Brother Gary Sunday Morning 6/14/15

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 6/14/15

2Sa 7:1  And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;

2Sa 7:2  That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.

The king sat in his house of cedar: he was enjoying rest from his enemies and was in a very blessed season of his life.  He came to the reality, “I am dwelling in a very nice house, but God dwells in a tent made of animal skins.”

Nathan the encouraging prophet said:

2Sa 7:3  And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.

Psalms 84, David’s testimony: 

Psa 84:1  To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

How amiable or beautiful are thy tabernacles!  He was saying, “Every part of worship that God has ordained: I love, I appreciate, and I have great respect to it.”

“Oh Lord of hosts!”  David had experienced many challenges, battles, and difficult seasons of his life.  Now he had reached a season of his life where things were enjoyable.  Not only did he have rest from his enemies but he had great prosperity.

His mind didn’t go to, “How can I make things more comfortable for me.”  Instead he thought, “I dwell in a beautiful house, but the Ark of the Covenant is in a tent.”

Psa 84:2  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

My soul longs for the courts of the Lord:  this king had an identity of how wonderful it was to enter into worship and enjoy the wonderful things: sin being forgiven, the laver, the door, the candlestick, the worship…

He said, “My heart and my flesh cry out for God.”  As I spoke to Madison and Connor very briefly this morning of having an excellent spirit, a passion for God, and the things of God.  This king had it. 

He said concerning the sparrows, “The sparrow has a nest where she may lay her young…” 

Psa 84:3  Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

Psa 84:4  Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

If the enemy can ever quiet your praise, he has gained a real victory in the thought, “I may be able to destroy them.”  Praising God and remembering where God has brought us from, we never want to forget where God has brought us from.  We never want to forget how He brought us from the depths of sin to a changed life only through the sacrifice of His Son.  We want to praise and thank God forever.

They will be still praising thee: The heavy burdens and disappointments of life, the heartaches of life, the plans that fell through, there is something about going into worship and through tabernacle worship, thanking God that Jesus paid the price for our sin.  Thanking God that there is a place after you are saved and sanctified.  Thanking God that you can go back to that laver and say, “There is a place that I need to be washed.”  Pour out your heart to God, “More than anything else I want to be all you want me to be.”

Psa 84:5  Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

Jer 9:23  Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

Jer 9:24  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

If you try to draw your strength from each other whomever it will be that you are leaning on will run out of strength.  There is one that can give and give and give and His resources remain unchanged.  There will be times that you need physical strength, there will be times that you will be mentally sick. 

I experienced in my series of being afflicted being sick in my mind: In my mind I was never going to get well.  Cooper had been an army physician for many years.  He wrote in his book, “About anyone can regain their health except those that become sick in their mind.”  When they become sick in their mind they think, “I am never going to get well, I am defeated, and I am going to die.”

I reached that place and there was no place to go for help.  Medical people couldn’t help me, friends couldn’t help me, and the chiropractor couldn’t help me.  My family couldn’t help me.  I was sick in my mind.  I read that book and I said, “I am going to be healed in my mind.  It didn’t happen the first time I prayed.  I spent hours in the woods praying.  I spent hours on the riverbank praying. 

I took my dogs and in my worst moments they would run for two or three minutes and then they would be back at the truck trying to take care of me.  One day Jesus passed by. 

There will be times when we have exhausted our strength, when we come to that place and we realize, “I need God’s help more than anything else.”  God always comes through.  He may not come through the first time we pray.

Elias was a man of like passion as us: He was a man like you and I that had desires, feelings, and needs.  He prayed again.  He prayed again.  Dear church, young people, afflicted, mothers and fathers with unsaved children, dear wives and husbands with unsaved companions, may God challenge you to get ahold of God as you never have before.  There is strength to carry your burden.

You will fall apart if you never get to God.  That is how it is.  People are falling apart everywhere.

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee.

When we have exhausted our resources.  There is one thing I know, everything of God is designed to give us strength, strength to serve Him. 

David was a man that could have chosen the ease of being a king.  He identified, “I want to do something for God.” 

May everyone in this audience be so challenged that wherever you are able to have a sphere of influence that there is strength of having the influence of having met with God.

Psa 84:6  Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

We will have nights of weeping.  That is how life will be.  May God help you to have laid a foundation that you know God in such a way that you are weeping not for self-pity or regret, but you have chosen to identify with, “I want to do something to please God; I want to have a positive influence on the children in my life by living past my personal condition.”

Psa 84:7  They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

There is a place of vision, of anointing, of where men and women come to the end of themselves.  You children and young people are blessed to be taught by example and the provision of God that there is a place in worshipping God where you are saved through the blood and you go through the door and begin eating the manna from heaven. 

We are blessed to have a bible that is full of the bread from heaven, fresh every Sabbath.  The Sabbath is every day in the New Testament in the thought, “This is a day of rest from sin, from carnality, and from the individuals that want to mold my life as they wish.”

We can go from strength to strength.  What the world will feed you with will leave your mind distorted, will leave your life scarred, marred, and wrecked.  I have a friend that I can say, “The road of success has led this man to a road of emptiness.”

Everyone in Zion appears before God:  I don’t want you to see me without God.  I don’t want to see you without God.  When we appear before God and worship God we are changed, our mind goes from self and cares to “I want to please God and do what is pleasing in His sight.”

2Sa 7:8  Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:

2Sa 7:9  And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.

The Lord spoke to David, “I took thee from the back side of nowhere.  From being an unknown boy.” 

These precious children that are making plans for their life, and for all the rest of us, “You are up there and just about done for,” is man’s talk.  God is still God.  It will be very beneficial for these children and young people if you will realize that God identified with David when he was just a boy taking care of the sheep.

I don’t know the plans that God has, but they will be revealed to you through you worshipping God. There are many voices in the world that want to mold my life and I am over 60.  There are voices in the world that want to mold your life. 

We have the best mold, the Word of God and the Lord.  We have the potter, we are to be the clay. 

God said, “David, don’t forget what I have done.”  Even the youngest person in this life has had a miracle from God in their life.  We are so blessed.  God says to everyone in this audience, “Don’t forget.”

I remember dear Sister Coleman that came with a love for God.  I remember her speaking to my daddy.  She said, “Let no man take thy crown.”  My dad never forgot it.

God is faithful but sometimes we take it so lightly.  He said, “I took thee from the sheep cote and made thee a king.”  God protected David.  Remember the spear that Saul planned to pierce through David?  God was there. 

I was with thee, I moved your enemies far away:  There are many enemies that we have today.  Unbelief is terrible.  Those that have a fighting spirit are to be pitied.  They have a click and clan and hold you at a distance.  What a terrible thing to have a fighting spirit. 

In Matthew it tells of those that don’t think God is coming today begin to beat on each other.  You need to get a hold of God and say, “I need someone to get the jumper cables on me so that I get the victory over that.” 

The spirit of lukewarmness:  People get excited about everything except the things of God.  We need to be excited about bible salvation, sanctification, and working for God.

We have wonderful songs, testimonies of the saints:  “I am a child of God” by Brother Warner.  “My Heavenly Father is Caring for me” by Clara Brookes.  We have a wonderful heritage.  The things in the bank will all perish.  The things of God are forever and ever.

God said to David, “David, my boy, I am dwelling a tent made of skins, you want to build me house and that is commendable.  I will build you a house.  I am going to set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed.  I am going to build a church, a beautiful building.  It will be a superstructure in the thought that it will be established on earth but it will also go to heaven.” 

Jesus came along and said, “In my father’s house are many mansions, I go to prepare a place for you…”

2Sa 7:18  Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

Pray for me.  I would love to master this teaching of sitting before God.  “God you are everything.” 

Then David said, “Who am I Oh Lord God?  And what is my house?”

David said, “Who am I Oh Lord God?”  I am awestruck at God.  When I am sitting, kneeling, standing before God, I am a man of many emotions.  There are times that I feel small, insignificant, and I am nothing, I own that. 

There are times that He comes and says, you are small, but there is something that you need to know, you have not chosen me, I have chosen you and ordained you.

When we come before Him we humble before Him and He says, “I am going to give you the strength, the grace, the words, and everything that you need.”

David was setting in house of cedar and his thoughts went to God.  May our thoughts go to God this morning.  David was thinking about God dwelling in a tent and David desired the best for God. 

Who will give of their best for the Master?  God desired the best for David.  Isn’t it wonderful to look back over David’s life and though he had failures, God desired the best for His life.  David desired to build for God and Nathan encouraged him to build for God.

“Go do everything that you want to do for God.”

Worship influenced David to do these things.  He hungered for God, he left the example of praising God.  He pinned,

Psa 27:4  One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

This world will destroy you and make you cynical; it will take your best and give you back chaff over and over again.  The prophet encouraged him in the Lord, “Do all that is in thy heart to build the house of the Lord.”

I encourage you, “Do all that is in thy heart for the work of God.”

The building today that God is interested in is this earthen vessel, “God I am going to give this earthen vessel over to you.  I am not just going to give you this vessel, I am going to first go to the brazen altar and know that I am clear with God.  All my sins are forgiven by the blood of the Lamb.” 

“I am not going to stop there.  I am going to measure to all the truths of the Word of God.  I am not going to draw the line at anything.  I am going to be in there enjoying that fresh Sabbath bread every day.  I want the light of the candlestick shining on me.” 

Take no chances.  First we want everything right between us and God and then everything right between us and our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Then we are in shape to go to the lost and do our best as one that has met with God and desiring to do our best for souls.