1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,600 Please open your Bible then at 1 Samuel, chapter 18. 2 00:00:06,600 –> 00:00:13,240 And continuing our series in the story of Saul and of David, these two kings who moved 3 00:00:13,240 –> 00:00:15,120 in radically different directions. 4 00:00:15,120 –> 00:00:16,879 Saul going in the path of rebellion. 5 00:00:16,879 –> 00:00:19,240 He’s a great warning sign in the Bible. 6 00:00:19,240 –> 00:00:20,240 This is not the way. 7 00:00:20,240 –> 00:00:21,240 Do not walk in it. 8 00:00:21,240 –> 00:00:22,540 Do not be like Saul. 9 00:00:22,540 –> 00:00:26,420 His life is a disaster as we’re following the story. 10 00:00:26,420 –> 00:00:29,980 And then David who is held up as a wonderfully encouraging example to us. 11 00:00:29,980 –> 00:00:31,459 The Lord’s Anointed. 12 00:00:31,459 –> 00:00:38,520 He points us to Jesus Christ consistently in this book and is a marvelous example to 13 00:00:38,520 –> 00:00:42,060 us of grace under pressure. 14 00:00:42,060 –> 00:00:48,779 We got to the point in the story last week where David in a remarkable overruling providence 15 00:00:48,779 –> 00:00:52,939 of God, he’s brought into the royal court, the shepherd is brought into the royal court 16 00:00:52,939 –> 00:00:56,419 without ever knocking on the door. 17 00:00:56,419 –> 00:01:06,779 And then something happened that shot David from obscurity into remarkable public attention. 18 00:01:06,779 –> 00:01:09,279 And that story of course most Christians know very well. 19 00:01:09,279 –> 00:01:16,279 It is in 1 Samuel chapter 17, it is the story of David and Goliath. 20 00:01:16,279 –> 00:01:21,199 And God’s hand was so on David that with a stone and with a sling he is able to fell 21 00:01:21,639 –> 00:01:26,959 this giant who had mocked and depressed the people of God and we take up the story today 22 00:01:26,959 –> 00:01:34,680 in chapter 18 where we learn from the path that was chosen by David and by Saul and then 23 00:01:34,680 –> 00:01:38,260 also just very briefly by Jonathan. 24 00:01:38,260 –> 00:01:44,199 First then I want us to think about Saul and I’ve called this the broad road that leads 25 00:01:44,199 –> 00:01:47,059 to destruction. 26 00:01:47,120 –> 00:01:54,680 Now, we spent some time last week on this remarkable statement that there was a harmful 27 00:01:54,680 –> 00:02:02,940 spirit that tormented Saul and as we come to chapter 18 I want you to notice that this 28 00:02:02,940 –> 00:02:08,320 theme occurs again in chapter 18 and chapter 19 and then it never occurs again after that 29 00:02:08,320 –> 00:02:11,119 and I want to point out the significance. 30 00:02:11,119 –> 00:02:17,380 When Saul rebelled against God and we saw that beginning from chapter 15, he found himself 31 00:02:17,380 –> 00:02:23,059 increasingly in the company of spirits that shared his rebellion. 32 00:02:23,059 –> 00:02:28,779 God gave Saul up to the very path that he had chosen and therefore he found himself 33 00:02:28,779 –> 00:02:34,919 in that company and this harmful spirit occurs again in chapter 18 and verse 10 and then 34 00:02:35,000 –> 00:02:38,380 also at chapter 19 and verse nine. 35 00:02:38,380 –> 00:02:41,679 And then we never hear of this again. 36 00:02:41,679 –> 00:02:46,039 And there is a Dutch writer by the name of de Graaf who makes a very fascinating, I think 37 00:02:46,039 –> 00:02:48,820 insightful comment on this. 38 00:02:48,820 –> 00:02:57,940 He says, during this period, Saul was possessed by the evil spirit only occasionally, later 39 00:02:57,940 –> 00:03:01,419 we do not read about the evil spirit anymore. 40 00:03:02,320 –> 00:03:10,660 The reason is that Saul’s situation had become worse, not better. 41 00:03:10,660 –> 00:03:17,679 By that time, he had consciously surrendered to the evil spirit of hatred, therefore it 42 00:03:17,679 –> 00:03:25,039 was no longer necessary for the evil spirit to attack him violently from time to time. 43 00:03:25,080 –> 00:03:31,720 I take time over that because I want us to see today that there is a process by which 44 00:03:31,720 –> 00:03:37,399 sin gains control in a person’s life. 45 00:03:37,399 –> 00:03:42,839 Saul kept opening the door of his life to sin until eventually sin got a kind of choke 46 00:03:42,839 –> 00:03:47,059 hold, a strangle hold if you like, in his life. 47 00:03:47,059 –> 00:03:52,520 I want you to see from the Bible today how that happened, how it still happens in human 48 00:03:53,139 –> 00:03:54,139 today. 49 00:03:54,139 –> 00:04:00,339 We need to know how sin gains power in a person’s life so that we may know how we can raise 50 00:04:00,339 –> 00:04:03,660 our defenses against it. 51 00:04:03,660 –> 00:04:05,820 Now I want you to see this four fold pattern. 52 00:04:05,820 –> 00:04:09,779 It’s very clear in the Scripture that’s before us. 53 00:04:09,779 –> 00:04:14,559 Sin begins with an impulse of the heart. 54 00:04:14,559 –> 00:04:20,899 And you see that arising out of the song in chapter 18 and verse 7. 55 00:04:21,160 –> 00:04:25,600 After David has come back from this great triumph in which he’s defeated Goliath, 56 00:04:25,600 –> 00:04:30,160 we read there that the women sang to one another as they celebrated. 57 00:04:30,160 –> 00:04:32,179 And here is the song. 58 00:04:32,179 –> 00:04:39,940 Saul has struck down his thousands and David his tens of thousands. 59 00:04:39,940 –> 00:04:47,720 Now it has to be said that this rather gory song claiming all of these lives was not particularly 60 00:04:47,720 –> 00:04:49,399 helpful. 61 00:04:49,399 –> 00:04:55,640 How much better it would have been if these women, like some from an earlier generation, 62 00:04:55,640 –> 00:05:01,920 had chosen to give glory to God rather than to David for this victory over Goliath. 63 00:05:01,920 –> 00:05:08,540 In fact, it is rather helpful to compare this with another occasion when we hear about women 64 00:05:08,540 –> 00:05:10,600 celebrating a great victory. 65 00:05:10,600 –> 00:05:15,959 And that is after an even greater miracle which was the crossing of the Red Sea. 66 00:05:15,980 –> 00:05:21,459 And in Exodus in chapter 15, you may recall there, we’re told about Miriam who took 67 00:05:21,459 –> 00:05:27,760 a tambourine and began leading the women of Israel in praises, but they did not sing a 68 00:05:27,760 –> 00:05:32,459 great song after the Red Sea that said, Glory, Hallelujah to Moses. 69 00:05:32,459 –> 00:05:39,140 What they did was they sang a song that said give praise to the Lord, for he has triumphed 70 00:05:39,140 –> 00:05:46,040 obviously the horse and the rider he has thrown into the sea. 71 00:05:46,040 –> 00:05:48,000 So here’s a great contrast. 72 00:05:48,000 –> 00:05:54,339 After the Red Sea, here are women who are rejoicing and are worshiping God and they’re 73 00:05:54,339 –> 00:06:00,779 giving praise to him for the miracle of what he has done, but after the slaying of Goliath, 74 00:06:00,779 –> 00:06:06,079 we have women who do not have the same level of faith or of discernment and what they’re 75 00:06:06,119 –> 00:06:12,679 doing is they’re giving praise to the personality God used the particular person of David. 76 00:06:12,679 –> 00:06:17,399 And then they compare him as over against Saul, and they say one of Saul he slain thousands 77 00:06:17,399 –> 00:06:21,200 but David has slain his tens of thousands. 78 00:06:21,200 –> 00:06:23,519 Where is God in that? 79 00:06:23,519 –> 00:06:28,720 How is God glorified by what these folks are singing? 80 00:06:28,720 –> 00:06:35,500 These folks should have said, look what God has done in delivering us from Goliath. 81 00:06:35,540 –> 00:06:36,640 But they don’t do that. 82 00:06:36,640 –> 00:06:40,040 They say, look at what David did! 83 00:06:40,040 –> 00:06:46,399 And of course now we see that David is even better than Saul. 84 00:06:46,399 –> 00:06:57,440 And that very unwise and ungodly kind of talk caused all kinds of trouble. 85 00:06:57,440 –> 00:07:02,820 And I just want to remind you, it is in our casual conversation. 86 00:07:02,820 –> 00:07:04,559 It’s in the way that we speak with friends. 87 00:07:04,640 –> 00:07:08,540 It’s in the way that we speak over breakfast or over lunch. 88 00:07:08,540 –> 00:07:12,100 That we betray how we really think. 89 00:07:12,100 –> 00:07:17,220 And these folks, it seems, really thought that it was David who did it. 90 00:07:17,220 –> 00:07:20,480 As if he had the power of being the victor within himself. 91 00:07:20,480 –> 00:07:25,540 We are going to be winners because we got David, and hey we got Saul as well. 92 00:07:25,540 –> 00:07:27,220 We got the winning team. 93 00:07:27,220 –> 00:07:31,519 And they’re betraying in the very way that they speak about their leaders. 94 00:07:32,239 –> 00:07:39,000 That they have misplaced their confidence, and that they do not give glory to God, and 95 00:07:39,000 –> 00:07:44,279 that they are not trusting in Him at all. 96 00:07:44,279 –> 00:07:53,160 Folks when Christians get focused on the people God uses, it is a sure sign that they have 97 00:07:53,160 –> 00:07:58,480 taken their eyes off the Lord. 98 00:07:58,480 –> 00:08:00,959 And you remember that’s what happened in the church at Corinth. 99 00:08:01,140 –> 00:08:03,200 You remember how people increasingly said, 100 00:08:03,200 –> 00:08:04,920 well, I really like the ministry of Paul? 101 00:08:04,920 –> 00:08:07,000 And then others said, well, I’m of Apollos. 102 00:08:07,000 –> 00:08:09,399 And others said, well I’m of Peter, and so forth. 103 00:08:09,399 –> 00:08:11,619 And you remember how Paul responded to that? 104 00:08:11,619 –> 00:08:13,239 He said, Now, what are any of us? 105 00:08:13,239 –> 00:08:14,239 What is Paul? 106 00:08:14,239 –> 00:08:15,279 What is Apollos? 107 00:08:15,279 –> 00:08:16,279 What is Peter? 108 00:08:16,279 –> 00:08:17,619 We’re only servants. 109 00:08:17,619 –> 00:08:23,320 And we’re only serving the church for the sake of Jesus Christ. 110 00:08:23,320 –> 00:08:32,599 And Paul can plant, and Apollos can watered, but it is only God who can make things grow. 111 00:08:32,599 –> 00:08:39,380 Well, now, I want you to see that this faithless kind of talk, that came from among these particular 112 00:08:39,380 –> 00:08:43,679 women, on this occasion became a snare to Saul. 113 00:08:43,679 –> 00:08:48,640 Because verse 8, Saul, here’s what is being said in these conversations and he becomes 114 00:08:48,640 –> 00:08:52,159 very angry, he becomes displeased. 115 00:08:52,219 –> 00:08:56,520 And I don’t suppose that the women thought that they were setting a snare or a temptation 116 00:08:56,520 –> 00:09:01,320 for Saul, or indeed creating a difficulty for David by the way in which they were talking, 117 00:09:01,320 –> 00:09:03,320 but they were. 118 00:09:03,320 –> 00:09:11,479 And their song provoked this jealous impulse in Saul’s heart, and instead of recognizing 119 00:09:11,479 –> 00:09:17,200 that it was a sin and Saul coming before the Lord and just confessing it, what he did was 120 00:09:17,200 –> 00:09:18,919 he took it into his heart. 121 00:09:18,919 –> 00:09:22,059 He pondered it, it stayed there. 122 00:09:22,059 –> 00:09:25,840 It stayed there and remained. 123 00:09:25,840 –> 00:09:29,320 So, here’s this impulse that comes to his heart. 124 00:09:29,320 –> 00:09:32,260 How does sin get a grip on a person’s life? 125 00:09:32,260 –> 00:09:33,260 It begins there. 126 00:09:33,260 –> 00:09:38,659 Here’s the second stage, it’s all about a habit of mind. 127 00:09:38,659 –> 00:09:41,580 Do you see verse nine? 128 00:09:41,580 –> 00:09:51,039 From that moment on we find that Saul eyed David from that day on. 129 00:09:51,080 –> 00:09:52,280 You can picture that, can’t you? 130 00:09:52,280 –> 00:09:55,679 He eyed David and he’s watching David. 131 00:09:55,679 –> 00:09:56,679 What’s David doing? 132 00:09:56,679 –> 00:09:59,020 What are people saying about David? 133 00:09:59,020 –> 00:10:01,659 What’s David involved in now? 134 00:10:01,659 –> 00:10:07,559 And you understand the problem here, as long as Saul’s eyes are on David, Saul’s eyes cannot 135 00:10:07,559 –> 00:10:11,580 possibly be on the Lord. 136 00:10:11,580 –> 00:10:20,960 Now, folks, what we have here, very simply, is an example of professional jealousy. 137 00:10:21,280 –> 00:10:27,880 Remember kings went to war and led their armies into battle. 138 00:10:27,880 –> 00:10:32,020 That was part of their job, that was part of their calling. 139 00:10:32,020 –> 00:10:37,739 Leading an army into battle was something that Saul was particularly good at. 140 00:10:37,739 –> 00:10:40,739 He had indeed struck down his thousands. 141 00:10:40,739 –> 00:10:41,979 He was known for it. 142 00:10:41,979 –> 00:10:45,780 He’d been praised many times by the women for it. 143 00:10:45,820 –> 00:10:50,340 But now David comes along and David is even better. 144 00:10:50,340 –> 00:10:55,700 And the talent that David has now outshines the achievements of Saul. 145 00:10:55,700 –> 00:11:01,200 Friends, whatever the sphere of life or influence which you’ve given yourself, whatever your 146 00:11:01,200 –> 00:11:07,059 particular talents, there will be people who are better than you at it who will come along. 147 00:11:07,059 –> 00:11:09,979 And you need to know how to deal with that. 148 00:11:10,780 –> 00:11:17,880 And their talents, they will be your temptation. 149 00:11:17,880 –> 00:11:24,280 If you’re good at sports, your temptation is gonna come from the guy who threatens to 150 00:11:24,280 –> 00:11:29,919 take your place in the team and you’re gonna be eying him and it’s gonna begin to trouble 151 00:11:29,919 –> 00:11:31,880 you. 152 00:11:31,880 –> 00:11:40,280 You can multiply examples into the world of music, into the world of business, into the 153 00:11:40,280 –> 00:11:46,919 world of academia, into the world of awards, into the world of promotions, into the world 154 00:11:46,919 –> 00:11:52,359 of ministry, into all the worlds in which there are different kinds of recognition for 155 00:11:52,359 –> 00:11:56,520 particular achievements, and it’s very easy, when you’ve been given a particular talent 156 00:11:56,520 –> 00:11:59,280 to say, now why is that with them and not with me? 157 00:11:59,280 –> 00:12:04,679 There is a stay at home mom, and others are recognized and are asked to be counselors 158 00:12:04,679 –> 00:12:08,640 and mentors, and you say, now why them and not me? 159 00:12:08,640 –> 00:12:16,559 And it immediately becomes a source of difficulty and of temptation to you. 160 00:12:16,559 –> 00:12:28,039 When someone is praised in an area in which God has gifted you, you will be tempted. 161 00:12:28,039 –> 00:12:30,000 Why him? 162 00:12:30,000 –> 00:12:35,419 Why her and not me? 163 00:12:35,419 –> 00:12:36,940 And so, expect this. 164 00:12:36,940 –> 00:12:43,039 We’re wanting to be on our defenses because Satan’s strategies are revealed to us in Scripture. 165 00:12:43,039 –> 00:12:49,640 The enemy of your soul will draw your attention to a person in your field of endeavor who 166 00:12:49,640 –> 00:12:56,500 has greater gifts, who has had greater opportunity, who is a greater blessing than you have had. 167 00:12:56,500 –> 00:13:06,260 And that is precisely what happens as Saul is tempted, and he falls for it, hook, line, 168 00:13:06,260 –> 00:13:07,260 and sinker. 169 00:13:07,260 –> 00:13:11,280 An impulse of the heart. 170 00:13:11,280 –> 00:13:15,260 But then a settled habit of the mind, watching. 171 00:13:15,260 –> 00:13:19,400 Who is doing better than me. 172 00:13:19,400 –> 00:13:22,179 And that then develops into a pattern of behavior. 173 00:13:22,179 –> 00:13:26,919 Notice that in verse 11, and what a terrible behavior this is too. 174 00:13:26,919 –> 00:13:34,219 Saul hurled the spear for he thought I would pin David to the wall. 175 00:13:34,219 –> 00:13:37,000 But David evaded him twice. 176 00:13:37,219 –> 00:13:40,679 Now notice there is a pattern here. 177 00:13:40,679 –> 00:13:48,020 A temptation has come into Saul’s heart through this tactless and this faithless song. 178 00:13:48,020 –> 00:13:53,179 But instead of recognizing that what was coming into his heart was sin, and then coming and 179 00:13:53,179 –> 00:13:59,539 bringing it before the Lord, Saul embraces it, he eyes David, and sin’s building its 180 00:13:59,539 –> 00:14:02,419 power in his soul over time. 181 00:14:03,140 –> 00:14:08,099 The strangle holds becoming tighter and the grip of sin is becoming stronger. 182 00:14:08,099 –> 00:14:13,760 His hurt feelings have hardened into jealousy and then jealousy is beginning to harden into 183 00:14:13,760 –> 00:14:16,559 a hatred. 184 00:14:16,559 –> 00:14:21,140 This is how Satan works in a human soul. 185 00:14:21,140 –> 00:14:26,619 And eventually there comes a point when, on a moment of impulse, Saul does something 186 00:14:26,619 –> 00:14:32,840 that a few months before would have been utterly unimaginable even to him. 187 00:14:32,840 –> 00:14:37,979 He’s sort of fingering his spear that he holds in the palm of his hand as it’s there beside 188 00:14:37,979 –> 00:14:45,140 him, and then in a moment that he hardly understood himself, he flings a spear at someone he once 189 00:14:45,140 –> 00:14:49,219 professed to love. 190 00:14:49,219 –> 00:14:53,479 And you say, how could he have done such a thing? 191 00:14:53,479 –> 00:14:57,979 And the answer is this thing has been building its power within his soul for a long time, 192 00:14:57,979 –> 00:15:04,719 ever since he first had the thoughts that came to his heart when he heard the women 193 00:15:04,719 –> 00:15:09,419 sing that song. 194 00:15:09,419 –> 00:15:13,719 That sin that he’s welcomed into his heart has now built such a position in his soul 195 00:15:13,719 –> 00:15:22,719 that he no longer has the power, or even the desire, to deal with it. 196 00:15:22,719 –> 00:15:23,719 And it’s a pattern. 197 00:15:23,719 –> 00:15:26,960 That’s why it’s very significant the Bible says he did this twice, because this is now 198 00:15:26,960 –> 00:15:28,239 becoming a pattern of behavior. 199 00:15:28,239 –> 00:15:32,400 And you will notice that the rest of the book of 1 Samuel, as we go through it, you just 200 00:15:32,400 –> 00:15:38,479 find Saul ever more bizarre attempts as trying to get rid of David, and he’s always trying, 201 00:15:38,479 –> 00:15:41,380 and he’s never succeeding. 202 00:15:41,380 –> 00:15:45,780 And that leads me to the fourth thing here, there is the cycle of frustration. 203 00:15:45,780 –> 00:15:52,359 Verse 29, Saul was David’s enemy continually. 204 00:15:52,500 –> 00:15:57,460 And as you read through the story, we’re going to follow most of it over these next 205 00:15:57,460 –> 00:15:58,460 weeks. 206 00:15:58,460 –> 00:16:04,940 But if you want to read ahead, you’ll find it’s almost comical, if it were not so sad, 207 00:16:04,940 –> 00:16:09,900 because the point of the story is that Saul is always coming up with new ways to try and 208 00:16:09,900 –> 00:16:11,119 get rid of David. 209 00:16:11,119 –> 00:16:14,960 And every time he comes up with a new way of trying to get rid of David, he always fails. 210 00:16:14,960 –> 00:16:18,020 Nothing he ever does ever works. 211 00:16:18,020 –> 00:16:22,219 And you see it beginning here, verse 11, he throws the spear, but twice, David 212 00:16:22,299 –> 00:16:23,599 evades him. 213 00:16:23,619 –> 00:16:29,260 Verse 21, he then gives his daughter, Michael, to David to be his wife, because he says there, 214 00:16:29,260 –> 00:16:33,960 she’ll be a snare, I can get to him through her, but what happens is that Michael actually 215 00:16:33,960 –> 00:16:39,179 loves David, and ends up being the means of delivering him from her father’s anger. 216 00:16:39,179 –> 00:16:43,659 Verse 25, Saul decides, well, I’ll send him to the Philistines, and it’s just the law 217 00:16:43,659 –> 00:16:46,940 of average, is if I keep sending him out to battle, one of the Philistines will get him 218 00:16:46,940 –> 00:16:48,859 eventually, so he keeps sending him out. 219 00:16:48,979 –> 00:16:52,900 And every time David comes back with more glory and more triumphs, and more praise from 220 00:16:52,900 –> 00:16:55,900 the women, it’s terribly frustrating for Saul. 221 00:16:55,900 –> 00:17:01,340 Eventually, in chapter 19, he sits down with his own son, Jonathan, who, surely more than 222 00:17:01,340 –> 00:17:05,939 anyone else, is going to have reason to want to be rid of David, he’s the king’s son, but 223 00:17:05,939 –> 00:17:11,660 unbeknown to Saul, Jonathan has come to have a deep love and indeed, a deep covenant with 224 00:17:11,660 –> 00:17:16,380 David, and therefore, tells David about Saul’s murderous plans. 225 00:17:17,140 –> 00:17:26,219 So, the rest of the book just goes on and on like this, Saul is always fighting David, 226 00:17:26,219 –> 00:17:31,660 and nothing that he does ever works. 227 00:17:31,660 –> 00:17:34,439 And do you know why? 228 00:17:34,439 –> 00:17:43,180 It’s in verse 12, Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him, but had departed 229 00:17:43,560 –> 00:17:47,300 from Saul. 230 00:17:47,300 –> 00:17:50,400 There’s the root of the problem, isn’t it? 231 00:17:50,400 –> 00:18:01,699 The Lord was with David, and so Saul was actually fighting against God. 232 00:18:01,699 –> 00:18:09,719 And he finds himself in these endless cycles of frustration, because, friends, nobody who 233 00:18:09,719 –> 00:18:14,500 fights against God ever wins. 234 00:18:14,500 –> 00:18:18,660 Nobody who fights against God ever wins. 235 00:18:18,660 –> 00:18:21,619 And so here’s this man who’s gone down this path. 236 00:18:21,619 –> 00:18:27,400 I’ve described it as the broad road that leads to destruction. 237 00:18:27,400 –> 00:18:29,660 The agonies of it. 238 00:18:29,660 –> 00:18:31,180 This is not the way. 239 00:18:31,180 –> 00:18:34,739 Do not walk in it. 240 00:18:34,739 –> 00:18:36,339 And what do we learn from this? 241 00:18:36,380 –> 00:18:41,599 We learn this, that the best time to deal with any sin and temptation is early. 242 00:18:41,599 –> 00:18:46,699 There is never a better time to deal with sin and temptation than now. 243 00:18:46,699 –> 00:18:52,119 Will you ask God today as I have asked God this week in preparation? 244 00:18:52,119 –> 00:18:54,780 You have to do that if you’re preparing to speak. 245 00:18:54,780 –> 00:19:04,140 But will you now ask God today to search your heart with regards to professional jealousy? 246 00:19:04,160 –> 00:19:09,800 To search your heart lest there be an impulse within you that would end up with you taking 247 00:19:09,819 –> 00:19:14,479 your eyes off the Lord, having your eyes on what’s happening with regards to His blessing 248 00:19:14,479 –> 00:19:18,180 on others and how He’s using others. 249 00:19:18,839 –> 00:19:25,359 For such would harden into your heart and eventually lead you down a path that is going 250 00:19:25,359 –> 00:19:34,400 to take you not only into sin but into increasing patterns of defeat and of frustration. 251 00:19:35,420 –> 00:19:41,520 And if sin has gained a hold in your life, a strong hold in your life, if you say, well 252 00:19:41,520 –> 00:19:42,959 now you’ve described exactly me. 253 00:19:42,959 –> 00:19:45,000 I’m in the cycles of frustration. 254 00:19:45,000 –> 00:19:50,540 I’ve lost the will, I’ve lost the desire, I don’t know how to get out of this power 255 00:19:50,540 –> 00:19:52,119 that sin now has over me. 256 00:19:52,160 –> 00:19:54,280 It’s got me in a stranglehold. 257 00:19:54,280 –> 00:20:01,540 Friend, the root problem is not your compulsive behavior. 258 00:20:01,540 –> 00:20:05,280 The root of your problem is your continued rebellion against God. 259 00:20:05,280 –> 00:20:08,859 That’s what we learn from the story of Saul here today. 260 00:20:08,859 –> 00:20:11,500 And that is the fight that has to end. 261 00:20:11,500 –> 00:20:16,619 For only when you come to the place of getting on your knees and saying, oh God, I need you 262 00:20:17,579 –> 00:20:21,300 If you are apart from me, I have no hope. 263 00:20:21,300 –> 00:20:24,859 I come to you in repentance, I come to you in faith. 264 00:20:24,859 –> 00:20:27,099 I ask that you will come back to me. 265 00:20:27,099 –> 00:20:30,680 I ask that you will accept me and forgive me. 266 00:20:30,680 –> 00:20:34,300 And that by your Holy Spirit you will fill me and that you will put me in the position 267 00:20:34,300 –> 00:20:39,300 in which I will be able to prevail over that which has prevailed against me. 268 00:20:39,939 –> 00:20:45,699 You can’t defeat this thing from the position of Saul because God has left them. 269 00:20:45,719 –> 00:20:50,099 You’ve got to come to the position of David and to ask that by his mercy for the sake 270 00:20:50,099 –> 00:20:55,359 of Jesus Christ, he’ll come and graciously that he will be with you. 271 00:20:55,359 –> 00:21:02,219 Saul, the broad road that leads to destruction. 272 00:21:02,219 –> 00:21:09,380 Now folks, much more briefly I just want to give you a shorter cameo today of David and 273 00:21:09,380 –> 00:21:13,619 then even more briefly his friend Jonathan. 274 00:21:13,699 –> 00:21:21,680 I just want you to notice about David the strange enigma of what it is like to walk 275 00:21:21,680 –> 00:21:24,219 with God. 276 00:21:24,219 –> 00:21:28,040 The blessing of God on David could hardly be clearer in this story. 277 00:21:28,040 –> 00:21:30,560 Three times we’re told that the Lord was with David. 278 00:21:30,560 –> 00:21:31,560 Do you see that? 279 00:21:31,560 –> 00:21:35,739 Verse 12, Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him. 280 00:21:35,739 –> 00:21:40,459 Verse 14, David had success in all his undertakings for the Lord was with him. 281 00:21:40,619 –> 00:21:45,680 Verse 28, Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, three times. 282 00:21:46,640 –> 00:21:49,920 Four times we are told about David’s success. 283 00:21:49,920 –> 00:21:54,060 Verse five, David went out and he was successful, whatever Saul sent him. 284 00:21:54,060 –> 00:21:58,339 Verse 14, David had success in all of his undertakings. 285 00:21:58,339 –> 00:22:01,280 Verse 15, Saul saw that David had great success. 286 00:22:01,280 –> 00:22:07,400 Verse 30, David had more success than all of the servants of Saul, so that his name 287 00:22:07,400 –> 00:22:09,079 was highly esteemed. 288 00:22:09,140 –> 00:22:13,479 So you could not miss it reading this chapter, God’s with David, and he has all kinds of 289 00:22:13,479 –> 00:22:14,359 success. 290 00:22:15,079 –> 00:22:18,619 Blessing follows him wherever he goes. 291 00:22:19,459 –> 00:22:24,439 You think of the story, by God’s grace, he’s been plucked from obscurity as a night-watchman 292 00:22:24,439 –> 00:22:25,439 with sheep. 293 00:22:25,439 –> 00:22:29,479 He’s been brought without even asking for it into the royal courts. 294 00:22:29,479 –> 00:22:35,900 By God’s kindness, he has been plucked from obscurity and placed next to the king. 295 00:22:35,939 –> 00:22:41,439 By God’s wisdom, and by God’s strength, he’s been able to overcome the great giant 296 00:22:41,439 –> 00:22:48,020 Goliath, who has been mocking the people of God and threatening the borders of their country. 297 00:22:48,020 –> 00:22:50,439 And David has become the great hero of God’s people. 298 00:22:50,439 –> 00:22:52,859 God just blesses him all the time. 299 00:22:52,859 –> 00:22:55,839 God is with him and gives him great success. 300 00:22:55,839 –> 00:23:00,979 Wouldn’t you just love to be David? 301 00:23:00,979 –> 00:23:04,579 Wouldn’t you just love to be David? 302 00:23:06,099 –> 00:23:09,699 Well, you’re not sure, and you’re right. 303 00:23:09,699 –> 00:23:17,500 Because here’s the thing, the strange enigma of walking with God, God is with him, God 304 00:23:17,500 –> 00:23:24,000 is blessing him, God is giving him good success. 305 00:23:24,000 –> 00:23:27,300 And Saul’s throwing a spear at him. 306 00:23:27,300 –> 00:23:31,319 And Saul’s daughter stands him up on his wedding day. 307 00:23:31,319 –> 00:23:32,599 And on, and on, and on. 308 00:23:32,599 –> 00:23:36,660 We’re going to follow the story of traps and snares and suspicion. 309 00:23:36,660 –> 00:23:40,959 You would think coming back from the defeat of Goliath that he would have been praised 310 00:23:40,959 –> 00:23:43,579 and thanked in the royal court. 311 00:23:43,579 –> 00:23:48,819 But instead, traps and snares are set for him by all kinds of people who instead of 312 00:23:48,819 –> 00:23:55,140 being grateful for his service, just would love to see him brought down. 313 00:23:55,140 –> 00:24:08,579 God placed David in a school of spiritual formation, and it was not a classroom experience. 314 00:24:08,579 –> 00:24:15,319 It was the school of hard knocks in which God was with him. 315 00:24:15,319 –> 00:24:19,599 I had lunch with someone from a Christian ministry this week, and in a memorable phrase 316 00:24:19,599 –> 00:24:23,939 they said, we only hire people who walk with a limp. 317 00:24:24,640 –> 00:24:30,140 If you’ve never really known what it is to be wounded within the service of God, 318 00:24:30,140 –> 00:24:34,280 you’re probably not yet much use. 319 00:24:34,280 –> 00:24:40,140 David’s Godly character that makes him so useful in the years that lie ahead is forged 320 00:24:40,140 –> 00:24:41,420 right here. 321 00:24:41,420 –> 00:24:47,500 It’s through enduring all this jealousy, all this talk behind his back, all this relentless 322 00:24:47,500 –> 00:24:53,640 suspicion, even the open attacks that are made on him that God shapes David into the 323 00:24:53,660 –> 00:24:56,479 kind of man that can really be useful. 324 00:24:56,479 –> 00:25:02,859 God gives special trials to people with high callings, and that’s why it says in the Bible, 325 00:25:02,859 –> 00:25:07,900 even our Lord, He learned obedience, how? 326 00:25:07,900 –> 00:25:11,900 Through what he suffered. 327 00:25:11,900 –> 00:25:17,739 So, here is this strange enigma, and this is a snapshot of the Christian life to take 328 00:25:17,739 –> 00:25:23,300 away, the strange enigma of what it actually looks like to walk with God. 329 00:25:23,540 –> 00:25:24,839 God was with David. 330 00:25:24,839 –> 00:25:26,060 Says it three times. 331 00:25:26,060 –> 00:25:27,060 He was with him. 332 00:25:27,060 –> 00:25:28,060 But, how was he with him? 333 00:25:28,060 –> 00:25:31,260 He was with him when the spear was thrown at him. 334 00:25:31,260 –> 00:25:34,560 He was with him when the woman he thought he would marry didn’t show up on his wedding 335 00:25:34,560 –> 00:25:36,180 day. 336 00:25:36,180 –> 00:25:41,839 He was with him when he was being eyed with all this relentless suspicion and distrust 337 00:25:41,839 –> 00:25:46,780 by the person he was loyally serving. 338 00:25:46,780 –> 00:25:51,300 He’s with him when he has no other option in chapter 19 but to escape through the window 339 00:25:51,300 –> 00:25:58,319 and to go out into the country and to flee for his life because Saul is after him. 340 00:25:58,319 –> 00:26:03,939 Oh says Peter in the New Testament to Christians, Do not be surprised at the painful trial you 341 00:26:03,939 –> 00:26:08,959 experience, but find joy in this, that when you suffer for the sake of Christ, when you 342 00:26:08,959 –> 00:26:20,160 suffer in the cause of serving Christ, then the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 343 00:26:20,719 –> 00:26:25,380 That’s how David became the man of God that he was. 344 00:26:25,380 –> 00:26:30,479 It was true of David, it was true of Jesus, it will be true of you. 345 00:26:30,479 –> 00:26:38,239 Saul, the broad road to destruction, David the strange enigma of walking with God, God’s 346 00:26:38,239 –> 00:26:43,459 with him and yet with him in all these extraordinarily difficult circumstances that God is using 347 00:26:43,459 –> 00:26:45,719 to shape his life. 348 00:26:45,719 –> 00:26:49,439 And here’s the very last thing in these last moments, just briefly, Jonathan, I want you 349 00:26:49,439 –> 00:26:54,520 to see this, I’ve never noticed this before, so it’s come fresh and very wonderful to me 350 00:26:54,520 –> 00:26:56,199 this week. 351 00:26:56,199 –> 00:27:02,219 The narrow path that leads to life, verse 3 of chapter 18, Jonathan made a covenant 352 00:27:02,219 –> 00:27:06,520 with David because he loved him as his own soul. 353 00:27:06,520 –> 00:27:12,040 Now, Jonathan, who we introduce to the story for the first time here in the series, he 354 00:27:12,040 –> 00:27:14,719 was Saul’s son. 355 00:27:14,719 –> 00:27:18,680 So he was the boy who was born to be king. 356 00:27:18,739 –> 00:27:24,400 Jonathan’s been raised in the royal court, he’s been mentored for this great position 357 00:27:24,400 –> 00:27:31,520 of leadership, and Jonathan could truly say, I was born to be the King. 358 00:27:31,520 –> 00:27:35,339 But now David is the Lord’s anointed. 359 00:27:35,339 –> 00:27:39,859 There is not going to be a succession in the line of Saul as we saw. 360 00:27:39,859 –> 00:27:45,319 And somehow after this great triumph that David was given by the Lord over Goliath, 361 00:27:45,319 –> 00:27:48,300 Jonathan knew that this was true. 362 00:27:48,400 –> 00:27:54,319 Jonathan, you are not the one. 363 00:27:54,319 –> 00:27:58,140 David will be the one to be king. 364 00:27:58,140 –> 00:27:59,979 God has chosen him. 365 00:27:59,979 –> 00:28:07,119 And somehow Jonathan became aware of this, David was the Lord’s anointed. 366 00:28:07,119 –> 00:28:15,500 And so I want us to end here that both Saul the father and Jonathan the son became gradually 367 00:28:15,560 –> 00:28:21,780 and progressively aware, certainly Jonathan first and then Saul later, they became aware, 368 00:28:21,780 –> 00:28:28,060 each of them, that David was the Lord’s anointed. 369 00:28:28,060 –> 00:28:35,920 And they have entirely different reactions to that which is revealed to them by God. 370 00:28:35,920 –> 00:28:40,420 David is the Lord’s anointed. 371 00:28:40,420 –> 00:28:42,839 And Saul says, I’ll fight him. 372 00:28:43,219 –> 00:28:46,500 I’ll fight him to the last. 373 00:28:46,500 –> 00:28:50,180 David is the Lord’s anointed. 374 00:28:50,180 –> 00:28:53,319 And Jonathan says, I’ll love him. 375 00:28:53,319 –> 00:28:57,640 I will love him to the last. 376 00:28:57,640 –> 00:29:03,420 Saul says, David must go, and he reaches for his spear. 377 00:29:03,420 –> 00:29:09,280 Jonathan says, David must reign, and I want you to notice what he does. 378 00:29:09,280 –> 00:29:11,319 Far from reaching for him his spear… 379 00:29:11,319 –> 00:29:15,819 Verse 3, Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved them as his own soul. 380 00:29:15,819 –> 00:29:21,500 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and 381 00:29:21,500 –> 00:29:29,579 his armor and even his sword, and his bow and his belt. 382 00:29:29,579 –> 00:29:33,920 Clothes, of course, signified the position of the person. 383 00:29:33,920 –> 00:29:38,219 This is the Royal Prince, and he’s taking off the royal robe, and he’s giving it to 384 00:29:38,219 –> 00:29:39,300 someone else. 385 00:29:39,300 –> 00:29:40,300 What’s he saying? 386 00:29:40,300 –> 00:29:41,300 What’s he doing? 387 00:29:41,319 –> 00:29:47,719 Well, he’s confessing, and he’s affirming that as far as his will is concerned, the right 388 00:29:47,719 –> 00:29:52,140 of succession is being passed from him to David. 389 00:29:52,140 –> 00:29:56,739 He’s positioning himself not as his own king, but as one who will be the loyal servant of 390 00:29:56,739 –> 00:30:01,280 David, and so not only does he take off the robe, but remember ancient kings in those 391 00:30:01,280 –> 00:30:07,079 days, the first thing an ancient king would do is murder all the rival claimants in order 392 00:30:07,079 –> 00:30:10,680 to secure his own position. 393 00:30:10,680 –> 00:30:12,359 But what does Jonathan do? 394 00:30:12,359 –> 00:30:15,680 He says, here’s the robe. 395 00:30:15,680 –> 00:30:17,400 Now let me take off my armor. 396 00:30:17,400 –> 00:30:19,160 Let me give you my sword. 397 00:30:19,160 –> 00:30:22,319 Let me give you my belt. 398 00:30:22,319 –> 00:30:25,319 You are never gonna have any trouble from me, David. 399 00:30:25,319 –> 00:30:27,000 I’m gonna lock arms with you. 400 00:30:27,000 –> 00:30:35,479 I’m gonna be your most loyal supporter and your closest ever follower. 401 00:30:35,479 –> 00:30:38,520 Jonathan makes me think of John the Baptist. 402 00:30:38,560 –> 00:30:43,959 Do you remember how he pointed all who followed him to Jesus? 403 00:30:43,959 –> 00:30:47,520 And he said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 404 00:30:47,520 –> 00:30:53,319 And then he said, he’s got to be more. 405 00:30:53,319 –> 00:30:57,000 And I’ve got to be less. 406 00:30:57,000 –> 00:30:59,339 Only faith makes that possible. 407 00:30:59,339 –> 00:31:04,839 And Jonathan responds with faith to that which is revealed with regards to the purpose of 408 00:31:04,839 –> 00:31:05,839 God. 409 00:31:05,839 –> 00:31:08,119 And submits himself to God’s anointed king. 410 00:31:08,119 –> 00:31:10,680 I will never fight against God’s anointed King. 411 00:31:10,680 –> 00:31:15,079 I will be your most loyal supporter. 412 00:31:15,079 –> 00:31:19,319 And David, of course, points us to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Lord’s anointed. 413 00:31:19,319 –> 00:31:21,180 That’s what the whole story of David is, therefor. 414 00:31:21,180 –> 00:31:26,680 The scripture says he must reign until all things are put under his feet. 415 00:31:26,680 –> 00:31:34,859 And friends towards Jesus Christ, who is David’s greater Son, the Lord’s anointed, there will 416 00:31:34,859 –> 00:31:36,280 always be these two reactions. 417 00:31:36,500 –> 00:31:40,680 Some will respond to Christ like Jonathan did. 418 00:31:40,680 –> 00:31:46,420 And some will respond to Christ like Saul did towards David. 419 00:31:46,420 –> 00:31:53,560 Some will, in their hearts like Saul’s, say of God’s anointed, I will fight him. 420 00:31:53,560 –> 00:31:56,079 Give me my spear. 421 00:31:56,079 –> 00:32:01,119 I have to protect the throne that is my own life. 422 00:32:01,180 –> 00:32:10,300 The Christ who came to serve receives no thanks, no praise from such people, only suspicion, 423 00:32:10,300 –> 00:32:15,920 only resistance, only continued antagonism and rebellion. 424 00:32:15,920 –> 00:32:20,540 And then there are others who like Jonathan in their hearts will say of God’s anointed, 425 00:32:20,540 –> 00:32:23,660 I will love him. 426 00:32:23,739 –> 00:32:31,579 He is the conqueror of the enemy I could never have defeated, and the very best thing that 427 00:32:31,579 –> 00:32:37,000 I could do with my life is to offer my life in his service. 428 00:32:37,000 –> 00:32:42,800 To take off the robe and as it were to place it on him, and to take off all the weapos 429 00:32:42,800 –> 00:32:45,079 that could ever be used to fight against him. 430 00:32:45,079 –> 00:32:51,719 And then to place them in his hands, that I may stand with him, and that he may fight 431 00:32:51,719 –> 00:32:52,719 for me. 432 00:32:52,719 –> 00:32:55,719 I will serve him, I will love him, I will follow him. 433 00:32:55,719 –> 00:33:02,420 Saul walked the broad road that led to destruction, and Jonathan walked the narrow road that leads 434 00:33:02,420 –> 00:33:09,979 to life, and every one of us and every other person you meet is on one of these two roads. 435 00:33:09,979 –> 00:33:12,479 Let’s pray together. 436 00:33:12,479 –> 00:33:16,859 Father hear our prayers and work your word into our hearts. 437 00:33:17,719 –> 00:33:25,359 For these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior, and all of 438 00:33:25,359 –> 00:33:28,459 God’s people together said, Amen.