DAVID #10-  "WHO WILL YOU TURN TO"?...(1 Sam. 21:10-15)
(John 6:68-"Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.")-As we look at this passage it makes you wonder, "Has David lost his marbles?"  Here we see the Sweet Singer of Israel; the giant killer; the man who would be king of Israel; acting like a mad man. Here is a man who has thrown all of his self-respect to the wind. Here is a man who appears to have hit rock bottom in his life.
Every person under the sound of my voice is going to be affected by this message, because each we all prop ourselve up on someone or something to help us get through the day. We all have a well developed support system in place. We depend on the people and the things in our lives to help us make it; and,  we are guilty of leaning on our support system more heavily and more often that we lean upon the Lord.  But, God did not save us so we could rest ourselves in other people and in other things. God saved us to walk in absolute dependence upon Him. (John 15:5-" I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.")
*Today we will learn that THROUGH TIME & TESTING, David was taught to learn solely upon the Lord.
I. DAVID’S SUPPORT SYSTEM IS DEVELOPED
Up to this point, David has done everything right in his life. He has been the absolute model of faith, courage, obedience, integrity and devotion to God and to his king. But, he is still a very young man, and has a good way to go before he is ready for the throne!  David needed some stability in his life...(WE ALL DO!)
A. He Leaned On The Support Of Position – 1 Sam. 18:13 – A humble shepherd boy had been promoted to a captain over a thousand in Saul’s army. He was also the chief musician in Saul’s court. His work gave him stability in his life. He needed that; he leaned on that. 
B. He Leaned On The Support Of Popularity – 1 Sam. 18:16 – The people of Israel loved David and respected him for what he had done and how he conducted himself before them. David leaned on the support of the people.
C. He Leaned On The Support Of People – God placed some special people in the life of David during those difficult days. 
1. The Partner Michal – 1 Sam. 18:20, 28 – David was given a wife who genuinely loved him.--(your spouse)
2. The Prince Jonathan – 1 Sam. 18:1-4 – Jonathan proved to be a faithful friend to young David. He was David’s eyes and ears in the throne room. Jonathan even placed his friendship to David higher than his allegiance to his own father.--(your friends)
3. The Prophet Samuel – 1 Sam. 16:13; 19:18 – The old prophet was also a support in the life of David. Samuel taught David about sacrifice, service and worship.--(your church, pastor)
D. He Leaned On The Support Of Pride – 1 Sam. 18:15 – David took pride in the life he lived and he knew how to carry himself before me. He probably placed a great deal of emphasis on during the right thing. He had self-respect, self-control and self-esteem. His pride was a crucial part of his support system. Nothing wrong with the right kind of pride!--(direction from God's word)   Thank God for the supports, props, crutches, or whatever you want to call them that God has placed in our lives to help us make it! 
II. DAVID’S SUPPORT SYSTEM IS DISMANTLED
A. The Process Of The Dismantling – David’s support system was in place, but it was not going to last for very long. God allowed a series of events to take place in David’s life that destroyed and removed every single prop he had in his support system.  David became a man hunted by his enemies; haunted by death and hounded by destruction.                                                                                                                                                         

1. David Lost His Position – The Captain of Israel’s army, the greatest battlefield hero in the nation’s history, has become a fugitive from justice.
2. David Lost His Popularity – As one removed from the public eye, David was soon forgotten by people as they sided with Saul. 
3. David Lost His People – Every person that David leaned on in his life was taken away.-(Michal his wife)(Jonathan his friend)(Samuel his preacher)
4. David Lost His Pride –(1 Sam. 21:10-15)- He goes into the palace of King Achish, the king of the Philistines, to see if this king will give him sanctuary. Imagine, the champion of the armies of Israel runs to the palace of the enemy to try and find a friend!  But, the Philistines have not forgotten that it was David who destroyed their champion. David is filled with fear that the Philistines will retaliate, so he pretends to be a raving lunatic.-He is alone, afraid and alienated. God has brought David from the very top to the very bottom of life...Why would the Lord do that to a person he loved?
B. The Purpose Of The Dismantling –God did this to David so that David would learn to lean on the Lord and not on all the other props he had constructed in his life! 
All the way through life we lean on one thing and one person after another. We trust look to our parents when we are young. Later we lean on teachers, schooling and friends. Then, our prop becomes a job or a pile of money somewhere.  Everything in my support system can and will fail; but if we learn to lean solely on the Lord, He will never fail.
It’s not easy to take, but the truth is, when the Lord finds us leaning on everything else in our lives instead of Him; He will begin the painful process of dismantling our support system one prop at a time. He does not do this to harm us; but to help us!
III. (Psalm 34)- DAVID’S SUPPORT SYSTEM IS DECLARED
Did David learn to lean solely on the Lord? I think he did!   He writes about this process in Psalm 34.  If you will notice the title of this Psalm; it shows us when it was written. It came about after all the props had been removed from David’s life. It also shows us that David’s focus had been turned toward God in Heaven.
(v. 1-3)---- He Learned To Lean On The Lord’s Praise 
(v. 4-7)- ---He Learned To Lean On The Lord’s Protection – Instead of running to Jonathan, Michal or Samuel to try and find protection; David has learned the lesson that God is the One Who protects His people. Isa. 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”
(v. 8-10)--- He Learned To Lean On The Lord’s Provision – He doesn’t need the kindness of others, or the bread from the Tabernacle.
(v. 11-17)- He Learned To Lean On The Lord’s Promises– David has learned that the promises of men do not amount to must. 
(v. 18)----- He Learned To Lean On The Lord’s Presence –
(v. 19-22)- He Learned To Lean On The Lord’s Preservation -In the end, not a single crutch that David leaned on was able to secure him or protect him. He learned the priceless, eternal truth that God preserves His people. (Psalm 61:2, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”)