Worship in Adullam

The Bible is filled with amazing accounts of valour and courage in God's people.  One notable example took place in the cave of Adullam where David hid with his mighty men.  After David fled for his life from the face of King Saul, many men gathered to him who were distressed, in debt, or discontented.  From these David's "mighty men" were forged through the grace of God and the leadership of David.  This man after God's own heart made a profound positive impact in the lives of the people he led.

2 Samuel 23:13-15 reads, "Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴ David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. ¹⁵ And David said with longing, "Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!"  As the men rested during the hot summer day in the cool of the cave, David longingly wished (out loud!) for a drink of water from the well in his hometown of Bethlehem.  No doubt he had been refreshed many times at the well after hot days tending sheep in the arid conditions.  But such refreshment was quite out of reach because of distance and the garrison of enemy Philistines which encamped in Bethlehem.  What happened next is remarkable.

2 Samuel 23:16-17 continues:  "So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD. ¹⁷ And he said, "Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this! Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?" Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men."  Though David did not task anyone with bringing him water to drink from the well, three men decided they wanted to bless and please David by doing just that.  Adino, Eleazar, and Shammah trekked to Bethlehem, broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew the water from the well near the gate, and returned to David with water in hand.  David was amazed at the risk his men had taken and felt himself unworthy to drink of the water for which he longed.  He refused to drink the water and instead poured it out unto the LORD.

I daresay they were not offended David poured out the water unto the LORD, and the fact he did is a reason why these men loved him enough to risk their lives to bring water from the well in Bethlehem.  David valued the lives and well-being of his men over the satisfaction of his own thirst; he poured out life-sustaining water because he saw himself unworthy of so great a sacrifice and gift.  That is why they loved him so.  It wouldn't surprise me that as they were returning to the cave with the prized  water one of them said, "You know, David is a man of such humility I bet he won't even drink this water."  Yet without being asked love demanded they freely give for the benefit of their beloved leader, a man who had been anointed at king by Samuel and filled with the Spirit of the Living God who refused to lift a hand or speak an unkind word against the murderous king who pursued him like a dog.  In the dimness of Adullam water from Bethlehem splashed to the ground, a testimony of honourable men, a humble leader, and the greatest God who is worthy of all sacrifice and glory.  Drinking water became mud on the ground in an act of worship, an acceptable offering of praise.

Was it is waste for David to pour out the water?  Some might say so, but I disagree.  The sacrifice and love of David's men would never be forgotten.  Is it any surprise these three would be numbered in the Chronicles as David's mightiest men?  In freely giving David water he was free to do as he wished with it, and so great was the cost in procuring it David expressed his unworthiness to even drink it, for he felt only God was worthy of such sacrifice.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:42, "And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."  Even the simple gift of a cup of cold water is recognised and rewarded by the God who sees all.  When the gifts you give aren't used or appreciated in the way you intend, realise that when you do it for Christ's sake He will accept it as unto Him.  How sad it would be to give a gift and resent someone because they have not shown appreciation as you thought they should.  Give glory to God for prompting you to give and supplying the means to do so.  God sees the sacrifice of his children and every one - even when we give a cup of cold water - will be remembered forever.

Knowing and Doing

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made one distinction between wise and foolish men (Matthew 7:21-26).  Both the wise and foolish man heard the words of Jesus, but the wise man is revealed through putting it into practice.  We do not become more wise through knowledge alone, but by doing what Jesus says.  Like Richard Bennett said in a sermon preached in Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa titled "Church of Laodicea," "The Bible is not a textbook to be studied, but the Word of God to be responded to."  Our response to God's word separates the wise from the foolish, even as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Because sinners are saved by grace through faith, we may not think the way we live matters.  Based upon what Jesus says, how we live is the best indicator of what we truly believe.  What we say reveals what is in our hearts.  Sin avoidance is not as important as walking righteously.  Jesus does not commend the righteous for sins they avoided but for the good they did to the least.  We are not saved by works but saved to do good works as it is written in Ephesians 2:8-10, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  Many people who will claim to know Jesus He will refuse because they did not truly follow Him in deed.

Consider this question:  when you read the Bible is it because you want to learn something or because your primary aim to personally implement what God says?  Knowledge can puff us up with pride, and hearing without doing leads to self-deception.  Blessed are those who hear and do what God says.  James 1:22-27 exhorts, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴  for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. ²⁶ If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

Knowing is the first step, but practising what you know is vital.  The liberty we have through faith in Jesus Christ moves us to live righteously, loving one another as Jesus has demonstrated and commanded.  It is in reading the Bible we see our imperfections and how we can live righteously by God's grace.  If we are unable to bridle our tongues or walk in self-control, how effective is the work of the Holy Spirit within us?  If we are polluted by the world in our thoughts and deeds, how can we claim inner righteousness?  By a belief system?  By our knowledge?  The demons believe and tremble and are guaranteed hell as their eternal destination.  There is no repentance possible for them, but there is forgiveness for us when we repent and turn from our wickedness.  Let us be those who hear and do, reading God's Word with an intent to obey all God says.

Answers To Prayer

I have been reading through the small but useful book How To Pray by R.A. Torrey.  I appreciate his clear, concise, and logical approach to interpreting and applying scripture.  I am thankful for books like this which allow seasoned believers to share the practical truth of God's Word in a way those who desire to learn can grow.

Of the many verses he shares in the book, two passages have stood out to me.  The first is found in 1 John 5:14-15:  "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."  One point of emphasis is the will of God is a very definite thing which can be known through the Word of God.  This is plainly spelled out many times like in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:  "Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  We do not need to wonder what the will of God is, for in understanding scripture we can know God's true character.  When we pray in faith, taking God at His Word, we can know we have whatever we ask.

But there is another verse which also should be considered.  We can pray according to God's will but that does not mean we have submitted ourselves to His will!  If we want to receive what we ask for, the Bible is clear we must be obedient to God.  1 John 3:22-24 says, "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. ²⁴ Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."  If we desire God listen to our pleas, should we not also heed His voice and walk in obedience to His commands to love one another?  Many prayers go unanswered because we have not met God's conditions.  We do not earn God's favour by our obedience, but as we abide in Him we adopt a posture which enables us to receive.

Let us continually seek the LORD in prayer and not lose heart, taking heed that we do those things which are pleasing in God's sight.  This is God's will for you and me!

Binding and Loosing

Jesus clearly expressed His desire for His followers to dwell in unity together, choosing to forgive one another even as God forgave them.  In Matthew 18 Jesus explained that offences will occur and how to biblically resolve them.  Out of love for God and one another we are to approach those who have wronged us one-to-one and privately resolve the matter.  If the offender does not recognise his error or sin, escalating measures should be employed ultimately resulting in the removal of the unrepentant person from fellowship.  Even if this were to happen, the victim of the wrong ought to forgive the offender.

Then Jesus said something which by itself would be open to broad interpretation, but in context with the following parable is most enlightening.  He said in Matthew 18:18, "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  When I used to hear of "binding" or "loosing" my initial thought concerned teaching on spiritual warfare and the authority of believers.  However, the immediate context reveals this binding and loosing has to do with forgiveness.  Whilst God has given those who comprise the church of Jesus Christ authority to excommunicate and to graciously accept those who repent back into the fellowship, the aim of this post is to show the personal implications of unforgiveness.  It is fine to tout the authority of the church, but the parable Jesus followed up with shows the intense toll unforgiveness requires from us.  When we refuse to forgive or loose others completely from guilt we only bind ourselves.  Peter asked a personal question, and Jesus would have us receive His instruction personally as well.

Matthew 18:21-35 reads, "Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" ²² Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ²³ Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. ²⁶ The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' ²⁷ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' ³⁰ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹ So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. ³² Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' ³⁴ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. ³⁵ So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

Jesus told a story about a king whose servant owed him 10,000 talents, a ludicrous amount of money when a single Roman talent of gold weighed about 32.3 kilos or 71 pounds!  The servant fell on the mercy of the king who had compassion on him and released him - loosed him - from the debt.  This same servant, despite being forgiven such an immense debt, seized a fellow servant by the throat, refused to listen to his pleas for patience, and exercised his right to throw the poor man in prison.  Instead of loosing him, the ungrateful servant bound the one who wronged him.  When the king heard about this he was furious, sent for the ungrateful servant, promptly arrested him, and threw him into prison to be tormented until he paid all that was due.  Jesus concluded, "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

Based upon the explanation of Jesus the king in the parable is God, and the servants represent those who comprise the church - people who can and sometimes will offend one another.  How does the forgoing statement impact what Jesus concluded, that "...whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven?"  The parable illustrates Peter's position (and ours too) is primarily the one forgiven the great sum 10,000 talents, for God has forgiven our many sins which demand eternal damnation.  Should we bind others under a weight of guilt, demanding they pay us what they owe, God in heaven will see we too are bound on earth.  He is not referring to a prison with cells and bars or a masked tormentor wielding whips or instruments of torture, but He will allow the curse of sin to play out in our lives.  He will allow Satan to buffet, mock, and abuse us.  He will allow oppression, fear, and pain, removing us from a place where we can receive His love, joy, and forgiveness until WE repent for our unforgiveness.

When we remember how much we have been forgiven and the price Jesus was willing to pay for our release, how can we withhold forgiveness from others?  We may not feel like forgiving, but there is great blessing when we forgive others without demands.  When we loose others it is we who are made free by God's grace.  God has had compassion on us, removed the weight of our sin, broken our chains, and imputed to us His righteousness, having accepted us in the beloved though we are sinners.  Won't you freely share God's compassion He has freely extended to you?  Are you experiencing the freedom God has provided you today?