A Time For Celebration Series

The year is so long ago we won’t mention it. But I was a freshmen in High School, I was playing soccer for my churches club team. We’re playing this team and they’re better than we are. They’re beating us, not bad, but they’re winning. Then it happens, it’s that type of play that can change a game. One of our guys just blindly kicks the ball out of our end towards their goal. I’m playing forward as the ball is flying, I start running under it. They guy who is supposed to guard me starts running too, but I’m faster than he is so I leave him behind. It’s just me and the ball, there’s only one player between the ball the goalie and me. And he’s running towards me instead of the ball.

It’s one of those moments that you see in your head. I see the ball is going to bounce between us. But I have time to jump up and head the ball past him and if I do that then I’ll be all alone, me the ball and the goal I’m about to score. It happens almost exactly as I saw it in my head. The ball bounces, I jump. I see the guy I see the ball, I see the look shock and horror in his eye when I head it exactly where I want. And I know I’m going to score. Unfortunately that’s the last thing I remember.

See visualized that play, I knew a lot about soccer, I knew about my ability, I knew his position. But I didn’t know him. See the guy was also a linebacker for his high school football team. When he saw me in the air. He just went into a diving shoulder tackle and took me out a the ankle. I landed on my head and shoulder, the result was a concussion and a separated shoulder. Worse to a very competitive teenage male, we lost the game.

But the good thing about games is that there is always another one. Fast forward a couple of months. We’re in the state tournament. We’ve been playing great, and breeze into the county semi-finals. Guess who we play. That’s right same team. Except this time we score first and then we’re playing defense like crazy. Cause they’re really good. The game gets into the second half and we know that if we can just score one more time, we’re going to win the game and go to the finals. They were better then us, but maybe not on that day. I’m playing a little harder then normal because let’s face it, I remembered what happened and I was a little angry about it. Then it happens. It’s another fast break. We’re running down the field, the ball ends up with me. Bam lower right corner, past the goalie. 2-0 we’re going to the finals. Now you have to understand what happened next. My dad taught me that we you score in a sport act like you’ve been there before. I usually did. Except I’d never scored a goal like that before. I’d never been there before. And I didn’t act like it. The arms when up, a yell went out. My team was screaming, it was awesome. We have a word for a moment like that, celebration.

Celebrations are great aren’t they? Here’s the question, when’s the last time that you celebrated something? What was it. I bet you remember. If it’s been too long then that’s a problem. Our lives should be marked by celebrations. Is your life marked by an attitude of celebration? Think of all that you have to celebrate. The God of the universe loves you, and paid the price so that you can live life empowered by Him. That’s the best thing in the world. If He’s in your life there are going to be things that you can celebrate. Today our key passage is going to look at a celebration that David had.

2 Samuel 6:12-23, “Now King David was told, ‘The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.’ So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when se saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, ‘How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!’ David said to Michal, ‘It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel-I will celebrate before the LORD> I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.’ And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.