Abounding Grace

Guest (Male): Coming up today on Abounding Grace.

Pastor Ed Taylor: After a great victory over a great temptation, you and I are much more vulnerable to a smaller, seemingly insignificant temptation. I mean, God takes us to a place and just like, man, no temptation is overtaking you except such as common to man, and with every temptation, there's a way of escape, and you just come through just the hugest, most just amazing. Man, God, thank you for the way out. And there seems to be that tendency to let our guards down, and we're so vulnerable to the smaller ones. We pay attention to the big ones, and we don't so much look at the smaller ones.

And yet, that's the smaller compromises that always end in disaster.

Guest (Male): Fools, we encounter them almost on a daily basis, whether it's on the freeway, at the office, or maybe even on social media. Today on Abounding Grace, we learn how to deal with fools. Pastor Ed Taylor is leading us through 1 Samuel, and today David encounters a foolish man named Nabal. In fact, that's what Nabal means, fool. We'll see how he handles this and how we should, too. Here is Pastor Ed in 1 Samuel 25.

Pastor Ed Taylor: We are in the book of 1 Samuel, so please take your Bibles and open them to 1 Samuel chapter 25. 1 Samuel chapter 25. It opens with sadness as David loses a friend. We see in verse 1 that Samuel died. And the Israelites gathered together and lamented for him and buried him at his home in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. The death of Samuel is mentioned twice in this book, and at both times, we see a deep mourning upon among the people of Israel. So many gathered together to pay their last respects to a very godly man that God used in a huge way.

You know, facing death is always a hard thing. The gripping pain of grief combined with the finality of loss is so very hard. You'll recall in the life of Jesus when he faced when he was faced with the death of Lazarus, his friend, the Bible records this for us. It says that when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And he said, where have you laid him? And they said to him, Lord, come and see. And this is John 11 verse 35. Jesus wept.

And the Jews said, see how he loved him. It was Samuel's faith and Samuel's courage that helped the nation of Israel transition from a very difficult season, the times of the judges. The times where the judges described the nation as doing that which was right in their own everyone did that which was right in their own eyes, which always leads to chaos and confusion. It leads to oppression and difficulty. And Samuel was a miracle child, a gift of God at just the right time. His mom so in tune with the work of God that dedicated him to the work of the ministry.

Not not dedicated like we do on the stage here where we think of a baby dedication and and I have the privilege of holding your child, and we pray for your baby, we pray for your child and your family, and some of your family comes up, and we're so excited to think, you know, God is going to do a work in this child. And we pray that that moment that this child comes to the realization personally of the love of God that he or she will embrace God. Now, to me, that's a wonderful dedication, but Samuel's was much more.

Samuel's dedication was his mom Hannah dropping him off at the church and leaving him there, dedicated to the work of God. Now, he wasn't at the church and then we use that for reference now. He was at the temple with the priest. And he grew up in the ministry. God's will upon his life. He was born miraculously, but we find here in verse 1 he died normally. And the Bible is very clear that it's appointed once for a man to die and then the judgment. It's the result of sin. Now, notice that it says that the Israelites gathered together, but David arose and went down to the wilderness Paran.

It seems as he went in the opposite direction. David didn't go to the gathering. He didn't go to this public gathering, but went out into the wilderness. Now, I think there was some practicality that. First of all, he's a wanted man. King Saul's after him. To come to such a popular gathering would put his life in danger and as well how many men he would come with. And I just see it that David had shown his love and respect for Samuel while the prophet was alive. He he showed his love and respect so that there was really no need to put himself or his people at risk by making such a public appearance.

Now, as we close the chapter on Samuel's life, I I just see such a blessing in his life that applies to me, that applies to you. I mean, you think of Samuel, he wasn't a perfect man. One of his greatest failures was as a dad. And we don't know what exactly happened, but his children grew up very similar to the kids of Eli. And it could be because he was on a circuit, you know, doing the ministry. It could be for a variety of reasons. It could have nothing to do with his fathering except to see that that was the result.

And yet, God still used him in his weakness. I like what Warren Wiersbe writes in his commentary. He says, and I quote, Samuel was the kind of spiritual mentor and counselor that every leader needs because he put the concerns of God ahead of the politics of the hour. To Samuel, pleasing the Lord was far more important than being popular with the people. It broke his heart when Israel asked for a king, but he obeyed the Lord's orders and anointed Saul. And in verse 1, he passes off and he moves on into eternity. Now, verse 2 begins a whole new movement in the life of David.

It says that there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. And he was of the house of Caleb. When David heard verse 4 in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep, David sent 10 young men. And David said to the young men, go up to Carmel, go to Nabal and greet him by name in my name.

And thus you shall say to him, who lives in prosperity, peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have. Now, I have heard that you have shearers and your shepherds here with us, and we did not hurt them, nor was there anything missing from all that all the while that they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore, verse 8, let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand, to your servants, and to your son David.

So when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David and waited. So during David's stay in the area of Maon in up in chapter 23, his men provided protection for the flocks of Nabal. And as David returns to the area in its shearing time, which would have been a very festive event, a very exciting event as they would come together and begin to shear the sheep, it would be a time of ingathering. And David was hoping for some help and a reward for their service, which was very customary to expect.

He he protected the flock, and now he wants something in exchange. David was hoping for help, but we learn in a moment that Nabal lives up to his name. Now, if you like to write in your Bibles, in verse 3, you can circle the word Nabal, his name, and it literally means fool. And you're going to see him be a very foolish man in this chapter. And another thing you're going to see is that foolishness, you might want to mark this down. You may not have seen this in your life, or you might be able to see this in your life going forward and even kind of go back and go, ah, foolishness in other people will often provoke your flesh.

Just jot that down. You're like, oh, brand new news, Ed. I know, I know. But foolishness in other people is often a provocation in your flesh. And we will see that in the life of David. Nabal was a fool's fool. He was very wealthy, but not very generous. Notice with me in verse 10, Nabal answered David's servants and said, who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?

So David's young men turned on their heels and went back, and they came and told him all these words. Then David said to his men, every man gird on his sword. So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about 400 men went with David, and 200 stayed with the supplies. So the young men come. Uh, they're sent by David. They graciously presented their request. And here we are with Nabal's answer, a foolish answer. He knew David. He knew exactly who he was. And he knew his reputation, and he knew that he was on the run from Saul.

And he believed Saul's story. He took Saul's side. He saw David as some runaway slave, not the anointed king of God that he was. Nabal's sympathies were pretty clearly with King Saul. He cast his lot in with King Saul, not David, which really gives us insight to the reality that he had no real heart for any spiritual matters in his life as we'll see contrasted by his wife Abigail. Now, notice with me the personal pronouns in verse 11. Says, shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who I do not know where they are from.

When there's that many personal pronouns in a sentence, you're probably in trouble. Just pay attention to you know, when you're trying to make a case and there's not many personal pronouns, it's time to step back and consider it. Nabal's foolishness is rooted in pride and self-importance. And we don't really read of him giving God any credit for making him wealthy. As the Lord, you know, very clearly if he's a man of God, he know what Deuteronomy says that God is the one that gives wealth, the one that gives the power to make wealth. And in verse 12, David's young men turned on their heels and went back.

And they came and told him all these words, and it stirs David up in an instant. You know, he sends a few guys out just to, hey, this is customary. This isn't anything new. This has happened with Nabal many times before where there would be protection given. It was a very customary thing. And yet, for this answer, the guys come back to David, and in an instant, David is fired up. Okay, enough of this. I I don't enough of this. I can't he doesn't ask for clarification. He didn't ask for anything to be repeated. As soon as he hears the story, 200 guys stay with the stuff, and he and 400 guys take off.

And and I would say in verse 12, verse 13, you could say that David's anger gets the best of him. This is just one of those places where this is not an example of anger without sin. His anger gets the best of him, and he's rushing out for revenge. Now, just consider this as we continue the flow of the chapter. If David David would have been successful, a great sin would have been committed and great damage at this point in his life to his name and his reputation. Now, it's interesting in in David's life that we see this pattern of God, which is not unusual with any of the men or women that are mentioned in the scriptures.

And that is that God shows us all of the man and woman that he uses. He gives us the whole picture. We don't read through the scriptures of perfect people that are without error in the entirety of their life, who don't have stumblings, who who don't have weaknesses, that don't have issues in their lives. Even though they love God, even when we come to the New Testament being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, there are even times in the New Testament where we'll see entire churches going through issues like the church in Corinth that we studied.

I mean, the whole church was under turmoil for a season for a variety of bad reasons, but nonetheless, God used that to even teach us lessons lessons on spiritual growth and spiritual leadership and so many things. David has shown incredible wisdom and restraint. Wasn't it just recently that David had the opportunity in the cave there to completely wipe King Saul out? It was in his hands. His men were encouraging him to do it. It was right everything was was right there, but he had such a sensitive conscience that instead of taking him out, he remember cut the corner of his robe off.

And then as soon as Saul left, he went out and yelled at him, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. And he pled his case. I mean, such great restraint. He could have ended it all in his mind if he took things into his own hands. I mean, when you think you had you're being chased, you're being chased, you're being chased, and then there he is. And King Saul just happened to have to go to the bathroom and just happened to go into the same cave that David and his men just happened to be high I mean, it it could have easily you know how much we can justify things.

It would have been very easy to justify that one. You could have just heard David say the prayer, thank you, God. Cut, and he's done. But he was so sensitive to the Lord. That that's just moments, just days before. And yet, at the at the the word of these young men coming back with the message from Nabal, just who is this David, son of Jesse? In an instant, his anger was was aroused. I mean, and he's ready to wipe him out. Not just Nabal, but also the innocent. He was going to take the innocent out, too.

But it's true, though, and you can mark this in your life. After a great victory over a great temptation, you and I are much more vulnerable to a smaller, seemingly insignificant temptation. I mean, God takes us to a place and just like, man, no temptation is overtaking you except such as common to man, and with every temptation, there's a way of escape, and you just come through just the hugest, most in just amazing. Man, God, thank you for the way out. And there seems to be that tendency to let our guards down, and we're so vulnerable to the smaller ones.

We pay attention to the big ones, and we don't so much look at the smaller ones. And yet, that 's the smaller compromises that always end in disaster. And it could be the smaller compromise here of letting his anger get the best of him that could have led him to great disaster so early. When you think about it, it's very uncharacteristic of what God has revealed in David so far. It's very uncharacteristic for him to take vengeance for himself. It's revealing a weakness in his life. It was David's normal tack to commit things to God.

I mean, you read if you're a student of the Psalms, psalm after psalm is man wrestling with it, and then at the end, I just committed to you, Lord. I mean, some of those Psalms are heavy duty, aren't they? Just like, God, break their teeth. All right, don't do it. Just all right, you know. But I did feel that way, and and just like, man, you just oh, Lord, and then end with trusting in the Lord. Oh, God, and then end with but here, man, even with King Saul, what we learn in him so far, I mean, he's willing to run.

He he's willing to to put himself at risk. He's willing to to give it all up. He's he's willing to to be on the run until God reveals to him the right timing. He's willing to trust in the Lord no matter I mean, his life has been such a a beautiful picture of waiting. And yet, even though we're people of faith and even though we have great confidence and trust in the Lord, there are times when we can be weak in this area. And you can look back in years and years of trusting in the Lord, but right now you're in a season of weakness.

You just so impatient. And you can look back in years and years of victory, and right now they're just, man, even the temptation that you're facing hasn't been some of the things that you faced before, and you're just like, man, why am I so weak? Why why is this such a weakness? Well, one of the things we learn is that just in our humanity, we can be in the flesh. And we can lean on the flesh. This is a time of David's weakness. He's caught up. He's been insulted by this evil man. His young men have been in mistreated, have not been cared for.

This guy has spoken down upon him. And so David just says, all right, let's wipe him out, you know. Let's just come on and get your swords and take off. That this is at this point a failure. I mean, if the chapter ended here and we opened up the chapter with the devastating difficulties of telling his men that let's go take care of business. Let's take vengeance into our own hands. Let's take care of this situation. This is a huge failure on his part. It's a lapse in David 's confidence in the Lord, a lapse of his trust.

So many times in the Psalms, you'll find David speaking of God as his defense, as God of his strength. You'll read things like God is my rock, and God is my fortress. God is my high tower, and in him I will trust. And yet, here is a case in the life of a man who trusted God so completely in so many other areas that here experiences a lapse in his faith. Now, whenever you and I choose to take things into our own hands, you're on the verge of making a tragic mistake. You can undo that choice.

You you can make the choice and not follow through on it. Do you and I make that choice to take things into our own hands? I mean, over and over and over again, you see that folly and mistake throughout the scriptures of men and women deciding to do things on their own in their you know, how much better isn't it, and how much wiser and stronger to commit our ways to the Lord, to trust always in him and letting him bring things to pass rather than to take things in our own hands and to try to want to try to act out in our own defense or take vengeance.

You know, over and over again, what does the Bible say? Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord. So that's where David is right here. It's not unlike maybe a situation you've seen in your own life. Oh, I I don't know that you've always, hey, come on, let's get the swords and go after them. But Jesus took that mentality far beyond just taking up a sword and going after someone. Jesus spoke in the sermon on the mount about hatred in the heart, equal equaling murder in a huge way. God's servants need to be on guard. You and I, the followers of Jesus, need to be on guard at all times, not to be tripped up by the enemy.

That the Lord would just be our strength. Remember we've learned this has been a theme as we follow David that we're to be careful and watch out for the attacks of the devil, that that we are to know that he's our great enemy prowling around like a roaring lion looking for some victim to devour. So take a firm stand against him, Peter says. You guys are taking notes. 1 Peter chapter 5 verses 8 and 9. Take a firm stand against him and be strong in your faith and remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

David was a godly man and a gifted leader, but the best of men and quote this this is cool. This is this was a quote that I picked up. The best of men are but men at their best. Man. It's like, oh, Lord, we need you. The best of men are but men at their best. So be careful. It's not the big battles that will get you. It's not the big temptations that necessarily get you. It's not the big challenges. It's the little problems or the little foxes as the scripture says that love to eat the vine.

It's the little foxes.

Guest (Male): Thanks for hanging out with us today here on Abounding Grace with Pastor Ed Taylor. Are you interested in hearing this again? If so, drop by aboundinggraceradio.com. Another way to listen to Pastor Ed's teachings is through the Calvary Church app. We're also on oneplace.com. Pastor Ed, in today's passage, Samuel dies. And as you said, this was hard for David because he lost a dear friend. But you know, I can't help but think someone listening is dealing with grief similar to that. What would you say to that listener as we close?

Pastor Ed Taylor: The first thing I would say to those of you listening that are grieving is I'm sorry. That is one of the most difficult emotional times in your life. And if you're overwhelmed and maybe you can't even describe it, that's that's normal. It's normal. What you're experiencing is normal for someone that is going through what you're going through right now, and I'm sorry. Lord, I just pray for those that are grieving. Encourage them. I also want to let you know that you'll get through it. I I was careful with my words. I didn't say you'll get over it.

That's impossible, but you will get through it. God is the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation. And he's comforting you right now. It's going to get easier day by day. You're going to perpetually hurt, and you'll always miss that person. You'll always grieve. But it does get better, and you will get through it. And just know that the Lord is with you, that God is faithful. I know that in the seasons of grief that Marie and I have experienced, I didn't think I was going to get through it. I really didn't.

Had a lot of good people in my life, had listening to radio programs like this and the Lord ministering to me, the Holy Spirit speaking to me. I still didn't think I was going to make it through. But the Lord overwhelmed my emotions. He overruled them. He let me experience them, but he overruled them leading me in the way of everlasting. You know, the psalmist said in Psalm 23 that though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, even if I'm in my darkest times, even in the most challenging times, the Lord is with us.

And we we just can't forget that. We can forget that. The the scripture says, you, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. And your rod and staff, they comfort me. So I hope these words help and encourage it. They are just words. I recognize that, but just let them fall like seeds. Let your the seeds be watered. And just watch the Lord work in your life. You'll get through it, and then you know what will happen? You're going to be an encouragement to someone else. Again, I am sorry you're grieving. But the Lord's getting you through it.

And I'm 13 years after the loss of my son, and I know where he's at, and I'm much better than I was, and you know I did make it. God was faithful. He's faithful to me. He's going to be faithful to you.

Guest (Male): Thank you for those words of encouragement. What happens when God's spirit invades the heart of his people? Author Jim Cymbala sets out to answer that very question in his book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire. With over a million copies sold, this book will show you what the Holy Spirit can do when believers get serious about prayer and the gospel. When you give a donation of $25 or more to Abounding Grace, you're invited to request a copy of Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire. Give us a call at 877-30 Grace. That's 877-30 Grace. You can also order the book online at calvaryco.store.

You can also make a donation to the ministry online at aboundinggraceradio.com. And thank you in advance for helping us reach people with the love and truth of Jesus Christ here on the radio and online. Glad you've taken time out for our study in 1 Samuel. Join Pastor Ed each day on this station as we continue to learn how to live by God's Abounding Grace.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church Colorado here in Aurora.