Without Fail, You Shall Recover all
Sermon Preached on Day 1 of the Divine Intervention Ministration at Liberty Chapel, Windsor Mill, Maryland on July 22, 2011
By
John Ojewole
Memory Verses:
John 10:10 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.
Joel 2:25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming 2locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.
PREAMBLE:
Greetings from my family & Agape Bible Fellowship, Antioch, California.
This is the beginning of a three days journey of faith. Let us belt up and get ready to ride high.
God will turn your misery to a miracle. Your doubts will be transformed to faith.
Text: 1 Samuel 30:1-20 NKJ; Joel 2:25 ; John 10:10
Now it happened, when David and his men came to aZiklag, on the third day, that the bAmalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the cwomen 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. 4Then 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 dwives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for ethe people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was 1grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. fBut David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
7 gThen David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And hAbiathar brought the ephod to David.
8 iSo 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.”
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; jfor 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 ka cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. Sol 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 nof 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, peating 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; qDavid 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.”
INTRODUCTION:
We all hate losses.
The Bible says, NKJV | Ps 34:9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
NKJV | So 2:15 Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.
NKJV | Job 42:12 Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. 15 In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. 17 So Job died, old and full of days.
1. The Problem: verses 1-2
Now it happened, when David and his men came to aZiklag, on the third day, that the bAmalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the cwomen and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.
Matthew 13:24–28 (HCSB) 24 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The landowner’s slaves came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ 28 “ ‘An enemy did this!’ he told them. “ ‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?’ the slaves asked him.
HCSB | Jn 3:19-20 “This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed.
1 Peter 5:8.
NKJV | 1 Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
The old adage says: “When the cat is away, mice come out and play.”
(1 Sam 27:11 NIV) He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, "They might inform on us and say, 'This is what David did.'" And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory.
The Amalekites did five things:
A. They invaded the city.
B. They attacked it.
C. They burned it with fire.
D. They captured the inhabitants of ziklag.
E. They carried them off
2. The Psychological Trauma: 3-6
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. 4Then 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 dwives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for ethe people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was 1grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. fBut David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
I pray that no one here will ever experience this kind of trauma in Jesus name. AMEN.
The psalmist says, Psalm 30:5 NKJV… Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
NKJV | Re 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Is 25:8 | He will destroy death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove His people’s disgrace from the whole earth, for the LORD has spoken.
Is 51:11 | And the redeemed of the LORD will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
Hebrew word translated distress is yartsar. That word has several meanings. It means to be bound; be cramped, be wrapped up, bring trouble, be in distress, i.e., be in a state of intense trouble, confined, be imprisoned, i.e., put an object in custody, and so confine to an area. DBL Hebrew
The Bible says in Exodus 17:4 4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? In a little while they will stone me!”
John 8:59 At that, they picked up stones n to throw at Him. o But Jesus was hidden p q and went out of the temple complex.
Matthew 6:14–15 (HCSB) 14 “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.
1 Samuel 30:6 (HCSB) 6 David was in a difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over ⌊the loss of⌋ their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
Psalm 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
What to do to encourage ourselves during crisis:
Lamentations 3:22-24 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."
2 Tim 2:13 if we are unfaithful, he abides faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
Second, you can be encouraged by remembering God’s promises. Remember that God has not brought you thus far to suffer.
Hebrews 13:5 (HCSB) 5 Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV) 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle on you.Third, you could become strengthened by God by remembering the workings of God in your life in the past.
(Psa 103:1-5 NIV) Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. {2} Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- {3} who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, {4} who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, {5} who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
3. The Prospect 7-8
7 gThen David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And hAbiathar brought the ephod to David. 8So 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.”
What is an Ephod? Read the scriptures below:
(Exo 28:15 NIV) "Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions--the work of a skilled craftsman. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.(Exo 28:28 NIV) The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.
(Exo 28:30 NIV) Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.
God responded to David:
a. Pursue
b. Overtake
c. Without fail
d. Recover all
Enquired: Hebrew shâʾal, shaw-al´ inquire; by implication to request; by extension: To demand:—ask consult, demand, en quire, pray, request, require.
Pursue: Hebrews râdaph, raw-daf to run after (usually with hostile intent; chase, put to flight, follow (after, on), hunt, persecute, pursue.
Overtake: Hebrew nâsag, naw-sag to reach, reach, remove, surely, (over-) take (hold of, on, upon).
Without Fail: Hebrew nâtsal, naw-tsal´ to snatch away, whether in a good or a bad sense, defend, deliver (self), escape, without fail, part, pluck, preserve, recover, rescue, rid, save, spoil, strip, surely, take (out).
Recover: Hebrew shûwb, shoob to turn back (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); to retreat; deliver (again), fetch recall, recompense, recover, refresh, relieve, render (again), requite, rescue, restore, retrieve, (cause to, make to) return, reverse, reward, , withdraw.
Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers. 2 Corinthians 6:14.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5)
Thus says the Lord, Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17)
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8)
4. The Pursuit of the plunderers and the Rescue Mission. 9-20
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; jfor 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 ka cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. Sol 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 nof 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, peating 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; qDavid 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.”
Lessons learned from David:
First, he was obedient. Faith and obedience are connected.
(Heb 11:1 NIV) Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
(Heb 11:6 NIV) And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
(James 1:22-23 NIV) Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. {23} Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror
Second, God favored David. His obedience paid-off.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Third, David’s rescue mission. Without fail, David and his men rescued all. They caught their enemies off guard in the midst of their victory party.
Isa 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.
Here are some scriptures that could be an anchor for you when you need reassurance from God:
Psalm 119: 89 Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.
Numbers 23:19 (NKJV) 19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV) 20For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV) 20For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV) 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
(Psa 3:6-7 NIV) I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. {7} Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
CONCLUSION:
John 10:10 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.
Joel 2:25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming 2locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.
God says he will restore. I have no reason to doubt God. God says it. I believe it. That settles it.
