The Life of King David with Dr. Michael Yusuf.
Next on leading the way. David was anointed king by Samuel back at the time when he was about 16 years of age. He knows that he is the future king of Israel. But now, for the time being, he's hiding in a cave. This is a place that most Christians are in.
We know that we are the children of the king, and yet so many of us hiding in caves. Hello, welcome to Leading the Way. the Bible teaching of pastor and author Dr. Michael Yousaf. Each moment in the life of David was teeming with drama.
And up next, doctor Youssef takes you to the time that David hid from his drama in a cave. This is an amazing story, and very practical for where life may have you to day.
So be turning to 1 Samuel chapter 22. We'll join David as he turns from living in fear to marching in faith toward God. Here now is Dr. Michael Youssef to begin this fascinating leading the way. These days We have vast amounts of books.
Resources on the subject of prayer. Like in no other point in Christian history. Yeah. What it seems to me is that our generation praise less than any generation in Christian history. We have resources that tells us Why to pray?
How to pray. where to pray. Which way to pray? And yes, who prays best? We have unbelievable volumes of information.
On prayer. Except the evidence of prayer.
Someone uh In a humorous way, try to summarize this kind of tragic situation. in our culture, among our churches, and among the believers of today. And he put it in a poem, and I'm going to read it to you very quickly. Listen very carefully. Magnificent piece.
The proper way for men to pray, said Deacon Lowell Keys. The only proper attitude is down upon your knees. Nay, I should say, the way to pray, said Reverend doctor Wise, is standing straight with outstretched arms. with rapt and upturned eyes. But no, no, no, said Elder Snow.
Such position is too proud. A man should pray with eyes fastened closed. And head contritely bowed, It seemed to me His hands should be austerely clasped. In front. With both thumbs pointing to the ground, said the Reverend Doctor Blunt, Last night.
I fell. In Hotchikin's Well. Head first, said Cyril Brown. With both heels are sticking up in And my head is pointing down. And I done praying right then and there.
Best prayer I've ever prayed. The prayingest prayer I've ever prayed is standing on my head. And yet there are others in the Christian church in Among the believers of the Lord Jesus Christ who Do very little praying. They really think that they're going to bother God. And they don't like to bother him, they don't like to trouble him.
I have heard people say to me, you know, God has got too much to do, He's got the universe, He wouldn't bother by my little problem. How true to life? This attitude is, and yet it is an incredible contrast. with the life of David. the champion for God.
In this series of portraits of a champion, We are learning today. How David turned his cave into a prayer closet. We saw in the last message how David got himself into a fleeing mode. into a backsliding mode. He let fear take over and he ran away from Saul.
Not only that, he went into a downward spiral. He lied. And he asked Jonathan, his friend, to lie for him, the son of King Saul. Then he ran into his enemy's camp. And he pretended to be a madman.
He sought refuge among the enemies of God's people. He got to the bottom of degradation. When he was thrown out of the camp of the enemies of God by the king of Achesh. And I think it was Then David felt deeply the words of Psalm 118 and verse 9. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.
Turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 22. Because in that chapter, you will find that David was beginning to get on the road of recovery. David was beginning to get on the road of restoration. David was getting to get out of his backsliding of fear. and begin to turn the tide.
And here The Bible said he found himself in the cave of Adulam. And there in the cave of Adulam, David writes three Psalms. Psalm 34, Psalm 57, and Psalm 149. And if you want to know how to turn your cave into a prayer closet, read those Psalms. In Psalm 142, David said, I looked to the right and I watched.
And there is none who Takes notice of me. No refuge remains for me. No man cares for me. I cry to you, O Lord. I say, You are my refuge, my treasure, my portion in the land of the living.
Think about this. David was anointed king by Samuel back at the time when he was about 16 years of age. He knows that he is the future king of Israel. He knows that God anointed him through a prophetic word that came through the prophet of God Samuel. But now, for the time being, he's hiding in a cave.
This is a place that most Christians are in. We know that we are the children of the king. We know that God has called us. To the sonship and the daughtership of Himself through our older brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet so many of us hiding in caves. When you get yourself in the cave of Adulam, You can be sure that God has some lessons for you to learn.
When you get yourself in the cave of Adulam, remember that you are in God's training school. When you get in the cave of Adulam, you must be certain that you have some rough edges that God wants to smooth over right there in the cave of Adulam.
So in 1 Samuel 22 verse 1, David therefore departed from there and escaped into the cave of Adulam. You know the book of Hebrews, the epistle to the Hebrews. Chapter 11, verse 38. It tells us. How many of God's choicest people Had to spend time in caves and in deserts and in wilderness by themselves.
Joseph spent time in the dungeon. Moses spent time in the wilderness. Abraham's descendants spend time knee-deep in mud. Jonah spent time in the belly of the whale. Daniel spent time in the den of lions.
Paul spent time hanging on a spar in the Mediterranean Sea. I think it'd be safe to say that uh Most of us If not all of us, Do not know what it is to be in a physical cave. There are some exceptions, I'm sure. But I dare to say I dare to say, hear me right. That most of us, if not all of us, Know what it is to be in a spiritual cave.
We know what it is to be in an emotional cave.
Some of us know what it is to be in a psychological cave.
Some of us know what it is to be in a financial cave. Whatever cave you find yourself in, let me tell you that there is no shame of being in a cave. There is no dishonor in being in a cave. There is no embarrassment about being in a cave. What really matters is this.
What do you do in your cave? What really matters is this. How do you use your cave? What really matters is this. How do you react in your cave?
When God permits you to get into the cave of Adulam, your cave of Adulam. You can be sure that he wants to get your attention. When he allows you to crawl into the belly of the whale. That means that he really loves you. You might not think so, but he really does.
And he wants to talk to you. But that's the only way he's going to get your attention. When God lets you get into The recess of your cave of Adulum. It means that you are in the school of God, and that the bell of the school has rung, and you are in class. It means that the lesson is about to begin, and you better take notice.
It means that the final examination is around the corner, and you better be a good student. Otherwise, you're going to be in kindergarten. for all of your Christian life. You know Christians who have been in kindergarten all their life? Because I never liked to be in the cave of Adulam.
They refuse to listen even when God gets them in that position, in that posture, in order to listen to Him and hear His voice, but they refuse and they constantly blame God and angry with God. Look what David did. He turned the underground asylum into a prayer closet. David turned the solitude of the cave into the concert hall. David turned the silence of the cave into a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
David turned the fear of the cave into a faith factory. David turned the death of the cave into a vineyard that brought the fruit of repentance. That's what he did. What do you do? In your cave.
What do I do in my cave? Do you turn it into a litany of excuses? Do you turn your cave into a formula for shifting the blame? Do you turn your cave into a hotbed of anger? Or do you turn it into A dungeon of despair.
What do you do in your cave? Listen to what Thomas Brooks said. He said, Cold prayers are as arrows without heads, like swords without edges. as a bird without wings. They pierce not.
They cut not. They fly not into heaven. Him he write. Cold prayers are always frozen. Before they get to heaven.
To pray like David. You need to take heed of this Bishop Paul who said that prayer is not arithmetic. How many they are. Nor Rhetoric. how eloquent they may be.
Noah. The geometry of prayers, how long they may be. Nor the music of prayers, how sweet the voices may be. Nor the method of prayers, how orderly they are. nor even the theology of prayer.
how good doctrinally they may be, important as it is to God. But the fervency of spirit. Availas. Much. Uh you can sense This fervent prayer of David.
at this time in his life. Listen to how he prayed. Psalm 142 again. I cry with my voice to the Lord. With my voice I'll make supplication to the Lord.
I pour out my complaint before Him. I tell my trouble before him. You know what the problem with us? Is Is that we tell our troubles and our problems to everybody who would listen to us. except the very one who can really help us.
We go everywhere with our problems except to the very one who can. Help us in trouble. And after we get exhausted running from preacher to preacher and a counselor to counselor, we say, well, you know, I guess the last thing now we've got left is to pray. Prayer should not be the last resort, it should be the first thing you should do.
Well, look at verse 2. Of first Samuel twenty-two. The Bible gives us a magnificent picture here. I want you to listen to it very carefully. It is much bigger than just that verse.
It encompasses both the Old and the New Testament. It encompasses the whole gospel. It encompasses the whole purpose of God. Verse 2 said, There was a motley crew.
Now, I didn't say that, but I'm saying that. It's my translation. There was a motley crew of men. Look at the description in verse 2. The distressed, the bankrupt, and the discontented.
And there were 400 of them. 400 of them came and David became their captain. He became the leader. They came to surrender to David. They came in support of David.
They came because they believed in David. And here is a magnificent picture. Of these people who are dissatisfied, discontented, and bankrupt coming to David and acknowledge his leadership. It is a reminder for us who live in the New Testament today. Of the picture of those who come to the Son of David.
It is a picture of those who come to the man of sorrow who's acquainted with grief. It is a picture of those who are out of desperation and out of discontentment with the world, turn to the anointed of God, the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a picture of those who recognize their inability to save themselves and therefore came to the Savior. It is a picture of those who are in distress, those who are discontented with what this world is offering them, and they come and surrender to the soon-coming judge, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a magnificent picture.
You see the son of David. The God-man Jesus Christ. During his earthly life, He healed the sick. He released the demon-possessed. He fed the hungry, clothed the naked.
raised the dead, and he welcomed all those who were turned to him. As indeed, he still welcomes all those who come to him this very day. He is yesterday, today, and forever. There is no change. God heals, God restores, God feeds, God closes, God raises the dead, and He's welcoming you today.
Jesus said, Come unto me, all who are weary and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Jesus said that if anyone who thirsts, let him come. To me and drink. And whoever believes in me, as the scripture said, streams of living water will flow from within him. The distressed and the bankrupt and the dissatisfied.
with life. And the kingdom of Saul Came to David. Listen carefully, please. Only those who recognize that they are spiritually in distress, only those who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy, only those who recognize that without the Lord Jesus Christ there can be no salvation, only those who recognize their inadequacy. Only those folks who receive salvation at the hand of the captain of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The son of David. Here Saul represents Satan. He is a type of Satan. The prince of this world. Like Satan?
At that time, he appeared to have the upper hand. He appeared to have the world under his thumb. He appeared to be ruling and reigning. He appeared to be powerful and be strong. He appeared to have all the kingly authority that could be given to one king.
Satan tried to destroy God's Messiah, but God raised him from the dead on the third day. And then there's David. Who's a type of Christ? It is not a surprise. that Jesus was called the Son of David.
The captain of our salvation. He was rejected by the religious leaders. He was ignored by the local politicians. He was persecuted by the high priest. He was hunted down by the Pharisees.
Then he was ultimately crucified by the Romans. But for all who put their trust in him. He is their captain. He is their deliverer. He is their protector.
He is their comforter. He is their shield and their buckler. He is a friend that sticks to you closer than a brother. For after Jesus The Messiah rose from the dead. and ascended into heaven.
The angel said to the disciples, He said this Jesus whom you have seen going up. It's coming back. Make no mistake about it. He is coming back. And when he comes back, he will rule supreme.
When he comes back, he will reign in majesty. When he comes back, he will dominate with his power. When he comes back, he will be our only sovereign king. When he comes back, every knee shall bow before him. When he comes back, every tongue is going to admit the truth about him.
When he comes back, those who have rejected him will tremble in fear. When he comes back, those who have mocked him. will be put To shame. Those who came to David We're desperate and dissatisfied with what the kingdom of Saul has to offer them. And those who come to the Lord Jesus Christ are those who have seen enough of this world, who had enough of this world.
This world have left them empty, have left them in distress, and have left them bankrupt. This world have left them. with nothing worth while to hold on to. And they come. To the Lord Jesus Christ.
Listen to me very carefully. I'm about to close. There is no self-satisfied Individual. Will ever come to Christ. Let me repeat this.
No self-satisfied individual will ever come to Christ. But one day they will regret it. It will be too late. It will be too late. The ones who came to David, they recognized the power of God's anointed.
They recognize that Saul is a usurper of power. They knew that Saul will not last for very long. They believed that Saul had no authority over them. They were converted from Saul. To David.
They were converted from the kingdom of Saul to the kingship of God. of David. Let me ask you this. Which kingdom? Are you living in?
Which king? Till you bow to Who has your allegiance? Who has control? of your pocketbook. Who has control?
of the use of your time. Who has control of your social calendar? To whom is your allegiance? That the prince of this world Author The King of Kings. Beloved friends, if the Lord Through His Holy Spirit has spoken to you.
If you're a believer that God Your allegiance and your loyalty all convoluted and all mixed up. And one day here and one day there. Turn around. If you're a person who has never pledged allegiance to the King of Kings, do it today. If the Spirit of God spoken to you, the Bible said, if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
This is a moment of decision. Shall we pray? Our precious Heavenly Father. You know our thoughts before we think them. And none of us are here today because of circumstances.
And Father, I pray that you'll do business with each of our hearts. That as we have this fresh and new encounter with you, We walk out of here, men and women. whose allegiance only to the King of Kings. In His name I pray. Amen.
Words of Life from Dr. Michael Yusak. on leading the way. Available on the radio. Online.
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