Pastor, author and Bible teacher, Alan Wright.
As soon as you quit listening to the voice of the fools of the world and start listening to the voice of God, you have your heart change. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series titled, God Used Who?
And you may just be surprised, as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I wanna make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org or call 877-544-4860.
That's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. And so all of these contrasts and not least of which is the contrast between the way David was going to act and then what David actually did. Because in life, isn't it amazing that sometimes the greatest contrast can be in our own character. The difference between my flesh and who I am in the flesh and who I am in the spirit can be night and day. And so it is with David.
And we see here the way of life. Let's go through the story a little bit. David was in a fighting mood. In the first place, the elder statesman and a mentor to him, Samuel, has died, so David was in grief.
And sometimes when things have been taken away from you, there's sadness, but part of grief also is sometimes you get mad. And David had been trying to help Nabal and he'd set up a camp all around him so that his kinsmen's herds would be protected, protected from predators, protected from intruders. And while shepherds over large flocks would lose some of those animals, not one animal had been lost as long as David and his men had been protecting them. Hospitality in that culture was not just a nicety, it was an expectation.
If you had a relative come to visit you, even if they weren't a relative, just a stranger come to visit you, it was expected that you would help provide. He had been on the run from Saul. He had had a chance to kill Saul, but had not. And now he is hungry, he is thirsty, and his 600 men are hungry and thirsty. And when Nabal sends back this surly response, David, like Popeye, had had all he could stand, so he couldn't stand no more. He was like a woman I saw on a, somebody had a t-shirt years ago, and this image of his frazzled woman and the caption underneath it said, I've only got one nerve left and now you're on it. This was the last straw for David and he was going to slaughter them all.
Everyone gird your swords. Blood was going to be shed. Nabal, his name means fool. Why a mother would name her child such?
We don't know. But prophetically it was lived out. He is a stingy, wealthy scrooge. It's interesting in the text that his riches are mentioned before his name, because possessions are more important to him than anything. He holds on to his possessions and won't share so much as one lamb with David and his men, and yet he's pictured in the end a drunken fool trying to find joy out of consuming his own possessions. He thinks he knows it all. He thinks he knows that David's not up to any good or these men don't mean what they say. He thinks he knows it all, and yet what we know is he doesn't know anything. That's a definition of a fool. Somebody thinks they know it all and in fact don't know anything.
That's Nabal. He's lazy. He's presumptuous.
He presumes that he can treat others harshly without them treating him harshly in return. He's a fool. He's unaware of what a wonderful wife he has. Any man who doesn't know he's got a wonderful wife when he's got a wonderful wife, that man's a fool.
You're welcome wives. And he has, Nabal has no discernment. He has no concept of the prophetic destiny on David's life.
Come on, the handwriting was on the wall. David was going to be king over Israel. He is mistreating the man who's going to be his king. What a fool. He's stingy but expends an exorbitant amount on a drunken feast in which he gets too drunk to be approached by his wife. He can't even talk to her and learn from her wisdom because he's too drunk. The drunkard is a fool. He is no king but he's acting like a king.
David's going to be king but has nothing to eat while the selfish scrooge gorges himself and drinks himself until he passes out while the future king of Israel and his men is left hungry in the field. Nabal. In short, he's fixed on himself. He is a narcissist. His speech in verse 11 contains eight first-person references.
I, my, I, my, me, I, my, me. Only a fool's fixed on himself and Nabal is like King Saul. Narcissistic, powerful, wealthy, utterly self-centered and destined toward doom.
The fool says in his heart there is no God. That's Nabal. Contrast it with Abigail. Beautiful, genius, wise, discerning Abigail who knows that possessions are meant to be a blessing to others. Who knows and acts immediately to remedy a situation where is Nabal was lazy and did nothing.
She moves to action. Unheard of for a woman to meet a man who's not her husband much less in a clandestine manner with no permission from her own husband but she's so wise that she knows in this situation it's the only thing to do. Though it be scandalous she moves forward but she doesn't move forward with this surly bold know-it-all manner but with contrition and humility and she rides in on a donkey and gets down and bows down before David. It's ironic that Nabal is unaware of what a wonderful wife he has but Abigail is aware of what a fool for a husband she is. Oh she understands unlike Nabal that a gentle answer turns away wrath and she comes with gifts and prophetic blessing she understands how it is that people change. It is to say she understands the gospel before the gospel has arrived in its fullness. She gets the meaning and power of grace. She gets the meaning and power of giving a gift and speaking a blessing. For beloved this is how we actually change is not when we hearken unto the voice of fools but when we hearken into the voice of wisdom and life. When David hears a voice that is higher than the voice of Nabal something that is more wise a voice that is more beautiful and what she does is she begins to prophesy to him and bless him and tell him that you have a destiny that you have a life destiny that you are the king and you are going to rule.
Even kings need to be reminded of who they are. You beloved in Christ are the royalty of God's family. You are princes and princesses in the kingdom of God and you are destined to reign with Christ forever and forever.
You are no mere mortals you're going to live forever. You are no ordinary people you are the body of Christ on earth. You have been laden with purpose and potential because the very power of God resides inside of you. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in and toward and through you such that you have a glorious inheritance in the saints. Beloved you have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Sin shall no longer be your master but you in Christ have been made into more than conquerors through him. Thank God for all that he has done because he has taken you out of the kingdom of darkness and transported you into the kingdom of light and the reason that we must preach the gospel and listen to the gospel and tell it to ourselves every day is because even kings need to be reminded of their royal destiny and Abigail comes as the voice of the Lord and she comes to the voice of goodness and she comes in a voice of humility she comes to the voice of beauty and wisdom she comes as a voice of the of the gospel and she tells David who he is and David remembers who he is and he repents of the violence that had come up in his heart and he lets go of bitterness and he lets go of the unforgiveness and his life is changed in a moment by the sound of the gospel.
That's Alan Wright and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. God's love. You've heard about it with your ears.
You've believed it in your mind. Now experience it in your heart with Alan Wright's beloved book Lover of My Soul. The Bible is a love story from beginning to end. You are the spiritual bride of Christ the perfect bridegroom. The Bible tells about a God who has gone to unimaginable lengths to woo you to win you and to walk with you hand in hand. For any man who has fallen in love with a woman you've tasted the sweetness of what God's love for you is like. For any woman who has searched for true love what you long for can only be found fully in God. Gary Chapman renowned author of the five love languages says the incredible reality that God pursues us in love comes to life in Lover of My Soul. Ancient biblical accounts explode in the heart.
Accept Christ's proposal enjoy his embrace revel in his love after all it's a match made in heaven. It's Lover of My Soul by Alan Wright. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.
When you give today we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.
That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues.
Here once again is Alan Wright. As soon as you quit listening to the voice of the fools of the world and start listening to the voice of God you have your heart change. Do not build your life as a response to what fools are saying.
Build your life on what God is saying. Abigail's actions accomplished so much she saved the entire estate from massacre. She prophetically revealed David as king and conqueror prevented David from bringing judgment on himself and needlessly killing people. Abigail what a beautiful spirit. Oh that the day that David when kings normally went to war David got up from his couch and was walking on the roof of his palace when he saw Bathsheba and forgot who he was. If only there had been an Abigail an intercessor. In that sad story when David steals Bathsheba for his wife and has Uriah killed as a consequence the Lord spoke the Lord spoke through the prophet Nathan to David and told him the sword will not leave your house. We need even David needed an intercessor a mediator someone who would go between because it's so beautiful about this story is that while in most of the narratives of the old testament where you see David he is the one prefiguring Christ in this story it is Abigail who points us to Jesus this wise wonderful woman who somehow understood the gospel do you see the picture of it it's beautiful she comes on a donkey on behalf of a foolish husband in order to intercede for the fool who didn't even send her she took the initiative on behalf of a sinner who didn't even comprehend his own folly this is love not that we first loved God but that he first loved us and Christ came never forget this Christ came to die for the ungodly while they were still in their sin we didn't know how to call upon his name we're too foolish to know the right way and so it is that Christ came riding in on a donkey as the Pharisees who should have known better mocked him the son of God who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but in him himself and became a servant became obedient obedient even unto death on a cross even unto death on a cross she was intelligent she was wise she was she was noble she was beautiful she was she was rare jewel and she came and she bowed down before David not because that would be the posture that she would stay in the rest of her life but she had understood some kind of secret the one who humbles himself shall be exalted the one who wants to exalt himself will be humbled and she would be raised up one day and she would become queen but on this day she bowed Jesus humbled himself and he took a cross but it would not be that he would stay in that grave but he would be exalted to the right hand of God the father almighty her name was Abigail my father's joy this is my son in whom I'm well pleased the father said he took joy in his son's obedience he took joy in the redemptive plan unfolding he took joy Abigail a picture of what makes God's heart glad she came and she bowed before him and she said let me take the guilt she who had committed no sin stood in on behalf of the foolish husband who had committed such folly and said let it be on me she took the blame for the guilty though she was innocent in order to save the one who had not even sent her in so doing the righteous wrath of David was removed removed and he who had power to slay the entire estate instead became propitious toward them became kind towards them became peaceful towards them David needed a mediator to go between him and his enemy he needed a mediator to go between him and the one who had offended him because he was such a fool and the intercessor the mediator the one who went in between Abigail becomes a redeemer that day and you and I though the bible says we were the enemies of God though we were lost in our foolishness and our sin God in his infinite love sent a mediator he sent Christ the mediator of a new covenant a covenant wherein he who knew no sin became our sin so that God's righteous wrath would be resolved and he would become propitious towards us he would become kind and peaceful and benevolent towards us because justice had been done Jesus came giving a gift Jesus came giving his life Jesus came humble as a servant so that we would be forgiven so that we would be made whole so that we would not live our lives in bitterness but instead in the freedom and the power of the gospel in other words David looks upon Abigail's actions as if it were Nabal who had done such and therefore Abigail's righteousness is reckoned unto Nabal by David and David becomes a blessing to the estate while Nabal is oblivious drunk and foolish he is saved by another's beauty and wisdom that's how we're changed we're not changed by telling our flesh to quieten down we're not changed by saying i ought not be so bitter and angry we're not changed by trying somehow to do it on our if you try to live this life out of your flesh you're going to be telling everybody around you gird up your sword i'm gonna kill somebody but if you hear the voice of sweet Jesus and see what he's done for you and the gift that he's brought and listen to him bless your life you'll rise to your destiny the response of Nabal is the response of the world it's the culture's way the way of the flesh but we have a different way Jesus became our wisdom when we only had folly he became our peace when we only had enmity here's what i take away from the story number one life is a setting of utter contrasts there is light and there is darkness do not let them blur because there's a way that leads to life and there's a way that leads to death choose life secondly only a fool lets his life be directed by the actions and words of fools do not build your life as a response to what the wicked say and do build your life on the word of God thirdly without a savior we are enslaved by our folly laziness and passions we're enslaved by the flesh number four we can only be healed of our anger when our attention is set upon the beauty and wisdom of the holiness of Christ we need a mediator or else all is lost it's a story of contrast the way of the world and the way of God life's full of such contrast contrast fix your eyes upon Jesus the author and the finisher of your faith and the gospel will change everything that is the gospel alan wright great wisdom here from abigail our teaching from the series god used who alan is back in a moment with additional insight on this teaching for your life and today's final word god's love you've heard about it with your ears you've believed it in your mind now experience it in your heart with alan wright's beloved book lover of my soul the bible is a love story from beginning to end you are the spiritual bride of christ the perfect bridegroom the bible tells about a god who has gone to unimaginable lengths to woo you to win you and to walk with you hand in hand for any man who has fallen in love with a woman you've tasted the sweetness of what god's love for you is like for any woman who has searched for true love what you long for can only be found fully in god gary chatman renowned author of the five love languages says the incredible reality that god pursues us in love comes to life and lover of my soul ancient biblical accounts explode in the heart accept christ's proposal enjoy his embrace revel in his love after all it's a match made in heaven it's lover of my soul by alan wright the gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries this broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support when you give today we will send you today's special offer we are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries call us at 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 or come to our website pastorallen.org alan i know many people who pray for wisdom and there's good words here dig into god's word find the wisdom but this story of abigail it's certainly a story of a better way it's a better way and it's the way of god and therefore the beauty of the story of abigail is in pointing us to what jesus has done for us you just think if you've been following this story think of how mad david is and the only way that he could be healed of his anger was when his attention came away from nabal and all of his surly response and all of his foolishness and was set upon beauty and wisdom the attention was taken off the offender and put upon abigail well here's what happens in our lives and here's what i'm praying for every listener that you take your eyes off of those who have offended you and put them upon the beauty and wisdom of christ it's the only way that we can be set free and i think that's what this is a picture of in the end it's a picture of jesus today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries
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