Good morning, Saylorville! I’m happy to be opening up God’s Word again with you this morning, and don’t worry! There’s not going to be a musical set in this message. Okay, trust me, you do not want that. Okay, I am not great at that, alright? And I think they might have put this up here because I tend to wander around, so I’m going to be a little more stationary.

But I am excited to be back! I’m also excited to be back into our Fall sermon series. If you’re joining us for the first time this morning… Welcome! We’re glad you’re here. Thank you for joining us. But we’ve been doing a Fall sermon series over David. What a legendary character in the Old Testament! — David, often known as King David. The scriptures say that David was a man who captured God’s heart.

And our passage today is 1 Samuel chapter 27. However, before you go there, I want you to actually go to 1 Samuel chapter 26 verse 22. I want to kind of give you some context of where we’re going this morning. It’s been a while since we’ve talked about David, but all the way back in chapter 25 David is still running. David’s a fugitive. He’s getting chased by the King of Israel, King Saul. Saul envious of him. He wants to kill him, and David is still running! In chapter 25, he’s picked up a couple of wives, but in chapter 26, he has another chance to just end the whole thing. He has another chance to kill King Saul. In fact, if you read that chapter, the Israelite army and King Saul, they’re sleeping in their camp. And so David and some of his men, they sneak into the camp, and lo and behold, there’s King Saul! —asleep, fast asleep in the middle of the camp. And how convenient… Saul’s spear is right next to his head! It’s kind of a cool scene! In chapter 26, Abishai, one of David’s warriors, he says, ‘The Lord’s delivered Saul into your hand once again! What’s stopping me from just taking this spear and getting rid of him?’

[1 Samuel 26:8, “Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.”]

But David is a man after God’s own heart. He again chooses to spare Saul, chooses to follow God’s will for his life and not his own. But he does take the spear so he can gloat a little bit, okay? So go ahead and join me, 1 Samuel chapter 26, verse 22. This is David talking:

1 Samuel 26:22-24

22 And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! (I love that! — just gloating!) Let one of the young men come over and take it.

23 The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the LORD’S anointed.

24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the LORD, and may He deliver me out of all tribulation.”

So, at the end of chapter 26 David… he’s on a high note, right? Despite what? — 13, 15 years of running? 13, 15 years of looking behind his back, looking out for Saul’s assassins? David refuses to give up his integrity. He chooses to trust God with everything. He chooses to follow God’s will for his life and not his own. And maybe that’s some of you this morning.

The last two weeks we’ve had some guest speakers. Two weeks ago, we had our very own Rob Pearson. He’s one of our church planters in the Engage Network. He’s looking to God to plant a church in the city of Waukee. And some of you right now might be praying and honestly just very much considering that option. And then last week, we had the Missions Conference. We do one every year. We had Kristi Walker from Germany. We had the Michalskis from Uganda. And last week we had Jon Michalski in a very powerful way, exhort us to take up our cross and follow Jesus. So, maybe after those two weeks, I couldn’t blame you if you’re feeling like David here. You’re saying, “Here I am! God, send me.” [Isaiah 6:8] Maybe some of you have been contemplating that. But then read chapter 27, verse 1.

1 Samuel 27:1, Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. (Israel’s enemy!) Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.”

So, I don’t know about you, but if I read chapter 27 right after chapter 26, I’m kind of like… What? — right after what he said in chapter 26, right? David’s given it all up to God. He’s ready to trust Him. He’s trusted Him for years! But in the first verse of the next chapter, David is doubting and he’s running.

Dear friends, do you relate to that? — because that’s me. More often than I would like to admit, I’ll be trusting God. I’m ready to go! ‘Send me to ’em, Jesus!’ And then in the same day… the same hour… I listen to my lying heart, and I become skeptical. I doubt. Why? — because most of us are just like David. We’re looking to escape.

Notice [1 Samuel 27] verse one. He says it twice. David says, ‘I want to escape… I want to escape.’ That word “escape” in the Hebrew, it denotes the idea of like “a slippery surface,” almost like a slide, right? It’s like when Winry, and Rachel and I go to a park. We put Winry on top one of those corkscrew slides and just let gravity take over. Now Rachel’s there to catch her, by the way, okay? Like, we’re not just letting her go, alright? But it’s like… it kind of has that imagery.

I’ve titled this message, the Skeptic’s Slide, and here’s our question this morning. Where does doubting God ultimately lead us to? Let’s find out, Verse 2, chapter 27.

1 Samuel 27:2-12

2 “So David arose and went over, (to Philistia) he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

3 And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow.

4 And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him.

5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” (I mean, you’re the king!)

6 So that day Achish gave him Ziklag. (Literally… gives him an entire town!) Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

7 And the number of the days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.” (So he was there for a while. Verse eight.)

8 Now David and his men went up (they’re all seasoned warriors) and made raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites…”

(All the Kites. These are Israel’s old enemies. These are actually tribes…  not all of them… the Amalakites, though, were a tribe that actually tried to kill the Israelites while they were fleeing from the Exodus in the wilderness. So again, God doesn’t really like these people. He’s actually put a commandment to wipe them out. That’s what David’s doing. But here’s what it says.)

“…for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt.

9 And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, (the spoils of war) and come back to Achish.

10 When Achish asked, “Where have you made a raid today?” (What have you been doing?)

David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,”

(Now, the Negeb is not a people, okay? The Negeb is not a people group. It’s like a region, okay? The Negeb is basically like a desert region in the southern part of the Judean wilderness. But notice what David is saying. He said, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m attacking the Israelites.’ So it says here…)

“…or, “Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Kenites.”

11 And David would leave neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, (to Achish) thinking, “lest they should tell about us and say, ‘So David has done.’” (So David’s thinking here is dead men tell no tales, leave no witnesses) Such was his custom all the while he lived in the country of the Philistines. (And it seems like his deception is working!)

12 And Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.”

So at the end of chapter 27, David, the man that had captured God’s heart, the man after God’s own heart, becomes a mercenary for God’s enemies! This is where his doubt, this is where his skepticism has led him… just a mercenary. And by the way, I do think it is skepticism. I really do think that David is doubting here, okay?

When I first read this years ago, and even when I first started preparing for this message, I used to think that David was being like a spy or like a mole, right? He’s going to go to Philistia for a while. He’s going to wipe out God’s enemies and he’s going to trick Achish. I think there’s elements of that, but I think this is truly, friends, a season of doubt in David’s heart, and there’s a couple reasons why. If you look at verse one… you don’t see it in the English, but it says:

[1 Samuel 27:1] ‘David says, now I shall perish at the hands of Saul.’

In the original Hebrew, that is very, very, very intense language. It’s… David’s not saying, ‘I might perish,’ or ‘I could perish.’ In the Hebrew, it’s saying, ‘I will most definitely perish at the hands of Saul.’ He’s certain! Also, in other pieces of evidence, we have no Psalms that David wrote attributed to this time. There’s absolutely no Psalms in the Psalter that talk about David’s time, the second time in Philistia. But you know what I think is probably the best evidence that David is doubting? Who wasn’t mentioned in this chapter? — God! God is never mentioned in chapter 27. David doesn’t even talk to God until chapter 30. So I think David, he’s feeling like he can’t trust God anymore. He’s been running for…13 years! He’s starting to think that God’s holding out on him, and so he hops on the skeptic’s slide… and where does it lead? — Well, first, it leads to safety. Now, somebody’s like, ‘Whoa! — safety from doubting God?’ Yep…  That’s what it says! Look at [1 Samuel 27] verse 4. It says as soon as David went to Philistia, Saul stopped chasing him.

[1 Samuel 27:4, “And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him.”]

Hallelujah! Right? David’s no longer running. He’s no longer looking out for assassins. He’s no longer on a knife’s edge between life and death. After 13 years, David finally can rest a minute without looking behind his back all the time, right? He can put his feet up. But why is David doubting here? Is he doubting because God hasn’t given him enough evidence to trust Him? No, that’s not it. God was with David when he slayed the giant, Goliath. God was with David when he’s been running from Saul for all those years. You want to know why I think David is doubting God here? —Because God’s way is hard. And this shouldn’t surprise us. Even the Lord Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, he said:

Matthew 7:13-14

13 ‘Wide is the gate and easy is the way that leads the destruction and many find it.

14 But narrow is the gate and hard is the way that leads to life and few find it.’

You see, when David was running from Saul, he was desperate! He was just always between life or death. His life was hard. It was uncertain. He could never just have a ground to stand on. But that danger made him dependent on God. But then when David goes to Philistia, he’s safe, he’s comfortable, but he’s far from God.

By the way, some of you might remember our very own Pastor Jason, he preached on David in Philistia a couple of weeks ago. In chapter 21, David actually went to Philistia before. Remember the story? He acts like a crazy person! He’s got a bunch of drool in his beard. (I thought about doing that for you, but I… you know. I want to keep clean shaven up here. Okay? Don’t look disheveled!) Here’s the principle. When you, my dear friends, stop trusting God, you’re going to seek safety in the very places that He called you out of in the first place, the very chains that Jesus broke from you. When you stop trusting God, you’re going to go back to control and the anxiety that that creates. When you stop trusting God, you’re going to go back to your addictions. When you stop trusting God, you’re going to keep keeping up with the Joneses. You stop trusting God, you’re going to be enslaved to the approval of men.

One of my favorite movies… it’s a great movie! — is The Shawshank Redemption. It’s a good movie. It’s a movie about a guy who’s wrongfully accused of a crime and they throw him in, like, one of the worst prisons in the South. It happens back in the 1930s. But it’s a really interesting story. They’re trying to escape all the time. But there’s one guy in that story, his name is Brooks. He’s an older gentleman, 70 years old. He’s been in Shawshank his whole life, and eventually he gets parole, and he’s actually let go. He goes out into the new world and now it’s like, you know, it’s like the 1970s and he actually is uncomfortable. He wants to go back to prison! And then Morgan Freeman’s character, he says this concerning Brooks. He says this about the prison.

‘These walls are funny. First, you hate ’em, then you get used to ’em. After long enough, you get so you depend on them.’  Morgan Freeman’s character in the Shawshank Redemption

Friends, listen, ’cause I’ve been here… friends, when we doubt God, you will see the crosses of your life, the things that Jesus is calling you to; to love people, to share the Gospel, to bear your cross. When you doubt God, you’re going to see your crosses as infinitely heavy, and you’re going to see your former chains as light… even safe.

But you know, if you’re a born again Christian, there’s no safety in those chains. It’s a false safety. Jesus, himself said:

[John 8:31] “If you abide” (if you trust) “in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, And the truth will set you FREE.“

Are you free? Friends, listen… Christ does not offer you a safe, comfortable life, but He does offer you true, abundant life with the God who loves you and created you… but it’s only found in dependence on Him. The skeptic’s slide leads to false safety.

But secondly, the skeptic’s slide leads to settling… settling. Notice verse three. [1 Samuel 27:3] David’s not going on a vacation here, okay? You know, he’s not packing his bags and going to the Kokomos, all right? This is a long excursion into Philistia. It actually says he’s settling down. Notice how many people came with him. All of his troops, both of his wives. It says in [1 Samuel 27] verse seven that he was there for a year and four months. See, in chapter 27, settling is actually a really major theme. Look at [1 Samuel 27] verse three. It says that David lived in Philistia, and then in [1 Samuel 27] verse five, it says that he dwelled in Philistia. You see, all those words… That word happens five times in this passage, in this chapter. It’s the Hebrew word, “yâshab,” and it’s a domestic word. It can be translated “settled.” Here’s the principle. Friends, when we stop trusting God in order to live a safe and comfortable life, we will, I will inevitably settle for lesser loves.

The book of James in the New Testament, it says that people that doubt God, they’re like the double-minded. They’re double-minded people. I think that’s what you see with David. And honestly, I do that in my life a lot, too. I want to serve God. I want to do His will for my life. But I also kind of want my own decisions, too. I want to do my own thing… too. That’s David. Notice [1Samuel 27] verse eight… we kind of talked about this. David is doing some of the Lord’s work while he’s in Philistia. He’s wiping out the Amalekites. He’s wiping out these former enemies of Israel that God commanded Israel to do that. But you know what’s missing in this chapter? Nowhere does it say that “the Lord was with David.” Nowhere! David has gone rogue! He’s taking matters into his own hands. David is fighting God’s enemies, but he’s not fighting God’s enemies as an anointed king which is what he’s meant to be. He’s fighting God’s enemies as a mercenary for Israel’s enemy. He wants to serve God, but he also wants the safety and the comfort of Philistia… so he’s settling.

How about you? How about me? Are we settling? How can you tell if you’re settling? James talks about the doubter again, not just double-minded, but he says this. He says:

[James 1:6, “… the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.“]

The one who doubts God is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the waves like in a whirlpool. You see, friends, a doubting heart will never find rest, because true rest is only found in the loving, strong arms of Almighty God who created you and wills you to do His purpose for your life. So are you?

Couple…  just last week actually… Rachel and I went to a concert, and like most concerts there was a front-liner. I’d never really heard of her before, but she had a really interesting song. The title of the song is “American Dreaming,” and here are some of the lyrics. I’m not gonna sing it. You know, you’ll thank me for that! She says:

“I should get some rest today.

Then pack my bags, be on my way.

But my mind’s always workin’ on the way it could have been.

Tryin’ to tow a tight rope line,

Find a way to feel half fine.

I’ve been American dreamin’, But I never seem to get no rest.” American Dreaming

Friends, that’s me, often, and I think that’s a lot of us American Christians. See, we tow the line between being safe and being comfortable and walking in faith with our loving God. We tow the line.

You remember Jesus… Remember His parable about the treasure in the field? Remember that parable? Jesus tells a story about a man who found a magnificent treasure in a field. And you might remember how the story goes. It says, ‘In his joy he sold everything he had and he purchased the field.’ I wonder metaphorically, if I went up to that man who purchased the field and I said, ‘Wow! You sacrifice so much! That’s amazing!’ You know what I think he’d say? ‘I didn’t sacrifice anything… but I gained everything!’

I’m always so convicted and so challenged during our Missionary Conference because I feel like… it happens every year. Those missionaries get up and we’re asking about their lives and at least one of them almost always says, “I’d do it all over again.” I’d do it all over again. Why? — because Jesus is their treasure! Is He your treasure? And friends, if He is your treasure, I’m begging you, do not settle for lesser loves. Don’t get to the end of your walk with Jesus and say, ‘What could have been?’ Follow Him now. Trust Him now. He will not disappoint you. I’m living proof of it.

And the last one… Finally, the skeptic’s slide leads to slavery. [1 Samuel 27] Verse five, you notice, David calls himself what?

[1 Samuel 27:5, “Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”]

— a servant of Achish. In [1 Samuel 27] verse 12, Achish says at the end of David, he says:

1 Samuel 27:12, “And Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.”

‘David, you will always be my servant.’ That word in Hebrew can be translated “slave.” You see, David, in settling with his enemy, he became the slave of his enemy. And again, we shouldn’t be shocked by this. Jesus told us this in Matthew. Jesus says:

[Matthew 6:24a] “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other… “

What you need to hear this morning is that there is …. never a vacuum of faith… ever! Friend, if you are doubting God, it’s ’cause you’re trusting something else. You’re trusting something else. When we settle for a lesser love, we will inevitably become enslaved by it.

Look at chapter 28 real quick, verse one. It’s the next chapter. So where does David’s doubt eventually lead him? Right in the forefront of fighting his own people! Notice the verse:

1 Samuel 28:1, “… Achish said to David, “Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.”

‘… understand David, you’re a mercenary for me. You’re my servant. Eventually you’re going to have to go with me in my army to fight your own people.’ And notice what David says.

1 Samuel 28:2, “David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.”

You shall know what your servant shall do. You shall know what your slave can do.’

So where has doubt led the man after God’s own heart? He’s about to fight his own countrymen, the very people of God.

You see, like Achish, friends, your lesser loves, the things that you and I are clinging to for satisfaction, the thing we’re trusting in, those lesser loves are cruel masters. And if you follow them, they’re going to turn you against God and even the ones you love. Ask any addict, ask any workaholic. It destroys not just you, but your family! It’s a lesser love.

But what did God give us in Christ? Paul says in Romans 8, he says, “You,” if you’re a born again Christian, if you put your faith in Jesus…

Romans 8:15, “… you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons (and daughters of the living God, a spirit) by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Which one do you want? Slavery or a Father? David came to Philistia for safety, and he became a slave. And friends, that’s what doubt does to us. It promises safety, but it leads to slavery.

So what do we do? How do we deal with the skeptic’s slide? Well, first of all, we always remember Dad’s waiting at the bottom. So whenever I put Winry on the slide, it’s not like we just put her on it… Whoop! — you know? That’d be bad parenting! No, there’s always someone there waiting to catch her, usually me. That’s what our God does too.

Listen, God’s not mentioned at all in this chapter. You notice that, right? God’s not even here. What’s God doing? If you read [1 Samuel] chapter 28 and 29, you know what He’s doing? He’s preparing the Philistine army that’s going to kill Saul! The Father who loves David is sovereignly sharpening the very arrow that will pierce Saul’s heart. Listen… while David is wandering, while he’s fleeing, while he’s not trusting God’s fighting his battles for him, despite him…. and friends, listen, if you’re in Christ, God does that for you too. As miraculous as it sounds, He does it for you too. Why? Second Timothy tells us, It says:

2 Timothy 2:13, “…if we are faithless, He remains faithful— for He cannot deny Himself.“

Christian, listen. Your salvation, your security, it’s not based on the size of your faith. It’s based on God loving His own reputation as a loving Father.

When I was a kid, six or seven, I can’t even remember honestly, but I got in a disagreement with my parents who were actually sitting right down here. Wait for this. I got into a disagree with my parents and stomping, “This isn’t fair!” I was doubting. And I said, “You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to run away!” I’m six years old! My dad, formerly a construction worker, said, “OK. I’ll pack your bags!” The guy literally gave me a grocery sack. I think I put like a blanket in it. That’s all. I didn’t have any food or anything. He opened the door, and he said, “Go ahead.” That’s a gutsy move, right? Opened the door, he said, “Go ahead.” I made it one block. I’m six years old, I don’t know what I’m doing! I don’t even know how to cook! I don’t even know where I was! But what was my dad doing when I was walking that block? He was inside the house… watching me walk down the block. I couldn’t see him… but he saw me!

Friends, if you’re in Christ, that’s your Abba Father, too. In Psalm 56, David himself says this of God.

Psalm 56:8 (CSB), “You have recorded my wanderings.”

Do you understand that when Jesus purchased your life, He knew you were going to doubt. He knew you were going to wander, and He loves us anyway. My dad let me wander for a time to make me realize … my dependence on him, but then he rescued me. I came back. My dad gave me a hug and said, “Now stop arguing with your mother!”

Friends, listen, if you’re on the skeptic’s slide, you’ve got to remember. Your dad is waiting at the bottom. But even better… don’t get on the slide!

Listen, David’s life was hard. He had lots of reasons to doubt. 13, 15 years, he ran for his life from Saul. And I know that some of your lives are hard. Finances are unsteady. Your marriage just seems like it’s constantly on the rocks. Your health’s failing. And who can blame you for feeling far from God and crying out, ‘Why won’t He speak? Why doesn’t He care?’ But friends, is our God not faithful? Has He not proven His faithfulness? David writes again in Psalm 56:

[Psalm 56:9b-11]

9b This I know, that God is for me.

10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise,

11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

You know when David wrote that? He wrote that the last time he was in Philistia in chapter 21. That’s when he wrote those words. Oh, if David would have just read what he wrote in the past. If he would have remembered God’s faithfulness at the beginning of his journey, he would have remembered it then.

It’s been a good message for me to prepare for ’cause I struggle with that all the time. I do! Even the last few weeks, I’ve been struggling, feeling far from God.

I did something I’ve never done before. Every morning in my devotions, I write my journal. So I went back to some of my old journals. I was flipping through them and I found this picture. [picture of the ultrasound of daughter, Winry] Now you might remember the first time I preached from this pulpit, Rachel and I had just miscarried twice. I thought I would never have kids. Friends, is our God not faithful? Please ask yourself, how has he been faithful to you? Don’t get on the slide.

Doubt, like any sin, must be fought with truth. We must recite God’s faithfulness back to ourselves again, and again and again. And when the clouds are too dark and we can’t see the light, we look to the cross. Romans chapter five says that:

Romans 5:8, “—but God shows (He demonstrates, He proves) His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Is our God not faithful? The cross proves He is. And in fact, that’s exactly what the Lord’s table which we’re about to partake in symbolizes. The Lord’s table is about remembrance, remembering what God has done. And what has God done? Even though all of us were born skeptics, born sinners…

John 3:16, ““… God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

That Jesus came to the earth and lived a perfect life represented in the bread, that He died a sacrificial death for you, represented in the juice, and three days later He rose again. And dear friend, if you just put your faith on that finished work, He’ll raise you again as well.

Skeptical David, in order to seek safety, fled to enemy territory. But God Himself, Jesus Christ, entered… left the safety of heaven, entered into enemy territory, this broken world, to save the skeptic. Have you found the treasure that your heart so longs for? — or maybe a better question is, has He found you? Let’s pray.

Father God, Lord, we feel it. Our hearts are prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love. But Almighty God, when we don’t see you, in Christ, you see us. So I pray for all the souls in this room, Lord. I pray for those who know you, but whose life is hard. Remind them, Almighty God, that You are faithful. And I pray even for those in this room that are still in bondage, still in slavery to those lesser loves that never satisfy. Lord Jesus, You came to give them abundant life, to break their chains. It’s not an easy life, but it is a true life. Father, would you change lives today? In Jesus’ name. Amen.