The Heart of God 4-28-96 AM

4-28-96 AM

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:00

1 Samuel chapter 16, please. 1 Samuel chapter 16. And also, would you pick up another verse of scripture? Acts chapter 13. 1 Samuel 16 and Acts chapter 13. When I introduce this to you, you'll say, probably, those of you who've been around in Christianity for a while, you'll probably say, Well, I really don't know if there's anything that I don't know about that subject. But I think if you'll stay with me, you'll learn something that'll be a help to you. Or it'll stir something up to remembrance that you haven't thought about for a while. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 16. And notice, if you would, verse 1 of 1 Samuel 16. And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul? Saul was the king, and the king Saul was being disobedient, and Samuel was the prophet. He said, Seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel. Fill thine horn with oil and go, and I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided me a king among his sons. Let me ask you a question. Who was the new king going to be? David. And look what he says, if you would, at uh verse 7. Verse 7. Samuel comes and sees some of the sons of Jesse, and he gets through them and he says, uh, surely, this first one's big and tall, and really stocky, probably type of guy. But the Lord tells something to Samuel in verse 7. I want you to see it. But the Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his what? Countenance, what he looks like on the outside, or on the height of his stature. Because I have refused him. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth. When I say that again, for the Lord seeth not as man seeth. One more time. You say it with me. Ready? Begin. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth. For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the what? The heart. He looks on the heart, he looks on the attitude, he looks on the spirit, and he looks right past what a person looks kind of like, if you would, on the outside, how tall, how big, how small, this or that. And he looks right into the heart. Look at 1 Samuel 13, please. 1 Samuel chapter 13. So he's going to look on the heart of what's going on here. And in 1 Samuel 13, I want you to see a verse of scripture, just three chapters back. And look at verse 14. Verse 14. God pronounces judgment on King Saul and he says something to him. But now, verse 14, thy kingdom shall not continue. He's talking to Saul. The Lord has sought him, a man after his own what? Heart. And the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people. So what happens here is God looks at Saul and says, You know what? You're not going to be king anymore. I'm looking for a man that's after my own heart. Now, if you would, turn to Acts chapter 13 in the New Testament. Acts chapter 13. And I realize we're going just a little quickly, but I want to get through the scriptures. Acts chapter 13. And look at verse 22, please. Verse 22 of Acts chapter 13. And when he had removed him, speaking about Saul, if you would, in verse 21, and afterwards they desired a king, and God gave unto them Saul. And verse 22, and when he had removed him, that Saul, he raised up unto them who? David. To be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own what? Say it, heart, which shall fulfill all my will. So he was looking for a man that had a heart, like he had, if you would, and if you would, God gave him that heart, and he says, I found a man after my own heart. Now with that all in mind, look if you would at 1 Samuel chapter 24. 1 Samuel 24. And let's see something about David's heart, and would you also pick up Matthew chapter 5? 1 Samuel 24 and Matthew chapter 5. It's going to be hard for any of us to escape out of here unscathed this morning as we read the Word of God. There's no doubt as we study just something about God's heart here that we're going to look at our own heart and see a little bit of a deficiency. 1 Samuel 24 and one more place, Matthew chapter 5. 1 Samuel 24 in Matthew chapter 5. So he looked for a man after his own heart, and he found one, and the man called David. And look if you would in Matthew, or 1 Samuel 24, look at verse 3. Verse 3. Saul the king is chasing David. David's a fugitive running. And he came to the sheepcoats, by the way, where was a cave. And Saul went in to cover his feet. And David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. So get this picture. Saul is chasing after David. David's the fugitive. David has really not done anything wrong, but Saul was jealous about him, and he's trying to get a hold of David to kill him. And Saul enters into this cave, and he doesn't know it, but back in this cave, David and his men are back in there. Verse 4. And the men of David said unto him, Behold, the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine what? Say it. Come on, talk to me. Thine what? I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. They said, Here it is, David. Just, just here it is, God has delivered your enemy into your hand, and you got him right here. God brought him here. You can kill him right here. Then David arose, cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily, uh, private, if you would, quietly. And it came to pass afterwards that David say it. His what? His what? Say it again. His heart smote him because he had cut off Saul's skirt. Uh guys, do me a favor. Open this back up, please. Or did it go back down on itself? There we go. I'm not gonna let my hands down. If you let your hands down, it falls again, amen? You know, sometimes nothing works, amen? We'll leave it alone. Anybody, anybody want to sit up here and hold my hand? No, we won't do that, all right. Look at your Bible, forget about that dumb thing up there, amen. And it came to pass afterward that David's what? Say it, heart smote him because he had cut off Saul's skirt. Now he had the opportunity, if you would, to kill what the men said was your enemy, but David's heart, when he started to do something against his supposed enemy, smote him. And by the way, remember, he had the heart of God. He said, I man, I sought a man after mine own heart. And when David's heart sees what David's going to do by his action, his heart, if you would, which is connected to his conscience, convicts him and says, Let's not be doing this. There's a pattern that's set up in David's life. Look if you would at uh a little bit further, and notice if you would, 1 Samuel, you're in uh chapter 24. Look at chapter 25. Look at chapter 25, just across the page. Nabal was protected by David and his men. And David sent his men, if you would, to gain a little uh restitution or remuneration from Nabal. And look at verse 10 of 1 Samuel 25. And Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There be servants nowadays that break away every man from his master. You know what? Nabal is not going to give David what he justly deserved, his rewards of his labor, of his men's labor. And what he does here is he tears him down just a little bit and said, Yeah, you broke away from Saul, your master. Look, if you would at verse 21, please. Verse 21. And you'll see a pattern in David's life. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed all of all that pertaineth unto him. And he hath requited me what? Say it, evil for good. Now, if you know the story, David decides he's gonna go and destroy Nabal and all his men. But a lady named Abigail, Nabal's wife, if you would, comes and begins to reason with David and tells him about how God's gonna set him up on the throne, and that there's no reason to go down and do this. And look if you would at verse 33, brethren, and you'll see a pattern. Verse 33. Verse 32. And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me. And blessed be thy what? Say it. Man, here's a man. Somebody says, Well, you know, I don't take any advice from a woman. This man did. And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou which hast kept me this day from coming to shed what? Say it. Blood. And from, say the next word, avenging myself with mine own hand. We're going to see a pattern in David's life because David had a heart that was after God. And if you would, David's pattern while he was on this earth, he didn't require evil for evil. He didn't render evil for evil. Please look up here. He didn't retaliate. Look, if you would at Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. And by the way, this is the heart of God. Matthew chapter 5. In Matthew chapter 5, I hope you're holding your place there, Matthew 5. Look what he says in verse number 38. Verse 38. Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for tooth. You know what that means? Someone does something to you, do it back to them. Amen? And there's a lot of Christians that like to live Old Testament. Amen? Hey, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. You do it to me, I'm going to do it back to you. You throw some unkind words at me, and I'm throwing some unkind words back at you. You threaten me and I'm threatening you back. You argue with me and I'm arguing you back. You hit me and I'm hitting you back. That's not the heart of God. Why? Hey, David have a javelin tossed at him. He didn't pick up the javelin and throw it back. Amen? Hello? You say, now wait a minute, wait a minute. You know, prove it. Well, look at verse 44. Or look at verse 43. You have heard that it has uh heard that it's been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and what? Hate thine enemy. Hey, wait a minute, that's Old Testament. We're not living in the Old Testament. We're living in the New Testament. Look what he says in verse 44. But I say unto you what? Say it. Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despicefully use you and persecute you. You say, man, that's illogical. I know that's the heart of God. What's the heart of God? Love your enemies. David, you've got the opportunity right now. There's your enemy. God delivered you into your his, or God delivered him into your hands, and he goes over and he and he cuts his skirt off, and his heart convicts him. Love your enemies. Bless them that curse thee. Do good to them that hate you. Look at verse 39. Verse 39, but I say unto you that ye resist not evil. Whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the what? Other also. Please look up here. Come here, Brother Bill. I always make a fool of you. I'll let you get back at me right now, alright? Go ahead, hit me here, quick. Alright? Was that your strong hand? No? Put your Bible in this hand. Okay? Now hit me here. Hey, you say that's dumb, that's theological, and that's not being a man. That's doing what God said. And God was not a wimp. Is that right? You know what strength is? Hit me here. Strength is okay. I'm not going to resist it. Go ahead, hit me here. There's a ringing in my ear. You say that's ridiculous, but that's biblical. If he verbally does it in this ear, let him verbally do it in that ear. You say, what are you supposed to be like a doormat? I'm not talking about abuse and physical, and I'm not talking about ladies, don't take it this far. If your wife, or if your wife, if your husband hits you on this side of the cheek offering the other, that's ridiculous. Any man that hits his wife is not a man. Amen. That's right. The idea here, though, is we're not supposed to render evil for evil. And if David had the heart which was after God, David had the opportunity to render evil back from Saul. And by the way, if we remember, David had done nothing to Saul wrong. He had killed Goliath, if you would. He had been the captain of the host for a while. He married Saul's daughter. He played the harp for Saul. He served Saul. He did everything for Saul. Saul became jealous, and Saul came after David. And may I say to you this David had the capability of killing Saul. He once killed a lion by himself. He once killed a bear by himself, and he killed Goliath by himself, and he could have taken care of Saul, too. He wasn't a wimp. But he had strength above which we would consider to be manly if you would. It was godly. It wasn't out of the heart of a man, it was the heart of God. And the heart of God was to say, You go ahead, do what you want to me, but I'm not going to retaliate. You go ahead and do what you want to me. Be my enemy if you want, but I'm going to, every time you curse me, I'm going to bless you. Every time you use me, I'm going to let you use me even more. Why? Because that is the heart of God. Look at the pattern in David's life. Look at 2 Samuel 15. 2 Samuel 15, and would you also pick up Romans chapter 12? You say this is illogical, and I don't like it. Doesn't matter about logic, it's a matter about Bible. Amen? 2 Samuel 15 and Romans chapter 12. There's a pattern that develops in David's life. In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom, his son, begins to come in to take over the city. 2 Samuel 15, and you're holding your place in Romans chapter 12. In 2 Samuel 15, if you would. Look if you would in verse 13. Verse 13. And there came a messenger, and I know you're still turning, but I want to watch the time. And there came a messenger to David saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. That was David's own son. And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise and let us what? Ah, you say he's not much of a leader, he's running. No, he's got the heart of God in him. That's what he's got. For we shall not else escape from Absalom. Make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring evil upon who? Us, and smite the what? City with the edge of the sword. You know what David's concerned about? He said, There's no reason to bring Jerusalem into this. My son is against me. He's got a conspiracy against me. He's after me. Let's get out of this city so the city doesn't take the blood of this. Is that right? That's the heart of God. And so they rise up and they and they flee. And you say, Well, what kind of man is that? Here's the kind of man that he is. Look at verse 30. Look at verse 30. And David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives and wept as he went up and had his head covered, and he went barefoot. And all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up weeping as they went up. Hey, you know what's going on here? David is, if you would, avoiding a fight. Let me say it again. David is avoiding a fight. We think, I'm not going to let anybody push me around. You know what God's heart was? He let him push him around. Show me that. Jesus stood like a lamb before his slaughterers. And he opened not his mouth. Before Caiaphas and before Herod and before Pilate. And he just stood there and took it. You know what that took? Strength. It takes strength to give the other cheek. It takes some strength to love your enemies. It takes some strength for someone to rail on you and for you to pray for them. It takes some strength for there to be a husband and a wife at each other a little bit. It takes somebody with a little strength to lay down the argument and bring peace in the home again. It takes some strength to live with those that you have to work with and not let anybody be your enemies because you're a Christian. And if we have the heart of God, we're not out stirring up contentions. Amen? Now you say, Well, I preach the word of God. Well, do you live it? Because David's heart was, he just went ahead and said, Absalom, you go ahead and take over. He didn't try to fight a hithophel. It was a pattern in David's life. Look at 2 Samuel 16, stay with me. 2 Samuel 16, look at verse 5. You know the story. And when King David came to Bahuram, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was what? Say it. Shimei. And you know what Shimei did when he came out? He accused David up one side and down the other, and he threw rocks at him, and he caused him all these types of accuraciations and everything. One of David's men, Abishai, wants to go over and take off his head. And look what David says in verse 11. And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold, my son which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life. How much more now may this Benjamite do it? What does he say? Let him alone. Let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him. It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day. You know what David says? No, let him alone, because God may look on this thing, and God may look down at me and see how I'm handling this matter, and God might bless me for the way I'm taking care of it. And by the way, I'm going to give you a story here. I'm going to give you some principles here. I believe God's blessing is on those who avoid an argument, who avoid a fight, who avoid contentions when they can, who are not always out stirring up trouble, who love their enemies and pray for them who despitefully use them. I believe God will bless us for doing that. I'm going to tell you what it's going to take. It's going to take the heart of God, though. It's going to take the heart of God us. You say, well, prove that, preacher. Look at Romans 12. Romans 12. I'm not saying that we ought to just, you know, never get to the place where we don't defend ourselves. And you can take this to some extreme. I mean, preacher, if someone came into your house at night and threatened your family, I mean, would you just get down on your knees and pray for them? I'd get down on my knees and pray. As they got closer, I'd say, God, give me the strength to protect my family. I mean, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not going to be dumb about this thing. But if I could avoid it and let that man slip on out of my house, I think I'd let him. Yeah, I'm not dumb about this thing. Why? Because nowadays, if you hit someone that's a burglar in your house, he'll file a lawsuit on you. Strange world we live in, amen? But I'm going to protect my family. I'm going to protect my wife. If someone comes up and threatens my wife, I'm not going to say, no, honey, I'm praying for you. You take care of me. Come on, I'm not, I'm not, let's not take it to extremes. I'm talking about somebody verbally comes at us and we want to retaliate, we should have enough strength in the heart of God to keep our mouth shut. Amen. I tell you what, there's nothing like being able to have a peaceful home. There's nothing like waking up in the morning and say, All right, who is mine enemy? And you think and you think and you think and you think and you say, No one. Oh, you say, preacher, you got some enemies. If I do, it's not because I made them my enemies, and I can pray for them like I love them. I mean it. It's great to wake up and be at peace. Look if you would in Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. And notice if you would, verse 17. Stay with me, brethren. Recompense to no man what? Evil for evil. Say it again. Evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. Then he says this, verse 18. If it be possible, now I put that in there. If it's possible, as much that lieth, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. You say, well, there it goes. I don't have to live peaceably with anybody. It says if it be possible, you say, Well, it's not possible. Well, then the problem is there's not much lying in you. You're saying, wait a minute, ho, ho, ho, I missed that. If God's heart dwells in me, and he's put his heart in me, and David's a man after God's own heart, and he's the example of avoiding Absalom, and avoiding Ahithophel, and avoiding Shemiah, and avoiding Saul, and avoiding those that were after him, stay with me, then it should be in my heart to avoid the contentions. And if that lies within me, then I can live peacefully. You know what questioning there? How much of the heart of God do I have? Dearly beloved, avenge not yourself. But rather give what? Place under wrath. If someone's angry at you, you know what it says? Give place. You know what that means? Let it go. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. See, there's the heart of God. He's going to have vengeance. That's what I hey listen. Don't live in the Old Testament and don't live in the millennium. We're living right here, right now. Yes, vengeance is God's. Later on, stay with me. Yes, in the Old Testament, eye for an eye, but we're living in the period called grace. It's called the dispensation in the Bible of what? Say it. Grace. And Jesus was our example. And let me ask you a question. Did Jesus retaliate? Absolutely not. Jesus took it, took it upon himself. If you remember, he could have called twelve legions of what? Say it. Angels. But he didn't do it. He could have destroyed them with the word of his mouth. He could have, I mean, they came after him, and here's Judas leading the way. And Judas comes up to betray him. And what's the first word out of Jesus' mouth? Say it. Friend. Friend? Wherefore hast thou come? You know what he could have said? I've been waiting for you, Judas. Die. You say, what would have happened? Dead. Now, you boys with him? Die. He could have said anything, it would have happened, is that right? He didn't have to say it, he could have just thought it. My point of it is, Jesus had all the power in the world to destroy, just like David had the power in the world to destroy Saul, he had the power to destroy Absalom, he had the power if you were to destroy Ithophel, he had the power to do destroy Nabal, he had the dis the power to destroy others, but he didn't. It was the heart of God in him. Verse 20. Therefore, if thine enemy what? Say it hunger. Oh, this is illogical. We're supposed to do? I can't believe that. If he thirsts, do what? Do him drink. I mean, that's just that just doesn't compute. If we have the heart and the mind of God, it does. For in doing so, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Oh, so that's the way you do it, huh? Look what he says in verse 21, the principle. Be not overcome of evil. Say that again. Be not overcome of evil. Say it again. Be not overcome. If I have the heart of God, there's no evil that can overcome me. They can't lure me in to where I lower myself to do again to them what they've done to me. Now say it, wait, hold on a second. Go ahead, Bill. Hit me. You know what? That's not godly. That wasn't godly. Evil for evil. Amen? You know what I just did? I lowered myself to his level. I lowered myself to man's level. If we're on God's level, go ahead. You can say ridiculous. Put it into play in your life. That'll cut down some arguments in the neighborhood. Like your neighbors? We like to invite you to church. Would you like to come to our church? We've got a wonderful church. A lot of good people. We're not to overcome the overcome of evil. Look at it, brethren, verse 21. But overcome evil with what? If we have someone that's against us in some way, shape, or form. And by the way, I think this principle would work on the freeway. Let's just say it's a good place to practice. You know what I'm talking about? I mean, that's the place we all get tested, isn't it? I mean, somebody's riding our bumper. At about 60 miles an hour, they're right up there. Don't you have the urge to hit your brakes just a little bit? Just to put the brake lights on for a minute a couple times. Someone cuts you off. I mean, just no turncils, no no. Don't you have a tendency, I mean, they just cut you off. Don't you have a tendency to want to speed up? And give them a look or something? Maybe not. Ladies? Oh, you say I don't have a problem with that. Ladies, you're in the grocery line. I mean, you're just standing there in your cart and you've let a three-foot gap between you and the person in front of you. And why are you looking the other way? Somebody just slips right in there. I mean, you want to throw coupons at them and everything, amen? You know what I'm talking about? I think God puts those little tests in our life. So we don't get to the bigger ones. I I think he looks at those little things and he deals with us on those levels. You know, uh really. Our prisons would be empty if these practices and this principle would be adhered to by all. Amen? Empty. You wouldn't have a ministry. Brother Bill? What a blessing. Look a little farther with me. Look at Luke 9 and 2 Thessalonians 1. We're doing okay? Luke 9 and 2 Thessalonians 1, stay with me. The heart of God. David's practice was to turn the other cheek. Luke 9, 2 Thessalonians 1, stay with me. Luke 9, 2 Thessalonians 1. Or you say, man, I, you know, I just I just don't want him to get away with that. And I understand. Believe me, I'm a man myself. I understand. I've got a corn offside of me too. I understand. Look at Luke 9. Look what he does in verse 52, and he sent messengers before his face. These were men that went out, if you would, the disciples before him to prepare the way for him. And they went and entered into the village of the Samaritans to make ready for them, for him. And they, that's that Samaritans, did not receive him, because his face was though as though he would go to Jerusalem. Without going into the whole thing, there was a big cultural prejudice going on in those two verses in 52 and 53. The Samaritans were a certain way, and he was like he was going to Jerusalem, and those in Jerusalem didn't have much to do with the Samaritans, and there was a prejudice going on. Verse 54. And when his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them. And then they justify it, even as Elijah did. Amen. Don't we do that sometimes? I mean, we can pull verses out of this book to justify anything we're doing. Hey, just like Elijah done in that Old Testament, how about we call fire down from heaven right now and consume it? Verse 55. But he turned and rebuked them and said, You know not what manner of spirit you're of. You know what he says to them? Please look up here. You all got a bad attitude. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's life, but to do what? Save them. So the heart of God is necessary if we're going to do God's work down here. Look, if you would, and you say, Whoa, whoa, whoa, how are they gonna learn? Look at 2 Thessalonians 1, please. 2 Thessalonians 1, watching the time. You don't have to. Don't get mad at me. Say, man, when are you gonna quit? Well, I'm done. Come on now. And I might just test you. I might preach till 1220 or 1225. Just to see if you render evil for evil. Stay with me. Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. Brethren, we can rest that God's going to take care of everything. Verse 6. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense what? Tribulation to them that do what? Trouble you. You say, Well, we're supposed to just give it over to God. He'll take care of that trouble. 1 Samuel chapter 16, please. 1 Samuel chapter 16. And also, would you pick up another verse of scripture? Acts chapter 13. 1 Samuel 16 and Acts chapter 13. When I introduce this to you, you'll say, probably, those of you who've been around in Christianity for a while, you'll probably say, Well, I really don't know if there's anything that I don't know about that subject. But I think if you'll stay with me, you'll learn something that'll be a help to you. Or it'll stir something up to remembrance that you haven't thought about for a while. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 16. And notice, if you would, verse 1 of 1 Samuel 16. And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul? Saul was the king, and the king Saul was being disobedient, and Samuel was the prophet. He said, Seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel. Fill thine horn with oil and go, and I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided me a king among his sons. Let me ask you a question. Who was the new king going to be? David. And look what he says, if you would, at uh verse 7. Verse 7. Samuel comes and sees some of the sons of Jesse, and he gets through them and he says, uh, surely this first one's big and tall and really stocky, probably type of guy. But the Lord tells something to Samuel in verse 7. I want you to see it. But the Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his what? Countenance. What he looks like on the outside, or on the height of his stature. Because I have refused him. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth. When I say that again, for the Lord seeth not as man seeth. One more time. You say it with me. Ready? Begin. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth. For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the what? The heart. He looks on the heart, he looks on the attitude, he looks on the spirit, and he looks right past what a person looks kind of like, if you would, on the outside, how tall, how big, how small, this or that. And he looks right into the heart. Look at 1 Samuel 13, please. 1 Samuel chapter 13. So he's going to look on the heart of what's going on here. And in 1 Samuel 13, I want you to see a verse of scripture, just three chapters back. And look at verse 14. Verse 14. God pronounces judgment on King Saul and he says something to him. But now, verse 14, thy kingdom shall not continue. He's talking to Saul. The Lord has sought him, a man after his own what? Heart. And the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people. So what happens here is God looks at Saul and says, You know what? You're not going to be king anymore. I'm looking for a man that's after my own heart. Now, if you would, turn to Acts chapter 13 in the New Testament. Acts chapter 13. And I realize we're going just a little quickly, but I want to get through the scriptures. Acts chapter 13. And look at verse 22, please. Verse 22 of Acts chapter 13. And when he had removed him, speaking about Saul, if you would, in verse 21, and afterwards they desired a king, and God gave unto them Saul. And verse 22, and when he had removed him, that's Saul, he raised up unto them who? David. To be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own what? Say it, heart, which shall fulfill all my will. So he was looking for a man that had a heart, like he had, if you would, and if you would, God gave him that heart, and he says, I found a man after my own heart. Now with that all in mind, look if you would at 1 Samuel chapter 24. 1 Samuel 24. And let's see something about David's heart, and would you also pick up Matthew chapter 5? 1 Samuel 24 and Matthew chapter 5. It's going to be hard for any of us to escape out of here unscathed this morning as we read the Word of God. There's no doubt as we study just something about God's heart here that we're going to look at our own heart and see a little bit of a deficiency. 1 Samuel 24 and one more place, Matthew chapter 5. 1 Samuel 24 in Matthew chapter 5. So he looked for a man after his own heart, and he found one, and the man called David. And look if you would in Matthew, or 1 Samuel 24, look at verse 3. Verse 3. Saul the king is chasing David. David's a fugitive running. And he came to the sheepcoats, by the way, where was a cave. And Saul went in to cover his feet. And David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. So get this picture. Saul is chasing after David. David's the fugitive. David has really not done anything wrong, but Saul was jealous about him, and he's trying to get a hold of David to kill him. And Saul enters into this cave, and he doesn't know it, but back in this cave, David and his men are back in there. Verse 4. And the men of David said unto him, Behold, the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine what? Say it. Come on, talk to me. Thine what? I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. They said, Here it is, David. Just, just here it is, God has delivered your enemy into your hand, and you got him right here. God brought him here. You can kill him right here. Then David arose, cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily, uh, private, if you would, quietly. And it came to pass afterwards that David say it. His what? His what? Say it again. His heart smote him because he had cut off Saul's skirt. Uh, guys, do me a favor. Open this back up, please. Or did it go back down on itself? There we go. I'm not gonna let my hands down. If you let your hands down, it falls again, amen? You know, sometimes nothing works, amen? We'll leave it alone. Anybody, anybody want to sit up here and hold my hand? No, we won't do that, all right? Look at your Bible, forget about that dumb thing up there, amen. And it came to pass afterward that David's what? Say it, heart smote him because he had cut off Saul's skirt. Now he had the opportunity, if you would, to kill what the men said was your enemy, but David's heart, when he started to do something against his supposed enemy, smote him. And by the way, remember, he had the heart of God. He said, I man, I sought a man after mine own heart. And when David's heart sees what David's going to do by his action, his heart, if you would, which is connected to his conscience, convicts him and says, Let's not be doing this. There's a pattern that's set up in David's life. Look if you would it uh a little bit further, and notice if you would, 1 Samuel, you're in uh chapter 24. Look at chapter 25. Look at chapter 25, just across the page. Nabal was protected by David and his men. And David sent his men, if you would, to gain a little uh restitution or remuneration from Nabal. And look at verse 10 of 1 Samuel 25. And Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There be servants nowadays that break away every man from his master. You know what? Nabal is not going to give David what he justly deserved, his rewards of his labor, of his men's labor. And what he does here is he tears him down just a little bit and said, Yeah, you broke away from Saul, your master. Look if you would at verse 21, please. Verse 21. And you'll see a pattern in David's life. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed all of all that pertaineth unto him. And he hath requited me what? Say it, evil for good. Now, if you know the story, David decides he's gonna go and destroy Nabal and all his men. But a lady named Abigail, Nabal's wife, if you would, comes and begins to reason with David and tells him about how God's gonna set him up on the throne, and that there's no reason to go down and do this. And look if you would at verse 33, brethren, you'll see a pattern. Verse 33. Verse 32. And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me. And blessed be thy what? Say it. Man, here's a man. Somebody says, Well, you know, I don't take any advice from a woman. This man did. And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou which hast kept me this day from coming to shed what? Say it. Blood. And from, say the next word, avenging myself with mine own hand. We're going to see a pattern in David's life because David had a heart that was after God. And if you would, David's pattern while he was on this earth, he didn't require evil for evil. He didn't render evil for evil. Please look up here. He didn't retaliate. Look, if you would at Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. And by the way, this is the heart of God. Matthew chapter 5. In Matthew chapter 5, I hope you're holding your place there, Matthew 5. Look what he says in verse number 38. Verse 38. Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for tooth. You know what that means? Someone does something to you, do it back to them. Amen? And there's a lot of Christians that like to live Old Testament. Amen? Hey, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. You do it to me, I'm going to do it back to you. You throw some unkind words at me, and I'm throwing some unkind words back at you. You threaten me, and I'm threatening you back. You argue with me and I'm arguing you back. You hit me and I'm hitting you back. That's not the heart of God. Why? Hey, David have a javelin tossed at him. He didn't pick up the javelin and throw it back. Amen? Hello? You say, now wait a minute, wait a minute. You know, prove it. Well, look at verse 44. Or look at verse 43. You have heard that it has uh heard that it's been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and what? Hate thine enemy. Hey, wait a minute, that's Old Testament. We're not living in the Old Testament. We're living in the New Testament. Look what he says in verse 44. But I say unto you what? Say it. Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despisefully use you and persecute you. You say, man, that's illogical. I know that's the heart of God. What's the heart of God? Love your enemies. David, you've got the opportunity right now. There's your enemy. God delivered you into your his, or God delivered him into your hands, and he goes over and he and he cuts his skirt off, and his heart convicts him. Love your enemies. Bless them that curse thee. Do good to them that hate you. Look at verse 39. Verse 39, but I say unto you that ye resist not evil. Whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the what? Other also. Please look up here. Come here, Brother Bill. I always make a fool of you, but let you get back at me right now, alright? Go ahead, hit me here, quick. Alright? Was that your strong hand? No? Put your Bible in this hand. Okay? Now hit me here. Now you say that's dumb, that's theological, and that's not being a man. That's doing what God said. And God was not a wimp. Is that right? You know what strength is? Hit me here. Strength is okay. I'm not going to resist it. Go ahead, hit me here. There's a ringing in my ear. You say that's ridiculous, but that's biblical. If he verbally does it in this ear, let him verbally do it in that ear. You say, what are you supposed to be like a doormat? I'm not talking about abuse and physical, and I'm not talking about ladies, don't take it this far. If your wife, or if your wife, if your husband hits you on this side of the cheek offering the other, that's ridiculous. Any man that hits his wife is not a man. Amen. That's right. The idea here, though, is we're not supposed to render evil for evil. And if David had the heart which was after God, David had the opportunity to render evil back from Saul. And by the way, if we remember, David had done nothing to Saul wrong. He had killed Goliath, if you would. He had been the captain of the host for a while. He married Saul's daughter. He played the harp for Saul. He served Saul. He did everything for Saul. Saul became jealous, and Saul came after David. And may I say to you this, David had the capability of killing Saul. He once killed a lion by himself. He once killed a bear by himself, and he killed Goliath by himself, and he could have taken care of Saul, too. He wasn't a wimp. But he had strength above which we would consider to be manly if you would. It was godly. It wasn't out of the heart of a man, it was the heart of God. And the heart of God was to say, You go to head, do what you want to me, but I'm not going to retaliate. You go ahead and do what you want to me. Be my enemy if you want, but I'm going to, every time you curse me, I'm going to bless you. Every time you use me, I'm going to let you use me even more. Why? Because that is the heart of God. Look at the pattern in David's life. Look at 2 Samuel 15. 2 Samuel 15. And would you also pick up Romans chapter 12? You say this is illogical, and I don't like it. Doesn't matter about logic, it's a matter about Bible. Amen? 2 Samuel 15 and Romans chapter 12. There's a pattern that develops in David's life. In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom, his son, begins to come in to take over the city. 2 Samuel 15, and you're holding your place in Romans chapter 12. In 2 Samuel 15, if you would. Look if you would in verse 13. Verse 13. And there came a messenger, and I know you're still turning, but I want to watch the time. And there came a messenger to David saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. That was David's own son. And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise and let us what? Ah, you say he's not much of a leader, he's running. No, he's got the heart of God in him. That's what he's got. For we shall not else escape from Absalom. Make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring evil upon who? Us, and smite the what? City with the edge of the sword. You know what David's concerned about? He said, There's no reason to bring Jerusalem into this. My son is against me. He's got a conspiracy against me. He's after me. Let's get out of this city so the city doesn't take the blood of this. Is that right? That's the heart of God. And so they rise up and they and they flee. And you say, Well, what kind of man is that? Here's the kind of man that he is. Look at verse 30. Look at verse 30. And David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives and wept as he went up and had his head covered, and he went barefoot. And all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up weeping as they went up. Hey, you know what's going on here? David is, if you would, avoiding a fight. Let me say it again. David is avoiding a fight. We think, I'm not going to let anybody push me around. You know what God's heart was? He let him push him around. Alright, show me that. Jesus stood like a lamb before his slaughterers. And he opened not his mouth. Before Caiaphas and before Herod and before Pilate. And he just stood there and You know what that took? Strength. It takes strength to give the other cheek. It takes some strength to love your enemies. It takes some strength for someone to rail on you and for you to pray for them. It takes some strength for there to be a husband and a wife at each other a little bit. It takes somebody with a little strength to lay down the argument and bring peace in the home again. It takes some strength to live with those that you have to work with and not let anybody be your enemies because you're a Christian. And if we have the heart of God, we're not out stirring up contentions. Amen? Now you say, Well, I preach the word of God. Well, do you live it? Because David's heart was, he just went ahead and said, Absalom, you go ahead and take over. He didn't try to fight a hithophel. It was a pattern in David's life. Look at 2 Samuel 16, stay with me. 2 Samuel 16, look at verse 5. You know the story. And when King David came to Bahuram, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was what? Say it. Shimei. And you know what Shimei did when he came out? He accused David up one side and down the other, and he threw rocks at him, and he caused him all these types of accusations and everything. One of David's men, Abishai, wants to go over and take off his head. And look what David says in verse 11. And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold, my son which came forth of my vows, seeketh my life. How much more now may this Benjamite do it? What does he say? Let him alone. Let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him. It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day. You know what David says? No, let him alone, because God may look on this thing, and God may look down at me and see how I'm handling this matter, and God might bless me for the way I'm taking care of it. And by the way, I'm going to give you a story here. I'm going to give you some principles here. I believe God's blessing is on those who avoid an argument, who avoid a fight, who avoid contentions when they can, who are not always out stirring up trouble, who love their enemies and pray for them who despitefully use them. I believe God will bless us for doing that. I'm going to tell you what it's going to take. It's going to take the heart of God, though. It's going to take the heart of God us. You say, well, prove that, preacher. Look at Romans 12. Romans 12. I'm not saying that we ought to just, you know, never never get to the place where we don't defend ourselves. And you can take this to some extreme. I mean, preacher, if someone came into your house at night and threatened your family, I mean, would you just get down on your knees and pray for them? I'd get down on my knees and pray. As they got closer, I'd say, God, give me the strength to protect my family. I mean, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not going to be dumb about this thing. But if I could avoid it and let that man slip on out of my house, I think I'd let him. Yeah, I'm not dumb about this thing. Why? Because nowadays, if you hit someone that's a burglar in your house, he'll file a lawsuit on you. Strange world we live in, amen. But I'm going to protect my family. I'm going to protect my wife. If someone comes up and threatens my wife, I'm not going to say, no, honey, I'm praying for you. You take care of me. Come on, I'm not, I'm not, let's not take it to extremes. I'm talking about somebody verbally comes at us and we want to retaliate, we should have enough strength in the heart of God to keep our mouth shut. Amen. I tell you what, there's nothing like being able to have a peaceful home. There's nothing like waking up in the morning and say, All right, who is mine enemy? And you think and you think and you think and you think and you say, no one. Oh, you say, preacher, you got some enemies. If I do, it's not because I made them my enemies, and I can pray for them like I love them. I mean it. It's great to wake up and be at peace. Look if you would in Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. And notice if you would verse 17. Stay with me, brethren. Recompense to no man what? Evil for evil. Say it again. Evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. Then he says this, verse 18. If it be possible, now he put that in there. If it's possible, as much that lieth, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. You say, Well, there it goes. I don't have to live peaceably with anybody. It says if it be possible, you say, Well, it's not possible. Well, then the problem is there's not much lying in you. You're saying, wait a minute, wait a minute, ho, ho, ho, I missed that. If God's heart dwells in me, and he's put his heart in me, and David's a man after God's own heart, and he's the example of avoiding Absalom and avoiding Ahithophel, and avoiding Shemi, and avoiding Saul, and avoiding those that were after him, stay with me, then it should be in my heart to avoid contentions. And if that lies within me, then I can live peaceably. You know what questioning there? How much of the heart of God do I have? Dearly beloved, avenge not yourself. But rather give what? Place under wrath. Someone's angry at you, you know what it says? Give place. You know what that means? Let it go. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. See, there's the heart of God. He's going to have vengeance. That's what I. Hey, listen. Don't live in the Old Testament and don't live in the millennium. We're living right here, right now. Yes, vengeance is God's. Later on, stay with me. Yes, in the Old Testament, eye for an eye. But we're living in the period called grace. It's called the dispensation in the Bible of what? Say it. Grace. And Jesus was our example. And let me ask you a question. Did Jesus retaliate? Absolutely not. Jesus took it, took it upon himself. If you remember, he could have called twelve legions of what? Say it. Angels. But he didn't do it. He could have destroyed them with the word of his mouth. He could have, I mean, they came after him, and here's Judas leading the way. And Judas comes up to betray him. And what's the first word out of Jesus' mouth? Say it. Friend. Friend, wherefore hast thou come? You know what he could have said? I've been waiting for you, Judas. Die. You say, what would have happened? Dead. Now, you boys with him? Die. He could have said anything and it would have happened, is that right? He didn't have to say it, he could have just thought it. My point of it is, Jesus had all the power in the world to destroy, just like David had the power in the world to destroy Saul. He had the power to destroy Absalom. He had the power if you were to destroy Ithophel. He had the power to do, destroy Nabal, he had the power to destroy others, but he didn't. It was the heart of God in him. Verse 20. Therefore. If thine enemy what? Say it? Hunger. Oh, this is illogical. What are we supposed to do? I can't believe that. If he thirsts, do what? Do him drink. I mean, that's just that just doesn't compute. If we have the heart and the mind of God, it does. For in doing so, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Oh, so that's the way you do it, huh? Look what he says in verse 21, the principle. Be not overcome of evil. Say that again. Be not overcome of evil. Say it again. Be not overcome. If I have the heart of God, there's no evil that can overcome me. They can't lure me in to where I lower myself to do again to them what they've done to me. Now say it, wait, hold on, say. Bill. Go ahead, Bill. Hit me. You know what? That's not godly. That wasn't godly. Do it. Evil for evil. Amen? You know what I just did? I lowered myself to his level. I lowered myself to man's level. If we're on God's level, go ahead. You can say ridiculous. Put it into play in your life. That'll cut down some arguments in the neighborhood. Like your neighbors?

SPEAKER_01 52:24

Shut up, but we like to invite you to church.

SPEAKER_05 52:52

Would you like to come to our church? We've got a wonderful church. A lot of good people. We're not to overcome the overcome of evil. Look at it, brethren, verse 21. But overcome evil with what? If we have someone that's against us in some way, shape, or form. And by the way, I think this principle would work on the freeway. Let's just say it's a good place to practice. You know what I'm talking about? I mean, that's the place we all get tested, isn't it? I mean, somebody's riding our bumper at about 60 miles an hour, and they're right up there. Don't you have the urge to hit your brakes just a little bit? Just to put the brake lights on for a minute a couple times. Someone cuts you off. I mean, just no turncils, no no. Don't you have a tendency? I mean, they just cut you off. Don't you have a tendency to want to speed up? And give them a look or something? Maybe not. Ladies? Oh, you say I don't have a problem with that. Ladies, you're in the grocery line. I mean, you're just standing there in your cart and you've let a three-foot gap between you and the person in front of you. And why are you looking the other way? Somebody just slips right in there. I mean, you want to throw coupons at them and everything, amen? Do you know what I'm talking about? I think God puts those little tests in our life. So we don't get to the bigger ones. I think he looks at those little things and he deals with us on those levels. You know, uh, really. Our prisons would be empty if these practices and this principle would be adhered to by all. Amen? Empty. You wouldn't have a ministry. Brother Bill? What a blessing. Look a little farther with me. Look at Luke 9 and 2 Thessalonians 1. We're doing okay? Luke 9, 2 Thessalonians 1, stay with me. The heart of God. David's practice was to turn the other cheek. Luke 9, 2 Thessalonians 1, stay with me. Luke 9, 2 Thessalonians 1. Or you say, man, I, you know, I just I just don't want him to get away with that. And I understand. Believe me, I'm a man myself. I understand. I've got a corn offside of me too. I understand. Look at Luke 9. Look what he does in verse 52, and he sent messengers before his face. These were men that went out, if you would, the disciples before him to prepare the way for him. And they went and entered into the village of the Samaritans to make ready for them, for him. And they, that's that Samaritans, did not receive him, because his face was though as though he would go to Jerusalem. Without going into the whole thing, there was a big cultural prejudice going on in those two verses in 52 and 53. The Samaritans were a certain way, and he was like he was going to Jerusalem, and those in Jerusalem didn't have much to do with the Samaritans, and there was a prejudice going on. Verse 54. And when his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them. And then they justify it, even as Elijah did. Amen? Don't we do that sometimes? I mean, we can pull verses out of this book to justify anything we're doing. Hey, just like Elijah done in that Old Testament, how about we call fire down from heaven right now and consume it? Verse 55. But he turned and rebuked them and said, You know not what manner of spirit you're of. You know what he says to them? Please look up here. You all got a bad attitude. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's life, but to do what? Save them. So the heart of God is necessary if we're going to do God's work down here. Look, if you would, and you say, Whoa, whoa, whoa, how are they gonna learn? Look at 2 Thessalonians 1, please. 2 Thessalonians 1, watching the time. You don't have to. Don't get mad at me. Say, man, when are you gonna quit? Well, I'm done. Come on now. And I might just test you. I might preach till 1220 or 1225. Just to see if you render evil for evil. Stay with me. Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. Brethren, we can rest that God's going to take care of everything. Verse 6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense what? Tribulation to them that do what? Trouble you. You say, Well, we're supposed to just give it over to God. He'll take care of that trouble.