Your motives, even of doing right, are exposed before the LORD
Judges 20 / Proverbs 31 / 1John 3-5
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OT
Judges 20:18 Before the battle the Israelites went to Bethel and asked God, “Which tribe should lead the attack against the people of Benjamin?” The LORD answered, “Judah is to go first.”
:23 (For they had gone up to Bethel and wept in the presence of the LORD until evening. Then they asked the LORD, “Should we fight against our relatives from Benjamin again?” And the LORD said, “Go out and fight against them.”)
:28 The Israelites asked the LORD, “Should we fight against our relatives from Benjamin again or should we stop?” The LORD said, “Go! Tomorrow I will give you victory over them.”
Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is worth more than precious rubies.
NT
1John 3:2 Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
:18-20 Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord, even if our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
4:7-8 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God–for God is love.
:20-21 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we have not seen? And God himself has commanded that we must love not only him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too.
5:21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
OT Flash Points
If evil reigns, then even your victories are a design to lure you to defeat
Proverbs: A king shouldn’t crave liquor
NT Flash Points
The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil
If you love your brother then you have become the proof
Perspective
Mental, moral and spiritual acceptance of Jesus as my:
• Savior
• Authority
• Identity
is the verification of being a child of God.
A gilt-edged saint, always demanding the sensational, is not walking by faith
Those sudden touches from God are special surprises from Him, not our standard
Our standard is to do our saintly duty in obscurity without the flush of inspiration