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Skip's Teachings > 09 1 Samuel - 2002 > The Green Eyed Monster Of Envy

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The Green Eyed Monster Of Envy
1 Samuel 18-19
Skip Heitzig

1 Samuel 18 (NKJV™)
1 Now when 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.
2 Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father's house anymore.
3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.
5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.
6 Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments.
7 So the women sang as they danced, and said: "Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands."
8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?"
9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward.
10 And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul's hand.
11 And Saul cast the spear, for he said, "I will pin David to the wall!" But David escaped his presence twice.
12 Now Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, but had departed from Saul.
13 Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
14 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the LORD was with him.
15 Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him.
16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.
17 Then Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the LORD'S battles." For Saul thought, "Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him."
18 So David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my life or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?"
19 But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.
20 Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
21 So Saul said, "I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." Therefore Saul said to David a second time, "You shall be my son-in-law today."
22 And Saul commanded his servants, "Communicate with David secretly, and say, 'Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become the king's son-in-law.'"
23 So Saul's servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, "Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?"
24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, "In this manner David spoke."
25 Then Saul said, "Thus you shall say to David: 'The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king's enemies.'" But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
26 So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the king's son-in-law. Now the days had not expired;
27 therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.
28 Thus Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him;
29 and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David's enemy continually.
30 Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.
1 Samuel 19 (NKJV™)
1 Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David; but Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted greatly in David.
2 So Jonathan told David, saying, "My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide.
3 "And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tell you."
4 Thus Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, "Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you.
5 "For he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?"
6 So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, "As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed."
7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past.
8 And there was war again; and David went out and fought with the Philistines, and struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him.
9 Now the distressing spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing music with his hand.
10 Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul's presence; and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night.
11 Saul also sent messengers to David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed."
12 So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped.
13 And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goats' hair for his head, and covered it with clothes.
14 So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."
15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him."
16 And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed, with a cover of goats' hair for his head.
17 Then Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go! Why should I kill you?'"
18 So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.
19 Now it was told Saul, saying, "Take note, David is at Naioth in Ramah!"
20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21 And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.
22 Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at Sechu. So he asked, and said, "Where are Samuel and David?" And someone said, "Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah."
23 So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24 And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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09 1 Samuel - 2002

As detailed by Pastor Skip Heitzig, First Samuel tells the stories of a prophet, a politician, and a poet--Samuel, Saul, and David--and how God used them to form the nation of Israel.

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Thank you, Kevin. Let me ask you a question. You said your anniversary is what date? June 13th?

Yes.

And how many years? 10?

10.

10 years. That's my anniversary date as well, June 13th.

Oh, it's beautiful.

We're brothers.

Yeah, we are. We're like--

Anniversary brothers. Kevin, tonight we're going to be dealing a little bit with Saul's jealousy of David. Envy, jealousy, that kind of stuff's in every corner of life. Do you see it among musicians? Is it prevalent in the music world? Let's rephrase that. Is it in the Christian music world?

It's brutal in the Christian-- I think because worship is such a big deal, I think what happens is-- and it's, I've got to say, first, too, it's not here at all. However, I don't know, 95% of the places I go, it's the ego with the worship, bringing the people to worship. It's bring the people to me, I'm going to-- and that's what-- I think that's where it's really prevalent. I think in the people that are leading worship and the worship music that's out there, I think more than anything it's there.

Is it an issue of territory? Territorialism?

Oh, no doubt, but also who's the best. Who can make us cry, you know? And who can make us jump up and down the most or whatever it is. And it's just-- I know whenever you-- I think you notice it when it's not there most, because it's just there all the time. So when you come in a place like this, and we talked about this before, it's just not here even an inch. And so this is when you-- oh, that's great. You know? Does that make sense?

OK, praise the Lord for that. Amen. You're a songwriter. You travel. And you hear other songwriter musicians, recording artists. Have you ever struggled with seeing others be raised up and what God gives to them, what arena they're in?

Well, I think awe and jealousy are two different things. I'm in awe constantly. But I think you have to be at a certain level in order to be jealous, because you might get there. And it's just like, no, just like-- like, I'm jealous of, like, Sheryl Crow, Sara Groves, Bob Dylan. You know, like, well, I'm not getting there, you know? So no, like, I got to stay I'm jealous of my wife because she's got skills, you know what I mean?

And but, I don't know, aside from that, I really don't. But awe constantly. Oh, sure. Oh, yeah. Anyway--

All right, thank you.

Sure, thank you.

He's going to be back in a minute. He's going to play another song for us.

Well, we have a few questions from our audience tonight. And so Sebastian has the roving microphone.

I'm right here, Skip.

There you are. There's another Canadian.

It's the Canadian night.

French Canada and Saskatchewan Canada.

Yes, it's a whole different country. But we respect one another. So we got a first question right here. Susan, you have a question for Skip.

Since we're talking about jealousy and envy, in Exodus chapter 20 verse 5, it states that God is a jealous God. How does that jealousy differ from human jealousy?

That's a good question. The question is, and you probably heard of it but let me just rephrase it. The Bible talks about jealousy as a sin, and yet God himself declares in the Book of Exodus, and I would even add other places, that God is a jealous God. So how do you reconcile those two things?

Now, we're going to talk about that a little, but I have David [INAUDIBLE] up here as well. And David, what would you say to that?

Well, what I would say is that in the same sense that God is much greater and probably isn't held or bound by a lot of the baser emotions that we're involved with. But as I look at my kids, I'm very jealous for them in their outcome, who they see, what they're listening to, what kind of people they become. And so, in one sense, I watch over them with a jealousy because I care for them.

So you're saying that part of true love is jealousy, whether it's your wife or your children.

Yeah, there's a sense of belonging for the good, that cares for the good of the one that's loved.

When does it become sinful?

I think it becomes sinful when it is for selfish reasons. That I want you, I want to possess you. Say, like a young man to a young woman. He finds her very attractive. They go out on a date. And then he begins to stalk her or something like that. That becomes a bad kind of jealousy.

Yeah, I would agree with that. Are you saying this from experience? I'm just curious.

Well, there was a time.

Let me just piggyback on what David said. And you know, Paul the Apostle said to the early church, "I am jealous over you with a Godly jealousy." So he defined something as different from sinful jealousy, a Godly jealousy. And what he meant by that is, I have betrothed you or engaged you to One. And that is Christ. And so to have a divided heart is an evil thing for which Paul could look at them and say, now, I want you wholly devoted to Christ, and so I'm jealous over you with a Godly jealousy. I want you completely dedicated, consecrated to him.

God, when he says he is a jealous God, he's God. He's perfect. That's pure jealousy. There's no admixture of sinfulness because there is no sinful nature with God. And so God being God, making the rules, creating the universe, saying, because I'm God, I want you wholly dedicated to me. Anything that would push us into the arena of a divided heart, God can say, I'm jealous over you, I'm a jealous God. And because He has no evil nature, there's no sinfulness for it. Because man is not fulfilling what man is intended to be when God created him. So I hope that helps.

I think we have another question, don't we, Sebastian?

Yeah, Skip, we have a question.

Where are you?

Right here. I was hiding. We have a question from Richard over here, a question that I think most of us as New Mexico drivers might have. Richard?

Thank you.

Stand up, Richard. How you doing?

Fine, thank you.

Nice to see you.

I have a question about anger. You know, I understand, and I know what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 4:31 and 32 about letting all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind to one another. My problem is with New Mexico drivers.

Now, I didn't learn how to drive in New Mexico.

Where are you from?

New York.

New York, OK.

But I don't talk like that.

No, you took subways probably all your life, didn't you?

No, I didn't. But I know when I bought my car it had a directional signal. I know because every time I hit it accidentally it makes this ticking sound. And what my problem is, is when I'm driving and people are just darting in front of me and not signaling their intentions, I do pray for them because I know I'm supposed to pray for them, because I know they'll probably meet Jesus before I do.

But the thing is that I want to stop at a traffic light and go up there and just rip out the directional signal and say, you're not using it anyway. So how do I handle that type of silent anger?

Can we all relate here to Richard, do you think?

[APPLAUSE]

We all can, can't we? You know, Dave has fixed that problem because he drives a Volkswagen bus. And the thing goes about-- what-- 30 miles an hour, so--

Top end.

So it's not even an issue really. But no, seriously, I'll tell you honestly, that is my hardest issue is driving. I grew up-- I learned to drive on the freeways of California, where you drive, it's the quicker the dead, you know? I mean, you're either quick or dead. And so I always believed that the left lane is the passing lane.

But I discovered this sort of driving dyslexia here. And what it means is that when you get in the left lane and go slow, it means that eventually-- you could be 30 miles down the road, but eventually I'm going to turn left. Someday. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day. But I'll turn left rather than-- but I tell you, I just have to-- I repent a lot. That's what I do. Because I have not overcome it.

But the Lord is faithful though, because what He'll do is have somebody pull up next to me who recognizes me. And there's sort of a community accountability for me. David, what do you do besides get very angry with people?

Well, the time that you ripped out my blinker--

You forgave me.

--I felt that there was an accountability and connection there, Skip. What I do is, you know, the state highway department says that you shouldn't carry any weapons in your car. And it's true that you shouldn't do that. But more than that, you have to realize that it's not always about you. And there are a lot of people on the road and reckless driving can really hurt someone.

Besides all of that, it's a great opportunity for you to exercise self-control which is the fruit of the spirit.

That's right. That's the right answer. We have time for one quick more question. Sebastian?

Right here, Skip. Richard's wife has a question. Stand up. She has a question that probably a lot of women now are wondering about.

Every now and then I'm still jealous of women that my husband has seen or has been with. How do I handle it besides forgiving him?

That's a good question. How do you forgive people from the past when you're in love with somebody? And somebody in your husband's past. Hey, you want to help answer this? You're from Canada. I don't know what that qualification is.

[INAUDIBLE]

Yeah, that's right. That, actually, has been hard for me. And it's pretty funny because my wife is just-- she's great. I have her tricked, you know? But I got to say that my wife really is gorgeous. And if you are to take me and change everything about me, you'd have my wife. So she's hot.

So yeah, I understand that thing. I don't know. Believe her. No, I don't know. Believe her, and I think a spirit of gratitude, I think, honestly though, can take over that stuff. And I think she's great, you know?

All right, thank you. That was good. That was good. Let me just add a little bit to what Kevin shared. Just a little bit. We all come to a relationship with baggage, every one of us. All of us do, don't we? We all have backgrounds, people we dated, ways we thought, habits that we did. And we come into a relationship with love and forgiveness. And you know, God is perfect. And He says that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away. All things become new.

And I think He hit on something. You believe them. You trust them. Relationship is built on trust. I function best at face value, not with innuendo. So if somebody tells me, this is how I am, this is how I feel, I believe them unless there is reason to believe otherwise. And that's just part of the trust.

And then if there are other issues that require forgiveness, then I want to apply that because that's how God accepts us. And you know, Jesus gave a great parable about somebody who was forgiven a little debt. And that same guy-- excuse me-- who wouldn't forgive somebody who owed him a little debt, and then he owed a huge debt that would be forgiven.

And it was in Matthew chapter 18. And you know, the thing is God has forgiven us such a great debt that we could never ever pay. And so to put it in perspective, oh, you receive me, you've let me in the way I am with all my baggage. That's a good perspective, I think, in approaching a relationship, is though we're going to feel differently from time to time is to just apply the salve of God's forgiveness. I hope that helps. And we're out of time for that. But Kevin, you're going to share another song with us, aren't you?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Consider the power of emotions in the human heart. A calm and peaceful spirit can be dramatically disturbed when jealousy, envy, anger or resentment storm into our lives. These powerful emotions do not need logical reasons for their existence. And yet they could overpower our reasoning and upset our emotional stability.

[SINGING] Those angry eyes, well, I bet you wish you could cut me down with those angry eyes.

Do powerful emotions of envy and anger frequently erupt in your life?

Some people think it's kind of a macho thing to let their anger loose. I'd say almost proud of being angry. You need to realize the harm that anger can do. Anger is like a forest fire. It can do a lot of damage quickly. When we give these harmful emotions a place in our heart, they can take over and take root quickly. I have noticed that tendency in myself.

I know that people who are seldom outwardly angry can still be boiling inside with envy and jealousy.

Listen tonight as we find unchecked envy giving birth to irrational, murderous anger in the life of King Saul. Watch for practical ways to be biblically confront emotions that seek to rule and ruin our lives. Dealing with the monster of envy is our topic tonight, live online.

All right, how many brought bibles tonight? Raise your hands. Good thinking. This is a Bible study. Good place for it. Open those Bibles to first Samuel chapter 18. Most of you already are there, so we're going to open in prayer.

Father, we now ask that Your spirit would reveal the truth of Your word to fit our circumstances. Every one of us in this room is dealing with, or has dealt with, or will in the future deal with this issue. And we pray that You would equip us, remind us, instruct us, and comfort us, Lord, with the truth we're going to read tonight. In Jesus' name, Amen.

It's an insecure person that is threatened by another person of ability, whether it's at home, at work, at school, or in church. It could be a husband who is envious of his wife's success. This is really hard for some guys to deal with. It seems that women in the workplace today are finally getting recognized. There was a time when they weren't. But it has caused, in some cases, jealousy to erupt in a marriage when she gets promoted, she gets a raise, she makes more money. That can be a real issue to deal with.

A boss can be threatened sometimes when some competent, aggressive young guy or gal is around, working hard, working their way up in the company. Friends can be threatened by other friends if the other friend is more attractive, more popular, more athletic, and more people are starting to gather around that one person because of their ability, their looks or their smarts.

You remember that Dr. Seuss, the great theologian of our generation, had a character called the Grinch. The Grinch was so jealous of people enjoying their lives, having a good time, that he would bite himself, in looking down at Whoville and seeing people enjoying themselves and having a good time.

Now, the question tonight is-- and we're going to look at it in the text-- what do you do when you're the victim of somebody else's anger, jealousy erupting, when somebody is throwing spears at you, darts at you, arrows of accusation at you? How do you handle it? We were asked tonight about aggressive drivers in our state. Now, that's a real question. That's a real issue, man. We all deal with it. And it's tough for some of us.

There's a fleshly way to deal with things, and there's a Godly way to deal with things. Honestly, there have been times where I would just want to get in the flesh. Lord, give me five minutes of flesh here. It'll be over in five minutes. I promise you I'll repent then, but just let me have that person for five minutes in the flesh.

Then there's the spiritual way of dealing with people. And we cannot control how other people treat us all the time. Somebody once said that life is 20% what happens to us, 80% of life is our reaction to what happens to us. I'll give you an example. Ted Engstrom, the former president of World Vision, frames it well for us.

He writes, "Cripple him and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, you will have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes a Franklin Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he'll never walk again, and you'll have a Glenn Cunningham who set the world's 1-mile record in 1934.

Deafen him, and you'll have a Ludwig Von Beethoven. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you'll have Booker T. Washington, a Marian Anderson, or a George Washington Carver. Call him a slow learner, retarded, write him off his ineducable, and you have an Albert Einstein."

Now, all of these people that were just mentioned had painful circumstances happen to them in life. Life hurt them. But they responded well to it. They didn't fold. They didn't crumble under the pressure of it. In the next few chapters, beginning in the 18th chapter, David is now in King Saul's court. He is the servant to the King. He is the musician to the King.

He is promoted, on one hand, but that promotion goes awry because he becomes a hunted man. In fact, he probably wondered as we do when bad things happen to us, when we get criticized, when people are envious of us or we get put down, God, what did I do? Did I do something wrong? Am I in the right place? Are you in charge here? Couldn't you step in and do something? Can't you protect me?

I think if we could take a vote, how many people would like to get pain extricated from the universe? Let's do away with it once and for all. Let's have a vote. Let's get rid of all pain, all suffering. It would be unanimous. In fact, one of the big questions people have is why do bad things happen to so-called good people.

However, we also know that we don't always like to admit that pain can be very good for us. It hones us. It matures us. In James chapter 1 he writes, "When your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow. For when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."

I found out something interesting, that when they first started manufacturing golf balls-- you know, golf's been around for hundreds of years. It was invented in Scotland. And the balls were very primitive. And at first, the balls were smooth and polished, because it was thought that the smoother the surface of the ball, the further it will travel. They discovered something, however. They discovered that if you rough up the surface, it will go further.

So now, if you're a golfer you know that they make golf balls with little dimples all around the surface because that's where the distance is often gaged by. Not only the core and the density, but the surface needs to be roughed up.

And God knows that for you and I to go further in life, to do better, it can't be all smooth sailing. There has to be some rough times. We need to be roughed up from time to time, even though we don't like it, even though we complain. Yes, God is in charge even of this.

Now, in that 18th B and you'll look at the first few verses-- and I'm just going to comment briefly on them because we're going to deal with David and Jonathan next time a little bit more carefully. But the author of this book is drawing a contrast that you ought to be aware of. The contrast is between the relationship King Saul and David have. Contrast it with the relationship that Saul's son Jonathan has with David. Two very, very different. One is jealous, one is a friend. One wants to kill, one wants to support.

Now, Jonathan was a great friend because even though he was not just Jonathan, he was Prince Jonathan, he would be the next King, he loved David as his own soul, the first few verses of this chapter tell us. His soul was knit together with that of David. Loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan did something unprecedented. He took off his robe. He took off his armor. He presented them to David along with his own sword, his own bow, and his own belt.

And that was a token of saying, David, you da man. You da man. I'm the prince. I'm the guy that should be on the throne, but I recognize God's hand is with you, and I'm giving it to you. It's not about me. You're God's man. And he supported David out of love.

Now, Saul is the opposite. Saul is, I'm da man. You da dead man, you get in my way. And these guys, Saul and Jonathan his son, are direct opposites in the way they treat people, and especially in the way they treat David.

Now, David has killed Goliath. David is promoted. He has brought full time on staff at King's Saul's palace. He's the musician. He's the private musician for Saul. He's like his personal stereo system. Whenever Saul is having troubled thoughts, he'd bring David in, and David would bring his little harp in. So he was like [? Sony ?] [? Harpman. ?] He'd play all the music that was needed for Saul to soothe his spirit.

We appreciate music. It does that to us. There was a study where they asked people, what makes you feel close to God? The top two things were music and prayer. We love worship. There are certain songs we listen to, and the truth of them or the way the melody is set with the truth, it warms our hearts. And David was brought in to sing some of those lovely psalms that he had written, and soothe David's heart.

But David that was an interesting guy. He really was an interesting mix. He was part musician, part armor-bearer, and part warrior. Now, that's a weird mix to have a really artsy guy who's like a soldier, a warrior. He's like a Ted Nugent-kind of a guy in the Old Testament, a music guy with this gun-carrying, sword-carrying warrior used in the armies of Israel.

So I take you down now to verse 5, because we're going to deal with Jonathan and David in a future study, but I want to get right into how Saul's jealousy started, how his jealousy started. And basically, shepherd boy, that's David, is famous. All of a sudden, he makes the big time. We'll read about it.

So when David went out wherever Saul sent him and behaved wisely, "And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. Now, what happened is they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments." Ah, Saul loved this. He was their King. He was the guy that would lead them into battle and come back victorious. And he liked the people coming out, especially the chicks.

They got the music, the tambourine. They would sing his praises. Well, this is a little bit different tune they're singing now. A new folk song has been developed in Israel, and it's in the top 40 chart. They sing it as he's coming back from the battle. The women sang as they danced, verse 7, and they said, "Saul has slain his thousands." And can't you just see Saul going, yeah, all right! Me, man! It's all about me! I'm awesome! They love me! Until they got to the second verse. He didn't like the words of this verse, and you can see why.

"Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." So Saul was very ticked off, very angry. "And the saying displeased him, and he said, 'They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they've ascribed only thousands.'" Hey, they should have ascribed zero to you, pal. You did nothing.

"'Now what more can he have but the kingdom?' And so Saul eyed David from that day forward. And it happened on the next day, that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul. And he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand as at other times. And there was a spear in Saul's hand."

There's a harp in David's hand. He's a worshipper. There's a spear in Saul's hand. He's a jealous ruler.

"And Saul cast the spear, for he said, 'I will pin David to the wall.'" I guess that's one way to get rid of your worship leader. It's not a good way. "But David escaped his presence twice. He did this two times." You remember back in Exodus, Moses put out his hand over the Red Sea. The sea opened. The children of Israel walked over on dry land. God did it. Remember, God said, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

And so Moses really didn't have much to do with it, did he? He just kind of did that, and trusted and hoped. The waters open. They walked over on dry land. When they got over on the other side, the women sang a song led by Miriam with her tambourines. Very similar to this, it was a great psalm, a great song, a great celebration for the victory. But it was all about God. Look what God has done. The horse and rider God has thrown into the sea, the Lord has triumphed victoriously. God was the subject of the song. Here, Saul and David, men are the subject of this song. Because one is ascribed more than the other, Saul's jealousy is mounting.

Now, David never asked for this. He never asked for the job, did he? Did he ever say, you know, when I grow up, I want to be King someday? He was a shepherd. He had no clue. And one day, Samuel showed up. He was out watching sheep. He was brought in. You know the story. Oil was poured over him. He was anointed. But he went right back to keeping his sheep. He stayed humble. He didn't raise himself up.

He never went to Saul, and he said, excuse me, King Saul, you probably don't know this, but the prophet Samuel, the guy who said the kingdom is going to be taken away from you, just anointed me as the next King. So it's only a matter of time, dude, your days are numbered. I'm the next King. He never even brought it up.

And after he killed Goliath, do you ever read about David saying, I'm the man? Did he ever rub it into his brothers? Never once. Here's a guy who stays humble. Saul is the guy who wants to lift himself up. David never once, you will notice, promoted himself.

You know, popularity and promotion come from God. Promotion comes not from the East or the West the Bible says, but from the Lord. Promotion comes from God, but let me just say this. Promotion is not easy to handle. Pedestals are not good places to hang out on. And the higher you are put up on a pedestal by people or you put yourself up on a pedestal high, the further you're going to fall. Just a lot more distance there.

You know, it's an interesting thing I've noticed, when they do these specials, like on MTV, of famous rock musicians. And the story is basically the same. They were no-namers, they were nobodies. And then they wrote a hit song and they sold a lot of copies, and everybody knew about them. Then they made a hit CD, and then they did tours and they became world famous.

And suddenly, they are thrust into the arena of being tested by popularity. And I'll tell you what, that's a hard test. A lot of people fail that test. In fact, I think just about every one of these musicians have failed the test. Because you follow their lives, and all the press asking them questions, and people wanting them to sign their CDs, and girls fawning all over them. And a lot of these guys talk about how they got into drugs or people committed suicide, and they became so secluded. They couldn't handle it all. It's not easy to handle.

Now, God's going to raise David up, but the key of David is that he stays humble, doesn't promote himself. It was J. Oswald Sanders who said, "Not every man can carry a full cup. The most exacting test of all is to survive prosperity." OK, David is playing music. Saul throws the harp. What does David do? The harp is now on his side. He could have looked at that harp sitting in the wall and go, I'm a better shot than you are, you know? And he could have retaliated, but he doesn't do that. He removes himself from the situation.

Now, look at verse 12. And you're going to notice-- we're going to highlight some of these things through the chapter of how his jealousy grew. We saw how it developed. Suddenly he's thrust into the limelight. People know who he is. This is how his jealousy grew. You're going to observe two ways. Saul will first expose David to danger, first of all to danger. Verse 12.

"Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. Therefore, Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a captain over a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved wisely in all of his ways. And the Lord was with him. Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David because he went out and came in before them."

Look at verse 12 once again, and let that sink into your soul. Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him because-- but he had departed from Saul. When a person shuts out God from his or her life-- and God is a gentleman. If you don't want God, God won't hang around. God will bid adieu to the person who says, I don't want you in my life. And Saul had done that.

And when that happens, when a person shuts God out, and God's presence is no longer there, you will find that person become very bitter, very angry, and very uninterested in any spiritual activity at all. They don't want their Bible. They don't want to pray. They don't want to come to church. And the last thing they want to do is have spiritual people around them.

Do you notice that? Here's Saul, "Get David out of my presence." There's a reason for that. When we backslide, when we're not right with God, we want to be alone. We don't want Christians around us. That's the last people we want around us. Because having Christians around us when we're not right with God reminds us of what we once knew and what we've now lost. It's sort of like turning a bright light on somebody who's gotten accustomed to the darkness. They don't dig it. They will say, turn that thing off. Even though at one time they walked in the light. They were accustomed to the light. They've grown now accustomed to darkness.

Question. Why does Saul promote David? Why does he make him a captain over a thousand? He's jealous. He's afraid. He's angry. Well, I think we know the reason why. He hopes that David, being a young and inexperienced officer, is going to be killed out there in the battle. Well, make him a captain over the thousand because, who's the first ones the Philistines are going to wipe out? The captain.

Go down to verse 17. This brings up another issue. Saul's jealousy grew, and he exposed David, first of all, to danger. Second thing, he exposed David to his daughters. You say, what? That's right. That's how his jealousy is vented. He's going to expose David to his daughters. Listen to the vocabulary.

"Then Saul said to David, 'Here's my oldest daughter, Merab. I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord's battles.' For Saul thought, 'Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.'"

In other words, marry my daughter because then the Philistines will know you're related to the King, and they're going to be after you to get at me. So I'm going to use my daughter to get at you. This guy's a creep. El creepus maximus, who's going to use his daughters as pawns. And the first is Merab.

Now, you may remember, when Goliath was running around the landscape that Saul promised, anybody who kills that big giant, I will make his family exempt in Israel, though not pay taxes. And I'll give my daughter as the wife of that person. Well, David killed Goliath. He got no daughter.

Now Saul is saying, well, you got to fight more battles, you got to be more valiant for me. So he promises Merab to him. But what happens is David says, well, I'm not really worthy to be King's son-in-law. You know, I'm just me, miserly, miserable old me. I can't really be the King's son-in-law. And so Saul reneges. Instead of giving the daughter to David like he promised, he gives him to another guy here by the name of Adriel.

But there's another daughter in verse 20 named Michal, who does become his wife. Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. Does that strike you? Saul hates David. Jonathan, his son, Michal, his daughter, loved David. How ironic in the same family.

"And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. So Saul said, 'I will give her to him that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.' Therefore, Saul said to David a second time, 'You will be my son-in-law today.' Saul commanded his servants, 'Communicate with David secretly and say, look, the King has delight in you, and all of his servants love you. Now therefore, become the King's son-in-law.'

So Saul's servant spoke these words in the hearing of David. And David said, 'Does it seem to you a light thing to be the King's son-in-law, seeing that I am poor and lightly esteemed man?' And the servants of Saul told him, saying, 'In this manner, David spoke.' And Saul said, 'Thus you shall say to David. 'The King does not desire any dowry, but 100 foreskins of the Philistines to take vengeance on the King's enemies.' But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the King's son-in-law. Now the days had not expired."

How would you women like to be referred to by your Father as a snare? Michal loves David. Great! I'm going to make sure that she marries them so that she'll be a snare to him. It could be, and some think, that Michal was a little on the wild side, hard to live with, hard to get along with, a contentious woman. We don't know this but they infer this from this text. And that could be possible.

You know, there's an interesting story about Jonathan Edwards, the great, brilliant scholar of early American, great revivalist. Godly man. He had a daughter who was like this, a cantankerous gal. Angry, bitter, outspoken, loud. There was a guy in the community that took a liking to her. And so he came to Jonathan Edwards and said, I want to marry your daughter. He said, you can't have her. Because he knew what she was like. He was trying to protect her. Oh, but I love her. Can't have her. I'll bet she loves me. Tough toast. Can't have her. And he goes, why not? He goes, because the grace of God can live with some people with whom no one else could ever live.

And it could be that Michal sort of had these tendencies. They are going to have a disagreement. There's going to be some problems in this marriage. It really didn't start off on the right foot. But the reason that David at first says no is because he says, I'm poor, I'm lightly esteemed in Israel. In other words, he's saying, I can't afford the dowry.

Now, you know the dowry was given in those days, it was sort of-- it wasn't like buying a wife. It was a token of saying, I have good intentions for your daughter. I'm giving you a sum of money. It was a cultural thing to say, here, I know you're going to lose a valuable part of your family. I'm paying you replacement money, dowry, to let you know I'm committed to her.

Well, he's the King. David's the shepherd kid. He says, I'm poor. I'm lightly esteemed. So Saul thinks of a creative alternative. I tell you what. David, you like a challenge. You like to fight. You got Goliath. Go out there and prove yourself. The Philistines were called by David the uncircumcised Philistines. And we know what that means. Circumcision was something that God gave as a covenant sign to Jewish males. On the eighth day, every Jewish male was circumcised.

And the Philistines used to mock the Jews because of the right of circumcision. They had all sorts of lewd jokes about this. Saul says, bring 100 foreskins of the Philistines back. Not, you're going to convert them, but, you're going to have to kill them. Bringing 100 foreskins back has proof you killed 100 Philistines.

Of course it would have to be this. No Philistine would volunteer for this. And I'm just looking at guys as I'm saying this right now, and they're grimacing all over the auditorium. So David knew what this meant. I'm going to have to kill these guys. So he does. He doesn't only kill 100. He kills 200. I see your 100. I'll raise that two.

So he wasn't killed in the process. He becomes the hero. Verse 27. "Therefore, David arose and went, he and his men, and killed 200 men of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins and gave them in full count to the King--" I don't really want to comment on that. "--that he might become the King's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal, his daughter, his wife. Thus, Saul saw and knew the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him.

And Saul was still more afraid of David, so Saul became David's enemy continually. Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. So it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul so that his name became highly esteemed."

Literally, and some of your margins have it, his name became Precious. God is with him. Saul knows it. Jonathan knows it. Everybody knows it. You can't put a guy like this out. God's hand is on him, protecting him, raising him up. There's only one thing left to do. Assassinate him. Put out a contract on his life. And that's exactly what happens in chapter 19.

He says to his men, his assassins, go kill him, bring him to me, kill him. Now, Jonathan hears about this. Jonathan's a friend. He goes, David, my dad's nuts, man. He's crazy, he wants to kill you. I don't know why. But you better go into hiding. I'm going to go talk to dad.

So Jonathan and his dad have a talk. And he says, you know, dad, David has not sinned against you. He loves you. He's the guy that fought the Philistines. Nobody else would do that. He loves you. Don't sin against David. He is innocent blood. So he sort of talked him down from his position. And Saul says, well, as the Lord lives then, you're right. I'm not going to kill him. So David is brought back in now to the court of Saul, the house of Saul, being the musician, going out, fighting the battles.

Verse 8. "There was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him. Now, the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand--" Don't give this guy any more spears. "--and David was playing music with his hand. And Saul sought to pin the musician to the wall, David to the wall, with a spear. But he slipped away from Saul's presence, and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night."

Now, this is the third time. This is sort of like baseball. Three strikes and you're out. And David is out. In fact, David leaves. And this is the last you're going to see of David. He'll go into hiding for about 10 years. There's a period where he is hunted by Saul and his men, and he becomes public enemy number one in Saul's eyes and in the eyes of these people who are under King Saul.

"Saul also sent messengers to David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, 'If you don't save your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed.' So Michal led David down through the window. And he went and he fled and he escaped."

Saul is on another rampage. Kill him. They go to his house, knock on the door. David here. Now Michal has this whole thing figured out, knows her dad really well. David's long gone. Over the wall in a basket. She has gone over to David's bed and stuffed it with goat's hair to make it look like he's really in there. Oh, he's sick. He's really sick.

So the men go back to Saul and go, David's sick, he can't get out of bed. I know you want him to come but he's sick. He goes, I don't care if he's sick, bring the bed here. Haul him here in the bed and I'll kill him. So they go back to the house. They uncover the sheets and there's the household idols and this goat's hair stuffed up here for his head. Saul gets angry at his daughter. Why have you done this to me? He's hot on the trail of David. Again, it's ironic, is it not? That the two children of Saul love David, saw that God's hand is with David. Saul is blinded, hates him. Jealous, anger, hatred. They knew he was right.

You know, there's a lesson to be learned from that. I won't talk much on it. But it's sometimes hard in a family to not take sides because of a relationship, especially when here you're related to somebody like she was to her father, but she knew her father was wrong. And it would be easy to say, well, I don't want to stir up any trouble. This is how my dad thinks so I'm just going to go along with it. But she said, no, he was right. And Jonathan said, this guy's right.

And you know, there's a great scripture that says, "A man will leave his father, a mother, be joined unto his wife. The two will become one flesh." Same with a woman. Leave father and mother, cleave unto her husband. They're one flesh, they're one unit. Don't let the parents meddle in that.

Well, this guy's a meddler. He's the King. I guess he can do what he wants. But look down at verse 18. "David fled and escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth." Naioth is where the school of the prophets were.

Now, let me just tell you the rest of the story. We can comment on it. Then we'll draw some principles from it. "Saul sends more assassins to chase David, find where he is, kill him. They get close to Ramah, where the prophets are propheshing. And the Holy Spirit, in an unusual, unprecedented way, sort of comes upon these guys. And they prophesy. It was almost like a strange conversion experience.

And the text implies, the language implies, they stayed there. It's like they converted. They stopped their killing of David. They're going to be there and just prophesy with the school of the prophet. So he sends another contingent of assassins. Spirit of God comes on him. They prophesy. Convert, sort of. They stay there. Another one comes. They stay there. Saul goes himself.

And as Saul gets close, the Spirit of the Lord was heavy upon Saul so that he takes off his outer garment and he prophesies all through the night. I believe that God, in his mercy, was trying to reach out to Saul, bring him to repentance, stir him back up, bring him back to the Lord. Of course, he hardens his heart.

You know, I've watched God do this in a number of ways to a number of people. Their hearts close off. They become more hardened, more recalcitrant to God. But God reaches further. I think that happened with Judas. Judas was next to Jesus at the Last Supper. And where Judas sat at the Last Supper was the place of honor that was only given by the host. Jesus must have come to Judas before the Last Supper and said, Judas, I want you here next to me at the place of honor, where my head can lie on your breast. Just like John will lay his head on my breast, I'm going to lie on yours. You're my friend. Come close.

Saul hardens his heart. Now, at this point, consider what David loses. Because you need to know this so you can find out then how does he handle it in lieu of it. He loses everything. He loses his position. He loses his job. He loses his wife. And he loses human contact. All of the social life ends for him. He goes out into the wilderness, he runs for about 10 years away from a guy who's trying to hunt and kill him like a wild animal. Must have been one of the lowest moments in David's life. He's the victim of a crazed man's jealousy.

I was in India several times. The first time I went, I met a guy, and he told me a story and I had never heard anything like it. I just couldn't relate to it, but I was stunned. His name was A. Steven. I say A, that's his initial, because I can't pronounce his first name.

And A. Stephen had the biggest smile, man, from ear to ear. Big white teeth smile, joy. And when he told me his testimony, it was mind blowing. He was raised the son of a Hindu priest. He goes, let me tell you about my upbringing.

And he said, I was raised in this village. We went to the Hindu temple, made sacrifices to idols. That was my whole life. For me, my life was going down. I felt worse, discouraged, despairing. He said, I went into a room all alone, found a rope, proceeded to hang myself. Tied it up to the rafters of the roof, stood up on a chair, tied the rope around my neck, was about to jump. He said, I heard something I never heard before. It was like a voice was talking to me out of nowhere. He said, you will find peace today.

He said, it freaked me out. I don't know if he said that, but-- that freaked me out, you know?

He pulled the rope off, and he started walking through the streets, just processing where did that voice come from, what could it mean. I will find peace today. Where will I find peace today? I'm miserable. I'm depressed. He walked a little further. And a man approached him who was a missionary from India, spoke to him in his own language, told him about Christ, the true gospel, the message of forgiveness. Not karma, not reincarnation. Not you're going to pay for this over and over and over again, and life is a big rerun. But you can be forgiven, completely forgiven before God and have a new start.

Stephen prayed, "Receive Christ." He went home, he told his parents. His dad took out a sacrificial knife and was going to sacrifice his son to the Hindu gods.

He said, I saw that knife coming after me and I ran. And I ran through the night. The only thing I had was a little New Testament that that missionary gave me. He said, I had tears in my eyes. I knew I'd never see my parents again. He said, I never have seen them ever again after that time. And I felt so lonely that I left the last contact with my family, my parents. He said, I opened up that New Testament with the book of Psalms in the end, and I turned it to this passage.

And he showed me Psalm 27, verse 10. "When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord shall take me up."

And he said, God has done that ever since that day. And that's why I have such a big smile. And I thought, wow. I have, like, nothing to add to that. Well, tell me your testimony, Skip. No, we'll talk about it later.

Now question. Who should be jealous in the story that we just read? Jonathan. He's the very guy David is going to displace, and he knows it. But he's not jealous. Saul is. OK, what lessons can we learn from this? How do we handle envy, jealousy, anger, spears flying at us? I'll give you some principles. Number one, duck. Seriously. Principle number one, get out of the way. When the spirit was thrown, David didn't go jump in it's way. He got out of its way. And then he ran out.

Now, think about that. Once again, the spear's on his side of the room. This is his golden opportunity. His golden opportunity. Judging from what we know about David's aim and his ability to throw things accurately, David could have nailed him, like [INAUDIBLE] it's overwith. But he runs away. He ducks. He gets out.

When someone says something to you, attacks you, comes after you, accusations fly your way, get out of the way. A soft answer turns away wrath. You know, vengeance is the easiest thing to rationalize. A car pulls out in front of us. They don't signal. They go slow. That's illegal, we say. And I'm in a hurry, or whatever.

Whatever it might be, we all know vengeance is the easiest thing there is to rationalize. I find this to be true when I drive. I talk to drivers. I have the windows up. I don't want them to hear what I'm saying. Because immediately I have to talk to God and say, I repent of that attitude, Lord.

Doug Jerrold once said, if I were a grave digger or a hang man, there are some people I could work for with a great deal of pleasure. I found that to be true. So principle number one, duck, get out of the way.

Second thing in handling jealousy, envy. Keeping doing well. Keep doing well. Keep going out to battle, David. Keep behaving yourself wisely before the people. And he did, didn't he? This didn't slow him down. David wouldn't let Saul's antagonism rob him of enthusiasm for the work. And it shouldn't rob you of it either. Don't let people who are jealous diminish your effectiveness or cause you to operate at a lower level. Well, I don't want to do so well. I'll just really act low key because I don't want them to get mad. Don't let them lower your performance. Do what you do is unto the Lord. Give it your best.

It was Plato who said, if people speak ill of you, live so that no one will believe them. Boy, that sums up David's life, man. He behaved himself wisely, and all the people knew, including Saul, that the Lord was with him. So duck, get out of the way.

Number two, keep doing well. Number three, be humble. I don't think David was putting on a show, do you? He was genuinely humble, reluctant twice to become Saul's son-in-law. Who am I? I'm poor, I'm ill-esteemed. Not boasting of the anointing that Samuel gave him, not boasting that he had killed the most formidable enemy in the land. Always humble.

Number four, stay close to the Lord. Stay-- I know that sounds so cliche, but it's not. David really did. Why was Saul jealous of David? Did you discover how many times he-- it says, he saw the Lord was with him. He saw, man, that's his secret. That's his secret. He has a relationship with God. David knew it was his secret, and he maintained that abiding relationship with the Lord. He doesn't lose sight of God. In fact, he uses his experience. Listen, carefully. David used his experience of being antagonized and having jealousy and envy leveled at him. He used it as fuel for his prayer life.

I'm going to close with a psalm that was written during this time. This is David's way of handling the jealousy, the bitterness, the envy, the hatred. Turn to Psalm 59 for just a moment. And we'll close with this. I want you to notice it. Psalm 59, a psalm of David, written during one of the worst times of his life, this time. And it says in our Bible, Psalm 59. And notice the little superscription, To the chief musician, set to "Do Not Destroy," a Miktam of David. When Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.

What kind of a prayer do you pray at a time like that? Here it is. Here's David's own prayer. This fourth principle, staying close to the Lord. And you'll notice something. His prayer was very specific. For he says, deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, or my God. Defend me from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Save me from blood thirsty men. You notice how specific he is. In those first two verses, there's four things he says. He says deliver me, defend me, deliver me, save me. Well, that's definite. That's to the point.

Now, listen, when you pray, don't be vague. Be specific. Tell God exactly what is on your heart, what you mean. Not like, oh Lord, you know every need, spoken and unspoken, so just bless everyone, everywhere, for everything. What is that? Be specific. What if you went into a restaurant and talked like that? What if you came in there and said, I have a general food need. Bless me. Amen. No, you get to order from a menu and pick what you want. You can even say, light on the salad dressing, hold the cheese, extra water, or whatever it would be. You can be specific. And I challenge you to try to do that with your prayer life. Take away the mumbo jumbo that we often listen to other people pray and put in our prayers. Specifically from your heart.

Then, notice the next few verses his prayer is very honest. Verse 5. "You, therefore, O Lord, God of Hosts, the God of Israel, awake to punish all the nations. Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors." Wow. It sounds like he's driving on New Mexico streets. "At evening they return. They growl like a dog and go all around the city. Indeed, they belch with their mouths. Swords are in their lips, for they say, who hears?" Talk about being honest. One way to translate that is, God, they're a bunch of burping dogs. Blow them away, man.

Now, you say, well, Skip, do you agree with David's prayer? No. Though I have honestly come close to sounding like this from time to time. But listen, let me just tell you something. God can handle it. He's been around, OK? God is unshockable. You tell him what's on your heart. God can say yes or no. Leave that with him. But you express your heart. Be honest with him. Tell him how you feel.

Now, it even gets better. Look at verse 11. "Do not slay them. Don't just kill them all of a sudden, lest my people forget. Scatter them by your power. Bring them down, oh Lord, our shield. Consume them in wrath. Consume them that they may not be, and let them know that God rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth."

Now, I want to read that to you in a translation called "The Message." Have you ever heard of that? Eugene Peterson wrote this fresh translation of the Psalms and the New Testament. And this is how it's translated. "Don't make a quick work of them, Yahweh, lest my people forget. But bring them down in slow motion. Take them apart piece by piece. Finish them off in fine style. And then finish them off for good."

This sounds like the godfather's praying that. Make them an offer they can't refuse. I guess the lesson is, don't come against people who are in close contact with God. And walking closely with them because you might incur this kind of a prayer. But more than that is speak honestly with God, tell him what's on your heart. Don't be afraid to express it, because God can handle it and will filter out what he'll do versus how you feel.

And then finally, and we close with these two verses. Look at verse 8 and 9. This is David's prayer. Staying close to God during this time, his prayer was confident. "But you, O Lord--" Now here's David being hassled, man. On the run after spears three times thrown at him. "But you, O Lord, shall laugh at them. You shall have all the nations in derision. I will wait for You, oh You, his strength, for God is my defense. My God of mercy shall come to meet me. God shall let me see my desire on my enemies."

How does God respond to the arrogance of men? Does he cringe? Does he hide in heaven? It says God will laugh. In other words, David says, you know, I realized something here. This is painful. But God is sovereign. He is still ruling. And it's like he finally realizes, you know, I have been anointed by God by the prophet. I didn't push myself up or promote myself. God said, I'm going to be the next King. So really, Saul is not really fighting against me. I'm really not the issue. He's fighting against God.

And when you realize that, if indeed that is true, because you are in the will of God, if indeed that is true, man, you can be confident, you can relax. Hey, I have nothing to worry about. Let God fight those battles. You know, I've seen God fight before. I have. I was in the Philippines. And I went to a church. The week before, or two weeks before-- something happened followed up by what happened the week before I got there.

Two weeks before, the elders of the church said we had this organization come in, the NPO, with their guns, these terrorists guerrillas. They came into our Sunday morning service. They had their machine guns. They pointed them at several people in our church, including the pastor, and said, we'll be back next Sunday. Be prepared to give us your offering, this week, next week, and all that you possess, because we will blow you all away. It's a small, small town.

Next Sunday rolls around. Talk about an incentive to come up with an excuse why not to go to church. Honey, I don't feel good today. They came to church. They had prayed all week. They had prayed that day. They were on their news-- on their news. They were on their knees waiting for news, rather then being on their news waiting for knees. That's always a good thing.

And they waited. And they waited. And they waited, and the church service ended, and they left. And it was way past the time. And the next day came. And the day after, they heard the news. The NPO was on their way in two jeeps. Both Jeeps overturned and exploded. And the people who were going to kill God's people were all dead. Now, people in the church were blown away. They didn't do that. They just realized, we're your people. This is your church. These are your finances. And God did it.

So it's kind of neat to be in a position where you're obedient to God, walking with God. And so when the enemy surrounds you, you can confidently say, you better watch it or I'll tell God on ya. David comes to that realization. I remember my dad used to say, you know, the Bible says God helps those who help themselves. Till I read the Bible. It didn't say that. And I discovered, Ben Franklin said that. Not God.

You know what God says? God helps the helpless. God has chosen the weak things, the foolish things. And when we're helpless, we depend upon him. And David stays close to God and depends on him. God, I'm in your hands, he's in your hands. You take care of the rest.

Speaking of prayer, as we close in prayer right now, it could be that, like Saul, you've been hardening your heart. God's been trying to reach out to you through a number of people and circumstances, and you've pushed Him away. But for some reason, you're here tonight. Have you prayed the prayer of Lord, I'm sorry, forgive me. Receive me. I receive your forgiveness. I receive you into my heart as my Savior and Lord. If you haven't, now's the time to do that. Let's all pray. Let's all bow our heads.

Father, we just thank You for this evening. We thank You for that principals that are found in Your word. And we are so grateful that Your love is so big, so huge, so sufficient, that we can trust in You. We can depend upon You when we're weak. And it's better to admit that we are and live in dependence.

Father, we would just pray that right now Your Holy Spirit would move in our midst, convincing those who don't yet know You to come to You. And as we're praying, I'm addressing you. If you've come-- maybe you made a commitment years ago when you were a child, or you thought because you grew up in a religious home that everything's OK. But something's missing in your life. Something's wrong. You want to know that you're accepted by God and forgiven by God and going somewhere, having purpose in your life. And that all of your baggage, all of your past, is forgiven. Then it's a chance for you to receive Christ as that Savior who will wipe your sins away and make you just before God.

But it doesn't happen automatically. It doesn't happen by coming to a church, or even agreeing with what has been spoken or sung. It comes by personally receiving Jesus Christ. That's what the Bible says. As many as received Him, He gave them the power to become His children. If you want that tonight, and if you are ready to receive Christ, because He's ready to come in and forgive you, I want you to raise your hand right now. Raise it up, and say, Skip, I'm going to do that. Pray for me.

Additional Messages in this Series

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Date Title   Watch Listen Notes Share Save Buy
3/13/2002
completed
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Why Me, Lord?
1 Samuel 1
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3/20/2002
completed
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Generation Next?
1 Samuel 2
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3/27/2002
completed
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God, Is That You?
1 Samuel 3
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4/3/2002
completed
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Spiritual Superstitions
1 Samuel 4
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4/10/2002
completed
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The Battle Of The gods!
1 Samuel 5-6
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4/24/2002
completed
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Revival: Repentance Versus Conviction
1 Samuel 7
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5/1/2002
completed
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A Tale Of Two Kingdoms
1 Samuel 8
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5/8/2002
completed
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Civic Duties Of A Christian
1 Samuel 9-10
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5/15/2002
completed
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The Just War
1 Samuel 11-12
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5/22/2002
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The Downward Spiral Of A Leader
1 Samuel 13-15
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6/28/2002
completed
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Telling A Book By Its Cover
1 Samuel 16
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7/3/2002
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Overcoming Giant Problems
1 Samuel 17
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7/24/2002
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The Four Faces Of Friendship
1 Samuel 20
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7/31/2002
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The Fugitive
1 Samuel 21-22
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8/7/2002
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Who Is My Enemy?
1 Samuel 23-24
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8/21/2002
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Suffering With And Submitting To A Crazy King
1 Samuel 25
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8/28/2002
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Sorrow Without Repentence
1 Samuel 26-28
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9/4/2002
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Saul's Ending, David's Beginning
1 Samuel 29-31
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There are 18 additional messages in this series.
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