Message 28 March 2016 King David
Series # Rise up and Move on
Psalms 32, 52
The ability to rise up and move on is
one of the vital provisions for success God has given to his people. He is
truly a God of not only a second chance but another chance.
>>David was very human
David despite being anointed and
being a man after God’s heart was still like us marked by human frailty, flaws,
failures and fears. He was like us faced with challenges, the need to put food
o the table, roof over the head and a positive image at the market place. Being
human the weaknesses of humanity surfaced in varied shades from white, grey,
black to pitch black from time to time.
He faced temptations, rejections, delays, disappointments, name it – he went
through it. He did his best for Saul and for people only to end up in a cave
running for his life under threat from the very people whose interests he had
served well. His story inspires hope to all the imperfect. Being after God’s
heart does not mean never getting it wrong. David was far from being perfect as
shown by the following.
· He used a Philistine method of carrying the Ark on a new cart pulled by two cows and did not seek God about how to do it. Uzzah died as a result. He got it right the second attempt.
· He fell to temptation on the roof top an act that could have influenced his son Absalom who later slept with his father’s concubine on the roof top.
· He fell to temptation on the roof top an act that could have influenced his son Absalom who later slept with his father’s concubine on the roof top.
·
He committed adultery with Bathsheba
Uriah’s wife
·
He orchestrated the killing of Uriah
to cover up his sin
·
He left some difficulty confrontation
work such as dealing with Joab;s excesses undone and assigned them to his son
Solomon. He even confessed that the sons of Zeruiah were too hard for him.
·
He took a census out of a wrong
attitude resulting in the death of 70,000 people.
·
He had at least eight wives and eight
concubines and his son Solomon improved the record to dizzy heights by having
at least 700 wives and 300 concubines.
·
As a parent his family life was imperfect.
He needed a maid to warm him up when he had several wives and Bathsheba was
still alive. Adonijah tried to cheat Solomon of his kingship. Amnon raped his
sister Tamar and was killed by Absalom who later rebelled against King David sending him to exile. Absalom
learnt shrewdness from the father but misapplied it against his father instead
of God’s enemies. Solomon on the other hand observed wisdom of his father and
asked of it from God.
·
He said to Saul through Jonathan that
he had had gone Bethlehem to make an offering when he was hiding in the field.
·
He said to the priests that he was on
the king’s business when in fact he was fleeing from the king. This resulted in
Saul killing all the priests at Nob and their entire families.
·
He escaped out of fear from his house
through a back window and left his wife Michal alone to tell a cover up story
that exposed her to harm.
·
He was so afraid before the
Philistine king Achsh that he played mad man so well that they believed him and
send him away.
·
When at Ziklag under Achsh covering he told him that he fought Israel when he in
fact fought enemies of Israel.
>>David learnt to go down
before God in repentance
Despite all these he maintained a
tender heart towards God. He also shows signs of spiritual growth in that most
of the weaknesses appear in the earlier phases of his life. For example, David
who was helpless before women was so much changed that he was warmed by virgin
at did not have sex with her. Also David who took away a poor family’s son
Uriah would not take away Araunah’s threshing floor without paying for it. He
learnt to avoid short cuts and trust God. A big sign of a heart after God’s
heart, is that David was willing to
humbly call on God in need for mercy. When he fell into sin, he knew how to
receive grace. He rose up from the jaws of sin and moved on with God in power.
You may not have committed the same sins as David but if you are honest you
have your own set. Perhaps you gossiped over a cup of tea, extended time from
work without permission, stumbled across an unhealthy website and lingered a
bit over it, downloaded music that is playing havoc with your faith.
What makes us great in God's sight is
not our perfection but the manner in
which we deal with our mistakes. David’s response when confronted by God about
his sins (Psalm 51, 1 Chronicles 21) was honest, deep, contrite and personal. He
was vulnerable before God. He understood the unfailing grace and mercy of God. God dealt with him
according to the inclination of is heart not so much his acts of wrong doing. When Saul made a mistake, he was confronted by
Samuel and he argued with the prophet Samuel. He insisted that he had not done
anything wrong. He blamed others and
was more concerned about his dented image before the people. However God dealt
differently with David because of a new
dispensation the Davidic covenant as stated for his son in 2 Samuel 7, where he
would not reject him but punish him as a son. Failure to admit faults however is
a manifestation of pride and stubbornness that impedes God’s grace. God resists the proud but a humble and contrite
heart he does not despise[1].
‘You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.’ (Psalm 18:27).
His humility before the Lord attracted
God’s grace on his life. It attracted God to him.
David did not always immediately
repent. In the case of Bathsheba it took a confrontation by prophet Nathan a
year later. Psalm 32 gives us an idea
of the horror he went through that year.
He learnt the hard way how blessed the person whose sin is forgiven is (vs
1). He felt guile in his spirit . He
roared and groaned all day long until his bones wore out. He felt such a
heaviness on his heart it was like the weight of God’s hand on him. It was a
drought experience with no fruit. It was hard. He was crushed. This was no
doubt the worst year David ever lived. He was suicidal until God came to his
rescue and he acknowledged his sin and did not hide anything. And the Lord forgave him. What a relief it
brought to his life. He must have ever regretted why it took him a whole year
to make things right. When David said that God’s love was unfailing...He knew
by experience. He tested its tenacity.
>>David learnt to rise up and
move on
He had to face the painful
consequences of his sins. He failed more than once but each time he rose again. He allowed God's GPS to recalculate. He took his lessons and moved on towards the higher calling of God. In his
Psalms his failures do not dominate he is so overwhelmed by God’s goodness. He
refused to live in the past. He refused to be buried. He realized he had one
window of opportunity to live and the future is opportunity to redeem the past. He could do nothing to change the past but could influence and determine the
future. He refused to be defined by his past. Hence he served Gods purpose in his generation (Acts
13:36). He impressed God and did exploits. He silenced his enemies. He praised
at all times.
God deals with our failures in order
to deliver the future to us. That's why we need Jesus. That's why we need the
Holy Spirit. Jesus died for our humanity so we can enjoy his divinity. The good
news is still ‘He is not here he is alive!’ They failed to stop the
resurrection and its victory. What they could not stop they can't take away. .The
resurrection promises forgiveness to the sinner. Rest for the laborer. Light
for the way. Grace for the trials. Help from above. Revelation in perplexity. Peace in pain. Harvest with the rain. Jesus is one person after God’s own heart who never
got it wrong. David is only an illustration of him. In Jesus is ability to come
back. Things can turn around. You can come back to life.
Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.
Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.
First Floor Dhando House,
66 Eloff Street Extension,
Johannesburg, South Africa
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