Abounding Grace

Guest (Male): So, you've been heard by the words or actions of another? Well, you might be tempted to retaliate and give them a taste of their own medicine. Pastor Ed says that doesn't give you permission to sin.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Just because someone sinned against you does not give you permission to sin against them. That could just be a word for the Lord for you. Because of a great offending sin in your life, you do not automatically get a permission or a pass from God to send back against that offending party. It's much better and much wiser and the right thing to do to let the Lord judge between you and me. Perhaps it's in that situation in a close relationship, forgiveness will flow. And when forgiveness flows from both sides, relationship is restored.

Guest (Male): Dick Army was heard to say, you cannot get ahead while you're getting even. And how true that is. So, what do you do when someone does you wrong? Well, let's talk about that today on Abounding Grace. We'll be continuing a message we started last time called, it's yours if you'll wait for it. When we left you, King Saul and 3,000 of his men were on the hunt for David with the sole intention of killing him. But David suddenly finds himself in a position where he has a golden opportunity to kill sleeping Saul. But instead, he refrains from that great temptation.

Here with the takeaway lessons from 1st Samuel 24 is Pastor Ed Taylor.

Pastor Ed Taylor: As the psalmist writes, don't deliver me to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. I would have lost heart unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and he will strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. You like to write in your Bibles? Underline that. Circle it. Put a heart next to it. It is a promise of God. Just memorize it. Hide it in your heart.

You're faced with adversaries, false witnesses, slanderers, gossip, whatever it might be, people breathing out violence, causing you to lose heart. And if it wasn't for your faith in God, it wasn't your faith of coming goodness, you would have lost heart. And what did you learn? You learned to wait on the Lord. You learned to be of good courage. Strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. There's this pause in David who could have taken everything into his hands, and it was a pause that God led, that God used, and you'll see ultimately that God blessed in his life.

And he even had to go against his own trusted friends. He had to take a stand and go, I said, no. I mean, he had to conceivably risk it all. Say, no, this isn't from the Lord. I'm not going to do it. That's I'm not touching God's anointed. Verse 9. Now, David said to Saul, now, you know, after it's out, they step out verse 8, cries out, my Lord, my king. And notice verse 9. David said to Saul, why do you listen to the words of men who say, indeed, David seeks your harm? He tries to plead his case very calmly.

Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today in my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you, but my eyes spared you. And I said, I will not stretch out my hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed. He's not just pleading his case. He's telling the truth. I I've been good to you, King Saul. You could even say it in the negative. What have I done wrong to you? Tell me. You're believing a lie. You're not believing the truth about me. And I just proved it to you.

I had you in my hands. I could have taken you out. But but I couldn't do it. You're the king. There's no way I can't do that. Moreover, verse 11, my father, see. Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand. You don't believe me. Here's the proof. For in that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you. Know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I've not sinned against you, yet you hunt my life to take it. You know, there are those times where we just believe sound, reasonable discussion will solve the problem.

Not always, unfortunately. Not always. Sometimes situations being outside of our hands aren't even solved with the most crafted, careful, loving words. Let the Lord, verse 12, is really the right place. Let the Lord judge between you and me. Let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. And as the proverb of the ancient says, wickedness proceeds from the wicked, but my hand shall not be against you. That's an interesting thing, just a little mild rebuke. Weakness wickedness proceeds from the wicked. I'm not wicked. You should check your life out.

Pretty pretty much is what he's saying. And after whom the king has come or the king of Israel come out, whom do you pursue? A dead dog, a flea? Therefore, let the Lord be judge and judge between you and me and see and plead my case and deliver me out of your hand. So, Saul had moved some distance from the cave, maybe down closer to the troops that were waiting for him. David appears and shouts, I could have taken you out, Saul. Look, I'll prove it to you. And this proves, he says in verse 11, my innocence.

And yet, verse 12, I trust the Lord to decide this. I trust him with my life, and I trust him with the men with me. Verse 15, may the Lord judge us. And now, although David was a man of many failures, this occasion was not one of them. This is a highlight in his life. There there there aren't too many more highlights in his life, but this is one of them. There were many weaknesses. God, this is a man after God's own heart, and yet a man after God's own God's own heart as we learn and we'll see even deeper later, a man filled with flaws, a man filled with weaknesses, but this isn't one of them.

This is a highlight. This is one for the diary's sake. This is one to remember when you do stumble and you're like, man man, Lord, and you've done with me and you think back, no, you've been faithful to me in the past, you're going to be faithful to me again. He stands strong in the integrity of the Lord, pleads his case by relying upon the Lord. The psalms written during this time period reflect the anguish and the wrestling that's taking place in his heart while at the same time revealing to us how David's faith was increasing through this trial.

So, who has God allowed to be in your life that throws spears at you or brings grief to your heart? Are you willing to accept that they're God's chosen and anointed instrument to work in you the love, kindness, and gentleness, and tenderness that you actually desire for your life? For the one that's throwing spears or bringing great grief to your heart, are you willing to accept that God has allowed you to be experiencing this horrific pain or this great injustice or all the things that even David mentions here in order to bring you to a place of maturity that you would have never come to it any other way?

Are you willing to accept that person that's coming against you or people that God has sent them into your life to change you for every opportunity? Think of it in a much smaller way, in a much smaller situation. When you think of the man that was blind from birth in John chapter 9, he was blind from birth. This was his life, his lot in life. He ended up washing in the pool of Siloam, you recall. He went to the pool of Siloam. We don't ever read of him going to the pool of Siloam before, and we don't read of him going to the pool of Siloam after.

But in this in this time where he met Jesus face to face, person to person, it speaks of him going to the pool of Siloam only after he had spit, mingled with dirt, put in his eyes. Now, we look at it and we think, well, of course, that's how Jesus chose to heal him. He spit in the ground, moved the clay, picked it up, slapped it in his face, and then told him to go to the pool of Siloam. That's how it worked. Do you guys remember? Remember our study was just a few weeks ago.

He did something very unusual. But instead of focusing on the whole encounter with Jesus, let's just look at it for a brief moment that the brother went to the pool of Siloam. He went to the pool of Siloam because he had spit mingled mud in his eye. And if it hadn't been for the mud in his eye, he may never have gone to the pool of Siloam. That God actually used a very discomforting Don't you think he'd be discomforted if somebody spit and you heard them spit, and you know you know you don't know what it looks like, but you know spit is spit.

It's spit. You've spit before. You heard it. It's kind of weird. And then the next thing you feel is wet mud on your eyes. What's your first response going to be? Get it out. But that's not what happened. The text doesn't record for him that he wiped his eyes. The text doesn't tell us that that he took his robe and he knew where his eyes were. It doesn't say that he immediately wiped it out. There was enough pause in his life to hear the command of Jesus. I suggest to you in a very real way, that pause in his life is equivalent and becomes a picture and a type of waiting on the Lord for us.

Had he not waited on the Lord, he would have missed the pool of Siloam, perhaps. But there was enough pause. And who knows, maybe it was just shock. Like, we don't know. The text doesn't tell us. All the text tells us is there was mud in the eye and instruction from Jesus, no attempt to wipe it off. And what does the guy do? He goes to the pool of Siloam. And what did he receive but his sight? And it's just so powerful. It's when we're faced with the impossible, painful situations that we move closer and closer to the Lord.

And it's in those situations that are awkward and weird and mud in the eye that we need to wait to find out what the Lord's doing by allowing mud in the eye, if not himself putting it there. Powerful stuff. That's where David is here in a highlight of his life. The contrast verse 16, King Saul so far from God. And so it was when David had finished speaking these words to Saul that Saul said, is this your voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. And you think, yes. This is it.

For me, I have to turn the page. So, if I just stayed on this page, this is it, King Saul. He's changed. This is it. Surely when I turn the page to the next verse, it's just going to end happily ever after. He's weeping. He's lifting up his voice. Oh, son son, it finally came to him. We're family. This is the right thing to do. And so I come to verse 17, then he said to David, you are more righteous than I. You've rewarded me with good, whereas I've rewarded you with evil. And you have shown this day how you've dealt well with me.

And when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you didn't kill me. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore, may the Lord reward you with good for what you've done to me this day. And now, I know indeed that you shall be surely king and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Therefore, swear now to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me and you will not destroy my name from my father's house. So, David swore to Saul, and Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold while King Saul If he didn't have the rest of the chapter, we might come to the conclusion that he's changed.

I can say this. He was definitely touched. I think he was touched. I don't think this is fake weeping or that the Bible doesn't indicate that it was fake. I think he was touched. He cried. But let's not immediately let our guards down when the tears begin to flow. You go ahead, how can you say such a thing? Because the Bible says it. Be careful. They aren't always godly tears, the Bible says. The Bible defines for us what godly tears are really like and how careful we must be. Let me read to you again in 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 verse 9.

It says, now, I'm glad, Paul says, that I sent the letter, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to have more remorse and change your ways. We have a word for that. It's a Bible word. Do you know what it is? Repentance. Says, I'm glad I wrote you the letter, not because it hurt you, but because it caused more remorse and you changed your ways. It was the kind of sorrow that God wants his people to have, so you weren't harmed by us in any way. For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation.

We will never regret that kind of sorrow, but sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death. Sorrow without repentance leads to death. And we see hence of his lack of sincerity is in verse 21. He demands something from David. Don't forget he's the king, so when he says something, it's a demand, not just a request. And we see some hints that and you you know those of you that read ahead, you'll see later on that the King Saul hasn't changed at all because he hasn't repented. And we see little hints already. So, if he was so repentant, he wouldn't make any demands on David.

He would just call it all off right now. It's over. I'm done. I'm sorry. I should have never chased you. I should have never thrown the spears. I've been wrong. I lost my mind, but God has used you right now. I've come to I'm so I wish I never I mean, there there are there are actions that that go with this kind of sorrow, and we don't see it in David here or excuse me in King Saul. Saul has this moment of emotion, but emotions are usually not that deep. We seem to put a lot of confidence in emotions.

And we see a person crying and we think, oh, he's really touched. Look, he is crying, but we really don't know what's going on in their life except for tears. We don't know. God wants to deal with the issues of our hearts, not just our emotions. He wants to go deeper than just the feeling in the surface. It's more important that there come changes in your life, not just crying about a situation. That's what God values. Here's a more powerful response. If you cry and say, God, I am guilty, Lord, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, Lord.

I know I'm wrong. God, please forgive me. And you're crying before the Lord and you're also receiving the forgiveness of God and the comfort of God and the direction of God. But if you get up and say, oh, thank you, Lord, for your forgiveness, and you go back and do the very same thing, you haven't repented. That's not repentance. Yeah, but I cried. I'm sure it emotionally touched you. Sin has a way of doing that in our lives. It It can get to the heart. It can move us. It can cause tears to flow. But without repentance, it's just tears.

Repentance means change. Listen, don't be fooled. Saul didn't repent here. There was no corresponding change. In his heart, there's still jealousy. In his heart, there's still the intent of evil. In his heart, there's still the intention of killing David. But now, he's going to have the intention of killing David with now this promise that he'll hold David to. No change. I like what Pastor Chuck had to say on this passage. He said, and I quote, this is Pastor Chuck Smith. May God help us in our relating to God. When God's spirit is really dealing with our hearts and making us face the truth, and when we see the truth and we're convicted with the truth that we see and we ask God for forgiveness, that there's a true work deeper than just the emotions.

But there's a true work of God wrought within our spirit that will bring change in our lives and in our actions. The Bible says, bring forth fruit that meets to repentance. It literally means bring forth fruit or display fruit that shows that there really is a change. And we need to pray for that in our own lives. God is looking for real change, and so are the people around you looking for evidence of that change. They're not looking for you to say one thing and do another. The Bible says, now, therefore, according to Joel, turn to me with all your heart with fasting and weeping and with mourning.

Rend your heart. This is Joel chapter 2 verse 12. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and he relents from doing harm. Who knows if he'll turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering, a drink offering for the Lord your God. Here again with King Saul, we see it again. It was all surface. Unfortunately, it didn't go much deeper than the surface, but David continues on. A man of integrity, a man that's going to keep his word all the way even after Saul leaves the scene, David's going to keep his word.

Again, David was up and down, not a perfect man, but this is a highlight in his life, this chapter, this action. And for King Saul, unfortunately, it didn't go much deeper than the surface. Wasn't really true repentance, no true change of heart. The problem only postponed, but it's going to rise again as it always does. And so it is with you and me. If there isn't a work of God's spirit within our heart and that change within our heart, then we can expect to face the problem being number one postponed and number two coming back again.

What I found in my own personal experience is that it comes back harder and more difficult. Hearts become harder. And man, I mean, the Lord can break through that stuff, but it's better to take care of it. You've got to have that work. And And if it involves, you know, again like this with King Saul, it involves someone uh in your life where, you know, you're just like, man, they just won't change. They don't. Well, then you just keep, you know, you keep making the right decision. You keep walking with the Lord. You like David said, you know, just come back in verse 12, let the Lord judge between us.

Therefore, verse let the Lord judge and judge between us. You just We find this a lot in marriage counseling. We find this a lot in our office when there's been a brokenness between a marriage. You know, one of the most closest relationships that you can have on the earth between a husband and a wife. And And in that relationship, there's been some infidelity or some issue of trust. And And what that's done in the offended spouse is it's so angered them and so frustrated them and so hardened their heart that they decide, you know, I'll do something.

I'll get them back. And they go out and commit some atrocity and some difficulty. And And the first person's now just broken and repentant, and then they finally come to that place and and they're willing to come in to council, but, you know, they come in. And as we're talking through the issues, no doubt the issue will come up. You you you you committed great sexual sin. Yes. And you committed great sexual sin. Yes. And then we walk through the issues and through the offended spouse, we go, why did you? And And something will come back with something like this.

You can usually quote it. You know, what he did to me, he deserves this. And what did they do? They took things into their own hands. And And inevitably, if you're sitting across the table from me or you're sitting within the room and you're on the other end of great sinful pain, someone has sinned against you and it's causing you pain, you will hear these words in one variation or of another. And I think they're good for us to hear in light of David's situation here because he lives them out with King Saul. And it's simply this.

Just because someone sinned against you does not give you permission to sin against them. That could just be a word for the Lord for you. Because of a great offending sin in your life, you do not automatically get a permission or a pass from God to send back against that offending party. It's much better and much wiser and the right thing to do to let the Lord judge between you and me. Perhaps it's in that situation in a close relationship, forgiveness will flow. And when forgiveness flows from both sides, relationship is restored. When there's brokenness and humility, you see if there isn't a work of God's spirit within our heart and that deep change within our hearts, we're only postponing the problems and it will grow and not shrink.

It's going to rise again. It's going to be there. You've got to have that work of God's spirit in the change of our heart to really bring about the changes in our lives that God wants. It's not just I'm sorry that I did it. It's I'm sorry and will you forgive me, God? I won't. I I'm going to trust you not to ever do this again. That's the change that God wants. That's the change that God blesses. And only God can affect those changes in our lives as we yield to him. I mean, really the Holy Spirit dwells in us.

And only the changes of God in our lives can be wrought by the presence of God in our lives. And for those of you that have a faith in him, he is in you. And we can cry out today, can we? Oh, God, change my heart. Change my attitude. And that changed heart and changed attitude will what bring about a change of actions. It's true for you. It's true for me.

Guest (Male): Today on Abounding Grace, we've been in 1st Samuel as Pastor Ed Taylor is leading us verse by verse through this marvelous Old Testament book. Now, if you joined us late or would just like to hear the message again, drop by aboundinggraceradio.com. Another way to take in a steady dose of God's word is through our app. It's free. Just search for Calvary Church. We're also on oneplace.com. Abounding Grace is made possible through the support of our listeners. And when you give a donation of $25 or more to Abounding Grace, you're invited to request a copy of Jim Simbala's book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.

In it, he shares unforgettable stories including from his own daughter. You'll see how the church has grown and how God has helped people through difficult changes, challenges, and encounters. Jim also reveals how God continues to reshape the lives of so many people who come to Jesus through the power of the gospel. Request a copy of Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire when you give a donation of $25 or more today. We genuinely appreciate the generosity of our listeners. It helps us provide the teaching of God's word on stations all across the nation. So, thank you for standing with us.

Call 877-30 Grace. 877-30 Grace. You can also get the book online at calvaryco.store. And then be sure to join Pastor Ed next time for more teaching from the book of 1st Samuel right here on Abounding Grace. Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church, Colorado here in Aurora.