Victory Over Depression

Revolves with you today. Turn with if you want to first Samuel chapter 20 were going to be going down to verse 23, but the start of the first four verses then David fled from Laos and Ramadan came and said before Jonathan, what have I done what is my guilt. What is my sin before your father that he seeks my life and he said to him, far from it. You shall not die, hold my father does nothing either great or small, without disclosing it to me and why should my father hide this from me.

It is not so. David Valley again saying your father knows well that I found favor in your eyes, and he thinks do not let Jonathan know the S, lest he be grieved, but truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul is, there is been a step between me and death.

Then Johnson said to David, whatever you say.

I will do for you Scott.

Our Lord in prayer.

Heavenly father, we have a passage of Scripture before us today is extremely relevant to our current situation year 2020 is been a tough year we have seen a disease spread across our world and is made many sick is taken lives that disease fueled by political rhetoric shot fear into the hearts of so many people we have witnessed riots in the streets.

We have seen laws broken with no punishment or restitution. We have seen friends laid off from work and are wondering how they're going to provide food and shelter for their families and fear and uncertainty of pushed many people into a deep dark depression, friends and people we care about deeply and gone to alcohol or drugs or profligate lifestyles to relieve their depression and the result has been bondage and misery. Today we see David a man after God's own heart struggling with debilitating depression. We thank you for the honesty and transparency of Scripture. David loved you, glorified you.

But David was human and needed help to fight depression. Father use David's experience with depression to help us to fight it through the power of your spirit keep my lips from era. Help me to exalt Christ and feed this congregation forward is the precious holy name of Jesus that we pray.

Amen. You may be seated.

Who could deny that David was the eternal optimist when he was 17 years old he went out to fight the most mighty warrior on the face of the earth, and he did it with nothing but a slingshot in his hand. Nobody else in the entire nation of Israel would take such a chances that but David trusted God and went out to stand against Goliath with no concept of quitting or giving up. David became one of Saul's generals and a fault battle after battle against the Philistines and one those battles during this time David wrote many of the Psalms, David was a man of faith. He was an eternal optimist.

It seemed like nothing could getting down to know every man has his breaking point. I think in first Samuel chapter 20 we see David's it. David had loved King Saul. Loved him. He thought for him. He played the harp to relieve Saul's depression. He never set up unkind or harsh word about Saul.

He was one of Saul's most loyal and productive servants. And yet Saul was so consumed with jealousy that he desired to kill David and several times before the S.

Tried to kill David but all those times ended in failure and because of this, David is experiencing emptiness down inside he's experiencing loneliness and he is experiencing depression you say what man of God, dealing with depression.

What a man after God's own heart having doubts what man who wrote had over half the Psalter is in depression. The answer that is yes and if you're hearing you been equating faith which is positive thinking. You need to understand something that that's not true and that sometimes some of the greatest, most strongest Christians can fall under Great Depression. I remember not share this with you before, but I can 1995 I went through the most difficult trial that I had ever been through in my life. Many of you were here at that time and and you remember that my world got rocked and up to that time. I've never been in a depression.

I mean ever, and if people would come to me in my in the church that are dealing with depression like a duck on the counselor need you tell me what to do if they had depression when I want to say to them was how you just need to buck up, you just need to get over it.

Just need to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and move all and then that's what I felt that they need to do, but I didn't say that.

But then I went into depression and it was a deep depression that, and I lost 30 pounds without trying.

I couldn't eat I couldn't sleep and I couldn't pull myself up. I couldn't get over it with the Lord use that time in my life showed me some pride in my own heart should be some spiritual immaturity in my life that God needed to deal with and then he lifted that depression off of me and I can remember after that the Lord, gave me a verse that meant so much to me was first second Corinthians chapter 1 verse four where Paul said sometimes the Lord allows us to go through a time of suffering in order that we might be able to comfort others who were suffering in the same way that depression was a wake-up call for me is a God use this in my life to break pride to humble me enter drive me to run to Jesus for my joy when my favorite preachers is Charles Spurgeon. Nobody could paint a picture with words like Spurgeon, Spurgeon could preach on the majesty of God, and he would just take you to heaven itself.

Spurgeon was a man who was given to depression. Sometimes Spurgeon would preach on a Sunday night to several thousand people. He go home and lay in bed for a few minutes and he fall into such a deep depression.

The couldn't get out of bed for two weeks. That went on for most of Spurgeon's life. He struggled with depression real sermon that he had preached all battling depression and read it several years ago but wanted to share with you. Paragraph from that from that particular sermon he's taken his tax from Isaiah chapter 50 and listen to what he says here about how or when were in depression that were to go to the Lord and look to him in the midst of that sorrow. He said this when you cannot see your way then open the Bible and try to find out what kind of God and he is him you trust, see what he did in ages past, see what he has promised to do in all times present.

Behold his infinite love in the in the gift of his dear son, think of all the immeasurable blessings which he is prepared for them who love him.

Spurgeon had everything he needed. He knew what he needed to get over this depression. What was it you need to focus on the Lord you need to quit looking at circumstances and human limitations.

They needed to to meditate on the character of the Lord he needed to claim the promises of God and stand on those promises.

Spurgeon knew that.

And David knew that but they had a problem.

They were perfect in their faith wasn't perfect and depression came read a commentary while back home in first Samuel chapter 20 and the writer was putting down David putting down pretty hard.

Because of his faltering faith that led him into this depression and I thought, man, you just need to lighten up a little bit. David wasn't God and here was David, a very young man at this time and he week. He had been threatened his life and been threatened. His reputation was being threatened.

No wonder he was going through some depression. Our duty here is not to kick David or any believer who is dealing with depression. Our purpose here is to find out the cause of depression and then to find out what we need to do to get rid of it either five point someone to share with you .1 is the calls of his depression will commit verse one did every David fled from Laos and Ramah. And he came and said before Jonathan, what have I done what is my guilt and what is my sin before your father that he seeks my life. There are many different causes of depression, if you're Christian. One of the causes of depression is being out of fellowship with God. If you're living in CNN's unrepented of sin, then God loves you so much that he doesn't want you live in that way and so oftentimes he will remove the joy from your heart in order to get you to run back to him in repentance that you might experience his joy in his presence again.

So one of the greatest causes of depression can be that were out of fellowship with God. But there are other causes depression.

Did you realize that get out. If you have doubt it can create a chemical imbalance in the body that that can create depression. Spurgeon didn't know that at that time but Spurgeon suffered with get out and it could have been the gal that led him to depression on so many different occasions and what else what else sickness and pain can cause depression, family turmoil, the betrayal of a spouse. Loss of income, loss of a job, a death of of a loved one hold these things can create depression in our lives, but specifically will deal with David's depression.

The day what calls David to be depressed. David was absolutely panic stricken. He done everything he could to try to please Saul. Nothing was working in the more he tried to police all the more Saul hated Ralph David's.

Davis said the following after Saul's various attempts on David's life. In chapter 19 is hardly likely that David would still need to determine if Saul's intention toward him were hostile, but that was not David's question.

He knew Saul was hostile.

Rather, he asked Jonathan what he had done wrong. He didn't know why Saul kept after him. I David wrong Saul in some way had he failed in some beauty.

Knowing the killers motive doesn't increase safety, but may reduce the apparent irrationality of it all.

In fact, it seems David may have been more concerned to make Saul's intention clear to an incredibly naïve Jonathan but what David did not understand about Saul was the assault was a control freak. Saul had an all-consuming desire to dominate other people and you know thugs if you got somebody trying to dominate your life trying to absolutely control you. It can quickly lead to depression.

When David slew Goliath, Saul, Saul, to the potential in David schism of control is think I'm going I'm going to manipulate him. I'm going to try to make him fit into the mold in which I warning to fit into Sam's whole lot like a another Old Testament character whose name was Jezebel know when I mentioned the name Jezebel what word pops up in your mind. I don't know about you with the word evil pops up in my mind.

Everything about this woman was absolutely repulsive.

If you don't believe that they look around this congregation and ask yourself how many parents do we have that name their daughter Jezebel. I knew none of that we might name a pet snake.

Jezebel are we might name a ugly lizard Jezebel, but not a daughter, ever, ever, ever, Jezebel was a wicked worshiper of bail. Her religion was a religion that was founded in sexual perversion, but the most repulsive thing about Jezebel was her desire to dominate everybody.

She came in contact with that sushi was her husband Ahab was the king of Israel, but he was not the one that was running the country. She was the one that was running the country.

She was taken. This false religion. This wicked perverse religion and trying to force it down the throat of the Israelites when she said jump.

Ahab said how high you move the story with a with with Naboth and who had a big vineyard and you remember how house. Ahab wanted that vineyard, and he went in Naboth and asking would you sell the vineyard.

He said no and so Jezebel said I get what I want and so she went out she hired false witnesses to come and lie about Naboth accusing him of blasphemy that you took them out. She had them stone to death and then she took.

She took the vineyard and gave it to her husband, the most wicked thing about this woman was the fact that she wanted to dominate everybody.

She came in contact with we have any of that going on today that a problem in our world today.

How many marriages do we have today that are absolutely shattered because a wife says I refuse to be submissive to my husband. I don't care what God says about it. I refuse or husband who schism will take that idea of submission and I'm using to be a dictator over my wife. If either husband or wife think they have the right to be a dictator in the home that marriage is headed for trouble. What are the characteristics that most evil and in brutal dictators in history had what did that. What were they like me guys like Nero into Misha and then mail us a Tongan Hitler and Stalin, Mussolini and Saddam Hussein. What were they like their greatest desire was to dominate their greatest desire was for power more than anything else they wanted control over this world. What about preachers, listen to Peter's instruction to preachers in first Peter chapter 5, or two, and three to shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint, but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly not as being lords over those who entrusted those entrusted to you, but being examples of the flock. The air of the dominating preachers. The as he looks out over his congregation and he says these are my sheep all know they're not his sheep God sheep and the pastor needs to work not to to help people be dependent upon him but to be dependent upon Christ and Christ alone.

Look at the people in the Bible who were demon possessed what what was going on with them. They were dominated by an an unclean spirit. They will control. They were manipulated they were they were under compulsion that went. When this they heard voices and when they heard voices.

They felt like they had to obey, whether it was a voice that was telling him to kill a voice that was telling them to to destroy or self-destruct. They listen to those voices.

This is why Jesus. This is why Jesus hates sense of desperately.

He hates sense of desperately Gaussian enslaves us send controls us and dominates us.

Alcohol dominates the alcoholic heroin and cocaine dominates the drug addict. Pornography dominates the life of the of the porn attic folks.

It was Jesus who said this, he said, you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Jesus said that he was the way the truth and the life books. Jesus is our liberator and if you want freedom.

The only way you can have true freedom is to submit yourself to the Lordship of Christ, to make a statement here in which you take it home with you and chew on it this afternoon.

A person is never more like Satan than he is. When he trying to dominate and control another person. A sweet little mother can do that through guilt father can do it the force.

A pastor can do it through manipulating people.

David allowed Saul's domination to suck the faith out of his heart. So what was his answer. What should he have done. He should have run to the Lord for joy 25 years later after he committed to sin with Bathsheba. After God had broken in.

After he had repented God inspired him to write the words of Psalm 51 and in that Psalm.

He said the us old Lord restoring to me the joy of my salvation. You want to defeat depression run to Jesus believe his promise believe his promise where it were Jesus said you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. I want you to know that freedom includes freedom from depression.

Point to face the reality versus 233 and he said to him, far from it. You shall not die, and behold my father does nothing either great or small, without disclosing it to me and why should my father hide this from me.

It is not so. But David down again sand your father's knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be greedy, but truly is the Lord lives in is your solely as there is but a step between me and death is friendship between David and Jonathan is so well-known that even people in the secular world will bring up David and Jonathan's name when they talk about friendship. They were covenant brothers together.

They had made commitments to each other until death. They trusted each other implicitly and so David went to his covenant brother Jonathan and he said to Jonathan, my friend.

You want to my going to do. Your father wants to kill me.

Johnson said all know know dad didn't want to kill you, he gets moody sometimes these AAA gets angry sometimes, but I he would never purposely kill you. David said Jonathan you're looking at the situation through rose colored glasses and I know that you don't want to think that your dad would actually kill your your best friend in the says but then he makes a an oath to God. He says this I promise you, before God I promise you, before God that your dad is out to kill me is only one step between me and death. I love how Jonathan responded he listened to David he didn't totally agree with him here, but if this issue meant that much to David he said, come hell or high water. I'll stick with David. Proverbs 1717 says a friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Johnson said if this means that much to David. I'll do what he says I'll stand withing even if were not in perfect agreement as loyalty unit, you know that's how Jesus treats you, Jesus, and said you I will not forsake you, even in your time of failure. I will not forsake you pay says I will love you not because of what you do I will love you because of who you are and who are you as a Christian, you belong to him.

You one of his children. You belong to him and he will never leave you nor forsake you. Love the Jonathan response in verse four so Jonathan said to David, whatever you yourself desire.

I will do it for you have any friends like that most people don't even have one friend like that.

Richard Phillips gave this wise commentary. He said there is one matter, however, in which David set a good example in his distress he saw safety and covenant promises that had been given to him.

Jonathan had covenanted his faithfulness to David so David saw Jonathan out for help, Dale, Ralph, David's comments and confusion and trouble you take yourself to the one person who's made a covenant with you and David's just celebrating world.

There was yet one space and sanity. One refuge still intact.

Jonathan there was covenant there. David could expect faithfulness. I .3 B discerning.

Look at verses 5 to 11 then Jonathan said to David, whatever you say. I will do for you. David said to Jonathan Holt tomorrow is the new moon and I should not fail to sit at table with day with the king but let me go that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at evening, if your father misses me at all, then say David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem, the city, for there's a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan if he says good.

It will be well with your servant. But if he is angry. The know that harm is determined by him therefore cannot deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you, but if there's guilt in me, kill me yourself, why should you bring me to your father, and Jonathan said, far be it from from you if I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you. Then David said to Jonathan, who will tell me if your father answered you roughly Johnson said to David, let us go out in the field so they both went out into the field. I think there's a belief in the Christian world today that really spiritual people or people who were are open or people who will just share all their heart with everybody to be really spiritual got to be open. Let me taste something that's bunk.

That's not true it's just absolutely not true.

There some things that are so intimate that there only between you and God. There some things that are so intimate there only between you and your spouse. There's something so intimate there only between you and a close friend. Sometimes the most godly thing that you can do is to be quiet. We get a couple verses Proverbs 2712 a prudent man foresees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass owner punished Proverbs 25 to is the glory of God to conceal a thing.

But the honor of kings is to search out a matter I'm not referring here to having sin were not supposed to do that in Proverbs chapter 28 verse 13. The Scripture says he recovers and CN will not prosper. No were not to hide sin as well.

Got an accountability group of got me in and that accountability group who are my friends and who I absolutely trust if I've got something in my life that I'm struggling with five got a failure. I can go to them and share my heart with them and what they'll do. That will encourage me and they'll pray for me if I needed there were beat me for brothers that is so so important.

We need people in our lives who are were able to share our failures with, but being open with everything with every body is a dangerous thing when I'm referring to here is foolish indiscretion.

David was doing nothing wrong. His heart was right. His motives was right but he had a man who was seeking the killing and if David had just been transparent, so to speak. If he just been so open that he just showed all of his emotions let everybody know what was in his heart, all that would've gone right back to Saul. Saul would use that against him, to killing Proverbs 2911 says a fool utters all of his mind, but a wise man keep with it till afterwards. Proverbs 2920 CSL man that is hasty in his words, there is more hope of a fool than Atheneum.

David was not being deceptive. He was not being sneaky. He was just being discreet. He was showing discernment.

His life was in danger. The book of Isaiah chapter 39 is a great story about King Hezekiah Hezekiah was say a man of God. He was a godly man, but in this particular story. He wasn't so godly, it was a group of the of me and that he come all the way from Babylon, and they wanted to talk with Hezekiah Hezekiah didn't realize it but they were spies sent by Nebuchadnezzar to find out what kind of riches were in this land. See if it was worth fighting for. Not answer would Hezekiah do Hezekiah showed him everything they had.

He was bragging he was showing off all the gold all the silver all the precious stones. Everything in the temple.

He said this is what we have is what the Lord's done for us showing off after they left. Isaiah showed up as a what's up with you done so will these men came over and I shared with them everything that we have here in Judah. I shared with him our goals and our silver and show them everything that we have in Isaiah said the calls of Hezekiah's sinful indiscretion. Because of that Judah was going to be attacked by babbling and they were David's discernment is seen most powerfully in his dependence on his on his covenant brother and Dale Richard Phillips here is some guidance here and how we are to develop our dependence on Christ. This is what he said it was in fact Jonathan's covenant faithfulness to which David appealed in his despair. Therefore, deal kindly with your servant. He pleaded for you brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. This is the next lot way for believers to pray to our covenant God. David urges Jonathan not to hand them over to his father. And if David committed a sin worthy of death, and must be brought to justice. Jonathan should be the one to slain. If there's guilt, it may kill me yourself. David knew that he would find justice in the covenant friend just as believers who have appealed to the blood of the new covenant in Christ may constantly seek justification in the presence of God. God's covenant makes the promise I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. So those who have entered into covenant with God through faith in Christ may come to him to be vindicated and find protection for their souls. My fourth point is covenant love looking at it with me at verses 13 to 17, but surely please my father to do you harm the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not disclose it to you and send you away. She may go in safety.

May the Lord be with you is he is been with my father. I'm still alive.

Show me the steadfast love the Lord, that I may not die and did not cut off your steadfast love for my house forever. When the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth, and Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David saying. May the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies and Johnson made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul, Johnson says to David. David, you're not going to die. Saul's not gonna kill you because God's given you a promise and that promise is that you will be the next king of Israel.

Saul may try to kill you. But it's not gonna happen. You're going to live in you will be the next king of Israel, but Johnson says you know what he said I may die. I may be killed in battle and he says if that happens, he said, remember this David, you're in a covenant with me, and if you're in a covenant with me.

That covenant reaches out not just to me, but to my children. But it wasn't long after that that Jonathan did die was killed in battle.

While later, David remembered the covenant that he entered into with Jonathan and he started looking around to see if any of Jonathan's children were still living and he found out that there was one that was still live in it was a young man. His name was for a shift. He was lame in both his legs and he lived way off in a land called Lodi bar wilderness was he doing out there. He was hiding from David, his friends and tolling your heir to the throne legal layer to the throne. David will come after you and you'll kill you say was scared to death.

David found out that my favorite shift was still living and he sent me in the Lodi bar beginning and they brought it back from Lodi bar.

He was scared to death. He stood before David and David looked at he meant he was shaking and trembling and David said, fear not for I was in the covenant with your daddy Jonathan, and because of that covenant. I will love you like I loved him. You will sit at my table.

Every meal you will eat in our house you will be have access to all that I have. You belong to me because I was in the covenant with your day. David took me for a shift into his family for one reason and that reason was this, he was in a covenant with Jonathan brothers and sisters. If you're a Christian this morning. You belong to the family of God.

Why was it because you good, no. Was it because you deserve it. No, here's the reason because God the father entered into the covenant of redemption with God the son, and that spread out to what we call the covenant of grace in your name was written in God's book before the foundation of the earth.

And what does that mean that names that you are part of God's family, and nothing on this earth or hell itself can change it. That is God's covenant love .5.

Put yourself in neutral verses 18 through 22.

Then Jonathan said to him tomorrow is a new moon and you will be missed because your seat will be empty on the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand and remained beside the stone heap and I will shoot three arrows to the side of it is though I shot at a mark, and behold, I will send the boy saying go find errors if I say to the boy looked errors on this side of you take them then you are to come. For as the Lord lives.

It is safe for you and there is no danger, but if I say to the use looked errors are beyond you, then go for the Lord is sent you away. As for the matter of which you and I have spoken. Behold, the Lord is between you and me forever. So David hid himself in the field when Newman came the king sat down to eat food.

David is done everything he could possibly do to convince all that he was not his enemy.

David at fault for Saul. He had praised Saul to play the harp to relieve Saul's depression.

And yet Saul would not stop this crazy idiotic desire that he had to go after David and to take his life. So David put himself in neutral. He said I don't believe Israel I don't have to leave Jonathan.

I don't have to leave my fellow soldiers.

But God if you say go I will go so he told Johnson to go check things out. And David said I will wait patiently here and see what the prophets of God will bring about, you know he's doing is doing the same thing that Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is Lord it if it be your wheels and let this cup pass from me, but not my will but yours be done. So David and Jonathan worked out a plan.

Jonathan was going to find out what was really in his dad's heart and then he would he would let David know by shooting an arrow in his air went past David, then that would let David know he's in danger if the error came short of David and David would know that everything was okay. David put his emotions in neutral. He put his will in neutral and what did he do. He said I'll do Lord whatever your province leads me to do. Then David stood by the Rockies. They'll as he stood there waiting. All of a sudden that era came flying over his head little boy went running after it. And David knew what that meant. That meant that Saul's heart was inclined against David that Saul had plans to killing if David had not been discerning and he had gone to that meeting he would've been killed but now God given him a new road to follow. Hey did know exactly where it was going to go.

He did know is going to be tough and the also need this the Lord God Jehovah would be withing every step of the way you going to tough time right now, depression, spirit of heaviness kind of on you.

What you do all this is what you do you face the reality you been discerning and then you stand on this promise. Jesus said I will never leave you nor forsake you. You going to atomic depression.

You need more than appeal.

You need more than antidepressant.

You need more than a principal, you need a person, the person of Jesus Christ run to Jesus for joy spray heavenly father David, a man after God's own heart struggle with depression.

He trusted in you and put your principles in action. You lifted them out of depression. Last week we saw that faith means standing on the promises of God in Romans 831 Paul state of God before us, who can be against us so we can add to that great foundation in Romans 831 another huge promise from Hebrews 13, five that says you will never leave us nor forsake us, may we take those truths and stand on them realizing that we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us.

The cure for depression is not just a principal it's a person, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When depression strikes strikes spur us on to run to Jesus.

We love you Lord.

Understanding why we love you because you loved us first instead of precious and holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen