“ Surviving the Attack “

“ Surviving the Attack “

1st Samuel 21:1-9 ( NIV )

The 1993 movie “ The Fugitive “

Is an action pack

Thriller film with

Harrison Ford

As the main star in this movie

“ The Fugitive “

Also staring in this movie is

Tommy Lee Jones

Harrison Ford

Is playing the part

Of a Doctor by the name of

Richard Kimble

Who has been falsely accused

Of murdering his wife

He was convicted

Sentence & tried to jail

However

On his way

Of being transported to prison

His transport gets into

A fatal crush with a train

Most of the prisoners on board

Died in the crash

But Harrison Ford / Know as Richard Kimble

Was one of few

That survived & manage to escape

The fatal crash

And now

85% of the movie

Harrison Ford

Is spent as a fugitive on the run

For his life

From the police

But while he’s on the run

He’s trying to collect evidence

Of his innocence

And is able to find

Enough evidence

To prove his innocence

And this fugitive

Harrison Ford

He is finally vindicated

Of killing his wife

And he is restored

And brought back

To what used to be

His life

Our text today

Have some similarities

David is a fugitive

In this text

Like Harrison Ford in “ The Fugitive “

Dr. Richard Kimble

David has been falsely accused

He’s been sentence to death

However he manages to escape

And for the next 10 years

Of David’s life

he spend living them

as a fugitive

But at the end of the narrative

He's restored back to prominence

He's vindicated

And his name is cleared

This 21st chapter of 1st Samuel

Is a meaningful moment

In the life of David

It marks the moment

In David’s life

That begins a 10 year period

Of struggle

Chapter 21 denotes

The decade of derision

That David is getting ready

To find himself in

From chapter 21 of 1st Samuel

Thru out the ending

Of 1st Samuel

That ends in chapter 31

David all thru

These 10 chapters

For 10 years

He’s going to struggle

For 10 years

This decade

He will be ducking

And dodging from Saul

For a decade

His life will be in

Daily derision

For a decade

He's going to date disaster

And coat Chaos for a decade

Note: That’s why I have a personal problem as a Pastor to promote feel good sermons for New Year’s because you don’t know what God has in store for your life this upcoming year or even for the next 10 years

He's going to go

Thru a season

Of struggle

That’s so seriously strenuous

He will question

Whether or not

If God has forgotten him

For a decade

Note: And you ha been like David deal with somethings for so long that you have wondered if God has forgotten you

He would have to go

Thru a period

Of persecution

That will be so difficult

From him to bear

It will test

The very fabric

Of his faith

And David in the text

Is at a point

Of Confusion

He’s feeling valuable

And the source

Of his confusion

Is the fact

That he’s face with

The grabbing realization

That his assignment

Is trying to

Assassinate him

The person

That God has assigned

Him to which is Saul

And Saul

Is trying to kill him

What do you do

When your assignment

Is trying to assassinate you

What do you do

When you know

That the place God

Has put you in

Is threaten your life

What do you do

When you have

No peace

At the place

That you know

Without a shadow of a doubt

That God

Has ordain you to be

David’s assignment

Is trying to assassinate him

God assigned

Him to Saul

God station him

To Saul

And Saul

At the time of the text

Is insanely jealous

Of David

It's confusing to David

Because David

Can't figure out

For the life of him

How could a man

That has more stuff

Than him

Still be jealous of him

David can't figure out

How could Saul

That has more

Power — Prestige — Pull — Popularity

Than him

And still be jealous of him

Saul who has everything

Going for him

How could he

Still be jealous of David

And David is trying to figure this out

David has failed

To recognize that

It's not what he has

That makes Saul jealous

It's what's on

David's life

That makes Saul jealous

David didn't have

The

Power — Prestige — Pull — Popularity

That Saul had

David had something

That Saul didn't have

Which was the anointing on his life [ Explain ]

David

At this time in his life

He don't know

Who to talk to

Who to trust

Or even where to turn

People are watching him

And watching his every move

David is at

A point in his life

Where he is struggling

Just to survive

His destiny

Is predicated

On his survival

And he has to

Figure out

How he's going to survive

David is going

To have to figure out

How to keep it together

[ You have to figure out how to keep it together ]

Somebody is depending on you

Family is depending on you

Friends is depending on you

Your children is depending on you

Coworkers is depending on you

Church members is depending on you

To keep it together

[ you don't have the luxury of losing it ]

[ you don't have the luxury of slacking ]

[ you have to find a way to keep it together ]

[ you got to survive the attack ]

[ you cannot break down before your breakthrough ]

Note: David for the next 10 years he's going to struggle and catch Hell

Note: This sermon today is not how to avoid the attack but this sermon is how to survive the attack

Note: God want you to thrive in the attack

Note: come to church in the mist of the attack because you're not going to die you're going to multiply and in the end you're going to win

David figures out

That if he's going to survive

He need to have

Several things in his life

1st David needs a Refuge

Refuge — is a safe haven

Refuge — it is a place of retreat

Refuge — by definition it is a sanctuary

It is a place

Of exit

A place where

You can exit from

All harm

In verse one

David is on the run

He is a fugitive

He is running from King Saul

He needs a place to go

1 Samuel 21:1 NIV

David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”

1 Samuel 21:1 KJV 1900

Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

The “ Then “

In the KJV

Speaks of after

Hell broke out in his life

The “ Then “ suggest

That going to Nob

Was not on the agenda

But it became

On the agenda

Based on the attack

[ His attack change his agenda ]

It was not on your agenda

To be in Louisiana

It was not on your agenda

To be in the school system

It was not on your agenda

To be employed where you are

But the attack change your agenda

Verse one — He goes to Nob

Why Nob

He goes to Nob because

He’s looking for a Refuge

You have to understand

The mindset of David

David was not

An ordinary brother

David didn't have

An ordinary mindset

David in his heart

Is a worshiper

So every time David

Face trouble times

David would retreat

To the tabernacle

David didn't let trouble

Pull him from church

But David

Allowed trouble

To push him to church

When you go back

And read the context

of this text

Back in 1st Samuel

Chapter 4

You’re discover

The Philistines

Defeated Israel

And in chapter 4

The first five verses

Shiloh was destroyed

And Nob became

The Chief central place of Worship

1st Samuel 22 verse 19

Describes the city

Of Nob

As the city

of Priest

So David goes to Nob

Because the tabernacle

Was there in Nob

He goes to Nob

Because in the tabernacle

Was the presence of God

He’s going to Nob

Because he's going

To church

He's going to Nob

Because in the time of trouble

David recognize

That the Lord

Can hide him

And the safest place

In the whole wide world

Is the presence of God

When trouble comes

You have to make sure

That there is some place

You can go

And get in the very presence of God

When you don’t have the opportunity to come to St. Mark

But you got to have

Your own tabernacle

BATHROOM — BEDROOM — BACKYARD — PATIO — FIELD — TRACK

Psalm 46:1 (KJV 1900) 1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

The ark of the covenant

Is still in Obed Edom house

The Bible says

When David gets to Nob

He looks for Ahimelek

The Priest

David is not looking

For everybody or anybody

But he's looking

For the priest Ahimelek

The Priest is a Resource

1st David needs a Refuge

2nd David needs a Resource

David understands

That the priest

Is not the source

Of his blessings

But a resource

That can lead him to being blessed

Don't mix up the source

With the resource

The man of God

Is not the source

The man of God is the resource

God never intended

For people to be

The source

But for people to be

The resource

Whenever you make

People the source

You put people

Over God

David is at a point

In his life

Where he needs

The operation of the priest

In his life

When you look at chapter 19

Of 1st Samuel

David had several people

That played key roles

In his life

3 in particular

1st Jonathan

Jonathan was Saul's son

Jonathan loved David

And the more

Saul hated David

The more God knitted Jonathan to David

Note: For every hater I your life God will give you a helper

Note: Jonathan stood besides David thru Good & Bad

Note: Every Child of God need a partner

I had people say

Pastor I'm with you

Thru

Thick or Thin

And when things got thick

They're behind got THIN

2nd David had Samuel

Samuel was the Prophet

Samuel anointed David

The Prophet job was

To stand between God and the people

But David don't need

The Prophet Right Now

He don't need a person

To stand by him

He don't need a person

To stand between him

But David needs

A person

To stand before him

To God

On his behalf

David needs a prayer warrior

3rd David had Ahimelek

He goes to Ahimelek

Because Ahimelek has

The Resource to cover

Him in prayer

Note: David didn't make it through this by himself and you can't make it by yourself [ Prayer Warriors ]

1st David needs a Refuge

2nd David needs a Resource

Ahimelek covers David in prayer

Ahimelek Connect David to provision

Ahimelek allows David to eat bread off the altar

He allows David to eat the holy breath

But David thinks

He needs something else

Verse 8-9

The Priest is giving

David the sword

Not the sword to fight

But as a Reminder

1st David needs a Refuge

2nd David needs a Resource

3rd David needs a Reminder

Remember what God done for you years ago

Yo need some Reminders

Sticky notes

Cell phone Reminders

Calendars Reminders

Medical bills to remind you

Mortgage Note away to soon don’t burn it

Don’t threw the bills away