Message 14 February 2016 King David
Series # Heart After God
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do
not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have
refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the
outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." - Samuel 16:7
God used individuals such as Moses,
Jonah, Paul, and David to impact nations. Of all the people he used perhaps the
most significant after the Lord Jesus is David. His throne lasts forever and
Jesus sits on it.
The name David means 'beloved'. He
responded to the love of God by being a man after the heart of God. To prove
what David’s heart was after all you need to do is to read his Psalms. A heart
for God is a heart of worship. The Psalms reveal David’s discovery of the
secret - hunger for God. That gave him success from the sheep cotes to the Palace. Praise comes from
and brings revelation (2 Kings 3:15, 16). David praised God in all circumstances (as we are encouraged 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) his Wilderness-era psalms testify. He understood that joy was in the Lord not in things going
well or not. The best or worst in a person is revealed when stretched to the limit,
tested to the core and stripped down to
the essentials.
The tabernacle of David was a tent.
That tent was the house of the Lord at the time. They brought the sacrifice of
praise into this house of the Lord and offered unto him the sacrifices of
thanksgiving with singing, music instruments and dancing. Praise brought David
closer to God and gave him an elevated perspective to life. ‘David appointed
Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to make petition, to give
thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel. ... They were to play the
lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the
priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of
God.’ (1 Chronicles 16:4-6). ‘Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the
sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other
instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate.’
(1 Chronicles 16:42). With this new flavor of worship with musical praise,
traditional sacrifices continued at the high place in Gibeon.
Worship is the way to enter God's gates. It is the access not something up do on
the way. Praise is the way to tune to God’s
frequency. It is the way to ‘motivate’ God to rise up. It brings down the realm
where God’s work and ability manifests. He learnt how praise created an ark for
God. The ark was at the centre of the nation’s life so must praise be in the
lives of believers. Praise is a practical expression of the physical ark and
the sacrifices offered under the Mosaic covenant.
In this series we will explore what
could have distinguished David and resulted in him being identified by God as
the one after his heart. He was a man of deep devotion. It all began
manifesting when he privately nurtured a relationship with God and saw his
faithfulness such as when he killed the lion and the bear. He learnt early to
trust God and to worship him. What
happened in private caused him to rise up to the public arena and kept him. He
learnt to sing in every situation – in deep depression, extreme anger,
hardships, danger, hunger, when fallen to the lowest and when soaring at the
highest. He praised himself out of
adverse situations. He knew that praise brought a person into alignment with
the flow of Gods power (Isaiah 47:3). He wrote music and played musical
instruments.
King Saul disobeyed God and was being
removed from the throne. In his place David was anointed as the new King. David
did not seek the limelight. After being anointed and serving Saul David was
right back with the sheep, with a servant's heart still faithful with a few
sheep. He did not follow the limelight. It followed him. Firstly God noticed.
Then when Saul was troubled by an evil Spirit his anointed musical ability was recognized. David was brought to the palace to
play his harp and sing for the Saul. Just his instrument without saying
words cast out the evil spirits. That testified of his close walk with God.
The lesson from David is to seek to
please the Lord by faith through praise.
That is what it means to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind,
and strength. That is the secret place of the most high (Psalm 91) - the place
of cultivating his presence by praise and worship. Paul exhorted to find out
what pleases God (Ephesians 5:10). Praise shows faith and pleases God. Praise
is easy if you truly see God as the only explanation of your success. Overcome
hindrances to praise – doubting God, not knowing God, Forgetting who you are in
God, feelings of depression and condemnation and playing to the dictates of
situations.
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the
LORD ; and I will cause thee to
ride upon the high places of the earth , and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob
thy father : for the mouth of the
LORD hath spoken it. - Isaiah 58:14
Message
by Dr. Kurai Chitima.
Faith
Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.
First
Floor Dhando House,
66
Eloff Street Extension,
Village
Deep,
Johannesburg,
South
Africa
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