WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF LIVING?

I Samuel 25:2-9

Intro.

    1. life is a series of events taking place
    2. the events of life often call for us to make some sort of response
    3. the way we respond to a situation reveals a lot about us
    4. our response comes from the heart and reveals the inner man
    5. in this chapter we find three levels of response (levels of living)
  1. we can return evil for good (lowest, meanest, ugliest) - I Sam 25:10-11
    1. it is hard to imagine anyone being this rude and inconsiderate
      1. it is one thing to politely refuse help, but Nabal was mean spirited about it
      2. he spoke scornfully of David as an insignificant man - "Who is David?"
        1. a mighty warrior ("slew his ten thousands")
        2. anointed king - I Sam 25:28-29
      3. vilified David as a bad man ("many servants that break away...")
      4. he saw himself as absolute lord of all that he had - 11
    2. this was the same response man had toward Christ
      1. when Christ came into the world, He went about doing good
      2. Pilot testified of Him, "I find no fault in Him"
      3. man hated Jesus without a cause, and cried out for His death
    3. the lost of this world live on this level (toward both God and man)
    4. it is a shameful thing when a Christian enters this level even once
      1. what about our giving to God
      2. Nabal said, "my bread, my water, and my flesh" (so do many Christians)
  2. we can return evil for evil - I Sam 25:12-13 & 21-22
    1. this is the natural response of the flesh; it is the way of the world
      1. when our feelings are hurt, we want revenge (an eye for an eye)
      2. Jesus told us to turn the other cheek (not easy, but it is God’s way)
    2. in this David was not acting like himself
      1. at other times David remained calm, but now a few hard words cause a fit of anger
      2. when hunted by Saul, he remained calm
        1. from Saul he expected injuries
        2. David was prepared for Saul; therefore, he stood guard to keep his temper in check
      3. from Nabal he expected kindness
        1. the hard words took him by surprise, and found him off guard
        2. importance of the prayer "lead us not into temptation"
    3. as servants of Christ, we must leave the vengeance to God - Romans 12:19-20
      1. this is one of the greatest principles in the Word of God
      2. it is without doubt, the hardest thing for a Christian to do
      3. the way to promote peace is to suffer the wrong, and let God handle it
      4. the way to bring men to repentance is to do them good (:heap coals)
  3. we can overcome evil with good - I Sam 25:14-20 & 32-35
    1. Abigail could have warned everybody and tried to fight back
    2. she understood God’s way of disarming an enemy - Romans 12:21
    3. God used Abigail to prevent David from becoming a murderer - 30-33
    4. think of the sins we might prevent, if God could use us in like manner
    5. to live on this level is to be Christ-like
      1. while Jesus hung on the cross He said, "Father, forgive them"
      2. God loved us and saved us when we were ungodly sinners - Romans 5:8
    6. this level of living can only be experience by the children of God (those that are born again)