SpringhillGNV's Presentation Group
Sunday, June 5th 2026 - 1st Sunday

      • Psalm 150KJV1900

  • Hold on
  • Clean Up
  • Leaning On The Everlasting Arms - Hymn
  • 1 Samuel 23:14–18 HCSB
    14 David then stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him. 15 David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in Horesh when he saw that Saul had come out to take his life. 16 Then Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and encouraged him in his faith in God, 17 saying, “Don’t be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. You yourself will be king over Israel, and I’ll be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows it is true.” 18 Then the two of them made a covenant in the Lord’s presence. Afterward, David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.

    Strengthened in the Lord - 1 Samuel 23:14-18

    Main Idea: When the wilderness weakens you, God keeps you, sends covenant people to strengthen you, and secures the future He has already promised.

    Strengthened in the Lord

    Series: The Heart That God Honors Scripture: 1 Samuel 23:14–18 Speaker: Rev. Adrian S. Taylor, Lead Pastor Setting: Springhill Church | 120 SE Williston Road, Gainesville, FL 32641 Season: Sunday, July 5, 2026 at 10:00 AM
    Main Idea
    When the wilderness weakens you, God keeps you, sends covenant people to strengthen you, and secures the future He has already promised.
    Introduction
    .
    In April 2021, Rene Compean was hiking in the mountain range near Los Angeles, California. The sun began to set, his phone battery was almost dead, and panic started rising in his chest. He could not see the road, but before the battery died, one final message came through from a friend who knew the trail: “Stay where you are. Help is coming. You are not as lost as you feel.” Those words did not move him out of the woods immediately, but they steadied him until help arrived.
    Sometimes life feels like that. You may still be in the wilderness, but one word can give you strength to endure. The Lord knows how to send the right person with the right word at the right time.David was still in the woods, but Jonathan came and strengthened his hand in God.
    And the good news of this text is that God knows how to keep His people when life becomes a wilderness. The Lord knows how to sustain, protect and preserve you when the enemy is seeking to steal, kill, and destroy. And the Lord knew how to secure your salvation while you were lost in the wilderness of Sin.
    That is where we find David in 1 Samuel 23. David has already been anointed, but he has not yet been enthroned. He has already heard the promise, but he is still living under pressure. He is chosen by God, but chased by Saul. He is carrying destiny, but hiding in the wilderness. And that is a word for somebody today: being in God’s will does not mean you will never walk through hard places. Sometimes the people God has chosen still have to walk through caves, deserts, woods, valleys, and wilderness seasons before the promise becomes public. Yet the text gives us one of the most powerful phrases in Scripture: “but God.” Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.
    That is the sermon in a sentence. When the wilderness weakens you, God keeps you, sends covenant people to strengthen you, and secures the salvation He has already promised.

    I. God Sustains in the Wilderness (1 Samuel 23:14)

    1 Samuel 23:14
    The first thing this text teaches us is that God sustains in the wilderness. David is not sustained because the wilderness is easy. He is not sustained because Saul is weak. He is not sustained because the strongholds are permanent. David is sustained because God is faithful. The wilderness may be the place where David feels most vulnerable, but it is also the place where God proves that His hand is stronger than Saul’s hand.
    There are two truths in verse 14: David is separated in the wilderness, and David is safe in the wilderness.

    A. Separated in the Wilderness (1 Samuel 23:14)

    1 Samuel 23:14 HCSB
    14 David then stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.
    1 Samuel 23:14a — “David then stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph.”
    David stayed in the wilderness. That one sentence carries more weight than we often realize. David is not there for vacation scenery or solitude. David is there because Saul has turned the kingdom into a hunting ground, and David has become the prey. He is separated from the palace, and the public celebration he once enjoyed. Everything around him suggests he is a long way from the promise of God in his life.
    But separation is not always abandonment. Sometimes separation is preparation. Sometimes the wilderness is where God develops what the palace would have distracted. God can form something in you that the crowd cannot produce. David’s wilderness time is not wasted time. God is using the hard place to make the future king. God is teaching him dependence before authority, humility before honor, obedience before opportunity, and worship before the throne.
    That is not just David’s story.
    Moses was separated in the backside of the desert before he stood before Pharaoh. Acts 7 says Moses fled from Egypt and became a stranger in the land of Midian, and after forty years the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai (Acts 7:29–30; Exodus 3:1–10). Before Moses carried a rod into Egypt, God had to prepare him in seclusion. Before he could lead Israel through the wilderness, God trained him in the wilderness.
    Jesus was also led into the wilderness. After His baptism, when the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son,” the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 3:16–4:1; Luke 4:1–2). Jesus did not enter the wilderness because He was out of favor with the Father. He entered the wilderness because the Father’s purpose was moving forward. The wilderness became the testing ground before the public ministry.
    Paul also had a hidden season in the Arabian desert. After his conversion, Paul says he did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did he go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before him; instead, he went into Arabia and returned again to Damascus. Then, after three years, he went up to Jerusalem to see Peter (Galatians 1:16–18). a
    So do not despise the wilderness. God can do holy work in hidden places. God can form your character when nobody is clapping. God can deepen your prayer life when nobody is watching. God can teach you His voice when the crowd is absent. God can build the inner life before He reveals the outer assignment.
    You are not where you want to be. You are not seeing what you prayed to see. You are not standing in the palace; you are surviving in Ziph. Remember that hidden does not mean forgotten; and wilderness does not mean worthless. God is still forming you for what He has already promised you.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    The wilderness is not always God’s rejection; sometimes it is God’s classroom.
    God often hides His servants before He honors His servants.
    If God has you in Ziph, He can still be preparing you for Zion.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Exodus 3:1-10; Acts 7:29-30; Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-14; Galatians 1:16-18

    B. Safety in the Wilderness - 1 Samuel 23:14b

    1 Samuel 23:14 HCSB
    14 David then stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.
    1 Samuel 23:14b — “Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.”
    Here is the tension of the text: Saul searched for him every day. This was not occasional opposition. This was daily danger. Saul woke up thinking about David. He organized his resources around David. He used royal power to pursue David. Saul had soldiers, weapons, influence, access, and authority. From the human side, David’s future looked fragile. But the verse does not end with Saul. It says, “but God did not hand David over to him.”
    That phrase is the difference between panic and peace. Saul searched, but God shielded. Saul plotted, but God protected. Saul pursued, but God preserved. David was in a place where danger, doom, and disaster were all around him, but he was under the divine care of a covenant-keeping God. David had already been to Gath. David had already been in caves. David had already known what it meant to be misunderstood, hunted, displaced, and afraid. Yet everywhere David went, danger was present, but God’s mercy was present too. Psalm 27:2 “2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, They stumbled and fell,” becomes his testimony.
    Psalm 27:2 KJV 1900
    2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, They stumbled and fell.
    The same David who was preserved in this wilderness would later write, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4). David did not write that as a theory. He wrote that as testimony. He had walked through valleys. He had lived under shadows. He had faced evil. He had discovered that the Lord was not only God in green pastures; the Lord was also God in dark valleys.
    Psalm 23:4 KJV 1900
    4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
    That is our hope. We are safe in salvation, not because we are clever enough to outmaneuver every enemy, not because we are strong enough to overcome every attack, not because we are wise enough to detect every trap, but because we are kept by grace. John Newton’s hymn says it well: “Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”
    God has been keeping people in wilderness places for a long time.
    He kept Hagar in the wilderness when she thought her son was going to die, and God opened her eyes to see a well of water (Genesis 21:14–19).
    He kept Elijah in the wilderness when fear and fatigue had overwhelmed him, and the angel of the Lord fed him for the journey ahead (1 Kings 19:4–8).
    He kept Israel in the wilderness with manna from heaven, water from the rock, and a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night (Exodus 13:21–22; Exodus 16:4; Exodus 17:6).
    And if God can keep Hagar, He can keep you. If God can keep Elijah, He can keep you. If God can keep Israel, He can keep you. If God can keep David, He can keep you. The wilderness may be real, but God’s protection is real too.
    And Jesus stands as our great Savior in the midst of every wilderness experience. He entered the wilderness and defeated temptation. He entered suffering and endured the cross. He entered death and rose with all power. Because Christ has conquered, our safety is not ultimately in our hiding places, our plans, our contacts, or our strength. Our safety is in the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    Saul searched every day, but God kept David every moment.
    The enemy may know your location, but he cannot override God’s protection.
    Grace does not always keep you out of danger, but grace keeps danger from having the final word.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Psalm 23:4; Psalm 27:1-5; Psalm 121:1-8; John 10:27-29; 1 Peter 1:3-5

    II. God Sends Strength Through Others - 1 Samuel 23:15-17

    1 Samuel 23:15–17
    The second major movement of the text is that God sends strength through others. God does not only sustain David by invisible protection; God also sustains him through visible encouragement. God sends Jonathan into the wood. Jonathan cannot give David the throne. Jonathan cannot stop Saul’s rage. Jonathan cannot remove every problem. But Jonathan can do something powerful: he can strengthen David’s hand in God.
    Sometimes God’s help wears the face of a friend. Sometimes God’s mercy sounds like a timely word.

    A. God Will Send Strength Among Conspiring People - 1 Samuel 23:15

    1 Samuel 23:15 — “And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.”
    David is hiding in the region of Judah. He is not far from familiar ground. He is near his own people, near his own tribe, near the region connected to his own family story. Yet in that place, he realizes Saul has come out to seek his life. The danger is close and the threat is personal. The wilderness is no longer just lonely; it is now lethal.
    Doeg spied on David (1 Samuel 21:7), then Doeg shared information about David (1 Samuel 22:9), and finally Doeg slaughtered the priests who unknowingly helped David at Saul’s command (1 Samuel 22:18-20).
    And later in the chapter, we learn how serious this becomes. The Ziphites go to Saul and reveal that David is hiding among them (1 Samuel 23:19–20). These are people from the region of Judah, David’s own tribe. They should have protected him. They should have covered him. They should have been glad that God’s anointed was among them. But instead of sheltering David, they exposed David.
    That is one of the painful lessons of leadership and life: betrayal can come from people who should have been eager to help. It is one kind of pain when opposition comes from a known enemy. It is another kind of pain when the wound comes from familiar hands. David was not betrayed by Philistines in this moment. He was betrayed by people close enough to know where he was hiding.
    Joseph knew that pain. His brothers saw his dream as a threat, threw him into a pit, sold him into slavery, and dipped his coat in blood to deceive their father (Genesis 37:18–36).
    Nehemiah knew that pain. While he was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, enemies conspired from the outside, and pressure also came through people connected to the work. Some nobles of Judah were bound by oath to Tobiah and kept reporting Tobiah’s words to Nehemiah while trying to make Nehemiah afraid (Nehemiah 6:17–19).
    Jesus knew that pain most fully. John says, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11). One of His own disciples betrayed Him with a kiss (Luke 22:47–48).
    But here is the grace in the text: even when conspirators are around David, God still sends strength to David. The presence of betrayal does not cancel the presence of God. The schemes of people do not exhaust the sovereignty of God.
    Somebody knows what it feels like to be wounded in familiar territory. You thought they would understand. You thought they would cover you. You thought they would pray for you. You thought they would stand with you. But instead, they exposed you, criticized you, misread you, or walked away from you. But the Lord sent me to tell you: do not let the presence of betrayers make you blind to the presence of burden-bearers. God still has a Jonathan for your Ziph.
    God knows how to send strength among conspiring people. He can send one faithful voice in a crowd of false witnesses. He can send one loyal friend in a season of loneliness. He can send one covenant partner when betrayal has made you suspicious of everybody. Do not let one Judas make you reject every Jonathan.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    Betrayal may reveal where people stand, but it also reveals how faithfully God keeps standing.
    Do not let the pain of a Ziphite make you miss the blessing of a Jonathan.
    When familiar hands wound you, God can still send faithful hands to strengthen you.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Genesis 37:18-36; Nehemiah 6:17-19; Psalm 55:12-14; John 1:11-12; Luke 22:47-48
    Illustration Path
    A good mechanic knows that when a warning light comes on, the light is not the whole problem. The light is pointing to something deeper. Betrayal often functions like a warning light. It shows us something deeper about people, motives, and misplaced trust. But the mechanic does not throw the whole car away because one light comes on. He diagnoses the issue and keeps the vehicle moving. In the same way, God does not want one betrayal to make you abandon the journey. He may use the pain to redirect your trust, refine your circle, and remind you that your ultimate security is not in people, but in Him.

    B. God Will Send Strength by Covenant Partners - 1 Samuel 23:16-17

    1 Samuel 23:16–17 HCSB
    16 Then Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and encouraged him in his faith in God, 17 saying, “Don’t be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. You yourself will be king over Israel, and I’ll be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows it is true.”
    1 Samuel 23:16–17 — “And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.”
    What Jonathan does in this passage is one of the most beautiful acts of friendship in Scripture. The text says Jonathan “arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God” (1 Samuel 23:16). Jonathan did not wait for David to come out of the wilderness. Jonathan went into the wilderness to find David. He did not send a message from a distance. He showed up in person. He did not offer shallow optimism. He strengthened David’s hand in God.
    That phrase matters: “in God.” Jonathan does not strengthen David in David. He does not strengthen David in personality. He does not strengthen David in talent. He does not strengthen David in past victories. He strengthens David in God. That is covenant encouragement. Covenant partners do not merely tell you what you want to hear; they remind you of what God has said. Covenant partners do not inflate your ego; they fortify your faith. Covenant partners do not make themselves the center of your survival; they point you back to the Lord who is keeping you.
    Jonathan’s words are powerful: “Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth” (1 Samuel 23:17). Jonathan is the king’s son. By the normal custom of dynastic succession, Jonathan would have been expected to inherit Saul’s throne. Yet Jonathan is spiritually clear enough to know that God has chosen David. He is humble enough to accept God’s will. He is courageous enough to say it out loud. He is loyal enough to strengthen the man who will receive what others might have expected him to claim.
    That is rare friendship. Jonathan does not see David’s promise as a threat to his identity. He sees David’s future as the will of God. He knows Saul’s reign will one day come to an end, and David will be king. Samuel’s anointing of David may seem like a distant memory. The oil may have dried. The old prophet may not be standing there anymore. The palace may still be occupied by Saul. The wilderness may still look like contradiction. But Jonathan has faith in what God will do.
    The Bible gives us other covenant partners who strengthened people in critical seasons. Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands while Joshua fought Amalek, and Israel prevailed as Moses’ hands were supported (Exodus 17:10–13). Ruth clung to Naomi and pledged covenant loyalty when Naomi was grieving and returning to Bethlehem (Ruth 1:16–17). Barnabas came alongside Saul when others feared him, brought him to the apostles, and later helped draw him into ministry usefulness (Acts 9:26–27; Acts 11:25–26).
    God still sends covenant partners. People who pray when you are tired. People who remind you who you are when pressure makes you forget. People who speak Scripture over your fear. People who do not compete with your calling. People who can say, “I see what God is doing in you, and I am not jealous of it. I am here to help you become what God called you to be.”
    Our future may seem uncertain, but God is a covenant-keeping God. Jonathan reminds us that though the vision may seem distant, God has not forgotten His promise. The throne may not be visible yet. Saul may still be searching. Ziph may still be lonely. But God’s promise is still alive.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    A covenant partner does not compete with your promise; they confirm it.
    The best friends do not just help you feel better; they help you trust God deeper.
    Jonathan entered David’s wilderness carrying the one thing David needed most: a God-centered word.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Exodus 17:10-13; Ruth 1:16-17; Proverbs 17:17; Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; Acts 9:26-27

    III. God Secures the Future - 1 Samuel 23:18

    1 Samuel 23:18
    The final movement of the text teaches us that God secures the future. David is not yet in the palace, but his future is not unsecured. David is still in danger, but his destiny is not in danger. David is still in the wood, but the word of the Lord is still working.
    Verse 18 says, “And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.” That verse has both comfort and tension. The comfort is that covenant is made before the Lord. The tension is that David remains in the wood. In other words, God secures David’s future without immediately changing David’s location.

    A. Secured in the Presence of the Lord - 1 Samuel 23:18a

    1 Samuel 23:18 HCSB
    18 Then the two of them made a covenant in the Lord’s presence. Afterward, David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.
    1 Samuel 23:18a — “And they two made a covenant before the LORD.”
    David and Jonathan make a covenant in the presence of God. This is not casual friendship. This is not a handshake over convenience. This is not emotional language with no spiritual weight. They make covenant “before the LORD.” The Lord is the witness. Heaven is the audience. God stands over the agreement.
    That detail gives the moment gravity. David and Jonathan are not merely saying, “We like each other.” They are saying, “We recognize the hand of God, and we bind ourselves to faithfulness under the witness of God.” That is why covenant language is so serious in Scripture. Covenant is not based on convenience. Covenant is not held together by feelings. Covenant is anchored in faithfulness before the Lord.
    The Bible is filled with covenants made before God. God made covenant with Noah after the flood and set the rainbow as the sign that He would not again destroy all flesh by flood (Genesis 9:8–17). God made covenant with Abraham, promising descendants, land, and blessing that would reach the nations (Genesis 12:1–3; Genesis 15:1–18). At Sinai, Israel entered covenant with the Lord as God gave His law and called them to be His treasured people (Exodus 19:3–8). Later, God made covenant promises to David, promising that his house and kingdom would be established according to God’s redemptive purpose (2 Samuel 7:12–16). And in Christ, we see the new covenant sealed not with the blood of animals, but through the blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15).
    So when David and Jonathan make covenant before the Lord, they are standing within a larger biblical world where God takes promises seriously. People may default on agreements. People may break their word. People may change when circumstances change. But the Lord is never slack concerning His promise (2 Peter 3:9). He is not unstable. He is not forgetful. He is not double-minded. He is not unreliable. What God says, God secures.
    Jesus gives His people a promise witnessed by heaven and sealed by His own authority: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). He tells His church, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). That means every believer lives under covenant grace. We are not held by our grip on God, but by God’s grip on us. We are not sustained by our perfect record, but by Christ’s finished work. We are not secure because we never fail, but because God’s covenant mercy never fails.
    Somebody needs to hear that today. You are not hanging by a thread; you are held by a covenant. You are not surviving because people kept every promise; you are surviving because God kept His. You are not secure because the wilderness feels safe; you are secure because the Lord is present even there.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    When God is witness to the covenant, the wilderness cannot cancel the promise.
    People may break their word, but God never mishandles His covenant.
    You are not held by circumstance; you are held by a covenant-keeping God.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Genesis 9:8-17; Genesis 15:1-18; 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Hebrews 8:6; Hebrews 13:5

    B. Secured in the Place of Peril, Not the Palace - 1 Samuel 23:18b

    1 Samuel 23:18 HCSB
    18 Then the two of them made a covenant in the Lord’s presence. Afterward, David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.
    1 Samuel 23:18b — “And David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.”
    This ending is not what we might expect. Jonathan comes. Jonathan strengthens David. Jonathan reminds David of the promise. Jonathan makes covenant with David before the Lord. And then Jonathan goes home, and David stays in the wood.
    That is real life. Sometimes after the sermon, the situation is still there. Sometimes after the prayer, the diagnosis is still there. Sometimes after the encouragement, the wilderness is still there. Sometimes after the covenant reminder, Saul is still searching. But the evidence of God’s faithfulness is not always that He moves you immediately from the place of peril to the palace. Sometimes the evidence of God’s faithfulness is that He gives you strength to remain faithful in the place where danger still exists.
    David is left in the wilderness, and he is still in danger. He is not in the safety of the palace. He is not reclining on the throne. He is not enjoying the comfort of royal privilege. But he is under the watchful care of Almighty God. And that is enough. David is not where he wants to be, but he is not outside the care of the Lord.
    That truth runs throughout Scripture. Joseph was in prison before he stood in Pharaoh’s court, but God was with him in the prison (Genesis 39:20–23). Daniel was in the lions’ den before he was lifted out, but God shut the lions’ mouths while he was still in the den (Daniel 6:16–23). The three Hebrew boys were in the fiery furnace before they were brought out, but the Lord was with them in the fire (Daniel 3:24–27). John was on Patmos, exiled and isolated, but the risen Christ met him there and gave him revelation (Revelation 1:9–18).
    So do not measure God’s faithfulness only by whether you have reached the palace. God is faithful in the prison. God is faithful in the den. God is faithful in the furnace. God is faithful on Patmos. God is faithful in Ziph. God is faithful in the wood. God is faithful when Jonathan leaves and Saul still searches. God is faithful when the promise is true but the place is still hard.
    May we remember that we may not be where we want to be, but we remain in the care of the Lord. You may not have the job yet. You may not have the healing yet. You may not have the answer yet. You may not have the apology yet. You may not have the open door yet. You may not be in the palace yet. But if God is keeping you, you are not uncovered. If God is with you, you are not abandoned. If God has spoken, your future is not unsecured.
    David abode in the wood. Jonathan went to his house. Saul was still alive. The throne was still occupied. The wilderness was still real. But the promise was still standing.
    Quotable Preaching Lines
    God can secure your future while you are still standing in a dangerous place.
    Do not confuse delayed arrival with denied promise.
    You may not be in the palace yet, but you are still under providence.
    Cross-Reference Scriptures: Genesis 39:20-23; Daniel 3:24-27; Daniel 6:16-23; 2 Corinthians 4:8-9; Revelation 1:9-18
    Sermon Close
    Springhill, David stayed in the wood, but he did not stay weak. David stayed in the wilderness, but he did not stay without witness. David stayed under pressure, but he did not stay without promise.
    Saul was still searching. The wilderness was still lonely. The throne was still future. But God was still faithful.
    And that is the word for somebody today. You may still be in Ziph, but you are not outside the will of God. You may still be in the wood, but you are not outside the watch of God. You may still be under pressure, but you are not outside the protection of God. You may still be waiting on the palace, but the palace is not the proof that God is present. God was present in the wilderness. God was present in the stronghold. God was present in the wood. God was present when Saul was searching. God was present when Jonathan was speaking. God was present when David was waiting.
    I need to tell somebody: the Lord kept you when you did not know how you were being kept. He kept you when enemies were looking for you. He kept you when trouble was looking for you. He kept you when sickness was looking for you. He kept you when depression was looking for you. He kept you when fear was looking for you. He kept you when shame was looking for you. He kept you when grief was looking for you. He kept you when the devil was looking for you.
    Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.
    That is mercy. That is grace. That is providence. That is protection. That is the faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God.
    And when I look at David in the wilderness, I see more than David. I see a shadow of another King. David was anointed and rejected, but Jesus was the Anointed One who came unto His own, and His own received Him not. David was hunted by Saul, but Jesus was hunted by Herod. David was betrayed by people from his own region, but Jesus was betrayed by one of His own disciples. David went into the wood, but Jesus went to the cross. David was strengthened by Jonathan in the wilderness, but Jesus was strengthened by an angel in Gethsemane. David escaped death in Ziph, but Jesus entered death at Calvary.
    And there, on a hill called Calvary, our Savior stood in the place of peril. Not in a palace. Not on an earthly throne. Not surrounded by comfort. But lifted between heaven and earth. Nails in His hands. A crown of thorns on His head. A spear waiting for His side. Mockers around Him. Darkness above Him. Sin upon Him. Judgment before Him.
    But He stayed there. He stayed there for the sinner. He stayed there for the broken. He stayed there for the weary. He stayed there for the wounded. He stayed there for the one who feels trapped in the wilderness. He stayed there for you. He stayed there for me.
    And early Sunday morning, God proved that no enemy gets the final word over His promise. Death searched for Him, but could not hold Him. The grave received Him, but could not keep Him. Hell celebrated too early, because God raised Him with all power in His hands.
    So if you are in the wilderness, look to Jesus. If you are tired, look to Jesus. If you are afraid, look to Jesus. If you have been betrayed, look to Jesus. If you are waiting on the promise, look to Jesus. If you are not in the palace yet, look to Jesus.
    Because the same God who kept David in the wilderness is the God who raised Jesus from the grave. And the same Savior who died at Calvary is alive right now to keep you, strengthen you, and secure what He promised.
    You can leave today saying: I am not abandoned. I am not forgotten. I am not uncovered. I am not unsecured. I am not finished. I am strengthened in the Lord.
    Invitation
    If you need Jesus Christ as Savior, come. If you need to return to the Lord, come. If you need a church home, come. If you are in a wilderness season and need prayer, come. If you need strength that only God can give, come.
    The Lord who kept David is able to keep you. The Lord who strengthened David is able to strengthen you. The Lord who secured David’s future is able to secure yours in Christ.
    Hymn of Response
    “Amazing Grace” by John Newton is an appropriate hymn of response because it names the sermon’s testimony: grace has brought us safe through dangers, toils, and snares, and grace will lead us home. It appears as #132 in The New National Baptist Hymnal and #104 in the 2008 Baptist Hymnal.

      • 1 Samuel 23:14–18HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:14HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:14HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:14HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:14bHCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:14HCSB

      • Psalm 27:2HCSB

      • Psalm 23:4HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:15–17HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:15HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:16–17HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:16–17HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:18aHCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:18HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 23:18HCSB

SpringhillGNV's Presentation Group
lakendra@springhillmbc.org
http://springhlgnv.com
5 members • 4 followers