For Cave Dwellers Only, Part 1

Today on Insight for living from Chuck Swindoll. We are convinced that when he brings us nothing is to reroute our lives in human perspective sales lost this divorce laws that you have called this because that you have ruined this to everyone that God says no no you're in the cave. Reroute your life. Your first direction was wrong.

The betrayal of those you once trust, whether it's a former spouse or former boss. Disloyalty hurts today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll introduces another message in his biographical series on David in this portion of our study, we find David on the run and hiding in a cave, of all places.

He'd been betrayed and in fact was being hunted by his adversary lessons we learned from that lonely hideout will help us understand how to deal with persecution today. Chuck titled his message for cave dwellers like to address only two verses from first Samuel chapter 22. Referring to the first two verses and I like you to turn to them right now.

This is a unique section of Scripture. And that's why I'm focusing on these first two verses only in our study of the life of David we come to a reference where he lives in a cave for an undisclosed period of time is the only time this is mentioned in all the Bible the cave. He lives in is the cave of adult to learn from this that those dark surroundings in our own lives places not unlike David's cave offer us the perfect opportunity to cry out in humility to our God, and to trust him for his sustaining help to listen carefully to first Samuel 22 verses one and two. So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of adult and when his brothers and all his father's household heard of it. They went down there to him everyone who was in distress and everyone who is in debt and everyone who was discontented gathered to and he became captain over them. Now there were about 400 men with site for living.more.

And now, let's continue Chuck Swindoll's message titled for cave dwellers only.

Before we get into David's life. Let me talk about your life.

There are some sitting in this congregation who live in a cave. Not literally but emotionally you cannot tell by looking as to who they are but they are here of the cave is dark and it is dismal, damp, it is disillusioning. It is lonely, and perhaps the hardest part of all is that the truth cannot be declared to anybody else because it is so desperate in Rosemead's Journal of psychology and theology. There is an excellent article entitled self-disclosure in biblical perspective it's violin palm Burgan owner scanned ready done out of Wheaton. It seems and it is a it is a very excellent summary of the pain of disclosing one's self in a local assembly in the midst of it palm burden scanned ready quote Patricia Quigley. It is nothing short of tragic that many Christians are today finding more acceptance, support, and need fulfillment in secular encounter groups than they are in their churches. Someone once said that the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for Saints. I wonder I wonder at church this author admits, I find no signs of illness in those around me outfitted and Sunday best shoes and smiles. We talk about what we're doing but we seldom talk about what were feeling when I tell about spiritual victory, but we carefully camouflage defeats or struggles on the Sundays I arrived at church in acute need of spiritual healing.

I feel alone and out of place in this atmosphere. I feel like a measles, spotted child in a nursery full of healthy youngsters once or twice. I tried to talk about my distress during the Sunday school class but since attention build around me as I described my symptoms.

When the fever of struggle or defeat hits me now.

I simply remain silent and isolated from those around me who seem to know only perpetual good help.

Fortunately, during my down times I have found the company of fellow strugglers in the Bible like David like Job, Peter Thomas and Paul. They spoke honestly and movingly about their struggles. It is frustrating to know these men of the Bible better than people in my Sunday school class teacher is that tragic, all days are not up days some days are so low.

We have completely even lost our self respect as a youngster growing up, the longest time I spent in any one church was in a church that had a youth group of about 100, and occasionally after the church service we would get together for a malt or's are hamburger something and then we would go home and a few of the cars owned by some of those in the group. One young lady joined our group who had real deep deep struggles we found out through a chain of events that happened that to her mother and dad were not living together and the man with whom her mother was living was not her husband and she was the oldest in a family of four, five children should real hurting needs and peer group pressures is is devastating and even among teenagers and was that's what was in our group wasn't free to share will one evening we went to one of our deals after church and then she was in the car that I was in a driven by fellow and we were on our way to take her to her house and she directed us to a rather nice section of Houston and she said that this close enough I live near here so she almost before we came to a stop, popped out several of us sensed she doesn't live here and we went around the corner as she walked away in the distance under the light of the lamps the street and I said I'd like to follow her like to make sure she gets home okay and so I did. I must've followed her in the shadows about an mile as we crossed over the tracks to another side of town that was without streetlights garbage strewn streets. As the wind blew those things from one hovel to another in here and a little dingy dirty section.

She crawled into her apartment like cave and close the door behind her. She had just enough pride to say hey this is where I live. Just let me out here that down inside she was living in a cave. You can't glamorize a cave.

Hey, and it's wrong to just study the print on the page of first Samuel 22 and leave saying David was in a cave and then he went on from there. Hey wait a minute he was in a cave he had lost a major crutches of his life. You know what they were.

Remember last week he lost his job with Saul in the army of Israel. He lost his wife, who left him as a deceiver. She lived with him later but she really wasn't with him in heart. He lost his home, he lost his come his counselor Samuel as he was driven from Samuel side by Saul. He lost his closest personal friend Jonathan. And finally, he lost his self-respect as he dribbled in his beard on the floor of the King of Gath scratching on the gate like a madman. He lost his own pride and he he feigned insanity as he slipped out of the city and that rainy night, perhaps in Judah, shivering cold. He slid into the cave of a dull. It was the lowest moment of his life and don't you forget it you that's this study and love the did the life of David and don't ignore it.

I was weary of the philosophy that is extent today among Christians that the Christian life is just one cloud after another just soaring it is not. It includes the cave and if you're there tonight. I say to you, it is all part of the strategy, the conversion of the soul is the miracle of a moment, the making of a saint is the task of a lifetime. And God is about to give up even when you're in a cave. He's not through even though you're the lowest you've ever been.

There was no comfort. And frankly, there was no hope you wonder how you felt Holger place a look at Psalm 142 on to see his feelings. He composed a song which I suppose musicians do better than that, say, writing a journal he just wrote a song yet no security had no food. He had no one to listen to. He had no promise to cling to. We had no tangible anchor. He was in a cave alone, away from everything and everybody. So he wrote the song see the superscription of my skill of David the. The Hebrew word somehow means to teach or to instruct. It's an instructive Psalm and he says my other people in the in the days ahead. Learn from him. The falls from my hand while he was in the cave. He wrote this prayer and he said I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord.

I make supplication with my voice to the Lord, I pour out my complaint before I declare my trouble before him when my spirit was overwhelmed within me. Thou didst know my path verse four. It's in the first person I look to the right and see nobody there.

There's no one who regards me. There is no escape for me.

No one cares for my soul feel like that that's the way David felt just say it just admitted. I don't know what was so cares for my soul.

I cried out to deal Lord, I said, thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of the living give heed to my cry. I am brought very well. That's depressing back in first Samuel 22.

Everything seemed lost the Raymond Edmund God bless him during his days put together so many helpful works.

One was entitled the disciplines of life. The chapter entitled the discipline of disillusionment has help me lately, especially how deeply does disillusionment – two pieces are equilibrium of spirit and our expectation of heart. We all have suffered its staying are high hopes like gallant galleons have salable far in return. Not at all, or at best, battered and broken dreams, like high blown cumulus clouds reach to the very heavens, but have now vanished into thin air. We had been confident beyond the slightest contradiction, that the consummation of our hearts cry would be contentment.

But contrariwise, there has come crisis and chaos and nothing but confusion like the disciples we build our lives. Expectations in the sunshine of Galilee were crowds that applauded and multitudes had been fed. But then came Gethsemane's shadows Golgotha sorrow and the silent two in the garden across the page admin includes the work of Florence Willett that reads I thank God for the bitter things they been a friend to grace they've driven me from the paths of Easter storm. The secret place. I thank you for the friends who failed to fill my heart's deep need. They've driven me to the Savior's feet upon his love to feed. I'm grateful to through all life's way. No one could satisfy so I found in God alone, my rich my full supply now here only. This part of the message you hear only half of it.

I want to feel the dampness of the cave even for some who were on the mountaintop, at least imagine what it must've been like he has nothing nothing now since we believe in a sovereign God, we are convinced that when he brings us to nothing. It is to reroute our lives not to in their lives. Human perspective says you've lost this loss that lost that you have caused this. You have caused that you have ruined this.

You have ruined that life God says no no you in the cave.

Reroute your life. Your first direction was wrong. That's exactly what he does with David and David hangs out no shingle. David advertises no need except to God he is alone in a cave, and for all he knew, nobody else knew it was there and that depressed state away from everything and look at what God did look at the challenge we get what it involved.

David departed from there and escape to the cave of a dollar and the clicker came when his brothers and all his father's household heard of it.

They went down there to him that your student of the life of David. You don't have to remember to hard to come to that place. When in the recent past.

His family didn't even know he was existing his father did not bring him as a possible candidate for the kingship. Remember that he left about the field inside the site. Is this all your sons know about a boy that keeps the sheep he was significant to his father and when he went to the battle and he was going to take up arms against Goliath's brothers Delia, and the other stood there. We know the naughtiness of your heart. You're here to be seen, but here he is broken at the end without crutches and would you look those brothers and the father and the household went down to him.

Melanie had a practical note, when you're in the cave. You want people around if you been involved in leadership very much. There are times that you can't stand to be with people you hate to admit it publicly.

In fact, usually don't. But it's true. Sometime you just want to be alone and I have a feeling that this cave dweller David wanted nobody around because if he wasn't worth anything to himself. See is worth anybody else, and that's where some of you are. It's kind of a worm theology. I'm no good and I am I am fuzzy and ugly and scratchy and etc. etc. nobody was to be around me there to start itching type of thing David and Juan's family, but they came look at that God brought people to David and I'm convinced he didn't want them. But God brought them and they went to him. They crawled in the cave with that they came to him. I look something else. They were the only ones strangers came when a group everyone who was in distress.

The Hebrew words means in distress under pressure under stress. So, here came a body of pressured people. Second, there were those who were in debt not shot means to land on interest to have a number of creditors, so there were those that couldn't pay their bills. And third, there were than there were the Marinette fish which means to be in the snow so to have been used in wrong and missed treated been used and not to have been wrong and been mistreated that group K was always mean well, it means that in that day. The land was aching under the rule of Saul. Saul had overtaxed the people he had used them.

He was a bad man given to intense depression and they were suffering the consequences naked and standing longer, so there were these people who were depressed and and dad and discontented and they were they were malcontents. There was a cave full of malcontents you imagine that it's bad enough to be in there alone is a worm, but to have 400 more worms crawling there with you but that's a disease and look at the next chapter. Chapter 23 verse 13 then David and his man 600. It said there are 200 more worms that have joined the camp they arose and departed from key Ila goes on to tell stories of battle and victory in battle. Now don't you see something you wouldn't get this, but just glancing over the cave. The dolmen and zinging on to something else want you to see and what you feel it, God is rerouting the life of David sure he's in the cave sure he feels worthless.

He feels useless.

He feels mistreated. He feels misunderstood Ms. indicate as far as brothers come his family come comes in then. Before long, strangers begin a drop in how the word traveled but before long there were 600 people who became his ministry. See what it says says he became captain.

He accepted the leadership over them. What a chore. What a task. Here is this very uniquely gifted musician working with guys that have no taste I can just picture David trying to teach them some of the songs they couldn't carry a tune in a bucket for the Tabernacle choir. This is the cave dweller acquired right here and I can imagine. Forgive me for this earthy fact that I can imagine how the cave must've smelled with 600 guys and dumped no, place was that that was in place, training, do you know that these man became David's mighty man in first Chronicles 10 first Chronicles 11.

It describes these men as his mighty man in battle and they became his cabinet when he took office to turn these lives around so that he built into them character and direction, but a crucial decision not to walk away, he became the At this point in our study of David's life were beginning to see the work of his story. Once a shepherd boy and now a noble warrior who recruited mighty men to join him in battle. There's much more to this message to hear and we urge you to join us for the next episode of Insight for living because Chuck Swindoll will continue to describe David's were spiked in the cave, but keep listening right now because will hear a closing comment from Chuck as well. To learn more about this ministry.

Be sure to visit us online@insideworld.org right now though. Let me remind you that Chuck wrote a full-length biography on David. It's called David a man of passion and destiny. Later in life. David made some regrettable mistakes. Even so, God maintained his affection for David. It's a beautiful story of forgiveness and redemption and woman throughout David's remarkable life are timeless lessons that apply to anyone who is willing to apply them. That's the gist of Chuck's biography recounting the biblical story and allowing God's wisdom to emerge, to purchase a copy of Chuck's biography on David give us a call if you're listening in the United States, call 800-772-8888 or go online to Insight.org/offer insight for living relies on your personal support to make these daily programs not only on your local radio station. But on a variety of channels that make learning more about the Bible easily accessed by people everywhere. This includes, of course, a smart phone app, the Internet, and even a free daily devotional that comes through email and in three weeks from now.

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When Chuck Swindoll describes the warrior David in survival mode. That's our topic Friday on Insight for living in the preceding message for cave dwellers only was copyrighted in 1977, 1988 19 97 and 2009 and the sound recording was copyrighted 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights are reserved worldwide.

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