HATED FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING

PROCLAMATION

“And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and The Lord was with him.  Wherefore when Saul saw that he had behaved himself wisely; he was afraid of him.”  1 Samuel 18:14-15 (KJV)

EXPLANATION

After David had killed Goliath, King Saul took him in and would not let him return to his father’s house. (1 Samuel 18:2)  David was very successful in whatever Saul asked him to do and Saul gave him a high rank in the army.  This pleased the troops, the officers, and the people. (1 Samuel 18:5)  The women from all the towns of Israel sang praises to King Saul and to David.  They sang that Saul had killed thousands and David had killed tens of thousands, and this angered Saul. (1 Samuel 18:6-8)  Saul tried to kill David by throwing a javelin at him.  Saul was afraid of David because he knew that The Lord God was with him. (1 Samuel 18:10-12)  David behaved himself wisely before the people and in all that Saul assigned him to do. (1 Samuel 18:5 and 18:14)  Saul sent David to battle the Philistines hoping that they would kill him. (1 Samuel 18:17 and 18:25)  When Saul saw that David had killed the Philistines, he knew that The Lord was with him and he was even more afraid of David. (1 Samuel 18:28-29)

APPLICATION

Just as King Saul hated David, even though David had not done anything wrong, there are people in this world who will hate believers, even when they are doing that which is right and good.  Jesus, The Christ, told his disciples that if the world persecuted Him, then they would persecute us. (John 15:20)  He also said if they hate us, we should remember that they hated Him. (John 15:18)  It has been said that the more believers do for The Lord, the more Satan will attack them in order to stop them.   When an evil spirit is defeated, it will return with reinforcements which are usually more evil than the defeated spirit. (Matthew 12:43-45)  So, expect to be hated for doing the right thing and for doing God’s will.

DOING GOOD CAN CAUSE YOU TO BE DISLIKED

Proclamation:

“Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?’  But they remained silent.  He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’  He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.  Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”  Mark 3:4-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by John Mark, a nephew of Barnabas but not an apostle.  This is the gospel as he received it from Simon Peter.  He began the third chapter by recounting the events surrounding the healing of a man with a shriveled hand while He was in the synagogue on the Sabbath. (Mark 3:1-5)  For doing this, the Pharisees wanted to kill Him. (Mark 3:6)  Mark then discussed the large crowd that followed Jesus (Mark 3:7-12) and His appointment of His twelve disciples. (Mark 3:13-19)  Then he discussed the relationship that Jesus had with His family (Mark 3:20-21 and 31-35) and how Jesus defended Himself to those who accused Him of being possessed by the devil. (Mark 3:22-30)

Application:

The Sabbath day, or Sunday, is to be a day of rest and worship. (Exodus 20:8-11)  However, Jesus, The Christ, reveals that it is okay to do that which is good on that day.  It is always okay to save a life or to help save a lost soul.  Sometimes in order to do that which is good and right one must break one of man’s rules.  At times even our family members may not understand why we do the things that we do.  However, if what we are doing is for The Lord and we are doing God’s will to give Him glory, then we are part of His family.  A right relationship with The Lord God is more important than our blood relationship with our family.

WE KNOW WE ARE SAVED WHEN WE LOVE ALL OF GOD'S CHILDREN

Proclamation:

“Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other.  Anyone who does not love remains in death.”  1 John 3:13-14 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the apostle John, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to all who believed in Jesus, The Christ.  He begins this third chapter by telling them that are the children of God. (1 John 3:1-3)  Then he tells them that one who does that which is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. (1 John 3:7)  “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” (1 John 3:9)  He says that the children of God will do what is right but the children of the devil will not. (1 John 3:10)  Then he tells them that they will know that they are saved because they will love all of the believers.

Application:

Once we become saved believers in Christ our behavior will change.  We will no longer continue to do all of the sinful things that we used to do because The Holy Spirit of God is within us.  Although we are not perfect, we will do that which is right more often that that which is wrong.  Our attitude will change and we will know that we are saved because we will love all of God’s children. (1 John 3:14)  We will know that we belong to Him when we strive to keep God’s commands and to do the things which please Him. (1 John 3:19-24)  The world may hate us because of our beliefs, but then the world also hated Christ. (John 15:18-19)