In our most desperate times, our thoughts should still be set on Jesus.   ~~~   God is a portion and a deliverer that the fire cannot burn, the floods cannot drown, the thief cannot steal! A man can take away your goods, but he cannot take away your God. Sickness can take away your health and strength, death may take away your family and friends, government may take your liberty or your life, but none of these can take away your God! You have a Savior in God who does not abandon His people, but delivers His chosen ones in their times of desperation! Why would he redeem us, only to forsake us? So set your sights on God through Jesus Christ, even in the lonely, desperate time. Because being anywhere with Jesus is far greater than being anywhere without Him, even when that anywhere is a desperate situation. Why is that so? Because there is no greater portion, no greater friend, no greater savior, no greater peace, no greater joy, no greater contentment, no greater wisdom, no greater healer, no greater God than who we have in Christ!

God will use both allies and adversaries to deliver us from adversity.   ~~~   David is a fugitive on the loose, with Goliath’s sword in hand, thinking that he would be safer in Philistine territory than in Israel. I would tend to think that there were 200 very sore Philistine men, along with 10,000 widow women who would disagree about David’s safety among the Philistines. But this is what desperation does, isn’t it? It can drive us to do some pretty strange things. David enters the town of Achish, with Goliath’s sword in tow. I’m pretty sure that thing was hard to hide in the luggage. And as soon as he enters, the people recognize him, particularly the servants of Achish, who is the ruler in Gath (Goliath’s hometown), and they start to question, “Isn’t this the great one of Israel?” So David’s cover is blown and he is very afraid now. Very concerned. And he decides the best course of action, again, is deception. He pretends to be a lunatic, a mad man, someone who has gone crazy. He drools all over himself, which was a mark of shame by the way. Wars were started over the pulling of a man’s beard. It was a shameful thing to mess with a man’s beard. How much more so to defile yourself by drooling all the way down your beard. David resorted to other antics as well, such as marking on their gates. And yet, in all of this, God is the one who delivers David from the grasp of the Philistines. David here, has a sword; David is a mighty warrior, but he is too afraid to fight. He is desperately afraid. And yet, God delivers. God uses allies to deliver David, and God uses adversaries to deliver David. God is providential and uses primary and secondary causes to accomplish His will. And he does the same thing in your life. How can I be sure? Well, like we said last week, David is just a human. A man of the dirt. He was on the run, he had no place to rest his head. He was under pressure, alone, desperate. And he stumbled a bit under that pressure. We see that happen regularly in patriarchs of the faith. Abraham did it. Jacob did it. Moses did it. And now David does. But there was a moment when Jesus was under immense pressure too. Alone. Desperate. And God brought him to this moment. But in that moment, he didn’t lie; he didn’t deceive; he didn’t stumble. He simply said, “Not my will, but thy will be done.” In Jesus’ most desperate moment, God delivered Jesus over to death. God handed Jesus over to suffer the wages of sin that he did not commit. God handed Jesus over to death, and then delivered His chosen one from the grave and death so that God could deliver His people from hell, and give life and joy and peace in the resurrected Jesus, even as we walk down desperate roads. God will not abandon His chosen ones. God will provide for His chosen ones all that they need during their times of desperation. He put Jesus in the grave and then resurrected Him from the dead to make this point abundantly clear to us!

God does not abandon us in our times of desperation.   ~~~   Don’t be so quick to overlook the simple blessings of God as signs and tokens of his sustaining care of you along the way. We ended Day by Day last week by noting David’s desperation in running from Saul, which leads to a desperate request from David to the priest Ahimelech. We are in 1 Samuel 21 and we have this interchange about type of bread is available. It is the holy bread, the showbread, that only the priests were allowed to consume. This bread was replaced every day in the tabernacle, and the priests would eat the leftover. In other words, this bread was not just handed out to anyone. Only the holy. Only the purified. Only the priests. Ahimelech knew that this was a desperate situation, and knew that mercy in this situation was called for; that preserving a life didn’t break the law but fulfilled it. But we also have a little more commentary from Jesus Himself. Matthew, Mark, and Luke record the instance of Jesus and his disciples passing through a grainfield on the Sabbath. And the pharisees saw the disciples grabbing some grain, rubbing it in their hands to remove the shell, and eating. In the Pharisees’ mind, this was equivalent to doing work on the Sabbath, and they accusingly ask Jesus why he allows this. Jesus then says, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him?” Jesus was referring to this event in 1 Samuel 21. Jesus goes on to say that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, and that God desires mercy. In other words, when there were desperate situations, extenuating situations, when a life was on the line, then the priest had the authority and duty to preserve life, not the law. This is how we know that David was in a desperate situation. He has no food. There wasn’t a fast food joint on every corner. He was a wanted man. He couldn’t just pop into any house. He didn’t know who to trust, so he goes to the priest, and the priest gives to him what is not normally lawful to give to anyone but another priest. Then the narrator gives us another question that David asked Ahimelech—“Do you have any weapons?” Lo and behold, they have at that tabernacle the very sword of Goliath. The sword David himself swung down in order to remove Goliath’s head from his body. God takes care of His chosen one in their times of desperation. God does not abandon us in our desperation. What are we to make of this, especially in light of David’s deception? If we look back, we will see that bread is actually a sign of the LORD’s blessing and confirms God’s purpose. In chapter 2, Hannah praises God by saying, “Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.” Back in chapter 10, Saul was given two loaves of bread, as a sign to him that God had anointed him as King over Israel. The presence of bread, the giving of bread to David is a quiet sign that God is blessing him, providing for him, in the midst of his desperation. Don’t be so quick to overlook the simple blessings of God as signs and tokens of his sustaining care of you along the way.

When we read and reread the Bible and reflect upon it, it can provide deeper understanding.

Every day we must rely anew on God’s strength.   ~~~   Turn your attention to verse 1. David goes to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. Nob is located 5 miles or less, southeast of Saul’s home in Gibeah. When Ahimelech sees David coming, Ahimelech is trembling. He is afraid. He in all likelihood knows who David is, knows what David’s role is in King Saul’s kingdom as being a warrior and a leader of a thousand. So it surprises Ahimelech that David is seemingly by himself. We come to learn that David has picked up a few men, who are very possibly hiding out, but right here, David is alone and this perplexes Ahimelech to the point that he possibly thinks David is there as a threat to him. To all of this, David responds, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’” Up until this point, David’s words and actions have been spot-on. He has been blameless, sparkling and pure. So much so, that in chapter 20, David asked Jonathan, “What have I done wrong? What is my sin that your father is hunting me down for?” Think about what David could have said—“Your dad is crazy! He’s nuts! What is wrong with that lunatic?” But he doesn’t! He examines his own heart. He is humble. But here, David is in a desperate situation. Here is the one who marched out in front of Goliath with no armor and no fear. Here is the one who had been relying on the LORD at every turn. He has had victory after victory, and yet has remained faithful and humble. But this pressure is so great upon him that instead of turning to the God who has led him thus far, David turns to deception. We can ask why he does this. Does he do this as a means of protecting Ahimelech? Does he do it as a means to protect himself? To grease the wheels on Ahimelech’s heart so he can get what he is going to request? We can’t be sure. But we do know that King Saul did not send David on a secret mission. David is lying. David is being deceitful. The pressure, the turmoil of the situation turns this young man desperate, and he tries to use deception to get what he wants. And here are two things we must understand about David. Yes, he was a man after God’s own heart, but he was also a man from the dirt. He had feet of clay. Anxiety, panic, pressures, got to him. And this is actually one of the beautiful transparencies of the word of God. David is not held up for us as an example to follow. The bible does not hide from us the realities of David’s humanity. The second thing we learn is that past faithfulness is not a guarantee of future faithfulness. Out of all the people we have encountered so far, who has seen God move and provide and deliver as much as David? Who has the back log of events and history of God’s faithfulness and deliverance? It is David. David, the shepherd boy, raised up above his brothers. David toe to toe with Goliath. David, who has killed his tens of thousands. David, who has been blessed with the King’s daughter in law. David, who has escaped the spear. David, who has seen the Spirit, very actively, protect Him from Saul’s lynchman and Saul himself. Here, at this point in 21, seemingly forgets it all, or at least does not thing God will or can handle this current situation of desperation. My friend, don’t ever think that great spiritual progress, great spiritual victories from the past are guarantees on your faithfulness to the LORD in the future. There must be a daily, hourly, moment by moment clinging to the LORD. Listen to me, you must admit day by day, every day that you get up, before you hit the ground running, you must admit and confess, no matter what happened yesterday, that you do not have what it takes to get through today. There is no such thing as spiritual coasting. Proverbs 8:34 “Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.”

God provides for His chosen ones during their time of desperation.   ~~~   I had to be in 7th grade when I first discovered the band, The Eagles. The transition from cassette tapes to compact discs was underway at that time, so I had some Eagles tapes, and then some Eagles CD’s. I wore those tapes out, listening to them over and over again. I love the simple melodies, the harmonies, the Randy Misner voice, the Don Henley and Glen Fry lyrics, the Joe Walsh guitar solos. I love the southern rock sound. But there was one song that I listened to probably more than any other—Desperado. The ache that is in that song; the way the verses paint a clear picture in your mind of a lonely cowboy out riding fences, weathered, hardened; the stubbornness and pride of being on your own, not needing anyone. Maybe I identified with the song because as a young teenager I was searching for more and more independence in my life. We have a desperado among us today, in our text. Someone who is out on their own, secluded. The difference is that this desperado doesn’t want to be alone. This life of being a desperado was not of his own choosing. He was forced into this. And it wasn’t even a result of his own bad choices. He had done everything right. He was a man after God’s own heart. He had was walking the path of righteousness and faithfulness, and yet, became a desperado—a desperate person, in despair, in distress. Can you identify with that person at all? Have you ever felt like you were all alone, or that no one really understood your life context and situation? Have you grown tired or desperate? Has walking with the LORD been what brought you to the desperation, because it very well can lead to that? We say this all the time around here, that walking with the LORD oftentimes leads you into the valley of the shadow of death; it makes the enemy become more concerned about you and concentrate his sights on you more intently. And it can lead to isolation. Living with Jesus, walking with Jesus very much will lead to losses and crosses (Thomas Brooks). And when you are in the thick of it, it can be suffocating. It can feel like you can’t catch your breath. It can feel like you will never return to normal. But we learn something about our God in this story of this desperado in our text. We learn that God provides for His chosen ones during their times of desperation.

Christ reigns over hard times in our lives so we will lean into Him.   ~~~   We continue to see Saul’s downward spiral in sin. We must see that embedded within the nature of sin is destruction. God told Adam, “If you eat of the fruit of this tree, you will surely die!” Psalm 7:14-16 “Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.” We see Saul’s sin directed at God’s anointed one, David. But the recurring theme in this passage is David’s escape. through Jonathan’s covenant through David’s contorting through Michal’s conniving—Psalm 59 In other words, God uses all kinds of ways that we know about, and ones we are not aware of in order to protect his anointed one, to get him to the throne. Ultimately it is all of God. And we see that in this last way of God protecting David: through the Spirit’s confronting Christ was also protected from people’s rage against him so that He could reign through His cross and resurrection.   We see Christ preserved and protected from King Herod in Matthew 1-2 We see Christ preserved and protected from Satan himself in Matthew 4 We see the murderous plot of the Pharisees and Herodians in Mark 3. In Luke 4, when Jesus unrolls the scroll in the temple and declares himself to be the Messiah, the people were “filled with wrath and rose up and drove him out of town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their towns were built, so that that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.” In John 7, it says, “They were seeking to arrest him, but non one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come.” In John 10:39 we read, “And they sought to arrest him but he escaped from their hands.” What we need to realize as God’s church is that God preserved Christ, provided ways of escape for Him so that Christ could fulfill his purpose. And also, he will preserve those who are in Christ so that they will persevere in His purpose for Him. Christ reigns over hard times, evil times in our lives so that we might press into Him and fulfill His purpose for our lives. Paul was let down in a basket as a way of escape Peter walked through open prison doors on the eve of his execution date.

God providentially preserves and protects so His will is accomplished.   ~~~   Have you had to escape before? Several years ago Jimmy Walker and I were at a friend’s house during the day, when that friend wasn’t home. We were there to pick up a piece of furniture. So I stepped out of the truck and walked towards the home when all of a sudden a huge dog comes out of the garage running straight towards me, barking its head off. So I take off running across a field and finally find refuge in a storage building that just happened to be open. Have you ever had to escape before? Sometimes the escape happens and you didn’t even realize it, (like in DR, Tanzania, etc) much like what we saw in 1 Samuel 18. Several times King Saul tried to indirectly assassinate David, but was unsuccessful. David escaped without ever realizing he was being hunted. And the reality is that you have been saved and rescued and escaped by the providential protection of God more times than you would ever like to know. We have the events of 1 Samuel 18 woven into our lives. It probably happens every day. Satan is like a prowling lion, seeking whom he may devour, as are the demons under him. They want to trap you, catch you and destroy you. Temptation lurks around every feasible corner, waiting to ensnare you, and yet time and again you have been spared without even realizing it. But when you turn the page to 1 Samuel 19, there is no denying Saul’s intentions. And it becomes clear to us, as God’s people that sometimes the threat is direct, right in front of our faces, and we must deal with it. There are false teachers, false systems, and other people with godless agendas who want to silence us, the church; they want to silence you. They are threatened by righteousness, they are fearful of God’s agenda, and they will do all they can to stop it. In 1 Samuel 18, David was on the rise. But now in 1 Samuel 19 David is on the run. And in our text we are going to see the author display for his audience that God reigned over Saul’s downward spiral in sin in order to provide ways of escape, preserve David, so that David could fulfill God’s purpose. God providentially preserves, protects, so God’s will is accomplished.

The Word of God is like a sword and we must learn how to properly use it.

The greatest goal of a believer’s life is to build a life of great abiding and joyful keeping of God’s Word.   ~~~   For you believer, child of God, as we see the presence of the LORD upon David which led to his success wherever he went, we need to be reminded that Jesus Christ is our Immanuel, our God with us. We don’t look to David as our great encouragement and moral example, because we won’t have to look too far into his reign as king to see that he follows a similar pattern of Saul in arranging for someone’s murder. But we must see Christ as the greater David, upon whom was the Spirit of God, and as the One who came to be present with us. Oh believer, hear me today. The great goal of your life is not to build a life of great character or successes, but rather to build a life of great abiding and joyful keeping of His word. If we are focused on that, Jesus will produce the fruit He desires to see, and there will be great joy in Him, no matter the circumstances.

Apart from Christ we can find no rest and there will be no satisfaction for our sin.   ~~~   In this chapter alone we have ample evidence and example that should motivate us to seek God. Saul had his heart and soul and will set against God, and against God’s anointed One, which sent him into a calloused and murderous state of being. He could not enjoy the blessings that the Lord was pouring out on the Lord’s people and kingdom. He was so focused on seeing threats all around him that it sent him into madness. Thus is the path of sin. It destroys you. And this is the case of all of you who are apart from God at this moment. You have nothing to cling to but your own sin and pride and you have nothing to look forward to but your own destruction, brought about by your sin against a holy, righteous, God. But God has sent a message of mercy and grace to us. Even though God had removed His presence, his grace, from Saul’s life, that may not be the case with you this morning. If you find yourself set against God, rebelled against him, trying to accomplish satisfy your own will and agenda, there is mercy and grace offered to you in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Just like David faced the hostility of Saul, so too did Jesus face hostility and anger and murderous manipulation because of the undeniable presence of the Spirit on his life. At every turn, Jesus was met with resistance and jealousy because of His growing popularity among the people, so much so that it led to His innocent death. But there was something more to His death than that. His death is the very reason he came to earth. In His death he proclaimed that He was taking upon Himself all the sin of all those who would hate Him but then turn and trust in Him. He was taking on their punishment they deserved. And all of that sounds crazy and ludicrous and impossible, and in no way feasible or reasonable. But there was one more crazy, ludicrous, impossible event to take place that would turn everything on its head, and that is when Jesus came back to life three days after having been laid in a borrowed tomb. His resurrection signaled to everyone that His words were true, which meant that He really did carry the sins of those who would believe in Him. And now the question is, “Do you believe? Will you believe? Will you drop your sin, turn from your sin; do you hate your sin that has been against this Holy God?” If there is something churning in you this morning, a conviction, a fear, a worry, a holy unpleasantness, that very well could be the Holy Spirit massaging your heart this morning, performing the beginning of a miracle in your life. Would you turn to Jesus today? Would claim his death and resurrection as your own? Would you receive Him as the risen Lord over your Life, the payment of your sin, and the giver of eternal life? Because apart from Christ, there is no rest, no satisfaction for your sin. You stand condemned, next to Saul, guilty, and there is no telling when God will remove His hand of grace from you, offering you no other opportunity of repentance. So turn to him now.

It only takes a day for sinfulness to set in our hearts and cause damage.   ~~~   In 1 Samuel 18 When the spear incident doesn’t work, Saul tries to have David killed by sending him into war on three different instances (13, 17, 21). Every move Saul makes in this chapter, the underlying intention is so that David would be killed. What are we to learn from this? We are to learn that but by the grace of God, there go I. None of us are above this? We know what it is like to be jealous. We know what it is to be like when we do not get the credit we think we deserve, or when someone else steals our thunder. We are all extremely too familiar with all of this. Me especially. I am a deeply prideful, arrogant person. And we need to see the depths of the sewer that sin will try to drag you into. A simple song sung by some women kick this thing off, which turns into Saul manipulating and conniving and scheming every way he knows how in order to snuff out David. Here’s the lesson. Don’t play with sin. Don’t give sin any quarter in your life. “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13-14 How quickly can sinfulness set in and begin to do damage and harden your heart? One day. One day is all it takes, and sin will take all it can. What we are to see and understand here is that this has been a process in Saul’s life. He has consistently rebelled against God’s word. And here in verse 10, we see God removing a protective hand off of Saul’s life, so that it spirals down the vortex of sin.

We cannot blame our own selfishness or jealousy on anyone else.   ~~~   Saul’s jealousy comes to the surface in chapter 18 the moment he hears the women sing, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” So angry and jealous is Saul that he says “What more can he have but the kingdom?” In other words, Saul is saying, “David has their attention, their praise, their hearts! He might as well try for the throne!” In verse 9, when we read of Saul’s jealous statement, the text says, “And Saul eyed David from that day on.” The word translated “eyed,” is an interesting one. The idea is that Saul looked on David with a crooked eye, or sinful eye. It was a way of saying that Saul looked for opportunities to harm David. And in this chapter alone, there are five private, secret attempts on David’s life by Saul. The first two attempts are with a spear, while he was in a fit of rage brought on by a harmful or disturbing spirit from God. This is not the first time we have seen this harmful spirit from God come upon Saul. We saw this back in chapter 16. But let me make two points about this. First, Saul’s jealousy and anger came before this tormenting spirit came upon him. This is not an evil spirit of jealousy or an evil spirit of anger. Saul cannot, nor can you, blame being jealous or angry on anyone but you. Saul is responsible for this jealousy, not a demon. In other words, the devil didn’t make you do anything. In this society in which we live where everyone is the victim, we naturally make Saul, or ourselves, the victim here. But God doesn’t play by the current narrative. He knows exactly the intention of your heart. You might be able to manipulate other people, but not God. And that is what we see with Saul. His jealousy and anger led him to manipulative maneuvers to try and get David killed, all because Saul was afraid of David. And here is the thing, it was David’s righteousness that was threatening to Saul. You know you are in a bad, rebellious place when someone else’s humility and other fruit of the Spirit make you proud, angry, jealous. Is that you today? Does that describe your disposition? Angry because of someone else’s holiness? If you are, you are in bad company. But you don’t have to stay in it.

Approaching the Bible with a different perspective on our questions can reveal new answers.

Church is not meant to entertain but to equip believers for service to the Lord.   ~~~   David is a man of deep character and devotion to the LORD, and God’s presence of providence and protection are over him. All of which equals success for David. Is that how we measure success? Success is having the presence of God reigning in your life, which displays itself in godly character overcoming the enemy of sin. Oh how I wish we would think of success in this way. Are you teaching your sons how to fight sin? Are we teaching our daughters how to war against the flesh in the power of the Spirit? Are YOU a success in those areas? It matters very little how far up the corporate ladder you can get if you are bogged down in the mire of sin. The size of your house, the number of cars, the boat, the retirement means nothing if there is not fruit of the Spirit on display. It doesn’t matter how many trophies are on the mantle if there is not fruit of the Spirit. This is Success! Listen to me men and women…Jesus did not come to entertain you with personalities or bigtop events or to put on appearances. The church is here to help you understand the only fighting chance you have comes from the active presence of the LORD in your life. Listen to me parents, we are not here to dazzle or wow or coddle your children with warm little bible stories. We want to help you, assist you, equip you to raise warriors…to raise your boys and girls to be men and women who know the realities of the world and are ready to face them head on with the only arsenal that will protect them and damage the enemy. This isn’t story time, it’s bootcamp.

Devotion and humility were key traits of Jesus, which we should exhibit through His power.   ~~~   In the saga of David’s life, as told to us in 1 Samuel 18, we witness Saul offer his oldest daughter, Merab, to David to be his wife. David responds in humility by crying out, “Who am I, and who are my relatives, that I should be a son-in-law to a king.” So it appears that in humility, David refuses Saul’s offer. A little later on, Saul came to understand that Michal, his other daughter, loved David. So he offered her to him. But once again, we see David’s humility when he says, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?” What David means by that is that he nor his father have any money to pay the bride price of a king’s daughter. In those days, when marriage took place, the groom would pay a dowry, which was simply an amount of money that the family of the bride thought she was worth. They were losing a daughter and a valuable worker, so the groom was to pay her value to the bride’s family. So David says, “I don’t have any money to pay the bride price,” which is interesting since the king was supposed to enrich the man who killed Goliath. Perhaps Saul’s check hadn’t cleared the bank yet. But Saul came back to David and said, “No money is necessary, just go and kill 100 philistines. And I will know that you killed them because you will bring me all of their foreskins.” In all of this, Saul is trying to put David in fatal circumstances so Saul will not have to worry about David’s popularity outshining his own. So David accepts the challenge, but brings back 200 foreskins! Why? David does this so that Saul may be avenged of his enemies. The motivating factor for David is to honor the king of Israel, and protecting God’s people Israel. Once again we see humility and devotion on display in David’s life, and we are reminded of Jesus’ even greater display of humility and devotion in the face of others intense hatred. Jesus never wavered from His Father’s will. Jesus didn’t take his assignment of being in the flesh as a demotion from his heavenly glory, but rather all part of God’s providential plan to provide for us a divine King. And as his subjects, we too can live lives of devotion and humility, in the power of His Spirit.

We should remain devoted to serving Jesus even when circumstances are against us.   ~~~   We read in verses 18:6-11 of a victory parade. David is returning from striking down Goliath, and Saul is out in front. It sure seems like Saul is trying to take as much credit as he can for sending a teenage boy out to do a man’s job. And the women start singing, which would have been customary. And they sing a song that says, “Saul has killed a lot, and David has killed a lot more!” Now, I don’t think we are to read anything too snarky into this song. They were simply retelling the story, perhaps a bit dramatically. At any rate, it upsets Saul. But we read in verse 10-11 that David played the lyre in Saul’s house day by day. And on that day after the parade, Saul was being tormented by a spirit from the LORD, and in two different attempts tries to kill David by throwing his spear at him hoping it would pierce him and pin him to the wall. The next thing that we read is David, being handed a demotion from being leader over the men of war to being a commander of a thousand, and yet, David still goes out to fight for the King of Israel. Why, because David is devoted to the LORD, and Israel. Remember, at no point in this chapter does David even realize that Saul is trying to kill him on multiple occasions. David didn’t claim a victim status. He didn’t play a part to be pitied. Through it all, he remained faithful to the Lord and the Lord’s people. It makes me wonder about myself, how deep does my devotion run. When it’s easy to bail, I usually want to bail. When the fight seems lopsided, I want to blend into the crowd and not stand out. When the task requires sacrifice, I too often want to figure out a way so that I don’t have to sacrifice. And this is where I must turn to depend upon Jesus and His Spirit living in and through me. Jesus knows all about staying and standing when people were pinning him to the cross. And he did it because of His devotion to God and His love for His people.

Friendship between two people dedicated to following God is a precious thing.   ~~~   Right after David slays Goliath the giant, King Saul’s son, Jonathan, his heart and soul were knit, intertwined with David’s heart. That word means “tied together,” or “bonded together for a common purpose.” There was an instant bond, the epitome of loving a neighbor as yourself. But what was it that drew Jonathan to David? What was it that tied their hearts together? Well, David had just stepped out with faith in God’s ability to deliver him the great uncircumcised Philistine. Jonathan was swept away with reverence for this kid (no doubt David is younger, much younger, than Jonathan, maybe even 30 years younger). And we saw this same type of faith and boldness in Jonathan back in chapter 14. So the commonality could be their willingness to trust God, to love God, to follow God, to honor God, that they have the same God and the same enemies. There is nothing like finding a fellow man who has the same reverence and awe and will to follow Jesus as you do. There is nothing like it in the world. Modern day commentators want to turn this affection that Jonathan has for David into something immoral. The problem with this is that there is nothing even remotely close to this in the text. What is going on in this passage is nothing but the good providence of God paving a way for David, and here is what I mean. Jonathan is the heir apparent to throne of Israel. If something were to happen to Saul, then his oldest son, Jonathan, would assume the throne, or at least that is what would be expected from all the people. So any one who would be a threat to over-take that throne would be a threat to Jonathan. If anything, Jonathan and David should be bitter enemies. Jonathan should keep his eye on David. But rather, we see the goodness of God moving in Jonathan’s heart towards David, tying his soul to David’s soul. God is the one knitting Jonathan’s life, binding Jonathan’s soul to David. This is brotherhood. This is godly brotherhood taking place here.

There is something in each passage of Scripture for us to learn from.

The best person to advocate for us is not ourselves, but Christ.   ~~~   There are several recurring themes and phrases in 1 Samuel 18, that are meant to grab our attention. Themes such as those who “loved” David, and the success of David, and the presence of the Lord upon David, but also the growing fear and jealousy of Saul. And the original audience would have noticed all of those features of the text, but most importantly they would have seen the decline of Saul (in leadership, mental stability) and the rising up of David. However, they would not have said, “That’s an unfortunate turn of events for Saul, and surprisingly good fortune and fate for David.” This has nothing to do with fortune or a bad turn of events, but everything to do with Saul’s rebellious unrepentant heart, and God keeping his promise of ripping the kingdom from Saul and giving it to someone better than Saul in order to protect his people for his own glory. We read in 1 Samuel 15: 26 “For you have rejected the word of LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you his day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.” So we are watching this promise come alive before our eyes, and we need to realize that the someone better for us is not ourselves, but Christ. He is the King who protects his people today.

The distinction between Christianity and the world should grow clearer as wickedness grows.   ~~~   Even though sin and Satan and death have been done away with for the believer, it still taunts, it still mocks, it still defies, and it still challenges us to come and fight—it taunts God’s way of parenting, it taunts God’s prescription for marriage, it mocks God’s word concerning holiness, manhood, womanhood. And we often times fight against sin in our own strength, with worldly weapons. Weapons of pragmatism,, popularity, and people-pleasing. Listen to 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience… What are our weapons? Our weapons are truth and discipline. The sharpening of our minds with God’s truth and the strengthening of our will by God’s Spirit. And we can go into battle because Christ, who is Truth and Righteousness, has gone before, because He lives in us. The day we as a church decide to know and live upon the truth of God’s word, in the power of the Spirit, is the day we draw out our weapons for battle. Has it occurred to you that in this day of extreme radicalism and immorality, the distinction between the people of the church and the people of the world should be getting clearer and clearer? But does it seem like that is happening? Why not? Because we either are not who we say we are, OR we are not fighting, OR we are fighting with the wrong weapons. Saul’s coat of arms will not fit the fighting Christian. TRUTH AND DISCIPLINE will. And always be ready to fight. David, when he woke up that morning, had no idea he would be facing Goliath that afternoon, but He was willing and ready.

Jesus fought our battles on our behalf and defeated the enemy we could not.   ~~~   The Bible is compilation of 66 books and letters that make up on grand narrative, one book, one story. And in that one grand narrative, there is one hero. Everything before that hero arrives on the scene is meant to either foreshadow, point towards, or get us ready for that hero. That Hero is Jesus Christ. David is a precursor, a giant foreshadowing figure of Jesus Christ. And one of the problems we run into when we remove the David and Goliath story from context is that we can easily insert ourselves into the wrong character and we become the David facing off against the big bad giant. But we can’t forget the context. David has been chosen by God to be His King for His people. David has been anointed by God, and the Holy Spirit of God has rushed upon Him to empower Him. You have not been anointed as King over God’s people. But Christ has. And the Holy Spirit rushed upon Christ, and empowered Christ. And just as David rushed down into the valley of Elah to face Israel’s enemy, so too, but in a greater way, did Jesus rush to the hill of Golgotha to face man’s greatest enemy of sin and death and Satan. Jesus is the believer’s great champion, the man to stand between! He stands between us and death. You need a person to stand between you and death. Your sin has assured that there will be death to pay, hell to pay. And if you are apart from Christ, if you have not Christ as your Savior, as your man between, then you sit there condemned today with no hope. And you will be defeated. You will die. You will face judgment, and you will be given over to eternal death. But listen, there is a man! There is a man who has done the fighting on behalf of people who call out to Him. And what God is calling on you to do today is to put down your weapons, your idols, your pride, your sin, and turn and trust in what Christ has already done. He has already defeated the Goliath of sin. Just like David ran to Goliath, after nailing him with the slingshot, he then cut off his head, so too did Christ stomp Satan, crushing His head, delivering him over to final death. We need to know that in this story, we are the Israelite army. And we have no business heading out to fight against Goliath, but we do have a champion, a man who stands between, who has already fought the Goliath of sin and shame and death, and where David lopped the head off of Goliath, Jesus crushed the head of Satan in the resurrection.

God’s plans succeed not based on our own ability but upon His arsenal.   ~~~   It’s a new year, and we are right in the middle of our study of 1 Samuel, and we are talking about one of the most famous scenes in all the Bible—David versus Goliath. We now move to the consequence of David having heard Goliath. They stand at opposite sides, facing one another. Goliath begins to shout first, not believing that Israel has treated him so disrespectfully as to send out a smooth-faced boy. But that doesn’t keep Goliath from his intentions, and that is to slay David and let the buzzards pluck and pull at his intestines. David matches him shout for shout. But pay careful attention as to why all of this is taking place: vs. 46 “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, THAT ALL THE EARTH MAY KNOW THAT THERE IS A GOD IN ISRAEL, AND THAT ALL THIS ASSEMBLY MAY KNOW THAT THE LORD SAVES NOT WITH SWORD AND SPEAR. FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S AND HE WILL GIVE YOU INTO OUR HAND.”   So catch this. David is willing to face Goliath, who easily outmatches David in every physical metric you can think of, because David is convinced of God’s honor and worth and faithfulness, and David knows God is committed to His being known and glorified in all the earth. This story is not here so as to motivate you to face and fight your own personal giants. We were not created to be the hero here. This is a story about God’s plans for His global glory to spread and his people prevail according to His own arsenal in order to shame all those who would come against him with such arrogance, and HIM providing the man to do just that. God’s plan for His global glory and His people will prevail according to His own arsenal, which is the church making and sending disciples to all the nations.

There are various study plans to help new readers learn how to properly read the Bible.

Though heartache remains, we have a lasting hope in Jesus Christ.   ~~~   Sin is real. Its consequences are real and brutal. It leaves scars and causes pain and suffering, for us and others. Suffering is real. Pain is real. We need no reminder of that. But we find a reminder inserted into this Christmas story. Not many people talk about it, or preach it, because they don’t want to taint the Christmas story. But I would submit to you that we need this part of the story now, more than ever. Matthew tells us that Herod, with unbridled brutality, and loss of all self-control, sent a slaughter squad to Bethlehem to kill all baby boys two years old and younger. Bethlehem was a small town. But it doesn’t really matter. They were still slaughtered. And I am sure that the pain and screams were just as real, and just as loud 2000 years ago as they would be if it happened this weekend. But even before then, there was another scenario, another event that Matthew mentions. It took place in Jeremiah 31, where the nation of Israel had been conquered, and families and tribes were being led to a city called Ramah. That city served as a weigh station of sorts before families were separated from one another and sent into exile. Children were ripped from mother’s arms. Father’s were torn away from their families as they said their last goodbyes. And in their eyes, all hope was gone; hope was lost; hope was shattered. Life held out no purpose, no joy. The suffering was real; and it was deep. But if we go to Jeremiah 31, we will find, not only these words of grief, but we will also find words of hope and comfort. “I will turn your mourning into joy, I will comfort you and give you gladness for sorrow…Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears…they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future.” What is the hope promised to those people in Jeremiah 31 that can heal that type of suffering? What is the hope promised to the desperate mothers in Bethlehem on that bitter night? Matthew does not deny the pain and the heartache, but he beckons us to the promise of redemption. The redemption that is found only in Christ, the one who not escaped that slaughter so he could carry a cross and be executed for man’s sin. The sin of all believers. So suffering gives way to glory. Death and defeat give way to resurrected, overcoming, everlasting life that is secured for us by Christ.

God’s ultimate demonstration of love for us, in delivering us miraculously, is seen in Jesus.   ~~~   Christmas is not, will not be, the happiest season for everyone this year. For some this year it might be the first Christmas without a loved one. For some, Christmas is a reminder of poverty, or an abusive husband, or an alcoholic father, or a cold-hearted mother. It’s the reminder of a prodigal child who is yet to return home. It is a reminder of poor decisions made in the past with the consequences of loneliness during seasons like this. For some of you, Christmas is a painful reminder of sin and shame in your life. You may not have a family to gather with because of sinful choices you made in the past, and you wonder of you it is even possible to be delivered from stain and shame of sin. The truth is that at one time or another, we have all been chained in the prison of sin. If you will remember, the wise men have just met Jesus as a baby child, worshiped him, and headed back home. They were supposed to go back to a King named Herod and inform him of where the baby born King of the Jews was located, but they were redirected by God. And God, here in our text, directs Joseph, the baby’s father, to take Jesus and the family into Egypt in order to keep the baby protected from Herod’s evil scheme. And then the Holy Spirit through Matthew says in 2:15, “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.” This is seems strange. What is going on here? The quote is taken from an OT prophet named Hosea. But why did Hosea mention this? In order to know that answer, we need to know the context of Hosea. Hosea is the true story of a man who marries a woman who will not be faithful to him. She abandons her husband, along with her children, in order to pursue the lifestyle of a prostitute. And after years of this lifestyle, she ends up in a brothel of sorts, on the auction block. And to her surprise, who is in the audience but her husband, Hosea, who is the highest bidder, purchases his own wife out of slavery, takes her home and loves her unconditionally. God puts this true account into motion to demonstrate to his children, Israel, his unfading love for them. They are the unfaithful wife, and God is the compassionate, patient husband who will not abandon his people. And to remind them of his unconditional love, Hosea speaks for God and says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” God is reminding His people that he has been faithful to them from the beginning. When they were imprisoned, under the rule of a cruel leader, when they were prisoners in chains, God miraculously delivered them. Egypt was a picture of the world system, the prison of sin, that no matter how hard they tried, they could not break free from those shackles. It was going to take a miracle to deliver them, and that is just what God did. And He called them out of Egypt. But all of that served as a picture, Matthew says. There was a greater fulfillment hidden in that reality that can now be seen in Jesus. There is a new and greater exodus that will occur, and it will be led by Jesus. He is the one who can set you free from the shackles of sin. God’s ultimate demonstration of love for us, in delivering us miraculously, is seen in Jesus.

Jesus does not rule from a distance, but walks with us as both Shepherd and King.   ~~~   Despite what Christmas legend tells us, we really don’t know that much about the wise men. We know they were from the east, and that they were called “wise men” or magi, and they studied the stars. We don’t know if they were kings, like some assume. We don’t know if there were three. The bible indicates that they did not show up at the manger, but rather, some time later at Mary and Joseph’s house. But what we do know is that they were on a desperate search to see this one who was born King of the Jews so that they could worship him (vs. 2). Matthew tells in 2:9-10 “After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly and with great joy.” So why were they rejoicing? They were rejoicing over the fact that they knew, by God’s providence and sovereignty, that they were about to be in the presence of THE KING of the Jews, the true king. They were overjoyed at the thought of worshiping the King. Their search was not in vain. This is sincere adoration. Adoration and worship is not turned off and on. It is not flipped on like a switch when you walk through the church doors. Adoration and worship is something that stays stirred up and bubbling, and when an opportunity is given to worship, you get excited about it. True worship responds to the greatness of Jesus, because He is always worthy. Worship is not about us feeling like worshiping, it is about us recognizing who is worthy of worship. Not only were these men overjoyed at the prospect of worshiping Christ, but when they arrived, they bowed down to him, and eagerly gave to Him appropriate gifts. Giving was simply an extension of their worship. It was part of their worship. The wise men relinquish self rule, and give to him from the riches of their life to inaugurate his rule in their life. You also need to know that when you pursue Christ in sincere adoration and worship, you will run into those who outright rebel against him, and those who are educated about Jesus, but apathetic. You need to know that on the front end. You need to know, that if you are a true believer, sincere worshiper and follower of Christ, you will be raising your children to be hated by the world. You will be leading your family into this minefield. But that is the great thing about having a shepherd king—while He is ruling over us, He is walking with us.

Those who are religious but indifferent have experienced no change from Christ in their lives.   ~~~   Outright rebellion is one way to respond to King Jesus. That is what we saw in King Herod the other day. But we see a second, more subtle way to respond, and we find this response in the chief priests and scribes—Educated Apathy. Listen to Matthew 2:3 “When Herod the king heard this (the news of the newborn king)…he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet.” They religiously educated were gathered up by Herod, and quickly and accurately gave Herod an answer to his question. They knew a Messiah was coming. They were anticipating Him. They knew he was to be born in Bethlehem just 5 miles south of Jerusalem. They directed Herod to the passage in the OT, Micah, so that he could be assured of this. But did they respond to the Magi’s search? Were they at all concerned or anxious about the birth of the King of the Jews, the long-awaited Messiah? It didn’t seem so. What they know of God, they disregard. Educated Apathy. Jesus confronts the kingdom of their knowledge, their intellect, but they are too blind by their own self-righteousness to see the Savior of the World. It is enough to them that they have knowledge. Jesus would say about his very group later on, “You search the scriptures because in them you think you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” In other words, you think that since you know the word of God, then that earns you a special pass, and yet you pass over the central message of the word. I can’t help but wonder if this is where many people are these days. They are content with their own self-righteousness; they are content with serving the Jesus they have created and fabricated in their minds; with treating Jesus as a buffet line that they pick and choose which parts of him you want, completely indifferent to the reality of Jesus as King and Lord. These men were content to study the scripture, go to church at the prescribed times, say daily prayers, but have none of it impact their souls. They were indifferent. Jesus made no real identifiable difference in their life. And what we see is that educated apathy, when it doesn’t respond to the call of Christ, leads to calls for execution. By the end of Matthew, chief priests and scribes are the ones mocking the King of the Jews, and stirring people up, shouting “Crucify Him!” You see, Christmas time is another reminder, not that a baby was born, but that a King was sent to the earth, and his kingdom confronts and challenges every other kingdom.

Beginning a Bible study routine requires structure and planning, even for teenagers.

God’s Kingship challenges all others, and we must submit to Him and relinquish control of our lives.   ~~~ To what lengths do you go to protect your way of life? If someone challenged you or confronted sin in your life, how defensive would you become? How fiercely would you guard your sin? You see, lots of people are fine with the idea of a savior until it comes to their submission to him as king. At that point, they will do all they can to protect their own kingdom. Look with me at Matthew 2 Matthew 2:2 “Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, “Where is he who has been born the king of the Jew? When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him” Someone once said of Herod that it was better to be a pig in Herod’s kingdom than his son. Herod was a fiercely jealous and suspicious man who would do anything to protect his own control, authority, sense of pride and power. So obsessed with himself that he killed his own brother-in-law, mother-in-law, his wife, and his three sons because he saw them as threats to his kingdom. So Herod gathers up the wise men who have come into the city, and notice what he asks, “At what time did you see this star?” In other words, how long ago did you see this star that prompted your journey? What was he doing? He was determining the present day age of this one born king of the Jews. We can understand why Herod would want to know where Jesus was born. Maybe he wants to worship him too? At least that is what he tells the wise men. But why is he concerned about Jesus’ age? When you read verse 16, it all makes sense. He wanted to know the child’s age so he would know whom to kill to insure that this child king would be killed as well. Herod was a man who killed in order to keep His kingdom and his throne intact. Jesus is a king who dies to keep His throne. Well you might not be as cold-blooded as Herod, but do you see what is going on? Herod’s kingdom is being challenged, and he does everything he can to protect his rule. And the question is, when Jesus challenges and confronts the way you live your life, through the Holy Spirit or through His word, what lengths do you go through to retain your rule? Some of you sneer and shake your fist at God and say, “I am the captain of my own fate.” You respect Christmas, but you do not relinquish control. People are all for the message of a Savior until the time comes for submission. All of us are born with this Herod complex. You see, Christmas time is another reminder, not that a baby was born, but that a King was sent to the earth, and his kingdom confronts and challenges every other kingdom. Who is truly your king, and in whose kingdom do you live?