Jeff Garrett's Sermon Manuscripts: January 2006

Monday, January 30, 2006

The Life of David (Part 11)

The Life of David (Part 11)
Preparing for Death
Jeff Garrett

This is the 11th and final lesson in a series of sermons on The Life of David. The title of today’s message is Preparing for Death.

Background

David’s last days were violent, bloody, and full of conflict. In 2 Samuel 18 his son Absalom was killed. In 2 Samuel 19 David tried to unite his divided kingdom but there is still conflict between Judah and Israel. David replaced his general Joab with his nephew Amasa (2 Samuel 19.13). Amasa had been Abasalom’s general during the rebellion (2 Samuel 17.25) and now David made him commander-in-chief of his army but Joab killed Amasa just like he killed Abner. 20.9 Joab said to Amasa, "How are you, my brother?" Then Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 Amasa was not on his guard against the dagger in Joab's hand, and Joab plunged it into his belly, and his intestines spilled out on the ground. …12 Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road, … they dragged him from the road into a field and threw a garment over him.

Then Joab went on to pursue Sheba and found him in a fortified city. They built a siege ramp and began to batter down the wall but a woman asked Joab what he wanted. Joab said, “We’re after Sheba because he rebelled against the king.” 20.21b The woman said to Joab, "His head will be thrown to you from the wall." So they cut off Sheba’s head and threw to Joab. Then he blew the trumpet and the soldiers went home and the treacherous murderer Joab returned to David.

So he’s lost his son, he lost his nephew, he lost his general and in 2 Samuel 21 he begins to lose his nation because of a three year famine. Then 21.15 Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted. A giant closed in on David and was about to kill him but Abishai came to his rescue and killed the Philistine. 21.17b Then David's men swore to him, saying, "Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished." …
David was getting old and tired. He couldn’t fight any more. But God gave his army victory over the Philistines and David praised the Lord by composing a beautiful psalm of praise (2 Samuel 22). David’s army was strong. The elite soldiers of David’s army are described in 2 Samuel 23 (a fantastic description of the most valiant warriors who ever lived). But it 2 Samuel 24 David became proud and sinned when he numbered the Israelites. Do you remember the consequence? An angel of God killed 70,000 people. 2 Sameul 24.17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the LORD, "I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall upon me and my family."

David set his house in order before he died. This was not easy because of the ongoing conflict in his family. 1 Kings 1.5 Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, "I will be king." So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. 6 (His father had never interfered with him by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)

David had a lot a trouble with his children. He had been a passive father and did not disciplined Adonijah when he was young. He spared the rod and spoiled his child. Adonijah tried to take the throne. This is the second time that this has happened. First Absalom, now Adonijah. Absalom tried to kill his father. Adonijah ignored his father. Nathan told Bathsheba to ask David if he was going to keep his promise and make Solomon king. David kept his promise and made Solomon king but in the end, Solomon had to kill his brother to ensure that the kingdom remained united.

The background of the latter years of his life was violence, bloodshed and death. The titled of today’s lesson is Preparing for Death. Although context of your life may be different than David’s, these eight points will help you as your prepare for death.

1. He was faithful to the end

1 Kings 15.5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD's commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.

I think some people are going to have to apologize to David when they get to heaven because we concentrate too much about his failures and sins. God said David was faithful to the end (with one exception).

Not many heroes of the Old Testament were faithful right up until the end of their life. Saul started out very humble but he ended up paranoid, jealous, and demon possessed. Solomon started out good but his womanizing lead him astray and the nation turned to idolatry. Hezekiah was a good king and the Lord extended his life 15 years but he didn’t use those years productively. Eli was a good prophet but he failed to discipline his sons and he died in disgrace. But David, in spite of his imperfections, was faithful to the end.

That’s what I want to do – I want to be faithful to Jesus to the end. I don’t want to do anything else to humiliate Christ or to fail Kim and my girls or embarrass the church. I want to be faithful to Jesus for the rest of my life. That’s what we all want so that when we come to the end of our life we can say with Paul – 2 Timothy 4.7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

2. He was guided by God’s Word

Deut 17.18 When [a king] takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God …

The official copy of God's law was kept by the priests but the king made a copy of the law in his own hand writing. The king was required to read God’s word all the days of his life. We need to follow King David’s example and read the Bible. Jeanie has prepared Bible Reading Schedules for 2006. Pick one up after service and follow David’s example. God’s word will guide you through life and prepare you for death.

3. He maintained a positive attitude despite disappointments

1 Chronicles 28.2 King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. 3 But God said to me, 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.'

Notice that at the end of his life David had an unfulfilled dream. You may be disappointed as you approach your final days because you had dreams for a successful marriage or dreams for your children or financial success or to excel in your career. But as you approach the end of you life you see that you are not going to be able to enjoy those things. And you have a choice: you can be bitter and resentful or you can have a positive attitude about the role that God has assigned you.

When David came to the end of his life he expressed gratitude for the role that God had given him rather than bitterness for the things that he didn’t get to do. 1 Chronicles 28.4 "Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. … 5 Of all my sons—and the LORD has given me many—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6 He said to me: 'Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him …

Look at how positive he is. Rather than being bitter or resentful because he didn’t get to build the temple he was grateful and maintained a positive spirit. He said, even though I didn’t get to build the temple, my son will build it. There was no jealousy or regret.

Few people are less attractive than a grouchy, negative, elderly person. On the other hand few people are more enjoyable to be around a faithful elderly person who has a positive attitude and a sweet spirit. Which are you? You may have some unfulfilled dreams. But you must accept the role that God has assigned you and have a positive attitude toward life as you prepare for death.

4. He passed his faith on to his children

1 Chronicles 28.9 "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work."

Notice what David was most concerned about as he was talking to his son Solomon. He didn’t say “Let me tell you how to build an army, or let me tell you how to expand the borders, or let me tell you how to collect taxes, or let me tell you how to select cabinet members.’ He said, “Solomon, your number one responsibility is to be faithful to God.”

Jeanie, Susan and I are so grateful for our parents because they passed their faith on to us. They taught that the most important thing in life was our relationship with Jesus Christ. Dad died November 23, 2000. I want to share a 45 second audio clip from a sermon dad preached three months before he died. It’s a sermon from his series in the book of Philippians. He wanted to finish the series on Philippians but he was so ill that it was impossible for him to complete it. This sermon is titled “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” As I play this 45 second clip from Dad’s sermon Rob is going to show you three pictures on the screen. Two pictures are of dad and one is of mom and dad at the Green Hotel on the 50th wedding anniversary. Dad talks about three benefits of death for those who believe in Jesus Christ.

Dad’s sermon on audio tape

Dad is in heaven with Jesus and we know that we will see him again. He passed his faith onto his children. And now, his children are doing the same. When we get to heaven we don’t want one of our children to be missing. As you prepare for death you need to follow David’s example and pass your faith on to your children.

5. He was generous at his death

I Chronicles 29.1 Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this … structure is not for man but for the LORD God. …3 … in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents of gold … and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD ?"

David left this enormous amount of money for the construction of the temple. It is estimated that he gave, out of his personal treasure, 115 million dollars for the construction of the temple. His generosity demonstrated his devotion to God and inspired others to give. When people saw how generous David was it inspired them to give freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.

Howard Hughes had an enormous amount of money but he died without a will and nobody really knows where that money went. It has been suggested that it would be good for every Christian to be a thither at death. That is, when you write your will designate 10% of your estate as a gift to God – to further the cause of Christ.

Edison and Anne Coffman were members of this church for a long time, dating back to when the building was located on the corner of 10th Ave. and 21st street. Their family came from the coal fields of southern West Virginia and they were active in this church for many years. A few years back, when they became too feeble to live on their own, and as they were preparing to move to live with their children, they donated their house on Gallaher Street to the church with the direction they hoped it would be used to serve the youth of future generations. The house was sold and the money was used to purchase the University Christian Fellowship house on 6th Avenue across from Marshall University. It has served as our campus house for several years now and the hopes of Edison and Anne live on. Edison recently died and during the memorial service Bill Wright talk about how grateful we are for Edison and Anne – we have a vibrant campus ministry led by Jay Barrow and the house that they meet in holds a plaque bearing their names. As Bill shared this at the memorial service, Edison and Anne’s children smiled and were happy their parent’s influence lives on. What a wonderful example to follow. Like David, we can be generous at our death.

7. His final words were expressions of praise

1 Chronicles 29. 10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, "Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. … 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name

David’s final words were words of praise and thanksgiving. What will you talk about during the last days of your life? Will it be words of praise and thanksgiving or critical words and complaining words – our memory is failing, our health is bad, our friends are preceding us in death, and the church – I just don’t like the church anymore. I don’t like what they do at church and all the things that are wrong with life.

David had a sweet spirit and he praised. I think C.O. Hughes is a great example. He has had health problems and yet he has such a sweet spirit and when I see him come to church and hear he is singing praises to Jesus and greeting people and being so positive about life, in spite of the fact that he has health problems, it’s inspirational, it’s contagious---other people want to be like that.

Notice v.20 Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.

The people praised God because David did and he instructed them to. As you come to the sunset years of your life. You have an opportunity to go out with praise. Be like David – go out singing praises to God for Jesus. Discipline yourself not to be negative and critical, find something to praise God for.

8. He made things better for the next generation

23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. … 25 The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.

David made things better for the next generation. He drew the blueprint for a brand new temple. He expanded the number of priest to 38,000 (1 Chronicles 23.3). 24,000 supervised the work at the Temple, 6,000 were bailiffs and judges, 4,000 were guards, and he assigned 4,000 priests to play musical instruments to praise the Lord. He made the musical instruments and composed over half of psalms in the Old Testament Psalter. He made dramatic changes in worship for future generations. He wasn’t looking backward and complaining about all the changes in worship. He was looking forward and initiating changes – he made things better for future generations. That should be our goal.

Look at what the Bible says about his death. 26 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. 27 He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.

Two more things about David’s death in closing. #1 He wasn’t a perfect man even in death. On his deathbed he told Solomon - 1 Kings 2.8 "And remember, you have with you Shimei …who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD : 'I will not put you to death by the sword.' 9 But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood."

Now David had promised Shemei that he wouldn’t kill him but David is getting off on a technicality, he says ‘I can’t kill him. But after I die make sure that you kill him.’ He was resentful and unforgiving toward the man he said that he would not kill. The lesson we learn from this passage is that no matter how good you are, you can’t go to heaven based on good works. You are still a sinner no matter how good your heart is.

And #2 He departed to be with the Lord. When his little baby died he said: He cannot come to me but I will go be with him. If you want to die with dignity, then you need to be like David and prepare to meet the Lord your God so that you can say: ‘I know where I am going, I am going to meet with your Father in heaven.’ If they would put an epitaph over David’s grave, I think I know what it would say. It would say:

Here Lies King David, A Man After God’s Own Heart

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA.

Jeremiah, David (1997) The Tender Warrior (Volume 1 & 2). Turning Point for God. San Diego CA

Moore, Beth. A Heart Like His. Broadman & Holman Publishers. New York, NY

Peterson, Eugene (1998). Leap Over a Wall. HarperCollins Publishers Inc. New York, NY

Russell, Bob and Stone, Dave. The Life of David (Volume 1, 2, 3). The Living Word. 920 Blankerbaker Road, Louisville, KY

Swindol, Charles David, a Man after God’s Heart. Insight for Living (Audio Tapes)

Sunday, January 22, 2006

The Life of David (Part 10)

The Life of David (Part 10)
When Your Children Break Your Heart
2 Samuel 12-19
Jeff Garrett

This is the 10th lesson in a series of sermons on the life of David. We are going to discuss the family of David this morning. If you looked at David’s family photo album you would be impressed. The men were handsome and the women were pretty. The Bible seldom describes the physical beauty of people except in special cases – like David. The Bible says that David (1 Samuel 16.12), Adonijah (1 Kings 1.5), Solomon (Song of Solomon 1.16), and Absalom (2 Samuel 14.25) were handsome. It also says that Abigail (1 Samuel 25.3), Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11.2), and Tamar (2 Samuel 13.1) were beautiful.

Look at what the Bible says about Absalom. 2 Samuel 14. 25 In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. 26 Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair from time to time when it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels by the royal standard. That is about 5 pounds of hair! Isn’t it interesting that God took the time to describe the physical beauty of this family?

David’s family had it all! They were beautiful, royal, rich and famous. But when you look inside his family you see how dysfunctional they were – you read of jealousy, infidelity, polygamy, hatred, rape, incest, murder, and rebellion. David’s children broke his heart. That’s why I have entitled this lesson: When Your Children Break Your Heart. The story I’m going to tell is worse than that sad soap opera – All My Children.

In 2 Samuel 12.7-13 Nathan said four things would happen would happen to David and his children as a consequence to David’s sin of adultery and murder. 1) The sword would never depart from his house. 2) Calamity would fall upon him. 3) Someone close to David would sleep with his wives in broad daylight before all Israel. 4) His baby would die. Today we are going to see this prophecy unfold. The first thing was …

The death of his baby

2 Samuel 12.15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David deserved to die but God spared his life and took the child instead. This week Shayna asked me “Dad, why did God take the baby? The baby didn’t do anything wrong. Why didn’t he take David?” How would you answer that question? I told her that there would probably be a question and answer room in heaven where all those difficult questions would be answered. Until then we can only speculate. Perhaps the child’s death was a greater punishment for David than his own death would have been. The child went to heaven but look at how David suffered …

12.16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. After seven days of praying and fasting David’s baby died.
I suppose nothing is worse than the death of a child. Some of you have experienced that. It just seems so unnatural. You children are supposed to outlive you.

When a parent dies, you lose your past; when a child dies it feels like you lose your future. It’s so awful we don’t even have a name for it. A wife who loses a husband to death is called a widow. A husband who loses a wife to death is called a widower. A child who loses his parents to death is called an orphan. But there is no word for a parent who loses a child to death, that’s how awful the loss is. It is indescribable.

But David kept his faith and recovered from his grief. He said, 12.23b “I will go to him, but he will not return to me." And, if your baby has died, the same is true for you. Your baby is in heaven and the best thing you can do is follow Jesus Christ and you will be reunited one day. So David’s baby died. The next thing that happened was …

The rape of Tamar

13.1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. 2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her. Then one day Amnon pretended to be sick. David asked him if there was anything he could do. Amnon said, “Yes, have my sister Tamar come to my room and prepare a meal for me.” When Tamar came to his room Amnon told everyone to leave and he raped her. Afterward, his love turned to hate.

13. 15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "Get up and get out!" 16 "No!" she said to him. "Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me." But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, "Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her." …

So they kicked her out of his house and Tamar ran to the house of Absalom where she lived as a desolate woman (13.20). 13.21 When King David heard all this, he was furious - but he didn’t do anything about it. Amnon was guilty of incest and rape and David did nothing to discipline him. I believe that he was paralyzed by his own guilt. Tamar suffered in silence. But Absalom plotted revenge. That’s the third thing that happened …

The murder of Amnon

Two years later the sons of David went with Absalom to sheer sheep. Sheep shearing was a festive time when families threw a party but Absalom had other plans. 14. 28 Absalom ordered his men, "Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' then kill him. Don't be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave." 29 So Absalom's men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king's sons got up, mounted their mules and fled. When they entered Jerusalem -14. 36 … the king's sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly. The prophecy was true – the sword never departed from his house. David suffered so much. His child was dead. His daughter was raped. His son was murdered. The fourth terrible thing that happened was …

The Rebellion of Absalom

After Absalom murdered Amnon he fled to Geshur where he lived for three years. He came back came home to Jerusalem but David would not talk to him for two more years. When they finally met, after five years of being apart, Absalom bowed and David kissed him but the reconciliation turned into a rebellion and Absalom lead a conspiracy against his father. He drove David out of Jerusalem and look at what he did.
16. 20 Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give us your advice. What should we do?" 21 Ahithophel answered, "Lie with your father's concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench in your father's nostrils, and the hands of everyone with you will be strengthened." 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he lay with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. It happened just like God said it would happen. What David did in secret, Absalom did in broad daylight. They pitch that tent on the very roof where sad story began. That’s the same roof where David watched Bathsheba bathing.

Then Absalom took his army and went after David. David mustered his troops but as they left told them to be gentle with his son Absalom. The battle took place in the forest of Ephraim and David’s men won the battle. As Absalom was riding his mule to escape his head was caught is the branches of an oak tree and he was hanging in midair. Joab came while he was still alive and he plunged three javelins into Absalom’s heart and he died.

When David heard that Absalom was dead - 18.33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!"
Finally, Joab came to him and said, “David, if you don’t stop crying over Absalom the entire army is going to desert you and that will be worse than any calamity you’ve ever suffered. I’ve had it up to here with your children! These soldiers sacrificed their lives to save you. You care more for Absalom than us.” David listened to Joab and …

19.8 So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. When the men were told, "The king is sitting in the gateway," they all came before him. When they saw him in the gateway they were encouraged. But he had to force himself to sit in that gateway. He didn’t feel like sitting there. On the outside he looked like a powerful king. But on the inside he was heartbroken. As he looked back over the landscape of his life he thought of his family and remembered the death of his baby, the rape of his daughter, the murder of his son and the rebellion of Absalom. He was heartbroken over his children.

I want to make three observations:

1. You’re as happy as your saddest child - It is easy to be happy when your children are healthy and doing well. But when your children are struggling it’s hard to think of anything else. You almost have to force yourself to sit in the gateway or to go back to work. Life looses its zest. Everything appears dull. It’s hard to be excited about anything when you’re grieving over your children. That’s why you need the support of the church and prayers for your family. Don’t hide your hurt – share it and pray for your children.

2. Two people can come from the same family and be totally different. – Think about Absalom and Solomon. Absalom was rebellious but the Bible says 12.24b The LORD loved [Solomon]; 25 and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah [Loved by Jehovah].

Think about Jimmy Carter and Billy Carter. Jimmy Carter was President of the United States and Billy Carter was President of Billy Beer. It’s true. Two children can grow up in the same family – one can be a missionary and the other can be a mission field. Think about twins – one grows up to be an alcoholic and the other grows up to be a total abstainer. The one who is an alcoholic may say “the reason I’m an alcoholic is because my dad was an alcoholic and I didn’t have a chance.” The one who was a total abstainer may say “the reason I’m a total abstainer is because my father was an alcoholic and I saw the horrible things that happened in our family and I didn’t want that to happen in mine.”

So if you’re a child don’t blame your parents for all your problems. If you’re a parent don’t blame yourself for all your children’s problems. You can be the best parent in the world and your children can still go astray. No one is a better father than God and he has a lot of prodigal children. So we can’t blame our parents or heredity or our genes for what we are. That may influence us but that doesn’t determine the course we take – everybody has a choice to make. The right choice is to follow Jesus Christ.

3. No matter how bad it gets there’s always hope for your family – Things looked hopeless for David’s family but he kept on trusting God. He went back to Jerusalem and united the kingdom. Then he past the torch to Solomon and the nation grew strong and enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity under his reign. No matter how bad it gets there’s always hope for your family. Zephaniah 3.17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

In Knoxville Tennessee there was a mother who was pregnant. She had this little boy named Kevin. Kevin wanted to be close to his mom while she was pregnant and he would use his hand to stroke his mother’s belly every night and he would sing to the baby.

Nine months later she had a little baby girl. But something terrible happened during the delivery and the doctors put the baby in the Neonatal Unit in critical condition. And the family was upset and everybody was on pens and needles and the condition of the child got worse. Finally the doctor came to the waiting room and said your little baby is not going to make it. They called their minister and began to make funeral arrangements.

Well the family was heartbroken. And because they were making the funeral arrangements they thought it was appropriate that Kevin get to meet his sister and say goodbye. But the doctor said “You can’t take Kevin back there – children are not allowed.” They said, “Forget those rules we are going to sneak him in.”

So they put a coat over him and walked through the door but the nurses caught them and wouldn’t let them pass. The family said, “What are you going to do to us. This little boy has a little baby sister that he’s never met and he wants to say goodbye.

Well, they let him in and Kevin walked in and his eyes got real big as he looked at all the machinery around the bed. His father lifted him up in his arms so he could see her and he leaned over his sister’s bed and he started to sing that song …

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You’ll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don’t take my sunshine away

And then he said goodbye. About six hours later the doctor called and when the family heard the phone ring they thought the worst had happened. But the doctor said “Bring Kevin back down here.” They said, “What?” He said, “Bring Kevin back down here because when sang that song her vital signs went up.”

Kevin became a regular visitor in the neonatal unit. And his sister recovered and today his sister is 29 years old. And to this day they claim that she survived because her brother sang to her.

You know, it’s like we’re lying in that crib, like that little baby, and the doctor has called and said “All hope is gone. We can’t do anything with these Christians. It is hopeless. We are just going to pull the plug. I want to tell you that there is a God in heaven who leans over in our crib and sings

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine (sing with me)
You make me happy when skies are grey
You’ll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don’t take my sunshine away

Since God loves us that much we can surely commit ourselves to loving him. Remember, no matter how bad it gets there’s always hope for your family.

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA.

Jeremiah, David (1997) The Tender Warrior (Volume 1 & 2). Turning Point for God. San Diego CA

Moore, Beth. A Heart Like His. Broadman & Holman Publishers. New York, NY

Peterson, Eugene (1998). Leap Over a Wall. HarperCollins Publishers Inc. New York, NY

Russell, Bob and Stone, Dave. The Life of David (Volume 1, 2, 3). The Living Word. 920 Blankerbaker Road, Louisville, KY

Swindol, Charles David, a Man after God’s Heart. Insight for Living (Audio Tapes)

The Life of David (Part 9)

The Life of David (Part 9)
When Godly People Do Ungodly Things
2 Samuel 11-12
Jeff Garrett

I have titled the 9th lesson in our study of the Life of David When Godly People do Ungodly Things. I borrowed this title from Beth Moore’s popular book – the title is so fitting for the passage we are going to study today.

2 Samuel 11. 1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. The kings went off to war in the spring because roads were dry which made it easier to travel and many crops were ready to be harvested. These crops were an important food source for traveling armies. That spring David sent the army of Israel out to fight a war but he remained in Jerusalem.

David was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was not on the battlefield, he was in his bedroom. He did not have his armor on, he had his pajamas on. When you have too much leisure time it makes you more vulnerable to temptation.

Late one afternoon, David got up from taking his nap and was strolling on the roof of the palace. From his roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was stunningly beautiful. He should have turned away but he kept staring at her.

Men, is that what you do? Do you turn away or take a second look? James Dobson points out a difference between men and women. Women typically respond to romance but men respond to what is visible. Men see a woman’s body without any discriminating concern for the character in the body. In essence, the sheer biological power of sexual desire is largely aroused in the physical body of an attractive female. If you look to long you can begin to entertain impure thoughts. Instead of turning away look at what David did.

11.3 … David sent someone to find out about her. That’s the third mistake he’s made: 1) He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, 2) He kept looking rather than turn away, 3) He inquired about her – he moved toward her. There are only two ways you can move. You can move toward sin or away from it. Which way are you moving?

David said, “Who is the girl next door? She’s very beautiful.” 11.3b The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" That’s an unusual genealogy. When you read genealogies in the Bible they typically trace the linage through the father e.g., “Bathsheba is the daughter of Eliam, the granddaughter of so and so, and the great-granddaughter of so and so.” Seldom do they include the husband. But the servant did. He let David know that she was married – he warned him.

Perhaps the servant warned him because he knew how David was with women. God said in Deuteronomy 17. 17 [Your king] must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray - but David did not obey this command. 2 Samuel 5.13 says After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. David had 7 wives (Bathsheba will make 8) and the number of his concubines is unknown. We do know that he assumed the harem of Saul (12.8). You know, some people try to satisfy their lust by feeding it but that just makes it worse.

When we are tempted God will often send a last minute warning – it could be the words of a friend, the question of a child, a song on the radio, or the sermon you are listening to right now. The servant warned him “David, she’s married - Don’t do this” but David did not hear the warning because he had gone too far.

11.4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. … Then she went back home. It was a one night stand. Now, let me say, in this sensitive moment, that it would be foolish to think that there was no pleasure in this act. The Bible says there is pleasure in sin for a season. And while you are sinning your mind plays tricks on you. While you’re sinning it doesn’t feel like your sinning. When David committed adultery he didn’t feel like a sinner – he felt like a lover. You deceive yourself by rationalizing sin with thoughts like “I couldn’t help myself”, “God made me this way”, “We were meant for each other”. There’s an old song that says “how can it be wrong if it feels so right.” But fornication is never right and the pain of the reaping always exceeds the pleasure of the sowing. But you don’t think about that at the time.

My favorite time of year to hunt deer is in the first two or three weeks of November because the bucks are rutting. [PICTURE] OF A BUCK] They get crazy and careless because they are chasing does. Deer hunters use a variety of calling techniques to lure unsuspecting bucks within shooting range. We use buck lure – doe urine drives bucks crazy. We use a rattle bag (demonstrate) and a grunt tube (demonstrate) – doesn’t that turn you on? We also use a bleat can (demonstrate) which makes bucks think that a doe is ready to mate. You ought to see them respond. They are so careless and it makes them more vulnerable to hunters like me.

Satan is like a lion seeking whom he may devour. He’s stalking you. He has a variety of calling techniques to lure you into his trap. He won’t use a grunt tube or a rattle bag – he may use a bottle of whiskey or a beautiful woman.

Proverbs 5.3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.

Proverbs 7.22 All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose 23 till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.

That is a frightening reminder of how easy it is to be lured into sin. Some men are as thoughtless and careless as a buck in rut. David saw her, sent for her, slept with her, and she went home. He didn’t think about the consequences.

11.5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant." Satan will never remind you of the consequences of sin when he tempts you. He will never remind you could get pregnant, or you could get a sexually transmitted disease, or ruin your marriage, break the heart of your children, or loose your job. He will never remind you of the consequences. He makes forbidden fruit look glamorous and beautiful but you need to remember all Satan’s apples have worms. When David heard she was pregnant he panicked.

6 So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. David didn’t care about the war. He was trying to set Uriah up. He wanted Uriah to sleep with his wife so that he would think that the baby was his.

I want you to notice something here ladies. David doesn’t really care for Bathsheba all that much. He wanted Uriah to sleep with her. Bathsheba was only an object to satisfy his lust and then he wanted to discard her. Sometimes a woman will allow a man to take everything that is precious to her and the discard her. And she thought all along that she was loved. No, he was just using her to satisfy himself.

David was trying to cover up. He said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. But Uriah did not go to his house. He slept at the entrance of the palace. The next morning David asked him why he didn’t go home. 11.11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"

So David invited him to dinner and deliberately made him drunk. He thought that if he made him drunk he would loose his convictions and go home to his wife. 11.13b But even then he couldn't get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance. At this point, Uriah had more integrity when he was drunk than David had when he was sober. That’s how far David had drifted from God.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." When Uriah carried this letter back to Joab he had no idea that the letter he was carrying was a death sentence. He gave it to Joab and Joab carried out the order. 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

Notice, not only was Uriah killed but some of the other men were killed too. You see, when you sin it effects a lot of people. Not only was Uriah killed, other men were killed which meant that a lot of children would grow up without fathers, other wives were widowed, other mothers were crying for the death of their son.

Joab sent a battle report to David and informed him that Uriah was dead. Look at how David responded. He was so cold hearted. 11.25 David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab." David was indifferent to the people who have been killed. His heart was so hard.

11.26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. It appeared like David was going to get away with it. But notice the last sentences of chapter 11. 11.27b But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. David was guilty of lust, adultery, deception, and murder and God saw it all.

2 Samuel 12 1 The LORD sent Nathan to David and he told him a story. Nathan said, “David there are two men in your kingdom, one is rich and the other poor. The rich man has many sheep and cattle but the poor man has nothing except one little ewe lamb that he had bought and raised as a pet. It grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.”

“One day the rich man invited a guest into his home. Instead of taking one of his own sheep, he took the poor man’s pet lamb and slaughtered it and prepared if for his guest.”

12.5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! … 7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.'

11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "

David was in shock. His sin was exposed and he finally confessed it. 12. 13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

David deserved to die but God spared his life and took the child instead. Perhaps the child’s death was a greater punishment for David than his own death would have been. And I believe that it was at this point that David wrote Psalm 51.

Psalm 51. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. …9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. … 14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. …

As the Matt and the Praise Team sing this song I want you to worship the Lord. This song captures David’s cry for mercy. And as they sing it, asked God to be merciful to you because we are all sinners and need the mercy of God. And no matter how far you have fallen, God will still forgive you. His grace is amazing! Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. This song is not for David, this song is for you and me.

Praise Team – Lord Have Mercy

When you read chapter 12 you find that David did four things.

1. He confessed his sin – and God forgave him.
2. He endured the consequence – the baby died and the sword never departed
3. He worshiped the Lord – he went to the temple and worship
4. He got on with life – David returned the battlefield before the close of the chapter.

Some of you need to get on with life. You’ve beat yourself up too long. It’s time to be free and the only way you can be free is to come to Jesus Christ.

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA.

The Life of David (Part 8)

The Life of David (Part 8)
From Tragedy to Triumph
2 Samuel 1-9
Jeff Garrett

How do you respond to tragedy? In preparation for this lesson I thought of a couple tragedies. This week there was a terrible explosion at the Sago Mines and 12 miners were trapped underground. I was awake when they announced that 11 miners were alive. I saw the people at the Sago Baptist Church singing “How Great Thou Art” and everybody thought it was a miracle. But it was not so. Because 260 feet below the ground lay 11 dead miners, only one was alive. It ended in tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to those families.

About 10 years ago I have a friend named David Lewis who was the minister for the Sunshine Church in Minford Ohio. David, his wife Linda and two daughters were driving to his in-laws on Christmas Eve and a drunk driver came around a curve and killed David. His wife and two beautiful daughters were left behind. It was such a tragedy.

Some of you have suffered tragedies – the death of a child, the loss of your parent, the loss of a job, you’ve gone through a divorce, or the death of a dream. When things like that happen we can loose hope and become confused and begin to doubt God and some even loose their faith. This morning we are going to learn six important lessons from David that will encourage us and give us hope. Let me explain the background.

1 Samuel ended in tragedy. The Philistines defeated the army of Israel. Saul committed suicide. When they found him they stripped his armor, cut of his head and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. They did the same to his three sons including Jonathan, David’s best friend. Then the Philistines occupied some of the towns in Israel. It was so tragic and things seemed so hopeless. What did David do?

1. He Grieved the Loss – 2 Samuel 1. 11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. David was visibly shaken – he mourned and wept and fasted all day. That’s the natural reaction to loss. Some people try to avoid it, especially men who have been taught that they are not supposed to show their emotion. You’re supposed to be tough and strong and never cry. That’s what it means to be masculine. But these battle-hardened soldiers cried all day when they got the bad news.

It’s not good to stuff our emotions and refuse to express grief. An impression without expression leads to depression. When you bury your feelings bad things happen. Because buried feelings don’t die, they struggle for life and come forth in uglier ways.
When we experience a tragedy we need to grieve the loss. We typically go through five stages in grieving process: denial, bargaining, anger, depression and acceptance. Those are the natural stages we go through when we grieve and God comforts us throughout the process.

2. He Let Go of Resentment – Look at the eulogy David gave Saul in his lament. 1.23 "Saul and Jonathan— in life they were loved and gracious, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. 24 "O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and finery, who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold. 25 "How the mighty have fallen in battle!

There is not one hint of resentment in David’s lament. He could have said, “Saul was a demon-possessed, power-hungry, jealous king who tried to kill me. He consulted a witch and died in disgrace.” But he didn’t say that. He only talked about Saul’s good side. Is that the way you talk about Saul in your life? Do you talk about their good qualities or do you rehearse all of the bad things they’ve done? Some people are resentful and say “I’ll never forgive them.” The only person you are hurting is yourself. Will you ask God to help you let go of your resentment so that you can move on with your life? You can’t move on until you let go.

3. He prayed to God for direction- 2.1 In the course of time, David inquired of the LORD. "Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?" he asked. The LORD said, "Go up." David asked, "Where shall I go?" "To Hebron," the LORD answered. …3 David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns. 4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.
David could have said Saul is dead and I’m the king, let’s go up to Judah. But David didn’t do that. David said I’m not going anywhere until I pray and see what God wants me to do. So he prayed and God gave him direction.

David was anointed three times. He was anointed privately by Samuel in Bethlehem when he was a teenager. He was anointed in Hebron as king of Judah. And finally, 7 ½ years later, he was anointed king over all Israel. Throughout this whole period David was praying and asking God to guide him. And God anointed him again and again. We are anointed by the Holy Spirit when we become Christians but at each significant stage of life (marriage, children, new job) we need to ask God for a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit so that we will be empowered to accomplish the new task.

David grew stronger and stronger (3.1) and he won all of his battles because the Lord was with him. He expanded the borders of Israel all the way to the Euphrates River. And when he had defeated his enemies he brought the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem.

4. He worshiped God with all his might - 6. 12b …David went down and brought up the ark of God … to the City of David with rejoicing. … 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
Why did David dance? You would dance if you had been through what David had experienced. He had been living a dangerous life – with lions and bears, a taunting giant and a murderous king. He had lived in enemy territory and fought wars against the Philistines and the Amalakites. Finally the ark is being brought back to the temple where it belongs and David is celebrating. But Michal was watching David celebrate. Look at what she said when he came home.

6. 20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"

21 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. 22 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." 23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

And I think I know why because he didn’t have anything else to do with her. Or maybe it was a judgment of God because Michal mocked David. She despised what he had done. She thought it was undignified.

I like the statement “Those who are deaf always despise those who dance.” They don’t get it because they can’t hear the music. David was celebrating but Michal said, “You need to calm down. You are making a fool out of yourself. You need to act more dignified.” I think Michal would have been comfortable walking beside the Ark with Uzzah, stately, proper, careful. And dead. David was reckless, lost in praise, and fully alive. When God turns tragedy into triumph you worship him with all your might.

5. He was grateful for everything he had 7. 1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."
David did not think it was right for him to be living in luxury while the ark of God was housed in a tent. David was used to living in caves but now he’s living in a cedar palace and he told Nathan that he wanted to build a beautiful house for God. At first Nathan told him to do it. But that night God spoke to Nathan and told him that David was not to build the temple.

Now that had to be disappointing. But look at how David responded. . 7. 18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? You brought from the sheepfold and made me a king. Look at the palace I live. And David starts reviewing everything God had done for him he said I’m disappointed that I can’t build the temple but I have got so much to be thankful for.

6. He kept his promise to kind to the descendants of Jonathan - David had promised Jonathan that he would be kind to his descendants. In 2 Samuel 4 we learned that Jonathan had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when his father and grandfather died. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled. His name was Mephibosheth.

Years later, after David had won the wars and settle down in his palace he asked Ziba - 2 Samuel 9. 3 … "Is there no one still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show God's kindness?" Ziba answered the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in both feet." 4 "Where is he?" the king asked. Ziba answered, "He is at the house of Makir … in Lo Debar."
Now he had been hiding since he was 5 years old. The one thing he did not want to see was soldiers coming to his house. But one day some soldiers came and knocked on his door - ‘knock, knock, knock.” “Is Mephibasheth here?” And his heart just dropped, he thought, ‘that’s it, I’m dead.’ So they escort him back to the palace and then in verse 6

9. 6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, … came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, "Mephibosheth!" "Your servant," he replied. 7 "Don't be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table." 8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"

But David didn’t treat him like a dead dog. He treated him like his own son. So Mephibosheth goes from hiding in the land of Lo Debar to inheriting all the land that belong to his grandfather and David made sure that Mephibosheth had servants to wait on him. And the last verse says. 9.13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table, and he was crippled in both feet.

I can just imagine the scene at dinner time. King David walks in with his royal robe with his crown on and he sits down and then in walks Amnon, clever and witty, and then in comes Absolom, handsome and strong, and then in walks Tamar, the beautiful daughter of David and then here comes Solomon---he’s been in the study all day. And everybody sits down and then you hear … thump thump thump thump-----and in walks Mephibosheth and he puts his crutches aside and he sits down in the chair and he slides his crippled feet under the table cloth and he eats dinner with King David and his family.

You see, we are like Mephibosheth. We were living in the land of Lo Debar and then one day I heard a knock at the door but the King brought us to the palace, and we eat at the King’s table.

Sometimes I look around and I feel so out of place because I a crippled by sin and guilt and I feel I don’t belong. But then I hear the King say, ‘Listen, this doesn’t have anything to do with you. This has to do with a promise that I made to your father in heaven, I made a blood covenant and I am doing this for the sake of the covenant that I made with him so you are right at home and you will always eat at the king’s table.

Praise God for his amazing grace.

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA.

The Life of David (Part 7)

The Life of David (Part 7)
Living in Enemy Territory
1 Samuel 26-31
Jeff Garrett

In 1 Samuel 26 the Ziphites told Saul where David was hiding. Saul took 3,000 of his best soldiers and went after David. As Saul’s army was setting up camp, David was spying at a distance. He saw where Saul and Abner made their bed in the middle of the camp. That night David and Abishai tiptoed past all the soldiers until they reached Saul and Abner. Saul was sound asleep with his spear stuck in the ground near his head.

26.8 Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won't strike him twice." You won’t even hear him whimper.” David said, “No, it can’t be right— he is the Lord’s anointed. I’m going to take his spear and water jug by his head.” They tiptoed past all the soldiers out of the camp without waking any of them. 26.12b says … They were all sleeping, because the LORD had put them into a deep sleep. 13 Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away

Then David called out “Abner! Wake up Abner! You are a lousy bodyguard. Your King could have been killed tonight. Where is his jug of water? Where is his spear?” Saul recognized his voice and said “David, is that you my son?” “Yes it is. See, I have your spear and your water jug. I could have killed you but I did not. Can’t you see that I am innocent? I am not trying to take your throne but you are hunting me down like a partridge in a desert. Why are you doing this to me?’

Saul was overcome with guilt. He asked David to come home and promised that he wouldn’t harm him. But David had heard that before. 27.1 … David thought to himself, "One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand." So David sought refuge in enemy territory because his faith grew weak. He’s been living like a fugitive for ten years.

How long does it take before you begin to loose heart? Three months of unemployment? Two years of chemotherapy? Five years of marital conflict? Ten years of relapse and recovery from an addiction? You get so tired and exhausted. And you look at other people who are not Christians. They don’t pray. They don’t go to church. They don’t even care about God. And they don’t have the problems you have. They are healthy. They have good jobs and live in nice homes. Their children are healthy and happy. So you begin to wonder – Does God hear my prayers? Am I being punished? You feel abandoned, hopeless and confused.

That’s the way David felt. During this period he wrote psalms like Psalm 13.1 How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Have you ever felt like that?

Ten years is a long time to live as a fugitive. So David thought, “The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines.” He went to Gath. This is his second trip to Gath. The first time he acted like a madman and Achish sent him away. This time Achish received him and gave him a town called Ziklag. So David and his army of 600 men with their wives and children lived in the town of Ziklag for a year and four month.

Have you ever been in enemy territory? I’ve lived in enemy territory and I discovered that you have to lie to cover your tracks. You can do some good things but it’s like your living a double life. While David lived in Philistine territory he carried out guerrilla-style raids against the enemies of Israel. David was actually carrying out the command God gave Joshua (Joshua 6.17-21) to conquest Canaan but David had to lie about it to cover his tracks. 27.10 When Achish asked, "Where did you go raiding today?" David would say, "Against the Negev of Judah" or "Against the Negev of Jerahmeel" or "Against the Negev of the Kenites." 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, "They might inform on us and say, 'This is what David did.' " And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12 Achish trusted David and said to himself, "He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever."

David lived a double life. He obeyed God’s will in one area but at the same time he deceived Achish - he pretended to be his loyal servant. You can be cash-register honest while you are living a life of duplicity. Like the man who took his girlfriend on a picnic. He stopped at KFC and ordered two chicken dinners. When he got to the park and opened the bags he found $800 dollars in cash. The cashier accidentally gave him the wrong bag. Instead of getting chicken he got the money that was suppose to go to the manager to be deposited into the bank. So they drove back to the store and found the manager in tears. When he gave him the bag of money the manager was so happy. He said, “You are the most honest person I’ve ever met. I’m going to call the newspaper and your picture will be in the paper because you are so honest.” But the man said, “No. Don’t do that?” “Why?” The man explained “The woman I’m with is not my wife.”

David was faithful in one area but he was lying in another. You can only do that so long before you get yourself in an impossible situation. One day the Philistines went to war against Israel and 28.1 … Achish said to David, "You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army." This put David in a difficult position. If he refused he would be in trouble with Achish. If he agreed he would be fighting against his own people. What David decided may surprise you. He not only agreed to go to war against Israel, he bragged about it. Achish said you are going to serve in my army and fight against Israel. 28.2 David said, "Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do." Achish replied, "Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life."

Can you picture this? The Philistines are lined up for battle over here and the army of Israel is lined up over there and where is David? David is on the wrong side!

If you get too deep in enemy territory they start to rub off and you will find yourself fighting against God. Well, the camera shifts from David to focus on Saul.
28.5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7 Saul then said to his attendants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her." So Saul sought guidance from a witch! 28.3 said that Saul removed the sin of witchcraft from the land of Israel, but he did not remove it from his heart.

Saul visited witch of Endor at night, disguised as someone else and he said “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up the one I name.” She thought it was a trap but Saul assured her that she would not be punished. She said, “Who do you want me bring up for you?” Saul said “Bring up Samuel.” So she began her black magic ritual and suddenly Samuel appeared and she cried out at the top of her voice. It scared the witch more than it did Saul. Saul said, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?" The woman said, "I see a spirit coming up out of the ground." He said, "What does he look like?" She said "An old man wearing a robe is coming up." Saul knew it was Samuel. Then Samuel began to speak, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Wouldn’t that scare the gage bees out of you? Samuel said, “Why are you consulting me when the Lord has turned away from you and become your enemy. Your kingdom will be torn away from you and given to David. You and your sons are going to be killed and the Philistines are going win the battle.”
Immediately Saul fell prostrate on the ground because he was terrified.

Today people are still fascinated by horoscopes, fortune-telling, witchcraft, and psychics. Some dabble in it because they think it’s entertaining. Others do it because they want to know the future. The best thing you can do is to stay far away from it. We don’t need a psychic to guide us. We need the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as our guide.

As Saul is walking away from the witch… the camera suddenly shifts back over to David
1 Samuel 29 - David is lined up for battle with the Philistines. I don’t know what David planned to do. I don’t think David knew what he was going to do. Fortunately, the Philistine commanders became angry at Achish and said, “We are not going into battle against Israel with David.” They were afraid that he would turn on them during the battle. So Achish sent David back to Ziklag. As David rode off I imagine he was thinking “I don’t know how we got out of that one.”

As I look back over my life and think of the terrible circumstances I was living in while I was in enemy territory – I can remember times when I said “I don’t know how in the world I got out of that one.” Today I know that it was God who delivered me just like he did David. He has done the same for you. That’s why we sing Amazing Grace: Thro many dangers toils and snares I have already come. Tis grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.

So David left the battle lines and headed back home. When he arrived he discovered that something terrible had happened while he was away.

30.3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. Here are these battle-hardened soldiers weeping because their wives and children were kidnapped. 30.5 David's two wives had been captured… 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. You can do a lot of things to hurt a man but nothing compares to loosing your children.

When you lead your family into enemy territory you may get out but you may loose the ones who love. I know people who have left the Lord for a period of time, they stopped coming to church and bring their children and I have heard them talk about the drinking parties they used attend. But now they have repented and they are walking with Jesus. But they then will say, “Will you pray for my son or daughter?” Where are they? “They are still in enemy territory.
When I read that passage I thought about all the missing children in our country. I want to show you some pictures of children who are currently missing. [Show Pictures] I obtained these pictures from a website called “Missing and Exploited Children.” Can you imagine how desperate their parents must be to find these precious children?

The soldiers in this story felt the same way parents do today. They were so angry and bitter that they talked about stoning David. Does it get any worse than this? He’s living in enemy territory – living a double life – a life of deception. They burned his house, kidnapped his wives and children and the men that he’s leading are talking about stoning him because they blamed it all on him. At that point most people would give up. But not David – do you know what he did? 29.6. says … 30.6b But David found strength in the LORD his God. That is the most inspiring verse in these six depressing chapters (26-31).

1) He prayed to God- 30.7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the LORD…David is finally back-on-track. The last time he called for the ephod to inquire of the Lord was all they way back in 1 Samuel 23.9. Seven chapters have past without him seeking God’s guidance. Finally David is looking to God for guidance. This reminds me that I need to maintain conscious contact with God, praying for the knowledge of his will and the power to carry it out. I love the song
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak, but Thou art mighty; Hold me with Thy powerful hand. Strong Deliverer, Be Thou still my Strength and Shield
30.8 and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue." So David prayed to God and God answered him.

2) He obeyed God - God said go after them and David obeyed. 30. 17 David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, …. 18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. I believe that it is time for the people of God to recover what the enemy has taken and the only way we can do it is by the power of God.

When David found strength in the Lord he did four things: 1) He prayed to God for guidance. 2) He obeyed God by going after the Amalakites and he recovered everything they had taken. 3) He gave God the credit for the victory. 4) He shared the blessing with others. So David is back on track. He’s walking with the Lord and the Lord is blessing him and he is blessing other people. I wish the story could end here but the camera shifts back to Saul and tells the sad story of his death.

31.1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons … including Jonathan, David’s best fried. The archers wounded Saul and look at how he dies.

31. 4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me." But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. Saul faced death just like he faced life – he took matters into his own hands. He committed suicide and the army of Israel is defeated. The next day the Philistines found Saul’s body on Mount Gilboa. They cut of his head and stripped off his armor. The Philistines did to Saul what David did to Goliath. They sent messengers through the land proclaiming the news that Saul was defeated. Then they fastened the bodies of Saul and his three sons to the wall of Beth Shan. What a terrible way to end a book but the story is not over. Do you know what happens next? Come back next week and I will tell you. I want you to think about two statements.

The best are capable of the worst and the worst are capable of the best
Don’t be deceived by thinking that you cannot fall into sin. The most celebrated heroes in the Bible were guilty of the worst behavior. David aligned himself with enemy and Saul consulted a witch and ended his life by suicide. The best are capable of the worst. Think about it. Noah got drunk. Abraham lied. Lot committed incest. Judah slept with his daughter-in-law Tamar because he thought she was a prostitute. Moses murdered an Egyptian. Peter denied Christ. I’ve heard people talk about public figures whose behavior was disgraceful and then they say “I would never do that.” Do you really believe you are incapable of such things? Think again. The same sin nature that lived in these people lives in you. It’s good to remember that even the best are capable of the worst. On the other hand, don’t be deceived into thinking that you’ve done something so bad that God can no longer use you. God will forgive you if you place your faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, God will turn your worst failures will be your greatest strengths. The best are capable of the worst and the worst are capable of the best. Both are important to remember. One keeps you humble. The other gives you hope.

God can turn even the worst tragedy into a great triumph
1 Samuel ends in tragedy but come back next week and you will see how God turns tragedy into triumph because next week, David is going to take the throne and become the greatest king in the history of Israel. And it all points an everlasting kingdom of Jesus Christ who will reign on David’s throne as King of kings and Lord of lords.

And the lesson for us is filled with hope - God can turn your worst tragedy – your broken dreams, your ill health, your broken home, your broken life - God can turn your worst tragedy into a great triumph.

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA.

The Life of David (Part 6)

Son of David, Son of God
Christmas 2005
Jeff Garrett

I have entitled this morning’s Christmas message Son of David, Son of God. We know that Jesus is the Son of God. John 3.16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. During the Christmas Season nearly everyone remembers how God gave his Son to save us. That is the confession we make when we become a Christian. Let’s make the good confession together this morning. Please stand and raise your hands to the Lord and repeat after me.

The Good Confession
I believe with all my heart,
That Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
He died for my sins,
He was raised for my justification,
Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.

We all know and believe that Jesus is the Son of God. But did you know that, in a very special way, the Bible refers to Jesus as the son of David? And I think I know why – because David was so much like Jesus. There are many parallels between the life of David and the life of Jesus. And that’s what we are going to discuss this morning. I want you to notice four things

1. Jesus is a descendent of David

The NT opens by identifying Jesus as the son of David. Matthew 1.1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, …. I’m not going to read the entire genealogy but I want to show you a couple of things

First, notice the structure of the genealogy. Matthew's structure descends from father to son, beginning with Abraham. He divided the genealogy into three groups of fourteen generations, separated by important historic points (Matthew 1:17).

Three divisions of Matthew's genealogy
Abraham to David (Matthew 1:2-6).
David to the Babylonian captivity (Matthew 1:6-11).
Release from Babylonian captivity to Christ (Matthew 1:12-16).

Second, I want you to notice the use of the word “son” - Matthew 1:1 stated Jesus was the "son of David, the son of Abraham." To us, this appears to indicate that David was the father of Jesus, and Abraham was his grandfather. But a Jew would have understood that Matthew did not mean there was only one generation between these men. In the Jewish mind, the word son could be applied to a descendant, which could be a grandson, great grandson, or son of a more distant generation. The custom of skipping generations can be called "genealogical abridgement."

When you study the genealogy of Christ you’re surprised to find who is in his family tree. Most of them are Jews but some are Gentiles. Many of them are heroes of faith. But some of them were not (as we saw dramatic illustrated by Donna Hester last week – wasn’t that great!). Some of them were, at one time or another, pretty bad characters and some had families that were very dysfunctional.

Do you have any nuts in your family tree? Did you come from a dysfunctional family? Today, some people believe that if you come from a dysfunctional family you don’t have a future. You’re doomed to depression or anxiety or alcoholism or abuse or some other dreaded disease. But here’s something I want you to remember: Your family history may influence me but it doesn’t determine your destiny.

In Jesus’ human family tree there were people who drank too much, women who were prostitutes, people who were guilt of adultery and murder. And then look within their families and you read of stories of idolatry, and even incest and rape. (Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not trying to denigrate the genealogy of Jesus. I’m trying to magnify the fact that God loves you and wants to use you to accomplish his purpose). About every problem imaginable happened in his human family history but God was able to work through that line of people to accomplish his will. God will do the same for you.

Some of you need to hear that because you have shape your identity around a very negative view of yourself and your family. That needs to change because you are a child of God. You are in kinship with Jesus.

I want you to see that the NT opens by identifying Jesus’ kinship with David.

2. Jesus was born in David’s hometown

Luke 2. 1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. … 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

When Caesar issued that degree for a census he had no idea that God was at work and that Micah 5.2 was being fulfilled and Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The first to hear about his birth were shepherds out in the field. They were probably in the same fields where David tended his sheep. David was a shepherd. Jesus is called the good shepherd. And the shepherds came to Bethlehem and so did the Magi and everybody who heard about it were amazed (Luke 2.18).
Isaiah 9. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

But then something terrible happened in Bethlehem. There was a madman named King Herod who heard from the Magi that a king had been born and he wanted to kill baby Jesus. It’s similar to what David experienced. David’s life also chased by a madman named King Saul.

When I read the story of these kings I think of the game of chess. And I wonder why they can’t just get along. Why can’t the knights sit at the round table and talk it out while the pawns go shoot hoops? Well, they cannot get along because there are two kings. And two kings never play well together. So Herod killed all the little boys two years and younger and a voice was heard in Ramah, Rachael weeping for her children because they are no more.

And like David ran from King Saul, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt until they heard that Herod died and they returned to Nazareth. And in Nazareth Jesus grew. Then one day he went to the river and was baptized by John and began his ministry.

3. Jesus was called the son of David by the people

I didn’t realize how often Jesus was called “the son of David” by the people he ministered to. In Matthew 9, after Jesus healed a woman and raised a little girl from the dead, Matthew tells us … Matthew 9.27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

In Matthew 12 people brought a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute and Jesus healed him so that he could both talk and see. Matthew says, All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" (Matthew 12.23).

In Matthew 15.22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

When Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem Matthew 21.9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Over and over the people called Jesus the son of David. But when you get to Matthew 22 there is sort of a curious twist to the meaning of the phrase son of David. Jesus asked the Pharisees a penetrating question.

Matthew 22.41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" "The son of David," they replied. 43 He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, 44 " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." ' 45 If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?" 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

How would you answer that question? If Christ is the son of David why did he call him Lord? How can he be his son and at the same time be his God? The purpose of the quotation was to show that Jesus was more than a descendant of David – he is David’s Lord. He is God in human form. And when the people understood what he was claiming they crucified him just like David prophesied.

4. David prophesied Jesus’ death and resurrection

Psalm 22. 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Do you recognize those words? That’s exactly what Jesus said when he was on the cross. But those are from the pen of David as he writes about his own suffering hundreds of years before Jesus was crucified. You see, the life of David was bound up in the life of Jesus and he described it so vividly.

Psalm 22. 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 6 b [I am] scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him."
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 … a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

David was writing out of his own experience – the anguish of his own suffering. But no other psalm expresses so aptly the circumstances of Jesus at his crucifixion than Psalm 22. It happened just as David prophesied.

But he not only prophesied his death. He also prophesied his resurrection and his reign. Acts 2. [Peter said] 29 "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, … 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

And that is where Jesus is today. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is King of the universe but what he wants more than anything else is to be King of your heart.
That’s what made David so special. He was a man after God’s own heart. His life was a type or a shadow of Jesus Christ. Jesus was his descendent, born in his hometown, called by his name as he ministered to be and he died and rose again just as David prophesied. The Bible ends with Jesus saying …

Revelation 22. 16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA.

The Life of David (Part 5)

The Life of David (Part 5)
1 Samuel 25
What to Feed an Angry Man
Jeff Garrett

This is the fifth in a series of sermons on The Life of David. The title of today’s lesson is What to Feed an Angry Man. Let’s read the text

1 Samuel 25. 1 Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David moved down into the Desert of Maon. 2 A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. 3 His name was Nabal and his wife's name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was surly and mean in his dealings.

4 While David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. 5 So he sent ten young men and said to them, "Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. 6 Say to him: 'Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours! 7 " 'Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. 8 Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my young men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.' "

9 When David's men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David's name. Then they waited. 10 Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. 11 Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?"

12 David's men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word. 13 David said to his men, "Put on your swords!" So they put on their swords, and David put on his. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.
14 One of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail: "David sent messengers from the desert to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. 15 Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. 16 Night and day they were a wall around us all the time we were herding our sheep near them. 17 Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him."

Background

In that culture was the custom for soldiers or mercenaries to provide protection for shepherds. Then during sheep-shearing time, the owner always repaid the mercenaries. So David and his men had been policing that area, protecting Nabal’s shepherds and in exchange they expected Nabal to give them something. It was not a law, it was just a custom in that culture and soldiers depended upon it for their livelihood.

When you eat dinner at that restaurant, it is not a law that you have to tip your waitress but it is rude if you do not. They depend on it for their livelihood. It is the same here. David’s sends 10 men to Nabal (25.4-9) and they ask him for something in exchange for the service provided. But Nabal refused and David wanted to kill him but God sent Abigail to intervene. I am going to make two observations and two action points.

Observation #1 – Some people are hard to get along with

Here are two things we know about Nabal.

First, he was wealthy – 25.2 [Nabal] had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.
Nabal owned property at Carmel. He had 1000 goats and 3000 sheep. This event happened during sheep-shearing time. It was kind of like when the cowboys bought the cattle to market. They stayed in town; they went to the saloons and they partied. That’s kind of the atmosphere that David’s men walk into. They were having a festival.

Second, he was wicked – Look at what one of the servants said about him, 25.17b He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him. Look at what his wife said about him. 25.25 May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. Look at 25.3b [Nabal] was surly and mean in his dealings. The word “surly” means that he was rude and overbearing and obnoxious. Nabal said, “Why should I take my bread and my water, and my meat and give it to men coming from who know where?” Nabal was a wicked fool.

You may know someone like this. Who is it? Your ex-husband or ex-wife? Your boss? A neighbor? Someone at school? You know as well as I do that some people are hard to get along with.

Observation #2 – We tend to overreact

Look at David’s response. 25.12 David's men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word. 13 David said to his men, "Put on your swords!" Now when you put your swords on you are not going to go have a friendly discussion. David is going to go kill him 25.13b So they put on their swords, and David put on his. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.

So David is going to take revenge. Contrast that with how David responded to Saul in the previous chapter (1 Samuel 24). Saul had treated David much worse but David did not take revenge. He could have killed Saul in the cave but he only cut off a corner of his robe. Now he’s going to kill Nabal a petty grievance. Isn’t that amazing?

There are some factors that may have contributed to David’s overreaction.

David was hungry – that’s why Abigail brings him food (25.18-19).
David was angry – this may have been displaced anger for Saul
David was lonely - because he missed Jonathan and he was grieving over Samuel
David was tired – of running from Saul

When you are angry are angry remember to H.A.L.T. Ask yourself I’m I hungry, angry, lonely or tired? If you are stop you will tend to overreact. So stop and pray for help. David did not. David did not pray. David did not call for the ephod and ask Abiathar if it was God’s will for him to attack Nabal. He was just over reacting.

Another factor that contributed to his over reaction was his self-talk. Look at how he was upsetting himself by rehearsing the offense. 25.21 David had just said, "It's been useless—all my watching over this fellow's property in the desert so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. 22 May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!" He’s seething.

He’s said, “There is no excuse for Nabal. I’ve done everything a man can do to do and he throws this up in my face and insults me like this. Who does he think he is? He can’t mess with me. I might have to take it from Saul but I’m certainly not going to take it from this sorry shepherd. He’s dead meat!” You see that is what we do when you get angry—we upset our self. That’s why we overreact. We repeat all that poison stuff and rally the support of others. We are filled with anger and bitterness.

At this point Nabal is not the problem. What he did was wrong but what David was planning to do is worse. Here are two things you need to do when you’re angry.

Action Point #1 – When God sends someone to calm you down you need to listen

Here’s what the Bible tells us about Abigail.

1. She was beautiful. 25.3b She was an intelligent and beautiful woman. Abigail was beautiful inside and out. She was the spiritual leader in that family and people knew it. That’s why the servant explained the situation to Abigail and said, 25.17 Now think it over and see what you can do… He trusted Abigail would know what to do. Look at what she did. Abigail knew what to feed an angry man. 25.18 Abigail lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, (her kitchen must have been something else) and loaded them on donkeys. 19 Then she told her servants, "Go on ahead; I'll follow you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

2. She was brave. 25. 20 As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them. I want you to picture this beautiful woman riding a donkey and David and 400 armed soldiers on horses meet her. Have you ever heard how loud horses are as they gallop. So here come 400 soldiers on horses ready to go to war ---and here is Abigail with a crock pot in her hand. 25.23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said: "My lord, let the blame be on me alone. She was brave.
3. She was a believer. Notice how many times she appeals to God as she persuades David. Abigail said, 25.24b Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. 25 May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my master sent.
26 "Now since the LORD has kept you, my master, from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, may your enemies and all who intend to harm my master be like Nabal. 27 And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my master, be given to the men who follow you. 28 Please forgive your servant's offense, for the LORD will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the LORD's battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live. 29 Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. 30 When the LORD has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel, 31 my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD has brought my master success, remember your servant."

Abigail believed in God. She appeals to God seven times in seven verses. She said “David you need to calm down. God is going to make you the next king. Don’t let some petty little grievance from a wicked little man like Nabal ruin your conscience. If you kill him you are going to have guilty conscience. Don’t do it David, it’s not worth it.”

Notice how David responded. This is why he is called a man after God’s heart. 25.32 32 David said to Abigail, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. 33 May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. … 35 Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, "Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request."

David praised God because he knew that God had sent Abigail to calm him and control his anger. He accepted the food she had brought and said to Abigail, “Go in peace and I will do as you have advised me.”

James 1.19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

So Abigail went back home. Do you know what she found? I wish I could tell you that Nabal apologized and thanked her for saving his life. But that didn’t happen. When Abigail got back home Nabal was stone drunk (25.36). She went to bed alone. Some of you know what that is like. Some of the greatest Christians that I know have been women who are married to alcoholics. They suffer in silence.

25.37 37 Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. I suppose he had a stroke. 25.38 About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died. You see, David did not have to take revenge because the Lord took care of Nabal. Romans 12. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord. And that is exactly what happened here.

I hesitate to tell you the rest of the story but when the word got back to David that Nabal had died David didn’t say ‘let us pray for Nabal and his family’. Look at what David said. 25.39: 39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Praise be to the LORD… That’s not very sympathetic is it? David said, “Praise God 25.39b who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal's wrongdoing down on his own head." David praised God because he sent Abigail to keep him from doing something he would regret. Look at what happened next.

25.39c Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.. He didn’t waste any time. Look at how Abigail responds to David’s proposal. 25.40 His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, "David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife." 41 She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, "Here is your maidservant, ready to serve you and wash the feet of my master's servants." 42 Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five maids, went with David's messengers and became his wife. This is a Cinderella story. You talk about a woman who was ready to be loved by a man. She became his wife.

Now here is the final lesson for you to take home with you. I know that some of you are thinking of one lesson. And that is, if your husband is a jerk---be kind to another man and God will strike him dead. That is not the lesson!!! Here’s what we’ve learned. Some people are hard to deal with. We tend to overreact. When God sends someone to calm you down you need to listen.

Action Point #2 – Rely on the Holy Spirit to calm you down

Galatians 5. 19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious … 20 hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. … 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Don’t wrap your emotional life around the weakness of another person, if you do you empower that weakness to control you. Be controlled by the Spirit. God is not always going to send someone to calm you down. He expects you to allow the Holy Spirit to calm down so that you do not sin in your anger. What they did to you was wrong but if you overreact you may do something worse and you have to live with a guilty conscience. And then who are you going to blame? You can only blame yourself.

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA.

The Life of David (Part 4)

The Life of David (Part 4)
After You Hit Rock Bottom
1 Samuel 22-24
Jeff Garrett

This is the fourth sermon in a series on the life of David. Last week we saw how David hit rock bottom – he lost his position, his wife, his mentor, his friend and in the process of losing all of those things he lost his integrity when he lied to Ahimelech and he lost his self respect when he faked insanity before Achish king of Gath. Finally David left Gath and traveled about 10 miles to the cave of Adullam. The word “Adullam” means “sealed off place.” It was there that David hit rock bottom. Today’s lesson is entitled After You Hit Rock Bottom. We are going learn six principles that will help us recover

1. He cried out to God for help

I want you to read the note that appears in then NIV before Psalm 142. (A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer) David wrote this psalm while he was in the cave of Adullam. 1 I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. 2 I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. … 4 Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. … 5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living." 6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. 7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

After you hit your bottom the first thing you need to do is cry out to God for help. Admit that you are powerless. Believe that God can help you. Turn your life over to the care of Jesus Christ. Make a searching and fearless moral inventory. Then confess your sins and all your troubles. Be open and honest. There are four parts to David’s prayer. 1) He cries out for mercy. 2) He pours out his complaint. 3) He speaks out words of faith. 4) He got out the message that God is good.

I love how David ended his prayer. He said, “Lord if you save me I will tell everyone about it. People will gather around me to hear about how good you are.” If God has helped you through hard times (e.g., the loss of a job, a divorce, an addiction) you need to tell other people about it so that he gets the glory.

2. He was supported by people (1 Samuel 22.1-4)

22.1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

God sent his family to support him. You need your family just like David needed his. Sometimes people turn away from their family because they feel embarrassed or ashamed. Like David you may have lost your marriage or your job or your integrity or self respect. You may think I don’t want my family to know all these bad things me.

Or you may be tempted to turn them away because you resent the way they have treated you in the past. David could have held a grudge against his father for not inviting him to the sacrifice when Samuel visited their home (1 Samuel 16.11). He could have resented his older brother Eliab for the way he treated him in the Valley of Elah (1 Samuel 17.28). But David did not allow embarrassment or resentment to keep him from his family. He not only welcomed them he also protected them by taking his parents to Moab. Since David’s great grandmother Ruth was from Moab (Ruth 1.4) they had family ties there and he knew that the king of Moab would keep them safe.

People kept coming to that cave. Pretty soon that cave was filled with 400 people and they made David their leader. Family and friends are an important part of recovery. When you are with people it gets your mind off of your problems. You take care of them and they take care of you. So David and his men were staying together in the stronghold. The third point is …

3. He listened to spiritual counsel (1 Samuel 22.5)

5 But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

Gad told David where to go and he listened. The prophet Gad was kind of like David’s pastor or preacher. Gad was a co-writer with David of some of the psalms. He advised David and at times rebuked him like when he numbered the Israelites.

Everybody needs spiritual counsel at times. You need someone you can trust. So that you can admit your character defects and pray that God will remove your shortcomings. Someone who is kind enough to listen, wise enough to advise, and strong enough to rebuke you when you need it. You want someone who will encourage you.

After I hit my bottom Earl Williams was one of my pastors. A short time after my fall I was telling Earl how I had disqualified myself and would never be able to preach again. Earl told me “Jeff, your best days are ahead. You will be able to minister to people in a way you were never able to before. You will speak to people out of your own brokenness.” Earl helped me stop wallowing in self-pity and realize that God was not done with me. Do you have someone like that in your life?

4. He was not paralyzed by guilt (1 Samuel 22.6-23)

Last week I told you to remember the name Doeg – he was like a Judas Iscariot for David in the OT. Remember how David lied to Ahimelech the priest by telling him that he had been sent by King Saul on a secret mission and Ahimelech gave David the consecrated bread and Goliath’s sword. David’s lie put Ahimelech in harms way because Doeg, who was there that day, ran and told Saul that Ahimelech had helped David. When Saul found out he was furious and ordered Doeg to kill the priests. So Doeg slaughtered them all. He killed 85 priests and all their women children and infants.

The only man who escaped was Abiathar, Ahimelech’s son. Abiathar ran to David and told him that Saul ordered Doeg to murder his entire family.22. 22 Then David said to Abiathar: "That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your father's whole family. So David blamed himself for the death of Abiathar’s dad and family. How would you like to have that on your conscious? Can you imagine how guilty he must of felt? I imagine that when David looked at Abiathar he was reminded of it.

It would be great if no one would ever suffer for your past sins. But that seldom happens. You reap what you sow. You reap later than you sow. You reap more than you sow. Your sins from the past still hurt you (and others) in the present and you have to learn to cope so that you are not paralyzed by guilt.

For example, I know a man who had an affair and his wife divorced you. The divorce was devastating but he has repented and knows that he is forgiven. He’s walking with Jesus again. But every time he sees his children struggle he blames himself and says “My children are still suffering and it’s my fault.” And he gets paralyzed by guilt. What should he do? If he continues to beat himself up with guilt he will not be able to help them adjust. He may even begin to repeat the sins of the past which will bring him down to a lower bottom and hurt his children even more.

You have to move on and do the best you can. That’s what David did. He said to Abiathar, 23 Stay with me; don't be afraid; the man who is seeking your life is seeking mine also. You will be safe with me." Do you see how he moved on and good came from it because Abiathar was a priest. Think about how God works things out for our good.

God gave David Gad the prophet and now Abiathar the priest. So now we’ve got a prophet, a priest and a king which formed the cabinet of spiritual leadership for the nation of Israel. God works everything out for our good and his glory – he will do the same for you. But you must not allow yourself to be paralyzed by guilt.

5. He prayed for guidance and protection (1 Samuel 23)

In 1 Samuel 23.1 1 When David was told, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors," 2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" Now David didn’t do that when he went to Gath but now he is seeking the Lord’s guidance. The LORD answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah." so they went and won a great victory and saved Keliah.

6 (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.) Exodus 28 tells us that the priest wore a vest called the ephod. In the ephod there as a pocket and in the pocket were the Urim and the Thummim – sort of like two rocks – one with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the other with the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. That was how they cast lots. If the priest wanted to find out God’s will they would jumble up those two rocks and they would pull out one of them and if it said Urim they would say that that means “no” and if he pulled out Thummim that means “yes.” Proverbs 16.33 says 33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD

Verse 7 says that 7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and Saul planned to attack him there. But v.9 says 9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod." 10 David said, "O LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant." And the LORD said, "He will." … 13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. …14b … Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands

Then the Ziphites tried to spy out where David was hiding. Saul heard that he was hiding in the Desert of Maon and he went after David but God protected him. 23.26 Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land." 28 Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. …29 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

God intervened and protected him by sending Saul another way. David turned around and Saul was gone. Where did he go? He found later that God sent him another way. David wrote, Psalm 34. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. You need to pray for guidance and protection – pray for angels to watch over you.

I love Amy Grant’s song Angels Watching Over Me
God only knows the times my life was threatened just today
A reckless car ran out of gas before it came my way
Near misses all around me, accidents unknown
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home
But I know they’re all around me, all day and through the night
When the enemy is closing in I know sometimes they fight
To keep my feet from falling, I’ll never turn away
If you’re asking what’s protecting me then you’re going to hear me say
God has angels watching over me, every move I make
God has angels watching over me, every step I take

6. He treated people write even when they treated him wrong (1 Samuel 24)

1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of En Gedi." 2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. Now I want you to picture this. David and his men are hiding far back in a cave and Saul goes in that same cave to relieve him self. There were no port-a-johns in En Gedi, so he went into this cave to use the bathroom not knowing that David was in there.

When Saul walked in the cave 4 The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.' " Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

I can just see David sneaking up behind Saul. He could have killed him but he didn’t. He just cut a little corner off of his robe. 5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." 7 With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

So David walked out of the cave and bowed down before Saul. And showed him the corner of his robe. He said 11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12 May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.

24.16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, "Is that your voice, David my son?" And he wept aloud. 17 "You are more righteous than I," he said. "You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. So Saul went home and David and his men stayed in the stronghold.
Contrast David and Saul. Saul was full of jealousy and resentment. He could have been relaxing in the palace but he was out in the desert chasing David. On the other hand, God used all of these hardships to prepare him for the palace. He could have killed Saul but he didn’t.
Do not be overcome by evil. Overcome evil with good. Do not take revenge, leave room for God’s wrath. Don’t allow yourself to be resentful. Keep the focus on yourself and continue to take personal inventory. If you have offended someone, promptly admit it and make amends. Stay close to God through prayer and mediation and live like Jesus. And you will stay on the road to recovery.

If you are familiar with the 12 Steps – which is the path I followed after I hit rock bottom – you recognized that I mentioned each of the steps in this lesson. I want to end by reading the promises. The Promises are usually read at every AA meeting. I have seen these promises come true in the lives of many people who hit rock bottom.

The Promises
Page 83-84 of the Big Book
If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.

What’s true for the alcoholic is true for every other sinner. God promises to bless you and give you an abundant life. Things may not get better but you can get better. And that’s what you need to do after you hit rock bottom.

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA. Jeremiah, David (1997) The Tender Warrior (Volume 1 & 2). Turning Point for God. San Diego CA

The Life of David (Part 3)

The Life of David (Part 3)
When You Hit Rock Bottom
1 Samuel 18-22
Jeff Garrett

This is the third is a series of sermons on the Life of David. I have entitled today’s lesson When You Hit Rock Bottom. There was a time in the life of David when everything was going great. In 1 Samuel 16 he was anointed king and he was brought to the palace to play music. In chapter 17 he killed giant from Gath and became a instant hero. Then, in chapter 18.1 we read ..

Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. 5 Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's officers as well. 6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. 7 As they danced, they sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."

David is on top of the world. He’s wealthy, exempt from taxes and he married the princes. He gained so much! He gained a friend named Jonathan who was the best friend David ever had. He gained a high position in the army of Israel and he was successful in everything Saul sent him to do. He was so successful that he became famous and when they rode into a village the women would come out singing and dancing with tambourines. As they danced they sang, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands." The men admired, Jonathan loved him, and women adored him. Everybody loved David except Saul. Because when he heard the women sing

8 Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" 9 And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
Saul’s jealous thoughts turned to murderous thoughts. He tried to kill him in various ways. Saul tried to kill him with his spear but David was too fast for him. When he couldn’t kill him he devised a plan for the Philistines to kill him. When that failed, Saul’s next plan was to ensnare David by having him marry his daughter. And when that backfired (18.28-29), Saul put out a contract on him and David ran for his life.

So for next ten years David lived like a Desperado – like a bold and desperate outlaw on the run. Now David was not an outlaw. He had done nothing wrong. But Saul pursued him and David lived like a fugitive. If you saw the Harrison Ford’s movie, The Fugitive, you saw what its like to always be looking over your shoulder, always hiding and concealing your identity. That’s the way he lived and he lost all that he had gained and David hit rock bottom. I want use to think about his losses. He lost six things.

1. He lost his position – David had been promoted to a high position of military leadership. But now he was fleeing for his life (19.8-10), never to return to his position as the King Saul’s heroic soldier.

2. He lost his wife – Saul pursued David right into his home, where he was with Michal, his wife. The night before David was to be killed Michal helped him escape (19.11-12). But she was not loyal to him. When her father asked why she let him go she lied and said that David threatened to kill her. So Michal betrayed David.

3. He lost his mentor – David fled to Samuel the prophet who had anointed him. David looked to Samuel for guidance. After David explained how Saul was pursuing him, Samuel advised him to go to Naioth. And he did, leaving behind his mentor.

4. He lost his friend – David said to Jonathan 20.3 …as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death." Later in David said goodbye to Jonathan. 20.41 David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most. 42 Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.' " Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town. David has lost his job, his wife, his mentor, and his friend. He’s just been running from one person to the other and he’s losing them all. Now up to this point David has been honest with everyone he’s run to but when he visits Ahimelech he becomes dishonest. And that’s the fifth lose.

5. He lost his integrity –1 Samuel 21. 1 David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?" Ahimelech was afraid because anyone coming from the king usually traveled with an entourage. But David lied to him. 2 David answered Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, 'No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.' As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. That was not true.

One of the things you do when you are desperate is that you twist the truth. Remember when Abraham was afraid that Pharaoh would kill him and how he lied and told Pharaoh that Sarah was his sister. Remember how afraid Peter was and he lied when he denied knowing Jesus. David did not tell the truth. Someone has said, Satan has many tools but a lie is the handle that fits them all.

And then David ate the consecrated bread v.3. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find." 4 But the priest answered David, "I don't have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women." 5 David replied, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men's things are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!" 6 So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.

So David at the bread that only the priests were to eat - But David did not sin by eating it.
In Mark 2 Jesus’ disciples were criticized by the Pharisees because they were picking some heads of grain and eating it on the Sabbath day. And Jesus reminded the Pharisees about this story – how David and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priest to eat. Mark 2.27 Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So David did not sin when he ate the consecrated bread. The problem was that he lied to Ahimelech.

Then he told another lie. 7 Now one of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul's head shepherd. 8 David asked Ahimelech, "Don't you have a spear or a sword here? I haven't brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king's business was urgent." That was a lie – he didn’t have a weapon because he was running from the king. 9 The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one." David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

So David lied again and Doeg (v.7) was there to hear it all. Now Doeg was kind of a Judas Iscariot for David in the Old Testament. Next week we will see how Doeg runs to tell Saul that David was at Nob and Saul gets so angry that he commands Doeg kill Ahimelech and everyone who lived in that village. And Doeg slaughters 82 people and David blamed himself for their death. Your lies not only hurts you – others can be hurt.

But when you go spiritually AWOL and you start relying on human means and you think that you can manipulate your way out rather than relying on the Lord, bad things happen. It just gets worse. You’ll never guess what happens next.

6. He lost his self-respect – After visiting Ahimelech in Nob (21.1), David fled to enemy territory – to Gath. Now, do you remember who was from Gath? That was Goliath’s hometown. And the people immediately recognized David. He’s wearing Goliath’s sword! 11 … the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances: " 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?" 12 David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. David thought the only way I can escape is to fake insanity. 13 So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. David, slobbering in his beard and began to claw at the door so that they would think that he was crazy and look at what Achish said.14 Achish said to his servants, "Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 15 Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?" Get him out of here!

When you try to hide in enemy territory you do some crazy things, insane things, and you loose your self-respect. So David leaves Gath and hides in a cave.

1 Samuel 22.1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam.

This is one of the lowest moments of David’s life. Some of you have been there. You’ve lost your job, or your wife, or your friend, or mentor, or your integrity, or your self respect. You’ve done things you regret. And you crawl into a cave of despair. Maybe you are there right now and no one knows how desperate you really are. I have been singing this song all week – because David is like Desperado. Do you remember it?

Desperado

Desperado why don’t you come to your senses
You been out riding fences so long now
O you’re a hard one, but I know you got your reasons
These things that are pleasing you will hurt you somehow

Desperado, O you ain’t gettin’ no younger
Your pain and your hunger are driven you home
And freedom, O freedom, that’s just some people talking
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

It may be raining, but there’s a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you (let somebody love you)
You better let somebody love you – before it’s too late

I love that song. I’ve spent most of my life, as a minister and a counselor, trying to help people who are in desperate situations. When you hit rock bottom you need to come to your senses and let the Lord love you before it’s too late. But I tell you what a lot of people do when they are in the cave of despair – they find it hard to let the Lord love them for three reasons.

1. Pride – Our life can be falling apart but we don’t want anybody to know about it. We come to church with a smile on and say everything is OK. I’m not going to get help, I’m not going to a counselor, I’m not making that phone call, I’m not going to be vulnerable – I’m too proud to do that. Listen to this piece from Beth Moore who writes about pride

"My name is pride and I am a cheater. I cheat you out of your God-given destiny because you demand your own way. I cheat you out of contentment because you deserve better than this. I cheat you out of knowledge because you know it all. I cheat you out of peace because you are too full of me to forgive. I cheat you out of holiness because you refuse to admit it when you are wrong. I cheat you of genuine friendship because no body is ever going to know the real you. I cheat you out of love because real romance demands sacrifice. I cheat you out of greatness and heaven because you refuse to wash another’s feet on earth. I cheat you out of God’s glory because I convince you to seek your own."

"My name is pride and I am a cheater! You like me because you think I’m always looking out for you. Untrue, I’m always looking to make a fool out of you. God has so much for you I admit, but don’t worry, if you stick with me you’ll never know." (Beth Moore)

Pride is a cheater and that is one reason why people don’t turn to God when they hit rock bottom. But there is another reason

2. Guilt – They say, “You don’t know what I have done. You don’t how far I’ve gone, all the bad things I have done, how dark my life has been. Sin has over taken me and there’s no way out. That’s the way David felt at times. Psalm 40. 12 12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Have you ever felt that way? That’s where Satan wants to keep you – shame based. You’ll never be any good, you’ll never amount to anything, you’ve gone way too far, God can’t forgive you for that, don’t even think about showing up for church, don’t even think about talking to your friends because no body would want you.

3. Misunderstanding God –Some of you have the wrong picture of God. God does not want to scold you. God wants to hold you. If I gave you this jigsaw puzzle do you think you could put it together this afternoon? You say “Yes.” And I can see you spreading all the pieces on a table and setting up the box so that you can see the picture to put it together. But you would have a hard time – do you know why? Because I put the wrong top on the box and you need the right picture to work the puzzle.

That’s the way people are with God – they’ve got the wrong picture. And their life is broken into many pieces and they can’t put it together because they have the wrong picture of God. If you want to know what God looks like start reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and look at Jesus – that’s what God is like.

Do you know who was drawn to Jesus? People who thought they had gone too far. People who had hit rock bottom. Prostitutes, tax collectors, people who had a reputation for drinking too much, people who had been outcast by everybody else – those are the people who are drawn to Jesus. Jesus said, if I be lifted up I will draw all men too me. So God lifted him up and look at all the sinners who were drawn. In fact, the only people Jesus was harsh with were religious people. The people who thought they were better than everybody else.

David lost his job, his wife, his friend, his mentor, his integrity and his self respect. Then he crawled into a cave but David prayed to God for help. Listen to one of David’s prayers.

Psalm 40.11-12 11 LORD, don't hold back your tender mercies from me. My only hope is in your unfailing love and faithfulness. 12For troubles surround me -- too many to count!They pile up so high I can't see my way out. They are more numerous than the hairs on my head. I have lost all my courage. 13 Please, LORD, rescue me! Come quickly, LORD, and help me.
Matt and Praise Team – God Who Comes to Save

God is aware of your pain, your struggle, your brokenness and your hurt. Reach out to Him now and allow Him to come and save you – It’s time to pray together.

Matt and Praise Team - He Will Come and Save You

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA.

The Life of David (Part 2)

The Life of David (Part 2)
The Battle is the Lord’s
Jeff Garrett

This is the second lesson in a series of sermons from The Life of David. I have entitled today’s message The Battle is the Lord’s. Here is a picture of the world’s tallest man. His name is Robert Wadlow of Illinois was 8ft 11ins. He died in 1940 at the age of 22. David faced a giant who was taller and stronger than anyone ever recorded. I want you to picture the scene as I read …

1 Samuel 17.2-3 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.

So on one hill was the army of Israel and the Philistines were on the other hill and there was a valley between them. Now look at the size of the giant.

17. 4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.

Goliath was from Gath. He was a champion of war. He was a giant. He was between 9 foot 6 and 9 foot 9 inches tall. He was two feet taller than the tallest NBA player. He probably weighed 400 or 500 pounds. He was well armed. He had a bronze helmet, and wore a coat of scaled armor that weighed between 150 to 200 pounds. The shaft of his spear looked like a telephone pole and the point that weighed 15 or 20 pounds. His shield bearer went ahead of him to keep him from being hit by any stray arrows. He was a huge man. And look at what he was shouting.

17. 8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us." 10 Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." Look at their response. 11 On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

Verse 16 says that this had been going on for 40 days. Every morning and every even he came forward and issued the same challenge. And Israel was paralyzed by fear. No one volunteered to fight the giant.

Do you have any giants in your life? Do you have any giant size problems? The giants you face may be in your marriage, or your relationships with your children or your school or your job. And you are intimidated and paralyzed by fear. Today we are going to how to deal with the giants in your life by making eight commitments.

1. I will be faithful in the routine things

17. 17 Now Jesse said to his son David, "Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines." 20 Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed.

David was faithful in the routine things. He was a part time musician, he was a shepherd, and he was also an errand boy. He did exactly what his dad directed.Take care of the little things before you try and tackle the big things. Private victory always precedes public victory. When I fail in public, I can always trace it back to the place where I’ve been failing in private. David won victories in private. Small victories lead to big ones.

2. I will ask questions so that I understand the nature of the challenge

He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.

Goliath came out roared across the ravine and everybody ran. But when David heard it, he was not afraid. He asked questions so that he understood the nature of the challenge.

His first question is: 17. 26 David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? There were three incentives. First, King Saul will make you rich. Second, you get to marry King’s Saul’s daughter, Michel ---which is no prize—believe me, you’ll see it later. Third, your family will be exempt from taxes. Do you know why Saul had this incentive plan? Because he was a coward – he should have been fighting the giant.

His second question is 17.26b Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? Who does he think he is? Maybe there is a question behind that, that David is asking the Israelites. Have you forgotten who you are? Don’t you know that the battle is the Lord’s? So now, David understands the nature of the challenge.

3. I will stay focused in spite of criticism

28 When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

If you step out in faith you are going to be a target for criticism. Look at Eliab’s condescending attitude. He said ‘why did you come down here’? Where are your sheep, David? With whom did you leave those 5 sheep with? I know how wicked you are. I know how conceited your heart is. You just came down here to watch the battle to see if you could see some blood. David, why don’t you go back home to Daddy?’

Right here David faced a great challenge. Is he going to fight the critic or is he going to maintain his focus and fight the giant? You can fight all day long and never get out of the ranks of the church. David could fight his brother and he would have never fought Goliath. But David made the right choice and he simply says in 17.29

17.29 "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" I like the way the King James Version translates this: Is there not a cause? Eliab, this is bigger than both of us, there is a giant down in the valley, defying the armies of God. We should not be fighting, lets go get the giant. I love that spirit. Don’t invest any energy fight critics. Stay focused.

4. I will be confident and persuasive

David demonstrated his confidence by persuading the king to let him fight Goliath.

17. 33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

You can be confident if you remember the victories in the past. You can be persuasive when you have your faith in God.

5. I will not try to be someone else - I will be myself

In v.38 Saul tried to dress David up in his own armor but it was too big and David wasn’t use to it. Saul was a 52 long and David was a 42 short. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. He looked like a little league football player with a helmet that was way too big and pads out past his shoulders. David said, "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

David is not going to face the giant in someone else’s armor. You can’t wear my armor. I can’t wear your armor. God will be sufficient – so be yourself. So here is David. He’s got no armor. He’s got a staff and sling and he’s looking for rocks in the creek. He chose five smooth stones and put them in his shepherd’s bag. He put one stone in his sling which was a weapon of war. Judges 20. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. So the sling was a legitimate weapon. He was ready so he approached the giant.

6. I refuse to be intimidated – I will asked God to take over

41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"

That would intimidate most people. But not David – he was fearless. David understood that the battle belongs to the Lord. God had already taken over.

Do you remember Joshua 5. 13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" 14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" 15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.I believe this is a pre-incarnate manifestation of the Son of God. His answer to Joshua’s question (i.e., Are you for us or for our enemies?) is interesting. He didn’t say “I’m on your side Joshua.” He said “Neither.” He didn’t come to take sides he came to take over.

And David knew that. God had already taken over.

7. I will acknowledge that the battle is the Lord’s

45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with 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. 46 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. 47 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."

48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.

So David runs up, jumps on top of him, I guess, pulls that sword out, ‘excuse me, gotta borrow your sword to get your head cut off’, pulls that sword out, kills him and then takes his head, raises it up and then slices his head off. I would imagine that he would have held that head up like this and gave a great big war cry. And the Bible says the army of Israel surged with a great shout and chased them all the way to gates of Gath and they won a great victory that day - all because a teenage boy believed in the power of God.

8. I will cherish the trophies God gives me

17.53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. 54 David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent.

Imagine David carrying that big old head into Jerusalem. Like a hunter mounting the head of a Pope and Young buck, David walked into town with the head of a giant for everyone to see. He also put Goliath's weapons in his own tent. I can see David walk by and pat the armor and say to himself ‘My God did that for me, and I know that he is going to do it again. It is a trophy of grace.’ Do you have some trophies in the past? Don’t bury them, cherish them because they will give you confidence to face the future.

Here are the eight commitments we have made
1. I will be faithful in the routine things
2. I will ask questions so that I understand the nature of the challenge
3. I will stay focused in spite of criticism -
4. I will be confident and persuasive
5. I will not try to be someone else - I will be myself
6. I refuse to be intimidated – I will asked God to take over.
7. I will acknowledge that the battle is the Lord’s
8. I will cherish the trophies God gives me

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA.

Friday, January 20, 2006

The Life of David (Part 1)

The Life of David (Part 1)
God Sees the Heart
1 Samuel 16.1-13
Jeff Garrett

Today I begin a new series of sermons on The Life of David – the second king of Israel. The name of the first king was Saul. Saul started out good but ended up bad. He became egotistical and paranoid and in his later years he even turned to witchcraft for direction. Look at what the prophet Samuel said to Saul.

1 Samuel 13. 13 "You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command." So Saul is rejected and that sets the stage for the story of David. The title of my lesson is God Sees the Heart. I want to make three points

1. God is at work, even when I am not aware of it (16.1-5a)

16. 1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king." 2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me." The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate." 4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?” 5 Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

It was 1025 B.C. and Samuel was in Ramah which is located in the hill country about five miles north of Jerusalem. Samuel was mourning over Saul. God came to Samuel and said, “Stop mourning for Saul. I’ve rejected him as king but I’ve have found another man, a man after my own heart. Fill your horn with oil and travel to house of Jesse in Bethlehem – I have chosen one of his sons to be king.

So Samuel leaves, fearing for his life. When Samuel arrived in Bethlehem the elders of the town were afraid of him. Everybody is afraid. Samuel is afraid of Saul. The elders are afraid of Samuel. That’s what it’s like when a man like Saul is king. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice – so consecrate yourselves.

So everybody was consecrated – that means they prepared themselves spiritually as well as making themselves ceremonially clean by washing and putting on clean clothes (Ex 19.10,14; Leviticus 15, Numbers 19.11-12). Everybody was consecrated. Everybody was invited. Everybody was excited. Well, everybody except David. He didn’t know anything about. He was in the field tending the sheep.

God is at work, even when I’m not aware of it. David had no idea that God had chosen him to be the next king. David was out doing his job.

Chuck Swindol says that there were 3 words that describe the kind of training experience he had while he was attending sheep. The first word is solitude. David spent a lot of time alone in nature. And that’s why he could write like the heavens declares the glory of God, and the skies work of his hand. Day after day they pour forth speech. Night after night, they display knowledge… David worshiped in solitude. Say this one with me – Psalm 23.

The second word is obscurity. Nobody knew who David was – he spent most of his time in the wilderness. And that’s where he learned how to be king. God trains his people in obscurity. Moses spent 40 years in obscurity. Joshua spent 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus spent most of his life in a carpenter shop in Nazareth of all places. When Paul was converted he spent three years in Arabia. Solitude. Obscurity.

And then the 3rd word is the word monotony. David had to do the same thing everyday. It’s not very exciting taking care of sheep. That is why you never see sheep in a circus. They don’t do tricks---stand up on their hind legs or jump through hoops. They are pretty dumb animals. Look at this picture – all these sheep fell off a clift and died. So you have to take care of them. It’s just the same thing, day in and day out. You gotta find water, you gotta find grass, gotta keep the little ones from straying off. It is monotonous.

These are great words, aren’t they? Don’t they sound exciting? Solitude, obscurity and monotony. Somebody says, that’s sounds like my life. But you need to remember God is at work, even when you aren’t aware of it. If you are faithful in the little things he will make you ruler over many things. That’s what happen to David. God took him from the sheep pin and made him shepherd over the people of Israel.

There is a young women or a young man studying right now behind the scenes and nobody knows it but God is going to do great things through them. There is a young mother right now that is just in obscurity---changing diapers, fixing formula, doing house work and nobody notices but 20 years from now they’re going to notice. God trains people in solitude, in obscurity, in the monotonous routine of life. It takes time to build character. And God never hurries when he is developing those inner qualities of character.

2. God sees my heart, even when others can’t see it

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep." Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives." 12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one." 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.

God sees the heart, even when others can’t see it. We get distracted by outward appearances. We are impressed with physical appearance, social status, athletic ability, wealth, education. But The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

There were two sides to the heart of David. He was tenderhearted and lionhearted. David was tenderhearted, sensitive to God, expressive in worship and full of compassion for people. But he was also lionhearted. David was fearless in when he faced lions and bears and giants in battle. That’s what God pays attention to. He sees the heart.

So all of David’s brothers pass before Samuel – Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem. One by one they passed by Samuel. But they were not chosen. Samuel says, “Are these all the sons you have?” "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep." Samuel said, Send for him. We will not sit down until he comes. When he walked in he was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one." 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.

Now I want you to think about how David must of felt. Here he was out in the field; he was just tending the sheep. He didn’t even know about the family meeting. Somebody comes running out and says---you’re wanted at the house. So David goes in and he sees this big gathering, all his brothers are dressed up in their finest clothes. And David, he’s got on his work clothes and he smells like sheep. Then Samuel walked over with his horn of oil and he pours it on his head. And the oil drips down his hair and then on his neck and onto his shoulders and Josephus and early historians say Samuel whispered in David’s ear “You’re the next king.”

Do you remember in Psalm 23 when David says ‘the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want’ you know ‘he makes me to lay down in green pastures, he leads me by the still waters, and then he says ‘he anoints my head with oil and my cup runs over.’

Do you know what David did after he was anointed? He went back to work. He went back to taking care of sheep. He didn’t get a press agent. He didn’t get a plaque. He didn’t have business cards printed which said “King-elect.” He went back to his lowly job tending sheep.

You may not be the most popular, or the most talented, or the one with the most money, or the one with the best job. You might not even be invited to the party. But that’s OK. God is looking at your heart. He was you to be tenderhearted and lionhearted and he wants to anoint you with his Holy Spirit.

#1 God is at work, even when I am not aware of it. #2 God sees my heart, even when others can’t see it

3. God opens doors, even when I don’t expect it.

14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. 15 Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better." 17 So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me." 18 One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him." 19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep." 20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. 21 David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him." 23 Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

God opens doors, even when I don’t expect it. David didn’t apply for this job. He was invited into Saul’s court because God opened the door. David was introduced to the palace because he was a gifted musician and a warrior. 1 Samuel 16.18 tells us a lot about David.

He knows how to play the harp – He was a skillful musician. If he was called to play for the king he would have to be good. That’s like when Michael W. Smith was invited to play his piano and sing for President Bush. David played the harp for the king. It was actually a lyre – you can see the picture – it’s something like a guitar. As a rule it was held horizontally with the crossbar away from the player. The lyre had 11-12 strings of different thickness made from the intestines of sheep. David played like a professional.

He is a brave man and a warrior – he had a reputation for killing lions and bears. Historians say that at that time the Philistines were carrying out numerous border attacks and raids, so it is quite possible that David defended himself and his family’s property against the enemy. He was courageous and tough – he could fight.

He speaks well – He was a good communicator. He was prudent in matters. He knew what to say and when to say it.

He is fine looking – He was handsome. David had so many qualities that were attractive. He was a shepherd, a song writer, a musician, a warrior, and a king. His men were so devoted to him that they risk their life just to get him a drink of water (2 Samuel 23.16). The women were so crazy about David that they wrote songs about him (1 Samuel 29.5). Beautiful women were sang about him and tough soldiers would die for him. He was fine looking. There was just something magnetic about him.

The Lord is with him – He was a godly man. He lived to please God.

So God opened the door for David in a most unusual way. His first job position in the palace was as a musician and an armor bearer. And when he played and sang for Saul the evil spirit would leave him and Saul would feel better.

Music makes us feel better doesn’t it? Once a month I go to the hospital and play my guitar for the patients on the fifth floor. The patients will gather around and I will play and sing for them. They always smile and clap and they seem to really enjoy it. They smile and sing and clap. Last Tuesday a man got up and danced while I played.

There’s something about music that makes us feel better. I love Matt and our praise team. God has gifted them to minister to us and they do an excellent job leading our worship.

Today we have learned three important truths from the life of David.

1. God is at work, even when I am not aware of it (16.1-5a)
2. God sees my heart, even when others can’t see it
3. God opens doors, even when I don’t expect it.

Next week we will studying the exciting story of David and Goliath in a sermon called The Battle is the Lord’s.

Prayer Time

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Resources

Anderson, Lynn (1991) Finding the Heart to Go on. Here’s Life Publishers. San Bernardino CA.

Jeff Garrett's Sermon Manuscripts

Monday, January 30, 2006

The Life of David (Part 11)

Sunday, January 22, 2006

The Life of David (Part 10)

The Life of David (Part 9)

The Life of David (Part 8)

The Life of David (Part 7)

The Life of David (Part 6)

The Life of David (Part 5)

The Life of David (Part 4)

The Life of David (Part 3)

The Life of David (Part 2)

Friday, January 20, 2006

The Life of David (Part 1)

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