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Sunday 6 April 2003 - "After God's heart"

(Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen)

Rom 12:21

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

2Sam 9:3

And the king said, Is  there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is  lame on his  feet.

We are surrounded by evil in this world. Daily we meet with evil, but we are called to overcome evil with good. It's like death if evil overcomes you.

In Lk 9:54 - 56 we read of Jesus on His way to Jerusalem, being rejected by the Samaritans. John and Andrew want to destroy them for their rejection, but Jesus had to rebuke them sharply. They wanted to revenge evil with evil. We are not called to judge God's enemies, but leave that over to Him. We are also not to revenge ourselves, as it is written in the verses before this one.

If you are conquered by evil, bitterness and anger will soon follow, and you will lose your spiritual dignity and integrity. You will lose God's blessing and will surely regret it. Do you realise the seriousness and weightiness of this matter.

The way to death is broad, but the way to life is narrow, like walking on a tight-rope. Just see what we are called to from Matt 5:43 - 48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Overcome evil with good as described in this portion. Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. Pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you. This is the way you ought to live, if you want to see the Gospel proclaimed to the end of the world. You will never experience a victorious Christian life, unless you obey Christ, walk in the Spirit, and not in the flesh.

In 2Sam 9 we read an amazing story. Here we see clearly why David was a man after God's heart. Saul persecuted David terribly, yet he harbored no grudge or malice, but overcame evil with good. Saul was envious of David, and loved his position more than God. Jonathan and David had an amazing, different spirit. They knew God's love. Jonathan stood on God's side, regardless of his parents and his position. Even when David had the opportunity to harm Saul, he replied that he could not touch the Lord's anointed.

Even after Saul and Jonathan's death, David sought to do good to the house of Saul. He revealed the grace of God, the kindness of God and the character of God. Do you reveal God's character and attributes when someone treats you badly? Every time someone does evil to you, thank God for the golden opportunity that you have to reveal His compassion to them.

Just think of this situation. David the king, made Mephibosheth, a cripple and the grandson of his arch-enemy, to sit daily at his table, and gave him everything that belonged to his grandfather. He was not ashamed of the embarrassment this cripple will be to him when dignitaries arrive. He did not give him everything back, just to get rid of him, but just to add to his riches.

Here David symbolises Christ, while Mephibosheth symbolises us. We are the dead dogs (as Mephibosheth referred to himself) Christ had compassion on, as David had compassion on Mephibosheth. After Christ has done all this for us, how will He find us in His service?