Sermon

1 Samuel 25 (Part 1) Bible Study - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  1. First Samuel chapter 25. Let's meet there together.

    1 Samuel 25 chapter mention

  2. Now before we begin reading, scan through the chapter, it

  3. looks like a pretty lengthy. One does not.

  4. So you know what that means. We are not going to be covering

  5. all of this and this night, but we are going to take our time,

  6. and we are going to cover a good portion of it nonetheless.

  7. I would like for us to actually pray one more time just before

  8. we explore these verses. Lord, we thank you for Gathering

  9. Us in this place. We ask that you would bless this

  10. time of study as we as a family come before your word.

  11. Lord, we ask that you would touch our hearts arrest everyone

  12. during thought Lord calm. Our emotions.

  13. Help us receive the food that you have prepared for us at your

  14. table, where we pray that you would assist us in the

  15. communication of your word and the understanding of your word

  16. and more importantly, in the application of these truths in

  17. our lives. Just as a result of this study

  18. tonight, father, have your way in us and through us for the

  19. glory of your son's name. We ask these things in his name.

  20. The living name, they're the reigning name.

  21. And the name that every knee will bow to.

  22. At the end of it. All in Jesus name we pray.

  23. Amen. Our Study last last week.

  24. Concluded with a surprising encounter between David and

  25. King, Saul these two, men after a long while have finally met.

  26. And in that scene, we saw a stirring, a stirring moment

  27. where this King was obviously shook with conviction and

  28. displayed, a visible Brokenness and even confessed, his sin out

  29. loud and admitted that he was evil in comparison to.

  30. Righteousness, displayed through David.

  31. And when I when I read that and when you read that, when we

  32. learned what we saw there, we saw a man.

  33. And David handled this confrontation, which such Grace

  34. With such wisdom in a way that made him look like a bigger

  35. giant than Goliath. This man towered over the

  36. sinfulness of another with compassion with respect with

  37. honor and with love and as Saul stood in the shadow of a man's

  38. righteousness. We believe that he actually even

  39. repented. Because at the end there, the

  40. last verse of the previous chapter, he chooses to go back

  41. home. And it seems like this Manhunt

  42. is put to a halt for good and it begs.

  43. The question as we concluded the last chapter, is this done.

  44. Now, is this finally over? That's all finally surrender.

  45. The future of the Kingdom to God, Sovereign selection.

  46. And to us who are not familiar with the larger story, if we're

  47. just following as we go and learning as we go we might

  48. think. Yeah, it looks like it

  49. especially as we come to this chapter because as we read

  50. through chapter 25, you and I are not going to see a struggle

  51. between David and Saul. We're going to see David facing

  52. a new challenge. We're going to see David.

  53. Being confronted by another enemy and we would think that

  54. once this enemy and saw was put away that it would be just a

  55. wonderful Journey to the throne but oh no another one rears its

  56. ugly head and harasses this man of God.

  57. But before we come to this never-before-seen character and

  58. the different players in this chapter that will shape David's

  59. future you. And I are now reintroduced to

  60. somebody that we studied Since the beginning of this book, but

  61. we haven't seen for a long time and it's in verse 1.

  62. Now, Samuel died and all Israel assembled and mourn for him and

  63. they buried him in his house, a trauma.

  64. This story, this exhilarating Journey to the throne was

  65. abruptly. Interrupted by the sudden news

  66. of Samuels death. It was unforeseen.

  67. The last thing that we really saw of Samuel was that he was

  68. old in age, David fled to him for some relief.

  69. After Saul began his Conquest against him.

  70. And then now, this Prophet who the nation says, you're getting

  71. old. And they use as an excuse to get

  72. a king for. Their people has finally

  73. departed from this world and entered into the next.

  74. Now, think about this in light of David's life, Samuel Shirley

  75. was close to David, he played a supporting role.

  76. I mean, he was there from the beginning of this whole story

  77. concerning his Anointing and his calling, he was even a source of

  78. relief and strength. Because when, when Saul came to

  79. attack him initially, he flees first to Samuel and he explains

  80. everything, and I'm sure samyaza man of God.

  81. Just instructed him and encourage them, and rehearse,

  82. the promises of God over him. But now this this man is gone.

  83. This man is gone out of pivotal time in Israel's history and we

  84. can imagine what this made David feel like and if he's not

  85. Watchful. He could he can end up in panic.

  86. He can end up now. Almost realizing, what else am I

  87. going to do? Who else here is for me?

  88. And we would hope and said that, he would be more reliant on the

  89. one who never dies. Who can't die and the one who

  90. never sleeps for that matter. And we should be encouraged

  91. that. We don't know what swirling and

  92. David's mind. Then in the second part of verse

  93. 1 we see us a certain posture. That is encouraging, then David

  94. Rose and went down to the Wilderness of Paran then David

  95. Rose. That's that's that's a good

  96. thing. David was able to get up and

  97. David was able to move on Because no matter what this did

  98. to his heart, no matter what kind of discouragement as

  99. inconvenient of samuells death might have been this man knew, I

  100. still have a Ministry to fulfill, I still have a purpose

  101. to accomplish. God still has a purpose for me.

  102. I still have my life to glorify him and what a wonderful

  103. illustration of how to deal with unexpected sorrow in our lives.

  104. Because the sorrow that we experience in life, whether it's

  105. the grief intentionally caused by other people, because they

  106. are sinful, just like you. And I, and if we're not

  107. restrained, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we were capable of

  108. such great evil. Even to the closest ones to us,

  109. whether it's the intentional pain caused by others or it is

  110. the, the grief that we experience because of the

  111. consequences of sin in the world IE death, none of that should

  112. ever ever determine our devotion to the It should not influence

  113. our steadfast this, to God. Our love to him, our service to

  114. him. Should never be altered.

  115. Even though our life might receive a shock that would alter

  116. the direction of it. It's amazing.

  117. How sorrow can determine our spiritual disciplines.

  118. It's amazing how we can be influenced by the emotional pain

  119. of a loss. Or of disappointment, I brought

  120. this up, many many, many months ago, but let me bring it fresh

  121. to our memories. Do you know why?

  122. Peter, and the two others fell asleep in the garden?

  123. While Jesus was sweating blood, praying to the father people say

  124. because it was late at night. No, Luke tells us that their

  125. eyes were heavy because of what Who knows?

  126. So yeah. If you know sorrow.

  127. Sorrow. It was the what they heard in

  128. John 13 to John 16, all the things about Jesus departing and

  129. all these things. I just mess with their minds.

  130. They didn't understand how it all fit with him being the

  131. Messiah and the sorrow of that crippled them.

  132. And it caused them not to pray and not to be ready to withstand

  133. The Temptations. That would come through the

  134. Betrayal of Jesus Christ. You and I have to be extremely

  135. careful of how we manage the things in life that disappoint

  136. us or grieve us. This man was able to get up and

  137. move forward and he did just that, but it's worth also

  138. mentioning not just the response of David, but the reaction of

  139. the nation. What do we read here in verse 1

  140. and all Israel assembled and mourn.

  141. For this is not an ordinary funeral.

  142. This was like a Statewide event everybody from around the

  143. country. Came to pay homage to this man.

  144. And, and what's disappointing about this verse as much as it

  145. looks honorable and respectful, what's this?

  146. Urging is the fact that the same people that are showing such

  147. respect in his death, were the same people that were very slow

  148. to honor this man's counsel and instruction during his ministry.

  149. I mean when he try to restrain them from asking for a King when

  150. he warned and they could care less the apostasy that this

  151. respect and I think it speaks of a pattern among the people of

  152. God, the people of God have this weird habit, Of showing respect

  153. to Servants of God, when it's too late.

  154. You know, there are many people today that right about these men

  155. of God that have shook history and have influence the

  156. advancement of the gospel. And I believe, when these people

  157. talk about these men and write about these men and have

  158. conferences about these men, these performers and all these

  159. other people. Here's what I believe.

  160. Most of these men that would applaud them.

  161. Now, probably would have criticized them in their

  162. lifetime. And Jesus pointed out that same

  163. hypocrisy with the Pharisees because they were persecuting

  164. him. But at the same time, there were

  165. adorning the, the tombs of the prophets of old.

  166. These are you kidding me? You you just you're not

  167. understanding this. It's a very sad picture that we

  168. see here but I think on a practical note when I read

  169. something like this in light of how they're inconsistent, if you

  170. look at it on a personal level, I think how we can apply it as

  171. this that we should not hesitate to show our appreciation to

  172. those who have been a blessing to us in Christ and we should

  173. not be slow to show that sense of honor and love to those who

  174. Advance the kingdom of God. Who have contributed to our

  175. nourishment spiritually? Let me put it this way.

  176. Expressing honor shouldn't be a practice, only at funerals.

  177. We should be those who know how to respect and love and

  178. appreciate those who are blessing while it counts.

  179. And I think we see something here that is true of people

  180. today. David Rose.

  181. But look at verse 2 and there was a man and my own whose

  182. business was in Carmel. The man was very rich, he had

  183. 3,000 sheep and a thousand goats, he was shearing his

  184. sheep. And caramel.

  185. Now, the name of the man was nabal and the name of his wife,

  186. Abigail the woman was Discerning and beautiful but the man was

  187. harsh and badly, behaved he was a kilobyte We are now introduced

  188. to this man. This man that David is going to

  189. be challenged by and the Lord found it necessary to provide a

  190. certain details about him and it would do us some good to pause

  191. and reflect how these things can be.

  192. Applied, these specific insights about this man that ball So,

  193. look at those two verses and tell me some things that stand

  194. out to you concerning him. Okay, very good.

  195. So we see here that he was a descendant of Caleb and we're

  196. going to get to that in a moment.

  197. That's an important highlight clearly.

  198. The Bible mentions, it for a reason.

  199. He's a descendant of that, great hero of Israel.

  200. Caleb will get to that. Any other observations about

  201. this man? He's rich.

  202. Not just Rich very rich. Anything else?

  203. Very good observation. Abigail doesn't seem to reflect

  204. the same attitude and character as her husband.

  205. And I think that's sufficient observations for us to consider

  206. first. The man was not just Rich very,

  207. very wealthy and riches. And abundance are not a bad

  208. thing in itself, but the purpose of this being brought up is that

  209. we should compare and contrast, what he owned to the lack that

  210. is found in his character. Because what do we told here?

  211. He was harsh and badly behaved and there are many people today

  212. as you know, who are rich and possessions, but are spiritually

  213. bankrupt at the same time, their identity orbits around what they

  214. have the experiences that they can purchase.

  215. And yet at the same time, they are poor toward God.

  216. Everything about their existence resolves and revolves around

  217. what they can touch and feel. And what what Produces in terms

  218. of surface level enjoyment and that's a sad thing.

  219. Let me tell you this a person like Mabel is a miserable

  220. person. I don't care what he's or

  221. pleasure, they have access to what good is it to have an

  222. abundance of resources while your soul rots?

  223. And I would say the same two fathers who Focus so much on

  224. their business. While their children are being

  225. neglected, and they become Wayward, and Rebellion

  226. rebellious, and sinful and all these things.

  227. We put so much attention on what we can have and what we can do

  228. while so much that really matters around us dies and

  229. Withers away. This man did not have the

  230. character of his ancestor, Caleb that we're going to look at in a

  231. moment. He was a Kayla B, who is Caleb?

  232. Give me a summary of who Caleb is.

  233. How does he stand out in history and Israel's history?

  234. Very good. He was one of the twelve.

  235. But he's in a very, very important.

  236. One of the twelve, he is one of not just 12, but the to who's

  237. the other man, very good who brought a positive report, had a

  238. faithful outlook on, Conquering the promised land.

  239. And so this man Caleb was a champion and Faith.

  240. He demonstrated, and he stood out from the nation concerning

  241. trusting, God and Holiness and holy following the Lord.

  242. And what's interesting? Is that the Holy Spirit goes out

  243. of his way to tell us that nabal had this kind of Heritage, this

  244. is who he was connected to. And yet enabled chose to stand

  245. out in a different way. He chose to stand out as one who

  246. was a fool Who is a fool who did not walk in the ways of the

  247. example of his own family line, which is a sad thing, which is a

  248. reminder that parents as much as we have great promises.

  249. That if we apply the principles of God's word to our children,

  250. they still have a decision to make on their own.

  251. Mother and father, you are not their savior, you evangelize

  252. your children and you leave the saving work to Jesus Christ.

  253. The descendants of our own will have to make their own decision

  254. to follow Christ or not. And unfortunately, this man down

  255. the line, chose to love money over the god of Israel, but

  256. there's another reason why Caleb is mentioned from which tribe is

  257. Caleb from? That's Joshua.

  258. Caleb is from a different tribe. Good.

  259. Caleb, according to numbers, 13, is from the tribe of Judah.

  260. Why is that important in light of David's story?

  261. Where is David from? Very good.

  262. And so we expect, by reading this up to this point that,

  263. because in the balls from the same tribe is from the closest

  264. Kindred to David that he's going to treat him in a favorable way

  265. that he's going to come to his support.

  266. That their relationship is going to be built.

  267. But in fact, quite the opposite is actually going to happen.

  268. Which is a prophetic picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, that his

  269. very own despise them and treated him as though he was an

  270. enemy as David approaches the scene just as Christ came to his

  271. own. We are going to see Despicable

  272. response and reaction to this faithful man as it was toward

  273. Christ himself. Lastly, the detail every detail

  274. that was brought up is exactly what we want to touch on.

  275. We're told about something else concerning table, and it's not

  276. about him directly, but about his wife and we would think that

  277. Abigail her, to be this man's wife would reflect the kind of

  278. the same character. But to our surprise, we are

  279. actually told that she is beautiful and appearance and she

  280. is Discerning or she has good understanding.

  281. There are few times in the Bible that the biblical writers, go

  282. out of the way to speak about both men and women.

  283. But mainly women about their appearance and calling them

  284. beautiful. Could you name some Sarah.

  285. Yes, told she was beautiful. She was beautiful in her in her

  286. 70s 80s, and 90s. I mean, Abraham was worried that

  287. even in that point of her life, men would kill him to take her.

  288. Imagine how she looked Sarah. Anything else, Rachel?

  289. Yes. Tamar Bathsheba very good.

  290. Yes. Yeah, sure.

  291. I mean will not specifically told me he had a thousand so I'm

  292. sure one of them look good. The daughters of job, Esther.

  293. And when you look at these mentions of how they're called

  294. Beautiful there, either, we're either told that they were

  295. beautiful, very beautiful or beautiful and form and an

  296. appearance. This is where Abigail stands

  297. out. There is a unique combination

  298. concerning her and it's that she was not just beautiful but that

  299. she had discernment. You won't find that combination

  300. unless, you know, of someone that I don't, you won't find

  301. that combination given to a woman.

  302. Apart from this one. And that's a wonderful thing

  303. because it speaks about an inner beauty and an outer beauty.

  304. She had both and that's, that's a great thing.

  305. Because oftentimes when somebody knows that they are beautiful or

  306. handsome, the Temptation there is that they neglect allowing

  307. the Holy Spirit to Chisel. The inner Inner Man to reflect

  308. Christ. They see the advantages that

  309. they can have just from their appearance and and they get

  310. caught up in that and that becomes pride and all this other

  311. mess. But this woman was the opposite.

  312. She realized that there was a need if not more of a need to

  313. focus on the Judy that is inward than outward.

  314. And I think that's very, very important to consider because I

  315. would not encourage you to neglect your outward appearance.

  316. I wouldn't but I would encourage you at the same time that if

  317. you're going to put your energy anywhere else, more than that,

  318. it should be. The thing that is hidden and

  319. it's not very hidden actually. Because I want to tell you this,

  320. that inner beauty can either Adorn your attractiveness or it

  321. can Eclipse it It can. And there is something about the

  322. character, the inner person because this all fades gravity

  323. will have its way, the curse of death will have its way, every

  324. one of us are dying. We're all decaying.

  325. It's going to come to a point where you're not going to look

  326. unless you're someone like Sarah, you're not you're not

  327. going to look like you did in your 20s and 30s but there's

  328. something that outshines all of that and it's the inner person,

  329. it's the hidden part of Who We Are.

  330. And outward countenance doesn't offer much in a relationship

  331. when there's trials and tests and Temptation.

  332. In fact, very beautiful people become very ugly in the wrong

  333. circumstances. But very people that might not

  334. have the most likes and the most shares on their pictures can

  335. become gorgeous. When that inner person shines

  336. because I'm telling you talk to anybody, long enough who has a

  337. conviction of the word of God and who's in a relationship in a

  338. long-term marriage. They'll tell you, what really

  339. matters when you enter into a relationship, I'm not dismissing

  340. being attracted. You should be God wired as that

  341. way, but I love how the fact that the Bible highlights that

  342. there is an inner and an outer beauty.

  343. Here, there is character. Not just countenance.

  344. Begs the question, doesn't it? How does a gal, like, Abigail be

  345. married to a belligerent fool? Like Mabel.

  346. The Bible isn't clear, so we can't have a dogmatic answer to

  347. it. And some would say that she she

  348. was forced into it. It was an arranged marriage.

  349. So she just had to live with this man apart from her choice.

  350. And she she stood her ground and she remain as a God-fearing

  351. woman. Some would say that she's

  352. Discerning now. But maybe in times past she was

  353. foolish. He entered into the wrong

  354. relationship and that understanding developed over

  355. time. That could be true as well.

  356. Regardless of what it is you and I should look at this as an

  357. illustration as a lesson. In a day in which you have the

  358. choice to say, yes or no, to a potential spouse in.

  359. Here's, here's what we should learn from it.

  360. That we should be extremely mindful of the qualities that

  361. would attract us in a person. Because whatever qualities

  362. attract us to a person. Those same qualities will

  363. attract certain realities in our lives.

  364. That makes sense, whatever, whatever draws me to a person,

  365. those same things will draw certain realities into my life.

  366. so some would say that Abigail did have a choice, And she chose

  367. to marry this man in order to have a secure future, she made a

  368. good choice. The guy was filthy rich.

  369. He got 3,000 sheep a thousand goats.

  370. I don't know what that means to you now, but back then I meant a

  371. lot. This wasn't just a safe life.

  372. This was an access to a luxurious life.

  373. And some would say I'm willing to put up with navels, rude,

  374. attitude, and his insensitivity to the things of God, because

  375. I'm safer with a man like this. And that would be a wrong

  376. assessment. That would be a wrong reason to

  377. be wedded to somebody because as much as the comfort that this

  378. man had to offer to his wife and two others.

  379. Look, what else was invited into Abigail's life as you come to

  380. verse 17. This is after David is fed up

  381. with Nepal. And one of the house servants

  382. comes to Abigail to warn of the imminent, threat that David and

  383. his men caused verse 17. Now therefore, this is the man

  384. speaking to Abigail now therefore know this and consider

  385. what you should do. For harm is determined against

  386. our master and against all his house and he is such a worthless

  387. man, that no one can speak to him.

  388. You see that? And against all his house, no

  389. matter what kind of comfort, or Leisure, this man, could offer

  390. because of his wealth with all those riches, he also invited

  391. danger to him. And to the ones that he loved,

  392. because he lacked the characteristics.

  393. That was found in his ancestor. Caleb for example and I want to

  394. tell you today that you have many Believers that are making

  395. decisions to be partnered with the wrong persons.

  396. They ignore the warnings of the scripture.

  397. They are, they're moved by the passions of their flesh.

  398. They prioritize with the Bible says not to prioritize to look

  399. for in a spouse and because of that, they invite harm into

  400. their future home, more than good.

  401. And those threats are not immediately recognized because

  402. we think that we possess a greater wisdom than God, we

  403. enter into something for life. And you find yourselves in

  404. situations that could have been avoided.

  405. If you just trust what God said to look for in person that you

  406. would link with forever and ever speaking to many young people in

  407. here who are praying and waiting and getting to know other

  408. people, make sure they fit the criteria of what a man or a

  409. woman of God is, they may not be perfect.

  410. I'm not saying you have to look for somebody who who is

  411. absolutely Immaculate. What I am saying is we're is

  412. their heart, do they fear God? Do they love God, that they

  413. submit to the word of God? I d.

  414. So what happens here is inverse for after?

  415. We're told of a description, concerning this man, David heard

  416. in the wilderness that Nepal was shearing his sheep.

  417. So David sent tongue 10 young men, And David said to the young

  418. men, go off to caramel and go to Nepal and greet him in my name

  419. and thus, you shall greet him. Peace.

  420. Be to you and peace, be to your house and peace, be to all that

  421. you have. I hear that.

  422. You have shears. Now your Shepherds have been

  423. with us and we did them no harm and they miss nothing all the

  424. time. They were in Carmel, ask your

  425. young men and they will tell you, therefore, let my young men

  426. find favor in your eyes for we come on a feast day, please give

  427. whatever you. Have at hand to your servants

  428. and to your son. David, here's what's happening.

  429. It's obvious that David performs some kind of service for Nepal.

  430. And so he sends his Messengers to go to this affluent,

  431. businessman to ask for some kind of compensation, because it was

  432. very common in this time that those who had flocks and crops

  433. would be rated against by, neighboring Nations and people

  434. groups. And because there's a lack of

  435. protection, they would ransack them and they would strip them

  436. to the Bone. And so, what David does as he is

  437. traveling through the Wilderness, he sees this man who

  438. had thousands of animals and he chose with his men to become a

  439. wall to protect and essentially, they are putting their life at

  440. risk for this stranger. And so, when it came to the time

  441. for these sheep to be sheared, David asks, for some assistance,

  442. he asked for some compensation, for his service from the bomb.

  443. Now I would kind of seem odd for David to do this because there

  444. was no prior agreement between Him and the ball to do this is

  445. so it seems a little awkward. You're kind of asking for

  446. something that was not even asked of you to begin with.

  447. But I think we can we can we can understand it this way.

  448. Remember David? And his men were fugitives and

  449. they were looking for anybody to help alleviate their suffering

  450. at this time. And so he approaches this man

  451. who was from his tribe and he asked for help but instead of

  452. being like a mooching beggar, he first helps him and he says

  453. look, we need some, we need some help, whatever you have to give

  454. to us. But I want to tell you, we're

  455. not just here to beg from you for no reason.

  456. We actually helped you, we protected your animals, we

  457. protected your property. Can you find it in your heart?

  458. To help me and my men? So that seems fine that seems

  459. reasonable. That seems like a very, very

  460. reasonable thing to ask for. But what's also important verse

  461. 4 is that he comes at the time when there is shearing sheep.

  462. Look, there's no accident with that.

  463. David is a very sensitive person as a shepherd.

  464. He knows that the time of the, the shearing of the sheep was

  465. like the Harvest Time for the crops.

  466. It was a time when you gathered things in, it was a time when

  467. you not only celebrated what God provided for you, but in that

  468. celebration, you would actually even be more generous, you would

  469. give things out to others. And so, David came at a very

  470. Important time, you didn't come at a time, that would have been

  471. strenuous. It would have been awkward, it

  472. would have been inconvenient from the ball.

  473. He came at the time would have been most easiest from about to

  474. be a generous individual, that makes sense so far, okay?

  475. What's the point? That we just read 3445 versus

  476. how does this script? How is that relevant to my life?

  477. And we would say it has historical value, has a

  478. beautiful sequence to the story, but again, I want to read and I

  479. want to say Lord, why are you why are you telling me all these

  480. details? You could have skipped through

  481. all of that. Just gone straight to the point.

  482. And I believe in part, one of the reasons is because we see

  483. here an illustrative example of the wisdom that we should

  484. possess as Christians in life. Christianity is a very practical

  485. thing. God is interested in influencing

  486. every part of our Lives, even the interactions that we have in

  487. society. If you don't believe that, if

  488. you think some spirituality, some Mystic thing that's

  489. irrelevant to what you would call secular life, then you're

  490. in trouble. But I look at this and I see, I

  491. see a man here who was very mindful of another and who

  492. approached him in a very wise way.

  493. Because as Christians, Listen as Christians, you and I are

  494. ambassadors of Jesus Christ and we are called to act and

  495. interact. A way that would make our

  496. testimony all the more attractive and more receptive.

  497. Many people who hunger for Spiritual things, limit that to

  498. their study of the Bible, for some exhilarating connections

  499. between versus, oh, this is breathtaking.

  500. How you put these things together, or they spend a time

  501. trying to demystify hard to understand doctrines and my

  502. question is that's wonderful. But are you asking how this

  503. influences my Living. Because if you're not, then

  504. doesn't matter how much you've discovered.

  505. It's not going to prove fruitful in your life.

  506. Let me say this and I don't mean to be, I don't mean to be harsh.

  507. When I say it is true that many people lack simple, social

  508. skills, it's true and they don't see how this this book should

  509. impress and mold and shape your character and your conversation

  510. and your reactions. That's what God is interested in

  511. doing. He wants to mold us in a certain

  512. way. And even one of the the reasons

  513. why God has given us his word among the many reasons.

  514. Yes, for salvation. Yes to know, God.

  515. Yes. To all these great things that

  516. are vertical. Here's one verse that made an

  517. impression on me in Psalm 19:7. You don't have to turn.

    Psalms 19:7

  518. There says that the testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the

  519. simple Making wise the simple. What's a simple person because

  520. somebody tell me what is simple or who simple person is?

  521. A simple person isn't like a person who's minimalistic,

  522. that's not simple. Okay.

  523. A simple person is a naive person.

  524. A simple person is a person who likes his judgment, who lacks

  525. experience, who lacks knowing what to do in certain

  526. situations, a simple person is a gullible person.

  527. They believe everything that they here.

  528. It's a person that doesn't understand the surroundings and

  529. so they are unfiltered with their words and their actions in

  530. a way that makes others look unfavorably on them.

  531. Being simple is not a good thing and the Bible proust us that God

  532. wants to Deliver Us from that. Immaturity for the sake of what

  533. our testimony, our testimony. And you know, the main method in

  534. which a person is saved from being a simple minded person.

  535. The word of God. The word of God.

  536. There is an impression, There's A discipleship that happens not

  537. just by didactic literature do this, don't do this.

  538. But even through examples in this like this, look at, look at

  539. the way this man carries himself and conducts himself, and then

  540. you filter that appropriately and there should be some

  541. practical impression that is made from the word of God.

  542. And if we're not careful in doing that, we can actually do

  543. harm to our testimony. Now I've been told this over the

  544. years, periodically, I don't know if it's true.

  545. I hope it's not true. I really hope it's not true

  546. because when I heard it I got Angry.

  547. When I first heard it then I was told a second time and a third

  548. time and I said, is this really a thing and maybe I got to do

  549. some research on it. I was told once that the most

  550. dreaded day of the week, For waiters and waitresses at

  551. restaurants, guess what day it is.

  552. Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon.

  553. Why? Because you have hordes of

  554. cranky Christians, who didn't eat breakfast that morning, who

  555. sat in a to our service storm into places and they make rude

  556. demands. And then they only leave that

  557. place with a mess and little tip.

  558. And I was told that waiter, they just they clench their teeth.

  559. Because these churchgoers come in and they and I'll look, I'll

  560. be honest, I've been over the years, I've been in some

  561. settings where I saw that for myself so that's why when I

  562. heard him like that might be true.

  563. If that is true, what kind of testimony are we leaving to the

  564. world? You see what I'm saying?

  565. Like, we got to get really practical here and not just

  566. limit our spirituality to how much Bible you acquire.

  567. Like interactions with people like if, when I heard that I

  568. said Sunday afternoon should be the most look for today for

  569. waiters and waitresses. Because Believers coming to come

  570. up with an attitude, they come in with a Spirit-filled

  571. Radiance, that's what it should be.

  572. And when I heard that I was like, that is so disappointing.

  573. That is so discouraging. And David here, why I bring this

  574. up is showing that kind of sensitivity.

  575. He knows the timing of went when to come.

  576. He knows how to articulate himself, he knows how to make a

  577. request without being a burden. Do you see this?

  578. I hope this makes sense. I know it's not like deep

  579. theology. Wow, you've but who cares about

  580. that if people hate us on Sunday afternoon, do you see what I'm

  581. saying? This man to some degree at this

  582. time. She causes be like, look at the

  583. way he's speaking. Look at the way he is

  584. approaching. And we should look that

  585. throughout the especially your lord and savior.

  586. When you read, Jesus, do you see how he interacts with people?

  587. Or are you just trying to memorize the?

  588. I am statements of him being the bread of life in the light of

  589. the world. And that's great too.

  590. We should know that as well. But look at the example, he

  591. said, follow me, follow me. And I look at the Lord and I see

  592. the recorded things in there that the holy spirit that is

  593. necessary and sufficient for my development, my godliness.

  594. And I look at my savior and I say, look at look how the Lord

  595. spoke to his brothers, look how the Lord spoke to his enemies.

  596. Look at the Lord, spoke about money.

  597. Look how the Lord spoke I want to, I want to follow him.

  598. It's very rare in Bible study say today we want to figure out

  599. the mysteries of sovereignty and Free Will and that's great.

  600. But God is extremely practical. But as much as we want to look

  601. at practicality, we should look at the prophetic elements of

  602. things. Now you you heard verse 4 and

  603. verse 8 is there any kind of Illustration concerning David's

  604. future, son? The Son of God himself when I

  605. read that, I look at this and I see something of prophetic.

  606. Prophetic implication. The David initiate, the good or

  607. the the ball, and him come to an agreement.

  608. First Now he initiated the good and what I see here is that

  609. Jesus did the same. Christ did not wait for us to

  610. ask him to help us Christ. Did not wait for us to beg him

  611. or to make it Christ moved in and Christ made away while we

  612. were yet enemies. While we were steeped in our

  613. sin, while we were lost in our Darkness, Christ came.

  614. And his perfect love and is perfect wisdom.

  615. He died. And he provided a way to invite

  616. us to know his goodness and to know his salvation and you know,

  617. what Christ does now he sends Messengers like David did Of

  618. what he had done. Especially to those who are

  619. unaware, like Nepal was unaware of what David had done for him.

  620. To those unreached people groups.

  621. Do we send out people to say, do you know what Jesus did for you

  622. and upon Christ initial advancement of his love and his

  623. kindness. Does he then make claim Upon Our

  624. Lives? He invites us into a

  625. relationship with him, just like David.

  626. I did this for you. Now, this is what I ask of you.

  627. I died on the cross and I made a way.

  628. Now you must repent and believe. And so I see your wonderful

  629. little snippet of a gospel truth.

  630. He first loved us before we loved him or anybody else.

  631. He first loved us, David first made the move, David sent

  632. Messengers to the bow who was unaware of what David had done

  633. and it was up to the ball to make a response and what he was

  634. going to do based on this great kindness.

  635. So what does he do? Look at verse 9.

  636. When David's young men came, they said all this than the ball

  637. and the name of David and they waited and the ball answered

  638. David's servants. Who is David?

  639. Who is this son of Jesse? There are many servants these

  640. days who are breaking away from their masters, shall I take my

  641. bread and my water and my meat that I've killed for my shears

  642. and give it to Men Who come from.

  643. I don't know where Wonderful. We read here.

  644. So David's young men turned and came back and told him all this.

  645. This is concerning. This is disturbing because how

  646. the ball response to all of this.

  647. Is very familiar to a man that we thought David dealt with once

  648. and for. All right.

  649. First, he pretends, that he doesn't know who he is.

  650. Who is David? Then he goes on to say, who is

  651. this son of Jesse? So clearly, you know, who the

  652. guy is, Who is David? Who is this?

  653. Son of Jesse sounds familiar. Yeah, that was salt.

  654. Favorite way of referring to his enemy as son of Jesse.

  655. And I look at this and it's quite humorous because we

  656. thought that, even though the presence of saw was dealt with

  657. and was not an immediate threat, the spirit of Salah is alive and

  658. well, here gonna go very far without the same attitude facing

  659. you on David. Who is this?

  660. Son of Jesse? And the ball goes further than

  661. that. It doesn't just degrade his

  662. lineage and his humble beginnings.

  663. He goes on to even say there are many servants breaking away from

  664. their masters. What does that sound like?

  665. The guys are Rebel. The guys causing trouble for his

  666. boss guys running around. So he's even aware of the the

  667. conflict between Saul and David and he puts all the blame on

  668. David when David showed unusual loyalty to an undeserving

  669. Master. This is what we would call

  670. slander. Look at this kid running around

  671. and causing trouble breaking away from his master.

  672. We should be staying faithful to him.

  673. If you only knew what he did for his master.

  674. And so he's just heaping insult upon insult upon insult and it

  675. reflects again, the attitude of those concerning Jesus Christ.

  676. Then all the good that he had done for them.

  677. While walking this Earth they say they were still able to

  678. accuse him, spit on him ridicule, him tarnish him.

  679. If you think that's bad, it gets worse.

  680. Look at verse 11, shall I take my bread and my water and my

  681. meat that I have killed for my shears and give it to The Men

  682. Who come from. I don't know where this looks

  683. like just more disrespect but it's more serious than that.

  684. It's actually more severe than that.

  685. Actually, it's wrath provoking concerning God because although

  686. this seems like just being disrespectful to an undeserving

  687. person, he's actually breaking two Commandments coded in the

  688. law. And the Bible is actually

  689. breaking God's word directly. By doing what he's doing here.

  690. Is anybody familiar? I'll give you a hint.

  691. Both of the laws are found in the book of Deuteronomy.

  692. They don't, they're not part of the Ten Commandments.

  693. Does anybody know what in the ball do is doing here?

  694. Violating, which scriptures. Cal show you one, go to

  695. Deuteronomy chapter 8. This is why we need to know the

    Deuteronomy 8 chapter mention

  696. law of God as we read narratives because it connects and it will

  697. show the severity of this man sinned.

  698. In this chapter, this whole chapter, if you remember in

  699. Deuteronomy this whole chapter is dedicated to instructing the

  700. people of God. To never forget the Lord

  701. especially in their prosperity as they prepared to go into the

  702. land of promise. God call them.

  703. Don't You Dare Forget Me the source of your wealth.

  704. The reason for your Prosperity Don't You?

  705. Dare Forget Me and I think this is very applicable to Christians

  706. in the west were very ambitious for promotion in life.

  707. Look what he says here in verse 17, beware lest you say in your

  708. heart, my power, and the might of my hand have gotten me this

  709. wealth, you shall remember the Lord your God for it.

  710. Is he who gives you power to get wealth that he may confirm his

  711. Covenant that he swore to your father's as it is this day.

  712. Now go back to what he has said. And 1st Samuel 25, what

  713. reoccurring little word appears over and over again. and in

  714. verse 11, what's the word my My bread, my water, my meet, my

  715. shears. And this man goes in direct

  716. contradiction to what the Lord warned his own people about when

  717. they would become prosperous in the land of promise.

  718. Don't say my don't do that. Don't you dare do that.

  719. Because look, he doesn't just say, I am the reason why you

  720. have your wife, he goes. I'm the reason why you have the

  721. power to get your wealth, even the energy to wake up early in

  722. the mind to think about the strategies and the deals that

  723. you make, that comes from me. And when you fail to acknowledge

  724. me, give thanks to me. Walk with me in your success,

  725. you are robbing me of my glory. And that is no small offense in

  726. the eyes of God. My my my Where's God?

  727. I couldn't help, but compare this to Jacobs reaction after he

  728. become very fruitful and his possessions and in his

  729. offspring, he's about to face, Esau, he doesn't know what to

  730. expect. So what he does is he sends

  731. waves of people to help trying to ease, whatever wrath.

  732. He has, so that by the time, he succumbs to Jacob, he would be

  733. subdued to some degree. Because, remember, when Jacob

  734. was told, go to your go to my brother's Land, by his mother go

  735. to your uncle's place. She said, I will come to you

  736. when your brother's wrath have subsided.

  737. I did remember that I'll get news to you when he's not angry

  738. anymore. So, just go for now and guess

  739. what? She never brings news to him.

  740. So the what Jacob is left with mom?

  741. Never send me a message and emailed that Esau is calm down.

  742. And as he's trying to go back, home news comes to me sauce,

  743. coming with a few hundred of his boys.

  744. So he sends wave after wave of people and gifts to present him.

  745. So by the time he gets to Jacob, he's kind of he's more calm and

  746. then he says, what's all this stuff?

  747. When he finally meets him face-to-face and I love what

  748. Jacob says you don't have to turn there, just listen to his

  749. words in Genesis 33 11 he says here please accept my blessing.

  750. That is brought to you because God has dealt graciously with

  751. me. You see the difference?

  752. God has dealt graciously with me.

  753. This is all God my children, my possessions, my animals.

  754. It's all from the Lord God has been gracious to me.

  755. You know, there are many people who say that I asked them about

  756. their business or whatever. God has been good to me.

  757. That's wonderful. God has been good to me.

  758. God has dealt graciously with me, but this is not the only sin

  759. that enables committed. Enabling the bomb.

  760. Go back to verse 11. And what does he say?

  761. This is my my my so his attitude is a sin but his lack of action

  762. is a sin as well. His lack of action is a sin as

  763. well and it's back in Deuteronomy, not in chapter 8

  764. but in chapter 15. Look at look how clear this

  765. instruction is in chapter 15 of Deuteronomy. and verse 7, But

  766. with the Lord speaks and Deuteronomy, 15 verse 7, if

    Deuteronomy 15:7

  767. among you, one of your brother's should become poor and any of

  768. your towns within your land that the Lord, your God is giving

  769. you, you shall not Harden your heart or shut your hand against

  770. your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend

  771. them sufficient for his need, whatever it may be, he can't get

  772. any more clear than that. If there is anybody who is

  773. supposed to have an open hand to his brother, it was a man from

  774. the same tribe as David, who is in a condition outside of his

  775. control. If Nepal had an ounce of the

  776. fear of the Lord, if you really knew his word he would have

  777. known that. He shouldn't have said, my my my

  778. my my and notice the attitude, the perception, determine the

  779. action. Because he said my my my my his

  780. hands were closed but when you know it's God you're much more

  781. generous person because it's not your own to begin.

  782. With why don't? Why would I withhold something

  783. that belongs to God. Anyway, so here it is.

  784. But see that's that's what pride has pride is the fruit of

  785. failing to recognize God's gracious.

  786. Enablement in your success. Pride is the fruit of a failure

  787. to acknowledge God's gracious, enablement in your success.

  788. And it is the arrogance that blossoms because of how we view

  789. our accomplishments in our own lives in the lives of others.

  790. when you fail to see God and His gracious empowerment in your

  791. life, for the most menial things, even we make more room

  792. for arrogance to be a reality, in our hearts, my, my, my And

  793. because of that Pride. Any help was choked any any

  794. attempt to even extend Mercy was suffocated.

  795. So the attitude precedes, the action, how you perceive things

  796. will determine how you behave and act and move and plan.

  797. So don't don't deal with the fruit deal.

  798. With the root deal, with the root and let the fruit Blossom.

  799. Naturally, when you have a heart that is convinced that God is

  800. the one who is in control of all things.

  801. So he says, I'm a can help to even if David didn't help him

  802. with the flock, even if David didn't become his bodyguard for

  803. quite a long time. Nepal was under Divine

  804. obligation to help his brother just because the word of God

  805. said. So but this man didn't fear the

  806. lord and these sins because he failed to see the reason for his

  807. wealth. And he failed to be responsible

  808. with his wealth. The sins are going to lead to a

  809. grievous consequence, as we're going to see the end of the

  810. chapter. Let's come back to verse 12 as

  811. we close. Unless you want to finish, but

  812. we'll be here till very late. Deuteronomy, excuse me.

  813. First Samuel, 25. Now what happens is, the news

  814. comes back to these men. And they reach David and now,

  815. here's what we're thinking, before we come to David's

  816. reaction, we're thinking surely our hero David David, the same

  817. man who would not even give to the suggestions of his own to

  818. kill Saul will easily dismiss the comments of a stranger.

  819. Is that the case verse 13? And David said to his men, every

  820. man strapped on his sword and every man of them strapped on

  821. his sword, David also strapped on his sword and about four

  822. hundred men went up after David, while 200, remain with the

  823. baggage, Is this the same David? I mean, just a few verses ago,

  824. he was in a cave and the man that has been hunting, his life

  825. was right before him like a Sitting Duck.

  826. And his men were saying this is God, get rid of him will live

  827. life in a new way, do it. And he refused to kill them.

  828. He left Vengeance and God's hand.

  829. And here's this guy named the ball who sends Messengers to

  830. make some rude comments and he goes load him up, boys.

  831. And you re later on he's not just coming after Annabelle.

  832. He's coming after his entire household.

  833. He goes if even one person survives I'm coming after every

  834. person that breathes in that place, what happened?

  835. It's just been a few verses. You have such a triumphal

  836. victory over this temptation just a few hours ago to our

  837. understanding last week. It might have been days or weeks

  838. and now all for a sudden you want to do what we praise.

  839. You not to do in our last study. It seems inconsistent.

  840. But again, welcome to a humbling reflection of the human nature,

  841. especially those who understand the will and the word of God.

  842. What do I mean by that? We all fall short in many ways.

  843. And I think one of the ways that we fall short but we don't like

  844. to admit it is that for some reason we like to exercise the

  845. fruit of the spirit towards some over others, For some reason, we

  846. are more willing to be more self-controlled towards some and

  847. in towards others there is less of that manifestation of the

  848. grace and the rest of the fruit of the spirit that we see in

  849. Galatians 5. Why?

  850. I don't know. I don't really know what it is.

  851. And it's a strange thing indeed. But it's a reality nonetheless

  852. and it's worth addressing. Why is it like, maybe you're not

  853. convinced? Let me say, let me say this way.

  854. Have you ever noticed maybe when you're a younger especially you

  855. are much more willing to be generous and patient with your

  856. friends more than your siblings. Spouses are much more willing to

  857. forgive their husband, or their wife or less willing to forgive,

  858. but when it comes to somebody, in the church, they're much more

  859. willing to be merciful and compassionate, and

  860. communicative. No, maybe just me.

  861. Why do we exercise so much more tenderness towards people that

  862. we don't live with? But when it comes to our own

  863. household we are so easily engaged in word Wars.

  864. You see what I'm saying? For some in some circumstances,

  865. with different people we can look, we can look really, really

  866. good. And we can even feel the

  867. strength to actually look like Jesus, but in, in other

  868. situations, we give in so easily, especially with certain

  869. people. I don't want to prove to you how

  870. some who say, well I just I have an anger problem, brother.

  871. I can't control myself. I can prove it that, you can

  872. control it more than, you know, because as you're barking at,

  873. whoever it is that you're barking at home.

  874. How would you act when the pastor shows up at the door and

  875. knocks unannounced, that anger is going to go away real quick?

  876. When you answer that door, I have a hunch.

  877. And so, it's really a picture of how we are able to know to just

  878. exercise this thing in some settings, better than others.

  879. And it's, it's, it's a part of our fallen human nature and we

  880. fall short. But I don't want us to ever be

  881. satisfied by being able to point where we're Victoria's in some

  882. areas and not in all areas, because that's what we should

  883. strive for as Believers in Jesus Christ.

  884. Because the most effective testimony is the one that is

  885. consistent in every context. This was convicting to me.

  886. Because I couldn't help but think about the men of David as

  887. they saw him. Give the instructions within a

  888. moment's time to strap their swords.

  889. But just few moments ago, he was able to be such a wonderful

  890. example and it's like, what, how did that work?

  891. We saw know this man. Yes.

  892. But as an encouragement to us is a not that though we are

  893. inconsistent. God does not give up on us and

  894. he works on us and he pierces a little bit on a Friday night

  895. when it's like, I could have been somewhere where I wouldn't

  896. have to be confronted, but the Lord cares about our consistency

  897. with all people, and all things. And so I want to be, I want to

  898. be just as patient with my, brother's, My Blood Brothers,

  899. then with the people that I see at church, I want to be I want

  900. to be just as resolved and calm with those that I'm familiar

  901. with. Then with the person that just

  902. knows me as the person that shows other church and lift

  903. their hands and worship and love God.

  904. And the Holy Spirit will help us.

  905. He wants to help us. He wants to mold us and shape

  906. us. There's a reason why God gives

  907. us this honest. Scenario of David's flippancy

  908. with a conviction that seems to be conquered only in one setting

  909. and not the Which brings me to the final Point, notice, how no

  910. ball comes up to David to test him and to challenge him in a

  911. time when he was at peace with Saul?

  912. It's like this. All thing was dealt with.

  913. It's like wonderful like breath of fresh air and all for a

  914. sudden. Now ball comes up.

  915. And it's a reminder that we've heard in so many Bible studies

  916. in the book of 1st Samuel. The necessity of us as Believers

  917. to remain on guard at all times. David was on guard from a

  918. military standpoint. He was always there.

  919. He was Vigilant. He was just, he was so he was so

  920. craft while he was. He was like a ninja of his time,

  921. right? But he was not as secure.

  922. And as Vigilant with his inner man with his inner man, and we

  923. are all susceptible to falling into Times of Temptation.

  924. When we fail to remain guarded our, when we, when we look at

  925. seasons of life, where we seem to be doing really well and then

  926. we let ourselves loose in terms of our awareness and our

  927. watchfulness. I was listening to a story of a

  928. man who was speaking about his testimony of overcoming

  929. pornography. I believe it was a testimony and

  930. he had said, you know, I vowed to overcome this sin.

  931. I vowed to see victory over it. And so what he did was for 90

  932. days, he didn't engage with anything.

  933. He was so severe and his exposure of things.

  934. And then, for whatever reason, because there was such a long

  935. time, I guess, a victory over this, he goes on his computer

  936. and he sees just two pictures of two attractive woman, and he

  937. thinks himself, he thinks himself, they're just pictures.

  938. He let his guard down and he relapsed again.

  939. And I listen to that earlier in the week, I was listening to

  940. that testimony and as I was studying this, the connection

  941. was made, his guard wasn't up at all times.

  942. There's a time of Victory time of peace, and because of that,

  943. he became lazy and his vigilance.

  944. And that's when the enemy came in and for whatever reason,

  945. David is the same, he saw great great Victory.

  946. And then when another opportunity came, the same

  947. Temptation he gave in because he was not, as guarded as he should

  948. have been. And usually, we are not as

  949. guarded when we are in seasons of great joy, peace prosperity

  950. when everything is going well as when we seem to be the weakest

  951. So remain strong. God is faithful.

  952. Oh, I wish that time can go back, so we can finish this

  953. chapter, but we're not, we're not.

  954. I think that's enough for tonight.

  955. Let's pray. Well, what a wonderful study in

  956. this chapter sobering. Oh God honest.

  957. Clear. It confronts us like many of

  958. these chapters have. But Lord, we pray in this moment

  959. as we heard earlier. That we would glean everything

  960. that we've heard and apply it to our own context help us.

  961. Oh, God, help us. Lord, Deliver Us from

  962. Simplicity, Deliver Us from immaturity.

  963. Save us from being inconsistent as David was, surely.

  964. You've given us this example, for us, to examine our own

  965. lives, to say, where is it in areas of my life, where I feel

  966. like I can I can walk in this way with these people in this

  967. context, but another times I'm a different person.

  968. Lord, we want to be. We want to be saved from such

  969. things. We want to be safe from such

  970. things. I'll or we think about all the

  971. examples and the stories that we've heard up to this point and

  972. we are so thankful that you speak clearly through David's

  973. story. And Lord, perhaps one point

  974. meant one thing more than another.

  975. We just pray that whatever was said we would cherish it in our

  976. hearts and we would pray fully ask you to manifest it in our

  977. lives. Thank you.

  978. Lord, that you first loved us. You acted on our behalf while we

  979. were in sin loving Darkness, you rescued us.

  980. You made a way. For any person in here, who

  981. doesn't know that may that may be known tonight that you have

  982. died for them. And you're waiting for them to

  983. respond. Bless your Holy Name.

  984. Lord, we love you, we honor you, we have reverence toward you, we

  985. are in awe of the wisdom of your scriptures and Lord, we just

  986. worship you in light of the Living Word, that speaks.

  987. So clearly We give you glory now in Jesus name.

  988. Amen.