Last month in Cambodia I was asked to preach a sermon at church. I’ve been reading in the Old Testament and thank God he spoke to me in 1 Chronicles 12. I was so nervous. And so sweaty. But with his help I made it through my first preaching experience. This is it:
David’s army grows exponentially
David was at Ziklag, which was a place that Achish, the King of Gath had given to him, as his base for his army. The men that came to David were trained warriors. They were skilled, they could shoot using their left and their right hands. They could aim with slingshots and arrows. They were experts with shields and spears. Their faces were like the face of lions, and they were swift as gazelles. The least of them was a match for a hundred and the greatest for a thousand. These warriors crossed the river Jordan when it was at its highest, overcoming all of the people they came in contact with. More and more warriors came to David. When they arrived, he welcomed them with an open heart- literally welcoming them into his core, so long as they wanted peace with him. He didn’t just welcome them into his land or welcome them into his army, he welcomed them into his heart. When you have a person in your heart it makes them special to you. David’s whole army was filled with people that he held in his heart, warriors that were special to him. If they only came to him to come against him or bring him down he handed them over to The Lord. He let The Lord fight those battles against those people for him. Verse 22- men were coming day after day to David’s army, similar to an army of God. All of Israel came together to help David overcome Saul’s kingdom, David is a King in the peoples eyes, and he deserves all of the glory that a King has. They came with wholehearted determination. Then, before ever fighting, they sat and spent time with David and rejoiced with him.
So we have David, who started out as a simple shepherd boy for his family. Through faith and trust in The Lord, he stepped up to defeat Goliath the Philistinian giant. He becomes a hero for all Israelites. They sing praise to his fighting power. David could easily have gotten a big head, could have taken the kingship from Saul and shown how mighty and powerful he was by doing so. But instead, with humble confidence, he listened to The Lord. He trusted what he was told and he rested with God and let God do the leading in his life. God brought him through much and now we are at this point where he has become the leader of an army. But not just any army, an army that is fighting to make him King.
I really want to focus on the comparison of David’s army to the Lords army from vs 22. In the study bible, they say that when it compares David’s army to the lords that they are comparing it to the power of the angelic host that The Lord commands. I think that’s a powerful picture in and of itself. But, something that I can’t get over is the picture of us as the lords army here on earth. God is in heaven and He is reigning there, but on earth He has provided for us the church as our base for our operations, He has given us Jesus as our commander. As soon as we give our lives to Jesus, He fills us with a trained spirit. We can fight with the many tools The Lord has given to us- we can fight with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (fruits of the spirit Galatians 5:22-25). We are fighting a different kind of battle than David’s army was fighting. But, our tools are just as powerful as his were.
Our faces are strong, bold, and confident like a lion because we reflect our God’s face to others. But our ways are gentle and gracious like the movements of the gazelle. David’s army looked towards their leader and they reflected the confidence and grace that he showed. It’s similar to when Moses would come back from being in the presence of The Lord and he would cover his face to hide the shine- he was reflecting the greatness of the one he was with. Unlike Moses, we have constant communication with The Lord if we choose it. He doesn’t just show up for us every once in awhile. And unlike Moses, we don’t just get God’s backside, but we get his face. He shines his beauty right onto us.
The light that He pours into us is overflowing everywhere we go. It’s not a light that is easily distinguished. So, just as David’s warriors were crossing by the Jordan at its highest point and overcoming all they came into contact with, we are taking on the world. Even when it feels like all the chaos and confusion is going to flood us, we are overcoming. Our light is overpowering the dark. Just as the least of David’s army could take on a hundred other warriors, so a little bit of faith in The Lord can overcome many people, problems, or situations. The greatest amount of faith can do even more.
Because of the trust these warriors had in their leader, their army grew. If you see someone who has an unwavering amount of faith in their leader, and then if you go to see what it’s all about, and you are welcomed, with open arms and not just that but an open heart by the leader himself, it would be hard to turn down. In the same way that David welcomed his warriors with an open heart, so our leader, Jesus, welcomes us with an open heart. He sets us in His core and gives us a special place with Him. He cares for us.
When we don’t have a wholehearted following of our leader, we don’t represent His army well. And if we aren’t representing His army well, it will be a longer process of growth and strength for our army. No one wants to be the sole strong warrior fighting among a bunch of weak warriors. We each have to be strong and we have to build one another up. We have to trust in our God completely and when our fellow warrior is tripping we have to hold them up and point them towards our leader, this selfless love and faith and trust is attractive to others who are looking for belonging in an army of love. That’s what we are as the church. We are Gods army of love. We believe that Jesus is King, He deserves kingship, and He deserves all the glory of a King. When we trust in the love we are surrounded with and when we trust that we are at the core of the love of our leader, it is easy to rest. To rest in His presence and to take joy in where He has us. David’s army came, and brought their families, to have a feast and to spend time with Him because they knew His goodness and they trusted that they could rest with Him. In the same way, we know how good our God is and because of that we can take the time to just rest with Him and spend time with Him. Then we can go and fight as He calls us to fight.
Trust in The Lord wholeheartedly and the army will grow. People are attracted when we love one another well and when we have unwavering faith in Jesus. This is how we answer Jesus’ great commission for us in Matthew 28:19 to go and make disciples of all nations. Word will spread of our fearless leader. Numbers will grow. But our leader will stay humbly confident, continuing to care for His army and welcoming new warriors into His heart everyday. And He will place Himself in our hearts so that we can show the same love.
Let this knowledge encourage you. John 16:33 in this world you will have trouble but take heart for I have overcome the world. Our Jesus is greater and stronger than any battle we may come to, all we have to do is keep our eyes on him.
