At Peace / Patient

Manuscript Template

Title:  A Christian is...at peace / patient

Focus Statement:  

Function Statement:  

Tweetable Phrase:  

Main Text:  1 Samuel 19-2 Samuel 1

Supporting Text:  Psalm 29:11,

Redemptive Closure (point to Jesus):  

John 16:16-33 - Jesus gives us peace because of what He’s already done

Isaiah 53:5 - The punishment that brought us peace was on him

Benediction: Numbers 6:22-27

Questions to Review

Is the bottom line clear? Main point should be able to be said in a single sentence.

What’s the opening line? Not hello, start with a question or something to grab attention.

Is the transition from the introduction to main point clear?

What’s my main point? Make it short and memorable

Does it matter? Is the topic relevant to the congregation?

Where is the power in the text? What word or phrase highlights the tension?

How am I moving toward application?

What is my main to-do (application)? Be specific.

What does it matter? The WHY creates urgency.

How am I closing? Have a plan.

5 Things Each Sermon Must Do With the Biblical Text

Teach it: Cultural context, exegesis, what does it mean?

Illustrate it: Add emotion, illustrations, pictures, stories.

Apply it: How do we respond?

Distinguish it: How is this different? Invite the Holy Spirit in.

Portable-ize it: Make it RHYME (no WIN in COMPARISON), ALLITERATE it, make it ECHO (who are of infinite worth to the infinite God), use a METAPHORE (the Root of murder is anger...only God can uproot it from our hearts), or make it CONTRAST (a life devoted to self, leave you alone)

https://ideogram.ai/t/explore

WELCOME

Good morning!!! My name is Ryan Hanson, and I have the honor of serving here at The Light KC as the lead pastor. I’m so glad you’re here with us.

‌Welcome to those joining us online. We hope you're doing well and hope to see you in person in the coming weeks.

And a special welcome to those joining us for the first time. We’re so glad you chose to be here.

ME/INTRO - Tension

I’d like to start today with a quote by Richard Dawkins.

Richard Dawkins is a famous evolutionary biologist, an outspoken advocaat for atheism and secular humanism, choosing to hold a non-religious worldview that emphasizes reason, ethics, and human well-being.

One of the quotes he is most famous for is as follows:

“The total amount of suffering per year in the natural world is beyond all decent contemplation. During the minute that it takes me to compose this sentence, thousands of animals are being eaten alive, many others are running for their lives, whimpering with fear, others are slowly being devoured from within by parasites, thousands of all kinds are dying of starvation, thirst, and diseases. In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t find any rhyme or reason in any of it nor any justice. The universe has precisely the properties that we should expect if is at the bottom there is no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.”

Richard Dawkins

I hope that none of us agree with the entirety of this statement, but the facts of this statement are true. The natural world is a very violent place where animals kill and are killed. They die due to diseases and lack of food. For some people, it is a very small step to apply the reality of the natural world to our human experience as Richard Dawkins has done. It is easy to become anxious about all the things that could happen to us that are outside of our control. It is easy to “what if” ourselves into a panic attack or depression.

AND…the statistics are sobering. The reality is that we have an Epidemic of Anxiety in the United States. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, in the United States?

40 million adults suffer from anxiety (18.1%)

14.3% of men / 23.4% of women

22.8% are severe / 33.7% are moderate / 43.5% are mild

6.8 million adults have a diagnosed anxiety disorder (3.1%)

6 million adults suffer from panic disorders (2.7%)

15 million adults suffer from social anxiety (6.8%)

19 million adults suffer from at least 1 phobia (8.7%)

WE - Tension

Does any of this sound familiar?

Are there events that you are afraid may happen that fill you with anxiety?

Are there events from your past that have happened to you that you regret and cause you to be depressed?

Do you find yourself lying in bed running through all the “what-if’s” of the day? Things you could have done differently, or going through options you have for tomorrow’s events?

The reality is, when we face situations where were anxious about our future, or depressed about our past, we have 2 choices.

Rely on ourselves to find a solution

Have faith in the God who loves us and promises that He will bless us and give us peace

Psalm 29:11 states that:

Psalm 29:11 NIV

11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

Whereas this sounds like an easy choice when presented like this, the reality is that when life takes a turn, most people turn to themselves for a solution to their problems. I know I’ve been guilty of it.

Today, as we continue our series “A Christian is...”, we’re going to talk about how we, as Christians, should respond when life isn’t going our way, how we should handle Anxiety and Depression, how we are called, as Christians, to be an example to those outside the church of how a life of peace and patient endurance is possible.

Throughout this series “A Christian is...”, we’re circling around Matthew 7:20, where Jesus says

Matthew 7:20 NIV

20 by their fruit you will recognize them.

It is here that Jesus states that we will know true followers of His by their fruit; the fruits of the spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, which reads.

Galatians 5:22–23 NIV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.

So, over the 5 weeks of this series, we’re going to look at what the Bible says about each of these characteristics; love, joy, peace, patients, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And, we’re going to see how God wants us to live these out, SO THAT these characteristics can become such an integral part of our character that our lives can serve a witness to God we serve.

We’re in week 3 of our 5 week series.

The first week we looked at how, as Christians, God calls us to reflect His unconditional / sacrificial Agape love to everyone, everywhere, at all times.

Last week we looked at how, as Christians, God calls us to be joyful, able to look past our current circumstances, living the life of a disciple; thinking, loving, and acting as Jesus did.

This week, we’re going to continue our series by exploring what the Bible says about living at Peace and being Patience.

Because...

A Christian is...at Peace and Patient

If you missed the previous messages, please feel free go to our website, TheLightKC.org, to catch up.

As we begin, please turn with me to the book of 1 Samuel

We’ll have the scripture on the screen, but if you have a Bible with you, or Bible app on your phone, I’d encourage you to turn to the passage and follow along. There is nothing that replaces having God’s word in your hand.

AND... if you don’t have a Bible, we have Bibles under the seats. If you don’t have a bible and would like one, please come see me after the service and I’ll get you one you can keep.

Let's dive in.

GOD - Text

Sometimes when reading scripture it is a good practice to try to step into the shoes of the characters.

To ask ourselves

which character in the story are we most like

and which character God is calling us to become more like.

In today’s passage, we get to look at two characters who are under a lot of stress, yet handle that stress very differently.

Saul is the first King of Israel. He was chosen by God, led well for a while, but strayed from the path God had for him, failing to obey God’s commands and did things his own way.

David is the shepherd boy who God chose as a teenager to replace Saul as the king if Israel. God placed David close to the king, giving David the opportunity to play the lyre to comfort Saul in the palace, giving David the opportunity to defend Israel by defeating the Philistine giant Goliath and giving David victory in all the battles he fought for Israel as part of the military. Yet David’s success threatened Saul and in Saul’s mind, David became a rival for the throne, so much so that Saul tried to kill David.

So we have Saul, who is king, but afraid that David is becoming too popular and will take the throne away from him and his family.

And we have David, who was anointed to be the future king, had gotten close to the royal family and is now on the run being hunted by Saul.

I want to take a look at each of these biblical characters, see how they deal with the stress they face, and how THROUGH THEM, God is teaching us how to handle stress and have the peace that surpasses understanding that Paul promises in Philippians 4:7

Philippians 4:7 NIV

7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Saul - Try to find peace ourselves

Let’s start by looking at Saul’s life.

Saul was anointed to the first king of Israel in (1 Samuel 10:1)

God immediately filled Saul with the Holy Spirit in (1 Samuel 10:9), and he started hearing directly from God prophesying, relaying God’s words to the people

God uses Saul to save the people in the City of Jabesh from the Ammonites in (1 Samuel 11:6-11)

After that victory, Saul was confirmed as king of Israel in (1 Samuel 11:15)

Things were going well for Saul for quite some time, until Saul felt some pressure. We join Saul’s story in 1 Samuel 13:5-15

1 Samuel 13:5–15 NIV

5 The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. 8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him. 11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.” 13 “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 15 Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.

Saul’s fear got the better of him, caused him to act outside of God’s commands, and cost him and his family the throne of Israel.

But...if we’re honest with ourselves

We have all been there.

When have you been afraid because the stresses of life are too much for us to handle?

When have you “felt compelled” to act when you know you should wait on God?

What has your lack of patience cost you?

From that point on, Saul continued to act out of fear, doing what he thought was right, and failing to listen to God.

When God had chosen David as the next king, instead of accepting God’s judgement, Saul grew even more fearful. In 1 Samuel 18:8

1 Samuel 18:8 NIV

8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?”

Instead of turning to God, Saul decided to act by killing the competition.

Saul hunts and tries to kill David from 1 Samuel 19 all the way to 1 Samuel 26

Saul having strayed so far from God’s plan for his life, ran straight to his end. During a battle with the Philistines, after the prophet Samuel was dead and Saul was no longer hearing the guidance from God directly as he once did, Saul decided to seek the council of mediums. From the grave, through the medium, Samuel confirmed how Saul’s story would end.

1 Samuel 28:16–19 NIV

16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”

Saul lost the battle, and seeing no hope, Saul took his own life, choosing to die by his own sword rather than seek God’s guidance and obey His commands.

David - Find peace through our faith in what God has done for us

On the contrary, David may have faced more adversity than Saul, and yet handled the pressures of life completely different than Saul.

David was the youngest of 7 brothers, a teenager, and tending the family’s sheep when Samuel came to anoint him as the next king in 1 Samuel 16.

David saw glimpses of this anointing coming true, but it took time.

David was called to play the lyre for King Saul in the palace in 1 Samuel 16

David stepped up to fight Goliath and won a key battle for Israel in 1 Samuel 17

David was given a high rank in the army and led Israel to many military victories in 1 Samuel 18

David was even given King Saul’s daughter’s hand in marriage, making him the son-in-law to the king 1 Samuel 18

Yet...

As we discussed earlier, all of David’s successes fueled Saul’s fear of David and forced David to leave everything and go on the run from Saul.

David’s wife Michal helped David escape one of Saul’s attempts at killing him in 1 Samuel 19:12

David’s best friend, and Saul’s son, Jonathan helped David escape another one of Saul’s attempts at killing him in 1 Samuel 20:42

David was forced to flee, going from town to town to avoid Saul’s attacks. But in each town, God provided what David needed.

In 1 Samuel 21:1-9 David was given bread and a sword by the priests at Nob

In 1 Samuel 21:10-15 God gave David safety when the Philistine King of Gath recognized him

In 1 Samuel 22:1-5 God gave David 400 men to join him and help him as he ran from Saul

Have you experienced this in your life?

When life seems to be stacked against you, God gives you just what you need? Just when you need it?

God may not give us everything we WANT, but He gives us everything we NEED if we’re patient enough to wait for His timing.

Even when David had Saul in compromising positions, David does what’s right and honors Saul as God’s anointed by not hurt him.

In 1 Samuel 24:1-14

1 Samuel 24:1–7 NIV

After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

David had another chance in 1 Samuel 26:1-12

1 Samuel 26:7–12 NIV

So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t strike him twice.” But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go.” So David took the spear and water jug near Saul’s head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the Lord had put them into a deep sleep.

David had 2 opportunities to end his suffering. He had Saul in compromising positions where he could have easily killed him, put a stop to Saul’s pursuit, and claim the throne that he was anointed to sit on.

Yet...David knew that it was not God’s plan. David knew that Saul too was anointed by God and that it was God’s job to remove him from the throne when He saw fit. David trusted in God’s commands and God’s timing.

Do we trust God, follow God’s commands / guidance, even when things are not going our way?

Do we have patience that things will work out for our good, even if it doesn’t feel like they are now?

Do we have peace during the persecution?

Do we trust God to bring justice to the injustices of our life, or do we take matters into our own hands?

Even after God does put an end to Saul’s reign, David doesn’t celebrate. David laments the death of God’s anointed.

2 Samuel 1:11–12 NIV

Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

David was able to wish the best for Saul even though Saul wanted nothing more than to kill him, even to the point of mourning Saul’s death.

Are you able to wish the best for your enemies?

When justice finally does happen in your life, do you celebrate or mourn for the one who never repented of their sinful behavior.

YOU - Takeaway

I don’t know what you all have faced in your life, or are facing right now.

I know some of you have faced quite a bit.

But we’re called to live lives like David.

We’re called to Be Patient, waiting on God’s timing and not forcing the results that we want

But…the reality is that we can only be Patient by having a deep sense of Peace in our lives.

We need a Peace that is rooted in our faith in

WHO God is

WHAT God has done

WHAT God has promised

and WHAT we believe in faith God will continue to do for us.

As Christians we’re called to seek peace.

Psalm 34:14 NIV

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

And God promises that if we Trust in Him, He will give us that Peace.

Isaiah 26:3–4 NIV

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

It is only through this Peace God gives us, that the Patience we’re called to have is possible.

I’m reminded of a plot line in a TV show that I have recently started watching. There is a show on Paramount + called Seal Team. It’s been on for quite a while, but I’ve just started getting into it. It’s about one of the seal teams in the Navy and all the missions they go on. One series of shows is about the team recruiting a new member. There were a half dozen or so candidates that had passed all the tests, proven themselves to be great soldier, but had one more training to go through. These episodes showed them go through SERE training. SERE stands for SURVIVAL, EVASION, RESISTANCE, and ESCAPE. This is where they are fake kidnapped, kept in dog kennels, taken one at a time and tortured for information, beaten, water boarded, among other things. They are treated by the Navy as close to how they’d be treated if actually captured by the enemy to see how they’d respond.

What struck me was that during these shows, everyone was terrified except one person. The person that ended up getting the spot was at complete peace. While they were sitting in their dog kennel size cages he was asked how he could be at peace while being tortured. His answer was simple. He said, I know this is a test. I know the Navy won’t hurt us Beyond what we can bear and that in the end this is for our good. I just need to endure this to get to where I belong, on the seal team.

And this is the type of peace we’re called to have.

Life may not be great right now

We may be suffering

We may not see a light at the end of the tunnel

But, we can have Peace knowing what God has already done, that God is in control, and that God won’t allow us to be tested beyond what we can bear

We can have Patience knowing that God has a plan, His plan is good, and when the timing is right, He will act

WE / JESUS - Redemptive Close - Call to Action

Our Peace comes from the knowledge that we have of what Jesus has done for us.

Jesus died on the cross, taking the consequences of our sin, so that we can be set right with God, and through Christ, spend eternity with God in Heaven.

As John 16:25-33, states:

John 16:25–33 NIV

“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus died, so that we may have Peace

A Peace that was prophesied by Isaiah in the Old Testament, nearly 700 years before Jesus lived here on earth.

Isaiah 53:5 states:

Isaiah 53:5 NIV

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We started with a quote from an atheist about the violence, death, and pointlessness of the world.

I want to end with a quote from CS Lewis, a prominent Christian apologist who used logic and philosophy to defend his faith. Who wrote many well known books including the Chronicles of Narnia, an amazing piece of Christian fiction.

CS Lewis writes in his book Mere Christianity...

“If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if He chose, hand out to anyone. They are a great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very center of reality. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you: if you are not,, you will remain dry. Once a man is united to God, how could he not live forever? Once a man is separated from God, what can he do but wither and die.”

CS Lewis - Mere Christianity

Our peace comes from our faith in Jesus. If you haven’t yet put your faith in Jesus, I pray that today’s your day. Please come see me after the service. I’d love to talk with you.

The only way to get the Peace that God promises...the Peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7), we need to be in close relationship with Jesus. It is only through the actions Jesus has already done, and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we will be at peace, and as a consequence of that peace be able to patiently wait on God’s perfect timing.

So...

A Christian is...at peace, believing in and trusting in what Jesus has already done on our behalf on the cross, knowing that no matter what happens to us here on earth, our eternal future is secure.

A Christian is...patient, able to wait on God’s perfect timing because of the peace that we have in Jesus.

PRAYER 

Will you join me in prayer...

SONG 

As we enter into our final song, I want to open the steps up front as an altar to anyone who needs God this week. The steps are open for you to pray to the God who is with you, who loves you, you wants to give you His peace.

‌

You may feel a hand on your shoulder as I or one of the elders join you in prayer.

BENEDICTION 

Numbers 6:24–26 NIV

“ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’

This week...let’s have the faith of David.

Let’s go out and be AT PEACE, knowing that no matter what is happening to us, our eternal future is secure because of what Jesus has already done for us at the Cross.

Let’s not take shortcuts like Saul.

Let’s be PATIENT, waiting on God’s perfect timing, knowing that God loves us, created us with a plan for our lives, and that He wants the best for us.

Quick reminder...

Rooted - last week this Wednesday. I hope you all can join us

Habitat for Humanity - This is a great cause to bless some families. No experience needed. This is a great opportunity to live out our values, and reflect God’s love to the community. I pray we can get the spots filled. If you’re free one of those Saturdays, I’d encourage you to sign up.

If you’re new, please stop by our info desk, or see me. We’d love to say “hi” and get you know you a bit better.

I hope you have a great week.

Go in peace.

You are dismissed.

DISCIPLESHIP QUESTIONS (download into APP)

How can the peace that God offers counteract the anxiety we feel in today's chaotic world?

In what ways can we demonstrate patience in our daily lives, reflecting the patience exhibited by David?

How does trusting in God's timing affect our response to life’s pressures and uncertainties?

What specific practices can we adopt to cultivate a deeper sense of peace rooted in our faith?

In what situations have you struggled to find peace and what steps can you take to turn those over to God?

When facing stressful situations, what are some practical ways to remain patient and peaceful like David?

How can the story of Saul and David inform your decision-making during conflicts with friends or family?

What does it mean for you to trust in God’s plan when things don’t work out the way you want?

How can you apply the ideas of peace and patience in your school life or social circles?

How can sharing experiences of anxiety and God's peace with friends help build a supportive community?