Sorry, this is me just putting it all together in a way that I could easily share… AND add what I said I wanted to add.
Announcements:
- If they do want a portion or all of their offering to go to Mindanao, they’d need to indicate it on the appropriate area on the offering slip.
- Stay just a little longer to pray for one another, before actually tuckering in to have whatever snacks we serve at the end of the service.
- Leadership Summit at 300 a head
- What’ll happen during our afternoon slot at the main church anniversary celebration day, friendly reminder that we have the Filipino theme. Potbless
Judgment Morning: ‘That looks like my Mother-In Law!’
Read 1 Samuel 19:8-17: David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’”
David had Father-In-Law Issues, and even in distress, he wrote Psalm 59. Read the Psalm.
Here’s what comes into mind.
We can see here that David sought the Lord during a time of distress, or a time when he probably should be doing more running than writing. This tells me that we could do the same thing – we can seek the Lord at a time when we have no time.
David was pretty raw with the Lord – it may be that he knew he didn’t have much time, so he didn’t beat around the bush and told God exactly what he thought about these people who were lying in wait to kill him in the morning. He called them bloodthirsty men who work evil, fierce men who not only stir up strife against him, but also, as dogs they howl in arrogance (“who will hear us?”) and growl in hunger and frustration. We can seek the Lord with all that we have in our mind.
On the contrary, we read Psalms 62:5: For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. We can seek the Lord in the silence.
Whether we have time or not, whether we have it all together or not, we can seek the Lord as we are.
…And when we do seek the Lord, let us not be surprised if we are reminded, that it was the Lord that sought us first.
We can seek the Lord to learn, only to find out that He has already shown us the Way.
We can seek the Lord and praise, only to find out that He has already glorified His name.
“No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:13-17
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10
Friends, we can seek the Lord for help, we can seek the Lord to be saved… We come as we are, and we realize through Christ, that God has responded, is responding, and will respond according to His glory. God responds according to His glory.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Jeremiah 31:3
I suppose that this day when I share this message is another example of how we seek the Lord – even in the most disadvantageous of moments – and we will STILL end up praising him… just like David did:
But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
Psalm 59
You can’t say that you’ve sought the Lord without being satisfied.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a comment