Ep. 16: The Next King

Play to those of you who are watching online, Merry Christmas. I am wearing two items of clothing that I was given for Christmas. I do have some new Santa socks that was given and this was actually a early Christmas present males, wearing a Christmas present today.

Welcome to episode 16 of the plan. This is a sermon series that we're going through this year. Starting in September with Genesis. We're going through the whole story of the Bible, from beginning to end, and we are synchronizing up with the Resurrection on Easter, which means that on Christmas Sunday. We are in or the day after Christmas. We are in 1st, Samuel 15 is where you'd expect to be today, right? We've been telling this whole story, and if you haven't been here with us, the, the story that we've been finding that links all of the different individual stories of Bible together as this. It is. The Bible is the story of God's plan, to establish a Place full of people who live out their purpose. In his presence. Is it at every stage in the Bible? That is what God is working to accomplish in the world. So he created the world and he put people in it and you told them to rule on his behalf. And then he came down to live with them on the 7th day. And then we messed it up at the end of the Bible. We see that the way the story ends is with a new Earth full of God's people that are raining on God's behalf and God lives there with them. So we are supposed to end where we began and the story of the Bible is the story of how God gets us from the way. We've messed up the world to restoring us to that plan. At this stage in the story. God is working through the nation of Israel. They are his chosen people and he's giving them one particular place on the earth to rule over and he's giving the law of Moses so that they can rule over it on his behalf. So they know how to do that and he lives among them there in the promised land. And so the idea is that everyone can all the nations can look at Israel and see what makes them different and that will Point them towards gods. And there is that reveals God to a world that has forgotten him. Now at this point Israel's doing better than they have in the past. They did very badly and judges. But after they lost the ark they they repented and they started to do better. And then as the prophet Samuel's Ministry started to end, they asked for a king. And that's what we talked about last week about the, they ask for a king because it was basically, it was too much work to try and follow God directly. So how about we'll follow this human beings and human being can worry about following God and being faithful and waiting and making all the right judgment and we'll just follow the person in front of us. And at the end of that sermon, we found out that Not only was I not God's intention but that they are now tied to a King who is not the kind of King. God wanted God, gave him the kind of thing they wanted. And so we saw its the sum. Troubling signs of the end of the last sermon about where things were headed until as we go into our opening passage today. That's what we're seeing is. Racine saw show his true colors and we're finding out what kind of King the Israelites really have to remember. This is how we keep our bearings in a story in terms of how it connects with the plan watch for, who's the story about, where is their home? How can they meet with God, and what does God tell them to do for a lot of these? Now, you'll remember them from previous sermons, but this passage will update us in a couple of ways. To Samuel said, the song, I am the one, the Lord sent to a point to anoint you King over his people Israel. So, listen. Now to the message from the Lord, this is what the Lord Almighty says. I will punish the amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go attack the amalekites and totally destroy all the belongs to them. Do not spare them. Put to death men and women children and infants, cattle and sheep. Camels and donkeys.

All right. So who was the story about?

At this point, the story is about Saul and the issue. I see this is the thing about a king, is that anointed by God? Is that now? That means when God has things for the Israelites to do, he's going to go through Saul, Saul is the appointed leader. And so Samuel, even the prophet of God doesn't go to the people, he goes to solve who is responsible for leading the Israelites and following God's plan. Where is there home? I'm calling it, The Land of Israel at this point. We might start to call it the Kingdom of Israel. There's a major transition that's going to happen. But in the rule of the first three kings, where we're going to go from being a loose Gathering of tribes, and to a solid Kingdom, and we're in the early stages of that transition. How can they meet with God? Now? This was not addressed in the passage. So we have to remember what the stage that were at. Normally, they would be able to meet with God, in the Tabernacle. The ark, you go to the Tabernacle you worship there. And that's where the presence of God is, and they seem to still be doing that at this stage in the story. However, there is one issue that's going on, which is that the ark is still in Exile. Remember they, they gambled with the ark and they tried to use it to fourth guy to win a battle for them, and it got captured by the Philistines, and then God liberated the ark, but when he sent it back, he entrusted it to gibeonites who are not Israelites. So, at this point, the ark is not at the Tabernacle, which means there's some sense that God's presence has not really been restored there. So even though they're worshipping their, they seem to still be in this kind of trial, separation with God. They're still barriers there so that they, they aren't fully connected with God, the way they're meant to be. Finally, what did God tell them to do?

The instructions he was given were to totally destroy the amalekites. Now. This is actually referencing back to an an order that God gave them in Deuteronomy. He said, don't forget what the amalekites did to you because with the amalekites, basically, they fought against the Israelites on their way, to the promised land, but they also like attacked their them as they were traveling and pick off stragglers and we're just relentlessly in an attacking them until in Deuteronomy. God says, don't forget this because we need to set that, right? And so when you get into the land, I'm going to have you. I'm going to have you totally destroy them. Now, if you were not here for the sermon on Joshua, I would encourage you to an end. You're interested in the concept and I'm talking about right now. I would encourage you to go back and listen to that server because we really delve into this idea. If you remember of total Destruction that were being translated as totally, destroyed is not actually mean totally destroyed. It means devote to God. It's the same thing, the guy told him to do these Canaanites. What it means is normally for us, Warfare isn't really an economic thing anymore. I mean, we talked about the, the companies that have contracts to make weapons making money, but but you don't really like, we don't pillage anymore. At least we're not supposed to write. That's, that's not how we justify battle that back. Then pillaging was the main way you paid for warranty was part of the reason you went to war. So when God sends them to war to fight for his purposes, like in this case, it's meant to punish the amalekites for what they have done to Israel on the way. They oppose God's plan. To totally destroy means that you devote it all to God of Asa means. You don't keep anything for yourself. That's the important Point. Even the exaggerated language about killing. Everyone will find out. Whenever it says they're supposed to kill everyone, their descendants are still around later because they didn't actually kill everyone in systems judge rated language. To say when you win this battle. Don't take anything for yourself. So freely, what he's saying is defeat the amalekites and destroy their power and don't take any plunder.

So this was the big issue that caused Israel to falter in the Book of Judges. If you remember, when the God told him to do this in Canaan to the with the Canaanites to push out the Canaanites and they gave up part way through and that is really where things started to to go down there. And so now, this is a pretty significant tests. Are they going to do any better? Now that they have a king, is the monarchy. The way they asked for it, really going to be an improvement. What's my job? So salgos and he defeats them. But total Destruction is a Hyrum, is the word behind that it refers to what they do after the battle. And here's what saw does after the battle song, on the Army, spared a gag, the king, and the best of the sheep and cattle. The fat calves in the land. Everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely put everything that was despised and week, they totally destroyed. Pause there. No one. You understand. What hearing is about? What? Totally distraught. Total Destruction or a pyramid means you see how big of a deal? This is the whole point of these instructions as you're not supposed to keep anything for yourself because God gave them, the battle gave him the victory to fulfill his purposes. They're not supposed to profit from that. And so, when Saul spares, everything of value and only destroys the things that are worthless that they can Tree sell or keep and get Prestige from it's, it's the exact opposite of what God told him to do. It is a complete flagrant disregard for what God has said and they're basically treating this as a battle for their own for their own profit. So, God is upset about this and he tell Samuel, I regret making Saul King and Samuel goes to confront salt. And he says, why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord? Salsa response is really interesting, watch the movie but I did obey the Lord. So I'll said, I went on the mission. I completely destroy the amalekites and brought back against their King, the first, he claims that he did it. And then just kind of snakes in the fact that he spared the king who was the most valuable captive that you that there was, but he's plays know, I did it and he says, the soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God in order to sacrifice them to the Lord, your God at gilgal. So the second first move is denial. The SEC has blamed, the soldiers were the ones who kept all the animals and the third move is appeasement. He says, you have the only reason we kept it with cuz we were going to sacrifice unto God which would be kind of like getting caught going through your parents wallet in December and say no. I was just I was just taking money to buy you a Christmas present. I like you're robbing them to give them something just to give it back in to try to get credit for that. And so the moves that he's making our our he's trying to avoid responsibility and you can even see at the end whose God is it, whose God? Is he refer to your God? Because he's he's there's major problems with sauce attitude at this point and he's he's trying to evade responsibility and I want you to remember that because that's going to be really important next week. When we got to the to another story, as we compare reactions, when people are confronted with sin, but for now, we're going to look at his house. All Samuel response response with a poem and whenever a prophet speaks and poetry you really pay attention. K is really important. If it's in poetry. He says, does the Lord Delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying, the Lord to obey, is better than sacrifice into heat, is better than the fat of Rams for Rebellion is like, the scent of divination and arrogance. Like the evil of idolatry because you have rejected the word of the Lord. He has rejected you as king. So Samuel says what, God can't be bribed. Right? God doesn't need your animals. He doesn't need your sacrifices. What he wants, is your obedience. That's actually the point. You can't pay off God in the fact that pay off your Disobedience, by making sacrifices and you're responsible for all of God's people, you're supposed to do this better than anybody. So he says, because you've rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected. You is so sorry, ejected God's command. So God rejected Saul as king. Solace still has the throne, he still has the crown but he is no longer God's chosen ruler and we're actually going to see God. Take back his spirit and soul sauce is no longer. The Chosen person that God has for the for the throne. Now, last week. We saw that that Samuel has already mentioned. God has someone else in mind to take solace place. Samuel warned us all of this in a bin chapter 13 and so as we go into the chapter 16, God starts moving that plan, that putting that plan in motion and so he talks to Samuel Samuels depressed. He says, how long you going to cry over salt? Just get up and go to Bethlehem the little time. You may have heard of it recently and I'm going to have you in the white one of Jesse's Sons as the new king. So he goes to Jesse's house. Jesse is the grandson of Ruth. You may remember her from a few weeks ago and he goes in and he meets there. They're first born son alive. And this is how he reacts when they arrive single spot. A lie up and thought surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord, proving that even profits can be slow to learn a lesson. The reason I say that is because if you remember last week, what was the big thing that made everybody likes, all including Samuel? What was the thing that Drew people to saw? He was tall, he was handsome and he was rich. He was exactly what they expected in terms of his appearance and his position until everybody thought Saul was the right guy because you look good, even Samuel responded that way. And so Samuel, the saw is not working out. So Samuel goes to anoint a new person and he's still using the same criteria. Hey, that guy is tall and impressive. He must be the Lord's anointed. But the Lord said to Samuel, do not consider his appearance or his height for. I've rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things. People. Look at people. Look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

So what are you saying is I'm going to, I'm going to choose someone that has the kind of character that I want. I'm not looking for a person with a particular height. I'm looking for a person with a particular character. Does Samuel ask, Jesse? Are these all the sons you have? There is still the youngest Jesse answered. He is tending, the Sheep meaning that he was so young that they figured, it wasn't even worth calling him out of the fields for, for the meeting. But they call him and send us at, send for him. We will not sit down until he arrives. So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said rise and anoint him. This is the one Now, the point is being made in the story, is actually not really about looks. This is not meant to be an ugly duckling kind of story. Because you'll notice that David is handsome. In fact, David as it turns out to be quite the ladies, man. It's going to cause some problems, but he's he's handsome. He's inspiring people really like him. But the point is that he is not the most impressive and he's not the one that fit their criteria of what they was saying, was expecting to see in a person. And so, what that means is that this is God's choice, not Samuels Choice. That's what being a size. Your last time, God gave them. So because saw was what the people wanted. This time, God has chosen the person he wants. So, he's made it a point that this was not who sang, you would have picked, if you've been left to his own devices. God chose David to be the next king because he had the character God wanted as he important part. That God chose David and that's really important for the way. The author puts the rest of the story together because now we have two people, you saw, who was who the people wanted and not who God wanted. And we have David, who is the person God wanted? And the story is going to continually compare them to each other. The rest of their stories are going to intertwine and what's happening in this book is worth it because we realized David is the one God want. We're supposed to be watching for what makes David different because we should want to learn what God wants in his people and so we should be watching it. Why did God choose David? This also means that we should edit our coordinates of it. Cuz now we find out that this story is not just about David or Saul and the Israelites. It's also about David because David is now an anointed he is chosen by God to be a leader and so he is a core part of the story. Now.

So David has been anointed and now we're going to organize kind of skim over his career, a bit and to wash for his character traits now. David.

So David went on a confrontation with a rather tall Philistine that you may have heard of and it's a very one of those famous stories that we tell in the Bible and yet it's actually not.

It's actually not one. I'm sorry, so.

So, he has a confrontation with with, with, with a really tall. Philistine. And the point of that story is actually about the reason why he chooses to fight because Saul as we've just seen, he goes out to fight for himself and the really important detail for us to keep in mind as David goes out to fight. This really tall tall, Philistine is. He says this 222 saw. He says your servant has killed both The Lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them because he is defy the armies of the Living. God. So what song what David says here is that he is he wants to fight Goliath because Goliath has insulted, God, because Goliath is opposing God's plan. And so he's fighting on God's behalf and on his own and it says, after this afternoon, when you kill a giant, you generally get promoted. And so he be guns, fighting force all and it says whatever Mission saw sent him on. David was so successful, this all gave him a high rank in the Army. This please stall the truce and David's officers as well. Okay, you may wonder why I started stumbling there. It appears that this is an older version of the sermons that doesn't have some of the right versus. So I'm going to need to visit real quick.

Okay. So, so what I wanted to say here is as we follow what David is doing as we follow his career. He actually Yeah, I apologize. This is never happened. All right, so we're actually going to go to a different place in the story because we didn't need to talk about Goliath at all. What I wanted to talk about is this what happens to to David and Saul after God chooses? David Wright when he chooses David says in the very at the very end of his story of the story of him, being anointed, assist annual 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 Upon David and power. Samuel then, went to Raymond soap, Spirit of the Lord, to send Saint David in the very next verse that says, now, the spirit of the Lord had departed from Salt and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. So, David gets the spirit of God saw loses the spirit of God. And that was. So we're just imagine what this is like be the person you have, you know, you have been explicitly, chosen by God, right? You know that you are supposed to be the next king. You know that the current King has been rejected by God you pretty much given Been given the most certain promise anybody has been, given that your career is going to go. Well, so the question is, how are you going to behave? How are you going to act? How are you going to navigate your career? Because I don't know about you, but that would go to my head, right? That would definitely go to my head and I would have a very hard time. Respecting people who claim to have authority over me or that's just that's just the Temptation. Is that all I know I'm God's chosen person. So nobody can tell me what to do. I don't need to bother with other people and yeah, what happens is saw has lost. He's he's lost the spirit of God. He is being tormented by an evil spirit because of the bad decisions he's made and they look for someone who will be willing to play music for him to soothe him. And who steps up to do it?

Is it says in verse 21, chapter 16 David came to Saul and entered his service. So I liked him very much and David became one of his armored Bears. Whenever the spirit of God Came Upon Saul, David would take his harp and play then relief would come to Salt. He would feel better and the evil spirit would leave him. So, David becomes a servant of Saul. And he he's he's taking good night. This is a very like an intimate way to take care of someone. This is not just like he's hanging out in the background and begrudgingly doing what the king says until he gets his crown. He is actively ministering to Saul. And this is then when the when the whole thing, with Goliath happened and that gets David, a promotion and so he starts fighting and he fights for the if I totally forgot. But he fights also force all he becomes a commander and Saul's Army and so so, what we're seeing here is that

Yes.

David became a loyal servant of King Saul who is his rival for the throne. Those are your your lines? He became a loyal servant of King. Saul his rival for the throne self. Saw. It Saul is the only person in David's way, and it would be really easy for him to completely disregard Saul. And yet he was a genuinely, faithful servant. In the Bible, takes Special Care in this section, to make it clear that he is entirely loyal to Saul genuinely loyal. So, how does Saul respond to this? Well in his Davis very successful in fighting force all. And so people start singing this song about how God David has slain that Saul has slain his thousands and David has slain tens of thousands and Saul starts hearing this story, people celebrating the success of his most loyal servant and a soft start to get a bit jealous.

It says, Saul was very angry. This refrain galled. Him. They have credited David with tens of thousands. He thought, but me with only thousands, what more can he get? But the kingdom. And from that time on salt pepper, jealous eye on David. The next day, an evil spirit from God to forcefully upon saw. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp. As he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and his girl is saying to himself. I'll pin David to the wall, but David eluded him twice. So Soft is jealous of, this is most loyal servant and he begins to be insecure because he knows that God's rejected him and he completely turns on David and tries to kill him. Not just the first two times, but he continues to try to kill him. And ultimately David is forced to go on the Run. David is forced to flee. And so you see that David treated saw with complete faithfulness and loyalty and Saul respond to the exact opposite way. So unjustly persecuted, David and turned him into a fugitive. That's your next line here that he unjustly persecuted, David and turned him into a fugitive. And if you experience and Injustice it, how does that make you feel? About the person who's done that to you? How easy is it for us to be? How easy? Is it to hate? Someone who's persecuting you unjustly? How how, how hard is it? Not to take that personally not to be completely caught up in the emotions of Injustice. So, it should be interesting to us to see how David responds to in that situation. And there are so many stories here in this part of 1st, Samuel, we get so much detail about David's time on the run that, I honestly had a really hard time, whittling down, which part we are going to talk about next, but as it turns out, the Bible has its own ways of telling you which which things are important. For instance. We are two stories of house, all fell house. All lost the right to be king. We talked about one of them last week about how he sacrificed when he wasn't supposed to. And then today, we talked about the one where he didn't, didn't follow God's instructions with the amalekites, you get to parallel stories that tell you why Saul is not a good choice to be king. And then It turns out towards the end of this book. There are two parallel stories about David under very similar circumstances. And those stories highlight for us, why David was the right person? To be the new king. And so this is where we can really key in on what it was this that David a part that made him the one that God wanted to be king. And so the first story is in 1st, Samuel 24th. So it's all is actually out chasing David. He's got a big army, chasing David in this little band is kind of a Robinhood kind of thing where he's surrounded himself with his merry men, these these outcasts and people that are following David and he's chasing David and they're in an area that has a lot of caves and David and his men are hiding in a cave. Is this all went into the cave to relieve himself, David and his men were far back in the cave? The men said, this is the day, the Lord spoke of when he said to you. I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with As You Wish pause interesting thing. God never said that to David. So his the guys that are with him. So hey, this is the day. God said, I told you about. When he said you, let you kill saw. Garden say that you can't always trust everything. People says, God said to you afterward, David was then David crept up. I noticed and cut off a corner of Saul's Road. I have to work David's conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said, to his men, the Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master. The Lord's anointed or lift my hand against him for, he is the anointed of the Lord. With these words, David rebuked, his men and did not allow them to attack Saul and Saul left. The cave and went on his way. So he had an opportunity to kill Saul and he had his men in courage in him to kill Saul and he refused. He refused and he rebuked the men who are trying to pressure me into doing it. Do you see the difference between him and saw and house? All behaved in an instant, when he was tempted to do, something that would benefit himself, and his men wanted to go along that. He, he led them into that and then he blamed his men, David being a true leader resist, the temptation to kill Saul and he resist the pressure from his men to do the same. There's another story in chapter 26 is where David actually gets the drop on. Saw he finds saw at camp and he and hit one of his nephews go in to sneak into camp and

they they actually make it all the way to Sol's 10th. And as her standing over Saul abishai. His nephew said to David today. God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now, let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear. I won't strike him twice. You see that subtle day gets all this? Saul tried to kill David twice with a spear. So obvious, she's taking it. It's all right before. He's about to murder him and and also highlighting, this is supposed to be Justice for, what's all did the David, but David said, abishai, don't destroy him. Who can lay hand on the Lord's anointed and be Guiltless, as surely as the Lord lives. He said, the Lord himself will strike him either, his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle. But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord's anointed.

So here's the key thing that's going on here. David has has this opportunity to do something that will make his life so much easier. It will correct. In Injustice. At least, it'll feel like it and it will remove an obstacle to him becoming King. He knows. God wanting to be king. He knows. God doesn't want Saul to be king. He has every reason every temptation to take the easy way out in these circumstances and yet he knows that God doesn't want him to notice that. That's what he cites. Every time. I saw as God's anointed and I haven't been given permission to kill God's anointed. So he spares Saul out of obedience to God.

That's the next bullet here. When David had saw his power. He spared him out of obedience to God, even though it was going to make his life easier to kill salt. Even though most of us would think he would be completely justified in pain. So back for what solid done to him. He knew what God wanted him to do. He knew what God didn't want him to do and he refused to kill saw and the fact that he does this twice as highlighting touch, the key difference between Saul and David. The key thing. The God is looking for, in a person's character, which seems to be a person who will obey A person who will do what God tells him to do and will trust them enough to not take the easy way out when it's presented to them.

The question is, why is David able to do this? Why is he able to resist the temptation? To take the easy way out.

What David gives us an idea of this and what he says to to his nephew. He says, in verse 10 of chapter 26th, as surely as the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him either. His time will come in, he will die or he will go into battle and Parrish. He knows that God is, is has a plan for David to become the new king. So he knows this somehow, God is going to sort this out. I don't know what the details are. I don't know what the timeline is, but I know God is going to sort this out and later when he confronts all to prove to him that he didn't, he could have killed Saul and didn't, he says the Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness the Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord's anointed anointed as surely as I valued your life today. Show me the Lord value my life and Deliver Me from all trouble. The reason why David is able to resist the temptation. To, to kill Saul is because he trusts God. He trusts that God will vindicate him. David trusted in God to vindicate him. Even if he didn't know, when or how That is incredibly hard to be able to trust God. Even when we don't know exactly what he's going to do. Exactly how he's going to fulfill his plan. Because we know the broad Strokes of God's plan. What we want to know where the details, right? We want to know exactly what how God is going to get us there so that we can know whether we trust that plan or not.

The hardest thing to work hard to do is trust God when we don't know how he's going to get us there. But David believe that when God gave him his word, that God would keep it. He believed that no matter how hard it got for him to be hiding in in caves, and he had to live and live among the Philistines and fight for the Philistines for a while. He had 22. It was hard to get lower than where, Saul made David go, right Saul and David ended up in horrible places in this persecution and yet he trusted that somehow God was going to pull him through all of that and out all of that.

That's what makes the difference in David. It's one of the things next week. We're going to talk about another difference in David that that shows us what God wants in his people. But for today for the his journey to the throne. What we see is it is his willingness to obey God when it's hard.

And to trust that God will vindicate him. That's what he seems to be looking for it. So as we pause in the story here and we look for what we can learn about, our only relationship with God. It's important for us to remember, we don't have Kings anymore. We don't have an end. God people are not rained over by a, a king here on Earth, one of us, but God has called each one of us to rain on his behalf. Right? We are called to rule on God's path. Whatever he is, giving us, whatever place you're at, whatever influence, you have, whatever you've been given, we are called to take what we've been given and to, to use it according to God's will. So each one of us has the same kind of mission. And so as we see what God looks for in a king of Israel. That's also what do you look for in a Christian in the 21st century? That's what he how he wants us to handle what we've been given to the first thing that we see the first mortal that we Do we find that God wants obedience, not bribery or flattery. Often, we will try to give God's things other than obedience. We will try to get around actually doing what God wants, and that might be the most obvious. Egregious example, would be a person who thinks that, if they give enough in the offering plate, then it will make up for the things. They did between Sundays. I don't know how often people do that. But if you know that that would be the most egregious example, to think what I've given enough to the church. I've given enough of my time. I've given up on my money, that it's okay. That I have some fun in between that, I nailed the, I can do whatever I want them between, because God and I are good. God is lucky to have me. If you ever think that's lucky to have you here in a very troubling spot. But I think what we may find is that we feel like our I don't know maybe closer to home would be feeling like if I worship God, sincerely enough and that will be the real measure of our relationship. You know, if I if I preached his name loud enough, if I if I put his symbols on enough of my clothing. If I do all these other things, then that will make up for the fact that I don't actually tend to do what he's asked me to do a lot of the time. The God is Not susceptible to flattery or bribery. He doesn't actually need us or anything. We can offer. If he wants us to be a part of his kingdom. He wants us to be a part of his plan and that means we have to obey him. It's all God wants obedience from us.

Now, the thing is determining, whether you're being obedient to God, they're not all moments, are are created equal in terms of what they reveal about you, because there are times when it's easy to follow God. There are times when it's Pleasant. There are times when God's asking us to do the things we already want to do, and those moments are not really the measure because if you're only following God when you and God want the same thing, you just agree with him. The measure of whether or how or obeying God is, what happens when God asks you to do something. You don't want to do when God asks you to do something. That's hard. When God asks you to do something. That's costly. That's the measure of obedience. You know, it was really easy for Jesus to fulfill his calling when he was riding into Jerusalem, on a donkey in the triumphal entry, and everybody was celebrating. It was hard in the garden. As he knew the cross that he was about to face. And that's an important moment in the story of Jesus, where we see him pass this test of doing something that he on one level did not want to do. Did not want to suffer through and yet he said your will not mine. And we face that sing challenge and sofo. Being God means doing what is right, even when it's difficult or costly. When we face circumstances, will be so much easier to give in to the temptation, to cut the corners to do something bad to create something good. We are so often tempted to try and build the kingdom of God. Through sinful means are disobedient means. That's probably the most tempting when you think you can do something for God by cutting a corner. By doing something, a little bad to create a lot of good but those are the moments that really test us.

The last thing that the story of David reminds us is what gives us the ability to do what God calls us to do even when it's hard. It is because we trust We obey God because he trusts that he will vindicate, his people.

We trust that he will vindicate, his people.

We trust that on a long enough timeline. That God, will restore all of us that God will? I even now noticed that David trust in God, even though he had to go into some dark places. He had to struggle with a lot of challenges, and when you see stories in the Bible that Vindication comes at different points in people's lives, sometimes it doesn't come in the first life at all. But what we find in scripture is that the promise of indication is offered to all of God's people. And so, we know that in the end it will have been better to obey God even when it's hard. We know that in the end. It will have been better to follow God's plan than our own we trust that. And the reason we trust that is because of Christmas Brinkley.

See, there's a song. The very first Christmas song. It's written by Mary. In Luke chapter 1 and she tells us what the birth of Jesus meant to her.

Besides starting a 50 God's mercy extends to those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has performed Mighty Deeds with his arm. He has scattered those who are proud and their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their Thrones, but is lifted up the humble. He has filled the Hungry with good things, but it sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever. Even as he said to our fathers. Tamara focuses on in her song. Something. We don't put in many Christmas songs, which is the fact that the birth of Jesus proved that God is Vindicated his people, the fact that God chose to send his son to be born to a poor family, in a poor town in a poor province of the Roman Empire. The fact that he fulfilled all of those promises through this child proves, that God really is working to vindicate. His people that he really is working to ensure that good triumphs. God doesn't send his son on a failed Mission and he doesn't send his son on an unimportant mission. When is Son of God shows up Among Us in a feeding trough in a poor family in a place that didn't do him, any favors that, it wasn't a pleasant Excursion on the earth. What that proves to us is that God is vindicating his people. And that's what Mary saw that. This changes everything that this proves that we can trust what God is doing. This is not an idle promise. It's not something that God forgot about.

God will vindicate, his people. And so the message of Christmas gives us courage. It gives us strength to be, like David to do what is right, even when it's hard, even when is costly because we know But in the end, no matter what else happens, it will have been better to obey, God. Need to cut corners.

As we close, I'm going to ask you to consider, whether God is calling you to take Next Step. What that next? That may look like. Most important Next Step you could be considering this to give your life to Jesus. And if that's where, that's where you're at, today is the best day for you to give your life to Jesus. And if you're watching with this online, we encourage you to get a hold of a Christian that you trust. I'm get ahold of the church office, talk to to someone. We love to walk you through that. I'm at, there's a Christian that you trust. You can want me to talk to them, but Today is the best day for you to give your life to Jesus and give your life over to his purposes and to step into the story. And to trust that what God has for your life is better than what you have for your life. If you're looking for a church home, we considered we encourage you to sign up for our next class. This is how we do this on a Sunday afternoon when you can find out more about the church who we are and what we do and how you can get connected. And we also have a couple other ways for you to go deeper in your process of following Jesus, either by joining, a small group, which is where we develop relationships with each other and and come alongside each other to help each other. With this challenge of doing what is right and of a being obedient to God. And also joining the service team, which gives you an opportunity to to do good for others, to serve people in our church, people in our community. If you're interested. In any of those options, I'd encourage you to check that box on your connection card, which if you hear you having your bulletin, but if you're online, you can find that on our digital sanctuary in the link. At the bottom of this video was we sing our final song? I encourage you to consider what next step is God calling you to take.