Chapel Pointe Morning Service
Pastor Daniel L. Rundhaug
04/19/2009
© 2009 All Rights Reserved
“The Great Wall of Reality”
Introduction (Me):
Todd’s experience of losing his job at Michigan CAT, being hired at Energy Products for a promising new venture and that reality changing…
His job turned from what appeared to be God’s providential blessing, into a nightmare job with an extremely hostile work environment. All of the potential vanished. What appeared to be God’s leading and God’s purposes all of a sudden could no longer be seen. (Cycle Back)
Tension (We):
Illustration: “Everybody’s Normal Til You Get To Know Them”
From a distance we may look at people and think, “They’ve got it all together.”
The truth is that we all have a Great Wall of Reality that we face on a daily basis… (Reference wall on stage)
In many of the conversations I have with people, there is an overarching theme that arises, “I’m not where I want to be…”
1. Relationships
2. Work
3. Finances
4. School
5. Family
6. Health
The Bible is not silent on this issue of life’s disappointments…
Main Point: Your present reality can be used to accomplish God’s ultimate purpose
Contextualization (God):
King David… When you hear “king” you expect to read about somebody on the throne, with great power.
A point in David’s life where he’s not in control. He’s not in power. He’s not in the luxury of a castle or the protection of a kingdom.
Just like you, David didn’t plan on being in this point of struggle either…
Text (God):
22:1-2 – Where He Is
1. David’s begin a “Robin Hood” existence that will last 10 years (he’s about 20 years old)
a. He’s running from town to town
1) He’s in the heart of enemy territory
2) He’s beat up on the Philistines, and now he’s seeking refuge in their cities
b. He decides to settle in a cave
1) Describe the cave
a) Limestone or “chalky” rock
b) About 15-20 deep, almost square
2) Illustration: Osama Bin Laden
2. His family comes to his rescue
a. David’s whereabouts were continually being reported
1) He was a popular guy
2) He was a victorious military strategist for Israel
3) Wherever he went people knew who he was
b. When there is trouble, there is nothing like family gathering around
1) What a welcomed sight it must have been for David to see some friendly faces
a) Illustration: Helping Mike and Amy transform their house before they got married
b) Illustration: Having family help me with projects – landscaping, putting in a drain tile
3. Leading the losers
a. David became a rallying point for people to come around who were sick of being oppressed
1) David had a band of 400 people who were not the crème of the crop
a) “In distress”
i) Troubled
ii) The same type of trouble you’d be in if you had to eat your own baby’s flesh to stay alive
b) “In debt”
i) Poor
ii) Where the only way you were able to get out of debt is to hand over your children as slaves for the rest of their lives
c) “Discontented”
i) Homeless, or bereft or who had suffered great loss
ii) Where your whole livelihood and family had been taken away from you
2) The difference between Robin Hood and David, he was king…
4. There is no way that David ever thought he would be in this situation.
16-21 – How He Got There
1. 16 – David was anointed to be the future king of Israel
a. v. 7 – Appearance
b. v. 10-11 – Not invited to be considered
c. v. 13 – David’s power in God
2. 17 – Confronts Goliath when the entire Israelite army was scared
a. v. 26 – David’s initial reaction
b. v. 32 – David tells Saul, “I will fight”
c. v. 45-47 – David’s reaction to Goliath
3. 18 – David is celebrated as the national hero and Saul didn’t like it
a. v. 7 – David’s victory lap
1) Illustration: Norman Schwarzkopf – “Stormin’ Norman.”
b. v. 9 – Saul’s jealous eye
c. v. 28-29 – “In-laws”
4. 19 – Saul tries to kill David out of jealousy
a. v. 10 – Saul tries to kill David
5. 20 – Saul’s son, Jonathan, helps David
6. 21 – David runs away and begins his 10-year journey where he wondered what the ultimate purpose of God was through it all
7. 22 – This “king” is now leading a group of losers
D – What He Did About It
When you face a wall, the real question is, “What are you going to do about it?”
1. David’s group of losers became known as “David’s Mighty Men”
a. David trained them, and they became his most loyal recruits
b. They killed giants, and would do absolutely anything for David
c. God used them in countless battles to secure victory for David
d. “They were for the most part brave and reckless, and who ripened into heroic men under the command of David during his long flight.” – C.F. Keil
2. David grew to trust in God when he ran into his wall of reality
a. David was already a great soldier, now he needed to suffer in order to realize that greater trust needed to be placed in God.
3. David showed confidence that God was still in control
a. “We all have an opportunity to learn in everything we do.” – Louis Gerstner Jr., Who Says, p. 5
b. Psalm 57:2, 9-11
Main Point: Your present reality can be used to accomplish God’s ultimate purpose
Let me cycle back to my brother. Right now, after one year of employment at a different company, W.W. Williams, he’s the regional sales leader for their generator division. A key requirement for him to have secured this job was to have some very specific training, called Kadolite training. As bad as Energy Products was, one of the things that they did is provide Todd the opportunity to be trained on Kadolite. It was because of that training from an absolute rotten work environment, that he was able to secure a new job in a company that he’s thriving in.
In the midst of the Wall of Reality that he faced, things didn’t look so clear. Yet now that he’s through it, he’s able to see that his present circumstance could be used to accomplish God’s ultimate purpose…
Application (You) “What do they need to do?”:
Each of us has a “Great Wall of Reality” that we are facing. Life never stops coming at you full-force, but the question is do you trust God that his purpose in your life can still be fulfilled despite the wall that you’re facing?
With the issues that you’re facing right now in life, can you say with confidence what David did about God (Psalm 57:2)?
The Bible says in Proverbs 2:4-5 that to seek wisdom, or God’s purpose in the midst of life, we need to search for it as if we were looking for silver or buried treasure.
One of the ways that we’d like to encourage you to seek God’s purpose is to take the paper that’s in the bulletin, write down the wall that you’re facing right now in life, ask God to show his purpose to you, and I invite you, as the band plays, to lay the burden of your present reality at the wall, trusting God to rescue you, and fulfill His will in your life.
Inspiration (We) “Why do they need to do it?”:
Prayer – Why it’s valuable to place our confidence in God…
Invitation to the Wall… “Rescue” and “You Never Let Go”