Most Christians have only been taught that to be a loving Christian means we are to cover over all evil and allow Satan a free pass to do all the evil he wants, without any exposure. Perhaps we may call it “politically correct Christianity”. Satan, who loves to hide all of his work, and hates for any of it to be exposed, must be absolutely thrilled when he hears people saying, “Michael, you really shouldn’t expose this stuff publicly!”

The writers of the Bible hid none of the sins of the wicked.

Was Jesus unloving to expose all the wrongs and evils of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law in John 8 and Matthew 23, or all the wrongs of the elders of the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3? Was Stephen unloving for exposing the stiff necks in Acts 7:51? Was Paul unloving to expose Peter’s hypocrisy in Galatians 2:11-13, Demas betrayal in 2 Timothy 4:10, or Alexander the Metal worker’s evil in v.14, or what about Elymas who Paul publicly proclaimed to be a child of the devil and an enemy of everything right in Acts 13:9-10? Was Peter being unloving when he publicly exposed a false believer named Simon in Acts 8:18-22? Was even the apostle John being unloving for exposing Diotrephes to the whole church in 3 John 1:9?

If it were not for all the evils done and known in the Bible, there would be no known deliverance by God and glory for His name. God is a deliverer, but from what? Who could ever imagine a super-hero movie that saves the people from an “unknown” villain, and untold evils that they never even saw? That movie doesn’t exist because it has no need for a superhero.

“I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them…Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.” — 3 JOHN 1:9-11 NLT

“Do not be like your fathers and brothers, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their fathers, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. ” — 2 CHRONICLES 30:7-9 NIV84

Before I share the biblical principles and answer to this important subject, first let me a few things very clear. I, personally have no desire, and take no delight whatsoever, in exposing the shameful unrepentant sins of others, any more than I do my own. I do NOT like bringing shame or disgrace on others, and it takes courage and faith for me to obey the Lord in this. Jeremiah and other prophets faced this exact same discomfort and reluctance, but they were strengthened by God to do so.

I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, … "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. … They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. - Jeremiah 1:16-19

I am in this ministry because I first love God with all my heart mind soul and strength, and secondly because I love others as He does. God’s first intentions are not to hurt us, but to love us. Nevertheless, He does hurt us when we sin (Heb 12:11). My first intentions are not to hurt anyone, but to love and correct and encourage them. Nevertheless, as One who has the Spirit of the Lord inside me, who punishes sin, sometimes He hurts others through His servants, when they sin, starting with myself and my own sin, of course. (See Matt 7:2-5, Rom 2:21-23)

My whole God given desire for ministry has been to see people turn away from the darkness and powerlessness of counterfeit Christianity, and to bring them to the obedience that comes by a real faith in God. I have tried, with God’s help, to show them what it really looks like to walk with God. I sought to strengthen them in their sufferings and to learn to trust in the Sovereignty of God. Like Jesus, I too have loved righteousness and hated sin and wickedness, starting with my own! I see how sin stands in the way of all that is Good in God, to the child of God.

It is not my attention to bring public disgrace on someone, nor to offend love. In fact, where possible, I have hidden the identity of people who have sinned against me for as long as I possibly can, until and unless they took it upon themselves to make their name known publicly in connection with my rebuke of them. For instance, I hid Keri’s (first ex-spouse) name for the better part of 12 years, even giving her the pseudo name “Jennifer“ in my autobiography and painstakingly editing out hundreds of instances of her name in the Trusting God in the Wilderness Series. I only recently stopped attempting to conceal her name, when she began again with more public false accusations slandering me, under her own legal name.

My aim continues to be obedience to the Word and will of God as best as I possibly can, aided by His grace, through His unique ministry in my life of transparently sharing His dealings with me, which often includes the lives of others, because of God’s prophetic design in my life to bring forth his heart and warnings to others with real life representations.

I expose some unrepentant sins of others, knowing in advance it will be a very distasteful or offensive stumbling block to some. This, I cannot help, beyond what is written below from the Word of God, and I leave the responsibility and consequences, hereafter, totally with God.

Lisa can testify to my tears. I have loved the majority of those I have publicly rebuked, to the point of weeping tears for their sin, and for the loss of them in my life, due to their stubborn unrepentance. How much more does God hurt?

With the exception of a few whom I never directly rebuked before they turned, there are no sins that I have ever exposed of others’ where they were not first privately confronted by myself, and given ample time to repent. I confronted them in love, with the desire to see them better off after repenting of the sin, than they currently were, while still living in it. They were given a chance and ample time to repent privately, and chose not to do so.

“Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” — REVELATION 2:16

We forget that every problem in this world and in our life is rooted in sin. We forget that every relational failure and break of fellowship in our life is a result of sin. We forget that God does not call it “being human“, “imperfect”, or “making mistakes“. God calls it SIN, and He says it separates us from him, now, and when we die it will do so for all of eternity. We forget that God is still waging war against ALL sin. We forget that the wages of sin is eternal death. We forget God still demands that we repent of our sins and that no one living in sin can inherit the kingdom of God. We forget that God is fiercely jealous for our souls and because of that He still hates and punishes ALL sin, in the life of his true children.

We also forget that all throughout the Bible God exposes the unrepentant sins and evil of others to be taken as examples and warnings for the rest of us, NOT to follow.

None of us like having our own unrepentant sins exposed and so we may feel defensive or offended when other people’s sins are exposed. This is natural, but not spiritual and this is modern, but not BIBLICAL!

Nevertheless, those of us that accept the Biblical truth, must not be surprised, in a transparent ministry like mine, if after God has given ample time for private repentance and yet one remains stiff necked, that He then brings upon their head the consequences and shame of their sin, and most likely using it for a warning to others. Especially for those who God so richly ministered to previously, through this very ministry, which they then turned and sinned against, by trying to bring shame and reproach upon it.

“I have given her time to repent…but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering…I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches the hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. ”— REVELATION 2:21-23

We also should not be surprised if after somebody has been privately confronted on their sin by me, and after they refused to repent, and after they added sin upon sin by then publicly slandering me, that God would eventually direct me, in defense of His ministry and work in my life, to tell, “the other side of the story.”

Here is James Gill’s commentary on Matthew 18:15-17, where Jesus teaches what we are to do when our brother sins and will not listen.

 "When the holy blessed God reproves a man, he reproves him in love, privately: if he receives it, it is well; if not, he reproves him among his friends: if he receives it, it is well; if not he reproves him openly before the eyes of all; if he receives it is well; if not, he leaves him, and reproves him no more.'

We must not forget that God cannot be mocked and that a man reaps what he sows (Gal 6:7).

“Tell the Story of ALL That I Have Done in Your Life”

““If God is pleased to raise up a powerful, long-term enemy, to do much evil against me, and then by His providence, faithfully deliver me from every evil attack from that enemy, and then I do not proclaim to my brothers and sisters what God has done for me, woe to me and shame on me!” — MICHAEL CHRISWELL

‘The Lord has vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the Lord our God has done.’ – Jeremiah 51:10

It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. – Daniel 4:2

I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints. – Psalm 52:9

Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! – Psalm 66:5

God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him. – Psalm 67:7

I wrote this document and Bible teaching to deal with the stumbling block in some believer’s minds as they have listened to parts of my story, where I have exposed the evils and hypocrisy that God has been pleased to allow me to face from my two ex-wives, Keri and Persis. While the majority of mature believers are able to see God’s heart and purpose in my sharing these things, there are some, who still need more light on this subject. The need for this kind of Bible teaching can be seen in the following.

Comment made on one of my YouTube videos.

“Michael, I have recently gone through a divorce that nearly killed me. I have relied on your story and teachings to survive and find God. My Dad is a Christian of around 40 years. Last night I wanted to share your story, and some videos with him. I played your trailer first. He liked it, I told him there was so much more to it than the trailer revealed. I chose to play chapter 18 titled total brokenness leading to absolute surrender, next. I am struggling with unforgiveness and letting go. Not halfway into the video I was feeling anger, and tension. Then, my Dad couldn’t bite his tongue any longer. He was enraged that you a Christian would say all these hateful things about your ex, for the whole world to see. I felt like such a fool, and quite embarrassed. I only slept a few hours last night. I must admit the feeling I was left with felt like an act of Satan. How could I be this blind?”

I get what you are saying, but I’m not so sure that you should go public with negative feelings about the mother of your children. Can you imagine how much less forgiving she would feel reading this, and knowing you made it public. Aren’t we supposed to be forgiving and kind to our enemies? I know with my ex I saw good and evil. I would like to think things might get better if I display more kindness and forgiveness. If not, I at least will know I did my best.”

Brothers and sisters, let me give you a solemn warning, especially if you do not like the idea of having your own sins and evil exposed publicly.

If you sin against God, or one of His children long enough, and you refuse to repent, the time will come when God will expose you publicly just as Jesus taught us to do in Matthew 18:17, and just as He did in Matthew 23 and Revelation 2:21.

God may expose the sin of others to us for the very purposes of warning us, and if we do NOT take proper warning, He may even bring more judgment upon us, than the person whose sin He exposed us to! Notice here that God exposed faithless Israel’s adulteries to Judah, and God says she saw Israel’s sin, but treated it with contempt.

Jer 3:6-11 During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. (7) I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah SAW IT. (8) I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. (9) Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. (10) In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the LORD. (11) The LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah.

You do not get a pass because you are a woman. Think of Ananias’ wife Sapphira whom God put to death with her husband publicly as a warning to the whole church. You don’t even get a pass because you gave birth to children, like some people seem to think. Even Ahab’s wife Jezebel was a mother. Did God give her a pass? No, she was devoured by wild dogs outside the city walls of Jezreel for all to see and hear (2 Kings 9:33-37).

Oh, how the people that call themselves by His name, have forgotten the severity of God, all in the name of love, love, love. What a heresy it is to deny the other half of God, His justice, his wrath, his indignation, and His fiery judgement!

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you ever escape hell?” - Jesus Christ (Mat 23:33)

“Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.” – Rom 11:22

There is no favoritism with God, and he hates all evil, regardless of who it comes through. He did not spare any of the women and children in the flood, or in Sodom and Gomorrah, and He will not spare any of them on the day of the Lord either. The only people that God spares are those who repent of their sins and give their faith and obedience to Jesus Christ.

“There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” – Matthew 10:26

Many of us have been led to believe that there is never a righteous time to expose the evil that has been done to us and it’s easy to see why most “Christians” would believe this, after all, who wants to have their own sins and evil exposed?

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his evil deeds will be exposed. – John 3:20

Most Christians have only been taught that to be a loving Christian means we are to cover over all evil and allow Satan a free pass to do all of it he wants, without any exposure. Satan, must absolutely love that! He loves and champions the people, who say, “Michael, you really shouldn’t expose this stuff publicly!”

It’s time for me to say to those people what Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God in mind, but the things of men.”

Matthew 18:17 - If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.

Ephesians 5:11 - Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

The following is John Gill’s commentary from the 18th century on the Bible for Matthew 18:17

"When the holy blessed God reproves a man, he reproves him in love, privately: if he receives it, it is well; if not, he reproves him among his friends: if he receives it, it is well; if not he reproves him openly before the eyes of all; if he receives it is well; if not, he leaves him, and reproves him no more.'

I am going to show you from Scripture that indeed there are righteous times to expose evil, especially when we can see that God raises up enemies that will result in His praise when they are defeated. In those instances, when the evil is not exposed, neither is God’s glory.

From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. – Psalm 8:2

The Terrible Evils Done to David, by King Saul for nearly 14 years:

First, let me start by asking you to try to imagine the story of David in the Bible, if God would have covered over all the evils that Saul did to him over about a 10-year period.

If you are familiar with the story in 1 Samuel, think how that would most certainly lessen our respect and admiration for David, and think how much credibility the Psalms might have lost in our eyes, had we not been told of all the evil David faced from his enemy. More importantly, think how much it would lessen the glory due God as the One who helps us against our worst enemies and who delivers us from evil. Where is the glory for our Savior if there is no evil to be saved from?

Let’s remember why that brother in the comments was coming to my videos to begin with. He had been suffering from evil and wanted to be comforted by the fact that I too had battled evil from my ex-wife for decades but had found God’s help.

Perhaps if his father wouldn’t have become so offended by jumping into my story at Ch. 18, perhaps pre-judging my heart, and then convincing his son that I was doing an evil by exposing the evil done to me, he would have eventually heard in my story how I was able to forgive her for all those wrongs, how I never became bitter, and how God not only miraculously delivered me time and time again, but how He also told me to tell of it all and how He used it to bless me and to help me to find fullness in Christ.

“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” – Psalm 50:15

Thousands have been comforted, and untold numbers of suicides and faith failures have been prevented over the years by God’s work in this little and often criticized ministry. Why? Because people not only know that I have suffered a great deal of evil done against me, but they see that I have also been comforted by our faithful God. They know that I have suffered like them, and then they get to see exactly how God saved me repeatedly, first from my own sins and evil against Him, and then from the evil of others, and how He used it all to make me more like Christ. Even Paul knew how important it was for his followers to know how he was suffering.

Philippians 1:29-30 NIV For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

It is also very important to remember that no evil has ever happened to me, or to you, that was not caused or allowed by God’s Sovereignty.

If God allows it, it is a good thing, and it is to His glory if it is proclaimed from the rooftops!

Both deceived and deceiver are his. – Job 12:16

The Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them and has spurred their enemies on. – Isaiah 9:11

I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord do all these things. – Isaiah 45:7

To keep me from being conceited…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. – 2 Cor 12:7

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…to the praise of His glory. – Eph 1:11

The Lord works out everything for his own ends—even the wicked for a day of disaster. – Pro 16:4

Christians are being slaughtered spiritually and there is no more time for this “false love”, patty cake “Christianity”.

As Paul said in Romans 12:9, sincere love is to hate evil. If Christians are not trained and taught to handle the real-world realities of evil and Satan, they will not make it in the coming years because we are going to face more evil in the not too distant future than any of us have ever imagined. The world is becoming increasingly wicked day by day, and we need courageous believers who can stand up and testify that evil has been intense in their life, but more importantly so has been their God, and His word to overcome it.

For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory. – Deuteronomy 20:3

How can you live the Christian life without enemies? You cannot! How can God fight for you if you don’t have enemies or face evil? He cannot! How can God be glorified and praised if all his victories against evil in your life are kept hidden under the false rug of “love”? He cannot!

In 1 Samuel 19:18, it says that David went and told Samuel all the evils Saul had done to him.

Mind you, this is the only man in the entirety of Scripture whom the Lord said about, “He is man after my own heart.” (Acts 13:22) Then, Samuel, an anointed man of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, turned around and told hundreds of millions of people about those same evils, by writing the book 1 Samuel in the Bible. Then, David told of all the evils done to him by Saul, to the 600 men that were following him.

But, Doesn’t Love Cover Over All Sin?

Wasn’t this an unloving thing for Samuel and David to do, to expose the evils of Israel’s anointed king to the rest of humanity for all of eternity in the Word of God? Shouldn’t they both have covered over Saul’s sins, rather than exposing them to the entire world? Couldn’t we accuse both Samuel and David of being both unloving and unforgiving, perhaps even of harboring a grudge against Saul? Lots of professing believers seem to think so, and after all, look what David’s own son Solomon wrote, inspired of God in Proverbs 17:9

“He who cover over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” and in Proverbs 10:12, he writes, “love covers over all wrongs.” Paul also wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:5 that love keeps not record of wrongs. Brothers and sisters as with all Scripture, we must look at the context and the “also writtens” and take in the whole counsel and character of God, not just one verse, or one side of God. The same man that wrote 1 Corinthians 13:5 about love keeping no record of wrongs, also made the following records, not to mention all the other records in the book of Acts.

2 Timothy 4:10 – Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me.

2 Timothy 4:14 – Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done.

If you are not familiar with the story in 1 Samuel, here’s a quick recap of the recorded evil and wrongs done to David, by King Saul, for the entire race of humanity to read and shake their head at. Remember that King Saul disobeyed God in two major ways before he was turned over to an evil spirit to be used as evil against David. First, in 1 Sam 13:10 he failed to wait the full 7 days until Samuel showed up and he took it upon himself to offer a burn offering because he feared his men. Then in 1 Sam 15:9, he spared everything that was good and even Agag the king of the Amalekites, instead of totally destroying them as the Lord commanded. In both sins against God, he did not repent, but made excuses for both, when he was confronted.

The List of Evil’s Committed Against David By Saul:

In 1 Samuel 18:10-11 an evil spirit from God came upon Saul and Saul threw his spear at David, trying to murder him. In v.17 Saul deceitfully offered David his oldest daughter Merab, in exchange for David’s loyalty in battle, hoping to have him die at the hands of the Philistines. In v.20-21 he tries to ensnare David a second time with a marriage offer to his daughter Michal, once again hoping to entice him into going to his own death in battle against the Philistines. In v.22 Saul orders his servants to lie to David, saying he is pleased with him, in order to entice him to marry his daughter. In v.25 Saul makes a wicked plan to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines in war. In v.28 we see that Saul was never going to repent and would remain David’s enemy for the rest of his life. In 1 Samuel 19:1, Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. In v.6 he lies under oath before God saying he won’t kill David, but then in v.10, Saul tried to murder David again with his spear. In 1 Sam 20:33, Saul hurled his spear and tried to murder his own son Jonathan because of his loyalty to David. In 1 Samuel 22:16-19, Saul had 85 priests of the Lord murdered because one of them showed loyalty to David, then in his evil rage and wickedness he murdered the men, women, children, babies and animals of the entire town of Nob all because of his hatred for David. After all this madness and wicked evil, we learn in 1 Samuel 23:9 that Saul is not giving up and he is still plotting against David. In v. 21 Saul has become so delusional in his wickedness that he says, “May the Lord bless you” to the Ziphites who told him where David was hiding, and then thanked them for their concern for him (Saul). In v.23 he hires spies to find all of David’s hiding places. In Ch. 24:16-22, Saul has a moment of false humility and repentance after David spared his life. Then in Ch. 26:2 Saul is back after David and this time with three thousand men.

How could anyone possibly imagine that a white-washed version of the Bible, with all the evil taken out, could be anything more than a children’s book of fables with no life changing impact?

Please, just reflect for one moment and try to think about the millions of suffering believers over the last 2,500 years that found comfort in their battles against evil, by reading about these very evils done to David. Keep in mind this is not just some story from a story book and this did not happen in the 90 seconds it took for you to hear it. This all really happened in the painful arena of life, and David faced all this painful evil and wickedness for approximately 10 years from Saul.

Again, shouldn’t David and Samuel have both covered over Saul’s evil actions, rather than exposing them to the entire world for the rest of eternity since we know God’s word will never pass away? Were they unloving, because that’s what it says in Pro 10:12 and 1 Cor 13:5?

Furthermore, is it possible that even God was unloving to expose all the wrongs committed against Him by Israel?

Were the 40 writers who penned the Bible unloving because of all evils they exposed all throughout Scripture? Think of how much evil is exposed in the Bible.

The writers of the Bible hid none of the sins of the wicked. Was Jesus unloving to expose all the wrongs and evils of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law in John 8 and Matthew 23, or all the wrongs of the elders of the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3? Was Stephen unloving for exposing the stiff necks in Acts 7:51? Was Paul unloving to expose Peter’s hypocrisy in Galatians 2:11-13, Demas betrayal in 2 Timothy 4:10, or Alexander the Metal worker’s evil in v.14, or what about Elymas who Paul publicly proclaimed to be a child of the devil and an enemy of everything right in Acts 13:9-10? Was Peter being unloving when he publicly exposed a false believer named Simon in Acts 8:18-22? Was even the apostle John being unloving for exposing Diotrephes to the whole church in 3 John 1:9?

The obvious answer to all these questions is “no”, none of them, starting with God Himself, was being unloving or harboring unforgiveness or bitterness against their enemies. God has given these to us as examples and warnings.

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warning for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. – 1 Cor 10:11

And yet, if God chooses to expose willful disobedience or hypocrisy today, through one of his servants, many of us immediately say, “He’s being un-Christlike, unloving or harboring unforgiveness”. Has God changed? His Covenant has, but not His ways.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. – Hebrews 13:8

We have forgotten the severe side of God. We ignore His sternness. We show contempt for His justice, His indignation, His wrath and His coming judgement.

Think of those who have come to YouTube, essentially in defense of my ex-wife, telling me how unloving I am to expose her evil and what I have experienced at her hands for the last two decades. Think of those who come and say, “I’d sure like to hear her side of the story.” Can you imagine these same people asking to hear what Saul’s side of the story was, or Pharaoh’s, or even about Judas Iscariot’s side of the story? Look what God says about these kinds of people…

“He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them are an abomination to the Lord. - ” — PROVERBS 17:15

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. – Romans 2:5

If it were not for all the evils done and known in the Bible, there would be no known deliverance by God and glory for His name. God is a deliverer, but from what? Who could ever imagine a super-hero movie that saves the people from an “unknown” villain and untold evils that they never see? That movie doesn’t exist because it has no need for a superhero.

Let me say this plainly before we continue. If you have evil being done to you, but you have no evidence of God’s faithfulness and deliverance from these evils, either in your heart, or your circumstances, then you probably shouldn’t expose your enemy. However, if God has raised up an enemy, a type of Pharaoh or a Saul in your life, like he did mine, to bring Him glory and you do not expose that enemy and tell of God’s faithfulness in your life against that enemy when God tells you to do so, woe to you.

Do you remember Phinehas driving a spear through the Israelite man and the Midianite woman he was having sex with, in Numbers 25:6? God was so honored by his act against that evil, that He stopped the entire plague against Israel, and he commended Phinehas for being so zealous for God’s honor. Today, the so called church would have just said, “Oh, there just having sex…no one is perfect…we all struggle against our flesh…it’s no big deal…we are all covered under the blood of Jesus…let’s just show them some loooooooovvvvvveeee and acceptance…we don’t want them offended!”

This is nothing like the real Jesus Christ! Nothing! God went out of His way to commend Jesus and set him above all His companions, anointing Him with the oil of joy, not just because he loved righteousness, but because He hated wickedness. Hebrews 1:9

I too am zealous for God’s honor, and I too am willing to drive the spear of public correction into my enemy’s belly, so that the church can take warning, regardless if every good “Christian” on the earth turns against me. I will not seal my lips to God’s wonderful deliverance, and I will not stop describing what it was or who it was, that He delivered me from time and time again, no matter how much if offends someone.

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? – Galatians 1:10

Every time God is pleased to allow evil to touch my life through another person Satan has taken captive, it is another opportunity for God to deliver me and make Himself known. Sometimes God raises up people in the life of one of His servants for this exact reason.

Romans 9:17-18 NIV For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

Let us not forget the greater purpose of exposing evil, to show forth God’s faithfulness as a protector and an Almighty deliverer. Let’s take a look now at all of God’s deliverance in the story of Saul doing evil to David.

The List of God’s Faithfulness to David Against His Biggest Enemy

Looking back just at the example of David, let us now look at all the deliverance David received from God against those evils, to show forth His love and faithfulness to those who trust and obey Him. God indeed ordained that David was to face much evil from Saul, but He also ordained much comfort for David from the arm of His providence.

In 1 Samuel 18:1 The loving providence of God made early provision against David’s future enemy King Saul, by causing Saul’s son Jonathan, to become one with David in spirit and to make a covenant of love and loyalty to one another. This insured David would always have eyes and ears inside his enemy’s camp. I found it striking to see the same act of God’s providence to me with my son Tyler, whom God indeed made one with me in spirit, and who also remained my eyes and ears inside the camp of my biggest enemy. Indeed, I serve and love and benefit from the same God as David, and so do you if you love Him, trust, obey Him and wait for Him.

In v. 11, God’s loving providence spared David’s life two times as Saul tried to murder him with a spear. In vs. 12, God caused Saul to fear David because Saul could see that God was with him. In v. 14 God gave David success in everything he did. In v. 15, God caused all Israel and Judah to love David. In v. 27 God gave David success in defeating two hundred Philistines. In v. 30 God gave David more success than any of Saul’s other officers and he made David famous. In 1 Samuel 19:1-2, God warned David through Jonathan that his father wanted to kill him. In v. 4 God caused Jonathan to defend David and say nice things about him to his father inquiring why he would want to kill an innocent man. This caused Saul to take an oath to never kill David. In v. 8 God gave David victory over the very Philistines that Saul wanted him to die at the hands of. In v. 9-10, God saves David from another murder attempt at the end of Saul’s spear and helped him to escape. In v. 11 God used David’s wife to warn him that Saul’s men were coming for him in the morning and she helped David escape. In v. 20 The Spirit of God came upon Saul to distract him from being able to capture David. In 1 Samuel 20 God allows Jonathan to lie to his father about David’s whereabouts and then sends a sign to David that his father is still after him and he needs to run. In 1 Samuel 21:3-6, God allowed David and his men to eat the consecrated bread to fill their hungry stomachs. In v. 9 David was weaponless and God’s providence provided David with the very best sword in the land, the sword he had taken from Goliath after he killed him. In 1 Sam 22:1 – The providence of God led 400 men to begin following David as their leader. In v. 5 God gave David guidance on where to flee to next through the prophet Gad. In 1 Sam 23:1-5 God spoke to David twice and gave him assurance of victory in the battle against the Philistines. In v. 9 The providence of God once again told David that Saul was coming to attack him and God once again spoke to David twice to warn him to leave. In v. 14 day after day the providence of God protected David from Saul as he and his men moved from place to place in the desert. In v. 25 David is once again informed that Saul is coming to attack him. In v. 27 the providence of God arranges a distraction for Saul, just as he was closing in on David and his men, which caused Saul to break off his pursuit. In 1 Samuel 24:4, the providence of God arranges for Saul to come into the very cave that David and his men are hiding in, to relieve himself. In v. 6 David’s men urge him to kill Saul, but God protects David from sinning against him by striking David’s conscience. In v.10 God grants David grace and wisdom in his heart to speak to his enemy, trusting God for justice. There are even more examples to go in this story alone, but this is sufficient to make my point about how the sharing of the evil done to David is important and God ordained because it highlights God’s providential care and deliverance of his children. My modern story of facing evils, as well as the stories of many others, are evidences He is the Great I AM, not the great I WAS.

I find it a praise to God that there are a greater number of God’s kind providences and deliverances to David, than there are the evils.

I have also found this to be true in my own life story and testimony. The evils can be numbered, but the loving acts of God cannot.

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. – Psalm 40:5

I have also found that the more evil I face, the more blessings I receive. To the point that I could say to someone, if you want more of God’s richest blessings in your life and heart, you’ll need to first allow there to be more evils. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Evil is what brings mourning and mourning is what leads to His comfort.

For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. – 2 Corinthians 1:5

Remember when Shimei was cursing David in 2 Sam 16, and Abishai immediately jumped to David’s defense saying, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?”, and asked David to let him go over and cut off Shimei’s head. Instead David said, “let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today.” – 2 Sam16:12

They may curse, but you will bless; when they attack they will be put to shame, but your servant will rejoice. – Psalm 109:28

Brothers and sisters, if you have read or listened to my autobiography, Astonishing Grace to the Chief of All Fools, then you know that I have faced this kind of evil from Keri, my first ex-wife, for nearly three decades now and it has often been very hard.

But, how many of my messages have you heard me talking about the countless blessings I’ve received, most importantly the vibrant living relationship I now enjoy with Jesus? I’m telling you the truth, because I learned to respond to the evil in a Biblical and righteous way, for every bit of that evil coming against me, there has been a much greater compensation of blessing.

To me, if you take away my evil, you take away my blessings.

“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” – Acts 14:22

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. – Romans 8:17

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.” – Romans 8:37

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. – 2 Cor 4:17

“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” – Phi 3:8

And how could we possibly imagine and appreciate these deliverances to David, if we did not know of the evils that these deliverances were from? We can now see that God had very good reasons for exposing all this evil done to him, by the very king He had chosen for Israel. In fact, for me personally, if God had not exposed the evils done to David by Saul, and had I not seen how David responded to that evil time and time again, I myself would have mostly likely responded to all the evil that God was pleased to bring to me, through my ex-wife, in an unwise or ungodly way, because I had no other real examples in my life.

God exposes evil and hypocrisy as examples to the rest of us.

But do not do what they do, they do not practice what they preach. – Mat 23:3

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did…do not be idolaters, as some of them were or commit sexual immorality as some of them did, or test the Lord as some of them did, or grumble, as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us… – 1 Cor 10: 6-11

Let us make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. – Heb 4:11

David’s dealings with Saul was a wonderful example for me in dealing with my ex-wife, and now in turn my story and example is an example for others who are going through the same evils. If you’ve never had a Saul or a Pharaoh in your life, I wouldn’t expect you to understand this yet.

The simple fact is that God is in the full-time business of exposing and destroying evil, and redeeming the acts and effects of it in the lives of those who put their hope in Christ.

The world hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. – John 7:7

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. – 1 John 3:8

True love for God and others is to also hate evil (Romans 12:9, Hebrews 1:9), not to pretend it doesn’t happen, but rather to hate it and expose it, if done so in accordance with God’s will and timing.

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. – Ephesians 5:11

The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. – 2 Samuel 3:1

A WARNING:

Please, do not just haphazardly follow my example in this, and start publicly exposing all the evil that has been done to you, apart from the clear call of God to do so. And let me add that this will be a very rare calling.

God simply does not call all believers to do something like this, especially not believers who still haven’t matured. This is not say that you may not share what has been done to you, by those who are in your immediate inner circle, if it does not violate your conscience (Acts 24:16) and if it can be done in faith (Romans 14:23).

But, not everyone will be told to look at a Peter publicly and say, “Get behind me Satan” like Jesus did, or to look at an Elymas in public and say, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right.” like Paul spoke. Not everyone will be told to expose the first and last names of the corrupt judges and their evil persecutions that threw you into jail, like John Bunyan did. Even I, went out of the way to protect my ex-wife’s name and identify as best as I could. Not everyone will be asked to expose the evils of the Catholic church and the sitting Pope, like Martin Luther was, or to expose the terrible evils done to you by your mother-in-law, your servants, your mentors, and your once beloved church leaders who betrayed you, like Madame Guyon.

Indeed, this kind of calling will be very rare and will have its purpose in being an example to others who are also suffering evil according to the will of God in their life.

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible. – Ephesians 5:13

If you have not done so already, please follow this up by listening to the message Taken Captive Part 6: The Biblical Response to Evil.