Let us have another word of prayer.
Lord, how simple it is, but how resounding it is, just to simply say that the Lord is good. Thank You, Lord, that today there is an open way for us to come, to taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
We thank You, Lord, as we gather at Your table. Oh, we are reminded that the work You have begun, You will complete. And You have, in one sense, already completed it, and we are entering into the good of that.
Lord, we thank You for Your word that You have given to us. Lord, by faith, we would open Your word today and taste and see the goodness of the Lord. We would come to feed upon You, Lord.
Lord, we offer ourselves to You, that in speaking and hearing, Your word would have freedom. Lord, we are so dull of hearing, and we just want to open our hearts unto You, Lord, that all that You desire to speak, we would be those vessels to receive Your living word.
And that we would not just be hearers of Your word, but Lord, as Your word touches our hearts, there would be a response, and we would be doers of Your word, for Your glory and for Your honour. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
I would like for us to turn again this morning to Revelation 11. Revelation 11. We are going to be considering again, and Lord willing this will be the last time, David’s mighty men.
We have looked at some of the history of David and his mighty men three times before. This morning, we are going to be looking at the actual bringing in of the kingdom—the transferring of the kingdom of Saul to the kingdom of David—and using that as an example to encourage all of us as we live in these days of transition also.
These men were living in a day of transition, where one kingdom was being transferred to another. Brothers and sisters, we are living in a great period of transition as the day draws near for His return. He is seeking for a people to be made ready, to stand with Him and be prepared to bring in that kingdom of our God upon this earth as it is in heaven.
So let us read Revelation 11, just one verse, verse 15:
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever.
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever.
Now in Revelation 12:10-11:
Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.
Brothers and sisters, as we consider this matter of our Lord’s return and His desire to have a people prepared, we have to be awakened to the fact that the days we are living in are really days of great training and great preparation.
The Lord has taken us—and, as we saw in 1 Corinthians, He has taken the foolish, the ignoble, and the weak of this world—and He has made us the people of God. He has taken us out of darkness and into light.
He has called us in this hour to be those people who display the very life of Christ in our lives, that we would be those who hasten His return. Yes, He desires us to reign with Him in the future, but the beautiful thing about our kingdom and our King is that the kingdom is here now.
Where the King is, that is where the kingdom is, because the King and the kingdom are a Person: our Lord Jesus Christ. He says in Romans also that we would rule in this age in the life that we have in Him.
Thank the Lord, there is a future reign. But one of the ways we prepare for that future reign is by learning to reign and to rule with Him in this present age.
As we have looked at David’s mighty men, we have been using them as a picture. We can consider how David took this worthless motley crew, trained them, prepared them, and brought in the kingdom of God.
As we were praying about this yesterday, I got a phone call from a sister. She said, “Look at The Table in the Wilderness for yesterday. It really addresses this whole matter.”
So I went and got a new Table in the Wilderness. If I can just read this this morning, I feel it helps capture the very essence and heart of what our Lord is doing as we look at David and his men.
My brother quotes 1 Samuel 22:1:
David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.
They were with him about four hundred men. The cave represented the answer to a spiritual need. Saul had the office of a king and a great following. His was all the machinery of government, and God in His sovereignty recognised him. But you will not find God with Saul.
It is David who is under the Spirit’s anointing. He must go with God into the wilderness, so the cave became his headquarters. To it they found their way—a band of those who were weary of existing conditions—and he became their captain.
They came to Adullam in desperation because their need was met nowhere else. David is a type of the Lord Jesus in His present rejection. Even today, multitudes are on their way to His retreat. They crave for the reality to be found where the Spirit rules.
They come to Him, and He owns them as His loyal band. It is a lonely way. It is always lonely to stand against the man-made systems. But that nucleus gathered to the Lord Jesus in this day of His rejection will be very dear to Him when He comes to the throne.
Brothers and sisters, as we are living in this transition period, the Lord is seeking that we come unto Him in the life that He has and respond to the life that we have within us.
As we have said, David is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his mighty men are really simply normal Christians. They are normal Christians living in abnormal times. They are simply believers who respond to the heart of their Master.
They fall in love with their Master. They fall in love with His heart and His interests. They put other things aside. As we have been hearing recently, they are what we describe as bondservants of the Lord. They are love slaves.
Really, that is a normal Christian. The problem, I know within my life and many of our lives, is that our lives are so abnormal. We are subnormal, so when we see something described as a normal Christian, we think that is some elite group.
But no, that is the normal. That is the standard of His life. Would that there be a people of God in this hour who reflected the life of our Lord Jesus upon this earth, that His kingdom would come and His will be done upon this earth.
We have shared three times before as we have looked at this. The first time, as we saw those men flee to that cave of Adullam, we saw the very foundations and essentials that the Lord starts to work amongst any believer.
We saw the issue of salvation, the issue of separation testified through baptism, the issue of consecration, and the issue of learning to abide in Him, to have fellowship with Him, and then to learn to serve Him.
If we look even at the foundation series we will be considering over the next few months, many of those points are right there. One of the things we will see is that no matter how far we go in this Christian life, most of the problems we encounter come because there is something in our foundation that is not solid.
The Lord always brings us back to the fundamentals and the basics of the Christian life. As you know, I played sports for many years. One of the most frustrating things, whether you are in high school or college, is still having to practise the fundamentals.
You think you know them, but when the going gets tough, when you do not have time to think and have to react, you find out how much of the fundamentals you really know.
In our Christian life, the days are becoming more and more desperate. This is why we need our foundation solidly rooted and grounded in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The second time we looked at these mighty men, we addressed the question: where do people end up? We know we desire to end up with our Lord, but we looked at the picture of two who loved David very much and were loved by David very much. Yet where did they end up?
We looked at Jonathan. Jonathan loved David, and David loved Jonathan. But there came a time in Jonathan’s life where he had to make a choice. Jonathan wanted to reign with David, but he was not willing to suffer with him.
Jonathan ended up dying with Saul, a man of the flesh. Then there was that dear one, Abigail. We picked Abigail because we wanted to make sure everyone understood that not all of David’s mighty men are men. He is calling a people unto Himself.
Sometimes we talk about the mighty men, but I think it would take more to talk about the mighty women of God. Most of us sitting in this room, and I know in my life, can point to women whose prayers have made it possible for us to stand here today. Thank the Lord for the mighty women of God and the work He is doing.
We saw in Abigail one who recognised David. She knew the heart and purpose of David. She did not hold on to her earthly possessions, but loved not her life unto death. She went and stopped David from committing a gross sin.
Then, after her husband died, she left it all and followed David. Even in that, she testified of who she was. She was simply the bondservant of the Lord. She was that handmaiden.
She said she came not only to serve David, but to wash the feet of his servants. We asked the question: many would love to wash the feet of the King, but are we willing to wash the feet of one another? Are we willing to wash the feet of the Lord’s servants?
That is where the rubber meets the road. Thank the Lord that Abigail displayed that heart of a bondservant—the bondservant who loved the Master and His house.
The last time we were together, we looked at a couple of different events that took place in the training of these mighty men. We looked at Ziklag, where David had left where he should have been and opened the way for the Amalekites to come in and capture all the women, children, and property.
But the Lord, in His great mercy, allowed David to recover all. The six hundred men went out; two hundred stayed with the baggage, and four hundred went on. Through that, they won a wonderful victory. They recovered all and brought it back.
Afterwards, it is a strange story, because there were ones who went out with David identified as worthless and wicked. We had to ask the question: who were these worthless and wicked ones?
They had been very faithful in their service. They had gone out and fought. But because they were fighting for their own interests, they thought that because of their service, they deserved more.
What a warning that is to us. As we serve the Lord, do we think that we are entitled to something? What should our attitude be? It is the spirit of the bondservant, the spirit of the unprofitable servant.
Even as we touched on the matter of the unprofitable servant, the unprofitable servant was one who did all his master commanded him. Would that we do that much. Maybe one day we can qualify as unprofitable servants.
We saw in that picture how there is a great difference between those merely associated with the King and those committed to Him. All of them were associated with David. They were outwardly with him. But inwardly, where were their hearts?
Their hearts were still set on their own interests. We can be associated with believers. We can be at every meeting. We can be here for many years. But where is our heart? Is our heart committed to the Lord, His purpose, and His desire? That is what He is challenging us with in this hour.
Today, I would like to pick up in 1 Chronicles 12. We have been in Samuel, but this morning we would like to look at 1 Chronicles 12.
The reason I want you to turn there now is that 1 Chronicles 11 contains another recounting of David’s mighty men. Last week, we looked at the account reported in 2 Samuel 23. This time, we will look at 1 Chronicles 12.
If we look at 1 Chronicles 11, we see again the recounting of David’s mighty men, beginning in verse 10. One of the things we touched on last week was who was not counted among David’s mighty men. That was his commander, Joab.
Joab served for his own selfish interests. Joab never really entered into caring for the King; he was always caring for himself. Anybody who came against Joab or disturbed his interests—there were three righteous men whom Joab murdered.
We see how Joab sought a position. David said, “Whoever wants to be commander, go be the first one into Jerusalem.” Joab, seeking that position, was more interested in seeking a position than seeking the Lord’s heart.
What do we always have to ask? What are we seeking? What are we after?
We thank the Lord, as we look at His mighty men and recount some of their deeds, that we see ones motivated by love for their Master. Not only were they motivated by love for the Master, but they knew His heart and His interests. They knew what their Master was about. They knew where David was going.
Over and over in chapters 11 and 12, there is a phrase repeated: “They came to make David king.”
It is in 1 Chronicles 11:10, where the mighty men are first described:
Now these are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who showed themselves strong with him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.
I love how it adds that next phrase: “according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.” Throughout these chapters, we see that little phrase, “according to the word of the Lord.”
That is why we need to know the Scriptures in this hour. It is according to the word of the Lord. Samuel had said David would be king. It was the word of the Lord through Samuel.
How do we find God’s heart, will, and direction? It is through the word of the Lord, allowing that word to enter in, take root, and bear fruit within our lives.
If we look at these ones listed from verse 10 through the end of the chapter, notice that they were so focused on the interests of their Master that they were not distracted by other things. They were not discouraged by circumstances, because they were a people of purpose. They were focused.
In one sense, they had tunnel vision. Whatever David desired, that was what they were after. They were not distracted by their leader Joab, even though Joab was a selfish, self-centred leader who was only in it for himself.
They did not allow Joab’s unfaithfulness to keep them from serving the King. They continued pursuing. They did not allow their brethren to discourage or distract them.
At different times when the Philistines came, it says all Israel deserted. Everybody left and fled, and there would be one man standing there defending a plot of ground.
Brothers and sisters, in these days, when the going gets tough, sometimes people flee instead of going through and finding the Lord’s way, standing for His heart and interests. Does that affect us? Does that discourage us?
In one sense, it had better discourage us. It should make us sad. But that discouragement must not control us. It is the Master’s interests and heart that must govern us.
If we get so cold-hearted that it does not affect us, then we are in even worse condition. It should break our hearts when we see brethren deserting. But praise God, there are those who can stand and not be distracted by the actions of others.
These ones were not distracted by overwhelming odds. It says that one slew eight hundred. There were the three whom David said, “Oh, that I could have a sip of water from the well of Bethlehem.”
Those three broke through the Philistine army, got that cup of water, and brought it back to David. They simply desired to satisfy the heart of their Master. They did not care what the cost was. They loved not their lives unto death, but went to satisfy the Lord’s heart.
These ones were not distracted by exhaustion either. Sometimes we say, “I need a break. Oh, I am just weary. I need a vacation. I need this. I need that.”
But these ones were weary. As with Gideon, they were weary, yet pursuing. Thank the Lord, we see within these ones that they were not distracted by so many things with which we can become entangled.
Brothers and sisters, as we follow the Lord, He sees us. He knows we are weary. He knows we are tired, and He will be our refreshment. The vanity of this world will never give us the deep refreshment we truly need.
These ones knew that, and they hung in there with their Master. As we said, when the going gets tough, these got going, because they were captured by Him and His interests.
One of the beautiful things we see about these men is that everything they did was for the Master and for the people of God. After the battle was won, all the people came back and entered into the spoil of that victory.
These ones did not elevate themselves and look down upon their brothers and sisters. They did not say, “No, you do not deserve this. I was the one who fought the battle.” No.
When one stands, when some go in and take that ground, truly all the people of God benefit. That is what we see within these mighty men: they are the ones going before.
In the hour we are living in, if we look around, we can see Christianity is in chaos. But praise God, the Lord is calling ones in this hour simply to take that stand, to be faithful unto Him, His heart, and His interests.
As those few stand, many will enter in. We have to have those few who are willing to stand, to go ahead and pursue, to go against the tide, and to allow the fullness of His interests to prevail within our lives.
We would like today, as I said, to look at 1 Chronicles 12, because we see some beautiful pictures here of ones described who came to David. I am sorry—Chronicles, thank you. First Chronicles. I just do that to see if you are awake. You thought I made a mistake, right?
Look at this first verse, because it really sets the scene:
Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men that helped him in the war.
Again, this is during David’s time of rejection. He is there in the wilderness, at times in the cave and at times in different areas, but he is being pursued by Saul. He and his men are there in the wilderness during this time of rejection.
At this most inopportune time—some of those “in” and “un” words get me—these ones make a choice. They say, “We are leaving where we are, and we are going to David.” Praise God for that.
Brothers and sisters, if we wait around for the best opportunity to come to the Lord, we will still be sitting in this chair. It will never arrive.
The first group mentioned here is from the tribe of Benjamin. In verse 2, it says they were equipped with bows, using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and to shoot arrows from the bow. They were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin.
We are not going to read their names, but these had left the patronage and blessing of living under Saul. Some of them actually came from Saul’s hometown, Gibeah. They made a choice.
This was just a few, because if you look over at verse 29, where more of Saul’s kinsmen are described, it says:
Of the children of Benjamin, the brethren of Saul, three thousand: for hitherto the greatest part of them had kept their allegiance to the house of Saul.
These were ones close to Saul. They had known him as a young man. They had seen how the Lord raised him up—not as the first choice, but as the people’s choice—and how he had been anointed by Samuel.
They had seen Saul, but they had also come to see that the Lord had something else that He desired. They made a choice to forsake their family connections and their patronage.
It reminded me of that Scripture in the Gospels where the Lord says that if you love mother and father, sister and brother, and all those relatives more than Him, you cannot be His disciple. Yes, we love them very much, but it is the “more than.”
Thank the Lord, these were the ones who loved the Lord more than Saul, more than their family. That is what the Lord is calling us to in this day.
There is something very ironic concerning a husband or a wife. The greatest way we can love our wives—and wives, the greatest way you can love your husbands—is to love the Lord first.
Too often we put love for a husband or love for a wife above love for the Lord. In a marriage, love for the Lord comes first, and then the rest will come.
If we love mother and father, sister and brother more than the Lord, we cannot be His disciples. There will be an out. We will not come into the training the Lord is calling us to.
Praise God, these ones of the tribe of Benjamin, so close to Saul, made this choice and came in. It says they could fight with their right hand and their left hand.
As I was thinking about this matter of the right hand and the left hand, I could picture ones who were balanced. They were balanced with their right and with their left.
Brothers and sisters, by our very nature, we are an imbalanced people. We sway one way or we sway the other way. It is essential, as we give ourselves to the Lord, that we recognise our tendencies and allow Him to train us.
How does He train us? He trains us by the working of the cross. There are so many critical things within our Christian life together that, if we get out of balance, they lead to division, distortion, deceit, and deception.
How we need to know the balance of the Lord in our lives. Consider the balance between our individual life and our corporate life. I use the word and because so often we put the word or in there.
We ask, “Is this for my individual life or my corporate life?” It is not an either-or question. It is an and. The Lord has called us into an individual life with Him, and He has called us into a corporate life with Him.
How do we balance that? Well, we cannot. But the cross can bring a perfect balance as we say no to ourselves and yes to Him.
If we are left to ourselves, we will sway one way or the other. There can be those who, because of independence, sway too much toward the individual life. There is no relationship with anybody; their whole focus is upon themselves.
There can be others who sway too much toward the corporate life. If we have a need for acceptance or security, we can find that in a corporate setting, but it is a false security. Our security is in the Lord and His life.
In His life there is a corporateness. It is not a corporate, man-made setting in which we find our security, but in the Lord there is a corporate way that is secure. That is what we are looking for.
Left to ourselves in an unbalanced way, looking for the corporate apart from Him, we end up being a cult. That is all it leads to. Would that we know this wonderful balance of the individual life and the corporate life together, for the fullness of Him to come in.
In the same way, we have this wonderful balance between the local church and the universal church. The Lord has created them both, and how essential they are for His eternal purpose to be fulfilled in our lives.
If we end up focusing on one and not the other, we become imbalanced. If we get too focused on the local assembly, we become narrow and extreme. We forget the height, length, and breadth of the body of Christ.
But if we focus only on the universal church, it becomes so wide that there is no accountability and no relationship. It is like little butterflies flying around: “Oh, we like the meeting here. We go there. I like this meeting in Richmond. I will go somewhere else for that.”
Brothers and sisters, yes, there is a universal church, and yes, there is a local expression. Both are essential for the Lord’s kingdom to come and His will to be done.
But we have this tendency to go one way or the other. It is by the working of the cross in our lives that we can walk in a way where we are a testimony not only to the local, but also to the universal—to the fullness of all that the Lord desires.
When we think about worship, Scripture says, “Worship in spirit and truth.” There are so many things in which we can become unbalanced. We can focus only on truth and take truth to the extreme, and we get dead orthodoxy. We do not need that.
But worship must be in spirit and truth. If we go so far that we say someone is “so spiritual,” we often use that term wrongly. We say, “Oh, they are so spiritual, they are no earthly good.” No.
They might be mystical. They might be theoretical. They might be ethereal. But no one can ever be too spiritual, because the true Spirit is the Spirit of His life.
Would that we be too spiritual. Our problem is not that we are too spiritual; our problem is that we are too carnal. When we say someone is spiritual, we almost use it in a negative sense. Maybe they are a little mystical and way out there, but let us be clear in the words we use.
Would that we all be spiritual, and that we would be known by the Spirit of the living God within us.
We can go on and on. Consider the contrast and balance that the Lord leads us into between our hidden life and our public testimony. How essential is our hidden life.
But if we focus only upon our hidden life, we become introspective and hermits, just looking at ourselves. We cannot ever do anything. If we focus only upon our public testimony, the extreme is that we become hypocrites because we are interested in the façade.
But if we have that inward life, then public testimony will flow out together to the goodness of the Lord. Throughout this Christian life, we can see how the Lord is calling us to walk in the balance of His life.
The way that we walk in the balance of His life, so that we can operate with our left hand or our right hand, is by allowing the cross to work within us. His life is the balanced life.
It is not balancing weakness in us with something of Him. It is saying no to our life and allowing the fullness of His life to come forth through the cross. That brings forth balance: the fullness of His life being displayed.
I was thinking, too, about these ones. It says they were with their left hands and their right hands. It spoke to me of how precious it is that both hands were full of the things of the Lord. They did not have another hand to be involved with the world.
If we look at the Old Testament definition of consecration, it simply means having your hands full. Too often, we can have one hand for the Lord and one hand for ourselves—one hand for the world.
These had both hands full of the things of the Lord. He was then able to use them in battle and bring forth a mighty victory.
Thank the Lord for the way He trains these ones. Would He train us, that however He is calling us to operate, we would operate in the balance and fullness of His life.
The Lord brings forth balance by giving us more of Himself. Often we balance by compromise. Often we balance by taking something away or lowering the standard.
The Lord, in His life, when He sees a need within us, gives us more of Christ. It is the fullness of Christ being displayed within a brother and sister that we are after. That is the balance we are seeing.
If we look at this next group of men, beginning in verse 8, it says:
And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valour, men trained for war, that could handle shield and spear; whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains.
Then down in verse 14:
These of the sons of Gad were captains of the host: he that was least was equal to a hundred, and the greatest to a thousand.
These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all its banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west.
Thank the Lord that there were these from the tribe of Gad who made a choice. In the New American Standard margin, and in some translations, it says they separated themselves unto David.
They did not separate simply from something, but there was a separation unto. We talk about sanctification often, brothers and sisters. So often, when we think of sanctification, we think it is leaving something, and that is an aspect of it.
There is a sanctification in leaving and coming from the world, but sanctification is not complete until there is a coming to the Lord. There is a positive side of separation.
So often we see separation as the negative of what we have to give up. Oh, but if we could see the separation unto—the separation to the Lord. This was what captured these ones.
They were so occupied with being separated to the Lord that they were not even concerned about what they were separated from.
It is interesting that this group mentioned here was from the tribe of Gad. Who was that tribe? Many centuries earlier, this tribe had made a choice.
They chose not to enter into the promised land. Remember, there were two and a half tribes who said, “This land over here, on this side of the Jordan, looks so good. We are going to stay over here.”
They said, “We will help you. We will go in and fight. But in the end, we are coming back, and we are settling over here.” It was a very self-centred, self-interested choice made by a family generations before.
But thank the Lord, there were these ones who made a choice. Even though their previous generations had chosen not to go in, these made a choice that, in spite of their heritage and the generations behind them, they would come in.
They separated themselves from that past and came into the fullness of God’s heart for that time.
Oftentimes, brothers and sisters, the enemy can accuse us and say, “Because of this, or something in the past in your life, you cannot really enter in and serve the Lord. Look at your history.”
Praise God, these ones had their eyes on the King. They knew that all of that was settled, and they were free to enter in. For their family, they came to the place where they should have been.
Even though the inheritance had not seemed beautiful to their previous generations, this group from that tribe entered into the goodness of it. They were those who brought in the kingdom of God.
Praise God that they did not allow anything to separate them from coming in.
It says these ones were trained so that they could fight with shield and spear. One is a defensive weapon, and one is an offensive weapon.
They knew how to handle spiritual warfare. There are times when we stand in faith and are shielded from all the onslaughts of the enemy. But at times there is the sword or spear that goes forth to attack.
Do we know how not only to stand defensively, but also to take on the offensive nature of the spiritual warfare to which He has called us?
We know our weapons are not flesh and blood, but they are divinely powerful for the bringing down of strongholds. What are the weapons that we have?
Praise God, we have the weapon of the word of God. Oh, how precious and essential it is that we know the word of God. How precious is the weapon of prayer. How precious is the weapon of praise.
With the high praises of God in their mouth and the two-edged sword in their hand, they went forth. Are we a people who, in the midst of the battle, are praising God because we see that the victory has been won?
Really, as we take the Lord’s table every Sunday, we are praising God for the victory that has been won, even though we might not see it upon this earth. It is a testimony that the work is finished. The work He has begun, He will complete, and we can praise Him for that.
There is also the weapon of obedience unto Him. When He speaks, we are obedient unto Him. Oh, that we would really know how to handle these weapons, know how to use them at the right times, and enter into His heart.
He is training us. These ones knew when to put up that shield of faith, when to pray, and when to praise.
I am going to make a statement that I hope does not get taken wrongly. I hope it comes out right.
Sometimes our prayer, brothers and sisters, can simply be a reflection of our lack of faith or our disobedience. Sometimes our prayer can be evidence of our lack of faith or our disobedience.
If we have been praying about something and the Lord has answered, then it really does not do us any good to keep praying. He is calling us by faith to enter into what He has said.
I think about the story of Moses being led out of Egypt. Some have just gotten back from Egypt, and we can see all their pictures. Good to see you back.
As Moses came to the Red Sea, they cried out to God because they saw Pharaoh’s army. What was God’s response? I love this. God said, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the people to go across the sea.”
The Lord had already answered, but they were still crying out to Him. In that light, they were not entering in by faith, putting their foot down, and going on. They were not being obedient.
So often, brothers and sisters, the Lord has answered, and we can substitute prayer for obedience. Most of us, and I know within my life, will never be accused of praying too much.
But there are times when the Lord has said, “Mac, this is the way. You need to do this.” I have not responded in the manner in which I should have responded.
For a while, you do not enjoy the blessing. You wonder what is going on. Then the Lord says, “Mac, I answered your prayer. I told you this was the answer.” I need to enter in through obedience and go on.
Sometimes our prayers need to be mixed with the praise of God, that we see His victory. Praise testifies of His wonderful victory.
It also describes these ones as having the face of a lion and being swift as a gazelle. That is a pretty interesting combination, because the lion would actually love to have the gazelle for lunch.
But you have this lion, strong and mighty, with that kingly character. Then you have this gazelle, swift of foot and sensitive.
The lion is noted for its sight. Why do you think the Lions Club focuses on glasses? Why are they always looking for glasses and doing things to help people with sight? Part of their original call within the Lions Club concerned that whole matter of seeing. The lion has a keen eye.
The gazelle has a great ear. The gazelle is very sensitive in hearing. As you look at these ones, they have eyes to see and ears to hear what their King is speaking to them.
That is what we need in this hour: those who have an eye to see where the Lord is leading, and those who have an ear to hear what the Lord is saying.
One of the ways I think this is so beautiful is that, in Scripture, the gazelle is usually spoken of as leaping upon the mountains. I think they can do that because they are not attached to this earth.
There is a freedom they have. Even though mountains usually speak of obstacles and challenges, they are hopping all over the obstacles and challenges because they are not tied down by the things of this earth.
It is interesting, as we think of that great love story in the Song of Solomon, that over and over it speaks of the gazelle leaping to the beloved.
Oh, would that we be captured by our Beloved in such a way that we would be drawn, hopping over obstacles and mountains—real mountains and real obstacles—but not tied down to the things of this world.
Would that, in this hour in which we are living, our eyes would be open and our ears would be open, that we would be a people who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
One of the ways we see these ones not allowing circumstances to affect them is that verse 15 says they crossed the Jordan at the most difficult time of year.
It was the time of year when the Jordan floods. It was a raging river. At times you see the Jordan, and it is almost like a little stream. But at this time of year, the Jordan was overflowing, and most people did not cross at that time.
But these, in spite of the circumstances, did not allow the circumstances of their day to keep them from responding to the Lord.
They went in spite of that. They made their way across that river, battling against the circumstances of life and entering into that joy of their Master.
It says they had to battle even as they crossed the river. That was one thing, but they also had to battle the enemies on the east and the west. These ones wanted to get in to be where their Master was.
Are we willing to enter in, to forsake all and enter in, even if the battle we go through is the battle of our life? The greatest battle that we face is the battle within—the battle of saying no to self and yes to Him.
But thank the Lord, in that we have a victory that we can enter into also.
If we look down in verse 16, we have another group that came to David, from Benjamin and Judah. As they came to David, David questioned them: “Are you going to be for me?”
It says the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of them and said, “Yes, we are for you, and we are for your men.” Why would David question ones like this?
Some were from Benjamin, which was Saul’s tribe, and some were from Judah. Remember the town of Keilah, which betrayed David earlier and wanted to turn him over.
But there is a lesson we can see here, brothers and sisters: one thing we do not need to be afraid of is testing. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, is never afraid to be tested.
In fact, in 1 John, it says to test. Brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit—the Lord—is so confident of Himself, and there is such a surety there, that He says, “Test Me.”
But do you know what gets really offended if you question it? The self, or the enemy. It says, “How dare you question me? How dare you? I am a man of God. I am a man of the cloth. I am this or I am that.”
“Look at my credentials. Look at how long I have known the Lord. What do you mean, questioning me? I know this is of God.” Self gets very defensive. The Holy Spirit simply says, “Test Me.” He is not offended.
As we test Him, we have to be willing to receive the answer. It might not be what we expect. It might show another aspect. But thank the Lord, in this account the Holy Spirit came in and proved that these men were true to David.
Finally, in verses 19 through 22, we see some from the tribe of Manasseh. They came to David when David had just been away from Ziklag.
We know that Ziklag was where the Amalekites had come in and captured their families and all their property. At that point, these from Manasseh came to David, and then they went with David to recapture and recover all.
As it says in verse 21:
And they helped David against the band of rovers: for they were all mighty men of valour, and were captains in the host.
I think there is something in this by which we can be encouraged: as soon as they came, they started serving. There was not a waiting period.
Brothers and sisters, when we come to the Lord, there are ways that we can start serving Him and ways that we can start entering in. There is not a probation period where we say, “You have just come in, so you sit over here.”
There might be some things that we cannot do as we go through the training process, but there are many ways in which we can all serve the Lord. Thank the Lord, these ones from Manasseh came right in and started serving.
How do we learn, brothers and sisters? How do we learn more of Him? We learn in our service, because as we start serving Him, lo and behold, we make mistakes.
It is not, “Am I going to make a mistake?” It is, “When?” It is like asking, “When am I going to shoot myself in the foot again?” But praise God, as we serve Him and allow Him to teach us, we become trainable. We learn again.
As someone shared in the opening, how often we shoot ourselves in the foot, go through circumstances, and the Lord, in His wonderful way, saves us.
We go through something. We fall into sin. The Lord raises us back up. As we are walking along again, we see that same incident and say, “Aha, last time that got me. This time I am going this way.”
We learn from it. Now, sometimes we do not. We think, “Well, I can handle it this time,” and we go and fall. He picks us up, and we learn again. But we learn by serving and having that servant’s heart.
Now, as we come to the end of chapter 12, really between verses 22 and 23, there is a period of roughly seven years.
After David recovered everything at Ziklag, Saul and his men were killed—Saul and Jonathan. David immediately went to Hebron and asked the Lord, “Where should I go?” The Lord said, “Go to Hebron.”
That is where David was crowned king of Judah. Not all of Israel, but at that point David was king over Judah. He was becoming more and more politically acceptable.
David was somewhat coming out of his period of rejection. He was becoming a little more popular. Now he was king over Judah, and he lived in Hebron there for seven and a half years before he finally became king of Israel.
During his time in Hebron, the Lord continued to bring people to him. We see in verse 23:
And these are the numbers of the heads of them that were armed for war, who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the Lord.
All the tribes are represented in verses 23 through the end of the chapter. But praise God again: all of these were able to enter in because there were a few who stood.
There were that few who stood and were faithful during the difficult times. Now all these others—not all of Israel yet, but many more—were starting to enter in.
Brothers and sisters, would that we, in the time of the Lord’s rejection in which we are living now, be those few among the many upon this earth? Would there be those few who stand so that more could come in for His kingdom to come? This is His desire.
As you look through verses 23 down to 38, there are many precious testimonies of these ones. I am going to pick probably a very familiar one, verse 32, because this is one of the great needs we have in this hour.
This is the sons of Issachar. If you look at the characteristic of these dear sons of Issachar, it says:
Of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.
Men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do. How this is needed in the house of God today: ones who understand the times and know what the church, what the people of God, should be doing.
Brothers and sisters, we are here just like dear Queen Esther. We are here for such a time as this. The call that we have is to redeem the time that we have.
We are not here by chance. As we live in this transition period, there is a great need for the mind of God to be made manifest amongst the people of God.
We must not continue pursuing man’s ways. We must not continue pursuing the things of this earth. Rather, we need the mind of God dwelling amongst us as the people of God, showing us in very practical ways how we are to live and conduct ourselves in the house of God.
We need to know how we are to live as the people of God, as a testimony upon this earth. Would that there be those who have that heart, that heart of wisdom.
Brothers and sisters, that heart of wisdom has been given unto each one of us because our Lord Jesus has been made unto us wisdom. We have that living wisdom dwelling within us.
As we say no to ourselves and the cross works within us, the wisdom of God can come forth.
The wisdom of God is made known especially in the house of God, where we have the witness of two or three seeking Him together to know His way in this hour. Would the Lord raise up many with the spirit of the sons of Issachar?
Finally, as you come down to verse 38, there is a beautiful picture:
All these being men of war, that could order the battle array, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king.
These ones came with a perfect heart. They did not have a sinless heart, but they had a perfect singleness of heart to make him king.
It is interesting how it says they came up in battle formation. They came up in battle array. They knew how to keep ranks. They had come under obedience.
Each individual was not doing his own thing—one person going over here and doing that, and another person flitting here or there. They were under the command of the Captain.
The Captain of the host was their leader. The Lord of hosts was there, and He had each one in a special place, just as we fellowshipped the other time from 1 Corinthians 12.
He has put each one of us within the body of Christ in a very special place. As we are under His headship, we can come up in battle array.
How do we stay in battle array? We hold fast the Head. As we hold fast our Head, as we know the King, He will lead us on.
When I was in the military, I was in a precision drill team. We would march with our rifles and bayonets, and we would do various routines through parades and different displays at half-times.
To get on the team, everybody had to be between five-eleven and six-one. Everybody was the same height, because when you are throwing rifles, you do not need a big guy standing there.
We would have routines where you would throw the rifle and catch the bayonet. The secret was that you wet your glove beforehand. That way, if you grabbed the bayonet, it did not hurt. That is a trade secret for the next time you throw a rifle. See? Today was not totally useless.
We would do all these various routines, but how did we stay in sequence? How did we stay organised? How did we know what to do?
It was because each one of us knew where we should be in relation to the leader. It was not where I should be in relation to Tom or Joe. I knew where I should be, at a certain point in time, in relation to the leader.
When he was there, I should be here. As long as we all kept our eyes on the leader, we stayed in sync.
But if we started getting uncertain and looking around, we would wobble and wave. You have seen those waves as they try to line up. You do not like that. That is not good.
But the secret was that we kept our eyes upon the leader.
Brothers and sisters, in the days in which we are living, how do we draw up in battle formation? How do we serve God in this generation? By keeping our eyes upon our Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the way through. If we start looking left or right, or looking to anybody else or any other way, we will fall. We might be encouraged for a brief moment, but we will fall.
We need to keep our eyes upon our Leader because He knows where He should be, and we stay in that right relationship with Him. If we maintain the right relationship with Him, then we will go through victoriously in Him.
Would that we be trained. It costs much to deny ourselves, not to look around, but to keep our eyes fixed upon Him.
That eye of the lion must be upon the Leader, upon the Commander. There must be singleness of heart connected with His heart, singleness of ear connected with His voice, and singleness of step kept in step with Him.
This is how His kingdom comes and His will is done upon this earth as it is in heaven.
As we said earlier, these mighty men ended up ruling and reigning with David in his kingdom. We look through Chronicles and see that when David set up the administration of his kingdom, it was these mighty men who were appointed to rule over this and over that.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord has a great reward for us. He is simply calling us to be those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
As we follow the Lamb wherever He goes, it is always good to remember: where do they end up? In Revelation 14, they are the ones before the throne of God, worshipping Him and singing a new song.
These were the ones who followed the Lamb wherever He went. These were the ones who bring in the kingdom of God.
As we have looked at David and his mighty men, it was not simply to learn a history lesson about a group of people. It was to learn spiritual lessons that we can take and apply within our lives.
We have a high calling. We have a calling with purpose that our Lord wants us to enter into. That calling is being challenged in this day.
The closer our Lord’s return draws near, the greater that challenge will be. If we do not know our Lord’s heart, and if we do not know what His desire is, we will be taken out.
I do not mean losing our salvation or anything like that. But we will not enter fully into the joy of our Master.
He is giving us this time, these days of preparation and training, that we would freshly offer ourselves unto Him, that we would be willing, and that we would not resist the training of the Lord.
When those rushing waters come, when the sound of the roaring lion of the enemy comes, we thank the Lord that we have the Lion on the throne who has defeated him.
In all the various ways the enemy and self seek to work, we will see how much we love ourselves as we follow Him. But praise God, once we allow the Lord to set us free from self, we see a great liberty and joy—the glorious liberty of the sons of God.
That is what He is calling us into. Would that we enter into that. Would that we join in that testimony in Revelation 11:
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever.
That is our desire. I still remember the words Ed Miller shared last year at Harvey Cedars—or perhaps it was the year before. He simply asked a question:
“How can we expect to welcome the King of glory in the future if we do not welcome Him as King of our lives today?”
How can we expect to welcome the King of glory in the future if we do not welcome Him as King of our lives today?
Brothers and sisters, may we respond to His love. Every Sunday, as we take this table, would it be a heart response? Every day, as we are in His word and in His presence, would His word really be working within us in such a way that we would be drawn away unto Him?
As He cries and says, “Come away, My beloved,” would we respond to that cry? He is calling us in this hour. He is pleading. He is so patient with us.
I am amazed at the humbleness and humility of our Lord, how after all these years He continues to humble Himself before us.
I am such a proud man, and yet my Lord daily humbles Himself before me and simply says, “Come, follow Me.”
Would we be those who respond in such a way that His heart would be our heart, His desire would be our desire, and the things that He loves would be the things that we love?
Would we be those used by Him in a way that hastens His return? Would that cry, “Come, Lord Jesus,” be more than just a cute little song? Would it be a love song that has captured our hearts?
We sing, “Come, Lord Jesus,” but are we ready? At times, I sing that song and say, “Give me a couple more days.”
But would the Lord work in us in such a way that we would be those running after Him, yielding to Him, and allowing Him to speak to us? I do not want to sing that song when we end, but I would like to close in prayer.
Lord, we do thank You for the encouragement that we see in David and his mighty men. We thank You that as this motley crew came to David, You accepted each one of them.
Lord, I thank You that we have been accepted in the Beloved. In Your love, You did not leave them as they were, but You did a great work of transformation.
Lord, we want to be those who, as we are found in this hour, are given to You in such a way that we are giving You permission to do that transforming work within our lives.
We do not know what all that will mean to us, but we know You. We know of Your love. We know Your plans for us are good, and You will never let us go.
Lord, I just thank You for the way You have poured Yourself out so freely.
Lord, I just want to be responding unto the love of God in a daily, practical way, that I would not hinder Your return, but hasten Your return. In Jesus’ name. Amen.