2 SAMUEL 1 PURSUE GODS HEART AGAINST THE FLESH2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Samuel 1 Pursue Gods Heart Against The Flesh

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 2018.

We got to finish 1 Samuel last week, and the Lord had something unique in store for us. We did a memorial service for King Saul, and that was good. But now we're moving on into 2 Samuel, and going to be looking at David and continuing to journey with David as he pursues the heart of God, and as he continues to work his way towards becoming the king of Israel and fulfilling those promises that God had given to him.

But as we get into chapter 1 this evening, it's kind of an introductory chapter. So we're not going to really jump into the story that much, but look at some of the events that happened immediately after the death of King Saul. And so we're going to look at the first 16 verses here of 2 Samuel 1. And so let's begin by just reading through this passage, and then we'll jump into the message that God has for us. 2 Samuel 1, verse 1 says...

Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag. On the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. And David said to him, where have you come from?

So he said to him, I have escaped from the camp of Israel. Then David said to him, how did the matter go? Please tell me. And he answered, the people have fled from the battle. Many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. So David said to the young man who told him, how do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead? Verse 6.

Then the young man who told him said, as I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul leaning on his spear, and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me, and I answered, here I am. And he said to me, who are you? So I answered, I am an Amalekite.

He said to me again, please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me. So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm and have brought them here to my Lord. 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 and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. Then David said to the young man who told him, Where are you from? And he answered, I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite. So David said to him, How is it you are not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?

Then David called one of the young men and said, Go near and execute him. And he struck him so that he died. Verse 16. So David said to him, Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, I have killed the Lord's anointed. Here as we begin 2 Samuel this evening and look at these verses in chapter 1, I've titled the message this evening, Pursue God's Heart Against the Flesh.

And the subject of pursuing God's heart is what we've been looking at all throughout our study of the book of Samuel, 1 Samuel 1, that we got to see the pursuit of God's heart that took place in the heart of Hannah, then her son Samuel, and then in David as he was raised up, and we've

got to see the characteristics and the traits of these men and women of God who have put God first and sought to please God and do God's will. And it doesn't mean that they did it perfectly or flawlessly, but David is declared to be a man after God's own heart.

And so we continue to look at David and recognize that he is one that God has set as a model for us and says, look at this. This is how to pursue my heart. This is how and what it looks like when you put me first and seek to follow my will.

Now as we look at this account here in chapter 1, we also get to see a man who is an Amalekite. He is a man from the nation of Amalek. And Amalek throughout the scriptures is often and really relates well or pictures well to us what we would refer to as the flesh. That is our sinful nature. And so this evening as we work our way through this passage, we're going to look at the

I'm going to be dealing with these things a little bit more symbolically than I typically would. There's a little bit more allegory involved in this because there is the account and it actually happened. But at the same time, there's some really powerful pictures in here for us.

in dealing with our sinful nature. And so I want to encourage you this morning or this evening to pursue God's heart, but also understand that's going to be contrary to your sinful nature. And in order to pursue God's heart, that means you're going to be going against your sinful nature. It's also going to mean that your sinful nature is going to fight against you to try to keep you from pursuing God's heart. And so there's valuable things for us

to learn about that and to learn about this battle that we face as we talk about this interaction with this guy from Amalek.

The Lord told the children of Israel back in Deuteronomy chapter 25 that he was going to deal specially with Amalek because of what they did. In Deuteronomy chapter 25, God says, remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear when you were tired and weary, and he did not fear God.

And here we get a good picture of the flesh or our sinful nature because of the tactics of Amalek. That they came up behind the congregation as the whole group of people were coming out of Egypt.

the people who were too tired to keep up with the people who were in the front, the people who were lagging behind. They were the stragglers. They were the ones who were tired. And Amalek would bring his soldiers. They would come and they would pounce on those people who were left behind, who were tired, who were weary, who were not ready to fight. They would come and take advantage of them this way. And so Amalek behaved this way and did not fear God.

And as we start talking about the flesh this evening, you need to understand this is how your flesh operates. That your flesh, your sinful nature does not fear God. And

And when you're tired and weary and when you're most vulnerable is not the time when the sinful nature says, okay, you know, you've had it really rough. You know, it's been exhausting day. And so I'm going to take it easy on you and give you a break. That's not how your sinful nature works. Your sinful nature says you're tired and you're weary. That's my opportunity to try to get you to stop pursuing God's heart.

to do something that God doesn't want, to go in a direction that God has forbidden or called you away from. And your sinful nature seeks to capitalize on those things and betray you and keep you away from the things of God. And so this is a battle that we need to fight and understand so that we can fight in a way that we can continue to pursue God's heart, even though our flesh fights against that.

And so point number one as we work our way through this passage is the flesh puts on a convincing show. You need to know that your sinful nature is going to present things differently.

very well in a convincing way to try to convince you that the flesh knows best, that your sinful nature knows what is right. Check out verse 1 and 2 again. It says,

So it was when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. Here we see this man comes to David.

Now remember that David, he went out to battle with the Philistines against Israel, but the Philistines said, no, we don't trust you. You might turn from us because you're from Israel. So they kicked him out. And when he got back home, the Amalekites had raided his town, taken everything. And that was when David repented and called out to the Lord. And God said, go to

take the Amalekites and you'll get everything back. And so he's been dealing with all of that. He's been home just for a couple days after that battle, but he hasn't found out. He didn't know what happened with the battle with the Philistines against Israel until this one guy comes.

Suddenly, a few days after, you know, he's back, then this guy shows up, and as he comes, he's got dirt on his head, he's got his clothes torn, and he comes and he prostrates himself. He falls down before David and bows down before him. He comes to David, putting on a good show.

Putting on a very convincing show. Now, we'll find out in a few verses that this guy is an Amalekite, which was Israel's enemy, which is a picture of the flesh as we work our way through the scriptures many times. And so here we see that the flesh puts on a convincing show. Now, this guy is...

Well, he's got dirt on his head. He's got his clothes torn. This was the typical way to express that you were in mourning for them. That was what they did in those days. They threw dust in the air and let it fall on them. They tore their clothes. You'll see David tear his clothes in a little bit when he finds out that Saul is dead. That was their...

method of expressing their mourning and their sadness. And now he comes and he bows down before David. But as we work our way through this passage, you'll find that this guy is actually not in mourning. He's actually not in this time of mourning that he is, you know, kind of representing here. He's, well, he's faking it.

He's putting on a show, and it's very convincing. And so he comes and he bows down before David. The commentator John Butler says, the Amalekite put dirt on his head and tore his clothes so that he would look like he was mourning, when in truth, he was hoping to get a reward with his tail.

He was coming not to share the news and to, you know, mourn together, but he was coming to try to get some advantage for himself. As we talk about our sinful nature, as we think about that wrestling match that we have and that battle that we face, you need to understand that the flesh can put on a very convincing show.

That it is, you know, thinking through. Your sinful nature is very strategic and will do its best to try to convince you, well, of whatever it is that it wants for itself. And it's out to get what it wants. Never mistake that. Your sinful nature is out for itself.

But in order to do so, it tries to convince you to give in to its demands. Think about what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 17, 9. We quote it a lot. But the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Above everything else, the highest thing, the best thing that your heart can do is be deceitful. And who is it deceiving?

You know, we are so proud of ourselves many times that how well we can deceive others, right? And how well we've got them fooled, which is probably not the truth. And we probably don't have people fooled as much as we think that we do. But you know who we fool the most? Our own selves. Our heart is an expert working with our sinful nature. It's an expert at deceiving us.

So that we don't even know and understand our own hearts and motives many times. Our flesh puts on a convincing show. Our flesh is an expert at convincing us that what is wrong is right and what is right is wrong. And can put on, you know, mourning apparel or righteous apparel or, you know, this or that. It can cover it up. It can put on a good show to convince us that

that everything is the way that it should be when in reality it's a complete falsehood. It's totally a show that does not reflect the truth. And going along with that, we get point number two found in verses 3 through 12, and that is the flesh tells a convincing story.

So it puts on a good show. And now, I mean, there's some good tales to go with it. There's a convincing story that goes along with this demonstration of mourning. In verse 3, David says to him, where have you come from?

So he said to him, I have escaped from the camp of Israel. Then David said to him, how did the matter go? Please tell me. And he answered, the people have fled from the battle. Many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. So as this guy comes expressing mourning, you know, he comes in all black and, you know, perhaps with the veil or whatever, right? You understand that he's dressed as a mourner. He's dressed as one coming from a funeral. And

David says, how did it go? You can imagine David. He was right there in the midst about to go to battle, and then he got kicked out. He had to leave. It's been probably about a week or so. He has no idea what happened.

It's not like, you know, today where if there's a battle somewhere, you know, everybody knows instantly no matter where you are. But it took a while for the news to travel. And so here's David. He sees this guy. He's anxious to hear, how did it go? What happened as they battled there in Israel? And so the guy tells him, well, it didn't go so well. Israel lost. The people have fled. Many have fallen. And Saul and Jonathan are dead also.

Now, it seems like David has a little bit of suspicion as he is listening to this guy tell this story, because in verse 5, David says to him, how do you know that Saul and Jonathan, his son, are dead? He doesn't just go straight into a time of mourning, which he will do, but he's like, oh, okay, Jonathan and Saul are dead. How do you know?

Tell me, you know, what makes you say, how do you know that they are dead? And so now this Amalekite tells a pretty convincing story. It's a pretty clever story to convince David of Saul's death. In verse 6, the young man who told him said, as I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul leaning on his spear. And indeed, the chariots and the horsemen followed hard after him.

So you get the picture? So I'm just kind of like cruising by, just chilling, you know, I'm just walking around. And then, oh, by chance, I just find myself accidentally on the middle of a battlefield. I didn't realize it at the time, but yeah, so I was on a battlefield and then I looked over and there's Saul and he's leaning on his spear. And I see right behind Saul, there's all these chariots and horses like coming down on him. They're about to overtake him.

And as Saul saw me in verse 7, he says, he called to me and I answered, here I am. Verse 8, and he said to me, who are you? So I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said to me again, please stand over me and kill me. For anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me. And so there I was, I saw the situation and these guys are coming down and he's barely alive and leaning on his spear. And he asked me to come and kill him.

so that they wouldn't catch him. Verse 10. So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my Lord. And so this guy, this Amalekite, tells this story about Saul and his death and how he was there, how he witnessed it, and he ended up putting Saul to death to save him from the Philistines.

It's an interesting story this guy tells. Convincing story. In fact, so convincing that Bible scholars go back and forth on whether or not what this guy says is the truth. And the reason why there's a question is, well, in chapter 31 of 1 Samuel, just the chapter right before this, it records for us there how Saul dies. And the details from chapter 31 say,

And chapter 1, they don't line up. They don't match up exactly.

And so Bible scholars go back and forth on, well, no, 31 is the official. That's the authorized version of, you know, how Saul died in chapter one. That was all fake. And then others will come back and say, well, no, maybe it's kind of a blend of the two that both happened. And, you know, if you work it just right, that, you know, both of these accounts can be true. You know, if you think about it and lay out this in a certain way.

And they go back and forth, and it's a pretty convincing story because, well, you can make it work if you work really hard to make it work and to make it match 1 Samuel 31. Now, David didn't have 1 Samuel 31, so he didn't have that to go off of as a basis for his decision-making and understanding. But we, looking at it, we do, and we see, yeah, there's some inconsistencies.

In 1 Samuel chapter 31, it tells us that his armor bearer, Saul's armor bearer, waited until Saul was dead. So Saul falls on his own sword, it says in 1 Samuel 31. His armor bearer sees this happen and

because he refused to kill Saul. And so he falls on his own sword after he sees and verifies that Saul is dead. And so there's an issue there with this Amalekite story that, you know, Saul was there, no mention of the armor bearer, and that he was still alive. And

In chapter 31, it tells us that the armor bearer watched him die and then killed himself. And so there was no room for the Amalekite to jump in there. Another inconsistency that we see, he describes Saul as leaning on his spear here in verse 6 of chapter 1.

And back in chapter 31, it was his sword that he fell on. It says in 1 Samuel 31, verse 4, therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. So he didn't fall on his spear, he fell on his sword. But the Amalekite says, oh yeah, he was, you know, leaning on his spear. He fell on his spear and tried to kill himself with the spear that way.

And then in verse 6 here of chapter 1, he describes this scene of the chariots and horsemen following hard after Saul. And it gives this picture, right, that's like you can see Saul looking behind him, and here's this entourage of this army that's coming. But it's interesting as you look at 1 Samuel 31, verse 8.

after the battle. It says it happened the next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. So the Amalekite paints this picture like they knew where Saul was. They were out to get him. They were about to get him. They were right on top of him. And I rescued him by putting him to death so that they wouldn't get him and go torture him. But we find from the original account that

They didn't discover that Saul was dead. They didn't discover that Saul was there until the next day. So they weren't right there on top. Well, there was a battle and they were scattered, but it was the next day. It wasn't quite the scene, the scenario that this Amalekite is explaining as he tells this story to David. But it's a convincing story.

If you just take it as it is by itself, wow, okay, that's an amazing event that took place. And good thing you just happened to be there at that moment so that you could save Saul from the torture of the Philistines. Now, whether or not it happened that way,

The one thing that is clear from all that the Amalekite has said, and that is that Saul is dead. And so verse 11, it tells us that David took hold of his 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 and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. David here goes straight into a time of mourning here.

He tears his own clothes because that's how you expressed grief. That's how they cried out in their sorrow. He tore the clothes and his men with him also. And kind of a side note from...

The main point of this evening, which is pursuing God's heart against the flesh. As we look at David, we do get to see, man, such a great picture of someone who has the character and has the heart of God and pursues God's heart even in the midst of the death of this one who has brought such misery to David's life.

For years, Saul has tried to kill David. For years, Saul has really, you know, put David in a very bad situation and bad spots and tried to take him over and over and over again through no fault of David's, but because of Saul's, you know, understanding that God was raising up David to be the next king of Israel.

And Saul persecuted David. He fought against David. He tried to kill David over and over and over again. And I would imagine being in David's shoes like a relief. Like, yes, finally, I don't have to run from Saul anymore. Finally, yes. You know, I don't have to have my life threatened and spears thrown at my head like that from the king of Israel. And I could imagine David rejoicing at this moment.

announcement of Saul's death, but David doesn't rejoice. He weeps. He sorrows. He mourns because he's a man after God's own heart. I like what Pastor Dave Guzik says about this characteristic of David. Talking about Saul at first, he says that out of pure jealousy, hatred, spite, and ungodliness, Saul took away David's family, his home, his career, his security, and the best years of David's life.

Yet David mourned and wept and fasted when he learned of Saul's death. This powerfully demonstrates that our hatred and bitterness and unforgiveness are chosen, not imposed on us. Now, of course, our sinful nature wants to grab hold of bitterness and puts on a good show and tells us a convincing story why we need to be bitter, why we need to have hatred, why we need to not forgive. Here, Dave Guzik points out, no, when we are men and women who pursue God's heart,

We're not going to let those things take root in our hearts and in our lives because we're seeking after what's pleasing to God. God says in the book of Ezekiel chapter 33, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Even the worst of the worst, when they die, God doesn't go, yes, finally, I've been trying to get rid of that person. Never. It's always a tragedy.

When the wicked die. Because when the wicked die, it is, well, it is the end for them. They have sealed their fate. They are now eternally apart from God. That's not what God wants. He has no joy in that. And here we find Saul dying in a state of rebellion and wickedness and just fighting against God the whole way down. And David, he accurately portrays here the heart of God. He weeps and he mourns.

Again, an accurate representation, a good example for us of what it looks like to pursue God's heart against the flesh. You've got to understand, David was not like some crazy guy who didn't struggle with anything. He was tempted to have bitterness, for sure. He was tempted to have hatred and to hold on to it, for sure. But he was tempted to have bitterness, for sure.

He wanted to. His flesh longed for and craved those things. But David put God first and sought God's heart. The flesh puts on a convincing show and tells a convincing story. But we, we need to look beyond those things at what God actually says. Proverbs tells us in Proverbs 18, verse 17, the first one to plead his cause seems right.

until his neighbor comes and examines him. When there's a dispute between two people, one comes and they tell their side of the story, and boy, it is sure convincing, isn't it? Like, wow, you're right. Man, that person is a jerk. I can't believe they did that to you. And then if you will hear the other side of the story...

Well, then very often it's reverse of what you originally thought. A lot of times it's not at all the picture that was first painted by the one who told you. And that's what this proverb is highlighting. But I bring that up in context of the flesh tonight to say, listen, your flesh is going to paint you a picture, tell you a convincing story and put on a convincing show to try to convince you

That something that is not of God is okay. That something that is absolutely wrong is actually fine to do. The flesh is going to try to convince you. And if you just listen to the first one who pleads their case, you're going to be fooled. It's going to seem right.

But this evening, I want to encourage you to challenge your flesh. That is to challenge your thoughts, to challenge your heart, which is so good at deceiving you. You need to challenge what you think. You need to challenge what you feel.

This is how I feel. Is it okay for me to feel this way? This is what I think. Is it okay for me to think this way? This is where I want to go. Is it okay for me to want those things? You need to challenge yourself and not just follow those things because your heart will lead you astray. And your flesh is pursuing, you know, fleeing away from God's heart. Your flesh is wanting to take you away from what God wants and what's pleasing to God.

And if we just listen to the first side of the story, what our flesh has to say, and understand your flesh is the first one to speak up, right? Because, well, that's right there internal within you. I mean, you know right away when your flesh is craving something and wanting something and desiring something, that's the first voice you're going to hear. But you need to discipline yourself a bit and learn to hear the other side. And how do you hear the other side?

You need to hear God's perspective on what you think and how you feel and where you go and what to do. How do you do that? Well, there's lots of things that we could consider, but I think this one kind of gives us something solid to hold on to. Hebrews 4, verse 12 says,

Your heart is deceitful. It's an expert at tricking you and putting on a convincing show and telling you a convincing story.

But the word of God can cut through that deception and reveal the thoughts and intents of the heart. Listen, you want this and here's why.

And it's not the beautiful picture that your sinful nature painted for you. It's not because you're so loving, you know, you're such a loving and caring person that you want to behave that way. And that's why you're going to do that because you're so amazing. No, actually, the word just cuts through the heart and says, no, look, you're wicked. And that is absolutely not what God wants. And you're going to pursue that against the things that God has said to your own peril.

And the word of God is able to cut through and reveal what it is that our flesh is trying to trick us into. Those things that our sinful nature is craving and desiring and wanting that are contrary to the things of God. And so we need to be men and women who are in God's word.

Because it's living and powerful. It's active and it cuts through and reveals the thoughts and intents of the heart. This evening, I want to encourage you, let God tell you the other side of the story. Don't just grab hold of your first thought, your first feeling, what you think, where you want to go. Don't just let that be. That's just the one side of the story.

You need to hear the other side. You need to hear what God has to say on the matter. And that means you get into the word of God and let God's word examine you and reveal what's happening within. Well, moving on to point number three, we're going to be looking at verse 10 just all by itself. In verse 10, it says, "'So I stood over him and killed him "'because I was sure that he could not live "'after he had fallen. "'And I took the crown that was on his head "'and the bracelet that was on his arm, "'and I've brought them here to my Lord.'"

Point number three is the flesh jumps to conclusions. When you think about your sinful nature, and as you seek to understand this battle that we face with our own self, you need to understand one of the ways that our flesh operates is that it skips to the end. When I was a teenager, I had this habit where I would cut off my parents or any adult that was speaking from

and say, I know, before they could finish telling me whatever it was they wanted to tell me. And they were trying to tell me, I know. Stop talking, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. I remember my dad getting so frustrated. He says, you don't know what I'm about to say. You don't know. And then I'd go off and do something stupid. He said, see, you didn't know. But I would hear the first few words, maybe the first sentence of whatever it was they wanted to say. And

And I would immediately jump to the end. I know. You don't got to tell me. I know. I know what you're going to say. I know the rest. I know. You don't have to tell me. And I did not want to hear whatever they had to say. This has not changed very much over the past 30 years. Our flesh jumps to conclusions. We think we know. We're convinced. We've got to figure it out. We're convinced. We know where this is going. And it is a huge mistake to make decisions based on...

where you think something is going. Just all that by itself. I mean, there is wisdom in looking ahead, and there is a need for us to look ahead and to think ahead. But with education and wisdom and counsel, we make those decisions. But to make decisions because I already know what's going on, I already know which way it's going, you know, I already know. It's a huge mistake to jump to conclusions. And so here you see the Amalekites say, look, I stood over him and killed him, and

Because I was sure that he could not live. So David, you know, I don't know if you know, but I went to medical school.

and, you know, I have my degree, and I know how to evaluate someone, whether or not they're going to live or die on the battlefield, and I saw the chariots coming, and I did a quick analysis. I checked his heart, you know, I did x-rays, and I did an MRI, and, you know, I tested everything. Yeah, yeah, he's not going to survive. All right, so I just chopped off his head, because I already knew, I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. Now, first of all, we don't really believe his story, but secondly, he died.

He comes to this conclusion. Yeah, yeah, I figured it out. I knew he couldn't live as Eddie was just sharing. Hey, if we all went by that, he wouldn't be here today, right? Oh, he's not gonna survive the pneumonia, you know, just off with his head, you know, just take him out. He's not gonna survive. There's no recovering from that. You don't know. God is able to work far beyond the

what we can understand. And here's what you need to understand as you battle with the flesh, and as your flesh tries to tell you these stories and convince you of these things, it's jumping to conclusions. And if you listen to your flesh, you take yourself out of a place where you can let God work and watch God work. You're not going to lose the house anyways. Why not just, and then fill in the blank, you know, whatever.

They're already going to be upset with you anyways. You know, they're already going to hate you. You're already going to do this. You know what I mean? And you're already projecting what the end result is without allowing room for, but God can intervene. God can work. It's not impossible. Nothing is impossible with God. And what the enemy tries to do is get us to give up and not give God an opportunity to do the miraculous things that he wants to do.

When you're thinking about the flesh and the sinful nature, one of the things probably that comes to mind is the battle with sin and the temptation to sin. And here's one of the ways that the flesh jumps to conclusions and presents it this way to you. Look, you already know you're going to give in eventually anyways. So you might as well just do it now. You already know you can't. You can't go on and on without giving in. You know you're going to give in. That's what your flesh will tell you. It jumps to the end.

But you know, God is able to work. Don't give up on God. Don't give up on God working in you. You don't have to give in. There is opportunity for God to bring deliverance. In fact, God declares, he will not allow temptation, which is more than you can bear, but with the temptation will always provide a way of escape. But the flesh jumps to the conclusion and says, no, there's no way of escape. There's no way out of this. You're going to give in. You might as well just give in right now and get you to give up.

Without giving God an opportunity to give you strength and to give you what you need and to provide a way of escape. Another way our flesh jumps to conclusions is when we read text messages from Jonathan or others around you. But Jonathan in particular, because he writes these long text messages and you got to sit and figure out what on earth is he talking about? So hard to understand. What do you mean by that? Listen, we, we, we,

struggle with communication, whether it's by voice or text or phone or Skype or whatever. It's a struggle. And we misunderstand. We miscommunicate. But you know what your flesh does? Your flesh says, this is what they meant. Tonight, I told Richard, hey, you look nice today. And he said, what? You decided I put on a couple pounds? I said, no, no. I said, you look nice. I know, but you meant... That didn't really happen. But that's what happens in our minds, doesn't it? That's what happens in our hearts. That...

They said this, but they meant that. And we are jumping to conclusions where our flesh will throw these twists on things that he wants to use. The enemy wants to use these things to bring us apart, to bring division, to mess us up. The flesh jumps to conclusions.

Even think about the disciples. They're on the boat, you know, in the Sea of Galilee, and the wind and the waves come up, and they're like fearing for their lives that the storm is so dangerous while Jesus is asleep at the front of the boat. And they wake Jesus up. This is in Mark chapter 4, if you want to look it up later. They wake Jesus up and say, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Don't you care? They jump to a conclusion.

We're about to die, and Jesus, you don't care. It is easy for us to jump to that conclusion, isn't it? When we're facing a difficulty, when there's a storm for us, and our flesh will try to jump to that conclusion and convince us, Jesus doesn't care. He doesn't care. Look at what you're going through. Look how hard it is. Look how difficult it is. He doesn't care. That's not the truth, but that is what your sinful nature will be working hard to convince you of.

Similar example, like when Peter got out of the boat to walk on the water as Jesus called him out to him. What happened? Peter saw the wind. He saw the waves. He jumped to a conclusion. This is too much. I can't do this. And he began to sink because he began to focus on these things rather than on the Lord. And he lost faith. The flesh is out to get you to jump to that conclusion with it.

To not believe God, to not let God have opportunity to work, to not give room for God to do the miraculous with the temptations that you face, with the provisions that you need, with the direction that you need, with the work that can happen or needs to happen or God wants to do, that the flesh can

will always try to get you to sell out before God has the opportunity to come through and provide and be faithful just like he always is. The flesh jumps to conclusions, telling a convincing story, putting on a very convincing show, trying to get you to miss out on what God has in store for you. Well, still looking at verse 10, here's point number four. The flesh is concerned with self.

All of this, the convincing story, the convincing show, the jumping to conclusions, the flesh is doing, your sinful nature is really just working hard at manipulating you to get what it wants. It's kind of like we have this venom, right? You guys know venom in Spider-Man? It's like this nature, this character that battles against us trying to get what it wants. And there's a battle between the flesh and the spirit in that way.

And the flesh is concerned with itself. It's not concerned with your soul. It's not concerned with your spirit. It's not concerned with your walk with God. It's not concerned with your family. It's not concerned with your friends. It's not concerned with your work. It's not concerned with God's plan for you. It's concerned with itself. Here in verse 10, again, we see the Amalekite says, "'So I stood over him and killed him "'because I was sure that he could not live "'after he had fallen and then notice. "'And I took the crown that was on his head "'and the bracelet that was on his arm "'and have brought them here to my Lord.'"

The Amalekite says, look, here's the crown of Saul. Here's the bracelet of Saul. I have brought them to you. Now, again, it's a good show. And you could look at this, and I'm sure this is what the Amalekite was showing, you know, because David, I'm so loyal to you, and I'm so faithful to you, and I know you're called to be king, and so here I've brought you a present, right? Like, that's the show. That's the impression that he's seeking to give.

He's seeking to gain favor with David. But is that what was really going on? Now again, I would remind you that they didn't find Saul until the next day. It's not the scene. It's not the scenario that the Amalekite is painting for us. It seems clear from the context here that he takes the crown and the bracelet and he's seeking...

to gain an audience with David, to gain favor with David, to get something for himself. Putting on a good show, for sure, but not really mourning, not really weeping, not really what's in his heart is not what's being represented on the outside. Dave Guzik on this says, "'We could easily imagine the Amalekite smiling "'as he says this, "'assuming that David is delighted "'that his enemy and his rival is dead.'

Now David can take the royal crown and bracelet and wear them himself. David, you're going to be so thankful right now. Look at what I've brought you. Aren't you happy? Look, Saul's dead, and now you can have the crown. You're welcome. And that's where his mind is at, thinking that there is reward for his behavior. He is operating out of self-interest, concerned for himself.

looking out for himself, wanting reward for this. What should the Amalekite have done? I think a good example for us to consider is found in 1 Samuel chapter 31, verses 11 through 13, where you see the men of Jabesh-Gilead, when they hear that the Philistines take Saul's body and pin it to the wall, the men of Jabesh-Gilead

In honor of their king, they risk their necks. They go, they break into the town, they pull his body off. They come and they give him a proper burial out of love and respect for their king. This Amalekite,

He's probably just rummaging through the bodies for whatever he can find anyways. He comes across Saul. He doesn't care about Saul. He doesn't give him a proper burial. He doesn't honor him. He doesn't respect him at all. He just takes these things and brings them to David so that he can get his reward. This really accurately demonstrates your flesh. It is concerned with itself. It wants what it wants, and it's not what God wants.

And if you want what's best for you, it's not what you want either. You need to pursue God's heart against the flesh. As Jesus said in Matthew 16, verse 24, if you desire to come after me, let him deny himself. There's a denial that has to take place, saying no to the flesh.

and pursuing God's heart contrary to what your sinful nature desires. You don't want to pray? Of course you don't want to pray. You don't want to read? Of course you don't want to read. You don't want to do what's right? You don't want to do the right thing? You don't want to make hard choices? Of course! Your sinful nature is at work against you in all of those areas. But you need to pursue God's heart against those desires and in spite of those battles within because your sinful nature is out for itself.

And your body is not going to last. Your sinful nature is not going to last. It is a horrible idea to base your life on something that is temporary, your flesh. It's not going to last, and it's not going to go well if you allow that to dominate you. Well, finishing it up in verses 13 through 16, we have point number five, and that is the flesh must be put to death.

Now, remember, we're talking symbolically, okay? So we're not talking about actually killing your body, but denying yourself and what Jesus had just talked about. In verse 13, David said to the young man who told him, where are you from? And he answered, I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite. So 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 one of the young men and said, go near and execute him. And he struck him so that he died.

So David said to him, your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, I have killed the Lord's anointed. Now again, whether this guy's story is true, whether, you know, it all can work out if you force it or work really hard, or how much David knew, we don't know. But David concludes, look, you testified against yourself. You killed the Lord's anointed.

And we know, we understand, we can see throughout David's life that he had opportunity to take Saul out. David did. But he would not. And he declared then, I will not. He's the Lord's anointed. He honored and respected that God has given him that role. God has given him that position. And so it was not right for David to fight against the one that God had placed there, to lay his hand upon the one that God had placed there. God has set authorities in our lives.

And it's not right. We are not allowed to just take matters into our own hands and fight against them or talk against them or whatever. Those things, they're established by the Lord. And we need to honor those that God has placed in our life in that way. And David did, but this guy did not.

David says, you deserve to die as a result of how you treated Saul. Again, whether you killed Saul or whether you robbed him for your own gain, you deserve to die because of the way that you treated the Lord's anointed. The flesh must be put to death. This is the reality of our lives. And if you're going to be a man or a woman who pursues God's heart,

it's gonna come at a cost. There's gonna be a battle and you're gonna have to deny yourself. You're gonna have to put your flesh to death and say, I know you're screaming at me and you want these things and you're putting on a really convincing show and you're telling a really good story, but I'm not going to fall for it. Paul tells us in Romans 8, verse 13, if you live according to the flesh, you will die. Here's the thing. If you buy the story, if you let your sinful nature die,

tell you what's what, tell you what to do, tell you where to go, tell you how to live, and if you believe your sinful nature, Paul says you will die. It will be the death of you. It will destroy you to listen to your sinful nature, your flesh. But on the other hand, if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. If you will walk...

to please God. If you will ask God for help, if you will ask God to give you his Holy Spirit that you can walk with him and see through the lies and the deception of your own sinful nature, you will live. You'll experience an abundance of life that comes from walking with God and knowing God and experiencing his plans. David, he was not a perfect man.

But as he repented and came back to the Lord continually and repeatedly, he kept putting himself back in that place of the center of God's will. And he experienced glorious things as a result. The same is true for us. If we want to be those who pursue God's heart, understand it's going to be against the flesh.

Don't expect to pursue God's heart and it's just going to be easy. There's going to be just open doors everywhere you go. It's all, yeah, I'm just going to suddenly just reading the Bible. Oh yeah, it's easy. I just love it all the time. I never have any struggles with it. And you know, some Christians try to like put on that show like, oh yeah, I read the devotional. Oh yeah, every day. I never miss a day. And yeah, I read 40 chapters a day and spend three hours in prayer. And yeah, it's just amazing. You know, I just love it every day, every day, every day.

Hey, there's some days you don't want to read. You're going to pursue God's heart. It's going to be against your flesh. You're going to have to battle. You're going to have to fight. But the flesh is going to put on a convincing show. Hey, you don't have to go to church today. Look, there's a good show on. There's a good thing. There's a good this. There's a good that. You've worked really hard. Convincing story. You don't need to walk with God. You don't need to share your faith. You don't need to do this. You don't need to obey. Lots of ways the flesh will try to convince you

to ignore what God has said and to not pursue God's heart. Jumping to conclusions is one of them. But understand your flesh is only concerned with itself. Let God cut through all of the lies, all of the deception. I want to finish with one last slide, and that is your flesh must be put to death or it will be the death of you. If you think about David versus Amalek, here's this Amalekite. David has just fought the Amalekites.

In 1 Samuel chapter 30, because God said, go get him, David. I'm going to give you victory. And David, inquiring of the Lord, walking with the Lord, he went and he got victory over the flesh. He came back and he's at home for a couple days before he hears this news, having had victory over Amalek because he had called out to the Lord and inquired of the Lord and walked with the Lord.

But when Saul was sent out against Amalek, he did not do what God told him to do. Back in 1 Samuel, he said, I'm not going to obey everything that God says. And the end result, many years later, it's an Amalekite. One of those that God had called Saul to destroy, one of those guys, it's him who either kills him or robs him. We don't know for sure, but we know he robbed him, so that's for sure. But it's this flesh, it's this one that Saul didn't take care of.

And that's what ended up destroying him at the end. It's a really powerful picture for us. You got to deal with those things. Don't allow those sinful things. Don't allow those behaviors to just stay or just kind of like camp out in the background. They'll come back and bite you. They'll come back to haunt you. They'll come back to destroy you. Instead, we need to be like David, to pursue God's heart, to seek him, to put him first, and to please him first and foremost in our lives.

Let's pray. God, I pray for each one of us that you would help us to be your children, Lord, who walk with you, who pursue your heart, who are desiring you and your will and pleasing you above all else. God, I pray that you would help us to see and to recognize the lies and the deceptions of our own sinful nature, our flesh, which tries so hard to sabotage us in our walk with you.

God, would you help us to recognize those things, that we could see them and identify them, repent from them, Lord, that we could pursue your heart and put you first. And God, I pray that you would fill us with your spirit, empower us, Lord, that we might put to death the deeds of the flesh, that we might stay away from all of these things that are not of you, Lord, that we might fill our lives with more and more of you and your glory and your blessings. I pray, Lord, that you would be with us and strengthen us

Help us to learn these lessons that like David, we would pursue your heart. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. God bless you guys. 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.