Andy Stanley Killer Giants

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] well it's good to see all of y'all at all of our Atlanta area churches and everybody here with me a Buckhead Church for those of you who are not here at Buckhead Church we just had two amazing baptisms sometimes I think why do I even preach we should sing a song we should go home anyway but we're not cuz I study too hard hey we're thrilled that you're here and thanks for watching online all over the whole of the country all over the world if you are in this part of the country however or today of our local campuses real quick before we jump into part two of this series that I'm so excited about in your chair in your bulletin or in your seatbacks if you're at a Brown spreads Church and I think Lynette church and the seatbacks there's a car that looks like this that we want everybody to take with them and this is the time of year where we recruit for all of our amazing volunteer positions all over our campuses and here's what we'd like for you to do or here's what I'd like for you to do as we get ready for late spring as we get ready for next fall because we're always trying to stay ahead we want to invite all of you to an orientation where you find out about the ministry opportunities and ministries and our church and so you pick an area where you might be interested you're not signing up this is an opportunity to investigate well one everybody to fill out a card that's not currently serving turn it in on your way out today and then you're going to be contacted this week and you're going to be invited to an orientation if you are already serving in one of our fabulous environments that you're already so proud of and loved to call your church your church home if you're already serving you think I already got the t-shirt already get the free doughnuts already get the free coffee I don't need to do this we want you to take your card and give it to somebody who you think would be an extraordinary person to serve in some of our ministry environments take it to your small group this week and say hey you all know that I serve an up Street or I'm a transit leader and inside out leader you know I'm a host your own guest services and and just talk about it with your small group because we need to be ready for the spring and specifically ready for next fall so please please please don't say oh I don't have time you do have time for an orientation so this is your invitation to an orientation to investigate how to get involved and here's what you'll discover we're always looking for ways to make our big churches feel like you're Church to make it feel like personal and serving is the fast way that's why people always smile because they get free t-shirts free coffee free donuts that I already mentioned that anyway so if you would take just a minute or two before you leave today fill this out and hand it to somebody on your way out or you can there's there's some places for to put it we would appreciate that very much we will contact you this week and you're gonna meet some of the most fabulous people at your local church when you serve I'm also I could tell you that I've been sick all week and nobody answers the phone when I call on Saturday so here I am get it it's like mmm not gonna answer that it's Andy he's sick I'm not preaching tomorrow just kidding hey today we're in part two of this series I'm so excited about we call it David primarily because I couldn't come up with a better title and we're studying the life of who would eventually become King David perhaps in ancient Israel's greatest King and as we jump into the story today we're going to be reminded of something that is relevant to all of us either in this moment in this season of your life or it will certainly be relevant so at some point in the future here's what we're gonna discover that the ways of God the ways of God are most unappealing and seemingly irrelevant when we are angry isolated or afraid that the ways of God and if you're a Christian and it's you know the god of the New Testament if you're not a Christian maybe you just have a concept of God or some you maybe you're just a theist in general but however you define that that the ways of God however you see that are most unappealing and they seemed the most irrelevant this seems like why don't I wouldn't even by even do this why would anybody even think this way when we're super angry when we're isolated we're alone or lonely or we're afraid these three conditions and you've all discovered this these three conditions have the potential to undermine the resolve of even the most dedicated devout discipline person among us that these these three conditions it caused us to crash through every moral have the potential to cause us to crash through every moral and every ethical boundary we set up for ourselves that these three conditions have the potential to drive us beyond the guardrails we've set up for ourselves relationally physically financially or even professionally and one of these three are maybe a combination of these three are a part of your greatest regret if you were to stand up and say I want to tell you about the greatest regret of my life chances are it was the time when you were super angry and you did something you regret you were isolated and alone or perhaps you were just afraid and unfortunately one of these three will probably be part of your future regret as well and the reason is this when we're part of those conditions when we're overwhelmed with the emotions associated with any of those conditions we feel compelled to do something you just gotta do something there's almost a sense of panic I've got to do something to relieve this tension in fact you'll do just about anything oftentimes we do the wrong thing we rely on our instinct we do what we did last time this happened or we do what we feel like work before or just what comes natural and what as a result of that as a result of that things don't get better things generally get worse there's not less regret there's more regret things aren't less complicated we make our own lives more complicated we end up angrier we end up lonelier and we end up scared or now did the story of David David had two colossal failures in his life two colossal failures one he's very famous for that happened in his 50s once he had become King but the one we're going to talk about today takes place when he was in his 20s he was only 20 about well by the time this happens he was about 22 years old this is the this is the colossal mess up that he's not famous for but I think it's one of the most interesting one of the most dramatic stories and all of the Bible certainly in all of the Old Testament following his defeat of Goliath and if you weren't here last week or did here last week's message you should go on the app and watch it and get caught up but last week we followed him into the Valley of Elah where he faced Goliath after he kills Goliath he becomes the most famous person in Israel he was 15 years old 15 years old everybody knows his names they're writing songs about David he becomes a legend the king realizes this young man has a lot of potential but suddenly he has a lot of influence and a lot of power King Saul was Israel's first king and he was extraordinarily extraordinarily insecure so King Saul came up with a plan that might have been a good plan if David hadn't been who David was he decided to get David into his family so he could control him so he offers one of his daughters to David in marriage now and David's response is really interesting he said I'm not worthy to be the Kings son-in-law and my family is really of my families not a famous family or a you know a rich family so I don't think I'm worthy and then there was the fact that he was 15 years old I don't know if that factored it or not but anyway so David refuses the Kings offer to be the Kings son-in-law and then people are like oh my gosh this kid is absolutely amazing who would refuse such an offer what happen you know humble kid well time goes by and install is continuing to look for ways to control David so David falls in love with one of the King Saul's other daughters named Michael they get married then he becomes friends with King Saul's son Jonathan and the next thing you know King saw realizes that getting this kid into my family was a bad idea because he's so powerful he's so influential everybody loves David and King Saul is very very jealous well time goes by for about seven years throughout seven years David is in King Saul's favour out of King Saul's favor in King Saul's favor out of King Saul's favor on one occasion maybe actually more than one occasion King Saul decides I got to get rid of this kid and I don't want to do it so I'll let the Philistines do it so he would send David on these impossible missions these impossible missions and David would come back alive and successful and people loved him even more so this escalated to the point that King Saul had finally had enough and he discovers that every time he tries to have Paul David secretly arrested that his own son Jonathan or his own daughter who married David assists him and he continues to slip between King Saul's fingers and he just the frustration builds and builds and builds and builds and builds and finally that all culminates one night at dinner now dinner with the king was a big deal dinner was the big meal of the day in ancient times and if you sat or ate at the Kings table that was an extraordinary honor and David had typically shown up for dinner but during these last few turbulently years David kept missing dinner and every once in a while king Saul would say to Jonathan um you know where's David you know where's that in Jonathan would kind of cover for him well I think he's you know he's out doing this or he's doing that so finally one night at dinner the whole family's gathered it's a big deal King Saul loses it and he just he just explodes and here's what the text tells us he says now get ready for this this is one of those this is one of those verses that maybe thinks made me this is one of those verses that makes me think maybe we shouldn't give children a Bible anyway he says this Sol's anger flared up at Jonathan this is at dinner with the whole family sitting there and he said to him you son of a perverse and rebellious woman you that's kind of this pretty strong use it and when I read this I'm thinking I hope that that perverse and rebellious woman wasn't sitting at the table I mean how how strange would that be you son of a perverse and rebellious woman you don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse so Saul's like I've had it I'm tired of pretending I know that everybody at this table has sided with this shepherd boy against me the king the son of Jesse to your own shame into the shame is she in here that mother who bore you you just can't leave her out of the equation I think there were some marriage issues there anyway back in these days there were always marriage issues because you had too many marriages you know they had like favorite wives you don't want to live in a culture we have a favorite wife anyway that's a story for another day anyway this goes on as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth and this is this is the real issue neither you nor your kingdom because he saw Jonathan as the next king Saul is the first king of Israel he sees his son Jonathan you know to be the next king he wants his legacy to last I mean he sees his family as part of the future of Israel neither do you know your kingdom will be established now since someone to bring them to me he must die and he storms out of the room well Jonathan goes and he finds David and he says David you got to leave town in fact it's worse than that you got to leave the country because my father is not gonna rest until you're arrested and until you die he's too threatened by your reputation he's too threatened by your influence on this nation David was 22 years old and suddenly he's afraid for his life he's alone he's been rejected by the man that he's risked his life for over and over and over he's feeling rejected by the nation that he's risked his life for over and over and over in in this particular case he'd done nothing wrong so he said and he's abandoned he's angry and he's afraid and he did what many of us do when were abandoned angry and afraid or fraid he panicked he decided to take matters into his own hands he lost sight of something that it's hard for us to imagine he lost sight of the fact that God was with him because when you read these stories when you read these narratives you know we've got 30,000 feet we know how the story is so it's like why would you do that why would you make a decision like that why would you panic why would you run why would you abandon your morals why would you abandon your ethics and I can't help but think there are people who are watching you right now and they're wondering the same thing their people are watching us right now as we struggle with some of these things same things wondering the same thing why would you do that in fact let's be honest you can look back on a season of your own life now that you have some time and some context and you ask yourself why would I do that why would I go there why would I call him back why would I say yes to that invitation why did I spend that money why did I borrow that money why did I just get up and move why did I just run away what was going on it's real simple that when you feel abandoned angry and afraid our natural inclination is to panic and that's what David did so here's what happened the text tells us that David went to Nob - ahem elect the priest now I need to explain this for just a minute in this time in history Israel did not own that region around the city of Jerusalem the city of Jerusalem was not part of Israel at that time so there wasn't really a capital city so what happened is the epicenter of Jewish worship was wherever the tabernacle was or the Ark of the Covenant and the Ark of the Covenant or the tavern tabernacle would be moved around from city to city - the safest place within the territory that Israel controlled and at this particular time it was in a city named nob and because the tabernacle was there the priests were there and ahem elec was the high priest at the time so ahem elec when David shows up ahem electrum bold when he met him and he asked why are you alone why is no one with you every time David showed up you heard him coming before he got there David traveled with a thousand warriors personal warriors he him alike had never seen David by himself and suddenly David shows up he's a little nervous a little disheveled he's by himself and you know he's looking in Hemel X looking around thinking okay what's going on and David answered ahem elec and he lies know David is against lying I mean it's one of the top ten thou shalt not fill in the blank come on now shout not yeah I mean he knows this this is his law in fact get this David David at this particular time could walk over to the Ark of the Covenant that supposedly housed the original Ten Commandments I mean he is in the presence of the original version of thou shalt not lie he is a Jewish man he's a man who loves God and writes about God he's against lying but David lies why is he why does he lie because he's afraid and when you're afraid and anger in your band 'end when you're lonely when you feel isolated so much for the ways of God and here's what he said he said him elect the king sent me on a mission and said to me no one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on so he lies he says the reason I'm here by myself is I'm on a secret mission as for my men I have men as for my men I have told them to meet me at a certain place I mean that was just so lame but he know he's just he's just trying to cover for himself he didn't have any men and he's afraid that if he tells the truth a him elec isn't gonna help him and that lie would cost not David that lie would cost a Himalaya and his entire family their lives story continues now then what do you have on hand give me five loaves of bread or whatever you can find so now David's here without food and he's hungry in the Himalayas thinking this is just not this is just weird okay you're by yourself and you're hungry the King's son-in-law the captain of the bodyguard shows up without any food because he's on a secret mission from the king and his men are hiding somewhere the priest responded like this he said but the priests answered David I don't have any ordinary bread on him however there is some consecrated bread here now let me explain that real quick every Sabbath the priests would bake very fresh bread and they would put it on the altar before the Lord now I know this sounds strange to us but this was their way of honoring God with fresh bread lo and behold the next day they would come back and God had not eaten any of that bread so then they would take the fresh bread and the priest would keep it and the priest would eat it but it was considered consecrated bread which meant you had to be ceremonially clean to eat the bread so ahem elec says well David we don't have like any just normal food here because you know we're the high priests but we have consecrated bread and if you want the consecrated red you know you can have it so the priest gave him the consecrated bread son now David has not only lied about why he's there now he's lied in order to be fed which if you were here last week or if you heard the first part of this series you have to begin to wonder what happened to and you I put my trust my hope is in you all day long what what what happened to that version of David that in God you are my refuge and I run to you in time of trouble what happened to that version of David and then the story gets so intense this is this is there is so much drama in this next part and I I'm really hoping that in the drama of this next moment that maybe God would speak to you David asked ahem elec do you have a spear or a sword here okay this is where Emma lets a big clue like okay wait a minute you're like the most famous warrior in the nation you show up by yourself you look like you haven't slept in days you don't have any food you don't even have a weapon do you have a like a spear or a sword here I'm not particular I haven't brought my sword or any other weapon because the Kings mission was so urgent now this is when something that so amazing happens this is when we need some background music this is when somebody kind of needs to tease this out and some kind of you know film because this is amazing David catch this David is virtually transported back in time David has virtually transported back in time to the very event God used to catapult him into Fame this is the wake-up call moment this is the oh my gosh what am I thinking why am I thinking this way why am I doing this why am I even considering these options this is his moment this was the moment when his eyes should have been open he's asking for a spear he's asking for a sword and check this out the priest replied the priest replied the sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you killed seven years ago the Philistine that you killed seven years ago in the Valley of Elah is here then this is amazing can you imagine the drama I need a sword on in the spear I need any kind of weapon the only weapon that's here is the weapon that you to behead a giant the day you became the David that we all know and love and fear now the text tells us that when David beheaded Goliath that he kept the sword as a souvenir who wouldn't okay this giant sword he put it in his tent but later out of gratitude to God he took this sword of Goliath and he dedicated it to God gave it to the high priest and basically it was a way of saying god I recognize that I did not deliver myself with this weapon you delivered me so I want to give back to you this weapon as a reminder that I've been dependent on you so there was so much emotion there was so much significance to the sword of Goliath and suddenly David is reminded of the afternoon that he did the unthinkable can you imagine this if he brings out that sword and all of those memories come flooding back that afternoon that he wandered down into the Valley of Elah all by himself as a shepherd boy with nothing but a sling thousands of men lined up on both sides of the valley and he stood there in front of a giant what happened to that clear-eyed courageous god-fearing shepherd boy who looked at a giant a battle-hardened warrior and said you come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts the god of the armies of Israel whom you have defied and this day are you taking notes Goliath this day I'm going to strike you down I'm gonna take your head from you that I'm gonna feed all the carcasses of the host of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the field so that the whole world will know there is a God in Israel and this Assembly will know and this is know together here we'll know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands what happened to that kid what happened to the boy that ran toward danger as opposed to away from it what happened to the poet who wrote these famous words I will I will fear no evil for thou art with me where's that kid where's that faith where's that confidence and God and the answer is fear anger loneliness we know this these three giants have the potential to cause all of us to forget the defeated Giants in our past these three giants have the potential to undermine our faith in God based on what God has done in the past but David gets this extraordinary reminder david has shown a visual aid to remind him of God's faithfulness in God's power he misses it the priest replied the sword of Goliath a Philistine whom you've killed in the Valley of Elah is here it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod this is the garment that the priests wore when they did their priestly duties if you want it take it there is no sword here but that one he brings out this Thor can you imagine all the memories all the dramas surely a him elec is thinking none of this makes sense to me none of this makes sense to me and this would be a decision that David would regret for the rest of his life and it would become like all of our decisions do it would become a permanent part of the story of his life and David said give it to me there is none like it give it to me and David takes matters literally into his own hands he lies and then he runs away from crazy King Saul and get this this is amazing to me with a sword with a sword that was last wielded by a warrior who was defeated by a fifteen year old boy should have seen it should have remembered it was just too much to miss a flawed weapon a flawed response with as we're about to see a disastrous outcome but this is where our stories intersect with the story of David isn't it there we are right when we need God most often times we're least apt to lean in his direction when we need God most we're oftentimes tempted to run away rather than toward we opt for things that never work before and didn't get us where we are and that often leads our regrets and is so interesting because you in other people we can see this in other people so easily you have friends right now that are making terrible decisions based on anger based on fear maybe based on a sense of being abandoned you see it in them and you're thinking to yourself you're just gonna make it more complicated you're just gonna create more regret it's so easy to see this in other people it's almost impossible to see this in the mirror and here's why because you've convinced yourself like I convinced myself that my situation is different my situation is different you don't understand that's what David thought here's what David thought he thought what we think if God were with me if God were really with me this wouldn't be happening to me if God were really with me this wouldn't be happening to me and here's one of the things that I've learned through the years as a Christian as a Jesus follower here's something that perhaps you've all experienced maybe you just didn't have words for it it is so easy it is so easy to trust God when we have nothing to trust him with and nothing to trust him for it is so easy in the early days when there's nothing to trust God with when you're young and you say God I want to know your will for my life I'll do whatever you want me to do I'll surrender my life and you go to camp or you come forward at a you know at a church or you throw your stick in the fire you write got a letter you get that first Bible it's like God I just I want to give you all of my life and God's good well that's not a lot a lot it's not a lot to give to be honest okay you know I mean you've got the stuff in your room and it's not even your your car okay but yeah I'll take it you know you know I got I surrender my life to you it's like you're 12 or you're 15 it's like okay I'll take it but it's the point is it's easy to trust God when we have very little to trust him with and nothing to trust him for when things are going great I mean how difficult is it to sing these songs when things are going great how difficult is it to show up and serve when things are going great how difficult is it to pray prayers and trust God and pray for your friends that are going through difficult times it's easy to trust God when we have nothing to trust him with and nothing to trust him for but it's harder to trust him when the things that we value start to slip away so David takes Goliath sword and then just to show you where this goes and again it's easy to be critical of David but we all have our version of this get this David takes Goliath sword he knows he has to leave entry and guess where he goes he goes to the land of the Philistines it's a good move to show off the land of the Philistines with Goliath's sword not only that it gets worse he goes to the city of Gath guess who was from GAF that would be Goliath as like David and that's why I believe this actually happened nobody could make this up this is so it's so ridiculous but he's panicking he's afraid and so he goes to the Philistines and he goes to the king of the Philistines with the leader at the time he says I want to join your army I want to fight for you against my own people and they're not buying it they're like there's no way you are David everybody knows who you are you slew Goliath and don't tell us you're not you you're carrying his sword well then David becomes really afraid because now he's surrounded by his enemies so now what does he do he pretends like he's insane literally he starts scratching with his nails on the wood he starts slobbering on it you should read the Bible this is all in the Bible he starts slobbering all over himself and the king is like okay I have enough fools in my court as it is get this guy out of here so David flees the Philistines and it goes I mean this is David he's 22 years old and he goes and he lives in a cave because he doesn't know what to do and he feels abandoned and he's angry mean he doesn't deserve this and he's alone and then finally finally finally maybe this is your moment finally he comes to his senses and he goes back to his country and he finds another prophet and he says I have really messed up I want to know what God's will is for me I don't know the Lord's will would you seek the Lord on my behalf would you give me and provide for me the counsel of God but the problem is the damage is done when David was with ahem elec looking for bread and looking for a weapon there was someone else there as well a fellow named Doeg Doeg was actually the chief herdsmen for King Saul and he saw David there and he overheard the conversations and he got it wrong but he got just enough information to be a little bit to be confused enough to make things really look bad for him alike he goes to King Saul he says King Saul I have located David I know where he is he went to him elec and he went to a himalaya for advice and I hate to be the one to tell you this but the chief priest has sided with your enemy David here's how the conversation went Doeg tells King saw him Alec inquired of the Lord for him that his David showed up and Himalaya went to the Lord to get advice for David he also gave him provisions and King saw I hate to tell you this he gave him the sword of the Goliath the Philistine in other words he fed him and he arms your enemy well the king is furious the text says then the King King Saul sent for the priests of Himalaya go to Nob and bring him to me and bring all the men of his family who are with the priests at Nob and they all came to the king and King Saul said to them why have you conspired against me and the son you and the son of Jesse giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him in other words you're in on this why would you side against me my sons against me my daughters against me my families against me and now the chief priest is against me so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me as he does today but at him elects like wait a minute what's going on and him I like answered who who of all your servants is as loyal as David like what are you talking about that David isn't in rebellion against you I mean his reputation in the community is David is your most loyal subject who and your kingdom is more loyal as loyal as David the King's son-in-law the captain of the Kings bodyguard I mean you've entrusted this man with your life everybody knows how loyal he is to you and he's highly respected in your household was that day this is besides that this isn't the first time he's come to me for advice was that day the first time I inquired of God for him of course not let not the King accuse your servant or any of his father's family for I don't know anything about this for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair but the King said you will surely die him elect you and your whole family because he's crazy and he's afraid he's paranoid and then the King did something really foolish then the king ordered the guards at his side to turn and kill the priests of the Lord because they too had sided with David but this is the soldiers the Warriors that traveled with King Saul refused to kill the priest I mean will kill your enemies will kill prisoners war we will kill those that have robbed and stolen from our people but we're not going to kill the priests of the Lord but dough add the chief herdsmen thinks this is an opportunity for him to get in good with the king and he raises his hand he says if they won't I will and dou X laughter's 85 priests but Saul hasn't finished he says now I want all of you to go to nob and you are to kill every man every woman every child and every infant very few people escaped the slaughter one of them was one of ahem elect sons he flees to David falls down at his feet and tells David the entire story and David it's broken and the text says he says this he said I am responsible for the death of your entire family David was responsible for the death of an entire village because taking matters into our own hands sometimes it feels good it just doesn't turn out good now we're gonna pick up the story of David next time but I want to ask you two or three questions real quick as we think about how this intersects with our lives because for some of you honestly you're thinking did someone call you and tell you to preach this sermon today this is unbelievable and the answer is yes they did okay no this is just common to all of us there's going to be a time in all of our lives when our anger pushes us to do things we know we shouldn't do or our sense of isolation and loneliness suddenly we're fantasizing about things that we would tell other people they have no business doing that somehow become live options for us because these emotions are so powerful so here's the question what what is your loneliness anger or fear causing you to consider that you've never considered before relationally financially physically some sort of risk you would never take before maybe the whole idea of re-embrace in an old habit that you spent hours and hours or days or weeks or possibly years and thousands of dollars overcoming suddenly you find yourself rethinking embracing that habit what is your loneliness anger fear causing you to consider that you've never considered before and have you ever seen that actually work out for anybody how about this question who who is your loneliness anger or fear causing you to consider that you should that you know you shouldn't consider you've never called him back but you're thinking about calling him back now you didn't return that call but you're thinking about calling her back now she's made it very obvious he's made it very obvious that there's a you know potential for a relationship and you've ignored it and ignored it and ignored it but because of what's going on at home because of what's going on and financially because of what's going on some other area of your life suddenly that's a live option and you know you know you know you have no business doing that and here is the wake-up call question alright this is the question that David completely missed and we kind of get it he was 22 years old and by himself but this was the wake-up call question that I hope will be your wake-up call who besides you do you do your considerations put at risk who besides you do these options that were never options before but suddenly their live options but now who do these options put at risk besides you and I already know the answer to that question for you the answer is the people you love the most and the people who love you the most some of you know that through personal experience with your family growing up because dad's anger spun out of control and you've been dealing with it ever since mom's depression or moms sense of a loneliness or abandonment just got out of control and she turned to things and you've been you've been dealing with it ever since it's a son or a daughter who else is at risk listen who else's future hangs in the balance of your personal decision to give in to the impulse caused by anger abandonment or fear one last one what advice what advice would you give what advice would you give someone who is you what would you tell yourself and isn't it true when it's someone else it's so clear and when it's you you think you're an exception to the rule did you know you're not an exception to the rule you're a very unique person but your experience is not unique you're a very special person your experience is not special you're a one-of-a-kind person but your experience is one of a kind these are well-worn paths that's why it's so easy to know what other people ought to do now the interesting thing about this question is that we know the advice that David would give us not 22 not 22 year old baby grown up King David would later give this advice he would journal it for us here's what he would write he would say the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed not a chemical not alcohol not an affair not another person not a lot of debt not a new car not a new house not something else that you can least the Lord is the refuge the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed a stronghold this is a word that we don't get because we don't understand strongholds a stronghold is a place that you flee he would flee - in times of war a stronghold in times of trouble the place you run to that God is the place you run to God is the relationship you run to when you feel oppressed when there's times of trouble David would tell us David would say I took refuge in my ability to control outcomes and the outcome was a disaster he would write those who know those who know your name trust in you for you lord have never forsaken those who seek you I thought I had been forsaken David would say but I was mistaken I thought I had been forsaken I thought this wouldn't be happening to me if God was with me I felt forsaken but now that I look back I realized I wasn't forsaken God was with me I felt forsaken but I was mistaken you know what he would tell you he would say don't make that mistake and then here's something for those of you who skeptical about Christianity been there done that you're just here because somebody's going to buy you lunch or told you you meet somebody cute or you're having to watch this because you're staying overnight with your family and they watch these silly preaching programs and you're having to sit there with your arms crossed I just I just want you to consider this this is this is so powerful you ready a thousand years later a thousand years after this event a thousand years David's most famous descent who was actually born in the City of David would gaze into the eyes of some frightened angry abandoned overtaxed Israelites and he would say this he would say come to me he would put himself in the place of the Lord he would put himself in the place of God instead of the Lord is a refuge Jesus a thousand years later would look at a group of people in that very same part of the world and he would say come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest take my yoke my burden my perspective my worldview take my yoke on you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls because when you feel forsaken you are mistaken God is with you that's what Jesus would say that's what David would tell us he would say don't run don't run don't run when a him elec brought out the sword of Goliath that's when I should have remembered he would say don't move until you're led the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed a stronghold in times of trouble but it's even better than that the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed he is your stronghold in times of trouble there's a song that we have been singing for a couple of years now at all of our churches and I ask that we could close with this because the the spirit of the song and even some of the lyrics come right out of the Psalms and it says this it says promise maker promise keeper promise maker promise keeper you finish what you begin I love this line our provision through the desert our provision through the desert from the you see us through to the end and then it says this the Lord our God is ever faithful never changing through the ages and from this darkness he will lead us and forever we will say you're the Lord our God but here's my favorite part of the song a toward the end of the song the lyricist wrote these this refrain and they say it over and over and over they saying we won't move without you we won't move without you we won't move without you as afraid as I am and as much as I want to move in the direction I should I'm not gonna move about you as lonely as I feel and as abandon as I feel as betrayed as I feel I'm not gonna move without you as afraid as angry as alone I won't move without you so when we get to that part of the song if you're someone who likes to sing when we get to that part of the song and everybody else is singing or the people around you're singing we won't move without you maybe this is your opportunity to say to your heavenly father I won't move without you I will not embrace what I have considered because although I feel as if I have been forsaken I acknowledge that I was mistaken that my God is with me Heavenly Father thank you for this incredible incredible incredible narrative that's thousands of years old and you preserved it for us and it was as if it was written for us and I pray for every man every woman every teenager college student senior adult single adult wherever we are in life father if we're 22 like David or we're in our 50s like David would eventually be when he would forget once again would you just remind us of your past faithfulness would you open us open our eyes to the reality of your involvement in our lives and father for the person that's just so angry they can hardly sit still that's so afraid that they almost didn't show up today I pray that your presence your abiding presence the fact that we even talked about this today would be a reminder to them that they have not been Forsaken and I pray that none of us of us would move without you in Jesus name Amen ever faithful never change through the from this day you will and we'll say [Music] the promise maker the promise keeper you finish what you begin your through the test it was he is you - the the Lord I gotta several fingers down [Music] you [Music] thank you guys so much for being with the today don't forget if you want to learn more about how to get involved in any of our family services just drop that card off with a guest services person on your way out and we will see you guys next week you're dismissed

Channel: Your Move with Andy Stanley

Views: 8,805

Rating: 4.8153844 out of 5

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Id: RvbYtoelmFk

Length: 44min 8sec (2648 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 30 2018