Well, today we're, in a sense, returning back to our text in Hebrews 11. As we have come to a, I guess you'd say, a A point of expansion in our journey through Hebrews chapter 11, the Hall of Faith. And where we come to this summary verse, that names not one hero of faith like most of the others. throughout the preceding part of the chapter. but six heroes of faith.
And what more shall I say? For the time would fail. fail me to tell of Gideon, And Bayrak. and Samson and Japhta. Also of David, And Samuel and the profits.
So we came in our journey last week to David. The fifth name out of the six that are listed in this verse. And we Learn that David's life takes up 42 chapters of narrative. in 1st and 2 Samuel and in 1st Kings. One of the largest amounts of information about any Old Testament person.
That you'll find anywhere in the Bible. and impossible, therefore, to summarize all of that to condense all of that into one or even two messages. But we decided to take some episodes out of the life of David that illustrate his faith. and the lessons that I think God wants us to learn from them. And so last week we examined three things.
Number one, David's youthful faith. and the encounter with Goliath. Number two, David's grateful faith. In his interchange with Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul. And number three, David's repentant faith in that sad, sad episode with Bathsheba.
And today, we're going to take up two more elements of David's faith. First of all, his respectful faith, and that's seen in his relationship with Saul. And finally, here's corrected faith. As we look at the transportation of the Ark of the Covenant, to Jerusalem. In regard to the first one, David's respectful faith, there are three examples of this in the Bible.
And I'm going to do my best to summarize them each quickly. But we have the first occasion in 1 Samuel chapter 24. And there Saul is hunting David. David has gone to Engedi. And Gedi is south of Jerusalem.
It's an oasis area about halfway down the coast of the Dead Sea. It is in the portion of the Nation of Israel. That is known as the Nigeb or Nigeb, sometimes It's spelled either way. And David and his men had gone to that place for refuge, and Saul, with 3,000 soldiers, was. hunting them there.
And Saul went into a cave in order to attend to his needs. And not knowing. that David and his men, 600 men, were hiding in that very cave. And the men Whispered, no doubt very softly.
So David. God has delivered your enemy into your hand. This is your opportunity. Kill him and be done with this life of running and hiding. But David instead just goes close enough to cut a portion of Saul's robe off.
I'm even intrigued by his ability to do that without Saul feeling anything, but apparently, Saul was oblivious. And then Saul left, and after a distance, had a safe distance, had occasioned between them David called out to Saul. And said, Yoohoo! Paraphrase. Yeah.
Here I am. The one you're looking for. Here I am, David. You really don't have any reason to be hunting me. I have no ill intentions toward you, and here's the proof.
While you were in the cave, I cut this piece off your robe. I could very easily have killed you, but I did not. I will not. I will not harm the Lord's anointed. And please take this as evidence that that is true.
And Saul was smicken with Eighties consciousness of his sin. He said a number of things, several verses recording the words of Saul to David, where Saul acknowledges that he was wrong. that he was sinful, that he was returning to David. Evil in the place of good, for David, he acknowledges, had done nothing but good for him. And that David, in turn, was returning nothing but good in the place of evil.
For here was Saul doing great evil toward David, and David refuses to kill him when God has placed him right in his hand. And so he acknowledges all of that. and declares that he knows that David will one day become king. And he entreats David not to destroy his descendants. When he becomes king, as was the custom, of kings in that day to destroy anyone who might have any rival claim to the throne.
The second occasion is very similar to the first, but slightly different. Critics always pick up these Episodes in the Bible that have similarities and say, well, the problem is it was only one occasion, but it came down to us in two different stories, and so both of them were included. But there was really only one. And All of us know that in our lives we have had a number of encounters, a number of episodes. That were similar in some respects and differed only in minor respects, but that didn't mean that it was not two different occasions.
Critics will seize on the most. What should I say? The weakest arguments in order to pursue their hostility toward God in the Bible. But it's clear there was a second episode, and this time, once again, Saul is hunting Saul. Once again, he's marshaled an army of 3,000 men.
In order to hunt David down. And this time, David is hiding in the territory of a town called Ziph. There was both a town of Ziph and the surrounding area that was called the wilderness of Ziph. This too is south of Jerusalem in the Negev, a little bit further south than was in Gedi. and in the more wilderness area.
And Saul and his army are pursuing David there. The Ziphites themselves have encouraged him to do that. They have told Saul, David's in this area, come get him. And so Saul goes to get him. And after they arrive there, nightfall comes, and so Saul's.
Uh Army Encamps itself there, about 3,000 men. That's a rather sizable encampment. And David and his men are a little ways away, and they're observing all of this. Saul doesn't know that they're that close. And David asked for a volunteer to go with him into the camp of Saul.
And there was a lot of money. Volunteers. And they Sneak into the camp of Saul. through all the outer perimeter, all those 3,000 men all encamped around. Saw in the middle for protection.
And David and his companion go all the way right up to where Saul is sleeping. Nobody stirs. We're told. That God had put them in a deep sleep. And so nobody stirs, they're all sound asleep.
And David goes right in there to where Saul is sleeping. And Abishai says, As the men had said on the previous occasion, Abishai says, Now's your chance. God has given him into your hand.
Now's your chance. Let me kill him. I'll strike him one time. It won't take two blows. I'll strike him one time, and I assure you, he'll no longer be your enemy.
And David said, no. No. I will Not. Strike the Lord's anointed. And instead, David takes Saul's spear, probably a recognizable spear.
After all, he was the king. It probably was a little more embellished than the average spear. And a jug of water that he had by his side, and he departs from the camp. And then, when he gets a good ways away, once again, he calls out, this time not directly to Saul, but rather to Abner, the general of Saul's army, and he chides Abner. Abner, aren't you a man?
You were supposed to protect your king. And look, I was right there. I could have killed him. And here's the evidence. And he holds up the spear and the jug of water.
And Saul hears all of that, and he arouses himself, and once again, he. Cries out to David and acknowledges his sin, and acknowledges that David will surely one day be king. And uh appeals for David not to kill his descendants. And then David says, Well, send one of the young men over and get your spear. I notice he didn't offer to return the jug of water, that really wasn't worth much, but the spear.
Was a valuable spear.
So come send a young man over to collect the spear. And please. Recognize that I have no ill intent toward you. I am not seeking your life. I am not doing anything to try to take the throne out of your hands.
I'm not your enemy, Saul, in any way whatsoever. Please understand that and act according to what is so obviously true. Here's the evidence of it. Once again, I could have killed you. It reminds me, in some ways, of.
Satan himself. And his demons Who know they will not prevail against God. They know that they will wind up in. hell forever and ever in the lake of fire. They know they cannot win, and yet they won't stop fighting.
There's something about the sinfulness of their nature that will not let them back off. Even in the light of what they know to be true. And we see the same thing in the nature of Saul. What a sinful man. That even though he knows that God has anointed David to be the next king, and that he cannot overturn God's design and God's will, he will not stop fighting against David, as if somehow if he could destroy him, then God's plan for David will not come to pass.
And so it's really rebellion against God. that Saul is demonstrating in his warfare against David. Then there is The episode that I read in the last part of 1 Samuel The last chapter of 1 Samuel in verses 1 through 6, and quite a few of the verses in 2 Samuel chapter 1. And that demonstrates David's respect for Saul after his death. The first two episodes document David's high regard for Saul.
in his life, during Saul's life. Not because Saul was worthy of such respect, not because he was a godly man, not because he was an exemplary king, but because he was the Lord's anointed. God had sent Samuel to anoint him king. And if God has anointed him as king, David. As a servant of God, must and will respect God's anointing.
operation On the saw. That's during Saul's life.
Now Saul is slain. The historical narrative of his death is in. 1 Samuel 31. That, I'm convinced. is the accurate history.
Of the of the case of what took place. The Philistines prevail against Israel in the battle. This is the time, you recall. when the Philistines were going up against Israel. And David at that time was living in Ziklag and under the protection of the Philistines, at least the king of Gath.
And wanted to go up with with them or at least indicated he was happy to go with them in the battle against Israel. That would have been rather awkward. God didn't permit it to happen. And the other Philistine lords, there were five Philistine cities, major cities, five Philistine kings, And the other four Philistine kings said to the king of Gath, No, you can't. Bring David.
We don't know but what he'll turn against us. Isn't he the one that Israel used to sing, Saul has slain his thousands, and David has slain his tens thousands of us, Philistines? You can't bring him. And so David goes about his Work. of reeking judgment upon those who deserved it in the Southern part of of Israel and and beyond going toward Egypt.
And he comes from one of those raids when he comes back to Ziklag, the city that had been given to him. But the Philistines now go up against Israel, and they are prevailing. seriously against Israel. They are beating them right and left. And in the heat of the battle, they kill Saul's three sons, including Jonathan, David's closest friend.
And Saul is badly wounded, we are told by an archer, an arrow. And knowing he's going to die, he appeals to his armor-bearer to kill him so that the Philistines won't find him and kill him and torture him prior to. finally killing him. And the armor bearer is not willing to do that. And so we're told that Saul falls upon his own sword.
and kills himself. And his armor bearer follows the example and kills himself likewise. In 2 Samuel chapter 1, we find that. David and his band have come to Ziklag after they have How do you Victorious conquest. And a man comes to them.
out of the army of Saul. to report on the death of Saul. Apparently, David is getting news of how the battle has transpired for the first time. And this man tells him that He himself, the Amalekite, in the army of Saul. is the one who has killed Saul.
How did it go?
Well, I came and I saw Saul and he was badly wounded and he wasn't going to live and he asked me to to kill him, to put him out of his misery. And so I obeyed and did that. And I took his crown and the bracelet off of his arm, and I brought it here to you. And what was this man expecting?
Well, he was expecting high honor and reward. And in the case of Yeah. 999 men out of a thousand or maybe 999,000 out of a million men, that's exactly what he would have gotten. But not with David, because that's the whole point here. David is so remarkably different.
He is not happy at the death of Saul. He is not happy at the At the Report of this man that he's the one who has killed Saul. Pat me on the back and reward me highly for that, please. Instead, he's torn with grief. He is unhappy with the death of Saul.
Well, why is that, David? Because he's God's anointed. And I can't rejoice when the anointed of God has been killed. And so he mourns the death of Saul, and he orders the execution of the man who claimed to have killed Saul. Here's somebody who got tangled up in his own deceit.
The truth of the matter is, we read the narrative of how Saul died in the previous chapter. And the truth of the matter is the Amalachi didn't kill him at all. The truth of the matter is, he wasn't killed with his spear. The Amalekites said, I killed him with his spear, but he was killed instead by himself on his own sword. He fell on his sword.
And what happened undoubtedly was that the Amalekite came along and found him dead, but nobody, he was the first one there. to find him dead and so he he picked up the plunder the crown and the Expensive bracelet, and he brought them on to David as evidence that he had killed Saul. And David said, Since you have confessed to killing Saul, then you are a murderer, and the soul that takes man's life. by man shall his blood be shed. And so you have signed your own execution warrant and he orders him to be executed.
And then The rest of chapter 1 of 2 Samuel that I didn't read. Is David's ode. He composes an ode. of Honor. And of course grief at the death of Saul.
Calls Saul a mighty man, along with Jonathan, his son, in particular. And he laments the death of Saul, this mighty king of Israel, this. captain of Israel's army. And he honors him in this way. David's unexpected response to this report is: number one, grief instead of rejoicing.
Number two, justice instead of winking his eye that the Amalachi claims to have killed Saul. And number three, honor to the very man. That most people would have dishonored, would have already been dishonoring with their words and actions, and would now gladly dishonor in his death. but instead composes an ode of Honor. for the the s the slain Saul.
That is David's Respectful faith. Three episodes to document it. But before we draw lessons from that, we have to talk about David's corrected faith.
Now that record is 2 Samuel chapter 6 and the transporting of the ark. The Ark of God has been far from Jerusalem ever since the Philistines. took it in battle. And then because of the plagues that came upon them, For having the Ark of God, they sent it back. to Israel.
And it had resided in the home of an Israelite for all of these. Years actually, until David, who has now made Jerusalem the capital. Of Israel and has erected the tabernacle of God in that area on Mount Gerizim, where the temple will eventually be built. And now he recognizes that the Ark of God. Needs to be where it belongs, in the Holy of Holies, in the tabernacle.
But it's not there. And so he decides it's time. to relocate it to its proper place. And so David transports the ark. Carelessly.
And what do I mean by that? He does not pay attention to the way that God instructs for it to be transported. He does a lot of good things. He assembles a large and honorable company. In order to effect this transportation, some of the leading, thousands of the leading men in Israel, he assembles.
For this procession. Hey. arranges a grand procession to lead the Ark of God from its present resting place into Jerusalem. Yeah. Excuse me.
He places the ark upon a cart, no doubt a brand new cart, the best cart that was available. And he celebrates this transportation with the grandest of fanfare. You can read about it in chapter Six. Verse 5. Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of firwood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on...
systems and ensembles. And they were having a grand procession on the way to Jerusalem. When The Cart. went over a rough spot, a rocky spot, on the path and it was It was t it was uh trembling, it was tilting, it was jerking around. And Uzzak, who was by the cart, reached out his hand to make sure that the ark didn't slide off the cart.
And when he touched That holy Ark of God God struck him dead. In the midst of all that fanfare, In the midst of all of that celebration, In the midst of all that grand worship, God demonstrated his highest displeasure, And he struck. Oza. Dead. David We read.
was highly displeased.
Well talk, talk, talk. But David is displeased with what God has done. Like we are at times. We need to learn better, don't we? How foolish for the creature to say, I am not happy with what you did, Creator.
How foolish for little man to say I disagree with what you have done, Almighty God, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Ruler of the universe, Creator of all things, the Giver of life, Sustainer of life, the reason why I am here. I disapprove of what you have done, but that's what. We normally do unless we have come to true faith and surrender. And here's David not demonstrating faith at all. He's demonstrating his petulance.
He's demonstrating his carnality. He's demonstrating his pride. He's displeased. with what God has done. And so the ark is placed in a home right close to where this incident took place.
And the indication is that David said, I washed my hands of the whole thing. I'm done with it. The ark can stay here for the rest of my life and hereafter, as far as I'm concerned. And the Bible tells us that while the ark was there, That God greatly blessed the home that it was in. And I think the report of this came, it only was there about three months.
And during three months, this family that was housing the ark. Not because they'd chosen to, but because it was imposed upon them. But this family that was housing the ark was in some way so greatly blessed of God that the report of this went far and wide. And David said, hmm, I think we need to get this to Jerusalem.
Now let's see. Did we do something wrong before?
Well, I think by now he knew exactly what he'd done wrong. Let's read it again. In the Bible, how is it that the Ark is supposed to be transported? And it's interesting, there actually are a number of places that give us this information. The first one is in Exodus 25.
when the construction of the articles in the tabernacle are described, And coming to the ark. of the covenant in verse 12 we read you shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners. Two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side. and you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, You shall put the poles into the rings on the side of the ark. that the ark may be carried by them.
And thereafter, in the record that you find in Numbers and Deuteronomy, you'll find. Half a dozen different references to the ark being carried by the Levites. I just chose one. in Deuteronomy 31, 9.
So when about the end of Moses' life, he's transmitting the... Book. the Pentateuch that he has written to Joshua and to the priests.
So Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi. who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord. and to all the elders of Israel.
Now, if we read all of the accounts that refer to this, you would find That it wasn't Really, all the priests who had this responsibility, there was a particular section of the priesthood that were given the special responsibility of transmitting the ark. And Also the The altar of incense also had rings and poles to be transported in this way, and the table of showbread likewise. And there was a whole special section of the Levites who had that responsibility. There was a time when carts were Parceled out to the Levites to do their work, but we were told that to this particular group no carts were given. Because their work was to transport the articles of the Ark upon their shoulders.
No carts given to them. The people who carried the fabric For the tabernacle, they got carts. The people who carried the wooden sides and all of the other things that were the walls of the tabernacle, they got carts to carry that in. The people, the Levites who transported all of the vessels and other instruments that went into the worship of God, they got carts to transport their articles. But the Levites who transported the Ark of the Covenant got no cart.
Now, when you put all that together, it's very clear that not only was this God's word, but God had made it abundantly clear. God had almost shouted to Israel: this is very important. No cart. Poles. on the shoulders.
of the designated Levites. is the way that my ark must be transported. And so now David transports it according to the prescribed way. With an even greater celebration, every six paces that the Levites took, they stopped and offered burnt offerings, and then took six more steps and stopped and offered more burnt offerings, quite a procession indeed. And David enthusiastically is celebrating Physically.
Dancing. and celebrating In the return of the ark, to Jerusalem. And the point of this is that David was wrong. And he was corrected. Severely.
And Uzzah paid with his life. And David accepted the correction, demonstrates repentance, and demonstrates it by now carrying the ark to Jerusalem in God's prescribed way. This is David's. Corrected faith.
Now, let's consider a few points to ponder. Oh, I should have mentioned before I do that. that this is also the time when David's First wife, Michael. He had several, as you know. His first wife Michael, who was the daughter of Saul, looked out the window and saw David celebrating, and she was not.
Pleased. This didn't Appear to be the dignity that she thought a king ought to demonstrate before the people. And so when David came in, she, shall we say, communicated her displeasure to David. I wish I'd been there to hear that. I don't think it was a very kind.
example of communication, but I don't know that for a fact. And if I had been there, I could have only picked up her tone of voice. And demeanor, I couldn't have understood what she said. It was a different language, right? She was speaking Hebrew.
But at any rate, she communicated her displeasure to David. And David defended himself, and he said, I'm doing this. to honor the Lord.
So who was right? Michael, who's unhappy with this To her this undignified exhibition Yeah. of over-the-top celebration. of the return of the ark, over the top, exuberant worship. Or David, who did that.
Well, the closing verse of the chapter tells us who God considered to be right, because we read that Michael remained childless until the day of her death. She was not allowed to have children. God said, I'm pleased with what David did. I'm not pleased with Michael's attitude. into the points to ponder.
How to please God in our worship. David and the Ark tell us some lessons about this. In the transportation of the Ark, to Jerusalem in the in the first of the two phases of the transportation. We would agree that David had an honorable desire. What he wanted to do in removing the ark.
was the right thing. It was a God-pleasing thing. But that was not sufficient. to render to God the worship that he demanded Furthermore, he invested heavily in his endeavor. He gathered lots of people, musicians and honorable people, and he arranged all of the costs for this great procession to take place.
He was expending great amounts of money to make sure that this was done in the most. Most uh Extravagant way possible to demonstrate honor to God in the removal, but That was not sufficient either. God was not pleased. That was not I wouldn't say God wasn't pleased with the extravagance, but God wasn't pleased with everything that happened, and the disobedience overshadowed even these elements that would have been acceptable to God.
Furthermore, David pursued his project with great enthusiasm. If zeal would carry the day, then this would have been fine. But zeal doesn't carry the day. Obedience carries the day. And he was disobedient and God was not pleased.
His zeal was not sufficient. David decided to use a cart. I wonder if he Uh polled a committee of leaders on this. What do you think about using a cart?
Well, that sounds like a good idea to us. After all, the Philistines returned the cart from From Philistia to Israel. I returned the ark on a cart, and God seemed to be pleased with that. Yeah, but doesn't the um Book of Moses says something about the ark being transported on the shoulders of the priests with poles. Oh, Times have changed.
That's the old-fashioned way. We have a more modern way. They didn't have carts back then.
So, yes. Let's do it. By cart.
Now that's all imagination on my part. But I think some of you are getting the point. And so he decided to use a cart. But God was highly displeased, and he struck Uzzad. Only when David repented of his disobedience in.
Willfully ignoring God's prescribed way of transporting the cart was God in pleased with his endeavor. All of the celebration, all of the cost, all of the hoopla, all of the zeal. All of the efforts to bring honor and glory to God were for naught because God's prescribed way was ignored. And when it was carried out. God was pleased.
And what do we learn from this?
Well, we learned number one that we are responsible to know God's Word. David might have said, well, I'd forgotten that. Or, maybe I never noticed that in the book of Moses about how the ark is to be transported. I must plead ignorance. God would say, it was your responsibility to know this.
You're the king of Israel. You're supposed to know God's word. We are responsible to know God's word, and we are responsible to obey the word that God has given. We may not Improvise. on that which God has spoken.
And there's so many ways this can be applied. Let's just take a couple. This applies to Methods of evangelism. How are we to evangelize?
Well, there are myriads of wonderful ideas that have sprung up, and many are now getting quite venerable. They've been going on for decades and decades and decades. That this is the best way to do it. This produces the best results. And do it this way.
And when that seems to get a little bit old and tired, somebody else is having success over here. And so run over there to that conference and learn some more methods of how this is to be done. And it seems like nearly the whole church of the Lord Jesus Christ today is bent on finding out what the committee says is the best way to do evangelism instead of studying the Bible and doing it God's way. God is not pleased. With our ignoring His Word.
Or when it comes to styles of worship, now this is an area that I am going to be very careful about what I say because. It's very important that we not impose Preferences where the Word of God is silent, but it's also important that we give attention to those areas where the Word of God speaks. All the details of how New Testament saints are to worship God are not given in the Bible. But this much I'm sure of. God is not pleased if we aren't at least looking for what he does say and trying to employ what is given to us.
There may not be exact details of what our music should sound like. There may not be exact details of what exactly should go into the order of worship and so forth. But one thing is clear, if our attitude is Whatever I like, that's what we'll do. Whatever people like and brings them in, that's what we'll do. Whatever we think will bring honor to God, we're going to use great enthusiasm.
We're going to go to great expense. We're going to do this with great celebration without any thought of saying, first of all, What? Pleases God in this area. What does His Word say about this? Does He have anything at all to say about this?
We can't honor God in our worship if we worship Him carelessly. We can't honor God in our worship if we worship Him. heedlessly when it comes to his word, we must start with that. And then, if there are details that are not given, let's be honest about that, and let's reverently try. to make what we do fit into the things that he does say and can be.
Be humble and reverent in how we carry out those things that are left to us to decide. We move on to another point to ponder. The text that we study today will help us to know how to give God's servants appropriate honor. The way that David did to Saul. Not, as I've already pointed out, because God's servants are perfect people, none of them are.
Not even because God's servants are always as exemplary as they ought to be, and we wish they were. They are not. Saul certainly wasn't. But because God has appointed them. And God will judge disobedience.
He knows every heart. He'll judge disobedience in his time. God will remove them from their appointment. In his time. And we must leave this to God.
It's not that David didn't have anything to say about Saul's disobedience. He did publicly in both of those occasions. In the in the time when David could have killed Saul and didn't and spoke to him. Accused Saul of doing wrong and did so in a public way. He was not just ignoring Saul's sin, but he refused to take the judgment for sin into his own hands.
He refused to be the one to execute vengeance upon Saul for what he had done. If God anointed him and put him in his position, then God knows how to remove him when God's ready. And I'm willing to be patient and to wait on that and to honor him in the meantime, was David's attitude. That needs to be ours. I think maybe as much as anything, this is getting at what the Bible means when it tells us that David was a man after God's own heart.
This is so remarkable. This Heart. Felt desire to honor those whom God has appointed, even when they are doing wrong, even when they are doing us harm. But nevertheless, with a humble attitude to continue to give them the honor that God has given to them and to continue to give it until God removes it. A lot of ways to apply this.
Let me just suggest one or two. When it comes to politics. Folks, We'll just restrict it to our own country. Whoever is in the White House is there by God's appointment. God put the one Who's there now, there?
And God put the one who was there before there. And in God's time, God removed him and put the present one there. And prior to that, God had removed the one presently who formerly was there and put someone else there. And the Bible is clear about that. God A points The kings and the rulers according to his will, if God.
appoints them, then we are required to honor them whether we agree with them Or not. There's a difference between honoring Disagreeably. And slandering Name calling. Spreading gossip and rumors and lies that are not true. That may be the way the world Acts, of course it is.
The world always does things wrong. But we are not of the world. What do you think worldliness is? The Christians are not supposed to be worldly.
Well, that's cussing and chewing and drinking and going with women who do. Uh maybe it is dishonoring those whom God has placed in a position of power and we're failing to give them the honor that we should. It may be that we Are worshiping God according to our own desires instead of trying to study His Word to find out. How he wants to be worshipped. These things are as worldly as.
Cussing and chewing. Maybe more so. A lesson in how to attain elevation in God's service. We're serving God. We'd like to be in a position of greater influence greater opportunity.
Do you realize David could have sped up the process of getting to the throne? How? Killing Saul. When Saul was dead, he was king. God had already said so.
But he wouldn't do it. He was a godly man, a man after God's own heart. He refused to do it. The normal way. and instead waited for God to do it.
Scheming. For position, In the work of God, you see this all the time. in Christian organizations. People who covet someone else's position and scheme to try to get it. Scheming for a position.
In the work of God is acting worldly and is very sinful. God is not pleased. We demonstrate a different spirit. We accept what God has done. We wait for God.
If God wants to elevate us, He'll do so in His time. We are not impatient about it. If God wants to. To uh Demotus Then we accept that too as God's Prerogative. And I will close with this one.
How to recognize the kindness of God. We see this by example in David's amazing kindness to Saul, one who totally did not deserve it in any way, but David was still kind to him. What does that teach us? Teaches us about the heart of God. That's why I say this may be how David demonstrated he was a man after God's own heart more than anything.
Because, like God's own heart, who shows amazing kindness to rebellious sinners who have dishonored him and disobeyed him in every possible way, but he continues to show such amazing kindness. And grace. and beckoning To come to Christ and be forgiven of all your sins. It matters not how great they are. Come to Christ because God has this kind of heart.
He has an amazingly forgiving and benevolent heart toward those who have terribly wronged him, as you have, and I have, and all of us have. But we can come to Christ who loves repentant sinners and will save every single one who will acknowledge his sin, who will turn from his sin, who will surrender himself to the rightful authority of King Jesus and have all of his sins amazingly forgiven by a God who has a heart like this. Shall we pray? Father, teach us your ways. And show us your paths, we pray.
Amen. Shared with the majority of the menu.
