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 --> 00:00:13,800 Let's dive in. We're in Second Samuel chapter 5 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:18,760 2, and we're going to be looking at the story of David. 6 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:22,600 So if you have your Bible handy, Second Samuel chapter 2, 7 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:28,440 beginning in verse 1 all the way through verse 7, we'll begin to 8 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:33,240 read it together. The Bible says it happened after 9 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:38,360 this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, shall I go up to 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:43,160 any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him, Go up. 11 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,640 And David said, where shall I go up? 12 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,040 And he said to Hebron. And so David went up there, and 13 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,120 his two wives, a high Noam, the Jezreelite, and Abigail the 14 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:58,280 widow of Nabal the Carmelite. And David brought up the men who 15 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:00,840 were with him, every man with his household. 16 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,680 So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron, and the men of Judah 17 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:09,720 came, and there they anointed David king over the House of 18 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,840 Judah. And they told David, saying the 19 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:16,680 men of Jabesh Ghalid were the ones who buried Saul. 20 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,160 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Ghalid and said to 21 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:24,400 them, You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this 22 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:28,560 kindness to your Lord, to Saul, and have buried him. 23 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,920 And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. 24 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:38,280 So also I also will repay you this kindness because you've 25 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:43,680 done this thing. Now therefore let your hands be 26 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,040 strengthened and be valiant for your master. 27 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:53,280 Saul is dead and also the House of Judah has anointed me king 28 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,640 over them. As we enter into Second Samuel 29 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:02,080 chapter 2, we've entitled this whole series heart because God 30 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:06,280 gets to the heart of the matter in choosing his king. 31 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,479 David is known as a man after God's own heart. 32 00:02:09,479 --> 00:02:12,360 But I want to give you the timeline in which first and 33 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,280 second Samuel were written in context. 34 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:18,520 This is happening right after the book of Judges. 35 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,320 In this time where the Bible says that every man did that 36 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:28,080 which was right in his own eyes. You remember the story of a 37 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,640 woman by the name of Hannah. Hannah was a woman who was 38 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:34,280 barren and could not have children. 39 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:39,080 So she sought the Lord and Eli. The priest looked at Hannah 40 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,320 thought she was drunk and Hannah said, I'm not drunk, I'm just 41 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,320 grieved of heart. I want a child. 42 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:53,720 So God blessed Hannah that moment with a son, and where 43 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,720 Hannah thought she was bringing a son to her family, God was 44 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:02,440 bringing a prophet to the nation of Israel, a prophet and a 45 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:06,040 judge. And in this moment Samuel is 46 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:13,800 hearing these calls of the Lord. And in that moment Eli said to 47 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,720 him at a young age, just tell the Lord, your servant is 48 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,400 listening. And as Samuel says this to the 49 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,400 Lord, he makes himself available to the work of God. 50 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:28,840 And in that moment we hear that Samuel is raised up to be the 51 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,680 prophet of the Lord, the judge of Israel. 52 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,240 All of Israel in this context is crying out for a king like all 53 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,560 the other nations. So God gives them a man by the 54 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,640 name of King Saul. King Saul's name means asked 55 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,080 for, and that's exactly what they got. 56 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,080 They got a man who was head and shoulders above everybody else. 57 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,520 And God raises up the first king of Israel. 58 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:58,960 His name is King Saul. King Saul bleeds into King David 59 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,440 and David points us to the greatest king of all and that is 60 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,080 King Jesus. As we enter into first Second 61 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:10,440 Samuel chapter 2, we realize that the battle has taken place 62 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,400 and from first Second Samuel chapter one we remember that 63 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:20,920 Saul and Jonathan had died and Israel has been defeated by the 64 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:25,400 Philistines. So now we get into Second Samuel 65 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,000 chapter 2. If you would just look at your 66 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,360 neighbor and say neighbor, my neighbor, I don't want you to 67 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,280 fail. I don't want you to fail. 68 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:44,200 I don't want you to fail. So today I want to give you a 69 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:48,000 formula for failure. If you ever wanted to fail in 70 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,760 2026, I want to give you the formula in which you could do 71 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:56,000 that. The year for me was 1991, the 72 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,840 same year that Metallica came out with a song called Enter 73 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:01,520 Sandman. It's the same time that Michael 74 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,560 Jackson would write the song Black and White. 75 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,520 It was the same song time that Nirvana would come out with 76 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,000 Smells Like Teen Spirit. It was a great year. 77 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,480 It was my junior year at Cajon High School and as I found 78 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:20,160 myself in my junior year, I was seeking to play varsity 79 00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:24,320 baseball. I wanted to move from JV up to 80 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:29,640 varsity. I loved baseball, but I hated 81 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:36,840 geometry with a passion. All I needed to do to make the 82 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:40,760 team was to make the grade in geometry. 83 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:47,120 So it was my midterm final. Geometry had hit and I had taken 84 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:52,400 the test and I had studied the best that I could for geometry. 85 00:05:55,720 --> 00:06:02,600 I took the test and I waited for the results and I waited and I 86 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:08,640 waited and I waited and I waited and I waited and I waited. 87 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:14,000 And I remember walking into my geometry class in my junior year 88 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:19,360 and the teacher had a smirk on his face and he looked at me and 89 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,240 he pointed at me when I went up to his desk and he said these 90 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:28,560 words. You failed smiling. 91 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:33,640 You failed by one percentage point. 92 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,080 I said. Can you help me gain a 93 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:42,080 percentage point so I could play baseball this spring? 94 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:45,960 He said. Nope, you're stuck right where 95 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:50,200 you were at. You actually have failed your 96 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:56,160 test and thus you have failed this class. 97 00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:02,240 I think if there is ever a class in our Christianity that we have 98 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,800 failed at in our progress report, I, I think church, we 99 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,280 get an A in the class of serving. 100 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,280 I think that we get an A+ in the class of worshipping. 101 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:19,080 I think that we're getting a B in the class of going out and 102 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:23,200 witnessing for the Lord. But if there was ever a class 103 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,920 that we have failed at and I have failed at as a Christian, 104 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:33,160 it is in the class of waiting. I think there is a constant in 105 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:40,560 my life, this F grade, where I have failed in the class of 106 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:43,600 waiting. I have failed in the class of 107 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:45,920 waiting in anticipation for something. 108 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:51,280 I have failed in the class of expectation for someone. 109 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:56,920 I have failed in the class where I have been waiting and watching 110 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:01,960 for this to happen at some time. Oh church, I love it when God 111 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:06,000 says yes. I've learned to understand 112 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:13,280 sometimes when God says no. But I hate the word wait. 113 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:21,400 I mean I love quick results. I want quick calls, I want a 114 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,920 quick nap. I want my kids to take a quick 115 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,280 shower. That's a good spot for an Amen. 116 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:32,000 I want quick thinking, quick acting. 117 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,919 I want quick transformation. I want quick weight loss for 118 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:40,960 2026. I want in my life when it comes 119 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:46,720 to a crisis that God would make it quick, but when it comes to 120 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:51,920 life it seems like the trials that God puts us in, He will 121 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:55,760 often put us in the crock pot rather than the microwave. 122 00:08:56,560 --> 00:09:00,880 Because what God is not trying to establish is quick heat, but 123 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:05,080 long term holiness in my life. And so He allows me to go 124 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,920 through things in my life in this class of waiting. 125 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:12,280 And I have often failed in this area. 126 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,280 I have failed in waiting with the Lyme's disease. 127 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:19,240 I have failed often times in waiting with a house. 128 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:23,040 I failed in my marriage. I failed with my kids many 129 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,240 times. I failed in my own pain, my job, 130 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,800 my finances because I couldn't see him working. 131 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,800 I often wondered what was the purpose in waiting. 132 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,800 But I'd like to share something with you in 2026. 133 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,360 That while you are waiting that God is still working. 134 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:46,040 And while you're waiting, he takes you through something. 135 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:50,080 But He also promises to make you someone, and He's promised to 136 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:53,320 take you somewhere. Do you see it in the heat of the 137 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,520 moments? God is establishing my heart 138 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:01,080 that in my greatest struggle, my soul could sing its greatest 139 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:04,080 song. Not that the road is too long, 140 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:06,520 but that Jesus Christ is still Lord. 141 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:10,400 You see, in all of these moments that we're in, if there is ever 142 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,560 a man who knew this, it was this man David. 143 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:18,680 In our story, David was a man who is known in Scripture as a 144 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:23,440 man after God's own heart. You can read that in First 145 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:29,840 Samuel chapter 13, verse 14. So what is a man after God's own 146 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:33,360 heart pinned to us in song and song? 147 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:36,000 Write them down if you're taking note. 148 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:40,480 This is what David, a man after God's own heart pin for all of 149 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:44,880 us. Psalm 27, verse 14 wait for the 150 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:48,280 Lord. Be strong and take heart and 151 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:52,520 wait for the Lord. What does a man after God's own 152 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:56,320 heart give to you and give to me in the moment that we're in 153 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,440 Psalm 40, verses one through three. 154 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:04,920 I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned, turned and he heard 155 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:09,240 my cry. What is the man after God's own 156 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:13,280 heart say to us? He says Psalm 37, verse 7. 157 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:17,000 David writes, be still before the Lord. 158 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:23,200 How's that going in 2026? Be still before the Lord and 159 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:28,560 wait patiently for Him. One author put it this way. 160 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:33,800 Wait on him and see amid trials that are hard, temptations that 161 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:38,160 are strong, troubles that are constant, that a true faith is a 162 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,160 waiting and persevering faith for the glory of God. 163 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:49,080 So what in your life in 2026 have you actually been waiting 164 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:53,040 for? Write it down, highlight it. 165 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:56,880 There's areas in our lives that all of us are waiting in 20, 166 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:01,040 2026 for God to do something in our lives. 167 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:05,560 And I want to give you this morning the formula for failure. 168 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:12,480 I want you to be aware of how you can actually fail in 2026. 169 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,200 Here's the first one. If you're ready, just say I'm 170 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,840 ready for this. OK, That was just half of the 171 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:20,760 room. I'm ready for this. 172 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:27,120 Here we go. If you want to fail, make delays 173 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:32,080 denials. If you want to fail in your 174 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:38,480 life, make delays your denials. Can I say it again? 175 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:44,440 If you really want to fail in 2026, make God's delays in your 176 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:48,440 life his denial for your life. Listen to what the Bible says in 177 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:50,920 verse one. And it happened after this. 178 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:54,480 Would you just stop there? It happened after this. 179 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,560 After what? After Saul and Jonathan have 180 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:01,120 just died. It happened after this. 181 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:04,880 It happened when the children of Israel were routed by the 182 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:08,720 Philistines. It happened after this. 183 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:13,760 Another version puts it this way, and it came to pass after 184 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:18,640 another Bible version says afterward David, and then 185 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:26,760 another version says some time later, and in the NIV it says in 186 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:33,360 the course of time. I often believe that in the 187 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:42,160 middle of the promise of God is the process of God to take you 188 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:45,280 to the place that God actually wants. 189 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:50,520 And I think we miss it in the course of time. 190 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:56,560 We stop walking on that course because we're in the course of 191 00:13:56,560 --> 00:14:01,080 time. The process of God is just as 192 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:05,640 much as the plan of God as is the place in which God is taking 193 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:09,560 you. And sometimes in our lives we 194 00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:14,240 receive the report that some things have died and the 195 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:18,040 Amalekite seem to be winning, and the Philistines are 196 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:20,320 defeating. And notice this. 197 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:25,280 The king is gone, the throne is empty. 198 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,840 And look at what David does in this moment when the king is 199 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:38,360 gone and the throne is empty. David waited for this moment. 200 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:45,600 He waited for this moment. Some scholars believe 15 years. 201 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:51,160 He has waited for this, happened after this for 15 years. 202 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:56,360 He's waited in this course of time for 15 years. 15 years is a 203 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,520 long time for some of you in this room. 204 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:00,320 You're not even 15 years old yet. 205 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,720 For some of you, you've been waiting 15 days. 206 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,000 For some of you, it's been 15 weeks. 207 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:11,720 It's been 15 months. It's been 15 long years that you 208 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,920 have been waiting for this. David had already had the 209 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,120 promise of God. David had the proclamation of 210 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:22,120 Samuel over his life. David already had the anointing. 211 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:27,320 But he has made by the Lord to wait. 212 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:36,320 He is made in this moment to wait at this time for 15 years. 213 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:41,320 Could I submit this to you, that God does His greatest work in 214 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,880 your waiting? Waiting could be the most 215 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:51,320 productive thing that you do in your life, but it's the hardest 216 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:54,080 thing that we're called to do in our life. 217 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:59,040 God's greatest men and women were called to wait. 218 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:01,960 Highlight them all throughout the Bible. 219 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:04,600 They all lived in this course of time. 220 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:10,120 Abraham waited 25 years for a son. 221 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,920 Jacob waited 14 years to marry Rachel. 222 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,760 Joseph waited 13 years for his dream to be fulfilled. 223 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:23,720 Moses waited 40 years in the desert with people who were 224 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:29,160 complaining. The Israelites waited 400 years 225 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:34,240 for the Word, the Living Word, Jesus to be mentioned, and God 226 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:38,480 to speak again all throughout the Bible. 227 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,560 I don't know how long you've been waiting for, 15 days, 15 228 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:48,200 weeks, or 15 months or 15 years, but the length of this time will 229 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,640 not determine the fulfillment of His promise to you. 230 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:56,760 Two people believe that. That's great in the room. 231 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:02,160 Listen, God's delay is not His denial over your life. 232 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,920 And maybe what we need is to see this. 233 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:11,240 Not that God has stopped, but maybe we need to slow down. 234 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:19,839 When we, my wife and I and our kids flew into Tennessee, we got 235 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:25,920 a rental car and I never had a rental car agent or attendant 236 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:31,080 walk me to the car and describe all the features on the car. 237 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:35,320 He said, listen y'all, I'm about to give you all a upgrade. 238 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,200 And in his southern twang, he's, he's telling us all about the 239 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:46,840 car, this VW. And so as he's telling us about 240 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:51,520 the car, I, I just rattle off 5 quick questions. 241 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:58,280 It's all stop, stop, stop man. It's all you need to slow down. 242 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:01,800 I'm still trying to answer your first question. 243 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:10,160 And I think sometimes we like to move so quickly that we missed 244 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:19,360 the answer for question #1 and because we're not willing to 245 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:23,520 slow down. What often times happens in our 246 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:29,160 lives is we begin to leave the course that we're called to walk 247 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:34,080 on because we're not willing to wait the course of time and what 248 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:38,040 God is doing. God's delays are not His 249 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:40,160 denials. But if you want to fail in your 250 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:45,960 life, take His delay as a denial and you will make choices to 251 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,880 come off the path that God has called you to. 252 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:53,600 I believe there's three reasons why we take delays as denials. 253 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:55,960 If you would just write these down because we're going to need 254 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,760 these for 2026 A letter A. If you're taking note, we have a 255 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:03,320 limited perspective. We have a limited perspective, 256 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,920 and so the reason why we take God's delay as a denial is 257 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:09,400 because we have a limited perspective. 258 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:13,800 Our human perception is limited to the present, while divine 259 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,080 timing considers the bigger picture and the best outcome. 260 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:21,400 We see only what is in front of us, but we fail to see what God 261 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:26,240 is doing all around us. I think there's another reason 262 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:30,800 why in the course of time or right after this, that we take 263 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,920 God's delays as denials. Letter B, if you're taking note, 264 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:38,360 we have a lack of trust. We have a lack of trust. 265 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:43,160 The struggle to trust in God's plan after years of waiting 266 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:47,240 leads to discouragement when results are not immediate. 267 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,840 And discouragement leads to doubt, and doubt leads to 268 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,960 depression, and depression leads to despair. 269 00:19:55,120 --> 00:20:00,400 And so because we have a lack of trust, we often find that in our 270 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:05,200 lives we do not trust the control of God and his 271 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:10,840 sovereignty over us. We say we do, we sing about it, 272 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:14,840 we preach about it, but we will not rest in the hands of the 273 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:18,440 Almighty God. I think there's another reason 274 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,360 why we take God's delays, his denials, is we misunderstand 275 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:25,800 God's love. We think that God's love is a 276 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,960 pampering love, not a perfecting love. 277 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,520 In our Christian life in America, we want to be pampered 278 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:36,160 but not perfected. And what God uses in the midst 279 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,880 of the time is a perfecting work in each of our arts to make us 280 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:43,360 the men and the women that he's called us to be, to understand 281 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:47,000 this in in our lives. It's hard to reconcile a loving 282 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:51,080 God with a situation that feels like rejection or a no, even 283 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:55,720 when the daily or the delay, excuse me, is meant for your own 284 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:59,400 protection. His slowness is not a lack of 285 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:01,840 action. It's a deliberate tool for your 286 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:04,800 transformation. Can I say that again? 287 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:09,400 His slowness is not a lack of action. 288 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:13,080 It's a deliberate tool for your transformation. 289 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:15,960 So we like to put it this way here. 290 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:20,320 It is the wisdom of God that knows what's best for you. 291 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:25,280 It is the love of God in your life that will accomplish what 292 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:29,960 is best for you. It is the power of God in your 293 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:34,280 life that will again prove what is best for you. 294 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:39,600 And so I'm not going to take my delay as a denial. 295 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:44,360 Like the life of David. He was willing to wait if you 296 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:46,560 would, take a #2 down if you would. 297 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:51,480 Not only is this formula a failure, We take God's delays as 298 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,760 denials. But but write this down #2 we 299 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:57,160 make position more important than the posture. 300 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,440 We make our position more important than our posture. 301 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:03,920 Notice the Bible says it happened after this, that the 302 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:08,160 Lord, that David, excuse me, David, notice this. 303 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:15,600 He inquired of the Lord. Notice what David does not do. 304 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:21,320 The king is gone, the throne is empty, and David does not rush 305 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:25,280 to the throne. Notice the first thing that 306 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:30,680 David does was not about his position as king, but his 307 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:36,160 posture is God's son. Notice the Bible says that David 308 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:41,840 inquired on the Lord. He doesn't Sprint, he 309 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:45,880 surrenders, He doesn't rush, He makes a request. 310 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:52,280 He's in Ziklag, and the promise is that he should be in 311 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:57,480 Jerusalem, reigning over all of Israel. 312 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:02,480 But instead of running there, he inquires of the Lord. 313 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:08,640 The word inquire in Hebrew is sha all. 314 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:13,840 I think we need some sha all. Can we just say that out loud? 315 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:17,800 Sha all. We we need some sha all in our 316 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,960 life. For some of us we need sha all 317 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,280 in our marriage we need some Shaw. 318 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,120 All in our jobs we need some Shaw. 319 00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:31,120 All in the 210 freeway we need Shaw All on the 10 we need some 320 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:35,680 Shaw all on the 71 we need some Shaw all on the 57 we need some 321 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:37,920 Shaw all. When you walk into school and 322 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:42,200 your teacher has not had a good day, we we need some Shaw all. 323 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:46,800 So we, we, we need more of this Shaw, all that, that we would be 324 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:51,280 the people in our marriage and our singleness who are willing 325 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:58,120 to have some. Shah, go away. 326 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:01,160 Just say that with your family this coming week, man, I learned 327 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:05,960 some Hebrew. Shah, what does this word 328 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:12,240 inquire mean for us today? It means this. 329 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:17,600 It means to make an urgent request. 330 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:23,880 Did this word means not just an urgent request, but an earnest 331 00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:27,440 plea? It was like Moses when God had 332 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:33,240 called him to go back to Egypt, that he told the Lord, If you do 333 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:42,000 not go with us, I will not move. It's that same heart of David to 334 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:48,240 say, unless Lord, you are with me, I will not go back. 335 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,960 And I think so often I'm praying for peace and provision when 336 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:54,560 God's already promised me presence. 337 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,920 Because if I did the presence of God that I have, because of the 338 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:04,120 Holy Spirit, I do get peace and I do get provision shawl. 339 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:07,400 It's us coming to the Lord and not making a decision yet for 340 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:12,720 ourselves, but we are going to inquire of the Lord. 341 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:18,200 Notice David went to the Lord. The Bible says he didn't go to a 342 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:21,720 his wife. He didn't go to a friend, he 343 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:26,600 didn't go to his best friend. I think we are quick to take 344 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:30,680 action because we're more quick to talk to our friends, our 345 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:34,640 boyfriend, our best friends, our girlfriends friends, rather than 346 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:36,720 the most faithful friend, The Lord. 347 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:41,360 The word in the name of the Lord is Jehovah. 348 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:46,720 This is the term that is used of Yahweh. 349 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,960 Who did David go to with his request? 350 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:56,120 Who did he urgently ask for direction from the Lord? 351 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,200 The Lord. He got all of his counsel from 352 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:03,480 the one who was in control. He got his request made to the 353 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,760 one who really rules. He got his awareness and what he 354 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:12,120 was asking for to the one who had the ultimate authority over 355 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:16,040 the universe. He came to the Lord. 356 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,680 David did not make his position more important than his posture. 357 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:23,400 His position was to take the Kingdom. 358 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:26,200 His posture was to seek the king. 359 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:31,200 Did you see that? And so in this moment of our 360 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:35,560 lives, we come to the one who is the Lord. 361 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:38,920 It's like when Moses said, Who shall I send? 362 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:43,560 Say to Pharaoh that the one who has sent me and God said I am 363 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:48,240 who I am has sent you. Tell him that I am, has sent 364 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,400 you. I am, I am. 365 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:58,080 I am the same that Jesus, Jehovah, if you take note, the 366 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:05,840 actively present one, the actively present one in your 367 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,520 pain, Satan doesn't fill you with a hatred of God. 368 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:13,360 He fills you with a forgetfulness of God in your 369 00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:17,360 pain that you're going through. We forget that God is actively 370 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:22,680 present even in the midst of everything that we are facing. 371 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:25,160 I am Jesus said the bread of life. 372 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:29,280 If you're hungry, Jesus said, I am the light of the world. 373 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,800 I am the door of salvation. I am the Good Shepherd. 374 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:35,280 I am the resurrection and the life. 375 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,360 I am the way, the truth and the life. 376 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:43,400 I am, Jesus said, the true vine making himself out to be equal 377 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:48,040 with God the Father. I am, I am. 378 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:52,600 Listen, the silence of God does not equal the absence of God in 379 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:57,240 your life. And so many times because we 380 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:00,880 don't see it, we don't hear Him, we think to ourselves. 381 00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:05,520 We make our position more important than our posture. 382 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:09,120 Maybe the goal is not for you to be quick to act, but quick to 383 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:13,840 ask. Maybe the goal is to be like 384 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,080 David. David asked 2 specific questions 385 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:18,920 of the Lord. Look at them in verse one. 386 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,080 Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah? 387 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,640 Judah in the Bible is where David comes from. 388 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:31,800 That's his tribe. Judah in the Bible is known as 389 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:36,240 the place of praise. So where does God say? 390 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:42,120 He says, notice this, go up. He asked the question, should I 391 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:43,720 go up? And the Lord said, go up. 392 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,680 Look at the second question. And the Lord said to him, go up. 393 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:49,120 And David said, where shall I go up? 394 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:56,480 And notice specifically the Lord said to Hebron, notice if you 395 00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:01,840 would, the motivation is go up from the Lord, but there's also 396 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,080 a destination from the Lord. There's Hebron. 397 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:10,640 The Lord gave him motivation and a destination when his posture 398 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:17,520 was in the right place. And as he goes up, the Lord 399 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,040 directs him into where he's going to go. 400 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:23,280 Now Hebron is a very important city. 401 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:28,920 Hebron is where Abraham went in Genesis 13, verse 18 to bury his 402 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,720 wife Sarah. That this was that this was a 403 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,440 place of faith. This was the place that the 404 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:40,320 friend of God would go. The word Hebron in your Bible 405 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:44,760 means friendship. It means to bind or it means to 406 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:48,400 unite. Notice David does not give his 407 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:53,480 logically fleshly action. He gives his spiritual awareness 408 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:57,840 and attentiveness to God. This is where God would bind and 409 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:01,120 unite David with his plan in Hebron. 410 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:06,680 He would do it in Hebron. Now, Hebron is a place that is 411 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:11,600 small, so small. Hebron at this time is only 7 412 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:16,200 acres big. Jerusalem, on the other hand, is 413 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,880 at this time 12 acres. I think we are looking through a 414 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:26,320 lens of things that are bigger, we think more significant. 415 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,600 But when you posture yourself in the right place, you see 416 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:32,920 everything that is small as significant. 417 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:36,960 And when you're willing to see everything that is small that is 418 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:40,880 significant, this is what happens in our lives. 419 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:45,560 We stop rushing what God is actually redeeming. 420 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:51,680 And because of that, David's posture was in this place. 421 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:56,480 And when we choose position over posture because it's our way, 422 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:01,040 because it's our time, because it's our fix, we're saying to 423 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:07,880 God what our answer is has to be better than the God who holds 424 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:10,160 the universe in the span of his hands. 425 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:18,480 And when I'm willing to take the right posture, that is when God 426 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,600 opens the doors for provision and position. 427 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:25,280 I love what Corey Tim Boone wrote. 428 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:31,000 She wrote these words in regards to how the enemy works. 429 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,880 She said if the devil can't make you sin, he'll make you busy. 430 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:41,240 And that's what happens when we want position over posture is we 431 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:45,600 busy ourselves and we equal our busyness as the worth and 432 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,080 identity of our lives. I've done it as a pastor, I've 433 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:53,160 done it as a Christian. I've equaled my service to God 434 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,720 as my identity. Thus my identity was found, not 435 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,680 in Christ redeeming me, but how I served Him. 436 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:05,200 And So what happens in that moment is this. 437 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:06,840 Can you just write these things down? 438 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,760 And if you want to read a great book, read the book ruthlessly, 439 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:13,520 eliminating hurry out of your life. 440 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:18,160 Listen, the author writes. Attention is the beginning of 441 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,680 devotion. Your attention is the beginning 442 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:23,560 of your devotion. If you would just write this 443 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:27,560 down. Hurry and love are incompatible. 444 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:32,920 Hurry and love are incompatible. The author then writes this. 445 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:38,960 Give yourself margin, That is the space between your load and 446 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:44,760 your limits. Listen, if you want to fail, 447 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:50,400 make position a priority over your own posture to the Lord. 448 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:53,960 Notice this. If we really want to fail in our 449 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:59,360 lives, force outcomes instead of walking by faith and obedience. 450 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:06,400 If we want to really fail in our lives, force the outcome instead 451 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:08,720 of walking by faith and obedience to the Lord. 452 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,760 Look at verse 2. So what did David do? 453 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,440 He heard from the Lord, and the Bible says that David Notice 454 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:18,280 this. He went up there. 455 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,600 Where did he go? He went to the place that the 456 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:29,240 Lord had told him to go. Notice David's ask came before 457 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:33,760 his action. Normally what I do is I put my 458 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:39,840 action 1st and I ask later. David does it a whole different 459 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:43,160 way and the Bible says that he went up from there. 460 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:48,160 His two wives also a hinoem, the Jezreelite, and Abigail, the 461 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:51,040 widow of Nabal the Carmelite. Which isn't it interesting? 462 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:55,000 The Bible shares the flaws of its heroes. 463 00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:00,480 You shouldn't have two wives like all the other nations 464 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,360 should be holy and separate. And the Bible says that David 465 00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:08,360 not only went up, but he brought up the men who were with him in 466 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:10,800 verse 3, every man with his household. 467 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:12,520 So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. 468 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:15,520 Notice what happens in David's life. 469 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:18,120 David comes to this place that the Bible says. 470 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:21,880 Then the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king 471 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:24,800 over the House of Judah. Notice that that's very 472 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:28,280 significant and they told David saying the men of Jabish Ghalid 473 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:32,280 were the ones who buried Saul. Now notice what happens. 474 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:37,800 David didn't force the outcome. He walked by faith and obedience 475 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:42,600 to what God had said. God said to go to Hebron. 476 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:47,239 David went to Hebron and notice he not only went up, but he 477 00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:50,199 brought up the people. And the Bible says in verse 478 00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:54,159 three that they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. 479 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:57,840 Where was David before? He was in the Philistine country 480 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:04,400 of Ziklag and now he's going back to his home town. 481 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,480 Remember, Hebron is 7 1/2 acres large. 482 00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:11,000 I would have been asking the Lord why not Jerusalem? 483 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,560 Lord give me all of it at this time. 484 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:21,600 I want the whole picture. But notice this, God does not 485 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:27,080 call David yet at this moment to the be the king of all of 486 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:30,080 Israel. This is interesting. 487 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:33,400 He is only the king of one tribe. 488 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:40,160 Why God? You already promised this 489 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:42,320 through Samuel. You already said this. 490 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:48,360 God isn't 15 years long enough and God says I'm going to give 491 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:55,720 you 7 more years to wait. David waited to be the king of 492 00:35:55,760 --> 00:36:04,720 all of Israel. He waited 22 years, 22 years. 493 00:36:05,720 --> 00:36:10,800 I, I, I, I would take it as my plan that but, but God, Saul is 494 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:15,080 gone. Saul's gone. 495 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:19,720 I'm the king now. David waits for the Lord, and 496 00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:30,400 God chooses to put David over one tribe, signifying to us that 497 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:35,120 the greatest place of transformation has to begin, to 498 00:36:35,120 --> 00:36:38,800 wait with preparation and all that God has for us. 499 00:36:39,240 --> 00:36:43,600 Why would God do this? Because now we look back and we 500 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:46,560 go, wow, God, that was a great plan, but have you ever been in 501 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:48,400 the thick of it? And you're going Lord, this, 502 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:54,000 this is not right. This is not well that I don't I 503 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:58,600 don't agree Lord I in the middle of it all I could see is the 504 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:00,760 forest. I can't even see outside of 505 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:04,400 these trees and everything that I'm facing in my life and then 506 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:07,440 notice what God does. Why would you do this? 507 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:10,840 I believe as the Bible says that God is working all things 508 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:13,640 together for good for those who love him and those who are 509 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:16,960 called according to his purpose. God is working everything 510 00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:19,280 together for good. Why would God do this? 511 00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:21,280 Well, I think there's a political strategy. 512 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:25,400 This allowed David to build support and avoid an immediate 513 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:29,760 civil war and allowed him to consolidate his power. 514 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:34,280 There was also a symbolic importance to this and what God 515 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:36,200 was going to do. It is here. 516 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:38,480 God made his covenant with Abraham. 517 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:45,280 Hebron was a place of safety and a place of security and a place 518 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:52,000 for David to dwell. He provided David the safe, 519 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,880 secure place. And notice. 520 00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:57,320 What if God's know was for your protection? 521 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:02,840 What if God's know for you right now was actually for your 522 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:04,840 protection? I think we often try in our own 523 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:10,520 power to put a quick fix over deep problems that lead to 524 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:17,960 greater and deeper problems. My first automobile was a 1965 525 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:24,040 VW Bus. I love that car as much as I 526 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:25,480 loved it. It never worked. 527 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:30,880 If any of you've had a bug or drove in a VW, you're driven avw 528 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:34,680 you know the the pain of a VW engine. 529 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:38,160 I was on the freeway and I had this big steering wheel, you 530 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:41,720 know, and this metal dash. And I'm driving down and my VW 531 00:38:41,720 --> 00:38:46,160 sign flies off of my van. And then in the same time on the 532 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:49,400 freeway, on the 215 freeway in the city of San Bernardino, my 533 00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:51,960 left, my driver's side mirror flies off with it. 534 00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:57,480 That's the kind of car it was. So I realized I had an oil leak 535 00:38:57,680 --> 00:39:01,920 in that, in that bus. And everyone was telling me, you 536 00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:04,720 got to get this fixed. You have to fix this right now. 537 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:07,440 And I thought to myself, I have time. 538 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:12,080 I have time. So I took what they called JB 539 00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:17,360 Weld. JB Weld is this secure like goo? 540 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:21,320 And you put it over the crack that was in my engine where it 541 00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:24,200 was leaking oil. And you just take the JB Weld 542 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:27,280 and you squirt it in there and you rub your hand over it and 543 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:30,600 you let it settle and it hardens and it plugs the leak. 544 00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:36,840 So I thought it worked for a time, but I never dealt with a 545 00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,800 real issue. The issue wasn't necessarily the 546 00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:41,720 crack. The issue was I needed a new 547 00:39:41,720 --> 00:39:48,760 engine, but it was too costly. I had the money, I just wanted 548 00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:52,280 to pay the price. And because I didn't want to pay 549 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:56,240 the price, I chose what was cheap to fix it and choosing 550 00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:59,600 what was cheap to fix it. I put a JB Weld over something 551 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:02,000 that needed a whole transformation from the inside 552 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:05,000 out. And I think sometimes in our 553 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:10,160 lives what often times happens. Is we lose our drive because we 554 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:15,720 did not deal with the root of the issue and because we were 555 00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:19,080 unwilling to deal with the real issue. 556 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:23,320 What we needed was not JB Weld over that issue, but what we 557 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:27,280 really needed was a complete overhaul of the whole engine. 558 00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:31,360 And what often times happens is, is because I want this to be 559 00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:37,640 quick fix and I can get back to what is familiar and I equate 560 00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:43,560 what is familiar to that which is free, I put a quick fix over 561 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:46,680 it. What you need is not just a JB 562 00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:48,960 Weld situation. You need a whole brand new heart 563 00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,760 in that area. We need to repent in that area. 564 00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:57,640 We need to confess in that area what we need in our own hearts 565 00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:01,320 and our own lives to come to a spot in our lives where we are 566 00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:04,840 not going to force the outcome. We're actually going to walk by 567 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:09,480 faith and obedience to what God says, like David coming to the 568 00:41:09,480 --> 00:41:11,240 throne. So how can I do that? 569 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:13,640 Write this down. This is for husbands. 570 00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:16,080 This is for wives. This is for teenagers. 571 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:18,760 This is for young adults. This is if you've been married 572 00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:21,160 for years. This has been this is for you. 573 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:24,480 If you're battling a disease or an injury in your life, write 574 00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:28,200 this down. Remember this, you ready No 575 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:30,760 matter the day, you simply need to obey. 576 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:34,400 Write that down somewhere. No matter the day that you're 577 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:37,840 having, you simply need to obey. Some of us think I can send more 578 00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:41,440 on Monday. It's Monday. 579 00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:49,520 It's Monday at the workplace. We, we often will even determine 580 00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:59,400 the level of our sin by a cycle that we're going through or we 581 00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:04,280 determine the level of our sin if we were able to have coffee 582 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:07,480 yet. Here's here's the thing. 583 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:10,280 I'm this way because I didn't get my cup of coffee. 584 00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:13,920 Now you're that way because you're that way. 585 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:19,280 Well, no, no, no, no, I'm not awake yet. 586 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:22,360 No, no, no. You opened your eyes. 587 00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:23,640 You're awake. You took a breath. 588 00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:25,480 You're awake. Well, I'm. 589 00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:27,080 I'm this way because I'm tired. No, no. 590 00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:29,920 You're that way because you just need to say you're that way. 591 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:36,760 I've learned some bad habits and I've taken on some bad things, 592 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:40,800 and I need to ask God to forgive me. 593 00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:43,880 It doesn't matter the day. Well, it's Friday, man. 594 00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:46,360 Let's go get drunk. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. 595 00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:49,040 It's Saturday. It's Sunday. 596 00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:52,840 No, no, listen. No matter the day, you just 597 00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:55,240 simply have to obey. Would you write this down? 598 00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:58,640 Also, if you take note when you're going through something 599 00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:01,320 you don't understand, do what you do understand. 600 00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:04,440 When you're going through something you don't understand, 601 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:07,600 do what you do understand. Well, I don't understand this 602 00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:10,440 right now. I don't get while, while I'm 603 00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:12,520 going through this. Well, listen, listen, please 604 00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:16,560 just do what God says. You understand that? 605 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:23,640 How about this one love one another, love one another. 606 00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:24,760 I don't understand what I'm going through. 607 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:25,880 How about do you understand this? 608 00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:29,240 Love one another? How about this? 609 00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:31,840 Do we understand this? Be holy? 610 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:34,800 Do we understand this in our lives? 611 00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:39,840 Honor with humility other people before yourself. 612 00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:43,280 Listen, write this down. Delayed obedience is 613 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:47,480 disobedience to God. Delayed obedience is 614 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:50,880 disobedience to God. David heard from the Lord and he 615 00:43:50,880 --> 00:43:56,600 immediately went up there. And notice what David does. 616 00:43:56,640 --> 00:44:00,160 It doesn't have to make sense for you to take the next step in 617 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:02,680 obedience. You just have to take it. 618 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:07,720 So in your lives, if you really want to fail, make God's delays 619 00:44:07,720 --> 00:44:10,680 your denials. Make position more important 620 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:14,640 than your posture, and also in your life force the outcome 621 00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:18,360 rather than walking by faith and obedience to what God has. 622 00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:22,440 And lastly, if we really want to fail, will you write this down 623 00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:25,880 somewhere? Care. 624 00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:28,960 If you really want to fail, care more about your reputation than 625 00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:35,360 you do your character. If we really want to fail, care 626 00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:38,080 more about your reputation than your character. 627 00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:42,720 Listen to this. David sent messengers in verse 5 628 00:44:42,720 --> 00:44:45,200 to the men of Jabesh Khalid and said to them, You're blessed of 629 00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:48,480 the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your Lord and 630 00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:51,720 to Saul and have buried him. So here's these men of Jabesh 631 00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:53,600 Khalid. They take Saul's body and they 632 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:56,560 bury him. And now may the Lord show 633 00:44:56,560 --> 00:45:00,560 kindness and truth to you also. I also notice this. 634 00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:06,120 I will repay David says. Notice David is not seeking 635 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:10,320 revenge on the people that followed Saul. 636 00:45:10,920 --> 00:45:15,040 He's repaying them not with revenge, but with get this 637 00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:20,600 kindness. Christians are not called to be 638 00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:22,440 nice. They're called to be kind. 639 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:29,200 It's the difference being nice. You let people step all over. 640 00:45:29,200 --> 00:45:31,120 You don't really have any boundaries in your life. 641 00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:33,960 You just let people just kind of ride right all over you. 642 00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:39,400 Being kind is being truthful and loving at the same time. 643 00:45:40,040 --> 00:45:45,320 We are able to hold both of those tensions equally in the 644 00:45:45,320 --> 00:45:50,000 capability of the Holy Spirit to be kind to each other. 645 00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:53,840 And being kind to each other doesn't mean that you're always 646 00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:57,680 perfect, but it does mean that when you're not perfect, we 647 00:45:57,680 --> 00:46:00,160 realize it and we come back and ask for forgiveness. 648 00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:04,000 So David repays this kindness because they've done this. 649 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:06,480 Now, therefore, let your hands be strengthened. 650 00:46:06,480 --> 00:46:09,520 Listen to what David says. Let your hands be strengthened 651 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:11,720 and be valiant for your master. Saul is dead. 652 00:46:11,720 --> 00:46:14,680 Also, the House of Judah has anointed me king over them. 653 00:46:14,680 --> 00:46:18,560 Notice David says something to these people. 654 00:46:18,720 --> 00:46:21,800 Notice he says let your hands be weak. 655 00:46:23,720 --> 00:46:27,680 You idiots. Why would you ever follow Saul? 656 00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:35,040 I can't believe it. I waited for you for 15 years. 657 00:46:36,320 --> 00:46:40,720 No, no, he doesn't say that. He says let your hands be 658 00:46:40,760 --> 00:46:45,640 strengthened. And then he says, be valiant of 659 00:46:45,640 --> 00:46:49,000 good courage for your master. Saul is dead. 660 00:46:49,040 --> 00:46:51,680 And also the House of Judah has anointed me king over them. 661 00:46:52,160 --> 00:46:57,800 Notice out of the abundance of David's heart his mouth speaks. 662 00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:03,040 And often times when we're waiting for something out of the 663 00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:06,720 abundance of our heart, our mouth speaks. 664 00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:12,680 Notice what David says. And here's the end of the crux 665 00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:16,400 of it all. I was reading about a man that 666 00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:18,840 you might all know by Ernest Hemingway. 667 00:47:19,600 --> 00:47:23,800 I didn't realize this about him. He was injured in World War One 668 00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:25,960 while working as an ambulance driver. 669 00:47:27,320 --> 00:47:35,840 Doctors pulled 237 pieces of shrapnel out of his body, 237 670 00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:37,640 pieces of shrapnel out of his body. 671 00:47:37,880 --> 00:47:41,000 He spent six months in a hospital ward recovering. 672 00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:44,440 He was surrounded by other patients recovering from their 673 00:47:44,640 --> 00:47:49,000 wounds and became fascinated by how differently they waded 674 00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:52,280 through the seemingly endless days of recovery. 675 00:47:52,800 --> 00:47:55,640 Some distracted themselves with small entertainments, others 676 00:47:55,640 --> 00:47:59,120 cried out and lament, and still others pondered the depths of 677 00:47:59,120 --> 00:48:01,760 their lives. It may, the author said, have 678 00:48:01,760 --> 00:48:06,080 been during this time that the that he figured out plot lines 679 00:48:06,080 --> 00:48:10,640 that depicted a lead character waiting for combat to begin, or 680 00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:14,480 waiting for a bull to start charging, or waiting for rescue 681 00:48:14,720 --> 00:48:20,880 at sea. Hemmings weighs thesis is that 682 00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:22,160 this? Listen to this. 683 00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:27,880 Waiting did not break you. It revealed you. 684 00:48:30,160 --> 00:48:34,280 Waiting did not break you. It actually revealed you. 685 00:48:36,000 --> 00:48:38,000 Because sometimes we're thinking, well, the the the 686 00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:40,840 storm is just breaking me. Yeah, Yeah, I understand that. 687 00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:45,680 But it's also revealing you, and what the storm reveals or the 688 00:48:45,680 --> 00:48:53,040 waiting period reveals often times is who we really are. 689 00:48:53,520 --> 00:48:59,920 And I believe God reveals it so he can redeem it because he's 690 00:48:59,920 --> 00:49:03,480 not done with you yet. He's still moving in your life. 691 00:49:04,040 --> 00:49:06,440 But I think there's a lot of people that have wounds. 692 00:49:08,120 --> 00:49:13,200 They have shrapnel, 237 pieces of shrapnel, they've been 693 00:49:13,200 --> 00:49:16,720 bombed, they've been hit, and all of these things are sticking 694 00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:20,320 into their body. And we speak out of our wounds, 695 00:49:21,400 --> 00:49:26,400 we act out of our wounds, we respond to people out of our 696 00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:29,960 wounds, we drive out of our wounds. 697 00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:34,920 We allow ourselves to watch things out of our wounds, and I 698 00:49:34,920 --> 00:49:40,880 believe this is true about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 699 00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:46,040 who was wounded for our transgression, who was wounded 700 00:49:46,040 --> 00:49:50,760 for my iniquity. My chastisement fell upon him, 701 00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:58,600 and the one who was wounded for me allowed himself to continue, 702 00:49:58,600 --> 00:50:05,000 not to stay wounded, but to bear scars that we're completely 703 00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:09,000 healed. Jesus will be the only person in 704 00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:13,160 all of heaven that will have scars on his body. 705 00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:18,240 Why? Because scars tell a different 706 00:50:18,240 --> 00:50:22,880 story than a wound. And some of us are still so 707 00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:27,000 wounded and it's getting infected. 708 00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:36,080 We need to look to the King, not David to Jesus, and say, Lord, 709 00:50:36,080 --> 00:50:38,040 by your grace, would you heal this wound? 710 00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:44,040 Will you touch this in my life? And Lord, would you build my 711 00:50:44,040 --> 00:50:47,320 character? And as you build my character, 712 00:50:47,640 --> 00:50:50,160 my reputation will take care of itself. 713 00:50:51,440 --> 00:50:57,560 Jesus was wounded and he still makes himself present to the 714 00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:04,440 ones who wounded him. Jesus was wounded and he still 715 00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:11,600 shows up to church. Jesus was wounded and he told 716 00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:20,160 the soldier on the cross and he cried out for them. 717 00:51:20,160 --> 00:51:23,880 Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. 718 00:51:24,800 --> 00:51:30,360 Oh, how we need to turn our attention back to Jesus Christ 719 00:51:30,360 --> 00:51:36,360 and allow the wounds that we have faced to be made into scars 720 00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:41,360 by His redemption, by His grace, by His mercy, bringing us to a 721 00:51:41,360 --> 00:51:45,840 spot where we are willing to wait because He's still working 722 00:51:46,040 --> 00:51:51,120 while we wait on Him. We hope you enjoyed this message 723 00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:54,200 and we'd love for you to join us in person every Sunday at 10:30 724 00:51:54,280 --> 00:51:55,880 AM. For more information and 725 00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:58,120 updates, visit wearebridgetown.com. 726 00:51:58,400 --> 00:52:00,400 Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next week.