Undesrtanding the Old Testament: King David

This morning I would like to begin out discussion with an informal poll. Here is the question:  How active is God in making all good things happen in our world? …………..How active is God in making all good things happen?

• Now for our poll, 5 is highest—that means that God is responsible for every single good thing that happens everywhere—
• And one is the lowest. God is totally remote, not at all involved in making good things happen.  All god things happen because of human efforts, or by chance.
• So 5 is the highest, and one is the lowest.

 How active is God in making all good things happen

• One—no activity?____________
• Two—low activity?___________
• Three—medium activity or you are not sure?__________
• 4—high activity in providing good things?___________
• 5—God is the sources of all good things?____________

Analysis:

Total of ones and twos_____Total of 3s_______  Total of 4s & 5s______

Well, today we are going to reflect on a man, who in terms of the world, was widely successful----and He would have voted number 5.  King David of ancient Israel ruled from for 39 years, and his descendants ruled for another 50. Considering the savage warfare and the surrounding evil empires, like the Egyptian and the Babylonians, that was remarkable !!!!  J      Beginning as a teenager, he became a famous military hero.  As he continued to win small skirmishes, then battles, and miraculous victories, his fame spread throughout the 12 tribes of Israel; indeed, his popularity was so high, that Saul, the first king of Israel, became furiously jealous; and he put a reward on David’s head.

David fled from Saul, and soon his own army of volunteers gathered around him.  At that time, the land that we know as modern day Israel was filled with warring Canaanite tribes, who made war on the 12 tribes of Israel.  After all, through God’s covenant with their ancestor Abraham, they had been awarded this was their “Promised Land.’  Not infrequently, David and his army, when they were not running away from the King, defended the 12 tribes.  Once the King was slain in battle, David was made the king.  As King, David unified he kingdom of Israel, which grew into a small, but prosperous empire, governed by God’s law.  And David, on his part, gave all the glory to God.

Two things I want you to remember about King David of Israel.

First, while upon David’s death bed, God spoke to David and made a new Covenant, or promise to David.   As some of you have heard, our God is a god who has historically chosen to relate to people by promises and agreements, which the Bible calls a covenant.   Please look at your insert under the first reading, where God describes His new covenant with David and his descendants.  Looking at the end of the 11^th verse, I am going to some of what is written where God says, “‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house (or a dynasty) for you: ¹² When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house (or everlasting temple) for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son…¹⁵ but my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house/dynasty and your kingdom will endure forever before me^[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”

Tell me, of whom is God speaking when He speaks about a descendent of David, who will rule forever?        Yes, Jesus Christ…first prophesized here.  So, in today’s Gospel, Jesus was called the Son of David.  God, in His love for his people, promises us a leader who will be even better than David—

One who will rule both heaven and earth!!!  One who would teach us, comfort us, lead us, heal us, forgive us, and bless us one and all.  So, it seems to me that God is modeling the Messiah on the person of King David.  Why was David so great?  He was horrible father, and adulterer, and an ambitious politician. PAUSE  J I could say that that wounds like a lot of guys in Washington, but the bishop might not like that. J PAUSE

What made David great?  In my opinion, David was great because he was the first, in Holy Scripture, to model a personal relationship with God.

• Up until that time in the scriptures, we hear of God primarily relating to the leaders of his people—like Abraham & Sarah, Moses, the priesthood that Moses ordained, and   Deborah and the other judges.
• To me, it looks like regular people related to God only through a mediator---so that people were at a distance & God was remote.

As many of you know, David wrote, collected, and commissioned the Book of Psalms in the Bible.  There are 150 psalms, which are actually songs—sung and chanted in the ancient Hebrew temple, accompanied by strings, horns, drums, and instruments that historians cannot even describe. 

But these psalms are the first prayers of the people.  You see, David had this rich relationship with God, and wrote down his own personal prayers, so that we might learn to pray to God.

Now, if you have a personal relationship with someone, one thing you might do is to thank her when she does o you a favor. Likewise, in the psalms, David acknowledges that all good things come from God, and he thanks God.  Please open your prayer books to Psalm 95 found on page 82 of your Red Prayer Books.  [Ps. 95 is an example of Thanksgiving]

Next,  if you have a personal relationship with someone, you might ask  him to help you.  Please look at today’s Psalm on your insert:    Verse 6: The poor man called, and the Lord heard him.  He saved him from his troubles. PAUSE We CAN turn to God with our own personal needs. This type of prayer is called supplication.  Some people erroneously believe that it would be selfish to pray for their own needs.  But that opinion is unbiblical. Look at verse 17, and let us read that together, saying, “THE RIGHEOUS CRY OUT, AND THE LORD HEARS THEM; HE DELIVERS THEM FROM ALL THEIR TROUBLES.”

So, we give thanks and make requests of God, just as we do to the people we love.

Thirdly, when you have a personal relationship with someone, you tell her that you love her, and you praise her on a regular basis. That’s what David does in the psalms, and that type of prayer is called ADORATION.   Let’s hear from Psalm 31:23, please repeat after me,” O love the Lord your God, because he hears your voice and punishes the wicked.”  We can love the Lord because He promise to bring justice to evil doers, of which there is an oversupply.

Finally, when you have a personal relationship with someone, you tell him that you are sorry when you have done something wrong.  When you do that to God, it is called confession--. Pls open your red prayer books to Psalm 32, verses 5 & 6.  Let us read those together.

Now for those of you who have not heard this before, we have just described the way that Christians, who want a personal relationship with God, pray:

A>C>T>S—“ ACTS”  

• A is for adoration.   C is for Confession    T is for thanksgiving
• And S is for supplication, or for seeking God’s help.

To learn more about this prayer method, I now ask the Ushers to please pass out a description of this Prayer method from the Billy Graham Association. PAUSE

But here is the power point of the Day.  David modeled how to have a personal relationship with God; and Jesus invites us to have a personal relationship with God through Him.

  Begin, or grow that relationship—and see how more good things will begin to happen in your life and in the lives of those for whom you pray.  

From the Billy Graham Association w/ edits by J. Donnelly

Q: How does one pray? I’ve never been taught how to say a personal prayer or really talk to God.

A: There is no formula to prayer—it is simply conversing with God. It is essentially talking with God as you would talk with an earthly parent who loves you and wants the best for you. God is your heavenly Father who loves you perfectly.

The ACTS model will be helpful to you as you learn how to pray. ACTS stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

• ADORATION means worship. We encourage you to begin your time of prayer by adoring and praising God. Praise Him for who He is and for all that He has done for you.  Tell Him why you love him. God delights in your praises!

• CONFESSION, the next component, means agreeing with God about the things that you have done wrong. It’s a time to express sorrow about what you have said, thought, or done that is not pleasing to Him. Ask God to forgive you for these things, and then believe that He does so freely. When you confess your sins, you receive God’s cleansing and this helps to remove any barrier in your communication with Him (read 1 John 1:9).

• THANKSGIVING basically means being thankful to God. Thank Him for His love, protection, and provision just to name a few things.

• SUPPLICATION is the final component, and this means praying for your needs and for the needs of others, such as friends, family, your pastor, missionaries, government leaders, and persecuted Christians around the world. You may want to pray for such things as God’s guidance, wisdom, and opportunities to serve.

Keep in mind that the ACTS model serves as a guide to help you, not a rigid formula to follow. There is no “canned” approach that you need to take; just talk from your heart. There are additional steps that will help. Set aside a specific time to pray each day.

Pick a quiet place where you can be alone with God. You will also find a special blessing if you begin your time by reading the Bible. Select a passage to read (download a Bible reading plan) and spend some time thinking about it deeply. Reflect on what God is impressing on your heart to you through the passage.

Ask God to help you apply what you are learning. God wants you to share your heart with Him, and He wants to share His heart with you—this can take place anytime, day or night!