AND DAVID PERCEIVED

II Samuel 5:12 And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.

To my fellow reader and seeker of the true riches in Christ Jesus. I want to encourage you in living in the favor of our Lord. We all know that in Christ is all what we ever need to live in the measure of His will and life itself for He alone is life and has come to give it more abundantly to those who seek Him!

We live in a day and hour that the majority of the church thrives to gain a life surrendered to blessings rather than The Blesser Himself, Jesus Christ (see previous post, The Blesser or the Blessing). A Bride that has limited herself to be more of a “gold digger” rather than a true love finder, or in other words, a people found in truth of God’s Word, seeking first His Kingdom, His authority, His ways, His love beyond measure in mercy and even correction by the leading of the Holy Ghost.

And David perceived…

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

We all have times that we, (especially when first saved and a “newlywed” in covenant with Christ) where we had desired something for ourselves and either asked the Lord if He would give it to us and perhaps we kept this specific desire in our heart. “Oh Lord I would love that new car” or “Jesus I want to be a Pastor, a Prophet to nations, a Teacher to many”, “Lord bring a thousand people into the church, don’t forget your promised Lord!”. Now some of those examples may be exaggerated, but then again, so can we be when our perception is not properly focused on what the Lord has before us.

And David perceived…

David is known as a man after God’s heart. As David’s life can be widely associated with many other lives, from the grief David experiences, or the victories, the sins, and so on, David as well rounded to life lessons he has experienced he remained steady minded for most of his life time. In other words, no matter what God has blessed David with, no matter what consequence the Lord allow David to have, David remained as a man restrained to one focus and that was, as we know, the very heart of God Almighty!

And David perceived…

Let’s reflect a little before David came to his perception as God established him king over Israel. David was anointed by the Prophet Samuel (I Samuel 16:13), a Prophet of the whole nation of Israel! David is a talented minstrel on the harp. He wasn’t just a good musician, he was anointed! He was so anointed that he played for a King and evil spirits would flee! Nothing could stand against the anointing upon David’s life! David was so anointed and favored by God, he as a young boy, defeated a lion and a bear that tried to go against his few sheep! David stood and conquered his ground! David took down a giant and saved all Israel then following all the other thousand upon thousands of enemies he, by the hand of the Lord, single handedly killed off and helped bring great victory to the nation! David had a great reputation, so good that women began to sing songs about him and men yielded their loyalty to him.

David was one blessed and highly favored man of God. And yet beyond all that which David did, he still perceived that the Lord had established David as king over Israel, even though in the beginning verses of II Samuel 5 others were noting David as King and even rehearsing the word of the Lord over David’s life. But David had not yet perceived God’s establishing hand upon him as a king.

And David perceived…

Isaiah 64:6 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

How is it that this blessed man of God didn’t pick up the fact that God has allowed others to call David king and see him as their ruler? It is all because David was not after his kingdom, but rather The King, the very heartbeat of the Lord of all lords, the King of all kings!

And David perceived...

David would even take off his royal garb when the ark of covenant was before him and dance in the presence of the Lord. It came like second nature and was not an issue for David to remove himself from that which he has because the true King of all Glory was before Him! Who can stand against the Lord almighty? Who is like the Lord? None! David knew that if in heavenly places or even in the pit of hell, the Lord was with Him and David would do all in his ability to keep it that way. Nothing was going to get in the way, as David was concerned, from him living in the love and heart of God!

And David perceived...

No matter how blessed and favored David was, those things didn’t move him as much as the heart of God. God spoke many promises that were fulfilled over David’s life and I am sure David was very much thankful for them, but it was not enough to keep David singing songs while on the run from a lunatic and evil spirited king Saul. David realized what it meant to be married to God. As Adam’s bride came from his rib, next to his heart, so was David liken to the rib next to the heart of God. Through out Psalms many questions and concerns fill the mind of David, asking God what he shall do next, not because David was just trying to get by in life, but because David needed to know the heart beat of the One who he invested all of his trust, cares, and concerns too!

And David perceived…

Dear saints, blessings and promises will come to your life as the Lord is faithful to take care of His children, but don’t limit yourself to what God can give you that would just satisfy your flesh, ego, ministry, etc… Keep your eyes on His Kingdom, seek it first! When you seek fist His Kingdom and His Righteousness, blessings and all that which is needed for your life will come. It’s a promise, hands down. That even when promises and favor gets added to your life and you are truly thankful for it, you’ll find it doesn’t has as much of an impact as knowing the very heart of God. Thank God for his blessings each day, but nothing can get in the way from wanting more of His person, of who He is. When we are after the person of Christ, His presence will surely come. Sometimes we just cry out for his presence and that’s it. His presence does not save, but it is the person of Christ who saves. The presence just draws you to Christ and acknowledges His living being.

Many will go in the world, in the church, verbally advertising who they are…” I’m Prophet so and son or Apostle so and so…” These are those who are seeking first their own kingdom rather than primarily the One and only King.

David was not content to call his throne his dwelling place. Like a dog who strives to be indoors next to his master always, David always strive to be as near to the heart of The Master as possible.

Psalm 90:1-3 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

Are we like that? Do we find ourselves reminding God of promises that He spoke to ours lives or are we wanting to climb higher to His level to know more of who He is?

I remember three years ago coming here to Hershey P.A. willing to submit myself under the Word of God, engage in a life long relationship with Christ, and as days turned to months and people began to call me a man of God and one favored by the Lord, however when it came time that I by new spiritual nature began to arise out of bed immediately speaking to the Lord and doing things that I “normally” by my flesh wouldn’t do, I then perceived for myself that I have truly become transformed by the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t until I began to fellowship with the Holy Spirit and just cry out speaking in tongues that I then perceived that truly the Holy Spirit was within me. Yet all these gifts, these additives to a life as a found son in Christ only provoke me to keep going toward the mark, to keep desiring to be more transformed and in one accord with my Savior.

There are those who go walking around calling themselves something that they’re not, and living life deceived and not perceived in what the Lord has identified them as.

Isaiah 45:3And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

Brethren, we need to pray and daily take into action corporately of returning to and walking out the very heart of our heavenly Father. We need to come to a place that we perceived God has truly established us in this world to win lost souls to Christ. We need to perceive that God has established us in the house to grow more in Him and not grow out of Him, doing our own thing…assuming or asking God to just bless whatever we do. If we do that which God calls us to do…He will bless it, He does NOT, NOT, NOT, need our permission to bless something! He does NOT need our permission to invite Him into His own house, saying… “Lord we invite you today in this place”. When we don’t perceive the heart of God, we become backwards minded. We change the focus to us rather than God. Remember, He is God and we are man. That’s just the way it is, we can’t change that. When we seek first our “own” kingdom, we are looking to make God our secretary and re-write the destiny He has for our life, thus making it more burden some and questionable concerning our very own existence. These needs not be. Our identity is found only in Jesus and in Him alone!

So I encourage you my fellow reader, don’t let anything get in between you and the heart of God. Favor will come and thank God for it, but don’t allow the blessings to take dominance in your heart, tempting you to think your place of dwelling is in the blessing rather than in the Lord.

Praise the Lord He is our refuge! As David says in Psalms 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. The Lord will never leave you or forsake you if you are arrested and handcuffed to Him! The Bible says that the Lord departed from Samson and he knew it not, when Delilah had cut Samson’s hair after he gave away his secret (Judges 16:20). When Samson disobeyed the Lord that was like him saying, “Lord I no longer want be handcuffed to you” or “You gave me this strength, this blessing, ok I will take it on from here, I don’t need you”. But when we rely and truly perceive the Lord to be our source and our all in all, we come to know that by His grace upon and Spirit within we will be found righteous and in up keeping with His word and move of His spirit. We got to surrender, walk, and obey the written and spoken word of the Lord and have the heart of David when he said in Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Live a life perceived that the Lord has called you to deeper depths of understanding and higher levels of transformation in Him!

Psalm 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Isaiah 48:6 (AMP) You have heard [these things foretold], now you see this fulfillment. And will you not bear witness to it? I show you specified new things from this time forth, even hidden things [kept in reserve] which you have not known.

God Bless