Text: 1 Samuel 30:1-8 (Key: vvs. 7-8) All Scripture references are NIV unless otherwise noted

¹David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it,²and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way. ³When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.⁴So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.⁵David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.⁶David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lordhis God. ⁷Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him,⁸and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”.

Purpose: What God has given is intended for you. Don’t give it away or let the enemy take it away. Time to get our stuff back.

I.Intro

a.Last week we started a new series for the month of October entitled, “The Pursuit…”

i.What are we in pursuitof?

1.We are in pursuit of anything that the enemy has take from us that God blessed us with

a.If God gave it, no matter how great or how small, it is important

i.“I want everything that God has for me!!”

2.My prayer is that these messages don’t just elicit a response of, “Ooo wasn’t that a good word?”

a.Rather, “Let me take a look at my life and see what the enemy has taken or attempting to take from me.”

b.In part 1 we examined the devastation of being out of place when the enemy attacks

i.We looked at David and his army who had left their families and their possessions in Ziklag while they were joining forces with the Philistines

ii.The bible says that David was a man after God’s own heart

1.I am encouraged that even a man after God’s own heart will make mistakes every once and a while

a.But, God does not just cut us off when we make mistakes

i.In fact, He use whatever means necessary to get us back on course

1.Even if that means using our enemies to point the way

iii.We learned in part 1 that our enemy, the devil, desires to steal, kill, and to destroy everything that God has blessed us with

1.He wants your stuff!!

a.Not that he doesn’t have enough of his own, rather, he desires that we become ineffective and take on a “woe is me”attitude

i.Or maybe just concede that, “It wasn’t that important”

c.Last week we examined how David assessed the situation and prepared himself to for the pursuit

i.He took stock in what was taken

ii.When his men wanted to stone him, we learned that in these times we should not turn on each other

iii.David called on the priest, which told us that when the enemy attacks we should run to the church not from the church

d.This week we’ll see David taking action

e.David did something very interesting

i.He knew he was a bad mamma-jammawho had defeated vast armies

ii.He could have let his pride and arrogance dictate his actions

II.Point 1: Inquire of the Lord

a.1 Samuel 30:7-8a – ⁷Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him,⁸and David inquired of theLord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”

b.Last week we talked about the fact that David asked Abiathar to bring him the ephod

i.We learned that the ephod was an article used in worship to the Lord

ii.The thing I want to bring our attention to is that by the fact that Abiathar had the ephod to bring to David implies that they did not leave it in Ziklag when David and the boys went out to battle with the Philistines

1.If so, it would have been taken with the rest of their stuff

2.In other words, David took worship with him wherever he went

a.Even when he was out of place, he maintained his worship

b.I believe that that speaks to us today, that we should keep worship with us no matter where we go

i.Worship the Lord at all times

c.In the midst of his worship, David inquired of the Lord

i.It’s too bad David did not inquire of the Lord before he aligned himself with the Philistines

1.He might not have had his stuff taken

ii.David knew that he had the manpower and the ability to go after the Amalekites

1.He had defeated them before (according to 1 Samuel 27:8-9)

2.David’s inquiry of the Lord was a sign of his dependence on God for his success

a.Ex. I might have several degrees, a moderate amount of success, a good home, but none of this has come by my own abilities

i.Everything that I have, and every victory that I have won is because God has ordained it

1.Never get to the point that you start believing your own press and you no longer need God

b.Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV) – ⁵Trust in the Lordwith all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ⁶In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

i.Steps to get God to direct my path

1.Trust in Him

2.Don’t depend on my feeble knowledge

3.Acknowledge God’s power and authority over every situation

ii.David acknowledged his dependence on God

iii.Lesson: Before we go rushing into the enemy’s camp, make sure that is what God want us to do

1.David’s inquiry had two parts

a.Should I go?

b.Will I win?

c.1 Samuel 30:8 – ⁸and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursuethis raiding party? Will I overtake them?”

i.Israel had been battling the Amalekites all the way back to their exodus from Egypt

1.Both Saul and David had defeated the Amalekites

ii.David could have been arrogant and just assumed that I beat them before, we’ll beat them again

iii.I believe that David knew the limitations of his rag-tag army and that without God, even the enemy you defeated before can rise up and defeat you without God on your side

1.Never go into battle without inquiring of the Lord and getting the assurance of His presence with you

III.Point 2: Pursue

a.1 Samuel 30:8b-10 – …“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” ⁹David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind.¹⁰Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.

b.I believe that David was so committed to the Lord that if the answer that he received was, “No”, David would not have gone

i.David knew the power of God’s presence

c.God assured David that not only should you go after your stuff, you will be victorious

i.With that kind of assurance, we are assured the victory

ii.Be careful who you select to go into battle with you

1.There may be disappointments while we are in pursuit

a.The ones that support you in the beginning may fall by the wayside

2.Not everyone has the faith stamina to hang with you

a.Don’t let their weakness deter you from what God said

b.Notice, God did not specify how many would be needed to succeed in the rescue

c.Don’t get frustrated, remember what God said

i.YOU WILL SUCCEED IN THE RESCUE!

ii.Regardless of who is with you, if God says pursue and you will be successful in getting your stuff back; YOU PURSUE!

1.Even if you feel like you are pursuing on your own

a.No matter how long it takes

iii.When friends forsake you, God always has a ram in the bush

1.1 Samuel 30:11 – ¹¹They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat

2.What we learn about this Egyptian is that he was with the Amalekites when they raided Ziklag and took David and the boy’s stuff

a.Notice David’s question of him

i.1 Samuel 30:15a – ¹⁵David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”

ii.David rolled out of Ziklag in hot pursuit and he had no idea where he was going

1.Remember, when we acknowledge God, He will direct our path

2.If God says go, He is obligated to tell us the way

a.All we have to do is obey

IV.Point 3: Take back what was taken from you

a.1 Samuel 30:18-20 – ¹⁸David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.¹⁹Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.²⁰He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”

b.The text says that David recovered everythingthat the Amalekites had taken

i.It’s not enough to just pursue after what the enemy stole

1.It’s easy to find the enemy’s camp and see your stuff

a.Sometimes fear stops us from confronting the enemy and taking our stuff back

c.There is something in here that I don’t want us to miss

i.1 Samuel 30:20 – ²⁰He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”

ii.Obedience brings reward

1.This was not David’s original stuff

a.God rewarded his obedience with greater than he had before

b.This was the Amalekite’s stuff

2.There is a message in here to your enemies

a.“Be careful taking my stuff. Cause, when I come to get it back, I’m taking some of yours!”

V.Conclusion

a.When (not if) the enemy attacks

i.Take stock of what was taken

ii.Don’t turn on each other

iii.Run to the church or other believers for support

iv.Inquire of the Lord

v.Pursue

vi.Take back your stuff (and maybe some of the enemies as well)

b.Stay in place

i.Where is that?

1.In the will of God

a.How do I know His will?

i.It’s in His word

c.Whatever you do, don’t give away what God has given you

"When the Enemy Attacks"....PT2 PASTOR CARLTON McCULLOUGH

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