
00:00
00:00
00:01
Transcript
1/0
you do do do you do do so you Hey, man. Hey, man. Let me see if it's time yet. Yep, close enough. Amen and amen. Good evening Central Park Baptist Church. Good evening to you all. How are we doing? Amen, glad to hear it. If you're able to rise, we would like to open up with hymn 569, hymn 569, sound the battle cry, and then we'll have an opening word of prayer. Sound the battle cry, if you're able to rest upon your feet, for those of you who are able. Sound the battle cry, hymn 569. See the foe is nigh. Raise the standard high. For the Lord. Put your arm on. Stand firm, everyone. Rest your cause upon his holy word. Rousing soldiers rally round the banner, ready, steady, pass the word along. Onward, forward, shout aloud, Hosanna! Christ is captain of the mighty throng. Strong to meet the foe. Marching on we go. While our cause we know. Must prevail. Shield and air banner bright. Leaning in the light. Battling for the right we never can. Let's shout aloud Hosanna on that chorus, amen? So let's hit that on this last verse. Here we go. O thou God of all, hear us when we call, help us one and all by thy grace. When the battle's done and the victory's won, may we wear the crown before thy face. Arouse the soldiers, rally round the banner, ready, steady, pass the word along. Onward, forward, shout aloud, Hosanna, Christ is captain of the mighty throne. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us into your house this evening to worship you. Lord, thank you for bringing us back to reunite in fellowship with one another this evening. It's good to see the brethren and all their faces this evening. Lord, I pray for those that are still coming in that they travel safely with your grace. Lord, I just also pray that you open our ears and our hearts to your word this evening, Lord, that we may take it and go and testify and bring glory to your name and bring more people into your house. and to your home in heaven, Lord, we thank you so much for your love and your grace, in Jesus' name, amen. Amen, amen, amen. Thank you so much, brother. Since you've done so well with that first hymn, we'll let you sit on this second hymn, okay? Is that all right? Hymn 595, Hymn 595, even though this is kind of a standing song, too. Just a closer walk with thee, Hymn 595. Just a closer walk with thee, Hymn 595. ♪ Sweet but thou art strong ♪ ♪ Jesus keep me from all wrong ♪ ♪ I'll be satisfied as long as I walk ♪ ♪ Let me walk close to thee ♪ Just a closer walk. ♪ Just a closer walk with thee ♪ Friend, Jesus is my plea. Daily walking, daily walking close to Thee. And let it be, dear Lord, let it be. Through this world of toils and snares, ♪ If I falter, Lord, who cares? ♪ ♪ Who with me my burden shares? ♪ ♪ None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee ♪ ♪ Just that closer walk with me ♪ ♪ Ready, Jesus, is my plea ♪ Daily walking close to Thee, let it be, dear Lord, let it be. When my feeble life is o'er, time will never be no more. Guide me gently, safely o'er to thy kingdom shore, to thy shore. A gentle step closer walk with thee. Ready, Jesus, is my goal. Well, you got your, have your bulletin, get those out. Everybody have your bulletin from Sunday? We've got folks that aren't feeling good, so pray for them. Some are here, some are not. Are y'all still okay? Y'all awful quiet. Everybody good, say amen. Okay, good, all right. Monday, oh, that's already over. Men's prayer breakfast, all right, I'll get it straight here. This Saturday, all right, 8.30, men. Please, please, just send out a text this week, all right? If you've got somebody in your contacts, send them out. And put a thing in there and ask them to pass it along about a prayer breakfast at Saturday morning at 830. Then at 930, we'll go out and hand out some flyers. I think there's supposed to be some rain that coming in, but I don't know when it's supposed to be over. But we'll make that determination Saturday morning. If the weather permits, we'll go out for a little while and put some flyers on some doors this coming Saturday. So don't forget about that. Then Sunday morning at 8.30, 24 and 24. So help me with that as well. Send out a text, if you would, please. And let's get folks here on Sunday morning at 830 to help us pray. God blessed this past Sunday, baptized four. So just looking for another. Let's have another good month. And we have not because we ask not. But if we're going to ask for it, then let's put the work in as well. Amen. So please come. That starts at the work starts really today, but then Saturday with our door knocking and then of course Sunday morning at 24 and 24 at 830. And then on the bulletin board back here, we're going to start a senior lunch, if that's what you want to call it. There's a sign-up sheet. There's also, I think, some different names. I think they're going to vote on something to call that. But we're going to try to do that every other month or something like that for senior Saints, 50 and up. 50 and up, all right? Now, I don't know what we're going to call them, senior saints? I like wiser elders, something like that. But we'll figure that out. But that is February 17th will be the first one, and it's going to be at noon on a Saturday. So please, there's a sign-up sheet if you're going to come so we can get an idea. If you need any details about that, ask Ms. White. She's kind of taking care of the menu and all those kinds of things, so don't forget about that. So take your time and look at that this evening, all right? Ladies, you've got a Bible study Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. next week. Don't forget about that as well, all right? So a lot of things on there. Make sure you keep your bulletins for the month of February, all right? How about your prayer sheets? Anybody need a prayer sheet? If you need a prayer sheet, just raise your hand. We'll get you one. All right. Please, again, continue to pray for those that are on here. There's several. Brother Martin has been in the hospital. He's in between, you know, doing some physical therapy and things of that nature. So keep him in your prayer. Along with the others, there's several that are sick, Ms. Jean Marie, she's got the, whatever's been going around this past week, so y'all pray for her and her family, and of course, again, all these that are on the prayer sheet, please pray for them, and let's ask the Lord to, let's keep everybody well, amen, I like well. Amen, in fact, if the weather would stay like it is today, till about, April and then warm up, you know, I'm all in. And so I pray that the Lord again, just be with our folks that aren't feeling good. And, and the Lord to help us with that. I know that, you know, that stuff's going around. So keep them in your prayers. All right. Again, pray for our day, Sunday. Lord, help us have a good Sunday. Just a great day. The only way that we're going to do at least as well as we did this past Sunday, this coming Lord's Day, if the Lord doesn't come back, is if we plan for it. And if we put the work in. We gotta put the work in. If we wanna keep that up, then we have to put the work in in order to keep doing it. Amen. All right, good. Y'all are kind of quiet this evening. Y'all all right? Y'all was singing good, and then you got all kinds of quiet. Y'all all right? You're making notes or drawing something on your paper or something like that? All right. Well, let's go to the Lord in prayer, and we'll pray for our offering as well. Again, remember these that are on our help list as well. Father, we thank you, Lord, for your goodness to us. Lord, I'm thankful for our folks that are here tonight and their faithfulness. I pray God that you would be with us tonight, Lord, God, help us to receive what you have for us. I pray, Lord, that you'd please be with our folks that are not feeling well. God, there's folks that are on the mend. They're not 100%, but so I pray, God, that you'd be with them. Lord, I pray for those that are kinda getting sick, Lord, or they, under the weather even now, I pray, God, that you'd please be with them. And God, raise them up back to health, Lord. And God, you're the great physician. Lord, you're a better physician than These doctors nowadays, they just practice medicine. Lord, you're the one that made everything. You're the one that made us and know what we need. So we pray, God, that again, that you please speak to or touch these folks that are feeling bad. Just raise them up, Lord, back to hell, God, so they can be here this coming Lord's Day. God, I pray for our men's prayer breakfast Saturday. I pray, God, that your hand will be upon us. Help us have a good group of men out, Lord, this week. Lord, not just for prayer breakfast, Lord, but for going out and knocking doors and putting flyers on the doors to tell folks about Central Park Baptist Church, Lord, and so God help us with that. And then I pray, Lord, for 24 people, God, that will purpose in their heart to come. And Lord, so that we as a church, God, can come together and spend some time in prayer and ask you, God, for your blessings upon us, Lord. And ask you, Father, to rebuke Satan, Lord, and all of his imps so that we can move forward for the cause of Christ. So that, Lord, we ask you to help us to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. and but God we need your help for that Lord but God I pray that we'll be continuing that prayer Lord even as we're Lord doing the things that you've called us to do so please God help us at Central Park Baptist Church to be the church that you would have us to be help us father to recognize our potential But Lord, when we recognize it, Lord, help us to really be an encouragement to one another, God, to really step out and put that extra effort in, Lord, that needs to be done. So, Lord, we thank you for that. Bless us, Lord, tonight in our Bible study. We pray, God, that you'd bless the offering that we're about to receive. Bless the gift and the giver. May everything that's given, Lord, be used for the furtherance of the cause of Christ. And we'll give you praise in Jesus' name. Amen. If you have an offering, you please come. Yeah. you Amen. Amen. Now, no matter what you've gone through up until now and this midweek, we know that we can always kneel at the cross and that Christ will meet us there. Amen. So at this time, wow. Amen. Amen. So at this time, if you're able to rise, we would love for you to join us in singing hymn 124, hymn 124, Kneel at the Cross. the cross, Christ will meet you there. Come while he waits for you. Listen to his voice, leave him with your care, and begin life anew. ♪ At the cross ♪ ♪ Leave every care ♪ ♪ Near at the cross ♪ ♪ Jesus will meet me there ♪ ♪ Kneel at the cross ♪ ♪ There is room for all ♪ ♪ Who with his glory share ♪ ♪ Bless their awaits ♪ Harm can ne'er befall those who are anchored there. We'll kneel at the cross. Leave every care. Kneel at the cross. Jesus will meet you there. A kneel at the cross, give your idols up, look unto rails above. Turn not away the light sparkly path, trust only in his love. A kneel at the cross, be every care. Kneel. at the cross. Jesus will meet you there. Amen. Now it's time for us to meet each other. Let's visit each other and meet each other at this time. you Glad to be here again, say amen. Amen. I want you to turn in the Bible if you would to Psalm chapter 139. Psalms chapter 139, we're going to read, we're going to start there. We're going to go back to 1 Samuel chapter 24, okay? That's where the lesson is, but we're going to start out in Psalm chapter 139. All right, and we're going to start reading beginning in verse 19. Found my glasses. All right. Psalm 139, beginning in verse 19. Find your place. Amen. All right. Now let me find my place. All right. Surely, thou wilt slay the wicked, O God. Depart from me, therefore, you bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? Verse 22, I hate them with perfect hatred, and I count them mine enemies. Now turn to chapter 140 and look in verse, let's look at verse 9 through 11, all right? It says, as for the head of those that come past me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. Let burning coals fall on them. I kind of like that. Let them be cast into the fire. Are we good so far, amen? Amen. Let the mischief of their own lips cover them. I'm still liking it. Again, let burning coals fall upon them. Let them be cast into the fire into deep pits that they rise not up again. And let not an evil speaker be established in the earth. Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. I'm kind of, you know, right? Now turn to Luke chapter 6. Luke chapter 6 and look at verse 28. Luke chapter 6, verse 28. Oh, man. You still follow me? Oh, man. I want to go back over here to Psalm 140, amen? Let burning coals fall on them. I'd rather stay over there, right? Y'all still with me? Say amen. Not Luke 6, 28. Bless them that curse you. Now that's for y'all, not for me, okay? Bless them that curse you and pray for them which despitefully use you. Yeah. Father, I pray that you'd help us, Lord. And I pray, God, that you'd bless the reading of your Word. And, God, I pray again that you'd help me stay in context of Scripture tonight. Lord, we give you praise in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. 1 Samuel, now turn to 1 Samuel, chapter 24. I'm going to talk to you about how to treat your enemy, all right? All this stuff in chapter 6 of Luke, verse 28, kind of goes against human nature, doesn't it? I mean, we want to do it to them before they do it to us. Ain't that what that verse says? I mean, I know that King James Version thing says, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But our version says, do unto them before they do it to you, you know? But it seems like that's the society that we live in today. You know, we live in an age when people want either to resolve things by force or, you know, by taking them to court or things like that. We want our own, you know, pound of revenge, so to speak. In fact, I thought this was interesting. I didn't know this, but there are over 22,000 lawsuits filed in the U.S. every day. Every day. That's 20 times more than Japan and 10 times more than the European nations put together. In fact, I thought this was interesting. You can even rent a judge for a day. Yeah. Instead of going through all of the court system, if you want to, you know, some mediation or something like that, you can literally rent a judge for a day. I mean, after all, we don't want to wait to get our revenge. We want it now. Right? Yeah. That's the age that we live in. Revenge is big business. It's also something I think that we, everybody deals with it. You know, if not, if you haven't dealt with it this week, you probably will at some point. We will deal with revenge. And if we're not careful, that's what we want to do. We want revenge. So, but the question is, how do we deal with people or how do we deal with life when we've been wronged? What do we do when people mistreat us? You know, we cut them off or nowadays, you got to be careful if you say anything, you know, people get, they respond with, you know, force and all kinds of different ways. But if we listen to a culture that we live in, we'll take them to court or we'll handle things in our own way. But if we listen to the Bible, You know, people, again, I've said, people have said this, don't be throwing the Bible up in my face. Well, listen, somewhere, somehow, this is, for you and me, for Christian folks, this has to be our final authority, right, at some point. And if we listen to Scripture, then God has a different plan about revenge than you and I do. David is a good example of that. David is a man who, When we read chapter 24, he has every right to take revenge on Saul. Y'all still here, amen. King Saul, I mean, he has been extremely jealous up to this point. He has done everything in his power to take revenge on David. In fact, up to this point, he continues to hunt David with his own soldiers. He's got 3,000 men out looking for him. Saul raised such a fuss, think about this, and was so intent and focused on David and exacting his revenge on him, that while Saul is out doing this with his army, guess what happened? The Philistines thought, you know, this would be a good time to attack Israel. And he's thinking, the Philistines are thinking, Saul is so, I mean, this guy, he's out here, he's running all over creation looking for David. They said, this is a great time to attack Israel. He won't even notice. Well, that's exactly what the Philistines did. They attack Israel. And if you remember, Saul thinks he's got David surrounded and he's going to catch him. But here come the Philistines. And by the way, this is all in God's plan. God worked all this out and used the Philistines to get Saul away from David. And so the Philistines attack and Saul has to regroup. He has to get his soldiers all back together. and go back down and take care of the Philistines so that they don't overrun Israel. And while Saul goes back, David escapes and he runs to the caves of En Gedi. Now, En Gedi is a desolate place. It's real close to the Dead Sea. It's pretty neat. I mean, we went and there's nothing but dirt and rocks. I don't know how anybody could survive in a few little shrubs. You know, it's kind of like when my wife first came to West Texas. She goes, where's the trees? I said, they're everywhere, look. She said, I don't see any. I said, yeah, they are. They're about this tall. But there were no real trees, not like when you're from Michigan. And so she's looking around. Well, listen, I'm telling you, if you've ever been to West Texas, in Getty area is even worse. It's just a desert place. And so David goes here, and he hides out in these caves. And so while David is hidden out here in this cave, if you go back and read the rest of chapter 23, You know that Jonathan has come to him and encouraged him, but now David has run to En Gedi. David has, listen, he's done a lot of things up to this point. He's acted like he's crazy. He has lost his, you know, he's been separated from his best friend, Jonathan. He's lost his wife. He's resorted to leading a band of about 600 men, not counting everybody else. And listen, and he has been on the run for quite a while. And in all this, David, I'm sure, felt like he has been slighted. He has suffered many injustices. And all of this by Saul, who really has nothing to be mad at David about. Amen. Absolutely nothing. And if a man had a right to revenge, it's David. I mean, the Lord has already anointed him king, right? To me, it's like at some point that you would think David would say, listen, I'm the king. I've been anointed by God. I'm going to take my rightful place. David had ministered to Saul. He had obeyed Saul's orders. He had done everything that Saul had asked him to do. And his reward in all this is to become a target of Saul's wrath and a target of his jealousy. In fact, Saul's hatred for David was so great, I mean, as soon as Saul got through fighting the Philistines and dealing with them, he went immediately, went right back after David. You would think that Saul would get tired of fighting. You would think that he would get tired of looking for one guy, but not Saul. So here's David and he's with his 600 men. He's being pursued by Saul and about 3,000 soldiers. And the Bible tells us what happened when David is confronted with the opportunity for David to exact revenge on Saul. And the question here that I was thinking about, if you had in your hands, if somebody was evil to you, and you had it in your ability to exact revenge on that person, And not have to worry about, I mean, this person has been hateful to you and treated you so bad. If you knew that you could exact revenge on them and not worry about being punished, what would you do? Yeah. Look in chapter 24, look in verse 2 and 3. It says, then Saul took 3,000 chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheep coats by the way where was a cave and Saul went in to cover his feet and David and his men, watch, remained in the sides of the cave. Now, King Saul, he's out here hunting for David. And by the way, he still wants to kill him. David didn't do anything wrong, and so here comes, here's Saul, and they're out there looking for him, when Saul hears the call of nature. That's what that means, by the way. When it says that he goes in the cave, it says Saul went in to cover his feet. That's what that means. All right, he had to use the restroom, okay? Well, unknown to Saul, David is hiding in the same cave where Saul goes in to take care of his business, all right? And at that point, listen, David has an opportunity to take revenge on his enemy, Saul. But now watch, he could have reasoned that, man, look at this, God has delivered Saul into my hand right here. I mean, what are the odds that Saul would choose the exact cave to go in and take care of his business, the exact cave that David and his men are in there hiding? What are the odds of that? Listen, there's caves all over the place down there. So here's David. He could have said to himself something like this. Man, this is what I've been praying for. God must have given me this opportunity. Here it is. God has put him in my hand. And listen, he could have taken his revenge right there. Amen. Instead, David gives us some principles here for dealing with those that have hurt us. Listen, have you ever been hurt? Has anybody ever treated you wrongly for no reason whatsoever? Come on, I mean, we can lift both our hands, absolutely. Well, let me show you what goes on. Number one, David shows these principles. Refuse revenge when circumstances seem to allow it. Now David did not immediately think that just because Saul had wandered into the cave where he's at, he did not think that God had arranged it to where David could take revenge. That's not what he's thinking. Instead, think about this, he kept himself from taking advantage of a timely situation or this timely opportunity, if you want to call it that. Look in verse 4. It says, And the men of David said unto him, Behold, the day which the Lord said unto thee, behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privately. Now, I mean, listen, I'm telling you, be careful. When situations or circumstances seem like God has placed them there, you got to be careful about that. Amen, and we're going to see this. So, number one, refuse revenge when circumstances seem to allow it. Number two, the second principle, refuse revenge when counselors or advisors tell you to take revenge. Amen. Listen, those counselors are not you. Amen. These men, watch this, you remember why they went after David? Remember why they went to him and followed him? They didn't like Saul. They hated Saul. And the reason was because Saul had put them into debt. Saul had put them in distress. He had caused a bout. You go back and read why they followed David. They followed David because of what Saul and the way he had treated them. So here they are, and I can hear them say, and you read verse 4, I can hear them whispering to David. They're in the cave. Saul's in there by himself. David, there's Saul. Do it. Kill him. I mean, look, read it. It says, Behold the day which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand. This is it, David. I'm telling you. Here's your chance. This is what you've been waiting for. This is what... And I can hear him. Kill him and get it over with. And then here's the kicker. We're tired of running. Oh, there it is. You know, I mean, these advisors, his men are telling him, David, go kill him. Now listen, how many times, now think about this, there's a lot of times that carnal people, evil people, they try to use God as an excuse to get their own way. Yeah. It's an excuse for their own sin. I've seen men who don't know God at all using His truth to promote, think about it, to promote their own ideas. I know people, I think of some right now a day that know the Bible as well as, if not better than you or I, but they never step one foot into a church, they never spend any time in prayer, they never intend on doing anything that God wants them to do. But they can quote you scripture. Amen. Think about it. They don't attend church. They don't have a relationship with God. But think about it. Now, as a child of God, you're here, and I want you to get this. You can be sure that if you run with them, they're going to give you counsel and give you advice on how you ought to do when it comes to the things of God. They're not in church. They don't have a spiritual bone in their body. But when it comes to church stuff, I'm telling you, they're one of the first ones to tell you what you ought to be doing or what they ought to be doing it, the way they ought to be doing it down at the church house. Come on. That's exactly what we're seeing here. Listen, David is the leader. He's a spiritual man. These men are distressed, they're discontented, and they're following after David. David has not taken his rightful place yet, and they are in there, and they are getting him. They are whispering to him, kill him, kill him. Now, we're going to go a little further. By the way, these kind of people are dangerous. They're dangerous, watch, because they want to use the counsel of God without the Spirit of God. Yeah. David, if he would have listened to them long enough, you know what I think he would have done? I think he'd have killed Saul. If he had listened to them, to what they were trying to tell him, that God had arranged this opportunity, he would have went and done just exactly that. But David refused. Look in verse 4 again. It said, Now think about Saul's in the cave, and he thinks there's nobody around. So he takes off his robe, and while he's taking care of his business, David sneaks up and he takes a knife out and he cuts off the edge of Saul's robe. And he's doing that to let Saul know that he could have killed him. He wants Saul to know, listen, I'm not going to kill him, but I want him to know I was here. I want him to know that I could have done it. I had every opportunity to do it, but I'm letting him know I'm in charge. He sneaks in, he takes care of it. David never says a word. Saul is none the wiser. But if you notice in verse 5, after David cut off the edge of Saul's robe, the Bible says that David's heart smoked him. I think the Holy Spirit of God began to touch David's heart and say, You ever done any something that you probably, you know, that you shouldn't have done? You thought maybe, you know, I'm just going, I know I ought not do it, but I'm going to do this and I'm going to, you know, I'm not going to go all the way, but I'm just going to let them know that, you know, that I could have done it. And then after you do it, boy, the Lord comes and says, what'd you do? Why'd you do that? And then your heart and your conscience just really begins to eat at you because you did something that you know you shouldn't have done. You ever been there? Yeah. Yeah. That's what happens to David. He says his heart smote him. He was sorrowful he did it. And I believe God's showing us a picture of a young man's heart that's tender toward the things of God. You know, God help us to keep that tender heart where when the Lord speaks to us that we listen to what He's trying to help us with. Too many times our heart gets hard because we don't spend any time alone with God. And when something does come and we ought not listen, then the Holy Spirit of God is grieved and we just shoo Him away and listen and we wind up making an even bigger mistake than what we may have in the beginning. And so here's David. His heart has smote him. And he didn't take full revenge, but he had taken advantage of an opportunity to make Saul look silly. He listened to his counselors enough to do something that he would regret, and he did regret it. You know, it may seem like getting even is the right thing to do. You know, sometimes we think that that's gonna be okay, it'll make things better, but listen, it never, it hardly, it rarely happens that way when we do things. Let me show you a verse. Look in Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. And look in verse 17. Recompense to no man, evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as life in you, live peaceably with all men." Now, I've known some people say, you know what? It's just not in me. No, that's not what that's talking about. Provide things on, listen, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. So the Bible tells us that vengeance is wrong and you're only gonna end up hurting yourself. And so by not taking revenge, David, what he's done, he's allowed God to be God. He's allowed God to take control of the situation. Solomon said in Proverbs 24, 19, he said, Say not I will do so to him as he hath done to me. Listen, that's not right. It's not do unto them before they do it to me or do it to them because, well, they did it first. That is not it at all. That's the society that we live in. Well, the only reason I did this is because they did it first. You know, growing up, you hear that with children. He hit me first. It don't matter. Listen, we adults, guess what? We do the same thing. Come on, we can all say amen. We act like children. Well, they did it to me first. Well, wait a minute, that's not what God says. Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me. Listen, we're to refuse revenge. Because watch, when you take revenge, then you're doing God's job. And we're not qualified. Yeah, we just need to let God be God. So David, he didn't seek revenge. And look at the next part. There's the reconciliation here. Now, this is tough part. This is hard. This gets right down, goes really against human nature. If I'm having a problem with somebody, the Bible says that it's my responsibility to go to them and seek reconciliation. But most people don't do that. And the reason they don't is because it's risky. Yeah. Three reasons why. One, it might not work. I mean, it's real deep, so y'all hang on. One, it might not work. I can make the effort to restore the relationship, but I'm running the risk of having all my words twisted and thrown right back at me. You ever been there, done that? Say amen. Oh yeah, on a regular basis. We are to risk reconciliation. And people don't because one, it may not work. Number two, there's the risk that, not me, but other people, there's the risk that I could say the wrong thing and only make the situation worse. Now, I know, one thing that I know about everybody that's in here tonight, we would never say the wrong thing. Yeah. And one particular thing pops in my head, I'm on the phone with somebody and I've got them on speaker so my wife can be a part of the conversation without them knowing so she can hear and she's over there going. And my first thought is, how do you know what I'm going to say? Well, when you're married a long time, they know that stuff. And you know what I did? I said it. Sure made me feel good for a minute. But you know what it did? It made the situation worse. So when David, think about this, when he determined to try to get things right with Saul, he's taking a risk, all right? He, I mean, and we gotta be careful. Now watch, number three, there's the risk that my analysis of the situation is completely wrong. And if I risk reconciliation, Then, you know, if I've misread it, have you ever misread a situation and it's nothing like what you thought it was? That's why texting is terrible. Amen? When you're in a conversation with somebody, listen, call them. They can't, you know, I can't feel you in the conversation. I can't hear your voice. I don't know your emotional state. And when somebody texts something, it's like, I can't believe they said that. Well, maybe they didn't say it the way you're thinking. Call them. I want to hear their voice. And we've all been there and been a part of that. Well, listen, the reason we risk reconciliation is because probably, you know, our analysis of the entire situation might be wrong. And if we're not careful, we may make the situation worse. Well listen, we've got to be careful about that. Take the risk. David determined to get things right with Saul and he took the risk. Now watch, look in verse 5 and 6. First thing David risked was the ridicule of his men. Verses 5 and 6, it tells us that after he recognized that he had done the wrong thing, after his heart smote him, watch, David said to his men, look in verse 6, It says, And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master. The Lord's anointed to stretch forth mine hand against him, saying, He is the anointed of the Lord. Listen, we're not careful. We'll be thinking, What's the big deal? He just cut off his robe. It wasn't the cutting off his robe. It was the intent of the heart. It was the thought process that went with it. He said, man, it's just a thought. Now, let me keep reading. David said to his men in verse 6, he said, why should I do this unto the anointed of the Lord? So he's risking that his men, look in verse 7, that they might ridicule him. Verse 7, let me go and read. It says, so David stayed his servants with these words and suffered them not to rise against Saul. Now watch this, so those verses or those words suffered them not or restrained his men with these words. It literally means that he allowed them, he had an argument with his men. They are getting after him. They wanted David to kill Saul. That was their intent. You go back, they're saying, David, kill him. This is the opportunity. God has placed him in your hands. Go kill him, David. And David said, no, listen, I'm not going to do that. I cut off his robe. I should have not done that. And they're saying, no, David, it's OK. Go kill him. He is literally arguing with his men. He didn't tell them, don't do that or don't talk to me that way. No, listen, I'm telling you, they are having a heated argument because they want him to kill him. But David says, I'm not going to do that. He said it would be wrong to touch God's anointed. So David is taking a risk. He's risking that his men might think he's weak. He's the anointed king. He's taking the risk, watch, that his men might think he's lost his nerve. But watch, but David was what? Look at that first word. He was steadfast. He's steadfast in his decision because one, he knew it was the right decision. Listen, it takes a strong person to risk reconciliation. It takes a strong person to do what he believes that God wants him to do. Listen, but we need to make sure that if you're doing it, make sure it's God's perfect will and it doesn't contradict with His Word. Amen. Let me read this because I've got to hurry. A man is never weak when he stands on the principles of the Word of God. And David, watch, he's here in this situation, but he is not going to be swayed and take the wrong action, even though all his counselors are trying to get him to do the wrong thing. He knew what God wanted him to do. Amen. Now, it hasn't been said yet that he is a man after God's own heart, but David was. At this point, he's already shown that he has got a tender heart and he's receptive to what God wants him to do. And he's willing, listen, he's willing to stay with what God wants him to do. God help us to stay with the Central Park Baptist Church. Let's stay with what God has called us to do. Amen. He knew it and he stayed with it. And by the way, David's courage to stand, I think it probably shone through to his men that he wasn't going to do what they wanted him to do. And I think they saw that because the reason why is because the men didn't do anything either. David must have swayed them and said, listen, this is not what God wants us to do. It's not what he wants me to do. It is not what he wants us to do. And we are not... I'm telling you, his courage, he stood against his own men and they followed him. Amen. David also risked the retaliation of Saul. Look in verse 8. I thought this was kind of bold in and of itself. It says, David also arose afterward. I went out of the cave and cried after Saul. Now watch this. Listen. You realize that David and his men are in the cave. They're hiding. They're hiding in all kinds of places. You know why they're in there? Because Saul and his 3,000 men are outside the cave. Yep. Saul goes in, takes care of his business, he goes out. David has cut his robe, Saul puts it back on. David, his heart has mowed him because God is showing him that that is the wrong thing to do, that God's anointed. And Saul walks out of the cave, and David, listen, after his argument with his men, David runs out of the cave and says, Saul! Now why would he do that? There's guys out there that want to kill him. They are under the leadership of Saul, King Saul, and they know why they're there. And here is the guy that they're looking for. He runs out of the cave, look in verse 8 again, and he says, Saul, he said, my lord, the king. And when Saul looked behind him, this is even shows more humility. The Bible says he stooped, bowed. He's putting himself in a very vulnerable position. Saul could have killed him right then. Saul could have called all of his men and said, they're in the cave, man. They could have shut that cave up and like they did in the Old Testament and set it on fire and just killed everybody inside, suffocated them. But he stooped with his face to the earth and bowed himself. Now, my first thought is, David, are you crazy? What do you think you're doing? Can you think of his men? He's running out of the cave after Saul, going, Saul! And his men are inside and they're going, get back in here! What are you doing? I mean, after all, they've been wanting to kill him. Yeah. Get in here, David! Second, I think it probably shocked Saul to see him. He didn't have a clue. David is risking everything right here, even death. Saul could have called his soldiers to come and get David right then and there. But that's not what happened. Look in verse 9 and 10. It says, And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's word, saying, Behold, David, seeketh thou hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee today into mine hand in the cave, and some bade me kill thee. That's why he's saying, Listen, my men wanted me to kill you right then. Some bade me kill thee, but mine eye spared thee, and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed." David doesn't try to dodge the problem. He doesn't get all emotional about it. David just simply lays out the facts. He's telling Saul that he's listening to, listen, he's telling Saul about what he said that you've heard from people that's saying, I'm out to get you. And he said, that's not right. You're hearing it straight from the horse's mouth. I'm not doing that. Here I am. I'm telling you, I'm not, I don't seek your hurt. I'm not after you. He simply lays out the facts. And David has never been Saul's enemy, ever. How many times, think about this, have you seen a relationship strained because a third party has got involved and they gave wrong or bad information? I've seen friends alienated because somebody said something or somebody heard something hurtful and they felt like they needed to pass it on. You know, somebody told me the other day. Now, I'm not gossiping. I just think you need to hear this. Follow me? I just think, you know, it's in your best interest that I tell you. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. It doesn't matter if they tried to find out if it was true. But they just feel like the need that, you know, they heard it by the way, they heard it from somebody else. So they feel the need that they need to tell someone else. Instead of going and finding out, they'd say, well, you know, that's exactly what David is saying to Saul. David, Saul, you've been listening to the wrong people. They've been telling you, your counselors have been telling you that I'm out to get you, that I'm out to hurt you, I'm out to take something from you. That is not it whatsoever. Listen, how many times have you had a third party get involved in a conversation, and then you go to that person and talk to them, and it is nothing like what they told you? It's always that way. So here it is. And by the way, it happens in a church, too. Church relationships have been broken due to bad information, and that's exactly what's happened to Saul. Look in verse 11 again. David proves his faithfulness. It says, moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand. Look here, Saul, look right here. He said, look, look what I've got. I just want you to know I cut it off in the cave. For in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe and killed thee not. Know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand. I have not sinned against thee, yet thou huntest my soul to take it. David could have killed Saul if he had wanted to, but David is just laying out the facts. Look in verse 12. The Lord judged between me and thee, and the Lord avenged me of thee, but mine hand shall not be upon thee. You know what he's telling Saul? He's saying, Saul, you do what you want to. But I'm not going to lay a finger on you. You know, a long time ago, somebody gave me a little book. Brother Hatch gave it to me on three kings. Best book. I mean, it's a short book, and it has to do with Saul, David, and Solomon. best little old book I've ever read. Listen, I'm telling you, and it talks about how to treat your enemies or how to treat those that hurt you and malign you. This is what we're seeing. David lays out the facts and he had no plans to harm Saul whatsoever. And he's saying my restraint in the cave proved just that thing. Look in verse 15. It says that the Lord, the Lord therefore be judge and judge between me and thee and see and plead my cause and deliver me out of thine hand. David's pledging his friendship here to Saul. And David, he wants to reconcile. He has presented the facts. He has proved his faithfulness and pledged his friendship. The same things that we need to do when we are trying to reconcile a relationship. Just present the facts. Just tell the truth. Listen, the truth will go a long way. I've said this a hundred times if I've said it once. If you tell the truth, you don't have to have a good memory. Yeah, well, David is here letting Saul know that how he's going to treat, or David's letting Saul know how he's going to treat him. Look in verses 16 through 19. I thought this is interesting. And it came to pass when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. Now, you can read those other three verses, but listen, after everything David tells him, and listen, David is, he's down on his face in front of Saul. He's bowed down. He's in a position of humility, telling Saul, listen, I'm not here to hurt you. All these people are telling you that. I'm here to let you know. And he put himself in a vulnerable position, and he's telling Saul, listen, you're the king, and I've been obedient to you. I'm your friend. I will remain that way. I will not lay a finger on you. He's laying it all out there. And the only thing that Saul could do was cry. And I think at this point, think about this, at that moment I think Saul recognized that David is going to be the next king of Israel. And I think it was a moment of truth for Saul. Look in verse 20. It says, And now behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. What a day for Saul. Listen, I mean, Saul recognized who David was at that moment. But notice this, Saul's character didn't change. And his repentance was short-lived. But in that moment, I think he saw that David was a man after God's own heart. I think he recognized that. He knew David was going to replace him as king. Look in verse 21, 22. Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord that thou will not cut off my seed after me. Now this is to me, this is a strange request. I think it's a, Saul's thinking about the future because kings, and we've talked about this, and that day when a new king came, he killed all of the seed line of the one that preceded him. So he wouldn't have to worry about any coup or somebody coming back trying to take his throne. Saul is not thinking about the moment. He's not thinking about what God's doing right then and right there. He's only thinking about himself. He's only thinking about the future for him. I think he's being selfish in a way. But he goes back and he asks David, Watch, he's asking David to protect his children. And by the way, years later, David, he abided by that promise and took care of Mephibosheth. If you remember, remember Mephibosheth was crippled, and so he's taking care of Saul's crippled grandson. But the interesting thing here to me is that David forgave Saul, he restored the relationship, and he even made a promise to protect Saul's children or to protect Saul's name in the future. But watch, Saul didn't promise anything. Saul didn't even change. But it didn't stop David from doing the right thing. David did the right thing. Listen, my, how can I say this? David wasn't responsible for Saul's behavior. David laid all the facts out there. He said, Saul, you know, basically, you do whatever you're gonna do, but I'm gonna do the right thing. I'm just telling you the truth. You can take the truth and do with it what you will, but this is the truth. And folks, I'm telling you, that's all that you and I can do today, is just simply tell the truth and do the right thing. Saul chose to do the wrong thing. He left that place. His repentance, as I said, is short-lived, and we're going to talk about that. But David treated his enemy the right way. He treated Saul in a godly fashion. And you and I need to do the same thing today. When people mistreat us, It's not our place to exact revenge. It's not our place to get our pound of flesh, or an ounce, or however much you want to get. It's just simply our place to let God be God in the situation, and God will take care of it. He always does, and all God's people can say. Amen. Now, let me ask you a question. Has there been a time in the past that You got yours? And I showed them. Well, if that happened, did you tell the Lord you're sorry? Maybe there's something going on now. You just need to say, Lord, I just need to step out of your way and let you handle the situation. And whatever the situation is, whether it's a relationship or any other situation, if we'll just get out of God's way, God will be God and He'll take care of it. It may not be in our time, but it'll be in God's time. And all God's people can say, Father, help us, Lord. God, you've shown us through David how to treat our enemy. Lord David, really, he took the high road in a lot of things. And Lord, I know oftentimes that's hard because it goes against our human nature. But Lord, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. He said, told us, Lord, to pray for those that despitefully use us. And God, I pray that we'll do that today. And Lord, just stop and think about what we're doing, but just do the right thing. Tell the truth, present the facts, as David did. Lord, seek reconciliation, Lord, and do the right thing. And God, I pray that you'd help us to be godly people, Lord, godly Christians, that other folks might see Christ in us. And Lord, if we'll just do what we're supposed to do, God, then you can be God in their life. They're gonna do what they want, and we can't do anything about that, but God, we can do something about what we do, and I pray God that you'd help us and strengthen us, Lord, in times like that, and we'll give you the praise in Jesus' name, amen. While heads are bowed and eyes are closed, Lord, speaking to your heart, you need to come, you come.
January 31 | Wednesday Evening Service
Series The Life of David
Sermon ID | 21242732508 |
Duration | 1:14:03 |
Date | |
Category | Midweek Service |
Language | English |
Documents
Add a Comment
Comments
No Comments
© Copyright
2025 SermonAudio.