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<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER">“<b>TWO
ARE BETTER THAN ONE” MINISTRIES</b></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER"><b>Jim
& Marie Watt</b></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER"><b>Tel:
253-517-9195 - Email: <a href="mailto:jmbetter@gmail.com">jmbetter@gmail.com</a></b></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER"><b>Web:
<a href="http://www.2rbetter.org/">www.2rbetter.org</a></b></p><p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER">February 1, 2012</p><p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER"><br></p>
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<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"><b>(Jim
& Marie Watt – Beth Chesed, Tacoma</b></font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"><b>December
11, 2006)</b></font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER"><u>“<font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"><b>THE
RETURN OF GOD’S GLORY” – Bakht Singh</b></font></u><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"></font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"><b>David:
The Third Divine Principle</b></font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in" align="CENTER"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2">The
third name is David, illustrating the third divine principle – the
necessity for God’s order. In Samuel 16:12-14, even though the Lord
had departed from Saul, yet we see that God allowed him to continue
as king for a while, so that David also might be properly prepared.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> In
1 Samuel 30:1-4 we read of the tragic way in which David was overcome
by the Amalekites at Ziklag. David and his men all began to weep
until they had no power left to weep. Why? Because their wives and
their children were taken captive; and their houses and possessions
were burned – what a great loss! Now it is generally the privilege
of women to weep. They weep on the roadside, bus, on the train –
anywhere. But a man does not weep. If a man should weep on the
roadside, it is considered strange. Here we find that David and all
his men were weeping. This shows what a very great loss there was to
recover!</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> This
loss was the result of David’s own failure. He had failed to
consult God before he joined the army of the Philistines.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> The
time came when the Philistines joined battle against Israel. 1 Samuel
29. David saw in this an opportunity to avenge himself on Saul; so he
decided to join the Philistines in battle too, saying to himself, “He
is my enemy; he has tried to kill me; I have waited so long for this
chance; let me go against Saul.” Though he knew full well that God
would not allow him to touch Saul, he impatiently joined the
Philistines, not waiting to find God’s will as he had done at other
times. But he failed, and he and his men suffered great loss.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> In
verse 8 we see David enquiring after God. God forgave him and told
him to “pursue, overtake them, and without fail, recover all.”
David pursued, and not only recovered all but found such great spoil
that he was able to pay his debts to all his men; and send gifts to
the elders in Judah.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> But
God himself dealt with Saul without the help of David. We see in 1
Samuel 31:1-6 that Saul’s end came when the battle of the
Philistines went sore against him, and Saul died. David had no need
to go against him. God had this in His own control.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> My
point is, that we do not have to go and fight against people –
using carnal weapons!</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> 2
Samuel 24:1-4; 13-17 gives the second occasion when David incurred a
loss. He fell into temptation by numbering the people. He knew full
well that all the battles had been fought and won because of the
power of God, and not by the strength of his army; but because of his
pride, he wanted to assure himself that he had a very large army
behind him.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> The
result was that God had to punish him, and 70,000 of his men were
killed. He was about to wipe out Jerusalem, but He stayed His hand
when David confessed his sin on the threshing floor of Araunah: “Lo
I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have
they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me.” Then God forgave
him, and the very same site became the site for the temple God wanted
to be built.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> In
the same way many have failed. They argue: “We must have more
money, more power, more men, more knowledge.” In that way they have
changed God’s plans, but cannot defeat the enemy by any human
strength or resources.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> In
2 Samuel 11:1 we see that David becomes a murderer, because of his
failure to obey God’s Word and go on duty. That was David’s third
loss.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> David
tarried at Jerusalem and was tempted and became an adulterer, and
afterwards a deceiver. He repented sincerely, but God had to humble
him.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> To
make him humble, God even permitted in David’s life these
temptations. In God’s work we have to be extremely humble and
broken. So whenever we are going through a testing time, remember, it
is that God may make us humble vessels.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> In
1 Chronicles 13:1-11 we see God dealing with David the fourth time.
David should have known that the ark of God was to be carried on the
shoulders of the Levites, and not taken in a cart; yet in human
wisdom he ignored the divine order. The Philistines had returned the
ark of God in a new cart, and David began to imitate the Philistines,
so God became angry.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> All
Israel came with great zeal, singing and dancing and with harps, to
take the ark to the city of David, but the whole procedure was
against God’s will. David thought that by having a very grand
procession, and a military band, it would please God. But they
entirely ignored the revealed plan of God. The Ark must be borne by
the Levites. It must be carried on their shoulders. So God’s
judgment fell, and then David feared God. </font>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> Now
when David returned to God’s order in bringing back the ark, there
was great joy. It was then that David wrote that wonderful psalm in 2
Chronicles 16:7-36.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> Maybe
we have the same temptation that David had. He thought that by making
some change he would make a better impression. But in God’s work,
we can never change God’s order. Whatever has been revealed in the
Bible is to be followed, for every period of time, for every worker
and for every group. YOU CANNOT CHANGE IT.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> When
you are tempted and make some change, there always comes loss.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> Afterwards
when David returned to God’s ways, God gave him the pattern and
plan for the temple. He did this on two separate occasions; but only
after he was delivered from his human wisdom. </font>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> We
think that we are living in different days; but I can see from God’s
Word clearly that unless we follow the heavenly pattern in our day,
we cannot see God coming in His full glory. Sometimes we have to be
brought on the “threshing floor” because, in God’s work, we are
depending far too much on human wisdom and cleverness; but we cannot
make any improvement on the heavenly plan.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"><u><b>NOTE:</b></u></font><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2">
In review – we have seen that the Glory of the Lord departed from
Israel because of the sin of Eli in refusing to discipline his two
wicked sons. God warned him twice. He was not ignorant of God’s
thinking.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> Then
we see God’s heart in preparing to return His Glory to Israel
through 4 divine principles illustrated by 4 Bible personages:
Hannah, who switched from personal desires to God’s desire; Samuel,
a man of God, who forthrightly spoke the Word of the Lord on all
occasions; now David, who painfully learned the necessity for God’s
order; next mailing we will learn the 4</font><sup><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2">th</font></sup><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2">
divine principle that finally returned the Glory of God.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> But
back to David – Why is God such a stickler for HIS order over
against ours?</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> In
1963 Marie and I had a house built for us in Kent, Washington. One
day when I came to see its progress, the foreman said to me – “Oh
by the way, I took 5 feet off your living room and added them to the
next bedroom. I knew you would like it better that way.”</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> I
was so sure no one would be so foolish as to change our plans without
first consulting with us, that I assumed I had misheard him.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> But
that weekend I was able to visit my family in Port Alberni, BC, and
shared with Marie what I thought I heard the foreman say. She asked –
“Did you check with the Builder?” I acknowledged that I hadn’t.
“I think you should,” she said.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> So
I phoned, and upon checking, the Builder discovered that our Foreman
had foolishly taken it into his own hands to change our plans.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> As
soon as I returned to the Seattle area, I immediately went to Kent to
sort out the problem. I told the Foreman: “We are in the ministry!
We have meetings in our home, and actually need a living room larger
than our original plans. By taking 5 feet off of it, it makes it
impossible for us to use the house as we planned and intended.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> “Furthermore,
the bedroom you put the extra 5 feet on, is the guest bedroom. We
don’t want it too comfortable so that guests may be tempted to want
to stay too long.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> “Therefore,
we can’t take over our house unless you restore our plans the way
we gave them to you.”</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> “Oh,
I can’t do that,” he said.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> “Then
you buy the house, seeing you’ve built it according to your plans,
not ours,” I replied.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> “Oh,
I can’t do that,” he responded.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> So
I turned it over to the Builder, and he ordered the foreman to
restore it according to our original plans.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> He
was so upset that he let it sit there for a month. It was a split
level colonial house, and the 2-set stairway would have to be moved 5
feet to meet the original requirements. He finally obeyed the
builder, but complained that it was the first time he had remodeled a
house before he built it the first time!</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> One
night the Presence of the Lord drew very near to me, and He spoke,
“This house problem has disturbed and upset you, hasn’t it?” I
agreed with Him that the whole episode was deeply disturbing.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> “Well,
look at it in this light. I am building a house, My Church. And the
builders say to Me, ‘Lord, we know Your plan and pattern, but You
don’t understand our world of today. We will remain anchored to
Your Rock – but we believe it should be geared to the times! We
know You will like it better this way!’</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> “Now
I don’t like how denominations and pastors are building My Church
according to their changes – anymore than you like it when your
foreman has changed your plans without consulting you.</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> “And
you may use this illustration wherever you go!”</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:11pt" size="2"> David
learned this painful lesson. Don’t do ANYTHING in God’s Kingdom
in the matter of human change, without checking with Him first! Jim
Watt</font></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top:0.01in;margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
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