Are you leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms? No doubt--we each experience times of doubt; and we seek crutches instead of Christ.

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1 Introduction Someone once told me that he thought Jesus was a crutch for people who do have the courage to face life in all its reality. The hypocrisy is of course obvious; most of us lean on something; but some of us have full on stretchers. Our crutches are our securities. Why do you have a saving s account? Why do you have health insurance? Is it wrong or sinful to have a saving s account or insurance? Is it a sign of weakness, faithlessness or unbelief? Everyone leans on something; we may lean on our families; our jobs; our government; our reputations; or some unique ability. The God of heaven wants us to rely on Him. Not simply as a crutch; with other crutches serving as substitutes in the event God doesn t show up. The Old Testament Prophet Moses wrote; The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms... (Deut. 33:27). Are you leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms? No doubt--we each experience times of doubt; and we seek crutches instead of Christ. We want a substitute for the Lord. We want substance instead of the Lord. We want stimulation instead of the Lord. Who or what do you count on in crisis? Do you look for substitutes to take the place of your Savior? Is you focus horizontal instead of vertical? Are you looking for anything that will offer short term relief or long term relief? When we are tempted or tested to turn to crutches in crises; we must not be surprised when God determines to remove our crutches so we will trust Him. David in many ways; a man of extraordinary character and faith; also has times of challenge and crises; and will turn to others and look for support; but God will remove those supports until all David really has is a deep and abiding confidence in the living Lord of Heaven. The theme continues of Saul trying to destroy David; and God continuing to protect David! Persecution By Saul; Protection By Friendship 1 Samuel 19:1 (NKJV) Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David; but Jonathan, Saul s son, delighted greatly in David. Saul wants to kill David. Saul will put a contract out on David to take him out. Saul s affection will turn from love to hate; from affirmation and acceptance to anger and bitter resentment. Your crises may not be so dramatic; but then again maybe your crises may entail an angry bitter enemy; committed to your destruction. 1

2 There is at least one person who longs to see you die. The person plots and plans and prepares for your death. The person is Satan. He wants you dead. But God continues to protect you. The Bible pictures Satan as a roaring Lion roaming and roaring and seeking whom he may destroy. Remember David has not done wrong (that won t be true his whole life). David has done nothing to warrant the crisis or to invite the crisis. But God is at work in David s life. On each occasion when David makes a run for it; and attempts to trust someone or something other than the Lord; that crutch was removed. Jonathan delights in his friend David. Jonathan will be faced with a challenge; to defend David against his father Saul. But Jonathan s support will be a little easier because he is able to cultivate his friendship with David. David s Exalted Position 1 Samuel 19:2 (NKJV) So Jonathan told David, saying, My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide. I remember attending a Promise Keeper s Rally and hearing thousand s of men shouting; We love Jesus yes we do; we love Jesus how bout you? What happens when the world turns against your Savior? Saul has declared open war on David. Saul seeks to enlist his servants and his son--in his plans to kill David. 1 Samuel 19:3 (NKJV) And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tell you. 1 Samuel 19:4 (NKJV) Thus Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you. 1 Samuel 19:5-6 (NKJV) For he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause? Some have let their love grow cold toward David. But not Jonathan. Jonathan s love is deep and pure and strong. Jonathan argues to his father that David--had done him no harm; and David has done the King much good. Jonathan s argument cools his temper s his fathers hatred for a moment. Saul is willing to listen--at least for now--to his son--but Saul still refuses to hear from God. 2

3 6 So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed. There may come a time when you are called upon to intercede for someone else. Saul is willing to swear by the living God that David will not be killed; but Saul refuses to open his heart to the searching light of God s presence; the demon is still there--waiting, lurking, lingering. People will often swear by God; but they have no intention of keeping their promise. The mind of the flesh is at odds with the mind of the Spirit. The flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit wars against the flesh. The Bible teaches the mind of the flesh is at constant odds with the Spirit of God; these are contrary to one another; and refuses to submit to the will of God. People want to retain religion but reject relationship and sweet fellowship with the Lord. General William Booth; the founder of the Salvation Army defined and anticipated some of the dangers of the upcoming 20th century; he wrote about Religion without the Holy Spirit Christianity without Christ Forgiveness without regeneration Morality without God and Heaven without Hell. Some people used to think that if they wore their best clothes on Sunday; that constituted observing the Sabbath. Saul--like the flesh--is willing to say what needs to be said in order to further his own agenda. 1 Samuel 19:7 (NKJV) Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past. 1 Samuel 19:8 (NKJV) And there was war again; and David went out and fought with the Philistines, and struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him. David fights with the Philistines once more. The man of the flesh has little or no success. The man of God strikes them a might blow and they flee. David s success aroused the demon inside of Saul. 1 Samuel 19:9 (NKJV) Now the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing music with his hand. 3

4 Did Jonathan s pep talk make Saul s hatred for David go away? Saul releases his javelin even while David plays the K-Love hits on his harp. David s Emotional Wife (vv.10b-17) 1 Samuel 19:10 (NKJV) Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul s presence; and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night. Where do we go from here? Do we get a restraining order against Saul? What do you suppose David s chances are of reconciling with his father-in-law? So far as it is possible, live at peace with all men. Saul has made it impossible. David is about to take advance classes in God s school of suffering. David must go a different way. A path of separation. It becomes a type and picture of the Lord Jesus who must go a different path; a different way. David becomes homeless. David is thrown out of his own home; a stranger, despised and rejected. He will now travel a path of sorrow and shame. So it is with David s Son. 1 Samuel 19:11 (NKJV) Saul also sent messengers to David s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David s wife, told him, saying, If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. David goes home; but there is no place safe from Saul s fierce anger. The messengers surround David s house with orders to bring him to Saul on the morning so David can be executed. God gave David home; and Saul has made David s home a prison. Peter spent the night in jail in Jerusalem; Herod had the same idea; Herod would make the voice go away (Acts 12). Peter will sleep and be awakened by an angel. David will not sleep; David has taken his harp with him; he will sing a different song; David wrote about this experience; it is called a Mictam; a song that is now immortal; Psalm 59; it s title reads; A Golden Psalm of David; when Saul sent and watched the house to kill him. This is the house--they are there to kill David. The Psalm begins with a cry for deliverance (vv. 1-2); and a vivid picture of the foes gathered against him (vv.3-5); Awake to help me and behold, he cries. Saul has placed his sentinels, David calls for his. He pictures his foes as they assemble round the house; prowling in the night, like the hungry scavenger dogs of the east. In muttered tones they whisper to one another; Who hears? Who hears? Or Did you hear that? You do O Lord ; David contrasts the skulking murderer in their supposed secrecy; and 4

5 the God who gazes from heaven; supernatural surveillance; and who hold them in contempt (vv. 8-10). Scatter them by your power he prays, and bring them down, O Lord, our Shield (vv.11-13). The disappointed pack is seen in verses 14 and 15; growling in vain, as their prey is just beyond their reach. They return at evening; they growl like a dog, And compass the city. They---prowl about for food Since they are not satisfied They spend the night in search. David is their kibble and bits. David ends the Psalm with a burst of confidence and a vow of praise; But I,--I will of the Your Power And shout out loud, in the morning, Your mercy. For You have been a fortress to me, And a refuge in the day of my trouble. Once again David proves the harp is mightier than Saul s spear; praise is more powerful than the assassins who roam the night. 1 Samuel 19:12 (NKJV) So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped. In the same way the spies in Rahab s care escaped the king of Jericho; and Paul escaped the angry mob in Damascus (Acts 9:25); David escapes. Does it humble a person or wound our pride when we run for our lives? 1 Samuel 19:13 (NKJV) And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goat s hair for his head, and covered it with clothes. 1 Samuel 19:14 (NKJV) So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. 1 Samuel 19:15 (NKJV) Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him. 1 Samuel 19:16-17 (NKJV) 16And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed, with a cover of goats hair for his head. 5

6 Why in the world does Michal have an image (statue, idol)? 17Then Saul said to Michal, Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go! Why should I kill you? Michal lies. She tells her father that David threatened to kill her. Michal loves David and saves his life. But she does not follow her husband on the path of rejection. She fails to say to her husband what Ruth says to her mother-in-law Naomi; Where you go, I will go, where you live I will live, where you die, I will die, your God will be my God. Perhaps Michal has brought the statue into her home; to supplement her worship of God; maybe she even kept the secret from her husband; but now she brings it out openly. She meant to shield David by her deception; but she ensnares herself; and to turn her father s wrath away from herself; she is willing to lie about her husband to her father. We follow Jesus. It is our privilege to do so. In our homes we may find him gone; and those on the outside seeking His harm. David s Erudite Example (vv.18-19) 1 Samuel 19:18 (NKJV) So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. David is running for his life. So he seeks the fellowship and companionship of Samuel the prophet. Who can blame David? Clearly Samuel had chosen the path of separation. Jonathan--his friend, devoted and committed was with his father Saul. Michal loving and loyal was still in David s home with an image--an idol; but Samuel--separated--was waiting on the outside for David; to receive David. David told Samuel ALL THAT SAUL HAD DONE TO HIM. I am reasonable certain that David s tale of woe was heard by a receptive ear. I am sure the Prophet was sympathetic and kind. Samuel was no stranger in the school of sorrow. Samuel had loved Saul; and wept over Saul; and anointed David to be the king. Here were two hearts; dwelling together in unity; Jesus found such a place to rest; when taking some shelter from the religious leaders who sought to kill him; in the house at Bethany--with Mary Martha and Lazarus. 1 Samuel 19:19 (NKJV) Now it was told Saul, saying, Take note, David is at Naioth in Ramah! 1 Samuel 19:20 (NKJV) 20Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 6

7 1 Samuel 19:21 (NKJV) 21And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. Three times Saul sent messengers to apprehend David; three times the messengers are apprehended by the Holy Spirit. The messengers are overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. The power and the presence of the Holy Spirit was experienced in the circle of the prophets of God. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will run interference. 1 Samuel 19:22 (NKJV) Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at Sechu. So he asked, and said, Where are Samuel and David? And someone said, Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah. 1 Samuel 19:23 (NKJV) 23So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 1 Samuel 19:24 (NKJV) And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? Saul himself comes under the influence of the Holy Spirit; the power of the Holy Spirit. This is not the power of grace working in his heart and producing the fruit of righteousness; but this is the power of God; the irresistable power of God; bending a stubborn, rebellious will to conform to His own will. Look at Saul on the floor; his kingly robes cast aside; he falls and lies there all day and all night; a fitting picture of a man filled with pride and self- glory; David sees the hand of God at work in the life of his enemy; the restraining power of the Holy Spirit. Conclusion The Lord wishes to reign in our lives in a singular fashion; without a single rival; without a single substitute. There is only one person big enough to occupy the throne of your heart; and it ain t you. Give God the glory; give God the praise, the attention. A crutch is a poor illustration. With two crutches come support. If Jesus is your crutch; you are still left with the possibility that you may want to lean on something else. One of the most painful events that can take place in a person s life; is to have those crutches stripped away. 7