1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:16,079 or contact us at My Liberty Baptist dot. 5 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:18,280 Org Or just look us up on Facebook. 6 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,240 And now we hope that this message from God's Word will be 7 00:00:21,240 --> 00:00:26,840 a blessing to you. Second Samuel and chapter #5 8 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,600 This evening as we continue our series after God's Own Heart, 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:35,520 looking at David and you know, it's exciting for David because 10 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:37,840 he's finally had a few victories, hasn't he? 11 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,880 He's had victory over Ishbosheth and then finally the victory of 12 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,600 being crowned, of being coronated the king of Israel, as 13 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,120 he was supposed to have been for some time. 14 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,760 However, now the time has finally arrived. 15 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:54,800 And remember, there was over 300,000 of the nation of Israel, 16 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,600 soldiers of all 12 tribes who are coming together and they all 17 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,200 with 1 accord have now placed the crown upon David's head and 18 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:05,160 he is now king and things are good. 19 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,120 Now, if you understand anything about the Christian life, you 20 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,040 know that when good things happen, it seems like Satan's 21 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:13,680 not usually too happy about that, is he? 22 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:17,560 It's one thing to be able to have good things happen in the 23 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,360 Christian life. And we're thankful for the 24 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,440 mountaintop occurrences that we have in our Christian life. 25 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,520 But I will say this, that Satan very much wants us to be off of 26 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,240 those mountaintops and into the valleys He loves to be able to 27 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,480 put us into the midst of the storm that we just sang about 28 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:36,040 just a few moments ago. Well, tonight that is going to 29 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,920 be the case, David, and it's going to be the case of the 30 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,360 Philistines coming back. Remember the Philistines, the 31 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,880 last time we saw them back at the end of First Samuel, they 32 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:48,960 have invaded. Saul is dead, Jonathan is dead, 33 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,120 Israel flees. And the Philistines actually 34 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,920 pick up some level of territory within the nation of Israel 35 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,760 because it is a complete and utter route of the Israelites 36 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,440 there in that battle that took place. 37 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:04,240 But the Philistines are back. Why? 38 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:06,640 Because they have a new king. And I have no doubt that they 39 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,880 wanted to intimidate that new king and try to reassert the 40 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,920 authority that they have had over the Israelites really over 41 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:16,600 these last two years while chaos reigned, trying to figure out 42 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:19,720 who was actually the king, David or Ishbosheth. 43 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:27,440 But Davidde response to how he reacts to this that takes place 44 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:29,640 is very instructive for us this evening. 45 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:31,880 And I think there's some things from our text tonight that I 46 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:36,880 think will be very, very helpful for us to see as David inquires 47 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:39,320 of the Lord. And that's the title of my 48 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,280 message this evening is David inquires of the Lord. 49 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:45,120 So will you stand please, for the reading of God's Word? 50 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:47,200 We're in second Samuel chapter #5. 51 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,960 As we stand together, Second Samuel chapter #5 we're going to 52 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:58,720 begin in verse #17 But when the Philistines heard that they had 53 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,920 anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to 54 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:04,600 seek David. Now, do you think they came to 55 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,440 seek him because they wanted him to be their king too? 56 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:08,800 Remember, they were on pretty good terms the last time they 57 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,440 met each other, weren't they? But, well, that's not what's the 58 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,280 case here. And David heard of it and went 59 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:17,920 down to the hold. The Philistines also came and 60 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:20,440 spread themselves in the valley of Refium. 61 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:25,000 And David inquired of the Lord, If you mark in your Bible, I've 62 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,360 marked that down in my Bible. And David inquired of the Lord, 63 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:30,840 saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? 64 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,520 Wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? 65 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,280 And the Lord said it to David, Go up, for I will doubtless 66 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:38,520 deliver the Philistines into thine hand. 67 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,040 And David came to Bail Parism, And David smote them there, and 68 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:46,960 said, The Lord had broken forth upon mine enemies before me as 69 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,960 the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of 70 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:54,000 that place Bail Parism. And there they left their 71 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:55,480 images. And this is talking about the 72 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,040 Philistines leaving their images, their idols. 73 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,560 They ran so fast that they left their idols behind. 74 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,240 And it says, And David and his men burned them, and the 75 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,040 Philistines came up yet again and spread themselves in the 76 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,880 valley of Refium. So now this is happening for a 77 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:14,760 second time. And when David inquired of the 78 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,720 Lord, And I have that underlined again in my Bible, David 79 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:22,040 inquired of the Lord, He said, Thou shalt not go up, but fetch 80 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,680 a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the 81 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,360 Mulberry trees. And let it be, when thou hearest 82 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,240 the sound of a going in the tops of the Mulberry trees, that then 83 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,720 thou shalt bestir thyself, and then shall the Lord go out 84 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,560 before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. 85 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:43,160 And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him, and smote the 86 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:47,440 Philistines from Giba until thou come to gaze her. 87 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,560 And so we'll take a look at what this has to do with us this 88 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:52,280 evening, David inquiring of the Lord. 89 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:54,520 And I hope there will be a help and encouragement to you from 90 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,000 the Word of God this evening. So please be seated and let us 91 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,480 pray together. Heavenly Father, we do thank you 92 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:03,120 for this night and we thank you for your word. 93 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,720 I pray that you'd help me to preach clearly and in a way that 94 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:10,200 the word of God is not confused by my presentation. 95 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,600 I pray that your Holy Spirit would work and that we would all 96 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,000 learn from David inquiring himself of the Lord. 97 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,320 And we do ask it in Jesus name, Amen. 98 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:23,720 What you have to love from our text here this evening is the 99 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:28,080 fact that twice over we see that David encouraged himself and the 100 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,200 Lord. Now let's compare that to Saul 101 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:33,280 for just a moment. Remember, Saul had 40 years of a 102 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:36,640 reign before David became the king of Israel. 103 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,720 And for about 40 years Israel lacked a leader who truly 104 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,240 followed the Lord as he should. Short. 105 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,920 Saul in those very early days had some humility within him. 106 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,720 In those very early days he was filled with the Spirit of the 107 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:51,120 Lord. He did some great things. 108 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,440 Remember, Saul started to feel very lifted up in pride. 109 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,920 So Saul started to take too much upon himself, and the Spirit of 110 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,080 the Lord was removed from him, and the Kingdom itself was 111 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,640 removed from him. And Saul from that point on, was 112 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,040 not a man who was filled with the Spirit of the Lord. 113 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,000 Instead, he was a man who was filled with the spirit of 114 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,680 madness. In fact, we could compare the 115 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:13,760 very end of his life when he needed direction from God in a 116 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,920 very similar situation. Remember, the Philistines were 117 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,600 upon the Israelites and Saul didn't know what to do. 118 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,400 He was in the very twilight of his time leading Israel, and he 119 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:25,960 can't hear from God. He can't hear from Urim and 120 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:27,960 Thummim. Remember we saw that in those 121 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,000 final chapters of First Samuel. And so he got to the place where 122 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,040 he said this. I don't know what to do. 123 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:35,920 And some of his most trusted advisors, the men who were the 124 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:38,640 closest to him, the men who should have led him closer to 125 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:40,680 God said, did this. Hey, if you want to get some 126 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,200 information about what to do next, why don't we go see a 127 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:45,640 witch? And remember, they went to the 128 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:47,720 witch of Endor, those witches that were supposed to been 129 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:50,520 removed by Saul. But yet through all of that, 130 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,000 Samuel was conjured up. And Samuel had a message that 131 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,760 went something like this. Tomorrow you're going to be with 132 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,160 me, meaning this, you're going to die on the battlefield. 133 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:03,520 And so Saul at the end of his life was consorting and 134 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,560 consulting with the witch. But here is David who is in a 135 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,360 very similar situation. It's the same enemy. 136 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:13,800 It's that same group, that same host that is pressing upon the 137 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,280 people of Israel. But David, not once but twice, 138 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:21,760 inquires of the Lord to know what he is supposed to do. 139 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:26,440 Isaiah 55 verses 6 and eight say seek you the Lord, while he may 140 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,520 be found, call you upon him while he is near. 141 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,480 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways 142 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,760 my ways say at the Lord in verse #8 that I just quoted to you is 143 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,440 going to come into play on Wednesday nights pretty soon as 144 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,640 we look at first Corinthians chapter #2 is that's referenced 145 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,920 in a very real and powerful way by the apostle Paul. 146 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:47,440 But seek the Lord while he may be found. 147 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:51,480 Listen, if you want to know what you do in your life or what you 148 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,680 should do in your life, don't consult with your heart, consult 149 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,360 with God. The problem with consulting your 150 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,520 heart, it's like trying to follow a compass that has a 151 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,280 magnet next to it. Now, Now, can you follow a 152 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:04,920 compass? Now? 153 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,240 Probably a lot of us in the last who knows how many years haven't 154 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:10,280 exactly pulled out the compass. If you have, you probably pulled 155 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:12,320 it out on your phone. And if you had your phone out, 156 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:13,680 you probably said, I don't need this compass. 157 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,120 I can just use Agps. But if you have a compass and 158 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,120 you're trying to find your way, if you have a magnet next to it, 159 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,640 guess what? It's going to naturally pull 160 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:26,080 wherever the magnets going. Instead of pointing north as it 161 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:29,640 ought to, our hearts should point to true north, which is 162 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:31,680 the Lord. But because of sin, what does it 163 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,120 do? Our emotions pull that like a 164 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:36,679 magnet to whatever direction we want to go. 165 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,640 An emotional living friend is dangerous living. 166 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:42,200 Let me run that by you one more time. 167 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:45,200 Emotional living is dangerous living. 168 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:46,920 You say, Pastor, what's wrong with emotions? 169 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:49,880 Didn't God give us emotions? He did give us emotions. 170 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:51,880 And emotions are wonderful things. 171 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,240 Can you imagine if we had emotions? 172 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:57,280 I mean, would you imagine if we just live life like robots or 173 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:01,920 live like like like ChatGPT or, or AI or something like that? 174 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,800 I'm glad that we have emotions. Emotions are great as long as 175 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,200 we're not ruled by our emotions. Because when we are, it's like 176 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:10,440 that, Meg, that that's pointing the compass in the wrong 177 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:12,080 direction. No, what do we need to do? 178 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,880 We need to seek the Lord in every area and every facet of 179 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,320 our life. Seek the Lord, seek ye first the 180 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:20,240 Kingdom of God and His righteousness. 181 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:22,840 Then all these things shall be added unto you. 182 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:27,160 And so David is seeking the Lord, and it's interesting here 183 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,720 how he seeks the Lord. It says in verse #19 that David 184 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,640 inquires the Lord the first time, and he asked the question, 185 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:35,360 should I go up against the Philistines? 186 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:38,720 He's not even taking for granted that he should go into battle 187 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:42,160 against the Philistine. This is not David as a coward. 188 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:44,280 This is not David trying to avoid a fight. 189 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:46,840 No, this is David being prudent. He says, if I'm going to take 190 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:48,600 men to battle, I need to know the Lord's with us. 191 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,600 And so he inquires of the Lord. And the Lord does say that yes, 192 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,720 you are to go up in the battle. And the Lord also gives him a 193 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:56,360 promise with the direction as well. 194 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,040 God doesn't always do this in his word, but he doesn't hear. 195 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,720 It says, Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the 196 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,880 Philistines into thy hand. And it says that David went, and 197 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:10,640 then David fought David one. In fact, he says, the Lord had 198 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:14,600 broken forth upon my enemies before me as a breach of waters. 199 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:18,880 And that phrase as a breach of waters makes it sound as if when 200 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:22,040 David was empowered and his men were in power of the Lord, they 201 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,280 came upon them as if a wave was crashing down upon them. 202 00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:28,840 In fact, in my mind, I even think of the Red Sea coming down 203 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:30,640 upon the armies of the Egyptians. 204 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,560 And that's kind of the, the, the, the, the word picture 205 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:36,640 that's given to us here. The idea that David with the 206 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:40,440 empowerment of God, David with the direction of God, David, 207 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:45,000 because he inquired of the Lord, was able to break forth upon the 208 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,360 Philistines in such a way that everything came crashing down 209 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:52,400 and the Philistines had nowhere to go, nowhere to run, and they 210 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,240 hightailed it back to their home. 211 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,000 But again, wouldn't it be great if we fought Satan just once and 212 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,480 never had to fight him again? I don't know about you, but it 213 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:05,520 feels like sometimes we could have victory in one hour, and an 214 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,200 hour later he's back for more. And I'm not as prepared an hour 215 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,240 later as I was the hour before. And before you know it, you feel 216 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:14,120 like you get yourself in a real mess. 217 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,240 Now, I don't know exactly how long that we have during this 218 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:19,720 time, but they are going to come again. 219 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:23,680 And by the way, verse #21 that this isn't my message, but I do 220 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:26,800 need to mention it says that they ran away so fast the first 221 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:28,120 time they dropped their idols with them. 222 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,120 By the way, those idols didn't help them very much in battle, 223 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:31,560 did they? It seems. 224 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:33,480 Like those idols were pretty inept. 225 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:35,560 Why? Well, because they are not gods. 226 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:39,040 Those idols are not helpful because they are not. 227 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:41,960 And David and his men did the right thing. 228 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:43,680 They didn't take them and say, you know what? 229 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:46,280 I could put this in my pocket. Maybe I could use this at home. 230 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:46,960 Maybe I could. Do. 231 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:48,520 You know what they did? They burned them. 232 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:51,880 I want no part of this. It makes me think of the people 233 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,600 of Ephesus after they got saved and they had those curious arts. 234 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,080 They had books of witchcraft and all those things that they had 235 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,960 spent a lot of money on. And they had them for a little 236 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:02,480 bit. And as they grew in the Lord, 237 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:04,960 they got to the place where they realized, listen, we can't have 238 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:06,480 these things anymore. They didn't take them to the 239 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:10,080 used bookstore. They didn't sell them on eBay. 240 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,440 You know what they did? They got a big old fire and they 241 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:16,600 threw things in the fire. We watched teenagers before when 242 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:19,600 we were and when I was a youth director in Tampa, where we'd 243 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:23,880 have a bonfire and teens would bring magazines, teens would 244 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:28,320 bring CDs, teens would bring cassette tapes. 245 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:31,680 I didn't say 8 tracks. I said cassette tapes. 246 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:33,480 All right, Don't try to label me too far back. 247 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:34,200 All right? Amen. 248 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,360 But they brought those things that they knew we're not 249 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:37,840 honoring to the Lord. They didn't give them to 250 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:38,840 friends. They didn't give them to 251 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:39,880 neighbors. They didn't donate them 252 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:40,680 somewhere. They said this. 253 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,280 Listen, this ain't fit for man or beast, and we just want to 254 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,000 get rid of it. And these men didn't come up and 255 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,240 say, hey, you know what, maybe I could take this home. 256 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:49,600 Maybe we could start praying to it. 257 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,960 Maybe that would be a good idea. They just watched the Lord work 258 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:54,600 in a mighty way. They say, you know what, we'll 259 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:56,480 stick with the Lord. Let's take these things and burn 260 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:58,840 them. And this is in verse #22 that 261 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,960 second time that the Philistines came up yet again and spread 262 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,000 themselves in the Valley of Refiem. 263 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:06,480 And when, David? Inquired of the Lord, there it 264 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,160 is again. He said, Thou shalt not go up, 265 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,520 but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against 266 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,080 the Mulberry trees. Now it's interesting here that 267 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,800 David inquires of the Lord, but the Lord gives him a different 268 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:19,920 answer. Now, the Lord does not always 269 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:21,880 work the same way in our life, does he? 270 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:24,040 You know, it's interesting that sometimes you might have a 271 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,600 financial emergency in your life. 272 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,040 And there have been times that we have had a financial 273 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,080 emergency and all of a sudden we open up the mailbox. 274 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:35,600 And there's a check. Money that we weren't expecting. 275 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,600 Maybe it was a refund from a company, or maybe it was from 276 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:40,640 someone who was led of the Lord to send us money. 277 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:42,480 The Lord works that way sometimes. 278 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:44,920 There were other. Times that the Lord opened up a 279 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:47,920 part time work opportunity for Diana myself, where we're able 280 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:50,960 to earn more money because we had a financial need. 281 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:53,480 There were other times that maybe I was working outside of 282 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:55,360 the home. I was always on staff somewhere, 283 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,280 whether at Westgate or here, but maybe I was able to make more 284 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,240 money at a part time job, whether it was working at the 285 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,040 Saint Pete Times Forum for the hockey team or whether it was 286 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,600 working for Uber, to be able to have some more money, to have 287 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:08,880 some more opportunities. Listen, God provided in each of 288 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:12,200 those scenarios, but he always provided a different way. 289 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,200 And so we can't presume that God is always going to answer our 290 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,080 needs in the exact same way. That's why we inquire of the 291 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,320 Lord and the Lord answered in a completely different way the 292 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,200 first time. Could we put it this way? 293 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:27,040 It was blunt force trauma. It was go right at them, go 294 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,440 right down their throat, and the Lord is going to be like a 295 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:32,520 breach upon them. It's going to be like the waves 296 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,640 crashing down upon them. That's big and it's loud and 297 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,200 it's bold. But the second time he says 298 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:42,040 this, fetch a compass. So David got his iPhone out. 299 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:50,880 Got his GPS fired up and he put in Mulberry trees and this time 300 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,760 the Lord says this. Go behind him that. 301 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:56,680 You're not going up front. You're going to go around. 302 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,520 You're going to you're going to put a flanking maneuver upon 303 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:01,360 them. As we folks say in the military. 304 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,200 You're going to flank that. No, that's just a joke, all 305 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,200 right? Dave's not here tonight, all 306 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:07,760 right? But you're going to flank these 307 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:09,960 opponents. You're going to come behind him. 308 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:12,960 You're going to go softly. You're going to go behind a 309 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,800 patch of Mulberry trees. And if I was to tell you I 310 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:18,880 understand how all this took place, took place. 311 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,800 The answer is I don't. I've read some thoughts and some 312 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,920 theories from some commentators even this week about what they 313 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:27,120 believe happened here. But what I believe happened here 314 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,000 doesn't have to be supernatural in the sense that there was 315 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,400 something great and big and mighty going on. 316 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,560 What was happening here was the Lord was just leading a man who 317 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:40,080 was inquiring of him says get behind the Mulberry trees, get 318 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:43,760 quiet and listen. You're not going to know when to 319 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,840 attack. When that wind kicks up and the 320 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,680 Mulberry trees start moving, that's the time you need to move 321 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:51,840 forward. By the way, that's miraculous 322 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:52,440 enough. Amen. 323 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:55,000 You know God. Works in all kinds of ways. 324 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,720 There were times like Elijah says to his servant says hey, 325 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,720 open your eyes and look and and see the host that's around us. 326 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:03,800 There are times the Lord did that. 327 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:07,160 There was times that the Lord had men dig ditches and water 328 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:09,360 filled the ditches and all of a sudden the opponents thought it 329 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:12,360 was blood and ran away. There were times that men 330 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:14,440 thought that they heard the sounds of horses and Chariots 331 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:16,400 and they just left everything behind. 332 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:19,200 The Lord works all kinds of ways, and the Lord can work in 333 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,400 the Mulberry trees. He works in the large and the 334 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,520 small. And this time he says, listen, 335 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:29,400 just listen. And they listened and they won. 336 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:32,440 How much do they win? Well, verse #25 says they did 337 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:36,160 so, and the Lord had commanded him and smote the Philistines 338 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:40,000 from Geeba until out. Go come to Geezer. 339 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:44,320 Now that doesn't mean a lot to us, but in doing some Bible 340 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:49,120 geography study even this week that the distance from Giba unto 341 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:53,480 Gazer rather was somewhere around 25 to 30 miles. 342 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,120 In military terms, this is a complete and total. 343 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:00,320 Route of the enemy. They have been repelled and 344 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:04,240 basically what it seems like to me here was that Israel has 345 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:08,319 regained all of the territory they have lost when Saul 346 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,040 tragically died at the end of First Samuel. 347 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:14,760 So that the Philistines have now been completely repelled out of 348 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:18,240 the boundaries of Israel, at least the boundaries of Israel 349 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:22,440 during the reign of Saul. So through all of this, through 350 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,319 all of the the difficulty, through all of the hardship, 351 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:29,480 what do we find that David inquired of the Lord, that David 352 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:32,920 asked for direction from God and God answered the first way, 353 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,520 first time, in a big way. He did it again. 354 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,520 He answered in more of a quiet way, but in both ways. 355 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:40,480 It was God who is the one that answered. 356 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:42,680 It was God who is the one who provided. 357 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,560 It was God who is the one who gave direction. 358 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,320 All the glory and all the honor goes to God. 359 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,120 The only honor that could be given to David was this, that he 360 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:54,040 was humble enough to be able to ask of the Lord in the 1st place 361 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:55,920 what to do. And when the Lord told him what 362 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,040 to do, he was humble and obedient enough to do that which 363 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:02,000 God told him to do. That's why Brother Sam Davidson 364 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,000 often says his favorite hymn is trust and obey, because you can 365 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:08,520 really bring the whole Christian life down to this trust and obey 366 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:11,600 if you do those two things. There is no other way to be 367 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:13,680 happy in Jesus. Here's David. 368 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:15,640 What is he doing? He's trusting and obeying. 369 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,320 Lord, what do you want me to do? I trust that what you want me to 370 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:20,640 do is what I'm supposed to do. And I'm going to do it. 371 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,960 And a lot of our problems in our Christian life will be fixed if 372 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,240 we would just handle ourselves in the way that David has 373 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,840 handled himself here in this text tonight. 374 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,640 Now this is good. I mean, this is very good. 375 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:40,720 David inquired of the Lord. But I will say this, there's a 376 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:45,360 problem lurking in this chapter. And listen, I know what some of 377 00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:48,960 you are thinking. Like Pastor, what problem could 378 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:52,480 you possibly find? With what we just read over 379 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:55,560 these last few verses and my answer to you is this. 380 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:58,000 I'm a Baptist. Preacher, I will find fault. 381 00:18:58,000 --> 00:18:59,280 Don't worry about it. All right? 382 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,200 No, no, actually, the the problem and fault that I find 383 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:07,240 here is not actually found in the text that we just read. 384 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,160 I don't know how many of you caught this, but the text that 385 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,920 we read last week and the text that we read this week did not 386 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:20,160 actually line up. There was a small set of verses 387 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,120 in between that we skipped. Did anyone notice that there 388 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,720 there's just about 3 or 4 verses that were there that are a 389 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:30,040 little bit awkward. They're there that that that 390 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,120 they might not be. Well, why don't we just go look 391 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:34,400 at them? All right, so go backwards. 392 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,240 You might just need to go back a page like I have to but go back 393 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:42,640 to verse #13. We. 394 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,760 Ended at verse 12 last week. We started in verse #17 this 395 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:51,200 week, but look at verse #13 And David took him more. 396 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:56,440 What's that next word? Concubines and wives out of 397 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:01,080 Jerusalem after he was come from Hebrew, and there were yet sons 398 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:03,200 and daughters born to David. And. 399 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,280 These be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem. 400 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:12,080 Shamwa and Shobab and Nathan and Solomon, Ibhar. 401 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:16,800 Also Elishua and Nepeg and Japha. 402 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:21,560 And Elishama. And Eliada and Elephant. 403 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:32,000 Now that section of scripture. Is a lot different than what we 404 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:36,080 just read from verse 17 and on. And there's a few things I want 405 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:40,720 to say about that. First of all, when we read 406 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,080 sections of Scripture like this, and I know we've ventured this 407 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:45,960 before already in our study of First Samuel, but there are 408 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,200 times when it seems like is God approving this? 409 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:53,280 Is God saying that this is OK? Remember, David has already 410 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,480 taken on wives as it is. We've already seen this in the 411 00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:00,920 first Samuel that he has gone beyond what God has said is what 412 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:03,720 man and woman should be able, should have, which is one man 413 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,040 and one woman within the confines of marriage. 414 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,760 That's God's plan. David has already gone beyond 415 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,040 that and there are times that the Word of God reports these 416 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:16,200 things, but a reporting of facts does not mean it is God's 417 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:20,320 approval of those facts. This is not God saying this is 418 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:22,440 OK. This is God telling us in the 419 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:24,640 biblical record. This is what David did. 420 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,240 So do not take that. We read this here that David is 421 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:32,960 taking wives and concubines unto himself as God approving of 422 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:34,360 that. Listen, we're going to go 423 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:38,240 further on and every time you see a man who takes multiple 424 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:42,120 wives to himself within the Old Testament, every time you see 425 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:44,840 this, listen, it never ends well. 426 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:47,920 There may be people who say, well, I don't see the big deal. 427 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:51,000 I mean, David did it and Solomon didn't, and Abraham did it as 428 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:56,800 like you're using those as case examples because none of them 429 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:00,720 found that that experience was really what it ought to be. 430 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:06,760 We still have problems today from Abraham taking a concubine 431 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:10,400 unto himself, trying to take the plan of God within his own 432 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:14,240 hands. We see that Israel was 433 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:20,680 materially separated from the 12 tribes because of what Solomon 434 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:24,280 did in taking 1000 wives and concubines he sells. 435 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:27,960 He sowed the seeds for the descent that would take place 436 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:31,120 with Jeroboam and Rehoboam. And where did Solomon learn that 437 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:34,080 from? From his father David. 438 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:36,560 No, this is not God's approval of this. 439 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,720 This is just God's simple recording of the facts. 440 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,920 If you want. God's opinion on this, if you 441 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:44,280 will. And why opinion? 442 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,520 I mean what does God's word say about this? 443 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:51,000 Deuteronomy 1717 says this when it talks of kings. 444 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:55,880 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn 445 00:22:55,880 --> 00:23:00,760 not away. Neither shall he multiply wives 446 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:05,320 to himself that his heart turn not away. 447 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:09,240 David was a great man in Scripture. 448 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:11,920 Let's be clear about something tonight. 449 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:15,440 David was a great man in Scripture. 450 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:19,920 He was a man after God's own heart, but he was not a perfect 451 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:22,280 man. Just as there are many 452 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:26,160 characteristics of David that we should emulate, there are also 453 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,560 several that we are wise to avoid. 454 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:32,560 And you know, I think it's interesting that you have the 455 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:36,520 juxtaposition of these 4. Verses. 456 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:42,960 Next to the verses that follow that shows David's great heart 457 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,840 and ear for the will of the Lord. 458 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,760 And I'll be honest with you, even in the study this week, as 459 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:52,120 I was reading this, I was having a hard time wondering why are 460 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:57,520 those verses seemingly shoehorned in to the verses that 461 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:01,200 follow of David having victory over the Philistines? 462 00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:05,760 And I have to wonder if the reason for it is this. 463 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:08,040 And I'm not saying that I can say this with all authority, but 464 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:11,320 I have to wonder if the reason for it this evening is this. 465 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:16,160 See, God's direction is needed at the times that we don't think 466 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,800 we need it. In fact, I would put it this 467 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:23,120 way, God's direction maybe is most needed at the times we 468 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:27,400 don't think that we need it. Here's what I'm saying. 469 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:31,760 I was talking to someone this morning about Brother Richard 470 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:34,200 Rossiter. He's a pastor in Florida. 471 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:36,480 It was very influential to me in my life. 472 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:38,920 And I remember when I was in high school he said something to 473 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:40,480 me, or maybe it was through preaching. 474 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:43,520 I don't remember exactly how he said it, but I do remember him 475 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,200 saying it. But he says I have the most 476 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,520 trouble asking the Lord to help me with small things. 477 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:53,640 And I thought, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. 478 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:58,160 Small things, it seems like big things are the things would be 479 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:01,360 hard to trust with God because big things are, well, they're 480 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:03,840 big. Of course, God could answer the 481 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:05,280 little things, so it would be easier. 482 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:08,440 But, you know, the older I got, the more I came to realize I 483 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:12,840 know what he means. You know, when I had a tumor in 484 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:17,520 my jaw four years ago, I knew I couldn't handle it myself. 485 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:21,760 It was very easy to bring that prayer request to the Lord 486 00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:24,920 because I knew there was nothing within me that could handle it 487 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,960 and only the Lord could do what only the Lord could do. 488 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:34,800 It was very easy, if you will, to give the Lord that prayer 489 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:37,880 request. There's things in life we know 490 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,280 that we can't handle. It could be a tumor. 491 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:44,080 It could be a massive bill. It could be a wayward child. 492 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:46,400 It could be an addiction that you can't shake. 493 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:50,080 A prodigal spouse, a lawsuit that you never saw coming. 494 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:54,000 A diagnosis with no cure. A betrayal by a close friend, a 495 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,120 church split, a mountain of debt, a sudden job loss. 496 00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:00,320 These are all things that we know need prayer. 497 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:06,920 And to be frank with you, these are things understand what I say 498 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,720 when I say it. These are things the Bible 499 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,960 doesn't answer explicitly. The Bible does not say thou 500 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:16,160 shalt be fine after your tumor surgery. 501 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:20,160 Now that gives a lot of principles about how to seek the 502 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,800 Lord through that and how to handle yourself and compose 503 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:24,800 yourself during those things. And I believe it gives you 504 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:28,240 principles about how to handle after if the Lord heals you or 505 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:30,480 if the Lord doesn't. The Lord gives, but it doesn't 506 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:34,400 explicitly say what is going to happen during those times. 507 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:39,240 And so because of that, it's easy in my estimation, it's easy 508 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:40,840 to be able to give those things to the Lord. 509 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,560 And a good example of that is David. 510 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,920 David when his back was to the wall. 511 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:50,040 When? The chips were down. 512 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:54,240 He always sought the Lord. This would be a great example 513 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:56,840 here in Second Samuel chapter #5I. 514 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:59,360 Think of The Cave of Abdullah. What was happening? 515 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:02,080 He was hiding for his life because Saul was chasing after 516 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:05,280 him of Ziklag. When he'd gotten away from the 517 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:07,840 Lord for a while, but he realized he finally got his back 518 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,120 to a wall because the city had been burned. 519 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:14,040 His wives and children and all of his men's wives and children 520 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:17,000 had all been taken away. They're talking about killing 521 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:21,040 him. And he realized I'm in trouble. 522 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,320 And what did it say that David encouraged himself? 523 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:30,960 What in the Lord when? Uzziah died, or rather Aza died 524 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,320 after they attempted to bring the Ark of the Covenant to 525 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:35,600 Jerusalem. That's going to happen here 526 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:37,800 soon. They bring the Ark of the 527 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:40,120 Covenant in a new cart. I don't want to go there because 528 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:41,200 that's a whole different message. 529 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,240 They bring it on a new cart because they saw the Philistines 530 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:48,280 do this and all of a sudden that the cart shakes and Aza puts his 531 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:49,800 hand to steady the Ark of the Covenant. 532 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:51,800 They weren't supposed to touch the Ark of the Covenant and the 533 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:54,920 Bible says a breach was laid upon him that the power of God 534 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:57,720 literally upon Aza and he died in a second. 535 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:01,880 And what did David do? He immediately went to the Lord 536 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:03,360 God. What do I do? 537 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,320 I'm not going to move this ark until I know how you direct me. 538 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,160 And then he went back into the word of God and found how he was 539 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,640 supposed to direct the ark back to Jerusalem. 540 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:17,560 And things were better after the census. 541 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:22,080 Later on in his reign, he's going to try to have a census of 542 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:24,320 the people. He wasn't supposed to do that. 543 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:26,040 He didn't need to know the numbers. 544 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,360 He was just supposed to trust the Lord of his Kingdom, Joab. 545 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:33,240 Remember Joab, the enigma, the one that said something great 546 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:34,800 one moment and kill somebody the next? 547 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:38,280 Even Joab had the sense say, hey, David, you know, this 548 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:41,680 probably isn't a good idea. And David said, did I stutter? 549 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:45,640 Go out and count the people? And Joab was so incensed by it, 550 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:47,080 he started to count. He didn't even finish. 551 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:49,640 So I can't do this. I know you're going to get 552 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:51,400 yourself in trouble with the Lord, which he did. 553 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:54,560 And the Bible says that the Angel Lord came and brought 554 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:56,160 death upon Israel for three days. 555 00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:00,800 And what did David do? He laid himself down and said, 556 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,080 Lord, save this people, it's me. I'm the problem. 557 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:11,200 When we think of Uriah and the whole issue with Bathsheba, that 558 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,000 after Nathan said, thou art the man that he admitted he was, he 559 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:18,080 was the man, and his child was laying there nigh unto death. 560 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:25,080 He ate no bread and drank the water until that child passed. 561 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:29,600 He inquired of the Lord. You see, David was very good at 562 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:33,600 inquiring of the Lord when things were hard and things were 563 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,080 difficult. But I will say this. 564 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:42,200 If David had only inquired of the Lord from verses #13 to 16, 565 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:48,040 that his life would have been changed forever if he had just 566 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:52,200 asked the Lord, or he had sought counsel of the word of God. 567 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,000 What am I supposed to do in my home? 568 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:57,920 What am I supposed to do in my family? 569 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:02,720 And if he had done so, his family would have been changed 570 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:06,360 forever. But instead, it was changed. 571 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:10,240 It was changed for the worse. And you could mark the end of 572 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,920 his reign as more of a soap opera than anything else. 573 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:18,160 Because he has sons trying to take over the Kingdom. 574 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:22,720 He has turmoil within his own children, intrigue in the 575 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,280 palace, and it all comes back down to this. 576 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:30,160 He ignored God's revealed will and God's revealed word. 577 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:34,720 Word in Deuteronomy 1717. See, God's direction is most 578 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:36,680 needed. At times, we don't think we need 579 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,400 it. David figured he had this whole 580 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:42,520 family thing figured out. Hey, I know how to handle a 581 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:46,120 family, but he didn't know how to handle a family. 582 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:48,680 The only way he should have known how to handle a family is 583 00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:52,520 by following the word of God. And we get ourselves in a lot of 584 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,480 trouble when we get to those little things, quote UN quote. 585 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,200 And those little things end up being far bigger than we ever 586 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:01,120 imagined. And some of those big things 587 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:02,480 like that. Bill, you never knew how you 588 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,400 thought you'd pay. 10 years from now, you won't even remember 589 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:12,080 that, but you'll be living with the disaster of 10 years ago, 590 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:14,520 something that seemed very small, that was never prayed 591 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,800 over, or that you never sought the Lord in His Word to know 592 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,960 what He wanted for you in your life that could end up cascading 593 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:25,520 into a great disaster, far greater than you ever imagined. 594 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:29,320 We can see this in several different ways from our text. 595 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,320 Listen, God's direction is needed in times of peace, not 596 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,600 just in times of war. God's direction is needed in 597 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,200 times of peace and not just in times of war. 598 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:43,280 I'm having a, a difficulty, if you will, I'm, I'm interacting 599 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:46,600 with a few different pastors and having some some level of 600 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:48,320 conflict with them over an issue. 601 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:50,960 And it doesn't really matter what that issue is here tonight. 602 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:53,800 And I'm having to go back and forth with them about this. 603 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:56,400 And I find myself praying about this issue quite a bit. 604 00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:00,280 And I find myself literally praying about this issue every 605 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:05,000 day. But I asked myself, even in 606 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,240 going over this message this week, ask myself, I wonder how 607 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,800 many times I pray for my pastor friends when things are well. 608 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,120 When it's times of peace, I don't seem to bring their names 609 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:21,240 up to the Lord very often, but when it's times of war, all of a 610 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:23,760 sudden their names are very close to my lips. 611 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:29,680 In our prayer life, are we just asking the Lord for what we need 612 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:32,960 in the times of war, or do we need it in times of peace? 613 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:35,480 David was seeking the Lord in times of war, but he really 614 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:38,440 needed the Lord in peace time too, because that's where the 615 00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:42,280 groundwork got laid for some great turmoil in his home. 616 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:46,720 God's direction is needed for questions in the home, not just 617 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:50,480 questions outside the home. Questions in the home, not just 618 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:54,640 questions outside the home. So often we feel that the home 619 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:56,480 can be administrated by our own wits. 620 00:32:56,480 --> 00:33:00,880 And lived experiences. But God's direction is needed in 621 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:03,160 every area of our life. I'll be honest with you. 622 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:06,720 I seem to remember not that long ago being as this young couple 623 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:09,760 is here where you just get married and and everything's new 624 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:13,120 and everything is what I remember when we got married and 625 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:16,400 we lived in Oklahoma obviously and and I lived in. 626 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:19,200 Florida before that, where all we ever had for heat was a heat 627 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,000 pump that we turned on like twice a year. 628 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,760 When it got cold, when it got cold, and I remember we got into 629 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:26,320 our apartment. This is not a joke. 630 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:28,440 We got into our apartment. I was looking around and looking 631 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:29,600 at everything. I told Diane. 632 00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:31,000 I said I looked in this utility closet. 633 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:35,720 I said there's a fire in there. There's a, there's an open flame 634 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,080 in that utility closet. I've never heard of what a pilot 635 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:43,360 light was. And I'm melting down over the 636 00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:45,160 fact that there's A and, and, you know, basically the 637 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:47,120 apartment told us, well, if you'd like heat, this is the way 638 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:49,360 it works. A pilot light just, you know, 639 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:51,080 stays on. I had no idea. 640 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:53,760 I mean, that's how that's how ignorant I was about, well, a 641 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:56,360 lot of things in life and a lot of things in marriage. 642 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:58,880 But I will say you get to this point where you reach a critical 643 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:01,120 mass. Where you get to a place and you 644 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:02,600 don't have to be married to be in this place. 645 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:05,240 Just in in your home, in the way that you live life. 646 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:08,880 You do things a certain way. You pay the bills a certain way, 647 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:12,120 you get the groceries a certain way, you drive a certain way, 648 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:15,159 you take trips a certain way. You do things with the family a 649 00:34:15,159 --> 00:34:16,880 certain way. And you could just go on 650 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:19,080 autopilot. And you don't pray about things 651 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:20,960 in the home. You just pray for things on the 652 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:23,719 outside of the home. When was the last time you 653 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:27,239 prayed over your bills? Say, Pastor, I got plenty of 654 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:28,639 money to be able to handle my bills. 655 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,040 Well, why do you think you have plenty of money to handle your 656 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,360 bills? Maybe you ought to pray to the 657 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:38,080 one who has helped you provide that money for those bills. 658 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:40,719 And unless I'm not, I'm not having a go with you, friend. 659 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:42,719 This. Kind of kicked me around this 660 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:45,360 week, to be quite honest with you, because I remember we were 661 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:47,800 young and we were scrapping. And I'm not saying we're rich 662 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:50,120 now by any stretch of the imagination, but I remember we 663 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,199 were young and scrapping and paying the electricity was a was 664 00:34:53,199 --> 00:34:56,760 a, a major prayer request. I like electricity. 665 00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:59,320 I don't know about you. I mean, I, I happen to be real 666 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:02,440 fond of it within my home and I'm not fond of it when they put 667 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:04,680 a letter outside your home saying, Hey, do you like 668 00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:06,400 electricity? Then we need money. 669 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:12,480 But I will say I've gotten the place where where. 670 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:16,440 I don't really worry about keeping the lights on, which 671 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:18,720 means I don't pray about keeping the lights on very much. 672 00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:23,640 No, no, I didn't say I was rich. I'm just saying you get to that 673 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:27,080 place where you're a little bit more comfortable, but I need the 674 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:29,520 Lord to help me keep the lights on just as much today as I did 675 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:32,800 in year 1 when we got married. But you see, we kind of get a 676 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:37,240 little bit confident, got put on autopilot. 677 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,520 Some things get dangerous. You start making decisions like 678 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:44,920 David, that you ought not to be making because maybe you have a 679 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,320 maybe you have a month where things are a little bit low and 680 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:50,000 you start making decisions about what you're going to do. 681 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,400 And before you know it, maybe you know what I can, I can miss 682 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:55,160 a couple Sundays. I'll pick up those shifts and 683 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:57,120 then I'll have enough money, never even asking the Lord if 684 00:35:57,120 --> 00:36:00,640 that's a good idea or not. I'm just going to never even 685 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,200 praying about Lord. I want to be committed to 686 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:06,240 church. Can can you help me find a way 687 00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:09,760 to be able to have the money that I need for my bills and 688 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:11,920 still be able to be in the House of God? 689 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:14,520 You see, see what I'm talking about? 690 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:17,600 When was the last time you paid it, prayed about your bills? 691 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:20,280 When was the last time you prayed about direction in how 692 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:25,280 you spend money, in your budget, in your savings? 693 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:28,440 You know we need to pray about things on the inside of the 694 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:30,800 home, not just the outside. Last time you prayed for your 695 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:33,160 children, your grandchildren, as you ought to now. 696 00:36:33,720 --> 00:36:37,040 These are important. God's directions needed when we 697 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:39,080 feel comfortable, not just when we feel troubled. 698 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:43,960 You know the old saying is true. The best sailors learn on choppy 699 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:47,640 seas, but they also must keep their guard up when things are 700 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,880 clear as well. You might have just read like I 701 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:54,080 did about a week ago. There was a young lady, about 8 702 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:57,960 years old, who on a cruise just fell off the side of a railing 703 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:00,800 45 feet. Now praise the Lord, her father, 704 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:04,680 who was just a step or two away, dove in after her. 705 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:07,840 The only reason she's alive today was because her father 706 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,920 took quick action to be able to hold on to her long enough for 707 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:12,440 them to be able to rescue them both. 708 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:16,040 And what I say is no offense to this man whatsoever because I 709 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:19,000 don't know the situation. I can't even imagine what was 710 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:20,600 going on. But I do know this. 711 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:24,720 It just takes a few moments of carelessness and things can go 712 00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:27,440 wrong. I will tell you this, if the sea 713 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:30,480 was choppy, a child would be nowhere near a railing. 714 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:35,400 But in calm seas, all of a sudden, things that we normally 715 00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,440 would think of, we're not thinking of anymore. 716 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:40,000 And again, I'm not making judgment upon this situation. 717 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,520 I wasn't there, but just as a general illustration, understand 718 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:47,880 when things are calm, we're very likely to let things like our 719 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:51,040 prayer time slip. We're very likely to let things 720 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:55,440 like fasting slip. Cuz things are good man. 721 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:58,480 This is good. I was just talking to someone 722 00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:00,880 just a few days ago. And he we're. 723 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:03,360 Talking about a situation and some difficulty that he was 724 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:06,680 having in this one area of his life and he looked at me and he 725 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:09,600 said, pastor, he says, you know, things are good in my life. 726 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:12,240 And he said this, this is good and this is good and this is 727 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:14,640 good and this is good. He said basically every area of 728 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:17,520 my life is really good except this one area. 729 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:22,200 He says, I'm so thankful to the Lord that this one area is not 730 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:25,920 good because if everything was just great, he says I wouldn't 731 00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:27,840 be relying on the Lord like I know I need to. 732 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:32,560 Now I thought, that's really a mature thing for a fairly young 733 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:36,080 person who I was talking to, to be able to say that he realized, 734 00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:40,880 listen, I may need to feel a little bit uncomfortable so that 735 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:42,840 I make sure that I seek the Lord like I ought to. 736 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:46,480 Great calamity can happen when we don't seek God's protection. 737 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:49,360 Our times of comfort, we get lulled to sleep. 738 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:52,920 I also see that God's direction is needed when things seem 739 00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:55,440 clear, not just when they seem unclear. 740 00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:59,080 Often we pray the hardest when we know the Bible won't give us 741 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:01,240 the answer. Should I pursue this treatment? 742 00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:03,240 Should we move? Should we sell our car? 743 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:04,880 Should we give more to faith? Promise. 744 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:07,200 Missions this year. These are things that the Bible 745 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:11,120 does not answer explicitly. You will not find these answers. 746 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:14,320 Thou shalt give $200 to faith promise missions this year. 747 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:16,160 Wouldn't that be great? It sure would make missions 748 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:19,960 conference a lot easier for all of us if we just looked in the 749 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:23,000 Bible and gave us the number. But we seek the Lord through 750 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,640 prayer and we understand that. But we see David right here that 751 00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:29,160 he sought the Lord for the question that he couldn't 752 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:31,720 understand that he couldn't wrap his head around, how are my 753 00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:34,920 300,000 men going to beat this mighty host, the Philistines? 754 00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:37,200 He inquired to the Lord and he got an answer. 755 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:39,240 But there was something that seemed clear. 756 00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:42,800 There's some women, they like me, I like them, let's get 757 00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:46,200 married. And never once did he think, 758 00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:48,440 What does the Bible say about this? 759 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:54,320 You know. Now follow my logic here for a 760 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:55,640 moment. He. 761 00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:57,400 Didn't even have to pray about this. 762 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:00,760 The pastor, we pray. About everything. 763 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:05,480 Peyton comes up to me at the end of church or at the end of the 764 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,400 night, and she says something like this, Dad, do I have to 765 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:14,560 brush my teeth tonight? I'd say I'd say, what? 766 00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:17,400 Why are you even asking me that question? 767 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:21,320 Well, the rule is set that at the end of the night, you brush 768 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:22,800 your teeth. And AJ, you should brush your 769 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:24,640 teeth too. OK, All right. 770 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:25,320 Good. Now he's happy. 771 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:29,520 He's involved too. We we don't have to wonder about 772 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:31,160 that. Do you know why it's already? 773 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:34,240 Been laid down. No questioning is needed. 774 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:38,040 The edict has been made. It's not going to change. 775 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:41,160 Just go brush your teeth. That's it. 776 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:43,280 Why are we talking about it? Why are we still talking about 777 00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:43,760 it? I don't know. 778 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:47,240 But there's certain things, Lord. 779 00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:51,280 Should I go to church? Was the door open? 780 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:57,080 Don't need to pray about that. Go to church, Lord. 781 00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:01,800 I kind of. I kind of think this woman is 782 00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:05,360 cute. You're married, right? 783 00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:08,320 That woman you're talking about is not your wife. 784 00:41:09,480 --> 00:41:13,080 What are you praying about? Why are you thinking about it? 785 00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:15,880 There's not even a conversation to be had. 786 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:21,840 Lord, I, I think if I, if I move these numbers around a little 787 00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:25,080 bit on the spreadsheet at work, I think, I think maybe I could, 788 00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:26,640 I could make a little bit more money. 789 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:30,720 Well, is, is that honest? Well, I mean it not really, but, 790 00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:32,600 you know, a lot of other people do it too. 791 00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:34,240 Why would you even pray about that? 792 00:41:34,240 --> 00:41:36,560 The answer is no. It's already been revealed. 793 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,000 David didn't even ask the Lord about this. 794 00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:45,160 He's already said don't do it. And when it comes to our 795 00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:50,440 Christian life, listen, there's things that are clear that we 796 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:52,200 don't need to be asking the Lord about. 797 00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:57,400 Just obey His revealed word. There are things that aren't 798 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:00,760 clear. Thou shalt not get treatment. 799 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:04,920 Thou shalt get treatment. Thou shalt put thou house in the 800 00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:08,960 market, or should not. Those we have to bathe in 801 00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:11,400 prayer. Seek the Lord, and I believe you 802 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:13,920 will be found. But there are some things He's 803 00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:16,480 made clear. Just don't do it. 804 00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:22,600 See, God's direction is needed most at the times when we don't 805 00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:24,880 think we need it. How would have David's life been 806 00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:29,640 different if he'd inquired the Lord in verses #12 through 16 807 00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:32,160 instead of just in the verses that follow? 808 00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:34,880 And I'm not taking away the fact that he inquired of the Lord. 809 00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:37,800 It's wonderful that he did. But we have to inquire in the 810 00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:41,560 Lord of everything in our life, both the big and the small, the 811 00:42:41,560 --> 00:42:45,960 clear and the unclear, wartime and in peace time, at home and 812 00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:49,320 outside the home. Everything has to be given to 813 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:52,200 God in prayer. And that means we have to be 814 00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:56,440 serious about prayer. I was riding on the Amtrak a 815 00:42:56,440 --> 00:42:59,880 couple weeks ago to go down to Brother Pete Montoro's church 816 00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:03,200 for a meeting. And I was riding on the Amtrak 817 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:06,000 and it was fairly busy. And of course the Amtrak is, it 818 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:08,360 may be busy, but it's not like a airplane. 819 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:11,160 You don't have three people on each side, you know, eating like 820 00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:12,720 if you have something to eat, you got to keep your, your 821 00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:15,720 elbows against your sides and you'll eat like this, like it is 822 00:43:15,720 --> 00:43:17,360 on an airplane. You know, it's fairly luxurious, 823 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:19,280 you get to spread out and all that, but it's still very busy. 824 00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:24,120 And I was looking across and over a couple. 825 00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:27,720 Rows to me. And there was a Jewish man who 826 00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:30,840 had a kippa on his head who sometimes called a yarmulke on 827 00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:33,600 top of his head. And I just noticed it briefly, 828 00:43:33,600 --> 00:43:36,760 didn't think very much of it. But at some point, he got to a 829 00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:40,280 place in the trip into the journey where it was the 830 00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:46,040 appointed time for him to pray. And he pulled out his shawl, his 831 00:43:46,040 --> 00:43:51,000 head covering, and in the middle of the train, covered his head 832 00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:56,960 and said his prayers. Now I'm not advocating that we 833 00:43:56,960 --> 00:44:01,960 are to have a performance driven type prayer life as often can be 834 00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:05,880 the case in other religions. And I think the case could be 835 00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:09,440 made with the Pharisees of Judaism that they were very glad 836 00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:12,560 to make very long prayers in public. 837 00:44:13,720 --> 00:44:17,920 But what I took from that, and again, I'm not calling an 838 00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:21,480 equivalence between Judaism and Christianity, because Judaism 839 00:44:21,480 --> 00:44:24,000 will not acknowledge the fact that Jesus Christ is God. 840 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:29,280 The people of Israel are lost if they do not accept Jesus Christ 841 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:31,600 as their Savior. And I believe there will be a 842 00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:35,160 time when at the end times that they will realize that they have 843 00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:39,560 held Jesus's arm length and that the nation of Israel will be 844 00:44:39,560 --> 00:44:43,920 redeemed as they accept Him. We're not there yet in God's 845 00:44:43,920 --> 00:44:47,600 prophetic calendar. When I looked at him, I saw a 846 00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:52,840 man who was surrounded by a bunch of other people who cared 847 00:44:52,840 --> 00:44:55,640 not what they thought, what they saw. 848 00:44:55,640 --> 00:44:59,800 All he said was this. I'm going to talk to my Lord 849 00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:03,920 now. Again, understanding that his 850 00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:08,920 concept of God is flawed because he accepts not Jesus Christ as 851 00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:11,440 his Savior. But I will say this. 852 00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:16,320 How many of us does that put to shame our own prayer life? 853 00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:19,120 I don't need to have a shawl over my head. 854 00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:23,960 I can just pray. I can pray in my car, I can pray 855 00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:27,960 when I walk, I can pray when I shower, I can pray when I get 856 00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:30,160 ready in the morning. I can pray when I brush my teeth 857 00:45:30,160 --> 00:45:33,720 at night because I'm supposed to brush my teeth at night for two 858 00:45:33,720 --> 00:45:34,640 minutes. Set a timer. 859 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:38,040 That's the rule set to a 2 minute timer. 860 00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:42,760 But we can do this, but we don't very often. 861 00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:45,520 You know why? Because a lot of those things we 862 00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:49,440 could pray about know that down time or things we can handle 863 00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:51,480 ourselves. I've got it. 864 00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:54,640 I got the schedule tomorrow. I do it every day. 865 00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:57,200 I got the commute. I know the way. 866 00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:00,040 My car's reliable. No big deal. 867 00:46:01,560 --> 00:46:03,480 I just checked the bank. There's plenty of money. 868 00:46:04,560 --> 00:46:07,000 Hey, the budget's doing wonderful. 869 00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,640 I feel great. Our marriage is wonderful. 870 00:46:09,640 --> 00:46:13,160 The kids are perfect, the grandkids couldn't be better, 871 00:46:14,480 --> 00:46:18,480 and we forget the things that really we should be praying for. 872 00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:23,560 Those small things could end up being the very large things that 873 00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:27,640 are our downfall if we don't bring them before the Lord. 874 00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:31,280 David didn't inquire of the Lord in 4 verses. 875 00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:34,600 That ended up being the biggest stumbling block of his entire 876 00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:36,920 life. I'm thankful he inquired the 877 00:46:36,920 --> 00:46:40,040 Lord for the Philistines. There's some like Saul who 878 00:46:40,040 --> 00:46:43,200 wouldn't have done that. But we must inquire the Lord in 879 00:46:43,280 --> 00:46:47,840 every area of our life, not just the ones that we know we can't 880 00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:50,240 handle. Thank you for listening to the 881 00:46:50,240 --> 00:46:52,840 sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church. 882 00:46:53,160 --> 00:46:56,480 If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we 883 00:46:56,480 --> 00:46:59,600 can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at 884 00:46:59,720 --> 00:47:04,480 info@mylibertybaptist.org. Or you can visit us this Sunday 885 00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:08,360 at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA. 886 00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:11,440 May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.