1 Samuel 27 - "Success through suspect ways"

Order of Service

• Hymn — Glorify Thy Name
• Call to Worship — Psalm 9:1-2, 9-10, 11
• Hymn — Glorify Thy Name
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Apostles' Creed
• Scripture Reading — Acts 13:13-25
• Hymn
• Baptism — Anastasia Elliott Grammer
• Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer of Dedication
• Hymn — I Need Thee Every Hour
• Sermon
• Hymn
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Success Through Suspect Ways

Scripture: 1 Samuel 27:1–28:2

I. A Successful Safe Haven Through a False Perspective

A. David flees to Achish, king of Gath, with 600 men, and Saul ceases his pursuit (1 Samuel 27:1-4)

1. David's reasoning comes from his own heart — "I shall be swept away" — rather than from trust in God
2. Contrast with 1 Samuel 26:10, where David trusted God to deal with Saul

B. David is leaning on his own understanding rather than God's promises

1. Proverbs 3:5-6 — "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding"
2. The ends do not justify the means; pragmatism inevitably keeps our eyes on self rather than on God

C. Trusting God's promises will inevitably make us impractical in the world's eyes

1. The martyrs throughout church history refused to recant even at the cost of their lives
2. We proclaim a crucified Savior — a contradiction and offense to worldly pragmatism
3. Luther: "Here I stand, I can do no other" — leaning not on his own understanding but on God's Word

II. A Successful Stronghold Through a False Promise

A. David is given Ziklag — a city belonging to Israel — by Achish (1 Samuel 27:5-7)

1. God's mysterious providence works even through David's compromised actions
2. David raids Philistine allies but deceives Achish by claiming to raid Israelites

B. David's deception earns Achish's trust, leading to a dangerous predicament (1 Samuel 28:1-2)

1. Achish invokes Yahweh's name in affirming David's "honesty" — David is soiling the name of God through his lies
2. The deception will ultimately lead to the capture of David's families by the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30)

C. David's presumption — assuming God approves of everything he does because of past success

1. A dangerous pattern seen in gifted leaders throughout church history and in contemporary evangelicalism
2. Matthew 7:22-23 — "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name…I never knew you"
3. David's sin with Bathsheba may reflect this same presumption following his military victories

III. A Successful Salvation Through a False Premise

A. David raids the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites, leaving no one alive (1 Samuel 27:8-12)

1. Recall that Saul lost his throne for failing to devote the Amalekites to destruction (1 Samuel 15)
2. David's premise, however, is not obedience to God's command but self-preservation and concealment from Achish

B. There is no mention of Abiathar or the ephod — David receives no direction from God

1. Contrast with 1 Samuel 23, where David consulted God through Abiathar and the ephod before acting
2. The ephod reappears in 1 Samuel 30 when David rightly seeks God's will concerning the Amalekites

C. The danger of following your own heart rather than God's Word

1. Jeremiah 17:9 — "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick"
2. Proverbs 28:26 — "Whoever trusts in his own heart is a fool"
3. "Follow your heart" may be the worst advice any Christian can receive (Craig Troxel)

D. The example of Christ as the only one with a truly pure heart

1. John 6:38 — "I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me"
2. Though sinless, Christ never acted outside the will of his Father — the perfect model of a pure heart
3. Godly success does not look like Ziklag — it looks like Golgotha; we are called to take up our cross and be Christ-followers, not heart-followers