1 Samuel 29-30 With Richard Bueno
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So this morning will be in the first Samuel Chapter 29 and and just to kind of recap a little bit.
I know for some of us we've been following along with the the Bible in three years and this past week we've been looking at the life of David and the different things that he's been going through in Chronicles.
But here we're going to look at in first Samuel a specific season of David.
This was a season that it wasn't the best for David.
For those of you who don't remember, this is when David was on the run from Somersall was constantly after him trying to kill David.
Just really wanting to put him to death even though David had done nothing wrong.
Whether it was out of jealousy or just the fact that he knew David was ultimately called to be the King of Israel for whatever reason, he kept trying time after time to get rid of David and to put him to death.
Even when David had his own opportunity to really get revenge on him and really to takes a.
Lot if he wanted to he.
Could have killed saw at one point.
David's words where he's not gonna stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed. Saul wanted him dead.
And when David could have put revenge and got him, David said, no way, I'm not gonna touch the Lord's anointed because he was still the King of Israel.
That was who David was, a man who was faithful to the Lord who lived for God.
He wanted to please God.
But even being a faithful man of God, some who desired to please God, David also had his moments of weakness.
See for David this that we're gonna be reading here is really a season of David's life. Where he?
He let the the the hardships and the difficulties and the trials.
He let those.
Things get to him in a sense where one day David got tired of running from Saul. He grew weary of always having to hide out from the things that were going on with saw. And so he made a decision in in first Samuel 27 one.
This is what happened.
David said in his heart.
Now I shall perish someday by the hand of saw.
There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines.
And Saul, will despair of me to seek me anymore in any part of Israel.
So I shall escape.
This says out of his hand, so David made a decision here he.
He was going through.
Difficulties he was going through hardships dealing with solid.
He says, you know what I gotta get out of here?
I can't do this no more.
He grew weary of running from saw, and so it says I'm going to go hang out in the land of the Philistines.
This was a beginning of a, uh, a season for David, where he he kind of stopped walking with God.
He took off.
He went to the lender, Philistines, enemy territory, and he asked the king, of of Gath, whose name was a kitchen they can can I come hang out with you?
And of course, the enemies like hey come on, you're gonna be at peace me you can join me all you want come hang out.
In fact King Gash or the King of Gath Achish.
Even gave David and his 600 men.
Their own city.
They said you can have ziklag.
This is yours.
Go ahead, rest, relax, take it whatever you want to do.
This is for you.
And so for 16 months David dwelt in the land of the Philistines, in enemy territory, hanging out what.
Did he do while he was there?
That David just went from town to town, city to city raiding places.
Killing people, stealing, destroying cities.
This is what David spent doing this right here.
Doesn't sound like a man of God out there stealing from people killing people disjoints.
If you're getting, this sounds like what Jesus described in John 1010 when he spoke of the thief in John 1010.
Jesus says the thief comes the steal to kill and destroy, and this is what is David doing right here stealing from people, killing, just not at the at the direction from God.
This is what David.
Chose to do.
Just get away and he just got himself involved in things they had no business being involved in.
And so David spent this time in the land of the Philistines, and during that time he became real close with the King of Galaxy King Achish.
So close that.
David now pleaded with the king, saying, hey, can I go to battle with you?
I want to battle with you.
I want to go out with you.
I want to battle and not just go in any battle, but specifically what brings us to a portion.
We're going to be at this morning.
Specifically, he wanted to go to a battle against Israel, God, people.
This is how far David had fallen.
If you're there in first Samuel Chapter 29, let's begin reading the 1st 5 verses.
It says then the Philistines gathered together all their armies at APEC and the Israelites in camp by a fountain which is in Jezreel and the Lords of the Philistines, passed in review by hundreds and by thousands.
But David and his men pass in review at the rear with achish.
Then the Philistines, the Princess of the Philistines.
I said, what are these Hebrews doing here, and Achish said to the Princess of the Philistines, is this not David the servant of Saul, King of Israel, who has been with me these days or these years?
And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me.
But the Princess of the Philistines were angry with him.
So the Prince of the Philistines said to him, make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to the battle.
Less in the battle, he become our adversary, for with what could he reconcile himself to his master?
If not with the heads of these men?
Is this not David, of whom they sing to another in dances, saying Saul has slain his thousands and David his 10s of thousands?
So so here they were the philistines getting ready to battle against Israel.
They're in battle formation, getting ready to go to war.
And the Philistine leaders notice that David and his men are there, and they're armed and ready to go to battle.
And at that point, they're like, wait a minute, wait a minute.
What are these Hebrews doing right here?
And of course.
Achish king acre.
Stands up and he's like probably the oh don't worry, they're with me.
You might have heard of this guy right here, David.
Servant of Saul.
That's right, he's on my side now.
He's on our side.
We have nothing to worry about.
He fights for us.
Now is his response to these leaders.
See the fact that he says he says he thinks about David.
He don't worry, he's with us.
He's loyal, he says.
In fact, I can't even find any faults in this guy.
He's with us.
Trust me, this is how much trust David has earned with King Achish.
He's putting his life on the line, saying, you know what?
Trust me, he's with me.
He has trust and David David has.
Has been faithful to him this whole time that he's been here, and he speaks so highly to David even to the leaders of the Philistines.
But the leaders are like there's no way there's no way he's going to come to battle with us.
You need to make him leave.
Their thought is if he goes out to battle.
Though a good way for him to.
Reconcile with saw.
His master is to turn around in battle and start destroying us.
Take our heads off.
That's the perfect opportunity if he wants to reconcile what's also, the leaders are like, no way there's no way he's going into battle with us.
It's not going to happen.
But just the fact.
That David here was willing to go into battle and not even just willing please, let's do it.
Can I go into battle with you?
He wants to.
Be there.
This shows how far David has strayed in his relationship with God.
The fact that he even wants to go out to battle and not just the battle, but to battle.
Against God's people to battle against Israel.
Well, This is why we stress how important it is, how important it is for us as Christians, to have that intimate day by day walk with the Lord.
Because the moment we decide to take.
It easy it is.
The opportunity for us to slowly start falling away and before we know it.
We can easily find herself like David Strain away in a position he never would have thought he would have found himself.
This is the man who was after God's own heart. Yet here he is battling with the enemy and wanting to go against God's people.
It could happen to any one of us.
David didn't just wake up one day and say, you know what?
I think I'm gonna go battle with the enemy today.
I think I want to join forces with the enemy with philistines it.
Didn't happen for David.
This was slowly.
This backsliding creeping into his life, as he's weary from all the things went on around him.
He made a decision to go do something that he didn't check with God on, and as a result here he is finding himself somewhere he shouldn't be.
See hasn't this started with good intentions?
Actually David intense through you know what I just I can't deal.
It's hard.
I want to be safe.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to be safe, so his intentions were OK.
I just I'm I, I'm afraid for my life.
And so he kind of takes off it and runs.
But the intentions were good.
But the problem is he didn't check.
With God on what he should have done.
So we might have good intentions in our life and we make decisions.
In fact, there's a decision that many make today of.
You know, I.
I think I'm going to stay away from church now.
Because of coronavirus and again it can be a good decision if we're checking with God, you know for those who are online, many of you have made decisions to to stay home to to be safe and and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that that's wrong, but if you've checked with God and God told you to do that, praise the Lord, stay.
Home be safe but.
The thing is, for those who have chosen to.
Stay away from.
God stay away from his people in a sense because, well, they just made the decision based upon I want to be safe but you can go out and do all the other things.
Going here like David is running from town to town place the place doing what he wanted to do.
But he stayed away from God, people.
If God tells you stay home and draw close to me.
Praise the Lord, do it.
But if you're just making that decision and now you find yourself all these months, years, maybe not in a place where you once were.
That's a scary thing to do.
It's important.
That we stay close to the Lord that we are involved doing the things that God wants us to do.
David here found himself in a place he should not have been in because he made a split decision to with good intentions to just be safe, but it led him to this.
In enemy territory, battling against God's people before he knew it, he was with the enemy. See what David should have done.
Was sought the Lord.
He should have sought the Lord, and God would have given his promise that you know what David.
Yes, I know Sauls after you, but I'm going to be with you.
I've already proclaimed that you're going to be.
The next king and.
He would have had God promise God word that he was with him.
And this doesn't just go for those who stay home because of that.
This goes for anything we can have good intentions in our life.
And maybe it's I need to go to work and provide for my family or I have kids.
I have all these things I have to do.
And I don't.
Have time to do these things that God might want me to.
You know we can have good intentions, but the main thing is are we seeking God or allowing God to lead us in these good intentions that we want to make?
Because if we don't allow God to lead if we don't seek the Lord, we can find ourselves in a place that we don't belong.
And that's what David did here going on in verse six, it says.
Then Achish called David.
And said to him, surely as the Lord lives, you have been upright.
Right, and you're going out and you're coming in with me in the army is good in my sight for to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me.
Nevertheless, the Lords do not favor you.
Therefore, return now and go in peace, that you may not displease the Lords of the Philistines.
So David said to achish, but what have I done and to this day whatever.
What have you found in your servant, as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my Lord the King and Achish answered and said to David, I know that you are as good in my sight as an Angel of.
God, nevertheless, the Princess of the Philistines have said he shall not go up with us to battle now.
Therefore arise early in the morning with your masters servants who have come with you, and as soon as you were up early in the morning and have light depart.
And so David and his men rose early to depart in the morning to return.
To the land of the Philistines and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
He rekas tells David David it's time to leave.
You have to leave the leaders.
Don't trust you.
You need to go and and this is not what David wanted to hear.
See David thought he had proven himself faithful to King Achish.
There's no reason why he shouldn't be allowed to go battle with him, David.
Earliest pleading to go fight against God's people. I proven myself I should be able to fight.
With you I want to go.
Yet he's still not accepted.
He's not accepted.
It's one of the hardest things to do for a backsliding Christian.
To is to be comfortable because you're not accepted.
It's not you're not accepted with the world.
I like what David Guzik said.
He says in many ways David was in the worst place for any child of God.
He had too much of the world in him to be at peace in the Lord, and he had too much of the Lord in him to be at peace in the world.
David was.
Caught right here.
David had too much of the Lord in him to fit in with the Philistines.
They didn't trust them.
To go battle against God people, no way.
He's one of them.
They're not gonna trust him.
There's no way he's going to battle with them.
He had too much of the Lord in.
Him to be at peace with them.
And so there was a conflict there.
David was never gonna feel at peace in his relationship with the Philistines, and really, that's a good thing.
It's a good thing he he wasn't gonna be at peace there.
You and I.
At times we can try and fit in.
With the world.
But as true children of God, we're not going to have that peace.
It's an uncomfortable fit as Christians to be at peace in the world.
It's not going to happen, and that's because we have the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is there to convict us and tell us that this isn't what I have for you.
I have something better for you.
You you don't feel right because the spirit is convicting you.
When we're trying to hang out with.
The world and do things.
That we have no business doing.
That's the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
The spirit will not allow us to be comfortable living in sin, but but on that same note when we're involved in the things of the world and we're, and we're doing things, it can also be hard to be at peace.
Going to church and being involved in the.
Things of the Lord.
For, uh, vaccinating Christian to be comfortable trying to fit in with the things of Lord is very difficult because, well, there's too much of the world in, you know, there's too much.
Too many things went on that are are keeping you and feeling you that.
Aren't of the Lord.
You know?
Going to church being involved in the things of the Lord when we're not living for God it it's sucking our spiritual appetite.
In a way, it's like my wife.
She can make a a wonderful meal for me at home and have all the the good things you know that the proteins I need the the vegetables that I probably won't eat anyways.
But she could.
She can prepare all these great things for me.
But if on the way home from work, I decide to stop by McDonald's and and have a Big Mac and some large fries where they're perfectly salted and and have a doctor, pepper and I.
And it sounds kind of good, right?
Now if I decide to stop and do that.
Then when I get home and she has this wonderful meal prepared.
I'm not gonna want it, I'm like, oh I'm I already ate I'm I'm, I'm full I don't have any appetite anymore because I filled myself with the junk of McDonald's and that can happen in their Christian life.
We get so.
Full on the things of the world that we have no spiritual appetite for the things of God. When we have no desire to get into God's word anymore, is that because we're filling ourselves?
Up with junk.
No spiritual appetite because we've allowed the things of the world just to and not intentionally.
But it just happens that you're busy and you know I was in a hurry.
Stop by McDonald's.
Real quick, you're busy in life and just do things that maybe aren't what you're supposed to be doing, but your appetite is not there anymore.
It's hard to fit in when where spiritual appetite is being sucked away with the things of the world, and it's a scary place to be in.
As a Christian, Jesus himself spoke to the in revelation to the Laodicean church, and he he talked about them in this manner and he said, I, I know your works.
He said, I know that you're neither cold nor hot, and I could wish that you were cold.
You're high.
But so, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.
Jesus is telling the lukewarm church that I'm gonna vomit you out of my mouth because you're you're not cold and you're not hot.
God would rather us be hot on fire from serving him, doing the things that he's called us to do, or even he said I'd rather.
You be cold.
Well, you're not even claiming to follow me whatsoever.
Sure, but I I don't want you to be lukewarm.
I don't want you to say you're following me, but your life shows everything completely of that not lukewarm.
And if you think about it with just even things in life that we do like like drinking tea like for me, T can be great cold and T can be great hot like I like that ice cold lemon.
Like lemon iced tea.
It's in the summertime.
It's refreshing and also when you're getting sick, people want you know hot teaming with with honey and lemon and both of those things are really good.
But to have lukewarm tea, it's like it's not going to taste good.
I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I know some of you guys.
The same thing, iced coffee, yes, hot coffee in the back when Damien them made the macmillans make it.
It's great, you know go some of you guys are leaving three times being service to get that hot coffee.
But lukewarm coffee, it it it.
It doesn't do anything.
It you're you're missing something and that's what God seeing here.
He choose one choose one or the other.
Either be hot or be cold.
If you're gonna serve me, serve me if you're gonna follow me God saying, follow me, but if you're not gonna follow me, don't claim to follow me and then do something completely opposite.
Choose one, don't live that lukewarm, backslidden Christian life, David here is having a hard time fitting in because he's living that.
Backsliding Christian life.
David, when he finds out he can't go he.
He seems distraught.
What do you mean I can't go?
Why can't I battle?
What did I do wrong and Achish assures him David you're as good in my eyes as an Angel of God.
Again just re emphasizing David commitment to the enemy.
But it's so wonderful as I read here that even though David.
Was not walking in obedience to the Lord. We can still see that God's hand was upon him, and that he didn't let him get deeper into his sin.
I mean, he he's already gone far enough, but God saying I'm not going to let you get to a position where now you're completely messed up.
Where you go to battle and destroy my people God kept him out of that battle for a reason.
OK, do you want to go with it?
For a while and do your thing, I'll let you.
But there was a limit on how far God was going to let David go and hear God's hand was still upon David.
He didn't let him go into battle as much as David wanted to get deeper into sin.
God kept him from going there.
Now at the end of this chapter right here, we see that David finally gives in.
He he goes in and they tell him to return back to the land with philistines, and so David does that.
If you can turn me to chapter 30, read the 1st 3 verses.
Here it says now it happened that when David and his men came to ziklag on the third day.
That the Malachites had invaded the South and Zeke.
Leg and they attacked Ziklag, and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were with who were there from small degree?
They did not kill anyone, but they carried them away and went their way.
And so Dave and his men came to the city and there it was burned with fire and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been.
Taken captive
David and his men, now they can't go to battle, so they return back to their home.
And what do they find?
Their city is burned and all the women, all the children are taken captive.
See well, David was away living in sin while David was away.
China joined the Philistine army.
The Malachites came in and took advantage of a defenceless city.
Destroyed the city.
Took away the the wives the children took him captive.
And it's sad, but this is often what happens in the life of a believer when we choose to backslide.
When we choose to stop walking with the Lord, Homes are destroyed.
People that we.
Love are hurt.
They're taken captive.
There they go through different things that are sin.
Whether we want to believe it or not affects our spouses, it affects our children and it affects the people that we love and care for.
We can be deceived.
We can try and justify.
Say no know what I'm doing.
No one.
Knows about it.
You know it's just me.
It's not affecting anybody else, but that's just us deceiving ourselves.
Our sin will affect those that we love.
I'm not hurting anyone else.
No, that will affect them.
Our sin affects those that we love and care for.
David here is experiencing all the consequences of his sin, and it's unfortunate that it is affecting his family and it's affecting the families of those men who were fighting with David.
And so first four, it says that David and the.
People who are.
With him lifted up their voices and they wet.
Until they had no more power to weep.
And David, two wives that he knew him the Jezreel, itis and Abigail, but widow of Nabal.
The Carmelite, they've been taken captive.
Now David was greatly distressed for the people spoke of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved every man for his sons and his daughters will stop right there.
David and his men now.
Have lost their family men.
And it says here they're just weepy now, says they wept until they had no more power left to weep as they're mourning the loss of their families.
They just they let it all out.
You know if you've ever been before, you're just crying and crying almost like there's no tears left.
They had no power left, no energy.
They had no power left to weep.
At this point, David was completely distressed.
It tells us David was great leader.
Here he was at one of the lowest points in his life.
As he probably felt, the weight of the world on his shoulders right here, his army is completely against them.
These are 600 men who are ready for battle and they're against David now to the point where it says they spoke of stoning him.
David, you led us to this other area.
We followed you as our leader and here look what happens to our family members, our wives, our children, they're gone.
They wanted a stone, David.
Imagine what David was going through in this situation.
He himself is mourning the loss of his family, but at the same time.
His army wants to stone him.
You could say that David was at a place so low right now, the lowest he'd ever been.
Where really he only had one option left and that was to look up.
Maybe some of you have felt this low before in your life, and it's possible, even maybe someone now even people listen online that you're at that point right now that nothing's going right you.
Just feel so low.
Like you've tried everything and nothing has working out.
Nothing is working out you.
You've asked for advice, you've asked people for help for prayer and no matter what you do, it just feels like you can't get out of this mess that you're going through.
For some, you might feel like it's even getting worse and worse that you just.
You're in this pit and it just gets you.
Just keep like there's no way to get out.
You're digging you, you can't get out of this pit you're getting lower and lower what do we do when?
We fill this.
Low, we feel like everything is going wrong.
David here.
Looks the Lord.
He looks up that's all he could do.
He had nothing left.
He tried it his way.
He had nothing left to do but to look up.
Right here in verse six.
It's a hard verse to even David had a goat.
This even just to read.
It's a hard verse to read as he's exhausted, he cried until there's nothing left.
His men want to kill him.
He's mourning the loss of his family, his friends there.
There's no one left.
He left God already.
What is he to do at this point?
Verse six is very hard.
That first portion of it.
But that's not the end of the verse.
Verse six goes on to say, but David strengthened himself.
In the Lord his God.
He was going through all these difficulties, but he strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
David knew that there was no hope trying to figure this out on his own.
He had no strength left.
They told us there they wept until they had no power left.
He had no straight left, no power to weep.
He was done.
Oftentimes when we we get to that point where we have no strength, we often think that we have no hope 'cause there's there's nothing left to do.
But David.
Knew the Lord.
He was in a backslidden state, but David News Lord, and therefore he knew better David Hope was in the Lord, and so he straightened himself in the Lord, his.
For David, that meant it was time for him to seek the Lord.
He had done it.
He had done enough running enough, hiding it was time to seek the Lord.
It was time to wait upon the Lord and ask him for directions.
So the last time David was in a mess, David, you know what?
I'm just going to take off and go for run.
I'm going to hide Sol, won't find me will be here.
He didn't wait to see what God want him to do here.
David was going to wait on the Lord.
Isaiah 4031 says, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. David was finding strength in the Lord and he was going to wait upon the Lord.
He wasn't going to hide this like this and say God, what is it you want me to do now?
David was going to seek direction from the Lord.
He turns to God to find strength.
Remember when Paul the Apostle was going through his own difficulties and his his own challenges and he talked about that Thorn in the flesh, that ailment that he had that he just felt like he couldn't go on and he pleaded with God.
Lord, take away this this issue that I'm going.
Through right now.
And he he pleaded with God to take it away.
In God's response to Paul was my Grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Second Corinthians 12-9.
God says Paulino, you're going through this, but I want you to know that I'm doing something still.
Even though you feel like.
You have nothing else.
Left and you're weak.
God says it's in your weakness that my strength.
Was going to take over.
Essentially God was saying that in your weakness my strength will be on full display.
You're going to realize that it's not you, and you can't do it, but that I am at work and though not specifically mentioned here as David now turns to the Lord.
It's not specifically mentioned here, but one part of David finding strength in the Lord was.
For Pendance, see for David to turn to the Lord, he first had a turn from the sin that he was involved in.
Again, it's a a similar message that Jesus told again to another church in revelation.
He to the Church of Ephesus he talked about all the good things that the church at Ephesus was doing.
But Jesus said, nevertheless, I have this against you.
You have left your first love, and then he told them, remember, therefore from where you have fallen, repent.
And do the 1st works.
They were still doing the works, but they had left their first love and Jesus said, repent, stop doing what you're doing.
Turn from those.
Ways remember the things you used to do and go do those.
This is what David was doing.
He repented in the sense that he turned back to God.
He remembered that he used to seek God for direction before he would do something, David went back to that.
He went back to seeking God for direction.
Which is what he used to do.
No more hiding and doing his own thing.
He sought God for direction.
And as he did that, he remembered what was like to once again walk with the Lord.
He remembered how God once used them when he sought after God.
The great calling that God had upon his life and David now was ready to strive to fulfill that.
And so verse seven houses that David said to abathar the priest.
A hemlig son.
Please bring the ephod here to me.
And Abathar brought the effort to David, and so David inquired of the Lord, saying, shall I pursue this true?
Shall I overtake them?
And he answered them, pursue for you, so you shall surely
Overtake them and without fail recover all. So David went he and the 600 men who were with him they came to the brook basaure where those stayed who were left behind.
But David pursued he and 400 men for 200 stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the brook basaure.
Here, David as he's saying, OK, it's time to seek the Lord.
He, he yells and said, hey bring me the eat but I.
I need the ephod.
And and that was a a ceremonial piece of clothing that the priest would often put on as they would enter into the presence of the.
Lord and seek direction.
This is what David was saying when he said bring the teapot to me.
He was saying.
It's time for me.
To seek the Lord, it's time for me to get direction from God and to wait upon him to see what he wants me to do.
David was ready to seek the Lord, and this really was a wise move for David.
It was a wife move for for him it was one of the best decisions that he had made in a in a really long time.
Because he was off doing his own thing and now he's.
Saying, you know what?
I'm not just gonna.
Do things my way.
In reality, if.
You think of David?
He's he's a warrior.
This is what he does.
His first thought normally would be they got my let's go let's go to battle.
And though that's what he was going to eventually do, David took time to seek the Lord and Sea Lord.
What is it you want me to do?
What is it you want me to do?
David got the eat bot to.
Seek after the Lord.
What do you want me to?
Do you and I have the same access that David was doing right here as David wanted to eat, but he wanted this?
This clothing that represented access to to seek God for direction.
You and I have that same access, but I would say even to a greater ability because you and I don't need some ceremonial piece of clothing to put on you and I.
Hebrews tells us have direct access to God at any time no matter what we're going through.
Hebrews 416 says let us therefore come boldly to the throne of Grace.
That we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
At any time we have access.
To to his throne of Grace, to find Mercy and Grace in time of need.
I don't know about you guys, but I I sure need a lot of mercy.
I I often need a lot of mercy.
And that's the axis that we have to turn to guide at any time river at no matter what we're going through.
We have access to him, especially in our time of need.
He offers that grace.
He offers that mercy that we need.
And it says here that David, he went to God, and he said, Lord shall I pursue.
Now my natural instinct is I'm going to pursue God, The Lord shall I pursue.
Shall I overtake them?
Is this what you want me to do, Lord?
He was looking to God for direction.
Shall I pursue shall I overtake them?
And it says.
And he answered him.
Positive for a second.
David was asking God, shall I do it, Lord?
Shall I go?
As he's calling out to God and it says God answered him.
I say pause right there because this must have felt so good.
For David.
To hear God's voice.
Remember, he had been running from God doing his own thing, doing whatever he wanted to do. That sounded good, but here he sought the Lord, and he heard God's voice.
God answered him, it didn't matter about what he was going to say yet, just the fact that God answered him.
That must have felt so good for David to hear the voice of God again in the midst of what he was going through.
See, there might have been a.
Small part of David that was quest.
I mean, thinking as it is even going to speak to me, is he gonna answer me?
I mean, I know what I've done and some of us know the things that we do.
We get involved in and we think is God gonna answer us.
Sometimes we wonder is he willing to speak to.
Us knowing what?
We know about ourselves knowing the things that we've done.
Things that we've thought.
Things that would be.
Ashamed of anyone else in you.
Made me wonder, is God gonna answer me?
Will he even speak to me because of what I've done?
David, here's proof.
That God is a forgiving guy.
He is a loving God and he desires thread come to him in our worst states.
He desires us to come to him first. John 19, reminds us that if we confess our.
Sins he is.
Faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness, David turned to the Lord, and he had the assurance with God's words here.
Yeah, forgiving you David.
This let's go forward.
Shall I presume God and God says yeah, we're going to do.
As we call out to God, he is willing, just as he answered David right here, God is willing.
To respond to us to answer us for David, the answer was pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and recover.
All David here had God promise of victory, but it was time for David.
To trust God at his word and walk in the victory that God had given him by faith.
Here, David following God's instructions decides OK, God, you told me to go. I'm gonna go now and so.
David goes at.
What God told me to do pursue him.
And so David goes, he goes to pursue him, and he's following the Lord's will at this time, and all of a.
Sudden there's a problem.
They're going out to battle. They're making. They're already exhausted and as they start shoveling 200 of his 600 men say Guy David, we can't do it no more.
We're done completely out of energy. They're too weary. The Bible tells us to go on so of his 600 men, 200 men can't carry on.
That's 1/3 of his army. They're going to battle a much bigger army to get their family back.
And 200 say I can't go on.
When we're following the Lord's direction, even when we're following his direction, we're following his leading. We will still run into problems, but the thing.
About it is.
We can have faith and trust that when God directing, even in the midst of problems.
We can be assured that he's still there with his David here. Notice he doesn't freak out 200 man, you get up you bunch of lazy no no, David says hey, I understand.
I understand what you're going through, no?
Problem you you 200 you stay here David.
Leaves as the supplies.
Hey guys, don't take all the heavy things, leave it with them. Just take what you need and those 200 men.
We're responsible for watching the supplies.
David does not freak out at what happened because he knows that God has already given him the promise of victory.
This David right here that we're.
Seeing this is the same David that had the faith to take down Goliath.
That David is back now, but his faith is in God, not in him.
His trust is in the Word of God and what the word of God was was to go and pursue, for he would recover.
David was trusting and believing God.
Again, he chose to trust him and believe him at his word.
Going on in verse 11 through 15, it says then they found an Egyptian in the field and they brought him to David and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water.
And they gave him a piece of cake of figs and two clusters of raisins.
So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him, for he had eaten no.
Bread nor drink water for.
Three days and three nights.
And David said to him, to whom do you belong?
And where are you from?
And he said, I am a young man from Egypt, servant of animal, a kite and my master.
Left me behind because three days ago I fell sick.
We made an invasion of the southern area of that Cherethites in the territory which belongs to Judah and of the southern area of Caleb.
And we burned ziklag.
That's David home, David city.
We burned ziklag with fire.
And David said to him, can you take me down to this troop?
And so he said, swear to me by God, that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to the truth.
So here they find an Egyptian in the field.
He's been laying there for days.
He's you know, no water, no food for three days.
And they begin to help this guy.
They begin to feed him and again think about the situation.
David and David could have and no one would have blamed David and his men if they just looked at him and said, you know what?
We gotta go.
Our family is in danger.
We have no time for this individual, right?
Here there just as he was in danger of dying, their family was in danger of dying.
So had David decided to just take off and go move forward, no one would have blamed him, but because David was now walking in obedience to the Lord hearing from God.
God, heart of compassion was in David.
He now was beginning to demonstrate the characteristics of God as he had guard God, heart of compassion and began to help those hurting men who had been there with no food and no.
Water, and as they nurse them back to health, they take time.
I mean it's not like uh, here's a drink of water.
He's feeling good.
They had to make sure he was doing well.
Hey, so what's going on?
Who are you?
Going on what happened and it turns out that he is a servant to the Amalika group who destroyed and burned their city and took their family captive.
So David's like.
Lord, you're so good here we are have out to look for these people.
Don't know where they're at, but as he allow God to use them to Minister to this guy now God rewarding him and saying, hey, this is the guy who can take you right where you need to go so David says hey can you take us and the guys hey as long as you don't kill me or delivering to my master, I'll show you exactly where they're going.
Verse 16 says and when he had brought him down there, there they were spread out over all the land eating and drinking and dancing.
Because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines.
And from the land.
Of Judah and David attacked them from Twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except 400.
Young men who wrote on camels and flew.
So David recovered all that the Americans had carried away, and David rescued his two wives.
Nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great sons or daughters spoil or anything which they had taken from them.
David recovered all, and then David took all the flocks and herds that they had driven before.
Those other livestock.
And said this is David spoil.
So David finds these guys the malachites.
There they are all hungover from their party and the excitement of all the things they've stolen.
They're just hungover completely out of it and it tells us that David has been attacked him all night long.
But verse 19 the key verse.
They attack him all night long and it says verse 19.
David recovered all.
Just as God had said this, here is God being faithful to his word because he is God was faithful to us where he told David pursue them.
You will overtake them.
And you would recover all and just as God said.
David recovered all he went over there, he pursued them, he overtook them, and they recovered it.
God was faithful to his word in spite of the the hardships they had to go through in spite of the 200 men not being with them and going against a bigger army, God was faithful to his word.
And so they.
Recover everything. Verse 21 says. Now when they're all done, they they got the things David came to the 200 men now, who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also made to stay at the brick base.
Or so when they went out to meet David and to meet the people who are with him.
And when David came near the people, he greeted them and then it says verse.
22 then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said, because they didn't go with us, we're not going to give them any of the spoil that we've recovered, except for every man, wife, and children, that they may lead, and to lead them away into part.
But David said, my brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us, and delivered into our hands that shoupe that came against us.
For who will?
Heat you in this matter, but as his part is who goes down to the battle social, his Part B who stays by the supplies.
They shall share alike until it was from that day forward.
He made it a statue in an ordinance for Israel to this day.
Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah to his friends, saying, here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord and the rest of those persons are just going to share who David sent those gifts, too.
But they get back to these 200 men. These guys who had no strength to go on and it tells us that though.
Wicked and worthless men who are with David.
They're like no way they're not going to get any.
To me that just again shows how great God is.
It wasn't like God gave David the cream of the crop.
It said these guys.
They're gonna go to battlefield.
They're gonna these.
Are the ones.
It tells us some of.
Those words were wicked and worthless men, God works.
With even the.
Wicked worthless he can work through anyone.
Sometimes he works through a donkey.
Sometimes he works through people who are right on serving him, but he can even work through these worthless wicked men that he describes here, and those guys are like they're not going to get anything.
But David steps up and.
He reminds them, and it's a good.
Reminder for all of us.
David says that's not what you're going to do.
You shall not do that with what the Lord has given us.
Who preserved us.
David reminds them that it wasn't their great fighting that gave them the victory, but it was their great God who gave him the victory.
Had nothing to do with them.
The fact that I can even stand before you and teach you guys worth has nothing to do with me.
It's simply God.
Who's doing the work?
None of us have anything to offer apart from God.
God, the one who gave him the victory and David reminded them that God would have preserved them, that the situation that they were going through.
And so it ends up that David sends some presents gifts to different people.
You can imagine how many relationships David had strained as he was away.
Fighting with the enemy.
The people that gave it hurt throughout that time, and so David here is probably trying to mend some of those relationships as he sends gifts to different people.
But the most important relationship that David mended found earlier in the chapter was his relationship with God.
He mended his relationship with God for for again.
Some of us here this morning.
God is saying it's time to mend that relationship.
It's time to get back to that place.
Where we once walked with God where we once followed God.
We made made some decisions that kind of pulled us off the the route that God wanted us and we before.
We know we found herself in a place we never thought we'd be God saying it's time to mend that relationship where you call out to me again when you seek me for direction.
No more hiding out.
For others who might be here who are going through the fire going to trial after trial, hardship after hardship?
God saying it's time to to turn to me and find strength in me.
Stop trying to figure it out on your own.
Stop trying to think that you have all the answers.
Come to me.
Find your strength in me.
Don't find it in your wisdom and in your hard work find your stream in me.
And some going through the fire victory might be right around the corner.
And there might be others I've got saying I I have a little bit more for you I.
Know it's hard but.
My Grace efficient for you.
My strength will be made perfect in your weakness.
I'm gonna do something hold on don't give up.
But for each and every one of us here, without a doubt, God is saying, trust me at my word.
Trust me at my word, I'm faithful.
I will carry out the things that I told you I would do.
You don't have to doubt you don't have to question.
Believe me, even when it doesn't seem possible, I'm faithful to my word and he has given us his word.
We have his word to read. Let's take full advantage of God's words. Let's use it to draw.
Close to him.
And more importantly, use it to stay close.
To him, Amen.
Let's pray father, we come before you this morning, Lord, and we.
We thank you God.
Now we can turn to you.
Whether we.
Are completely far away from you and we found ourselves in a place that we never thought we'd be.
But it's just one step back to you and we thank you that for that.
We think that you're loving and forgiving God that we can call out to you at any time.
Or that we have direct access.
It's your throne of Grace because of what your son did.
Upon that cross.
And what I pay for those who are just going through the fire right now, going through battles and hardships, and they they feel like they just they're never going to end.
Lord, may you reveal your strength to them?
May they experience your presence in the mix of hardships.
May you remind them that you're not done, that your grace is sufficient.
For the battles and hardships, they're ahead.
Thank you, Lord.
For your love.
Thank you Lord, for your faithfulness of your word.
Even when we're faithless, you're still faithful because you cannot die yourself.
We love you, Lord.
We ask God that you'd be glorified in and through each and everyone of our lives be with your people here this morning.
In Jesus name, Amen.