Grace World Outreach Church
Pastor Daniel K Norris
Greetings from Grace World
Thank you for joining us today at Grace World. Whether you are joining us in person or watching online, we are so glad you are here! It's our prayer that you discover life in all its fullness.
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1 Samuel 18:6-16 ESV
A Tale of Three Kings: King Saul
Mastering The Fine Art of Spear Throwing
Do you desire to be a king after “THE ‘ORDER OF SAUL” OR “THE ORDER OF DAVID”
Four Questions
QUESTION ONE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A KING AFTER THE ORDER OF SAUL
It means simply doing what comes naturally.
For Saul that meant…
* Love power more than people.
* Contend for his own comfort at the expense of others' care
* Believe the only way to respond to hurt is to hurt back.
The spear is one of the earliest weapons devised by man.
The spear came as a natural consequence of fallen flesh
Every weapon of warfare we use to this day still follows the basic principle of the spear, but as time has gone by, we’ve become better at building bigger spears
Proverbs 12:6 (ESV) “The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood…”
James 3:8–10 (ESV) but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
I throw Spears When I…
1) Speak down to another person and demean them
2) Lash Out in anger
3) Use sarcasm to cover a deeper resentment
4) Gossip
(speak about another person in a way that causes others to form a negative opinion)
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Ro 1:28–32)
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
(Jas 3:2)
Every “King Saul” will die some day, still believing they had a right to throw all their spears, but they die bitter and bloody from their own swords.
- Jeanne Mayo
QUESTION 2 “WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN SOMEONE THROWS SPEARS AT YOU?”
David’s answer...
* Never pick up the fashionable, easily mastered art of spear-throwing. It is an “art” which is quickly learned, but costly and difficult to unlearn.
* Stay out of the company of spear-throwers. If you continue to watch and listen to their “spears,” you will soon find yourself throwing your own.
* Learn to keep your mouth tightly closed, even when talking with those closest to you.
Rarely have I regretted the words I never spoke
FOR IN THESE THREE WAYS, SPEARS MAY OCCASIONALLY TOUCH YOU, BUT THEY WILL NEVER HAVE THE POWER TO PIERCE YOUR HEART.
QUESTION THREE: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE RULED BY A SPEAR-THROWING KING?
Sometimes you let yourself get stabbed
Mat 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 18:21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Mat 27:13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
Remember
1) We honor others, not because they are honorable, but because we are honorable
2) When I take up a fight in my hands, I take it out of God's hands
3) To get rid of the “King Saul” within us, God often uses a “King Saul” around us.
BIBLICAL BROKENNESS - To have our prideful, arrogant, rebellious flesh crucified so that we may be fully submitted to God’s good and perfect will for our lives.
David’s answer: “Better he kill me than I learn his ways...for it is far better that I die than to become like the inside of him.”
MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: AM I WILLING TO LET GOD ROOT OUT THE SAUL WITHIN ME SO THAT HE CAN RAISE UP THE DAVID WITHIN ME?
To pray “MORE LORD” equally means “LESS ME”