verses? Sometimes God allows us to be in painful circumstances so that we can see how weak we are and powerful He is.

 

Imagine your trusted counselor betrayed you, what would you feel? Let’s see David’s feeling from these verses: I can’t know for sure, but I’ve always felt this passage in the Psalms is where David talked about his relationship with Ahitophel. “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.” (Psalm 55:12-14) Later in the same Psalm David says, “”The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.” (Psalm 55:21)

There were a lot of emotional pains David experienced. From the first verses, we can see how two people reacted in their present situations. In David’s side, they brought the ARK of the Covenant and prayed and wept. One thing like that is the somewhat strange story of the time in King David’s life when his son, Absalom, led a rebellion against his father which was very nearly successful. This rebellion was allowed or brought on by God Himself as a chastening judgment on David for his sins. In Absalom’s side, though he smelled the victory, he didn’t recognize God’s hands. Any kind of rebellion is against God’s will.

Let’s see Ahithophel’s case, whatever reasons he had for being a conspirator, even the reasons are the pains of his family had felt, still he chose the wrong way. If someone had caused you pain and your reactions are not based on God’s words, then they are not God’s will. Be aware of bitterness in your hearts.

3.  NO KNOWLEDGE ON THIS EARTH IS INCOMPARABLE WITH GOD’S KNOWLEDGE (2 SAM. 16:23; 15:31).

           And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired             at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

 

We find that David had a councilor or adviser named Ahithophel who was perhaps David’s top consultant to his reign and kingdom. And the Bible says of Ahithophel, “The counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God.” (II Samuel 16:23) That’s a very unusual Bible verse but basically it means that the counsel of Ahithophel was virtually flawless and perfect, almost supernatural so.

 

And yet…, something was wrong. This man’s incredible gift somehow didn’t prevent him from taking the side of King David’s mortal enemy, his own conniving, ambitious son Absalom. Nevertheless, of all that was going on, it seems David feared the council of Ahithophel as he worked together with Absalom more than anything else. When David heard that Ahithophel was advising Absalom, David prayed, “O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.” (II Samuel 15:31).

 

As they fled east from Jerusalem, David sent back one of his most loyal subjects and advisers, Hushai, to feign obedience to the usurper, Absalom. Absalom gathered his councilors and sages, including Ahitolphel and Hushai, and Absalom asked Ahitolphel what he counseled.

 

Basically, Ahitolphel said they should go after David and his bands immediately. And probably if they’d done that, it would have been successful. Absalom then turned to Hushai, knowing that he’d been in the inner circle of David’s friends and asked what he thought they should do.

 

What a moment that must have been. What an incredible movie this would make. Did Hushai blurt out that Ahitolphel’s council was totally wrong, as he tried to save King David? No; no one would have believed that. So Hushai said, “The council of Ahithophel is not good at this time,” (II Samuel 17:7) and went on to try to explain how the best would be for them to wait till they had gathered a really big army and to take on David’s smaller forces in open field combat. Of course, this was because Hushai knew that David and his men were very weak and on the run at the moment and if Absalom followed Ahithophel’s council, they would actually defeat and kill King David and his men.

 

Another incredible moment. Absalom’s response? “The council of Hushai is better than the council of Ahithophel.”  (II Samuel 17:14) Actually it wasn’t. But the Lord had answered David’s prayer to defeat the council of Ahitophel. This delay gave time for David and his men to regroup and strengthen themselves.

 

Above all, no matter how smart you are, you’re nothing compare to God’s knowledge. This pride in Ahithophel’s heart led him to destruction.

 

Can you see what is the lesson is pointing our here? Whatever good plans our families have, the knowledge they had attained, and the experienced they had learned to, all of these are nothing if God is not there.

 

4.  DON’T TAKE MATTERS ON YOUR HAND; TAKE GOD’S (2 SAM. 17:23; 16: 5-12)

        ¹⁰ And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because             the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done                         so? ¹¹ And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my         bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him         curse; for the Lord hath bidden him. ¹² It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and         that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day.

         To me, one of the most amazing parts of this story is what it says happened next. II Samuel 17:23         says, “And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose,         and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and         died, and was buried in the sepulcher of his father.”

        If you can see in this verse before Ahitophel died, he put his house in order. In other commentaries         he possibly put things like his “wills” and other things- worldly matters. What I see in here? At the         end of his life, he still had wrong decisions. He chose worldly matters before anything else. The             last thing, the worst – suicide. Suicide can never be the right choice.

        On the other side, let’s read 2 Samuel 16: 5-21. We can see in here about David’s attitude toward             maltreatment. Let me ask you a question, what would you do if someone said something against         you? Cuss you or did anything bad? The natural response for some of us is- we’ll react                             tremendously. We go to social media and post, right? For the worse, we take matters on our own             hands – we revenge.

        May the attitude and reactions of David help us and remind us on how to deal things. He humbled       himself and took matters on God’s hands. Another thing that caught my attention is still God was on     David’s side no matter what he did before. God gave him second chance and many chances possible.     Why? Because he repented and humbled himself before God. So, you see, if our families are stubborn     and full of pride, they would be led to destruction. What are the simple things we do that possibly             lead to pride? We blame the church for our decisions or the outcome of your life or our children, we     don’t see the importance of church in our lives; we seldom go to church, we don’ lead the family             members to be spiritually minded people and we let our family members do it because we think         they would not go that far or they would not reach that point. How would we know? The Bible is     always telling the truth, “Except the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build it: …”             Psalm 127:1.

CONLUSION:

And as it turned out, Ahithophel was right again: the rebels’ cause was already lost. Absalom and his troops were defeated in open battle with David’s fewer but more seasoned warriors.

There’s just so much to all this that my normal length of these posts doesn’t suffice to cover it all. Ahithophel’s virtual godlike gifts didn’t prevent him from making a fatal mistake of disloyalty to God’s anointed king. Was it ambition? Familiarity? Spiritual pride? Evidently something was seriously wrong with the condition of his heart, despite his incredible gifts and evident intelligence.

It’s all a massive story with layers of meaning and lessons for us all. One of the clearest for me is what Solomon, David’s son and eventual heir, wrote years later, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”  (Proverbs 4:23)

It’s all about your heart, not your gifts, not your intelligence, not your looks or anything other than your personal relationship with the Lord and how you conduct your life before Him. Ahitophel must have been one of the wisest men that ever lived. But his wisdom didn’t prevent his heart from making the biggest mistake of his life, which ultimately cost him his life. May God help us all to keep our heart right with Him.

 

Let me tell you this story from https://ministry127.com/

On a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.

In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His mother, in the house, was looking out the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.

It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two.

The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.

His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs; and then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn’t let go.”

Instead of getting mad at those who try to help you do right and pull against the world, the flesh, and the devil, you should be thankful that they love you enough to not let go.

 

 

WHOSE VOICE YOU LISTEN TO?

BIBLE PASSAGE: 2 KINGS 18:25, 30; 19:29-37

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: https://blog.kcm.org/

 OCTOBER 04, 2020

 

LESSON KEY VERSE

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

JOHN 10:27

 INTRODUCTION:

Our bible passage for today is about the King Hezekiah and the king of Assyria named, King Senaccherib. We have read how the king Assyria gave doubts to king of Israel telling these words, “Am I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it” (2 Kings 18:25). Did God really say these words?  And he urged the people of Israel not to trust king of Israel for his words about Yahweh.  1 Kings 18:30 says, “Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria”. He showed evidences of their victories against neighboring countries and no doubts they would win in Israel as well; this is what king of Assyria was pointing out. In line with Israel’s situations, we can say that really in this world we can hear different voices and sometimes we don’t know to whose voice we should listen to.

 Our lives can sometimes feel like constant noise—voices from every side—influencing the way we think and feel. But, in the midst of it all, there is one voice we need to hear the most—the voice of God.

 When you’re seeking the answer to one of life’s challenges, do you ever wonder if you’re hearing God’s voice, or if it’s just your own voice? Maybe you’re hoping to hear from Him, but you don’t want to get it wrong and make a bad move. Do you need to hear Him today about your finances, your children, your marriage or your health?

 There is good news—God is speaking to you all the time. In fact, A.W. Tozer said, “It’s the nature of God to speak.” He wants to have fellowship with you, and He wants you to hear Him—all the time.

God has promised to lead His children by His Spirit and enable them to know His voice. That means you can learn to know exactly what the Spirit of God is saying to you about every situation. You don’t have to go through life blindly making decisions or relying on your own abilities.

 When you learn to tune in to God’s voice, it won’t be an occasional event but an everyday part of life. That’s why, in the New Testament, Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” 15 different times.

 We can learn to hear God!

 If you’re longing for certainty in your fellowship with God, here are four ways to know if you’re hearing God’s voice:

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  CHECK YOUR RECEIVER (JEREMIAH 29:13)

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

 

Have you ever tried to watch television or listen to the radio without turning it on? Of course not! You already know that if you don’t turn on the receiver, you’re not going to hear a thing. When you do turn them on, you fully expect to hear something!

 So, how do you check your spiritual receiver? The one way to know if your spiritual receiver is turned on is to answer this question:

 Do you expect to hear from God?

Some people say, Well, God just doesn’t talk to me. But here is an important truth: even if you don’t feel like God speaks to you—He does. In fact, He’s speaking to you right now. But, if you aren’t expecting to hear from Him, you haven’t even turned on the receiver!

 Now, let’s be clear—He isn’t going to scream, yell and demand that you pay attention. He is always speaking to you, but He speaks in “a still small voice”. 1 Kings 19:12 says, “And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice”. So, to hear Him, you have to tune in and listen carefully. Another way to describe the way we hear God’s voice is through an inward witness.

 What is an inward witness?

 God doesn’t communicate with us the way we communicate with one another. He communicates from His Spirit to your spirit, and then your spirit communicates what you hear to your mind. That is what we call an inward witness. It is very similar to a thought or a prompting. It’s very subtle and requires a closeness with God and regular practice to hear it more quickly and clearly.

That’s why the more time you spend with the Lord and the more you practice tuning in to His voice, the more it will become a voice that “thunders in marvelous ways”. Job 37:5 says, “God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend”.

 How do you come to a place where you know whether it’s you or the Lord?

Certainty in knowing that you are hearing God’s voice comes to the person who is united with Him. 1 Corinthians 1:17 says, “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit”.  United means “joined,” or “in union.”  It doesn’t apply to someone who is not living for God. It applies to whomever seeks Him diligently, spends time fellowshipping with Him through prayer, and obeys the commands in His Word.

A receiver who is intact and ready to tune in to the voice of God is one who is expecting to hear from Him and is willing to learn to know His voice.

2.   FIND HIS FREQUENCY (JOHN 10:4)

And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

One kilohertz (khz) is equal to 1000 hertz. Like hertz, kilohertz is used to measure frequency or cycles per second, one khz is equal to 1000 cycles per second (electro magnetic waves. You don’t understand, right? Ha,ha; I’ve just mentioned this to know that the frequency is needed for us to hear properly.

There was once a time when you had to work to tune in to a program on the radio or television set. You had to find the right frequency. You never questioned if it was broadcasting—you knew it was—but you had to do your part to find the frequency and tune in.

How do you locate the frequency God uses to speak to you?

Most often, we miss His frequency because we’re tuned in to hear some huge revelation; when, in fact, He is giving simple instructions. That’s what He will do when you first begin to hear from Him—and He will continue to do this for the rest of your life here on earth. Obedience in the simple things is very important to God—it reveals the willingness of you heart.

So, if you’re waiting for God to send you out to part the Red Sea, you may be missing what He’s saying to you right now—which might be to clean out your closet or stop watching certain television shows or spend more time with your children. He will talk to you about the small things in your life that you need to change—adjustments you need to make. He will begin to deal with you where you are, which most often involves helping you walk in God’s best by getting rid of things that are holding you back.

God wants liberty and freedom for our lives, and that begins with training. He teaches us how to be led by the Spirit. But, if we disobey these promptings in the little things, we won’t graduate to the bigger assignments. Sometimes, the small things He asks of us may seem unimportant or involve giving up things we think we enjoy. But to reach a level of intimacy with God where we hear His voice and have launched us into new places in the spirit, obedience must become a non-negotiable in our lives.

That’s why Matthew 18 tells us to become like little children—which means not to be high-minded and think we’re all-knowing. To find God’s frequency, you must be willing to hear His voice in the small things.

 

3.  LEARN TO DISCERN HIS VOICE (JOHN 10:27)

 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

(Insert an audio about how sheep hear their shepherd).

If your spouse or closest friend calls you on the telephone, do you know it’s them before they tell you? Most likely you do! But how? Because you’ve spent so much time with them, the sound of their voice and their way of saying things has become well-known to you—easy to recognize.

          The same is true when it comes to our relationship with God.

If you want to get to a place where you don’t have to wonder whose voice you’re hearing—yours, the devil’s or God’s—you need to spend time with the Lord. A lot of time. But, if you keep your mind and your heart full of the things of this world, it will be difficult for you to differentiate between the Spirit of God and your own thoughts. That is the definition of a carnal mind—one that has not been renewed by the Word of God.

The more time you spend with Him, the more certain you’ll become about hearing God’s voice. It isn’t just time talking to Him, though. We learn His voice when we listen to His voice. That’s why in Matthew 17:5 He said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”

4.  LINE IT UP WITH HIS WORD – THE BIBLE (2 TIMOTHY 3:16)

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

 

One sure way to know if you’re hearing God’s voice is to line up what you hear against the Word of God. God will never tell you to do, think or say anything contrary to His Word. If you have a thought and you don’t know if it’s God or not—you can look it up in the Bible and settle it right away.

The Spirit of God will only tell you to do things that will give you a more abundant life.  Every change He tells you to make is designed to bring blessing into your life and minister grace to you. So, He isn’t going to tell you to refuse to forgive someone or spend money frivolously, or anything else that doesn’t match His Word.

God always agrees with His written Word, and His Word always agrees with Him. In fact, Psalm 138:2 says I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. That means God has put His Name on His written Word the way we would put our name at the bottom of a contract. He has given us His Word as a covenant and signed it in the Name of Jesus, by the blood of Jesus. Since God cannot lie, there is no way He will ever do or say anything contrary to that Word. He has absolutely joined Himself to it forever.

God trains us to recognize His voice through His written Word. He uses it to tune our spiritual ears to what is real so that we can easily recognize a counterfeit.

When you’re trained to hear God’s voice in His Word, the devil won’t be able to sneak deceptions in on you. When he tries to razzle-dazzle you with some religious-sounding voice that says, “I love you, my son. But it’s just not my will to heal you at this time,” you won’t buy it. You’ll rise up and say, “That’s not the voice of God. That’s a lie from hell because it doesn’t agree with the Word that says, ‘By His stripes we are healed’” (Isaiah 53:5, NKJV).

 

To live in confidence that you are hearing from Him, you need to have a knowledge of His Word continually in your heart.  And you do this by drawing near to God (James 4:8) “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you…” That’s your part—to seek Him. God’s not going to run you down. Your part is to diligently seek Him. That involves spending time in the Word and in prayer. And whatever place you give Him in your life, the Spirit of God will fill it up for you.

          The best part about hearing God’s voice?

 You won’t just avoid counterfeit voices—you’ll be given access to secrets and knowledge that will make you the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13). In Jeremiah 33:3, He says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” All you have to do is pursue a life in which you hear the voice of God, heed it and walk into a victory you never thought possible.

When you check your receiver, find His frequency, learn to discern His voice, and line up what you hear with His Word—hearing God’s voice won’t be an occasional event, but a lifestyle. And when someone asks you, “What is the Spirit of God telling you today?” you won’t hesitate for a moment. You’ll know exactly what to say.

CONLUSION:

From Pastor Dave Coop’s illustrations:

My uncle at one time was a piano tuner. Even though he has an excellent ear for music he still carried a tuning fork to ensure that what he heard come from the piano was in tune. By comparing what he heard to the pitch of the tuning fork he could tell if the note was on or off. The Bible is like that tuning fork. We hear different voices, but even though we may have been saved for years we still must always compare what we hear to the tuning fork of the Bible to ensure we are not heeding the voice of the stranger. If we will study and meditate on the word of God, we will know it is the Father’s voice, for the same Holy Spirit that inspired the Bible is the same Holy Spirit that lives within us. Like the two disciples travelling on the road to Emmaus the Lord will reveal Himself through the scriptures. Luke 24:27 says, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”. Jesus tells us that if we search the scriptures, we will find they testify or support what He says to be true. (John 5:39 says, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”.

 

We hear different voices, but even though we may have been saved for years we still must always compare what we hear to the tuning fork of the Bible to ensure we are not heeding the voice of the stranger.