Praising God is a matter of obedience. And the test of obedience isn’t when you feel like obeying, but when you don’t.
Sermon Title: VIEW FROM THE CAVE
Sermon Text: 1 SAMUEL 18:6-16 (NIV)
Sermon Series: FLIP SIDE: STUDY OF THE LIFE OF DAVID
By: PTR NIC SY
Sermon Notes:
1 SAMUEL 22:1a NIV
1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. …
1 SAMUEL 19:10 NIV
10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.
1 SAMUEL 19:17 NLT
17 “Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy escape?” Saul demanded of Michal. “I had to,” Michal replied. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him.”
1 SAMUEL 21:13 NIV
13 So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
We can look for someone or something to lean on, or we can lean on God and God alone.
PSALMS 142:1-7 NIV
1 A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.
I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
2 I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.
3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.
5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.
PSALMS 57:1-11 NIV
1 For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; Selah God sends his love and his faithfulness.
4 I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts-- men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
6 They spread a net for my feet-- I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path-- but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
8 Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
DAVID NEVER GAVE UP ON GOD
PSALMS 142:1,5-6 NIV
1 A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.
I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
PSALMS 57:1-2 NIV
1 For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.
“The caves have heard the best prayers.”
Charles Spurgeon
David knew that nothing and no one could fulfill his longing but God.
“There is no cave so deep, so dark, but we may out of it send up our prayers, and our souls in prayer, to God.”
Matthew Henry
DO YOU TURN TO GOD WHEN THE BOTTOM DROPS OUT?
DAVID LEANS ON GOD
PSALMS 142:5 NIV
5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
PSALMS 57:1 NIV
1 For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
Knowing God as our refuge enables us to find our security in him.
PSALMS 18:2 NIV
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
“[God is] the only significance you can have. He’s the only love that you can get and can’t lose.”
Dr. Addison Leach
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN RELYING ON?
PSALMS 142:3 NIV
3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me.
PSALMS 57:2 NIV
2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.
“God is consistent, but he is also unpredictable. He is consistent in his nature. You always know where you are with God, but you seldom know what he is going to do next. You cannot find security in what God is doing. There is only security in who God is.”
Graham Cook
DAVID EXALTED GOD
PSALMS 142:7 NIV
7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.
PSALMS 57:5,9 NIV
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
Praise is a matter of intentionality.
Praising God is a matter of obedience.
And the test of obedience isn’t when you feel like obeying,
but when you don’t.
ISAIAH 43:20-21 NIV
20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU PRAISE GOD?
Praise is a matter of testifying about who God is.
PSALMS 105:2 NIV
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
EPHESIANS 5:19-20 NIV
19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
DO YOU LOVE CORPORATE WORSHIP?
“Sometimes God lets you hit rock bottom so that you will discover
Tony Evans
that he is the Rock at the bottom.”