WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.840 Alright, kids can be dismissed. 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:11.759 Amen. 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:12.880 Good morning. 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:18.399 Andrew said I don't have a give a speech, so uh you are dismissed. 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:19.359 No. 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:25.600 No, really, I I'm so thankful for you, for your prayers, for your love and support. 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:31.280 I love all of you so much, and I love Ella, and I love that we get to I get to have both of those things. 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:34.240 Um so uh just praise God for you. 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:40.479 Um I'm for I pray for you all of you, and I'm I'm super excited um for all that the Lord has in store. 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.719 And today we get to continue through 1 Samuel. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:46.719 We're gonna be in chapter 24 this morning. 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:48.079 We're gonna go through the whole chapter. 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:52.000 So if you want to find your way to 1 Samuel chapter 24 and a copy of God's word. 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:56.000 We also have some in the back by the sound booth and in the hallway out there if you don't have one. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:58.159 Um we got some new ones, so check those out. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:02.159 Grab one of those and open to 1 Samuel 24. 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:12.959 Many of us remember what it's like to be kids on Christmas morning, right? 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:18.959 Excited to dig into our presence, and we've been told, you know, no opening the gifts just yet. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:22.560 You have to wait until we're all up, we can we can do it together, right? 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:24.239 You have to wait until it's time. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:27.920 But it's like almost 5:30, and we've been waiting for ages. 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:31.920 And mom and dad won't come down and and we can see them right there. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:32.959 They're like right under the tree. 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:33.760 I can see them. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:35.680 I could just go, I could just go get them. 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:37.200 And they're mine, right? 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:39.120 They literally have my name written on them. 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:40.719 They belong, they're for me. 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:53.280 I remember a friend of mine when we were little telling me that he knew what he was getting for Christmas because he had snuck into his parents' bedroom ahead of time and snooped around and found it. 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:55.680 And I remember thinking, man, it was nice knowing you. 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:01.120 Like, you can't good luck in the clink, have fun. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:02.879 You can't just be doing that. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:05.439 That's how I thought as an eight-year-old. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:07.599 You have to wait until it's time. 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:08.960 But that's the temptation, right? 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:18.000 That's the temptation that kids face when we have to wait for things, and unfortunately, it's the temptation that most of us don't really grow out of. 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:22.879 It's kind of the struggle of the Christian life in a lot of ways. 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:39.520 So much of life in general, and of following Jesus in particular, is desiring good things that we can't have yet, or being promised good things that we can't enjoy yet, and then the temptation with that to pursue those things in our timing and in our ways. 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:49.120 Maybe you're single and you long for a relationship, and after years of waiting, you're tempted to compromise your standards because you know something is better than nothing. 00:02:49.439 --> 00:03:01.599 Or maybe you're desperate for financial stability and the temptation is to just shade the truth slightly on your taxes, or exaggerate your hours just a little bit, or resist tithing and generosity so you can grip tighter to what you hope to maintain. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:10.479 Maybe you've been deeply hurt by someone, and you can't wait for God to bring justice until you decide to settle the score yourself. 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:18.240 Or maybe you're just tired of waiting on God to bring about the happiness and contentment in Him that you were promised. 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:29.120 And you're tempted then to look for some shortcut, some easier path to joy, satisfaction, and relief than the one that God has laid before you. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:32.560 The desires behind these things aren't bad, right? 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:41.280 Intimacy and security and justice and joy, these are good things that God will bring about, that he's promised to bring about for his people in his way, in his timing. 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:47.280 We we don't usually reject the gifts that God has prepared for us under the tree. 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:49.280 We just get tired of waiting for them. 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:53.199 For him to give them in his timing, in his way. 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:57.039 And so we pursue them in our own timing, in our own way. 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:01.039 And the result, more often than not, is deadly. 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:08.080 And that's exactly the temptation that David is faced with when we pick up where we are in 1 Samuel chapter 24. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:13.840 God has already promised him something good, he's promised him the throne to be a king over God's kingdom. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:15.599 Samuel, the prophet, has anointed him. 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:18.319 Jonathan, the current king's son, has reaffirmed that promise. 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:21.759 Even Saul, the king, knows that David is going to be king. 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:24.319 God is going to make him king. 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:27.839 So the question is no longer if David will receive this gift. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:29.040 The question is how? 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:30.639 When? 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:34.480 And will he trust God enough to wait? 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:38.720 Or will he grasp for today what God has promised for tomorrow? 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:43.199 So let's read now from God's Word in 1 Samuel 24. 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:46.480 Will you stand with me if you're able to honor the reading of God's word? 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:52.560 1 Samuel 24, beginning in verse 1. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:05:00.800 When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:11.279 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in the front of the wild goat's rocks, and he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:13.920 And Saul went in to relieve himself. 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:17.519 Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:26.480 And the men of David said to him, Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you. 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:31.120 Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:35.600 And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:45.040 He said to his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my Lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:50.079 So David persuaded his men with these words, and did not permit them to attack Saul. 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:53.680 And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way. 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:59.600 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, My Lord, the King. 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:04.720 And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:11.680 And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of men who say, Behold, David seeks your harm? 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:19.519 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave, and some told me to kill you, but I spared you. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:24.399 I said, I will not put out my hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed. 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:27.920 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:36.319 For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:40.160 I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:46.959 May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 00:06:47.360 --> 00:06:54.079 As the proverb of the ancient says, out of the wicked comes wickedness, but my hand shall not be against you. 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:56.240 After whom has the king of Israel come out? 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:57.279 After whom do you pursue? 00:06:57.439 --> 00:06:59.439 After a dead dog, after a flea. 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:07.680 May the Lord therefore judge be judge, and give sentence between me and you, and see to it, and plead my cause, and deliver me from your hand. 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:15.680 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this your voice, my son David? 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:18.560 And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:32.079 He said to David, You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil, and you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:35.600 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:40.560 So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:47.600 And now behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:54.879 Swear to me, therefore, by the Lord, that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house. 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:57.040 And David swore this to Saul. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:00.720 Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold. 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:03.199 This is God's word, may be seated. 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:05.439 Will you pray with me? 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:22.000 Gracious, Heavenly Father, would you draw near to us now by the Spirit of your Son Jesus, that we would have eyes to behold him and to be made like him for your glory. 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:23.759 We pray this in your name, Lord. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:24.639 Amen. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:33.840 This morning we're gonna follow David's story in three movements. 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:41.039 First, we'll see David's faith, what it looks like to trust God instead of taking matters into his own hands. 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:54.240 Second, we'll uncover David's foundation by turning to Psalm 57, which he wrote during this season, probably in this very cave, to see his heart behind all this, the truths about God that makes this kind of faith possible. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:58.240 And finally, then we'll uncover David's fulfillment. 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:07.360 Jesus Christ, the greater David, who waited perfectly upon his father, and now gives his people the grace to trust him on the long road between promise and fulfillment. 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:08.320 That's where we're going. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:09.200 That's our outline for today. 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:13.440 David's faith, David's foundation, and David's fulfillment. 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:16.639 First, David's faith. 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:24.000 David's life is not exactly where he thought it would be at this point. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:28.000 He's been promised kingship over God's people and God's kingdom. 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:33.440 But the current anointed king, Saul, is envious and violent and out to get him. 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:48.320 And when we come to the first few verses of chapter 24 here, we read that Saul now has not only an idea of where David is hiding with his men, but he also has an army of 3,000 of Israel's best soldiers joining him in his hunt. 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:55.120 And that's where this epic battle story quickly becomes an awkward bathroom story. 00:09:55.600 --> 00:10:13.120 The proud and mighty King of Israel unknowingly walks right into David's hiding place, takes off his robe, it seems, and considering the amount of discussion and time that passes while he's doing his business, presumably, squats down to relieve himself off in the corner of the cave somewhere. 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:15.279 That's not like hard Christian doctrine. 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:18.320 You can take the number one approach if that's how you read scripture. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:20.159 Um you can still be a member here. 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:29.600 Uh that's just a lot of time passes, is all I'm saying, and they have a whole he's either the most hydrated guy in the world or anyway. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:36.639 Um Saul does not have a clue, but he has just placed himself in the most vulnerable position possible. 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:44.480 He's separated from his army, he's isolated in a cave, doesn't have his robe, um, and he at this point is an old man. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:51.679 And and quickly the awkwardness of the situation wears off, and David's men are convinced that they have just witnessed divine intervention. 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:55.279 This is a God-ordained moment for David to get revenge. 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:56.960 David, this is it. 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:00.399 This is the moment that God has been promising you. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:03.360 He promised you the throne, and now he has handed Saul right to you. 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:06.240 What more confirmation could you possibly need? 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:09.200 Coincidences like that don't just happen. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:12.879 And we'd probably be saying the same thing. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:22.080 But here's the thing circumstances and desire are not good metrics, typically, for deciphering God's will. 00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:29.200 Just because an opportunity presents itself does not mean that God intends for us to take it. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:36.960 And just because something seems unlikely or strangely convenient or coincidental does not mean it's supernatural, does not mean it's a gift from God. 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:40.399 And it's really dangerously easy to think this way. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:44.159 And to allow these things to trump to trump God's word. 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:51.360 A young man begins dating someone that he knows doesn't love Jesus, but he says, you know, she just came to my life at the exact right time. 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:55.919 We just clicked, everything lined up, it was all weird, maybe this is God's way of bringing her to himself. 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:04.559 But if God's word says, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, then no coincidence can overturn God's command. 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:16.480 Or someone receives an unexpected promotion and work that requires them to neglect their family or abandon meaningful involvement in the church or compromise their integrity. 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:19.200 But this opportunity just fell into my lap. 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:20.480 This is what I've wanted. 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:21.759 It pays super well. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:24.320 Maybe this is God opening a door for me. 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:25.120 Maybe. 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:26.559 Or maybe not. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:29.679 An open door is not always God's door. 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:36.720 This is not to say that our circumstances and desires can't be used by God to lead us in his will. 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:37.279 They can. 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:45.440 It's just to say that these are dangerous and often misleading guides that can tragically lead us astray and even directly against the Word of God. 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:50.480 Look at verse 4 for a second. 00:12:51.840 --> 00:13:01.360 And the men of David said to him, Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you. 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:03.039 Guess what? 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:04.879 God didn't say that. 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:06.399 It's nowhere in the Bible. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:10.720 There's no hint that God has promised this, that he'll give him into his hand, and he can do whatever he wants to him. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:14.000 They're misinterpreting and misusing God's promises. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:20.000 Because they're viewing God's word through the lens of their circumstances rather than the other way around. 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:32.480 David, on the other hand, shows us true faith by looking beyond his circumstances, beyond his personal desires, to the character and commands of God Himself. 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:44.159 He understands that Saul is a human being and an image of God, which is a glorious, wonderful, beautiful, valuable thing that we need to think of. 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:46.000 Like human beings are images of God. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:49.919 We need to really get that to sink into our minds and hearts. 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:53.600 And on top of all this, he is God's chosen and anointed king. 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:55.759 God has put him on the throne. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:05.279 David is in no place to commit an act of violence in cold blood by surprise attacking and murdering this defenseless elderly man in a cave. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:07.519 No matter how evil he is. 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:17.519 So instead of killing him, he stealthily cuts off a piece of his robe and returns to his men. 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:18.879 And his men can't understand it. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:20.159 David, what are you doing? 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:22.960 You've waited for this for years. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:24.320 This is your chance. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:28.159 But David sees something that they don't. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:37.679 He understands that while God has promised him the kingdom, it is not David's place to seize it for himself. 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:40.399 It is a gift from God. 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:47.919 God gave Saul the kingdom, and God will remove Saul from the kingdom, and God will give David the kingdom. 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:52.879 David will not accomplish God's purposes by violating God's commands. 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:58.240 In other words, David understands something that we often forget. 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:04.799 That the God who ordain ordains the ends also ordains the means. 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:10.559 We are never free to pursue God's promises in ways that disobey God Himself. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:14.399 And that temptation comes to us all the time. 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:15.919 It can look all sorts of ways. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.759 It can look like deceit or manipulation. 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:32.399 Where, like, instead of trusting God to open the right doors, we exaggerate on our resume or flatter the right people or tell half-truths or quietly undermine someone else, because we're convinced if I don't make this happen in my own way, then no one will. 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:36.080 It can look like anxiety. 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:51.120 We don't merely save thoughtfully and plan wisely, which scripture commends, but we obsess and we worry and we constantly run through every possible scenario because deep down we've decided everything depends on us instead of on our loving Father. 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:53.279 God bless you. 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:56.080 It can look like pleasure seeking. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:03.360 Life hasn't turned out the way you hoped, you're exhausted, you're lonely, you're discouraged, or you're bored. 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:08.879 And instead of waiting for God to satisfy your soul, you begin looking elsewhere. 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:13.440 Maybe it's pornography or something adjacent. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:21.039 Maybe it's alcohol, maybe it's shopping, maybe it's endless entertainment or mindless scrolling, maybe it's emotional intimacy with someone who's not your spouse. 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:26.720 You're trying to numb a legitimate disappointment with an illegitimate solution. 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:30.720 And underneath every one of those responses is the same lie. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:38.480 God's way is too uncertain, God's way is too long, his timing is too slow, and I need to take control to get what will truly satisfy me. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:39.679 David says no. 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:50.879 He refuses to grasp for what God has promised because he has the faith to trust God, to give it in God's way and in God's time. 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:53.919 And so he waits. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:15.839 David shows us what true, patient faith looks like as we wait on the Lord. 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:18.240 Notice he he does all sorts of things. 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:20.799 He leaves the cave, he does something almost imaginable. 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:25.039 Instead of attacking Saul, he bows down before him. 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:27.759 He addresses him very kindly and respectfully. 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:28.880 He shows him honor. 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:31.839 He shows him then the corner of his robe, and in effect says, I could have killed you. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:34.160 My men told me to, and I chose not to. 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:37.039 I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed. 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:40.720 He makes a case for himself and his own innocence to get Saul to change. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:46.960 So notice that David's waiting in this long season is not passive. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:50.000 He doesn't pretend Saul hasn't sinned. 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:52.400 He doesn't minimize injustice. 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:53.839 He doesn't refuse to act. 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:55.359 He confronts Saul. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:57.119 He goes out to meet him. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:57.839 He pleads his case. 00:17:57.920 --> 00:17:58.960 He entrusts judgment to God. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:03.200 May the Lord judge between me and you, but my hand shall not be against you. 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:04.960 That's faithful waiting. 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:07.440 Waiting isn't doing nothing. 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:13.680 Waiting is doing everything that God has called you to do while refusing to do what God has forbidden you to do. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:18.640 Waiting is active obedience coupled with patient trust. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:20.799 And what happens? 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:27.440 Well, without David lifting a sword, Saul himself declares, I know that you shall surely be king. 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:33.200 And he repents, or at least he relents, and some on the surface we'll see that his heart has not truly changed. 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:40.000 But the the the very promise that David refused to grasp for himself is now being reaffirmed on the lips of his enemy. 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:42.799 Without him compromising his integrity. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:46.559 Church, that is what faithful waiting looks like. 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:54.079 We tend to think of waiting as a sort of helpless, insignificant nothingness, just inactivity. 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:59.440 Faithful waiting is less inactivity as it is attentive readiness. 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:03.279 Think of a lifeguard on the stand. 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:05.759 Might look like he's doing nothing from a distance. 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:06.480 He's just sitting there. 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:07.359 He's not doing anything. 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:09.759 But if you know lifeguards, they're doing something. 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:18.160 He's alert, he's watching, he's scanning, his eyes never stop moving, his body's ready to leap forward when needed and to dive into whatever situation arises. 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:20.799 He's not passive, he's attentively ready. 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:23.039 That's what David is doing. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:27.440 He's attentively ready to respond to everything that God calls him to. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:32.319 He isn't just sitting in the cave saying, I guess I'll just wait and just hang out and scroll. 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:36.000 No, he flees when he should flee. 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:37.519 He speaks when he should speak. 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:39.519 He confronts Saul, he entrusts himself to God. 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:46.400 He prays, he writes Psalm 57, he does everything that God calls him to do while refusing to do what only God can do. 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:49.759 And this is the call for us as well. 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:57.279 To wait on the Lord for his promises, not in passivity, but in attentive readiness. 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:04.480 But if you're anything like me, you read this story and you think, how? 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:06.960 Like, how am I supposed to actually live like that? 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:12.160 Because I remember reading the story when I was a kid and thinking, man, I totally would have just killed Saul. 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:18.240 And I remember reading the story on Monday and thinking, man, I totally would have just killed Saul. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:22.880 And it's funny, but it's also murder we're talking about. 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:33.519 Um and that is the heart of an impatient, God-dishonoring lack of trust that we lean toward because waiting is hard. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.640 And it leads us to all kinds of crazy thinking. 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:42.240 Trusting God with our circumstances feels impossible at times. 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:46.160 How do we have the kind of faith like David here? 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:57.440 To have patience, to wait with attentive readiness through long seasons of unmet desires and unfulfilled promises. 00:20:57.680 --> 00:20:58.480 How do we do that? 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:03.359 Well, the answer is not in David's willpower or in David's self-control. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:06.000 The answer is in David's theology. 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:12.000 Our activity pours forth from what we believe in and how we think about God. 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:18.559 And David's faithfulness to God, as we'll see, is resting on a foundation that is more firm than his circumstances. 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:24.960 And the awesome thing is that God has not left us to wonder and guess at what that foundation was. 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:33.279 Because during this very season of David's life, very likely, I think, from this exact cave, David wrote Psalm 57. 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:36.640 First Samuel shows us what David did. 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:41.440 Psalm 57 lets us step inside David's heart to discover why he did it. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:47.119 So let's turn there now for a moment and uncover David's foundation. 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:49.680 And we'll move more quickly now. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:59.519 We don't have time to do a deep dive into all of Psalm 57, but I just want to highlight three big driving themes of David's. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:06.240 In this psalm to show us the foundation of his patient faithfulness that it's it's built upon. 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:08.720 And they all start with the same letter. 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:09.839 You're welcome. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:12.000 That's not helpful, it's just fun. 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:14.240 The first is sovereignty. 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:22.079 In verse 2, David says, I cry out to God most high, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:25.119 Think about that statement. 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:29.599 To God who fulfills his purpose for me. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:38.400 David, long before the Geddies were around, was writing, Jesus commands my destiny. 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:41.519 He's not saying I know exactly how this is going to work out. 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:42.319 He doesn't. 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:45.039 He has no idea how God is going to accomplish this. 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.640 He simply knows that if God has purposed it, God will accomplish it. 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:50.960 His power is unlimited. 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:52.799 He sovereignly rules the universe. 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:55.680 He can bring about and will bring about everything he intends. 00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:04.240 The sovereignty of God means that David doesn't have to seize the throne for himself because God is perfectly capable of giving him the throne. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:06.880 And he has promised it, so he will do it. 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:16.880 Meaning, the sovereignty of God over confusing and challenging circumstances gives strength to wait on the Lord. 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:18.559 That's what God's sovereignty does. 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:26.319 It frees us from believing that everything hinges on us and gives us the foundation that we need to wait on God. 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:29.039 That's God's sovereignty. 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:31.599 Second, we see steadfast love. 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:38.640 Verse 3, God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness. 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:41.680 And those two truths belong together. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:45.920 Sovereignty alone, without steadfast love, is terrifying. 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:51.200 If God is in control but doesn't love me, I'm simply at the mercy of some all-powerful ruler. 00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:54.480 That's the God that the Muslims have, and they're terrified. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:05.759 David knows something better: that the God who rules over all things also loves his people dearly with a faithful, unchanging, steadfast covenant love. 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:13.359 For us, we have the greatest assurance of that love at the cross. 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:19.920 The cross tells us who are in Christ by faith that we never have to wonder. 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:24.000 We never have to wonder how God feels about us or what directs his sovereignty. 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:25.839 We do tend to still wonder, but we don't have to. 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:46.240 We can be confident that whatever our circumstances, whether marital struggles or singleness, whether being overworked or without a job, it is the God who gave himself over to death and suffering and judgment in our place out of love for us, immense unfathomable love for us, that now governs the universe on our behalf for our good. 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:54.880 God's sovereignty in your life is directed entirely by his steadfast love for you. 00:24:55.519 --> 00:25:00.400 Everything in your life is directed by God's love for you. 00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:08.000 It's his sovereignty, his steadfast love, and third, we see selflessness. 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:15.440 One of the most surprising moments in Psalm 57 comes in verse 5, I think. 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:26.160 David is hiding in a cave, Saul is hunting him, his life is on the line, and yet his prayer suddenly becomes Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:29.440 Let your glory be over all the earth. 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:31.759 Isn't that remarkable? 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:34.319 David is homeless. 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:43.279 He's living in caves, he's hungry, and he's being hunted by an army of 3,000 men, and his prayer is, Be exalted, O God. 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:48.079 Let your glory be over all the earth. 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:56.400 David's concern in this dark, dark moment of his life, is not first for his own rescue, it is for God's glory. 00:25:58.160 --> 00:26:01.279 God's glory is at the forefront of his mind. 00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:03.680 That is what David is after. 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:06.240 And that's the difference between a David and a Saul. 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:10.319 Saul thinks everything's about him, his kingdom, his reputation, his glory. 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:19.759 David understands that his whole story, from cave to throne to death itself, is about God's kingdom, God's reputation, God's glory. 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:23.359 And when God's glory is what he's after, he can endure anything. 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:35.039 When God's glory in our selflessness becomes bigger than our comfort, we can endure suffering without demanding immediate relief. 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:37.599 We can wait without grasping for control. 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:44.160 I can say a lot more, but that's David's faith and David's foundation. 00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:57.200 And again, as we've seen before in 1 Samuel, David is shown to us not primarily so that we can get a glimpse of David, or so that we can learn moral lessons about how to be better people. 00:26:57.359 --> 00:26:58.720 Those are benefits of this. 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:07.519 But David is shown to us here in 1 Samuel 24 so that we can get a glimpse of Jesus and learn what he has done for us. 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:20.319 Jesus himself taught in Luke 24 and throughout the New Testament that all of the scriptures, all of the Old Testament is given to teach us how the Christ, as he says, the anointed one, must suffer before taking the throne. 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:28.319 And that leads us from David's faith and David's foundation to David's fulfillment, the man, Jesus Christ. 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:38.000 The temptation that David faces here is one that Jesus would face repeatedly throughout his entire earthly ministry. 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:44.000 Like David, Jesus was God's anointed one, his chosen king. 00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:46.000 The kingdom had already been promised to him. 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:56.559 The question was not whether he would reign, the question is how, when, and would he trust his father enough to wait, or would he grasp for today what God had promised for tomorrow? 00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:02.480 Again and again and again, Jesus was tempted with shortcuts. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:09.039 In the wilderness, after his baptism, Satan shows him all the kingdoms of the earth and says, They're yours. 00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:10.160 Just bow to me. 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:12.799 Just one, just one little sin, Jesus. 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:14.960 Just bow real quick, and it's yours. 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:16.559 Have the kingdom. 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:18.799 Have the cross. 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:20.640 Sorry, have the crown without the cross. 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:24.319 That's the temptation of all of these things in the wilderness. 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:27.599 The throne without the long road of suffering. 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:35.759 Later, after feeding the 5,000 in John 6, the crowds gather around Jesus and they try to make him king against his will by force. 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:39.039 Again, the kingdom without the suffering. 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:43.119 Even Peter, one of his closest followers, rebukes him. 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:48.400 He rebukes the Lord for speaking about the cross, urging him to choose an easier path. 00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:55.039 And even on the cross itself, Jesus was tempted by his blasphemous murderer saying, Come down from the cross. 00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:56.400 If you're the king, just save yourself. 00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:57.519 And he absolutely could have. 00:28:57.599 --> 00:28:59.119 He had all the power. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:07.519 But chose to remain hanging every moment, choosing to endure. 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:16.559 Jesus waited perfectly where we have grasped impatiently. 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:22.000 Every one of us has reached for God's gifts in our own timing, in our own ways. 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:28.480 We've compromised, manipulated, lied, lusted, feared, retaliated, stolen, slandered, and sought satisfaction outside of God Himself. 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:31.119 Jesus never did, not once, not for a moment. 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:55.200 And because he refused every shortcut, because he chose to endure the violence and the wrath and the brutality of the cross, the loneliness and the shame, because he remained faithful all the way to death itself, God has highly exalted him and seated him on the throne of the universe and has promised him from all eternity and has given it to him. 00:29:55.359 --> 00:30:01.279 And now, by faith, we are united to Christ. 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:04.880 And what he has accomplished counts as ours. 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:08.400 What belongs to him now belongs to us. 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:12.240 The kingdom itself is for you and for me. 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:26.480 Brothers and sisters, everything we've been longing for, perfect joy, perfect justice, perfect peace, perfect security, perfect satisfaction, perfect relationships, freedom from sin, resurrection, life, and a renewed creation. 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:37.200 Seeing God Himself face to face, all of it has already been purchased by Christ and guaranteed to everyone who belongs to Him by faith. 00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:40.480 Your name is written on all of it. 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:58.880 Don't do this, with their names on it, on certain things that they wanted, like a nice bookshelf, a big rug, a meaningful painting. 00:30:58.960 --> 00:31:06.079 They began to actually put their names on things to claim them ahead of time so that when the time came, you know, they could get their nice rugs. 00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:08.480 There were some nice rugs, I'm not gonna lie. 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:14.559 But church, in Christ, united to Christ, you don't need to do any of that. 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:18.480 You don't need to reach, to claim anything. 00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:26.400 By his perfect life, death, and resurrection, Jesus Himself has already written your name on every good thing. 00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:29.279 In Christ, it is yours. 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:31.519 We wait a little while longer. 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:34.079 We don't yet enjoy it in its fullness. 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:42.720 But as Jesus says in Luke 12, 32, fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:53.359 As Paul says in Romans 8.32, he who did not spare his own son, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 00:31:54.799 --> 00:31:55.839 All things. 00:31:56.079 --> 00:31:58.160 Every good thing is yours in Christ. 00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:02.160 As David says in Psalm 37, in just a little while. 00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:17.359 In just a little while there will the wicked will be no more, and the afflicted shall inherit the earth and delight themselves in abundant peace. 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:26.400 And as the psalmist says in Psalm 84, no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. 00:32:26.640 --> 00:32:27.920 No good thing. 00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:42.880 And because we now walk in the righteousness of Christ accomplished for us not our own, we can be absolutely certain that he will fulfill every good promise he has made. 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:48.319 Until then, the call is the same as it was for David, the same as it was for Jesus. 00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:50.319 Wait patiently for the Lord. 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:51.519 He's coming soon. 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:52.640 He's coming soon. 00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:53.440 Let's pray. 00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:56.079 Lord Jesus. 00:32:57.279 --> 00:33:03.920 We are just in awe of your perfect patience. 00:33:05.359 --> 00:33:15.279 Your perfect faith as you trusted in your Father to endure every darkness and a suffering greater than we can fathom. 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:20.079 All because of a love that we cannot fathom. 00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:29.279 Lord, you have accomplished everything that we could dream of ever accomplishing for ourselves, and you give it to us freely now. 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:47.599 And so we ask in faith that you would give us your patience by your Holy Spirit, that you would be with us to wait a little while longer, as David says, until we inherit the earth, until we enjoy abundant peace, and until we see you face to face. 00:33:47.920 --> 00:33:50.640 Jesus, we long for that day. 00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:54.480 Please come quickly and give us your strength and patience until you.