The Dysfunctional Family - Part 4 (Date: 05/09/2021)

1st Samuel chapter 27 is where we're going to be today, and this is a continuation

In our series over the dysfunctional family now who in this room came from Exists in and has a dysfunctional family today

Okay, the rest of you people are lying Okay, you're you have dysfunction

The Shipley's put the fun in dysfunction We are dysfunctional just like everyone else

We really are and the reason why is because we married women for wives anyways, oh

Good point Stop it guys We've been talking about how we as God's people

Need to quit Listening to Bible stories. How many Bible stories? Do you know?

none This ain't Aesop's fable. It ain't Shakespeare's sonnet It's the living word of the

Living God Quit making characters and quit making stories of God's Word They are real people and that we need to quit preaching it as some sort of antagonist

Protagonist little story it had a moral Understanding it is the reality of the grace of God hitting a sinful and totally depraved people

We talked about Jacob. We talked about his mom Rebecca who was a controlling

I mean aggressive Control freak and we talked about Jacob's father

Isaac who was just a passive Whatever and we talked about their two sons

Jacob and Esau how Esau Hunted not because they needed food. They were the wealthiest people around at that time

He hunted to stay away from his dysfunctional family we talked about how

Jacob who was heralded so many times as the good guy and Esau as the bad guy in reality

It was Esau who was humble. It was Esau who sought forgiveness It was

Esau who gave forgiveness and Jacob continued to manipulate and lie

We talked about the consequences of Rebecca's control and manipulation and how even though she tried to make

God's plan Come quicker. She actually threw that manipulation lost her children and never saw them again

It's amazing how God's people It's amazing how we as God's people look and we see the wrongs and the ills

Everywhere in the world, but as long as we have a plausible facade if we have just the thinnest veneer of Christianity that covers us so that the public says oh, they're good people

That's as that's as far as we're able to dive into the trust that we need to have in Jesus Christ And then we wonder and with the height of arrogance ask why do our children rebel we sit and we wonder

Oh, I brought him up in church When scripture says nowhere to bring them up in church.

It says to bring them up in the Word of God It's like this here today somehow what

Christian did today is the Example, it should be the common norm 200 years ago that the most uneducated non high school attending

Christian could explain to you the deepest doctrines of God's Word because the family the community and yes

Sometimes into certain parts of history the nation revolved around the

Word of God But to cover up our own failures to make the conviction of God less

We keep watering down the Word of God and as long as you've asked

Jesus into your heart And you walk down the aisle and get baptized and show up to church every once in a while.

You're a good person and The sickening part about it is you're gonna get married you're gonna have children and you're gonna repeat the same process and Then you're gonna think that a

Republican president is going to fix it How arrogant to realize and to dismiss

God's Word where it says if My people who were called by my name repent not the

Democrats Not the liberals God's people you want God to bless

America take the personal responsibility Rather than the personal indictment to realize that it is in our hands and it is our choice whether God blesses us again

So let's pull this back a second Let me talk to you from the time of Jacob and Esau eight hundred years later to a guy named

David Israel at this time has conquered the Holy Land the Promised Land They've conquered it and they're doing pretty well, but the people of Israel want a king

Hey, it's good to be the king right they want a king They need a king.

They desire a king. And so they say to God God give us a king like everybody else now

God had already had this in mind He was going to have a king named David because he had promised that Jesus Christ The Messiah would come through the bloodline of the tribe of Judah But the people said oh no, give us a king and they said here's the qualification

That guy over there is taller than everybody else. So let's make him king

That was it didn't talk about a spiritual life didn't talk about his governing life but you know if he is a brave person like a

Transgender they can become the Republican governor of California, right? Some of you to actually keep up politics and what

I'm talking about So they made Saul King Well Saul did a really bad job as king at first he did

Okay, you know how when you walk down the aisle and give your heart to Jesus that first 72 hours man

You know You're looking for the little devotion book and got your little precious moments Bible your pencil and you got the

FCA sticker you know in the little cup that says God loves the world on it and you're gonna get in there and do your devotions because That's somewhere in the scripture.

I know it's probably first Hezekiah that says it Don't actually serve or anything. Just do your devotions

Tithe your money say amen somewhere in church, and you're good to go

So it's all is doing that but then he starts slowly slipping away Well, it didn't really matter whether Saul slipped or didn't slip

God had already had a plan Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin God said Jesus would come from the tribe of Judah And so God told

Samuel the priest he said hey, I want you to go down and find this kid named David He is young Redheaded and ugly and he's the youngest of all his brothers

That's who you're gonna make King now. Why did God make David King was

David better than everybody else? No guys understand this God is sovereign if he chooses you

You're gonna be exactly what he wants you to be no matter what you don't have to pick the best guy in the world now

I know you people went out and found the best -looking Smartest bestest pastor in the whole world and you hired him, but he wasn't available.

So y 'all got me, right? It don't matter who you are

God chose the least you know Not because David was good because that's what would give

God the greatest glory you see it's okay to brag on God He don't get it.

Anyways, so they made David King. Oh and David was so in love of God He was so in love with God The book of Psalms is filled with songs praise songs and worship songs from David He writes them and he just sits out the field and he's in love with God and he has praise and worship time by himself he is fired up for Jesus and Saul is like a yutz

So the Philistines if you ever heard of the Gaza Strip Those are modern -day

Philistines. Okay, so the Philistines Start attacking Israel and Saul's trying to stand up to him and be a good king

But he's a coward and so this gig strong guy named Goliath He comes up with a

Philistine army and you know Hold on the story as you'll hear preachers say or the historical account where David walks out there with a rock and a piece of leather and a club and says

What's up, man? Bring it That's in the Hebrew. That's what it translates to. It's like man.

I ain't capping. I'm fitting to jack you up So he kills

Goliath, right? Saul now this is gonna seem weird to us mature Christians in here, but Saul became jealous

Over the conviction that God gave him for not being the leader and the Christian that he should be when someone else succeeded

That's kind of weird, isn't it? Mm -hmm. And so this is what

Saul did He started going Hey, see that kid over there

Everybody's praising him because he won the victory. I should have won make sure You know, he falls out a window or something

You know what I'm saying? Make sure he has an accident stabs himself in the back with an ice pick 42 times

Let's this guy can't be around Well, it started out like that But David was always under the protection of God and so David was like can't touch this and he would sidestep him, right?

He would just go back and forth and he couldn't catch him and then Saul's just says forget all the subtle stuff and Saul takes an army out to try to find

David and his friends to kill Him to death, but David's always one step ahead

David could have killed Saul so many times But David said this

God has made him King God has said I will be king and God don't need my hand to make his will come true.

So I'm gonna sit and wait Until we get to chapter 27 Now here's where a lot of preachers don't preach

But here's what's so important for us to hear you say total depravity is this

We all have to have exhaust fans in our bathroom We all have to have the grace of God and even if you are a weak broken

Christian today I'm here to tell you there is hope and grace to be found in the cross of Jesus Christ If you are a backslidden godless heathen today, you can be saved today

Not by the preaching of a man, but by the power of the grace of Almighty God Let's read chapter 27 for years

Saul's been trying to kill David now look at 27 verse 1 and read it very carefully first Samuel Chapter 27 verse 1 it says this

David said to himself one of these days I'm gonna be swept away by Saul There is nothing better for me than to escape immediately to the land of the

Philistines Then Saul will stop searching for me everywhere in Israel and I will escape him

You know when you're about to start backsliding when you do the first few words of chapter 27

David said to himself Everywhere else before then every time

David gotten a problem The first thing he did is get on his knees and start praying God every time that he was under duress

He would pen a song or a hymn or a praise to Almighty God But now we see this juxtaposition where David no longer is seeking

God's face David is talking to himself You ever been that way? Huh?

Did the smartest person you could talk to is the guy in the mirror? Trust me. I struggle with this every day when

I go to the men's groups guys That was a come on y 'all that was really good.

I went over to Tim's house the other day It was like a bunch of you know tards over there. They were all stupid except me All right, so pause so David's sitting there and he's going hey,

I need to consort with myself guys You are your listen to me

It's not churches. It's not pastors. It's not your Sunday school teachers. It's not religion

You are your own worst enemy, wait a minute It's not Satan quit blaming

Satan for everything Some of you dorks in here are still smoking rock and drinking whiskey because that demon of alcoholism

Is all over you you are not important enough for a sentient

Non omnipresent thing like Satan to divert all his attention to you to tempt you with alcohol

You're just a drunk get over it you or your own worst problem And until you come to understand that quit blaming your mommy or your daddy or your dog ran away

Your mom and dad got divorced or any of that other garbage until you humble yourself and repent against God and God only

Have I sinned and done this evil in your sight? You're never gonna find the repentance powerful enough to break the addiction

Trust me Okay Second thing watch this. Look what David said.

There's nothing else for me to do but to run away. Oh You know how many people have come through this church in the last 16 years

Thousands Thousands why are there only 200 people here?

Why? I'll tell you why It's because of this if you join this church, you're gonna be held accountable

Now here's what happens Somebody will sit there and go dude

Put down the PlayStation stop smoking pot and get a job and take care of your family

Oh, well, I do Christians shouldn't say that I just the benevolence committee the deacons will look at you and go no, we're not giving you another month's rent

No, go get a job loser. Oh, that's just not how Christians should act and you'll do this

There's nothing else for me to do but Leave the church. Let me explain something to you about what the church is.

Hey, can you hold it down over there? Big mouth Shipley guys

You know what it is If you are a Christian you can't leave the church because the church isn't a stupid building

Located on a stupid geographical corner The church are all the people of God who have been saved by the power of God since Adam until now

That is the church ain't no black church a white church ain't no Baptist Church It's only the church.

So if you can leave the church, that means you can leave your salvation behind So don't say

I want to leave the church quit feeling sorry for yourself Quit coming up with excuses for your own failure.

Look at this third thing He sit there and say he said there is nothing better for me to do than to escape immediately

How many of you people put off tomorrow what you could do today Here's what I hear a lot of young people say well

I'm gonna enjoy this time of my life and party and then later on I'm gonna come to Jesus You're an idiot

Because you will come to Jesus one day if God if God wills it but the scar tissue

That's gonna be on your heart and on your body. You're gonna pass that on to your kids

You self -centered selfish pig Why don't come to Jesus now repent now?

So you don't pass on the dysfunction from your family on to the next generation in other words news flash

Think of someone else other than yourself So here's Paul. Here's David a man after God's own

Heart now, let's keep reading. Maybe I'm reading too much into this Maybe David's really that super Christian guy and never did anything wrong except for that Bathsheba incident

So let's keep reading. So chapter 27 verse 5 watch this He sits there and he goes to the

Philistine nation He goes over there and in verse 5 look what he tells the king of the

Philistines He said if I have found favor in your sight

Why does the child of God Need the affirmation of the world to be a

Christian Why do you think at any level the world's acceptance of you is a necessary thing for you to feel secure?

Why do you gotta dress the way you dress some of you little girls in here? Put on a pair of pants

Other than it looks like that you used a paint roller to put them on them little yoga britches

Oh my gosh, if you wear them things wear a shirt long enough, so I don't see that you have moles on your backside

Is that too much for you? In other words, I'm sorry. Maybe I wouldn't clear stop dressing like a whore

Please stop dressing like a whore Have a little self -respect Cuz ladies 16 year old boys around here.

I'm having hard enough time keeping them focused on other things You walk by and they're like Look like a deer and rut man.

It's like Girl, and they go run it off brother. Jeremiah's like Jesus and like Okay Why do you do that?

It's this is why you do it Don't tell me about pants being comfortable. Okay, where the yoga pants wear a shirt long enough to cover your butt

They're still comfortable. The shirt doesn't make them uncomfortable anymore Okay You know why you do that you got to be accepted

Come on, you got to be accepted Some of y 'all date because you're so insecure and you're so codependent

You don't trust God enough to be single and rely on him for your mate. You think he needs your help and Then what's gonna happen?

You gonna marry someone you shouldn't have been married and you're gonna be struggling But remember these aren't godless heathens these aren't prostitutes on Jackson Avenue, these aren't the black gang members

I'm talking about Christians like David So David sits there and says world.

Let me find favor. So this is what David says to him He says listen King. I could be a really good asset to you

Give me a small township to call my own a place to live and I will serve you world in other words

Give me the money. Give me the power. Give me the fame. Give me the recognition and I'll forget church

I'll forget Jesus. I'll forget his promises and I will serve you and the

Philistine King says Okay, the dude who killed Goliath on my side Check and he gives him this little town called

Zell cake By the way If you internet atheists want to you can punch in your little phone right now

Look up Zell cake and you can see the ruins that scripture is talking about that still exists today

But maybe it all is a big conspiracy to control you. I don't know. But anyways, watch this. So he sits there and he says

I Want to find favor with the world now, this wasn't a momentary lapse He wasn't on the computer one night and looked up www -big and had a slip -up

David this man of God lived like this for 16 months

Over a year. Here's what's even cooler. You know, how many Psalms of praises he wrote during those 16 months?

zero none none David once wrote a hymn because he saw a deer pant running through the woods and he wrote a psalm

Because he saw a deer now, he's had major life changes and he's written nothing, but he's still super Christian Nope, he's just like one of us in need of God's grace.

So David's sitting there now. Wait a minute. It gets better. Are you ready? So he's all am I losing y 'all

Okay, I didn't know if it's the weather or I'm speaking in Greek or something Cuz y 'all all sitting there looking at me like you smoked one last night.

Are y 'all with me? Okay. All right, here we go. All right Verses 20 chapter 27 verses 8 through 12.

Let's see what David does when he gets his new home Are you ready? Now? This is an Israelite living in the world getting the acceptance of the world

And this is what he does. He sets up camp at Zilke. He's got 600 Navy SEALs with him

He's 600 guys. Listen, these 600 men have been fighting with David for years

These dudes are studs and David sits there and says this guys. Here's what we need to do

We need to have a prayer service and a revival service and we all need to get right with God No, this is what

David said guys sharpen your swords cuz tonight We're gonna sneak over into Israel and see that little town over there

We're gonna kill every man woman and child over there and steal him blind the guy who killed Goliath The guy who praises

God he said I'm gonna go kill everyone in that city That night

David and his men sneak across the border into Israel Into his own people and he kills everybody, you know, why because they were home

He killed them all and this is what he did. The Bible says he raided for 16 months

He raided you know what that word in Hebrew the definition is to strip the dead of their belongings this man of God attacked his own people and Killed him so that he could get wealthy now, you know why he wanted this money now watch this

He didn't want this money to make himself rich He wanted this money to create a war chest to build an army to go attack

Saul so that he could obey God and become King Does that make sense?

It's amazing to me. I've actually saw a pastor one time saying why I'm meeting this hooker at a bar to talk to her about Jesus Not a good idea brother

Not a good idea. Not a good idea. Well, she needs Jesus send a woman Send a woman.

Yeah. No say go on send a woman. I got alpha chicks in here, man. You need help with that I'll say a witten chick over there.

She'll be right with Jesus quick fast in a hurry. Okay? Dudes, don't be stupid So David sits there.

He's attacking everybody. He's killing everybody and look at that last part there Verse 28 verse or chapter 27.

You can see why he did this now at this time the Philistines and Israel's weren't at war So when

David was getting all this money the the Philistine King walked up and said man Who are you getting all this from and David said?

Oh the guys down south Now watch this. He was lying to the Philistine King. He was lying to himself

He was lying to the Israelites, but if you go and read the last part of chapter 27 You know what why he was killing everybody and their mama

Because he didn't want to get found out He said he told his men kill everything alive

Except the things of worth like donkeys horses cattle because I don't want to get caught kill them all right to life

Didn't exist in David's eyes. He was killing pregnant women. He was killing children.

He was killing everybody Chapter 28 pretty straightforward Chapter 28 is this the

Philistines had finally said we're strong enough now Let's go attack Israel and so the Philistine King gathered all the

Philistine generals to sether and said let's go attack Israel and David said I'm in Put me in coach.

I'm ready to play We're at a point now where David actually volunteered for the enemy to attack his own family

And he said let's go. He said all right, then I'll start marching the Philistine general start going

Is this smart we got The Israeli commander of their special forces riding with us

I don't think this is a good idea guys because when we attack Israel David's gonna turn against us

So they go to the king and said man, we can't have this we can't have it And so the king said

David you got to go so David is 600 men head home Now that was a long introduction

Now we're about to have the sermon Just kidding relax, okay But this last point is the finishing up part

David turns around and he goes back to Zilkhag. He didn't go back to Jerusalem He goes back to Zilkhag now

He should have rode on ahead and helped Israel defend against the Philistine, but he didn't do that because he is so self -focused he gets back to Zilkhag and as they're coming up over the hill he looks out and Smokes coming up from the village

Ruh -roh raggy He and his men get closer and they have found out that the people they've been attacking while he's been gone

They attacked him back and they killed a bunch of stuff Except these heathen people did not kill the women and children

They were more merciful. The heathens were more merciful than David. They just kidnapped him instead of killing him

And so his 600 men go David What are you doing? And if you read here in chapter 30 if you read here

It says this David and his men arrived in Zilkhag on the third day The Emochites had raided them to Jev and attacked and burned down Ziklag They had also kidnapped the women and everyone in it from the youngest to the oldest

David was killing the women and the babies the heathens showed mercy They had killed no one but carried them off when

David and his men arrived in the town They found it burned down the wives son and daughters had been kidnapped and David and his troops

Wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep David's two wives Problem had also been kidnapped verse 6

David was in a difficult position now watch this Because the troops talked about stoning him for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters

Now just hold right there. So now David is lost. God said you're going to be king of this nation

David disobeyed He thinks he's lost that he's lost his kingdom.

He's lost his village He's lost his family now the 600 men who have been loyal to him want to kill him

Because they're angry that their families and their stuff have been burned He has nothing and no one left read the rest of the verse but David found strength in the

Lord his God for the first time in a couple of years

David now turns back towards the Lord and he turns back towards the Lord because he has nowhere else to turn

Some of you people in here, you know, you need to repent, you know, you need to do right?

But until you hit rock bottom You ain't gonna do it. Now. Here's the problem, especially for you men.

Listen to me The problem with that strategy is this Other people in your life get to suffer along while you wait to do what

God's called you to do Your wife and your children and the other people in your life have to suffer for your arrogance and your indignation

Today is the day of salvation right here right now is the day for you

To repent and turn back and it's not a feeling quit relying on a feeling make a public statement today

I'm repenting of the sin. God has convicted me. I know I have failed you my wife I know

I have failed you my children some of you. I know I have failed you my grandchildren But mark this day.

This is the day I'm turning back towards God and David prays and he says Lord What should

I do? Should I go and pursue them or just stay here now? David is asking for every little detail again

God What should I do and God said son mount up go find them and get your people home now,

I'm gonna stop here We'll pick it up next week or the week after I'm gonna stop here

But I want you to just drive this point home to you real quick understand this

If you look forward to Acts chapter 13, which is 3 ,000 years later.

It says this David was a man after God's own heart. Now watch it said it way back here

David was a man after God's own heart David Spiritual life looked like this right here

Right, it looked like a single -engine plane trying to carry me across the sky just you know That's what it looked like right