Sermon Notes: 10/22/23
"Wisdom From Ziklag"
Pastor Albert Almore
“So David and HIS MEN WEPT ALOUD until they had no strength left to weep.”
1 Samuel 30:4
“David 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, and 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.”
1 Samuel 30:1-2
“When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.”
1 Samuel 30:3
“So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.”
1 Samuel 30:4
“David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.”
1 Samuel 30:5
"David and his men reached ZIKLAG…”
1 Samuel 30:1
SCENE ONE
ZIKLAG
THE PLACE OF DEVASTATION.
THE PLACE OF SHATTERED DREAMS.
THE PLACE YOU NEVER SAW COMING.
THE PLACE OF COMMON GROUND.
SCENE TWO
CONFLICT
INTERNAL CONFLICT.
ZIKLAG ISN’T YOUR FAULT.
FALLEN WORLD. STANDING FREE WILL.
Ziklag comes from a Hebrew root verb meaning to “press (mentally) someone or something to reveal what is inside.”
Though the press seems more than one can bear…
GOD KNOWS YOUR FRAME.
“My FRAME was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.”
Psalms 139:15
EXTERNAL CONFLICT.
“David was greatly distressed because THE MEN WERE TALKING OF STONING HIM; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters…”
1 Samuel 30:6
DAVID HAD A DECISION TO MAKE IN THIS MOMENT, AND SO DO WE…
AM I GOING TO TRUST GOD WITH THIS MOMENT, OR AM I GOING TO TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS?
“…but DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD his God.”
1 Samuel 30:6
“And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.”
1 Samuel 30:7
SCENE THREE
PRAYER
“And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I PRAY…
1 Samuel 30:7
I PRAY.
When faced with Ziklag—I PRAY.
When I don’t know where to start—I PRAY.
When I don’t know which way to turn—I PRAY.
When life overwhelms me, and catches me off guard—I PRAY.
📝 Instead of TAKING MATTERS into your own hands, TRUST YOUR MATTERS to God’s hands.
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I COMMIT my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Luke 23:46
📝 COMMITTING YOUR SITUATION to God’s hands, is greater than just VISITING GOD’S HANDS.
📝 "COMMIT your way to the Lord; TRUST in him, and HE WILL ACT.”
Psalm 37:5 ESV
END RESULT….
So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “SHALL I PURSUE this troop? Shall I overtake them?”
I Samuel 30:8
And He answered him, “PURSUE, for you shall surely overtake them and WITHOUT FAIL RECOVER ALL.”
1 Samuel 30:8
I know Ziklag has knocked the wind out of you, faith, hope, peace, joy, but I have a message from the Lord for you…. PURSUE, AGAIN you shall surely overtake this moment, and WITHOUT FAIL….YOU SHALL RECOVER ALL.”
SCENE FOUR
RESTORATION
WITHOUT FAIL YOU SHALL RECOVER IT ALL!!
DEFINING MOMENT FOR DAVID
DEFINING LESSON FOR SOLOMON
“LISTEN, MY SONS, TO A FATHER’S INSTRUCTION; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.”
Proverbs 4:1-2
“For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother.”
Proverbs 4:3
“Then HE TAUGHT ME, and HE SAID TO ME, “Take hold of my words with ALL YOUR HEART; keep my commands, and you will live.”
Proverbs 4:4
📝 "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 3:5-6
ZIKLAG. THE PLACE WHERE DAVID TURNED THE PLACE OF DEVASTATION, INTO A PLACE OF TRUST.
A STORY OF TRUST. A STORY OF COURAGE.
📝 IT TAKES COURAGE TO TRUST GOD IN ZIKLAG.
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
Psalm 20:7
“They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.”
Psalm 20:8
📝 IT TAKES COURAGE TO PRAY IN ZIKLAG.
Silence from babies crying. Silence from children playing, replaced with the sound of men weeping. Smoke still lingering. Ashes under your feet. And you still find the courage to pray!
📝 IT TAKES COURAGE TO WAIT IN ZIKLAG
📝 IT TAKES COURAGE TO PURSUE FROM ZIKLAG.
Ziklag comes from a Hebrew root verb meaning to “press (mentally) someone or something to reveal what is inside.”
DO YOU TRUST THE PRESS?