Introduction

This chapter topic is talking about “The strength of David” which was telling us about all the experiences that David had accumulated gradually in the past had begun to grow stronger at this time. The growing strength comes from God and God’s presence could be testified in David’s experiences. Having God’s presence is the most important thing in our life. What David accumulated in the past is called victory. David used 20 years’ time to bear fruits after harvesting his victory one at a time. Both David and Joseph had the same characteristic, they had the character of not giving up. They perseverance in their faith for God, sometimes our faith requires one year, sometimes our faith needs to last for 10 years or 20 years. How do we know our persistence with our faith is right or wrong is very important.

The most important thing we need is God’s presence

There are some people who had got rid of God’s presence. Once God’s presence is gone, everything will collapsed. We must understand the most important thing in our life is God’s presence. In the previous chapter, why did David want to destroy the bloodshed from the earth? The shedding of blood is not just a matter of faithfulness or unfaithfulness, it is a sin that must be removed from the earth.

This was the reason why David killed the men of Ishbosheth, they thought they came to David with the decapitated head of Ishbosheth and they would be rewarded handsomely. Unexpectedly, David commanded his men to kill them. From a human perspective, if someone helped you to get rid of your enemy, destroy his Kingdom, you could rule the other eleven tribes and be crowned as their King. What a good thing? Contrary, David had them killed so who would help him in the future? In fact, this matter is not important. If God presence had been eliminated, it would be a fatal blow. The most important thing in our life is have God’s presence in our life but many people do not get it.

After Adam and Eve ate from the knowledge of good and evil, God’s presence was removed from them. In the bible, you see many people riddance God’s presence, Saul was one of them, God’s presence was removed from him and instead he had demon’s presence. In the end, he suffered from mental illness as a result he could not become strong but weak. He suffered severe depression and lived in torture.

We must understand the spiritual law, if you are blessed when you do something, it is because God is with you. If there is devil’s presence in what you do, it is called a curse. For example, as soon as you do this thing, the devil will be with you; as soon as you do that thing, the devil will be with you. No matter how thorough and detailed your plan is, it will be useless, because there are devils with you. Whatever you do, it will be unsuccessful. It would be impossible to live in this kind life.

Some people often thought living like me, they cannot live a good life. They do not know what I value is not money but God’s presence which is the key point. We must understand nothing is important in our life, only God’s presence is the most important in our life. If we do not have God’s presence instead, we have the devil’s presence, we will never become stronger. If a person does not have God’s presence, basically his life will be ruined.

In the past years, if David had only looked at what was in front of him, he could have conquered the eleven tribes by force, but was this right? Even though God had anointed him king of Israel, the other eleven tribes disobeyed and followed Ishbosheth for seven years. David waited seven years and six months. During this period, both Ishbosheth and Abner died, but their deaths had nothing to do with David.

David was not in a hurry. He knew that when people were in a hasten, they would destroy the presence of God. David's attitude toward sin, toward the shedding of human blood, and his patient attitude toward conquering these eleven tribes shows that David valued God's presence. Let me ask you when you encounter something and must make a choice, do you ever neglected the presence of God? If you destroy God’s presence as soon as you encounter trouble, how deeply will you be cursed in the future? Brothers and sisters, you must know that the devil uses tricks to deceive us and not using real swords and guns to attack us. This is how the law of spiritual world work.

The devil’s tactic has been known since olden times. The devil makes you eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The battle is over after destroying God's presence and causing us to live in curses. The devil is standing by watching people being destroyed by themselves. We must learn to be smart people, imitate David’s attitude, value God’s presence, and in the end, we will become stronger day by day. When people become anxious, they lose faith. Without faith, it is impossible to have God’s presence.

David had great faith in God, even though life was not easy. If you have read Psalm 6, David mentioned, All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.” It was hard work! Even if it was not easy during those years when David was on the run from Saul among the Philistines, it did not matter because God's presence was palpable.

David apprehended God was with him, and every time the devil came to deceive him, the devil failed. David would not be fooled, he would not bite the hook, he would not seek his own benefit, his own name, and he would not be cursed for his own benefit. Do you value God’s presence? I have ministered to many people with various illnesses and watched helplessly as they chose the path of destruction, ultimately wiping out the presence of God.

The other tribes of Israel anointed David king

We see that it was the other tribes of Israel who anointed David as king. Were they the one who anointed David as king or Samuel who anointed David as king? Obviously, it was Samuel who anointed David as king, but it had nothing to do with whether they anointed him or not. It had to do with God’s presence. God had already chosen a faithful man to be the priest, and then found a faithful man, David, to be the priest and the King. God appointed David to be the king of Israel. The elders of Israel came to Hebron to see David. What did they say?

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’ ” 2 Samuel 5:1-2 NIV

The other eleven tribes mentioned David as king of Israel and said, “ You will shepherd my people Israel and you will become their ruler.” What they meant by anointing David as king was to accept his shepherding. God had chosen David to do the pastoral work, and they were there to accept David’s pastoral care. That was what it was, anointing themselves to be David’s sheep, to be David’s people, to come under David. This is very interesting. David was able to win the hearts of the Israelites because he valued the people of Israel more than his throne. If you value the work, you are doing more than the people you lead, you are in trouble. No matter whether you are doing ministry, shepherding, or anything else, you cannot value things more than people!

If you value things more than people, do not expect others to anoint you as their shepherd. People will think that your virtue is not worthy of your position. We must imitate David and be people after God’s own heart. David valued God’s people far more than his own throne. David also knew that his throne came from God, so what he pursued throughout his life was God's will.

If David took great risks to attack the eleven tribes of Israel, it would be difficult to win the honor of the Israelites by fighting there. There is a saying in China: Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Everyone must know that the reason why David won the honor and admiration of the other tribes of Israel, and they wanted David to shepherd them, was because what David valued was the presence of God, not his own throne, food, drink, fun, and rights. As a result, David grew stronger and stronger, and all the eleven tribes submitted to him.

Capture the land of Jerusalem

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David. 2 Samuel 5: 6-7 NIV

And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.
2 Samuel 5:10 NIV

Growing stronger and powerful were closely related to the seizure of land. After David became king of Israel, he went to attack Jerusalem, which was also called the City of David. Next to Jerusalem was Bethlehem, the City of David. Bethlehem was very close to Jerusalem, and the Jebusites lived in Jerusalem. David then led his men to attack the Jebusites in Jerusalem and capture the land of Jerusalem as they were enemies of God. David was so powerful and his expansion of his territory. The people of Israel were finally unified into one nation.

Originally, Jerusalem, all the land of Judah, Samaria, and the entire land of Israel were the promised lands of God to the Israelites. If David did not take over, he would destroy God's presence. David and his men went to Jerusalem and attacked the Jebusites in that land. As a result, the Jebusites said this to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” We were confused after hearing this, and thought to ourselves, what was the reason why David could never go in? You could not kill even the lame or the blind because the walls of Jerusalem are very strong and there were ditches and trenches inside. If we want to expand our land, can we expect expansion without fighting?

The enemy said, if you could not even get rid of the blind and lame, how could you get into this place? If you could not even defeat the blind and lame, and they could defeat your Israeli troops in the trenches, then why are you fighting? There were no drones or air force in that era, so people just climbed up the city wall, but David was stunned. What was the reason? God's presence was with David. Expanding the land of the Israelites and driving these people out of this place was God's will for the Israelites.

If God wants us to expand, we do not follow His instruction to expand and we do not take the promises God has given us, we will simply allow the enemy to occupy the land which God has promised us. What do you think the outcome will be? David went to fight against the Jebusites. Later, David captured the fortress of Zion, and named it the City of David. In verse 10 mentioned that David became more and more powerful, “because the Lord God Almighty was with him.” If God is with us, there is no difficulty that cannot be overcome and if God is with us, all problem will be solved. God is with us, and we should not be anxious. When God is staying by our side, we can deal with all the devil’s schemes. If we do not fall on the devil’s schemes, there will be no way that we destroy God’s presence, If we want to expand, we will encounter enemies and competitors indefinitely.

Currently, we are in this generation, a season of growing strength. Do not make any mistakes. You must know that God’s presence is the most important thing. Should we take advantage of other tribes? No. What we must solve is pastoral care issue. There will be people saying that we are always criticizing other churches and they are not able to comprehend as many people have not entered God’s desire. Some people even give me a label and said to me “ You think you are the only one who had done right.”

Ming Ding theology is on the road of expansion, and we must win God’s presence to ensure people know that we are a pastoral church. Do you know that the current generation of the churches lack the most is pastoral care? Without pastoral care God’s people are suffering and having a difficult time. Let me tell you when God sees that those churches are not shepherding His people well, God takes away His people and gives them to those churches that can shepherd them. This is God’s intention ; we are heading God’s direction for our church to expand and our continuous improvement in our pastoral care. Although we are a pastoral church, our pastoral care performance is imperfect, and we need to continue to expand.

To expand the church of God, we need to strengthen the foundation of the church, and constantly gaining unreachable area are what we need to do most now. That is called growing stronger. Within us, there is this feeling that we are in a season of growing strength and do not forget in this season that is God who gives us victory. Maybe we are attacking a spiritual castle, and the devil in this spiritual castle may tell us that even a lame or blind person cannot enter in.

If the blind and lame are in there and you cannot get in, then the devil's stronghold is so strong. Even though the fortress is so strong but it cannot stop God’s from going in. If God is with us, we will capture the heavenly Jerusalem, the Jerusalem is the spiritual world. As we began to gain victory bit by bit and move forward bit by bit, the King of Tyre began to contribute. Do you know what contribution is? It means that when the surrounding countries see that you are strong, they will flatter you and pay tribute to you.

Hiram, King of Tyre begun to contribute

And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. 2 Samuel 5:10-11 NIV

As David grew stronger, the effects he brought were unimaginable. King Hiram surrendered to David. In order to be in good books with David, Hiram transported cedar trees to David and sent envoys and carpenters to build a palace for David. If you are not strong enough, who will care about you? In our generation, we have also witnessed the rise of the Chinese nation.

The Chinese nation has begun to become stronger, unlike the past hundred years when it suffered many humiliations from the world's great powers. Since the September 18th Incident, China had been torn into pieces. We must know Chinese are to be raised up in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. God will use the Chinese greatly in this era.

When we conquer one stronghold after another and win in the spiritual world, even the king of Tyre will come to contribute. The prosperous days were approaching, compared to those difficult days in the past, it was not easy to think about the road David travelled back then. When David was leading the four to five hundred people, he was always busy. The six hundred people sometimes even thinking of stoning David to death. Even in such a difficult environment, David still persisted in coming through. David’s perseverance was admirable.

In this era, we must once again persist and continue to maintain God’s presence, and do not destroy God’s presence. If you persist until the King of Tyre comes to pay tribute, that will be incredible! Next, our Mong Ding theology enters a season of increasing strength. Of course, we must also learn a lesson, we must be particularly careful not to fall into the pit that David fell into. David once sinned against God, and his lessons are also lessons for us to learn. If people start to feel that they are great just because they are improving, that would be trouble! We must know that we are not great, God is with us when we obey God’s words and act according to His words.

The enemies were also defeated before David

Later, God established David as King of Israel, and the war begun. The Philistines came to attack the Israelites. David came for the first time and set up camp there. Then David asked the LORD:

so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The Lord answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.” 2 Samuel 5:19 NIV

As a result, David defeated the Philistines. The Philistine king once had a good relationship with David. Now he must be regretting not killing David before. At that time, he thought David was Saul's enemy, but he became his friend. At that time, David was a fugitive and hiding with the Philistine, Achish King of Gath for many years. After returning to Israel, he became king and became their enemy.

When the Philistines came to attack David, they did not know that God is with David. When David asked God, God told him that he could go and fought against them. God would deliver them into his hand. Could the Philistines defeat God? Absolutely they could not beat against God. Whether you are a person, owning a business, or building a church, you must never lose God’s presence. As a result, David greatly defeated the Philistines.

'So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.” So that place was called Baal Perazim. ' 2 Samuel 5:20 NIV

Was the battle led by David? No, when David went in the battle, it was God who led the battle, fought the Philistines, and swept them away by water. The Israelites saw the Philistines were swept away by the flood even before the battle started. This was the power of God. As a result, the Philistines left the idol at the battle ground and either their idols could save them nor they had the strength to bring the idols with them.

The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off. 2 Samuel 5:21 NIV

There were not of any use to bring the idols with them. When the idols were burned in the firewood, it could not be taken home to worship as it was useless. Later, the Philistines came back again.

so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 2 Samuel 5: 23-24 NIV

If there were sound of footsteps in the treetops, whose footsteps, were they? It was the army of God. God will fight for us, so our enemies will also be defeated before us. This is beyond human imagination. What we are fighting is a spiritual battle, and God goes in front of us to win the battle for us. If you can kill the devil instantly, it is not you or me that are great, it is because what we value is God’s presence. What a wonderful revelation is this! God fought for David and became an example for us to follow.

If there is the sound of footsteps on the treetops, it is God sending angels and heavenly soldiers to fight for us. But if we say in our hearts , “God has gone anyway, there is no need for us to go.” If you think in that way, it will be trouble as you are wrong. We are working together with God. When God sends his troops, we follow behind. This is called co-working with God. Never think that since God has already done it, we do not have to do it. Then you are mistaken.

So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. 2 Samuel 5:25 NIV

David’s family population thriving

There was another paragraph in this chapter that mentioned that David took more concubines and wives. More sons and daughters were born to him . David’s family population was growing and thriving. I do not know whether I should praise David or not, and I do not understand either.

These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet. 2 Samuel 14-16 NIV

David had given birth to many children. If you envy of David of having many children, I also hope that you will become stronger day by day. Did David destroy the presence of God because he had many concubines? No. Why? God really does not care about how many wives you have. Was this God's will? After Solomon was born, God appointed Solomon to succeed David as king and Solomon was the child of Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. It was too hard for us to understand. Was it a good thing or a bad thing? It is a good thing if your spiritual children are flourishing.

We need to know what God values and what He does not value. When David did that scandal and killed Uriah. God sent prophet Nathan to David and said to him that he had given everything to him. God did not care that he had married so many concubines. If he fell in love with Uriah's wife and told God, God would solve the problem for him. Why would David did such a thing to dishonour God's name? Why did Uriah have to be killed? This was a disaster as David did not follow what God wanted.

In fact, God really did not care whether David had one more or one less concubine. God did not want us to engage in thievery or shedding blood, because that was ruining ourselves. Later God cursed David, and the sword never departed from his house. Do not think that there are no consequences after committing a crime. Once a person commits a crime, there will be consequences. David's population in Jerusalem was prosperous, which was also an aspect of his growing strength. If David had not grown stronger day by day, how could he have had time to deal with so many children? Many couples spend a lot of time raising a child.

Conclusion

After so many years of accumulation, David finally lived an increasingly prosperous life. I also wish that this day would come to us. There is a clear impression in my spirit that this season is coming. It was not easy for us to persevere in the past years, but Ming Ding theology will affect the entire generation. This generation is so lacking in pastoral churches. If someone is willing to build a pastoral church, we are willing to share all we have gained without reservation, hoping that God's will’s will be accomplished.

The days of our church growing stronger are coming soon, and I hope that our brothers and sisters can see the needs of this generation and train ourselves. If your mind is narrow, expand your horizon, if your mind is not enough to utilise, start learning to become a wise person and longing to be used by God. In this generation, there are many opportunities in the spiritual world.

God has given you and me this opportunity. We must seize this opportunity tightly, shape ourselves into a person who is after God’s heart and shepherds God’s people. Do not fight with the people you are shepherding all day long, and do not fight with your students. If you are not doing right, there must be something within us that is not correct. The most important thing for us is to adjust ourselves.

May God bless everyone!