1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,880 Well, let's go ahead and continue our study in 1st Samuel. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,320 If you have not been with us, we've been tracking through First 3 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:08,080 Samuel for some, quite some time now. 4 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:12,600 And we're in chapter 16, and we're going to be talking tonight 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:14,160 about a very interesting topic. 6 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,160 We're going to see King Saul, and we're going to see that there's 7 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,280 an evil spirit that troubles him, and he's going to come to a 8 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,800 place of distress, and we're going to look at the source of that 9 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:24,320 distress. 10 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,570 And oftentimes there's some confusion in this passage or we're 11 00:00:27,570 --> 00:00:33,250 also going to see a contrast between David, who just got anointed 12 00:00:33,250 --> 00:00:35,970 king in the first part of First Samuel, chapter 16. 13 00:00:36,130 --> 00:00:41,250 If you remember, God said earlier on in this study that, Saul, 14 00:00:41,250 --> 00:00:44,370 you've missed your opportunity because of your bad decisions, because 15 00:00:44,370 --> 00:00:47,810 of your selfishness, because of your pride, because of your disobedience. 16 00:00:47,810 --> 00:00:51,730 You've lost the blessing of being king and the throne is going 17 00:00:51,730 --> 00:00:53,090 to be taken out of your family line. 18 00:00:53,090 --> 00:00:54,410 And remember what God said. 19 00:00:54,410 --> 00:00:57,520 He said that he would select a man after his own heart. 20 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:00,720 So we're going to see the difference between David and Saul. 21 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:01,280 And. 22 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:05,120 And really the main difference is their heart in accordance to God. 23 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,240 And so where we left off last week, we'll pick up where we left 24 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:08,560 off. 25 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:11,040 Samuel anoints David as king. 26 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:16,280 And that oil that is anointing on David's head, that is a picture 27 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:22,400 of God's selection and upon God's power and wisdom and discernment 28 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,880 upon David and his control over David. 29 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,880 But we see in verse 13, it says, then Samuel took the horn of 30 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:30,080 oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. 31 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,280 So this was not a public thing in all of Bethlehem. 32 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:34,800 Remember David's from Bethlehem. 33 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,760 And so not everybody sees this, but at least David's family 34 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:39,320 sees this. 35 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:42,120 And it says something very interesting here because this is 36 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,080 what's going to be contrasted with verse 14 with Saul's heart. 37 00:01:46,650 --> 00:01:49,970 So it says with this obedience and with this selection from God, 38 00:01:49,970 --> 00:01:54,810 it says the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. 39 00:01:55,530 --> 00:01:56,970 And so think about this. 40 00:01:56,970 --> 00:02:00,610 Think about in David's life, though he's not perfect, the Spirit 41 00:02:00,610 --> 00:02:01,770 of God is upon him. 42 00:02:01,770 --> 00:02:05,330 And it's there because of his heart and his relationship with God. 43 00:02:05,330 --> 00:02:06,570 It's there through faith. 44 00:02:06,730 --> 00:02:09,930 And then we're going to see in contrast to that, a guy named Saul, 45 00:02:09,930 --> 00:02:10,650 King Saul. 46 00:02:10,730 --> 00:02:12,730 His heart was not in obedience to the Lord. 47 00:02:12,730 --> 00:02:14,090 He does not have a heart of faith. 48 00:02:14,410 --> 00:02:16,850 And because of that, we're going to see him in a great place 49 00:02:16,850 --> 00:02:17,610 of distress. 50 00:02:17,850 --> 00:02:20,410 We're going to see him in a place of turmoil. 51 00:02:20,410 --> 00:02:23,090 We're going to see him in a place that he doesn't have the comfort 52 00:02:23,090 --> 00:02:23,610 of God. 53 00:02:23,770 --> 00:02:27,410 And the Bible very clearly teaches that the Spirit of God, when 54 00:02:27,410 --> 00:02:29,930 he's in our life, brings us comfort. 55 00:02:29,930 --> 00:02:33,330 Actually, one of the titles of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament 56 00:02:33,330 --> 00:02:35,690 in the Book of John is that he is the comforter. 57 00:02:36,090 --> 00:02:38,490 And there's so many people in the world today that are looking 58 00:02:38,490 --> 00:02:39,210 for comfort. 59 00:02:39,530 --> 00:02:40,850 And obviously we. 60 00:02:40,850 --> 00:02:43,290 We have in America a lot of things of comfort. 61 00:02:43,620 --> 00:02:45,620 And really, comfort is set as a premium. 62 00:02:45,620 --> 00:02:48,340 But what's happening in our world today, and what we're even 63 00:02:48,340 --> 00:02:52,700 going to see back in the time of Saul is that the comfort was not 64 00:02:52,700 --> 00:02:56,060 a comfort, that God promises, that sustaining comfort. 65 00:02:56,060 --> 00:02:58,740 But most of the time, people in the world are searching after 66 00:02:58,740 --> 00:03:01,860 a type of comfort that can only temporarily satisfy. 67 00:03:02,340 --> 00:03:05,420 And so that's what we're going to see here in First Samuel chapter 68 00:03:05,420 --> 00:03:05,660 16. 69 00:03:05,660 --> 00:03:09,140 And it's so appropriate that we sing that hymn tonight, Holy, 70 00:03:09,140 --> 00:03:09,860 Holy, Holy. 71 00:03:09,860 --> 00:03:14,080 Because that's going to be at the source of our conversation here 72 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:14,640 this evening. 73 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:18,640 Because some people read this passage in 1st Samuel chapter 16 74 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:22,400 and think that God actually sends evil to Saul. 75 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,520 And if you read it, at first glance, it might even seem that way. 76 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,760 But when we understand the character of God and the holiness 77 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,760 of God and what the New Testament tells us about temptation 78 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,800 and about distress, we're going to see that it's not the source 79 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:36,250 of evil from God, but. 80 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,520 But it's certainly God allowing evil to come into Saul's 81 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:39,680 life. 82 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,960 And so look at verse number 14 with me in 1st Samuel, chapter 16, 83 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,800 it says, but the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. 84 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:50,000 Now remember where we left off, okay? 85 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:51,440 Samuel anoints David. 86 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:53,520 The Spirit of God comes upon David. 87 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:57,000 But in verse 14, we see because of Saul's disobedience, the 88 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:58,640 Lord departs from Saul. 89 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,520 Now, you have to also remember in the Old Testament that the Holy 90 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:04,160 Spirit works differently than today. 91 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,440 Today, we believe that believers, when they're saved, there's 92 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,200 that eternal sealing of the Holy Spirit. 93 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,000 The Bible tells us that in the book of Philippians, there's other 94 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,680 passages like Romans 8 and others that speak of that eternal 95 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,880 security that we have in Jesus Christ and the fact that a believer 96 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:22,640 is indwelled by the Spirit, that spirit's not going to leave 97 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:22,920 us. 98 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,560 But in the Old Testament, we would see instances where the Holy 99 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:30,120 Spirit would come upon individuals and then also leave individuals. 100 00:04:30,540 --> 00:04:35,620 And so in this case, we see David is being indwelled, or as it 101 00:04:35,620 --> 00:04:38,500 says, this anointed comes upon him and the Holy Spirit comes upon 102 00:04:38,500 --> 00:04:38,900 David. 103 00:04:38,900 --> 00:04:42,380 Now we're going to see Saul have the spirit depart, and then 104 00:04:42,380 --> 00:04:44,060 we actually see what comes in that place. 105 00:04:44,060 --> 00:04:47,420 It says, in an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. 106 00:04:48,620 --> 00:04:52,060 Now, some commentators read that verse and would say, well, now 107 00:04:52,060 --> 00:04:54,140 it's God sending this evil upon him. 108 00:04:54,140 --> 00:04:57,340 It's actually God causing Saul to be evil. 109 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,160 And there's a lot of different ways that we could look at this. 110 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,360 But I want us to have some level of clarity in understanding 111 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,680 the context of Scripture and understanding the way that God works 112 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:10,040 and then going from there and kind of understanding how this would 113 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,520 look in the life of Saul and how it could look in our own lives 114 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:15,760 to some degree when it comes to the distress that certain people 115 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:16,600 might face today. 116 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:18,440 So let's look at verse number 14 again. 117 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:20,680 It says, the Spirit of the Lord departs from Saul. 118 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:25,780 So to some degree, we see that God removes his presence in the life 119 00:05:25,780 --> 00:05:26,380 of Saul. 120 00:05:26,620 --> 00:05:29,860 And in God removing his presence from Saul, we see that something 121 00:05:29,860 --> 00:05:33,580 comes on the scene, an evil spirit comes from, as it says here, 122 00:05:33,580 --> 00:05:36,060 from the Lord to trouble him, or another way that you could say 123 00:05:36,060 --> 00:05:40,540 that is distress him to cause anxiety, to cause inner turmoil. 124 00:05:41,180 --> 00:05:45,140 And so from first glance that might look like, well, God's causing 125 00:05:45,140 --> 00:05:45,740 this evil. 126 00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:50,300 Saul had no choice but go with me to the Book of James, because 127 00:05:50,300 --> 00:05:52,700 we're going to stick our finger there in First Samuel, chapter 128 00:05:52,700 --> 00:05:52,980 16. 129 00:05:53,220 --> 00:05:53,700 And let. 130 00:05:53,700 --> 00:05:56,940 Let's look at what the Bible says in the Book of James about when 131 00:05:56,940 --> 00:05:59,860 an individual blames God for his or her sin. 132 00:06:00,900 --> 00:06:04,020 Because there's actually times in my life and maybe your life that 133 00:06:04,020 --> 00:06:07,900 you've heard people say, well, God made me do it, or God made me 134 00:06:07,900 --> 00:06:08,420 this way. 135 00:06:08,500 --> 00:06:12,300 So why would God hold me accountable if God is the one that's 136 00:06:12,300 --> 00:06:13,220 sending the evil? 137 00:06:13,620 --> 00:06:16,860 Maybe someone even says, well, you know, maybe God didn't make me 138 00:06:16,860 --> 00:06:19,540 do it, but maybe you've heard this, the devil made me do it. 139 00:06:20,180 --> 00:06:21,540 Or maybe you even heard this. 140 00:06:21,540 --> 00:06:23,660 I heard a guy on a live stream recently. 141 00:06:23,660 --> 00:06:26,700 He was a preacher, and I think I might have shared this in church 142 00:06:26,700 --> 00:06:30,220 at one point, this guy was doing a live stream, and he was. 143 00:06:30,220 --> 00:06:32,260 He didn't know he was on live stream. 144 00:06:32,340 --> 00:06:32,660 He. 145 00:06:32,660 --> 00:06:34,140 He didn't know he was even being filmed. 146 00:06:34,140 --> 00:06:37,420 And he treated a waitress at this live like he was at a restaurant, 147 00:06:37,420 --> 00:06:39,060 and he was gonna film this live stream. 148 00:06:39,060 --> 00:06:40,900 And he treats this waitress terribly. 149 00:06:41,060 --> 00:06:45,180 He, like, belittles her and yells at her, and then he Finds out 150 00:06:45,180 --> 00:06:48,660 he's on camera and he says, and this guy claims to be a pastor. 151 00:06:48,660 --> 00:06:50,260 And he goes, oh, don't. 152 00:06:50,260 --> 00:06:50,780 Don't show that. 153 00:06:50,780 --> 00:06:51,740 And they're like, that's live stream. 154 00:06:51,740 --> 00:06:52,220 That's on live. 155 00:06:52,220 --> 00:06:54,100 And he goes, well, let me show you this. 156 00:06:54,100 --> 00:06:56,780 This is a way that someone can be a stumbling block to you and lead 157 00:06:56,780 --> 00:06:57,340 you to sin. 158 00:06:57,340 --> 00:06:59,580 And I'm like, no, you can't blame someone for your sin. 159 00:06:59,580 --> 00:07:04,420 So James, chapter one tells us right here in verse 13, James 1:13, 160 00:07:04,740 --> 00:07:08,020 let no man say when he is tempted, I'm tempted of God. 161 00:07:09,140 --> 00:07:09,460 So. 162 00:07:09,460 --> 00:07:12,300 So God is not the causer of the temptation. 163 00:07:12,300 --> 00:07:15,140 He's not the one who brings that evil into our life. 164 00:07:16,060 --> 00:07:17,180 So who do we have to blame? 165 00:07:17,260 --> 00:07:18,380 Well, maybe it's Satan. 166 00:07:18,380 --> 00:07:19,460 Maybe it's another person. 167 00:07:19,460 --> 00:07:20,380 It's not God. 168 00:07:20,700 --> 00:07:23,740 Well, it says here, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither 169 00:07:23,740 --> 00:07:24,780 tempteth he any man. 170 00:07:24,860 --> 00:07:29,500 But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust 171 00:07:29,740 --> 00:07:30,940 and enticed. 172 00:07:32,300 --> 00:07:34,900 So what the Bible tells us in verse 14 is that there's no one to 173 00:07:34,900 --> 00:07:35,820 blame but ourselves. 174 00:07:36,220 --> 00:07:39,420 Now, there could be outside forces that certainly give us an 175 00:07:39,420 --> 00:07:41,500 opportunity to make a decision on whether or not we're going to 176 00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:42,540 give into that temptation. 177 00:07:43,370 --> 00:07:46,730 But what we see here is he says in verse 14, the book of James, 178 00:07:46,810 --> 00:07:48,610 that it's our fault when we sin. 179 00:07:48,610 --> 00:07:51,570 We can't blame anybody else, we can't blame God, we can't blame 180 00:07:51,570 --> 00:07:53,650 another person, we can't blame the devil. 181 00:07:53,650 --> 00:07:56,170 It's upon us and our responsibility to make a decision 182 00:07:56,250 --> 00:08:01,890 not to fall into sin, not to fall into this place of inner turmoil. 183 00:08:01,890 --> 00:08:04,530 Now, that turmoil can come, but it's how we deal with that temptation, 184 00:08:04,530 --> 00:08:04,890 right? 185 00:08:04,890 --> 00:08:07,010 Because we know that temptation in and of itself is not 186 00:08:07,010 --> 00:08:07,410 a sin. 187 00:08:07,410 --> 00:08:08,250 How do we know that? 188 00:08:08,250 --> 00:08:09,530 Because Jesus was tempted. 189 00:08:10,030 --> 00:08:11,350 And so temptation is not the sin. 190 00:08:11,350 --> 00:08:12,310 It's giving into that. 191 00:08:12,310 --> 00:08:16,550 So what we see in verse number 15, he goes on to describe how this 192 00:08:16,550 --> 00:08:17,470 all comes to pass. 193 00:08:18,350 --> 00:08:20,550 He says, then when lust hath conceived. 194 00:08:20,550 --> 00:08:25,629 And actually the picture here in verse number 15, you might not 195 00:08:25,629 --> 00:08:27,710 be able to see it here in the English, but in the Greek, there 196 00:08:27,710 --> 00:08:30,870 actually is a picture of a birth happening. 197 00:08:30,870 --> 00:08:35,550 We actually see that, that word, it says in verse 15, when lust 198 00:08:35,550 --> 00:08:36,350 have conceived. 199 00:08:37,010 --> 00:08:40,490 But in that conception of sin, it's not going to bring forth life. 200 00:08:40,490 --> 00:08:42,970 Because a lot of times people think that this sin is going to bring 201 00:08:42,970 --> 00:08:45,490 me something good, it's going to bring me something that's a blessing. 202 00:08:45,650 --> 00:08:48,170 But actually what we see here is that it's actually bringing Forth 203 00:08:48,170 --> 00:08:49,250 a stillborn death. 204 00:08:49,730 --> 00:08:52,170 So he says, when lust, so this lust is that. 205 00:08:52,170 --> 00:08:54,130 That passion, that desire to do something. 206 00:08:54,210 --> 00:08:56,650 It says when that's conceived, it bringeth for sin. 207 00:08:56,650 --> 00:08:58,650 And so temptation is here. 208 00:08:58,650 --> 00:09:02,370 We decide to give in in our lust, and then that's what's conceived 209 00:09:02,370 --> 00:09:03,290 in sin. 210 00:09:03,290 --> 00:09:04,530 And it says it brings forth sin. 211 00:09:04,530 --> 00:09:05,410 And what does sin bring? 212 00:09:05,630 --> 00:09:08,550 And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death, it bringeth 213 00:09:08,550 --> 00:09:12,550 emptiness, it brings hopelessness, it brings turmoil, 214 00:09:12,550 --> 00:09:15,510 it brings all those things that the Bible tells us are the product 215 00:09:15,510 --> 00:09:16,750 of sin in our life. 216 00:09:16,990 --> 00:09:17,710 And so th. 217 00:09:17,710 --> 00:09:22,270 Though sin can look attractive for a season, or maybe we don't even 218 00:09:22,270 --> 00:09:24,630 know what we're doing, but we're getting into a place in our 219 00:09:24,630 --> 00:09:27,390 life where eventually it's going to bring destruction and death. 220 00:09:28,270 --> 00:09:31,530 So with that being in mind, keep, keep that in mind that it is 221 00:09:31,530 --> 00:09:33,250 not God who sends the evil. 222 00:09:33,490 --> 00:09:37,530 Go with me to another passage of Scripture which we actually sang 223 00:09:37,530 --> 00:09:39,730 about here this evening in Isaiah chapter 6. 224 00:09:41,090 --> 00:09:45,210 There is a very clear indication in Scripture over and 225 00:09:45,210 --> 00:09:47,409 over and over again about the holiness of God. 226 00:09:47,409 --> 00:09:51,370 And we need to understand the holiness of God, because in the holiness 227 00:09:51,370 --> 00:09:54,530 of God, I believe, comes really the defining attribute of 228 00:09:54,530 --> 00:09:55,090 who he is. 229 00:09:56,450 --> 00:09:59,730 Because if at any point we question God's holiness, we question 230 00:09:59,730 --> 00:10:00,930 his whole character. 231 00:10:01,740 --> 00:10:04,060 Because if you say God is loving, but I don't believe he's 232 00:10:04,060 --> 00:10:07,100 completely holy, what we're doing is we're saying, yes, he loves, 233 00:10:07,100 --> 00:10:09,580 but he's not the one who is perfect in his love. 234 00:10:10,140 --> 00:10:13,180 If we say that God is powerful, but if he's not perfect 235 00:10:13,180 --> 00:10:15,860 in his power, then it's always going to be somewhat limited. 236 00:10:15,860 --> 00:10:19,820 And so when we come to God and we understand who he is, we have 237 00:10:19,820 --> 00:10:23,420 to completely understand that that holiness is his defining attribute. 238 00:10:23,580 --> 00:10:27,660 He's perfectly loving, he's perfectly just, he's perfectly strong, 239 00:10:27,740 --> 00:10:30,220 he's perfectly knowledgeable in all of these things. 240 00:10:30,220 --> 00:10:32,110 And so Isaiah chapter 6. 241 00:10:32,110 --> 00:10:36,470 Many of you know this passage of Scripture, but this is Isaiah's 242 00:10:36,710 --> 00:10:39,550 understanding and his experience with understanding the 243 00:10:39,550 --> 00:10:40,550 holiness of God. 244 00:10:40,790 --> 00:10:45,630 It says in verse number one, in the year King Uzziah died, I saw 245 00:10:45,630 --> 00:10:48,910 also the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his 246 00:10:48,910 --> 00:10:50,230 train filled the temple. 247 00:10:50,390 --> 00:10:52,230 Above it stood the seraphims. 248 00:10:52,310 --> 00:10:53,710 Each one had six wings. 249 00:10:53,710 --> 00:10:56,470 In twain he covered his face, and in twain he covered his feet, 250 00:10:56,630 --> 00:10:57,710 and with twain he did fly. 251 00:10:57,710 --> 00:11:01,670 So he's describing these angels, these angelic beings. 252 00:11:01,670 --> 00:11:02,270 Verse 3. 253 00:11:02,270 --> 00:11:06,670 And one cried unto another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord 254 00:11:06,670 --> 00:11:07,430 of hosts. 255 00:11:07,510 --> 00:11:09,430 The whole earth is full of his glory. 256 00:11:09,910 --> 00:11:12,950 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, 257 00:11:12,950 --> 00:11:14,350 and the house was filled with smoke. 258 00:11:14,350 --> 00:11:18,830 And then he says here, this is Isaiah's response to understanding 259 00:11:18,830 --> 00:11:20,910 and experiencing the holiness of God. 260 00:11:20,910 --> 00:11:22,950 Because a lot of times we might think we're holy. 261 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:24,280 And. 262 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:26,240 And by the way, let me describe holiness. 263 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:28,480 Let me define holiness, because sometimes you might hear 264 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:30,560 the word holy and you might not understand what that is. 265 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,640 Biblically speaking, there is a element of God's holiness which 266 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:39,480 means sinless, perfect, set aside or set apart as a completely 267 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:40,320 different thing than us. 268 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:42,800 None of us can achieve the holiness of God. 269 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:46,320 Now, the Bible does call us to be holy to some degree, which means 270 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,840 set aside, sanctified for a specific use. 271 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,200 And so in this case, we see that God has this type of unique 272 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:56,080 holiness that no one else can obtain. 273 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:01,360 And so Isaiah's response to God's holiness is what verse 5. 274 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:07,080 Then said I. Woe is me, for I am undone because I am a man of unclean 275 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:07,400 lips. 276 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:09,960 And I dwell in the midst of the people of unclean lips. 277 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,360 And my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. 278 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:15,200 And then it goes on to talk about this. 279 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,760 And then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live 280 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,320 coal in his hand, which he had taken from the tongs of the altar, 281 00:12:20,540 --> 00:12:23,340 and he laid it upon my mouth and said, lo, this hath touched thy 282 00:12:23,340 --> 00:12:27,020 lips, and thine iniquity is taken, and thy sin is purged. 283 00:12:27,020 --> 00:12:30,780 And so Isaiah finds this type of forgiveness in his humility. 284 00:12:31,020 --> 00:12:34,780 And the humility is found through understanding how perfect 285 00:12:34,860 --> 00:12:38,900 God is in his sinlessness and how small we are and how much we're 286 00:12:38,900 --> 00:12:41,820 in need of a holy Savior to save us from our sins. 287 00:12:42,300 --> 00:12:45,940 So I say all that from the book of James to the book of Isaiah, 288 00:12:45,940 --> 00:12:49,550 to understand that as we go back to First Samuel, that it is 289 00:12:49,550 --> 00:12:53,390 not God who is bringing the evil to Saul's life, because that 290 00:12:53,390 --> 00:12:56,030 would go against his character, that would go against 291 00:12:56,030 --> 00:12:56,710 his holiness. 292 00:12:57,190 --> 00:13:00,310 So let's go back and let's look at 1st Samuel, chapter 16 now 293 00:13:00,310 --> 00:13:04,270 with that in mind, and let's understand what it's saying here. 294 00:13:04,270 --> 00:13:06,070 So first Samuel, chapter 16. 295 00:13:07,110 --> 00:13:11,830 It says that as God takes away his spirit from Saul because of his 296 00:13:11,830 --> 00:13:16,830 disobedience, now there is this emptiness, and then in that 297 00:13:16,830 --> 00:13:19,510 emptiness, it is filled with this evil sphere. 298 00:13:19,510 --> 00:13:21,990 So there's really two schools of thought that we could think about 299 00:13:21,990 --> 00:13:23,190 to explain this. 300 00:13:23,350 --> 00:13:29,710 Number one, it is God allowing for Saul to go after what he desires 301 00:13:29,710 --> 00:13:31,030 to go after in this world. 302 00:13:31,030 --> 00:13:32,150 And what is that going to bring? 303 00:13:32,150 --> 00:13:35,150 That's going to bring, bring a void for that evil to come into his 304 00:13:35,150 --> 00:13:38,830 life and for him to give into that and be susceptible to the evil 305 00:13:38,830 --> 00:13:39,670 one coming in. 306 00:13:40,070 --> 00:13:43,910 So by way, it's not that God is the causer, it's that God has 307 00:13:43,910 --> 00:13:46,550 allowed for the evil to come into Saul's life. 308 00:13:46,870 --> 00:13:50,590 And we certainly know that God does allow evil to some degree happen 309 00:13:50,590 --> 00:13:51,430 within this world. 310 00:13:51,430 --> 00:13:53,750 Think about the, the story of Job, right? 311 00:13:54,550 --> 00:13:57,910 Satan could not do anything to Job without the allowance of God. 312 00:13:58,630 --> 00:14:03,790 Think about even the story of Jesus as, as Satan possesses Judas. 313 00:14:03,790 --> 00:14:07,230 As you remember, remember Jesus essentially gives Judas, but 314 00:14:07,230 --> 00:14:11,500 by extension he giving Satan the permission to do what he intended 315 00:14:11,500 --> 00:14:13,860 to do by saying, go and do what you're going to do quickly. 316 00:14:14,580 --> 00:14:18,020 So the evil one doesn't do anything outside of the allowance 317 00:14:18,020 --> 00:14:18,580 of God. 318 00:14:18,660 --> 00:14:21,780 But that doesn't mean that God is the causer of that evil spirit. 319 00:14:21,780 --> 00:14:24,820 So that could be one school of thought that this idea is, is that 320 00:14:24,820 --> 00:14:26,900 God goes away from Saul. 321 00:14:26,900 --> 00:14:29,900 And as the book of Romans tells us, that eventually when God 322 00:14:29,900 --> 00:14:32,940 pulls himself away, he gives people over to their reprobate minds, 323 00:14:32,940 --> 00:14:36,150 their evil minds, their emptiness and their vanity, and says, 324 00:14:36,150 --> 00:14:39,350 okay, you are now susceptible to the things of evil. 325 00:14:39,430 --> 00:14:43,150 But then another way that you could look at it is this, is that 326 00:14:43,150 --> 00:14:48,150 that word evil there is, is a Hebrew word that doesn't only mean 327 00:14:48,150 --> 00:14:52,150 evil, but it also means distressful or discomfort. 328 00:14:52,710 --> 00:14:56,630 So one school of thought could be that God is not bringing evil 329 00:14:56,630 --> 00:15:01,350 to Saul, but making him uncomfortable or distressed in his 330 00:15:01,350 --> 00:15:01,910 rebellion. 331 00:15:02,550 --> 00:15:06,190 And so either way you look at it, God's not causing any evil in 332 00:15:06,190 --> 00:15:06,950 Saul's life. 333 00:15:06,950 --> 00:15:10,630 He's allowing for this to happen so that Saul will make a decision, 334 00:15:10,710 --> 00:15:13,870 either one, to come to repentance, or two, to be driven 335 00:15:13,870 --> 00:15:17,150 more away and then allow God to come in and do his work through 336 00:15:17,150 --> 00:15:17,990 his sovereignty. 337 00:15:18,070 --> 00:15:21,950 So I know that's a lot of talking, but we get to verse 15 and 338 00:15:21,950 --> 00:15:23,590 so we see now the context. 339 00:15:23,990 --> 00:15:27,190 Saul is being distressed by an evil spirit. 340 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,440 And Saul's servants recognize this, he's troubled. 341 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:32,520 Verse 15. 342 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:36,200 And Saul's servants said unto him, behold now an evil spirit from 343 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:37,200 God trouble at thee. 344 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:39,600 And so it's not just a personal thing for Saul. 345 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,960 I mean, now at this point, everybody around him is being affected 346 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:44,680 by his spiritual distress. 347 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:48,400 And by the way, whether you know it or not, that inner turmoil 348 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:51,200 of rebellion and disobedience in our life, whether we think we're 349 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:54,200 hiding it or not, will eventually affect those around us, 350 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:56,480 whether it be our family or whether it be our church. 351 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,760 Certainly there's an element of hiding our inner turmoil. 352 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:02,400 But eventually it will be evident. 353 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:03,760 And that's what's happening here. 354 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,920 And so there's this spiritual distress that's witnessed by his 355 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:08,400 servants. 356 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:09,040 Verse 16. 357 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:10,400 They plead with him. 358 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:16,320 They say, let our Lord now command thy servants which are before 359 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:20,640 thee, to seek out a man who is a cunning player of a harp. 360 00:16:21,370 --> 00:16:24,490 And it shall come to pass when the evil spirit from God is upon 361 00:16:24,490 --> 00:16:29,370 thee, that he shall play with his hand and thou shalt be well. 362 00:16:29,690 --> 00:16:31,450 They make this decision and say this. 363 00:16:31,450 --> 00:16:33,770 We've got to bring you some sort of relief. 364 00:16:33,770 --> 00:16:36,410 The only type of relief that we think you can have. 365 00:16:36,570 --> 00:16:37,049 It's. 366 00:16:37,049 --> 00:16:39,770 It really should be that he comes to the Lord in repentance, 367 00:16:39,850 --> 00:16:43,370 that he comes to him and asks God to give him forgiveness and grace 368 00:16:43,370 --> 00:16:44,330 and mercy. 369 00:16:44,330 --> 00:16:46,850 But instead they say, hey, maybe we can have someone play music 370 00:16:46,850 --> 00:16:50,460 for you to calm down your spirit and to have a sense of worship 371 00:16:50,460 --> 00:16:51,660 back into your life. 372 00:16:51,660 --> 00:16:54,820 And I. I'm not saying that this is a bad idea, but what I'm 373 00:16:54,820 --> 00:16:58,500 saying is it's an insufficient help for the struggle that he's having 374 00:16:58,500 --> 00:16:58,860 here. 375 00:16:58,940 --> 00:17:01,620 Because what we're going to see is that eventually we know the 376 00:17:01,620 --> 00:17:02,900 man that comes in to play the music. 377 00:17:02,900 --> 00:17:03,620 It's David. 378 00:17:03,620 --> 00:17:05,980 And it only brings him temporary relief. 379 00:17:06,300 --> 00:17:09,220 But the true relief, I think, that we all can understand in our 380 00:17:09,220 --> 00:17:12,060 own life is not going to be trying to deal with the symptoms, 381 00:17:12,220 --> 00:17:14,860 but about dealing with the core issue at hand. 382 00:17:15,510 --> 00:17:18,350 And so we can try to get our minds off of the problems in our 383 00:17:18,350 --> 00:17:21,510 life and eventually maybe feel good to a degree, for a time. 384 00:17:21,590 --> 00:17:24,350 But if we don't deal with the root cause of the issue, which we 385 00:17:24,350 --> 00:17:27,150 know Saul's root cause was not that he wasn't listening to enough 386 00:17:27,150 --> 00:17:27,510 music. 387 00:17:27,750 --> 00:17:31,430 It was Saul's root cause of his distress from disobedience and 388 00:17:31,430 --> 00:17:32,990 rebellion and pride from God. 389 00:17:32,990 --> 00:17:35,390 If we don't deal with that heart issue, it's eventually going 390 00:17:35,390 --> 00:17:39,430 to keep rearing its ugly head over and over and worse and worse, 391 00:17:39,510 --> 00:17:41,350 just like we see in the life of Saul. 392 00:17:41,430 --> 00:17:44,770 So their decision is, let's find someone who can play the harp 393 00:17:44,770 --> 00:17:45,250 really well. 394 00:17:46,290 --> 00:17:49,610 Actually, in this time and even back in ancient times, there 395 00:17:49,610 --> 00:17:52,210 was a connection between music and spirits. 396 00:17:52,210 --> 00:17:55,450 And so they thought maybe good music could bring good spirits to 397 00:17:55,450 --> 00:17:58,530 this leader and therefore he'll be back to who he was before. 398 00:17:59,090 --> 00:18:01,810 So let's see what verse number 17 says. 399 00:18:02,370 --> 00:18:05,610 Says, and Saul said unto his servants, provide me now a man that 400 00:18:05,610 --> 00:18:07,570 can play well and bring him to me. 401 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:09,320 So Saul agrees to this. 402 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:14,000 Certainly there is hope for him, at least in his mind, to think 403 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,320 that if someone can come in, maybe they can make my life a little 404 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:16,760 bit better. 405 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:18,240 And so there is that. 406 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,880 And then we see in verse 18, then answer 1 of the servants and 407 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:26,960 said, behold, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehem, Bethlehemite, 408 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:28,600 which we know that's David. 409 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,920 And I see here something really interesting because in the 410 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:37,840 midst of Saul's distress is going to allow for God to bring in 411 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:42,760 David to the, to the throne right in front of Saul and allow 412 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,680 David to be developed even in the midst of Saul's distress. 413 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:49,920 So this shows just the power and the sovereignty and the planning 414 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:56,480 of God because in the midst of Saul's personal distress, God uses 415 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:01,240 this as an avenue to get David closer to leadership, closer to understand 416 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,480 what's going on in the kingdom, closer to Saul, and eventually 417 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:07,760 preparing him to be the leader that God wants him to be. 418 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,040 So we see that there's a description of David here that he's 419 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:15,200 a cunning and playing, which means he's a good, he's a good musician 420 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:16,720 and a mighty valiant man. 421 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:18,520 And that's an understatement. 422 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,200 David was super valiant even as a young man. 423 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:25,600 We know that he's going to kill Goliath in a couple verses later 424 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:28,600 on in chapter 17, but we know that he's done a lot more before 425 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:29,120 that time. 426 00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:32,290 He's killed wildlife that is attacking his sheep and it says he's 427 00:19:32,290 --> 00:19:34,410 a man of war and prudent in matters. 428 00:19:35,130 --> 00:19:39,210 And that, that, that literally means that he, he is mature in his 429 00:19:39,210 --> 00:19:41,450 speech, he, he knows how to talk. 430 00:19:42,090 --> 00:19:45,290 And, and so that obviously played a huge role in calming Saul 431 00:19:45,290 --> 00:19:45,610 down. 432 00:19:45,610 --> 00:19:46,650 And a comely person. 433 00:19:46,650 --> 00:19:49,050 He's good looking and the Lord is with him. 434 00:19:49,130 --> 00:19:51,610 And so after all that description, we really see the most 435 00:19:51,610 --> 00:19:54,250 important thing about David is that the Lord was with him. 436 00:19:55,050 --> 00:19:57,930 And I think that that's something that we all should strive 437 00:19:57,930 --> 00:19:59,530 to have as a way of testimony. 438 00:20:00,190 --> 00:20:03,830 The people around us, whether they know us or not, there should 439 00:20:03,830 --> 00:20:07,590 be a level of indication that there is something different about 440 00:20:07,590 --> 00:20:08,990 us, that the Lord is with us. 441 00:20:09,630 --> 00:20:13,390 If you go back to many of the Old Testament stories and the New, 442 00:20:13,630 --> 00:20:16,790 one of the deciding factors of someone's blessing in their life 443 00:20:16,790 --> 00:20:19,870 was that God would always say that I am with you. 444 00:20:20,030 --> 00:20:21,310 Think about Joshua. 445 00:20:21,550 --> 00:20:24,790 Very early on in Joshua, chapter one, the Lord says, I am 446 00:20:24,790 --> 00:20:25,310 with you. 447 00:20:25,820 --> 00:20:27,020 Withersoever thou goest. 448 00:20:27,020 --> 00:20:28,260 That's a big King James word. 449 00:20:28,260 --> 00:20:31,020 Whithersoever, wherever you go, I'm with you. 450 00:20:31,180 --> 00:20:34,700 And that was the way that God was giving the Strength to Joshua 451 00:20:34,700 --> 00:20:35,500 saying, I'm with you. 452 00:20:35,500 --> 00:20:37,100 The presence of God is with you. 453 00:20:37,660 --> 00:20:39,940 If you think you can think about it from other perspective, 454 00:20:39,940 --> 00:20:42,220 like even in the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 13. 455 00:20:42,860 --> 00:20:46,140 Hebrews chapter 13 says that he's never going to leave us nor 456 00:20:46,140 --> 00:20:46,740 forsake us. 457 00:20:46,740 --> 00:20:51,340 And so one of the ways that God comforts us in the midst of possible 458 00:20:51,580 --> 00:20:55,310 turmoil is reminding us of his presence in our life. 459 00:20:56,110 --> 00:20:57,310 One of the things that. 460 00:20:57,710 --> 00:21:01,430 I have my parents here, here this week, and one of the things 461 00:21:01,430 --> 00:21:04,070 that I always go back to is remembering times in my life where 462 00:21:04,070 --> 00:21:06,430 I dealt with fear about doing something. 463 00:21:06,510 --> 00:21:10,150 But if my dad was with me, I was good, because my dad was. 464 00:21:10,150 --> 00:21:12,030 He was going to be the one that protected me. 465 00:21:12,110 --> 00:21:15,710 It was his presence of being there that allowed me to understand 466 00:21:15,710 --> 00:21:16,990 that it's going to be okay. 467 00:21:17,390 --> 00:21:19,040 Now in my mind, in my. 468 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:19,280 As. 469 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:21,880 As a child, I thought my dad was like, he's the strongest guy 470 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:22,200 in the world. 471 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:23,240 No one could stop him. 472 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,400 And as we get older, we start to realize that, hey, maybe I had 473 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:28,280 false sense of assurance to some degree, right? 474 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:29,720 I thought my dad could beat up. 475 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:30,720 I could tell you a story. 476 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:31,120 There was a. 477 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:32,120 There was an interesting story. 478 00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:34,319 I won't tell it to you, but if you want to know about another story. 479 00:21:34,319 --> 00:21:36,960 One time we ran into a wrestler. 480 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,920 One time, you guys know wrestling, the professional wrestler. 481 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:41,200 We ran into a professional wrestler. 482 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:42,120 And there was a whole story there. 483 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:43,560 But I'll say that for another time. 484 00:21:44,030 --> 00:21:45,830 I don't want to embarrass my dad, but there was a. 485 00:21:45,830 --> 00:21:46,910 There was a whole thing with that. 486 00:21:46,910 --> 00:21:47,230 But. 487 00:21:47,230 --> 00:21:50,910 But the whole point that I want to talk about here is sometimes 488 00:21:50,910 --> 00:21:55,670 as a human being, we always are comforted by the presence of 489 00:21:55,670 --> 00:21:58,990 someone who we trust or the presence of someone stronger than 490 00:21:58,990 --> 00:22:02,030 us, or the presence of someone maybe wiser than us. 491 00:22:02,590 --> 00:22:05,430 And so when we come to situations in our life and we get 492 00:22:05,430 --> 00:22:09,870 to a place where there's possible levels of distress, and 493 00:22:09,870 --> 00:22:13,190 for Saul, there was a lot of factors that led to his distress. 494 00:22:13,350 --> 00:22:16,790 But for us, I don't know what your particular factor of distress 495 00:22:16,790 --> 00:22:19,430 is, but all of us come to those places of spiritual distress. 496 00:22:19,830 --> 00:22:21,830 Really, what it should be is this. 497 00:22:21,910 --> 00:22:23,150 I don't need a David. 498 00:22:23,150 --> 00:22:25,590 I need the one who David is yielding to. 499 00:22:25,750 --> 00:22:29,030 I need the one that David is submitting to in his life. 500 00:22:29,430 --> 00:22:34,870 And so for Saul, yes, David was a helper to institute this understanding 501 00:22:34,870 --> 00:22:35,750 of God's presence. 502 00:22:35,750 --> 00:22:37,110 But really, it was a. 503 00:22:37,110 --> 00:22:38,070 It was a misdirect. 504 00:22:38,070 --> 00:22:38,510 It was. 505 00:22:38,510 --> 00:22:39,310 It was not enough. 506 00:22:39,310 --> 00:22:42,150 And so for us, the way that this would look, is like this. 507 00:22:43,670 --> 00:22:46,110 Someone in the church is going through a spiritual stress and they 508 00:22:46,110 --> 00:22:48,150 say, hey, I, I need the pastor with me. 509 00:22:48,310 --> 00:22:51,190 And the pastor can bring prayer, the pastor can bring support. 510 00:22:51,590 --> 00:22:54,470 But the, a, a, a true pastor should say this. 511 00:22:54,550 --> 00:22:57,830 Look, I'll help you, but the best thing is for you to understand 512 00:22:57,990 --> 00:23:00,950 that you can go to God and find that peace that passeth all, 513 00:23:00,950 --> 00:23:04,120 understanding that you can go to God and find that spiritual discernment 514 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:06,080 that you can be fed from the word of God. 515 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,920 You know, the classic analogy is that I could, I could catch a 516 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:11,920 fish for you and cook it for you, and you could eat it and you 517 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,360 can have a great meal and maybe, maybe if you like fish, if 518 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:17,120 you don't like fish, I'll think of something else. 519 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:20,360 But anyway, I could present a meal for you and you could eat it 520 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:21,920 one time and go, man, that's really good. 521 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,440 But if I don't teach you how to do that, you're not able to replicate 522 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:27,920 that over and over and over again. 523 00:23:28,180 --> 00:23:31,620 So that means you're limited in your understanding of who God 524 00:23:31,620 --> 00:23:32,340 is in your life. 525 00:23:32,740 --> 00:23:37,580 And so really, for a role of someone who is a leader or a Christian 526 00:23:37,580 --> 00:23:41,740 in general, there should be that desire to pass it on to the 527 00:23:41,740 --> 00:23:44,700 next generation or to pass it on to fellow believers. 528 00:23:44,700 --> 00:23:48,420 Because for me and my desire is not that you only get content 529 00:23:48,420 --> 00:23:51,660 from Pastor Josh, but that you're able to see the word of God 530 00:23:51,660 --> 00:23:54,580 and dine for yourself and the goodness and the word of God. 531 00:23:54,830 --> 00:23:58,030 And so that it is the bread of life that sustains over and over 532 00:23:58,030 --> 00:23:58,630 and over again. 533 00:23:58,630 --> 00:24:01,630 It is the living water that satisfies us in every degree. 534 00:24:01,630 --> 00:24:06,950 So we go back to verse number 18 and we see that the defining attribute 535 00:24:06,950 --> 00:24:10,510 of David was, it says there that the Lord was with him. 536 00:24:10,829 --> 00:24:13,070 The presence of God was the difference. 537 00:24:13,630 --> 00:24:15,710 And for all of us as Christians, it's really that. 538 00:24:15,950 --> 00:24:16,310 It's. 539 00:24:16,310 --> 00:24:19,030 If we're believers in Jesus Christ, the presence of God is with 540 00:24:19,030 --> 00:24:19,310 us. 541 00:24:19,310 --> 00:24:22,070 But it's the discernment and the understanding that God is with 542 00:24:22,070 --> 00:24:25,440 me and then that giving me the comfort instead of me looking to 543 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:26,160 something else. 544 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,160 I need God plus this. 545 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:28,960 It's. 546 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,920 I need God and God alone to get me to that next thing in my life 547 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:33,920 or get me through what I'm going through right now. 548 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:36,320 Let me just tell you this by way of experience. 549 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:41,200 God does not always remove us from the storms of life and anxiety 550 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:43,600 and in fear and in distresses. 551 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:45,760 I mean, that's going to happen because of. 552 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:47,040 We live in a dark world. 553 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:49,690 We live in situations that will cause us to. 554 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,200 To get to a place in our humanity, need to reach the end of 555 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,520 our rope, to reach the end of our wisdom, to reach the end of our 556 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:56,760 strength, to say, you know what? 557 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:57,680 I can't do anymore. 558 00:24:57,920 --> 00:24:58,880 I'm overwhelmed. 559 00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:00,160 I can't handle this. 560 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,040 And that's going to cause, in the human sense, inner turmoil. 561 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,200 But the way to deal with that is to say, lord, I'm going to give 562 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,760 it over to you, the One who is holy, the One who is all knowing, 563 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:11,200 the One who's all powerful. 564 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:13,240 And you're going to take me through this again. 565 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:18,230 The greatest example of this in physical sense that we can apply 566 00:25:18,230 --> 00:25:22,070 to the spiritual is when Jesus is on one side of the Sea of Galilee 567 00:25:22,390 --> 00:25:25,110 and he says, hey, guys, we're going to go to the other side. 568 00:25:25,830 --> 00:25:27,270 And they're like, okay, great. 569 00:25:27,670 --> 00:25:28,870 And that should be enough. 570 00:25:28,870 --> 00:25:31,710 Because they should have trusted that if Jesus said that this 571 00:25:31,710 --> 00:25:34,630 is the word and this is what we're doing, we're going to the other 572 00:25:34,630 --> 00:25:34,950 side. 573 00:25:35,110 --> 00:25:36,350 But you know the story. 574 00:25:36,350 --> 00:25:39,350 They get out in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, the storms start 575 00:25:39,350 --> 00:25:39,750 coming in. 576 00:25:39,750 --> 00:25:41,510 Jesus is in the back of the boat sleeping. 577 00:25:41,590 --> 00:25:41,770 Go. 578 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:43,200 By the way, it wasn't a huge ship. 579 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,600 Some of you that have seen the replica of some of the boats that 580 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,120 would have been around back at that time frame, it was a small boat. 581 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:51,640 I mean, I've been out on the water a lot and have been in a lot 582 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:55,600 of bad seas, but I would be scared if I was in a small boat like 583 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:56,880 that and the seas were raging. 584 00:25:57,120 --> 00:26:00,000 But instead of trusting in what Jesus had to say and say, you 585 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:00,200 know what? 586 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:01,840 Jesus is going to be with us through the storm. 587 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:02,800 They doubted. 588 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,520 And eventually Jesus called them out and said, oh, ye of little 589 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:07,930 faith, how did you not believe that we were going to get to the 590 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:08,560 other side? 591 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:10,080 And that's the same thing for us. 592 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:13,680 God doesn't always, like, calm the sea right away. 593 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,640 Sometimes he allows us to go through the trial so that we can 594 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,800 exercise our faith and trust in him. 595 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,000 So for David, it was a matter that God was with him. 596 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,920 For Saul, it was a matter that he is far away from God. 597 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:29,600 So let's look at the culmination of this, this text here. 598 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:30,160 Verse 19. 599 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,460 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse and said, send me the 600 00:26:33,530 --> 00:26:35,850 David thy son, which is with the sheep. 601 00:26:36,730 --> 00:26:39,850 And so we, we know that they're referring to David here. 602 00:26:39,930 --> 00:26:41,010 David's out with the sheep. 603 00:26:41,010 --> 00:26:44,570 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread and a bottle of wine and 604 00:26:44,570 --> 00:26:47,770 a kid and sent them by David, his son unto Saul. 605 00:26:47,770 --> 00:26:49,090 So he gives them the supplies. 606 00:26:49,090 --> 00:26:50,050 He says, go to Saul. 607 00:26:50,050 --> 00:26:53,010 And David comes to Saul and stood before him, and he loved him 608 00:26:53,010 --> 00:26:55,330 greatly, and he became his armor bearer. 609 00:26:55,330 --> 00:26:58,250 So what we see here is because of David's testimony and because 610 00:26:58,250 --> 00:27:03,380 of the way that he ministers to Saul, he sees a lot of favor. 611 00:27:03,380 --> 00:27:03,620 He. 612 00:27:03,620 --> 00:27:06,540 He's allowed to be there with the king and actually becomes his 613 00:27:06,540 --> 00:27:07,460 armor bearer. 614 00:27:07,700 --> 00:27:11,460 And so this is a really unique opportunity for David to prepare 615 00:27:11,460 --> 00:27:11,780 him. 616 00:27:11,940 --> 00:27:16,820 And so this solution that's suggested to Saul actually becomes 617 00:27:16,820 --> 00:27:20,100 a blessing to Saul, even though it's not a sustaining relief. 618 00:27:20,340 --> 00:27:23,660 We basically see that David comes and he does minister to Saul. 619 00:27:23,660 --> 00:27:27,690 And this opposite, this gives us an opportunity to see how we can 620 00:27:27,690 --> 00:27:30,450 minister to people who are in spiritual distress as well around 621 00:27:30,450 --> 00:27:30,810 us. 622 00:27:31,450 --> 00:27:33,770 David comes and he ministers to Saul. 623 00:27:34,090 --> 00:27:38,410 So it's not just about us and, like, finding comfort from God, but 624 00:27:38,410 --> 00:27:41,650 it's also as we find comfort from God that we're to turn and give 625 00:27:41,650 --> 00:27:42,570 comfort to other people. 626 00:27:42,650 --> 00:27:47,170 A verse that I'm reminded of when I talk about that is in 2 Corinthians 627 00:27:47,170 --> 00:27:47,450 or. 628 00:27:47,450 --> 00:27:48,890 Yes, 2 Corinthians, chapter one. 629 00:27:49,530 --> 00:27:51,210 2 Corinthians, chapter one. 630 00:27:52,330 --> 00:27:55,410 I want you to see this because a lot of times in our selfishness 631 00:27:55,410 --> 00:27:58,970 of our spirituality, in the selfishness of our Christian walk, 632 00:27:59,050 --> 00:28:00,490 we think it's all about us. 633 00:28:00,490 --> 00:28:01,690 And I can understand that. 634 00:28:02,490 --> 00:28:06,610 But the idea would be that, yes, God does comfort us, but there's 635 00:28:06,610 --> 00:28:08,290 always a purpose to that comfort. 636 00:28:08,290 --> 00:28:12,610 And so in Second Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 3, it gives one 637 00:28:12,610 --> 00:28:14,850 of my favorite titles of our Lord. 638 00:28:14,850 --> 00:28:18,870 It says, best, blessed be God, even the Father, our Father, of our 639 00:28:18,870 --> 00:28:20,670 Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies. 640 00:28:20,670 --> 00:28:21,150 And here it is. 641 00:28:21,150 --> 00:28:22,470 And the God of all comfort. 642 00:28:24,070 --> 00:28:27,870 Folks, I'm going to tell you that there's nothing too far that 643 00:28:27,870 --> 00:28:30,390 we have gone through in our life that God can bring us back to 644 00:28:30,390 --> 00:28:32,310 in the sense of the comfort that he brings to us. 645 00:28:32,390 --> 00:28:33,750 That's a staining comfort. 646 00:28:34,390 --> 00:28:36,550 There's nothing too big for him. 647 00:28:36,550 --> 00:28:38,470 There's nothing too complex for Him. 648 00:28:38,550 --> 00:28:41,870 There's nothing too powerful for him to bring that comfort into 649 00:28:41,870 --> 00:28:42,310 our lives. 650 00:28:42,310 --> 00:28:44,950 And so it says he is the God of all comforts. 651 00:28:45,450 --> 00:28:49,770 But then verse four says, who comforteth us in all our tribulation. 652 00:28:50,890 --> 00:28:55,050 So though God doesn't always bring the evil and struggles into 653 00:28:55,050 --> 00:28:59,370 our life, or maybe there's just a sense of God allowing things, 654 00:28:59,530 --> 00:29:02,210 but even so, when we're going through all these tribulations, it 655 00:29:02,210 --> 00:29:05,850 says he will comfort us, that we may be able to comfort them. 656 00:29:06,730 --> 00:29:10,250 Which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves 657 00:29:10,250 --> 00:29:11,290 are comforted of God. 658 00:29:11,420 --> 00:29:12,700 I hope you understand what that's saying. 659 00:29:12,700 --> 00:29:13,500 It's saying this. 660 00:29:14,220 --> 00:29:17,740 God is there for us, to comfort us in the midst of our distresses 661 00:29:18,140 --> 00:29:21,140 so that when we see his presence in our life and he gives 662 00:29:21,140 --> 00:29:26,220 us that comfort, we're to show other people in the midst of their 663 00:29:26,220 --> 00:29:29,420 struggles the very same comfort that God has given us and 664 00:29:29,420 --> 00:29:31,660 so that they can experience that type of comfort. 665 00:29:32,380 --> 00:29:35,740 And that's, that's the whole purpose of God's comfort in our life, 666 00:29:35,740 --> 00:29:39,140 is so that we can rest in that comfort and so that we can give that 667 00:29:39,140 --> 00:29:41,960 comfort to others and by pointing them to the same Lord that 668 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:43,520 has given us that comfort. 669 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:44,880 So let me tell you this. 670 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:49,360 Sometimes the comfort is not because the circumstances have ceased. 671 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:51,280 What do I mean by that? 672 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,600 Sometimes we think that, well, God's comfort means he's taking away 673 00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:57,200 the problem. 674 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:00,640 But that's not always how the comfort comes. 675 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:02,320 Sometimes it is. 676 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:04,560 Sometimes God removes that problem. 677 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:06,960 Sometimes God heals that sickness. 678 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:11,720 Sometimes God takes you and gets you to that place of what we 679 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:13,200 would consider spiritual victory. 680 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:15,840 But let me tell you that the spiritual victory is not just by 681 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:17,840 having the circumstances removed. 682 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:19,160 Because there's a. 683 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:23,439 Another passage in Second Corinthians later on that many of 684 00:30:23,439 --> 00:30:24,080 you are familiar with. 685 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:25,440 Second Corinthians, chapter nine. 686 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:30,880 And, and Paul is coming to a place in his life where he is saying 687 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:33,000 that he is having some serious struggles. 688 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,950 Now, we don't know all of the serious struggles that he was going 689 00:30:36,950 --> 00:30:39,990 through, but we do know that some degree he was having a huge 690 00:30:39,990 --> 00:30:40,230 issue. 691 00:30:40,230 --> 00:30:41,550 And it says a thorn in his flesh. 692 00:30:41,550 --> 00:30:42,910 Actually, Second Corinthians, chapter 12. 693 00:30:42,910 --> 00:30:43,990 I apologize for that. 694 00:30:44,310 --> 00:30:45,790 Second Corinthians, chapter 12. 695 00:30:45,790 --> 00:30:50,710 And then in verse nine, he hears something so amazing, says 696 00:30:50,710 --> 00:30:54,310 that in actually verse 7, it says that it was a messenger of Satan 697 00:30:54,310 --> 00:30:56,070 to buffet him or beat him. 698 00:30:57,110 --> 00:31:01,510 So whether it was a literal messenger of Satan that was beating 699 00:31:01,510 --> 00:31:05,730 him physically or a spiritual struggle that was happening behind 700 00:31:05,730 --> 00:31:09,250 the scenes, nevertheless, he says, it was a thorn in my flesh. 701 00:31:10,130 --> 00:31:14,170 And then he says, for this thing I besought the Lord three times 702 00:31:14,170 --> 00:31:16,090 thrice that it might depart me. 703 00:31:16,090 --> 00:31:19,490 So Paul's not saying it's wrong to ask God to remove the things 704 00:31:19,490 --> 00:31:23,410 from our life, but he is saying, don't expect it to always 705 00:31:23,410 --> 00:31:25,330 happen the way that you're expecting it to happen. 706 00:31:26,130 --> 00:31:29,990 So, so, for example, someone might say, lord, take this away from 707 00:31:29,990 --> 00:31:30,310 me. 708 00:31:31,030 --> 00:31:33,630 And God might not take it away, but that doesn't mean that 709 00:31:33,630 --> 00:31:34,750 he's giving you A no. 710 00:31:34,750 --> 00:31:37,070 And it doesn't even mean that he's not giving you comfort. 711 00:31:37,070 --> 00:31:38,710 What it means is this, verse 9. 712 00:31:38,710 --> 00:31:41,670 And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee. 713 00:31:43,190 --> 00:31:46,470 My grace is enough for my strength. 714 00:31:46,470 --> 00:31:51,190 This is now God speaking, for my strength is made perfect in weakness 715 00:31:51,750 --> 00:31:52,150 most. 716 00:31:52,230 --> 00:31:56,230 Then Paul says, most gladly, therefore will I glory in my infirmities, 717 00:31:56,230 --> 00:31:58,700 that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 718 00:31:59,260 --> 00:32:00,460 So the idea would be this. 719 00:32:00,620 --> 00:32:02,540 Sometimes God takes away the struggle. 720 00:32:03,500 --> 00:32:07,020 Sometimes God just reminds us that his grace is enough, it's sufficient. 721 00:32:07,020 --> 00:32:09,660 And we go through the struggle with his grace in our life. 722 00:32:09,740 --> 00:32:13,500 But either way, we get to see God's powerful hand on us, whether 723 00:32:13,500 --> 00:32:16,980 it's through him removing the circumstances or him allowing us 724 00:32:16,980 --> 00:32:18,380 to continue in those circumstances. 725 00:32:18,380 --> 00:32:21,340 And he says, I'm with you through it, and it's my power that's 726 00:32:21,340 --> 00:32:22,090 resting upon you. 727 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:24,160 And it's not your power anymore. 728 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:26,680 It's really to show how powerful God is, that he can get 729 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:27,440 us through these things. 730 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:32,520 So we go back to First Samuel, Chapter 16, and we see that David 731 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:37,640 was that one who imparted the comfort of God upon Saul because 732 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:39,440 of the comfort that he did experienced. 733 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:42,400 No doubt, David probably went through struggles in his life. 734 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:43,920 Read some of the Psalms. 735 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,440 Later on in David's life, he had inner turmoil. 736 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:50,970 But yet at the same time, the difference between Saul's turmoil 737 00:32:50,970 --> 00:32:54,170 and David's turmoil is that Saul's turmoil is faced in his own 738 00:32:54,170 --> 00:32:54,690 strength. 739 00:32:54,770 --> 00:32:57,090 David's turmoil was faced in the strength of God. 740 00:32:57,090 --> 00:32:59,490 Therefore, David was able to see the victory. 741 00:32:59,730 --> 00:33:02,410 He was able to quote, actually, not just quote. 742 00:33:02,410 --> 00:33:05,090 He was the one that penned through the inspiration of God, Psalm 743 00:33:05,090 --> 00:33:06,290 23, that. 744 00:33:06,290 --> 00:33:07,570 That tells us all about this. 745 00:33:07,570 --> 00:33:09,890 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I 746 00:33:09,890 --> 00:33:10,730 will fear no evil. 747 00:33:10,730 --> 00:33:11,090 Why? 748 00:33:11,330 --> 00:33:11,770 Because he. 749 00:33:11,770 --> 00:33:12,770 Because God is with him. 750 00:33:12,770 --> 00:33:14,530 Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. 751 00:33:15,940 --> 00:33:17,140 And so the idea would be this. 752 00:33:17,140 --> 00:33:20,500 There's this whole differentiation between David and 753 00:33:20,500 --> 00:33:20,980 Saul. 754 00:33:21,140 --> 00:33:24,460 David was able to comfort because he had the true source of 755 00:33:24,460 --> 00:33:26,420 comfort, and that was a relationship with God. 756 00:33:26,660 --> 00:33:28,620 And so verse 22. 757 00:33:28,620 --> 00:33:31,460 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, let David, I pray thee, stand 758 00:33:31,460 --> 00:33:34,980 before me, for he hath found favor in my sight. 759 00:33:35,700 --> 00:33:39,220 And so again, this opens the door for more of David's development 760 00:33:39,460 --> 00:33:41,940 as a leader and as a man of God. 761 00:33:42,140 --> 00:33:42,740 Verse 23. 762 00:33:42,740 --> 00:33:47,020 And it came to pass when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul. 763 00:33:47,260 --> 00:33:49,500 So what we see is that this is a repeated thing. 764 00:33:50,060 --> 00:33:51,460 It's not like it was wiped away. 765 00:33:51,460 --> 00:33:55,700 It means that this comes back onto Saul's life that David took 766 00:33:55,700 --> 00:33:56,380 A harp. 767 00:33:57,020 --> 00:34:00,460 Now don't think of it typically, probably wasn't one of 768 00:34:00,460 --> 00:34:02,540 these huge harps that you see in an orchestra. 769 00:34:03,260 --> 00:34:04,700 Probably was something called a liar. 770 00:34:04,700 --> 00:34:06,860 It was more of like a little mini guitar. 771 00:34:07,420 --> 00:34:09,100 There's some replicas you can look up online. 772 00:34:09,100 --> 00:34:09,900 But think about that. 773 00:34:09,900 --> 00:34:12,580 So it would have been an instrument that David was playing. 774 00:34:12,580 --> 00:34:15,420 Nonetheless, it says that he would take his harp and played with 775 00:34:15,420 --> 00:34:15,980 his hand. 776 00:34:16,140 --> 00:34:19,700 So Saul was refreshed and was well and the evil spirit departed 777 00:34:19,700 --> 00:34:20,220 from him. 778 00:34:21,020 --> 00:34:23,780 So some people read that passage and say, great, so I just 779 00:34:23,780 --> 00:34:26,020 need a David in my life to come along and play the guitar for 780 00:34:26,020 --> 00:34:27,740 me when I'm going through struggles. 781 00:34:27,820 --> 00:34:30,620 But I think that the deeper element of this is that Saul is looking 782 00:34:30,620 --> 00:34:33,980 for temporary relief where really God is the only one who can 783 00:34:33,980 --> 00:34:35,260 bring sustaining relief. 784 00:34:36,069 --> 00:34:39,509 And so if you could break down this chapter into three thoughts, 785 00:34:39,509 --> 00:34:43,749 you could break it down to Saul's source of spiritual distress. 786 00:34:44,069 --> 00:34:47,189 Then you could look at God's hand in David's development and then 787 00:34:47,189 --> 00:34:49,989 you could conclude the passage with temporary relief. 788 00:34:50,389 --> 00:34:53,749 And, and then we go on to see, you know, multiple times in which 789 00:34:53,749 --> 00:34:58,629 Saul, let's say it this way, Saul was not fixed. 790 00:34:59,029 --> 00:35:02,570 If you continue on in First Samuel, you're going to see that 791 00:35:02,890 --> 00:35:05,250 Saul continues to get worse and worse with this. 792 00:35:05,250 --> 00:35:08,690 And then eventually, when he realized who David is and he realizes 793 00:35:08,690 --> 00:35:12,250 God's plan, he fights harder against God's plan, which again shows 794 00:35:12,250 --> 00:35:15,130 the hard heartedness of Saul and his rebellion to the Lord. 795 00:35:15,130 --> 00:35:18,370 So we're going to come to the end of this passage and this is going 796 00:35:18,370 --> 00:35:22,450 to be a good break for us because when I'm going to be gone 797 00:35:22,450 --> 00:35:25,050 for two Wednesdays, but when I come back, we're going to talk about 798 00:35:25,050 --> 00:35:28,170 that classic passage of First Samuel, chapter 17. 799 00:35:28,700 --> 00:35:32,900 And that's the, the David on the battlefield over the valley of 800 00:35:32,900 --> 00:35:33,500 Elah. 801 00:35:33,900 --> 00:35:37,700 And I, when we went to Israel, Elisha and I went to Israel, we had 802 00:35:37,700 --> 00:35:39,500 a chance to go to the valley of Elah. 803 00:35:39,740 --> 00:35:42,780 And actually we went to the valley before he went to the valley. 804 00:35:42,780 --> 00:35:45,180 We went up on the mountainside that the Israelites would have been 805 00:35:45,180 --> 00:35:48,140 on looking over to the, the Philistine side. 806 00:35:48,140 --> 00:35:51,140 And it was just a really interesting time to kind of frame 807 00:35:51,140 --> 00:35:51,820 that all together. 808 00:35:52,540 --> 00:35:55,020 And it was a blessing because we got to go down into the valley 809 00:35:55,710 --> 00:35:58,750 and they're like, all right, it's time to pick your, your stones, 810 00:35:58,750 --> 00:36:00,270 you know, your five smooth stones. 811 00:36:00,510 --> 00:36:04,070 And by we went in the time of the year where it wasn't the rainy 812 00:36:04,070 --> 00:36:05,350 season, so it's all dried up. 813 00:36:05,350 --> 00:36:07,790 So it actually was beneficial to us so we could actually find a 814 00:36:07,790 --> 00:36:08,510 lot more stones. 815 00:36:09,070 --> 00:36:11,950 So I always tell people, you know, if you ever go to Israel, I've 816 00:36:11,950 --> 00:36:13,190 got good news and bad news for you. 817 00:36:13,190 --> 00:36:17,150 You can actually go and pick up a stone, a smooth stone, in the 818 00:36:17,390 --> 00:36:18,510 Valley of Elah. 819 00:36:19,230 --> 00:36:21,510 The bad news is, is you're not going to get the one that killed 820 00:36:21,510 --> 00:36:23,230 Goliath, because I already grabbed that one. 821 00:36:23,540 --> 00:36:24,060 I got that one. 822 00:36:24,060 --> 00:36:25,780 It's in my house if you want to see that. 823 00:36:25,780 --> 00:36:27,380 I'll bring it in two weeks. 824 00:36:28,580 --> 00:36:29,700 I don't think I have it. 825 00:36:29,700 --> 00:36:30,020 But. 826 00:36:31,380 --> 00:36:34,100 But anyway, long and the short of it, all of this is this. 827 00:36:34,500 --> 00:36:38,140 I I what we can take with us as a lesson here this evening is 828 00:36:38,140 --> 00:36:41,780 that Saul was a man that was characterized by his distress. 829 00:36:42,820 --> 00:36:46,860 Saul and David both had instances in their life that they 830 00:36:46,860 --> 00:36:49,220 could look to as distressful moments. 831 00:36:50,710 --> 00:36:55,750 But for a person who is walking with the Lord, our life cannot 832 00:36:55,750 --> 00:36:58,470 be defined by the distresses. 833 00:36:58,710 --> 00:37:01,950 Our life is defined by our relationship with the one who is 834 00:37:01,950 --> 00:37:02,470 with us. 835 00:37:02,790 --> 00:37:06,350 And therefore, I want to talk to you here this evening about that. 836 00:37:06,350 --> 00:37:09,270 Because I think a lot of times there are certain Christians that 837 00:37:09,270 --> 00:37:11,750 might get up and say, just pretend like everything's okay. 838 00:37:12,310 --> 00:37:15,150 Or maybe some people see a joyful Christian all the time and 839 00:37:15,150 --> 00:37:17,990 go, well, am I weird because I go through hard times? 840 00:37:18,310 --> 00:37:21,990 Am I weird because I have inner turmoil and I have thoughts 841 00:37:21,990 --> 00:37:23,590 and I have anxieties? 842 00:37:23,990 --> 00:37:27,470 Well, the reality is, is that look at every single Bible character 843 00:37:27,470 --> 00:37:28,630 that stood up for the Lord. 844 00:37:28,710 --> 00:37:31,030 Every one of them had struggles and problems. 845 00:37:31,589 --> 00:37:35,510 And so being a good Christian is not being void of any problems 846 00:37:35,510 --> 00:37:36,150 in our life. 847 00:37:36,470 --> 00:37:37,750 It's actually, it's, it's. 848 00:37:37,750 --> 00:37:39,110 It's not a reality. 849 00:37:39,750 --> 00:37:43,630 What being a solid biblical Christian is, is just trusting in 850 00:37:43,630 --> 00:37:46,740 the Lord in the midst of those anxieties and giving it over to him 851 00:37:46,740 --> 00:37:48,540 and saying, lord, I don't know how I'm going to get out of this. 852 00:37:48,540 --> 00:37:52,100 But as Paul said, look, I can't do this. 853 00:37:52,180 --> 00:37:53,340 I'm at the end of my rope. 854 00:37:53,340 --> 00:37:53,980 Lord, help me. 855 00:37:53,980 --> 00:37:56,500 And then what we're reminded with is this and what I believe. 856 00:37:56,500 --> 00:38:00,300 The same principle is with David and, and many others is God's 857 00:38:00,300 --> 00:38:01,460 grace is sufficient. 858 00:38:01,940 --> 00:38:03,620 What God gives me is enough. 859 00:38:04,500 --> 00:38:07,540 Everything that I have actually is more than I deserve. 860 00:38:08,580 --> 00:38:10,980 There's a, there's people that I hear say this. 861 00:38:10,980 --> 00:38:13,230 I think there's probably a famous guy. 862 00:38:13,230 --> 00:38:14,310 I think it's Dave Ramsey. 863 00:38:14,310 --> 00:38:17,110 But other people say it too, is when people ask you, how you doing? 864 00:38:17,110 --> 00:38:18,430 You say, better than I deserve. 865 00:38:18,430 --> 00:38:19,310 And I like that. 866 00:38:19,310 --> 00:38:19,550 Idea. 867 00:38:19,550 --> 00:38:20,310 I think that's true. 868 00:38:20,310 --> 00:38:23,150 I think the truth is, is that no matter how we are, it's better 869 00:38:23,150 --> 00:38:24,070 than we deserve. 870 00:38:24,310 --> 00:38:27,230 And I think as Christians, when it's that perspective, I think 871 00:38:27,230 --> 00:38:30,550 it gives us a lot more opportunity to look to him and exercise 872 00:38:30,550 --> 00:38:32,070 our faith in the midst of the struggle. 873 00:38:32,710 --> 00:38:36,350 And so I'm not here tonight to tell you to get over it. 874 00:38:36,350 --> 00:38:39,580 I'm not here tonight to tell you that you know you're wrong because 875 00:38:39,580 --> 00:38:40,940 you're going through those struggles. 876 00:38:41,020 --> 00:38:43,820 What I would tell you, though, is like, Saul, you're wrong if you're 877 00:38:43,820 --> 00:38:46,700 trying to face those struggles on your own or look to something 878 00:38:46,700 --> 00:38:50,380 like, as something basic as I need to hear this type of music played, 879 00:38:50,620 --> 00:38:54,020 or I need to take this type of substance, or I need to just have 880 00:38:54,020 --> 00:38:56,500 this type of relationship, because that's going to give me some 881 00:38:56,500 --> 00:38:58,380 sort of satisfaction or calm the. 882 00:38:58,460 --> 00:38:59,780 The problems in my mind. 883 00:38:59,780 --> 00:39:02,060 No, none of that is going to give sufficiency. 884 00:39:02,060 --> 00:39:04,060 None of that is going to give substance. 885 00:39:04,060 --> 00:39:04,360 The. 886 00:39:04,430 --> 00:39:07,030 The only thing that the Bible tells us is sufficient is the grace 887 00:39:07,030 --> 00:39:08,110 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 888 00:39:08,510 --> 00:39:12,790 And so if you're going through struggles today or tonight or tomorrow 889 00:39:12,790 --> 00:39:16,670 or whenever it is, go to him, plead with him, and he will give 890 00:39:16,670 --> 00:39:19,550 you the comfort that only he can give. 891 00:39:19,950 --> 00:39:23,310 And the Bible tells us that the peace of God. 892 00:39:23,390 --> 00:39:25,230 Philippians, chapter 4, verse 7. 893 00:39:25,550 --> 00:39:28,510 The peace of God which passeth all understanding, will rule our 894 00:39:28,510 --> 00:39:29,310 hearts and minds. 895 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:30,360 The. 896 00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:34,680 The type of peace that comes with the comfort of God is a type 897 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:36,680 of peace that cannot be understood as the world. 898 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:37,800 It says it right there. 899 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:40,520 A peace that passes all understanding. 900 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,920 The world cannot understand the type of peace that comes from 901 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:44,920 the comfort of God. 902 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:48,120 But before we have the peace of God in our life, we have to be 903 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:51,080 at peace with God, as Romans chapter five tells us. 904 00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:54,920 So the salvation comes and peace with God happens. 905 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:56,040 We're reconciled to him. 906 00:39:56,330 --> 00:39:59,010 And when we're reconciled to him, we now have the peace of God 907 00:39:59,010 --> 00:40:02,650 that we can tap into and exercise within our life as the comforter 908 00:40:02,970 --> 00:40:04,050 comes, as the Bible says. 909 00:40:04,050 --> 00:40:06,650 And so Jesus says, it actually is beneficial that I go. 910 00:40:06,810 --> 00:40:09,410 Remember, the disciples are wanting to cling onto Jesus before 911 00:40:09,410 --> 00:40:09,730 he left. 912 00:40:09,730 --> 00:40:10,850 They're like, no, you can't leave us. 913 00:40:10,850 --> 00:40:11,610 You can't leave us. 914 00:40:11,610 --> 00:40:15,450 And Jesus says, actually it's beneficial that I go. 915 00:40:15,770 --> 00:40:16,930 And we don't understand that. 916 00:40:16,930 --> 00:40:17,890 I can't understand that. 917 00:40:17,890 --> 00:40:20,650 But ultimately what he's saying is, is that there's a better 918 00:40:20,650 --> 00:40:23,860 thing than just having a physical presence. 919 00:40:23,860 --> 00:40:27,140 Because think about Peter in certain times of his earthly ministry 920 00:40:27,460 --> 00:40:28,820 was separated from Jesus. 921 00:40:29,060 --> 00:40:31,540 So there were periods of time where he wasn't physically with Jesus, 922 00:40:31,540 --> 00:40:34,660 but as Jesus ascended into heaven, as the Bible says, he sent 923 00:40:34,660 --> 00:40:36,980 the comforter, the Holy Spirit. 924 00:40:37,460 --> 00:40:40,780 Now we can have God with us at all points in our life, no matter 925 00:40:40,780 --> 00:40:41,860 who we're physically with. 926 00:40:42,340 --> 00:40:45,180 And so the reality is, is that the blessing of the Holy Spirit is 927 00:40:45,180 --> 00:40:47,060 sometimes something that we miss out on in our life. 928 00:40:47,470 --> 00:40:50,430 But we can see the differentiation in this passage between 929 00:40:50,590 --> 00:40:53,670 the Spirit that was resting upon David and when the Spirit wasn't 930 00:40:53,670 --> 00:40:54,590 resting upon Saul. 931 00:40:54,670 --> 00:40:56,350 And you see the distinct difference. 932 00:40:56,510 --> 00:41:00,790 And so many Christians are living their life like the Spirit's 933 00:41:00,790 --> 00:41:01,230 not there. 934 00:41:01,550 --> 00:41:02,710 And there is a difference. 935 00:41:02,710 --> 00:41:04,910 And this is something that we can dig into deeper later. 936 00:41:04,990 --> 00:41:07,430 But there is a difference between the indwelling of the Holy 937 00:41:07,430 --> 00:41:09,710 Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit. 938 00:41:09,950 --> 00:41:12,590 The indwelling of the Holy Spirit happens at the moment of salvation. 939 00:41:12,590 --> 00:41:15,380 We are all indwelled by the Spirit, but many Christians are not 940 00:41:15,380 --> 00:41:18,700 living filled with the Spirit, meaning guided by the Spirit and 941 00:41:18,700 --> 00:41:20,700 led by the Spirit within our lives. 942 00:41:20,700 --> 00:41:23,420 And that's something that we all can grow in in our lives is being 943 00:41:23,420 --> 00:41:27,140 more and more daily led by the Holy Spirit, by the decisions that 944 00:41:27,140 --> 00:41:27,660 we make. 945 00:41:27,740 --> 00:41:30,540 And so we can either yield to the flesh or yield to the Spirit. 946 00:41:30,620 --> 00:41:34,300 And so may we all yield to the Spirit as much as we possibly can. 947 00:41:34,460 --> 00:41:36,830 When it comes to the power of God resting in our lives, we.