David, The Beloved
I think it is interesting that there is only one David in the whole Bible and his name means "beloved." I think this speaks to God’s Beloved today - His church. He has only one beloved, one cherished bride. Ephesians 4:4-6 says, "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."
I have a tendency to think of his church on such smaller terms, looking at it from the perspective of the churches I attend or the denominations I am a part of rather than the body of Christ. Attending two churches of differing denominations, I can sometimes wrestle with the differences in the way God manifests Himself and the style and approaches the ministers use. I can start thinking one way is the right way or one way is the better way. However, God sees things on such a larger plain and can manifest Himself in such a variety of ways.
I was reading a book recently from Lila Terhune, one of the intercessors for the Brownsville Revival called "Cross Pollination: The Miracle of Unity in Intercession, Revival and the Harvest." She writes, "There is only one way for us to become whole and complete as His body manifested in the earth: we must exchange and fully share our strengths, giftings, and joy in His visitation." When the body of Christ truly becomes one beloved in full unity, what a glorious bride she will be!
"Did you feel the darkness tremble?
When all the saints join in one song
And all the streams flow as one river
To wash away our brokenness."
("Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?" Martin Smith 1995)
David "served his generation according to the will of God" (Acts 13:36). I come back to God’s beloved today and ask myself, isn’t that the job of His church today? Are we not called to serve our generation as a body according to the will of God?
In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul says about the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers that they were given, "To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." This scripture to me says two things about reaching spiritual maturity: 1. We (the beloved) are all called to perform works of service so the body of Christ is built up, and 2. The ultimate goal is to fully achieve unity in the faith within the body (already discussed above).
I have seen some churches where the church leadership does an incredible job building up the body and using God’s gifts to bring healing and meet people’s needs, but they do not move past this point and train the body for works of service. People come in and want healing and ministry, they want prophetic words and promises of blessing, they want prosperity and to feel good but they don’t want to serve and sacrifice for others.
The people in this type of churches go to church to get blessed, then go home and feel good about making the sacrifice to attend church. They never really learn what it means to be a Christian or how to perform works of service for others. Church for them is about serving them and not about serving God.
In other cases, people think that performing works of service means serving the church. These people feel like they are not serving God unless they are serving within the four walls of the church. They can sometimes sacrifice time with their families and time on the job in order to serve in church. While some people are called to serve within the church walls, it would hardly serve this generation if we all quit are jobs, and sacrificed our time to work in the church.
When David was serving his own generation, he was out in the world. He was hiding in caves, shepherding sheep, doing battle and leading a nation. These were the places God gave him to have influence for the kingdom of God. I believe this is the place that God calls his people to serve as well - out on their jobs and in their families. The body is called to touch neighbors, co-workers, family and friends, influencing the modern world for Christ.
David was willing to take risks, fight battles, embrace the uncomfortable and unknown, and let God use him to be an instrument of change in the world. We could learn a lot about what it really means to be a Christian and serve our generation through his example.
I have a tendency to think of his church on such smaller terms, looking at it from the perspective of the churches I attend or the denominations I am a part of rather than the body of Christ. Attending two churches of differing denominations, I can sometimes wrestle with the differences in the way God manifests Himself and the style and approaches the ministers use. I can start thinking one way is the right way or one way is the better way. However, God sees things on such a larger plain and can manifest Himself in such a variety of ways.
I was reading a book recently from Lila Terhune, one of the intercessors for the Brownsville Revival called "Cross Pollination: The Miracle of Unity in Intercession, Revival and the Harvest." She writes, "There is only one way for us to become whole and complete as His body manifested in the earth: we must exchange and fully share our strengths, giftings, and joy in His visitation." When the body of Christ truly becomes one beloved in full unity, what a glorious bride she will be!
"Did you feel the darkness tremble?
When all the saints join in one song
And all the streams flow as one river
To wash away our brokenness."
("Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?" Martin Smith 1995)
David "served his generation according to the will of God" (Acts 13:36). I come back to God’s beloved today and ask myself, isn’t that the job of His church today? Are we not called to serve our generation as a body according to the will of God?
In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul says about the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers that they were given, "To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." This scripture to me says two things about reaching spiritual maturity: 1. We (the beloved) are all called to perform works of service so the body of Christ is built up, and 2. The ultimate goal is to fully achieve unity in the faith within the body (already discussed above).
I have seen some churches where the church leadership does an incredible job building up the body and using God’s gifts to bring healing and meet people’s needs, but they do not move past this point and train the body for works of service. People come in and want healing and ministry, they want prophetic words and promises of blessing, they want prosperity and to feel good but they don’t want to serve and sacrifice for others.
The people in this type of churches go to church to get blessed, then go home and feel good about making the sacrifice to attend church. They never really learn what it means to be a Christian or how to perform works of service for others. Church for them is about serving them and not about serving God.
In other cases, people think that performing works of service means serving the church. These people feel like they are not serving God unless they are serving within the four walls of the church. They can sometimes sacrifice time with their families and time on the job in order to serve in church. While some people are called to serve within the church walls, it would hardly serve this generation if we all quit are jobs, and sacrificed our time to work in the church.
When David was serving his own generation, he was out in the world. He was hiding in caves, shepherding sheep, doing battle and leading a nation. These were the places God gave him to have influence for the kingdom of God. I believe this is the place that God calls his people to serve as well - out on their jobs and in their families. The body is called to touch neighbors, co-workers, family and friends, influencing the modern world for Christ.
David was willing to take risks, fight battles, embrace the uncomfortable and unknown, and let God use him to be an instrument of change in the world. We could learn a lot about what it really means to be a Christian and serve our generation through his example.
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