The Raid at Ziklag - Take it ALL Back

Sermon Title: The Raid at Ziklag - Take it ALL Back

1 Samuel 27:1–7 (NKJV)

1 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”

2 Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow.

4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”

6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

7 Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.

1 Samuel 30:1–6 (NKJV)

1 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire,

2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.

3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.

4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive.

6 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.

Opening Statement:

There is a Raid of things that has happened to us all and will continue so until we meet the Lord in the air. Sometimes it is in the realm of the physical with our health or with our wealth, our possessions. But more times than not it is in the spirit realm. A Raid of our thoughts, emotions, attitude and our spiritual well being. We don’t always know where it came from and what it is going to do next, but we know its there. The things we once delighted in, we no longer delight in. The peace we once had, we just can’t seem to find anymore. The joy we were always notorious for having has now become a distant vapor. We want to shake it off. Get up and keep going. Stop the voices that say we can’t. The words of discouragement that seem to be on repeat. When did it start? When will it end?

The questions compound with more and more questions. Did I ever really have it? Can I get it back? What will it take?

Can I encourage someone in the Lord this morning? The takeover can become a take back! And with interest.

John 10:10 (NKJV)

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

David and his 600 men, who started as 400, that the Bible tells us were the discouraged & discontented, who then become David’s 600 MIGHTY men, find themselves in quite the predicament, they are on the run from Saul, or at least David was, and they have come to the land where the King of Gath is. If you remember from David’s encounter with Goliath, he is also from Gath. On the run when your friend becomes your enemy and your enemy becomes your friend. Quite the situation I would dare to say. But here we are none the less.

Can I encourage somebody right now? Just because things look a certain way now! Doesn’t mean that’s all there is.

Isaiah 61:1–4 (NKJV)

1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.

Point Number 1:

Ahinoam - my brother is delight - Delight - Find pleasure in something. Happiness, satisfaction, joy.

Abigail - my father is joy - Joy - Delight, happiness, peace

So the raid at Ziklag took David’s Delight & his Joy. Can we get real here for just a minute?

Ziklag represents the place that to you own, and Ahinoam & Abigail represent the things that belong to you!

What I’m trying to tell you here this morning is this.... IT’S YOURS. IT’S MINE!

And I want it ALL BACK!! I want my joy and my peace back!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Are there any desperate people in the house?

Desperate for break-through?

Desperate for revival?

Desperate for your peace back?

Desperate for your joy back?

Desperate for restoration in that friendship

Desperate for restoration in that relationship

Desperate for healing

Desperate for every promise God has promised you

Desperate for a miracle

Desperate to be unbound

Desperate to be free

Desperate for the spirit of heaviness to leave

David Strengthened himself in the Lord : Delight in the Lord

Psalm 37:4–15 (NKJV)

4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth.

10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more.

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

12 The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth.

13 The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct.

15 Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken.

Most times you just need to have a good old fashioned prayer meeting. Just you and Jesus.

His compassion delights my soul:

Psalm 94:19 (NKJV)

19 In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts (compassions) delight my soul.

You can’t just roll over and do nothing! : The Kingdom suffers violence

Matthew 11:12 (NKJV)

12 The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

I WANT IT ALL BACK!

So what does David Do? : He Consults God

1 Samuel 30:7–10 (NKJV)

7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He (GOD) answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”

9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.

10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor.

AND GOD SAID: No weapon formed against you

Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV)

17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.

Blessing for obedience: When you’re in God’s will

Deuteronomy 28:10–14 (NKJV)

10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.

11 And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.

12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.

14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

David knew who to turn to : We trust in the Name of the Lord our God

Psalm 20:5–7 (NKJV)

5 We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

6 Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

You can stand in fear or stand in FAITH : My heart shall not fear

Psalm 22:3–5 (NKJV)

3 You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.

5 They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

Here is what happened in David’s story:

1 Samuel 30:9–20 (NKJV)

9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.

10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor.

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.

12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights.

13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick.

14 We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.”

15 And David said to him, “Can you take me down to this troop?” So he said, “Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this troop.”

16 And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land, 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.

17 Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives.

19 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.

20 Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

Defense may win championships but Offence will win the spiritual Battles.

It’s time to get back in the HEAT OF THE BATTLE AND FIGHT!