1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,160 Well we’re returning today to our series entitled The Tale of Two Kings. 2 00:00:06,160 –> 00:00:10,740 Last time we saw how Saul had moved down the broad road of destruction. 3 00:00:10,740 –> 00:00:16,440 You’ll remember that this is the story about a man who was in rebellion against God. 4 00:00:16,440 –> 00:00:22,660 And as he stayed on that path, we found that sin gained a stranglehold in his life. 5 00:00:22,660 –> 00:00:29,520 We saw that sin always gains power in a person’s life over time when it goes unchecked. 6 00:00:29,600 –> 00:00:35,279 If we followed the path last time as it was in Saul, remember professional jealousy 7 00:00:35,279 –> 00:00:41,240 that began with a silly song that people were singing that compared Saul to David. 8 00:00:41,240 –> 00:00:46,459 And you know Saul has struck his thousands down but David has struck down his tens of thousands. 9 00:00:46,459 –> 00:00:48,020 And that went into Saul. 10 00:00:48,020 –> 00:00:53,439 And this impulse in Saul’s heart then becomes a pattern in his mind. 11 00:00:53,439 –> 00:00:55,220 He eyed David. 12 00:00:55,220 –> 00:00:57,099 And then that becomes a pattern of behavior. 13 00:00:57,480 –> 00:01:02,459 He ends up unimaginably just a few months earlier throwing a spear at someone he once 14 00:01:02,459 –> 00:01:04,059 said that he had loved. 15 00:01:06,059 –> 00:01:08,059 awful cycle of frustration. 16 00:01:08,059 –> 00:01:13,459 It’s a terrible story of a person who just will not stop resisting God. 17 00:01:13,459 –> 00:01:15,559 And so there was no way out for Saul. 18 00:01:15,559 –> 00:01:20,260 There isn’t any way out for the person who continues resisting God. 19 00:01:20,260 –> 00:01:23,800 So Saul is a kind of warning figure in the Bible. 20 00:01:23,800 –> 00:01:31,379 Because life’s a disaster, and it is there for a kind of signpost, a red warning sign 21 00:01:31,379 –> 00:01:35,320 that says to us this is not the way, do not walk in it. 22 00:01:35,320 –> 00:01:39,160 By the way, remember this, and it may be useful to you some time. 23 00:01:39,160 –> 00:01:47,900 There is great power and great value in a bad example as well as a good one. 24 00:01:47,900 –> 00:01:52,320 Why else would the story of Saul be in the Bible? 25 00:01:52,339 –> 00:01:56,400 Some of you may say at times you know, I’ve never really had good role models in my 26 00:01:56,400 –> 00:01:57,400 life. 27 00:01:57,400 –> 00:02:01,599 Well, remember that you can learn as much from someone who does something badly as you 28 00:02:01,599 –> 00:02:03,940 can learn from someone who does something well. 29 00:02:03,940 –> 00:02:10,179 There, of course, is a need for both, but Saul has so much to teach us from the wrong 30 00:02:10,179 –> 00:02:11,860 road that he goes down. 31 00:02:11,860 –> 00:02:18,460 We say, see what he did, see what it led, and I will determine by the grace of God 32 00:02:18,460 –> 00:02:20,660 not to go in that path myself. 33 00:02:20,800 –> 00:02:22,520 There’s tremendous value in that. 34 00:02:22,539 –> 00:02:28,220 That is why First Corinthians in chapter 10 and verse 6 says that these things, he’s referring 35 00:02:28,220 –> 00:02:33,100 to the earlier part of the Old Testament story where God’s people rebelled, he says, these 36 00:02:33,100 –> 00:02:39,259 things took place for us as examples that we might not desire evil as they did. 37 00:02:39,259 –> 00:02:43,880 So there are many things that God puts into our lives, puts into the Bible to show us 38 00:02:43,880 –> 00:02:50,619 the way we should not go, and that is a very important way for us to learn from his Word 39 00:02:50,779 –> 00:02:53,539 and through the experiences of life. 40 00:02:53,559 –> 00:02:59,460 Now this man Saul then reigned for a total of about 40 years and here’s the tragedy of 41 00:02:59,460 –> 00:03:07,720 his life, that it seems that about half of that entire time was spent with this growing 42 00:03:07,720 –> 00:03:13,500 obsession that Saul had over destroying David. 43 00:03:13,500 –> 00:03:18,500 And we’re following the story, we’ve already seen that twice he threw the spear, then he 44 00:03:18,880 –> 00:03:23,139 to Jonathan in a kind of plot against David, and of course Jonathan’s heart is already 45 00:03:23,139 –> 00:03:25,979 pledged to David, he wants nothing to do with it. 46 00:03:25,979 –> 00:03:31,979 Then Saul sends guards to David’s home, and David, you may remember is married to Saul’s 47 00:03:31,979 –> 00:03:32,979 daughter. 48 00:03:32,979 –> 00:03:34,080 She really loves him. 49 00:03:34,080 –> 00:03:40,399 And in chapter 19, just to fill in the chapters over which we’ve moved quickly, chapter 19, 50 00:03:40,399 –> 00:03:47,279 you have this wonderful story of how Michael, David’s wife lets him down from the bedroom 51 00:03:47,559 –> 00:03:49,380 window on a rope. 52 00:03:49,380 –> 00:03:54,220 And David is able to escape from Saul’s men, who are standing outside the house. 53 00:03:54,220 –> 00:03:58,660 And then Michael, with great imagination, puts some stuffing in the bed so that when 54 00:03:58,660 –> 00:04:02,460 the guards come in in the morning, they think that David’s still there lying asleep under 55 00:04:02,460 –> 00:04:03,720 the blankets. 56 00:04:03,720 –> 00:04:05,720 And so David gets time to escape. 57 00:04:05,720 –> 00:04:07,580 Marvelous, marvelous story. 58 00:04:07,580 –> 00:04:13,419 And from that moment onward, David is on the run from Saul. 59 00:04:13,419 –> 00:04:16,299 In chapter 21, he comes to a town called Nob. 60 00:04:16,299 –> 00:04:18,839 We’ll come back to that again, God willing next week. 61 00:04:18,839 –> 00:04:22,959 Then David goes to Gath, which of course was in enemy territory. 62 00:04:22,959 –> 00:04:28,440 And then today we’re picking up the story in chapter 22, where we find David now in 63 00:04:28,440 –> 00:04:29,440 a cave. 64 00:04:29,440 –> 00:04:37,079 So he’s gone from the palace to the cave and he’s in this cave of a dollum. 65 00:04:37,079 –> 00:04:38,079 Think about this. 66 00:04:38,079 –> 00:04:41,140 Just try and get the picture in your mind. 67 00:04:41,140 –> 00:04:45,559 This man is the Lord’s anointed. 68 00:04:45,559 –> 00:04:51,880 He’s the future king and he has no place to lay his head. 69 00:04:51,880 –> 00:04:56,779 Remember how Jesus said, foxes of holes, birds of the air have nests, the son of man has 70 00:04:56,779 –> 00:04:58,359 no place to lay his head. 71 00:04:58,359 –> 00:05:02,839 Well, David points us forward to Jesus in that way at this point. 72 00:05:02,940 –> 00:05:11,459 And here we find him with no particular home, but finding shelter in this very large cave. 73 00:05:11,459 –> 00:05:17,359 Some of these caves are absolutely huge in that part of the world, this cave of Adullam. 74 00:05:17,359 –> 00:05:23,480 Now, David is not alone because God is with him. 75 00:05:23,480 –> 00:05:31,320 And in these verses that we’ve read, we have the fascinating story of the people who then 76 00:05:31,399 –> 00:05:34,920 committed themselves to David. 77 00:05:34,920 –> 00:05:39,220 And so just to get the picture in your mind before we go into this story, think about 78 00:05:39,220 –> 00:05:43,980 what is happening here in the context of the big picture of the Bible story, because we’re 79 00:05:43,980 –> 00:05:47,959 not just here to learn lessons about David today. 80 00:05:47,959 –> 00:05:53,279 You have a King who has left his home. 81 00:05:53,279 –> 00:05:59,040 You have a King on whom the future hopes of all his people depend. 82 00:05:59,040 –> 00:06:05,799 You have a King who is being hunted by a tyrant who is trying to take his life. 83 00:06:05,799 –> 00:06:13,920 And this King is gathering people around him, and they see in him now the glory that one 84 00:06:13,920 –> 00:06:17,940 day everyone will see, when it is revealed. 85 00:06:17,940 –> 00:06:23,239 Now, I only need to say these things, and your mind, if you are a Christian, will very 86 00:06:23,239 –> 00:06:24,959 quickly go forward to Jesus Christ. 87 00:06:24,959 –> 00:06:33,160 And you will see how we look at the story of Jesus through the story of David today. 88 00:06:33,160 –> 00:06:39,799 Jesus was the despised King for whom there has been no room in this world. 89 00:06:39,799 –> 00:06:49,059 And He is gathering His people in anticipation of the day when His glory will be revealed. 90 00:06:49,059 –> 00:06:55,179 What I want to offer to you tonight from this passage of Scripture is very simply a fourfold 91 00:06:55,179 –> 00:06:59,980 profile, if you like, of people who come to Jesus Christ. 92 00:06:59,980 –> 00:07:05,220 And I’m taking it directly out of the story of the people who came to David, the King 93 00:07:05,220 –> 00:07:11,339 in the cave, but we’re looking through this story of David, so that we’ll see this description, 94 00:07:11,339 –> 00:07:16,500 this profile if you like of what it looks like really to be a Christian. 95 00:07:16,500 –> 00:07:20,820 What does real commitment to Jesus Christ look like? 96 00:07:20,820 –> 00:07:27,179 Well, I want to suggest to you that very clearly in the story, we have a profile of what a 97 00:07:27,179 –> 00:07:32,559 genuine commitment to Jesus Christ looks like straight out of the commitment of these people 98 00:07:32,559 –> 00:07:41,940 in the Old Testament who gathered around the despised King and put their trust in Him. 99 00:07:42,019 –> 00:07:48,959 Number one, the people who came to David and the people who come to Christ are people who 100 00:07:48,959 –> 00:07:55,640 realize how much they need Him. Notice what it says here, David departed verse 1, 101 00:07:55,640 –> 00:08:03,820 and he escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and his father’s house heard it, 102 00:08:04,660 –> 00:08:14,320 they went down there to him. Now, just pause here for a moment, here we see David’s family 103 00:08:14,320 –> 00:08:20,739 at their best. Earlier we saw them at their worst. Do you remember that? David’s father, 104 00:08:20,739 –> 00:08:28,279 Jesse, didn’t even think it was worth bothering to introduce his youngest son who he describes 105 00:08:28,279 –> 00:08:34,460 as the least. Didn’t even think it was worth introducing him to Samuel. And you remember 106 00:08:34,460 –> 00:08:40,719 from the story of Goliath that when David goes to the battlefield where Goliath is shouting 107 00:08:40,719 –> 00:08:45,539 out against the Lord’s people that David’s brothers really despise him. They don’t think 108 00:08:45,539 –> 00:08:50,520 anything of him, what are you doing here, kid brother kind of stuff is the way that 109 00:08:50,520 –> 00:08:57,520 Eliab speaks in regards to David. But having seen them at their worst, and the bible tells 110 00:08:58,479 –> 00:09:05,479 it as it is always, here we see them at their best. This time of great difficulty and great 111 00:09:06,039 –> 00:09:12,719 loneliness in David’s life, the family gathers around him. And just to draw from that, I 112 00:09:12,719 –> 00:09:19,200 have found this principle very helpful in my own life and I commend it to you. When 113 00:09:19,239 –> 00:09:26,119 people disappoint you, it is helpful to say to yourself, now this is what they are like 114 00:09:26,539 –> 00:09:33,539 at their worst. But then immediately ask God to help you to remember what they are like 115 00:09:33,619 –> 00:09:39,340 at their best. And you will find that these thoughts coming into your mind at that moment 116 00:09:39,340 –> 00:09:45,679 of disappointment will be immensely helpful to you. And here we see David’s family at 117 00:09:45,820 –> 00:09:50,940 their best, they come down to him when he is in the cave of Adullam and what a marvelous 118 00:09:50,940 –> 00:09:56,580 encouragement and blessing that must have been to David. Now having said that, it is 119 00:09:56,580 –> 00:10:02,580 also true that this was of course the only hope for the family. Because David’s family, 120 00:10:02,580 –> 00:10:09,580 known in terms of their home there in Bethlehem, would have been the most obvious of targets 121 00:10:10,580 –> 00:10:17,580 for Saul in his increasing irrational assaults against David. Remember Saul is putting everything 122 00:10:19,140 –> 00:10:25,760 into destroying David. This is becoming the whole consuming focus and passion of his life 123 00:10:25,760 –> 00:10:30,880 and David has gone into hiding. Well it is not beyond the wit of Saul to say, I know 124 00:10:30,880 –> 00:10:34,760 how to get David out of hiding. I will go get his family and I’ll take them hostage. 125 00:10:34,760 –> 00:10:38,479 That is what happens in the news today. That way, I can blackmail him. Then he will 126 00:10:38,479 –> 00:10:43,599 have to come out into open. That is exactly the sort of thing Saul would have done. 127 00:10:43,599 –> 00:10:48,880 The family are wise to this. They knew that their pously in their well known location 128 00:10:48,880 –> 00:10:55,200 in Bethlehem, was absolutely desperate and there was really no hope for them except that 129 00:10:55,200 –> 00:11:01,359 they should go and join David. Their logic was this. If God should protect David we will 130 00:11:01,359 –> 00:11:06,359 be protected. If God does not protect David we have no other hope anyway. All our hope 131 00:11:06,479 –> 00:11:13,340 is in Him. We need David and so they go and they join him there. And that really sets 132 00:11:13,340 –> 00:11:19,059 the pattern. Because notice what we are told next in what I think is one of the fascinating 133 00:11:19,059 –> 00:11:25,280 verses in the Old Testament. We are told in verse two that everyone, how is this for a 134 00:11:25,280 –> 00:11:31,940 description, everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone 135 00:11:32,020 –> 00:11:36,900 who was bitter in soul, gathered to David as well. When you read this you say, what 136 00:11:36,900 –> 00:11:43,679 a motley crew. They are all coming out of the woodwork here. To get the picture of what 137 00:11:43,679 –> 00:11:49,299 happened, and what is being described here, I want you to turn back with me for just a 138 00:11:49,299 –> 00:11:57,840 moment, to 1 Samuel, in chapter 8. Will you turn with me and your Bible? This will explain 139 00:11:58,039 –> 00:12:04,880 why there were so many these people coming to David. Remember that God’s people had asked 140 00:12:05,219 –> 00:12:12,219 for a king, God gave them what they wanted, but before that happened Samuel told them 141 00:12:12,479 –> 00:12:19,479 what would happen, because of their desire to be like the other nations. And in 1 Samuel 142 00:12:20,140 –> 00:12:27,140 chapter 8 and verse 10, let me read these verses to you. Samuel tells them exactly what 143 00:12:27,840 –> 00:12:34,500 lies ahead, and of course he’s a prophet it all came true. So Samuel 1 Samuel 8 and verse 144 00:12:34,500 –> 00:12:41,500 10 told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. And he 145 00:12:41,659 –> 00:12:47,239 said these will be the ways of the king who will reign over you. It is what he will do. 146 00:12:47,239 –> 00:12:53,419 He will take your son’s and appoint them in his chariots and to be his horsemen and to 147 00:12:53,419 –> 00:12:59,539 run before his chariots. He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders 148 00:12:59,539 –> 00:13:05,900 of fifties and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his improments 149 00:13:05,900 –> 00:13:12,219 of war and the equipment of his chariot. You’re getting the picture. Then verse 13, he will 150 00:13:12,219 –> 00:13:19,219 take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. Then says Samuel 14, here’s what’s 151 00:13:19,700 –> 00:13:23,739 going to happen on top of that, he’s going to take the best of your fields and your vineyards 152 00:13:23,739 –> 00:13:29,059 and your olive orchards and he’s going to give them to his servants. Then he’s not done 153 00:13:29,059 –> 00:13:32,919 even yet. Verse 15, here’s what’s going to happen with King Saul, he’s going to take 154 00:13:32,919 –> 00:13:37,760 a tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and he’s going to give it to his officers 155 00:13:37,760 –> 00:13:44,200 and to his servants. Then verse 16, he’ll take your male servants, your female servants, 156 00:13:44,200 –> 00:13:50,219 the best of your young men and your donkeys, and he’ll put them to his work. He’ll take 157 00:13:50,219 –> 00:13:57,059 a tenth of your flocks and you will be his slaves. 158 00:13:57,059 –> 00:14:02,719 You get the picture. This is what you’re in for, folks. You get a tyrant king, this is 159 00:14:02,719 –> 00:14:08,559 what life’s going to be like. And what God said through the prophet Samuel of course 160 00:14:08,559 –> 00:14:18,219 was precisely what happened. Saul became a tyrant. By the way, the definition of a tyrant 161 00:14:18,219 –> 00:14:24,539 is someone who exercises authority over others and will not submit to authority themselves. 162 00:14:24,539 –> 00:14:31,460 That’s what a tyrant is. And of course Saul was the king. The only person whom the king 163 00:14:31,460 –> 00:14:33,919 in that culture could have submitted was God. 164 00:14:33,919 –> 00:14:38,380 And since he will not submit himself to God, he is by definition a tyrant. And that is 165 00:14:38,380 –> 00:14:42,940 why his rule became more and more and more destructive for the people. 166 00:14:42,940 –> 00:14:47,700 And so now we’re more than twenty years after 1 Samuel Chapter eight when this prophecy 167 00:14:47,700 –> 00:14:54,320 was given. There have been these years of this oppressive rule, and all that has gone 168 00:14:54,320 –> 00:14:59,679 into it in the experience of these people. You try and put yourself today into the shoes 169 00:14:59,679 –> 00:15:06,619 of a village farmer and try and imagine yourself sitting in your home and one evening there 170 00:15:06,619 –> 00:15:10,760 you are, and there’s a knock on your door and it’s Saul’s men who are there. And they 171 00:15:10,760 –> 00:15:14,500 say, How many sons are in this house? And you say, Two. They say, Well one of them, 172 00:15:14,500 –> 00:15:17,640 and the oldest one is come with us right now. He’s got to be one of the King’s chariot 173 00:15:17,640 –> 00:15:22,840 drivers. Then six months later, same thing happens. 174 00:15:22,840 –> 00:15:27,059 How many daughters in this house? One. She’s got to come with us, she’s got to be involved 175 00:15:27,099 –> 00:15:32,460 in the King’s kitchen. She is going to become a cook there. You’ve got absolutely not say 176 00:15:32,460 –> 00:15:37,260 this. Military rule. 177 00:15:37,260 –> 00:15:42,200 And then you work through the year in your vineyards and in your orchard, the land that 178 00:15:42,200 –> 00:15:48,599 God in his great kindness has given to your family as part, as your allotment that was 179 00:15:48,599 –> 00:15:54,340 entrusted to you as your inheritance in the promised land. And you cultivate this and 180 00:15:54,559 –> 00:15:55,359 And you say, you begin to see 181 00:15:55,359 –> 00:15:58,320 that there is a harvest coming and you say, well, now this is going to be marvellous because 182 00:15:58,320 –> 00:16:02,099 we are really going to have something here. And then when the harvest comes, Saul’s 183 00:16:02,099 –> 00:16:06,419 men are at the doors again. Now we have looked at these orchards and we 184 00:16:06,419 –> 00:16:09,780 have looked at the vineyards, and we want this one, this one, this one for the King 185 00:16:09,780 –> 00:16:14,020 and we want a tenth of the harvest from everything else. We will be taking it. 186 00:16:14,020 –> 00:16:18,280 And you say, my son, you have already taken my daughter and now you are taking a tenth 187 00:16:18,359 –> 00:16:23,200 and then you are taking these fields and these orchards and these vineyards – I am absolutely 188 00:16:23,200 –> 00:16:30,659 powerless! What can I do? And this has been going on year after year 189 00:16:30,659 –> 00:16:36,619 after year according to the prophecy of Samuel, the prophet. 190 00:16:36,619 –> 00:16:42,679 So is it surprising to you to read in chapter 22 in verse 2 that there were people who were 191 00:16:42,679 –> 00:16:49,400 bitter in soul. This tyrant has taken my son, he’s taken my daughter, he’s taken my 192 00:16:49,400 –> 00:16:54,679 fields. I’ve worked all year, I have worked my finger to the bone to to make a living 193 00:16:54,679 –> 00:17:00,580 and there was a harvest coming and he’s just taken off the best of it! 194 00:17:00,580 –> 00:17:05,880 What can I do about it? And it’s not hard under these circumstances 195 00:17:05,880 –> 00:17:10,239 to see why so many people were in debt – it was no fault of their own. How in the world 196 00:17:10,280 –> 00:17:16,239 do you have financial stability when Saul can come at will and take the best of your 197 00:17:16,239 –> 00:17:23,760 fields and the best of your sources of income and just annex them as his own. 198 00:17:23,760 –> 00:17:29,839 People were beginning to see that the situation under Saul was completely and utterly hopeless. 199 00:17:29,839 –> 00:17:35,119 This man who they had wanted and they thought was going to be such a blessing and make us 200 00:17:35,119 –> 00:17:41,839 like the other nations, now they discovered that to be like the other nations was a dreadful 201 00:17:41,839 –> 00:17:47,599 curse and Saul was the king. 202 00:17:47,599 –> 00:17:54,839 And kings don’t get elected folks, you don’t get to vote them out after four years. 203 00:17:54,839 –> 00:17:58,800 And the only hope therefore for those who were bitter in Saul because of these wretched 204 00:17:58,800 –> 00:18:05,060 repressive experiences and had been reduced to debt because of the annexing of their land 205 00:18:05,079 –> 00:18:10,979 and were in great distress, what was the only hope with such a king? 206 00:18:10,979 –> 00:18:14,040 The only hope was another king. 207 00:18:14,040 –> 00:18:19,459 The only hope was there would be someone who’d bring an end to this wretched kingdom and 208 00:18:19,459 –> 00:18:23,939 start a new kingdom and they knew it. 209 00:18:23,939 –> 00:18:33,839 A king who would wipe the slate clean and enable an entirely new beginning. 210 00:18:33,839 –> 00:18:38,000 And these people who are bitter, distressed, and in debt, they’re seeing that Saul is 211 00:18:38,000 –> 00:18:48,079 now consumed with one person who he wants to destroy and that one person is David. 212 00:18:48,079 –> 00:18:49,500 And they’re not fools. 213 00:18:49,500 –> 00:18:52,199 They’re working it out. 214 00:18:52,199 –> 00:18:55,280 He’s our man. 215 00:18:55,280 –> 00:19:02,760 And so verse 2, what we discover is that these people, bitter, in debt, and distressed, they 216 00:19:02,900 –> 00:19:06,739 are, verse 2, gathering to David. 217 00:19:06,739 –> 00:19:07,739 And can you picture it? 218 00:19:07,739 –> 00:19:17,380 They’re in this vast cavern, one after another is coming, and they’re pledging their loyalty 219 00:19:17,380 –> 00:19:18,380 to him. 220 00:19:18,380 –> 00:19:26,920 Now folks, this is a marvelous story but remember, we are not here today simply to learn a few 221 00:19:26,920 –> 00:19:30,699 interesting lessons from the life of David. 222 00:19:30,699 –> 00:19:36,760 We are looking through this story so that we can understand what it really means to 223 00:19:36,760 –> 00:19:41,479 be a Christian, what it means to come to Jesus Christ. 224 00:19:41,479 –> 00:19:47,660 And the people who come to Jesus Christ, here’s what it really means to be a Christian. 225 00:19:47,660 –> 00:19:51,119 People who come to Christ are like the people who came to David. 226 00:19:51,119 –> 00:19:55,719 These folks knew that they needed David and people who come to Jesus are those who know 227 00:19:55,719 –> 00:19:58,439 that we need Him. 228 00:19:58,439 –> 00:20:07,239 We need Him because he’s the only hope from the tyranny of sin that brings blight and 229 00:20:07,239 –> 00:20:10,699 devastation to our lives. 230 00:20:10,699 –> 00:20:15,119 People who come to Jesus Christ are people who know that they are sunk, sin has sunk 231 00:20:15,119 –> 00:20:23,219 them in a debt to God that we can never pay, that we are completely and utterly hopeless 232 00:20:23,219 –> 00:20:26,859 in our own position before God. 233 00:20:27,140 –> 00:20:34,579 People who come to Jesus Christ are people who have tasted how bitter sin is, that though 234 00:20:34,579 –> 00:20:40,199 it seems like such an attractive fruit, it leaves you with a sense of emptiness and of 235 00:20:40,199 –> 00:20:43,319 guilt and of shame. 236 00:20:43,319 –> 00:20:49,699 And you say, if only there was a way to have my life washed clean, to have a new start, 237 00:20:49,699 –> 00:20:51,420 to make a whole new beginning. 238 00:20:51,420 –> 00:20:56,260 People like that come to Jesus Christ. 239 00:20:56,300 –> 00:21:05,439 Bitter, distressed, and in debt, we come to Jesus Christ because our only hope lies 240 00:21:05,439 –> 00:21:11,819 in a new King and in a new kingdom. 241 00:21:11,819 –> 00:21:16,199 Without Him, there’s no other hope. 242 00:21:16,199 –> 00:21:22,400 Now you’ve seen how looking through the story of David takes us immediately to the story 243 00:21:22,400 –> 00:21:23,400 of Jesus. 244 00:21:23,459 –> 00:21:27,339 So let me just fill out, briefly here, the rest of this profile for you. 245 00:21:27,339 –> 00:21:29,500 You’ll see it’s very clear. 246 00:21:29,500 –> 00:21:33,560 People who come to Jesus Christ, true Christians, are people who have discovered that they need 247 00:21:33,560 –> 00:21:35,579 Him. 248 00:21:35,579 –> 00:21:41,959 People who come to Jesus Christ, people who are true Christians, are people who believe 249 00:21:41,959 –> 00:21:44,079 in Him. 250 00:21:44,079 –> 00:21:47,959 And just think of how this flows directly out of the story of these folks who came in 251 00:21:47,959 –> 00:21:50,319 the cave to David. 252 00:21:50,319 –> 00:21:58,819 When they gathered to David, it was, of course, an all or nothing decision. 253 00:21:58,819 –> 00:22:05,239 Gathering to David meant defecting from Saul. 254 00:22:05,239 –> 00:22:09,420 And that was a, you know, burn your bridges, burn your boats kind of a decision. 255 00:22:09,420 –> 00:22:15,760 Any friend of David is, by definition, an enemy of Saul. 256 00:22:15,839 –> 00:22:20,699 And so this was not a decision that any of these men could make lightly. 257 00:22:20,699 –> 00:22:28,699 Once they had gathered to David, there could be no going back. 258 00:22:28,699 –> 00:22:30,500 But what other hope did they have? 259 00:22:30,500 –> 00:22:33,219 They’re bitter, distressed. 260 00:22:34,500 –> 00:22:36,819 They’re in debt. 261 00:22:36,819 –> 00:22:41,900 They’re powerless against these armies of Saul that are coming at will and making these 262 00:22:41,900 –> 00:22:45,579 endless demands. 263 00:22:45,579 –> 00:22:49,920 And so they throw in their lot with the outcast. 264 00:22:49,920 –> 00:22:53,040 And they put their trust in him. 265 00:22:53,040 –> 00:22:57,060 And here’s their position as they come to the cave, and they pledge their commitment 266 00:22:57,060 –> 00:22:58,640 to David. 267 00:22:58,640 –> 00:23:01,339 They’ll stand with David. 268 00:23:01,339 –> 00:23:06,280 They’ll fight for David. 269 00:23:06,280 –> 00:23:09,800 David is their hope. 270 00:23:09,800 –> 00:23:15,300 If David succeeds, there’s the best of futures for them. 271 00:23:15,359 –> 00:23:21,619 And if David should fail, they have no other hope. 272 00:23:21,619 –> 00:23:29,099 And folks, that is exactly the position of a Christian. 273 00:23:29,099 –> 00:23:34,800 Christian is a person who has come to the conclusion that just like these folks staked 274 00:23:34,800 –> 00:23:42,680 everything on- all their hope on David, believing that he was the Lord’s anointed, committing 275 00:23:42,680 –> 00:23:45,280 themselves to him. 276 00:23:45,280 –> 00:23:50,719 So a Christian is a person who believing that Jesus Christ is the Lord’s anointed, to whom 277 00:23:50,719 –> 00:24:00,060 David was all along appointing, have staked all our hope and put all our trust on him. 278 00:24:00,060 –> 00:24:05,579 So that his glory will be our glory, but everything depends on him and there is no other hope 279 00:24:05,579 –> 00:24:08,099 without him. 280 00:24:08,099 –> 00:24:12,939 And a Christian is a person who knows because Jesus has never hidden this from any of his 281 00:24:12,939 –> 00:24:14,819 followers. 282 00:24:14,900 –> 00:24:19,239 There is always a cost in gathering to this King. 283 00:24:19,239 –> 00:24:24,339 If anyone would come after me, Jesus says let him deny himself and take up his cross 284 00:24:24,339 –> 00:24:28,300 and follow me. 285 00:24:28,300 –> 00:24:42,500 If you become a Christian expect that this will be the most costly decision of your life. 286 00:24:42,900 –> 00:24:48,459 It will radically impact the use of your time. 287 00:24:48,459 –> 00:24:51,040 The use of your money. 288 00:24:51,040 –> 00:24:54,439 It will be transforming in terms of your priorities. 289 00:24:54,439 –> 00:25:02,699 It will shoot to bits the stuff about convenience and comfort and what I am looking for in terms 290 00:25:02,699 –> 00:25:04,300 of the next stage of life. 291 00:25:04,300 –> 00:25:06,540 This is going to be all of my dreams… 292 00:25:06,540 –> 00:25:07,979 It will shoot that to bits. 293 00:25:07,979 –> 00:25:14,780 And if it doesn’t, how can you claim to be a follower of Jesus? 294 00:25:14,780 –> 00:25:17,760 How can you claim it? 295 00:25:17,760 –> 00:25:24,219 No, those who’ve come to Jesus Christ are like those who came to David. 296 00:25:24,219 –> 00:25:27,439 They’re laying everything on the line. 297 00:25:27,439 –> 00:25:33,020 If you succeed, it’s glory for us, and if you go down, we go down with you. 298 00:25:33,020 –> 00:25:35,079 The old life is behind us. 299 00:25:35,079 –> 00:25:36,579 It was hopeless anyway. 300 00:25:36,640 –> 00:25:38,719 There was nothing in it for us. 301 00:25:38,719 –> 00:25:40,719 We were bitter and distressed and in debt. 302 00:25:40,719 –> 00:25:45,699 We’re coming to you, and we’re hanging everything on you. 303 00:25:45,699 –> 00:25:50,920 That’s what it means to be a Christian, and I’m asking you then, what kind of Christian 304 00:25:50,920 –> 00:25:52,160 are you? 305 00:25:52,900 –> 00:25:55,180 They need Him. 306 00:25:55,180 –> 00:25:56,880 They believe in Him. 307 00:25:57,920 –> 00:26:02,479 Do you remember at one time in the ministry of Jesus there were huge crowds following 308 00:26:02,479 –> 00:26:04,359 Him? 309 00:26:04,500 –> 00:26:09,660 And then on chapter six, Jesus begins to teach them, and when they begin to hear what it’s 310 00:26:09,660 –> 00:26:15,599 really going to be like to be a follower of Jesus, the vast majority of them, they 311 00:26:15,599 –> 00:26:18,719 move away. 312 00:26:18,719 –> 00:26:23,839 Then Jesus turns to His disciples, to the Twelve, and He says, are you going to leave 313 00:26:23,839 –> 00:26:25,680 Me too? 314 00:26:26,800 –> 00:26:29,199 And do you remember what Peter said? 315 00:26:29,199 –> 00:26:33,380 Lord, to whom shall we go? 316 00:26:33,380 –> 00:26:38,599 You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and we have come to know that 317 00:26:38,599 –> 00:26:40,859 you are the holy One of God. 318 00:26:40,859 –> 00:26:42,260 You’re the Lord’s anointed. 319 00:26:42,260 –> 00:26:46,479 You’re the one to whom David was pointing. 320 00:26:46,479 –> 00:26:51,280 And like those who came bitter distressed and in debt to David, we are clinging for 321 00:26:51,280 –> 00:26:52,780 life to you. 322 00:26:52,780 –> 00:26:55,280 Only you have the words of eternal life. 323 00:26:55,280 –> 00:26:57,839 Our life is in you. 324 00:26:57,839 –> 00:27:01,219 To whom else shall we go? 325 00:27:01,219 –> 00:27:03,719 What’s a real Christian? 326 00:27:03,719 –> 00:27:07,439 What does it look like to come to Jesus Christ? 327 00:27:07,439 –> 00:27:11,180 It means you’ve come to the conclusion that you absolutely need him, and without him you 328 00:27:11,180 –> 00:27:14,420 have no hope at all. 329 00:27:14,420 –> 00:27:18,540 It means that you have come to believe him, that he is the Lord’s anointed, and that you 330 00:27:18,540 –> 00:27:25,640 will stand with him, because he is the one anointed by God. 331 00:27:25,640 –> 00:27:29,520 And then there’s a third thing, and it’s so clear here, I just don’t want you to miss 332 00:27:29,520 –> 00:27:31,000 it. 333 00:27:31,000 –> 00:27:33,680 How would you describe a true Christian? 334 00:27:33,680 –> 00:27:36,880 Well, this comes right out of David’s mighty men. 335 00:27:36,880 –> 00:27:38,520 They submit to him. 336 00:27:38,520 –> 00:27:40,199 Notice what it says. 337 00:27:40,199 –> 00:27:44,839 Everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, everyone who was bitter in soul 338 00:27:44,839 –> 00:27:56,099 gathered to David and he became, notice the word, commander over them, commander over 339 00:27:56,099 –> 00:27:58,319 them. 340 00:27:58,319 –> 00:28:04,319 So there’s nothing that’s like some of the casual Christianity that is widely offered 341 00:28:04,319 –> 00:28:08,680 and propagated under the name of cool today. 342 00:28:08,680 –> 00:28:13,959 You know this wasn’t, hey, wouldn’t it be great to go and hang out in a cave with David? 343 00:28:13,959 –> 00:28:20,160 No, this is people who know that it may cost them their lives. 344 00:28:20,160 –> 00:28:23,959 And David becomes their commander. 345 00:28:23,979 –> 00:28:28,880 This isn’t some kind of cool retreat from the harsh realities of life. 346 00:28:28,880 –> 00:28:35,319 This is moving away from the beauty of the farm to live in a cave, to live under constant 347 00:28:35,319 –> 00:28:41,599 threat of attack and to enter a new way of life, that is going to be marked because these 348 00:28:41,599 –> 00:28:45,579 are David’s fighting men so it’s going to be marked by discipline, it’s going to be 349 00:28:45,579 –> 00:28:50,599 marked by training and it’s going to be marked by sheer hard work. 350 00:28:50,599 –> 00:28:52,760 That’s what they’re in for. 351 00:28:52,760 –> 00:28:53,760 And they know it. 352 00:28:53,800 –> 00:29:01,859 When they have pledged their loyalty to David, de facto David becomes their commander. 353 00:29:01,859 –> 00:29:11,260 And it’s under his rule, it’s under his command that the lives of this motley crew 354 00:29:11,260 –> 00:29:15,939 are completely and utterly transformed. 355 00:29:15,939 –> 00:29:21,560 Remember this and I take it straight from Colossians 2, in verse 6. 356 00:29:21,560 –> 00:29:28,479 The only way to know Jesus Christ as Savior, is to receive him as Lord. 357 00:29:28,479 –> 00:29:36,359 The only way to know Jesus Christ as Savior, is to receive him as Lord. 358 00:29:36,359 –> 00:29:40,300 If you’ve got this idea somewhere in your head that you can have Jesus as your Savior 359 00:29:40,300 –> 00:29:46,380 for 90% of your life, and maybe a little bit somewhere you’ll make him Lord for a few days, 360 00:29:46,380 –> 00:29:47,900 you never got that from the Bible. 361 00:29:47,900 –> 00:29:48,979 Forget it. 362 00:29:49,099 –> 00:29:51,900 He is only Savior because he is Lord. 363 00:29:51,900 –> 00:29:55,560 That’s why by the way, when we teach the gospel in the Orchard, the way we most commonly like 364 00:29:55,560 –> 00:30:00,380 to do it is to say it’s Lord, Sin, Saviour, Faith. 365 00:30:00,380 –> 00:30:03,699 This is not some kind of Jesus who’s saying, you know, would you like to have me in your 366 00:30:03,699 –> 00:30:04,699 heart? 367 00:30:04,699 –> 00:30:13,660 There is a Sovereign Lord who lays claim to your life, whoever you are, unconditionally. 368 00:30:13,660 –> 00:30:18,300 And you’re absolutely in the wrong place before him, because your life is marked by sin, like 369 00:30:18,319 –> 00:30:20,780 the life of every other person is marked by sin. 370 00:30:20,780 –> 00:30:24,140 And therefore there is a Saviour. 371 00:30:24,140 –> 00:30:28,920 You can come and you can put your faith and your trust in him and he’ll reconcile you 372 00:30:28,920 –> 00:30:36,459 to God and deliver you from the wrath that otherwise would be your portion for all eternity. 373 00:30:37,939 –> 00:30:40,579 I mean, there’s weight in this. 374 00:30:40,579 –> 00:30:45,000 We’re talking about eternal realities, otherwise we might as well forget about Christianity 375 00:30:45,000 –> 00:30:47,780 altogether. 376 00:30:47,780 –> 00:30:51,760 You come into the world of the Bible, we’re talking about more than life and death. 377 00:30:51,760 –> 00:30:54,880 We’re talking about heaven and hell. 378 00:30:54,880 –> 00:31:02,599 We’re talking about ultimate realities with which you dare not become trivial. 379 00:31:04,439 –> 00:31:06,420 So they submit to him. 380 00:31:06,420 –> 00:31:13,599 And do you remember how Jesus said to the disciples, how beautifully he said this? 381 00:31:13,599 –> 00:31:21,260 Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. 382 00:31:21,260 –> 00:31:23,780 I’ll make you something. 383 00:31:23,780 –> 00:31:29,219 You become my follower, you get submitted to me, I’ll transform your life. 384 00:31:29,219 –> 00:31:34,099 He doesn’t say make something of your life and then you can come and follow me. 385 00:31:34,099 –> 00:31:38,459 He says, follow me, and I’ll make something of your life. 386 00:31:38,459 –> 00:31:42,900 I’ll make you a whole new and a different kind of person, but the way that it will happen, 387 00:31:42,900 –> 00:31:48,119 the transformation is going to happen as you come under the sovereign rule of your 388 00:31:48,119 –> 00:31:53,739 commander, Jesus Christ. 389 00:31:53,739 –> 00:31:57,540 And a Christian is very simply a person who is under the command of God. 390 00:31:57,540 –> 00:32:04,300 The Word of Christ that is given to us in the scripture is our rule of life. 391 00:32:04,300 –> 00:32:11,459 So, if you think of the Bible simply as a devotional book, you know, a book where… 392 00:32:11,939 –> 00:32:15,459 You know, I should read the Bible because I’ll get some nice thought for the day and 393 00:32:15,459 –> 00:32:19,739 it will inspire me and warm my soul a little bit like, you know, chicken soup for the soul. 394 00:32:19,739 –> 00:32:22,900 You know, sort of warm me up and all of that kind of stuff. 395 00:32:22,900 –> 00:32:26,780 You haven’t understood what the Bible is. 396 00:32:26,780 –> 00:32:31,780 The Bible is the word of God, it is the word, the instruction of the King. 397 00:32:32,599 –> 00:32:41,380 It’s your commander, giving to you instructions for daily life. 398 00:32:41,380 –> 00:32:48,140 Which is why it is a safe rule of life to open the Bible every day and to do it, not 399 00:32:48,140 –> 00:32:52,819 with the sense of, well, what would be a nice thought to keep me warm and cosy today, but 400 00:32:52,819 –> 00:32:57,020 to say, Lord, what would you have me to do today? 01 00:32:57,420 –> 00:33:03,680 And what you will find is that the Bible, the Word of God, the very Word and the commands 402 00:33:03,680 –> 00:33:09,359 of our King, it’s like a sharp-edged sword, the Bible says, it’s like a fire, it’s like 403 00:33:09,359 –> 00:33:11,400 a hammer. 404 00:33:11,400 –> 00:33:17,359 And it sometimes rebukes us and it sometimes corrects us, and it always trains us in righteousness. 405 00:33:17,359 –> 00:33:21,660 In other words, it’s the way that God shows us what the right way to go is through the 406 00:33:21,660 –> 00:33:22,660 Bible. 407 00:33:22,719 –> 00:33:27,140 And we never know the right way to be living from day-to-day, apart from the Bible. 408 00:33:27,140 –> 00:33:33,920 And so the experience of a real Christian reading the Bible regularly is to say, if 409 00:33:33,920 –> 00:33:37,260 this is what the King says, I have to change. 410 00:33:37,260 –> 00:33:42,459 I have to say, Lord, have mercy on me and help me to do what you’ve said here today. 411 00:33:42,459 –> 00:33:46,939 Because here are the words of the King. 412 00:33:46,939 –> 00:33:51,560 What’s it mean to be a real Christian? 413 00:33:51,560 –> 00:33:52,560 You know you need Him. 414 00:33:52,560 –> 00:33:54,079 You have no hope without Him. 415 00:33:54,079 –> 00:34:00,619 You come to believe in Him, the anointed Son of God, on whom all your hopes in life and 416 00:34:00,619 –> 00:34:02,719 for eternity depend. 417 00:34:02,719 –> 00:34:07,500 You’ve come to submit to Him because He is the King. 418 00:34:07,500 –> 00:34:09,840 You have placed yourself under His command. 419 00:34:09,840 –> 00:34:15,500 And as you place yourself under his rule in your life, that is what is going to be transforming 420 00:34:15,500 –> 00:34:18,300 to your life. 421 00:34:19,139 –> 00:34:24,419 And please don’t pretend you’re a Christian if that’s not where you’re ready to be. 422 00:34:24,419 –> 00:34:29,479 And then one more thing just very briefly and it’s this. 423 00:34:29,479 –> 00:34:34,540 These folks who came to David, they not only needed Him, believed in Him, and submitted 424 00:34:34,540 –> 00:34:37,739 to Him, they loved him. 425 00:34:37,739 –> 00:34:40,239 They really loved him. 426 00:34:40,239 –> 00:34:43,179 And that, of course, is true of everyone who come to Christ. 427 00:34:43,820 –> 00:34:46,120 In fact, the people who came to David stayed 428 00:34:46,120 –> 00:34:52,219 loyal to him for the rest of their lives. 429 00:34:52,219 –> 00:34:56,580 And in the last couple of minutes, to turn to another cross-reference is something that 430 00:34:56,580 –> 00:35:00,320 I would tell other people never to do, but I’m going to do it myself. 431 00:35:00,320 –> 00:35:04,219 2 Samuel, chapter 23, just turn over there in these last moments. 432 00:35:04,219 –> 00:35:06,780 2 Samuel, chapter 23. 433 00:35:06,780 –> 00:35:10,959 We have the last words of David and they are words of thanksgiving and they’re words of 434 00:35:10,959 –> 00:35:12,780 praise to God. 435 00:35:12,820 –> 00:35:19,159 And then after that, we have, after the last words of David being recorded in that chapter, 436 00:35:19,159 –> 00:35:24,399 we have the names of His mighty men. 437 00:35:24,399 –> 00:35:25,899 And verse 8 says, 438 00:35:25,899 –> 00:35:35,060 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had and the first of them is unpronounceable 439 00:35:35,060 –> 00:35:38,879 and it is therefore there for you on the screen. 440 00:35:38,879 –> 00:35:43,500 But you’ll see the list goes on, and the names one after another. 441 00:35:43,500 –> 00:35:47,959 And then do you see in verse 13, it tells us that some of these were men who came to 442 00:35:47,959 –> 00:35:51,459 David when, when he was in the Cave of Adulim! 443 00:35:51,459 –> 00:35:54,479 That’s when they started. 444 00:35:54,479 –> 00:35:58,199 And they were with him right to the end of his life. 445 00:35:58,199 –> 00:36:01,860 And there’s this great story that you can read and you’ll really enjoy it about how 446 00:36:01,860 –> 00:36:03,959 when David was in the Cave of Adulim. 447 00:36:03,959 –> 00:36:07,820 So right back in 1 Samuel chapter 22, though it’s only recorded later. 448 00:36:08,020 –> 00:36:14,699 One day David said, oh, I wish I could have a drink from a well of water in Bethlehem, 449 00:36:14,699 –> 00:36:18,179 and he just sort of said, oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have that? 450 00:36:18,179 –> 00:36:23,540 And these guys loved him so much that three of them said, let’s do it! 451 00:36:23,540 –> 00:36:26,100 And Bethlehem was surrounded by a Philistine garrison. 452 00:36:26,100 –> 00:36:30,120 They had to fight their way in, they had to pull their water from the well, they had to 453 00:36:30,120 –> 00:36:34,540 fight their way back out again to give the water to David. 454 00:36:34,540 –> 00:36:36,120 David was completely overcome. 455 00:36:38,300 –> 00:36:44,379 And it’s a marvelous story of how feeling unworthy of their loyalty, he actually poured 456 00:36:44,379 –> 00:36:53,060 the water out as an offering of love to the Lord on behalf of all of them. 457 00:36:53,060 –> 00:37:00,300 There was nothing that was beyond what these folks would do for the sake of the king that 458 00:37:00,300 –> 00:37:02,139 they loved. 459 00:37:02,459 –> 00:37:10,060 And you picture this motley crew of discouraged and dispirited people – bitter, distressed 460 00:37:10,060 –> 00:37:15,300 and in debt – what a bunch they were when they gathered around David. 461 00:37:15,300 –> 00:37:20,379 But by the end of Second Samuel, you find them being named in Scripture’s role of 462 00:37:20,379 –> 00:37:29,199 honor because these folks who felt that they were utterly powerless have become the king’s 463 00:37:29,959 –> 00:37:32,199 men. 464 00:37:32,199 –> 00:37:36,879 People who were once bitter, distressed and in debt. 465 00:37:36,879 –> 00:37:41,439 And they are standing with the Lord’s anointed. 466 00:37:41,439 –> 00:37:44,840 And they’re advancing His cause. 467 00:37:44,840 –> 00:37:51,159 Oh, if that’s the kind of devotion and love and loyalty that these men would give 468 00:37:51,159 –> 00:38:00,340 to David with all of His faults, what kind of love, commitment, and loyalty should we 469 00:38:00,340 –> 00:38:11,159 be offering to our King who loved us and gave himself for us? 470 00:38:11,159 –> 00:38:13,879 A true Christian? 471 00:38:13,879 –> 00:38:18,879 A person who’s come to see his or her need for Christ? 472 00:38:18,879 –> 00:38:23,600 To believe in him as the Lord’s anointed, to submit to him as the ruler, commander, 473 00:38:23,600 –> 00:38:25,939 and Lord? 474 00:38:25,939 –> 00:38:30,540 Someone who’s come to love him in such a way that he could never ask something that would 475 00:38:30,540 –> 00:38:34,899 be too much of us? 476 00:38:34,899 –> 00:38:36,199 That’s a real Christian. 477 00:38:36,199 –> 00:38:42,159 And the question is, does that describe you? 478 00:38:42,159 –> 00:38:43,679 Let’s pray together. 479 00:38:44,439 –> 00:38:54,679 Father, in your mercy, work you word into our hearts, so that we may become as these 480 00:38:54,679 –> 00:39:04,600 dispirited people came under the rule of David, new people under the sovereign rule of Christ. 481 00:39:04,600 –> 00:39:12,159 For your praise, your glory and your honor, for it is in Jesus Christ’s name that we pray 482 00:39:12,159 –> 00:39:13,439 in Jesus Christ’s name we pray in everyone together said, amen.