Well, I want to say, nǐmen hǎo to our Taiwanese brethren back at EBCT. They watched this video as part of their Wednesday night Bible study, and also along with Sunday sermons. And so, that's about the only Chinese I know. Good to have you join us tonight and we're praying for you and we trust that the Lord would continue to strengthen you and help you to rally around each other and to pray for one another and serve each other. And we hope to see you and visit you soon. Well, we thank the Lord for the opportunity for us to get together in the middle of the week to study God's Word and to fellowship together. And we have things in the work of evangelism and mission, so let's lift up prayers unto the Lord. Please join me. Blessed Father, you are worthy of all of our praise and adoration. We worship you, we exalt you, we thank you. We recognize that you are a thrice holy God and that understanding has been given to us by the renewal of your spirit in our hearts, giving us new life and quickening us from the spiritual deadness to the new life that is in Jesus Christ. We thank you that we recognize you for who you are as our great deliverer, our great creator and maker, our redeemer, the giver of the greatest gift of your Son. And we worship you tonight. We gather together to pray that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We behold your majesty and your glory. We have the word of God that testify of who you are. And even in words that are too awesome and too glorious for human language to depict, even as we see your great depiction In your great throne, in the book of Ezekiel or Revelation, we are at a loss of words when we see these awesome depictions in human language trying to convey the full effulgence of your power, majesty, glory, and that in you there is no blemish or moral fault at all, for you are perfect in holiness and beauty and in majestic glory. We thank you that we can come into your throne room of grace boldly because of Christ and the access that you have given to us through your son. We praise you for our Lord Jesus, for his life that he laid down for us. And we come into your presence seeking your will to be done in the world as you seek and save that which is lost. And one by one, you work in mysterious ways, in amazing ways, and to reach and save that which is lost. We thank you that we who live in this comfortable Western suburbia and having the best of everything in the world, and yet you did not cast us aside, but you had pity and mercy even on us. For we know that you have pity and mercy on the destitute, on the widows, and the orphans. we know there are many many destitute people in this world and we know that you are saving them in the great continents of Africa and South America and in Asia. Many many people are coming to know Jesus Christ and yet we see in the West where things are affluent and things are are greatly immoral and darkened, that the light of the Gospel is still shining, and we give you thanks and praise for the opportunity that is still open. And yet we see in the Great West the hearts are hardening, a man's pride is manifesting itself in joint rebellion against you. And in the great destitution, in the poor countries, and those who are lost in darkness, and those who are oppressed under the powerful men and women of our society, we see that you are showing your mercy and your grace. And so we pray that you would continue to do that and allow us to prepare our feet with the readiness of the gospel of peace and our feet shot with the readiness and so that we would go into places where you give us access and preach the word of God. And we thank you for our joint ministry with the Ochoas, with Pedro and his ministry in Santiago, Chile. We thank you for multiple opportunities he's already had to preach the word and to teach your people and we pray that you would give him many opportunities to witness of unbelievers of the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And we pray that we would be able to send a trained and prepared team and so that they can take the gospel and spread it around in Santiago next year. As we look forward to the gospel opportunities this next year, we lift up prayers unto you and ask that you would continue to reach and save that which is lost. Lord as we pray for the North African country of Algeria or a small segment of Evangelical Christians are huddling around each other with slightly over 1% But we know that true believers are even smaller than that and even in the great strongholds of Muslim oppression We pray that you would strengthen those brethren and that you would send a French-speaking Arab-speaking brothers and sisters to equip and train leaders and church pastors. And so we pray for the gospel penetration in Algeria and the great North African regions where the bastion of Christianity once were, or Augustine of Hippo came from, where the Ethiopian eunuch came and received the Lord. As you have shown grace to these lands, We pray that you would continue to reach into these areas and save that which is lost from these Muslim strongholds. We also pray for the darkened nation of North Korea where the Iron Curtain still remains. We pray that you would cause the Gospel to penetrate. and that the internal confusion and chaos would be an opportunity for the tyrannical regime to collapse and the gospel to infiltrate. As you have done so in former Soviet Union, as you've done so in East Berlin, we know that you can do it also in North Korea. We pray that you would bring fear and judgment upon those wicked leaders in North Korea who are keeping the people not only from their needed resources, but from the most important, from the gospel of Jesus Christ. So we pray that you would tear down the strongholds, that you would send men and women who are prepared and with their feet shot, ready with the readiness of the gospel, and that you would show mercy upon those people there. Father, we pray for our winter team who are ready to go to Taiwan once again to preach the Word of God there. And we ask that you would give them good success, prepare souls for them to contact, and those which are received, we pray for Ryan and the saints at UBCT to continue to reach out so that there'll be ongoing teaching, mentoring, and disciple making. And so we pray that these things would be done through the efforts even in this winter. We also give you thanks and praise for the opportunity that we have to minister to the people who may not be well visited during this season, whether it be in Berkeley Pines, whether it be through the homeless. Teach us, Lord, to continue to be ready to be willing to share and reach out to those folks who are in great need. We thank you for our regional fellowship and our international fellowship of IFCA that's reaching out to the torn and the destitute and the hungry and the diseased in Philippines through the great devastation of Hurricane Haiyan. We pray that you would cause the people there in great Muslim strongholds and Roman Catholic strongholds to be hungry for the gospel of Jesus Christ and that the Christian men and women would take the resources with the love of Christ and share the good news with them. Father, we give you praise and thanksgiving for all the things that you were doing in the world and the gospel preparation. We pray that you would give us greater access in this next year as we get ready to infiltrate into the kingdom of darkness with the light of your son. Now we thank you for our time of worship and fellowship around the word of God. It is your lamp that illuminates our feet. It is your light that makes our path illuminated. And so we pray that the Word of God would do that work again tonight as you give us wisdom and insight in following Jesus in this world that still Satan is dominating, but we know that Christ has all authority and power. So we submit ourselves under his authority. We give you praise and worship in his name. And now we long to hear your word exposited that we would be obedient and so that we would not just be hearers as to deceive ourselves, but be doers of the word and grow thereby into the image of Christ in Jesus precious name. Amen. Well, brothers and sisters, have your Bibles open, please, and stand with me for the reading of God's Word. We're going to finish off our midweek Bible study. This is our last Bible study for this year, and we will resume after our winter recess in late January. And so here we are at the end of chapter 24, 1 Samuel. So we left off verse 11 for the sake of time, and now we're going to pick up verse 12 to the end of this chapter, verse 12 to 22. So 1 Samuel, chapter 24, beginning with verse 12. This is the reading of God's Word. May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients say, out of the wicked comes forth wickedness. But my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the King of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea? The Lord therefore be judge and decide between you and me, and may he see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand." When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this the voice of my son David? Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David, You are more righteous than I, for you have dealt well with me while I have dealt wickedly with you. You have declared today that you have done good to me that the Lord delivered me into your hand, and yet you did not kill me. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the Lord therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day. Now behold, I know that you will surely be king, and the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. So now swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me and that you will not destroy my name from my father's household. David swore to Saul and Saul went to his home. But David and his men went up to the stronghold. Amen. Please be seated. Well, we read in the New Testament that our Lord Jesus Christ, who did not revile in return, he did not retaliate, and he did not fight against his enemies, to set an example for us to follow, that we're called to be peacemakers, making peace between hostile humanity to God. We usher them into the kingdom of God by becoming the middleman, if you will, between God and pointing them to the great mediator, Jesus Christ. And that's a blessed place to be. We are God-like, we are godly when we model after Christ and his mercy, his great compassion, his refusal to hate his enemies, but to love his enemies. And that's a great picture that David portrays here of the New Testament realities of the greater David, Lord Jesus Christ. So in the previous section of scripture, we've seen God's providential work in allowing Saul to enter the same cave where David and his men were hiding. That wasn't serendipity, it wasn't coincidence, it was by divine providence. Instead of listening to a strong appeal to opportunism, this is what majority of mankind see. When they see a great opportunity to take vengeance against your own enemies, the knee-jerk reaction is to do so. However, David refuses. Rather, he rested on biblical principles of piety, patience, and prayer. which are also our resources to resist the impulse. of hatred toward our enemies, and rather looking to the Lord Jesus Christ and practice supernatural mercy and grace, the opportunity for us to glorify God. Now we are more godly at that moment than probably at any other time in our lives. And we're more Christ-like who did not revile in return, who did not retaliate, who did not punish the wicked men who were persecuting him, and yet he interceded for them. It's an amazing. reality, even for me as a preacher, to be talking about Jesus, both in the New Testament in Luke, and Christ, the greater David, in the Old Testament, and in the same theme. And this is not, again, I don't think by accident, I prepared these messages way before, and the preaching calendar that I've said way before, and these things have coalesced and merged together. And I believe that the Lord is preparing our church to be able to minister to a very hostile world and that it would be impulsive for us to resist those people who are hostile to the gospel. And yet what a great opportunity for us when given an opportunity to show kindness or to demonstrate wrath. We know that mercy triumphs over justice and wrath. And so here in this section of scripture, David finishes his speech, and we're introduced to Saul's response to David's speech, as this chapter is much more about speeches than about actions. We've already discovered that actions are given briefly, but the speeches of David and now Saul provide wealth of insight into the significance of this providential interaction. What we have here in this second part of the speech is the longest speech that Saul has ever given, and that is recorded in the entire Bible. So it is significant. We continue in the previous segment of David's appeal to Saul in light of his innocence and Saul's irrational and sinful hostile assaults. Using his advantage now to communicate to Saul, David calls Saul to see or recognize. Take a look in verse 10. To see the evidence of His loyalty and His love again, verse 11. And in verse 15, David calls upon the Lord to see and judge between him and Saul. 1 Samuel 24 15, The Lord therefore be judged and decide between you and me, and may he see and plead my cause. These strong appeals and reoccurrence of that Hebrew verb ra'a, to see, tells us that David is driving home a message to Saul that he is innocent while the one who refuses to see is guilty. As a skillful lawyer would argue his case before the judge, David makes powerful arguments to guide Saul along in his speech so that there will be only one inevitable conclusion. That Saul is in deep sin. He's blinded by his sin. David is innocent. And that Saul should not treat someone as innocent as David, as someone as evil. while he deserves the punishment and wrath and judgment. And in that realization, for a spark of a moment, God uses that conviction of David's words to bring deep conviction in Saul's heart toward deep remorse and emotional outburst and tears. And even his hardened heart is melted away. But is that genuine repentance? I'm afraid it is not. Here's where we can look at someone's deep emotional outworkings as signs of genuine repentance. And you and I be naive to conclude that. when the biblical evidence clearly shows that worldly remorse is completely different than biblical repentance. Because biblical repentance always follows along with actions that befits a change of heart. Because you can't see the change in the heart, but you can see the actions that follow. The fact of the matter is that Saul never invited David back as his son-in-law. He called him my son, but he didn't treat him as his son-in-law. At the end of the day, Saul went back to Gibeah to his palace and headquarters, didn't invite David back. At the end of the day, David realized that Saul's erratic and irrational behavior of hostility can just flare up at any moment, and he was wise enough to say, I'd rather stay in the strongholds, in the wilderness, in inhospitable areas, than to take my chances of being that close to King Saul, who at any moment, in his evil, would take up the spear again to thrust it into David's heart. So David stayed away from Saul wisely. This chapter ends with them parting. You know, if there's genuine repentance, they should not part. If Saul was truly repentant and he means what he says, he should carry it through action. But he doesn't. And David doesn't trust Saul to carry it through action. He's wise not to trust him. And so only time will show that Saul's remorse wasn't true repentance at all. And so we have quite a bit to learn about human behavior. But more than that, this is really an interaction between the innocent David and guilty Saul. And out of the mouth of the guilty will speak forth the longest speech of his own autobiographical sketch of his heart, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, used by God to demonstrate the pristine innocence of David. So let's continue with David's speech here and finish his speech and his petition. The appeal of the innocent here in verse 12. Unwilling to submit himself to the bias and prejudicial human judgment, David rather appeals to the Lord as the ultimate judge. David's prayer is that the Lord will see and judge between the two men. That's his petition. This is a clear mark of integrity and submission. If someone is willing to submit himself to the Word of God, and to the Spirit of God, to judge between two people, to inner guiding of the conscience, then this is a mark of integrity and submission. David refuses to take vengeance into his own hands, but submits fully to the Lord because David has made up his mind never to initiate vengeful retribution. David does not want to practice vengeance. He does not want to pay like kind for like kind. He says, but my hand shall not be against you. He appeals to the Lord and he makes a commitment not to repay evil for evil. Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans in Romans 12, verse 19, never take your own revenge, beloved. Notice what Apostle Paul says, never take your own revenge. Why? Because none of us know the absolute fair and just standard. None of us do. We are often motivated by emotions, bias, prejudice. Paul says, never take your own vengeance, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, the faithful will submit vengeance to the Lord. Our job is to pray, our job is to serve and love, and our job is to stay away from those people whose heart doesn't change. And that's what David does. The application of principle from David's life is very clear. David's refusal to take matters into his own hands comes from his deep respect of human authority of Saul as king, the Lord's anointed. But that respect comes from a higher respect and reverence for God's authority. He knows that all authority has been given to man by God. So out of reverence for God, David shows respect to Saul, refuses to take vengeance, and he would rather take the life of hardship, long suffering, patience, Forgiveness. The willingness for him to forgive is there. And that's what we need to study because that comes from the Lord. David's heart is from the Lord. This is a man after God's own heart. Now we need to also submit to all forms of human authority out of reverence for the Lord. We need to petition to the Lord, patiently waiting for His timing and His methods. It's so easy for us to be impulsive and take our own methods, especially when we have people around us saying, it is your right, it is your responsibility, go for it. That person deserves it. And we must resist the temptation of counsel like that. Then, as all good convincing arguments go, David skillfully employs a well-known proverb, verse 13. Now this proverb contains a universal moral maxim, which is understood even by a child. It is simple. It is clear. The proverb itself is self-explanatory. As the Proverbs of the Ancients says, there's a reason why such a proverb lasts a long, long time. It's simple. It's straightforward. Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness. Self-explanatory. Just as the Lord Jesus said the same thing in a different way in Luke 6.43, For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor on the other hand a bad tree which produces good fruit. You don't have to go to Bible college or seminary to know that bad tree with wicked intentions will produce bad fruit. While David is a good tree with godly intentions. Had David been a wicked person, Saul's neck would be severed with his blade. For sure. Even if he felt justified, he had every reason to spear Saul while he was in the cave. Because Saul had no scruples about killing anybody. He killed an entire village of priests at Nove. And he was going to kill anyone who stands in his way. All ambitious men do this. They do this for expediency. And they casually relabel it as collateral damage. Because they have such low view of human life created in the image of God. For them, ideology, ambition, is much more important than human life. Not so for David. David had done nothing evil against Saul. Here is the clear evidence of it. Therefore, he cannot be categorized as an evildoer, because there is no wickedness in his heart, and no wickedness came out of his heart. So David quotes that proverb. It's so simple. If I were wicked, and wickedness was in my heart, it would have come out in the cave, my Lord the King. But the fact that no wickedness came out against you shows and indicates that I'm not an evildoer. Then why do you treat me like an evildoer? It's a powerful argument. Then verse 14, David's piety. His piety is a double-edged sword. Because when an innocent person in his pious, dedicated, committed, moral lifestyle, because of the fear of the Lord, is simply demonstrated in the world, the world hates it because it's an indictment of their immoral, wicked, and unrighteous activity. You know, Christians don't have to do much. He just has to be there at the workplace, refuse to engage in all the gossip and slander and wicked talk, and then you watch after a while how the people of the world gather around themselves to despise the silent one who refuses to participate in the deeds of wickedness. You don't have to do anything. You just have to be there, and trouble will come looking for you. And that's the world we live in. There's a reason why Christianity is caricatured, lambasted, lampooned, and even persecuted in the world of opinions and ideas of men. It comes from wicked hearts. And here, David, as an argument, calls upon Saul to reflect. You'll notice that even in the English translation, which doesn't quite carry out the Hebrew, It is for rhetorical effect. You see here, I have three question marks in my NASB, verse 14. After whom has the king of Israel come out? Question mark. Whom are you pursuing? Question mark. A dead dog, a single flea? Question mark. In other words, they're all rhetorical questions for rhetorical effect. It's cause for Saul to reflect. But in Hebrew, there's actually four clauses. And each clause has the word, Ahareh, which is translated after, in front of it, in front of each clause. After whom has the King of Israel come out? After whom are you pursuing? After a dead dog? After a single flea? That's how the Hebrew reads. Why the redundancy? Well you'll see that the four rhetorical clauses are grouped into two couplets. They're parallel couplets. So there are actually two ideas. The first couplet calls Saul to reflect upon his irrational and foolish pursuits against an innocent man, even his loyal Israelite who has a habit of defeating the Philistine armies. He killed the first Philistine giant Goliath, and after that he won every battle against the Philistines. Why then is Saul trying to get rid of the one whom he should be using to fight the real enemy, the Philistines? This is such an irrational, such a stupid pursuit. It is so foolish. He needs to take a step back and figure out why is he doing this. This is what David says, after whom has the King of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? In other words, who am I that you're pursuing? Now Saul has to answer that question. If he's wicked in his heart, David just pronounced a proverb, wicked proceeds forth, wickedness from the heart. If Saul is wicked, he's going to say, my worst enemy, public enemy number one. That's why I'm rallying all the troops, the best crack troops of Israel, the special forces that come after this wicked enemy. That will be his answer. But if he were integrous, innocent, he would say, well, I'm not coming after you to kill you. I'm actually trying to find you and get you back on my good side so we can go defeat the Philistines together. Obviously, that answer is not forthcoming. And this first couplet really is a probing question to help Saul, because in his mad fury, in his rage, in his anger, in his irrational pursuits, Saul forgot reality. That's what happens when people are blinded by their sin, their pride, their irrationality kicks in, and they have no clue why they're doing what they're doing, but they're so passionate about it. And so it is those wise words, proving, provoking, thought-provoking words of rhetorical effect and saying, think King Saul. What are you doing? What are you doing? In the second parallel couplet, David appeals to Saul's conscience by highlighting his own insignificance in light of Saul's perceived greatness as a king. Although David is seemingly insignificant, he calls himself a dead dog. A dog is a despised animal. It doesn't even count. A dead dog is just worse than nothing. A single flea. Insignificant. That's the idea. I'm such an insignificant person. Why are you pursuing me? And yet, the Lord God is behind David, the insignificant single flea. and not behind the mighty man Saul, king of a nation. Isn't that interesting? So Saul must deeply reconsider his vain pursuits because God won't let him succeed. Now obviously, many wise people have appealed to many fools with such words. But boy, pride causes such darkness, such blindness, such folly, that they simply don't get it. And it's sad that even Saul got it. eventually. But there are many in the world that don't get it. They don't want to get it because they're so bent in their own ways. David drives home this point with five consecutive clauses in the next verse. Verse 15, in this verse, David takes the focus away from Saul's malice. Now he shifts it to the Lord's divine and omniscient authority, which is above any human authority. Saul believes that he has the right to kill and pursue anybody if he says they're a threat. If he says David is public enemy number one, and if there's any perceived support of David, like the priest said no, who had absolutely nothing to do with that, he can use that as justification to wipe them all out. Here, in this verse, David takes the focus away from Saul's authority. Now he brings the Lord's authority. Verse 15, The Lord, therefore, be judge. The Lord is the one who will adjudicate. He will decide between you and me. He will give the pronouncement. May he see his omniscience and plead my cause. Now this is a picture of an attorney or a judge who comes to the side of the righteous and the innocent and deliver me from your hand and then protection. All these verbs point to the fact that David is completely trusting the Lord for the results. This is the second appeal to the Lord as the divine judge. between the two parties. David had already appealed to the Lord's judgment in verse 12. Verse 15, he appeals again, and this is the third reference to call Saul to see. But now this is the call for the Lord to see. Objectively witness what's going on. Saul may not be objective, but there's a divine judge who is absolutely objective. He shows no favoritism. He doesn't show any partiality between men and their office. Here's a startling fact. A god of America is the god of China, and Russia, and yes, even North Korea. There's only one god. No nation can own god. No nation can say, God bless America, and not say, God bless Chile. No nation has that right. Why? Because God is not owned by anybody. He's impartial. He's authoritative. He's absolute. All of us must give an account to the great judge. David appeals to him. So it doesn't matter if we are treated unjustly by those people in authority who think that they're in charge. They're not. God is. When tempted to take matters into our own hands, to whom do we rely? That's an important question for us because the innocent will ultimately appeal to the great judge. The guilty, the wicked, will take matters into their own hands and obfuscate justice and righteousness and make their own laws, do their own thing, and they will have to give an account to the Lord. Now that should give us some fear of the great judge. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the soon and coming judge. Yes, we need to tell people about His great love and His compassion, His finished work on the cross, His glorious resurrection, but we need to talk to them about His return and He will judge. And watch who will scoff at that doctrine of Christ's imminent return. Watch who will scoff at the fact that He will judge all mankind. And then watch who will humbly, in reverence and fear, submit to that and say, I need to get my life under the submission of the Lord's authority then, because I can't continue to be my own law, do my own thing, when the judge of all judges have pronounced things against me. I must turn to him. That's in holy reverence and fear. And every believer must have this attitude because we cannot be our own authority. The Lord is. And David fully submitted to the judge. That shows his integrity. That shows his humility. That's how you know someone is truly submissive to the authority of God. Now here, We've seen the speech of the innocent. It's very powerful, very compelling. Now let's take a look at the speech of the indicted. Verse 16 to 22. Previously, David had to give a very stern speech to his men to break their desire. Remember that verb that we studied? He split up their unity to take violence against Saul. We can even picture them saying, well, if you're not going to do it, then step back, David. We will finish the job. He's our enemy. David said, no, you will not do this. And he split up their unity so that he got them to finally submit to his authority. Now he had to give them a stern, strict speech. Now David's humble and persuasive speech to Saul will soften his hardened heart. Saul's response is not because David forced him to confess at the edge of a sword. It wasn't threatening at all. Saul voluntarily confesses because of the supernatural mercy received from David that convicts his guilty conscience, convicts his guilty heart. This is the longest speech, as I said, 67 words in Hebrew. And when Saul heard David's speech, he wasn't the only one who heard it. His followers, remember he had 3,000 crack troops waiting for him while he took a bathroom break as he was going down the hill to meet them. David stopped him, he turned around, David gave the speech that convicted Saul. Now Saul is about to give the speech. Who's hearing? Well, if David can hear from the mouth of the cave way up there, his troops could also hear too. So this is public knowledge, and here it is eternally etched in the page of Scripture. Verse 16 shows Saul's speech. When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this your voice, my son? Now up until this time Saul consistently refused to refer to David as his son or by name. He always called him son of Jesse. But here for the first time Saul refers to David as David my son, my son David. But soon Saul will maliciously end David's status as his son-in-law. Now how could he do that? By marrying off his daughter Michal to another man. By using David's absence as excuse for abandonment, Saul married his daughter off. 1 Samuel 25 verse 44 says, Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti, the son of Laish, who was from Galim. That's how he does it. I will not have David have ties to me as the son-in-law of the king. Lest he get ambitious and use that connection to climb up to the throne, I'm going to make sure that my daughter is married to another man and sever that relationship forever. That's what Saul did. That's Saul's heart. His murderous heart, right here, is being struck with guilt in David's speech. This hostile disposition being overcome with emotion in light of David's innocence. Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept. Flood of emotions rushed into Saul's soul as he realized what had just happened in the cave. Unfortunately, that wasn't genuine repentance. You say, well, how do you know? 2 Corinthians 7, verse 10. Let's go there. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 10. Here's how you know. The Bible makes a clear difference between worldly sorrow. In other words, this is how unbelieving people of the world demonstrate emotional sorrow. That's why they say, I'm sorry, but they never confess their sins and say, would you forgive me for my sins of X, Y, Z, and A, B, C, D, and one, two, three. They don't name their sin. They just say, sorry, I'm sorrowful, orally sorrow. And then their behavior doesn't change. Unfortunately, that's what Saul did. This is what Paul says, 2 Corinthians 7, verse 10. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation. But the sorrow of the world produces death. Repentance leading to salvation versus sorrow that leads to death. Don't be surprised that emotional, great emotionalism, when people who are struck down with their guilt and shame respond emotionally. And do not interpret that as genuine repentance. You see, anytime we sow a seed, you have to wait a little bit for it to grow and then bear fruit. It'll take a while. And that's why it's important for us not to quickly adjudicate, especially someone as dangerous as Saul. If David had misjudged Saul's character and recognized this as genuine repentance and went back with him or listened to everything Saul said, he would have been dead meat. Of course, David's not that foolish. He's wise. So he's not going to look at this. He's going to wait. If this is genuine, it will produce fruit. And so here he's lifted up his voice and wept loudly. That surely looks like sincere repentance, doesn't it? Only to the naive and the unsuspecting it does, but it's not. Emotionalism is not true repentance. Verse 17 says, and he says to David, you are more righteous than I. What about this speech? Here is this deep, brokenhearted emotion followed by some excellent speech. It sounds like repentance. You are more righteous than I." Immoral Judah had said the same thing to his daughter-in-law Tamar in Genesis 38 verse 26. Judah recognized them and he said, she is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah and he did not have relations with her again. Notice that? Judah was immoral. Thought his daughter-in-law, dressed up like a prostitute, was a prostitute. He wanted to hire her. And having relations with her, she asked for some pledge, a belt and a staff, and he gave it to her in replacement for a young goat, which she wanted as payment. He came back with a goat. She was long gone. He was perplexed. But he didn't want to ask any more questions, because that would have been embarrassing. You know, going around asking about his immoral activities. Have you seen a prostitute nearby? He didn't want to do that. Later on, he finds out that Tamar is pregnant. And he is furious and says, and that no good, adulterous daughter-in-law, have her stoned to death. He says, well, I'm pregnant with a child, and the father of the child is the owner of these. And she handed his belt and his staff to her father-in-law. This is when he said, she is more righteous than I. Well, Judah reformed his ways. It says that he did not have relation with her again. He realized his fault. He realizes guilt. He realizes immorality versus her. innocence. What recourse did she have? She was barren. Judah wasn't giving her any more of his sons. Two moral categories are juxtaposed in Saul's speech here. The word that's translated well, it says, you are more righteous than I, for you have dealt well with me. That is the Hebrew noun or adjective, tov, good. And here is tovah, ha-tovah, and then wickedly, ha-ra-ah. Good and evil. Two moral categories. Here, contrary to Judah's repentance, Saul's words won't be backed up by his actions. As the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7, 16, you will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? The answer is no, of course not. Indeed, if Saul has dealt wickedly, and David has done good, then why does Saul continue to do wickedly? Actions speak louder than words. Saul's actions will not change, indicating that there was no real change in his heart. Temporary remorse, emotionalism, and a speech that proceeds forth from a guilty conscience. And yet even that was directed by the Holy Spirit. Remember the New Testament description of Judas's remorse in Matthew 27, verse 4? He said, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. Fact. That's fact. I have sinned. Yes, he did. By betraying innocent blood. But they said, what is that to us? See to that yourself. And he went and hung himself. He took matters into his own hands. Yes, he has sinned. But what did he do to repent? Did he ask the Lord Jesus? Did he go to the foot of the cross? And ask the Lord there. That's where Jesus forgave the thief on the right, who was also a murderer. He has sinned greatly. No, Judas had remorse. He greatly regretted what he has done. Regret is one of those things that constantly plague the mind of the sinner with guilt and shame and raw peace. But that is a gateway into greater blessing of grace and mercy from God, or it could be a gateway into the deep, dark recesses of hell, of self-flagellating, of self-atoning, self-defeating, God-rejecting, self-sacrifice. That's usually where sinful men go. They don't go to the foot of the cross to their Savior. They go to their works. They go to religion. They hit the bottle, whatever. Whatever course that they will take to temporarily subdue. And their heart gets hardened, nothing changes, and they keep at it. That's where unrepentant men usually go. Verse 18, Saul says, you have declared today that You have done good to me that the Lord delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me." That's the objective truth of God's sovereign purposes and David's goodness. It was apparent. It was apparent in the fact that Saul was treated with kindness. He was still living. Even Saul can testify that. He says, you have done good to me. That's not what Saul would have done. Saul also testified to the hand of the Lord in that, the Lord delivered me into your hand. Something about this, saying this is not coincidence. Saul understood that. And just because somebody says, I'm truly sorrowful, God's shown me that I've sinned against you. You have done good to me while I've done evil to you. Repentance? Not according to the word of God, it is not repentance. It looks like it, but it doesn't bear fruit. Doesn't bear fruit. But what Saul didn't expect was David's kindness and mercy. Yet you did not kill me. Here's a real good way to test yourselves in the weeks, months, and the years to come. You and I have both a standard by which we live. And that standard is guided by our conscience and by the Holy Spirit. Our conscience, guided by the Holy Spirit, will either confirm or oppose the decisions that we're willing to make. Now, if you are in the receiving end of great mistreatment of evil from someone, then you will feel great hurt And yet your conscience will say, I don't want to take vengeance. I don't want to fight. I just want to trust this situation to the Lord. Then you are taking the high road of moral high road, high ground. But if you say, I want to show this person how wrong he or she is, I'm going to do my utmost to reveal the sinfulness and the wickedness, and I'm going to do my utmost to oppose, He's going to get the justice of God through me. And if that temptation comes and you succumb to that temptation, after time has elapsed, you compare. You compare which version you believe you have received from the Lord. And then you compare which standard you have applied to others. And then you judge for yourself. Your own conscience can make judgment. You are either... Here, there are two moral categories. You are evil or good. You can label that properly, objectively. Most of us will struggle between these two powerful emotions. Our sense of justice will kick in, but even that will be tainted by our sin, because who's really perfectly just? No one. We are not. And so when our enemy says, you had every right to just crush me, but you didn't, that is evidence that you have practiced good. But if they say, I'm crushed by you and I remain crushed because you took it out on me, then our evidence shows that we took justice into our own hands. Verse 19, for if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? Here Saul even asks a rhetorical question which answers his own question. He would never do this. When he finds his enemy and he has the upper hand, he would never let him go safely. As a matter of fact, in the ancient Near Eastern culture, in a worldly sense, no one would ever do this. No one, that is of course, that is not filled with the Holy Spirit. Saul recognizes that what he had experienced was completely against human logic. Fallen fleshly human logic says tit for tat. At least tit for tat. But if you have the power like Saul does as head of state, then you've crushed everybody who's in your way. Their tit will be your boulder upon their heads. They throw a little pebble and you dump a truckload of rocks upon them. This is the way that powerful people take vengeance. It defies logic, and it defies common sense. This is what Saul is saying. What you did to me is not even logical, it's not even commonsensical. What you did to me was supernatural. This is a supernatural mercy of God. That's supernatural mercy. This is what it looks like. It's what it feels like. Letting your enemy go away safely. That's not part of Saul's experience. Nor, as a matter of fact, of most people's experience. But our Lord Jesus commanded His disciples in Luke 6, verse 27 to 28, Wow! I remember counseling a few people that I found out had major axes to grind against me for no reason. And I told them, I know, and I'm praying for you. And they look with a look of half question, half disgust, and say, right, you're probably bringing down curses of God against me. That kind of look, like I don't believe you. You praying for me? And this is the only way that we can be spared from the growing disease of sin and bitterness in our hearts. We have to ask the Lord's blessing for our enemies or else we are in danger of great sin. Our Lord wanted his disciples to be blessed. He wanted them to be more like the Lord himself. And here is Saul, enemy of David, now blessing David. May the Lord therefore reward you. Saul obviously didn't reward David. Now he's calling the Lord to reward him with good, because Saul didn't treat David with good, in return for what you have done to me this day. Saul treated David's good with his evil. Since he couldn't deliver any good to David, he's now calling the Lord to repay him. That's prophetic. The Lord would. That's exactly what the Lord would do. And we receive our blessing from the Lord. Not from men. Not only filled with sorrow for his folly, but having been spared, Saul is filled with gratitude toward David now. That's why he can say what he can say. Even your enemy can be grateful to you and wishes that the Lord would reward David for the good. Verse 20, now behold, I know that you will surely be king. He knows. Saul observes what Jonathan has testified to David in 1 Samuel 23, 17. Thus he said to him, Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel, and I will be next to you. And Saul my father knows that also. Saul was convicted of his irrefutable proof that David spared his life, and that was the Lord's sign and purpose to make David king, because that's kingly behavior. That is regal. Saul behaved just like any other king of the surrounding worldly nations. And even in the kingdom of God, there are people who act like people of the world. They think like people of the world, they act and talk and reason like the people of the world, but we are called to be like Christ in everything. This is not the mind of Christ. Philippians 2, Paul says, think of others as more important than yourself. That's the mind of Christ. We need to grow in that mindset. And David was certainly regal. God had anointed him. There was clear evidence that Saul didn't deserve to be the king. Not the kind of king that honored God. He was only king in position and title. But David, now that's kingly. So don't be discouraged when you see people in positions and leadership and you say, well, that's not really godly. Yeah. There are moments where all human beings show their fleshly and weak side. But have you seen the full picture? David doesn't act all godly either, but the Lord has anointed him. to be king. That is clear. That's evidence. Why? Because this is God's kingdom and it's God's choice. It's not man. David has recognized this very clearly. He refused to touch the kingdom because it's up to God. God had anointed Saul king. God's going to deal with it. He's going to remove Saul in his right way, in his own time, in his methods. God did not tell David to do this. He didn't receive any command from the Lord to do this. David said, it is not in my position. That's why David acted the way he did out of the fear of the Lord. Now he is receiving a blessing of gratitude from his enemy, Saul. Now he's receiving another confirmation. While he's being chased around the wilderness and inhospitable places because of Saul, now Saul is saying through his own lips, I know surely you're going to be king. That's confirmation. David's situation hasn't changed, but he received yet another confirmation that he will be king from his own enemy. Therefore, David must continue to be steadfast, be faithful, and stay the course, suffer long, and not become impatient, and not do things that are sinfully rash, like Saul did. And Saul continues saying, the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. It's all new. that had David killed him in the cave, David would have become king and the kingdom would be David's and David could start his own dynasty. And as the Lord's anointed, people are people. They're gonna follow. Remember when Absalom overthrew the government through a coup d'etat? They followed him. People are people. They'll follow whoever is in charge. They just want the norm. They just want things to be okay. And they'll follow whoever. They'll follow Saul. They'll follow Absalom. They'll follow David too. But David says, the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. David says, okay. God has anointed me king. People will follow me. My kingdom will be established, but I'm not gonna do it my way. And that's what we need to learn and understand from David. Our Lord Jesus Christ never lived life his way, but he was fully submitted to the Father's will, to the point of death on the cross. We are more like him, more like our Lord Jesus, when we submit to his way. And so, we suffer long. We say, Lord, every year passes by, I'm still single. Where's your purpose in this? But I'm not gonna take a shortcut and look for unbelieving relationships. I'm going to suffer long and commit these things to you. Lord, the company's doing terribly. I'm looking at being laid off at the end of this year. I don't know how to support my family, but I'm not going to cut this short and start going into a partnership or business venture or a job that calls for compromise. I'm not going to do it. I'm going to trust you as my great provider. That's suffering long. Our situations may not change, it may even get worse because of our condition and our decision, but we will receive confirmation from the Lord that such is the right way. See, we honor God when we suffer long and we follow after the model of Christ. No expediency, no shortcuts, just the Father's will. If we're content in that and we learn to even find joy in that, satisfaction in that, Let me tell you, you and I, if we have that kind of mindset, we can be powerful sources of ministry to people who have less than that and still complain and whine and pout, right? David has become a powerful model of what it means to be the Lord's anointed. Verse 21, this is ironic, isn't it? Saul is now begging David. So now swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, verse 21. David had cut off a small portion of Saul's robe. And the theme continues in Saul's request to David not to cut off his entire family. David would have cut off, Saul would have cut off David and everybody David knew. That's exactly how ancient Near Eastern monarchs treated their rivals. You purged them. In the sordid history of the country of my birth in Korea, they used to purge people into a third generation, third cousins. That's how bad it was. One person become a political enemy to the throne or to someone high in power, their entire clan and their relatives got purged. That's why, you know, when you look at so many Lee's and Kim's and Park's, you know who survived. Not too many shims in Korea. That's the ancient oriental practice. It still goes on in many places. In North Korea it's still being practiced. This is wicked men, tyrannical powers. This is what Saul would have done. And yet this is what Saul is asking David not to do. Isn't that ironic? You know, the enemies of Christ, enemies of God, will always ask the believers not to do what they are more willing to do. Hypocritical double standard. It's ironic that Saul asked David to do this, because it shows his selfish, sinful heart. That he would have even, didn't even wink, or he would have thought twice before doing this to David and his family. David was so sure that that would happen, he had to evacuate his family. And that, you will not destroy my name from my father's household. The concept of name is intimately connected with one's own existence. Therefore, to destroy one's own name is to wipe out anyone connected. to Saul. Now Saul knows that David's going to become king. He's afraid that David will become like all the other kings, like Saul, and start wiping out competition. She didn't know that David was a different man, different kind of a man. He didn't know that the Lord's anointed is the one with mercy and compassion. Did he just not experience that in the cave? You know, what we find out when we get to heaven, we'll be amazed at the kind of people that will show up in heaven. That we would have thought on earth that they had no chance of being in heaven. But then you and I saw the thief on the right receive salvation. And then we will be shocked to find that we ourselves are there as well. And that would be a great blessing. Because even before that entrance, right before that moment, we'll fight with doubt. Am I worthy to enter into heaven? Of course the answer is no, you're not. Then how can I be sure? You cling to the Lord and his Messiah, Christ. Is he the one who would wipe you out? Does he take delight in the destruction of the wicked? This is Saul's great fear. And it's the fear of all who do not find their hope in the Lord. They have no certainty of well-being in their future. No certainty. And they have to trust that the goodness of the Lord's anointed will carry through. And look at verse 22, David swore to Saul. Later, David will fulfill this promise by providing sanctuary, inheritance, and kindness to Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son. Therein lies the theology, the evidence of the theology of Romans 5a. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, enemies of God, that Christ died for us. Who loves enemies? Our God does. And here, David, in the Old Testament representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, he swears to his enemy, the one who had multiple times thrown spears at him. He's chasing David down and causing misery for he and his followers, and he swears to him. I don't know if I were in that position, I would say, are you crazy? You kidding me? You mean to tell me that when I get the upper hand that you're asking me to show kindness, where you refuse to do that to my family? I don't think so, buddy. That would be my fleshly reaction. But when I see this, I see the supernatural work of God's Holy Spirit working in David's heart. Remember, he's been anointed. The Holy Spirit of God is guiding David, giving him wisdom, giving him wise speech, guiding in his heart with compassion and mercy. that he subdues his men from taking the opportunity for revenge. David fully trusts in the Lord and he continues to show compassion. And he makes an oath with his enemy to treat the future descendants of Saul with kindness. And he follows through. That's our David. That's our Lord. And that's why you and I can rest assured. The more Jesus is distant from your understanding and your mind, the more unsure you will be of your destiny. The more closer he is to you, and the more precious he is to you, the more you know about him, you know the greater will be your assurance. Greater will be your assurance. Because if this is the way King David treated Saul, Let me tell you, our Lord Jesus Christ, he was interceding for his enemies. He laid down his life for his enemies. David didn't do that. But the greater David, our Lord did. We don't even have to question the mercies and the love and the compassion of our David, our Lord Jesus Christ. So Saul went home, it says, to his home at Gibeah. David and his men went up to the stronghold. Back to the cave, back to the life in inhospitable wilderness of the Judean deserts. This final verse leaves the situation in an unsolved, unresolved state. Saul didn't invite David back. Saul did not, he called him my son, but he didn't treat him like son. David was wise not to go back to Gibeah with his wife. Saul's erratic behavior and crazed hostility would soon be reignited. David's life and future would not be well under Saul. So David stayed as a fugitive and took evasive action. And then he would leave this well-watered spring in Ein Gedi and would camp in the desert of Paran. And he would keep running around trying to fend for himself. And he would be the private security company, if you will. He was the private security guard for a foolish man named Nabal. That's what we're gonna study, Lord willing, next year as we come back, chapter 25. That's where David meets Abigail and that story. But of course, David has to flee again. His situation didn't improve. And I bet a lot of his followers have probably resented David. What a foolish move. I can't believe I'm following this guy. He's a good guy. But he's not very astute. I don't know if I can trust him. That would be their reluctance. But more and more they got to spend time with David, the more and more attraction they saw in David. So they kept following him, kept being loyal to him. As a matter of fact, more and more people who are loyal to David stayed with David. David wasn't You know, the best of human specimen, but he was the best in Israel. David's situation didn't change for the better, but he did receive a confirming message from the Lord. He did realize that what he had done, empowered by the Holy Spirit, was the right thing. It's what God would have done. David, as God's representative on earth, did what God wanted him to do. David had to continue to trust in God's trustworthiness and stay faithful and stay the course. Instead of trying to take the kingdom by his own hands, instead of building an army to go against Saul, David just fled and continued to fend for himself, waiting for God's timing and God's ways. David beautifully exemplified Christ as we read in the beginning of our Bible study time, as Peter writes in 1 Peter 2, 23. And while being reviled, he did not revile in return. While suffering, he uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously. That's what we must do. That's our lesson as well. We must keep entrusting ourselves to the Lord who judges righteously. We must leave the vengeance to the Lord. Only God can overthrow evil and subdue wickedness. God has not made us judge, jury, and executioner. We are not called to be the policemen of the church. That is not our role. We're called to love, to serve, yes, sometimes lovingly confront sin for restoration. We are not called to kick people out, confront people and expose them for who they are, God has not called us to do that. That's the Holy Spirit's job. And when the Lord does it, we need to just simply submit. He has called us to peace. He has called us to service. We must patiently wait for the Lord's timing and not to become a rebel like Absalom or a traitor like Ahithophel. We must be like David here. God's timing and God's methods are different than ours. He would never do things the way we think is best. His ways are so much higher. And while causing us to be patient and long-suffering, He does something wonderful. He brings Christ-likeness in us. And that's what He intends to do. We must make sure that other people's evil against us won't overpower us. Rather, as Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12, verse 21, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let's read that again. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. That's exactly what we have read here in chapter 24, 1 Samuel. David was not overcome by evil. Our Lord Jesus was never overcome by evil, but through his good, he overcame evil. And this is when we are most Christ-like. When we're merciful. When we bring peace between sinner and God. We're most Christ-like, and we refuse to exact justice, but rather practice mercy. For mercy triumphs over justice. We are all recipients of mercy. May the Lord begin to highlight these aspects in your life and in your faith. As you use the very standard of the Word of God and guided by the Holy Spirit in your conscience, may time used by the Lord confirm that what you intend and what you do confirm you as his child, as his beloved, belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ. And trust the judgments to the Lord. You know, God forbid that you sat under the exposition and the ministry of the Word of God in a church such as this, and then later on, five, 10 years from now, the Lord so tarries, we hear the news that you are a ringleader of a church causing a split. God forbid. Could that ever be possible? We don't want to be that. We want to trust all judgments to the Lord. We walk away when we need to, show mercy and kindness when we need to, but never participate in the kind of rebellious, wicked, evildoers that the Bible calls for what it is, doesn't sugarcoat, and we must never identify with them. We must always identify with the Lord and the Lord's anointed. That's when we are more Christ-like. And I pray that that would be your experience and mine. May the Lord bless you in the hearing of the word of God. Let's pray. Father, we give you thanks and praise for giving us a wonderful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ and David. Thank you that he did not take matters into his own hands. Thank you that he did not try to usurp the kingdom. Thank you that he didn't take vengeance. Thank you that he stopped opportunists. Thank you that he practiced mercy. And Lord, when we see the beauty and the majesty and the supernatural power that only those who are filled with your spirit. Only those who are regenerate, only those who fear you can practice. We thank you that we can even study this and desire to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for giving him to us, that while we're yet enemies, that Christ died for us. He interceded on our behalf, and he still ensures that we will be saved. And so we thank you for his great mercy, his kindness, his good that overcame our evil. Lord, we desire to be like Jesus in every way. We want to stay far away from the DNA of this Saul, this devilish man, and all of Satan's minions. We want to stay far away and never take on the worldview. And that we want to follow after our Lord Jesus Christ. We're weak. So we pray that you would strengthen us by your spirit to obey and submit to your will and bring honor and glory with our lives. We would glorify you even from the lips of our own enemies as we practice goodness and kindness and mercy. and leave all the judgment to you. Thank you, Lord, for your mercy has triumphed over judgment. Thank you for forgiving us in Christ. Would you cause your people to be forgivers, peacemakers, bringing men to a holy God, and bringing rich blessing to people and people's lives through the gospel. And we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Lord, bless you and keep you.