Sermon - August 31, 2014 - The Story Week 13 - The King Who Had It All

Whenever a passenger plane crashes, it makes the news. Many of us pay attention to the news as we want to know what happened. We really want to know what went wrong in hopes that next time we get in one of those giant tubes flying at 30,000 feet that the same thing won’t happen to us. Flying is still the safety way to travel, partly due to every time there is an accident a team of experts climb all through the wreckage and data to figure out what happened. They open up the black box to figure out what went wrong and what can be done to keep it from happening again.

This morning we are looking at chapter 13 of The Story and the life of Solomon, the third king of Israel. I want us to take a look at his life as if it were a black box. Doing so will help us look at what was done right and what was done wrong. The hope being that we will be able to learn from his life and learn what we should and should not do.

Let’s take a couple of steps back in The Story to review how we got to where we are today. God called Abraham to become the father of the nation of Israel. They soon ended up living in Egypt to avoid a famine and then became slaves and continued to grow in number. God than called Moses to lead them out of Egypt and the Nation of Israel began its journey wandering in the wilderness. The Nation was formed with the mission of pointing other nations, all the people of the world, to the one true God. God wants all people to come back to Him and to spend eternity with Him.

God gave Israel the Promised Land and He allowed them to have kings. The first king was Saul who failed to represent God. God then chose David as king. David did represent God well, and even though he sinned against God, he repented and captured the heart of a gracious God who is available to everyone. This morning in 1 Kings 1, David is old and dying and he passes the leadership of the nation of Israel to Solomon the son of Bathsheba. 

1 Kings 1:29-30

“²⁹ The king swore an oath and said, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every difficulty, ³⁰ just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne in my place, that is exactly what I will do this very day.”

With a lot of pomp and circumstance and even some turmoil with Adonijah, one of David’s other sons trying to become king; Solomon is made King during David’s final days.

While things may have started out rocky, this was probably one of the best times to be king. David had already defeated most of their enemies. If he had not eliminated them, he had at least beaten them into submission for the time being. Other nations were afraid of God and Israel and were willing to get on their kings good side. Unlike today with our $17.7Billion national debt, the Nation of Israel had an abundance of wealth. Solomon had everything handed to him and even early on he showed his wisdom by how he initially responded to Adonijah after he tried to sneak in his own coronation as king before David could pass it on to Solomon.

1 Kings 1:51-52

“⁵¹ It was reported to Solomon: “Look, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first swear to me that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’” ⁵² Then Solomon said, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground, but if evil is found in him, he dies.”

Solomon gave him the benefit of the doubt, let him return home until he later turned on Solomon and forced his hand.

David passed on a fair amount of fatherly and kingly wisdom, but these verses are arguably the most important.

1 Kings 2:2-3

² “As for me, I am going the way of all of the earth. Be strong and be courageous like a man, ³ and keep your obligation to the Lord your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. This is written in the law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you do and wherever you turn,”

David was reminding his son, the new king of Israel to follow the Lord. Remember that as a Nation the commitment was made to follow all of His commandments. He probably even told him, don’t make the same mistakes I did. You know I broke God’s law with your mom, don’t do anything like that it only causes heartache.

David reminded his son to follow the Lord. That is a great reminder for us as parents and grandparents to teach the next generations to honor God and follow His teachings.

We see that Solomon starts out his life honoring God and then something amazing happens.

1 Kings 3:5

“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, Ask. What should I give you?”

God asks Solomon ask for anything, what do you want me to give you? Golly, that could get your mind spinning. Most of us would probably like to say that we would go with something like wisdom, but we would probably be tempted to respond with something a little more self serving.

Solomon even as a young king was wise beyond his years.

1 Kings 3:7-9

“⁷ “Lord my God, You have now made Your servant king in my father David’s place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership. ⁸ Your servant is among Your people You have chosen, a people too numerous to be numbered or counted. ⁹ So give Your servant an obedient heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

Solomon does not give into any selfish desire and asks for wisdom so he could be a better ruler over the people God has put before him. Solomon was wise before God came to visit him, and the Bible tells us that God made him so wise that there has never been nor will there ever be anyone as wise as him.   

Starting in verse 16 we see Solomon’s wisdom tested by two women. You are most likely familiar with this story and if you did this week’s reading you are definitely familiar with it. Two women come to Solomon claiming to be the mother of this baby. They are saying they both gave birth and at night one of the baby’s died and one of the mothers swapped the dead baby for the live baby. Looking at the women there is no way to tell who is telling the truth, so Solomon does something unexpected.

1 Kings 3:24

“²⁴ The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought the sword to the king. ²⁵ Solomon said, “Cut the living boy in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

The rightful mother at this moment was willing to give up her right to her baby so he could live. The other lady did not care and was like that works for me, that way neither of us has him. Solomon was able to use this test to determine who the real mother was and give her the child. Justice was served and God’s wisdom was witnessed by the Nation of Israel.

Solomon’s wisdom is recorded in the Old Testament books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. Here are a handful of examples from our reading this week.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

A Person’s steps are directed by the Lord, how then can anyone understand their own way?

The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord, that sheds light on one’s inmost being.

The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.

To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.


So far as we have looked at Solomon’s life he is doing the right things. He has shown wisdom in dealing with his brother. He continued to follow in his father’s footsteps in following the Lord. He showed wisdom when asking the Lord to help him be a better leader, and he has put that gift from God to use as being that leader.

We should be looking at Solomon’s life so far and thinking about what we can do to learn from him. He follows God, hey that is something we need to do. We need to follow the Lord’s commands and let His Word lead our lives. We also need to use godly wisdom in our lives, and while we will never be as wise as Solomon we do have his writing and all of God’s Word to teach us. If we read our Bibles and apply its wisdom to our lives, we are learning from Solomon.

In the next few chapters we see that Solomon is able to do what David could not, build a temple for God. A beautiful and magnificent temple followed by the sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep to dedicate. The Glory of the Lord filled the temple.

God gave Solomon a blessing and a warning.

1 Kings 9:4-7

“⁴ As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and in what is right, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances, ⁵ I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel. ⁶ If you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep My commands—My statutes that I have set before you—and if you go and serve other gods and worship them, ⁷ I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them, and I will reject the temple I have sanctified for My name. Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.”

The Lord was pretty clear, follow me or I will pull away my blessing. Pretty simple and the same message we have seen throughout Judges. Follow the commands of the Lord and He will bless you, if you do not He will let you deal with the sinful mess you create on your own.

This was not the first time Solomon had heard this message, it was been told to him several times as if trying to emphasize a point. Follow God, Follow His commands, Live up to your Commitments!

Solomon the wisest man to ever live, who started out so strong, ends poorly.

Solomon had 700 wives from many different kingdoms and many different religious backgrounds. He has wives from nations that worshipped pagan gods. As Solomon grew old the influence of his wives grew and his dedication to the Lord began to wane. As his worship of the One True God became less important he began to worship idols with many of his wives. This angered the Lord.

1 Kings 11:9-11

“⁹ The Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Yahweh, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰ He had commanded him about this, so that he would not follow other gods, but Solomon did not do what the Lord had commanded. ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this and did not keep My covenant and My statutes, which I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.”

Solomon’s heart was divided and led astray God was angry and divided the kingdom.

We need to remember to not let people or things lead us astray. Even people we love can lead us away from God or lead us to break one of God’s commandments. We need to remember that God is first at all times, Honor Him, and Follow His Commands.

No one wakes up and says ‘I’d like to wreck my life and ruin all my relationships’ these things happen slowly. If the wisest man failed, then what about us?

We need to live our lives to point others to Jesus Christ, that needs to be our mission in life. We need to remember that how we live matters and it will influence others. Stay out of lukewarm waters by praying to finish strong, ask for wisdom, and be accountable to someone as needed.

God is first at all times, Honor Him, and Follow His Commands!



Prayers and Blessings!

Robert

Sermon - August 24, 2014 - The Story Week 12 - The Tragic Pivot in David's Life

Chapter 12, I am just amazed at how quickly our journey through The Story is going. I pray you are seeing how each part of scripture we have reviewed so far is tied together and how they all support God’s ultimate plan. Remember He loves us and wants to spend eternity with us, so everything He has done, everything He has orchestrated through history is to achieve that goal.

Once there was a little boy who lived in the country. They had to use an outhouse for a facility and the little boy absolutely hated the outhouse because it was always hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and it stank all the time.  So the little boy decided that, because the outhouse was on the bank by a creek, he would push the outhouse into the water. After a spring rain when the creek was fully swollen, the boy knew it was time to push the outhouse into the creek.  He got a big stick and he pushed and the outhouse toppled into the creek and floated away.  Later that night his dad told him that they were going to make a trip out to the woodshed. The little boy knew that meant a spanking. He asked his father why and the father said, "Because someone pushed the outhouse into the creek today, and I think it was you. Wasn't it, son?"  The boy answered, "Yes, it was, Dad."  Then the little boy thought and said, "Today, Dad, I read in school that when George Washington cut down the cherry tree, he didn't get into trouble because he told the truth."  The father responded, "Well, yes, son, but George Washington's father wasn't in that cherry tree.”

Most of us have never toppled an outhouse, but all of us can identify with the little boy in three ways. First, we have something inside us that wants to do wrong. Second, our lack of goodness affects others. And, third, there are always consequences to our choices. We see all these things at work in The Story. We discover that David has it all. Everything he does turns to gold. He defeats enemies time and again, shows kindness to Jonathon’s son Mephibosheth, and expands his kingdom. The world is at peace and David is at rest in his palace. Then we learn in 2 Samuel 11 that David lets down his guard and makes some tragic choices that cause a pivotal shift in David’s life, family and kingdom.

Last week, we saw how David went from being a shepherd boy to being a warrior to a king. He is known as the greatest king the Israelites have ever had. Some say he completed the conquest of the Promised Land begun by Joshua, defeating the Philistines, Arameans, Moabites, and others. David fought many battles, and defeated many kingdoms. He was also a gifted poet and he wrote most of Psalms. He was compassionate, he was just. But more than anything, David loved God. The Bible describes him as a man after God’s own heart.

David let his guard down, even as a man after God’s own heart, he fell into sin and had to deal with the consequences.

2 Samuel 11:1-5

“11 In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem. ² One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman. ³ So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he reported, “This is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterward, she returned home. ⁵ The woman conceived and sent word to inform David: “I am pregnant.”

David was not doing what he should be doing. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and she gets pregnant.

So what does David do, he tries to cover it up. He quickly summons Bathsheba’s husband figuring if he is home, no one will ever know the child is David’s.

2 Samuel 11:9-11

“⁹ But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn’t go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?” ¹¹ Uriah answered David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this!”

David tried to get Uriah to go spend some quality time with his wife, but he was not going to do it. He even tried to get Uriah drunk so that he would go home to his wife but it did not work. Uriah, a man of integrity, refuses to be rewarded while his fellow soldiers are out in the field.

David is now feeling the pressure. His sin is catching up with him and so far his attempts to cover it up are not working. So instead of trying to convince Uriah to stay home, he sends him back to the front lines but not with the purist of intentions.

2 Samuel 11:15

“¹⁵ In the letter he wrote: Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies.”

Uriah dies in battle and David takes Bathsheba as one of his wives. David thinks everything is back to normal, he thinks his sins are covered up. BUT God loved David too much to let things appear normal.

Nathan, a prophet of the Lord receives a message for David and comes to him and confronts him privately. He tells him a story of a rich man who takes a poor man’s only lamb. David was angry and declares that the rich man must pay 4 fold for that lamb that he took.

2 Samuel 12:7

“⁷ Nathan replied to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.”

David is confronted with his sin and with the consequences of those choices. He is hit squarely between the eyes with what he has done. Unlike his predecessor Saul, David does not make excuses for his sin.

2 Samuel 12:13

“David responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”’

David acts like a man and fully confesses his sins right there. No wishy washy beating around the bush passing the buck or kicking it down the road… it stopped with David. ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’

Psalm 51 was written after David had been confronted by the Prophet Nathan and I think it shows us that David comes clean with God.

Psalm 51:1-12

“¹ Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. ² Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. ⁴ Against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. ⁵ Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. ⁶ Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within. ⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. ⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. ⁹ Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. ¹⁰ God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ¹¹ Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit.”

We read that David is forgiven for his sinful behavior but there are consequences in his personal life and in his kingdom.

As far as the consequences in his personal life we see three devastating things happen in David’s life.

In Chapter 12, the son of Bathsheba dies. The child who was created through the act of adultery does not live. David pleads with God, but the consequence as painful as it is stands.  

Later in Chapter 13 we read about how David’s son Amnon is obsessed with his half sister Tamar and forces himself on her. This leads to another brother Absalom killing Amnon.

In Chapter 15 we see that David’s son Absalom rebels against David. Partly caused because David did not deal with Amnon himself.

This leads us to the consequences that have impacted the kingdom that God gave David.

Absalom’s rebellion against David leads to him fleeing and living in exile as Absalom takes the throne of Israel.

Eventually David is given his kingdom back but as a father he is heartbroken once again. First he was betrayed by his son Absalom and then his son is killed dead. Which then lead to another one of his sons, Sheba, to revolt against him. Sheba’s life was also cut short to end the rebellion.

Second Samuel Chapters 12-20 are filled with consequences that are started with that pivotal movement when David gave in to sin and betrayed God’s command. A man after God’s own heart had a lot of trouble and heart break.

With all of this turmoil, David handles all the consequences with dignity. David’s relationship with God is restored.

We read in:
1 Chronicles 29:10-13

“¹⁰ Then David praised the Lord in the sight of all the assembly. David said,
May You be praised, Lord God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity. ¹¹ Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all. ¹² Riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in Your hand, and it is in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all. ¹³ Now therefore, our God, we give You thanks and praise Your glorious name.”

David learned to Love and Praise the Lord during the Good and Bad in his life. That is a wonderful lesson that each of us need to apply to our lives.

I don’t want to forget about Uriah this morning. We should live our lives like him, noble warriors whose actions speak of the integrity we value. We say we are a Christian, but our actions needs to DECLARE it!

Now, What can we learn from David and this chapter of his life?

When we sin, and we all we sin, we must do 3 things….

            Admit our sins honestly to God

            Live with the consequences with dignity
            Experience the forgiving, restoring grace of God

We also need to avoid being like Saul who tried to make excuses for his sins. Hey, we are human, it is going to happen.

Accept it; you are going to sin.

Confess it; lay your sins before the Lord.
Deal with it; there are going to be consequences for our actions.
Let God Forgive it; God Loves you way too much to leave you in sinful despair. He is going to lift you up and cover you in His grace.

Accept it, Confess it, Deal with it, and let God Forgive it!

 
Thank You for reading!

God Bless,

Robert

 

 

Sermon - August 17, 2014 - The Story Week 11 - From Shepherd to King: David

Psalm 1:1-2

“¹ How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers! ² Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.”

The Psalmist exhorts us to meditate on Scripture day and night. The word for ‘mediate’ is the Hebrew word ‘haga’ and it carries the image of reading God’s Word like a dog gnawing on a bone. Not like some little Chihuahua who might and I emphasize might leave a couple of little scratches in the bone, more like our 100 plus pound lab who would tear it to pieces in seconds. The Psalmist is telling us to tear into the word with the same tenacity that a 100 pound lab tears into her bone.

I hope spending time reading the Bible in this fashion as we read the Story together helps develop a passion for you to want to devour the Word of God on a more frequent basis!

There were these three golfers out on the back nine one day and they were all struck by lightning and ended up at the pearly gates of heaven. They asked St. Peter if they were able to golf in heaven. St. Peter assured them that heaven had the best golf they had ever seen, but there was one simple rule. Do not hit a duck. The guys were excited and off to play golf they went, then one day one of them hit a duck. St. Peter approached with a not-so-gorgeous woman and said “You’re the one who hit a duck?” St. Peter handcuffed the woman to the man who hit the duck. They took off to be that way for all eternity. Sometime later another one of the guys hit a duck and sure enough St. Peter showed up with another un-gorgeous woman and handcuffed her to the duck hitter and they were that way for all of eternity. The last guy continued to play and play. One day St. Peter approached with a knock-down, gorgeous woman and handcuffed this stunning beauty to the guy. Elated, the last golfer said. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this!” The gorgeous woman said, “I hit a duck.”

This is a funny story with a sad truth. Our world judges on externals, by how we look on the outside. God does not make judgments on externals. God looks at the heart. God also wants his people to resist judging on externals. We see this truth in The Story as we come to the anointing of David as Israel’s king.

We pick up God’s Story in 1 Samuel chapter 16 after Saul has already been declared unfit as king by God. Samuel has conveyed this message to Saul, but Saul is still leading the nation of Israel. God has told Samuel that He is going to guide Samuel to the new king in Bethlehem, one of the sons of Jesse.

In order to keep Saul in the dark and to protect his own skin, Samuel went to Bethlehem to sacrifice to the Lord and sought out Jesse and his sons while he was there. Samuel is probably thinking it might be easy to pick out God’s next king. Remember Saul was taller than everyone else so he stood out. Using that thought process Samuel probably thought he could figure out what God was going to do. When Jesse and he sons started gathering, Samuel found out he was mistaken.

1 Samuel 16:6-7

“⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before Him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”

Samuel saw that his instincts were not right. Jesse presented Abinadab and then were Shammah, and they were not who God had chosen.

1 Samuel 16:10-13

“¹⁰ After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.” ¹¹ Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here. ¹² So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance. Then the Lord said, “Anoint him, for he is the one.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord took control of David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.”

David a young boy was chosen as the next king of Israel, even before Saul had vacated the throne. God saw the potential of a king in the young boy.

Psalm 78:70-72

“⁷⁰ He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds; ⁷¹ He brought him from tending ewes to be shepherd over His people Jacob— over Israel, His inheritance. ⁷² He shepherded them with a pure heart and guided them with his skillful hands.”

David was out taking care of his sheep. He was not concerned about a traveling prophet or if he was being seen as unclean. He had a task to do and he was doing it. He was caring for those within his charge. As a shepherd David would protect his sheep and protect them from danger. Most importantly for God to have chosen him as the next king, David was a man after God’s own heart.

God chose David as king because He saw the potential, but others did not see it.

Jesse, David’s father, did not even summon David when Samuel came to anoint a new king. He called all of David’s brothers but had to be asked if there was anyone else. Jesse obviously was looking at his sons based on who was the oldest, bravest, and who had maybe fought in the most battles. He did not think of David.

David’s older brother obviously did not think much of him.

1 Samuel 17:28

“²⁸ David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and became angry with him. “Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart—you came down to see the battle!”

David was doing the will of his father Jesse delivering supplies and checking on his brothers and his older brother Eliab attacks him. He was doing a good thing and is being accused of being evil.

So far his father and his brother did not see him as kingly, and neither did king Saul.

1 Samuel 17:32-33

“³² David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” ³³ But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”

Your just a kid, you are not ‘big’ enough. If Saul does not think he is big enough to fight in a battle he definitely does not think he is ‘big’ enough to be a king.

What do you think Goliath thought of David’s potential?

1 Samuel 17:42-43

“⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy and handsome. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” Then he cursed David by his gods.”

Goliath is calling David a puny little stick, and then goes on to tell David that he is going to kill him. Needless to say, Goliath did not think much of David’s potential.

Other than God there is only one who believed in David’s potential.

1 Samuel 18:4

“⁴ Then Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his military tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.”

Jonathan, Saul’s son and the known successor to the throne, saw David with the potential of a king. We see in this verse that Jonathan gives David his royal robe. A precursor to David being the next king of Israel.

The next phase of David’s life with its ups and downs are really training him for being king.

Even Saul who is hostile to David over and over, is God’s tool to train David in godly, kingly character. Things started out ok as Saul liked having a soldier who was successful, but as David became more popular than Saul jealousy creped in. There are several attempts on David’s life and what we see is that God uses it to teach David humility and patience. God used these tough times to prepare David for his future.

David also spends some time living as a fugitive from the kingdom that he is supposed to be the king over. The whole time he learns to depend on God for guidance and help. A good example is found in chapter 23 when David and his men are in hiding and they hear about the Philistines attacking Keilah.

1 Samuel 23:1-2

It was reported to David: “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and raiding the threshing floors.” ² So David inquired of the Lord: “Should I launch an attack against these Philistines?” The Lord answered David, “Launch an attack against the Philistines and rescue Keilah.”

David did as the Lord told him to do and rescued Keilah. Shortly their after we get another example of David learning to depend on God when he hears that Saul is going to come to Keilah and trap him there. He asks God will Saul come and will the people of Keilah hand him over.

1 Samuel 23:11-12

“¹¹ Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down as Your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, please tell Your servant.” The Lord answered, “He will come down.” ¹² Then David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?” “They will,” the Lord responded.”

It is only after years of training that David is ready to represent God and God’s character that he is inaugurated as king over Israel.

In Second Samuel chapter 2 David is made king over Judah and later in chapter 5 after more turmoil, he is finally made king over the entire Nation of Israel. 14 years after beginning his training, David has become king.

David as king continues with ‘the upper story’ and points us to God paving the way to spend eternity with us. It is one more step that points to the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

David and Jesus are from the same tribe and the same city.

David was anointed with oil, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit.

If you remember we have had a few other parallels to Jesus so far in The Story.

In Exodus the Passover Lamb and Jesus is our Passover Lamb

Jesus and Joshua have the same meaning – Savior
Judges deliver – Jesus is our ultimate deliverer
In Ruth we talked about how Jesus is our Redeemer

Every part of The Story points us towards God’s ultimate Goal of being with us.

Now David did not have many people who thought he had the potential to be a king, only one person saw that potential. All we need is one person in our lives who will see the potential within us, to be what God wants us to be. Listen to that one person who encourages you to be more.

We may not have the skills, knowledge, or character to achieve that potential today but God will put us through training to develop us. I am sure most of us will not be running for our lives and fighting hostile armies, but each day we should be learning to depend on God and developing the character that God expects us to have.

It is through this season of training and testing that God will develop us to be the people that God wants us to be so that we can reach out to others, spreading His love, sharing His Gospel, and helping them achieve their potential.

Thank You for reading and God Bless,

Robert

Sermon - August 10, 2014 - The Story Week 10 - Standing Tall, Falling Hard

We are at week 10 of our time in The Story. We are basically 1/3^rd of the way through our 31 week journey. I can tell you that for me it has been enjoyable and has contributed to additional Biblical conversations around our house. I hope it is having the same effect for you and your home.

This week we are in a transition period. The timeline for the beginning of our chapter this week takes place in the time of the Judges, but ends during the reign of Saul. 

The key idea today is ‘distortion’. Webster defines distortion as, ‘to twist something out of its original shape.’ Have you seen those computer programs that can distort images? Most phones have them today. You can distort a human face to look humorous or terrifying. As we come to The Story in the Book of First Samuel, we will examine three major distortions of the perfect picture God set before His people.

Let’s start with a little background information before we get to the distortions.

There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ephraim who had two wives, the first being Hannah and the second is Peninnah.

1 Samuel 1:4-5

“Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he always gave portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to each of her sons and daughters. ⁵ But he gave a double portion to Hannah, for he loved her even though the Lord had kept her from conceiving.”

Elkanah loved Hannah, but she did not feel whole since she did not have any children, she was heartbroken. Elkanah’s second wife Peninnah made sure to rub it in every chance she could.

1 Samuel 1:7

^“7 Whenever she went up to the Lord’s house, her rival taunted her in this way every year. Hannah wept and would not eat.”

This of course just made things worse for Hannah. It is one thing when you feel bad about something, it can go to a whole new level when someone makes sure to remind you about it over and over again. In that day in time Hannah felt incomplete not having given her husband an heir, but having someone reminder her of it constantly only made her feel worse.

One year the pain from the constant reminder from Peninnah was almost too much to for Hannah to bear that she went to the temple and wept.

1 Samuel 1:10-11

“¹⁰ Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears. ¹¹ Making a vow, she pleaded, “Lord of Hosts, if You will take notice of Your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give Your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.”

Hannah cried out in agony and asked God for a child, promising to dedicate the child to God. God heard her cry and blessed her with a son, who she names Samuel. Hannah was true to her word and when Samuel was a young boy she turned him over to Eli to serve in the Tabernacle. We find that God continue to bless Hannah and she has several more children, 2 boys and 2 girls.

A faithful woman, faithfully hands over her son to serve the Lord. A background of faith for the three major distortions of God’s purpose.

The Distortion of Phoniness:

Eli is the head priest and his sons Hophni and Phineas served with him.

1 Samuel 2:12

“Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord”

This verse makes it pretty clear, this is not just my opinion. Eli’s sons had no regard for the Lord. In the next several verses we see how they stole from God’s portion of the offerings provided by the people. They would outright steal from those visiting the temple if they did not like the way they did things. We even read that the boys of Eli were sexually immoral. Simply put, they did not act like the priests they were supposed to be.

Eli knew what was going on.

1 Samuel 2:23-24

“He said to them, “Why are you doing these things? I have heard about your evil actions from all these people. ²⁴ No, my sons, the report I hear from the Lord’s people is not good.”

Hophni and Phineas would not listen to their father, but as head priest Eli should have done something about it. I would like to say he that he corrected his sons, but no he let his sons continue with their wicked behavior. A man of God came to Eli and said.

1 Samuel 2:29

“²⁹ Why, then, do all of you despise My sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship? You have honored your sons more than Me, by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of My people Israel.”

The Distortion of Phoniness is pretty clear, Eli and his sons were supposed to be men of God. They should have lived their lives accordingly and it should have been obvious to those around them. Not saying they should have been perfect, but they should have done what God wanted instead of feeding their own desires.

Matthew 5:16

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

As Christians we can’t just have an outward appearance of religion. We must be genuine on the inside, we must be authentic, and we must live what we believe. If we do, people will see it.

Being phony is not a Christ like characteristic, it is a Distortion of God’s creation.

The next Distortion we find in 1 Samuel is the Distortion of Conformity.

God created each of us and not one of us are identical to the other. Even identical twins have differences. God created the Nation of Israel for a specific purpose, part of which was to be His people and to be a blessing to the World and all of human kind.

What we find in 1 Samuel 8 is that they were trying to change things up again. They are Distorting what God had started.

1 Samuel 8:5

“⁵ They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not follow your example. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”

They are wanting to be like everyone else with a king to rule over them. Let’s think about this for a moment. Who is around them, Mesopotamians, Moabites, Canaanites, Midianites, Amorites, and the Philistines. The people of Israel who are ruled by the One True God want to trade His leadership for that of a man like the pagan nations that surround them. They want to be like those who worship statues, sacrifice their children, and who God wanted them to destroy. Does not sound like a wise choice to me, but the people were clear and very adamant they wanted a human king to lead them, judge them, and rule over them. They wanted to conform to the world.

Romans 12:2

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

It is real easy to want to be like everyone else and to want what everyone else has. But like the Nation of Israel who was created to stand out and be a blessing to others, we to are to stand out in the world. We are not to aim to be like everyone else. God’s people are to be different; we are not called to be like other people. We are God’s unique people and each of us has a unique gift that allows us to be a blessing to others.

Conforming to the world is a Distortion of the uniqueness of God’s creation.

The Final Distortion we find in the Book of 1^st Samuel is the Distortion of Misrepresentation.

As 1^st Samuel continues, God gives in and appoints Saul as the king of Israel. Then the Ammonites come and invade Jabesh-gilead in an effort to weaken and humiliate the Nation of Israel. When Saul heard this, the Spirit of God came over him.

1 Samuel 11:6-8

“⁶ When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God suddenly took control of him, and his anger burned furiously. ⁷ He took a team of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the land of Israel by messengers who said, “This is what will be done to the ox of anyone who doesn’t march behind Saul and Samuel.” As a result, the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out united. ⁸ Saul counted them at Bezek. There were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000 men from Judah.”

God anoints Saul and he defeats the Ammonites. It is through the deliverance of Israel from the Ammonites that the people accept Saul as their king.

Things did not always go the way they were supposed to. Saul offered a burnt offering to the Lord instead of waiting for Samuel as he was supposed to do. This was the beginning of his downfall. In chapter 15 we find that Saul disobeys God.

1 Samuel 15:3

“³ Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Do not spare them. Kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.”

What does Saul and his men do?

1 Samuel 15:9

“⁹ Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, cattle, and choice animals, as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.”

Saul was God’s representative to the world. He was supposed to do what God commanded him to do, and he did not follow through. Not doing what God wanted him to do was misrepresenting God to others, and it did not go well for Saul.

1 Samuel 15:23

“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.”

Saul Distorted God’s Message by Misrepresenting Him. We, too, are representative of God to the world. When we disobey God we distort God to the world. Let us be like Samuel who obeyed God all of his life. Let’s make sure we are true to God’s Word.

Faithfulness can counter the Distortions we talked about today.

If you are faithful to God you will live your life accordingly and will not be phony.

If you are faithful to God you will know you were created by God for a unique purpose and you will not conform to the world.

If you are faithful to God you will represent him fully, follow His commands, share His Word and Love.

Be Faithful to God and don’t let the distortions sneak in.


Thanks for reading and God Bless!

Robert

Sermon - August 3, 2014 - The Story Week 9 - The Faith of a Foreign Woman

Ruth 1:1-2

“¹ During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to live in the land of Moab for a while. ² The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the land of Moab and settled there.”

Our Historical Biblical story this morning ties to last week’s message and time of the Judges. Remember that is the time frame between the passing of Joshua the son of Nun and the appointing of the first King of Israel. The time of Judges is a period of religious rebellion and foreign oppression. Scripture does not tell us why the famine has occurred, but knowing that this is a time of invading armies, many battles, the removal of God’s blessing, all due to the faithlessness of the people of God we should not be surprised.

Whatever the cause of the famine, Elimelech decides that moving his family to a new environment, the country of Moab, is the right thing for them. Elimelech plans the move so he can better provide for his wife and sons, but things did not work out as well as he liked.

 Ruth 1:3-5

“Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about 10 years, ⁵ both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two children and without her husband.”

The family relocates to Moab, and then husband and father dies. The sons pick up the pieces and get married and then 10 years later they to pass on. Here Naomi is left not only without her spouse, but has also lost her two sons. This would be devastating for any person to endure, but it would have been even more lonesome living in another country away from any family.

Naomi a faithful wife and mother is now left with two Moabite women, her daughter in-laws, and all three of them are widows. Naomi decides the best course of action for her is to return to Bethlehem and encourages Ruth and Oprah to go back to their families.

Ruth 1:8-9

“⁸ She said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home. May the Lord show faithful love to you as you have shown to the dead and to me. ⁹ May the Lord enable each of you to find security in the house of your new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.”

Oprah eventually listed to Naomi and headed back to her family in hopes of beginning a new life. Ruth on the other hand insisted on staying by Naomi’s side.

Ruth 1:16-17

“But Ruth replied: Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

Ruth was not going to budge, even to the point of asking Yahweh to punish her if she did. As far as Ruth was concerned Naomi was her family now and no one else mattered. As much as Naomi may not have wanted to admit it she needed Ruth, see needed the companionship.

Ruth 1:20-21

“²⁰ Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has pronounced judgment on me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

Naomi is blaming God for the famine, she blames God for the death of Elimelech, and the death of both of her sons. Naomi is blaming God for her where her life has ended up, hungry, lonely, grieving, and she blames God for ruining the lives of Oprah and Ruth. Naomi blames God and it is turning into bitterness against Him.

Most of us can relate to making bad choices in life and having to deal with the consequences. If we make a bad choice or a long string of them, we know that when disaster hits it is hard to place the blame anywhere else except on us. To the best of our knowledge that is not what happened here. Naomi did not cause the famine or murder her sons, she was the victim of a sinful world.

Ecclesiastes 9:12

“For man certainly does not know his time: like a fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.”

Bad things happened and Naomi had to pick up the pieces.

I am sure some of us can relate to this! Naomi faced loss after loss and bitterness brewed within her. She blamed God for her situation, she probably asked God many why questions that we can relate to.

Why would God allow cancer, heart attacks, or strokes to happen to me or a loved one?

Why would God allow children to be abused or beaten?

Why would God not allow me to provide for my family?

Why would God allow me to struggle with sin?

Why, Why, Why? I am sure each of us have had our why questions during our lifetimes.

Anger and bitterness prevail during these times in our lives as it was in Naomi’s. Thankfully her story does not end there.

Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem and Ruth works daily to gather food to feed her and her mother in-law. See there was not a lot of work for an older widow and a pagan foreigner. There was no want ads or job finder website for them to use. Their options were to beg or go glean in the fields of one of the farmers. She ends up in the fields of Boaz and he looks after her.

Ruth 2:8-9

^“8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants. ⁹ See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”

We see in the following verses that Boaz continues to look out for Ruth. He providers her a huge lunch, which she takes some of it home to Naomi. He has his men leave some grain behind for her, and she gathered more than she would have otherwise. Boaz was a blessing to Ruth and to Naomi.

To this point in the story, Ruth has risked everything for Naomi. She left her homeland to be a foreigner in a land that her people had oppressed for 18 years. Things could have turned really ugly for this young lady. Instead Boaz sees the good in her. He sees her courage, faith, and dedication and favors her.

At the end of the day Ruth tells Naomi all that has happened.

Ruth 2:20

“²⁰ Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, who has not forsaken his kindness to the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers.”

It is in this verse that we see Naomi changing from one who blames God for all the bad things in her life to a woman who sees that the Lord has not forgotten her. She tells Ruth that God has shown kindness to them as well as the dead members of her family by placing Ruth in the field of Boaz. This is a key verse in the Book of Ruth. Here bitter Naomi sees God moving and extending kindness, something she did not expect to happen.

Also in this verse we see that Boaz is one of their ‘family redeemers’ or as The Story translated it ‘kinsman-redeemer’. What the heck is a kinsman-redeemer? There are 5 requirements of a kinsman or family redeemer.

The redeemer must be a near kinsman, or a relative to the one redeemed.

The redeemer must be willing to perform the work of the redemption.

The redeemer must possess the ability to redeem.

The redeemer must himself be free.

The redeemer must pay the value or price of redemption.

Kinsman redeemers are relatives who could help family members out in their time of need. They would redeem property, buy back slaves, avenge wrongful deaths, marry widows, help with court cases, and generally be an advocate for family members in need.

For Naomi and Ruth, who had nothing, if Ruth were to become part of Boaz’ household they would be provided for. Elimelech’s land would be bought back and they would be provided for. As the harvest season comes to an end, Naomi seeks to play matchmaker in an effort to provide for Ruth.

Naomi has Ruth get all dressed up in her nicest clothes and gives her specific directions on what she is to do in an effort to have Boaz’ step up as kinsman redeemer. Boaz had shown favor to Ruth and their hope was that Boaz would be willing to take on this responsibility.

Ruth went to the threshing floor and as the night wore down, she went and laid at Boaz feet.

Ruth 3:8-9

“⁸ At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman! ⁹ So he asked, “Who are you?” “I am Ruth, your slave,” she replied. “Spread your cloak over me, for you are a family redeemer.”

The Book of Ruth goes on to tell us that her faithfulness to God and Naomi is repaid. Boaz is willing to step up and be the kinsman redeemer but there is a something that needs to be worked out first. In the morning Boaz tracks down the one family member that is first in line as redeemer and ask him about the land and then about Ruth. When this man thinks about his wife, his kids, their inheritance he backs away pretty quickly and offers Boaz the opportunity to step up and become the kinsman redeemer.

At a great risk and personal expense Boaz becomes kinsman redeemer. He marries Ruth to carry on the family name of Elimelech, as the first born would belong to Ruth’s first husband. Boaz also had to pay for the land of Elimelech. As kinsman redeemer Boaz used his own resources to benefit others. Due to his graciousness Naomi and Ruth were now being cared for by a godly, generous, and caring man. Boaz and Ruth were married and a short time later a son was born.

Ruth 4:14-17

“¹⁴ Then the women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” ¹⁶ Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and took care of him. ¹⁷ The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.”

Naomi is blessed and her faith in God is restored.

Boaz and Ruth are the Great Grandparents of King David.

Most of us can identify with some part of Naomi and Ruth’s story. They experienced a life changing situation that rocked their world. Naomi felt that God had turned away from her. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever asked those ‘Why’ questions to God?

Naomi and Ruth had Boaz who stepped in and redeemed them, we have our own redeemer.

1 Peter 1:18-19

“¹⁸ For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.”

Jesus Christ is our ultimate Kinsman Redeemer.

A redeemer must be a near kinsman, Jesus Christ is a near kinsman to all mankind because He is fully human and our creator.

A redeemer must be willing to perform the work of the redemption, Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life for all of human kind.

A redeemer must possess the ability to redeem. Jesus Christ is the only one capable of redeeming us due to living a sinless life.

A redeemer must himself be free, Jesus Christ was free because He fulfilled the law.

A redeemer must pay the value or price of redemption, Jesus Christ offered Himself as the price of redemption.

No matter what is going on in your life or the struggles you have faced Jesus Christ has redeemed you!

 

 

Thank you for reading and may God Bless You Abundantly!

 

Robert