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Last time, we explored two reasons the Lord delighted in David:

1. David had a repentant heart.
2. David had a reverent heart.

Although David was king, he maintained a heart that feared the Lord. He didn’t dare say no to God. Today, let us reflect on two more reasons why the Lord delighted in David:

3. God Delighted in David’s Grateful Heart

Gratitude and repentance are closely related. David was a man who knew how to repent of his sins and he also knew how to give thanks. Luke 7:41-43 contains a parable. “Jesus asked Simon, “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.”

Do you understand the meaning of this parable? For instance, I owe you a million and you tell me, “Rev. Cheung, I think you will find it hard to pay me, so I will simply clear your debt, you don’t have to pay me anymore.” I will be very grateful and tell you, “I don’t know how I can pay you back for your kindness.” If I owe you a hundred pesos and you say, “Rev. Cheung, I think you can’t pay me back, you don’t have to pay me anymore.” I will reply, “No need to do that. Let me pay you right now.” Or let’s say, your son gets stricken with a dreadful disease and needs to undergo surgery. In order to save your child, the doctor foregoes 24 hours of sleep. After operating 12 long hours, the doctor comes out and tells you: “The operation was successful, your son is safe.” You will hold the doctor’s hand tightly, shedding tears of relief, and say, “Thank you, I do not know how I can repay you! I am willing to serve you (like an ox or donkey) to repay you!”

However, if you cut your finger and a little blood flows, and I clean it up and bandage it for you, will you grab my hand tightly and tearfully tell me, `Pastor, thank you for your goodness, I will serve you like an ox or donkey to repay your kindness!’ I don’t think so! He who has been shown much grace will show much gratitude. David was a thankful person, because he knew how unworthy he was to receive God’s favour. David wrote many psalms of thanksgiving, the most famous one is Psalm 103. This psalm fully expressed the gratitude in David’s heart. We humans have a weakness and that is we easily forget the good things others have done for us while remembering the slightest wrong they have committed against us. Just listen to what they say whenever two people are in conflict with each other – they remember the date, the time, the place, and all the details of an offense. “Three years ago, at 10:45 am, at the church library, you did such and such to me” – they can recall every detail. However, as for the Lord’s goodness, they easily forget these. We must learn to give thanks, to count our blessings. David told himself, “Forget not all his benefits.” And then he went on to list down five blessings he receives from God:

1. The Grace of Forgiveness – `He forgives all your sins.’ The first thing David recalled was how the Lord forgives him all his sins. From the time we arrive on this earth until we leave, we commit innumerable sins. David, in Psalm 40:12, says: “My sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.” How much hair do you have? The Chinese say `three thousand worry strands”. Actually, there can’t only be three thousand, they are too numerous to count. Our sins are indeed too numerous to count. But the Lord forgives all our sins. How can we not be grateful! I have entered the middle years of life, more and more I understand how precious forgiveness is because I am aware that I commit a lot of sins.

John 8 records of how some men brought a woman caught in adultery before Jesus and asked him whether she should be stoned. Jesus did not reply and only wrote on the ground with his finger, when they kept pressing him for an answer, he replied, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” The Bible says “At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first”. The old men who had already dwelt 70 – 80 years on this earth would have more sins to their names and so they left immediately; the 20-30 year-old men foolishly stood by, thinking they were sinless, but upon discovering the old men gone, embarrassedly left too. If I were there, I would have quickly left too. But the Lord forgives our sins, we really must be grateful to the Lord! The precious blood of the Lord cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

2. The Grace of Healing – `He heals all of our diseases.’ Who among us has never fallen sick? When we fall sick, what do we do? Of course, we go see the doctor. You may say shouldn’t the answer to that question be `we pray’. I am not against you having such great faith, that you only pray and don’t go see the doctor nor take medicine; but if you don’t have that kind of faith, you will go see a doctor. This is what Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Doctors exist because there are sick people, but we must learn to commit the doctor and the medicine we take into the Lord’s hand, we must ask the Lord to use the doctor and the medicine to heal us. We must understand doctors can only cure our sickness, they cannot save our life because our life is not in the doctors’ hands, our life is in God’s hands. Ecclesiastes says: “A time to kill and a time to heal”. Whether we receive healing or not rests in the hand of God, it depends on his time frame. David said, “Praise the Lord who heals all your diseases.”

3. The Grace of Salvation – `He redeems my life from the pit.’ The Book of Hebrews says: “… men are destined to die once.” No one can escape death. Christians must understand that when our time is up, we must assuredly go, but Ecclesiastes 7:17 says: “Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool��” why die before your time?” What does `to die before your time’ mean? Due to foolishness one can lose his precious life. Sometimes, it is not our own foolishness, but the foolishness of other people that puts our life in danger. David said the Lord redeems our life from the pit. If our time is not yet up, we can ask the Lord to deliver us from death. David experienced this. 1Samuel chapters 21-30 record how Saul pursued David for ten long years and attempted to kill him. In those days, can any man escape if a king decides to kill him? But the Lord delivered David again and again from Saul’s hand. No wonder David said, `He redeems my life from the pit.’

4. The Grace of Glory – `The Lord redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.’ Crown means glory. Not only does God save us, he gives us glory. Glory does not belong to man, glory belongs to God. Yet those who belong to God are given glory. Just as the moon has no real light of its own, but only reflects light from the sun, so those who belong to God reflects His glory. 1Samuel 2:7-8 “The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.” Whenever I read this passage in the Bible, my heart overflows with thanksgiving, for I am one poor and needy man whom God has raised from the ash heap. As a minister of God’s Word, there is nothing I can boast of, all that I am today is God’s grace and may all the glory be unto Him.

5. The Grace of Contentment – He satisfies your desires with good things. We all understand the teaching on contentment, yet many times, our hearts continue to want so much that we ourselves don’t even know what we want – we want to be more beautiful, we want to be richer… but once we get it, we want more. When will we be contented? He satisfies our desires with good things. What are these good things? Of course it may mean material abundance, but man’s heart can never be satisfied with such. I truly doubt if there is anything on this earth than can satisfy our hearts. Today you have I-phone 4, tomorrow you want an I-phone 5. There is nothing on earth that can truly satisfy us, apart from the Lord, the giver of good things.

Philippians 3:8 “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” Paul considered the Lord Jesus Christ as his highest treasure, so that all other things became as garbage to him. Having Christ, he didn’t want anything else, for his heart had found contentment. David wrote in Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” Having the Lord, he no longer wanted more, for his heart had found contentment. David had a grateful heart. The more David counted his blessings, the more he felt satisfied, and the more content he was, the more the Lord delighted in him.

4. God Delighted in David because of His Heart of Devotion towards Him

During Jesus’ time, some Pharisees once asked him which was the greatest among all the commandments. There are 613 commandments in the Old Testament, 248 of which are affirmative commands while 365 are negative commands. They asked Jesus which was the greatest among the 613 commandments. Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” One time, as I reflected on this, I felt it odd that the Lord would require people to love him with all our heart, soul and mind. Isn’t this an embarrassing thing to ask? If I order you to love me with all your heart, soul and mind, I believe you will think me conceited. Why then did God say so?

For example, if one day, I tell my wife, “There are 365 days in a year, I will love you 364 days a year. In those 364 days, I will not think of any another woman but you. But will you just allow me one day to be free to love another woman? 364/365 is 99.9%.” What will my wife say? “Honey, is one day enough? Let me give you one more day.” Of course not, she will kill me. Why does God want us to love him with all our heart, soul and mind? It is because he loves us very much. God delighted in David because he had a heart that totally loved God. David once said, “Lord, I love you.” But he did not just love with words, his life showed how much he loved the Lord. There are three incidences that showed of his deep love for God:

1. David remembered the Ark of the Lord – The Ark of the Lord is found in the Holy of Holies. It was a symbol of God’s presence with man. 1Samuel 7 records how Samuel had led Israel for twenty years before the Lord. However, in those twenty years, there was no ark because it had been captured by the Philistines. Later, although it was brought back, it wasn’t placed at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. For 20 years, the Tabernacle was without the ark. Saul had been the king for 40 years, but he never thought of bringing back the ark. Only David, after unifying the nation (almost after 67 years), brought up the subject of bringing back the ark to Jerusalem. In the past 67 years, no one thought of the ark because they had been used to having no ark. Being used to something or what we call habits or practice can be good yet it can also be dangerous. Good habits can bring us good while bad habits can bring us harm.

Let us say we stop holding holy communion starting this year. After sixty-seven years, no one will even think of the holy communion, because not observing it had been the practice for so many years. When everyone forgot about the ark, David didn’t. David didn’t forget for it was precious to him. After he united the nation, he immediately sent thirty thousand men to bring the ark from the house of Abinadab to Jerusalem. In David’s heart, he loved the Lord. In your heart, what do you love- your cheques, your children, your… or God?

2. David Wanted to Build God a Temple – When the king was settled in his own palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he told Nathan the prophet, ““Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” (2Samuel 7:1-2) What David meant was `I am living in a palace while God is living in a tent. I want to build God a temple.’ If for example, one day you become rich and move into a large luxurious house, and your parents and relatives live in a poor place, what will you do? I am sure you will invite them to live with you or buy them a nice house to live in because you love them. As parents, we all love our children. Whenever I eat out and taste a delicious dish, I would immediately think of my children and how I would love for them to taste that certain dish, too. My wife often teases me, saying, “You are thinking of bringing the children here, aren’t you?” David loved the Lord. When he was enjoying life in the palace, he wanted the Lord to also live in a palace, and so he proposed to build God a temple.

3. David Was Not Willing to Offer a Sacrifice that Cost Him Nothing – 2Samuel 24 records of David committing a great sin. He instructed his men to take a census. There is nothing wrong with taking a census, in fact, there is a book in the Bible called Numbers which is a census of the population. If the census was done so that he would have an idea of the population, in order to know how to better lead them, then it would not have been wrong. What is important is the motive behind the census, why he wanted to take a census. David took the census because of pride. He wanted to know how powerful his nation was, as a result, the Lord rebuked him. After some time, David acknowledged his sin and the prophet Gad instructed him to make an offering.

David went to Araunah to buy his threshing floor. Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up.” Araunah was giving it free to David. David’s answer became a famous line – “I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David paid fifty shekels of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. This teaches us a very important truth – a man who truly loves the Lord is willing to bear the cost. Love which costs nothing is not true love.

October of 2002, newspapers in Italy published a piece of news. It said: `One night ten years ago, in a city in Italy, a white woman was raped by a black man. She became pregnant as a result and gave birth to the baby. This child now has leukemia and needs the father for bone marrow transplantation. Will the father, that is, the rapist, please go to the hospital and save his daughter?’ If you were that man, would you have stepped out? After this woman was raped, she and her husband didn’t want to keep the baby at first, but because they were Christians, they didn’t want to abort it. They had planned to give the baby to an orphanage after it was born.

However, the baby was so beautiful they decided to keep her. They explained to others that her color is due to their having had a black grandfather. When the child was stricken with leukemia and needed bone marrow transplant, they told the doctor the real story. The doctor said the only way to save her was to find the father. It turned out, the black man was mistreated by his white employer that day; when he came out of his workplace, he vented all his hatred on a white woman, raped her and fled to another city. There, he was able to find work in a restaurant owned by an American couple. He showed much competence such that his employers came to like him very much and even gave their daughter in marriage to him; they also gave the restaurant to this son-in-law. He managed it well, and business was good. He and his wife have three children. Also, he had become a Christian. This man and his family were eating dinner when they saw this in the news. His wife commented, “That woman is very admirable. She was so brave to have borne that child. Her husband is even more admirable in accepting that child. The most hateful is the black man (She didn’t know she was talking about her own husband).”

Hearing it, the black man suffered inside, he wanted to confess but the cost was too frightening. Eventually, he told his wife, who became very angry and left with his 3 children. Fortunately, his parents-in-law were good Christians. They counselled their daughter and explained to her that although he had raped a woman before, he is now admitting to it, and is in fact a hero. They encouraged her to support her husband. And so, she went with him to the hospital to meet the couple. At the meeting, they all wept. The man sought the couple’s forgiveness and the bone marrow transplant was successful. Later on, he wrote the couple, saying, “I must now leave. Thank the Lord for giving me a chance to seek forgiveness.” Brothers and sisters, I am not saying we must make public our every sin, what we must understand is true repentance entails bearing a cost. When we love the Lord we will bear the cost. David was willing to bear the cost, he wasn’t willing to give the Lord a sacrifice that cost him nothing. Because of his deep devotion to the Lord, the Lord delighted in David.

God delighted in David because he had a repentant heart, a reverent heart, a grateful heart and a devoted heart. How about our hearts?

The post Life of David 8: What Does God Delight in David? (2) appeared first on Christian Bible Church of the Philippines.

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(1Sa 13:14)Samuel told Saul: “But now your kingdom shall not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince and ruler over His people.” We all know that the man after God’s own heart is David. David is called a man after God’s own heart, he is a man with whom God was delighted. What does God delight in David? When Samuel went to Jesse’s house to anoint one of his sons as king, the Lord told Samuel `man looks at the outward appearance but I look at the heart.’ God’s delighting in a man is totally unrelated to his appearance. God became delighted with David because of his heart. What kind of a heart did David have?

I. God Delighted in David’s Repentant Heart

What is the greatest difference between Christians and non-Christians? If we talk about intelligence, many non-Christians are wiser and more intelligent than us. I am not belittling you, I know there are many wise and intelligent people among us, but a great many are like me, ordinary. If we talk about power, there isn’t a lot among us who have power and position. This is as the Book of 1Corinthians say: “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish and weak things; and his purpose was so that the wise and the strong will be shamed. That the whole world may know that our salvation is all but God’s grace.”

The greatest difference between Christians and non-Christians is in the area of repentance. Christians are people who have repented of their sins, while non-Christians have not repented of their sins, moreover, they refuse to do so. God was delighted in David because David had a heart willing to repent of sin. If you had grown up in Sunday School, you had probably been taught by your Sunday School teacher that David was a good man and Saul, a bad man. We all know what good is and what bad is, but actually, Saul was a bad man and David was also a bad man. David had a good side and Saul also had a good side. David wasn’t better than Saul. In fact, unlike David, Saul never took another man’s wife, he never committed adultery with another man’s wife. However, David had a repentant heart, while Saul didn’t. Psalm 51 is a psalm of repentance written by David. In this psalm, we discover that David really knew what repentance is.

1. He was Completely Repentant of His Sins. Psalm 51: 2-3 “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” Confession is a form of art. In the last ten years, many world famous people have fallen into sin, but their attitudes about their sins are totally different. Jackie Chan’s first reaction, when it was reported that he had extramarital affairs, was to deny it; but when the evidence came out, he said, “I have simply committed the sin that every man commits.” To lighten the gravity of his own sin, he dragged every man down with him. Taiwan’s Terry Gou, when discovered that he had an illicit affair in mainland China while doing business there, neither denied nor confirmed it. He reasoned it was but knowing how to enjoy one’ self wherever one goes.

Tiger Woods got found out by his wife about his affairs with different women. He denied it initially but had to admit it in the end. However, he admitted only to those affairs that were discovered; so aside from himself, no one knows how many women he really had relationships with. Despite being convicted of graft charges, Taiwan’s Chen Shui-bian continues to deny any wrongdoing and has even written a book entitled “The Cross of Taiwan”, claiming he is carrying the cross of Taiwan. Every man’s response to sin differs. David the king said, “I know my transgressions, they are always before me.” Not only did he admit his sins, he totally repented of it, saying, `My sins are always before me.’ He completely repented of his sins.

2. He Sought to Restore His Relationship with God. Psalm 51:4 “Against you, you only, have I sinned…” David understood that sin is offense against God, that man was created in God’s image, man originally carried the glory of God, and sin is falling short of God’s glory. God took David from shepherding in the fields and made him king of the whole nation, gave him honour and glory, yet he committed adultery and murder. He had truly sinned against God.

When he confessed his sins (Psalm 51:7-12), David asked the Lord for six things:

1. He asked the Lord to cleanse him
2. He asked the Lord to forgive him
3. He asked the Lord to heal him.
4. He asked the Lord to purify his heart.
5. He asked the Lord to give him a steadfast spirit.
6. He asked the Lord not to take away his Holy Spirit from him.

In his confession, David sought the restoration of his relationship with God. Sin destroys the fellowship between man and God, while repentance aims to restore that broken fellowship. When problems occur in the relationship between man and God, human relationships will also have problems – people begin to relate merely to benefit from one another – friends use each other, spouses use each other, parents and children use each other.

About a thousand years ago, the Song Dynasty’s Chen Yuan Jing made a famous remark: `Raise children to provide for old age.’ And this became the reason for which parents took care of their children. During China’s May 4th movement, Lu Xun said, “Raising children to provide for old age is a most selfish mentality.” He says if parents raise children so that when they grow up they can in turn take care of their parents, then this philosophy turns raising children into a form of long-term investment. Isn’t that very selfish? Lu Xun makes sense. It is but reasonable for children to take care of their aged parents, the 5th commandment in the Ten Commandments says: Honour your father and mother.

Actually, there are two kinds of money we cannot keep for ourselves: first, that which belongs to the Lord, and second, that which is meant for our parents. But parents, please do not harbour the selfish motive of seeking to benefit from our children’s lives. My mother passed away after I have been married for 19 years. In the past 19 years, I would go home and see my mother every year. My mother never asked me for money. The first time I went home to HK (I was still unmarried then), I gave her US$ 1000. She took it but returned it to me after two days. She refused to keep it, saying, “You live alone in the Philippines and I can’t take care of you. Keep the money.” After I married, every time I went back, I would give my mother an amount of money so that she can buy food and stuffs for herself. My mother did not raise me to provide for her old age, our relationship was one of love. However, where does love come from? Love comes from God. Sin broke the relationship between man and God, repentance restores the relationship between God and man. When the relationship between God and man is restored, relationship between men will also experience restoration.

3. He Openly Testified of His Repentance. V. 12-13 “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.” David asked the Lord to allow him to stand back up, so that he may testify for the Lord, that he may teach transgressors to turn back to the Lord. John 4 records a Samaritan woman who went out to draw water at noon. Women in the east went out to draw water either very early in the morning or at dusk, because it is too hot during noontime. But this woman was not a good woman, she already had five men and none of them were her husband, now she has a sixth who is not her husband either. Her desires made her unable to control herself, yet she was still human and in her heart she felt shame. Thus, she didn’t fetch water at dawn nor at dusk for she didn’t want to meet the other women.

Jesus shared the gospel to this woman, and she came to know the Lord. After she came to know the Lord, she did something she had never done before- John 4:39 “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” If you were a Samaritan then and this woman tells you `Jesus told me everything I ever did’, you will probably ask `what indeed have you done?’ The woman must have told people “I was bound by my lust, I needed men to fulfil my needs, I had not one, not two but six men. But I had been miserable, I knew it wasn’t right, but I couldn’t pull myself out of it. Jesus however knew everything about me and not only did he not condemn me, he gave me living water so now I have true fulfilment. You must go see him, he will make you find true contentment.” A man who truly repents of his sins will not only confess his sins, he will be willing to testify for the Lord so that other sinners may also turn to the Lord. This is one of the reasons we repent of our sins.

The Chinese have a saying: `Do not wash your dirty linens in public.’ That is right, but for God’s glory, are we willing to lose face? David was willing. David had a truly repentant heart. This is the first reason God was delighted with David.

II. God Delighted in David’s Reverent Heart

The second reason God delighted in David was: he had a reverent heart. To revere means to fear. Reverence for the Lord is at the heart of the Old Testament. The books from Genesis to Malachi all talk about the consequences of reverence and irreverence towards God. Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil because they did not revere God, they did not treasure God’s Word in their hearts. When God told Noah I will bring floodwaters to destroy the world, his heart became afraid, the Book of Hebrews says `Noah in holy fear…’ built the ark that saved his whole family. During Abraham’s time, the Lord wanted him to offer Isaac, Abraham didn’t argue at all and brought his only son to Mt. Moriah to offer him. When Abraham was about to slay his son with the knife, a voice from heaven said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God.” God didn’t say `now I know that you truly love me’; He said `now I know that you fear me.’ Abraham feared the Lord.

When the Lord wanted Isaac, Abraham didn’t withhold him from God. In his heart, he may have disagreed, still he did it because he had a heart that feared God; in the end, the Lord blessed Abraham mightily. The Lord delighted in David because he feared the Lord too. We can see his heart of reverence from three incidences:

1. He Didn’t Dare Kill Saul – When Saul was envious of David and wanted to kill him, David went on the run. This was very difficult for David, he could not go home though he had a home, he couldn’t worship though the tabernacle was there. Saul refused to let David go, he pursued David with 3000 men; meanwhile David had two chances to kill Saul but did not. The first time was in 1Samuel 24. As Saul pursued David, he felt the call of nature and went into a cave to relieve himself. Unknown to him, David and his men were in the cave. It would have been easy for David to kill Saul then, but David said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.” David didn’t want to lay his hand on Saul, not because he wasn’t tempted to, but because he did not dare to.

I tell you, this was a test sent by the Lord – there were countless caves there, David and his men were hiding in that cave, and Saul suddenly felt the need to relieve himself in that very cave too – this was arranged by the Lord. The Lord tested David, just as he tested Abraham, to see whether David feared the Lord or not. Praise the Lord, he didn’t dare touch the Lord’s anointed. David passed the first test. The second time was in chapter 26, where once again Saul brought 3000 men to pursue David. The Lord caused all 3000 men to fall into a deep sleep, they didn’t even sense the enemy moving inside their camp. This was impossible because soldiers are very alert; the 3000 were elite troops, thus the only explanation would be that the Lord caused them to sleep deeply, just like when the Lord made Adam fall into a deep sleep to take a rib bone to create Eve. When David and his man came to Saul, David’s general asked for permission to kill Saul, but David did not allow it, saying (1Sa 26), “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?” Saul was unrighteous, he promised to stop pursuing David but turned back on his word. Still, David didn’t dare kill him, not because it didn’t cross his mind, but because he recognized Saul as the Lord’s anointed. David passed the second test because his heart revered God.

2. He Dared Not Take the Liberty of Making Himself King – `After Saul died, the men of Judah came to Hebron and there anointed David as king. He was king for seven years and six months.’ This verse is saying that David waited for seven years and six months before he stepped up to be king of the whole nation of Israel. Saul’s death had made taking the throne easy for David, if he had wanted to. The Bible tells us David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. David didn’t need seven years and six months to unify the nation, but he was willing to wait because he feared God. He didn’t dare exalt himself as king. If he had used military strength to gain the throne, there would have been a civil war, there would have been fighting among God’s own people.

David feared God, he didn’t want to do it that way, he was willing to wait for God’s time. Nowadays, many believers seem to have no fear of God at all. Whenever they feel some discontent towards the church, they would rebel; thus, we see many believers fighting each other and churches divided. They fear not, because they do not revere God in their hearts. O Church! We must have a heart that fears the Lord. Someone once said that in the Philippines, the Lord uses church divisions to found new churches, but I do not agree completely. They say that when there is fighting within a church, before long a new church would come up. Yes, we do see such situations happening but I do not believe this is God’s will. I believe it is only God’s mercy, not God’s will; because the Lord’s will is for the church to be united. May we have hearts that fear the Lord.

3. He Didn’t Dare Say `NO’ to God – There is a famous incident recorded about David, that is, when he proposed to build God a temple. This was truly a beautiful aspiration. While enjoying his beautiful palace, he remembered that the Lord lived only in a tent; and so he asked the prophet about building a temple for the Lord. Nathan told him, “Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you.” But that night, the word of God came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in.’” From this instance, we realize that we cannot take the word of pastors as absolute. Sometimes God’s ways are beyond man’s ways. The different viewpoints we gather from our fellowmen are for our reference only, in the end we have to make our own decisions.

When David’s offer was rejected by the Lord, he went into the tabernacle and prayed, he obeyed the Lord’s will about not building the temple. Nevertheless, he prepared materials for his son to build the temple. Let us consider this further – we are about to build our new church building, let us say you come to see me and tell me: “Pastor, I want to offer 100 million for the church expansion project, may I?” Without praying, I will tell you, “Yes, you may”. So, you go home to get the money, but the Lord tells me, “Tell him I will not accept his money.” How would you react if upon your return, I tell you, “Sorry, the Lord doesn’t want your money.”?

I believe you may react in any of these four ways:

1. You will be very angry and say, “What do you think of your church, that CBCP is the only church in the world? You don’t want 100 million, we’ll see if there is a church that will turn me down.” And then you leave.

2. You will not say anything and simply leave the church angrily, thinking, `This church doesn’t know how to appreciate people, from now on I will not come back to this church.”

3. You will go and found a church of your own, thinking, “You don’t want my 100 million, I will build a church of my own.” In the Philippines I have seen a lot of this.

4. You submit, “Since the Lord doesn’t want me to make this offering, I will simply pray for the church construction.”

David responded with the fourth response. He submitted and did not dare say `No’ to the Lord. Actually, he was very capable of building the temple, he didn’t need anyone’s consent; but he didn’t dare push through with it, because he had a heart that feared the Lord. How about you?
God delighted in David because he had a repentant and reverent heart, how about you? Let us pray!

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Last time, we studied about David’s mid-life crisis and how he failed because 1. He indulged his fleshly desires 2. His life was too easy and comfortable 3. He failed in the face of temptation 4. He deceitfully schemed to cover up his sin; as a result, this man after God’s own heart lived his days in darkness for at least two long years. During this period, the Lord’s spirit often moved and convicted him of his sins; Psalm 32:3, David said, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.” When he kept silent and refused to confess his sins, he experienced no peace, his bones wasted away. Today, let us study how the prodigal returned home:

I. The Reason David the Prodigal Returned

The time came when the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to rebuke him. Nathan was a very wise prophet. When he came before King David, he told David a story. Why did Nathan do that? Nathan knew David very well. David had a strong sense of justice, he could not stand seeing the weak and helpless oppressed. When he was still a shepherd boy, David couldn’t stand by and watch tigers or lions attack his sheep; he would fight off the tigers or lions. David was someone who couldn’t stand seeing the weak and helpless oppressed. So, Nathan told David, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” This is what we call `an appropriate and timely warning’.

Hearing the rebuke, David didn’t say, “Guard, take Nathan out and behead him! How dare you rebuke the king!” Let us not forget, David lived three thousand years ago. Three thousand years ago, was there any king who didn’t conduct himself this way? When a king wanted a woman, the woman becomes his. There was nothing unusual about him taking the wife of another man. But David’s first words were, “I have sinned against the Lord.” We would have already felt it very acceptable even if David had only said, “I have sinned against Uriah, I killed him, I stole his wife”, or if he had said, “I have sinned against Bathsheba. I stole her and turned her into a mistress.” It would have been already acceptable if David had said, “I have sinned against my family. They trusted me so much, and I destroyed my own family”, or “I have sinned against my people. I am their king, yet I have left a bad example.” Instead, David said, “I have sinned against the Lord.” David the prodigal had returned, because he had returned to the Lord. A man who acknowledges and repents of his sin is a man who has returned to the Lord.

What is sin? Sin is disobedience to God’s Word and obeying the devil’s word. The first sin man committed is recorded in Genesis chapter three. Sin entered the world and God drove man out of the Garden of Eden, man became separated from the holy God, from the Lord of life. What is sin? To sin is to depart from the Creator, it is failure to acknowledge the Heavenly Father as Father. David disobeyed God’s word, and did not walk in God’s truth. He broke at least three of the Ten Commandments: 1. Do not murder: He murdered Uriah. 2. Do not commit adultery: He committed adultery with Bathsheba. 3. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife: He stole Bathsheba and made her his wife. The real reason he sinned was because he had drifted away from the Lord. He lost the reverent heart he had for the Lord. One thousand years before David, there lived a young man by the name of Joseph. Joseph was such a handsome young man that everyone found him attractive, including his master’s wife. In fact, she told him brazenly: `Come, sleep with me.’ What a great temptation that was. It is so much easier for women to seduce men than for men to seduce women. Yet Joseph did not yield to temptation. Joseph was a man of character. The woman was relentless, every day she pressed Joseph to sleep with her! Every day! Imagine this – every day as you leave your house, you meet a very attractive lady who smiles at you. She doesn’t do anything else but simply smile at you. After a week, a month, or a year, can there be any man who will remain unaffected? Every day, his master’s wife tried to make him go to bed with her, yet Joseph didn’t give in. What was Joseph’s secret to overcoming this temptation? He told his master’s wife: “How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” In a time of temptation, he referred back to God, he knew it would be a great sin against God. However, with David, he didn’t even realize he had already drifted away from God. Only upon Nathan’s timely warning did he suddenly realize his own sin. He said, “I have sinned against the Lord.” David was a spiritual man, he had sinned but he knew how to acknowledge his sin, and the Lord forgave him his sin. This is what I want to discuss today, sin is departing from God, acknowledging our sins is returning to God. As long as a prodigal returns, the Heavenly Father will accept him back.

II. Result of David the Prodigal’s Return

Where there is cause, there is effect. Where there is effect, there is cause. The Lord Jesus died for our sins on the cross, there is no sin that the Lord cannot forgive, but everything we do affects others, even our family and we still have to bear the consequences of our sins. When David told Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan said, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But …” and he went on to pronounce the consequences of David’s sins. First, we must understand an important thing – when a non-Christian sins, what he has to face is punishment for his sins. But for a Christian, as long as he confesses and repents of his sins, he will be forgiven; all his sins have already been placed on Jesus Christ; however, he still will have to face the consequence of his sins; but it is not punishment, it is discipline. We must differentiate between punishment and discipline. Punishment is for the sins of the past, discipline is to prevent the commitment of sins in the future. At first glance, they look similar, but the results are totally different. After he acknowledged his sins, David was forgiven, but the Lord disciplined him, in order to refine his life further.

1. The Child He Had with Bathsheba Died – The prophet told David, “But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the LORD, the son born to you will die.” And so, the Lord struck down his son, and the boy died after seven days. The child was innocent but he had to die because of his parents’ sin. This should be a warning for us, whatever we do can hurt innocent people. But from another viewpoint, death may not necessarily be a bad thing for it can mean entering eternal joy. And also, if this child had lived, with the whole nation knowing he was David’s illegitimate child, life could be very difficult for him as he could be the subject of talks! So it may not necessarily be a bad thing for him that the Lord took him away.

2. Amnon Raped Tamar – Amnon was David’s eldest son. Tamar was David’s daughter. Amnon and Tamar were brother and sister albeit of different mothers. Yet this brother raped his own sister. David was very angry when he heard of it, but he did nothing. Why? What could David say to Amnon? Amnon could retort to his face, “Father, I learned from you. Didn’t you steal another man’s wife? Father, you couldn’t keep away from Bathsheba, and so it is with me, when I saw Tamar, I couldn’t stand it, I had to have her. Father, we are like father like son.” David didn’t know what to do, he only became very angry but didn’t do anything.

3. Absalom Killed Amnon – David’s sin brought on a third consequence – brothers killing each other. Tamar’s brother Absalom decided to kill Amnon himself when he saw how their father failed to take any action. After two years, using the excuse of shearing the sheep, he invited all the princes to it, and killed Amnon there. Absalom plotted this murder for two years. We can simply imagine how his hatred must have grown in those two years, yet it didn’t show at all. The Bible says, “And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad…” In those two years, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong outwardly; however, deep in his heart, the hatred was festering. It is lamentable when brothers are at odds with one another. Brothers, love one another, because you are kin. In my family, I have 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Sixteen years ago, when my brother was stricken with leukemia, I flew to Hong Kong to donate bone marrow for him, however we were not compatible, so it did not push through. Last year, my mother passed away. When I was in Hong Kong then, I had opportunity to talk to my younger brother. He told me that it is difficult to be a mere wage-earner in HK, and he was thinking of going into business but had financial constraints. I told him that I have some money in Hong Kong, although it isn’t much, but if he needed it, he may have it any time. He was very grateful when he heard that. Twelve years ago, my sister came to the Philippines, she wanted me to officiate her wedding. I didn’t only officiate her wedding, I even held a reception for her, I shouldered all the expenses; in fact, since my sister didn’t know anyone in the church, so I didn’t accept any monetary gifts from the invited guests, I invited the guests on the premise of a thanksgiving celebration. When my parents were still alive, every year I returned to Hong Kong to see them, and whenever I get the chance, I would treat my siblings to dinner and I would insist on paying the bill, not because they don’t have money, but because it is my way of showing my love for them. Brother and sisters ought to love one another because they are siblings. Brothers and sisters in the Lord must also love one another. David, because of a moment’s passion, brought conflict among his children, even to the extent of murder. How frightening sin is!

4. Absalom Revolted Against David – Absalom not only hated Amnon for raping his sister, he also hated David; for apart from getting angry, David didn’t do anything about the crime. After Absalom killed Amnon, he fled to Geshur and hid there for three years. After he returned, David did not allow Absalom to see him for three years. Absalom’s hatred grew by the day. After four years, he openly rebelled against his father. It is a very sad thing that brothers kill each other, now, the son rebels against his father, and wants to kill him. How grieved David must have been as a father. When Absalom was killed, David was sorrowful. He cried as he went and said, ““O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you? O Absalom, my son, my son!” David felt he killed his son, because this was the consequence of his sin. Although his son dishonoured him, still he was willing to die on his behalf, David’s heart was truly broken.

5. Absalom Raped David’s Concubines – When Absalom entered Jerusalem, among those who went with him was a man by the name of Ahithophel. 2 Samuel 16:23 records “Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.” Ahithophel presented Absalom with a terrible plot. In 2 Samuel 16:21 , when Absalom sought his advice, “Ahithophel answered, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to your father, and the hands of everyone with you will be more resolute.” David and Absalom were father and son, even if his son was a bad son, David continued to love him, for the relationship of father and son is very unique – a father will always love his own son; for a parent, a son will always be a son. Unless Absalom does something detestable to David, there is always a chance of reconciliation between the two, thus, Ahitophel made this terrible advice and told Absalom to sleep with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. His purpose was so that in the sight of all men, David will not be able to forgive Absalom. Why did Ahithophel give this wicked advice? It was because Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba. Ahithophel couldn’t forget what David did to his granddaughter, committing adultery and killing Uriah. He wanted to destroy David’s family. V.22 “So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.” They let him do this terrible thing in the very place where David first saw Bathsheba and plotted adultery in his heart. A man reaps whatever he sows! Let us be careful!

6. Joab killed Absalom – In the end, Absalom was killed by Joab in battle. Absalom was very handsome. He was most famous for his beautiful long hair. During the battle, his hair caught among the branches of a tree, leaving him hanging in midair, and Joab speared him to death there. This serves as a warning to us, our greatest strength often becomes our greatest weakness. An eloquent person, such as a gifted preacher can become the greatest deceiver, he has a great possibility of stealing the glory from God. A person gifted in music can become simply a great entertainer. A wealthy and powerful man can become a dictator, a conceited person. Your strength if not submitted to the Lord can become the cause of your downfall. After Absalom’s death, David cried as he went ‘O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you? O Absalom, my son, my son!’ How painful sin’s consequences can be!

Of course we may confess our sins and the Lord can forgive us; but sin has its consequences. God forgives the sins we have committed, but we still have to undergo discipline, the effect of sin continues. We must understand that when God forgives us, it doesn’t necessarily follow that people will forgive us too. When our sin has affected others, people may seek to avenge themselves. We must be careful, for sin has its consequences. Sometimes the consequences can be unbearable. May the Lord have mercy on us and keep us from sin and its lures.

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In the first of this series on David, we studied whether David was qualified to be chosen by God or not, and we concluded that he was indeed qualified. For:

1. David was someone whose inner being matched his outer appearance. Not only was David physically good-looking, he had a heart that loved the Lord deeply.

2. David was a charming person. David had five admirable characteristics: a. He played the harp well. b. He was a brave warrior c. He could speak well. d. He was a fine-looking man. e. The Lord was with him.

In the second message, we reflected on David’s victory against Goliath. It was David’s first victorious battle. We described his accomplishment as a brilliant feat that amazed whole world.

Today, let us examine the toughening that David’s life underwent.

After David won the battle against Goliath, he officially entered life’s arena. From a lowly shepherd, he turned into the nation’s hero. However, this lasted for only a short period of time. Before long, he became Saul’s greatest enemy. For at least ten years Saul pursued and tried to kill David. Yet this period became a time of great training for David. Chinese philosopher Mencius said that whenever heaven wants to give a man some great assignment, it will first refine the man’s willpower, allow him to experience fatigue, hunger and suffering, turning everything against him. It does this to test his will, firm up his disposition and develop his skills.

This statement is truly applicable to David. The Lord dealt with David in this manner, allowing him through a period of refinement in order to equip him for the great task of ruling God’s people. From chapters 18 to 21, we discover that the Lord used four kinds of human relationships to refine David, for interpersonal relationship is the best method for refining a man.

In the seminary I used to attend in Hong Kong, the dormitory rooms had 2 or 3 beds in them. These beds were either double or triple-decked. So, there would be 6 to 9 people living together in one room. I tell you, just the daily routine of using the bathroom is a great learning experience. If you do not exercise patience, love, and humility, you will surely get into fights over the use of the bathroom. Some people would be in the bathroom more than half an hour. It was truly a time of mutual learning as Proverbs says: As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. That is also the way between friends. Human relationship is one of life’s greatest way of toughening us.

After David defeated Goliath, the Lord placed four kinds of relationships into his life:

I. David Served Under King Saul: Allowing David to Learn Submission

After David defeated Goliath, Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. This is recorded in 1 Samuel 18:2. According to 1Samuel 18:5, “Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well.” Obviously, David was very faithful and submissive to King Saul. He was willing to serve under Saul. But we must not forget that a few years back, Samuel had already anointed David as king before his whole family. There is a saying: “One mountain cannot hide two tigers. One nation cannot have two kings.”

It was not easy for David to submit to Saul, in fact, David knew the Lord wanted to remove Saul from the throne. If you were David, would you submit to Saul?

Let us bring this nearer to home. The Lord commands wives to submit to husbands. Wives, do you submit to your husband? If spiritually, and in terms of abilities and skills, you are more gifted than your husband, do you submit to him? It is very difficult, isn’t it? The more capable a woman is, the harder it is for her to submit. Sisters, my advice is marry someone who is compatible with you. This will help make submission easier for you. Brothers, please remember two things as you look for a wife – first, her personality; second, her ability. If she has a good personality, then married life would be blessed for you both. If she possesses exceptional abilities, then, the family will prosper in every aspect because a gifted woman will help you establish your family. But a very able wife will find it hard to submit to her husband, this you must understand. If you marry a woman with great personality and abilities and knows how to submit, you must truly give thanks.

David was a man of good character. David was also a talented person, yet David submitted himself and served under Saul. The Lord taught David submission and humility through the situation. Before David, there was a great prophet, priest, and judge, called Samuel. As a young child, Samuel was left in the temple to learn how to minister before the Lord. 1Samuel 3:1 “The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli.”

This sounds simple, but it wasn’t at all simple for Samuel to submit to Eli. For Eli was already an old and careless priest; besides, the Lord had already told Samuel that at the right time, He will destroy Eli’s family and put Samuel in his place. If you were Samuel, knowing that the Lord will remove Eli and make you the new priest, will you still submit to his leadership? Will you obey him? I believe you will not for in your heart you will think, “From now on I will no longer listen to you, you will listen to me.” But Samuel continued to submit to the old priest, Eli. This is true submission! We must learn from Samuel’s submission to Eli, and David’s submission to Saul. Let us not use man’s methods to promote ourselves, await the Lord’s timing and opportunities; as James 4:10 says “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

II. David and Jonathan’s Friendship: Allowing David to Learn True Love

1 Samuel 18:1 “After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.” 3 “And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.” 4 “Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.”

From his youth, David had not been valued by his family. Do you still remember how when Samuel came to Jesse’s House, David was absent because his father did not think it necessary to call him? His father seemed to have forgotten that he had one more son. David’s brother also treated him harshly. That is the circumstances in which David grew up in. But after David stepped into life’s arena, the Lord gave him a dear friend, King Saul’s son, Jonathan. From the above passage, we can see how Jonathan took the initiative to show David real love. David, who had been deprived of love as a child, found love in this dear friend. David learned what true love is because Jonathan showed him true love.

1. Sacrifice: We must not love only with words, but with action. Jonathan was in a much higher position than David. He was the prince, he was nobility, but he made the first move to extend friendship to David, he became one in spirit with David, and even gave him his robe, tunic, sword, bow and belt. These were his weapons but Jonathan gave them to David. This was true love. One day, my wife and I were discussing about how a church member was kind to me; my wife added, “It seems like he has given you everything he has.” True love is sacrificial.

2. Defends: When Saul started to be envious of David and sought to kill him, Jonathan was the first to come to David’s defense. 1Samuel 19:4 “Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, `Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly.’” 5 “He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The LORD won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?” A true friend is willing to stand up and defend his friend. Jonathan spoke up for David. Later, when Saul decided to kill David, Jonathan stood up and defended him once more, earning Saul’s ire and having a spear hurled at him. Saul made it clear to everyone including his own son that anyone who dares to defend David will be killed. Jonathan risked death for his friend. Let us understand that a true friend is not double-faced, but a courageous one who stands up to defend a friend. We have lived many years in this world, but how many friends do we have who would stand and speak up in our defense?

3. Encourage: 1Samuel 23:16 “And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” This was the last time Jonathan and David met. Jonathan told David, “Don’t be afraid…you will be king over Israel and I will be second to you.” If Jonathan had said don’t be afraid, after my father dies, I will become king and I will make you second to me; it would had already been admirable. However what Jonathan said was, “Don’t be afraid…you will be king over Israel and I will be second to you.” What a friend, what an encouragement! How uplifting!

Jonathan’ love melted David’s heart. 1Samuel 20:41 “David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together�”but David wept the most.” Before, we see the great love of Jonathan, but now, we find David wept the most. We can say that whereas earlier Jonathan loved David more; now, David loved Jonathan more. When a person feels loved, he will reciprocate. If you feel your spouse does not love you enough, is it because he/she has not felt your love for him/her?

III. David and the Israelites: Allowing David to Learn to Earn the People’s Respect

After David killed Goliath, he became the people’s hero. He became the star of the Israelites. V.5 “Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people and Saul’s officers as well.” V.30 “The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known.” V. 7 “As the women danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”

David was loved and respected by the people. How did David gain such respect? Killing Goliath was a start, but sustaining the people’s respect and admiration was not that easy.

When pastors and ministers initially arrive in a church, there is a honeymoon period during the first 3 years, especially when the church has gone without a pastor or pastors for a long time. When you first arrive, everyone will love you. But after 3 years, the honeymoon is over. A Christian survey reports that on the average, American pastors stay an average of 5 years in a church, while Chinese pastors stay an average of 6 years. Meaning, every 5 years, American churches change pastors, while Chinese churches change pastors every 6 years. After the honeymoon is over, it no longer becomes easy. After killing Goliath, David earned the love and respect of the Israelites. Let us study the Bible’s explanation:

Verse 5 “Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well.” Verse 14 “In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him.” Verse 15 “When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him.” Verse 30 “The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known.” Note that the word “success” was used to describe David four times. In Hebrew this word meant wisdom which brings success.

After David defeated Goliath, he became the nation’s hero. David was very clever and perceptive. Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” There is no true wisdom apart from the Lord. Verse 14 “In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him.” Proverbs 15:6 “The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”

The Lord is not with the proud. Do not become proud just because of a little achievement. The Lord set David before all the people, and the people loved him. The women sang and praised him: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” Proverbs 27:21 “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives.” This was a test for David.

Brothers, when God exalts you, you must be careful. It is a test from the Lord. Do not become proud. Remain humble before men, earn their respect. Once you become proud, then you will fall.

IV. David and Saul’s Envy: Allowing David to Learn How to Face Persecution and Opposition

Saul was pleased with David (v.5) but this was only for a while. After Saul and David had defeated Goliath and returned home, the Israelites welcomed them with singing and dancing, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” From that day on, Saul kept a jealous eye on David and became his greatest enemy.

When the Lord called Samuel to Jesse’s house to anoint one of his sons as king, Samuel said: “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.” While a nation has a king and another one rises up to become king, this is called rebellion. Not only would Saul not have spared Samuel, he would have killed the whole household of Jesse. Didn’t the Lord know this simple principle? Of course, He knew. The Lord knew that once David was promoted, Saul would persecute and oppose him. But this was to be David’s training before he ascended the throne – how to face persecution, criticisms, and oppositions; because there isn’t a leader who doesn’t encounter opposition. Even the best president in the world gets criticized. Even the Miss Universe winner gets criticized.

Recently, a most unfortunate event occurred in the Philippines. The senior pastor of GCF, Luis Pantoja, passed away because of heart attack. This is really a sad thing. But what is most saddening is that before this happened, he was mistreated by elders and deacons of GCF. They spoke ill of him and accused him of financial misconduct, causing the late pastor much distress and anguish. Consequently, while attending a conference in Malaysia, he suffered a heart attack and passed away. The church later on confirmed that Rev. Luis Pantoja was innocent of the accusations. They wanted to apologize to him, but it was too late. On September 12, Sunday, the elders and deacons apologized before the congregation and resigned. This should not have happened at all! I hope such a thing will never happen in our church.

Leaders will certainly encounter persecution or opposition. As a leader, we must learn from David. We must maintain a positive attitude as we face opposition. While Saul was alive, David never fought him back. Twice, David had the opportunity to get rid of this terrible enemy, but he didn’t lift a hand against him at all. Although our enemies can sometimes be very frightening, but they can many times be blessings in disguise. For, our enemies can see our weaknesses clearly; before them, can we afford to be unguarded?

I had once shared this story with you: Japanese love to eat Taiwanese eel, so they import them into Japan. But they discovered that the eels die in transport. Lifeless eels do not command as high a price as live eels. Thus, they had to think of a way to keep the eels alive. They tried placing a few pieces of crabs into the tanks with the eels. Crabs are eels’ enemies. If the eels would be unguarded for even just one moment, they would be caught by the crabs. It turned out, with the presence of crabs, the eels remained alive. All the eels arrived in Japan alive.

In our life, there will always be one or two crabs out to grab us; but without them, we may not survive. Do not be afraid of persecution or opposition, but remember, we are the eels, we should not be the crabs.

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At a very young age, David had already been chosen by the Lord to be king. In Part 1 of this series, we talked about whether or not David was qualified to be chosen by the Lord or not; and our conclusion was he was qualified because:
1. David was someone whose inner being matched his outer appearance
2. David was a charming man.

We also learned that David had five qualities:
1. He played the harp well
2. He was a brave warrior
3. He spoke well
4. He was a fine-looking man
5. The Lord was with him.

Today, let us learn how David defeated the giant Goliath. This was David’s first victorious battle and a brilliant feat that stunned the whole world. No one could believe it for David used only one stone to kill Goliath that day. A young man in his teens defeated a 9-foot, 300 pound giant? Aside from the Lord’s help, what were the reasons for David’s victory?

I. Resolve Problems According to God’s Time

1 Samuel 15:6 records how David was anointed to be king in the sight of his whole family by Samuel. After David was anointed, what did he do? He continued to be a shepherd of his father’s flocks. 1Sam17:15 says “but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.” What does “went back and forth” mean? It means he was like an office boy or a messenger. If you were David, you had already been anointed as king, and everyone in your family knows it, when they send you as an office boy, a messenger, would you go? You would probably say: `How can I have the time? I am preparing to be king. I need to prepare my speech. I need to learn the many duties of a king. I don’t have time to tend sheep.’

David didn’t do so. He went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep. He continued to be a messenger, for at least two or three years long. Until one day when his father told him, “Take some food to your brothers. They are in the Valley of Elah fighting against the Philistines.”

This was an opportunity the Lord gave him. God’s time has arrived. The Lord never uses a lazy person. God always calls a man who is busy and diligently at work. When the Lord called the first batch of disciples, Peter and Andrew, they were casting their nets into the lake. James and John were preparing their nets. When Jesus called the tax collector Matthew, he was collecting taxes. Are you waiting for God’s call?

Let me ask you: What are you doing? If you are not doing anything, don’t think that the Lord will suddenly make a phone call and ask you to preach! Although David had already been anointed king, he continued to keep busy. When he arrived at the battlefield and heard the Philistine insulting the army of the Living God, he couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t bear hearing the God he loves being insulted. The Spirit of the Lord moved him and he went out to face Goliath. He used a piece of stone and finished off the fearsome enemy. According to God’s timing, David accomplished what the Lord wanted him to do and resolved the Israelites’ problem.

I have been serving the Lord for 22 years, next year will be my 20th year in CBCP, time really flies. In these 22 years, I have seen many people succeed in their ministries, and I have also seen many people fail. I discovered that the failure of many people isn’t related to their giftedness. Many people fail in the area of waiting upon the Lord. They couldn’t wait. Like a premature child coming out before its time from its mother’s womb, they set themselves in dangerous situations. Brothers and sisters, may the Lord guard our hearts, may we learn to wait for God’s perfect time in doing his work, then we can overcome any difficulty because the Lord is with us.

II. Make 200% Preparation

All success comes with much preparation. Although adequate preparation does not guarantee success, but no preparations equals certain failure. Would you believe me if I say that Susan Boyle joined `British Got Talent’ and sang “I Dreamt a Dream” without any preparation? David used one piece of stone to kill Goliath. This was the first piece of stone he ever threw, and he only hit him by coincidence, would you believe it? But if we say, that David had practiced with his sling for more ten years. When a lion or bear or wolf came, he took his sling and struck those animals with the stones from it, and so he became a sharp-shooter. Which one of these would you believe?

If you still believe that it was a great coincidence, then, please listen to the experts: In studying 50 successful people, like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, etc., two experts say:

A. There is no substitute for hard work

There’s no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice. The most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class, a pattern so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule. So greatness isn’t handed to anyone; it requires a lot of hard work.

B. Practice Makes Perfect

The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call “deliberate practice.” In a study of 20-year-old violinists by Ericsson and colleagues, the best group averaged 10,000 hours of deliberate practice over their lives; the next-best averaged 7,500 hours; and the next, 5,000. More deliberate practice equals better performance.

David did not only prepare 100%, he prepared 200%. What does this mean? The first 100% refers to David doing his utmost, and the other 100% is his reliance on the Lord’s strength.

1. David’s 100% Preparation

When Saul heard that David wanted to fight Goliath, he immediately said no. Verse 33, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” V.34-36 David told Saul, ““Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.”

After hearing this, Saul bade him go. Then, Saul dressed David in his own armor, but David couldn’t even walk around in it. David knew this wasn’t right because he wasn’t used to the armor. David refused to use Saul’s armor and weapons because he wasn’t used to them. He went to the stream and picked five smooth stones and faced Goliath. David knew that the enemy was fiercer than a lion or a bear, he personally went and looked for stones he would use and as a result, he defeated the enemy with only one stone. In his pouch were still four pieces of stones. This was truly 100% preparation.

2. David’s additional 100% preparation

A 100% preparation is already the best preparation one can do. But sons and daughters of God, we are more blessed than people of the world, not only can we make 100% preparation, we can even have 200% preparation, that is, add another 100% by trusting the Lord. When Goliath saw David, v.42-43 “He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

David then replied, in v.45-47, “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give all of you into our hands.” We see that David did not face Goliath on his own, he relied on the Lord’s strength to face the enemy. David said “the battle is the Lord’s”. This was not man’s battle, but the Lord’s. No matter how frightening the enemy is, if God is with us, who can be against us?

III. Press Forward in the Face of Difficulties

David told Goliath, “All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give all of you into our hands.” This was very agitating for the enemy, but was it enough? V.48 “As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.” David run toward the enemy and this was the key to his victory. This tells us two things:

1. David faced the difficulty courageously

Goliath was 9 feet tall and weighed more than 300 pounds, a really formidable mountain. With such a formidable mountain advancing towards you, one can only do two things: 1. Retreat, or 2. Advance.

To retreat means to move backwards, to flee the difficulty, just like the Israelites, just like Saul. Goliath taunted them for 40 days, every day he would insult them twice. He insulted them for a total of 80 times and not one Israelite dared to face him. They only knew to retreat, they did not dare to face the enemy. Do you think our problems would just disappear if we do not face them? Not only will the problems not disappear, they will become worse day by day. Day by day Goliath’s insult grew worse.

To advance means to face the problem courageously. This is the right way to resolve our problems. David chose this method. He bravely faced the enemy and ran towards him. In recent years, because of financial crisis, we see two kinds of people: one would retreat and refuse to face the problem. They flee and as a result, leave behind a bad name. David pressed forward and faced the enemy in battle. In the end, David won.

2. David was a man of action

David ran towards the enemy. David not only faced the difficulty courageously, he was also a man of action, a man who never gave up. David’s life was not all smooth-sailing. Sometimes, he was defeated by difficulties, but David never gave up.

A certain university was holding its graduation rites, and had invited an old professor to deliver a speech. When the old professor stood up to speak, for some reason he stumbled and fell on the stage. The students were merciless and laughed very hard. The old professor was unperturbed, when he stood back up, he took the microphone and said, “Life is like that. When you fall, you must stand back up. Today, you are graduating, when you step out into the world, you will meet difficulties, and you will even fall; but you must remember this day and what you saw, after you fall you must stand back up.” In the end, the students greeted the old professor’s speech with resounding applause. Bring out your courage, stand back up! Bring out your action, work!

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The Bible contains accounts of different people’s lives, yet it never covers up their failures the way they did David’s, who is called a man after God’s heart. The Bible records fully the sin which he had committed.

However, some Christians use these as examples to justify their wrongdoings. They point out David and Solomon’s many wives and say that not only did God not stop them, he had in fact blessed them; thus, they argue, where in the Bible does it say that it is wrong to have many wives! They use the misdeeds of the characters in the Bible to justify themselves, but they forget two important principles: 1. the principle of examples and warnings 2. the principles recorded in the Bible.

When Satan tempted the Lord Jesus, he told him to jump from the temple, saying, “It is written ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus however, answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Jesus rebuked Satan for using the Bible with partiality. The Bible must be considered in its entirety. David and Solomon had many wives, but the Bible also records that because he had many wives, not only did David commit the sin of adultery, much chaos and immorality occurred in his family. Solomon also had many wives and the Bible tells us `as Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God’; in the end, even the nation was torn apart.

There are many areas in David’s lives that we can learn from, but there are also warnings we can heed. Let us first study the story of how David was chosen and anointed by God to be king. 1Samuel 16:1 records how God wanted Samuel to go to the house of Jesse because He had chosen one of his sons as king. Who was this chosen one? It was David, of course. No one can say anything about the Lord’s choice, the Lord will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and He will have compassion on whom he will have compassion. Today, let us view this from a different angle: Was David qualified to be chosen by God?

There is a movie called “Saving Private Ryan”. It is a story of how one family had four sons who were all sent to fight in a war. Three of them had been killed in battle, and only one son was left and he was also in the battlefield. The American government felt that this family had already sacrificed enough and so they sent men into the field to bring back Ryan. But the men who were to bring back Ryan had to go through enemy lines to do so. In the process, many had died. Someone began to question who Ryan was, why so many lives had to be risked just to bring him home. Later, they faced the enemy again and many more died. They were very angry and asked again who this Ryan was. They said, “Ryan better be someone worthy of what we are going through.” They finally met Ryan and handed him the letter informing him of the death of his three brothers and of how he has to go back home with them. After reading the letter, Ryan was very sad but he said: I am under orders to defend the bridge. I cannot let the enemy come across. I haven’t finished my duty yet, I cannot leave my brothers and my position.” Then, he went back to defend the bridge against the enemy. At that moment, the camera span across the room, showing how the face of each man in the room expressed one similar thought: Ryan was worth it all. With David, was he a man worthy to be chosen by God?

I. David’s Inner Being Matched His Outer Appearance 16:6-7 / 12

1. A Man’s Outer Appearance

First impressions are very important. If you make a good first impression, many opportunities become open to you; but if you give others’ a bad first impression, you have to use a lot of time and effort to correct that. Do not think that external appearance is not important. Not only do we live before God, but we also live before men.

Look at how all the specialists and professionals dress themselves up. They try to look very professional because they want to look trustworthy in the eyes of men. You must give attention to your physical appearance, married or single. Wives, continue to attract the attention of your husband. Give attention to how you look and your physique. Husbands, you must also pay attention to your physique, do not look like pregnant men.

The late president Lincoln said: “Before forty, parents are responsible for a person’s looks; but after forty, a person is responsible for his own appearance.” You may blame your parents for your looks before you are forty years of age, you may blame them for passing on to you certain physical features. But after forty, if you haven’t made effort to improve how you look, then you can only blame yourself. Why? A man’s countenance reflects his heart. When we are full of bitterness, envy, hatred, wickedness, no matter what we do, our countenance will not look good. But if our heart is full of kindness, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, our face will inevitably look pleasant.

2. The Heart of a Man

We must give attention to our external appearance, but our inner man is even more important. The Lord told Samuel: Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. When Samuel saw Saul, he immediately liked him, because Saul was tall and handsome; however, in the end, Saul greatly disappointed Samuel. But humans are humans, we are easily attracted to good looks. When Samuel saw Jesse’s eldest son, seeing how tall and handsome he was, he immediately thought that this must be God’s chosen king. Even Samuel had this tendency, how much more us? But, our God is a God who sees through the heart of every man. We can deceive the whole world but we can never deceive our God, because He knows our hearts.

When David came, the Lord told Samuel: He is the one. The Lord chose David. What kind of heart did David have? David had a heart that loved God. In the whole Bible, only two people have told the Lord: “I love you, Lord”. The first one was David in Psalm 18:1 “ I love you, O Lord, my strength.” The second person was David’s son, Solomon.

In 1 Kings 3:3, it says, “Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the statutes of his father, David.” Solomon’s love for the Lord was a result of David, his father’s influence. David had a heart that loved the Lord. 2Samuel5 records how when David had united the nation, he sought and brought back the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem. Saul was king for 40 years, yet he never thought of the ark of God. David, on the other hand, when he had united the nation, immediately sent thirty thousand men to bring the ark from the house of Abinadab to Jerusalem. The Lord was always in David’s heart. This principle is so simple. When we love someone, that person is always in our thoughts. Brothers and sisters, do you love the Lord? Do you long to be near him? Is coming to Sunday worship a joy or a duty for you? The Lord chose David because his inner and outer lives matched; he was worthy to be chosen by the Lord.

II. David was a Charming Man 17-18

Whenever the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, an evil spirit would come and torment him. So, Saul’s attendants suggested for someone to play the harp for the king, that he may feel better. Someone brought up David’s name, and pointed out that he had five good characteristics:
1. plays the harp well
2. a brave warrior
3. speaks well
4. a fine-looking man
5. the Lord is with him.

These five qualities can be summed in one phrase, full of charm. David was charming. Charm means having great drawing power; the root word of the term `charismatic’ is the word `charm’. For the Lord to choose and use us, we must become men full of charm:

1. Play the harp well

Playing the harp is a skill. The Lord gives each one of us different skills and talents. Some can play the piano, some can sing, some preach well, some cook well. David did not just know how to play the harp, he played well. If you ask anyone who can play the piano well why they could do so, they will definitely tell you that it is because of practice. Behind the brilliant 5-minute performance we see is probably 50 hours of practice. Behind a wonderful 45-minute message from a preacher must have been 450 hours of preparations. David had the gift of playing the harp and he could play before the king because he was the best of the best. It was a result of diligent practice. I love the ministry of preaching and teaching. But since my seminary days till now, I have never stopped studying how to preach. I read a lot of books on preaching, I listen to many messages on preaching. You must keep improving in your area of giftedness, you must become the best.

2. A Brave Warrior

When David was introduced to the king, he was introduced as a brave warrior. He was only a young man of 12-15 years of age, how could he be a brave warrior? When the Philistine giant Goliath challenged them, David bravely faced him. Saul however said, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy.” But David told Saul in Samuel 17:34-35 “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and killed it.”

David was a brave warrior. We have reason to believe that the story of David killing the lion and the bear was spread around Bethlehem; that is why people called him a brave warrior. What is a lion? What is a bear? To a shepherd, a lion and a bear are enemies. For a shepherd, the appearance of a bear or lion means difficulties, troubles, and danger. A brave warrior is someone who bravely faces difficulties, troubles and danger.

When Goliath challenged them, everyone was afraid to face him. But David said I will go and fight him. Wasn’t Saul a head taller than everyone in Israel? Wasn’t Saul a brave warrior? Why was he afraid to face Goliath? Saul had been king for quite some time, his life had become too comfortable as king, he was no longer willing to face challenges and difficulties. This is a great reminder for all of us – we must maintain our fighting spirit, we must not be content with the present, we must not be afraid of difficulties! Recently, Rev. Timothy Lim, who had been mightily used of God passed away at the age of ninety-eight. Even at 98, he had continued to preach God’s word. He once made a famous statement: “The Church does not need more doctoral or masteral graduates, but more martyrs.” He was truly a brave warrior for the Truth.

3. Speaks Well

Proverbs 25:11 “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” We find it unbecoming when apples of gold are set in a worn-out basket. On the contrary, it is most fitting when apples of gold are set in a silver basket. Imagine a beautiful lady dressed in the prettiest attire who utters the dirtiest words when she opens her mouth, how incompatible!

David was not only a hero full of skills and courage, when he opens his mouth to speak, people find he speaks well and appropriately. Some young people love to play jokes. There is nothing wrong with playing jokes, but we must be careful of the content and whom we are playing the joke with. If the joke is colored then it is inappropriate. It is also not appropriate to joke carelessly with elderly people. Sometimes in talking to people, we find out they are displeased, and immediately we would say `but I was just joking.’ Having to say so proves that what we had uttered had been inappropriate. May the Lord help us, we must be careful of what comes out of our mouth. We must be aware that we are children of the living God, our speech must be just as appropriate as apples of gold in settings of silver.

4. Fine-looking

This is David’s admirable physical attribute, but we must remember: a man’s countenance reflects his heart. Our face can become more and more loveable, or more and more un-loveable. A young boy asked his grandfather: what is the inner heart of man like? The grandfather said: The heart of man can be likened to two wolves fighting within: one is full of hatred and anger, the other is full of love, forgiveness and peace. The child asked again: Which one will win? The grandfather said: The one I feed. How meaningful, the one we feed will be the one that wins. Our heart is like that, garbage in, garbage out. Our face is but a reflection of our heart.

5. The Lord was with Him

David not only had the looks and skills that can charm, the man said: The Lord is with him. This reflects the quality of David’s spiritual life. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, Luke 2:52 described him – “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” This verse tells us Jesus grew in four aspects: he grew in wisdom, this is intelligent quotient (IQ); he grew in stature, this is health quotient (HQ), then he grew in favor with God, this is spiritual quotient (SQ) and also, he grew in favor with men, this is emotional quotient (EQ). David also grew in these four aspects: He played the harp well, this was David’s IQ. He was a brave warrior, this was David’s HQ. Speaks well, fine-looking, this was David’s EQ. The Lord is with him, this was David’s SQ.

It was of course by the grace of God that David was chosen to be king, but we also see that David was qualified. The Word of God in Ephesians 4:1 says “Live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” David’s life was worthy of God’s calling. How about us, are we living lives worthy of the calling we have received?

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