Elevation with Steven Furtick - Fill In The Gap (Larry Brey)

Episode Date: October 11, 2021

Are you letting disappointment disrupt your destiny? In “Fill In The Gap,” Elevation Church’s Associate Pastor, Larry Brey, reveals how when we’re facing disappointment, we can either embrace God’s blessings or turn to our own bitterness.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Well, we're going to get to the message in just a moment, but I wanted to make sure you knew about elevation nights. It's going to be amazing. Eight cities, October 26th through November 4th. You've got to go to elevation nights.com to see if we're coming to a city near you. It's going to be me, elevation worship, a few friends, and you.

I want to see you there. I want to see you and everybody that you know there. Go to elevation nights.com. I can't wait to see you soon. Here's the message. We are blessed. And I just have one verse of scripture for you. Then we'll take a seat in a second.

I'm going to preach today out of a passage that really has been my life verse. It's 1st Samuel 13, 14. But about six months ago, Pastor Stephen stood in this pulpit, and he said a word that made me see it differently. That verse has been my life verse. for 16 plus years. But one word made me see something that's always been there. I just didn't have the potential to see it. And I think that's gonna happen today.

I think it's gonna happen in a marriage. It's been 17 years in motion, but you've never seen the gift of your bride that God wants you to see in her. It's gonna happen in the blessing that he's given you when you look at everybody else, what they have, makes you ungrateful for what God's given you. You don't need something new.

you just need to see what you have differently. That's why I'm excited to share this verse with you today. Those that know me know that this is close to my heart, and it's a verse I take with me wherever I go. Verse Samuel 13, verse 2. It says Saul chose 3,000 men from Israel. 2,000 were with him at McMash. Say McMash.

And in the hill country of Bethel, and 1,000 were with John. Jonathan and Gibbia and Benjamin, the rest of the men, he sent back to their homes. So, Father, we open up your word. Would you open up our hearts and create an intersection that would allow your transformation to happen in our hearts? We love you, Jesus. Amen, amen. You guys can have a seat.

And I grew up one of five kids, and I grew up like many guys, probably most kids. Up until about age seven or eight, my dad was my hero. He, everywhere he went, I wanted to be with my dad. It was like, he was my hero. And so I just wanted to go wherever he's going. I don't even care where you're going. I'm just coming with, Dad, let's go. And so I remember, gosh, six, seven, eight years old.

We'd go to places and he'd go inside and I'd be out in the pickup truck. We're in a farm town in Minnesota. We'd be in the pickup truck. I'd be out there for, woo, someone, one person from Minnesota, praise God. I'd be out in the pickup truck for a while. And then he'd hop back in the truck, and we'd be out. drive home and he seemed much happier when he got back in the pickup truck. He was talking a lot. He was jovial, but he was kind of swerving around a little bit. And then finally, at age about

eight, I don't remember the exact day, but we stopped at this place called the Delroy. It was a bar in Minnesota. And I remember sitting out in the truck, and it was like cold. And I'm like, I wonder what dad's doing. So I waited a couple hours and finally I snuck in through the back door. And I walked in and I see Jerry the owner, he kind of looks at me, and I remember his face. And I saw my dad sitting at the end of the bar. And I remember in that moment the gap that was created in my heart because up until the point he had only been my hero, but now I saw his humanity. And that's the gap I want to talk about today. And that gap is what's called disappointment. This is a message for anybody who has been, is or will be dealing with the gap of disappointment. Disappointment is an

equal opportunity employer. It will enslave you based upon your socio-economic status, your zip code, your square footage, it does not care because every one of us has the gap of disappointment. He's always been my hero, but now I see his humanity, and I got to deal with the gap. It's that gap that's created because you've lived life. This is what I've expected, Lord, but this is what I'm experiencing. It's the space of, I thought we'd be farther along right now, but this is what we're with. I've been believing for the promises, God, but now I'm just picking up the broken pieces. You hope you'd be married by now, and if your grandmother asks you one more time, if you found somebody, you're going to, I love you, grandma. It's you have the surgery, and they said you'd be

better right by now, but you're dealing with that gap. Because that gap, here's the title for today, it's called fill in the gap. Fill in the gap. Because that gap of disappointment, something's going to grow in it. It is very much like your lawn. It's like your front yard. If you do nothing, something will grow. Just because it's green doesn't mean it's good. You don't need to do anything for weeds to grow. And in the sinful nature of man, the seeds of bitterness and offense have been sewed into our soul,

and they don't need any help to grow. That's what I want to talk about today. My assignment is to talk about the gap. And in our story in 1 Samuel, you have a son named Jonathan and a dad named Saul. Dad is the king of Israel. And what's happened at this point in chapter 12, they'd had some small military victories. So dad and son devise a plan to keep the momentum rolling. Hey, we're going to keep these Philistines on the run, boy, let's get it going.

So they devise a plan. All right. Saul, you're going to take 2,000 men and you're going to go to McMash. Say McMash. And then Jonathan's going to take a thing. thousand he's going to go to Giba. So they had you plan like, all right, ready, break. Let's go. Here's what we're going to do. Versus three and four. Says Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Giba, and the Philistines heard about it.

Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the whole land and said, let the Hebrews hear. So all Israel heard the news. Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost and has now been And now Israel has become obnoxious to the Philistines. And the people were summoned to join Saul. What? What? Dad. See, I think in this moment Jonathan saw some of his father's humanity.

They devised a plan and says, I'm going to do this and you're going to do that. The son goes and does this, but God, his dad does not do that. And now when Saul announces it to the nation, he says, all right, let all of Israel here. Saul has attacked. And it says, he had the trumpets flown. He's tooting his own horn. He's taking credit for something he didn't even do. And his son is looking at it like, Dad, you said you were going to do that, but you didn't do it.

And now he's looking at his father going, because of your indecision, because of your bad decision, we're all going to have to deal with the consequences of it. Isn't it amazing what choices, the unintended consequences that can ripple in the life of people? And I think that's what Jonathan is dealing with in this situation because Saul's got 2,000 men and Jonathan has 1,000. Why can some people do twice as much with half as much resource? Why is it? That's the spirit of Jonathan. That's why I love this guy.

I'm going on record right now and saying, Jonathan is my favorite Bible character. And I want to show you why. Because your impact on this earth is never determined by the size of your resource. It's determined by the size of your obedience. That's what Jonathan demonstrates. But Saul, why did you do that, Saul? Because I think there's a connection between disappointment and disobedience.

And on top of that, Samuel, the prophet had informed Saul just a few days earlier. Saul, just wait till I get there to offer the offerings. Just wait, don't pop the clutch. Don't get started on this thing early. And so, but dad struggles with disobedience. And in verse 11, Samuel, the prophet shows up on the scene. the battle was supposed to be fought where 2,000 go this way, 1,000 go this way. But Saul didn't do.

The king did not do what the king should have done. And now as a result, the people of Israel see this whole thing happening because they became obnoxious. And all the Philistines, they were like, you just woke the dog, baby. Because the Phil is like, oh, you want to play like that? We're going to show up in force. It says they assembled all of their troops as numerous as the sands on the seashore. And now the Israelites, as a result of the people, of Saul's bad decision are staring at a situation.

Oh, snap! Philistines are coming and we're all going to die! That's what happens when the leader sometimes makes bad choices. And now all of Israel has to deal with the disappointment of an indecision from their king. Samuel, the prophet shows up in verse 11th. He says, what have you done? Asked Samuel. Saul replied, well, when I saw the men were scattering and that you did,

not come at the set time and the Philistines were assembling at McMass. Say McMash. I thought now the Philistines will come down against me up Gilgall and I have not sought the Lord's favor. So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering. You've done a foolish thing, Samuel said. You have not kept the command of the Lord, the Lord your God gave you. If you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure and the Lord has sought a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of the people because you have not kept the Lord's command. Picture Jonathan watching this scene unfold. He's just witnessed his dad be disobedient and they didn't execute the plan that they had worked out.

Now dad takes credit for what he didn't even do and now all of Israel is being punished and they're hiding in caves, in thickets, and in bushes. And now Samuel, the prophet, shows up and says, because of your disobedience, you will never be king again. And I've found one who's a man after my own heart. Now Jonathan realizes my dad's done all of this stuff, and now the kingdom will no longer be in his hands because Jonathan was supposed to be the second king.

And your decisions feels like it derailed my destiny. How about that disappointment? But before we start jumping on the Saul's a bad guy bandwagon it's important that before you to understand the behavior you need to look at the backstory.

It's really important. This is a gap because what you put in that gap determines what it becomes. There's that gap of when you don't understand what do you put in it. So with my dad, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years ago and he passed away.

because when you're in the middle of the disappointment, you never see it for what it is. You only see it when you look back at it. It's only on the other side. But once I get on the other side, I don't want to look back at it. Because I'm over it now. But if you don't deal with it,

the next time you see it, it's just bigger. It's just bigger. That's what happens with this gap of disappointment. So when I started asking people about my father, they let me know he grew up on a farm in Minnesota. And he had an eighth-grade education. because his dad forced him to drop out of school to work on the farm. It was an alcoholic home.

It was a lot of abuse going on. I always saw the 43-year-old that was sitting in the bar. But Grace allowed me to see the 13-year-old that was told you can't go to school anymore. And my heart started to be tender for the 13-year-old. And it made sense of why when I was older, he would make me read the instructions on everything because he never felt smart

because he forfeited his education because of somebody else's dysfunction. And now the cycle was trying to be repeated. See that space of grace when you understand the backstory? The backstory allows you to have some grace. Because in that space, fill in the gap, it will either be blessing or bitterness. Your choice. And if you do nothing, something will grow.

And so when we look at it, at Saul before. Because often when Saul is preached, he's like to post your child for who you don't want to be. Don't be like Saul. No. No. The goal is to not be like somebody else is to be like Jesus. And to understand when you're like that person. Because here's the part about Saul. Saul never wanted to be king of Israel. He did not want it. It was the last thing from his mind. Because nation Israel looked around and says, whoa, we want to be like all the other nations. We want to be like the canites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Gergishites. We want to be like everyone. So give us a King. Isn't it amazing what happens when you start to use other people as your comparison for what

you want to become? That's what nation Israel had. That's what they were doing. You have God as your king, but you want to settle for a human king. But the reason that they were pushed towards that was often the religious system, though. So if you hop back to chapter nine, if you want to do some more study on this. Samuel, the prophet, is getting old, it says. He's got a couple boys that are religious leaders, but they're taking bribes. So Nation Israel is looking at it and go, yo, Samuel, you're about to die anyway. And your kids are a little wicked, so we don't know what's going to happen beyond it. So just give us a human. Just give us a king. And so the last thing often God wants to do is to give you what you want. And the worst thing that could often happen is you get what you

want. A nation Israel gets what they want. So when Shaw shows up on the scene as a boy, as a teenage boy in 2 Samuel in chapter 9, verse 2, it says, I just want to read this. I'm going to do it in my best like James Earl Jones

voice. Because picture this. The only reason Saul got picked is because of how he looked. It was like he was being typecast for a role in a movie, not established as a king over a kingdom. This is an audition.

And it says this, Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel. And he was a head taller than anyone else. That's him. You looked apart. Let's take you. We all do it.

Some guy is watching church right now. It's 11 a.m. Like, Lord, I'm going to hold out for Mrs. Wright. I'm going to hold out for Mrs. Wright. 11 p.m. You get a little lonely. You start making phone calls. You just start looking for Mrs. Wright now.

So don't tell me you're not like Saul. We all settle for the outward appearance. That's what he did. And he was only picked because of what he looked like. What a horrible place to be. To feel like you're being used for somebody else's game. That's how the whole story was Saul gets started. He didn't want to be king.

His father lost some donkeys. So he sends his son Saul to go look for the donkeys. Takes a servant with him. They spend three days looking for the donkeys, and they can't find the donkeys. And he starts distress. I bet my dad's going to be sad or my dad's going to be worried. I wonder if he's going to think I'm a failure.

And he goes to all these things. Finally, they bounce in and one guy says, why don't you go talk to the priest? Talk to the preacher man. He's like, huh, we haven't tried God, so let's try God. Isn't it funny how Saul represents doing everything in her own effort before we ever seek God's help? Don't tell me you're not like Saul.

We'll often use God as a last resort, not a first option. That's Saul. He says, oh, Let's go to the preacher man. So they go to the preacher man. And they walk up and said, are you the preacher man? He didn't even know what he saw him. He says, yes, your donkeys have been found.

And Samuel the prophet speaks something over teenage Saul. He says, here is the one in all of the hopes of Israel lie. You will be king. And he's like, uh-uh, I think, no, no, no, no. I'm like from the tribe of Benjamin. We're like the smallest tribe. My clan is the smallest clan. And like, I'm just, my family's like the worst family.

There's no way I belong. that's how it got started. Samuel, the prophet, takes him to a dinner for all the leaders, and he puts him at the head of the table. And Saul's looking at it like, I don't belong here. I don't want any of this. So when you picture Saul, don't just picture the king. Picture the boy and allows you to have grace in that space. Fill in the gap with some of that grace. Next day, Samuel, the prophet anoints him. Private anointing ceremony. Sends him home. when Saul goes home, they ask him, what'd you do? Well, we found the donkeys.

But he never told anyone that he was anointed to be king of Israel. He never mentioned one word of it to anybody. And then when Samuel, the prophet shows up some days later to do a public anointing, he says, all right, nation Israel, you wanted your king, let's pick him. Has all the tribes come forward?

Then all the families come forward. And then it's Kish's family. And they're like, Saul could not be found. He was hiding with the supplies. He didn't want. to be king. And the only reason they found him is because he was tall. So they bring him and they anoint him. And that's how Saul begins his reign as king, being put in a situation he never asked for and he never wanted. And I think what started as a teenager was a tremendous amount of

insecurity. Here he is a guy who couldn't find the donkeys, couldn't find his donkey with both hands and now he's made king of Israel. I mean, imagine. Like some of you, you know that feeling. Like, I can't do what I've been asked to do. How did I end up in this space? I don't belong here. But what you do is you fake it till you make it, but you feel like you'll never make it. That's Saul. It represents doing everything in our own strength and in our own power. But what you put in that space determines what it becomes. You're at work or you're at the grocery store and somebody you know walks by you and they don't even acknowledge. you. I think you put one of two things in that space. Insecurity. Insecurity. Like, did I do something

wrong? Oh my gosh, should I do something wrong? Or offense. What's wrong with them? I think they're better than me. No, their cat just died. That's nothing to do with you. But why do I always put myself in the middle of the equation? It's because I'm driven by insecurity because I'm a lot like Saul. Turns out there's a little bit of Saul in all of us. But what you put in that gap, determines what it becomes. I remember my wife and I, we went on a cruise probably a couple years ago. I loved it. I'll never get her back on a cruise ship ever again. I could go on a cruise five times a year. She will never set foot in another boat. The first night we were there, I go down to the restaurant because I need to make a reservation. And I'm in line to talk to the matrily.

Right in front of me is an elderly couple, professional cruisers, like live life on a cruise ship. Long line behind me and up talking to the matriety is a man who's taking a very long time. And the couple in front of me is using all kinds of colorful language that would make a sailor blush. And they were entitled to make their reservation at any time. And they were letting everybody know their displeasure with colorful words. I can't ignore that stuff. So I'm like, what do I do? So I tapped him on their shoulder and said, I'm sorry, you probably didn't know this.

But that man's taking a long time because he's on this cruise ship with his wife. And she's terminally ill with cancer. And he's planning their last meal together. together so that every detail would be accounted for. I just thought you might want to know that. And they looked at each other and like, we're horrible people. Amazing what a little bit of understanding does.

Now, in full disclosure, I made that story up. And I never told them. It's a Rehab lie. But it's amazing what a little bit of understanding does. A little bit of grace. changes the way you see everything. Maybe you walked in seeing a fence for somebody, but God will give you grace to see them as a 13-year-old,

not a 43-year-old. And in this story, when Saul, when Samuel shows up on the scene in verse 11, he says to him, what have you done? asked Samuel. Saul said, well, when I saw that the men were scattering and that you did not come at the set time, the Philistines were assembling at McMash.

Say McMash. Let me show you what's going on in this scene. I want to show you. Chris, I need your help. Come stand at the top. What's your name right there? Come here. Yeah, you, you.

Come on. Get the top of the steps. So let me show you what's happening right here. Go to the top of the steps. You guys are going to be my Philistines. Say, hey, Philistines. Some good-looking Philistines right here. So what happens, Philistine is at the top of a mountain,

and where Saul and everybody's all set, they're down at the bottom. And what you have is a positional disadvantage that Saul is staring up at the Philistines, and he's going, oh, snap. Because now when it says in verse 11, when I saw the Philistines assembling at McMash, he's reminded of what he should have done something with days earlier. If he would handle McMash the first time around, he wouldn't be seeing a second time visit.

And he's reminded of what he should have done. And now he's staring at what he should have done with regret. Now let's watch what Saul puts in this gap right. Here. It's fascinating. Give me verse 11. It says, when I saw that the men were scattering and that you did not come and the Philistines, he is filling the space with excuses. Insecurity always expresses itself as excuses. It's the men. They were leaving. And then you preacher, man, you didn't show up when you're supposed to. And then the enemy was doing all this stuff. And he could not take any blame for it. Why? Because he's a 12-year-old little boy. He's living in the same insecurity that's

plagued him his whole life and because he never dealt with it. Now it's so big he can't avoid it. Now it's so big, everybody has to see it. And what happens often when a man has a moral bankruptcy at age 45, it's a thought that he started with at age 15 that he never dealt with. And he buried it and he buried it and he buried it and he buried it. And now it gets to the point that everybody can see it because this is it, this is the Philistines. And I wonder if God would give you the gift of remembering what you say. Because some of you are living life one excuse at a time. And it becomes such a part of your language, you can't even distinguish with it.

And every time you come to this gap and your insecurity is exposed, you fill it with excuse. You fill it with excuse. You fill it with excuse. An insecurity is a weapon of the enemy meant to intimidate you. And that's what's happening in this scene. right now. Can you think of the battles you've come to that you've run from? Because whatever you run from, do you recreate? And you force future generations to deal with it. That's what happens when you come to this gap right here. This gap. This is it right here. But it didn't start in that

moment. It started when he was a teenage boy sitting at the table that he didn't feel like he belonged at. So the insecurity you're dealing with didn't start now. It's just being expressed in a bigger way now. Listen to the language. of your heart. Because some of us will say, well, that's just the way God made me. Why are you blaming your dysfunction on God's design? He don't make junk. He makes great things. He formed you. He fashioned you. Quit excusing it and blaming God for your dysfunction. No. This gap, this gap, he didn't know how to handle, so he retreated. Thank you, Philistines. You guys did a phenomenal job. Give it up for our Philistines.

Yeah, you did. But that's, when you think of Saul, I want you to think of insecurity. Let me illustrate it like this. Let me take out my phone. Let me. Let's do this. I want to take a,

I want to take a selfie. You know, a selfie, what's all about me, Jesus. I mean, so let's take a, let's take a selfie. I mean, a selfie. So everybody smile if you're in the room, hi. So when I post that later, who are you going to look for? Yourself, we're all narcissistic.

We all start with I, but the grace of God allows you to move beyond it. When you're living according to the pattern of soul, you get stuck with I every time. And it's not because you don't care, it's just all you know. That's the thing about insecurity. but the grace of God allows you to move beyond it. We all start with I. Just don't stop there. Just don't stop there.

That's what God wants you to hear today. And Jonathan hears that Samuel has issued an edict that says, Saul, you're no longer the king. I've chosen a man who's after my own heart, God says. That's David. So that's the first mention we get of this little farm boy. he's tended in the back 40, while one king is being rejected, another king is being selected. And in between both of those is this guy named Jonathan.

Because in reality, I don't relate to Jonathan and David, but I don't relate to Jonathan and David. Because Jonathan represents this guy who's tall and handsome. I don't know what the camera looks like. I'm five foot seven standing on something. Like, I am not tall. Handsome, there's two people in this world who would say I'm handsome. My mom and my wife, that's really it. I have never been felt like I've been picked first by anybody, so that's hard for me to relate to Saul.

Now, David's a man who's after God's own heart. He's picked by God. Like, I don't walk around most days go like, like, I feel like I'm picked by God. I don't feel like that. I'm somewhere in between, and that's why I love Jonathan, because he represents this space that's between it. Because in some way, he could have said, my destiny's been derailed because of my dad's decisions. But it wasn't derailed. It was redirected. That's why I love this guy, because of the obedience he walks with. And David enters the scene and now Saul, I'm sorry, Jonathan would end up honoring his father through the rest of his life and serving David. Dad would get all shades of crazy.

Like dad would go through jealous fits of rage and anger and he even tried to kill David multiple times, tried to kill his own son once. And yet he still remained in a space that honored him. That's hard people. That's why I love Jonathan. but he built this relationship with David that would be forged. I want to share one verse that kind of shows

the relationship that they developed because David would go on to be the king. Jonathan would end up submitting to him and serving him even though he should have been the next king. He's serving the one that he should have been king over because he realized there's a greater agenda at store and it's not about me. I don't think Jonathan ever took a selfie.

I think he took a groupie. That's a bad one I know. But in 1 Samuel chapter 20, it says this because this is at a moment that David, it's a tenuous moment in the story. Saul's tried to kill David a couple times. And Jonathan strikes this relationship with him. He says, but if my father intends to harm you,

may the Lord deal with Jonathan, be it ever so severely if I do not let you know and send you away in peace. May the Lord your God be with you as he, He has been with my father, David. But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord's kindness as long as you live so that I may not be killed and do not cut off your kindness from your family,

not even when the Lord has cut off everyone of David's enemies from the face of the earth. Because what Jonathan realizes is that like every other nation, anytime you would have a new king, that new king would kill the entire bloodline of the previous king. It would be completely blotted out so that there would be no way. chance of anybody coming back trying to usurp the authority of the throne.

And David knows what's about to happen. And he's saying, would you remember my family? And he makes this covenant with him. And then the story goes on. Because in the scene of chapter 13, it gets so crazy that all the people are hiding in thickets, in caves, and in bushes. Now Jonathan sees his dad practicing witchcraft. He's given completely up on the battle, and he's doing whatever he can in his

own human efforts to hold on to what he's already lost. And he's looking around going, this is ridiculous. I can't believe we're living like this. What have we become nation Israel? And it comes to this. This is the verse that gets me. This is what I started to see. Verse 23 of chapter 13. It says, now a detachment of Philistines had gone out from the pass at McMash. Say McMash. Are you kidding me? The thing that has dad avoided multiple times now is being stacked with more of the enemy, and he's looking at what should have been done with it. Dad, you should have done something with it by right now. And he sees McMash.

And McMash is this place of his biggest disappointment. Where's your McMash? An unnamed enemy will never be defeated. And what Jonathan demonstrates for us is what we need to do with that gap. Let me show you what the scripture shows here. Give me 14, verse 1. it says one day Jonathan, son of Saul, said to the young armbear, come, let's go over the outposts of the Philistine's on the other side. But he did not tell his father, hey, Philistines, come back up there again.

So what you see with Jonathan is staring at a situation that his father never dealt with. This is called generational sin. This is what it is. And when one generation doesn't put in the gap, what God wants to be, it is handed to the next generation. And now Jonathan is staring at a situation he never chose, but he knows he has to go towards. What his father retreated from, he's going to go towards.

And the beauty of the scripture says he did not tell his father. He did not post it on Instagram. He did not put it on Facebook. He did not call anybody and complain about his dad. Because freedom will never be found through your father's voice. It will always be for your heavenly father's hands. The disappointment. came from his father, but it would not be resolved through his father.

And you keep waiting for that person that disappointed you to say something with their mouth. Healing will come from the hand of your God, not the voice of your earthly person. But he's got this gap. And he's like, oh, snap, I got to do something about this. He says, one day. How about today be the day we deal with that disappointment? I love those two words together, one day. How about this ordinary Sunday that we start dealing with the disappointment?

the thing you've been running from, the thing you've been avoiding, the thing you've been bearing. God is saying right now, this is the day that we're going to deal with your McMash. It is time that you face your McMash. And he looks around, he says, I can't have everybody be a part of this, but I just need one person. I need an armor bear. Come here, Corbyn. He just got, he has one person. This is my son, Corbyn.

He just needed one person. That's all he needed. I think what he demonstrated is this idea of community and accountability. It's too easy to walk away from that you only know by yourself. And he says, if I tell you, I'll probably see it through. That's why you need somebody to have your back. Who has your back? Who has God put in your life that you need to bring closer?

And he said, come on, let's go. Let's go. Let's go. You see them? Yeah, yeah. Give me verse 1 again. 14-1. One day.

One day. Jonathan, son of Saul, said to his young Armour, come, let's go over to the outpost on the other side. But he did not tell his father. Give me verse 6. Jonathan, let's go. Outpost. And he says, perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.

Because now he's got this gap. He's like, let's go, let's take them. We can't live like this anymore. And the best I can give you is perhaps. Perhaps we might die. Perhaps it might work. What we often want God to put in the gap is the outcome. What Jonathan demonstrates in this is he puts in his

obedience. That's the difference. That's the difference. Perhaps I don't know how it's going to work out. God's job is the outcome. Our job is the obedience. Let's go. I don't know how it's going to work. I don't know what's going to happen, but we're going to go take them. We're going to go get them because we can't live like this any longer. And he chooses to close the gap. But in this space, not all disappointments are created equal. Because what I realize is now as a dad, I realize, my biggest disappointments are when my son sees my humanity and my insecurity forces him to feel like it's his fault. That's the part. That's where I relate to Saul. Because sometimes the disappointment is so big you just want to hide because you can't even look at yourself.

Now for me as a dad, when I find those moments, I've got to let the grace of God get in that space. The grace of God allows me to separate what I did from who I am. You made a bad decision as a dad, but that doesn't mean you're a bad dad. That's grace, y'all. That's grace. That's grace. Grace doesn't excuse the behavior. It just helps you know the backstory.

Grace allows you to see who God says you are in that moment. Then grace also allows you to say, son, I'm sorry. Would you forgive me? That's my fault. You had nothing to do with it. That's grace. You want to cut off generational sin?

Grace. Grace. Grace. It's obedience. Grace is not just a flowery word. It's an action. It's an empowerment to step into a situation. But then there's a whole other level of grace that says, let me share my thorns with you. Because if I show you my thorns, maybe you won't have to fight them. But when you hide the thorns, you force the next generation to face the enemy that you were intaminated by. What are you putting in the gap. Now what's amazing about this story is let's go. Let's go take them. Come on. Let's Philistines. They're big, but we get them. There's 30 to 40 fighting men all with swords and spears and they're at a strategic advantage at the top of the hill, but we can get them. Let's go. Let's do it. It's only by God. Because what happens is they would ascend the hill.

They would overthrow these 30 to 40 people and all of nation Israel would see the battle and they would come out of hiding. Do you know that your mcmash is somebody else's miracle? Your mcmash is somebody else's miracle. Thank you, Armour Bear. Thank you, Philistines. That's the thing about your mcmash is as you move towards it, people are watching you. And in this scene, Jonathan and his armor bear, two people that should not have been in that place and up doing something that they should not have had to do because of their father's disobedience, but they chose to face it. And all of that. of nation Israel, because here's the key language of David.

He says, perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. The key word for Saul was I. Jonathan, it was our. There was a very present tense for our. Because in that moment, Jonathan meant perhaps armor bearer, you and me, perhaps we might not die. But then there's also the scene of perhaps, perhaps. nation Israel would be saved. But I also think there's a distant thought

in Jonathan's heart because as he's going up the hill, he's also a father himself. It's one thing to experience disappointment as a son. It's a whole other thing to experience the disappointment of your son. And David would go on to become king. Jonathan would die in battle some years after this, with his father.

How he could keep serving his father is a bit of a mystery to me. That's why he's my favorite Bible story. I'm still trying to uncover what God would want me to see of how he could serve underneath the wicked dad and honor him and yet still be loyal to David. I want to live that life.

I want to stand in that gap and walk in that tension. But Jonathan would pass away. David would be king. And some 30 years after this story, The whole kingdom has been united. Peace is finally resting in the land, and David is king. And God prompts David's heart one day. And in Second Samuel, this is some 30 years after this battle at McMash.

Second Samuel 9, verse 1, David asked, is there anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake? He remembers back to his obedient servant, Jonathan. And God prompts his heart to say, is there anybody that I could show kindness to? Because Saul represents man's best effort. David is God's perfect king. He is a foreshadowing of a Messiah.

He is a forefather to Jesus. He represents Christ. He represents what he would be when he would come one day. Because like all the other nations, all the family bloodlines should have been wiped out. But God. But David. He remembers. And in verse three, one of his servants says, there is still a son of Jonathan, but he's lame in both feet.

And then the 2nd Samuel 9, verses 6 and 7, it says, when Baphibishe, that's the son of Jonathan. Mishvishath is a grown man. He's got his own kids at this point. He was living outside of the promised land for fear that he would be killed. So he's been hiding his whole life. Choices have consequences. Sometimes it causes people to go into hiding for decades.

But God. But God. But God. David remembers my son, my friend Jonathan. Oh yeah, I made this covenant with him to show, kindness. When Mephbethus,

son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. He wasn't sure if he would be killed at that point or what was about to happen. Because again, all the other nations, you'd kill all those people. And he might have been wondering, is David only calling me because

he needs to kill me? But God. But David. Don't be afraid, David said to him, for I will sure show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan. And I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather, Saul. And you will always eat at my table. The table that Saul never felt like he belonged at. The table where he didn't see how he fit in. Because in our own

effort, we try to prove that we belong at the table. We try to show that we deserve a seat at the table. Some of us have been going through life, living in the flesh, the spirit of Saul, that's trying to show you, I deserve it. But God, but David, representing, no, it's not based upon anything you've done. It's based upon who I am. And Maphibishat, you will have everything restored to you. Everything, the enemy. me stole, everything your grandfather forfeited, everything you thought you lost out on, I will restore it to you. And you will always have a seat at my table, Maphibibus chef, because I am good and I am showing you kindness. Because Jonathan stood in that gap, and he didn't make it be about me or

I, but he made it be about our. Maybe, just maybe, God, your grace would shine upon my son one day. Stand up at all of our locations. The presence of the Lord is here because there was a gap that was created between us and God and that was sin. And in the same way Jonathan inserted obedience into it, that's what Jesus did. He inserted himself into that gap

and he filled it with his precious blood so that you and I would be forgiven, so that you and I could be restored, so that you and I could have a seat at the table. Why are we settling for crumbs that fall to the floor when God has given us a seat at the table with him? We are seated in heavenly realms. And right now at all of our locations

and people watching around the world, someone needs to begin a relationship with Jesus. God has made you aware in this moment that you've been trying to prove your worth through your work. Through your own efforts, you're trying to show that you deserve a seat at the table. That's why Saul didn't work.

Because it can't be by the flesh. It can only be by the spirit. And if you need to begin a relationship with Jesus, If you're becoming aware that His grace filled that gap so that you could have a seat at the table this moment is for you. And of all of our locations, would you bow your heads and would you close your eyes and with everybody online joining me in faith right now? If you need to begin this relationship with Jesus, I'm going to lead us in a prayer. As we say these words with your mouth, if you believe it in your heart, God will hear you. He will forgive you and he will restore you.

And he will give you a seat at the table, calling you son, calling you daughter, calling you forgiven. not labeling you by your behavior, but based upon who he says you are. That's the God that we serve. So pray with me out loud, church family. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God who died on the cross and rose from the grave to forgive me of my sins. I give you my life. I give you my sin.

I give you my shame. Forgive me. and I'll spend my life following you. With your head still bowed and your eyes still closed. If you just place your faith in Jesus, I'm going to count the three. When I get there, without hesitation,

boldly shoot your hand into the air. One, two, three. Shoot your hand up. Shoot it up. Keep it up high. Online. Drop it in the chat. If you just made that decision for Jesus, come on, let us know.

We're celebrating with you. Come on, church, ma'am, the family of God. Well, if you enjoyed today's podcast, there are a couple things I'd love for you to do. Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. You can also help us reach others by investing today at elevationchurch.org slash give. And thanks again for joining us on the Elevation Podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.