Americans live in a fairytale. They live in what I'd like to call the “Burger King” Fairytale. What's Burger King's motto? “Have it your way.” People make all kinds of plans. They have all kinds of intentions and they live under the idea that they can run their own lives. They live as they feel they want to. I saw a woman on TV the other day who had grown distant in her relationship with her mom because her mom didn't approve of her recent divorce. When asked why she divorced she said, “It's my decision. It's my life.” What's the common denominator in those statements? “My, Me.” It's about self. Do you think as she was standing at the altar on the wedding day that she was planning to get divorced? Probably not. That wasn't her plan. I didn't watch the whole thing, but I suspect her expectations for marriage involved a fair amount self. Her plan was her own happiness. But I want you to notice her reaction. How did she react when things weren't going the way she wanted? She threw a hissy fit and ended it. After all it's not much different than dating right? Just fill out a little paperwork.
That's easy to see in the world, but what about us? How do you react when your plan doesn't go the way you expect? Or better yet, how do you react when your plan isn't God's plan?
Turn with me if you would to 1 Samuel 18. We're only gonna look at v.1-16 tonight. Last time I was with you I took you back to Ch.16 where Samuel tells king Saul that God had rejected him as king. More than that, God was going to raise up a man to take his place. Thus began the transition from Saul to David. That's the big picture in which we have to look at the rest of the book. Ch.17 brought us David's battle with Goliath. This event propelled David into the spotlight of the people of Israel. It was the first major event in David's rise to king. In that story the lens I looked through for our lives was how we gained victory in our struggle with sin. I said the story showed us that (BIG IDEA) “Victory comes when the glory is the Lord's and the battle is the Lord's.” The key to the story was found in 17:46-47. What I wanna do is take you back to that moment in the story, back to the battlefield, back to the victory... because that's where our text tonight picks up. Are you there?
READ 18:1-5. So the army of Israel is in a state of rejoicing. You can imagine their weapons being hoisted in the air as the Philistines fled and their champion Goliath dead. Remember we said David had been going to be with his father and tend the sheep back and forth from home and back to Saul. Well, obviously this time king Saul was impressed with David. He was so impressed that v.2 tells us, “Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father's house.” V.5 says, “So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.” Saul saw that there was something to this “young man” David.
David had zeal.
He had courage.
He had confidence.
He had... just defeated a GIANT.
He had qualities that could prove to bear out a fruitful military career and Saul saw this, BUT those things were not what put David in such a position. God was with him. We saw that in the end of 16:13, “...the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward...”
Now I want you to look at each of these chapters in David's life to see God's hand in them. David was appointed to lead the army of Israel. This position will prepare David to lead and fight in the future as king. This is his training ground to gain experience and to further build his reputation among the people. But how is it being done? GOD is doing it... through king Saul. Saul thought he was just getting an asset to his army, but he was merely God's instrument to prepare David to take Saul's place. As I thought about this it got me thinking, how often is God using us without our understanding, without our knowledge, without our finite human perception... for the preparation and sanctification of someone else? Have you ever stopped to think about that? What could God be doing through you not for your sake, but the sake of the person you're interacting with?
We also see in this passage the beginning of the secondary story of David's friendship with Jonathan. I don't wanna steal John's thunder because he may talk some about this with you later. But the text says it was during this time and these battles with the Philistines that David and Jonathan developed a bond between two brothers that would last for years to come. And it would be a friendship that would serve as yet another important chapter in David's life and preparation, but that is still yet to unfold in the rest of the book. So we won't look at that. These few verses merely set the stage for what's to come. You'll have to wait to see the point in that chapter though.
But it's in v.6-9 that the story gets interesting. Things are going well for Saul. His army is doing well under David's leadership and success seems to be Saul's best friend. What could be better? Life was great for king Saul until... something happened. What happened? READ v.6-9. There's so much in these few verses and they give us the crux, the crisis of our story. Saul is taking the head of the army as they return home to celebrate once again. I can imagine he has a smile on his face that stretches from the East to the West. Each time he has returned from a battle victorious he returns to a great celebration. As his feet enter the gate of the city of Israel, he's met by the women of the city. It's the ladies that knew how to celebrate in the OT. You never send the men to be in charge of a celebration. We're fine with plain, simple, boring... we couldn't choose the color of decorations if our life depended on it. This was common though. The Israelites knew who to put in charge of the celebrating (Exo_15:20; Jdg_11:34; Psa_68:25). As Saul expected their joy and prepared himself for their song, the news of the victory over Goliath reached them before the army did. And their song took on a new note and new lyrics. “Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands.” And this song that was so full of joy in the ears of the army and of the people and of the women who sang it, it was the sound of war in the ears of king Saul. He was outraged! “How could they sing such a thing?!” He asked, in essence. “I'm the king! And they've made David ten times greater than me!!!?” And then in v.8 he makes a statement so prophetic that it blows my mind. He says, “Now what more can he have but the kingdom? And Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.”
Remember, Samuel told him what was about to happen. He knew someone was going to replace him. Now he's beginning to see what God is doing and He doesn't want it to happen. He is jealous of David. He's angry. He's suspicious. And He's jealous. Jealousy is a bitter seed that plants itself in the soul and grows like a weed behind the building that you don't see until it starts coming through the window. As he went to bed that night I can imagine him asking, "How can I stop this from happening?"
Look at v.10-12. Now we're brought from the open city of Israel right into the king's palace and was performing his old duty of playing music for the king. I'm sure this music sounded much different than the soothing purpose it was meant for. But here in these verses we reach an issue that Theologians have talked and talked about for years. It's one that I don't intend to have a neatly packaged answer for. What is this “evil spirit” and why would God send it? Is God the author of evil? You know I wonder how much we open ourselves up to God's laughter when we speculate about Him, but here we go anyway...
“An evil spirit from God”
This can only be one of two things; (1) An emotional state/attitude of anger (“that person has a spirit of anger about them”) (2) An actual evil entity that existed from outside Saul and then came into him/a demon. The NASB translates “evil spirit” and you'll see the ESV translates “harmful spirit.” It seems each translation lends itself toward a certain view. Now, either way we have to admit that God is the origin of this in some sense. It's “from God” the text says. God's hand was at work. We can't get so caught up in difficulty that we ignore or try to explain away a plain honest reading of the Word of God. That's a principle of interpretation. Don't forget that. Now it's certainly possible that God is moving Saul's emotions, after all Proverbs 21:1 says, “The heart of the king is like streams of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever He pleases.” God can change a heart whenever and however He pleases. But, I don't think that's what's going on here. Look back at 16:14. If the Spirit of the Lord is a real person (a living Spirit) and this Spirit is contrasted with an evil spirit. It's likely that we're talking about an actual entity. The Holy Spirit only moved upon people in the OT for certain occasions or offices and it was temporary. It's only the NT after Jesus left that the Spirit comes inside the followers of Christ to dwell forever. That's how the Spirit of God could leave Saul and a different one enter him.
Now, does this mean God is the author of evil? No. I think the only answer we can give here is that God allowed this spirit to torment Saul. He allowed it as further punishment of Saul's disobedience. God didn't produce this evil spirit, He allowed it to come upon Saul. Now I've gotta be honest with you... I don't like the word “allowed.” In my mind I'm thinking, “If we say allowed it makes it a passive act on God's part and if we say He straight up sent it, it becomes an active act on God's part. So either way isn't it God doing it?” But then I'm reminded of Job. God allowed Satan to torment Job. He allowed it for a greater purpose that neither Job, nor his friends nor his family could see. It was all in God's capable hands though. It was hidden in the mystery of God's sovereignty (His control and outworkings in the lives of his people). So I'm thinking the allowing is the only biblical direction we can go at this point. BUT you can be sure that's one of the first things I'm gonna ask God about when we all get to heaven. It'll be one of those things we find on the endless celestial wall of pamphlets of correct doctrine.
But this spirit came upon Saul and it caused him to “rave” in the midst of the house. Some of your translations say prophesy. I think the idea here is captured more in the “raving.” He was raving like a madman. He had an emotional outburst of anger that caused him to attempt to murder David. Some say Saul was prophesying good things to fool David from what he was about to do, but I can't see that because David caught on to it and avoided his attempts twice. V.12 adds fear to our list of Saul's emotions. He knew God was no longer with him, but was now with David.
Let's look at v.13-16. Saul tried to kill David and it didn't work. He knew it wouldn't work. At least at this moment. He didn't want David in his sight. So he removed him from his presence and sent him off to war. And the Bible says Saul dreaded David. He held a fearful awe for David. Saul thought this would take care of his problem.
It would be very easy for me to say to you tonight, “Saul was jealous of David. Don't be jealous” and to stop there. Jealousy is wrong but there's more here. If I did that it would ignore the big picture. You see all that God said was coming to pass before Saul's very eyes. His kingdom was slipping through his fingers and He was powerless to stop it. This brings us the whole point of this passage tonight and it's this...
When your plan isn't God's plan, fighting against Him is futile.
“futile” (a waste of time and emotion)
His plan was to ignore what the prophet Samuel said.
His plan was to remain king.
His plan was for David to serve his army and bring him the glory.
His plan was to kill David and secure his own destiny.
His plan... wasn't God's plan. Do you see that?
So I ask you again as I did before, How do you react when your plan isn't God's plan? It's ok to plan. It's wise to plan. But what happens when those plans don't go the way you wanted?
How often have you and I wanted to build and maintain our own little kingdoms? It may be a kingdom of ministry, a kingdom of romance, a kingdom of corporate success, a kingdom of the way you think a household should be run, etc. and anything that looks like it's getting in our way turns us into a screaming angry child who can't have the candy as we're going through the grocery store checkout line. We get jealous when someone at work gets the praise. We get jealous when the other guy gets the girl. We look at our plan falling apart and don't consider for a moment that it may not be God's plan for us.
Here's what I want you to do... the next time things aren't going your way (even if it's small) ask the question, “What is God doing here? What direction does God seem to be going?” Trust me, save yourself the pain and heartache that will come when you fight against God. God will win. He will. And the next time you see the kid in the grocery store that whines to his mom. Look up and ask, “Lord... is that me right now? Am I trying to have it my way?”
Because, when your plan isn't God's plan, fighting against Him is futile.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Summer Continued
At church Sunday I was encouraged by the pastor's topical message on idolatry. He began with 2 Kings 17:41a, “So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images.” I don't want to be like “these nations” and I still praise God I've put down the greatest idol of my life and experienced blessing and sanctification because of it. I noticed that some of the statements and points in this message were similar one he preached years ago titled, “Identifying our Baals.” I remember it well and made sure to get a copy of the CD because it was used of God in a profound way to begin to reveal to me the idol I once loved... the carved image of sorts in my life. This past Sunday served as a kind of bookend to the earlier sermon. I could sit and rejoice this time because God had done a great work in my heart. My heart belongs wholly to Him first before any woman or any romantic interest. A refreshing Sunday morning.
This summer has been emotionally challenging and yet as I've seen God's gracious and preparatory hand in all of it, the challenge has been seasoned with an abiding joy. I continue to meet with my married friend for accountability and prayer each week. After some good counseling and much prayer I'm sure the marriage is doing better and much healing is taking place. I praise the Lord for that so much. I continue to pray for them and other marriages, relationships, and couples that aren't couples yet... that they may not live in the fairytale of “happily ever after,” but in the reality of “for better or worse, till death do us part.” Real life isn't usually a like a Disney movie. We need the resolve to love despite and before the problems come not in the midst of them. We need a love that flows not from fickle feelings and preferences, but from the love of and for Christ Himself... because if it begins with Him it also begins with a commitment to honoring Him in the covenant of marriage. I'm not there yet, but I'm already learning that there may be times in marriage when our love for each other will not be enough. The Lord and honoring Him may be the only love we have to carry us through. In those times if we're too wrapped up in our own selfish belief that marriage is for our sustained happiness OR if we're so wrapped up in love for a human being that we miss God... it won't last. I've been able to read a book this summer called, “Saving Your Marriage Before (and after) it Starts” By Les and Leslie Parrott. While the book needs to be more openly Christian and relies on research and expert studies for some things, I think the wisdom and experience by this Christian couple are great for anyone who wants to be married some day. Apparently there's a workbook that goes with it. I hate workbooks, but I think this one might be worth it. I would only recommend it to Christians though. The book tries to be evangelistic, but falls very short of a clear gospel presentation.
This summer I've also been spending a lot of time with my mom. Her seizures have stopped, but last Wednesday my sister and I took her to the doctor. It's hard because we know she doesn't have the money to pay for the doctor and likely won't, but the alternative is that she gets no medical care and we couldn't allow that. Hard decisions. She went in because her stomach had swollen up to where she looked pregnant. In fact I told her she should've told the doctors during a test, “You know I really think it's a boy.” She's usually resistant to going to a hospital but she saw something on TV that scared her. My sister and I saw this as an opportunity to take her for what we knew was likely a different problem. She's had two boyfriends in the past die because their alcoholism shut down their liver and it burst inside them. Apparently she has been on her way to the same thing. She stayed from Wednesday to Friday. It turned out she was low on a lot of vitamins. She doesn't hardly eat anything. So they pumped her full of vitamins. The swollen stomach was exactly what we'd thought. Her liver was having a hard time filtering fluids so they were filling up her stomach. They drained some of the fluid in a painful operation. They found an infection in her liver and pancreas due to excessive drinking. She's also having trouble controlling her bladder. In some respects the children have become the parents now. She's still weak and still swollen, but she's eating more. We're hoping the prescriptions will help. While she was at the hospital my sister and I poured out the alcohol and even found the little amount of leftover drugs and 4 or 5 pipes that I tried to trash years ago. Those are now disposed of.
Through all this it's been good to grow closer to my sister. We had to search for her birth certificate and we looked through a large chest that contained years of photos that only a mom would have. It was a trip through memory lane for sure. We found high school photos of my mom, pics of my sister and I together when we were young... some of the photos stolen sneakily of us while we were sleeping next to each other. I took some I wanna put up on facebook when I get back to campus. My sister and I went out to eat, went to see the new story movie, all in between visits to see my mom in the hospital. We also went and paid the bills for my mom, took money out of the bank, bought groceries, and budgeted a bit. We felt like roommates for a few days. My mom asked me to mow her lawn as I'd offered a while back. So Monday I went home for some supplies and returned to her house. My sister and I spent about 4 hours on yard work. Her backyard was a forest of weeds, holes, and anthills. We trimmed branches, mowed, and did plenty of weed eating. I'd never used a weed eater before, but now I know how for sure lol. I taught my sister how to use it and the lawnmower. She still isn't strong enough to pull the rip cords. It was cute to watch her try though. I'm at my house now with my dad (sister lives with mom) and Lord willing I'll spend another week over there in early August before returning to school. It's been nice to minister to my mom and sister this past week. I've shared the gospel with them many times and in many ways. They know the truth. They just haven't received it. Please pray with me that the Lord will use my actions of love to confirm the greater love I have for their eternal destiny. It's now a matter of supporting with my hands the message I've shared with my mouth. I've also seen this as an opportunity to get a taste of home ownership and life. It's been a joy to be the man of the house they don't have... to do the yard work, to help with budgeting, to run errands, to be there as emotional support, to help with dinner, and to play a board game before bed. It was like a taste of life with my future family. During yardwork I told my sister of how that weed eater was hard on my forearms. She asked if I could do this for a job. I told her I think I could get used to it.
The other part of my summer has been devoted to a little preaching. I preached 1 Samuel 17 on David and Goliath. It was an encouraging and rich study. It was exciting to tackle such a familiar story with the tools I've learned from Bible college. I get to preach again in about 2 weeks. I'll continue in 1 Samuel 18. Thankfully I've got almost 2 weeks to prepare this time. The Lord is doing so much in my heart this summer and I'm SO excited to see what He'll do in my life in the next few years ahead. After preaching chapter 17 a woman at church said, “I know of a church that needs an Associate Pastor.” My curiosity asked further. She was referring to our our church. I only wonder what God will do in the near future. Something else that's funny... last december a lady at church tried to set me up with an older woman who taught at a Bible college in New York. I was naive to what was going on at first. We never spoke though. I wasn't all that excited when they referred to her as “crazy missionary lady” lol. And this summer I was told my mom's friend had a daughter that was also 25 and was studying “religion” (whatever that meant) and that she would be at some church event I was planning to go to if I didn't work. Part of me is thankful I was working that day! Anyway... still praying. Still trusting. Still doing ministry. Still putting the Lord first. I know the details of my life are in His hands and I can't wait to unwrap the good gifts of a sovereign God when they are given at just the right time.
This summer has been emotionally challenging and yet as I've seen God's gracious and preparatory hand in all of it, the challenge has been seasoned with an abiding joy. I continue to meet with my married friend for accountability and prayer each week. After some good counseling and much prayer I'm sure the marriage is doing better and much healing is taking place. I praise the Lord for that so much. I continue to pray for them and other marriages, relationships, and couples that aren't couples yet... that they may not live in the fairytale of “happily ever after,” but in the reality of “for better or worse, till death do us part.” Real life isn't usually a like a Disney movie. We need the resolve to love despite and before the problems come not in the midst of them. We need a love that flows not from fickle feelings and preferences, but from the love of and for Christ Himself... because if it begins with Him it also begins with a commitment to honoring Him in the covenant of marriage. I'm not there yet, but I'm already learning that there may be times in marriage when our love for each other will not be enough. The Lord and honoring Him may be the only love we have to carry us through. In those times if we're too wrapped up in our own selfish belief that marriage is for our sustained happiness OR if we're so wrapped up in love for a human being that we miss God... it won't last. I've been able to read a book this summer called, “Saving Your Marriage Before (and after) it Starts” By Les and Leslie Parrott. While the book needs to be more openly Christian and relies on research and expert studies for some things, I think the wisdom and experience by this Christian couple are great for anyone who wants to be married some day. Apparently there's a workbook that goes with it. I hate workbooks, but I think this one might be worth it. I would only recommend it to Christians though. The book tries to be evangelistic, but falls very short of a clear gospel presentation.
This summer I've also been spending a lot of time with my mom. Her seizures have stopped, but last Wednesday my sister and I took her to the doctor. It's hard because we know she doesn't have the money to pay for the doctor and likely won't, but the alternative is that she gets no medical care and we couldn't allow that. Hard decisions. She went in because her stomach had swollen up to where she looked pregnant. In fact I told her she should've told the doctors during a test, “You know I really think it's a boy.” She's usually resistant to going to a hospital but she saw something on TV that scared her. My sister and I saw this as an opportunity to take her for what we knew was likely a different problem. She's had two boyfriends in the past die because their alcoholism shut down their liver and it burst inside them. Apparently she has been on her way to the same thing. She stayed from Wednesday to Friday. It turned out she was low on a lot of vitamins. She doesn't hardly eat anything. So they pumped her full of vitamins. The swollen stomach was exactly what we'd thought. Her liver was having a hard time filtering fluids so they were filling up her stomach. They drained some of the fluid in a painful operation. They found an infection in her liver and pancreas due to excessive drinking. She's also having trouble controlling her bladder. In some respects the children have become the parents now. She's still weak and still swollen, but she's eating more. We're hoping the prescriptions will help. While she was at the hospital my sister and I poured out the alcohol and even found the little amount of leftover drugs and 4 or 5 pipes that I tried to trash years ago. Those are now disposed of.
Through all this it's been good to grow closer to my sister. We had to search for her birth certificate and we looked through a large chest that contained years of photos that only a mom would have. It was a trip through memory lane for sure. We found high school photos of my mom, pics of my sister and I together when we were young... some of the photos stolen sneakily of us while we were sleeping next to each other. I took some I wanna put up on facebook when I get back to campus. My sister and I went out to eat, went to see the new story movie, all in between visits to see my mom in the hospital. We also went and paid the bills for my mom, took money out of the bank, bought groceries, and budgeted a bit. We felt like roommates for a few days. My mom asked me to mow her lawn as I'd offered a while back. So Monday I went home for some supplies and returned to her house. My sister and I spent about 4 hours on yard work. Her backyard was a forest of weeds, holes, and anthills. We trimmed branches, mowed, and did plenty of weed eating. I'd never used a weed eater before, but now I know how for sure lol. I taught my sister how to use it and the lawnmower. She still isn't strong enough to pull the rip cords. It was cute to watch her try though. I'm at my house now with my dad (sister lives with mom) and Lord willing I'll spend another week over there in early August before returning to school. It's been nice to minister to my mom and sister this past week. I've shared the gospel with them many times and in many ways. They know the truth. They just haven't received it. Please pray with me that the Lord will use my actions of love to confirm the greater love I have for their eternal destiny. It's now a matter of supporting with my hands the message I've shared with my mouth. I've also seen this as an opportunity to get a taste of home ownership and life. It's been a joy to be the man of the house they don't have... to do the yard work, to help with budgeting, to run errands, to be there as emotional support, to help with dinner, and to play a board game before bed. It was like a taste of life with my future family. During yardwork I told my sister of how that weed eater was hard on my forearms. She asked if I could do this for a job. I told her I think I could get used to it.
The other part of my summer has been devoted to a little preaching. I preached 1 Samuel 17 on David and Goliath. It was an encouraging and rich study. It was exciting to tackle such a familiar story with the tools I've learned from Bible college. I get to preach again in about 2 weeks. I'll continue in 1 Samuel 18. Thankfully I've got almost 2 weeks to prepare this time. The Lord is doing so much in my heart this summer and I'm SO excited to see what He'll do in my life in the next few years ahead. After preaching chapter 17 a woman at church said, “I know of a church that needs an Associate Pastor.” My curiosity asked further. She was referring to our our church. I only wonder what God will do in the near future. Something else that's funny... last december a lady at church tried to set me up with an older woman who taught at a Bible college in New York. I was naive to what was going on at first. We never spoke though. I wasn't all that excited when they referred to her as “crazy missionary lady” lol. And this summer I was told my mom's friend had a daughter that was also 25 and was studying “religion” (whatever that meant) and that she would be at some church event I was planning to go to if I didn't work. Part of me is thankful I was working that day! Anyway... still praying. Still trusting. Still doing ministry. Still putting the Lord first. I know the details of my life are in His hands and I can't wait to unwrap the good gifts of a sovereign God when they are given at just the right time.
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