SERIES: DAVID - A MAN AFTER GOD¡¦S OWN HEART: Part 6: The Trouble With Success (1&2)
1. 1 Samuel 17:25 Now the Israelites had been saying, ¡§Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.¡¨ 57-58 57 As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine¡¦s head. 58 ¡§Whose son are you, young man?¡¨ Saul asked him. David said, ¡§I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.¡¨
2. 1 Samuel 18:1-5: 1 Samuel 18:1-9: After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. 5 Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul¡¦s officers as well. 6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang: ¡§Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.¡¨ 8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. ¡§They have credited David with tens of thousands,¡¨ he thought, ¡§but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?¡¨ 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David. 14 And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him.
INTRO: David: A Man After God¡¦s Own Heart Pt 6. The Trouble With Success (Pt. 1&2)
We Have Looked At David¡¦s Life Up To Killing Goliath. 1 Samuel 18 is a rich chapter. Talks about kingship, diplomacy, ethics, friendship, jealousy, evil spirits, deceit, selfishness, selfish, user, employee & employer relationship, success, etc. Let¡¦s begin with: ¡§The Trouble With Success¡¨. Example: Successful People Who Lost It All:
1. Success Is A Good Thing.
We all want to be successful. That¡¦s why promotions, being selected, graduations, marriages, recognitions, births, etc. make us feel achieved. They are high moments in our lives. Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan. When you fail, no one wants to be associated with you. Where Was David Taken From? From nothing to something - and overnight. But while success is often associated with a time of celebration, it is also a time of vulnerability. Examples: Elijah (1 Kings 18-19), Jesus (Matthew 3-4), Moses (Exodus 20-32), Joshua (Joshua 6-7), Jacob (Genesis 35), Paul & Silas Acts 16), Job (Job 1-2), Daniel (Daniel 6), Etc.
2. Warnings About Success And Riches
ľ Deuteronomy 8:10-18 10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.
ľ Luke 12:16-21 Parable Of The Rich Fool
ľ 1 Timothy 6:9 But those desiring to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
WHAT NEW BENEFITS DID DAVID HAVE?
1. Favor And Love Of King Saul (1 Samuel 17:57-58: Abner brought him, Saul loved him, etc.)
2. Change Of Venue ¡V From Shepherd To Palace.
3. Change Of Status ¡V Favorite Of The King
4. Love And Admiration Of Military (1 Samuel 18:5).
5. He Won The Friendship Of The King¡¦s Son.
6. Love And Admiration Of The People ¡V He went in and among them and they love him.
7. Love And Admiration Of The Women.
8. He Was The Theme Of The Women¡¦s Songs.
9. He Became The King¡¦s Son-In-Law.
10. He Was Given Command Of The Army Of War.
11. His Family Would Not Pay Taxes In Israel.
12. He Excelled In Everything He Did.
13. He Became A Household Name.
14. He Was 10 Times More Successful Than King Saul.
15. In Summary: He Received Favor (1 Samuel 18:1-4), Praise (1 Samuel 18:5-7). All these praises did not go to his head. The new found celebrity did not change him. Proverbs 27:21 Fire Tests The Purity Of Silver And Gold, But A Person Is Tested By Being Praised.
SOME THE DANGERS OF SUCCESS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL INDIVIDUAL.
1. Arrogance / Pride. One of the biggest mistakes a leader can make is to believe that success is a static concept. Upon achieving success and accomplishment, a leader may think he or she has arrived and can now rest.
2. Complacency. Once pride, arrogance or haughtiness begins to take root in heart and character, the next danger of success is complacency. This is the refusal to grow or learn. I become less sensitive of happenings around me ¡V not David at this stage.
3. Be Careful With People: They can lead you to riot against the person who favor you.
4. Failure To Listen & Learn. My relationship with others is affected because I refuse to listen to anyone ¡V sometimes not even God or the person who placed you there. This makes sense - if I already know it all, what else is there to learn?
5. Teaching As ¡§The Expert¡¨. This affects how I teach. Once I feel like I know it all, I lose my hunger to learn, fail to learn by listening to others, and my teaching becomes the dialogue of an expert. I do not practice the interactive-community model of teaching, in which the teacher is a co-learner rather than the expert. Learning becomes one way - from the expert/teacher to the student/learner.
6. Be Careful How You Receive Praise: Do not go for what is intended for your boss.
7. Leading From Power And Authority. Success can cause me to lead from power and authority rather than as a servant leader. I now want to show them who is the boss.
8. Failure To Receive Feedback. Failure to seek and receive feedback. Feedback communicates that I can continue to do better, to learn more and be more successful in the next endeavor. Feedback leads me to remaining humble.
THE MIXED BLESSINGS OF DAVID¡¦S SUCCESS - FROM OTHERS.
1. Jealousy (1 Samuel 18:8-9). Saul now saw the people now looking favorably at David and singing his praises above himself, so fearing he might lose his kingdom Saul kept a wary eye on David. Instead of looking at the slayer of Goliath with respect, admiration and gratitude that was due him, he watched David with jealousy and looked for ways to hurt him. This jealousy of Saul reminds me of Paul who tells us to ¡§Rejoice with those who rejoice¡¨ (Romans 12:15).
2. Lies About David: That he is seeking to take the throne from him. David is doing all he can to please King Saul, but fear, prejudice and generalizations are detrimental to relationships. When you see someone as a threat, you will minimize and demonize anything that person does.
3. Violence (1 Samuel 18:10-11). How swiftly trouble follows on the heels of triumph. First praises and love for David from everywhere. Honestly, the women¡¦s songs were inappropriate. David was doing everything right when Saul tried to kill him with spears. The reward for killing Goliath was to marry Saul¡¦s daughter and be tax free for the rest of your life. But instead of a wedding, Saul sends him out into more battles, and when it was time to marry Merab, Saul reneged and gave her to another man.
4. Fear (1 Samuel 18:12). Of course we know that the jealousy and the violence didn¡¦t work, so now Saul becomes afraid of David. This too is the natural result of a person who once had the favor of God and now knows that favor resides with someone else. This word for fear in verse 12 is different than the one we see in verse 15. At first Saul was apprehensive about David, but after Saul sent him away to command 1,000 men and David was successful even in this, then Saul became very afraid.
5. Entrapment: Saul tried to trap David into warfare with the Philistines so he could be killed in battle with the enemies.
6. Evil Schemes: Saul then get hitmen to get rid of David since he himself had failed to do so.
7. Isolation And Rejection: Close friends and relatives might reject you ¡V stay away.
HOW WAS DAVID TESTED BY SUCCESS? 3 Major Temptations Like Joseph (Trump)
1. Women: David Was Tested By Female Attention. Most men who make it to the top do not survive this test. They fall for the attention of women. David will later.
2. Power: David Was Tested By A Demotion. Men do not dream of dropping down the ladder of success - but going up. In 1 Samuel 18:5, David gets a big promotion. But 1 Samuel 18:13-15, he is demoted from taking charge of the army to 1000 men. Yet he was faithful in every assignment and God made him successful in everything. He did not concern himself with fame. He bloomed where he was planted. E.g. John 3:26-30: John received a demotion but remained faithful.
3. Wealth: David will begin to live like a beggar. Everything he has is gone. In his frustration, he is tempted to murder in order to have ¡V he does at times and at times he does not.
WHAT DID DAVID LOSE AS A RESULT OF HIS SUCCESS?
1. His Prestigious Position: David, at the height of his popularity, as he was climbing the corporate latter, lost his position due to the jealousy and unwarranted fears of the king.
2. His Close Relationships: David was married to Saul¡¦s daughter, Michal and his best friend was Saul¡¦s son Jonathan. Michal had assisted David in his escape, and Jonathon hides David for a while. In between, David visits Samuel who had anointed him to become the next king of Israel. David then deserts his family. In each case, David had to give up the relationships because Saul would have killed each of these if he knew they were involved in protecting David. Saul is murderous. He tries to kill his own son Jonathan for helping David. He calls his daughter the child of a whore. It wasn¡¦t safe being David¡¦s friend or wife. To protect the people he was closest with David had to give up those relationships.
3. His Personal Dignity: As we will see, hiding places began to run out for David as Saul is starting to close in on his whereabouts. This is a real life fugitive on the run. Wherever David went, Saul had his spies on the lookout. David eventually ends up in the city of Gath, the same place where Goliath was from. As soon as he enters the city, people begin to recognize him (1 Samuel 21:13). So he pretended to be insane in their presence - making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. This is humiliation. David, the best warrior and household word set his personal dignity aside and acts like a crazy man.
CONCLUSION: LESSONS TO LEARN
1. Reaching Success Or Losing Our Security Should Force Us To Take One Day At A Time. Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
2. Reaching Success Or Losing Our Security Teaches Us To Trust In God: 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 Brothers and sisters, we don¡¦t want you to be ignorant about the suffering we experienced in the province of Asia. It was so extreme that it was beyond our ability to endure. We even wondered if we could go on living. [9] In fact, we still feel as if we¡¦re under a death sentence. But we suffered so that we would stop trusting ourselves and learn to trust God, who brings the dead back to life. Only God Offers Lasting Security: Most of us find security in things that are temporary and often will fail and disappoint - money, relationships, careers, retirement plans. We must learn to put our security in God who is the same yesterday, today, forever and who never leaves nor forsakes us.
3. Do Not Move Too Quickly To Live Beyond Your Means: Parallel your new success with your present position and plan well before you begin to transition. Do so gradually and prayerfully.
4. Forgive People As You Move Through Life: Joseph and David did the same. You cannot treat people as they treat you. Forgive and free yourself.
5. Give To God And Help Others But Do It With Caution: There are con artists (pastors and ordinary people) who will do all they can to strip you of your money and enrich themselves, e.g. business projects, get rich quick schemes, etc. Be careful. They will come teasing you with sign and wonders which are not for sale.
6. Be Grateful Every Day Of Your Life. Express that to God and others.
