January 8, 2023 - Kingdom Worship
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Your child comes to you in tears...
What do you do?
[I] ask - WHY are you crying?
The child responds - “So-n-so YELLED at me”
What do ya do?
[I] ask - Why did they YELL at you?
The child responds - “Because I hit so-n-so”
What do ya do?
[I] respond - WHY did you HIT so-n-so?
The child responds - “Because I wanted to”
What do ya do?
[I] respond - WHY did you want to?
The child responds - “Because I was bored”
Ok - Maybe we’ve been there before - I’m sure we’ve all had SIMILAR conversations...
AND - I assume we’ve all used the same approach to GAINING information...
The INFAMOUS - (WHY) question...
WHY - is a powerful question.
It PROBES the depths/layers of - INTENT
And it HELPS US - gain understanding.
Several weeks ago now - Jon Kirlough gave us an IN-DEPTH view of the relationship between David - and Jonathan.
A relationship that was VERY strong...
Today - we’ll look at ANOTHER relationship.
The relationship between Saul and David
And within that - we’ll see WHY their relationship ended up being what it was...
LAST WEEK - we saw probably the most popular battle - in scripture.
We saw David and Goliath
And how this YOUNG - ruddy YOUTH - defeated a mountain of a man - in Battle!
So coming out of David defeating Goliath - we read this...
6 As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.
7 And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?”
9 And Saul eyed David from that day on.
This here is going to be our MAIN text for the day.
It sets up what’s to come in this real life drama...
Here we see - the beginning of a RIFT between Saul and David (THIS is the relationship we’ll look at today)
And it’s interesting because - this week in Bible Study - I was looking at the material in our book - and it JUMPED out at me that the CONTENT - fits directly into what’s happening here with Saul and David.
And so MEN - those of you who were at our study this past Monday - you’re going to here some FAMILIAR terms today...
Some terms we discussed at Bible Study...
Today - we’ll see the connection between...
Relational Realities
Emotional Realities
Spiritual Realities
…in the sense that when SIN goes UNCHECKED in our lives...
a Separation in EACH of these areas occurs in our lives.
Whether its a...
Relational separation
Emotional separation
Spiritual separation
What we often SEE in life - is the RELATIONAL...
And in order to figure out - WHY a relationship IS what it IS - we would proceed to make our down to the foundation...
BUT - TODAY - I want to start with - the BASE - the FOUNDATION...
…and make our way up!
SLIDE:
The Spiritual Separation
And so - when we get to the END of today - - we’ll be able to answer the WHY questions that come when our RELATIONSHIPS go south...
BUT we start today - with the base - the foundation.
If we go back to verse 8 - we’ll see this...
8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?”
So David had just defeated - Goliath…the ENEMY of Israel!
Who remembers back in 2016 - How the city of Cleveland REACTED to the LeBron James - coming back HOME...
And defeating the Goliath State Warriors to win the championship?
What was it - 1 million people (3 million?) downtown - celebrating at the parade?
Millions of people - Screaming for their TEAM!!
NOW - did the fans like Kevin Love? sure.
Did they like Kyrie Irving? Of course.
BUT HOW did they feel about LeBron?
WOW!
HE was the one! Right?
Kevin Love - Kyrie Irving - SURE - they could have gotten angry with ALL the LOVE shown to LeBron…BUT...
Saul here - is ANGRY that the people ELEVATED David - seemingly OVER him!
And in DOING SO - Saul begins to READ the tea-leaves...
How does he finish this verse?
He says - “The people LOVE HIM MORE than ME - and - what more can HE have but the Kingdom!?”
He’s got the PEOPLE on his side now...
He’s taken the PRAISE I deserve - WHAT ELSE is there to take FROM ME - but the kingdom...
Saul began to see that the KINGDOM was at stake here!
Saul believed the VOICE of the people - would DICTATE who the REAL HERO is...
And so - JUST LIKE the title of our sermon said - what we see here is -
SLIDE:
KINGDOM WORSHIP
You may have thought that the title was a GOOD thing...
It’s NOT!
Saul here - is actually WORSHIPING the Kingdom!
It has BECOME his idol!
And what do people - ALL PEOPLE - EVEN US - do with our idols...
We - DEFEND our idols.
For the past several weeks - we’ve seen Saul really - FUMBLE the kingdom - haven’t we?
He was constantly DISOBEYING God and His commands....right?
And in doing so - he FORFEITED the Kingdom!
What’s it called when we DISOBEY God…??
It’s called - SIN
How are we called to HANDLE our sin....even as believers?
Well - first off...
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Alright - so - you might think you’re awesome...
BUT - this says - you’re a sinner
Well now what?
next verse
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Now you may be thinking = Ehh - I think that JUST HAS to do with Salvation...
Ok - well listen to what Christians are called to do with the sin in their lives...
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
In order to PUT these things to death - we must ACKNOWLEDGE these things...
Confess these things!
BUT WHAT IF WE DON’T??
What happens between US and GOD - when we DON’T confess our sins?
Let’s look at MARRIAGE to see...
Let’s say your spouse WRONGS you...
They say something
They DO something...
And they SIN against you...
How do you respond if they PRETEND it never happened?
OK - I already know that answer!
NOW - When WE sin before God - and we PRETEND it didn’t happen...
What happens between us and God?
Here’s what happens - Consequences!
7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
See - when we SIN - our relationship with God - WHILE NOT DESTROYED....
Can LEAD US to become LESS intimate with God!
Our SIN - has the potential of BREEDING more SIN in our lives! - yes?
15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
And this process can SO EASILY replicate itself in our lives.
SO - we may SIN - but then instead of ACKNOWLEDGING IT and confessing it (in order to MAKE WAR on it)...
WHEN we DON’T CONFESS IT....
We JUSTIFY it!
When we DO THAT - we’re MORE APT to fall back INTO IT!....
or even walk completely off God’s path - and down a road under God’s discipline.
Well - in our text today - Where do we find Saul?
We find him - Worshiping the Kingdom...
And defending his idol.
it’s as if - God was now - NOT WALKING with Saul...
Let’s look to our text...
12 Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.
Saul’s disobedience (that we’ve seen for the past SEVERAL WEEKS) - led to consequences...
It led to the Lord NOT walking with Saul!
Well - here’s what we should know...
When the Lord is not walking with us - Satan is.
And this is why - when a brother or sister WANDER in the faith...
....we’re called to GO TO THEM…for what reason?
We saw this in Galatians
1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
It’s POSSIBLE for us - as BELIEVERS - to get to a place where we NEED - RESTORED!
A lack of CONFESSION will get us to that place!
Because the ISSUE at PLAY - when it comes to a lack of confession - is between ME and GOD...
When I refuse to confess - I’m rebelling against God.
AND this can lead to consequences!
Saul and David show us those consequences!
Saul’s disobedience LED to this Spiritual Separation between the Lord and Saul...
And THAT - led to this...
SLIDE:
The Emotional Separation
We already know that the Lord was no longer with Saul...
Again - that will have consequences....
What kind of EMOTIONS do we see from Saul throughout this RELATIONSHIP?
8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?”
ANGER here is on the table!
Saul gets ANGRY that people were praising David MORE than him...
Saul wasn’t able to SEE that DAVID was the one who RISKED his life with Goliath…!
SAUL - just like EVERY OTHER man in Israel...
…was HIDING from Goliath!
So he GOT ANGRY!
What else?
half verse
12 Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.
Things were BUILDING here...
And BECAUSE Saul was in a state of Kingdom Worship...
BOWING to the IDOL of the Kingdom...
THINKING it was HIS kingdom...
He became AFRAID that he would lose it to David!
NOW - as we know - Saul had ALREADY BEEN told by Samuel that the Kingdom would be taken from him...
But that’s what SIN DOES - it will convince us that ANY KIND of ANGER (even IRRATIONAL ANGER) - is justified!
And so Saul was ANGRY - and AFRAID!
15 And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him.
And this ANGER - and FEAR - inside of Saul - continue to BUILD
David continued to have MORE AND MORE SUCCESS in battle...
And so his status with the people - CONTINUED to - - GROW!
*You ever find yourself in a situation where - you were -
CONVINCED of something
Maybe you heard someone say something and you ASSUMED what they meant...
And then you let that FESTER - and over time you just became more embittered toward that person.
BUT THEN - you come to find out later that they didn’t mean what you thought they meant...
Or maybe they didn’t even say what you had thought...
When we come to the other side of those SITUATIONS - hopefully we see that our EMOTIONS were being fueled by earthly desires.
More often than not -
When we refuse to confess sin…and we ALLOW our earthly emotions to control us...
We’re actually defending an IDOL
Whether that idol is our Ego...
Or our possessions
Or our pride
We WILL defend our idols.
SAUL - was getting more angry - WHY?
Because he was trying to DEFEND the idol of the Kingdom!
What did Saul need?
He needed to be restored!
But how?
Saul would have benefited from living out the TRUTH of 1 Peter 5
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Look at v10 here!
SAUL FAILED to humble himself - he failed to SEE the Kingdom as GOD’s Kingdom...
He FAILED to LISTEN to God...
Result?
His ANXIETIES ROSE!!
He then FAILED to cast all his anxieties on God
He was NOT sober minded!
RESULT?
He was NOT (v10) - restored, confirmed, strengthened, and established BY GOD!!
He was NOT restored - he was left to WANDER
He was NOT confirmed - he was left to DOUBT
He was NOT strengthened - he was left to EMOTIONALLY deteriorate
He was NOT established - he was left to crumble
*How about us?
Are we experiencing these same things?
Is our ANGER out of control?
Do we FEAR circumstances?
is DOUBT a new normal for us?
Confess to the Lord!
Confess THESE things to Him!
It’s not just about the BIG sins - murder / adultery / lying
No - it’s anger as well!
It’s FEAR
It’s DOUBT
It’s NOT speaking for Him when we should
Confess the times we DON’T CONFESS!
Because if we FAIL in this!...
There are even greater consequences…!
We see this with Saul and David in our text today!
We’ve moved from the Spiritual Separation...
to the Emotional Separation
TO NOW...
SLIDE:
The Relational Separation
When sin is left UNCHECKED in our lives...
It can lead us to a place of RELATIONAL Separation!
Well first off - let’s look at how our RELATIONS with each other SHOULD BE...
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
So - let’s filter SAUL thru this verse...
If we think back to our MAIN text that we read earlier - we saw that Saul was now viewing David in a different light.
9 And Saul eyed David from that day on.
David defeated Goliath - and the people - REJOICED!
So much so that they began BOASTING about David - more than they did Saul...
And so SAUL doesn’t take KINDLY to that!
What was ONCE a healthy relationship - was now on SHAKY ground!
How shaky?
11 And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.
OK - I think it’s safe to say that their relationship had gone to another LEVEL…!
The kind where MURDER was now on the list of - “things to do today”
What kind of relationship is this?
13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people.
Here we see a PHYSICAL - relational separation...
What kind of relationship is this?
17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
Saul’s relationship with David was one where Saul wanted him to die...
“Let the hand of the Philistines be against him”
NOW - We see that Saul was going to give his daughter to David in marriage....for the purpose of TRIPPING him up!
it ends up not working out between Merab and David...
BUT...
Saul had ANOTHER daughter - named - Michal
20 Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
21 Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall now be my son-in-law.”
So Saul’s gonna give Michal to David...
Was there a PRICE to pay to receive Michal as his wife?
25 Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king’s enemies.’ ” Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
Again - Saul wanted David to go and FIGHT SO THAT he would die in battle!
AGAIN - What kind of RELATIONSHIP is this?
We can HEAR Saul speaking in ways that SOUND nice…no?
He’s DOING nice things (giving his daughter over in marriage) - YET - we know - He’s actually - - SCHEMING!
Saul had TRIED to kill David - that’s chapter 18...
BUT THEN in chapter 19…it seems we have a TURNING of the tables...
Jonathan comes and DEFENDS David before Saul...
He speaks about how David had actually BLESSED Saul...
And so Saul says this...
6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.”
7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
KOOM.BA.YA
Sounds good no?
Just wait...
8 And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him.
9 Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre.
10 And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
Woops - Saul now - BACK in the MURDER game...
Wants to TAKE DAVID OUT!
What kind of a relationship is this?
11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
So David - FLEES...
He had gone from BEING in the presence of Saul...
TO NOW - separated from Saul.
The Spiritual separation - has now led to a RELATIONAL separation
But do you remember how we’re SUPPOSED to handle each other?
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
These words written by PAUL - but no doubt they still APPLIED to Saul!
Be kind to one another: Is this the kind of relationship Saul had with David?
Hard NO!
Tenderhearted?
Hard NO!
Forgiving one another?
Hard NO!!
Saul wasn’t THROWING “I’m SORRY’s” at David - he was throwing SPEARS at David!
WHY?
Let’s look back to our list:
SLIDE:
Relational Separation
Emotional Separation
Spiritual Separation
At the base - SIN left unchecked/unrepented of in our lives - will lead us to a Spiritual separation with God...
If we’re SAVED - this separation is not ULTIMATE (and so maybe separation is the BEST word) - but it will put us in a place where OUR REAPING will cause MUCH distress in life!
And SO -
Men - maybe you’re a BELIEVER - but maybe you’ve let LUST go unchecked in your life....
And you continue to put OFF repenting of it!
You’re displaying that lust has become your idol...
And when someone (presumably your spouse) or another brother in the Lord - comes to challenge you in that...
Without REPENTANCE - you WILL - defend your idol.
Your EMOTIONS will RAGE in order to DEFEND your idol.
And so KNOW this - lust has destroyed many a [believer’s] marriage (MANY sins have destroyed marriages)
As we’ve seen today - there are consequences to unchecked/unrepented sin in our lives
Ladies - Maybe you’re a BELIEVER - but maybe you’ve let control/manipulation go unchecked/unrepented of in your life.
And you continue to put off repenting of it
You’re displaying that CONTROL has become your idol...
And when someone (presumably your spouse) or another sister in the Lord - comes to challenge you in that...
Without REPENTANCE - you WILL - defend your idol.
Your EMOTIONS will RAGE in order to DEFEND your idol.
We have work to do...
May the Lord be gentle in leading us to be more like Him...
And to live a life - of confession!
Let’s pray...
The Lord’s Table
This brings us to the Lord’s Table…a time for each of us to reflect on our lives, to examine ourselves spiritually, and to remember the cost of our faith. We were bought with a price, and these elements remind us of this.
Have you experienced the Saving Power of Christ at the cross?
Have you surrendered to Him...
Have you REPENTED of your sin - trusting in Christ alone for your salvation!!?
If so - This has EVERYTHING to do with what we talked about today...
This can easily become a ROUTINE for us - BUT - hopefully this CONCEPT of confession DOES become a DEFAULT response for us!
Hopefully - we live a lifestyle of CONFESSION - that as we become MORE and MORE mature in the faith - we WILL also begin to MORE CLEARLY see the sin in our lives - and CONFESS!
IF you haven't given your life to Jesus - ...you should not partake in this!
The Bible says not to take this lightly. Scripture says – “ whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
Take time now and examine yourself before the Lord.
22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
“do this…in remembrance of me.”
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
-
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!