OUR BEFRIENDING THE PEOPLE OF GOD WILL ANGER SOME PEOPLE

PROCLAMATION

“Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, ‘… Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and the shame of the mother who bore you?’”  1 Samuel 20:30 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

The Spirit of The Lord God had left King Saul and had been replaced by an evil spirit. (1 Samuel 16:14 and 18:12)  Saul had initially loved David and took him into his home, but the more that he saw that The Spirit of The Lord God was with David, the more he feared him and wanted to kill him. (1 Samuel 18:29, 19:1, and 19:15)  Saul even got very angry with his son Jonathan for befriending David.  Saul was so angry that he threw a spear at Jonathan, attempting to kill him, when he questioned why Saul wanted to kill David. (1 Samuel 20:32-33)

APPLICATION

There are some people in this world who do not like The Lord God or the people of God.  They will even dislike or hate you for being friends with or being kind to believers.  It is good for us to be kind and good to the people of God.  The Bible records that Rahab, the prostitute, was spared along with her family because of how she treated God’s people. (Joshua 6:17)  People will be blessed for being nice to a man of God or just giving a child of God a drink of water. (Matthew 10:41-42)  The world will know that we are believers by the way that we show love to one another. (John 13:35)  We should not let anger or hatred rule our behavior.

PROTECTED BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD

PROCLAMATION

“Word came to Saul: ‘David is in Naioth at Ramah;’ so he sent men to capture him.  But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, The Spirit of God came on Saul’s men, and they also prophesied.”  1 Samuel 19:19-20 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

King Saul wanted to kill David (1 Samuel 19:1) but Saul’s son Jonathan intervened and saved David’s life. (1 Samuel 19:2-6)  During that time a war broke out with the Philistines, and David, who was now a high-ranking officer in the army, went off to war and slew the Philistines. (1 Samuel 19:8)  When he returned from the war, Saul sent messengers to his home to kill him. (1 Samuel 19:11)  David fled and took refuge with the prophet Samuel. (1 Samuel 19:18)  Twice more Saul sent messengers to kill David while he was with Samuel but The Spirit of The Lord God protected him. (1 Samuel 19:20-21)  Then King Saul went to Ramah to kill David himself but The Spirit of The Lord God again protected David. (1 Samuel 19:22-24)

APPLICATION

Three times King Saul sent men to kill David but The Spirit of The Lord God protected him.  Saul even went himself to kill David but again The Spirit of The Lord God protected him.  Just as The Spirit of The Lord God protected David from Saul and his men, He also protects believers today.  We may or may not know who or what is out to do us harm, but we know that The Spirit of The Lord God protects us from dangers seen and unseen. (Psalm 61:3 and 91:4)  We ought to be grateful and thank Him for blessing us and keeping us.

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.

WE NEED GOD'S HELP TO DEFEAT OUR GIANTS

PROCLAMATION

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword … but I come against you in the name of The Lord Almighty, The God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied … David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.  Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead.  The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.  So, David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone … he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”  1 Samuel 17:45-50 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  The Philistine army had gathered to fight the army of Israel. (1 Samuel 17:1-3)  Their champion, a giant named Goliath, came forward and challenged the Israelites to send out one man to fight with him. (1 Samuel 17:8-10)  He did this for forty days.  David had only come to the battle ground to bring his older brothers some food, at the request of his father. (1 Samuel 17:17-18)  David heard the words of Goliath (1 Samuel 17:23) and he told King Saul that he would fight him. (1 Samuel 17:32)   David was not afraid of Goliath for he had fought and killed a lion and a bear while he was protecting his father’s sheep. (1 Samuel 17:34-36)  David refused to use Saul’s armor and relied instead on what The Lord God had provided. (1 Samuel 17:38-40)

APPLICATION

David knew that it was The Lord God who delivered him and allowed him to defeat the lion and the bear, and that He would deliver him from the hand of Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:37)  As we face our giant problems, we need to remember that The Lord God has helped us to overcome our problems in the past, and that He will help us with our current and future problems.  We also need to remember that what He has done for others, He can do for us.  We just need to put on the whole armor of God and stand our ground and watch as The Lord fights our battles. (Ephesians 6:11)  Some of the giants that we are fighting are not human and we need God’s help. (Ephesians 6:12-13)

CHOSEN BY GOD

PROCLAMATION

“… Then The Lord said, ‘Arise and anoint him; this is the one.’  So, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on The Spirit of The Lord came powerfully upon David…”  1 Samuel 16:12-13 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

After King Saul disobeyed The Lord God’s commands, it was revealed to Samuel that The Lord was displeased with Saul. (1 Samuel 15:10-11, 15:27-28, and 16:1)  Samuel was sent to meet with Jesse and to anoint one of his sons. (1 Samuel 16:3)  After seven of his sons had passed before Samuel and none of them were chosen, they called for his youngest son David. (1 Samuel 16:10-11)  Samuel was told by The Lord God to anoint David, the youngest son of Jesse.  He was the chosen one.

APPLICATION

“Many are called but few are chosen.” (Matthew 20:16 and 22:14)  All believers in Jesus, The Christ, have been chosen, blessed with certain abilities, and given a job to do for The Lord. (Ephesians 4:7 and 4:12)  We are not all blessed with the same gifts, (1 Corinthians 12:4-12) talents, or abilities, (Matthew 25:15) but we are all blessed with whatever we need in order to accomplish that which The Lord God has for us to do. (1 Chronicles 28:20)  Each believer was chosen by The Lord God for a particular purpose.  We each must do as Jesus, The Christ, said that He must do, “I must work the work of Him that sent Me.” (John 9:4)  We are chosen for a purpose.

FEAR AND OBEY GOD NOT MAN

PROCLAMATION

“Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned.  I have violated The Lord’s  command and your instructions.  I was afraid of the men, so I gave in to them.’”  1 Samuel 15:24 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  King Saul had been told to punish the Amalekites for their past treatment of Israel. (1 Samuel 15:2)  He was told to destroy them, and all that belonged to them (1 Samuel 15:3) but Saul and his army spared the king and the best of his sheep and cattle. (1 Samuel 15:9)  When Samuel confronted Saul, he admitted what he had done. (1 Samuel 15:13-15)  This verse was Saul’s reply when he was asked why he did not obey The Lord God.

APPLICATION

Being popular and thought well of or being well-liked by people is not good when the cost is going against The Word of God.  It is not possible to please God and to please man at the same time. (Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13)  The high regard that one gets for pleasing man is fleeting, but the results of pleasing The Lord God is eternal.  Jesus, The Christ, said, “If you love me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)  Don’t be afraid to let the world know that you love The Lord.

REAL COMMITMENT

PROCLAMATION

“Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said.  “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”  1 Samuel 14:7 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  At this point, King Saul had an army of about six hundred men (1 Samuel 13:15) but they had no weapons. (1 Samuel 13:19-22)  King Saul’s son, Jonathan, had a sword and he told his armor-bearer to come and go with him to the camp of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 14:1)  They had to travel over some rough terrain to reach the Philistine army outpost. (1 Samuel 14:4-5)  They were outnumbered but Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed twenty Philistines. (1 Samuel 14:13-14)

                                                                                                  

APPLICATION

This verse literally means that he will follow him wherever he goes.  Some people will tell you that they have your back, or that they will be with you till the end, through thick and thin.  However, most people really do not mean it.  It should be noted that this was not his friend.  The armor-bearer was more like his servant, he worked for him.  He was willing to go with him, over a hard road, to fight an enemy which outnumbered them.  He was willing, as the song goes, “to march into hell for a heavenly cause.”  Not everybody will help you fight “an unbeatable foe.”  Not all employees are this committed, and neither are all friends or family members.  There is only one that will stick by us through everything. (Hebrews 13:5)  He will stick closer to us than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)  He is committed to us.  He said that He would never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  He said that He would fight our battles. (2 Chronicles 20:17 and 32:8)  He said that He would direct us (Proverbs 3:6) and protect us. (Psalm 17:8, 61:3 and Proverbs 18:10)  The Lord God is truly committed to us, the question is, are we committed to Him?