1 and 2 Samuel: How Do We Have Christian Courage?

Amen.

You may be seated.

Well, Grace, amazing job with Mefibashef.

That's everybody's nightmare.

The pastor asking you to read scripture in church and you get Mefibashef.

Well, welcome.

We're glad you're here with us.

My name is Russ Masterson, the pastor here.

11 a.m.

service only, beginning today, all the way through the end of July.

So congrats, 915ers.

Meet the 11 o'clockers.

We are a medium-sized church, so we don't all know each other, so we always want to make sure you all have permission to meet people, talk to people you don't know.

Everybody does not know each other.

What we'd love to say every single week is we're more broken than we originally thought, but we're more loved by God and Jesus than we could ever dare to dream.

That's the good news that our church is all about.

It's what we rest and sing about, we learn about.

One other announcement this morning is that it is graduation season.

Um, and our church staff, we have three graduations on our church staff of six.

Myself, I earned my doctorate degree.

Thank you, that happened four years.

And then Sam Rapp and Keel Compton both finished their Masters of Divinity.

And we all finished at the same time.

We were kind of on the same timeline.

And so June 7th, Sunday, June 7th, we're going to celebrate as a church and stay and have pizza lunch.

So please, please plan to stay, have lunch with us, celebrate, talk to us about all the many theological, deep things we learn.

We'd love to talk about it, believe it or not.

So we'd love to uh celebrate with y'all.

Uh lastly, before we get in the sermon, is we have a group going to Guatemala tomorrow to serve our partners down there.

So if you're going to Guatemala tomorrow, please come on up.

We want to pray for y'all this morning.

This is a group of students and leaders and some parents.

And so if you're here and go to Guatemala, please come on up.

We want to pray for you.

Uh this is the ministry that we go to.

We went in January with a group of adults.

Our students are going now.

Um, if you know any of these people, you're a church leader or you know them, you love them, you're a parent, please feel free to come up now and lay hands on them.

And we're going to kind of like push, if y'all could kind of like circle up.

And then if you're a loved one, you're a student, a leader of one of these people, you're a parent, we'd love for you to come and lay hands on them so we can pray for this group that's going to serve in Guatemala.

Heavenly Father, we're so thankful for this group that's getting to go and serve people we love, people that we've come to love.

We are so thankful for the ministry in Guatemala that is there whether we're there or not, but we get to be a part of it, that we get to support them financially.

Uh, we get to go and uh support them with our presence, our love, our service.

God, we pray for this group as they head out tomorrow on a plane and then van and windy roads.

And Lord, I pray for their safety.

I pray that you keep them safe, um, help them get there and help them get back.

Um, Lord, we pray that you would be doing something in their hearts even now, and each day they're there, that you would use this trip of service in the formation of their own hearts.

Do something great in them.

And we pray that you would do something great through them as they love on children who are in need, as they love on elderly that have very limited interaction with others and are in need, Lord, as they love on pastors who are at the end of themselves, um, give them words of encouragement, give them uh moments to serve people, help them love these people, serve these people.

Would our partners there in uh Lake Adelon, would they feel so encouraged by our presence?

Um Lord, we thank you that uh you are much bigger than Marietta, Georgia.

Thank thank you for reminding us even this morning that we have brothers and sisters that are look all different ways than us and dress different than us.

But King Jesus is always King.

And we pray for this trip.

Would you do great things?

We are excited to hear back.

Pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

All right.

Thank you, team.

Thank you for willing to go.

Safe travels to you.

Well, we are studying our way through the book of 2 Samuel.

Today we're in chapters 8 through 10.

We've made our way through 1 Samuel, we're into 2 Samuel.

David is now king.

Uh, David is establishing his kingdom.

He has defeated a bunch of enemies.

And in chapter 8, we read that David has had military victories, win after when after when.

And twice we read a very particular phrase.

Verses 6 and verse 14 of 2 Samuel chapter 8.

2 Samuel 8 · chapter mention

And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

So, point number one is this God is the true king behind the king.

The Lord was giving David victory.

God is the true king behind the king.

David is king, but but really, really, God is king.

There's a king behind the king.

Just like we are kings of our own little kingdoms that we build and we manage, but really Jesus is king.

You remember Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia?

Throughout the stories, no matter who is king, Peter, Edmund, Caspian, they all rule visibly, but everyone knows the true authority in Narnia is Aslan.

The true king.

There is a king behind the kings.

See, the kings of Narnia only rule rightly when they submit to the great lion behind their throne.

Their authority is real, Peter and Edmunds.

Their authority is real, but it's derivative authority.

Same with David, there's a king behind the king.

Same with you, same with me.

We may have derivative authority.

We may build a little kingdom, but there's a king behind the king.

Do you remember Jesus' words about kings?

John 18, 37.

Then Pilate said to him, So you are a king?

And Jesus answered, You say that I am a king.

For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth.

Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

So essentially Jesus says, I'm a king.

But not just for Jews, not just for one people group, but for all people.

I came to serve all people, I'm everyone's king.

So let's get a basic definition.

Who's a king?

Well, the king is the one who holds power and honor and glory.

The king revolves around no one.

Everyone else revolves around the king.

Now I keep trying to get everybody in my life to revolve around me.

I try really hard at that.

It's exhausting because it doesn't work.

It's exhausting for you because it doesn't work.

We were never meant to have everybody revolve around us.

See, Christ as king means I don't have to be king of my own heart and I don't have to be king of the world.

I don't have to be king of my world.

I don't have to be the king of my own righteousness.

I don't have to be the king of my righteousness report.

I don't have to be the king of my own forgiveness.

I don't have to be the king of trying to get everything under control.

See, it's in our weakness and our lack of kingship that we find freedom.

This is the upside down kingdom that we receive when we finally surrender that we don't have to be a king.

Tim Keller says this about upside down kingdoms.

The pattern of the upside down kingdom, speaking about Christian faith, is a reversal of values with regard to the world.

In other words, Christians are no longer controlled by the things that the world thinks are so critical.

We're not controlled by power, success, comfort, or recognition.

Even you can't stand the world's values, even if you can't stand the world's values, you run away from them.

And you have no idea what to do with recognition.

You are still controlled by them.

You're scared of them.

It probably means that deep down you're intimidated by them or you still really want them.

But a person who is a Christian, who is living in the upside-down kingdom, isn't controlled by these things.

You don't need them, which means you don't want them.

They don't drive you, they don't control you.

You can take them or leave them.

That is the first mark of somebody who is living in the upside-down kingdom.

It's the pattern of your life.

So there's two gospel applications as Christ is king.

This is the implication of God's grace in our lives.

The first is this that Jesus calls us to embrace downward greatness.

So we don't have to constantly ask, how can I be noticed?

We can ask, how can I lovingly serve?

The second is this Jesus reorders what we value the most.

Success is no longer measured by worldly achievement, but by faithfulness and by loving others.

Jump back into Samuel, 2 Samuel 8:15.

2 Samuel 8:15

So David reigned over all Israel, and David administered justice and equity to all his people.

Point number two is this a rightly ordered kingdom reflects God's character.

As we discover God's heart for justice and equity and mercy, grace and truth and love, we begin to want that to come out of our lives.

We want that to be in our families and in our workplaces to have justice and equity and mercy and grace and truth and love.

Now in chapter 9, David does something interesting.

He remembers his good friend, his BFF Jonathan.

He remembers him.

And he thinks, I want to show some kindness to Jonathan's family.

And that's where we get 2 Samuel 9, verse 3, 6 and 7 and 13.

2 Samuel 9:3

And the king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul that I may show kindness of God to him?

Ziba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan.

He is crippled in his feet.

Verse 6, and Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage.

And David said, Mephibosheth.

And he answered, Behold, I am your servant.

And David said to him, Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.

And I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father, and you shall eat at my table always.

So David gives back to this guy and this guy's family all the land that Saul had.

A huge restoration.

Verse 13.

So Mephiboshith lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table.

Now he was lame in both his feet.

Interesting the story keeps mentioning he was lame.

He was like, hey, you gotta go keep going out of the way.

If I'm that guy, I'm like, yeah, focus on the land I just got.

But the point is clear.

God's grace is lavished on the undeserving and the powerless.

That's the point of the passage.

God's grace is coming toward the person who doesn't deserve it and is powerless, even crippled.

Verse 3, the word kindness is the Hebrew word Hasid, or we'd say chasid in Hebrew.

Hasid is perfectly loyal love that meets you where you are.

I love that word Hasid.

It shows up throughout the Old Testament.

This is the quote I always reflect back on when I think about this word.

Theologian John Oswalt says this.

Hasid speaks of a completely undeserved kindness and generosity done by a person who is in a position of power, right?

So David, when he showed kindness to this family member.

This was the Israelites' experience of God.

He revealed himself to them when they were not looking for him, and he kept his covenant with them long after their persistent breaking of it had destroyed any reason for his continued keeping of it.

Unlike humans, this deity was not fickle, undependable, self-serving and grasping.

Instead, he was faithful, true, upright, and generous always.

David's desire to show kindness to John and his family is a picture of God's desire to show Hasid to you.

Psalm 23, 6, surely goodness, that's the word Hasid, surely Hasid and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

So Hasid, loyal, perfect love to you, it follows you.

It is following you around, stalking you.

And God seeks to bless you with a faithful, steadfast love to you.

So the application here is to get God's attention, endearment, love, acceptance has nothing to do with your merit or your performance.

It has to do with you being powerless and your need and your willingness to receive.

In 2 Samuel chapter 10, David sends men to comfort this guy, Hanun.

2 Samuel 10 · chapter mention

Hanun is the new Ammonite king.

His dad dies, he becomes king, and David sends some guys to go comfort Hanun because his dad just died.

But Hanan's advisors suspect, hey, perhaps these servants of David are really spies.

And so they humiliate them.

They shave their beards, they cut their garments, they send the men back.

And then the Ammonites go and they hire a Syrian army to begin a battle to fight Israel.

So Joab, David's guy, he leads Israel into battle, a tough battle, with these people.

And before that, 2 Samuel 10, 12, he says this be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people and for the cities of our God.

And may the Lord do what seems good to him.

What a courageous statement.

You're going into battle, you may die, you don't know what's going to happen, you may win, you may lose.

Let's just be of good courage, and whatever happens, may the Lord do it.

Point number four is this our courage rests in God's goodness, more than certainty of outcomes.

Last fall I had a heart procedure.

I found that I had a hole in my heart.

Now we all knew that.

Apparently, we all knew it.

You know, it's like, man, there's something wrong with that guy.

He has a hole in his heart.

And it worked out well around the house because if I was impatient or I was a jerk, I would just say, Well, I do have a hole in my heart.

You know, it's like, sorry, like you can talk to the surgeon.

I have the MRI, I can show you pictures.

I have a hole in my heart.

This explains so much.

Well, the surgeon decided that he was going to patch the hole.

So I went in and I met with the Emery heart surgeon.

More of a procedure, not a surgery.

So I'm going to meet with the surgeon.

Very well educated, smart guy.

He's done tens of thousands of this procedure.

What am I looking for?

What am I looking for out of this guy?

Can I trust him?

That's it.

Can I trust him?

I don't need him to be my friend.

I don't need him to be funny.

I don't need, you know, I don't need a whole lot.

What I need is, can I trust him to get that done?

Because the day of the surgery, they laid me on a table, about 15 people were all gathered around.

I'm all wired up, I'm exposed, people have been touching me in places I don't want them to touch me.

Didn't know that was going to happen.

They don't tell you that beforehand.

And the doctor had told me they're going to go up through a vein in my leg all the way up and they're going to patch this hole.

So the doctor walks in, the surgeon walks in, he just nods at me.

He said, You ready?

And I said, Yes, sir.

And I go off to Fairyland and he does his thing.

And he had explained the procedure to me.

I didn't really understand it.

I mean, I understand like you're going through a thing to get up tomorrow.

I got that part, but once he was up in there, do his, I was like, I don't, but I trust you.

I trust you.

I did understand that he was good at what he does.

That's what I needed.

David and Joab did not know the outcome of the battles.

You don't know the outcome of your battles.

But they trusted God's Hasid that is promised to be following you.

And because of that, that's why they can say verse 12, be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people and for the cities of our God.

I mean, where do you get that kind of courage?

Well, you get it because you trust that God is with you.

Right?

And they say the last phrase, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.

Pastor and author John Piper, he defines and describes Christian courage as this Christian courage is the willingness to say and do the right thing regardless of the earthly cost, because God promises to help you and save you on account of Christ.

So our courage is rooted not in our merit and performance or strength.

Our courage is rooted in Jesus.

Now, of course, we know we should be courageous, but how do we do that?

How can we be courageous?

Where do we go?

Where do we get the fuel?

Well, John Piper in his article, Christian Courage, he goes on to give us eight sources of courage.

I want to give you these eight sources or read a verse, and then I added in a little trust application for us as a church.

The first source of courage from being forgiven and being righteous.

Proverbs 28:1, the wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Proverbs 28:1

Matthew 9, 2.

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, Take courage, son, your sins are forgiven.

So the trust application is this because Jesus has forgiven you and clothed you in his righteousness, you no longer need to prove yourself, but can walk freely, loved and secure in your calling.

Source number two, from trusting God and hoping in him.

It's a source of courage for us.

2 Corinthians 3.12, be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord.

That's Psalm 31, 24.

And the trust application is this true courage rests not in controlling outcomes, but in the Father's faithful goodness.

Source of courage, number three, from being filled with the Spirit, Acts 4, 31.

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

And the trust application is this we don't manufacture courage.

We live dependent on the Holy Spirit, who strengthens our weakness and makes Christ's power known to us.

Source number four.

Source of courage from God's promise to be with you.

Joshua 1.9.

Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and courageous, do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

So the trust application is our fears are quieted as we rest in the truth that God is not merely near, but covenantally he is with us every step.

He's promised it.

Source number five.

From knowing that the one with you is greater than the adversary.

2 Chronicles 32, 7 and 8.

Be strong and courageous, for the one with us is greater than the one with him.

With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.

So the trust application is this because Christ has defeated every power of darkness, we stand in his victory, facing every threat with confidence that he is greater.

Source number six, from being sure that God is sovereign over the battles.

Be strong and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of God, and may the Lord do what is good in his sight.

That was our passage.

And the application is this courage grows as we trust King Jesus ruling over every detail.

That he knows our cares and anxieties, and he's with us.

He's in them.

He's working all things to what is good and glorious.

Source number seven, through prayer, Ephesians 6.

19 and 20 is one reference.

We'll read Psalm 138, 3.

On the day I called, you answered me.

You made me bold with strength in my soul.

And the trust application is that prayer is the breath of the believer.

It's our breath, bringing every fear to the Father and receiving grace for our lives.

And that courage, it comes into our very soul, not just our behaviors, but it's from the inside out.

Last one, source number eight, from the example of others.

Philippians 1, 14.

Most of the brethren, most of the brethren trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

So one group of peer one group of people were increasing in courage because of watching somebody else's courage.

Trust application is this.

God strengthens courage in us as we see others endure suffering through God's grace.

That's why fellowship is important.

That's why church is important.

We refine each other and we actually can increase courage in each other.

Now, those are amazing sources of courage.

I hope you tap into them.

They'd be great for us as we go through different seasons that are difficult.

There are no problems with any of those sources of courage.

But there is one major problem, and it's me.

I'm the problem, and you're the problem.

Because you are not always courageous.

You're not always kind.

We will fall short.

But remember the good news.

The gospel good news here is that there is a king behind the king.

Jesus is our king of forgiveness, Jesus is our king of righteousness.

Jesus is all the kindness that we need that we fall short of.

Jesus is all the courage that we need that we fall short of.

And on the cross, all of our lacking or failure, our mess-ups, or sin is put upon Jesus.

And King Jesus' righteousness is put upon us.

So you and I are beloved sons and daughters, not because of our record of courage or our record of kindness, but because we have a king.

So we turn our eyes to King Jesus.

If you have any questions about this sermon or would need prayer for anything, I'll be down front afterward.

Love to pray with you.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, we're so grateful that we are not left on our own to reign and rule over our kingdoms.

Forgive us for thinking that we do.

Help us to tap into all these sources of courage that we may be emboldened in our souls to walk with you, to do what's right, and for all the ways we fall short, we continue to rest in the full sufficiency of Jesus for all the righteousness we need and all the forgiveness we need.

That He is enough.

King Jesus is enough.

Thank you.

That there is a King behind the King.

Thank you, King Jesus.

In His name we pray.

Amen.