Freedom From The Fear of Man - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

First Samuel chapter 10 beginning in verse 20. Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by Lot. And Saul, the son of Kish, was taken by Lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found.

So they inquired again of the Lord, is there a man still to come? And the Lord said, behold he has hidden himself among the baggage. Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. And Samuel said to all the people, do you see him whom the Lord has chosen?

There is none like him among all the people. And all the people shouted, long live the king. Let's pray together. Father, these precious scriptures, we need you to help us understand, not just these verses, but all the verses of this message. And, lord, we come together under this roof, your house, on this day where we could have been anywhere else, lord.

We chose to be here because we are hungry for you. We long to know you. We desire, Lord, to explore the depths of your majesty and your beauty, but we need the help of the Holy Spirit. And so we pray that he would come with great power, That he would come and deal with our hearts that are so easily calloused, so easily forgetful. And Lord, we just ask that no man would be seen, that would benefit no man, but that Lord Christ would be seen and heard.

That he would be adored and worshiped. That he would be the theme of our conversation today. And so father in heaven, we look to you by faith, and we ask you for help. We need you desperately. And Lord, may you help us respond to this word this morning, and not just hear it, lest we deceive ourselves.

So like those two disciples on the road to Emmaus, may these scriptures burn in our hearts. May they burn in our bosoms, lord. Man cannot make that happen. No matter how eloquent, no matter how charismatic, Lord, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit. So we call upon you to grant us that request.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Before there was a king David, there was a king Saul. Before there was a king David, there was a king Saul. And if you're familiar with the story, you know that David and Saul stood in contrast to one another in their character and in their dealing with an opportunity that they both had.

They both had the same opportunity, but they experienced that opportunity differently. But that wasn't always the case. In fact, some would be shocked to see the character of this man, Saul, from the beginning in his introduction. And so as we read these verses, we are introduced to Saul in a certain way, and we have much to learn from Saul because Saul, again, had an assignment on his life. Saul, again, had a purpose to fulfill.

Saul, again, had an opportunity to bring much glory to God and to bring much good to the people he served. Like who? Like you and me. If for a moment you ever doubt that you have a calling from god, you're mistaken. Whether you're single, whether you're married, whether you have children, whether you don't.

If you're in your twenties, if you're in your forties, you're in your sixties, you're in your seventies, that doesn't matter. You have a purpose to fulfill. As long as you have breath in your lungs, as long as you have another day to live, you still, as a believer, have a purpose to fulfill. But just because you and I have a purpose to fulfill does not mean it will be fulfilled. God has it all ordained.

Before the foundations of the world, he has set before us good works that we should walk in them. But what do we have to do? We have to walk in them. It's not automatic. It's given, yet how we approach it is vitally important.

So Saul had a call. And I want you to hold on to your bibles for this message because we're gonna see these things right in the verses. I want you to see these things right in your bible. In first Samuel nine nineteen, there's something. There's a little insight here about this man, Saul.

Samuel answered Saul. This is the first time he meets the man. And he's looking for the seer. He's looking for the prophetic man to help him in a situation that they were in concerning lost animals. And Samuel says, I am the seer.

Go up before me to the high place. For today, you shall eat with me. And in the morning, I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. Based on that verse, we can come to a safe conclusion that there was something that was occupying the mind, the heart of this man, Saul. And I believe that what was there swirling in his heart, what was there burning in his heart was to somehow see deliverance for the people of Israel from the Philistines.

That he really wanted to see that come to pass just like Moses really wanted to see deliverance for his brethren from Pharaoh. It was there. And Saul comes in contact with the prophet, and the prophet says, I'm gonna tell you all that's on your mind. And what happens? What happens?

He tells them that he's going to be king. And so he has this passion. He doesn't know how it will come to pass, but Samuel reveals what's in his heart the next day and tells him that God chose him to be the very vessel to bring deliverance to the nation of Israel. And there are many admirable things about this man. Again, look at first Samuel nine twenty one.

Initially, Saul was a man who did not want the spotlight on his life. Earlier too, he recognized how small he was. Am I not a Benjaminite from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? So when he received this news that he was gonna be king, he goes, me?

Who am I? I'm from a small town. Who's my family? Are you sure you got the right guy, Samuel? Initially, in first Samuel ten twenty seven, he was unmoved by the words of others.

In first Samuel ten twenty seven, look at this. This is after Saul was commissioned in public to be the king. He was recognized. And what does it say? It says, but some worthless fellow said, how can this man save us?

And they despised him and brought him no present, but he held his peace. Let's just go on a little rabbit trail for a second. Go back to verse 26 of first Samuel 10. Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. But some worthless fellow said, rabbit trail, if God has a call in your life, if God's hand is on your life, you better expect one of two things.

People that will rejoice with that call on your life, whose God's heart had touched and will celebrate what God is gonna do through you and in you, but you also must expect worthless fellows that will criticize you, that will despise you, that will discourage you. Expect the latter more than the former. But he was unmoved. The verse tells us at the end of 27, he held his peace. And that's how you have to react to criticism.

If God's hand is truly on your life, if you truly trust in his guidance and you truly trust that he has indeed called you, who cares what the world says? You have God on your side. You hold your peace. And even in this, when he comes and conquers the Philistines in his first major victory, we see later on that when he had a chance to take revenge on them, he doesn't even do it. This is an admirable person.

I'm really liking Saul here. Doesn't even end there. When he has his major victory, in first Samuel eleven thirteen, but Saul said not a man shall be put to death this day. This is what his buddy suggested. Remember those guys that spoke trash to you?

Why don't we take care of them? He says, no. Nobody's gonna die this day. For today, the Lord, who the Lord has worked salvation in Israel. You meet this man, Saul.

We see him even in the initial reading of this text, how he was hiding amongst the baggage. When they wanna call him out in the public, he's hiding. He's like, I don't want that spotlight. Give it to somebody else. I like this man.

I'm drawn to him. I mean, this is somebody that you probably would esteem, But there's something in the midst of all the things that are said about Saul. There's one thing that's not mentioned about him. There's one vital element that a man who desires to serve his purpose for god must have, and Saul was missing that ingredient. And we're about to find out that you might have all these wonderful characteristics.

You might have the charisma. You might have the intelligence. You might have the praise of people. You might have the platform. You might have it all.

But But if you're missing this, you can still forfeit the call of God in your life. And my desire for you this morning is that you would fulfill what God has for you. What was missing? The one thing that was not said of Saul was that he was a man after God's heart. There's not one place where it says that he was a man after God's heart, and that makes all the difference.

Because when a man's heart is not set on seeking to please God, to know God, or to love God, know this, something else will manifest in your heart. And over time, you are headed for danger. Saul's life serves as a terrifying example of what can happen to a man who truly has a call from God, but does not have the right heart to fulfill it. Because when your heart does not beat with that foundational, essential motive, something else will hijack your heart. And though he had all these wonderful things initially, something took over.

Something switches with this man, Saul. He becomes this ugly figure. And though there are many things that we can contribute to the decline of his life, to the very thing that brought him to suicide, god forbid. There is one thing that hijacked his heart because he was missing that heart for god, and it was the fear of man. It was the fear of man.

If we're gonna title this message anything, it is this. Freedom from the fear of man. Freedom from the fear of man. Because in order for you and I to walk in the purpose of God and to see the fruition of it, we must deal with the fear of men. Saul did not.

In fact, Saul let it germinate and grow and eventually choked him. And so what happens with this man and the fear of man? How does it come into a man's heart? How does it manifest in somebody's life? Well, if pleasing God is not your driving force, something else will.

If that's not the driving force of your life, something else will take over that desire. And this is usually the case. When you're not fully surrendered to glorifying God, when that is not the very reason that you live, again, the fear of man has greater chance of clutching your soul and determining your decisions and determining your life on every level. What is the fear of man? When we talk about fear of man, what are we talking about?

We're talking about an individual who has an overwhelmingly anxious heart based on what other people say about him, what other people do to him, and what other people think about him. The fear of man is the fruit of an individual who greatly longs for the affirmation and the praise of others, and is greatly distressed when they receive criticism or rejection. It's their high. It's the very thing that jump starts them. It's the very thing that they look for.

It's the very thing that they fish after. I just need those words to be said about me. And when it doesn't come, they suffer. One person one person said it this way, if you live for the praise of man, you will die by their rejection. If you live for the praise of man, you will die from the rejection.

And the hard truth is the fear of man is the manifestation of idolatry. And who's that idol? You. You're the idol. When we fear man, it shows that we value the opinions of others.

We esteem them even to the point where it determines our behavior whether in word or deed, even to the extent of willing to disobey God for that praise, and that is idolatry. That's idolatry. Fear of man, in essence, is the absence of the fear of god in somebody's life. You can't fear god and fear man at the same time. Jesus made that ultimatum either you fear man or you fear God.

And don't fear man who can kill the body but can't kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both body and soul hell. So when you fear God, guess what? It pushes out the fear of man. But, oh, the fear of man is powerful, is it not?

Because the person you fear is ultimately the person you will serve. The person you fear. That's why God says fear me. Because when you fear God, you will serve God faithfully. When you fear man, you'll serve man.

So you're a slave to whatever you're afraid to. Is that not true about fear? That when you're afraid about something or about someone, it dictates everything. But God wants a healthy fear towards him, not a terror. He wants this reverence and awe where you caught up with him.

It doesn't matter what the world says about you. That's where we need to get to. But Saul did not have that. David had that. David had that in Psalms eighty six eleven.

Lord, unite my heart to fear your name. Have you ever read a Psalm by Saul? Have you ever read a Psalm written by a Psalm written by Saul? Have you ever read any recorded place where Saul says, unite my heart to fear your name? This is what happened to Saul.

Proverbs twenty nine twenty five. The fear of man lays a snare. The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the lord is safe. The fear of man lays a snare. What's a snare?

It's a trap. What makes a trap a trap? Well, a successful trap at least is camouflaged. If your trap is obvious and you wanna trap something or someone and it's clear that it's a trap, you're not gonna be very successful. But a trap is set in a way, is hidden.

It's nonthreatening so that whatever is coming that direction will be captured. That's how the fear man is like in somebody's heart. It's not so obvious. We justify that emotion. We kinda come up with excuses of why we feel that way, why we are drive by that desire.

We don't see the threat of it. It's just a part of my personality. I've always been this way. Oh, you better kill it. If it's been there, you better kill it.

It's camouflage. It's a trap. It doesn't seem like it will bring any harm to you. What makes a trap a trap? Well, if you fall into it, eventually, it cripples you.

Does it not? The very purpose of a trap is that it will keep you in place. The fear of man paralyzes you from moving forward in God. There's no way that you can progress in what God has called you to do and fear man. It just will not happen.

Because God will call you to do some things that may very likely disappoint people, even the closest people in your life. Don't expect a cheerleading team if you wanna follow the call of God in your life. Expect the opposite. But when you fear men and you're so concerned about, and here's the tricky thing about fear the fear men. You want everybody to be pleased.

I mean, all it you can get 99 compliments, and all it takes is one negative comment, comment, and you're thinking about that negative comment all week. Is that true? I want everybody to love me. Well, forfeit the love the the call of God in your life then. Say bye bye to it because it will trap you from moving forward.

And here's the dangerous part. Here's the extent of the fear of man. A trap ultimately corners, cripples, paralyzes a man because the purpose of that trap is for the person who set the trap to devour the very thing he trapped. And so the fear of man will ultimately destroy your life. If you let it consume you to the point where Saul let it consume it, it will ultimately destroy your life.

And if it doesn't destroy your life physically, it will destroy your spiritual life. And all you will be is a person that floats around in this life doing nothing for God. And though you probably get the praise of man and you were a safe Christian, there is one person that was displeased, and that's the one that you claim to serve. Fear of man. Its end goal is like any trap to destroy you.

But here, I wanna make this distinction. There's a difference between fearing man and worrying about what people say and a person's desire to representing Christ well. That's an important distinction. There's a different thought pattern there. A person who fears man is a person that is so addicted to the praise of man that they are willing to disobey God for that praise.

That's a completely different category. But a person who has this longing to represent Christ well thinks this way, is what I'm saying, what I'm doing, how I'm dressing, how I respond, is all of that glorifying Christ. Are people seeing Christ in me? That's my fear. I I have this healthy fear that I would represent Christ well.

See the difference? And so if that is occupying your heart, if you are living in a way in which you're saying, I'm not concerned what people say. I'm concerned about how people see Christ in me, you're in a safe place. But the fear of man is willing to give up even the approval of Christ for the sake of mere words from a person who is made out of dust. Here's the evidence of a person who fears man, and this is why this is important because it will disqualify you from the call of God.

This is why I want us to unpack this this morning. It may seem slow. It may seem very practical, but I want us to understand the importance of this. Because many of you in here are not living the way Christ wants you to live because you care about the person down the pew and what he thinks about you. Don't you?

You're crippled by those high school friends, aren't you? My prayers that you'd be so provoked, so intoxicated with this idea of pleasing Christ, that even if the whole world stands against you, you'll stand firm. But how do I know if I fear men? How do I know if I have this ugly disease eating me up on the inside? Well, let's find out from the life of Saul.

Turn your bibles to first Samuel 13. First Samuel thirteen three and four. I want us to read these verses to see how the fear of man lives. I want you to see how it expresses and manifests in somebody's life. Saul is that case for us.

Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba. And the Philistines heard of it, and Saul blew the trumpet. Now wait. Who defeated them? Jonathan.

But look what Saul does. Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land saying, let the Hebrews hear, and all Israel heard it said. That Jonathan? No. They all heard that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines, and the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

Did you notice that? Did you notice that little hint? It was clearly Jonathan who brought the victory. But when you have the fear of man in your heart, when it possesses you, you crave the praise of man. You crave the praise of man so much that you're willing to do anything.

Literally, you know that that term don't toot your own horn? He did that. He blew a trumpet. And he's telling the whole world, look what I've done. A person who fears man continually and with so much effort tries to put themselves in the spotlight in conversation, in group settings.

I just always have to find myself in the spot. I always wanna see you as the person who's done so much for Christ. I always have to share what God has done to me, what God has spoken to me, not to give glory to God so people would know how amazing I am, how great Saul is. Even to the point, even at the expense of taking the credit for something that doesn't even belong to you. I mean, think about how demonic that is.

It's it involves all these other nasty critters. I mean, this is his son. Any any father who loves their son or daughter wants to see them grow and wants to see them move forward and wants to see their their progress and wants to praise them in some sense in a healthy way. Here's a father that robs that from their son. So that's mine.

So a person who fears man is very simply is a person who loves to put themselves in the spotlight as much as they can. And maybe somebody won't rob that credit for somebody else because they can't, but you know what another way of manifesting that is? You love to fault find in other people. Maybe you don't like to take something away from somebody else. You like to add something to somebody else so that it makes them look less holy.

It makes them look less consistent in their Christian walk, and look how consistent you are in your Christian walk. If you can't put yourself in a greater light, you'll put other people in a darker light so that you can bright and shine. It's an ugly thing, is it not? He desired the praise of man. So what happens?

He sees here, even in first Samuel fifteen twelve, that it even gets worse. That this burning for recognition comes to the place where in two chapters later, Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning in first Samuel fifteen twelve. And it was told Samuel, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, look what he does. He set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal. Now it's one thing for somebody to build a monument for you.

It's a whole another thing when you build a monument for yourself. It's one thing for somebody to award you a medal. It's another thing when you make the medal and put it on your own self. This is insane. But this is what it is.

I want people to see what I've done. I want people to I'm I just want that recognition. And this was the driving force of this man. And when your service is in public, make sure you give God glory. When people see it, make sure you point to the one who enables you to do it.

What Saul does here is totally opposite to the teachings of Jesus in Matthew six. When you pray, pray in public, but make sure you don't do it this way. But if you really wanna pray, meet me in secret where nobody else can see you. When you fast, don't mangle your hair. Don't walk around all beat up so people know, oh, he's fasting again.

Thank God we have somebody like him in our generation. Right? When you give, never mind the person next to you. Don't let your one hand know what the other hand is doing. Christ advocates.

Christ longs for us to know how to do things in secret. Why? Because it shows that we're doing it for him. There was this one illustration that if I could even describe how it felt when I heard it, it might not do the same for you, but it did for me, and I hope by sharing it, it will help. Something just it just clicked.

It was just such a beautiful picture to me. And it was a philosophical question that a preacher shared. And it was this. What is the point of God planting a rose and letting it flourish in its beauty and color and scent in the middle of a forest where no man will see that rose? How does God get glory out of that when no man sees it?

This is how God gets glory out of it. He sees it. And it pleases him, and it glorifies him, and it puts a smile on his face. Though no man may observe it or analyze it or praise it, he gets the glory. Now think of yourself as that rose.

Though no man may see your service, though no man may recognize you, God sees it. God sees your work. God sees your giving. God sees your prayer life. God sees your service to the poor.

He sees it and it puts a smile on His face. I thought to myself, lord, what a wonderful truth. I'm excited for the judgment seat of Christ. I know that's a crazy thing to say. Have you heard of it?

You know where you're going there. Right? You're a believer. You're gonna stand before the judgment seat of Christ. We all are.

We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And one of the things I'm excited about is this. Seeing all the men and women that will be praised by God, commended by God, that weren't invited to the conferences, that didn't have the popular blogs that no man knew about and will receive the greatest crowns. What a day that will be. How we value and esteem men, how God evaluates it differently, we will all be stunned.

I'm sure of it. But the person who fears men doesn't look to the judgment seat of Christ. They don't look for the commendation of God. They want the immediate sensation from mere mortals. Think about how ridiculous that is.

Look at us. We're dust and ashes. You're dependent upon one more heartbeat. And if you don't have that heartbeat, and if you have multiple more, you're in trouble. That's where you want praise from?

Instead of the one who created that heart in your chest and created the universe and spoke things into existence, who do you want the praise from? The one who spoke planets or the one that can lose his breath in a minute or two lose his life? First Samuel fifteen twenty four. Here's the second evidence of a man who fears man. Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned.

I have sinned. So he's confronted with the fact that he did not destroy all the Amalekites. For I have transgressed the commandment of the lord and your words now. Why? Because I fear the people obeyed their voice.

Seems like a noble confession. Does it not? But here he is trying to justify his disobedience. God commanded him destroy all the Amalekites, but for some reason, Saul keeps king Abimelech, the spoil and the best of the animals. And why?

He admits it. The people convinced me to do it. He loved the approval of the crowd so much that he forfeited the commands of God. Can you imagine that scenario? God commissions him.

He goes, and there he is slaughtering, doing what he was called to do as a king, as a vessel of God's judgment. There he is. There's the king, and there is the best of the animals, and he's ready to obey God. He made a vow to God. He says, I'll do it.

And in comes one of the soldiers. Listen. Don't do it. Come on. If you keep the king, you can show the other nations.

He can be a trophy of your victory. You can flex your muscle with him. Don't give him up. And there's Saul standing, listening, contemplating. Come on.

Keep the animals. Think about the sacrifices that we can give to God. Think about the things that we can do for his glory if we just do it, and there he is contemplating. It does make sense. God would be pleased by it.

Okay. And he budgets. He budgets. And I wonder how many if you knew, if you only knew how many young people they received the word from God. Just like a meeting like this, and you're on your way out those doors and you're ready to obey God, and all it takes is just a couple of friends to convince you otherwise.

Does it not? I'm not even talking about worldly friends. I'm talking about those that sit in the church and have not given up their lives for Christ wholeheartedly and convince you to compromise. Don't be like one of those Christian weirdos that give everything to God. Don't be so imbalanced.

Come on. Just keep a little bit of this worldly stuff in your life. Keep a little bit of that compromise in your life. Let loose, man. We're under grace.

Right? All it takes is that. I remember talking to a young pastor who was talking about a pastor he knew very well, And he was lamenting and expressing his discomfort and his pain in his heart because he believes in the preaching of the whole counsel of God. And this young man told me, this pastor that I know so well that I serve with, told me right to my face, I can't preach those hard things in the Bible because I know the moment I do, I will lose half my congregation the next week. I can't preach the whole counsel of God because I know the moment I do, people will walk out of those doors.

That's a sad commentary of so many. And anybody in ministry has to determine this, whether you want the truth to draw people or you're gonna find another means to do it. And I don't know about you. I'm not concerned about filling seats of unconverted souls. That's not what the church is about.

What a sad commentary for so many. And so what does he do? He compromises. And when you obey God, when you obey God wholeheartedly, do not be surprised if relationships will be at risk of continuing. What happens here?

First Samuel fifteen thirty. Then he said, I have sinned. So he admits it again. I have sinned, yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me that I may bow before the Lord your God. He he confesses his sin.

He immediately reveals what's in his heart. But guess what? There is no concern in Saul about how it affects his relationship with God. What is Saul consumed with? He's concerned about how his sin will affect his image as a king.

So a person who fears man, even when it comes to their sin, this is how you know you fear man. That as long as people don't see that sin in your life, you're fine. As long as you put on a facade, as long you put on an image, you're good. But there is no hint of grief, there is no hint of concern about how that sin affects your walk with the Lord. As long as you can hide it from man, as long as you can hide it from the people you go to church with, as long as you can it from your family, you're good.

You're satisfied. Let them perceive I'm holy. Let them perceive that I'm a consistent Christian. That's not a person who fears God. A person who fears God, yes, has that in mind.

I don't wanna bring a bad testimony to the people of God or to the world. But a person who fears God is one who knows what's in his inner man, where no man can see and no man can analyze and no man can criticize. This person knows the battle within. And what does he do? He deals with it.

He deals with it. He says, I've sinned. But you know what? Samuel, I need you to honor me before men. I don't want people to know that we have a bad relationship.

I don't want people to know that you caught me in this sin. Just honor me before the eyes of men. That's all I'm asking for. How pathetic. How sad.

Compare this man's sin to David's when he was caught in what? Adultery and murder. And as we're gonna find out later on, David does not cry out, oh, God, preserve my army. He doesn't say, preserve my status. He doesn't say, preserve my he doesn't say, preserve my kingdom, my position, my popularity.

The one thing he has in mind is, take not your Holy Spirit from me. Cast me not away from your presence. You can take everything else away from me, but this one thing that I ask of the Lord and that I will seek after. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. See, when that's the one thing of your life, you react to sin differently.

You respond to sin differently. And oh, you can find out so much about people when they respond in a certain way about their sin. Saul, a person who fears man is not concerned about their private life, not concerned about personal holiness. As long as they're all fooled, I'm satisfied. Lastly, in first Samuel eighteen seven to nine.

And the woman sang to one another as they celebrated. Saul has struck down his thousands and David his tens of thousands. Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him. He said, they have ascribed to David 10 thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands. And what more can he have but the kingdom?

And Saul eyed David from that day on. A person who fears man is a person who is threatened by other believers. A person who fears man is a person who is threatened by other believers. Notice this detail. It wasn't that David received praise.

It was that David received more praise than Saul. The praise wasn't the problem. It was the fact that he was ascribed to 10 thousands, and Saul received just thousands. And when he heard this, he was displeased. Why?

Because when you live for the praise of man and that praise goes to another, what happens is you feel threatened because they are robbing the very reason why you exist every day. And so that person is officially your enemy because they are extracting the very source of life that keeps you going. And so David becomes David becomes what could have been a partnership for the kingdom of Israel, What could have been an amazing team to advance the purposes of God is now somebody that he can't even stand the sight of. And so how do you react when praise goes to another believer from the mouth of another concerning how they serve God and how they glorify God? What springs up in your heart?

Yeah. I'm sure he has sin in his life though. Oh, yeah. This is just this is a stage. That person's passionate for now, but just give it a few months.

You begin to fault find. You begin to analyze something's wrong so you can bring it up in conversation. What comes in your Do you rejoice? Do you rejoice that there's somebody that's on your team that's glorifying Christ? But if you fear men, if you love that praise, oh, they're a threat.

And Saul here shows that. What does he do? It says he eyed David from that day on. You know what that is? That's obsessive language.

He began to be obsessed in a weird way about David. Always looking at him, always analyzing him, always always trying to find out his next move, seeing him as a threat to his kingdom. And this is what happens when you fear man. When you fear man, your eyes are no longer on what God called you to do, but is on what other people are doing for God. And instead of being faithful in what God has called you to do, and how God has given you a capacity, and God has given you specific gifts, You begin to compare yourself.

You begin to try to imitate. You begin to try to do certain things their way. And guess what? The moment you do that is the moment that you put your ministry for God at risk. Because if God wanted you to be like David, God would make you like David.

If God wanted you to be like that person that is so influential, he would have made you just like that person. But God made you the way you are because God needs you to be you. Stop it. Just stop it. I know this is a temptation in many people's lives, but listen.

Some of us were having a conversation about this the other day. The moment you begin to imitate, it's cringe worthy. It's not you. Get back into your lane and just be who Christ wired you to be. All your mannerisms, the way you speak, whatever you feel inclined to as your gifting, stay there.

But he eyed David, so guess what? He begins to gravitate towards him, and he begins to step outside of what God called him to do. And he starts following David into the wilderness instead of running a kingdom. Compare this man, Saul, with his son, Jonathan, with the same person, David. First Samuel eighteen three and four.

Look at this wonderful picture of what a believer should emulate. And remember who Jonathan was. Naturally, he was called to be the next king. That was his rightful position. That was what was supposed to be granted to him.

But it says here, then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. And look what Jonathan does. He stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David and his armor and even his sword and his bow and his belt. He recognized it. You know what?

Instead of being threatened by this man, he says, David, whatever you need in this life for me to help advance the call of God on your life, I'm here with you. I'm here with you. This is a man who is supposed to be king, but guess what? He was more concerned about a greater kingdom. God's kingdom.

When you and I just realized this amazing idea that none of us, no matter what ministry you're trying to fulfill, you're not building your kingdom. You're not building your little empire. Every single one of us has a specific portion of God's vineyard that we're building God's kingdom on. Every single one of us are teammates. No matter what church you find yourself in, there's one church, one bride.

God doesn't have multiple brides. He has one bride. And we all have one goal in mind manifested in different giftings and ministries, to glorify Him, to advance His kingdom. So that when we have other people that are gifted, and talented, and called by God, we should rejoice. Why?

Because we're serving His kingdom. This idea of being threatened, and this idea of it's just silly. And the reason why it's so prevalent in the American church is because the American church is being treated like a business more than a kingdom. We're all about numbers, and we're all about meeting the status quo, and it's killing what God wants to bring to life. And so here's the ultimate consequence of the fear of man.

You go back to first Samuel fifteen twenty eight. And Samuel said to him, the lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you, who is better than you. Now David, he didn't have his height. He didn't have Saul's height. He didn't even have Saul's popularity.

In fact, he was even popular in his own family. But god saw something in him that brought him to a status where he was better than Saul. In what way? That he would be found more faithful and more effective in that very same position that Saul forfeited because of the fear of man in his life. What was it?

Well, it's the one thing that's said of David that's not said of Saul that he was a man after god's heart. A man after god's heart. And that's remarkable for somebody like David. I don't wanna touch on this too much because we're gonna touch on it in a separate message. David was not perfect.

What a title to give a man who committed adultery and murder. It's not about perfection, though we do pursue holiness. It's about the direction of your heart. It's about what makes it be. It's about the very thing you do and why you do it.

It's for His glory. And if you just bring it down to this, there was something about David that Saul did not have. Saul was not a worshiper like David was a worshiper. Saul was all into the politics and to all the all these other different things, but he was not caught up with the person. He didn't have that revelation, I believe, of just the person of God that he is relatable, and he he desires intimacy.

I mean, David is just in love with God. I think about him on my bed. I rise up in midnight, and I and I sing to him. I love his word. He's just consumed with the person of God.

And that is the secret to overcoming the fear of man when you just realize that God is a person to be known, that he he feels, and he responds, and he reacts. And when you realize that, you'll be drawn to pleasing this God. You'll be drawn to his person more than any other person. And David realized that, and his heart was wrapped. His heart was completely consumed in what?

Because that was the foundation. Because that was the foundation of his life, everything else stemmed from that, and he was safe. But the man who trusts in the Lord is safe. So I wanna conclude with this. This may not be a message for you, especially if you don't care for God's call on your life.

Doesn't mean anything. But I'm telling you, if you really wanna serve God, if you really wanna walk in fulfillment for what he has ordained for you, the package that he has set for you when you gave your life to Christ, if you really wanna walk in it, realize this. The fear of man is a threat to that. The fear of man wants to come in and choke you, wants to paralyze you, wants to keep you in place. And that's not just true for the call of God on your life.

That's true for salvation itself. So many people so concerned. Listen, it's not worth your eternity. It's not worth your eternity. My prayer, and we're gonna pray in a moment for us is this, is that we would realize the joy that is found in pleasing God even if you have to displease people on that journey.

If it's in your heart, if any of those things has struck your heart, if any of those things you just heard concerning Saul's life and you could say that's me, in the short moment of prayer, I want you to kill it now. And say, Lord, I realize that there is a seed of this in my life, and I'm asking you to take care of it. Unite my heart to fear your name. I wanna walk in what you have for me in this life. I wanna be completely set free whether people love me, hate me, curse me, spit on me.

It does not matter. Lord, I live for you and you alone. I wanna serve you to the capacity in which if nobody even recognizes me, nobody tells me good job, nobody invites me to a conference, nobody tells me to do anything, as long as you see it. Oh, I wanna live for that thrill alone. And it's possible.

And it is necessary for the longevity of ministry in your life. Let's pray for that. Father, in this very moment, we ask that you would help us realize the opportunity at hand in which you have called us to something. But no matter what you've called us to, it faces the threat of the fear of man of disqualifying us from experiencing the joys of serving you for you, of pleasing you in this life, not for our salvation, but Lord in our service with the things that you've deposited within us. And God, in this moment right now, we pray that if there's any evidence of the fear of men in our hearts, oh Lord, perhaps there are people in here that have a a desire to walk in, but they have yet to take that first step because they are crippled by the trap, the snare of the fear of man.

What will people think of me? What will people say of me if I fail? What will people what would they criticize me of if it if it doesn't look right? Lord, I just pray with my brothers and sisters that we would be completely consumed for the audience of one, and that we would live this life that no matter what you call us to do or what you tell us to say, we would do it faithfully. We would do it in love.

We would not pervert this idea of the freedom from the fear of man and be rude and and go out and just blast people and and do what we want. That is not what you're asking of us. But Lord, bring us to a place in which we walk with that freedom that David had. A man after your heart and letting everything flow from that place. And Lord, we can't we can't do that ourselves.

We have to be like David and pray for it to be a reality. And so Lord, come into our hearts. And Lord, uproot all these things that have maybe been there for years. And let us experience the freedom. Oh, the freedom that comes from living for you alone.

We pray these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our ultimate example of one who pleased God with his life. Amen.