Life and Death

Amen. Amen. Well as we all look at this text together, we see one of the great colossal military failures of all time. Factom every soldier in the in our Armed Forces knows the first general order. How many of you served in the military in some capacity? Was that not the first thing you were taught was the first general order? 1st General Order is this and I'm sure that that a lot of you who are military people still remember it but the first general order is simply this I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved this is something that is drilled into every Soldier. You never leave your post. We kind of have this image this picture as we read the story together a kind of a Three Stooges program notes amazing every time the Three Stooges for those of you who've seen The Three Stooges and I certainly hope everyone of you and watch The Three Stooges. I mean this is this is what it means to be an American is to is to know the Three Stooges button, but it seems like every time the Three Stooges are locked and a jail or The Three Stooges are you know, they find themselves and some a difficult place and there's somebody guarding the door without fail. The guy guarding the door always goes to sleep, right? This is this is this is part of the stick. Well in in the military in real life, it's not it's not a stick. It's it's it's life and death staying awake at your post. Well, as I read that story I wanted to kind of read the whole chapter for the simple reason of demonstrating that that this chapter once you heard it sounds a lot like another chapter doesn't it? Doesn't it sound like a chapter. We looked at a couple of weeks ago chapter 24 when David was in a cave and song Wanted in the cave and David had an opportunity to to a Kill saw. In fact, there are some who argue that there are so many similarities between chapter 24 and 26 that there are actually the same event. They're just told in a different way. I just kind of took a little bit of time and and went through it in compared some of the similarities. I found a number of them in if you could put them up there it's on it's under content, but I found a number of similarities between the two if you go through you probably will find other ones that maybe I missed but I found 15 similarities between the two stories notice first of on both stories. David is on the run from Saw. No. This seems strange in chapter 26 because you remember the end of chapter 24 didn't saw change his attitude toward David yet. Again. We find a Band on the Run look at this and both stories as if it's reported David's whereabouts to the king. He's saying group of people report David and Bull story saw to three thousand of his chosen men to hunt David down. We noticed this same thing happened and both stories David found King Saul before him asleep and vulnerable. I'm choosing remember we talked about song went into the cave to relieve himself and says, I'm choosing to to hold the Viewpoint. That's all I was taking a nap while we talked about that it but in both cases if that is true both times, so I was asleep. Next one in both stories God delivered son to David's hand and was urged to kill the King by his companions in the first story and His companion abishai in the second one. We also notices and those stories David refuse to allow saw to be harmed because he was the Lord's anointed. We also noticed and both David took something in the first story. He took a piece of his robe and we talked about that last time when David took off or took a piece of Saul's robe. It was a it was an example of a rebellion. The road was symbolic of his kingship. We saw this when Jonathan gave David his robe, it meant the Jonathan was saying David you were going to succeed me as king when David cut off a part of Saul's robe. This was a statement that he had torn his kingdom away from from Saw David at Twin the king away from saw there is a there's another meaning behind I think with Dave Takes in this story and we we rented a moment ago a water jug and and saw spear. Again, both David confronted Saw 4 coming out into the Wilderness to take his life. We notice here the 9th the 9th observation that that's similar is that in both cases David rebuked anyone who may have been advising the king that he was out to kill the king. We saw that even David wrote up wrote a song about this about someone in saws Inner Circle about who was who is putting evil things about David into the king's ear in both the confrontations David can pair of socks coming after him to pursuing a flea one was a dead dog was the other comparison and the other one as we notice in this text was to a partridge. There's actually meaning behind the word Partridge who calls from the mountains member David called out to saw from two on the top of the hill and uses the word Partridge very interesting the David use that also we notice in both accounts all calls David my son. Rather than the derogatory son of Jessie.

Both accounts all admitted that he sinned against David in the first first when he said you're more righteous than I that's how he phrased it but in the second he said I have sinned. We noticed here in both stories David look to the Lord to right the wrongs done to him. David's ultimate hope he was not placing and saw the door was right, but he was placing his ultimate hoping God to do what was right. Annabelle story Sol admitted that David will ultimately Prevail. He said he'd be king in chapter 24. He said only in chapter 26 A David would Triumph and finally the last one and both accounts David and Saul departed from one another and they went their separate ways. So you look at that and you say well could it be then that that actually this is the same story told in two separate ways. And we also ask the question. Why would these two events that are so similar happened in such close proximity will first of all I want to tell you that that I believe that these are two separate events and that there's a reason for both of them being told this way. In fact, assuming that they are the same event. There's a there's a old Scottish famous preacher 19th century preacher William Blake. He he he compares the theory that there two different events to the theory that there was only one battle at Bull Run. Many of you know that they're there is some have claimed that there were actually two battles of bull run during the during the Civil War. In fact there many similarities between the two battles both tell where the battle happened that was a small stream called Bull Run near Manassas, Virginia both accounts assert that the Confederates won the Battle of both accounts say that the northern troops lost more men than the southern troops. And in both instances the Union forces were forced back to Washington DC for his back to the Capitol. Now we can look at both of those stories. We can hear that there was there's a battle of Bull Run we can hear that there two battles of Bull Run and there's so many similarities. We could just say Wentworth. They really the same battle. They just they just Just two stories have been told about the same battle. Well, how do we know that? It said there were two different battles. It isn't when looking at the similarities. That's when we look at the differences that we can tell that they were two battles of Bull Run. We know that they were fought on different dates. We know that they were fought by different generals. And we know that there were different numbers of can patent combatants and casualties. And so we know that they're two battles of Bull Run and 1/10 as we look at this text together. It's important. I think it's a it's sort of a literary device of the author to brilliant stroke what he's doing is he's taking these two stories and he's and he's looking at them and and he's kind of sending them next to each other in the way that we really understand how to add a take this pathogen and apply it to our lives does not buy necessarily focusing on the similarities, but it's by focusing on the differences that we find between the two accounts of David on the run from saw in this text now we we noticed last time that the David David

in his first instance in his first struggle with saw was a man who was repentant. Remember when he cut off part of Saul's robe as an act of rebellion against saw he was he was stricken to the heart wasn't he immediately it wasn't because he was caught it wasn't because people would think badly of him know this was something that was sent by the Lord that convicted his conscience. Have you ever done that? Have you ever been in a setting where you're talking to someone and someone just asked you about something and you found yourself saying something that was untrue. And you couldn't understand after you reflected on it why you did that it and all of a sudden in your heart. You felt you sound really the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And maybe went back to the person that you said it too and you said you know, I don't know why I said that but what I just told you was wrong and it wasn't until you could deal with that problem that you could say that you could have a sense of a peace within your own life again, ever been their situation like that or maybe some other instance. Maybe you you flew off the handle at someone when you shouldn't have and all of a sudden you're and your conscience you feel it and the only way that that you can you can deal with this is by going to the person that you are you offended in and talk to them.

That's what they've experienced. However sausage sausage uation was different than that. So I've been caught. So I created a narrative about David and it created a narrative about Jonathan and he told his closest advisers and this led saw that do awful things like wiping out a whole city of priests.

And then David came out of that cave holding saws robe. And in that moment, he was exposed for what he was in front of all of his most loyal soldiers and warriors are risking their life for him and among all of his closest advisers who believe the word of the king. And so I could do nothing. But admit his guilt. Any experience genuine remorse? However, we realize it after that remorse had faded. Nothing had changed in his life. We we get a clue of this right at the right at the end of chapter 25 verses 43 and 44 it if you look there you will notice that saw it took David's wife Michal not now David's wife. Michal was the daughter of Saw. When David married me Khaled gave him they gave him kind of a pathway to kingship. And so what did Saul do with his wife Michal Saul's daughter David's wife he gave her to another man. to be his bride And so at this moment, we see this very clear picture that even though saw experience remorse. He never experienced repentance and therefore saw is again on the warpath. It's so important. It's so important that we understand the difference between remorse and repentance. Remorse is a change of emotion. Remorse is a change of a motion that eventually will lead us back to the same place. We once were repentance is a change of mind that will lead to a new life a new way of life David repented. So I had remorse and brothers and sisters the kingdom of heaven. An entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven requires not remorse, but repentance this is this is so crucial and we see in this the difference is the great differences between the two men. In fact, Jesus speaks about this this a picture that we get from from Sawyer or manlike saw and Luke chapter 11 verses 24 to 26. Jesus spoke about perhaps what was happening in the in the heart of Saw who at one point had this remorse but was left unchanged. He said this Jesus said there's when an evil spirit comes out of a man it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says I will return to the house that I left. when it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order then it goes and takes seven other Spirits more wicked than itself and they go in and live there in the final condition of the man is worse than the first We have a picture similar picture of saw like this ever see this in someone's life ever see this in your life where there's some sort of remorse that you experience. But as soon as the emotions past you can write back to the way that you were. The other person goes right back to the way that they were what we need is not a change of emotion, but we need a change of heart and a change of heart comes to the Divine invasion of the Holy Spirit within us that changes us from the inside out and makes us a new creation a new people. This is what we experience when we come to know God in a personal way. well So we noticed here in this text that that saw the difference is the first differences. We see saw as a different man than he was at the end of chapter 24 now, he's he's set loose the dogs of war. He's returned to his old posture. He's returned to his old ways. He's now mobilized his 3000 best troops his special forces his most determine Warriors and they are now on the trail and they are ready to take David down once and for all his wife has been taken away and now they're going to go and take away his life. There's going to be no mercy. He's going to wipe the ground with David's blood. He's going to blow out his name out from the from the from the from the history books of the world. This was his perspective. This was the kind of Vengeance that he had. This is the kind of hatred that he had and so he went after David to take his life.

Can you imagine what it would be like to be David? In a time like that.

Constantly being hounded and harassed and chased.

Constantly wondering where your next meal is going to come from constantly wondering about the needs of all these people who are dependent upon you constantly thinking about all these things and you're not sure what you're going to do in any given situation and then you just have someone after you constantly after you. I'm sure that there are people here who have experienced that. You might feel like it's that way sometimes in your life the kinds of burdens that you're carrying in your life. You might feel weary. from this constant burden that you feel this constant pressure to provide this constant pressure to keep going this constant pressure to continue on even though you have every hurdle being placed in your way. Ever feel weary like that. What do you do in a situation like that? We noticed you're the David. David was also a different man than the last time he and saw met.

This time we noticed him. as one who had great confidence in God the last time we met him you might even remember in chapter 20 verse 4. David went to Jonathan Saul's son. And David was so afraid of Saul David knew that Saul was after him.

He said to his friend Jonathan. Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there's only one step between me and death. This is the kind of feeling the David live with. The amazing thing about that statement is the fact that that there was something very that you need something very special something very wonderful that happened to him when he was a young man a great prophet came to his home and all of his brothers were paraded through before the prophet and David was left in a field because no one thought that the prophet would want to speak to him. And as each one of his brothers went before the Prophet The Prophet said no, no, no, no and finally after viewing all of the brothers of David. Finally. He he looks a Jesse David's father. He says what don't you have any more none of these are the one so we said I do have a son in the field him. He said why will not sit down until that sun comes and so that sun came in and immediately the spirit of the Lord touch Samuel and David was was anointed. He was he was one who became the the anointed one the machine. He was he was anointed the reign as king that you see David throughout his life continually believing that his life is going to be snuffed out continually believing that God's promise will not come true in his own life. And so he's being he's being chased and he's running and he's he's he's just trying to trying to survive and hang on. That's exactly how he was in chapter 24, but we noticed something very different gear in chapter 26 about David. In fact in this text. We noticed a David the hunted becomes the hunter Brothers whole text. He's been on the Run he's been being chased and now David begins to the turn the tables on the one who would come after him. In fact, we notice here that in in in verse 5 a David decided that he would he would take a look at the camp and ask a couple of guys hittite and he asked abishai his nephew which one of you will come and have a shower I said that he would come with him. And so we noticed you're in verse 5. He saw where Shawn Abner son of ner the commander of the army had laid down. Southwest Airline inside the camp with the Army encamped around him in the ideas. You kind of get this picture of a wagon wheel And at the center of the Wagon Wheel you have that you have the you have the King. This is just as the same way that that are military sets up a perimeter will set it set up a perimeter and in the middle of that perimeter, you'll have the the leader of the unit will be right there in the center. And then on the outside of that perimeter, you'll have people keeping guard and I know that in the in the in the United States military you have you have a buddy system you are you have you have guys along the perimeter and they'll be in twos and they'll be they'll dig in the foxholes and they'll be waiting there and they'll have their m-16s trained and one of the Buddies will be asleep and when will be awake and then when the one who is who is awake is tired of wake up the one who's asleep and then that guy'll get up and then he'll keep his M16 train or whatever type of weapon they use now. I don't think it's an 60 anymore, but they'll keep their weapon trained and ready to go. Ready to head they say rock and roll if they need to if the enemy comes in the enemy's going to be gone. And this is this is the way we maintain a perimeter in our military. And and so now you have sauce and a special guard. You have a special forces and their surroundings thaw and they're keeping watch and saws at the center and the king is gone to sleep and then David find something remarkable. So I was right there in the middle and he's asleep, but I don't not only saw sleep, but everybody else is asleep. Including his top General Abner. He's asleep too. And so you notice here. This this very incredible picture. And so we noticed number 7 it says this so David and abishai went to the Army by night and there was Saul line asleep inside the camp with a spear stuck in the ground nearest head Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. So you have if you have those pictures almost incredible that something like this could happen when the enemy could be. So so easily stirred into your hands as a warrior. It's almost like The Three Stooges but it isn't The Three Stooges because this was real life. Not only was the one guard asleep at all the people supposed to be guarding the camp where sleep well the text tells us why and the reason they're all asleep is because God had made it so God is going to put them to sleep and so we noticed here in this text member the last time David was in the cave.

And there he was with his 600 man in the back of that cave and then saw comes in to take a nap and he lays down and and then all of a sudden the David's men began to say to him they begin to say to him. Hey, the Lord has delivered them into your hand strike them now and you can become king. I have the last part but I think that's what they're thinking strike him now. That is obviously done this for you was giving you this incredible opportunity but David refused because he was a Lord's anointed now. We noticed hear that that once again the offer is made the Lord has delivered them into your hand but abishai offers a different option a different way of doing away with saw. He said this not letting me pet him to the ground with one thrust of my spear. I won't strike him twice. Can see that average has a tough customer actually abishai and his brothers were all tough customers. You did not want to mess with those fellows. And so he offered maybe he was thinking himself reflecting on the cave incident surely. He was there with David in the cave. He was reflecting on the fact that David refuse to strike saw but maybe David's problem was that's that he was unwilling to do it. Maybe someone else should do it for him. This is the ultimate temptation. I wish I could strike down saw and a knavish I could take the blame and David could go scot-free.

But David doesn't do that.

UC David's experiences taught him something David's experiences taught him something. In fact, we know this extraordinary answer and verse 10 says this as surely as the Lord lives you said the Lord himself will strike him down here that the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his time will come and he will die or you will go into battle and perish but the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord's anointed.

How did David have this New Perspective David and have that kind of confidence when he was in the cave? He just knew he couldn't touch tall, but he he he had no conception it that somehow his life would be Garden that God would do this in this way. What made David different? Well, we notice from chapter 25 a very hard experience made David different. woman that story there was a there was a man named Abel name in full Enable refuse to pay David what he should have given him for protecting all of his flocks. And David was angry. And so David was going to descend upon Nables camp and he was going to wipe out every man in that camp. Every male that belong to nabal was dead meat. And so so in this particular instance has he's on his way. Abigail neighbor's wife was beautiful and intelligent intercepted David brought him gift appease his anger and then and then it away nicely chastised him for what he was about to do in the kind of send that he was going to Heap upon himself and just a little while later just a few days later. God struck Mabel and Mabel died. That was a hard experience for David. But you know what God taught him in that experience, you know God teaches us in the heart experiences of life. We find ourselves in the wilderness of life. We're going through struggles. We're going through difficulties and we say Lord Lord. Why are you allowing me to go through this again? And again and again, I'm tired of it. I feel like it's constantly hounding me. I can't get away from it in my thoughts and my and my heart and my life I cannot get away from it Lord. All of a sudden after we walk down that long road and we reflect upon who we were before. We begin that dark Road and who we are now we can see God has taught us a lesson after lesson after lesson in the longer. We walked on that road and trust in him the more confident we become in him and what he's able to do in our life. You see that's why David at this moment has his new insight that he didn't have before. But in order for him to have this inside with saw in an order to deal with him in a peaceful way. God had to take him through the rough places with neighbor before God works in our life in the same way. Sometimes you go through those rough times was rough patches those difficult places, but God has a purpose in in all of these things for us and through it. He builds confidence in his own character in his ability to sustain and drive us. And make us into the people he calls us to be and so we see this & David's life David grows in his in his confidence in who got is he puts us hope not in his ability to take the throne but in God's ability to give it to him in his own time, and he's willing to trust God for whatever that is because he knows surely that God shall do it got to show himself to be faithful over and over and over again and God showed himself to be faithful over and over and over again in the rough places of life.

Praise God that there's purpose in the rough places in life. So we noticed Sierra 1/3 difference in the text. And I think this is very important as we read the story together. David has turned from a man filled with rage. To a man filled with compassion for his enemy. Only God can do that right? You have an enemy? Is it easy to have rage towards your enemy? To the person who's unkind you who mistreat you who who constantly makes your life miserable isn't it easy to rage against those people? You go home and you slam the door and when the door is closed, you just say all I can't stand that person when you're just angry.

Well here. We noticed said David has changed from being a man like that to be in a very different kind of man. We noticed you're in the story that again and verse 12. How did the man go to sleep? It says the Lord put them into a deep sleep. God was active in this whole situation. God is doing something in David through this experience. God is clearly a work in the little details of his life. So we noticed here in the text something very interesting rather than killing saw. David decided to do something different he decided to take something from so I can remember David took something from saw the first time. What was it? Piece of ISRO right this time David takes another thing that we noticed in the text or two more things that we see here and and they were saw Spear and his water jug the first of all it's important that we noticed you're that that saw spear with symbolic of his of his kingship. You might remember him seated under a tree and give you remember. I showed you a picture of what the tree might look like in the hill and give you my look like and and there he was he was sitting under a tree and guess what he was holding his spear when he wanted to kill David. His spear was always close by when he tried to kill his son Jonathan. His spear was close by that's Pierre was symbolic of his kingship. That's beer is very important. David took the spear. David also took something that makes you scratch your head to the water drug, and I just want to mention I just did kind of about the spear when you when you leave home. When you leave home, what are the things that you always take with you? Can you take I think I heard keys. You take your wallet right for those of us born before 2000. Those are always the first mice my daughter Sophia always says things like oh the other day she had her hair straight up. She she she put sprayed hairspray in there. And then she said she said Dad guess what? I am. I said what she said. I'm someone in the 1900s. So what's up? But you know it is before before if your born before 2002 say while never leave home without my keys or wallet, right? But if you're born after 2000 the first thing is going to come to mine. I'm not going to leave home unless I have my my cell phone, right? That's that's how it is. And so sauce sauce spear was like for him was like us carrying around a cell phone. I mean it was always there was right by his head when David approached him David took that he took a water jug. The question is well, we know that the road was symbolic of kingship in the spirit of symbolic of kingship, but what's the point of the robe? I'm sorry though the water jug. What's the point of that? And moreover the question is is really is that why David took the spear because it was symbolic of kingship or was it symbolic of something else? Well, we noticed year. The David got far-off. He took those items from the King. And then he shouted out to Abner. He said this in verse 14. Aren't you going to answer me Abner now? We're going to think about this. I understand a deep sleep. That's kind of Deep Sleep. God put Abraham in the kind of deep sleep that God put Jonah in this was his deep deep sleep that they're all in and you imagine maybe it maybe it's a kind of deep sleep that you have if you've ever had surgery and you're trying to wake up from surgery. I don't know if it's like that or not, but he hears somebody, you know speaking you trying to wake you up after surgery after the anesthesia is wearing off and you just kind of hear this voice, aren't you going to answer me or I mean, how'd you like to be woken up like that from your from your sleep, but you going to answer me Bill or Jeanette, you know, whatever it is, aren't you going to answer me and then all of a sudden, you know, you can imagine a dinner kind of collecting his thoughts. He had no idea that David had been in a camp at all. Lenny Schultz back in his Macho voice because you know when you just wake up your voice is really deep don't you love that you just have that well as a man you just have that you can have that Macho voice when I get a deep voice and he could kind of shall back and he shot it back to him. Who are you who calls to the king?

And David begins of sophisticated game of cat-and-mouse look at verses 15 and 16. You are a man. Are you?

And who is like you in Israel by the way, Abner is generally spoken up in the scriptures in the highest regard for the most part. Why didn't you guard your lord the king someone came to destroy your lord the king and David probably meant abishai not himself. What you have done is not good as surely as the Lord lives you and your men deserve to die because you did not guard your master. The Lord's anointed look around you. You can imagine the situation. What is this guy doing? What is this guy thing won't go and teach him a lesson. Nova said they look begin to look around and Abner. He sees everything probably just as it always was but but saw, you know, the one who doesn't leave home without you know, when you left home without your cell phone within about 5 minutes, right? You know, whether or not you put your cell phone next to your bed when you you woke up in the morning with in a few minutes, right? What's up, he wakes up. David says look around you and immediately saucy's what's happened. His spear is gone. Perhaps you knew his water jug was gone.

And then David asked the question where the king's Spear and water jug that were near his head David emphasize that the show. emphasizes that the show how near the King was to death is fear was near his head how easy it would have been to take that Spear and thrusted right through And so immediately before having her could answer again. We see some David just as he had in chapter 24 the awesome son called him son. Any admitted that he acted like an able said he had acted like a fool.

David. David important lessons in his interaction with the full Nable now saw as a lot like nabal and David understands and saws and will be a lot like neighbors and unless something changes and saw his life. and so we notice here in the story. But there have been all kinds of prophetic utterances about David Samuel made prophetic utterances about David said that David was God's anointed Jonathan made prophetic utterances about David that David would be king. Psalm a prophetic utterances about David that the throne would be his

Abigail made prophetic utterances about David that surely he would be on the throne that surely he would be king in the story there been all kinds of prophetic utterances about David. But I believe in this text David makes a prophetic utterance. about saw David says this in verse 23 First of all, the Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness.

And then we read again and then in verse 25 saw. Says a second time because David my son then saw said to David maybe bless my son David you will do great things and Shirley Triumph. We see this. however In the middle of all of this David does something very prophetic. He calls out for saw to send one of his men. To come and get saw spear. That's very interesting.

What size man takes the spirit from David or comes to get the spear from where David is but what is David do with the other item he took? He keeps it was the other item. Who's water? Ronald Youngblood an Old Testament scholar argues That the that the spear was symbolic of death. It was an instrument of death and that the water jug is symbolic of life. And when David was there on top of that Hill calling out the saw what he was offering them was life and death. Which will it be? And then we hear saw call out to him three times in this text. Remember? It's no longer son of Jesse. It's my son. He calls up three times and he calls him my son who we all know what happened at the end of chapter 25. What was that? So it took David's. Wife his daughter and gave her to another man in the last instance in chapter 24 David answered song with the words my father. What is he calling here? My Lord the king no longer. My father David is fully aware of what's happened. He's fully aware that this man is never entered in once again after he's he's promised so many times like in the past David This Time come back and nothing to happen to you David this time. I've learned my lesson, but David understood that these were just mere empty words and he was standing before him offering him a life-or-death but the kind of life and death that he was offering him was more than a physical life and that I believe it was it's it's a picture of spiritual life and death. Uc4 for saw that the chains are there had to be repentance in his life and in his heart and we ask ourselves a question. What would it would have repentance look like? Well, I believe at least it would have been a it would have been an acquiescence to the will of God. Good song not know the will of God for David. Did he not know that the kingdom had been torn from his grasp had he not been told all of these things. If so, I was genuinely repent and you know what, he should have done at that moment as painful and humiliating is that would have been in that moment. He shouldn't have just said David come home and you'll be okay and all I won't go after you again. His response should have been David. If he was really repenting if he had a change of mind that led to a change of life, he was really repair and he should have said David I'm taking off my robe. And I see that it's God's will that you be king and so I laid down my life before God and because I lay down my life before God. I'm going to take off this robe. And and I'm going to call you to be king. This is God's will I know what God's will is you know, what God's will is and I'm not going to fight God's will anymore. I'm going to accept God's will in my life. What's on in do that? And so what is David give back to him?

And I believe was a compassionate thing. David wasn't driven as he had been driven before when he tore saws row. He was driven by rage. There was an act of rebellion. But when he offered saw life-and-death, this was an act of compassion.

But you saw chose his fate. And so David returned the spear and David went on with the water David left with life. So I left with death. David was repentant saw was only remorseful. Brothers and sisters. There's a great difference between these two. You see the reason David live the way that he lived and saw live the way that he lived is because both of them had a very different starting point.

David experienced something in a relationship with God that was profound and transforming. David trusted God's word by faith over and over and over again in the text. We see David trusted the Lord over and over and over again on text. We notice how saw trusted his own intelligence with the ziphites had the same what others had to say and David constantly was calling upon God looking to God and he trusted in God. You see David placed his faith in God. So I placed his faith in himself and because of that God Spirit lived in and through David. It's like a little baby who's born the baby has nothing to do with its width with his or her Birthright. But when that baby is born there is tremendous life that comes forth from that child, right? What is the same thing that happens in the New Birth? We have nothing to do with our salvation? Faith is a is a reception of what someone else has done for his name Lee crise to who died in the cross for our sins. Who who Boris and on the cross you paid for us if we can do nothing to enter into the kingdom of God on our own.

But what God does when we enter into that relationship with him as he places his spirit in US. He places his active power in us and it gives us the ability to follow him and walk with him is a glorious thing. You see saw did what he did because he lacked the capacity in power to do otherwise. And David did what he did because he had the capacity and power to do what he did and why? Because God is the one who was working in and through him. It's a glorious thing. Have you experienced the new birth? Do you know what it's like to know God to experience the spirit of God within you changing you?

comforting you Building you convicting you. Making you more like Jesus. Have you experienced that?

it's that it's that experience that makes all the difference between

David install you come to God. forgive you have you realized the depth of your scent and your need of a savior? You know that there's nothing you can do it yourself to do it and you need him to do it all.

Pray that you've experienced that. If you have an invite you to come and pray with me Lord G.