Thank you for joining listeners worldwide for Dr. Michael Youssef and leading the way. In today's message, we're going to be assured that God's champion, David. has learnt the lesson of looking up when he's down. that God's champions Do not turn their brokenness into bitterness.
That God's champions do not permit their undeserved grief. To dissipate their energy, that God's champions do not allow hatred and the resentment of others to cloud their vision for their future and the future of God's work. Military and first responders are immersed in physical, emotional, and tactical training to move from thinking as individuals into thinking and becoming part of a team. becoming one in mission. And in recent Leading the Way messages, Dr.
Youssef has shown you the real life of David, king of Israel in waiting. You've watched God take him through training to develop him into a man fully devoted to God. Today, how God poured confidence into David and how he can build yours too.
So listen along as Dr. Michael Youssef begins today's Leading the Way. Famous French artist Gustave Dor. was travelling throughout southern Europe. He lost his passport and he lost his papers.
And he came to the border guard of that particular country. And when they asked him for his passport, he said, I've lost it, I don't have it. But you can trust me, you must let me proceed, for I am the well known French artist Gustave Dor. The border guard said impossible. We have so many people who come through here, try to represent themselves as famous people.
We can't do that for you. And the man said, I'm telling you the truth, I'm telling you who I am. And finally, the captain of the guard who was sitting in the barrack heard the argument and the conversation going on. He came out of his barrack with a piece of paper and a pencil. And he said to Gustav Dorr, he said, if you are who you say to be, Will you please take this pencil and paper and draw a picture?
And with masterful hand, Dora took The pencil. And he began to draw. the magnificent features of the surrounding area. Within minutes. The captain looked at that picture and he said I have absolutely no doubt.
Of who You say you are. You have proved to me Who you are. But what you have done. And they let him through. When I reflected upon this, I thought of what proof?
Do we have? that David, God's champion, Who has been fleeing, who has been backsliding? who has been running away now has been fully restored. and walking in the Spirit. What evidence do we have in the scripture?
That this man Who have turned the cave of Adulam into a prayer closet. is now walking in the fullness of God. that he has longed Trust One or one? What evidence does the world have? That you are a child of God.
What proof? Do the people around you have That you are born again of the Spirit of God, that you are redeemed and you are on your way to heaven. What evidence do you present to your family and to your friends and to those who surround you? that you are who you claim to be, you are. For in today's message The passage gives us That evidence From David's life.
It gives us proof. From David's life. In today's message, we're going to be assured That God's champion David. has learnt the lesson of looking up when he's down. That God's champions do not turn their brokenness.
into bitterness. That God's champions do not permit their undeserved grief. To dissipate their energy, that God's champions do not allow hatred and the resentment of others to cloud their vision for their future and the future of God's work. If you turn with me to 1 Samuel 23, beginning at verse 1 and 2, Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Scilah. And they were rubbing the threshing floors.
Therefore David got down very quickly and took care of the Philistines. No, that's not what it said in the Bible. If you're not reading your Bible, you would have fallen for that. Therefore. David inquired of the LORD.
Shall I go to attack the Philistines? This is the very first of four lessons that we're going to learn in the school of spiritual maturity, in the school of spiritual growth. The first lesson is this. David inquired of the Lord. A short sentence that speaks volumes.
Short statement. But it summarizes the walk of a Christian. With his Lord and her Lord. David inquired of the Lord. In fact, during this time in his life, David wrote three more Psalms.
Psalm 27, Psalm 31, and Psalm Fifty-four. And the supreme lesson that David has learned at this point in his life. It can be found in Psalm 31 and verse 15. He said, My times are in your hands. Brokenness had taught David that his very breath is in the hand of God.
That God controls our times. That His times cannot be and His life cannot be in God's hand and in the enemy's hand all at the same time. For when He is in God's hand. Gloom disappears in the light of God's sunshine. When he is in God's hand.
Fear departs when faith emerges. When he is in God's hand, Peace comes in when learning the lesson of trusting God. All of our times are in his hands. David not only learned to seek and inquire of the Lord and seek the mind of God. But the second lesson for spiritual maturity is this.
He refused to be deterred by the detractors. Listen to me, please. It is one thing to say. I want to discern the will of God in my life, and it is quite another to allow others to detract you from following that will of God in your life. It is one thing to say and inquire of the Lord, what is the mind of God here?
And it is quite another. to be determined to pay whatever price is going to cost you in order to follow that will of God. David When he inquired of the Lord and he got an answer from the Lord, naturally he turned to his men. And he said to them, A use of translation.
Okay, boys. God has spoken. Let's get the Philistines. Ha ha ha. And they got up with enthusiasm and followed.
They wouldn't budge. They just sat there. David says, hello? God says go. God has spoken.
Let's go. But they like teenagers All they said is Huh? He's got this motley crew that we saw from the last message. They were distressed, they were bankrupt. And they were dissatisfied and they came to him.
And this motley crew came. They were excited about being with David, but they weren't excited about fighting the Philistines. They were glad to come to him when they were distressed, when they were bankrupt, and when they were dissatisfied. There are many Christians who are happy to receive from the hand of God. To take salvation from the hand of God, to receive answered prayers from the hand of God, to receive joy from the hand of God, to receive the peace of God that passes understanding from the hand of God.
They are glad to receive comfort from the hand of God, but tell them to witness. And I said, oh no, that's hard work. Tell them to tithe, which is the minimum requirement in the scripture. They said, oh no, we've got a lot of things to spend on ourselves. Tell them to serve, oh no, I don't have time to do that.
God has spoken. Uh-huh. Please hear me right on this one. The only way our children are going to learn to trust in God and put their faith in God and to know that God is in control of their times is when they see their mommy and their daddy. Living the life of trusting.
The only way people in the world are going to see us, our colleagues, our friends, our schoolmates, are going to know the power of God is when they see it in our lives. When David faced opposition, He turned to God a second time.
Now he wasn't doubting. that he heard God the first time. He was not in doubt here. He was looking for confirmation. These guys are not budging.
So in verse four David Again, in the use of translation kind of thing, he said, Lord, did I hear you right the first time? And here's another use of translation of what God said. God said, David, you didn't only hear me right. Get off your blessed assurance because I already ordered the victory. Get out there and get them.
Go down. You have heard my voice. They notice God was not displeased with David. He was not angry with David. Would he ask a second time why?
Because God is a gracious God. Because God sympathizes with our honest weaknesses. Because God understands our hesitations. Because God comprehends our needs for confirmation. But I want to tell you this.
God detests disobedience. Ultimately God's will. was obeyed by David. and not the detractors. He did not listen to the detractors.
Which actually brings me to the third characteristic. of this champion. God's will. is the one that must be obeyed. Fully Completely.
unequivocally and unconditionally. First, seeking the mind of God, inquiring of the Lord. Secondly, not being detracted. By the tractors. But thirdly, Unconditional obedience.
If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, The most important lesson that you could learn is how to obey. You see? Moses had his detractors. Cora and Company. But God was the one who was obeyed.
Nehemiah had his detractors, San Balat, and Tobiah and Geshem. But he obeyed God. Job had his detractors, his friends, and even his wife who said to him, He said, Curse God and die. But he obeyed God. Jesus had his detractors.
Peter did not want him to go to the cross, but he said, the Father's will must be done. Paul had his detractors, the Judaizers, the legalists, and those who refused to believe in salvation by grace. But he obeyed God. Martin Luther had his detractors. Both the king and the pope were against him.
And he said, I must obey God. Here I stand, for I can do no other. Fourthly, The natural outcome of inquiring of the Lord, seeking the mind of God, refusing to be detracted by the detractors And obeying God completely, fully. and without conditions. The fourth one is the natural outcome of following those three things.
And it is God's victory. Verse 5. God's victory is yours.
Someone will say, man. I never get victory. I read my Bible summer regularly. I pray when I can. And I try to do the right thing, but I never have victory in my life.
Yeah. Go back. Check. Have you inquired of the Lord? Have you been influenced by the detractors?
Those who are trying to stop you from walking with God and following and obeying God. Have you been listening to the voices of others? Have you purposed in your heart to obey fully, completely, without conditions? And if you're living in constant defeat, chances are. you are missing one of those three ingredients.
If you are serious about victory in your life, You better get serious. about hearing the voice of God. You say, How do I know it's the voice of God? Good question, I'm glad you asked it.
So I can answer it. For starters. God's voice is never Endeavour. Never. Never.
contrary to the word of God. If you tell me that God or somebody one time years ago came to me and said, My God is telling me to walk out on my wife. I said, what happened? Has she done anything wrong? No.
They said, No, I just have somebody else in mind. I'm out of love and in love. He thinks that j love is just getting in and out of the shower. I said with absolute gentility and the way you know me, I can say things kind of.
Softly You don't worship the same God that I worship. You are not hearing the God of the Bible. You are not hearing the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are not hearing the God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are not hearing the God who sent us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
You're not hearing that God, you're hearing some other God that you're keeping in your closet somewhere. David obeys the voice of God. He goes down to Keilah. And he wipes out the Philistines. God already ordered it.
He just went out there and picked the fruit. And David is told Hey David.
Soul is after you again. He's out in Kila and he's out to get you. What does David do? Saul has lied to the people. He went to the people of Keilah and he said, Oh, the Lord has delivered David into my hands.
A big lie.
So what does David do? He flees and runs. No, not on your life. This was the fleeing, David.
Now you're talking about the restored David. You're talking about the David who's walking with God step by step by step. David said to Abithar the priest, he said, bring me the ephid.
So that I may inquire of the Lord as whether I should trust the people of Keilah or not.
Now remember this. These are the people. We were about to be destroyed, David came by the Philistines. David comes in and saves their hide. But David wasn't sure whether he really can still trust them.
Now the ephid was the garment that the high priest wore. And on the breast of the ephod there were two stones, the orum and the thummum. And back in the days When we had high priests, the high priest wanted to inquire of the Lord, he would go to the Holy of Holies with the ephid. And he would say, Lord, Is it God or no God? Is it yes or no?
And if it is yes, those two stones shine brighter. If it is snow, the stones grow dimmer. And it was through Abithar the priest that David wanted to discern the will of God.
Now you know what? As I reflect on this, Every time I read anything about the Urum and the Thumum, I said, God, I wish we had one of these, Lord. Not be great, it would have made life easier. We don't. But here's what we have in the New Testament.
We have the Word of God. And we have the Spirit of God that dwells within us. And when the Holy Spirit of God And on your knees pouring yourself over the word of God. When the Holy Spirit preside and reside in your life, You're going to find that decisions are not going to be An instrument of torture. There's gonna be joy.
To find uh When the Holy Spirit of God is not grieved, is not quenched, is not squeezed out. You will discern the will of God, and your will will align with the will of God. When the Holy Spirit is not crowded out by secular wisdom and by public opinions and what people are thinking, what people are saying. you will have The mind of God. When we humble ourselves before God and we are willing to sacrifice our opinions, sacrifice our wants, sacrifice our desires and sacrifice our wills on the altar of God, Then And only then.
We will know. The will of God.
So David inquired of the LORD as to whether the people of Keelah Are you going to deliver him to the hand of Saul or not? Just imagine the fleeing David how he would have reacted in this situation where he's finding himself right now. I want to tell you exactly what I think, how he would have reacted. He would have reacted the same way that most Christians in churches today react. He would have used human logic.
He would have used secular wisdom. And he would have done the following. I help these people of Kila. I delivered them from the hand of the Philistine. I have done them some great favors.
After all, with that me, they would have been camel meat. They owe me big time. Surely they would not deliver me to Saul. Surely they would not betray me. That's how David Would have.
Thought. But that's wrong. Right. Very wrong. Here's the restored David.
The restored David is not working on secular wisdom. is not working on human wisdom. The restored David is operating on the basis of the plan of God. and the promises of God. And all of these three.
A contrary. to the way Saul is reacting. They are contrary to all of Seoul's statements. Why? Because Saul was totally out of the will of God.
He's out of it. And when he is out of the will of God, he is ignorant of the will of God. He is ignorant. of the way of God. My dear friends who love the Lord, listen to me, please.
When you are out of the will of God because of disobedience in your life. You are going to answer your own prayers. When you are out of the will of God, you will not interpret your circumstances correctly. I want to conclude. By reading to you.
Verse 14. If you do have a Bible with you and a pen, I want you to circle it. Underline it. Market. Put an asterisk next to it.
It's one of the most precious Verses in this passage. And Saul Sort David. Every Day. Every day. But God delivered him not.
Into His hand. I don't know about you, but I want to shout hallelujah. God delivered him not into his hands. Hear me right. Satan Is after you and you and you and me every single minute of every day.
But As long as you are in the will of God. As long as you are inquiring of the Lord. as long as you are refusing to listen to the detractors. As long as you obey God fully, completely, and unconditionally. God will not permit him to touch you.
Encouragement from Dr. Michael Youssef to seek and experience victory. You're listening to Leading the Way. And by the way, if you would like to speak with a leading the way pastor or counselor about your spiritual challenges, we're ready. Start your conversation today at ltw.org slash Jesus.
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