David, part 5 Forgiving, and forgiving again Mike Taylor Forest - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
David, part 5 Forgiving, and forgiving again Mike Taylor Forest Community Church Sunday 1 March, 2020 https://mikepreaching.wordpress.com/ Living under grace in a world of law God's grace means he treats us as good people Not because we are
Mike Taylor
Forest Community Church
Sunday 1 March, 2020
https://mikepreaching.wordpress.com/
God's grace means he treats us as good people Not because we are good but because he is; and so that we will become good. Today we will look at how David reflected God's grace.
At this stage in the story, At this stage in the story, David and his men are hiding in En-gedi. David and his men are hiding in En-gedi.
After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi. So Saul chose 3,000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats. At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding farther back in that very cave!
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“Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’” So David crept forward and cut
But then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the Lord’s anointed
men and did not let them kill Saul.
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After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, David came out and shouted after him, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him. Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ‘I will never harm the king — he is the Lord’s anointed
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When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, “Is that really you, my son David?” Then he began to cry. And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil.” — 1 Samuel 24:1-10, 16-17
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By the standards of the time, David would have been justified in killing Saul.
By the standards of the time, David would have been justified in killing Saul. Why didn't he?
Now some men from Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah to tell him, “David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which overlooks Jeshimon.” So Saul took 3,000 of Israel’s elite troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul camped along the road beside the hill of Hakilah, near Jeshimon, where David was hiding. […] David and Abishai went right into Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him.
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“God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust
“No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let’s get out of here!”
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So David took the spear and jug of water that were near Saul’s
deep sleep. […] [David shouted] “Look around! Where are the king’s spear and the jug of water that were beside his head?” Saul recognized David’s voice and called out, “Is that you, my son David?”
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And David replied, “Yes, my lord the king. Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime? […] Then Saul confessed, “I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong.” — 1 Samuel 26:1-3a, 7-12, 16b-9, 21.
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David had Abishai egging him on to do what he knew was wrong but he knew he could justify.
David had Abishai egging him on to do what he knew was wrong but he knew he could justify. Do we have an Abishai?
David had Abishai egging him on to do what he knew was wrong but he knew he could justify. Do we have an Abishai? “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you?” — 1 Samuel 24:9.``
“God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” That was true, as all 3000 of Saul's men were asleep.
“God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” That was true, as all 3000 of Saul's men were asleep. But maybe God did that to test David’s character.
By this point, David knew what Saul was like. But David kept thinking to himself, “Someday Saul is going to get
will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe.” — 1 Samuel 27:1. David was under no illusions that Saul would stop hunting him. He knew that sparing Saul would not end the hunt.
He was forgiving Saul.
He was forgiving Saul. That doesn't mean he felt warm and fuzzy about him.
He was forgiving Saul. That doesn't mean he felt warm and fuzzy about him. It meant he decided not to bear a grudge. He laid down his legitimate grievance.
Often we won't forgive at all. Sometimes once. Maybe twice.
Often we won't forgive at all. Sometimes once. Maybe twice.
What does Jesus say? Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times”, Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!” — Matthew 18:21-22.
“Who takes vengeance or bears a grudge acts like one who, having cut one hand while handling a knife, avenges himself by stabbing the other hand.” — Jerusalem Talmud, Nedarim 9.4.
This is not just an obligation, but a response Not a need to repay a debt — which we can never do, anyway.
We are like David, who knew the joy of being forgiven, and we want others to know it.
We respond to God's forgiveness by forgiving …
Not only because we know it's right
(“our reasonable worship”, Romans 12:1)
But also because we want to mirror his character.
We want to show a distinct Christian witness. But that doesn't mean
no cinema, no alcohol no laughing at off-colour jokes.
These things don't impress anyone; they often repel. The distinctive Christian witness is forgiving — the one thing the world can't understand. ?
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” — Matthew 6:14-15.
We are really not left with much choice about this.
“You can forgive someone almost anything. But you cannot tolerate everything … We don't have to tolerate what people do just because we forgive them for doing it. Forgiving heals us personally. To tolerate everything only hurts us all in the long run.” — Lewis B. Smedes.
David did not excuse Saul's behaviour. He didn't say “it doesn't matter, forget about it”. It did matter. David did not forget. But he forgave.
And we are not required to excuse those who sin against us. But we are required to forgive them.
And we are not required to excuse those who sin against us. But we are required to forgive them. … For our own mental health … Because God has forgiven us … To be witnesses … Because unforgiveness separates us from God
Mike Taylor
Forest Community Church
Sunday 1 March, 2020
https://mikepreaching.wordpress.com/