Days of David:
The Test of Success
1 Samuel 18:5-16
Englewood Baptist Church
Sunday morning, April 6,2008
On Sunday nights, we have been peering into the life of David, the man after God’s own heart who was called to lead the nation of Israel in their most glorious era of history.God had given his people clear instructions from the start. As recorded in the book of Exodus,
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Exodus 19:5-6
God promised to bless his people if only they obeyed him. But the people of Israel chose to rebel and they had never truly experienced God’s unrestricted favor. They never found contentment as the treasured possession of the Lord. But then here comes riding onto the scene,a hero, an unlikely hero. He was not a cowboy,but a shepherd boy named David, and almost single-handedly, God uses this young man to bring Israel to the top. David is a leader of leaders—the most likable, lovable, admirable character in the Old Testament in my opinion. He is one of the most beloved figures in all of the Bible. A few weeks ago, I told you why. I want to summarize my opening remarks…
Why do we love David so much? I think there are several reasons:
1.David kept a journal. We call that journal today “The Psalms.” A great portion of the Psalms were written by David and these lyrics and poems give us a window into his soul. It’s one thing to read about a person from a textbook; it’s quite another to read from his diary. Through the Psalms we get to read into David’s secret thoughts—his struggles, his anger, his love for God, his hatred toward idols, his thirst for intimacy. Through the Psalms, we get to know more of David than we do of Abraham, or Moses, or Elijah. He wrote down his thoughts, and now they are preserved.
2.David was a failure. We don’t like to admit it, but we feel encouraged by other peoples’ imperfections. David was called to be the king of Israel, but he was far from perfect. He went through a series of struggles, failures,and disappointments before he ever sat on the throne. He endured a lot of pain. You and I can identify with him because we have all faced the pain of disappointment.
3.David is a “Cinderella Story.” The NCAA tournament has been on television, and this is the first year in history that all four #1 seeds made it to the Final Four. Honestly, this has been a disappointing year from my vantage point…because there was no team like Arkansas State or Applachian State that knocked off a number one seed. There weren’t many upsets, and we love it when an underdog knocks off the top dog. We love an upset, a miracle, and David is truly a miracle in the making. He inspires us to believe that God just might be crazy enough to use little people like us in a miraculous way.
The last time we caught up with David, he had just gathered 5 smooth stones and pulled off the ultimate upset. Without the armor of Saul, he took Goliath down and redeemed the nation of Israel—putting them back on top. As we look at chapter 18 tonight, I want you to see the effects that success often has on people—it often brings great testing into our lives. From the moment that the stone flew from David’s sling, his life was never the same. Goliath hit the ground, and David became like the American Idol of Israel, a rock star, a 1st round draft pick, the Heisman trophy—whatever analogy you like, he was instantly famous. If there were magazines in that day, his face would have been plastered on every cover. And now a new chapter begins in his life. Watch what happens now.
Read 1 Samuel 18:5-16.
Before we dig into this chapter, let me show a verse that is pertinent to this discussion about success. Hidden deep in the wisdom literature of God, in the old proverbs, we read this:
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but man is tested by the praise he receives. Prov. 27:21
Criticism can crush a person. We all know that, but praise? What’s wrong with praise? I don’t know a single person that doesn’t appreciate a little applause once in a while. But the Bible says that man is tested by the praise he receives. It is like a hot furnace—it reveals what a person is really made of. The praise that made David humble only brought the dross to the top in Saul’s heart and revealed his pride and desire for glory.
Saul could not handle anybody else getting the credit. This is the height of human pride. I have heard about pastors in good churches who self-destruct because they could not handle other staff people growing in popularity. I have heard about families that were torn apart because one member could stomach the success of another. This pride starts as a little worm but it is like a parasite, it grows and it grows to the point that it takes control of a person’s life.
David was successful and that success could have ruined him early on. We are told that in chapter 16 that he had a fine appearance. If a man walks by a woman in the mall today, and she leans over to her friend and says, “He is fine.” That word fine means the same thing it meant 2500 years ago. It means that he is pleasing to the eye. He is handsome. God gave David good looks. Not only that, he had an attractive personality. David was brave and courageous. Those are often qualities that people admire. Women aren’t normally drawn to spineless men. They tend to prefer the gregarious type—unreserved and unpredictable. That was David. And not only was he handsome and brave, he was musical. He played the harp and he wrote poetry.
Now single ladies in the house…let me ask you a question. How many of you would love to meet a guy that is good-looking, fearless and brave, who plays the acoustic guitar like Eric Clapton and writes poetry in his free time? This was David. And on top of that, he had just defeated the most powerful soldier that has ever suited up for battle. He was successful by every category employed by man.
And this success is about to reveal the character of his heart. And he will pass this test of success. Saul will not. Let me show you how David was tested following his great success. Read 1 Samuel 18:5-16.
There were two main traps, that of success that David managed to miss.
The Test of Success
1.David was tested by female attention.
Look at v.6+…. Ouch. Did you see what just happened? All of the female attention was just shifted from Saul to David. Now don’t forget, Saul was no ugly duckling.
The Bible tells us that he was chosen to be king because of his looks. The people thought that he looked the part. He was big and strong, masculine, he stood head and shoulders above other men. For his whole life, he had gotten used to women staring at him as he walked by.
Let me pause here and say this. The junior high and high school year are some of the most turbulent years in a young man’s life, especially in this country. Some of you have teenagers…you know. All kinds of changes are happening. His body is changing, his desires are changing, his relationships are changing. And to make it even worse, there is this competition that begins for the attention of the female audience. A young man will do just about anything to be popular with the girls. It’s true. He will let any word come out of his mouth to get a laugh. It doesn’t matter who he hurts. He speaks without thinking because he so desperately craves a female audience. This young man will sacrifice his body and jump off a high dive at a public swimming pool and attempt 3 simultaneous flips and do a belly flop in the water if girls think it was cool. He will climb up out of that water, his belly as red as a ripe tomato, but he will feel no pain. After all, the girls are smiling. A teenage boy will work his hands to the bone over the course of a summer to buy a soundsystem for his car just so that he can pull into a parking lot and have 10 seconds of all eyes on him.
God has so wired us as men that we crave the attention of women. And it doesn’t stop when you get married. If you are a married man, and your wife does not pay attention to you, it will wound you. It will hurt. It won’t be long until your marriage is in trouble. Women, if you want to make your husband incredibly insecure—just pay him no attention. Act like he doesn’t impress you. Emotionally and physically—pretend that he does not exist and it will destroy him.
But let me give you better advice. On the flip side of that, if you want him to be energized and fulfilled in marriage, then all you have to do is this. When he walks through the door from work, go running to him, throw your arms around him and say, “Saul has slain his thousands, but you, my husband, tens of thousands. Make him feel like he is your hero.” If you do that consistently, he will do just about anything you ask him. He’ll scrapbook with you, and go shopping at Hobby Lobby. Your respect for him will stir up his love for you.
Listen ladies. If you give your man consistent words of affirmation, and show him that you admire him and respect him. I’m telling you what, he’ll fly higher than a kite. You will be able to make him a better man. Just a few weeks ago, Lynley and I were talking and she made a passing comment that I was “the most intelligent person she knows.” From that moment on, I didn’t hear another word. Her voice became like Charlie Brown’s teacher, “Wonk, wonk, wonk…” I didn’t hear any of it because inside my heart, there was a celebration going on. My ego was throwing a party. I wanted to call all the children into the room, and say, “Kids, listen to the announcement that your mother just made. She thinks I’m smart, and smart people are cool.”
Look at v.8. It says that Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. That expression means “he took it personally.” Why would Saul take this personally? Because, like all other carnal men, he wanted the female attention directed toward him. It ate him up that he was now second fiddle. And it was this attention that begins to cause David serious problems. Verse 9 says…Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
Verse 10 says that Saul was so ticked off about this, that one day he hurls a spear at David and says, “I’ll pin him to the wall.” Doesn’t that just sound like a teenage boy who has lost his girlfriend to a classmate. In rage, he declares, “I’ll pin him to the wall.” And it was this competition for female attention that destroyed Saul, but did not seem to affect David.
This part does impress me. Think about it. What did David do for the years leading up to this event? He was out in the dirty fields with sheep and grubby men with poor personal hygiene. He wasn’t dating on Friday nights. I’m sure that he was longing for the day when he would meet a woman. And now he goes from a prison of isolation, with zero girls around, to this public platform with ladies throwing themselves at his feet. There aren’t many young men that can handle that kind of temptation. All David would have had to do to lose God’s blessing was to sleep with one of those adoring fans. It could have destroyed his ministry but the Bible seems to suggest that he was unmoved.
I will never forget an experience I had like this. I am sure that I am not as handsome as David was but let me tell you this story. A few months after Lynley and I married, I was flying by myself out of the airport in Little Rock. At the jetway, there was this girl waiting to get on the plane and she was dressed to kill, if you know what I mean. She was not the kind of girl that you would take home to mom. At any rate, I boarded the airplane and sat down in my seat. There were two seats next to me and I saw her walking in my direction. I quickly looked down pretending to read my newspaper, and thankfully, her seat was a few rows ahead. I was not assuming that she was interested in me, I just didn’t want to deal with that situation. So the plane is about to take off and the man sitting next to me says, “Sir, that gal up there has asked me to trade seats with her. Are you OK with that? I said, “What?” He said, “That pretty lady right up there.” I looked up and she was looking right at me with a big smile. I didn’t know what to say. I just froze, and quickly replied, “Uhhhhh, no thanks.” And then looked at my newspaper and never looked up again until the plane landed at my destination. That’s how terrified I was by the very idea of an affair. And I remember sitting there in that airplane and thinking to myself, “So this is how it happens. A man gets bored in his marriage, and all it takes is one flattering invitation, and his life is changed for ever.” The truth is…I could have gotten off that plane, introduced myself to that girl, purchased a hotel room, and no one would have ever known.” But God would have known, and it would have destroyed my ministry before it ever started.
Prov. 5:3-8:
For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and
her speech is smoother than oil;
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a
double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight
to the grave.
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths are crooked, but she knows it not.
7 Now then, my sons, listen to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,
do not go near the door of her house…
David was tempted by women early, and he passed the initial test. He had no idea that later, he would tragically fail.
2. David was tested by a demotion.
Men do not dream of dropping down on the ladder of success. They dream of going up. They hope to be promoted, not demoted. Men want to be assigned more responsibility. Most ambitious men are not driven by a bank account; they are driven by a competitive spirit. And that competitive drive can be a good thing, or it can be a disastrous thing.
David came out of the gates fast. He started out with a dead sprint to success. At an early age, he was assigned tremendous responsibility. Look at v. 5….
Here we learn that David received a BIG promotion. Notice, everybody loved him. It pleased the people and it pleased the officers. That is a rare thing that both the court and the country celebrated this young man as general. Those positions weren’t just given away. You had to give a lifetime of decorated military service to earn such a prestigious position. But, not with David. Almost overnight, he is handed a high rank in the army, and this is the shocking part—the seasoned veterans, the older, experienced men in the army thought it was great, and the people celebrated him.
But notice what happens after the women start singing. Notice what happens once Saul’s eye falls on David. Skip ahead to vv. 13-14…
A thousand men sounds like a big job for David, but in actuality, this was a huge demotion. In the business world, this would be like a man overseeing an entire franchise on Monday—complete with a corner office and a view. Then on Tuesday, he is leading just one department of the company, from a cubicle, without a cell phone and company car.
In the eyes of the people, David was forced to take a step down, but I want you to notice in vv.13-15. David was faithful in every assignment—no matter how large or small—and God made him successful in everything that he did.
Let me tell you who the real heroes in this church. It’s not me. It’s not Brad. It’s not Dave Jackson. The real heroes in this church are the people who serve and receive zero recognition. Last Sunday night, we had an ice cream fellowship. Somebody had to show up on Sunday afternoon and scoop hundreds of bowls of ice cream. This past Thursday night, we had a Wild Game Dinner. Somebody had to show up Thursday morning and make this place look like something out of the woods. There were people who volunteered and they didn’t dawn on them that they would not be paid or recognized. For the past year, there have been two men that show up on Monday morning to clean up the sanctuary and tidy up the pews. They have received a paycheck. They have never had their names in the bulletin, but status means nothing to them.
David did not concern himself with notoriety or fame. Wherever God placed him, he bloomed where he was planted. And notice in the text, because David was demoted, he was put on the front lines of war, and he won the hearts of the people even more. Why? Because he was in the trenches with them—leading their campaigns. He was not ashamed of his role.
In the New Testament, we find another man like this. I want you to turn to John 3 and let me show this to you. In this chapter, we read of John the Baptist. And one day his disciples come to him in a tizzy. It seems that this Jesus guy is passing him up in baptism numbers. This is what the Bible says…
26. They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him." John 3:26
Can you just imagine that next week a new church comes into town and they buy up all the property on the other side of Highland. They purchase Wolf Camera and Shoneys…all the way down to Taco Bell. And within months, they have built a 3000 seat sanctuary, and they are drawing thousands of lost people from all over the city—people of all colors are getting saved. And finally, one day, they put their church sign up on the corner and it says, “Engleside Baptist Church.” How would you feel about that? Forget that 3000 people are now worshiping, and hundreds being baptized. You natural, fleshly reaction would be to storm into my office and say, “Pastor, that church is doing a lot of baptizing and all the people are going to hear their preacher now.” We’ve got to do something!
That’s what John’s disciples were saying. John, you’re losing our business. You have been demoted. Since Jesus opened up shop on the other side of the river, our numbers are falling like apples from a tree. What are we going to do?
Now look at v.27…
27. To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28. You yourselves can testify that I said, ’I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ 29. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30. He must become greater; I must become less.
I want you to catch the power of John’s analogy. In a wedding party, there is a man called “the best man.” He is the friend who attends the bridegroom. He is not the star of the show. If you notice how they set up a wedding, the bride and the groom are center stage. The best man and the others are off to the side. It’s not about them. The best man has an important role, but his job is to stay out of the way. He must be content with 2nd place.
John the Baptist was completely void of pride. He did not care about status, credit, or resume-building. He cared about Christ. And King David was of similar stock. Saul demotes him to the front lines of battle, and David celebrates his role.
Are you that kind of person? Does it bother you when other people receive applause? Are you content with the role God has assigned to you? Are you blooming where you are planted? David did that, and he passed the test.
