Trust in God

This feast we've heard a lot of messages, including from Mr. Kubik and several sermons here, on the need for us to change internally. It's been a theme that has been running through the feast, changing the self, preparing the self, being prepared for what is to come. We know that this feast celebrates something very good to come, and right before that, something really bad to come. But brethren, bad things happen in our lives all the time. Not just when the Great Tribulation happens, but we face personal trials constantly. And through those trials, we learn great things. And we are strengthened, and we grow, and our faith is shored up and made complete. But they're really hard to go through. There's health trials, there's financial trials. One of the most difficult trials that we can go through is betrayal. Betrayal from other human beings. But all trials are difficult to go through. How do we get through them? Well, we heard a great sermonette today. We talked about it. The sermonette and the sermon go very well together. Today I want to give a story of someone that we all look up to, King David. It's one of the lesser-known stories. It's not about Goliath, and it's not about some of the things we think of with David. It's a story right in the middle of his life, and how he dealt with betrayal, and trials, and people trying to kill him constantly, and how he felt about it. We can relate to David with this. We're going to read the story in 1 Samuel 23. We're going to go through it. Mostly I'm just going to tell it. We'll read some of it. But David also told his feelings about this particular trial in a psalm that he wrote. Commentators say that the God is my rock psalm, we sing God is my rock quite frequently. Why did he write that psalm? Well, it was about this story in 1 Samuel 23. And in the psalm, David works through his feelings as he is on the run, and being chased down, and being betrayed by people who should have loved him, and defended him, and stood by him. But instead, they turned on him, and they sought to kill him. And when you see what they did, it's absolutely pathetic. Brethren, this happens to you, too. We live in the same kind of world. It's still the present evil age that Paul talked about. We're still here. How did we make it through? Well, how did he make it through? Let's find out. Give us a clear contrast between the carnal mind and the converted mind, the mind that God wants us to have. If we are going to be in the millennium, and then later, the actual kingdom of God.

In 1 Samuel 23, in the first part, King Saul is busy pursuing David. David has been ordained king by Samuel after Saul dies. So, David is going to take the place of Jonathan, Saul's son. Saul will have none of that. Saul has completely lost his faith in God at this point. He relies on himself. He relies on popular opinion. He's a terrible leader, and he's trying to kill David, and David is on the run. David has a handful of faithful men who are excellent warriors, they're commandos. These men are the cream of the crop soldiers, the mighty men, and they run with David. But they're constantly on the run in hot pursuit by Saul, and they want to lie low. The last thing that these guys want is attention, because Saul doesn't have 600 men. He has the entire army of Israel out looking for them.

So Saul, king of Israel, is trying to kill David, and then a city in Israel comes under attack. The city's name is Kila, and it comes under attack by the Philistines. And apparently Saul's too busy trying to kill David to defend one of his own cities. So David prays to God and asks him, should I go defend this city? God says, yes, you should go defend this city. So David talks to his 600 commandos, we need to go defend this city, and they say, are you crazy? We will get pursued, found, caught, and killed. David prays to God again, are you sure? You want me to go defend this city? God says, go defend the city. David says, saddle up, boys. We're riding in. So David takes his 600 men, and he wants the Philistines. Now, why is that so important that he defend this city? The Philistines, when they raided the city, took the food, took the grain, and took the cattle.

I don't know if you're aware of it, but they didn't have HEV back then. They grew their food. It was an agrarian society. So to take a city's food is a death sentence to that city. Those people's lives were at stake. Yes, they could have borrowed food from other people, but they would have lived a very meager life had they done that. They would essentially have been incredibly poor. And some may have died from malnutrition. So David has a victory. And what happens? Exactly what the 600 men predicted would happen. Saul found out. Immediately Saul rounds up his army and goes down to the city of Kila. He chases David. And so David, does he expect that the people whose lives he just saved will help him, will hide him, will defend him from Saul? Well, he's skeptical. So he prays to God. As God, will these people defend me? God says, get out. They will not defend you. No, they will betray you. Have you ever been betrayed, brethren? Probably have.

And it hurts. It causes great grief, as we will read in just a moment. So David leaves the city. And in 1 Samuel 23, verse 12, it says, Then David asks God, Will the men of Kila deliver me to the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver you. How would you have felt? You didn't have to go and do that for your brothers and sisters. In fact, it was very inconvenient for you to serve your brothers and sisters. And what do they do? They turn and they accuse you. They turn and they do something horrible to you. How do you feel? Well, how do you think David felt? So David and his men, about 600, arose and departed from Kila and went wherever they could go. There he ran. And then it was told to Saul that they had escaped Kila, so he halted the expedition. Saul camps out for a little while. Now let's go to Psalm 31. We know who David was talking about here. He was talking about these people who betrayed him. And what is David's conclusion in the matter? Oh, he was hurt, but he drew a very, very mature conclusion, one that we as Christians can learn from and follow. Psalm 31. Both Jewish and Christian commentators say that Psalm 31 is about the incident that happened in 1 Samuel 23. Psalm 31 and verse 1, the chief musician of Psalm of David, In you, O Lord, I put my trust. That's what this sermon is about today. That is the specific purpose of this sermon. In you, O Lord, I put my trust. Let me never be ashamed. Deliver me in your righteousness. David always defending God, never defending himself. Bow down your ear to me and deliver me speedily. Be my rock of refuge. We will see in a moment why he calls God a rock of refuge. To me, this is very fascinating. So keep that in your mind as we're going through this sermon. Why does he call him a rock? Where did that come from? We're going to find out in just a minute. You, for you, verse 3, are my rock, my fortress. Therefore, for your name's sake, lead me and guide me. Not for my sake. David knew that God's name was on him when Samuel ordained him to be king, anointed him king. God's name was placed on David, and that's what was important to him. And when you were baptized, you took God's name on you. Do we take his name in vain? I don't mean by mouth. I mean by our actions. Do we defend ourselves? Do we rebuke others when we are rebuked? Or do we defend God when David was hotly pursued and was betrayed by people who should have loved him? He defended God. Verse 4, pull me out of the net, which they have secretly laid for me, for you are my strength. No self-reliance there. And we're going to see in just a minute. David could have been self-reliant and might have come out on top. Stay tuned. But he wasn't self-reliant. His attitude was one of relying on God. Into your hand I commit my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth. Why does he say God of truth?

Because everybody around him was lying, constantly accusing him of something. Oh, people do that, don't they? When they want to take sides, one side or the other, we as human beings tend to listen to just one side and not take in the entire picture. And we tend to falsely accuse when we do that. That was constantly happening to David. And you know what? Even though he was a tough guy, a mighty man, a warrior, that really hurt him. It grieved him to the point of depression, as we'll read in just a minute.

But he didn't trust himself to save himself, and he didn't trust other people. He was rightly skeptical of other people, but not of everybody. Why God of truth? Because people made false accusations all the time, but he knew God never would. And he never will to us, either. Brethren, no matter what people say about you, you can always, and I can always, rely on God to know the truth about what's inside us, and he will always care about us. Verse 6 of Psalm 31. I have hated those who regard useless idols, but I trust in the Lord. Why did he say this? Well, he was being falsely accused. People readily make or believe false accusations in order to abandon you when the going gets tough. David is answering his accusers and drawing a contrast between those who trust in physical things to deliver them and those who trust only in God. And he is making a statement here, I hate that! He is standing as far away from idolatry and trusting in physical things as he possibly can, and standing as close to God as he possibly can. And brethren, when we are in sore trial, we need to remember that. Do not rely on the physical to pull us out of a spiritual problem. More on that in just a minute. Verse 7. I will be glad and rejoice in your mercy, for you have considered my trouble, you have known my soul and adversities. A statement of trust. Rejoice in your mercy. Even though he is going through this really hard trial, he trusts the God that he sprang to. And brethren, we need to do that. Oh, he slipped up. We slip up all the time. And we'll see in just a minute. He messed up and didn't trust God just for a little bit. But at this point, as he's writing the Psalm, and we'll see where he was writing the Psalm, where he was when he wrote this down, he remembered that God was a God of mercy. In a trial, know that God is merciful. Remember that. Trust him to extend mercy to you and me. Because a lot of times we don't do that. Oh, I don't deserve your mercy. Yeah, that's why it's called mercy. Of course, we don't deserve it. But he wants to give it. He is merciful. It's not something he does. It's something he is.

We sometimes get hung up on the concept that we don't deserve to be delivered, that God won't deliver. Well, you're right. You don't deserve it. He will deliver anyway. But brethren, it doesn't stop there. Our responsibility doesn't just stop with trusting that God is merciful. Okay, we know that. Now we have to be merciful, too. We have to be merciful to those people who betray us. We have to love them back. Why? Because we are the children of that God who is our rock in whom we trust, who will deliver us. We also must do the same. Now, King David gets a reprieve. Right in the middle of being chased, Jonathan pays him a visit. Jonathan, of all people, the son of Saul, who should have been king. But Jonathan had a similar vision that David had. Jonathan knew that his father was making a huge mistake by trusting in popularity, by trusting in himself. But David trusted God, and so did Jonathan. And Jonathan was willing to step aside and actually aid his friend David, because David was anointed king, not Jonathan. And even Jonathan trusted him. But we can learn something from David's reaction when Jonathan showed up. 1 Samuel 23. Let's pick it up in verse 16. Then Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David in the woods, and strengthened his hand. And he said to him, Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. David, don't worry. My dad's not going to get you. God is with you. And now here comes the most unlikely of friends. The one who he replaced comes and gives him courage. And David doesn't hide from him. David had already proven his friendship with Jonathan. And when David was in great peril, he still received his trusted loyal friend. Continuing on, Even my father Saul knows that, Jonathan said. Verse 18, So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord, and David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his house. In the midst of betrayal and trial, God can send a friend from the most unusual place to you. Accept that friend. Accept that help. A lot of times we isolate ourselves. We're so skeptical of other people, and rightly so, that we don't even accept our own friends. And we end up being the one that creates division. We end up being the grump that nobody can stand to be with.

When we're going through a rough spot, you know what, brethren? We're not the only people on the planet seeking God's will. There are brethren out there who can help you. I know, not everybody who attends church is going to stand by your side.

I am well aware of that. But God will send, oftentimes, someone to strengthen you. Look for it. It might come from the most unusual place. So, in the middle of a trial, accept your proven friends. You're not the only person seeking God's will. Trust God, but don't reject a friend. I believe that God guided Jonathan to strengthen David. I believe God guided his words to say, because David was strengthened by that. Once again, David is on the run.

He flees the forest and goes a long way from the city. But people are constantly finding out where he's at and reporting it to Saul, and trying to get something from Saul for doing it. Saul keeps baiting them and saying, well, prove it. You've got to show me exactly where he is. Make me a map of every trail. Show me everywhere they're hiding. Saul used people against David. So David kept moving on, and he ran to another wilderness. In 1 Samuel 23, verse 24, it says, So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the wilderness of Moam in the plain of the south of Yeshion.

My son is probably laughing at me right now. He took Hebrew. When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore, he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Moam. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the wilderness of Moam. According to the commentary, this is where David wrote the Psalm, Psalm 31. At this time, David takes up a defensive position at the rock, which is a small mountain. Saul hears about it. Someone else sells David out.

And Saul encircles the mountain with his army. Now, David, trying to flee, gets trapped and encircled by one of the most powerful military forces in the area. He is the king of Israel. He has 600 men, and he's on top of a rock. But the 600 men that he's with, let's analyze the situation for a second. They were commandos. Commandos are specially trained by comparison. They weren't called commandos in Hebrew. That's an American term. But commandos are specially trained forces that go in behind enemy lines and destroy a target.

These men were some of the mightiest men in Israel. They could shoot more accurately and farther than your average soldier. They could swing the sword longer and thrust it deeper than your average soldier. And they were in a defensible position. They were on top of a rock. Saul's army was at the bottom. And even though they were way outnumbered, we've seen situations in history where people who were outnumbered defeated massive amounts of men.

Remember King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans who defended Greece from the Persian invasion and the Battle of Thermopylae. And I hope I didn't butcher that one. Many thousands of Persians died at the hand of 300 soldiers who were in a defensible position.

David had 600 soldiers. And he was in a very good position. He could have stood his ground and fought. In fact, he didn't have a choice but to stand his ground and fight. Now let's go back and see Psalm 31, the very first five verses of Psalm 31 again. Read it from the point of view of where David was sitting. He was sitting on a hilltop that's probably smaller than this room we're in. Or maybe just the size of the room we're in, a very small mountain. He had 600 guys lining the edge of the top of that mountain, looking down on soldiers who probably didn't want to go up that mountain and face those men because they knew who David was.

They knew his reputation. And not only was David and his men scared, I am positive that Saul's men were terrified of this situation that was about to happen.

Again, starting in verse 1, In you, O LORD, I put my trust. Let me never be ashamed. Deliver me in your righteousness. Bow down your ear and deliver me speedily. Be my rock of refuge. David didn't rely on himself or his environment. He was on a rock already. But he knew that wasn't good enough. Why did he know that wasn't good enough? Think about it. He was in a no-win scenario. Because even if he defeated Saul, Saul might have died at the hands of his soldiers. And then he would have the blood of God's anointed king on his hands. If Saul caught him, he and his men would surely be dead. If he won, he would have rebelled against God. He was in the no-win scenario. So he didn't rely on himself. He relied on God. God was his rock.

This is the contrast in Psalm 31. Everyone else was trying to save their own neck, betraying David, running back and forth to Saul, tattletailing on where his location was. And David wasn't relying on himself. What about you and me? We face trials all the time. And yes, Mr. Kubik warned us, huge trials are about to come on this entire earth. We don't know when, we just know they're coming.

Are you prepared? Do you have a bunker with food? It's fine if you do, but I hope you don't rely on that. Have you buried your guns? Are you ready? I hope you don't rely on that. Because that is not what God is looking for from our heart.

What do you do when you feel betrayed? Do you rely on yourself? What did David do? Psalm 31. Let's go to verse 8. Psalm 31 and verse 8. And have not shut me up in the hand of my enemy, you have set my feet in a wide place. In the midst of a trial, David looked back to his past, and this is one of the keys to David's faith.

He looked back at what God had already done for him, and gave God credit that God would do that again. He trusted him. Brethren, God has given us ample evidence that he will take care of us. He has pulled us through several personal trials. Unless you're a very young person and have never gone through a trial yet, don't worry, you will. And you will be okay. God will get you through it. Because God has gotten us through many horrific trials, and he will get us through the ones coming in the future. Now, David, standing on this rock, looking down at several thousand soldiers, all of which willing to take his life, even though he is the future anointed king of Israel, looks down and remembers what God did for him in the past. We tend to live in a now. We are forgetful when we get in the middle of a trial. We focus on the trial, and then we tend to become self-reliant.

Rather, we should look back at what God has done for us in the past. It gave David courage. It gave him the courage to ask God to give him a wide place to walk. It will give us strength and courage, too. When you are in the middle of a trial, look at the past, at what God has done for you. Give him credit. He will do it again. Verse 9. I love this part. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble. My eyes waste with grief. Yes, my soul and my body. For my life is spent with grief, my years with sign. My strength fails because it's everybody else's fault. Nope. Because of my iniquity and my bones waste away. He was in grief, brethren. Yes, we are to love and forgive, but when people betray you, face your feelings. King David put them all on his sleeve for us to read. He was in grief. It hurt. Don't deny that. We tend to deny that because we're supposed to turn the other cheek. And we are supposed to turn the other cheek. You've got to work through it. You have to face your grief. Women don't tend to bury it, but men do. We tend to compartmentalize our feelings. So what we'll do is we'll say, I don't want to deal with that right now. So we take that feeling out of our mind and we put it in a little box on a shelf. And we don't deal with it. But it's still there. Still nagging us. And until we deal with it, there is no way we can forgive the other person. David faced his grief immediately. He didn't compartmentalize it and put it away. And David wasn't a wimp. He was a mighty soldier. But he dealt with his feelings. Men, we have to do that. When we are betrayed, when we face sore trial, don't tuck it away. Deal with it. But notice he goes on and he doesn't blame the other people. This is maturity. This is what God is looking for in us. He said, my strength fails because of my iniquity.

Pour your feelings out to God, brethren. He will listen. He will console. He will defend. David never claimed to be a perfect man. One of King David's greatest strengths is that he could admit his faults. And we must always be that way. Not just at baptism, brethren. Yes, we do that at baptism. But we have to live a life of growing towards the kingdom of God, which means we have to face. We are not perfect. We have faults. And we have to accept responsibility for those faults. And when we're pouring our feelings out to God, we're not blaming other people. We're asking God for help and we're asking Him for forgiveness.

David wasn't defensive about himself, but rather he defended God. He was really someone to look up to. And he asked for God to defend him. We tend to take the low road.

I don't deserve this. Why me, Lord? And we tend to blame other people. We don't have time for that in a trial. We just don't. That's like the self-destruct button. I don't know if you all have seen the Disney show Phineas and Ferb, but some of my children watch it. It's a cartoon. It's a silly cartoon. There's very little redeeming value whatsoever. There is this antagonist, the bad guy in the story, Dr. Heinz Dufenschmerz. He is a real doof. Dufenschmerz is always making some evil contraption. And the idiot is always putting a self-destruct button on this contraption. Why would you put a self-destruct button on your own contraption so that the hero can come in and escape from your trap and push the button? Well, that's what we do. We are Dufenschmerz so often, brethren. And what button do we push? The self-pity button. It's a big red button that we put right on our nose. And when we get into a trial, we push that button. Self-pity. Why me? Somebody else's fault. You know, honestly, trials are other people's fault, too, sometimes. But wallowing in pity just leaves us in the trial, and David understood that. And David desperately wanted out of this trial. He was in a no-win situation, and he knew. Self-pity was going to get him nowhere. He wasn't blaming Saul. He wasn't blaming the people who were chasing after him and telling Saul where he was. He bowed his knees before God and said, God, I'm in trouble. My iniquities have taken my strength. Please get me out of here. No self-destruct button. Don't be a doofenshmirtz. When you're going through a trial, self-pity will only increase our pain. It may be someone else's fault. Doesn't matter. Will not get us out of a trial. Don't have time for the self-destruct button. Let's move on in Psalm 31.

Verse 11.

I am a reproach among all of my enemies. Now David starts to talk about what everybody is doing to him and how he feels about it. But especially among my neighbors. I am repulsive to my acquaintances. Those who see me outside flee from me. The people who should have stood by him were going to have nothing to do with him because it would get them in trouble.

That's human nature, brethren. That's what happens to us. Verse 12. I am forgotten like a dead man, he says. Out of mind. I'm like a broken vessel. You know, you break a dish. What do you do with a dish that you break? Trash. That's how he felt.

For I hear the slander of many. Fear is on every side. When people get scared, they turn on you.

While they take counsel together against me, they scheme to take away my life. What's the easiest way to solve a problem? To get rid of the person who's in trouble. That's human nature. And David just felt horrible about that. People do despicable things. David was betrayed by people. He risked his life to save. Constantly pursued by people, trying to get in good with Saul, the current man in power. Boy, have we seen that in our lives over and over again. But what did David do in this situation? Verse 14, But as for me, I trust in you, O Lord. I say, you are my God. My times are in your hand. Now, that's an amazing statement. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, from those who persecute me. That is a yielding statement. My time, you are my God. My time is in your hands. My time is not in my hand. My life is not up to me. That is a mature Christian.

No self-reliance was in his heart. Brethren, how do we rely on ourselves in this day and age? What do we do when we get into trouble? We tend to fall back on the past addictions, past bad habits. We try to solve the problem or get out of the problem ourselves, and it generally leads to more trouble. It leads us into more pain, whether it be alcohol or drugs or some sexual habit, maybe pornography. Maybe we just become a vegetable in front of the TV instead of taking life on. We just quit and back out of everything. We tend to rely on ourselves. That is human nature. David did something awesome. He did the opposite. He could have defended himself. Just stood on the edge of that rock, looked down at Saul, and said, Bring it, buddy! I dare you! Instead, he was on his knees, writing a song, saying, And you, I trust, O God, you are my rock. Listen to the trust that is in this song. Make your face shine upon your servant. Save me for your mercy's sake. Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon you. Let the wicked be ashamed. Let them be silent in the grave. Oh, he was very clear-minded. We don't pray against people. Matthew 5, 43, 45. Love your neighbor and hate your enemy is what men say. But Jesus said in verse 44, But I say to you, Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. So how can we apply what David just said in our lives? Because we understand that we're not fighting against people in this walk of life. David was. We're not. Our battle is an internal one, as much as it is an external one. Our battle is inside, and we fight against Satan and his demons. Ephesians 6, verse 12, Paul says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Our battle isn't against the people that betray us. Our battle is against our own human nature inside, and Satan wants to rev that human nature up.

But we do need to notice something and follow David's example. He wasn't nice. And I just did air quotes for those who are listening. We don't do air quotes anymore, do we? I think that went out in the 80s. Christianity is not about being nice, because being nice can be false and insincere. And a Christian is wholehearted and sincere. David was not nice, but he was loving. When he was king later, he didn't punish that city. He ruled over and protected all of Israel. With his life, he put his life on the line, all of his life, for Israel. But when it came down to a problem, he called it like it was. And brethren, that's what we need to do, too. We don't need to be nice. In Texas, there's a saying, oh, bless your heart. Now, that seems nice. But that could be nice, and it could be evil at its core.

When they're looking at a little girl playing on a blanket with a dolly, and they say, oh, bless your heart, that's nice. When you do something and you see fire behind those eyes, and they say, oh, bless your heart, you better run.

Brethren, being nice is not always being loving. Being nice can be very false. We must make sure that we are sincere. Sometimes that means saying it like it is. King David was very, very plain spoken. Pray for all the people who were involved in a trial that you're in, because they're the people that we're going to train in the world tomorrow. Remember, everybody that you come in contact with is a potential brother or sister for eternity, and we need to think about them that way. But we don't need to condone sin, brethren. We don't need to just be nice when it's phony. King David never was, never was phony. Always called it like it was. Verse 18 of Psalm 31.

Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. Oh, how great is my goodness! No. That wasn't the point of David's rant against people who were doing things against him. Because what they were doing against him, they were actually doing against God, and he understood that. David wasn't focused on himself when he recognized that other people were betraying him. It grieved him. It hurt him. But the biggest thing that bothered him was that they were against God. Oh, how great is your goodness! he prays to God. Which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have prepared for those who trust in you. In the presence of the sons of men, David looked to the future. We look to the future. A bright day is coming. Remember, today is just the training ground. You may be going through a really bad trial right now. You may have just come through out of a bad trial, and you're thankful that you're out of it. Or you might face a trial in the future. Either way, a very, very bright day is coming, and we can hold on to that, delivered to us by God himself.

How great a reward is coming in the future. David saw that, and it helped him when he was in the middle of a trial. So not only did he accept a friend that came in and helped him, not only did he look back to the past and see what God did for him in the past, he also looked in the future, and he had hope. No matter how this comes out, I've got a bright future ahead. Full steam ahead. Let's go. Let's keep our eye on the future as David did. And then in verse 20 he says, You, with total confidence in God, listen to this, you shall hide them in a secret place of your presence from the plots of man. Remember where he's standing when he says, God, you're going to hide me. There are several thousand soldiers around him. And what does he say? Please hide me. No, he says you're going to hide me. You shall hide them in the secret place of your presence from the plots of man. You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, for he has shown me his marvelous kindness in a strong city. Brethren, we will be betrayed by people. We will be hurt by false accusation. This too shall pass. God will get us through. What we need to do is trust him.

For I said in my haste, verse 22, I am cut off before your eyes. Oh, he wasn't perfect in trial either. King David goofed just as much as we goof. He got in the middle of this trial and he was running through the wilderness and he said, God forgot all about me! But he quickly repented of that and he admits it here in the psalm. For I said in my haste, I am cut off before your eyes. That's not even possible. But we say that, don't we?

Nevertheless, you heard the voice of my supplication when I cried to you. Brethren, when we make a mistake like that, God doesn't throw us in the trash. King David goofed and said, oh, you're not even watching me anymore.

Dept into self-pity just a little bit. God just picked him up, dusted him off and moved him along. That's what God does. We can trust him. We all do that. Oh, God has forgotten me. Just cry out to God. He's so quick to forgive that. He will never, ever drop us, brethren. Deuteronomy 31. Paul quotes this in Hebrews. Deuteronomy 31. Moses says, to the second generation of Israelites, the ones that came out of Egypt are already dead. This is 40 years later. Moses says, okay, now it's your turn. Hopefully you'll pay attention. Verse 6, Be strong and of good courage. Do not fear nor be afraid of them. For the Lord your God, He is the one who goes with you, and He will not leave you nor forsake you. God's got your back, the creator of the universe, who knows when every little sparrow falls to the ground.

Loves you and me. Where are His kids? If you have kids, you don't love them anywhere near as much, and neither do I, as God loves you and me. And I love my kids a whole bunch, and God loves us more. He will never leave us, never forsake us. And David realized that immediately when he said, oh, God has forgotten me. He cried out to God, and God hurt him, and picked him up, dusted him off, moved him on his way. Okay, back to Psalm 31. Almost done. Psalm 31 verse 23.

O, love the Lord. Middle of a trial. Saul's about to kill him. And David is so encouraged at this point. This is amazing.

How would you feel at this point? Oh, yeah, I'm not saying you wouldn't have faith. But would you have this much faith where you're surrounded by soldiers who literally want to kill you? I bet some of you would be this way. And some may not. But we all need to get here. Where they're surrounding you to kill you, and you say this in the middle of this trial. O, love the Lord.

All you his saints. For the Lord preserves the faithful and fully repays the proud person. Could you look down on that army and say that? With the help of God, you actually could. That's why I'm actually giving this sermon. It is possible. It is actually how we are supposed to think in the middle of a trial. Be of good courage, he says, verse 24, and he shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord. So what happened? How did the story end? David, who was in a no-win situation, if he was captured, he was dead.

If he won, he kills God's anointed. But he didn't rely on himself. Let's go back and pick up the end of the story. First Samuel, chapter 23, verse 26. So Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side of the mountain. So David made haste to get away from Saul.

For Saul and his men were encircling David and the men to take him. So now David is surrounded on this rock. But a messenger came to Saul, saying, Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land. God sent an army, the calvary, in this case the enemy, and attacked somewhere else. Saul would have lost his entire kingdom had he not responded.

Saul is too busy down there chasing David, so God sends the Philistines somewhere else. Now Saul has to leave. That's the way God works it out. Nothing David did, because there was nothing David could have done. God intervened and made it so Saul had to walk away. Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David and went against the Philistines. So they called that place the Rock of Escape. Then David went up from there and dwelt in the strongholds of Inge and was not relying on ourselves when we were in a trial.

But giving ourselves over to God, giving our life to Jesus Christ, not in word, not in lip service, but literally when the chips are down, we trust our rock, God and Jesus Christ, the rock of our salvation. Galatians 2, verse 20. Paul says, I am crucified with Christ. My life is over. That's what that means. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I. I'm reading this from the Old King James because it reads more accurately.

I'm not reading the New King James right here. This is the Old King James. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.

The same faith that Jesus Christ had in God the Father, in order to go through the beating and the crucifixion and to have his side stabbed with a spear and still forgive those people. That's the faith that Paul is talking about here. God is my rock. There is no betrayal that I cannot get through because he will see me through.

And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. David lived the example of that Scripture. Galatians 2, verse 20. There was no self-reliance in him. Don't rely on yourself, and I'll try to do the same this coming year. When we're in a trial, don't depend on your past addictions. Don't reject your trusted friends, but rather accept them. Look to the past at what God has done for you and give him credit. He's going to do it again. And look to the future that he is a great rewarder of those who love him and follow him. Trust in God, brethren, for God is our rock.