Sermon Transcript:Thank you guys, I hope and trust y'all had a good spring break those of y'all that follow the school calendar because you still have children in the home like I do. And thank you all for being so kind to the speaker who was here for a couple of weeks while I was away. And I understand that he went long one week, but I thank you so much for hanging with him. Also, today is Palm Sunday. And so I am excited about that we do have a finishing up our series. So it's not directly talking about the narrative that Hannah so beautifully read to start out. But it is in the back of my mind, and should be in our hearts this week as we prepare ourselves for Holy Week. And I do want to say a little something about the Thursday night meal we are doing in El Paso style, and so it is going to be a last supper, but it is going to be a taco bar. So that's not what Jesus ate with His disciples. Okay, but that's what we're gonna eat in El Paso in 2024. We will take communion as a family at the table. But I just wanted to throw that out there because I just don't think that was sold well enough during the announcements. And so that is something we can look forward to, to kick off holy week, this week. Well, we're gonna continue on in the narrative of first aid on I hope you've enjoyed this series. We're finishing up today we're going to go back to a topic. After Easter, obviously, next week being Easter, we'll we'll talk about the resurrection. But I hope you've enjoyed this. And one of the things that maybe you've sort of been learning as you've been hearing the narrative and you think about the famous story of David and Goliath, and, you know, you've heard that before, you know that even being in our culture, he think, okay, was this a story that I meant to learn something about David and his heroism? Or is it something that points to a greater reality of God and His purposes? And I just want to say yes, yes to both. First Samuel is one of those books that's obviously history, and narratively have characters we're familiar with, and characters that we're learning and getting to know. But always keep in mind that there is a twofold purpose, there is something we can learn from their lives and how they interact with God and His purposes and plans. But there's also a sense in which what we're learning points to a greater reality points a greater need points to a greater King who is coming. That's why I love the image that we've chosen for this series, because it's yes, we understand that David's going to be crowned king, not in First Samuel, but in the coming books in the Bible, but that ultimately it leads to the King Jesus. So let's just get right into the narrative. Today, we'll be in First Samuel 22 will sort of highlight multiple chapters, I'll try to story it the best I can, which is just retell the story, and then hopefully give us some points that we can hang our hat on. So if you remember, last week, David and his men, they found themselves hungry, and with the priest of a maliek. And so they were able to partake of the food to give them some energy, which is kind of unusual because normally that food was kept for the altar and kept for God's purposes but but the priests and God allowed David and his men to partake of that. So now we have this guy in dough egg who was there? And he comes back and he tells Saul here in chapter 22, hey, guess what, Amelia and all those priests down there they sort of helped say David and kept him going, when he and his men were hungry. So saw as we're gonna see, he's angry. We've already seen him. Realize that he's been rejected. But today we're going to see how he really really really goes downhill quick. And so say, saw in his anger, go straight to kill, Amelie Act, the priests and all of his family, before Saul, just like any of these guys. They have other people who are henchmen to do their dirty work says, okay, these guys, even though David didn't do anything wrong, and his men didn't do anything wrong, because you were associated with David, I want to kill David, you guys all need to be killed. And it's interesting that Saul's mentoring but like we're doing that we're not killing a bunch of innocent priests as they're sit here and clothed in their priestly clothing, and all their family and kids. And so don't act like I'll do it. I was the one that snitch on David. I'll do it. And so he slaughters all these priests in their family and everything. And only one child of Amelia is able to flee until David and David's like, Listen, man, I'm so sorry. This is my fault. So you stick with me, and I'm going to protect you from Saul and his anger. And so then David and his men, they're already feeling like man, we're trapped in our own home country. Like we're in Judah, but like, we feel like the hammers coming down on us quite literally Saul chasing us. And all of a sudden the Lord speaks to David and says, Hey, why don't you go to this town next door, Kayla, and why don't you save that city? And the Lord tells David, this, he's like, Are you sure God? And because his men say, we don't know, this doesn't seem like a good idea. So again, David goes back to the Lord and was like, Yes, go on down, and I will help you, the Lord says, I will help you conquer these Philistines. And then he says, he asked a question to God, he says, No, God, I'll go on down, and I'll help this town. And me, my man will help the town of Kala, but will they betray me back to Saul? And I love the Lord's answer, yes, they'll do that don't betray you, but going down there and help them and save them anyways. And one of the things that we're meant to see is think about David being the chosen one being the anointed one at this point in the series, and that he is a type of Christ doesn't mean he's one to one equal with Christ. But we understand that David speaks for God. He's a man after God's own heart. And we're meant to see ourselves in the narrative in the story that just like David was betrayed, when he tried to help, just like Jesus was betrayed to those who was trying to help, we can also learn the lesson that oftentimes God will call us into things that are not fun, they're not enjoyable, and that even when we're doing the right thing, we'll get wrongly accused, or we will be betrayed. I think it's interesting as the Lord just tells him that right out from the get go. So where does David go? After he does what he's supposed to do, he now flees to the wilderness, and he is there rolling with his men. Now, the wilderness is always us, whether it's all the way back to the people of God coming out of Egypt. And it's a time of wandering and pruning, or whether it's Jesus himself who's driven out to the wilderness to go back into the world to deliver a message. It's always used as that sort of time of pruning. And I often get this idea that you get this idea of you read this narrative, and I always want to encourage you go back and read because I'm trying to store it as best I can. But all we get the idea that they're wandering the countryside, doing the right thing, almost like Lord of the Rings, if you remember that movie now 20 years old, where it's like, remember how they had these men that kind of go around there, they're armored up, and they're going around and doing righteous causes wherever they can find those until they get to their destination, I kind of feel like that's what David is doing. And he's getting discouraged. So who does God's sin He sends Saul's own son, Jonathan, who you're introduced to last week, a friend of David, one of his best friends, and he says, Listen, you need to be encouraged. And here we are in chapters 23 says, You need to be encouraged David, because my dad, he's never ultimately going to be able to get you because you're the Lord's anointed, everybody knows you're going to be king. He's raging with jealousy. I understand that. But you're going to be okay. And I love how again, we're meant to see some practical things here. How Yes, we may be betrayed. Yes, we may find ourselves in really sticky situations that we didn't ask for, we don't want but that God always sends someone to sort of give us a word, a friend, a Christian, someone who loves us enough to put wind in our sails. And that's exactly what Jonathan is to date. And eventually, Saul and David, they're kind of playing this cat and mouse game. And they find themselves on opposite sides of a mountain. But God kind of calls us all away to go fight the Philistines. And eventually Saul comes back, and he's still chasing David, he wants to he wants to kill him. There's songs that are out there that say, you know, Saul may kill his 1000s. But David kills his 10s of 1000s. And so all of a sudden saw was chasing David and he goes into a cave to relieve himself. It's the very cave that David and his men are hiding out in. This is in First Samuel chapter 24. And so David has this opportunity to kill the Lord's anointed, even though he's altering it to become king. Remember, Saul was still anointed to be king. And he didn't do that. But what he does is he cuts out a little corner of Saul's robe, just to sort of let him know right, that I could have done something. But as soon as he does that, David, he's so sensitive to the things of God into the Spirit of God at this point in his life, that he feels conviction, he feels bad. He's like, I can't even believe that, that I even sort of thought about bringing harm or disgrace upon the Lord's anointed. So as salesfish Were leaving himself and he goes back out of the cave, and he tells us Ben, we're not going to kill Saul today. We're not going to touch the Lord's anointed. He goes out and he says, Saul, Saul, I could have killed you. Look, I have a piece of your robe. You were in the very cave that me and all my men were hiding out and we could have jumped you right then and there, but we didn't why? Because I'm not here to harm you saw. I'm not I'm innocent. I I'm just here. And Saul's like, man,you're a better man than I am. I was seeking evil against you, but you're seeking my good and so he even you know, cry. He's a little bit and you know, you're great and I promise you, you know, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna harm you more, but make sure you swear to me David, you're not gonna kill me either my descendants and, and David, of course doesn't he goes back to his place of fortitude. Now again, there's things to learn here. One of the things that we don't often like to think about is that there are evil people in this world. There's foolish people in this world. And there's wise people in this world. And the first point I want us to see here is Saul is mad. Saul is mad. Anger consumes him. And I say mad in both senses of the word. You know, mad can be used as like, Okay, I'm so mad at you, I could, I could just punch you or punch something. But it's also that idea of man, you're so consumed with self, or you're so mentally off that you're just back crazy. And so I think that's also a sense in which Saul has come to, and how does this happen in our lives, we've seen it, we've maybe experienced it, you may have even been there yourself before. When you have something that you focus on, it consumes you, and that you're angry all the time, or it's just right underneath the surface, or you blame everyone else, or you blame someone else, or a specific thing for your problem or your lot in life. That's where Saul's out, and it's utterly consuming him. And you're gonna see that this, this sort of lowercase repentance that Saul has is not real repentance at all about going after David, because he's gonna do it again and again and again. And how many times have we had people in our lives or maybe you've been that person where you felt bad, you even felt sorry for what you did. But in your heart, or in that person's heart, you knew they haven't changed. They're not changing. In fact, they're still after me. They're still evil, they're still foolish. We have to have wisdom in when we deal with people who are what who are running from the very thing that God has, for them. So knew he had been rejected. He had been told by Samuel, he knew over and over again, man, he messed up in such a way that the Lord said, Okay, your time is over. There's now a new one who is the Lord's anointed? And how often do we do this to is that God's told us something very clear, we understand who God is and what He has for us. And yet, we say I'm gonna go the other way, where I'm gonna bump my head up against this, this call or this command that he has for my life. That's where Sol is and, and we'll see it doesn't ultimately end up too good for him. All right, so that goes to 24. Let's go to the next slide here, that First Samuel 25 through 28. And we'll try to summarize this for us as well. Lots of good things in here. And I hope this encourages you to go back and read narrative and read the scriptures. You read Second Samuel First, Second Kings, First Second Chronicles, all these things are recorded there. So has one verse in here starting verse in chapter 25, that Samuel has died. And now what ends up happening is David finds himself on the countryside. And he finds himself and again, him and his men and Anita, some supplies in need of some food. And so they've been protecting this guy named naval. And Nabal is a cruel man. And he's not very bright. He's foolish, and maybe even evil. And so Davidson's his men down there says, hey, look, we've been protecting your people, we haven't stolen anything. Even though we've been an army that occupies this area, we've actually not taking anything of yours. And you guys know how big deal that is. If you've ever thought about how when men and others go into a country to occupied for a little while, how they go out of their way to to not take anything, or damage the land or damage anything in the area, and even go as far as to protect that area from others. That's what David and his men have done. So all they're asking is, hey, can we get a little help? Can we have a little hospitality kind of coming back our direction, since we're in a foreign land enables like, no, like, I don't know who you are, you could have just been some people who ran off from your master. And you know, I don't know who you are. And so now I'm going to give you anything. And so, David, when he hears this message brought back to him by his men. He's like, Okay, well, here's gonna get what's coming to you. So he likes to enter his men bind, it takes him and 400 men, they're gonna go and they're gonna kill Nabal and all his guys. Well, Nabal like a lot of people, even though he's mean, he married well. And so he married this girl named Abigail. And so one of the servants goes back and tells Abigail, hey, listen, you know, your husband is kind of an idiot. And he always rages. And he's ill tempered, and, you know, just kind of flies off on the handle. Well, he did it to the wrong guy today, okay. And so this guy is going to come, David, and he's going to kill you and your whole household, and it's going to be real bad because of the way he insulted him. And so Abigail goes, and she meets David on the way and she's like, listen, listen, my husband, he is an idiot. He is ill tempered. He is not right. But please don't kill everybody because of his foolishness. Just please don't Do that. And so, um, David has pity on her. And he's like, praise God that you that you came and you told me this today, I tell you what, I won't deal with your husband, but God's gonna deal with your husband. So just be prepared. And so, so Abigail returns home and she tells her husband not that night, because when times he gets home, he's drunk. And so she waits until the next day, when he sobers up was like, hey, you know, that foolish thing you did, you know, your ILL temper, you know, your anger, and all that thing? Well, it went to the wrong guy, and he was coming to kill you yesterday. And I put a stop to it. But I just want to let you know that that information throws him so far off mentally, that he goes right into a stroke, and says 10 days later that he died is is that the Lord ultimately struck him then, and dealt with him. That's fascinating stuff. Here again, you see the anger of Nabal. You see the anger of saw and the destruction it brings upon themselves and those around them. And so David, what he does is he sends word after he finds out that Abigail's husband is dead, and ask her to marry him. Now, it's interesting, because when you look into the Old Testament, you see, again, that they didn't always follow God's law, even the best of people didn't always follow what God's law and intent was. David was already married to another woman from Jezza. Real. And in fact, if you remember, he was given a Michelle or Michael as his wife by Saul himself. So he's really the son in law of Saul. And Saul is like, he takes her back and gives her to some other guy, maybe to broker a peace deal or something like that. And so you just have a lot of things swirling here that aren't necessarily good and of God, but it's just the way it sort of transpires here, and we'll talk about that in a minute. Why I think that is. But before we get there, I want to talk about one other time in chapter 26, where similar scene where Saul's coming after David David could have killed him. He goes, and he finds Saul and he literally takes his spear and jug of water and wakes him up and says, Listen, I could have killed you. But I didn't stop chasing me. Right? And so saw, what does he do? He's like, Oh, thank you, David. I know No, no, you're my, you're my son in law. I you know, you're better to me, I, you always do good when I do evil against you. It's the same old story. And so, so I'll confess, I've sinned, and I'm so sorry. And all this kind of say, all this kind of stuff. And so David went his way, and Saul went his way. But David, now he has to find himself in chapter 27, hanging out with the Philistines. And so it's an interesting sort of narrative that sometimes the very enemies of God, you can find refuge. And this is interesting, because Egypt, if you think about this, the people of God found refuge in Egypt, Joseph and his family for a little while, until they didn't. And they found themselves under the yoke of slavery and Moses leaves them out. You see Joseph himself, when he is told in a dream that his son Jesus would be killed, where does he flee? Egypt becomes a refuge for Joseph and Mary and Jesus the child until they're able to come back. Same thing kind of happens here with David where he's able to find refuge with the Philistines for a little while they tolerate him because again, it's like, you know, a friend of my enemy is my friend, right? Soare the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I think that was probably a little bit what was going on there with the Philistines because Saul was always attacking him. Of course, David was too. And so he finds himself among them until they get tired of him. And then ultimately, we have this really interesting passage and I want to pull back here for a minute just showing you how far saw sort of goes down hill in First Samuel 28 were saw begins to consult a medium because we know what mediums are we have we have Tarik cards, and we have people who claim to know the future and crystal balls and all that even in our own town, you can go to certain parts of town and get people who supposedly communicate with the spiritual world we have ways in which we you know, sort of even celebrate this or kind of have fun with this in our culture. I think like the movie Ghostbusters that came out this week very kind of harmless. I think it's a fun little movie to sort of think about and go to I don't have anything against that if it's all in good fun. But what's happening here is that David is actually entering not David. Saul is entering into this to consult an actual medium, to know the future and to call back up Samuel and to try to get his life back on track because he's trying to pray to God and guess what? God's not talking to him because he's like, No, you know, what's going on here? So God's not answering his prayers he can't get back he's clamoring for that throne and and you guys know this when someone is consumed with anger and even madness it almost like rolls it snowballs in their lives begins to snowball out of control. And that's where solace saw had already sort of gotten rid of all the mediums and out of Israel, which is what he was called to do. It's what the Old Testament talks about all the time. So but then now here he is going to seek one out. And that's hard. I think all the mediums are kind of undercover. But he goes and finds one, he finds this woman and he's like, No, we're gonna resurrect Samuel who's died, and I'm gonna try to get him to talk to me because God didn't talk to me. This is a bad idea, okay. It's just a bad idea to try to bring someone up from the dead. There's all kinds of you know, Edgar Allan Poe points about this, I think about this in terms of even how the dead come and visit Ebenezer Scrooge, you know, around your Christmas, Carol, it's not good news. It's never like, hey, guess what, like, you brought me up from the dead, and you're gonna get millions of dollars and all these kinds of things and houses and cars and great vacations and trips, they never had that kind of news for you. Okay. And so Samuel, he is about to tell some news to saw that he wouldn't want to hear either. And so it's interesting how this occurs, we we often know that those who claim to talk to the dead are oftentimes just charlatans. It's just a way to get money because they're just good at reading people. You saw this in the movie, ghosts with Whoopi Goldberg, where it's like, he didn't know the metrics, he was really gonna come and talk to her. And she's kind of shocked at the whole thing. If you remember that movie. It's a really old reference. Sorry, for you Generation Z and younger millennials. Very sorry, I'm an older millennial. There was a time when people watch movies, and we followed movie stars. It was a crazy time not not tick tock or YouTube stars. Anyways, so that was an old movie 1993. So but I think you understand the point that that often times those who claim to connect with the Spiritual World, nine times out of 10 They're just people who want your money, it doesn't mean that there's oftentimes not real demonic stuff that's going on there. But sometimes it's just, it's just a game. So she's as shocked as anyone when Samuel actually comes back from the grave. It says that the the woman who claims to be a medium, she's as shocked as anyone, like, oh my gosh, I can't believe this actually work because this is really just kind of something that that I do to make a living. And so she realizes what's going on Samuels, like, Hey, listen, you call me up from the day what you're not supposed to do. But I want you to know that here's what's gonna happen you and all your family, you're gonna die tomorrow. And so sounds like right, what I'm gonna call this guy up for. And so he doesn't eat. And he kind of goes over to the corner and kind of pallets and eventually the mediums like, listen, I know I'm a medium and like, I was supposed to be like banished and like killed and driven from the land. But even you need to eat some salt, because you're like a king, and you need to kind of get your act together. And so the medium like convinces you know how to get something to eat, so you can go out to the battlefield. Second point I wants to see this one is David wises up, and saw continues to spiral down hill. Now, I already brought up that point that, you know, what do we do with the fact that David is a man after God's own heart, and yet he takes on multiple wives. And we see you know what he's going to do later on with Bathsheba. I want us to be clear, and how we understand Old Testament narrative. Because I think sometimes we were maybe given some misinformation and how we understand Old Testament stories in tech. Sometimes, stories in the Old Testament are purely morality tales, like pure morality tales. What I mean by that, you remember, like Aesop's Fables or little tales that you were told when you were a kid, whether it was the tortoise and the hare, or, you know, the Lion and the Mouse and the thorn, it always had a very clear morality point to it, or the point that we would tell with, you know, George Washington, not chopping down a cherry tree, whether that happened historically or not, didn't really matter. It was a morality tale about, you know, I cannot tell a lie. That's not the way the Bible presents itself. The Bible, right is a biblical text is a biblical narrative. And the point is, the purposes and promises of God will not fail. And we're seeing how people respond to a God who is faithful to himself and to his people. You understand what I mean by that? It's because when we think about our own lives, when we think about the lives of even heroes that we love, men and women alike, historically, are people that you love and admire right now. There's areas of their life where you can see in areas of your own life that you can see or not see, that are inconsistent, that have some gaps that have some holes, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be revered doesn't mean you maybe shouldn't be revered, or maybe people historically shouldn't be revered. It's just a recognize that we have these spots. But the point is, that is meant to point to a perfect King, who has no spot or blemish. So again, when you see this kind of thing, the Bible is not some sort of isolated morality tells us a long thread, a long story, ultimately talking about the promises and the purposes of God and how his people respond. That's why I say the narrative works on both levels, right? You're learning real things that are true about how people respond and in hope and anger in war and battle that are true then right 1000 BC and they're true today, but you're also seeing how this utterly can't satisfy or fulfill me. Because this has to be something better than this. There has to be something greater than this. And that, of course, leads us to Christ. It works on both levels. The story, as we think about it today, but David wises up, was he finally says, Listen, I think this hall is going to kill me, right. And then some of y'all have maybe thought that before too, you're like, you know what, I think I don't need to go over to my auntie's house anymore. Because seems like every time I go over there, there's always a fight and somebody throws a shoe or whatever happens, right? You just eventually say, I understand that, even though they always kind of come back and say they're sorry, or apologize in some way, I need to distance myself from that individual. And that's where David finally kind of comes to the conclusion to install, who continues to spiral. And I think his lowest point here is obviously calling up this medium. So I'm, like I told you, eventually, the Philistines, they kick, David out. And what now happens is David is going to go back into battle, and he's taking along, you know, his, his wives, and he's going out, and so his men are too exhausted to fight, but he still goes, and he, he fights. And then eventually, he finds himself. And saw, finds himself fighting the Philistines. And so all of a sudden saw is surrounded, it's interesting, because it's so clear in the scriptures that the hand of God is either on you, or he has removed his blessings from you, and saw it has had his blessings removed. And all of a sudden, the Philistines are closing in on him. They kill his sons. It grows very fierce. And so Saul calls his armor bearer and says, hey, it ain't gonna be going on make it through this battle. Of course, Jamie had told him you're gonna die. And now his children are slaughtered before him. And so he says, Hey, armor, bear, can you kill me? Now? Berries, like, these guys were like, No, I ain't doing that. Like, I'm not gonna sit here and kill you. And so they fall on their own swords. And of course, their bodies are just scattered by the Philistines. And eventually, the people of God, they go, and they take down and they bury the bones. And they grieve, that Saul has finally died. So this story third and final point on wants to see this morning is, this story ends in tragedy. The story ends in tragedy. Again, this story works on both points, there is the sense in which we need to take the warning from Saul's life enables life, or like,oh my gosh, am I running from things of God? Am I ignoring God? Are there things that God has told me to do? He's asked me to do. He's made real clear. And then I'm not doing Am I consumed with anger, or hate or blame? Are there things that I need to do to turn to God, and not continue to have my life? End up? Are there patterns of destruction in your family? I mean, guys, many of you all come from such broken this, I've come from such broken this, where you realize I want my family heritage to be different than what was handed down or given to me what steps you're gonna have to do to make that a reality. What is God calling you to do? Because at a certain point, we're all morally accountable for ourselves, irrespective of your story, how horrendous it was, how much people have sinned against you, that is awful. We all have stories to tell, but ultimately, are we going to take responsibility for our own lives? And so it doesn't end in tragedy, like Saul's does, because why? Because there's a greater hope and reality to come. I love that we're going to talk about the resurrection this week, it's all about the resurrection is going to be about the cross first, I get that, but it's all going to lead to the resurrection, because the resurrection is such hope, isn't it, that the grave is not the end that no matter what evil has been done to us that it will all be made right in the end, and that God gives us literal hope. That David is great as he was as magnificent as he was as as anointed as he was as righteous as he was as as well as he made these good choices over and over and over again. He's an imperfect King. Is there going to be one is there going to be a messiah one to come that has no blemish that has no frailties that has no blind spots and has the ability to forgive me and you have our sin and to prove that he is God to not only die for our sins, but to rise three days later? Yes, there is one there is a king to come and he's coming again. That's why I mean, you understand that the main reason why people of the Jewish faith reject Jesus as the Messiah and King is because they're looking for a David like figure. And Jesus when he came, it was obvious that he was a prophet and he spoke for God. A lot of people sort of thought that, but he didn't come In triumphantly, we talked about it today that he came in on a donkey. Well, that's not how kings come into their city, they come in one huge white horse and that day or you know, some huge Rolls Royce or some big yacht or whatever it is the equivalent, just the best that we can see humanity have. And here he comes in on a lowly donkey. Why? Because he's coming again. And yes, he came the first time as a humble suffering servant, to die on the cross for our sins and to braise again to prove that he is God. There's hope there's resurrection there. But there's also hope that he is to come again. And that's what the whole book of revelations about and all the eschatology askatasuna things to come. And that's where we put our hope. Because no matter where you're at in your Christian life, no matter where you're at, and we're all in different stages, let's be men and women of hope. Because we don't want our stories to end the way solved in such such tragedy, such destruction. Let's be men and women of hope, and who put our hope in God. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for Your Word. We thank you for the story and the narrative of David and Jonathan and Saul and Samuel And, Father, I know that around the room there are many who are taking this in in all different levels and ways. I pray that wherever anyone's at in their faith journey that they would turn to you right now in this moment, whether it's freely to worship or to pray to you for the first time in a long time or to pray to you for the first time ever. encourage us this day. encourage us in Your word. encourage us with your voice. Just speaking wisdom and encouragement over our lines. We asked us in Christ and for His glory. Amen.

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