What Do You Do When You’re Down?

An exposition of 1 Samuel 13

Are You Feeling Desperate and Defeated?

All you can see is an endless tunnel of nonstop disappointments?

Many think God is like a teacher who gives everyone a passing grade. If that’s the God you believe in, He is pretty boring. Why bother learning His ways if He's let’s everyone slide?

Listen:

The Provocation (13:1-4)

Jonathan is audacious. He has the audacity to believe God’s promises and so he attacks the garrison.

There’s enemy outposts deep in your life, dug-in in your family, your own habits.

You hate them. Some professed Christians don’t believe the sacrifice is worth the reward. That it’s not worth making church a higher priority than making money. So they don’t try.

The Retribution (13:5-7)

Some people use their religion to hide, rather than confront their problems. Some churches help people hide their sins and, so, become a “sin club.”

So they don’t practice church discipline, even though the Lord Jesus ordered it (Mt. 18:15ff.) Listen to the message on the YouTube link above to hear more about “sin club.”

The Presumption (13:8-15)

Saul thinks he needs to show the troops that they have the Lord’s blessing, to keep their morale up.

Can’t we come to God any way we want, as long as we’re sincere and mean well? No!

Some people think they can judge which commands must be kept and which can be ignored. That’s presumption.

The decree has gone out to David, already, before his heard it. God orders us since the foundation of the world: ‘You will be one of my people.’ Listen to the YouTube link (above) for more about how God decrees first.

The Situation (13:16-23)

The situation is dire. Saul is down to 600 troops. They are practically disarmed. Israel is down, helpless, out-numbered, unarmed, and backward.

What do you do when you’re down, when you feel helpless, being taken advantage of; when you’re impatient?

Revive that audacious faith you had at the first. Believe the One God raised up from the line of David. Believe the Word who became flesh and said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.” When you’re down, come to the Father through the Son.

Listen to the message at the YouTube link above to hear about what you should do when you’re down.

Covenant Reformed Baptist Church is Caswell County’s/Danville’s Reformed church.