Ecourage Yourself
Notes
Transcript
We all need it
We all need it
Some shocking numbers
Datalytics shows
8656 murders in USA in 2023; that is a reduction from 9902 is 2022, and prior to Covid 16,425 2020
Pew Research
2020 - 930,160 abortions
2023 - 901,683
USA Today
170k people killed in Ukrainian war
So far, 26,442 in Gaza/Israel
Forbes
Violent crime dropped 5.4% 2023 as did the divorce rate in 2023
Those are some discouraging numbers, but maybe those don’t strike home with you, and your family.
We all go through crisis in our lives, death, arguments, job loss, broken hearts, relationships.
We all go through times of discouragement even when trying to do the right thing (insert my personal loss of freedom)
How about times of uncertainty. Someone mentions “C” word or worry about a job, or a baby.
Stress, anxiety, worry and the list can go on, in this series we have touched on who needs it, we all do, to be encouraged.
Today we are looking at encouraging yourself in the Lord.
(transition) Our passage this morning comes in a time of great distress, so please open your bibles to 1Sam30.
A Distressing passage
A Distressing passage
1 Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way. 3 When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
After being in Aphek and negotiating with Achish due to the Philistines mistrust of David, his men return to Ziklag
They are overcome at what they find, and as we just read David is distressed.
But David strengthened himself in the Lord
But David strengthened himself in the Lord
In serving the Lord, David and his men left everything behind to go and they come back to the remnants of a raid by the Amalekites.
David, his men weeped until they had no more strength.
People were bitter and looked to stone David out of their grief,but David “strengthened himself in the Lord God.” (v.6)
Life gets difficult and oftentimes we want to look at others as it is their fault, take our problems out on others (Hurt people, hurt people, expand on this)
When we do this, we have to come back later and clean it up, ask for forgiveness etc.
Put yourself in David’s shoes for a minute
Called, Anointed by God, yet all this happens (expand on this)
Jeff Holcomb in some of his writings say this: “Is it not possible that God intended that a crisis be allowed in David’s life that would force him to seek some answers from deep within? David had a choice. He could either, just stand there and continue to look, and see nothing but the disaster or he could look beyond them and see God.” - Again be reminded what David did in the later part of (v.6) -look at screen!
We all have choices in our lives, Christ or the world, self or God, disaster or destination on where God will take a situation.
David strengthened himself in the Lord HIS God.
HIS God, personal relationship. He lost all his possessions, and people, but no one could take away His God.
Knowing of God is not knowing God. Knowing God knows the truth and the promises of God. Believing them and walking in them even when you do not see the good yet.
David was able to strengthen himself because of the relationship he had with God. Remember he was a man after God’s own heart.
Alexander Maclaren: “Whatever else we lose, as long as we have Him we are rich; and whatever else we possess, we are poss as long as we have Him. God is enough; whatever else may go.”
David had been strengthened by others, Jonathan
16 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God.
To strengthen ourselves in the Lord OUR God we must remind ourselves what God’s word says, the promises, the truth, the assurances we find in His word.
To strengthen ourselves in the Lord OUR God it takes personal, intentional choice. The Hebrew term in this passage is “persistent and continuous effort”
turn to and read
5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
(Transition) OK, all that to lead to three points, three principles that we can learn to strengthen ourselves, encourage ourselves in the Lord OUR God
Seek direction from the Lord
Seek direction from the Lord
7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue all.” 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor remained behind.
David inquired and was specific in his inquiry. God heard, God answered.
Consider Ps138:3
3 On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul.
David believed and David acted on that belief. And along came his six hundred men.
The trek was tiring and 200 of the soldiers became exhausted and could not go on, yet David pressed on with the 400 now.
(Transition) Step one: Make a personal, intentional choice; Step two: Seek the Lord for His direction, now leads us to:
Trust God’s provision
Trust God’s provision
11 Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. 12 They gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind when I fell sick three days ago. 14 “We made a raid on the Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”
God provided provision in unlikely person, an Egyptian (who was abandoned by the Amalekites)
David gave provision to the man, and God used the man to provide for David and his 400 men.
(Transition) we need to read on
16 When he had brought him down, behold, they were spread over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 David slaughtered them from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and 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 taken, and rescued his two wives. 19 But nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back.
David sought, David believed, David acted, David had victory and returned in triumph!
(Transition) yet, there is more to the story, there then comes a time for some other application.
Be a giver of God’s grace
Be a giver of God’s grace
20 So David had captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, “This is David’s spoil.” 21 When David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also been left at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and worthless men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.” 23 Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, who has kept us and delivered into our hand the band that came against us. 24 “And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.” 25 So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
Share and share alike, for we are all in this together.
God given grace should then be grace godly given, shown to others.
We all need HIM!
We all need words of encouragement.
We can learn through God’s word to encourage ourselves, to strengthen ourselves in the Lord OUR God
Be sure to seek the Lord and His direction
Trust in the Lords provision
(invitation) be a recipient of His amazing grace, His greatest provision Jesus Christ.
Then be a grace giver to others
(Song) (Pray) (Close)