2 SAMUEL 1-4 PEOPLE ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Samuel 1-4 People Are Not Your Enemy

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2015.

This morning we're going to be looking at a few different passages here in 2 Samuel, looking at chapters 1, 3, and 4. And I've titled the message this morning, People Are Not Your Enemy. People are not your enemy. And as we look at these different examples of men and how they related to one another here in these passages, I want to take a moment and remind you of the bigger picture. At

As we talk about and think about those who we might consider or relate to as enemies in our lives, we need to remember what we're really dealing with in life. Because it's important for you to know and for us to grasp hold of and keep in mind what the Apostle Paul said. He says in 2 Corinthians that the things that are seen are temporary and the things that are unseen are eternal.

And this is something we must always keep in front of us because we get distracted by the things that are right in front of us. We get distracted by this life and we begin to relate to people according to this life only and we forget about eternity. And so can I remind you this morning, there is...

The reality of eternity that you and I, every individual is an eternal being and that we will live this life and we will die on this earth, but we will enter then into something else after that. And there's two options. There's heaven and there's hell.

Heaven, of course, is an eternity with God, in His presence with glorious things that He has in store for us. And hell is the opposite of that. It is outside of the presence of God, and it's an eternity of judgments, an eternity of pain and torment. And those are the two options for eternity. And this life is the preparation for that. And so as we relate to one another in this life,

Keeping this in mind will help us understand appropriately how we're to relate to one another. The people around us, in fact, all human beings, every single one of us, deserve the judgment of God. We deserve automatically to go to hell. That's the default. Everybody goes to hell unless we accept the offer of forgiveness in life that Jesus offers to us.

The Bible shows us and teaches us that God loves people. And he loves us so much that he sent his only begotten son that we might have the opportunity to believe in him and have everlasting life. That Jesus died upon the cross receiving the penalty that we deserve for sin so that we could believe and have eternity with God. That we could enter into heaven being forgiven of our sins.

And this is the big picture. This is important to understand and to think about as we talk about our enemies. Do you have any enemies? Do you have any people in your life that are against you? Or do you have people in your life that you are against?

And I would suggest to you that if you will bring the eternal scope, you know, into the picture, that you will consider and remember the reality of heaven and hell, that it will help you in dealing with and relating to those that might be considered enemies around you. Let me remind you also of what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians chapter 6. In verse 12, he says, "'For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.'"

That's just another way of saying people are not your enemy. We don't wrestle against people. People are not the issue that is around us. He says, instead, we wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Paul is explaining here, we're really in a spiritual battle and there is an enemy. There is a spiritual enemy that is coming against. There is the devil who is seeking to destroy lives and seeking to lead people astray. Our battle is not with people.

Our struggle is not with people. Although sometimes we do allow ourselves to struggle with people, Paul is saying that's not the real battle. And when we struggle with the people, when people become our enemy, we're distracted and we've forgotten about eternity. And so there's three points we're going to look at this morning here in 2 Samuel. The first one we're going to look at here in chapter 1 of 2 Samuel, and that is that people in authority...

are not your enemy. And this is an important one to remember. Sometimes we get distracted and we think that those who have authority in our lives are the ones that we're to be fighting against. But David, in his example here, will remind us they're not our enemies. They're actually our mission field. Now the context here of 2 Samuel 1, we find David, he's been living with the Philistines for a little while.

Because Saul, the king of Israel, has been attempting to put David to death. He's been pursuing him. He's been trying to catch him. And so David, in desperation, went over to the enemy's camp. He went over to live amongst the Philistines in order to stay protected from Saul.

In 1 Samuel chapter 31, we see Saul dies on the battlefield as he's fighting against the Philistines. He dies in the midst of that battle. And here in chapter 1, what we read earlier and what we'll look at right now, we have a messenger, a guy who is coming from that battle to report to David that Saul has died. Right?

And as he tells David that Saul has died, David begins to question him a little bit. And he says, well, how do you know that Saul is dead? And so he tells him this story.

He tells them about, you know, Saul being there and being wounded, but not all the way dead. And how Saul asked him to finish the job, to put him out completely so that the enemies, the Philistines, would not find him. And so in verse 10, we find the end of his story. He says, so I stood over him and killed him because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen.

And so this guy comes to David with this story, this story about Saul's death and his final demise. Now, there's a couple of things that are pretty suspicious about this story. We don't know actually if this guy was telling the truth.

the details that he shares here don't exactly match with 1 Samuel chapter 31 and the things that are recorded there. And so there's a possibility that both are true and, you know, there's a way to fit them together. But it's also possible that this guy was just a scavenger, that he was just, you know, going through the battlefield after these guys had fallen and taking whatever he could. And he happened to come across Saul and found him to be dead. And so he

took the crown and the bracelet and brought it to David. In either case, if he told the story and it was true, or if he just made up a story to kind of help him find favor, he was expecting now that as he stands before David, he brought the crown of Saul to David, expecting to be rewarded.

He expected that David would all of a sudden begin to celebrate and rejoice and say, oh, wow, you've brought me great news and you've brought me the crown. And so now I can finally be king of Israel like I'm supposed to be. And so this guy was expecting that kind of reception to his news and to his gift. But that's not what happened. In verse 11, it tells us, therefore, David took hold of his own clothes and tore them. And so did all the men who were with him.

And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord, for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. Instead of a celebration, which this guy would have expected, instead he was met with mourning. It's interesting here. It says that they mourned and wept and

and fasted. And David tears his clothes, which is a sign that they would use of showing and expressing their grief and their mourning. And so David here is genuine in his mourning for Saul. Now, if you know some of the background, you could easily begin to wonder, how could David behave this way?

How could he have this type of mourning and weeping and fasting for Saul? When Saul has done so much harm to David. Let me just recap a few things that Saul has done. In 1 Samuel 18, we find the first attack.

And that is that David was there playing the harp for Saul because he would play the harp to help soothe him and calm him down. But Saul is troubled there and he's upset with David. He's been suspicious with him or of him ever since David killed Goliath. And so it tells us in 1 Samuel 18, verse 11, that as David is playing the harp there, Saul casts a spear at him.

Now understand, this isn't like, you know, a circus show or something, you know, a knife thrower, like just, you know, popping the balloons around someone just to freak people out and make them shocked. Saul was attempting to pin David to the wall. He was trying to put David to death. He is...

So upset with David. He is so suspicious of David. He wants to just take him out completely. And it tells us there that David escaped his presence twice like this. So twice Saul throws the spear trying to pin David to the wall, but David escapes. Then it tells us a little bit later in 1 Samuel chapter 18, Saul tries another tactic. He wasn't so good with the spear. He couldn't put him to death that way. So he thinks, you know what? I'm going to let the Philistines kill David.

And so he convinces David, hey, become my son-in-law. And one of David's objections was, well, I don't have any money to offer a dowry. So, you know, who am I to become the king's son-in-law? And Saul set it up. So he says, okay, well, I'm not going to require any money from you, but go kill a hundred Philistines.

And that'll be sufficient. You know, that'll be enough for you to become my son-in-law. And it tells us in 1 Samuel 18, 25, it says that Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. So he thought this is a good way. I'll let the Philistines kill David. You know, go kill 100 Philistines, thinking that he's not going to be victorious 100 times as he fights the Philistines. But David went out and he had victory and it was not successful.

It tells us in verse 29 of 1 Samuel 18 that Saul was then more afraid of David, so Saul became David's enemy continually. Not that David treated Saul as an enemy, but that Saul treated David as an enemy continually. And so this began a long process.

There is another time that Saul then again attempts to kill David with a spear. Then as David escapes from there, he tries to go down to his house and trap him there. And David escapes from that. And he goes to the priest. And then Saul kills the family of the priest, 85 men.

priests are put to death by Saul because he's so upset that David's escaping here. And then David runs out into the wilderness. And for a few years, Saul is chasing David from place to place in the wilderness, going from here to there, trying to trap him, trying to put him to death.

And so Saul has been pursuing David. He's been making life miserable for David for years. David's had to live without his family, out in the rough, you know, running from place to place and under all of this stress. And yet through all of this, even though Saul has treated David this way for so many years, at the end of Saul's life, Saul was not David's enemy.

David did not treat Saul as an enemy, even after all of this harm that he has brought against him. I like what David Guzik says about that. He says, this powerfully demonstrates that our hatred and bitterness and unforgiveness are chosen, not imposed on us. As much as Saul did against David, he chose to become better instead of bitter. He points out this is a choice. This is a choice.

Saul's actions against David were the result of his choice to have this heart, to have this attitude, to pursue this path in treating David as an enemy. And David's response was also according to his choice. He chose to honor and recognize Saul as what he would refer to as the Lord's anointed.

David recognized the authority, the place of authority and the position that Saul had. And he honored that. He honored that all the way until the very end. So that when he hears of his death, even though this would have brought great relief to David, he doesn't have to run for his life any longer. But at the same time, he mourns and weeps and fasts.

Now David respects this position of authority that Saul has, and so he also has this guy executed. In verse 14 it says, David said to him, how was it that you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? Then David called the young men and said, go near and execute him, and he struck him so that he died. David was serious about respecting authority.

It wasn't just something he said. It was something that he actually did as demonstrated by his mourning and weeping for this. And as this guy has destroyed Saul, put Saul to death was his testimony. He says, your own testimony speaks against you. How is it that you were not afraid to destroy the Lord's anointed? This is someone in authority that God has placed there.

In 1 Samuel chapter 24, during the time where David was running from Saul, there was an occasion where he has opportunity to kill Saul, where Saul is there resting and sleeping and didn't realize that David was there. So it tells us that David cuts off a piece of his robe to demonstrate, to prove, I'm not your enemy, Saul. And later on, he shows it to Saul and says, look, I didn't destroy you. I'm not out to get you.

Because again, he said, I'm not going to touch the Lord's anointed. You're in that position of authority because God's put you there. It's not my job to take you out. And so he honored and respected that authority. Later on in 1 Samuel chapter 26, he had another opportunity. He snuck into the camp of Saul's army. And there was Saul sleeping. And he had his spear right by his head. And the guy that went with David into the camp said, let me just strike him once. I'd only take one shot. I'll take him out.

David said, we cannot attack, we cannot strike the Lord's anointed and be guiltless. And so they simply took the spear and then from a hill a distance away said, hey, look, again, showing I was right there. This was right by your head. I could have killed you, but I'm not out to get you. David was serious about respecting authority. And this morning, I want to remind you that God calls us to be serious about authority as well.

giving honor and respect to those who have authority in our lives. In Romans chapter 13, the apostle Paul says this, Notice what Paul says.

There is no authority except from God. Any authority that is in our lives is appointed by God, Paul says. It's established by God.

And that's sometimes hard for us to understand because sometimes people in authority in our lives are more like Saul than David. That is, they hurt us. They bring pain. They bring difficulty. They bring affliction in our lives. And so we think, surely they must not be from God. They must not be God's anointed. But God...

He does reign on high, and he is in charge of authorities. There is no authority except from God. And he goes on to say, if we resist authority, we're resisting God. We're resisting the work of God, the ordinance of God. God calls us to respect the office, to respect the position, to respect the authority, even when the person is

Well, let's say they're not our favorite. It's not our favorite person in the world, but when they have that role, when they have that position of authority, God calls us to honor that, even when they're more like Saul than David. Now, how can we do that, and why should we do that? Well, again, let me remind you of the bigger picture. God loves people. He is not wanting anyone to perish, even David.

Wicked, evil, cruel people in authority. God loves people. And in calling us to be submitted to and to bring honor and respect to those positions of authority, what God is calling us to do is to give those people opportunity to repent by our submission and respect. You see, when Saul was there in the cave and David cut off the corner of his robe, he gave Saul an opportunity to repent. And

So that when he showed Saul, look, I'm not out to get you. Saul did repent for a short while. He realized, he recognized, you're right. I'm doing wrong. And so he stopped pursuing David for a season. But then later on, he got stirred up against David again. And he came back

pursuing David. And when David showed him the spear and the water jug that was near his head and said, look, I could have killed you, but I didn't. I'm really not out to get you. It was another opportunity for Saul to repent. And he heard the message. His eyes were opened. Now, it wasn't lasting. It wasn't that, you know, he and David became best friends after that. But the point is that David gave Saul opportunity to repent. And

by his respect and honor for the position that Saul had. And this is what God is wanting us to do as well. Whether or not they receive that opportunity to repent and act on it, that's between them and God. But our job, as far as the Lord is concerned, is to give them that opportunity with our submission and with our respect. Understand that people who have authority, they're used to the fight.

They're used to the struggle. They're used to people, you know, disagreeing and yelling and, you know, fighting against and backbiting. They're used to all that. But if we will be submitted, if we will honor and respect those who have authority in our lives, that's going to be unusual. That's not normal. That's something different. And again, it's one of those things that God uses to give them opportunity to repent. And I would suggest to you, this applies to

All kinds of authorities. Whatever kind of authority that there is in your life, this is the way that we're to behave. You could think about authority politically, you know, in our nation or in our local community. You could think about authority in the home. You could think about authority in the workplace, authority in the church. This is the way that God calls us to relate. He wants you to know that people in authority are not your enemy.

Your job is not to take them out. Your job is not to destroy them. Your job is to submit to them and to honor the position that they have. Think about what Peter says in 1 Peter 3, talking about the home. He says,

So in the context of the home, God has established some structure. And he says, the husband is to be the head of the home, that there is to be that position of authority in the home. And so here, Peter encourages us, well, encourages the ladies, be submitted to that authority. Be submitted to that authority, even those who do not obey the word. And again, this is really tough for us many times.

We have no problem with submission as long as the people in authority, you know, do what we want and say what we want and want us to do the things that we want to do. Then we have no problem with authority. But when they're unbelievers, when their ideas are different, when they want different things, then that becomes much more difficult for us. But God calls us to honor those authorities in our lives. And notice what Peter says here. So even unbelievers, wives, you're to be submitted to those husbands, right?

So that by your conduct, without a word, as they observe the way that you behave, the way that you relate to them and treat them not as enemies, but honor and respect the position and authority that God has given to them, that they have the opportunity to repent, that they may be won by your conduct. And so ladies, your husband is not your enemy. Now I would flip that around as well and say, husbands, your wife is

is not your enemy. And so many times husbands and wives are relating to one another as if they're the enemy, but they're not the enemy. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood. Your job is not to destroy them. Your job is to love one another in the way that God has called you to. Well, another example for us to consider in Colossians chapter three, verse 22. And here we can consider in the workplace, the authorities that we have.

Paul says, bond servants. Now we could relate to that today as employees. So employees, obey in all things your masters, your bosses, your supervisors, according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. In the workplace, there's authority. And Paul says, God says...

Be submitted. Obey in all things your masters according to the flesh. That is, you know, in the physical realm, you have these bosses. You have supervisors. You have those with authority. Your job is to be obedient to them. And notice what he says, not with eye service. That means not just when they're watching you. Have you ever been that kind of employee? You know, when the boss is coming, oh, now get to work real fast. You know, look busy. You know,

If you haven't been one of those employees, you know people who are those kinds of employees, right? It's like only when the boss is around, only when, you know, he says, look, don't do it like that. Not as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, be genuine. And whether your boss is present or not, do the best you can to do what you're asked to do. And in doing so, you will honor the Lord as you honor those authorities.

And you will give them, even if they're cruel, even if they're harsh, even if they're not the best, even if they're more like Saul than like David, you are giving them opportunity to repent. People in authority are not your enemy. Whether you're talking about the government, whether you're talking about the home, the workplace, the church. So let me ask you, have you been treating people in authority as enemies?

Have you been relating to people in your life as if they're enemies, but they're called to be authorities in your life? Now, how can you tell? Well, one of the ways that you can tell is if you begin to rejoice when they experience harm or hurt. You rejoice when that happens, when they're experiencing heartache, when they're experiencing hardship, when they get what's coming to them. Does it cause you to rejoice? That's an indication, and you need to be cautious because it's an indication that your heart is

is not right regarding these authorities in your life. They're not your enemy. They're your mission field. Another way to know that you've been treating an authority as an enemy is the way that you talk about them. How do you talk about those authorities? What kind of words do you use? Are you talking bad about them?

Now, sometimes we like to justify things. You know, we're talking to someone else, let's say, outside of the workplace. We're talking to our friends, talking about this person, saying all kinds of bad things, all kinds of negative things, all kinds of stuff. But then we say, well, you know, I would say these things to their face too. So it's okay. You know, I'm not just like talking behind their back. I would say it to their face. But let me just remind you that not everything you would say to somebody's face is

is right, is good, is helpful. Ephesians 4.29 says, look, don't let anything come out of your mouth that doesn't help the people who hear it. And so we're not to just, you know, say whatever we want to say and talk however we want. It's interesting as you look at David and the rest of chapter one here in verses 17 through 27, David writes a song. He writes a lamentation over the death of Saul and Jonathan. And as you look through that,

David doesn't say, oh, finally, I'm so glad this guy's gone. You know, he was such a terrible person. He made life so rough for me. No, as you look at the lamentation, he only has good things to say about Saul. Warren Wiersbe points out, Saul's treatment of David had been diabolical, but David's treatment of Saul was always kind and considerate. The way that you talk about the authorities in your life

Could it be described that way? Always kind and considerate? If your words are not kind and considerate regarding those authorities, understand, you're starting to lose sight of the bigger picture. You're treating them as an enemy, and they're not your enemy. They're your mission field. Now, many people would say, well, what if I have a good reason? Again, look at the example of David. If anybody had a reason to hate, to

to treat an authority poorly, it was David, right? Well, maybe you could consider Jesus too, but also the same thing. He submitted to authority and he treated with kindness those who had that authority. And so our job is not to take them down or take them out. Our job is to submit to them and to honor them, even not just to their face, but all the time, to be genuine in our heart towards those who are in authority. Give them an opportunity to repent and

with your submission and respect. Well, going on now, we're going to jump to 2 Samuel 3 for point number two, and that is that people who hurt you are not your enemy. So not only is it authorities in your life who are not your enemies, this one's hard for us. I know it's sometimes difficult to grasp hold of, but you need to understand that the people who hurt you, even greatly and deeply, they're not your enemy.

Now, here in 2 Samuel 3, we're not looking at the example of David so much as we're looking at the example of Joab. And Joab was David's general. And so he was the commander of David's army. And Joab provides for us not a good example, but an example of what not to do.

Looking at verse 23, it says, And so Joab is away. And while he's away, David meets up with Abner. Now, Abner was the general, the commander of the armies for Ish-bosheth. And so after Saul's death, the kingdom of Israel was split in two.

There was David who was an anointed king for the region of Judah, the southern part of Israel. But the majority of the nation followed after Saul's son, Ish-bosheth. And so he was crowned king, and so he was the king of Israel, and David was the king of Judah. And so Ish-bosheth had this general named Abner. And there was this battle between David and Ish-bosheth and the different kingdoms, and

In the midst of these battles, this man Abner, the general of Ish-bosheth's armies, killed Joab's brother. And so they were in the midst of a battle. Joab's brother's chasing after Abner. And Abner says, hey, stop chasing me. I don't want to kill you. But he kept on chasing him. And so Abner then killed Joab's brother. And so Joab is not a fan of Abner. And he is looking for opportunity to pay Abner back for killing his brother.

And so when Joab comes back and hears that Abner's been there with David and they were talking and Joab becomes very upset. In verse 24, it tells us, then Joab came to the king and said, what have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why is it that you sent him away and he is already gone? Surely you realize that Abner, the son of Ner, came to deceive you, to know you're going out and you're coming in, to know all that you are doing. Verse 26, right?

And so Joab here is upset with David for meeting with Abner. But notice the motivation is revealed at the end of verse 27.

He says that Abner died for the blood of Joab's brother. This was not something that Joab did for David, to protect David, to honor David. It was not something that he did for the nation. It was not, you know, some patriotic duty that he had. It wasn't justice that he was looking for. He was looking for payback, vengeance. And so he does something wrong in order to pay Abner back for

for his brother's death. What Joab did was not right. And David will go on in the following verses to rebuke Joab and to call him to mourn with the rest of the nation, that he is to repent, to weep, and to mourn, even as David and the rest of the nation did. But as far as Joab was concerned, Abner hurt Joab, so Joab hurt Abner. Abner was the enemy in Joab's mind.

And that's why he's so upset when David sent him away in peace. He's like, I missed my opportunity. I missed my chance to get even with him. Now, you and I, we could easily sympathize with Joab in this. We can, because when people hurt us, we want them to hurt too. That's kind of a natural part of who we are as human beings. We want others to hurt when they're the ones who hurt us.

And so we can understand perhaps how Joab is feeling. We can sympathize with how Joab is feeling in this. But although we can understand, it's not how we're called to live. Although we might want similar types of things, although we might want those who hurt us to hurt also, it's not how we're called to live. Let me remind you of Romans chapter 12, verse 17, the apostle Paul says, repay no one evil for evil. He says, repay evil.

No one. Not some people. Not the really bad ones. You know, not the ones who hurt you the most. You can repay them for evil, but others you shouldn't. No. Repay no one evil for evil. Having regard for good things in the sight of all men, if it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. As much as in your power, live peaceably. Don't pay back evil for evil.

This is our command. This is what we are called to do. And so when family members hurt you, do not repay evil for evil. When your co-workers hurt you, do not repay evil for evil. When other drivers on the freeway hurt you, do not repay evil for evil. They do inflict pain. There is hurt. People hurt us all the time. And there is a desire for us to pay them back.

But that's not how we're called to live. And if we begin to live that way, it's because we're losing sight of the big picture. Now, sometimes we wonder, well, okay, what if it's like really justified? What if they've really hurt us a lot though? And so the next verse in Romans chapter 12, verse 19, he says, beloved, do not avenge yourselves. Yes, there's a crime that's been committed. There is an actual hurt. It's not imagined. But he says, don't avenge yourself.

Don't try to make it right yourself. He says, but rather give place to wrath for it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. God's promise is that he will take care of justice. You never have to worry about justice. God will take care of justice. He will. Vengeance is his. He will repay. But remember the big picture. God's ultimate goal is that no one would perish, that all would come to repentance.

And so even those who hurt you, God loves them. And Jesus died upon the cross for them. And the best use of that hurt is if you, well, would allow that to be an opportunity for them to turn and to repent and to get right with God. Give them opportunity to repent with your forgiveness, with your kindness. It's not just don't repay them, hold yourself back, but the command is actually also to

to go forward and do good. Again, continuing on in Romans chapter 12, verse 20 and 21, he says, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. Don't just hold yourself back from striking back, but go out of your way to do good. He says in verse 21, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Overcome evil with good. Do good to those who hurt you. This is what Jesus taught us, to love our enemies.

He taught us that with his words, but he also taught us this by his own example. To love our enemies. Love those who hurt you. And again, let me just say, we need to love them to their face and behind their back. In their presence or outside of their presence. Online or offline. It needs to be a genuine condition of our heart. The people who hurt you are not your enemy. You're called to love them.

Those who treat you as an enemy, those who persecute you or do harm towards you, Jesus says, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. That's what you're called to do. We always look at Joseph as a good example of this, right? He was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery. They thought, oh no, he's going to be out to get us. But he dealt with them in kindness, forgiveness,

When their dad died, the brothers looked at each other and said, oh no, he's been restraining himself just for dad's sake, and now dad's gone. So now he's really going to be out to get us. And so they try to come up with a plan to try to keep him on their side. But he says, look, you guys don't have to scheme. You don't have to plot. You don't have to plan. In Genesis chapter 50, verse 20, he tells his brothers, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. We don't have to repay.

Vengeance, we don't have to worry about that. It's not in our hands. We need to trust God and love those who hurt us. And so let me ask you, have you been treating people who hurt you as enemies? Have you been attacking them, hurting them, rejoicing over their harm, rejoicing over their hurt, talking bad about them? Maybe saying, well, I would say it to their face. Or another thing that we say to try to excuse the things that we say about people is we say, well, I'm just saying, you know.

It's okay, I can say whatever I want, but you know, I'm just saying. It's like, with all due respect, that guy's an idiot. Well, that's not really with respect, you know what I mean? It's like, it doesn't excuse what you say. Are you treating people as enemies because they've hurt you? Is there hatred? Is there bitterness? Understand that hatred and bitterness are sins to be repented of.

And I know in our culture, in our society, you know, and in our TV shows and stuff, it's kind of like to be encouraged, you know, fan the flame. Yeah, yeah, let's see a good match, you know. This is what you should do. Here's how to get back at them. Listen, a lot of counsel many times is not how to make peace. It's how to get back at them. That is not at all what God calls us to do. What God calls us to do is to forgive. And if you've been treating people who hurt you as an enemy, you need to forgive.

And that's a tough thing to do. But you can do it with God's help. You can forgive. And many times people wrestle with forgiveness because, you know, it's difficult and it's hard to let go of those things, especially those hurts that are really deep. And so you wonder, well, how can I forgive? How can I let go of this? You know, I tried repenting. I tried. I prayed about it. And it's still there. But let me just remind you that forgiveness, it's just like doing anything else that God calls us to do.

Repenting of bitterness, repenting of anger and hatred, it's just like any other sin that we're called to repent of. We sometimes get this idea in our head that, well, real repentance is when, okay, I repent and then I never do that again. That's real repentance. And sometimes it's even communicated that way. And it's partially true, but understand that the reality is real repentance doesn't mean that the struggle goes away immediately. And this is true of all sins.

and so if you're dealing with covetousness in your heart if you're dealing with struggling with lust if you repent it doesn't mean okay i never have that battle again no repentance isn't just a one time okay at that point in history i repented and now i never have that issue

No, here's the reality. You repent, and the next day you're going to struggle, and you're going to have to repent. And the next day you're going to see it creeping back into your heart, and you're lusting after things, and so you repent. And the next day you're going to have to realize, oh man, I'm coveting things. And so then you repent. It's an ongoing repentance, recognizing, catching. I'm turning away from the Lord again, towards these other things. And you catch yourself, and you stop, and you go back and say, I'm going to live according to what God's word says. Listen, forgiveness is the same way. When you catch yourself

harboring those bitter feelings, those hatreds, those anger towards those who hurt you, then you repent. And then when you feel yourself going that way again, then you repent. You ask God for help. You turn yourself back and you set yourself straight and you recommit to, I'm going to live according to what the word of God says. This is how we're called to live. And this is how forgiveness happens.

It's not a one-time, say these words, it's done, you never have that struggle. But it's an ongoing commitment to live according to what God says. And so regarding those who hurt you, they're not your enemy. Instead, they're your mission field. Give them opportunity to repent with your forgiveness and kindness towards them. Well, finally, finishing it up with point number three in 2 Samuel chapter four, the point is people who oppose you are not your enemy. People who oppose you are not your enemy.

We're going back to the example of David here in 2 Samuel 4, and we're seeing a time where Ish-bosheth, again, he's the king of Israel, David is the king of Judah, they're peers. So Ish-bosheth is not David's king like Saul's was. These are two peers who are having conflict. And Ish-bosheth is saying, I should reign over Israel. And David is saying, I should reign over Israel. And there's this battle, there's this conflict. It's a seven-year conflict between them.

Well, this conflict ends after Abner's death. It says that Ish-bosheth becomes weak. Physically, politically, he's weak. And so two guys that are his kinsmen decide we're going to take out Ish-bosheth. And so they sneak into his room and they kill him. And then they take the head of Ish-bosheth to David. And similar to the Amalekite in chapter one, they're thinking David's going to be so happy. He's going to be so excited. He's going to reward us.

Look at verse 8 here of 2 Samuel chapter 4. It says, Notice their thoughts. What they say is, Again, David never treated Saul as an enemy.

And Ish-bosheth was not David's enemy. They thought he would rejoice because, all right, we've took care of your enemy. And now you can be the king of all the land. Notice also they said here in verse 8, the Lord has avenged my Lord. But David in the next couple of verses rebukes them and says, this is wickedness. This isn't God's work.

You've taken things into your own hands. You've done wickedly. And so like he did with the Amalekite in chapter 1, in verse 12, he gives the command, and these guys are executed because of their wickedness for putting Ish-bosheth to death in this way. David, although they had opposing views, although they had different agendas, although they had different thoughts, David did not treat Ish-bosheth as an enemy, and he didn't reward this type of behavior.

Do you have people who oppose you? Again, not necessarily authorities, not necessarily people who are personally attacking you, but there's maybe different opinions, different viewpoints. Now we're going into the election season, right? It's like two years of election season. There's going to be people with different political points, different viewpoints, opposition. We need to remember and keep in perspective, however strong you may feel about political things,

The people on the other side of that viewpoint that you have are not your enemy. They're not your enemy. They're your mission field. There's all kinds of disputes and opposition over religion within the Christian realm of different doctrines and outside of the Christian realm with different religions. And we can become very hostile towards one another in dealing with the different viewpoints and issues that go around these things. But we need to remember that the people on the other side

The different viewpoints, they're not our enemies. It doesn't mean they're right. It doesn't mean that they're correct, but they're not our enemy. People who are in opposition to ideas, ideals, thoughts, concepts, agendas, plans, they're not our enemies. Consider what Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 3.

He says, if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Notice what Paul says. So writing to the church, here's the instruction. If anybody wants to disagree with the word of God, if anybody wants to be rebellious against God's word, change your behavior. Your fellowship changes, that's for sure. But don't count him as an enemy, okay?

Instead, admonish him as a brother. It's okay to disagree. It's okay to admonish, to bring correction, to bring alternate viewpoints. There is right, there is wrong, there is correct, and there is incorrect. But in being right or in having the right viewpoint, of course, we always think that we have the right viewpoint, but you can be right and treat people wrong. And Paul says, that's not what you're called to do. Those who oppose you are not your enemy, they're your mission field. Don't rejoice in

When they're harmed, don't talk bad about them, slandering them. Don't treat them as an enemy, but instead give them opportunity to repent by the kindness that you show them. Not like an enemy, but like a brother, with love. Bringing the truth, admonish, he says, like a brother. Bring the truth, but bring it with love, with kindness. Don't count them as your enemy.

And so people are not your enemy, whether they're authorities, whether they're those who have hurt you personally or hurt your family, or whether they are those with different viewpoints. Our job is not to take them down, to take them out. Our job is to give them opportunity to repent. For those in authority, we do that by submitting, by respecting their position, by honoring the role that God has given to them.

For those who hurt us, we give them opportunity to repent by forgiveness and showing them kindness. And for those who have different viewpoints, those who oppose us, we give them opportunity to repent by the way that we treat them, admonishing them as brethren, not as enemies. Let's pray. God, I pray that you would help us to keep in our hearts, to keep in our minds the bigger picture, the reality of eternity. Lord, that we would have this opportunity

urgency in our hearts, Lord, recognizing the ultimate mission is to bring people to salvation, Lord, that they would receive your forgiveness, that they would receive your offer of everlasting life. And I pray, God, that you would help us to never lose sight of that as we relate to people, whether they're in authority, whether they're hurting us, or whether they have different viewpoints than us. Help us, Lord, to remember that our job is to reach them with the gospel.

Lord, that we would love them as you do, that we would treat them as you do, that we would demonstrate your heart and your character and your nature to them. And Lord, I pray as we seek to keep this heart that you would give us opportunities this week. Set open doors before us to love people, to respect and honor our authorities, to share your truth and your love with the world around us. In Jesus' name we pray.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.