NOVEMBER 22, 2020 SUNDAY MESSAGE
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Transcription
Today, we are finishing the first half of the Gospel Story! Once again, I have our WARDROBE
(Review)...and there are 2 major sections and each has 3 chapters
• Old Testament:
• O - Creation
• X - Rebellion
• > - Promise
• (Abe, Mo, Joseph, now David)
• New Testament:
• † - Redemption
• > - Movement
• O - Renewal
We have spent the most time in the “Promise” section of the Old Testament. It is here that we see God’s COVENANT faithfulness through the ages and through many cycles.
In fact some people call this the “cyclic period” because a theme plays out over and over again like a broken record. After God makes His covenant with God’s people through Abraham:
• God’s people rebel against Him
• God reinstates them with the promise
• If you use our symbols, it sort of looks like this (Cyclical Period).
• They are in this rut of disobedience for multiple generations.
From Abraham to Joseph to Moses and on to David, it’s the same story, God’s people break covenant fidelity and God proves faithful to make a way for their return back to him.
It’s here that, even as WE read it, we start to get annoyed and fed up with God’s people like “COME ON! Stop turning to idols/golden calves and earthly kings, and wealth and...”
• As it comes out of my mouth, I think...”we aren’t so different are we?”
• What kind of patience must God have to endure our rebellious hearts over and over without
giving up on us?!
• So thankful for Lam. 3:22-23: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Because I can’t imagine the kind of patience necessary to do this.
Thankfully, God is INCREDIBLY patient with us. It is right that we would give Him praise for it! This is why the Psalms say over and over and over again:
“You, O Lord, are merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love”
We get to see God’s love reverberate in each chapter of the Gospel Story! And, although each leader was deeply flawed, we catch a GLIMPSE
of something good that PROCLAIMS: “there is something greater on the horizon!!”
In the final installment of the PROMISE chapter, we are meant to be PROPELLED BY GOD’S
PROMISE to look into the future:
• Abraham > Steps out in faith and receives God’s Covenant.
This establishes a:
• Relationship with God that promises to redeem us from our broken world (Adams world) and
• Responsibility to represent God’s Kingdom to the nations
• Remember: “blessed to be a blessing”
• Joseph > Learns a hard lesson in the prisons of Egypt but eventually is elevated to a position of authority where he can represent the Kingdom of God to Pharaoh and others in the surrounding nations.
• Moses > Has a close relationship with God even revealing his name - YHWH! The Kingdom is represented in the liberation movement of God’s people who are delivered from slavery and led into the desert for a time of testing...
• Now, Israel is established:
• as the PEOPLE of God (Abraham’s offspring),
• on their way to the PLACE of God (The Land of Canaan),
• led by the PRESENCE of God (who dwells in the tabernacle).
An incremental propulsion towards redemption is meant to take place but God’s people keep getting stuck in the cycle of rebellion/reinstallation!
Today, we see ANOTHER epoch and another installment through the life of David which will, ultimately, point us towards the New Testament and the birth of Jesus. Turn to Psalm 23 and let’s see what contribution David gives us...There is too much to cover in David’s life so, uniquely, this will be a departure from our typical exegetical study but you can learn a lot through the product of one’s craft & this is a Psalm of David.
I want you to see three attributes of David to illustrate how God used him so powerfully.
• He is a Shepherd
• He is a Warrior
• He is a Repenter
Psalm 23 A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
1. David is a Shepherd. He sees God as the ultimate expression of this AND he relates to God
through it!
• The idea of your deity being a Shepherding figure and the King being a Shepherd over His
household (in a kings case, the entire Kingdom is his household) was pretty common in the
culture!
• Arguably, David’s primary moment of formation comes as a child comes through his vocation
as a Shepherd.
• David both RECEIVES shepherding leadership from God & UTILIZES the same approach as he rules...but does so with actual shepherding experience!
• This taught him to be careful in tending his sheep - bringing them to green pastures and quiet waters and courageous in defending them from dangerous predators.
• While he doesn’t always obey God, David fully understands that God is His source for
refreshment AND his guide in decision-making - ALL for the purpose of God’s glorification.
• This is MOST obvious when you compare King Saul’s rule with David’s (which we will look at in just a second).
...Well, David’s tenure as king is also no stranger to peril and correction - verse 4 continues:
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
If you follow David’s life, there are some dark seasons and points where God's shepherding staff disciplines David. He had to endure some harsh rebuke on occasion. Which he describes here as a COMFORT to him...why? Because God disciplines those he loves and it meant God was still using him!
David is also a man acquainted with battle and conflict as well, trusting God in the midst of it. Verse 5...
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
2. Warrior: David lead Israel in multiple war campaigns against international threats. His source of strength/might ALWAYS came from His trust in God rather than his own skill or power!
David was most famously KNOWN as the boy who slayed the Philistine giant named Goliath. Interestingly, this is the beginning of where we see a contrast between two Kingdom representations:
• Saul:
• Saul was a cruel, unforgiving leader who acted out of fear and competition w/ those around him.
• Was not loyal to YHWH and did not place his confidence and dependance on God
• Chosen by People who demanded a King, Saul appeared to be the obvious choice for King due to his size and stature but lacked character.
• David:
• Character is cultivated in the hillsides of his fathers pastures.
• He displayed loyalty to YHWH and put his life on the line in battle trusting God to fight on His behalf.
• He is unlikely - yet chosen by God - as the youngest son of Jesse.
When David goes to fight Goliath, Saul offers David his armor but it doesn’t fit his body or His identity. David goes into battle with very little to defend himself and lots of Faith that God will fight on his behalf… and it works. David, using a sling, sinks a stone into Goliath's forehead and then proceeds to remove the giants head with his own sword.
If you caught it, in the same verse, David mentioned that God: “Anointed his head with oil.”
This is a reference to the fact that David was sought out by God, and anointed by the Prophet Samuel in 1 Sam. 16. I will read some portions of it to you:
“1. The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” God tells him not to consider
appearance or height as he filters through all of the sons of Jesse and finds nobody...then down in Verse 11
“11 There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” 12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.
So, the actual weapon wielded by David against Goliath is God’s covenant protection. He is simply CHOSEN by God to
• carry God’s covenant and
• represent God’s kingdom as their KING!
Even the tagline ascribed to him as “A man after God’s own heart” from 1 Sam. 13:14 has to do with THIS more than David’s heart posture!
Sandra Richter writes: “Although most interpret this phrase to mean that David had a particularly keen affection for YHWH or that David had bent his will after YHWH’s, in reality, this text reflects
an Akkadian idiom that has to do with the CHOICE of a suzerain. YHWH says that he has rejected Saul and chosen David because David is (in Hebrew) îš kilĕbābô, “a man ACCORDING to his heart.” In other words, David is, “a king of God’s choosing”— and the vassal of whose loyalty God was sure. David was God’s choice because YHWH was sure of his loyalty.”
Let’s move back to Psalm 23 and finish up with verse 6...
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
David was the king of Israel for about 40 years with a multitude of “wins” and “failures.” However his noted disobedience is eclipsed by his willingness to admit failure and, as a result, God’s goodness and love follow him and he dwells with God.
The last attribute I want you to see...
3. David is a Repenter: One of the saving graces we see in David’s character is, not his perfect
representation of God, but his humility and repeated willingness to repent for his sins and to go TO God with his flaws instead of running away from God.
• Psalm 51 is an entire song of repentance written by David as a response to his adultery with
Bathsheba and the murder of her husband URIAH.
As the Psalm unfolds, there is a level of transparency that very few leaders are willing to embrace so publicly AND they are recorded in God’s word for all eternity...David was a
REPENTER!
By the end of David’s story, we see God’s people galvanized into:
• a people through the offspring of Abraham,
• a place according to the borders promised to Abraham, and
• the presence of God dwelling in the capital city of Jerusalem.
God uses David to do incredible things!
Perhaps, as you have thought about it, you...
• You identify with David’s SUCCESSES and feel called out for a specific purpose - I want to
encourage you to chase after!
• Maybe his FAILURES? Are you going to run FROM God or TO God with it?
• Maybe you are struggling with SIN in your life. Will you possess the humility to TRUST God with your sins...because we all have fallen short of the glory of God. Please know that God is faithful to restore!
• If there is a cycle of rebellion in your life that you need to confess and repent for...and get
accountability to break it!
As we close out, I want to remind you, once again, that our awareness of our failures and imperfections - as we have tried to climb towards redemption - is meant to:
• Point us towards God’s is patient love for us
• To cultivate an understanding that we can not do it without God so we further DEPEND upon Him with everything AND
• To point us toward a future horizon...
All of the people we have highlighted in the PROMISE chapter of the Gospel Story can be seen as puzzle pieces to a bigger picture.
David clarifies an image of a future figure who will play a major role in the fulfillment of the covenant.
Someone who:
• Is a king for God’s kingdom and a
• Is a shepherd for his people.”
• takes responsibility for God’s people,
• Leads them in obedience,
• defends their inheritance and
• Defeats their enemies
• Someone who is “Like David” representing the “root of Jesse.”
• Their hope is found in a person known as “Messiah!”
Even when things get worse! Before light breaks into darkness, God’s people are found in EXILE:
• Suffering profound loss and
• Grieving the consequences of their\ national and individual sins 3
• yet...HOPE STAYS ALIVE!
May we join them with an awareness of our need and a Holy Expectation of the Advent of our long awaited King.
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
SAVE THE DATE: The 2020 Marriage Retreat is scheduled to be Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and November 8!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
Coty Miller’s own “Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.