1 SAMUEL 29-30 RETURN TO PURSUING GODS HEART2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Samuel 29-30 Return To Pursuing Gods Heart

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018.

1 Samuel chapter 29. We'll be looking at chapter 29 as well as heading into chapter 30 this evening and continuing to follow David and his journey towards the throne as we head to the end of 1 Samuel. Just a couple chapters left. We're going to be wrapping up 1 Samuel and heading into 2 Samuel where we'll get to see David kind of reach the height of

the glory of Israel and establish the kingdom of Israel. And there's still a journey ahead of him. He's still got some things that the Lord wants to do along the way. But it's awesome as I keep looking forward and just seeing, you know, the things that the Lord has in store for David. And as you guys know, I've been sharing...

you know, I can really relate to David and many times feel like David in the wilderness. And so as I look ahead to David in the kingdom, I'm praying for you. I'm praying for myself. I'm praying for the body here that that would be the striking of a new season. I don't know if that's, you know, what the Lord wants to do and he may have other things in mind.

But yeah, I just definitely pray that the Lord would bring in the glory days of the nation of Israel in our lives and that we would get to see God do a great work. And so looking forward to that. But here we are in chapter 29 and looking at chapter 30 as well this evening, continuing with David where he's at. And he's not quite there yet. And there's some important things that he has to go through. And so we're going to begin this evening looking at 1 Samuel chapter 29 and

And reading verses 1 through 5, here's what it says. Then the princes of the Philistines said, what are these Hebrews doing here?

And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me these days or these years? And to this day, I have found no fault in him since he defected to me.

Verse 5.

Is this not David, of whom they sing to one another in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Here as we pick up the account in chapter 29, we see David in the midst of the Philistine territory. And now as battle lines are being drawn, David finds himself on the Philistine side of the battle preparing to fight against Israel. And through this account that we'll look at here tonight, we're going to see David come back again.

to where he needs to be. There's going to be an awakening in his mind and in his heart as he realizes where he's at and where he needs to be. And so I've titled the message this evening, Return to Pursuing God's Heart.

We're going to see David. He's kind of taken a break from pursuing God's heart here in Philistine territory, but now he's going to return. And so we can learn some great lessons from this account about how to return and the way that we need to return to God's heart when we have strayed from that.

Now, as we look at this account and watch David come back to pursuing the heart of God, it reminds me, and I've shared these kinds of messages many times over the years, and as I do, one of the things that I like to do at the beginning is to just encourage you that

Perhaps, and I pray that the Lord will minister to you through the scriptures this evening and that, you know, God has some insights for you. And I pray that you're not away from the Lord, but if you are, that he would bring you back. And if you're not all the way, all the way in the Philistine territory, you know, just kind of straying off the path a little bit, that God would, you know, help you to come back in and be in the place where he wants you to be.

But at the same time, I would also encourage you to consider that many of the people that the Lord would want to deliver this message to, they're not here because they're out in Philistine territory. They're not here tonight because, well, they're somewhere else and they have strayed from where they need to be and where God has called them to be.

And so I would encourage you this evening to be considering and be praying about who maybe God would put upon your heart. That not only are you responding to the scriptures and what the Lord is saying through this, but perhaps the Lord wants to use you to pass on this message.

Either the recording of it, or maybe the Lord wants to kind of prompt you to take some more diligent notes than you usually take, to be able to communicate these things to someone who has been away from where they need to be. For someone who is in Philistine territory, or perhaps has taken a break from pursuing

God's heart. Now keep in mind, it may not be time yet. We all have people in our lives that we want to see get right with God. But what we're going to see here is David was in Philistine territory for a year and four months, and he had to come to a really low point where he finally opened his eyes and called out to the Lord and God begin that renewing work. And so David

We all have people that, of course, you know, we want to encourage, but I would encourage you to let the Holy Spirit lead you and place people upon your hearts. And perhaps there are some truths in here that you need to kind of capture in a way that you can communicate these things to those that God would put

upon your heart. And so if you're listening to this message later on and someone, you know, gave this message to you, there's a little bit of a hint there about where your condition might be, or at least where it appears to be, that there's a need for a return to the pursuit of God's heart.

As we talk about pursuing God's heart, we've been referring to that over and over again in the life of David because he's a man after God's own heart. And it really speaks to living your life to please God, that that's your main objective.

that obedience to God and fulfilling God's will is the highest priority. It's the most important thing, and you are seeking after that in your life, in your decisions, in your actions and activity. And where we find David now is not at the pinnacle of that, not as the great demonstration of how to live a life that pleases God, but we find him, well, we would describe it as a backslidden state, right?

A backslidden state. That is, he was here in that pursuit. It's a moving forward, a pursuing the heart of God. But now he's been sliding backwards. He's been regressing. He's been moving away from the heart of God as he's been living here in the land of the Philistines for the past year or so.

This idea of backsliding is something that we need to understand and kind of keep in mind because it is a danger for all of us as we have the temptation, the tendency to relax and become complacent that we can easily slip into the back sliding. Notice it's not the back sprinting or the back running, right? It's that sliding. It's

It's more of a gradual thing. It starts gradually. It's not necessarily a deliberate decision, but many times it is just a gradual thing that you don't realize until after it is in full effect.

the author of The Cross and the Switchblade. You might remember him, David Wilkerson, a great evangelist. He shares a little bit about backsliding, and I liked his description, so I wanted to share it with you. He says, a backslider is someone who once walked before the Lord with a devoted, humble, and kind heart. He loved praying and digging into God's word. He vowed, I will serve the Lord always with all my heart.

I think we could relate to this position, right? That we've probably all had this kind of prayer. I will always serve the Lord with all my heart. And we love digging into the word of God. We all experience that and we know what that's like to be in pursuit of God's heart in that way. But then he goes on to say, but then something began to draw this believer's heart away from the Lord. Soon he lost both the love and fear of God.

And his heart slowly grew cold. And there is that slow process of that intensity and that fire that once was there has died down. And there is that not the pursuit any longer of the heart of God. There's not the passion and the zeal for the Lord like there once was. There is not the fear of the Lord anymore.

And as that progresses, he goes on to say,

This is the progression that here we are, you know, seeking after and loving and I'm going to serve God with all my heart. And then there's just this progression or regression of distance and the fire dying out until we find ourselves where we are just immersed in worldly ways.

Completely blind and foolish and without understanding. And we are all capable of experiencing this condition once again of going back and removing ourselves from the pursuit of God's heart. And so you find yourself either, you know, at the end result or somewhere along the way this evening,

I want to encourage you to return to pursuing God's heart as we look at the example of David. Four points we'll work through here in chapter 29 and chapter 30 about returning back to where we need to be in pursuit of the heart of God, in pursuit of his will, his desires, and his plans. Well, we're going to start with point number one, which is actually all of chapter 29. It's a short chapter. Point number one is you don't belong in the enemy's camp.

One of the things that you need to realize and recognize is that you don't belong there. When you're in that condition and in that state and you're there in worldly ways, you're there in worldly mindset, you're there in worldly mindset.

You don't actually fit. As hard as you try to fit in, as hard as you try to blend in to that scene and to that scenario, you don't fit. And many times, you know, you think you're doing a good job of kind of pulling it off and blending in. But even the world around you sees and recognizes you don't belong here. What are you doing here? And that's what we see unfold here with the Philistines. The Philistines are preparing to fight Israel because that's what Philistines do.

They were Israel's enemy. And so when, you know, every year at the time of war, they would come out and they would fight the Israelites and they would try to take more territory and they would go back and forth as they always would. And so as they're preparing for battle, they have the troops line up for inspection. In verse one, it tells us the Philistines gathered together all the armies at Aphek and the Israelites encamped by a fountain, which is in Jezreel.

And the lords of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands. So they have them lined up, you know, in groups of hundreds and groups of thousands. And David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish.

Now here in the Philistine territory, David has been in the area that belongs to and was overseen by this man named Achish. And Achish is the one who's given David the city Ziklag. And, you know, David's been working with him and lying to him and deceiving him, but kind of developing a bit of a friendship and expressing loyalty to him over the past year and a half that he's been in Philistine territory. And so now as David,

Achish takes his troops to battle. He brings David with him. And David and his men are lined up there. And the lords of the Philistines are reviewing the troops. They're inspecting the troops. And here we find David in the enemy's camp, lined up with the enemy, preparing to fight the people of Israel. Now, let me just kind of back you up a little bit.

to remember why David is here in the first place. It goes back to 1 Samuel chapter 27, where David decides, you know what? I keep just barely escaping Saul. It's going to be much easier for me and much safer for me if I go and hide amongst the Philistines, because Saul will be too fearful to chase me there, and so I'll be safe. I'll find relief from Saul's pursuit by staying there.

with the Philistines. And when we went through chapter 27, we saw then, we could understand why he would think that, but it wasn't a good idea. And so now here it's developed, and he's been there for a year, and it's developed, and his heart has regressed more, and he is far from the Lord. And so here he is with the Philistines, but although he's far from the Lord, he's not pursuing the heart of God, he doesn't blend in quite yet.

He doesn't fit in with the Philistine army. He stands out like a sore thumb. As the Philistine leaders look over, they go, what are these guys doing here? And they challenge Achish because Achish is the one who brought them and they're in his group. You know, like, hey, why have you brought these people in with you? He doesn't fit in. He doesn't blend in because, well, David is a child of God in the enemy's camp.

And David may have thought he blended in. He may have thought he fit in. He may have thought, you know, hey, I've been deceiving everybody and, you know, doing these other things. And I think I've got everybody fooled. He had Achish fooled. But the rest of the people around them said, you don't belong here. What are you doing here? And sometimes we can be so blind to our condition and think,

We've got everybody fooled, but the reality is we don't. In verse 3, the princes of the Philistines said, what are these Hebrews doing here?

And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who's been with me these days or these years? And to this day, I have found no fault with him since he defected to me. Achish kind of goes to bat for David. And he says, look, no, no, David's loyal to me. And he's been with me for a little over a year now.

And I haven't found any fault with him. Like he's cool, man. Just trust me. Like he's going to rock and roll in this battle we're about to fight. He's going to, you know, lop off some Israelite heads. But then in verse four, it says the princes of the Philistines were angry with him. So the princes of the Philistines said to him, make this fellow return that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him and do not let him go down with us to battle. Lest in the battle, he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master? If not with the heads of these men.

The Philistine lords say, this is so obvious. What is wrong with you? Right in the middle of the battle, David could kind of come to his senses and just go, hey, if I kill all the people around me, you know, I could win Saul's approval back. And, you know, their logic in this, the Philistines' logic, it makes a lot of sense. They go on to say, is this not David of whom they sing to one another and dances, saying Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands?

I think it's interesting here in verse 5. We have seen this song come back to haunt David time after time after time, right? It comes from when he first defeated Goliath.

There's a young boy, you know, very early in our introduction to David, back in chapter 17, and they celebrated his great victory over Goliath, but over and over and over again, this song has been trouble to David. And here it is once again, you know, everybody reminding him of it. This is the guy. And yet, what's interesting to consider is David is so far away.

He's so far from those days and where his heart was at in those days where he went out by himself as a little boy against the giant Philistine, trusting in the name of the Lord and coming at him in the name of the Lord and defending the honor of God and seeking to please God. He's so far from

from that, even though they still sing that song to this day. In verse 6, it says,

As you think about the song of David, you know, that he's slain or Saul slain his thousands, but David is tens of thousands. And where David was at in that victory, and you look at where David is now. Back then, who was David wanting to please? David wanted to please the Lord. He was not quite a man yet, but he was a young boy after God's own heart, right? He was in pursuit of the heart of God.

But notice who the focus is in regards to pleasing in verse 6 and 7. Achish is testifying to David, David, I've been really pleased with you. Who's David pleasing? He's pleasing Achish. We know that. He says, look, I haven't found any fault with you. I've loved having you around. David, it's been amazing having you with me. And man, as far as I'm concerned, I think you're the best dude ever.

I mean, everything you do is good in my sight. And for this, till this day, I haven't found evil with you. But, oh man, I'm really sad to tell you that the lords of the Philistines do not favor you. David, you're pleasing to me, Achish says, but you're not pleasing to the lords of the Philistines. And so Achish says in verse seven, please go your way, go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines. Let's worry about pleasing the lords of the Philistines.

I mean, that's a real important thing, David. You've been pleasing to me. And now let's be pleasing to the lords of the Philistines. Why don't you go on home? Go back to Ziklag. Go back, not home to Israel, but back to where you are living in the Philistine territory. And again, you can see David has come a long way from defeating Goliath. And it's tragic as you consider that he's pleasing Achish. He's going to head back now.

seeking to please the lords of the Philistines, but he's not seeking to please God. In verse 8, David says to Achish, but what have I done? And to this day, what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my Lord, the King? Verse 8 is a challenging one because you look at this and David's objecting

Now up to this point, you could look and say, well, you know, David was forced to be there. He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to fight against the Israelites, but what can he do? He's forced. He has to play along. He has to play the part. But then you get into verse eight and then now it's a real question. Like, so is David faking it here? And he's just pretending like, oh, you know, like I really wanted to go, but he didn't really want to, you know, but I really wanted to fight with you, but he didn't really want, is he just playing or is this an actual objection? And

Bible scholars debate and go back and forth about which one it might be. But as you look at this passage and consider it, I think it's pretty clear. Whether David was planning to fight or not, it's very clear either option is not a good option. Either way, he's in a bad place. He's not where he intended to be last week as we looked at 1 Samuel 28-29.

I had titled the message, Where You End Up If You Don't Pursue God's Heart. And we saw in verses one and two, David and his interaction with Achish. And the point was that you end up working with the enemy. David didn't go to Philistine territory intending, I'm gonna work with the enemy. I'm gonna be part of their army. I'm gonna fight against Israel. That's not what he intended, but this is where he's ended up. This is where his lack of pursuing the heart of God has brought him. And this is the reality here.

This is where it leads us when we are not pursuing God's heart. We end up in these kinds of predicaments, either with the enemy or thinking we're with the enemy or maybe wanting to be with the enemy or conflicted about whether or not we're going to be fighting with the enemy. And there's all these complicated things that are going on in the midst of this. And here David objects. Verse 9, it says, Akish answered and said to David, I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God.

Nevertheless, the princes of the Philistines have said, he shall not go with us up to the battle. Now, therefore, rise early in the morning with your master's servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart. Achish says, I know, I know, you're amazing, David. I'm so pleased with you. But they're not. We have to please them. So first thing tomorrow morning, you need to head out.

And so David does in verse 11. David and his men rose early to depart in the morning and to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. So the Philistines go on to battle, but David goes back to the place where they were staying called Ziklag. Why? Why doesn't David go up

Because he doesn't belong in the enemy's camp. And it's so obvious to everybody around them, except for Achish. You know, Achish is the fool who's completely deceived. Again, whether or not David was going to go to battle with the Philistines or against the Philistines, regardless, Achish is just, he's completely deceived. But everybody else around, they recognize it. They can see, you don't belong here. You're trying to tell those same jokes that we're all telling, but

They don't come across the same way when you tell them. It doesn't fit. It's not right. You try to dress the same way. You try to walk the same way. You try to talk the same way. You be involved in the same things. And there are some people that, yeah, you pull the wool right over their eyes, but you're a child of God in the enemy's camp. You don't belong there. Listen, it's time for you to return to pursuing God's heart. You can try to pretend all you want,

but you don't fit in. You stand out, and it's obvious you're not fooling anybody, especially you're not fooling God, but you're not fooling people because you are a child of God. You don't belong in the world. Dave Guzik says it this way. He says,

in the world. And that's true internally. He can't be at peace in the world. He's not at peace in the camp of the Philistines because he knows God. He's walked with God. He knows what it's like to pursue God's heart. But it's also true externally. He can't really have peace with the world because he's a child of God. And that is true for all of God's children. You don't fit in. You don't belong there.

It's time to recognize that and return to pursuing God's heart instead of trying to pretend that you've not done that before. Trying to pretend that you are not a child of God. Moving on now into chapter 30, we're going to find point number two in verses one through five. And here's point number two. Your safety net is not very safe. Remember why David went there first of all into the Philistine territory? It was for the safety net.

But now he finds out that safety net that he thought he had in place that kept him at peace, actually, well, it didn't provide much safety. Verse 1 goes on to say, Verse 2.

And they'd 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. 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. Here the author tells us it's a three-day journey from where they were lined up for inspection back to their home in Ziklag.

They've been gone for probably about a week, at least three days to get up there and three days to get back. Maybe some time transpired in between, we don't know. But in this week that they've been gone, there's been a raid that has come through the area. The Amalekites, the flesh. Amalek is a picture of the flesh many times in the scriptures. And it is so appropriate that in this time where David has been living without pursuing God's heart in enemy territory,

The flesh rears its ugly head and it wrecks havoc in the home of David. And here David comes back to find the city is burned and everybody he left behind, including his own wives, including all of the sons and daughters of all the army that was there, everybody left behind in Ziklag has been taken captive. They've lost everything in this span of one week.

And they came to the city and there it was, burned with fire. I kind of wonder, you know, what was happening in the mind and the heart of David as he was making his way back to Ziklag. And you know how it is. You see that smoke off in the distance, right? He's drawing closer and that's like, that's not that city. It's not that city. Like I'm headed right towards that smoke and beginning to worry, beginning to stress, beginning to fear this city.

This was the condition and the state of David's heart during this time. Remember in the previous chapters that we saw that David, he would raid the people around him, but he would have to make sure he wiped them all out so that there would be no survivors to go and tell on him about what he was doing. And he lived with this fear. And now it's continuing on as he heads back and he sees this. And there is this fear, there's this pressure, there's this turmoil within David.

And now he comes as he draws nearer and nearer. The smoke is clearly from his own city. Something terrible has happened and his heart must be just completely wrenched and devastated at this time. And with that in mind, remember, go back and remember why David came here to begin with. 1 Samuel chapter 27 verse 1.

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. Why did David come here? Because there was nothing better, he thought. It would be so much easier than trying to escape Saul in the wilderness to be settled in the Philistines. It's going to be so much better there. But a year later,

That's not what we see happen. It's not so much better. David's safety net is not very safe. His heart has not experienced relief. The pressures of living in the wilderness were tough, but this is tougher. This is more painful. This is more difficult. Philistine territory sounds safer, but it's not safer. It sounds easier, but it's not easier. It sounds better, but it's not better. Your safety net

is not very safe. That is a painful discovery. But when we trust in other things, when we trust in locations or cities or buildings or people, instead of the Lord, we will all experience this same thing. Our safety net is not very safe, and it is going to be devastating. The world is never able to deliver on its promises. You can think about the prodigal son, right?

He got his inheritance and he looked out at the life of the world and he thought, this is going to be amazing. I have all my inheritance. I'm going to just have a great time. There's going to be not a care in the world. Everything's going to be provided for. This is going to be amazing. And there was a short season of amazingness. But that short season was over quick. And he's there feeding pigs, sitting in the mud,

really tempted to eat the food that he's feeding to the pigs. That is what the world has to offer. It's never able to deliver on its promises. David looked at the Philistine territory and he thought, oh man, this is going to be great. I'm going to be able to relax, kick back, Saul won't be chasing me. I mean, I'll just have like a lawn chair and a, you know,

Not a picnic fence, a picket fence. You know, we'll have picnics in the yard or behind our picket fence. And just, you know, things are going to be cool, man. Just enjoying the breeze. It's like life on the beach. It's going to be amazing. But the world is not able to deliver on those promises. David said, there's nothing better for me than to run to the Philistines and Saul will stop pursuing me there. And Saul did stop pursuing him, but it wasn't better.

David was not better off physically, emotionally, mentally. His family wasn't better. Nothing was better because your safety net is not very safe. The Lord is your only safety. Verse four tells us, then David and the people who are with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep. Have you ever wept like that? You weep until there's no more power. David is so exhausted from weeping.

The burden on his heart, the burden on his soul is intense. It's overwhelming. This is where it takes us when we're on the path of not pursuing the heart of God. This is the inevitable result. You put God first and things are difficult and there's challenges and there's battles. And God tells you that straight up front, right at the beginning, you know that.

And so it's easy to look around and go, whoa, it's gonna be so much easier if I stop pursuing the Lord's heart. If I stop going down that path, it'll be so much easier. But in actuality, it will bring you to the place where you've wept so much you have no more power to weep. Verse five tells us, David's two wives, Ahenom the Jezreelites and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite had been taken captive. This wasn't just other people around David. This was David himself weeping.

personally affected, his family torn apart, devastated because he relied upon a safety net that was not very safe. And you know, God doesn't have to like send an army. It's not like God wanted to like judge David. You know what the Lord did? He just showed you, look what I've been protecting you from, David. This is what you've been doing to all the areas around you. And up to this point, I've protected you from this, but you're not pursuing my heart. Let me just show you a glimpse of what it's like without me.

without my protection, outside of my covering. And it is devastating. Listen, your safety net is not very safe. And you might fall into it for a moment, and it feels like, oh, this is cool. It catches you, kind of springs you back. You know, it's like a bungee cord, you know? And you dive into the prodigal living, and you're like, woo, it's awesome. But then that net breaks. You might bounce on it a couple times. You might, like, enjoy a little bit, like, oh, yeah, this feels so nice, for a few moments. There's always that feeling.

A little bit of fear when you kind of crawl into a hammock, right? It's like, is it going to hold me, right? Okay, you test it out. Crack! You know, there you are on the ground. This is what your safety net will do if it's not the Lord. The Lord is your only place of safety. Return to pursuing God's heart. Everything that sounds amazing and appealing, the world cannot deliver on those promises. God is the only one who can deliver on those promises. And that doesn't mean a life without difficulty, right?

but it means a life of God's provision and protection and leading and guiding in the midst of those things. And you can rely upon the Lord. He is a safety net. Well, moving on to verses six through eight, we get point number three. Now, the exhortation, the encouragement, strengthen yourself in the Lord. The first couple of points are really kind of

an awakening, you know, call that you would wake up and realize you don't belong in the enemy's camp. You don't belong there in the world. You don't fit in and you know you don't and you're not comfortable there and everybody around you knows that you don't belong there but you're still trying really hard but come to the realization you don't belong there.

and recognize the pressure that you feel and the heartache and the heaviness because you relied upon the wrong thing. That's not where God wants you to be. And instead now, now as you come to realize those things, as you're aware of these things, as you come to grips and confess those things, now you can follow the example of David here in verses six through eight and strengthen yourself in the Lord. Verse six tells us, now David was greatly distressed.

Here we get to see a glimpse of why David is called by God, a man after God's own heart.

It's not because he was without fail. It's not because he never went to live with the Philistines and, you know, tried to fit in with the world. And it's not because he never backslid. It's because here is David amongst 600 guys. They've all lost everything. And David is the one who strengthens himself in the Lord. He's a man after God's own heart because in that point of distressing trouble,

David comes to his senses and he calls out to the Lord. He goes back to the Lord. He runs back to the Lord. He's the first one there. We see that the troops kind of join with him in just a moment, but it's not that Abiathar, the priest, calls on the name of the Lord. It's that David, at this point, this low point, this is as low as it gets. He's greatly distressed and

Not only has he lost everything, not only has he lived with the stress of being in enemy territory and living in fear for the past year and a half, not only has he been facing all of this trouble and difficulty, but now his own guys are talking about stoning him. They're so fed up. They're so tired of all the pressure that they've been experiencing while they've been in the Philistine territory and all the issues that they've had to deal with. And they're so tired of it. They are now turning against God.

their own leader who they love. They love David, but oh, they're so fed up. It's time for us to take him out. They're grieved. They're hurt. But David strengthened himself in the Lord. How did he do that? What does that mean that he strengthened himself in the Lord? Well, obviously, you're reading the same verses I'm reading. It doesn't go into detail about how David did that. But I would suggest that David ran back to the Lord and

in his own heart, and in his mind. You know what it's like to be stubborn. You know what it's like, right? Where you know the Lord's like right there. It's kind of like, you know when you're driving, and you need to get in to a lane that's packed, and there's the guy at the wheel. Like, you could see it in his face. He's like, goodness teeth, I am not looking at you, because I'm not going to let you in. Nope, I'm not looking. I'm not looking. And you're like, come on, dude. I need to get in there. Like, pretending, you know? Like,

I know you can see me. I'm right there, you know, and no, I'm not going to look. I'm not going to acknowledge you and I'm not going to let you in. And we can be like that with the Lord so many times. So stubborn. I know you're speaking to me, Lord. Nope, I'm not going to acknowledge it. I'm not going to pay attention. I'm not. Nope, nope, nope. This is where David's been in the land of the Philistines.

The Lord hasn't left him. The Lord's been like, hey, I'm trying to merge here, David. Like, let's merge our plans. Let's get back together. Let's get together. And David's like, nope, nope, nope. I'm pretending like I don't see you. But David strengthened himself in the Lord. Now he turns and he looks to the Lord. And he says, Lord, I've been running for a long time.

He strengthens himself in the Lord by acknowledging the Lord, confessing where he's at, confessing his heart, acknowledging the condition that he's been in and remembering. In doing that, he's remembering, God, your mercies are new every morning.

And God, your grace, it's as high as the heavens are above the earth. He's remembering the promises of God. He's stirring himself up to remember who God is and who God has called him to be. David strengthened himself in the Lord. And notice that David did not try to now resolve the issues so that he could then turn back and call upon the name of the Lord.

He didn't try to like fix everything in order for him to then have a standing to say, God, I realize I made a mess, but look, I've done a really good job of cleaning up. So now will you take me back? David here at his lowest point made a complete mess from there in the mud, in the muck, in the mire. He calls out to the Lord. Verse seven tells us, then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, please bring the ephod here to me.

And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So David inquired of the Lord saying, shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all. This is pretty incredible. Here's David at the lowest point, the lowest of the low of the low, but he strengthens himself in the Lord. He turns back, he confesses, he acknowledges, he recognizes who God is.

He brings the priest. He says, let's inquire of the Lord. Let's ask God what he wants to do in the midst of this. God, shall I pursue this troop? Will I overtake them? And what does God say? No, you dummy, you've been living with the Philistines for a year and a half. What do you think I'm gonna do, bless you now? No way, you're an idiot. That's not what God says. God says, go, go after them. I'm gonna take care of you. I'm gonna give you victory and you're gonna recover all.

You're not going to lose a thing in this. I mean, this is incredible mercy and strength and grace that God is showing towards David. He strengthens himself in the Lord and he finds God meet him and give him encouragement and great promises. He will not lose a thing. He will recover all. I like how F.B. Meyer describes this point in David's life. He says, with the charred embers at his feet.

David now turns around. And from that moment, from right there in the midst of the mess that he has made in trying to escape the threat of Saul and trying to escape the threat of David,

the dangers of the wilderness. In the mess that he has made, he turns back. He calls out to the Lord. And it's like, hey, here's the David that we remember. Here's the David that faced Goliath. He was so far from that just a few moments earlier. So pleasing to Achish. Roped in with Achish too. Let's please the lords of the Philistines. He's so far from pleasing the Lord. But

But now he's back to that guy that we remember, that one who trusts in the Lord, that one who calls out and hears from the Lord, the one that talks to the Lord. Here we find David, that old familiar David, who inquires of the Lord. Lord, what do you want me to do? And God is so faithful to speak. You know, there's that saying, it's been around for many years, no matter how many steps you take running away from the Lord, he's just one step back.

We see that clearly demonstrated. For a year and a half, David's been running from the Lord, and it's just one step. He strengthens himself in the Lord. He inquires of the Lord, and the Lord says, yes, I'm here. Yes, I'm with you. Yeah, go fight them. Yeah, I'll help you recover everything that you lost. We're

God is so incredible in his mercy. Strengthen yourself in the Lord. Stop being stubborn and trying to pretend like you don't see him and you don't hear his voice. You do hear his voice. You do know he's calling out to you. Strengthen yourself. Turn face to face. Acknowledge where you're at. Acknowledge the stubbornness of your heart and let God begin to do the recovering work that he wants to do.

And that brings us now to the fourth point, the final point for this evening in verses 9 through 20. Start to obey God now and recover all. Start right now to obey God and start right now to experience the recovery of all that you have lost. In verse 9 here in 1 Samuel chapter 30, it says, So David went...

He and the 600 men who are with him and came to the Brook Besor where those stayed who were left behind. But David pursued he and 400 men for 200 stayed behind who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor. David now right away, it says, so David went in verse nine. David immediately obeys and notice his men go with him. Now, just a few moments before they were ready to stone him.

There were talks, there was plotting, there was planning. They were picking up the rocks. They're ready to stone David. They're ready to kill him and execute him. But now they follow him into battle. What changed? I think a lot is left out of the details. We don't get to see it unfold in the play by play. But in my own mind, in my imagination, I picture David standing up and addressing his soldiers. He's saying, hey guys, I've really blown it.

A few moments earlier, he has confessed to the Lord. Now he takes it public and he says, guys, I've really messed up. I'm really sorry. I know this is all my fault, guys. I should have stayed in the wilderness. I should have not come running away from what God called me to. I know I've made a mess. I know this is devastating and we're all hurt. But listen, I'm calling on the Lord again. I'm inquiring of the Lord and God's told me what to do.

I'm going to go, and he's promised he's going to recover everything. I don't know if you guys will still take me back. I don't know if you guys will still go with me to battle. But if you will, we have God's promise. We have God's word. He's going to be with us. And David, he inspires his men again to go with him because he's turned back to the Lord. He's starting to obey God right now. And he begins to recover all, not just the possessions, but the hearts of his men too.

because he's turned his heart back to God. He lost the heart of his men, but now he started that recovery already because he was turning his heart to God. And that is what God does. As you fight so hard to hold everything together in your own strength, when you're not pursuing God's heart, that's all going to fall apart and you're not going to be able to hold on to the things that you're trying so hard to hold on to. But when you will let go of

and turn face to face to the Lord and start pursuing him again, he will start to bring those things back together. So his men go with him. Now it's interesting here in these verses, we see that his 600 guys go with him, but 200 of them can't make it all the way. They're so weary.

Now, these are soldiers. These were guys who were raiding with it. Why were they so weary? Well, it wasn't just the march up to, you know, where they were, the three-day march to the inspection and the three-day march back. But I would suggest that they were weary because of all of the trauma that they have just experienced. All of the weariness of losing their families and seeing the smoke and the dread as they draw closer and closer. And listen, rebellion, being away from God,

It is a heavy, heavy burden. And so here are these 200. They're not just winded because they've been marching for a few days. They're wiped out because of all that they've gone through, all that they've experienced. We're going to talk about these guys a little bit more next week because they come back into play when the soldiers come back from victory. But I want to just highlight these guys for a moment to remind us to not get discouraged.

As we get back on the road to recovery and we start to obey God, again, it doesn't mean that there are not challenges and that there are not things that we would look at and say, that's a setback. On the road to recover all, but I've lost 200 of my soldiers. A third of my army is gone. David could be discouraged. But like we talked about on Sunday, there are testing. Your faith is going to be tested. You start to obey and there's going to be a testing. Are you still going to obey when one third drop out? This is the way.

that our faith is tested many times. Don't get discouraged and don't give up. I like what Spurgeon said about this. He says, when God means to bless us, he often takes away a part of the little strength we thought we had. We did not think our strength equal to the task. And then the Lord takes away a portion even of the little that we had. Our God does not fill until he has emptied. Our God does not fill until we've been emptied and we really trust in the Lord.

Well, it goes on in verse 11 to say, Now, here we're introduced to this Egyptian, and these next few verses all surround this guy that they find in the field.

And as I was reading through this, I was thinking, this kind of seems like so out of place. I mean, I'm picturing David. He is amped up, right? He's lost everything. God's told him, go get them. I'm going to give it all back to you. And so here's his, you know, David and his army, and they're out to get those who have robbed them and stolen from them. And there's emotions, you know, there's an intensity that they have to be experiencing. And then they come across this guy in the field, right?

I say, hey, let's take a break. Hey, you want some food? Are you hungry? Like, I just don't picture a band of soldiers in pursuit of those who have just robbed them of everything. Say, oh, hey, are you hungry? You know, would you like a cup of water? You know, like, it seems so out of place and out of character. But as I began to think about it a little bit more, I thought, you know, it seems out of character for a band of soldiers in pursuit, but it is right in line with the character and nature of God, isn't it? See someone lying in a field? Hey, how you doing?

What's going on in your life? David is back in pursuit of God's heart is the point. You can tell by the way he's treating this guy. Now, we can see as it goes on, I mean, there's purpose involved because it's a source of information for them. Verse 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.'"

Verse 15. Verse 15.

And when he had brought him down there, there they were, spread out all over 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. As they encounter this guy and treat him well, it turns out he is the very one who can lead them right to the enemy camp. Kind of reminds me of the author of Hebrews says, hey, make sure you entertain strangers because some people have entertained angels before.

Not intending to do so, not realizing that it was an angel, but just have a love for people. Be on the lookout for those that perhaps God wants you to reach out to and minister to. And here David, he's back in pursuit of God's heart. And so he sees this guy. He takes a moment to feed him, to help him recover because he's been neglected. And as he recovers, well, he's the one that the Lord uses to bring them right to where God wanted them to be.

I don't know about you, but maybe I just watch too many TV shows where I would expect interrogation and torture, put a light on his face, hang him upside down, and rip off his fingernails and tell me where they are. But no, sit down, have a meal. You're doing good? What's going on? Tell me your story. That gentleness from this band of soldiers who just lost everything shows the kindness of the Lord. They're under incredible stress, but they're not lashing out. How you treat people in times of great distress...

It's a good indication of where your heart is with God. Are you really pursuing God's heart? If they were just pursuing their own heart or their stuff, or if they were just pursuing their families, it would have been a different story with this guy that they encountered. But here they're pursuing the heart of God. They treat him kindly. They show gentleness.

And he brings them right where they need to be. Verse 17, then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped except 400 young men who rode on camels and fled. This is interesting to consider. David comes on them. They're celebrating. So they're not at all prepared for a battle. So it's an ideal time to attack them. And as he attacks them, we don't know how big this army was, but check it out. This is a big army because 400 escaped. Now, how many men did David have?

400, right? He started with six. It was dropped down to 400. He comes across this army. We don't know how big it is, but only 400 escaped. And so in the wording there, we kind of see that 400 is a small portion of the bigger army that David defeated that night. But a few escaped, only 400. The same amount of men who David had with him. God

The point is, God enabled David to have a really big victory. This was a big victory. This wasn't just a little skirmish. This wasn't just David could have done it with his strength or, you know, his might because he beats giants. No, this was a big army. This was a big troop, however big it was, we don't know, but it was a big army.

But God enabled a great victory here. 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. Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock and said, this is David's spoil.

Here we see this turnout in such an amazing way. It would have totally been within God's rights, and nobody would have blamed God for anything if he let David just lose everything and just go back to Judah without anything. You've lost your wives. You've lost all the stuff you've accumulated, but you've come back to the Lord, and now we're going to work forward. And we would have been like, cool, man. God's so merciful and gracious, letting David come back from where he was. But God goes above and beyond.

We could think, well, you know, even if he lost some, you know, let's just say half, you know, he lost one wife and half of his stuff, half of his men. But still God would be so gracious and merciful to let him come back in that way. But in God's mercy and grace, David recovered. David recovered everything. Listen, this is not just an amazing exception to how God works. This is, I would say, the general rule of thumb.

Now, it's not a law that God always has to work this way, but listen, God, most of the time, in our experience, you look back, you can see God has restored all. When you have been away and come back, God restores all. He recovers. The Lord spoke through the prophet Joel in Joel 2.

And he's talking to Israel as they're rebellious against God. But when they turn back to the Lord, it tells us in Joel 2.25, I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts have eaten. You lost years of crops that the locusts ate. When you come back to me, I'll restore those years that the locusts ate. Recover all. Now,

Don't be confused and think, well, that means then that there's no consequence to turning away from God. No, no. Recovering what you lost is not the same as having what you would have had had you continued on. God doesn't say, I'm going to make it like you never sinned and you'll be where you were at regardless of whether you walked with me or not. But in his mercy and grace, he does say, you're going to have restored those years that the locusts ate.

the things that wait on your heart, the things that wait on your soul, the pressures and all those things from your time of wandering and pursuing other things, I'm gonna bring you back to where you were. I'm gonna restore to you what you had when you walked with me. And God is so gracious and merciful to deal with us in this way.

And that's why this evening, again, I don't know where you're at. I don't know what's going on in your life, but also recognizing there might be people in your life that God is putting this message in your path. He's having you here this evening for you, but also for you to pass on and to share with others in one form or another. It's why it's so important for us to give this call and say, return to pursuing God's heart because we can all be there where David was yesterday

in the enemy's camp, but we don't belong. We don't fit in. It's time we recognize it. It's time we stop trying to be stubborn and pretend like, you know, nothing's wrong, nothing, everything's fine, everything's great. We've found that the safety net is not very safe. And if you haven't found it yet, you're going to find it pretty soon. The safety net is not very safe. It's going to fail. There's going to be devastation. There's going to be destruction. And you don't have to wait till the end to reach out to God like David did.

you can strengthen yourself in the Lord right now. But even if you reach rock bottom, it's still not too late. You can strengthen yourself in the Lord and start to obey God right now and begin the process of recovering all. Begin the process of coming back to the place where God wants you to be.

And we're going to see David has the promises that God gave to David. He's still going to experience those. He's still going to become king. And God's going to bring all this together, even though for a year and a half, he's taken a break from pursuing God's heart. You rewind and go back to the beginning. If David had a chance, he would have done it differently. But he made the choice he made. He's ended up where he is. And from there, he calls out to the Lord again.

And the Lord is able to heal and restore and do a work return to pursuing God's heart. Nothing else is worth it. Everything else will disappoint. It's only God who can fulfill those promises and bring the things that we're desiring so greatly. Kim's going to come up and close us in a song. And as she does,

As always, I want to encourage you to be seeking the Lord in this time of worship. And it's an opportunity for us to pursue God's heart. And I don't know if you need a return, if there is that kind of thing going on. This is an appropriate opportunity to do that, to strengthen yourself in the Lord. I would encourage you to also pray for those who need to return.

And this is a good opportunity perhaps to spend some time in prayer, interceding on behalf of those who have been away from the Lord and are not where they need to be. And as always, there is the opportunity to minister to one another during this last closing song as well. I want to finish up with one last verse. It's from Hosea chapter 6 verse 1, where the Lord speaking through the prophet Hosea says, "'Come and let us return to the Lord, for he has torn, but he will heal us.'"

He has stricken, but he will bind us up. And we can come to God, no matter where we've been, no matter what we've done, and find he will bring healing as we turn to him. He will bind us up and bring restoration as we call upon the Lord and pursue his heart. Let's return to pursuing God's heart as we worship the Lord together.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.