A sermon on 1 Samuel 14, in which Jonathan shows the courage & faith to be worthy of the kingship his father’s disobedience & lack of faith lost for him. And we see God’s great faithfulness to deliver His people even when we’re faithless.

A new Walk of Faith Devotional from Dave Bunnell

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
–Matthew 24:27

When He returns to the earth, Christ will not be coming softly and tenderly with His glory veiled. He will be coming back (with us who were resurrected and raptured 7 years earlier to meet Him in the air) to fix everything and establish His perfect kingdom, under His power and authority. His authority will go unchallenged and will prove perfect for everything in life on this earth for a period of 1,000 years.

That’s what we’re praying for when we ask God for what He told us to ask Him for. When we pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth, as it is in heaven. It will be a glorious day followed by a glorious millennium. And Christians today need to be reminded to long for it from the heart, to seek it by faith, and to obediently pray for it.

If these things are not our focus, then our spiritual vision is out of focus. My left eye had 6 points of retinal detachment. A laser surgery put things back together, but since it was so bad, and since the detachments happened about 3 weeks before I could get the surgery to fix them, a silicone gel is now in my eyeball to hold things in place. (To be removed in another surgery in a couple weeks.) My eye sees, but nothing is in focus. I cannot discern one thing from another in the room, and blurriness abounds in what I see through the gel.

If what you’re looking for in life as a Christian is something less than His return for us, followed by His judging the world for a time and then returning with us to reign on His well-deserved throne, then your spiritual vision is as blurry as my physical vision, and it’s time for the “gel” that hinders your sight to be flushed out.

Spend some of your devotional time with God, thinking on, reading in the word about, and asking for His kingdom to come. Remember, that prayer isn’t metaphorical—we are asking for a literal reign of Christ on the earth, and anyone who tells you otherwise is teaching falsely. This is a world that like never before should be making us long for the next. Readjust your spiritual focus, and then you will see clearly to be ready to “occupy until He comes,” so that He finds you faithfully serving Him and proclaiming His good news to the nations day after day.

A video sermon on 1 Samuel 13, in which Saul lets his fears and his people’s fears lead him to actions disobedient to the Lord, for which he forfeited blessings and honor. Instead, we should trust and obey.

A somber yet hopeful message from Acts 4 on how to prepare our hearts and our church for the fact that we may soon face real persecution for our stand for Christ.

A resurrection sermon looking at the witnesses of the resurrection from Acts 1 through 4.

Resurrection Awakening

As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
–Psalm 17:15

A Walk of Faith Easter devotional by Dave Bunnell

Oh, how much I look forward to the day when I shed this mortal body, to be clothed in the righteous garment of a glorified body!
I praise God today that He has completely forgiven my sins because of the finished work of Christ on Calvary. Jesus died to save us from our sins forever. But for the time being, our sin nature remains, as we remain in bodies that are marred by it, and prone to sickness and death as a result.
However, as believers, we have nothing to dread in death, because when our bodies die, we will become more alive than we have ever been. The moment we take leave of our earthly bodies we will be present with the Lord. Physical death, for us, will bring to completion our spiritual resurrection.
That’s the great news of Christ’s resurrection for those of us who believe. When this life ends, we will fully experience that for which we were created: Seeing Him face to face, worshiping Him in untainted fellowship, and reflecting His image and likeness in righteousness and holiness. So let us take joy in the secure hope of our resurrection awakening.
Others may look for satisfaction in this temporal life, where it cannot truly be found, but as for me, when I see His face, and awake in His likeness, I will be satisfied.

This is from several years ago, the first Easter sermon I ever did.

Always Too Soon
(To give up on an all-knowing God)

A Walk of Faith Easter sermon outline by Dave Bunnell

Luke 24:13-34:
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
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Introduction
What do you do when things go from bad to worse and your hope that things will ever get better begins to fade, until finally, all hope is lost? Even Christians can sink into depression when our circumstances cause us to lose hope. But the question is, where is God when we feel like we’re walking through the troubles of life alone? Where is He when we had hoped that He would come through for us, but now it looks like He has failed? Is there any hope to be found when we become disillusioned with God?
In Luke 24, we find Jesus’ disciples in such a situation. They had completely lost hope.
The first sign of their discouragment was that they were leaving the city of God. Verse 13 — “Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.”
One of the first things a Christian who is losing hope will do is depart from God’s presence, or at least try to. The disciples had been all gathered together, and could possibly encourage each other, but these two were leaving their brethren. They were leaving Jerusalem. Just like a Christian who slowly breaks fellowship with the church or stops praying and communing with God through the word when he gives up hope on God.
Their discouragement was also shown in that the prospect of possible good news did not encourage them. Verses 9-11: “When (the women) came back from the tomb, they told all these things (about the resurrection) to the Eleven and to all the others….. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”
Have you ever been so down and out that the encouraging words of others didn’t uplift you? Someone says that even though you’re going through tough times, God still cares for you, and to you in that dark moment, the words just sound like nonsense. When we get disillusioned with God, we don’t see things as they really are, so when good news comes, it doesn’t encourage us.
The third sign they had given up hope: it was written all over their faces. Verse 17 — “He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’ They stood still, their faces downcast.” When we truly give up hope, we lose the ability to hide it with a fake smile anymore. When someone asks what’s on our mind, it will show that our face is downcast.
And Jesus could also see their discouragement in their response to His questions: They thought that God didn’t understand their pain. Verse 18 “One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, ‘Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?’” When someone becomes disillusioned with God, it will show up in statements like that. “God, don’t you understand what’s going on here? It seems so clear to me why I should be upset and angry and depressed. But you, God, seem like just a visitor in my life. If you really had any grasp of what’s going on, you would care, but apparently you don’t.” These are the attitudes we begin to adopt about God when we lose hope in Him.
Why had they lost hope? They tell us why. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.”

“We had hoped.” We HAD hoped.
That’s the cry of desolation at its darkest point. God, I had hoped you were going to solve my problem. I had hoped you were going to save my marriage. I had hoped you were going to get my child to start walking with you again. I had hoped you would solve my career trouble. I had hoped you would meet my financial need. I had hoped you wouldn’t let my loved one die. I had hoped…. I had hoped… But now all hope is lost. I held on and I persevered as long as I could in faith, but now I’m at the end of the rope. Now I give up. There is no way that You could fix the situation now.
They thought since Jesus had died, and since it had been three days since He was in the tomb, it was time to give up on God. And all hope was lost.
Jesus was about to teach them a lesson that it is very important for us to learn: It is always too soon to give up on God. Because it is never too late for Him to deliver us out of all our troubles.
They had given up just a moment too soon. They thought it was time to throw in the towel. “His death was real — He has been in the tomb for three days and now we don’t even have His body to go look at because it’s gone, the women told us.” They were sure it was time to give up, but they were giving up just one moment too soon. Had they been willing to trust God and hold on a moment longer, all their sorrows would be turned to joy. But they were leaving Jerusalem.
Fortunately, for us, God does not respond to our despair unkindly, even if we, like these two disciples, are rude to Him. He begins working to restore us. Here’s how Jesus worked that out in these disciples lives, and how He also brings us out of despair.
1) He went after them. Verse 15 — “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;” They were leaving the city of God, but God wasn’t just going to wait for them to wise up and come back. He went after them. But they were kept from recognizing Him. They thought all hope in Jesus was lost, but in reality, He was alive, and He was right there. When we feel like God has abandoned us, He is right there with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is right there. Since you’re hurting and only looking down, you may not see Him. But He is right there, walking with you through the trial.
2) He let them voice their concerns to Him, and He listened compassionately. He knew why they were upset, but He asked them anyway, so that they could tell Him. Verse 19 “What things” He asked. Then He let them answer and tell about why they had lost hope. Jesus cares for you so much more than you can imagine, and when you hurt, He does want to let you speak to Him about it. Don’t go silent with God when things go wrong; Run to Him, not from Him. He wants to carry your concerns and lovingly help you.
3) He pointed them to the Word. Verse 27: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Isn’t that interesting? He could have said, “Look. It’s Me. I’m alive. I’m right here. Be of good cheer.” Instead, He took them to the written word of God. This is a very important lesson. When we’re discouraged, there is one place to turn. Not fifteen. Not five. Not even two, but one. It is the Word of God. It is our one ticket out of despair, because it is the only source of the answer to the question “Why?” It is the only place where we can find out what God is really up to in our lives.
Hearing the word of God is also the only way we can develop faith to believe and not lose hope. So Jesus reveals to them the truth from the Word:
That He had to die for them.
That the scriptures said from the beginning that He would rise again.
That He would accomplish for them something far better than what they were looking for.
We had hoped, they said, that this was the man who would redeem Israel. Jesus showed them from the scriptures that to do so, He had to die for them and rise again.

It wasn’t until after that that they were able to see Him. So it is with you and me. Until you believe in your heart the promises of God’s word, you will not see those promises being kept with your eyes. They couldn’t see the risen Savior with their eyes, until their hearts believed that was God’s plan from hearing the word.

4) He brought them to a point of making a decision. Verse 28: “As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.” As I see it, there were three options Jesus was giving them at this moment, and because they were encouraged by God’s word, they chose the right one. First option: They could let Jesus walk on and enter their home and remain in despair and unbelief, not knowing that Jesus had already taken away their reason for hopelessness by rising from the dead to conquer sin forever. Second option: They could commit half-heartedly, by walking on further with Him, but not inviting Him into their home. That way, they could hear a little more about the word without having to fully believe and commit themselves to fellowship with Him. But their eyes would not have been opened if they didn’t invite Him in to feed off the bread He offered. Third option: Commit completely to belief in what they were being taught in the word, by inviting Him in to eat with them. That’s what they did. But Jesus made it possible by bringing them to the point that they would have to make a decision and respond one way or another to the Word He had spoken to encourage their hearts.
When you’re in despair, what will be your response to God’s word? Rejecting it? Taking a little bit of it but not inviting Him into your life by full commitment? Or making the full commitment of saying to Him, “Stay here with us”?

5) He fed them and restored them completely to faith, revealing to them that the promises of His word had indeed been kept. Verse 30 “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.” He healed their pain by feeding them and giving their hearts rest. No longer could what the religious leaders did by crucifying their Lord hurt them, because Christ Himself came to them in their pain and met their hearts’ deepest needs.

6) He opened their eyes. Verse 31 “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him” They had believed in their heart the promises of God. They had invited Him in, making a commitment to trust what they had heard. And He met their need, physically and spiritually. Now they knew the truth. Now they knew the “Why” of the whole situation, and now they knew how God was bringing about immeasurable good from the bad experiences they had gone through.

Now everything has changed for these disciples! They take just enough time to comment to each other about how the Word had caused their hearts to burn. (Isn’t that interesting? They had just seen the risen Lord, and witnessed the miracle of His disappearing before their very eyes, and it is not the many miracles of this first Easter that they delight in, but the Word.) Then they’re off. They’re returning to the city of Zion. Returning to fellowship with the people of God. Returning to faith in the One they had hoped in but lost hope.
What’s more, after going through the despair He brought them through, they now have a stronger faith and more blessed fellowship with Him than ever before. Their love for Him has grown and they can hardly contain themselves as they run through the night to get back to Jerusalem as fast as possible to testify to their brothers about how wonderful a God they serve who keeps all His promises and has risen indeed.
Before the despair, their God was small in their eyes of little faith. “He was a great prophet” they had said, and “we had hoped” in him. They had hoped in everything Jesus could be to them without the cross, but now they had EVERYTHING God desired to give them. (Many people think they are followers of Christ because they go to church or respect the teachings of Jesus, but they have not encountered the Christ of the Cross, so He is just a prophet or teacher to them. You need to know the Jesus of Calvary. You need to know the Jesus of Easter. Otherwise, you are missing out on everything God has for you.)
Before going through the time of despair, they thought He was a prophet and a great man. Now, after the despair they realize that He is so much more. He is the Lord Most High. He is God made man to redeem them from their sins, who conquered death and now has given them eternal life! (After He has brought us through difficult times, we realize that He is so much bigger and greater than we had previously realized.)
And the great irony of the situation, they finally realize, is that the very circumstance that they thought was worth despairing over was God’s own plan to bring them ultimate salvation. They had become disillusioned with God, only to find out that the circumstances they complained about were bringing about the greatest cause for joy they had ever experienced.

Conclusion
The story is told of a man who was shipwrecked and stranded alone on a desert island. For a long time that seemed like a lifetime, this man prayed to God asking Him to send someone to rescue him. But, little by little, his hope faded and he began to give up on God.
One day, he was in need of rest from his despair and he was returning to the beach where he had done his best to build for himself a modest hut for shelter. When he got there, he looked with horror as he saw that the hut was completely engulfed in flames. Not only had God failed to rescue him, he thought, but now He was allowing the only semblance of a home he had on this lonely island to go up in smoke. It burned to the ground and left his hopes in ashes. And he completely gave up on God, falling on his face in the sand and weeping bitter, hopeless tears.
But he had given up on God a moment too soon.
Within the hour, a ship came up to the shore to pick him up and take him back to civilization. In just a moment’s time, what seemed a hopeless existence turned to sheer joy. As he boarded the boat, he asked the captain, “How on earth did you find me?”
The captain, a little confused by the question because he thought the answer was obvious, responded, “We saw your smoke signal.”
He had given up on God a moment too soon. He could only see God as a small God. If God couldn’t save his little hut, he had thought, then God didn’t care or couldn’t fix his problems at all. But in reality, God was much bigger. He could bring a boat across the way, too far away for the man’s eyes to see and know to signal for help. And God could start the fire and raise the smoke signal and cause the crew of the ship to see it and cause them to realize that the smoke meant there was a stranded person there who needed help.
We see our problems from our limited perspective, and tell ourselves that if God can’t do what we think we need, He can’t help us at all. But God sees the big picture. He is in control of everything in the universe, and there is no limit to the ways He can help us in time of need. We need to have faith in His word, even in times of despair. Because it is always too soon to give up on God.
This man despaired the loss of his hut, when God wanted to give him a home. The disciples despaired the loss of their “prophet,” when God wanted to give them a Savior.
Sometimes the very thing that we see as the last straw is the situation God is using to bring about a greater good in our lives. Like a man despairing over the loss of a hut that would be useless to him after he was rescued — or like disciples that were holding on to a mere “prophet” when God was offering them Himself as a Savior, we give up hope. But God has a plan in mind for something far better than the things we are grieving over. And when we turn to His word, and commit to believing the precious promises therein even when things look bleak, He reveals His will and opens our eyes.
Then we give thanks to Him for coming after us on the Emmaus road. Thanks to Him for sharing with us from His precious word. Thanks to Him for bringing us to the point of decision. Thanks to Him for feeding us and meeting our need. And thanks to Him for opening our eyes so that we can return to fellowship with even greater, even deeper joy and love for Him than we had before.
Glory to His Name!