Note: Here is one of the applications from last Sunday morning’s sermon on Sheba’s rebellion against David in 2 Samuel 20.
“And there happened to be there a man of Belial,
whose name was Sheba, the son
of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in
David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents,
O Israel” (2 Samuel 20:1).
Though
David’s kingdom was stricken and though it teetered, it did not completely
fall. Through it all David’s kingdom was
able to persevere.
So it
is with the kingdom of Christ here on earth.
It can be attacked, as Abalsom attached David’s kingdom. But it will not
completely fall. It can suffer the woes
of internal schism and division, as Sheba attempted to divide David’s
kingdom. But it will not completely
fall. It can suffer the petty and
wrongheaded actions of its weakest members, as David’s kingdom survived the
devious actions of Joab. But it will not
completely fall. Jesus said, “I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt
16:18).
The
story is told of the early church that a pagan ruler once arrested a group of
elders in an attempt to stamp out the fledgling Christian movement. This godless man threatened these pastors
with curses saying, “We will completely destroy you Christians. We will rip apart your churches. We will tear your movement down. We will destroy it.”
And
one of the pastors responded, “But sir, if we have not been able to do this
through our own sin and pettiness, we do not think that you will be able to do
it either.”
The
old-time radio preacher J. Vernon McGee commented on 2 Samuel 20: “Underneath the faith that failed [i. e.,
David’s faithfulness] was a faith that never failed [i.e., God’s faithfulness]”
(Thru the Bible, Vol. 2, p. 235).
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
No comments:
Post a Comment