THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE

[Pastor Bayo Afolaranmi]

Dearly Beloved,

THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE

"Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV).

"Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment" (John 7:24 NIV).

Samuel was a great man of God. Some Bible scholars have said that only Moses was greater than him in the leadership history of the people of Israel. The people respected him, and God also specially chose him to be His mouthpiece right from his childhood. In his life-long priestly and prophetic career, he made a silly mistake - judging by the outward appearance. However, God quickly called him to order before he effected his judgment and anointed the wrong person as the king of Israel.

People have used their outward appearance to deceive other people - even men of God. They have appeared good outwardly, but evil inwardly. Openly, they say and do good things, but secretly, they are devils. Eliab is a good example. Samuel saw him as a good candidate for the kingship, but his true colour manifested when David decided to go and fight the giant Goliath. The Bible says he burned with anger and discouraged him from doing so (1 Samuel 17: 28-30).

Do you deceive people with your outward appearance? What is your opinion about the saying, "First impression lasts long"? Do you also normally base your judgment of people on outward appearance? Pray for the discerning spirit to know the mind of men.

In His service,

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

NB

This message was first sent out on September 18, 2005.