Victory is sweet, isn't it? As Wide World of Sports told us every Saturday there is "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." I doubt that any of us revel in a loss. We always want our team to be on the winning side. But, sometimes winning can be defeating.
This year in the NCAA basketball tournament the Kentucky Wildcats came into the tourney undefeated. Many prognosticators and predictors picked them as the eventual winners. Many of those filling out brackets picked them to win. I mean, how could they lose! They were undefeated. But, yesterday's victory is no guarantee of today's victory. Each game is played individually. And, each day is lived separately.
Spiritually we can become complacent in our battle against sin. We win a victory today and are tempted to believe that we will always gain victory over that sin. We implement biblical principles and find the joy in beating down the urge to go against God's will. Yet, we often find in real life that we fall just as hard later for the same sin we beat. Why is that?
David was learning many good and lasting lessons in his young life as he was being pursued by murderous King Saul. He fled from place to place to escape these murderous attempts. One day, hiding in a cave, with King Saul totally vulnerable, David chose to let him live. He wouldn't be controlled by bitterness, anger of vengeance. What a great victory was found that day in David's life. What a testimony to his men, and to us, that we too do not need to be controlled by our feelings. He found his victory in trusting God's will and timing.
However, as we move on in David's life we find that his victory in the cave didn't guarantee his victory in the plain! David will be disrespected by a man named Nabal and he will not handle it well. Nabal, whose name means "fool," lives up to his name. But, as David seeks to act out on his own foolish plan, God intervenes by bringing Nabal's wise wife into the picture. Abigail is the most wise person in this account. Without her counsel and confrontation of David, he would have done something he would have lived to regret.
Be reading 1 Samuel 25 to get your heart prepared for our study in the life of David. We will look at the ways we can respond to what life brings. Join us either live or via our live stream.
BFF, can you remember this abbreviation. Remember, it stands for "best friends forever." Maybe you wrote it in your high school yearbook? Remember when you walked the halls of your school thinking that these fiends would be friends to the death? But, if I were to ask you what their names were, how many could you name? When was the last time you got together? And, your class reunions don't count! If you're like most people your high school fiends are just a blur from your past.
Moving on to college you made a whole new set of friends. And, in your college yearbook you probably inscribed BFF yet again. However, I could ask you the same questions I just asked about high school. How many names could you rattle off? When was the last time you saw them or hung out with them? You normally have more conact with college friends than your high school friends, but not much.
Moving on in life you got a job and made even more friends. You didn't have any book to inscribe BFF, but you thought of them that way. You thought you might be friends for a long time. But, then, you changed jobs, made new friends and the cycle went on again.
Friendships, how are they formed and how can we make them last? On Sunday we will look at the subject of frienships through the relationship of Jonathan and David. This godly friendship has been turned into something that it never was. It was a lasting friendship that was formed from two unlikely men.
If you are in town we would love to have you worship with us and study this aspect of David's life. What can we learn about friendship? Come to see.
Is there not a cause? This rather famous statement was uttered by a young shepherd boy named David. He came upon a scene he didn’t expect. He arrived at a battlefield that actually wasn’t a battlefield! Soldiers were present from both sides. Land was disputed and purposes voiced. The enemy came to engage the army of the Lord every day. yet, none would step up to fight. When the young, inexperienced boy arrived his heart was stirred. He heard the words of the enemy and his indignation arose because this enemy dared to defy the God of Israel. For the sake of God’s name little David was read to fight. And, fight he did.
Today many are ready to find their cause in any number of places. These are a few of the “causes” I found; Paws for a cause; Birthday for a cause; Canvass for a cause; Suits for a cause; Shop for a cause; and donate for a cause. Some will remember the popular movie from 1955, “Rebel without a Cause.” It seems for many years the theme of a cause has caught people’s attention. Today I want to ask you, “What is the cause you are living, and maybe dying, for?”
In the years following World War 2 a flood of missionaries followed God’s call to the four corners of the world. Young, underpaid, and inexperienced they left the comforts of “home” to go to where God had called. Most left for their fields of service, not on giant planes, arriving in but a few hours. Rather, they boarded freighters bound for the “regions beyond.” Some would take three to six months aboard these ships planning and waiting for the day they would arrive. Everything they brought with them were in barrels, suitcases and on their backs. Without language or much money, they would embark upon a lifetime of service.
As I write this my eyes are filled with tears thinking of one of these dedicated, faithful servants of God. He has been to me a tremendous encouragement, though I don’t really know him well. Harry and Lyn Ambacher headed to the city of Hong Kong in 1969. They, like so many before them, boarded a freighter and headed off. At the time Hong Kong was the “most crowded city” in the world. The British, then in control of Hong Kong, decided to spread out the city into outlying areas. Eight “satellite cities” were planned and built. It was into one of these new cities Harry and Lyn went. Over the next nearly 25 years God would use them to plant four churches across these new cities. In time Lyn would be struck with Alzheimer’s and they would be forced to leave the field. But, the field never left them. Eventually Lyn wold be ushered into the presence of her Saviour. But, Harry would continue on. But, he would begin to suffer the effects of Parkinson’s, yet still serve on.
This dear saint of God has never stopped serving. I have begun a study of the life of King David. You know, the young man with a cause. I knew Harry had taught courses on the Life of King David. So, I wrote to him for any help he could be. He very graciously sent me material. Just before I was to preach my first message in this series I received yet another note from him. In it he gave me some really good things to think about. But, what touched my heart more than anything was when he said, “I would love to be in the first row cheering.” Well, you can be assured, I will consider Harry in the first row cheering me on. How can it get any better than that!?
Do YOU have a cause? I mean, a real one you can give your life to. The Lord has given me the privilege of meeting and knowing many others who, like Harry and Lyn, have given their lives to their call and not looked back. I know the days for these dear saints were not always easy. Yet, they have kept in their hearts the knowledge of Who they are serving. Please allow me to quote a bit from a letter I received just yesterday from my “cheering” friend. “Autumn sweeps over Hong Kong with beautiful sunsets and clear mornings. We often have our baptisms in October, with the new Christians crowded around the baptismal pool. It is a custom for friends to give flowers to their friends. We have so many memories of autumn. In the early years, when we were helping Pastor Teddy Cheng those years were an encouragement. Later, as our 4th church joined the others, we saw again how God could build His church.”
May the life of King David and people like Harry and Lyn Ambacher stir us on to greater service for God. Who will go to serve? You?
Shepherds, aren’t they so cute. Little boys wearing their bathrobes scooting off to the manger to see the Baby Jesus. No Christmas play is quite complete without them. But, do they actually represent the shepherds of old? Not really.
If you look into the social status of shepherds in the first century you will find they were on the same rung as the tax collectors! Now, everyone knows how much we love it when the “IRS man cometh.” Can you recall the hateful things said of tax collectors in the Gospels? Well, shepherds were thought of just as malevolently as the tax collectors.
Shepherds were thought of as dirty, filthy, lonely, uncouth people. They were classed as lying, cheating, and conniving. In fact, in a court of law a shepherd could not testify because everyone just assumed he would lie! Their job was important to the ongoing of the society, but, no one wanted to be one.
Oh how different from the status of shepherds was throughout the Old Testament. Names such as Abraham, Moses and even David evoke wonderful mental pictures. David’s experience as a shepherd prepared him for one of his greatest challenges; battling Goliath. And, King David’s most endearing Psalm came from his experience as well. Psalm 23 is David’s way of pointing out that just as he shepherded his sheep, so the Lord shepherds his people.
Yet, all of that good will changed by the time we reach a bunch of shepherds on a hillside on that first Christmas night. While these lonely, dejected shepherds prepared for another long night, with the fire flickering and the stars twinkling, the sky lit up like noonday. The black darkness of their secluded spot became bright. Then, on top of seeing an unbelievable sight, they heard a voice! Was it an illusion? Was it a dream? Whatever it was couldn’t be real, or could it?
The words they heard were, “Fear not.” Don’t be afraid, are you kidding me? But, then they heard the words the world was longing to hear, the words the Jewish people had been looking forward to for centuries, the Messiah is born. But, this message wasn’t delivered to the “powers that be” in the capitol city of Jerusalem. No, it was deliverd to a bunch of looney, dirty, neglected, and rejected shepherds. Crazy, huh? But, then, God does so many things that are “out of the ordinary.”
But, then, who would feel more “at home” in a barn? Smelly shepherds or squeaky-clean Scribes? I think you know that answer. You see, God really does know what He is doing. And, you and I can trust Him for our lives as well. Let’s thank Him for showing us that we normal people are welcome to come to worship. Be sure to do that during this Christmas season.
Can you recall the hateful things said of tax collectors in the Gospels? Well, shepherds were thought of just as malevolently as the tax collectors.