Seize the Moment – Day 764
Set an Example Worth Following!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, April 20.
Do you set an example that is worth following? Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” People are watching and do they see Jesus in you? We are to set an example for others in our words and conduct so that in watching us they may know the way of Jesus.
David set an example worth following when King Saul, who was trying to kill David, entered a cave and unknowingly put himself in the hands of David and his men. In 1 Samuel 24:6-7, listen to how David responded to his men who encouraged him to kill Saul with his own hands and take his rightful place as the next king:
So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way.
What happened next would not have been possible without David’s brave act of mercy! Saul finally came to terms with the judgment of God and recognized the righteousness of David and God’s anointing upon him as the next king (17-22). David’s men watched all of this and because of David’s unwillingness to set his hand against God’s anointed, but rather showed mercy and kindness, they experienced a powerful testimony of God’s power working through a righteous man. Consequently, David, the anointed of God himself, protected his own future kingship, and that of his son Solomon’s future reign, by not setting the precedent for “might makes right” as the way of succession in the kingdom of Heaven.
Seize the moment and set an example worth following. Walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:1-3).