18th May 2026

18th May 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 Samuel 28:1-3)


Message (Alan Burke) 


In what seems like a lifetime ago, there was a man who lived down the road from us, one of our neighbours. I knew and was friendly with his son; we were in the same circle of friends for years. From the outside, this man looked the part; he was well respected and thought highly of by many, but when a crisis came into his life, things began to unravel, and lo and behold, there was a web of lies, of sinful behaviours, of wreckage that he had been leaving that may have never been discovered except for one fateful night that brought him to his breaking point. It was tragic; the revelations were something that you’d make into a TV show, and well, that is exactly what happened. You couldn’t have written the story because it would have been too unbelievable, but real life is sometimes stranger than fiction. 


Today, we come, and initially, this passage focuses on David. It seems to belong in the previous chapter, but when I was breaking down the passage, I thought that it correctly belongs here in chapter 28. In these opening three verses, we have David and Saul. David has been called up to fight against his own people, and Saul, well, we are told of him and that he had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land. They seem unconnected, but what is common is that these men were living lives that were based on lies. David living among the Philistines; yes, it was because Saul had pursued him; he thought that the only place that he would be free from Saul’s pursuit was to live among the enemies of his own people, and Saul, well, Saul is king, but he likewise was living a lie. 


Let’s think on David for a moment. Yes, he felt that the only place that he would be free from Saul was to live among his enemies, but he weaved a web of lies to do it. Here, that web was, it seemed, becoming unraveled, and he was compromised. You might think his actions were justified, and while the text doesn’t give a verdict, he had sinned in many ways. Ok so we’re told of David, then we are told that Samuel is dead. This isn’t news to us, but it helps set the scene, and Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land. 


The problem was, though, that as time went on, it was clear that appearances can be deceptive. David had deceived the Philistines, becoming the bodyguard of Achish, and Saul had deceived the people. He had the appearance of a man who was doing God’s will, but it was only the appearance. It was only when he was stuck that he sought the LORD, and even that was a token gesture, and often an afterthought. 


He was ruling and reigning and doing it himself, his way, what seemed best to him. For Saul, God was his insurance policy, like there are many today that, to the outward world, they may seem devout enough, but there is no relationship with the LORD. He knew of the LORD, but he did not know the LORD; he had rejected his rule in his life. 


It can be easy to deceive those around us, but we cannot deceive the LORD, our God. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Sam 16:7). We might be able to deceive everyone around us, but the LORD understands our true intentions and feelings, beyond just our outward actions. There is a day coming that God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ (Ro 2:16). 


Appearances can be deceptive; we might come with different motivations, be able to fool the looking world, but the LORD knows the heart; nothing can be hidden from Him. As the narrative goes on over the next few chapters, we learn the difference between these men in spite of their sin: faith. I don’t know your heart, I don’t know your sin, I don’t know if you’re weaving a web of lies; while in Christ, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, but if you believe, then we are called to: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature (see Eph 1:7, Col 3:5–10). Brother and sister, put sin to death, turn from it, and live as you are called. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q70 What is the seventh commandment?
A. The seventh commandment is, Thou shalt not commit adultery.
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