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 --> 00:00:12,760 Let's dive in. All right, if you have your 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,760 Bible handy, turn to First Samuel chapter 18. 6 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:19,640 If you're not there yet, this is a very put on your seat belt 7 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:24,560 message if you can, if you if, if as you've come, this is a 8 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:29,880 Sunday that as people are ending their school year, they're going 9 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,520 into summer and you guys are planning and you have planned 10 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,040 all your vacations already. Probably you've planned all your 11 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:39,360 trips already. So I'm glad that you've taken 12 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,800 this Sunday to invest in you seeking God first as you begin 13 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,280 your week and all that God has for you. 14 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,400 So we're in first Daniel chapter 18. 15 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,240 We've entitled this series heart, and that is because we 16 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:57,040 believe that what Samuel was called to do as he was looking 17 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,440 for a king was the Lord told him that he was looking at the 18 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:04,400 outward appearance, but God looks at the. 19 00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:06,960 Heart. We know as we enter into first 20 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:11,840 Samuel just a little recap rewind in our study, we remember 21 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,960 that the context of first Samuel was This is the time right after 22 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:19,680 the judges where every man was doing that which was right in 23 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,360 his own eyes. You remember some of the main 24 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,320 characters of First Samuel as you take note. 25 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:31,480 You remember the high priest named Eli. 26 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:33,800 Good. Eli is the high priest at the 27 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,280 time. There's a woman by the name of 28 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,920 Hannah. She had a husband name Elkanah, 29 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,680 and they were praying. She was praying for a son. 30 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:48,160 And you remember the story, the high priest saw her and he said, 31 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,000 why are why are you drunk and coming to the altar? 32 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,200 And she said, I'm not drunk. I'm just pouring my heart out 33 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,080 before the Lord. I want to see God give me a son. 34 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:02,600 Eli blessed her. She conceived a son. 35 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,360 What she wanted was a child for her family. 36 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,360 What God wanted was a prophet for the nation of Israel. 37 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:13,560 At that time, people were crying out for a king like all the 38 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,480 other nations. So First Samuel will focus on 39 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,400 three kings. If you're taking note, the first 40 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,560 king is unmanned by the name of Saul. 41 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,320 He is the first king. He was rejected by the Lord. 42 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:31,600 In first Samuel chapter 15, Saul leads into a pivotal young man 43 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:36,840 by the name of David, and David points us to the son of David 44 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:41,120 who is Jesus Christ. As we go through the book of 45 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:46,720 first Samuel, it is going to be vital that we learn from David. 46 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,680 We learn from David is that we learn some principles from 47 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:55,240 David's life, like for Samuel 17 going into the valley fighting 48 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:57,600 Goliath, that we learn from David. 49 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:02,280 But if we only focus on learning from David, that's just simply 50 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,760 moralism. And what we need to happen is 51 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,280 not just learning from David. We're going to have to actually 52 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:13,360 look through David to the son of David, Jesus Christ, who is the 53 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:18,240 perfect example that was set for us in this moment. 54 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,200 The title of the message today is the battle after the battle. 55 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,760 So if you have a neighbor sitting around you, if you would 56 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,920 just look at them and say, neighbor, my neighbor, there is 57 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:36,920 a battle after the battle. And it was so the Bible says in 58 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:40,720 First Samuel 18, when he had finished speaking to Saul, that 59 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,040 the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David. 60 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,560 And Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 61 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,600 And Saul took him that day and could and would not let him go 62 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:53,960 home to his father's house anymore. 63 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:58,400 Mind you, scholars believe that David at this time is only 17 64 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,560 years old. I wonder if he was a little bit 65 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,920 homesick. Then Jonathan and Dave had made 66 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:09,080 a covenant because he loved him as his own soul, and Jonathan 67 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,200 took off the robe. That was on him, and he gave it 68 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:16,519 to David in his armor, and even to his sword and his bow and his 69 00:04:16,519 --> 00:04:19,160 belt. And so David went out wherever 70 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,720 Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. 71 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,440 And Saul sent him over, met the men of war, and he was accepted 72 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:31,800 in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's 73 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,480 servants. And now it that happened, as 74 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,800 they were coming home, when David was returning from the 75 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:41,600 slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of 76 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:48,040 all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing to meet King 77 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:54,160 Saul with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. 78 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,800 And so the woman saying as a danced and said the hit song on 79 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:05,160 K love Saul has slain his thousands and David his 10 80 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,600 thousands. And Saul was very angry and the 81 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,360 saying in the song displeased him. 82 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:17,360 And he said they have described to David 10 thousands and to me 83 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,480 they have ascribed but thousands. 84 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:25,280 Now what more can he have but the Kingdom? 85 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:33,000 So Saul I. David, from that day forward, I 86 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,880 want you to know, as we've gathered into this place this 87 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:43,440 morning, that there is a battle after the battle. 88 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:48,000 Let's try that again. There is a battle after the 89 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,920 battle. There is a battle after the 90 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:57,480 battle I had. Gone to Newport Beach as a young 91 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:02,160 17 year old. Young man, I had driven my 1965 92 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:08,520 VW bus through in my body board and my fins because I was a what 93 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,440 they called a weekend warrior. I could only make it from San 94 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,680 Bernardino down to Newport Beach only on the weekends because I 95 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,280 was afraid that my VW bus would not make it that. 96 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:22,400 Far. And it was always breaking down. 97 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,560 So I headed to Newport Beach. And as I headed into Newport 98 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:30,200 Beach, I had found myself there looking for the ride. 99 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,840 Of. My life, I mean the waves and 100 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:40,480 the water, the sun in the sand. I love the ocean. 101 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:44,560 I had prepared for this day because I thought that on this 102 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:49,520 day, because the waves were so big and so fast that I would 103 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:58,200 catch the best wave of my life. I had exercised, I had done some 104 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:03,440 cardio and I just thought I am ready for this. 105 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:08,160 And so I hopped on my body board and threw on my fans and paddled 106 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:13,520 out into the salt water. And I paddled and I paddled and 107 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:19,000 I slowly began to be out of breath and the waves were so big 108 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:24,600 and so fast. That I saw the first wave coming 109 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:29,920 and I hesitated and I thought to myself, I can make it. 110 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:34,960 And so I paddled harder and faster and I barely made it over 111 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:41,000 the top of the wave and I felt the spray, the back spray of the 112 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,840 wave hitting me. But what I didn't see was that 113 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:50,680 the second wave was even bigger and faster than the first wave. 114 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:57,000 And so out of breath and panic in my heart and fear in my eyes, 115 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:01,800 I thought to myself, I am not going to make it. 116 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,920 And I would paddle. And then I would hesitate and I 117 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,000 would paddle and then I would hesitate. 118 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:12,080 And then I thought, I just have to go for it. 119 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:18,280 And so I went for it, and it was as if the weight of the wave 120 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:25,640 landed right on top of me. It pushed me to the bottom. 121 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,760 I felt like I was in a washing machine. 122 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:34,640 It had been so powerful that it ripped the leash off of my arm. 123 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,480 It ripped the fins off of my feet. 124 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:44,000 And I didn't know at that time which way was up. 125 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,600 I don't know if you've ever felt like that when you're going 126 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,200 through something, you're just wondering what way is to the 127 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,520 top. And so I was out of breath and 128 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:56,880 just panicking trying to make it to the top. 129 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:04,760 And then the third wave and I went under. 130 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:13,840 And again I went to the top, the 4th wave and then the 5th wave. 131 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,560 I was caught in what they. Call the soup. 132 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:24,520 The soup is where the waves are so foamy and it's white and it's 133 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:29,800 just crashing all around you. Those five waves are what they 134 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:34,640 call a set. And So what I realized is I swam 135 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:38,520 to shore with no board and no more fins. 136 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:45,560 I laid on the sand of the shore, thanking God for firm 137 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:50,920 foundation, looking up at the sky. 138 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:55,280 I was pounding, my heart was pounding, and I told myself I 139 00:09:55,280 --> 00:10:00,640 will never go out there again. And I didn't that day. 140 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,840 And as I was thinking to myself, I was pondering the thought that 141 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,720 one man told me before I entered into the waters. 142 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:14,960 He told me this. He said, listen, waves come in 143 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:24,480 sets, not in singles. Waves come in sets, not in 144 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:29,160 singles. I'm sure you find yourself, some 145 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:33,560 of you in that place today that the waves that you've been 146 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:39,920 experiencing have come in sets, not in singles. 147 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:45,000 It would be one thing if you got hit once, but it's a whole 148 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,360 nother thing when you've been hit by 5 different directions at 149 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:52,400 5 different times and they're simultaneously coming at you. 150 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:57,920 It is hard to catch your breath in that moment and not panic 151 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,360 with what is going on around you. 152 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:04,760 Some of you have walked into a valley, some of you are dead 153 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:09,360 middle in the valley, some of you are walking in and out of 154 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:14,520 that valley, but you find yourself hitting it the battle 155 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:19,200 after the battle. I mean, the weight of the wave 156 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:25,440 is one thing as one wave, but you really didn't see the second 157 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:30,720 wave coming and you were thoroughly exhausted for the 158 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,960 third wave. And when you hit the 4th wave of 159 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:39,480 your life, you thought that it was finally over, but God 160 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:44,520 allowed a #5 it is in these moments, men and women, that you 161 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:50,040 might find yourself at this place with a lot like David with 162 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:54,280 the battle after the battle. I mean, it's, it's another 163 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:56,600 battle. It's an emotional battle that 164 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,520 you've been going through. It has been a marital battle 165 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,560 that you've been going through. It has been for you a, a 166 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:05,720 physical battle that you've been going through. 167 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,680 And add to that the financial battle. 168 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:10,520 It has been a battle of your mind. 169 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,760 It's been a battle of your heart, and this is a battle of 170 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:19,520 and for your life. And it comes to us today in this 171 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:24,440 place where you might be thinking, will I ever come out 172 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:27,640 of that? And I'm here to tell you today 173 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,280 as your pastor, you will come out victorious. 174 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:35,040 You will come out with vision. You will come out ready for the 175 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,120 next valley that God is preparing you for. 176 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:42,920 You will because a lot like David, you were a man or a woman 177 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:47,280 after God's own hearts, you will come out of this. 178 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:51,760 The waves will not last forever. The ocean will still go up and 179 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,320 down, but you will know and choose what waves you're going 180 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,760 to ride on when they come to your shore. 181 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,160 You are going to be the person that finds yourself where you 182 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,960 might be out of breath, but you're actually ready to build. 183 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:10,520 I love what Alan Redpath wrote. He wrote it in his in his book. 184 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:14,600 He said there's nothing, no circumstance, no trouble, no 185 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:19,640 testing that can ever touch me until first of all, it is gone 186 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:23,720 past God and past Christ right through to me. 187 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:29,240 If it is come that far, it is come with a great purpose, which 188 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:32,840 I may not understand at the moment, but as I refuse to 189 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:37,520 become panicky, as I lift my eyes to Him and accept it as 190 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,720 coming from from the throne of God for some great purpose, a 191 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:45,520 blessing to my own heart. No sorrow will ever disturb me, 192 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:50,480 No trial will ever disarm me, no circumstance will cause me to 193 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:55,320 fret, for I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is. 194 00:13:55,440 --> 00:14:02,800 That is the rest of victory. And that is exactly where David 195 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:09,000 finds himself at today. This is not the last battle that 196 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,960 David would ever fight. We look at the giant and hope 197 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,600 and pray that this is the only giant that we would ever fight 198 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:18,720 in our lives. But there's many more giants 199 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,440 that we're going to be coming in David's life. 200 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,960 And the Bible says right after he beats Goliath, it says, and 201 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:30,000 it was so. And it was so in verse 1 of 202 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:35,760 chapter 18. Those four small words carry so 203 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:41,080 much in to them. I want you to remember David is 204 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,880 delivering lunch to his brothers. 205 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:49,280 That was his objective. But he was called when he heard 206 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,160 and approached the battle line in the valley of Elah. 207 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:58,600 He was called to face a giant that he was only going to bring 208 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:04,760 lunch to his brothers. The small often leads you to the 209 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:09,160 medium, and the medium often will lead you to what we 210 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:14,280 consider big, but God considers it all the same. 211 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:21,200 David's obedience would determine who he would face and 212 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:25,440 what He would deliver. And so in this moment, David 213 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:30,680 hears Goliath and he says, who is this uncircumcised Philistine 214 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:34,800 who is taunting the name of the living God and the people of 215 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,360 God? Goliath was terrorizing and 216 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:43,000 taunting all of the children of Israel and Saul. 217 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:47,960 King Saul was hiding in his tent. 218 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,640 David says this is not going to be anymore. 219 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:56,040 This is not going to be, he says I will fight. 220 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:01,080 And you remember Saul said, well you're only a boy. 221 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:06,600 He says, listen, I've wrestled tigers, lions and bears. 222 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,840 Oh my. I don't need your armor. 223 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:15,080 I don't need your weapons. I will go gather for myself 5 224 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:19,880 smooth stones. So David gathers 5 smooth 225 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:21,520 stones. We don't know if Goliath had 226 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,080 four other brothers. We don't know if the Philistines 227 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:26,200 were going to be coming when he hit Goliath from the north, 228 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,560 north-south, east or West. We didn't know why he gathered 5 229 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:33,360 stones, but with the Lord he only needed one. 230 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:38,480 He slings his slingshot towards Goliath. 231 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,120 With the stone. It embeds in Goliath. 232 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:46,800 It hits him in his head and beds into his head and then Goliath 233 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:49,760 falls to the ground. It was like the dust of the 234 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,840 valley of Elah rising up into the atmosphere. 235 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:58,400 All you hear was this big holy thud. 236 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:05,839 David runs towards Goliath. Goliath face down grabs Goliath 237 00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:11,720 sword and he chops his head off and then he takes his head with 238 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:16,319 him. And then the children of Israel 239 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:21,040 gather together and they run towards the Philistine. 240 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:26,119 This was a victory. David, at this point, if he 241 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:36,160 lived in 2025, went viral. He was instant popularity and it 242 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,760 was so. Isn't it interesting when we go 243 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,560 through something meaningful that God will often still keep 244 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:44,320 us? In the end? 245 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:49,000 It was so mundane to keep us at a place where we're still 246 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:54,200 prepared to fight even extraordinary things. 247 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:59,080 In our lives here David finds himself This is the where the 248 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:01,280 battle ends. But this is where David's 249 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:05,080 popularity begins. This was a bold battle. 250 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:09,000 This was a bloody battle. This was a battle with the with 251 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:13,800 it lead to a battle cry. And this is so important as it 252 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,840 was, so is what happened in the valley. 253 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,960 Does not stay in the valley with David. 254 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,920 How David did One thing is how David does everything. 255 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:28,640 Did you catch that? How you do one thing is how you 256 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:33,600 will do everything in your life. And this was the scene of 257 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:40,000 David's heart and life, that he would come now into a different 258 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,960 battle. This battle would no longer be 259 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,400 in a valley. The context would say this would 260 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:50,000 now be in a palace. David would no longer face a 261 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,680 battle with an enemy in front of his face, but the king who's 262 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:58,200 behind his back. This is David facing another 263 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:02,480 battle, where David's last battle would be with the giant, 264 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:06,640 but David's next battle would be with the struggling king of 265 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:08,040 Israel. Do you see? 266 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:11,680 Your battle is always coming from different areas. 267 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,800 Your battle could be at home. Your battle could be in your 268 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:16,600 school. Your battle could be with your 269 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:18,480 teacher. Your battle could be with your 270 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,720 siblings, your student at a hospital, in a neighborhood, 271 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:27,840 good with a coworker. You can find yourself in this 272 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:33,040 type of valley and God is bringing you into a place where 273 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:38,600 there is a battle after the battle and David left the last 274 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,200 battle the same way that he would enter into the next 275 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:44,200 battle. I want you to get this before we 276 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,800 move forward. No notice the Bible says in 277 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:50,520 verse 45 of chapter 17. Then David said to the 278 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:55,040 Philistines, you come to me with a sword and with a spear and 279 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:58,920 with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of 280 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:00,680 the. Lord of Hosts the. 281 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:04,400 God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 282 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:09,560 Now notice how David enters into this next battle in First Samuel 283 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:14,440 chapter 18, verse 12. The Bible says now Saul was 284 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:20,800 afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed 285 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,560 from Saul. Look at this again in verse 14. 286 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:29,440 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with 287 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:32,600 him. David would leave the valley of 288 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:35,720 Elah for the glory of God, with the presence of God. 289 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:41,640 He would enter into the tent or the palace of Saul in the glory 290 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,720 of God and with the presence of God. 291 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:50,520 And so at this point in time in our story, David finds himself 292 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:55,080 in great victory. But now he's about to battle 293 00:20:55,080 --> 00:21:00,840 Saul, who had great jealousy. I don't know if you've ever been 294 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:08,760 jealous over someone, over someone's success, over 295 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:18,200 someone's life, over someone's home, over someone's car, over 296 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:26,880 someone's children. There always seems to be people 297 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:32,200 who are smarter, funnier, skinnier, prettier, godlier, 298 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,400 wealth, wealthier and more successful with higher capacity. 299 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,080 They're more strategic, they're better parents, they go on 300 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:43,680 perfect vacations, they never have any problems, they're 301 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,880 always doing good. And that is the moment where 302 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:55,800 envy arises in our hearts. Notice it happened to Saul in 303 00:21:55,800 --> 00:22:02,880 verse 9 of this chapter. And so Saul eyed David from that 304 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,680 day forward. What does that mean? 305 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,400 He he eyed David? Does that that mean he's just 306 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:12,160 like looking at him in a strange tone? 307 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:17,040 Look, no, the word eyed or the term means he looked at David 308 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:19,520 with suspicion. From this day forward. 309 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,760 And here in this spot, I want to ask you a question as you've 310 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:28,200 come. How do you handle other people's 311 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:32,520 success? How do you handle when other 312 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,400 people do well and you're not doing well? 313 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:42,480 How do we handle in our lives, like Saul and David, David's 314 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:48,960 great victory over Goliath? How do we find ourselves in this 315 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:57,280 place where we're not going to live in suspicion towards people 316 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:01,360 in our lives? Let me, let me get. 317 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:04,560 Closer to home, how do you view? People who get the. 318 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,480 Promotion and you don't get the preference. 319 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:11,080 Let me get a little bit. Closer to home. 320 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,200 How do you deal with people that life is good, it's great and 321 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,400 it's growing, but yours is slowing down? 322 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,520 How do you view people when they're following God and 323 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,080 flourishing? They're accomplishing, they're 324 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:31,400 prevailing, they're thriving. Listen, listen, I know today I 325 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,000 want to give you vision for the valley, but I also want you to 326 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:39,520 live, live out some principles from this palace because these 327 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:44,160 are going to hit in battles in different areas Because what 328 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:49,680 permeated the palace and perfumed it at this time was 329 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:55,440 jealousy. Jealousy always makes a good 330 00:23:55,520 --> 00:24:02,680 situation stink. So how can I win in the battle 331 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:09,200 after the battle and have a good vision when others have victory? 332 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:13,360 I was going to try to give you 3 things, but next week I really 333 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:16,280 want to focus on one thing that is good that we should do with 334 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:18,880 people. And I want to focus on the two 335 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:20,640 things I'm going to ask you to stop doing. 336 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,360 Is that OK? Today I want to ask you to stop 337 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:25,520 doing two things. Number one, you ready? 338 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:31,000 Stop comparing. Stop comparing. 339 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:35,400 I'm going to just say that again with all grace. 340 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:41,560 Stop comparing. Where's that at in the Bible? 341 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:46,160 Look at verse 5. So David went out wherever Saul 342 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:51,400 sent him, and he behaved wisely. The words behaved wisely in the 343 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,280 new King James Version. In some of your versions, it 344 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,440 might mean that he was successful. 345 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:02,080 He was successful, but David acted out of wisdom. 346 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:07,600 Wisdom is the application of knowledge, and thus because he 347 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:11,840 acted out of that wisdom, the knowledge that he had, he was 348 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:17,000 successful wherever he went. The fear of the Lord is the 349 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:22,800 beginning of wisdom. Wisdom is the application of 350 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,400 what you already know about the Lord. 351 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,800 Wherever Saul sent him, David was successful, and Saul sent 352 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:34,000 him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all 353 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,600 the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants. 354 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,120 Now notice this. Now it happened as they were 355 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:43,600 coming home when David was returning from the slaughter of 356 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:46,920 the Philistine. Let's just stop there. 357 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:53,440 Notice what David had in this moment. 358 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:58,200 David was obedient. If you're taking note, David was 359 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,400 obedient. Wherever Saul sent him, he went. 360 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,200 Notice this. Not only was David obedient, he 361 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:08,880 went wherever Saul would send him, but David was also wise. 362 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:11,560 The Bible says that he behaved wisely. 363 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:16,320 And then notice the text says that David was set over a 364 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:20,560 multitude of the army. David had authority. 365 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:22,680 Saul sent him over the men of war. 366 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:27,040 But notice this also. David was accepted. 367 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:34,040 And then as David was obedient and David was wise and David had 368 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:42,240 authority and David was accepted, the ladies run out 369 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:48,400 into the city and they have a song to sing. 370 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:54,840 They get in there, and I'm not just talking about a small song. 371 00:26:55,680 --> 00:27:00,680 I want you to get how these women approach, but I want you 372 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,120 also to get who they're approaching. 373 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,880 The women had come out of all the cities of Israel. 374 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:15,560 Notice this singing and dancing. I mean, this isn't just standing 375 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,080 in front of a mic, just singing. I mean, they were getting down. 376 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,200 This was earth, wind and fire. You know what I'm talking about. 377 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:28,560 This was they were just, they were singing and dancing. 378 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,520 But notice they didn't come out to meet David. 379 00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:38,240 They came out to meet King Saul. When was the last time men, you 380 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:40,920 had women running into the city singing your name? 381 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:46,000 Never right because we're not that important, but King Saul 382 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:51,000 was. But jealousy robbed him from 383 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:56,480 seeing how important he was. Oh, that was a good one. 384 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,920 With they came with tambourines. So they're singing, they're 385 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:03,240 dancing, they're shaking tambourines. 386 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:08,600 And notice this, They're coming with joy and with musical 387 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:12,840 instruments. The whole worship team showed up 388 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:18,200 from every city and this is what they sing. 389 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:26,040 Saul has slain his thousands. I'm sure Saul's like. 390 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:30,520 He's into it, you know, he's dancing. 391 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:40,600 And then all of a sudden, David, his 10 thousands, you could hear 392 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:46,360 the baby cry off in the distance of the city and it was as if the 393 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:53,200 women singing the song stopped, saw dead in his tracks. 394 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:57,560 And this is what happened. Then Saul in verse 8 was very 395 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:02,800 excited. He was also filled with joy. 396 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:09,040 He also began to sing. He began to break dance. 397 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:15,680 He began to lift up his voice to the Lord and thank God that they 398 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:17,640 won the battle. Nope. 399 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:25,400 Saul was very angry. You ever meet someone who's very 400 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:29,840 angry? They might live in your house. 401 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,160 They might drive in your car. They might be in your 402 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:37,760 neighborhood. They might be on the 210 when 403 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,720 you drive home. They have you ever met someone 404 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,480 that's very angry? And and now here here's what I 405 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,720 want you to get the word very means exceedingly. 406 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:49,600 This is not like I'm a little upset. 407 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:55,320 The word angry means that he started to glow. 408 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:02,920 It means to be warm. It means to light someone on 409 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,960 fire. This is what we would call in 410 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:11,880 2025, a hot head. He's very angry. 411 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,000 But notice he's not just very angry. 412 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,280 The Bible says, and the saying displeased him. 413 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:23,560 It displeased him. What does the word displeased 414 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:27,040 mean in Hebrew? It's a Hebrew word. 415 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:30,240 RA. Can can we just try that 416 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:31,760 together? RA. 417 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:43,200 It means evil, the word means annoyed, the word means 418 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:49,680 something bad is happening, and the last meaning of raw is dis 419 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,440 satisfied. Isn't it interesting how 420 00:30:54,440 --> 00:31:01,840 dissatisfaction leads to evil and evil leads to you being 421 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:06,600 angry and sinning? Isn't it interesting that Saul 422 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:12,560 found himself in this place, seeing David win a battle and 423 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:16,160 all of these women running up to him with tambourines and dancing 424 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:20,960 and singing? They came to meet you, Saul, and 425 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:25,040 the Bible says that he became angry and it displeased him and 426 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:28,560 then he says these words. Look at the comparison they've 427 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:36,160 ascribed to David 10 thousands. David, you have 10,000 followers 428 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:42,080 on Instagram and to me they've ascribed but. 429 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:49,480 Thousands. This is a word of ascribing 430 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:58,120 meant that they put or they set and then he says now what more 431 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:07,920 can he have but the Kingdom Saul was so focused on his own 432 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:12,080 Kingdom. He would not live out the story 433 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:17,280 of the Kingdom of God. He was so concerned about his 434 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:22,120 own position, his own throne, his own popularity that he would 435 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:27,000 not fulfill what God had had God had a greater plan, a bigger 436 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:32,840 plan, but because of his own comparison and his own fear, he 437 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:37,160 finds himself in this place, comparing himself to David. 438 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:42,520 And the Bible says in verse 9 that saw I David from this day 439 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,080 forward, meaning this look at this. 440 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:50,840 This song led to simmering. The simmering led to him 441 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,720 steaming. The steaming led to him being 442 00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:57,920 unsatisfied. Thus his satisfaction was based 443 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:04,200 upon what they said rather than what God had set in motion. 444 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:09,320 Do you see in this spot? Notice, I want to define 445 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:12,400 comparison as this. If you're taking note, this is 446 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:13,880 important that you write this down. 447 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:19,480 Comparison is this. It's ranking God's will for your 448 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:26,600 life against others and what others have. 449 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:34,080 It is again ranking your life, excuse me, God's will for your 450 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:37,840 life against others. And it is ranking your life with 451 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:44,600 others and determining who gets the best deal from God. 452 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:55,080 Notice Saul's question is this. What else can he have? 453 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:59,520 No, no, no. Notice the the the comparison, 454 00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:07,000 the the the the song remind Saul of God's will for his life and 455 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:11,239 God's will for David's life. You remember in First Samuel 15 456 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:14,000 that Saul was rejected as being king. 457 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:20,679 So Saul would fade out in God's will and David would fade in 458 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:25,800 according to God's will. And here's we learned two things 459 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,440 in this section about comparison. 460 00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:32,920 We we learned 2 important principles about comparison and 461 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:37,719 I want you to write this down. Comparison will always feed on 462 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:39,800 ER and. As. 463 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:46,840 Comparison will always feed on ER, ER and AS. 464 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:50,719 Notice the thing that gives comparison life and nourishment 465 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:57,880 is the need for the ER factor or the AS factor in your life. 466 00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:04,600 We have to know that we are smarter than somebody else. 467 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:09,000 We need to know that we're funny, uh, than somebody else. 468 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:13,080 We need to know that we're prettier than somebody else or 469 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:17,680 we're skinnier than somebody else or we're wealthier than 470 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:22,040 somebody else or we're godly, uh, than somebody else or we're 471 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:26,000 more successful than some. That's probably not a word, but, 472 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,480 but, but listen, you, you get it, you get it. 473 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:35,200 People all around us, We constantly compare ourselves to 474 00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:41,400 them. And saw finds himself in this 475 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:48,000 spot with all of these women coming out to sing this song. 476 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:53,600 He misses the main message because Saul just didn't want to 477 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:58,200 be great as a king. He wanted to be greater than 478 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:02,200 David. You might go, well, that's not 479 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:06,400 my, that's not my factor. My factor is not the her that's 480 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:10,440 feeding my comparison. Maybe today the factor for you 481 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:14,480 is the as factor. You look around and you find an 482 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:19,720 individual person and you begin to tell yourself that is the 483 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,960 ideal person that I have to be like. 484 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:27,640 And this is what happens. If I could just be as 485 00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:32,680 successful, If I could just be as pretty. 486 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:36,400 If I could just be as high capacity. 487 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:42,880 If I could just be as strategic, as strong, as able, as creative, 488 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:47,320 as the best at making sourdough in the kitchen. 489 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:51,160 If I could just be as disciplined as them in their 490 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:54,160 life. If my kids would just be just 491 00:36:54,360 --> 00:37:02,280 act like them, we would be OK in our lives. 492 00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:08,840 The problem is this men and women with the ER or the AS 493 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:13,080 factor is that perfection is an illusion. 494 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:20,560 Perfection is an illusion. I don't remember our last 495 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:26,360 Christmas card photo as a family because it's been that long. 496 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:30,000 I mean, you would look at a Christmas card, our Christmas 497 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:35,160 card, and see our whole Kendall family, all of us, and we're all 498 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:38,560 smiling. We're all positioned in the 499 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:41,080 right places. But do you know what's going on 500 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:47,200 behind the scenes at that photo? Sit down, stand up, arch your 501 00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:49,560 back right? Don't show your teeth. 502 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:57,480 Smile. It's behind the scenes. 503 00:37:57,480 --> 00:37:59,960 You would think that, oh, wow, When you look at the car you're 504 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:01,880 in. Oh, that's a fantastic family, 505 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:05,800 Casey. You're it just must be perfect 506 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:07,280 at your house. No, no, no. 507 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:11,440 There's times where Rudy's had to come over and fill up some 508 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:17,280 holes in my wall from a fight. Not me, but one of my siblings, 509 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:20,520 my own, my children fighting their other siblings. 510 00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:27,080 You might say, well, why haven't you done another Christmas card? 511 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:35,640 Because it's just too painful. I think we would fare a little 512 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:41,880 bit better now, but you know when you're trying to gather a 2 513 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:46,480 year old and a four year old and an 8 year old and you're trying 514 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:51,000 to put them all into place and this is what happens is this is 515 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:55,960 that perfection becomes an illusion and perception is not 516 00:38:55,960 --> 00:39:01,920 always your reality. And that is the determining 517 00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:05,840 factor of ER and AS. And if you would just write this 518 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:10,160 down. Comparison has terrible side 519 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:14,160 effects. Comparison has terrible side 520 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:16,800 effects. You ever watch TV? 521 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:24,600 All right, let's try that again. Do you ever watch TV and you're 522 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:27,440 watching your favorite show? And it might not be on Netflix, 523 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:29,400 but it might be on Hulu. And you didn't pay to get the 524 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:33,120 ads removed. And so this ad pops up on your 525 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:36,800 screen and it's actually a medicine ad. 526 00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:41,720 And you see this perfect family in the backyard and the the 527 00:39:41,720 --> 00:39:46,360 dad's barbecuing and all the neighbors are over. 528 00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:50,440 And as they're the dog runs by. It's like this perfect Irish 529 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:53,720 setter, like grabs the ball and drops it at his feet. 530 00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:56,880 And, and it's like, what does this have to do with a medicine? 531 00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:02,120 And then the soft, soothing voice ends the commercial. 532 00:40:03,240 --> 00:40:05,000 Talk to your doctor before taking. 533 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:11,320 May lead to nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, loss of hearing, 534 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:15,680 bleeding in your stomach, hormones going up. 535 00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:19,400 It might lead to death, it might lead to demon possession. 536 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:22,720 They they, they, they, they give all of these like different side 537 00:40:22,720 --> 00:40:24,440 effects to, you know what I'm talking about. 538 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:27,240 It gives all of these different side effects to the, to the 539 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:29,120 medicine. Well, let me let me just say 540 00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:36,600 this comparison is not medicine. Comparison is actually poison, 541 00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:40,640 and notice this if you would in the text. 542 00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:45,960 Notice what comparison led to. It LED in verse 8 to anger 543 00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:51,000 comparison, then led to an annoyance comparison. 544 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,320 Side effect was evil, dissatisfied. 545 00:40:54,560 --> 00:41:00,720 And then Saul is paranoid and he's suspicious, and verse 12 546 00:41:00,720 --> 00:41:04,280 tells us that he was afraid of David. 547 00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:10,400 It led to great fear over David's life. 548 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:18,240 Day after day, Saul would see all of these people rooting on 549 00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:21,800 David, and he feels like he's being diminished. 550 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:27,400 And notice Saul. From this point forward, tries 551 00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:34,600 to ruin David's life, and this is what he does. 552 00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:39,360 He ruins his own life in the process. 553 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:45,480 He ends his life not killing David, but killing himself. 554 00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:52,120 And this is the side effect of all of this this. 555 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:58,160 Terrible side effect of anger when people are comparing rage, 556 00:41:58,240 --> 00:42:03,200 anxiety, competition, exhaustion. 557 00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:08,120 But here's the truth of the cross and what the cross 558 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:14,520 declares to us in comparison. Jesus does what comparison 559 00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:22,840 cannot do, and that is this. Why do we often compare 560 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:24,560 ourselves? I just want to get to the heart 561 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:28,480 of the matter. We compare because we question 562 00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:35,000 our value. We often compare because we 563 00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:41,200 question our own value. And this is something that the 564 00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:47,000 cross of Christ does for us. We look around at all of others 565 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:52,080 to figure out if we are just as valuable as they are. 566 00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:57,600 But this is what Jesus does. The real King does for all of 567 00:42:57,600 --> 00:43:02,200 us, and that is this. The cross declares the infinite 568 00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:08,240 value first of Jesus Christ. It tells me that there was only 569 00:43:08,240 --> 00:43:13,080 one who was worthy to take the scroll, the Lamb who was slain 570 00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:15,120 from the foundations of the world. 571 00:43:15,560 --> 00:43:20,480 It is the cross of Jesus Christ that declares the ultimate value 572 00:43:20,480 --> 00:43:24,920 of Jesus Christ that that that that his blood is enough, that 573 00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:30,760 his sacrifice was enough, that he covered and removed my sin. 574 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:34,840 It it declares the infinite value of Jesus, that He is 575 00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:40,360 sufficient that he could go to the cross, He could take the 576 00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:43,440 weight of our sin and our iniquity and our transgressions. 577 00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:49,040 He beats Satan, he beats sin, he beats death, and no one can stop 578 00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:51,240 him, and he rises again from the dead. 579 00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:56,240 There is only one who says that I am the resurrection in the 580 00:43:56,240 --> 00:44:00,240 life, and he who believes in me, although he may die, yet shall 581 00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:03,360 he live. There is only one who is of that 582 00:44:03,360 --> 00:44:08,840 value where we would look upon the Lamb, and we would say, What 583 00:44:08,840 --> 00:44:14,040 can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 584 00:44:14,160 --> 00:44:19,760 What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. 585 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:25,880 Jesus as King declares something to me, that he is of infinite 586 00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:29,600 worth and value. But it does something else. 587 00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:34,080 The cross does. The cross declares that Jesus 588 00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:38,760 gives us value. Please receive this today. 589 00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:43,040 If you would just put your hand on your heart and just say I'm 590 00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:47,120 valuable today and that you would believe that about 591 00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:51,240 yourself because some of you have heard some things about 592 00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:54,520 your life for years about your life that you're you're the 593 00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:56,720 idiot. You're the mistake. 594 00:44:57,080 --> 00:44:59,800 You're the one who constantly makes bad decisions. 595 00:44:59,960 --> 00:45:03,520 You are the one that constantly hears from your life from other 596 00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:07,400 people's mouths about your life. That you are the one who's 597 00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:11,240 constantly in the shadows. You're the one who's constantly 598 00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:14,440 in the dark. You are the one who does doesn't 599 00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:16,760 get it. And you walk around believing 600 00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:20,200 that you're dumb, you're stupid, and you're not valuable at all. 601 00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:25,760 Let me tell you, the cross of Jesus Christ gives us value. 602 00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:33,680 He declares to us the value that Jesus placed upon us because he 603 00:45:33,680 --> 00:45:38,800 gave us grace. You were valued at the body and 604 00:45:38,800 --> 00:45:43,400 the blood of Jesus when I received this. 605 00:45:44,200 --> 00:45:47,840 It gives to me a power that cancels. 606 00:45:47,840 --> 00:45:50,200 Out. The world where I don't have to 607 00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:53,440 run into the world to look for my value anymore. 608 00:45:54,320 --> 00:46:00,160 Because Jesus found me and because he found me, he declared 609 00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:05,200 over me value. You are valuable. 610 00:46:06,720 --> 00:46:09,720 That doesn't mean you have the same gifts as everybody else. 611 00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:13,200 It doesn't mean you'll have the same mission as everybody else, 612 00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:17,640 but you are valuable. I want you to hear that today. 613 00:46:18,600 --> 00:46:22,480 And instead of chasing value, I want you to remember that value 614 00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:29,560 is chasing you. God, in his kindness, has given 615 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:37,840 you value. David is fulfilling the mission 616 00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:44,200 of God and he is not going to be able to please everybody every 617 00:46:44,200 --> 00:46:48,120 time. He is able to accomplish what 618 00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:56,480 God has set before his life and he in this place comes at this 619 00:46:56,480 --> 00:47:01,320 time and I pray that we could rid this from our lives. 620 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:04,800 And that is the crime of comparing. 621 00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:10,480 Some of us it would do us well to get off of Instagram. 622 00:47:11,480 --> 00:47:15,920 Some of us it would do us well to stop looking at Facebook for 623 00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:19,160 a little bit. Some of us it would do us well 624 00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:24,480 to stop going on Twitter and entering in possibly into wars 625 00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:29,000 that will not be won by you arguing on social media about 626 00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:34,560 it. Some of us use in our lives this 627 00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:42,120 aspect of looking at other people's stories, and we miss 628 00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:47,880 our own. And we live in this spot where 629 00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:52,280 we're constantly comparing because we're constantly seeing 630 00:47:52,800 --> 00:48:00,560 people at Disneyland on vacation, in London, in Italy, 631 00:48:01,920 --> 00:48:06,360 speaking somewhere else, doing something big. 632 00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:11,880 What does all of that mean? I'm not saying that we cannot 633 00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:16,600 use this for the glory of God. What I am saying is be careful 634 00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:19,560 that the story of God will not be lived out because you're so 635 00:48:19,560 --> 00:48:21,360 concerned with the lives of other people. 636 00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:25,880 So let me move on because I'm going too long. 637 00:48:26,600 --> 00:48:29,560 This is comparing. And then the second thing I want 638 00:48:29,560 --> 00:48:31,320 to encourage you to do is stop rejecting. 639 00:48:31,960 --> 00:48:34,360 Stop rejecting. Look at verse 10. 640 00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:37,600 And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from 641 00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:41,320 God came upon Saul and he prophesied inside the house. 642 00:48:41,600 --> 00:48:45,720 That not every prophecy is maybe a good prophecy. 643 00:48:45,720 --> 00:48:49,480 I don't know if Saul was prophesying truth or lies, but 644 00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:52,920 listen if you can. This distressing spirit was from 645 00:48:52,920 --> 00:49:00,280 God as a consequence over Saul's life and his disobedience. 646 00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:06,880 So David, as Saul was prophesying, played music with 647 00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:10,440 his hand and at other times. But there was a spear in Saul's 648 00:49:10,440 --> 00:49:12,920 hand. Now notice what happens. 649 00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:19,760 Saul, David's slinging stones. Saul is throwing Spears. 650 00:49:21,440 --> 00:49:26,480 He now throws A spear. Cast it and he says I'll pin 651 00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:27,960 David. To the wall with it. 652 00:49:28,920 --> 00:49:32,200 But David escaped from his presence twice. 653 00:49:33,560 --> 00:49:41,040 That means Saul tried twice to kill pin David to the wall. 654 00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:44,680 Now Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him 655 00:49:44,960 --> 00:49:48,480 but had departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from 656 00:49:48,480 --> 00:49:50,960 his presence and made him captain over 1000. 657 00:49:50,960 --> 00:49:53,200 And he went out and came in before the people. 658 00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:58,040 Listen, this is not a promotion. This is strategic of Saul. 659 00:49:59,040 --> 00:50:06,480 He's trying to get rid of David. Therefore Saul removed him from 660 00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:08,640 his presence and made him captain over 1000. 661 00:50:08,640 --> 00:50:10,960 And he went out and came in before the people. 662 00:50:10,960 --> 00:50:14,840 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with 663 00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:17,360 him. And therefore Saul, when Saul 664 00:50:17,360 --> 00:50:20,640 saw that he behaved wisely, he was afraid of him again. 665 00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:23,520 Notice that twice when there's mentioned twice, notice what 666 00:50:23,520 --> 00:50:28,600 jealousy leads to fear. But all Israel and Judah love 667 00:50:28,600 --> 00:50:31,880 David because he went out and came in before them. 668 00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:43,280 Notice Saul begins to reject God's will in his life and in 669 00:50:43,280 --> 00:50:47,200 David's life. So much so, he tries to thwart 670 00:50:47,280 --> 00:50:54,680 God's will for his life by casting Spears at David to get 671 00:50:54,680 --> 00:50:56,680 rid of him. I don't think his goal was just 672 00:50:56,680 --> 00:51:00,240 to pin him to the wall. I think his goal was to get to 673 00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:03,240 the heart. Because jealousy might look like 674 00:51:03,240 --> 00:51:06,360 it's only an outward attack, but it's always reaching for 675 00:51:06,360 --> 00:51:11,280 somebody else's heart and taking that out so there's no more life 676 00:51:11,280 --> 00:51:15,240 in the person. You cast Spears at them to say 677 00:51:15,240 --> 00:51:18,640 things that you shouldn't say at all. 678 00:51:20,080 --> 00:51:25,760 He's rejecting God's will. In rejecting God's will, notice 679 00:51:25,760 --> 00:51:31,640 he outwardly says I will not accept the will of God in this 680 00:51:31,640 --> 00:51:37,920 place because Saul as king would want to stay on the throne. 681 00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:45,320 And who would this go to next? It would stay in the family to 682 00:51:45,320 --> 00:51:54,000 his oldest son Jonathan. So Saul is trying to keep it all 683 00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:59,360 in with the attitude of You will not replace me. 684 00:52:00,680 --> 00:52:03,200 And here is the Lord moving in this place. 685 00:52:03,200 --> 00:52:06,280 And maybe right now you don't reject God's will for your life 686 00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:09,400 and others. Outwardly you're not shouting, 687 00:52:09,400 --> 00:52:13,640 telling God I reject that in this moment, verbally saying 688 00:52:13,640 --> 00:52:16,280 this. But inwardly you're holding it. 689 00:52:17,240 --> 00:52:19,080 Inwardly you're holding it so much. 690 00:52:19,080 --> 00:52:22,320 So this is what happens. This is how we hold it. 691 00:52:22,600 --> 00:52:29,080 This is how we reject it. Inwardly, through resentment, we 692 00:52:29,080 --> 00:52:34,080 resent what is happening around us. 693 00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:38,480 We inwardly resent other people's growth, success, 694 00:52:38,600 --> 00:52:43,080 because what we read that as is that we are a failure. 695 00:52:44,560 --> 00:52:49,160 And what happens in this moment is when somebody else is 696 00:52:49,160 --> 00:52:53,640 promoted, we can't celebrate it because we think that we failed. 697 00:52:54,880 --> 00:52:58,640 And this is just getting to the heart of my own heart and my own 698 00:52:58,640 --> 00:53:02,320 life on this long road is we resent others lives. 699 00:53:02,320 --> 00:53:06,440 We resent their good, we resent their house, we resent their 700 00:53:06,440 --> 00:53:08,920 children. We resent the work they do, the 701 00:53:08,920 --> 00:53:12,560 places they go. We resent their kids seeming to 702 00:53:12,560 --> 00:53:16,560 be flourishing. We look at their life and their 703 00:53:16,560 --> 00:53:21,720 life ours mixed together. And what we often read it as is 704 00:53:21,720 --> 00:53:27,280 their success means my failure. So you resent them and then this 705 00:53:27,280 --> 00:53:31,840 is what happens. You resent that God has not done 706 00:53:31,840 --> 00:53:35,000 something good in your life like he has in theirs. 707 00:53:36,400 --> 00:53:43,000 This is what often will happen. And this resentment is rejection 708 00:53:43,640 --> 00:53:51,440 because God gave you a bad deal. The second thing we often do, or 709 00:53:51,440 --> 00:53:56,720 letter B, is we reject things through a tight grip. 710 00:53:57,680 --> 00:54:03,160 We micromanage everything that we can't control, and this is 711 00:54:03,160 --> 00:54:06,400 seen through a tight grip that will often hold on to things. 712 00:54:06,720 --> 00:54:10,160 This is also seen in rejection through a fearful heart. 713 00:54:10,640 --> 00:54:13,480 Like Saul. We fear the person because we're 714 00:54:13,480 --> 00:54:19,120 disgusted at their promotion. And then we become people who 715 00:54:19,160 --> 00:54:24,600 act rashly about the future. We make anxious decisions, we 716 00:54:24,600 --> 00:54:29,160 react but do not thoughtfully respond in. 717 00:54:29,320 --> 00:54:31,960 The moment I love what Warren Weirsby said. 718 00:54:32,240 --> 00:54:35,360 He said that Saul was great at scheming but not great at 719 00:54:35,360 --> 00:54:40,560 trusting God. HG Wells in one of his books 720 00:54:40,720 --> 00:54:43,560 described a character in one of his books. 721 00:54:43,560 --> 00:54:47,960 He said he was not so much a human being as a civil war. 722 00:54:49,080 --> 00:54:51,880 And this perfectly describes King Saul. 723 00:54:52,600 --> 00:54:59,400 He is a civil war inside of his own life. 724 00:55:00,040 --> 00:55:04,240 And that's why it's important for us to see Jesus in the 725 00:55:04,240 --> 00:55:09,880 moment, King Jesus, because he did not reject God's will in the 726 00:55:09,880 --> 00:55:12,160 garden. He accepted God's will in the 727 00:55:12,160 --> 00:55:15,920 garden. He said not my will be done, but 728 00:55:15,920 --> 00:55:20,760 your will be done. And what it shows us is this is 729 00:55:20,760 --> 00:55:23,720 that God's not just necessarily here for me. 730 00:55:23,920 --> 00:55:28,000 We are here for God. We are here for his glory. 731 00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:31,480 God doesn't always fulfill dreams. 732 00:55:32,280 --> 00:55:35,360 But He does place an amazing call on our lives. 733 00:55:35,360 --> 00:55:39,200 So what I want us to do today is just identify our idols. 734 00:55:39,200 --> 00:55:44,840 Is there any area of your life where this might be hitting? 735 00:55:45,240 --> 00:55:49,720 If so, if we come to the foundational level of this, this 736 00:55:49,720 --> 00:55:53,200 is an issue with the goodness of God. 737 00:55:54,480 --> 00:55:57,920 That we know that God's holy and God's loving, and God is a God 738 00:55:57,920 --> 00:56:04,840 of majesty and wisdom and mercy, but God is not good. 739 00:56:05,200 --> 00:56:09,200 Here's what I like to say. If you are worth the blood, 740 00:56:09,280 --> 00:56:12,640 you're worth the blessing. And there's always going to be a 741 00:56:12,640 --> 00:56:17,960 battle after the battle. And listen, Saul kept fighting 742 00:56:18,400 --> 00:56:19,800 where he should have been surrendering. 743 00:56:21,760 --> 00:56:23,640 Saul kept fighting where he should have been surrendering. 744 00:56:23,640 --> 00:56:27,280 Are you comparing? Are you rejecting God's will? 745 00:56:27,280 --> 00:56:30,640 Are you still fighting where you should be surrendering? 746 00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:34,400 I was reading about a man named Hiru Onoda. 747 00:56:34,840 --> 00:56:39,920 His orders were clear to protect the Philippine Islands island of 748 00:56:39,920 --> 00:56:43,320 Lubang from enemy attack and not to surrender under any 749 00:56:43,320 --> 00:56:46,160 circumstance. And he followed those orders 750 00:56:46,160 --> 00:56:53,680 diligently and still doing so 29 years after World War Two had 751 00:56:53,680 --> 00:56:56,960 ended. Anota and three other soldiers 752 00:56:57,160 --> 00:57:00,240 survived and refused to surrender to an Allied 753 00:57:00,240 --> 00:57:03,480 occupation of the island beginning in 1945. 754 00:57:03,800 --> 00:57:08,080 They hid in the mountains for the next 3 decades, engaging in 755 00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:10,280 guerrilla activities with local officials. 756 00:57:10,520 --> 00:57:16,080 Immediately after the war's conclusion and again in 1952, 757 00:57:16,200 --> 00:57:21,000 leaflets were dropped over the mountains so that Onotis men 758 00:57:21,000 --> 00:57:23,280 would know that the war was over, but they concluded that 759 00:57:23,280 --> 00:57:26,720 the news was an Allied trick and refused to capitulate. 760 00:57:27,920 --> 00:57:33,320 In 1974, after a notice 3 comrades had either surrendered 761 00:57:33,320 --> 00:57:37,520 or been killed and Inota himself presumed dead, a Japanese 762 00:57:37,520 --> 00:57:41,200 college student backpacked through the area and discovered 763 00:57:41,200 --> 00:57:44,400 this man. Still skeptical and loyal to his 764 00:57:44,400 --> 00:57:48,040 orders, Anoda refused to surrender until his former 765 00:57:48,040 --> 00:57:51,160 commanding officer issued the command. 766 00:57:51,480 --> 00:57:56,720 Major Yoshimi, who was currently working as a bookseller, flew to 767 00:57:56,720 --> 00:58:03,640 the Philippines and formally relieved Anoda of duty 29 years 768 00:58:03,720 --> 00:58:08,600 after the war had ended. Though perhaps the most famous 769 00:58:08,600 --> 00:58:12,240 Japanese holdout, Onodo was not the only one, or even the last 770 00:58:12,240 --> 00:58:17,480 to be found. Two other people were found in 771 00:58:17,480 --> 00:58:25,120 1972, still fighting when the war was over. 772 00:58:26,640 --> 00:58:30,240 Maybe the issue is not how well we fight. 773 00:58:31,000 --> 00:58:35,600 Maybe it's how well will you surrender, and maybe you're at 774 00:58:35,600 --> 00:58:38,720 that point in time in your life where this is for you, that God 775 00:58:38,720 --> 00:58:43,160 has called you, possibly to surrender something, someone, 776 00:58:43,440 --> 00:58:47,640 some situation to him. We hope you enjoyed this message 777 00:58:47,720 --> 00:58:50,720 and we'd love for you to join us in person every Sunday at 10:30 778 00:58:50,720 --> 00:58:52,440 AM. For more information and 779 00:58:52,440 --> 00:58:54,640 updates, visit wearebridgetown.com. 780 00:58:54,920 --> 00:58:56,920 Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next week.