1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:03,800 You're listening to the Bridgetown Church Podcast with 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,880 Pastor Casey Kendall, where our vision is Jesus, our mission is 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,760 people, and our cause is love. Thanks for tuning in. 4 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:13,240 Let's dive in. For Samuel chapter 20, if you 5 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:17,000 have your Bible handy, the title of the message, if you've if 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,120 you've ever heard it, is is called I Will Survive. 7 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:25,440 I Will Survive. Yep, I Will Survive. 8 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:30,320 So I just want to pinpoint First Samuel chapter 20, verse 3. 9 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:32,600 And then we're actually going to go through every verse in that 10 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:36,520 chapter and talk about David and Jonathan's life together. 11 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,800 I Will Survive. Look at verse three of first 12 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,360 Samuel chapter 20. And then David took an oath 13 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:47,120 again and said, your father certainly knows that. 14 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:53,120 I have found favor in your eyes. And he has said do not let 15 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,560 Jonathan know this lest he be grieved. 16 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:00,440 But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, listen to 17 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:05,120 this last sentence. There is but a step between me 18 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:07,560 and death. I just want to repeat that last 19 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:12,120 line again of David's life at this point in time is he says 20 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:17,680 there is but a step between me and death. 21 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,200 I I, I want you to pay attention to that. 22 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,000 And if you would just look at your neighbor this morning, and 23 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,400 as we've always do when I'm present, if you would just look 24 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,600 at your neighbor and say neighbor, my neighbor, I Will 25 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,920 Survive. I, I, I know some of your minds 26 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,600 went all the way back to 1978 when you heard that title. 27 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:45,320 Some of you didn't even know that 1978 existed, but your mind 28 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:50,160 went back to a woman by the name of Gloria Gaynor who sang this 29 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:54,880 dance song. I Will Survive. 30 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:59,920 I Will Survive. It went something like this. 31 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:02,800 I know you know it. No, not I. 32 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,840 But I Will Survive. Long as I know how to love, I 33 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:11,320 know I'll stay alive. I got my life to live and all my 34 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:15,400 love to give, and I Will Survive. 35 00:02:15,640 --> 00:02:22,920 I, I, I Will Survive. I they will survive. 36 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:28,640 I know your mind has gone back to this past song, but I want to 37 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:33,400 talk to you about your very present struggling situation 38 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,720 that you're in right now. If I could just this morning 39 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:41,840 slide into your DMS and if I could find myself saying that 40 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,760 this isn't just a song, but some of you have reached a place in 41 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:50,400 your life where you have so much coming against you that the only 42 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,720 immediate objective on your agenda is to make it to the next 43 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,320 day. I know there's some of you that 44 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,280 you've come in here that I'm not preaching to everybody today, 45 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,560 but just some of us who have been in places where life will 46 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:08,200 bring you wave after wave and problem after problem and hurt 47 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:13,400 after hurt where it just seems like you will not survive in the 48 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,640 land that you are living in today. 49 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:20,160 I know some of you find yourself in this place of challenge where 50 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,080 the enemy has come against you so hard. 51 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,520 It has been situations that have happened at your work place. 52 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,160 It's been situations that have happened in your home. 53 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,000 It has been situations that have happened in your new school 54 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,040 year. It has been situations that have 55 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,200 happened between husband and wife, between boyfriend and 56 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:39,920 girlfriend, between uncles and aunts. 57 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:46,200 And it just seems like you will not survive in the land where 58 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:51,000 you are walking. And maybe your goal is not even 59 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:55,000 just to get through the remainder part of this year or 60 00:03:55,000 --> 00:04:00,120 the new part of this week, but your goal today is just to get 61 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,800 through today. Am I speaking to anyone? 62 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:06,760 Four people. That's great. 63 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:09,800 The rest of you listen to the podcast because you're going to 64 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:14,240 need this for later. This is a time and a place where 65 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,000 we will all face a struggle in our life. 66 00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:20,399 We will all go through very difficult situations. 67 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,400 And this is not a place where I'm praying that the Lord gives 68 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,560 me a new house. This is not a place that I pray 69 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:28,520 to Jesus that I would win the lottery. 70 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,800 This is not a place where I pray that I'd be promoted. 71 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:37,360 I'm just trying to ask God to completely and sufficiently get 72 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:42,840 me through the day. It is that type of place in your 73 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:49,400 life where you have been in survival mode and all you wanted 74 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:53,560 to do was just get through today. 75 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:58,440 If I could just define this term survival mode for you. 76 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:04,280 Survival mode means this. You get there when you realize 77 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,760 your new definition for life is simply to survive. 78 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,880 And I met a person a few years ago who hadn't been in church a 79 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:16,280 while. And when I saw him, I asked him, 80 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:18,800 I say, where have you been? He said. 81 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,760 Pastor Casey, I have been in the fight of my life. 82 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:29,600 I am just trying to survive. I don't know if you found 83 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:35,240 yourself there trying to survive through that divorce, trying to 84 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:39,720 survive through that marriage, trying to survive through that 85 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:44,160 family situation, trying to survive in your job, trying to 86 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:48,800 survive with the relatives, just trying to survive through your 87 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:53,400 finances as everything seems to be getting a little bit more 88 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,000 money when you hit the grocery store aisles. 89 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:03,040 I am just trying to survive. If I could speak something over 90 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:08,720 you in the name of Jesus Christ, we will survive because of Him 91 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:15,080 and by Him and through Him and for Him, we will survive. 92 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:19,680 In the situation that you're in has not come to ruin you. 93 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,160 It's actually come to restore you. 94 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,320 The situation that you find yourself in is not going to 95 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,600 break you down as much as it will build you up. 96 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,520 Your situation in your life right now will be something that 97 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,920 it just seems so hard, but it is in this moment that in the 98 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:42,200 hardness of my situation that the Lord expands the capacity of 99 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:46,760 my shoulders to bear what seems unbearable, to do what seems 100 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,440 unreasonable, and to expect something that seems impossible. 101 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,960 You will survive. If there ever was a man in the 102 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:58,440 Bible that we would look at and he would be diagnosed clinically 103 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,760 with this condition, it was David. 104 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:06,040 David was in survival mode. You all know the story of David 105 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:10,560 called by Samuel, forsaken by his family. 106 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:16,200 He's now delivering lunch to his brothers via DoorDash and Uber 107 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,480 Eats. And he finds himself at this 108 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,560 place now in this area of his life. 109 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,280 All he wants to do is give his brother some food. 110 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,560 And he hears this Philistine taunting God. 111 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:32,400 And he then says who will take care of this problem? 112 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,400 And everyone lived in fear. But David because of his faith 113 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,360 would come and say that the battle is the Lord's. 114 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:44,200 He wins against Goliath, chops his head off, his Philistine 115 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:48,680 army is moving backwards, his name is getting more popular and 116 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:53,600 more popular, he has anointed the king of Israel and King Saul 117 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,280 is not happy. You think that David in victory 118 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,800 from 1 battle would enter into the palace in the next, But 119 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:04,320 rather than that, for the next 15 years of his life or so, he's 120 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:09,640 running from King Saul. He's running in such a place 121 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,680 where his life is being pursued. And when we hear David say this 122 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:18,040 in verse three, there is but a step between me and death. 123 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:24,040 I want you to hear the anguish of David's soul that this is 124 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,760 like someone who has been battling cancer and going 125 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:33,320 through chemo and they just can't take one more step. 126 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:36,320 There's just one step between me and death. 127 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,039 This is the step when there's trouble in your relationship and 128 00:08:40,039 --> 00:08:43,600 the agony of your heart wants to see something differently but 129 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:48,040 but but it stays the same. This is the agony of someone who 130 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:52,160 has lost someone that they've loved and cared for and deeply 131 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:55,000 adored. This is the cry of David's 132 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,120 heart. I don't want us just to gloss 133 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,560 over this. This is a bit deeper in emotion. 134 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:05,840 The pain in the agony in the sweat upon David's face and the 135 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:10,160 blisters upon David's feet and the brokenness upon David's 136 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,600 heart. There is just one step between 137 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:17,560 me and death today. You ever felt that way where 138 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:22,160 your expectation of something or someone has to be lowered 139 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:24,560 because of something that's happened in your life? 140 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:29,400 You ever found yourself in a place where, a lot like David, 141 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:35,440 you just want to survive? I was looking up the definition 142 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,120 again for survival mode. It refers to a state, a 143 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:42,800 prolonged stress, where the body's fight or flight mode is 144 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:48,560 constantly activated, leading to a physical or mental exhaustion. 145 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:52,520 And that's how you've walked in here today, physically and 146 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,960 mentally exhausted. I know you say said, praise the 147 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,880 Lord, but inside of your heart you are physically and mentally 148 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:02,400 exhausted. You're wondering how you're 149 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:04,680 going to keep on parenting in this pain. 150 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,040 You're wondering why you continue to be on the cycle of 151 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:09,800 fighting with your husband or your wife. 152 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:13,160 You're wondering as a single person, is there really anyone 153 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,480 that's going to be good for me while I follow after Jesus 154 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:18,760 Christ? Listen, this is David, 155 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,920 physically and mentally exhausted. 156 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:26,840 Every crutch had been taken out of his life, life taken from 157 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:32,240 him, removed from him, all of his resources in this place. 158 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:36,040 He had lost his position. He couldn't stay with his wife 159 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,440 Samuel. This would be the last time that 160 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,040 he sees him. Jonathan now as a friend. 161 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,480 He lost his self respect because he had to run back down to the 162 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,000 Philistine country and hide from King Saul. 163 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:53,520 Every crutch was taken away. It was now David at this point 164 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:58,160 in verse one where the Bible says then David fled from Nayoff 165 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,920 in Rama. I just want you to understand 166 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:05,040 Nayoff Rama. Nayoff means in verse 1A high 167 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:09,400 place or a dwelling place. And notice it if you would. 168 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:14,800 The word Rama there in our Bible brings us to, excuse me, Neyaf 169 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:18,040 means habitation. Rama means dwelling place or 170 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:20,640 high place. So David's up in this high 171 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:23,960 secure place. He has to leave the high secure 172 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:27,720 place to go to a place that is unknown. 173 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:32,600 The Bible says that David fled. He fled and sometimes when we 174 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:35,480 read our Bibles we we just read the black and white, but we 175 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:38,200 don't put the emotion that's inside of that. 176 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,720 The word fled literally means to be chased away. 177 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,120 The word fled there means that someones pursuing after you. 178 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:46,320 It means that he had been driven away. 179 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,200 Literally. The Hebrew word means to bolt, 180 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:54,800 to flee something suddenly. And here is David, and he flees 181 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:59,440 a place that is high and a place that is secure, and he loses 182 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,400 everything around him. Notice not just where he's at, 183 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:08,320 but who he leaves. In chapter 19, David is with 184 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:13,560 Samuel the prophet of the Lord, the man that had called and 185 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:17,840 anointed him to be king, the one who had mentored him, the one 186 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:23,720 who had loved him, the one now David found thus saith the Lord 187 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:28,600 in he now has to be removed from Samuel. 188 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:33,800 And at this place and time David lost his association, his 189 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:39,720 affluence and his anointing. He thought even though he had 190 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:44,200 come to this spot, notice this. David says these words in 191 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,040 survival mode. He said, what have I done, 192 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:50,320 Jonathan in verse one? And then he says another 193 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:52,600 question. What's the what's my iniquity? 194 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:56,040 And then he says, what is my sin before your father, that he 195 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:59,360 seeks my life. Notice what survival mode often 196 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:03,360 leads to. It leads to doubting yourself 197 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:08,440 and questioning your motives. And here at this point in time, 198 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:13,560 David's investigating. He's examining his own life, and 199 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:18,560 here he sits here in survival mode, maybe like you sit here 200 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:21,800 today in survival mode. You might be asking, OK, what, 201 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:23,480 how, what? What are some of the things that 202 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:25,400 I need to know that I'm in survival mode? 203 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:28,240 Number one, if you're taking note, write this down or letter 204 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:30,720 A, whatever you want to label it as. 205 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:32,600 How do I know I'm in survival mode? 206 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:35,120 You have difficulty making decisions. 207 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:37,600 You have difficulty making decisions. 208 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:38,560 Or should I go? Yes. 209 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:40,360 Or should I take that? Yeah, no, no, no. 210 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:43,120 Pull it back. And you're always vacillating 211 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,720 between two decisions. Notice the letter B or #2 212 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:50,800 There's a lack of motivation. You just don't even want to get 213 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,440 up. You, you just aren't motivated 214 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:55,440 anymore. This is survival mode. 215 00:13:55,720 --> 00:14:00,360 Maybe you have a persistent stress letter C The stress upon 216 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,720 your finances, the stress upon your health, the stress upon 217 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:08,560 relationships, which then leads to letter D poor concentration. 218 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:14,920 You just can't focus. And then it leads to having mood 219 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,720 swings. You're happy one minute and then 220 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,200 you're severely irritable the next. 221 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:26,360 And then mood swings lead to physical symptoms and increase 222 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:30,920 heart rate, heart problems, anxiety, and depression in the 223 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:34,280 mind. This is David's story. 224 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:36,560 But here's what I want to highlight in chapter 20. 225 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,680 This is not the end of David's story. 226 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,760 This is just part of David's story. 227 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,760 Just like when you hear the song I Will Survive. 228 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:49,440 I didn't know. I thought it was about 229 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,960 relationships. The song was written by a man 230 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:59,000 who had been fired from Motown and before he slammed the door 231 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:03,720 as he walked out of that place, he told them I Will Survive. 232 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,920 So we grabbed another guy and they wrote this song together. 233 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:12,440 Then a lady by the name of Gloria Gaynor takes this song. 234 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:16,640 Gloria Gaynor at this time in her life in 1978, is a woman 235 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:21,480 that has a broken back and full of setbacks in her career. 236 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:29,720 And then she owns the song for herself and she sings, I Will 237 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,640 Survive. And I want this to be the anthem 238 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:39,520 of your life. You will survive in Jesus. 239 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:42,040 I'm going to just say that again. 240 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:47,720 You will survive in Jesus. This will not be the end of your 241 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:50,080 story. But you might be asking, well, 242 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:52,600 how does that happen? I want you to write some things 243 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:54,680 down if you're taking note. And that is this. 244 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:57,000 This is how it happens. Number one. 245 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,840 Number one, God will bring you people to assess the situation. 246 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,640 God will bring you people to assess the situation, David 247 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,680 says. I'm just one step away and 248 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:10,000 notice what happens. The Bible says in verse 4. 249 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,880 So Jonathan said to David, whatever you desire, whatever 250 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,240 you yourself desire, I will do it for you. 251 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:19,640 And David said to Jonathan, indeed, tomorrow is the new 252 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:23,640 moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat, but 253 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:28,160 let me go, that I may hide in the field until the 3rd day at 254 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,400 evening. If your father misses me at all, 255 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,720 then say David, earnestly ask permission of me, that he might 256 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:41,240 run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice 257 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:45,200 there for all the family. If he says thus, it is well your 258 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:49,440 servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, then be 259 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:54,120 sure that the evil is determined by him. 260 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:59,120 Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have 261 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:03,360 brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. 262 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:06,359 Nevertheless, if there's iniquity in me, kill me 263 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,920 yourself, or why would you bring me to your father? 264 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:15,240 And Jonathan said, far be it from you, for I knew certainly 265 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:18,319 that evil was determined by my father to come upon you. 266 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:25,319 Then would I not tell you? Then David said to Jonathan, who 267 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:28,000 will tell me? Or what if your father answers 268 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,040 you roughly? And Jonathan said to David, come 269 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:33,440 and let us go out into the field. 270 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,320 So both of them went out into the field. 271 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:38,000 No notice if you would just take note of this. 272 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:42,240 This chapter is going to be broken down into three scenes. 273 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:48,320 The field, the crown, the spear, the field, the crown, the spear. 274 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:55,240 And notice who was brought to David in the midst of his 275 00:17:55,240 --> 00:18:01,520 survival mode, his friend named Jonathan. 276 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:08,160 And here in this spot, Jonathan and David come up with a plan 277 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,840 where David says, your father is seeking my life. 278 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:14,080 And Jonathan says, how can it be? 279 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:20,360 If it's so, I will tell you. And so they come up with this 280 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:27,520 plan on how they would go back, Jonathan, to his father's feast. 281 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:35,760 And if David is missing and the dad saw gets mad, then Jonathan 282 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:40,800 will go tell David that there is harm coming against him. 283 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:46,520 Did you see it's not just important where you go, it's 284 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:52,440 important to who you go to for the right assessment of your 285 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,200 situation. David went to Jonathan. 286 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:02,400 Jonathan, a man who feared God, love God, who sought God, who 287 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:07,040 was not advocating for the throne but was willing to 288 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:10,520 promote God's agenda and Kingdom. 289 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:14,960 This is so important because some of us are running to people 290 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:19,600 that are giving us advice and we who love Jesus are running to 291 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:24,240 people who don't love Jesus. So because of that, you're not 292 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:28,280 going to get the correct information and wisdom from the 293 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:32,400 Word of God, from someone who you tell that you're having 294 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,560 problems in your marriage. You might hear something like 295 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:37,680 this. Well, just end it all. 296 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:41,560 You know, I'm battling depression. 297 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:43,640 Well, here's what you need to do. 298 00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:47,360 And then they give you advice that doesn't match the 299 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:49,600 scripture. If there's anything we need to 300 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,160 do, it is to come back to the book. 301 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:56,760 And I need people in my life who will bring me back to the book. 302 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,280 I need this to be the authoritative word of God over 303 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:05,120 my life where I can come to such a place where some people in my 304 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:08,720 life are going to tell me hard things and see things in my life 305 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:14,960 that I don't just see yet. We need people in our lives to 306 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:21,040 help assess the situations that we often find ourselves in. 307 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:24,920 Did you do you know that this is what God wants to do? 308 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,480 The reason being is many times. Times through our situation, we 309 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:34,000 could lose sight of doing what's right in the eyes of God. 310 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:39,000 And so God brings specific people in my life, some folks 311 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:43,560 who follow after Jesus, folks who have my back and hold my 312 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,520 heart to come in and give me clarity where there might be 313 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,360 confusion. Did you see we need people in 314 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:52,800 our lives to help assess our situation? 315 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:57,200 You know those people who give us advice because we still don't 316 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:00,600 don't know everything. We need people like that in our 317 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,440 lives. You know those people who can 318 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,680 assess the situation. Someone who will help you and 319 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:10,720 not hurt you. Someone to remind you to see 320 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,520 past the moment and remember the long term work of God and what 321 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,600 He's doing. We need people in our lives who 322 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,320 will come in. Someone to tell you not to make 323 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:22,720 a foolish mistake because you're angry. 324 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:26,760 You know that type of person, Someone who will tell you to 325 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:29,000 write it, but hit save, don't hit send. 326 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:33,720 Do you know what I'm saying? We need those types of people in 327 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,120 our lives. People who could honestly look 328 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:42,040 at the situation and find themselves in a specific spot 329 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:48,560 where they're willing to give to us and go with us on the 330 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,360 journey. We need those people. 331 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:56,320 I was talking to a pilot, an Air Force pilot who was going 332 00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:00,080 through survival school for him flying the fighter jets. 333 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,120 And, and he was telling me about the survival school of all the 334 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:06,680 the times he had to hide and how many times he had to sleep in 335 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:08,960 the dirt and cover himself from the enemy. 336 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:14,360 And they let these guys out this this team of people, and they 337 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:20,000 are taken as prisoners of war so they could simulate what it 338 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:23,040 means to be caught. If they're ever in battle and 339 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:26,280 they have to get out of their plane and they're caught, how do 340 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:28,960 they actually survive? And he told me about all the 341 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,480 bugs that he ate. He told me how he had to hunt 342 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:36,120 for certain berries. He told me of where they would 343 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:43,000 shove him into horrible things that were put into a barrel, how 344 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,400 they would put this loud speakers over his ears and play 345 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,640 these screaming noises. And they would torment him day 346 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:56,720 after day after day, so much so in his 20s that his brown hair 347 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:00,040 turned all Gray when he got out of survival school. 348 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:06,520 To this day, this gentleman has one spot on his head that is 349 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,000 Gray that never went back to the same color. 350 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:11,720 That's how much stress he was under. 351 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:16,000 And so I said, well, what? What was it for you that really 352 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,240 tormented you? He's all I could sustain all of 353 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:21,440 that. But the one thing they did to 354 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:25,520 torment them us, the most is they isolated us. 355 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:31,720 They isolated us. And when they isolated us, we 356 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:37,000 thought that we were turned on by our comrades, and then we 357 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,640 were left alone. One of the enemy's greatest 358 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:46,840 things he wants you to do in a stressful situation is to 359 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:50,720 isolate yourself. Because when you begin to 360 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:55,680 isolate yourself, you begin to think that God is no longer for 361 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:59,280 you and nobody will ever love you. 362 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,880 But I love what one man said. He said these words. 363 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,280 When God wants to bless you, He doesn't send you things, He 364 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,640 sends you people. I just want to read that to you 365 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:11,080 again. When God wants to bless you, He 366 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:14,280 just doesn't send you things. He sends you people. 367 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:17,880 He sends you people. Look at all throughout the Bible 368 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,640 that this is how it is. This is the biblical truth that 369 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:28,400 God gave people, people. Now I know right now you're 370 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:32,080 looking at just people. You're driving in traffic and 371 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:36,000 you're just like people. You're at work and you're just 372 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,200 like, oh, people, you go to your school. 373 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:42,920 It's just people California is flooded with. 374 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:52,840 And God chooses to use people to reach you for his glory. 375 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,320 Isn't that amazing? Yeah. 376 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:58,440 Where's the biblical principle for this? 377 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,040 Who did Adam begin? Who? 378 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:06,080 What was at? Who was Adam given Eve? 379 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:08,680 You might go, well, that was a mistake. 380 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,800 No, no, no, no. Listen, it wasn't Eve's fault. 381 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:15,280 It was Adam's fault, although she ate of the fruit first. 382 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:17,920 Listen to let's, let's go back to the leadership of Adam, 383 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,880 because some of you women have gotten a bad rap for years. 384 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,680 The woman made me do it. No, you did it. 385 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,400 Moses was given Jethro and Aaron. 386 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,840 Paul was given Silas, Barnabas, and Timothy. 387 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,520 Naomi was given Ruth. Esther was given Mordecai, 388 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:45,400 Peter, James, and John. And then Jesus says I entrust 389 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:50,880 you with the message of the gospel, greater things you will 390 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:56,200 do than I have done. And he says that to people. 391 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:58,880 Now, this is what I want you to understand. 392 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,600 You are never at your best by yourself. 393 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,320 And maybe the reason you're not growing is because you're the 394 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:15,440 most holiest person in the room. Maybe we need some more people 395 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:17,880 in our lives. They're going to challenge us. 396 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:21,240 You know those people that there's so much in the Word of 397 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,160 God that you know that their devotions are about to rub off 398 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:26,760 you in the morning. You know what I'm saying? 399 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:30,280 I just read in the book of Judges and you're like the fuck 400 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:33,840 of judges. And with enthusiasm, someone 401 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:37,080 shares what they just read in the I need people that when they 402 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:39,480 say they're going to pray for me, they're actually praying for 403 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,720 me. I need people that just are so 404 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,920 bold for Jesus Christ that they're willing to go into the 405 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:50,640 city by themselves, buy and rent a booth at Flashback in Glendora 406 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,720 on Saturday, and then call me to come serve with them. 407 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:58,400 I need those types of people in my life where it is exciting and 408 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,160 people are rubbing off on you. People are directing you, you 409 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:06,240 know, people who are greater than you in the situation that 410 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:10,360 you might find yourself in. Someone to say I've walked with 411 00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:13,440 God long enough to know that he's faithful to you in this 412 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,840 situation. I've walked with God long enough 413 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:20,120 to know that the rug will be pulled out from you, that life 414 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:23,920 will hurt, that you are a Sinner, that you are broken, 415 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:28,120 that we need repentance, but Jesus is faithful. 416 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:33,560 I need people in my life like that to help assess the 417 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:37,880 situation. We will survive, but at some 418 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:43,680 time and some point you will need someone and God brings 419 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:46,760 Jonathan to David. But not only this, I need not 420 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,800 just someone who will help me assess the situation, write this 421 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:51,720 down. I need someone who's going to 422 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:55,520 speak affirmation of God in my situation. 423 00:27:56,080 --> 00:28:00,120 Look at this long part here if you would verse 12 that Jonathan 424 00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:03,600 said to David, Notice this, the Lord God of Israel is witness 425 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,840 when I have surrounded out, when I have sounded out my father 426 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:09,880 sometime tomorrow on the third day. 427 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:14,000 And indeed there is good toward David and I do not send to you 428 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:19,040 and tell you may the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. 429 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:23,320 But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report 430 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,080 it. Notice this, I will report it to 431 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:29,440 you and go and send you a way that you may go in safety and 432 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:33,240 the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. 433 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:37,360 Look at the truth, truth that is being shared, the affirmation I 434 00:28:37,360 --> 00:28:40,560 will tell you, and you shall not only show me the kindness of the 435 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,000 Lord while I still live, that I may not die. 436 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:46,480 Jonathan says to David, but you shall not cut off your kindness 437 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:50,200 from my house forever. No, not when the Lord has cut 438 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,360 off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the 439 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:57,760 earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with 440 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:01,560 the House of David, saying, let the Lord require it at the hand 441 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:04,840 of David's enemies. And Jonathan again caused David 442 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:09,160 to vow notice that truth because he loved him, for he loved him 443 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:12,920 as he loved his own soul. And then Jonathan said to David, 444 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,280 Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your 445 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,880 seat will be empty. And when you have stayed three 446 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:22,320 days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on 447 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:26,880 the day of the deed, and remain by the stone of Azel. 448 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:30,880 And then I will shoot 3 arrows to the side of it, as though I 449 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,920 shot at a target. And there I will send a lad 450 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,320 saying, go find the arrows. If I expressively say to the 451 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:41,120 lad, look, the arrows are on the side of you, get them and come. 452 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,400 Then as the Lord lives, there's safety for you and no harm. 453 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:49,160 But if I say thus to the young man, look, the arrows are beyond 454 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,680 you, go your way, for the Lord has sent you away. 455 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,760 And As for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed, 456 00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:59,680 the Lord be between you and me forever. 457 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:01,880 We're reading the whole chapter. Keep going. 458 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:05,520 So David hid in the field, and when the new moon had come, the 459 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:09,480 king sat down to eat the feast. And now the king sat on his 460 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:13,600 seat, as at other times, and on a seat by the wall. 461 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,800 And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side. 462 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:21,440 But David's place was empty. Nevertheless, Saul did not say 463 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:25,720 anything that day for the thought something has happened 464 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:29,640 to him, he is unclean, surely he is unclean. 465 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:33,160 And it happened the next day. The second day of the month at 466 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:37,080 David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan, his 467 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,760 son, why has the son of Jesse not come to eat either yesterday 468 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,880 or today? And so Jonathan answered Saul. 469 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:47,520 David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. 470 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,200 And he said, please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice 471 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,200 in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. 472 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:58,760 And now if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get 473 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:03,280 away and see my brothers. Therefore he has not come to the 474 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:06,400 King's table. Then Saul's anger was aroused 475 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:09,640 against Jonathan. And he said to him, you son of a 476 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:17,200 perverse, rebellious woman, how's that dad at the table when 477 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:23,160 we speak to our kids? Can you imagine that you, son, 478 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:29,160 perverse, rebellious woman, owner of Jonathan's mom's, just 479 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:35,400 look and it's all like, what in the world are you saying? 480 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:42,400 But anger always makes you say things you later regret at the 481 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:45,160 table. Do I not know that you have 482 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:48,360 chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of 483 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:53,040 your mother's nakedness? Come on, Saul, for as long as 484 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:55,400 the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be 485 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:59,960 established, nor your Kingdom. Now therefore send and bring him 486 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:03,560 to me, for he shall surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul's 487 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,000 father and said to him, Why should he be killed? 488 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:09,080 What has he done? And then Saul cast a spirit him 489 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:11,520 to kill him. Talk about a family fight at the 490 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:14,440 dinner table. Here is Saul, and he says you 491 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:18,000 are the son of a rebellious and perverse woman. 492 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:23,040 Then he takes his spear at the dinner table while they're 493 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:28,040 eating meatloaf, and as he hears the words, he throws his spear 494 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,320 at him. He says wrong words. 495 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:38,560 He does wrong things. He threw a spear at his son. 496 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:43,200 I wonder how many times, Dad, we've thrown Spears at our sons 497 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,680 and we've said things that we just want to take back but we 498 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:54,440 can't. The spear has been thrown. 499 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:59,280 And here in this tense moment at the dinner table. 500 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:01,240 You ever have a tense moment at the dinner table? 501 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:04,840 All right, I'm just going to say Amen. 502 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:12,840 All y'all are lying. Tense moments at the table. 503 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:14,960 This wasn't in front of the throne. 504 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:19,240 This was at the dinner table. Come on here it happens and 505 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:24,760 Jonathan arose in verse 34 from the table in fierce anger. 506 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:28,560 He ate no food the second day of the month for he was grieve for 507 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:31,840 David because his father had treated him shamefully. 508 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:35,080 And so it was in the morning that Jonathan went out into the 509 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:37,760 field at the time that was appointed with David and a 510 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:40,560 little lad was with him. And then he said to this lad now 511 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:44,000 run, find the arrows which I shoot and as the lad ran, he 512 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,320 shot an arrow beyond him. And when the lad had come to the 513 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:51,480 place where the arrow was with Jonathan, had shot Jonathan then 514 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:55,400 cried out after the lad and said, is not the arrow beyond 515 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:58,280 you? And Jonathan cried out after the 516 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:01,800 lad? Make haste, hurry, do not delay. 517 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:05,640 And so Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows and came back to 518 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:08,400 his master. But the lad did not know 519 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:10,800 anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of 520 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,280 the matter. And then Jonathan gave his 521 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:18,000 weapons to this lad and said to him, Go carry them to the city. 522 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:24,000 Notice what Jonathan does. He says something and he 523 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:28,719 completes something. He looks at David and he says, I 524 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:34,719 will tell you the truth. I'm not going to hide anything 525 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:37,880 that my dad does. I'm not going to cover anything 526 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:42,239 that my dad does. I will be the one who comes and 527 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:45,800 I will be the messenger for you in this situation. 528 00:34:46,159 --> 00:34:50,840 I think in our messy situations we always need the message of 529 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:56,480 the truth because sometimes in our messy situations we need a 530 00:34:56,480 --> 00:35:00,600 Jonathan that is willing to come in such a place and say some 531 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:05,040 hard things about some hard people and situations that they 532 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:08,840 see from the outside now that they have knowledge of can help 533 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:14,160 David further the calling that God had placed upon his life. 534 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:19,280 I think we need people in our lives who will give us the right 535 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:25,160 affirmations. Even in this moment where David 536 00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:29,720 is in the field hiding, Jonathan is at the palace, sitting at the 537 00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:33,880 table he could have chosen. I'm not going to say this to 538 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:39,240 David because it might just be too hard to hear, but he 539 00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:43,720 doesn't. He says hard things that saves 540 00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:47,800 David's life. And maybe the hard thing that 541 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:52,840 you're about to say will be said with grace and truth, but it 542 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:58,280 will save somebody else's life. That's why I'm here. 543 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:03,920 That's why I'm standing here, is because I had failed in the 544 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:07,880 beginning of our church plant. I couldn't find a building. 545 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:14,240 We had about 60 people with us and there I told everybody that 546 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:21,560 I'm going back up to the desert and two men in my life said not 547 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:26,680 at all. You are not moving, you are 548 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:33,400 staying right where you are at Chris Norman and Dustin Batalo. 549 00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:38,960 Everything within me wanted to run because everything within me 550 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:44,280 knew that I had failed them. Everybody but just a few people 551 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:51,920 left us and our family. And these two men had enough 552 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:57,840 courage to look me in the eye and say you stay there. 553 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:03,200 And I need people like that in my life because there's 554 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:07,320 situations that often pump, come and pump themselves up in my 555 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:11,880 heart that bring me to a place that I make a very reactive 556 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:15,280 decision. And that is, I'm reacting 557 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:19,200 because of my fear, not because of my faith. 558 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:26,680 And these guys came into such a place and said, no, you stay 559 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:28,960 put. Jesus said if you know the 560 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:34,600 truth, the truth will set you free. 561 00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:39,880 In your trauma, you're going to need some truth in the burnout, 562 00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:43,960 you're going to need to be reminded of the Bible in your 563 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:47,040 chronic stress, you're going to need consistent scripture. 564 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:51,680 And This is why, if you take note, write this down, because 565 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:56,200 the truth confronts me in my situation, The truth confronts 566 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:59,640 me in my situation, and then this is what happens next. 567 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,080 The truth also comforts me in my situation. 568 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:05,080 The truth can comfort me in my situation. 569 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:08,120 And then lastly, the truth compels me in my situation. 570 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:11,720 I need someone who's going to reaffirm the truth to me because 571 00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:14,920 I need someone that's going to confront me, comfort and compel 572 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:18,280 me to walk with Jesus Christ. Can I just give you a truth? 573 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:21,440 If you just highlight this somewhere in your notebook 574 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:23,240 throughout the week and that's this. 575 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,880 Survival is not an excuse for sin. 576 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:33,240 Can I, can I just say that somebody like, I'm in survival 577 00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:34,520 mode. I just, I, I got to go get 578 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:37,800 drunk. I'm in survival mode. 579 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:39,360 I just got to go have another relationship. 580 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:42,600 I'm in survival mode. I just, I just need to go get 581 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:45,560 high. I'm in survival mode and I need 582 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:49,880 to No, no, no, no. Survival is not an excuse for 583 00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:53,080 you to sin. It's a reason for you to 584 00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:56,520 surrender. Can I give you another truth 585 00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:59,440 that survival is not your new life? 586 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:04,760 Survival's not your new life. Right now it feels like it is, 587 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:07,760 and it feels like a long time that you've been battling this 588 00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:09,520 and facing this. But this won't be your life 589 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:12,000 forever. You will heal. 590 00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:18,440 The wound will turn into a scar. The people that you've lost and 591 00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:23,280 you love, you try not to forget them, but time seems like it's 592 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:25,600 pushing the ship further and further from the harbor. 593 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:29,760 And you do everything within your power to keep the memories. 594 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:33,320 And I'll just tell you this from the truth of God's word, that 595 00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:38,360 Jesus is the resurrection and the life that even though a man 596 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:41,840 dies, yet he shall live. That that doesn't mean that I 597 00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:46,760 don't miss them every single day of the rest of my life, but that 598 00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:50,280 does mean that I begin this healing process and what I've 599 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:54,800 been wounded out of scars now formed to tell a greater story 600 00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:56,600 of the greatness of God in my life. 601 00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:01,000 Listen to this if you would, you might be in survival mode right 602 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:02,880 now. Can you just write this down. 603 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:07,320 The last thing is that this place of survival mode brings me 604 00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:11,880 to a place to express compassion to people. 605 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:16,520 Now as soon verse 41 as the lad had gone, David arose from a 606 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:20,680 place toward the South. He fell on his face to the 607 00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:23,120 ground, and he bowed down. Three times. 608 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:27,880 He kissed. Or they kissed one another and 609 00:40:27,880 --> 00:40:29,960 then they noticed this. They wept together. 610 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:38,960 But David more so here's David. They're in a field. 611 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:41,280 They're not in a church. They're not in a Tabernacle, a 612 00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:44,280 temple. David's in a dirty field. 613 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:52,400 And he falls at Jonathan's feet and says thank you. 614 00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:56,960 But it just wasn't a thank you from Jonathan. 615 00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:00,920 David knew that this would be one of the last times that he 616 00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:07,440 would ever see Jonathan alive. And the Bible says that they 617 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:11,440 kissed one another doesn't mean that they're homosexuals. 618 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:16,760 Some people take this verse and they twist it all around David 619 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:19,000 and Jonathan. Their friendship was not that 620 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:23,320 they were men who were warriors and who love God. 621 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:29,800 But notice this. Strong men still show emotion. 622 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:34,840 And here is David in this place, and he falls down at Jonathan's 623 00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:38,480 feet and three times he bows and then they raises up. 624 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:40,920 He kisses Jonathan. And then the Bible says this. 625 00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:47,360 Notice this. The Bible says that they wept 626 00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:52,800 together. They actually cried together. 627 00:41:53,880 --> 00:42:00,360 They wailed together. This is not two women coming 628 00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:04,960 together where you would think, oh, OK, they're must be 629 00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:06,600 pregnant. They're just too emotional. 630 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:12,760 This is 2 men who are warriors, who have killed people, who have 631 00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:17,480 positions, who are called by God, and then they're weeping. 632 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:27,320 They're weeping with each other, they're sharing their grief with 633 00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:32,360 one another. And I think sometimes we are in 634 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:36,680 survival mode because we're unwilling to grieve. 635 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:43,000 We're unwilling to let the secret out and let ourselves be 636 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:48,720 vulnerable in front of people. We're unwilling to really let 637 00:42:48,720 --> 00:42:55,000 out what we've been holding on to for so long, because if I did 638 00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:58,240 that, I would look like that, and then I would have the 639 00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:03,480 reputation of that. And here are these men coming 640 00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:05,720 together. They wept together. 641 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:09,400 And then Jonathan said to David, go in peace, since we have both 642 00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:12,800 sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, may the Lord be between 643 00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:15,640 you and me and between your descendants and my descendants 644 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:18,560 forever. So he arose and departed, and 645 00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:22,680 Jonathan went into the city. They separated, and they would 646 00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:26,360 only see each other one last time. 647 00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:35,120 These are best friends separated by a jealous father. 648 00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:44,000 Jonathan doesn't look at David and say, get up, stop weeping. 649 00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:46,920 Why you crying over spilled milk? 650 00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:50,960 You're going to be better. You just scraped your knee. 651 00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:55,680 Come on, get up. He weeps with him. 652 00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:03,960 There is something about experiencing turmoil that makes 653 00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:09,480 you a deeper well of compassion for other people who are in 654 00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:13,120 turmoil. I used to look at sick people 655 00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:18,280 and go, you need to get better. And because I couldn't fix them, 656 00:44:18,280 --> 00:44:21,960 I got aggravated, meaning because I couldn't fix their 657 00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:25,400 condition of cancer or I couldn't fix the condition of 658 00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:29,720 their, their cold or their flu. As a as a fixer, I wanted to 659 00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:36,000 just like, come on, get up, you could do this until I got sick. 660 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:45,280 And God put me in the bed and I laid there in my bed wondering 661 00:44:45,280 --> 00:44:48,200 if I was really going to live from the Lyme's disease, 662 00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:52,200 wondering why my heart was acting this way at Loma Linda 663 00:44:52,200 --> 00:44:55,480 Hospital. I shouldn't have been 33 years 664 00:44:55,480 --> 00:44:57,840 old strapped up to all these heart monitors. 665 00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:00,920 I should be out there playing catch with my kids. 666 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:05,440 I should be running with my kids through baseball practices and 667 00:45:05,440 --> 00:45:09,000 soccer fields. And the moment that I got sick 668 00:45:09,240 --> 00:45:15,240 is the moment of my breaking because I realized when I was 669 00:45:15,240 --> 00:45:22,680 put in the hospital, I realized how I was so wrong as a pastor 670 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:26,680 entering into hospitals previously with the wrong 671 00:45:26,720 --> 00:45:35,040 attitude, trials, birth, compassion or cruelty. 672 00:45:37,160 --> 00:45:41,400 And in this moment with David, it is here that Jonathan's 673 00:45:41,400 --> 00:45:46,080 compassion is extended to him. And now I ask the Lord for 674 00:45:46,080 --> 00:45:48,360 healing. But he has yet chosen to heal me 675 00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:53,800 out of these last many years since I was 33 years old. 676 00:45:55,240 --> 00:46:00,600 But now I walk into a hospital room differently because I know 677 00:46:00,600 --> 00:46:06,960 what it's like to be there. And the compassion for me is 678 00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:13,920 this, stop being so hard on people when you don't know their 679 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:21,680 whole story. And maybe it's just, maybe it's 680 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:27,040 just you weeping, worshipping. Maybe it's you getting out and 681 00:46:27,040 --> 00:46:31,200 being vulnerable. Maybe it's just you learning 682 00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:33,000 what it's like to be compassionate. 683 00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:38,000 And that is this, that in your survival mode, I want you to 684 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:41,120 receive this truth God is birthing. 685 00:46:41,120 --> 00:46:45,960 It's something inside of you because of the situation that 686 00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:49,600 you're walking through. He's doing it, and I believe 687 00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:53,560 he's doing it today in you. The Bible tells us that it was 688 00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:56,720 the love of God that sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sin. 689 00:46:57,360 --> 00:47:02,440 The Bible tells us that because of Jesus, now we have the access 690 00:47:02,440 --> 00:47:06,400 and the ability to come to a God where the Bible says his 691 00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:12,120 kindness leads us to repentance. And in this moment, I want to 692 00:47:12,120 --> 00:47:16,720 give us the opportunity to grieve, to let go, to stop 693 00:47:16,720 --> 00:47:20,600 holding on to maybe some things that you've grasped with your 694 00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:24,360 hands that God is telling you to release. 695 00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:29,680 And maybe your survival mode this morning can turn into this 696 00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:34,640 surrendered Spirit of God touching and healing your heart 697 00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:41,000 as you lay it at His feet. Jonathan was a good friend, but 698 00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:44,080 there's a greater friend and his name is Jesus. 699 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:48,160 And he doesn't offer you an easy life, but He does offer you 700 00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:51,760 eternal life. He doesn't offer you a pain free 701 00:47:51,760 --> 00:47:55,640 life, but He does offer you the forgiveness of your sins, not 702 00:47:55,640 --> 00:47:58,600 because you did something to earn it, but because He did 703 00:47:58,600 --> 00:48:02,440 something for you to receive it. And so as you've gathered 704 00:48:02,440 --> 00:48:06,520 together today, as we close out in this time of worship, I want 705 00:48:06,520 --> 00:48:08,880 to remember Jesus through communion, but I also want to 706 00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:14,480 remember Jesus by you coming and grieving, languishing, 707 00:48:14,680 --> 00:48:18,320 lamenting, and then in that spot, us giving this to the 708 00:48:18,320 --> 00:48:20,360 Lord, whatever it is we're holding on to. 709 00:48:21,960 --> 00:48:24,560 We hope you enjoyed this message and we'd love for you to join us 710 00:48:24,560 --> 00:48:26,720 in person every Sunday at 10:30 AM. 711 00:48:27,200 --> 00:48:29,080 For more information and updates, visit 712 00:48:29,080 --> 00:48:31,720 wearebridgetown.com. Thanks for tuning in and we'll 713 00:48:31,720 --> 00:48:32,560 see you next week.