Attitude Determines Altitude - Shawn Miller

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Chapters

• 0:00 Storm Update And Safety Check
• 2:20 Life On The Mountain After The Storm
• 4:10 Prayer, Uncertainty, And Trust In God
• 5:28 Introducing The Sermon Theme
• 6:40 The Attitude Indicator Explained
• 9:30 Why We Need A Fixed Reference
• 11:24 Small Course Changes Big Outcomes
• 12:04 Shifting Cultural Reference Points
• 13:02 David’s Rise And New Insecurities
• 15:05 Saul’s Jealousy And David’s Flight
• 17:28 Losing Mentors Friends And Safety
• 20:12 Integrity Lost At Nob
• 21:39 Dignity Lost At Gath
• 23:10 The Cave Of Adullam And Despair
• 24:45 Praying The Cave Psalms
• 26:15 Three Steps To Course Correction
• 28:15 From Cave To Calling Again
• 30:15 Engedi Hope And Final Prayer

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Inner circle of right beside the eye pretty much went directly over them. I had talked with her on the phone on Tuesday. It was their clock, one uh their time, one o'clock, and it was approaching. The wind had started and it was raining. And then I had talked to her again, I think once um this week and then last night. We were able to have a video call uh phone call with her. They are all safe, there was no injuries. Um thank God it was it was terrifying. If you um imagine the scene, and I know there was a video floating around, um they were at one time they were all the aunties, all the children and the staff were huddled in a bathroom for two hours. And it was it was terrifying. And we just thank God that they're all safe. They have they have received help. Um she said last night, it's like it's like we're trapped here on the mountainside. I think some of the staff have been able to go down to the city, but there's long lines of everything. Um, they have a generator, they they are using it sparing sparingly because of fuel. Fortunately, their climate is warm, so they don't need heat, which is nice. Uh, they're using it to keep their fridges and their freezers uh going. They had uh stockpiled a lot of food and water. Their main source of water is cut off currently. So they're getting creative. They're using rainwater, pool water. They have two in-ground pools on the premises, so they're using that, heating that for showers, uh, for washing clothes, and so they're in um pretty dire straits right now. But help is there, there's nonprofits moving in, supplies are coming. So just um probably pray for just um calmness, um, courage, and that God would keep providing. Um, but we're so thankful that that they're all safe. So if you have any more questions, feel free to ask us. Um she is planning, she was planning to come home on Thursday for a vacation. Her flights are still on schedule, but we don't know. Trying to keep our hands open if that's gonna happen or not. So we're not sure if she's gonna be here next weekend or not, but just pray for the team, pray for the administrators, pray for the staff and the children that things could continue um as smoothly as possible. God is good. God is good no matter what happens. There's I know the staff have a lot of questions on why us, but it's an opportune time to show God's love and his um his goodness to those that don't know, don't know who God is. All right, transitioning into the sermon this morning. This was a sermon that I had a really hard time choosing a title. And like I've mentioned before, titles don't mean a whole lot to me. The sound guys usually want a title for the sermon because it gets published online. And as I was studying, and the more I studied, I had sent my title in yesterday morning, and the more I studied, the more I thought I should have given it another title. So the title is Attitude Determines Altitude. And you're probably wondering what do I mean by that. This summer I had twice I had the opportunity of flying with a small single-engine aircraft. Now, some of you might not look at that as an opportunity because of the safety um considerations that go along with it, but I really enjoyed it. And I for sure enjoyed it when I discovered that I'm the only one on the flight, and I get to sit in the what they call the right seat, the right hand seat, which is normally the co-pilot seat. So I got to sit in front with the pilot, had the headset on, listened to all the radio chatter, learned a lot. On his dashboard, on the instrument panel, and thankfully I was thankful, grateful to see that they had upgraded to digital instrument panel. So it wasn't just these old style dials and all the gauges, but on the digital panel, there was also a lot of gauges and dials. There was one gauge, or I'll call it an instrument. There was one instrument on that panel that I've learned is one of the most important instruments on that panel amongst all the others. This instrument did not show the altitude. This instrument did not, was not the speedometer. This instrument was called the attitude indicator. Now, when I first saw the name of this instrument, I looked two or three times to make sure the spelling is not wrong because it seemed like it should be the altitude indicator, but it is called the attitude indicator. Wouldn't that be nice if we'd have one of those at home on the wall that would be specific to certain people? Or maybe at work, but that's not what it actually does, and it's not talking about my attitude as a human being or even the attitude of the pilot or whatever else you want to attach to that. But what the attitude indicator does, and maybe I'll ask um Tony to put that picture up. I have I just scalped a picture off of the internet to show you what this instrument looks like. So what the attitude indicator does, it is an instrument that gives the orientation of the aircraft. And the word attitude in aviation means orientation of the aircraft. So it gives the orientation of the nose, is it up or is it down? And it gives the orientation of the wings, are they tilted or are they even? The reason this instrument is of such high importance is when a pilot is flying, for sure if he's flying high off the ground at a high altitude, oftentimes they're flying above the clouds to where everything is clear and sunny, and there is no point of reference. Are you going down or are you going up or are you tilting or not? Now we might think, how is that possible? I, as a human being, can easily tell if I'm going up or down or sideways. If you have no point of reference, if you have no visible horizon where the sky meets the ground, if you have no visible horizon, it is very easy to get disoriented and not know if you're going up or down or sideways. Pilots often use this or most often use this when they're in the thick of cloud cover or when they're going through a storm, or like I said, even if it's a clear day above the skies, the sun's shining, but they have no point of reference. Now, how this thing works the orange symbol up top, that always stays in that spot. That does not move. The line through the middle, the white line moves, but the orange or kind of light tan marks about two inches long on either side of the middle, those stay put. Those are stationary. Everything else moves except those orange lines of the middle of the center and the orange uh symbol up top. If the nose of an airplane is going up, if he's if he's climbing in altitude, the blue will come down below the center point. If the nose of the plane is pointing down, the brown, which would be indicate the ground, will rise up past the middle. If you're flying in a plane in an air show, an acrobatic plane to where they're upside down, that whole thing would be flipped. The brown would be up, the blue would be down. If the plane is banking, then of course the whole thing shifts like this. But that middle line, the two orange lines in the middle and the top don't move. That is always their point of reference. Recently in my devotional, I was using the the um this day with the master, I think it's called, devotional book by Dennis Kinlaw. And the but then and the devotional for that day took me to the passage in Jeremiah 10, 23, where it says, I know, O Lord, that the way of a man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks, that it is not in a man who walks to direct his steps. In this devotional, Dennis brought out the thought that within myself, within myself as a human being, there is no accurate guidance system. There is no way of me knowing within myself where am I actually going in life if I have no guidance system, if I don't have a point of reference to go off of. Headed to New York City. When that plane takes off, if the pilot would change the heading for that route 3.5 degrees, 3.5 degrees, which is literally moving that nose a few feet when he takes off and stays on that course, he will land in Washington, D.C. instead of New York City by changing his course 3.5 degrees, which is literally a few feet in takeoff. The module that we're going through currently in Manure is the mental module. I have discovered in the few weeks that we've been in that module, I have discovered how many times I have used a reference, a reference point in my life to gauge where I'm at. I have used a reference point that is not stationary. That could be social media, that could be the sports world, that could be the news that is happening around us, that could be a lot of good podcasts. But I have discovered that I have used in my life a lot of reference points that I looked at as stable, but that I later found out are not stable, and they move with the culture, they move with a fast pace of what life brings us, they move with whatever they choose to move with. What is your attitude indicator this morning? What is your middle line that does not move? What is your reference point in your life this morning? God and his word, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is the only accurate attitude indicator for me to use as a point of reference. I've discovered. We are not gonna go through the the story of Goliath. I imagine most of us know the story of David as he was one of Jesse's sons. He had a bunch of brothers, he ended up in the back 40 tending sheep. And during the course of his shepherding, he had the opportunity to kill a lion, he killed a bear, and then later it translated into him being the little lad that killed the huge giant. And now today I'd like to jump in soon after he killed Goliath. Up until this point in David's life, his securities he found in the God that he trusted. After his killing the giant, and after his popularity started to rise, and after the ladies came into the city singing and dancing, that Saul has killed his thousands and David has killed his ten thousands, all of a sudden David's securities began inching away from that middle line of his attitude indicator that did not move. His securities began to be stripped away from the defeat of when the defeat of Goliath took him from the back pastor to the most popular person in Israel. If there was ever a man that I would have thought might not succumb to that, it would have been David. Everything was going well for David until Saul became jealous of his accomplishments, that actually most of which came at the hand of Saul. It is difficult enough, folks, if things began to unravel because of our own doing. But when things began to unravel because of somebody else's doing that affects our life, the level of difficulty even goes higher than if it's our own life. This is what was happening to David here. And some of this was because of Saul. Let's read 1 Samuel 18 verses 6 through 16. 1 Samuel 18, 6 through 16. 1 Samuel 18:6. As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines and with songs of joy and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated. Saul has struck down his thousands and David his ten thousands. Now, currently at home, we are working through the series of what's it called? House of David. We're working through the series of House of David, and we just came through the episode of this actually happening. So if you have access to that series, um, it is actually it just brings to life what we read here. Do they add and subtract some, possibly, but it still brings to life what we read here? Verse 8. And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands. And what can and what more can he have can he have but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day on. The next day, a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within himself, within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand, and Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, I will pin David to the wall. But David evaded him twice. Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before him, before them. For Saul, one sin led to another. It began with jealousy, trying to deal to kill David with his spear. Then he decided to indirectly try to get rid of David, sent him to remote areas with a small amount of men, tried to use his daughter Michael as a trap. In the portion that we're not going to read, we're going to skip some portions to get to the points of the sermon. But in the portions that we're going to skip, it talks about how his his um dire dowry for for Michael was a hundred foreskins of um just says 100 foreskins of the Philistines. Well, not only did David go out and get those, he got 200. I'm sure Saul Saul thought if he goes to try to get those 100 foreskins, he won't come back alive. Well, he came back with 200. He sent murderers to David's house to kill him. His own daughter saved him. Even though everything was backfiring for Saul, he David started fearing for his life. Here was his shepherd boy. Learned to know God, built a relationship with God in the back 40. Had God's blessing on all of his life up until now. And I don't know, did his faith start to waver with Saul coming after him the way he was here? But it indicates, it might indicate if we read into the passage that this could have shook his faith just a little bit. Because he started fearing for his life. This puts David on the run. Jump over to 1 Samuel 19, verses 18 and 19. 1 Samuel 19, verse 18. Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived in Naoth. And it was told Saul, Behold, David is in is at Naoth in Rhema. We'll stop there. Up to this point, as crude as it sounds, David was accustomed to killing off his problems. If something came up, he usually got rid of it. He killed a bear, he killed the lion back when he was herding the sheep. He killed giant Goliath, he killed many Philistines. For the first time in his life, David had to run because of fear. I'm not blaming David for running from Saul. If I would have been in David's shoes, I probably would have been out of there even before David was. But David was on the run. David is starting to lose his position of popularity. Even for David. As much of a man of God as he was, it was difficult to not let the accomplishments become his attitude indicator. To not let his accomplishments become his identity. Even worse, David began losing the people that had formed his support group. I know this morning there's been a lot of talk about manier. And another one of the things I enjoy about manier is the group of Mike and Cordell and Joe Wangert and myself that get together. We try to get together every Thursday morning. It doesn't always work. But most times we'll get together Thursday mornings. It's a group that I feel safe in, and it's a group that I feel free to share. David had a group like that, but all of a sudden he was on the run and he was starting to lose those. How we'll see here in just a bit of his relationship with Samuel. Folks, this morning, all of us need people in our life to speak truth to us. However, no person can completely fulfill any one of our needs. It takes that middle line that does not move, and that is God's word and God himself. Who is your attitude indicator this morning? He lost his wife, Michael. They would again be together later on, but it would never be the same. He went to see his mentor, Samuel. 1 Samuel 20, verse 42. Actually, I wanted to bring out a point. I wanted to bring out a point as far as Samuel. When Saul fall uh found out, when Saul found out that that David was with Samuel, and the the scripture that we just read as far as uh David being in Rhema, when Saul fall found that out, then of course he pursued Samuel, uh David there. That is the last time that it's recorded in scripture that Samuel and David were together. So there, because of his fear, because of him running, because of Saul's jealousy and him chasing, going after David, David again lost one of his longtime mentors. Now let's read 1 Samuel 20, verse 42. Then Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring forever. And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. Not only was he on the run, not only did he lose his lifetime mentor Samuel, but now he lost his best friend Jonathan. From the first time they met, Jonathan David felt a kindred spirit. Jonathan was that person for David that he could just pour out his heart. He could just spill it out without feeling condemned. It was a true best friend. David was left alone, shattered, brokenhearted at the loss of his friend, his mentor. It seemed that his last security blanket was torn away. This is when David's life starts spiraling out of control. Even David this morning, folks, took his eyes off of the attitude indicator. That line that doesn't move God himself. Turn to first Samuel 21. Like to read verses 1 through 9. 1 Samuel 21, 1 through 9. Then David came to Nob to Abimelech the priest. And Abimelech came to meet David trembling and said to him, Why are you alone and no one with you? I'm sure Abimelech knew who David was. And here, this is very strange that David shows up by himself. And David said to Abimelech the priest, The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you. I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever is here. And the priest answered David, I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread, if the young men have kept themselves from women. And David answered the priest, Truly, women have been kept from us always when I go on any when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy, even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy? So the priest gave him the holy bread, and there was no bread there but the presence, the bread of the presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced not by bread on the day it is taken away. Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg, the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen. Then David said to Abimelech, Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because a king's business required haste. And the priest said, The sword of Goliath, the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the Ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here. And David said, There is none like that, give it to me. David's on the run. David has taken his eyes off the god that he got to know in the back 40. All of a say all of a sudden, David not only lost his friend, his mentor, but now David is losing his integrity. He panicked. Might have been for the first time in his life. David didn't inquire the Lord to fill his needs. Panic drove him. I need food. I need a weapon. I'm by myself. He told lies to convince Abimelech. Even though Doag, Saul's chief shepherd, saw him, David in his panic and hurry didn't even consider the consequences of the actions that would be brought then to the priests at Nob. David was simply out of control. David lost his integrity at Nob, and then he lost his dignity at Gath. And let's read that story. 1 Samuel 21, verses 10 through 15. And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Akish the king of Gath. And the servants of Akish said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances? Saul has struck down his thousands and David his ten thousands. And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Akish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior. He lost not only his integrity, but his dignity. So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? Do I lack madmen that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house? When integrity is lost, folks, sooner or later dignity will follow. Of all places, Saul heads to Gath, the Philistine capital, home of Goliath. Why does confusion, whether because of circumstances in my life or maybe because of sin in my life, why does it make us think that we can find peace in the camp of the enemy? Why does that happen? When we're clouded with circumstances, or maybe we have known sin in our life, and we start thinking not soberly. We start thinking out of our mind. And for some reason, we tend to think that going into the camp of the enemy will bring us peace, will bring us satisfaction. When we panic and become disconnected from God, I'm gonna speak quite candidly, we do stupid stuff. When we panic and become disconnected from that middle line that doesn't move, we panic and we we we start doing stupid things. A person who maybe made unwise financial choices might all of a sudden decide a spending spree would just make him feel better. Or a man that doesn't feel close to his spouse decides porn is the way to remedy that, which just draws him further away from his spouse and his family. Or we might feel depressed and we get on that crazy cycle of wanting to sleep in late. Then the longer we sleep, the more work we have that piles up, and then the more tired we get, the longer we sleep. It's a crazy cycle. We start thinking unsoberly. This was what was happening to David. Samuel 22, verse 1, right after the incident at Gath 1A. David departed from there, from Gath and escaped to the cave of Adulum. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the cave of Adulum. This is not your ordinary cave. I have never been there, and I don't think I have a longing to go explore this cave. The cave of Adulum is said to be a maze of caves. A maze of caves, tunnels, secret places covering hundreds of desert acres. A secure place to hide, but a gloomy, dark, and lonely place. It's occupied by serpents, bats, wild animals, and who knows what all else. Even today, guides fear this place. A man could literally lose himself and never get out. It's such a maze of caves, tunnels over so many acres. Turn your Bibles to Psalm 142. Psalm 142. The heading above this psalm in my Bible says, A mascal of David when he was in the cave. So I believe David wrote this while he was in the cave of Adulum. Let's see what he wrote. Psalm 142, verse 1. With my voice I cry, I cry out to the Lord. With my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him. I tell my trouble before him. When my spirit faints within me, you know my way. In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see, there is none who takes notice of me. No refuge remains to me. No one cares for my soul. I cry to you, O Lord. I say, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low. Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. Now flip back to Psalm fifty-seven. Psalm fifty-seven. Again, my heading above this Psalm says that it is while David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. For in my soul, for in you my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge. Till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God most high, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me. He will put to shame him who tramples on me. He will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness. My soul is in the midst of the lions. I lie down amid fiery beasts, the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth. They set a net for my steps. My soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, and they have fallen into it themselves. My heart is steadfast, O God. My heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody. Awake, my glory, awake, O harp and lyre. I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations, for your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth. David again found his attitude indicator. His line that doesn't move. The God that he got to know in the back 40. David again found him in the cave of Adulum. Three steps this morning that David used for his exit route out of this cave of tunnels, of a maze of tunnels, caves, darkness, gloom. Number one, David reconnected with his point of reference. David reconnected with his God. His course correction became by inquiring of the Lord. In Psalm 142. There in the cave, there was no place to look but to the God that he knew could save him. There was no place to look but to the God that he built a relationship with back in the pasture tending his sheep. In that cave, in that dark, gloomy cave, when he reached the end of his rope, David again remembered his attitude indicator, his point of reference that shows that showed him what course he was on. So number one, David reconnected with his God. Number two, David acknowledged his mistakes. David acknowledged his mistakes. He regained his integrity. He regained his integrity that he lost at Nob. I'm gonna read 22 verses 20 through 23. 1 Samuel 22, 20 through 23. But one of the sons of Abimelech and the son of Abiath of Ahitab, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. And David said to Abiathar, I knew on that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would surely tell Saul, I have occasioned the death of all these persons in your father's house. David started admitting his wrongs. He started taking responsibility for going off course. He started acknowledging his mistakes. Taking responsibility for our actions is a vital part of coming back on course after we find our point of reference. So number one, David reconnected with his God. Number two, David acknowledged his mistakes. He gains his and regains his integrity. And number three, David got up and embraced God's plan. He regained his dignity. Go back with me to the beginning of chapter 22 again in 1 Samuel. And I like to start in verse 1b and read through verse 5. This is when he came into the cave of Adulum, or after he was in the cave. I don't know for how long he was there, but obviously he found God again, and then this happened. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul gathered to him. Now, do you believe that misery finds misery? Let's go through that list again. Everyone who was in distress and everyone who was in debt and everyone who was bitter in their soul gathered to him. Now look what happened. If I can find it here. And he became commander over them. I have to believe this was after he again reconnected with God in the cave of Adulum. And all of a sudden, he's back in a leadership position. He's back as the anointed one of God. I don't think his anointing ever left. Just because he was anointed does not mean that's an automatic ticket to not falling away. But he came back, he embraced the calling that God had on his life and again resumed a role of leadership. After David revived his dialogue with God, these things started to happen. David recovered his dignity and resumed his God-given responsibilities of leadership. His identity was again in the God that he loved. If you would go on to read through 1 Samuel, you would find out that after in chapter 23, after David comes out of the cave of Adulum, then he ends up in Engedi, which is the complete opposite of Adulum. Engedi is a large oasis in the western shores of the Dead Sea. Fresh waterfalls, pools, flowers. It's literally a paradise. Folks, this morning, I don't know where each of you are in your journey right now. I know where I'm at in my journey. And I know that I have had to make course corrections, not just five years or seven years ago, but in this year. Some of you might be on course, and I trust that all of us are on course, but some of you might be struggling. What is your reference point this morning? That is my challenge to all of us this morning. Let's bow for prayer. Our Father of the God, this morning, I pray that what we shared this morning that you could grant the increase. Lord, this morning, help all of us to see you as that immovable reference point, to stay on course, to not waver even a little bit. Lord, thank you for your word. I pray that you might bless the reading and teaching of your word. I pray this on your name. Amen.