1 Samuel 24 - Discover God’s Present Involvement in Your Life

Since I had requests, here is this Sunday's sermon. Hope it blesses you. ~Sally

Greenfield Presbyterian 2-26-12

Don’t you wonder how many things go on in our lives that God brings about that we have no idea He had a hand in it? How much do we miss? How much do we take credit for ourselves when it was actually God at work?

This week’s theme on our 50 Day Spiritual Adventure is about Discovering God’s Present Involvement in Our Lives. So it begs the question, “How aware are you of God’s involvement in your life?” Do you even look for Him?

On this Adventure we’ve been asked to read the daily scripture readings and answer the questions in the devotional as we go along. Today we’ll add to that. Our second Adventure Application is to do a Daily God Hunt Sighting and write it down in your journal.

It is a great daily exercise to help us keep our eyes attuned to God’s work in the world and in our lives!

As we look to today’s scripture in 1 Samuel it seems fairly easy to see where God was at work...but as we look closer, we’ll see God was doing a lot more than what we just see on the surface.

In the chapters working up to 1 Samuel 24 Saul has been getting more and more violent towards David. Saul is the seated king, but God has since rejected him because of his rebellion and sin. The prophet Samuel has anointed David as the next king and Saul is extremely jealous.

So Saul has been chasing David all over the countryside trying to kill him. He was waylaid a bit by an attack by the Philistines, but now he’s back on the trail.

So Saul is searching for David with three thousand of his men! And Saul needs to stop at the rest stop and relieve himself, so he finds the nearest cave and goes inside.

Unbeknownst to Saul, David and his men heard Saul was coming and hid out in a cave...the exact same cave that Saul is now standing in!

David’s men encourage him - Look! This is the day that God was telling you about! Today is the day God has delivered Saul to you! Take him out! He’s right here! You’ll never get a better opportunity than this! You can do whatever you want to him!

Now after all that David has been through with Saul you might just expect him to sneak right up to him and slit his throat and it’s done. Over. No more hiding, he can take the throne, get on with life...

But David doesn’t do that.

David, very quietly, sneaks up to where Saul is...and simply cuts a little piece of the fabric from off of his cloak, and returns back to his hiding place.

He barely gets back to his men and he’s feeling horribly guilty. Who is he that he should do anything to the reigning king? God anointed Saul after all. Who is he, David to take advantage of the situation and bring him down?

God, after all, is who is in charge, not David. So David keeps his men from doing anything to Saul, and after Saul leaves the cave David follows and calls out to him.

David, standing in the mouth of the cave, calls out to Saul as his servant - My Master! My King! He falls prostrate on the ground calling out to Saul and begs him to stop listening to those who say that he is after Saul.

He then explains, showing Saul the piece of fabric, that he had the perfect opportunity to take him out of the game if he had wanted to...but he didn’t.

He pleads with Saul telling Saul how he hasn’t sinned against him, and yet Saul continues to hunt him down and tries to kill him, and then he turns the tables and says, “So who’s in the right here? You or me?”

David says that Saul may be killed, but it won’t be by David’s hand, it will be by God’s. David won’t touch Saul.

May God be our judge and decide who is right!

At this Saul weeps and it seems that he finally realizes that his days as king are numbered. He finally acknowledges that David will be the next king, but it still isn’t until much later that Saul finally dies and David becomes king.

At first glance we look at this story and say, wow, look how God choreographed bringing Saul and David together in the same cave. That was certainly no coincidence, that’s pretty amazing!

And it is! But that’s just the beginning!

Certainly for David this is a big God Sighting! God brought Saul to the cave where David was at and finally brought them to a point where David could actually speak to Saul and get him to stop pursuing him.

But think of the process that David went through in that cave, which I think, was an even bigger deal to God...

David was given a perfect opportunity to kill his pursuer, to kill the man who had been chasing him all over the place and nearly killed him a couple of times! David’s men even encouraged him - “Here’s your chance! Just like God said! Your enemy was delivered ‘into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” (vs. 4)

So apparently even God left the door wide open for David to do whatever he wanted to with Saul.

But David stepped back and thought about the bigger picture, he is “stricken to the heart”...

David knew that God had anointed Saul to be king, just as he had been anointed. God had shown David numerous times in his young life that His plans are much bigger and better than our own. So David trusted that God would deal with Saul when God wanted to.

But David also knew that he had a huge choice in that cave. In their time power changed hands, many times, through violence. So why not now?

Saul was in a very vulnerable place in that cave...to say the least! David knew that vulnerability can easily be exploited and taken advantage of...and the thin line between knowing this and acting on it was before him.

David was overwhelmed at that moment.

In that moment, David, instead of being violent...resists it, and instead chooses compassion, forgiveness, and trust in God’s overriding justice to deal with Saul.

Don’t you think that that is what God wanted him to take away from the experience - more than just the coincidence of the cave?

Sometimes we see the obvious works of God in our lives, but we may have to look a little longer or harder or deeper to find the real work that God wants us to see.

It’s an awesome thing to see God’s hand, to see evidence of His presence at work in your life. The more we see, the more excited and energized and focused we become on living for Him and doing His work in the world!

It’s much easier to have a sustained, strong faith when we’ve trained ourselves to see God at work in and around us.

God promises us all over the place in the Old and New Testaments that He won’t leave us. Like in Deuteronomy 31:8 - The Lord himself goes before you and will always be with you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

So God Sightings, like David’s, are a great daily habit to start looking for - and a great thing to share and point out to others as well.

Like I’ve shared with you through many a sermon - whether it was in my life or Kim’s or someone else’s - hearing a story of how God showed Himself is encouraging to others - and we don’t do that nearly enough!

God’s Word tells us to look for Him. In the great Jeremiah 29 scripture where God says that He has a plan for us - “a plan to prosper us and not harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future”...He then goes on to say, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.” (vs.11b-14a)

So even as God’s people were captured in Babylon, as told in Jeremiah, God says, Don’t stop looking for me!

The Psalms encourage us by saying, “...let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.”

God tells us to look for Him, and so maybe a good starting point is in prayer, ask Him to reveal Himself to you as you go through your days.

As Matthew 7 told us, Ask...Seek....and Knock...

When we ask, God promises we will receive. When we seek, God says we will find. And when we knock, God says the door will be opened!

God’s not going to answer our requests to see Him with lame examples of Who He Is! If you ask for it, He’ll show you Who He Is!

And there are a few different ways that God may show Himself:


In an answer to prayer.
I have a great example of this! About 3-4 weeks ago I woke up from what was for me, a nightmare. First, I dreamed that it was July and we were living in the extra bedroom at my sister’s house in Florida, and all the bills were coming due, and neither Kim nor I had a job or any money to speak of. It was a nightmare.

Then I got to thinking about what money we had currently and how spring break always screws things up and we end up having to wait much longer to get student loan money in the next term to pay our bills, and I got that much more stressed out.

Needless to say, I was up for the day - despite the fact that it was around 4am... So I just started praying. I really wanted to hand all of the worry and concern over to God and just put my total trust in Him that He not only would provide us with income now and in the future, but that we would be at a church that is the right church and not just a job, but a church where Kim and I would be a good fit for that particular congregation. So I poured my heart out to God.

It think it was a few days later I was talking with the elder at my home church who is my liaison to the session, and she reminded me that a check would be coming from the church any day now.

A week later as the mail came we not only had a huge check (MUCH more than we expected) from our home church, but we also had another big check from a grant that I had forgotten all about that only gets distributed twice a year.

Needless to say - we attributed all of this to God!!! Thank You Jesus!

Evidence of His care
I think this last example is both - answer to prayer and also evidence of His care. We also see this as people reach out to us unexpectedly with love, with tangible things like help in our homes when we’re ill, or meals, or maybe someone stops to help you when the car breaks down. Sometimes we get that financial help or provision when we haven’t even prayed for it!

Unusual linkage or timing.
This is the obvious God Sighting of David’s story in 1 Samuel 24. I have a friend from high school that I reconnected with on Facebook the year before we moved from Colorado. We weren’t real close or anything, but we caught up with each other’s lives and she shared that she and her husband were separated and trying to work things out - she was in Denver, and he was with his folks on the western side of the state near where we lived.

Not long after learning all this I saw on FaceBook that Jackie’s husband had had an accident on his ATV and was flown to a hospital in our town, so I messaged Jackie and let her know that I was there if she needed any help.

Jackie eventually contacted me and we met ONE TIME. That was almost four years ago now, but Jackie still talks about what an answer to prayer I was for her - being in a strange town and not knowing anyone.

The other thing I was able to do was to hook her up with another friend of mine whose daughter had been in a bad car accident the previous year and had the same type of injuries as Jackie’s husband. My friend was able to connect with Jackie in a way I couldn’t and help walk her through what was ahead.

The whole experience has ultimately grown Jackie’s faith along with that of her family members. I’m just so happy that we reconnected when we did on FaceBook.

Help to do His work.
I feel like finding Greenfield Pres. was a God Sighting for me. You are helping me grow as a pastor and hopefully I am helping equip you to do ministry here!

God says, Look for me! I’m here!

Take the time to write down just one way you see God each day. When you look back on them it’s like a goldmine! It’s so encouraging! It brings hope when your lacking it.

Look at the Psalms and how many of them recount what God had already done. The Psalmist remembers where he saw God so he will have hope for what he’s facing today.

Seeing in order to believe isn’t what faith is about. But believing in order to see opens our eyes and bring a new joy and excitement as we learn to interpret how we see God at work in and through and around us.

Look back on your life...can you see God’s hand at work?

Let’s make “God Sightings” a part of our vocabulary at Greenfield Presbyterian. Let’s make this a place where talking about God and seeing His footprints are regular occurrences. Let’s tell others what God is doing in our own lives and in the life of Greenfield Pres. Amen.

What Does the Lord Require? Micah 6:1-9

This is my sermon from last week. Since I haven't updated the blog in a bit (since all I do anymore is schoolwork and write sermons), I figured this was the best I can do for now! This was given on Superbowl Sunday and we were collecting food for the Souperbowl of Caring ministry. Enjoy.
~Sally


Greenfield Presbyterian 2-5-12

The Israelites of the Old Testament heard the message that Micah gave them quite frequently. It seems that everywhere we turn in the Old Testament some prophet is telling the people where they have gone wrong, gotten off track, and how God is or will punish them...but there’s still a way to get back on track!

The prophet Micah lived around the same time as the prophet Isaiah. We don’t know a lot about Micah, except that he prophesied to all of Israel, not just the north or just the south.

It was in the early 700’s BCE, and there was a lot of upheaval going on. Israel was in political and moral chaos. Assyria was a stronghold in the area and had taken over Samaria and most of the northern area of Israel.

Judah was in the tenuous position of not having been “taken over,” instead they paid tributes to Assyria to keep the peace. King Ahaz was in power, and we was not a good guy. There were other kings in the area who did stay faithful to the Lord, but Ahaz was not one of them.

Not only did he decide to pay tribute to keep the peace, he adopted the Assyrian religion in Judah, he encouraged worship of Baal, and had his priest built a new altar in the Assyrian style.

Ahaz even sacrificed his own son to show his commitment to Baal. He really buddied up to the Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pilessar.

So as Micah is prophesying he’s really speaking to the leadership in southern Israel and in Judah...not just to Ahaz, but to any and all corrupt leaders.

Throughout the book of Micah the prophet gives oracles or prophesies of both judgment and restoration, and as we look at chapter six we see judgment.

In the first five verses God tells the people of Israel that he is going to plead his case to his creation. The mountains and hills have been there forever and have seen God’s work and know of his covenant to his people...

...they have also seen and heard the actions and voices of God’s people Israel.

So God makes his case....and he challenges the people...saying,

“what have I done to you?” “how have I made it so darn difficult?”

He goes on to recount some of the highlights of what he has done for his people -
getting them out of Egypt,
sending Moses to lead them - as well as Aaron & Miriam
their journey from Shittim to Gilgal which took them across the Jordan River

God says, “you’ve seen my righteous acts, and yet you continue to betray me, worshiping other gods, showing your allegiance to my enemies, doing so many things that go against my Law and my desires for you...”

And to this, one answers for all of Israel...

“What do I need to come with before the Lord???
Burnt offerings? A calf?”

And then he really exaggerates out of exasperation - thousands of rams? 10,000 rivers of oil???

Shall I offer my own firstborn child, Lord??
What do you want me to do???

It really is amazing that they even ask these things. Do they really not see what they’re doing?

As tributes are paid to Assyria, everyone undergoes some hardship, but it is, as always, the poor, the vulnerable, those on the fringes of society who suffer the most. It is the poor who always pay more than their fair share.
Micah answers the question of the people by reminding them that God has, many times already, told them what he wants of them.

God doesn’t want them to DO anything.

God wants them to BE his people.

It’s not about being more “religious” and doing “religious” things. It’s about living a lifestyle, having an overall outlook, having ethical values that line up with what God calls each of us to.

The current character, the heart attitude of the people of Judah and Israel was the exact opposite of the characteristics that God required of man to avoid punishment.

God wants us to act justly toward our friends and neighbors and even those we don’t personally know. He would much prefer our acts of justice over our acts of so-called piety.

Amos 5 says,
I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.
Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (vs. 21-24)

God’s saying you can go to church every Sunday, tithe twenty percent, say your prayers every night and day, and even lead a Bible study every week...but if you don’t treat people justly, then what’s the point? If you only do these things out of fear or obligation...then they’re as empty to me as they are to you.

God calls each of us to work towards fairness and equality for all people ~ especially for the weak and powerless, the vulnerable who get exploited by others.
All we have to do is read the Gospels to see how Jesus heeded that call to obedience. Very rarely did we see him hanging with the middle or upper class people of the day.

He went to the fringes, to the people who were almost invisible to the rest of society. He hung out with the people and ministered to the people who were the least, who were the forgotten, who were the dirty, and who were suffering the most.

The next thing Micah says is to love mercy. The Hebrew word for mercy is hesed and it’s very interesting to look further into the meaning of this word.

Hesed is a word that is used a lot in the Old Testament. Sometimes with word translation we look at the Septuigint. The Septuigint is a Latin translation of the Bible done in about 350 AD. Both the Old and New Testaments are done in Latin, so it’s a good way to compare the same word being used in old and new.

Hesed, while translated mercy, many times, has also been translated as loyalty.

Some have said, when HESED is used with man it describes the following actions:
doing favors and benefits for men; kindness extended to the needy; affection or love of Israel to God; and lovely appearance.
Notice the difference when HESED is used to describe the actions of God:
redemption of Israel from its enemies and troubles; preservation of life from death; quickening of spiritual life; redemption from sin; and keeping the covenants.
Hesed has to do with love, loyalty, and faithfulness. Hesed is that key thing, that key element in relationships - whether it’s a relationship with your spouse or your friend....or with God.

It’s not enough to maintain the covenant faithfulness out of duty.
Jesus even says the same thing in Matthew 9. In verses 9-12 Jesus has invited a tax collector to join him and then they all have dinner together and he is criticized for it.

He answers back saying that it isn’t the healthy that need a doctor. And then he tells them to go back and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” It’s a quote from Hosea 6:6. And that word for mercy is the same word used here in Micah. I desire hesed, mercy, loyalty, love, faithfulness....not sacrifice.

God wants US...not our empty religious actions. He wants the real thing. Israel, and we as well, are to love God. Our faithfulness is to be motivated by love.
--------------------
Finally, we get to the last reminder from Micah and that is “to walk humbly with our God.”

There are two words here that we need to look at.

The first is “walk.” Because God is not this being who just pops in and out of our lives. We are on a pilgrimage with God...a journey together...

...and Micah reminds us that we must walk humbly. That God is leading us on this journey. Or maybe you’re on a car trip - God’s at the wheel!

Humility is a tough pill for us to swallow. As Americans, as middle-class Americans.

We like to think that we’re in control of our lives. We like to believe that we know where we’re going and what we’re doing, and what we’re

...and being humble doesn’t usually fit into that picture too well.

But Jesus reminds us over and over throughout the New Testament that we need to die to self, that it’s not about us, and it’s all about God.

In John 12:24 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds...”

Just as Jesus came not to be served, but to serve, so we are to do the same. We are to die to ourselves - as is represented in our baptisms, and live for Jesus.

We are to walk humbly with God as he shows us the path of life and continues to open our eyes to what he sees; break our hearts as his does; and moves us to know and practice compassion, justice, and righteousness.

What does this look like, and how do we live this out?

Today is a perfect example as we bring food as an act of worship, an act of compassion toward those who have less,

As we continue to learn about our neighborhood, studying and discovering what the real needs are - we can start deciding what will be the best way to help the people and show them the love of Jesus in tangible ways,

In opening our building to groups in need - and not taking financial advantage of them in the process - we help our neighbors,

And as we look to offer another worship service that might help those in the Narcotics Anonymous groups who use our building, we reach out and offer hands of love and reconciliation and acceptance to those who may be lacking that - to those who may feel on the fringes.

The people of Israel thought that they could define what was good. They thought that they could simply live life as they wanted and there would be no consequences....or, they thought that God wasn’t that real.

But God showed them he was real, and he sent prophet after prophet to remind them - and us - that he is the only one who defines what good is.

He is the one who shows us how to live and why.

... Micah 6:8 doesn’t guarantee any reward for following these instructions, but God has shown us, and many of us have lived it to learn....

...that our reward is first the joy of knowing that we have been obedient to what God has asked of us...this God who sacrificed his only son so that we could be reconciled to him..
when pleasing God, when living a thankful life becomes the center of your life - then living out his desires brings great joy!

...we are also rewarded as we are able to bless others in our lives

as we do things that bring about justice,
as we practice faithfulness and loyalty in our relationships with others,
as we put the needs of others before ourselves,

we come to experience and know that joy of the Lord that isn’t dependent on what’s going on around us...it simply comes out of knowing God and enjoying life with him.

...And finally, the more we walk humbly with God, the more we see that his ways are so much better than our ways!

We are rewarded as we learn that when we wait to discern God’s plan instead of forging ahead with our own, his plans bring to our lives more than we can ever ask or even imagine!

I love how The Message translation puts these verses of our Micah passage. It says,

“But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously -- take God seriously. Amen.