Sermons

A Mother that Never Gave Up May 8 2016

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Matthew 15:21-28

“A Mother that never gave up”

Have you ever needed a miracle of provision or healing that seemed impossible? Maybe you are in that position now? Trusting God for what seems impossible. This is faith, faith to believe that God will provide, faith to believe that God will move on our behalf. The truth is that God is pleased with our faith, God rewards faith.

In Matthew 15 we read of a woman who set an example and a standard for what it takes to please God. Do you want to please God?

 This Syrophoenician women comes to Jesus with a problem, her daughter is demon possessed and suffering terribly. She had probably heard that Jesus was coming to town and she trusted that Jesus could heal her daughter. She was desperate, and probably had tried every other avenue to have her daughter set free. This was her last hope, she was desperate.

But it seems like she is being rejected by Jesus and his disciples. We read in verse 23 that Jesus said nothing to her. He completely ignored her and seemed almost callous and cold to her pleas.

The disciples were probably annoyed and they urge Jesus to send her away, because she was crying out persistently.

On the outside it seemed that Jesus didn’t seem to care, it was as if he was testing her. Her situation was desperate, why was Jesus not responding to her need?

Sometimes we face a desperate situation, and God is silent. Has He forgotten us? Does He not see our situation?

Jesus finally responds to all the crying and pleading and says to her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (v24)

It seems that Jesus is finally rejecting her completely, the door is shut.

But she grows in her courage and faith, and she kneels before Jesus. Now she calls him Lord. She is not approaching him as a Jew; “Lord, Son of David” that she used in v 22, she calls him Lord! She is worshipping Jesus. “Lord Help Me!”

Jesus seems to insult her as he responds further, calling her and her gentile people dogs. Jesus said; “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (v26)

But the woman quickly responds, she is getting bolder now, she has nothing to lose and seeing that Jesus is responding to her, she seems to grow in courage (v27).

Her faith is small but it is maturing. Remember Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move a mountain. It is not the size or quantity of the faith it is the maturity of the faith.

As Jesus hears her faith and humility he responds immediately by commending her faith and healing her daughter.  Her faith is rewarded and her daughter is healed. It is interesting to note that Matthew records two occasions in his Gospel of people that had the distinction of having great faith. This Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion in Matthew 8. Both were gentiles, and on both occasions Jesus healed from a distance. The reality was that the gentiles were spiritually distanced from the Jews and the ministry of Jesus. But, that is why Jesus came to die on the cross, to reconcile all nations and people groups to himself. It is simply a matter of faith. Jesus still rewards faith today.

 Sometimes it seems like Jesus is saying no, Sometimes it seems like he is blessing others but we are being ignored – this is what tests our faith and matures our faith.

 Today God is looking for people who walk by faith not by sight. The reward of a lifestyle of faith is great. God does not put us through trials for no apparent reason, rather it is to develop our faith and trust in Him.

 Individually and corporately as a church we are being tested in our faith. Read James 1:2-4: Do you see the progression? Trials test our faith, which produces endurance, which perfects us and then we will lack nothing. We will lack no good thing.

Corporately we are having our faith tested, and the Lord is looking to see how we respond. In a few weeks we are going to vote on a re-allocation of our budget to support a church plant. We know that we are running at a deficit budget, giving is down, it seems illogical. So how do we respond? Do we pray and ask the Lord for His will and then move in faith in the direction he gives us or do we respond in fear?

Read the encouragement of the Psalmist in Psalm 37:25.

Individually, what is the desperate need of your heart today? Don’t give up, be persistent, come to the Lord daily, hourly, but keep believing that what His Word says is true and that He is able to give you what you need. Note I didn’t say all our wants, rather all our needs, God knows our needs and The Lord will provide for you in his perfect timing and perfect way, and you will be able to look back with stronger faith.

Not only will you have a stronger faith, but you will be pleasing God and your life will be a testimony to others about the goodness of God.

Faith is pleasing to God. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6; “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

In order to have faith we must believe that God exists, this is the root of faith.

If we struggle with faith, it is because we struggle to believe that God exists.

God is the all-powerful creator of the universe and He is your Heavenly Father, if we truly understand the depths of God’s love for us, we would have no problem with faith. And the final part of that verse is the promise of God; “that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Trust in God He will never let you down.

A Study on the Topic of Revival

Revival Part 10 – Prayer

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tounge-of-fire-32 2 Chronicles 7:14; “If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray…”

If you have been reading this blog each week, you may feel relieved that we have stopped looking at pride and humility, and focus our attention on prayer. But the question today is, how much do you pray? How earnestly do you pray? When last did you stay up late to pray? Or like Jesus, do you rise before sunrise to pray?

Prayer unlocks the immeasurable power of God. A little prayer does some good, but earnest, fervent prayer causes the power of God to be released like a flood.

If we are honest, most of our prayers are selfish. We pray for our own family, or close circle of friends. But we seldom passionately pray for those who are outside of our circle.

One of the excuses we use for not praying is that we simply did not feel like it. Wouldn’t it seem better to pray when we really felt like it and then be able to put in all our effort? However the exact opposite is true. Prayer is a discipline and warfare, it goes against all the natural inclination of man. It seems to the unbeliever a complete waste of time, yet it is one of the hardest things you can do. We must determine to go to God in prayer, schedule our time and keep the appointment you have made with the creator of the universe. After all, you would not miss an appointment with a friend or your boss?

The kind of prayer that leads to revival is earnest, intense, passionate and prolonged. Much like Jacob when he prayed; “I will not let you go until you bless me.” Genesis 32:26

Revival praying is unhurried, it is a passionate crying out to God. Revival praying is hard work.

My wife frequently loses her cell phone, and when she does it is a problem, we all stop and have to look for her phone. There is intense searching, nothing else matters. Revival praying is like that, nothing else matters.

Someone has said: “we will not see revival until we cannot live without it.”

Sermons

Lessons from the Life of David Part 5 May 01, 2016

King David 5 Title.2-011 Chronicles 28

We as a nation are embroiled in one of the most energetic and passionate political seasons of our history. While the candidates position themselves to become the next resident of the White House, the current President is focused on something else, his legacy. How will history remember President Obama?

We have all been the beneficiaries of a legacy that was handed down to us. For some of us that was a wonderful memory or character instilled by loving parents. But for others that legacy is one of pain and hurt that causes one to walk through life with a limp.

David is older now, his kingdom is well established and he calls all the leaders together. He wants to address the leaders, those who will get the job done those to whom he can entrust his legacy.

David starts by talking about his desire to build the temple. With all that David had accomplished in his life, there was one yearning desire that was unfulfilled, he wanted to build a temple for God in Jerusalem. It was David’s dream, but God said no. This is not a job for a man of war but a man of peace.

The motivational speakers of our day will tell us that we can be whatever we want to be, we must dream big in order to achieve big goals. But sometimes we don’t achieve certain goals in our lifetime.

When we commit our lives to following Jesus, he gives us a new direction for our lives and the plans that he has for us are far higher than any dream we could have.

What dreams have you let go of in your life? Do you still feel the sting of regret?

Allow God to give you a bigger dream a better dream for your life and for those who will come after you.

David makes it clear that Solomon is the future King and that his son Solomon will be the one to fulfill his dream of building the temple.

Moving on to verse 8, we see David now charging the leaders of the nation, he is giving them a responsibility to carefully follow the Law in order to receive the blessing of God. David is challenging them to walk in purity.

But then in verse 9 David turns to Solomon and gives him a powerful word of encouragement. (See 1 Chronicles 28:8-9). This is far more than a word of encouragement. This is a charge, a commissioning a handing over of the responsibility of the nation. David had run as far as he could and now he was charging Solomon to continue on.

David urges Solomon to know God, not merely serving Him out of duty, but to really seek Him and know Him wholeheartedly with all his mind. David using language that the Israelites would have easily recognized as coming from the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 6:5. David reminds Solomon to be devoted to God, because God knows every intention of the heart of man.

The sad reality is that this is a major problem today. People are being taught that it is your actions that count. Do good things, make sure you are doing enough good things, following the law and helping the downtrodden. While that is all good and we need to do these things, without a knowledge of God and true heart transformation, there is no salvation. God knows the intentions of your heart. Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform your heart leads to salvation.

Parents, we are often guilty of this, in our homes, we need to enforce rules and teach our children to obey. Pick up your clothes, take out the trash, empty the dishwasher! How often do we encourage them to know God, to seek Him, to Love him with all your heart. I find this deeply convicting as I was preparing this message. I want my children to know God and to serve Him that is the legacy I want to leave them.

Following this charge, David proceeds to give Solomon the blueprints and instructions for building the temple. From verse 11 to 18 are just some of the details that God gave to David. And then in verse 20 David picks up the Commissioning of Solomon (See 1 Chronicles 28:20). If these words sound familiar to you it is because these are almost exactly the same words that Moses said to Joshua as he was preparing to die (See Deuteronomy 31:6).

There are a number of parallels between Moses/ Joshua and David/ Solomon.

In each case both Moses and David received a covenant promise from God that shaped the future of the nation.

In each case Moses and David received a revelation from God that they passed down.

In each case the former did not see the fulfillment of their dreams.

Moses did not enter the Promised Land, but handed that over to Joshua, and David did not see the temple built but he gave that responsibility over to Solomon. And on both occasions we have that charge to be “strong and courageous”, which is echoed in Joshua 1:9 when God commissions Joshua.

David died and left a void that could never be filled, there was never another king like David. But David completed the task that the Lord had for him to do, and Solomon was a different leader that was required for a different era. David left a legacy, he built a foundation for a nation that Solomon could build on. As we have seen from the life of David, the most important value in his life was his worship and love for God.

Every one of us leaves a legacy.

Some people spend their lives trying to amass wealth in order to provide for the next generation. While that is Biblical and a good thing to do, I want to challenge you to invest in the next generation by pointing them to a real relationship with Jesus Christ. Challenging the next generation to be strong and courageous.

No matter our age, we all have someone younger than us who is looking up to us. Who are you investing in?

Sermons

Lessons from the life of David Part 4, April, 24 2016

King David 4 Title.2-01

2 Samuel 12

Repentance

Have you experienced the annoyance and frustration of having your check engine light come on in your car?Check-Engine-Light-Portland

When your check engine light comes on you have two options. Take the car to the shop and get it seen to, or ignore it and hope the problem will resolve by itself. Ultimately you have to do something about the check engine light. It is after all there for a reason.

In the story of David in 2 Samuel 11, things were looking good in Israel, the nation was united. David was a good and wise King. The nation was expanding, and it looked like everything that God had promised Abraham, Moses and Joshua was all about to come to fruition. But David began to rest on his laurels, and he began to enjoy the ease of his success. He took a break from going out with the armies in the springtime, he was probably about fifty years old at this time. David lapses into complacency and that is when he falls into sin. 2 Samuel 11 relates the well-known account of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and the murderous plot to cover up his sins.

After about a year, God sends his prophet Nathan to David to pronounce God’s judgment on him. On the surface it seems that he has gotten away with his sins, but he is being eaten away inside (see Psalm 32:3-4).

Nathan tells a simple parable, and then Nathan says those crashing words; “You are that man!”

Nathan continues by listing all that God has done for David, each line must have been like sharp darts piercing the heart of David; we read in verse 7 and 8

  • “I anointed you King over Israel”
  • “I delivered you from the hand of Saul”
  • “I gave you your master’s house and wives”
  • “I gave you all of Israel and Judah”
  • “And I would have given you more”

And in verse 10, the judgment is read out: The sword will never depart from David’s house. Out of his own household, the Lord is going to bring Calamity. God will take his wives away mocking David in broad daylight.  And the son born to David & Bathsheba will die.

The weight of the judgment must have sent David to his knees, he was being punished severely for his sins. God still punishes sins today. This does not mean that everytime we experience a tragedy it is because of God’s punishment, but sometimes it might be. The immediate punishment that we all feel when we sin is the loss of peace, that broken fellowship with God as we silence the voice of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Broken fellowship with God and broken fellowship with other believers. The truth is that private sins have public consequences.

But looking carefully at the verses we read you will notice a common thread in the judgment of God. God points out David’s physical wrongdoings, but there was a greater sin that David committed.

  • Verse 9; “Why did you despise the word of the Lord’
  • Verse 10; “…because you despised me…”
  • Verse 14; “…you have shown utter contempt for the Lord,”

David’s sins were in effect saying to God that His blessings were not enough. All that God had given him was not good enough, he was tempted and craved for more.

This is the underlying cause of much of our sin if we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we sin because we want more than what he has blessed us with. We sin because we are not fully satisfied in Jesus.

God took the sins of David very personally, “David…you despised ME!” “You have shown utter contempt ME!”

If we think our sins are simply bad things that we do, and that God does not feel our sins, we are horribly mistaken. All of our sins are a personal affront to God. Because of our sin, Jesus went to the cross. He was punished because of our sins. It is personal, everytime we sin we show contempt for God.

David responds immediately and confesses his sins. He understands that his actions were an affront to God and he repents. It was at this time that David wrote Psalm 51, that great repentance Psalm, and he acknowledges that his sin is against God (see Psalm 51:3-4).

True repentance has 4 parts.

  1. Open unguarded admission – A full disclosure of our sins.
  2. Desire to make a complete break from the sin – Repentance means walking in the opposite direction.
  3. A humble and broken spirit. (see Psalm 51:17) Humility is a key to revival.
  4. Receiving God’s forgiveness and acceptance (see 1 John 1:9).

Getting back to that check engine light in your car. Our lives also have a check engine light, he is called the Holy Spirit. It is a lie from Satan to think that our personal sins are something that will not affect anyone else, and that we can handle our secret sins. The secret sins of; cheating on your taxes, not being completely truthful in our workplace, addiction to pornography (a “secret” sin that is destroying families), envy, pride, slander or gossip. Every time we sin, the check engine light in our lives comes on, and we try to ignore it, but it keeps getting brighter.

David felt the pain of unconfessed sin as we see in Psalm 32:3-4, but this Psalm ends with a shout of joy and praise to God as David experiences the relief and freedom as God forgives his sins. “Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!”

However God did not take away the consequences of David’s sin, but we don’t hear David complaining about that. Every sin has consequences. Sin leads to loss of privilege and status, those are real life consequences for sin. But by the grace of God, He is able to restore the sinner.

Look at the restoration that God accomplished in David’s life, Solomon was a son born later to David and Bathsheba. The Bible tells us that God loved Solomon and gave him supernatural wisdom. The child who should never have been born, became arguably the greatest king of Israel until Jesus himself. Praise God that even in the midst of the messiness of sin and repentance, there is redemption and grace.

It all starts with repentance. True repentance, acknowledging our sin before an all Holy God, turning the other way, humbling ourselves and accepting the forgiveness of our sins before the cross.

Repentance leads to freedom and health, but covering up our sins leads to further brokenness. Today we all have a choice, to choose life and freedom or to not repent of our sins before God and in so doing we choose death.

A Study on the Topic of Revival

Revival Part 9 – Pride hinders revival

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Continuing this week on the topic of humility as we are encouraged in 2 Chronicles 7:14; “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves……..”

God commands us to humble ourselves by judging our thoughts and motives by the standards of the Bible. We acknowledge that as Christians we need to submit ourselves to the authority of the Word of God.

One of the most alarming problems in the church today is the lack of Biblical literacy. Not just having access to the Bible, but studying it and bringing our lives under the authority of the Bible. The Bible is the infallible word of God, we need to acknowledge the standards of the Bible for our lives, even when the Supreme Court and others lower the standards.

Isaiah 66:2b states; ““These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”

But what does it mean to tremble at God’s word? It does not mean to physically tremble when we read the Bible. It means that when we read the Bible we allow the Holy Spirit to let the words penetrate into our lives, so that we feel the vibrations of conviction when the Word of God reveals to us an area of our lives that falls short of God’s standard.

Pride is the primary reason why we wait for revival. The 4th Century theologians came up with a list of 7 deadly sins, pride is the first. So if pride is the biggest hindrance to revival, what do we do about it? 2 Chronicles 7:14 says we have to humble ourselves. We have to do our part and let God do his part. We submit ourselves to the sharp sword of the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin (see Hebrews 4:12).

As we read God’s Word we are forced to take an honest look at ourselves and determine how much pride we have. Pride in our self-sufficiency, is quickly melted away when we realize that we have nothing without the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

The Welsh revivalists used to sing a song that goes; “Bend me lower, bend me lower, bend me lower, lower down at Jesus’ feet” They understood the need for humility and recognizing our dependence on the Gospel message.

Psalm 139:23 reminds us;

“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Sermons

Lessons from the life of King David part 3 April 17, 2016

2 Samuel 6

King David 3 Title.2-01 Shortly after establishing his palace in Jerusalem, David decided to retrieve the Ark of the Lord and bring it to Jerusalem. The ark was the most sacred symbol that Israel had, it was the presence of God.

An illustration of the Ark of the Covenant(istock/thinkstock)

Amongst other items it contained the stone tablets of the law that Moses received on mt Sinai. It represented the promises and the blessing of God. The Ark had been separated from the tabernacle and the place of worship for 100 years, it had been captured by the Philistines, and after being moved around it ended up at a place called Kiriath-Jearim. ark-mapDavid had established Jerusalem as the political capital of the nation, but now he wanted it to be the religious capital, he would do this by building a tabernacle and setting the Ark of the Covenant in it on mt Zion.

In his eagerness to retrieve the ark of God, David made a big mistake and it cost young Uzzah his life. David did not ask God what he should do, he asked his military leaders and advisers. His actions were brash and impulsive and it had consequences.

God had given strict instructions for the moving of the Ark, it was to be carried by the priests by putting poles through the rings on the sides of the ark. David reasoned that the 10 miles to Jerusalem were too far to carry the ark so he had the ark put on a new cart. The oxen stumbled and young Uzzah reached out to stabilize it, but Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah and he died. This reaction by God offends us, it doesn’t seem fair. David was angry, but note the Bible doesn’t say that he was angry at God. After a time of reflection Verse 9 tells us that David was afraid of God (Proverbs 9:10).

He realized his mistake, and realized that he had acted out of his own desires and not according to the will of God. With our post-modern reasoning, we struggle to see why God would kill someone for attempting to save the ark from falling. But it serves as a reminder to us, just as it was a reminder to David, God is an all Holy God. He sets up boundaries for our own good. If we try to do things our own way, we are going to face disaster. Because God set the rules for how the ark is to be transported, if he did not punish Uzzah, He would not be true to himself (note Hebrews 12:28).

The Bible is our instruction manual. If we decide to do things our own way and try to bend the rules, we will suffer the consequences. Follow the plan, follow the map that God has for us, it is for our own good.

In fear David decides to leave the ark at the house of Obed Edom a Gittite. But after three months of blessing, David hears that Obed is getting blessed and he wants that for the Jerusalem. It is obvious in the three months of reflection that David has repented and done some research, because this time as we read in 1 Chronicles, he gathers 862 priests and Levites who have been consecrated before the Lord, rather than his army and he instructs them to carry the ark in the appropriate way. Notice their caution, they take 6 steps and stop, and when all seems good, David sacrifices a bull and a fattened calf. How different to the 1st attempt.

Then the party began. David took off his royal robe as king and put on a priestly garment. David dances before the Lord with all his might, the word used for dancing here only appears here in the Bible and describes a whirling or a spinning dancing. David must have literally been giddy with joy. He probably spun and stumbled, laughed and continued. He danced with total abandon, he was not concerned with public opinion, he was worshipping the Lord the holy God of Israel.

http://www.biblicalartist.net/Davidarkfr38%20(2).jpg

True worship comes out of a heart of humility. David humbled himself in the eyes of man in order to see God.

People look for an outward appearance but God looks at our hearts, what is your heart posture before the Lord?

As they brought the ark into Jerusalem David offered more sacrifices to God and then blessed everyone with cakes of raisins and dates, a loaf of bread and then sends them home so that they can celebrate together as families. This was a day to remember and David wanted to ensure that they told this story to each other at home around a meal.

David also goes to his home, and he is probably still dancing a bit, he is full of joy and excitement, but he is in for a shock. His wife is there to meet him at the door…..

Michal despises David. In her eyes, he is the enemy of her late father Saul. Theirs was not healthy marriage, David won her as a battle prize, even though Michal loved David initially, she was not a good partner for him.

As David grew in favor and fame in the land, Michal began to hate him. She did not have any understanding of his love for God and his worship. She wanted David to act like her father did, but David had the heart of a worshipper, he Loved God with all his heart and soul and all his strength.

David understood that he was king only because of God’s blessings. He was not going to allow pride a foothold in his life. He intentionally humbled himself in order to bring Glory to God.

But Michal didn’t understand, she despised David.

When true worship arises, it provokes. True worship provokes, because the observer is convicted of their own lack of worship. This is not about worship style or music style, this is about worship, true worship before an all holy God. Whenever someone has an encounter of the living God, and their lives are transformed, they get a glimpse of the Glory and beauty of the all Holy Creator, and their lives are radically changed. But, this leads to a lifestyle of worship. This lifestyle provokes their friends and family. It makes them uncomfortable because they know that they are supposed to worship God, but they are not willing to humble themselves before God. So what do you do when you don’t want to humble yourself? You act like Michal and try to bring the worshipper down, slander and criticize. True worship will always provoke.

We have the misconception that worship is only singing, but it is so much more than that. Worship is not entertainment, or a style of music or even a particular instrument. We don’t come to be entertained, we come to put God first.

True worship is a lifestyle. We worship God by placing Him first, by loving him with all our heart and soul and strength. We worship God by living sacrificially, by giving sacrificially, by not caring what other people think of us.

Let us live lives of worship that provoke others to want to know the reason for our joy and love.

True worship of God provokes, does your life provoke others to want to know Jesus?

A Study on the Topic of Revival

Revival Part 8 – Humility

tounge-of-fire-32

Looking once more at 2 Chronicles 7:14; “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves……..”

 “Shall humble themselves”, how do we humble ourselves? As we think about that, what is humility?

Some people think that humility is putting yourself down, but sometimes that is a subtle way of getting people to notice you.

Humility is first and foremost having a right estimation of ourselves. We are not God, but then again we are not worms either. God created mankind in his own image and we need to live up to that image. Humble people see themselves as they really are in light of God’s created order.

Humility also has a certain amount of self-forgetfulness and people who are humble do not spend a lot of time thinking about themselves.

Humility recognizes that without God we can do nothing, those who are not humble somehow believe that without them God can do nothing.

People often put themselves down to give the impression that they are humble, but deep down inside they are hoping that someone will contradict them and tell them that they are great.

Humility is better understood if we look at the converse of humility – Pride.

CS Lewis wrote; “If you want to know how much pride you have ask yourself how much you dislike it in others. If you think you’re not conceited, it means that you are very conceited indeed; first step toward acquiring humility is to realize that one is proud. We are full of pride but we can’t see it. It blinds us to our own condition. So it is wise to admit it even though you do not see it or feel it. There can be no surer proof of a confirmed pride than a belief that one if sufficiently humble.”

Pride is the original sin. Daniel Rowlands, a famous welsh revivalist said; “we most resemble the devil when we are proud and we most resemble Christ when we are humble.”

Ps 138 verse 6 says; “though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.”

Unfortunately there is plenty of pride among Christians. We are proud that we are saved and not like the poor sinners! (See what Jesus said about that in Luke 18 verses 9-14). We are proud that we know the Bible, we can be proud about our ability to pray or we can even be proud of our humanitarian service.

Sermons

Lessons from the life of King David Part 2; April 10, 2016

King David 2 Title.2-01

1 Samuel 26

Saul is trying to hunt down David once again, he takes 3000 of his best warriors. This is the second time that Saul was hunting down David, he was embarrassed the first time (see 1 Samuel 24).

Saul feared David, he knew that David was God’s chosen leader to replace him, his fear drove him to try to destroy David. David on the other hand is filled with courage, he doesn’t run away, in fact in we read that David went out to engage with Saul. Just like David engaged Goliath, he had boldness to confront his enemy.

 David decides to go into the camp of Saul and he asks for a volunteer to go with him. Abishai volunteers for the mission. Abishai is actually David’s nephew, and a fearless warrior. But for all his courage, Abishai lacks self-control. He asks David if he can kill Saul. But David is not persuaded, he is listening to a higher authority.

Be careful who you listen to. Your closest friends will give you advice that seems to be right, but is that what God is telling you to do? It’s not wrong to get advice from others, but you need to check this against the Word of God.

David quickly rebukes Abishai and once again reminds him that Saul is the Lords anointed. Apart from sparing the life of the King, David was teaching Abishai the order of God’s kingdom. God puts leaders in place. (See Romans 13:1).

We wrestle with this, what if the king is mad? God says honor those He has placed in leadership over you, David shows us that you don’t have to abide by immoral decisions they make, but respect their position.

David and Abishai take the spear and the water jug from Saul and go and stand on a hill with a valley between them and the army of Saul. David taunts Abner but shows the utmost respect for Saul (v17, 18 and 19).

 After Saul and his army are humbled, it seems that Saul has a change of heart. He repents and asks David to forgive him. Note these words; “, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son.” It was so evident to Saul and to everyone else that God was with David, he could only repent. As far as we can determine from scripture, Saul resigns himself to the fact that his days are numbered, he does not try to interfere with God’s plan for the nation again.

Saul invites David to come back, but in verse 22 we read that David politely declines. David trusts the Lord, but he does not trust Saul. We must honor and respect those that God has placed in leadership over us, but we must not be gullible. After all they are still fallen people.

David declares to Saul that he trusts that God will reward him, he is not looking for the approval of man. What a lesson to us all. Who are we looking to for a reward or praise?

Saul is completely humbled and acknowledges David’s future. It is clear to Saul and to everyone who was there that day that David was a great man, anointed by God and destined for greatness.

Why did David not allow Abishai to kill Saul? Because David trusted that God was in control, he believed in the sovereignty of God.

If God is in control, we can trust Him for the future and with our lives. David showed this practically, Saul was a terrible King, but David knew that only God had the right to remove him from his position of leadership.

Anyone with an ounce of ambition would have taken matters into his own hands and killed Saul, no-one would have blamed him. But David trusted the Lord.

None of us are in the position that David was in, being anointed as King over Israel. But most of us can identify with an overbearing leader, a cruel boss, an incompetent supervisor, an overbearing parent, or an abusive husband. What do we do in those situations? Do we fight back? David didn’t, a few chapters earlier in 1 Samuel we read the account of Saul hurling a spear at David, what did David do? He ducked.

There is a bit of Saul in all of us, and if we take the situation into our own hands and try to make things right outside of the will of God, we become just like Saul. If David had killed Saul, he would have taken the throne as king by force, and he would have been no better than Saul.

Who is the Saul in your life? Who is that person that you wrestle with submitting to, that leader who has no business being in charge, but yet they have the title.

How you respond makes a huge difference. If you respond in bitterness and gossip, it will just eat you up.

If you respond in humble submission, respecting the person’s authority, you will find peace from God.

Another benefit of humble submission is that others notice, your co-workers notice, your children notice. And one day when you are in that position of authority those who noticed your response will be your biggest supporters.

Like David’s mighty men, who witnessed this event, they never questioned his authority, they chose to fight and die for David, because he honored the Lord with his patience (See James 1:2-4).

Trust God with the Saul’s in your life, God is working in you, testing your faith, producing perseverance, and maturing you. God is not distant and unaware of your pain and suffering, He is intimately involved in your life, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ.

A Study on the Topic of Revival

Revival Part 7 – A People called by His Name

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Continuing to look at 2 Chronicles 7:14, we look at the next phrase words: “Who are called by My Name”.

We have looked at the conditional preposition “if”, and the responsibility we have in revival. But the “if” applies to “my people”. Revival is not for everyone in the world, it is specifically aimed at the people of God.

The People of God are those who are called by His name. In order to be called by His name, we need to first call on his name, the name of Jesus for our salvation. Acts 2:21 states; “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

If you have not personally called on the name of Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you cannot claim to be one of his people. You may go to church, read the Bible, sing Christian songs, even take communion, but if you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, you are not a part of the family of God.

Along with being a member of the family of God we have a tremendous responsibility. It is our responsibility to represent and honor the name of Jesus in the world. Whether we like it or not, people judge the church by the behavior of those who belong to the church. If a Christian sins and it becomes public knowledge, people don’t say that he/ is an exception to the rule, no, the church is judged by the faults of those who have failed. It does not mean that as Christians we live perfect lives, but we need to understand the greater implications of when we are tempted to sin and bring the Lord’s name down by our lifestyle.

As Selwyn Hughes writes; “It is one thing to be ostracized because of Christ, it is another thing when Christ is ostracized because of us.”

It is indeed a tremendous responsibility to be called the people of God, let us take that responsibility seriously every day for the glory of God and for the name of Jesus.

Sermons

Lessons from the life of King David Part 1; April 03, 2016

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1 Samuel 16

The world is full of many rags to riches stories. We love these stories, we make movies about the characters, and we teach our children to look at them as role models.

But the truth is that we only recognize greatness once it has been achieved in man’s eyes. The process, the humble beginnings, the hard work and the pathway of insignificance is mostly ignored by the world.

In the same way a person that God is forming for his purposes is often ignored and sometimes even ridiculed for their humble position and low standing in society. But God knows and God is working in all of us if we would just let him, to become someone that can be greatly used by Him.

This week we are starting a five part series on David, the warrior king of Israel, who was used by God to firmly establish and expand the nation. David was also the only person in the Bible who had the title; “a man after God’s own heart” as we see in Acts 13:22.

David came from humble beginnings, yet God saw him and called him to serve as King. In this narrative we have three main characters.

Saul was the king that God had given to Israel, but after Saul’s disobedience God rejected him (1 Samuel 15). Samuel is the great prophet of God and was more than simply a seer, he was regarded as a judge, highly respected and highly feared as well. And then we have David, his father Jesse was a man who lived in Bethlehem. Jesse had eight sons and David was his youngest son.

These events took place in 1024 BC, David himself was somewhere between 20 and 25 years old. The first time we see David in the story, he is described in a remarkable way (v 12). But he was the baby of the family and didn’t have much respect with his older brothers.

When Samuel went to Bethlehem, the leaders of the town trembled when they met him. They wondered if he was coming in judgment. I am sure that all the town of Bethlehem knew that the great prophet was in town and that he had chosen to invite Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. Something was up! The seven older sons of Jesse were probably eager to be in the spotlight. Samuel told them to consecrate themselves in preparation for the sacrifice. This was a ritual washing and probably putting on clean clothes. I can imagine them dressing in their Sabbath best trying to impress the great leader coming to town. But where is David the youngest son? He is still tending the sheep, he knew about the sacrifice, but he faithfully kept on doing what was required of him. This is key, David didn’t try to arrange to be in the presence of Samuel. He didn’t ask someone to do his chores for him, he didn’t try to promote himself.

After all the brothers are rejected, finally as a last resort, David is thought of. Oh, yeah… there is one more son.

As they call David in he is probably covered in dust and smells of sweat and dirty sheep. Notice that he is not consecrated, because in God’s eyes he is already consecrated. He has a pure heart and God looks on the inside, where man looks on the outside.

Samuel sees him and God tells him that David is the one. So Samuel anoints David. As Samuel anoints David, he is filled with the Holy Spirit (V13). Something supernatural happened, the Spirit of the Lord came in power as David was anointed. The ESV bible says, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.

It must have been a surprise for his father and brothers. It is unlikely that Jesse, or anyone else in the family, including David completely understood what had just happened. But the Lord was preparing David to be the leader of the nation. From a humble shepherd boy to a mighty warrior king.

David was already a man of integrity and courage, but now God added the power of His Spirit on him. David began to shine and he began to be noticed. Notice how Saul’s attendant recommends David in glowing terms in verse 18. David’s recognition quickly gets him favor and promotion in the service of King Saul. He rises to be one of the Kings Armor bearers.

Notice the progression here, from humble shepherd, to being selected, to being anointed and empowered by God, this humble shepherd is recognized and finds favor in the Kings courts. David was rejected and put down by his brothers, yet he was chosen by God. God had planned for David to be the next King even before he had been born. He was destined for this. (See Psalm 139:16)

What is remarkable in this chapter is David’s humility, not once do we read that David stood up and called attention to himself. He did not promote himself, rather he was recognized by God and man.

What a contrast to the world we live in. Our world says; “be noticeable, promote yourself, market yourself, tell the world how good you are.” But David is silently confident, trusting in the Lord.

It is much better to be promoted by God than to be recognized and promoted by man.

Too many people today try to push themselves into prominent places without first proving themselves at home in the small matters. Character that God uses is developed in the life of obscurity.

God was preparing David while he was faithfully doing his work as no one noticed. But isn’t it interesting that what we do when no one notices, becomes what everyone notices.

People notice the outward manifestation of our inward life.

Our time spent with the Lord each day prepares us for the plans that God has for us.

What is God preparing you for? As God is preparing you, remember that how you serve today is just as important as what you will be doing in the future.

Sermon notes and Devotional Studies