Real Life Radio

Jack Hibbs: Now listen. The permissive will of God is a dangerous place to be, but a lot of Christians are content with living in that permissive will of God. They live right near the world. David is in the camp of the enemy. God hasn't forsaken him, but you can't expect blessings to come either.

David J: This is Real Life. Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I'm David J, thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God's word, the Bible.

Jack Hibbs: Hey, everybody. Have you ever thought about what's after life? Do you know that the Bible teaches life is after life? If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, my good friend Philip De Coursey has written a great book and that's the title, Life After Life, exploring the Bible's wonderful promises about heaven and eternity, published by Harvest House Publishers. Get a copy for yourself.

Guest (Male): Life After Life by Philip De Coursey, exploring the Bible's promises about heaven and eternity. It's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com.

David J: On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack now continues his series called 1 Samuel with the message titled David: A Lapse of Faith. Now, Samuel of the Old Testament was the last judge of Israel and the first of her prophets. So, here in chapter 29, we'll consider how David's fear-based choice led to a lapse of trust in God for protection and provision.

David made the decision to live with Israel's enemy, the Philistines, but God steps in and David is sent back to Ziklag, preventing him from having to fight against his own people. So today, Pastor Jack teaches us that poor choices often stem from fear and not from faith. It can place us in difficult, even dangerous positions. God's grace, though, can still deliver and redirect us. Still, it really is better not to allow our faith to falter in the first place. Now with his message called David: A Lapse of Faith, here's pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.

Jack Hibbs: Verse 1 says, "Then the Philistines gathered together all their armies at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel." They're getting ready for battle. And church, listen. God is in it. I know some of you pacifists don't want to hear this, but God is in it. He's bringing two nations together for war, and there's a reason.

Verse 2, "And the lords of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands." You know what that means? Some of you who are in the service, it's they are as we would see in earlier days, Red Square, or maybe in Beijing, where they bring the army through and all their rockets and all this stuff. They're passing their military might by and they're bolstering themselves for war. They're going to go to war against Israel. So they're all going by.

But look what the Bible says, verse 2, "But David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish." Remember this: David's seeking shelter with the camp of the enemy and he's agreed—this is how much this poor man has gotten away—and yet God hasn't given up on David. David is going to fight with the enemies of Israel. He's with the camp of the Philistines. He's under the covering of Achish, the leader.

And David's passing in the rear, him and his guys, the Hebrew guys. And apparently they stick out like sore thumbs. I mean, David had been missing for ten years. I don't think there's a milk carton with his face on it, but they knew they were Hebrews. Plus David, according to the scripture, was light-colored in skin and reddish-colored hair. Kind of an interesting-looking guy.

And so look what happens. "Then the princes of the Philistines said, 'What are these Hebrews doing here?' And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, 'Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me these days'"—remember David had been with them, been no problem; in fact, he'd been a blessing to them—"'or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me,' or frankly, defected to our side."

But the princes or the rulers, the leaders, how about generals, of the Philistines were angry with him. So the princes of the Philistines said to him, "Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to battle," here's the reason why, smart thinking, "lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master if not with the heads of these men?"

"Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands'?" Remember that song? We've been hearing it for a long time. Boy, that little single CD release got out everywhere, didn't it? I mean, the whole Middle East knew that song.

And look at verse 6. "Then Achish called David and said to him, 'Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright.'" So Achish is going to speak to David. "David, listen. These guys aren't going for it. I'm sorry about it. Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless," or I'm sorry, "but the lords do not favor you. Therefore," verse 7, "return now and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines."

So this man's watching out for him, though he be an enemy. Stop right there before we go on. David is not walking in the will of God. Church, listen. Is David one of God's children? Absolutely. Does God have a plan for David's life? Absolutely. Is God positioning two nations for battle? Yes. The outcome, as we shall see, will be certainly on the perimeter for many, many countless reasons, but one of them, in fact, if not the most preeminent reason, will be to establish David as king.

And are you willing to believe God that much in your life? That he will move? Listen, this is a challenge to my faith. God will move nations to bring about one man's life closer to the throne of God. And I don't know if we believe that. This book challenges our faith. It's all about David and his ascendance to the throne. Why? God's got a long-term plan.

And for that, I would say, what's wrong with us? Why do we think such small thoughts regarding our lives? God wants to do something with our lives. Collectively as a church, we can come together. Though we may be small people, we can accomplish big things. Why? Because we have a huge God, number one. Number two, this is quite hilarious in my book: he wants us to get involved.

Will he bend our arm? No. Will he move us in our spirit? Yeah. He'll challenge us. Sometimes difficult things will happen in life to get us thinking a different way, a new way. You know, there's a lot of talk in business and corporate advancement to think outside the box. We've been hearing about this for five or ten years now. You've got to think outside the box. And there's books you can buy about thinking outside the box. Don't be stuck in your paradigm. Get outside the box.

I told you to read this book. It's hilarious. I think it's a great Christian—well, it's not a Christian book. I almost called it a Christian book, that's how much it ministers to me. It's called Who Stole My Cheese? Have you read that book? Or no, Who Moved My Cheese? Who Moved My Cheese? It's about that big. Get the book Who Moved My Cheese?

And it's fantastic because if you look at it as a Christian and you read it, do you know what God is saying? "Hey, everybody down there. The world's bigger than you think. Get out of the rut you're in. Explore. You'll find me there. Find out where I'm at." David is so far from the perfect will of God, yet he's in the permissive will of God. Now listen. The permissive will of God is a dangerous place to be, but a lot of Christians are content with living in that permissive will of God.

They live right near the world. David is in the camp of the enemy. God hasn't forsaken him, but you can't expect blessings to come either. You know what David's doing? Listen. He's existing. He's existing. He gets up on Monday, he's safe. How do we know? Because Saul is not around. Neither is the Israeli army under Saul's control. He's safe. The Philistines aren't going to mess with him because there's not enough of David and his men to be a problem to the Philistines.

So they got him in a manageable place. They got him busy. What was he doing? In between the lines of these chapter verses, what was David doing all that time? Was he cutting wood, sharpening his arrow? What was he doing? Was he writing some psalms? What was he doing? Then comes Monday, then comes Tuesday, then comes Wednesday.

If you would stop David at any given day of the month and ask him, "Do you believe in the holy God of Israel?" what would David have said? "Absolutely. What do you think I am, a pagan heathen? I'm the giant killer. I'm the kid. I'm the guy. I did it. It's me." "Oh, that's great. That's good. Yeah, that's a long time ago, huh?" "Yeah, it's a long time ago, but anyway, whatever. Oh well. What are we doing tomorrow?" "Well, I don't know. I guess we're just going to sit around and whatever we do."

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, until you get in a place as a Christian that we just exist. This is what we do. You say, "Well, Pastor, you don't know where I work. You don't know who I live with." Is it difficult? Is it difficult? Let me tell you how difficult it is. Now watch out because if you write this letter, "Pastor, I want to take you up on that offer. You said Wednesday night to write you a letter about how difficult it is." And so here it is. "Once upon a time."

And you start writing. Just know this: the end of your letter, there may be a response that says the horrific story you just told is an awesome opportunity for God to be glorified in your life. You are so privileged and honored because God has placed you in this difficult situation as a Christian to change that scope of the world that you live in.

You say, "I don't know if I want to believe that." And that's the issue. Who's going to change it? Well, I was hoping Mr. Wonderful would come by and change it for me. No. I was hoping Miss Babe USA would come by and change it. No. And this is where we err as Christians. We start dabbling in other things to find direction, meaning, purpose, empowerment to make it better.

I'm going to go to a self-help program on how to tolerate my (fill in the blank) kids, husbands, wives, dogs, and cats. I'm going to go to this thing, and then when they do what they do, I'm going to just chant this little thing: I am not upset. I am not upset. I am not upset. That does not work. It works great if you're the person taking the check from them, but it doesn't work. There's no power in it.

Your life, my life needs to be changed and God does that by the power of the word. But listen. We take in the word of God and we go, "Yeah, bring it on. I go to Calvary. We study the Bible. So bring it on." And we carry our Bibles. We have them right here. We carry them to our car. We've got our Bibles. And you know what? We can get so knowledgeable that there's so much weight up in our head that we'd better be careful the wind doesn't blow because we could fall over and can't get back up.

Because there's no application. It's all in our head. God is saying, "David, I'm moving nations. I'm touching the lives of generals and kings and leaders. Because what you have forgotten is that I have ordained you for the throne. I am not giving you a life to just sit around in the camp of the enemy, or in our case, the Philistines or the flesh, to just sit around in the flesh and make no difference. Your life, David, will make a difference."

That's why—listen, this is for all of us—that's why, if you look back, David, Jack, Betty, Carol, to the past, I had you kill giants when you were younger. That's why I had you step out. Do you remember when you were at that camp or you went to that retreat and you were just in high school or you were in college or when you went to that certain thing and that moment when you stepped and you actually did this for my kingdom? Do you remember what you felt like? God would say, "Do you remember? Do you remember? Do you remember?"

It was uncomfortable for the moment, things were going on. It might have been an outreach, it might have been a day trip down to Mexico for us or maybe campus by the sea there in Catalina. I don't know, some kind of thing where you're at the camp and you stepped forward and Kumbaya and you make the "Lord, I'm going to give you my life" and you're a sophomore or junior or senior in high school. "That's it, I'm giving you all of it, God. I'm laying it down." And you write the little letter to yourself and you mail it back and it comes in a year and it's, how far am I now from that day I made that commitment?

What if David would have gotten a thing in the mail? "Hey David, look at this. Funny thing. It's a date here and it's postmarked the Valley of Elah. And after you cut off Goliath's head and dragged it around for a few days, you sat down and you wrote yourself a little note. You put a little stamp on it because you wanted to make sure you were growing with the Lord and you put it in a mailbox and it's come back around.

And you wrote that day that the Lord in our weakness he made us valiant and strong. That the Lord who inhabits the praises of Israel cannot be moved. Though the mountain shake and tremble, I will trust in him. And though evil come my way, I know that with his right hand he will uphold me. He will be my strength." David writes this and it comes back. And now he's sitting in this place.

He's a lover of God. You're a lover of God, I'm a lover of God, but am I in that place of God's perfect will? Well, how am I going to know? How am I going to know? Well, in every situation since we've started this wonderful book, frankly, it's been pretty tough going for David. He's been misunderstood. He's been ripped off. He's been made fun of. He's had spears thrown at him. He's had arrows shot at him. He's been lied about.

And no doubt at this chapter, he would with us throw his hands up and say, "Nobody understands me. To know me is to love me." Because that's how you think when you're not walking with God. It's warm, it's pretty fuzzy, feels good. But David, I want to ask you this question: what are you going to do tomorrow? David, what are you doing next Tuesday? "Just existing, I guess I am."

Look at verse 8. "Then David said to Achish, 'But what have I done?'" (The answer's nothing.) "And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of the lord my king?" David, he's talking with the enemy.

But Achish answered and said to David, "I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God." (That's a beautiful witness, no doubt about it.) "Nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, 'You shall not go up with us to battle.' Now therefore rise early in the morning with your master's servants who have come with you, and as soon as you are up early in the morning and have the light, depart."

So David, verse 11, and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. Chapter 30, verse 1. "Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south and Ziklag, and attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire."

So David's en route going back to the Philistine stronghold. In route, they come to Ziklag, they see it destroyed, attacked. Verse 2, "And had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great. They did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. So David and his men came to the city and there it was, burned with fire, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive."

Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Then David was greatly distressed for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people were grieved, every man for his son and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

Mark it, please. Circle, please. Underline that at the end of verse 6. Mark that down. This is tremendous. Everything's gone. How'd this happen? If we were going to do a forensic study on this, let's back up. How did this happen? It all happened because David, in his lapse of faith, thought for a moment God will not fulfill his promise toward me. I've got to seek shelter under the protection of the Philistines because Saul's going to kill me.

How does that apply to our lives? Man, when you and I feel like we're backed up into a corner, church, listen. When you feel backed up into a corner, the temptation is so strong to do something. When I was in high school, during the summer, I used to work for a contractor. And he said a lot of things that I'm still trying to get out of my head. But one of them was he would pull up in his car, look around, and he'd say, "What's going on?"

And maybe at that moment we didn't know what to do, or maybe the stuff didn't arrive and we're waiting. And he would say, "What are you doing?" "Well, we're waiting." "You're waiting!" Now this is bad counsel, but listen. He would say, "Don't stand around. The meter's running. The clock is going. You're being paid. Listen. Do something even if it's wrong." He would always say that.

So guess what I used to say? Because then I wound up being a supervisor of a couple of those trucks. "Hey, what's going on?" "We don't know." "Don't stand there and um and ah. Do something even if it's wrong." And it's like, what did I say? "Well, I don't know what to do. Let's just start something on fire then. Let's just knock the place down." Do something even if it's wrong.

When you get pressured into a corner, you say stupid things. You do stupid things. "I don't know, honey. You know what? We should get it. The guy said it's the last one on the lot. And you know what right now? With zero APR and 60 months, no charge, the rate, interest rate, the resale"—and all of a sudden we get genius on the resale value. "This vehicle's fantastic," like you feel like you can think and you're going to sell it soon. No, you're thinking, "I'm taking this car to the grave, man. It's black or it's orange or it's hot pink." Well, not a guy car, but look at this. And the guy said it's the last one on the lot. Corner, corner, corner. Hey, don't do that. Don't get into that place.

"Well, you know, buddy, you'd better buy this house because this is on the market and I've got 25 people that are lined up to buy this house right now. And there's people that are just offering, they're just throwing out the offering price right then and there. So you'd better—don't you bargain with these people. You'd better take it." Listen, if God's in it, that guy might give you the house. Oh, could such a thing happen? Watch out. Such a thing can happen.

The Lord who inhabits the praises of Israel cannot be moved. Though the mountain shake and tremble, I will trust in him. And though evil come my way, I know that with his right hand he will uphold me. He will be my strength.

David J: Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on Real Life Radio and his message called David: A Lapse of Faith. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called 1 Samuel, a series highlighting the prophet Samuel who was called by God during one of Israel's darkest times to bring the people back to a heart of true worship. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.

Jack Hibbs: Hey, everybody. Have you ever thought about what's after life? Do you know that the Bible teaches life is after life? If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, my good friend Philip De Coursey has written a great book and that's the title, Life After Life, exploring the Bible's wonderful promises about heaven and eternity, published by Harvest House Publishers. Get a copy for yourself.

Guest (Male): Life After Life by Philip De Coursey, exploring the Bible's promises about heaven and eternity. It's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com.

David J: Hey, thank you again so much for listening. And if you'd like to hear or see more of what we do here, you can always go to jackhibbs.com for all the latest on what's going on with this ministry. And please, if you're ever in the Southern California area, come see us at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. We'd love to see you there in person. It has been so good to be with you today, and I pray you find yourself in the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. See you on the next episode.

Guest (Male): This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in his word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.