Audience of One

Sunday December 28, 2014

As a preacher, I´m rightly concerned with the content of each of my Sunday Sermons. I must confess, however, that I can fall into the trap of being overly concerned with what people think of my message -- not whether or not the message is clearly understood or whether the people and the Lord Himself are blessed by what I say. I can become more concerned with the goal of having church members like what I say and approve of my message. Sometimes a furrowed brow in the congregation, especially from someone I know and respect spiritually, can seriously interrupt my flow and cause me no small amount of consternation.

In 2 Samuel 6, David didn´t dabble in such self-obsession as he danced "with all his might" before the ark (v. 14). His behaviour wasn´t becoming for a king, nor was it in keeping with the character of a mighty warrior. ("Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!" the people sang in 1 Samuel 18:7). Mighty warriors and kings simply didn´t behave so passionately, so exuberantly in front of their subjects. What must his generals have thought?

But David danced before God "with all his might", because God is worthy of all our worship, and He demands our all. The writer of the great hymn "When I survey the Wondrous Cross" put it perfectly : "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all". Likewise, in John 7:1-52, we read of Jesus passionately doing what His Father wanted Him to do. His family, the Jews, the multitude and the Pharisees all turned on Him! But He pressed on, despite their sniping words and physical attacks. Only His Father´s opinion really mattered. May that also be true of us as we passionately serve our audience of One. - Russell Fralick

Read
2 Samuel 6:12-23
Now King David was told, "The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"
David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord´s people Israel -- I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."
And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Philippians 1:21
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Question to Ponder
How does pride sometimes prevent us from truly worshipping God?
Why are we sometimes held back by opinions of others?
What can we do about that?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Bread with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue