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The application of today’s lesson is this. Never substitute anything for Jesus Christ. Nothing can replace him. No one else can bring you to God. No amount of good works will suffice; no other religion will work; no other person or thing can bridge the gap. When you go to God in prayer, go to him through Jesus. When you come to God for salvation, come to him through Jesus. When you talk to other people, tell them about Jesus. He is the mediator. He is the go-between. He is the only way that you can go to God.

The phrase Paul uses for eternal life is a phrase that literally means, “the life of the age to come.” The emphasis is not so much on the duration but the quality of this kind of life. Yes, it is life that lasts forever, but it is also life in God’s presence, life marked by holiness, life filled with peace and joy through the Holy Spirit. This is the kind of life that we will enjoy for all eternity, and yet we do not have to wait until we enter eternity to begin to experience it. In other words, eternal life starts now. When you trust Jesus Christ, you receive eternal life and begin to enjoy its benefits in the present.

You are not saved by obeying God’s law. The law can only expose your sin and condemn you before God’s throne. You are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. This is the gospel that saves us. This is the gospel that God has entrusted to us. This is the gospel that allows us as a church to do God’s work by faith.

God does not live in a house or a building, but he does have a family, and he indwells his church through the Holy Spirit. The church is not a building. The church is the people. And so when we talk of doing church together, we are not talking about how to decorate the building, or just what we do on Sunday mornings, but we are talking about how we should live and work together as a church, as a people committed to God and to each other.

Your choices have consequences. We reap what we sow. Every life is made up of years, which are made up of months, which are made up of days, which are made up of hours, which are made up of choices. Each choice may seem small at the time, but those thousands of choices you make add up to your life, and they help determine whether you will end well or end poorly, whether your life will bring honor to God or dishonor.

Going with God means staying alert to the opportunities. God often uses interruptions in your life to accomplish his purposes. Sometime the interruption is the main purpose. When you go with God you look for opportunities along the way. What you view as a distraction may be a divine appointment. The interruption may just be an opportunity from God to love and to serve.

First of all, living out your faith brings conflict with the world. Notice I said “living” out your faith. You can believe whatever you want, and no one really cares. But when you begin to live out your faith, that’s when the conflict comes

When you bypass God in your life, you bypass God’s blessing. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” God offers you eternal life through his Son Jesus Christ. All you need to do is repent of your sins and put your trust in him.

When I say we are living with the enemy, I am not necessarily talking about people. People are not your enemy. The Bible says our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of darkness in this world. We should not view unbelievers as enemies to be hated, but rather as potential brothers and sisters in Christ, as potential believers in Jesus. Now some of those people may be actual enemies, but even then, Jesus says you are to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you.

Instead of seeking personal revenge, you should leave it up to God by demonstrating three important areas of trust: 1) Trust God to make things right. 2) Trust God to protect you. And 3) Trust God to reward you. In our passage today, we find David demonstrating all three of these areas of trust when it comes to his relationship with Saul.

In today’s passage we encounter three people who represent three different actions and whose actions lead to three different outcomes. In 1 Samuel 25 we meet Nabal the fool, David the rash and Abigail the wise. Hence, the title of today’s message: “The Wise, the Rash and the Fool.”

When someone hurts us, we naturally want to strike back. When someone does evil against us, our natural instinct is to seek revenge. However, God doesn’t want us to live in the natural but in the supernatural. And today’s passage along with other Scriptures make God’s position on this perfectly clear. As Christians, not only should we not return evil for evil. We should actually return good for evil. And that is not easy for us to do.

When you are stressed or facing difficult times, you need to find strength in God. God is omnipotent. God is all powerful. When you find strength in God, you will find plenty of strength to face the challenges and tasks of each day. When you try to find strength outside of God, you are only setting yourself up for failure.

You can strike at God in any number of ways. You can strike at God by cursing him or rebelling against him. You can strike at God by disregarding his law or disbelieving in him. You can strike at God by lashing out at others. You can strike at God by persecuting the church, by persecuting his people whom he loves.

So, what do you do when life doesn’t turn out the way you thought it would, the way you thought God was leading? What do you do when you suddenly find yourself in a cave instead of the palace? How do you deal with God’s delays in life?

Have you ever felt like you’re on the run? You may not be literally running for your life like David was, but anytime you’re feeling harassed, restless, in between, in transition, off your game, out of your routine – basically anytime you’re in trouble, you can relate to David’s being on the run here in 1 Samuel 21.

1 Peter 4:8 says: "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." Friendship involves heartfelt love and deep affection for each other. Friendship is a precious gift from God. The best way to make a friend is to be a friend.

Episode 3 of Revelation of Jesus to the Church of Thyatira (If You Love Me, you will keep my Word)

What does it mean to be best friends? What moves us from the category of acquaintances to friends to best friends? God is loyal to his covenant, and we are called to love each other as God loves us. True friends show each other unfailing kindness like that of the Lord.

Revelation of Jesus to the Church of Thyatira; (I know your Works)