Good morning. How you feeling today? Have you been running all week? Have you been just exhausting yourself with all that's going on? Wonder what your day is looking like today. What's before you? This is a song called Running on Empty by a guy named Jackson Browne. One of my favorites. And Jackson Browne worked hard at writing songs. He writes this, he says in this song Running on Empty, he says, everyone I know, everywhere I go, people need some reason to believe. I don't know about anyone but me. If it takes all night, that'll be all right. If I can get you to smile before I leave. The whole goal is to encourage because the reality is we're running on empty. There's times where we just don't have anything and you know that feeling if you've ever been driving the car and you look and A gas station seems so far down the road and that is getting so close to E. How are you doing in your spiritual life right now? I was just thinking about this when we're looking at this together and we come to this section of scripture where David is hiding. He's exhausted. He's been running on empty. And yet in the midst of it, he is going to be doing some songwriting. Take a listen to what Glenn Frey says about songwriting. Because sometimes people think that putting together a song, Glenn Frey was the lead singer for the band The Eagles, and he learned a lesson from Jackson Brown, who wrote that song, Running on Empty. He learned a lesson on what it takes to write a song. Take a listen. We slept late in those days, except around nine o'clock in the morning I'd hear Jackson Brown's teapot going off with this whistle in the distance. And then I'd hear him playing piano. I didn't really know how to write songs. I knew I wanted to write songs, but I didn't know exactly. You just wait around for inspiration. What was the deal? Well, I learned through the Jackson ceiling and my floor exactly how to write songs, because Jackson would get up, and he'd play the first verse and first chorus. And he'd play it 20 times until he had it just the way he wanted. And then there'd be silence. And then I'd hear the teapot go off again. and it'd be quiet for 10 or 20 minutes. Then I'd hear him start to play again, and there was a second verse. So then he'd work on the second verse, and he'd play it 20 times. And then he'd go back to the top of the song, and he'd play the first verse, the first chorus, and the second verse another 20 times until he was really comfortable with it, and, you know, change a word here or there, and I'm up there going, so that's how you do it. Elbow grease, you know, time, thought, It just doesn't happen. It's a fluke if that's the case. Songwriting is hard work. And yet we meet this man named David who's a shepherd. He has been a warrior. Ultimately he'll be a king. We saw last time we were together that he was an actor. Remember when he was acting like a crazy man in front of the a king of the Philistines, and he was a musician. He was a songwriter. And that took a lot. That took elbow grease. That took time. That took pain. to make these songs. And I know they're inspired of God, but God used these individuals and the things that they went through as they were writing these songs. So let's pray and then get into the story today. Father, I ask you, Lord, that you would use our time together to encourage where encouragement is needed, to challenge where challenge is needed, and that as we, look in these scriptures, we would know that this is truth. This isn't just a fable. These aren't just moral stories that we walk away with and try harder, but that we would understand that these are people that you invested in, that you changed their lives, that you impacted so that they would have an impact on our lives. So would you help us with that today? I don't know if there's anybody here listening to this, seeing this today, who's running on empty and they need encouragement. God, would you provide that? It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Point number one, if you're taking notes, is when we are surrounded, when we are surrounded. Look at the first part of verse one of chapter 22 of the book of 1 Samuel. David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. A cave is not an easy place to be. My wife and I have often, because of Missouri, been around enjoying our time here. And there's the Meramec Caverns. You go down in there and you realize these caves and there's an intricate passageways. You go up to Hannibal, Missouri and you would spend that time in the caves there as you're looking at the home of Mark Twain and the things that encouraged him in writing Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. And you'd go into the caves and they would have the flashlights and then at a certain point they would shut them off and you'd see the you wouldn't see anything. There'd just be complete darkness. And so you see, David has departed from there. He was in the land of the Philistines and now he's departed from there and he's escaped to the cave of Adullam. And there's two Psalms that were written while David was in that cave. and they show a deep work going on in his soul at the time. Take a look at, listen to this from Psalm 57. This is called a Mictum of David. I keep sharing this, but I want you to have an understanding. When you read the Psalms and you see the superscription above where the verses start, that's inspired too. God put that in there so that we would know the story behind the song. And it's a Mictum of David. A Mictum was a Psalm that was a teaching Psalm And it says, when he fled from Saul in a cave. So he is doing the elbow grease. You can imagine the times that he's putting a song together. with what's going on around him. And it says this, beginning at verse five, be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth. They set a net for my steps. My soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. And then he says, selah, which is stop and think about that. My heart is steadfast, O God. My heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody. Awake, my glory. Awake, O harp and lyre. I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth. So that's just one song that he writes, but he doesn't just write one, he writes another one. Psalm 142, a mictum of David, a teaching psalm. When he was in a cave. Beginning at verse three. When my spirit faints within me, you know my way. In the path where I walk, they have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see. There is none who takes notice of me. No refuge remains to me. No one cares for my soul. I cry to you, O Lord. I say, you are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low. Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. "'Bring me out of prison, "'that I may give thanks to your name. "'The righteous will surround me, "'for you will deal bountifully with me.'" So you see the hope there as he's putting these songs together in a cave. It's wet, it's dark, it's gross. And it goes on here, and he says this. And when his brothers, this is verse one still, and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to join him. And so, we want to be comfortable. But God knows that our souls do not grow in times of comfort. Therefore, he puts us in places where his work can be done. When his word can take root. And Family members now make their way toward him. And look what continues to happen. And everyone, verse 2, everyone who was in distress and everyone who was in debt, you got to wonder if Saul has loaded on huge taxation to these people. So everyone who is in distress, Everyone who is in debt and everyone who was bitter in soul gathered to Him. And He became commander over them. And there were with Him about 400 men. So think of that, and you don't know if that includes 400 men, that may include beyond the men, women and children that are there. We don't know exactly, but they're distressed. They're in debt. They're discontented and this group would eventually become David's mighty men. This is going to become an elite fighting unit. David was flawed. And indeed, yet more is written about David than any other man in Scripture because he was a man after God's own heart, a man who pursued God. And as these 400 men spent time with him, they would become like him. Who we're spending time with has an impact on who we become. And eventually he builds this fighting force and it's not a fighting force that he's going to use against Saul. It's a fighting force for God. And these are the ones that would come alongside the anointed one. And I want you to notice here, as we look at that in verse two, everyone who's in distress, everyone who's in debt, everyone who's in bitter in soul, God does this. This is a pattern with God. We see that with the church. Look at 1 Corinthians 1, 26 and 27. It says, For consider your calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. And so this has been the pattern. And it's a pattern that is the way God does things. He uses this motley crew to, as it says in Acts 17, verse six, turn the world upside down. That's the God we serve. And why does he do that? So that he will get the glory. So David is in the cave. David is songwriting. David's got all these people around him that are looking to him for leadership and help. And you may be feeling that today. You may be someone that people are looking to you for leadership and help. And you know, how am I going to do this? But God, and you're running on empty. Look at verses three and four of chapter 22. And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab. Mizpah is the watchtower of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, Please let my father and my mother stay with you till I know what God will do for me." Now, you would hear that and go, man, Moab, if I remember right, Moab, these are enemies of the people of God. These are the enemies of the people of Israel. But David understands that he's got some relatives there. If you remember, David's great-grandmother was Ruth. Ruth and Boaz, Matt. Boaz and Ruth had Obed, Obed and his wife had Jesse, and Jesse and his wife had David. And so there is a relationship here. And so David, even though he's got all of these things going on, he's caring for his family. And probably the case is his family has been realizing we're in danger with Saul. How could we, Saul hurt David, I could do something to his parents. I could do something to his brothers. And so you got to think that they are gathering in that cave, they're scared because, boy, this is our brother. Yeah, he beat Goliath. You'd think that we would be the toast of the town, that we would be completely respected from now on. But the tables have turned and now Saul is out to get him. And I love the fact that David, even though he's really, really busy, he still understands that the commandment says, honor your father and mother. And so he brings them to this place to be safe. And he says this, and he left them with the king of Moab, verse four, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. And so, he entrusted his parents, these family members, extended family, to the Moabites. And I like how he says this, he says in verse 3, "'Til I know what God will do for me." So, even in the midst of all this stuff, he's still trusting in God. Know this, brothers and sisters, as you hear this from the Word today, God is not done with you yet. continually look to Him, trust Him. He can be trusted. And then look at this, verse five, then the prophet Gad said to David, so this prophet now comes into the time where he is speaking for God. It is interesting how there continues to be a shift in what God is doing when it comes to the economy with Israel. What I mean by the word economy, I mean that being house rules. We've worked from Moses and Aaron. We've come out of Egypt. Joshua did his thing. The judges and all that went on there. Now we've moved into a monarchy. And so there have been times where David senses the calling of God in his life in different ways, but God seems to be using now a specialized group of people called the prophets to speak for God into their lives. And we'll see that we saw that with Samuel. The main one at the beginning was Moses, but we saw that with Samuel. Now this individual named Gad, who's probably from the School of the Prophets, ultimately we'll see later in David's life, Nathan, but this man Gad has an impact on David for a very long time. And he says to him this, he says, do not remain in the stronghold, depart and go into the land of Judah. So David departed, and went into the forest of Herath." Okay? Leave that stronghold, leave the fortress in the wilderness, get back to Judah, and that's a place of praise. God says that to David and he heads into the forest. And so we see those steps being taken. Point number two, when we are silenced. When we are silenced. Now we move from, the camera moves from David back to Saul. Meanwhile, back at the palace. Meanwhile, back in the person who is now the rejected one. We've moved from the anointed one to the rejected one, and we see something going on here. Verse 6, Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tarimisk tree, or a palm tree, on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him with a spear in hand, as always. Saul's in Ramah, approximately five miles from Jerusalem. He's always leaning toward violence. He's against the anointed. He is Antichrist. He's one who opposes Christ. And as we watch this, we will see a pattern, and that pattern even continues today. In the New Testament, the Christ is the anointed one, Christos, christened, Messiah. He's the anointed one. David is a forefather of Jesus. Jesus is his name. Christ is his title. And so we see in the book of 1 John, God teaching us some things about Antichrist. This is the spirit of Antichrist. This is what Saul was like. Children, this is 1 John 2.18. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. 1 John 2.22. Who is the liar? But he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. the Anointed One. This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 1 John 4, 3, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. And so as you and I watch the news, and sometimes you would look, why are we preaching through 1 Samuel? Because God said throughout his word that we look back and we learn from it. We're moving toward a person named Jesus. And so if you watch the news today, if you see things going on and it just doesn't line up, why are people so opposed to what God wants to do? It's the spirit of Antichrist. And he told us this would happen. And understand that. And Saul is a personification of that. What happens when we reject the anointed one? This is what happens. Antichrist. Look at verses 7 and 8. And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, Here now, people of Benjamin, will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? that all of you have conspired against me, no one discloses to me. When my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, none of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in wait as at this day." "'Doesn't anyone feel bad for me?' he's saying." Saul's asking his servants, "'You knew my son was in league with David, yet you didn't tell me." And he's asking his own people, the Benjaminites, would David take care of you like I have? He wants to buy loyalty. And this was predicted by Samuel, remember? Back in 1 Samuel 8, when they said, we want a king, give us a king like everybody else. Samuel said, back in 1 Samuel 8, beginning of verse 12, and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. And then verse 14 and 15, he will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the 10th of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. And so he's buying loyalty here. He's saying, who else does this for you? And doesn't this sound satanic? Jesus was tempted by the devil. He took him into the wilderness and he shows him all these things. If you bow down to me, I'll give you all this. Instead of doing the right thing, you do whatever I say and I'll give you stuff. And that should never be our motivation. That should never be our drive in why we do what we do. And yet, we see this antichrist, this anti the anointed one doing that. If my motivation, if I'm moving not based on what is the right thing, what the anointed one, the Christ would want me to do, that's a scary place to head. Verses 9 and 10. Then answered Doeg, here he comes, remember from last time we were together, Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, and he inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine." So it's almost like he comes out of the darkness and after Saul has confronted all of his servants, Doeg is happy. He's not part of the covenant people. That's why it keeps being stressed, Doeg the Edomite. And so he comes out and he's glad to say, oh yeah, I saw what happened. but he's implied something there. He implied that David inquired the Lord so he could do battle against Saul. He takes advantage of Saul's growing paranoia. And if you notice there, he mentioned something that was never said, that Ahimelech did that. We do know that Ahimelech gave him the bread. We do know that Ahimelech gave him the sword, but we never, this inquiring of the Lord for him, He knew that that would be the thing that would bug Saul, so that's what he starts with. He ties it to that. Look at verse 11. Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house. The priests were at Nab, and all of them came to the king. So we've got a bunch of men, ultimately we'll know that there's 85 of them that show up in this entourage that head over to the palace because Saul has called them because of the lie of Doeg. Doeg knows what he's doing. He's adding where it's needed. He's not really telling them what happened because Ahimelech didn't know. He thought David was in service to Saul. That's what David said. David had lied. But Doeg doesn't say that. He's acting like Ahimelech is in alliance with David. And you see the response of Ahimelech as all of them come. And so they all get there. And Saul says to him, Here now, son of Ahithob. He doesn't even call him his name. This seems to be a pattern with Saul. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. And Saul said to him, why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him so that he has risen against me to lie in wait as at this day? So he's listing all the things that Doeg said that he did. Then Ahimelech answered the king, And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law and captain over your bodyguard and honored in your house?" And so he hears what Saul says. He doesn't discount what Doeg has said. And he is very direct in the fact that, well, David is faithful to you. He's the most faithful. He's fought for you. He's your son-in-law. You put him in the place of being a commander. And it's just, it's so foreign in his mind. Verse 15, is today the first time that I've inquired of the Lord for him? He's thinking, David has been a person that is really into God. He's been a person that probably shows up at the tabernacle on a regular basis to know of God. So he says, is today the first time that I've inquired the Lord God for him? No. Let not the king impugn anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little." So he's saying, yeah, I inquired the Lord, but I would do that because I want him to be successful. Because when he's successful, you're successful. He's not lying. So Saul calls all these priests to come. He calls them and Ahimelech pleads his case. He knows nothing of what is being said here. He thought David was simply on an errand for Saul. He doesn't disagree with Doeg, but he's innocent. Look at verses 16 and 17. And the king said, you shall surely die, Ahimelech. Now he gives him his name. You and all your father's house. And the king said to the guard who stood about him, turn and kill the priest of the Lord, because their hand also is with David. And they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me." So, he's consumed with paranoia. He's consumed with jealousy. He's ordering his servants to kill the priest because they assisted David. And look at the response of these servants as they Look at Saul who's ordered this of them. But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. So to their eternal credit, Saul's servants wisely and courageously refused that order. Look at verse 18. Then the king said to Doeg, You turn and strike the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests and he killed on that day 85 persons who wore the linen ephod. Doeg stepped in to commit this horrendous act out of cruelty as the blood of 85 priests was shed. As wrong as Doeg is in doing this, he is fulfilling what God told Samuel would happen as a result of Eli's failure to correct his son. Remember that back in 1 Samuel 3? Then the Lord said to Samuel, behold, I'm about to do a thing in Israel. at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day, I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house from the beginning to the end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever for the iniquity that he knew because his sons were blaspheming God and he did not restrain them. Therefore, I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.' And Samuel lay until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli." This had been promised. And so, God allowed this to happen because He's doing something. And sometimes when we sin, we think time will take care of everything, but there are ramifications for what we've done, ramifications for what people have done before us. And God takes his word seriously. And so we see that this is what happens. And it isn't just that, but look at verse 19. And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword, both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey, and sheep, he put to the sword." So, Doeg has on this murderous rampage to direct result of David's lie. David thought he was simply protecting himself. But when you twist the truth, the repercussions of that are most often much more severe than we could imagine. And that's the spirit of Antichrist. We see John in his second letter saying in verse 7, For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Such a one is the deceiver and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. So one of Ahimelech's sons escapes and he follows David. And you would think the last guy that he would want to see is David. After all, it's David's lie that set in motion the events that would kill his family. But God's hand is seen because Abiathar would go on to become a priest in David's kingdom. We see that it's moving from Nab ultimately to a place called Jerusalem where a temple will be built. And God will do his work through David's son. God does what he does. Look at verses 22 and 23. And David said to Abiathar, I knew on that day When Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul, I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house. It's my fault. Stay with me. Do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me, you shall be in safekeeping. It's my fault, David says. I brought about this tragedy that killed your family, but I will stand by you. You'll be safe with me." Stick around, Abbie Ather, and he does just that. And when you and I watch the news today, and we see ideologies that go against the truth, the truth of the Word, the truth of Christ, Jesus calls himself the Word. Jesus calls himself the truth. When we watch that, just know If it doesn't make sense to you, you're in good company. And when you think there's no good news, know that there is good news and it's tied to the person of Jesus Christ. There is a Savior and ultimately He wins. Let's go back as we're wrapping up our time together. Let's go back to where we started today, where David is in the cave. I like what Chuck Swindoll writes. He says, caves of Adullam still exist today. They're not necessarily rocky shelters in the side of a mountain, but the protected places where we flee to escape life's troubles. What are some of the caves of Adullam that you've seen people run to? Think about that. Maybe that's a good discussion to have. What are your most comforting hiding places? And why do you go there? What if David had never left his hiding place? And when does a cave become a prison? Do any of your places of refuge control your life? David entered his cave full of despair and emerged full of praise. And how is that the case? Because his true hiding place was in God. He wrote this later in his life. He says in Psalm 32, verse seven, you are my hiding place for me. You preserve me from trouble. You surround me with shouts of deliverance. And then he says, Selah. Think about that. Take a listen to this song. You are my hiding place. You are my hiding place You always fill my heart Whenever I am afraid I will trust in you I will trust in you Let the weak say I am strong In the strength of the Lord I will trust in You. I will trust in You. I will trust in You. Let the weak say, I am strong in the strength of the Lord. I will trust in You. It's good to know. Would you turn with me to Psalm 52? Psalm 52. I'd like you to look at it with me for a second here. Psalm 52 has a superscription that says this, to the choir master, a mascal of David. So once again, it's a teaching song. When Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, David has come to the house of Ahimelech. Let's read this together. Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day. Your tongue plots destruction like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. You love evil more than good and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah. You love all words that devour, oh deceitful tongue. But God will break you down forever. He will snatch and tear you from your tent. He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah, the righteous shall see in fear and shall laugh at him saying, see the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever because you have done it. I will wait for your name for it is good in the presence of the godly." It's a hard song to write. He's gone through difficult times. He's writing caves and he's writing after loads of people that he cared about, that invested in him. died, and yet he's able to praise the Lord. It's because his hiding place was God. Let's pray. Father, help us. I don't know where this message finds everybody listening, but you do, and I'd ask you that their hiding place would be you. Once again, that rock of ages, cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee. Thank you, Lord. And it's in the name of your son, Jesus, we pray this. Amen.