I Will Cast Out All Fear of Danger, I Will Be Brave And Obey

BIBLICAL STUDY #619 DECEMBER 22 - 28, 2009

Theme: “I Will Cast Out All Fear of Danger, I Will Be Brave And Obey” 2 Samuel 23: 13-17 Those men who worked and fought along with David were very brave and willing, and they were not very worried about their own lives. Every person who is brave should be faithful, but should also know that there is a lot of danger in their courage. The life of the faithful Christian is a struggle, and therefore a danger wherever we are. Acts 14:22 The brave subject themselves to danger even if they expose their own lives. If we are not persons willing to risk our own lives it is because we are not brave. When we live caring only for ourselves it is because we do not trust that God is powerful to do on our behalf. How are we going to acknowledge God’s power if we do not expose ourselves to danger? One of the requirements of the courageous is to be willing to face danger without fear. Let’s fear only God; He will work on our behalf. David was in a war to establish the kingdom of God upon Israel. He needed to have a firm nation. We have also been called to establish God’s kingdom on this earth. It is our responsibility to have today encouraging brave men who risk their lives so that those who are weak can be stable and secured. In order to have peace in Israel, there had to be courageous men. With the help of his brave men David began to organize a nation that was destroyed. That is why we must rise like those brave men. In those times there was disunion between the people of Judah and the people of Israel; therefore, there was a necessity for courageous men to expose themselves to danger in order to bring peace to the others. As the church, this has been our call for ever. No one with a mind as disturbed as Saul’s could do it. In spite of the dangers we face, we have to be persons with clear and calm minds so that God’s peace can be established among His people. Men and women willing to even lose their lives and be exposed to rejection are needed in order to serve with courage in the kingdom of God. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 and Luke 14:26 David had all the strength and opportunity to take the sword and kill Saul, but he did not do it. There are times when we must be calm in our cave. David was in the cave while Saul was looking for him to kill him. David was not afraid of the philistines, but he had to confront the difficult trials that were coming. The difficult thing is to fight against our own, because it is not the same as fighting against the philistines. The philistines established a garrison in Bethlehem and seized it, right where part of David’s family was. David thought of drinking the same water he drank when he was young and he said it softly. And beside him were those courageous men who were willing to reach the camp of the philistines and bring the water that their leader desired to drink. A sacrifice occurs when what we do hurts us and costs us; otherwise, it is not a sacrifice. Today everything is coldly calculated; there are very few people who want to expose themselves to the real dangers. Haggai 1: 8-14 People do not like danger because they live only for their home and not for God’s will. Many live just for themselves and want nothing to do with sacrifice. Let’s give God the sacrifice that God demands from us, and let’s expose ourselves to the dangers. What is the disposition of our lives? For most Christians their lives are good in every aspect and they go to church because they need things for themselves, but without going through any risks or dangers. God wrote for our lives so that we may cast out our fears to the dangers we face. There is no freedom in those who are afraid. We have to be willing to do God’s will in the midst of danger, since we cannot erase or remove God’s will in our lives. When we do God’s will, we do not lack anything, the rain will come, and the earth will give forth its fruit. Haggai 1:10 God awoke the spirit of those prophets and priests. The only way our spirit will be awake is when we decide to work in God’s House to do His will. David said: If I can drink the water from the well of Bethlehem! That seemed to be a caprice, but the mighty men heard it. They left exposing their lives to the danger of death and brought the water to give it to their prince to drink; that water would be poured by David as a libation and sacrifice becoming an offering for Jehovah. Behind the dangers that we face in these times there are souls that will be delivered from Hell. If we do it for God, we shall see our rain and our fruit. When one loves God’s will, the rain of blessing comes. This is the greatest thing for Mega Zoé, because it suits us to receive the rain from God and have fruit in abundance. We can see that there is sacrifice in God’s will and only the bold and brave will go ahead and do it. God’s will is a special delight for those who love God. Without David knowing, those self-sacrificing and brave men went to find the water without measuring the danger. Why are we afraid of facing the dangers? They went across the camp of the philistines without caring about what they were exposing themselves to. For rain to fall and to reap the fruit we have to leave our homes and do God’s will without fearing anything. We should never expect any reward from men. Those men had God’s protection as a reward. If we are willing to do God’s will we will have His protection, His reward. They held their leader in great esteem, and so, with that pleasure, they took the risks to serve him. Are we willing to acknowledge God’s will and obey it? If we do, we will be blessed by the Spirit, by His providence. Will we fear what men have to say on earth? We should not worry about what people say. Let us wish for the rain from above and to have God’s peace. David refused to drink that water and poured the water as an offering of libation to Jehovah. God’s will is not to please anyone but Him who called and chose us. All of Heaven knows what was written for us. Those dangers were equal the blood of the men that risked their lives. When we see the seriousness of things, we go to God. Those men were not worried of the seriousness of going forward to find the water in Bethlehem, but they went ahead. One who is brave moves because that is in his inner-self. Let us be as brave as David’s mighty men and the rain will come, and there will be fruit in abundance that will favor us and also those for whom we struggle. AMEN.