Revival or Funeral?

Introduction

1 Samuel 30:11–31 KJV 1900

11And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; 12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. 13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. 14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. 15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company. 16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. 18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. 19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. 20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil. 21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that werewith him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. 22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. 23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. 24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part isthat goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. 25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. 26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord; 27 To them which were in Beth-el, and to themwhich were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir, 28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to themwhich were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa, 29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to themwhich were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which werein the cities of the Kenites, 30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to themwhich were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach, 31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.

I want to draw your attention this evening to verse 19 which says...

1 Samuel 30:19 KJV 1900

19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.

Note that “David recovered all.” These three words encompass everything the Lord Jesus Christ did for us by His death and resurrection. Christ recovered everything that was lost when Adam rebelled and sinned against God, pushing the entire human race into the same rebellion and sin.

Now, if you recall, this entire account of David’s life was due to David’s spiritual decline. Remember, he was in this situation because he decided to take matters into his own hands. He forsook following God’s counsel. In the end, God used the Amalekites as a way to chasten David, forcing him back into God’s will and the purpose God had for his life.

Let’s go back to chapter 27 and note something vital.

1 Samuel 27:1 KJV 1900

1 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

Note that David had lost his vision. He was discouraged. The running from Saul had left him tired and drained. As he lost his vision, he also lost his passion. The loss of his vision and passion resulted in him losing his ability to let God’s Spirit guide him. What was the result? David ends up living with the enemy, marching with the enemy, and fighting against his people, God’s people.

Here is what God wants us to understand. There are three things that each man of God must have if he is to exist and survive in this wicked world today. He must be a man of vision, passion, and action. One of the things missing in American culture today is the sense of spiritual revival and renewal. I contend it is missing because men of God are not experiencing a revival in their personal lives. As a result, America suffers. Male leadership is the one thing God established for both families and nations. Without spiritual solid leadership from men, families and nations suffer.

What about revival? These three things that I mention are the ingredients for revival. Again, the three ingredients are vision, passion, and action. Vision is the upward look toward Heaven. Passion is the inward hunger and compassion of the soul. Action is the outward release of vision and passion in the Holy Spirit's power. Thus, the problem with most families, churches, and our nation is that men of God have lost all three. We have lost our vision. We have no passion. The result is no spiritual action.

So, let’s begin with vision.

Vision-an upward look toward Heaven

Without a doubt, David lost his vision. He completely forgot God’s promise, and as a result, David ceased to believe in God’s power. He grew doubtful about God’s ability to protect him against King Saul. Ultimately, he lost everything simply because he became bankrupt of vision.

Here is the question for us. What have we lost? Have we lost our vision?

I would imagine that if I went around the room this evening and asked each man if he believed God and His Word the answer would be resounding yes. However, what would we find if we were to assign a drone with a camera to follow you around for 48 hours? Would your actions prove your words? It is effortless to say we trust God and His Word. It is another thing actually to live it out. True belief has one eye upon the throne of God as we seek His commands, and it has another eye on the judgment seat of Christ, knowing that we will be held responsible for our words and actions.

The simple fact is this: God and His Word are to be believed and obeyed. You don’t necessarily need to know everything about it or even have it all explained. Those are helpful indeed. Unfortunately, the failure is seeing the difference between knowing the Word of God and knowing the God of the Word.

Take Isaiah for an example. According to Isaiah 6, we know that he had a vision of God’s holiness, right?

Isaiah 6:1–4 KJV 1900

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: The whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

His VISION of God’s holiness resulted in this confession.

Isaiah 6:5 KJV 1900

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

By the way, Isaiah was a prophet, a man of God, a preacher, you might say. Yet, this man of God, after having this fresh vision of God’s holiness, became extremely conscious of his depravity. His vision led to confession, which led to his cleansing.

Isaiah 6:6–7 KJV 1900

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Here is the exciting part. His vision led to his confession, which led to his cleansing, which resulted in his commission.

Isaiah 6:9 KJV 1900

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; And see ye indeed, but perceive not.

Is this not what men of God need today? We need a fresh vision of God’s holiness. When we do, it will cause us to fall to our knees, confessing our sinful ways. In turn, God responds with cleansing and then commissions us once again to be witnesses for Him.

Passion - the inward hunger for God within the soul

David lost his vision of God’s holiness and God’s promises. The by-product was that he became inwardly cold about serving God. Remember, he was the one who decided to go live with the Philistines. While there, he exhibited no signs of passion for God or the things of God. Instead, he did whatever the enemy requested.

Before and during his stay with the Philistines, he did not inquire of the Lord. He compromised. He abandoned prayer. Anytime we lose our vision, we are guaranteed to lose our passion. We will, as David did, abandon prayer. The man who sins is the man who will stop praying. Conversely, the man who prays will stop sinning.

My point is simple here. We have lost our vision without passion for prayer and Bible study. Then, we must realize we must have a fresh vision of God. However, this vision of God’s holiness can only come when we repent our sinful ways asking God’s forgiveness. The wonderful thing about God is His promise. He promises that whoever comes to Him with an attitude of repentance will receive forgiveness and cleansing. When we are forgiven and cleansed, we are in a position to experience that passion that we lost. Vision leads to passion. Passion is the one thing within us that drives us serve and obey God. By the way, such passion does not come from us but from the Holy Spirit indwelling us. However, if sin is in our lives, we hinder the Holy Spirit’s ability to inflame our passion for serving God. The end result is that we lose a passion for souls, a passion for leading the spiritual development of our families, and a passion for promoting spiritual growth within the local church. We must fall on our knees and beg for God’s forgiveness so that we can get that passion back.

Someone once wrote...

O for a passion for souls, dear Lord! O for a pity that yearns! O for a love that loves unto death! O for a fire that burns! O for the prayer power that travails! That pours itself out for the lost; Victorious prayer in the Conqueror’s Name: O for a Pentecost!

You may recall the words of Proverbs 29:18

Proverbs 29:18 KJV 1900

18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Whenever a man of God loses his vision, he loses his passion.

Action - the outward liberation of both vision and passion in the Holy Spirit's power

This is where we pick our story for this evening. David has turned the corner. He receives a fresh vision of God. He, like Isaiah, falls to his knees in anguish. He becomes passionate about God once again. He then jumps into action. He chases down the Amalekites. He completely and utterly wipes them out. And, as the Holy Spirit recounts, he “recovered all.” What did he recover? He not only recovers his family and possessions but also his spiritual standing with God. He is a new man. He is revived. He is given a new breath of vision and a new flame of passion. Now, we see the man of God we all knew. He is a man of action. No longer is he cowering under the darkness of his own ways as a depressed and defeated man. No, he has once again inquired of the Lord. The Lord answered. In obedience, David springs into action. Something interesting and very pertinent to this point is in this account.

1 Samuel 30:9–10 KJV 1900

9 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 stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.

Did you note David’s passion? He is so passionately concerned about victory and recovering what he has lost that he sets out after the enemy so quickly that two hundred of his men cannot keep up with him.

Just yesterday, Scott Malta and I had a short conversation about repentance. Here we find David repenting. By the way, repentance is not just a few tears at the end of a touching sermon. Repentance is not just emotion or reformation. Repentance is a complete change of mind about God and sin. When a person truly repents, they act differently. They are changed. David was changed, man. He worked from this moment quite differently than the man who went down to Achish with his head hanging and having lost his vision of God. He was quite literally a man on a mission!

Conclusion

God is looking for the same in each of us. He desires that we have a vision of His holiness, power, and promises. There is no doubt that Satan and the world are real. They are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to keep people from knowing Christ. These people include your children, grandchildren, and a whole host of people God allows into your life. If we don’t have the right vision of God, we will continue to live defeated and useless lives. Satan will have won. Let’s not give in to his hopeless cause. Instead, let’s see the God of Heaven, who has already won the victory and all the power. Let that vision fire a renewed passion in you. Let us flame the fire of the Holy Spirit within us, pushing us into action. May we stop criticizing and begin crying out to God. May we stop shirking His will and begin working under His direction. May we stop spending on ourselves and start giving to His cause. May we repent, return, and once again experience the blessings and guidance of God.