Dr. Michael Youssef and Times of Discouragement. Mm-hmm. It is not wrong to feel depressed sometimes. It is not wrong to feel despondent sometimes.
But when it becomes wrong, is when you live in discouragement for too long. It becomes wrong when you get to enjoy discouragement. It becomes wrong when you continuously keep on wearing the garment of discouragement. That's what is wrong. Everyone experiences seasons of discouragement.
too much month left at the end of the money? health challenges, world events, relationships, politics, you name it, life situations often chase joy away. Welcome to Leading the Way with pastor, author, and international Bible teacher, Dr. Michael Youssef. Today, a moment in the life of King David.
a man after God's own heart. but also a man who experienced deep discouragement. We can learn a lot from his life and Dr. Michael Youssef. on today's Leading the Way.
Join me in listening. There are several sad chapters. in David's life. And this is one of them. Because at this point of his life, David is acting and feeling inferior.
Discouragement is one thing, but allowing discouragement to persist in our lives. most certainly going to lead you to confusion and going to lead you into sin. Please hear me right. We all face discouragement. All of us face discouragement.
Discouragement is like a garment. You can choose to wear that garment, or you can choose to hang it up in the closet. Discouragement is like a bad companion. You can choose to walk with that bad companion, or you can choose to bring that relationship to an end and part your ways. David, at this point of his life, chose to wear the spirit of discouragement.
David at this point of his life allowed discouragement to be his companion everywhere he went. David at this time in his life elected to give in to the spirit of discouragement. The spirit of discouragement led him to trod in roads that he would never have trodden. The spirit of discouragement has escorted David into events and into functions that he would never have gone to. How did it happen?
Well, David began by moping and talking and feeling sorry for himself. And that is always a warning sign. Because when you begin there and you stay there, you're going to end up in ziklag.
Now, if those of you who have your Bibles and you got it there in 1 Samuel 27, I want you to put a circle around the word ziklag. I'm going to come back to it again and again. Zig lag, and that is where you should not go. Listen to the note and the key by which David is singing his song. See how low that key is now at this time in his life.
He has written several Psalms. First was Psalm 10 verse 1. He said, why do you stand far off, O Lord? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Psalm thirteen verse one.
How long will you forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long will you hide your face from me? Psalm twenty two verse one. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me? There is no doubt. As you read the scripture, there is no doubt that David is going through a time of discouragement. And discouragement comes to the best of us. And to all of us.
But what you do with discouragement determines the level of your faith. And David's discouragement came as a result Of him looking around and saying, God is not answering my prayer.
Well, just think about it. I mean, he had every reason to feel that way. He has been hunted like a mad dog by Saul. Everywhere he goes, Saul is after him. Everywhere he goes, Saul is after him.
He had so much pressure on him. On top of all of this, he got 600 men with their families, and they all dependent on David, and he began to feel that burden so heavy on his heart. He was discouraged. But please listen carefully. You either cast all your cares upon the Lord, or you let your cares cast you into despair.
Either you lay your burdens at the feet of the Lord. All your burdens are gonna sink you into the depth of depression. Either you hand your sorrows to the living and loving God. Yeah. Your sorrows will hand you into confusion and ultimately into zig lag.
So David concluded, he said, Well, he said, it is hopeless to keep trusting in God. It is useless for me to just keep waiting upon the Lord. Look at verse 127, 1 Samuel. David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me to do, and I should escape.
At once, right away. No time for praying, no time for delay. Escape at once into the land of the Philistines. Hear me right. You may be discouraged today.
And you're saying to yourself, it is no use holding on. There is no use persisting. There is no use persevering. There is no use continuing to trust. But that kind of talking is going to put you on the road to ziklag.
I want you to notice one thing. when he talked to himself. And David said to himself, It's all over. I might as well go to the Philistines. He never once Said, I want to inquire of the Lord.
He never said, Well, I wonder whether the Lord wants me to go to the Philistines or not. He never went on his knees and prayed, Lord, what is your will? What do you want me to do? He never sought The mind of God. And the thing that scares me to death sometimes is when I see people trying to do the work of God.
without seeking the mind of God. Without seeking the will of God. And David Drews His own conclusion. He used human logic, he used secular wisdom. And so he goes to the land of the Philistines, The enemies of God's people.
And he goes to King Achish. And he seeks refuge.
Now watch with me, please. What the spirit of discouragement can do to you and can do to me. Look at it with me. If you continue in the spirit of discouragement, see what it's going to do. But before I do this, I want to stop just for a second and tell you this.
It is never wrong to be discouraged sometimes.
So don't feel guilty about this. I know some people think, you know, you'll be dying and you say you should say, oh, praise the Lord, it's fine, everything is wonderful. That's phonyism. Yeah. It is not wrong to feel depressed sometimes.
It is not wrong to feel despondent sometimes. But when it becomes wrong is when you live in discouragement for too long. It becomes wrong when you get to enjoy discouragement. It becomes wrong when you continuously keep on wearing the garment of discouragement. That's when it's wrong.
But notice what happened when David follows through. With the spirit of discouragement, when he lets the spirit of discouragement possess him, notice what happened. He comes to King Achish. And what does King Akish do?
Well, he puts out the welcome hat. He welcomes him in. I mean, misery loves company. He welcomes him in. And the second thing happened.
Saul stopped fighting him. Stopped running after him.
Now, I'm sure some of you are saying, well, wait a minute, preacher, what's wrong with that? What's wrong with a man getting some peace? What's wrong with the man getting a break? What's wrong with the man when he made a decision that gave him some peace of mind and some break in life from the troubles that he's in? I want to tell you exactly what the problem is.
The problem is that this kind of peace is a temporal peace. This kind of peace is a false peace. It's a fake peace. It is a look-alike peace. This kind of peace is not a lasting peace.
This kind of peace is not a real peace. And the Bible said that sin is pleasurable for a moment. For a moment. Wait a while. And you feel the bite.
When you begin to feel the sting. When you begin to feel and experience the consequences of that sin. Begin to feel the poison of that sin. There are some people who think that running away from their home, running away from their circumstances, running away from their job is going to give them peace. only to discover that they have multiplied their troubles.
As I looked at this passage. I wondered Who really got Dishonored. in this process. Who really got this honoured here? I tell you who got dishonored?
The God of David. He got dishonored. The promises of God to David, they got dishonored. You say, How come?
Well, God promised David that his enemies will be cast out like a stone out of a sling. And therefore What David was saying, really in the midst of his discouragement, what David is saying here in his depressed mood is this: God? Because you did not fulfill your promise to me in my timetable, I give up. God, you overpromise but underperform. God You have kept me safe so far.
But I'm not sure whether you really can keep me safe in the future. And so David goes to the place of the Lord's enemies. He goes to King Achish. And King Achish gave him Ziklag.
Now what is Zig Lag? Ziklag stands for idolatry. Ziglag stands for compromise. Ziklag stands for disobedience. Ziglag stands for temporal comfort and ease But in a Turmoil.
Look at verse 3. That is a very significant verse. Because what it's going to show you Well, you can skip through it if you just read the scripture not carefully. But the author, the Holy Spirit himself, wants you to know the root of David's trouble. You see, the fruit does not come out unless there's a root.
And the root of David's trouble is disobedience to the law of God. Deuteronomy is very clear. The word of God is clear, not to multiply wives. And David did.
Now he's got two here and one back home waiting for him. A genome? of Jisrael. And Abigail of Carmel. And Michael Saul's daughter is waiting for him when he goes home.
He broke the law of God. Man, you can rationalize it any way you want. You can say, well, you know, he's been away for too long. You can say, well, these are circumstances.
Well, this is this.
Well, we all can do that. But the word of God is clear. It says not to multiply wives, period. David did it. And when the compromise began, With it began David's downfall, although he didn't see it at the time.
He could not perceive it at the time. He thought, God will forgive me.
Some people think that you just go, that grace is license. You sin any way you want, and then call on God, and He'll forgive you just like that. He does, He forgives us. But don't ever take the grace of God for granted. That's a sin.
That compromise began back then. And all of this taking of a refuge in the enemies of God's people's camp. Not inquiring and seeking of the mind of God and the will of God, using human logic and using secular wisdom, giving into the spirit of discouragement. that is a harvest. of a sin of compromise.
The consequences do not show up immediately. But be sure they will show up. These are the consequences. of the first compromise of God's law in David's life. But you know what when David got the zik lag It's been going for a while now.
From the human point of view, Ziglag looks like a success. Man, the world's smiling to him. Boy, have David probably thought to himself, I wonder why I haven't thought about this before. Things look like they turned out okay for David. Houses and cars and camel-drawn cars, but money in the bank here.
Please hear me carefully. Devising your own plan. may succeed in the beginning. Living in disobedience May not reveal the consequences immediately. Disregarding God's clear word.
may be accompanied by apparent success. In the beginning. But wait a while. Give it time. And you will see.
Because sooner or later you'll discover. that one false step is not enough. Another must take place.
Sooner or later, you're going to discover that one lie is not enough. It has to be another. And so it is the case with our champion here. The man of God. The man through his heart after God's own, when he takes the matter into his own hands.
Look at verse 8.
Now 1 Samuel 27. David begins to make his living. by killing and stealing. And he comes to King Achish, and like a little boy, he wants to be praised for what he's done. And you see the seeking, look what I've done.
And where did you go? And he said, My own people, I killed my own people, I rob my own people.
Well, he was lying, of course. He was not doing that. is going to solve the other Philistines. Why? Why?
Because David wanted to be accepted by King Achish, because deep down he knew that he is not pleasing the living God. That his sin has not been accepted by the living God. He wanted King Akish favor because he knew deep down in his heart, in his inner being, when he is in a nakedness before God. that God's favor has gone from him. And out of guilt.
He would go out and kill and steal and come back and he lies about it. All of this so that he would find acceptance, so that he might find favor in the eyes of a pagan king. That's what happened. When a believer starts stepping out of the will of God. He began to seek the favour of man.
Not the favor of God. He wanted to please men, not please God. And I want to tell you, please hear me right. I'm going to be very careful of what I'm going to say, but this is absolutely the best example I can think of right now that every one of us probably is aware of. And it is there.
That's what guilt does. The reason why the homosexual community works so hard and fights so tenaciously to become accepted in society. The very reason why they want church leaders to sanctify their. Abomination and their lifestyle by ordaining them into the ministry. The reason why they want society to bless their vile acts.
And the reason is Because guilt Guilt Because deep down, these men and women are created in God's own image. No. That their lifestyle is an abomination unto the Lord. It is unnatural and they want church leaders to sanction what God could never sanction. They know that.
And they're deep down they feel that guilt.
So they look to anyone who would say it's okay. They look to anyone who's saying, well, it's an alternate lifestyle. They look to anyone who would say, well, that's really your business. But because of the nature of guilt Acceptance is not enough.
So the next step that they want not just acceptance Promotion of the lifestyle. They want to be treated as an elite. But that's not going to be enough. You see, nothing is enough when guilt is seething in the conscience. Nothing is enough.
And the person who gives in to the spirit of discouragement. would not sit still.
Sooner or later. They will discover that they have exchanged the smile of God. for the grin of Satan. And seek the acceptance of people, any people. They have exchanged the protection of the Lord Jesus Christ for the flimsy wall of the faith.
They have exchanged the trust in the provision of God. For the walls of Ziklag which as we'll see in the next message is going to burn to the ground. I want to conclude by telling you about us another songwriter, a modern day songwriter. This man saw The hand of God. in his life.
So instead of following in a spirit of discouragement, he turned around. one of his most familiar hymns, is entitled God moves in mysterious ways. which has been a source of comfort and blessing to many people. But there is an incredible story behind that song. This song was born.
out of trying circumstances, out of difficult time in this man's life. William Cowper is the writer. And one day he sunk deep into despair. It was a result of grief and disappointment. And finally, one day, He called a cabby with a horse and buggy.
And he called a taxi and he asked him to take him to the Tower of London by the River Thames. Because there he was going to commit suicide, he was going to jump off that bridge. And after driving around, there was a very misty night.
So after two hours of the cabbies driving around and driving around and driving around, finally he confessed to his passenger: he said, I'm lost. Disgusted and frustrated by the delay, Cowper left the cabin. He was determined that he's going to walk all the way to the river on foot. And walking just a short distance. He discovered that he was in front of his own house.
on the footsteps of his own home. The horse and buggy has been going around in the middle of the mist, going around in circles. Because he can't see. Immediately, he recognized the restraining hand of the Lord and His provision of turning the events around. And convicted by the Spirit of God, he realized that his way out of trouble is not.
Death is not suicide, by repentance and turning to the Lord. And with tears streaming down his cheeks, he began to hand his burdens to the Lord. And then As he cast his burden upon the Lord, he began to write. These words that have strengthened many believers through many years. God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.
He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings in your head. I can't help but reflect on how Dr. Youssef said: we sometimes exchange the smile of God. or the grin of Satan.
These are challenging words on today's Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Let me encourage you to learn more about the Worldwide Ministry of Leading the Way. At lt wait, Yeah.
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