Sermon Tone Analysis

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread."

(Psalms 37:23-25 ESV)

Breaking Your Will, But Never Your Spirit

29 Now the Philistines had gathered all their forces at Aphek.

And the Israelites were encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel. 2 As the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear with Achish, 3 the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.” 4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him.

And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him.

He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us.

For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord?

Would it not be with the heads of the men here?

5 Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances,

‘Saul has struck down his thousands,

and David his ten thousands’?”

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the LORD lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign.

For I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day.

Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you.

7 So go back now; and go peaceably, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

8 And David said to Achish, “But what have I done?

What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 And Achish answered David and said, “I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God.

Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’

10 Now then rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you, and start early in the morning, and depart as soon as you have light.”

11 So David set out with his men early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines.

But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

30 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag.

They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great.

They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way.

3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.

4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters.

But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.”

So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

8 And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue after this band?

Shall I overtake them?”

He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.”

9 So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed.

10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men.

Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.

11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David.

And they gave him bread and he ate.

They gave him water to drink, 12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins.

And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.

13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong?

And where are you from?”

He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago.

14 We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 And David said to him, “Will you take 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 take you down to this band.”

16 And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled.

18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives.

19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken.

David brought back all.

20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the brook Besor.

And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him.

And when David came near to the people he greeted them.

22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.”

23 But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us.

He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us.

24 Who would listen to you in this matter?

For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage.

They shall share alike.”

25 And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.

Now picture David in this passage.

David did nothing wrong, he was ready and willing to fight, and always had good intentions, but because of his success in the past, the people in charge were always discouraged by him.

In chapter 29, the lords of Philistine told King Achish that they didn't want David and his men to participate with them in the war with Israel and gave no good reason for David not to go along with them in the eyes of David.

So David and his men sung songs which were written in Psalms 56 on his way back to Ziklag.

It took them three days and when they returned they found that the Amalekites destroyed their homes by fire, captured their families.

Now I want you to imagine this scene.

David wanted to go fight and was told NO.

Even though he is told NO, he and his men still continue to worship for threes day on their journey home to the Lord and when they arrived to their city Ziklag, they find everything they loved gone and taken from them.

David was greatly distressed because his family were gone and now the men following him wanted to kill him because they chose to follow him.

Now the bible say in verse six (6), that the souls of the men were broken.

These men are the same men who came to him with their spirits broken when they left Saul and David lifted them up in 1 Samuel 22:2.

This time their souls are broken and they wanted to kill David.

How many times do we come across people who we help out in their time of need?

You help them out, they then want to be a part of what you are doing because they believe in you.

Things are going right in your life and they feel that you are good person to know.

They then associate themselves with you and become a part of your core nucleus of friends.

Then, like David something happens and you get told NO, and regardless of what you get told NO about, you still keep your head above water and be the leader that you strive to be in God's eyes.

Like David, you walk on home and find that the people who told you NO, took everything from you.

Your friends who followed you, your family who supported you, and the thing that you are good at gets destroyed and taken from you.

Like David, I've experienced this story.

It started in 2005 and I thought I had a handle on my situation that year and went on in life trying to do the right thing.

From 2007 I was told NO, I didn't have a handle on things with no explanation and like David, I lost just about everything I worked so hard for in 2008.

From 2008 onward, I've prayed and searched for answers and got nothing.

Constantly, people reminding me of what I've gone through by asking me how I am doing or is everything alright?

People who had nothing to do with the scenario were willing to chip in and help but the help I really wanted was answers and only God can give me that.

I always heard people say just continue to worship and pray even through your rough times and they say rejoice but I am witness that it is never easy to rejoice in the midst of a storm.

So for the past few years I just coasted by, waiting for my answer, trying not to give up.

I was and I am still tired of arguing, defending my innocence, and being the victim of a unfortunate circumstance.

So, I just take it because I have no other choice.

I remember one day sitting in the kitchen of my parents' house and my father asking me am I mad at God.

I quickly said No.

But to be honest, I wasn't mad at God, I was just mad at the fact that I sought him out to find answers and I never got an explanation to the famous question, why me?

I watched other people who were worst off them me now doing better than me.

I've sat through church services and programs and seen people I am wit be prophesied over and pronounced a blessing in their life but no word for me.

And I've seen people who were around me in my situation so easily move on while I struggle to stay afloat.

So yeah, today I will admit it, I was angry.