The Life of David

Gtcotr/ws093026

We are continuing our study of the Life of David by reviewing some of the stories written about him in the Bible. There is no plan to follow a chronological order but rather to allow the accounts of David’s life to unfold thematically as we discover truths from the Word about this man who had a heart like God.

David, the type and shadow of Jesus, had recognizable enemies, as we all do. These enemies can be categorized into three major groups:

1.   Physical Enemies                 Goliath & the Philistines

2.   Spiritual Enemies                King Saul

3.   Mental/Emotional Enemies    Absalom

David was unafraid of his physical enemies, like Goliath and the Philistines. He ran towards his physical enemies, engaged them and defeated them.

When it came to David’s spiritual enemies, such as King Saul who occupied the throne for 20 years after David had been anointed King by the prophet Samuel, David kept putting them in the hands of God. David said that God would have to be the One who dealt with Saul … and more than once David refused to take matters into his own hands. (1 Samuel 24&26)

This reminds me of a scripture in the book of Jude which describes how Michael the Archangel of God dealt with Satan.

Jude 1 NKJV

9  Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

10  But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.

Perhaps the most difficult enemies David faced were those who got down into his soul and served to depress him. The two emotional enemies David faced were family related. One was Micah, his first wife, who shamed him for acting like a fool by dancing before the Lord in the street while bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. She told him she was embarrassed by him. Evidence shows how much it hurt David and indications are he shunned her and never slept with her again.

The worst emotional enemy David dealt with he ran away from … it was his son, Absalom. Even after Absalom betrayed David, divided the family, and almost destroyed the Kingdom, David loved and bemoaned his death. No other event in David’s life affected his life like that of losing the respect and the support of his son. David did not leave his throne, and the city God had given him in order to save his own life, rather he left to keep from hurting his son.

Let’s read a passage from 2 Samuel 15, whereby cunning craftiness and subtle flattery, Absalom stole the hearts of the people … just like the serpent did with Eve in the Garden of Eden. Beware of the cunning flattery of those with hidden agendas - this is the work of the devil.

2 Samuel 15 NKJV

6  In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

·        Not everyone who tells you what you want to hear cares about you.

·        That is the first ploy of the emotional enemies of the soul.

11  And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything.

·        Open your eyes … open your ears … question - what is happening here?

13 ¶  Now a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”

·        So, David left Jerusalem …

·        The faithful followed David including Zadok the priest along with the Ark of the Covenant of God.

25  Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and show me both it and His dwelling place.

·        David had no desire to take the presence, the power, or the glory of God away from the people or even from his son Absalom.

·        Only God could deliver David from his worst nightmare.

·        David admitted he didn’t know what would happen this time …

26  “But if He says thus: ‘I have no delight in you,’ here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him.”

·        God called David a man after His own heart.

·        David believed it was best to leave his future in God’s hands.

Chapter 15 of Second Samuel concludes with a sad note and indeed it was a sad day in the life of David.

30  So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered and went barefoot. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went up.

·        David was having quite an emotional day.

·        The enemies of David’s soul were pressing mightily on him as we see in the continuing account of this day.

·        Weeping, withdrawn, and barefoot – it was best to not allow this personal problem to affect the kingdom or the people of God.

·        Not every day in the life of a servant of God is a happy day. Nonetheless we can still leave our lives in God’s hand.

There are two principles I learned early on in my walk with God that come from this account. Allow me to offer them to you this evening.

1.   If God doesn’t care about it, why should I?

2.   If God does care about it, I should let Him take care of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Midnight Hour

Gtcotr/092726

It was about the year AD50, almost 20 years after Jesus had been crucified, raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven. The Church in Antioch had sent the Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey with the primary goal of checking on the Churches that had previously been started and delivering the decisions of the Jerusalem Council to them concerning the conversion requirements for Gentiles (Acts 15:19ff).

Paul and the leaders of the Church at Antioch had a plan to revisit and strengthen yesterday’s evangelistic efforts while the Holy Spirit had a goal to begin new works in new places to carry on the spread of the Gospel for generations to come. God’s plan is often much larger than our initial thoughts.

At this point Paul was about 45 years old and had been saved for about 15 years. He had encountered his share of opposition but had continued to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Jews and Gentiles everywhere he traveled. Paul valued being sent and covered by the Church at Antioch where he was a member. The Church in Jerusalem, considered to be the mother Church at that time, also approved of Paul’s ministry which continues to be a very important part of New Testament theology.

It is much better to be working with God than to imagine it is enough to just do something for Him. Not everyone who is doing something for God is necessarily doing something with God. God makes clear distinctions throughout the Bible. Some great examples of this principle comes from the accounts of Abram and Hagar, David bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem on a cart, much of Samson’s life and work, Peter cutting off the ear of the soldier in the Garden of Gethsemane, and even Barnabas choosing John Mark, separating from Paul and striking out to check on the Churches absent the evident blessings of the Church elders (Acts 15:39).

As I said, it was about the year AD50 when Paul and his missionary team arrived in Philippi. This was an unplanned extension orchestrated by the Holy Spirit to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ across Europe. Philippi was an important Roman city and God wanted to plant a Church there. Let’s follow along in the account from:

Acts 16 NKJV

9  And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

10  Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

11  Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis,

12  and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.

13  And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.

14  Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.

15  And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.

16 ¶  Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.

17  This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”

18  And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.

19  But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

20  And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;

21  “and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”

22  Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.

23  And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.

24  Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 ¶  But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

26  Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.

27  And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.

28  But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

29  Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

30  And the jailer brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31  So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

32  Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

33  And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.

34  Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

35 ¶  And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, “Let those men go.”

36  So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.”

37  But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.”

38  And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans.

39  Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city.

40  So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

1.   It’s not always easy to do the will of God.

2.   Even after the jailer and his household were saved and baptized, Paul and Silas were still in jail.

3.   What you do in your midnight hour will determine the success of your mission.

·        For the prisoners

·        For the jailer

·        For you and those with you 

Gratitude

 

Today we are going to be talking about gratitude. We know it’s good to be thankful, but life moves quickly. We can receive an answer to prayer and soon find ourselves focused on the next thing we need. Sometimes we need to pause and recognize the goodness God has already shown us.

Gratitude = Appreciation for something received along with a desire to express thanks

Gratefulness is important:

•   It helps us remember God’s goodness

•   It keeps us dependent on Him

•   It gives us proper perspective in difficult seasons

•   It leads us to worship

 

We are going to be using a story in the new testament to help us to understand it a little more. We will be drawing three truths about gratitude. That is the story of the Ten Lepers. In Luke 17, Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem when ten men with leprosy call out to Him for mercy. What happens next is about more than their healing. The story shows us how people can receive the same mercy and respond to it in different ways.

Luke 17:11-19

“11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

1.     Everyone has a reason to be grateful

v14 — “When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.”

•   All of the ten lepers had received mercy

•   They had all cried out to Jesus and Jesus heard them

•   Jesus healed all 10 of them

•   They all experience the goodness of God

•   Every one of us has experienced the goodness of God

•   We all have a reason to be thankful

•   While we all have needs and unanswered prayers, we also have reasons to be thankful to God.

•   Some of the things that are blessings in our life now are things we once prayed for.

•   The beginning of gratitude is when we realize the goodness and mercy God has shown us.

2.     Gratitude notices what God has done

v15 — “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.”

•   One man noticed that he had been healed and went back.

•   On top of that, he was a samaritan man.

•   We often imagine why those other 9 men couldn’t come back to thank Jesus like the one.

•   We imagine, if I was them I would have gone back.

•   The question is, how many times if someone is looking at our life would say, “I would have thanked God for that.”

•   At times we can be more like the 9 than we are the 1.

•   It’s easy to move on to the next need without causing to notice what God has already done.

•   The truth is that the longer we are around a blessing the more we can take it for granted.

3.     Gratitude points us back to Jesus

Luke 17:15-19
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

•   The man turned back, praised God, fell at Jesus’ feet, and thanked Him.

•   He didn’t just appreciate the gift; he returned to the Giver.

•   Thanksgiving gives us another reason to come before Jesus, alongside our prayers for help.

•   Let your gratitude become worship: tell Him specifically what you’re thankful for.

•   When we recognize His mercy, we have every reason to return with praise.

Psalm 100:4 — “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise”

TAKEAWAYS

I.      Everyone has a reason to be grateful for God’s mercy

II.     Pause and notice what God has already done

III.   Bring your thanks back to Jesus

IV.   You can be grateful for God’s goodness while still waiting on an answer to prayer

Don’t Go Alone!

Today is a special day for every person here! It is especially important to God. What is today? Today is the Day of Atonement. What is that you may ask? We will answer that question in just a moment. First, I’d like to ask you a question:

If someone asked you, “What is the most important thing in your life?” what would you say? Family? Friends? Success? Your faith? What is it? If we expand that question and ask: “What is the most important thing in this world?” what would you say? Would you answer be the same? Would it still be about your success? Your family? Your faith? Or would it be that every person hears about Jesus and has the opportunity to receive Him as Lord? What if that question was expanded one more time, to life in general. If the question was posed as, “What is the most important thing in all of life?” what would your answer be?

You see, I believe that there is a tendency and a temptation to only focus on what is in front of us in our own life. The key word there is “only.” All we see is:

•  My success

•  My family

•  My dreams

•  My future

•  My failures

•  My shortcomings

•  My recovery

•  My faith

Now, all of the things I listed are good for us to focus on. We should look to be successful, that is us being good stewards of the gifts, talents, and opportunities that God has given us. We should focus on our family, it is a gift from God and is one of the most important things in life. We should focus on our future, that is where we are headed. We should focus on our overcoming our past shortcomings and our recovery, because we are not defined by our past. We should focus on our faith, because that is the reason we are all here in the first place is to grow closer to Christ! So all of these things are good!

But look at the first word listed of all of these, “My.” I believe we have a tendency and a temptation to focus on ourselves. While all of these things are important and they should be paid attention to, focusing on ourselves will cause us to miss the boat on what matters most to God. You see, God loves you and He cares about you. However, while you are important to God and you do matter to Him, the truth is that you are not the only person that God cares about.

I asked asked you the question, What is the most important thing in life? I would propose that the most important thing in life is the very thing that we are all moving closer to. It is an event that has yet to happen, but all of us are getting closer to. I believe that the most important thing in life is The Return of Christ. There is nothing more important in life than the return of Jesus Christ. Everything that God has invested in all leads and points to this moment. We will talk more about this in just a little bit.

Let us get back to why today is important. It is that today is The Day of Atonement. What in the world is that? I will tell you in just a moment, but I want you to know that this day matters and it matters especially to you. It matters to you for two reasons:

1.    The Atonement changes where you stand today

2.    The atonement determines where we all stand when Jesus returns

Before we move any further, let’s talk about what the Day of Atonement is.

The Day of Atonement is the day a sacrifice was made to cover the sins of the people and make them right with God.

THE OLD TESTAMENT REALITY

This is revealed in the Old Testament. There was a time when mankind, God’s creation, was at peace and relationship with God. However, when sin entered the world, we were separated from Him. He is a holy God. He is just and is righteous and cannot approve or ignore sin.

•  A judge cannot ignore guilt and still be called just.

•  A doctor cannot ignore diagnosing a deadly disease and still be considered good.

•  An accountant cannot falsify records and still remain an honest accountant.

•  In the same way, God cannot overlook sin and still remain holy.

So in order to bring His people back into relationship with Him again, He made a way through a sacrificial system that would cleanse the people of their sins. There was so much in this system and it was very detailed, too much for us to go over today. The most important part of it all was The Day of Atonement, as it was the day that all of Israel’s sins were atoned for.

Atone = To cover; the covering of sin by paying a price for it

This was performed by the High Priest of the temple. This man was responsible for making a sacrifice on behalf of all the people unto God.

•  The high priest washed himself and put on special linen clothing.

•  He offered a bull as a sacrifice for his own sins and his family’s sins.

•  He selected two goats for the people.

•  He killed the first goat as a sacrifice for the people’s sins.

•  He carried the sacrificial blood behind the veil into the Most Holy Place.

•  He sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat—the lid of the Ark of the Covenant.

•  He placed his hands on the second goat and confessed the people’s sins over it.

•  That goat was sent into the wilderness, symbolically carrying their sins away.

On top of the high priest being responsible for performing all of these duties, he had to do them perfectly. He had to dot every “i” and cross every “t”. He could not skip any steps in the process. If he did so, when he walked into the Most Holy Place where the presence of God was housed, he have fell dead on the spot. Wow!

Now I know that may seem a bit extreme, but there is a reason for this, and that is: forgiveness is a big deal. Forgiveness may seem easy for the guilty party. It may seem easy to you when you were the person who committed the wrong. However, forgiveness is birthed out of sacrifice. This is because when you sin, somebody has to pay the price for it. Somebody has to bear the hurt and pain of your shortcoming. Whether it be your spouse, your children, your co-worker, etc, somebody has to bear the weight of your shortcoming. In order for you to forgive someone, it will cost you something.

The second reason why I believe God went through the lengths of making this process so detailed is because it was a foreshadow of what Jesus would do for you and me. 

Hebrews 9:11-12 — “11 …But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.”

Under the old testament, the high priest entered God’s presence with the blood of another sacrifice. But Jesus entered the presence of God with His own blood.

Ark of the Covenant  =  God’s Presence

The High Priest  =  Jesus Going into God’s Presence on Our Behalf

The Sacrificial Goat and Its Blood  =  Jesus Giving His Life and Shedding His Blood

The Mercy Seat  =  Where God’s Justice and Mercy Meet in Christ

The Scapegoat  =  Jesus bearing our sins and carrying them away

This right here is the reason why today, The Day of Atonement matters. It’s because it is a picture of what Jesus did for you and me! That Jesus came, died, was buried, and rose so that you and I can be forgiven and made right with God!

Romans 10:9 — “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

You might be here today and you are not sure that you are saved. Because of what Jesus did for you on the cross, if you realize, repent, and believe, then you will be saved! You will be changed from the inside out and your name will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life in Heaven.

So where do you stand today? Have you been forgiven? Are you still guilty before God? That is all determined by you realizing you too have sinned, by repenting to God and turned back to him, then by receiving Jesus as the savior of our soul and asking Him to come into your life. That is the answer!

With that said, the day of atonement matters to you, but it also matters to everyone else. It matters for your mom, dad, siblings, spouse, children, friends, co-workers, neighbors, everyone! Why? Because Jesus is coming back.

Hebrews 9:28 — “Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

Jesus is coming back again! He came once to pay for our sin, and now He is coming back to redeem those whom He paid for! All those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved!! That word “saved” meaning that we will be collected by Jesus when He comes again to be made like Him and to spend eternity with Him. Praise God!

But this is bigger than just you. Because of the war being waged by the devil. If you have been saved and set free by Jesus, He knows that He can’t pull you from the Hand of God. But what he can do instead is to keep you from taking other people with you. He wants to keep as many people blind to the truth as possible. One way he can do that is by keeping you focused on your own life and your own world. If he can get me to be consumed with just “me”, then he will keep me from the bigger truth that so many other people are in danger!!

[Story of the two men trapped on 9/11]

The truth is that:

•  If anyone believes that Jesus died for them and place their faith in Him, they will be saved.

•  Everyday there are people around us dying and going to hell because they never believed.

That is the urgency that the enemy is trying to keep us from seeing today. We are all moving toward eternity, but there are many who are not prepared for it.

2 Peter 3:9 — “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Some people ask, If Jesus is coming back, why hasn’t he returned yet? The answer is that He is being patient. He is being patient for you, those around you, and everyone here on earth. Every additional day is another day of mercy for someone to come to Christ and to be saved. However, we cannot mistake God’s patience as His absence. Jesus is still coming back. The day is still approaching. The clock is still ticking.

The question is, are you covered?

And if you are covered, who are you helping to get ready?

If you have never placed your faith in Jesus, today is your opportunity. You do not have to perform a religious ceremony, you don’t have to bring a goat, find an earthly high priest, or enter a temple. Jesus, your perfect High Priest, has already entered God’s presence for you. The sacrifice has already been made. The blood has already been shed. Jesus has already paid the price!

All you have to do is:

Realize you have sinned.

Repent and turn to God.

Receive Jesus into your heart as the free gift of salvation.

For those of us who are saved, let us look beyond ourselves and ask: who in my life is not ready for the return of Christ? Let us pray for them, reach out to them, invite them to church, tell them about Jesus, and live the truth of the gospel in front of them.

But do not allow yourself to only be consumed by what is happening in your world that we lose sight that the enemy is trying to snatch as many people away from God and take them with Him to hell for eternity. May God give us the eyes of Jesus so that we can see the people in our life the same way He does. There are people whom God has placed in your life because He wants them to come to Christ through you! So how do we do that?

1.    Pray for them

2.    Show God’s love to them

3.    Invite them to church

4.    Tell them about Jesus

If we do that, the we are doing our part. And if we can just do that, God will do the rest.

TAKEAWAYS:

I.     Forgiveness is never free.

II.    Jesus paid the price so that you could be forgiven.

III.  Jesus is coming back; every additional day is more time for someone to repent.

IV. If you are ready for Jesus’ return, don’t go alone!