Friday, July 15, 2011

Men Gone Mighty in a World Gone Mad

2 Samuel 6:12-16, 21-23 (KJV)

 12And 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.
 13And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
 14And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
 15So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
 16And 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.

21And 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.
 22And 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.
 23Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

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In a world where everything but Godliness seems to be increasing, we have to ask the question: where have the mighty men gone? First, let me define what I mean by mighty: men who are unashamed to love God with all their, heart, mind, soul, and strength...even to the point of coming out of their outer garments to do so. Our society prides men on their physical prowess, their sexual prowess, intellectual prowess, and even their military prowess, but even here, in this passage, when they "Go broke for God", it is looked upon as something strange, feminine, and distasteful.

Well, let me set the record straight: Real Men praise God, and not only do they praise God, but they do so with abandon. David, in the passage above, had finally gotten in line with God's plan and how to bring the presence of God, the Ark of the Covenant, back into the city where it belonged. He developed a six-step plan: every 6 paces, he gave God praise and sacrificed to the Lord. He left a bloody trail all the way to the city. It was no wonder that by the time he reached the city, he had danced himself out of his outer garments.

Though David was not a priest, he put on the ephod, and operated out of the priesthood of grace, the order of Melchisedeck, the line through which his descendant, Jesus Christ, would come as well. He came in, leaping and praising before God. His own family member got upset with him for his outrageous display of praise. Because of her attitude, she remained barren for the rest of her life. She didn't give God the fruit of her lips; God didn't give her the fruit of the womb.

David, who understood the magnitude of having God's presence, took his might, and wrapped it up in praise and hurled it before the Lord, not caring who thought it was "appropriate" or not.

Our current world has seemingly lost its mind, lost its reason, lost its moral compass, and it is up to those who know God, who hold the presence of God as precious, to Go Mighty in a world gone mad. If there was ever a time for men and women to lift up our voices and give God the sacrifice of praise, it is now! Want to have Outrageous Church? Give God an Outrageous Praise, and watch him make you fruitful, while your critics stand around barren, wondering what happened. It is the Lord's doing, you can say, and it is always fitting to praise God!

Blessings and Church <3

Monday, July 11, 2011

I Don't Feel Like It Prayer

             Everyone has a prayer life. Everyone. Even atheists pray when everything in life hits the fan and their back is against the wall. But what fascinates me the most, is that the times we really should be praying, we hold back. What do I mean? When you are angry, frustrated, tired, and just plain fed up. Prayer is not just needed when everything is going well, but when you feel meaner than a rattlesnake too! David, best known as the King of Israel, and writer of a good portion of the Psalms understood this. He didn't just give God his "manly" dignified prayers or pretty emotions: he gave it all. He prayed when he felt unjustly treated, abused, stalked and hunted like an animal, when he was hot because bad people seemed to be getting all the goods and still doing evil. He didn't wait until he felt like lifting up a prayer. He even prayed when he was sick, depressed, and riddled with guilt for committing murder. You wanna have Outrageous Church? Develop the attitude of prayer. Don't let your situation drive you to your knees. Drive your situation to it's knees in prayer. I guarantee, if you pray to God in the name of Jesus, you won't have to wait until you get to church to have an Outrageous experience with God!