Place: Lurgan Baptist 29:9:2002

Reading: 1 Samuel 15:1-23

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DAVID

1. DON'T LOSE YOUR CROWN

The first book of Samuel tells the story of three men who made the Hebrew Monarchy. Samuel ( CHs 1-8 ) Saul ( CHs 9-15 ) and David ( CHs 16-31 ) In the Biblical record some Hebrew monarchs are dismissed in a few verses but David's story spans forty chapters. The most mentioned person in the Old Testament is David. He is mentioned 600 times in the OT and 60 times in the NT It is argued that David may be the greatest man in the Old Testament. Now in order that we may set David's life in its context its necessary for us to look firstly at Israel's first king .... Saul. So this .... I want to speak to you on the subject, " Don't lose your Crown."

John hunt was a missionary in the nineteenth century to the cannibals of Fiji. Writing to a missionary colleague on one occasion about holiness he urged his friend to join him in the prayer that they would " escape the curse of a useless life." The curse of a useless life ! God had rich purposes for Saul's life but it ended in tragedy. The life of useful possibilities was spoiled by the pursuit of useless things.

Listen to the words of a man who had it all and lost it.

" I have played the fool." ( 26:21 ) He had God's blessing but lost it. He had power and authority but lost that too. He had the love and admiration of thousands but, in the end died ashamed and alone. Starting out with great natural abilities and even God's approval he showed much promise and climbed high with remarkable speed and grace. Then, while he was balancing ever so gingerly on the pinnacle of success, a wind of pride and jealousy toppled him, and down he fell. In the beginning he was in tune with God ( 10:6-7 ) but in the end he dies by suicide. ( 31:4 ) My .... Saul began his reign in victory but he ended it in tragedy.

He lost his character, his power, and ultimately his crown and his life. King Saul stands as a warning to us all that no matter what our station in life may be, we cannot rebel against God and get away with it.

Do you recall the Risen Lord's words to the church at Philadelphia ? " Behold I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."

( Rev 3:11 ) This is the Christian's hope, the coming of the Lord Jesus and in the light of that, Christ says,

" Don't lose your crown." It is not that, " No man take thy salvation," for that's eternally secure. I cannot lose my salvation but if I am not a faithful servant I can lose my crown. What a tragedy it is to fall and to lose your crown. My .... Saul became a disappointment to God, a menace to the nation, and a grief to himself. But it was not always so for think for a moment of:

(1) SAUL'S INITIAL DEVOTION

Look at the man Saul and notice the positive qualities that apparently made him a good choice for a King. You see, God does not bypass our humanity.

People have the idea that God invades our humanity and bypasses our human qualities, no, instead he uses those qualities. The Lord is looking for people whom He can use. He prepares people for the job He has for them. In

( Ps 139:5-6 ) we are told that even our genetic structure

the way we are made physically is ordained by God. God creates us with particular characteristics because He has certain tasks for each of us to do. Look at the various qualities in Saul's life that seemed to point to great success in his kingship. For e.g.; he

(a) Displayed HUMILITY in the Cause of God:

When Samuel told Saul of the work that God had for him to do, do you recall his response ? " Am not I a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel ? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin ?" ( 9:21 ) " Samuel my tribe is the smallest and my family is the least, how can I expect so high an honour." When he came home his uncle asked what had happened, but Saul did not tell him about his kingship, he didn't call a press conference .... he was humble.

( 10:16 ) Later on when he was declared king the people could not find him for " he had hid himself among the stuff." ( 10:22 ) No self exaltation rather a deep sense of personal unworthiness and a desire to shrink from the demanding responsibilities of kingship. (a) Do you display that ? Wouldn't it be great if we commenced this session with the mind of Christ ? ( Phil 2:5 ) Humble, lowly, selfless, then there would be no jockeying for position, no loving the limelight, but willing to play the second fiddle. Vance Havner says, " the rarest man in the orchestra of God is the saint who knows how to play second fiddle." Do you ?

(b) Listened ATTENTIVELY to the Word of God:

" Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house," ( 9:25 ) the next morning as Saul started for home Samuel said, " stand thou still a while that I may show thee the Word of God." ( 9:27 ) My .... before Saul became preoccupied with all the problems of leadership, economic difficulties, political tensions, military manoeuvres he took time to stand still and hear the Word of God. Some pastor said to me recently, " I'm convinced that many who profess Christ don't even read the Bible." Do you ? Do you see all these singers who come and sing and don't even bring a copy of the Scriptures with them. Do you know it tells me ? They don't even read the Word at home ! My .... do you take time, make time, to stand still in the midst of a busy life so you can receive the Word of the Lord ? Brethren, if you were immersing yourself in the Scriptures at home, you would be more exercised at the Lord's Table ?

(c) Acted GRACIOUSLY towards the Enemies of God:

For once he was acknowledged as king he went home to Gibeah and with him a band of men whose hearts God had touched but there were some who refused to recognise his kingship and they sneered at him and said,

" How shall this man save us ? And they despised him and brought him no presents." My .... do you know how Saul reacted ? " He held his peace." ( 10:27 )

The margin puts it like this, " was as though he had been deaf." What a splendid to thing to do that day, and what a pity he did not react in the same way on the day when those thoughtless women cried, " Saul hath slain his thousands and David his ten thousands." ( 18:7 )

" He was as one that is deaf." Thats had hard to do isn't it ? When some believer in the church ignores, offends, despises, talks behind your back ! Do you exercise self control ? Are you slow to wrath ? Didn't Saul start

well ?

(d) Relied ENTIRELY on the Power of God:

Now remember Saul was well equipped for this task. He was Physically Equipped for he is described as " a choice young man and goodly." ( 9:2 ) He was Intellectually Equipped. He was Spiritually Equipped.

( 9:27 ) Indeed he was one who relied entirely on God for after his first victory he said, " Today the Lord hat wrought salvation in Israel." ( 11:13 ) " This is God's work and any victory we have obtained is due to God alone." My .... will you think of His Early Promise: His Initial Devotion: His Commendable Qualities ! Can you recall your Initial Devotion to the Lord ? Do you remember the freshness of your first love ? Do you remember .... when it was springtime in your soul ? How you yearned to learn more of the Word ? When you heart was filled with love for Christ ? When you loved your fellow-believers ? When you had a passion for souls ? That was then, what about now ? Have those days passed ? From Devotion to Decline for notice:

(2) SAUL'S GRADUAL DECLINE

Dr. George Sweeting says this, " Collapse in the Christian life is rarely a blow out its usually a slow leak." Spiritual decline can be so gradual that before we know it we have fallen. My .... Saul began that downward spiral that ultimately led to his defeat, disgrace and death. The Lord says in ( 15:10 ) " For he is turned back from following Me." What factors brought about this shocking downfall ? Well, it:

(a) Commenced with a Lack of PATIENCE:

Samuel was supposed to come to Gilgal in seven days to make a sacrifice ( 10:8 ) but when he is late, Saul takes matters into his own hands, " and he offered the burnt offering." ( 13:9 ) As king, Saul has no right to make a priestly sacrifice. But in the stress of the moment, his fault line of impatience cracks, and he rushes ahead of the Lord. The result ? He lost his crown. They say, confession is good for the soul, and I must confess my lack of patience. When I'm sitting at the traffic lights I'm snapping my fingers against the steering wheel, ready to go, when I'm sitting on a plane, and the captain says we've missed our slot, I'm more than disappointed. Are you like that ? A bit like the horse rushing ahead, sometimes the elders I've worked with over the years are a bit like the mule, lagging behind. The psalmist says we are to be like neither. " Be ye not as the horse or as the mule." ( Ps 32:8 ) It's interesting to notice that the Early Church did not start with Activity but with Passivity.

It begins with a story about people who obeyed the Lord by waiting. ( Lk 24:49 Acts 1:4 ) Is " steady patience," what you need ? ( Heb 10:36 ) Patience to face the problems of family life, to confront the discouragement's of church life, to meet the frustrations of secular life. Sauls decline (a) but it:

(b) Continued with a Lack of REVERENCE:

Do you recall God's Word concerning Amalek ?

Look at ( 15:3 ) The word " destroy," refers to the giving of things and persons to the Lord often by totally destroying them. In other words this spoil was to be devoted to God but look at ( 15:9 ) Saul kept the best for himself and gave the leftovers to God. The prophet Malachi centuries later presses the same point home. He says to the people, " And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice is it not evil ? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it noo evil ? offer it now unto thy governor, will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person ?" ( 1:18 ) He's saying would your earthly leaders be pleased with what you're giving to your Heavenly Father ? They were treating God in a way they would not treat each other.

Are we guilty of that ? My .... we talk about worldliness in the church, but what about worldliness in the Christian ? Do you know what a worldly believer does ?

He attends first to his own needs ! Saul kept the best for himself and gave the leftovers to God !

Are we only giving to God that which is left over ? What about your Time ? Have you time for sport, personal interests, socialising, how much time do you give to the Lord ? What about your Energy ? " Oh," you say " I have not much of that." Well, you've enough to work, have you enough to worship ? You've enough for pastimes, have you enough for prayer ? You've enough for family, have you enough for fellowship ? What about your Money ? Do you just give the leftovers off your money to God ? Do you just tip the Lord ? Is God coming in for the left overs in your life ?

(c) Culminated in a Lack of OBEDIENCE:

" Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord," kept ringing in Sauls ears. ( 13:13 ) " To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."

( 15:22 ) Do you know what God wants from His people in this 21st century ? The same thing that He wanted from His people in the 1st century ! Obedience !

Aretta Loving, a Wycliffe missionary, was washing her breakfast dishes when she saw Jimmy, the five year old neighbour, headed straight toward the back porch. She had just finished painting the back-porch handrails, and she was proud of her work. " Come around to the front door, Jimmy," she shouted. " There's wet paint on the hand rails." " I'll be careful," Jimmy replied, not turning from his path. " No, Jimmy ! Don't come up the steps," Aretta shouted, knowing that Jimmy had a tendency to mess things up. " I'll be careful," he said again, by this time he was dangerously close to the steps. " Jimmy stop," Aretta shouted. " I don't want carefulness. I want obedience. As the words burst from his mouth she suddenly remembered these words to King Saul, " to obey is better than sacrifice."

How would Jimmy respond, Aretta wondered. To her relief he shouted back, " All right Loving, I'll go around to the front door."

As he turned around the house, Aretta thought to herself, " how often am I like Saul or like Jimmy, wanting to go my own way ? I rationalise, " I'll be careful, Lord," as I proceed with my own plans." But He does not want carefulness. He wants obedience. Tell me, is your spiritual decline due to a lack of obedience ? Are you keeping the commandment of the Lord in relation to the Lord's Table ? ( 1 Cor 11:24 ) To attendance ? ( Heb 10:25 ) To Prayer ? ( Lk 18:1 ) To Love ? ( Jn 13:34 ) To Go ? ( Matt 28:19 ) Is God saying to you through His Word, " thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God ?" The late President of The Moody Bible Institute in Chicago William Culbertson often prayed, " Lord, help us to end well. The saintly British preacher F.B.Meyer said at the close of his life, " I don't want my life to end in a swamp." My .... how did Saul end ? (1) (2)

(3) SAUL'S EVENTUAL DEFEAT

Its interesting that Sauls career as King began at Dawn, as the sun was coming up, ( 9:26 ) his career as King ended at Dusk, with the sun going down. At night Saul disguised himself, and went to consult a witch ( 28:8 ) then he went out to the battlefield and was slain. ( 31:6 )

My .... God's intention for Sauls life was " Captain .... that he may save." ( 9:16 ) but the Captain became a Captive to his own selfish desires and changing moods.

Saul failed God, he failed the people of God, he let himself down, he lost God's blessing, his crown and his life ! You see, good beginnings are no guarantee of successful endings. Saul ended his life in disgrace, in defeat, in disaster. He lost his crown. Why ? There was:

(a) HYPOCRISY RATHER THAN REALITY:

Do you know what he said when Samuel came to meet him after the encounter with Amalek ? He said, " I have performed the commandment of the Lord." ( 15:13 )

But he had not. God said " Utterly destroy." But Saul stole that which belonged to the Lord and then showed himself to be a liar. Now listen, he had all the right jargon, he was not short of a choice phrase or two, even when challenged by the fact of his sin he protested, " I have obeyed the voice of the Lord." ( 15:20 ) (a) Do you know where the word " hypocrite," comes from ?

It was a term the Greeks used in theatrical circles and it described someone wearing a mask. Saul was trying to convince Samuel that he was a godly man but Samuel had already been warned by God that Saul was merely wearing the mask. ( 15:10 ) My .... is it not easy for us to substitute hypocrisy for reality ? Oh, we can sing the hymns, say the prayers, preach the messages, without ever allowing the words to affect our lives. What have we got this .... hypocrisy or reality ?

(b) DISOBEDIENCE RATHER THAN OBEDIENCE:

The lesson Saul never learned was this, " To obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams." ( 15:22 )

My .... sacrifice can never replace surrender. We may say, " Well, I tithe, I gave generously to the work of the Lord, therefore I can get away with doing what I want." No ! Sacrifice can never replace surrender. The psalmist says, " I rejoice at Thy Word as one that findeth great spoil." ( 119:162 ) The psalmist wanted the Word of God more than great spoil, Saul wanted great spoil more than He wanted to obey the Word of the Lord. Is God the Lord of your life ? Is God in control of your life ? Is God's will your will ? Have you learned to " trust and obey ?" (a) (b)

(c) EXCUSES RATHER THAN CONFESSION:

King Saul was very good at excuses. In ( Ch 13 ) Sauls excuse was that he blamed Samuel, he did not arrive on time. In ( Ch 14 ) he blamed Jonathan. Here in ( Ch 15 ) Saul blamed the people when he failed to obey God's command to destroy the Amalekites. He was good at excuses. Billy Sunday used to say that an " excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie." Watch out for the people who always have an excuse. Saul should have confessed his sins honestly for he lost the crown because he substituted excuses for confession.

( Prov 28:13 )

Life is such a rich opportunity for us to glorify the Lord.

Do you recall the words of the Saviour, " Father .... I have glorified Thee on the earth I have finished the work which Thou givest Me to do." ( Jn 17:4 ) Saul could not end his days like that. What a contrast he was from Saul of Tarsus. One chose the path of rebellion against God, the other chose the path of submission to God. The first Saul died a suicide and lost his crown, the second Saul died a martyr and gained a crown. The first Saul died saying, " I have played the fool,"

( 26:21 ) The second Saul died saying, " I have fought a good fight." ( 2 Tim 4:7 ) My .... which one represents you ? The Risen Lord says, " Behold I come quickly, hold that fast which thou fast that no man take thy crown." ( Rev 3:11 ) Don't lose your crown. Be faithful to the Lord so that one day He can present you before God's throne and give you a crown of glory !