Lessons for Living (Audio)

Have you ever tried to do something good but it ended up going poorly because of improper planning? It’s probably safe to say that most people have had this experience - even great men of the Bible like David. In David’s case, however, it cost an innocent man his life. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the necessity of knowing how God wants to do things and then doing them His way. This will help to keep you out of God’s doghouse as well as making sure that you’ve done things the right way. If you’ve messed up, get back up, get right with God, and do things His way.

People’s tendencies are to repeat successful plans or strategies. A business that has success with a particular marketing plan is sometimes tempted to reuse the same plan. In the past, it was that way with military conflicts – the military leadership had a doctrine, and that was that. No deviation. Pastor Mark will be teaching that David, who had defeated the Philistines once and needed to face them again, learned his lesson and asked God for His advice about the potential battle. This is instructive for all Christ followers: God knows the future, so you should ask Him what His plans are for you.

Don’t you get tired of fighting the devil? You get a victory over something in your life that’s just been bugging you for the longest time and WHAM - there it is again! To be sure, David probably felt like he could take a break after defeating the Jebusites and establishing the city we now know as Jerusalem. But as Pastor Mark will be teaching, evil never takes a break. It is relentless and if you ease up on your vigilance you will find yourself taking two steps backward. David would learn this lesson in the physical realm. You might not need to apply this principle physically but you certainly need to apply it spiritually.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the “self-ness” of achievement: my hard work, my success, my deserved reward. Certainly it seems that David, after all these years, might feel entitled to a little self-congratulation on his ascendency to the unified throne in Israel. Pastor Mark’s teaching, however, will show that the Bible tells of no gloating by David – just a sense of getting on with the job God called him to twenty or so years before. In the same way that David did, it’s important for you to find out what God has called you to and to get heading in the direction of filling that role in your life.

Do you fail? Do you get frustrated when you fail? Well, Israel had been told by God to take the city of Jebus, along with all of the other cities in Canaan. This particular city had resisted Israel’s efforts to conquer it for hundreds of years. It’s impossible to presume why they had failed, but David was able to conquer it and claim it for God. Pastor Mark will be teaching about David’s reliance upon God for guidance. The scripture passage indicates that after his becoming king of the reunified Israel that David sought the Lord continually, and God gave him victories again and again.

David was kind of in a pickle in his attempt to unite the twelve tribes of Israel. He needed to establish a capital city, but because of Joab’s murder of Abner, the northern tribes’ military leader, David needed to show that he wanted to be the king of all Israelis. Fortunately for him, God had the answer: Jerusalem. It was situated properly and was a good city to be safe in. Pastor Mark will be teaching that as David continued to follow God’s lead and do things His way, God continued to give David success. God wants to do the same for you; what it requires is for you to seek His advice and then follow it.

Living with an unfulfilled purpose can be difficult. You just know that God has greater plans for you but nothing in your current life seems to point in this direction of future greatness. David may have had many similar thoughts in the twenty years since Samuel had anointed him king of Israel. But in many ways you can read where David was content to let events play out in God’s timing and in His way. Pastor Mark will be teaching about these happenings as David finally becomes king of all of Israel and how David’s attitude is one that you should be keen to emulate in your life as well.

Forgiveness is hard to give, even in what may be thought of as minor offenses. Forgiveness requires letting go of hurts – even small ones – and that’s something that most people have difficulty with. David’s commander, Joab, had a problem with forgiving Abner, who had killed Joab’s brother in wartime. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the dangerous consequences of unforgiveness. Although they might not result in actions like the one Joab took they may, nevertheless, result in your heart attitude going in the same direction; God does not differentiate between thought and action.

It’s kind of fascinating to read the stories in the Old Testament of the various wars and intrigue that the Bible recounts. What is often missed in the telling is the concurrent spiritual battles that are happening. Once in a while, as in the books of Daniel and Job, the curtain is pulled back and you’re shown how events look from God’s perspective, but usually you’re left to speculate on such things. Pastor Mark will be teaching about the fact of the spiritual war that is going on between God’s kingdom and the kingdom of Satan, and how the events in 2 Samuel display the characteristics of those kingdoms.

It’s sooo hard sometimes to do what you know God wants you to do, isn’t it? When the thing you want is right in front of you and your conscience is screaming, “NO” but your desires are yelling even louder? The temptation is to simply ignore God and do what you want. David had this problem when it came to women and his lust for them. Pastor Mark will be sharing how David, “the man after God’s own heart”, had a weakness for women that he didn’t allow God to deal with. You will be hearing about the tragedies that will result from this sin and how you can overcome your own areas of weakness with God’s help.