Do you Love Him or Fear Him?
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Pray
Do you love Jesus?
And what is love?
It can hardly be the romantic hype of Hollywood,
Do you love Jesus?
pause
David, the man after God’s own heart, in our last chapter became the saviour of his people.
IN full obedience and trust of God,
David the young shepherd boy defeated the giant of a man Goliath - the snake man as we heard last week.
Goliath gave us a picture of Satan, the serpent who decieved mankind through Adam and Eve.
Severing relationship and unity with God for all humanity.
But humanity is not the inncocent one - pride and self importance cause us to deny our Lord and God.
to choose the sepent and his fasle kings.
- King Saul has represented the kind of no-hope king we all pursue in life.
But here, a obedient servant David - represents the King we all need,
A king who defeats our greatest enemy,
sin and evil, the devil himself - the snake man.
David points us to The Lord Jesus.
Goliath the snake man falls to the ground
so how do we responsed to this saviour?
Chapter 18-19 leave us just 2 reactions to the saviour,
Do you love Jesus,
or
Do you fear Jesus?
1 - Loving Jesus by giving over everything
1 - Loving Jesus by giving over everything
Saul’s son Jonathan,
we have already met in chapter 14 where he drove off the Philistines singlehandedly.
He ought to be the heir to the throne,
He must enjoy more priveledges than most,
More status and respect than most.
We might expect him to either fear David (as his Father does),
for this Daivd may gain more power and respect from the people, than Jonathan
- and threaten his own future as King,
It’s possible Jonathan already knows that his father has been propehsied against
- so he knows he wont inherit the throne after all - but we might expect him to fight for it.
He’s in a difficult situation.
So what follows is extraordinary.
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
Saul - as is his custom - ‘keeps David’ for his own gain.
While Jonathan - Gives to David.
We are not sure what the covenant is that Jonathan makes with David speciifcally,
but there is to be no doubt that for a crown prince to give over his royal robe and tunic
- and Even his royal sword, bow and belt -
shows a handing over of rayal priveledge and likely the very inheritance to come of the crown.
It suggests perhaps Jonathan heard Samuel’s prophesy that Saul’s family would not sit on the throne
and believed and trusted God’s promise.
What is extraordinary is that Jonathan seemingly recognises David is to be the one!
Jonathan - the heir to the thrown,
willingly gives over everything,
to a worthy saviour and true furture king David.
What a contrast to the Rich ruler who apporaches Jesus in Luke 18
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”
“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Of course it is not the act of giving up everything for Jesus that saves us,
It is the fact that if we know Jesus has saved us, then we need to respond to in Love for him
- and that means he should mean more to us that anything we have in this life.
Jesus identifies that this rich ruller is not prepared to give up eveything out of love for Him,
Jonathan - having seen salavation for himself and his people seccured by David - loves David!
He loves him as himself!
And so he gives everything he has to Him!
He doesn’t think twice!
It seems humanly impossible for a king to hand over such trust in his future to an obscure shepehrd boy.
Perhaps we often feel the same about our lives and power, and possessions and status.
Can’t I have Jesus and keep hold of my own life?
It seems impossible to love Jesus enough to give him everything?
Those listening to Jesus talk to the rich ruller asked the same:
Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
What a reward Jonathan has inherited in eternity for he loved God’s saviour and so gave him eveything.
And he will now live a life of joyful service to God’s true annointed King.
What are we holding back from Jesus - not letting go of, keeping as a back up?
Holding onto more tightly than we do our obedince and follwing of Jesus?
Money - comfort before sacrificial giving for gospel work
Pride - Don’t belive I need Jesus’ forgiveness and saving in the first place
Embarassment - I don’t talk to others about my faith, they might think less of me
Time - I priorities sport, or sleep, or TV, or family before church fellowship, home groups, and learning from God’s word together
Do you love Jesus - who has saved you?
Pause
JOnathan’s love for David isn’t blind or nieve,
It based on facts, victory already won, trust in God,
Humility,
Hope,
Our love for Jesus isn’t in reality any sacrifice at all - even if it feels like one in this life!
Easter reminds us.
He died and rose again for us,
He’s defeated the snake Satan,
Victory is won -for you and me
We have hope.
We have a life to live for our saviour.
How could we not love him?
Do you love Jesus?
If you do, you will obey my commands says Jesus, in John 14 15
You’ll give me eveything -take up your cross and follow me - says Jesus.
Jesus loved us enough to died for our sins,
to take our judgement upon himself,
Why would we not want to live in total love and therefore obedince to him?
It’s a helpful question to ask,
Do you love Jesus?
And it’s easy to see in our lives if we do love Jesus?
Becasue we, like Jonathan will give him every aspect of our lives.
Our future,
our time,
our alegence,
our obedicene!
And what a reward awaits those who live like this?
Not becasue of our love for Jesus,
But becasue we have shown the fruit of enjoying his love for us.
Do you love Jeuss - GIve him eveything
Jonathan is not the only one to love David:
2 - Love Jesus in deliberate Praise and Honour
2 - Love Jesus in deliberate Praise and Honour
Verse 1-5 seem to be a sort of overview summary that is then revisited in detail, in v6 onwards.
We find Saul is caught in a catch 22,
here is the renowned saviour David, and every mission v5 he’s sent on he’s victorious!
Saul keeps his enemy close, and ends up promoting him - as his actions rightly deserve.
But as we’ll see, Saul is far from enamoured with David.
But what can he do,
Everyone else loves him.
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.
Officers who Daivd quickly outranked,
troops who had fought for more years than David had been alive,
rather than find envy and malice in their hearts our thrilled, pleased by their new commander,
They are delibertaly choosing to respect him,
obey his orders,
trust his instructions,
bow to his will,
serve him faithfully even unto death in battle.
Why?
Well becasue he is a man after God’s own heart.
The spirit dwells within him,
God has saved his poeple by this saviour,
and enabled his people to enjoy him!
As David and Saul and all the fighting me of Israel return from the resultant battle after goliath was slain,
Women line the streets in praise of both the present King Saul and This new saviour, Daivd.
As they danced, they sang:
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.”
It;s unlikley this is ment as a slur against Saul - which is how he takes it
But they certainly are truely thankful for David.
The women dance and sing,
celebrating the saviours sucess in delivering them,
the men are pleased about the heights to which their saviour David has risen!
They rejoice that their saviour has risen far higher than they have or could!
God is clearly at work in their hearts,
and what a pefect picture this is.
They make the effort to line the streets, to write songs,
to dance and celebrate, to honour and praise.
They are deliberate in praise and honour
Jesus deserves the same of us does he not?
Do you love Jesus?
Lovers of Jesus make delibreate choices and effort to praise and honour him!
We are far from naturally inclined to prasie and honour Jesus in Love,
We need to find our version of comeing out of our houses,
lineing the streets, danceing and singing for our savour!
What does that look like?
Praying the Psalms,
Singing his praises along to YouTube or learn an instrument for him,
writting songs or poems,
Prioritieing gathering with other Christians to study and learn more of Jesus from his Word the Bible!
Next week we are allowed to sing again outside - so we will at our Easter Sunday service!
Come out in the streets they would have been shouting to their neighbours,
Our deliverer is returning with the king!
Come and sing and dance - we’ve been saved, and the saviour is here.
Noh - I’m good - got some ironing to catch up on,
Well works been tough this week, might just watch some TV.
My kids don’t really enjoy praising Jesus so its easier not to,
My team is in the quarters, need to wacth that first
Can you imaging the stunned faces if some responded like that to Davids return?
And yet we make these excuses all the time when we have the chance to meet togther in praise of Jesus at church, or in home groups!
Do we love Jesus?
How crazy to ‘know what Jesus has done’ for us,
And not to love Him back.
Give him everything,
and deliberatly praise and honour him!
Join the party of praise!
Why wouldn’t we?
Unless - infact - we don’t love Jesus,
and like Saul are choosing a very different path,
3 - Love Jesus or Fear Him
3 - Love Jesus or Fear Him
There is one who does not want to recognise this saviour David.
And ironically becomes fearful that David will take His kingdom from him,
I say ironically beacuse that is exactly what is going to happen!
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?”
As we observed that it is God’s miraculous work to enable us to respond to Jesus in Love,
God is also soverign over those who do not love Jesus.
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.
We hardly need think this is God given prophesy going on,
but certainly God is at work in hardening the already hard heart of Saul.
Saul is loosing control of his kingdom and his senses as he hurls spears about!
He connives to manipulate David by offering his daughter, Mereb to him in marriage
- assuming he will then control David through her - But David pleads his case that he is not worthy to marry her and so doesn’t.
But then another daighter comes along..,
Now Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. “I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.”
Then Saul ordered his attendants: “Speak to David privately and say, ‘Look, the king likes you, and his attendants all love you; now become his son-in-law.’ ”
Saul is hoping she’ll be a snare.
But this time, Michal (like most the rest of Israel) really does love David,
And as such David can be confident that true love (as we;ve seen in this chapter)
will mean she will rightly give up everything for him.
(even her own Father)
And so will be far from a snare.
In fact in Chpater 19 it is Michal that helps David escape another attempt on Davids life by King Saul.
Sadly we dont have time for the hilarious bride price that Sauls sets David,
of delivering 100 Philistine foreskins!
Needless to say it’s a ploy to get David killed,
But Daivd in true Spirit empowerd fashion brings him 200 foreskins and they’re counted meticulously in fron tof Saul!
The points simply seems to be that if you don’t love Jesus,
but you are faced with the realities of His power and success,
you will end up hating him. - for he will be vicotiorious over you.
Saul was faced with bowing to David in honour and giving up his own pride,
Or fighting him in fear!
We face the same!
We may not admit that we fear Jesus - we may not even fear him yet -
but that is only becasue you have not comprehended the seriousness of not accepting his love!
To reject Jesus will end in eternal judgement,
Like Saul - your reign in life will end.
God will not be mocked - by ignorance of him,
or deliberate attack towards him.
Those who set themselves against the Lord and his Anointed will not prevail.
They will be overthrown, just as Saul lay shamefully stripped and naked before the prophet of God at the end of chapter 19.
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
“I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
The ultimate realization of this truth will come on the day that Jesus returns -
every knee will bow at the name of Jesus and confess that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father
declaires Philippians 2:9–11
Freinds if we do not love Jesus we will rightly fear Him.
But ,
why would we not leave our ironing and sports TV,
and come out in the streets and sing and dance (in our own way)
For we have a King who
has saved us,
who does love us,
Do you love Jesus?
It should be a comforting and easy answer - Yes
Pray