1 Sam 18:30, Then the commanders of the Philistines went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed. 
	We have been dealing for several weeks with this passage in terms of the difference that is in place with those who esteem the Lord and the manner in which the Lord manifests His blessing upon such beloved ones. This is in deference to the way in which those who do not esteem the Lord are very minimally recipients of His blessings. There is a tremendous difference in the manner and the outcome of the life that is lived with all regard and valuation for the Lord and that life that is lived unto oneself. 
	As is stated again in the passage of our text …David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed. That difference, even on the battlefield against those commanders of the Philistines, displayed how the Lord was blessing the proper conduct and heart of the man who was showing, through his actions, how much he cherished and honored and valued the Lord God Almighty. 
	We traced this throughout portions of the Old Testament. This morning we will conclude this discussion with the encouragement unto righteousness that we find in the New Testament. Please turn to Luke 21:12-19, where the Lord Jesus, Himself, declared the manner in which our lives should be lived before even the governmental officials and judges of our day.
	Luke 21:12-19, "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. "It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. "So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. "But you will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all on account of My name. "Yet not a hair of your head will perish. "By your endurance you will gain your lives. 
	Notice several aspects to this life that we now have in Jesus Christ. The first is that we will be persecuted. We will face those trials and situations which test the metal of our life in Jesus Christ. We will be judged by the powers of this age because we stand firmly and absolutely and eternally on the Lordship of Jesus over every other dominion and power and governmental entity. We recognize Him, Alone, as our Supreme Sovereign!
	This does not mean, however, that we do whatever we want without regard to the laws and the statues of those governmental powers under whom we are sojourning on this earth. We render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s within the scope of giving honor to those who have charge over us. 
That is up to the point at which there is a conflict with what The Lord requires of us. When we are faced with those decisions between what is right before God and what is wrong, we always must choose what is right! We honor God and His Word and His direction over every other entity under which we operate.
	That is where much conflict will take place, as the powers of this age are in direct opposition to anything that will show forth the Sovereignty and the majesty and the glory of God. We will be brought before those powers and judges unto whom we must give an account of the manner of how we live our lives before God and before man. 
	The reason for this is stated by Our Lord in this passage. "It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. Accordingly, we are not to fear this. As directed by the Lord in the rest of this passage, we will receive the proper words as we solemnly and faithfully and willingly and fearlessly look to the Lord, through the Holy Spirit. This will be in line with the Word which we cherish and study and hold dear in our hearts, as we are given the words to speak at the correct time to speak them. We will not be disappointed by the Lord. He will prove Himself in our lives as He did in the life of David and so many other witnesses throughout the course of history. The key is that we are counting on Him, in communion with Him, esteeming Him, and cherishing our every opportunity to witness of Him unto those in our spheres of influence.
	That is the focal point to this entire passage and consideration. We are given those opportunities to minister, even through trial and tribulation, to those in our spheres of influence. Those who are in contact with us, no matter what the course of their stance, will be affected by the testimony that is Christ in us! It is not about us! It is about Him and the witness that our life is of Jesus Christ!
	Consider one of the great examples of this truth, that of the Apostle Paul. He was put on trial before magistrates, before kings, before Caesar himself. He was a witness of the truth of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ to religious leaders, to jailors, to other prisoners, to captains, to sailors, to guards, to countless other people who saw the difference that Christ makes in the life of one who is His very own.
	This Apostle was the living encouragement, as was David, and so many others, of the fact that our hearts after The Lord God Almighty will be the evidence of who Jesus is. Accordingly, the words that need to be spoken will be His as we spend the time with Him, in His Word. It is as we seek to know Him in the greater measure and deeper reality that the word spoken as the encouragement to all those who follow Him will take root in our mind and in our spirit and in the course of our dialogue. "So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
	Everything hinges, however, on the manner and the basis and the obedience unto righteousness which is the desire of our hearts. We are not talking about a human effort unto perfection. We are trying to hearten one another to love the Lord with all our hearts and all our minds and all our strength. Accordingly, our lives will reflect, naturally reflect the truth of where our every desire, our every longing, our every thought, and our every value is set. 
When it is on the Lord, He will prove Himself wondrously, miraculously, and awesomely supreme in our walk on this earth. No matter what the situation, dilemma, trial, or circumstance, He will show forth His majesty and His wisdom and His power in and through it all! It will all only prove the value and the direct influence that His has in our lives now and for all eternity! 
	That is why the Lord finished this tremendous encouragement to us as follows, "But you will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all on account of My name. "Yet not a hair of your head will perish. "By your endurance you will gain your lives.
	No matter what the course of our tribulation, no matter who is the accuser and the hater of our stance of righteousness in the Lord, God will see us through. We will be despised by this world because we are representatives of the One Whom this world hates and fears above all else, Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God.
Therefore, even though this world may put us to death, we will only be hastened to our eternal presence before Him and that is no threat! That is no curse! That is no punishment! That is the joy of knowing that we have served the course of the walk that God has ordained for us and that we were faithful unto the One in whom we have our every estimation of glory and praise and servitude.
	Consider what the Apostle Paul has to declare to us as the course of how we are to present Christ Jesus in the manner of the conduct of our lives on this earth. Please turn to Eph 5:15-21, and let us read this great admonition together. 
	Eph 5:15-21, Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. 
	There are three main aspects to this encouragement which need to become established as unshakable in our lives as the members of the Body of Jesus Christ, together on this earth. The first is that of the care with which we conduct ourselves during our sojourn at this present time. We are to be wise in the choices that we make because we make them with the prayer unto the Lord that He will guide our every step. Inherent in this is the desire that every step we take will be pleasing unto Him. 
As we stated at the beginning of this morning’s study, there is a great difference in place when we are living unto the Lord rather than unto ourselves. When troubles and issues and trials arise during our walk as unto the Lord, we do not panic, we are not overcome with fear and dread, and we are not thrown off our course. We know that all these things will arise. Rather than terror and dread, we are called to face them all in the power and the wisdom and the assurance that God has everything well in hand. 
Second, we look to Him as we are faced with the difficulties that this age sets upon us. As we do so it is with the peace that passes all understanding in our hearts. In the midst of the gravest challenges and trials, we are distinct to this age in the manner in which we face it with all calmness and quietness in our beings. 
No matter how violently we may be assaulted, we know that The Lord is in charge and that we are in His hands. No matter what the world may do to us, we are secure in the knowledge that our lives are already forfeit unto Him. We belong wholeheartedly to Him and whatever man may do to us, they will be facing the consequences of God’s judgment, not our own feeble retribution. 
As well, because we know this truth, we pray for those who persecute and abuse us. We ask the Lord, not for His wrathful justice to be meted out upon their heads, but for His grace and His mercy and His love and His forgiveness and His salvation to be poured out upon them. 
As we do so, there is that joy that wells up within us, individually and as His church on this earth. Our lives are absolutely characterized by those songs of worship and praise and adoration that have filled the prison cells as so many Christians throughout the centuries have sung to the glory of God in the midst of the most horrific abuse by this age.
The third aspect in this passage is that of thanksgiving unto the Lord in the midst of everything that comes our way. We honor Him with the satisfied witness that we know that all things work together for good to those are the called of God. Therefore, no matter what we face, we do so with that thankfulness to God that He so loves us that He is going to turn every pain, every anguish, every disappointment, every grief, every suffering, and every loss into that for which eternal gratitude will exude from our beings. 
He is the Lord. His people are cared for with the endless and boundless treasury of His Heavenly storehouse. Any loss on this earth, suffered for the sake of the praise and the worship and the adoration of Jehovah, will be manifestly and eternally covered over with all His loving kindness and faithfulness. He will prove Himself as the One Who meets every need, Who heals every wound, Who comforts every grief, and Who rules and overrules in every situation and circumstance. Our God reigns and rules and He is to be thanked for whatever He brings into our lives for the greater manifestation of His eternal Lordship in place within us.
We conclude this consideration of the past weeks with the encouragement of the Apostle Peter, who joins in the refrain that was established by Our Lord Jesus Christ. Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter 2:1-10, as we rejoice in the every means of being the ever more perfect witnesses of our expressed humbleness and gratitude for the work of God in our lives. 
1 Peter 2:1-10, Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: "Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed." This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, "The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone," and, "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
	When we deliberate on what it meant that Christ was rejected by the religious and social leaders of His day and yet He bore even their sins upon that cross of crucifixion in the great love of God to this world, we have to be completely astounded and humbled and filled with gratitude unto God. It was our sin, along with the sin of every one who has ever lived and ever will live, which nailed Jesus, the perfect man, the final sacrifice to the cross. 
Then, in the Supreme and Omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was raised from the dead and He received the glory which is His for all of eternity. He is the Lord Who sits on the throne of Heaven and earth. 
	Accordingly, as ones who have been chosen by God unto Himself, given the very faith by which we know, without any doubt or hesitation that Jesus Christ is the Very Begotten Son of God. He died our death and then raised us up in His Glorious Victory over sin and death forever! He is Our Savior and Our Lord! Therefore we bear witness, day in and day out of His Lordship, His Sovereign will.
This is manifested in those lives who cherish the living relationship that is now ours in Christ Jesus. We are the people of God. We are brought into the family of the most high Jehovah, Yahweh! Therefore our lives need to constantly and ceaselessly be more perfectly aligned to His will and His plan and His glory! 
	Let us show the world, through the way that Jesus is more and more completely expressed from us unto those in our lives, that we …are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light… 
We are to walk on this earth in the manner that expresses the fact that we value the honor and the glory and the praise and the will of God above all else. It should be seen in the way we live before man and before The Lord. So be it and Amen!

This morning’s benediction is Acts 20:32. "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Amen.