1 Samuel 22:2

0:00 Good evening church. It is great to be with you tonight. My name is Ethan English and today we're going to be in 1 Samuel chapter 22 verse 2. You can go and turn there in your Bible. It's on page 245 or you can just look at it. It's printed on the front of your bulletin. So some of you may know I was a, I used to be a college baseball player and during my junior year of college my baseball career was at an all-time high. I was at a school down in Texas. It's a big Division I school, and things weren't going my way during that fall season. You know, if you're a baseball player in college, your junior year is the year you get drafted. In my junior year, that fall was awful. I underperformed, and my coach took me aside, and he said, Ethan, I know I said I wasn't going to cut anyone because of COVID, but you have two options.

0:55 You can either sit the bench all year or you can leave. What? I came all the way out here from Indiana to get drafted, not to get cut. I had no idea what to do, and I was distressed. I had nowhere to go. Friends, our verse today has some people who have nowhere to go. They are distressed, and they need help. Let's look at the text.

1:28 1 Samuel 22, 2. And everyone who is in distress, and everyone who is in debt, and everyone who is bitter in soul, gathered to him, and he became commander over them. And there were with him about 400 men. I think the main point of the sermon is, just as the distressed, needy, and bitter gathered to David, the anointed king, We who are oppressed by the burdens and sin of this world gather to King Jesus. Just as the distressed, needy, and bitter gather to David, the anointed king, we who are oppressed by the burdens and sin of the world gather to Jesus, our victorious king.

2:12 I'm going to split that up into two points. Point number one, the outcast king. And point number two, the outcast response. Point number one, the outcast king. So David has been on the run. He has nowhere to go. The anointed king of Israel, whom the spirit of God is with, just acted like a fool in front of a bunch of Gentiles. And as if it could get any worse, David has to find refuge in a cave. I mean, look who we're talking about here.

2:44 This is David. Shouldn't he be on the throne somewhere with myriads of people bowing down to him, eating grapes from his servants. I mean, he wrote a good portion of the Bible. Surely, if God was with him, he would be exalted by now. But do you remember why he's running in the first place? King Saul is trying to kill him. He's running for his life, and he's distressed. But in the midst of David's distress, there are others who are outcasts and who are distressed.

3:18 With nowhere to go, they flock to David and join him. Now, do you think these outcasts would have been so willing to join David if he was on the throne in downtown Jerusalem eating grapes? No, of course not. They approached him because he was one of them. God brings David so low that the outcasts can gather around him to become this band of nobodies. Friends, what does that sound like?

3:50 Isn't this what Jesus has done for us? As Mike talked about this morning, Jesus did not want to hold on to his place in heaven, but he was brought low by becoming one of us. He was an outcast. David dwelled with his people in a cave. Jesus came from heaven to dwell as a baby in a manger with his people. David ran from a king seeking his life. Jesus ran from King Herod, seeking his. David gathered the outcasts.

4:23 Jesus gathered the outcast disciples. David humiliates himself in front of Gentiles. Jesus is humiliated by his own people. David becomes commander over 400 distressed, poor, and bitter men. Jesus becomes commander over the church, and he welcomes all people. So what's the point of all this? What's the point of all this? Jesus' heart goes out to the ones who are distressed.

4:54 Jesus says, come all who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He says that if you come to him, he will not cast you out. In college, I struggled a lot with how Jesus viewed me. I thought because of my sin, Jesus looked at me with disgust because I wasn't holy enough. I thought that I was an outcast because of my sin. Friend, do you feel like Jesus is disgusted with you because of your sin? Are you hesitant to trust that Jesus can take care of all your sin?

5:31 We are a broken people because of our sin. But Jesus knows that we are sinners and he still decided to save us. Jesus willingly came down from heaven. He knew you were a sinner, and he still desired to save you. Dane Ortlund, in his book Gentle and Lowly, talks about how a child who has been legally adopted can't become unadopted if he disobeys. He's not going to be outcast out of the family. And the same goes for Jesus. Jesus wants us to obey, but if we sin, we are not going to be outcasts.

6:06 If you think that Jesus looks on you with disgust when you sin, What you need to do is repent of your sin and you need to run to him. He wants you to run to him. He won't look at you with disgust. You're a part of his family. Recognize the surety of being adopted as a son or a daughter. So what can we do to fight these lies about Jesus' heart towards us? Well, I think we can do a couple things. First, we can remind ourselves of the truth that Jesus has already gathered us, if you're a Christian.

6:40 He's gathered you. You are secure in him. You are part of his family. Another thing I think we can do is we can memorize passages of scripture that you can say to yourself when you think that Jesus can't identify with you. You can encourage one another. When you see a brother or sister who is struggling with how they view Jesus and how they think that Jesus views them, encourage them that they are a part of his family. Jesus' heart is for his outcast people, and he became an outcast so that he can gather them and make them his own.

7:18 Point number two, the outcast response. The outcast response. You know, after I got cut, my career came to a screeching halt, and my MLB dreams vanished. I was extremely distressed, and I didn't know what to do. I know what it's like to be distressed, and I know what it's like to be made low. I know the feeling of being cast out. And as distressing as that was in my life, the problems we face here at Third are so much bigger.

7:52 Some of us face cancer, infertility, death, and tragedy. You have children who don't know the Lord. You have parents and siblings who are lost. You face financial hardships, uncertainty in your jobs, bitter souls, creeping doubt, and raging anxieties. Friends, we are all like those who gather to David. We all face distressing things.

8:25 And if you haven't already, you will. The problems are not only here, but it's everywhere. The world is in distress because of sin. And the world is full of poverty and bitterness because of sin. It's all around us. So what do we do? What do we do with these problems of distress, being in debt, and being bitter in soul? Well, first, we need to acknowledge that there are many bad answers and bad coping mechanisms to these distresses that we face in a broken world.

8:59 For me, I just wanted to run away from my problems. When I was down in Texas, I couldn't wait until I was done with practice because I was playing so badly. To get away from the pressure of Division I baseball, I couldn't wait to get done with practice. Are you like me, in desire to escape and avoid the hard things in life? Thinking that we'll be satisfied if we can just escape whatever's hard? Or maybe you want to escape in other ways. Maybe after a long day of work, you long for that drink that's waiting for you at home so you can find satisfaction in that.

9:38 Or perhaps you just try to handle things on your own because you think you are self-sufficient. Do you fester in your anger? Do you feel justified in your anger and dwell on it? Why do we struggle with these bad answers to our distress? Because these coping mechanisms feel like they actually work, right? They work temporarily, but in the end, it's just like sin. Sin temporarily feels good, but in the end, it brings death.

10:11 So what is the right response to these problems of distress, debt, and bitterness of soul? Well, I think there's only one correct response. You see, in the midst of David's situation, this motley crew, this band of nobodies, gathers to the king, and they become the people David will lead. And he'll lead them victoriously. You see, even though it didn't look like it then, God ordained David to be king. And the same is true for Jesus.

10:43 Jesus is the ordained king that is sovereign over all. And he has defeated death, and he rose from the dead victoriously to the father's right hand. God shows us that through David, no matter what sin we are struggling with, no matter the situation, we need to gather to the true king. And he will be victorious. Our victory is in him. If you're not a Christian here today, you might feel like an outcast right now being around all these Christians. But I'm so glad you're here, and we are so glad you're here, and we will never turn you away.

11:20 But friend, there is a day when you will be an outcast for eternity in hell if you do not repent and trust in Jesus. And that's not just me saying this. This is Jesus that says this. In Matthew chapter 8, he says that you'll be cast into outer darkness. Friend, I don't want you to be cast out into outer darkness. I want you to have life and it eternal. See, that's the whole reason Jesus came down in the first place. He came to live the perfect life that you could not live. And he died the death that you deserve.

11:53 All your sin went upon him. And the punishment for that sin goes upon him. His righteousness is transferred to you if you repent and trust in Jesus. He rose victorious from the dead. And he has conquered death. He is faithful. And if you trust in him and believe in him, he will save you from your sin. Won't you do that today? Won't you trust in Jesus today? So if we were to gather to the king, how do we do that now?

12:29 Christian, the main way to gather to Jesus is in the church. The church is the unlikely fighting force that God has placed on earth. Jesus gathered up the disciples and started the church. And we are the fighting force that God uses to bring himself glory. the church is where we go to find healing and life. We go to church to find rest in Jesus. It's where, if you're obedient to Jesus, your life will be transformed by him.

13:04 You know, God took baseball away from me, but in the end, he had something so much better for me. If God didn't take away baseball from me, I would not be here at this church that I love. I want to be ministering to college students. I want to have met my wonderful wife, and I want to have grown exponentially in my faith. I don't know what you have going on that makes you feel distressed or that makes you feel like you're boxed in. But let me say a few things I've learned that might be helpful as we gather to the King.

13:39 Number one, gathering to King Jesus means that we should not forsake the gathering on Sundays. Now, that's obvious, right? We need to go to church. I mean, most of you all here come consistently to evening service. But how's your heart? Is your heart attentive at morning service? Or is it just a ritual that you do to come to church? I think one of the best ways to gather to our king is through having a prepared heart to worship.

14:11 Now, what are some ways we can have a prepared heart to worship? How do we get a prepared heart for worship? Well, a couple ways you can do that would be by looking at the passage that is going to be preached and doing a Bible study with your friends, with your roommates, with your husband or wife during the week before that Sunday. You can meditate on the passage. You can look at the bulletins that Tim sends out, and you can focus on what the service is ordered around and meditate on that theme. Or you could go to one of Rachel Ware's read-throughs.

14:44 Every new series, Rachel puts on a read-through where you could go to that, read the whole book of the Bible that Greg is about to preach through. What a great way to prepare your heart for those Sundays. There are many ways we can get our hearts prepared for worship and to gather to the King. Another way we can gather to Jesus is by being active in our home groups. During the really hard times of the past two years with campus ministry, Julianne and I were in distress.

15:19 We were so uncertain about the future, and we were so broken by what had happened. We were able to open up our hearts to our home groups, and through them praying for us, encouraging us, and through them listening to us, we were able to fix our eyes on Jesus all the more through that hard season. Being active in your home groups can help you gather to Jesus and find refuge in him during the hard seasons. Pray for your home group members. Encourage your home group members by texting them and letting them know that you're praying for them. Be involved and be known by your home group so they know how to help you and so you know how to help them. When we have people in our corner to encourage us in this fight, it strengthens us as a church.

16:07 In the end, David and his outcasts have a fighting force of about 400 men. And God uses these outcasts to bring about David's victory over armies and eventually to bring about David's kingdom. Right now, many of us are distressed, in debt, and bitter in soul. But our God will lead us home through Jesus, the victorious king. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for your willingness to die on our behalf.

16:43 Thank you for gathering us that we might bring glory to you. Help us to bring glory to you this week as we leave here tonight. In Jesus' name, amen.