Double-mindedness

Have your Bibles with you. I turn with me if you would take first Samuel chapter 27, start off of verses 134 then David said in his heart. Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. This all will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel shall escape out of his hand. So David arose and went over here it is 600 men who were with him to keep the scent of manioc King of Gath. David lived with Lakisha Gath. He and his men, every man with his household and David with his two wives hit a woman of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel labels wife and what it was told Saul that David fled to Gath.

He no longer saw him bear with me as we go to our Lord in prayer. Heavenly father, first Samuel 27, presents us with a huge frustration. David is waffling. He's compromising he's being double minded.

When David defeated Goliath. We cheered when David refused to fight Saul. We marveled when David listened Abigail and backed off and didn't kill her sorry husband. We smiled but in this passage we feel let down.

We expected better of David than this.

He's compromising he's floundering he's acting faithless Lord we kind of made a hero out of David now is letting us down. Lord I think there's a lesson here. David should not be our hero. Jesus should be in the truth of the matter is, were more like David than we are like Jesus were faithful and were not were strong and were weak we are uncompromising then were compromising we hate sin and we secretly love it. What we need is what David needed, and that is a deeper, sweeter, more genuine dependence on you, Lord, please use the story to drive double mindedness out of our hearts and make us like Christ. Help me to preach it correctly this morning, keep my lips from era. It's a Jesus precious holy name that I pray, amen. You may be seated in the epistle of James chapter 1 verses five through eight. James says this. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upright is not initially given him but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.

Pray that waiver with his like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ, the pastor of the first church in Jerusalem is telling us that double mindedness is a form of insanity.

It creates such confusion in the hearts of God's people that it it causes them to go off in all kinds of different directions.

What is double mindedness, double mindedness is an attempt to hold on to to serve two masters. At the same time it is an attempt to for a Christian to hold on to Christ with one hand and hold on to the world with the other is the idea that we can accept and love the principles of God's word. And yet, at the very same time be controlled by the philosophies of the world. James said that the they double minded man is unstable in all of his ways. What does he mean by that he means is a double minded man is always sitting on the fence. He has trouble making making decisions, he's always waffling on those decisions and he feels pulled apart on the inside. He scared to make decisions.

Just about anybody can influence him wrongly if they just pushed him hard enough now, the sermon on the layout and Matthew chapter 6 verse 22 through 24.

Jesus gave us some instruction how to defeat double mindedness.

He said this guys a lamp of the body. So if your eyes healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes bad, your whole body will be full of darkness is in the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. The key to defeating double mindedness is developing a single eye and a determination not to serve two masters.

I think probably one of the greatest examples that we have in Scripture of a single eye is David Daniels. You think that Daniel if you go back to when he was a teenager had been appointed by the governors and the hideouts in the Babylonian government to come in and to be trained by their greatest teachers by their most powerful educators and so Daniel the first night that he went to the University of Babylon. He comes the end, and that they are taken to the dining hall and so they bring Daniel in the sitting down and they bring all these honest wines before he and they bring all this rich fatty cholesterol field food and Daniel says no I don't want that.

He said just bring the water and some simple vegetables and that'll do for me not having Daniel defeat that temptation. Daniel chapter 1 verse eight tells us, it says that he purposed in his heart beforehand that he would not disobey the dietary laws that were given to him in the tour.

The first five books of the Bible because he purposed in his heart he didn't even have to think about how he was going to act. He knew how he was going to act almost reflexively or instinctively, his heart was established. There was a resoluteness in his thinking and the result of that was that there was no instability that one of the best examples of a double minded person in Scripture is found in the person a prophet of God's name was they will bail me with the word of God said bail him knew what God wanted him to do. He knew what was right to do, but they will had a problem he loved money and King by lack of Moab, came to him and said I will give you all kinds of financial remuneration. If you just curse Israel as a prophet of God.Baylor knew that was wrong. He knew that was something he should not do. But he wanted that money so bad it was tearing them up on the inside had a God deal with, that God sent a donkey and the donkey spoke and rebuked Salem and straightened out. This prophet, I love to read that story bail and is is rotting down a very narrow road on this donkey thereto stonewalls on the side of the road and so it's very hard to turn around and is there rotting. All of a sudden the donkey stops and he won't move.

What Salem can't see is that right in front of them. There's an angel the Lord with his sword drawn. The donkey can see it and so the donkey knows because one step further the angel the Lord will kill bail him and that will be it by one can't see any of that series manage the donkey. Previous to yell at the donkey as to what you doing you stubborn rascal and the stars to hitting and he gives them a great thrashing. Finally, the Lord opens the donkey's mail and the donkey speaks to buy a lump and rebukes the prophet.

I know donkeys don't talk. I know that some people look this. That's gotta be a fairytale. Listen, if the God that we serve is really and truly the creator of the universe. If he was able to speak the universe into existence X in a halo that means out of nothing and just a second of time you think it was difficult for God to open the mouth of a donkey to straighten out one of his prophets.

I don't think that was a problem at all. God was so opposed to violence. Double mindedness that he used the words of an animal to speak to Baylon's heart to straighten him out double mindedness I tell you, God hates it with a passion. It's an enemy of the faith. It's a tool of Satan. It's a weapon of the flesh in which we yield to it. We are always headed to destruction. Be well aware of this double mindedness is not just a problem with a with the superficial surface Christians. This particular evil double mindedness can attack the very greatest of God's servants. We see it right here in the store.

Here's David here's some of man after God's own heart the apple of God's eye and he is a victim of double mindedness as this was a situation King Saul and put a bounty on David's life.

He was chasing all over Israel trying to killing trying to take his life two times God has has put David in a situation where he could very easily have taken Saul's life. He could've done that when he refuses to do it. He says I will not lift my hand against God's anointed and on those two occasions.

Lord use that and it just broke Saul down when he saw the compassionate love that David had to pay said today that I've seen and I've done wrong before you, you have to worry about me anymore. I'm not to harm you. I will not kill you will not chase you any longer. Saul lied for paranoia hitting again payee. He went right after David and was continuing to chasing. As we enter into chapter 27.

We see this young man, David, who is mentally, physically and emotionally just worn to a frazzled he's tired of running. He's tired of being misunderstood. He's tired of doing right and being kicked for it. That's a situation were in. As we enter into first Samuel chapter 27. I wanted to share with you today. Five points concerning double mindedness. The first one I was to look at is the calls of double mindedness and that is fear notify CNA calls of double mindedness, not the calls of double mindedness for there a lot of different causes for double minded. Oh, I look at bail him the reason he was double minded was greed a look at Sampson reason he was double minded was lust a look at James and John. The reason that they were double minded was because of pride. But David's calls for double mindedness was fear.

Look at the first part of verse one. Once again and David said in his heart. Now I shall perish some day by the hand of Saul Roger Ellsworth has some great insight here.

Listen to what he said I can well imagine Saul say. And now I shall perish some day by the hand of David, but in the light of all that God is done for David. The one thing I find it impossible to imagine his David is saying he would perish in the hands of Saul.

If I make pictures this way.

David had two books in his hands. One was the book of God's promise that he would indeed become king of Israel a book that is been abundantly confirmed. The other was the book of his own heart, which told him the promise would not be fulfilled. David chose to read the book of his heart. David certainly was not the only one to battle with this tendency all Christians often find themselves inclined to rely on with their hearts say instead of relying on what the word of God says no, listen to God.

Tell David that Saul was going to killing. Absolutely not.

God told David he was good be the next king of Israel. What is it David believe God because David is tired, he's worn out. He was beaten down emotionally and what God had said would happen, and what is actually sin with his eyes look like two totally different things and that confusion led unbelief unbelief led to double mindedness, double mindedness led to fear now. Let me share this with you think this is important to go back and look at some others. Children of God that had the same problem. I think about Abraham what is Abraham called what what do we call and recalling the father of faith and I if you remember what did Abraham do when famine hit the land of Canaan and he grabbed his family grabbed his stuff and he left Canaan immediately when God told him not to, and he went all the way down to Egypt while he do that because he wasn't trusting God to provide for. He also did a terrible thing to his wife. He said to his wife Sarah. Sarah want you to to tell the people when we get down to Egypt that year my sister. Not that you're my husband because you're so beautiful they may want you and they may kill me to get to you. So she abating and what happened, the king of Egypt took her into his home and then was going to make her part of his harem and one half if God hadn't stopped it. He also took with him his nephew, his nephew's name was lot in the Scripture tells us that lot got down into Egypt. He looked it at it and he loved it, for it was the first real taste of the world that he had he had gotten an answer they decided to distribute the landed and Abraham said what land do you want the Scripture says that that lot lifted up his eyes. He looked at Sodom. Sodom was the most wicked city on the face of the earth. I like that me tell you why I said I like that he said I like that because it looks like Egypt. And so he moved his family into Sodom and what happened.

He ruined his testimony, he destroyed his family and he was field his heart was filled with vexation for the rest of his life and it all happened because of Abraham's fear. We as 21st century Christians have the idea that fear is one of the little problems in our life. This just a kind of a little sin that God overlooks not really a big deal.

We we see fear is a weakness not really a sin. God doesn't see it that way. In Revelation chapter 21 verse eight. The Scripture gives us a list of of sins that are horrible sins that if we engage yourself again and they become part of our life it and they control us then those who do these things. The Scripture says will be cast into the burning like a fire, and that of the listserv mentions people like murderers and warmongers and sorcerers and idolaters, with the first one on that list is the fearful that which we call a weakness. God calls an abomination wise fear such a big deal because fear leads to double mindedness, double minded people are unstable in all their ways and are useless to the kingdom of God.

How can we defeat fear two ways. Number one by love. Number two, by faith, the Scripture says in first John chapter 4 verse 18 that perfect love casts out fear.

If Abraham had loved his wife as he should have.

Then he never would've put her in that danger the fee the. The love would have have defeated the fear if David had focused his love of God during this time, then God would driven the fear from his heart.

Second, we defeat fear by faith.

Faith in the promises of God's word. Did you realize there 365 commands in the Scripture that we are not to fear. That's a different command from the Scripture every single day of the year that we don't have to fear because our God is God heart. Secondly, the fruit of double mindedness is flight flight look at the second part of verse one.

There is nothing better for me that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair sick and many longer within the borders of Israel. And I shall escape out of his hand and what did David do David ran. He took flight and he went to the enemy of the Philistines, and he asked permission from King quiche to live with them and why in the world did he do that he did that because of pressure. There was pressure on him so great that he felt like he just could not handle it any longer. Folks being godly is no easy task. The world doesn't have to deal with a lot of the things that we have to deal with every day because we as Christians are, but I we live our lives in a fishbowl. The world is always looking at us wondering if we can do something wrong and then if we if we appear to do something wrong.

The world's going to jump on that and call is a hypocrite. That's okay. As part of the cost of being a Christian is part of what it means that if you come to Christ, you die to self as part of that. The world watches to see if they can find any hint of hypocrisy in us and we need to say that's okay let me be real, let me be transparent and let me fight hypocrisy with everything in me. The people of Israel beating poor poor David to death. Saul and his army were chasing him.

People like Naipaul were accusing him of being a traitor. It didn't matter what David did it. Somebody was not gonna like it. And David dealt with it and dealt with it and dealt with it until finally something snapped and he said I'll just go and live with the Philistines. He said they may be a bunch of godless fools, but at least I will be busting my chops all the time.

He said that's what I'll do in a pitiful chance the truth Christian sometimes can be heartless I remember some and sucked several decades ago. Now I was in a protest and an abortion clinic and we were carrying signs in an speak into two girls that were going to go in there to get an abortion trying to get them to stop giving out gospel tracts of doing that some of the people are here right now are engaged in that same kind of ministry. I praise God for you keep doing that.

What a great and godly thing it is to to take a strong stance like that against abortion only say something bad that happened that particular day. There was a young girl that had gone into the abortion clinic before we got there and she's about probably 16 she came out of the abortion clinic she started walking down the steps and and she had the abortion and she was quite is a sheet her hands and and body were shaking. She looked like she was going to get sick on her stomach and one of the guys. It was there in the protest through his sign down and he ran over this girl and his face was red as a bee.

He got right in her face and started screaming at her and I thought he was going to hit her and I and all this was going on in and it finally just pointed his finger in her face and said God has a place called hail for people like you and said you're nothing but a stinking murder and that girl just absolutely lost it, she was bawling people came up try to comfort her and she just pushed everybody way and ran off crying like a baby.

I couldn't believe that it happened. This is one of the ugliest. It was one of the most mean-spirited things that I had ever seen. There was nothing about it that look like Jesus. And I wonder where is that girl going to go she could go back to her parents. Parents probably know she's expecting probably should not go to them. She got to go to the church, probably not. She thinks the people of God hater, that's a little of what David is feeling. He felt safer with the enemy than he did with the people of God because he felt like he couldn't trust him.

The third point is the trap of double mindedness and that his friends look at verse three and David lived with Keisha Gath. He and his men, every man with his household and David with his two wives ahead on a Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel Naipaul's wife, David's men were right there at his side. He has two of his wives there with them and they are given him emotional support during this sometimes well-meaning friends will encourage you to be double minded because they don't have the right, correct godly convictions either. Remember when I was in college I went one Sunday morning, the North Anderson Baptist Church and the pastor there is David Wilson.

He later on came to Charlotte, a planet of church over not too far from us and planted that church and Charlie Robison, Trudy Robson went to that church. They love David Wilson.

He's just a great man of God I living to and they still live in and get to be an un-older man now, but just a wonderful, wonderful man of God, but I went to church that morning and the next night on Monday night he came to visit. He came with a purpose that was to witness to me. He sat down in my living room with many share the gospel and then he said to me Doug if you don't repent of your sins and trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior in your spend of priceless eternity and he didn't do anything.

That night he got up finally left and I can member just feel this unbelievable conviction like a friend and you I knew that he be in the library at that time so I went immediately to the library to talk my friend and I told them what happens to what you think about that he saw. Don't worry about that guy. They said don't worry about him. I said Doug.

He said let me ask you something said you believe that Jesus died on the cross. I said yeah as he said you believe that Jesus rose from the dead as it oh yeah, he said that's all that's required. Don't worry about it just let it go and I can member, breathing a sigh of relief and thinking well he was just that pastor was just being a little fanatical. I have what James Kennedy calls a demon theology is demon theology is found in James chapter 2 verse 19 says that believers in one God thou do as well.

The demons also believe, and tremble two months after that Chip Sloan came down my house, share the gospel with me and the Lord dealt with my heart that night after I went back home.

I got on my face before God trusted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I went to chip the next day telling what it happened. We rejoice together. He said Doug where you go to church and I said I have no doubt aware and going to church and I said I'm going to North Anderson Baptist. He said why assume going to that church because David Wilson's there, and David Wilson will tell me the truth no matter what wrong friends. Even well-meaning friends can be a trap that leads to double mindedness. The fourth point I want to make is the Lord of double mindedness and that is freedom look at verse five. Then David said to Acacia five found favor in your eyes lit up, placed me given me in one of the country towns that I may dwell there.

For why should your servant dwell in the Royal city with you. The city is a clot lag had been conquered about Joshua years before the S but then after a couple of centuries the Philistines began to move into that area and in they didn't actually legally take it, but they were controlling that area and they were the ones that were that were running the show in sick lag folks, this is not just history but this is a perfect prophetic picture of what can happen to us.

The Lord bought us with a price and that price was the shed blood of Jesus Christ and because of that we belong to him. He ate what he had set the captive free but how often through intentional sin. Do we let Satan rain over certain areas in our lives. That's what Paul said in Ephesians 427 give no place to the devil.

Listen Alan read passwords concerning this land that David had settled down on.

He said this God for bid that as I get older and my Christian life that I should settle down like that. Julia was some area of my life which God is possessed. Yet Satan is overcome, and I have no desire to drive them out. God forbid that I should allow him to conquer in one rail after another and say well I'm saved anyway. I'm under the blood if the devil recaptures a bit of that territory does it really matter, perish the thought. Yes, it matters is an amazing what Satan can do our thinking. We look at some teenager today that's taken his first hit of marijuana thinking man, this is gonna be freedom, not realizing that leading to all kinds of paranoia, not realizing that that marijuana is a gateway drug to some of the tougher, more hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. I think a little boy who gets his first glimpse of a pornographic magazine. We sow that's okay everybody does that, just a little trivial thing. How many right this time. Many sex offenders got their start.

That very same way and how many marriages are absolutely destroyed because the wife can't measure up to the girl in the magazine of the woman on the video.

What the world calls freedom. God calls bondage and that type of pursuit of freedom always leads to double mindedness. The last thing you want to mention is the result of double mindedness and that his failure. Look at verse 12, an occasion trusted David thinking has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel. Therefore, he shall always be my servant David was not fighting the Israelites, but he was fighting under the rule of a quiche. The king of Gath. The Philistine king, and he wouldn't go and fight against his own people, but are you going to fight other tribes and other nations. Any come back and tell a quiche that he was fighting against Israel to the people of Israel were looking at him, wondering where he stood. The Philistines were looking at them.

Wonder where he really stood and it was great confusion in everybody's mind because David was being so double minded that was looking to everybody like he was an absolute failure is not what God called David to do God said to David, you will be the next king of Israel in this trial that David was going through. Here was not a child and making fold.

It was a trial to making tough.

It's a shame we have to end here, but this is not the end of the story.

David David was woken up to the Lord God woke David out of his lethargy and brought David once again have a single I a single mine and an established heart.

But all this time until the time that he gets there.

All this time he's live in absolute frustration. Let me ask you something.

You live in would double mindedness today. I think in some areas of for every single person in here we have times of double mindedness, but it needs to be repented of are you trying to hold Jesus in one hand and the world and the other is so they'll never be genuine joy.

It is Christian insanity and the price is much too high to pay us pray heavenly father you said in your word that the double minded man is unstable in all his ways and receive nothing from God. Help us to see what double mindedness did to David's heart so that we can run from it so that we can fight it with a vengeance Lord we have an election this week give us guidance and help us to trust you our cultures fighting against you in the churches compromise is aiding their fight Lord, we pray for our leaders save those who don't know you give spiritual resolve to those who do know you and may you bring revival to the church and salvation of the unsaved in this land.

We thank you for the spiritual insight that you gave to our forefathers would you have mercy on us and restore that insight as we prepare to celebrate now the Lord's supper would you bless us with your presence be exalted through our worship. 40 is in the precious and holy name of Jesus that we pray.

Amen