1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:03,800 You're listening to the Bridgetown Church Podcast with 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,840 Pastor Casey Kendall, where our vision is Jesus, our mission is 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:09,760 people, and our cause is love. Thanks for tuning in. 4 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:13,120 Let's dive in. We're in First Samuel chapter 5 00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:15,000 22. If you have your Bible handy, 6 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:20,320 the Bible tells us in verse one of First Samuel 22. 7 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:25,920 Now David therefore departed there and escaped to The Cave of 8 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,200 a dulum. And when his brothers and all 9 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:33,520 his father's house heard it, they went down there to him, and 10 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:39,920 everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and 11 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:44,440 everyone who was discontented gathered to him. 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:46,960 And so he became captain over them. 13 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,240 And there were about 400 men with him. 14 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:54,160 And then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab. 15 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:59,600 And he said to the king of Moab, Please let my father and mother 16 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:04,400 come here with you, till I know what God will do for me. 17 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:09,080 So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt 18 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,880 with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 19 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:18,400 And then the prophet God said to David, do not stay in the 20 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:22,720 stronghold, depart and go to the land of Judah. 21 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:30,000 And so David departed and went into the forest of her wrath. 22 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,080 We've been journeying through the book of First Samuel for 23 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,400 quite some time, and I just want to give you a little bit of a 24 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:40,560 synopsis or a little bit of an overview of what we've been 25 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,320 studying. We know that there was in that 26 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:49,360 time a woman by the name of Hannah that was seeking out a 27 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:53,040 son. Her husband had another wife who 28 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,360 was having children, but she was barren. 29 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:00,720 At this time she's seen by Eli the priest praying at an altar 30 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:05,200 and there at this point in time, Eli thinks that Hannah is drunk 31 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:09,639 and she says, I'm just pouring my heart out before the Lord. 32 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,960 At that time Eli said to Hannah, you will bear a son, and what 33 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,480 Hannah wanted was a son for her family. 34 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:20,560 What God wanted was a prophet for the nation of Israel. 35 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,960 At that time Samuel was born. And at that time he hears the 36 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:27,520 voice of the Lord calling out to him. 37 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:34,160 And Eli says to him, go back and say to the Lord here I, I am. 38 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,640 We know that the nation of Israel at this point in time is 39 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:41,960 written in the context of the book of Judges, where the Bible 40 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:47,720 says that the nation of Israel was seeking a king like all the 41 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:52,120 other nations, and every man was doing that which was right in 42 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,240 his own eyes. We know that the book of First 43 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:59,680 Samuel focuses on three kings. The first king is a man by the 44 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,760 name of King Saul. The second king is a man by the 45 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,920 name of King David, pointing us to the greatest king of all, 46 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,520 King Jesus. We come to this point in time 47 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:14,320 where David has defeated Goliath. 48 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:19,600 Saul is jealous over David's victory and his popularity. 49 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:28,640 David is now going to be on the run for 10 to 12 years of his 50 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:31,720 life. He's already been anointed as 51 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:36,920 king, but he is running for his life. 52 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,880 If you would just stop, pause for a moment, look at your 53 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,040 neighbor and say neighbor, my neighbor. 54 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:51,640 Not a thing is wasted. Not a thing is wasted. 55 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,960 I want you to remember that statement, that line throughout 56 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:02,040 this whole sermon this morning, that God will waste nothing that 57 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,280 you go through and that you're facing today. 58 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:09,120 I want you this morning to meet Nash Keene. 59 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,200 I want you to meet this little baby boy. 60 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:19,560 And this little baby boy by the name of Nash Keene had found 61 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,760 himself as a very special baby because his story of survival 62 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:30,480 began last summer. He was delivered on July 5th of 63 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:36,720 2024 at a gestational age of 21 weeks. 64 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:42,920 That meant that he entered the world 133 days early, the Record 65 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,120 article said. For his birthday, he has been 66 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:53,160 named the most premature baby. His mother said this and I want 67 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:58,520 you to hear her words because it paints the context of what David 68 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:03,160 is facing. It feels surreal, honestly. 69 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:08,320 A year ago, we weren't sure what the future would look like. 70 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:13,560 And now we've celebrated his first birthday, adding it's 71 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:20,120 emotional in so many ways. Pride and gratitude. 72 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:26,240 Even, she says, some grief for how different his journey has 73 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,320 been. But above all, she says, it 74 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:35,680 feels like a victory now. This just isn't some woman's 75 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,560 experience. I believe that this is some of 76 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:44,720 your reality of your existence. I think some of us today, if we 77 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,240 were honest, the pain that you faced and the problems you've 78 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:52,720 had to walk through, the perplexity of where it is left 79 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,880 you today. You can feel the message of 80 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,480 these mothers, words of everything that you've gone 81 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,640 through in your life. You have felt the anxiety like 82 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,600 the mother where she said we weren't sure what the future 83 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:14,240 would even look like. Maybe it's not the anxiety that 84 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,360 you're feeling right now, but maybe for you right now, it's 85 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,840 the exhaustion that you're actually feeling right now. 86 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:24,480 It is the exhaustion of the mother's words. 87 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:30,760 It's emotional in so many ways. Maybe it's not the anxiety. 88 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,920 Maybe you're not sensing a place of exhaust question. 89 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,400 Maybe it's just straight agony for you. 90 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:42,960 She said these words in some grief for how different the 91 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:48,240 journey has been. And this has LED you to the 92 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,720 breaking point of your life. Because possibly for you today, 93 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:54,560 you don't feel like it's been a victory. 94 00:06:54,840 --> 00:06:59,800 You feel like you're living in defeat this morning, and maybe 95 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:03,960 for you it has been the trauma of your family that you've been 96 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,280 facing. Maybe for you it's been the loss 97 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:09,840 of that job that you've been dealing with. 98 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,680 Maybe for you it doesn't really feel like that, but maybe the 99 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,120 effects of the cancer over your body. 100 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,560 Maybe for you it's been the pain of your marriage. 101 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,280 Maybe it's been the fear of your future. 102 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:28,880 Maybe for you, it's the loneliness of singleness. 103 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,440 That's a good spot for an Amen. Maybe for you, you've come into 104 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:36,240 this place. It's the heartbreak of the 105 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:41,320 breakup, it's the sin that has stained your past, and it's the 106 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:45,000 unknown future. It's the unloved heart. 107 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:49,680 It's the unseen person. And here in this place, I want 108 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:53,840 you to know that God not only has the power to create the 109 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:58,480 universe, but He has the power, power to transform your pain. 110 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:05,320 Today. Not a thing is wasted. 111 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:10,080 Nothing in my life will ever be wasted. 112 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,480 He takes the most unexpected places with the most unworthy 113 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:19,960 people who are facing the greatest unsolvable problems and 114 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:28,680 says not a thing is wasted. Not an ounce of your tears, not 115 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:33,400 one joy of laughter, not the pain of losing them. 116 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:38,679 Nothing in your life will ever be wasted. 117 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:45,840 Not one thing Scriptures full of people that we can see as an 118 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:52,280 example that God did not waste one thing about their life. 119 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,880 Look at it, if you would Jacob's limp, God did not waste. 120 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:59,200 Notice if you would Joseph with his dreams. 121 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,760 God did not waste Esther with all of her threats. 122 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,280 God did not waste Moses with his speech impediment. 123 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,760 God did not waste Ruth in her loss. 124 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:12,840 God did not waste Jeremiah with his weeping. 125 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:16,920 God would not waste it Elijah with his suicidal thoughts. 126 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,320 God would not waste it Job and his suffering. 127 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,360 God would not waste it Peter and his denial. 128 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:26,600 God did not waste it. The woman with her own issues of 129 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:31,320 blood, God would not waste it. Jesus hanging on a cross, God 130 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:38,000 would not waste it at all. So when you think today that 131 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,240 there are things that have been wasted, I want you to put this 132 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:45,800 sentence over that thought that while you're thinking that God 133 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:50,600 is wasting your days away, God is actually working on your days 134 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,520 ahead. And it's here in this point that 135 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,920 I want you to understand this because there's an interesting 136 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,320 verse in John chapter 6, verse 12. 137 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:03,680 The Bible tells us these words that when they had all had 138 00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:08,600 enough to eat, he said to his disciples, Jesus did gather the 139 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:15,120 pieces that are leftover. Let nothing be wasted. 140 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:22,720 And with those broken pieces, God filled 12 baskets for 12 141 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:26,840 disciples. And with the broken pieces of 142 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:31,320 your life, God will use it to fulfill your purpose and His 143 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,840 plan, but He will also satisfy other people in your life. 144 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,520 Listen, men and women, nothing will be wasted. 145 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,640 Nothing will be wasted. I love what Chuck Swindoll 146 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,120 wrote. He said God wastes nothing. 147 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:48,840 Not your tears, not your setbacks, not even the cruelest 148 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:53,040 intentions of others. This doesn't minimize the pain 149 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,040 or excuse the wrongdoing of someone. 150 00:10:56,280 --> 00:11:00,520 Evil is still evil, and injustice still matters. 151 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:05,240 But God's sovereignty means that even our deepest wounds can 152 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,680 become wells of wisdom for others. 153 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:13,000 Our our greatest betrayals can birth our strongest testimonies. 154 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:16,080 I want to read you that sentence again. 155 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:20,400 Our greatest betrayals can birth our strongest testimonies. 156 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:25,240 What painful chapter is God inviting you to trust Him, to 157 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:29,480 redeem for His glory and for others good? 158 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:34,200 That is exactly where David finds himself today. 159 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,600 If we were just to hit rewind on the chapter, we know that David 160 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,280 had found himself in a land called Gath, the enemy's 161 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:46,320 territory. And there David, the king who is 162 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:51,760 anointed and called and equipped and chosen by God, acts like 163 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:56,360 he's crazy and out of his mind. His testimony to the King of 164 00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:00,560 Gath is why would I ever have this madman? 165 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:04,680 And here that is the story of David's life. 166 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:07,120 But that's not the end of David's life. 167 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:13,040 And here in the story, the Bible says that David departed and 168 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:17,360 David escaped. In verse one, the word departed 169 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,720 there means that David left this area. 170 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:25,720 And notice the action that David now finds himself in. 171 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,120 He escaped. He escaped the enemy. 172 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,640 So he's departing, he's escaping, and now he's running 173 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:35,920 and he goes to this cave of a doula. 174 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,080 Now, if we could just pause there for a minute, because I 175 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:45,200 think sometimes when we think of a cave, we're all facing cave 176 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,840 moments. This is not a resting place for 177 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,360 David. This is a wrestling place for 178 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,520 David. It's here in this place that 179 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:59,280 David's not in the court as king, but he's in a cave as a 180 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:02,320 fugitive. It's here in this moment that 181 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:07,000 David has left Gath as a madman, and he's departed and he's 182 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:12,680 escaped this area with a bad testimony, and he escapes with 183 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:19,720 all of his excuses, and he ends up in a dark den and a hole. 184 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,760 Is there really a better place where David could have found 185 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,480 himself? Now, when we think of The Cave 186 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:30,320 of a Dulum, we often think of this tiny little cave, but I 187 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:33,880 want to just give you a little heads up real quick on this. 188 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,840 The Cave actually looked like this. 189 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:40,720 And I don't know if you could see this that well with all the 190 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:47,080 lighting, but The Cave was a place that would house about 400 191 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,840 soldiers. Now, when we're thinking of 192 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,720 where David was, we're often thinking that David was in this 193 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:59,040 small cave tucked away, but he was in this huge cave right next 194 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:05,360 to the Valley of Elah. God puts David in a dark place 195 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:12,200 right next to his greatest victory, signifying that your 196 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:16,640 life is not just about your past victories, it's about his 197 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,280 present power. Because I think sometimes we 198 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:24,880 could talk so highly about the past that we could miss what God 199 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,760 wants to do in the present. But we want to go back to the 200 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:32,280 valley of Elah where God defeated Goliath. 201 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:37,280 But God is taking David on a journey, and David had to stop 202 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:41,840 in this dark place because the David who would come out of this 203 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:45,880 dark place was a better David who would even come out of the 204 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:50,760 valley of Elah. And because of that, God would 205 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:55,200 not waste the thing about David's life. 206 00:14:55,360 --> 00:15:00,040 And here we end up in our own lives with all of our excuses. 207 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,920 It's here in this place, this cave of a Dulum. 208 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:07,640 And you could say Amen to this if you're here, That it's dark, 209 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:14,000 that it's dreary, that it's cold, old and moldy, and that 210 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:21,240 God in this spot puts David's life back together. 211 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:26,120 And God will often put you in a place that you don't want to be, 212 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:28,880 not for your punishment, but for your protection. 213 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,720 And you and I need to receive that. 214 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:39,200 That the king is in The Cave. Did did you hear me? 215 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:45,480 The king is in The Cave. If I was to rewind for you, this 216 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:49,440 book is not just about a man by the name of King Saul or a man 217 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,560 by the name of King David. This is all about King Jesus. 218 00:15:53,680 --> 00:16:01,080 The king is in The Cave and never in your life equate your 219 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:09,280 adversity with his absence. The king is here in this cave, 220 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:16,800 and maybe you don't understand The Cave that you're in, but 221 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:23,000 maybe you find yourself here needing to praise him in the 222 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,640 thing that you don't understand about the one that you're 223 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,840 learning about. He's in The Cave of a Dulum. 224 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:34,960 We, we can't even say that word a dulum. 225 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,600 This is a tough word. I, I had to hit the Google 226 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,360 expression button for, for this word so I could pronounce it 227 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:45,720 right because I have Dora here. When I say Greek words, she 228 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,840 tells me, hey, that's not how you actually say that word. 229 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,040 So I want to make sure that I get these biblical words 230 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:53,360 correct. Amen. 231 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:58,840 And so we're here at a Dulum. We're gone from now, Gath, and 232 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,360 you're here today. And as we're here at this cave 233 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:07,359 of a Dulum, the first mention in scripture of a Dulum is back in 234 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:12,040 Genesis chapter 38. And it's there that this cave 235 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:16,240 is, or this place a Dulum is where Judah takes in a Dulumite 236 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:20,560 woman to be his wife. But this cave is right next to 237 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:26,680 the valley of Elah, and there David finds himself wondering 238 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:32,240 possibly if there even is a future for him to be king. 239 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:39,600 How could God use a man who created and caused such great 240 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:45,360 pain with Elimelech? How could God use a person who 241 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:49,800 has blown their testimony in front of their Co workers? 242 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:55,880 How could God even use a person with such a great stain upon 243 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,720 their life? This is why is that God wastes 244 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,880 nothing about what I face in my life. 245 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:06,080 So as you've come, I just want to remind you of a few things 246 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,120 that as we go through these verses that you can take home 247 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:12,920 with you because Monday is coming and Monday means the six 248 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:17,240 O 5 and the 2:10 Monday means more school and more tests, more 249 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,920 teachers and more bosses and more workers and more pressure 250 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,840 and more stress. I want you to remember when 251 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:28,360 you're in The Cave, you're either going in a cave or you're 252 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:31,320 coming out of a cave, but you can be sure The Cave is coming. 253 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:35,720 And what happens in The Cave never stays in The Cave. 254 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:41,040 I don't know. If you're tired on Labor Day 255 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,640 weekend, here's what I want you to remember. 256 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:49,680 He is preparing you in The Cave. He's preparing you in The Cave. 257 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:54,040 He is preparing you right now in The Cave. 258 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:58,320 David therefore departed from there, verse one, And he escaped 259 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,960 to The Cave of a Dulum. And when his brothers and all 260 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,200 his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. 261 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:09,200 And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in 262 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:12,880 debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. 263 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,440 So he became the captain over them. 264 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:21,320 Yay. And there were about 400 men 265 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:23,360 with him, if you would get the picture. 266 00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:27,920 David's in this huge cave, a hole, a dark place. 267 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,800 And now his family comes down because they're afraid of their 268 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:37,400 lives. But also 400 men find David. 269 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:41,720 Now I want you to understand what kind of men found were 270 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:46,000 finding, excuse me, David, men who were distressed, men who 271 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,800 were in debt and men who were discontented. 272 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:58,240 That's a great army. 400 of the people who are marginalized, 273 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:04,360 outcast, had problems, faced severe stress and anxiety and 274 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:11,600 just couldn't stand it anymore. And there David is, being 275 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:18,800 prepared by God. God will often put his greatest 276 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:25,520 soldiers in the hardest places. Abraham at an altar with his son 277 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,960 Isaac. Noah in an ark with animals for 278 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,760 40 days. You thought it was bad at your 279 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:34,360 house. Joseph in a prison. 280 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,840 Moses in Egypt. The children of Israel at the 281 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,880 Red Sea. Joshua at the Jordan. 282 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:44,960 Gideon with his army. Daniel in a lion's den. 283 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:50,480 Jonah in a well, Paul and Silas in a prison, and Jesus in a 284 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:52,840 tomb. I want you to hear this, that 285 00:20:52,840 --> 00:21:00,600 God will often allow you to face situations similar to David. 286 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:05,200 Like he allowed David to experience victory, but he also 287 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:08,520 allowed David to experience The Cave. 288 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:13,920 Now I want the Valley of Elah, but I don't want The Cave of a 289 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:19,240 doula. I want to win, but in The Cave 290 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:26,080 it feels like I'm losing. God will often construct your 291 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:31,320 life differently in The Cave, and I want you to hear me with 292 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:37,520 all grace. It is not going to be easy. 293 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:42,000 I know we accepted Jesus and we've received His forgiveness. 294 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:46,040 I know we have the power of the Holy Spirit living within us. 295 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:51,000 But do not fall for the doctrine that just because you became a 296 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:55,320 follower of Jesus Christ, that meant your life was going to be 297 00:21:55,320 --> 00:22:00,200 an easier road ahead of you. It often means that it might 298 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,720 even be harder in some situations. 299 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:08,880 But it is in this moment that God enlarges your heart. 300 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:13,480 He extends your shoulders and He strengthens your hands and He 301 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:17,240 opens your eyes to how great He is. 302 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,840 It is here that He is preparing you. 303 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:26,760 But I think often times we want quick victory, but what God is 304 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,840 producing is a long term and large vision. 305 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:37,000 And instead of quick victory, God wants you to have a larger 306 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:41,800 vision, not of the giants that you face, but of the God that 307 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:46,760 you worship. We need a bigger vision of what 308 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:51,840 God and who God is. Because if I have quick victory 309 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:56,800 without comprehensive vision, I will not be equipped for the 310 00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:01,680 difficulties in the mission that God is putting me on. 311 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:06,720 It is the same God who was faithful and that David in the 312 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:10,680 valley of Elah. It is the same God who would be 313 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,080 faithful to meet David in The Cave of Adulum. 314 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:21,200 God did not change from the valley to The Cave, but David 315 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:25,880 did. And sometimes we think because 316 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:30,840 God has allowed a difficult circumstance in our lives, that 317 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:36,320 God has pulled the carpet out from underneath our feet and 318 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:41,680 we've lost the correct biblical vision of who God is. 319 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:46,960 I'm talking about God your Father, who the Bible says is 320 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,520 never against you, but is always for you. 321 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:55,240 But sometimes what God wants for you is greater than what you 322 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,480 want for you. And in that, that means that 323 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:04,480 God's alignment of your life is not always God's agreement with 324 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:08,680 your life. And sometimes God brings me to a 325 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:14,040 spot in my life where he aligns me to what he actually wants to 326 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:21,600 do in and through me. God is thinking legacy, and 327 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:28,680 we're often thinking lunch. God is often thinking of our 328 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:33,080 lives about your destiny. While we're often thinking about 329 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:38,160 our desire and how we can get it fulfilled right now, what we're 330 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:46,040 often thinking about is everything happening right now. 331 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:51,440 What God is preparing you for is what will happen next. 332 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:57,680 Did you see what God is doing? God is bringing us to a place 333 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:00,440 that we would understand in our lives. 334 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:03,840 That's the love of God that wants what's best for us. 335 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:08,680 But it's the wisdom of God that knows what's best for you, and 336 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,560 it's the power of God that will accomplish what's best for you. 337 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:16,480 Why did God take them out of your life? 338 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:20,920 Not to punish you, but maybe to protect you. 339 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,120 Why did God bring me to this place? 340 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:36,880 It was so much better in Egypt. But you remember what's familiar 341 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:41,080 at the price of experiencing what is free. 342 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:47,240 And I think sometimes we want in our lives things that are 343 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:50,680 familiar. But The Cave is very unfamiliar 344 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:55,040 because we can't see the landscape of what God is 345 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:59,560 actually painting. But He's actually preparing you 346 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:08,200 for your future, and He is aligning you with His purpose. 347 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:12,840 And God could even use the attack of the enemy to produce 348 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:17,960 in you such an awareness of himself that you will not quit. 349 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:24,680 I remember when my first son was born, Tyler, who's now 25 years 350 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:28,440 old. I remember being so stressed out 351 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:33,640 when he entered into the world and I, when the first moment I 352 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:39,600 saw him, just wept. It was life altering but I 353 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:42,520 didn't want anyone to hold them because I didn't want anyone to 354 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:48,040 give them him their germs. And so the sweet lady came into 355 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:54,720 our room and she washed her hands and she was ready. 356 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:59,360 She put on her mask and she lifted her arms out and I said 357 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:04,600 absolutely not. I held them close. 358 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,440 No one was going to get my son sick. 359 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:13,960 Three weeks later, I'm taking Tyler back to the hospital 360 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:20,600 because he's extremely sick. And I am crying and terrified. 361 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:25,480 And I remember my dad walked in coming in from work and he 362 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:27,440 looked at me and he said these words. 363 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:35,200 He said it's going to be OK. No, it's not OK. 364 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:41,560 It's not OK right now, he said. It's going to be OK. 365 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:50,400 And I think sometimes we fail to believe the father's words. 366 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:59,560 Tyler is 25. He's not three years old, three 367 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:06,640 weeks old anymore. It was going to be OK, but the 368 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:12,680 stress of my situation brought me to a place that I could not 369 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:18,160 see out of and believe that what the Father said was actually 370 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:24,000 true about my situation. And I think sometimes when we 371 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,080 hear this, that it's going to be OK. 372 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:30,760 It's, it's not OK that we're facing this disease, but we're 373 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:38,200 going to be OK. He's 25 years old. 374 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:43,320 It's going to be OK. And I just submit this to you as 375 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:49,080 a born again follower of Jesus, that in everything that we face, 376 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:56,360 it's going to be OK because God is preparing you not just for 377 00:28:56,360 --> 00:29:01,720 this earth, but for eternity. It is going to be OK. 378 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:08,480 And I love what God does. He uses The Cave to produce 379 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:14,200 character in David's life. He uses what is dark to produce 380 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:19,640 discipline in David's life. He uses the hole that we are in 381 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,320 to make us wholly found to be in Him. 382 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:29,240 He uses what is uncomfortable to teach us how to bring comfort to 383 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:32,320 others, and He takes what is dirty. 384 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,480 And He teaches you how to delight in something that just 385 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:41,080 seems absolutely messy. And it's in this cave moment 386 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:46,160 that God not only uses it for you, but he uses it to be a 387 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:50,560 lesson for other people. But here's what I do in The 388 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:53,640 Cave. Can I just tell you how I have 389 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:58,640 ruined my cave moments? Can you write this down? 390 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:01,480 Because this is going to be so important that you remember 391 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:03,760 this. This is how Pastor Casey has 392 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:09,400 ruined cave moments. Can you write this down? 393 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:14,760 I'm going to be very vulnerable. I'm going to be very upfront, 394 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:20,440 which I hope I am every Sunday. Here's how I've ruined cave 395 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,920 moments. I started complaining about The 396 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:27,520 Cave. I started complaining about The 397 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,440 Cave. The rock was too hard. 398 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,120 The rocks weren't the colors that I wanted. 399 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,720 The terrain was up and down. I could twist my ankle real 400 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,080 easily. I started complaining about The 401 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:46,920 Cave that I was in and I missed the God that I served. 402 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:53,200 Can I give you another one? My my confession, Pastor Casey 403 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,680 confession moment Put this up on Instagram. 404 00:30:57,440 --> 00:30:59,400 You start criticizing in The Cave. 405 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:06,440 I start criticizing in The Cave. I start comparing my life to 406 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:11,920 other people's moments, and thus I begin to criticize what God is 407 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:17,400 doing in that situation rather than focusing on what God's 408 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:20,720 situation is for me in this moment. 409 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:25,480 And I begin to criticize, Oh, well, look at that person. 410 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:28,280 I'm wondering if they're even following Jesus. 411 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:31,160 They're not facing the the difficulty that I'm going 412 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,920 through. I have taken it to the next 413 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:37,720 level. God, would you just look at me 414 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:42,480 and see because I've gone through this cave, I am not just 415 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,000 built different. I am actually better. 416 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:50,440 Look at all these complacent Christians. 417 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,800 They don't even have a passion for Jesus like I have a passion 418 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,560 for Jesus. And we begin. 419 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:03,760 I began, excuse me, to criticize people in The Cave. 420 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:05,680 And this is the next thing that I did. 421 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:12,200 I started basing my decisions off of confusion in The Cave. 422 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:19,080 I started basing my decisions off of confusion in The Cave 423 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:23,560 because I couldn't see things the way that it that I saw them 424 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:27,600 in the valley. Now because it's a little bit 425 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:34,160 blurry for me now, I'm basing my decisions off of confusion and 426 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:40,440 not conviction in The Cave. Can I give you another one? 427 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,880 I hope you take this with you tomorrow when you go into work 428 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:47,280 when you walk into school. That's right, it's Labor Day. 429 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:51,760 Sleep in. Listen, this is what I did next. 430 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:53,760 I started getting cold in The Cave. 431 00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:57,720 I started getting cold in The Cave. 432 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:02,360 I love what CS Lewis writes in his book, that if you want to 433 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,760 keep yourself from hurt and pain in this world, take your heart 434 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:10,160 and lock it up in a box. And that heart gets cold and 435 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:14,920 hardened, and it's no longer moldable nor shaped by the 436 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:18,840 things of God. And this is what happens in The 437 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:22,680 Cave. We allow the bitterness of The 438 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:26,040 Cave to leave us bitterly cold towards people. 439 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:29,920 And now it's not just criticizing. 440 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:33,400 Now you're actually resenting people. 441 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,280 You begin to resent people in your life. 442 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:42,400 You begin to resent God's work in your life. 443 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:48,880 You begin to look for things now that you used to just lift your 444 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:53,880 hands and worship, but now you're so bittered and bothered 445 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:59,680 in the situation that you're in, you can't even lift your voice. 446 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:06,560 And this is what the possibility of each of our lives has 447 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:10,239 happened. Maybe not just to me, but maybe 448 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:12,760 to you. I love what that one pastor 449 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:15,639 said. He said God has already prepared 450 00:34:15,639 --> 00:34:18,560 the way. Now He's just preparing you. 451 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:25,840 He is preparing you. Not a thing is. 452 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,199 Oh, come on church, we'll get out of here on time today. 453 00:34:30,199 --> 00:34:34,440 Not a thing is wasted. Not a thing is wasted. 454 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:37,760 He's preparing you. But not only is God preparing 455 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:41,440 you, can you just write this? He's also providing for you. 456 00:34:42,639 --> 00:34:44,800 God's also providing for you in The Cave. 457 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:48,960 He's also providing for you. Notice verse one, the Bible says 458 00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:51,440 these words and when his brothers and all his father's 459 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,360 house heard it, they went down there to him. 460 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:59,520 David goes from from the palace. Now he's on the run. 461 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:03,040 He finds himself in a field. Now he finds himself going to 462 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:08,400 Gath and from Gath he goes down. And if that's exactly how you 463 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:13,320 feel, it feels like you're going down and not up in The Cave 464 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:17,560 because you can't see your but other people can. 465 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:22,440 You can't see yourself unless you look in the mirror, but 466 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:26,520 other people can see you. And here's David at a point 467 00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:30,880 where he feels and he's gone down into The Cave and notice 468 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:37,320 who God sends his way. He sends his family to him. 469 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:45,800 The same dad who left David out in the sheepfold when Samuel 470 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:48,720 arrived to anoint the king of Israel. 471 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:51,200 And Samuel said, is there another? 472 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:55,200 Well, I have one more son. He brings the brothers who 473 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:57,760 resented David when he went into the valley of Elah. 474 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,600 And his dad said, bring the cheese, bring the lunch to your 475 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,360 brothers. It was there in this moment that 476 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:08,440 his whole family arrives at The Cave. 477 00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:12,960 Notice this. I love the provision verse 3. 478 00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:17,360 Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab. 479 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:28,480 This was a 70 mile walk and he goes 70 miles with his family, 480 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:32,040 providing for his family with the king of Moab. 481 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:36,880 Now they believe he went to Moab because David was of the house 482 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:40,680 in the lineage of Ruth the Moabitess. 483 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,120 And there he goes to the king, and he says, Please let my 484 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:50,000 father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will 485 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,560 do for me. Notice the provision. 486 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:56,640 So we brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt 487 00:36:56,640 --> 00:37:00,040 with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 488 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:07,160 Now think of this, if you would. David now finds himself in The 489 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:13,320 Cave God brings his family and notice this in verse 2. 490 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:18,040 And there were about 400 men with him. 491 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:26,760 He also provided David 400 other people, 400 other people who 492 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:29,800 were distressed, in debt and discontented. 493 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:36,760 He brought his family that rejected him and people that 494 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:38,560 seem to make it even harder on him. 495 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:48,680 That was God's provision for David's life when he was at his 496 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:55,280 lowest and loneliest point. David's family went there to 497 00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:59,680 meet him. And there is an interesting 498 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:03,240 David wrote some Psalms in The Cave, and I would encourage you 499 00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:06,440 write some songs when you're in The Cave here. 500 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:11,160 I rave at The Cave just like your servant Dave. 501 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:16,080 And I'm just kidding that put that on something, huh? 502 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:20,480 Listen, listen. David's on the run. 503 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:24,720 God provides his protection and his provision. 504 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,520 And God's absence seemingly from David's life doesn't mean his 505 00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:31,280 lack of provision for David's life. 506 00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:35,280 And this is what David writes in one of the psalms that he wrote 507 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:43,000 in The Cave, Psalm 57, verse 2. Listen to what David says. 508 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:46,240 Now. A Psalm is a prayer that turns 509 00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:52,320 into a song. And here David says, I will cry 510 00:38:52,320 --> 00:39:00,440 out to God Most High, to God who performs all things for me. 511 00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:05,920 That's unselfish. No, no, no, listen to God's 512 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:09,200 heart. I will cry out to God Most High 513 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:15,400 in The Cave, to God who performs all things for me. 514 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:19,560 What does that mean? My pain does not negate what God 515 00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:26,560 can and will perform. Listen, let God perform. 516 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:30,840 You don't have to be the performer, you just have to be 517 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:36,160 the receiver. Here it is that God provided for 518 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:38,760 David with the family who rejected. 519 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:41,560 God provided with the people who mocked him. 520 00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:45,000 God provided with, with, with, with with all of the people that 521 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:49,000 would laugh at him or be discontented with King Saul. 522 00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:55,400 Listen, God was on the move providing for David when David 523 00:39:55,400 --> 00:40:00,120 met Goliath. God was providing when David had 524 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:04,080 Spears thrown at him. God was providing when David was 525 00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:10,040 in a cave and in Moab. God is providing in each and 526 00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:13,000 every situation that David was in. 527 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:18,440 Listen, he wasn't just provided for God with things. 528 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:23,120 He was first provided with God, with God himself. 529 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:28,160 And I think it's important that we get that because I think we 530 00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:33,080 often times want the escape of our reality. 531 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:37,520 But there is something that is in each of our lives that has to 532 00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:41,760 happen, and that is called the radical acceptance of your 533 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:45,760 reality. And now what I do is I commit 534 00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:48,840 that reality instead of escape from that reality. 535 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:55,600 I commit that back to God and I let God work in the situation. 536 00:40:55,800 --> 00:41:02,440 The truth of God can be given to you to face any type of reality. 537 00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:04,680 And maybe today you don't need an escape. 538 00:41:04,680 --> 00:41:09,640 What you need is truth because Jesus put it this way. 539 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:15,080 Jesus said if you know the truth, the truth will set you 540 00:41:15,400 --> 00:41:20,320 free because you can escape and come still living like you're in 541 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:24,080 a cave. You can escape out of The Cave, 542 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:30,000 but you can come out still living like you are in that 543 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:33,760 cave. And here I want you to see the 544 00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:38,360 truth of what God provides for David and brings him. 545 00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:45,360 Both freedom and release is the truth of what God does. 546 00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:50,320 Now who does God provide God at this point did not give get 547 00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:54,760 David out of The Cave in verse one, but he brings people to the 548 00:41:54,760 --> 00:42:00,680 place of David's pain. He brought his family. 549 00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:07,280 He brought 400 men. And I remember in my darkest 550 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:14,600 moments of my cave moments in the hospital room at Loma Linda, 551 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:19,320 I remember that people showed up that I didn't expect, and the 552 00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:21,000 people that I expected didn't show up. 553 00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:26,360 I remember when we first launched the church and almost 554 00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:30,280 everybody left. I remember the people that I 555 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:32,360 didn't thought think would show up, they showed up and the 556 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:34,160 people that I thought would be there weren't there. 557 00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:36,960 I remember when my mom was dying. 558 00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,520 I remember the people that I thought would show up didn't 559 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:41,800 show up. And the people that, that, that 560 00:42:42,640 --> 00:42:44,840 I didn't think would show up, that that they were there. 561 00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:47,400 I, I remember when the trailer was stolen. 562 00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:50,400 I, I remember when my daughter stepped on a heroin needle. 563 00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:54,400 I remember all of these situations that God brought 564 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:59,080 people in my life that I didn't expect would show up in that 565 00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:01,200 moment. Now that doesn't make me bitter 566 00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:04,440 towards people who didn't show up, but what it does is it 567 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:10,400 builds in me to have the right expectation in the lives of the 568 00:43:10,400 --> 00:43:12,800 people that are in my life today. 569 00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:19,640 And So what I allow to happen in my life is this is that God will 570 00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:22,440 bring truth and God will bring people. 571 00:43:22,560 --> 00:43:26,960 God will bring his peace, his grace, his healing, finances, 572 00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:32,840 forgiveness, but that will all come through people and truth. 573 00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:41,480 God uses people to provide God will always use people in your 574 00:43:41,480 --> 00:43:47,520 cave story, and it's here that God's provision in this cave 575 00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:53,480 story that David would highlight the God who would perform all 576 00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:57,720 things for him. David didn't go on a speaking 577 00:43:57,720 --> 00:44:02,280 tour about caves. He didn't do little Ted talks 578 00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:06,800 about caves. He wrote songs that pointed 579 00:44:06,800 --> 00:44:11,440 people back to God about The Cave. 580 00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:18,080 His conversation in his life didn't always go back to notice 581 00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:23,880 this The Cave, but it went back to Psalm 57, verse 2, to the God 582 00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:30,080 who performs all things for me. But the provision is not just 583 00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:34,240 for me, but everybody else around me. 584 00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:40,720 God's provision through David's family also meant David's family 585 00:44:40,720 --> 00:44:46,160 provision from God. And so notice what God does. 586 00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:52,560 God provides differently than what we often expect. 587 00:44:54,680 --> 00:44:59,760 He also provides more of himself in the moment. 588 00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:05,760 He also God's ultimate provision is for us is the gospel of Jesus 589 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:09,960 Christ because I can give you food, but if you don't have the 590 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:13,240 right heart and you die, the Bible says you're on your way to 591 00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:18,000 hell. God also provides eternally and 592 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:21,480 notice what God does. He is preparing, He is 593 00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:24,440 providing, and he's also transforming. 594 00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:27,400 He's also transforming. If you're taking note, He's 595 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:31,080 transforming you and people in The Cave. 596 00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:36,640 Now the Bible says this verse 2 that everyone, can you say 597 00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:44,560 everyone who was in distress, Everyone, can you say everyone, 598 00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:52,640 Everyone who was in debt, everyone who was discontented, 599 00:45:52,640 --> 00:45:58,880 they gathered to him and notice the Bible says so he became 600 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:06,480 captain of them and over them, the man who was once crazy, now 601 00:46:06,480 --> 00:46:12,240 God chooses to be the captain. Notice the transformation. 602 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:21,280 The Bible says there were about 400 men, 404 hundred people who 603 00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:23,880 were distressed. If you want to take note, they 604 00:46:23,880 --> 00:46:27,200 were in anguish or stressed out of their mind. 605 00:46:28,600 --> 00:46:34,360 People who were now in debt, they were LED astray. 606 00:46:35,240 --> 00:46:38,680 They were fighting to pay the next bill. 607 00:46:39,440 --> 00:46:44,720 Everyone that was discontented, this word discontented means 608 00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:49,240 someone who's facing a heart crushing situation. 609 00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:57,800 They all gathered around David because this one moment of 610 00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:02,600 David's life of acting crazy wouldn't determine who God was 611 00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:05,160 making David to be in other people's lives. 612 00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:13,600 So David is surrounded by 400 stressed out, LED astray people 613 00:47:13,600 --> 00:47:20,200 who are crushed in The Cave, and he becomes the captain of those 614 00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:23,240 400. Transformation happens in 615 00:47:23,240 --> 00:47:25,960 David's life, but not just David's life. 616 00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:32,520 Those 400 men, 300 of them, become David's mighty warriors. 617 00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:40,360 400 of the 303 hundred of the 400, excuse me, become David's 618 00:47:40,400 --> 00:47:45,880 mighty men of valor. Look at the transformation that 619 00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:52,160 happened in David's life. It happened in The Cave with a 620 00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:56,640 king. Let me say that again, because 621 00:47:56,640 --> 00:48:00,960 it just flew over your head. The transformation happened in a 622 00:48:00,960 --> 00:48:06,040 cave with a king. If we were to point you a little 623 00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:11,880 bit further in the story of the Gospel, it happened with a baby 624 00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:15,720 who was born in a Manger, who is the king of all kings and the 625 00:48:15,720 --> 00:48:20,800 Lord of all Lords. The transformation happened in a 626 00:48:20,800 --> 00:48:25,080 cave with a king. You might say, well that's just 627 00:48:25,080 --> 00:48:27,920 David's life. Well let me give you some other 628 00:48:27,920 --> 00:48:31,760 examples. One man, a young slave in pre 629 00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:36,640 civil war America, almost murdered his abusive master's 630 00:48:36,640 --> 00:48:43,280 son with an axe. But God wastes nothing, and this 631 00:48:43,280 --> 00:48:49,400 man went on to free 118 people from slavery in the Underground 632 00:48:49,400 --> 00:48:52,960 railroads. His name was Reverend Josiah 633 00:48:52,960 --> 00:48:59,040 Henson, the man whose life would inspire Harriet Beecher Stowe to 634 00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:04,600 write Uncle Tom's Cabin. Another man was a thief and a 635 00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:08,400 drunkard who stole from his own father in 19th century England. 636 00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:13,960 But the Lord weighs nothing, and this man started a worldwide 637 00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:17,960 ministry serving thousands of orphans and homeless and 638 00:49:17,960 --> 00:49:21,800 establishing more than 100 Christian schools. 639 00:49:22,080 --> 00:49:27,720 His name is George Mueller. Another man was homely, 640 00:49:27,880 --> 00:49:37,200 prematurely bald, overly short and publicly humiliated by 641 00:49:37,200 --> 00:49:42,080 pastors, mentors and friends. But God wastes nothing, and he 642 00:49:42,080 --> 00:49:46,320 became known as the father of modern missions, serving in 643 00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:50,520 India and translating portions of the Bible and at least 29 644 00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:53,920 languages and dialects. His name is William Carey. 645 00:49:55,520 --> 00:49:58,640 Another man faced poverty and sickness, as well as local 646 00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:02,720 church and denominational persecution and prison in China. 647 00:50:03,240 --> 00:50:06,720 He lost his wife in China. But God wastes nothing, and this 648 00:50:06,720 --> 00:50:10,800 man is responsible for founding more than 2000 churches 649 00:50:10,800 --> 00:50:14,640 worldwide and writing 19 books of Christian theology. 650 00:50:14,800 --> 00:50:19,960 His name is Watchman Nee Listen. One woman felt unloved and 651 00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:23,840 unwanted, and she struggled with suicidal thoughts and fantasized 652 00:50:23,840 --> 00:50:26,360 about drowning herself on several occasions. 653 00:50:26,800 --> 00:50:30,280 But the Lord wastes nothing in our lives, and she became a 654 00:50:30,280 --> 00:50:34,920 pioneering female African American preacher during a time 655 00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:40,600 of intense slavery. Her name is Jorina Lee, and we 656 00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:47,280 might not know these names, we might not know these stories, 657 00:50:48,080 --> 00:50:55,080 but all of these people allowed The Cave to push them closer to 658 00:50:55,080 --> 00:50:59,320 Jesus Christ. And because they were driven to 659 00:50:59,320 --> 00:51:03,240 the cross of Christ, because they were driven to the person 660 00:51:03,440 --> 00:51:10,680 of Jesus, they left a legacy that we read about and inspires 661 00:51:10,680 --> 00:51:15,000 us not to quit in the midst of The Cave. 662 00:51:16,040 --> 00:51:19,800 And so I submit to you of what God is doing in your life. 663 00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:24,840 And that is, this is it. Jesus Christ has come as the 664 00:51:24,840 --> 00:51:28,480 King who took upon the role as a servant. 665 00:51:29,000 --> 00:51:32,480 The one who was sinless became sin on our behalf. 666 00:51:32,760 --> 00:51:37,000 The one who never trespassed took our trespasses upon 667 00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:39,560 himself. The one who never had iniquity 668 00:51:39,560 --> 00:51:43,560 in his life took on iniquity, the one who was chastised for 669 00:51:43,560 --> 00:51:48,960 our justification, the one who was given that we might 670 00:51:48,960 --> 00:51:54,760 experience life. The King is in The Cave and he 671 00:51:54,760 --> 00:52:00,680 has suffered, and he has not stopped because the tomb is 672 00:52:00,680 --> 00:52:04,320 empty. In the same pioneer and 673 00:52:04,320 --> 00:52:10,080 forerunner we find in Jesus is the shepherd, the great Shepherd 674 00:52:10,080 --> 00:52:16,560 of our souls, who leads us even in the midst of the valleys, the 675 00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:24,040 meadows, and the caves. Not a thing is wasted. 676 00:52:25,080 --> 00:52:28,840 And maybe you feel like it is. Maybe you feel like you've come 677 00:52:28,840 --> 00:52:32,240 in here and you're like, man, I want to go back to that job. 678 00:52:32,920 --> 00:52:35,200 I want to go back to that boyfriend. 679 00:52:35,800 --> 00:52:37,760 I want to go back to that girlfriend. 680 00:52:38,120 --> 00:52:40,640 I want to go back. And is it interesting how we 681 00:52:40,640 --> 00:52:43,240 often times want to go back to the 1950s? 682 00:52:44,000 --> 00:52:48,040 We want to go back to the 1970s. I want to go back to when 683 00:52:48,040 --> 00:52:50,720 America was free. I want to go back to when a when 684 00:52:50,720 --> 00:52:52,200 it was better. No, no, no. 685 00:52:52,440 --> 00:52:56,840 Listen, God's Kingdom is always advancing. 686 00:52:58,040 --> 00:53:01,760 So may we not just look back at what God has done. 687 00:53:02,200 --> 00:53:07,400 May we look ahead to what God wants to do Amen. 688 00:53:08,920 --> 00:53:11,480 We hope you enjoyed this message and we'd love for you to join us 689 00:53:11,480 --> 00:53:13,640 in person every Sunday at 10:30 AM. 690 00:53:14,160 --> 00:53:16,080 For more information and updates, visit 691 00:53:16,080 --> 00:53:18,720 wearebridgetown.com. Thanks for tuning in and we'll 692 00:53:18,720 --> 00:53:19,520 see you next week.