God in the Chaos

Hey, if you got your Bibles with you, let's turn to 1st Samuel chapter 19. 1st Samuel chapter 19. This is the last message I'll do this year in 1st Samuel chapter 19. We'll break into the Christmas messages talking about Emmanuel and God with us. But today we're going to talk about 1st Samuel 19. And it strikes me it's a very appropriate message because the title of the message today is God in the chaos, return of the javelin. And I say it's an appropriate message because Christmas Christmas is chaos. I mean, we celebrate the birth of Christ, but come on. We're going into debt. We're getting stressed. We want to have the perfect gifts. We want to have the perfect parties. We want to dress right, look right, feel right. There's a lot of chaos going on. And as was alluded to in the prayer, there's a lot of stress in the season, too. Not just on the political spectrum, but internally, externally with your families. It's chaos. But God, God is God of the chaos. And we're going to see that very powerfully in 1st Samuel chapter 19. So, if you got your Bibles, let's turn there. If you don't have your Bible, get it on your phone. Turn there. If you don't have that, then pick one out of the pew and turn there because I want you to see God in the story. Have you ever felt like life sometimes is like a dodgeball tournament that you didn't sign up for? I mean, one moment you're you're sipping coffee, you're having your peaceful time minding your own business, and the next minute, whoosh, life throws something at you like an emotional or spiritual javelin right at your head. Well, you're right at home in 1st Samuel 19. David understands exactly what that feels like. David is in a palace that God has placed him in. David is faithfully serving. David is honoring authority. David is doing nothing but winning battles. He's winning so much he's sick of winning. He's writing Psalms. He's being the kind of employee that usually with his service would get employee of the month club so he could park his donkey in the royal parking space, you know, but he gets a spirit thrown at him. What do you do when the person you've been serving suddenly becomes the one that's trying to destroy you? What do you do when you get the text message from a loved one that says, "I've I've started dating somebody else. You mean you've already been doing it?" What do you do when the promotion becomes a place of danger? And how do you walk with a God when you can't predict the next spear? Well, the chapter answers that by showing us that something higher than human effort, deeper than fear, stronger than any earthly throne is at work. And this is not primarily a chapter about David's courage, but really it's about God's unstoppable hand in directing David's steps even when David can't see it, can't predict it, and can't control it. This is a chapter where God says, you know, when others are trying to take you out, I'll keep you alive. This is a God who is who is protecting, who who's guiding, who's shielding, who who's redirecting, who's overruling, who's positioning quietly, invisibly, unfailingly. This is not just David's story. It's yours. Because every one of us knows what it's like to have a chapter in our life that doesn't add up. Where your workplace becomes unpredictable. Where your friendships shift. Where someone else's jealousy begins poisoning your life. When your home is no longer peaceful. When you're when you have grandchildren you're not allowed to hold. When you're when you're running not from armies but from anxiety, from fear, from exhaustion, from expectations. when you're following the Lord the best you know how and suddenly trouble finds you. First Samuel is a reminder that God uh doesn't allow anything to catch him off guard. That nothing in your life catches God off guard. That nothing in your life can outrun his plan. That nothing in your life can undo his promise. Let's jump on in to verse one and walk through this chapter. And I want you to see how God works in the chaos because this chapter opens on a disturbing note. Verse one. And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. Saul, Israel's first king, the anointed leader, is now planning a murder. And this isn't just some random burst of anger. It's a strategy session. It's a called staff meeting with a horrifying agenda. And at first glance, it looks like David's future is hanging by a thread. I mean, you got the king. You got the governmental powers coming together. But here's the key. Nothing in this chapter catches God off guard. Not a single spear, not a single conspiracy, no spirit surprises him. No conspiracy throws him off his game. Not a single plot causes God to adjust the blueprints. Saul and let me just [clears throat] Saul commands a conspiracy. What? And I want to just want to send a word for all you people in leadership positions because I've noticed this been on this earth for three score in one year. [laughter]

[clears throat] When you get elected to a position, when you get appointed to position, when you're voted in by the board, all of a sudden your jokes are funnier and people will suck up to you that never had anything to do with you before. Y'all, you're not better looking. You're not smarter. Your jokes aren't funnier. They're just sucking up to you. Why would Saul think that he could kill somebody who the crowds were skiing and Saul has killed his thousands, but David has killed his 10,00ands? It's this thing that goes back to Greece called hubus. When you start thinking more about yourself than you really ought to. And because everybody is sucking up the Saul because he's the king, all of a sudden he thinks that he can call a strategy session to kill David. And everybody's just going to go, "Oh yeah, Saul can Saul commands it. We'll do it. It's not happening because our God is on the throne." So Saul commands a conspiracy. He doesn't hide it. He doesn't whisper it. He doesn't disguise it with vague language like, "Let's reconsider David's position in our org chart." No, he goes straight to kill him. And here's the wild part. David's innocent. He's honored the king and served faithfully. He's fought Goliath when no one else would. He He helped stabilize the kingdom and confronted and and comforted Saul in his darkest moment. And Saul's response exterminate him. Have you ever Have you ever had someone oppose you for no clear reason? Have you ever been targeted not because you did wrong but because there was something broken inside of them? Can I get an amen from somebody? Or is this envy is a dangerous thing? Jealousy corrods logic. Fear of losing control makes people do irrational things. And here's Saul. Saul is a man who has drifted so far from the Lord. And when a soul drifts from the Lord, it drifts towards suspicion, towards manipulation, towards control. David is not the problem here. Saul's heart is the problem here. And here's the lesson. Sometimes the storms around you are not about you. And sometimes the symptoms of someone sometimes the storms around you are the symptoms of somebody else's conflict with God. and and you know they lack patience. They couldn't wait. They had the problem. But here's the encouragement. The chapter begins with Saul making plans. But watch God's providence. Here comes Jonathan like a breath of fresh air. Verse two. But Jonathan, [snorts] Saul's son, delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, saying, Saul, my father, seeketh to kill thee. Now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until morning, and abide in a secret place, and I thyself. I'll go out, and I'll stand beside my father, and the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee, and what I see, that will I tell thee. And Jonathan spake good of David, and to Saul his father. And he said unto him, "Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he hath not sinned against thee, because his works have been to thee word very good. For he did not put his life in his hands, and for did he not put his life in his hands and slew the Philistines?" And and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel. Thou sawest and did rejoice, and wherefore wil thou sin against innocent blood to slay David without cause? And Saul hearkened to the voice of Jonathan. And Saul swear as the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain. When Jonathan called David, Jonathan showed him all those things. Jonathan brought David to Saul and he was in his presence as in times past. So here's Jonathan. He enters the scene. I want you to notice he does three great things that David desperately needs. Verse two, he warns him. He says, "Look," and then and then because he essentially he tells Saul, "Hey, look, Saul, David's done nothing wrong and don't want to go against an innocent person. That that's not good. That's that's that's wrong according to Hebrew scriptures." Then verses four and five, Jonathan essentially intercedes for him and he says, "You know, David has served you well. He's he's fought your battles." And then in verse five and seven through seven, David, I mean, Jonathan is actually advocating. So he's warning, he's interceding, he's advocating for David because he says, "Look, David's risk his life." Wh why why what why would you harm someone that helps you? And for a moment Saul softens and in verse six we read, "Saul swear, as the Lord liveth, he now shall not be slain." That's a promise. That's a vow. That's a temporary pause in the chaos. But here is the truth about human nature. A soft heart without a surrendered heart will not last and it will not stay soft for very long because Saul feels better for a moment. But nothing has changed underneath. And listen to me without transformation behavior modification doesn't last. Without transformation, behavior modification doesn't last. I'm going to say it one more time. Without transformation, behavior modification doesn't last. That's why fivestep Christianity is garbage. If you aren't transformed into your heart, all the rules in the world will not soften your soul. See yourself for what you are. A broken sinner. No different than any other random person out there. But for some reason, God showed his love to you and chose you. And you didn't deserve it any more than the trans crackhead that strung out on Poselon. You're no different. That's who we are. But if you don't see that with grace, all the behavior modification in the world will not work. That's what's going on here. Saul's had behavior modification, but he hasn't been transformed in his soul. As some of y'all have experienced this, you've had a spouse who promised to change, but didn't. A boss who seemed reasonable but is irrational in the next moment. A friend who says the conflict is over until it's not. A person who apologizes just enough to keep the peace, but not enough to find healing. And Jonathan is doing everything right. David is doing everything right, but Saul's heart is not aligned with God. So the peace here is very short-lived. But even in the brief piece, God is working in a larger story. Because Jonathan is not just a friend. He's really a God-scent lifelong. Jonathan is proof that God will send people into your life,

help carry you through something. Because there are some people in your lives that are scaffolding that God has set around you to strengthen you and to give you enough strength to stand. And that's what Jonathan is for David. And and and perhaps you don't have a Jonathan in your life right now. But I want you to know this. Jonathan points to a greater friend who is closer than a brother. Christ himself. You always have. So let's look at verses 8-10. Return of the javelin. And there was war again. David went out, fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter. Was the greatest slaughter. Many people say it's never been better. I just they fled from him just when the So look look just when peace seems restored because he fought the battle he's won the war again and just when peace seems restored verse 9 kind of hits like a thundercloud and an evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul dig this as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand. I mean, this is scripture. David played with his hand. That this is the same tormenting influence we saw earlier in Saul's story. You know why he still has a javelin in his hand in his house? It's because he never dealt with what issue, what problems he had in the previous chapter. He never dealt with it. And what you don't deal with today will deal with you tomorrow. Saul falls into the same destructive rage that has plagued him before. And the javelin flies again. Verse 10. And Saul sought to smite David, even to the wall with the javelin, but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smoked the javelin into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night. I got a question because here you know y'all get the picture because the previous chapter David's playing Saul's sitting there in his throne room with a javelin instead of his scepter that kings normally have because he's not operating out of who he is. He's operating out of his the rages that he builds. I know by the way I say that because every one of y'all that I'm talking to is a child of God. Are you operating out of your identity? Are you holding a supper right now?

You are a joint heir with Christ. Are you operating out of who you are with the struggles that you're facing right now? Or do you have a javelin in your hand? That's what happened last chapter. Now we're here in chapter 19. And that was in the throne room in chapter 18. Now we're in chapter 19 and Saul is in his house and he still's got a javelin in his hand because he never dealt with the garbage, the baggage from back there. And he takes it and he throws it at David.

right there in the wall. Why does he still have a javelin in his hand in his house? Because Saul is living in a state of internal war. David had conquered the Philistines, but Saul's still fighting a battle. And so are some of us. People who carry unresolved internal battles always carry weapons close by. The javelin is just a symbol of turmoil in the heart. Let me tell you something. Fear arms itself. Bitterness arms itself. Envy arms itself. Insecurity arms itself. Pride arms itself. And Saul didn't wake up planning to kill David. But when your heart is not tended to, when you have an untended heart, impulses eventually will find ammunition. Let me say that again. When you have an untended heart, impulses eventually will find ammunition. And then the moment arrives and Saul sought to smite David even to the wall. So David escapes again. Now if you're counting, this is attempt number two to kill David in two chapters. So here's the quiet truth about this passage that's being whispered. David's still alive. And if Satan could destroy you, you would already be dead. You hear me? If Satan could destroy you, you'd already be dead. The fact that you are still here, still standing, still making it is proof that God has been holding you. So God sent deliverance through Jonathan, God sent deliverance from the spirit, God's going to send another kind of deliverance because in this chapter and in every chapter in the Bible and in the chapters of your life, God is the author of the story. And we're going to see it through a young lady by the name of Kel, David's wife, Saul's daughter. Verse 11 through 17. Saul also sent messengers unto David's house to watch him to slay him in the morning. Muel, David's wife, told him, saying, "If thou saved not thine life tonight, tomorrow thou shalt be slain." So Mikuel let David down through a window, and he went and fled and escaped. And Mikuel took an image and laid it in the bed and put a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster and covered it with a cloth. Y'all get the picture, right? Kind of like when y'all kids got out of house. She put pillows under it. So she did that along with a chunk of goat's hair because I guess David had a pretty good head of hair. I don't know. And Muel took an image, laid it in bed, put a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick." Saul sent messengers again to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed. I don't care how sick he is. Pick up the bed if you have to, that I may slay him." And when the messengers were coming in, behold, there was an image in the bed with a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster. Saul said to Muel, "Why hast thou deceived me so daughter and sent away my enemy that he has escaped?" And Mikuel answered, she said, "Saul told me that let me go. Why should I kill thee?" So Mikuel's lying. Number one, she's susceptible to her daddy and to the guards. Now she's lying to to the king. So y'all see what just happened here, right? Muel sets up a decoy in the bed using a pillow and household objects. I love that God God can work through the most ordinary things. And in this moment, even through the deception of hell, he's he's working through a man, he's cool. And when Saul's messengers arrive, she tells him David's sick. And that's kind of but I want you to notice this because God uses this moment not because deception is virtue, not because lying is a virtue, but because God can turn even human imperfections into divine protection. And God's involved for flawless vessels. He works with broken people like me and you. He works through complicated circumstances. He He works through messy realities in a sinful world. And he carries David through a window, through a decoy, through a spouse who half believes and half fumbles her way through this. And so David flees. And it's really instructive where he goes. The sanctuary of Rama. Let's read verse 18. Where does David go after escaping? It says, "So David fled and escaped." And I underline this portion and came to Samuel and Rama and told him all that Saul had done. So David runs to the prophet, to the man of God, to his spiritual family. He runs to the place where he first heard God's calling on his life persecuted. And that's powerful because let me tell you something. When when life falls apart, when the spears fly, when the relationship fractures, when the circumstances collapse,

run to people who remind you of God,

not to comfort food,

not to es. He didn't have to laugh that way. I've done it. I've turned to the Cheetos and the Doritos. Hey, look, don't run to comfort food. Don't escapism. Don't self-help cliches. Lord, don't run to marijuana and alcohol. Don't do it. Don't run to Don't run to people who only tell you what you want to hear. Run to people who will send you on God's truth. Amen. And Samuel receives David and he shelters David and he listens to David and he walks with David because that's what spiritual mentors do. And that's God's plan. When when David needed courage, God sent Jonathan. When when David When David needed escape, God sent when when David needed grounding, God sent Samuel. Let me tell you something. God knows exactly who to put in your life and exactly when to put him there. God's network is flawless. And I want you to notice this. If God hasn't given you a Samuel, he will be your Samuel. The spirit of God himself speaks an identity to us stronger than any opposition, shout.

So let's look at what happens because it's one of the more interesting passages of scripture in the entirety of the Old Testament. First off, verse 18. So David fled and escaped and came to Samuel to Rama and told him all that Saul had done and he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naoth. Now Naoth means a dwelling. It was actually a place where the prophets gathered together. It's a spiritual training ground. It was a place that was saturated in worship, prayer, the presence of God. And David enters into that space to focus. And it was told Saul saying, "Behold, David is at Naoth and Raymond." And immediately Saul sends people to take him. And this is the great paradox of spiritual life. The moment you get close to God, something's going to try and pull. raction,

anxiety, fear, patience, sudden wave of discouragement, crisis that demands attention. Something always tries to interrupt what God is building inside of you. And so when David and Samuel enter a place filled with worship, Saul enters with weapons. But here is the beauty of the chapter. Weapons are powerless in God's presence because I want you to watch what happened next because the the first wave of enemies that comes at David's is going to be completely undone. And and we might, you know, because this this next section, this final section is one of the most strange most beautiful episodes in the entire life of David. So hearing that David has gone to Samuel sends messengers to capture, send soldiers to capture. And we might expect another dramatic escape, maybe a fierce battle, maybe another window at midnight. But instead, God did something absolutely unprecedented. Let's begin reading verse 20. And Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, Samuel standing as appointed over them. So Saul sends the first group. These are not UPS drivers delivering a package. These are trained, hardened, well-armed government agents with orders to seize David. What happens? Here it goes. Verse 20. And the spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers. And they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time. They prophesied also. Then went he also to Rama and came to a great well that is in Saku. And he asked and he said, "Where is Samuel and David?" And the one said, "Behold, they be at Nath Rama." Then he went thither to Nathan and Rama and the spirit of God was upon him also and he went out and he prophesied until he came to Na I'm sorry until he came to Na and Rama and he stripped off his clothes also and prophesied before Samuel in like manner and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they said, "Hey, is Saul among the prophets?" And when they saw the company of prophets prophesying, the spirit of God was among the messengers of Saul, they also prophesy. This is extraordinary. I mean, this is they show up with swords, but they leave speaking the truth. They they arrive as hunters, they leave as worshippers. God sends the second group, same thing. Third group, same thing. He goes, and the moment approaches and the spirit overwhelms him, too. This is not subtle. This is God saying, "Hey, David. I don't just protect you from your enemies. I overrule them. I don't just keep their spirits from touching you. I turn their strength into nothingness. I don't just rescue you. I disarm the entire threat." This is divine interruption on a cosmic cell. But let me tell you something. It's a preview of Philippians chapter 2 where we read in verse 9, wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, that's Jesus, giving him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father. This the God that we serve bends the hearts of the kings like channels of water. The God that we serve doesn't need your strategy because he has his own. The good news, this is good news for those of us who don't know that we've won the battle. We think we can't win the battle. But for those of us that know what Jesus has done, that Jesus is one, we can operate our lives on that truth that nothing that really matters is really at stake. He's accomplished eternal salvation for us because of a plan that he had and a choice that he made and a sacrifice that he altered and a resurrection that he gave to us. He enjoyed y'all. That listen to me. This is not self-help. This this is not human resilience. This is not David or us learning better survival techniques. This is about a God who intervenes because he is good. And the hero is not David's perseverance. It's God's intervention in the story. So let's make some application. Let's land the plane here. Let's bring it home because there are some lifealtering truths here in this chapter. First one that I got out of it is look people do not control your destiny, not your bosses, not your critics, not your accusers, not those who misunderstand you, not those who envy you, not those who wish you harm. If spirits, if spirits and javelins fly, let them fly because they cannot pierce what God has sealed. People can't control your desk because you've been given one by God according he has chosen us him before the foundation holy performing in love having predestinated you the adoption of children by Jesus Christ or to the good pleasure of his will. What does Romans 8 tell us? Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Not height, not depth, not principality, powers, not things come, not angels in heaven, nothing can interrupt God's plan. So first truth out of this Bible is people do not control your destiny. Stop acting like they do. Second thing is is at least what I got out of it is God will surround you with the right people at the right time. Jonathan at a palace, at a window, Samuel at a refuge. You don't need everyone. You just need the people that God has placed in your life. Third, God will provide an escape route that you never expected. Window, spouse, prophet, worship service that stops the assassins, spirit that stops the kings. Fourth one is that God is working even when the attacks repeat. The first spirit didn't end David. Neither did the second. Neither did the third. Because God is stronger than cycles and patterns and pressures.

Here's another truth. God just doesn't defend you. He disarms those that threaten you whether you see it or not. Saul's messengers were neutralized. Saul himself was neutralized. And God can empty the power of entire armies with just a word. Doesn't have to lift a finger. Here's the last one. And there's more, but these are the ones that I got out of it. Your story is secure because Jesus has already accomplished the victory. You are not and were not preserved by your strength. You are not kept by your cleverness. You are not protected by your bravery. You are not safe because you you are not safe because of what you did. You are safe because Jesus bought your life with his blood. So I want to look at just real quick our lives through the lens of this chapter.

What does this chaotic javelin field chapter mean for me? Well, you can be in the center of God's will, still be in peril. I mean, David is exactly where God wanted him to be and exactly where Saul wanted to destroy him. But here's the thing, the presence of pain does not equal the absence of God. Sometimes the pain is the path God uses to build you. David had things that threatened him, but he was never truly at risk because he was appointed by God to be a king and he wasn't there yet. So God is still writing your story even when other people are trying to edit it. I mean Saul was literally trying to erase David out of the story. Rewrite David's ending. But Saul is not the author. And hey man, people may try and rewrite you, your reputation. They might try to rewrite your opportunities, your relationships, your future, your your destiny, your story, but they cannot change what God has. You are not a character in someone else's drama. You are a child in God's narrative. When you feel outnumbered, I want you to remember who outranks it. David had a murderous king, soldiers, trained assassins, government power stacked again against him. But he also had God, the spirit, Samuel, Jonathan, Muel, a prophetic community. Look, your enemies might be loud and large, but they are never larger than the God who orders all things. And you may feel surrounded, but so was David. So was Elijah. So were the disciples in the boat. So was this is the quiet theme that's humming beneath every verse of Samuel chapter 19. God has not lost one ounce of control. He is not adjusting his plan. He is not sacri. He is not scrambling. He's not reaching out or trying to negotiate with Saul. He's not adjusting plans, his purpose. He's not secondguessing anything. He is directing Saul's steps. He's even involved in Saul's rebellion and turning it to his will. And if you could see the full picture that God sees, let me tell you something. You'd sleep better at night. So, as we close, I want you to hear this. David did not survive because he was good at dodging. David survived because God was good at protecting his purpose. And your hope is not in your ability to react to the next crisis. Your hope is in God who sees every crisis before it arrives. Your future is not fragile. Your calling is not an accident. your your life is not at the mercy of other people's decisions. The the God who carried David through Saul's rage, through Mikuel's window, through Samuel's refuge and Saul's army is the same God who carries you. He is steady. He is present. He is unstoppable. He is faithful. He is the one who holds your story, your breath, your future, and your eternity. And when the spirits flies, he stands. When the king ranges, he rules. When the window opens, he guides. When the armies march, he reassur he he he intervenes. And when the hearts tremble, he reassures. When life feels chaotic, he is the calm above the storm. This is your God. So lift your eyes, rest your heart, walk forward not in self-centered confidence, but in Christ's confidence because the one who carried David here you'd like to serve Christ as we do here at Camp Creek All right.

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