Sermon: Distressed, Delirious, & Downtrodden

Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 21

Quotes for Reflection

Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow, A Novel

Telling a story is like reaching into a granary full of wheat and drawing out a handful. There is always more to tell than can be told.

Dane Ortland, Deeper

To grow as a disciple of Christ is not adding Christ to your life but collapsing into Christ as your life. Closed vents can’t be cleaned, full cups can’t be filled, and the Spirit does not enter where we are quietly operating out of self-dependence. But the distraught, the empty, the pleading, the self-despairing, those tired of paying the tax of obedience to God and trying to live on what’s left over—theirs are hearts irresistible to the humble Holy Spirit

Roger Ellsworth, The Shepherd King

It is, to be sure, a most costly decision. Those who left Saul’s kingdom to join David left behind many comforts and conveniences and entered into a life that entailed sacrifice and suffering, but the peace and joy of being a follower of David far surpassed the hardships involved. So it is for all those who, by the grace of God, leave Satan’s kingdom for Christ’s.6

Tim Chester, 1st Samuel for You

David describes his experience in the cave of Adullam in Psalms 57 and 142. In Psalm 142:4 he says: “I have no refuge”. But immediately in the next verse he goes on to say of the Lord: “You are my refuge”. This encourages us to think of all the times when we are tempted to think or to say: I have no refuge; I have no hope; I have no future; I have no one. This may be our experience and it is real enough. But there is a bigger reality, and it is to this that faith turns: God is my refuge; God is my hope; God is my future; I have God.

Application Questions

1. Distressed, delirious, downtrodden- Do any of these terms describe your life right now?

2. Why is vulnerability a prerequisite for the power of the gospel? How do you personally find yourself resistant to this posture?

3. How did God meet David in his time of need, and how might that give you hope for your circumstance?