In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of viewing life's challenges and circumstances as opportunities for growth and preparation. He uses the example of David, who faced many trials and obstacles but always looked to God for guidance and strength. The speaker encourages the audience to have a similar perspective and to trust in God's sovereignty. He also highlights the importance of both following and leading, stating that effective leadership stems from a foundation of followership. Overall, the sermon emphasizes the theme of preparation and how God uses various circumstances to prepare individuals for their calling.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, AFP, 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Amen. That sounds like a good goal for the next year of your life. Every one of us in this room. Lord, give me one soul this next year. And I'm not going to let up, and I'm not going to quit crying to you, and I'm not going to quit speaking to people until you give me a soul in the next year. That will make your life uncomfortable. Thank you, Brother Wes. Thank you, brother. Well, I greet each one in the name of the Lord Jesus this morning, this last day of Bible school. Welcome, you moms and dads. I know many of you came just for this day. It's good that you're here this morning. You get a little bit of a sense of what God has been doing in the lives of your children, so you'll know how to guide them and direct them when you get back home. And young people, if I could just say a word to you, God bless you. You've been good young people this week. You've done well. You listened. You gave us open hearts. And I want to bless you for that. The principals tell me, one of the nicest Bible schools they've ever had. It's because of you. It's because you set your heart in the right place. You submitted yourself to the directions that were given to you. You opened your heart to the Word of God. You responded properly. God bless you for that. We appreciate it. All of us that had responsibilities in this Bible school, God bless you for that. You just walk in that now, in the days ahead. Okay? Alright, I'd like us to open our Bibles to Psalm 61. We are giving the last session, session number six, in our study of David, a man after God's own heart. We've seen many different aspects of how David was a man after God's own heart. Today's examples are just more of the same. The title of the message is, The School of Christ for David. The School of Christ for David. We're going to look at a very special school that God put David in. And I trust that we'll be able to see, through the eyes of the Spirit of God, that God is also offering us a very special school, that He may train us for that which He has planned for our lives. The School of Christ for David. I can't think of a better introduction than Wes' message this morning. Because, young people, I want to convince you to enroll in this school, just like David enrolled in his school. And if you do enroll in the School of Christ for your life, I guarantee you, you will be uncomfortable. And, by the way, the School of Christ is not just for young people. I've been a Christian for almost 33 years. The school never ends. It just changes classrooms. That's all. Amen? It never ends. And it is an uncomfortable school. God will stretch you beyond your limits, just about as often as you're willing to let Him. That's my own experience. Life on the edge can be uncomfortable, but let me also encourage you, it's very exciting to live on the edge. We've been reading, in the Psalms, just maybe one or so each and every day, as we realize that these Psalms of David were written as the outflow of the life or the school that David was in. David had some very difficult classrooms that God ordered for him. In Psalm 61, we see the cry coming out of his heart as he stretched himself in uncomfortable situations in the school that God had him in. Psalm 61 connects with a song that we sing often. It's in our hymn book, number 64. It's one of my favorite songs. But, here, David's heart as he walks through one of the experiences in the school that God had him in. Hear my cry, O God. Attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee. You ought to remember now, David, he has no place to lay his head. He's in some difficult situations when these things are being written. And, yes, maybe he's crying to God from that side of Israel, the land of Canaan, one time. And three weeks later, he's living in a cave over here on the other side of Canaan. From the ends of the earth I cry unto Thee, David says. When my heart is overwhelmed, and it is very many times overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Hallelujah! For Thou hast been a shelter for me and a strong tower from the enemy. And, by the way, David is not living under shelters. He doesn't have a place to put his head, but yet he can say that God has been his shelter and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Thy tabernacle forever. I will trust in the culvert of Thy wings. And, by the way, that's a beautiful place to hide under the wings of the Almighty God. And David saw that. He saw through the eyes of his heart. He saw God as a God who protected him and just put out His big wings over him and kept him and was a shelter to him, even though he had no idea what was going to happen next in his life in the wilderness. For Thou, O God, hast heard my vows. Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear Thy name. Thou wilt prolong the king's life and his years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever. O, prepare mercy and truth which may preserve him, so will I sing praise unto Thy name forever, that I may daily perform my vows. And I had another one that I wanted to read, but we won't. During the introduction, I mentioned to you that the whole of David's life, as we study it, seems to have one watchword that covers the whole thing. And that watchword is the word preparation. As we study the life of David in his youth, all we can do is see one word which covers the whole thing. Preparation. God is using many different circumstances to prepare this young man for the work that God is calling him to do. Young people, it's supposed to be the same thing for you. If anything should cross over your life, if there should be any sign that is on your life in the youth of your life, it should be the word preparation. God had David in a special school. It wasn't like this school, where you just come together, you know, and there's lots of other friends around you, and you sit in these comfortable seats, and teachers get up and give you truth, and you write it down on a piece of paper, and you go home and do whatever. I don't know what you're going to do with all that you've learned. This school was not that way. The school that David was in, it was a special school, ordered and designed by a sovereign God, an all-wise God who had David's best interest and his glory in mind. To the sincere young child of God, the watchword is the same. Preparation. God prepares the vessels that He uses in a school, a very special school. Every one of them that He uses, He prepares them in a very special school. I promise you, in this school, special lessons are taught. Character is developed in this school that God puts you in. The Bible is learned in the heart. Motives are purified, young people. You have a special teacher in this school. His name is the Holy Spirit of God. And there are special classrooms, and as diverse as God is, that's how diverse those classrooms are. God will order them out of His all-wise heart specifically for you. He knows who you are. He knows what your needs are. He'll order them, I mean, down to the detail. And He has exactly in mind what to do in that school and in that classroom. Like all schools, you must enroll. You must choose to go to the school. You chose to come here. You filled out an application. You got that application in the mail, and you looked at that, and maybe you pondered it a bit, and maybe you brought it to your parents, and then finally you made your decision. You said, I'm going to go. I'm taking off work. I'm taking off this. I'm making the payment. I'm going to pay to go there. I'm going to pay to travel there, and I'm going to go to that Bible school. You had to enroll. You made a choice. And then when you came here, you put on the mind of a student. It's the same way in God's school. Exactly the same way. You need to make a choice. There needs to be a surrender. Yes, Lord, I'll get in your school. I recommend this school to you young people. I recommend it to you. How exciting to get in God's school. You know, maybe some of you have at times had some thoughts in your mind. You know, maybe you thought, I'd like to go to Bible school. I'd like to go away somewhere to a Bible school for six weeks or maybe a year and just sit there and learn the Bible. Well, I'm telling you young people, God is inviting you to a school which is so much more effective than any Bible school where you might go. And I'd have to give my own testimony. I went to a Bible school and I sat in those classes and I wrote down all those notes. But I'll tell you this young people, when I got out of that Bible school, God put me in His school and that's where He trained me for the ministry that I have today. He didn't train me in that Bible school. He trained me in this school that I'm going to talk to you about this morning. And there was a lot of things I had to unlearn that I got in that Bible school. God had to change my mind on many, many things. Do not sit there and think, oh, I don't have any Bible school. You have a school like you can't imagine if God could only open your eyes to see it for what it really is. David was in one of these schools. And I pray by the time that I finish here this morning that I can convince most of you to enroll by choice in that school and put on the mind of a student and decide in the depths of your heart, I am going to enroll in God's school. Now, there were two major guiding principles that David lived by that made this school so effective in his life. And I want to cover them here quickly. Two major principles. Number one, and it's very clear to see that God, that David understood this principle. God is a sovereign king. He has the power and authority over my life. And He will order my life the way He wants. And I will submit to His order and see His hand in it all. David saw that principle. So, God is a sovereign king. And He has power and authority over my life. He can order it any way He wants. And I will gladly submit to that order. That was the first principle. The second principle. God has placed authorities in my life. I must submit to and honor those human authorities that He has placed in my life. God has placed them over me. God works through these human authorities. David believed that principle also. And young people, if I kick against those human authorities which God has placed in my life, I kick against God. The key to these two principles and the success of these two principles is surrender. Surrender. Take these two principles away or out of David's life and you don't have much school left for David. The school of Christ has lost its effectiveness. Take these two principles out of your life and you will have very little school either, young people. As I meditated upon these two principles, I realized something. One of these principles deals with the vertical. God and me. The other one deals with horizontal, lateral. Me and my authorities. Or the people around me. Isn't that interesting how simple that is? Those two principles. Now let's look at David's school just a little bit here this morning and see some of the classrooms that God ordered for David. And see how these two main principles were worked out in David's life as he walked through the classrooms that God ordered for him. And you know, I thought about it this morning, early this morning. It's good that this message comes today rather than on Friday with all these moms and dads sitting in the room. Because moms and dads, you have a very important part in the school of Christ for the young people that are in this room. And you will see that as we go. So I say those words just to alert all you moms and dads. We're not just speaking here. You are a vital link in the school of Christ for your young people. So let's look at this school. The school of Christ that God ordered for David to prepare him to be an influence to millions of people. Number one, back to the sheepfold. Back to the sheepfold again, young people. You are going back to the sheepfold when you leave here, probably tonight or tomorrow morning. You are going back to your sheepfold. God, the sovereign King, put David in a sheepfold. But I want you to notice something, young people, today. God put David in that sheepfold by the hand of his father. It was David's father who put him in the sheepfold. His earthly father. It was one of the most divinely prepared and the most far-reaching classrooms that David had. But God placed him in that sheepfold by the hand of his earthly father. Isn't that interesting? I want us to notice this. Jesse did not come to David. David's father, Jesse, he didn't come to David and say, My son, God has spoken to me. And God has something very special for you to do. And you must train for that which God has for you to do in the sheepfold. So now you go out there and you get busy and you get to training. Jesse didn't say that to David. It's very probable that it just happened to be the need of the time. It's very probable that, yes, there was the least job that needed to be done and David was the least of all the sons and it fell to him to take the least job around the place. But yet, it was the sheepfold, it was the training ground where God would put so many things in David's life. Did you get that, young people? God was very clearly in it. David submitted to his father. He probably didn't see that God was in it in the beginning. It was probably just a little menial job. No one else wants it, so I'll take it. This is what Father wants, so I'll do it. I would encourage you to live with that kind of faith, young people, because God may not open up the door of your heart and show you all the things that He wants you to do down the road. He would just like you to submit to the sheepfold that He has placed you in and leave the future to Him. Amen? Leave it to Him. Notice number two. Jesse and Samuel called David to the feast. Two human authorities in David's life called him to the feast. And Samuel anointed David that day. David was guided by his authorities. But a sovereign God was in it all. Number three, Jesse sent him back to the sheepfold. After that was done, God used Jesse, David's father, to send him back to the sheepfold. And David submitted. He obeyed. He could have thought, I'm not going back to the sheepfold. I'm going to be the next king in Israel. But David so clearly saw this matter of God sovereignly working in his life and God working that sovereign thing through human authorities that when his father said, OK, son, back to the sheep, out he went. And it was God. What a beautiful place to put a young man who has just heard the words, Thou shalt be king over Israel. Stick him out there in the wilderness where he can humble himself and get to know God better. What a beautiful place to put him. David submitted. Notice number four. Saul called him to his court through his father Jesse. Through his father Jesse. And Jesse sent him. Again, human authorities. It wasn't some mysterious move of God that came upon David and put him there. No! It was just God working through human authorities. But look what God was doing. Setting David up for the most fruitful ministry his life could ever have. And he just used a couple of human authorities to do it. David said, Jesse, the king is calling for you. Leave your sheep and go and serve the king and whatever he needs. And bring your harp along, son. Yes, father. And away he went. And God was setting David up to stand in the court of the king and learn. Number five. Jesse called him back to the sheepfold after that. I need your help again, son. I need your help. Oh, but father, don't you realize I'm standing before the king. I won't be taking care of your sheep anymore. I've got more important things to do now. I'm standing before the king. Yes, father. I'll come and watch your sheep. More quiet reflection, amen. Get out there in the bush for a while, David. Fellowship underneath the stars at night. And absorb all the things that are coming into your life as you stand before the king of Israel. Get back out there to the sheepfold, David. Number six. Jesse sent him to bless his brothers at the battle. Look at that. Again, it was dead. Now, who knows? Maybe David got some impressions out there in the wilderness. Maybe God was warning him a bit. Maybe God was stirring in his heart. You know, God does that before big battles come. He doesn't just leave us there by ourselves. But whatever was happening out there as David was taking care of those sheep, God didn't go tell David, David, it's time to slay a giant. This is what I want you to do. Head over there and take care of him. No. God moved in the heart of David's father again. And Jesse said, You know, David, I think maybe we ought to see how the boys are doing. You take these provisions and go check on the war and see how our boys are doing. Okay, father. He left someone else to care for his sheep and he went to the battle. And all the while, God was setting David up to take care of that giant. But he did it through his father. Are you listening, young people? He did it through his father. King Saul gave David permission to go and fight Goliath. Do you think about that? You know, David, he was standing out there. He was right out there on the front lines. That's what he says. He went right there to the front where the battle was, you know. And he saw that giant standing out there and all those things that were taking place. I mean, he could have just as easily, you know, just went out there and took care of the whole thing all on his own. No. He found himself before Saul. And he laid his heart out to Saul and said, This is what God has put in my heart to do. What do you think? And Saul looked him over and thought he was a little small. His face was a little ruddy. And Saul said, I don't think you can do it. I don't think you better go. And even at that, David didn't just say, The guy doesn't know who I am. I think I'm just going to go take care of that giant anyway. You know, he didn't do that. He made an appeal then to Saul. This is what happened when I was out in the wilderness. And a lion came along and I took care of him. And a bear came along and God gave me the grace to take care of him. And God will give me the grace to take care of that uncircumcised Philistine too. And Saul listened and said, Go do it. And the Lord be with thee. Under authority. Look at that. Got the King's blessing on him. He was a man under authority, wasn't he? Young people. Number eight. Saul called him to stand before him continually. But even that he did it through Jesse. Sent word back to Jesse. And Jesse gave word back to David. Go and stand before him continually. And Saul gave him a permanent place of authority. David's response to his human authorities. We must learn from that, young people. They're not little things. David's response to human authorities. What a revelation we have in these eight points that we've looked at. Do you see the mysterious hand of a sovereign God working? In everyday things. Through everyday human authorities in David's life. But all the while, if you pull back the veil, you can see. It was God. It was God working through those different authorities. To work out His purposes in David's life. Take away that view of God's sovereignty. And that submission to it. Take away that submission to authority. And David has no school. Young people, you take those two principles away from your life. And you will have no school either. Oh, you might have a little school of your own design. You know, sometimes young people, they get to thinking they're pretty smart. In fact, believe it or not, but they really think, some of them do. That they know more than their mom and dad. Can you imagine that? I'm teasing you. Because most of you thought that a few times, haven't you? Let me see your hands. Look, mom and dad, look! But I want to encourage you young people, don't do that. You may be able to plan out some nice little school of your own design. But it will not be the effective school that you need to prepare you for that which God has for you in the days ahead. Don't plan your own school. Don't do it. David's beautiful response to these human authorities is a good example to us, remember? We're learning principles by example. And David is a beautiful example to us. He is a man after God's own heart, young people. And this principle right here is one of the key principles that set that young man apart and made him a man after God's own heart. He obeyed, didn't he? But let's go deeper than that. He did more than obey, if we look at it. He honored those human authorities. There's more to it, young people, than just doing what you're told. Now, if that's where you're at, praise God, I think it's right to do what you're told. But it actually goes much deeper than that. God has much more for you than just doing what you're told. God bless you if you do that. But God wants to take you deeper than that. There's a deeper principle there. Remember, God gives basic statements in the Word of God and they're foundational. He can broaden them throughout all the Scriptures. Consider this this morning, young people. David knew the Ten Commandments. He knew them well. Did you ever notice in the Ten Commandments, which were given there in Exodus chapter 20, that it doesn't say, children, obey your parents? Did you ever notice that? It doesn't say, children, obey your parents, in the Ten Commandments. It says, honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee. Oh yes, the obey is in there, but it's a side issue. The deepest issue is honor. And David, so beautifully, he understood his relationship with his father and his other authorities, and he so beautifully lived out that spirit of honor. And we'll see it so clearly. Obedience flowed out of his honor and his reverence for those authorities in his life. It is more than just doing what you're told. Maybe you're sitting here today and you say, I obey my authorities, but it still doesn't go well with me. This may be the reason. Because many times, if you've grown up in a Christian home, you know, you know what you're supposed to do. And maybe through discipline or all kinds of other means, you are at such a place where you do what you're told. You sit here today and say, but it doesn't seem to go well with me. Would you take a good long look at honor? David honored his authorities. Do you honor them? What is honor? It is that undercurrent of high esteem which graces every interaction with your authorities. Honor? It is that undercurrent of high esteem that graces every interaction with your authorities. That's what honor is, young people. And David had that undercurrent of high esteem, and it carried him through some pretty difficult waters, which we will see. I believe this is the quality that shined when it says in the Scriptures, David behaved himself wisely. He had that undercurrent of high esteem in every relationship with his authorities. And it won him a place in the king's heart and in the king's court, until the king found out who David was. Remember, through all these interactions, except the first ones, David knew that he was going to be the next king. Yet still, there was that undercurrent of high esteem. Even though he knew in his heart, I am the next king of Israel. Yes, Father. You want me to go back to the sheepfold? Yes, I'll do that. Yes, I'll do that, Father. Even though he knew he was going to be the next king over all of Israel. Amen, David. Thank you for your example. There he stands before Saul, the king. The king that's on his way out. And the king that's on his way in is standing before the king that's on his way out. And there's Saul, stumbling around and bumbling around, and he's getting upset, and he's depressed, and he throws javelins around in the courtroom. He's filled with deceit. He's a liar. He's filled with wrong judgment. And David stands before him. And in the midst of that kind of a king, the undercurrent of high esteem permeates every interaction with the king. Are you listening, young people? It doesn't matter how high and great your aspirations are. It doesn't matter what you see. It doesn't matter how great you are. It doesn't matter how wise you are. It doesn't matter how many things that you think you see better than your mom and dad or the authorities in your life. It doesn't even matter if God has already told you that you're going to be a king. None of that matters. Let that undercurrent of high esteem permeate every interaction with your authorities. And I know there's a few of you in this room. You're in a hard place. You've got a hard case. And maybe you'll need to talk to someone. By the time I get done with this message, maybe the battle's already raging inside your heart now. I know some of you have difficult situations. But any of you have your dad throw a javelin at you lately? David was in a pretty hard place. Let's go on to the next phase of David's lessons. David's principles of honoring authority were tested. The classroom changes. You know, it was a nice classroom there in the sheepfold. It was nice being out there under the stars and caring for the sheep. And it was nice to be with his dad. And it was nice to stand before the king and play. And the king was very happy with it all. That was a nice classroom. He really enjoyed that one. But all of a sudden, the classroom changes on David. But these two guiding principles continue to mold David's life even though the classroom changes. Saul eyes David. The Bible said, he heard the ladies singing, Saul has slain his thousands and David has slain his ten thousands. And that green-eyed monster of envy and jealousy grips Saul's heart. And the fear of being replaced is brought in. These things are brought into this relationship of authority. Now, all of a sudden, David's dealing with authority, with an authority that is jealous of him and envious of him and afraid that this guy's going to take my place. And the classroom changes. Isn't God's Word beautiful? You know, if we would have just stopped there with David slaying Goliath and becoming a very renowned man in Israel, we might look at that and say, yeah, well, look, he had a nice home and his dad was a good dad. We looked at his heritage there a few days ago. You might just say, yeah, well, he had a nice place and it was a good home. And that's why God used him that way. But no, God doesn't stop there. God's got some other training for David. Not all training is comfortable. Some of it can be very uncomfortable. And David moves into a very uncomfortable stage of training in his life. So we can look at it all and say, hmm, I don't have it that tough. I'm not sleeping out under the stars at night and I haven't slept in a cave lately. What a shock to David! The Scripture says in 1 Samuel 18, and I'd like you to turn there, 1 Samuel 18, it says, the next day, the next day, oh, the glory didn't last too long for David. 1 Samuel 18 and verse 10, it says, And it came to pass on the morrow that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house. And David played with his hand, as at other times, and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin, for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice. And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him and was departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from him and made him his captain over a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. What a shock to David. Saul throws a javelin at David. Twice it happened to him. Saul removes him, demotes him from a place standing before him to a captain over a thousand men. Saul sends him out to the battle hoping that he'll die. I mean, look at the motives of this authority. You know, sometimes you might think, I'm not sure about my mom and dad's authority, or I'm not sure about their motives and what they're doing and why they're saying no, or maybe it's some authority in your life, other ones, and you think, I'm not sure about their motives. Well, I'm not sure about Saul's motives here. You know, his motive was to send him out to battle. Maybe he'll die out there on the battlefield and that will take care of my whole problem. But listen, there is a sovereign Lord who sits on the throne watching over all of the universe and He watches over each and every one of our lives and nothing gets past Him! Nothing! If God has something for David to do, Saul can put him into every kind of difficult situation and he won't die. And it's the same for you young people. Your moms and dads, they're not perfect. They make mistakes and maybe sometimes they even say no out of a motive that is not exactly right. Don't worry about it. Get in the school, friend! Get in the school! God can translate that into beautiful things in your life. And by the way, someday you're going to be an authority too. And guess what? You won't do everything right, I promise you. So you may as well learn to take some of it now. Amen? Send him out to battle hoping that he would die. Saul takes his wife away and gives him a lesser wife hoping that she might trouble him. And she did trouble him. Saul requires a dowry. I want a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. But look at the honor of David. David says, Oh, how could this be that a poor man like me could be the son-in-law to the king? You want a hundred foreskins of the Philistines? I'm going to get two hundred. Just to let Saul know how important it is to me. I'll get two hundred of them. Saul tries to turn Jonathan against David. That's David's best friend. Saul tells his servants, Kill him. Kill him. Talk about difficult circumstances. And beside that, after another war with the Philistines, and again, David just behaved himself wisely and he was a valiant soldier out on the battle after another war with the Philistines and David shined again as a good soldier. That old spirit of Indian jealousy came on Saul one more time and it seems to me as I study Saul's life that somehow that must have been the root of that evil spirit from God that kept tormenting him. David did a good job and Saul's all up in arms again and that evil spirit is tormenting him and guess what? He calls for David. And guess what? David went. I mean, put yourself in his shoes. His principle of honor is unshakable. Now, he must have been in a confusion at that time. What is going on? Maybe he even thought, it's not Saul. It's that evil spirit that I'm dealing with. He's the guy that threw that javelin at me. Who knows what he thought, but he must have been in a confusion. But he went anyway. He went anyway. And Saul throws a javelin at him again and then finally David flees as a fugitive running for his life. And for several years, David lives on the run. He is chased like a dog out in the wilderness for seven years. By who? My Master. The Psalms we read, many of them were the outflow of this period of David's life. God changes the classroom again for David. You're not in the city anymore, David. You're not leading a thousand anymore. No, now you're a fugitive. You're accounted as a rebel. You go run and hide in sticks and sleep in caves, David. What? I'm the king. Yes, David, you're the king, but you're in my classroom and I'm changing the classroom again. Now you go live in the wilderness for seven years and lay your head down on a rock at night and wonder whether you'll be alive tomorrow. I don't know what kind of classroom you're in, young people, but I want to encourage you to look at your classroom the way that David looked at his. The way that David looked at the giant. Remember there a couple of days ago, he looked at the giant this way. His eyes were heavenward and he saw through the eyes of a sovereign God and then he looked at the dead Goliath. And he saw through the eyes of a sovereign God and then he looked at the circumstances around him and he submitted himself to the sovereignty of God working in his life. Can you do that, young people? Can you surrender your life? Can you so surrender your life that you could allow God to do whatever He wants to do and order whatever He wants to order in your life in the days to come? Can you do that? Will you do that? David submitted himself to God as God changed his classroom again. The death of a vision comes to David. Oh, there were some times when he really wondered if he was ever going to be the king while he was out there. But out there, God purified his motives. Out there, he was pressed into a closer relationship with God. Out there, he was taught to trust God in ways that he could have never learned standing in the king's court. Out there, he was filled with compassion for the down and outers which permeated his whole ministry as a king all of his days. You read the Psalms, you'll see it. Out there, God wrought brokenness in his heart which is the only way that God can use us as if we're broken. God wrought those things out there in that classroom, young people. Out there, God gave him the blessed privilege of writing the Psalms of the sufferings of Christ. Psalm 22 and others. It was out there in that classroom that David gained the insights and the experiences that Psalms of the sufferings of Christ came out. It was there. You might look at it from a natural perspective and say, oh, he's wasting his life. Why didn't he just go take care of that king's soul and get on with king's business? No, young people. The king's business. It don't work that way. We don't knock people out of the way and take their place. This is the king's business. And God wrought brokenness in his heart. We may look at it and say, oh, he's wasting his life away. Yeah, well. Remember John Bunyan? Many people told him, you're wasting your life, John Bunyan. Fifteen years you're going to sit in that prison cell just because they told you not to preach on the street corners and you told them when I get out of this prison, I'm going to preach on the street corners. And they came to him and said, John, you can preach in the church all you want. There's that uncomfortable life again, Wes. You can preach in the church house all you want. And you can go home at night and be with your family. And what about your little blind girl? Wouldn't you like to be with her? All you have to do is bow your heart and not preach on the street corners. Nope. If you let me out of here, it's out on the street corners for me. And many looked at him and said, you fool! You're wasting your life sitting here in that prison. Yeah. No, he's not wasting his life. He's writing Pilgrim's Progress. That's what he's doing. Read by millions and millions and millions of people for nearly 300 years. Yeah, he wasn't wasting his life. I'm not going to read these verses because I don't have the time. But David finds himself on one occasion in a cave. The same cave where Saul is, David is. He was hiding in the shadows and Saul's men came in there and found a place for Saul to sleep all night. And there was David. And David's men were with him. And one of David's men said, David, remember when you told us that God's going to take care of this man for you? Remember when you told us that? Here he is. Right here. Take care of him and go be the king. And the Bible says that David reached down in the still of the night and cut a little bit of the skirt off of Saul's garment. And when he cut that little bit of skirt off of Saul's garment, the Bible says, his heart smote him. What was it that smote him? It is that undercurrent of high esteem in the life of David. It was in his heart. So much so that when he just did that little disrespectful thing, his conscience pricked him. Look at that honor. He went away and didn't slay Saul. Morning time came. Saul got up. Headed out on his way. And when David waited for Saul to get a little ways away, and then David came out of the cave. And the Bible says that he called out Saul's name and Saul turned around and he dropped down on his knees and bowed before Saul. And they had quite a conversation there today. That day, we don't have time to look at it, but I want you to see that honor again that's there in David's heart. These two guiding principles are there all the way through the trials of David's life. He honored. And even when the news came to him that Saul and Jonathan were dead, you know, you would have thought, okay, by then now he could say, Praise God! Finally! No. That undercurrent of high esteem was so much in David's heart that even then, he broke down and wept and mourned all day at the news that Saul was dead. And wrote a song honoring Jonathan. In closing, young people, I want to encourage you to make a conscious choice to enroll in this special school where God can prepare you. This God is our God forever and ever. He changes not. My challenge to you is this, young people. Sometime today, all those prayer rooms are back there. Sometime today, you steal away into one of those little prayer rooms by yourself and you get down on your knees before God and you surrender this. You tell God, I am enrolling in Your school. Do with me whatever You want. Give me whatever class I need. I surrender to Your sovereign work in my life. Take my job away if You want to. Cause the engine in my vehicle to explode if You want to. Put me in a hard situation if You want to. Give me a hard boss if You want to. Do with me whatever You want, but train me. You get on your knees before God and you make that kind of commitment, and you say, okay God, I surrender to the school that You have for me. And then number two, you go to your authorities, your mom and your dad, and you make things right if they're not right. You go to them and you make things right. And get under their authority. And young people, you go to your father and you tell your father the same thing you just told your Heavenly Father. Touch me. Speak into my life. Touch my music. Touch my clothes. Guide my life. Direct me. I'm giving you that freedom. Get under their authority and stay there. Learn to respect and honor. And God will direct your paths. Do that. And lastly, I want you to notice this. David was one of the most studied leaders. One of the most studied, dynamic, successful leaders there ever was. Agreed? His leadership flowed out of his followership. Agreed? It flowed out of his followership. If you do not learn to follow, you will never be able to lead. I promise you. You will make a mess of leadership if you don't learn to follow. And I direct that more over here than over here. Your roles in life are different. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Oh Father in Heaven, thank you. Thank you for the testimonies of the Lord. How beautiful they are, Lord. Thank you for the life of David. Write these things on our hearts, Lord. These things which we've been learning these few days, God, write them on the tables of our hearts that we will never ever forget them. And I know, Lord, maybe some are struggling in this very moment. Lord, there's a war going on inside of them. I pray that you will quiet the war in their heart with your still, small voice. I pray for these young people, God. These kings, these queens, these princes, these princesses, these prophets and teachers and elders and missionaries, all these servants of God, Lord, in the future, I pray for them. Lord, help them to enlist in your school, to be trained for your glorious work. I pray this all in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.