A Heart for God, Part 6

Thank you for joining listeners all around the world for this episode of Leading the Way Audio. Maturity in faith is not the ability to tackle life with ease.

Maturity in the faith is the ability to lean on God for all that life brings. On this episode of Leading the Way, lessons from the life of David as he steps away from being an overly self-confident man, assuming God's hand was on him, to a man who put his complete trust in the living God. It's part of Dr. Yousef's series, A Heart for God.

And if you missed previous episodes, you can catch up at ltw.org, where you can stream for free, subscribe to the podcast, find links to YouTube and other media, and learn about the mobile app, ltw.org. Here now is Dr. Michael Yousef with today's Leading the Way, and a message he's called Lessons from a Cave. Today I'm going to show you evidence of David's emerging from the cave of Adullam, turned into a prayer closet. He emerges giving us evidence, giving us proof that in that prayer closet, in that cave of Adullam, David began to develop a new level of trust in the living God. 1 Samuel 23, look at verses 1 and 2 with me. In the old translation it said behold.

Modern translation said look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they're looting the threshing floor, that is where all the supply for the rest of the year of food, basically guaranteeing their starvation to death. But here comes, are you ready for it? You're ready for it in the second verse?

And David inquired of the Lord. Say that with me. David, shall I go to attack these Philistines? Now beloved, please listen to me. You can linger on this statement, this short statement for a long, long time and I pray to God that you will. Just linger with it, meditate on it, think about it. You see after the flash of victory over Goliath, Saul would say to David, go and get me a hundred Philistines, he'd get two hundred. Go and do this, he'll do more.

Go and do this and do more. And what happened? He began to develop confidence in himself, not in the living God who gave him the strength to defeat Goliath. And so the moment fear came in, he had to flee in fear. But as he turned his cave of Adullam into a prayer closet, as we saw in the last message, he now comes out graduating from the testing school of God. He comes out trusting yet again in the living God. And that is beloved what I call faith 101 or trust 101. Now I'm going to tell you that if you have not learned to inquire of the Lord, most likely in the spiritual school, you keep on repeating first grade over and over and over again and you're not moving forward. Now regardless of what grade you're in, in the spiritual school, whatever grade you're in, it's between you and God.

I know, but I know, but I know. When I do not inquire of the Lord, I fail. Whenever I run ahead of the Lord and not wait upon the Lord and hear the voice of the Lord, I fail big time. David inquired of the Lord.

Say it with me. David inquired of the Lord. A short sentence, but it contains volumes.

It really does. During this time in David's life he wrote three Psalms. I want you to write them down. Psalm 31 and Psalm 54.

27, 31, and 54. In fact, in Psalm 31 verse 15, he summarizes the lesson that he had just learned coming out of the cave of Adullam. My times are in your hands.

Say it with me. My times are in your hands. Brokenness taught David that God is in control of the very breath that he draws, that God is in control of our times, that God is in control whether you're in the cave or whether you're facing a question mark or an exclamation point. David knew that he could not be both in the hand of the enemy and in the hand of God all at the same time. When you are in God's hands, gloom disappears in the light of his sunshine. Fear departs when faith emerges. Peace comes in when trusting of God dominates your life.

All of our times are in his hands. That's the first lesson that David learned. It's the first lesson. First lesson is to inquire of the Lord.

Second lesson, David refused to be detracted by the detractors. And if you do not have detractors in your life, please come. I'll introduce you for the many that I have and I've had through the years. Through the years, I have detractors all the time. Hear me right. You see, it's one thing you say to the Lord, Lord, I want to discern your mind. I want to discern your will. And it's a whole different thing altogether to allow the detractors to detract you from doing the will of God. It is one thing to pray, Lord, reveal your will to me. And it's a whole different ball game to obey that will unconditionally. It is one thing to inquire of the Lord, but quite another to be willing to pay the price of obeying him. David, after inquiring of the Lord, did not do what many of us tend to do.

He did not turn to his motley crew that I talked about. And you notice, by the way, from last message, there were 400, now 600. The increasing in number. The motley crew.

Always multiply. He did not turn to them and said, well God has spoken, but what do you think? Hello. Actually, in the 21st century, in the post-Christian culture we don't even ask what do you think. We don't think anymore. We say, how do you feel?

Oh, drive me nuts. I'm sorry, but that's the truth. Feeling cannot be trusted. How do you feel about this? God said, but how do you feel about it?

How are you feeling and my feeling had nothing to do with it. David obviously heard from the Lord so clearly. And so he said to this motley crew, he said, guys, let's go. And what did they do? They did what most teenagers do when you ask them to do something.

You know what I'm talking about? Ask them to tidy up their room. That's what they did.

God has spoken. Tidy your room. And then you raise the volume. Tidy your room. And then you threaten that you're going to take the allowance or something and then they begin to move.

Like molasses uphill. David motley crew, they were not excited about going to battle. Don't blame them. Just wait until we see ourselves in them.

Okay? You see, they came to David and they're very happy to receive comfort and joy and peace and encouragement just like us. We are glad to come to the Lord from our distress and our bankruptcies and our dissatisfaction just like those guys did. And just like us, they want to get all that they can get from the Lord, but ooh, spiritual affair?

I didn't sign up for that. Let me just get along. Just let us compromise a little bit here and a little bit there.

Let's not stand up and be obvious. We're all happy to receive the blessings that flow from the hand of the Lord. Oh, but never the stigma that goes with the name of Jesus. Happy to receive salvation. We're happy to receive blessings. We're happy to receive answers to prayer.

We're happy to have joy, peace, and comfort and witness to my co-workers and neighbors. Oh, no, no way. No way. You don't understand, Michael. These are vicious people. They will attack me. They will alienate me.

Cannot afford to pay that price. Don't tell me that the tithe belongs to the Lord. I have needs and I have wants. Don't tell me to serve. I don't have time. I'm busy. God has spoken to us about these issues.

Oh, it's just not for me. As one guy said to me many, many years ago, he said, I'm going to read the Bible and find some loopholes. I said, best of luck. When David faced this opposition from his men, he turned to the Lord a second time. He goes to the Lord a second time. But I don't believe for a moment that he was doubting what God said the first time. Verse four, here's the use of translation if there ever was one. Lord, did I hear you right the first time? God says, not only that you heard me right, get off your blessed assurance and go and fight.

I've already ordered the victory. God ordered the victory. Those who are hiding from the spiritual battle and some people hide from the spiritual battle in the pews of the churches, they have never experienced the thrill of victory. And you notice one thing here. God was not angry when David came to inquire a second time.

No, why? Because our God is a gracious God. Our God is a God who sympathizes with our weakness. Our God is a God who understands our fears and anxieties. Our God is a God who comprehends our need for affirmation. Question, what is really important to God at this point is that David is now learning to inquire of the Lord. That's really what's important to God. He's seeing his servant David is now inquiring of him and not jumping the gun doing his thing.

And that is why David said in Psalm 27 14, wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. And ultimately, the will of God was followed. Now the detractors, which brings me to the third lesson right there in the text.

I'm not breaking it up. Lesson number one is what? Secondly, and thirdly, God's will must be obeyed. God's will must be obeyed. It's like the song said, there is no other way but to trust and obey. First, you seek the mind of God. Secondly, you don't go with the detractors and move away from the will of God.

And thirdly, you obey the will of God. In fact, a story told about a famous British man by the name of Sir Henry Brackenberry. He was envoy of Britain to France. He was having a conversation with this French statesman. The Frenchman said to Sir Henry, I suppose there's only two things a soldier must learn.

He must learn how to march and how to shoot. And Sir Henry looked at him and said, I beg your pardon, your excellency, you left out the most important thing. A soldier must learn to obey. And if we are the soldiers of the living God, we better start learning to obey. Whenever God asked you to do something great for God, I promise you, detractors will be at your heels. Moses had his detractors. It was Korah and company, but he obeyed God. Nehemiah had his detractors, Sambalat, Tobiah, and Geshim, but he obeyed God.

Job had his detractors. Even his wife said, curse God and die, but he obeyed God. Jeremiah had his detractors. The king himself was his detractor, but Jeremiah obeyed God. Elijah had his fair share of detractors, this wicked evil Queen Jezebel and her spineless husband Ahab, but he ultimately obeyed God. Jesus had many detractors, including some of his disciples who did not want him to go to the cross, but he obeyed the Father.

Thank God he did. Paul had his detractors. The Judaizers were nipping at his heels everywhere he went, but he obeyed God. Martin Luther had his detractors.

There was the king and the pope, but ultimately he obeyed God. The fourth lesson, the outcome of the first three. Victory! Victory! When you inquire of the Lord, and when you refuse to listen to the detractors, and when you commit to obeying the will of God in your life, the natural outcome is what? Look at verse five.

Sir David and his men went to kill him, finally. There may be someone here who'll be saying, well Michael, I never receive victory. I pray, I read the Bible, I go to a Bible study, I just don't seem to have victory in my life. Question, are you listening to the word of God?

Are you refusing to be detracted by the detractors, whoever they may be? Are you obeying the word of God? Think about this.

Check and see if one or all three are missing. Somebody else might say, well Michael, I understand what you're saying. I inquire of the Lord, but I don't hear anything.

I really inquire of the Lord. Here's what I think most people listening to the Lord, like a guy on a phone, and the television is at maximum volume, loud. The stereo is bellowing. Lots of people in the room and they're all talking loud. Think about this. And if the phone is away from the base, in the midst of this what is he saying?

What? I can't hear you. Speak louder.

Your voice keeps cutting in and out. Without spending time alone with God, you cannot hear God. The question often asked is, well how can I discern the will of God? And it's a great question.

I'll give you a hint. God will never contradict his word. And he will never ask you to do something that is not consistent with his word. I remember over 30 years ago, the church was just new. And this guy came to me and said, I believe the Lord is telling me to divorce my family.

God says that? Yeah. Well tell me about it. Let me hear. I inquired about anything wrong with his wife, anything with her?

No. I found out he was having an affair. And he wants to divorce his wife and family so he can marry this snookums. Now you got to remember, this is 30 years ago, I was young.

Now I'm older, I'm mature, I'm more demure, I'm more careful with what I say. I looked at the man, I got so close to his face, I said, you're not listening to the Lord, you're listening to the devil. God never contradicts himself. David obeyed God, even when it was unpopular, when he had many oppositions, even when there was a price to pay, even when there was a sacrifice to be made, even when it was not very acceptable, God gave him victory. Verse 14, I'm going to come back to it in a minute. Day after day, Saul searched for David, but God did not give David to his hands. Now I'm going to come back to this, but there's something else very important I want to tell you.

I'm going to come back to this. David had developed the habit of inquiring of the Lord. You see, how do you know that? He's the second time in a very short period of time, second time he comes to the Lord. I cannot tell you how important it is to listen and to inquire of the Lord. Verse 6, Abiathar, the priest, brings the ephod. You remember the ephod is what the high priest wore, it's in the garment of the high priest, and there are two precious stones on the garment of the high priest, one is called the Urum and the Thummim. And the high priest is inquiring of the Lord, Lord, shall we do this? If the answer is yes, those two stones will shine brighter and brighter.

If the answer is no, those stones will go dim. And so verses 7 and 8, look at it with me, 7 and 8, David does not usurp the role of the priest, that's the one thing Saul did and paid heavily for it. But here, he does not usurp it, he said to Abiathar, he said, bring the ephod, let him, the priest, do it to inquire of the Lord. So David said, Lord, I heard that Saul is coming nearby here because Keilah was really close to him and I know that he wants to kill me.

Are these people going to give me up to Saul? And the Lord answered him with clarity, what happens when you develop the habit of inquiring of the Lord? The more you do it, the more of God is clearer.

And if you haven't started, start today. With clarity, God spoke to David. Today we don't have an Urum and Thummim, but we have the Word of God, and we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. And when the Holy Spirit is presiding in your life, listen to me, when the Holy Spirit is not grieved or quenched because of sin and unconfessed sin in my life, when the Holy Spirit not crowded out by human logic and secular thinking and public opinion, then you'll discern the mind of God. When you're willing to sacrifice your opinion, your desire, and your wants, you will hear the voice of God. And you'll hear that small voice the Bible talks about.

This is the way walking in it. In David's case, he asked the Lord, if the people whom he had just delivered from utter destruction, the people whom he had just delivered from the hands of the Philistines, will they betray him? And the Lord said, yes, they will.

They will. David could have done what we often do or like to do, and he would have reacted like many of us would love to react. I helped these people. I delivered these people from destruction. I saved their hides from the Philistines. I have done them a huge favor.

They owe me big time. What do you mean they are going to give me into the hands of Saul? You're going to do what? Deliver me to Saul? But the restored David, the man who started developing trust 101, the man David post the cave of Adullam, prayer closet man, he just quietly leaves. Now I'm going to come back to verse 14.

I told you I'm going to come back to it. Day after day, Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. Now, beloved, let me tell you something. In case you just don't know, the devil is after you every single day. If you love Jesus, he's going to be after you every single day, day after day, and not only you, but yours.

The Bible is very clear that he comes to steal, destroy, and to kill. Wake up to the spiritual war in which we live. But God, but God, can you say it with me? But God, as long as you inquire of the Lord, as long as you refuse to be detracted by the detractors, as long as you're willing to obey the will of the Lord, God upholds you with his right hand. God's victory, beloved, is yours. God's victory is yours.

God's victory is yours. Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for his series A Heart for God on this episode of Leading the Way Audio. And make sure to listen to Dr. Youssef all week for the challenging teaching from the life of David. Inspired to dive deeper into God's Word as you hear about the life of David?

We hope so. And Dr. Youssef's book, A Heart for God, is right where you should start. The book complements everything you're hearing in Dr. Youssef's current series. And you'll be challenged to walk closer with the Savior as you read and study God's Word. Call us now to speak with a helpful ministry representative about A Heart for God when you call us at 866-626-4356.

Get one for yourself and get some extra copies for your friends and your family. 866-626-4356 and ltw.org. Well, it's time for me to say goodbye now, but not before I challenge you to join Dr. Michael Youssef for more Leading the Way Audio. This program is brought to you by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Finette further with audio and video content at ltw.org.