Whose Hand shall Prevail?

Well, thank you very much Fiona, Christy and Kat for reading that passage to us.

It would be helpful if you keep that passage open as we journey through this evening.

But before we get started, let me just pray.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, we pray that the words that we have just sung would be true in our lives,

that they would be true this evening as we hear your word.

Father, that we would walk by faith and not by sight.

As we come to a difficult passage, we pray you would help us

and that we would learn from it what you want us to learn.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

To start us off this evening, I'm going with a little bit of a stranger introduction.

And I'd like you, instead of having a nice picture on the PowerPoint,

I'd like you to hold up your hand in front of your face for me.

So if everyone just has a wee look at their hand.

There you go. The majority of you are joining in. That's always good.

We use our hands on a daily basis, don't we?

But how often do we really think about them?

These hands can be tools both for good and for bad.

So how many of you...

You can put your hands down now if you will.

So how many of you have used your hands to wipe away the tear from a child's face?

And with that same hand have smacked a table in frustration or anger?

How many of you have used your hand to write a love letter?

And how many of you have used the same hand to write that angry email to a work colleague?

Our hands can be stretched out to welcome friends and family members into the warmness of our home.

Or they can be weapons that can turn people away in pain.

These hands can both harm and heal.

They can hurt and they can comfort.

They can build up or they can destroy.

And that's just our hands.

This evening in 1 Samuel chapter 23, I wonder if you noticed as Kat was reading to us the recurring word hand or hands.

1 Samuel 23 · chapter mention

It's as if there's a power play going on.

Saul thinks that David is in his hands.

He's got him in his grasp.

That he's nearly one.

But God does not deliver David into Saul's hand, the passage says.

So in this whole power play, the question that I want us to think about this evening is whose hand will prevail?

As we break into this next installment of the fugitive narrative of David's life in 1 Samuel,

we've seen David on the run.

He's fleeing from place to place for his life.

And we've seen Saul, the king of Israel, slaughter priests and a whole town just to get his enemy.

Saul has completely lost it.

David, as God's anointed king, is facing hostility from God's enemies.

And I'm sure that time and time again in this whole period in David's life, he was thinking,

whose hand will prevail?

Is God really going to win?

Will Saul's hand tighten his grip around me or will God deliver me by his mighty hand?

Whose hand will prevail?

But as we will see this evening, even though Saul seems so close and seems to have David on the ropes,

God's hand is working and nothing will prevail against it.

God's hand will prevail.

And in this passage, we see three things that the hand of God is doing.

And the first thing that we see in this passage is the helping hand of God.

In 1 Samuel 23, verses 1 to 14, the helping hand of God.

1 Samuel 23:1–14

So in the beginning of chapter 23, we find David and his motley crew of the distressed,

the debtors and the discontent outcasts of Israel hiding in a forest.

And in verse 1, David is told that the Philistines are looting the threshing floors of Kyla,

a town around five miles away from where he currently is.

Now a threshing floor is a place usually outside the town where grain was stored.

And during harvest time, everyone would be there, separating the chaff from the grain.

And so it is the ideal place to attack because you'd get all the benefits of harvest without all the work.

So the Philistines were smart. That is exactly what they were doing.

But what would you expect David to do at this moment?

Now remember, he has no obligation to the people of this town.

He doesn't need to put his neck on the line.

He's got the king of Israel on his heels with a massive army, I might add.

Everything in this situation is screaming out, David, don't even think about it.

Go home, put your feet up.

Let Saul deal with his own mess.

But notice what he does in verse 2.

David hears about the plight of his countrymen.

And his reaction is not hot anger.

It's not rage. It's not a battle cry.

No, his first reaction is to turn to God.

Verse 2 says,

David's priority since defeating Goliath in 1 Samuel chapter 17

1 Samuel 17 · chapter mention

has been fighting with the Philistines.

And interestingly, that's actually what Saul was commanded to do by God in chapter 9 verse 16.

So David is doing the job that the king should be doing.

But instead of running into battle, David turns to God.

Now how often do we wait and inquire of God and his word before we act?

Before we attack others who have wronged us?

I know my first gut reaction is to react.

But what our transformed lives should lead us to do is to inquire of God and his word.

So David is placing himself under the authority and protection of God.

He's under God's authority because he is admitting that he is nothing but a tool in God's hand.

And he's putting himself under God's protection because he only has 600 of Israel's rejects with him.

He does not have a mighty army.

If he goes against the Philistines and he wins,

then there is no doubt on earth that God has won the victory for him.

Humanly speaking, this is a no-brainer.

David, go home.

Chill out.

But he inquires of the Lord and God helps David.

In verse 2, God says,

Go attack the Philistines and save Kyla.

Now we can't jump over this verse without noticing the significance of this event.

God has spoken to David.

This is the first time that God has spoken to David in the book so far.

God is revealing his will to his king for his people.

Go and save them, God says.

And understandably, David's men are afraid in verse 3.

So David asks God again.

And in verse 4, God says,

Go down to Kyla, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.

God says, Go, David.

The battle is already won.

The victory is mine.

You and your weak army will win, but not by your strength.

Not by your skill, but by my helping hand.

So David and his reject army win and defeat the Philistines.

God's hand had been in this battle, helping and fighting for David.

But just like every good story, after the triumph of an underdog,

comes a devastating event.

Saul gets wind of David's whereabouts.

And so he jumps to the worst conclusion possible.

In verse 7, he says,

God has delivered him into my hands.

For David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.

What an absolute fool.

The man who should be sitting on the throne and ruling in righteousness and wisdom

has become the court jester.

He's become the clown.

In his hatred for David, he completely bypasses God.

He isn't thinking that God has been working in David's life.

That God has been helping him and defending him.

No, he is completely blind to it all.

So do you see the difference between David and Saul?

David sees his enemy and he inquires of what God's will is and he acts upon it.

Saul has no thought for God's will.

But simply presumes that he is blameless and that God is on his side.

Somehow Saul thinks that God is pleased with him,

even though he has no regard for his people.

Saul, as king, should have been the one to protect Kyla,

to save the town from the Philistines, but he is not fit to be king.

And nor is he the right king.

And so the real king steps in and accomplishes God's will.

So Saul calls an army to go and get David in verse 8.

But this is not a thank you party.

This is not a parade with presents and flowers,

but this is a force equipped with swords and hatred,

with the only goal in mind to attack, capture and kill David.

So what does David do?

Well, again, in verse 10, he turns to God.

He prays, Lord God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely

that Saul plans to come to Kyla and destroy the town on account of me.

Will the citizens of Kyla surrender me to him?

Will Saul come down as your servant has heard?

Lord God of Israel, tell your servant.

So God does.

God tells David that the town will hand him over to Saul.

And so David and his 600 men leave in verse 13,

and they go from place to place, running for their lives.

But two things to notice about this little event in the life of David.

The first is the absolute tyranny of Saul.

The people of Kyla are so afraid of this king

that they're willing to hand David over to him.

They're happy to sell out the man who's just put his life on the line for them.

But the second thing to notice is how God is helping David.

God has helped David by giving him and his 600 men victory.

He has protected them and warned them of the town's intentions,

giving them time to flee.

So the unrighteous king has lost the plot.

The righteous king is being obedient and relying on God,

and the true and ultimate king of the universe

is ruling over this whole situation,

helping his servant David.

Look at the end of verse 14.

God did not give David into his hand.

God's helping hand is at work in David's life.

Now people can look at this passage and use it as a justification

for a desire to hear the voice of God directing them in everything they do.

But the truth is that God has already spoken

and revealed himself to us in his words.

The question is, in our times of need, where do we run?

Do we run and hide wishing for the comfort of an easy life?

Or when we face opposition, do we run to God?

Our first response should be to cry out to God in prayer

and earnestly seek his will by reading his word,

by speaking to his people,

and then actively doing something about it.

But how often are we like Saul?

How often don't we take God's word into account

and we just live our lives according to our own wishes

and our own desires?

Sometimes God's helping hand is very visible in our life,

and sometimes he completely turns situations around

and lifts us out of difficult circumstances.

But on the most part,

God keeps us in our difficult places

and he helps us through them.

He helps us by giving us endurance, patience,

and a greater reliance on him.

God is helping you because in the future you'll look back

and you will see God's goodness in your suffering.

Seeing the helping hand of God in our lives

should mean that as Christians we have the attitude of David,

attitudes of humility, of service,

of complete dependence and obedience to God.

Our lives should be marked by a complete surrendering to God's will.

God's helping hand is at work in our lives all the time.

And seeing him at work in our lives,

both in the day to day and through the work of Jesus Christ,

we should be able to wholeheartedly say,

Lord, take my life and let it be consecrated to thee.

It is yours, not mine.

So as David is on the run,

as he is fleeing for his life,

we see the helping hand of God.

And the second thing that we see in this passage

is the strengthening hand of God.

The strengthening hand of God in verses 15 to 18.

So David is now in the desert of Ziph

and he knows that Saul is searching high and low for him.

He's got nowhere to hide.

Saul is convinced of David's treachery

and determined that killing him is God's will.

But put yourself in David's shoes for a second.

He's been on the run for a while now.

He's been imprisoned and he's escaped.

He's hidden in caves with 400 men.

He's been as low as can be

from the palace courts to a cave in the middle of nowhere.

But also remember that he has been anointed king over Israel.

And he started off his life of running as one man,

as an individual.

And now he has 600 men with him.

David is growing in popularity.

He saved a town from being killed by the Philistines,

but he is still on the run.

Can you imagine how discouraged he is at this stage?

Everything in his life seems to be going wrong.

He knows where God has promised he will be.

He's been seeking to live out his life obediently and according to God's will,

but nothing is going his way.

I'm sure he was thinking,

God, when are you going to give me a break?

And in verse 16, we see a daring but caring move from Jonathan.

See, he went to David and it says that Jonathan helped him find strength in God.

What a godly friend Jonathan is.

He put his own life on the line to go and encourage his friend,

but not just with a pat on the back or a nice little motivational speech.

Jonathan is pointing David to God,

pointing to the source of all strength,

pointing him to the only one who can sustain him now in the time of his fear.

In verse 17, Jonathan says,

Jonathan is strengthening David by reiterating the promises of God to him that he will be king.

God is strengthening David through Jonathan.

Now here we get a little glimpse into how deep this friendship really is.

Jonathan knows exactly where David is and how to find him.

And yet he doesn't tell his own dad.

And he puts his life on the line to go and encourage David.

And he says to David,

I will be second to you.

So as the prince of Israel,

Jonathan is relinquishing his place of authority and power and bowing down to God's will.

Jonathan is a true friend.

When was the last time that you saw a fellow Christian struggling

and you encouraged them by pointing them to God?

All too often,

I think we casually say,

I'm praying for you.

Or we pull a verse out of context and we quote it and we think that we've somehow helped that person.

And those are good things to do,

to pray for people and to tell verses that will encourage them.

But do you know what's helped me most in my times of pain and suffering and despair?

Having a fellow believer come alongside me,

weep and mourn with me,

but ultimately pointing me to the glorious truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The world will tell us that we cannot help people,

but that is a lie.

Because as Christians,

we can point people to the only source of peace,

to the only source of assurance,

God,

that is how God can use you

and can use me

to strengthen people.

David isn't only strengthened by having a friend in Jonathan,

but much more than that,

David is strengthened by Jonathan's certainty

that God is faithful

and that his promises will be fulfilled.

Jonathan is certain that God's plan will prevail,

that God's hand will prevail.

And he knows that David's life is in God's hand.

God uses people to strengthen people.

Now it's so easy, isn't it,

to walk into church on a Sunday morning

or to walk into a small group during the week

and to moan,

to complain about how busy we are

or how hard work is

or how difficult the kids are at this moment in time.

And those are things that we should be praying for.

Absolutely.

But so often I think we moan instead of praying.

How different would our church life be

if instead of coming to moan,

we turned up and asked the question,

how can we encourage people?

How different would our church life be

if instead of showing up

and consuming everything we can,

instead of looking out for our own interests,

our own wishes,

our own desires,

but we actually came with a question in mind,

how can I build up my brother and sister in Christ today?

I can tell you the difference.

Our church would be transformed.

People would be happier

and more willing to serve and care for others.

But the thing that makes this change,

this transformation,

is not behavior modification.

Because if we think that,

then we've missed the point.

It is not simply putting on your Sunday best

and smiling until your cheeks hurt.

No.

It is walking into a room

with fellow broken brothers and sisters of Christ

and pointing them to the one place

where they can find real strength,

lasting certain hope

and endurance through struggles

and peace that passes all understanding.

So the question we should ask

when we prepare to go to any meeting,

whether that's Sundays,

small group,

or whether that's coffee

with a friend or family member,

the question is,

how can I best point this person

to the promises of God?

How might God use me

to strengthen this individual?

How can I best serve this person

so that they are absolutely overwhelmed

by God's goodness?

How can I best point this person

to see the sheer beauty of the gospel?

God uses people to strengthen people.

That is what Jonathan did.

That is how God could be working for you

and that is how God could be working through you.

What a privilege it is

that God would see fit to use us

to be instruments in his hand

to strengthen people.

So here's a little practical challenge for you.

After our service this evening,

turn to the person next to you.

Ask them how you can pray for them.

Encourage them

and then pray together.

Nothing out there,

nothing weird,

nothing too strange

for a Sunday evening.

It'll add five minutes

to our Sunday evening service,

but it will be a huge encouragement

to your fellow brother and sister

sitting next to you.

That is how God can use you

to strengthen others

and that is how God can strengthen you.

The third thing

and final thing

that we see in this passage

is the mighty hand of God.

Verses 19 to 29,

the mighty hand of God.

So imagine for a second

how Saul is feeling.

He's been chasing David down

for absolutely ages.

But each time David manages

to escape his grip.

And so you can imagine

his delight as the citizens

of, as the Ziphites

come to him in verse 19

and tell him exactly

where David is hiding.

He thinks his lucky day has come.

In verse 20, they say,

now your majesty,

come down whenever it pleases you

to do so

and we will be responsible

for giving him into your hands.

Now,

Saul couldn't have asked

for any better subjects,

could he?

These men are happily

bowing low

and kissing the ring

of a treacherous ruler.

Saul thinks that his hand

will prevail

and that he will finally

get his grip

around David's throat.

The scales, he's thinking,

are finally tipped in my favor.

And so he responds

in verses 21 to 23,

saying,

the Lord bless you

for your concern for me.

Go and get more information.

Find out where David

usually goes

and who has seen him there.

They tell me

he is very crafty.

Find out about

all the hiding places

he uses

and come back to me

with definite information.

Then I will go with you.

If he is in the area,

I will track him down

among all the clans

of Judah.

Do you notice something

about his response?

He is absolutely paranoid.

He starts off with a blessing

on the Ziphites,

which is really ironic

because he's using

God's name

to bless a people

who are betraying

God's anointed king.

And then he gives

a kind of arrogant statement.

Oh, you're doing all this

for little old me.

And he becomes

more and more paranoid

and more concerned

about the minute details

of the plan

and the strategy.

He's asking

for more information.

He wants to know

exactly where David moves,

how many steps

he has done that day

and how many people

he has seen.

It's like the scenes

in those police movies

where they're staking out

a suspect.

They lie in hiding,

waiting to get

all the dirt

that they need.

Patiently taking pictures,

usually got a big

mind map on the wall.

Checking faces

to find that one weak link

that will crack the case.

And that is what Saul wants.

But he doesn't just want

mug shots or pictures.

He wants full-blown

thick folders

on everyone

who is around David.

Why?

Because the end of verse 22,

Saul says,

they tell me

he is very crafty.

Again, Saul,

how foolish are you?

He is attributing

David's success

to skill

and cunning.

The only reason

David is still

in the wind

is because God's hand

is protecting

and strengthening

him.

God's hand

is so mighty

that all the forces

of Israel

could descend

and nothing

could touch David.

God is working.

So Saul

is absolutely

paranoid

and he wants

more information

but notice

how his speech

ends in verse 23.

I will track

him down

among all

the clans

of Judah.

So much

pride

but no mention

of prayer.

No desire

to seek God.

No inkling

of any desire

to do God's will.

Saul's priority

is himself.

King Saul

is proud

because he sees

the forces

that are behind him

and he thinks

that his whole army

will bring David

to his knees

but he forgets

who is standing

behind David.

David has

the great God

of the universe

who is on his side.

The God who speaks

and it happens.

The God who parts

the sea

for his people

to be free.

The God who does

the impossible

and the God

who is faithful

to every single

one of his promises.

God's mighty hand

is on David

and Saul's

puny army

in comparison

can do absolutely

nothing about it.

And so in verses

24 to 26

we see the ultimate

cat and mouse chase.

Saul is on David's heels

and these short verses

are packed

with so much tension.

So if this were a movie

you could imagine

the scary music

getting louder

and louder

as you read.

Ramping up the intensity

as you see David

nearly being caught.

And then in verse 26

the tension

is almost so unbearable

that you're on the edge

of your seat.

Saul is on one side

of the mountain

David on the other.

And it's at this point

you grab the pillow

that's on the couch

next to you

because you can't bear

seeing David

captured,

humiliated and killed.

But just as the tension

is at its highest

in verse 27

a messenger came

to Saul

saying come quickly

the Philistines

are raiding the land.

And then Saul

broke off his pursuit

of David

and went to meet

the Philistines.

Now we can read

this blindly

and think that this

is nothing but a coincidence.

Or

we can read this

with an understanding

of who

our great God is

and how mighty

he is

and what he does

for his people

he delivers them

from trouble

and nothing

not even an army

can thwart his plans.

God's mighty hand

is protecting

his servant.

God's hand

will always

prevail.

Now you might be

sitting there thinking

well that all sounds nice

but I don't feel it.

as we walk out

of this building

this evening

we step into a world

that is holding

its fist against us

in hostility.

A world that

despises us

for what we believe

and who we serve.

How on earth

can God be working

in all of that?

How can God's mighty hand

be at work

if Christians

all over the world

are suffering

and being persecuted

for their faith?

how can God

be at work

in my life

if everything

around me

is screaming

the exact opposite?

Well God is working

because he is

building his church.

He is calling

people to himself

and nothing

not even the gates

of hell

will prevail

against it.

As Christians

we've been warned

that we will suffer

for Jesus

but we see

that the suffering

that we face

now

for following

God's anointed

king

the king Jesus

is preparing us

for an eternity

with him.

The promise

far outweighs

the pain.

This whole chapter

and how God

has been working

in it

is so relevant

for us today

because we see

God doing the same

things in our lives.

lives.

So God

the creator

of this world

the father

who lovingly

gave life

to humanity

has watched us

descend

into the depths

of despair

and sin

and rebellion

against him

but instead

of walking away

instead of

turning his back

he looked at us

struggling

in the depths

of despair

and he helped

but not just

by throwing

us a lifeline

not just

by giving us

a hand

out of the muck

no he helped

by stepping

into our mess

God in the flesh

stepped into

our ruin

and mess

and he became

one of us

why?

So that we can

be reconciled

to God

brought back

into a right

relationship

with him

and taken

from being

a wretch

under God's wrath

to being

sons and

daughters

clothed

in royalty

God makes

the impossible

possible

Jesus took

our punishment

and brought

us to God

and he is

strengthening us

daily because

we are not

alone

Jesus promised

his disciples

that once he

left he would

send a comforter

and that person

is the Holy Spirit

who dwells within

every Christian

and is making

us more into

the image

and likeness

of Jesus

we are constantly

being strengthened

because as Christians

we are being

transformed from

the inside

out

and being pointed

to the goodness

the glory

and the majesty

of our great

and mighty God

now if this is

not the act

of an

all powerful

all loving

God

then I do not

know what is

Jesus going

to the cross

carrying all

of our sin

and shame

being in

darkness

and torment

in our place

and finishing

the payment

with the cry

it is finished

that is the

mightiest work

that this world

will ever see

but that is not

the end of the

story

because God

raised Jesus

from the dead

and has promised

his return

and until that

day

until the

whole church

will gather

as one body

before the

throne of God

and sing

holy

holy

holy

holy

as the

Lord God

almighty

we have a

mission

we have a

message to

proclaim

and the

message is

that God

is still

at work

and that God's

hand

will prevail

that is the

message that we

walk out of here

with this evening

victory belongs

to our God

God's hand

will and

has prevailed

let's pray

together

father in our

suffering

in our pain

in our hurt

and in our

broken lives

would you

help us

in our

discouragements

in our

doubts

in our

questions

would you

strengthen us

and would you

help us

strengthen others

and in the

time where we

feel down

and out

where we

feel on the

ropes

and we

feel that the

world is

winning

would your

mighty hand

be at work

in us

and would you

put people

around us

who point

us to your

goodness

people who

remind us

of the good

news of the

gospel that

Jesus Christ

has won

that nothing

on earth

will stop

your plan

and that your

church is

being built

we ask this

for your fame

and your fame

alone

in Jesus

holy and

precious name

amen

amen