“Dave and John”

Pastor David Moore

New Testament reading: Romans 6:1‐14 (NRSV) 

What then are we to say?  Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase?  By no means!   How can we who died to sin go on living in it?  Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. 

For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.  We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin.  For whoever has died is freed from sin.  But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.  We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.  The death He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God.  So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies, so that you obey their desires.  No longer present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness.  For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 

Last week the message was about perspective David’s perspective was that God can do anything even help a boy defeat Goliath. 

Old Testament reading: 1 Samuel 17:51‐18:9 (NIV) 

David ran and stood over him (Goliath).  He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard.  After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.  When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.  Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron.  Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.  When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.  David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.   

As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “Assurely as you live, O king, I don’t know.”   The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”   

As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head.   

“Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him.   

David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”   

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.  From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house.   And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.  Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. 

Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army.   This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well.   

When the men were returning home after David killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes.  As they danced, they sang, “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands.”  

Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him.  “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands.  What more can he get but the kingdom?”  And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. 

This week we will look at a different perspective of the event of killing Goliath.   

The crowd is hero‐worshiping David, which creates issues between David and Saul.  This misunderstanding misappropriates where the glory is.  (Saul and the people give the glory to a man [David] and not to God.)  ~D. Moore 

The people missed the fact: because of God, David is successful in defending Israel.  We forget that it is God who moves and acts.  ~D. Moore 

Those who leave everything in God’s hands will eventually see God’s hand in everything.    

The hero worship at some point well let us down.  Hero worship doesn’t work unless the hero is God.   The paradox is we worship heroes because our lives are inconsequential, and the worship makes us feel even worse.  ~D. Moore 

Saul’s perspective is he is hating the hero (David).  From a general sense the masses worship a hero and the educated tend to hate heroes.  ~D. Moore 

Hero worship has infiltrated our society in the form of stories like Cinderella where the prince saves Cinderella.  Or the reverse Beauty and the Beast the woman saves the man.  These stories point to the fact that we need a savior. 

So what happens when these stories, of leaders, spouses, children leave us wanting?  ~D. Moore 

The relationship of Jonathan and David demonstrates how a Crown Prince (Jonathan) gives it all up to David.  David’s humility and vision changes Jonathan, Jonathan says you deserve to be king (David) you are a better man than I. Jonathan was not worshiping or hating the hero, Jonathan caught the vision of the hero (David).  That vision of David was the vision of God.  In the Bible and in our lives the only heroes are Jesus and God.  ~D. Moore 

Hebrews 12:2:  Looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Psalm 40:1:  I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. 

The word archegos means hero, the one stands in our place.  David in Israel was (archegos) standing in place for Israel.   His accomplishment was Israel’s accomplishment, pointing to Jesus overcoming death for us (standing in our place). 

We need a perspective of life centered on Jesus.  We need to realize all other heroes in this life all point to Jesus, whether they intended to or not.