Gerbrand van Schalkwyk

Which of the character flaws mentioned in these verses is the greatest problem in the church? Any flaw is a problem. Following and preaching of any idol is a problem. 2Ki22 and 23 show how the Hebrews brought idols into the temple. Today many preachers serve Mammon (Money and power), Baal and Asherah (sex), Dagon or Nimrod (Blessings) and many more in church. Why do you say that? Too many preachers are focussed on themself. What do i get out of this, what are my bennifits? How can Jesus serve me, instead of serving god, handing my everything to God. We have to teach our people to serve God with all we have, once you seek the kingdom of God with everything in you, God id faithful, he said He will give us all we need. Math 6:33 How can you prevent one of these character flaws from overtaking you? We have to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We have to be obedient to the Holy Spirit. We have to seek God's will in everything we do. Constant prayer and constant dwelling in the Word. We have to know God intimately if we want to live in His will. For myself, to make sure money never becomes a magnet, i dont receive any money from preaching, i invest in our church. This way i will trust in God to provide always. As for sex, i married my best friend, God gave me an awesome wife. As long as i keep her close and seek God's will in everything I do, i know with a blessed asurance that i will be protected. It also helps to know that my marriage is supposed to reflect my relationship with God. The more you love God, the more you will love your wife. Seek God in all you do and He will show and guide you in your teachings as well.

Why is personal courage such an important character trait for a disciple -- and for a discipler? The Bible clearly say we are kings and priest when we accept Christ as our Lord. We must have confidence to stand up and take control of any situation just as a king would do, and then tell everybody, this is wrong because of this and that and the way to fix it is so, just as a priest would do. We must be clear that we must still be humble, i am not confidant because of who i am, but because God Himself, the Holy Spirit is living within me and is guiding and teaching me. As long as i am obedient to His guidence, I don't have to fear anything because the Almighty God is living within me How does lack of courage prevent evangelism? If i dont have courage i have no confidence in God, so if i have no confidence in God, how can i spread the Word of God? How does lack of courage prevent a congregation from being healthy? In the same way, if a congregation is not courageous the Holy Spirit is not leading the congregation, thus it will never be healthy, because the source of life is not in them. What is God calling you to do that will require courage on your part? We must spread the Word of God, to do that we must stand up anywhere and proclaim His Word. We must Glorify Him, and to do that we must praise Him openly no matter where we are.

What does verse 10 teach us about the Christian faith? Pastor Ralph gives a good description of verse 10. and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead -- Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." (1:10) In this one verse, Paul reminds the believers of five foundational truths which are at the core of the gospel. Jesus Christ is God's Son. Jesus Christ will return. Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. Jesus Christ is our Savior. God's wrath is coming upon sin. Which of these elements are most important? I would say that point 4 is not complete, Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour. Too many people see Jesus as their Saviour, but not as their Master, they don't submit to His authority, they still want to be in control of their relationship with God, they don't hand full control to God. The 2nd point that is not stressed enough is point 5. When we do wrong, we are turning our backs on Christ, we can loose our salvation if we persist in sin. These days people are very focused on human rights, we think it is our right to do as we will, instead of seeking the will of God. We have to stay in the will of God if we want to receive from God. We have to stay obedient to God to be part of His plan. All the other points are important as well, you cant ignore any of them Which are less important? They are all important. Which are underemphasized by the church in our day? As mentioned in the 1st part of the question, point 4 and 5. But the church must continue to teach all these points

How important is imitation in the formation of a new Christian's spiritual life? It is very, very important for all of us, even long time Christians. We all have to imitate Christ, Jesus gave us the perfect example, and many of the Old and New Testament men also gave us great examples of how to live, or how not to live. For a new Christian it is great to follow in a true believer's footsteps. This is why it is so important to choose your spiritual guides very carefully. Jesus introduced the Church and He Himself is the Leader or the Head of the church. We must never forget that Jesus gave us the church with a goal. We are to support one another, correct one another when needed, share with one another and love one another. All this we learn by imitating other Christians, especially if the Holy Spirit is active within our church. What kinds of ministry are most conducive to imitation? Humbleness, when the church leaders live to serve one another and not to gain from each other, self sacrifice, when church leaders do what is good for the Kingdom of God, lead by the Holy Spirit, and not what is good for their own reputation, pockets, social standing and so on. Showing love to one another, God is love, we must all love one another. Including all, Jesus didn't reject anybody, He talked to all, even if He didn't agree with somebody, He still taught them the truth, if we don't agree with somebody we should not reject the person, we must find guidence from the Holy Spirit and act accordingly, we should not follow our own will Spreading the Word of God all the time, Jesus taught all the time, we must teach all the time, through our words, but also through our behaviour. Faithfulness, when we say something, we must do it, people must know they can rely on us There are many more character traids that must show people that we are who we say we are, and that new Christians can imitate, as long as our actions are Biblical and imitate Jesus, people can imitate us as well. Why is the character of the mentor or leader so important to the health of the church? How well do people grow in Christ who aren't part of a Christian community? In what way is your character important to your family and spiritual children?

Why is the Holy Spirit's working so necessary to effective ministry? The Holy Spirit is God Himself representing Him on earth. Without God's (the Holy Spirit) influence in our ministry we are busy with a man made thing, a religion with no relationship. That is when churches becomes bussinesses instead of a place to worship. That is when we only meet for a sosial event and a bit of a motivational talk before the week begins. We must involve the Holy Spirit as the Leader of everything that happens in our ministry if we want to see any true growth, any influence from God. What happens when the main power behind our ministry is will-power? We have a man made plan, a man's ideas, and we are following a man, not God. I am passing on my will, not God's will. Many times you will see a church falling apart when a pastor leaves the church, that is because the pastor led the church on his own, people were following the man, not God. Other things might cause the church to fail, but if every church fails after you leave you are doing something wrong, you must leave a church that will grow and is strong enough to further spread the Word of God. When we appoint pastors it will be a good idea to also see what happend with previous churches when the pastor / leader left, did they continue to grow, Holy Spirit inspired, or did they shrink, man's will inspired. What is the role of miracles in Paul's evangelism? I think miracles inspired people, but it also proved to people that Paul was really from God. Paul also showed people what could happen when you are filled with the Holy Spirit. He acted with confidence because he knew who he was in Christ, his confidence was not in himself, but in Christ Who was living within him What would happen if we saw miracles in evangelism in our day? If we are seeking the Kingdom of God we will regularly see miracles in our lives. If we are obedient to the Holy Spirit we will experience God in our lives in wonderful ways all the times. We are to often looking for God in great awesome stuff and not experiencing Him in the "soft winds" as well. Experiencing God's presence when somebody in church stands up and give a perfect introduction to your sermon is just as big a miracle as somebody jumping into the road and stopping a runaway truck from killing a child in the Name of Jesus. We have to see God in everything we do. It is a wonderful experience What is hindering this? For myself it was mostly following my own ideas, doing my own stuff, and staying in control, not handing control completely over to God. Other stuff can be persistance in sin. Today sexual sin is accepted in many areas way too easily. Social sanding, power, money, self concern and many other worldly stuff. As long as we stay in the world we can never experience God. Too amny of us are still worshipping Mamon, Dagon, Bachus, Baal and other gods from the Old Testament. We don't have idols, but we still follow the same sin that they represented. As long as we are unfaithful to God, He will not bless us with miracles

Why do you think there was so much strong opposition to Paul's ministry in Thessalonica? Paul is teaching something new, different that is against the teaching of the Jews. This is a new religion that talks about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, relationships instead of deeds. Not only were Paul and his team costing the Jews money and prestige, but they were also telling everybody that what they taught for a living was wrong. They said what they lived for was false. It is no wonder the Jew's leaders were so against the teaching of Christ and of Paul. How wonderful that so many Jews believed even though their leaders were against them. I have simpathy for the Jewish leaders. I wonder many times what our church leaders of today will do when Christ returns. So many of us see our church members as belonging to our church instead of belonging to the Body of Christ, thus to Jesus. We protect our church's income instead of focussing on building God's Kingdom. We must learn from the Jewish leaders and be obedient to God, and follow the guidence of the Holy Spirit. Why do you think Paul keeps preaching the gospel, even though there is often a violent reaction against him? He doesn't have a choice. Once you are filled with the Holy Spirit and start sharing the Word you can't stop. The Live within you have to come out, your Light have to shine, Living Water have to flow from you, you have to allow the Holy Spirit to use you no matter what. It comes naturally, it gives you joy to share the Word. Further, it is our mission given to every Christian from Jesus, we have to be fishers of men. Paul was just being obedient to the calling that came from within. He really when the extra mile to earn his reward in heaven. He set a beautiful example for us all. Does a violent reaction to our ministry necessarily mean we should stop? NO!!!! We have to be obedient to the guidence of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we have to be quiet and hand it over to God. Most times we have to be "Kings and priest" We have to take control of the situation and teach why something is wrong and how to correct it. Yet we must do it in humbleness to the guidence from God. When we take control we have to be self confident in what we do because of the guidence we receive from the Holy Spirit and because of the support we receive from God, definately not on our own abilities. Other times we must just continue to spread the Word of God somewhere else. God will tell us clearly what He wants from us. Many times strong opposition is part of our sanctification. Our character and experiance becomes stronger because God is teaching and building us through experience. We must never stop completely, it is our duty to spread the Word of God, but we must do it obediently, within the will of God, not on our own ideas

What does this passage teach us about David's character and faith? His faith is still strong, but he is not going with on battles anymore, he relies on his friends. What does it reveal about Joab's character? He is loyal, but he is looking out for his own interest as well. He doesnt mind to kill to better his own position What kind of faith do you see in Joab? He believes in his own logic and ability What does this passage teach us about the importance of friends? We must have friends, but we have to know our fiends as well. Is Joab really David's friend? Yes, but he is his own friend as well, he does what is best for himself, and then what is best for David

Why does David command mercy for Absalom in the battle? He loves his son Why does Joab kill him against David's orders? He does what he thinks is best for the kingdom. He knows both David and Absalom. He knows men. And he knows if Absalom doesnt die, more problems are on the way. How does David's loud mourning threaten his kingdom? He is showing disrespect to those who risked their lives for him. He can very soon loose all his support What does this say about his followers' loyalty? Very good. What does it say about David's faith? His faith is why his follower's loyalty is so strong. They remember everything he has done in the past because his faith is so strong About his weaknesses? His weakness has not reduced, he still doesnt believe in disciplene for his close friends / family

Why doesn't David silence Shimei son of Gera from cursing him? He believes that it is part of his punishment from God, and he believes that if he suffers through it God will have mercy on him Is this a political decision or a spiritual decision? It can be both, but i believe it is more spiritual What does it tell us about David's faith? He is still faithfull and still seeks the will of God

Why does David flee Jerusalem rather than stay and fight? Pastor Ralph gives 2 good reasons. I believe there was a 3rd reason that might have weighed even more than the 2 logistic reasons mentioned. We saw later on that David ave a command that Absalom is not to be harmed, and that he was broken when Absalom was killed. I dont think he wanted to fight Absalom at all in fear that something might happen to his son. He also loved Israel and didn't want the nation devided. There was nothing he could do about a devided Israel, but he doesn't want too many people to die. Another reason is that he knows this is God's will (punishment) and he doesnt want to go against God's will. This was not a fight he wanted at all, so he 1st fled to see what Absalom was going to do, maybe he could find a peaceful solution. What are David's emotions during this retreat? He is hart broken, he feels guilty and have true repentance because he knows this is part of God's judgement for his sin. He knows his son is standing up against him because of his own actions. Yet he doesnt want to react because he still loves his son. Why doesn't he take the ark with him into exile? As pastor Ralph mentions, he knows he needs spies in Jerusalem. He also have a very close relationship with God, and he knows God is with him, where-ever he goes, whether the Arc is with him or not. And finally he knows this is part of his punishment / sanctification. He knows God's will is going to happen. Does this exhibit faith, fatalism, or submission? All the above What does this tell us about his faith? His faith is very strong, and he is inteligent enough to know that what God wants to happen is going to happen, so he goes out with the knowladge that God is with him and God's will is going to happen.

What are the elements of Absalom's public relations campaign to win over the people to his side? Lies, deceit, looks, contacts, plotting, confusion and patients. He would have been a very good modern politician. How effective is it? It worked What should David have done differently? He should have been a proper father, raised his children accourding to Biblical teaching, disciplined them, guided and taught them, showed them love, ect When Absalon came back he should have accepted Absalon back into his house and sorted the problems out there and then, in fact he should have reacted right after Absalon murdered his brother. Which of David's weaknesses does Absalom exploit? His lack of discipline and action. His lack of seeking God's will and guidence. His lack of observing what is happening around him.

The most important lesson for me is to be obedient in all we do. Because David didn't live out the authority God gave him he went through a lot of hard times. He didn't maintain discipline in his military command, thus the same military leader could bring Absalon onto the scene later on to destroy his happiness for a while. He didn't keep discipline in his family so his family was torn appart, his daughter was raped, his son was murdered by his other son, his son wanted to kill him and hated him, his military leader disobeyed him again and killed his son. Becuase he neglected his duty in authority his kingdom and family life fell appart. He also didn't keep self discipline, that is where his whole problem began. Instead of focussing on God, he gave in to the desires of the flesh. Keep focussing on God and you will receive guidence from God. Because he didnt keep self discipline 2 of his sons followed his examples, one seeked illigal sex and the other didnt care to murder someone to reach his goal. Also because he didnt keep self discipline, he was not aware of what was happening around him. He himself plotted and planned, but he didnt see when other plotted against him. if he stayed in the will of God he would have received warning and guidence, but now he missed these things

Why do you think Joab conspires to get David to bring Absalom home? He probably saw how the situation was affecting David. He wanted to reconcile the family and bring the kingdom back to peace. He wanted the people to accept Absalom as a future king. Why do you think David does not immediately show Absalom his favor? He might have been scared of what the family will feel, what the people will feel and how he himself was still feeling against Absalom. I also think there is a possibility that he knew Absalom's hart, he knew what was coming. He might have knew Absalom wanted him dead. All this is speculation

Why do you think David doesn’t discipline his son Amnon for his sexual assault on his half-sister? We already saw David didn't take action against a murder before. He is weak when it comes to discipline when it comes to people close to him. He himself was willing to murder a man for his own desires. David clearly didn't have a high opinion for justice when it was not himself who was offended. David was protecting his son with all he could. Sometimes we all make redicilous desisions when we really want something. David was taking personnal desisions here, he didn't seek God's will. What are the consequences of David’s inaction? 2Sam 12 v 11: God said that out of his own household God will bring calamity upon him. If David acted in God's will he would have enforced discipline, but now since he didn't acted Biblical his family was falling apart. His children were hating one another. David still wanted his 1st born son to follow him on the throne, but his family was now competing against one another. Because he was not taking action, accepting the authority God gave all fathers. Since there was no authority in the family, lawlessness took over. David now had a family out of control because there was no respect for law and authority in his house. When he lost focus on God after he became king (having afairs, murdering ect) he also stopped asking God's will. This was part of his sanctification. God was using his family to bring him back to God.

The Davidic kingdom did end in 587 BC -- temporarily. How did God fulfill his promises in the Davidic Covenant? Through Christ. Jesus is going to reign forever, and through Jesus, David's house will also reign forever In what ways is it fulfilled in Christ? At the moment biggest religion on earth is Christianity, the most people of any religious group in the world is proclaiming Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Already many people are serving the King of kings. One day everybody will know He is The King Who will reign forever.

There is a conditional aspect in the Davidic Covenant – that God will discipline David’s descendants when they sin. How did God discipline David and his descendants? I never saw it this way before, but God regularly disciplined the Hebrews, even from Moses's time. I think after David the biggest discipline waas the 70 years in exile. For David it was the loss of his son, and his own son who wanted to kill him.

What are the main promises of the Davidic Covenant? A great name, peace, a great dynasty, his son to build a house for God and from his dynasty will come an everlasting kingdom Are these promises conditional or unconditional? Unconditional. David already prooved himself worthy, and he is part of God's will, God's plans. Why does conditionality make a difference? God will make His plans come through, no matter what men do. David's descendants surely messed up badly after he died, but God's plans still happend, because there was no conditions. Which of these promises is most important to you as a Christian? The everlasting Kingdom

Why is Nathan so quick to give David approval to build the temple? Often when we as spiritual leaders are being asked a question we want to answer imeadiately. We want to think that we are so in touch with God we imeadiately know all the answers. espesially when the answer to the question seems obvious, such as in this case. It seems like a good idea, so why not, it seems like the right thing to do. What should have Nathan done instead? Just as with us when we are asked an answer, we should say "I think this is ok to do, but let me come back to you when i have an answer from God". We must make it clear when we share our own ideas and when we share God's will. There may be a big difference. Nathat should have asked God after he talked to David and gave David God's Word. Instead of being corrected by God. I am so glad we serve a patient loving God Who is allow us to make mistakes so that we can learn as well. He is sactifying us through experience. What is the danger of leaders and followers too quickly approving major spiritual directions without really waiting upon the Lord? We start a religion where we are in charge instead of having everybody more and more tuned in to receive the will of God. We are not teaching people to build a relationship with God and be in tune with Him, we are looking for ways to please God. Often we want to do good, but God is not interested in our actions, He wants our obedience, our submittive attitude. Out actions must be in obedience to God and in His will, not what we think will be good to do to help God. David's heart is partly right about building the temple though. Which part does David have right? He wants to serve God. He wants to do stuff to show God respect. He is reaching out to God and wants to show his gratitude towards God. This is all very important, but he still had to learn not to follow his own ideas but God's will. I still think part of the idea came from God, David just had to et clarity from God what his role was, what God wanted him to do. We see throughout the Bible that father / son relationship is very important, even God the Father worked through God the Son. In this case David did the preparations so that his son could do the work. It was a father son project. We as fathers must learn to prepare our son's for their lives with love, guidelines and living an example.

What has happened to Michal that she is so bitter at David? She was a princes, she had a husband that truely loved her, she was used to be seen as a very important person. Then David took het back and she was now the wife of the king. She was proud., she wanted to be known as high and mighty, and then David dissapointed her again, she was not 1st wife anymore, and she thought David was interested in the slave girls. It all worked on het to become bitter How does her bitterness cause her to misjudge what she sees? When we want to see bad in someone we will, we misunderstand what people do just so that we can justify our anger towards that person Are you bitter towards God about something in your past? No What effect might it have on your spiritual life? If you are bitter towards God, you will never grow in your relationship, and you cant be sanctified. You will probably end up as one of the people Jesus said He doesn't know How can you find healing from the bitterness? Seek the Kingdom of God. Repent and ask for forgiveness. Fear God, love God and put His will 1st, not your selfish ideas What would have happened if David had conformed his worship expression to his wife's preferences? He would have put hs wife 1st, and not glorified God properly

How would you describe David's approach to worship? His worship was complete and he was only focused on pleasing God, he didn't care about people, or his wife. He didnt care what other people thought. What does his dancing here teach us? We must focus on God only, we should not care about pleasing people, but we must live as we are guided bu the Spirit. In most cases we will consider other people as well, but when we praise God, we must give our all to God What do we learn about praise from the psalms he wrote? He praises all the time, without preconditions. He just bubble overs. Does what others might think affect your ability to worship? Only if you allow them to. You must have self confidence as a king and priest in Christ to serve God completely in all areas of your life. You must also be humble and not care what others think of you How has God been working in your life to teach you to worship him in spirit and in truth? In many areas, the most was to learn me not to follow my own ideas, but to wait for His will to be made known

How should the ark have been transported? It must be hidden from view and 4 Levits must carry it with special poles. How are Uzzah and David responsible if they don't know the provisions of the Mosaic Law? They had to seek God's Wisdom all the time. We all have to read the Word of God all the time. If we dont know because we dont study it is not an excuse. We know David's help, almost all the priest were murdered by Saul, but that is still no excuse. If David could do his homework after 1st transport, he could have done it before. Yes, he probably didn't know there was special instructions, else he would have looked for it. But he did so much else to do this right, it seems obvious with hindsight that he should have read up about the Arc before he moved it What does David's mistake in this incident teach us about seeking to do God's will? We must not do what we think will please God. We must seek the will of God, we must find out what is the will of God, else we will just do what we think is good and expect God to accept it. It is not our will that is important, it is God's will

Why does God strike Uzzah? Just as when the Jews were in Egypt for a long time, they now also lived without God for a long time. They have forgotten how to serve God, and didn't do their homework to investigate how to move the Arc. I think they might not have known that they were supposed to follow instructions. We saw regularly that David was obedient, so if he knewthere was a special instruction, he whould have folowed it Why is David so angry? He wanted to do good, yet they were punished. He was confused. Saul killed most of the priest, so most of the knowledge base was dead. We need advanced people to guide us through life. David lived close to God, but he also needed teaching

Why does David inquire of the Lord before he attacks the Philistines the first time? We saw often that this was David's nature. He didn't think about it, he always asked God's will. This died down once he was king for a while, thus he sinned. But at this time he was still totally focussed on God's will and guidence. David knew his help came from God. He also knew God knew best and had a perfect plan. He wanted God to work through him, he didnt want to act on his own. What would have happened if he thought he knew how to attack the Philistines, and didn't inquire of the Lord the second time? We dont know, but probably the result would not have been good, or he would still have acted on his 1st enquiry. This is not how God works usually, He wants to be involved in everything we do. He wants to build our relationship all the time, so i must search his will all the time Why do we often want to figure out the process so we can act independently, rather than wait on God as a way of life? We think we know the situation we are in, we can solve the problem, but we often looses the plot. It is far better to just follow the guidence of God He gave us free will, and He allows us to live out our will. Yet He also sends us situations to draw us back, to show us where He is, to help us to be sanctified What does that say about God? He is fair and just. He is also patient with us. He loves us so much He wants us to learn as well, not just act as robots What does that say about us? We are often impatient, self centred, we must become God centred and God focussed. We must also learn to rely on God's Almighty ability, not my human ability

Approximately how long has it been since David had been anointed king by Samuel? 15years (See Appendix 4. Chronology of the Life of David.) Why did the fulfillment of God's word take so long? God often takes long to give us promises, see Abraham, Joseph, Moses and many more. God 1st prepare us, sanctify us, so that we are ready and capable of doing His work. David had to learn how to lead a nation (in the kingdom with Saul), how to lead an army or a big group of people (with his men in the desert while they were hiding from Saul) how to do politics (hiding out in the ennemy's terretory) and many more. God prepared David for His work before He allowed David to become king. David also had to proof that he was reliable, not like Saul who became arrogant when he became king. Saul was also still king for a long time after David's received his promice. How would you evaluate David's patience concerning this prophecy that he would be king? He knew God's promise will come true. He knew he had to stay in the will of God to become king. He knew God had the best plan and the best timing, so he went through life searching God, not searching his own ideas. How would you measure your own patience concerning what you believe God has promised you? I failed a few times, buying a farm for God, moving to another country and telling God i will build you a church there. God never told me to do this, I desided to do it, once I learned to ask God for His will, instead of taking control and telling God what i am doing for Him, my life became so much easier. David was patient and waited on God's timing

Why does Joab slay Abner? This was revenge for his brother's death. Joab surely didn't believe in leaving judgement for God. Is he justified in doing so? No, this was peace time, not war, and he knew David just met under good conditions with Abner. This was a selfish move, he didnt care about the kingdom, about uniting with Israel or anything else but his own anger. He also ignored David, the king's instructions and image. Israel must have thought really poorly of David after the man who came to discuss peace was murdered How does this affect his king's unification plans? It delayed it a lot since he caused distrust to Israel Why do you think Joab is so blind? He was selfish and uncontrollable. He showed a few times that he will rather follow his own will and didnt care about God or David's will. How can our spiritual blindness get in the way of God working out His plan in our lives? As long as i follow my own will, God's will can't manifest in my life. Often we are saying we did this or that for God. Did we ask God whether we are supposed to do it or did we tell God "I am going to do this for You". We must follow God's will in everything we do, ask for wisdom and be obedient. As long as we follow our own ideas, we will stay blind, we must stop to get exited about our plans and start to experience the joy of allowing God to work through us. What a wondrful way to grow in faith, experiencing success through God because of obedience