RECOVER ALL! 1 Samuel 30:1-8

  1. Understand the Warfare:

David and his men and their families made their abode in Ziklag.They have gone out to fight the Philistines. When they get back they find there are no women singing and no children playing in the streets. The camp has been burned and the streets are empty. The Amalekites had come in while they were out fighting and pillaged the camp and taken their women and children as spoils of war. The Amalekites weren’t like the Philistines, who would fight you straight up. The Amalekites were specialists at preying on your vulnerabilities and weak spots(like the enemy). They would go after your wives, children, relatives, and your surroundings.

  1. This type of warfare works to get you discouraged, doubting, frustrated, speaking and acting out of your head and not your heart.David comes home to a raped, pillaged, plundered, and burned home. While he was fighting another battle he left his home unprotected (likewise). Be careful of battles God didn’t ordain because there will always be collateral damage.
  1. The Enemy in a Strange Place:

Sometimes you can’t enjoy the spoils you have because of what it cost you to get it. David comes back from the battle of the Philistines looking for comfort and runs into conflict. Have you ever looked for comfort and run into conflict?If you’re not careful you will stop looking for comfort because you won’t expect anything to ever get better. David’s men got mad at him and wanted to kill him. He has been ravaged by the Amalekites and now his own people want to kill him.

It’s hard to fight what you love.Somebody knows what it’s like to fight all day and expects to come home and be happy and you have to fight who you love. You come looking for comfort only to find conflict.Do you know what it’s like to have an enemy in a strange place?All of a sudden the people who were fighting with him have turned and are talking about fighting him. Not only that but it’s hard to fight the enemy within me…

  1. PURSUE BECAUSE FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION:

God is raising up a remnant of people that aren’t afraid of the enemy and will get up every day and pursue him, not only for what he’s stolen from them but their family and loved ones. They get up and pursue because they prayed about it and God answered. Now they know that failure is not an option. Failure was not an option for David because he prayed about it and God answered powerfully! When you pray about what you’re going through get up from that prayer knowing that you have enlisted the God of the universe to fight for you.

Pursuing the enemyis exhausting and even if you win you will incur damage. You got the victory but you know you were in a fight (they came back to find their homes had been under attack). Victory is not always pretty; you can be a winner and still be wounded. You still have to pursue; you owe it to yourself, family, and loved ones to go into the enemies’ camp and take back what he stole from you. You pursue knowing that failure is not an option if God said it.

  1. Encourage Yourself:

David collapses to the floor and says I’m tired and my people stopped believing in me. He almost gave up, but he girded himself up with the priestly ephod(priestly robe//Relationship) and encouraged himself. Have you ever had to encourage yourself? Satan was coming in for the kill but strength arose in you that was mind boggling, supernatural and awesome. Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.Some people get beaten by the battle, some people get better. There is something about the battle that ignites a warriors flame. He gets hit and his warrior mentality comes out.Sometimes I may miss your pat on the back. If I do you have got to learn to encourage yourself. Don’t be destroyed because things don’t go your way, this is a fight!The more time I spend patching your wounds the less time I have watching your back.

  1. OVERTAKE:

He went from fight to fight to fight. He went from fighting the Philistines to fighting his own men to going out to fight the Amalekites. He went back out and his men were so tired and battle worn that almost half of them collapsed on the way to the battle. But because David had a word from God he encouraged himself he kept on going with who would go.He said stay here and we’re going on. Everybody that follows you can’t keep up with you. If you don’t have the capacity to keep going after you’ve been hurt then you won’t keep up with the pace as we go into the battle(dragging their feet). But look at David. He didn’t rebuke them; neither did he stay there with them, he allowed them to operate in the level of their faith. He loved them and kept moving(he said I’m coming back with everybody’s stuff).

  1. The victory you are trying to gain is for them too. I’m sorry you fainted but I still have to fight. If we both quit then the enemy will kill us all. Stop feeling guilty because God renewed your strength. Stop feeling guilty because you don’t feel like giving up anymore and they do. When people feel like dying and give up they believe you should feel the same way (tell them I’ll be back with your joy, peace, love, happiness). I’d rather fight with a handful of roughneck ready warriors than one hundred tired, grumbling, complaining, lying, backbiting, tender skinned, lily livered, high maintenance babies.
  1. WITHOUT FAIL YOU WILL RECOVER ALL!:

So he’s gone into the enemy’s camp and beat the Amalekites and recovered all that was stolen by the enemy. He’s coming home from the battle. He’s been home about two days in Ziklag when he gets word about the promise and prophecy. He got the crown to the kingdom on top of the victory.This is your shifting season; if you dare to pursue and overtake you will recover all.It’s time to come out with more… favor, power, and love, tenacity, commitment.).Somebody needs to know this time won’t be like the last time, this time you will recover all!

David had been held back, detained, and seemingly derailed from his crown in Ziklag. David went through all of that trouble and he felt like giving up and quitting. But he had to stay in Ziklag because something was about to happen. The thing God promised you will meet you in the place of your pain to usher you out. Show me the place of your greatest pain and I’ll show you the place of your greatest promotion. You don’t have to go to the crown; the crown is coming to you. The steps of a righteous man….stand still…seek ye first the kingdom of God…all things work….but notice that David didn’t find joy in Sauls’ death. He had the Amalekite killed because he killed the Lord’s anointed. Now Saul, Jonathan, and the Amalekites are dead. There is nothing left but the crown. And David found his promise in the place of his pain.