A Heart for God, Part 7

In a world where power and influence are often overvalued, God honors the humble and those who have a heart for Him. There is no greater example in the Bible than the life of King David. God used David to shape a generation and be an example to all of history. In his new book, A Heart for God, Dr. Michael Youssef offers you powerful reminders of God's faithfulness to bring glory and victory out of brokenness and failure.

The website where you can learn more about the content and order your copy is ltw.org. There are times when darkness of the world presses in and surrounds you in life. There are times when situations seem insurmountable, and even friends and family appear to be lined up against you. Confidants may offer encouragement by saying, Trust God.

But when the darkness is pushing in, those words just sound empty. Well, on this episode of Leading the Way, Dr. Michael Youssef guides you to a time in David's life when he had to set aside his skills, his talents, his hopes, and his dreams, and lean into simple trust in God. If you're able, look up 1 Samuel 24 and follow along as Dr. Michael Youssef takes you into the life of David when nothing was left for David to do but trust in God. And as Dr. Youssef begins this quick reminder that Leading the Way is listener supported, Dr. Youssef and the worldwide ministry teams rely on your prayers and your generosity to sustain day-to-day operations and to seed future growth.

You can learn more at 866-626-4356 or ltw.org. Join with me now as Dr. Michael Youssef begins today's episode, Trust in God. And the last message I concluded by quoting verse 14. Day after day, Saul searched for David, but God did not give David into his hands. Today, we see David again having the upper hand. He's got the upper hand now, and he could kill Saul, but he refused to do it.

Again, you ask, why? Because when your heart is after God's, I'm not saying you're perfect neither David, but when your heart is turned and bent toward God, you will not take revenge. Beloved, don't ever think that I do not understand the temptation of lashing out. I know the temptation of taking revenge. It is very hard not to feel resentment when somebody caused you pain and abuse and suffering. It is very hard. It is very difficult when you are treated unfairly without becoming angry.

It's so hard. And I can tell you this, on your own, you could never fight it. On your own, you could never win.

On your own, you can never have victory. But with God, you can do the impossible. I also want to testify to you because when you lean on God in these situations, he will grow you out of these circumstances, out of these difficulties. When you lean on God, he will cause you victory over your pain.

He will empower you to live above and beyond that hurt. Here's a fact. David knew that he was destined to the throne.

Can we all agree on that? He knew that. But he also knew it has to be in God's timing and God's way. Jesus, the son of David, knew he was destined to the throne of the universe from which he came. He knew that is his destination. And Satan in the wilderness gave him a shortcut that he can take the throne. But Jesus wouldn't touch it because Jesus knew that reaching the throne of the universe is going to come by way of the cross. Jesus knew that his throne is going to come in God's perfect timings.

And that's why when people say, you do this, why don't you do this, why don't you go here? And the Bible says, he knew that that's not the hour yet. And when the hour came, he said, the hour is now.

He knew it. In fact, beloved, listen to me carefully. If you know Jesus, if you love Jesus, if you're walking with Jesus, you are destined to the throne.

There is no if or but about it. You read the scripture. You are destined for the throne. And no one can take that from you.

The Bible said nothing separates us from the love of God. Nothing means nothing. Can you say nothing? It means nothing. No one.

But it will be in God's timing and God's way. Now as you look with me to chapter 24, 1 Samuel, the military intelligence of Israel has ascertained and reported to King Saul that their satellite has zoomed in with pinpoint accuracy as to where David was. He's hidden in the cave of En-Gedi. And so King Saul takes 3,000 green berets, special ops, navy seals. These are the top of the top of the top people in the Israeli army who are trained to find enemies in rocky terrain. And so they began to pursue David. When they came to that place in En-Gedi, David and his men were hiding deep into the cave because they needed the cool of the depth of the cave.

In that area, it can actually reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. And so they had to literally in order to survive the heat to go deep into the crags of that cave. Saul and his men come in and they go inside the cave for the same reason they wanted relief from the heat. So they go in the cooler temperature of the cave to trap David. Well, dear old Saul, he must have had a very heavy Mexican meal and he needed a siesta.

They said siesta is a very civilized way of living. David motley crew saw that Saul and his men were snoring up a storm and sound asleep. I mean, they were snoring so loud the birds were flying away. Imagine with me, please, imagine just using your imagination the incredible, incredible things that were going on through in their mind. David and his men see Saul sleeping so deeply and they thought Christmas came early. This is their time. This is their day. They were thinking, man, visions, not sugarplum, but visions of the White House and the seats of power were dancing in their heads.

Think about it again. All the political consultants and the pollsters and the campaign managers, they huddled with David and they said to him, now the royal palace is yours. In effect they were saying to David, David, David, David, please end all of the suffering now. David, it is in your hands to end all of the hardships that we are facing. David, it is in your hands you can end our loneliness. David, you can end it so we can go home to our families. David, tonight you can be sitting on the throne of Israel. They even quoted the scripture for him. All you need to do is you take the sharp dagger and plunge it in Saul's heart.

He won't know what happened. And before you know it, he'll be dead and we can shout the shout of victory. And then David does take the dagger and start walking towards Saul and imagine them holding their breath, watching Saul with that dagger.

And they're ready by holding their breath, they want to shout victory. Beloved, you need to understand that situational ethics, that is you decide what is right for you, it's not a 20th century idea. What we call the end justifies the means, did not begin with Karl Marx. What we call social justice today, which nothing but division within the nation and make no mistake about it, read Kierkegaard and read Karl Marx and read Engel and find out because that is the goal of so many people in our culture is to create a division. Kierkegaard called it the thesis and antithesis. And when you create a division, you create a division, you keep pounding as we're seeing today, they're trying to separate, put a separation between men and women, blacks and whites, they are trying to divide our nation, make no mistake about it, it is not new.

That's how communism triumphs, by creating a division in society. Read what we call the bottom line only matters is not new. What we call if it feels good, do it, did not start at Woodstock or with the hippie movement. Our culture has perfected these things, yes, but they're not new. Beloved, listen to me, this is how our culture think today.

If the choice is between the spotted owl and people's livelihood, we choose the spotted owl. If sexual urges cannot be controlled, come under control, express them in which way you want. If you don't like the way God made you, God created you, change it. If people do not feel good about the way the Bible history is told, whether it be Jonah in the belly of the whale or Noah in the flood, we'll take these things out of the Bible, you don't have to believe them. Take things into your own hands.

If the word of God does not fit with our culture, then we need to get unhitched from the word of God. And so the motley crew said to David, kill the rascal. Kill the rascal. It saves us a lot of pain.

Kill him and get it over and done with. And David indeed takes that dagger and he walks to Saul where he will sound asleep, but instead of plunging the dagger into his heart, he cuts a small cloth of his garment and pockets it. As they watched with a bated breath, a sense of disappointment came all over them. Instead of David listening to their voices, he listened to God. Instead of caving into the pressure of their friends, David chose to please God. Instead of giving in to peer pressure and experiencing instant gratification, David decided to trust in God's timing. No wonder God said of him, he examined David's heart and he found it after his own. All my beloved friends, listen to me. It is vitally important for us to interpret our circumstances in the light of the word of God.

Don't interpret your circumstances by the circumstances. Interpret them in the light of the word of God. It is vitally important to listen to God, not those who are self-serving. It is of utmost importance not to act on impulse and think that you're helping God out. David could have taken vengeance easily, but he chose to trust God and the promises of God and the timing of God and the way of God. David could have chosen revenge, but he chose to trust God. David could have gone into the lower road of killing, but he chose the high road of life. Talking about killing, I want you to listen to me very carefully.

Those of you who know me know that I absolutely, without hesitation or a shadow of doubt, believe the word of God in its entirety. And I believe that the scripture is clear, that when there is habitual adultery or when there is an abuse, a marriage dies. But I also have seen with those eyes, people kill marriage just because they are impatient with each other. There are some who kill marriage just because they got bored with each other. They kill a marriage because they think they can be happier with someone else.

They kill a marriage because they think that they are trapped in that marriage and they want out. Young people listen to me. Children sometimes feel trapped in their parents' loving rules and they cannot wait to fly the coop.

I know children sometimes misunderstand the parents' discipline and they rebel against them. And I have been saying this for decades, and I'll keep saying it based on the word of God in 1 Corinthians chapter 7. Listen to me. This is a word from the Lord. If you have an unsaved, unbelieving child, you must never, never, until you close your eyes in death, never, never, never stop praying for them.

Now beloved, if you ever find yourself where David was and you want to take the wrong road, ask yourself the following questions. Is my action revengeful? Is my heart full of blind ambitions? Am I impatient and cannot wait for God's timing? If the answer is yes, then please, please, don't do it.

Don't do it. Wait upon the Lord. The Lord has a perfect timing. There's something else I don't want you to miss here, verse 5. David was conscious stricken for having cut off a corner of Saul's garment while he was asleep.

But why? Oh, listen to me. David had a sensitive spirit. David had a tender heart. David had a razor sharp conscience. And my beloved friends, this is the mark of any man, any woman, any boy, any girl who loved Jesus. I always take comfort in the words of the Apostle John. He said, even when our conscience condemn us, he is greater than our conscience. Contrast this spiritual sensitivity, the sensitive conscience with that of others that you might know. Those who are described by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4, 2, that they have their conscience been seared with hot iron. You know, when they do that to animals, that whole area where they put that hot iron, the skin is deadened. There's no feeling in it.

When you develop a callous in your hand, there is no feeling where that callous is. You see, these people have become numb with sin. They've become callous with rebellion.

They have become insensitive in disobedience. And from my personal experience, when that happens, when that happens, all of the sermons in the world, all of the Bible studies in the world, all of the books in the world, all of the retreats and all of the conferences, will do them no good. The only thing that will work is the Holy Spirit of God quickens their dead spirit so they'll become alive again. And that is why I tell you again and again, don't ever give up praying. Don't ever give up praying.

Will you say that with me? Don't ever give up praying. Because only the Holy Spirit of God will make them repent. And that is why we always, always pray for unsaved members of the family and friends and neighbors.

And whenever God lays on your heart, that means God has a purpose for them. Verse 6, David is saying to his men, and I quote, the Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, or lift a hand against him, for he is anointed of the Lord. What is David saying? As far as David was concerned, God is the one who permitted Saul to be a king, even though God chose Saul as a judgment, as a punishment over his people for rejecting him and wanted an earthly king. But that did not make any difference to David. Nevertheless, only God could take Saul down. God is the one who anointed David to be the future king of Israel, and only God is the one who will seat him on that throne. But David did not only exercise blind trust in the living God and in the timing of God, he actually persuaded the men to do the same. And that is very difficult.

It's one thing for you to be convinced and it's another thing to try to convince others. And that is why Proverbs 16 32 said, better a passion man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than the one who takes the city. Whatever crisis you have faced or you may be facing right now, just remember this, if you ever face a crisis, write it down so you remember it. Whatever crisis you have faced or facing, it will go away. It will go away. But what will remain is your reaction to that crisis. The person who provoked you or is provoking you to anger eventually will go away. But what will not go away, what will remain is your reaction to that individual. The situation that caused you and causing you stress will not last.

But what will last is your reaction to that situation. The Old Testament said, love your friends and hate your enemies. But the ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of David, David, a thousand years before Christ understood what Jesus taught in Matthew 5 44, love your enemies, bless them that use you, do good to them who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you.

Please think with me as I'm coming to the end. Had David listened to his men and killed Saul, most of the Psalms that were written blessed millions of people, millions of people in 3,000 years would not be here. David's song would have been silenced. There's no denying it was painful for David to wait on God's timing.

No denying of that. But it would have been excruciating if he didn't. Oh, it was difficult for David to wait for the slow unfolding purpose of God.

But it would have been agonizing to have taken matters into his hands. See when David's choice came between revenge and trust in God's timing, he chose God's timing. When David's choices came to love and hatred, he chose love.

Why? Because David understood that hatred enslaves you, but love will set you free. Hatred will incarcerate you, but love will liberate you. That hatred will put you behind bars, but love and forgiveness makes you soar to greater heights than you even thought possible.

Can I get an amen? I want to conclude by a true story, a very short story. It's told by Dr. George Crane. A woman came to Dr. Crane with deep-seated hatred toward her husband, and she wanted to fail for divorce. After ascertaining that there's no unfaithfulness and there's no abuse, Dr. Crane came up with a marvelous advice. He said to her, go back and start showering your husband with compliments. Start showering him with kindness.

And when you have become indispensable to him as an act of revenge, file for divorce. Well, she was intrigued by this. Very unusual approach, but she followed through. A few months later, she came and told the good doctor everything is going well. He said, good. Now, now is the time to file for divorce. She said, divorce? I love my husband.

Never. David chose to shower Saul with act of undeserved kindness, undeserved. Meanwhile, Saul's repentance was cheapest repentance.

In fact, all of his tears were crocodile tears because he would not change. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.

David, the man whose heart after God chose to trust in the timing of God, in the way of God. So let me ask you this. Do you have a smoldering anger? I'm talking about deep down that does sort of pops up occasionally, but it's so buried deep down, smoldering anger, handed to God. Now, do you have a deep seated resentment towards someone that is absolutely so deep down that every time you pray, you can't get rid of it? Well, you can hand it to God now. Do you have deep seated anguish that somebody caused you?

Any kind of anguish? I want to invite you to give it to God now. Dr. Michael Yusef, challenging you to give God whatever struggle may be pressing in on you today.

Maybe today's message struck a tender part of your life and your heart. Would you like to arrange a time to talk with a leading the way pastor or counselor? Fill out a short contact form. Go to ltw.org slash Jesus. Well, the clock is telling me that it's time to say goodbye, but I do want to quickly mention the phone number to the Ministry Call Center, 866-626-4356. Representatives will help answer any of your questions. Take order for books and other content or efficiently process gifts to the ministry. Call us now, 866-626-4356. And that website again is ltw.org. We thank you for listening to Leading the Way. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Yusef, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world.