The Plowman

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1 Samuel #19: an exposition of 1 Samuel 19:1-24. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, May 6, 2012.

Intro:
Do you ever have a bad day?  “Duh, am I breathing?”  We all have bad days.  I had a bad day one time that lasted a month!  Life in this fallen, sin-filled world, is often hard.  There are those times when we want to say, “Lord are you paying attention?  I’m hurting here.  Things are pretty rotten.  It would be nice if you did something about it.”  Yeah, you have your bad days but what about king David?  He was doing everything right and yet Saul was determined to kill him.  He stood up to Goliath and won a great victory.  Every time he went to war God brought fame and notoriety to Israel.  Israel was becoming a major player.  The world was taking note and yet, through no fault of his own, David was marked for execution by king Saul.  That’s a bad day!  That bad day lasted for years.  From the time David took center stage in chapter 16 through the end of 1 Samuel David lived with tension.  The tension created by the fact the king rejected by God was still in power while the king chosen by God lived in exile.  It’s not fair.  It’s not right.  Yet for purposes known only to God, it was the will of God.  So much for the whole, “trust Jesus and all will be well” school of theology.

We want things neat and clean.  We like things cut and dried.  Everything in its place and everything clearly marked but that is not life in this world.  This world is filled with heartache and sorrow, struggle and stress.  Sometimes the greatest evidence of God’s presence is not that we have lived through the trail but that we are still on our feet in the midst of the trial.  1 Samuel 19 is about deliverance.  In chapter 18 we saw jealousy lift its ugly head.  Saul was furious over the song of the women, “Saul has slain his thousands, David his tens of thousands.”  Saul tried to kill David with a spear but David eluded him.  He sought to give his oldest daughter to David in marriage and to place David in a more vulnerable position is hopes of the Philistines finishing him off.  That didn’t work.  He got another chance by offering his youngest daughter in marriage and demanding David kill 100 Philistines as a dowry.  David thought it a bargain at twice the price and was successful.  This only served to enrage Saul all the more.  As chapter 19 opens Saul is finished with subtleties, now it is all out war.

Text: 1 Samuel 19:1-24

Chapter 19 gives us four accounts of God’s delivering David.
Each deliverance comes by a different means but it is all God’s doing.
We must not allow the means of deliverance to eclipse the source of deliverance.
1 Samuel 19 is a vivid reminder that…
Thesis: Our gracious God repeatedly, mercifully guards and protects His servants.

Though circumstances may seem to say otherwise, God is in control and He is present.
Chapter 19 underscores the message of the prophet Jonah, “Salvation is of the Lord.”
There are four (4) examples in our text.

1. deliverance through reason and logic.  (19:1-7)
2. deliverance through fear and instinct.  (19:8-10)
3. deliverance through diversion and cunning.  (19:11-17)
4. deliverance through divine intervention.  (19:18-24)

Conclusion:
David had not be deserted.  God had not abandoned him.  God was at work and He was present in all of what transpired.

That is our comfort and peace as the people of God.  Our deliverer has promised, “I will never leave you or forsake you.  I am with you always even to the end of the age.”

Our gracious God repeatedly, mercifully guards and protects His servants.

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1 Samuel #18: an exposition of 1 Samuel 18:1-30. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, April 29, 2012.

Intro:
I don’t like clutter.  I’m not fanatical about it but I am a straightener.  If you come into my office you will generally find things neat and in order but whatever you do – don’t open a draw!  You see my neatness only goes so far.  Out of sight out of mind.  I want the appearance of neat and orderly.  I’m the same way with life.  I like it neat and orderly.  I want things to be the way they are “supposed” to be.  The problem, of course, is that life is seldom as it is supposed to be.  Thus I’m not averse to rearranging the facts to give the appearance all is well.  When it comes to matters of faith we want things clean.  If you love and serve the Lord all will be well.  Good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people.  That’s the way it works in the fantasy world unfortunately we live in the real world, a world marred by sin, corrupted by the Fall.  In this world it rains on the just and the unjust.  In this world righteous suffer, often through no fault of their own.  Such is the case in our text this evening.

He was the youngest child in the family.
As such he was given the menial task of shepherding the family’s flocks.
One day the prophet of God showed up and anointed him king of Israel!

Some time later he visited the front lines of a battle between Israel and their arch enemy the Philistines.  When he arrived he could not believe his eyes.  The giant Goliath stood mocking the armies of the living God.  Not once, but twice a day for 40 days.  The army of Israel cowered in silence while their king did nothing.  You know the story – David defeated Goliath, the army of Israel then routed their enemy and everyone rejoiced.

David now moves center stage in the story but not to live happily ever after.  His is a roller coaster existence filled with highs and lows, twists and turns.  A man blessed of God, the object of great affection on the part of some and great hostility on the part of others.  A man after God’s own heart and yet a man flawed and broken.  This evening I want us to focus on chapter 18 as the biblical writer helps us to learn that…

Thesis: In a fallen, twisted world the blessing of God brings both profound joy and unexpected heartache.

Text: 1 Samuel 18:1-30

There are three things I want to call to your attention from this text.

1. The blessing of God brings about a profound friendship.  (18:1-5)
2. The blessing of God leads to a smoldering resentment and increasing hostility.  (18:6-16)
3. The blessing of God results in a mocking gesture of love and respect.  (18:17-30)

Conclusion:
I wish I could say, “Just love Jesus and everything will be alright.”  The truth is faith in Christ does not eliminate your struggles in fact it will create quite a few struggles of its own!  The promise is not a stress-free existence and smooth sailing but rather God’s presence in the midst of the storm.  Our peace and comfort are anchor in the “greater David” who himself knew the joy and unexpected heartache of God’s favor.  His life produces the response of both profound love and intense hatred.  It is one of the reason why we long for His appearing.  It is why all of creation groans for the new heaven and the new earth.  In the meantime we find our peace and rest in the person of the Lord Jesus.

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1 Samuel #17: an exposition of 1 Samuel 17:1-54. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, April 22, 2012.

Intro:
Do you ever get the feeling that we are fighting a losing battle?  Ever feel like you’re beating your head against the wall when you try to talk to others about your faith and about biblical truth?  The world is changing.  The culture is shifting.  The Judeo-Christian worldview is losing it’s grip on the American conscience.  Our faith is increasingly mocked and with greater intensity.  While in the past those who did not attend church were respectful of the church and its teaching that is no longer the case.  The “tolerant crowd” is no longer tolerant of our views.  The new atheism is a militant and aggressive strain that will not be satisfied until the culture is purged of any hint of biblical Christianity.  We are heading to a showdown.  Lines are being drawn.  Positions are being marked off and we are being faced with a choice.  Will we stand our ground or be coward into silence?  Will we march on under the banner of the cross or will we flee from the presence of our enemy?

There he stood.  Powerful.  Majestic.  Intimidating.  For 40 days he had taunted the army of Israel.  40 days he mockingly called for a worthy opponent to come forward and fight.  Israel’s “mighty men” were reduced to frightened children.  Their king in search of the “panic button.”  Then came the shepherd boy on his father’s errand.  “What’s going on?”  “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?”  Thus began the epic battle between David and Goliath.  It is a familiar story, possibly one of the first Bible stories you learned.  The problem is this text is often misunderstood and misapplied.  Too often it is used merely as an example bravery.  We are told to trust God as we face our own Goliaths but is that the point of the text?  When dealing with a narrative text it is important to look for reoccurring words or themes.  Such words may be a clue to the author’s intent.  In 1 Samuel 17 there is such a reoccurrence.  Six times (10, 25, 26 (twice), 36 and 45) we find the word “reproach” or one of its derivatives.  Goliath consistently mocked, defied and reviled God’s name.  That becomes the key for understanding this encounter as we learn a valuable lesson in faith-filled courage.

Text: 1 Samuel 17:1-54

17:1-3 sets the context.
The Philistines were Israel’s arch enemy throughout this period.
The inspired narrator paints this dramatic scene for us.
Both armies draw up for battle.
Standing on either side of this great valley.
The location is about 12-14 miles west of Bethlehem.
Socoh and Azekah were strong points on the south side of the valley.
Israel is on the opposite side.

17:4-7 gives us our first glimpse of Goliath of Gath, the Philistine champion.

Listen to his taunt – 17:8-10.

Now David is introduced 17:12-18.

Here is what I want us to note from this passage:

Thesis: In a world marked by God-denying, God-defying arrogance we are called to lives of faith-filled courage and God-honoring devotion.

There are three things I want to point out.

1. Faith-filled courage and God-honoring devotion are inflamed by a passion for God’s glory.  (17:26)
2. Faith-filled courage and God-honoring devotion are anchored in the certainty of God’s enabling.  (17:34-37)
3. Faith-filled courage and God-honoring devotion have as their goal the glory and honor of God.  (17:41-54)

Conclusion:
Do you feel inadequate?  Good!
You say you’re not equipped?  Wonderful!
You are just the kind of person God is looking for.

Ask Paul:
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
9 But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.   2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Your battle will not likely come with a giant on the field of battle with opposing armies looking on.  It will most often come up on the office as God’s name is taken in vain and you dare confront the offender.  For me it may come when I refuse to perform a wedding because I believe it violates Scripture.  The confrontations will come.  The only question is whether you will go forth with faith-filled courage and God-honoring devotion or will you cower in silence and fear.