National Community Church

NATIONAL COMMUNITY CHURCH September 22, 2013 The Wilderness: The Crags of the Wild Goats Mark Batterson

If you missed the short film, ‘Wilderness’ that was produced by our very own media team and shown at National Community Church last weekend, if you missed it, you need to see it. You can go to www.theaterchurch.com and find it on our home page.

Welcome to everyone at all our locations, but a special shout out to Ballston because 10 years ago this weekend, we launched our second location in the movie theaters at Ballston Common Mall. I’m so grateful for all of our locations but Ballston blazed the trail. A huge thanks to Pastor Joel who served as our campus pastor for the first eight years and Pastor Allen who has served as our campus pastor the last two years. And thank you to our launch team. I know that we have many of those original shareholders in this multi-site vision that God has given us. So we celebrate! Can we give it up for Ballston right now? One of my distinct memories is us praying that 100 people would commit to being part of that launch team. It was a kind of a litmus test. So we took a survey and asked the question and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. That seemed like a faith stretch, and 99 people said they were in! And then I realized I hadn’t filled out a card! So it was God’s way of smiling on us and I think God’s way of telling us we were pointed in the right direction. Here we are with six locations, soon to be a seventh in Gainesville, Virginia. We have a team on the ground in Berlin, Germany helping to retrofit what will be our first international location, our café in Berlin. God is moving and if we can just stay out of the way and just keep up with where He is going, because He is preparing good works in advance, then some amazing things are going to happen. So happy, happy, happy anniversary to Ballston, with a little illusion to Duck Dynasty but you didn’t seem to get it.

Let me make two other quick announcements. First, we are two weeks away from our launch in the Lincoln Theater on U Street. We are so grateful for the launch team that God is forming there. I want to encourage you to, number one, pray about being part of that launch team. We need all hands on deck. Then number two, would you consider making an investment in that launch. We gave you a card a few weeks ago, but you don’t necessarily need that. It is as simple as giving a gift and designating towards the launch. So even if you are staying at your location, we would love for you to get in on this IPO. This is how you get some compound interest in what God is doing in some other corners of National Community Church. So thank you for your investment and your involvement in helping to make those launches possible.

On Tuesday, I have a new book that will release titled All In and we will actually do an All In series in October but Lora and I didn’t want you to have to wait and we don’t want you to have to buy the book, so this weekend, every one at all locations will get a free book. It is our way of saying thank you for letting us serve as your pastors. We love it! We love you! If you look at the beginning of the book, this book is dedicated to you. It is dedicated to National Community Church. It is actually the 10th book, so Lora and I felt like this is a book we need to give back to the Lord and we wanted to start by giving you a copy of that book. I pray it is a blessing to you and we will do the series in October. We continue our ‘Wilderness’ series. Turn over to I Samuel 24.

2 So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.

Everybody say Crags of the Wild Goats. Is that not one of the coolest places in the Bible? If I lived near there, I would go there all the time just so that I could say I’m going to the Crags of the Wild Goats! But let me tell you how David got there, because it wasn’t by choice. David is in the wilderness because Saul is trying to kill him. But it’s a little bit more complicated than that because David is Saul’s son-in-law. In other words, the guy trying to kill him is the guy that walked his wife down the aisle! You thought you had in-law issues! You thought your family was dysfunctional! One night after dinner, Saul takes a spear and throws it at David! Now, I’m not a counseling psychologist but you have serious issues at that point! So David is a fugitive through no fault of his own, and that is generally the case when we find ourselves in the wilderness. We don’t go there of our own accord. ‘I think I’m going to go out into emotional wasteland now so I can be depressed.’ No, we don’t go there because we want to go there. Usually we are driven there by circumstances that are out of our control. A spouse reveals that they are having an affair. A family member betrays a trust. A co-worker blames you for something they did or takes credit for something you did. A roommate spreads a rumor that ostracizes you from your friends and the next thing you know, you are in the Crags of the Wild Goats.

This weekend, I got a call from a pastor friend of mine, Stephen, and he was asking me a question about his sermon and I was no help whatsoever, but he said something that I decided to use in my message! So thanks for calling! He said most of us say we want God to be in control, but what we really mean is that we want God to have temporary control when our lives are out of control and the rest of the time, we want to be in control. That hits pretty close to home. Here’s what I have found, the way God proves that He is in control is often by putting us in circumstances that are so far out of our control that all we can do it trust Him. I think that’s what David does.

You have to trust his plan. You have to trust his timing. You have to trust your anointing, what God has called you to do. That’s what David does and that’s what we are going to talk about.

Verse 3

3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

Let me stop right there because this is where the seminary education pays off. It says Saul relieved himself. That question has stymied scholars for centuries! Relieved himself? Is it number one or number two? If David had time to creep up and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe, I am going with number two! He may have even had a book in there with him! I actually think this is a significant detail in the story and we will come back to it. Verse 5

5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

Seriously? You are conscience-stricken because you cut off a corner of his robe and he is trying to kill you and you feel bad about it? These are two men with very different consciences. One’s conscience had been seared many years before and had lost all sensitivity to the same God who anointed him king. But another man who did not want to violate any of God’s law but wanted to walk in righteousness.

Let me zoom out right here. This reminds me of one of my favorite stories about the golf legend Bobby Jones. You’ve probably heard this story before, it is considered one of history’s greatest golfers, won 13 majors before he retired at the age of 28 and was the first golfer to win four majors in one year. But even more than his winning record on the golf course, Bobby Jones was famous for his one-stroke penalty at the 1925 US Open. He inadvertently touched his golf ball and assessed himself a one-stroke penalty but no one else saw him touch the ball, not the tournament official, not his playing partner. Neither of them actually believed that he even touched it. Bobby Jones could have easily justified not taking the penalty. No one saw it. But the tournament official said, ‘Bobby, it is up to you, do you believe you touched the ball?’ To which Bobby responded, ‘I know I did,’ and he assessed himself a one-stroke penalty and lost the 1925 US Open by one stroke. Afterwards, reporters tried to interview him about this self-imposed penalty and Bobby Jones tried to forbid them from even writing about it. He said it would be inappropriate because there was nothing extra-ordinary about playing by the rules. Now, Bobby Jones could have compromised his integrity and won the match, but he chose to lose the match and keep his integrity. He wasn’t willing to compromise by one stroke.

I have a little phrase that I like to call this. I would call this epic integrity and I want to talk about it for just a moment.

If I had been in David’s sandals, I think I could have come up with at least a dozen justifications for killing Saul. But let me ask you a question, what happens to most kings who become king by killing the king before them? They usually get killed by the next king and I think if David had killed Saul, he would have had to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder every time he went to the bathroom. That’s what happens when you compromise your integrity. You have to look over your shoulder and you have to cover your tracks.

There is a flip side. David doesn’t do what his band of brothers tell him to do. Here’s a question to write down if you are taking notes, whose voice are you listening to? You know what? All of your friends may say it is right, but that doesn’t make it right, it might still be wrong. You need to be listening to the voice of God. And I think part of me reads this and this band of brothers have to be a little bit frustrated with David. They had been living out in the Crags of the Wild Goats and maybe they were like, I wouldn’t mind sleeping on a mattress and wouldn’t mind living in a place where food was right here. They were roughing it out there and they were tired of doing it and by David not seizing the opportunity, they had to stay in the wilderness. So on one level, there is a little bit of peer pressure going on, but you tell me, I think that David’s credibility went way up because if you don’t have someone in the back when you have the perfect opportunity to do it, I think the band of brothers knew that David had their back and that he always would. I think it was a defining moment for David. I think it ranks right up there with defeating Goliath.

Zero in on what I’m about to say. Killing Goliath took epic courage. Not killing Saul took epic integrity. I think epic integrity is far more impressive! An opportunity isn’t an opportunity if you have to compromise your integrity. It seemed like a golden opportunity but you can’t judge the will of God by the uniqueness of the circumstances. Two wrongs will never make a right and the end will never justify the means.

So, David refused to take matters into his own hands and that is integrity. If you have to lie on a resume or withhold something in an interview process, it is not worth getting that job. If you have to get the job by compromising, then you will continue to compromise and you will end up in the wilderness. But if you are straight up from the get-go, then either your potential employer will respect you for it and you will get the job because of it, or they won’t hire you and it will be the greatest favor they ever did for you.

What I’m getting at is this, your integrity is your destiny. And your destiny is your integrity. We live in a culture that celebrates 15 minutes of fame instead of a lifetime of faithfulness. What I’m saying is integrity, not talent, not ability, integrity ought to be celebrated a lot more in our ranks as the church than it is. Now, keep doing the right thing and God will reward it in God’s time and in God’s way.

One last little thought, I have a definition of success and it is this, you know you are successful if those who know you best respect you most. Unfortunately, sometimes it is the opposite. It is those who know us best that respect us least.

I have the opportunity to meet some wonderful people just by virtue of being the pastor of this church. As couple weeks ago, Max Lucado was here to speak for us. I’m not going to lie, the author side of me, Max is a hero! Not just because he has sold way more book than anybody I’ve ever known, but because I’ve been personally impacted by his writing. We went out to dinner together and I’m just going to give you the straight up assessment, he is in private who he is in public. I’ve met some people who that is not the case and I have no respect for them. Honestly, I really don’t want to hang around people like that.

This week, I was in Colorado speaking at a conference and the gentleman who spoke before me is a billionaire. We sat at the table together and I think this is the first billionaire I have ever met. I didn’t know what they were like. This couple, they were so gracious and so unaffected. None of their money had gone to their head but to their heart. I sat there thinking to myself, I can respect someone like that. At the end of the day, it is not about making headlines so people who don’t know us think we are great. I want those who know me best to respect me most and I’m going to tell you, that is my wife, my three kids, my family and some close friends. That is success. Let’s keep that in focus.

Let’s keep going. Verse 8

8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12 May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.

In other words, I will not compromise my integrity. Whatever you do, I will not go down to that level.

16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. 17 “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18 You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the LORD delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands.

Are you picking up what the Bible is laying down here? This is one of the most dramatic turnabouts, from hunting him down and killing him to saying you will surely be the king of Israel. What? That’s why he was trying to kill him, to keep him from becoming what you are now prophesying that he will be!

I’m not going to make it anymore cute or fancy than it is. These next couple of thoughts are huge. These are game changers. These are things that can get you out of the wilderness if you are there.

First of all, let me tell you what gets us in trouble, when we try to play the Holy Spirit and convict everyone around us of their sin. I’m not saying there aren’t moments that God will prompt you by his Spirit to confront something you see in another person’s life. The prophet Nathan does it with David beautifully. So there are those instances, but I think sometimes instead of allowing people to hear the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, they can’t hear that voice because we are yelling in their ear and it usually backfires. The best way to convict someone of their sin is not by telling them what they are doing wrong. Nine times out of ten, you convict others by doing what is right. You live a life of integrity and let your good deeds speak for themselves. If someone is saying bad things about you behind your back, you complement them to their face and see what happens. And that is what happens here. David just does what is right and it brings Saul to a place of repentance. He basically says you are a better man then I am. Here’s what I am saying, just do the right thing over and over and over and over again. Long obedience in the same direction, I think that is what Eugene Peterson called it. God will honor it. It is the law of sowing and reaping. And while you are doing it, trust God’s timing. You worry about you. You cannot control your manipulative co-worker or your mean boss or your ex- spouse or your roommate who never does their fair share of chores. I’m not saying you don’t ever confront issues, but you don’t do it on their level, don’t throw spears, don’t cut a corner off of their robe.

This makes me think of Romans 12:17

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge my dear friends but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written, it is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will keep burning coals in his head.

One quick note, that part of Romans 17 doesn’t originate with Paul. Paul is quoting Solomon and Solomon is David’s son. Where did Solomon learn the truth that he wrote in Proverbs 25? Perhaps from his father? Maybe even telling stories about his grandpa? ‘Your grandfather was crazy! But I didn’t kill him!’ Bless those who curse you. If you keep doing that, it might get you out of the wilderness.

This week, I made a quick trip to Colorado and I was with Dick Foth while I was there. We are working on a book together titled A Trip Around the Sun. Now, I’ll tell you my motivation, and Dick knows this, he is about the wisest guy I know and he has more stories than anybody I’ve ever met and I just really feel like that needs to be in a book that lots of people read. So we are recording conversations and it is so fun to hear stories that have been locked in his memory for a long time. He opens the vault of wisdom and he shared a story this week that I think relates to the point I’m making. When Dick was a young pastor in his mid-20s, he had a counseling session and a woman came in and she immediately began to tell him about the dreams she was having about the two of them together. Dick said that counseling session came to a screeching halt. He said, ‘Mark, I didn’t even know what to do but I got out of there as quickly as I could! And I sent her packing!’ He said he was really shaken up by it. He said he went and found one of his mentors, Paul, a guy who, by the way, was on the staff of my father-in-laws church in Naperville and I did an internship with Paul many years after Dick would have known him. So Dick said, ‘Paul, I think it’s over with. What if she spreads rumors or what if she says something that is not true? The ship is going down!’ Dick said that Paul said, in a calming voice, ‘I don’t think you have anything to worry about, why don’t you just live with such integrity that if someone spreads any rumors about you, no one will believe them.’ That is pretty good!

We would be well served if we had a few more people like that around town!

Let me close. I skipped a verse. You might have noticed. It is really the lynchpin in this story. So let me go back to it. Verse 15 15 May the LORD be our judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one.”

And here is the key statement because what enabled David to react in this way was so much integrity, I think it is this simple truth and if you don’t get this, you will not be able to react the same way.

David said, ‘He, the Lord God, is my advocate and He will rescue me from your power.’

This is huge! If you step outside the guardrails of God’s good, pleasing and perfect will, you are on your own. You are your own advocate. If you walk in disobedience, you’ve got your own back and you have to defend yourself. But if you come under the umbrella of God’s grace and God’s authority and you walk in obedience, you are not your advocate. God is your advocate! So we’ve got to live our lives in a way that God is advocating for us!

Let me give you one practical example because it is really how I think about it. You know that Lora and I made a decision when we got married that we would never not tithe. Then our goal is to give a greater percentage back to God every year. We love to give. We’ve been so inspired by those in our lives who have modeled generosity and we love to give. So I’ve always believed that if I’m tithing, then my finances are God’s responsibility because I’m walking in obedience. And I believe God can do more with 90 percent than I could do with 100 percent. That is such a freeing feeling because it is the truth. You don’t have to worry about the outcome if you are walking in obedience because you are under the umbrella of God’s authority. And if you don’t, you have to take matters into your own hands. You are your own advocate. You hold grudges because that’s the only way you are going to get even. You let the seed of bitterness take root and bear fruit because how else are you going to punish the person that hurt you. And in the process, you hurt yourself and you are the one who is imprisoned by your forgiveness.

Please listen to me. II John 2:1 says

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.

Let me tell you why Jesus went to the cross. He went there as the sinless Son of God to pay the penalty for our sins so that our sins can be forgiven and forgotten. But that is only half the gospel. The other half is that Jesus doesn’t just say give me your sin and I’ll pay your debt, then He says He will take his righteousness and transfer it to your account and we’ll call it even. That is why it is the gospel! That is why is it the good news! And that’s why if you are a child a God, if you have knelt at the foot of the cross and received his grace and surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, He is your advocate so that someday when you stand before the judgment seat of God, and all of us will, you are not your own advocate. Don’t go there alone.

If you are here this weekend, within earshot, you make sure that Jesus is your advocate. To as many as have received Him, to them He gave the power to become children of God. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. And you can stand before your Father in heaven someday and say I am here for one reason and one reason only, I stand in the righteousness of Jesus Christ that I have received freely by your grace.

When we celebrate communion, it is a pilgrimage back to the foot of the cross. Do you want to come out of the wilderness? Do you want to come out of the world of hurt that you are in? Do you want to come out of the loneliness of feeling like you are all by yourself? When you come to cross, you will find the God who was there all along and who is ready to love you and receive you.

As I pray, I want to invite all our worship bands at all our locations to come and we’ll prepare to celebrate communion together.

Lord, we humble ourselves before your throne and know that there is only one way we can get there, by receiving the grace that has been offered to us through Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray for those who are here this weekend who need to make a defining decision, who need to stop advocating for themselves and who need to stop trying to do enough good things to get into your good graces because that isn’t the way it works. It is not about what we can do for You. It is about what You have done for us on the cross.

Transcribed by: Ministry Transcription [email protected]