1 Chronicles 12

Nov 11, 2022    Pastor Daryl Zachman

“Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the leader of the Thirty, and he said, ‘We are yours, David! We are on your side, son of Jesse. Peace and prosperity be with you, and success to all who help you, for your God is the one who helps you.’” (1 Chronicles 12:18, NLT)

 

Where does blessing come from? How is it that some receive the dew from heaven, while others are barren? God blesses whom He will. He has mercy upon whom He will. Everything is by grace. But while we cannot control the blessings of God, some are in the place where God can bless them, while others are not.

 

David was hiding from Saul, yet many mighty men found him to join his ranks. What brought them? What led them to defect from King Saul to join a fugitive in the wilderness? And not only would they join David’s army, but they would also lay their lives down for their leader. The reason was that they knew that God helped David. The Spirit had left Saul, but He was with David. And they wanted to join God in His work.

 

But behind all this was the invisible hand of the LORD. He was drawing these men to David; He was adding to David a mighty army.

 

The same thing happened to the early church as they gave themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayers.

 

“And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47, NLT)

 

This is what we might call “good growth”. It is growth that comes not by human striving but by divine favor.

 

I came across a quote the other day by Charles Spurgeon:

 

“The saints are not, by nature, wells, or streams, they are but cisterns into which the living water flows; they are empty vessels into which God pours his salvation.”

 

I love this image of being a quiet cistern into which God can pour His gracious blessings. We have but one duty: to be an empty vessel and to keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 21).