Wisdom Worksheet – March 31, 2009

“Living for an Audience of One”

Next show: APRIL 21, 2009

Have you considered living for an audience of One? Unfortunately, most of us live for the wrong audience of one. We either live solely for ourselves or unhealthily for another person, all at the expense of living for God. One of the Bible’s most prominent characters was King David whose chronicles demonstrated for us what it means to live for an audience of One.     

Surrendered for an Audience of One (1 Sam. 13:14)

David fully surrendered his heart for an audience of one. Samuel, the prophet, priest, and judge of all Israel, spoke a sobering truth to its first earthly monarch, King Saul, “But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14). The man after God’s own heart was David, a shepherd, poet, and musician, who would become Israel’s warrior and king. Much of the Old Testament is devoted to the man whose lineage would lead to the Messiah. 

Heart in Hebrew is leb, or lebab. It is one’s entire inner being. Just like the physical heart contains four chambers, so the spiritual heart is comprised of four chambers. We can remember the spiritual heart’s four chambers with the acronym WISE: will, intellect, spirit, and emotions. The will is the chamber of choices. The intellect, or the mind, is the chamber of thoughts. The spirit is the chamber of prayers. The emotions encompass the chamber of feelings. David chose God’s heart with his will. He meditated on God’s heart with his mind, or his intellect. He prayed for God’s heart with his spirit. He wanted God’s heart with his emotions.  

Fully Surrender our hearts and desires (Psalm 37:4; 86:11-12)

David fully surrendered his heart and his desires to God. He described the process of knowing God’s heart in a psalm, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). Delight, anag in Hebrew, means “to make one’s heart pliable.” In essence, it is a surrendered heart that is humble toward God like clay in the Potter’s hands. Give is translated from nathan in Hebrew, meaning “to orchestrate.” Desires represent the beat of the heart. They connect our hearts with our lives: time, talent, and treasure. Thus, when our hearts become malleable in God’s hands, He makes our desires to be like His. This is how we experience God’s will in our lives.

David modeled this process by praying to God for a fully surrendered heart, “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O LORD my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever” (Ps. 86:11-12). Notice how all four chambers of the heart are referenced in these two verses: teach leads with the mind; will walk is primarily a matter of with the will; fear includes the emotions; praise leads with the spirit, not to mention that the entire petition is a prayer of full surrender. Whereas an undivided heart is one that is fully surrendered to the Divine, a divided heart is partially surrendered, indicating a mixed devotion, or impurity, inside one’s inner being. 

Examine and Surrender (Ps. 139:23-24)     

A well-known illustration of David’s heart for God lies in his refining prayer for his Lord to examine and help David to surrender any offensive way inside his heart, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24).

One offensive way that through the Holy Spirit David examined and surrendered is one that we face today, a heart set on riches, “Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (Ps. 62:10). Full surrender of our hearts and desires to God is a dynamic process that features the Holy Spirit’s refining components of: examine and surrender. This is how He shapes our hearts and desires to be like His, clarifying His will for our lives. 

PAUSE and Let Wisdom Work. . .

Battled for an Audience of One (1 Sam. 17:45-47)

David battled for an audience of one. As a young shepherd boy, David came onto the scene of a winner-take-all battle between a designated member of the Israelites and Goliath, the chosen warrior for the Philistines. Abhorred by the gall of the giant Goliath’s defaming comments toward the God of Israel, a confident David rushed to battle for his Creator. “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with the sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give all of you into our hands”” (1 Sam. 17:45-47). 

Shift our perspective from we to He (Ps. 60:12)

David’s perspective of victory shifted from we to He. Rather than battling for his own causes, David fought for God’s. His heartfelt words recorded in a psalm reflected his perspective that gave God all of the credit for victory, “With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies” (Psalm 60:12; cf. 108:13). In order to be victorious for an audience of one, we must shift our perspectives of success from we to He, transitioning from battling for our own, selfish causes to fighting for God’s, namely the advancement of His kingdom in the hearts and lives of people. This shift clears up our normally clouded views, freeing us to give God the credit for victory. This shift in perspective will flow to our words. Rather than saying, “Look what we did!” we will find ourselves proclaiming, “Look what He did!”

He delivers and sustains us (Ps. 144:10; 140:7; 18:35)     

Victorious means that God: (1) delivers and (2) sustains us in our spiritual battles. This was the pattern in David’s life. He penned regarding God’s deliverance, “To the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword” (Ps. 144:10). David was free to give credit to His deliverer, “O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, who shields my head in the day of battle” (Ps. 140:7). David wrote regarding God’s sustenance, “You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great” (Ps. 18:35). When our perspectives shift from we to He, we become victorious for an audience of One Who delivers and sustains us in our spiritual battles.

PAUSE and Let Wisdom Work. . .

David was strengthened for an audience of One. In the backdrop of David’s pre-monarch raids, his men had lost their wives and children to the captivity of a nomadic enemy who had ransacked their camp while they were away. Scripture records, “David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God” (1 Sam. 30:6). David found strength in and for an audience of One.  

Strength is the Person of God (Ps. 18:1)

Strength is not merely a divine attribute, rather it is the Person of God. David said in his psalm, “I love you, O LORD, my strength” (Ps. 18:1). In order to be strengthened by and for an audience of one, we need not seek something from God; instead, we must seek God Himself. It has been said that rather than seek His hands, we should seek His face. This means that in place of seeking what God can do for us, we seek who He is.      

He lifts us from the old and gifts us with the new (Psalm 40:2; 34:18) 

David vividly illustrated how God lifts us from the old and gifts us with the new, “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” (Ps. 40:2).   God lifted David from his old struggles and gifted him with new life. David described God’s imminent proximity to those in need of strength along with His desire to save them, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Ps. 34:18). When we are weak, we can be renewed by seeking an audience of One. He lifts us from the old and gifts us with the new. 

PAUSE and Let Wisdom Work. . .

Be strengthened for an audience of One. In your weakness, renew your strength in the Person of God Who lifts and gifts. Seek His face by surrendering your old struggles and receiving a new heart shaped like His, bringing new life.

Worshiped for an Audience of One (2 Sam. 6:14, 21-22)

David worshiped for an audience of One. When the ark of the Lord was restored to David’s possession, he worshiped God publicly, “David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might” (2 Sam. 6:14). David’s wife Michal, the daughter of King Saul, was mortified at David’s transparency.  David’s response gave insight into his heart of worship, “David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’S people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor”” (2 Sam. 6:21-22). 

Worship 24/7 (Psalm 145:1-3, 21) 

In his psalm, David depicted his philosophy of a 24/7 worship, “I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.  Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom” (Ps. 145:1-3). He went on to say, “My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.  Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever” (Ps. 145:21). In order to worship for an audience of One, we must worship God the most where others expect it the least—our work. Too often, we limit our worship to one selected style, taking place in one explicit building on one particular day during one specific hour of the week. Our praising of God has always been designed to take place beyond a worship service, encompassing all 168 hours a week. This includes our work.  In fact, the Hebrew word, abad, can be translated work or worship (Num. 4:39).   When we worship God 24/7, we are blessed with the awareness of His presence.           

David repented for an audience of One. In essence, David repented as boldly as he sinned. After the prophet Nathan confronted David regarding his sin with Bathsheba including orchestrating the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite, David’s first words uttered his concern for his broken fellowship with God, “Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD”” (2 Sam. 12:13). When we sin against God, we must repent as boldly as we sin, focusing on our restored fellowship with God. The Old Testament’s word for repent, is return, one of the most frequently used verbs by the writers of the Bible’s first 39 books. When we sin, we turn our hearts away from God. Repentance means that we return our hearts to Him.

Contrite (Psalm 51:4, 10, 17)

When we repent, we are contrite toward God and forgiven by God. In his psalm repenting of his sin with Bathsheba, David communicated his contrition toward a Holy God, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge” (Ps. 51:4). Contrite, dakah in Hebrew, means “broken,” or “sore.” In Latin, it literally is translated, “to rub together” which is defined as “worn,” or “bruised.” To be contrite, we exhibit a godly sorrow for our sins, one that leads to repentance (2 Cor. 7:10). David’s genuine repentance was evidenced in his request for God to give him a pure heart, one with unmixed devotion, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10). He went on to paint a picture of God’s desired sacrifices for sin which featured a contrite heart, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Ps. 51:17). 

Forgiven (Psalm 32:1-2; 103:10, 12)

David rested in the fact that his repentance flowing from a contrite heart resulted in the fact that he had been forgiven, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit” (Ps. 32:1-2). In other words, there is no pretense in us when we genuinely repent with a contrite heart as we stand forgiven. David noted that God does not seek a one-for-one punishment of our sins, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). He continued by describing the peace of mind available to us in the truth that God does not recount our sins against us when we stand forgiven, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12).

PAUSE and Let Wisdom Work. . .

Repent for an audience of One. Repent with a contrite heart and return to God in order to be forgiven. Thank God for the truth that He does not seek a one-for-one punishment for your sins and that standing forgiven means that He will not recount your sins against you.

Conclusion

Like David, we can live for an audience of One. First, we begin with a surrendered heart for an audience of One. When we fully surrender our hearts and desires to God, He orchestrates our desires to be like His. This is how we know God’s will for our lives. This dynamic process includes the refining prayer for the Spirit of God to examine and help us surrender any offensive ways. Second, we battle for an audience of One. When we shift our perspectives from we to He, God delivers and sustains us in our spiritual battles.  Third, we become strengthened for an audience of One. When we seek God’s face in the midst of our weaknesses, He lifts us from the old and gifts us with the new. Fourth, we worship for an audience of One. When we worship God the most where people expect it the least, we worship Him 24/7 including in our work. This results in God blessing our lives with an awareness of His presence. Finally, when we sin, we repent for an audience of One. When we repent, we exhibit a contrite heart, and we stand forgiven by a Holy God Who does not give us a one-for-one punishment for our sins nor recounts our sins against us.  Rather, He gives us the heart of Christ Whose Spirit resides in us so that we may live for an audience of One.