The Danger of Popularity

Have your Bibles with you turn with me if you would this morning to offer Samuel 17 and will be looking at verses 53, 58 to begin with, and will bit later will get into chapter 18 soon as Saul, Saul, David, go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the Army Abner this son is this youth and Abner said as your solely as a king. I do not know, and the king said, inquire who son the boy is missing is David returned to the striking down the Philistine.

Abner took aim and brought him before Saul was ahead of Philistine in his hand and Saul said to him who son are you young man and David answered.

I am the son of your servant Jesse Bethel might bow with me as we go to our Lord in prayer. Heavenly father, we are dealing with the subject today.

It's hard to be honest and objective subject of popularity is difficult. We have them granted us a love for acceptance.

We like it when we're looked up to and honored. We enjoy being flattered.

We rejoice and be and made much of way too often we put the praises of me and over and above the approval of God father and we don't receive the accolades we think we deserve we get jealous and petty. We pray this morning that she would so magnify the person of Jesus in our hearts that we would lose all desire to magnify our sales, help us not to be jealous of the achievements of our friends or coworkers may we instead prayer blessings upon them. Help us to remember the words of an inspired King Solomon said that envy is as rottenness to the bones. May our greatest concern be that our lives bring glory to Jesus, may we say, along with John the Baptist, may we decrease that Jesus might increase open our hearts to your truth.

Comfort us. We need to be comforted, convict us where we need conviction, challenge us, we need to be challenged.

40 is in the holy and precious name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. You may be seated. The mid-1980s the Boston Celtics had perhaps one of the greatest basketball teams to ever play the game and I don't know how this happened but on this particular year 1986 of the Boston Celtics had the number one draft pick. The man that they each chose the man that they picked is that number one pick a young man named Lynn bias Lynn bias play for the Maryland terrapins for two years in a row. He was the ACC player of the year. This man was absolutely an unbelievable basketball player.

He was fast. He was agile.

He was strong. He was a great shooter a great defender, a great rebounder Army. He was the whole package so the. The Boston Celtics chose him and and when he was chosen. He walked up on the platform. He walked over to read our back is the president of the Boston Celtics and shook his hand. They took a green Celtics hat and put it on his head and then he turned around to walk down and the people were just sheer and and and and clapping like crazy flooring as he walked back down six weeks after that in June I was watching television in a news announcement came across the screen and it said a terrible shock to the sports world Lynn bias who was the number one ACC player of the year for two years in the number one draft pick in 1986 is going to the Boston Celtics, has died of heart failure and then it went on to say that the calls that heart heart failure was an overdose of crack cocaine.

I remember watching a few days later the part of the funeral service and his mother was standing there were tears rolling down her cheeks and she said it was too much. He came from a poor simple family and then all of a sudden he was rich he was popular he was being treated as a king, and he just didn't know how to handle it in a strange what popularity can do to you but just about everybody wants to be popular just about everybody loves to be loved. We like people saying things about us that make us feel good about our sales we enjoy being looked up to, but there's a price to popularity and God's people, especially need to learn how to handle it because popularity can turn into pride and pride can take you places that none of us need to go.

Today we look at a young man who became an instant overnight success when young David went out to fight Goliath eight heat while everybody else was frozen in fear.

They got everyone's attention, but then when he took his slingshot in a stone and he went out in the face Goliath and he killed him and then took his own sword out of his hand and chopped his head off than he became the national hero of all of Israel people of Israel loving.

They looked up to me. I said this man's got heart said this man has to put it bluntly, God's, and he did what nobody else would do if he killed the intimidator and he made life easier for everybody else and Israel. Israel loved him.

They praised him they lauded him they cheered him here was a man who in 24 hours, went from Vienna insignificant shepherd boy to become the most popular man in all of Israel and member Dave is just a teenager, probably 17 years old and yet he's been treated as a national hero.

The first Samuel 17 verse 55 to 58.

We have information here that gives us some some insight into Saul's character when you read that again as soon as Saul, Saul, David, go out against the Philistine. He said after the commander of the Army Abner who son is this you and Abner said as your solely as a king. I do not know, and the king said, inquire who son the boy is as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine. Abner talking and broadening before Saul, the head of the Philistine's hand and Saul said to him who son are you young man and David answered. I am the son of your servant Jesse Bethel might David had been the one who played the harp for King Saul, in order to deliver him from the terrible depression that he was having.

He also then became his armor bearer.

So David was was that right there with Saul for several months, day after day ministering to him and serving him and he was right there with him very close to him and yet when David takes all Goliath and goes out to five to face him with nothing but a slingshot in the stone when all that happens. Saul didn't even know his name and he doesn't even know what family came from, but softly this is a is a huge disconnect. Saul has become so consumed with self that he's not concerned about the people that are under him serving him and the people that he has authority over it. He's not really concerned about what's going on in their life and who they aren't, how we can minister to him. Saul told Abner said go get this young man bring you back to me so Abner goes after he tells David that Saul wants to semen David comes back at what is David Carey.

Withing the carries ahead of Goliath picture that is going by the got is he about by the higher he's holding it up blood just dripping down out of his out of his neck. He's got his eyes just bulged out and he takes the head of Goliath any laziness. Saul's feet as a gift to Saul and lays it there at his feet. Saul said son where you from, and David said I am from Bethlehem.

I am the son of Jesse, the Bethel might poach true leaders are not distant from people who serve under them. If leaders are wise they will show the people under their authority. They will show them respect and great appreciation if you will people to be loyal to you as a leader, then you know you need to show loyalty to them. I see Saul's indifferent to David. Here is a great flaw in his character. With that said, I got four points that I want to share with you today as we take a look at the danger of popularity. The first one is the is the blessing of the covenant love wiki versus 134 chapter 18. As soon as he had finished speaking to David the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul.

And Jonathan stripped him of the road that was awning and gave it to David and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and is built one of the most surprising things in David's life has to be the relationship that he had with Jonathan. It was Saul's son.

It was saying that if anybody would've despised David.

It would've been Jonathan C.

Jonathan was the legal heir to the throne of Israel when Saul died, Jonathan was legally supposed to get the throne that's the way that it should be but yet Jonathan has no animosity or envy or jealousy toward David whatsoever.

Jonathan sees the pieces of the puzzle coming together. He knows that this could be David that seated on the throne and not him. And yet he's done seem to be worried about that.

He knows that he's gonna have to bow out and and let David take the throne.

But he's not bitter about that, even in the least. The Scripture describes the relationship between David and Jonathan this way. Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and he loved David as his own soul. And this is sad to say but the homosexual community has taken this passage and embraced it said that David and Jonathan were in a homosexual relationship and is a flat out lie these to two young men were not homosexual but they were friends. They were deep deep covenant brothers. They were friends, brothers and sisters.

It is a dangerous and serious matter when a person or people a group of people will take the Scripture of God twisted around to try to make it look like God condones a sinful lifestyle where we have before us today. One of the most unselfish men in the entire Bible's name is Jonathan and if you ever want a picture of what a friend should be. Take a look at Jonathan and David in their friendship as a loyalty and a commitment that is, they are thy world knows very little about. I was reading AW paints commentary on the this particular passage in AW Pink said something that I thought was very interesting.

He said he did not believe that Jonathan was a saved man. He did not believe that he was a true child of God, because the Scripture doesn't say anything about him loving God or his commitment to God not totally disagree with that. I don't buy into that at all. But I still respect AW Pink. So why would he say such a thing. Pink's theory seems strange because we look at Jonathan's. His is integrity will look at his loyalty and his commitment to David and is pretty impressive in that's pretty impressive at best. Integrity that that's really strong character, yet you know it's possible for a person to be a humanly good person and not be a genuinely saved person. I've had neighbors in the past that were just good people that were that they did they do anything in the world for you. They give you the shirt off their back if you got sick. They come help you if you had children need protection. They help you protect them, humanly speaking, they were just good people, but they want saved that they did not know the Lord. Jack Taylor said it well when he said some people seem to be better by nature than others are by grace and I hate to say that, but that's true. There are some unsafe people leasing the more pleasant, more tied, more compassionate, more loving than some children of God. That's a shame and disgrace. But it is true and how often do we see this in Scripture where were God in inclines a lost person's heart to show favor to want to God's children, we see that in Genesis chapter 39 where God incline the heart of the prison guard to show favor to Joseph or annexes chapter 1 where God incline the hearts of the Egyptian midwives to take care of the Hebrew mothers to be an's order that they might have their babies and their babies might not be keeled. We think of Queen Esther God certainly showed or gave King a hash wears favor in the sight of Esther.

Proverbs 16 seven says this when a man's ways please the Lord. He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him that Jonathan and David were what we call covenant brothers and we see in verse four, the ritualistic actions that would take place when the covenant brothers were entering into a commitment to each other. The Scripture says that Jonathan gave his road to David. What is his road represent represents his identity. It represents himself.

He was saying. David, I give myself to you. You give yourself to me when a couple gets married man get the husband gives ring to the wife. The wife give the rain to the husband. It's a symbol of their faithfulness and their loyalty to each other. Then he Jonathan gave to to David. His weapons his sword and shield his his javelin at any gave him his weapons. David took those weapons he brought them to his own house in his bedroom and he nailed them on the wall over his bed so that it see them every day. What do those read those weapons represent where it represented Jonathan's promise of protection. It was saying David anybody fight you there enough to fight me to I will fight for you, David. Even unto death. They gave him his belt, belt was that some money bailed the game's money belt to tell David look you ever get in financial trouble.

I'll help you out about be like me giving you up a blank check and say and if you need it. Then use it. In fact, AW Pink's point. I guess there is a possibility that Jonathan might have been unsaved person but I don't I don't buy that. I look at David and Jonathan's relationship with each other and I think what held them together. What what they had so much in common was a vibrant relationship with the Lord a get over in the 19th chapter of the first Samuel and in the 19 chapters said Johnson is arguing with his father, King Saul and he argues with theme by using Scripture unsafe.

People don't usually do that. I believe that David and Jonathan were accountability partners that they pushed each other toward holiness that they encouraged each other with the word of God. I believe that David taught Jonathan some of the Psalms that God had inspired him to write. I believe the glue that held Jonathan and David together was a vibrant relationship with their God like that takes us to point to the fallacy of flattery. Look at verse 6 to 7 as they were coming home when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel singing and dancing to me.

King Saul with tambourine with songs of joy and with musical instruments and the women saying to one another as they celebrated Saul is struck down is thousands, and David is 10,000s.

The slaying Goliath was not just good the killing of one man. But it was the defeat of the entire Philistine nation, and Saul thought he could use that to bring himself a whole lot of glory, and so we had a parade of victory parade and he marched his soldiers back into the into the town and the people were lining the streets. Men and women cheering and and and clapping for Saul and his army thinks I'll probably put himself right in the middle of that parade, so that people could look at him and say this is the king.

This is King Saul. He is a concrete general all the glory should go to him, for he is our leader and then as they were marching through some women begin to sing a little ditty's always keeled is thousands, but David is 10,000s while that was not very smart on the part of these of these women that was not very smart it all.

First, it shows their lack of spiritual depth.

They were given the Lord God Jehovah any of the credit for the killing of Goliath.

David gay got all the credit. David said this battle is the Lord not mind if the Lord to did this, the women didn't do that, they were flattering. David to the hilt.

David would have done well to have understood the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 6 where where Jesus said you better be aware when all men speak well of you but listen to this flattery of David was seen by King Saul as rejection of him and that's the last thing that King Saul needed, we might say well all these ladies were trying to do is make David feel good. That's what flattery doesn't flattery is aimed at the emotions what when you flatter somebody you're trying to put them on an emotional high. And you know what emotional highs are always temporary.

They just don't last. Proverbs 26 verse 28 says a flattering mail work is ruined, and boy does it ever is a great difference between praise and flattery praises aimed at building character and integrity praises is used, to help a person grow closer to God. Praises used to say take the gifts that God has given you, and use them in the greatest way that you can for the glory of God so that you might develop Christian character is what praises all about flattery's different flattery, superficial flattery is very deceitful.

Flattery is about your looks for your appearance or your worldly achievements flattery just strokes the ego where praise just builds up the human spirit and doesn't in a way to bring honor to God puts pride is a huge problem in the modern day church. One of most frightening things facing the church in America today is the marginalization of the gospel.

The church is being attempted to quit focusing on the cross and start focusing on on peripheral issues.

For example, poverty is a problem and we are being told by liberal politicians today at the answer to poverty is breaking the law of God. So if you're a poor person. If you're under the poverty level legally and shoplift. It's okay going in and shoplift.

Just take something that's not yours it's okay because you're pouring and you should not be arrested.

You should not be charged. Don't worry about it other words, break the eighth commandment, thou shalt not steal our politicians think they know better than God. And what about murder of babies or their costly and babies are built.

Take your time up. So if you got a baby in the womb.

The just quit aborted baby and take that babies like it's okay going to break the six commandment, thou shalt not kill. It's okay because the politicians know better than God. Churches all over America are caving in a capitulating to their capitulating to political correctness for a purpose. That is, in order to gain the acceptance and the approval of the culture books is time for us to quit worrying about what the culture says and quit worrying about what the culture thinks and start worried about what God thinks the gospel is the answer to racism. The gospel is the answer to poverty. The gospel is the answer to perversion and nothing else will work. The church of Jesus Christ in American 2020 would do well to study this passage because we're doing some the same things. The world is doing. We get caught up in hero worship.

We look at at pastors we look at at evangelist, we look at TV ministers and we put them on a pedestal as if there's something special they're not something special. They're just dust that God is fashioned into a man and if pastors are evangelist or corporate TV preachers are doing anything right. Rest assured of this is just the power of Jesus first Paul said that we are just containers.

We are earthen vessels that God uses. I like the way Chuck Swindoll said it. He said we are just empty peanut butter jars that God has chosen to use this world needs role models. We need godly men and women that people can look up to, but we don't need heroes brothers and sisters. There is only one star.

That's the bright and morning star Jesus Christ. We need to have the attitude that John the Baptist had we must decrease that he might increase .3 is the danger of jealousy. Look at verses eight through nine. Saul was very angry to say and displeased him.

He said they have ascribed to David 10,000, and to me, they have scribed thousands and what more can he have, but the kingdom and Saul David from that day on, what a horrible thing is happened for Samuel 1621.

The Scripture says that Saul love David rightly and then just a few months later Saul was is watching him with a close eye on everything that David does. Saul sent David out to get me he's going to betray me. He's going to take my kingdom is trying to take my throne.

I can't trusting Saul got so angry with David that he took a spear and he threw it. David trying to take his life is all jealousy wrong. No, the Scripture says that our God is a jealous God that even his name is jealous and ladies of some man other than your husband begins to flirt with you and divine for your attention in your husband acts like he's not concerned about it. Should that be of concern to you. Yes, it should because if your husband loves you as Christ loved the church that he should be jealous over you. He's going to protect you ladies when your husband gets jealous. Don't don't get mad with that, you realize that God put that in us is protection for you, but there is a jealousy that is ungodly and that jealousy is built in on the subject of of covetousness part of jealousy is covetousness, and how many people today are miserable because other people are happy how many people today are jealous over other people there jealous over there interior possessions over their jobs over there positions over their appearance that help never to be true of the child of God.

We need to remember what King Solomon said in Proverbs 1430 that envy is as rottenness to the bones.

Richard Philip shared this story is and how we react when someone comes along who exceeds us in ability, faith, or gifts do we become sour in spirit and find petty ways to undermine him or her the well-regarded English preacher FB Meyer realized that he resented the ability and acclaim of G. Campbell Morgan, a like-minded preacher who, like Meyer pastored a prominent church in London Meyer churches well attended, but Morgan's overflowed Myron Morgan often preached together at conferences, but those who listened eagerly to Morgan's brilliant sermons sometimes were not present when Meyer took the pulpit a godly pastor Meyer was disturbed to realize that envy and resentment brewing in his heart for his colleague and he noted that he had gotten into the habit of pointing out Morgan's flaws and mistakes while minimizing his gifts and achievements. In response, Myers determined that he would start praying for God's blessing on the ministry of G. Campbell Morgan reasoning that he could not continue to envy a man for his blessing. He prayed soon. Meyer could be heard rejoicing in Morgan's preaching mind.

Did you hear Campbell Morgan preached today he would exult.

Not only did Myers prayer enable him to love his colleague with the gift rejoicing, but in answer to his prayers God so overflowed Morgan's church that many of the people had no choice but to attend where Meyer preached what is wrong with Saul. Jealousy has eaten them up on the inside.

He's not thinking correctly he is acting irrationally. David is not after Saul's throne, David. It is the most trustworthy, loyal soldier that Saul has in his entire army, but jealousy is perverted. Saul's thinking and now he thinks that a liberal servant a a a loving loyal servant is a hated trader is what jealousy old .4 is the power of a consecrated life. Verses 10 through 12. The next day, a harmful spirit from God rushed up and Saul any rage within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did, day by day. Saul had his fear in his hand and saw her list for your free thought I would pin David to the wall, but Dave debated him twice. Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was withing but had departed from Saul Luke five we read just a great great story by Peter Simon Peter was out fishing you been fishing all night and call the thing is company and kind of discouraged and bring the boat on the shore there's Jesus on the shore and Jesus says Peter turnaround think about back out. Go back out in the deep water throw your net on the right side of the boat you catch fish leaders of the professional fisherman. He knows that the fish go down deep when it starts getting hotter and you don't catch fish. That way, but he's can appease Jesus so he takes the boat on out, throws the nets on the right side of the fish and those nets become a fish magnet I made. All of a sudden all these fish are in the nets. So much so that the springs are broken on the net dear member of the response that Peter had Peter came back he and he failed at Jesus feet and said the part for me oh Lord from sinful man the power and the holiness and the goodness of Jesus made Peter feel sinful and weak, had a friend of mine in seminary who will went to a Bible conference when we can and he came back and he came in my room my room and and he said man I need to tell you about this this man that I met and that was speaking at the conference that I had lunch with him a couple of times and and sunset spent some time withing said his name was Manley Beasley and he said he is the holiest man I've ever met and he a said Doug. When I got around that man. I felt like I needed to repent my sin, while that's what Saul was feeling toward David.

Saul understands that David didn't kill Goliath by zone power that David didn't write the songs that he wrote just as man-made poetry, but they were inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. Saul had never met a man that loved God that was his consecrated and committed to the Lord as David was and what did that do it scared Saul it convicted him. It made him realize where his heart was and where his heart needed to be. David was a disturbing presence in the life of Saul brothers and sisters. That's the kind of testimony we all strive for will to strive for the kind of testimony that that makes lost people feel convicted and that makes safe people more hungry for Jesus. We ought to pray every day. Lord help us that we might be a disturbing presence in the lives of others for Christ sake let's pray all heavenly father we have seen today the danger and popularity and for the Christian is is a double threat because we desire to live godly. We desire to be more like Christ. We desire to be holy. But when those things are pointed out to us, we become proud in our ego swale, help us not to get caught up in that conundrum. Help us to diligently seek after holiness, and the same time run from a God dishonoring pride. Father, help us to realize that anything that we do that is a positive spiritual benefit was accomplished through the power of your spirit. Help us to accept compliments graciously, but to reflect the glory to Jesus as John Piper's taught us. Let us leave it out. Understanding that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

We love you Lord be pleased with our worship and may our worship be pride free for us in Jesus name we pray. Amen