book of Proverbs reminds us. Da vid was afraid and left the ark of God with Obed-edom, the Gittite. Later word came of the great bless ing bestowed upon the man be cause he had this sacred instrument in his house. David felt compelled to feel the blessing of the Lord in his own life, so it was brought back to its rightful place. Vrs. 14 of II Samuel 6 tells us that as they were bringing the ark of God into the city of Jerusalem David danced before the Lord with all his might, filled with rejoicing. There was a common custom in those days that at the head of any parade, one would put on a linen ephod, get out in front of the pro cession, and dance up and down like a court jester. King David humbled himself in takingthe place of a servant since his heart was so glad and overjoyed. He was not quenching the Holy Spirit. There was no pride in his act whatsoever. But Michael, Saul's daughter and David's wife, when she saw what was happening (vrs. 16), "she de spised him in her heart." Many people misunderstand when an individual gets excited for Jesus, wanting to go to church, pray, read their Bible and the like. Think of being so despised by your own wife as David was. She branded him a religious fanatic. What a scene we have in vrs. 20 as she comes in to say contemptu ously, "How glorious was the king today!" How would she explain his strange actions to her friends? David's testimony that follows is beautiful. Everything he had done was to glorify the Lord. He was so full of love for God, he just had to rejoice in this fashion. As a judg ment upon Michael, the Bible says
that she would bear no children. Listen, dear friends, God wants us not to quench the Holy Spirit! The spiritual man is not understood by this world. As a young 17-year old boy, the night I was saved, I told a friend of mine I was going to prayer meet ing. He responded, "But, why? None of the other young people go to church on Wednesday nights." I responded, "I do not care. I am going!" A girl I had been dating before I became a Christian saw me one night walking to church with my Bible under my arm. She was very attractive and I had a liking for her. She was puzzled and asked me where I was going. I told her, "To church!" She scoffed and re plied, "Is that all you do now?" Although she scorned me, I wanted to do what God desired. I am so glad I did not quench the Holy Spirit, although I have many times since. When I do I lose the joy of the Lord. The spirit-filled life is simply letting the Holy Spirit do what He came to accomplish in us. WALK IN THE SPIRIT How long does it take a child to learn to really walk? Probably about a year. I can remember when my oldest son took his first step. My, that was a great time and a beautiful sight! I wanted the whole world to notice him. But he stum bled many times and frequently would cry when he fell. It was be cause of pain or even indignation. In those important days of early development he (and we) faced many new experiences as he grew in his abilities of walking. Page 25
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs