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What on Earth Am I Here For?
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Monday, September 15, 2003
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the promise of fellowship that You give to us as followers of Your Son, Jesus. First and foremost, we enjoy fellowship with You through Him. Then we enjoy fellowship with each other, which is not just a casual friendship, but the deepest of relationships. I praise You that by the bond of Your Holy Spirit I may be drawn into unity with brothers and sisters in Jesus near and far. I pray that in all that I do and all that I say this day You will be glorified and Your body, the Church, may be strengthened. Fill me with the Holy Spirit that I may fellowship deeply with You and with other Christians in my sphere of influence. Let others see this fellowship and be drawn to be a part of it. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Verses
1 Samuel 22:1-2
1So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and other relatives joined him there. 2Then others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the leader of about four hundred men.
1 Samuel 23:13-14
13So David and his men—about six hundred of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all. 14David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let him be found.
2 Samuel 23:13-17
13Once during harvesttime, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. 14David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. 15David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well in Bethlehem, the one by the gate.” 16So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out before the LORD. 17“The LORD forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. This is an example of the exploits of the Three.
Reflecting on Fellowship
Do you have deep Christian fellowship with another Christian or Christians right now? If not what are you doing to bring it about?
Exploring Fellowship
Who were the first members of David’s “fellowship of followers”? Why caused them to join? (22:1-2)
In addition to the 600 men who joined David’s fellowship who was the mainstay of his fellowship? (23:13-14)
How did “The Three” demonstrate their loyalty and fellowship with David? (23:13-17)
Understanding Fellowship and my Purpose
What role did fellowship play in the development of David’s “army”?
Why do you suppose the people who gathered around David felt such a powerful sense of kinship to him?
Applying Fellowship to My Daily Life
What do you learn about fellowship in today’s reading that you can apply in your life right now?
David and Fellowship
David attracted men to himself quickly. As the Scriptures we read today show us, some of them were already friends and relatives before they became part of his army. Others came along because they were in trouble, or in debt, or discontented. It’s amazing that David was able to forge such a crew, into an army that became the finest of its day! Undoubtedly David had great leadership skills, and without question the kind of folks who came to him may have been predisposed to being good fighters. But the element that is obviously present in David that wasn’t there in Saul, was his love and trust for his men that build deep, abiding relationships and the kind of fellowship that can only happen among those who know the Lord. As we mentioned last week, fellowship is so much more than casual acquaintance. Fellowship is caring for others as much as we care about God! It is a deep, intimate relationship where life is shared, not just surface level details. When the three went to get a cup of water for David from the well in Jerusalem they were demonstrating that they would literally do anything for him. When we experience that kind of fellowship with one another, two things happen: we are built up and encouraged to be and do things we would never otherwise accomplish, and second we draw others into our circle of influence. A church with this kind of fellowship is “magnetic,” it draws people to itself, even as David drew loyal troops to him self so long ago. May we live in such away as to be magnets for Jesus every day!
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