King David was a man after God's own heart. But sometimes he, like you and me, chased his own heart's desires. Mm.
Some people think, you know, that to backslide. You leave the church and leave the fellowship and live in blatant disobedience. I say not necessarily the case. There are many Christians who backslide right in the church. There are many Christians who hide from God in the very pews of the church.
There are many Christians who are living in blatant disobedience while serving in the church. David begins his backsliding and fleeing. When he takes his eyes off the Lord and puts them on himself. When driving in unfamiliar areas, getting lost can happen pretty quickly. One wrong turn can take you to places that you don't want to go.
And the same thing goes when you step away from the Lord, even the slightest detour of disobedience. can take you far away from the comfort and the safety of God's arms. Welcome to Leading the Way with doctor Michael Youseth, a listener supported media ministry heard across six continents and in twenty eight of the world's most spoken and most understood languages. Up next, doctor Yusuf continues looking into the life of King David, helping you see that the man after God's heart was also a man who hid from God and got lost in disobedience.
So if you're not driving, find 1 Samuel chapter 19 in your Bible or your Bible app, because that's where Doctor Yousef lands right after this brief introduction. When the British explorer Sir Francis Drake. returned home to England. After his fifth A voyage around the world. And when he got to the River Thames, It looked that there was a storm that was brewing.
that were threatening the very vessel that he has sailed for many years. And this vessel was tossed about and was about to run aground. And the old mariner. found himself to be in that condition. Clench his fist And he said, Can it be that I who have braved the dangers of the seven seas.
Must now be drowned. In a ditch. I couldn't think. of a better illustration That tells you where David was at this point of his life. This is exactly how David must have felt.
He has defeated the giants and he has killed the lion and the bear. with his bare hands But now he is fleeing from Saul. He has slain that is tens of thousands. But now He's running away from a frightened man. He has wrought great victory to the people of God, but now.
He's wandering in defeat. He had testified so faithfully. To the power of God and the working of God, but Now he is falling in the snare of self-pity. He has braved, as it were, in the words of Francis Drake, The dangers of the seven seas, but now he's about to drown in a ditch. And we come to this fourth In the series?
And look at how when he blew it. He grew from it. In his life, David has given us lots of examples to follow. He has taught us many great things. But he also gave us some solemn warnings.
Warnings. To every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. From the life of David, we have learned the blessings. of a willing servant's heart. We have learnt The certainty of victory.
When God is in the center. But again, today we're going to learn from David something else. We're going to learn. That the fleeing of defeat. comes in When the flesh dominates.
The wandering off of failure. begins When you take your eyes Off the Lord. And put them on yourself or even others. David ran off to Samuel. The great prophet, he looked for human encouragement.
But at that time, he really needed the divine Inspiration. There's nothing wrong with going to friends, but there are times and there are moments that nobody can help but the Lord of Lords. But Saul tracked him. He found out exactly where he was and he tracked him down. And three times he sent three groups of messengers, and they were coming from Saul for one purpose, and that purpose is to kill.
David. And every time they arrive, they go into a trance and they get into confusion and they cannot touch him. Finally, Saul shows up himself. He comes in person. And he was thrown into an ecstatic trance.
If you spend time studying the passage like I do, You cannot help but to think. That with all these visible Evidence of God's intervention right in front of his eyes that very day, that you would think that with all of the miraculous dealings that God has showed him. You would think that David's fear would be quieten. But now. They don't.
You know why? Because David was a man like you. And like me. He had clay feet too. In 1 Samuel chapter 20, verse 1, turn with me.
There you find David. Decides not to stay still at Naoth with Samuel. Where? Samuel took him in order to spend a quiet time together and with the Lord. Instead of sitting still where the prophet of God has taken him, he panics.
My God. Protect us from panicking. David Pennix And when he panics, he takes things into his own hands. And he said, I've got to do something. And I want you to look at the first verse of chapter 20.
He comes to Jonathan and he says, What have I done? What is my guilt? What is my sin before your father that he wants to kill me?
Now, I want you to count those numbers of times that he says, I, mine, my, my. I would say, mine, my, my. How many times does he refer to the Lord of hosts? How many times did he talk about the lion and the bear? When did he talk about Goliath and what God has done?
Zilch. Not here. Please hear me right. When you start feeling sorry for yourself, When you begin to hold A pity party. When you start using I, my and mind, Look out.
You are in a fleeing mood. You are in a backsliding mode.
Some people think, you know, that to backslide You leave the church and leave the fellowship and live in blatant disobedience. I say not necessarily the case. I have backslidden for 18 months after I have come to know the Lord. And I can tell you they're probably the worst 18 months of my life. But you don't have to leave the church to backslide.
There are many Christians who backslide right in the church. There are many Christians who hide from God in the very pews of the church. There are many Christians who are running away from God while they're going to Christian counseling. There are many Christians who are living in blatant disobedience while serving in the church. David begins his backsliding and fleeing.
When he takes his eyes off the Lord and puts them on himself. Now there's one thing I want to tell you. Write it down, memorize it, because it is absolute truth. If you find yourself in that self-centered mode, All the pastors in the world can't help you. All the counselors and the psychologists and the psychiatrists cannot help you.
Nobody will be able to help you. Until you take your eyes off yourself and back on the Lord. Until you make the decision, until you purpose in your heart, until you decide in your mind to take your eyes off yourself. and put them on the Lord. No one can help you.
No one. David thought that Jonathan would give him the peace that he was looking for. David thought that Jonathan would give him the sympathy that he was longing for. David thought that Jonathan would give him the healing that he is looking for. In this situation, David's comfort, David's healing, David's peace can only come from the Lord Himself.
But it gets worse. Look at the passage with me, chapter 20. Verses 5 and 6, it gets worse. You see, when you break fellowship with God because of disobedience, because of sin, because of anger, because of whatever it may be, when you break fellowship with God, what is going to happen? You go on the slippery slopes.
You cannot stand still. You either go down or you go up in the Christian life. And when you break fellowship with God, you can only go one way, and that's down. David asked Jonathan to lie for him. Here's the first manifestation of the backsliding.
He asked Jonathan to lie for him. It is not surprising for me, therefore, to look at Psalm 119, verse 29, and find David saying, Remove from me the way of lying. I have seen this again and again. When a person is living in disobedience, the next natural step is to lie. And it keeps on progressing downward.
True, God never breaks fellowship with us. God always loves us. God is always there. God never forsakes us. But when we deliberately choose to run away, when we deliberately choose to flee, In so doing, we put ourselves in jeopardy.
We put ourselves in a position of defeat. We put ourselves in a position of retreating. When we should be going forward. You may be that person here today. Who have let your love for Christ Grow cold.
Lukewarm. You have lost your first love. You may be that person here who hears a sermon after sermon and teacher after teacher and read a book after book. But you are in a fleeing mode. You are busy doing things, but producing no fruit.
You are running and running as if on a treadmill. You are going from place to place. But have no joy. You are building and accumulating. But not experiencing the blessings of God.
You going through the religious motions. But your spirit as dry as a bone. God described this condition through his prophet Haggai in Haggai 1:6. He says, You sow much, but you harvest little. You eat, but you're never satisfied.
You drink, but your thirst is never quenched. You close your cells, but you never get warm. You make money as if you're putting it in a bag with holes in it. Not experiencing the blessings of God. Although from the outside everything seemed to be wonderful.
But you know. And the Lord knows. What is the cause of your fleeing mode? Is it dishonest gain? Is it unhealthy relationships?
Is it an immoral lifestyle? Is it unfaithfulness with the blessings that God has given you? Is it carrying bitterness and anger that you should have dealt with a long time ago? Bitterness and anger toward God, or bitterness and anger towards somebody? Is it an unforgiving spirit?
Is it an uncontrolled tongue? Is it fleeing? From God, because you began to feel sorry for yourself. Whatever is causing you to be In the shambles of fleeing mode, You can turn around and come back. Today.
Finally. Turn with me to the latter part of chapter twenty. In fact, beginning at verse 19, which we have not read. Jonathan and David make a covenant with each other. And here is the agreement.
David said to Jonathan, I'm going to hide in the field. And you go over And sound your father out. See if he is really determined to kill me. Or he wants to spare me. Just go over and find out.
And give me a signal. to tell me which way to go.
Now, David here stands. At the crossroads of life.
Some of you may be here today at the crossroad of life. He's saying to himself, Will I be able to go back to my wife, Michael? Will I go back to my comfortable surroundings? Will I be able to go back to my earthly possessions? Would I be able to go back home where has become my home?
Yeah. Will David become a fugitive on the run? Is he going to leave everything behind? and go to the unknown. Is he going to lose everything that he has?
and face uncertainty. Will he be in a condition where he's got nobody, nobody, but the Lord? Here's where he stood. And here was the signal. The signal was for Jonathan to shoot three arrows.
And he said, if the arrows will fall, Before the stone then I know everything is all right and I'll go home. But if the arrows will go on the other side of the stone, then I know I've got to go on the run. That's a sign, that's a signal. that they agreed to receive. Can you imagine with me, just focus for a minute.
He's standing there in the field alone. And watching Those arrows. and waiting for Jonathan to come, The first arrow. goes beyond the stone. And David probably saying, well.
It may be a mistake. He just out of enthusiasm, Jonathan may have overshot it. And then he went for the second error. He goes the other side of the stone. Or maybe it's a mistake again.
Let's wait and see what's going to happen to the third one. And here's the third one lands beyond the stone. You can feel, you can imagine that empty feeling, that feeling in the pit of his stomach. When he saw His whole future. had just passed in front of his eyes.
Imagine his feelings of despondency and discouragement and uncertainty. Oh, where will I go from here?
Some of you have been there.
Some of you are there. In many ways, the stone of Isael here is like the cross of Christ. Before the cross there is the worldly kingdom. There is a worldly life. After the cross, there is a separation from the world.
There's a reliance only on the Lord. And yet the Apostle Paul refused to glory except in the cross of Christ. To whom the world has been crucified. to him and he to the world. And to glory in the cross of Christ.
It may mean sometime, as Henry Light said, Jesus I my cross have taken All to leave and follow Thee, Destitute, dispossessed, forsaken, though from hence My old shall be Cherish every found ambition. All I have sought and hoped. unknown yet how rich is my condition? God in heaven. I still my own.
Well, you might be a person today. who due to circumstances totally out of your control. That you are where David was at that point of his life. You might be a person who have seen the arrows being cast on the other side. beyond the stone of Israel.
The errors of losing your loved one, the errors of deteriorating health, the errors of financial reversals, the errors of betrayal of your dearest and the nearest, the errors of your children who have disappointed you. They all have fallen beyond the stone of Israel. And nobody understands that horrible feeling that you have in the pit of your stomach. Except you. And the lower.
He knows exactly where you are. And how you feel? He was with David. Here's with you. You have tried so desperately.
To hold on to something that is snatched from your hands. Your heart is clinging to that which is ripped off you. You have agonized to keep what is familiar and what is comfortable, but God permitted you. To leave it. The arrows have landed beyond the stone.
The arrows have landed beyond your own comfort. and comfortable target. The arrows have landed where You have nothing except the presence of the Lord, but that's everything. Remember this. Like David, God is leading you onward and forward.
Because God is supreme above your circumstances. God is supreme over all your surroundings. And God's purpose for you. Always For the good. And for your best.
For David? God's purpose was a throne. But you know what? He will have to go to it. By way of a cross.
God's purpose For David is a throng. But it is beyond The Stone of Azale. And God has a purpose for you. But you might have to get to it through a cross.
Well, let me conclude as I Occasionally, I feel led to testify to the goodness of God, and to the faithfulness of God, and for the grace of God. It's one of those times. There are many times in my life when I have watched the arrows go beyond the stone of Ezel. In fact, three times At least, my wife and I had to leave the familiar, had to leave the comfortable, and go beyond the stones. Not by choice.
And with all the puzzlement and with all the apprehension and with all the confusion and with all the anxiety that accompanied watching these errors go beyond the stone. When you and trusted in the God of grace, And he has never failed us once. Has the Lord failed you? God's promises are as true as God Himself is true. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
And lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways, not in some of them. Not in most of them. That in the majority of them, in all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. David taught Solomon some good things here.
Some of you are in a fleeing mode. Turn around. Your back is not protected. God wants you to come back.
Some of you are Finding yourself in The apprehension and the anxiety of seeing the errors fall beyond the stone of Israel. And out of anxiety and out of fear and out of apprehension, you want to flee. And you're about to flee. Stop. Stop.
So, Lord, I'm going to trust you with my whole heart. Because I know that ye will be with me on the other side of the stone. I want to invite you. to examine yourself before God. Are you dealing God in the picture, the whole picture of your life?
Or you're keeping him out. And thus you are in a fleeing mode. You're in a fearful mood. Have you taken your eyes off him and focused on yourself and your circumstances and your blessings? or do you keep your eyes on the blesser?
The scripture again and again said, Examine yourself, examine yourself, examine yourself. Because God knows that we are prone to flounder. We are prone The fumble. We are prone to stumble. The Spirit of God spoke to you today.
Respond to him. And if you're fleeing or fearful, remember that you can always turn your eyes back toward Jesus. Speak with a leading-the-way pastor or counselor about it today. And start by going to ltw. dot org slash Jesus.
Hey, thank you for making time for Dr. Michael Youssef and leading the way.
Okay, have you considered how blessed you are? I mean, some of you are in your car, or you're at home, or maybe you're at the gym, but no matter where you are, you're able to listen to God's Word just at the touch of a button. In other parts of the world, things are very different. Bible teaching, especially solid Bible teaching, is hard to come by. Even in our time of amazing technologies, not everyone has immediate or open access.
But one way that Leading the Way is tackling this is through Leading the Way navigators. These are little solar powered MP three players that are loaded with content from doctor Youssef, and an audio bible in one of the world's most spoken and understood languages. Here's a quick sample of what people hear in their own language. to love Christ more deeply every day. One Hergen dahadirin na seme kolmalder.
to love Christ more intimately every day. On a hergyndah can nanse me kolmalder. And when you grow in your love for Christ. Leading the way field teams distribute these devices where people cannot access the radio, or places like prisons and underground churches where content or technology is severely limited.
So know that when you support Leading the Way, teams are equipped to distribute navigators across the globe. Learn ways to stand with doctor Youssef when you call us at 866 Six two six. Four three five six or online ltw.org. lt w dot org Your generous gifts are always tax-deductible and appreciated. And keep in mind that all contributions designated for specific projects will always be applied to those projects.
When we receive more than enough contributions to fund a project, the Leading the Way leadership team will use the funds for other priority ministry needs. It's our desire to meet the needs laid before us so that Christ is magnified and the gospel is proclaimed. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssep. passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world.
