On WeChat "Morning Prayer," Zhang Zhongqiu preached the fourth lecture in a series on "Victory in the Workplace." This time he talked about David. David was a model king who had many great achievements. His success came through allowing himself to be honed and sculpted by God through his difficult circumstances. The pastor shared the following thoughts on David.
David endured Saul’s dishonesty, relying on God. When Goliath challenged the ranks of Hebrew soldiers for 40 days, Saul said he would marry his daughter to anyone who killed Goliath. No one in Israel dared to fight. In the name of the Lord and through his power, David was able to kill Goliath. Women praised David by singing, “Saul has slain his thousands, David his tens of thousands.” So Saul hated him. When David played the harp to exorcise evil spirits for Saul, he wanted to kill David, but David escaped.
When the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, instead she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah. (1 Samuel 18:19)
Saul clearly humiliated David, but he was able to endure Saul’s attacks so that he could not get rid of him. Saul was held back by the power of God.
David was able to triumph over the flesh through the power of God and the Holy Spirit. Preacher Zhang shared: "When we face humiliation, there are many unjust things which may immediately cause problems. How was David able to bear the persecution and humiliation from Saul? David triumphed in the name of God. We can defeat powerful external enemies like Goliath by the power of God, and also can defeat powerful enemies of the inner self through His power.
Sometimes we can overcome the pressure of work, but our flesh may fail because we lack patience. We are giants at work, but we are dwarfs when we face our interpersonal relationships. This happens because we let anger, bitterness, and domination overwhelm ourselves. How can we learn David's patience? "
We cannot endure by ourselves. Patience is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, he said.
Live for and depend on God. How can we human beings be filled with the Holy Spirit and bear the fruit of patience? We must imitate David, who live for God and was also sustained by God.
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. (1 Samuel 17:45)
"A Christian cannot be strong without desire, but is strong when not selfish or egotistical," Pastor Zhang shared. We Christians are crucified with Christ, and now we live not for ourselves but for God.
David endured Saul's obstinacy, and faced the challenge he presented. The first time David was humiliated he was able to bear it, and because of this Saul was depressed. Saul's second daughter Michal loved David, and Saul found another chance to attack him. He asked David to kill 100 Philistines and cut off their foreskins as a gift.
David of course was smart enough to know that Saul was setting him up to fail. But David was able to overcome the difficulties and rejoiced to be the king's son-in-law. He knew it was hard, but he faced life with joy.
In fact, killing 100 Philistines was just as difficult as defeating Goliath. It was deadly and very brutal. The Philistines had cast iron technology, but the Hebrews did not. Only Saul and Jonathan had knives. So it was very dangerous and difficult for David to fight the Philistines.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, (James 1:2). David faced this matter with joy, and he got twice the result with half the effort. Saul demanded that 100 Philistines be sacrificed, but before the time Saul had set, he killed 200.
In everything, David did he had great success and he earned respect from others.
David was not harmed by Saul's tricks, but instead, David became more mature and shrewd. This shrewdness does not mean smoothness. It is spiritual shrewdness. The shrewdness is knowing how God leads and guides us, and the wisdom the Holy Spirit has given us. It is tempered by many things.
Saul wanted to let David die at the hands of the Philistines because he demanded that he return with 100 foreskins, but David more than filled the quota before the time Saul set. David’s name became known throughout the region. This success laid a good foundation for David to later become king.
"For each of us, if we can endure, we can win in the workplace. But if we fail, we can’t win. For today's Christians, we can experience the Holy Spirit filling us, and demonstrate the fruit of patience, when we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, submit to the Holy Spirit and endure for God. We fight the good battle for God and become a witness to his grace, the pastor concluded.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
