Mistaken Identity

Now let's read in 1st Samuel chapter 25.

Jeff will preach from this in just a moment but let me read 1st Samuel 25 for us.

Now Samuel died and all Israel assembled and mourned for him and they buried him at his home in Ramah.

Then David moved down into the desert of Paran.

A certain man in Mahon who had property there at Carmel was very wealthy.

He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep which he was shearing in Carmel.

His name was Nabal and his wife's name was Abigail.

She was an intelligent and beautiful woman but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings.

He was a Calebite.

While David was in the wilderness he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.

So he sent ten young men and said to them,

Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name.

Say to him, Long life to you, good health to you and your household and good health to all that is yours.

Now I hear that it is sheep shearing time.

When your shepherds were with us we did not ill treat them.

And the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing.

Ask your own servants and they will tell you.

Therefore be favourable towards my men since we come at a festive time.

Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.

When David's men arrived they gave Nabal this message in David's name.

Then they waited.

Nabal answered David's servants,

Who is this David?

Who is this son of Jesse?

Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days.

Why should I take my bread and water and the meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers

and give it to men coming from who knows where?

David's men turned round and went back.

When they arrived they reported every word.

David said to his men,

Each of you strap on your sword.

So they did.

And David strapped his on as well.

About 400 men went up with David while 200 stayed with the supplies.

One of the servants told Abigail, Nabal's wife,

David sent messengers from the wilderness to give our master his greetings but he hurled insults at them.

These men were very good to us.

They did not ill treat us and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing.

Night and day they were a wall around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them.

Now think it over and see what you can do because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household.

He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.

Abigail acted quickly.

She took 200 loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five sears of roasted grain,

a hundred cakes of raisins and 200 cakes of pressed figs and loaded them on donkeys.

Then she told her servants,

Go on ahead, I'll follow you.

But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine,

there were David and his men descending towards her and she met them.

David had just said,

It's been useless.

All my watching over this fellow's property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing.

He has paid me back evil for good.

May God deal with David, be it ever so severely if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him.

When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground.

She fell at his feet and said,

Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you.

Hear what your servant has to say.

Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal.

He is just like his name.

His name means fool and folly goes with him.

And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men, my lord said.

And now, my lord, as surely as the lord your God lives and as you live,

since the lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands,

may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal.

And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you.

Please forgive your servant's presumption.

The lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord,

because you fight the lord's battles,

and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live.

Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life,

the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the lord your God.

By the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling.

When the lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him,

and has appointed him ruler over Israel,

my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed,

or of having avenged himself.

And when the lord your God has brought my lord success,

remember your servant.

David said to Abigail,

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

who has sent you today to meet me.

May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day,

and from avenging myself with my own hands.

Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel lives,

who has kept me from harming you,

if you had not come quickly to meet me,

not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.

Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought to him and said,

Go home in peace.

I have heard your words and granted your request.

When Abigail went to Nabal,

he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king.

He was in high spirits and very drunk,

so she told him nothing at all until daybreak.

Then, in the morning, when Nabal was sober,

his wife told him all these things,

and his heart failed him,

and he became like a stone.

About ten days later,

the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

When David heard that Nabal was dead,

he said,

Praise be to the Lord,

who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt.

He has kept his servant from doing wrong

and has brought Nabal's wrongdoing down on his own head.

Then David sent word to Abigail,

asking her to become his wife.

His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail,

David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.

She bowed down with her face to the ground and said,

I am your servant and I'm ready to serve you

and wash the feet of my Lord's servants.

Abigail quickly got on a donkey and,

attended by her five female servants,

went with David's messengers and became his wife.

David had also married a Hinoam of Jezreel,

and they both were his wives.

But Saul had given his daughter,

Michiel, David's wife,

to Paltiel, son of Laish,

who was from Galim.

Amen.

This is God's word.

Now it's a pleasure to hand over to Jeff now.

Former US President, JFK,

when he was on his election campaign

to be elected as President of the United States,

he met an elderly woman.

She said,

you're one of the Kennedy brothers,

aren't you?

So both JFK and his brother, Robert,

were in politics,

and both looked remarkably similar.

He said,

yes, that's right,

I'm one of the Kennedy brothers.

And she said,

I just want to say,

I think you've done a terrific job

on the Senate Racket Committee.

And JFK said,

no, sorry,

that was my brother.

And she says,

it is?

Well,

those seven beautiful children you have,

aren't they wonderful?

Well, JFK responded,

no,

that's my brother.

And she said,

oh, well,

just tell your brother all the best

in his bid to become the president.

JFK quickly said,

no,

that's me.

Here is a case of mistaken identity.

And it's that topic

that we'll be talking about

and discussing this morning

in the case of Nabal and David

in the passage that was read earlier.

When our identity is in Jesus,

everything has its perfect balance

rightly in our lives.

But when our identity is not in Jesus,

it so often can have a damaging effect

on ourselves

and on those around us.

For example,

in our work life,

we get a promotion at work

or we finish off a project

and our boss praises it,

thinks it's amazing.

It could have the tendency

to puff us up

and we can find our identity in it.

But then what happens

when we don't do so well at work,

when our boss is on our case,

it can really crush us

and damage us.

However,

when our identity is in Jesus Christ,

everything has its rightful place.

Finding our identity in Jesus

meets three key tests,

which I believe are key

to finding out

whether something is worth

having your identity in or not.

There's the firstly,

the joy test.

Is this thing or person

going to give me deep and lasting joy?

The second test

is the life ruling test.

Is this thing or person

worth centering my life upon?

And third of all,

the eternity test.

Is this thing or person

really worth staking

my eternal destiny upon?

Now, this is not just a message

for non-Christians

about how they need

to find their identity in Jesus.

This is a message

that says also

about how Christians

to have an identity,

have a tendency

to find their identity

in things and in people

other than Jesus.

Very often,

we struggle

with a mistaken identity.

Our culture,

our society,

will say we need

X, Y and Z

to really truly be happy

in life.

So many things

are seeking our devotion

and seeking to pull us away

from Jesus.

Christians are not exempt from it.

But let's go to the text

and really see these issues

of identity really begin

to play out in 1 Samuel.

We're introduced in verse 2

to a man named Nabal.

Now, Nabal,

if you're interested

in the meaning of names,

Nabal in Hebrew,

the original language,

actually means full

and we'll begin to see that

as time goes on.

He's very wealthy,

we're told,

and sheep and goats.

We're then introduced

to his wife, Abigail,

who's beautiful and intelligent,

which is then immediately

contrasted to Nabal

who is harsh and evil

in all his dealings.

And then David

comes into the narrative.

So it says that David

heard that Nabal

was shearing sheep.

And so David

tells his men,

go and ask Nabal

for a share of his wealth.

And so at this point

you could be tempted,

what's David doing

just going up to

a rich guy

and asking for his money?

I mean,

that seems a bit strange.

But it's not asking

for a handout.

David's not asking

for a handout.

He's asking for his

rightful wage.

We know this because

in verses 7, 15 and 16,

we read about how

David and his men

protected Nabal's men

and Nabal's animals

from harm,

from theft.

And so we could argue

that even in part

some of Nabal's wealth

is down to David's

and his men's diligence.

And so David's men

go and ask Nabal

for provision

and are flat out rejected.

In fact,

worse yet,

Nabal says,

who is this David?

Who is Jesse's son?

I don't know

who you're talking about.

And then he goes

even further

and says,

in fact,

I don't even know

where you guys come from.

You might be from

a really dodgy place.

I'm not,

I'm not entertaining this.

Go home.

In verse 14,

we read the account

of one of Nabal's servants

who saw this going on.

And it says that he,

that Nabal railed

at David's men.

He shouted at David's men.

He wanted to keep his hands

on David's rightful shares

so that his wealth

could go unaffected.

And we begin to see

what's ruling

Nabal's heart at this point.

What he's really finding

his identity in.

though that case

is going to go stronger

as time goes on.

His identity

is based on his wealth.

And we see that

not only by how

he shamelessly denies

David and his men

their rightful wage

so that he could

keep a hold of his money.

But also in his

love of money,

we also see

how his

love of money

had shaped

how his peers

viewed him.

We see in verse 17

one of his

servants said,

Nabal's a worthless man.

Nobody can even

approach him.

And then in verse 25

his own wife Abigail

calls him a worthless

fellow.

And his love of money

as his wealth grew

so too did his ego.

And he thought

he was unstoppable.

He was untouchable.

He was the king

of his world.

Being so

unapproachable,

unbearable

as he was,

it really poisoned

his relationships.

And he loved his money

so much

that it would mean

he would treat

his servants,

he would treat

his own wife

so poorly

that they would

consider him

worthless.

Falling on from

the pleas of Abigail

and her giving generously

to David,

David agrees

to relent

from his attack.

Abigail then

goes to tell

Nabal

what happened

only to find

Nabal

drunk

in the middle

of a feast

like that

of a king.

Now in verse 36

there's that addition

a feast

like that

of a king

and

that addition

is not

random

it's not to get

the author's

word count up

but this is actually

an insight

into what Nabal

thinks about himself.

He thinks himself

so great

he thinks his wealth

so grand

that he considers

himself like

a king.

Once he sobered up

Abigail went

and told him

what had happened

with David

and upon hearing

that part of his

wealth was taken

away

the ESV translation

puts it really strongly

his heart

within him died.

Such powerful

language

his heart

within him died

and so we see

what his identity

is wrapped up in

his wealth

and we see that

because of how he

responded to

and treated David's

men

how he treated

those around him

how those around him

consequently viewed him

as a worthless fellow

and then

we see that

too

in his response

to part of that

wealth

being taken away

it literally

killed him

and that

is the power

of finding

your identity

in something

it becomes

your all

in all

it becomes

a dictator

over whether

we have

a good mood

or a bad mood

it becomes

all consuming

it becomes

the director

of our

eternal destiny

for Nabal

he was at his

happiest

when he was

having drunken

feasts

enjoying

all his

wealth

and grandeur

but he

was at his

very lowest

and we see

that in his

death

at his very

lowest

when part

of that

wealth

was taken

away

we all

have

identity

battles

in our

hearts

things that

we

struggle

with

things that

we place

our hopes

our joys

and our

plans

in

things that

dictate our

mood

and rule

our lives

now this

might look

differently

for each

and every

one of us

for you

it might be

power

you might

have your

identity

wrapped up

in being

honoured

being respected

being thought

well of

maybe it's

like Nabal

you have

your identity

wrapped up

in your

wealth

and

you know

you might

be having

feasts

fit for a

king

while your

neighbour

next door

is going

down to

the local

food bank

the problem

with these

things

is not

money

we need

money

to feed

ourselves

to clothe

ourselves

to pay

our bills

the problem

is not

being respected

or being

honoured

the bible

actually has

quite a lot

of positive

things to

say about

respecting

and honouring

one another

and the

problem comes

in though

when these

things become

ultimate

in our lives

when our

lives are

ruled by

money

our lives

are ruled

by having

to be

respected

and honoured

as I said

earlier

this is as

much an

issue for

Christians

as it is

non-Christians

and we

see that

in David's

response

so David's

men come

back and

tell him

what's

happened

in the

encounter

with

Nabal

that

Nabal

has

rejected

the

request

rejected

knowledge

of him

insinuated

that they

were no

users

from goodness

knows

where

and David

is raging

he's

fizzing

he

so much

so that

he goes

and gets

his sword

and tells

his men

go and

do

likewise

he wants

to go

and have

it out

with

Nabal

let's

see

who's

the

big

man

now

sort

of

thing

on

verse

21

we see

that

David

complains

all his

service

to

Nabal

was

futile

verse

22

even

brings

God

into

the

equation

you

see

David

was

angry

because

he

thought

he

deserved

more

honour

more

respect

than

he

was

getting

how

many

of

us

have

been

there

with

our

bosses

you

know

we

don't

think

that

we're

honoured

or

respected

or given

credit

for

the

things

that

we

think

we

deserve

credit

for

now

whilst

we

may

not

go

to

our

bosses

with

a

sword

in

hand

I'd

certainly

hope

not

the

anger

the rage

that builds

up

in our

hearts

can

sometimes

be

far

more

devastating

it

takes

Abigail

to

bring him

a

generous

portion

also

a

humble

bowing

before

him

cry

for

mercy

in

order

for

David

to

relent

not

only

does

Abigail

do

this

but

she

points

David

to

the

Lord

to

his

justice

and

his

judgment

reminding

David

that

this

is not

David's

to

sort

out

this

is

not

David's

battle

to

fight

justice

and

judgment

belong

to

God

who

will

not

let

the

guilty

go

unpunished

so

what

then

is

the

takeaway

from

all

of

this

don't

be

like

Nabal

don't

be

like

David

be

like

Abigail

Abigail

was

good

Abigail

pointed

her

neighbour

to

the

Lord

Abigail

was

generous

well

well

no

not

exactly

you

see

the

story

is

not

telling

us

a

moral

story

of

what

we

are

to

do

to

find

a

sort

of

goodness

a

morality

within

ourselves

now

my

wife

and

I

have

a

guilty

pleasure

of

hallmark

movies

you

might

know

of

them

you

might

not

they're

on

channel

5

like

all

the

time

they're

usually

called

something

along

the

lines

of

harvest

moon

or

autumn

dreams

out

workaholic

girl

is

tired

of

the

hustle

and

the

bustle

of

the

city

and

so

moves

out

to

the

town

or

the

village

it's

all

very

idyllic

to

find

out

what

really

matters

in

life

what

are

the

true

values

to

hold

to

upon

arriving

she

goes

to

a

grocery

store

or

she

goes

to

a

pub

meets

a

handsome

chap

and

although

initially

trying

to

ignore

him

she

falls

in

what

are

the

good

moral

values

to

hold

onto

in

life

now

the

Bible

is

not

like

that

and

this

story

is

no

exception

it's

not

a

compilation

of

positive

and

inspiring

stories

which

teach

a

good

moral

value

that

we

take

away

and

apply

to

our

life

and

that's

us

good

with

God

it's

not

like

that

the

Bible

isn't

10

tips

to

personal

improvement

so

that

we

could

be

the

hero

or

the

saviour

of

our

story

the

Bible

is

about

how

Jesus

is

the

hero

Jesus

is

the

saviour

of

the

story

the

Bible

from

beginning

to

end

every

page

every

book

of

the

Bible

is

all

about

how

good

Jesus

is

now

how

all

of

that

relates

to

the

question

of

identity

is

that

placing

your

identity

in

something

it

becomes

your

all

in

all

they

become

the

masters

of

your

life

everything

you

think

say

or

do

is

dictated

to

you

by

your

identity

and

that

whilst

money

sex

power

make

terrible

masters

I

want

to

say

that

Jesus

is

the

best

master

so

Christian

or

non

Christian

this

morning

whoever

you

are

wherever

you're

listening

from

look

to

Jesus

and

find

your

identity

in

him

that's

why

the

message

isn't

don't

be

like

Nabal

don't

be

like

David

be

like

Abigail

because

in

this

identity

war

in

your

life

the

hero

of

the

story

is

always

Jesus

and

he's

the

only

one

who's

really

worth

having

your

identity

fixed

in

and

I'll

tell

you

why

earlier

I

set

before

us

three

tests

as

to

whether

something

is

worth

having

your

identity

fixed

in

first

was

the

joy

test

is

this

thing

is

this

person

going to

give me

deep

and

lasting

joy

the

second

was

the

life

ruling

test

is

this

thing

or

person

worth

centring

my

universe

on

and

thirdly

the

eternal

test

is

this

going

to

bear

fruit

in

eternity

is

this

going

to

bear

fruit

before

God

I

also

said

earlier

that

everyone

and

everything

apart

from

Jesus

fails

to

meet

this

test

and

we'll

see

that

because

these

other

things

make

horrible

masters

for

our

lives

I

want

to

say

that

Jesus

is

the

best

master

and

makes

the

best

master

for

our

lives

first

of

all

is

the

joy

test

I

want

to

go

to

John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter

4

and

we

read

in

that

of

Jesus

meeting

a

woman

at

a

well

Jesus

says

to

the

woman

you

drink

the

water

from

this

well

you're

just

going

to

be

thirsty

again

but

the

water

that

I

give

you

is

going

to

bubble

up

within

you

well

up

within

you

to

a

spring

of

eternal

life

so

Jesus

here

is

not

just

saying

this

water

is

no

good

you

need

to

find

some

different

water

in

this

world

he's

pointing

not

to

the

deficiency

of

that

particular

water

from

that

particular

well

but

it's

a

picture

of

the

deficiency

of

all

things

apart

from

Jesus

to

give

us

true

and

lasting

satisfaction

we

also

have

the

testimony

of

the

apostle

Paul

in

Philippians

3

recounting

his

former

life

of

Judaism

and

he

says

that

he

counts

that

as

worthless

compared

to

knowing

Jesus

Christ

now

before

we

think

that

Paul

was

writing

that

at

a

really

swell

moment

in

his

life

sitting

on

a

warm

beach

somewhere

sipping

a

cocktail

he

wasn't

he

was

sitting

in

a

cold

stony

Roman

jail

cell

imprisoned

for

telling

other

people

about

Jesus

Christ

and

so

in

the

dark

confines

of a

Roman

prison

Jesus

is

enough

for

you

and

me

today

in

poverty

and

sickness

and

suffering

Jesus

and the

joy

in him

is

sufficient

the

second

issue

is the

life

ruling

problem

is this

thing

or person

really worth

centring my

life upon

is Jesus

worth centring my

life upon

I just want

to read

some things

from the

Bible

some texts

from the

Bible

that I've

put together

that tell us

about Jesus

and I'll let

you make

up your

mind

is Jesus

really worth

centring your

life upon

heaven

this Jesus

who is the

image of

the invisible

God

greater than

all the

angels in

heaven

who

created

and sustains

all things

who despite

being God

came down

to live

in time

and space

to live

the life

that we

should have

lived on

our behalf

to endure

our shame

our suffering

that we

were due

on the

cross

instead of

hearing the

praise of

angels in

heaven

he heard

the crowds

cry

crucify him

he received

beatings

mockings

sneerings

he was spat

at for you

and for me

for the joy

that was set

before him

namely this

joy of seeing

people like

you and me

reconciled

to God

our father

in heaven

he is the

only way

to God

and he is

the only way

the only

person worthy

of our

worship

and adoration

Jesus is

the only

master

to have

died

for his

subjects

which leads

us on to

the third

problem

which is

the eternal

problem

the eternal

test

is Jesus

worth

staking

my eternal

future on

well I've

just said

that

Jesus

is

the only

way

to God

the father

Mark

Mark 8:36

chapter 8

verse 36

he also

says

what will it

profit a man

if he gains

the whole

world

but forfeits

his soul

now what

Jesus is

saying here

is that you

could be

perfectly happy

with having

the best

family

the nicest

car

the biggest

house

the biggest

salary

for your

job

but before

almighty God

that's gonna

do you

no good

and so from

an eternal

perspective

Jesus is the

greatest

master

not just

in eternity

but right

now

right here

right now

he provides

deep and

lasting joy

he is worth

revolving our

lives around

why can I say

that with

certainty

well

because Jesus

who being

almighty God

identified with

us in order

that we could

find our

identity in

him

one of my

favourite

contemporary

Christmas songs

it's called

How Many

Kings

and the chorus

goes like

this

how many

kings

stepped down

from their

thrones

how many

lords have

abandoned

their homes

how many

greats have

become the

least for me

and how

many gods

have torn

out their

hearts to

romance a

world that

is torn

out apart

how many

fathers gave

up their

sons for

me

and I

highlight

something

really

really

really

important

the

celebrities

of our

day

do not

obey the

law of

God

on our

behalf

money

did not

sacrifice

itself

for you

nails

did not

pierce

the hands

of

comfortability

power

and prominence

did not

stoop down

as a

servant

to save

you

the great

influencers

of the

past

did not

rise again

from the

dead

to defeat

death

for us

only

Jesus

did that

only

he did

that

for you

and for

me

only

Jesus

is

qualified

fully

to be

master

over

your

life

run

from

all

else

that would

seek

to be

masters

over

your

life

and run

to

Jesus

the

greatest

master

so

every

single

person

who's

listening

wherever

you're

listening

from

whatever

background

you're

from

I want

to say

look

to

Jesus

to find

your

identity

in him

look

to him