4.9.36 8.2.2020 David Shows Us How to Endure
Notes
Transcript
One to remember!
One to remember!
Entice: How's your year going? That seems like kind of a trick question doesn't it? August is here and it seems like we are not making any progress.
Engage: The most important questions:
Are you growing?
Are you growing?
Are you learning?
Are you learning?
Are you more faithful?
Are you more faithful?
Do you love God more deeply,
Do you love God more deeply,
and
Are you a more disciplined disciple?
Are you a more disciplined disciple?
one more question...
Does your faith have greater endurance?
Does your faith have greater endurance?
Expand: Throughout his life David grew in endurance as he was shaped by many differing experiences. He had-Kerfuffles, rhubarbs, arguments, defeats, difficulties, dilemmas-cause if life teaches us at all it will be through the myriad of negative experiences as well as the good.
Excite: We may not want to look at it this way but we still have great opportunity in this troubling year. It is a year to work on the endurance of our faith and David shows us how.
Explore:
Endurance is a positive attribute which is best created through negative circumstances.
Endurance is a positive attribute which is best created through negative circumstances.
Explain: Today let's think about some shared experiences which develop endurance and the faith commitments which facilitate it.
On the one hand...
On the one hand...
we have all experienced Complaining, Accusing, Blaming, and Mocking. Let's unpack each of these as David shared in these common human experiences.
Complaining….questioning our motives.
Complaining….questioning our motives.
28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?”
Accusing…questioning our loyalty.
Accusing…questioning our loyalty.
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.
10 The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand.
11 And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.
12 Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.
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.
14 And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him.
15 And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him.
16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.
Blaming….questioning our ability.
Blaming….questioning our ability.
1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire
2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way.
3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.
4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.
5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
Mocking…questioning our judgment.
Mocking…questioning our judgment.
16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.
17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”
21 And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord.
22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.”
23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.
On the other hand...
On the other hand...
Endurance requires faith which is Framed by God's providence, Focused by His purpose, and Founded by His presence in our lives.
Framed by God's providence
Framed by God's providence
4 And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
5 And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.”
Focussed by God's purpose
Focussed by God's purpose
8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.”
9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?”
10 And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish.
11 The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.”
Founded upon God's presence.
Founded upon God's presence.
6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
One to grow on...
One to grow on...
You will notice I did not mention COVID-19, Social unrest, Racial inequality, Hurricane season, or murder hornets. I don’t need to remind you of the difficulties. Do you think people in late December 1941 needed to be constantly reminded of Pearl Harbor? Or that there were skeptics in 1930 when it came to the depression?
Every era has its challenges. Every generation has headaches, heartaches, historic obstacles. A flourishing faith has endurance. We need to get our eyes off of ourselves, our attitude out of the dumps, and our focus on God! David, Moses, Joshua, Paul, Peter, Jesus…can you name any outstanding Biblical character who did not grow more resolute as the pressure increased?
Rise. Rise up and accept the faith-transforming challenge of challenging times! Grow! Go forward! Endure!