2 Samuel 6:1-23

We must not see Uzzah or Ahio as innocent. They were Levites. They knew that it was not to be carried on a cart (Numbers 4:15; 7:9). Interesting that it came to them on a cart (1 Samuel 5 - 7:1) and how they allowed something they observed to displace what they knew to be God's will, His way.

We also know that within the tribe of Levi, certain families had specific duties and it was the Aaronic priests who were the caretakers of The Ark. I see Uzzah and Ahio here as prideful, coveting a ministry to which they had not been called, not been given. They should have instructed David in what needed to be done. They should not have succumbed to the temptation of prestige. Psalm 106 comes to mind...obedience leads to life...disregard for His ways leads to...Uzzah.

Let's jump to verses 12-23...I have listened to far too many people use these verses to justify their being conspicuously different in their worship expression in a group, creating a distraction, drawing attention to themselves. They misread the text. How? Because the forsake the context. They forget verses 14-16. David was part of a massive assembly, all of whom were dancing, singing, shouting, sacrificing...a parade of worship! The focus of the text on David's individuality was to reveal his wife's lack of deference to yield herself to worship where we abandon ourselves to His presence, not to imply that David was the only one. In group settings, we should always be in step with the group as led by whoever is presiding over the gathering. We must not let the rebellious and attention grabbers prostitute God's Sacred Word for their own self-exaltation...where are the scholars of the house?

Pastor Fred

2 Samuel 5:11-25

I love this story of the balsam trees! What a picture. Can you imagine the feeling that coursed through their hearts as they lay there in silence, listening, waiting? Then, it happened. There was a sound in the tops of the trees, the sound of marching. They all knew what this was, the coming of God! Sound a lot like Acts 2!

When you gather in worship with your church, are you listening...He still wants to move today, to route the evil that has taken up residence in the people's lives, to route the shame that robs people of their courage to fully embrace authentic relationships, to route insecurity that keeps people from serving in areas of ministry to which they have been call by God and anointed for service, to route fear that lies to people that change will never come in the dark places for their hearts, to route cynicism that robs people of their faith that God always loves, always accepts, always forgives...are you listening, wait I hear it...marching in the tops of the balsam trees!

Pastor Fred

Psalm 107

"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He rescued them from their distress."

Pastor Fred

Psalm 106

Verse 14 speaks to a "craving" that caused the people to test God, their capacity for "craving" that God had given them to hunger and thirst for him had become a means for an appetite of self-indulgence.

We must remember that God has gifted us with many capacities that Satan in turn uses and perverts to lead us astray.

Interesting observation, in Colossians 3:1, where Paul writes that should "seek things above" the word for seek in the Greek is zeteo (zay-teh'-o). Got any guesses about its meaning...it means to seek something with the a strong intention to find it, to crave, to desire.

How are you doing with your capacities? Has our capacity for enjoyment for food become gluttony, capacity for pleasure within the confines of marriage become lust, capacity for stewardship of material wealth become greed, capacity for worship of God become idolatry of things...how are you doing with your capacities? Ask the Holy Spirit to bring revelation where there needs to be deliverance!

Pastor Fred

Psalm 102/103

Verse 3a of Psalm 102 and verses 15-16 in Psalm 103 read as follows...

For my days vanish like smoke...

As for man, his days are like grass --

he blooms like a flower of the field;

when the wind passes over it,

it vanishes,

and its place is no longer known.

Unless we are careful, we slip into an Ecclesiastes mindset, that this life is meaningless. Remember, Ecclesiastes is given to us as an example of the misery into which one is destined if one chooses to disregard the life of obedience to God they fully understand and have rejected, namely what Solomon did, the author of these woes. He gave us Proverbs, the wisdom he knew to follow, but instead gave himself to temporal pleasures...and found misery. As my spiritual mentor, Pastor Carter Goolsby once said, in your Bible above Ecclesiastes, write, "Don't try this at home!"

These Psalms are NOT to say to us that this life is meaningless but on the contrary, priceless, exceptionally valuable. Scarcity determines value so how precious is a life that passes in moments? In addition, the brevity of this life brings the enormity of eternity into focus. This is not our home...Hebrews 11:16, Colossians 3:1.

Pastor Fred

2 Samuel 5:1-10 / 1 Chronicles 11 - 12

We find some profound insights in these particular texts about the timing of destiny and also church leadership.

With destiny, when the will of God is revealed, our next question should be, "How God would you have me walk this out and when, the timing that is, what will that look like?"

For David, it came in these: The Bethlehem Step, The Adellum Step, The Judah Step, and The Jerusalem Step. All of these steps, as best we can estimate, occurred over a period of just over 30 years.

The Bethlehem Step was his being anointed as the next king of Israel in his home town of Bethlehem by the prophet Samuel. This is approximately 1025 BC. This was the "what is God saying" moment, the revelation of His will, the destiny epiphany. The step that David took was to "step" into God's call by faith, accepting His call and believing that God would in time reveal a path there.

The Adellum Step, approximately 1005 BC, is not what we expect to follow the Bethlehem Step but as we can probably all witness to personally, it is often the step that follows...the step that seems to move in the complete opposite direction one would assume given the revelation of His will for our lives. Instead of David being on the precipice of receiving the throne, he is running for his life and hiding in the caves that give us the name of this step. The "step" David took here was to trust that God was still in control and that because his adversity was not the result of any wrong doing by David, his adversity found him in innocence, that he had to embrace the journey that was unavoidable, deferring to the sovereignty of God.

The Judah Step was to be willing to accept progress towards the fulfillment of the ultimate destiny, 1000 BC, but not be greedy in demanding it all immediately. Sometimes, after coming out of the season of our Adellum Step, we develop a sense of entitlement, that we deserve it all now because we endured "the caves." Not David, nor should we make that mistep. He accepted the step towards the throne, again trusting in God. He accepted being king over Judah, he "stepped" into progress God had provided, was content, patient, but also remained expectant.

Finally, we see The Jerusalem Step, 993 BC. It is beautiful isn't it! Finally, he "stepped" into his destiny, over 30 years in the making and then ruled as king for 40 years.

Then we see some wonderful lessons about leadership. One, that David did not come as a dictator; he recognized that he needed the support and cooperation of the elders of both Judah and Israel. This is a beautiful lesson for churches today. Lead Pastors need to esteem and value the role of Elders and Elders need to esteem and value the role of the Lead Pastor. In the text, the elders did not expect to rival the kings’ authority but too, the king showed deference to the elders in understanding that without their support, no kingdom initiative he pursued would be ultimately successful without their influence. How different would churches be today if they followed the wisdom of this text.

We also read, in verses 22-28 of 1 Chronicles 12 that great leaders are always able to bring a great diversity of leaders together under the banner of one common vision.

May we let these Sacred Texts, Holy Scripture be our mandate for life, even the life of the governance of The Church!

Pastor Fred

Psalm 133

Life forever...eternal life as we read in the New Testament. Here in this Psalm we see that in verse one, brothers living together in unity, in reciprocal, covenantal relationships is "good" and "pleasant." Then verses two and three go on to draw a wonderfully poetic picture to support the beauty of relationships of brotherly love in the greater context of a common love for God.

Then, finally, as the Psalm concludes, "For there.." which is a directional statement, not however geographically but relationally, meaning "there" in a relationship of brotherly love where there is shared love and devotion for God. And then it comes, "life forever."

My life message is eternal life...and I believe the five components of eternal life are devotion to Christ, intimacy with God, care of one another, appetite for personal transformation, and diligence in ministry. You show me someone who is ever increasing in these five "practices of righteousness" (Biblical terminology) and I will show you someone discovering the depths of eternal life, a life not just measured on the time continuum but the depth continuum as well!

Psalm 133, life forever, eternal life, discover the depths!

Pastor Fred