Doing Everything

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

DOING EVERYTHING

Acts 13:20-22

"After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'

NIV

We are still with the speech Paul is giving the men of Israel and Gentiles who are meeting in the synagogue and who invited Paul and Barnabas to talk. Paul now continues with the history of Israel and passing by the judges and now talks about Israel wanting a king. The first thing we notice is the reason they wanted a king. All the other lands around them had kings, but they only had judges. They wanted to be like other nations that had kings. Was Jealousy a factor? We think that is a great lesson for us to learn. We should not be concerned with what others have and be content with what God deems right for us. This can apply to us personally as well to us as a church. Having attended seminars at some big mega-church which was giving their pattern for growth in numbers, we have seen the local church trying to copy those methods in an effort to grow numbers of congregates. Jealously had to be playing a factor, wanting more than God supplies. It was Jesus who said that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Again, we need to be content with God’s plan. A wise pastor of our past years once said that the size of the local church will only be as large as the Pastor can effectively minister to. The question is whether God intended the local church to become mega-sized. Paul sent Timothy to start new churches, selecting leaders, based on the qualifications Paul outlined for overseers, who were pastors and elders, and deacons. Yes, it is best the local church is exactly how God wants it. The other truth we are very familiar with is the testimony of God regarding David. We know that David was not a perfect man, in fact his sin is well known, which makes the truth that our sins will surely find us out clearly seen with David. Yet, despite David being a mere mortal, with all the shortcomings, God’s testimony that David was a man after His own heart, and that David would do everything God wanted him to do. Can God say that about us? Was David the only one, and why, if he was? We think this narrative about David is simply a lesson for all of us. If we do everything God wants us to do, then would it not stand to reason that would make us a person after God’s own heart? However, there is the rub. Are we willing to do everything God wants us to do? Then we have to ask, how do we know what he wants us to do? That question should be easy to answer in that we have several ways to know want God wants us to do. First and foremost, we have his word. There is a plethora of instructions within His word that we should comply with, as an examine of all the attitudes and behaviors that we are to rid ourselves of, and then all the attitudes and behaviors that we are to add to our character. Secondly, we have the Holy Spirit who dwells within, who speaks to our hearts and minds, prompting us to do that which is right, and even some special instructions on occasions. Thirdly, God is more then able to give us a vision, a special directive to a particular task or assignment. The challenge is our response to any of these methods which God reveals what he wants us to do. Do we identify more with Paul than with David? Paul reveals his struggle with that which he should do, he does not, and what he should not do, he still does. Of course, that does not mean we will live perfectly without sin, however, being a person after God’s own heart simply means doing everything God wants us to do.