When God’s WILL is spelled W-A-I-T 等候神的旨意 3-7-2010
INTRODUCTION
Last Sunday we have just finished our sub-theme on “Christ Is Lord” for February. As we begin a new month of Sunday sermon we will consider the notion of “Obeying God’s Will.” We will try to tie that in with the 2010 church them – “Seek First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.” I pray that God will use this series of messages to help us dive into the yearly theme. Let us begin with a word of prayer.
How do you know what God’s will is for your life? I once read an interesting story. I have to apologize to the English-speakers among us upfront because this story has to be understood in Chinese. Two persons were chatting in a church hallway. The first guy immigrated to Canada some years ago. The second guy was a seminary student. This is how the conversation goes. (2 persons will act out the 2-minute drama)
Before we answer the question on how to know God’s will we need to define what God’s will is. Theologians summarize that there are 3 types of God’s will. There are the sovereign, moral and individual wills. The sovereign will is something God intends to do and there is nothing that can thwart His plan. God’s creation is an example. When God commanded “Let there be light” then there was light. The moral will includes all the instructions God has for us to live an obedient Christian life. While God’s sovereign will cannot be hindered moral will can be violated by us. God’s design is for a Christian to marry another Christian but many Christians choose otherwise.
Sovereign and moral wills of God are more specific and spelled-out in the Bible. But God’s individual will is more subject and it varies greatly from person to person. Many Christians earnestly and constantly ask God for direction when they are facing major decisions in their life. But some don’t, as Pastor Chou pointed out in his sermon last week, fearing that God may reserve something we do not like for our lives. It is as if God would say to you: “I’m glad you asked. I just need someone to go to a leper hospital in India. Why don’t you go?” Let us be very clear that God has His best intent for our lives. If He calls you to be a missionary then He will find ways to mold you that way and give you a joyful heart to serve Him in that position. For most of us perhaps God’s will for you and me is to be faithful in whatever we are doing. For those stay-home moms God’s will for you may be is to stay home and raise your kids even though you may have a high degree in a specific field and your family finance may indicate that you need to make some income. Having said that I do not wait to pass any guilt to those moms who choose to work and have to leave their kids at the day-care. Any choice you make is between you and God. But is there any factors that can help us discern God’s will? In this message we are going to learn from the life of David on how to discern and obey God’s individual will.
EXPLANATION
Let me give you some background leading to 1 Samuel 23. Up to this point God said decisively that He would reject Saul as the King of Israel. In two separate battles Saul committed fatal sins by disobeying the commands of the Lord. In chapter 13 when the Israelites were confronting the Philistine army Saul offering a burnt offering to the Lord because Samuel the prophet did not come on time as he promised and also because Saul’s men began to scatter. Then in chapter 15 Saul failed to execute God’s command to completely eradicate the Amalekites.
But also in these two chapters God revealed that He has found someone to replace Saul. Samuel prophesied in 1 Sam 13:14b that “the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command." Similarly in 1 Sam 15:28 Samuel said to Saul: "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.” Of course if you are familiar with the Bible you know that the person who succeeded Saul is David. He was better than Saul not because he was smarter or stronger on the battlefield. It was because he was a man after God’s own heart.
Saul’s track record proves that he was not a humble man and so it would be hard for him to submit to God’s will and just give up his throne to David. Worse still Saul’s prideful heart was filled with jealously and thus he wanted to get rid of David by his own hand. So from the end of 1 Samuel chapter 20 the Bible tells us that David was hiding from place to place while Saul and his army kept chasing after David. When we come to 22:5 we read that “the prophet Gad said to David, ‘Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.’ So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.” That was where David and his company were stationed when chapter 23 unfolds.
Our story begins in 23:1 that David was told, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors." The Philistines were guerrillas originated from the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. They had been the enemies of Israel for ages. Now they were attacking Keilah, which is in Judah, and most likely wanted to snatch away the harvest. Saul, being the king of Israel, had the obligation to protect the people at Keilah. But instead he was completely obsessed with the goal of catching David. In contrast David demonstrated how a king was supposed to be. He cared for his fellow countrymen and wanted to save the people of Keilah from the intruders. Here we can see the first principle to discern God’s will. When God calls you to do something He will equip you with the right talents and attitude to accomplish it. David is more appropriate to be a king compared to Saul because he did not seek after his own interest but the interest of the people God will put under him to lead. We have some very handy brothers in our church. Even though they may not be in a career of fixing things God can surely use their talents to serve in our Facilities Department. If you ask my wife she can tell you that I am far from handy. I cannot even put a nail straight on the wall. I do not even belong to the unhandy type but the handicapped one. So if God calls you to do something He will give you the ability to fulfill His will.
Before David went for battle he inquired of the Lord for permission. Verse 2 reads: “he inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" The LORD answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” But then David’s 400 followers dared not to go along. They were busy enough dodging the army of Saul why get involved in another battle not related to them? David went to the Lord again and asked for His guidance. Look at verse 4: Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, "Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand." So David and his army had a victory over the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah from the Philistines. In such an important decision David asked the Lord for approval. Then he used the answer from the Lord to motivate a fearful army to go to battle with him. Here lies the second principle to discern God’s will. One needs to spend time with the Lord in prayer. For how can you know His will for you if you don’t ask him? David shares with us in one of his psalm, Psalm 143:8: Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Contrary to David Saul did not seek the Lord for advice but relied on man’s opinion. Saul received an intelligence that David was in Keilah and so he summoned his soldiers to hunt for David. Listen to what Saul says in verse 7: "God has handed him over to me, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars." A man without God in his heart would not bring his concerns to the Lord in prayer but rather he drags God along to interpret his circumstance. Why would God ask a wicked king to kill his successor whom God has chosen and approved? Very often you would hear some so called Christians say that: it is God’s will for me to divorce my spouse or God wanted me to win the lottery so that I can donate 10 % of the prize to the church. Excuse me? God’s individual will for you would never violate His moral will written in the Bible. Any decision you make has to be scrutinized by the Word of God. If the idea looks good on you but looks bad in God’s sight then most definitely it is not from God. If your car is getting low on engine oil you would not fill it water simply because they are both liquid. You will do what the user manual tells you to do. How a follower of Christ can knows God’s will for him if he does not spend time to read God’s user manual – the Bible? So we are back to the basics and reiterate the importance of Bible reading and prayer. Many of you can witness that when you spend time with the Lord the Holy Spirit will guide you to a particular verse in the Bible so as to reveal God’s will to you.
Now Saul’s army was inching in. How did David respond? Once again he looked to the Lord for instruction. Look at verses 10-12 with me: David said, "O LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant." And the LORD said, "He will." 12 Again David asked, "Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?" And the LORD said, "They will." Why didn’t the people of Keilah return the favor to David by protecting him and his men? Perhaps they heard what happened to the priest Ahimelech and his family in chapter 22 in the city of Nob. Ahimelech gave food and weapon to David out of innocence. But Saul’s heart was filled with rage and he ordered to have the whole clan of 85 priests and their wives, children and herds all slaughtered. Therefore, perhaps the people Keilah feared that they might have ended up with the same fate if they had protected David and his men. With the revelation from God David decided to flee to the wilderness.
Verse 14 is a transition - David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. Not only does the verse tell us where the story will happen next but it also says to us how God will protect those who are after His own heart. Even though Saul had thousands of men at his dispense and a network of intelligence God would not allow Saul to find David. God uses the circumstance to protect and guide those who are searching for His will. This is the third principle for us to discern God’s will. Therefore, it is a very Biblical thing for us to pray that God will open His door so that we know which step to take next. Years ago a brother of mine was about to graduate from school with a PhD in Math. You can imagine how hard it would be for him to find a non-academia job. But he was smart enough to take some courses in finances in the final few semesters hoping to apply his knowledge in Math and statistics in some sort of market analysis and prediction field. At that time I subscribed to the newspaper. After knowing his area of interest I began searching through the Sunday advertisement section to check if there was any opening in that particular area. I circled a few bigger ads and handed the paper to him. And I did it for a few weeks. Lo and behold to my surprise he actually applied for some of the positions I marked and ended up getting a job offer. When I looked back I was amazed at how God worked through the circumstance for this brother – I bought the newspaper, looked through the advertisements, circled the job opening for him, handed him the paper, he read it, applied for the vacancy, did well in the interview and got the job. If you examine your past carefully and objectively it is not difficult to see God’s hand guiding you through your circumstances. Just think why you end up in this particular juncture of your life in St. Louis. You were born in a particular city, came to U.S. to study your degree and because you had a degree in a certain field you were hired by the company you work with now. In this whole process someone introduced you to Christ and so you became a believer or at least are still searching for the truth. Therefore you are now sitting in the pew with us today. If God could shape your past to guide to this moment in your life would He not continue to do so to those who seek after His will? Christians are all too familiar with Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Sometimes we focus too much on the “all things” and “good” parts and fail to see that this promise is reserved for those who love God and are being chosen for His purpose. The question is do you love God, and do you love Him enough to submit to His will so that He can accomplish His purpose rather than yours?
Saul combed through the desert but did not find David. In contrast verse 16 tells us that: And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. It was like David had a street address and Jonathan looked it up with a GPS. Of course one possibility was that God made Jonathan find David because he had an encouraging message for his good friend. Verse 17 and 18 read: "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this." 18 The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh. God uses a good friend like Jonathan to confirm the will of God for David. This is the fourth principle for us to discern God’s will. Do you have any good friend who can help evaluate you objectively? You can come to him and ask for input on things like what ministry you are suitable for in the church, whether you should go back to school for another degree, or even (for single person) if a particular brother or sister can be a good fit as a mate. How I wish I have a friend like Jonathan! But thanks the Lord at least I have my wife. Whatever she says about me I will try to listen with a humble heart. For example whenever I preach she will try to sit in the congregation. With a pen and paper she will jot down everything I should improve on. The purpose is not to criticize me but to help me see my blind spots. But honestly I really welcome if you can give me objective feedback on any ministry I do.
The second half of the chapter repeats some of the principles I highlighted earlier and therefore I will move through the story quickly. Verse 19 tells us that the Ziphites informed Saul of David’s whereabouts. Saul was encouraged by the good news but he asked the Ziphites to do a more thorough investigation to zero in on David. Finally they told Saul that David was in the Desert of Maon. Then immediately Saul sent his men to hunt David down. When Saul and his army was closing in the Lord once again used the circumstance to save David. Verses 27 and 28 indicates that: a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land." 28 Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. Saul’s plan to capture David was again frustrated.
As a summary we can learn from David’s life and see some principles that can help us discern God’s will. I give it 4 E’s. First it is the word “endowment,” which is to say what kind of person God made you to be like. God chose David to be a king not only because he was a brave man and a person of strategy but also because he had an obedient heart to the Lord’s guidance and he cared for those people whom he was about to lead. If God calls to do something for Him He will give you the right ability and attitude to finish the task. Then there is the word “enlightenment.” David inquired of the Lord through prayer before making important decisions. God is willing to give us clear guidance and direction through His Word. For Christians today we have the whole Bible for us to get to know the Lord, and the Holy Spirit to live in us to guide us. Thirdly it is the word “environment.” It was God that manipulated the circumstance so that He protected David from Saul’s attack. Through His divine intervention God can also change our circumstances so that we can know which way to go. Finally, there is the word “endorsement.” God used Jonathan to strengthen David and to affirm him that he would become the king of Israel. God will use godly counsel from the Christians around us to confirm what God intends us to do.
Saul’s effort to seize David continues for the rest of 1 Samuel. Finally Saul committed suicide when the Philistines were about to defeat his army. Overall according to some commentators David might have waited 15 years before He was crowned the king of Judah, then another 7 years to become the king of the whole Israel. David waited patiently for God to mature all the internal and external factors before he knew that it was time for him to take the throne. Brothers and sisters what decision are you trying to make at this moment? Bring it to the Lord, put your trust in Him and wait patiently for Him to guide you to the path He has prepared for you.