Sound of Faith

Sharon Hardy Knotts: Greetings friends and new listeners, welcome to the R. G. Hardy Ministries program. I'm Sharon Knotts, thanking you for joining us today because we know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

And I'm really excited today to bring you a tremendous tool to use when you are facing intense attacks against your life on many fronts. It's entitled Ziglag: 10 Ways to React When Satan Attacks.

R. G. Hardy: And then you don't allow yourself to become bitter, because that's what was happening to David's men. They were so overtaken with grief, everyone for their loss, that they finally began to become angry and bitter. Because when you get in that place, you've got to find someone to blame.

You want to find someone to lash out at. Amen, because it's just too much for you. You want to say, "What if you hadn't done that, and if you hadn't said this, and if that hadn't happened?" Oh, my, I spent a long time in that boat too. And let me tell you, it goes down just like the other one. They're all sinking ships.

You can revisit that "what if" all day long, but it's not going to change anything. Amen, hindsight is the perfect science. You can look back and see all the places where you missed it, all the places where you should've, you could've, but you didn't.

But you know what? That's not going to help you now. It's no point in sitting there and having a pity party and letting the devil sow bitterness in your heart. The Bible says take heed and beware of a root of bitterness that springs up quickly. I don't think anything grows any quicker than a root of bitterness. That thing can grow overnight.

You can go to bed upset. You're genuinely upset. But you can wake up the next morning bitter, angry. How many know that? Something happened overnight. Instead of you letting the Lord take that thing, you munched on it and you let the devil talk to you, and then you get up the next day and it's worse.

Can you imagine that these men now spoke of stoning David? What good would that have done? What would that have accomplished if they would have stoned David? He was their leader. These people did not have leadership capabilities, or they wouldn't have been scattered all over the place and nobody wanting them to be around. They needed David's leadership.

Now with David at the helm, he was able to make soldiers out of these men, but they didn't have that ability. What would have been accomplished if they would have stoned David? They would have lost their leadership. How many say amen?

And sometimes when things go wrong, the devil tries to get you pitted against somebody else. If something happens in your home or in your marriage, then the devil tries to put a wedge between husband and wife or parents and children and then tries to drive that wedge in there, and then that thing grows and gets worse, when in fact you two need to come together. Amen, because two will put 10,000 to flight. And when there's disunity, all the devil does is have a field day. He just comes on in and takes more and takes more.

That's the trick of the enemy. Amen, that's why Peter told us, he said, "Make sure that you don't allow bitterness to come in." He said because when you do and you are fighting with one another, your prayers are hindered. And how many know when you're under attack, you don't need your prayers hindered?

Amen, you need to come together in unity. So the first thing is weep, but move on. The second thing is don't allow yourself to become bitter. And the third thing is don't give in to despair. Now the men were allowing themselves to become bitter, but look at David. He had double trouble. He lost his wives too. He lost his family too. And now on top of it, they want to stone him.

I can't imagine what David was going through. I can't imagine what this must have been doing to him. But what did he do? I love what it says in the end of verse six: "But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." Amen, when there's no one else to encourage you, because sometimes when you're going through a place, the people that you expect to be there to boost your faith and encourage you, sometimes they open their mouth and all this negative stuff comes out.

Amen, how many know it's the last thing you need at that point? And instead of them being there to preach you something from the Word of God and give you a testimony to build your faith, they go, "Oh man, I don't know what you're going to do." Instead of helping you, they pour all this on top of you.

What are you going to do? You've got to encourage yourself in the Lord. That's when you've got to get out the Word of God. That's when you've got to revisit the places of victory. That's when you've got to start singing that song, "He'll do it again. He is faithful. I know what he did before, he'll do it again. I'm going to trust in the Lord. I remember when there was no one to help me. In my distress, I called upon the Lord, and he heard me and he delivered me out of all of my fears. I'm going to trust in the Lord my God. I am going to encourage myself in the Lord."

And how much more can we do that when we have the experiences and the words of David? Amen, so David had to encourage himself in the Lord because nobody else was going to encourage him. Amen, he had to get a grip on himself. Have you ever been to the place? There is a place where you come. It's a line of demarcation.

And here all of this stuff is happening to you, and you feel like you're on the right there, you could just so easily go over that and fall into despair and fall into a pit. And you know it, something in your soul is telling you, "Whatever you do, fight. Whatever you do, fight now."

If there was ever a time for you to dig in your heels and not give in to discouragement, this is it. Because if you don't fight now and you fall into that pit, it's going to be hard to get yourself out. I didn't say it's impossible, because all things are possible with God, but I'm saying it's going to be hard.

Just don't go there. Have you ever been to that place where the Holy Ghost is shouting on the inside of you, "Don't go there. Don't say that. Don't push the envelope any further." Amen, let it go right here. Stop right now and say, "No, I'm going to change direction. I am not going to let the devil push me in that pit.

I'm not going to open my mouth and speak what thus saith the devil. I'm going to open my mouth and speak what thus saith the Holy Ghost, what thus saith the Lord God." You have a decision to make how you're going to respond in that moment. And because you have the Holy Ghost, he's in there. Oh, and he's stirred up. Amen, and he's trying to give you the right direction to go.

Amen, so you've got to encourage yourself in the Lord. So that's what David did. Essentially, he said, "I'm going to get up, I'm not giving into this." How many remember the prophet Elijah after he had the great victory and then Jezebel said, "You are history. I'm going to do to you what you did to my false prophets."

And what did he do? This great man of faith and power who called fire down from heaven ran and hid. And he was weeping and crying and he was saying, "There's nobody left but me. I'm the only real one who really knows God and I'm the only one left." And he was having a pity party.

And what did God do? He came and he basically said, "Elijah, shut up and get up. What are you doing sitting there like that? My God, just get up. Are you afraid of a woman of Jezebel?" Amen, it's time for you to get up, Elijah. I want you to know you are not the only one left. You're not the only person ever been in this test.

You're not the only one who's been in this kind of a trial. You're not the only one who's ever been sick. You're not the only one who's ever been in pain. You're not the only one who's ever had their light cut off and they're facing things. You're not the only one. Just get up, Elijah.

How many say amen? So you know, even preachers can get depressed sometimes. I've had people say to me, "Oh, well you know the Word of God so good and I know it." I still have things just like you do. Those demons come and talk to me too. Amen, that lying devil comes around me too.

Amen, and I have to do what you have to do and you have to do what I have to do. We've got to encourage ourselves in the Lord. Just because you know the Word doesn't mean you're going to use it. But move on. Don't allow yourself to become bitter. Don't give in to despair, but encourage yourself in the Lord. Okay, let's read a few more verses here.

"And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray you bring me hither the ephod." And Abiathar brought the ephod thither to David. Now you all know what that was, that was they had this breastplate and they used that to ask direction of the Lord. And the Lord would speak to them through this.

So this is what he did. He went to the priest. And this is an important part, so even though you don't realize it, this is very important. He went to the priest and here's verse eight, it's what I want you to see. "And David inquired at the Lord saying, 'Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them?'" And he that is God answered, "Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all."

So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind had stayed. But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred men abode there, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.

Now let's stop here for a moment and see what happened. What did David do? After he encouraged himself in the Lord, then David went to the priest and he sought a word from God. And these next three steps are so integral. If you miss everything, don't miss this. Let me tell you something, when you find yourself under satanic attack, there's all kind of pressure, there's all kinds of noises, there's all kinds of sounds.

The devil is pressing you on all sides. If you don't do anything else, you have got to get away and seek the Lord. David was wise enough to know this is too big of a situation for me, I am in way over my head. But thank God, God is able. He's the all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful God.

Amen, and when you don't know what else to do, seek the Lord. David went to the priest. He said, "I have got to get a word from God." If you don't know what else to do, stand still and wait on the Lord because a hasty spirit is not of God. Amen, and before you make your counterattack, you want to make sure that you're on the same page as the Holy Ghost.

David went to the priest and he said, "Should I pursue or not?" And God gave him a clear word. And this is one thing I love so much about the Holy Spirit. He said, "If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." James 1:5.

This is one of the scriptures that I live by. Just let him ask of God. God wants nothing more than for you and me to come to him. There's nothing too small, and in this case, there's nothing too hard, too great for our God. He said, "Just ask me." I want you to ask me. I like to put it this way: he will not withhold and he will not scold. He says, "Just come. I want you to come."

When I was a young girl about age nine or 10, I had a preacher sign my Bible. We had all the preachers sign our Bible, I guess we thought that was going to make us more spiritual somehow. And so we had this one preacher, he signed my Bible, his name was Brother Terlizzi. And he wrote in there Proverbs 3:5 and 6.

So I ran and got my Bible to see what it said, and I wrote it in there, and this scripture has been a hallmark of mine all my life: "Trust in the Lord with all of thine heart; lean not on thine own understanding." Oh, Lord God, just to have victory right there. Just right there, to have victory. "Lean not on thine own understanding, but in all of thy ways acknowledge him and he will, he will direct your path."

Oh, the victory that will be ours. Oh, the many troubles and snares and pitfalls we will avoid if we learn to acknowledge him in all of our ways. You see, that was one of the essential differences between David and Saul. David went to the Lord with everything. Everything David went to the Lord to inquire.

And Saul, the extreme opposite, when he was given direct commandments of God through Samuel the prophet, he wiggled them around and he manipulated them and did what he wanted to do, and then he tried to make an excuse for it. The extreme opposites. David was afraid to make a move without God, and Saul just totally disobeyed God outright, did what he wanted to do.

Do you see why God called David a man after his own heart? Do you see why God said, "I reject Saul, I repent that I ever made him king"? Oh, the difference it is. God, if you make a whole bunch of mistakes, if you do all kinds of things, let me tell you something, nothing will touch the heart of God more but that you come to him and you ask him and you seek his face.

And this is how you grow, this is how you develop, this is how you mature—it's making mistakes and learning from them. Amen, because as time goes on, you will make less mistakes and you will hear the voice of God more clearly, and you will become more discerning, and you will become more obedient.

I love this scripture in Hebrews, I think it's 5:12, that says that the mature, those who can eat strong meat because they have had their spiritual senses exercised by reason of use, they know how to discern good from evil. That means they just learned how to go to God every time.

And God says, "Now here's what the devil's up to, but I want to tell you what you can do, and you can cause the devil to look like a fool every time." And as you continue to do that, your ear becomes sensitive, sensitive to the voice of the Lord. And then after a while, all he has to do is just nudge you. You know, just nudge you a little bit, don't have to hit you over the head with the Bible.

You know he's saying, "No, no, stop it." But then after a while, he just says, "No." He gets that rod, and you know the rod and the staff. You see, the rod is for correction when you need it, but it also is to, "Hey, don't go that way, get over here." Just touch them a little bit, and then they'll go the right way.

And that's what the Holy Ghost wants to do, he wants to be able to give us that little nudge so we don't fall in Satan's pitfalls. So we find out that David inquired of the Lord and he said, "What shall I do? If I go after them, am I going to overtake them? Should I wait or should I go?" And God said, "Go." Oh, I love it when you know that you know that God said, "Go."

When you know that prompt means go, go. And when you know that check means no, don't go. Amen, but God said, "Pursue them!" And I love the thing about God, he said, "Go after them, David, because you'll not only overtake them, but you will recover A-L-L."

Somebody said, "I want it all back. I want it all back. I want it all back. I'm going into the enemy's camp and I'm going to take back what the devil stole from me." Amen. So number four is seek a word from God. And then number five, when God gives you a word, act on it. The time to act is when God gives you a word.

Then don't begin to allow because you know as soon as God gives you a word, the enemy is right there. How many know the parable of the sower? The four grounds, what happened when the word was sown? Immediately the enemy came to steal the word. And that follows through on everything.

Didn't Jesus say that's the key to all the parables and all the gospel? How many know Jesus said that? So that means if God gives you a word and says, "I am the Lord thy God that healeth thee," the devil's going to come and say, "Oh no, you're not going to get healed."

If God comes to you and gives you a word and says, "I am the Lord thy God who supplied all thy needs according to his riches in glory, and I'm going to give you this so that you desire." I see your need of a home, I see your need of a car, I see your need of a better job.

I, the Lord thy God, am going to give it to you. And the devil will come and say, "It is never going to happen." He comes to steal the word immediately, no matter what the word is God gives you. And when God says, "Rise up and pursue and overtake, for I am with thee," saith the Lord, "and you will recover all," the devil's going to come and say, "Are you losing your mind? Are you going to go out there with these six hundred men? Are you going to go out there after them?"

Amen, but what did David do? When God says go, he didn't sit there and think about it. He obeyed the voice of the Lord. Now the only time we hesitate is when we're not sure. We're either not sure or God has not given us a word yet. If God hasn't given you a word yet, where you going to go?

How do you know where to go and what to do if he hasn't told you? So you'd be foolish to do it then. But on the other hand, if God has given you a word and you sit there, you can talk yourself out of it. You can sit there and rationalize that whole thing, and when you're done, you'll say, "I don't think that was God."

Amen, so when you know that you know. And you say, "Well, how will I know?" I can only give you that verse I just quoted: by reason of use, by exercising that. God will start you off on little things. He's not going to start you on some huge thing that could bring disaster to you. He'll start you off on something little.

He'll say, "You're going to go to Super Fresh today" or "you're going to go to Giant today to shop for your groceries." And he'll say, "No, go to Super Fresh." I just think I should go to Super Fresh. I don't know why, but I got this strong feeling to go to Super Fresh. So you go to Super Fresh, and what happened?

You end up praying for somebody to get healed in Super Fresh. Now if you'd have gone to Giant, would it have been the end of the world? No, you would have never known. But because you learned and you say, "Man, am I so glad I went to Super Fresh. Wow, just you know, that's a big thing to you. That's huge to you at that time."

You think, "Wow, did you see what God did? Whoa! Go get them, God!" And you know what God says? "You ain't seen nothing yet. Amen, if I can trust you with these little things, I want to give you something bigger." Don't you remember when they brought Nathaniel to Jesus and they said, "Here, this is Nathaniel. We've told him to come see you that you're the Messiah." And Jesus said, "Nathaniel, you're a true Israelite."