Today, we’ll be continuing our series in the life of David. In today’s passage, we see this contrast between King Saul, who’s on his way down and David who’s on his way up. As we compare these two men, we want to see what we learn about Gospel living.

Let’s start with Saul:

So after the defeat of Goliath, we see the nation of Israel celebrating their heroes Saul and David. The women happen to be singing this song, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” Now most commentators agree that the song was not meant to insult Saul and that the thousand and ten thousand phrase was a common couplet. Ex. Psalm 91:7 “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” In other words it was like saying, our two heroes have killed many, many people.”

But what happens? Scripture tells us that Saul gets very angry…he was displeased…he hears it in the worst possible light.

Often when we hear things in the worst possible light, it points to some kind on insecurity in us:

-Growing up—I had a lot of insecurity regarding my cultural identity. I was born here and some people would ask me…where are you from—Mt. Laurel…no where are you really from.

-B/c this insecurity was in me…I often heard or perceived things in the worst possible way; suspicious of racism. “Hey Dwight, how was your holiday vacation?” Why do you say holiday, Koreans celebrate Christmas…what you don’t think I know who Santa Clause is? I played Santa Clause in a play in 4^th grade!”

Saul was insecure and heard things in the worst possible light—He’s gonna take the whole kingdom! He’s so insecure, about David’s popularity..he wants to get rid of him…he tries to kill him.

Vs. 13—he makes him commander not b/c he really wanted to promote him but to increase the likelihood that he would die in battle.

The text goes on to say: “And Saul eyed David from that day on”…eyes of envy, eyes of anger and even murderous rage. If we were to read chapter 19, he even tries to use his son and daughters to get rid of David—that’s pretty low. Parents can you imagine, using your kids to hurt someone you don’t like—that is low. “Look my kid can read…yours can’t oh…too bad.”

How does someone who was once King of Israel…hit such a low point? He’s insecure, He’s full of envy…so badly that it becomes murderous and all consuming. How does that happen?

Maybe we can blame it on God’s favor leaving him:

-As modern day readers, we want to think that has to do with salvation (and that’s a whole different discussion)…but in the OT, the Lord’s covenant favor and blessing would rest on particular people and it would enable them to do great feats, to succeed in battle…like Samson...but it was possible for that favor to be taken away b/c of rebellion before God. We see that in Samson’s case and in Saul’s case—he lost the favor of God and it was his own fault…described in chapter 13 and 15 which we’ll get to later.

Maybe we see vs. 10 and blame it on an evil spirit...but if spent enough time looking into it, we would see that the harmful spirit only made worse what was already in the heart of Saul. It’s not as if he was humbly seeking God and all of the sudden an evil spirit made him a different person….the spirit made worse, what was already in Saul.

AND SO…what went wrong with Saul?

I think Saul forgot that: “He deserved nothing but had everything.”

This is the phrase that we’re going to use for the rest of this message in contrasting Saul and David: “I deserve nothing but in God I have everything”

Saul was a man sick with envy. Where does envy come from?

An envious person is radically Proud and Self-centered. Envious people believe that they deserve better. They can’t be happy for others because when things go well for others they immediately think: What about me? I deserve that.

David is credited with ten thousands and what is Saul’s next thought? NOT…good for David! Praise God that I have such a young man of faith in my kingdom. NO!!!! He says…they have credited David with tens of thousands…BUT ME.

I call this the Boomerang syndrome—“I wanted to bring one in but…you could see how quickly that would go horribly wrong…” No matter what direction it comes back to you…no matter what people are talking about, it always comes back to ME):

Do you see the boomerang attitude in your life?

Pride…self-centeredness will poison your life. No one will want to be around you…but more importantly…in some sense, God won’t want to be around you. God opposes the proud. Some of you may be spiritually dead and perhaps it’s b/c your life is poisoned by selfish, self-centered pride and entitlement.

Faith is all about seeing God, making much of God and when you truly see God for who He is…you will say, I deserve nothing.

But Saul did not have the attitude that says…”I deserve nothing.” Rather, he believed…I deserve the recognition David’s getting. I deserve this Kingdom and it shouldn’t be take from me…selfish pride

Secondly, not only did Saul fail to have the heart that says, “I deserve nothing…but he failed to believe that “in HIM (God) he had everything.” (SLIDE)

In chapters 13 and 15 of 1 Samuel, Samuel tells Saul his kingdom will not last and that God has rejected him as King. Why? If were to read the whole account we would see it’s b/c Saul desired success and victory more than honoring God. He desired the favor and applause of men, more than God himself.

Let’s read 1 Sam. 15:24-25/30—Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Vs. 30—I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel.

He’s supposed to repenting but he’s more concerned with not looking bad, rather than being right with God.

To Saul, God wasn’t enough. God didn’t satisfy. In form, he was religious but inwardly his desire, his joy was set upon worldly fame and success…That’s how many people live today: “Yeah, I’m a Christian…I worship God but what I really need out of life is…”

That’s the heart of Saul.

Once we fail to see that God is enough…that only He satisfies us perfectly…our lives will be filled with a slavish pursuit of idols—that can and will never full our hearts. We will live in perpetual fear, discontent, envy, bitterness, greed…it happened to Saul and it will to happen to us.

What makes David so different? How does he live in God’s favor? How does he live in contentment even when in the desert being chased by Saul? B/c David got it.

Over the course of 2 chapters we see this phrase repeated: “because the Lord was with him/David”. David’s rise to the throne wasn’t due to the fact that he could speak like Obama or had years of experience like McCain…it was b/c the Lord was with him.

Now the important thing to see is that DAVID KNEW THIS…so throughout his life he remains humble, I was just a shepherd boy deserving nothing…

Examples: a little later, he is offered the opportunity of marrying into Saul’s family, he says in 18:18: and David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father’s clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” He’s small in his own eyes…he feels unworthy.

2 Samuel 7:18-20…At the HIGH POINT of his Kingship:

In David I see a man who recognizes the grace of God in his life. Grace is underserved kindness; the unmerited favor of God. And so he is humbled because he realizes in the end, he deserves nothing.

I think that’s the heart of a person who lives in the Gospel…rather than the Boomerang attitude of “WHAT ABOUT ME?”...it’s the heart that says “WHO AM I?”

-What gave David the courage to fight Goliath? HE IS MY WARRIOR, DEFENDER

-What gave him the patience to not get back at Saul? HE HAS A SOVEREIGN PLAN FOR ME…I won’t take matters into my hands.

-What enabled him to stay grounded in a meteoric rise to fame? HE IS MY JOY AND SATISFACTION—NOT MEN’S APPLAUSE

-Psalm 63: He’s being chased by his own son!!! But he doesn’t complain..he’s not bitter he says: “O God you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my souls thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water….Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you...YOU’RE WHAT I NEED AND YOUR LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE ITSELF.

Far too often…we live life focused on what we don’t have:

I don’t want to minimize your struggles, but focusing on what you don’t have will poison your soul…just like Saul.

David saw that in his God…he had everything HE NEEDED.

Now I could say…be like David…but even David…one day would hang out on a rooftop..and his eyes would drift…and he would desire something that didn’t belong to him…Bathsheeba…taking his eyes off the joy of God and ignoring the Lord’s privileged call on his life…his set his eyes on flesh…I find ironic that he kills Uriah the same way Saul tried to get rid of him…putting him in the front lines…

Even David, would one day forget that “I deserve nothing but in Him I have everything.”

That’s the human heart…

But the Gospel tells us that there is a perfect King… Jesus…when we deserved nothing He gave us everything. When God’s favor should have been taken from us…He turned his back on His own Son Jesus…so you and I could live IN his favor forever…He became nothing so we could have everything…

As we come to the table this morning…we see, before us the reminder:

I deserved nothing…this wine represents blood…that should have been my blood….BUT by the mercy of God I was given everything…and He’s all I need.