Dealing with Other’s Success | 1 Samuel 18:1-16

Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? It's good to see you. Thank you so much. I am deeply honored. I am so honored to even be considered for the office of elder. My wife and I are so deeply grateful that God called us to Watermark and has us here, and we are so excited about the future of this place. So, it's great to see you. If this is your first time ever at Watermark, my name is Timothy Ateek. I'm one of the teaching pastors here. I hope this place feels like home quickly for you.

Prior to coming to Watermark, I was the executive director of Breakaway Ministries, which is a Bible study on the campus of Texas A&M University. I became the director of Breakaway in 2016, and I took over Breakaway from former director Ben Stuart. Many of you are familiar with Ben. Ben is a pastor now in Washington, DC. He is truly one of the greatest communicators and Bible teachers in our nation.

What I didn't realize is when I signed up to be the next director of Breakaway, I was signing up to have callous people inform me of just how much they love Ben Stuart. It has taken me a while to realize this, but I now realize that one of the callings God has placed on my life is to field compliments for Ben Stuart. Ben is a close friend of mine. He's truly one of my favorite people in the world. We talk about this. We joke about this. But there are countless times where people have said really great compliments to me about Ben.

I remember one guy. He came up to me. He was like, "Man, I've got to tell you, nobody speaks to me like Ben Stuart does." He was like, "You're good too, but nobody speaks to me like Ben." I'm like, "That's great, man." I flew out to speak at this college event, and I had finished speaking. I'd preached my heart out. I sat down, and right after I sat down, this college girl came up.

She leaned down. She was like, "Texas A&M?" I was like, "Yeah." She was like, "Ben Stuart?" I was like, "Sure." She was like, "What do you think about him?" I was like, "Well, I think…" She was like, "I think he's great." I was like, "I think he's great too." A couple of years ago, I was the speaker at a family camp. We had been there less an hour, and this lady beelined it up to me. She was like, "I just love Ben Stuart." I was like, "I just love Ben Stuart too."

An hour later, at the same camp, I was talking to a guy, and he was like, "You know what? My wife's favorite speaker is Ben Stuart." I was like, "I could have guessed that the way this whole camp experience is going." Then at the same camp, just a couple of days later, I got a random text from a childhood friend. We talk about once a year. This was the random text. We had not been communicating earlier that day.

Out of the blue, I got this text from him: "Me to Aggie camp counselors staying at my house." So, he was having camp counselors stay with him. He said, "Me to Aggie camp counselors staying at my house: 'Hey, do you know that Tim Ateek guy? Yeah, he's pretty good, but Ben Stuart was better.'" I was like, "Okay."

So, today I want to talk about dealing with other people's success. Here's the thing. I love that Ben and I can talk about that and laugh about it, but the reality is there are times in my past where I dealt with serious comparison and jealousy when it came to Ben's success. So, today, as we step into the life of David, we find ourselves in a chapter that is going to instruct us on how to deal with other people's success.

How do you deal with other people's success? How do you respond to coworkers, neighbors, roommates, friends, siblings, brothers-in-law, or sisters-in-law who, in the eyes of the world, are smarter, funnier, skinnier, prettier, godlier, wealthier, more successful, are higher capacity, or are more strategic as parents? Just think about that. Who is it in your life right now?

Who in your world seems to be crushing life better than you right now? They have the perfect physique, the perfect marriage, the perfect house, they take the perfect vacations, and they're raising the perfect kids. How do you deal with those people's success? As we step into the life of David today, as we look at 1 Samuel, chapter 18, we're going to see there are really three responses to other people's success. There's comparison, rejection, and celebration.

If you have a Bible, join me this morning in 1 Samuel 18. I do want to be honest with you as you're turning there. On Friday afternoon, I called Blake Holmes, and I was like, "Man, the timing of this message feels odd with the announcement y'all are making." Ben Caldwell was like, "Look. If you need to let the elders know anything about Timothy Ateek, you can email us." Now here I am five minutes later like, "Choose celebration, not rejection." It just feels off.

I promise you there's no subtle agenda of this message. This passage was chosen long before the choice was made to make that announcement today. If anything, I stand up here as someone who has had plenty of experience doing the wrong thing, plenty of experience when it comes to comparison and rejection. I'm on my own journey to continue to fight to celebrate what God is doing in other people's lives.

If you're new to Watermark, we kicked off a series journeying through the life of David a couple of weeks ago. I love the life of David. It is such a fascinating life to look at. If you're not very familiar with the life of David, you might know him as the guy who knocked out a giant with a sling and a stone. He's so much more than that. David was the second king ever of the nation of Israel. The first king of Israel was a guy named Saul.

Saul was a mediocre king. We know that because God told him he was a mediocre king. God told Saul he was going to replace him with a better king. We know that king to be David. David actually turned out to be the best king the nation of Israel ever had. At the same time, David was an imperfect king. So, knowing that David was great but also imperfect, here's the best way to study the life of David. It's two things.

First, we want to learn from the life of David, but we don't want to just look at David and ask the question, "How can we be more like David?" If we do that, we're just going to slide into moralism. He's an imperfect king, and there's a better King than David. It's actually the Son of David, one of David's descendants, who is Jesus Christ, also known as the greater David.

So, we don't want to just learn from David; we want to look through David to the greater David. That's what we will attempt to do today. First Samuel 18 shows up right after the battle between David and Goliath. In fact, this chapter is them coming home and what is awaiting them when they get home. So, here we go. First Samuel 18. Let me read you the first 16 verses of the chapter. Here's what it says:

"As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan 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.

And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants. As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine [Goliath] , the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.

And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.' And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, 'They have ascribed to David ten 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.

The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, 'I will pin David to the wall.' But David evaded him twice. Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.

So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them."

This passage is about David's success and how two different people from the same family responded to his success. Did you see how we walked through the passage, how it was about success? Anytime you're studying the Bible, always look for the repeated words and phrases. Verse 5: "And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him…"

Verse 14: "And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him." Verse 15: "And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him." We're going to see Saul respond to David's success first with comparison and then rejection. Jonathan, Saul's son, is going to respond to David with celebration.So, we're going to start by looking at how Saul responded to David's success.

1. Comparison. I want to define comparison today as ranking God's will for your life against others. It's putting your life against other people's lives and ranking who gets the better deal from God. Where do we see this in the story? Well, remember, David and Saul come home from the battle, and there are some women who have written a song celebrating their return.

Saul hears the words of the song, that it declares David has struck down his ten thousands and Saul has struck down his thousands. What's Saul's response? It says Saul was very angry. This is verse 8. "And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, 'They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?'"

Saul compares the praise that is ascribed to David versus the praise that is ascribed to him. The lyrics of that song remind Saul of God's will for his life and David's life. What's God's will for Saul? It's that he would fade out. What's God's will for David? It's that he would fade into the throne. So, Saul compares, and it doesn't go well for him. As we look at this passage, we learn two things about comparison. I hope you don't miss them.

The first thing we learn from the passage is comparison feeds on "er" and "as." No one is saying, "Amen" to that. It probably requires some explanation. Comparison feeds on "er" and "as." What do I mean by that? I mean the thing that gives comparison life, the thing that nourishes it, is a need for either the "er" factor or the "as" factor in your life.

One pastor talked about our need for the "er" factor, our need to be able to look at the people around us and know we are smarter, funnier, prettier, skinnier, wealthier, godlier, and successful-er than the people around us. This is interesting with what's happening with Saul. If you look at the text, who did the women come out singing and playing tambourines for? Saul, not David. The text is clear. They come out singing, dancing, and playing tambourines for Saul.

Men, let me ask you: When was the last time a woman played the tambourine for you? Never, because you're not important enough for a woman to play the tambourine for you. Saul was. Saul was significant. Even the women's song is declaring that Saul is significant. It says Saul has struck down his thousands. So, the song declares that Saul is, in fact, a conquering king. The problem is Saul didn't just want to be great; he wanted to be greater. That's when things begin to unravel for him.

I wonder if there's anyone sitting here today who is like, "Yeah, I kind of get that." You look around, and you want to know that you have the "er" factor over the people around you. Yet I would imagine many here are like, "I don't feel that." For you, it's not as much a need for the "er" factor as it is the "as" factor. Here's what I mean by that.

You look around at other people in this world, and you decide for yourself who in this world is the ideal. So, you begin to tell yourself, "You know what? If I could just be as successful as that person… If I could just be as pretty as that person… If I could just be as high-capacity as that person… If I could just be as strategic as that person… If I could just be as godly as that person, then I would truly measure up. I would truly be somebody. I would truly be valuable."

Let me identify one issue with the "er" factor and one issue with the "as" factor. The problem with the "er" factor is while you will always have the "er" factor over some people, some people will always have the "er" factor over you. If you haven't found those people yet, just wait longer. The problem with the "as" factor is perfection is an illusion, and perception is usually not reality.

Let me explain it this way. This is the Ateek family's 2017 Christmas card. I just want you to know after the service we're going to form a line. I want y'all to come by. I want y'all to look at this Christmas card, because when you see this, you're going to see a family that is crushing life. I mean, I wish you could see all the glory. Well, I'll tell you what. We haven't even gotten started yet, because Bam! I mean, look at that. You didn't even see that coming.

Right here you have Noah, who at the time was dominating second grade. I mean, Andrew was winning in kindergarten. Then on the back you have baby Jake, and he might as well have gotten a baby modeling contract. I don't think they could find our number, but he deserved it. It's the perfect family…truly.

Now, do you want to know what was happening on either side of the button being pressed on the camera to take those pictures? On the front side, I was all over my kids. "Stand up. Stop running off. Stop messing around with each other. Stop tilting your head a weird way. Smile at the camera." Then on the back side, as luck would have it, something blew into Jake's eye (he was 2 months old at the time), and it resulted in a $1,000 visit to the emergency room.

You might be wondering, "Why did you bring your 2017 Christmas card?" Because that's the last time we sent out a Christmas card. We actually still haven't finished sending out our 2017 Christmas cards. We got about halfway done. Why? Because sometimes the Ateek family is just barely holding it together. We are so day-by-day sometimes.

Sometimes we look at other people and think they have everything, but have you ever thought that those people who you think have it all still feel like they're wanting? What if those people are looking at someone else, wishing they had a little bit more of what they had? Perfection is an illusion. Perception is not reality. Comparison feeds on "er" and "as."

The second thing we learn about comparison in this text is comparison has terrible side effects. You know those drug commercials where people are playing with their dogs or barbecuing with their friends, and then that soft, soothing voice is like, "Talk to your doctor before trying this medicine. It can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, demon possession, or even death"? The point is you can take the medicine, but it might not go well for you.

Here's the thing. Comparison isn't a medicine; it's a poison, and it has terrible side effects that we see in the text. Verse 8: "And Saul was very angry…" Verse 9: "And Saul eyed David from that day on." There's suspicion and paranoia. Verse 12: "Saul was afraid of David…" He lived in fear of David. If you go and watch how Saul's life plays out… How does it work out for Saul? He devotes the rest of his life to trying to thwart God's will. He loses the respect of all of his family members and all of his men and, in the end, his life ends by suicide.

Comparison had terrible side effects in Saul's life. It was comparison that ended up being the match that was lit that burned his life to the ground. Comparison will have terrible side effects in your life, whether it's competition or pride or envy or jealousy or anxiety or exhaustion. Let me tell you, I have taken the long way to learn the truth that the cross of Jesus Christ does what comparison can't. Do you want to know why we compare? We compare because we question our value. So, we look around at other people to figure out if we are worth as much as they are.

The cross of Jesus Christ declares value upon us. When you look at the cross of Jesus Christ, we learn two things. First, the cross declares the infinite value of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ was sufficient to go to the cross and bear the weight of all of our sin, yet Satan, sin, and death couldn't keep him down, and he walked out of the tomb conquering sin on our behalf.

It declares the infinite value of Jesus, yet when Jesus went to the cross, he was making payment for our lives, and in doing so, he was giving us value. The value we have isn't something we earn from performance; it is something freely given to us out of the overflow of God's gracious affection for us. He has chosen to lavish us in his love and in his kindness, and he has placed value on us.

So, now it's not because of anything we've done, but we are valued now at the body and blood of Jesus Christ. When you embrace that and own that, it cancels out your need to run out into the world and chase value. Instead, you learn that instead of chasing value, value is chasing you. God in his kindness is giving you value through Jesus Christ. So, the first way to respond to people's success is with comparison.

1. Rejection. Rejection is saying "No" to God's will for your life and others. It's just saying, "No." It's saying "No" to God's will for your life and others. I want to make sure you see what's happening with Saul. Look again at verse 8. Look at how verse 8 finishes. "And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, 'They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?'"

Everything is coming into view for Saul. God told Saul he was going to replace him with a better king, and Saul is now realizing, "That future king who is going to replace me is David." Verse 10: "The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul…" That can be unsettling to read. When you see harmful spirit, don't think a morally corrupt demon aligned with Satan. This is an angel from God who is a consequence specifically for Saul, specifically for his disobedience as king of the nation of Israel.

And what happens? "…and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, 'I will pin David to the wall.' But David evaded him twice." What's interesting is this harmful spirit shows up in chapter 16 and also shows up in chapter 19, and each time, it shows up right after the favor of God upon David is discussed or David's success is discussed. And what does Saul do? He picks up his spear and tries to kill David. Why? To thwart God's will for his life and David's life.

Verse 13: "So Saul removed [David] from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And [David] went out and came in before the people." You might read that and think, "Saul made David a commander? That's a promotion for David." That's not a promotion; that's a tactic. Saul is sitting there, thinking, "You know what? You got lucky once. You conquered a giant. But let's see how you do leading on a day in and day out basis."

Saul is targeting his reputation, hoping he will fail as a leader. In Saul's mind, the best thing that could happen is he makes David a commander and David goes out to battle and dies in the battle. What is Saul trying to do? He is rejecting God's will for his life and David's. See, Saul's plan is to stay on the throne until he dies, and when he dies, Saul's plan for his own life is for his oldest son Jonathan to take the throne. What Saul is doing is saying, "God, I reject your will for David to fade in and for me to fade out, and I reject your will to replace me."

So, a question is…Do you struggle with rejecting God's will for your life and other people's lives? This one might be hard to get your mind around at first, because you might hear that and think, "I'm not talking to God like 'I reject that.'" But what does this look like in our own lives? I think one of the main ways it shows up is through resentment. We inwardly resent other people's successes because we believe their success makes us failures.

You look at the fact that someone gets a promotion, and you can't celebrate good happening to someone else. You resent them for their promotion. You resent them for the nicer house they're able to buy. You resent their new car. You resent the fact that they were able to get pregnant. You resent the fact that all of their kids seem to be flourishing in life when yours aren't.

You look at their life, and you look at your life, and you think their success means you're a failure. So, you not only resent them; you resent God for not giving you more of what he has given to them. That resentment is rejection. It's saying, "I reject, God, what you're doing in their life, and I reject what you're doing in my life, because you gave me a bad deal."

Another way we reject God's will in our lives and other people's lives is through a tightened grip. If you're a leader in an organization or a company, you might have a tendency to micromanage everything. You need everyone to know that something is yours, and you need the credit for it being yours. You won't be able to work with anyone more gifted than you, and you will weed out people who show promise and talent because you feel threatened by them. That is you rejecting God's will for their life and God's will for your life.

See, Jesus has to be our example because Jesus didn't live with a tightened grip. When we find Jesus praying in the garden, we don't find him praying, "Not your will be done, but my will be done." No. What does he pray? He says, "Not my will but your will be done." He didn't reject God's will for himself or for us. What was God's will for Jesus? To give his life as a ransom for many. What was God's will for all of those who would put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ? To cross from death to life.

Jesus could have spared his own life, and in doing so, he would have rejected God's will for himself and for us. Instead, Jesus Christ faithfully went to the cross, and he accomplished all that God had given him to accomplish. We are to model that. We are to live the same type of surrendered life. Jesus gave his life, so the Christian life is a life where we give our lives completely over to God's control. It is where we acknowledge Jesus is King and let him reign in our lives.

This life is no longer about us. It's not "God, you exist for me." It's "God, I exist for you. This life is no longer about me being famous; this life is about me making you famous. So, I don't live for fame; I live to be faithful, to do what you have called me to do and to cheer on whatever you call others to do."

So, let me encourage you. Before we move on to the final thing, just identify. Where are you struggling with either comparison or rejection? Is there any area of your life where that's a struggle? If so, realize there's an issue in you right now with the goodness of God, and there's an incomplete understanding of all that the gospel means for you. The gospel calls us to come and die. It invites us to come and die so we might truly live. We die to ourselves, and we live for Christ.

1. Celebration. Celebration is a resounding "Yes" to God's will for your life and for others. Where do we see this in the text? We see it not in Saul but in his oldest son Jonathan. This is crazy. Think about it. Jonathan, as the oldest son, is the one who is the rightful heir to the throne. So, if there's anyone who should have rejected David as king, it should have been Jonathan. If there's anyone who should have looked at God and said, "I reject what you're doing in David's life; I reject what you're doing in my dad's life," it should have been Jonathan.

Instead, what do we see Jonathan doing? Look at verses 3 and 4. "Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan 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." What you need to understand is his armor and his clothing signified royalty. So, for Jonathan to strip himself of his clothing and armor, it was as if he was stripping himself of royalty. It was as if he was taking off the right to the throne and handing it to David.

He's coming to the future king, saying, "You reign instead." So, what does Jonathan do? He is basically saying, "God, I say 'Yes.' I say 'Yes' to your plans for David's life. I say 'Yes' to your plans for my life." As I've processed Jonathan's relationship with David, there are three things I learned from it that I hope are an encouragement to you. Here they are. Don't miss them.

1. Instead of seeing people for their success, see them for their stewardship. Jonathan came to a place where he realized God was entrusting the throne to David. That was David's stewardship. David would have the responsibility of stewarding the throne for the glory of God. So, Jonathan saw David for that stewardship instead of his success, and he made the decision, "I'm going to be David's greatest support as he seeks to steward what God has given him to steward."

I think about my good friend Ben Stuart, who I started by talking about. God has given Ben a brilliant mind, and God has put him in our nation's capital. Ben has this unique ability to speak in a really winsome way, especially to people in positions of power. What's my responsibility? The best thing I can do is pray for my friend Ben. Why? Because God has given him something to steward, and Ben will stand before God one day and give an account for how he has stewarded what God has entrusted to him.

The same is true for me, and the same is true for you. God has given every single one of us brains, bodies, mouths, hands, feet, feelings, senses of humor, talents, and giftings to steward, and every single one of us will one day stand before God and give an account for what we've done with what we've been given. So, we don't have time to compare. We don't have time to reject. We have only time to celebrate what God is doing in other people's lives, to pray for them as they steward it, and to steward ourselves to steward what God has entrusted to each one of us.

1. The death of who you are supposed to be is often the birth of who you were made to be. Who was Jonathan told he would be all of his life? All of his life, he has lived under the assumption that he is supposed to be king, yet right here in 1 Samuel 18, what we see is the death of that dream. What we see is Jonathan stepping into the true point and purpose of his life, which was to become the best friend of the future king.

So, I want to ask you to think about it. Who have you been told you were supposed to be? Who have you told yourself you're supposed to be? Are you supposed to be CEO or president of something? You're supposed to be rich with multiple houses and the nice cars? You're supposed to be someone on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list? You're supposed to be an influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers? You're supposed to be someone who works 60 hours a week, has four kids, a ton of friends, and a ton of plans and still somehow crushes every single aspect of your life?

Sometimes the death of who you're supposed to be will be the birth of who you were made to be. In 2016, when I became the director of Breakaway, because of who preceded me, because of who the former directors were, I showed up, and because of my position as the director I began to believe I needed to be one of the wisest, most strategic, most godly, most creative, most intelligent, most interesting, most captivating leaders, authors, communicators, and pastors in the nation.

It was a crushing weight to carry. It was exhausting. Freedom came in realizing I had only been called to simply be a faithful servant of the King. That is who I had been called to be. The death of who you're supposed to be is often the birth of who you were made to be.

1. Others don't have to lose in order for you to win. I distinctly remember running on a treadmill one day… I say that just so you think I run. I was on a treadmill one day, and I remember… This was years ago when I was a youth pastor. I feel like God just hit me over the side of the head and said, "You need everyone else to be a failure so you can feel like a success."

I wonder if that's anyone in here right now. What you need to hear is others don't have to lose in order for you to win. Jonathan still won. In fact, anytime pastors around the world talk about friendship, do you know who they put up as the poster child for friendship? Jonathan. That was his legacy. He still won. There is enough room in this world for more than one person to win. Every single person here has the potential of living a faithful life in the eyes of God. And let's be clear. What does God celebrate? He celebrates faithfulness, not fame.

So, let me encourage you. How do you respond to a message like this? Well, we do want to learn from David. Remember, we want to learn from David, and we want to look through David. We can learn from the life of David. We can learn from how Jonathan and Saul responded to David. I would encourage you to evaluate your relationships. Where has there been comparison? Where has there been rejection? Wherever God reveals to you, ask for his forgiveness.

I want to encourage you to thank God for what he is doing in those people's lives and even send people text messages this week celebrating what God is doing through them. Even more than that, I want to encourage you to wake up each day this week and remind yourself of the value that has been placed on you through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Thank him for the value Christ's cross purchased for you, and just say "Yes" to his plans for you. Open up your hands and say, "God, thank you for the life you have given me to steward. I don't want anyone else's life. I want the life you have given to me with all of the highs and lows. Help me to steward it faithfully."

Then, finally, I want to look through David to the greater David, because it would be a huge miss for us to read this passage and not see Jesus in it. Just as David rose to fame, Jesus Christ came and rose to fame. Just as Saul sought to thwart God's will for David, Satan, through Pharisees and Sadducees, sought to thwart God's will for Jesus. Yet just as David was God's anointed, Jesus was the Christ. He is the Christ, the Anointed One.

Just as David went out to battle and came back in victorious, Jesus Christ went out from heaven, went to the cross, went to war with Satan, sin, and death, and returned to heaven victorious as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. David became king of the nation of Israel for 40 years. Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords forevermore.

I tell you that just to say that when you look at how Jonathan responded to David, and you look at how Saul responded to David, you can respond to the greater David in one of two ways. You can respond like Jonathan did. What did Jonathan do? He stripped himself of the throne because he realized it wasn't his in the first place, and he celebrated the rightful king.

Do you know what true faith in Jesus Christ looks like? If you're here this morning, and you say you're a Christian because you were born a Christian, and you live under this blanket of Christianity, but it's a religion more than it is a relationship, true faith is coming to a place where you realize you being in charge of your life is a mirage of life, because either sin will rule your life or Jesus Christ will rule your life. True faith is stripping yourself of the right to rule and celebrating that there is a true King, Jesus Christ, and he's a good King. He laid down his life to bring you into right relationship with God.

You can also respond as Saul responded. What did Saul do? He clung to the throne that was no longer his. Some of y'all might hear all this this morning, yet you're still deciding that you are going to grip your life as if it's yours in the first place. You're going to seek to rule when there is a better King.

Let me encourage you. If you don't know Jesus, let today be the day where you realize that Jesus Christ left heaven and came to earth. He dealt with all of your sin. He was punished for your sin and mine on the cross. He rose from the dead, he conquered our sin, and he has made a way for us to be in right relationship with God. He is a good King, and he wants to have everything to do with your life and mine. Let's pray together.

God, my prayer is that the people of Watermark would be a people who celebrate one another, that we would be a people who have a contagious surrender about us, that we are so wholly devoted to you our hands are consistently open, just saying, "God, whatever you want for my life, and whatever you want for the people's lives around me, I say yes to it, and I celebrate it."

May we be a people who don't compete with one another or compare with one another. May we be people who spur one another on and encourage one another to faithfully follow Jesus and accomplish all we've been given to accomplish. Lord, we thank you for your love for us, that you, Jesus, came, that you died, that you're the true King who rose from the dead victorious over all of our sin. Would you rule and reign in our hearts and in our lives? In Jesus' name, amen.