June 5th *David — Fulfillment*

2 Sam 5:4 David was 30 years old when he became king, and he reigned 40 years.
From the time he was anointed till the time he was crowned could have been as many as 18 years since he hadn’t even been brought in with Jessie’s other sons.
He probably hadn’t been counted in with the men, which happens at the age 13. Is there someone else who had an event at age 12 that was astonishing to people?
That’s correct if you said Jesus. He amazed the scholars in the temple with his knowledge of the scripture and its interpretation.
Did David rule and obey God completely now that he was crowned king? No! That’s where one similarity with Jesus ends. Jesus did all the Father asked. David went out on his own a few times and cost, not only himself, but all of Israel some significant losses of life as well as unity.
But David and Jesus both knew who they were for quite a significant time and allowed God to bring about their revealing at the proper time and setting. In fact, it was said about Jesus that He grew in favor with God and man; and the same can be said about David as more and more people got on board to accept him as king.
This whole study of David has been to tell us about ourselves. Will we allow God to bring about His plan for us? And will we, along the way, forgive and bless our enemies in order to allow God to also change our heart?
Being a Christian is not about where you start; but where you let God take you.

Pastor Brent

May 29th *David The Tender*

David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan. 2 Samuel 1:17

David was so moved he wrote a song to commemorate the death of God’s chosen and his best friend.

He blessed the men of Jabesh Gilead who had taken care of Saul and Jonathan’s bodies.

David even took time to mourn his enemies if they died unjustly as Abner did at the hands of Joab.

David made sure that people knew where he stood and what he stood for. And the really, truly, incredible thing was that he was sincere. It was not for show. To the best of his ability he genuinely desired God’s will above his own.

David even avenged the death of Ish-bosheth, the king set up to oppose him in Israel. The men who thought they were doing David a favor were killed and hung on display to show what happens to those who murder innocent people.

Next week, Lord willing, we will talk about David actually taking the throne and what we should do when we receive the sovereignty that God has promised us, but for now, it is enough that we remember those who gave their lives in battle to save the world from tyranny. Remember those who have gone on before and enjoy the fruit of their labor and sacrifice. There may be a time coming soon when some of us may be called on to make a sacrifice of our own.

Pastor Brent

May 22 *David—The Patient*

From the time David killed Goliath, he stayed with Saul and did not go back to his family's home.

He became best friends with Jonathan and they went forward as brothers and leaders of Saul’s armies.

David was so successful that as they returned from one battle the women began to sing, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David has slain his ten thousands”.

It was the perfect time to overthrow Saul and make God’s anointing become real—with just a little help from David.

We will see in today’s lesson that there are many more opportunities for David to take the throne for himself, seemingly at the instigation of God himself as Saul walks right into what could have been the perfect opportunity.

But David waits.

And as we will see; even when Saul is killed in battle the man who thinks he will be rewarded for killing Saul and bringing David the news, is instead, chastised and killed.

When we learn of the things that make David a man after God’s own heart, we must learn patience and trusting God’s timing.

Will you begin to learn and embrace that with me this morning? It will be to our great benefit.

Pastor Brent

May 1st *David The Giant Killer? Pt 2*

Lastly, we spoke about David’s list of qualifications from men’s point of view to be king of Israel and a man after God’s own heart.

This week let’s examine what he did after his anointing as king.

He went back to his sheep.

That’s right! He went back to doing what he was doing before because there was no other direction from God.

Why didn’t he go out and change his wardrobe, buy a Ferrari camel, and begin to brag to everyone who God had made him to be?

While there could be many factors the one I like most

is that God was only making him aware, not releasing him to go.

We get confused sometimes as well with the calling and the actual appointment. God had a specific time in mind when David would be installed as king even though, in God’s mind, he already was.

Jesus has saved you and set you free. You have been anointed to do great things. So continue on while God gets everything ready for you to be installed and, like David, try not to take matters into your own hands.

Pastor Brent

April 24th *Why David?*

David was thought of by his brothers, as most youngest brothers are, as worthless and barely able to be of any value to the family at all.

If we look at I Samuel 17:28 we see that Eliae, the oldest brother, sums it up like this, “I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart.”

But apparently that was not the opinion of a much weightier opinion, for God says, “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart.”

God does not speak hastily or lightly concerning His judgments, and yet, we often confuse actions with heart. Because we are human it is only natural to judge by things we can see, but God judges by things He can trust in us.

We need to know that it is not our skills, or brains, or looks, or charisma, or….who are we kidding? It is nothing that we bring to the table with God. It is only our heart toward Him, even in the midst of our failure, our heart can remain His.

Don’t set your sights on success and failure like profit and loss; set it on keeping ourselves quiet until God is able to have His way and then praise Him for it.

Pastor Brent

April 10th *Passover Pt 3*

If you have swept your house and cleaned out the leaven, searching for sin and purging it from your life. If you have chosen a perfect lamb and nourished and treated it as a member of the family for four days, now you’re expected to do the hardest thing…..sacrifice this perfect animal.

Because they were farmers and raised their own meat and grains and vegetables they would have known how to do this, cutting the carotid artery along with the nerve in close proximity, so that not only was the death quick, but virtually painless as well.

But, still, it is a death. However, it is the only thing different about the Passover lamb versus the true Passover lamb, Jesus Christ. Whereas the Passover lamb was treated kindly and gently, Jesus was subject to mocking, beating and whipping before not a quick, painless, death; but one of intense and drug out agony.

Jesus chose to do this and was comforted by angels as He prepared His mind and body for the excruciating ordeal that was to come. We get to receive the benefits of His determination and should be eternally grateful for the fact that He willingly chose to do this for us.

But, in fact, too many times we don’t consider His agony when making choices and we, to our shame, crucify the Son of God afresh (Heb 6:6). We bring shame to Christ when we willingly, and repeatedly, sin again and again with the same thing. Accept the power of the Holy Spirit, treat sin like a red hot stove not to be touched lest it leaves us disfigured.

Christ endured for us. Can we please endure for Him?

Pastor Brent

April 3rd *The Passover pt 2*

The blood and the search for leaven.

The blood is sacred to God. It is an addition that angels and those close to God do not have.

Our uniqueness as humans is because of the blood. Very specifically God warns us against spilling innocent blood and drinking blood. He tells us that our blood speaks to Him and cries out to Him.

In Gen. 49:11, it is prophesied about a person in the line of Judah washing his clothes in the blood of grapes. Our clothes that God will clothe us with are to be washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14). The clothes that God made for Adam and Eve were made from the sacrifice of an innocent animal.

All of this to say that Passover is an event to be remembered.

In Ex 13:7 no leaven shall be seen with you in all your house.

And the Jewish people take that seriously and make a game for the children so they can recite what the Lord has done and who He is.

Do we as parents and grandparents have those kind of things that we recite to them? They are going to need markers in their lives to be reminded of who God really is because, more and more, God is going to be belittled and vilified before our very eyes. He will be treated like an old man out of touch with modern times.

Lift up His Name

Pastor Brent

March 27th *Passover*

This year will mark a significance in my life. Because of surgery I will be having, I’ve asked Dr Jim Jenkins to preach on Easter Sunday, the 17th of April.

I hope to be in the service, but might also be held over in the hospital because the surgery is on “good” Friday, although I fail to see what’s “good” about that.

But, leading up to Easter, I would like to take these three Sundays and talk about the Passover. It’s origin, it’s history, and the miracles that have taken place on Passovers in the past.

Of course, it started in Egypt, the culmination of God’s terrible judgment on the Egyptians for their disgraceful treatment of the Jews. But to understand the prophecy it contained, even in it’s infancy about Jesus’ death is quite remarkable.

And God knowing our hearts and our ability to forget significant moments, had the Israelites forever have a feast and celebration, not only remembering the past, but looking forward to the future.

Go with me on this journey from intense celebration and awe; to the wonderful sacrifice of the true lamb, bringing us the fullness of life and sparing us from the angel of death.

Pastor Brent

Why is it called Passover?

In order to protect their first-born children, the Israelites marked their doors with lamb's blood so the angel of death would pass over them when the plague killed the first born of all the Egyptians. Thus the name Passover, which is “pesach” in Hebrew. The Passover begins after nightfall on the first day and ends at night fall on the last day during the Hebrew month of Nisan on the 15th day of the month.

March 6th *What If*

What if God worked more like He did in the Old Testament bringing judgment on nations because of their drifting away from His love?

Because it is for love that God brings punishment. He understands the slope that we stand on, and if we don’t have solid ground, we tire ourselves out just keeping our footing.

Does God really change? Isn’t He the same yesterday, today and forever like Jesus? So why the difference in the Old and the New Testaments? Because we could never keep the law. I can barely, as easy as Jesus has made it, keep Him at the forefront of my decisions in everyday life.

God is the same—it is our communication and relationship for those of us who believe in his Son—that’s what has changed.

As Jesus talked; He was all about priorities and the appreciation and love of God vs the punishment if something didn’t happen.

Can we settle on something? God is not looking for something to be angry with, He wants to have something to rejoice over. If we are putting ourselves at His command, He asks nothing more. Our efforts are not really His goal, our desire for effort is. God is the same, but His opportunity toward us is infinitely more gracious. One choice—eat from the tree of Life. Leave good and evil to God.

Pastor Brent

Feb 27th *Gog and Magog*

Ezekiel 38:10 & 11 you will make an evil plan: You will

say, I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to

a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling

without walls having neither bars nor gates.

Who is Gog and Magog? Well, they were historical

figures. Leaders of countries who set their face against the

people of God.

And in Revelation, Gog and Magog will be nations who

are bullies and try to gather other nations by different means

to form a coalition to bring down Israel while supposedly

increasing their own wealth and power.

We will not unveil some great mystery this morning,

revealing who these nations are, but we must not hide our

heads in the sand and say, “Oh, that is for others to worry

about, I have my own problems.”

People are going to be afraid and people will need

comforting answers about a God who cares. And those on the

front lines of this conflict need support and prayer. Both the

Ukrainian and Russian churches have asked for prayer. For

safety and for the unity they need that would transcend

nationalism and the hatred that could be fomented by such

actions.

People are dying, people are hurting. Are we asking

God how to pray or what we can do? If not, why not? If this is

not the time to answer the call, the call may leave us behind.

Pastor Brent