Pastor Steve Richards

This week, I am attending a conference in Los Angeles. In yesterday’s opening presentation, the speaker said something that sounded very much like Jesus’ words from Matthew 6. The speaker said, “ignore the voices.” It is hard to be still and to be quiet and to be available to God’s voice when there are so many voices. And there are so many voices. So many voices within me and so many voices all around me. This is a noisy and ever more complicated world. What voices do you need to ignore?

Jesus said, Go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. It is not that God waits until we go to our rooms and close the door, but to truly hear God’s voice we must close the door to all of the other voices and get quiet enough to hear God’s.

We don’t pray because God doesn’t know what is happening in our lives. But do we know? Unless we slow down, go to our room, close the door and get quiet. That’s the way I’ve made myself available to what God has for me.

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will ge given to you as well. My hope is that your time in scripture today is the opportunity you need to close the door, ignore the voices, and listen for God.

What are the “demons” that we face? Today’s readings point to many such challenges. Saul faced his demons of anger, jealousy, rage, obsession, and fear. He allowed these demons to overwhelm him, and yet he could be overwhelmed by the presence of God which is what we read at the end of chapter 18.

Jonathan and Michal faced the evil will of Saul with courage. Their lack of self-interest was in sharp contrast to Saul’s obsession with himself. To survive, David ran from the wrath of Saul and found refuge in God by living with Samuel. Where do we go to find refuge? David prayed: You are my strength, I sing praise to you. You, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely. (Psalm 59)

When have we leaned into our faith, totally and completely letting go of control, so that God could be our strength and fortress?

In Matthew 4, even Jesus faced demons of putting self-interest above God through the temptations in the wilderness. Jesus overcame the attacks by claiming the strength that only God can provide. The chapter ends with people coming to Jesus for healing.

At the start of this new day, “you, God, are my fortress”. If today is like other days, I will face demons from within and beyond. If I am not clearly focused on where my strength is found, I will not be ready.

The Lord was with David (1 Samuel 18:28). These words will become a refrain as we follow the life of David. Lest we think God has chosen a favorite and it is David instead of King Saul, this is more about what David and Saul have chosen. When we were first introduced to David, we read that he was a man after [God’s] own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). We’ve also learned that Saul placed a higher priority on Saul than on God.

The story shows that God is at work in our lives, but not apart from our actions. If God is with us, or if we have become alienated from God, it is not because it was predetermined. It is more about the daily conduct of our lives. David was devoted to God. That did not mean God gave David special favors. We simply see the outcome of a life totally devoted to God.

David himself wrote in Psalm 11: In the LORD I take refuge. In so many ways, it is easier to be a Saul than to be a David. Trust in God is a daily commitment to being a person after God’s own heart.

The story of Saul is a tragic story. He was the one God picked to be king but God quickly gave up on Saul. It does not appear that Saul did anything horrible – at least not to this point in the story. It even appears that Saul was trying to win God’s favor. But when he spared the life of Agag was it compassion or was it for Saul’s glory? What about the monument that Saul built to himself? What about the sacrifices – were they to honor God or to show God how honorable Saul was?

God decided that Saul did not have the leadership qualities necessary to be Israel’s future. As we will continue to see, Saul tried but he didn’t have the necessary qualities. Samuel’s rejection of Saul seems harsh, but Samuel acted out of obedience to God’s command and was filled with grief for Saul. God called Samuel to annoint David. God would choose the youngest and seemingly weakest, but the one “after God’s own heart”.

These chapters point to the importance of prayerful discernment of God’s will before acting, rather than acting with the assumption that God’s will is on our side. In Matthew 1, Joseph’s perspective was changed as a result of such discernment.

Lord, what do you want to do through me?

When I was in my teens, my mother went back to college and then got a job. It changed a lot of things. She was no longer home when my sisters and I got home from school. She would leave instructions for us. She had usually started the evening meal but it was our responsibility to put the meal in the oven and get everything else ready. Her instructions were clear. Our desire to do what her instructions told us to do usually varied from what she wanted, but when she made a phone call to tell us she was on her way, we took immediate action. Her call was the warning that we needed. I did not want her to be displeased with what she discovered when she arrived, not because I was afraid of her response. I wanted her to be proud. To know that we had succeeded, mattered.

I do not know what was in the mind of the Corinthians. I wish we had some account of what they were thinking and doing when Paul’s letter arrived. Paul’s words indicate there was trouble. Paul expected change. His letter was filled with instructions that were intended to bring about changed thinking and action. As his letter concluded, he said ,”I am on my way.” I suspect that caught their attention. They knew how much Paul loved them, how much Paul wanted them to be faithful to Jesus Christ, and to turn from ways that were contrary to his teaching.

Paul’s final warning: I am coming. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

I woke up this morning ready to greet a new day. I have plenty of things I plan to do, plenty of things that are required of me by others and myself. Reading these words of Paul, I want to do all that I do in such a way that I make Jesus proud.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.I will need this all day today. So will you.

If I love you more, will you love me less? (2 Corinthians 12:15b)

In these final chapters of 2 Corinthians, we are learning how to respond when under attack by others. Paul’s authority is questioned. His motives are questioned. His theology is questioned. And now he is accused of taking money for himself that he told them would be an offering for the church in Jerusalem. How often a family dispute involves money and possessions. Paul is hurt deeply by the accusations: it is painful to love more and be loved less. We want the love we express to be received and returned in equal measure, but too often life does not work that way.

How do you respond when the love you give is not only not repricocated, but your very motive for loving is attacked? Paul does not attack but remains vulnerable. He responds with patient, biblical, direct appeals and a certain amount of humor and humility. He does not enter the fray, and keeps his focus on what God wants to accomplish through him. We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening. (12:19)

Paul will not let go of them. His love for them is genuine. It is not easy for Paul, but this is not about Paul but what God can do through him. How much heartache could be avoided if we could learn the lessons of Paul.

Finally, Paul is writing his own letter of recommendation. What makes Paul’s perspective on the Christian faith any better than the other teachers that he criticizes? Why listen to Paul? What gives him legitimacy? Prison, beatings, floggings, stoning, shipwrecks – these are the sort of events that would describe an unsavory character that should be avoided. Good, upstanding citizens then and now would look for legitimacy among those who appear to prosper.

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. (11:30) Hold on a minute. Maybe you’ve experienced an interview where you have been asked to describe your strengths and weaknesses. I hate that question, because I know I need to be honest enough to admit a weakness just not one that would give anyone cause for concern. But Paul puts his whole sordid history in writing. Of course, all that he has suffered was the result of his unwavering commitment to the risen Christ.

Paul reminds us that Jesus turned conventional values upside down. Jesus was the one taken outside the city wall and executed as a common criminal. Who would follow such a Messiah? Paul was lowered in a basket from the city wall and slipped away. What sort of character recommendation is that? In the next chapter, Paul will say: For when I am weak, then I am strong. (12:10)

Looking for Paul’s legitimacy as a teacher and an apostle? Look at his wounds, a result of his devotion to Christ. When we are under attack, when we are facing struggles – that’s when we are found faithful. Legitimacy is found when life is difficult and faith is life.

Like me, are you also getting the idea that whatever the people want will not turn out as they think it will? Oh, but we won’t be like those people. We will be better than that! Here we are boasting in ourselves.

The Israelites want a king. All the other nations have kings so why not Israel? But unlike other nations, Israel already has a king otherwise known as God. They, of course, can’t see God, but they can see how other nations have kings. God tries to convince them that they will suffer miserably under the authority of a king. The people will not listen. They want a king. Finally, God hears their cry, allows for a king, and tells them that God will let them experience the consequences. How can this possibly end well? Saul is annointed king.

In the New Testament, Paul is accused of being bold in his letters but weak in person. His critics accuse him of not being the authority that is needed, i.e. not the kind of authority his critics want to be. Is boasting what you want? Paul is saying don’t expect boasting to look like what you think it should. Our whole lives are to be shaped around Jesus Christ and what God wants. Let those who boast boast in the Lord. For it is not those who commend themselves who are approved, but those whom the Lord commends.

Our world is still in desperate need of such leadership.

Does one’s motive matter? I find the story of the ark of the covenant in 1 Samuel to be fascinating. In an effort to be victorious in battle they brought the ark onto the battlefield – as if the ark itself would protect them. They were not only soundly defeated but the ark was captured by the Philistines. But then each of the Philistine cities that kept the ark suffered great tragedy. Fearing that they all might be killed, the Philistines sent the ark back to the Israelites. And the Israelites who then treated the ark disrespectfully died.

What are we to make of this story? The ark represented the presence of Yahweh (LORD) in the midst of Israel. In the past, it had been carried into battle (Joshua 6). The LORD (that is the ark) was the key to deliverance from their enemies. This time, however, the ark was present and they were defeated. Could Israel’s God be powerless? Or was defeat the will of God? I wonder about those times when we assume our “rightness” because we think God is on our side. It is a very precarious place and not at all as “right” as we might think.

In the end, this story of the ark is not really about the ark. It is the story of God who does what God wills and not what we will. We must come before God respectfully. God is to be honored, not so we can get God to do what we want when we want. Rather, we honor and respect God because that is God’s will – and such attitude makes us more than we can make ourselves.

The words of Paul seem to relate: Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7) Motive matters. I’m still hoping to live at a level where my motives match God’s will.

He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today.

He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart.

You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!