In Your Bible Read This
1 Samuel 16, 1-13, 2 Sam. 7,8-11, 18-29
Here Is Your Memory Verse
The Lord said, "Do not consider his appearance or his
height,
for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man
looks at.
Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the
heart."
1 Samuel 16.7
Afterwards Talk About
This
Is there a God-anointed man today that you can unite
behind to help him lead the nation to Christ?
Something To Do Before
Next Time
Read the whole story of David from 1 Samuel 16 to 2 Samuel 24,
and notice especially the road to Zion, and all the stopping
places
Written Diploma Work
Write a one page essay on the tests of poverty, obscurity
and prosperity saying where the dangers lie.
Meditate
Word By Word On This Verse
Matthew 25.21
- Spend
a Minute to Change the World
- Pray For Iraq - 22,000,000
mainly Arab peoples
- 95% Muslim, 0.03%
evangelicals, much suffering after Gulf War
-
Be sure to
teach this lesson to others.
-
Always
pray and prepare well adding
-
your own verses and
stories to bring it to life.
David was anointed as Israel's chosen ruler
when he was a very young man but many years were to pass before
he actually became king at the end of a long road to Mount Zion.
In all this time God was preparing him for leadership.
Today's leaders will also travel along this
same road. Zion for us is not the hilltop in Israel, but a place
of spiritual rule where we carry responsibility and see growth.
Zion for us is a place where people are willing, especially the
youth and where we rule over our enemies. Psalms 110, 2-3; 48.11.
The road to Zion has many stops on the way.
Bethlehem
David is anointed King in 1 Samuel 16,13,
but he returns to the fields to begin his training for reigning.
David has to learn to be faithful and Bethlehem stands for
faithfulness in small things -
- Faithful In Natural Things
- He obeys his natural father without
question, 17,17-18
- Faithful In Private
- He kills a lion and a bear, unseen and
unrewarded, 17.35
- Faithful In Small Things
- David looks after a few sheep whilst
awaiting his destiny. 17.28
Faithfulness Creates
Opportunity
God looks for faithfulness and with it, He
creates opportunity. 1 Samuel 16, 17-19; Psalm 75.7. News of
Davids qualities had reached the palace and David's name
was put forward. Promotion and success came quickly but for David,
success also eventually meant Saul's anger and jealousy. 1 Sam.
18, 5-9; 19,10-13
Adullam
David was now in great personal need and he
escaped to the cave of Adullam. 1 Sam. 22, 1-3, and became the
leader of 400 men who came to him.
- Some were distressed people - weeping
with self pity!
- Some were in debt - and wanted help to
pay their bills!
- Some were discontented people - who
never stopped complaining!
David also had to care for his parents.
They were all people in need who hoped that David could help them,
when David actually needed help himself! On the road to Zion, one
stop is always at Adullam, which is where you learn to be
faithful to the needy when you are in greater need yourself.
David taught them discipline and they became an army. 23.5, and
he taught them respect for authority, even in a mad, ungodly King.
24.3-7
- Watch Out
- But beware, at Adullam people may come
to you to get their needs met by your faith. They may not
come to help you, and when you need help later on, there
is none! This is what happened to David with the people
of Keilah whom he saved from certain death, 23, 1-13.
Always remember that Jesus alone meets every need, your
own and those of the people. Always point the needy
people to him.
Ziklag
David was living in Ziklag at a time when
his faith in God's promise was shaky. One day when the men
returned Ziklag was on fire, and all the wives and children had
been taken. David's angry men talked about killing him! 1 Samuel
30.1-6. At Ziklag David learned to be faithful to God in total
loss, of faith, family and friends. David, "encouraged
himself in the Lord," and his lowest point actually became
his turning point.
Hebron
Here David learns to be faithful in
relationships with other anointed men who were experienced
soldiers and mighty men in their own right. 1 Chron. 11 and 12.
They recognised Gods anointing, authority and vision in
David, so instead of pursuing their own careers or ministries,
they came determined to make David the king of all Israel. After
the Adullam experience David asked them three heart-searching
questions:
- Have you come in peace?
- Have you come to help me?
- Have you come to unite with me?
- 1 Chronicles 12.17-18
When they entered into unity the anointing
and the provision increased. 1 Chron. 11,3; 12, 39-40. Seven
years later, together they conquered the mocking Jebusites, took
Mount Zion and brought in God's Kingdom rule, 2 Samuel 5,6-12.
Zion, The Journey's End
Zion is all about faithfulness in ruling,
in a Christ-like manner, neither dominating, nor manipulating the
people. David did well but rule brought David many tests of
faithfulness that he did not always pass: He brought back the Ark
the wrong way, and a man died. He greatly sinned with Bathsheba,
and her husband and a baby died. His son Absalom led a rebellion,
and he and many others died.
The Hardest Test Of All
On the road to Zion you may suffer poverty
but you are safe because you stay close to Jesus. You may suffer
the frustration of obscurity but you do everything for Jesus and
stay safe from pride. In Zion though the hardest test of all
awaits every leader, and many men fail. In Zion there is
prosperity and praise and strangely enough because of that
leaders can and do forget Jesus, and fall.
- Bethlehem, be faithful in small things.
- Adullam, be faithful to the needy.
- Ziklag, be faithful in total loss.
- Hebron, be faithful in relationships.
- Zion, be faithful to God in ruling.
Taken from the
Joshua Project Unreached Peoples List
these people have no church and as yet
no cell, church or mission has committed themselves
to prayer, adoption or church planting among this people.
|