BRINGING THE KING TO OUR CITY

MF Blume
September 25, 2011


1 Chronicles 12:38 MSG  All these soldiers came to David at Hebron, ready to fight if necessary; they were both united and determined to make David king over all Israel. And everyone else in Israel was of the same mind--"Make David king!"
   



Our church is coming towards a celebration of our first Anniversary in Portage!

It is wonderful to note the parallels between Genesis and Revelation, and everything in between.

Genesis 2:7-12 MKJV  And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  (8)  And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward in Eden. And there He put the man whom He had formed.  (9)  And out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food. The tree of life also was in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  (10)  And a river went out of Eden to water the garden. And from there it was divided and became four heads.  (11)  The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which surrounds all the land of Havilah, where there is gold.  (12)  And the gold of that land is good. There is bdellium and the onyx stone.

Some say Bdellium is a resin or highly perfumed gum, and others claim it is PEARL.

Precious stones, pearl and gold.

Revelation 21:18-21 MKJV  (18)  And the foundation of its wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.  (19)  And the foundations of the wall of the city had been adorned with every precious stone. The first foundation, jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;  (20)  the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, hyacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.  (21)  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls. Respectively, each one of the gates was one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as transparent glass.

NEW JERUSALEM has pearl, precious stones and gold.

Revelation 22:1-2 MKJV  And he showed me a pure river of Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.  (2)  In the midst of its street, and of the river, from here and from there, was the Tree of Life, which bore twelve fruits, each yielding its fruit according to one month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

So you can see that JESUS is the real ADAM.

Jerusalem is home of ZION, CITY OF DAVID,  and is very much associated with DAVID.

The CHURCH is called the wife of Christ in Eph 5, while the NEW Jerusalem is the bride.

So the progress of DAVID TO JERUSALEM shows the overall church of JESUS to NEW JERUSALEM.

The place where DAVID BEGAN HIS SERIES OF EVENTS UNTIL HE CAME TO RULE IN JERUSALEM was THE CAVE OF ADULLAM.

Saul became so jealous of David.

1 Samuel 22:1-2 MKJV  And David left there and escaped to the cave Adullam. And his brothers and all his father's house heard, and went down to him there.  (2)  And every man in distress, and every man who had a creditor, and every man bitter of soul, gathered themselves to him. And he became commander over them. And about four hundred men were with him.

Notice that David did not plan to leave Saul’s house and flee to a cave where he would have these men come to him when he first came to Saul’s house.

The first place ADULLAM is mentioned is in reference to an ADULLAMITE.

Genesis 38:1-3 KJV  And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.  (2)  And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.  (3)  And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.

Judah found his wife and married her and children were birthed.

A REAL CHURCH is BIRTHED, not planned by a group of people who want to see a new church.

When a church is birthed, it is as it was with David in the cave of Adullam.

ADULLAM means JUSTICE OF THE PEOPLE.

Now, do not make the mistake of thinking DAVID represented THE PASTOR of a new local church.

JESUS is our answer.

And the KINGDOM is understood in the Bible as being foreshadowed BY DAVID.

Bringing DAVID TO JERSUALEM is like BRINGING JESUS TO PORTAGE.

These men’s heartbeat was to bring David to the city.

True churches are born in OBSCURITY.

The men who came to David were so dedicated to David that we read they sacrificed their lives in events that finally led to TO BRINGING HIM EVENTUALLY TO JERUSALEM.

2 Samuel 23:8-21 KJV  These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.  (9)  And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:  (10)  He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.  (11)  And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.  (12)  But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.  (13)  And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.  (14)  And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.  (15)  And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!  (16)  And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.  (17)  And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.  (18)  And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three.  (19)  Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the first three.  (20)  And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:  (21)  And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.

THREE MEN SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES by fighting through Philistines in order to bring David a mere drink of water from a well in Bethlehem.

Today it can be so easy to focus upon ourselves rather than really focus on Jesus.

When you sacrifice YOUR LIFE, you are not focused upon hearing what God says to YOU about YOU.

1 Chronicles 12:1-2 MKJV  (1)  And these were the ones who came to David to Ziklag, while banned from the face of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war,  (2)  right and left-handed, armed with bows, with stones, and with arrows, with the bow from the brothers of Saul, of Benjamin.

1 Chronicles 12:8 MKJV  And of the Gadites mighty men separated themselves to David into the stronghold in the wilderness, men of the army for battle, setting in order shield and buckler, and their faces were the faces of a lion, and as gazelles on the heights for swiftness:

1 Chronicles 12:14-18 MKJV  (14)  These were the sons of Gad, captains of the army. One of the least was over a hundred, and the greatest over a thousand.  (15)  These were they who went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflowed all its banks. And they put all those of the valleys to flight, toward the east and toward the west.  (16)  And some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David.  (17)  And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, If you have come to me in peace, to help me, my heart shall be knit to you. But if you come to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, let the God of our fathers look on it and rebuke it.  (18)  And the Spirit came on Amasai, chief of the Thirty. And he said, We are yours, David, and on your side, son of Jesse. Peace, peace be on you, and peace on your helpers. For your God has helped you. And David received them and made them captains of the band.

1 Chronicles 12:22-38 MKJV  (22)  For at that time they came to David day by day to help him, until it was a great army, like an army of God.  (23)  And these were the numbers of the chiefs of those armed for war who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the Word of Jehovah.  (24)  The sons of Judah bearing shield and spear were six thousand and eight hundred, armed for war.  (25)  From the sons of Simeon the mighty men of power for the war, seven thousand and one hundred.  (26)  From the sons of Levi were four thousand and six hundred.  (27)  And Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, and with him were three thousand and seven hundred.  (28)  And Zadok, a young man mighty in power, and of his fathers' house were twenty-two captains.  (29)  And the sons of Benjamin, the kindred of Saul were three thousand. And before, the most of them had kept their allegiance to the house of Saul.  (30)  And of the sons of Ephraim were twenty thousand and eight hundred, mighty men of valor, famous throughout the house of their fathers.  (31)  And from the half tribe of Manasseh were eighteen thousand, who were chosen by name to come and make David king.  (32)  And from the sons of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, the heads of them were two hundred. And all their brothers were at their command.  (33)  From Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all the weapons of war, fifty thousand who could keep rank. They were not of a double heart.  (34)  And from Naphtali, a thousand captains; and with them with shield and spear were thirty-seven thousand.  (35)  And of the Danites, expert in war, were twenty-eight thousand, six hundred.  (36)  And of Asher, going out to the army to set in order the battle were forty thousand.  (37)  And on the other side of Jordan, from the Reubenites, and of the Gadites, and from the half tribe of Manasseh, with all of the weapons of war for battle were a hundred and twenty thousand.  (38)  All these were men of war, keeping rank, they came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over Israel. And also all the rest of Israel was of one heart to make David king.

1 Chronicles 12:38 MSG  All these soldiers came to David at Hebron, ready to fight if necessary; they were both united and determined to make David king over all Israel. And everyone else in Israel was of the same mind--"Make David king!"

Anything we seek for in reasons aside from MAKING JESUS KING is sought for for the wrong reason.

Charismania is where we seek spiritual experiences and prophetic words and hands laid on us FOR REASONS OTHER THAN BRINGING JESUS TO PORTAGE.

Notice these men of David – men of war – were gifted and empowered supernaturally with awesome abilities.

If we put our focus on JESUS, and seek experiences in order to HELP PAVE THE WAY FOR JESUS TO COME TO PORTAGE, God will anoint us and empower us with gifts and abilities TO ACCOPLISH THAT.

SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM, and your needs will be met!

We need to be clothed and fed.

There has to be a PURPOSE in our search for the supernatural.

NOTICE reference to LIFE OF LOVE:

1 Corinthians 14:1-6 MSG  (1)  Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it--because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth.  (2)  If you praise him in the private language of tongues, God understands you but no one else does, for you are sharing intimacies just between you and him.  (3)  But when you proclaim his truth in everyday speech, you're letting others in on the truth so that they can grow and be strong and experience his presence with you.  (4)  The one who prays using a private "prayer language" certainly gets a lot out of it, but proclaiming God's truth to the church in its common language brings the whole church into growth and strength.  (5)  I want all of you to develop intimacies with God in prayer, but please don't stop with that. Go on and proclaim his clear truth to others. It's more important that everyone have access to the knowledge and love of God in language everyone understands than that you go off and cultivate God's presence in a mysterious prayer language--unless, of course, there is someone who can interpret what you are saying for the benefit of all.  (6)  Think, friends: If I come to you and all I do is pray privately to God in a way only he can understand, what are you going to get out of that? If I don't address you plainly with some insight or truth or proclamation or teaching, what help am I to you?

1 Corinthians 14:12-19 MSG  (12)  It's no different with you. Since you're so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don't you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church?  (13)  So, when you pray in your private prayer language, don't hoard the experience for yourself. Pray for the insight and ability to bring others into that intimacy.  (14)  If I pray in tongues, my spirit prays but my mind lies fallow, and all that intelligence is wasted.  (15)  So what's the solution? The answer is simple enough. Do both. I should be spiritually free and expressive as I pray, but I should also be thoughtful and mindful as I pray. I should sing with my spirit, and sing with my mind.  (16)  If you give a blessing using your private prayer language, which no one else understands, how can some outsider who has just shown up and has no idea what's going on know when to say "Amen"?  (17)  Your blessing might be beautiful, but you have very effectively cut that person out of it.  (18)  I'm grateful to God for the gift of praying in tongues that he gives us for praising him, which leads to wonderful intimacies we enjoy with him. I enter into this as much or more than any of you.  (19)  But when I'm in a church assembled for worship, I'd rather say five words that everyone can understand and learn from than say ten thousand that sound to others like gibberish.

1 Corinthians 14:23-33 MSG  (23)  If you come together as a congregation and some unbelieving outsiders walk in on you as you're all praying in tongues, unintelligible to each other and to them, won't they assume you've taken leave of your senses and get out of there as fast as they can?  (24)  But if some unbelieving outsiders walk in on a service where people are speaking out God's truth, the plain words will bring them up against the truth  (25)  and probe their hearts. Before you know it, they're going to be on their faces before God, recognizing that God is among you.  (26)  So here's what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight.  (27)  If prayers are offered in tongues, two or three's the limit, and then only if someone is present who can interpret what you're saying.  (28)  Otherwise, keep it between God and yourself.  (29)  And no more than two or three speakers at a meeting, with the rest of you listening and taking it to heart.  (30)  Take your turn, no one person taking over.  (31)  Then each speaker gets a chance to say something special from God, and you all learn from each other.  (32)  If you choose to speak, you're also responsible for how and when you speak.  (33)  When we worship the right way, God doesn't stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony. This goes for all the churches--no exceptions.

Let’s live up to our VISION STATEMENT.