Click here for the audio message of 1 Samuel 25:10-19.
We see something interesting occurring here in chapter 25 this morning. If you recall from last week in chapter 24 we have David hiding out in a cave from Saul. Saul goes into the cave and David cuts off a piece of Saul’s robe.
David is filled with guilt because he attacked God’s anointed one that he exits the cave and confesses to Saul what he has done. David knew that God chose Saul and he knew that it would be clear when the time was right for David to assume the throne.
Again, David had lessons to learn and that is what we find again in our Scripture this morning. As I mentioned in chapter 24 David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he didn’t. In Chapter 26 David again has the opportunity to kill Saul, but doesn’t. But here in chapter 25 we have David being the aggressive one, ready to kill another man over an insult.
At some point in our lives we have all said or at least thought something like this: “I’ll get you for that.” Or “You’ll regret the day you did that to me.” Or “I don’t get mad, I get even.” When people mistreat us our human sinful nature takes over and we seek revenge.
We want to give them a taste of their own medicine. Although usually we don’t just give them a taste, we give them a mouthful. We don’t just get even, we like to kick it up a notch and get even plus a little something extra. That’s our human sinful nature. And that’s exactly what we see David about to do this morning.
David is insulted by Nabal and is ready to seek vengeance. See David and his men looked after Nabal’s men while they were out watching the sheep. No harm came to them. When it was time to celebrate the sheering of the sheep, David asked Nabal if they could be part of the festival.
Nabal insulted David and would not give him any food or let them participate in the fun. David gets very mad at Nabal and tells his men, “Strap on your swords.” Here David is, a man of God, ready to go a kill another man and not just the man, but all the males of the household.
See what I mean. We don’t just get even. We kick it up a notch to show that we really mean business and you messed with the wrong guy. David did the same thing. Thankfully, there is a beautiful woman that steps up to the plate and averts disaster.
Nabal is a rough, tough looking man, and apparently he wasn’t too swift. His name actually means fool and judging from his actions he was. His wife, Abigail on the other hand was very beautiful and intelligent.
Some of Nabal’s servants saw how Nabal treated David and they came to Abigail and told her the story. She immediately raced into action, getting food and supplies ready to repay David for his kindness to the shepherds watching over the flock.
She meets David as he is in route to kill Nabal. See, she knew, as most people did, who David was. She knew he was God’s choice to be the next King of Israel. She obviously knew her husband as well and what a fool he was.
Abigail humbly comes before David and asks for mercy. David blesses her for her discretion and her wisdom and bravery. David lets her return in peace and does not attack Nabal.
When Abigail returned to her house, she found Nabal drunk out of his mind. So she decided to let him sleep this one off. The next morning when Nabal got up, Abigail told him what she did. He had a heart attack and stroke which left him paralyzed for a few days before he died.
When David finds out that Nabal died, he goes and marries Abigail. Again, I would like to end the story by saying and they all lived happily ever after, but that isn’t the case.
Well, this is quite a story, but there were lessons that David needed to learn. And there are lessons that we need to learn as well.
First of all lets look at verses 12 and 13. “So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. And David said to his men, ‘Every man strap on his sword.’”
So David gets insulted and what does he do? He prepares to fight. He doesn’t think about the situation, he doesn’t ask his friends or his advisors for their thoughts or opinions. He doesn’t show mercy to this fool Nabal. Worst of all, he doesn’t go to God and ask Him what He wants done.
None of that, David simply says strap on your sword and lets go kill them all. How many times have we done that. We react to the situation without seeking the counsel of others and for sure not God.
That is a lesson we all need to learn. Think before you do something. Check in with God on the matter and see what it is that He wants done. There is a reason why you are in the situation you are in. See what God wants you to learn from the experience.
I think the main lesson of this episode in David’s life is to once again trust God. He knows what He is doing. He has a plan and He actively pursues that plan. His will shall be done.
Vengeance is mine says the Lord. We need to leave things up to God to take care of. Now that doesn’t mean we just sit at home in our recliner watching television. We need to take an active part in God’s plan. We just need to be sure that we are participating in God’s plan. God will take care of things on His timetable and in His way.
Many Christians today take a very active role in the protest of abortion clinics. Unfortunately, they are often times not carrying out God’s will with the things that they do and say. They are following their plan, not God’s plan. In fact, no doubt some of them are being used by Satan to continue his plan of making the name of God look bad.
Looking back at our story this morning, in the end how did things turn out? Nabal died. Nabal insulted God’s anointed one and he died. Now I don’t want to ruin the ending for you, but the same thing happens to Saul.
See Nabal and Saul did not respect David, God’s chosen one, and both men die.
The issue for us to think about this morning and this week is to look at the way we treat others when they mistreat us. Think about how trusting the situation to God can change your attitude and action involving that person.
If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If your enemy is thirsty, give him something drink. Love your enemies. That is what Jesus tells us. I know it is hard to do in this world today. But it is what God wants. It is what Christ did.
Closing prayer.
Lord, we ask for forgiveness this morning for those that we have wronged. We ask for the strength and courage and grace to show love and mercy to those that wrong us. Help us to better trust you with our lives.
Amen.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
A Matter of Conscience
Click here for the audio message of 1 Samuel 24:1-7
Last week we looked at the friendship of Jonathan and David. We said that was an example of true friendship. The characteristics they had are the same ones that we should implement into our friendships as well.
They looked out for each other and truly cared about each others well being. They even risked their own lives for each other. They loved each other as they loved themselves. That is indeed true friendship.
This morning our story jumps a few chapters to chapter 24. In chapters 21 through 23 we see David on the run from Saul. As he is fleeing he meets and helps people along the way. Many of these people join him on his journey. In fact, he has quite a following of family, friends, and soldiers where our scripture lesson picks up this morning.
Saul finds out where David is at, so David hides out in a cave. Saul goes into the cave to relieve himself and David has the opportunity to kill the King. However, his conscience says no after he cuts into the robe of the king.
Think about the feelings and struggles that David must have been going through at this time. David knew he was going to be King and here is his chance to take the throne. Even beyond that, David had been fleeing for his life and he had a chance to end that. He had the chance to eliminate the person who was after him. He had the chance to get even.
But he didn’t do it. His conscience stopped him. Sure, his friends were trying to persuade him, saying this is the day that God has spoken of. God has put Saul into your hands; make your move.
What a tough decision this would be. Here you are, in the heat of the moment. You don’t really have much time for an internal debate you just need to act or not. Your friends are saying do it, but what is your gut saying. What is your conscience saying to you.
It sure looked like David was supposed to kill the king. This was the perfect opportunity. The question is, did God ever tell David that he was to kill the king? The answer is no. Sure, God told David he would be king, but he never told David to kill the king.
So David’s conscience, which is in tune with God’s will, says no. He feels guilt after cutting a piece of the King’s robe. David knew that Saul was given his power to rule from God and it would be up to God to remove Saul from the throne.
As I said, David’s friends thought this was the time. You know, we often rely on the counsel of friends when making decisions about what we should do. If we are surrounded by godly people, living godly lives then it is probably good advice. However, we still need to check in with God.
We must not do anything that will violate our conscience. We must not give in to peer pressure, especially when we know what is right.
A friend of mine has a daughter who is about 5 years old. For her birthday in August I think, she got a pillow pet. It’s like a pillow in the shape of an animal. In December, the kids were writing letters to Santa Claus. All of her friends wrote they wanted a pillow pet, so she wrote that in her letter too.
When she got home that night, she was crying her head off because she wrote to Santa that she wanted a pillow pet for Christmas, when that’s not really what she wanted. She gave in to peer pressure and she violated her conscience. And it hurt her.
Of course, that weekend Santa was at the school for a breakfast so her loving mother took her to sit on Santa’s lap and she was able to tell Santa what she really wanted. Which was an alarm clock by the way.
I realize this is a trivial example, but it makes the point clear. When we violate our conscience, when we are doing something that we know isn’t right, it hurts. It makes us sad, depressed, miserable, and so on.
David loved, trusted, respected, and obeyed God. God never told him to kill Saul, so he knew it was not his place to kill God’s anointed king. The guilt of just cutting Saul’s robe was too much for David to bear.
David emerges from the cave and confesses to Saul what he did. He showed Saul that he could have killed him, but he didn’t. David is not out to get Saul even though Saul is out to get David. David simply tells the king to think for himself rationally. God will be the judge.
Saul’s reaction to this confession was a humble one. Although we know that Saul is tormented by evil spirits, Saul confessed that David is more righteous than him. He even acknowledged that David would indeed be king one day. Of course, Saul wasn’t ready to relinquish the throne, but he knew that God put David next in line for the throne.
Sometimes in our lives we wonder why things happen to us. “Why me?” we often say. No doubt David had every right to say this with all that he had been through. But when you look back at these events that happened in David’s life or even your own life for that matter, you can see God’s hand at work.
God was with David every step of the way. Throughout all of these events there was a lesson that David needed to learn. The same is true for us today as well. We go through many struggles in our life and there is a lesson to learn. Sometimes the lesson is discipline for wrongdoing. Other times the lesson helps us to mature into the people that God wants us to be.
The question that we need to think about it is what does God want me to do. How can we know when to take matters into our own hands and when to leave them in God’s hands?
It is tough today. God spoke to the prophets of the Old Testament in a personal way. He often times told them exactly what to do. Today He doesn’t do that. We have His Word to rely on, but He doesn’t provide us with any new revelation.
We need to read God’s word and place it into action each and every day of our life. We need to be in communion with God through prayer. Ask Him to lead and guide us through life as He wants us to live. We need to look at the example of Jesus’ earthly life and live as much like Him as we possible can.
Of course, we always need to listen to our conscience. When it says no, pay attention. Don’t turn it off. Don’t ignore it. Block out what the world tells you and listen to your heart. Listen to God.
Closing prayer:
Lord we thank you for our time together again this morning. We thank you for the wonderful lesson’s of David. We thank you for shaping our conscience. Help us to listen to what you tell us. Help us to trust and obey you with our lives.
In Jesus name, AMEN.
Last week we looked at the friendship of Jonathan and David. We said that was an example of true friendship. The characteristics they had are the same ones that we should implement into our friendships as well.
They looked out for each other and truly cared about each others well being. They even risked their own lives for each other. They loved each other as they loved themselves. That is indeed true friendship.
This morning our story jumps a few chapters to chapter 24. In chapters 21 through 23 we see David on the run from Saul. As he is fleeing he meets and helps people along the way. Many of these people join him on his journey. In fact, he has quite a following of family, friends, and soldiers where our scripture lesson picks up this morning.
Saul finds out where David is at, so David hides out in a cave. Saul goes into the cave to relieve himself and David has the opportunity to kill the King. However, his conscience says no after he cuts into the robe of the king.
Think about the feelings and struggles that David must have been going through at this time. David knew he was going to be King and here is his chance to take the throne. Even beyond that, David had been fleeing for his life and he had a chance to end that. He had the chance to eliminate the person who was after him. He had the chance to get even.
But he didn’t do it. His conscience stopped him. Sure, his friends were trying to persuade him, saying this is the day that God has spoken of. God has put Saul into your hands; make your move.
What a tough decision this would be. Here you are, in the heat of the moment. You don’t really have much time for an internal debate you just need to act or not. Your friends are saying do it, but what is your gut saying. What is your conscience saying to you.
It sure looked like David was supposed to kill the king. This was the perfect opportunity. The question is, did God ever tell David that he was to kill the king? The answer is no. Sure, God told David he would be king, but he never told David to kill the king.
So David’s conscience, which is in tune with God’s will, says no. He feels guilt after cutting a piece of the King’s robe. David knew that Saul was given his power to rule from God and it would be up to God to remove Saul from the throne.
As I said, David’s friends thought this was the time. You know, we often rely on the counsel of friends when making decisions about what we should do. If we are surrounded by godly people, living godly lives then it is probably good advice. However, we still need to check in with God.
We must not do anything that will violate our conscience. We must not give in to peer pressure, especially when we know what is right.
A friend of mine has a daughter who is about 5 years old. For her birthday in August I think, she got a pillow pet. It’s like a pillow in the shape of an animal. In December, the kids were writing letters to Santa Claus. All of her friends wrote they wanted a pillow pet, so she wrote that in her letter too.
When she got home that night, she was crying her head off because she wrote to Santa that she wanted a pillow pet for Christmas, when that’s not really what she wanted. She gave in to peer pressure and she violated her conscience. And it hurt her.
Of course, that weekend Santa was at the school for a breakfast so her loving mother took her to sit on Santa’s lap and she was able to tell Santa what she really wanted. Which was an alarm clock by the way.
I realize this is a trivial example, but it makes the point clear. When we violate our conscience, when we are doing something that we know isn’t right, it hurts. It makes us sad, depressed, miserable, and so on.
David loved, trusted, respected, and obeyed God. God never told him to kill Saul, so he knew it was not his place to kill God’s anointed king. The guilt of just cutting Saul’s robe was too much for David to bear.
David emerges from the cave and confesses to Saul what he did. He showed Saul that he could have killed him, but he didn’t. David is not out to get Saul even though Saul is out to get David. David simply tells the king to think for himself rationally. God will be the judge.
Saul’s reaction to this confession was a humble one. Although we know that Saul is tormented by evil spirits, Saul confessed that David is more righteous than him. He even acknowledged that David would indeed be king one day. Of course, Saul wasn’t ready to relinquish the throne, but he knew that God put David next in line for the throne.
Sometimes in our lives we wonder why things happen to us. “Why me?” we often say. No doubt David had every right to say this with all that he had been through. But when you look back at these events that happened in David’s life or even your own life for that matter, you can see God’s hand at work.
God was with David every step of the way. Throughout all of these events there was a lesson that David needed to learn. The same is true for us today as well. We go through many struggles in our life and there is a lesson to learn. Sometimes the lesson is discipline for wrongdoing. Other times the lesson helps us to mature into the people that God wants us to be.
The question that we need to think about it is what does God want me to do. How can we know when to take matters into our own hands and when to leave them in God’s hands?
It is tough today. God spoke to the prophets of the Old Testament in a personal way. He often times told them exactly what to do. Today He doesn’t do that. We have His Word to rely on, but He doesn’t provide us with any new revelation.
We need to read God’s word and place it into action each and every day of our life. We need to be in communion with God through prayer. Ask Him to lead and guide us through life as He wants us to live. We need to look at the example of Jesus’ earthly life and live as much like Him as we possible can.
Of course, we always need to listen to our conscience. When it says no, pay attention. Don’t turn it off. Don’t ignore it. Block out what the world tells you and listen to your heart. Listen to God.
Closing prayer:
Lord we thank you for our time together again this morning. We thank you for the wonderful lesson’s of David. We thank you for shaping our conscience. Help us to listen to what you tell us. Help us to trust and obey you with our lives.
In Jesus name, AMEN.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
True Friendship
Click here for the message of 1 Samuel 20:12-17.
We left off last time with the battle of David and Goliath. David knew that God was not only with him, but God was with all of his people. The Israelites would have been victorious without David had they realized that and trusted in God.
After David defeats Goliath he becomes something of a hero. This is how Jonathan and David become friends. In chapter 18 verse 1 we read, “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”
We also then hear of the women singing their song to praise David, Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed ten thousands. Saul becomes jealous of David.
In fact, Saul devises a scheme to get rid of David. He tells David that he can marry his daughter if he will go and fight the enemies, hoping that the enemy will kill David. David agrees and comes back victorious once again.
However, while David is away fighting the king gives his daughter to another man to marry. King Saul is surprised and upset when David returns alive. The king then finds out his other daughter is in love with David, so the king challenges David once again to go a kill one hundred enemy soldiers then he can marry Michal his other daughter.
David agrees and does so. This time the king allows the marriage to take place, but the king still wants David dead. So he finally just sends his soldiers over to his house to kill David. His wife helps him escape and this is where our scripture picks up this morning with the friendship of Jonathan and David.
David and Jonathan are soul brothers. They loved each other loyally and were devoted to each other. They loved each other as they loved themselves. They were committed to each other.
This type of friendship is tough to find these days. Most people are in relationships to see what they can get from it, not what they can give to it. But not these two people, they were dedicated to each other as we shall see.
It is interesting to note the fact that Jonathan who is Saul’s son would normally be the next in line for the throne. By rights Jonathan should be the next king. But he realizes that God has chosen David to be king. He isn’t jealous or envious or upset or deceitful or anything.
Jonathan simply loves David and supports him, looks after him, is kind to him, and cares for him.
This kind of reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
That really describes the relationship between Jonathan and David. Does that describe any of your relationships? Chances are this portion of scripture was read at your wedding, or you have received some type of wedding or anniversary gift with this scripture on it. Love is not just an idea or a thought or a feeling, it is an action.
We see that love in action with David and Jonathan. Relationships take work. Jonathan’s friendship and devotions to David put him at odds with his father. In fact, because of his dedication to David, Jonathan’s life was put at risk a few times.
In fact, Saul became very angry at Jonathan when David didn’t show up for the banquet. The King curses out Jonathan. Accuses him of shaming the family name for siding with David. Saul even acknowledges that David will be king and rubs it in Jonathan’s face. To top it all off, Saul throws his spear at Jonathan, his son!
But Jonathan remains dedicated and loyal to David. Friendship – relationships can be costly at times. They certainly aren’t free and they take work and dedication. It is about doing the right thing for the right reason.
Jonathan and David had this type of relationship. They had a deep connection to each other. Now we must not mistake this for any type of homosexual connection because there was none. This was a brotherhood type of soul connection.
Of course one of the big reasons they were drawn to each other is because they were both drawn to God. That is also another key to any relationship. There needs to be a common connection. In this case, it was serving God.
Today, I believe it is very difficult to find this type of true friendship. Most people are simply out for themselves. They give up when the going gets tough. They abandon their friendship when things don’t go their way.
That’s a real problem for us today. It is sad too. People are so focused on themselves that they miss out on a wonderful opportunity to have a deep and meaningful relationship with a friend.
Even in marriages people don’t find that friendship and I believe that is why so many marriages fail. The characteristics that David and Jonathan have for each other are what we need to cultivate in our friendships and our marriages.
I would also encourage you to find friendships and nurture them as well. Friendships are a necessity in life. We are so detached from each other these days. Sure, we stay in contact with facebook, twitter, and texting, but we don’t have that deep connection with others that we need.
One survey revealed that seven in ten do not know their neighbors. So I got to thinking about the main drag in Strongstown, 422 from the General Store to the Church. There are 19 occupied homes. Out of those 19 homes, I know who lives in 8 of them. I am not saying I am close with those 8 families, I am just saying I know who physically lives in them. And I have lived in Strongstown all of my life.
As a society we are indeed detached. As many as one third of the population has struggled with loneliness. It is an even bigger problem with the elderly and those that are not able to get out of their homes much.
This week, I would ask that you look again at the relationships that you have. Is there room for improvement? Can you be a better friend to someone? Can you start a new friendship with someone that needs a friend?
Do you need to rekindle your relationship with your spouse? How about with God?
Not all of your relationships will turn out to be close like Jonathan and David’s, but you’ll never know until you put forth the effort.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, we thank you for providing this great example of friendship between David and Jonathan. Help us to be more like them in our relationships. Draw us close to you and place people into our lives that will encourage us along our journey through life.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
We left off last time with the battle of David and Goliath. David knew that God was not only with him, but God was with all of his people. The Israelites would have been victorious without David had they realized that and trusted in God.
After David defeats Goliath he becomes something of a hero. This is how Jonathan and David become friends. In chapter 18 verse 1 we read, “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”
We also then hear of the women singing their song to praise David, Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed ten thousands. Saul becomes jealous of David.
In fact, Saul devises a scheme to get rid of David. He tells David that he can marry his daughter if he will go and fight the enemies, hoping that the enemy will kill David. David agrees and comes back victorious once again.
However, while David is away fighting the king gives his daughter to another man to marry. King Saul is surprised and upset when David returns alive. The king then finds out his other daughter is in love with David, so the king challenges David once again to go a kill one hundred enemy soldiers then he can marry Michal his other daughter.
David agrees and does so. This time the king allows the marriage to take place, but the king still wants David dead. So he finally just sends his soldiers over to his house to kill David. His wife helps him escape and this is where our scripture picks up this morning with the friendship of Jonathan and David.
David and Jonathan are soul brothers. They loved each other loyally and were devoted to each other. They loved each other as they loved themselves. They were committed to each other.
This type of friendship is tough to find these days. Most people are in relationships to see what they can get from it, not what they can give to it. But not these two people, they were dedicated to each other as we shall see.
It is interesting to note the fact that Jonathan who is Saul’s son would normally be the next in line for the throne. By rights Jonathan should be the next king. But he realizes that God has chosen David to be king. He isn’t jealous or envious or upset or deceitful or anything.
Jonathan simply loves David and supports him, looks after him, is kind to him, and cares for him.
This kind of reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
That really describes the relationship between Jonathan and David. Does that describe any of your relationships? Chances are this portion of scripture was read at your wedding, or you have received some type of wedding or anniversary gift with this scripture on it. Love is not just an idea or a thought or a feeling, it is an action.
We see that love in action with David and Jonathan. Relationships take work. Jonathan’s friendship and devotions to David put him at odds with his father. In fact, because of his dedication to David, Jonathan’s life was put at risk a few times.
In fact, Saul became very angry at Jonathan when David didn’t show up for the banquet. The King curses out Jonathan. Accuses him of shaming the family name for siding with David. Saul even acknowledges that David will be king and rubs it in Jonathan’s face. To top it all off, Saul throws his spear at Jonathan, his son!
But Jonathan remains dedicated and loyal to David. Friendship – relationships can be costly at times. They certainly aren’t free and they take work and dedication. It is about doing the right thing for the right reason.
Jonathan and David had this type of relationship. They had a deep connection to each other. Now we must not mistake this for any type of homosexual connection because there was none. This was a brotherhood type of soul connection.
Of course one of the big reasons they were drawn to each other is because they were both drawn to God. That is also another key to any relationship. There needs to be a common connection. In this case, it was serving God.
Today, I believe it is very difficult to find this type of true friendship. Most people are simply out for themselves. They give up when the going gets tough. They abandon their friendship when things don’t go their way.
That’s a real problem for us today. It is sad too. People are so focused on themselves that they miss out on a wonderful opportunity to have a deep and meaningful relationship with a friend.
Even in marriages people don’t find that friendship and I believe that is why so many marriages fail. The characteristics that David and Jonathan have for each other are what we need to cultivate in our friendships and our marriages.
I would also encourage you to find friendships and nurture them as well. Friendships are a necessity in life. We are so detached from each other these days. Sure, we stay in contact with facebook, twitter, and texting, but we don’t have that deep connection with others that we need.
One survey revealed that seven in ten do not know their neighbors. So I got to thinking about the main drag in Strongstown, 422 from the General Store to the Church. There are 19 occupied homes. Out of those 19 homes, I know who lives in 8 of them. I am not saying I am close with those 8 families, I am just saying I know who physically lives in them. And I have lived in Strongstown all of my life.
As a society we are indeed detached. As many as one third of the population has struggled with loneliness. It is an even bigger problem with the elderly and those that are not able to get out of their homes much.
This week, I would ask that you look again at the relationships that you have. Is there room for improvement? Can you be a better friend to someone? Can you start a new friendship with someone that needs a friend?
Do you need to rekindle your relationship with your spouse? How about with God?
Not all of your relationships will turn out to be close like Jonathan and David’s, but you’ll never know until you put forth the effort.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, we thank you for providing this great example of friendship between David and Jonathan. Help us to be more like them in our relationships. Draw us close to you and place people into our lives that will encourage us along our journey through life.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Battle is the Lord’s
Click here for the audio message of 1 Samuel 17
1 Samuel 17:41-51
Last time in our study we saw God rejecting Saul as King. God instructs Samuel to go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem and anoint one of his sons as the new king of Israel. Samuel sees Jesse’s first born son and wants to anoint him. However, God says no.
Samuel continues to look at all of Jesse’s sons until only the young shepherd David is left. God tells Samuel that David is the one. Samuel needed to learn a lesson about looking at people for who they really are on the inside, not just what they look like on the outside.
God knows our hearts. He uses us as we are and molds us into what he wants us to be if we allow him to. David was chosen to be king because God knew his heart. And we see David trusting in God in our Scripture lesson this morning.
At the end of chapter 16, we see the spirit of God leaving Saul and a tormenting spirit is upon him. This causes Saul great mood swings. It brings him depression and fear. In order to cheer himself up he requests some music. So the kings servants find David who plays the harp beautifully. David ends up serving in Saul’s court.
Today’s lesson of course is that familiar story of David taking on Goliath. No doubt, we are all familiar with the story. It is probably a story that we heard as kids. Goliath was a giant. Every day he would challenge the Israelites to a fight.
The Israelites were afraid of Goliath though. And from a human standpoint I can see why. Goliath was a warrior. This is Arnold Swartzenegger as the Terminator or Sylvester Stallone as Rambo. You just don’t mess with guys like that.
From a spiritual standpoint though, the Israelites had forgotten that God promised to be with them. They were simply lacking in their faith. God had promised them victory if only they believed and trusted him.
Enter David, a man after God’s own heart. He shows up at the battlefield to bring some food and supplies to the troops. He finds out that Goliath has been taunting the Israelites for 40 days.
David starts to question the troops about the fight. He questions why the soldiers allow this man to defy, intimidate, embarrass, and shame the armies of God. David’s brother hears about this and basically tells David to get lost. No doubt he is a little jealous. After all, this kid is a Shepard, not a soldier.
King Saul hears about David’s activity and sends for him. David convinces Saul to allow him to fight the giant. Again, from a human standpoint, this is a ridiculous idea. David was young and inexperienced. Goliath was a seasoned veteran, a warrior.
The fate of Israel rested in his battle. If David loses then Israel is enslaved to the Philistines. Saul was taking quite a risk here.
Think about it for a minute. Normally, we select people who are humanly qualified to do a job. Likewise, we normally take on responsibilities for which we feel qualified. Sure faith is important, but it doesn’t remove the need for qualified people to do certain jobs.
We must continue to rely on God for strength and guidance in our lives. David surely did. As part of his conversation with Saul, David tells about his experience protecting his sheep from bears and lions. But David knew he was only able to protect his sheep because of God.
Because of his experiences, David is confident that he can defeat Goliath. David knows that God has been with him, is currently with him, and will be with him in the future as well. The same applies to us today as well.
Think about some of the events that have happened in your life. Surely looking back on things you can see God’s hand at work. No doubt you can still see God at work in your lives today as well. So why would you even think that He won’t be there for you tomorrow.
It’s time for the battle. David grabs five rocks and heads out to face off against the giant. Goliath basically laughs in David’s face and continuously insults him. Goliath has quite the attitude. But David has something better. He comes in faith with God on his side.
Of course, we know how the story ends. David flings a rock at Goliath that knocks him to the ground. David grabs Goliath’s sword and chops off his head. And as any good story ends, they all lived happily ever after, right? Well not quite as we shall see in the coming weeks.
The key lesson for this morning is the fact that the battle is the Lord’s. We must trust in God’s Word. Of course, in order to trust in His Word, we must know His Word. We must read and study His Word and continually place it into action in our lives.
No doubt, the Israelites knew God’s Word. They knew they were the chosen people. They knew that God would protect them, but they failed to take what they knew and place it into action.
Each of us face struggles and troubles everyday. Maybe there is a Goliath of a problem that we are trying to deal with. But we must put our faith into action like David did and trust that God will see us through whatever situation we are facing.
One of the great myths of our society and this is something that we even teach our children, is “if you set your mind to it, you can do anything.” That is simply not true. The message of the world is this: victory goes to the strong and the spoils of victory to those who are powerful.
Well as we see in our lesson this morning that is not God’s way. As we learned a while ago in our studies of the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the poor in Spirit, blessed are the humble, blessed are the weak and so on.
God has some different ideas, and David represents those ideas to us this morning. David sums it up best in verse 47 right before he kills Goliath, “And everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours. The Lord will give you to us!”
We can do nothing on our own, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. All things truly do work for good for those who love God and are called according to His will and purposes.
Let these be our words to live by this week.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, we thank you for these words of wisdom. Help us to truly trust in your word and act in ways that show our trust and confidence in your providence over our lives. Help us to realize that the battles of this world are not ours, but they are yours. We give you thanks for always being with us and ask for your continued patience with us as we journey through life.
AMEN.
1 Samuel 17:41-51
Last time in our study we saw God rejecting Saul as King. God instructs Samuel to go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem and anoint one of his sons as the new king of Israel. Samuel sees Jesse’s first born son and wants to anoint him. However, God says no.
Samuel continues to look at all of Jesse’s sons until only the young shepherd David is left. God tells Samuel that David is the one. Samuel needed to learn a lesson about looking at people for who they really are on the inside, not just what they look like on the outside.
God knows our hearts. He uses us as we are and molds us into what he wants us to be if we allow him to. David was chosen to be king because God knew his heart. And we see David trusting in God in our Scripture lesson this morning.
At the end of chapter 16, we see the spirit of God leaving Saul and a tormenting spirit is upon him. This causes Saul great mood swings. It brings him depression and fear. In order to cheer himself up he requests some music. So the kings servants find David who plays the harp beautifully. David ends up serving in Saul’s court.
Today’s lesson of course is that familiar story of David taking on Goliath. No doubt, we are all familiar with the story. It is probably a story that we heard as kids. Goliath was a giant. Every day he would challenge the Israelites to a fight.
The Israelites were afraid of Goliath though. And from a human standpoint I can see why. Goliath was a warrior. This is Arnold Swartzenegger as the Terminator or Sylvester Stallone as Rambo. You just don’t mess with guys like that.
From a spiritual standpoint though, the Israelites had forgotten that God promised to be with them. They were simply lacking in their faith. God had promised them victory if only they believed and trusted him.
Enter David, a man after God’s own heart. He shows up at the battlefield to bring some food and supplies to the troops. He finds out that Goliath has been taunting the Israelites for 40 days.
David starts to question the troops about the fight. He questions why the soldiers allow this man to defy, intimidate, embarrass, and shame the armies of God. David’s brother hears about this and basically tells David to get lost. No doubt he is a little jealous. After all, this kid is a Shepard, not a soldier.
King Saul hears about David’s activity and sends for him. David convinces Saul to allow him to fight the giant. Again, from a human standpoint, this is a ridiculous idea. David was young and inexperienced. Goliath was a seasoned veteran, a warrior.
The fate of Israel rested in his battle. If David loses then Israel is enslaved to the Philistines. Saul was taking quite a risk here.
Think about it for a minute. Normally, we select people who are humanly qualified to do a job. Likewise, we normally take on responsibilities for which we feel qualified. Sure faith is important, but it doesn’t remove the need for qualified people to do certain jobs.
We must continue to rely on God for strength and guidance in our lives. David surely did. As part of his conversation with Saul, David tells about his experience protecting his sheep from bears and lions. But David knew he was only able to protect his sheep because of God.
Because of his experiences, David is confident that he can defeat Goliath. David knows that God has been with him, is currently with him, and will be with him in the future as well. The same applies to us today as well.
Think about some of the events that have happened in your life. Surely looking back on things you can see God’s hand at work. No doubt you can still see God at work in your lives today as well. So why would you even think that He won’t be there for you tomorrow.
It’s time for the battle. David grabs five rocks and heads out to face off against the giant. Goliath basically laughs in David’s face and continuously insults him. Goliath has quite the attitude. But David has something better. He comes in faith with God on his side.
Of course, we know how the story ends. David flings a rock at Goliath that knocks him to the ground. David grabs Goliath’s sword and chops off his head. And as any good story ends, they all lived happily ever after, right? Well not quite as we shall see in the coming weeks.
The key lesson for this morning is the fact that the battle is the Lord’s. We must trust in God’s Word. Of course, in order to trust in His Word, we must know His Word. We must read and study His Word and continually place it into action in our lives.
No doubt, the Israelites knew God’s Word. They knew they were the chosen people. They knew that God would protect them, but they failed to take what they knew and place it into action.
Each of us face struggles and troubles everyday. Maybe there is a Goliath of a problem that we are trying to deal with. But we must put our faith into action like David did and trust that God will see us through whatever situation we are facing.
One of the great myths of our society and this is something that we even teach our children, is “if you set your mind to it, you can do anything.” That is simply not true. The message of the world is this: victory goes to the strong and the spoils of victory to those who are powerful.
Well as we see in our lesson this morning that is not God’s way. As we learned a while ago in our studies of the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the poor in Spirit, blessed are the humble, blessed are the weak and so on.
God has some different ideas, and David represents those ideas to us this morning. David sums it up best in verse 47 right before he kills Goliath, “And everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours. The Lord will give you to us!”
We can do nothing on our own, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. All things truly do work for good for those who love God and are called according to His will and purposes.
Let these be our words to live by this week.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, we thank you for these words of wisdom. Help us to truly trust in your word and act in ways that show our trust and confidence in your providence over our lives. Help us to realize that the battles of this world are not ours, but they are yours. We give you thanks for always being with us and ask for your continued patience with us as we journey through life.
AMEN.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
God Looks at Hearts
Click here for the audio message of 1 Samuel 16:1-13
This morning we start our look at the life of King David. We won’t have enough time to cover every aspect on David’s life during this series, but we will hit the major events that give us guidance and encouragement in our own lives today.
The book of Samuel occurs right after the time of the judges. The Hebrew people no longer wanted to be ruled by judges they wanted a king. King never wanted a king for His people other than Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. But God gives His people what they want.
Now, we aren’t sure who the human author of the book of Samuel is. It starts with the birth of the prophet Samuel and ends with the last words of King David. The book covers most of the kingships or reign of Saul and David.
Our lesson picks up this morning with Saul being rejected by God as King. Before we get into the text any further I want you to think about something for a minute. Think about how a person’s appearance affects your initial opinion of them. Think it doesn’t? Take this little test.
You’re looking for a new leader in your organization and there are three candidates available.
Candidate #1 – hangs out with crooked politicians; consults with astrologists; has had a least two mistresses; is a chain smoker and drinks regularly
Candidate #2 – likes to sleep in late; used drugs during college; drinks heavily
Candidate #3 – a decorated war hero; vegetarian; doesn’t smoke; rarely drinks; faithful to one women
Based upon the appearance of these three candidates, which would you pick? Most people would probably choose candidate #3 because he sounds like an okay guy.
Candidate #1 describes Franklin Roosevelt. Candidate #2 describes Winston Churchill. Candidate #3 describes Adolph Hitler.
Appearances can be deceiving. That is why God looks at the heart of a person. Israel’s first King, Saul, was the ideal candidate. According to Scripture he was tall, handsome, and an impressive person. Unfortunately, he was also foolish and disobedient.
Our Scripture picks up with the prophet Samuel in a state of shock and grief over God’s rejection of King Saul. God tells Samuel to fill his horn with oil and go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, offer a sacrifice, and anoint one of his sons as King.
Samuel arrives as Jesse’s house sees the eldest son and prepares to anoint him as king, but God says no. This goes on with all of Jesse’s sons but God says no. Finally, Samuel asks if there are any more sons left and there is one. A shepherd boy in the field with the flock.
When David arrives God tells Samuel that he is the one. This was a lesson that Samuel had to learn. Samuel saw the eldest of Jesse’s sons who was tall and handsome. Samuel was looking at the external, whereas, God was looking at the internal things.
God looks at what the person is truly like inside. He looks at their heart. He looks at their emotions, their will, their intellect, their desires. He looks at their entire life.
What do we look at? Maybe the way a person dresses, how nice their hair looks, maybe their height or weight, muscles, and so on. Don’t believe me? Turn on the television or open a magazine.
Look at our movies stars, our models, and even our public officials. Most of them have a nice external appearance, but their inward self may be totally different. People are who they are, not what they look like.
That was the lesson that Samuel needed to learn and that is a lesson that all of us need to learn today as well.
If we were given the task of picking a King, most of us probably would not have picked David. Actually, as I demonstrated earlier, most of us would probably have picked Hitler!
David was a young adolescent doing a dirty job. Not only would he be ceremonially unclean, but he would have been physically unclean living out in the fields with the sheep. We probably wouldn’t think much of him, just some dumb farm boy or something like that.
But as we shall see David was a man after God’s own heart. Sure he wasn’t perfect and he messed up at times, sometimes with grave consequences, but he was in love with God. David was faithful to God and ready to serve Him, ready to do his will.
You know if you really think about it, a good Shepard would make a good king. Why? Well think about what a Shepard does. He takes care of his flock. He leads them to food. He protects them from enemies. He disciplines the ones that get out of hand. He cares for them when they are sick. He treats them fairly. He loves them.
That sounds like a pretty good leader to me. In fact, doesn’t that sound like our Shepard, Jesus Christ? It sure does.
The point of our lesson this morning is the fact that God looks at the heart of a person. We should do the same as well. Not only that, we should examine our own hearts to see what it says about us.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. Help us to me more like David, a man after your heart. Help us to be in love with you, to serve you faithfully all the days of our lives.
As we journey in life gives us the wisdom to see people for what they are, not for what they appear to be. We pray the same for our country as well. As we select new leaders, help us to choose people that will be good stewards of all that we have been blessed with.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
This morning we start our look at the life of King David. We won’t have enough time to cover every aspect on David’s life during this series, but we will hit the major events that give us guidance and encouragement in our own lives today.
The book of Samuel occurs right after the time of the judges. The Hebrew people no longer wanted to be ruled by judges they wanted a king. King never wanted a king for His people other than Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. But God gives His people what they want.
Now, we aren’t sure who the human author of the book of Samuel is. It starts with the birth of the prophet Samuel and ends with the last words of King David. The book covers most of the kingships or reign of Saul and David.
Our lesson picks up this morning with Saul being rejected by God as King. Before we get into the text any further I want you to think about something for a minute. Think about how a person’s appearance affects your initial opinion of them. Think it doesn’t? Take this little test.
You’re looking for a new leader in your organization and there are three candidates available.
Candidate #1 – hangs out with crooked politicians; consults with astrologists; has had a least two mistresses; is a chain smoker and drinks regularly
Candidate #2 – likes to sleep in late; used drugs during college; drinks heavily
Candidate #3 – a decorated war hero; vegetarian; doesn’t smoke; rarely drinks; faithful to one women
Based upon the appearance of these three candidates, which would you pick? Most people would probably choose candidate #3 because he sounds like an okay guy.
Candidate #1 describes Franklin Roosevelt. Candidate #2 describes Winston Churchill. Candidate #3 describes Adolph Hitler.
Appearances can be deceiving. That is why God looks at the heart of a person. Israel’s first King, Saul, was the ideal candidate. According to Scripture he was tall, handsome, and an impressive person. Unfortunately, he was also foolish and disobedient.
Our Scripture picks up with the prophet Samuel in a state of shock and grief over God’s rejection of King Saul. God tells Samuel to fill his horn with oil and go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, offer a sacrifice, and anoint one of his sons as King.
Samuel arrives as Jesse’s house sees the eldest son and prepares to anoint him as king, but God says no. This goes on with all of Jesse’s sons but God says no. Finally, Samuel asks if there are any more sons left and there is one. A shepherd boy in the field with the flock.
When David arrives God tells Samuel that he is the one. This was a lesson that Samuel had to learn. Samuel saw the eldest of Jesse’s sons who was tall and handsome. Samuel was looking at the external, whereas, God was looking at the internal things.
God looks at what the person is truly like inside. He looks at their heart. He looks at their emotions, their will, their intellect, their desires. He looks at their entire life.
What do we look at? Maybe the way a person dresses, how nice their hair looks, maybe their height or weight, muscles, and so on. Don’t believe me? Turn on the television or open a magazine.
Look at our movies stars, our models, and even our public officials. Most of them have a nice external appearance, but their inward self may be totally different. People are who they are, not what they look like.
That was the lesson that Samuel needed to learn and that is a lesson that all of us need to learn today as well.
If we were given the task of picking a King, most of us probably would not have picked David. Actually, as I demonstrated earlier, most of us would probably have picked Hitler!
David was a young adolescent doing a dirty job. Not only would he be ceremonially unclean, but he would have been physically unclean living out in the fields with the sheep. We probably wouldn’t think much of him, just some dumb farm boy or something like that.
But as we shall see David was a man after God’s own heart. Sure he wasn’t perfect and he messed up at times, sometimes with grave consequences, but he was in love with God. David was faithful to God and ready to serve Him, ready to do his will.
You know if you really think about it, a good Shepard would make a good king. Why? Well think about what a Shepard does. He takes care of his flock. He leads them to food. He protects them from enemies. He disciplines the ones that get out of hand. He cares for them when they are sick. He treats them fairly. He loves them.
That sounds like a pretty good leader to me. In fact, doesn’t that sound like our Shepard, Jesus Christ? It sure does.
The point of our lesson this morning is the fact that God looks at the heart of a person. We should do the same as well. Not only that, we should examine our own hearts to see what it says about us.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. Help us to me more like David, a man after your heart. Help us to be in love with you, to serve you faithfully all the days of our lives.
As we journey in life gives us the wisdom to see people for what they are, not for what they appear to be. We pray the same for our country as well. As we select new leaders, help us to choose people that will be good stewards of all that we have been blessed with.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN.
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