Good Morning Family!
What a beautiful day to be alive, rejoicing in the Lord!
Amen?
Everybody loves a happily ever after am I right?
This morning text is on the story of David..
Heavenly Father,
We invite Your Presence today. Help guide us to worship You with an undistracted heart. You know how our minds tend to wander. We wonder about upcoming week, our present worries, and thoughts of our families and others. Help us put away all those thoughts today and focus on You and Your glory!
Father, as we open up Your Word and study the Scriptures this morning, our hearts with Your Holy Spirit, and help us to receive Your message and apply the gospel to our own lives. Embed Your Word in our hearts and minds.
Remind us how our marriages, family lives, work, and hobbies can all be avenues to adorn the gospel through our proclamation of Your Word and as we strive to live Christ-exalting lifestyles. Use our time today as Your gathered body to build us up and send us out for ministering Your gospel, in the power of your Holy Spirit, to our broken world.
Lord, we thank You and Praise You!
In Jesus' Name we ask and pray
Amen
"So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly."
1 Samuel 11:15
"Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you."
1 Samuel 12:1
"And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
A Distressing Spirit Troubles Saul
But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.”So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.”
Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.”
Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him."
1 Samuel 16:11-23
One of the things that made David such a great king, was his understanding of authority.
This is a story of a king that went bad.. Now you have to understand something from the beginning..
"Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them."
1 Samuel 8:1-7
The problem is they rejected God’s form of Government…
Samuel warned them of the downside of their actions, but did they listen?
"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
1 Samuel 8:19-20
Do we see the importance of seeking God's will before we enter into things?
We may just prevail in something we'll later regret!
Nevertheless, God’s love for them caused him to pick a leader.
"There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people."
1 Samuel 9:1-2
He was a good man.
So now that Israel is in Canaan
Now they are establishing the nation
Now they have a king.
But Saul ended up falling for the same reason David was raised up... Authority!
King Saul failed to understand the doctrine of authority.. he brought back the spoils of Amalek, he even tried to sacrifice a priest.
As the old saying goes.. Power corrupts!
Nevertheless, that is the true test of a man’s spirit.
Your humility is not tested when your down… it is when your lifted up that you are truly tested!
Amen?
And what did the apostle Paul say of a bishop in 1 Timothy 3:6?
"not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil."
Pride can lift you up!
On the flip side:
"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time."
1 Peter 5:6
You see, even though David became anointed, he had to wait for his time door to open up
He was STILL under authority!
He was enlisted in Saul’s army, numbered with Saul’s people.
Now this is a difficult situation!
Now Israel had two kings!
One, rejected on the throne.
The second, anointed yet to ascend.
And now Saul begins to try to kill David!
There are many people, even today, who will be anything to protect their position and power..
"Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)"
1 Samuel 24:1-3
Wow, Saul comes to rest in the cave where David and the men were staying in!
Remember what I said earlier, that testing comes when your up not when your down?
Now the testing comes...
"Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe."
1 Samuel 24:4
Now pay close attention to what happens next...
"Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way."
1 Samuel 24:5-7
So David called out to Saul and said all these things...
Listen to Saul has to say...
"So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. Then he said to David: “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand."
1 Samuel 24:16-20
So now everyone lives happily ever after, right?
"Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph."
1 Samuel 26:2
Some people just NEVER learn do they!
"So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”
But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” David said furthermore, “As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them."
1 Samuel 26:7-12
There's a great message here about Abner's failure..
"So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”
Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, “Is that your voice, my son David?”
David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.”
1 Samuel 26:15-17
David asks Saul again, why are you chasing me?
"Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly."
1 Samuel 26:21
Saul had a bad spirit upon, but David understood a valuable lesson about authority.
God will take care of His leaders!
Some time passes and we come to the POWERFUL story of Saul's end...
"And David said to him, “Where have you come from?”
So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”
Then David said to him, “How did the matter go? Please tell me.”
And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.”
So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”
Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”
Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”
And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”
So David said to him, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. So David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’”
The Song of the Bow
Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son"
David appointed Singers, Musicians to play and sing and take his words to the area…
"When they went from one nation to another,
And from one kingdom to another people, He permitted no man to do them wrong;
Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”
Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
He is also to be feared above all gods."
He is also to be feared above all gods."
David could not imagine how anyone could come to attack the anointed..
It was a principle... A conviction that David lived by..
One that would serve us well to possess today
But here's the deal about David, he always came out on top!
Does anyone know why?
"So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved
wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in
the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants."
"Now Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them."
In closing....
David conducted himself wisely, this encompassed many things, but mainly he understood authority!
David conducted himself wisely, this encompassed many things, but mainly he understood authority!
He would not pay the price of rebellion to get Saul’s throne!
There would have been no other choice..
A doctrine of authority is a matter of deep implications!
Being in subjection to authority is not being subject to a person, but rather being subject to the anointing of the Lord upon that person.
David would not have to kill Saul to expedite God’s plan! Just cutting the corner off his robe convicted him badly enough!
Many Christians today, may not kill others with their hands, but certainly speak death with words!
And isn't THAT the same spirit?
David understood and respected authority, he called Saul “my Lord” or the “Lord’s anointed” even while being chased by him!
David saw and acknowledged Saul’s authority --- and would rather run for his life then to put his hand against it!
David knew God, and he knew that God would deal with Saul, in His own way, in His own time! Because he trusted God's process!
I believe this is why God said David was a man with His own heart..
He stood for God's authority, and God stood for his!
Church, we must rid ourselves of all rebellion in our hearts before we begin to exercise authority!
This world needs a revival of authority minded people today!
If we are unable to understand and respect God's authority here, on earth.. we are in for some major problems on the Day of our Lord!
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Brian Monzon Ministries