Graduating from the Cave of Troubles (21 of 29)
Series: Christ Our Refuge
John Barnett
As we open to I Samuel 22 this morning, may I remind you of David's situation. God was training David to be King of His people Israel. David had many lessons to learn in order to accomplish all that the Lord had planned for him to do.
But--David had a problem. God wanted to shape him into a better servant but in the critical moment David waffled, and failed the test. Isn't that a situation we have also experienced?
But the lessons that needed to be learned could only come in the school of affliction. Specifically, God had David enrolled in the cave of troubles. This cave in I Samuel 22 was where David would face his personal problems and people with problems that just wouldn't go away.
Now, where had David just arrived from when he entered the Cave at Adullam? David was fleeing from Saul. Remember that all this trouble in David's life started when God took the kingdom from Saul because he refused to live by the new heart God had given him.
God then gave the kingdom to David because David was "a man after [God's] own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14). David pleased God's heart because God pleased David's heart. "I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart," he sang (Ps. 9:1).
David's deepest desire was, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer" (Ps. 19:14).
David prayed, "Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my mind and my heart" (Ps. 26:2).
And, when God told David, "Seek My face," David's heart replied, "Thy face, O Lord, I shall seek" (Ps. 27:8).
So God starts David's technical education, preparing him to be the kind of servant God could use greatly. This involved some painful troublesome times guided by the Hand of the Lord. First he went to Gath, a Philistine city, for help. When he realized that his life was also in danger there, he "acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled ...
Series: Christ Our Refuge
John Barnett
As we open to I Samuel 22 this morning, may I remind you of David's situation. God was training David to be King of His people Israel. David had many lessons to learn in order to accomplish all that the Lord had planned for him to do.
But--David had a problem. God wanted to shape him into a better servant but in the critical moment David waffled, and failed the test. Isn't that a situation we have also experienced?
But the lessons that needed to be learned could only come in the school of affliction. Specifically, God had David enrolled in the cave of troubles. This cave in I Samuel 22 was where David would face his personal problems and people with problems that just wouldn't go away.
Now, where had David just arrived from when he entered the Cave at Adullam? David was fleeing from Saul. Remember that all this trouble in David's life started when God took the kingdom from Saul because he refused to live by the new heart God had given him.
God then gave the kingdom to David because David was "a man after [God's] own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14). David pleased God's heart because God pleased David's heart. "I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart," he sang (Ps. 9:1).
David's deepest desire was, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer" (Ps. 19:14).
David prayed, "Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my mind and my heart" (Ps. 26:2).
And, when God told David, "Seek My face," David's heart replied, "Thy face, O Lord, I shall seek" (Ps. 27:8).
So God starts David's technical education, preparing him to be the kind of servant God could use greatly. This involved some painful troublesome times guided by the Hand of the Lord. First he went to Gath, a Philistine city, for help. When he realized that his life was also in danger there, he "acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled ...
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