Join Amir from Ein Gedi, Israel, as he explores the life of King David and unveils the key to his triumph – a deep connection with God and attentiveness to His voice. Embrace David’s example by seeking God’s guidance, listening to His voice, and obeying His commands to lead a righteous life. You can find a written document of this teaching here. https://cdn.amplifi.pattern.com/9d6b0…
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Good morning from Ein Gedi, the spring of the young goat.
That’s what Ein Gedi means.
Ein is spring.
Gedi in Hebrew is the young goat.
But it’s not just a goat.
It’s not a domesticated goat.
We’re talking about the wild goats.
We’re talking about those goats known as the Ibex.
The Nubian Ibex.
We can see them all year round here in this location.
Mostly because there’s a source of freshwater right here.
It enables not only those wild goats to be here, but also various types of birds and even the Rock badgers, the Conies.
This is the place where Conies and the Ibex meet together.
There’s no other place in Israel like that.
We find Conies from here all the way up north to Caesarea Philippi.
And we find Ibex from here all the way down south to Eilat.
But this is the meeting point of the two of them right here.
And that is interesting because in Psalm 104 it says that the high hills are for their wild goats and the rocks are the refuge for the rock badgers.
So David must have written those words with Ein Gedi in his mind, right here.
This place is known as a place of life, as a place of vegetation, gardens.
We know that Solomon had beautiful gardens here.
He talked about the Henna blooms from the vineyards or the gardens of Ein Gedi.
This is also the scene of a very interesting battle that took place here, according to 2nd Chronicles,
chapter 20, which we will touch, along with the message here this morning.
But the figure or the Bible character that we would like to talk about this morning here from Ein Gedi, right next to this waterfall,
which is, by the way, the last of several falls, originating over from the very top as an ongoing spring of water that flows all year round.
There is a water-carrying layer in an aquifer that had been exposed because of the earthquake that caused the Dead Sea basically to be created.
All that which is between these mountains behind me and the mountains beyond the Dead Sea sank.
And many in many places, just like here, water carrying layers have been exposed.
And water started coming out of the ground and, as you can clearly see, it’s all year round.
Now, of course, when we have rainy season the stream will be much stronger.
When we have summertime or drought season, it might be a little slower.
But there was never in history time, at least not in biblical history, a time when Ein Gedi was not a living source of drinking water.
And here we are in this beautiful nature reserve.
And we are sitting right here and we want to talk about one of God’s most favorite biblical figures and that’s David himself.
We all learned that David was a younger ruddy-haired person.
We know he was good-looking, but he was a very small, tiny figure of a person, who definitely stood in contrast to King Saul,
who was higher, taller above all the people, very good-looking as well.
And we can clearly see that there is a much bigger difference between the two than just the outward-looking, just the outlook outward appearance.
David was a man after God’s own heart.
David was chosen by God, while Saul was chosen by men.
And that alone can give you a contrast between the choices of men and the choices of God, the ways of man and the ways of God.
And one of the things that I love about David is that he really had the courage and the guts to say the right things at the right time without having any fear of
what people might think of him or what circumstances were in front of him.
And as David was taking the sling and was picking up those smooth stones from the brook of the Elah Valley.
David was coming just before Goliath and he told him something very significant.
He said to him in 1st Samuel 17, in verse 46, towards the end of that verse, he said 46, towards the end of that verse, he said on doing that,
“Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”
But even before that David was so interested that the people would know, “that all the earth may know, that there is a God in Israel.”
All the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
David realized one thing: the people do not acknowledge the presence of God, the existence of God, the sovereignty of God,
that the way God operates the people actually prefer to rely on their own strength and their own weapons and their own minds and their own brains.
And David, having experienced all those things at his very young age, having the lion and the bear,
struck by a jawbone and understanding that he can do all things if God is with him, David acknowledged the presence of God in all of his ways.
And, therefore, we come to the point where David, boldly, is picking up a smooth stone and he says in front of the whole world, “I want you, Mr. Goliath,
to know that through what is going on here, the whole Earth should know that there is a God in Israel,” which means that that which was done in the Valley of Elah
was not just for the eyes of the Israelites at the Valley of Elah, and not just for the Philistines, it was that the whole Earth would know that there is a God in Israel.
Now make no mistake.
The minute you acknowledge the sovereignty of God, the omnipresence of God, the all-powerful or powerful nature of God, you bless the heart of God.
But you started a war with Satan himself.
And, from that moment on, we see in the life of David the King, we see how God was working in him.
And how Satan is the one who’s trying to bring an end to David.
So, in 1st Samuel, we see that David in all boldness is declaring that there is a God.
He is the God of Israel and in His name, David is going to win the battle.
And then we’re introduced in chapter 18 to another godly person, Jonathan, the son of King Saul.
Isn´t that interesting, that when we follow God and when we walk in God’s ways and when we belong to God’s people,
we have an immediate connection with God’s people all over the world, with God’s people from other families and other nations and other tongues and other tribes?
And, here we are.
David comes from the tribe of Judah.
We know that Saul is from the tribe of Benjamin.
And we know that two different tribes, two different, maybe, accents, two different types of social status.
I mean you’re talking about one who is in the lowest level, of being a shepherd, and one who is the son of a king.
And, yet, there is a connection.
The Bible says that Jonathan’s soul “was knit to the soul of David.
And Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”
So, we can clearly see that even when Paul the Apostle was traveling all around the world, and bear in mind, he was traveling, mostly visiting non-Jewish congregations,
non-Jewish groups of people, that, by all means, should not really be the biggest fans of Israel of those days.
And yet there was such an amazing connection and there was such a bond.
And every time Paul was about to leave he was on his knees.
And they were on their knees, and they were praying, and they were crying, “We may not see each other again.”
But there’s such an amazing bond.
I was just in Rome and we entered that little tiny church in Rome and we shared the Word of God there.
And we don’t know them.
They don’t know us, but there was such an amazing spirit because we are broadcasting on the same frequency.
And that frequency is the frequency of the presence of God, manifested through the presence of the Holy Spirit in that room.
And David and Jonathan had that in common.
You know, you can see how Jonathan was, in a way, the advocate of David in the house of Saul.
And so, here we are.
We clearly see that there is a great knit, a great connection between two people on the spiritual level.
And then there is a great animosity between the flesh and the spirit.
Interesting enough, how in verse 8 of chapter 18, the Bible says, verse 8 of chapter 18, the Bible says, “Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him;
and he said, ‘They have ascribed to David ten thousand, and to me, they have ascribed only thousands.
Now what more can he have but the kingdom?’
And Saul eyed David from that day forward.”
Saul, somehow in his spirit, he knew, “I’ll never be as good as David.”
In fact, later on, the Bible says, in verse 14, “And later on the Bible says, in verse 14, ‘And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.”
This is exactly what Saul lacked, the wisdom, because of what Saul lacked, the wisdom, because of the lack of the presence of God in his life.
And oftentimes I can tell you, even as believers, you can go to church.
You can go to Christian community.
You can go to, so to speak, a Christian environment.
Yet, people will envy you and be jealous of you.
Why?
Because you walk in the ways of God.
You have the presence of God.
Therefore you are very wise in the way you behave, in the way you handle yourself.
And because some people may call themselves Christian, yet not have the Holy Spirit,
yet not have that wisdom, yet not have that great, amazing experience with God, they will envy you.
They will be jealous.
You see, you cannot be born a Christian.
This is not something you can be born with.
Jesus, himself, said to Nicodemus, “One cannot enter the kingdom unless he is born again.”
And unless you’re born again, unless the Spirit of God is now giving you that birth, unless the Spirit of God is now coming inside you,
unless you’re a new creation, you will not enter the kingdom.
And that amazing wisdom that David had, and he did have wisdom, we can clearly see, in Psalm 111, in verse 10,
he speaks of how “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom.”
If you want to be wise, yeah, you can read books.
Yeah, you can go into seminary.
Yeah, you can just accumulate one title after the other.
You can have all the walls in your house full of degrees, but if you don’t have the Spirit of God, you don’t even have the beginning of wisdom.
And it’s interesting because what do we know about David?
He was a shepherd, certainly not an educated person, certainly not a sophisticated person, certainly not someone who can be esteemed by people.
But what is it that David had?
He had the presence of God.
He had the Spirit of God.
His spirit that he cherished so much that when he was caught in crime and when he was confronted with that crime he said,
“Please do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
I cannot move.
I cannot go.
I cannot do anything without your spirit.”
And so David is wise.
Not only that David was wise, in the same chapter, first Samuel 18, you see that people were drawn to him.
You see people were drawn to him.
Why?
The Bible says, “All of Israel,” in verse 16, “And Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.”
He was a man that was a common man.
He was not sitting on his ivory tower.
He was not behaving like he’s above reproach.
That he’s there and no one can touch him.
Nobody can say anything to him.
Often I think about the great difference between Peter, who is considered by the Catholic churches the first pope, and the Pope.
I’m thinking about an amazing fisherman from Galilee.
And I’m thinking about someone who sits in an unbelievable palace with art pieces that are worth billions of dollars.
And I’m thinking to myself, “Wow!”
God wants us to have our feet on the ground.
God wants us to be common people, very, very friendly, approachable.
And people who understand other people.
You know, I often see pastors that, you know, they build themselves a nice office that is completely detached from people.
I want to tell you that David was loved by the people.
And Saul could see that.
So, it’s not just the wisdom.
It’s also the character of the person.
It’s also who he is and how he conducted himself at that time.
And it’s interesting because David was presented with Michal.
I really don’t know how you call her and I don’t care.
Her name was Michal.
How do you call her?
Michael?
Oh my!
What a way to butcher a name.
Well, she was Michal and Michal is the daughter of the King.
And I must say, she must have been so pretty.
Why?
Because when Saul was there to present his daughter and Saul is actually inviting David to his household.
In verse 18, “David says to Saul, ‘Who am I?
And what is it in my life or my father’s family in Israel that I should be son-in-law to the king?'”
What a humble man.
Remember how Moses told God, “Who am I that you want me to go and deliver the people of Israel?”
That’s why.
Exactly because you’re asking “Who am I?”
I want you.
It’s not because I know who I am.
I know you can use me.
No, because you think you cannot be used.
Probably, then I can use you.
We have to be broken in order to be used by God.
You know, Peter throughout the time with Jesus and Jesus’s appearance, his head was so big, thinking, you know, I know it.
Caesarea Phillipi, you’re the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of Living God and then his head was going bigger and bigger.
And then Jesus talks about his soon death.
And Peter says, “You should not talk like that, Lord.”
You know, suddenly he rebukes Jesus.
And he’s talking about who will sit next to Jesus in the kingdom and all of that.
Well, Peter had to be broken in order to be able to be used.
And that’s what we see in John 21, a broken Peter, and Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me?”
And only now, “Tend my sheep.
Feed my sheep.
Now you can lead, when you really know you’re nothing and when you really rely all on me, I can use you now.”
And so David is asking, “Who am I?”
Isn’t that interesting that David shows humility when he asked, “Who am I?”
But what was it that Saul had in his mind when he presented the daughter?
He had something else in mind.
The Bible says in verse 19, “But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter,
should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholahite as a wife.”
And then, the Bible says in verse 21, “So Saul said, ‘I will give her to him (about Michal, yes?)
I will give her to him that she may be a snare to him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.'”
You see, Saul was willing to give his daughter to a man he didn’t like and didn’t appreciate, a man he hated, so she will be a snare from day one and the very beginning.
All that, all those smiles and the candy-coated words.
All of that was just to pretend that you liked him.
But, in his mind, all that Saul wanted was that David will die, is that David will be defeated.
But I want you to understand that when we move to chapter 19, we see something quite remarkable.
We see a pattern in Saul’s behavior.
You see, we already talked about the fact that now after defeating Goliath, David is asked to be part of the family.
He is given the daughter of the king.
He is now part of the family.
We all know that from that moment on, in chapter 18, he tried to kill him.
In chapter 19, he tries to kill him.
And we see that we’re coming to chapter 19 and Jonathan comes to Saul in the field and he told David, “Look, I’m going to talk to my father.
Don’t worry.
I’ll make sure that all will be resolved.
And he goes to his father and he says to him, in verse 4, “Let not the King sin against his servant, against David,
because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you.
For he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel.
You saw it and rejoiced.
Why then you will sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?”
Wow!
What an amazing, sobering speech, a son gives to his sobering speech, a son gives to his father.
And then look at what Saul says.
“So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore.”
Now watch this.
Saul swore in the Bible swearing, it’s not cussing.
It’s actually swearing is to be committed to the words that come out of your mouth, with all diligence, and with all sincerity, and with all seriousness.
And then, we’re talking about Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed.
As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed.”
Isn´t that interesting?
Three verses later, he tried to kill him.
Now why am I saying that?
It’s a pattern in his life.
It’s a pattern because every time Saul repents, every time Saul promises something, a promise with Saul is not a promise and repentance with Saul is not repentance.
We’re going to see in chapter 24 that we are in this place.
How Saul, once again, said something, repented, promised something and then he wouldn’t keep it in the next chapter.
But I want you to understand, unless you are born from above unless you have the Holy Spirit, your words will be always empty.
Your promises would not be able to be carried out because you cannot do these things.
You cannot control yourself and your flesh. It’s the Holy Spirit that can take over.
And I always say, “The more spirit you have, the less flesh.
The more fleshy you are, the less spiritual you are.
It’s like a glass of water.
The more you fill it with water, the less air is left there.
Then the less water, the more air.
With this, that’s it.
We are containers.
And so we have that point where Saul starts this whole promising and swearing and saying stuff.
And yet, he’s not really into being serious about it.
And then we come to chapter 23, and one of my favorite chapters, because in chapter 23, we see something phenomenal.
The Bible says in chapter 23, and bear in mind, we’re coming to the Philistines.
And the people of Israel and in verse 2, we find the secret which, I will say, is the topic of this message, the secret of David’s life, starting with verse 2,
“Therefore David inquired of the Lord.”
It’s a very simple thing.
“David inquired of the Lord.”
This is one of my favorite chapters because, literally, David not only never doubted that God is with him, he talked to him.
And he asked him not, you know, “Bless my whole life Lord, bless my wife, bless my family, bless my church.”
He asked him specific things.
“God,” it’s almost like a GPS.
It’s almost like Siri.
“God, okay, should I turn right or left?”
And God says, “Right.”
“Okay, God, now I reached that point.
Where do I go for…”
“Turn left.”
“Thank you, Lord.”
And you know what?
I’m driving, and I don’t know what the situation of traffic, so I’m using the Israeli app called “Waze.”
No, you know it’s Israeli-made.
All over the world, they’re using it.
And I learned that Waze is always more accurate than any other report because they get live feed from drivers.
So they know this road is now blocked, whereas your GPS will tell you to use this road because it’s the shortest way.
But Waze will tell you “Don’t.
There is a traffic jam.”
So Waze will be more reliable than your regular GPS.
And I kind of learned that Waze is probably the best way to lean… or the best thing to lean on when you get into your car.
The Bible says, “The Lord will direct you in all your ways.”
Isn´t that interesting?
That we can ask God even a simple direction and all you need to do is inquire of God and not be faithless and doubtful.
And David was asking God, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?
And the Lord said to David, ‘Go and attack the Philistines.’
Isn´t that beautiful?
And so we move on and then David is asking again.
The Bible says, “Then David inquired of the Lord once again,” in verse 4.
Wait a minute, he just inquired of the Lord in verse 2.
Yeah, but you know that the Lord is with you.
And we really need to know directions.
You’re not limited to five questions.
So, in verse four, he inquired him again.
And he’s asking him, “Should I do this or that?”
“And the Lord said, “Arise go down to Keilah.
For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
Isn’t that beautiful?
And in verse 10, “Then David said, ‘O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake.
Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand?
Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard?
O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.’
” Isn’t that beautiful?
“And the Lord said, ‘He will come down.’
And then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me?’
And the Lord said, ‘They will deliver you.’
“Isn’t that great?
There is no messing around.
Just to the point.
Will he come?
Yes, he will.
Will they deliver me?
Yes, they will.
Which, in other words, “Get out of here.”
And so he did.
And now, we’re in chapter 24 and now we’re in Ein Gedi.
So we see a young man and how he moves to be a leader of now 600 guys, 600 men and, may I say to you, I have a big problem with the guys that surrounded David.
They were not what we call the “creme de la creme.”
They were not the best of the best.
These people had their own reason why they are with David.
They had a problem with the tax authority.
They had a problem with the police.
They had a problem with their family members.
They had a problem, problem, problem, problem, problem.
And they are hanging around a man who is so far away from all of these things, who listens to the voice of God.
And he’s following God’s direction: literally, turn right, turn left, go up, go down, flee and go.
And these people are with him because they know one thing: it’s much better to be with him than to be with the king who is seeking to kill us.
So, they’re with him.
It’s probably by default.
And now, the Bible says that Saul is on his way, and we know already from day one that Saul always chose the best of the best, the strongest of the strongest.
Saul always chose the best of the best, and the greatest of the greatest, and the strongest of the strongest.
Why?
Because what was he counting on?
Who was he leaning on?
His own strength, his own mind, his own brain.
So, he’s with three thousand, five times of what David had.
Three thousand superheroes, commanders, Delta Force, and David is stuck with six hundred murmuring people who had problems upon problems upon problems.
But he’s not really…
Think about it.
Take a look at what the church is all about.
The church is not full of people that are so great and strong and relying on their own strength and their own wealth.
The church is full of people that are beaten by life, smitten by sin.
They hit the rock bottom.
These people, oftentimes because of that situation, made it to the church.
I know one thing: God never called me to be a pastor.
He called me to teach.
And to be a teacher is completely different.
And I know one thing: you better find out what your gift is and stick to it.
Because if you have the wrong character and you don’t have the calling to be a pastor,
and you want to be a pastor, and you are being a pastor, you’re doing a lousy job.
Because that’s not who you are.
And I can tell you, “pastor” is a great title, but it bears so much responsibility, headache and so much care, and so much wisdom, that you may not have.
God gives everyone their own gift.
So I must confess I don’t have the gift of pastoral care.
And I often travel around and I see pastors.
I feel bad for them.
I feel sorry for them.
“How can I help you?
How can I encourage you?”
Because it’s not easy.
Not to mention being a pastor’s wife.
You know, you get everything, plus, plus him.
And so, I’m saying that David is now here with those 600 men and the Bible says, in chapter 24,
“It happened that Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that he was told, in saying, ‘Take note!
David is in the Wilderness of Ein Gedi.’
Then Saul took 3,000 chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.”
And this is where we are, on the Rocks of the this is where we are, on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
And you’re going to see those wild goats.
We saw them as we walked in.
We will see them as we walk out.
They’re still around.
I’m not sure if these ones are from the same time, but the wild goats are amazing.
They can climb steep slopes without any problem, go down, go up.
Unbelievable!
And Saul is coming all the way to this area, knowing David is here.
And now the Bible says that he went off the road to the actual water and we know the Bible talks about the fact in verse 3,
“So it came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to attend to his needs.”
“Oh, coffee out.
Coffee beans out.”
I’m not sure what it was, but I know one thing: I know that Saul wanted to attend his needs and he needed some privacy here.
And Saul goes to the cave.
That’s where I would go if I had three thousand men looking at me.
And Saul goes in and, obviously, when you’re tired from the desert climate and from the desert terrain.
And in those days, Nike did not exist.
And Adidas did not exist.
And Timberland did not exist.
Those sandals were not that comfortable.
And Saul comes to the point.
He takes off his sandals.
He dips his tired feet in those cool waters.
And guess what happens.
What happens to you after you already attended your needs?
The bladder is already flatter and now you put your feet in this, in the water.
You soak in the water and you just fall asleep.
Now how in the world can I know that somebody’s asleep when I am a little bit off, far from him?
He must have snored.
You must understand, for David to come all the way to Saul is to take a risk that Saul is gonna kill him.
And David knew he’s asleep and Saul is not a young man.
He’s not a 12-year-old.
We’re talking about someone who had a girl already that was old enough to marry someone else.
And, the last time I checked, people tend to snore at this age.
And so David approaches Saul.
And before David does so, what are the men of David telling David to do or to think of?
No, no.
You see, they are using what I call Christianese.
Christianese is the language that always says, “God says,” “Thus says the Lord,” “the Lord is telling you.”
You know, unfortunately, so many…
That’s why the Jewish people are so careful not to use the name of God in vain.
Because of that.
That’s why they don’t even call him by his name.
They say “Hashem,” the name.
“Baruch Hashem,”, blessed be the name.
They don’t say his name, lest they, you know, misuse it.
And here the men of David are telling David the following thing, in verse 4, they told him, “Behold, this is the day which the Lord said to you.”
Then they know it all.
They already know, “The Lord says to you.”
Yeah.
And then they said to him, the Lord says, “To you, behold, I will deliver your enemies into your hand that you may do to him as it seems good to you.”
Wow!
Not only they said, “the Lord said.”
They did quote the Lord firsthand, as if God audibly spoke.
And, you know, if you want to see that, turn on your Christian TV.
It´s all over.
“That says the Lord, that says the Lord.”
Every other person there is a prophet and 99% of what they say never happened.
Old Testament, they would be stoned to death.
Here they get a TV show.
And I want you to understand that they use the name of God.
The words of God in the first person to somehow play on the strings of David’s soul and spirit.
And, you know, I want to tell you something, especially as believers.
This can work if you are advising to someone who is not spiritual, because he, if he’s not spiritual, he will always seek the advice of others.
“Pastor, pray for me, please.
Pray for me, please.
But they want everyone to pray for them.
But they don’t pray.
They don’t seek God.
They don’t fast.
They don’t pray.
They don’t look for God’s answers in their lives.
Nothing!
They want others to pray for them all the time.
So, when someone comes and says, “Oh, that says the Lord.”
And then gives you the verse, “Man, oh man, this is it.”
And this is where we must learn from David.
Remember, David never listened to men.
David is inquiring of the Lord.
It’s the Hebrew word, “Sha’al,” which is the same word as to borrow something.
It’s almost like David borrows from God his wisdom, his counsel.
“Sha’al.”
By the way, in the Hebrew, “Sha-alu Shalom Yirushalayim,” pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.
No, it’s ask for the Peace of Jerusalem.
Seek for the Peace of Jerusalem.
Inquire for the Peace of Jerusalem.
Sha-alu, it’s not pray.
And it’s interesting because David is arising.
And David is on his way to Saul.
But is he going to do to Saul what the people are expecting him to do?
Of course not.
Look what he says to his people.
And that’s what I admire about David.
He’s a man after God’s own heart.
And he’s a bold man.
He stands before six hundred men who are so eager to be the King’s people, not the fugitive’s people,
people of the king, who sit around the table of the King, and the palace of the king.
Not in the desert.
And David is standing right before his men.
And said, in verse 6, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed,
to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.’
So David restrained his servants with these words, and he did not allow them to rise against Saul.
And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.”
Saul did not even know the drama behind the scene.
David was standing.
And I bet you he rebukes them by whispering.
“The Lord did not allow you to do that.
You cannot do that.
You cannot stretch your hand against him.”
And they’re like.
And the Bible doesn’t say that Saul overheard them and he ran away.
No, he got up and he left.
Most likely he heard something and he just woke up.
But he saw nothing.
He got up and he left.
And David.
I love David because, listen, David listens to the Lord, not to people.
He talks to God.
He hears from God.
And David, that amazing character, whom God loved so much, just because of that, “David arose also afterward, and went out of the cave, and called out to Saul.”
And how did he call Saul?
“Mister, oh, you scumbag.”
No.
There was no anger.
And, by then, Saul almost killed him five times.
If somebody tried to kill me once, twice, three, four or five times, and all I do, all my life is run away from him.
I’m not sure I’d be so kind to him.
But David says to him, “My lord, the King.”
Wow!
David respects authority.
“My lord, the king.”
And Saul looked behind him and David stooped with his face to the earth and bowed down.”
Do you understand what I just said?
The man who is trying to kill you is looking at you and, out of respect, you look down, and you stoop down, and bow down because he’s the king.
Unbelievable.
I want you to understand the magnitude of the moment.
Saul got it.
He understood.
This is too much.
You know, the Bible says that when when you love your enemy, it’s like putting coal on their head.
And it works.
Saul is so embarrassed, so convicted, that he said to him, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed, David seeks your harm.’
Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hands in the cave, and someone urged me even to kill you.
But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’
Moreover, my father…” “Because you’re my father!”
You know, he’s his father-in-law.
And in that culture, you call him “Father.”
He calls him “Father!”
First of all, he regards him as a king.
And then he says, “I have done nothing against you.”
He did not throw any one of his men under the bus.
You know, he could have said, “Hey, mister, this and this said to kill you.”
No, he just said “Someone urged me to kill you.
And I didn’t.”
And then he said, “My father, see!
Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand.
For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you.
Yet you hunt my life to take it.
Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you.
But my hand shall not be against you.
As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’
But my hand shall not be against you.”
Isn´t that amazing?
Isn´t that amazing that David is listening to the word, to the words of God, quoting the Word of God, respecting authorities given by God?
And he’s an obedient man.
Remember, obedience is the key here.
And now, once again, Saul comes with his fake repentance.
We know that already.
And Saul said to David, “Is this your voice, my son David?”
Son.
It’s his son.
Remember the father-son thing.
“And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
And then he said to David, ‘You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil.
And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me.
For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely?
Therefore may the Lord reward you with good, for what you have done to me this day.
And now I know indeed that you surely will be the king and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.
Therefore swear now to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”
Isn’t that interesting?
How do you know that a repentance is not real?
You know that repentance is not real when there’s a condition in it.
When there is, “Okay, but…”
Or say, “I know you’re the king.
I know you’ll be back.
But, listen I want this this, this, this, this and this done.”
And all he cared about is his name and his legacy and his family.
He didn’t even care about his own soul, his own walk with the Lord.
And this is an indication of a fake repentance, when somebody comes and repents and then he says, “But don’t say anything to anyone about this, this.”
And he starts giving all these stipulations.
You know there’s something not completed in that repentance.
And the next chapter he tries to kill him.
David listens to God.
Saul does not.
David is longing after God’s will.
Saul is not.
And my question to all of you, this morning, here, right in the Cliffs of the Wild Goats, next to the spring of Ein Gedi,
my question to all of you today is: Do you have a personal relationship with the Lord?
So you can hear His voice?
And I wanna tell you something, this is the one major problem of most Christians around the world.
They think they’re safe.
They think they’re good Christians.
They think that by doing this, this, this and this, everything is okay.
But they do not have any personal relationship with the Lord.
They don’t hear the Lord’s voice.
They don´t follow the Lord’s command.
They just read and do stuff religiously.
And I can tell you, when you know, when you’re not in God’s Word, and you don’t hear the voice of God.
Then you will be taken advantage of.
Sometimes by people of your own, or family, and church, and friends.
These are the 600 men of David who almost misled him to do the wrong thing.
It’s not the enemies of David.
It was his own people, using God’s name and God’s words.
The people can come and tell you, “Thus says the Lord,” when they never heard from God.
And unless you have a relationship with the Lord, you would not even know that it’s not God.
When it comes to the most crucial decisions of your life, you can come and ask, and inquire about a certain girl, if you’re a man.
And you think, maybe she’s the one for me.
And others will say “Yeah, sure.”
Yet God did not approve it.
But you don’t even seek and inquire of the Lord about that so important decision.
You rely on your family.
You’re relying on your friends.
Maybe she’s a hot chick.
Maybe she is even, you know she’s a good Christian girl.
But God knows if she’s for you.
Maybe she’s a great person, but not for you.
Maybe God has someone else for you.
And that’s only one decision out of thousands of decisions that you should be making every single year of your life.
And unless you hear the Word, and unless you understand God’s Word, and unless you have a personal relationship with him, you can be misled.
And, if there’s one thing the enemy loves to do, it is to bring the adversary from within.
The Bible says, regarding the Antichrist, “Yes, there will be an Antichrist.”
But now, behold, there are many Antichrists He says.
And by this, you know they will come from within you.
I want to encourage all of you this morning to listen to the voice of God, to keep yourself humble in his sight, to always seek for direction.
Always be humble enough to know that he knows better than you and not to rely on somebody else’s relationship with the Lord.
It’s good to get someone confirm that which you already heard from God.
But it’s not good to make your decisions based on that which he told you or she told me.
Listen to the Lord.
Stay humble.
Stay obedient and see the salvation of the Lord.
You know, in second Chronicles, chapter 20, right here, the Bible talks about Ein Gedi.
The armies of the enemies of Israel are about to cross the sea, the Dead Sea.
From Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, all the way to attack Judah and Jerusalem.
And the King, Jehoshaphat, up on the mountains, up there, heard that those armies are coming.
And behold they come from Hazezon Tamar, which is Ein Gedi, the Bible says in second Chronicles 20.
And King Jehoshaphat was proclaiming a fast.
And they cried out and they seek the Lord.
And guess what?
The Lord spoke.
But you know what?
He didn’t speak to the king.
He spoke through someone else, Jahaziel, and he says to him, “Thus, says the Lord,’ tell the king.
Take a group of priests.
Put them forward.
Let them say about the Lord that he is good and His mercy endures forever.
And the enemy will defeat itself.
They we’ll start striking each other.
Don’t worry.
Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
Once again, the obedience of one king.
Once again, someone who listens to the Lord.
Once again, someone who understands the importance of seeking God, listening to God, getting the direction from God.
“Don´t be anxious, but in everything bring your petitions before the Lord,” the Bible says.
Don’t be anxious about anything.
America is coming to some testing moments.
Europe, the world, is going crazy nowadays.
Do not be anxious.
In everything bring your petitions before the Lord.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will fulfill the desires of your heart.”
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Then all these things will be added unto you.
Put him first.
Seek the things that are above.
Understand your citizenship, that is not from here.
Change your frequency to listen to him and not to your friends, to spend time with him, and not only with friends and family and Facebook.
Change your frequency to live life and for the Lord with obedience, listening to his voice, and following his ways.
May God grant all of us the wisdom, humility, and the understanding.
But his ways are different than our ways.
And his ways are better than our ways.
And that ways that we’re using, should be his ways.
His word, his voice in our life.
God bless you all.