1 Samuel 15 vs. 10 — Leonard Ravenhill

Samuel’s Disobedience and the Evidence of Compromise

Samuel chapter 15, and it seemingly knows what this is all about, so let's see from verse 10. Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, It repented me that I had set up Saul to be king, for he hath not performed my commandment.

And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the Lord. Verse 13, Samuel came to Saul, and said unto him, Blessed be thou, O Lord. And Samuel said to Saul, Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou, O Lord.

I have performed the commandment of the Lord. And Samuel said, What me must end the bleating of the sheep in mine ears in the roaring of the oxen? Isn't that amazing? Just a little bale in the back bush, and he cried.

Gave the whole table away. Remind me, we went to a very wonderful house. At one time we walked through England preaching. We had no bicycles, weren't rich enough. We walked the length and breadth of the country.

And one day a lady took a thing out of compassion. She had, in a big shirt, she took it to this awesome home. I never seen a table spread like that. And there were six boys, and she had one daughter. And she put, you know, the different men around.

And, oh Mary, it just happens there's room there, you know, she'd been getting the right on that guy all the time. She wanted a daughter to sit there. And so when we sat down, here's all this splendor, and she said to a little guy at the end of the table, Darling, would you say grace?

And he looked at something, and he got through. Oh, she said, Thank you, John. He said, Mum, why don't we say grace every day? Bleating sheep and roaring oxen. I was in a meeting in Ireland, and there was a fellow there that had a pie sitting in his pocket.

And he said, I know I can't get a picture of the potty. It was a little pot there itself. And there was a handle there, so I lifted the top of the stove up and took the pie out of his pocket and dropped it in there, did he get a picture of that?

He said, I can't stop it, but don't buy any more tobacco. I don't know if that's all the pots in the house, but the little tail gave him away. Bleating sheep and roaring oxen. What means this bleeding of the sheep in my knees and the roaring of the oxen which are here?

Saul said, They, they, they, they, come on, bring someone else. They have brought them from the Amalekites for the people. Now look in verse 21, it says that the people took of the sheep. Look in verse 24.

I have time dressed against commandments of the Lord, because I fear the people. Do you remember when Paul was standing before, who was a grifter in Acts 26? And he got an outline of what preaching is, to open the eyes of the blind, to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God.

How many preachers do that? Do you know the average gentleman can get one person born again every 61 years and invest millions of dollars in a building. I got a letter this week asking me to pray for a young man.

I'm building a church. We've got the fastest growing church in Dallas. There are about 10 of them, by the way. All the fastest growing. I know you, I know you have a direct line to God. He said, Do you plead with God to give me 300 ,000 dollars?

I said, Brother, I don't ask God for my own money. I don't pray for my boy's money. God is in control. Isn't it amazing how we believe in the sovereignty of God when it comes to money. And then we say the prayer of faith and youth never can do anything.

I think we insult God. A fear of the people, a fear of the deacons, a fear of consequences. One of the biggest monsters in the church is God today. Verse 24, Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned for I have transgressed the commandments of the Lord, and I would because I fear the people and obey their voice.

Isn't that something? He'd heard the word of God, and yet he fears it, and yet he didn't fear God. If he feared God, we'd never transgress. If he feared God, we'd live. We know he might cut us off at any moment.

What does God owe you? Come on, tell me. He's been patient with you for years. Why don't you die in your sleep for God's sake and get off his back, to use a phrase. Why are we always trading on the money you've got in one hand?

One day, as I've told you, I want to so live that God doesn't have to give me one minute's notice to step out of time into eternity. I want to live in heaven on earth, not just wait till I get there. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth.

I am earth. I have to be earth. I came out of the earth. I go back to the earth. One thing, the world won't get too much out of me, you know. They'll have a feast on some of you who won't get much out of me.

Sorry. There is a fear of God. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. I've been reading about the book on Knowing God by J .I. Packer. It's a wonderful book. And he says it's an awesome thing to live every day conscious that the eye of God is on you.

My mother took me on one Saturday when I was seven and said, Len, I can't always see you wherever you are, but remember this, the eye of God never fails to see. That's been a wonderful protection to me all my life.

Even if I was tempted. What about God's looking? My mother isn't there. No one's here. Somebody asked, as a matter of fact, it was a Bishop of Bradford in England. He was a Bishop of God. Edward and Mrs. Simpson formed out of the country.

That's a good job. Best thing maybe ever did, but anyhow. He asked a class of children one day, what is a saint? A little red-headed boy that's back, put his hand up. He said a bloke, meaning a guy that's good when there's nobody looking.

Isn't that a good definition of a saint? Why are you good? Because somebody's watching you? A bloke, somebody's good when nobody's looking. I fear the people and I obey thy voice. Verse 26, Son of the Saul, I will not return with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee.

Rejection, Judgment, and National Apostasy

See? Remember the moment when the Jews said, we reject Jesus Christ, get out of here. He said, you're too late. I've already rejected you. Your house is left desolate. And for 2 ,000 years, the Jews have been the football of the world.

I think they'll still get kicked out of Israel once more. Because they returned in unbelief, they didn't return for the Messiah. They'll get kicked out, they'll get so persecuted, they'll almost crawl all the way to the country.

And don't feel too comfortable. Persecution will come here. Somebody told me, a local preacher said recently that three great nations are going to collapse. Well, that's been in Time magazine for two or three years.

I'm not even prophetic about that. I think it's going to happen. All that has to happen is that Mexico won't pay its bills. All that has to happen is that Brazil, with a bigger bank balance, are dead.

And where's my special? Is that right? We've got the bank inspector here tonight to watch. It's dangerous. But dear God, is that all that frightens us? What about the wrath of God that's like a canopy over America tonight?

God doesn't owe you a thing. The times he's knocked at your heart and you're fooled and send them back sitting and you've got God on a string. Not so. Not so. I read a book yesterday. Somebody sent it to me.

I've learned by a famous preacher. I've never preached with him before too long. The book is, uh, what was it now? Once saved, always saved. I'll tell you what, go to hell. Once in hell, it's always hell.

There's no exit. There's no parole in hell. It's forever and ever. If the church believed that, this place would be packed. You'd be weeping already for your lost parents, your lost children, your lost in-laws.

We don't believe it. It's a theological kennel in our minds. That's all. Jesus says, you haven't rejected me. I've rejected you. Your house is left desolate. You know, that women in bankrupt, emptied.

They haven't had a profit from that day to this. There hasn't been a revival amongst Jews as far as I know in 2000 years. And it's a desperate situation. We don't think much. Let me try and put a piece of poetry together.

I didn't think of it till this moment. In fact, I only heard it once, I think. I was about 12. And I don't know who wrote it, but it went like this. O England, thou privileged nation, how truly thy children are blessed.

Thou hast, since the great reformation, had liberty, riches, and rest. Such blessings are not of thy making, it is God who has given thee all. But if divine laws thou art breaking, like Babylon too, thou shalt fail.

Thy armies and navies will fail thee, if thus the Lord God art the same. Political schemes won't avail thee, if sacred commandments thou break. For God has his eyes on this nation. O England, to thee will be sent the doom of life, death, condemnation.

Accept, thou accept, thou repent. Find an old hymn book, and find Kipling's recessional. You hear people talk so often, that statement, the journals and the shouting dies, the captains and the kings depart.

Well, that comes from that very recessional. How shall we begin, Master? Tell me. I'll tell you. I'll tell you, then do it. God of our fathers, known of all, God of our far-flung battle line, beneath whose awful hands we hold dominion over path and time.

God of the nations, spare us yet, lest we forget, lest we forget. The tumults and the shouting dies, the captains and the kings depart. Still stands thine ancient sacrifice, a humble and a contrite heart.

God of hosts, be with us yet, lest we forget, lest we forget. Far called, our navies melt away, our dune and headland sinks to fire. See all our pomp of yesterday is one with minibar and tire. Lord of the nations, spare us yet, lest we forget, lest we forget.

But England forgot. 1914, the 4th of August, I remember the day, watching my cousin go down the street. Came to tell his aunt, my dear mother, I'm going to the army. Had a red jacket on, nice blue trousers, a big white, red stripe down the side.

He marched down the, belonging to the Grenadier Guards. You couldn't be in that team, I was going to say. That army measured over 6 feet, and he was about 6 feet. That's how he went. He came back crippled.

Thousands of men. You know, if the church had been as guilty of folly as politicians, they'd have burned the thing out. What are we doing? We're $2 trillion in debt now, aren't we? $2 trillion, that's all.

Wonderful bit of news I heard tonight. They were going to pass a law to make all homeschools illegal. They didn't pass it today. They said, no, we didn't do it yet, but they're going to try. They're going to bring all schools under subjection, private schools, Christian schools, homeschools.

You'll have to take the dope the government gives out. I don't know about Mr. White very much. He doesn't seem very white to me. Hope he gets kicked out. Would you tell him if you see him? The Lord has rejected thee from being king.

David’s Anointing and the End of Mourning

Okay, that's verse 26. Verse 28, Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom from Israel, and given from thee this day, and given it to a neighbour of thine, who is better. Oh, boy, isn't that humiliating?

Takes it from a king and gives it to a shepherd boy, you can smell the stinking sheep on his clothes. Verse 29, Also the strength of Israel will not lie or repent. Chapter 16, verse 1, The Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul?

Go down and kill him. There's a time to quit mourning. Do you know what mourning turns into? Self-defeat. You've got to cut it off and say, that's it. I'm not going to mourn for that person who's gone.

I'm not going to mourn for that person who's hurt my feelings. I found out years ago, when I mourned the devil's lap, so one day I cursed him. I said, get out of my life, you monster. You're happy when I mourn.

You're happy when I'm down. I'm not going to be down. I'm not going to mourn. I mourn for the lost. I mourn for revival. But I'm not going to mourn over personal injury. God help me, I'm not a child. I hope I'm not.

The trouble is, God can't get us to grow up. We're so injured. A pinprick. It's like the lady, she had a, what do you call it, a hangnail. So she told the pastor, told the church, she'd have a night of prayer.

For a healing. Oh, I didn't put this on. It's okay, it's just as well off, maybe. Verse 16, pardon me. Chapter 16, verse 1. How long thou wilt mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?

Till thine home with Orlon I send thee to Jesse, to the Bethlehemite, for I have provided me a king from among his sons. Verse 4, Samuel did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. He spoke to the people of Bethlehem, listen, and the elders of the town trembled at his coming.

Dear God, do you know a preacher that, if you, he said, if the cops stopped somebody and said, what are you doing? Carrying dope? No, I've got rain mail here. Oh, oh, don't tell the city fathers, they'll all have a nervous breakdown.

Rain mail's come? I know churches that would almost do that, but not city fathers. I'd love that. I'd love to be, I've told you, I want to be on the devil's list of most wanted men in America. Any other list?

Forget it. I'm wanting God to give me a prophetic ministry. There isn't a prophet in America tonight, as far as I know. Somewhere prophetic urgency, prophetic style, but not a prophet. You never found a prophet begged from anybody.

The prophet gives, he doesn't ask. His word is, thus saith the Lord, and that's it. Come hell or high water, he doesn't care. And the people and the elders of the town, boy, you know, they make, I get the elders of the church to tremble these days.

And they said, comest thou peaceably? Isn't that wonderful? Dear Lord, I'd like to go into some churches or some areas and say, listen, I'm not coming peaceably. I'm a man of war. I'm going to tear the place up.

I went to one church and the elder came to me the first night. He said, uh, you won't rock the boat, will you, Mr. Wade? I said, I sure will. I won't sink it, but I'll rock it every night I'm here. So he didn't come.

So that's fine. I don't care. You've got to shake them up somehow. Verse five, okay, we're in what, chapter 16. And he said, peaceably I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord. Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.

And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice. It came to pass when they would come that he looked on Eliab and said, surely the Lord's anointed is before me. Why? Because Eliab's tall and dark and handsome.

He's got everything that's needed to be a good politician or a good leader. This is the right man. Surely this is the Lord's anointed. The Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance. Doesn't that make you happy?

You folk like me, they're not very good looking. He doesn't look on the outside. You know, if all the ladies go into church in the morning and spend as much time on the knees as they spent on makeup, good Lord, we'd turn the nation upside down.

I told you, I lived in a house in Chicago for three or four months. And the lady said, I'm taking my Bible with me. I'll be out. Would you answer the phone? I said, sure. She said, I'm going to the beauty shop.

I thought, well, you need it, but I didn't say it. She said, you know, I've been going to this beauty shop for 20 years. I sighed. Good Lord, what was she like when they started working? Aren't you glad that we men are handsome?

We don't have to go to beauty shops. What a sight. You know, all they spent at that time, it was considered extravagant, $10 to get your hair done. What do you pay now, you ladies? Come on. Gather all that, how much?

Gather all the money that's spent by women in churches. They spend more on that stuff than they do on giving to missions, most of them. We spend more on dog food and cat food, pet food in America than all the combined offerings to missions.

So how long has God almighty going to put up with it? Now, I'm not preaching from the NIV, you know, verse seven, look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature, because I've refused him.

For the Lord seeth not as man seeth. Doesn't it make you happy? Man looks on the outward appearance. You think the scripture says, when you go in church, the angels are saying, you see that lady in red there, she has a Christian day or dress or that lady over there, she has a, what do you call those?

Designer dress. And all the angels bow. Three people going in that church with a designer dress and what's the shoes? Gucci shoes or whatever you call them. Oh, yesterday, the precious brother, I didn't have time, Deb, I'd like to have called you in.

The brother that's from, uh, well, yeah, Brooklyn Tabernacle, the way they have a 1516, there's a place to go for a week. Don't go to Florida, forget it. Go up there and get into that prayer meeting for one or two nights.

I preached there, I prayed there. 1500 people at the prayer meeting. But now they have a prayer meeting Friday morning, 9 to 11. He said, Brother Raymond, you can't imagine what God is doing in our church.

They prayed for an expansion of church across the city, said, look, we've only six members. We've a gorgeous building. If you'll take it, we'll give you our bank balance, $60 ,000. We'll give it a building.

As long as you'll give us a man that loves God and can preach and you supervise it. And they've gone there and they've been there, what, less than 11 months and the place is packed out already. He has a lineup right around his church.

There was a big shindig to be on, Campus Crusade actually, I think. Took the Carnegie Hall for Easter Monday and something went wrong. Pardon? Pardon? Yeah, but that wasn't what it was for. Somebody backed down, so they asked their choir to go, so his wife went and took the choir.

And there's a lineup right around the building. Carnegie Hall. They played choruses, sang choruses, the glory of God came down. And they turned the whole of Carnegie Hall, packed to the rafter, into a prayer meeting.

Heavyweight fights there. That's the heaviest fight that's been ever since the Blessed Building was put up. And now he's planning to take another building. Who was in the building? Rockefeller. Somebody told Rockefeller.

Do you know what happened in the Carnegie Hall? I think he owns it. Last night they had a marvelous concert, but it ended up everybody praying. What? Praying? Yeah. They're looking for a bigger building.

He said, well, there's another hall in town, I forgot the name of that. Carnegie Hall's over 2 ,000, 6 ,000 the newer, 3 ,000, 6 ,000 the new one, and they're going to have a prayer meeting. 6 ,000 people, he's going to have it.

If anybody wants to pay my ticket, I might go. But isn't it wonderful that there are people praying like that? He said, you come in our Friday morning prayer meeting, 9 to 11, it pulsates with eternity.

People weep, they groan, strong men. He said, I have a man coming to my church now that makes Nicky Cruz look like a Boy Scout. He's been in jail seven years, he's raped, he's broken banks, he's done every damn foolish thing you can imagine.

And he says, you couldn't imagine how peaceable. He said, I took him down to Peru with me, because he speaks Spanish. He said, God just swept over the building. He said, a little Indian woman came, a high cheekbones, a typical Inca type of woman, Indian, high cheekbones, nice eyes, and she knelt and said, pray for me.

She, he understands Spanish. He said, her hair was full of lice and grease and filth, and I was going to put my hand, she turned her head, I was going to put my hand, oh, mercy on us. You may as well put your hand in a pile of filth.

And he said, the Lord said, I would touch her, you touch her. He said, I put my hand on her and prayed for her, and the glory of God came on the place. He, I'll tell you something later, I won't tell you now, where he's going to go anyhow.

Verse 10 says again, Jesse made seven of his sons pass before him. And Samuel said to Jesse, the Lord hath not chosen one of these. And Samuel said to Jesse, I'll hear all thy children. And he said, there remaineth yet the youngest.

Why wasn't he there? Why wasn't David there? Because he's a bastard. I believe that. Doesn't he say in Psalm 51, I was born in sin and shaped in iniquity. And Jesse was too embarrassed to bring the child that didn't belong to him.

I know we've built theology on that Psalm. But again, you see, God is not impressed with the size of your head, size of your house, size of your bank balance. All he's concerned about is the size of your heart, the size of your love, the size of your compassion.

But when the angel drops a measuring line into your heart, it keeps going down. He says, father, I can't get to the bottom. This man's love is bottomless. This man's compassion is bottomless. Okay. Verse 11 again, Samuel said unto Jesse, I'll hear all thy children.

He said, there remaineth yet the youngest. And behold, he's a keeper of the sheep. In other words, what are you going to get, a little shepherd lad? He's no candidate for being a sheep. He's no education.

He's a country bumpkin. He doesn't know anything. He's no manners. He couldn't go into a Royal court. Are you suggesting that boy of mine with the stinking sheep is going to be king? He says, you do as I tell you.

He keepeth sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, send and fetch him, for he will not, we will not sit down. Now, remember, he's already been anointed in the previous chapter. He'd been anointed as a king, and yet he's humble enough, because Jesus was anointed, but he served.

You know, we don't want to serve. We want to be chiefs and not Indians. Okay. I'll find it just right. The end of verse 11, again, and Samuel said unto Jesse, send and fetch him, for we will not sit down till he come hither.

And he sent and brought him. Now he was ruddy. We would say he's a healthy looking fellow. And withal had a beautiful countenance and goodly to look at. And the Lord said, arise, anoint him, for this is he.

And Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward. Now, this is his first anointing, but not is he anointed in private, in the privacy of his own home.

Testing, Solitude, and Knowing God

In Psalm 89 verse 20 says, I have anointed him with holy oil. In 2 Samuel 1 and verse 4, it says he was anointed again by the men of Judah. In the verse, chapter 5 and verse 13, he was anointed again by the elders of Israel.

And Christ was anointed three times. I'm not going to dig that up for you. You can dig it out yourselves. What did it say? At the end of this 13th verse of 2 Samuel 16, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of the brethren.

And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. But look at the next verse. The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord came upon him. What a difference. Cut it up so we don't take too much time here.

Verse 18. Then answered one of the servants and said, Behold, I have seen the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite. He is cunning in playing, and a mighty, valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person.

And the Lord is with him. Wherefore, Saul sent messengers unto Jesse and said, Send me David, thy son, which is with the sheep. Verse 21. David came to Saul, and he made him his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he hath found favor in my sight.

He came to pass when the evil spirit of God was upon him. But Saul took a harp and played with his hand, and Saul was refreshed and became well. He was healed. Isn't that wonderful? Because of the presence of the man of God.

Verse 17. Those three, the Philistines, stood on one side of the mountain, and Israel stood on the other side. And there was a valley between them. And there went out a champion of the Philistines, named Goliath, whose height was six cubits, which is just a little over nine feet.

Quite a man. He had a helmet of brass on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail. And the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. Good night, he must have been strong to hold that thing up.

Verse 11 says, When Saul and all Israel heard the words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. Now David was the son of the Ephraimite, Bethlehem Judah. His name was Jesse, and he had eight sons.

Well I read part of that. Let me go down to verse 28 again, which I mentioned. Eliab, the eldest, brother heard. Oh pardon me. Let me go back to 15. Verse 15. David went, returned from Saul to feed the father's sheep at Bethlehem.

And the Philistine drew near, morning and evening, for forty days. Forty is always a period of testing. The book of Matthew is the fortieth book in the Bible. The Jews were tested by the presence of the Lord Jesus, and they failed.

Jesus was in the wilderness forty days and forty nights. Moses on the backside of the desert, forty years. Forty is always a time of testing, severe testing. Come on, before God. Could you be on the backside?

Some of you can't be forty minutes alone. You rush off to somebody's house. You wouldn't come to my house, I'll throw you out. A guy this week said I must come and talk with her for four hours. I said another guy wants to come for four hours, another wants to come for two hours.

One man said I want to stay with you twenty-one days. Well go to the coach light, they'll be glad to have you. Not come to my house. We don't think, we wouldn't ever think of stealing somebody's purse, but we'll steal their time.

Oh I just go in, of course I'm a saint. I want you to hear my testimony. I've heard it, friend, I don't want to hear it anymore. Don't waste my time. Oh I'm young, I'm only twenty-three, plenty of time.

I'll be with somebody at the cemetery your age, go have a look at the grave. If you're really as close to God as that, that you're willing, that you've nothing else to learn, you don't want to be more intimate with him, you don't want any more revelation from him, you don't want any more burden in prayer, waste your time.

Don't waste anybody else's, he'll judge at the judgment seat. Time's precious. We talk about tithing. Who tithes their time? If you give God a tenth of every day, you give him two hours and twenty-four minutes.

Are you behind? Some people don't die. If they haven't given the tithe to the last minute, they think Peter will meet them at the gate and say you're five hundred and sixty dollars behind. But we don't think about our time.

It's my time, it isn't, it's God's time. My dear wife was saying yesterday, how when young people get saved in their church, they bring a scripture and say, what are you bringing to Jesus? Your lousy sins?

He'll forgive your sins. But remember when you say I'm sorry and repent and become a child of God, you're bought with a price. You've no rights to yourself, no right to your time, no right to, are you going to be a doctor?

Put it on the altar. You're going to be a lawyer? Put it on the altar. He wants everything there is of you, not just something. Find out what God's want and do it. Don't be a tramp going from here to there and here to there.

I think if I came and live with you for a while, you might be up the wall in a week. I'd only come and live with me. I'll be friendly with you, I'll be kind, I'll pray as best I can. But you know we don't value time.

You ought to value every precious moment you have. I tell you, I laid for months in a straitjacket in hospital. It was agony. I couldn't stand it, there I was, I couldn't move anywhere. It's the only time I've been tied down, but I'll tell you it was tough.

But you know, time and again I thought, my, if I was only fit. Do you know why God stopped me? Because I was going on a tour of the world to preach, I was going too fast. And God says stop. Be still and know that I'm God.

That's as real as be fit with the Holy Spirit, but we don't stress it. You can't flutter, trip around here, there and everywhere. Keep out of other people's houses, mind your own business. And if you go, don't gossip for God's sake.

Keep your mouth shut. If you've nothing to say, go back home and stay home. Do most of us good to stay at home three months and see nobody? Oh well, it's better going down there. I like the fellowship better.

Why, are you a failure at home? You won't get any more here than you get at home if you seek God. Isn't there a hymn that says, could I be cast where thou art not? Was that Madame Guillaume that said, could I be cast where thou art not?

That were indeed a dreadful spot. But with thee my God to guide the way, it is equal joy to go or stay. The grass is always greener there. Look, God can make you in a room by yourself. I had a precious young man came to see me three weeks ago.

His father's extremely wealthy, a banker. He lives, his daddy lives in a palace. He's chosen to live in one room down the road, somewhere up in, uh, over Alabama, or Carolinas. And the lady wrote to me, she said, you can't believe what this young man has, how he's moved in God.

He got your book two years ago. Why did I don't have it? He's being shut away. He spends X number of hours every day in prayer. Come on, why don't you go to other people's houses to talk? Why don't you pray, spend the time in prayer?

There's not much time left. Again, I say it sounds facetious, maybe. I believe the choice in America is either we concentrate in prayer or we pray in concentration camps. You say it can't happen, it will.

God's patience is running out. And we shouldn't have to be driven with our backs to the wall to pray. We should pray because God wants me to pray. He invites me every day to pray. I can't get enough time to pray.

David’s Faith Against Goliath

I'll get through this in a little while, I promise you. So anyhow, this man's come for 40 days, it says in verse 16 of the 17th chapter. Morning and night. How do you think the people were anxious and aggravated?

They look at Saul's tent. There it is, the tent, you know, they have the old standard tent like this, you know, there's a pole in the middle to keep it up. And they see the sign, there's where King Saul is.

That's the other royal tent where Jonathan is. That's where the elders of Israel are. Look at this uncircumcised village trying, mocking us, laughing at us, scorning us. These are people who say their God divided the Red Sea.

But their God gave them shoes that didn't wear out in 40 years, and clothes that didn't smell after 40 years. And God opened heaven and sent them cereal down every morning, always fresh and good. But if you got greedy, it went rotten.

This is the God that's being challenged by this uncircumcised Philistine. Verse 20, David rose up early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper. He didn't let them run around. And he went as Jesse had commanded him.

He came to the trench or the valley as the host was going forth in the fight, and shouted for the battle. The Israelites and the Philistines put the battle in the way against the army. And he left his carriage, his accoutrements, in the hand of a keeper and ran to the army and saluted his brethren.

And when he talked with them, there came up the champion Philistine of Gath, whose name was Goliath. He came out of the armies of Philistine and spake according to the same words. And David heard them as he challenged God.

And all the men of Israel when they saw him fled, ran for their lives. They're all trained in military warfare. When it comes to the crisis they run. Supposing there's an invasion of communists tonight.

They come in their thousands. And you wake up in the morning and discover them in the street. Will your faith hold up? They say, you're going to prison for two years. We say, you know, God tells secrets.

Yes, he tells secrets. Oh, you know how God blessed Abraham? Yes, I'll tell you how he blessed him. He said, your children are going into bondage for 400 years. Would you like God to tell you that? The only way you can learn to know God is in secret.