Praise the Lord everyone! What is on my heart this month? Chasing after God’s heart, and catching it! Years ago a popular book came out by the author Tommy Tenney, and the title of this book was called God Chasers. King David was a God chaser, a man relentless in his pursuit to know God intimately and have God more in his life.
At this time in Israel’s history Saul who had been appointed king had made several direct acts of disobedience, disobeying direct commands from the Lord. Thus God had seen enough, and was seeking someone to replace Saul, and God spoke to his servant the prophet Samuel to speak these words in 1 Samuel 13:13–14 (NKJV).
13And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
Then in 1 Samuel 16, God speak to Samuel to anoint the next king of Israel. 1 Samuel 16:1 (NKJV)
1Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”
Jesse had 8 sons, and the youngest would be David, and he was God’s choice.
Question: “What made David different...in that he would stand out to God?” As we learned last month, first was that...
1) David had great faith in God!
Now though it is not exactly detailed how his faith in God was so deeply cultivated...we do get glimpses of him revealing it...when He was faced with the challenge of fighting the champion of the Philistines, Goliath. With only a sling and stone, he would fall the mightiest hero of the army of the Philistines.
2) David had great trust in God!
Even though Saul was a constant threat to his life, David had respect for him as king and spared his life on more than one occasion. When David had an opportunity to kill Saul in a cave, he chose not to. He said, “May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord take vengeance on you for me; but my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you” (1 Sam. 24:12-13).
David showed complete trust in God, which meant it was not in his hands to strike down the king God had put in command. David knew that God had proclaimed him to be the next king, but unlike Saul with the burnt offering, he would wait until God removed Saul, rather than taking the matter into this own hands. He also was relying on God to save him from the wickedness of Saul, who sought to destroy him.
David would pen these words in the Psalms…
Psalm 20:6–7 (NIV) Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. 7Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
David put in his trust in the name of His Lord. Even at a young age David knew there was power in the name of the Lord, when he shouted to the Philistine Goliath…
1 Sam. 17:45–47 (NKJV) 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
David not only believed in the “Name of the Lord” he put his trust in name of the Lord. Like David we must know as believers that there great power in His name, and His name is Jesus! A new believer asked me once, “Pastor, why is there so much power in the name of Jesus?” I thought it was a great question, and one I think every believer asks once, or more then once in a lifetime. Immediately though these scriptures popped into my head...and heart…
Philippians 2:8–11 (NKJV) 8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
God the father gave Him the name, Jesus, the name that which is above all names, and in His name is power! In His name, (like David) we can learn to trust, learn to ask, learn to speak, and declare His name in authority. There is power in the name of Jesus! This was my answer to this new believer, His name “JESUS” is above any and all names, and at the mention of His name, every knee bows...especially in the spiritual realm. I also taught him, “as a believer you have authority, and the right to use his name as a child of God so SPEAK THE NAME OF JESUS! Use it in everything you do, every prayer, every step you take, every request, and most importantly in praise, put your trust in JESUS and say the name!
Jesus loves you and so do I! ~ Pastor Doug
