Just When You Thought It Was Safe.
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Intro
Intro
Half Full/Sunrise or Sunset
Are you a pessimist, or an optimist? Have you ever taken one of those crazy magazine tests? Do you prefer Sunrises, or Sunsets? Is this glass half full or half empty?
Some people, when something is going look around to see what bad thing is going to happen next.
It may not even be their fault. Society may condition us to that response. Remember the movie Jaws? Jaws was so scary at the time that people were afraid to go swimming in the ocean for fear of a shark attack. Then just when the fear died down, and people started to go swimming again an ad campaign for Jaws 2 swept across America. Do you remember that?
Jaws2
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water-Jaws 2. Well I don’t about all that psycology, but I just could not get that saying out of my mind.
Because If you were here last week, we discussed , the anointing of David, by Samuel. And Last week, I stood right here, and I said that I was rid of Saul. And with great joy, I shook off the evil Saul, And I preached on the grace of God, as he selected David to be the the next King of Israel.
If you were here last week
Since we already discussed , David and Goliath. I turned a few pages to 1 Samuel chapter 18, and 1 Samuel chapter 19. And he we go. here comes Saul again.
I should have know better. Let me pray.
Pray
I know I can’t be the only one. I’ll bet there are a number of you that feel this way. Things are going good, but that just means, look out something bad is about to happen. Do you know what I mean? Some people call it “Waiting for the other shoe to drop” whatever that means.
Pop Psychology will say that we won’t allow ourselves to feel good, becasue we don’t deserve it
Addicts or abuse victims are used to going through crisis after crisis so they are expecting something.
We become Christians, and we are overjoyed at following the Lord Jesus Christ, we think ok, things are going to good from now on. And they may. The big sins in your life , the obvious sins that the Lord wants you kill may die easy at first because you are sick of them, and the problems associated with those sins may go away. SO we are thinking ok I've trusted in Jesus now things are going to be good.
Then it happens, you lose your job. Your receive the health diagnosis, a family member is melting down and hurling accusations and insults at you. What is going on? Why is this happening?
Well, let me offer this suggestion. Maybe God has you in place similar to the one he placed David in, in . Maybe God is actually protecting you to provide preparation, for what He has next.
Things must have seemed to be going fairly well for David. He was anointed by Samuel, he defeated Goliath, and he was good friends with the Kings son, Johnathan. Remember Johnathon, he ate honey, accidentally violating the king’s command to fast, Saul was going to put him to death, put the men saved him. David seems to have similar success. 1 Samuel 18.5.
Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
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Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres.
As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
1 sam 18.5-
Well this did not sit real well with Saul
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?”
So this jealousy in Saul’s heart burned. He saw his kingdom slipping away and he let that thought fester. An evil thought can give give birth to evil, like in
but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
James 1:13-1
So with this festering thought in Saul’s mind, he should take to the Lord. He should take it to the Lord and ask for deliverance from this temptation. Taking every thought captive to Christ, So, if you are Saul, If you find yourself in the situation where sin is staring to be in your heart, wether it is jealuosy or haterd like Saul, or lust or greed, Take those thoughts captive to Christ, run to the cross of Jesus, place those sins on him by confessing, and trust the Jesus will cleanse your heart.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
But Saul doesn’t do that, instead he throws spears.
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?”
and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand
The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand
and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
1 sam 18
And so it begins. Saul will try to kill David numerous times. He will send him off to war and hope that he dies at the the hands Philistines. Saul even uses the love his daughter has for David to try and kill him. And the better things went for David, the more it bothered Saul
When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David,
Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.
1 Sam 18.
When we turn to chapter 19, Saul is trying to build a coalition to destroy David.
Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan had taken a great liking to David
and warned him, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there.
Johnathon, the king’s son, knows the difference between right and wrong. He knows Saul is off, so he warns David, the he tries to reason with Saul, to save his friend David.
I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I’ll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out.”
1 Sam
Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly.
Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly.
He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?”
And this seems to work.
And this seems to wok
He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?”
Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.”
Saul is back on the right track again. This time I’m going to do it. I am going to clean up on my own, I am really going to try and do the right thing. Things are going well for David, those were probably just setbacks, right? Now Saul is on the right page it is going to be ok. David even goes out and wins a victory.
But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre,
Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.
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1 sam 19.
But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre,
He escaped, he got out of there. Why wouldn’t you, the King is trying to kill you. Just when things were turning around Saul promised no more, battles were won, and David is there playing his harp and whoosh! Out of nowhere a spear comes whizzing by his head and stick to the wall bam!
Bam! the boss walks in and says they are moving the plant they will be closed by Thanksgiving. Bam! the doctor walks in and says we need to do surgery and start Chemo right away. Bam! The police are on the phone! What is going on.
I thought the God we serve is in control. I thought the God we serve is Sovereign. Are these things occuring outside of his control?
If we are going to believe that God is God. If we are to believe that he really is the most supreme ultimate authority in the universe, If we really believe he is in control, then we have to believe that he somehow had to have at least permitted this thing to take place. and that is what God’s Word says.
1 Sam 19.9
But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre,
An Evil Spirit from the Lord. And not just anytime. But right when Saul had a spear in his hand. and David did not. David’s hands are full, with the harp. Serenading the one that Has been made King, of all people.
Think about that for a minute. There you are doing everything right, killing giants, winning wars friends with the king’s son, married to his daughter. Then, when your hands are full God sends an evil spirit to the King-the one you are going to replace mind you-and a spear flies by your head.
Wow. I couldn’t take it. DO you know what I would do? I would run over there yank the spear out of the wall, and throw it right back at Saul. I would not have stopped to think through this whole thing, and sort it out. I would react in the moment. But I am not David-I don’t always make good decisions. But praise be to God, that when I don’t, I can run to the cross of Jesus Christ and plead for forgiveness.
David knows that God is in control. David knows that even this thing that seems awful, this spear whizzing by your head, is ultimately from the Lord, that is why he doesn’t hurl it back. After all, Saul is still on the throne, crazy or not, and it isn’t David’s job to remove him, it’s God’s
But if
But David, probably had it all sorted out. David knows, that God is sovereign. David knows that God is in control. David knows that even this thing that seems awful, this spear whizzing by your head, is ultimately from the Lord, that is why he doesn’t hurl it back. After all, Saul is still on the throne, crazy or not, and it isn’t David’s job to remove him, it’s God’s
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
If it is from the Lord, it is meant for good, and not for evil. Although at the time, that may seem hard to sort out. How could this be meant for good? I thought God was all good, how could this evil spirit be from him?
Even the demons submit to God, in the book of Job God said to Satan that he was allowed to attack Job, but not to kill him.
And
The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
And Jesu, being God in flesh. said in .
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
So, if God sent this evil spirit unto Saul to make him crazy, then it also must have been God that kept David alive. Right, I mean if God wanted David dead, David would be dead.
Think about this for a minute. Saul was a warrior. And there is at home, In is fortress, Cleaning his gun, if you will. That is just the picture of a madman isn’t it. What does he need a spear for in the palace, listening to music. He is already crazy, the sin in his heart is making him that way.It doesn’t take much work of the evil Spirit, when he already has jealousy, and no regard for God.
It doesn’t take much work of the evil Spirit, when he already has jealousy, and no regard for God.
And David? David’s hands were full. David was making music for the the King of the Lord’s people. How did Saul miss? Saul a skilled military commander, killed a lot of Philistines and Amorites in the day. A big guy. How did he miss? How did David survive? Saul also sent David on suicide missions. Missions that would kill a normal man, how did David survive?
Have you ever thought back on your younger days and said how is it that I am still here?
He also sent David on suicide missions. Missions that would kill a normal man, how did David survive? Have you ever thought back on your younger days and said how is it that I am still here?
If God wanted David dead, Saul would not missed,. If God wanted David dead, the Philistines would have killed him. What the text is saying is that God was protecting David. Saul missed David, because God had his hand on David. David wasn’t killed in battle, because God had his had on his anointed.
I have a story. On June 30th of this year Frank Pisano and his wife Jana took off in there private plane and shortly after takeoff they had engine troubles. He was attempting to head back to the runway, when it was clear he was not going to make it. As the plane was going down Frank’s wife Jana was praying God is with us, God is with us. They were going down right on the 405. 16 Lanes of traffic, light poles and concrete dividersPerhaps you remember seeing the video on the news.
They were not heading along the freeway, they were crossing the freeway. So as they were going down Frank could see that they were going to plow straight into the center concrete barrier at 80-90 miles an hour. But then, at the last minute the wing clipped the front of a pick up truck and it spun around and they did not hit the barrier. The plane caught on fire, and the driver of the pick-up truck rushed to pull them free, another woman helped perform first aid until the ambulance arrived, and Frank and his wife survived. Now, that part of the story is miraculous enough. But it doesn’t end there.
The driver of the pick up truck was running a little late that day. He had run into an old work partner, and it had delayed his trip home by about 10 minutes. The he describes the scene “Traffic was horrible that day from the 22 Freeway to the 55,” he recounts. “That day was heavier than normal.” For many travelers, Friday June 30th was the start of an extended holiday weekend leading to the Fourth of July.
But inexplicably, the traffic cleared. “All of a sudden it opened up and I was one of the lead vehicles at the 55 transition before John Wayne Airport.” The plane hit the front of his truck, spun around and burst into flames. A second earlier the plane would have missed him and crashed into the barrier, a second later and the plane could have hit the drivers side of the truck. That’s not all. See the guy driving the truck was able to rescue them because he was first responder Captain John Meffert. 21 years of experience in the fire department, and served in emergency medicine and intensive care during the Gulf war in Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
The woman that arrived on the scene to help..She was an ICU nurse that was on her way home from her shift at a nearby Hospital. One more odd thing, a third man came on the scene to help he was a bartender, he didn’t know what to do, but Captain Frank told him to stop Jana’;s bleeding, so he took off his shirt wrapped it around her, and started praying, God is with you, God is with you. The exact same prayer, Jana was praying as they were going down.
The point is , is that God protected those people that day, down to the little details. God protects us. Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes it is not, but the truth is when you really get down to it is that the only reason any one of us is here this morning is because God is protecting us, just like God protected David.
God has protected us thus far. Event he fiercest things of this world will not separate us from the Love of Christ. God may call anyone of us home at anytime, but when we have placed our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins, when he calls us home, He is just calling us out of these trials an into eternal life with him.
The reason that God provide that protection for David is because he is preparing David, for the kingship. He is preparing David, for the trials and difficulties, and leadership challenges that he will one day face. So if you came here this morning , and you have spears whizzing by your head, while your hands are full-don’t throw them back. Place your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. The spears may be the preparation for something to come.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
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In Jesus name,
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For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.