We’ve talked often in these six years about loving God and loving others. In fact, we even have
the t-shirt: “Love God. Love others. Nothing else matters.” And technically, that’s right, but
not really … because loving God and loving others works itself out in acts of love and kindness.
James said it this way, that faith without works is dead. To believe in God is to love him. So
love without action is powerless. So … to love God is to love others and serve the world.
This is what it means to follow Jesus.
That’s where we are this month. We’re talking about how to follow Jesus … how to line our
own lives up with these values … so that as we reflect the heart of God, others will be drawn to
follow, too. Because until we learn to live it, we won’t be very effective at leading anyone else
into this life. So here is a better picture of our Mosaic: Love God. Love others. Serve the
world.
That’s where we need to start if we’re going to understand the spiritual implications of the story
we’re looking at today. One of the great leaders of the Old Testament … a man who followed
God passionately, loved others generously and served the world sacrificially … was David. And
maybe best of all for us, David was way “human.” He wasn’t perfect, but he was passionate.
And God had a heart for David. In fact, he was called by God to be king of Israel when he was
just a boy. As a young man, he was sent to live with Saul so he could learn the ropes of
kingship. The problem with that was that David was intimidating. He was a great warrior, a
great servant … with a personality that attracted people like flies. So Saul … who was also way
“human” … became jealous of him. So jealous, in fact, that he drove David out into the
wilderness where he lived as a fugitive for years … wandering the desert … fighting Saul on
one side and the Philistines (who were arch enemies of the Israelites) on the other.
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David eventually became the king God called him to be, but for years he lived in wilderness and
war. Which is not an unfamiliar place for many of us … lots of us have lived there … in that
sometimes anxious state of wilderness and war. We’ve got Saul on one side and the Philistines
on the other, and the backdrop of life … for many of us … is a kind of war. Maybe we’re
fighting against a past that won’t die, or against an upbringing that still stings. We’re fighting
for our finances … we’re fighting for our children … we’re fighting for sanity … we’re fighting
for sobriety. These are our enemies. David might have lived it literally, but on some level all
of us have seasons of wilderness and war. Which is why David’s story is important, because he
teaches us how to cope in that condition.
Look with me at 1 Chronicles 11:15-19. The story begins - Three of the thirty chiefs came
down to David to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in
the Valley of Rephaim. Now, these three guys were David’s inner circle. Here’s how it
happened: When David first went out there into the wilderness, his family (his brothers and
other relatives) followed him. Then other people who were wandering in the wilderness found
David’s group and attached themselves to it. These were people who were fighting their own
wars. They were in trouble or in debt or who were discontent for whatever reason. But like
David, they knew the difference between an enemy and an ally. So before long, David was
leading about 400 men who had found something in each other worth sticking to. They were all
guys who were committed to fighting their battles together. A bunch of discontented people
looking for something better to belong to than the Rotary Club. People looking for a real God
… people looking for meaning.
Inside this army of 400, there were thirty or forty guys who got pretty close to David. They
were called David’s mighty men. Then inside that group … for David … there were a few who
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got even closer. Sort of like what Tim talked about this morning. These were guys who had
David’s back … the ones he could be totally real with. The ones who … when David wandered
… would come after him. They connected at the level of loyalty. And here’s the real point we
don’t want to miss here: David started building this inner circle before he needed it. That’s
key. Because you and I both know that the time to build a foundation is not the day we need a
roof over our heads.
I read a story in last week’s paper about a surgical nutritionist at MCG … a woman named Gail
Cresci. Her job is to see to a person’s nutritional needs after surgery. And I thought that the
way she talked about it was sort of fascinating. I would have assumed that the trick, for
someone who is healing, would be to feed muscles or blood cells or organs. But Cresci talked
about how important it is to feed the good bacteria in the stomach. Because your body has good
bacteria and bad bacteria. And if you don’t feed the good ones that live in your stomach, then
they will slowly die and leave the bad bacteria to wreak havoc. Somehow that seems to fit here.
It’s the law of the inner circle. If we are not intentional about feeding the good relationships
that help us digest life in a healthy way … if we don’t work at building positive relationships
that build us up spiritually … then the ungodly ones will move in and wreak havoc. Proverbs
11:14 says - For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisors. At
every level … for nations, for people, even at the level of bacteria … the law of the inner circle
is at work.
So the key is in building your inner circle before you need it. And the question is: are you
doing that? Are you intentionally building partnerships with a few people you can trust who
will help you fight your enemies? Especially the spiritual enemies. This is why we push
groups. It isn’t just so we can sound culturally relevant. It isn’t just so we can be like the
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“cool” churches. Folks, this isn’t a game or a marketing strategy. We truly believe that having
a few people in your life with whom you can do deep will do more than almost anything to keep
a healthy spiritual balance. And you need it before you need it. Trust me on that.
Another thought: David trusted the people in his inner circle with his weaknesses. Look
again at 1 Chronicles 11 (vv. 16-17): At that time (at the time when David was down in that
cave and his friends came looking for him) David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine
garrison was at Bethlehem. 17 David longed for water and said, "Oh, that someone would get
me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!"
Now, I have to tell you … I don’t think this is David just lounging around day-dreaming about
things he’d like to have. “Gee, I could sure go for a Coke about now.” No, I think David is in
meltdown mode. He’s been out there in the wilderness for a long time … fighting for every
meal and every inch of his life for who-knows-how-long … and he’s done. He’s had it. He’s
looking for a rock to crawl under. And that’s where his friends found him. When they couldn’t
find him in the camp, they went looking and found him by a rock in a cave. And I hear him sort
of falling apart as he sees these guys walking up. What he said was, “I’d give anything just to
be able to drink from my own well again.” But what he wanted was some relief. “Guys, I just
want to go home.”
You know what that feels like … to be at the end of your rope, and you have no clue how much
longer you can go on like this, and all you want is a little comfort … a little relief. Maybe we
don’t have words for it, so what we say is, “Man, I’d give anything for a spoonful of my
mother’s peach cobbler,” when what we mean is, “What I really need right now is for someone
to tell me what to do … who will let me not be in charge for a while.” And what we really,
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really need in that moment is people who know us well enough to read between the lines …
people who know us … who will let us melt down and be okay with that. And you won’t get
that kind of connection with a passing wave, or from talking about the latest game.
I have to tell you … I’ve done some real soul-searching over that this week … I’ve been
thinking about the sin of the passing wave … keeping a distance with people, not taking the
time to really listen. Because I forget that people don’t usually come right out and say what
hurts. That level of transparency takes time. Have I given that to everyone God has given me?
An inner circle takes us way past politeness. Let me show you what an inner circle provides:
 It provides encouragement and strength. When is the last time you felt alone and
burdened? A group helps you carry the load.
 Spiritual protection –We need people to fight our enemies with us, to keep us from
temptation and deliver us from evil.
 Preservation of progress – We need people around us who are not willing to let us go
backward. That’s why Paul could so confidently say to the Galatians (Galatians 6:1-2) Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit (you who
follow Jesus … you who care enough) should restore that person gently. But watch
yourselves, or you also may be tempted. (in other words, if you’re not good bacteria, then
you’re in danger of being the bad kind … so) 2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way
you will fulfill the law of Christ.
 Motivation to keep moving forward – And we need people to keep pushing us up the hill.
 Prayer – Jesus himself is our model. When it came to his friends, he took that responsibility
seriously. In fact he said (John 17:9) - " 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world,
but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”
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None of this is going to happen with a passing wave. You know what I mean? That wave you
give when someone comes into the room and you’re thinking, “I do not have time for this.” So
you give that polite wave while you smile and keep walking. I know that wave because I am the
queen of that wave … but God has been getting into my spirit about this lately, and I’ve come
to this conclusion: that we are not called to be The Church of the Passing Wave. Maybe no
church is called to be that, but I’m really sure we are not called to be that. I think we’ve been
called to be like these three guys who came after David … who went out of their way to go after
this man who lived in wilderness and war, and who needed a little comfort in the moment. You
know, these guys lived a long time before Jesus but I think they earned a place in the Bible
because they sound so much like his followers. Jesus said (John 15:13) - Greater love has no
one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. That’s the response of Jesus follower.
Their response – and his – honored God. Do you know what they did? There was David, in
this cave under this rock and more than anything, he wanted a taste of hope. So these guys …
his inner circle … broke through the Philistine lines, maneuvered their way into the center of
enemy-occupied territory, drew water from that well in Bethlehem, and carried it back to him.
It was the water he’d asked for … but what that cup of water said to him was this: “I know you
think your enemies are undefeatable. I know you think you’re cornered and that this is the end.
I know you feel like giving up … surrendering. But look! We’ve broken through what you
thought was too hard, and we’ve come back to tell you there’s hope.” That’s all he needed.
David just needed a little hope. That’s all most of us need. Someone who can say, “I’ve been
there and done that, and I’m here to tell you that you can make it.”
Moments like that build faith and create worship. That’s how David responded. He said (1
Chronicles 11:19) - "God forbid that I should do this!" … "Should I drink the blood of these men
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who went at the risk of their lives?" Because they risked their lives to bring it back, David
would not drink it. To pour water out like that was a form of worship in David’s day. It was
called a drink offering. That hope they gave him generated a well of thankfulness in David’s
spirit … thankfulness poured out to God. Did you have any idea that a few people willing to
invest a little more than a passing wave could do all that? It turns out that by stepping into
those other two circles … loving others and serving the world … that’s how we build the
Kingdom. God wants us to to do for each other what Christ has done for us: to become more
than just volunteers in an organization or spectators in a chair. He wants us to become friends.
I know that a lot of your life is not spent thinking about this. You’ve got a family and a job and
a list of other responsibilities, so a lot of your life is spent on other things. I understand that.
But our job as a church is to help people into a vital relationship with God, and that means
helping them into meaningful relationships with each other. Our job is to love God, love others
and serve the world. That’s our job. Everybody from Moses forward tells us that it happens
best when we get a few people together and start leaning on each other. Next week, you’ll get a
list of about thirty-five groups that happen at Mosaic. Some short-term, some ministry groups,
some are more like David and his mighty men. You’ll be asked to consider your place in this
mosaic. I’m hoping you’ll take that list as an invitation to evaluate your life. What do you
want to do with it? Do you want to sit on the sidelines and watch others grow in godliness? Or
are you up for helping the people right around you become better followers of Jesus?
PRAY – then: This morning, I want to invite you to do something a little different. Instead of
singing one more song, I’d like to invite you to use this time to give something more than a
passing wave or a quick handshake to the people around you. Turn around to someone you
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didn’t come with and ask them how it’s going. Then listen between the lines. And may this set
the tone for all your conversations this week. God’s richest blessings on your life.
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