Now let's turn back to 1 Samuel
chapter 23. 1 Samuel chapter 23. Now this chapter can be divided
three ways, and I'm sure other preachers or teachers might find
other divisions, but this is the way that I believe the Lord
has laid it on my heart, and I'm certainly not going try to
preach the whole chapter tonight, but I want to give you the outline
so you can see how it all fits together. This is the account
of God sending David into a place called Keilah. That name means
fortress, Keilah. It was a city south of Jerusalem
that was being besieged by the enemy Philistines. And then David
going into the wilderness of Ziph as he was pursued by Saul,
and then David ultimately coming unto the rock, what is called
the rock of division, the rock of safety. And we'll be looking
at that later on. But the first division would
be the first twelve verses. That's what I'm going to deal
with tonight. And the theme of those verses is this. Salvation
is all of grace. All of grace. One hundred percent. Jesus Christ came into the world
to save sinners. That's 1 Samuel 23, 1-12. I've
entitled tonight's message, The Savior of Sinners. What kind of people does God
save? He saves sinners. Those who don't
deserve it. Those who are unworthy of it.
We see a great illustration of that in David's time in Key Island. The second division would be
in verses 13-23. And that speaks of fellowship.
And it's this, fellowship All of grace. Our fellowship in the
Lord is not of ourselves. It's all of grace. And we see
that picture in another meeting between David and Jonathan as
contrasted with the unbelief and idolatry of the people of
Ziph in that wilderness who stood against David with Saul. And
then the third division is verses 24 through 29. And that is this,
preservation all of grace. Not only does God save us by
grace, but he keeps us, he preserves us and protects us by his grace. And so the theme of this whole
chapter, as you can see running through, is all of grace. I'm so fearful and as I think
about people, I think about myself growing up in religion. and what
I thought and what I was taught, that there are so many people
in this world today who are, quote, going to church, unquote,
hearing a message, reading some scripture, hearing some hymns
and praying some prayers, who really don't understand the true
reality and nature and concept of grace. That salvation is all
of grace. And I was thinking about the
message I preached a few weeks back, or a few days back, when
Saul was bribing his men, trying to get them to follow him. And
we saw David had his followers. He didn't have to bribe them.
They followed him and served him because they loved him. And
that's such a simple, simple way of seeing the difference
between grace and works, or grace and greed, as I called the message. But salvation is all of grace.
And let's look at that here in the first 12 verses of 1 Samuel
23. Here's a great picture of Christ
saving sinners. And this whole issue, it says
in verse 1, Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines
fight against Keilah. And they robbed the threshing
floors. They were wanting the harvest of Keilah. And again, remember, that's a
city just south of Jerusalem. And verse 2 says, Therefore David
inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? He's saying, God, do you want
me to go smite these Philistines? Now, I believe here he's asking
the prophet Gad about what he should do. You know, the word
of the Lord came in different ways in the Old Testament, mainly
through the prophets. And the prophet Gad was here.
We've seen him before in the prior chapter. Because Gad told
him to go into Judah. And then here I believe he's
inquiring of the prophet Gad who was with him. And so he asked
the Lord through Gad, shall I go and smite these Philistines?
And the Lord said unto David, go and smite the Philistines
and save Keilah. Save that town. Save them. Now I want you to notice as we
read through these first 12 verses how many ways, here just specifically
in the first few verses, how many ways David is a picture
of Christ. And the first thing that I notice
here about him is that just as our Lord and Savior did not consider
himself, he was a selfless Savior, a selfless King. David is the
same way right here. You think about it. Now, what's
going on here? He's running from Saul. Saul, the king of Israel,
who's on the throne at that time, is trying to kill David. David had run from Saul. He'd
run to the priest. Saul had the priest killed, 85
of them, and then their whole families, down to the animals
that they owned. And so there's no doubt that
Saul was serious about this thing. Saul is dead set on killing David,
God's anointed. Remember the story of Doeg and
all that. And so David is running from Saul, yet having his own
troubles. Now we've got our troubles, don't
we? But having his own troubles, what's he think about when he
hears about the people of Keilah, Israelites, They're in trouble
from the enemy. He says, well, should I go deliver
them? You'd think natural, natural man, what would he say? He'd
say, well, I've got my own problems. Let them fend for themselves.
You know, I've got Saul's after me. And if I go up there to Key
Isla, certainly Saul's going to hear about it and he'll know
where I am. And then that's it. Well, that's what happened. Saul
did find out where Dave was at and then began to chase him.
So here we see David the selfless king. He's a picture of Christ.
Not thinking of himself, not thinking of his own troubles,
but he's concerned for the people. The people whom the Lord had
given him. And that's the way our Savior, despite his being
pursued by Saul, his whole instincts were to go help his people. And
that's the way our Savior was and is. Despite the fact that
he himself was pursued constantly by his enemy, Satan. the religious
leaders, others, the Roman government, they were constantly pursuing
him. He had in his mind and his heart
one thing and that was to save his people from their sins. That's
an amazing thing. The Bible says he set his face
like a flint to do his work. I want you to look over at Philippians
chapter 2. Think about this. Now that's a great condescension
because you know Somebody made the statement one time that he
could have just wiped them all out with just a word or a blast
of his nostrils. He had that kind of power. He's
God. Do you remember when they came to arrest him in the garden?
All he just said to them was, I am, and they fell back. So
he could have done that. He had the ability to do that.
But he couldn't do that and the reason he couldn't do that is
because he had a work to do and a way that it had to be done.
And here it says in Philippians chapter 2, look at this in verse
5. It says, Let this mind be in
you which was also in Christ Jesus. Now this was in his mind. Who being in the form of God,
now literally that means he is God. Fought it not robbery to
be equal with God. And so, but made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross." That is what he was doing. He totally
set his mind and heart towards that goal for one reason. John
13 says it. It says, he loved his own unto
the end. It's because he loved his people.
And that's why David asked that question, should I go to Kiowa?
My people, David who was sent to be the king of Israel, the
people whom God had given him, he said, my people are suffering
at the hands of the enemy. Now, should I go down there and
help them? And he was sent by God to do
so. Just like our Savior was sent
by the Father to help His people. Look over at Hebrews chapter
12. Over here when it talks about
Christ being the author and the finisher of our faith. Verse
2, how we are to run the race. Listen to it. It says, looking
unto Jesus, verse 2 of Hebrews 12, the author and finisher of
our faith who was who for the joy that was set before him endured
the cross." You see, he couldn't just wipe them out with the blast
of his word. He had to go to the cross. Why? Because sin deserves death. The soul that sinneth must surely
die. And he had to take our place
under the just wrath of God for our sins. He had to die. Cursed
is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Christ was made a curse for us.
That's how he had to do it. Listen, Christ's suffering under
death and going to the cross was not just one of the many
options that God had to redeem his people. I heard of a fellow
on tape, he said that God didn't have to send Christ to die on
the cross. All he had to do was snap his fingers and we could
have been saved. Oh no! God's holy. God's just and righteous. He must be just when he justifies. That's why it took a substitute.
It took a mediator. It took a surety to take my place,
to take my sins upon himself and die on that cross in order
that God might be just and justify the ungodly. That's what had
to happen. Listen, I'm going to tell you
something about God's way of doing things. It's really the
only way of doing things. I don't care what they say. Now,
we've got options, we think, you see. But God's all-wise,
all-knowing, all-powerful, and sovereign. It's really the only
way. But he says, despising the shame
and is sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God, for
consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against
himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds." And
then he goes on to encourage them with the promises of God
to his children, even in chastisement. You see, Christ was a selfless
King. He was a selfless Savior. And
then look back at 1 Samuel 23. Look at verse 3. Here we will
see another way that David is a type of Christ. It says, And David's men said
unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah. Now that's where
they were in Judah, where God told them through the prophet
Gad to go. And David's still being pursued by Saul. And now
he's inquiring of the Lord, should we go down there and fight the
Philistines? And I'm sure these men were afraid because they
knew. Now listen, they said, How much
more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
They knew they couldn't fight Saul and the Philistines both,
but listen, they thought they were going to get whipped by
the Philistines. There was only about 400 of them, the scripture
said, over in 1 Samuel 22. And it says in verse 4, Then
David inquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered
him and said, Arise, go down to Kielah, listen to this, for
I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand. You don't have
to defeat them. You see? That's what God's telling
them. You don't have to defeat them.
I'm going to defeat them. It's a special delivery here.
I'm going to deliver them to you. I'm going to give them to
you. They're yours to take. They're yours to have. It's the
power of God. And verse 5 says, and that's
the way redemption is. We don't have to buy our redemption. We don't have to earn our redemption. We don't have to obtain it by
our efforts. and our power, God freely gives
it, provides it, delivers it in the person and work of his
Son to us. I mean, it's a gift. It's all
of grace. People say, well, God does this
for everybody, and then if you'll let him? No, sir. That's not
language of Scripture. That's the language of false
evangelists. They say, well, God says, you
know, if you'll just cooperate and do your part. No, sir. No,
sir. It's a delivery. It's a deliverance. He delivers his people from their
enemies and he delivers the enemies to his son. And he has power
to do it. And it says in verse 5, So David
and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and
brought away their cattle and smote them with a great slaughter.
So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. What a type of Christ
that is. David, here, is an obedient king
who stands in the power of God. Who stands in the might of God.
Not in his own power, not in his own might. Just like when
he stood before Goliath. He wasn't there in his own power,
in his own might, in his own goodness. He was totally of God. And this was, too, when he delivered
the people of Kiala. You know what the Philistines
represent. They represent everything that comes against God's people.
Sin, Satan, the world. rebellion, idolatry. You see,
it's Christ who defeats all of those enemies for us. We don't
defeat them. I hear these preachers talking
about going after Satan to defeat him. They don't know what they're
talking about. And they don't even know who Satan is. But I'm
going to tell you something. When Satan throws his arrows
at us, all we have to do is plead what? The blood of the Lamb.
That's it. Because that's what it took to
defeat Satan. The blood of the Lamb of God
incarnate. the blood of Christ. We have
a righteousness, we have a robe of righteousness, a breastplate
of righteousness that Satan's arrows cannot penetrate, no matter
how many he throws at us. That's right, he cannot. Who
shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? And I think about
our Savior in his obedience. The Bible said there in Philippians
chapter 2 that he was obedient obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. But you know, he was always obedient.
You know, in his youth, remember what he told Joseph and Mary?
He said, I must be about my father's business. That's what he was
here on this earth for. In his ministry, when he went
to John the Baptist, And he said, John, baptize me. And John said,
I'm not worthy to even untie your shoes, let alone baptize
you. You should be baptizing me. And he said, basically he
was saying, now John, you don't understand what's going on here.
And he said, suffer it or allow it to be so now, for thus it
becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. I'm doing a work, John. I'm in
submission. to the word and will of my father.
I'm fulfilling all righteousness for my people." He was in obedience.
In John chapter 8 and verse 29, it said, talking about his father
and his submission to the father officially for the salvation
of his people, it says, and he that sent me is with me, he said,
the father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things
that please him. And he's the only one who could
ever make that statement and be true. You can't say that. I can't say that. We do always
those things that please our Father. We don't. But Christ
did, and that's our salvation. That's our righteousness. And
then in his suffering, over in the book of John chapter 12 and
verse 27, when he was in the garden, he said this. He says,
Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto
this hour. This is why I'm here, he says.
He couldn't keep himself from going to the cross because that's
why he came for this hour. And as I quoted there again in
Philippians 2, he was obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. So not only was he the selfless king, he is the
obedient king. That's the kind of king we need,
Savior. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah, it says there in verse
5. Well, Christ saved his people from their sins. He redeemed
us by His blood. He brought forth righteousness
to give to us that we might be justified before God. And then
look at verse 6. Now it says, now remember, here's
David the king, and Gad the prophet was there with him. And now look
what happens here in verse 6. It says, and it came to pass
when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech, and you remember Ahimelech was
the high priest, he was killed. by Doeg and Saul, but Abiathar
escaped. Remember at the end of chapter
22 how Abiathar came to David and David told him, he said in
verse 23 of chapter 22, abide thou with me, fear not, for he
that seeketh my life seeketh thy life, but with me thou shalt
be in safeguard. Christ our safeguard, the picture
there. Well, Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, he fled to David
to Keilah that he came down that he came down with an ephod in
his hand. Now, what we see here is a picture
of Christ, our true King. You see, what's happening here,
everything in the providence of God, as it works out, is showing
David to be the real, one and only true King of Israel, not
Saul. For example, Gad was the prophet. Who did the prophet go to advise?
Not Saul, but David. That's Christ, our prophet. The priest, and now the high
priest was dead, so it would fall to Abiathar next. Ahimelech
was dead, so Abiathar who escaped. Now, Abiathar is the high priest.
He had the ephod. Do you remember what the ephod
was? Do you want me to test you on that one? I will tell you
in just a moment. Hold on here. But Abiathar had
the ephod, and where did he go? Who did he go to? Did he go to
Saul, the king? No. The deposed king? No. He
went to David, the true king. Christ our High Priest. So here's
what we have here, right here, in Keilah, the place of deliverance. We have pictured in Gad, Christ
our prophet. We have pictured in Abiathar,
Christ our High Priest. And we have pictured in David,
Christ our king. That's the Messiah. That is a
picture of the Messiah all here together. Who is the true King?
David. Who is the true, eternal King? The Lord Jesus Christ, our prophet,
priest, and King. You see that? Now, Balthazar
brought the ephod now. Now, you remember what the ephod
was. It was like a bag that hung on the front of the priest's
breastplate. There you remember he had the
breastplate with the stones, the twelve stones of the tribes
of Israel. And he had that bag that hung
there, and it contained what they called the stones of judgment,
the stones of guidance. And you remember, see, judgment,
guidance, the word of God. We've got Gad there, the prophet,
but the priest also advised the king. The priest also had the
word of God, the mind of God, and what is shown here is through
Gad the prophet and through Abiathar the high priest who had the ephod,
the stones of judgment, the mind of God, the will of God was going
to be revealed to the true king, to David. And I think about our
Savior because he knew the mind of his father perfectly, didn't
he? He knew the will of his father
perfectly. He and his father, he said, I
and my father are one. He was one with the father and
the spirit and every attribute of deity. He knew the past, the
present, the future. I know there are times that when
in his humanity, there are things that said that he learned and
grew in wisdom and stature. And I don't understand all that.
And I'm not going to presume to try to explain that to you.
But I know in his deity, he was co-equal with the father and
the spirit and every attribute of deity. And he knew the mind
and will of his father. Well, that's what was going to
be revealed to David. Now, here, Abiathar comes with the ephod
in his hand. That's the ephod of the high
priest, which had the breastplate of judgment. You can read about
this, remember, when we went through the book of Exodus. This
is in Exodus chapter 28. And it had the breastplate of
judgment attached to it. And it had a pouch, that back,
with two stones. Do you remember what the stones
were called? The urim and the thumim, or thummim. However,
somebody wants to pronounce it, the Urim and the Thummim. That's Exodus 28, verse 30. Now, when David inquired of the
Lord, he may have asked Abiathar to use that, to use that ephod,
because that was common. You know, the Urim and the Thummim. Now, the Urim and the Thummim
means, literally, light and perfection. And what it would mean is basically
revelation of truth, light. God gives light. Christ is our
light, you see. His word is our light. Like you're
in the dark and you turn on the light and you see things as they
really are. That's why we see our sins and
we see the glory of Christ when the Holy Spirit turns the light
on in our hearts and our minds. And that's what the Urim represented.
And then the Thummim was righteousness or judgment. you see, or perfections. And what we see is the right
judgment of God, and we see that embodied in Christ who is the
Lord our righteousness. So the light shines upon us to
show us our sin, the light shines upon Christ to show us his glory,
his righteousness, his blood. And so we see God's judgment
as he turns on the light. So we're not really certain exactly
how these things were used. The Bible doesn't say. But most
think that the Urim and the Thummim were a pair of stones. Some say
one was light and the other one was dark. And that may be so. And the question would be asked,
that he would reach down into the pouch or the bag, and if
he pulled out the light one, the answer would be yes. And
if he pulled out the dark one, the answer would be no. Now,
I don't know if that's the case or not. Others say that they
were not different stones, but they appeared either light or
bright or dark. If it was a yes from the Lord,
it was light, bright. And if it was no, it was dark.
Now, that's how probably this was done. Again, we're not told
exactly. But we do know that the priest was able to guide
the king through the use of this Urim and Thummim. And that's
what we know. Now, some people say, well, boy,
I wish I had a pouch like that today. I wish I had an Urim and
a Thummim today. Well, let me tell you something.
Let's wake ourselves up here now and get the real message
of this. We have something better. Did
you know that? Peter wrote about it. In 2 Peter
1, verse 19, he said, We have also a more sure word of prophecy,
whereunto you do well that you take heed as unto a light that
shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star
rise in your hearts. We have the word of God. This
book right here. That's better than the Urim and
the Thummim. Did you know that? You see, not anybody could go
to the priest and be judged by the Urim and the Thummim. But
every one of you sitting here tonight, you can open up the
Word of God and read it. And then we have a conscience
void of offense. Somebody says, well, God doesn't
tell us everything about providence. That's right. But He gives us
a conscience void of offense. What is that? That's a heart
cleansed by the blood of Christ. A spiritual heart filled by the
Holy Spirit of God. Somebody said, one commentator
said, well, we have something better. We have the Holy Spirit.
But now David had the Holy Spirit, too. And so did Abiathar. Any true believer did. Or David
did. But I don't know about Abiathar,
because I'm not sure about him. But David was truly a child of
God. But David, what was going on here, he was in essence, through
this priest and the ephod, he was seeking God's Word and God's
will and not his own. That's a great, great evidence of a true child of God. Seeking God's word. Seeking God's
will, not our own. Look at verse 7 now. Listen to
this. And it was told Saul that David
was come to Keilah. Now, this is what the men that
were afraid. Number one, they were afraid
that the Philistines would whip them. And then they were afraid,
secondly, that Saul would find out where they are. And Saul
did. And it was told Saul that David
was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered
him into mine hand. Now listen to Saul's word here.
Think about what Saul said in his state of mind. Saul said,
God hath delivered him into mine hand. Who delivered him into
your hands, son? God did, he said. For he is shut in. He's in a place where he can't
get out now. He can't get away from me. By
entering into a town that hath gates and bars, and Saul called
all the people together to war to go down to Keilah to besiege
David and his men." What a hatred Saul had for David. What an envy. And it was all for himself. Listen,
God hath delivered him into my hand, giving him to me. You remember,
it's all about me with Saul. It's all about I, me, mine. We
saw that last time. He's shut in, you see. Nobody
has sympathy for me, but finally I've got something for me. That's
what Saul says. So he's moved by the flesh. That's what Saul's whole issue
is. To fulfill the lust of the flesh. That's what he wants. And notice
Saul's use of religious language here. God is on my side. God has delivered him into my
hands. Now Saul didn't care anything
about religious matters, spiritual matters. That had been the pattern
of his life. He disobeyed God whenever he
wanted to. But you see, he was deluded by
his own desires. Just like the Pharisees, when
they sought to kill Christ, they actually thought they were doing
God's will, didn't they? When they sought to kill Christ.
That's the way people are. They disobey God, they don't
even consult God's Word, but whenever they do what they want
to do, oh, it's God moving me to do this, or God's doing this. You see, they'll go against God's
Word, or not even consider God's Word. But they feel like they
have a high moral authority above themselves, and they call Him
God, when it's convenient. But all they're doing is just
doing what they want to do, and God's allowing them to do it.
Just do what you want. You know, one of the things that
the worst things that can ever happen to us is that God lets
us do what we want to do. Now, you think about that. Just
let me go where I want to go. Oh, my soul, Lord, Lord, keep
us from the evil one. And look at verse nine. Now,
listen to this. He says, And David knew that
Saul secretly practiced mischief against him. And he said to Abiathar
the priest, bring hither the ephod. And then said David, O
Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul
seeketh to come to Kielah to destroy the city for my sake. Now, the history of this is,
you know, the how it lines out and everything is not that important.
Sometimes when David inquired of the Lord, he went to the prophets,
went to Gad, for example. Sometimes he went to the priest
and used the ephod. We don't know exactly him, but
here he asked to bring out the ephod, and listen to what he
asked. Verse 11, Will the men of Kielah deliver me up into
his hand? Now who is Kielah? That's the
one that David had just saved. Look back up there in verse 5
at the end. So David saved the inhabitants of Kielah. Now, will
the men of Kielah deliver me up into Saul's hand? Will Saul come down as thy servant
hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech
thee, tell thy servant, and the Lord said, He will come down. The Lord answered him, Saul will
come down. And apparently through the Urim and the Thummim, God
gave him his answer. Saul will come down. Now listen
to me, one thing. Don't think of the Urim and Thummim
like some kind of a crystal ball. That's not what it was. This
was God's way through the priest now. God speaks to his people
through his priest. That's why when we pray to the
Father, we pray through Christ, our great high priest. But he
says, Saul will come down, and look at verse 12. Then said David,
will the men of Kielah deliver me or shut me up? That's when
it trapped me, like put me in jail and keep me there for Saul.
Deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul. And the Lord said,
they will deliver thee up. Does that surprise you? When
I first read it, it did me. How about you? But think about
it. David saved a people who turned
on him. They turned on him. What kind
of people did Christ save? This is a faithful same worthy
of all acceptation. Jesus Christ came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. When Christ redeemed me
on the cross, I wasn't even born yet. But you know what? God knew that when I was born,
I'd turn on Him. I was born in sin, ruined by
the fall, born dead in trespasses and sin. A sinner by birth, a
sinner by practice, sinner by choice. I wasn't a sinner because
I chose to be. I chose to be because I was a
sinner. Rebellious, a God-hater. The Scripture says that Christ
was despised and rejected of men. Does that not include me
and you? Isn't that right? By nature? You say, well, I don't
turn on him now. Well, let me tell you something.
Number one, if you don't, it's grace. All right. And number
two, just let him put you in the right circumstances with
the right opportunities under the right kind of pressure. And you just might turn out like
Peter, who stood up boldly and said, I'll never, I'll never
betray you. And before the cock crowed thrice,
Peter betrayed him three times. What kind of people did David
save? He saved sinners here in Keilah. And God said, they'll turn on
you. Now, God wasn't looking down through a telescope of time.
God had a purpose for this. He didn't want David to stay
in Keilah. You're going elsewhere. And he
knew David was a man, a sinful man with sinful fears and passions
just like us. And David, if he found a safe
place to stay away from Saul, he would have to stay there.
He would still be in the cave of Dolem if Dad hadn't told him,
now get down to Judah. And he would have stayed right
here. So God had His purpose. But you see, that's a picture
of Christ saving His people. He saved sinners. John 1.11 says,
He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. Now normally
when we read that verse, preachers will add his own nation. But
I tell you, it's right. He did come to his own nation
and his own nation received him not. But that includes us because
we received him not until God the Holy Spirit broke us and
put us in the dust like Saul of Tarsus. But as many as have
received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons
of God. who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh,
nor the will of man, but born of God. Did you, by nature of your own
free will, receive Him? Absolutely not. You turned on
Him. I turned on Him, just like the
men of Kiel turned on David. But that's the kind He redeems.
Look at Romans chapter 5. Listen to this. You see how this magnifies the
grace of God and the power of God in our salvation? The general message of most today
is that really God saves good people. Those who make their
choice for Him. And those who don't, He doesn't
save. Now that's a form of saying God saves good people. That's
just another way of doing it. It's a disguised way. It's a
satanic way because it's deceptive. David saved Kiowa. You say, that's amazing. Yeah,
but here's something more, man. God saved me. Christ saved me. Saved you. Think about that. Romans 5. Look at it. Verse 6. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for who? Who's Savior? The ungodly. Just like the folks
in Kiowa. He says, for scarcely, for a
righteous man will one die. We can understand that, couldn't
you? Somebody who deserved it. Yet, per adventure, for a good
man some would even dare to die. Again, somebody who deserved
it. Somebody who earned it. But God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified
by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him, for if
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God. How? Not by
our free will choice, but by the death of His Son, the cross. That is what reconciled us to
God and God to us. Much more than being reconciled,
we shall be saved by His life. Look at Ephesians chapter 2. I tell you, He is the Savior
of sinners and He is saved by grace. Look at verse 1. Ephesians
2, And you hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses and
sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course
of this world. Why would the people of Keilah turn David over
to Saul to save themselves? They feared men. That is walking
according to the course of this world. According to the Prince
of the Power there, that's an inspiration and motivation of
Satan, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
God said David's going to be king, not Saul. You follow David.
They disobeyed. Among whom also we all had our
conversation in time past. We all had this now in the lust
of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
But God, But God, who is rich in mercy, that's what we need.
We need mercy. It's of the Lord's mercy that
we're not consumed. For his great love wherewith
he loved us. What kind of love? Hearing his love. Not that we
love God, but that he loved us and gave his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. For his great love wherewith
he loved us. Even when we were dead in sins, have quickened
us together with Christ. By grace you are saved. and hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." And
look at one more, look at Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1, verse 19. For it pleased the Father that
in Him, in Christ, should all fullness dwell. And having made
peace, now how? Through the blood of His cross.
By him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say whether
they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were
sometime alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works.
Yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through
death, to present you, who, those who were by nature enemies, ungodly,
holy, and unblameable, and unreprovable in his sight." went down to Keilah under the
command of God and in the power of God, and he saved a bunch
of people who did not deserve to be saved. Isn't that what our Lord did
when he saved us from our sins? God the Father sent him down
into this world to save a bunch of people who didn't deserve
to be saved, who didn't earn it. Think about it. God gave
himself, God the Son gave himself for an unworthy people. No man
in heaven, no man on earth found worthy to open the book. John
said, I wept. But then one step forward, the
Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb that was slain, worthy is
the Lamb that was slain. Christ is the Savior of sinners. All right.