Daily Radio Program with Charles Stanley - In Touc... - The Price of Popularity

Welcome to this weekend's in touch podcast with Charles

Stanley. Living for the praise of others can cost you more

than you realize. Join us in first Samuel 18 as David's

attitude teaches us how to recognize and manage the price

of popularity. Now popularity is one thing that a lot of

people are looking for in life and many people think that

somehow when they find the popularity that they're looking

for that's going to satisfy something in them. Let me tell you something.

If a person is seeking popularity to satisfy anything what they're going to

discover is when they have found it and they have reached it

it is simply an emptied promise. Well here I believe is a lesson about

the price of popularity in a person's life. David was no more than a mere

shepherd boy. In fact he was the second son if or other the

son of the second wife of Jess if you'll recall as we've been

studying and he was looked down upon by his brothers and when David came as the

shepherd boy over to bring something for his brothers at the time they were

facing Goliath you'll recall that his brother said to him asking

he said why don't you get back out there with those few sheep that you have

simply implying that he wasn't much of a shepherd boy because if he had

been he'd have had more sheep. They scolded him they looked down upon him and he

was more like a servant in that household than he was the son. So here he

standing before Saul telling the king that he's willing to go out and face Goliath

and he doesn't need any armor all he needs is his sling and he picks up five stones

on his way out to meet Goliath. Here he is just a shepherd boy going out to face

O Goliath but he comes back from that war single-handedly he defeats Goliath

saying to him I'm going to kill you I'm going to cut off your head that the

world may know that the God of Israel is God. One minute he's an unknown shepherd boy

and the next minute he's the hero of the whole army of Israel. Now that not

many fellows who could take that kind of popularity but David could take it and

all through these scriptures as you read between the lines how God is responding

and how God is acting toward David you see that God sees David's heart and that's

why Paul said about him he's a man after God's own heart because in spite of all the acclaim

there's always that spirit of humility found here in the life of David. Now listen there are

three things here I want to mention that you and I have to deal with when we begin to face

popularity now let me say two or three things here about that we talk about popularity I don't

mean that you have to be famous now as the world you can be popular in a small group as well

as a large group and you see some of you popular and don't even know it because some people have

great admiration for you look up to you admire you and you're an example of them and you're not

even aware of that but when we talk about the price of popularity let's look at David's life

for just a few moments and see what the popularity cost him and let's ask first of all when you think

about popularity it being a universal problem where does the first problem arise well the first

problem with popularity is this jealousy the root cause of jealousy is a person's own sense of

personal insecurity because if you'll notice in this chapter here that the scripture says that

when the women began to call out that David had killed his ten thousands and Saul became very

angry and displeased and then he said what can they have more but the kingdom you know why he

asked that question I'll tell you why because if you remember when Saul and Samuel were talking

together and Samuel had to give Saul that awesome news that God had rejected him because he had

rejected the word of God offering a sacrifice which he had should not have done because he wouldn't

wait for Samuel and that God had taken the kingdom from him that listen Saul never forgot that

there was no way for him to forget it because he was the king of Israel and Samuel the prophet

God's representative said you will not be the king forever your family will lose the place of

kingship God has wrenched the kingdom from you and when he saw and heard and watched the popularity

of David suddenly explode right in his presence the first thing that happened he says the scripture

says what more can he have but the kingdom so his own sense of insecurity began to develop now I

like for us just to take a few moments to talk about the emotional responses that usually come

when jealousy develops well the first thing I think that so evident here is that anger is one of

those emotional responses God sends young David he takes upon himself the responsibility kills

Goliath wins the victor for Israel and instead of saying praise God here is one who had the courage

to be victorious Jonathan my son I want you to be just like him let's take him into town and set him

up on the throne and let's give him the credit it's do him and thank God that he sent David

you know what he did he acted like some Christians I know I better watch him he'll get my job

I wish I could tell you that all jealousy was in the secular world but I can't tell you that

now I'll tell you sometime it grieves my heart doesn't make me angry it grieves it makes me sick

in my heart to see men and women who love God become jealous of each other well anger is one

of the responses the second response if you'll notice in the eighth verse again and that is suspicion

once you become suspicious of somebody I'm telling you my friend that has got to be one of the

worst feelings you have always suspecting someone else what are they going to do to me next

you know what's going to happen next they're going to try to outdo me again I'm going to keep my

arm that's no way to live and yet some of you work on in your vocations you know people who

just like that suspect everybody and everything a third thing is fear all the way through here

Saul was afraid of David in verse 12 he was again afraid in verse 15 you know why I kept being

afraid he saw David behaving himself wise or the scripture says and Saul was smart enough to know

that there was something about that David that was so right it frightened him let me ask you this

is there anybody that you're jealous of do you get angry when you see them getting ahead

are you afraid you see if your own sense of self esteem or what it ought to be you and be afraid

of what somebody else gets in life and then the problem of irrationality when you become so angry

and so fearful and so suspicious you began to act irrational verse 11 chapter 18 and Saul and here he

was David playing the harp for Saul and quietening his his spirit and Saul cast the javelin for he

said I will smite David to the wall with it and David aboard that of his presence twice that is

that you can imagine Saul had to be a pretty good shot with that time and he threw that javelin

and missed then he threw it again he must have chased him out of the house with it interesting thing

is that David comes right back plays the harp again now you remember this my friend if you're

jealous of somebody and you don't take care of it you're going to express anger you're going to

get suspicious you're going to be afraid and then you're going to begin to act toward that person

in an irrational way Saul knew better than that here he was an adult here he was the king of

and couldn't control his suspicious anger and fear to the point that here he was throwing javelins

at a shepherd boy look if you will in verse 17 because another emotional reaction of jealousy

if we're not careful is this and that is we seek some way to take vengeance on the person

we're jealous of and two ways here it happened many many times but one of the ways he tried

to kill David as we say he threw the javelin at him a couple of times which he's going to do again

and then verse 17 Saul said to David behold my elder daughter Mirab herbal I give thee to wife

only be thou valiant for me and fight the Lord's battles but Saul said let not my hand to be upon him

but let the hand of the listings be upon him and then he connive with his general to pull back

in the midst of battles so David would get killed now you see he was committed to vengeance to take

his life but I'll tell you something worse than that more than likely you wouldn't take in about

his life but you might stoop I certainly hope you would not do what Saul did because if you'll read

on over you'll recall that he promised him one wife and then in to spite him and to hurt him

he gave that daughter to someone else verse 20 and Michael Saul's daughter loved David and they

told Saul and the thing pleased him and this shows about Saul's attitude toward his own daughter

and toward his own family and Saul said I'll give hurt to him that she may be a heir to him

now listen more than likely you're not going to go out and kill anybody but let me ask you this

are you jealous enough of anybody's possessions anybody's position anybody's appearance

are you jealous of anybody for anything enough to plan to hurt them in order to satisfy

something in your own heart I hope to all mighty God you're not because that is to stoop to the

level to make yourself useless in the eyes of Almighty God God's people need to learn to praise

one another and not plot against each other well these are some reactions I think but I want

you to notice the proper response if somebody is jealous towards you then how ought you to respond

now we say the jealousy is one of the prime prices you have to pay for popularity whether it's in

your family if you're a favorite son or a favorite daughter in a large family it can be very

difficult for you don't even have to be a large family all right how do you respond to jealousy well

you do what David at first of all he behaved himself wise that meant he was very careful how he

responded in each situation he behaved himself wise the second thing that's evident here is that

he was very humble about it there is not one single verse of scripture that indicates pride

on the part of David at this period of his life he refuses to be proud always talks about being

a humble servant willing to come back and help Saul even though Saul tried to pin into the wall

with a jabber the third thing I want you to notice here he refused under any condition to take

revenge on Saul now he could have done it because he begins to run now and he lives in caves and it

took him eight long years to become the key of Israel even though Samuel had anointed him eight

long years of running and trying to stay away and to get out of the grasp of Saul twice in caves

he cut off a piece of Saul's clothing and then held it up outside to remind him that he was so close

he cut off a piece of his garment he could have run the jabber and straight through his heart

but David said I will not touch God's anointed my friend that says something about David

that on the no condition is there one single shred of evidence that he stooped to take revenge

on a man who was absolutely committed to killing him so what am I saying that you and I must

behave ourselves wisely that we have to be humble in our spirit toward the other person regardless

of what they do we ought to avoid revenge like David avoided Saul's jabber we're not to take

it and revenge on any condition not only that but we are to offer help to the person who is jealous

of us he goes right back to play the harp again even though Saul is trying to take his life

he showed respect for him as the king he said I'll not touch God's anointed now when somebody's

jealous of us if we'll just remember we're not good to take revenge we're not to become angry

we don't have a humble spirit before them we're to offer to help them we're to show respect to

them in every possible way my friend there is no way to defeat that kind of spirit and that's

exactly what David was doing to Saul he wasn't arguing with him there's not one verse of

that's even says he took any argument at all against Saul he loved him he loved his son he prayed

for him he didn't argue with him he didn't defend himself a single time he simply responded even

a Saul saw that is he behaved himself very wisely and listen as God blesses you financially as he

blesses you in your vocation as he blesses you in your home as he blesses your family as he

promotes you in your vocation and as God's blessings become material as they become evident to other

people they're going to be people who are going to be jealous of you and if you and I can remember

how David responded but once we stoop to taking vengeance or even trying to prove anything to

the other person what we're going to do is to delay or set aside God's blessing until we're

able to behave ourselves very wisely now I have to mention the other two things and just simply

mention them in close and that is the price of popularity first of all we have to face the

jealousy of others and second let me just throw this out and live with you we have to face the problem

of other people leaning on us now listen sometimes when you become popular are you get a position

on your vocation are you appear to be the stronger one or the leader there are people who

emotionally or who in their own sense of self esteem feel weak so here's what they do they find

someone who is strong or someone who is popular and what they do emotionally is they lean on you

now for the moment they may appear to be becoming your friend but that's not why they're leaning

they want to be seen in your presence they want to be seen where you are they like to be known

as your friend they want to be where you are noticed and seen now friend that's not friendship

one of the prices of popularity is that some people will lean on you emotionally because

who you are in the eyes of the world being seen with you helps them to feel like they are better

but i want to tell you my friend some people will become a part of your life an intimate part of

your life not because they desire your friendship they desire something they cannot even identify

within their own hearts it is not purposeful on their part they don't mean to do it they don't

even know that they're doing it but they want to be in your presence and they want to be seen

with you and they want to be close to you because of what it does for them in the eyes of other people

what they don't understand is this they need a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ

and when somebody begins to lean upon you my friend ask yourself this question what is it they

they want to need they don't need to lean on you they need to be built up by you and if we are not

careful and we don't understand and we're not perceptive and we're not sensitive to what their

needs are one day they will fall and they won't know why and you won't know why the third

price of popularity is this and that is that you and I must be extremely sensitive to our own

relationship and absolute and total dependence upon Jesus Christ less you and your vocation

get the big head and you get a little car a little proud because you beat all these guys behind

you here and they jumped over about three or four people to choose you for that position

you want to keep it then you do what David did act very wisely be very humble to those who were

skipped over and all of you to be chosen seek to help those people advance in their occupation

their vocation and their particular position and show them respect as your fellow workers

now whatever position in life you and I may have whatever it may be it may be small in the

eyes of some large in the eyes of us but what I've shared with you works anyway whether it's in

a family or in a business or in a church or whatever it might be you and I have the responsibility

of always responding wisely in the eyes of God when they're those who may look to you

and some may be jealous some may lean but more important than either one of those you and I

must be very very careful that we understand that every single solitary blessing that we have

comes from Almighty sovereign God who could take it away quicker than we received it and so our

response must be that of Christ's likeness David is a beautiful example of a man who knew how to

respond to the problems the dangers and the hindrances as well as the blessings of popularity

thank you for listening to the price of popularity for more inspirational messages like this one

visit our online 24-7 station and if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or in touch

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