The Danger of Popularity

So uh let's quiet our hearts for worship. If you would stand with me. is I read our call to work. Worship. I will extol you, my God and King.

And bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. Please be seated. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, as We come here to worship today. You are our sanctuary. You are our retreat. our high tower, our fortress. Lord, you um You are a comfort.

Lord, we ask that you would bless this time of worship. That you would quiet our hearts, the Holy Spirit would work within us. Lord, that we would hear your word. We would sing praises to you that would be a sweet savor to you. Lord You are righteous.

Your word is truth. And Father, we thank you for the The rock that you've given us, Jesus Christ our Lord. He is our hope. in Him alone. We trust in Him, in Him alone.

Lord, for we have no other hope other than Him. We can't come to you. With our righteousness, because we don't have any. We only have the righteousness that Christ has given us. Lord, we ask that you be with us today.

We lift up Linda McCatherine to you. We lift up Nancy. Malone, just ask you be with them as they suffer and um Recover, Father. We just pray for them. Have your saints minister to them.

And bless them, Lord. Lord, we do ask that you go before us. We're thankful for this time together. And Lord, that you would. call us your children.

Bless this time, Father. In Christ's name, amen. Jesus is Lord. He is the king of kings, the lord of lords. And yet he condescends to make us his own.

He associates with us. was born under the law. in order to redeem us who are under the law. He is the Lord, he is transcendent King, and yet he is imminent Savior. This is the Christ we worship today.

Would you stand with me? In honor of our Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And let's sing to Him: Jesus is Lord, the cry that echoes through creation. Jesus is Lord, the cry that echoes through creation. His blend and power eternal the Son of God, the King whose glory fills the heavens, yet bids us come to taste this living bread.

Jesus is Lord, whose voice sustains the stars and planets. Yet in his wisdom laid aside his crown. Jesus, the man. Washed our feet for our suffering. He came a curse to bring salvation to land.

Jesus is Lord, the tomb is glory using. Not even death could crush this king of love. The price is made, the chains are loosed, and we forgive. And we can run into the arms of God. Jesus, thy God and bright justice, thy beauty are my glorious dress.

Its flame girls in ease array. With joy shall I lift up my hand. Bold shall I stand in thy great day, for who on to my charge shall lay fully from sin and fear, from guilt and shame. When from the dust of death I rise to claim my mansion in the skies, amen. This shall be all by plea.

Jesus hath lived, hath died for me. Jesus be endless praise to thee, whose boundless mercy hath for me for me a full atone that may an everlasting grandson pain.

Now hear thy voice.

Now bid thy banished ones rejoice their beauty is their glorious rest, Jesus, thy blood and thy justness. Amen. You can be seated. Our New Testament reading this morning is from Romans chapter 9. Verses one through five.

Paul. is grieving over the world. Over the hardness of heart. hearts of his people. The nation of Israel.

And listen to what he says. Romans 9, verses 1 through 5. I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit.

that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ. for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship. and the promises.

To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh. is the Christ. who is God over all. Blessed forever. Amen.

This is the word of the Lord. We can feel Paul's anguish as he contemplates the spiritual condition of his. his kindred, his kinsmen, the nation of Israel. And yet are we, the church, not a whole lot like Israel? We have even more privilege, even more blessing.

We have the Word of God. We have post-Calvary revelation of the gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us in a unique way, and yet, how often we harden our hearts against the very God who has shown us mercy and grace. And we uh Create idols of our heart and worship those idols rather than the true and living God who has revealed Himself to us. Let's take a moment this morning to remind ourselves that God and God alone is worthy of our worship.

Would you confess your faith with me as we responsively read several questions from the Westminster Larger Catechism? Which is the first commandment. The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. What are the duties required in the first commandment? The duties required in the first commandment are the knowing and acknowledging of God to be the only true God and our God, and to worship and glorify Him accordingly by thinking, meditating, remembering, highly esteeming, honoring, adoring, choosing, loving, desiring, fearing of Him.

believing him. Trusting, hoping, delighting, rejoicing in Him. being zealous for him, calling upon him. giving all praise and thanks, and yielding all obedience and submission to Him with the whole man being careful in all things to please Him, and sorrowful when in anything He is offended, and walking humbly with Him. We're going to sing Psalm 145.

This is a Psalm that reminds us that our God is a great and awesome and all-powerful God, and yet at the same time, a God who stoops to our level. He shows grace to us. His anger is not forever. He shows mercy. He shows grace.

Let's stand and honor this great God as we worship Him together. The tune is: Jesus shall reign. Gracious is God and mercy for when us in love. Love to make the store. Good is the Lord to all he made.

Mercy to all his works he shows God to you with eyes that way through in you season you will give you open hand hearts and desires of all that live just is he in all his ways kind is the Lord in all means Here is the Lord to all who know all whom enjoy shall him and dream those fearing him saddest fights he also hears their cry and says all of the Lord he keeps not all the weak and he will slay praise to the Lord my mouth will speak Praise to the Lord by limits proclaim that every creature ever cries up and bless his holy name. Amen. Let's remain standing in honor of God's word. as we read it together this morning. It was to 1 Samuel 17.

We're going to look at this moment at verses 55 through 58, and a little bit later we'll be into chapter 18. As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, He said to Abner, the commander of the army, Abner? Whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I do not know. And the king said, Inquire whose son the boy is.

and as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man? And David answered, I am the son of your servant, Jesse. the Bethlehem. Let's go to our Lord in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we are dealing with the subject today. Where it's hard to be honest and objective. The subject of popularity is difficult. We have imbred into us a love for acceptance. We like it when we're looked up to and honored.

We enjoy being flattered. We rejoice in being made much of. Way too often we put the praises of men over and above the approval of God. Father, when we don't receive the accolades we think we deserve, we get jealous. Petty.

We pray this morning that you would so magnify the person of Jesus in our own hearts. that we would lose all desire to magnify ourselves. Help us not to be jealous over the achievements of our friends and co-workers. but may we instead pray your blessings upon them. Help us to remember the words of an inspired King Solomon.

who said that envy is as rottenness to the bones. May our greatest concern be that our lives bring glory to Jesus. May we say, along with John the Baptist, may we decrease that Jesus might increase. Open our hearts to your truth. Comfort us when we need to be comforted.

Convict us where we need to be. Convicted. Challenge us where we need to be challenged. For it is in the precious and holy name of Jesus Christ that we pray. Amen.

You may be seated. In the mid nineteen eighties, the Boston Celtics had one of the greatest basketball teams to ever play the game. And I don't know how it worked out this way, but in that particular year, in 1986, the Boston Celtics had the number one draft choice, and they chose a young man named Lynn Bias. Lynn Bias was a basketball player that played at Maryland, University of Maryland. And he had won the ACC Player of the Year two years in a row.

He was an unbelievable player, strong and agile, powerful. He was a great shooter, he was a great defender, he was a great rebounder. I mean, he was the total package.

Well, that day as the draft started, they called out his name first and said that he was going to be playing for the Boston Celtics. And Lynn Bias walked up on the platform and he walked over to shake the hand of Red Auerbach, the president of the Boston Celtics. And they took a They took his hat, the Celtic's green hat, and placed it on his head. Everybody began to cheer. And I remember the The TV announcer saying this.

The rest of the league can just hang it up. Because with Lynn Bias on this team, For the next 10 years, Boston Celtics are going to have a dynasty. And Lynn Byas walked off the stage and everybody was just clapping and cheering. Six weeks after that, I was sitting watching TV. And a news report came over the screen.

And it said the sports world. has received a terrible shock. Lynn bias the ACC Player of the Year for the last two years. And the number one pick of the Boston Celtics has died of heart failure. And then they said, the cause of his death was an overdose of crack cocaine.

I remember I remember watching part of that funeral. And after the funeral service was over, Lynn Bias's mother was standing there with tears rolling down her cheeks. And she said Lynn came from a family that was poor. a family that was simple, a family that had nothing. And she said all of a sudden He had money.

And he had popularity. And he was being treated as a king. And she said. He just didn't know. How to handle it.

Isn't it strange what popularity can do to you? But just about everybody would like to be popular. We like to be well thought of. We like for people to say nice things about us. We love to be loved.

But there is a price to popularity. And the people of God Need to realize that popularity can lead to pride. and pride can take us places that we don't need to be. Today we look at a young man who became an instant overnight success. When David went out to fight Goliath, And everybody else was absolutely frozen with fear, doing absolutely nothing, he got the attention of the people of Israel.

But when David took that slingshot and killed the giant and then took his own sword out of his hand and severed his head from his body, then he became the greatest hero that Israel ever had. The people of Israel loved him. This man had heart. This man had uh uh To put it bluntly, guts. This man did something that nobody else could do.

He got rid of the intimidator. He made life easier for everybody in Israel. Israel loved this young man. They lauded Him, they praised Him, they cheered for Him. In a 24-hour period, David had gone from an insignificant shepherd boy.

to the most popular man in all of Israel. And remember, David's just a teenager. seventeen years old probably. And he's being treated. as the national hero.

Now in 1 Samuel 17, 55 through 58, We have information that gives us some clues into the character or lack of character of King Saul. Let me read that again. As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I do not know. And the king said, Inquire whose son the boy is.

And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man? And David answered, I am the son of your servant, Jesse. The Bethlehem. David has been the one who played the harp for King Saul to help him be relieved of the terrible depression that he was enduring.

And not only that, but David had become the armor-bearer for Saul. And what does that mean? That means for the last several months, David had been very close to Saul. He had been in his presence day after day after day, all these months. But now, when David goes out to face Goliath and he stands before Goliath, and all this is taking place.

Saul doesn't even know his name. He doesn't even know what family he came from.

Now I see that as a huge disconnect. Saul has become so consumed with self. that he's not even paying attention. to those that are serving him. and they're under his authority.

So he says to Abner, I said, I want you to go out and get that young man and bring him back to me. And so Abner does. He goes out and he gets David, and David decides to bring something back with him. And what does he bring? He brings the head of Goliath.

Can you imagine what that must have looked like as he comes walking up to Saul? He's holding Goliath's head by the hair, blood just dripping down from his neck, as Goliath's eyes just all bugged out. And he takes that head and he just lays it down at Saul's feet. Man, what a sight that must have been. And then Saul says, Son, where are you from?

And he said, I am from Bethlehem. I am the son of Jesse the Bethlehem. Folks, true leaders. are not distant. from the people who serve under them.

If leaders are wise, they will show people under their authority, people who are serving them. They will show them respect. and they will show them appreciation. If you're a leader, And you want loyalty? then you better show loyalty to the people.

who were under your authority. I see Saul's indifference to David as a huge Flaw. in his character. There are four points I want to share with you today about the danger of popularity. Number one, the blessing of covenant love.

Look with me at verses in chapter 18, verses 1 through 4. As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David. Because he loved him as his own soul.

And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword, and his bow, and his belt. One of the most surprising things in David's life has to do with this relationship with Jonathan, who is Saul's son. If anybody had a right to despise David, it probably should have been Jonathan. Jonathan was the legal heir to the throne of Israel. When Saul would die, it would seem that Jonathan would be the one to legally take that throne.

And yet Jonathan has no animosity. No envy and no jealousy of David.

Now Jonathan's a smart guy. And he can see the pieces of the puzzle falling together. He knows that soon that throne is going to belong to David. He can see that coming. He knows that he's not going to be the one seated on the throne.

And he knows that he's just going to have to bow out and let it happen. And yet That doesn't seem to bother him in the least.

Now, the Scripture describes the relationship between Jonathan and David this way. Jonathan was knit to the soul of David. And he loved David. as his own soul.

Now this is sad to say, but the homosexual community has embraced this passage and said that Jonathan and David were homosexual partners. I want you to know that is an absolute flat out lie. These two young men were not homosexuals in any way, shape, or form, but they were friends. They were deep, deep friends. They were covenant brothers.

Brothers and sisters, it is a dangerous and serious matter when a person or a group of people will take a passage, twist it around to make it appear that God is condoning a sinful lifestyle.

Well, we have before us one of the most unselfish men in all the Bible. His name is Jonathan. And if you ever want a picture of what it is to be a friend, look at the relationship that Jonathan had with David. There's a loyalty and there is a commitment here that is.

Something that the world just doesn't see much of. I was reading A.W. Pink's commentary on this passage not long ago, and A.W. Pink said something I thought was very interesting. He said he did not believe that Jonathan was a saved man.

He believed that Jonathan was not a true child of God because there's nothing there that talks about his commitment to the Lord, and so he believed that he was not saved. I don't buy that. I don't buy that at all. I believe that Jonathan knew the Lord in a very special way, but I have a lot of respect for A.W. Pink, so.

Why would he say such a thing? Why would he say that? Pink's theory seems strange because we look at Jonathan's loyalty and commitment to David, and we're pretty impressed with that. We think, man, that is character and that is integrity. But what we need to realize is this.

A man can be unsaved and still have a lot of human goodness. That can happen. I've had neighbors in the past that were unsaved, and yet they were great neighbors. They would give you the shirt off their back. If you were sick, they'd bring food.

If your children needed protection, they'd help. Humanly speaking, they were good people. But they weren't saved. I like the way Jack Taylor said it. He said, some people seem to be better by nature than others are by grace.

And you know that, there's truth to that, isn't it? There are some unsaved people who are more loving, more pleasant, more kind, more compassionate than people who are genuinely saved. And that's a shame and disgrace, but it is true. And how often do we see this in Scripture? Where God inclines a lost person's heart to favor a child of God.

We see it in Genesis 39, where God inclined the prison guard to show favor to Joseph. Or in Exodus chapter 1, where God inclined the Hebrew midwives to show favor to the, I mean the Egyptian midwives, to show favor to the Hebrew women who were getting ready to have a baby. And in the process, saved a lot of Hebrew children. And I think of Queen Esther and how God gave or inclined the heart of King Ahashuarus to favor Esther. And he most certainly certainly did that.

Proverbs 16, 7 says, When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Jonathan and David were covenant brothers. And what does that mean? Well, verse 4 tells us about the ritualistic actions or stuff that they would go through to be covenant brothers. First of all, the scripture says that Jonathan gave his robe to David.

What does the robe represent? It represents his identity, himself, who said, I give myself to you. This is kind of like what happens in a marriage. In a marriage, the husband gives the wife the ring, the wife gives the husband the ring, and they are saying, this is a symbol of my loyalty and my faithfulness to you till death parts us. And then Jonathan gave David his weapons, his sword, his shield, his spear.

He gives him those weapons. David takes those weapons, brings them back to his house, and nails them on the wall over his bed so he can look at them every day. What did they represent? They represented protection. Jonathan was saying, David, if you get in a fight, I'll be there with you.

Nobody will take you down unless I'm there and I'm going to fight with you. I will fight with you even until death if I have to. Then he gave him his belt. That was a money belt. What was he saying?

He was saying, David, if you ever get in financial trouble, I'm there for you. I'll help you out. Kind of like me writing a check, a blank check, and just handing it to you, saying, if you need it, use it. That's what he was doing.

Now, back to A.W. Pink's point. I guess there is a possibility that Jonathan was not a saved man, but I tell you, I don't see it. I don't see it at all. I believe that Jonathan knew the Lord in a very special way.

In fact, I believe that the relationship that Jonathan had with the Lord and that David had with the Lord is what brought them so close together. and made them such great covenant brothers. In 1 Samuel chapter 19, Jonathan gets in a big argument with his daddy, Saul. And what does he use to argue with Saul? He uses scripture.

Unsaved people don't usually do that. I believe that they were accountability brothers, David and Jonathan. I believe they challenged each other in holiness. I believe they pushed each other to go on with the Lord. I believe that they quoted scripture to each other.

David probably shared the psalms that God had inspired him to write and helped him to memorize those psalms and helped him to love those psalms like he did. Folks, I believe the glue that held Jonathan and David together was their vibrant relationship that they had with God. All right, point two: the fallacy of flattery. Look at verses six through seven. As they were coming home, When David returned from striking down the Philistine, The women came out of the cities of Israel, singing and dancing.

To meet King Saul with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated. Saul is struck down his thousands, and David is ten thousands.

Now the slaying of Goliath was not just the slaying of one man, but it was the defeat of the Philistine nations. Saul understood that. And Saul was going to milk all the glory he could out of that. And so they had a victory parade. And the soldiers would come marching into the town, and the Israelite people were lined up and down the streets.

Saul was probably right there in the middle of the soldiers walking down the middle of that parade, and there he was to let everybody know, I am the king of Israel. I am the conquering general. I am the one who won this battle.

So, this glory ought to go to me. And then he heard the women singing a little diddy. Saul has slain his thousands. But David has slain his ten thousands. Wow.

That was not the smartest thing these women could have said. And it showed their absolute lack of spiritual depth. For they weren't giving the Lord God Jehovah the glory at all. They were giving it all to David. David didn't do that.

You remember what David said? He said, This battle is the Lord's. David gave all the glory to God. The women didn't do that. They were just flattering David to the hilt.

David would have done well to have heard the words that Jesus spoke in Luke chapter 6, when Jesus said, You better beware when all men speak well of you. But listen. Their flattery of David was viewed by Saul as rejection of him. And let me tell you, that was the last thing that this paranoid king needed. But we might say, well, all these ladies were trying to do was to make David feel good.

Well, that's the problem with flattery. Flattery is aimed at your ego. Flattery is aimed at your emotions, trying to make you feel good.

So flattery is there to try to put you on an emotional high. But you know what? Emotional highs don't last. They're just temporary. Proverbs 26, verse 28 says, A flattering mouth worketh ruin, and it does.

Now praise is different from flattery. But polite praise is aimed at building character and integrity. Praise is what Christians do. for other Christians. They encourage you in the spiritual gifts that you have to walk in those gifts, to use those gifts for God's glory, to be everything you can be for Christ.

Flattery is not like that. Flattery is deceitful. It is superficial. Flattery is aimed at what a person looks like, his appearance. or what a person's worldly achievements are.

Flattery strokes the ego. Queer. Where Praise does the exact opposite. It builds the spirit. Pride is a huge problem.

in the modern-day church. One of the most frightening things facing the church today is the marginalization of the gospel. The church is being tempted to quit focusing on the cross. and to start focusing on peripheral issues. For example, Poverty is a problem.

And we have liberal political leaders today that are saying the the way to deal with poverty is to break the law of God.

So if you're living under the poverty line, If you're a poor person, then it's okay for you to steal. It's okay for you to shoplift. We shouldn't arrest people that are doing that if they're poor. We should just let it go. In other words, just go ahead and break the eighth commandment.

Thou shalt not steal. for our politicians know better than God. Or what about Death or abortion. You know, babies are costly. And babies take time.

They're going to cause you some trouble.

So just go ahead and kill the baby in the womb. Go ahead and take his life. Go ahead and break the sixth commandment: thou shalt not kill. Because politicians No better than God. Churches all over America are caving in and capitulating.

capitulating to political correctness In order that they might gain the approval of the culture. Brothers and sisters, we need to quit worrying about what the culture thinks. And we need to start worrying about what God thinks. The gospel is the answer to racism. The gospel is the answer to poverty.

The gospel is the answer to perversion. and nothing else is going to work. The Church of Jesus Christ in America in 2020 would do well to study this passage because we have fallen into the same problem that the world has fallen in, and that is to make heroes out of people. To make heroes out of people. We in the church do that.

We do it with pastors or evangelists. We do it with television preachers. And we put them on a pedestal as if they're something special. Let me tell you something, they're not something special. They are dust just like all the rest of us.

They are just dust that God has fashioned into a man, and He's taken that man-shaped dust. And he uses it sometimes for his glory. But if God does use it for his glory, rest assured of this: it's the power of Jesus that did it and not the man himself. Paul said that we are nothing but containers, earthen vessels, to be used of God. I like the way Chuck Swindahl said it.

He said, We're like empty peanut butter jars that God can use. This world needs role models. We need godly men and women. We need that, but we don't need heroes. Folks, there's only one star.

And that's Jesus Christ, the bright and morning star. We need to have the attitude that John the Baptist had. We must decrease. that Jesus might increase. Point three is the danger of jealousy, verses eight through nine.

And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, they have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands. And what more can he have he have but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day on. What a horrible thing has happened.

In 1 Samuel 16:21, the scripture says that Saul loved David greatly. And here's just a few months later, a few months down the line, he is looking and watching David. with with a sharp eye. He doesn't trust David anymore. He said, David's going to betray me.

David's going to take my kingdom. David's trying to take my throne. That's what David's doing. And he became so jealous that he got angry. And in his anger, he picked up a spear.

And he threw at David, trying to take his life, trying to kill David.

Now is all jealousy wrong? No. The scripture says that our God is a jealous God, that even his name is jealous. Ladies, if some man begins to flirt with you and you're a married woman, and there some other man is trying to vie for your attention. and your husband acts like it's no big deal, should that concern you?

Yeah. That ought to concern you greatly. Because if your husband loves you as Christ loves the church, then He's going to protect you. He's going to get angry at somebody trying to vie for your affection. If your husband gets jealous over you, ladies, don't get mad at him.

God put that protection in us for your benefit. But there is a jealousy that is ungodly. And that jealousy is based in covetousness. Part of jealousy is coming. covetousness.

And how many people today are miserable Because other people are happy. Is that not crazy? But it happens. They're jealous over other people. They're jealous over the material possessions of other people, or the jobs that other people have, or the position that another person has, or the appearance that another person has.

Brothers and sisters, there is no place for that. in the life of God's children. We need to remember what King Solomon said in Proverbs chapter 14, verse 30, when he said that envy. is as rottenness to the bones. Richard Phillips shared this story.

He said this. How do we react when someone comes along who exceeds us in ability, faith, or gifts? Do we become sour in spirit? and find petty ways to undermine him or her, The well-regarded English preacher F. B.

Meyer realized that he resented the ability and acclaim of G. Campbell Morgan. A like-minded preacher who, like Meyer, pastored a prominent church in London. Myers' church was well attended, but Morgan's overflowed. Meyer and Morgan often preached together at conferences, but those who listened eagerly to Morgan's brilliant sermons sometimes were not present when Meyer took the pulpit.

A godly pastor Meyer was disturbed to realize the envy and resentment brewing in his heart for his colleague, and he noted that he had gotten into the habit of pointing out Morgan's flaws and mistakes while minimizing his gifts and achievements. In response, Meyer determined that he would start praying for God's blessings on the ministry of G. Campbell Morgan. Reasoning that he could not continue to envy a man for whose blessing he prayed.

Soon Meyer can be heard rejoicing in Morgan's preaching. My, did you hear Campbell Morgan preach today? he would exult. Not only did Meyer's prayer enable him to love his colleague with a gift of rejoicing. But in answer to his prayers, God so overflowed Morgan's church that many of the people had no choice but to attend where Meyer preached.

What is wrong with Saul? Jealousy has eaten him up. On the inside. He's not thinking correctly. He is acting irrationally.

David is not after Saul's kingdom. David is the most trustworthy, loyal soldier that Saul has in his entire army. But jealousy has perverted Saul's thinking. And now he views a loyal servant. as a hated traitor.

Point four. Is the power of a consecrated life. Look at verses 10 through 12. The next day, a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre. as he did day by day.

Saul had his spear in his hand, and Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, I will pin David to the wall, but David evaded him twice. Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him. but had departed from Saul. In Luke chapter 5, we'll read the story of Peter going fishing. And Peter's out, he fishes all night long, he doesn't catch a thing.

And so as morning comes, he is coming back in, bringing the boat back in. He hadn't caught a thing that night. Jesus is on the shore, he sees him. And Jesus yells out to Peter, says, Peter, go back out. And when you get to the deep water, throw your nets on the right side of the boat and say, you'll catch fish.

Now Peter's a professional fisherman. He knows that fish go down deep during the hot time of the day, and it's the hot time of the day now, and so he knows this is probably not a good idea, but to appease Jesus, he does it. He goes out, he throws the nets over on the right side of the boat. And those nets become a fish magnet. I mean, all of a sudden, there are all these fish in that net, and so many that they're breaking the strings on the net.

Do you remember the response that Peter had? Peter came back in, he went to Jesus, he fell down at his feet. And he said, Depart from me, O Lord. For I am a sinful man. The holiness And the power.

and the godliness of Jesus. May Peter feel sinful and weak. I had a good friend in seminary. Who went off to a Bible conference one weekend, came back and came over and sat down and talked with me. And he said, Doug, he said, I met a guy.

that may be one of the holiest men that I've ever met in my life. Said he was a speaker, and said I had lunch with him a couple of days, talked with him several times. And its name was Manly Beasley. And he said he said, Doug, when I was around that man, I felt the need to repent of my sins. Folks, that's what's going on with Saul and David.

Saul knows that David didn't just go out and kill Goliath on his own. that he did it by the power of God. He knows that the Psalms that David has written were not just man-made poetry, but they were inspired, Holy Spirit-inspired words that came from God Almighty Himself. Saul had never met a man that loved God and that was more consecrated and dedicated to God than was David. And it scared him.

It absolutely scared him. For the Spirit of God had departed from Saul, and Saul could not even feel his presence anymore. And he looked at David. and he saw the presence of God in David's life. David became a disturbing presence.

in the life of Saul. because Saul looked at him And he felt convicted. of his own sins. Brothers and sisters, that's the kind of testimony that I need. That's the kind of testimony that you need as God's child.

A testimony that is a disturbing presence to the world in which we live. A testimony that convicts those who don't yet know Jesus Christ. and a testimony that makes people that do know Jesus Christ more hungry. the Lord. Brothers and sisters, we need to be a disturbing presence.

in the life of our world. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we have seen today the danger in popularity. And for the Christian, it is a double threat. Because we desire to live godly, we desire to be more like Christ.

We desire to be holy. But when those things are pointed out to us, we become proud. and our egoes swell. Help us to not get caught up in that conundrum. Help us to diligently seek after holiness and at the same time run from a God-dishonoring pride.

Father, help us to realize that anything that we do that is of positive spiritual benefit. was accomplished through the power of your Spirit. Help us to accept compliments graciously. but to reflect the glory to Jesus. As John Piper has taught us, Let us leave it out.

God is most glorified in us. when we are most satisfied in Him. We love you, Lord. Be pleased with our worship. and may our worship be pride free.

For it is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. At this time, we have the privilege of celebrating with the Lord's Supper. Eugene's going to be leading us this morning. I'm going to ask our elders, if you would, to come forward and prepare for the supper.

Dan, would you and Scott please remove the cloth? Thank you.

Well, this is a very special time in our worship of the Lord. This is a sacrament. A sacrament is a a physical sign. That points to spiritual realities. The bread that we're about to take points us to Christ's body.

that he laid down for sinners like us. The cup points to his blood that he shed. And we're reminded of the truth that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. This meal is a holy, sacred meal. Meal to be shared between Christ as the head of the church and his bride, the church.

And so if you're here this morning and you are a part of that holy bride, You are welcome to this table. Scripture warns us, however, that if you are not united to Christ in faith, if you know none of His grace and blessing, then to eat and drink these elements is to eat and drink judgment to yourself. And so it is incumbent upon me as a minister of the gospel to give you warning that to take these elements in an unworthy manner, not properly discerning the Lord's body, is to eat and drink judgment to yourself.

So we'd ask that if you're here this morning and you don't know the Lord as your Savior, that you would not take these elements, but by all means watch as the gospel is visibly, explicitly demonstrated before your very eyes today. And after this service, please come to one of these elders, come to myself, come to one of the church members here at Grace and give us the privilege of introducing you to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let me read from 1 Corinthians 11 as we again remind ourselves that this meal is not man's invention, it's not some novelty that humans have come up with. This is a gift. From Christ to his church.

1 Corinthians 11, beginning at verse 23, Paul says, I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

I was a while back reading through some of the writings of the early church fathers and seeing what they had to say about this very meal, the Lord's Supper. And I came across a quote I want to read to you. One of the early church fathers said that Paul shows that the Lord's Supper is not a meal in the normal sense, but it is spiritual medicine. This meal is spiritual medicine, which purifies the recipient if he partakes of it biblically. It is the sign and seal of our redemption.

So that mindful of our Redeemer, we might follow him more closely. In other words, what we're about to do is spiritual medicine. It's spiritual nourishment for the soul. As we meditate on Christ through this food, and this food causes us to meditate on Christ. As we do that, our faith is increased.

The assurance of our salvation is deepened. Our obedience is renewed in a fresh new way.

So, what a sweet, sweet meal this is that we're about to enjoy with the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, church, come this morning to the table. Come to Christ and be refreshed, renewed in your soul. Let's take a moment to bow in His presence and ask God's Spirit to search us, to try us, to see if there be any wicked way in us. Before we take communion this morning, let's use this as an opportunity to repent of our sins and return to the Lord. Lord Jesus, you are so good to us.

You are so good to have left the glories of heaven to become one of us. to become a man. To be born under the law.

So keep that law perfectly in our stead. even to die the death that we deserved. And absorb God's wrath against our sin in our place. Lord Jesus, you are beautiful. You are good.

You are gracious to us, and we thank you that this morning we get to be reminded. We get to have our assurance of that. covenant love that you give to us. Lord, we get to be reminded of that again. And I pray that you would nourish your church.

I pray that we would go from this place, having communed with you this morning with a renewed zeal. With stirred affections for you, that we would love you more deeply than when we came here this morning. that we would go from this place bearing your name. in in um In beautiful ways, in effective ways, that we might be light and salt. wherever we go.

Lord Jesus, you are our Savior. You are our Lord. You are the perfect bridegroom. And we invite you to Invite your presence now. In your name we pray.

Amen. If you were not here last month, we distributed a unique little packet that has. the bread and the cup all in one unit. This is an effort to be as sterile as possible. And yet, in no way, compromise the essence of this sacred meal.

So, as the elders distribute this cup and bread unit to you this morning, I'm going to ask that you go ahead and open it and get it ready. It's a little tricky to get into. The cellophane on the top comes off, and you'll find the bread. Below that is a layer of aluminum foil. You peel that off.

and you can access the cup. But then I'll ask once you get that open that you just hold it and wait for everyone to be served. And after a few moments, we will partake of these elements together. Elder Superman. As we take the bread this morning, let me read from Matthew 11, a familiar passage.

Jesus says, Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy. and my burden is light.

I ask my brother Scott to offer a prayer of thanks for the breath. Heavenly Father, thank you for this time together. As brothers and sisters in Christ, Lord, we ask you to bless. the bread we're about to eat. Let us remember Christ and His sufferings.

that He died and suffered for us, Lord. because we can't come before you without a sacrifice and Christ is our sacrifice. The body of Christ, take and eat. As we take the cup now, let me read. From Hebrews 12.

As we fight sin, the flesh, the devil. The world We're told to look to Jesus. the founder and perfecter of our faith. Who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross. despising the shame.

and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. This is our Redeemer who shed his blood for us. I'm going to ask my brother Dan to stand and offer a prayer of thanks for the cup. Lord God, we do thank you for this cup, the blood of Christ to cover our sins. We thank you for the communion with Christ that we have now, union with him.

Sons of God. And only by your will and your decree because of your infinite love for us. We do praise you and honour you. For this cup, we do thank you in Jesus' name. The blood of Christ, take and drink.

If I could just ask you to take your. trash with you as you leave. Um the lids, the cellophane, the aluminum, there's a trash can placed outside the door here. That would be much appreciated and I'm sure more sterile than leaving it in here with young kids running around. Let's respond to the truth that we have heard this morning, to the truth that we have just seen.

Through the sacrament of communion, would you stand with me as we close? How sweet and awesome. is the place. How sweet and awesome is the place with Christ within the horse while ever lasting love displays the joys of her soul while all our hearts and all our songs join to admire the feast each of us Christ with thanks Tongue, Lord, why was I a guest? Why was I made to hear your voice and enter wilderness when thou's on sake our rag and choice and rather starve than come?

Twas the same love and spread of peace that sweetly drew us in how we had still refused to taste and Perished in our sin. Pity the nations of our God. Constraint the earth will come, send glory toward us wood abroad and bring the strangers home. We long to see your churches full at all the joy and race may with one voice and heart and soul see glory deep. Thank you for coming to worship.

been with us today. encourage you to be back Wednesday night. This is the first Wednesday night. We won't be having the regular meal that we usually do. But the ladies will be meeting, the men will be meeting different places.

The ladies will be meeting here in the sanctuary. Men will be down in the fellowship hall. Always a great time in the Lord.

So come if you can Wednesday night. And let me also encourage you to pray for the Huntley family. Tom Huntley's sister, Carol. uh passed away this past Friday. went on to be with the Lord.

But they are going through just a time of grief, and would ask you to keep Tom and his family lifted up in prayer. That the Lord would give them that peace that passes all understanding they need at this time. In closing, let me encourage you with these words.

Now, to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. according to the power at work within us. To him be glory in the church. and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations Forever and ever. And all God's children said,