Session 1: I Chronicles 14:2-17 - Priscilla Shirer

Priscilla Shirer, Kay Arthur, and Beth Moore

My notes from session one of the Deeper Still conference, San Francisco CA, March 9-10

Uganda – covenanting to God. He moved because He was invited to move
We must first invite Him to move in us, our lives, our hearts.
I Chronicles 14:2 David realized that everything he had came from God moving on his behalf.

• He is my Source, my Life- Line. He establishes me. What He establishes He will keep together. He will take care of it.

• David gave God credit for what He had done, knowing that God would take care of what He had started.

I Chronicles 13 – David did not want Israel to be children of God in name only, he wanted the Presence of God (the Ark of the Covenant) in the heart of Israel (Jerusalem) again. Jerusalem was the heart of religion, economy, culture, and Jewish life. David wanted a “God awareness” for Israel (knowing He is near, believing that He is near and right there with you). David wanted the power of God to infiltrate their midst.

• Things did not turn out the way David planned, Uzzah died. God is not looking for perfection, He is looking for passion. He sees the heart behind the action – and result – and He honors the heart that is passionate about Him, no matter what the result looks like.

Bringing the ark to Jerusalem meant inviting the grace and love of God as well as the holiness and judgment of God into their midst.
If we want to "pull Him close", we need to be ready for the loving tenderness and the righteous rebuke.

I Chronicles 14:8 - “all” the Philistines went in search of David after he had invited God to be in every part of his life. Satan is going to send all of his demons to distract you once you commit to make a mark on the world for God, when you invite the fullness of God to rule and reign in all of your life.
This world is not a playground; it is a battlefield. Satan will use one thing after another to try to distract you. He will try to distract you by causing problems with your money, marriage, kids, ministry.
John 10:10 - Satan comes to steal your attention, kill your dreams, and destroy your ministry.

I Chronicles 14:8b - David went out to meet them, but first he went down to the stronghold.

II Samuel 5:19 - He met with God, inquired of Him.

• Do we realize how potent a weapon spending time with God is? We tend to say, “You pray, I’ll make something happen”. Praying is the most potent thing we can do. What a privilege, spending time with God.

“Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important.”
–Tyranny of the Urgent

Zech 9:12; Proverbs 18:10; Psalm 3 – the Sword of the Spirit. “Hide it”, meditate on it day and night.
“Be still”

I Chronicles 14:10 - David asks the “obvious” question, doesn’t assume that God wants him to engage the Philistines in battle. “I’m not going to do the obvious until You give me permission to engage.” “Do not lean on your own understanding …”
David named the place, “God has broken through.”

• Record God’s breakthroughs on your behalf, so that all who may pass by will see what He has done.

I Chronicles 14:12 - David didn’t think twice about it, did not play games or ignore them, but burned the idols.

I Chronicles 14:14 – David does not assume that one direction applies to all situations.

• Often the greatest hindrance to a brand new move of God is the one He just made. We get stuck on what He has done and cannot see what He will do.
  
• We learn to hear God’s voice through fellowship – continued, constant, always fresh

God gave new direction for a similar situation. It was unexpected, odd direction

• Sometimes "weirdness" - the things I don’t think of - denote the voice of God.

I Corinthians 2:14-16 - We do have access to the details. The Holy Spirit allows us to stay connected with God’s voice.
II Corinthians 1:13-14 - The more you know God, the more you will be able to distinguish His voice from competing voices.

Five “m”s of discerning God’s voice –
Message of the Spirit – not feelings or emotions
Live in the mode of prayer
Search out the model of Scripture
Submit to the ministry of Eli (mentorship) – ask them to come along side in prayer and counsel, then submit to their counsel
Expect the mercy of confirmation

I Chronicles 14:16 - David obeyed. The only alternative was disobedience, doing it his way. It was weird, but he obeyed. Unnatural, but he obeyed.

I Chronicles 14:17 - God trusted David with victory and fame because He knew David would turn it all back into praise and thanksgiving.

Thank Him.