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Read Acts 9:19b-25
The primary text for this morning comes from 1 Samuel, but there are a few things I want you to notice about Paul.
Paul was once an ardent opponent of the Church. He was convinced that this small group of Jesus-followers was a heretical off-shoot of true Judaism, and he was a leader among those who sought to destroy the Church in its infancy. Then he encountered the risen Christ, and everything changed. Paul received new life and new purpose, and he became an outspoken evangelist. The people for whom he had been a champion-those who continued to deny and oppose Jesus Christ-quickly turned against Paul. It didn't take long before Paul experienced regular beatings, imprisonments, and threats against his life.
First thing I want you to notice: Paul knew when to keep his head down. Paul was a courageous man, with a deep trust in the Lord. He did not falter in the face of danger, and one day he would stand firm against the Roman authorities and lose his life for his devotion to Jesus. Until that time, however, Paul's calling was to bring the gospel to the gentile world. He couldn't do that dead. When the threats against his life became serious in one city, he relocated to another city, and he continued to proclaim the gospel as faithfully as he knew how to do.
Second thing I want you to notice: Even as those who counted themselves enemies of Paul grew in number, Paul stayed connected with his friends and relied upon them for help. Paul did not work alone. He had friends who traveled with him, and he made friends in every city he entered. Sometimes, when Paul himself refused to recognize the danger, Paul's friends took the initiative to keep him safe.
Third thing I want you to notice: Paul did not keep a record of wrongs. He argued forcefully for that which he knew was true, but he did not grow resentful of those who opposed him, and he did not seek revenge. On the contrary, throughout his life, Paul longed for those who viewed him as an enemy to come to know and love the Lord Jesus and receive the Lord's forgiveness.
1) Paul trusted the Lord's timing and knew when to keep his head down. 2) Paul stayed connected with his friends and relied upon them for help. 3) Paul did not grow resentful of those who opposed him.
Has there ever been a time in your life when you were doing everything right. You were acting in loyalty and generosity with your friends. You were doing an outstanding job for your clients or your employer-anticipating every need, going above and beyond what was expected, beating every deadline. You were patient and loving at home-gentle and wise in your dealings with family. Has there ever been a time in your life when, maybe you weren't exactly perfect in all ways, but you really were trying to do what was right and mostly succeeding? I'm not talking about inflated self-perception. I'm talking about a time when, generally speaking, you really were doing what was right and good.
Have you ever had your world suddenly turn against you when you were at your best? I'm not talking about one or two bad days. I'm talking about total meltdown.
You're going along doing what is right and good, and then… The friend you stuck by through hard times turns and stabs you in the back. The co-worker you went out of your way to promote starts gossiping about you at the water cooler. The client you went above and beyond for discontinues your contract and trashes your reputation in the professional community. The neighbor you protected and encouraged starts distributing a petition to have you kicked out of the community.
The details vary. The question is this: have you ever had your world turn against you when you were at your best?
It doesn't make any sense. It isn't right. You don't deserve it. The people who should be your friends and allies have become your enemies. And nothing you do or say makes any difference.
Few of us exactly celebrate when we suffer the consequences of our bad decisions and wrong actions, but it's hard to complain too much about just desserts. But when we suffer painful consequences when we our decisions are good and our behavior is right, we are left stunned and bewildered. Something deep within us, some innate sense of fairness, rebels at the injustice of this type of situation.
When this happens, it's hard to wait on God. It's easy to start wondering: Where is he anyway? And how could he let something like this happen to you?
When this happens, it's hard to stay connected to friends and fellow believers. It's easy to withdraw from others and begin to distrust even those who have shown themselves trustworthy.
When this happens, it's hard to be forgiving. It's easy to start keeping a record of wrongs and to become more and more resentful as the injustices tally up.
Have you ever had a time in your life when you were doing everything right and, suddenly, the people for whom you had been a champion turned against you and made you their enemy?
Maybe some of you know what I'm talking about. Maybe some of you don't. If David were here, he'd understand. It's likely that nothing of this type that you or I have ever experienced rivals the experience of the young man and future king, David.
David was doing everything right. He had been a faithful shepherd to his father's sheep, rescuing them from predators and leading them to green pastures. New to the battlefield of men, he had just killed Goliath. David was almost single-handedly responsible for defeating the army of the Philistines and redeeming the honor of the Israelite army. David was brave and humble and faithful. David was doing what was right and good. David had been secretly anointed for kingship by the prophet Samuel, but he showed no inclination to organize a palace coup to displace King Saul. Following the Goliath incident, David returned to Jerusalem ready to serve in the king's court and to fight the king's battles.
Instead, David found himself dodging the king's spears. King Saul turned against David.
It didn't make any sense. It wasn't right. He didn't deserve it. The very man who should have been like a second father to David became his enemy. And nothing David did or said made any difference.
Read 1 Samuel 18:10-29
That was just the beginning.
From the time that David came to the rescue of Saul and Saul's army against the Philistine Goliath to the time of Saul's death (some 10 or 12 years), King Saul attempted to kill David, or have David killed, too many times to count. In sudden fits of rage, Saul attempted to skewer David with spears. Through jealous manipulation of people and events, Saul attempted to get David killed on the battlefield. Through paranoid abuses of power, Saul directed assassins to eliminate David. And when none of that worked, Saul enlisted the military resources of the nation to track David into the wilderness in obsessive, and ultimately vain, attempts to hunt David down.
Scripture is clear. It didn't make any sense. It wasn't right. David didn't deserve it. But nothing David did or said made any difference.
There is one human being in the Bible who is, without exception, a model of God-honoring behavior-one human being who always, always, always shows us humanity at its best. It's not David! This one human being is, of course, Jesus, and he is, of course, a whole lot more than a great model to emulate.
The rest of the human beings in the Bible are just as sinful and broken as the rest of us. In the stories of their lives we see the beauty of faith in action, and obedience, and trust, and courage, and compassion, and honor, and humility, and generosity, and honesty. In the stories of their lives we also see the ugliness of fear, disobedience, betrayal, greed, ruthless ambition, ethical compromise, and moral failure. Even the heroes of the Bible don't come close to showing us examples of human perfection. Instead they reveal to us a God who gathers persons into his embrace through faith and then stubbornly, lovingly, against all the evidence, insists on calling them his children. They reveal to us a God who is endlessly persistent and divinely gracious in his insistence in working in and through less-than-perfect human beings. They reveal to us, again and again, a God whose deepest desire is to forgive and transform and make whole what is broken.
In the last years of the reign of King Saul of Israel, it so happens that Saul's actions paint a vivid picture of human brokenness and refusal to enter into God's embrace. In these years between David's secret anointing by Samuel and his ascension to the throne, it so happens that young David displays beautifully what it can be to engage life from the vantage point of God's embrace-even when, perhaps especially when, the world has turned against you. It so happens that young David is a model of grace under fire.
When Saul throws spears, David ducks…and then continues to serve his king. When Saul sends David into the thick of the battle in hopes he will be killed, David finds opportunity to hone his skills, gain valuable experience, and extend the network of those who love and respect him. When Saul's assassins come calling, David and his friends use every subterfuge available to keep him safe. When Saul's enmity finally forces David to flee, still David displays courage and humility, honor and compassion, wisdom and restraint.
Twice, during these years, circumstances put Saul completely at David's mercy.
Once, while his army was in pursuit of David and his followers, Saul entered a cave in the hills to find a little privacy to relieve himself. (Who still thinks the Bible doesn't deal with real life?) It was dark in the cave. Saul, blinded by the darkness, had no idea that David and his men were hidden in the dark recesses of that very cave. David, his eyes long accustomed to the shadows, was close enough to cut a piece of cloth from Saul's robe.
Another time, Saul's army slept the night away, unaware that they were right on the tail of David and his followers. In the middle of the night, David crept into the camp, right up to Saul's sleeping form. He took Saul's spear and water jug and left the camp, undetected.
Both times David could have easily taken the life of King Saul. Both times David's followers urged him to put an end to the cycle of flight and pursuit and stake his claim as the rightful successor to the throne. Both times David resisted the temptation. Both times David attempted reconciliation with Saul instead of revenge. Both times Saul recognized that his mistrust of David was misplaced. Both times Saul's change of heart didn't last. Both events ended up reinforcing the conviction of readers that Saul's enmity didn't make sense; David didn't deserve it; Saul was determined to be David's enemy; and nothing David did or said made any difference.
Still, in relationship to Saul, young David remained a model of grace under fire.
There are three things I want you to notice about young David in relationship to Saul during these years. (They are not so different from the three things I wanted you to notice about the Apostle Paul.)
One-Throughout his years as a fugitive, David continued to wait on the Lord. Young David had a remarkable trust in God's timing. I'm not sure where he learned this or how he acquired this strength of faith at such a young age. Most people require years of experience in engaging life from the vantage point of God's embrace to develop the assurance that God's timing is always right. (I know God's still trying to get that point across to me. Could it really be that God doesn't need me to tell him when things should happen and in what order? Hmmmm…) Somehow, young David had this assurance.
Remember, even biblical heroes fall short. There would come a time in David's life when he would be tempted to place his own agenda in competition with God's timing. There would come a time when David would need a prophet around to remind him. But that isn't until later.
Somehow, during his years as a fugitive on the run from King Saul, David was determined to wait on the Lord. He did not take matters into his own hands. He simply kept his head down and sought to be as faithful as he knew how to be in the midst of circumstances that were beyond his control.
David displayed grace under fire because he continued to wait on the Lord while seeking to be faithful in his current circumstances.
Two-David stayed connected with his friends and relied upon them for help. He stayed out of Saul's way, but he did not isolate himself.
The advocacy of his best friend Jonathan-who also happened to be King Saul's son-made it possible for David to survive for awhile in the court of the increasingly paranoid king. On more than one occasion, Jonathan stood up for David and calmed his father's unwarranted rage.
The first time King Saul sent henchmen to murder David, David's wife Michal-who also happened to be King Saul's daughter-covered for David so that he could escape.
When the time came for David to flee for good, it was Jonathan again who made it possible for David avoid the king's wrath and get away.
Even during the wilderness years, David relied upon his friends for encouragement and support.
David displayed grace under fire because, even when he needed to lay low, he did not isolate himself, and he continued to rely upon his friends for help.
Three-David did not become resentful towards Saul. He did not seek revenge. He did not pretend that Saul's enmity was just, but he left it up to God to bring about justice. From the text it's not totally clear if David explicitly forgave Saul, but he did continue to grant Saul the honor due his office; and when Saul died at his own hand during battle with the Philistines, David mourned Saul's death and remembered him with respect.
David displayed grace under fire because he did not grow resentful of the one who unjustly opposed him.
Grace under fire. During his wilderness years, David displayed at least three characteristics of grace under fire. He waited on God and trusted his timing. He retained the ability to trust those who were trustworthy and he counted on his friends. He did not grow resentful of King Saul or seek revenge.
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