David Was Successful Series

Theme: David was successful

Text: 1 Samuel 18:12-16

Key verse: 1 Samuel 18:14: “in everything, he did he had great success because the Lord was with him”. Why God was with him? This is the statement of the problem, research question.

Introduction to David:

The name David appears for the first time in Ruth 4:22. The name continues to the end of the book of Revelation in the Bible. 1 Chronicle 29:26-28 says died at good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth, and honor. He became king at 30 and reigned for 40 years therefore he lived for 70 years (2 Samuel 5:4). David appointed Solomon as successor. 1 Kings 1:11ff. According to the Talmud Yerushalmi David was born and died on the same day as Shavuot (feast of weeks). Islam gives high honor to David as one of the Nabis, calls him Daoud. His name is mentioned 16 times in Holy Quran. Jesus was called the Son of David not as the son of Abraham, son of Solomon, and son of any other great bible personalities.

“In everything, David did he had great success because the Lord was with him”. The Lord was with David probably for the following three reasons:

He was a man after God’s own heart, 1 Samuel 18:12-13

He walked with the integrity of his heart, 1 Samuel 18:14-15

He had served God’s purpose in his generation, (1 Samuel 18:16).

We will meditate on them briefly and you can elaborate by reading the scriptures.

1. David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 & 1 Samuel 18:12-13).

David was the youngest of the 8 sons of Jesse (16:10-11). He spends his life at his Father’s field as a courageous shepherd boy (1 Samuel 17:34-36). He was a Handsome boy (1 Samuel 16:12). He was chosen by God (1 Samuel 16:13). God was looking for this kind of man and God found this man in an unlikely place. His devotion is found through honoring God and dancing before the Ark of the covenant. He had housed the ark at Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1-11). The man after God’s own heart will fulfill all the desires of God’s heart, and will not oppose God, neglect God like Saul. All the circumstances and all the dangers were well known to God as Saul knew it. But still, obedience to God is counted above everything. Don’t justify your acts, don’t give excuses for your rebellious deeds. David was called a man after God’s own heart even before he was anointed and became a king.

David had shared the nature of sinful men but he loved and pursued God with focus and divine passion. He had a repented heart after his rebellious foolish act of adultery (2 Samuel 12:13). Bible calls all acts and deeds against the Will of God as SIN. Missing the mark, missing the aim, target, the purpose is a sin. Sin is unbridled evil intentions and desires. As king, he misused his power to utmost evil-coveted, stolen, and abused. There is no consensus for an act of Sin. Sin is SIN. ‘The impurity of lust transforms one into a slave of the devil’ (Henry Edward Manning, Cardinal, and Archbishop). Sin is normally categorized as Original Sin (ancestral sin) and acquainted sin or Committed sin.

Guilt is nothing but the realization that they have compromised their standards of conduct or have violated universal moral standards. The moral is an intended decision and proper approved action. Immoral is an intended decision for an improper unapproved action. The problem of our generation is denying the power of Sin and the power of godliness. “An unlimited power leads a person to an ungrateful life and egotistical lifestyles”. One immoral act of the head of the family demoralizes the whole family, destroys the future of the children and ruins the people of God, and brings disgrace to the name of Jesus Christ.

David acknowledges that God had crushed the bone of Jesus Christ for the sins he had committed during his days (Psalm 51:8). So, he prays to God, “Create in me a pure heart and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51: 10). David understood the need and importance of the presence of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit in his life (Psalm 51: 11). The presence of God is light (Psalm 90:8), glorious (Jude 24). Is it not true that we get a tremendous experience to read through the 73 psalms of David? The psalms are a book of praises. His psalms give the consciousness of God, intimate relationship with God, conviction on sin, and points to the forgiveness available in Jesus Christ. It awakens the soul to doxology.

2. David had served God’s purpose in his generation (Acts 13:36 & 1 Samuel 18:14-15).