Sunday, February 12, 2017

2ND SAMUEL 16 [Homeless friends]
NOTE- No bullet points- I didn’t get a chance to review the video.
Wanted to post it today- I might be taking a trip and like to have the Texas videos finished first.
NEW-
I was sitting at the park with some of my friends and did an off the cuff video.
Larry tells an interesting story about a 100 dollar gift [you’ll have to watch] and I share a ‘dream’- ok- maybe more of a ‘parable’.
Then I taught on 2nd Samuel  16-
David is in transition- his son rebelled against him and took Jerusalem- the capitol city.
While David is on the run- again- he encounters various people- with different agendas.
When leaders are in transition- stuff like this happens.
People often miss-read what’s going on- and others try to profit out of it.
Ziba- the servant who was tasked to take care of Johnathan’s son- now comes to David and ‘possibly’ manipulates him in order to gain something for himself.
Another man- from the house of Saul- begins cursing David- telling him he is reaping what he sowed.
This man never saw the true calling of God on David.
God was the one who gave the kingdom to David.
But this man thinks David is being punished because he wrongfully took away the kingdom from Saul.
Often times when leaders are in transition- people think ‘see- we told you he was not from God’.
But transition happens for various reasons.
Yes- at times we might be out of the will of God.
Or maybe it is simply the cause of someone else.
In David’s case Absalom- his son- was the one in rebellion.
Yet- David is now in this difficulty- and no matter whose fault it was- he has to deal with what’s happening now.
David sends one of his men back to Jerusalem- to thwart the purposes of Absalom.
Even in the midst of turmoil- under attack- he makes plans for the next move.
Leaders- good leaders- will do the same.
The bible teaches this principle- to be open to different possible outcomes- and in time God will show you the right one.
There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

One of David’s men wants to cut the head off of the guy who is cursing David.
David says ‘leave him alone- maybe God will see my affliction and reward me for it’.
David had an actual rebellion going on- in his own house- with Absalom.
The kingdom is on the verge of being taken away from him.
And to spend time- avenging himself- with a small mater- would be wasted time.
When you are on the journey of life- there will be decisions to make.
And yes- there will be other ‘side issues’ as well.
But don’t waste your time on the little things- the things that you have no control over.
Make the decisions that will position you to be in a place to go to the ‘next level’.
Take the steps now- that will allow you later on to be the most effective.
Yes- there will always be people with ulterior motives.
There will always be people who will say ‘see- he got what was coming to him’.
But it’s not your job to go and personally deal with that stuff.
God will take care of that stuff.
Good- effective leaders will focus on what’s important- making decisions in the midst of turmoil that can impact the situation in a positive way.
Even the advice- of those on your own team- must be evaluated.
David’s own man said ‘let’s cut his head off’.
David erred on the side of mercy- he dealt with his team in a righteous way.
He left his enemies in the hands of God.
And yes- he made decisions that would possibly get him back in power at the end.
He was no quitter- he simply wanted to go about it the right way.
PAST TEACHING-
(932)2ND SAMUEL 16- As David flees Jerusalem, Ziba, the servant that was under Mephibosheth joins with him. David asks ‘what are you doing here? You should be home with your master’. Ziba says ‘as soon as Mephibosheth heard about the take over, he said “I will stay in Israel and become the new king, God will restore to me Saul’s throne”’. Now David believes it and says ‘I now put you in charge of all the household of your former master, it belongs to you’. Later on Mephibosheth will deny all of this. Its possible Ziba made this up for his own benefit. Leaders, be careful of advice from people with a personal agenda. They often make themselves look better than others. Now as David flees another enemy comes out and curses and throws stones at him along the way. This guy says ‘look at you now, you rebelled against the old king [Saul] and now you are receiving the just reward’. Now David responds with a Christ like attitude and says ‘let the guy curse me, I will not retaliate. Maybe God will look on this persecution and reward me’. One of David’s men wanted to ‘take his head off’. Gee, David has all types in his leadership circle! Did this guy who was cursing David misread the whole situation? Yes, but don’t forget we are reading this story from the real perspective, some people living at the time of David and Saul saw this new king [David] as a threat to the old ways. It’s only a few days after the 2008 presidential election. Barack Obama won. Though there were many reasons for and against him, now that he won we ALL need to pray for him. But some of the supporters of McCain sincerely saw this ‘new kind of person’ as a rebellious threat to the ‘old order’. Sincere people who saw things from a different angle. So David’s accuser sees the story from a wrong lens. David was being judged by God, but not because he toppled the old order of King Saul. Back at Jerusalem Absalom listens to the advice of Ahithophel and sleeps with his fathers concubines. The advice was that when all Israel heard about it, they would realize that this rebellion was a real rebellion and the people would unite under his illegal rule. Scripture says Ahithophels counsel was like ‘hearing from God’ in those days. Leaders, be open to the counsel that is coming forth from particular streams at certain times. It is not only important for believers to ‘learn the bible’, but also to be able to discern the signs of the times. Specific things God is saying and doing in our day. If you were living in the 16th century the issue of the reformation was vital for every one who was a believer. Whether you were Catholic or Protestant, you needed to be up on the issues. Erasmus, the great Catholic scholar and humanist [not ‘secular humanist’] wrote insightful criticisms against his own church, yet remained within her fold. So matter what Christian tradition you align yourself with, you need to be aware of the seasons and purposes of God for your generation. In Absalom’s day, Ahithophel was the go to man.

Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Thanks- John.#





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