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1 Chronicles 16:11 – April 6, 2008 – The
Lessons of 1 Chronicles
Intro: The Book of 1
Chronicles, it is so rich with history, pageantry, stories of faith, victories
and defeats, deceit and honesty, love and hate and of course David, a man after
God’s own heart is the central character.
Today I am going to look four lessons we can learn from this book.
The Spiritual point of view of life brings clarity to all other
areas.
1. We live in an era
and society that tries to divorce spirituality from everyday life. We
Can’t bring our
religious beliefs into politics, business or economics. Yet it is a
Relationship
with God that helps to bring integrity, honesty, fairness, transparency
And other
positives attributes into these areas.
David showed this in his dealings with
Individuals and
his nation.
2. You need God to be
your anchor in the storms of life. You
need the word to be your
Compass to & through
the many path ways the world offers. You
need prayer to
discern the will
of God, his plan and purpose for your life.
You need the counsel and
support of other
believers to be that iron to sharpen and focus you. You need the
Holy Spirit to
be your teacher, counsellor and indwelling strength.
3. This book talked
about the spiritual state of David’s kingdom.
Recounting from
History. The author Ezra who wrote this between 430
and 400 B.C. used David’s
Kingdom as an
example of how God could rebuild a nation.
Remember when David
Became King of
the
Saul who started
off well but through his own pride and sin led it to the civil war and
Witchcraft. Saul’s ultimate defeat was his own suicide.
4. Ezra through
David’s example shows God mercy and judgment.
God is with David
But when David
fails judgment comes. Yet God is
merciful because David repents
And this heart of
repentance is the key to God calling David a man after His own
Heart. Our nation needs healing, rebuilding and
restoration. This will only be done
When men begin to
focus again our relationship with God.
Matt 6:33 is a key.
Individuals and nations need spiritual foundations.
1. For us as
believers Jesus Christ is the foundation we build upon. Paul stated that he
Had made a
decision to know Christ and Him only.
Jesus told the parable of the
House on the Sand
in Matt 7 and Luke 6. The one on the
rock stood firm during a
Storm, the one on
the sand fell. Who or what you build
your life on will determine
Your outcome when
a major storm of life comes.
2. Nations are the
same. Pr 14:34, states “Righteousness
exalts a nation but sin is a
Reproach to any
people. Ezra knew this so as he was
writing this history, he needed
To keep the focus
on God Ezra recounted from Jewish history that importance of
Keeping God as
the forefront. He uses David and his
descendents as examples.
3. Ezra used these
writings to uplift the nation of
4. The promise of
David’s line and kingdom was first and foremost a spiritual Kingdom.
Ezra believed as
we do that the spiritual always leads the natural. Your focus,
Decisions, belief
systems, priorities, attitudes, speech patterns and actions will be
Determined by who
or what you believe in.
5. The word tells that the spiritual foundations are built
on faith, (Heb 11:6), trust,
(Is 28:16),
Putting God’s word into practice, (Mt 7:24), taking hold of the life given by
God, (1 Tim 6:19)
and turning away from wickedness. (2 Tim
2:19).
This book as a warning of how a nation can go from Chaos to stability
or vice versa.
1. Ezra saw that true
stability surrounds the presence and power of God. The symbol
Of that was the
ark. It was a symbol of God’s symbol of
God’s promises. He also
Spends a lot of
time talking about the priesthood, the law and the religious rites.
2. True stability is
when you allow God’s presence, power and promises flow through
Every area of
your life. 1 Chron 4:10, talks about a
man named Jabez who asks God
To bless him
enlarge his territory and influence, keep you hand on me or be with me,
Keep me from harm
and pain or causing it. God granted
it. This is a promise God
Will keep us in
perfect peace when on minds are focused on Him.
3. Through David we
see when He follows God he is successful.
When he doesn’t
Failure and chaos
follow. That is why we must stay close
to the Lord. We have an
Adversary an
enemy called the devil who will pounce on any failure, weakness or
Situation. David learned the hard way the price of this
lesson. Let us learn from his
Example and not
make the same mistake. Gal 6:8 remind of
this. Talk about pastor
Who lost it all
because of his pride?
God keeps His promises.
1. In this book we
see David calling on the Lord in times of trouble and peace. He
Knows how to
communicate with God and because of his faith, a messiah was
Promised to his
line. Jesus is that Messiah.
2. I know from
experience that God keeps his promises.
Paul says in 2 Cor 1:21,
That no matter
how many promises God makes, they are yes and Amen through
Christ. God keeps his promises church. He heals, saved, delivers, restores,
Forgiveness,
restores, reconciles, encourages, strengthens and so much more.
Through David we
see that. Ezra when he wrote these
accounts wanted to remind
His audience and us. God is faithful and he keeps his promises and
agreements.
The only thing
that violates his promises is disobedience.
On this day as we prepare
To take
communion, let us realize God greatest promise which came through Jesus
Christ.
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