1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,240 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 2 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:10,240 nor are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,980 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 4 00:00:13,980 --> 00:00:17,420 so are my ways higher than your ways, 5 00:00:17,420 --> 00:00:22,320 and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." 6 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:24,820 Isaiah 55, verses 8 and 9. 7 00:00:24,820 --> 00:00:29,260 You and I believe that that passage of Scripture is true 8 00:00:29,260 --> 00:00:33,860 because we trust the Lord and because we believe in his word. 9 00:00:33,860 --> 00:00:36,460 And yet, I think we can all identify this, 10 00:00:36,460 --> 00:00:41,980 when trials come our way, we are quick to complain. 11 00:00:41,980 --> 00:00:45,080 And we are quick to doubt. 12 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,480 And we often find ourselves asking the proverbial question, 13 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:50,920 why me? 14 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,620 Why is this happening to me? 15 00:00:53,620 --> 00:00:57,260 And this is a very normal human idea, 16 00:00:57,260 --> 00:00:59,420 especially when you're young in the faith. 17 00:00:59,420 --> 00:01:01,320 We tend to think that if we love God, 18 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,760 if we believe the gospel, if we study our Bibles, 19 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:06,800 if we serve in the church, 20 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,560 then trouble is not going to come our way. 21 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:11,640 And then it does. 22 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,580 And it sort of knocks the wind out of us. 23 00:01:14,580 --> 00:01:17,340 And if we're not careful, it can cause us to doubt, 24 00:01:17,340 --> 00:01:18,600 to doubt the goodness of God, 25 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:20,380 to doubt the trustworthiness of God. 26 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:22,480 We can find ourselves asking the question, 27 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:23,920 well, how can I trust God 28 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,620 when I'm never going to fully understand him 29 00:01:26,620 --> 00:01:28,680 down here on the earth? 30 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,460 How can I have faith when God's ways seem to my eyes 31 00:01:32,460 --> 00:01:38,300 to sometimes be unfair, even cruel? 32 00:01:38,300 --> 00:01:40,760 When we look around at the world that we live in today, 33 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,040 we try to comprehend it, it can be confusing. 34 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:45,840 We always say God is in control, 35 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:47,100 but then we still look around, 36 00:01:47,100 --> 00:01:49,600 and so much of what we see does not make sense 37 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,300 to our limited, earthbound minds. 38 00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:54,180 So as one author put it, 39 00:01:54,180 --> 00:01:59,020 we beat on heaven's door with our demand for answers, 40 00:01:59,020 --> 00:02:00,720 but no answer comes but this. 41 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:05,020 Trust me, God says, my ways are higher than your ways, 42 00:02:05,020 --> 00:02:08,720 and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts. 43 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,100 And the key for us to find peace in that answer, 44 00:02:12,100 --> 00:02:14,760 it's not easy, but it's not complicated either. 45 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,100 We remember that God is our Father, 46 00:02:18,100 --> 00:02:21,540 a Father who loves his children. 47 00:02:21,540 --> 00:02:23,500 And we know this from our own earthly lives. 48 00:02:23,500 --> 00:02:26,880 No child fully understands the reason 49 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,440 his or her father does what he does. 50 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,520 We know this as children once ourselves, 51 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:34,380 we know this as parents. 52 00:02:34,380 --> 00:02:37,260 Children don't understand why they just don't get 53 00:02:37,260 --> 00:02:39,660 everything that they want. 54 00:02:39,660 --> 00:02:41,560 You try to explain that to your toddler, 55 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,160 but it doesn't work very well. 56 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,000 Children don't understand why they have to go to the doctor 57 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,500 and get those shots. 58 00:02:49,500 --> 00:02:51,500 Children don't understand why they have to eat 59 00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:55,040 those yucky vegetables rather than donuts. 60 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:56,200 Doesn't make sense to them. 61 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,540 Children don't understand that the discipline 62 00:02:58,540 --> 00:03:02,080 that their father gives them is for their good, 63 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,620 and will benefit them in the long run. 64 00:03:05,620 --> 00:03:07,780 And if you're a parent, you've thought this many times, 65 00:03:07,780 --> 00:03:09,780 maybe you didn't even said it out loud, 66 00:03:09,780 --> 00:03:13,820 child, just trust me, I'm your parent. 67 00:03:13,820 --> 00:03:16,160 I love you, and everything I walk you through, 68 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,360 even the painful things, is because I want the best for you. 69 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:22,300 Do you see the parallel that we have with God? 70 00:03:22,300 --> 00:03:25,940 I'm convinced that this is why God gives us the privilege 71 00:03:25,940 --> 00:03:27,640 of being parents so that we can understand 72 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:30,740 that relationship just a bit more. 73 00:03:30,740 --> 00:03:32,780 That's what we need to do in our years on the earth. 74 00:03:32,780 --> 00:03:35,440 Trust what God has said through Isaiah. 75 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:37,880 My ways are higher, and by higher, 76 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,140 that doesn't just mean different, 77 00:03:40,140 --> 00:03:41,620 it means much, much better. 78 00:03:41,620 --> 00:03:45,420 It means far superior, more superior than you can even 79 00:03:45,420 --> 00:03:49,160 imagine in these days on the earth. 80 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,220 God invites us to strive to see life 81 00:03:51,220 --> 00:03:53,200 from a much bigger perspective, 82 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,000 and to recognize his unfolding plan in the world 83 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,840 each and every day, to see it unfold. 84 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:04,840 He says to us, I am God, and there is no other. 85 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,280 I am God, and there is none like me. 86 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,620 I make known the end from the beginning, 87 00:04:10,620 --> 00:04:14,080 from ancient times, what is still to come. 88 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,780 My purpose will stand, and I, the Lord, 89 00:04:16,780 --> 00:04:19,860 will do all that I please. 90 00:04:19,860 --> 00:04:22,260 We call that sovereignty. 91 00:04:22,260 --> 00:04:24,460 So there are no random accidents in life. 92 00:04:24,460 --> 00:04:27,100 God superintends everything, and he weaves it all 93 00:04:27,100 --> 00:04:30,660 into the fabric of his plan so that ultimately 94 00:04:30,660 --> 00:04:33,900 all things work together for the good of those who love him, 95 00:04:33,900 --> 00:04:37,000 those who are called according to his purpose. 96 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,840 As we talked about over the last couple weeks in Psalm 139, 97 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:42,920 God sees everything all at one time, 98 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:44,040 because he's outside of time. 99 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:46,620 He sees it all at one time, and even now, 100 00:04:46,620 --> 00:04:48,320 right now as we sit here this morning, 101 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,420 he sees how his sovereign decree is gonna be 102 00:04:51,420 --> 00:04:54,520 completely fulfilled down to the detail 103 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:56,200 and exactly on which day. 104 00:04:57,500 --> 00:04:59,200 Who's glad about that, by the way? 105 00:05:00,900 --> 00:05:04,100 In the meantime, to help you and I faithfully endure 106 00:05:04,100 --> 00:05:07,300 the troubles of life and to deal with all those questions 107 00:05:07,300 --> 00:05:10,040 that we have, God has given us a very precious gift 108 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:11,580 in the Psalms of lament. 109 00:05:12,940 --> 00:05:15,120 Songs that give voice to our troubled souls 110 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:16,540 down here on the earth. 111 00:05:16,540 --> 00:05:19,020 They're songs that help us learn how to complain to God 112 00:05:19,020 --> 00:05:22,660 while still honoring him, and that's exactly what David 113 00:05:22,660 --> 00:05:25,020 is gonna do in our passage for this morning. 114 00:05:25,020 --> 00:05:27,460 If you think about it, David's life is an excellent model 115 00:05:27,460 --> 00:05:30,260 for us as we look at what it means to lament well, 116 00:05:30,260 --> 00:05:33,160 because based on all the ups and downs of David's life, 117 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,160 and it was really bumpy, wasn't it? 118 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:37,900 Based on all of that, I can't help but think, 119 00:05:37,900 --> 00:05:41,480 and maybe I'll get a chance to ask him someday in eternity, 120 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:43,880 I can't help but think that he was often confused 121 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,440 about what God was doing in his life. 122 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:47,920 And we're gonna see that this morning. 123 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,080 Now the superscription that we're gonna see 124 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,180 in today's Psalm reads like this, 125 00:05:53,180 --> 00:05:57,260 a maskele of David when he was in a cave, the cave. 126 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:00,460 Picture that for a moment. 127 00:06:00,460 --> 00:06:02,500 A king in a cave, imagine that. 128 00:06:02,500 --> 00:06:04,900 Here is the young man that God himself chose 129 00:06:04,900 --> 00:06:08,340 out of all the men of Israel to be king over his people, 130 00:06:08,340 --> 00:06:10,140 so why is he in a cave? 131 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,440 It makes no sense. 132 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,140 Now many of us know the story of David. 133 00:06:15,140 --> 00:06:16,640 I won't go into a whole bunch of detail, 134 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,980 but we sorta know David's life by a series of snapshots. 135 00:06:19,980 --> 00:06:22,340 We first see him as a young shepherd boy. 136 00:06:22,340 --> 00:06:25,780 He is trusting in God to help him fight off the predators 137 00:06:25,780 --> 00:06:27,880 who wanna kill the sheep, and then of course, 138 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:29,760 trusting in God to help him defeat 139 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:31,520 the Philistine warrior Goliath, 140 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:33,060 and because of that moment, 141 00:06:33,060 --> 00:06:35,760 David gets catapulted into national fame, 142 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:38,560 and later he has so much military success 143 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:40,960 that songs are being written about his leadership. 144 00:06:42,300 --> 00:06:43,600 David became the man. 145 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,240 He was feared by his enemies, he was respected by his troops, 146 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:48,580 but there was one person in Israel 147 00:06:48,580 --> 00:06:51,240 who did not appreciate David's rise to fame, 148 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,040 and that was the current king, Saul. 149 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:55,520 Saul grew jealous of David. 150 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,280 He nursed a deep-seated hatred for the man. 151 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:00,080 In fact, he tried to kill David himself, 152 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,320 and when that didn't work, he put a hit out 153 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:04,960 on the future king of Israel, 154 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,260 and sent his soldiers to find him and put him to death. 155 00:07:08,260 --> 00:07:10,460 And imagine this now, suddenly for David, 156 00:07:10,460 --> 00:07:12,960 just when everything is going his way, 157 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:17,040 life turns on a dime, and that can happen to us too. 158 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,200 Life can change like that, right? 159 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,800 Now, he's forced to flee the kingdom 160 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:23,880 that he's supposed to be king over, 161 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,240 and he has to go on the run like a common criminal. 162 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:30,280 And we know from the Bible that for a time he hid 163 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:31,880 in the fields surrounding Jerusalem, 164 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,120 and then out of sheer desperation, 165 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,020 he actually went to the Philistine city of Gath, 166 00:07:37,020 --> 00:07:40,460 the very hometown of Goliath, his enemy, 167 00:07:40,460 --> 00:07:43,820 and tried to hide his identity and blend into the population. 168 00:07:43,820 --> 00:07:44,760 It didn't work. 169 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:46,800 He was recognized by the locals. 170 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:48,260 He was almost put to death again, 171 00:07:48,260 --> 00:07:52,300 and he had to escape in this very awkward and clever way. 172 00:07:52,300 --> 00:07:55,200 I don't have time for that funny story. 173 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:56,980 And in 1 Samuel 22, we read this. 174 00:07:56,980 --> 00:08:00,780 So David departed from there, meaning Gath, 175 00:08:00,780 --> 00:08:03,680 and escaped to the cave of Adulam. 176 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:07,980 So he goes from anointed king to hiding in a cave, 177 00:08:07,980 --> 00:08:10,580 from the heights of glory and power 178 00:08:10,580 --> 00:08:12,320 to the depths of being an outcast. 179 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:14,020 And you have to imagine, 180 00:08:14,020 --> 00:08:16,220 how often do we talk about this at Oak? 181 00:08:16,220 --> 00:08:18,420 Put yourself in his sandals. 182 00:08:18,420 --> 00:08:21,260 Try to understand what he's going through here. 183 00:08:21,260 --> 00:08:22,940 You have to imagine him saying, 184 00:08:22,940 --> 00:08:25,500 why is this happening to me? 185 00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:28,940 Lord, what have I done to deserve this? 186 00:08:28,940 --> 00:08:30,200 Why would you choose me 187 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,340 and then have me end up here in a cave? 188 00:08:33,340 --> 00:08:35,640 Those are all reasonable questions, by the way, 189 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:37,820 from a earthly perspective. 190 00:08:37,820 --> 00:08:40,780 Now caves are interesting places, 191 00:08:40,780 --> 00:08:44,160 interesting to visit, but you don't want to live there. 192 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:44,980 Right? 193 00:08:44,980 --> 00:08:47,860 They're spooky, they're uncomfortable, 194 00:08:47,860 --> 00:08:51,820 and in every corner you just know there's creepy crawlers. 195 00:08:51,820 --> 00:08:54,500 But caves can be effective classrooms 196 00:08:54,500 --> 00:08:57,340 in the school of faith and prayer. 197 00:08:57,340 --> 00:08:58,660 Spurgeon talked about this. 198 00:08:58,660 --> 00:08:59,860 Here's what Spurgeon said. 199 00:08:59,860 --> 00:09:02,900 Caves make good closets for prayer. 200 00:09:02,900 --> 00:09:05,580 Their gloom and their solitude 201 00:09:05,580 --> 00:09:08,880 are helpful to the exercise of devotion. 202 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:12,180 Sometimes we're actually better off in a cave 203 00:09:12,180 --> 00:09:14,680 than we are in a luxury hotel. 204 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:18,120 And it's interesting to think about David in the cave 205 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,020 versus David in his palace later in life. 206 00:09:21,020 --> 00:09:22,920 He's gonna have to depend upon the Lord 207 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:24,560 and the discomfort in the cave, 208 00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:26,500 but when he's super comfortable in the palace, 209 00:09:26,500 --> 00:09:28,100 what happens? 210 00:09:28,100 --> 00:09:31,560 He falls into temptation and sin. 211 00:09:31,560 --> 00:09:33,000 Important life lesson for all of us 212 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,140 to consider the next time we find ourselves in a cave. 213 00:09:36,140 --> 00:09:37,300 Go ahead and grab your Bibles. 214 00:09:38,740 --> 00:09:40,040 Psalm 142. 215 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:43,840 Psalm 142, man, we're getting close 216 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:45,520 to the end of the series, guys. 217 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:47,920 Right? 218 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:48,740 It's coming. 219 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:51,960 Before we dive into the text, 220 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,520 I think it is interesting and instructive 221 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:56,820 for us to stand back and think about 222 00:09:56,820 --> 00:09:59,160 just how much Saul's vendetta against David 223 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,100 affected his heart. 224 00:10:01,100 --> 00:10:03,300 Did you know he wrote eight Psalms about this period 225 00:10:03,300 --> 00:10:04,140 in his life? 226 00:10:05,100 --> 00:10:06,840 Eight Psalms. 227 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,440 Because it so deeply troubled him. 228 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:11,380 And maybe you have something in your life, 229 00:10:11,380 --> 00:10:14,780 some traumatic event or some traumatic season in your life 230 00:10:14,780 --> 00:10:17,220 that, like David, it sort of follows you around 231 00:10:17,220 --> 00:10:18,320 like a shadow. 232 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:21,180 I know I have a time like that in my life. 233 00:10:21,180 --> 00:10:22,420 And it's something on occasion 234 00:10:22,420 --> 00:10:24,820 that will come back to my mind. 235 00:10:24,820 --> 00:10:28,020 And I'll react to it in one of two ways. 236 00:10:28,020 --> 00:10:31,500 Sometimes it's hurtful, I feel some of that hurt come back. 237 00:10:31,500 --> 00:10:33,300 But other times, it's quite helpful 238 00:10:33,300 --> 00:10:35,460 because it gives me a chance to look back and say, 239 00:10:35,460 --> 00:10:38,440 okay, Lord, I now realize what you taught me 240 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:39,260 through that time. 241 00:10:40,340 --> 00:10:42,080 So you might have that type of thing. 242 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:43,980 And as we go through the text, maybe think about that. 243 00:10:43,980 --> 00:10:46,780 Is there a season or an event in your life where, 244 00:10:46,780 --> 00:10:48,380 man, this thing is just, 245 00:10:48,380 --> 00:10:50,720 it's sort of stuck down deep in my soul. 246 00:10:51,780 --> 00:10:54,180 But this Psalm is encouraging to us for a couple reasons. 247 00:10:54,180 --> 00:10:57,560 First of all, it tells us how we should pray 248 00:10:57,560 --> 00:10:59,360 when things go sideways. 249 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,260 And you're like, I cannot see what God is doing here. 250 00:11:02,260 --> 00:11:04,300 This makes no sense to me. 251 00:11:04,300 --> 00:11:06,660 And second, it's encouraging because no matter 252 00:11:06,660 --> 00:11:09,900 where a child of God is, might be in the belly of a fish 253 00:11:09,900 --> 00:11:13,700 or in a very isolated cave, God hears your prayers. 254 00:11:13,700 --> 00:11:17,040 He sees you, He is present with you, He knows your need, 255 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,680 and He's there to comfort you. 256 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:23,940 So, a Mascula of David, you see the superscripture 257 00:11:23,940 --> 00:11:25,020 in there in the text. 258 00:11:25,020 --> 00:11:27,480 When he was in the cave, a prayer. 259 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:29,360 Again, we looked at that term Mascula, 260 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:30,560 and basically what it is, 261 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:32,820 it's an artistically structured song 262 00:11:32,820 --> 00:11:36,560 that has the message of biblical wisdom to it. 263 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:39,100 By the way, we should probably talk about the cave. 264 00:11:39,100 --> 00:11:41,060 And you know what that means. 265 00:11:41,060 --> 00:11:42,760 I get to throw a map on the screen. 266 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,500 Yeah, love it. 267 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:48,380 So, whenever we, it's good to sort of visualize 268 00:11:48,380 --> 00:11:50,400 where this took place so that you can understand. 269 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:51,480 We need to get our bearings. 270 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:53,480 Anytime you look at a map of Israel, 271 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:55,680 the first thing you want to do is orient yourself 272 00:11:55,680 --> 00:11:58,080 by looking for the two bodies of water, right? 273 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,280 Up in the north, up in Galilee, we have the Sea of Galilee. 274 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:03,020 Down south, we have the Dead Sea. 275 00:12:03,020 --> 00:12:04,680 And what you see there to the right, 276 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,020 that big blue body of water is the Dead Sea. 277 00:12:07,020 --> 00:12:10,320 So, this is just a map of the southern portion of Israel, 278 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:11,820 what we call Judea. 279 00:12:11,820 --> 00:12:15,560 The blue dot is always Jerusalem, 280 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:19,860 and the red dot is Adulam, where this cave is located. 281 00:12:19,860 --> 00:12:21,100 Right? 282 00:12:21,100 --> 00:12:23,740 So, that 18 miles southwest of Jerusalem. 283 00:12:23,740 --> 00:12:24,940 Now, it's interesting. 284 00:12:24,940 --> 00:12:27,540 It's on the eastern end of the Elah Valley, 285 00:12:27,540 --> 00:12:29,480 which ironically was the very place 286 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:33,480 where David killed Goliath, where that battle took place. 287 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:37,120 In fact, if you look at the pink dot there, that's Azekah. 288 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,280 When we go to Israel, it's one of my favorite places 289 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:41,380 to visit because you get to stand on this hill 290 00:12:41,380 --> 00:12:43,620 and overlook where the battlefield was, 291 00:12:43,620 --> 00:12:45,560 where David killed Goliath. 292 00:12:45,560 --> 00:12:48,160 So, David knows this area very well. 293 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:51,160 He's very familiar with this part of the country. 294 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:53,440 And then the green dot is Gath. 295 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,840 That's where he's coming from when he goes to the cave. 296 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:57,940 And then the last thing I'll show you, 297 00:12:57,940 --> 00:12:59,300 just because you should know this, 298 00:12:59,300 --> 00:13:03,280 is those are the five great cities of the Philistines. 299 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:04,480 That's where they were located. 300 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:05,740 So, you see where Jerusalem is, 301 00:13:05,740 --> 00:13:07,280 you see where the Philistines are. 302 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:09,780 That territory in between was where they fought 303 00:13:09,780 --> 00:13:12,280 all their battles in what we call the Shefala. 304 00:13:13,220 --> 00:13:17,460 Okay, so you have Gath, Ekron, Ashdod, Ashkelon, 305 00:13:17,460 --> 00:13:20,420 and we all know Gaza, 306 00:13:20,420 --> 00:13:22,120 the five great cities of the Philistines. 307 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:25,240 Now, why do we think David chose Adulam 308 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:26,740 as he was fleeing from Gath? 309 00:13:26,740 --> 00:13:29,260 Well, he couldn't stay with the Philistines anymore, 310 00:13:29,260 --> 00:13:31,840 too dangerous, but he also couldn't get too close 311 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,080 to Jerusalem and expose himself and allow Saul 312 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:36,980 to perhaps discover where he is. 313 00:13:36,980 --> 00:13:40,480 So, that location and that red dot is sort of a no man's land 314 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:42,020 between the two nations. 315 00:13:42,020 --> 00:13:43,720 Both countries would come to that place 316 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,080 and then fear to tread any closer 317 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:47,760 unless they were gonna find themselves 318 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:48,960 in some type of a skirmish. 319 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:50,520 So, this was a really good spot. 320 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:52,260 In David's mind, he's probably thinking, 321 00:13:52,260 --> 00:13:56,400 this is a place where Saul might not want to come to 322 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:57,660 and look for me. 323 00:13:57,660 --> 00:13:59,160 But, he also knew at the same time, 324 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:00,700 as he's hiding in that cave, 325 00:14:00,700 --> 00:14:04,300 Saul and his men are out there scouring the countryside 326 00:14:04,300 --> 00:14:06,700 searching for him and if he's discovered, 327 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:08,140 literally he's a dead man. 328 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:11,420 You cannot forget this as we read this song. 329 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:14,340 So, what would it have been like to live in that cave? 330 00:14:14,340 --> 00:14:18,180 Well, archeologists have tried to find specifically 331 00:14:18,180 --> 00:14:19,380 which cave it was. 332 00:14:19,380 --> 00:14:21,220 There's a whole bunch of caves in that region. 333 00:14:21,220 --> 00:14:23,460 We don't know specifically which one, 334 00:14:23,460 --> 00:14:25,660 but I wanna give you an image so that you can feel 335 00:14:25,660 --> 00:14:28,220 the text a little bit more rather than just read it 336 00:14:28,220 --> 00:14:29,500 on a flat page. 337 00:14:29,500 --> 00:14:33,400 This is an actual real cave in Israel today. 338 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,000 This one happens to be in En Gedi, 339 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,880 which I know some of you guys have visited En Gedi. 340 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:40,340 And by the way, this was one of the places 341 00:14:40,340 --> 00:14:42,340 that David hid from Saul as well. 342 00:14:42,340 --> 00:14:45,440 What I want you to understand as we walk through this, 343 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,020 what the environment would have felt like. 344 00:14:48,020 --> 00:14:50,980 You can see how uncomfortable this would be, right? 345 00:14:50,980 --> 00:14:54,820 You can see how desolate it is, how depressing it is. 346 00:14:54,820 --> 00:14:58,200 And that's during the day, right? 347 00:14:58,200 --> 00:14:59,620 All your nightmares. 348 00:14:59,620 --> 00:15:01,560 Imagine at night time when you have no lamp 349 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,400 and you have no torch, 350 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:05,540 how difficult it would have been to live in this cave. 351 00:15:05,540 --> 00:15:08,200 Again, this is not what David had in mind 352 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:10,840 when he was anointed king over Israel, 353 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:12,140 but this is where he is. 354 00:15:12,140 --> 00:15:13,740 Let's read, verse one. 355 00:15:13,740 --> 00:15:17,440 David says, I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord. 356 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:21,020 I make supplication with my voice to the Lord. 357 00:15:21,020 --> 00:15:22,920 I pour out my complaint before him. 358 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:25,680 I declare my trouble before him. 359 00:15:27,060 --> 00:15:29,380 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, 360 00:15:29,380 --> 00:15:31,460 you knew my path. 361 00:15:31,460 --> 00:15:34,760 In the way where I walk, they have hidden a trap for me. 362 00:15:35,660 --> 00:15:37,060 Look to the right and see, 363 00:15:37,060 --> 00:15:39,540 for there is no one who regards me. 364 00:15:39,540 --> 00:15:40,900 There is no escape for me. 365 00:15:40,900 --> 00:15:43,600 No one cares for my soul. 366 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:45,080 I cried out to you, O Lord. 367 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:46,640 I said, you are my refuge, 368 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:48,780 my portion in the land of the living. 369 00:15:48,780 --> 00:15:52,940 Give heed to my cry, for I am brought very low. 370 00:15:52,940 --> 00:15:54,540 Deliver me from my persecutors, 371 00:15:54,540 --> 00:15:56,780 for they are too strong for me. 372 00:15:56,780 --> 00:15:58,220 Bring my soul out of prison 373 00:15:58,220 --> 00:16:00,860 so that I may give thanks to your name. 374 00:16:00,860 --> 00:16:02,280 The righteous will surround me, 375 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,120 for you will deal bountifully with me. 376 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,160 So we need to dig into this now. 377 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:09,300 Go a little bit deeper and take a look. 378 00:16:09,300 --> 00:16:11,500 First of all, what is David wrestling with in the cave? 379 00:16:11,500 --> 00:16:14,040 So look back at verse one. 380 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,000 Now again, the superscription told us what this is. 381 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:16,840 It's a prayer. 382 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:17,940 It's a prayer of David. 383 00:16:17,940 --> 00:16:19,240 And right out of the gate, 384 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,740 you see how intensely personal this is for him. 385 00:16:22,740 --> 00:16:24,680 Nothing but first-person pronouns 386 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:26,320 all the way through the psalm. 387 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:27,620 I cry aloud. 388 00:16:27,620 --> 00:16:29,020 I plead for mercy. 389 00:16:29,020 --> 00:16:31,720 I pour out my complaint, et cetera. 390 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:33,520 In moments like this, friends, 391 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:37,420 when you find yourself isolated in a rough place, 392 00:16:37,420 --> 00:16:40,760 that is a time when your faith will be tested. 393 00:16:42,260 --> 00:16:44,640 Not your parents' faith, 394 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,240 not the faith you grew up with, 395 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:47,900 not your spouse's faith, 396 00:16:47,900 --> 00:16:49,840 well, not the faith of my friends, 397 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:52,740 your faith, your faith. 398 00:16:52,740 --> 00:16:55,780 That's when your walk with the Lord 399 00:16:55,780 --> 00:16:57,920 will get real very, very quickly. 400 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:00,380 And while we talk often here at Oak Hill 401 00:17:00,380 --> 00:17:02,260 about always being there to support 402 00:17:02,260 --> 00:17:03,580 and encourage one another, 403 00:17:03,580 --> 00:17:05,380 there could come a time like this, 404 00:17:05,380 --> 00:17:06,960 like David's time in the cave, 405 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,720 when it's just you and God in the darkness. 406 00:17:11,460 --> 00:17:14,000 So learning to cry out to God in the midst of difficulty 407 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,760 is a very important thing to understand, 408 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:17,000 a very practical thing. 409 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,200 In fact, here's what Spurgeon says about this. 410 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:24,100 He says, this psalm teaches us principally by example 411 00:17:24,100 --> 00:17:27,980 how to order our prayer in times of distress. 412 00:17:27,980 --> 00:17:31,940 And such instruction is among the most needful, 413 00:17:31,940 --> 00:17:36,480 practical, and effectual parts of our spiritual education. 414 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:37,580 You believe that? 415 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:41,120 He who has learned to pray like this 416 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:44,360 has been taught the most useful of the arts and the sciences. 417 00:17:45,420 --> 00:17:47,360 Friends, this will get you through life. 418 00:17:48,660 --> 00:17:50,240 This is important. 419 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:51,640 So the first thing we see David do 420 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:52,700 in the midst of this crisis, 421 00:17:52,700 --> 00:17:55,600 he gets completely honest with God. 422 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:57,580 He is completely honest with God. 423 00:17:57,580 --> 00:17:59,000 And you guys, when we pray, 424 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,940 this is the only reasonable place to start. 425 00:18:02,980 --> 00:18:05,180 Sometimes, especially if you grow up in the church, 426 00:18:05,180 --> 00:18:08,720 we're taught the how-to's of prayer. 427 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,820 And so often we start with technique 428 00:18:11,820 --> 00:18:13,260 rather than leading with the heart. 429 00:18:13,260 --> 00:18:14,660 This is how I was taught. 430 00:18:14,660 --> 00:18:16,320 Well, what's the technique for prayer? 431 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,100 What's the step-by-step formula? 432 00:18:19,100 --> 00:18:21,360 And we say, well, here's a pattern that we should follow. 433 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:22,660 We say that. 434 00:18:22,660 --> 00:18:23,660 And then what do we end up doing? 435 00:18:23,660 --> 00:18:24,860 At least what I end up doing. 436 00:18:24,860 --> 00:18:27,000 Hyper-focus on fulfilling the pattern 437 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,300 and sort of miss the heart of prayer. 438 00:18:30,300 --> 00:18:32,140 We do this with Bible study too, right? 439 00:18:32,140 --> 00:18:34,780 We devise great reading plans. 440 00:18:34,780 --> 00:18:36,780 And then we wanna make sure we hit all of our goals, 441 00:18:36,780 --> 00:18:39,720 but in doing so, we risk missing the whole reason 442 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:41,920 why we're studying God's word in the first place. 443 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,380 Now, I'm not saying that structure is a bad thing 444 00:18:44,380 --> 00:18:45,520 in your devotional life. 445 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:47,920 For some of you, it's absolutely essential. 446 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:48,820 Here's the thing. 447 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,520 We have to guard against making our devotional life 448 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:53,500 mechanical. 449 00:18:55,660 --> 00:18:57,000 Mechanical. 450 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,000 So overly structured that it's missing the heart. 451 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,140 When the structure becomes the focus, 452 00:19:02,140 --> 00:19:03,640 rather than leading with the heart, 453 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,340 actually abiding with Christ, 454 00:19:06,340 --> 00:19:07,740 that's when we've missed it. 455 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:10,080 Here's the thing. 456 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:11,520 If your walk gets mechanical like that, 457 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,280 and then a day comes when you find yourself in distress 458 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:16,680 alone in a cave, for example, 459 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,120 you may realize in that moment that like an athlete 460 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:22,160 that hasn't trained properly for their event, 461 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,400 you may find yourself completely unequipped in that moment. 462 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:28,500 Because not all of life is mechanical. 463 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:32,400 You won't be ready or prepared. 464 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,800 Where there should be faith and resolve 465 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,700 because you've been developing spiritual muscles, 466 00:19:37,700 --> 00:19:40,500 you might actually find yourself in spiritual crisis. 467 00:19:42,140 --> 00:19:44,280 Now, let me go back to that cave picture 468 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:45,520 because I want you to keep that in mind 469 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:46,620 as we look at this. 470 00:19:46,620 --> 00:19:49,120 So listen again now to how honest 471 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:51,780 and how intense David is in his voice. 472 00:19:51,780 --> 00:19:54,760 I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord. 473 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,460 I make supplication, and really a good reading on that is, 474 00:19:57,460 --> 00:20:02,340 I plead for mercy with my voice to the Lord. 475 00:20:02,340 --> 00:20:06,740 I pour out my complaint or my lament before him. 476 00:20:06,740 --> 00:20:08,500 I declare my trouble before him. 477 00:20:08,500 --> 00:20:10,940 So look, David is desperately in need here. 478 00:20:10,940 --> 00:20:14,240 He fully understands the gravity of a situation, 479 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:16,480 and he says so to the Lord. 480 00:20:17,940 --> 00:20:19,880 And the language in Hebrew is really important. 481 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:21,220 This is a great example. 482 00:20:21,220 --> 00:20:23,380 I know it's been a while since we started this series. 483 00:20:23,380 --> 00:20:26,780 We talked about synonymous parallelism, 484 00:20:26,780 --> 00:20:28,660 saying the same thing twice, 485 00:20:28,660 --> 00:20:30,920 but with different poetic words. 486 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,300 And the point is to really emphasize this. 487 00:20:33,300 --> 00:20:36,740 So he says, I cry aloud, I plead for mercy. 488 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:38,840 Same concept. 489 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,600 I pour out my complaint, I declare my trouble. 490 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:42,840 Same idea. 491 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:46,140 It's that repetition that tells us in the Hebrew 492 00:20:46,140 --> 00:20:49,340 how intense David is in this moment, 493 00:20:49,340 --> 00:20:52,420 how it reveals the urgency of the moment. 494 00:20:52,420 --> 00:20:55,560 And then you see twice in verse two the phrase before him. 495 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,380 Now in Hebrew, the root word there is panim, 496 00:20:58,380 --> 00:21:01,300 and it literally means face. 497 00:21:01,300 --> 00:21:05,100 So what he's saying is he's poetically emphasizing 498 00:21:05,100 --> 00:21:07,740 how he's appealing to Yahweh face to face, 499 00:21:07,740 --> 00:21:10,500 like you would if there was a friend in that cave with you 500 00:21:10,500 --> 00:21:12,440 and you were shouting for help. 501 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:16,140 That's how he views this prayer time with the Lord, 502 00:21:16,140 --> 00:21:17,600 face to face. 503 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,180 See, sometimes we, again, we tend to think in prayer, 504 00:21:20,180 --> 00:21:22,020 what we come and we address God 505 00:21:22,020 --> 00:21:24,440 and we just go down our list of prayer requests, 506 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:26,120 rather than communing with God 507 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:29,080 as if speaking to Him face to face. 508 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:31,420 And David's not quiet in his communion, right? 509 00:21:31,420 --> 00:21:32,760 He cries aloud. 510 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,220 And you can imagine the sound of him crying out loud, 511 00:21:36,220 --> 00:21:38,420 echoing off the walls of that cave. 512 00:21:38,420 --> 00:21:40,600 Again, we cannot lose the sight 513 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:42,060 of what's going on in this moment, 514 00:21:42,060 --> 00:21:45,140 to be in his sandals, to know you're alone in this cave, 515 00:21:45,140 --> 00:21:46,700 that soldiers are hunting you, 516 00:21:46,700 --> 00:21:48,600 and your life is hanging in the balance. 517 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,200 So listen, in that desperate situation, 518 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:52,740 here's what you would not do. 519 00:21:52,740 --> 00:21:57,740 Oh Lord, I want to give you a nice, measured, polite prayer. 520 00:21:58,620 --> 00:22:01,520 No, you would cry aloud, right? 521 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:02,860 This wouldn't be measured at all. 522 00:22:02,860 --> 00:22:04,560 You would hold nothing back. 523 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:07,520 This prayer is, save me Lord, I need mercy, 524 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:09,800 or I am going to die in this place. 525 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:12,900 It's a desperate situation. 526 00:22:12,900 --> 00:22:15,500 Now in verse two, you see how he does this. 527 00:22:15,500 --> 00:22:18,900 It says, first of all, he poured out his complaint. 528 00:22:18,900 --> 00:22:20,500 Now a couple things to notice there. 529 00:22:20,500 --> 00:22:23,780 That term poured out is so descriptive. 530 00:22:23,780 --> 00:22:25,980 It's a word that describes something 531 00:22:25,980 --> 00:22:27,740 that just spills over. 532 00:22:27,740 --> 00:22:29,680 Again, he's not measuring his words. 533 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,320 He's not trying to be polite before God. 534 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:34,580 This prayer, he's in such a bad place, 535 00:22:34,580 --> 00:22:36,120 it just spills over. 536 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:38,120 It just pours out of him. 537 00:22:39,460 --> 00:22:40,720 And then the word complaint. 538 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:42,460 Now this is siach in the Hebrew, 539 00:22:42,460 --> 00:22:45,000 and it's a word, it doesn't mean, 540 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,560 when we hear complain, you get a picture in your head, 541 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,000 right, of a whining person. 542 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,840 That's not the picture here, okay. 543 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:53,140 It doesn't mean griping. 544 00:22:53,140 --> 00:22:54,300 It doesn't mean grumbling. 545 00:22:54,300 --> 00:22:57,000 Do you remember how Yahweh condemned the Israelites 546 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:00,440 in the wilderness for grumbling against his leadership, 547 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:01,540 Moses and Aaron? 548 00:23:01,540 --> 00:23:02,920 Completely different word. 549 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:06,820 Here David is simply talking about laying his distress 550 00:23:06,820 --> 00:23:11,060 before God, laying his troubled thoughts before the Lord. 551 00:23:11,060 --> 00:23:13,760 He's not griping about the fact that he's there. 552 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:14,820 He's not pointing a finger. 553 00:23:14,820 --> 00:23:16,220 Blame it God. 554 00:23:16,220 --> 00:23:18,560 This is a good type of complaint. 555 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,060 This is the type of complaint that God wants us 556 00:23:21,060 --> 00:23:22,160 to bring to him. 557 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:23,440 First of all, he already knows it, 558 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,640 but he wants us to come openly and honestly 559 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:29,040 with this type of complaint. 560 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:30,600 Remember that grumbling in the wilderness 561 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,480 as they pointed fingers of blame at Moses, 562 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:34,980 that was out of unbelief, right? 563 00:23:34,980 --> 00:23:37,020 That was out of a lack of faith. 564 00:23:37,020 --> 00:23:39,820 This is complete, in fact, this is the complete opposite. 565 00:23:39,820 --> 00:23:41,880 This is David just telling God everything 566 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,080 and saying, Lord, you're my only hope for rescue. 567 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:46,660 It's the opposite of unbelief. 568 00:23:46,660 --> 00:23:49,060 It's actually a great expression of faith 569 00:23:49,060 --> 00:23:50,600 for us to come to God and say, 570 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,960 here's all my stuff, Lord, I'm hoping only in you. 571 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:55,960 Does that make sense, the difference there? 572 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:00,540 Now in verse four, we hear more 573 00:24:00,540 --> 00:24:02,900 about the depths of David's despair. 574 00:24:02,900 --> 00:24:05,240 He says, look to the right and see, 575 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:09,320 no one regards me or no one takes notice of me. 576 00:24:10,620 --> 00:24:12,760 So in the ancient world, if you look to the right, 577 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:14,680 what that meant poetically was, 578 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:17,160 that's the place where your closest friend 579 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,720 would be standing, your protector and your defender. 580 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,800 But when David looks over there, there's nobody. 581 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:25,600 It's just silence. 582 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:28,560 There's no reassuring smile, there's no comforting words, 583 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:30,200 there's no encouragement. 584 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:34,700 The isolation of that cave was suffocating him 585 00:24:34,700 --> 00:24:35,540 in this moment. 586 00:24:35,540 --> 00:24:37,980 There's no escape for me, he says. 587 00:24:37,980 --> 00:24:40,540 And then he utters what has to be the saddest 588 00:24:40,540 --> 00:24:43,480 and most disheartening cry of all. 589 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:45,040 This is King David, remember. 590 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,720 He says, no one cares for my soul. 591 00:24:49,420 --> 00:24:53,520 Today we would say, nobody in the church reaches out to me. 592 00:24:54,660 --> 00:24:59,500 Nobody seems to even wonder if I exist at all. 593 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:02,100 He's overwhelmed, isn't he? 594 00:25:03,260 --> 00:25:06,140 And the fact is, people can endure an awful lot in life 595 00:25:06,140 --> 00:25:07,700 if they know that they're not alone, 596 00:25:07,700 --> 00:25:10,580 if they know that somebody actually cares. 597 00:25:10,580 --> 00:25:13,040 But David has hit rock bottom here. 598 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:14,840 I can't even imagine anything worse 599 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:19,180 than sitting in this cave all alone, isolated, 600 00:25:19,180 --> 00:25:21,980 rock bottom, thinking this might be your last hour, 601 00:25:21,980 --> 00:25:23,680 your last day, right? 602 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:25,460 You cannot let your guard down for a minute. 603 00:25:25,460 --> 00:25:28,600 You couldn't sleep, every sound would wake you up. 604 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:31,920 And then realize, you know what? 605 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:33,560 This is it, this is where I die. 606 00:25:37,460 --> 00:25:38,740 Drop down to verse six now. 607 00:25:40,060 --> 00:25:42,880 David keeps pouring out his heart. 608 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:46,840 Give heed to my cry, Lord, for I am brought very low. 609 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:50,480 Or really what that word means is I'm extremely weak. 610 00:25:51,620 --> 00:25:53,520 Deliver me from my persecutors, 611 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:55,580 these men who are pursuing me, 612 00:25:55,580 --> 00:25:57,860 for they are too strong for me. 613 00:25:57,860 --> 00:25:59,660 Now that's quite a statement 614 00:25:59,660 --> 00:26:02,200 from a strong man like David, right? 615 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:03,300 Remember, he's no coward. 616 00:26:03,300 --> 00:26:07,700 This is an experienced military commander and soldier. 617 00:26:07,700 --> 00:26:09,100 He's seen bloodshed. 618 00:26:09,100 --> 00:26:11,100 He is not whining like a baby here. 619 00:26:11,100 --> 00:26:14,900 He's just acknowledging the reality of this situation 620 00:26:14,900 --> 00:26:18,580 and he's saying, they're too strong for me. 621 00:26:18,580 --> 00:26:20,840 He's admitting his insufficiency here. 622 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:23,920 There is no way he escapes from this cave 623 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,620 without divine help and he acknowledges it. 624 00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:30,460 And you know what? 625 00:26:30,460 --> 00:26:32,360 Sometimes the Lord is gracious to put us 626 00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:34,160 in desperate situations like this. 627 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:38,460 This is where sometimes we have to be overwhelmed 628 00:26:38,460 --> 00:26:41,300 to force us to depend on him alone. 629 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:45,240 If it hasn't happened in your life, it will someday. 630 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:46,880 Where you're in a situation where you're like, 631 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:50,780 I have no escape, I can't do this. 632 00:26:50,780 --> 00:26:52,680 If I don't get divine help, I'm in trouble. 633 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:54,580 So this is what keeps us humble, right? 634 00:26:54,580 --> 00:26:56,720 This is what stretches our faith. 635 00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:58,420 And again, I love this example 636 00:26:58,420 --> 00:27:00,380 because David could be sitting in that cave 637 00:27:00,380 --> 00:27:04,460 beating his chest and going, I'm David, King of Israel. 638 00:27:05,580 --> 00:27:07,020 I took down Goliath. 639 00:27:07,020 --> 00:27:08,420 I'm fine, I'll get out of this. 640 00:27:08,420 --> 00:27:10,760 I'll figure out a way, but he doesn't do that. 641 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:13,360 He doesn't pretend before God. 642 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:16,800 And how dare we do that, right? 643 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:20,040 I'm gonna pretend before God that I'm just fine. 644 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:21,140 David doesn't do that. 645 00:27:21,140 --> 00:27:25,280 He confesses his weakness before God's face. 646 00:27:26,380 --> 00:27:27,780 And for me, this is what I see really 647 00:27:27,780 --> 00:27:29,480 is the big idea of this Psalm. 648 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:32,780 David shows us here the heart of a true worshiper 649 00:27:32,780 --> 00:27:36,180 who comes before his God deeply and honestly 650 00:27:36,180 --> 00:27:38,660 and with great intimacy, not holding back 651 00:27:38,660 --> 00:27:40,900 but laying his heart out before the Lord. 652 00:27:40,900 --> 00:27:43,600 And I know I've said this multiple times in this series, 653 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:46,300 but we need to do the same thing. 654 00:27:46,300 --> 00:27:48,860 In fact, maybe the best thing that you can do this week 655 00:27:48,860 --> 00:27:52,000 is not read another article online 656 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,280 or not go on some social media site, 657 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,940 but carve out some time, some quiet time with God 658 00:27:57,940 --> 00:28:00,520 so that you can talk to him 659 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,520 and do some examination of the soil of your heart. 660 00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:05,880 Talk openly with God. 661 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:08,120 Talk honestly with him about all that's going on 662 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:08,960 in your life. 663 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:10,720 He longs for this. 664 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,220 He invites us, abide with me. 665 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:16,320 Talk to him about your thoughts. 666 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:18,900 Talk to him about your fears and your frustrations 667 00:28:18,900 --> 00:28:23,360 and your desires and your goals, all of it. 668 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:24,640 The things that you wrestle with, 669 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:26,980 the things that you keep falling into sin, 670 00:28:26,980 --> 00:28:28,740 talk to him about it. 671 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:31,140 And use David as an example. 672 00:28:31,140 --> 00:28:32,180 Abide with Christ. 673 00:28:32,180 --> 00:28:35,720 Slow down long enough to dwell with Jesus. 674 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:36,840 Admit for your heart. 675 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:37,920 Admit your weakness. 676 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:39,760 Admit your insufficient. 677 00:28:40,860 --> 00:28:42,480 And ask the Spirit of God to strengthen you 678 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:43,920 and to grow you. 679 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:46,920 That should be a regular exercise in our lives. 680 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:49,020 That's how you develop those spiritual muscles 681 00:28:49,020 --> 00:28:50,100 for the cave. 682 00:28:51,260 --> 00:28:55,440 As you start doing it now when you're not in the cave. 683 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,300 Here's the next step in this process. 684 00:28:59,300 --> 00:29:01,480 David's acknowledgement of his weakness 685 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:02,980 is not the end of the story, 686 00:29:02,980 --> 00:29:06,280 it shouldn't be the end of our devotional life either. 687 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:07,640 We start with that, we're like, 688 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:09,620 okay Lord, I'm gonna get honest with you, 689 00:29:09,620 --> 00:29:11,980 but the second piece to this is essential. 690 00:29:11,980 --> 00:29:13,820 Listen now, David starts, 691 00:29:13,820 --> 00:29:15,860 and you see it woven through here, 692 00:29:15,860 --> 00:29:18,780 he starts to remember his theology. 693 00:29:19,860 --> 00:29:22,860 He starts to go back to what he knows about God 694 00:29:22,860 --> 00:29:27,040 and begins to remind himself about what is true about God. 695 00:29:27,940 --> 00:29:31,140 So catch this now, he doesn't neglect his feelings, 696 00:29:31,140 --> 00:29:33,900 he doesn't neglect talking about his fears and his worries, 697 00:29:33,900 --> 00:29:36,240 his lowliness, he pours all of that out, 698 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:38,740 but he doesn't stop there and just sit in the weeds 699 00:29:38,740 --> 00:29:40,580 and go, oh woe is me. 700 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:44,380 He starts thinking about truth. 701 00:29:44,380 --> 00:29:46,980 He starts speaking truth to himself. 702 00:29:46,980 --> 00:29:49,020 And this is woven into the fabric of the Psalm. 703 00:29:49,020 --> 00:29:50,420 Look at verse three for example. 704 00:29:50,420 --> 00:29:52,960 He says, when my spirit was overwhelmed within me, 705 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:55,900 look at this phrase, you knew my path. 706 00:29:55,900 --> 00:29:58,360 David is now recalling a time in the past 707 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:00,440 when he was overwhelmed by something, 708 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:05,040 his spirit was weak, but he remembered God's sovereignty. 709 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:06,940 He says, Lord, you knew my path. 710 00:30:06,940 --> 00:30:08,740 Man, remember that time when I was just, 711 00:30:08,740 --> 00:30:11,780 I was getting smacked around, but you knew my path. 712 00:30:11,780 --> 00:30:13,580 You knew the journey was on. 713 00:30:13,580 --> 00:30:16,580 You knew the end from that beginning. 714 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:19,620 And you carried me along. 715 00:30:19,620 --> 00:30:21,920 You knew how it was gonna turn out. 716 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:23,920 So why did I worry back then? 717 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,200 You knew my path. 718 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:27,960 So at times in life, 719 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,320 we might look around with our human eyes and say, 720 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,520 you know what, nobody cares about me. 721 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,300 I feel very alone right now. 722 00:30:35,300 --> 00:30:37,600 But God's always there. 723 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:39,140 Always. 724 00:30:39,140 --> 00:30:40,840 And he always cares. 725 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:43,000 And we can't forget that. 726 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,380 He's working all things for his glory and for your good, 727 00:30:46,380 --> 00:30:48,840 even the hard stuff. 728 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,140 And that is so key to remember when trials come. 729 00:30:51,140 --> 00:30:54,420 Our problem is, so I'm warning you, 730 00:30:54,420 --> 00:30:56,080 because this happened to me so many times, 731 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:57,620 I can't even count them. 732 00:30:57,620 --> 00:31:01,060 Our problem is we tend to forget these truths. 733 00:31:01,060 --> 00:31:03,720 We get so emotionally wrapped up in the trial 734 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:05,160 that we forget. 735 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:06,520 I've literally done this in my life, 736 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:08,460 and God is just like a mirror. 737 00:31:08,460 --> 00:31:10,160 I'll stand up here and preach a sermon 738 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:12,700 about this very subject. 739 00:31:12,700 --> 00:31:15,400 And if I'm not guarding my heart and renewing my mind, 740 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,100 I can walk out the door the very next day on Monday morning 741 00:31:18,100 --> 00:31:20,700 and something really difficult hits me in the face, 742 00:31:20,700 --> 00:31:22,540 some type of trial, sometimes a trouble, 743 00:31:22,540 --> 00:31:24,580 somebody in the church, something's going on, 744 00:31:24,580 --> 00:31:25,880 and what do I do? 745 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:27,820 I quickly forget everything I just preached 746 00:31:27,820 --> 00:31:29,080 on the day before. 747 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:33,060 It happens to all of us. 748 00:31:33,060 --> 00:31:36,560 So what this is, it's a matter of exercising your faith 749 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,060 and getting stronger in this, right? 750 00:31:39,060 --> 00:31:41,120 We build up our spiritual muscles 751 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:42,700 with regular honest prayer, 752 00:31:42,700 --> 00:31:45,060 and then we apply the truth of God's word to it, 753 00:31:45,060 --> 00:31:47,240 so that when that trial comes, 754 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:51,240 we go, I recognize this, and I respond well. 755 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,180 But you gotta train for this. 756 00:31:55,180 --> 00:31:56,580 You gotta build up those muscles. 757 00:31:56,580 --> 00:31:57,880 Does that make sense? 758 00:31:57,880 --> 00:31:58,940 We all do this, right? 759 00:31:58,940 --> 00:32:01,780 We get, look, we all have the best of intentions 760 00:32:01,780 --> 00:32:03,820 when we walk out the door in the morning, 761 00:32:03,820 --> 00:32:05,780 and then we get hit by stuff. 762 00:32:05,780 --> 00:32:09,320 Like all this external stuff comes at us, 763 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:10,660 and we have a choice in that moment, 764 00:32:10,660 --> 00:32:12,100 then that crossroads to say, 765 00:32:12,100 --> 00:32:15,620 okay, what do I remember about God? 766 00:32:15,620 --> 00:32:16,960 And how should I respond now? 767 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:19,560 Or I can just get all wrapped up in my feelings and emotions 768 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:21,560 and spiral off into sin. 769 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:23,400 Look at verse five as well. 770 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:24,960 David says, I cried out to you, O Lord. 771 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:26,700 I said, you are my refuge, 772 00:32:26,700 --> 00:32:28,900 my portion in the land of the living. 773 00:32:28,900 --> 00:32:32,280 So even if every other refuge that we trust in fails, 774 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,680 and I'm talking about friends and family and church members, 775 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:37,880 even the hiding place in that cave, 776 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,340 David knew at the end of the day, 777 00:32:40,340 --> 00:32:42,220 Yahweh will not forsake me. 778 00:32:42,220 --> 00:32:43,180 Amen. 779 00:32:43,180 --> 00:32:44,980 He's speaking that to himself. 780 00:32:44,980 --> 00:32:46,980 You are my portion, he says. 781 00:32:46,980 --> 00:32:50,360 So he's acknowledging this cave is really not my shelter. 782 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:52,120 God, you are. 783 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:55,400 And really, King David isn't going to determine my fate. 784 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:59,700 Only you will, Lord, because you're sovereign. 785 00:32:59,700 --> 00:33:01,540 So he says, look, you are my portion. 786 00:33:01,540 --> 00:33:02,700 Now, what does it mean? 787 00:33:02,700 --> 00:33:04,800 We sometimes say that, my portion. 788 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:08,680 What it means is, you, Lord, are my prize. 789 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:10,180 You are my inheritance. 790 00:33:10,180 --> 00:33:12,640 You are the source of all of my peace and joy. 791 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:14,340 You are all that I need. 792 00:33:14,340 --> 00:33:16,980 That's what David is saying when he talks about portion. 793 00:33:16,980 --> 00:33:17,880 You're my prize. 794 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:19,280 You're everything. 795 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:21,920 All this other stuff, it could go away, 796 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,320 but you are my portion. 797 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:26,460 And when God is truly your portion, 798 00:33:26,460 --> 00:33:29,660 then no matter what circumstances come at you, 799 00:33:29,660 --> 00:33:33,400 you realize nothing can take that away, right? 800 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:34,700 This is what the Christian martyrs 801 00:33:34,700 --> 00:33:38,200 throughout church history trusted in and said clearly. 802 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,680 Said, look, as they're burning at the stake, 803 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,380 you can take everything from me. 804 00:33:43,380 --> 00:33:45,040 You can even take my physical life, 805 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:48,040 but you cannot take away my Jesus. 806 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:51,520 You cannot take away my Jesus. 807 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:53,260 Because he is my portion. 808 00:33:53,260 --> 00:33:54,760 He is my reward. 809 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:58,220 So David is remembering his theology 810 00:33:58,220 --> 00:34:00,920 in the midst of this low point, 811 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,460 and he's falling back on it. 812 00:34:03,460 --> 00:34:05,760 So just to recap, so that we understand 813 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:09,440 how we can apply what David shows us here, 814 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:11,800 I pour out my heart before the face of God, 815 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:14,180 even if it's ugly, right? 816 00:34:14,180 --> 00:34:15,280 Sometimes we record, we're like, 817 00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:16,540 I want to pray this morning, 818 00:34:16,540 --> 00:34:19,240 and the report I'm going to give God 819 00:34:19,240 --> 00:34:21,820 is really an ugly one. 820 00:34:21,820 --> 00:34:22,640 He knows. 821 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:26,580 Not surprising him. 822 00:34:26,580 --> 00:34:28,520 So even if it's like we go to him, 823 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:30,920 we don't hold back, we tell him everything, 824 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:32,500 we confess, Lord, I am weak. 825 00:34:32,500 --> 00:34:33,960 Lord, I am a sinful man. 826 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,000 I'm a man of unclean lips, 827 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,000 and here's all of the ways that that's true of me. 828 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,240 And he goes, I know, child. 829 00:34:42,700 --> 00:34:44,500 But then we don't stop there. 830 00:34:44,500 --> 00:34:45,580 We take that next step. 831 00:34:45,580 --> 00:34:47,300 We apply the truth of God's word 832 00:34:47,300 --> 00:34:50,340 to all of those feelings and emotions and circumstances. 833 00:34:50,340 --> 00:34:53,320 We get our minds straight on what is actually true, 834 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:55,780 and then as I step out the door that morning, 835 00:34:55,780 --> 00:34:58,420 I commit myself to this important principle, 836 00:34:58,420 --> 00:35:00,980 that as I make choices, as I make decisions, 837 00:35:00,980 --> 00:35:03,980 as I think about things, as I do things, 838 00:35:03,980 --> 00:35:07,300 what's not going to dominate me are my circumstances, 839 00:35:07,300 --> 00:35:09,100 or my feelings or emotions, 840 00:35:09,100 --> 00:35:10,500 what's going to lead me and guide me 841 00:35:10,500 --> 00:35:11,900 is the truth of God's word. 842 00:35:13,260 --> 00:35:14,860 Now that's no guarantee that you're not going to get 843 00:35:14,860 --> 00:35:16,740 whacked in that day by something, 844 00:35:16,740 --> 00:35:19,280 but we keep coming back to that principle. 845 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,780 I'm going to be led by God's spirit and by God's truth. 846 00:35:21,780 --> 00:35:22,600 Amen? 847 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:23,440 Amen. 848 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:27,820 So, as I wrap up, let me just share 849 00:35:27,820 --> 00:35:29,820 a brief personal story with you guys. 850 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:33,020 Because I think it's instructive. 851 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:36,860 Earlier I mentioned that I have an experience in my past 852 00:35:36,860 --> 00:35:41,060 that has shadowed me ever since I quit the corporate world 853 00:35:41,060 --> 00:35:43,000 and went into full-time ministry. 854 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:44,800 And it's a story that does have a connection 855 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:46,660 with this church here at Oak Hill. 856 00:35:46,660 --> 00:35:49,700 This was many, many years ago, so much so that I, 857 00:35:49,700 --> 00:35:51,740 man, yeah, it's a long time. 858 00:35:52,780 --> 00:35:54,540 But it was early in my ministry experience, 859 00:35:54,540 --> 00:35:58,840 I was super green and super naive about ministry. 860 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:00,740 You know what I thought when I went into ministry 861 00:36:00,740 --> 00:36:02,260 and I just left the corporate world, 862 00:36:02,260 --> 00:36:04,980 everybody's so happy and everybody's going to row 863 00:36:04,980 --> 00:36:08,160 in the same direction, it's just going to be perfect. 864 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,720 I was like this, I was like that little, yeah, 865 00:36:10,720 --> 00:36:15,720 that little sheep bouncing around the pasture. 866 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,300 You picture, like boing, boing, boing, right? 867 00:36:18,300 --> 00:36:21,040 I was that guy, ah, we're in ministry now. 868 00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:23,800 Yeah, it took about five years. 869 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:28,800 And I experienced a betrayal at the hands of an elder team 870 00:36:29,740 --> 00:36:32,020 made up of what I thought were my closest friends. 871 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:34,540 This was not at Oak Hill. 872 00:36:36,180 --> 00:36:38,960 And it was devastating to me at the time. 873 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:41,920 It shattered in my mind everything that I thought 874 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:46,920 about life in the ministry and why I felt God had called me 875 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:49,960 out of the business world to do this. 876 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:54,960 And it was unfair, it was hurtful, it was abusive. 877 00:36:55,500 --> 00:37:00,500 And it was very, very hard on Tanya to have to stand by 878 00:37:00,500 --> 00:37:03,940 and watch as former friends went out of their way 879 00:37:03,940 --> 00:37:05,940 to criticize her husband's character 880 00:37:05,940 --> 00:37:09,020 and to damage my reputation in order to hide 881 00:37:09,020 --> 00:37:12,720 their own failures, to point fingers in my direction. 882 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:14,420 And I will tell you, at that point in my life, 883 00:37:14,420 --> 00:37:15,760 I was in a dark cave. 884 00:37:18,460 --> 00:37:21,900 It's the closest thing that, look, my life wasn't at risk. 885 00:37:21,900 --> 00:37:23,700 It wasn't nearly what David was going through, 886 00:37:23,700 --> 00:37:26,960 but I felt like we were in a dark cave. 887 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:29,700 I felt isolated and rejected. 888 00:37:29,700 --> 00:37:36,380 I was very fearful about the dark cave. 889 00:37:36,380 --> 00:37:41,380 I was very afraid of the dark cave. 890 00:37:41,380 --> 00:37:43,980 I was very afraid of the dark cave. 891 00:37:43,980 --> 00:37:46,760 As I would respond, I think today. 892 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:48,760 Again, I was so naive at the time. 893 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:50,860 But I will tell you this much, my prayer life 894 00:37:50,860 --> 00:37:52,960 has probably never been more dynamic 895 00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:54,360 than it was in those days. 896 00:37:55,500 --> 00:37:57,400 It forced me to cry out to God 897 00:37:57,400 --> 00:37:59,760 in ways that I can't even describe. 898 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:03,700 And God allowed that incredibly intense trial 899 00:38:03,700 --> 00:38:07,240 in my life for so many reasons, 900 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:09,380 so many things that I needed to learn. 901 00:38:09,380 --> 00:38:12,340 Now, at the time, I couldn't see clearly. 902 00:38:12,340 --> 00:38:14,780 At the time, I was just like, what's happening? 903 00:38:15,980 --> 00:38:17,320 And questioning everything. 904 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:19,980 But wow, do I see it clearly today. 905 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:23,060 And what came out of that ministry debacle 906 00:38:23,060 --> 00:38:27,300 was this wild idea about planning a church. 907 00:38:28,300 --> 00:38:30,500 And that was something I never dreamed of doing, 908 00:38:30,500 --> 00:38:32,260 something I didn't feel qualified to do, 909 00:38:32,260 --> 00:38:34,000 but through many, many clear signs, 910 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:36,600 that is where the Lord led Tani and I. 911 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:38,500 And we walked into that chapter of life 912 00:38:38,500 --> 00:38:41,240 with great fear and trembling. 913 00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:42,940 But ultimately, we said, you know what, Lord? 914 00:38:42,940 --> 00:38:44,380 This is entirely up to you. 915 00:38:44,380 --> 00:38:45,540 Here's what we're gonna do. 916 00:38:45,540 --> 00:38:47,280 We're gonna strive to be faithful. 917 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:49,220 We're gonna strive to preach God's word. 918 00:38:49,220 --> 00:38:50,980 And then, Lord, you determine the result. 919 00:38:50,980 --> 00:38:53,220 And that was the entire plan that we had 920 00:38:53,220 --> 00:38:56,260 in planting Oak Hill Bible Church. 921 00:38:56,260 --> 00:38:57,520 That was the whole plan. 922 00:38:57,520 --> 00:38:59,900 You know how people go to seminars and conferences now 923 00:38:59,900 --> 00:39:01,060 about all these steps? 924 00:39:01,060 --> 00:39:02,300 We were like, let's just go, 925 00:39:02,300 --> 00:39:03,960 let's just get together with some Christians 926 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:05,600 and we'll study the Bible. 927 00:39:07,540 --> 00:39:10,000 They'll never ask me to run one of those conferences. 928 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:15,000 And then, almost 18 years later, here we are at Oak Hill. 929 00:39:16,180 --> 00:39:17,480 And so, guess what? 930 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:21,140 I was so grateful for that time in the cave. 931 00:39:21,140 --> 00:39:21,980 I needed it. 932 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:24,580 And because of that experience, 933 00:39:24,580 --> 00:39:26,720 God shaped my heart and formed my heart as a man, 934 00:39:26,720 --> 00:39:28,380 as a husband, as a pastor. 935 00:39:28,380 --> 00:39:31,900 And he used it to drive everything that I think today 936 00:39:31,900 --> 00:39:34,260 about ministry, my philosophy of ministry. 937 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:37,000 And there have been so many times, this happened, 938 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:38,460 I know you're all nodding my head, 939 00:39:38,460 --> 00:39:41,340 so I have to tell you how many times I've stood, 940 00:39:41,340 --> 00:39:44,800 oftentimes in the back, among this congregation. 941 00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:47,440 And I'm looking at you, I'm taking note of everybody 942 00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:49,780 that's here because you're so dear to me. 943 00:39:55,680 --> 00:39:57,780 And it usually happens when we're singing. 944 00:39:59,260 --> 00:40:00,080 And... 945 00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:07,900 I see you guys singing. 946 00:40:09,660 --> 00:40:11,060 And I think about that cave 947 00:40:12,100 --> 00:40:14,560 and that difficult time in our lives, I'm sorry. 948 00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:17,820 I think about how God knew exactly 949 00:40:17,820 --> 00:40:20,560 what he would accomplish through this church 950 00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:22,560 and through you guys in my life, 951 00:40:23,540 --> 00:40:25,400 back when I was in that cave. 952 00:40:27,140 --> 00:40:29,300 That he would glorify himself through Oak Hill. 953 00:40:30,300 --> 00:40:33,340 So, I'm not gonna end with that. 954 00:40:35,240 --> 00:40:36,940 I wanna end with verse seven, 955 00:40:36,940 --> 00:40:38,540 because this is where David comes back to, 956 00:40:38,540 --> 00:40:39,880 he comes back to worship. 957 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:42,180 This is what it's about. 958 00:40:42,180 --> 00:40:43,340 Look at verse seven. 959 00:40:44,340 --> 00:40:45,740 David's last request is, 960 00:40:45,740 --> 00:40:49,280 Lord, bring my soul out of this prison. 961 00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:51,520 And that's what he refers to the cave as. 962 00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:52,860 So that what? 963 00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:56,020 I may give thanks to your name. 964 00:40:56,020 --> 00:40:57,820 How many times in this series have we seen 965 00:40:57,820 --> 00:40:59,960 the Psalms leading to this end? 966 00:40:59,960 --> 00:41:04,360 Almost every time the psalmist has cried out for help, 967 00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:09,340 it's so that I can get back to my people. 968 00:41:09,340 --> 00:41:11,900 And back to singing your praises. 969 00:41:11,900 --> 00:41:12,980 It's about worship. 970 00:41:12,980 --> 00:41:14,580 Rescue me from this place, Lord, 971 00:41:14,580 --> 00:41:18,680 so that I can then gather with my peeps 972 00:41:18,680 --> 00:41:20,540 and we can praise your name. 973 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:23,480 And I love this, because this tells you 974 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:24,980 something important about David's heart. 975 00:41:24,980 --> 00:41:26,560 His eye is on the prize. 976 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:29,160 His heart is not set on himself, it's on God. 977 00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:30,920 Because sometimes when we're in trial, 978 00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:33,000 it's just, Lord, get me out of this mess 979 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:35,500 so I can get back to my comfortable life. 980 00:41:35,500 --> 00:41:36,960 David could have been in prison, 981 00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:39,560 but I want to get back to my comfortable life. 982 00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:42,440 David could have said, Lord, rescue me from this prison 983 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:45,680 so that I can get back on that path to being king. 984 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:48,240 But that is not David's focus. 985 00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:51,840 His focus is on thankfulness and praise to the Lord. 986 00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:53,120 It's on worship. 987 00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:55,020 And this is what he says in the final phrase 988 00:41:55,020 --> 00:41:56,220 in verse seven is so interesting. 989 00:41:56,220 --> 00:41:58,260 He says, the righteous will surround me. 990 00:41:58,260 --> 00:42:00,360 They will gather around me, 991 00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:03,500 for I know that you will deal generously with me. 992 00:42:03,500 --> 00:42:06,460 Sitting in the cave, in his mind's eye, 993 00:42:06,460 --> 00:42:09,400 what he sees is the Lord rescuing him, 994 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:11,900 and then surrounding him with the righteous 995 00:42:11,900 --> 00:42:14,800 as they come together to praise the Lord. 996 00:42:17,740 --> 00:42:22,440 He moves from this deep pain into this confident hope 997 00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:24,020 that this is what God is gonna do. 998 00:42:24,020 --> 00:42:25,880 And listen, I hope you feel like this 999 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:27,080 every Sunday when you gather. 1000 00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:29,780 I know life is hard, getting here can be difficult, 1001 00:42:29,780 --> 00:42:32,020 but to be together with the saints, 1002 00:42:32,020 --> 00:42:35,120 to sing the praises of God's great name 1003 00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:37,500 is such a privilege. 1004 00:42:37,500 --> 00:42:39,060 Don't take it for granted. 1005 00:42:40,500 --> 00:42:45,500 Now, the PS on the story of the cave of Adulam is what? 1006 00:42:45,500 --> 00:42:46,600 Well, guess what? 1007 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:48,900 God actually answered David's prayer. 1008 00:42:48,900 --> 00:42:50,100 He did. 1009 00:42:50,100 --> 00:42:51,180 And he did, in fact, deliver David 1010 00:42:51,180 --> 00:42:53,740 from the men pursuing him for a time. 1011 00:42:53,740 --> 00:42:56,620 It's gonna get hairier later on in the story. 1012 00:42:56,620 --> 00:42:58,980 But in the process, what God did was, 1013 00:42:58,980 --> 00:43:01,980 he supplied David with the friendship 1014 00:43:01,980 --> 00:43:04,160 and the encouragement that he needed in that moment. 1015 00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:06,920 If we look at the 1 Samuel 22, 1016 00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:09,420 it says, David escaped to the cave of Adulam, 1017 00:43:09,420 --> 00:43:13,500 and when his brothers and all of his father's household 1018 00:43:13,500 --> 00:43:15,840 heard of it, they went down there to him. 1019 00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:18,060 God said, David, I know you're alone. 1020 00:43:18,060 --> 00:43:19,640 I'm gonna get you some people. 1021 00:43:20,540 --> 00:43:23,400 Everyone who was in distress and everyone who was in debt, 1022 00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:26,880 everyone who was discontented gathered to him. 1023 00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:28,520 And I don't know if David was happy about that. 1024 00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:30,960 Like, oh, this is a messy group of people. 1025 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:32,660 Well, welcome to church-planting. 1026 00:43:32,660 --> 00:43:36,620 I mean, right? 1027 00:43:36,620 --> 00:43:40,560 You go with who God gives you. 1028 00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:42,560 And he says, they were gathered to him, 1029 00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:43,900 and he became captain over them. 1030 00:43:43,900 --> 00:43:47,580 So this becomes the nucleus of David's kingdom later on. 1031 00:43:47,580 --> 00:43:51,640 400 men, God sends down to the cave to be with him. 1032 00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:53,180 Amazing. 1033 00:43:53,180 --> 00:43:55,220 So this absolute low point in David's life 1034 00:43:55,220 --> 00:43:57,220 ends up being a turning point for him. 1035 00:43:57,220 --> 00:44:01,220 His honesty, his openness, and his faith were rewarded. 1036 00:44:02,620 --> 00:44:03,980 And here's what this point says, too, 1037 00:44:03,980 --> 00:44:06,060 and this is a truth that I can testify to. 1038 00:44:06,060 --> 00:44:08,220 A whole bunch of you guys in this room can. 1039 00:44:08,220 --> 00:44:13,220 David's path to Jerusalem required that time in Adulam, 1040 00:44:14,100 --> 00:44:16,900 and his path to glory on the throne 1041 00:44:16,900 --> 00:44:18,940 required the low point in the cave. 1042 00:44:20,740 --> 00:44:22,600 May you and I remember that. 1043 00:44:22,600 --> 00:44:24,160 The next time trials come our way, 1044 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:26,860 because this, remember, for my thoughts 1045 00:44:26,860 --> 00:44:28,600 are not your thoughts. 1046 00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:31,200 It's not gonna go like you want it to go. 1047 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:33,280 It's not like you draw it up. 1048 00:44:34,700 --> 00:44:37,840 Nor are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 1049 00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:39,120 By the time you get to be my age, 1050 00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:40,640 you've gone through a few things, 1051 00:44:40,640 --> 00:44:42,620 you realize, you read that and you go, yep, 1052 00:44:42,620 --> 00:44:45,920 this is exactly how God tends to operate with his servants. 1053 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:48,520 Embrace it. 1054 00:44:48,520 --> 00:44:51,520 Embrace it. 1055 00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:53,520 Friends, there's no cave too deep, no cave too dark, 1056 00:44:53,520 --> 00:44:56,540 no cave too isolated for God to know where you are, 1057 00:44:56,540 --> 00:44:59,540 to be present with you and to hear your prayers. 1058 00:44:59,540 --> 00:45:02,040 So no matter how trapped or alone you might feel, 1059 00:45:02,040 --> 00:45:05,540 know that your shepherd is with you, 1060 00:45:05,540 --> 00:45:09,540 that his rod and his staff are there to comfort you. 1061 00:45:09,540 --> 00:45:10,380 Amen? 1062 00:45:10,380 --> 00:45:11,220 Let's bow our heads. 1063 00:45:11,220 --> 00:45:12,040 Amen. 1064 00:45:12,040 --> 00:45:12,880 Amen. 1065 00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:13,720 Amen. 1066 00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:14,560 Amen. 1067 00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:15,380 Amen. 1068 00:45:15,380 --> 00:45:16,220 Amen. 1069 00:45:16,220 --> 00:45:17,060 Amen. 1070 00:45:17,060 --> 00:45:17,880 Amen. 1071 00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:18,720 Amen. 1072 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:31,500 Lord, this is such a great story for us. 1073 00:45:31,500 --> 00:45:34,100 I know, Lord, that we often in our flesh, 1074 00:45:34,100 --> 00:45:37,500 we prefer more encouraging stories 1075 00:45:37,500 --> 00:45:41,840 where we don't have to talk about hardship and trial 1076 00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:45,240 and our life at risk and having to trust you 1077 00:45:45,240 --> 00:45:46,920 in such difficult circumstances. 1078 00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:50,440 But Lord, this is what you have given us to instruct us. 1079 00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:53,180 And so we, together, we say thank you, Lord, 1080 00:45:53,180 --> 00:45:55,060 for each and every word, 1081 00:45:56,020 --> 00:45:57,860 for what David shows us in his life. 1082 00:45:57,860 --> 00:46:00,560 David is such a blessing to us, 1083 00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:04,020 both so that we can be warned and so we can be encouraged. 1084 00:46:04,020 --> 00:46:07,240 And so, Lord, I thank you for what you took David through 1085 00:46:07,240 --> 00:46:09,740 in this moment, and I thank you for what you have taken 1086 00:46:09,740 --> 00:46:13,240 me through in my life and for all those out there right now 1087 00:46:13,240 --> 00:46:16,400 who are thinking in their minds about events 1088 00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:18,980 and seasons in their life where things have shadowed them 1089 00:46:18,980 --> 00:46:20,620 and it's just hard to shake. 1090 00:46:20,620 --> 00:46:23,640 Lord, will you show them the truth 1091 00:46:23,640 --> 00:46:25,480 of what you are doing in their lives 1092 00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:27,280 through those difficult things, 1093 00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:30,880 that your ways are far superior to ours, 1094 00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:33,820 that your thoughts are so far above us, Lord, 1095 00:46:33,820 --> 00:46:35,320 we just need to trust you and say, 1096 00:46:35,320 --> 00:46:39,660 Abba, daddy, daddy, walk me through this. 1097 00:46:39,660 --> 00:46:41,000 And as long as you are with me, 1098 00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:43,960 as long as your rod and staff are there, 1099 00:46:43,960 --> 00:46:46,540 I'm ready to walk with you. 1100 00:46:46,540 --> 00:46:48,100 God, thank you for this morning. 1101 00:46:48,100 --> 00:46:52,280 We praise you in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 1102 00:46:52,280 --> 00:47:14,280 Amen.