Title: What Motivates You?
Text: I Sam 18:1-12; 19:9-11; 24:1-7; 26:5-12; 31:6; II Sam 1:11-12
Pray!!!
Read Text - (II Sam 1:11-12)
Introduction:
- A question that has been frequently asked by Christians is “If you knew the Lord was coming in 2 weeks what would you do?”
- Many have said, I would give more, I would witness to my family and friends, I would get me life ready to meet the Lord, or I wouldn’t do anything but continue to do what I am presently doing.
- As Christians we can look at this question as a motivating factor in our lives, but would it keep us going in life?
- In life something has to drive you to do what you do. For example, what makes you get out of bed in the morning? What is your motivating factor to face the day?
- Is it to make money, see the sunshine, go for coffee. What do you live for and what makes you do the things you do?
Transition:
- What kept David and Saul going, every day?
- What made David weep for a man that was pursuing to kill him?
- And what made Saul pursue David and want his head?
- This is what we are going to look at. Two different people, with different reasons for getting up in the morning. You and I are in one of these two categories this evening.
- So lets look in I Sam, starting at chapter 18 right through to II Sam 1 and see what motivated David and Saul in life.
David Was Motivated By Love And Saul By Selfishness
- Let me show you briefly how we see that David was a man after God’s own heart, and Saul was a man of selfishness.
Point 1: David was motivated by a Love for God and Saul was motivated by what he could get from God.
- Lets look at David first:
I Sam 18:10 says, “The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, I’ll pin David to the wall. But David eluded him twice”
- Now if that would not have been an intense moment in life look what happens further as we read:
I Sam 19:9-11 says, “But an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.”
- It was David’s desire to do the Lord’s will, and not his own. It was God’s will that David be where he was, playing for the King and not tending sheep.
- My question is, why would David go back knowing that there is that much tension in Saul’s house?
- The love of God. Doing the will of God, loving your enemies and praying for those who spitefully use you.
- David showed the motivating factor in his life, that being love.
- What would drive someone to go back for more punishment? Love.
- When we look at Saul’s life, we see the reason why he was the opposite of David.
- Saul was not motivated by love, even though I am sure he loved God and people. But we see Saul’s first motivation in his life that overtook love and that being selfishness.
- When you see Saul’s track record, it isn’t that good.
- He disobey’s the Lord many times which leads to his rejection as King.
- Now we all disobey the Lord many times, but in Saul’s case there was no striving to do what was right.
- Saul was clearly motivated by an emotion of selfishness and not love.
- Now in our text, the relationship with David starts out great. David is in the center of God’s will and Saul is happy with David’s presence.
- And the reason Saul is happy with David because, David defeated Goliath and the problem Saul had with the Philistines.
- But the relationship changes as we saw for this reason: I Sam 18:8 says, “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.”
- Saul’s question in this portion of scripture really shows Saul’s attitude and what motivates him in life. “What more can he get but the kingdom?”
- For David doing the Lord’s will, was the ultimate drive for him even though David blew it at times, it was still his desire. God still credited David with the statement, a man after my own heart.
- But for Saul, God removed the Kingdom from him. Because it was not Saul’s desire to do the Will of the God, but rather it was for selfishness and pride that he got up in the morning.
Point 2: David Was Motivated By A Love For Authority And Saul Killed Authority
- Lets look at Saul first.
I Sam 22:6–23
- The key verse is 17-19 and it says, “Then the king ordered the guards at his side: Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me. But the king’s officials were not willing to raise a hand to strike the priests of the Lord. The king then ordered Doeg, You turn and strike down the priests. So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty five men who wore the linen ephod. He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with it’s men and women, it’s children and infants, and it’s cattle, donkeys and sheep.”
- Saul wasn’t willing to do the Lord’s work earlier, when God instructed him to kill all the people and cattle of the Amalekites (I Sam 15) But was willing to do it here, after he got what he was looking for.
- Here’s my challenge, you don’t have to kill someone to destroy that person.
- If your mandate in life is to be better then someone else, or be consumed with jealousy about your fellow Christian you too will do the same things as Saul did.
- You will find yourself tearing that person up with words, and all who love that person.
- You will wake up in the morning, consumed with anger at people who are better then you at certain things.
- Let me give you a revelation this evening. There will always be someone better then you at what you do.
- There will always be a better preacher then me. There will always be someone with more money, more talents etc.
- Be thankful with where God has you in life and rejoice that you are saved.
- God has a plan for you personally, and receive it with joy and stop being consumed with jealousy.
Now David’s life:
- Two separate instances where David could have killed Saul but didn’t
I Sam 24:1-7 and the key verse being 6 which says, “He said to his men, the Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.”
- Another time when David could have killed Saul but didn’t is found in I Sam 26:1-11, the key verse being 11 which says, “But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go.”
- David had a respect for authority, and chose to let the Lord deal with Saul himself.
- In all of us as Christians there is an anointing that abides.
I John 2:20 says, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.”
- We need to be careful how we talk about our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
- We need to take a lesson from David and stop the gossip, slander and misunderstandings about one another ourselves.
- David stopped the group of men in the cave, and told them not to harm Saul.
- And he told Abishai, not to harm Saul.
- You see church talking about someone even though you are right and they are wrong is still wrong.
- There needs to be a respect for authority, number 1 in people’s lives, but there also needs to be a respect for each other.
- If that is lost or not pursued in the tough times, we will wake up like Saul.
- Pursue respect for authority and one another in the good times of your life, so that when hard times come, when people do harm to you, you will be able to respond out of love.
- Because you developed it in your life, just like David did.
Point 3: David’s Love For People
- I want to close with this last point about David and the fact that David was motivated by love.
- David had a love for people.
- Now David didn’t always do the right thing, but we catch a glimpse of the heart of David in II Sam 1:11-12, it says, “Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.”
- In David’s eyes, Saul was not an enemy, but many of us would look to Saul as our enemy.
- When you look around you this evening, understand the person you are looking at is not your enemy.
- When you look at me, understand that I am not your enemy, even though we disagree, we are not enemies, our enemy is the devil and his army.
- We are called to love people, not just in words, but in action.
- Is it possible to get to that point?
- Look at the life of Jesus, he loved us and look what He went through to buy us back.
- Look at Stephen, when stoned by Paul and religious people, asked God to forgive them, because he loved them.
- Many people have sacrificed there own emotions for the sake of the gospel and it’s advancement.
- Maybe you are not in a position to love all people, but don’t stay there, ask God to help you love all people and see people the way He sees people.
- If we will not pursue a love relationship and be motivated by love, then we will die spiritually like Saul died physically.
I Sam 31:4-5 says, “But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him.”
Closing:
- Maybe you’re here this evening and are not motivated by love in life. I want to encourage to pursue love for God, to do what He want’s you to do in the midst of difficulty, to love authority and to love people, or your enemies.
Lets Pray!!!
