Turn with me tonight to 1 Samuel
chapter 22. I've titled this message, Where
the Broken Gather. I want to look at the first two
verses tonight. David therefore departed thence. You remember last study, he was
in the hometown of Goliath, acted like a madman. in order to escape. And it says here that, therefore,
he departed there and escaped to the cave of the Duwam. And
when his brethren in all his father's house heard it, they
went down thither to him. You know, earlier his brothers
had mocked him, and now they supported him and they came under
his leadership. In verse 2, this is the text,
this is what I want us to talk about tonight. And everyone that
was in distress, and everyone that was in debt, and everyone
that was discontented, the three D's there, distressed, indebted,
and discontented, they gathered themselves unto Him, David. And he became a captain over
them, and there were with him about 400 men. I was thinking
400, well it'd seem a lot if we had 400 here tonight, it would
seem like a lot, but compared to all of Israel, that's few. And you can't help but to think
few there be that find the narrow way into life. Now, when I think
of a king, I picture crowns, I picture palaces, I picture
kingdoms, I picture mass armies. But we don't find David here
on a throne, we find him in a cave. a place with a broken gather. David's the Lord's anointed.
He's been chosen by God, anointed by Samuel, but rejected by Saul,
and he looks anything but royal. He's not sitting in majesty. He's running for his life. He's
not reigning in splendor. He's in a cave of a doom. Yet, it's in that dark, lonely,
hidden cave that God begins to build His kingdom, David's kingdom,
God's kingdom. And out of weakness, God brings
strength. And out of rejection, God brings
redemption, restoration. And out of nobodies, God forms
armies. Christ, the son of David, gathers
his church, not from the proud, but from the poor in spirit. So the first thing I want us
to see is just that. We find David, we see David in
a cave. Instead of ruling from Jerusalem,
he's rejected and he hides in a Durham's cave. But this cave will prove in the
divine workshop of God Almighty for God's greater purpose. And I can't help but to think,
and we know David as a type of Christ, the Lord Jesus, the true
anointed one who was despised and rejected of men. You know,
he really was. They hated him without a cause.
They sought to kill him at every turn. He left his glory. He left the brightness
of his heavenly throne. to dwell in the darkness of an
unbelieving world. But God does his greatest work,
not in palaces, but in hidden, lowly places like caves. So don't shun this cave. It's
where the broken gather. God brings low that his glory
might shine brighter. That's what Hannah said in the
beginning of this book. The Lord maketh poor and maketh
rich. He bringeth low and lifteth up.
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and he lifteth up the
beggar from the dunghill. Are you a beggar? Are you a mercy
beggar? Then you've got great hope in
our Lord. He lifts the beggar from the
dome hill to set them among princes and to make them inherit the
throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth
are the Lord's and he has set the world upon them. Why do we
worry and fret when our God holds this world in his hand? Not just the earth, the whole
world, the whole universe. To set up high those that be
low, that those which mourn may be exalted to safety, Job 511. The psalmist said in Psalm 75
verses six and seven, for promotion cometh neither from the east
nor from the west nor from the south, but God is the judge. He put it down one and set it
up another. Who does? God does. James said,
humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he'll lift you
up. Peter echoed, humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may what? Exalt
you. Who does the exalting? God does. And he does in his due time.
Pride has got to be surrendered. Self-promotion has to be put
away. We must recognize our weakness,
and we cannot do that unless God reveal it to us. But we must
recognize it before we'll ever wholly lean on the Lord Jesus
Christ as our exaltation. You know, the world says and
the world teaches, exalt yourself and you'll rise. A lot of religion
teaches that today. But God says, humble yourselves,
and I will lift you up. Oh my, that's where I want to
be, humbled before God, that He may lift me up. Divine providence
is His due time. It's always God's time, He never
ours. Humility is a part of waiting. You know, we, by nature, we want
it right now. Joseph, you know, I think about,
he was humbled in prison for years, in prison for years, unrightfully
so. But he was exalted in Pharaoh's
house at the exact moment in God's perfect timing and due
time, exactly when Egypt and Israel needed him most. God knows
what he's doing. God knows when it is. That was
due time. God often puts His people into hard, dark, humbling
places before He lifts them up. He put Moses in the desert of
Midian for 40 years on the backside of the desert, tending sheep
before He called him at the burning bush. Israel was enslaved for
400 years and wandered 40 more before God delivered them into
the land of promise. Job, he was stripped of wealth
and family and health before he was restored double for all that he lost.
Jonah, he was in the belly of a fish three days and three nights
before he received the Lord's salvation. Jeremiah was thrown
into a cistern, a dark hit and left to sink before he was rescued
by an unlikely ally and the three Hebrew children were cast into
a fiery furnace and didn't even have the smell of smoke on them
when God delivered them out. Daniel thrown into a den of hungry
lions and was delivered without harm. John the Baptist was in
prison and then beheaded, yet he was said to be more than a
prophet. He was said to be greater, a greater man that no greater man
was born of woman than him. And he was called a burning and
shining light. And then Paul and Salus, they
were thrown into Philippian jail, beaten to within an inch of their
life until an earthquake set them free. God does the delivering
in His due time. The beloved John banished to
the island of Patmos, where he received the revelation. And
he, by God's grace, died a natural death in old age. All of our
end is different, but God's in control of each one. And God's
due time teaches us to trust, and it burns away our self-confidence,
and it causes us to seek God for all things. Christ was born
in a manger. He was despised, rejected, and
crucified. Wherefore, God also hath highly
exalted him, Scripture says. Gave him a name which is what
above every name. And he is seated at the right
hand of God. No higher place of exaltation. And here's the amazing thing.
We're seated with him. He has made us to sit there with
him, Ephesians 2.6. Has God ever put you in a dulim's
cave? You know, I was thinking today,
wine comes from the wine press. must be ground and then baked
before it ever becomes bread. Pottery is shaped and then hardened
in a furnace before it becomes a beautiful piece of art. Butter is made by churning and
agitation. Diamonds are formed under pressure.
Gold is refined in the fire. Pearls are formed in an oyster.
by the irritation of sand. You see, the most valuable things
come through breaking and pressing and fire or struggle. May we remember that as the Lord
sends trials our way. Secondly, I want you to notice
who were the people that came to David. Oh, this should be
such an encouragement to us. Verse 2, and everyone that was
in distress, and everyone that was in debt, and everyone that
was discontented, gathered themselves unto Him, and He became a captain
over them. And there were with Him about
400 men. Who came to David? Was it the
rich? Was it the powerful? Was it the
cream of the crop, as we say? Were they a team of elite warriors? Were they influential leaders? No. They were a bunch of ragtop
misfits, just like you and me. They were those in distress first. They were people experiencing
hardship. That's what distress means. They
were those in fear, having persecution upon them. They sought refuge. They sought protection. They
were men who were weighed down. They had extreme trouble and
anxiety. This is where God brings his
people. This is what his people are. They're distressed, they're in
debt, they're discontented. They were oppressed, they were
treated unjustly, excluded from society, emotionally burdened. That word distress means extreme
anxiety, sorrow. pain, suffering, without the
basic necessities of life. Physical strain, complete exhaustion. The word entails so much. Filled with anguish, agony, affliction,
torment, heartache, heartbreak, sorrow, grief, woe, sadness,
hardship, tribulation, misfortune. That's a strong word, distress. And these men were distressed. Those that came to David in the
cave were those in debt. That word in debt in the marginal
Bible means had a creditor. Well, we all have had creditors. Most of us still do. A creditor
is a person or company to whom something is owed, but it doesn't
mean just money. And this is pictures of, this
is a picture of all of us indebted to God because of our sin. We're
all indebted to Him. We're all accountable for our
debt of sin to God. And these were people who were
burdened, and not just financially, but morally and spiritually. They were struggling to survive.
They were trapped by obligations that they couldn't meet. What
a picture they are of you and me. David's gathering created
a community where resources and protection could be shared. And this points to our Lord and
Savior who provides relief for us and protection for us and
resources that we cannot provide for ourselves. You know, I remember
the story of the woman who was a notorious sinner about how
those who owe the most love the most. You remember that? Isn't
that what the Lord Jesus told Simon the Pharisee? He said,
Simon, there were certain creditor which had two debtors. The one
owed 500 pence and the other 50. And when they had nothing
to pay, that's you and I, we don't have anything to pay. Some
may feel they owe more than others, but it doesn't matter. We don't
have anything to pay. He frankly forgave them both.
He said, tell me now, therefore, which of them will love him most?
And even Simon knew that. Simon answered and said, I suppose
he to whom he forgave most. And the Lord said, thou hast
answered rightly, you've rightly judged. You see, this woman,
that woman that was a sinner, a notorious sinner, loved Christ
more. She was forgiven more. Simon
gave Him no water for His feet. She washed His feet with her
tears. She wiped them with the hairs
of her head. Simon gave the Lord no kiss of greeting or respect. And this woman kissed His feet
from the time that she got there. without ceasing. Simon did not
anoint the Lord's head with oil, but this woman anointed his feet.
And the Lord Jesus said, her sins, which are many, are forgiven,
for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven,
the same loveth a little. That's so true, isn't it? Forgiveness
and love are connected. Don't ever forget that. The debt
of love expresses the understanding of true forgiveness. This woman
knew her sins were great, and seeing God's mercy for her, she
responded with overwhelming love and gratitude. How about us? Have we been forgiven of much?
Do we love Him much? Perspective shapes behavior. Those who recognize they've got
little sin or feel little need for forgiveness. And they often display little
love. Their sense of indebtedness to God's mercy is just minimal. And so is their response to Him. God looks on the heart, though.
Simon judged this woman by social standards. He judged her in his
self-righteousness. Yep, she was a notorious sinner.
So am I. So am I. And Simon exalted himself
above her. And this is the definition. That's
the definition of self-righteousness. He was convinced of his own moral
and spiritual superiority. But the Lord looks on the heart,
and her heart full of repentance and love and gratitude, compassion,
humility, and love. That being for the one who forgave
her of much. Who do you love much? The more we grasp the multitude
of God's grace, And forgiving us, the more our
hearts will overflow in love and gratitude for Him. You know,
forgiveness is not just a legal transaction. Sometimes I think
we think that. But forgiveness transforms the
soul. It reconciles us to God. It produces
much devotion from the one who's forgiven to the one who forgave
them. even though self-righteous scribes
and Pharisees knew that, but they didn't see that Christ was
the one who could forgive. You know, when they dropped that
man through the rooftop, that man with the palsy in front of
the Lord Jesus, remember he forgave his sin. He said, I forgive you
of your sin. And they said, Well, there were
certain of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their
hearts saying, why did this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can
forgive sins but God only? They were right. Luke's account
says, and the scribes and the Pharisees begin to reason when
this happened, saying, who is this that speaketh these blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
alone? And the Lord Jesus Himself on
this very occasion said, but that ye may know that the Son
of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins. And which is easier
to say, He said? Thy sins be forgiven, or take
up your bed and walk. So you see, sin is the reason
for our infirmities. If our sin is forgiven, our infirmity
is relieved. Acts 10.43 says, to him gave
all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth
in him shall receive remission of sins. Ephesians 1.7 says,
in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins according to the riches of his grace. Now listen, our
problem is a sin problem. The problems that we have, regardless
of what they are, are because of sin. Now, if our sin's been
taken away, so is our problem. Everything's gonna be all right
if we have no sin. You and I are spiritually bankrupt
in and of ourselves. We have no way to pay what we
owe. Neither did these men that came
today, but they were distressed, they were in debt, and they were
discontented. Romans 6, 3, Paul wrote, the
wages of sin is debt. It's a debt that we cannot pay. It's not in live. We can't pay this debt in live.
We've got to give our life to pay it, and even then it doesn't
pay the debt. We have to pay our debt of sin with our lives. But the beauty of the gospel
is found in that same verse. But. It always begins with a
but, doesn't it? But the gift of God. Whose gift
is it? God's gift. What does God forgive? He gives eternal life. How does He give it? Through
the Lord Jesus Christ. But the gift of God is eternal
life through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now friends, the debt's real.
And the wages are certain, but we have a substitute that paid
the debt. That's our message. That's what
we preach. That's what we love to hear.
He paid the debt he didn't owe. I owed a debt I couldn't pay.
I needed someone. You need someone to put your
sin away? Now I sing a brand new song, Amazing Grace, all
day long. Christ Jesus paid a debt that
I could never pay. Thirdly, the people who came
were discontented. Now that word discontented means
bitter of soul. Embittered, dissatisfied, malcontent. These men were not satisfied
with Saul's kingdom. If you remember, Samuel told
them they wouldn't be. They said, we want a king. And
Samuel said, listen, you've got a king. You've got the best king. You've got the king of kings.
You've got God the Son as your king. They said, we want a king
like everybody else has. And Saul, Samuel said, well,
let me tell you what your king is going to be like. He's going
to be hard on you. He's going to make life tough
for you. He's going to take from you.
He's going to take from your children. He's going to be self-serving
and that's exactly what Saul was. And his failed leadership
left these people weary and oppressed and hopeless. Their bitterness
of soul was a sign of a nation under judgment. They long for
a godly king. That's the state of every believer. They're weary of this world's
rule. I'm telling you, the older I
get, I just become more weary every day of this world. How
about you? I don't know why we're surprised when we turn on the
news or however we gather our source of news, why we're at
all surprised. This world is in a mess, and
we're weary of it. We're weary of sin's bondage. I begin to understand a little
more what Job meant when he said, I abhor myself. I'm not learning
to love myself, friends. I'm learning to hate myself.
I abhor myself. I hate how I am. I'm weary of Satan's oppression.
It drives a chosen sinner to Christ, the true Son of God,
the true anointed King, just as it did these men today. And in and by and through Christ,
God reshapes our bitterness and our weariness with love and appreciation
for Christ. I'm falling in love more and
more with Him every day. Sometimes I don't act like it,
but I sure do am. I'm beginning to see a little
more every day how much I need Him and how much He's done for
me. How about you? David molded these misfits into
mighty men of valor. And under David's rule, their
frustration and their resentment was transformed into zeal and
courage and loyalty. Is that what the Spirit of God
is doing for us? Oh, the Lord has done a mighty
work of grace in many of us. All that believe and trust in
him and under David's rule. These men were transformed and
under Christ rule, so we. This picture is God's. Purpose
of grace. God gave Christ the distressed. Those in debt. And those that
were discontented. This shows His kingdom is built
on His mercy and His grace. Never on human strength. If a man tells you that you've
got to do something to be saved or that you must do something
to be saved, he's lying. He's lying. Don't hear him. Don't believe him. It's never
by human strength. Haven't we? Haven't we? No, no,
no. We haven't done anything. But
see, we did the sin and God did the saving. The cave of a dulem
is a powerful picture of Christ in the gospel. Now hear me just
for a few minutes and I'll finish. The cave of a dulem, a place
where the needy gather. represents a place of refuge.
Just as David and his men fled to the cave to escape Saul, sinners
flee from this world's oppression to Christ, our refuge. The scripture
says to lay hope, to lay hold of the hope that's set before
us. Now, this cave is dark. And it's hidden, and few there
be that find it. Nothing glamorous about it. Salvation
starts lowly, in lowly hidden places. But all around us in
a dulim's cave is a solid rock. The people gathered there were
broken and needy, distressed, troubled by life and conscience,
indebted, guilty before God, unable to pay the debt of sin
that they owed, discontented, restless in their hearts, longing
for righteousness. And Christ gathers the same type
of people. Those that are made to see their
need of Him. Now that should be a great encouragement
to you and I tonight. Because that's exactly what we
are. And if you're one of God's, God's
shown you what you are. And He reminds us, I was going to say daily, That is what we are. These broken
and needy men came to David. David was God's anointed, though
he wasn't king at the time. Christ is God's anointed king,
though the world rejected Him so. And He's still king. He was king then and He's king
now. And David later led these men into victory and Christ transforms
broken sinners into children. Christ makes God's children heirs
of His kingdom. Everything that belongs to God,
He gives to us. These men were transformed through
loyalty and submission to David. David shaped these men into a
mighty force. Men of valor, the Scripture says.
And in Christ, the believer's bitterness and sinfulness is
restored, redeemed. Our restless hearts find rest
and peace. Our spiritual weakness becomes
strength in God's service. And friends, the cave of Adullam
pictures the gospel. God gathers the broken, the guilty,
the restless unto this greater son of David, bringing them to Christ, Adullam.
The word of Dulem, the name of Dulem means justice of the people. You can't make this up. Words, names in the Bible mean
something. We say it all the time. Justice
of the people. The cross of Jesus Christ is
God's justice for His people. It's at the cross that Christ
satisfies divine justice. Sins punished. Righteousness
is imputed. Mercy is given freely. Where? At the cross. The cave of Adullam
foreshadows the cross. Both places are a refuge for
the broken. Both gather the needy and transform
them. Both look like weakness, but
they're really victory. both bring about true justice. That's where the justice of God
was satisfied on Calvary's cross. A dulim was the place that God
raised up a leader for the broken. At Calvary, the greater David
did the same in a greater way. In a dulim's cave, an army was
raised. Christ on the cross birthed a
new creation. David's army was forged in a
cave. At the cross, Christ forms his
church. I hope this never becomes boring
to us. A dulim's cave points to Christ
at the cross, both a place of refuge, a place of gathering,
a place of transformation, a place of power, a place of justice. So, if you're distressed, come
to Christ. If you're in debt to sin, come
to Christ. If you're discontented with life,
come to Christ. The deuteron was the shadow,
the Christ of the cross is the substance. Who's the justice
of God for? For the broken. For the needy. For the indebted. For the weak.
For the distressed. for the discontent, and there's
only one way justice is provided for such. Now in closing, I'll
remind you again of the things which God has taught us here
over the years. First, God is just. He cannot
overlook sin. He can by no means clear the
guilty. The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. Secondly,
we cannot pay the debt that we owe. Our works, our religion, our
morality cannot erase our guilt. If justice rests on us, we'll
forever be condemned and damned. Thirdly, Christ bore our judgment.
God's justice and mercy meet at Calvary's cross. Christ, the
sinless One, there's hung in the chosen sinner's place, absorbing
the punishment that was due to us. Next time you think about
Christ on the cross, picture yourself being there, because
that's where you should have been. The Lord hath laid on Him
the iniquity of us all. All the world know, all his people,
those who believe. Paul wrote that he might be just
and the justifier of him who, which believeth in Jesus. This
is for believers, this isn't for the world. Men need to quit
lying on God. And fourthly, justice is satisfied
through substitution. Because Christ paid in full with
His blood, God doesn't compromise His justice when He forgives. He upholds it. Because forgiveness
in Christ isn't God ignoring our sin, it's God declaring that
the penalty has already been carried out on Christ, His Son. And lastly, fifthly, sinners
are justified by faith. The sinner that trusts in Christ
is legally declared righteous. How righteous? Perfectly. Whose
righteousness we have? The righteousness of God in Christ.
We have the very righteousness of God. God's justice is not
ignored for his people. It was executed on Christ in
our place. Forgiveness is not cheap. It
costs the blood of God the Son. So, in a dewlam's cave, we see
the cross, Christ rejected and despised. In the cave of a dewlam,
we see the crowd, sinners in need coming to Christ. In a dulim's
cave, we see the captain, Jesus Christ, the captain of our salvation. He became Lord.