in this morning is who comes
to Christ? Who comes to Christ? The command
of the gospel of God that we preach is come to Christ for
salvation from your sin. And I know a lot of times we
kind of get down to mouth and say with Isaiah, Lord, who's
believed our report? Well, who is it that comes to
Christ? In our text this morning we have
a description of people who came to David, and it's the same people,
the same description of the people who came to David are the people
who come to Christ, the son of David. So let's look here in
verse 1 of 1 Samuel 22. David therefore departed thence
and escaped to the cave of Dullam. Now David is in this cave of
Dullam, if you care to turn to Micah chapter 1, if you have
Authorized version, that's page 1152, right after the book of
Jonah. I'll show you that David is in
this cave of Dolem as a type of Christ. In Micah chapter 1,
verse 15, Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant
of Moreshia. He shall come unto a Dolem, the
glory of Israel. That's a prophecy of our Lord
Jesus Christ. He shall come into a Dullam,
the glory of Israel, where here David is in a cave in a Dullam. And David is in that cave as
king. Samuel has anointed him king.
But where is he? He's not in the palace. He's
not sitting on the throne. He's not wearing the royal garments.
David's in a cave, more than likely in dirty clothes. And
Saul, who is a wicked man, a man that has been rejected by God,
is living in the palace. He's sitting on the throne. He's
wearing the royal purple robes. And David is in a cave, hiding
from Saul, who wants to kill him. David is an outcast from
society. Nobody in their right mind is
going to identify with David, because if they do, they're going
to incur the wrath of Saul. If someone is going to come to
David, they're going to have to see past this temporary circumstance
to see the king. They're going to have to look
past the dirty clothes and the man hiding in the cave who's
rejected from society to see God's king. They've got to be
given eyes to see that. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
king of kings. But when he came to this earth,
he came as a man. And not just any man, he came
as a poor man, a man who's despised and rejected of other men. We
hid as it were our faces from him. As Henry said so many times,
everyone who is anyone turned thumbs down on Jesus, despised. Yet he was king, absolute sovereign,
but the sovereign lived as a homeless man. He said the foxes have holes,
the birds of the air have their nests, but the son of man doesn't
have a place to lay his head. The king lived as a homeless
man. He had no crown except the crown
of thorns wicked men thrust upon his head. He had no scepter except
a reed that mocking men put in his hand. He had no royal robe
except that dirty purple garment that they found to cast on his
lacerated back. Now, if anyone did come to Christ,
they were going to have to face the wrath of the religious leaders
of those days. That's why Nicodemus came to
Jesus by night. Joseph of Arimathea is described
to us as a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the
Jews. He knew if he came to Christ,
there's a price to be paid. And today, if anyone's going
to come to Christ, There's a price to be paid. Count the cost, but
come to Christ. The religious people of today
are the same as they were 2,000 years ago. And if a person is
going to come to Christ, they must be given eyes to see past
this humble exterior, the man that humanity turns their back
on and despises. You've got to be given eyes to
see past that, to see the Savior, to see the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ. Look over Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews 2 verse 8. Thou hast
put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he
put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put
under him." Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is the King. He's sovereign. Everything is under his rule,
under his reign. But now, we see not yet all things
put under him. If you look with these eyes,
all we see is the wicked running free, the wicked ruling, the
wicked doing as they will. But with the eye of faith, verse
9, but we see Jesus. who is made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death. We see him crowned
with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste
death for every man. And that should, you know, be
every son. You've got to be given eyes to see that and blessed
are your eyes for they see. People who have eyes to see Christ,
they always come to him without exception. Look over at chapter
13 of Hebrews, if you're still there, over a few pages in Hebrews
13. This is what people who have eyes to see, to see the Lord
Jesus Christ do. In Hebrews 13, verse 13, let
us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his
reproach. It doesn't matter if there's
a price to be paid with, you know, religious people of today.
If you've got eyes to see, you're going to come to Christ. Now,
back to our question. Who is it, then, that comes to
Christ? Well, we have a description here
in these next verses. And first people, the way we
describe the people who come to Christ is this. The family
of God. God's elect. His family who have
been made members of the household of God. They will all come to
Christ. Just like they did David at the
end of verse 1 here, back in our text. And when his brethren
in all his father's house heard it, They went down thither to
him. David's family came to him where
he was. Now, your family is the people
who are related to you by blood. People who have the same father
are all part of the same family. And that's what believers have.
We're all related by blood, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We all have the same father, our father, which is in heaven.
And all of the family of Christ comes to him. Look over Mark
chapter 3, here's an interesting teaching of our Lord about his
family. All the family of Christ comes
to him. In Mark 3 verse 31, there came then his brethren
and his mother, and standing without sent unto him, calling
him. And the multitude sat about him, And they said unto him,
Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he
answered them, saying, Who is my mother or my brethren? And
he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said,
Behold, my mother and my brethren. For whosoever should do the will
of God, the same is my brother and my sister and my mother.
Whosoever should do the will of God is my family, the family
of Christ. Well then, what is the will of
God? These people that do the will of God, they are the family
of Christ. Well, what is the will of God
then? It's to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look over in John chapter 6,
I'll show you that. The will of God is that we believe
on His Son. In John 6 verse 28, Then said
they unto him, What should we do that we might work the works
of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of
God, that you believe on him whom he hath sent. That you believe. And I'm telling you this, the
family of God, those who believe, they believe because they've
been given the gift of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Without
exception, they all come to him. Without exception. Was any of
David's family left behind? Was any of David's family left
to fend for themselves? Was any of David's family left
in the clutches of Saul because David wouldn't accept them because
they were the black sheep of the family? No, sir. They all came to David. If you're still there in John
6, look over at verse 37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. All of the family of God come
to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not left to chance. The
Spirit of God draws them to Christ and they come to Him. The family
of God is who comes to Christ. And we have a description of
the family of God here in these next verses, the next verse.
All the people who came to David, they came to David because they
saw their need of David. And everyone who's been given
eyes to see, they see their need of Christ. No one comes to Christ
because they know I'm one of the elect. That's not why people
come to Christ. People come to Christ because
they need a Savior. They see their need of Christ,
and that's who comes to Christ. In verse 2 in our text, it says,
and everyone that was in distress, everyone who was in distress
gathered themselves to David. Now, in our day, people know
a lot about stress. I don't know that there's been
a more stressful day to live in than our day. With all our
modern conveniences, more people are just completely stressed
out than in any time in history, it seems to me like. What I'm
talking about here is being stressed under the burden of your sin.
Is there anyone here who is dressed out because you realize you're
in trouble. Is there anyone who is under
so much stress you can't deal with it? Because you know what
you deserve is to be sent to hell for your sins. The word
distress here means disability. What that means is you have no
ability to keep the law of God. You have no ability to please
God. And if you realize that, if God shows that to you about
yourself, I'm telling you, you'll be stressed out. You realize
you can't stop sinning. You realize that you can't see
the truth any more than a blind man can see colors because he's
disabled. And we are too, spiritually.
Is anyone stressed because of your sin? Then come to Christ. In Psalm 118, come to Christ. In Psalm 118, verse 5, David said, I called upon the
Lord in distress and the Lord answered and set me in a large
place. You come to Christ. You'll find
the same thing David did. He'll answer you and set you
in a large place. Now, this word distress also
means anguish. Now, I'm not asking you if you're
sorry about your sin, like, whoops, I shouldn't have done that. I
could have done better. That's not what I'm asking you.
I'm asking you, are you in anguish because of your sin? Is your
sin causing you pain? of soul, that you're in anguish,
that there's no hope. Then come to Christ. Come to
Christ. He'll give you peace. If you
look over in 1 Kings 1, this is how David on his deathbed
described his Savior. In 1 Kings 1, verse 28. Then King David answered and
said, Call me Bathsheba. And she came into the king's
presence and stood before the king. And the king swore and
said, As the Lord liveth that hath redeemed my soul out of
all distress." He's redeemed my soul from the sin that's caused
me all this anguish over my sin. He's redeemed me from them all.
Now you come to Christ. Now were any of the people In
David's day, who were in distress, were they left alone? It says
in our text, everyone that was in distress, everyone gathered
themselves to David. You know, being in distress,
it's painful, I know, but it won't separate you from Christ.
Not at all. If you're in distress over your
sin, it'll drive you to Christ. It's not going to separate you
from Christ, it'll drive you to Christ. You know this verse
very well, Romans 8. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Tribulation or distress? Is distress going to
drive you from Christ or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril
or sword? No. It will drive you to Christ. Everyone who is in distress gather
themselves unto David and everyone who is in distress because of
their sin will gather themselves unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Next,
we read that everyone that was in debt gathered themselves under
David. Now, this is not talking about
a little extra credit card debt. I shouldn't have done that. Debt
that you can get rid of because you cut off the card, you know,
you maybe went out and got a second job or something, you know, or
you sold things in the yard sale to pay off the credit card. That's
not the kind of debt that's talking about. This is not talking about
the kind of debt that the court will forgive in bankruptcy. crushing
debt, and you don't have the first red cent to pay. And this is a picture of our
sin debt. Our sin has caused us to have an infinite debt against
God Almighty. It's an infinite debt, and the
law demands eternal debt in hell for our sin. Even in eternity,
that debt will never be paid. by anyone in hell. It's an infinite
debt. Well, on David's day, people
who were in debt came to David. Now, David couldn't pay their
debt either. This picture's not perfect. Maybe later on, when
David took the throne, he paid their debt. I really don't know.
I know these 400 men who came to David, they reigned with him,
so maybe he paid their debt at that time. I don't know. But
here's what I do know. The Lord Jesus Christ paid the
sin debt. of his people in full. There's nothing left to pay for
anyone for whom Christ died. When our Savior cried, It is
finished, the Father stamped the debt paid in full and threw
it away. It's gone. The debt is gone. Look over in Luke chapter 7. I'm telling you the truth. Anyone
who's in debt will gather themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. In
verse 36, one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat
with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down
to meet. And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner,
when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house,
brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind
him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did
wipe them with the hairs of her and kissed his feet, and anointed
him with ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had
bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if
he were a prophet, would have known who, and what manner of
woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus
answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.
And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor
which had two debtors, one owed five hundred pence, and the other
fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly, freely forgave
them both. Tell me, therefore, which of
them would love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose
that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast
rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and
said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house,
thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my
feet with tears. and wiped them with the hairs
of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman, since the
time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with
oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet
with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her
sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom
little is forgiven the same loveth little. And he said unto her,
Thy sins are forgiven." And they that sat at meat with him began
to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?"
Well, I'll tell you who it is. It's the Lord, who can forgive
her sins because in a very short period of time, he's going to
take her sins and his body on the tree and put them away with
the shedding of his precious blood. That's exactly who that
is, who can sit at meat and say, Thy sins be forgiven thee. And
he told her, by faith of safety, go in peace, no more stress,
no more debt, not over sin, it's forgiven, put away under the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This woman came to the Lord a
debtor, a well-known, infamous sinner, and she left that house
a saint. Now, is anyone here crushed under
the debt of your sin. Then come to Christ. Jesus paid
it all, all the debt I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain.
He washed it white as snow. Everyone who was in debt gathered
themselves unto David. And then thirdly, everyone who
was discontented gathered themselves unto David. Now these were people
who were not content. They could not be satisfied.
They were looking for something better. So they came to David. This word discontented has several
meanings. The first one is chafed under
a heavy load. These were people who were chafed
under the heavy load of Saul's rule and they came to David to
find something better. Now is anyone here a sinner? who is chafed under the heavy
burden of the law, who's chafed and tired of looking for something
better, something that will satisfy your weary soul. If there is,
I've got good news. You come to Christ. He cried,
come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden. I'll give
you rest. You're not going to chafe under
his rule. You come unto him. The songwriter said, feeding
on the husk around me. till my strength was almost gone,
longed my soul for something better. I was discontented in
my soul, longed for something better, only still to hunger
on. Poor I was, and sought for riches,
something, anything that would satisfy. But the dust I gathered
round me only mocked my soul's sad cry. Hallelujah, I found Him, whom
my soul so long has craved. Jesus satisfies my longings. Through His blood, I now am saved. You come to Christ, you will
find genuine contentment. Once you come to Christ, you
remember this, once you come to Christ, you will never look
for anything better, ever. You'll have contentment. A believer
is completely content to have Christ as all my salvation. I'm completely content to have
Christ pay all my sin debt, and for me to contribute nothing.
I'm completely content with that. Content with beholding his face,
my all to his pleasure resign. No changes of season or place,
fleshly wise, would make any change in my mind. Completely
content. And this word discontent, it
also means bitter. Bitterness of soul. Has your
sin left you bitter? Bitter of soul. Then come to
Christ. He satisfies your mouth with
good things. He satisfies the longing soul.
He filleth the hungry soul with goodness. And that goodness is
the Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly, this word discontented
means a harlot's end or the end of wickedness. And you know what?
That end is death, right? The wages of sin is death. Now,
that doesn't mean his body's just going to die we have a moral
service and putting the ground, that's the end. That's not what
that means. The wages of sin is eternal condemnation, eternal
death. That's what that means. Well,
that brings us to the last person who comes to David. If you look
at the end of this chapter, we'll see the person who has the sentence
of death on their head comes to David. We'll look at this,
these verses next week, but Saul comes and he kills all the house
of Himelech the priest for helping David. And one man, one of his
sons, escapes. In verse 20, one of the sons
of Himelech, the son of Ahithah, named Abiathar, escaped and fled
after David. And Abiathar showed David that
Saul had slain the Lord's priest. And David said unto Abiathar,
I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he
would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of
all the persons of thy father's house. But now you abide with
me, and fear not, for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life. But with me thou shalt be in
safeguard." If you've got a price on your head, you come to Christ. In him, you'll have safeguard. I'm not going to go on with that
point, because that's next week's lesson. But in him, you'll have
safeguard. Has the Lord showed you, and
the Lord's got to show you, you're not going to figure this out
on your own. Has the Lord showed you that you are justly condemned
before the throne of God? That you come to Christ. He has
stood as the substitute for his people. He took the sentence
of our death in himself and he died that his people might live. Now you come to him. And all
these people came to David. Because there was nowhere else
to go. They didn't have anybody else to go to. They didn't have
another choice. Everyone who comes to Christ comes to Christ
because they have no hope anywhere except in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will never come to Christ
as long as you have a shred of hope left in yourself. And it
sounds like a cruel prayer, but my prayer is this, that God will
remove every shred of hope that we have in ourselves, so that
we will be shut up to Christ. And once you're shut up to Christ,
you'll say with Peter, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast
the words of eternal life. I believe, I'm sure, thou art
to Christ, the Son of the living God. You'll come to Christ. But you know, just 400 men came
to David. It says there were about 400
men with him. Pretty small percentage of all
the men in Israel, isn't it? just a remnant. Well, believers
on the earth at any given moment are just a remnant, but they're
God's chosen remnant. Not one's missing. Not one's
been turned away. David didn't turn away any of
these men because they weren't a trained soldier. David sees
this group coming and says, they're dirt farmers. I don't want them
for my army. No. He took them in. They gathered themselves under
David. Just like Christ doesn't turn away anyone who comes begging
for mercy because they're a great sinner. He says, just like he
did to that woman, who's a great sinner? Thy sins be forgiven
thee. And these men came to David and
David became a captain over them. These men didn't come to David
because I decided to let David help me. No, they came to David
hoping Maybe he'll accept me. Maybe I can hide in that cave
with him. Maybe he'll be captain over me. David became their captain. He became their commander, their
king, and they served at David's pleasure. He was their captain.
Now, I'm telling you, the command of scripture is you come to Christ,
but now make no mistake about this. You're not doing God a
favor. I'm not begging you to come to
Christ. I'm telling you, this is God's command. You come to
Christ. And if you do, you're not doing God a favor. You come
to Christ begging God that he'll have mercy on your sinful soul. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
savior of his people. But first, we're going to see
him as king. He's sovereign and he has the
right to do with me and mine. what he will. He's the sovereign. And I come to him begging for
mercy. He's the captain of our salvation. Well, David's hiding
out in the cave. Now he's got an army. That's
some army, isn't it? Men who are of no use to anybody.
Men of lost fortunes and broken dreams are David's army. Failures
are the men who came to David. That's the exact same people
who come to Christ. Failures. That's who comes to
Christ. But you know, this ragtag army
is going to reign with David when David takes the throne.
Just like sinners, failures like you and me, failures who cannot
contribute anything to the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
have one hope that we've been washed in the blood of the Lamb. And that ragtag, sinful, wretched,
in themselves army is going to reign with Christ when He returns. Now come to Him. Come to Him
and it will be well with your soul. All right. The Lord bless
you.