In this sermon, Pastor Chuck Smith begins by discussing the closing events of 1 Samuel, which include the death of Saul and his sons at the hands of the Philistines. He then transitions to the topic of finding strength and encouragement in the Lord, using the example of David in 2 Samuel. Pastor Chuck emphasizes the importance of relying on God's strength rather than our own, and encourages listeners to seek contentment in godliness rather than satisfying their fleshly desires. He concludes by urging believers to walk with God, experience His presence, and be a witness for Him in their lives.

Oh, let the Son of God enfold you With His Spirit and His love Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul Oh, let Him have the things that mold you And His Spirit like a dove Will descend upon your life And make you whole And make you whole hit by an arrow by one of the archers of the Philistines. It did not kill him, but it was a bad wound. He felt he was going to die of it, and so he asked his armor bearer to go ahead and to kill him because he was afraid that if the Philistines would capture him, that they would torture him, that they would probably mutilate his body and even carry him alive back to the cities of the Philistines that they might gloat over their victory. The armor bearer was afraid and hesitant to lay his hand upon Saul, and so Saul put his spear out in front of him and fell upon his spear, and he died. As we get into chapter 2, we get just a slightly different account of Saul's death as told by this young man who brought the news to David. There are two possibilities. The first possibility is as Saul fell upon his sword, it is possible that even he missed his heart. The idea was to set your sword by your heart and then just throw yourself against it. Could be that he missed his heart and that he still remained alive, and when this young fellow from the Amalekite came by, that he called unto him to come over and finish the job because he didn't want to fall into the hands of the Philistines, and the Amalekite finished the job. That's the story the Amalekite told. However, what probably happened is that this young Amalekite was trying to make himself sort of a hero in David's eyes. Knowing how Saul had been pursuing David and the rough time that Saul had been giving David as David actually fled for his life from Saul, he probably figured that David would reward him if he had been the one who had killed Saul. He was definitely looking for a reward. That we get in a further chapter in Samuel as David talks about this young Amalekite coming and telling of the death. He said, he thought that I would reward him for his story, for what he had done. The Amalekites were a fierce nomadic tribe. God said that he had this thing against the Amalekites and they would be an enemy throughout all generations. For they had attacked Israel when Israel first came out of Egypt and was coming towards Mount Sinai. They were attacked in the rear by the Amalekites who attacked the elderly people, the feeble. And it was a sneak attack against Israel. Joshua led the troops of Israel into victory over the Amalekites. As they were getting ready to come into the land of promise, God said to Moses, when you have settled in the land and you become strong and you have peace from your enemies round about, then I want you to go down and settle the score with Amalek. I want you to go down and wipe them out because of their dastardly attack against Israel when you first came out of Egypt. So you've got a score to settle in time to come when you get strong and you're living peaceably in the land. So when Saul had established the kingdom and they were living peaceably in the land, and Samuel came to Saul and said, the Lord has said that you're to go down and utterly wipe out Amalek. Don't leave any one alive. Totally destroy them, all of their animals, everything they have. Just utter devastation. God was bringing his judgment against Amalek. And Saul was to be the instrument of judgment. Saul went down. God gave him victory over the Amalekites. However, he did not obey the command of God. As you remember, he kept some of the animals alive and he let a lot of the people remain alive. So that the Amalekites became a problem to Israel. They, as I said, were nomadic people. They were more or less as Bedouins. In fact, the modern Bedouins are many of them descendants of the Amalekites. After a battle, these people would go into the field of battle to strip the bodies of the fallen soldiers. Picking up whatever loot they could, they would then sell it. They would sell the swords, the spears, the arrows. They'd pick up all of the things that were left in the battlefield. And especially when a battle would move on, they'd be pursuing the enemy. You wouldn't stop to pick up things. You're pursuing the enemy. So these people would come on in and they would strip all of the bodies. And this Amalekite, who came to David with the news of Saul's death, was no doubt one of these fellows who moved into the battlefield after the battle had moved on and the Philistines were pursuing the fleeing Israelis down toward the Jordan River. They moved into the area. And this fellow happened to cross King Saul. He recognized him probably because of his stature, his size. And then there was a golden band around his helmet signifying the king. There was a crown. And then also his bracelet. And so seeing Saul, seeing Saul's body, stripped it and probably made up the story that Saul was still alive, figuring that that would sort of elevate him in David's eyes. And here he is, destroyed David's enemy and figured that he would get some kind of a reward from David for his bringing the loot to David and then sort of a double reward for his story of his killing Saul. Those are the two possibilities. I personally feel that the Amalekite was a liar. But you can't prove it. So chapter 1. David, in the meantime, you remember, had pursued the Amalekites who, when David with his men had left Ziglag to join the Philistines in the battle against Israel, but then was rejected by the Philistine lords. When they got back to Ziglag, they found that the Amalekites had invaded that area. They had moved in where they saw the guys moving out. They thought, all right. They moved in and took all the women captive and all of the cattle and the sheep and all the children. And they made off with them, planning to sell the women and the children as slaves and enjoy the loot. And so when David and his men came back, they found the city of Ziglag like a ghost town. Their wives were gone. Their children were gone. All of their cattle and sheep and donkeys were gone. And so David pursued after the Amalekites, caught up with them, wiped them out, and got his wives and the children and all, and returned back to Ziglag. And so now it came to pass, after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites. And David had been back in Ziglag now for two days, having come back from the slaughter. And of course, bringing all the children and cattle is probably sort of a slower movement. He caught up with the Amalekites in three days. But it was probably eight days or so, getting back with all the children. It came to pass on the third day that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes torn and earth upon his head. This is, of course, a cultural way of showing grief. Ashes or dirt on your head and your clothes ripped. You have a great emotional experience of grief or sorrow, you'd rip your clothes and you'd put ashes on your head or dirt on your head. And here came this man, dirt on his head, his clothes were torn. And so it was when he came to David that he fell to the earth and did obeisance to David. He bowed to him. And David said to him, where have you come from? And he said unto him, out of the camp of Israel, I have escaped. And David said unto him, how went the matter? David was concerned, of course, of Israel's fate, knowing that the Philistines had gone up with a tremendous army. So David inquired, how went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered that the people of Israel have fled from the battle. And many of the people also are fallen and are dead. And Saul and Jonathan, his son, are dead also. In spite of the fact that David was pursued by Saul and mistreated, David still highly respected him. But David loved Jonathan. And the news that Saul and Jonathan, were both of them slain in the battle, hit David very hard. I'm certain that David, in a sense, felt the responsibility. Had he been able to have been in battle with them, they probably could have turned the tide against the Philistines. So David said to the young man who told him, how do you know that Saul and Jonathan are dead? And the young man that told him said, as I happened by chance upon Mount Gilboa. That's an unlikely story. He was probably just up there to loot, knowing that the fight was going on. Behold, Saul had leaned upon his spear. And lo, the chariots and the horsemen were following hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me. And he called to me. And I answered, here am I. And he said unto me, who are you? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. And he said unto me, stand, I pray thee, upon me and slay me. For anguish has come upon me, because my life is still whole in me. I'm not dead. I'm in this horrible situation. He's got an arrow through him and a sword through him, but he's still living. So he said, I stood upon him and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after he was fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and I have brought them hither unto my Lord. And David took hold of his clothes, and he tore them. And likewise all of the men that were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until even for Saul and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. And David said unto the young man that told him, where are you from? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger. I'm an Amalekite. And David said unto him, how is it that you were not afraid to stretch forth your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? And David called one of his young men and said, go over there and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. And David said unto him, your blood be upon your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed. And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son. So we find David rewarded the guy, but not like he was expecting. David had one of the young men put him to death because he had put his hand against Saul, who had been God's anointed. God had said in his word, touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm. With you, I'm quite concerned with what's happening today. I do feel that it is manifestly wrong to number one, beg people for money for the work of God. I don't think God is broke. And I believe that when God guides, God provides. And that I think it's doubly wrong if you beg people to give to God and then you use that money to live an extravagant and lavish lifestyle. It's manifestly wrong to have huge salaries and fancy cars, houses in, you know, the resort areas and all, that's wrong. It's absolutely, there's no justification for that at all. And thus, I believe that God may let a person get by with these things for a time, but ultimately it will catch up with them. However, I don't want to be the person who lays my hand against them. Perchance they did have a true anointing of God at one time on their lives. It is for certain that the anointing had left Saul a long time ago. And yet David still had a respect for Saul because he had been anointed with oil to be the king over Israel. And so I believe that even as God can provide for his own programs, that God can also bring down those who become a stumbling block. And so it is interesting if this young man's story is true, if he really did find Saul still alive and finished the job, it would in a sense be poetic justice because Saul had rebelled against God when God commanded him to utterly wipe out the Amalekites, that he left some of them alive. And his failure to obey completely the word of God cost him his own life. That is one that he should have wiped out because of God's command ultimately wiped him out. It becomes doubly meaningful when you realize in the scriptures that the Amalekites are a type of our flesh life or our life after the flesh. Now, we live in a body and as living in a body, we have body appetites. However, what God did not intend is that man be ruled by his body appetites. God intended that man be ruled by his spirit in fellowship with God. And that really my life should be ruled over by God. That's God's intent and purpose for me, for you. That he is the Lord. That's what we mean when we say Christ is Lord. It means that he rules over our lives. We're not ruled over by the flesh, but we're ruled over by the spirit. The Bible says that if the flesh is ruling over you, then you have what is termed the mind of the flesh. That is, what are you thinking about all the time? You're thinking about your body needs. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? Jesus said, after all these things do the Gentiles or the heathens seek. But you're not to seek those things. You're to seek first the kingdom of God, the spiritual things, his righteousness. These other things will be taken care of. Get the right priorities in your life. Get God first, the things of the spirit first. These other things will all fall into line. But man's lives are all upside down today. They're topsy-turvy today. Because man is thinking and scheming and working to try to satisfy his body appetites. But it's a monster. The more you feed it, the more it grows. The greater the demands. So you can't really satisfy your body appetites. It just is a monster that begins to eat you up. Paul said, godliness with contentment is really being rich. He said, I've learned in whatever state I am in to therewith be content. A man walking after the spirit can learn that. You live a contented life because you're not living after the flesh life. But hey, you can get in that mode and I'll tell you, it'll just take over. So that he that thinks he stands, take heed lest he falls. There's a danger that any of us could be giving over ourselves to the flesh. Develop the mind of the flesh and be destroyed by the flesh. But that's basically what God is saying when he said, go down and utterly wipe out Amalek. Totally destroy the flesh. God said to us, make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the desires of it. God said, if you by the spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh, then you will live. The Bible says, know ye that the old man and the nature of the flesh was crucified with Christ. Therefore, reckon yourselves to be dead with Christ, but alive unto God through the spirit. And so it's important that we take this stand of reckoning the old flesh life to be dead. Utterly, completely, don't give place to it. But if we as Saul rebel against God and leave an area still alive, that area will rise up to destroy us ultimately. And so it's really sort of destroy or be destroyed kind of a thing. That's what God gave to Saul, the order to destroy completely. We'll return with more of our verse-by-verse study through the book of 2 Samuel in our next lesson, as we find David lamenting over Saul's death. And we do hope you'll make plans to join us. 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God bless you in Jesus' name. ♪ Peace, be still ♪ ♪ Peace, be still ♪ And they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and He saved them out of darkness. ♪ Lay all your worries down ♪ Hurt, addiction, anorexia. He brought them out of darkness. Self-mutilation, homosexuality, and the shadow of death. Suicide. And broke their chains in pieces. To order the DVD of this conference and to watch a sneak preview online, visit us at thewordfortoday.org or call 1-800-272-WORD. Again, the number to call is 800-272-9673. This program has been sponsored by The Word for Today in Costa Mesa, California.