What the Church Needs: David

What the Church Needs: David

     There are many examples in Scripture of godly men fulfilling their call and glorifying God. They serve as models; albeit, they are imperfect ones. However, they can teach us many truths both by their positive and even their negative actions. We look to these men only in an effort to project their emulative characteristics back onto us, realizing all the time that they are mere men, and sinful men at that (except, of course, Christ Jesus). We can learn; we must learn from those who have gone before. We look at these men and examples of the past in order to reform the present. Ultimately, however, we must look to Christ. We know looking back throughout the Bible that Christ was active within his people. As we look back on them, we are actually focused on Christ and his work then to better our now. So, what do we need?

David (Psalm 63)

We need a David-like thirst for God, heart of praise, joy and soul-satisfaction in God, and the attitude that God himself is better than life. This is a tall order, but thankfully, our God is a God of grace that desires the hearts of his people to extoll and glorify him. As we seek God and learn about him, we grow fonder of him and desire to worship him. The more we learn and seek, the more we worship and praise. The more we worship and praise, the more we want to learn about our great God. This is the sweet circular cycle of the Christian life. We commune with God and learn about him. As a result, we worship God. In turn, this drives us to seek him more. When we seek, we learn. When we learn, we humbly bow and worship.

     Psalm 63 is a beautiful testimony and guide into the heart of David. It is rich with picturesque language. We are at once captivated and whisked away; we are elevated to heights of worship and praise that leaves us craving more of this God. It is God that we want. He has arrested us, and we now live, breathe, eat, drink, work, and sleep to his glory. We cannot commune too much with our Lord. Oh, but we know what it is like to fellowship too little with him. We simply desire God.

     We would do well to emulate David in our pursuit of God and the endeavor to know him better. David sought God earnestly, and he did this early and often. He had a thirst for God that only God could quench. The soul of David yearned for the Lord. Nothing would satisfy this craving except his God. David was not content with idols or a man-made religion which sought to only please self or feed the flesh. He wanted God! He cared nothing for substitutes or diversions. David wanted to love, worship, fellowship, and commune with the Living God.

     David understood that the love of God was better than life. Everything could burn, but if he still had the love of God, then David was content. He could even lose his life (he came close on several occasions), but the love of God surpassed even that. David knew that it was God who gave him life, so David would praise and serve God with his life. Everything that we have is from God. All of our gifts, talents, blessings, and opportunities are from him. Are we using them to praise him? Do we take what has been given by our generous and good God and glorify him with them, or do we selfishly or stubbornly hold on to them and bury them in the sand?

     Another aspect of David's heart and desire for God was his mind. David remembered all that God had done for him and meditated upon his mighty works. This produced praise and adoration. David could look over his life and worship God because of who he is and what he did in his life. God is good and gracious. He is loving and patient. God is merciful and forgives the penitent. As a result of bygone grace and mercy, David is confident that his God will remain steadfast and faithful so his soul clings to him. Because of who God is and what he has done in the past, David's faith is strengthened and he seeks God all the more. God is his source of joy; David is satisfied in God alone.

     We need hearts like David. We too often seek joy and satisfaction in things other than God. We look to people, worldly success, numbers, and money. We rarely seek God, and when we do, it can hardly be called earnest. If at all, we seek him on our terms and according to our sinful whims. Oh, that we would thirst for God, seek him, serve him, obey him, desire him, and long for him. Why can't we love him more than our lives? Why don't we remember him and the great things that he has done? Why do our souls cling to everything but God? Why do we desire to be satisfied by temporal things? Have we stopped learning about God? If we have, remember that this is the fuel that drives our worship.

     Maybe we are too busy learning about growth strategies or corporate techniques and not the God of the universe. We are not in awe because we are not on our knees. We are not on our knees because we are not in the word. We are not in the word because we are busy putting out fires. We are putting out fires because we are not preaching and teaching the word. We are not preaching and teaching the word because it is not popular or suitable for church growth. We are not growing the church because God will not bless where he and his word is held in contempt. The word is held in contempt because it offends the people. The people are offended because their hearts are hard. Their hearts are hard because they have never been softened by the gospel. They have never been softened by the gospel because it is never proclaimed. The gospel is not proclaimed because the preacher has never been gripped by the power and glory of God. He has never been awed by God because he has been too busy trying to please the people. He has been consumed with pleasing the people because their opinion holds greater weight than God's. The opinion of the people outweighs God's because they pay the preacher’s salary. We could go on, but the point has been made— seek God and be satisfied in him. This is done by being in the word of God. When we are in the word, we learn of God. When we learn about God, we cannot help but to worship him.