Where Broken Souls Must Go

So we are going to read from 1 Samuel 22. A number of verses here. I am not going to read the entire chapter, but many of you will know about King David. You would be aware of this man who was a man after God’s own heart, who wrote the vast majority of the Psalms, and who had a unique role under God to serve his generation, which he did, as God’s Word tells us.

He served. After he had served his generation, he fell asleep, which is the best that any of us can do. Serve your generation, and then your time is up, which is what he did. But the journey there was not easy.

The trials were many. Although he had been set apart by God, you will read earlier in 1 Samuel that the prophet Samuel came. Saul had given clear evidence of his rebellion against God, and now the prophet was directed by God to anoint the next king. He was told to go to the house of Benjamin, to a particular household.

The man named Jesse had seven sons. When the prophet arrived at the household, the sons were all lined up. At least, that is what he was led to believe. But it was not this one, not Eliab. It was not this one, nor that one. As the line continued, the prophet reached a point where he asked, “Have you any more sons?” Yes, I do.

David, the young lad, was outside. No one had imagined for a moment that David would be the one God intended to anoint. But he was called in and anointed. Yet it did not become easy for God’s servant. He faced many trials, battles, hardships, discouragements, and pressures.

Eventually, he would become king. And we are in the midst of that time, when he was anointed, but the current king, Saul, remained. Saul had become increasingly hostile toward David, jealous, and even a growing madness was descending upon him.

So, in 1 Samuel 22, let us read God’s Word from verse 1.

“David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.

“And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

“And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother I pray thee come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.

“And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.

“And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.”

Amen.

We will end the reading at verse 5. What you have heard is the Word of the eternal God, which you are to receive, believe, and obey. And the people of God said, Amen.

Let us pray.

Lord, this is your Word. Every word of God is pure. We lift up this portion. We present it before you, that it may serve your purposes tonight. We ask that you will give help in reading, in understanding, and in proclaiming. We ask, O God, that you will meet with us here. I pray especially for stillness and a sense of your presence. Shut us in, O God.

We pray for the good seed to find good ground. Oh, we pray it. Every Christian desires this so deeply, that the good seed would find good ground. Grant that it may be so. We pray that the birds of the air may be prevented from stealing away the good seed. Save the lost, therefore, we pray, and encourage your people as we ponder your Word tonight.

Come, give the Holy Spirit. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

I do not know if you have ever experienced being attacked and falsely accused, whether you have ever endured a sustained assault on your character. But whatever you have gone through, I doubt any of us here have faced what David experienced in the form of the attacks that came his way because of Saul.

Every effort to please the king had failed. Every attempt to show his loyalty, to demonstrate that he would be dependable, that he would serve faithfully, that he would be a capable captain and warrior in battle—none of these efforts succeeded.

Then a deep anger overcame Saul. His anger increased, his madness grew worse, and by the end of this chapter he had ordered the slaughter of the priests. This was a low point in Israel’s history.

David, recognizing that reconciliation was impossible and that his efforts to please Saul had come to nothing, found himself fleeing for his life.

We meet him here in chapter 22, having found a place known as the Cave of Adullam. It was there that he found temporary refuge. We do not know the exact circumstances. It may have offered good defense. It may have been a narrow passage, difficult to access, making it hard for a large army to reach him at once.

In this way, it was a precarious location. We do not know all the details of the terrain, but it certainly seemed advantageous to David, a man experienced in warfare, to remain there, as his safety would be greater by staying.

And it is there in that cave that God is pleased to refresh and encourage His servant. We have a number of Psalms—Psalm 57 and Psalm 142—those are the Psalms we know of in which he is in this cave. Particularly in Psalm 57, you can see how the Lord is upholding His servant through this very difficult time.

You can read it for yourself. The title given to Psalm 57 is “When he fled from Saul in the cave.”

Of course, he is crying from his heart: “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpast.”

Again, David finds himself a man in conflict. This is his king. He wants so badly to serve him. He wants so badly to be one who helps him, but he has turned himself into an enemy, and he is crying out to God to be merciful. He does not want to be an insubordinate citizen.

So he cries to God Most High, unto God that performeth all things for me.

“He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

“My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.”

Let me stop here. When you are praying and your back is against the wall, and the future is dire and uncertain, and you have no idea what is coming, but it seems very threatening, do you pray this way?

“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.”

You see, his heart, even in the midst of challenges and difficulties, has been trained to lean into the exaltation of his God no matter what.

“They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.

“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

“Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.”

See the place of song in the midst of sorrow, the place of singing when in great distress.

“I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.

“For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.”

And to that we say, Amen.

David finds in that place that God is there, that God is meeting with him there, and that God is comforting his heart in that very location of darkness, which he has found to be a refuge for a time.

And God needs to keep him and preserve him, which he is doing in his soul, but in other ways as well. Even as you have read with me these opening verses, David no doubt reluctantly goes to Moab, makes an agreement with the king of Moab, and manages to secure some kind of peace with him so that he can place his parents there, that they might be safe, that they might dwell there during this uncertain time.

See his responsibility to his family, he is feeling that, taking responsibility to care for them.

And then the prophet, God uses a prophet to help him. Verse 5, do not remain in the stronghold. You cannot stay here, David. You must go to the land of Judah.

There was certainly much that needed to happen in relation to this, but one part was to encourage the Lord’s servant to be in the place where the conflict over what is right could reach its climax. This would hasten the awareness of people about who is in the right and who is in the wrong.

It would place God’s chosen leader against the people’s chosen leader, bringing the matter to a conclusion. Judah could not remain hidden, nor could David hide forever. He needed to go to a place where Saul could no longer ignore him, and where he could no longer ignore Saul, so that the will of the Lord might be fulfilled.

This passage reveals much about Christ, as the Old Testament does from Genesis onward. It shows us truths that we can learn from, and I trust that as we consider it tonight, these truths will be of encouragement.

I want us to focus particularly on the first two verses found in 1 Samuel 22. Consider especially how David serves as a type of Christ, and how sinners must make their way to Him.

I want us to reflect this evening on where broken souls must go.

Where broken souls must go.

Read again verses 1 and 2.

“David therefore departed thence and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brethren and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented, gathered themselves to him. He became a captain over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.”

Note, first of all with me, the kind of people who come. The kind of people who come to this leader, this one named David.

First of all, we are told that they are men in distress. Verse 2 states, “everyone that was in distress.” The word “distress” here carries a sense of anguish or narrowness. It describes a condition of confinement. The circumstances are such that their lives are marked by a feeling of being enclosed. They have been brought into a narrow, pressing situation.

These are men who feel themselves under pressure. Life has closed in around them, and they now find themselves with nowhere to turn except to go to David.

The word translated as “distress” in verse 2 appears multiple times in Deuteronomy 28. In that chapter, God speaks of blessings and curses upon Israel. The term is used three times to describe what will happen to Israel when they turn away from God, and how their enemies will bring this distress upon them, as it is translated.

In other words, when they turn their backs on God and reject Him, God will allow life to become confined around them. He will enclose their lives, and He will use the enemies of His people in His providence to accomplish this.

He is governing over their enemies. He is using them for the benefit of His people, even in what appears to be judgment.

This is how they find themselves. Again, if you go back to the history, these are men who may have been among the crowd that called upon Samuel, longing for Saul to be their king. They wanted a king like the other nations, and Saul seemed suitable. Look at him—he was head and shoulders above everyone else. Make him king over us.

Well, they received what they desired, and now they are men in distress.

This is often how God deals with sinners. He brings them through the experience of distress, a narrowing. He begins to make things not turn out as they hoped. Life seems to enclose around them. Every path they seek to follow becomes blocked.

They look for promotion and financial success, but find nothing. They look for romance and love, but find nothing. They seek this thing, but find nothing. That thing, but find nothing. And as they turn, everywhere they look, things are falling apart. Life is narrowing in upon them, and sometimes this includes ill health.

Distress comes upon them, and they are described as experiencing hardship. God is gaining their attention. Many of you know people who were in this condition before they were converted—God brought distress into their lives.

It is not always the case. I often reflect on my own conversion, when I was the happiest I had ever been in my life. I could not have been more content with my circumstances than I was at that moment, except for one thing. Close to my conversion, I began to be troubled by a sense of my sin. But in terms of life, I was as happy as I had ever been.

Yet these men find themselves in distress, and perhaps that is exactly how you find yourself.

You are in distress. Acknowledge it. There is no point in pretending. You may try to redefine it or represent it in a better way than it truly is. God has brought you to a time of distress.

The old supports you once relied on are giving way. Friendships and relationships that once meant much to you are disappearing before your eyes. This is necessary. Some people must go through this. They will never seek Christ without first feeling a sense of misery.

Up to this point, they have managed to live without thinking about death or judgment. They have gone through life blindly, ignoring these realities. Now God is bringing distress. Questions begin to arise: why is this happening to me?

God is in it.

God brings trouble so that we might turn to Him.

Psalm 107 verse 6: “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.”

Hosea 5:15, God says, in their affliction they will seek Me early.

And so perhaps this is exactly what is happening in your life—distress. Are you listening to it? Are you paying attention to His providence? Are you sitting up in the classroom He has brought you into? Are you learning the lessons? Are you drawing the right conclusions?

This distress is being brought upon you by God.

They were not only men in distress; they were men in debt. The text tells us in verse 2 that everyone who was in debt. I doubt very much that when they were imagining Saul as their king and wanting a king in the first place, and desiring all of that, they were longing for the economy to show signs of collapse. I doubt very much that was what they had in mind.

They may have thought this would make us prosperous, that this would be good for us to have a king. That it would lead us into years of great economic prosperity, like the nations around us. You see, just what we need is a king who can negotiate, represent, and make alliances, and lead us into better times.

Have you ever longed for something and now look back and say, what was I thinking? What was I thinking? Perhaps you had a crush on someone and now look back and say, what was I thinking? Or some other situation. What was I thinking?

That is what these men must have been remembering. What were we thinking? Now they are in debt.

You see, and please do not misunderstand what I am about to say. I am not saying anything against the sitting president when I speak. I could not help but feel a moment of personal amusement just the other day.

I recall, only a few years ago, going to put gas in my car and seeing a sticker on the pump with a picture of President Biden pointing at the price digits, saying, “I did that.” The message was clear: if we had elected the right leader, we would not be paying these prices at the pump.

Do I need to say more?

I am not making a political statement. I am simply pointing out the narrow and misguided reasoning that some people use when their preferred leader is not in office.

We are still facing the same challenges. We know what this is like. Some may even feel fear as they look at the economy and wonder where it is headed. The truth is, this is what we have chosen.

These men have found themselves in debt. All the prosperity they had hoped for under Saul has disappeared. Now they are in debt and do not know where to turn.

This also illustrates clearly the condition of humanity before God. Man is in debt to God. Every sin increases a debt that he cannot repay. When our Lord Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6, He included the words: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

We have a debt to God that we cannot pay ourselves.

It is a profound moment when a person’s conscience is awakened and he begins, perhaps for the first time, to recognize that he is in debt.

You might illustrate it this way. You have lived your life and believe you have settled all your debts, paid off your loans, and are now debt-free. Then someone arrives at your door and says, “You owe a certain amount of money”—whatever that amount may be—enough to be overwhelming.

The impact of this debt would vary among members of this congregation. For some, learning they owe $10,000 would be crushing. For others, it would take a much larger sum to produce the same effect.

But I want you to imagine a debt so overwhelming that you were unaware of it until it suddenly appears, and you look at it and say, “This must be a mistake.” You then consult an attorney to investigate, to verify, and to try to prove that this debt cannot possibly be yours. You insist it has nothing to do with you.

But after exhausting every possible avenue, you discover that the debt is indeed yours. It rests upon you, and you have no means to repay it.

This is what happens to sinners at times. They live their lives believing they owe no one anything, imagining that everything is free and everything is fine.

Then comes the moment—this was me, this was definitely me—when they realize they are in debt before God. They understand that their sin is a problem, a problem they cannot resolve on their own.

These men came. What was David going to do? Did David have the means to pay their debts? No. But this points to the greater Son of David, who would do exactly that.

See Him here, illustrated as the One to whom we ought to go when we have a debt we cannot pay.

And those of us in this room who are saved and washed in the blood of Jesus Christ have discovered this truth in our Savior. We have discovered that when we come with the debt of our sin, He forgives. When we come to Him broken and ashamed and guilty, we give our sins to Him, and He forgives all our sins for Jesus’ sake.

Romans 5:6 tells us, “Christ died for the ungodly.”

When you realize that this is the only answer for sin, it confronts you and leads you to the same conclusion as these men: the only answer for us is not debt relief through Saul. We must go to David.

There were also men who were discontent. You read about them as well. All who were discontented. You may have a margin in your Bible that explains that the word means bitter of soul. These are men who are angry, upset, and bitter.

The kingdom under Saul had promised much but delivered little. I imagine this is truly illustrative of the prodigal son. It is what the prodigal son realized: he left his father’s house, went into the world expecting much, imagining that his inheritance would open doors for him, that everything would work out, that life would be better away from his father’s house.

But there, in sorrow, penniless and friendless, he remembers. He is trapped by bitterness over what he has lost, what cannot be recovered. He comes to a sense of his own folly and realizes how foolish he has been.

He thinks to himself, even the servants in my father’s house are better off. I will arise and go back to my father and be like one of his hired servants.

Thus, in the bitterness of having tasted what the world had to offer and finding it sweet for a time, we learn that the pleasures of sin are only for a season. Eventually, we exhaust the sweetness of their taste, and all that remains is bitterness on our palate.

This is what these men did. In this condition, they decided that our only hope is to go to David.

It is the same for the sinner. The only hope is in Christ. Arise and go to the Father. Arise and leave the world behind.

So this is what we find as we open this portion of God’s Word. The kind of men who go are given to us in clear language in verse 2.

But in the second place, note the kind of leader they found. The kind of leader they found.

The portion we have before us does not give this information in the same words here, at least not all of it, but the context, and I trust I have said sufficient for you to be able to fill in the details.

What they found, first of all, was a rejected leader. He was a rejected leader. They did not go to one who was close to the king, the one nearest to the source of power. They did not go to one who was appreciated and valued.

David was the best military leader in the nation, yet he was rejected. Saul could not overcome his own envy and personal hatred toward David. His soul was so consumed by anger against David, and truly, anger against God who had favored David. As a result, David had become a rejected leader, an outcast, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, one who was despised and rejected by men.

He was there initially, and he gathered his family around him. They went to him initially. No one else was with David. No one cared about him.

And yet, though rejected, though rejected, this did not change the choice God had made. He was still the one anointed. And there were some who could see through it all.

This illustrates again the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth. Largely speaking, the language of John 1:12, it is true. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

They were fulfilling Isaiah 53: “He was despised and rejected by men; we hid as it were our faces from Him. He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”

Largely, that was the case. But we know through the gospel accounts that there were a few. In many instances, they themselves were the outcasts. They themselves were the rejected and the despised. They themselves were the ones who were walked past and ignored. They were not the great. They were not the powerful. They were not the mighty. They were the ones overlooked.

And the Lord Jesus, calling men to serve Him in close proximity, walked past fishermen, tax collectors, and zealots—people who were hated. And the women whom He raised up and who then served Him, owing her very life to the Lord Jesus. Even powerful men like Herod’s steward, his right-hand man, whose wife could not be helped but was helped by the Lord Jesus.

And Mary, who was possessed by seven demons; and the woman from Samaria, and the woman who had had five husbands; and other prostitutes who wept at His feet. The religious leaders looked on and said, as Simon did in Luke 7, “If this man were a prophet, He would know what kind of woman this is.”

But He knew. He received. He loved. He cleansed. He took them in.

Oh, there was something about the wide, broad rejection of Jesus Christ that seemed to resonate with the outcasts, and they found in Him someone they believed would understand them.

These men left the power and influence of the palace—Saul, for example—and aligned themselves with the rejected leader.

This is what you ought to do as well. You feel yourself to be an outcast. You feel like you are not like others in this world. You have aspects of your story that remain untold, unpublicized because they are painful, embarrassing.

And yet, when you remember that Jesus Christ on this earth was despised, rejected, slandered, cast out, and crucified like a criminal upon the cross, does it not resonate in your soul?

Here is One who understands what it is like to wear the same burden that I feel I carry.

The world desires strength. It desires displays of power and wealth. Do we not do the same? We elevate the powerful, admire them, and write books about them. There may be some attraction to this at times.

But there is deep comfort. Our Lord Jesus was taken from among people and appointed a priest, as Hebrews 5 says. He is able to sympathize with those who come to Him because He understands.

They found a rejected leader.

They also found a righteous leader. David was not in the cave at Adullam because he had been wicked or sinful. He was not there because God had rejected him.

No, here is one who is righteous. Throughout this time he has maintained his integrity. He has been upright. He has been loyal to his king. He has refused the opportunities that might have been offered to undermine or oppose the current leader.

He does not proclaim that Samuel had anointed him to be the next king. He does not use this against the reigning king. He does not seek to take over by force. He maintains the integrity of his heart. He maintains a righteous posture.

This is the One we want to go to. We want to go to someone who is righteous. We want to go to someone we can trust, someone who is reliable, someone who does not speak from both sides of the mouth.

This is the Lord Jesus, unlike any other. When He makes a promise, He keeps it. When He says to sinners, “Come to Me, and I will not cast you out,” we discover the truth of it.

When we examine the pages of Scripture and seek any justification that might suggest we have sinned beyond the reach of His welcome, we find none. He has left that blank. It is not there. He has made it possible for the most guilty to come and be welcomed.

This is a difficult truth for some of us at times, at various points in our lives, to fully accept. You see this when you share the gospel, as people often struggle with the idea: so you are telling me that wicked people can come, while those who have done good things, who have given themselves to philanthropic efforts and the like, are cast out?

Yes, if they do not believe.

He is a righteous King. And as a righteous King, He sees, as the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 3, that the entire world is guilty. Everyone is guilty except for Him. He dies as the just One, the only just One. The only death that has ever come upon a perfectly innocent man is the death of Jesus Christ.

He is righteous, and we go to Him and discover His righteous, perfect rule, His love and care.

Oh, He is not like other kings, is He? Most kings expect their subjects to serve them. Jesus is the King who, by and large, is the One who serves. We do serve Him, yes. We do not deny that. But nothing we have done in service to Him can compare to His service in laying down His life, laying down His life for you.

David was righteous, but not like the greater Son of David, Jesus Christ.

They also found a restoring leader. A restoring leader.

You see here how they gather to Him, how they gather themselves to Him, and He becomes their captain. He restores a sense of purpose to them. They are not there merely to hide away in the cave and do nothing. They come with a desire to be of use, and He gives them purpose.

He restores them. He pities them in their condition. He does not send them away. He understands the plight of their souls, and He takes them in, gathers them under Himself, and restores them in a certain way, orders them, arranges them, and gives them a sense of place.

It is an amazing thing. There are many young people who reach a certain age and know exactly what they want to do with their life. This is not always the case, and some of you may be at this moment feeling that you should know what you should do with your life by now, but you are not yet certain and are still trying to figure it out.

I certainly understand what that is like. As happy as I was, as I mentioned earlier, I was completely aimless. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I considered joining the Air Force and filled out applications. I thought about doing this, then that—many possibilities. I truly did not know what I wanted to do.

Then I came under the King. If there was ever a reorientation of a person’s life, that was me. I came under His sovereign and loving rule. The fog of uncertainty about what to do with my life began to lift. There was still fear, because it seemed to be pointing in a particular direction. But there was also a clear sense of direction.

There is clarity in your life when you walk with the Lord. I say this to the young people: when you are trying to figure out what you should do with your life, your primary goal is not to determine what you should do with your life. Your primary goal is fellowship with the King.

The King will not leave His loyal subjects standing at a distance. He will deploy them. He will give them purpose. He will say, “Here is what I want you to do.” He will open doors. He will direct them in various ways within His kingdom.

The most important thing is this: I know some of you are wondering, “What should I do with my life? What am I supposed to do?” You are evaluating your situation, perhaps even making lists of advantages and disadvantages.

I tell you now, your primary goal must be fellowship with the King, and He will give you clarity. I guarantee it. There has never been a loyal subject in fellowship with the King who lived an aimless life.

It does not happen. He will send you where He wants you to go, and He will give you clarity about your purpose. Take this to heart. Do not ignore it. Do not make excuses.

You may have your times of prayer each morning, but are you truly growing in your relationship with God? Are you? Did you spend more time on indeed.com or discussing your skills with artificial intelligence, hoping that such things would reveal God’s direction for your life?

All of these distractions are not the way.

Come before God. Come before God. I promise you, He will guide your life.

That does not mean there will be no seasons of waiting. You may feel uncertain. Still, He will guide your life.

Those who are in Christ are new creations. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Titus 2:14 tells us that Christ gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people zealous for good works.

The bottom line is this: you will do good works. You will live a life of purpose. He will use the light you shine and the salt you are in this world.

Therefore, you should not turn to the David of history, but to the Christ of God. Go to Him and find One who was rejected, yet is righteous, and who restores. He will receive you.

But finally, the kind of change that followed. The kind of change that followed. We have seen the kind of men who went, the kind of leader they found, the kind of chains that fell.

Well, what happened to them?

In the first place, they were given protection. Being with David gave them protection, and this is what happens when you come to Christ. You find protection unlike anything else.

In a certain sense, there was a risk in aligning with David. Consider this for a moment. Things were bad under Saul. But Saul’s anger was directed in a particular way. His fury was focused. And so whatever is harmful to you now under him, there is a certain relief in recognizing that Saul’s anger is aimed at David.

And what did they do? They walked right into the center of where the king had concentrated his anger.

And there is a risk in becoming a Christian. The world knows its own, and the world generally leaves them alone. And Saul represents the world. Saul’s kingdom represents that worldly, fleshly system. And there are few who then align with Jesus Christ and stand with Him.

And as soon as you do, the world will hate you. They will hate you. You will come into, as I said, the center of their hostility, their rejection, their malice, their disdain.

And so there is a risk involved. You come into allegiance with Jesus Christ. You bow your knee to Him. Let me tell you, there is a cost. There is a cost. There is a price to be paid. And you must count that cost.

But I am telling you, it is worth it. And these men knew it was worth it. So they went to Him, knowing this, because they would find protection there. And they did. There with David, they were protected.

Oh, it made things more dangerous, but they were protected.

And this is true. True in the gospel. In the world, you can find the protection of the world by being one of them. But you are exposed. You are exposed before the living God.

It is far better to have peace with God and be at odds with the world than to be at peace with the world and at odds with God. For God will have the final say.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Therefore, it is better to be near Jesus, where He is a strong tower to which the righteous run for safety. And we pray that we may be led to the rock that is higher than us, for He has been a shelter to us and a strong tower against the enemy.

They were not only given protection, but also strength. Not worldly power, not self-confidence, but strength under this captain.

You read about David and his men, and the victories they experienced, and how God used them powerfully. When you read the commentators, some describe these men as misfits, as farmers who knew nothing. But when you read further, you discover that these men knew how to wage war.

This is what the Lord will do. The Lord will take men and women in, bring them under His care, place the shield of faith in one hand and the sword of the Spirit in the other, and send them into the world to oppose the enemy.

This is what we desire for our children: that they may oppose the enemy. We want them to be like arrows in the hand of a mighty man. We want our children to be sent into the world to make a difference against the kingdom of darkness.

Thus, the Lord gives us power. Again, this power is not in us, for without Him we can do nothing, but with Him we can accomplish much. His grace is sufficient, and His strength is made perfect in weakness.

They were also given purpose. As I said, they did not remain hidden in the cave forever. Their master had a calling for them, gave them work to do, and they went forth.

Broken souls must go, not to David, but to David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ. You can be in a world just like they were, where life is collapsing in on you, and you are distressed, in debt, and discontented, with nowhere to turn.

But at the point where you think there is nowhere to turn, I tell you there is always somewhere to turn.

Turn to Jesus Christ.

Let me make this plain. Jesus Christ speaks with clarity to those who are oppressed and broken, who feel they have nowhere to turn.

Come to Me. Not the mighty, not those who have everything figured out. Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. I will give you rest.

Have you taken Him at His word? Have you obeyed His invitation? Have you come to Him?

It is time to leave Saul and the world. It is time to leave that worldly kingdom. It is time to abandon your allegiance, your allegiance to family and friends, where you feel that if you become a Christian, you will lose them.

Well, no doubt it was the same for these men. Aligning with David meant becoming enemies of even some in their own household, but it was worth it. They made the right choice.

And so every sinner who comes to Jesus Christ makes the right choice. It is the right choice.

And it is a choice made rightly in the immediate moment, in the moment you are living. It is not a choice made rightly when you delay it, when you procrastinate, or when you imagine you have future time to depend on, thinking you will get to it someday.

Oh, I urge you to understand that the invitation comes tonight. He calls now, for now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation.

It is a serious thing to treat time lightly, to imagine you have more of it, or to believe you will have another opportunity. You may not.

As I said this morning, a car accident at the age of 38, at the age of 16. Sixteen. There may be some of you here who, if you were taken into eternity at the age of 16, would be in hell right now. If you were taken into God’s eternity at the age of 16, you would be in hell.

This is why we do not wait. It is why we do not delay. It is why you rise and go to Jesus Christ and accept Him by His Word, which invites you.

If you confess your sins, if you confess your sins, you agree with God about your sin. You acknowledge the debt you owe, a debt you can never pay. He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you, to wipe the slate clean of all unrighteousness.

Oh, will you receive the pardon, and receive it now?