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1 Samuel 23 (Part 2) Bible Study - Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  First Samuel chapter 23. Let's meet there together.
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  First Samuel 23, beginning in verse 15.
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  That's pretty one more time. Go.
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  We thank you for the written word.
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  We ask O Lord that this Bible study.
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  Lord, he would impart the wisdom that we need.
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  It would impart. The Revelation that would draw
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  our hearts closer to Christ. Lord, may we be reminded, may
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  you destroy every distraction May you Lord win every ounce of
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  our affection. Oh lord, for those who might be
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  dry inside, we ask that this was kindled afresh fire, for those
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  who might be defeated in a certain sin, but we pray that
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  they would receive the faith to be able to rise above, all sin
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  and live in Victory, that you've purchased on the cross for us.
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  For those who might be mesmerized by the world, Lord,
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  show the glory of Jesus Christ. We need you tonight, we need you
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  in the study. Take us by the hand and teach us
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  your word and let no other voice.
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  Interfere with the voice of God and Lord.
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  As we share with one, another may we be mutually edified so
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  that we can continue this race. Running with full force For Your
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  Glory. We ask these things in Jesus
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  name. Amen.
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  Any man. the last that we've heard of David, Is that he was
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  with 400 men. And that he was delivering a
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  people from an invasion of the Philistines, it was a town
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  called kiala and it was a successful Endeavor that people
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  have kiala word, delivered, they sought for his help.
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  And he did not fail to provide what he's always provided.
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  And that was faithful sacrifice with the skill that God has
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  given him as a Shepherd, not just of sheep, but if people,
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  and when we come to verse 13, very quickly realized something
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  interesting about It's following as we read here, then, David,
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  and his men who were about 600 arose and departed from keala,
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  and they went wherever they could go.
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  And so we read here that there were 600.
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  What was the number before this? How many of them were there?
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  400. And so, now the, the following
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  is climbed to 600. We don't know where these men
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  came from. Maybe they came from kiella,
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  after they saw David's leadership, and they were
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  convinced and though the majority wanted to surrender him
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  to solve perhaps 200 of them said, we want to follow this man
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  and so they did and so they follow him but unfortunately the
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  majority of those who inhabited this place wanted to get rid of
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  him and so David as a leader was left with no other choice.
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  Choice. But to wander into the unknown,
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  with 600 others and they finally come as we're about to read into
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  a specific Wilderness called ziff.
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  And there seems to be some relief for a moment, evading
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  saws, immediate threat. But we're about to find out that
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  that relief, whatever there was of, it was about to be
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  evaporated. Let's read from verse 15.
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  David saw that saw had come out to seek his life, David was in
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  the wilderness of ziff at whorish And if we read in verse
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  14, which I think should help us connect this before that, we
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  read and David remained in the strongholds, in the wilderness,
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  in the Hill, Country of the Wilderness of ziff and Saul
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  sought him every day. But God did not give him into
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  his hand. So they settle into this area
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  called ziff. They're hiding out there and
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  whatever Refugee was Finding, we are told by the holy spirit that
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  he was also haunted. By the reality that saw was
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  after David, every single day, there wasn't a break.
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  There wasn't a moment of pause. This man now, is all consumed
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  with this passion to kill David. And David lived in his thoughts.
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  He affected his affections. He determined his plans and he
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  distracted this king from doing what he was supposed to be doing
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  as a king. And I read this and I look and I
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  see saw and I feel, I feel many things and one of the things I
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  feel is Disappointment because look at this man and his
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  tenacious desire to satisfy his sin and you would wish that you
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  would have that same level of passion for God.
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  Well, you see nothing of the sort from King Saul instead of
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  pressing on to know the Lord, instead of giving, all he asks
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  to the Lord instead he's he is now obsessed with this desire to
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  eradicate. David from the face of the Earth
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  and behold tonight. The sad sight of when someone is
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  not a slave to Christ your slave to something else.
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  Your slave to another passion other dream.
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  It could be as evil as this and it can seem good, but it can
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  seem pathetic because it's not Eternal.
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  There is no neutrality in service you and I are according
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  to the Bible are either a servant or a slave to
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  righteousness, or a slave to sin, where the either Servants
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  of God are Servants of some other God and that God can be
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  you or me. And saw here is such a contrast
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  to David where he sought the Lord David with all his heart,
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  he was known as a man. after God's Own Heart, you see Saul
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  here satisfying, his own passion and his own pleasure and it's
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  very despicable to see But I read something about Saul
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  seeking David after day every day, and I see a man who
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  reflects the attitude. Not only of what happens when
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  you are given to your flesh, the potential of it.
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  But what happens? And understanding Satan's
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  Endeavor to come after you and me.
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  The enemy of our soul, takes no breaks.
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  He doesn't have a weekend off, he didn't punch in and punch
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  out. There is an enemy of your soul
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  in mine and he has an all-consuming passion to do.
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  What Saul he is trying to do with David and that is to make
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  sure you don't fulfill what God has a purpose for your life.
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  As much as this is a personal thing between Saul and David,
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  there's a spiritual Dimension behind it and that is David
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  being the one who would Usher in through his Descendants, the
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  seat of the Messiah. And Satan is not going to let
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  that happen so easily and you and I when we are born again
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  though, the enemy cannot Rob our Salvation.
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  He can hinder you from being effective.
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  It doesn't matter how inconsistent you, maybe it
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  doesn't matter how distracted you might be, doesn't matter if
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  you are. Most of the time unmotivated to
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  serve the Lord, or to pray or to be spiritually.
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  This none of that really matters because the enemy doesn't care,
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  he is always on 6th Gear, he never sleeps.
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  And that should cause us to certain degree, to be like, what
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  David is showing here and that has to be consistently vigilant.
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  Always on guard, always sensitive to the spirit, always
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  in community with Believers, always depended upon the Lord to
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  protect us and guide us as we are Behind Enemy Lines.
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  You know, if I receive some kind of Intel that someone was trying
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  to kill me but I also receive some kind of information about
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  my enemy and how he works and his schemes.
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  I hope if you receive that kind of Intel it would change the way
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  you prepared yourself every single day.
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  I don't think you'd be casual about that.
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  I don't think you would just go about your day as though.
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  There's no potential risk. If I knew somebody was after my
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  head, if I knew somebody was coming after me like David that
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  I'm not leaving the house without some kind of protection.
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  I'm probably never going to go anywhere alone.
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  I'm going to make sure that I am nourished and strengthened That
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  I don't go to certain areas that might make me more vulnerable to
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  my enemies attacks. That I would not associate
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  myself with certain people that might throw me and surrender me
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  to my enemy and yet, at the same time, you have Christians who do
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  have an enemy and yet they live every single day unprepared
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  Unprepared. They don't dress themselves with
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  the armor of God. They're not conscious of
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  building their faith, they're not serious about nourishing,
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  the understanding of who God is of how Satan Works.
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  They don't they don't strap themselves with the sword of the
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  spirit. They're not empowered by prayer.
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  They can leave the house. Not believing that there's an
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  enemy who has traps setting for them, Temptations and threats.
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  And so they're not serious about Community, they're not serious
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  about being under the protective care of Elders.
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  They just think they can just roam through this life and
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  thinking that they're just somehow in the middle of this
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  battle Zone. Their neutral when in fact, if
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  you have confessed Christ, you've been marked by the evil
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  one. And I believe the reason why
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  there's so many casual Christians in America, is
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  because most of those Christians, don't believe
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  they're in a spiritual war. They really don't.
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  How many people in here, actually, believe that every
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  single day, you're in a war. Most people believe that only
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  thing about Christianity is that I'm on my way to heaven.
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  I got my insurance. Know, you are in a battle and
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  ancient battle. And again, though, you were
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  well, God was going to protect me.
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  I might not secure. You are secure.
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  Just as David was secure. God did not give him into his
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  hand. But the only one that can make
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  you ineffective is really you. And as long as the enemy can
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  dismantle you, or make you not believe of this Warfare, then he
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  knows that he can disarm you in due time.
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  And so part of me sometimes yes I want to fellowship with the
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  Lord. Obviously my main motivation in
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  my Christian discipline is I want to know the person who
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  saved me but sometimes when there are days where my flesh is
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  is trying to convince me otherwise or there seems to be a
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  brass above me when my prayers. Don't seem to be penetrating,
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  the heavens there are times where I wake up and say I must
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  do this. I must watch and pray.
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  There's no way that I can serve God and Ministry and think that
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  the enemy is just going to let me do that without a fight.
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  And so there is no fear in me and there should be no fear in
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  you, I with this truth but there should be a call to Readiness
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  and a call to be filled with the spirit daily.
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  So saw demonstrates that but something happens in these
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  verses that will help David soar above soar above these threats,
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  and these Temptations. David was aware that Saul was
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  coming after him and makes you think, I mean, put yourself in
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  his shoes for a moment. Imagine living under these kinds
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  of circumstances. Imagine living with the constant
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  gnawing thought that at any moment saw and his, his armies
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  can appear right before us. And we are outnumbered.
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  We are under resource. We have known.
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  We have no Fortress. We have no Shield.
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  We're just in some caves and some Forest.
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  Now, think about it. Not let's add to that.
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  This man has 600 people to take care of 600 people.
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  And it's getting harder to hide, isn't it?
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  It's one thing to hide alone. It's one thing to find a cave
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  that can host 400 people. But now you're growing now you
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  guys 600 where you going to hide, you can't and that's about
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  to my found out here. You can't hide Not only that
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  there's practical management. How are you going to feed these
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  men who have devoted themselves to you?
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  And on top of that, David seems to be on a different level of
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  faith in these men, which could provide an obstacle to him.
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  He really believes God When God says go, I will give you Victory
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  while the others are like, I don't know about this.
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  So just think about all these mountainous things that are
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  burned it on David and just feel the pressure because he's a man
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  he's a man, just like you and me and yet at the same time, this
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  man is going to know something. I've Supernatural strength
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  that's going to help him rise above every single one of these
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  threats. These temptations that could
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  easily deflate any of us that can easily cause you just throw
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  in this towel and say I'm done with it.
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  I didn't this. If this is what it means to be
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  king. I don't want to be king.
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  Let me go work for my dad again. Look at verse 16 and Jonathan
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  saw sun rose and went to David at horesh and strengthened his
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  hand in God. And he said to him, do not fear
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  for the hand of Saul. My father shall not find.
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  You you shall be king over Israel and I shall be next to
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  you saw. My father also knows this and
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  the two of them made a covenant before the Lord David remained
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  at horesh and Jonathan went home.
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  Jonathan comes by for a visit Jonathan intentionally rises
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  from his home, seeks out, David finds David and he gives to
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  David something better than any sorcerer supplement.
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  He doesn't give David an Insight that he's working on a peace
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  treaty between his dad and him. He doesn't provide more
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  Weaponry. He doesn't give them more
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  resources to help him while he's in the wilderness.
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  Nothing of the sort. But what we are told is that he
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  strengthens his hand in God, Strengthens his hand in God.
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  See to the spiritual true strength comes from God.
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  And Paul uses this, and the whole scriptures talks about
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  this in different ways. When he told the Philippians
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  writing from jail, I love this because the guys in prison, and
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  he's telling the people who are outside of prison Rejoice, you
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  would think that they would write a letter to him.
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  Hey, Paul Rejoice always Rejoice.
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  He's reading it from prison. He's saying you rejoice, but did
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  he say rejoice? I say always Rejoice.
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  Is that what he said? No.
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  What did he say, rejoice? How in the lord always rejoice?
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  Because true Joy is in the Lord. You can't have true Joy apart
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  from the Lord. And right here we read you can't
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  know. True strength, apart from God,
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  you can't You might know some spontaneous excitement, but you
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  cannot know true strength. And that's what we see here.
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  And how does that strength provided as Jonathan encourages
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  him? The strength is connected to
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  God's character and God's ways and that being rehearsed over
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  David's, beaten soul. So strengthen God I might
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  disappoint you tonight, does it come from a general
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  understanding of God's existence?
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  It comes from particular and familiar understanding of who he
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  is, what he can do and is unchanging faithfulness toward
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  you and that's exactly what Jonathan is doing here.
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  He's not just saying believe God, I mean that can help but
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  he's being very specific with David.
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  And so I want to ask you if we can talk about it.
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  Now, what are the particular duties here of the encouragement
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  that Jonathan provides? David?
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  What stands out? What are the elements of
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  Jonathan's encouragement? Just look at it for a few
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  moments and then if you have an answer, feel free to answer
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  Bible study, we study, so we're studying.
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  Look at the verse. What are some elements there?
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  Read it slowly. Do not fear, do not fear.
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  That's one good. Yes, so expound his father also
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  knows this that you will be king.
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  Say it again, sorry. I will be with you.
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  Oh, that's good. Yes, somebody said something
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  over here. You won't be defeated.
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  You will be king over Israel. Good.
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  Great observation. Jonathan was willing to risk his
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  life just to provide encouragement.
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  That Jonathan had a revelation about how powerful encouragement
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  is I believe. So great observation.
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  Can I provide an insight into how to study the Bible and get
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  Revelation? Get insight from the scriptures.
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  Ask the Bible questions. Always always.
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  And if you want to main questions that you always ask
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  number one, what does it say about God?
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  What does it say about my God? Number two.
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  What does it say about man with God and apart from God?
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  And so as you look at this I read this.
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  And that's the question that's always running through my mind
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  when I read the scriptures especially narratives, what is
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  this say about God? And when I read verse 17 and he
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  said to him, do not fear for the hand of Saul.
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  My father shall not find you. I see God's protection How is so
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  not going to find him because David skill and his cunning
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  ability know because God we just read it.
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  God did not give him into his hand the end of verse 14.
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  So I look at verse 7, they say Lord, what is this a about?
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  You do not fear for the hand of Saul?
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  Well, you are going to protect them and do this is a specific
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  promise. The principle applies to every
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  servant of God God's protection over your life is never on
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  pause. It is continual.
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  Is surveillance over your life. His supervision of your life is
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  non-stop, it is always provided and that might not mean
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  something to you, because we are so safe in this country, but it
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  will mean a lot to you. When persecution, this come And
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  so, the Assurance here is nobody whether the enemy is visible or
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  invisible, whether the threats are verbal or physical.
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  No one has free access to touch you without God's permission.
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  You need to believe that need to understand that if you are a
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  person who is serving God with all your heart, with all your
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  soul, with all your mind with all your strength, God has a
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  holy obligation to preserve you. no one, not even if all of Hell
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  opened up and swarms of demons came against you, they would not
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  be able to lay a finger on you. And I love how he says, do not
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  fear, think about how many promises in the Bible are
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  connected to do not fear. Do not fear, do not fear, do not
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  fear, do not fear. What do you think?
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  God is trying to tell us? Fear should be a foreign feeling
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  to the Christian. Like that should be what it
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  should be like a language that you don't understand, that's how
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  that's how foreign fear should be in our souls.
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  And here's my question. Do you know those promises now?
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  I know a lot of people memorize them.
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  They put them on coffee cups. They put them in.
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  Nice, Drawings and paintings and they put it up on their wall, or
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  they have these Graphics that stickers on their Bible.
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  Do you believe it? That's the difference.
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  Do you believe it? I see many men's claim to love
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  the Bible, know the Bible when it comes to moments where they
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  are persecuted or pressured, they fear.
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  They melt And I want to be like Jonathan for you tonight.
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  I want to provide a do not fear. One of my personal favorites.
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  This is casual. I mean it's still the word of
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  God being preached but it's informal.
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  And some sense, one of my favorite do not fear as or not
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  to be crippled by fear or let no fear come over you, or I will
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  not fear. As in Hebrews 13 6.
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  I love this in the New Testament so we can confidently say The
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  Lord is my helper. I will not fear what can man do
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  to me? What can man do to me?
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  Did he say some men? No he said man every person no
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  matter how prestigious no matter how powerful, no matter how many
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  resources no matter the threat, no matter the amount.
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  What can man Times a billion due to me.
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  Nothing. Why?
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  Because God is on my side, the Lord is my helper and he says,
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  earlier, we can confidently, say, I mean, with boldness, with
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  Assurance with an anchoring trust in this life, man.
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  Can't do anything to me and to you And part of understanding
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  that truth of not fearing, man is understanding who God is, but
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  it's not just understanding who God is, is understanding who man
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  is. See here.
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  It says the Lord is my helper. That's right, I'm not going to
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  fear but you want it you want to know greater assurance and
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  greater Security in the face of danger.
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  Don't just study who God is study.
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  How God thinks of man. I want to read this to you
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  because it's tied into this. It's a found in Isaiah 51.
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  Verse 12. Look What the Lord says I I am
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  he who comforts you now, look what he says, who are you that
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  you are afraid of man who dies. Who are you?
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  That you are afraid of man who dies.
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  Now, look at this, or the son of man who is made like grass.
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  So now God is speaking directly to his people who are being
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  oppressed and threatened by Outsiders.
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  He goes, can you explain to me why you're afraid of that
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  creature? Who can die?
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  And not only that he goes, the son of man who is made like
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  grass. You know, when I read this the
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  thought ran through my mind. Is anybody here afraid of grass?
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  If you are willing to give you some counseling and this place
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  anybody here afraid of flowers from trees from grass.
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  And this is what, why am I saying that?
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  Because God is saying you're afraid of man.
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  You know how I view, man. I've you like my front lawn.
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  One day, they're there the next day, they're not so fragile, so
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  vulnerable. So at the mercy of man or mercy
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  of God rather and so he's saying that's how I view man as
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  something as harmless as grass and year you are terrified I'm
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  your helper. Do not fear and so what this man
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  is doing here over, David is he is showering him with the
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  reassurance of God's genuine like genuine protection.
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  I can tell you some scary stories of what happens when
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  people try to touch God's children.
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  I've heard some stories that have made me tremble.
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  I've seen some things that made me tremble.
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  But he goes on to say you shall be king over Israel.
• 24:29
  You shall be king over Israel. So now he goes from God's
• 24:32
  protection. To God's what?
• 24:34
  Promise, good good God's promise.
• 24:39
  You shall be king. This is a particular promise of
• 24:42
  assurance, but again, we could be encouraged to know and we can
• 24:45
  be confident that God also manages our future.
• 24:51
  That every single day, every single breath is calculated and
• 24:54
  preserved by your God. and as long as you live on this Earth
• 25:00
  know this God has predestined, you God has predestined you to
• 25:05
  christlikeness. And as long as you are his
• 25:08
  child, there is not a moment where he is not either pruning.
• 25:12
  You polishing you providing for you, protecting you or
• 25:16
  positioning, you to be of use for his service.
• 25:19
  That's happening all the time. They may be silent.
• 25:23
  Do may be obvious though. You may not be able to see it
• 25:25
  though. You may be able to see it.
• 25:26
  No, this that no one or nothing can stand.
• 25:30
  In the way of a person who has submitted to the will of God.
• 25:33
  Nothing, no matter what is taken from you, no matter what doors,
• 25:37
  shut slant in your face. Whatever God has purpose for
• 25:42
  your life, which Ephesians 2 tells us that he's prepared even
• 25:44
  before the world was created, that's going to happen and the
• 25:48
  only one who can sabotage you from fulfilling God's.
• 25:51
  Purpose is who you yourself. And so David was a shirt here,
• 25:59
  it doesn't matter. What saw says or does our plans,
• 26:01
  you will be where God wants you to be.
• 26:04
  God will provide for you and God will preserve you until the
• 26:09
  Fulfillment of what he has for. You comes to pass and that's not
• 26:12
  just true for David. That's true for all God's
• 26:14
  servants. You don't have to turn that.
• 26:16
  Let me read it to you about Moses and act 735 at 7:35.
• 26:21
  I love this. This Moses whom they rejected,
• 26:26
  this Moses, whom they rejected Now who is the author talking
• 26:29
  about here? The people of Israel rejected,
• 26:31
  Moses. They said, what, who made you a
• 26:34
  ruler? And a judge.
• 26:36
  This man. God sent as both ruler and
• 26:40
  Redeemer by the hand of the Angel, who appeared to him in
• 26:43
  the bush, this man whom they rejected, guess what I appointed
• 26:49
  Then a matter of the whole nation protested against Moses.
• 26:51
  Being their leader, God said it is done and he will be your
• 26:55
  leader no matter what. And so, you see the program that
• 26:59
  he has planned for your life? It will plow through all
• 27:02
  opposition, as long as you are, walking in humility and in
• 27:06
  hunger, God will lead you and he will guide you and that brings
• 27:12
  so much joy to my heart every day.
• 27:14
  I wake up. They are the people of Israel,
• 27:19
  but God is God. And if you want to rescue
• 27:21
  somebody from despair, like Jonathan is rescuing, David can
• 27:24
  I provide some some help Don't Reserve.
• 27:31
  Your encouragement. And the reminder that, as long
• 27:34
  as that person is alive, God has a plan for them.
• 27:36
  God has a purpose for them, man. It's amazing to see the
• 27:39
  hopelessness in our nation. The Hopeless isn't people's
• 27:42
  lives today. How they are, so caught in the
• 27:46
  sense of not knowing the unknown.
• 27:49
  And yet, you and I have access to truth.
• 27:52
  And I'm telling you, there's something so profound by just
• 27:54
  looking somebody in the eye genuinely in a personalized way
• 27:58
  and saying, brother, you've been a blessing.
• 28:01
  God has given you gifts, sister. You have contributed to my love
• 28:05
  for the Lord, and it's not stopping here.
• 28:07
  God is still going to do something through your life.
• 28:10
  You can change somebody's week that way.
• 28:13
  You can rescue somebody from so much just by simple Assurance of
• 28:18
  God's plan for them, God's gifting through them.
• 28:22
  And that's what he does. He goes, I will be next to you
• 28:24
  I'm willing to assist you in, whatever God has called you to
• 28:26
  do. I'm not in competition with you.
• 28:29
  I see you as a valuable member in the kingdom of God and I
• 28:33
  rejoice in the fact that I get to walk this with you.
• 28:37
  That, that language needs to be so common in the church.
• 28:41
  And we see it here. A man or woman who is in touch
• 28:45
  with God, is able to encourage somebody and remind them that in
• 28:49
  All Seasons, God is doing something.
• 28:52
  People need that the same way you need that sometimes every
• 28:56
  person you know, needs a tie one point or another.
• 29:00
  And Jonathan is saying in some sense do not directly.
• 29:02
  This is contributing to God's purpose for your life.
• 29:04
  David, you're going to be king, no matter what God is going to
• 29:09
  use you. God has a plan for your life so
• 29:11
  you see Jonathan provides David? A reassurance of God's
• 29:15
  protection, God's promise. But one last thing, somebody
• 29:19
  said he goes what he says and I shall be next to you Jonathan's
• 29:24
  partnership. John says, I am beside you.
• 29:30
  I'm walking this thing out with you.
• 29:33
  I'm thinking about you clearly, he left his home and came to
• 29:36
  find David. I support you brother.
• 29:40
  I'm blessed by you brother. I care for you.
• 29:43
  I celebrate God's call for you brother.
• 29:47
  And whatever you need for me to make it more possible.
• 29:49
  I'm here for you. I will assist you.
• 29:51
  I shall be next to you implying. I'm under your leadership and
• 29:55
  Jonathan knew exactly what David needed to hear.
• 29:57
  You know why? Because David only experienced
• 30:00
  betrayal up to this point, his father-in-law betrays him, the
• 30:03
  citizens of kiella betraying him and he's about to get a fresh
• 30:07
  dagger thrust, it into his back in the rest of this chapter.
• 30:12
  And so what Jonathan is going to give him is the reassurance of
• 30:16
  an undying. Support from a friend.
• 30:20
  Listen, let me say it again, this world is divisive enough.
• 30:25
  It's called enough, it's ugly. As it is when we come together,
• 30:30
  if you're a member of this church and if you're a member of
• 30:33
  any church, make sure that you cultivate a culture that when
• 30:37
  everybody comes or when you even meet one-on-one, there is a well
• 30:39
  of life that they can drink from. and they can find strength
• 30:43
  and the last thing that David needs to do is doubt Jonathan's
• 30:49
  loyalty, The best thing that he could have had was the
• 30:53
  reassurance of a love for him. We live in a Loveless world.
• 30:59
  We live in a world of people give up on you so easily that.
• 31:02
  If you do not contribute to my personal benefit, I cut you off.
• 31:07
  And Jonathan is doing the exact opposite.
• 31:10
  As our brother said, he's endangering himself just to
• 31:13
  provide a word of encouragement. He can go back and one spy can
• 31:17
  see him and he can lose his life but this is a committed.
• 31:20
  Love a committed love and Jonathan benefited nothing in
• 31:25
  the flesh from this relationship but because of this consumer
• 31:29
  Society, we always wondering how can we get eat?
• 31:32
  Let me just talk about membership for a second.
• 31:34
  Some people you know would innocently even ask what do I
• 31:37
  get? Out of membership.
• 31:38
  See, that's the problem. That's the problem.
• 31:41
  We're always wanting. What's the incentive?
• 31:43
  What's in this? For me?
• 31:45
  Membership in the church, is unlike any other membership, any
• 31:48
  other organization. Every other membership will say,
• 31:51
  if you become loyal to us, here's what you get.
• 31:53
  Here's some perks. Here's what it is for the church
• 31:55
  membership is what you can give What can you give?
• 32:01
  It's a pledge to I'm willing to give and give and give though
• 32:05
  there are benefits connected to it.
• 32:09
  If we want to build people up in this age, where there is Raging
• 32:12
  war and satanic attack and narratives that are coming to
• 32:16
  crash against the church, then we need to be people who are
• 32:19
  committed in love to one another.
• 32:22
  We need to be like those who support those who stand for the
• 32:26
  truth. Like David.
• 32:27
  I want to tell you because you sacrificially, serve God, I'm
• 32:31
  with you. I praise God for you.
• 32:34
  Now, you're hearing this, you're saying the sound so simple,
• 32:36
  trust me, it will rescue people in today's a Ed.
• 32:40
  It will rescue people in the days ahead.
• 32:42
  Mark my words of the dark clouds that are coming over the
• 32:46
  Evangelical Church in America. And some of the attacks are
• 32:51
  they're going to come from within because people will not
• 32:54
  stand for the truth, like Saul doesn't stand for the truth.
• 32:57
  And that's why in verse 18, they make a fresh Covenant, they're
• 32:59
  not making a new covenant, he's just re-establishing.
• 33:01
  The Covenant that they made at first, I'm telling you again,
• 33:04
  that I am committed to you, David, I'm with you, you know
• 33:07
  what's amazing. Look at Verse 18, one more time,
• 33:11
  The two of the men made a covenant before the Lord David
• 33:14
  remained at horesh and Jonathan went home.
• 33:22
  He comes to encourage David and guess what?
• 33:26
  He leaves nothing changed for David.
• 33:30
  He still in the wilderness of ziff, Saw still wants to kill
• 33:34
  him. He still has to take care of 600
• 33:36
  men. He still doesn't know how he's
• 33:38
  going to become king. He didn't know where his next
• 33:40
  meal, will be nothing changed for David except one thing his
• 33:44
  perspective That's what encouragement does it, heals
• 33:52
  spiritual blindness? It clears.
• 33:55
  The fog that chokes your faith. And so, would you put this in
• 34:02
  Your Arsenal, as a person who might be committed to a people
• 34:07
  who are the people of God never fail to use encouragement.
• 34:12
  It can save somebody. It can save somebody.
• 34:16
  And in this case it provided fresh Grace for him to endure
• 34:20
  and to move on. And what I love about this, Is
• 34:25
  that Jonathan did not just provide the right thing, but he
• 34:28
  provided it at the right time, it was such an important time
• 34:32
  for him to come and to deliver this message this word because
• 34:35
  local we read here in verse 19. Then, the zip fights went up to
• 34:40
  Saul a gibeah saying is not David hiding.
• 34:44
  Among Us in the strongholds of horesh, on the hill of Kyla,
• 34:49
  which is south of yes, Shamone So, you have the zip fights who
• 34:57
  recognize that David is in town, because you can't really hide
• 35:00
  600 people in your backyard without somebody noticing.
• 35:05
  And the moment they realize that David is here they send
• 35:09
  Messengers to Saul at gibeah and they say we got your man.
• 35:16
  We know exactly where he is and look what else they say, verse
• 35:19
  20 now come down. Oh King.
• 35:21
  According to all your heart's desire to come down and our part
• 35:24
  shall be to surrender him into the Kings hand, where is if
• 35:31
  located? And what territory The same
• 35:35
  place where keala was located, which is what Judah, why does
• 35:39
  that make this even more painful than what it needs to be.
• 35:43
  Where's David from Judah? So, you know who's throwing him
• 35:48
  to solve his own brethren. His own tribe, his own kingdom.
• 35:54
  Those that are closest to him. And all the nation are the ones
• 35:57
  that are willing to give him up to the enemy.
• 36:01
  Now this is disappointing. This is Despicable, this is
• 36:03
  discouraging but what blesses? My heart is how David responds
• 36:07
  to it. Does anybody know how David
• 36:09
  responds to this moment? Some of you do, it was read last
• 36:13
  week. What did David do here?
• 36:16
  Let me give you a hint. The same thing he did when he
• 36:17
  found out that kiella was willing to surrender him.
• 36:20
  He does what he prays and would you be blessed tonight to know
• 36:25
  that the prayer of David? And this very moment was
• 36:27
  recorded and holy writ. Psalm 54.
• 36:32
  Let's go there together. so short psalm Verse 1.
• 36:46
  Look at the title. To the choirmaster with stringed
• 36:50
  instruments, a masculine of David when the zip fights went
• 36:53
  and told Saul is not David hiding Among Us.
• 36:57
  So this is what was inspired and David's heart.
• 36:59
  The moment. He heard that his own men, those
• 37:02
  who belong to his tribe. Went to Saul ready to betray him
• 37:06
  verse 1. Oh God.
• 37:10
  Save Me by your name. And vindicate me by your might o
• 37:15
  God hear my prayer. Give ear to the words of my
• 37:17
  mouth for strangers. Have risen against me, ruthless
• 37:22
  men seek my life. They do not set God before
• 37:25
  themselves. Say la.
• 37:29
  You know what? I find.
• 37:29
  So amazing about this one. His reflexes.
• 37:33
  Oh God. Oh God Almighty.
• 37:36
  I need you in this moment if it was hard.
• 37:39
  Now, it's harder. Even now I need you in this time
• 37:45
  and he seeks the Lord. He cries out, but look how he
• 37:48
  refers to the zip fights. What does he say about them?
• 37:51
  Look at verse 3. For strangers.
• 37:57
  Strangers. The men of your own tribe.
• 38:02
  Danny thing they should be brothers.
• 38:05
  But right now, he's highlighting their character.
• 38:10
  They're Outsiders. They're treating me like
• 38:13
  strangers. It is a sad thing to see when
• 38:17
  those who are supposed to be Brothers and Sisters in Christ
• 38:20
  are acting like Outsiders. this reminds me of a situation in
• 38:26
  Corinth when Paul was rebuking, these Christians who are going
• 38:30
  to court against one another, who are suing each other, who
• 38:37
  are protesting in the Public's eye against one another.
• 38:41
  And, and Paul says You're doing this to your own brother's, he
• 38:46
  uses that language. He says, even to your own,
• 38:49
  brother's you quarrel and you fight and you lay charges, he's
• 38:54
  like better to lose the case. Better to surrender your
• 38:59
  property. Better to pay the medical bill
• 39:04
  then for you to go out and for the world to see that you guys
• 39:08
  are willing to fight against each other.
• 39:12
  David is echoing that sentiment saying these men or God are
• 39:15
  treating me as strangers. They're treating me as though.
• 39:19
  We are not related as though. We don't share the same spirit.
• 39:25
  Do you know why it is that? There are so many people from
• 39:27
  within the church that are so easily willing to attack and
• 39:33
  harm? And speak and Destroy and divide
• 39:39
  for the same reason why the zip fights were willing to do it to
• 39:41
  David, what did you say? At the end of verse 34,
• 39:45
  strangers have risen against me, ruthless men seek my life.
• 39:47
  They do not set God before themselves.
• 39:50
  That's why plain and simple. It's not about anything other
• 39:57
  than this, those who intentionally come against the
• 39:59
  family of God, make such decisions without God's
• 40:03
  Accounting in mind. They're living out practical
• 40:09
  atheism. They might believe in theory
• 40:12
  that God exists but they live as though he doesn't.
• 40:17
  And in the case of the ziff eyes, they didn't believe that
• 40:18
  God anointed David. They didn't believe God's plan
• 40:21
  for David. And if they did, they were
• 40:23
  trying to intentionally fight against God's program for the
• 40:25
  nation of Israel by saying, we're going to go tell on you.
• 40:30
  And so, when I observe people that relentlessly come against
• 40:34
  Brothers and Sisters in Christ that cannot accept forgiveness
• 40:37
  that are causing trouble. I know, one thing among many
• 40:39
  other things, and it is this, they do not set God before
• 40:42
  themselves. God is not in the picture, he's
• 40:45
  not in the thoughts. They don't consider the fact
• 40:47
  that he is recording and observing all these things.
• 40:52
  I'm sure you fathers and you daughters or your father is in
• 40:55
  you and your mother's with your daughters and your son's.
• 40:59
  You will feel a certain wave. Somebody comes after your
• 41:01
  children. And you feel a certain way.
• 41:05
  When you see your one son, attacking the other son, your
• 41:09
  one daughter attacking the other.
• 41:14
  But it's amazing here about David.
• 41:16
  Look down here in verse 6 of The Psalm with a free will offering.
• 41:20
  I will sacrifice to you. I will give thanks to your name.
• 41:23
  Oh lord, for it is good. Hold on for a second.
• 41:28
  So you're willing to not only pray to God as a response to the
• 41:33
  attacks that are coming your way.
• 41:35
  But you're even willing to give extended worship to God, you
• 41:39
  willing to give not what is demanded of you in the legal
• 41:41
  system and the law, but a free-will offering.
• 41:45
  I want to give this freely from myself to you.
• 41:49
  I mean that's the thing you do when you're blessed.
• 41:51
  That's the thing you do when you get promoted that's what you do.
• 41:53
  When you find spoil, you don't do this in the natural sense.
• 41:58
  When you know that more threat is coming your way.
• 42:00
  But there's something, inspiring the man to say, oh, I just want
• 42:03
  to worship you even more. Is how what, what inspires what
• 42:10
  motivates David to do this? Something quite insightful.
• 42:15
  That I hope that on this night you will grab a, hold on and put
• 42:18
  it in the bosom of your soul, for the rest of your existence.
• 42:24
  Because this man here he is. He is facing betrayal.
• 42:28
  He is facing disappointment from those who are supposed to be
• 42:30
  closest to him. And yet, at the same time, you
• 42:33
  know what he's doing here. The reason why he can worship
• 42:36
  God is because he is taking all of the failures of those who
• 42:41
  should not be failing him and he lays it as a blank canvas.
• 42:48
  And he allows it to contrast, the glory of Jesus Christ.
• 42:52
  He takes the Blackness of their sin, the evil, and the
• 42:56
  wickedness of their ways, and it provides this canvas.
• 43:02
  So that when Christ is seeing he shines all the brighter, what do
• 43:06
  I mean by that? This man I believe can worship
• 43:09
  because he's taking the unexpected, disappointment of
• 43:13
  others, The Sting of those who are hurting him.
• 43:21
  And then he looks to God and he says, you don't fail me.
• 43:26
  Lord, you'll never disappoint me.
• 43:29
  You'll never let me down. If you want a Reason To Worship
• 43:34
  in the midst of pain, even from those that you thought would
• 43:37
  never hurt you, never let you down.
• 43:42
  Let it cause you to realize that there is no one like Jesus.
• 43:46
  He's perfect. He is unchanging in his
• 43:49
  character. He never breaks his promise.
• 43:53
  He is constant. And he is reliable.
• 43:59
  I'm sure you've experienced betrayal.
• 44:01
  I'm sure you experienced people that you never thought would
• 44:04
  hurt you hurt. You can I ask you a question?
• 44:07
  Did it make Jesus more beautiful to you as a result?
• 44:12
  Did it help? You see his Perfection as the
• 44:15
  imperfection of man? Stood in contrast to him?
• 44:20
  That's what he says your read. It slowly look at the verse with
• 44:22
  a free will offering. I will sacrifice to you.
• 44:25
  I will give thanks to your name. Oh lord for it is good.
• 44:29
  The name of God is connected to his character and what he's
• 44:33
  saying here you are good. And so in the midst of betrayal
• 44:37
  from those that I didn't think would actually do it.
• 44:40
  You just look that much more. Brilliant and beautiful, and
• 44:44
  infinitely awesome. So I just want to worship you
• 44:46
  because there's no one like you. There's no one like you.
• 44:51
  Let me give you an example of this in another way.
• 44:53
  You know, the more you're in Ministry.
• 44:56
  One of the insights that you get in Ministry is that you see the
• 44:59
  Brokenness of, man, the broke even among Christians, you just
• 45:04
  see Brokenness and just baggage and hurt and failure, and all
• 45:11
  these things. And, you know, that can crush
• 45:15
  somebody just even listening to it.
• 45:19
  But it is caused a cry. In my heart.
• 45:21
  Over the years to say, Lord you need to come back.
• 45:25
  You need to come back. That nothing will be able to fix
• 45:30
  this. Unless you come and you give us
• 45:33
  glorified, bodies, Maranatha, come Lord, Jesus and clean up
• 45:39
  this mess. We can't get it together.
• 45:43
  Do you see what I'm saying here? Translate the pain that you see
• 45:47
  in the world, even the pain, that's targeted towards you and
• 45:49
  let it cause you to see the goodness of God.
• 45:52
  And then let it cause you to say I want to I want to Worship You
• 45:54
  Lord. You are in your own category, no
• 45:59
  one can come close to you and I see betrayal coming my way, but
• 46:03
  I looked at you and I see faithfulness you're my helper.
• 46:11
  Meditate on that long enough. You have an urge to worship him.
• 46:15
  Even when you face in coming your way, let the sins of
• 46:20
  others, make the sinlessness of Jesus Christ, all the more
• 46:25
  beautiful and apparent. He's the friend of friends.
• 46:28
  He's The Shepherd of shepherds. He's our elder brother.
• 46:32
  He's our father. Then we read on here in verse
• 46:37
  21. We come back to 1st, Samuel 23,
• 46:41
  what happens here? And Saul said he's talking to
• 46:46
  this. If fights may you be blessed by
• 46:50
  the Lord for you have had compassion on me.
• 46:52
  This is sick. So, these men, come these
• 46:56
  Messengers from the zip fights. They say, we got your men, we
• 47:01
  know exactly where he is and Saul response.
• 47:04
  May you be blessed by the Lord. For you have had compassion on
• 47:10
  me. Last week.
• 47:12
  When you heard about David being kiella, what did he say to
• 47:16
  himself? God has what given him into my
• 47:20
  hand? And so that's self-deception
• 47:25
  when you're in sin and you believe God, approves and
• 47:28
  accepts your ways. This is pride.
• 47:31
  This is the fruit of Pride were you.
• 47:33
  Now you're actually believing that God is going to Aid you in
• 47:38
  your efforts to harm his purposes and clearly he hasn't
• 47:43
  sobered up. From earlier to this moment,
• 47:46
  it's only been strengthened so much so that he can actually
• 47:49
  bless others who are partnering with him in this.
• 47:52
  Cause can you imagine the thought, may you be blessed by
• 47:55
  the Lord. For you have had compassion on
• 47:59
  me. It's all about you Saul.
• 48:02
  And so we learned that self-deception is
• 48:06
  self-destructive and for a person to believe things about
• 48:10
  himself, and to believe things about God, wrongly that is the
• 48:13
  fruit of Pride. When you make yourself the
• 48:16
  center of the universe, you even whether you realize are not make
• 48:20
  God worship you, you say? No, I say yes.
• 48:25
  How when you don't think certain things apply to you anymore.
• 48:30
  We don't think that God will do certain things because somehow
• 48:32
  you're in a special category in his mind, you're his favorite or
• 48:37
  whatever the case may be, and that's where Saul is?
• 48:40
  He wants to be the center of the universe.
• 48:41
  And guess who else is going to worship him?
• 48:44
  God God will serve him. God will do.
• 48:47
  What Saul wants to do? But there are other reasons.
• 48:51
  I think the reason why I saw can do this may you be blessed by
• 48:55
  the Lord. is because He seems to be seeing some success. so early
• 49:04
  on, We he thinks that God. Providentially traps David, and
• 49:10
  keala and now because the zip fights come forward.
• 49:13
  It's almost it's almost like he is being comforted by the fact
• 49:16
  that others now are joining his cause And so to him because he
• 49:21
  interprets this as success, he must think that surely God is
• 49:26
  giving him the okay. Mingle that with pride and you
• 49:30
  got deception Galore. You got intense deception And
• 49:37
  what I just said there isn't far-fetched because God and
• 49:41
  another place in the word tells us that people misinterpret
• 49:48
  God's silence as his approval. So notice let me say this again,
• 49:54
  he's seeing people joining his cause and let's add to that.
• 49:57
  He is not seeing God intervened to stop him.
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  There's no judgment. There's no discipline.
• 50:04
  Saw seems to be getting away with this, so he the equation is
• 50:09
  God must be okay with this. Not only that he must be
• 50:12
  blessing. This look this is it fights are
• 50:14
  coming to me. How else can we explain this?
• 50:16
  Shirley I'm in the right. And I want to show you how even
• 50:20
  man today when they take God's silence over their sin and
• 50:24
  whatever success they're experiencing in life, they can
• 50:27
  believe that God is like one of them.
• 50:31
  I pray that you would never forget this verse especially as
• 50:33
  we were headed towards much compromise in the west turn with
• 50:37
  me to Psalm 50. As we come to a close very soon.
• 50:49
  Look at verse 17. This is the Lord speaking, and
• 50:53
  look what he says to the wicked. For you hate this Appling.
• 50:59
  And you cast my words behind you.
• 51:02
  If you see a thief you are pleased with him and you keep
• 51:05
  company with adulterous, you give your mouth free rein for
• 51:09
  evil, and your tongue frames, the seat, you sit and speak
• 51:14
  against your brother. You slander your own Mother's
• 51:17
  Son, pay attention to verse 21. These things you have done and I
• 51:22
  have been silent. You thought that I was one like
• 51:25
  yourself. but now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you
• 51:33
  You see that? You thought I was one like
• 51:37
  yourself. Why?
• 51:39
  Because I've been silent. You were able to continue in
• 51:44
  this sin and you have interpreted your evil, not being
• 51:48
  punished as my acceptance of your ways.
• 51:57
  God not condemning something immediately.
• 51:59
  Doesn't mean he can sends of it. God, not immediately chastising,
• 52:06
  doesn't mean that he confirms The Silence of God in Saul's
• 52:12
  life just like the science of God, in many people's lives who
• 52:15
  are living in adultery and homosexuality and pride and the
• 52:20
  love of money. That silence is his long
• 52:23
  suffering. It is that period in which God
• 52:28
  says, would you would you turn to me?
• 52:31
  I do not want to go in the way of punishment.
• 52:36
  I want to extend Mercy much more And you don't think people
• 52:41
  interpreted this way. I believe one of the countries
• 52:46
  in Europe. When one of the nation's it's
• 52:48
  just it's my memory is failing me.
• 52:51
  They legalized same-sex marriage Nationwide, and they receive a
• 52:54
  double rainbow on that same day. A double rainbow appeared in the
• 52:58
  sky, the same day that that Nation received The affirmation
• 53:02
  of homosexuality between a man and man woman, a woman as being
• 53:07
  marriage and people were tweeting that day.
• 53:12
  Look, God doesn't just approve. He ee approves because that's
• 53:16
  the symbol of their movement, right?
• 53:18
  The rainbow And somebody really responded.
• 53:21
  That's not God doubly approving. That's God.
• 53:23
  Doubly reminding himself. Not to judge you guys.
• 53:29
  But do you see how people can misinterpret?
• 53:33
  How Sinners and the wicked take God's silence in his kindness,
• 53:38
  his his Universal love and mercy as he sends rain and he provides
• 53:43
  food and he lets people have children and have warm homes.
• 53:46
  Surely God is, okay. He's like us and I believe to a
• 53:51
  certain degree saw was believing that he was seeing whatever
• 53:54
  success. Are you seeing the silence?
• 53:58
  And he put it together and he says, God is blessing me.
• 54:04
  It's amazing how we can deceive ourselves.
• 54:08
  So we come back to 1st Samuel 23, as we close in a moment.
• 54:12
  He tells his if I had to go and make sure where he is, this guy
• 54:15
  is very cunning and I don't want to waste my time.
• 54:19
  So you find him and you tell me his exact location and I will be
• 54:23
  there. Now let's come down to verse 25.
• 54:27
  And song, this man went to seek him being David.
• 54:32
  And David was told, so he went down to the Rock and lived in
• 54:34
  the wilderness of my own. And when Saul heard that he
• 54:39
  pursued after David and the Wilderness of my own Saul went
• 54:42
  on one side of the mountain and David and his men on the other
• 54:45
  side of the mountain and David was hurrying to get away from
• 54:49
  Saul and Saul. And his men were closing in on
• 54:52
  David and his men to capture them.
• 54:54
  I just pause, Can You Feel the suspense?
• 54:57
  So just imagine, there's this hill or this mountain David and
• 55:00
  his men are on one side Saul and his men on the other side.
• 55:04
  And you can you can feel the Cinematic music and If I as
• 55:08
  they're coming closer and closer and the Holy Spirit wants you to
• 55:12
  feel that suspense the writer here is brilliant.
• 55:16
  But look what happens? As they were coming into clothes
• 55:20
  on them, verse 27, a messenger came to Saul saying, hurry and
• 55:24
  come for the Philistines of made, a raid against the land.
• 55:28
  So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the
• 55:31
  Philistines. Therefore that place was called
• 55:34
  the rock of escape and David went up from there and live in
• 55:37
  the strongholds of En gedi. I can just visualize it again,
• 55:42
  they're hiding their running, maybe they're losing pace and
• 55:46
  saw and his men are coming closer and closer and right at
• 55:49
  the nick of time a messenger from sauce Camp appears.
• 55:52
  And he says King Saul, hurry. The Philistines have invaded the
• 55:56
  land and it completely Distracted him and cause him to
• 56:02
  go in a different direction. It's sabotage, the plan.
• 56:09
  Not to the Natural or the immature, they would read that
• 56:11
  as coincidence. But to the one who's familiar
• 56:15
  with God's ways, they would see it as what verse 14 tells us, go
• 56:18
  back to verse 14, the last phrase and saw saw him every day
• 56:21
  but God did not give him into his hand.
• 56:27
  Up to this point, we've seen David Escape saw many times.
• 56:29
  Could you remind some of us here?
• 56:32
  How David as escapes? All even from the beginning,
• 56:37
  Let's strengthen our memory. How is Saul?
• 56:41
  Or David rather Escape Saul. Think of the different episodes.
• 56:50
  He dodged the spear. That's one.
• 56:52
  Sure. Went out the window and who was
• 56:57
  part of that plan? His wife.
• 57:00
  So his wife was involved and helping him very good.
• 57:04
  How else, how has he evaded Saul's attacks?
• 57:10
  remember when he was with Samuel, what happened to Saul,
• 57:15
  Prophesy. But what happened?
• 57:17
  They just prophesy or did something come over him, someone
• 57:20
  rather the Holy Spirit came and arrested him and then he
• 57:24
  prophesied yes. And let's fast-forward to this
• 57:27
  chapter. What happens to him in kiala, he
• 57:31
  hears that Solace coming and he prays and he asked the Lord.
• 57:34
  Lord is a true that Saul is on his way to come and get me.
• 57:38
  And the Lord says, yes, then he asked the further.
• 57:41
  Question will the citizens here? Give me up to them and he says
• 57:45
  they will. You up.
• 57:47
  I put that in the category of Supernatural Revelation that
• 57:51
  God's voice was as clear to David at that moment.
• 57:54
  As my voice is to you tonight he heard God's words, get out.
• 57:59
  You're going to be surrendered and he leaves but when you come
• 58:04
  here, The same purpose, but a different means.
• 58:09
  There is no miracle, there's no Supernatural strategy, there's
• 58:12
  nothing opening in the sky. There is no Revelation from a
• 58:16
  priest. There was a man who came to give
• 58:20
  news to Saul. and that was just as much God as it was when he
• 58:27
  said to David Kayla's, coming to give you up, leave I want you to
• 58:34
  be comforted by this truth. that the Lord has plenteous of ways
• 58:40
  performing the same cause He is not bound to a predictable
• 58:46
  method. He doesn't drive in one lane.
• 58:52
  He is manifold in his wisdom. He is so creative.
• 58:59
  God doesn't just have one or two options that he uses, but
• 59:02
  unfortunately, many of his children believe that God only
• 59:04
  works in one or two ways. When his ways are not your ways
• 59:07
  or mind as high as the heavens are from the earth.
• 59:10
  His thoughts and his ways are separate from our thoughts in
• 59:14
  our ways. and if you ever failed to believe that, just look at
• 59:17
  how many times David has escaped Saul and I want you to realize
• 59:22
  that David himself believed that each time, whether it was
• 59:25
  Supernatural or it was providential, Whether it was
• 59:30
  subtle or it was. So, clearly from Heaven, David
• 59:34
  really believed that, it was all God and where you going to find
• 59:38
  that is in the same Psalm where he wrote about the zip fights.
• 59:42
  And some 54 verse 7, this is how he concludes his psalm for.
• 59:46
  He being God, has delivered me from every trouble.
• 59:51
  He has delivered me from every trouble.
• 59:56
  Oh yeah. When he when he was spoken to by
• 59:58
  God and kiella that was clear and when this messenger from
• 1:00:01
  sauce Camp came that was just as much.
• 1:00:05
  God David said, every trouble that I've escaped has come from
• 1:00:08
  the hand of God. And you and I we need a grow in
• 1:00:15
  our understanding of the Lord's ways so that we can be able to
• 1:00:19
  give him more Glory. And we are actually giving him.
• 1:00:24
  Sometimes we are ready to share a testimony when it is a miracle
• 1:00:28
  and it's in the category of the unexplainable and yet David here
• 1:00:32
  is willing to give God glory even in what seems to be
• 1:00:34
  natural. It was such a evident thing to
• 1:00:39
  David and his men that they made this rock.
• 1:00:41
  This hill, a memorial they said this is the rock of Escape God
• 1:00:44
  was behind this. You know, there are some people
• 1:00:47
  who are very skeptical, when others give God glory for so
• 1:00:50
  many different things. like maybe you're reading too much
• 1:00:54
  into it, I think that's possible but I also think that there is a
• 1:00:57
  way of seeing God in so many things that we seem to fail to
• 1:01:01
  recognize Don't limit the way God works.
• 1:01:07
  Don't limit the way he leads. Don't limit the way he provides.
• 1:01:10
  Can. God heal your body
• 1:01:12
  instantaneously. Yes.
• 1:01:14
  Can God heal your body through many trips to a doctor and a
• 1:01:17
  prescription? Yes.
• 1:01:22
  Can God lead you to a spouse and lead, a spouse to you in a way
• 1:01:26
  that doesn't match to the Hallmark movie that you're
• 1:01:28
  inspired by yes. It's amazing, I'm serious.
• 1:01:32
  So many people don't want to pursue something because it
• 1:01:34
  doesn't match up to their expectation of what the romance
• 1:01:37
  story should read like. I mean you read about you read
• 1:01:41
  about Isaac when he gets his wife, it was Supernatural.
• 1:01:45
  Abraham's servant goes God, spoke it was so clear.
• 1:01:47
  Then you read about Ruth Story and it's like they have to go
• 1:01:49
  through the legal system and its not very like wow.
• 1:01:54
  It was Providence. She was there.
• 1:01:55
  She was working, and he was there and they said, hey, I
• 1:01:57
  think we're I'm supposed to take care of you.
• 1:02:01
  It was God's leading in both ways. and so we see here that
• 1:02:08
  David recognized it Train yourself to see as this man saw,
• 1:02:13
  ask God to open your eyes to see his dealings in his ways and
• 1:02:17
  you'll have a song to write in your own life.
• 1:02:23
  That's a good note to end on but I'm in ended in a different way,
• 1:02:26
  not that it's not a good thing, but I think there's something
• 1:02:28
  very valuable here. Notice that this man, this
• 1:02:33
  messenger in verse 27, came to Saul saying hurry and come for
• 1:02:36
  the Philistines have made a raid against the land.
• 1:02:39
  Here's my question. When did the Philistines come
• 1:02:44
  and make a raid against the land?
• 1:02:51
  I don't think it's accidental. I think it was strategic when
• 1:02:55
  when did the Philistines feel comfortable to go against the
• 1:02:59
  land? Very good.
• 1:03:03
  When they saw that Saul was distracted. you think that's all
• 1:03:10
  alone, had spies know, the Philistines had spies, I'm sure
• 1:03:13
  and I'm sure they recognize that Saul took all his men to go and
• 1:03:16
  fight this other man in the wilderness and they said, this
• 1:03:20
  is our chance and they moved on in Okay, get ready for this.
• 1:03:29
  Do you know when Satan feels very comfortable to come and
• 1:03:32
  attack in the life of a church? when the people are fighting
• 1:03:37
  against one another, When they're in the flesh and they're
• 1:03:43
  all consumed when they are not quick to communicate, when
• 1:03:47
  they're not quick to forgive when they're going around and
• 1:03:50
  spreading these things and then causing more issues.
• 1:03:52
  That's when the enemy looks and he says, this is our chance to
• 1:03:54
  go in. Do you know when Satan will
• 1:03:58
  come? You want to know when a satanic
• 1:04:01
  Invasion will come in your marriage?
• 1:04:05
  Don't honor God's wisdom. Don't communicate separate from
• 1:04:09
  each other for a very long time. And see the Demonic come into
• 1:04:14
  that marriage saying, brother, that's harsh language, that's
• 1:04:16
  not mine. That's Paul's First Corinthians
• 1:04:18
  7. He says, hey, you guys if you
• 1:04:20
  want to separate you separate but if you go too long, Satan
• 1:04:22
  will come in time to when he said Satan.
• 1:04:26
  So the enemy looks for an opportune time just like he did
• 1:04:29
  with Jesus, the enemy doesn't waste his attacks, he's very
• 1:04:33
  calculated. And one of the ways in which he
• 1:04:35
  brings his best is when he sees that we are distracted by our
• 1:04:39
  own flesh. And when we come against one
• 1:04:42
  another, remember that for the future, whatever church at your
• 1:04:46
  apart of less, you become the open door for the enemy to come
• 1:04:49
  in. Remember that in your marriage
• 1:04:51
  now or in your marriage to come that the enemy watches.
• 1:04:56
  You, I'm making this a full circle from the beginning of
• 1:04:58
  this Bible study, if you haven't noticed, He watches to see and
• 1:05:04
  all it takes is one party. David was an attacking Saul Saul
• 1:05:10
  was attacking David. All it takes is one party in a
• 1:05:14
  marriage. All it takes is one person in a
• 1:05:18
  church. And the enemy says, this is our
• 1:05:22
  chance. This is our chance.
• 1:05:27
  And so may that provoke a sense of wisdom in us to be quick to
• 1:05:32
  communicate to be quick to do it God's way.
• 1:05:36
  And that give foothold to the evil one.
• 1:05:38
  Oh, many things were said tonight, don't you agree.
• 1:05:41
  I hope that you were encouraged. I hope you felt warned.
• 1:05:44
  I felt, I hope you felt built up in the knowledge of Jesus
• 1:05:48
  Christ. Let's pray.
• 1:06:21
  Lord, we ask tonight. That all that we heard though it
• 1:06:26
  was diverse in its application, would be able to be retained in
• 1:06:30
  our hearts. Laurie felt blessed by the
• 1:06:34
  reminder of your goodness. Of your multifold ways.
• 1:06:43
  Of the reminder of the power of encouragement.
• 1:06:49
  Lord. We are reminded and even feel.
• 1:06:52
  As though, you have sobered, our judgment and realizing that we
• 1:06:56
  are in a war that we have jobs and bills to pay and vacations
• 1:07:00
  to plan. There is a battle happening all
• 1:07:06
  around us, and sometimes that battle is very real.
• 1:07:12
  The Lord in times of Peace, may we not cease to be in prayer and
• 1:07:17
  to be alert and watchful. Lord, thank you for the
• 1:07:22
  gleanings tonight from first Samuel 23.
• 1:07:26
  Thank you o God that you can speak.
• 1:07:28
  So clearly into our hearts with the true that you have reserved
• 1:07:32
  for your people We asked oh God that in this place that we would
• 1:07:38
  be so distracted and serving you and reaching the lost that the
• 1:07:41
  enemy would have no opportunity to work.
• 1:07:45
  There'd be no door to open. we asked, oh God, that we would be
• 1:07:51
  True, brothers and sisters and not like the zip fights were to
• 1:07:54
  David. May there be no strangers in our
• 1:07:58
  midst, may we be family. May we lovingly speak to each
• 1:08:03
  other warn each, other rebuked, each other comfort each other?
• 1:08:05
  And as we saw build each other, And Lord, we ask.
• 1:08:13
  We ask that you would make us effective For Your Glory.
• 1:08:16
  Well, we thank you for this group of people that willingly
• 1:08:19
  want to meet on a Friday night to worship you.
• 1:08:22
  We pray o God that we would sense the reward of your word
• 1:08:25
  leaving this place. and so low, we speak to you now in response
• 1:08:29
  to your word and we ask that you would you would deal with
• 1:08:32
  certain parts of our hearts God mold us and shape us into the
• 1:08:37
  image that you've planned. And purposed for us, in Jesus
• 1:08:40
  name, we pray. Amen.
• 1:08:42
  Amen. We stand and Worship the Lord
• 1:08:44
  together.