Wonderful Holy Spirit we welcome your awesome presence in this hour to reveal your eternal words our hearts and Holy Spirit minister to the hearts of your people Encourage the listeners of this message for this time that we're living in Father I thank you now for anointing your people in Receiving your anointed word in the mighty name of Jesus to the book of 1st Samuel chapter 30 and I like to read verses 1 through 6 and it came to pass when David and his men were come to Zilag on the third day that the Amalekites had invaded the south and Zilag and smitten Zilag and burned it with fire and had taken the women captives that were therein. They slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lift up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, Anumum the Jezreelite, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Comanite. And David was greatly distressed For the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." Our teaching comes today from verse 6 of 1 Samuel chapter 30. Encouraging yourself while in your zig-zag. encouraging yourself while in your zig-zag. In our story we notice that something quite interesting took place in David's life and the Bible spoke in verse 1 how the Amalekites had invaded the south in zig-zag and smitten zig-zag and burned it with fire. They took the women captives David and his men began to cry until they had no more power to cry, but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God when he came back to Ziglag. The purpose of this teaching is to inform you and I as saints of God that in each one of our lives, we're going to come to a place just like David came, a place called Ziglag. where there's a number of things that's going to take place in your life as a believer. The Bible says, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. We need to understand where the persecutions are actually coming from. And when we understand that persecution is a part of the Christian's life, it can better help us to go through things when we go through. What we're going to look at today is encouraging ourselves while in our zig-zag. I've come to understand something about the Word of God according to Romans chapter 15. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. Here is a story that we as saints of God can draw from because each one of us as believers is going to face situations in this life just like David did, regardless of your position, regardless of how much you know, regardless of how much money you may have, how much you influence may be in the world. It does not exempt you from going through trials. It does not exempt you from going through tests, because tribulation will come. Jesus said, in the world you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Now, he did not one time say, because you give your life to me, that your life is going to be trouble-free. No, that's deception. The mere fact that Jesus Christ is now your personal Lord and Savior, that's why you're suffering. But what we're going to learn today is encouraging ourselves while in our zig-zag. What we want to understand about today is what kind of place was Zigglag? Zigglag was a place or is a place where the enemy will attack and invade you from all directions through people you know and people you love and people that's real close to you. If you notice in verse 1 How the Amalekites had invaded the south. They invaded. You as a saint, you're going to be invaded by the enemy. Even in your sleep at times, the enemy will invade your life. He will try to invade what God has given to you. And his means of invading you is primarily through people. through people you work with, through people in your family, through people that you have become friends with. So number one, ZigLag is a place where the enemy will attack you and invade you from all directions. through people primarily through people you know and people you love and people that's real close to you you know it's kind of ironic because you could expect people that you don't know to do certain things toward you as a believer but when people that you know that you grew up with begin to turn on you and begin to say all kind of things to you that negatively, that's something we can't always deal with as people. Not just being a believer, but as people in general. But you know the Bible tells us that a man's foes should be there of his own household. You don't have to look for trouble outside your house. Look in the house because it's coming. So point number two, Zigglag is a place where things we have will sometime be destroyed, messed up, ruined and misused. If you notice in chapter 30 verse 1 again It was burned with fire, the city. And notice, what was in the city was the possessions of the people. Sometimes in your zig-zag as a saint, there will be things you may have in your possession that's going to be destroyed, gonna be messed up. Listen, don't expect things to always go smooth in your life as a believer. Because thank God that things don't always go smooth because that keeps you balanced as a believer. And that keeps you seeking God and pulling at God. Because if things always go smooth like you want it to go, you will never become nothing for the King. Because if you never go through nothing, you can't tell nobody that God can bring them out, because you never encounter God bringing you out. So point number two again, Zigglag was a place where things we have will sometimes be destroyed, messed up, ruined, and even misused. Point number three about Ziglag. Ziglag is a place where many things we will lose have taken from us. It could be people, it could be friendships, and oftentimes we can lose things and people in this life that have a major impact on our life. What I've come to understand is this. God knows what's close to our hearts. God knows the people that's real close to us. And many times if we're not careful, we can begin to make God out of people unconsciously. So what God would have to do is bring about a weaning process with us, with people. because I've come to learn this in order to be effective in ministering to people we must be delivered from people we cannot become too personally involved with people if we expect to effectively help them and reach them as well as educate them so many things in life are going to be taken from us as people because you're going to come to your zig-zag Just like David came to his zig-zag, well notice in verses 2, and they had taken the wives captive. Notice, they had taken something from David that belonged to him. And you as a saint, you're going to come to a zig-zag, where things are going to be taken from you. But always understand this, what may be taken from you, God is in the restoration business. And sometimes God has to let things be taken from you that you're not willing to give up that have not been a benefit to your life. So God can now cause to come to your life what will benefit you in multitudes. Amen. Sometimes it feels hard. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it breaks us as saints when we lose things. And you see, don't you ever sit there and think, because you save and you love the Lord, you can speak in all the tongues you wanna, you're going to lose things in this life. I don't know why sometimes, then sometimes because of our carelessness, because of our flowfulness, it's a number of reasons why you may lose things in this life. But always remember this, what may get away from you, God got something far greater than what's been taken away from you. If you believe that, you can say Amen. Alright, number four. Point number four about Ziglag. Ziglag is a place where you will weep, where you will cry, where you will be hurt, where you will be broken for days sometimes, for nights. Now listen to this. when no one will say anything to you that will lift your spirit or motivate you. Please listen to this part real good because the Holy Spirit began to show me something about this one in verses 4. Then David and the people that were with him lift up their voice and wept, watch this, until they had no more power to weep. It's like David just cried himself out. There come a time in your life being in your zig lag where you can go through difficult times and there have been times when God have sent somebody to you to give you an encouraging word, a word like it's going to be okay. They have come to you and say God is going to bring you out, that God is going to fight your battle. They've come to say things to you to lift your spirit and you will thank God for that word. Well, thank God for it. but you want to come to a place in your life while you're going through your zig lag when things are being taken from you when the enemy has invaded you from all directions when many things you're going to lose you're going to cry many days and many nights you're going to wet your pillow with tears and God will not let nobody say nothing to you during that period in your life and let me explain to you why The reason why God will not let nobody come to you during that period is because God knows you'll become accustomed to people always coming to you. So God knows how to break your dependency from people telling you things you need to start telling yourself. That's the point of this message. And see David wept until he couldn't cry no more. And sometimes God got to let you cry and just cry and just cry. Now sometimes you're going to cry over things you lose. But there come a time in your life when you're going to cry over your sins. You're going to cry because of how messed up you are. Now regardless of what you may have lose in this life, what have gotten away from you in this life. God will sometimes cause people to stay away from you. Because God recognizes that you're still drawing at people, and you're still hoping that somebody will come along. When I'm so accustomed to brother so-and-so, he pops up at a certain time to tell me a certain word, and I get a message from that word. Sometimes God ain't gonna let brother so-and-so tell you nothing. God'll let brother so-and-so see you and keep going. Why? Because God has told him that you're pulling at him. You're putting up the wrong one for the answers that you need. So in our story, we notice something about Zigglag. As I come to a surmise here, I want you to understand something. Encouraging ourselves while in our Zigglag. Because don't fool yourself, sinner God. Regardless of how long you have been saved, regardless of your walk with the Lord, you're going to come to a place in your life where the enemy is going to invade your life from all directions. You're going to have things destroyed that you once had. You're going to have things taken away from you. And you're going to cry many nights. Now I know David himself said weeping may endure for night, but joy coming in the morning. But you notice David didn't say when the morning gonna come? You might cry many nights. and your crying is causing something to happen in your life. See, every tear you shed, you're going to reap joy is right. See, if they're not sowing tears, you're reaping joy. But God got to sometimes let you cry yourself out until you get sick and tired of depending on people. Because sometimes people can be there for you and then sometimes people can be there for you and not really there. You can be around people and they don't feel what you're going through. I mean, you could be talking to your friend, you could be trying to share things with them, but they still don't get it. They don't feel the hurt you're carrying. They don't know the things that's rolling around in your head. They don't know the thoughts that you're thinking even now. But see, God knows how to get our attention. And see, you're going to come to a place in your life called zig-zag, where God will let nobody tell you nothing. I've been there, Saints of God, where God would not let nobody call me. God would not let nobody tell me nothing positive to see just what I'm going to do. And then I begin to read this story some more. But it's something that David did that God wants to impress into us today. We live in a time right now, Saints of God, where God will sometimes get people to get away from you. God will sometimes wean people away from you that you're so accustomed to always calling you. They're always giving you a word of encouragement. But sometimes God will say, you're not going to call them tonight. You're not going to call them for a whole week. I want to see their mentality. I want to see if they really get what I'm trying to give to them. I want to see if they're going to learn how to encourage their self in me. So you got to learn how to draw from this word for yourself. Oh, let me go into this now. Encouraging yourself while in your zig-zag. Let's conclude this message. So you see, David did something that God wants us to learn how to do as saints. And that was encouraged himself. Notice, he didn't look to his servants for words. He didn't look to his friends to say nothing to him. Because if you read in verse 6, And David was greatly distressed, for the people spake of stoning him. Now David recognized something. These people that's with me, they're not going to tell me nothing positive. Because number one, they're probably blaming me for what happened to their family. Because the soul of all the people was grieved. Every man for his sons and for his daughters. See the people that was with David, they wasn't even thinking about David. They was thinking about their sons and their daughters. And you know there's an old cliche. You go to folk with problems and find out they got problems. You sometime go to people for encouragement and you find them complaining. Well you're going to the wrong ones looking for a word to lift your spirit. But you know it's something that David did that God wants to inject to us in this hour. And that is David encouraged himself, notice, in the Lord, his God. Now let's find out what David did in encouraging himself that we as saints today can learn how to encourage ourselves. Because as I said earlier, there's going to come a time in your life, you're going to come to a place called Ziglag, where God is not going to let nobody say nothing to you. I mean you can search high, you can search low. You can call folks, sometimes they answer the machine, pick up the phone. Sometimes they're not there, they're sometimes busy. And sometimes they always go. And sometimes you get frustrated and disgusted. Why they never hold? Well God got it fixed where they ain't gonna never be hold. Because your dependency is on the wrong one. David said I will lift up my eyes unto the heels for whence cometh my help my help coming from the Lord which made heaven and earth See David didn't say my help was lighter than no human being and see God know how to break your dependency Saint and Sometime when you're looking to people for words to lift your spirit God I have them not to say the right thing that you need you be putting and searching for a particular word but God said it's not coming like this no more and You cannot become accustomed to God always sending a word through the same person you always accustomed to. See, God got different means of doing things in your life. See, God is so big, we got yet to learn things about him. But God is saying, I'm trying to show you things about me you don't know. And you'll never come to know a side about me until you stop looking to flesh and start looking to me. Now watch this here. Glory to God. So David encouraged himself by number one, by praying and seeking God. and crying out to God. The best way to encourage yourself in the Lord is to get before Him in prayer. I mean just pour your soul out to God. Just tell God how you feel. Tell God that you're broken. Tell God that you're messed up. Tell God that you're tired sometimes because as saints you get tired. You sometimes get frustrated. You sometimes get aggravated. You don't know what to do about the next thing coming your way. You don't know your left from your right. But you see you got to be honest with God. If God is going to do something in your life as a saint, you got to get before God and get real with Him. Say, Father, I'm coming just as I am. I'm so tired down here. I get sometimes weary. I become sometimes despondent. I'm tired of looking to folk to tell me things that I need to know. I come to you in the name of Jesus. And David got before God and he began to pray. David began to seek the face of God. And that's the first key sense of God. And you're encouraging yourself in the Lord is by getting before God in prayer. It's something about praying before God. I mean, you sometimes can go there broken. You can sometimes go to prayer heavy. Sometimes your mind is all confused. Sometimes you had a hectic day. But when you get in God's presence and just welcome the Holy Spirit, Say, Holy Spirit, I welcome you here. I welcome you in your awesome presence. Holy Spirit, come and reveal Jesus to me. My God, his presence will engulf your life. And you'll find yourself begin to sing. You'll find yourself saying, Father, I love you. Father, I bless you and I adore you. You'll find the problems you had in the day, they're like water under the breeze. They're constantly flowing away. You see, because in his presence is fullness of joy. And at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Glory to God. I feel my health here but I need to slow down. So David encouraged himself by number one, by praying and seeking God and crying out to God. Number two, David encouraged himself by remembering where God brought him from. See that's the best way to encourage yourself as a saint. Think right now where you come from and where you're trying to go. Think about all the battles you've had in the past. Think about all the struggles and the pitfalls and the downsons. Think about all the setbacks you had in life as a saint. And how God brought you from way back there. How God picked you up from the gutter. My God, and He cleaned you and He washed you. He put you on the street called straight. My God, how God was right there when nobody was there for you. Just think for a moment, saints of God, when the doctors gave up on you. And they walked out of the room and shook their head. But God stepped in and told you, I am the God that healeth thee. Glory to God when you didn't have a money you didn't have no money for your bills God proved himself and said I am Jehovah Jireh I'm the God who see and will provide what I see Oh hallelujah So you got to remember where God brought you from and see David encouraged himself because he remembered where God brought him from and number three David begin to rehearse what God told him and what God was going to do for him. Sometimes, saints, you got to get alone and get quiet and just begin to rehearse and remember what God told you. Remember the prophecies that were spoken on your life. Remember what God said about you. Yeah, God may have used somebody to say he's going to do this in your life, but there come a time in your life you become like David. You come to a place called Ziglag where everything is being taken from you all around. The friends you used to have, you find they turn their backs on you. I mean, people used to call, they're never home now. You're wondering, who in the world is in my corner? I mean, who got my back right now? You see, David said, cast all your cares upon him, because he cares for you. And then David said, cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. So you see, David rehearsed what God told him, and what God was going to do in his life. That's the best way to encourage yourself as a saint. Rehearse. Meditate. And begin to speak out. God you promised you're going to do this for me. And then grab God at his word and take God to what he say. That's another means of David encouraging himself in his Lord. And number four. David began to sing songs of praise. Songs that lift his spirit in the past. Think for a moment, son of God, at times when you're going through trials, and a song will just birth in your spirit, and you'll find yourself just singing and humming. And people say, what in the world are you so happy about? You see that song, the Holy Spirit been put in your spirit? It's got your spirit being lifted to new heights. See, that's a good way to encourage yourself. I don't mean try to sing to break a glass like Memorex. I mean, sing a song of Zion. I mean, when you get in your car, turn your radio on. And maybe you turn a song that you like hearing. And you find yourself humming that song but you might not know the words. That really don't make no difference because that song is lifting your spirit. And you see David went back in his mind. Because remember David was a songstress. David wrote all kinds of songs that brought glory to God. But in the process of David singing, David's spirit was being lifted in the process. Sometimes, Saint, you got to get along and begin to hum. Begin to sing songs that lift your spirit. I'm so glad that Jesus lifted me. Look where He brought me from. And just begin to think of the words of that song. And that song will begin to do something in your spirit. You'll find something in your heart begin to move. You'll find your soul beginning to get lifted like never before. All because of a song that the Holy Spirit then put down in your heart. Sometime it might not come through your praying, but sometime He put a song in your heart. And you find yourself singing sweet songs of Zion unto the God of your salvation. And in the process of you singing unto Him, He's lifting your spirit in the process of you singing. So you see, David encouraged himself by singing songs of Zion. I mean, just go to Harman all day, and people say, what you so happy about? You see, I know the Lord has brought me from. You see, I know you wasn't there, let me tell you, but I can only tell you. You see, when the doctors gave up on me, when they shook their head and said, there's nothing else we can do. When God healed me, he put a song in my heart. I mean, he put a song in my spirit. He put a song down in my bones. And see, sometimes that song got to come back out. at a time when you come to your zig-zag. That's a way of encouraging yourself. All glory to God. And get this one here. And finally, number five, as I come to a close. Encouraging yourself when you come to your zig-zag. Read the Word. Speak that Word. And begin to tell yourself, I shall not die, but live. And declare the words of the Lord. T. David encouraged himself by saying, I'm more than a conqueror through him that love me. David began to encourage himself by saying, No weapon that's formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against me in judgment I shall condemn. David encouraged himself by saying, If God be for me, who in the world can be against me? David encouraged himself by saying, Greater is He that's in me than he that's in the world. David encouraged himself by saying, I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me. They would encourage themselves by saying God is not a man that he should lie nor the son of man that he should repent Had he said it should he not do it had he spoken and should he not make it good if God said he got to do it and I got to hold him to what he said and if God promised he's going to do something for you, honey, give that word and encourage yourself if God said nobody else your way and Take that word and say, Lord, you promised this to me. And I'm going to hold you to what you promised me. I'm at my zig-zag even now. I encourage myself in prayer. I encourage myself by singing songs of Zion. I encourage myself by remembering where you brought me from. I encourage myself by singing songs of praise. I encourage myself through the word of God. I get that word. I begin to meditate on that word. And I take that word and say, God, I know you're with me. I know my friends have turned their back on me. But I know that you'll never leave me nor forsake me. As long as I'm on this globe, you're going to give me what I need to do what you call me to do. And so David encouraged himself in the Lord as God while he was at his zig-zag. Hallelujah and send of God as I come to a close there many of you listen to me right now You have this place that David was once at called Ziggler You had a place where things are being taken from you you had a place where the enemy's attacking you from all directions You have this place where many things you're being lost from you you had a place where you've been crying and wonder when the tears gonna stop and You're at a place when all your friends have turned their back on you. You're at a place right now where people that used to call you, they stopped calling you all together. But do like David. Do like King David. Get before God and begin to seek Him. Remember where God brought you from. Rehearse what God promised to do for you. Get a song and begin to sing it and then get that word and meditate on that word and give God back his word. And I do declare that through that word, through your praying, through your singing, God is lifting your spirit. And in the process, he's teaching you how to encourage yourself in him and not through somebody else. Because saints of God, you're going to come to your zigzag. And when you're there, you must know what to do to bring yourself out. because I've experienced this where God will not let nobody call you for days just to see what you're going to do so he can teach you a lesson that you need to know that's going to take you through life and gracious father I thank you for your word I thank you for encouraging your people and teaching them how to encourage themselves because many right now are at their zig lag many are at a place they feel like quitting they feel like giving up but God I thank you right now for encouraging them through your word and let them take this word and draw from your spoken word where they will learn to encourage themselves and not depend on people encouraging them to go on. Let them prophesy to their self. Let them tell their self it is well. Let them tell their self that they are healed by your stripes. Let them look in the mirror and point their finger at their self and tell their self great is he that's in me that he that's in the world. God put this in the hearts of your people in this hour to get in the mirror and tell their self I can do all things through Christ which strengthen in me. I'm more than a conqueror through him that love me. Father I thank you for your spoken word. I give you praise right now for encouraging and Strengthening and lifting the faith of your people to a new height I give you glory and I give you praise for it right now in the mighty and glorious name of Jesus encouraging yourself While in your zigzag may God bless you may God keep you is our prayer. I