Monday, February 6, 2012

Haters Gon' Hate



2 Samuel 6:12-16


12 And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.
13 And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
16 And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

Haters Gon' Hate

Sorry for the colloquialism, but it fits.  As a child we learn early that not everyone is going to like us.  When we grow up and go to work, we know that co-workers and friends are two different things and rarely overlap.  When we accept Christ, we learn this lesson very clearly.  The seal of Salvation on our lives makes us a sworn enemy to Satan and to everything that is contrary to God.  As we embrace the love of Jesus, we become hated by all things that are not of God.

Haters hate.  It's what they do.

Michal was Saul's daughter.  She became David's wife as a prize of conquest.  David had been anointed to be king and had ascended to the throne.  He walked, fought and worshiped in the favor of God.  But, when he rejoiced in a manner that Michal saw as undignified for a king, she despised him.  Later on in the chapter, she confronts him with her opinion of his behavior.  He tells her 'I was before the Lord'.

When we are before the Lord, there is nothing we should withhold from Him.  Not our pride.  Not our dignity. There is no praise, honor, tear, sorrow, joy or frustration that should be kept from the Lord when we have given our lives over to Him.  I know this, because Jesus gave all for us.  We, by example, should give all to Him.

Nothing of the world understands the worship of God.  It's not logical by the world's standard.  It's not rational. God is beyond earthly logic and reason, so, by that standard, God of course doesn't make sense.  That's why we're called to be spiritual, beyond our flesh.  

Those who hate us, don't really hate us...our person.  They hate the Christ in us.  We come in to a room, carrying the Holy Spirit, and every spirit that does not line up cries out in rebellion.  Like Legion who possessed the man cried out 'What do you, Jesus, have to do with us?' (Mark 5:7).  Our presence, our Christ-likeness convicts all spirits that are not of Christ.  So, in agony, they cry out, acting through the person.

Like David, we have only to embrace whose we are.  We can't help but praise Him.  We can't help but embrace Him.  And, if our worship takes us to a place that others find undignified, so be it.

Order is of God, but His ways aren't like ours.  We can't define Him by us.  So things may happen that we just don't understand....like the family that finds themselves praising God after burying a child...or the Father who embraces a dirty, rebellious child because he's just glad he's safe.  We can't understand a group of people who join in fervent prayer for someone most of them may not know personally.  It's hard to comprehend a woman who gives the last of her substance to the church because its the right thing to do.  Or a group of people who willingly and obediently support the work of the church through their tithes, forgoing the delights and the conveniences offered by the world.

Or a King who sends His only begotten Son that we might have eternal life.

It just doesn't make sense.  Well, not to earthly thinking anyhow.

So, dearest, don't worry about what so-and-so will think of your praise.  Worry about what God thinks of your praise.  Cry out ahead of the rocks.  Dance like your body is writing its own song.  Rejoice because today, God is in His Heaven, His Son is at His right hand and you have been redeemed from sin.

Glory to God in the Highest!

2 Samuel 6:21-22


21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord.

22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.

Psalm 150

 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

Honor and Glory to the Most High King!  Praise Him!!!

Lifeline is produced from the Evangelistic Ministry of Fellowship Church in Jonesboro, GA. You are encouraged to share this message. The Fellowship Church website (www.fcchosengeneration.com) includes a link to the Lifeline Blog (www.lifelineatfellowship.blogspot.com) where you can find previous messages. Evangelist Robinson also posts her entries on Facebook and Twitter. To subscribe to the mailing, or for questions and comments, tweet (@evangeliststeff) or send email tofellowship_lifeline@yahoo.com. Fellowship Church can be reached at chosen.gen@att.net.
Fellowship Church
Where Passions Become Reality
Because You Are a Chosen Generation

455 Highway 138 W, STE C
Jonesboro, GA 30238
770-573-9339
Alton Watkins, Pastor

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