Growing in Grace

Sermon Transcript:

(transcribed with AI)

Promontory Community Church exists to make disciples of Jesus who know, live, and share the gospel for the glory of God. Amen. Well, good morning, everyone. It is good to be here with you all. My name is Jonathan, if you don't know me, privilege of being one of the pastors here. And if you have a Bible, let me invite you to take that out. You can find your way over to 1 Samuel chapter 26 is where we're gonna be this morning.

I don't know how many of you have been following along with the Artemis 2 mission that has just now completed, but it's been a fascinating thing to watch. If you've seen some of the pictures of this mission going on the far side of the moon, seeing the pictures, seeing the Earth from even just that great of a distance is incredible to look at. I hope, go look them up, they're fascinating to look at. But one of the most remarkable things that happened on that mission was actually at the very end, the touchdown at the very end. They had predicted that the shuttle was going to land on April 10th at 8:07 p.m. And if you have followed it, you'll know they landed on April 10th at 8:07 p.m. That is an incredible amount of just accuracy, specificity that they were able to go through there. It makes you realize this isn't their first rodeo, right? They've done this before, right, these are literal rocket scientists, you know, like, coming together to work on all of this. They've put in, I'm not a rocket scientist, I don't know, I can only imagine a ton of effort, time, work, checking, double checking over and over again to get to something like that. Right, and we often, we focus on sort of the grand result. Look at that, amazing. And sometimes we almost begin to forget just how much work it takes to get there. Right, they're standing on the shoulders of decades and decades of people who've done this before them. Things that have gone well and a whole lot of things that haven't, right? They're able to benefit from all of those, to learn, to grow, to be able to get to a point like that. That's genuinely incredible.

But sometimes we forget, actually, that's how we work as well. Our own lives, we don't get everything right the first time, right? In fact, actually, you start learning a new skill, if you can remember all the way back to learning to ride a bike. You probably skinned your knees a few times, getting to be able to actually pedal the bike, right? You crash a few times, but you learn from it, right? The way growing up, grab a new skill now, you're going to maybe hurt yourself a few times learning something, maybe get a few things wrong, maybe make yourself look a little bit foolish, but you learn from it. That's how we grow, right? It's how NASA figures out how to get someone back from the moon. It's how we grow in our lives. It's how our spiritual life grows as well, right? Sometimes we have this idea that if you're a Christian, well, you must be already perfect. Everything's working out, you have no problems. But that's not what the Bible tells us, certainly it's not what happens to us. No, in fact, we actually have to learn. We're gonna fail a few times, we're gonna mess some things up, we're gonna try and follow God, fall, but by God's grace, he teaches us through it. And as we open our Bibles this morning, really that's what we're gonna see, right, we've seen over these last couple of chapters, David's got a few things wrong. He's stumbled, he's tripped a few times, but by God's grace, that's not the end of the story. Actually he begins to grow, he begins to learn, and we get to see now what that looks like.

So, if you have your Bibles open, let me invite you to follow along with me, walking through the life of David. It's our tradition here, we stand as we read God's word. If you're able to, would you stand with me? 1 Samuel chapter 26.

Says then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibea, saying, Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hakaliah, which is on the east of Jesheman? So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with 3000 chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul encamped on the hill of Hakaliah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshman. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul had came after him into the wilderness, David sent out spies and learned that Saul had come. Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and David saw the place where Saul lay with Abner, the son of Ner, the commander of the army. Saul was lying within the encampment while the army was encamped around him. Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joe's brother Abishai, the son of Zoriah, who will go down with me into the camp of Saul? And Abbasshai said, I will go down with you. So David and Abishai went down to the army by night, and there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment with his spear struck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. Then said Abbashai to David, God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear. I will not strike him twice. But David said to Abishai, do not destroy him, for who can, who can put out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? David said, as the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head in the jar of water and let us go. So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul's head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill with a great space between them. And David called to the army and to Abner, the son of Nurse, saying, Will you not answer Abner? Then Abner answered, Who are you who calls to the king? And David said to Abner, are you not a man who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord, the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king, your lord. This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die because you've not kept watch over your lord, the king's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jar of water that was at his head. Saul recognized David's voice and said, Is this your voice, my son David? And he said, Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? Now? Therefore, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering. But if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, Go serve other gods. Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea, like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains. And Saul said, I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I've acted foolishly and I had made a great mistake. David answered and said, Here is the spear, O king. Let one of the young men come over and take it. The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may He deliver me out of all tribulation. Then Saul said to David, blessed be you, my son David, you will do many things and will succeed in them. So David went his way and Saul returned to his place.

As far as the reading of God's word, you may be seated.

Alright, well, if you are having a little bit of deja vu right now, you're actually on the right track. If you're feeling like, man, I'm pretty sure I heard this story already earlier in this series, you're right actually. And I know it's been a little bit because we had Easter in between, but actually just two chapters earlier, we had a story that was almost exactly like this, right? Saul. or sorry, I shouldn't say, David gets given up by the Ziphites. They say, hey, Saul, come find David, he's over here, you can go kill him. Saul leads 3000 men to go attack David. David ends up sneaking up on Saul, and David takes something from him. Eventually they talk to one another. Saul says, I've done wrong, says I won't do this anymore, and leaves. In fact, the exact same thing that just happened two chapters ago is happening again. And we're left to wonder what's going on?

Now, now hear me, whenever the Bible is going to repeat something, it's not just because, oh, we figured that was a good story, let's do it again, it's actually because it's important, right? Remember, when the Bible was written, it's not like there was a lot of ink and paper around, it was very costly to write something down. So if you're going to write it, it better be important. If you write it twice, it's really important. And actually we're meant to pay attention to what's going on in this chapter. It should ring a bell and go, right, I've read this before, so what is different? And actually as we start paying attention to what the differences are between these two chapters, we start to realize actually David has done a lot of growing throughout. Right, if you can remember a couple of chapters ago, when David did find Saul in the cave, he was kind of close to actually killing him. He ends up cutting off a corner of his royal robe, kind of stealing the kingdom from him, and immediately he feels guilty. I shouldn't have done that. Right, last chapter we looked, David gets offended, right, Nabal offends him just for something random, and David is right ready to go and murder him and everyone with him just for that. Actually, the David we meet now is a different man. Actually, David's been learning. God's been teaching him through all of these, even through his missteps, his stumblings, even as God has to literally restrain him from sinning. David's been learning. God's been teaching him all throughout this. In fact, this is perhaps one of the most impressive things David does in his life. He actually learns. He listens to what God says and actually learns from his mistakes. And so we, as we look at our story this morning, we're really gonna see, you know what? Practice makes perfect, alright?

God rewards our righteousness and faithfulness as we give others for the glory of God. Ultimately, our growth in the Christian life comes through putting our faith into practice as we learn to imitate Jesus, alright?

So let's take a look at our story here, right? This practice makes perfect, right? And I know that's kind of a common saying we use, but actually it does come from a biblical root. James chapter one.

It says count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Right? Putting our faith into practice leads to perfection. Now, it's not saying that we are going to be perfect, that's not what it's saying. Rather, are we gonna grow? Yeah, right, the Christian life is not one of sort of being stuck or static, but rather we grow through our trials, through God teaching us, even through our failures, we can actually learn to grow to be more like God. We can reflect his perfection more and more. Alright?

Now in one sense, that's the conclusion. So where do we get that from? Look back at the beginning of our story. Like we said, there's a lot of similarities between this and chapter 24. But if you remember, in chapter 24 when Saul comes to hunt David, David is running. They end up meeting in a cave, kind of by accident. David's trying to hide, Saul just so happens to stumble into it. But here, the story is different. Because David doesn't stumble upon Saul, in fact, he's going to seek him out. Verse 4.

Says David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped.

David's not actually running away from Saul in this moment, he's going to him. David is actually seeking out Saul because David has a plan in this moment. This is not quite the same as what we've seen before. David's ready for this confrontation. Going into this trial, sort of almost eagerly going into it. Think he'd probably agree with James, count it all joy when you face trials. That seems to be what he's doing here.

And so David finds out where Saul is and he begins to make a plan. He's got some guys with him and he says, alright, who's coming with me? And we get this guy named Abbasshai, he's like, I'm coming. Alright, he's a little bit impulsive, a little bit quick on the draw, and what we find actually, if you read the story later, actually this is David's nephew, alright, this is his sister's child, and he becomes later one of the commanders of the army under David. But here he is ready to go to war with the entire camp of Saul. That's not what David has in mind. In fact, they come down to the camp, 3000 men and Saul is in the middle, and as they approach it, they realize everyone is asleep. This would have been bizarre. This should not have been happening. Someone should have been on watch, but they just walk straight through. They come to Saul, they find him, there he is, everyone's asleep, and you can see Abishai going, David, this is it, this is your moment, right? Verse 8, he says,

God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Please let me pin him to the earth with a stroke of the spear. I won't miss. I won't do it twice, it is just one and done and we'll hightail it out of here.

Right? He's impulsive, but in one sense he's kind of correct or halfway correct. This was God's doing. In fact, verse 12 tells us, actually this deep sleep was from God. God had arranged this meeting, but as David recognizes rightly, it was not so that David could kill him. But that he could extend forgiveness. This was a moment God had arranged, not for the murder of Saul, but to forgive him.

In fact, David realizes God has promised him a kingdom, right? God had already said to David, you are going to be the king. But he never told him, you need to kill Saul to get it. Right? In many ways, this is very similar to when Jesus was tempted in the desert. If you remember, Satan comes to tempt Jesus. Matthew 4 says,

again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, I, all these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me. Jesus said to him, be gone, Satan, for it's written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.

Right? Jesus was tempted with a shortcut to his goal. He was going to be given all the kingdoms of the earth and his glory, but this was the shortcut that bypassed the cross. In many ways, this is what David is being tempted with as well. Here's the shortcut to what God had promised you, but both Jesus and David realized that if they take that step, they're leaving what God had in mind. Leaving God's plan, and so David says, no, I'm gonna trust that God will work. Verse 10, he says,

as the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come tonight, or he will go down into battle and perish.

David trusts that God will eventually give him the kingdom. Saul will one day die, but it's not for him to do. He has to trust God has a plan, and God will take care of what is right. You have to remember even just one chapter ago. David is offended, right? They insult him to, well, not quite to his face, to his messengers' faces, and David is so furious, he's gonna take matters into his own hands and go and kill Nabal. Now he goes, I will not take this into my hands. This is for God to do. See, David, as much as he's been making mistakes and missteps, he's been learning throughout. He's actually been learning how to trust God in greater and greater ways to the point now that he can actually go and seek out his very enemy, not to kill him, but to forgive. He has sought out his enemy in order to forgive him.

And here, I mean, we have seen throughout this whole series, David shows us pictures of what Jesus is like. Is that not it? Jesus has come to this world not to bring judgment, not to murder all of us for our sin, but rather to extend forgiveness for those who haven't deserved it. David, even in this moment, as God has been preparing him, shows us a picture of what Jesus will ultimately do, and what we need to realize is that is what God does in our lives as well. God is teaching us. God is leading us so that we get to show what Jesus is like. Listen to Hebrews chapter 12.

Says, and have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline you have to endure. God is treating you as sons, for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who've been trained by it.

Writer of Hebrews says, yeah, God's treating you like his children. Because a good father actually trains and disciplines his children. Why? To hurt them? No, for their good. God will discipline us, not that we are broken, but to actually build us up. He will use our trials, our suffering, even our mistakes to teach us. And so the call for us is, pay attention. Pay attention to what God has been teaching you. If you've been struggling through something, maybe God is actually trying to get your attention, to try and learn to trust in him more and more. Pay attention, if you've got a sin in your life that keeps on coming up, is there a pattern in your life that God is trying to call attention to, right? A lie that we are believing of sin or a promise of God we're forgetting. So often, we have a pattern of life that we're just not willing to look at, and God by His grace and for our good will highlight that for us. So we would actually learn to trust in him. See, sometimes we're so afraid to look at our sin that we're not even learning from it. Do not compound the problem by failing to learn what God is calling us to pay attention to. God is teaching, every trial is an opportunity to learn more of the grace of God, to grow in it. David has been learning all throughout this book, how to follow God in more and more difficult situations. Let us do the same. Let's do the same so that we might actually be able to look back on our lives and say, I can see just how far God has brought me. Praise God. As we said, practice makes perfect. Let us practice the grace of God that we might grow to represent him.

And so, here's the good thing, is that God actually rewards our efforts. There is a reward of righteousness and faithfulness, and that is exactly what David is looking for, right? As David has chosen not to kill Saul, you have to ask the question, well then what is he doing? Why did he show up if he's not going to kill Saul, and the next thing he does really shows us. He grabs the spear that was by his head, and he grabs a jug of water. Right, in one sense, that's evidence that he really was there, that he could have killed Saul and is choosing not to, but these are also very much symbolic actions. David is disarming Saul. I'm not gonna just allow you to hurt me. In fact, he takes the water jug, again, remember, water in a desert is a pretty vital thing. David is saying, look, I'm not gonna let you just stay here and continue to hurt me. Now, hear me, clearly these are symbolic actions, there's more weapons, there's more water there, right, but David is very much sending a message to Saul, he's not there to hurt him, and so Saul should not try to hurt David either.

And so David gets up the next morning, having snuck out of camp, and he starts calling across this valley to the army. He calls Abner, Abner, will you not come out? And Abner, he's the commander of Saul's army, comes up, and David says, Abner, what are you doing? Why did you let someone sneak into the camp of the king? Right, in fact, of the two of us, Abner, who has done something that deserves death? Actually, it's you. Why are you chasing me? Right, the irony is thick here, right? We're meant to understand, right? And Abner responds with silence. Oh, that's a good point. Right, but Saul hearing all this commotion comes out. And again, I'm pretty sure he was having a bit of deja vu in this moment as well, because he actually responds the exact same way he did two chapters earlier. Is that your voice, my son David? David responds the same way, yes. Verse 18, David asks him,

why does my Lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands?

Again, this almost follows the exact thing that David said two chapters earlier. Why are you chasing after me? If it's God's doing, let me deal with God. If it's men, why are you listening to them? They're not seeking anything good. I have not hurt you. Saul, hearing this once again is broken, verse 21.

And Saul said, I have sinned. Return my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I've acted foolishly and I've made a great mistake.

Let's be clear, this is the closest to a genuine apology that Saul ever gets. Right? He seems to really take ownership of what's going on. Now we'll come back to his apology in just a little bit. You have to ask what is David even thinking? Right? Why is he doing all of this? In verse 23, he actually gives us his reason. He says,

the Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness. For the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord's anointed.

There you go. We had David's reason, why is he doing this? Well, because God rewards righteousness and faithfulness. In one sense, as David is saying these words, this is very much a double-edged sword, because David is saying that to Saul and saying, look, God will reward you for your efforts, both the good and the bad. Saul, you're the one who sinned. God will reward you for what you have done. There is a punishment for our sins, but at the same time, it's also a promise that David is trusting in, and that is, if I have done right, God will reward me. In fact, God will reward those who are faithful to him. And so what is the reward? Verse 24. He says,

behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.

See, the reward David is seeking is to be precious in God's sight. That God would be with him and that God will protect him. That is the reward that David is seeking after. So why did he not kill Saul? Was it because Saul was just such a nice guy? No, Was it because David was such a nice guy? Actually not really. His reasoning was because the reward of God is worth more than anything I could achieve on my own.

See, here, imagine if someone came up to you and said, look, I'm gonna give you two choices. Option one, I'm gonna give you $1 million cold hard cash, it's yours, take it. Option 2. You get no money, but you get adopted into the family of the richest man on earth. Which one do you choose? Well, in one sense, I mean, a million dollars is a lot of money. It almost could buy a house, right? Almost. But to actually be part of the family of someone who has an unlimited amount of resources is worth so much more. David says, when I consider the two options before me, what I could gain of my own efforts or what God could do for me, the choice is clear. I will put everything into seeking the reward of being known by God. David goes, I will do whatever it takes so that I am precious in God's sight.

And hear me, we need to hear this point and we need to be very careful we don't mishear this point. See, the wrong lesson to learn at this moment would be to say, OK, if I want to be precious before God, that means I have to do all the right things. I have to live a perfect life. I mean, if we wanna try that, we can go ahead, but you're gonna fail. We mess up all the time, we just said that at the beginning, we do make mistakes, so if that's not possible, how are we going to be made right with God? I mean, this is the good news of Jesus. The good news of Jesus is that he has done what we could not, that he actually took the punishment for our wrong deeds, that Jesus went to the cross, dealt with the punishment of our sin, so that we can approach God without having to worry at all. For everyone who trusts in him, our sins are forgiven in full. We are brought into the family of God, adopted into his family. And actually we have been rewarded for what Jesus has done. Not what we have accomplished. We have received the rewards of the righteousness of Jesus given to our account. That is how we are right with God. It is through faith in Christ.

But then you might say, well, OK, but then, does it not matter what I do? I mean, if everything has been done by Jesus, I get his reward. I guess, does it matter what I do with my life? And the resounding answer is yes. Actually, God longs for us to follow after him. Just as we cannot outsin the grace of God, neither can we by our obedience exhaust his blessings. Do you not think that God has blessings in store for us? Do you not think that he would pay attention to every act of obedience to him as our savior? That that would go unnoticed by God. Hear me, God stands ready to pour out more blessing than we could ever imagine. Follow after him. See, this is what David recognizes, God has more than anyone else could ever offer. So we put every effort into following after him, trusting that our reward is safe with God. And it doesn't mean that we're gonna be healthy, wealthy and wise, it means actually our rewards are in heaven. Jesus says, store up your treasure in heaven, for God's rewards are great. Or Galatians 6, Paul writes.

Do not be deceived, God's not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season, we will reap, if we do not give up.

Paul actually says, you know what, your efforts matter. They're not overlooked by God, he's not ignoring them. In fact, he has a reward for them, so keep going. Paul, at the end of his life, he writes,

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day. Not only to me, but to also to all who have loved his appearing.

There is a great reward for all who trust in Jesus. Our salvation is secure in what Jesus has accomplished. It's not our efforts, it's not up to our efforts whether we are saved. It is solely upon the grace of God through Jesus, so trust him. And in that security, seek after all the blessings of God, and may our obedience reflect a knowledge that our greatest rewards are always found in him.

Here, this is what David is looking for. I'm looking for the reward of God. I'm trusting in him, and this is why David goes to forgive Saul. If you wanna understand why David is doing what he's doing, you need to understand his motivation. David has been putting God's grace into practice, seeking the rewards of God, and this has led him to forgive Saul for the glory of God. See, as believers, we are called to forgive, right? Luke 17, Jesus says to his disciples, he says,

pay attention to yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you 7 times in the day and turns to you 7 times saying, I repent, you must forgive him.

Right, Jesus calls his disciples to forgive, and notice here, the point isn't their repentance, right? If someone repents 7 times, you might be starting to wonder, hmm, I'm not sure that's real. You keep doing it over and over again, but again, Jesus isn't talking about that, he's talking to his disciples. In fact, what does he say? Pay attention to yourselves. Not what the other person is doing. We are called to forgive. In fact, this is exactly why David forgives.

David forgives, not because Saul has earned it. Right? In fact, Saul has done everything not to earn this, right? Even after his grand apology, what do we find? If you look at the first verse of the next chapter, chapter 27, says

then David said in his heart. Now I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul.

He's still gonna try and kill me, right? Even after all that, I know Saul's coming after me again, right? David doesn't believe it, and nor should he, right? Saul has already done this repentance act over again, and clearly he does not trust him, right? And so we have to realize David doesn't forgive Saul because he has repented. See, sometimes we get this backwards, don't we? We say, I'll forgive them as long as they say they're sorry. But actually, that's not the call. We are called to forgive regardless of what the other person is doing. Regardless of whether or not reconciliation is even possible. Right at the end of this chapter, where does David go? Does he go off with Saul? No. Goes in opposite directions. Right, because David knows actually, as much as I've forgiven him, I'm not seeking any evil for him. I also know I can't trust him. There's a difference between forgiving and reconciliation. Forgiveness is a matter of my own heart towards the other. Reconciliation requires two people to rebuild trust. And so even when David gives back the spear, what does he say? Send a messenger over. I'm not going that close to you. He can take it and go back. Right?

And we have to recognize this wasn't even really just a ploy to try and twist Saul's arm. Look back at verse 24. He says,

behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord. May he deliver me out of tribulation.

That verse doesn't actually go the way we think it should, right? We think it should go, your life was precious to me, so now I'm precious to you, right? That's not David's motivation. He goes, actually, I have put myself before God. I'm gonna trust that when people see what is happening here today, they will recognize that God is the one in control, that he is the one who will defend me, so that David eventually does become king. No one could ever say it was by his own hand, but it was by the hand of God. David is seeking that God would be glorified as he forgives Saul. And hear me, that is why we are called to forgive as well. First John 1:1 says,

if we confess our sins, he, God, is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and