Blessed Adherence

BLESSED ADHERENCE

And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him - 1 Samuel 18:5, 14, 30

Repeatedly the Bible mentions that David conducted himself wisely. As a result he enjoyed God's presence and help.  In Psalms David revealed that his secret was meditating on God's word.

 'Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.' (Psalm 98-99).

David showed wise behavior by maintaining a humble and sound attitude whether he was facing Goliath from outside or threats to his life from inside his camp. King Saul had marked David for death from the time women sang songs that ascribed greater praise to David (1 Samuel 18:9, 11, 25; 19:1, 2, 10).  David however demonstrated wisdom by:

1)      Keeping faith in God. David was unmoved in faith. No wonder, he wrote that one who meditates on Gods word is like a tree planted by streams of water which shall not be moved but bears fruit in season and its leaves are evergreen (Psalm 1). Situations that test faith produce powerful testimonies. For David, the stakes were very high. The tests threatened his predicted rise to the throne. David however stood firm on faith that God was in control and would reward those who diligently sought him.

2)      Keeping passionate love for God. David's heart was unmoved from pursuing God’s heart. He maintained love for God as well as for people. He kept his heart from the poison of negative spirit towards himself or others. He maintained a tender heart and tough skin. He loved God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself. He was able to overcome real or imagined offenses from people Instead of being bitter he built strong relationships that provided a strong support network which  kept him going in hard times (1 Samuel 18:3, 5, 20; 19:18). David was so favored by many people that when Saul instructed all his servants to kill him none obeyed (1 Samuel 19:1).

3)      Keeping focus on serving God. Like Paul, later did he pressed toward the mark for the prize of his high calling (Philippians 3:13-14). Serving God is about seeking his will and obeying his voice. David was unmoved in his focus to live according to God's purpose. He served God’s interests by doing good. He lived for God's glory and pleasure. He acknowledged God and feared him. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Bearing in mind that to hate sin is the fear of God (Proverbs 8:13).

More than from his covenant with Jonathan, David enjoyed the covenant God made with his people through Abraham and Moses. A covenant with God has two parts - the divine part and the human part.  In a previous message, we called what God brings to a covenant - blessed assurance. We can call the commitment his people fulfill as their part - blessed adherence. Assurance is God’s part to establish your spiritual reality. Adherence is your part in navigating the natural practical realities of your spiritual walk. We sing blessed assurance Jesus is mine. We should also sing blessed adherence Jesus I am yours. Anointed as king already, David had God's assurance. His practical reality was however not always easy and smooth. He nevertheless demonstrated blessed adherence through behaving wisely.  Covenant promises are as good as the character of the promisers. God keeps his promises. He is trustworthy and his part to a covenant is undoubted. The human side however tends to be unstable. From the experience of the nation of Israel their welfare  fluctuated with their faithfulness to God. Otherwise, God was always committed and ready to fulfill his part. 

Complete obedience is a condition for covenant blessings. Deuteronomy 28 is very clear that God’s blessings would follow his people if they obeyed ALL his commands (Deuteronomy 28:1, 15) .  They were to keep all of the law all of the time. Old Testament record shows how the children of Israel failed to meet the condition for God’s blessing. The result of failure to obey was a horrible menu of curses listed in Deuteronomy 28.  By their disobedience they deserved to suffer the curses. They often did go through difficulties but they deserved worse if God was not gracious. Any blessings they enjoyed were God's grace.

No one could keep all the law. That is the reason Christ came (Galatians 3:9-18). The good news for the Church of Jesus Christ is that full blessing comes before performance (Ephesians 1:3). Performance only confirms what the saints are and have. Paul told the Ephesians church that they were blessed with every spiritual blessing. This was impossible without complete obedience. It was however made possible on the basis of Christ’s perfect obedience. He was tempted in everyway but did not sin (Hebrews 4:15).  Totally undeserved, the Lord Jesus fulfilled the human side of faithfulness to the covenant with God. If you can still find reasons why Jesus loves you, you do not know his love. His love is puzzling, unthinkable, unspeakable and inexplicable. God’s people only need to respond by behaving themselves wisely in conduct worthy of the blessed. They build faith in Jesus and his word. They not only long for  a promise but celebrate the provision of the cross. They love God with all their hearts. They passionately obey and serve God.

A New Testament rendering of Deuteronomy 28 would read as follows. ‘It has come to pass now that Jesus has fully obeyed all the commands God gave, if you shall  believe in the Lord Jesus as savior and lord believing in his death, resurrection and soon return, the Lord thy God  will set  thee on high  above all nations  of the earth. You are comprehensively blessed in Christ. As a result, these blessings shall follow you. You will be blessed where you live, work, and where you play. Your enemies will be perfectly scattered from you. Your bank account and multiple investments will be blessed. You will be blessed in your fields and businesses. The works of your hands will be blessed and you will earn lots of fruit, profit, and good results.   You are blessed with children. Whatever you touch will be blessed. You will be blessed from the beginning to the end of your journeys, projects and transitions. You will have sufficient natural rain, divine favor and the Holy Spirit for bumper harvests. Because of your faith in Jesus, no curses shall ever follow you.

You will be above only - never beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13). God is never beneath and his covenant takes you to his position and level. That means if pressed under you resurge to the top (2 Corinthians 4:8, 9).  You recover speedily. You rise above storms. You keep yourself under control. You have sufficient grace to handle any situation. You are not stressed. You are unstoppably finding your way to the top. You have freedom to obey God. You can walk in the fruit of the Spirit. You are free indeed from all forms of bondage and curses. Above only means you have dignity and respect whether people acknowledge it or not.  Your job, position on organizational structure and circumstances do no define you and your self-esteem. You are a first class person, fearfully and wonderfully made. In God’s first class cabin, there is room for all who believe.  Surely, you are above only and never beneath.

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa 

Blessed Assurance

BLESSED ASSURANCE

1 Samuel 18:1-5 

Jonathan's relationship with David has parallels with that of Christ and the saints. Jonathan was a prince while David was from a poor background. Yet he loved David so much that his soul knit to that of David.  Jonathan proved to be the greatest friend that David would know. The relationship was so strong that Jonathan and David established a covenant between themselves. They were not just friends but bond friends. In life, you will make hundreds of acquaintances; but you will have few genuine friends.  Jesus Christ is the most genuine friend you can have.   

A covenant relationship was the strongest form of agreement and commitment people could make to each other. When God chose a form of relationship with humanity, he graciously chose the strongest. He chose a covenant relationship. He made a covenant with his people through Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and ultimately with the Church through Christ. In Christ, saints received a better covenant founded on better promises (Hebrews 8:6).  A covenant was more than a mere promise. It was the basis of favor guaranteed by the character of the parties. God therefore chose two unchangeable things to assure believers of his commitment - his covenant and his trustworthy character. God is a covenant keeping God (Daniel 9:4; Leviticus 26:44; Psalm 89:34; Isaiah 54:10). His covenant commitment is the blessed assurance or strong consolation that gives us confidence and unshaken hope in his word (Hebrews 6:18). May the following three characteristics of a covenant be an encouragement?

1) A Covenant is lasting.   David was committed to Jonathan in life and in death (2 Samuel 1:17-27). People in a covenant were bound together with an oath for life.  They swore to honor the covenant.  Their commitment to one another withstood the hurdles and obstacles in the way of their relationship. The relationship between David and Jonathan was tested.  For instance, Saul hated David and repeatedly in direct and indirect ways tried to kill him (1 Samuel 18:25; 19:1, 8-11). Jonathan’s devotion to David was however not weakened to the extent that it even caused a rift to develop between him and his father, as he repeatedly took David’s side against the king (1 Samuel 19:2, 4-7; 20:24-34). The covenant lasted so long that David remembered Jonathan's lame rejected and dejected son,  Mephibosheth, to promote him to the king’s table and to restore Saul's wealth to him (2 Samuel 4:4; 9:5-13). This favor was regardless of Mephibosheth possessing nothing that would commend him to King David except that he was Jonathan's son.

2) A Covenant is an exchange. Parties to a covenant exchanged identities, wealth and weapons. They committed to sharing everything. To remind themselves of their commitment they established a memorial by for example planting a tree or making a scar. Whoever attacked one of them had attacked all.   Those who saw David on the day he entered a covenant with Jonathan mistook him for Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1-4). Jonathan had put his royal robes and sword on David. God has also given saints his divine nature and name (2 Peter 1:4, Revelation 3:12).    He in his love, saved his saints through Christ and put on them his robe of righteousness in place of their filthy rags of sin ( Isaiah 64:6; 61:10; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 8:7). In the relationship, God has nothing else to gain apart from the relationship itself. On the other hand, humanity has everything of God to gain. A covenant with God entitles one to everything that belongs to God. That is why believers have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. You are already blessed in Christ (Ephesians 1:3, 2:6; Colossians 3:3; Romans 4:24). It is because you already have the blessing that blessings follow you. The standard and condition for your blessing is not how much blessed your neighbor, your parents or spiritual leaders are but that you are in Christ.

3) A Covenant is a choice. Parties willingly enter into a covenant.  Jonathan showed uncommon, unselfish, unconditional and sacrificial love to David. Love is a choice one commits to live by.  Even though he knew David would ascend to the throne in instead of him, Jonathan was not jealous (1 Samuel 23:17). Even though he was a prince, he loved David of a poor background. Even though he had more to lose, he loved him anyway. He loved him as his soul (1 Samuel 18:3). Similarly, Jesus had nothing to gain in comparison to what it took to save you. He showed uncommon love for lost sinners (Romans 5:8; 8:38-39; John 15:13; 1 John 3:16; 4:9-10). He knew they would never show their love for Him to the same degree He demonstrated His love for them but He loved anyway.   He loves us because that is His nature and choice (1 John 4:7; Ephesians 2:4; Romans 4:16-25). You can do nothing good enough to earn God's love. Your prayer, fasting, giving etc may position you to receive but can never earn you his love and the favor at work in your life. Thank God for his unmerited love and his unfailing covenant commitment to you. That is the blessed assurance.

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa 

Portraits of a Giant

Portraits of a Giant

“and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves! For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.” - 1 Samuel 17:47

People often face challenges bigger than they can cope with.   The challenges can stretch them beyond their comforts and limits.   You also have faced such challenges that appear as invincible giants compared to your own perceived strength.  Sometimes you invade them because they are obstacles you have to deal with. Other times they ambush you by coming without warning. David did not plan to meet Goliath the Philistines champion, when he took food provisions to his brothers at the war front.  Nevertheless, before the day ended, he found himself having to fight the giant. In the Old Testament, giants were a big threat to Israel. Fear of giants kept Israel in the wilderness away from the Promised Land for forty years (Numbers 13). Later in the Promised Land, giants sought to keep Israel from enjoying the fullness of God's promise (Numbers 14:9, Deuteronomy 9:1-3). Evil giants still attempt to keep God’s people from their blessings.

Goliath presented David with three portraits.

1. The face of terror. Goliath was a terrorist that instilled fear in the people of God. He caused fear by his huge appearance and verbal threats. Faith and fear cannot coexist. The giant removed their focus from God's ability, care and faithfulness. As a result, their faith was weakened as they let fear take over. Whichever they would allow to rule displaced the other.  Satan uses fear and discouragement as weapons of first choice against believers.  No wonder, there are over 350 “fear nots” in the Bible making it the most repeated command before adding many exhortations to be courageous.

The army and leaders of Israel were so timid before Goliath that with tails between their legs they dreaded his appearance. Their fearful response was a summary of Saul's legacy. He started surrounded with men God had touched and ended with a bunch of men trembling before a giant. David on the other hand started with outcasts and malcontents, and ended up with giant killers around him. Saul was so desperate that he offered his daughter and the prestige she gave to anyone who killed the giant.  He was also desperate that he sent an untrained and unprotected boy to fight a seasoned ruthless giant.

David asked, 'Is there not a cause' (1 Samuel 17:29). He saw God’s reputation at stake and that was a cause to fight the giant. The army that was supposed to give security against the Phillistines was trembling and helplessly defied daily. Goliath had become a menacing stronghold that appeared every morning and evening to defy the armies of Israel. He came out with impunity and was unchallenged for forty days. For that long, Saul and his army lived in uncertainty of what he would do next.

2. The face of the ordinary. The giant challenged the ordinary standard and methods of warfare. They are intimidating when compared to the ordinary.  His strategies and operations were humanly superior. They appealed to sight, and logic. A counter strategy that appeals to worldly values and weapons and ways cannot sustainably overcome giants. Saul made the mistake of using the ordinary standard to assess Goliath’s abilities.  By that standard, the giant was strong in experience, weapons and size. Both Saul and Goliath represented human conventional methods. As a result, they doubted and despised David's offer to fight Goliath (1 Samuel 17:28, 33).  Saul’s pitfall was  trusting in carnal weapons of warfare (2 Corinthians 10:1-5). David represented innovation and the unconventional ways of faith in God. David knew that victory did not reside in heavy swords, shields, spears, armor and bows, but in the mighty power of God.

Temptations that come to believers are common to humanity (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Every giant that comes brings common temptations. Giants have a traditional approach. The over two meters tall Goliath was heavy laden with a hundred kilogram military attire and had a shield barrier before him. David refused Saul's heavy, constraining and untried armor. His advantage was in his agility and skill under God. With God, giants may be big in size but they are inferior where it matters the most, in character, weapons and skills. Goliath best known for regalia and outward weights had nothing inside. David was known for inner qualities of character, courage and skill (1 Samuel 16:18).

David used a strategy and terms unfamiliar to the enemy. One not found in military training manuals of the day. He went out in the name of the Lord of Hosts. Believers have superior weapons in the name of Jesus Christ. The victories of faith in his past inspired David when he went to the valley of Ela to face Goliath.  To many memories of regrettable life valleys  stick out and discourage.  However, for David the victories stood out and gave him faith and strength to fight Goliath. David knew that in God there was only one giant, God himself. It matters what eyeglasses you use to look at your giant. God’s word magnifies God and diminishes giants to grasshoppers.  David pronounced and acted his trust in God. He countered the enemy’s threats with specific words and actions of faith. His goal was clear. He would cut off the head and give the whole opposing army as flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. David took five stones and a sling and with his first stone knocked Goliath to the ground and using Goliath’s own sword cut off his head off. The five stones stood for the grace of God that is enough. For you it may be the third stone but grace will be sufficient for victory. Load and swing your stone in prayer and obedience.

 3. The face of opportunity. The giant had another face, a hidden face only visible to the discerning, the face of opportunity. The giant stood at the gate to David’s destiny. When the defiance is stronger, the opportunity and destiny are bigger. In wars, growing intensity of   resistance is a sign there is a high priced target behind the battle lines. Goliath wanted to take away the kingdom from the king in waiting. Appearance of the giant signaled David’s promotion time. The principle of killing a giant to gain promotion is seen over and over in the Bible (Daniel 3, 6, Philippians 2 (the cross), etc). 

Opportunities hide in threats and other people's desperations. What you see as a ghost is often Christ coming for your rescue walking on top of the thing you are afraid of (Mark 6:45 - 51). The moment of opportunity for David arrived when he heard the words of defiance. It was the wrong time for Goliath to come out just when David was visiting. When its time up God makes sure, you are in the right place. Forty days of torment were over. Forty is the number for judgment. Time for judgment had come. God used an unexpected person and method to deliver victory to his people. When it seemed God had forgotten the nation, he had been working behind the scenes using a few fish to train David in the hills of Judea. At the right time, he made all things beautiful.

The face of opportunity to your next level the enemy will not expose. However, take note of it and focus on it. You cannot grab or pursue an opportunity you cannot see. Take your opportunities or they are lost.  You can choose flight or a fight.  Giants have to be killed they do not go on their own. The forty days of your giant are over Jesus is alive. You can allow yourself to be humiliated or  chose to be elevated. You can be depressed or resolve to be determined. You can be bitter or chose to be better. The giant is there to grow you. The giant comes to expose the real giant in you and the giants on your side. Giants come to enhance your resume and profile for future prospects. Gods training involves being put into difficult and desperate situations that force you to trust in God and not your understanding. David made a courageous choice. Where others saw the formidable armor David saw the uncircumcision beneath the armor. The people of God had circumcision as a covenant mark that God would fight for them. Others saw his big size but David saw an object hard to miss. Whether giants work for you or against you, depends on how you view and respond to them. You can respond as an ordinary human being or a new creature in Christ.

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa