Welcome, everyone. We're glad that you tuned in tonight for our midweek Bible study. I'm thrilled to be here tonight filling in for Pastor Shane. And I miss you, church family. I know you guys have been, like most of us, we've been missing gathering together in God's house. And just a special event it is when we come together as believers. It's been quite a difficult journey not being able to connect with you guys and see your faces. And I just want to let you guys know we're praying for you. And we love you. And we're looking forward to when we do meet together once again. But I pray you're doing well. I pray that your families are drawing closer to God and to one another during this season. Let's not waste this season. allow God to do what he has to do in our hearts, in our lives during this season. And that's what it is, just a season. And in life, I'm learning more so that there are seasons. There are seasons where we experience the mountaintop victories, and there are seasons where we really don't know what's going on. And as you study the scriptures, God's people are not We are not immune to the seasons of those victories and those tough, dark seasons. And so we are, of course, praying for you, and we love you. And those of you who are tuning in, maybe you're exploring Christianity, and we're glad you're here as well. We've been praying, and God has used this time to awake a lot of people to the frailty of our lives. They're asking now questions that they weren't asking a few months ago. And so this is a God-appointed time. I truly believe it. And we're just going to, of course, let God have his word during this time. Well, tonight I want to bring a Bible study, a message from 1 Samuel chapter 30. 1 Samuel chapter 30. And you were telling the truth, Pastor, it's so different preaching to an empty room trying to look at the camera here. And so y'all bear with me if I struggle, if I start to look over here, over here, it's just, you know, just the natural tendencies of a preacher. And so we're going to be in 1 Samuel chapter 30, and the title of tonight's message is Lessons from Ziklag. Lessons from Ziklag. We're going to be looking at a season in David's life, a difficult season to say the least, and how David was able to be victorious in that season, how he was able to withstand the pressure that he was under, the uncertainty that he was facing. And I've been encouraged by this text over the last few days as I've prepared for this message. And I trust that it will be an encouragement to you guys. But before we start to read, let's pray together. Father, we come before you and we acknowledge that you are sovereign, you are All powerful, you are still on the throne and nothing that we are experiencing right now is a surprise to you. And we're thankful that our future is as certain as your promises. And Lord, I just pray that you would strengthen your body during this season, Lord, that when we do come back together, we would be on fire for you. that we would not take for granted the things that we did before this time. Lord, I do pray for families to be strengthened during this time. I pray for men of God all across this country who are pastoring and leading during a different season. And I just pray you give them grace. I thank you for our pastor. We pray for him. We ask that you give wisdom as he leads us through this season. And Father, I just pray that tonight you'd be glorified as I open your word as I share your word, and I pray that you would get this message to those who need it. I pray that I'll be an encouragement. I pray that you would speak and convict where you see necessary, Lord. And Lord, we just, we trust you, and we love you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. First Samuel chapter 30, we'll start reading verse number one. The Bible says, now it happened when David and his men came to Ziklad on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south and Ziklad, attacked Ziklad and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great. And 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 him 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 Nabigail the Carmelite, had 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. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Can you imagine the scene? David and his mighty men had been dismissed by King Achish to go back to the small piece of land that he had given them in a city called Ziklag. They had been weary on their journey. Of course, they were, at this season, David was on the run from King Saul. He had now joined himself with the Philistines, his former arch enemies, and he had showed himself to be a faithful servant to the King Achish of Gath. He had gone into battle, but for this battle that was coming up, the king said, hey, you head home and we don't really want you to go on this battle with us. And so I can imagine that David and his men were excited. They were excited to get home to their families who they had been away from for a time. They were excited to get back to their own beds, to have a home-cooked meal, to see their sons and daughters. And I imagine as they were getting close to Ziklag, there was excitement there, but that excitement was soon changed to sorrow. I imagine as they saw on the horizon, the smoke that was rising from Ziklad, they begin to walk a little faster. They begin to, I believe those men begin to sprint and to look to see what had taken place. You see, they had left their wives and their children and their livestock and all their worldly possessions. And they had been away for some time. And as they pulled up on the scene, the Bible says that they had been invaded by the Amalekites. The Amalekites were ruthless people. They would invade a city and they would take all the spoils and they would take many of the people as prisoners of war and they would enslave these men and women and children and it was not a pretty sight. The Amalekites should not even have been a factor at this point. You see, if King Saul would have done what he had been told to do many years before, David would not have been facing this very same dilemma, this battle that he's facing with his men. So as they come on the scene, they see a situation that is something out of a horror film. They see that their homes are destroyed. They see that everything is burned down. They see that their families are kidnapped. And the Bible says that these mighty warriors, these mighty men, they could do nothing but weep and weep and weep until they could weep no more. Have you ever cried that hard where there's just no more tears to cry? Well, this is what David and those mighty men did. These men of war, they were seduced, they were reduced to just weeping young men. This trial was devastating. And I want to say the first lesson from Ziklag that we all can relate to to some extent, or if we can't relate to yet, one day we will, is that trials come to everyone. David was a servant of God and we know he had done nothing wrong. He had behaved himself wisely in Saul's home. He had gone valiantly to battle. He had slew giants. He had been a man of integrity. He had been a man who had a heart for God. He had been a man who was going about loving the Lord and loving God. Those who God had given him care of, but yet Saul, of course, wanted him dead. So he had to leave everything he'd known. He had to join with his arch enemies. He had to take refuge in Ziklag, even though he had already been anointed the next king of Israel, even though he was royalty. The situation, it's stunk. Let me say this, we live in a fallen world. We live in a world that because of sin and because of the brokenness and because of all the things that go wrong in our world, there's just situations in life that just stink. Right now we're living in one, I say in America, as our economy, as many people are unemployed, as many people are dealing with sickness, as many people are dealing with something completely that was not on their radar just a few months ago. And it just, it isn't a situation that any of us would choose, but may I say we have to be aware that these types of trials, they come into our lives. So David and these mighty men, He wept and he wept until they couldn't weep anymore. David, of course, being the leader, and I'll say this again, let's pray for our leaders, our president, the pastors across the nations, those who are leading through this, because as you see, David, because he was a leader, the blame was placed upon him. If you read about it in verse number six, the men, those mighty men, after they went through the grief, the initial shock and grief, now it turned to anger. How many of you guys are there yet? In this situation we're in. These men had now gotten angry and they had begun to murmur against David and they were deciding whether or not they were going to stone David. where they were gonna execute him. So not only was David carrying the own grief of losing his wives and his children and not knowing how they were and what was going on and his home being burnt down, but now those closest to him are turning on him. How many of you guys would say that's the situation in my home right now? My kids, they're trying to burn down the house, and we've been locked in this quarantine for so long that we're turning on each other, and I hope that's not the case. I'm just kidding. But this was the situation David was in. They were thinking of stoning him. They were thinking of ending his life. David would have had many questions going through his mind at this time, like, God, why? Why is this happening? And God, what do I do? Could you only imagine what was going on in the heart of David at this time? Don't we all have a lot of questions right now? The world is filled with a lot of questions, even those who aren't believers. who have nowhere to turn with their questions. How does an atheist deal with something like this? How does someone who does not know God deal with something like the situation that we're in? When you have no one with the answers you can turn to, but aren't you thankful as believers in Jesus, we do have someone we can turn to who does know the answers, who does give hope in spite of how circumstances may look. And so David, his situation was devastating. But I want you to see David's response. I want you to see what David does. And in verse number six, we get to see what David does. And if you have your Bibles, I want you to follow along with me. Starting verse number six. 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. But David What does David do? But David strengthened himself in the Lord, his God. David had only one place where he could turn. There's only one relationship that he could lean on in this time. There was only one person who could give answers, who can give insight, who could help him navigate through these stormy waters, and it was that of the Almighty God, his God. The Bible says that David strengthened. Another version of the Bible, the King James says, David encouraged himself in the Lord. David turned to his foundation. Believers, what is our foundation? Our foundation is none other than Jesus Christ. He is the one who we... cling to in the darkest hours. He is the one who we turn to for answers. He is the one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is the only constant in our lives. He's the only thing that we have in our lives that could never be taken from us. And he's the only one who we should build our lives on. You read all throughout scripture how that wise people build their lives upon their relationship with God. Because when the storm hits, They have a sure foundation, Jesus Christ, the rock of all ages. David strengthened himself in the Lord, his God. He turned to God. He had that relationship with God. You see, what I believe God is doing in this season in my life and in your life is He's exposing us What are we placing our faith in? Is it our jobs? Is it our bank account? Is it our health? Is it our future, what we perceive to be our future opportunities? And in just a few moments, God has shut down a lot of that. He shut down all the stadiums with all the sports and the entertainment and the venues. He's caused us to sit still. You know, when I wanna get my kids' attention, I usually have to turn off the Daniel Tiger. I usually have to take away the iPads or get them sitting down and quiet. And in order to get their attention, to have an important discussion with them, to address something, usually I need to have their full attention. And I believe this is what God is doing in this season in our lives, is He's pulling away a lot of the distractions, a lot of the busyness. A lot of the things that filled our days, you see, we've gotten so busy in Western society. We've gotten so busy going to and fro, and we rarely be still and know that he is God. David, everything had been stripped from him. His family was gone. His house was burned down. He had nowhere else to turn, but he turned to the Lord, his God, and the Bible says he strengthened himself in that. The Bible says, they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. You see, David found a source, a source of strength in God that you can find nowhere else. David wrote about it as a Psalmist. He said in Psalm 56 in verse three, what time I am afraid I will trust in thee. He said, cast thy burden upon the Lord. And He shall sustain them. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved. And may I say, our foundation is a firm, sure foundation. And I hope that during this season, we are turning to Him and we are strengthening ourselves in the Lord. You know, to be honest, in the beginning of all this, with all the uncertainty, I wasn't really strengthening myself in the Lord. I found myself going back to some habits that I had been seeing victory over. I found myself comfort food eating, you know, finding comfort in food and trying to find comfort other than in God. If we're all honest, at times we do that and God just really convicted me about that. He just really revealed that in me that I hadn't really eradicated that tendency in my life and that I needed to turn to Him. I needed to trust in the Lord and lean not to my own understanding. David. His response to his situation, his devastating situation, was a spiritual response. He turned to the Lord, his God. He encouraged himself in the Lord. May I say this? Jesus is all that we need. He's enough tonight. He is all that we could ever want and desire. In him is life and life abundantly. In him is, in his presence, there is joy everlasting. I hope that during this season that we all just sit at the feet of Jesus and just build that relationship and encourage ourselves in his word and in worship and in the word of God and let us come out of this quarantine not gained weight physically, but that we would gain strength spiritually. This is what David did. He turned to Jesus. Not only did David turn to his Lord, but he sought out godly counsel. I want you to see this here in the Bible. In verse number seven, the Bible says, Then David said to Abiathar the priest, So David went to God, he went to the source, he went to his relationship with God, but then shortly afterward, he sought out the priest. He sought out the man of God, the spiritual leader among him. And he said to this priest, Abiathar, he says, Please, verse number seven, please bring the ephod to me. Now let me explain what the ephod is. The ephod was a priest-like apron. It was a garment that had these special stones in it. And when the priests or when others needed to get an answer from God, they needed to get a hold of God and get clear direction on whether they should do something, they would oftentimes, they would bring this ephod And so David requests this from the priest, and of course the priest brings this, and the Bible says that David begins to seek God. He begins to inquire of God, the Bible says. So David inquired of the Lord, saying, shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? So he asked him specifically what he should do, and he prays, and he says, what should we do, Lord? Should we pursue, or should we wait on you? I know if this were me, I'd already been gone. I would have already been trying to figure this out myself. And let's be honest, that's a lot of us. Some of you have already begun to plan what you're going to do if this proceeds. You've already begun to think about where you can move and what you can move around. And let me say, there's wisdom there, don't get me wrong. I mean, but the first stop should never really be our own reasoning and what we could do and what we can get done in our power. David went to God. for answers, for clear directions. And do you know you can ask God specifically what you have need of? Do you know that we can ask God for clear direction? And he gives it. So David inquired of the Lord saying, shall I pursue this truth, shall I overtake them? And he answered him. Let's not stop. I mean, I don't know about you, but I get excited. Luke, you back there, do you get excited with the fact that when we call upon our heavenly father, that he hears us? And I don't know about you, but when I saw that in the text, I don't know, it just did something in me that it hadn't done before when it said, and he answered him. Oh God. He answers. We have a God who is alive and well and on the throne, and he answers prayer. Amen, I'm gonna amen myself in here. He answered him. The God of the universe answered his servant. He's not too busy. You know, if I tried to call the White House today, I'd probably not get through. If I tried to call my state senator or governor, I'd probably have to speak to a secretary. But bless God, if I get on my knees right now here at the altar and I ask my father anything, he is willing and able and wanting to answer me. When my kids come to me and they say, daddy, I'm hungry, or daddy, I want something. As a father, I just, I enjoy to answer and take care of those needs. And how much more so does our heavenly father want to answer us? David inquires of the Lord and he answered. And God said, he gave him clear direction, he said, pursue. For you shall surely overtake them, and without fail, recover all." God ensured him the victory. God said, you are going to recover all. And may I say this, for the believer, we have a promise. We have many promises, actually, that say that we are victorious in Christ. You see, Jesus has already won the victory over death, hell, and the grave. We have no need to fear even death. You know, while this world is running around scared and uncertain and people are fearful, you know, you go into the stores and you just can sense the tension there. We as believers ought not be sold. The worst thing in our lives, the worst thing a believer will face is not death. Heard about Charles Spurgeon. He was a pastor in London during the 1800s. And during that time, a outbreak of cholera, I believe is how you say it, cholera, was taking place and people were dropping like flies. People were dying left and right. He was asked by someone what he was going to do during this difficult time. And this is his reply. He said, fear to die? Thank God, I do not have it. The Gloria may come again next summer. I pray it doesn't, but if it does, it matters not to me. I will toil and visit the sick by day and by night until I drop. And if it takes me in sudden death, after sudden death is sudden glory. I don't know where we have gotten away from this spirit that is within believers all throughout the Bible where they don't fear death because they actually believe in the resurrection. They actually believe that Jesus rose from the grave and that all those in Christ will also rise from the grave. And so to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Where have we gotten off track where we are fearful? Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying go look for it. I'm not saying being reckless. But what I'm saying is if it comes, you can't scare me with heaven. You can't scare me with being in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and we've got to get back to the point where we as believers take him at his word and we don't count our lives as dear unto ourselves but that we are truly and utterly surrendered and in faith believing that we will spend eternity with him. The early church believed that. They believed it unto death. If you read throughout the history, if you read the stories and books like the Trail of Blood, and you read the Book of Martyrs, and you read about these men and women of God who, when even in the early century, when the Romans had people who were sick with pestilence and other diseases that they had no cures for, the Christians were the ones who would go and pick up these people by the wayside and minister to them. and take care of the second and to lay hands on him and pray and what happened to that boldness? We either believe it or we don't. David, he had a spiritual response in Ziklag. He sought God, and he strengthened himself in that relationship, and he sought answers, directions, and he sought what he should do. He did not move hastily. He waited on God, and God answered. God directed him. The psalmist said, as for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Where's our hope? should be in God. He's worthy. He's worthy. John Newton, of course, former person who was involved in the slave trade and Of course, he was gloriously saved. Of course, he's the author of Amazing Grace. And he spent a good portion of his ministry in his life fighting for the abolition of slavery in Europe. He went through a lot of suffering. He went through a lot of these zig lag times. He learned a lot of lessons in suffering. And he said that he trusted God in the suffering. He believed that all things work together for the good. He said, anything in my life, whether good or bad, God has allowed and I trust him. That's what we gotta get back to. Easy to preach, hard to live, but God will give us grace. David, he has the assurance of the victory And David acts upon the direction that God has given. Look at verse number nine. We're gonna read some verses, so follow along with me in your Bible. So David went, he and the 600 men who were with him. And they came to the brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind, so excuse me. So David, he begins to pursue. Now remember, they had just traveled to get to Ziklag. They had traveled a long way, 600 men, we find out here in that verse. And now they're gonna make this trip and they're gonna pursue the Amalekites. And so David goes and they're pursuing. And at this brook, there are 200 men who just can't walk another step. They just can't make it. And So they stayed behind, the Bible says, who were so weary that they could not cross the brook Bezor. Verse 11, then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. And they let him drink water. And he gave him a piece of cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his strength came back to him. For he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days or three nights. Then David said to him, to whom do you belong, and where are you from? So along the journey, they see a man who had been thrown off to the wayside, an Egyptian. No doubt, he was a slave, he was a servant, probably of the Amalekites. And we will see in just a moment, he was a servant of the Amalekites, the very camp that attacked David's Ziklag. But you see, I see something in David, I see something that we should all strive for in this season of distress. I see kindness, I see concern for others, I see him taking the time to pick up this one man. an Egyptian slave, and to give him food and water, and to try to be a help to him. And I see compassion in David here, and I see a heart after God's own heart here in David. And may I say that during this time, in this season, where many people are struggling, may we lead in this. May we be the number one ones who are reaching out to our neighbors and asking, do you have needs? Can I help? What is it that I can, how can I serve you? This is what David does. And I believe this is a divine appointment. You see, I won't take time to read it, but this very Egyptian, he was a part of the camp that took Ziklag, and he directs them and he tells them exactly where they were heading. And he, David asks him, he enlists him in verse number 15. And David said to him, can you take me down to this troop? So he said, swear to me by God, verse 16, or still verse 15, swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my masters and I will take you down to this troop. Verse 16, and when he had brought him down, there they were spread out across over the land and 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. Then David attacked them from the twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped except 400 young men who rode on camels and fled. Verse 18, so David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives, and nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them. David recovered all. God blessed, and David won the victory. And it was a miraculous day. If you read about this, David, he received so much spoil from this victory, he didn't know what to do with it. This was quite a victory. You see, may I say this, every trial that we go through, every storm that we go through in life, on the other end of it, there is victory for the believer. there is victory. You say, what about the people who pass away from this disease going around? What about those who are losing loved ones during this time? And I say, oh, we grieve with you. We hurt with you. But may I say, if your loved ones in Christ, they have won the victory, they have graduated to heaven, they would not come back if they could. we win the victory. And may I say, in the life of the believer, God brings trials and tests to refine us, to the fiery file, which is to try us, to test us, to strengthen us. And if you would ever be around a blacksmith or someone who would make weapons in the old days or even modern times or make tools or anything like that, when they would form the weapon or whatever the object is, they would have to put that through the fire. They have to put it in the fire to harden it, to strengthen it, so that that tool can be useful. And may I say this, God does the same thing in my life and in your life. He brings us through seasons of testing so that we can be refined, so that the impurities in us can be exposed, can be brought to the surface. And may I say, I believe that is what God is doing a lot during this very season. And if we are wise, we will allow God to to have his work in our lives. Let patience have his perfect work so that we can be well-rounded, the Bible says, so we can be mature, perfect, wanting nothing, if you're reading James chapter one. Lessons from Ziklag. We are going to go through trials. That's the first thing we must understand. Trials will come. Difficulties will come. But our response, what we saw in David, our response should be likewise. Our response should be to turn to our relationship with God. We should be building that relationship in the good time. You see, the tendency for you and I is when things are going well, we don't spend as much time on our knees. We don't spend so much time in his presence. We don't spend so much time developing that relationship. And I find that when difficulties come, that's when we really, We try to begin to foster that relationship, and nothing's wrong with that. I believe God brings that into our lives to show us when we need to draw to Him. We should react spiritually. We should be building that relationship because the storm is coming. And I want you to see the lesson that we can all take from this story, from this account in Scripture, is that no matter how things may end, in this instance, God blessed and they recovered everything. But no matter how things really end, if we're in Christ, we are on the winning side. We're going to see a victory because the battle is not ours, it's the Lord's. And may I say He is a good God and He knows what's best for us. And He brings things into our lives for His purposes. Church, those watching, let's not waste this season. Let's not be weary in this season. Let's not drift in this season. Let's allow God to work in our lives and accomplish what he wills. And I promise you, on the other end of this, we will be able to look back and say, God had a purpose for that season. God really grew me in my prayer life in that season. God really drew me closer to my kids and my wife in that season. God really showed me my dependence upon my own resources during that season. And he showed me the error of my ways. I don't know what it is God has for us in this season, but he has something. Let's trust him during this season. Amen. And if you're here, if you're watching this at some time, that you don't know Christ, I would say God has brought this season into your life so that you understand your need for him. You see, the truth is if we are going to pass away, we all have an appointed time where we will leave this earth into eternity. And I have a question for you. Do you know for sure if that when that time comes for you, if you're going to be with Jesus, if you have a home in heaven, Well, if you don't have certainty of that, there's good news tonight. You see, Jesus loved you. He loved you so much that he came to earth. He left heaven's glory. He was born into a poor family. He lived a perfectly sinless life. And he took that perfection, that sinless perfection, and he sacrificed his life. He gave his life on the cross of Calvary. He shed his blood for my forgiveness and for your forgiveness. And the story doesn't end there. We just celebrated how that three days after he died and was laid in that tomb, he rose again to life and he lives today. He's in heaven. And he said that anyone who comes unto him in faith and receives him, that he will give them eternal life. You see, you have a lot of questions right now, but the most important question you should be asking is what's going to happen in eternity? And may I say this, Jesus wants you to have that assurance that you are his. He wants to save you tonight. He wants you to receive the free gift that he's provided, and all you have to do is call upon him. The Bible says this, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's that simple. You just have to ask Jesus to save you. You just have to acknowledge that you're a sinner and that you can never save yourself. And you got to acknowledge that he can save you. And you got to call out in faith and the Bible says that he will save you. So tonight, if you don't have that relationship, I want to encourage you right there in your living room, wherever you are right now, just pray to Jesus something like this. Dear Lord, I know that I'm a sinner. I know that you died for my sins. I'm asking you to forgive me for my sins and to give me a home in heaven. I'm trusting in you and you alone, Jesus, to get me to heaven when I die. And I pray this in Jesus' name. You see, if you just prayed that prayer, Jesus heard you and he saved you. There's nothing more that needs to be done. He's already finished the work. And I just want to rejoice with you if you've made that decision tonight. And we'd love to To be a blessing to you in your new Christian life, you can reach out to us here at Westside Christian Fellowship. We'd love to send you a Bible. We'd love to help you get going in your new Christian life and rejoice with you in the decision you make to trust Christ. If you're a believer tonight, let's be victorious in this trial. Let us allow God to have his work in our lives during this time.