Abounding Grace

Announcer: Would this be described as a low point in your life? Don't make this mistake.

Pastor Ed Taylor: So David hiding among the Philistine in one of those low moments in his life where he failed to inquire of the Lord. He's not there led by the spirit of God. He's not there by God's permission. He's not there with God's blessing. It's a lapse of faith in his life. This is an example of a man not walking in wisdom, making very bad decisions. And rather than continuing to trust God with his life to fulfill God's promises in his life, David in the fear of man, the fear of King Saul, ran away for protection among the enemy, leading to this enlistment to fight against his own people.

Announcer: God sure is good and he's gracious to us. And the passage before us today on Abounding Grace is a brilliant reminder of that. The Lord wants us to keep going and growing in our relationship with him. But there are times when some Christians backslide for one reason or another. Well, maybe that's descriptive of where you're at today. As we visit 1 Samuel 30 today, David is on a 16 month backslide. But after great difficulty, he's going to come back to the Lord. In one of the beautiful portraits of God's grace in all of scripture, we see the Lord is right there waiting for him.

Here to tell us all about it is Pastor Ed Taylor.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Now open your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 30 and we're just going to look at the first few verses today, very encouraging and worth pausing. There are those times where you just need to stop and pause on the beauty of what God can do in a person's life. Now you recall that David has decided to flee to the enemy's camp in order to to avoid being caught by King Saul. There he begins to wipe out the people in the southern part of the area. And what I mean by wipe out is is declare war and literally destroy them in the southern part there.

Coming back to King Achish to tell him that he's fighting on his side, the Philistine king. He's lying. Full of deception and lies leads the king to enlist David, King Achish, to fight in a larger battle against the children of Israel. Because compromise will lead you to places that if we would tell you beforehand, don't go there, it's going to get bad. You go, oh no, that would never happen. That would never happen. And you can think that the anointing of God is upon David, that he has been promised over and over again he's going to be the next king.

He it is it is done deal as far as God's concerned. All that we're waiting for from the human realm is the timing. You know, there's so many things in our lives that from heaven's perspective, it's a done deal. All we're waiting for is the timing. We're just waiting on the Lord to fulfill his promise even as we're waiting for the Lord to return. I mean, it's a done deal. We're just waiting for the fulfillment. And so here, if you can imagine saying if I was to say at the beginning of the of our study for Samuel, you know, there's an anointing of God, David a man after God's own heart, but but man by the end of the chapter like he's going to be enlisted to fight against his own people that he's also called to be king.

You were like, I don't know about that. Is that really in the Bible? It is. It is. That's where David is. And we learned that God was faithful and delivered him. That God stepped in and we thank God for his delivering power, don't we? We thank God that he delivers us time and time again. Jot it down in Psalm 31 verse 14, the psalmist cries out, deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those that persecute me. How many of you pray that prayer? Lord, deliver me from those that persecute me. Psalm 54 verse 7 says, for he has delivered me out of all of my trouble and my eye has seen his desire upon my enemies.

Psalm 143 verse 9, deliver me, oh Lord, from my enemies. In you I take shelter. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God and your spirit is good. So David hiding among the Philistine is one of is one in one of those low moments in his life where he failed to inquire of the Lord. He's not there led by the spirit of God. He's not there by God 's permission. He 's not there with God's blessing. It's a lapse of faith in his life. This is an example of a man not walking in wisdom, making very bad decisions.

And rather than continuing to trust God with his life to fulfill God's promises in his life, David in the fear of man, the fear of King Saul, ran away for protection among the enemy, leading to this enlistment to fight against his own people. And it's worth just saying to let it sit in the room for a second, to let you guys on the radio hear this, whether you're in Texas or Miami or Albuquerque or right here in Denver, how far we can get from the will of God. How far we can get from the will of God.

All of us prone to wander the hymnists would say. Yet God intervenes and uses the Philistine lords and an old familiar song you recall to save David. The same song that got him in trouble with the king is the same song that saved him. It's amazing how God can turn things around. Now with that in mind, verse one of chapter 30 catching you all up to where we are now. Now it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day that the Amalekites had invaded the south in Ziklag attacking or attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire and taken captive the women and those who were there from small to great.

They did not kill anyone but carried them away and went their way. So David and his men came to the city and there it was burned with fire. And their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with them lifted up their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Then 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. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. The title of our message today is David encouraged himself in the Lord. David goes from enemy to enemy but this time he 's on the right side. So he goes from this time in the Philistine territory. He's delivered from there. He's going back to to be reunited with the family that was left behind only to find that the Amalekites have come to destroy. Now remember we've learned this before but if you haven't written it, somewhere in your Bible you need to circle the word in verse one, Amalekites, and just write a little arrow somewhere if you don't have room and say the Amalekites are a type of the flesh in our lives, a picture of our flesh life.

These are the ones you recall, the Amalekites, the ones that attacked the children of Israel shortly after they came out of Israel. They speak to us of living in the flesh, living for the flesh. You can jot it down again in Deuteronomy chapter 25 we learn how the Amalekites would they attack the back of the pack. As the people of Israel marched through the wilderness, they would pick off the sick and the feeble and the older ones. And that's how the flesh often works in our lives, you know, picking off those weak areas of our lives, always picking at it, picking at it, picking at it, picking it.

It gets annoying, doesn't it? It just gets annoying, our flesh. It just there's nothing we can do to shed this earthly body. That 's why the more you deal with the flesh, the more hungry you should be for heaven because the promise of heaven includes a new body and to be delivered from this body of flesh, not just the aches and pains, not just the receding hairlines, not just all of the the compartment, you know, not the the metal hips and the metal knees and you know, not just all of that. As good as that might sound to you right now, we will be shed from the the dealing of our flesh and the picking and the picking and the picking of our flesh.

The Amalekites were such, just always picking. The flesh loves to exploit the areas of our lives that are weak and feeble and being held back from the Lord. So often you will hear from me as a pastor, do your devotions, man. Be in the word. Read the Bible. How often? Every day, multiple times a day. Read and pray every day. If we could do it for you, we would. That's how important it is. We would hire guys just on staff, guys and gals, that would just read the Bible. You don't need to do that because now they have all those apps that'll just read it to you.

You read your Bible every day. It's not some some heavy burden and it's not something you have to do because you go to church or to be a good Christian. You don't want your life to become weak and feeble more than it is. The world doesn't light up. The world's always communicating, always sending messages. Sometimes we're we're taking it in, watching stuff we shouldn't be watching, listening to stuff we but other times it's just there. It's just there. You can't help you walking and go, man, they're putting billboards up like that now? Like right there I'm all I'm just trying to drive down.

I'm coming down. I'm going I'm like, whoa. I'm walking through King Supers. Man, you know, the the the awards shows. I was just reading some articles about the recent, you know, video music awards. It's just carnal. Like not even carnal. I don't even know if there's another word. It's just evil. It's just not from the Lord. Sometimes we invite that stuff in. Sometimes we're just I'm reading the USA today and all of the section is about the MTV VMA awards and I'm like, what? I have to read about them. I'm like, what? What is going on?

You know, if you're a believer, you're inviting that stuff in. You're just feeding the flesh, man. You can expect a visit. Knock on the door. Who is it? Oh, I'm just an Amalekite. Oh, come on in, man. Sit down. Instead of putting up a fight in the spirit, the Amalekites are they are. They attacked. They exploited. All of the strong men were gone out to war. David was in another again you see David was in a place with the men where he didn't belong and those close to him paid the price. Why? Because those close to us always pay the price for our sin.

Certainly there is a price that we pay but we forget how many people we affect. The Amalekites took the city captive and when David returned, they found out they lost everyone including their wives and their kids. And it says that he was greatly distressed. The people that were with him and followed him into the area of Philistine into the to fight with the Philistines. These guys followed him and did really dumb things with them. Remember they nobody stood up and nobody said forget it. It's too much now. They're going to kill him. It's enough, David.

You it's enough. Maybe they were holding it in. And now I mean, it's enough. We're going to they started making up getting together. We need to stone this guy. It's enough. And it says that David for six was greatly distressed. This is a hard time. Remember the guys that were with David were were no wimps, man. These guys were were were like the ruffians. They were rough types of guys. Remember we were introduced to them that all those that were in debt, all those that were distressed, all those that were discontented, they they they were not they they were not they were they were fighting men.

They would become known later on as David's mighty men. So this is no small thing that's happening here. This they they're not talking about stoning him just to talk about it. David recognizes it but understand the depth of his discouragement for a moment. For David it's not just that he came back to the city to to see the Amalekites taking their families captive. No, it's not just that those close to him are ready to kill him. No, it's not just that King Saul has him on the run for 10 years. It's worsened by his compromised condition and his distance from the Lord.

So I mean, one of those things is bad, two of those things are bad, three of those things are bad. But what makes it worse is the very thing that could sustain him and strengthen him in the worst time of his life to date he doesn't have because he's seen it compromised away for a season in his life. It's a very deep. So so I I point this out just to say in verse six, greatly distressed does not truly describe the condition of discouragement and depression and whatever other emotions that David was going through because of all the circumstances and the fact that at this point he's very far from the Lord.

But it's ironic, is it not, to think that in our worst of times that they will actually become some of our best of times. That's especially hard to think when you're in the middle of your worst time. It's not the kind of counsel you want to come with in a time in somebody that's greatly distressed. I know it's about the only verse that we can think of but it isn't all that encouraging when someone's greatly distressed to come alongside and go, well, you know, God is going to work all things together for the good for those that love him.

That's a truth and that's a wonderful truth to hold on to but it 's not really acceptable by the person that's greatly distressed. It's true. You can pray it into someone's life but it's hard when you're in the midst of the darkness to look ahead and think that anything could ever become good out of this. But it's true. And I know from a broader perspective here from this pulpit today, I can say with great authority both from the scriptures and personal personal experience that although you might be in your worst time, it's very very possible that your worst time will be turned around to become a very good time in your life used for good.

I mean, it'll still be still be rough but it'll be used for good. God can do that work and I just plant that seed in you. I mean, we never see that in the pit. How could we possibly see that in the pit? Do you think Joseph ever thought for a moment in the pit sold out from his brothers that he would one day sit on the throne of the known world being used of God specifically? I mean, you could do the pit and every other issue that came up in his life but you think ever for a moment when you know, it's going to be fine because one day I'm going to be on the throne.

No way. But God did it. I I don't think you know, Job ever could think of his family being or anything that he lost being restored but God did it. I don't think Peter really thought in the depth of his difficulty that he would ever be used of God again denying Jesus three times. I mean, what kind of what kind of God would use somebody that would deny him three times and even two of this girl by the fire that doesn't even love him. I mean, do you think Peter would ever think of that but God did it.

You think that the disciples ever could see the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus, the consummation of their salvation in their deepest, darkest time? But God did it. And God can do that in your life even as he can do it here in David's life. You go, well, man, how is that possible? How is it possible to see the throne and to see the restoration? How is it possible to see the resurrection and the ascension? How is it possible to hold on to Let me give you two words. You ready? You want to write them down?

This is how it's possible. By faith. By faith. You trust God at his word by faith, by faith. That is the the overarching theme of man and women's relationship with God through the ages from Adam and Eve to the last person saved will be by faith. The same way we see in our own lives today that God can work on our behalf is by faith. What was the turning point for David? Well, it was not just the distress often although often God will use the deepest, darkest times in someone's life to get their attention but here's the key.

Yeah, the people spoke of stoning him verse six because everybody was grieved. You know, that that was a must have been a real sad group of people. 600 people and they lost everything, their kids, everything. They just lost everything. They're all it's it's it's devastating. It reminds me of the desperation that Jesus met when he went to the pools of Bethesda, remember, and all those sick people were there and they were so desperate to get into the water. They were just desperate. They were desperate and only one person would go in at a time and they'd have to go home and then the people who were there that were sick and and all sorts of things going on with their body and sores and and you know, you can think of just the worst of conditions and yet every day they're just there.

They have no hope but they do have hope but they really have no hope. It's desperate. It says every man and his sons and everybody was everybody was just just tore up over their loss. But mark this, David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Sometimes that's all you can do and it's really all you should do strengthen himself in the Lord his God. It doesn't say he did anything else. He didn't call his friends. He didn't send a mass email. He didn't post all his woes on Facebook. He didn't send out a text. He didn't go to church.

You see a turning point in David's life here. Everything's going to change with this attitude but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. He turned. He turned to God in a very deep dark time in his life and God met him there. It's not that God ever left and it's not like God just left and descended at that at that point but there was something that was connected here. You know what you could say here? You know what this really looks like? We're not going to get into it in depth but would you turn over Luke chapter 15?

You could say if David right now, the prodigal has come home. You're praying for a prodigal right now? Let David encourage you because David came home. That was the right thing to do. The prodigal came home. Yes, finally. Finally he came home to the father. And and in Luke chapter 15 for the sake of time, we aren't able to go through it verse by verse but this is probably one of the most popular teachings of Jesus, the prodigal son. In the beginning from verse 11 on, it talks about the prodigal son in his rebellion wanting his inheritance.

He's going to go and and he's going to go spend it all and and it says in verse 13 he wasted his possessions there with prodigal or wasteful living. That's what the word prodigal means, wasteful. But when he had spent all, there arose verse 14 a famine in that land and he began to be in want. And then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. And he would have gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate and no one gave him anything.

Again, if you like to write in your Bibles next to verse 16, just write bottom because that's where he's at. David hitting rock bottom was coming back from a compromising season of years in his life. It was years, you recall as we go through the time timetable. He comes back and to find that you know, everything's been fine, every other compromise but this time the Amalekites have come and wiped out the city and taken all the families captive and they want to kill him. He's hit rock bottom. For this kid, he's lost everything and you know, he bought his friends for a while but he found out really when when things got tough, he found out who his friends really were.

And it wasn't any of the ones that were spending his money. It wasn't anyone that was partying with him. It wasn't anyone that was, oh yeah, yeah, you're the best, man. You the best. How much money you got left? You know, you the best and I need some it wasn't any of them. They all abandoned him. He was left with this citizen of the country and pigs. That's where he was left. And there's just that time we need to pray in someone's life. It's a hard prayer but we need to. Whatever it takes, Lord, whatever it takes.

You know, we're praying for someone in some someone in our life who would just know that we need that they need to get rock bottom. That's the only solution. The Holy Spirit just needs to bring him to the place to the end of themselves and so what a dangerous prayer but a lot of times we don't want to pray that prayer because we love that person so much. But we need to learn how to trust the Lord that he'll do whatever it takes because he loves that person more than you and I do. You think of the depth of love that you and I have and you're like, wait a minute.

God loves them far more. His love is much more supreme than yours and mine and the only love that we really exercise is the love that he put us in us anyway. Well, we got to pray, man, whatever it takes but how about this? What about this prayer? Lord, whatever it takes in my life for me to get right with you. That's a powerful one. Now Ed, I think I'll pray the first one. I think I have a few people I love but for me whatever it takes in my life, whatever you want to do in my life, Lord, that's often a prayer that needs to be prayed for our lives, us personally.

You know, we sing songs and and sometimes they're hard to sing, man. We sing songs that that are very biblically accurate but they're very hard to sing. And I jot it down in my notes the song that we sing that says break me, mold me, shape me. I say know me. No. I don't want to be broken. I don't want to be molded. I don't want to be shaped. Or do I? I mean, if I'm honest, which you would expect me to be, right? You'd be honest with me? Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. There's long stretches where I do and there's long stretches where I don't really want to be broken.

I don't even think there's stretches in my life where I think I don't even think I can be broken anymore than I already am. And yet at the same time my heart is but, Lord, I belong to you so whatever you want. I wonder what you say in your prayers.

Announcer: Glad you joined us today for Abounding Grace with Pastor Ed Taylor. If you enjoyed the message, you can hear it again online at aboundinggraceradio.com or wherever you get your podcasts. We're also at oneplace.com. At Abounding Grace we're committed to bringing the truths of God's word to the radio and internet every day but we can't do it alone. We look to the Lord and our listeners to help us provide these daily studies. Today when you give a donation of $25 or more, we'll send you Pastor Ed's new book, How to Take Notes. This highly practical guide will give you some ideas for taking notes as you head off the church on Sunday or as you listen to us on the radio or by podcast.

Instead of just sitting back and listening, learn how to engage with scripture and the teaching in a more personal way. Request a copy right now by calling us at 877-30 Grace. That's 877-30 Grace. You can also order it online at calvaryco.store. That's calvaryco.store. Donations can also be made at aboundinggraceradio.com and then join us next time and we'll have another great study in the word from Pastor Ed here on Abounding Grace.

Guest (Male): This is a blessing grace. This is a failing love. That you would take my place. Then you would bear my cross. You laid down your life that I would be set free. Oh Jesus I sing for all that you've done for me.

Announcer: Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church Colorado here in Aurora.