* Life lessons – the lessons of the cross

1. In the history of David, we need to see God’s sovereignty and David’s learning the lessons of the cross—1 Sam 16:1–2 Sam 24:25:
1. Under God’s sovereignty David was tested and approved in his trusting God and defeating Goliath—1 Sam. 17:1-58:
1. David’s experience as a shepherd had trained him to trust in the Lord; David told Goliath that “it is not by sword or spear that Jehovah saves, for the battle is Jehovah’s and He will deliver you into our hand”.
2. From David’s experience, we need to realize that because we are pursuing Christ today, every aspect of our environment is absolutely under God’s sovereign hand—Matt. 10:30; Psa. 31:15a; 39:9; Rom. 8:28.
2. David, under God’s sovereignty, was selected to be an attendant of Saul, the present king; by these two being put together, Saul was exposed as being a person who was opposite to God’s will, and David was manifested to be a man according to God’s heart—1 Sam. 18:6-11a:
1. For David to be tested in his relationship with Saul meant that David was continually put on the cross; Saul went from being envious of David to plotting how he might kill him without damaging his own name; when Saul attempted to kill him, David did not fight or do anything to avenge himself; he only fled; David feared God and did not dare to overthrow the divine order arranged by God—1 Sam. 18:10-20:42; cf. Rom. 12:19; Eph. 4:26; Gal. 5:21, 24.
2. David was one who knew God’s authority from his heart; David’s attitude was that of denying the self and submitting to God’s authority.
3. If some will pay the price to experience the breaking of the cross by living under the cross, know and deal with their natural life and disposition, put to death the flesh, and deny themselves before God, they will certainly know God’s authority and be able to bring in God’s authority—this is a basic principle.
4. According to the realization of the New Testament, David bore the cross every day under any kind of situation; Philippians 3:10 indicates that the strength for us to bear the cross is the power of Christ’s resurrection; Christ has come into us to live in us and to bear the cross within us.
5. The goal of the discipline of the Holy Spirit is for us to be a broken man; God puts us in a place of total inability and helplessness so that He can have the free way to work Himself with all His unsearchable riches into us—2 Cor. 1:8-9; 4:16-18; Rom. 8:28-29.

* Spiritual principles – all must be initiated by God and done by God; we need to stop our ‘self’ and cooperate with god

2. David cared for God’s habitation on earth, the habitation of the Ark of God—2 Sam. 6:1-7:29; Psa. 132:1-18:
1. Although God did not want David to build the temple, he prepared the builder, the site, and the materials for the building of the temple; God also revealed to David by His Spirit the pattern of the temple, and before David died, he gave this pattern to Solomon his son; thus, David fulfilled his ministry and co-worked with God for the completion of the building of the temple—2 Sam. 8:11; 1 Chron. 22:14-16, 28:11-19.
2. David was zealous to build a temple for God, but God rejected David’s good intention; God sent Nathan the prophet to David to ask, “Is it you who will build Me a house for Me to dwell in?”—2 Sam. 7:1-3:
1. It must be initiated by God: This shows that all our work and service in the church must be initiated by God and must be according to His desire; anything that is initiated or started by man, regardless of how much it is for God, is a religious activity devoid of the presence of Christ.
2. It must be decided by God: Our heart to serve God is acceptable, but our decision to do something for Him is not acceptable; God said to David, “Is it you…?”; God does not want us to decide anything on His behalf.
3. Because David was one who feared God and cooperated with God, he did not react when God told him through Nathan to stop in his determination to be the one who would build the temple; the act of David’s stopping to carry out his desire to build the temple is a great matter; Sister M. E. Barber said, “Whoever cannot stop working for the sake of God cannot work for the sake of God”—Luke 10:38-42.
4. David’s stopping established a twofold testimony in the universe: first, all the work in the universe should come from God, not from man; second, all that matters is what God does for man, not what man does for God—2 Sam. 7:11-14a, 18, 25.
5. We must learn deep within that God wants only our cooperation; He does not need us to do anything for Him; we must stop all our opinions, decisions, and ideas; we need to let Him speak, let Him come in, and let Him command—Matt. 17:5.

Hymns: 1248

Message 6: Spiritual Principles, Life Lessons, and Holy Warnings Seen in the History of David

2021 DST 6e

Put to death

the flesh

Know God’s

authority

Experience

The cross

Message 6 (Cont.)

* Holy warnings – lean to fear God and be generous to others; our being and doing must be right with god so to participate in the enjoyment of the unsearchable riches of Christ

3. The account of God’s punishing judgment on David is written as a warning to us today; God is not only loving and merciful, but He is also just and fearsome; God forgave David, but He also disciplined and chastised David according to His governmental righteousness—1 Cor. 10:11; 2 Sam. 12:10-14:
1. After all the enemies of Israel were subdued and David was exalted as the king of Israel, David committed great sins while he was in a peaceful situation—adultery and murder; this indicates that whenever we are at ease in a peaceful situation, it is easy for us to be seduced to indulge our flesh—2 Sam. 11:1-27; 1 Pet. 4:1 footnote 4.
2. David’s sin was the issue of his indulging the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh; David, abusing the power of his kingship, committed willful adultery by robbery—2 Sam. 11:2-3, 4-5.
3. After committing such an act, David tried to cover his evil deed by means of a pretense; then he murdered Uriah, his faithful servant, by conspiring with Joab, so that he could take Uriah’s wife—2 Sam. 11:6-25, 12:9.
4. By his one sin David broke the last five of the Ten Commandments; his sin was a great insult and offense to God, and it nearly annulled all his attainments from the past—Exo. 20:13-17.
5. David, being a man according to God’s heart, he failed in the matter of the indulgence of the lust of the flesh; he sacrificed his high attainment in his spiritual pursuit of God; this should be a warning to all of us—1 Sam. 13-14; 1 Kings 15:5.
6. How regrettable it was that David, at a crucial time of the evil one’s temptation, did not exercise strong control over his lust but indulged in it and committed a gross sin that offended God to the uttermost.
7. God loved David, but because of his sin David lost his standing and position as well as eleven of the twelve tribes; David’s sin sowed the seed of Solomon’s corruption, which issued in the dividing of the God-given kingdom, and the seed of the corruption of Solomon’s descendants in the kingship, which issued ultimately in the loss of the nation and of the holy land of their fathers, in the captivity of the holy people, and in their being scattered around the globe and having no peace up to the present time—2 Sam. 20:1-2, 12:24; 1 Kings 11:9-13; 12:1-17.
8. We can see from the history of David that falling under God’s governmental hand is a serious matter; David restored his fellowship with God very quickly, but God’s discipline continued even after his death—2 Sam. 12:10-14, 15b—20:26.
9. Through the confessing of his sins, David’s fellowship with God was restored, as revealed in Psalm 51, but he came under God’s governmental hand; after his failure many evils, including incest, murder, and rebellion, took place among his family—2 Sam. 12:15b—20:26.
10. God exercised a severe punishment upon David because his sin was very evil; the source of the unprecedented evil in David’s family was David’s indulgence in the lust of the flesh; this shows that God’s chastisement and His governmental dealing with those who love Him may even affect their children.
11. This should be a solemn alarm and warning to us in our relationship with Christ; what we are, what we desire, what we intend to do, and how we behave have very much to do with our remaining in Christ and participating in all of His unsearchable riches for our enjoyment; if we are not right with God in any of these matters, we will suffer the loss of Christ as our enjoyment.
12. The all-inclusive Christ as our dwelling place, our all-inclusive good land, and everything we need for our enjoyment will vomit us out of Himself and not allow us to enjoy Him any longer if we are not proper in relation to Him—Lev. 18:25; Rev. 3:16.
13. Eventually, David not only became old but also was fading away; David’s life had a good beginning, like the bright sun rising, and his life with his career became like the sun shining at noon; however, his indulgence in lust spoiled his career and caused his bright life to fade like the sunset in the evening; in David’s old age there was nothing bright, excellent, or splendid—2 Sam. 11:1-27; 1 Kings 1:1-4; cf. Prov. 4:18.
14. The Christian life is a life of learning God’s government; we reap what we sow; the more generous we are to others, the more generous God will be to us; if we are mean and severe to our brothers, God will be mean and severe toward us; when others are sick or in trouble, it is the time for us to help them, not the time for us to criticize them—Gal. 6:7; 1 Thes. 5:14-15; Luke 6:36-38; Matt. 7:1-2:
1. We must learn to be generous and forgiving persons; we have been called to bless others, so we, as a blessed people, should always bless others that we may inherit blessing; what we bless others with, we will inherit ourselves—Matt 6:15, 18:23-35; 1 Pet 3:8-11; cf. Num 6:22-27.

2021 DST 6e

David’s sin of his indulgence in lust

God’s governmental discipline

Holy warnings

* Life lessons – the lessons of the cross

1. In the history of David, we need to see God’s sovereignty and David’s learning the lessons of the cross
1. Under God’s sovereignty David was tested and approved in his trusting God and defeating Goliath.
1. From David’s experience, we need to realize that because we are pursuing Christ today, every aspect of our environment is absolutely under God’s sovereign hand. [Rom. 8:28-29] And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,…those … He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son,…
1. David, under God’s sovereignty, was selected to be an attendant of Saul, the present king; David was continually put on the cross; David submitted to the divine authority, putting to death the flesh; David bore the cross every day under any kind of situation.
1. Philippians 3:10 indicates that the strength for us to bear the cross is the power of Christ’s resurrection; Christ has come into us to live in us and to bear the cross within us. [Phil. 3:10] To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
2. The goal of the discipline of the Holy Spirit is for us to be a broken man; God puts us in a place of total inability and helplessness so that He can have the free way to work Himself with all His unsearchable riches into us.

[2 Cor. 4:16] Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

* Spiritual principles –all must be initiated by God and done by God, we are to stop our ‘self’ and cooperate with god

2. David cared for God’s habitation on earth, the habitation of the Ark of God
1. Although God did not want David to build the temple, he prepared the builder, the site, and the materials for the building of the temple; God also revealed to David by His Spirit the pattern of the temple; David was zealous to build a temple for God, but God rejected David’s good intention.�[2 Sam. 7:5] Go and say to My servant David,…, Is it you who will build Me a house for Me to dwell in?

[2 Sam. 7:11] … Jehovah declares to you that Jehovah will make you a house.

• The act of David’s stopping to carry out his desire to build the temple is a great matter; David’s stopping established a twofold testimony in the universe: first, all the work in the universe should come from God, not from man; second, all that matters is what God does for man, not what man does for God.
• We must learn deep within that God wants only our cooperation; we must stop all our opinions, decisions, and ideas; we need to let Him speak, let Him come in, and let Him command.

[Matt. 17:5] … behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him!

* Holy warnings – lean to fear God and be generous to others; our being and doing must be right with god so to participate in the enjoyment of the

unsearchable riches of Christ

3. The account of God’s punishing judgment on David is written as a warning to us today; God is not only loving and merciful, but He is also just and fearsome; God forgave David, but He also disciplined and chastised David according to His governmental righteousness
1. David committed great sins while he was in a peaceful situation—adultery and murder; by his one sin David broke the last five of the Ten Commandments; his sin was a great insult and offense to God; he sacrificed his high attainment in his spiritual pursuit of God.
2. David’s sin issued in the dividing of the God-given kingdom, the loss of the holy land, and the captivity of the holy people; through the confessing of his sins, David’s fellowship with God was restored, but he came under God’s governmental hand; the source of the unprecedented evil in David’s family was David’s indulgence in the lust of the flesh; this shows that God’s chastisement and His governmental dealing with those who love Him may even affect their children. [2 Sam. 12:10] Now therefore the sword will not depart from your house forever because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

[1 Cor. 10:11] Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our admonition, unto whom the ends of the ages have come.

• This should be a solemn alarm and warning to us in our relationship with Christ; what we are, what we desire, what we intend to do, and how we behave have very much to do with our remaining in Christ and participating in all of His unsearchable riches for our enjoyment; the all-inclusive Christ as our dwelling place, our all-inclusive good land, and everything we need for our enjoyment will vomit us out of Himself and not allow us to enjoy Him any longer if we are not proper in relation to Him; the Christian life is a life of learning God’s government; we reap what we sow; the more generous we are to others, the more generous God will be to us. [Gal. 6:7] Do not be deceived: God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. [Num. 6:24-27] Jehovah bless you and keep you; Jehovah make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; Jehovah lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. So shall they put My name upon the children of Israel, that I Myself may bless them.

Bird’s-eye View for Prophesying, a Sample

Message 6: Spiritual Principles, Life Lessons, and Holy Warnings seen in the History of David

2021 DST 6e Musing Abstract

In contacting the opposite sex, we in the Lord’s recovery need to be sanctified and separated unto God. The evil concerning sex is very contagious. We must exercise our spirit to overcome our flesh and our old man. This must not be a mere teaching; it must be a practice in our daily life.

All the saints, especially the young ones, should search their hearts and make a strong resolution of heart (Judg. 5:15-16) never to go the way of the indulgence of the flesh. Our God is living, and Christ is real. With Christ as the life-giving Spirit, everything is real, but apart from Him everything is vanity of vanities. The Spirit is moving within us in a very gentle way. We need to say, “Lord Jesus, I love You, I need You, and I receive You.” If we say this, He will be our Savior and our dynamic salvation. As the pneumatic Christ, He will save us, preserve us, and protect us from the contamination of this age, so that we may keep the glory that we have gained.

<Excerpts from “Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel”, Message 34, “Man’s Failure and God’s Punishment”>

​

All those who serve God must see a principle from these examples: God’s work needs man’s cooperation, but it does not require man’s initiation. No work should be initiated by us. All work should be initiated by God. He commands, He calls, and He charges. We should listen to Him unreservedly. When He charges us, we should obey; when He demands, we should accept.

The son and the site for the building of the temple both came out of David’s being forgiven of his sins. Those who can see this will bow their head and worship God, saying, “It is not we who can do something for You, but You who does something for man.” We must learn deep within that God wants only our cooperation; He does not need us to do anything for Him. Even if we could do something for God, He does not need it; He needs only our cooperation. We must stop all our opinions, decisions, and ideas; we need to let Him speak, let Him come in, and let Him command. All we need to do is cooperate with Him.

<Excerpts from “Knowing Life and the Church”, Chapter 16, “All Service being initiated by God”>

2021 DST 6e

Message 6: Appendix 1

Message 6: Appendix 2

There are at least four different kinds of forgiveness in the Bible. We will give a different name to each of them: First, there is eternal forgiveness. Second, there is instrumental forgiveness. Third, there is forgiveness in fellowship. Fourth, there is governmental forgiveness.

1. Eternal Forgiveness

This is the forgiveness spoken of by the Lord Jesus in Luke 24:47: “That repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” This is eternal forgiveness. The forgiveness spoken of in Romans 4:7 is eternal forgiveness as well.

2. Instrumental Forgiveness

John 20:22-23 says, “And when He had said this, He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Whosever sins you forgive, they are forgiven them; and whosever sins you retain, they are retained.” In preaching the gospel, we often find sinners who are awakened to their sin by our word. We bring them to the Lord, and they confess that they are sinners. They pray for forgiveness with weeping and tears of repentance, and they receive the Lord Jesus with a sincere heart. But they do not know the meaning of forgiveness because they are heathens. At such times, it is good for a representative of the church to stand up and say to them, “God has forgiven you of your sins!”

3. Forgiveness in Fellowship

First John 1:7-9 says, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin. If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

4. Governmental Forgiveness

We can understand this kind of forgiveness from the following verses: Matthew 6:14-15; 9:2, 5-6; 18:21-35; James 5:15:

David under God’s Governmental Hand

To understand the significance of governmental forgiveness, we must consider the example of David in the Old Testament. No portion of the Bible speaks of God’s governmental forgiveness as clearly as the story of David with Uriah’s wife. David committed two sins: adultery and murder. His adultery was a sin against Uriah’s wife, and his murder was a sin against Uriah himself. If you read Psalm 51 and a few other psalms, you will see how David confessed his sins after his mistakes. He felt the shame, the defilement, and the offense that he had committed against God. He was sincere in his confession to God. This shows us clearly that his fellowship with God was restored after his confession in Psalm 51. This restoration of fellowship is analogous to that which is spoken of in 1 John 1.

What did God say to David? He sent Nathan to speak to David. I want you to pay special attention to what Nathan said in 2 Samuel 12:13 after David said, “I have sinned against Jehovah.” Nathan said to David, “Jehovah has also put away your sin; you will not die.” David said, “I have sinned against Jehovah.” He confessed his sins and admitted his guilt. He confessed that he was defiled and had sinned against Jehovah. In return God said through Nathan, “Jehovah has also put away your sin; you will not die.” Clearly David’s sins were forgiven; God had put away his sins. What did God say to David after that? He said, “Nevertheless, because you have given the enemies of Jehovah much occasion to blaspheme Him because of this thing, the son who is born to you shall also surely die” (v. 14). He also said, “Now therefore the sword will not depart from your house forever because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife” (v. 10). Finally, He said, “I will now raise up trouble against you from within your house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and will give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did this secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and even before the sun” (vv. 11-12). God had already put away David’s sins, but He would cause the son born to Uriah’s wife to die and the sword not to depart from his house. God had already put away David’s sins, but He would allow Absalom to rebel and defile David’s wives. In other words, sins may be forgiven but the discipline does not go away immediately.

<Excerpts from “Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 3) Vol. 50”, Messages for Building up new Believers (3),

Chapter 40, “Governmental Forgiveness”>

2021 DST 6e