Payday Someday

Thank if you would please stand for our call worship from Psalm 30 verses four and five sing praises to the Lord, all you his saints and give thanks to his holy name for his anger is but for a moment and his favor for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning man.

Please be seated. Gracious and heavenly father Lord, we come to you today asking to prepare our hearts for worship as we come to you, Lord. Just soften our hearts open our ears as we hear the word that it might change us more to be more like Christ through that we would glorify you Lord we would grow to be more like Jesus each day in our lives. We need the Holy Spirit to equip us for that. We need your saints, that we might edify each other. Lord help us as we live in this world that what we say would be salt and light to the world that hearts might be changed. Father, you are a good God your fair you are just in your holy Lord, you you pave the way for us in this world we go through trials first season for reason. Lord, you you help us walk through those valleys, will we lift up Linda McCaffrey to you is we just asked you administered to her and Teddy strengthen her and help her as she fights Lord give her peace. Pray for Teddy. She would encourage him that your word might change him, but we pray Lord for John and Shelby's daughter want to keep Chilson Lord just asked that you would equip her and for these trials that she goes through Laura prepare her and each day as she battles she fights give her the strength give her the courage and slipped her up to you and pray for Ms. Nancy Malone order. She deals with her amputation and just be with her as she is at home. She comes here to visit and worship. We just ask her to lift her up and strengthen her each day as well.

Lord, let her look to you, Lord, we lift up our our nation to you Lord that your saints will go out share your word and change hearts. Our world is in need of a Savior. You have provided that Savior, Lord just pray for the many in America we lift up our leaders to you Lord that you would direct them.

Lord, if they don't know you that you would draw them to you or that you would help our nation be more inclined to you right now. Many of our nation's are angry and against you, Lord. Just let your people work in this nation to to change to change it or we we ask that you would be with us in the service that you would again prepare us for the word to be heard as we sing praises to you, Lord, let us reflect upon those words, let us sing them no and that you get all glory and honor Lord we lift our voices up to you following ask you. Bless us this week. Help us as we study encourage us, and we praise and thank you for your mercies in Christ name meant gathered here for worship this morning, but we need to remember something God does not need our worship God needs nothing he is entirely self-sufficient. He has everything he needs.

We don't come to him giving him something he needs.

Contrary to what the fourth grade Sunday school teacher taught me. God didn't make us because he was lonely.

I God created us to bring glory to himself and part of the way he does that is by pouring out his grace and his mercy. His favor is love on sinners like us. This first hymn says, he sinners poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore. If that describes you, then let's worship a God who is merciful and gracious and full of an everlasting love that never waxes and wanes that stand together and sing all I be a all all will will will all will and will and will and will and reading this morning's first testimony and chapter 1 verses one through 10. This is a passage of Scripture that reminds us of the efficacy of God's word. It accomplishes what God sends it out to do.

It also reminds us of the power of the testimony of those who been changed by that word is read together. First Thessalonians chapter 1 verses one through 10. Paul Sylvain us and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ Grace to you and peace.

We give thanks to God always for all of you constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word but also empower in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake, you became imitators of us and of the Lord for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit. So you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in the KR for not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia in a KI, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere so that we need not say anything for they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead.

Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. This is the word of the Lord is exciting to see how God views the testimony of the Thessalonians to realize how God uses even our testimony of how Christ is changed our lives and yet I think if we are honest with ourselves. We all have to admit, we don't even live up to our own testimonies. Daily we need grace we need mercy we need.

Pardon and Jesus offers exactly those things.

Let's take a moment this morning to confess our sin to our merciful God, would you pray with me church. Oh God of grace.

You have imputed my sins my substitute and have imputed his righteousness to my soul clothing me with the bridegroom's road decking me with jewels of holiness. But in my Christian walk. I am still in racks. My best prayers are stained with sin. My penitential tears are impure. I need to repent of my repentance. I need my tears to be lost.

I have no robe to bring to cover my sins, no loop, so we my own righteousness. I am always standing, clothed in filthy garments, and by grace am always receiving change of raiment for you always justify the ungodly. I am always going into the far country, and always returning home as a prodigal, always saying father forgive me and you are always bringing forth the best robe every morning. Let me where it every evening return in its go out to the day's work in its be married in its be wound and death in it stand before the great white throne in it. Enter heaven in its shining as the sun, grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. The exceeding righteousness of salvation, the exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of holiness. The exceeding wanderer of grace in him who has loved me and called me by his name on man take a moment to silently confess your particular sense of the Lord now listen to these beautiful words from first John chapter 1 verse nine if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Our God is a merciful God and praise our God we have a hiding place. We have a rock that will cover us from the wrath of God. One who absorbs God's wrath against our sin in our place.

That one is Jesus Christ. He is the rock of ages, cleft for us. Let's stand and sing together to know and all will will will will know the problems with you today truly think you would take first Samuel chapter 25.

Looking at verses 35 to 42.

Then David received from her hand. What she had Browning and he said to her, go up and peace to your house. See I have a major voice and I granted your petition and Abigail came tonight ball and, behold, he was holding up feast in his house like the feast of the king and eyeballs heart was Mary, with a name for he was very drunk so she told me nothing at all until the morning light in the morning when the wind had gone out of Naipaul's wife told him these things in his heart, died within him. He became as a stone about 10 days later the Lord struck Naipaul and he died when David heard that Naipaul was dead. He said, Blessed be the Lord who is avenge the insult I received at the hands of Naipaul and his Back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord's return. The evil of Naipaul on his own head David Sinton spoke to Abigail to take her is his wife with the service of David came to Abigail at Carmel. They said to her. David is sent us to you to take you to him as his wife and she rose and bad with her face to the ground and said, behold, your handmade is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord, and Abigail hurried and Rosen mounted a donkey and five young women attended her. She followed the messages of David and became his wife (heavenly father 2000 years ago.

The apostle Paul said whatsoever a man so what, that shall he also reap which side of the flesh, we write to the flesh which side of the spirit we write to the spirit this passage that we are dealing with today we see a man Naipaul who lived his life as if there were no God. He lived every moment to please the flesh we understand what will happen to him in eternity, but in this passage we see judgment upon him in this life. A passage like this reminds us that you are holy, that you hate sand so desperately that you cannot let it go unpunished. As I worked on the sermon this week is reminded of how often I've been like Naipaul pushed God's word to the back of my mind I should have to pay for messy and light in a ball didn't steal Leo's but I've experienced glorious undeserved free amazing grace 49 years ago, the Lord, open my eyes revealed my heart that I was a sinner deserving judgment nail hail lighter and my only hope out of it was the shed blood of Christ. That day Jesus became our Lord and Savior that day, Jesus took messy and he gave me his righteousness, he took my Helen gave me his heaven.

Most of the people here today have also experienced that grace as I preached today, help me to remember that without that grace we are nothing but Naipaul's is in Jesus name I pray, amen may be seated. I want you to think back of your Christian life or just a moment if you will, and I want you to focusing on on some very special sermons that you have heard in your life may be read the sermon or maybe you heard them on CD or maybe you heard that sermon in person.

Or maybe it was on the radio or on television, but whatever it was a sermon that just moved you powerfully that stopped you in your tracks that suit you in a completely different direction. I want to share a few of the sermons that the Lord is used in my life.

I think one of the most read sermons outside of the sermons of Jesus is a sermon that was preached by Jonathan Edwards call centers in the hands of an angry God. It was it was published and it's been around for a long time for the first time I read it I was in the 11th grade read it from an English literature book, of all places and it was a public school and I can remember it being horribly convicting. It was a sermon about hail when Jonathan Edwards preached a priest from a manuscript and it was said by the people and listen to him that he read his manuscript word for word sometime didn't even look at the congregation. It was a sermon that was so graphic, so powerful that every time he preached it almost was a harvest of souls read one of Edward's biographies and in this biography it said that he was preaching in a neighboring church and he preached this message centers the hands of an angry God and that during the right in the middle of that of that sermon. There were men that got up and grabbed onto the pillars of the church and pray that God would not let them die until I could get saved. Another sermon that Millie's name was a sermon that Charles Spurgeon preached and appreciate during a time called the downgrade era was a time in England's history where the church was becoming more and more liberal and pastors were doubting and denying the inerrancy of Scripture services. Spurgeon preached this message to deal with that problem. It was a powerful message on the Bible. I don't know the name of it but it was a message that showed us the absolute reliability infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. Another sermon that got to my heart was a sermon that was preached by DL Moody, F.

Reading a book called walking with the Jospeh Warren weirs the sermon, what think ye of Christ.

I remember reading that sermon with tears of joy, just flowing down my cheeks, right after my conversion chips along the got it led me to Christ brought a record player down to our house and it is a record player and he brought a record of that big vinyl record had a sermon on the sermon by RG Lee pastor Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis Tennessee and it was a very powerful message call payday.

Someday, it was a message on the certainty of judgment from first Kings chapter 21. It was a message talk about the judgment of King Ahab and of his wicked wife wicked wife Jezebel.

It was a riveting, heartrending, Spirit empowered message.

The four of us that they are around that record player. Listening to that absolutely enthralled with what RG Lee was was sharing a remember that sermon like it was yesterday. RG leaves God is gone on to heaven nail that everybody that is ever heard of RG Lydia knows much about the will tell you about the power of that sermon payday. Someday he preached in revivals and churches all over America. We share with your funny story, RG Lee and his wife left Memphis Tennessee to go down to New Orleans Louisiana to be part of the Southern Baptist convention and as they were going down there they were leaving on Sunday morning. They got down into into New Orleans and they want to go to church and so they went to a little country Baptist Church Way out and in southern Louisiana they got there little bit lights like Amy and I set down the back road. The preacher stood up and he said in my text today is first Kings chapter 21 and he read the text and then he preached RG Lee sermon word for word.

I mean he can't totally memorize the entire sermon and RG Lee sat there and he got mad and his face got red and he would say it finally turned renters wife said as plagiarism. He stole my sermon preached in my message that's not right and he grabbed his wife and tried to pull her up and she pulled him back down. She said you sit down. She said I listen to the sermon hundreds of times and now your you listen to it and said besides that he's preaching it better than you do. The message of that great sermon was this, we don't get away with sin numbers chapter 32 verse 23 says, be sure this your sin will find you out as we get into the second part of first Samuel 25 today with this. This message comes to the forefront payday. Someday nephew remember from last week's message we're looking at the wealthy landowner whose name was Naipaul name following this huge parcel of land in the area of Carmel and David and his men had gone very close to that land, and were now asking permission to go on to the land and to use their creeks for washing up to get Springwater for their canteens and they need some some food, some apples from the and fixing their trees and so is mandated to me and went to Naipaul and asked permission to do this and they ball acted horribly mock, David.

He cursed David and he told the man if you don't tell David to get off my property, then I will do him bodily harm if it had not been for the wise and godly counsel of Abigail Nebo would have died because David had plans to killing and was out to do just that. When I like to do today is to look at this story to the light of one verse Proverbs chapter 11 verse 31 behold the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth, much more the wicked and the sooner, not to verse 35. In this chapter we see a situation where the wicked were triumphing in the righteous were oppressed Naipaul and slander David cursed David. He had plans to do harm to David God's anointed and it looked like he got away with it.

It looked like he was just scot-free look like nothing was going to happen.

The Naipaul that he had sinned and gotten away with it. I want you to know that is not the truth that we all believe that there is a future day of the of retribution when God will reward the righteous.

And God will punish the wicked.

We know that the Scripture teaches that when the unbeliever, the wicked dies they immediately go to hell at death and the day is coming when there will be a final judgment that will be called to stand before Christ and then they asked wicked unbelievers will be cast into a burning like a fire, but what about here on earth we share verse with you. First Timothy chapter 5 verse 24. Paul said some incense are open beforehand going before to judgment and some men they fall after it's very true that nothing gets by God's and all accounts are going to be dealt with in eternity, but it does seem that some people get away with much more here on this earth than others do. And you know people and I know people who live terribly sinful lives and we have never seen the judgment of God come up in the on this earth. So I think that Proverbs chapter 11 verse 31 is a general principle, but sometimes there are exceptions to general principles and what is that verse seven we read it again. The whole the righteous shall be recompensed in this earth, much more the wicked and the center of all the many Proverbs that King Solomon wrote of this is the only one that is prefaced by the word behold, the word behold is an attention getter is kind like Jesus in the New Testament we said, verily, verily, that was to wake you up. That was to make you listen, that was to say something very important is getting ready to be said and in the Old Testament the word behold is used in the same way he saying, behold, and what is the message. There is a payday. Someday always in eternity, yet often in this earth number of modern-day's scholars object to this idea may say this idea makes it makes godly, it makes God look like he's trying to get even. It makes them look petty, which you know that God is not petty. God is holy God is perfectly holy and we are by nature sinners because we are, we sometimes think that God will just turn his eyes away from our sin and just totally ignore it. Let me tell you something that's not gonna happen. All sin will have to be punished.

Our God is so holy that he send his own son to go to the cross in order that he might take our punishment for us in order that he might die on that horrible cross that we might live.

And so what we do as Christians, we revel in the grace of God. We revel in that grace because it's free grace to us, but too often we forget how wonderfully glorious that Gracie is.

We forget because that grace is free to us. We forget that he calls Jesus is very life and oftentimes God pours his judgment out, not just in eternity and hail, but also on this earth and RG Lee sermon payday.

Someday we see that personified in Jezebel Jezebel wickedly brought bail is not false religion into Israel and she tried to push it down the throat of the people of God, and she took the man Naboth the vineyard wanted that vineyard, and he would give it to work. So she went out and she said I'm going to do something I'm going to get false witnesses and bring them in here and lie about Naboth and they did and then she had them put to death and then took his vineyard and gave it to her husband folks she can get away with that. For God sent jq and Jay. You came took her saw her up in the window of a tall building and got the people there to throw her out.

She landed face down on the ground and in the Scripture says that the dogs ate her flesh people. There is a payday. Someday I four point someone to share with you .1 the paralysis of sin. Look at verse 36 with me, and Abigail came to Naipaul and, behold, he was holding a feast in his house like a feast of the king and Naboth's heart was Mary, with thinning pre-was very drunk so she told him nothing at all until the morning light after Naipaul ran his mouth to David's million and threatened David.

Then he just totally forgot about the horrible thing that he did.

He went out through this big party brought everybody in and got drunk as a skunk.

So Abigail finding she she didn't even telling that David had mercy on him and spared his life because she knew at this point in time that he wouldn't understand it. He would even get it. He wouldn't see how deeply he needed that mercy. What a picture of our world today. The curse of God's of God's broken law is hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles.

Yet the world is blind to that sword. The pleasures of sin for a season have paralyzed our world were so intoxicated with pleasure that we don't think about God's judgment and we don't really even say that we need God's mercy is watching some of the hearings this week where they were examining asking questions of Amy Tony Barrett and I'll watch some of those smug politicians who were asking questions that essentially were saying this.

What if we nominate you and and and and vote for you to become the Supreme Court justice and and what if you tell us that we can no longer kill our babies in the womb. What a horrible thing that would be one if you as a as a Christian, what would would say to us that it is wrong before God to have a homosexual marriage. I thought to myself this poor deluded people have no idea of the sort of God that is hanging over their head folks we need to understand that they are mocking God's law. They are mocking the people we believe God's law and trying desperately to bring hurt and into the life of Amy Comey Barrett thinks we need to say there is a payday. Someday, it is something that Naipaul would not get David a drop of water would not let you have a bite of Apple they would not give him a plate of food and he didn't even want David on his land is all this time when you doing all that hard to David.

He throws a big party for all of his drinking buddies brings them all lien and says let's just party and spends money just had over a foot.

I'm amazed at how we can spend thousands of dollars on own cars and houses and toys and then get offended when were challenged to give the missions is that not what sin does to us. It blinds us.

It makes us major on the temporary and minor on the eternal only give you an illustration I was a little boy I went to James's food store low food store in our community and we went with a friend of mine and we went there for the specific purpose of buying baseball cards and so we got there and my friend took 20 pennies put them up on the counter Mr. James the gathered in the store looked at those at those panties and he saw that there were very old pennies and he says of this young boy, my friend.

He said what you get these panties he said I got for my dance coin collection and Annie said oh no, no, you don't want to use those for baseball card fees at all. Not I want to bomb and and I want to buy right now. I need those cards and so he took the pennies later on Mr. James knew the family call the man is not his daddy, and he told could you stop by the store after working. The man did and I said so the man when he walked in and said you got two dimes and he said yes give me those two times that he did negating the 20 pennies.

The man looked at those panties and he said what is this and he said those are pennies that came out of your coin collection and said your son came in. Aaron Hughes is 20 pennies to buy a few baseball cards and the cost is quite each of these pennies here in my hand, are worth about $250. That young boy could have cared less about how much that meant how much the those coins were worth all he cared about was getting his temporary needs met.

You know that's how the flesh deals with eternal things but sometimes we can be just like Naipaul. We can sell herself out to get our fleshly needs met and never consider the eternal consequences. There is a peril of the paralysis of sin .2 is leaving vengeance to God.

Look at verse 3031.

Abigail said when the Lord is done to my Lord, according to all the good that he is spoken concerning you and is appointed you Prince over Israel, my Lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience, braving shed blood without calls or for my Lord working salvation himself, and when the Lord is dealt well with my Lord. And remember, your servant, no leaving vengeance to God was not something that was out of the norm for David for several years now.

David is been chased by King Saul is King Saul's been trying to putting to death, King Saul through a spirit David trying to killing. David refused to take revenge. King Saul tried to turn his son Jonathan and his daughter Michael David's wife against David and David refused to try to to get revenge on own King Saul king Saul put out a bounty on David's life.

David refused to take vengeance. King Saul what was up, and in Getty chasing David all through the mountains trying to killing King Saul went into the cave where David was when he went to sleep. David cut off the hem of his garment didn't hurt King Saul. Just cut off the symbol of his authority and refused to take vengeance on Saul, but now it's a different story. This arrogant big mouth hotshot Naipaul runs his mouth against David and David just takes all that he knows all the principles of God's word just pushes them to the back burner of his mind, a schism in the killing and he sets out to do just that. Why didn't he killing he didn't killing because Abigail this godly wife of Naipaul calmed him down with the principles of God's word.

Verse 26 he said this she said this, I've come to restrain you from blood guilt by convincing you not to take vengeance into your own hands. In verses 31 and 32, she adds this, and you will be glad that you didn't want to share with you some of the wisdom that Richard Phillips shared here is likewise David's response shows that the best decision is always the one that yields to holy Scripture. People do not always take biblical reproof of the blessing that it is, but David knew how much courage and discernment it took for Abigail to act as she did. She had better save lives and kept him from a tragic sin, that of avenging himself with his own hand. David realize what John Murray would later summarize the essence of ungodliness is that we presume to take the place of God to take everything into our own hands in his face to commit ourselves to God to cast all our care on him and avast all our interest in him. David's responsive heart to biblical correction was one of the chief factors account for his greatness as a man of God. Such humility before God's word is a recurrent feature among the exemplary figures of the Bible .3 is a certainty of judgment.

Look at verse 37 to 38 in the morning when the wind gone out of Naipaul's wife tolling these things in his heart died with thinning and he became as a stone about 10 days later the Lord struck in a ball and he died. Naipaul woke up the next morning probably still got a hangover.

Abigail came to talk to.

She didn't fuss adding she didn't even rebuking she just simply laid out the truth, negating the facts.

She said husband listen to me listen to me. You don't even realize this but your ugly attitude and your harsh terrible words almost cost you your life and your man's lives is whale. David was madder than a wet heart wanted Pete March 400 million and were handed to get you to put you in your man to death, and it would've happened, but I brought a bright great feast out and I fed them this this wonderful food and that I shared with David the word of God and I shared with David the word of God in such a way that David David roof changed his mind and repented and decided not to kill you said you could have very easily died and you would have if I hadn't stepped in and and been your Savior.

What happened to what happened in a ball. Naipaul heard these words, Scripture says that his heart died with thinning and he became like stone. Very interesting verse in Proverbs chapter 29 verse one says that he that be and often reproof hardens his neck, shall suddenly be cut off, and that without remedy the words of Abigail struck fear in enables heart for years and they've all had been living his life as if he could just do whatever he wanted to do and they would never be any consequences that Sally Leah for a long long time and all of a sudden it's like God takes the blinders off and is like a neon sign this to shine in his eyes flickering back and forth, back and forth payday Sunday payday Sunday payday Sunday, several years after this was a pagan king named Bill Shatzer was a king over Babylon, he threw a party much like Naipaul had all his drunken buddies were withing kind of an orgy is a horrible, terrible thing and not only that, but they were drinking liquor and strong drink out of the holy vessels that had been stolen out of the temple of God in Jerusalem. They were making a mockery of God by doing this, and all of a sudden, as they were sitting there drinking and and just partying a message came across the wall hand showed up out of nowhere and wrote a message meaning meaning TECO you Farson had no idea what that was. They brought Daniel into interpret and Daniel said that means you been fat late even weighed in the balances and failed warning in this day you will die. The Scripture describes Bill Shatzer's reaction this way is all the color drained out of his face's hands begin to shake his knees began to knock together. Scripture says that all of his bones. When a joint that's exactly what's happening tonight. All right here. In other words, when he came face-to-face with God, he fell apart about 10 days he was in a senseless stupor, like a comatose state and that is on the 10th day God smoking and he died. You know might be wrong but I bitten a ball.

It said himself a thousand times during his life. I know this is wrong and I feel guilty about this and I should repent left out wild oats to so I got a lot of living that I wanted to. I got a lot of stuff that I want to enjoy so I'll wait and then when I'm getting ready to die right before I die, I repent of my sins and everything will be fine. You know people like that you know people who live like that. They think that they can live their life out anyway they want to live it and then right before they die. To make things right with Christ. I shall do it like the thief on the cross did it the thief on the cross with a horrible life doing everything you wanted. Then finally when he was dying on the cross he cried out to Jesus and Jesus safety books. I would encourage you not to go that route, I would encourage you not to think that that's the way it usually happens that was an exception of very grace oriented glorious exception. But what I found. That is this that most of the time people die the same way they live, playing games with God, which we need to be careful they are live in like 90 ball was and and so often a person that does that will die a quick fatality with he'll get a disease that thrown in the hospital.

The put them on some kind of stupefying drug and they'll be totally incoherent out of their mind and over a period of time the health goes down and they die, that in coherency has said this is what James is talking about.

James said this was not the self of tomorrow, for thou knowest not. What a day shall bring forth by my fourth point is there is a reward for righteousness. When David heard that Naipaul was dead. He said, Blessed be the Lord who is avenge the insult I received at the hands of Naipaul and his Back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Naipaul on his own head. Then David Sinton spoke to Abigail to take her as his wife. When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel. They said to her. David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife and she rose and bound with her face to the ground and said, behold, your handmade is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord, and Abigail hurried and Rosen Mama donkey and her five young women attended her. She followed the message, are messengers of David and became his wife why God allow this incident to take place in the life of David, I think, four main reasons. Number one he did it to purify David's heart. Number two.

He did it to teach David patients number three did it to help David prepare to be the king of Israel, and number four. He did it to bless Abigail here was a lady was in a bad situation. Many of the marriages that they were pre-arranged marriages and I have to believe that her dad saw this situation were Naipaul was such a wealthy man and he said this will take care of my daughter and this will be a great thing she will not have to worry about money and everything will be great, and so that marriage took place and it was an absolute mess. She found out he found that her dad, that money does not buy happiness. It was a mess because she married a fool.

She married a man that could care less about spiritual things.

She married a man that kept embarrassing her over and over again. She married a man that would just hinder her in her spiritual growth. So what should she have done. Should she have divorced this man know God says don't do that. God says if your unbelieving spouse will stay with you then stay with them and live a godly life out before them and see what happens. About 42 years ago I was counseling with a couple in the first church that I pastored and the young man was drinking and drugging party and had no use for the things of God, his wife and trusted the Lord just a couple of years before this and she was making great strides in her spiritual life.

She was walking with the Lord and she would look around and she would see these other couples in the church that were on the same page. Spiritually, that were equally yoked and she was just so jealous. That's what she wanted for her so much and she had friends that say they were saying her what you just didn't seem just ditching and start over again. She wouldn't do that, she kept praying for him. She Leavening.

She can't live in a godly life performing no happen. God brought that man under great conviction and he ended up trusting Christ as his Lord and Savior. That man and that woman the day that's been 42 years ago have a marriage that is is just absolutely glorious.

In this situation the Lord did not save Naipaul. He took his life and when David heard that his life had been taken. He went to Abigail and propose to her and ask her to be his wife Abigail's beautiful and beautiful duty physical beauty attracts me undone. It but it was not just the physical beauty that attracted David was much more than that. It was a spiritual beauty. It was the love of God that she had in her heart that drew David to her and that spiritual oneness brought them together and unbelievably great union wives. I know that many of you are in a situation that might be very similar to that.

Maybe you're in a situation when you got a husband who is humanly speaking, a good man is not a spiritual man.

Or maybe you got a man who loves you, but he just doesn't love God. Or maybe you got a situation where you got a Naipaul just an out and out fool what you do. I think you do like Abigail did you serve the Lord with all your heart mind soul and strength.

You become a good example to your husband. You live out a life that will bring conviction into his heart and then you leave the results to God. In this situation, God did something that Abigail would not have thought of in a million years and that might happen to you. You know the Lord may save your husband, or the Lord may do something that you never believe in a million years could happen, but in this situation.

Naipaul died God gotten a ball out of the way and brought her into relationship with David is one of the godliness kings that Israel ever had folks God honored her obedience, God honored her obedience and we need to remember that there is a pay day someday, or is, as Paul Toles whatsoever man.

So with that shall he also reap spray heavenly father. What a story we are dealing with today. What a gracious thing you did for your servant David. He was getting ready to send previously against you. He was getting ready to kill a man because he was so angry with team yet in your great mercy he sent a messenger you sent eyeballs wife, a beautiful lady that not only got David's attention, but shook David's soul used Abigail to wake David up spiritually used Abigail the poor in a David's heart.

The fear of God.

David repented of his evil intentions and he rewarded him by taking out his enemy, and David did not lift a finger.

Then you gave David a wife, Abigail, I can't help but to believe that this godly woman was used over and over again to keep David on the right path with you and the obedient Abigail was given a husband who loves God, like she did help us father to learn that following you is our only hope for true joy. Forgive us when we fail and bring people into our lives like Abigail who will turn our eyes to Jesus. What is the precious and holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. The doctrine of divine retribution is frightening and sobering.

There's another doctor. We dare not forget, that is the doctrine of grace. Paul says that where our sin abounds. Grace super abounds.

Grace one ups our sin for all those who are in Christ was to think about that as we conclude our time of worship this morning. My brother-in-law introduced me to a very simple and yet very profound him earlier this week I will share with you if you would stand as we learned this new expression of worship together.

Jesus strong and kind. Let's think about the grace that is to be had in Christ for all sayings is, will the name. Thank you, worshiping with us today. Let me encourage you to be met with us tonight. Stop preaching in first John back last March and so were starting again right where we left off. I felt very good about this because John Calvin years ago was run out of Geneva, persecuted had to leave Geneva, where he was the, the preacher, they are in Geneva had to leave they are and was gone for three years. Finally, things, lit up a little bit like rolling back into Geneva and he said when we stopped last time we ended up at the end of chapter 21 he said now turn to chapter 22 and went right on S will be doing the night. First John stop back in March and and and first John 51. Start with first John five tonight and first John is a glorious, glorious book when we were having our session meeting this past Wednesday night.

J Crestor shared a scripture with us that just blessed my heart is as we dealt with it and scripture that speak specifically to the day that were living in right now and he said this says this for the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand upon me and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, do not call conspiracy all this people call conspiracy and do not fear what they fear nor be in dread. But the Lord of host cam usual honor as holy, let him be your fear, let him be your dread and he will be to you a sanctuary and all God's people sin