Alright, if you take your Bibles,
now turn back with me to 1 Samuel chapter 21. But I also want you
to flip over to... This is where I got this. This is where I started. I had
another passage I intended to preach to you, but I got stuck
on a title. Look at Psalm 34. And so I've
kind of decided to make this a two-part. Somebody said, well,
maybe you need to make your introduction the whole message, and then the
message the whole message. Well, that's what I'm trying
to do. I'm going to make my introduction
a message and then I'm going to preach this other message
at another time. But look at Psalm 34. Look at
the title. It says, A Psalm of David when
he changed his behavior before Abimelech, who drove him away
and he departed. And this is found in our text
in 1 Samuel chapter 21, verses 10 through verse 15. Now, I want us to see that this passage,
in this passage, we are going to read of David's foolishness. We are going to read of David's
sin, his fear and unbelief. how he gave himself into the
hands of the enemies of God. And so, when he realized this,
David had heard them. They actually declared the gospel
back to David. They said, hey, is this not God's
anointed king? Is this not God's chosen mighty
warrior? They sang those songs about him.
Remember, they sang, Saul killed his thousands and David his ten
thousands. And when David heard that, he
was convicted. He said he laid it to his heart. He was convicted of this. And
what he did to get out of this is he acted crazy. He feigned
madness. He pretended. to be out of his
mind. He scribbled on the walls and
dribbled down his beard. And then when the king heard
this, when Achash, the king of the Philistines, he heard this,
he saw this, he said, why have you brought this crazy man to
me? This man was supposed to be a king of Israel. This man
was supposed to be a mighty warrior. And look at him. He's mad. He's
crazy. Why have you brought him? And
the king of Gath, he cast David out. And verse 15 says, Have
I need of a madman that you have brought this fellow to play the
madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my
house." And from there we read in chapter 22 how David went
to this cave of Dulem. He went to this cave of Dulem
and when his brethren and his father's house heard, he was
there. They came to him and not only
that, you see that everyone that was distressed, verse 2, everyone
distressed, everyone that was in debt, everyone that was discontented
or bitter, They gathered themselves to David and he became their
captain. Their captain. Now then, I want us to see by
the grace of God that all that is recorded, all that is recorded
in Scripture is intended to show us Christ and Him crucified. All that is intended by the Holy
Spirit is that it should show forth Jesus Christ. I've looked
at some messages, just Googled this on the internet and tried
to figure out some messages and every one of these messages is
about men. When they read this text, all
of them are about men and how we fear and how we do stupid
things and how God delivers us. And that's true, you can make
a message out of that. But there's something greater here. I believe
that all Scripture, all Scripture has the purpose and intent to
show Christ. As a matter of fact, Jesus said
that in His Bible. He said, beginning at most, and
all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures
the things concerning Himself. When you read this book, you
should look for Christ. If not, you've only found a small
morsel. You may have found find some
comfort, some good thing from it. But the lasting thing, the
important thing is that we see Christ. And that's what I desire
that the Spirit does today is to show us that even the unbelief,
He uses the unbelief and the fear of David. He uses the rejection
of this wicked king to show forth Christ. To show forth Christ. Now then, what I want to preface
is this. Our Lord was never a madman. He never pretended to be a madman. He never feared like David. He
never sinned like David. But as we look at those things,
we're going to see a picture of our Savior. First of all,
look at this. And David arose, verse 10, and David arose and
fled that day for fear of Saul, went to Achash king of Gath. David did this as a sin. He feared Saul. He feared Saul. And he came down
to the enemies of God. Now I want you to see this. The
Lord Jesus Christ, He too, came down and dwelt among His enemies."
Our Lord Jesus Christ came down and dwelt among His enemies. This one Jesus, like David, who
was anointed of God to be king. In fact, they knew that. They
heard that. They said, is this not David,
king of the land? Did they not sing in their dances,
Saul as slain his thousands and David his ten thousands? Even so, David here is a picture
of Christ and you know that. David was anointed of God. How
much more was Christ anointed of God to be king? Remember that
scripture in Psalm 110 verse 1. The Lord said unto my Lord. This is David speaking. The Lord
said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand. until I make thine
enemies thy footstool." This is the prophecy of Christ. Jesus
himself said this when they said, he said, let me ask you a question,
whose son is Christ? And they said, David's son. And
then he pointed them to this text, he says, how then did David
call him Lord? They couldn't answer. They couldn't
answer because they did not know the Messiah was to be both God
and man. that he was David's Lord and
yet he was to be David's son. The Lord Jesus Christ was prophesied
to be a mighty king, a victorious king, a sovereign king. This one who is David's Lord
is the Lord God, mighty in battle. And you read this throughout
all the Old Testament. Every time Israel was in trouble with
their enemy, Who delivered them? God in might and in power delivered
them. And He showed them by these physical
deliverances how then Christ should come and deliver His people
from their sins. You could definitely see that
in the deliverance from Egypt, couldn't you? You could see that
when the Passover lamb was slain and they were delivered from
the Egyptians, how that God parted the sea in His power and might
and they walked across on dry land. What a picture of Christ
and what He was to do. By His death, listen, He parted
the sea of God's justice. And all of His people passed
through on dry ground. When you stand before God, you're
not going to sink. You stand on a solid rock. Jesus
Christ. And so the Lord Jesus Christ
was in old prophecies to be the Holy One of Israel, the One who
would rule the nations. In that same Psalm, Psalm 110
and verse 2, it says, The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength
out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. These were the songs of the Messiah,
the prophecies of Scripture. Songs of might and strength,
songs of victory over the enemies of God. But how did our Lord Jesus Christ
come into this world? Did He come as a mighty King? Did He come as a champion, as
a victor in strength and power as the Scriptures declare? Did he come as a triumphant warrior? Did he come to establish a kingdom
here in this world? I'll tell you this, he was a
king. He declared himself to be a king many times. You remember
at the end, Pilate said, Art thou a king? And he said, You
said it. You said it. But my kingdom is
not of this world. He was a king, surely. But how
did He come in appearance? How did men see Him when He came
into this world? They did not see Him as a king.
They saw Him as a servant, which He was, a servant of God. And this is how the lost men
of Israel saw Him when He came into this world. They thought
that Christ would come as a mighty conqueror. They thought that
He would come as a victor. over the carnal nations of the
world. They thought he would establish
his worship in the world. Now all lost men of Christ's
day, they expected the Messiah to be a great conqueror, but
like Achash. When Achash saw David feigning
mad, he said, This guy, isn't he supposed to be a mighty conqueror?
Isn't he supposed to be a great king? And look at him, he's nothing
more than a dribbling fool. I want you to know that's exactly
how men saw Christ. They saw Him nothing more than
a madman. He claimed to be Christ and they
rejected it based on what they saw. On what they saw of Him. When He came as the Lamb of God,
the suffering servant of God, when He chose those twelve disciples,
you know they were offended. They thought they should be the
chosen ones. And who did He choose? He chose
the weak and the poor to be His disciples. And what did they
say? He's mad. When He ate and drank
with publicans and sinners, what did they think of Him? They thought
Him mad. They thought him crazy. They thought him to be a fool.
As a matter of fact, you can see this. I want to show you
a couple of passages. Look in John chapter 8. Look in John chapter
8. See what David feigned to be? This is how men perceived Christ
to be. Mad. Look at John chapter 8. And John chapter 8 verse 48, Then answered the Jews and said
unto him, Say not well thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Are you possessed? You must be
possessed. They heard His gospel, they heard
His message, they heard who He was, and they said this, You're
mad! You're insane! Look at John chapter 10. John
chapter 10. Our Lord Jesus Christ here. They
saw Him when He came into this world. They didn't see a mighty
conqueror, they didn't see a triumphant warrior, they saw a madman. Jesus in John chapter 10 calls
out and he says this, he said, I am the good shepherd and the
good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. He tells us that He is the Shepherd.
Now, in the Old Testament Scriptures, they knew this, that Christ should
come, that He was called the Shepherd. The Lord is my Shepherd. He should be a Shepherd. And
He says this, I have my sheep, and I call them by name, and
I come for this purpose, not to be a mighty conqueror here
in this world, but to lay down my life. I've come to die for
my sheep. The Good Shepherd calls His sheep
by name. And the perfect result of their
calling is this. Look at verse 27. He said, My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me. I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me is greater than
all, and no man is able to pluck them out of My hand. and my father
are one." And what did they think of him? They took up stones to
kill him. They took up stones because they
thought he was crazy. They thought he was a blasphemer.
Look at verse 20. He said, many of them said this,
he hath a devil and is what? Mad. How shall you hear him? Do you not see then that David's
feigning of being mad is a picture and type of when Christ came
into this world, that's how men would see him. He who is anointed
king, he who is a promised warrior, a victor, he comes in this world
meek and lowly in heart. The scripture had said, Behold
thy king cometh, riding on a colt, the foal of an ass. Meek and
lowly in heart. They did not perceive Christ
to be meek. They did not understand He would
come as a servant. And so therefore they said this,
He is mad. He is mad. Now why? Because the Father, they shall
all come to Him. This is what Christ said, all
My sheep to come to Him. Why? Because the Father gave
them to Me. The Father gave them to Me. He put them in My hand.
I and My Father are one, He said. Behold, this One who came in
the flesh is the Son of God, equal with the Father and the
Spirit. Was He not a mighty man? Of course He was a mighty man,
but that's not how men perceive it. Yet being found in fashion as
a man, though He had the power of God, though He was one with
the Father, how did He come into this world. The Scripture says
He being found in fashion as a man humbled Himself and became
obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross. And there He bore our sins. Our cry, O Lord Jesus Christ
came. Why did He come so mean? Why did He come in obedience?
Why did He have to come in the flesh? Why must He come as a
servant? Because His people needed two
things they could never provide for themselves. Righteousness
and redemption. We could never provide righteousness
for ourselves, therefore our Lord condescended to dwell among
His enemies. so that He might for us obtain
righteousness. And that's what He was doing.
How strong do you suppose it would take a man to obtain righteousness? How mighty must a man be to obey
the law of God? Anybody here done that? Can you
name anyone in the history of mankind that had the strength
to obey the law of God? There was one man. Jesus Christ
came into this world and honored the law of God for us. As a representative of man, he
came and suffered the cruel mockings of men, the scourgings of men,
the rebuke of men, and yet the scripture says he opened not
his mouth. Have you ever done something that
people accuse you of something you haven't done? How do you
feel? You suppose you keep your mouth
shut? How much strength does it take
to keep your mouth shut when you didn't do something people
accuse you of? Oh, he was a mighty man, just
not how they perceived him. He was God's anointed king, yet
men perceived him to be nothing but a madman, a fool. But he
came to obtain righteousness He came to die. This is what
the Jews failed to see. He did not come to create an
earthly kingdom. I heard a man that I believe
he believes in Christ. But sometimes when people say
things, you just wonder, what in the world were they thinking?
He said, you know what? I'm here to help build the kingdom
of God. Now who says such things like
that? We're not here to build. He wasn't here to build an earthly
kingdom. And yet men run around doing
that, saying such things. Our Lord Jesus Christ, He came
in the flesh to obtain righteousness for His people. But not only
this, He came and humbled Himself so that He might redeem His people. He might redeem us. And how did He do this? He did
this when He bore our sins on Calvary's tree. You see, the
Kingdom of God was built upon the death of Jesus Christ. It's
built upon His death. He bore our sins. He died for
His sheep. And the result of this is His
promise. My sheep will hear My voice. I know them and I give unto them
eternal life and they shall never perish. They will believe on Him. This
morning, do you believe on Him? Is this madness to you? His condescension and His representative
death? Is that madness? We understand
it to be perfectly, it's wise, it's not foolish. The gospel
is to us wise. But what about those who will
not believe? What of those who will not believe? Jesus, He said
this, you believe not. You think I'm mad, you think
I'm crazy. You believe not because you're
not of my sheep. You're not of my sheep. So what do the religious and
self-righteous men say of God's sovereign election? What do the
religious people say of Christ's perfect humility and death to
redeem His people from their sin? What do the religious world
say about the effectual power of the Spirit to call His sheep
that cannot be resisted? What do they say of this? They
say it's madness. You know, I got an email. I don't
get many of them from the website. I get some, and that one man
emailed me and told me to repent. He said, you should repent of
your Calvinism. There's still hope for you if
you just repent, if you just accept Jesus. He thinks I'm mad. Why? Because he thinks the Christ
I preach is mad. He perceives the Christ that
we believe to be Insane! The religious self-righteous
religion of this world, the self-righteous free will work mongers, they
desire to see Jesus as nothing more than a companion, an equal. That's what Achash thought of
David. When David came in there, he said, oh boy, I got somebody
to help me. I got an equal. He's a king,
I'm a king, we can work together to accomplish a goal. That's what they think of Christ.
They think Christ is unequal. Well, Jesus did His part, and
I must also do my part. And together, we can save me. Friends, that's madness. That's
insanity. But this religious world sees
that Christ is nothing more than a buddy to help them to glory.
They suppose, like Achish, that he should help them to conquer
heaven. You know, Achish never desired
to bow to David. He desired David's help, but
he never desired to bow. And that's what religious men
do. They desire Christ's help, but they will never bow before
Him. They will never bow before Christ.
They perceive Him to be mad. And so then, to them, the true
Christ of the Gospel, as God has revealed Him in Scripture,
His Gospel is nothing more than vain babblings and scribbles
upon a wall. Listen to what Paul says in 1
Corinthians chapter 1. He says this, For the preaching
of the cross is to them that perish What is it? Foolishness. We preach that God chose a people
before the foundation of the world, which Scripture declares.
That God gave them to Christ, which the Scripture declares.
That Christ says, I came to lay down my life for them, his sheep,
which the Scripture declares. We preach of His victory, of
His success, which the Scripture declares. We preach that all
that the Father had given Christ shall come to Christ, which the
Scriptures declare. And what do they say? You're
mad. You're crazy. You need to stop preaching that. Don't marvel when men think you're
crazy. They thought Christ to be insane. What do you think they'll think
of you? When we preach this gospel, they'll think you're mad. You're insane. To them that perish,
the gospel is foolishness. But to us, what do we think about
it? What do you think about the gospel
of Christ? You that are saved by this gospel, by this power,
this mighty Christ, what are you thinking? No, we think this,
it is the power of God. How are you saved? Power of God. How are they supposed to be saved?
Power of Christ and themselves. No, that's mad. The scripture
is The Gospel preaches to us the power of God, salvations
of the Lord. And notice this, his rejection.
O Achash, they brought him before and said, Lo, verse 14, you see
this man is mad. Why in the world did you bring
him here? What in the world do I need with a madman? This guy
can't help me. And he threw him out. He threw
him out. Even so, Jesus, like David, Cast
out. Cast out. He was cast outside the city. And what did they do to the Lord
of glory? They crucified Him. They crucified Him. And so then
it was there. It was there at the cross. What
men saw as weakness He said He was the Son of God.
If thou be the Son of God, come down off the cross and then we'll
believe you. You see, they thought Him to
be weakness. That His crucifixion showed weakness. That His crucifixion
was nothing but foolishness. He saved others, Himself He cannot
save. They thought Him to be a fool.
But what men and the world call weakness and foolishness, we
see as both wisdom and power. You who believe on Christ, you
see the cross, what do you see there? When you pass by in your heart
and mind and you see the Lord of Glory crucified there, what
do you see? Do you see weakness? If I want to see weakness, I'll
look in the mirror. If I want to see something powerless,
I'll look in the mirror. I am weakness. I am powerless
to save myself. When I look at the cross, I see
both the wisdom of God and the power of God. That's what I see. Is that what you see? I see the wisdom and power of
God, the wisdom of God in this. How can God be just and justify
the ungodly? There's a question. I say that
is the most vital question you will ever seek an answer for. How can God be holy and still
accept you? The answer is found in the cross. The answer is found in the death
of Christ, in a substitutionary death. What wisdom! No one ever
thought of this. No religion in all the world
had ever thought of this. Every religion in the world was
dependent upon you doing something for your God. In the true religion, it's God
who does everything for you. At the cross I see the wisdom
of God in how He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. Would anybody would have ever
thought that the Son of God should be made sin for His people? Who would have thought of that?
None of us. that Christ should bear our sins
in His own body on the tree and extinguish the wrath of God that
was against us. The blood of Christ. That's what
it did. It extinguished the wrath of
God. Now they consider the power of it. What could ever satisfy
God's justice? Could you with all your striving
ever satisfy the justice of God? You're mad if you think you can.
You're insane. There is no amount of strength. Isn't that what he said? There
is none righteous, no not one. There's none that understandeth,
there's none that seeketh after God. They are all together become
unprofitable. You put all of our good works,
just exclude our bad stuff for a minute, and put all of our
good works into a pile. How much do you suppose that
would weigh? Nothing. Because that's a myth. You've never done anything good.
That's what he said. There's none that doeth good, no, not
one. So what kind of power do you
have to satisfy God? I have none. When I pass by the
cross, I see the power of God, the power that did satisfy God. Scripture says in Isaiah chapter
53, he shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. Now consider the power of Christ's
blood. It extinguished the wrath of
God that was against us so that there is no more. All of God's
people, I want you to hear this, God is never going to execute
wrath against you, ever. He already has in Christ. I like that picture of the ark,
don't you? The ark of Noah. When Noah was in the ark, you
know what? The justice of God rained down on Noah just like
it did everybody else. The only thing that saved him
was that it hit the ark and not him. You're in Christ. The justice of God did fall on
you in your substitute. And by His power, God says, I'm
satisfied. I'm satisfied. You see the power
of God in cleansing His people from all their sins. Men try to hide sin. What a useless thing that is.
How many times we try to fool ourselves and think God never
saw what we did. And yet we know He does. But I know this. Because of what Christ has accomplished,
there is no more sin in His people. Listen to what he says in Daniel
chapter 9. Good verse. Daniel chapter 9
and verse 24. Listen to the power of Christ
upon the cross accomplished. Daniel chapter 9 and verse 24.
Seventy weeks are determined. I like that. It's determined.
What do you suppose is going to stop that? Was there anything
in time or circumstance ever to stop? No, it's determined.
By God determined it. Upon thy people and upon the
holy city. Listen, to finish the transgression. When something's finished, what
does that mean? Done. No more of it. To finish. To make an end of sins. To make reconciliation for iniquity. To bring in everlasting righteousness. How long is everlasting righteousness? When does it begin? When does
it end? If it's everlasting, because
it's the righteousness of Christ, it never had a beginning, it
never has an end. This is the righteousness He procured for
His people. And seal up the vision and the
prophecy to anoint the most holy. You see, our Lord Jesus Christ
condescended to dwell among His enemies. They thought Him to
be mad. They thought Him to be a fool.
But we know this, that He is both the wisdom and power of
God. That in their rejection of Him
is our salvation. I believe it's in Acts chapter
2. Acts chapter 2. The apostle Peter. Let me see if
it's Acts chapter... Oh, well that would explain it.
I'm in Romans. That didn't even make sense,
did it? Acts chapter 2 and verse 23, Him being delivered by the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by
wicked hands crucified and slain. They thought He was crazy. They
thought He was mad. They crucified Him. They slain Him. But this
was God's determinate counsel, whom God hath raised up, having
loose the pains of death, because it is not possible that it should
hold. Now, when Christ died, he said
those three words. And he said it in a loud voice.
It is finished. The transgression is finished.
Judgment is satisfied. The sins of my people are put
to an end. And he died. He died. Where did they take him after
he died? They took him to a cave. You can hold your place there
and act, but look back at your text. Where did David go when
he escaped? David therefore departed, thence,
and escaped to the cave of Doolam. What a picture this is of Christ. When Christ had accomplished
our redemption, where did he go? Went to a cave. They put
Him in a tomb. They put Him in a tomb. But we
know this, He was laid in a tomb for three days and three nights.
But because there was no more sin, God raised Him from the
dead. Listen, how do you know Christ
wasn't a madman? How do you know He wasn't? All
of His claims. He made great claims. I and my
Father are one. Before Abraham was, I am. Ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. He said, come unto me, you that
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I am the
good shepherd that laid down his life for his sheep. Other
sheep I have of this fold, them I also must bring. Great claims. Now how do you know he was successful? He said it's finished, but how
do you know he was finished? The only way is the resurrection
from the dead. You know, in the book of Acts,
this is one of the centerpieces of every message. I believe every
message the apostles preached at that time was this. Not only
the crucifixion, but the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ. He
rose from the dead because the grave could not hold Him. Why is there a grave at all?
have to go to the grave. Sin. Listen, if you didn't have
any sin, you wouldn't die. I'll tell you this, if Christ
had not been made sin, He would not have died. But because when
He died, His death actually did something. When you and I die,
He's gonna lay there till He comes back. But His death did
something. It actually removed sin. There was no sin left in Him. There was no sin left on Him.
Therefore God raised Him from the dead to show forth His victory,
His power, His might. Therefore God has raised Him
from the dead and what did He do? He sat Him on the throne
of glory. And what is going to be the effect
of His condescension of His crucifixion and His resurrection. There's
always going to be a result of this. God determined the result. Listen to the result. What was
the result when David went to the cave? Look at this. And when
his brethren and his father's house heard it, they went down
thither to him. When God's people hear of His
victory, They come to Him. Now notice this. Only the Father's
house and His brethren came to Him. His Father's house and His
brethren. This is a picture of this. Look,
when Christ died, I want you to see this. You died in Him. If you're a believer in Christ,
you died in Him. When He died, you died. When
He was laid in the tomb, you were laid in the tomb with Him.
And when He rose again, you rose again with Him, in Him. And all that were in Him will
come to Him. Isn't this what He said in John
6? All that the Father giveth Me
shall come to Me. He told us the result of His
death, of His righteousness, that His people are going to
come to Him. And when they come to Him, do
you suppose David would have kicked out his dad and his house?
No, they came to Him. And He would not reject them,
and so it is with God's people. When God's people come to Christ,
they will never be rejected. They will always be accepted.
I will in no wise cast them out. Look at John chapter 10. John
chapter 17. John chapter 17. This is the
high priestly prayer of the Lord concerning His victory. He said
this, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son
may also glorify Thee. Now how is the Son going to glorify
the Father? In His death. In His death. And how is the Son going to be
glorified in this? As thou hast given Him power
over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given Him. This morning, do you have eternal
life? Christ said He's going to give it to whoever the elect
are. Whoever, as many as the Father
gave Him. He's sitting on the throne and
He has one purpose. to give eternal life to as many
as the Father gave Him. Now then, are you one of these? Well, it explains who these people
are. It said, this is eternal life. You want to know if you have
it? Listen. This is eternal life, that they might know Thee, the
only true God and Jesus Christ whom I whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work thou gavest me to do. Do you
believe that? Do you believe the only true God
sent Christ and Christ has finished the work He gave Him to do? That's
eternal life. The evidence of eternal life
is faith and faith always comes to Christ. This is not a mere act of will,
friends, although the will is involved. Are you willing to
come? When you come to Christ, does
He have to wrestle you to the ground to come? No. Matter of fact, when the Lord
asked His disciple, will you go away also? He said, where
are we going to go? Where are we going to go? David said, one
have I desired and that will I seek after. I desire Christ. You? I desire to be found in
Him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but the
righteousness which is of Jesus Christ. That's what I want. That's
my desire. I come to Him. Now then, in this
last part, I want to give you a description of all who come
to Christ. He gives us a description back in your text. Look back
in your text one last time here and see the description of all
who come to Him. Verse 2 of chapter 22. And everyone that was in distress,
everyone that was in debt, everyone that was discontented gathered
themselves Unto him three descriptions given of all who come to Christ. First of all, distressed. Distressed. This word means a narrow place. A narrow place. When God convinces
a man of his sin, when God truly reveals a man's nature to himself,
he is in a very narrow place. In other words, he only has one
place to go. Hail. You ever seen pigs for
the slaughter? They got these big corrals. They put them in. And when they're
ready to kill them, you know what they do? They put them in
a narrow chute where they can't turn around. When a man's convicted of his
sins, he sees he is in a narrow chute waiting for slaughter. That he cannot turn to his work. He cannot turn to His will. He cannot turn to His own power
to save Himself. He is in a distressed place. That's a man that comes to Christ. And how often are you that have
come to Christ in a narrow place? How many times has God hemmed
us in, and we cannot go to the right, to the left. We cannot
go forward. We cannot go back. We are in
a narrow place. Where do you go? You go to Christ. The second type of person that
comes to Christ are those that are in debt. Debt. Sin in Scriptures accounted as
a debt owed to God. You know who Christ redeemed
us from? God. He saved us from God. He saved
us from the wrath of God. By paying God the debt we owe. We owed a debt of sin that we
could not pay. We were in rebellion and hatred
against the law of God and deserve nothing but the wrath of God
as just payment. The wages of sin is death. Death. How foolish is it for
men to suppose that somehow God will be merciful without a sacrifice. Men just say, well, God loves
me. God loves everybody. So they
say, well, because of God's love, He'll take me. No. God cannot show love at the expense
of His justice. And justice must be satisfied
for those He loves. And it was by Jesus Christ. Isaiah says this in Isaiah 52
verse 3, Thus saith the Lord, You have sold yourselves for
nothing. You sold yourselves for nothing.
Wherefore do you labor for that which satisfies not? Why do you
spend money for bread that can't satisfy? Isn't that what sin
is? We look upon sin as something
valuable, something that we crave, that we desire, that would fulfill
us. What do you find when you get
it? You find emptiness, vanity. You're not satisfied, are you? The man that has silver, Solomon
said, shall not be satisfied with silver. Why? Because sin is worthless. It only satisfies for the moment
and it's gone, but the debt remains. The debt remains. You've sold
yourselves for nothing. Have you seen your debt? Only
those who are in debt to God will come to Christ. Why? Jesus paid it all. Isn't that wonderful to somebody
who's in debt? Jesus paid it all. All to Him
I owe. Sin had left the crimson stain.
He washed it white as snow. There is no debt. You got it. You are in Christ. There's no
debt. There's only peace. The blood of Christ hath made
peace with God. The blood of Christ alone without
the shedding of blood is no remission. Therefore, we come to Christ
because He has paid the sin debt. Now the last one is this. Discontented. Discontented. This word means
bitterness. Bitterness of soul. Isn't this
what a man convicted of sin has? Bitterness of soul? When Christ
convicted you of sin, the view of the world changed for you,
didn't it? The things you thought were valuable no longer were
valuable. The things of the world started
at that point to become vanity. That's what Solomon had written
in Ecclesiastes. Everything under the sun is what?
Vanity of vanities. All is vanity and vexation of
spirit. Isn't that what you found in
this world? Everything you thought would satisfy didn't. And it
vexed you. It's vexing. We become bitter concerning the
things of this world, the things we thought were Wonderful to
our taste have become ashes in our mouth. When one is bitter concerning
this world, where do you go? You go to Christ. You come to
Christ. And what then do you find when
you come? Look at this. And He became captain
over them. Listen to what Paul says in Hebrews
chapter 2. He said, but we see Jesus. who was made a little
lower than the angels for the suffering of death. Do you not
see that first part? That He condescended to dwell
among His enemies, and because they thought Him mad, they crucified
and killed Him. He came for death, but what was
the result of this? Crowned with glory and honor. What they thought to be weak
and foolishness, we see God crowned to be with glory and honor. That
He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. For it became Him, for whom are
all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons
to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect. All have you fled to Christ.
When you fled to Christ in your distress, when you fled to Christ
in your debt, when you fled to Christ in the bitterness and
guile of your sins, what did you find? You found a captain
of your salvation. You found a mighty conqueror. You found a king. A king. What the world calls madness, we call Christ. What the world sees as foolishness,
we find is the gospel and the power of God. God in sovereign mercy chose
a people for himself. Thank God for that. That Christ
condescended to be a man of low estate and suffer for our sins. Thank God for that. Thank God
he was successful. What would you do if he was not?
What good is a captain if he's not a victorious captain? There'd be no hope for us, would
there? But he is a successful Savior.
He has accomplished our redemption. And we come to Him. All His Father's house comes
to Him. And He is the Captain of our
salvation. In other words, who do you trust
to keep you? Who do you trust to pay that
debt? Who do you trust to deliver you from the strait and the slaughter?
Who do you trust to deliver you from the bitterness of soul and
give you joy for ashes? Who do you trust? I trust the
Captain of my salvation. What the world calls foolishness
is our salvation, our Savior, Christ. I hope the Lord will make that
clear and see the type of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even in the
foolishness of David, you can find Christ. I pray God will
bless us. Stand and be dismissed in prayer.