Grace City Portland

The life of David – the man after God’s own heart – is the tale of the merciful king.And the tale of the merciful king is the story of God.It seems like no matter how you break it down, the life of David simply keeps leading us back to Jesus – the King without a crown, the Lamb of God, the Lord of the cross.----------------HOW CAN WE PRACTICE LIVING AS AMBASSADORS OF THE MERCIFUL KING?AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE KING WHO’S FAMOUS FOR HIS MERCY?

Young King David...Leader of the misfits, captain of the rejects, commander of the distressed!This is origin story of David’s ‘mighty men.’He didn’t recruit the elite, or the influential.Instead, he attracted the rejects and the rabble, the distressed and heavy laden, the bitter in soul. David drew the ones who the empire spat out... The ones who were fed up doing it Saul’s way...Always striving to keep up appearances, fighting for scraps, desperate for rest, only stuck, day after day, competing for power. So they defected.It would seem that they saw a glimmer of a new kind of Kingdom in David.So to David they gathered, at the cave of Adullam.BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF THE ‘BITTER ROOT’ IS LEFT IN THE SOIL?

Six chapters in, and this has become David’s life... On the run from his own people, being hunted down by his own leader and mentor, psycho king, Saul.Have you ever been there?When you begin to respond to God’s leading in your life, and it feels like all hell breaks loose!This is a poignant reminder of an important principle that appears frequently throughout Scripture... ANYTIME YOU MAKE A DECISION TO TRUST AND OBEY GOD IN YOUR LIFE, YOU ARE BY DEFAULT TAKING YOUR STAND AGAINST THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS. BECAUSE THERE IS NO SWITZERLAND IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM! So... What do you do when you’re doing your best to make godly choices, to obey God, and yet it seems as if the world is conspiring against you? 

In the kingdoms of this world, there’s always a struggle for a place at the table.If I give up my place in line, me and my tribe may be left out indefinitely.But life in God’s kingdom is virtually the opposite!When I give up my rights in obedience to (and love for) King Jesus, what may initially feel like losing my life actually becomes the beginning of gaining true life - truly living in freedom and joy and abundance and generosity!And not just for me, but for the world around me – even creation itself! And... Especially for those who grow up convinced that their lame, a dead dog, for sure not getting invited to the dinner party, not worth being loved.But a covenant with the king means new life for the lame.And that’s the tale of Jonathan and David. 

David’s success reminded Saul of his own failures, therefore David had become the target of Saul’s insecurities. But to make it even worse, Saul wasn’t merely some anonymous troll, or just some random loser looking to exploit David’s popularity.Saul was the father of David’s best friend.He was his soon-to-be father-in-law.He was still the champion of God’s people.It’s not hard to imagine that David probably looked up to Saul.Saul would’ve been like a childhood hero to David. And David wanted nothing other than to simply serve his leader. And yet Saul, instead of cheering him on, celebrating his wins, or building David up, he just spiraled deeper into his own insecurities, and started down the dark road ofblaming David, of projecting his own issues onto the young man, and even attempting to convince others – including his own son – that they too should see David as the problem and side with Saul.This is the part of story where David experiences the pain of BETRAYAL.

The point of diving into David’s story isn’t to come out as either a fan or a critic of David. We want to study the life of David, because through it, we have an opportunity to grow closer to God. The way David related to God, in the midst of all his ups and downs, reveals so much about God himself. While we watch David navigate family conflict, mourn the death of his best friend, get hunted down by the demonized narcissist leader he once adored, and even as we watch him struggle to come back from the dire consequences of his own pride and ego, what comes to the fore over and over again isn’t that David was the rarest type, the alpha, or the sigma male. On the contrary, David’s life (with all of its ups and downs) ultimately points us back to the actual main character – that is, Jesus, the true king and eternal hero of all our stories. Note: This episode begins with GC's team of Every Nation World Conference delegates sharing with the church their highlights and takeaways from their recent trip to Manila. Thank you to everyone who contributed in order to send our delegates!Sermon begins at 31:45.

Hope is looking at the world and the things in your life that are ugly, unjust, senseless, seemingly irredeemable, or just plain dead (like scar tissue), and yet still believing that God can redeem it, that He can raise it back to life, that He can make something beautiful out of what once felt like nothing but trash. Because Jesus conquered death. He is the Lord of resurrection life.Where does your hope come from?