Please stand as we recite The Shema and read the Word of the Lord together.
The Shema
Hear O Israel!
The Lord is our God – the Lord Alone.
Love the Lord your God
With all your heart,
With all your soul,
And with all your might,
And love your neighbor as yourself. Amen.

This morning’s reading is 1 Samuel, Chapter 29.

1 SAMUEL 29
Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish. Then the commanders of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?" But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Make the man go back, that he may return to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these men? "Is this not David, of whom they sing in the dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?" Then Achish called David and said to him, "As the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords. Now therefore return, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines." And David said to Achish, "But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day when I came before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?" But Achish answered and said to David, "I know that you are pleasing in my sight, like an angel of God; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us to the battle.' "Now then arise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have arisen early in the morning and have light, depart." So David arose early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. 
Thus reads God’s Word. Thank You, Lord! Please be seated.

1 Sam 29:6, Then Achish called David and said to him, "As the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords. 
	We are brought this morning to a terrible situation that was set before David and his fellow Israelites. The gathered forces of the Philistines were preparing to go to war against Saul and the army of Israel. Achish, the king of the Philistines under whose banner David and his band of men had received respite from the deadly pursuit of the enraged hatred of Saul, were set to join in the fight against Israel. David, as one committed to this Philistine sovereign was apparently brought to that place where he and his men would have to spill the blood of their brother Hebrews in the fight that was not their own. They had the honor of their word unto the one who had offered them sanctuary, and their blood relationship as Israelites that put them at odds within the course of what they should do.
	Another aspect that was at the heart of this horrible state of affairs was the fact that David was the anointed soon to be king of Israel. While he currently was person non-gratis within the borders of his country, his heart was still unto the Lord. He held the dedication for that which was his ordained destiny. David was to be the next king. The majority of Israelites understood this.
	However, if he and his men engaged in a fight against Israel under the banner of the Philistines, that treasonous act would be something of such bitterness and strife that the whole of his anticipated kingship could be forfeit. The Hebrew people would, in all likelihood, refuse to be led by one who had fought alongside their bitterest of enemies and thus shed Hebrew blood acting as a weapon of war for the Philistines. There would have been tremendous pressure and much animosity against the kingship of such a one. 
	Thus we have another one of those times when the power of this age tried to derail that which God was doing. This was not just a unplanned thing that took place. This was a calculated and deliberate attempt to cause the plan of God and His salvation through the lineage of David to be shattered before it even had a chance to be established. This was no minor thing in place as David was prepared to enter this conflict with such impossibly devastating results.
	However, the fact of the entire matter was held, not by the heart of David to walk away from the fight, but by the very lords of the Philistines. These were the sworn and bitter enemies of the Children of Israel. They were the very tools of the enemy in its anger and hatred and extreme cruelty against the people of God.
	In a means that was absolutely exceedingly astute by the Hand of Jehovah, Himself, this vile and vicious scheme of the power of this age was frustrated and derailed by its very forces of darkness. Rather than realizing what was at stake in this whole process, it was the very decision of the tools of wickedness and evil that made sure that the kingship of David would be saved and secure from what would have been the means of its destruction. Those lords of the Philistines, operating in utmost fear and anxiety, forced Achish to send David and his men away, and thus not be part of this upcoming battle. 
	As King Achish told David in verse 7 of this morning’s reading, Now therefore return, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines." The entire matter of the ongoing purpose of God’s eternal plan was thus kept intact, not by the work of mankind, but by the overruling power and authority of The Lord God Almighty. The plans made against God by the power of this age were thusly utterly frustrated by God through the fears of the very forces so set on the destruction of what The Lord had ordained. Thus always is the manner and the means of any power who would try to deal a deathblow to the work and the will and the way of God. His purposes will always come into complete fruition. God will always prevail in every measure as He works, even through the distress and the anxiety and the fears of the forces arrayed against Him.
	The other aspect that we need to consider this morning is the testimony that David apparently was to this King Achish. When he dismissed David from carrying out his faithful service because the lords of the Philistines were not happy about the entire situation, Achish made that following, most telling statement, … As the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. 
	David had proven himself in the eyes of this king to the point that Achish acknowledged that the God of David indeed lived. Notice that this was a Philistine king who was not of the people of Jehovah. Yet, the fact remained that he made the statement that proclaimed that David’s Lord lived. He swore by the name of David’s God as the living God because David had so presented this truth through the manner in which he had dealt even with this non-Hebrew king.
	This brings to mind the Word of The Lord that we have for us in Deut 10:16-21, where The Lord made known how His people were to treat and deal with others, including those who did not have the Jewish heritage of being the chosen people of God. The way in which the Hebrews were to present the truth of The Living Lord God Almighty was to be evidenced in the manner of their faithfully honoring Him in the course of their walk on this earth.
	Deut 10:16-21, Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. 
	The way in which the people of God deal with those whom He brings into our lives evidences to Whom we belong. It also shows the difference in the manner in which we do walk on this earth to the honor of His Name. We spent a number of weeks in consideration of how the Name of God is falsely and utterly blasphemed by usage that shows other than Who He is in all His Holiness and Honor and Praise and Glory. 
Here, in this passage, and in the example that David presented to others, we see the use of the Name of God in the manner which brings God the honor and the praise and the recognition that He, Alone is due. Even Achish, a pagan in the sense of the fact that he was a Philistine lord himself, was shown the nature and essence of The True Lord God Almighty through the manner in which David lived the life that God gave him to live. 
	David did not compromise the fact that he belonged to Jehovah. He did not adopt the ways and the religion and the theology of the Philistines, with whom he was living for that extended period of time. He kept true to his witness of Jehovah to the point that even Achish had to make a declaration that was not easy for one who was opposed to the peoples of God. 
As an Israelite, David was one of those who were at utter odds with everything that Achish believed in and practiced as a Philistine. This is a tremendous statement of what kind of testimony David and his men set before these people with whom they sought refuge from the persecution of King Saul. 
	David’s life continually gave evidence to the fact that he looked to and counted on Jehovah in the manner in which he dealt with all the issues of life. He may not have understood exactly how critical it was that he not lift up his sword in battle against his fellow Hebrews, but God did. There was that Hand of God’s Grace and Mercy and Faithfulness that was evidenced even when David might not have been looking for it. Throughout the course of David’s life, God proved Himself always true to the testimony that would be perfectly presented through the lineage of David as eventually fulfilled gloriously in Jesus, The Only Begotten Son of God. 
	David would witness of this unceasing faithfulness of God as detailed in the psalms that he wrote. As but one example, please turn to Ps 121 and we will read the entire Psalm together. 
Ps 121, I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever. 
	The Prophet Isaiah would carry this forward so wonderfully throughout the course of his writings and acknowledgements of Who God was and all that God did and would do. Isa 65:16-19 details this splendidly for us as God declared His good work through His prophet of old.
Isa 65:16-19, "Because he who is blessed in the earth Shall be blessed by the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight! "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. "But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing, And her people for gladness. "I will also rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. 
	Another one of God’s prophets to bring to light the mighty and wonderful working power of God in which His people could always express the majesty of the Name of the Lord was the Prophet Jeremiah. Consider what we read about the work of God on behalf of those who count on Him to prove Himself over and over again. 
Please turn to Jer 12:14-16. This testimony of God will not be just for the Jews, but for those who watch and live in the midst of all that God does on behalf of His people.
Jer 12:14-16, Thus says the Lord concerning all My wicked neighbors who strike at the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel, "Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them. "And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. "Then it will come about that if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, 'As the Lord lives,' even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of My people. 
	Our Lord Jesus Christ, in Matt 5:16, brings this effective witness of the people of God to the forefront. The people of The Lord include all those who now belong to Jehovah through the perfect work that The Only Begotten Son of God accomplished by His death and resurrection. It is the power of the Holy Spirit which brings to the forefront a very simple, yet challenging and incredibly all-encompassing command. This means you and me and everyone who knows that our life is in Jesus Christ, now and evermore. 
Matt 5:16, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 
	It is not just among other Christians that our lives are to be the effective witness of the love of God in action. It is with everyone and anyone whom God brings into our lives on this earth. 
	It is family members, friends, associates at work, at school, the local grocery clerk, the mailman, our neighbors, those we meet when we travel, those we meet when we are seeking medical attention, and on and on. There is no end to the effective ministry of the value that we place on Our Lord God Almighty and the living relationship that we have with Him. It is all in order that every one in our spheres of influence see and recognize that our lives are lived in the manner that will bring Him all the glory and honor and praise.
	The Apostle Peter, in several passages, reiterates this declaration of the course of our lives that are lived before all mankind. This is to show that there is no other means of bringing  forth the splendor and the majesty of the One Who is our every source of effectively walking on this earth. 
There are so very many who really have no clue what the entire reason of the life that God has created entails. They have an existence, but they have no life. Their hope and their purpose is built on the lie that everything evolves around the selfishness and self-centeredness of what we can get, rather than unto Whom we can give ourselves. 
	Initially consider 1 Peter 2:12. Herein is the encouragement that despite everything and anything that this world might call forth as witness against us, if we are consistently living our lives unto the glory of God, as did David before Achish, God will be honored even by those who may not directly know Him.
1 Peter 2:12, Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. 
	And finally, in 1 Peter 3:13-17, we have the entire course of our walk on this earth laid before us in terms of how we so honor God before the powers and the inhabitants of this age. It is as we present to the entire world the truth of in Whom we have our hope and by Whom we willingly choose to place our trust and utter obedience. This is despite all the attractions as well as the distractions, the trials, the tribulations, and the torments of this age. No matter how this age tries to dissuade us, we hold true to the Lord. That witness presents irrefutable evidence to the glory of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
1 Peter 3:13-17, And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. So be it and amen.

 

This morning’s benediction is 1 Peter 2:12. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. Amen.