Thanksgiving Sermon (part 2) 1 Samuel 30. Take Back What the Enemy Stole

In this powerful sermon, Thanksgiving Sermon (part 2) 1 Samuel 30. Take Back What the Enemy Stole, Pastor Timothy R. Carter draws a parallel between the struggles of King David and those experienced by modern Christian followers. By weaving historical and scriptural accounts with practical, real-world examples, he encourages listeners to trust and obey God’s word, especially when facing family and personal difficulties. He emphasizes the importance of Christian unity and love as critical testimonies to belonging to Jesus Christ. The sermon ends with Pastor Carter praying with the congregation. 

Sermon Outline

I. Introduction

• Introduce Pastor Timothy R. Carter’s sermon.
• Mention the parallels between King David’s struggles and modern Christian challenges.
• Emphasize the themes of trust, obedience, unity, and love in the sermon.
• Aounce the conclusion with a prayer led by Pastor Carter.

II. Introduction and Praise

• Begin with a moment of praise for the worthiness of the Lord.
• Remind the congregation of their position on the wiing side through Jesus.
• Express gratitude for God’s constant love and presence.

III. The Power of Worship

• Open with a prayer recognizing God’s tangible presence in the gathering.
• Discuss the significance of genuine worship and praise.
• Encourage the congregation to worship God in all circumstances.

IV. The Victory of Faith

• Reflect on the victorious nature of Christians through Christ.
• Emphasize that believers have already won through Jesus‘ victory over death, hell, and the grave.
• Encourage placing hope and trust in Jesus.

V. The Importance of Obedience

• Stress the significance of obedience as an expression of love for God.
• Urge believers to study and know God’s Word to keep His commandments.
• Address the misconception that Christians can live in blatant disobedience.

VI. The Consequences of Disobedience

• Discuss the consequences of disobedience, using Saul’s example.
• Emphasize the need to align with God’s Word and live in obedience.
• Acknowledge that Christians make mistakes but are drawn back to God’s character.

VII. The Freedom We Have in Christ

• Recognize and thank God for the freedom Christians have in Jesus.
• Compare the freedom in Christ to the freedom veterans have fought for in the country.
• Highlight Jesus’ ultimate victory over sin and death.

VIII. 1 Samuel Chapter 30

• Direct the congregation to read 1 Samuel chapter 30.
• Provide context regarding David and King Saul.
• Begin reading from 1 Samuel 30:1-4.

IX. The Grief of David and His Men

• Reflect on the heavy grief experienced by David and his men.
• Coect their grief to situations where people feel their world is ending.
• Explore the emotional turmoil caused by the loss of families and homes.

X. The Consequences of Disobedience (Continued)

• Relate the grief experienced by David and his men to the consequences of disobedience.
• Highlight the impact of disobedience on oneself, family, and others.
• Emphasize the need for obedience to avoid causing trouble for oneself and others.

XI. The Battle Against the Amalekites

• Discuss the history of the Amalekites and their aggression towards Israel.
• Illustrate the consequences of Saul’s disobedience in not fully obeying God’s command.
• Contrast Saul’s actions with the need for Christians to obey God completely.

XII. The Power of Prayer

• Emphasize the importance of turning to God in times of difficulty.
• Encourage the congregation to seek God’s guidance and wisdom in prayer.
• Stress the need to prioritize seeking God’s will above all else.

XIII. The Victory of David

• Describe how David and his 400 men defeated a vast enemy force.
• Highlight that David inquired of the Lord and accepted God’s word.
• Encourage believers to seek God’s guidance when facing challenges.

XIV. Conclusion

• Summarize the key points of the sermon, emphasizing trust, obedience, unity, and love.
• Reiterate the importance of unity and love among Christians as a testimony of belonging to Jesus Christ.
• Conclude with a final prayer led by Pastor Carter, asking for God’s guidance and blessings on the congregation.

Time Stamp

0:00 1 Samuel 30. Go Take Back What the Enemy Stole 

00:05 Introduction and Praise 

00:28 The Power of Worship 

01:33 Victory in Christ 

03:12 The Importance of Obedience 

04:48 The Consequences of Disobedience 

05:07 The Freedom We Have in Christ 

05:34 Bible Study: 1 Samuel Chapter 30 

07:11 The Grief of David and His Men 

14:15 The Battle Against the Amalekites 

17:03 The Power of Prayer 

26:20 The Victory of David 

34:01 Closing Prayer and Thanks 

SERMON 

  Introduction and Praise 

Praise him because he is worthy to be praised. Yes, he is.  We’re on the wiing side.  We will one day be with him. Yes. Yes.  He loves us, and he will never forsake us. Amen. So, let’s keep our eyes focused on him. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.  Lord.  

The Power of Worship 

Prayer 

Your presence is sweet in this place this morning. 

Lord, we can feel your tangible presence and praise you for being here. We thank you because you are in our midst, and we know through your word that you inhabit the praise of your people.  Holy God, you are worthy to be praised.  Lord, you are worthy to be praised. Holy God, thank you for being with us.  

Teach us how to worship you more completely. Teach us how to give you genuine praise. Help us, Lord, to lift you in all circumstances. To look to you and see your hand at work.  Praise you. Praise you. Praise you, Lord. You are worthy to be praised.  Holy God, we praise you.  Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. 

Thank you, Lord.   

Victory in Christ 

We’re on the wiing side.  God’s word tells us that we’re going to win. Yes. But God’s word has also told us we’ve already won. Amen.  Through him. We’re not only those who had victory but are more than conquerors because he has already won. Oh, hallelujah.  The enemy comes to seek to kill and to destroy, but Jesus has already provided life eternal in him. 

We already have that eternal life.  I heard one preacher put it this way. If you’re saying, You’re as sure as for heaven as if you’re already there.  I like that. Don’t you? It is not something that we’re hoping for, in a way. Like we put a wish upon a star, but we’re not wishing on a star. We’re not trying to rub a little genie lamp like Aladdin and hoping that something positive might happen, but instead, we’re putting our hope in a savior that has already conquered death. 

He has already conquered hell, and he has already conquered the grave, and he shares that with us.  Oh, hallelujah. We have life in him. And our life with him is forever and ever. Do you ever truly think about the gifts that we have in him? It’s exciting.   

The Importance of Obedience 

What do we owe him?  Simply our obedience.  He says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. 

So if you truly love him, you will keep his word.  How can we keep his word unless we study his word? How can we keep his word if we don’t know his word? We need to keep his word.  Often, we see Christians who claim to be Christian, but yet they live in blatant disobedience to God’s word.  How can those people indeed call themselves children of God? 

It’s puzzling to me.  Because  He is a God of love, you will love Him if you belong to Him. If you belong to Him, you will love His people. If you belong to Him, His character will draw you to be more like Him. Please understand that I’m not saying every Christian is perfect. God is perfect, but not every Christian is excellent. 

All Christians still make mistakes.  All Christians still have the temptations of sin.  Some Christians even practice sin regularly.  But there is something inside of the believer pulling them back to that road of correction, pulling them back to the character of God.   

The Consequences of Disobedience 

Today, we will examine two individuals showing these two sides.  

Yesterday was Veterans Day,  and we have some veterans right here. So remember to thank God for our veterans.  

The Freedom We Have in Christ 

Remember to thank God for the freedom that we have. The freedom we have in this country is because of veterans. Who have gone and fought and served our country, and in doing so, they serve us. 

We have freedom because of that.  But also, thank God for our freedom in Jesus Christ because he has won the ultimate war.   

1 Samuel Chapter 30 

Locate, please, 1 Samuel chapter 30.  

1 Samuel chapter 30. 

Those of you who were in my Sunday school class, we’ve studied this recently in Sunday school.  And in doing so, we’ve compared David and King Saul.  We’re going to try to take a closer look at that today.  Excuse me, 1 Samuel, what? Chapter 30. Thank you. 1 Samuel 30.  Let’s begin reading in verse one.  

 1 Samuel 30:1-4 

“Now it happened when David and his men came to Zilag on the third day that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Zilag attacked Zilag and burned it with fire and took captive the women and those who were there. Let’s go from small to significant. They did not kill anyone but carried them away and went their way. 

David and his men came to the sea, and there it was burned with fire, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.  Then David and the people there with him lifted their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep.   

The Grief of David and His Men 

Now that’s some heavy grief, isn’t it?  

They wept until they had no more strength left to weep. Have you ever been so sad you felt like your world was ending? Have you ever cried so much that you had no tears left? Have you ever grieved so hard that you felt like your heart fell out of your body? This is what David and his men were experiencing.  

Because their families were taken. Their homes were burned. Their entire city burned to the ground.  Their wives, their sons, and their daughters were taken captive. Could you imagine what that would be like? You, as a man, you go off to war.  You go to serve in a war, and when you come back, the enemy has taken your family. 

What were the women going through who had been captive? What were the children going through?  What imaginations would be going through your head? What is my family suffering right now? This is the grief that David and his men were experiencing.  What did they do? How did they get into this situation in the first place? 

  

Let’s back up for a few chapters.  

Who are the Amalekites?  The Amalekites are the army led by Agag.  Remember, Haman and Esther, Haman the Agagite.  This is the same army, the same family group.  Agag is the one that attacked Israel just after they left Egypt.  Agag and his army came in to attack Israel. When Saul became king, God told Saul to go into battle and kill them all.  

I know some people have a problem with that and say that the God of the Old Testament is a God of meaess who kills everybody. But it’s war. They’re in a war, and people die during the war. God told Saul to kill everybody.  Saul later comes to Samuel and says, Hey, brother! Praise God! Guess what? I did everything God told me to do.  

Samuel, the prophet, said, God told you to kill all of the animals. He said, I did!  He said, then why do I hear the animals? He said, oh, I killed them all except for those few, but my men made me take them because we’re going to offer them up and sacrifice to God.  That’s not what God told him to do.  He said God told you to kill every human. 

He said, oh, I did. I killed everybody. He said You have Agag right there.  You didn’t kill Agag. He said, oh, I killed them all except him.  Samuel pulls his sword and kills Agag, hacking him to pieces.  When he fell into pieces, Agag, of course, was dead.  But others still live. We know that because here, there are men who came and attacked David City.  

These men come to attack David City. Of course, we know David’s in Ziglag because he’s ruing and hiding from Saul.  Saul didn’t want to kill the man. And kill the people that God told him to kill. But Saul has been chasing David to kill David because God chose David.  Samuel told Saul, God has taken the kingdom out of your hand. 

And it’s giving it to your neighbor, David, because you live in disobedience. After all, you refuse to obey the word of God. God has taken it away from you and has given it to David.  Some Christians live like Saul. Some Christians live. They claim to say, I did what I want to do, and I’m going to praise God because I did what I want to do.  

We, as Christians, don’t need to try to live like Saul; instead, we need to live in alignment with God’s Word. We have to do what God’s Word tells us to do. We need to obey God’s Word because we will suffer persecution if not. If not, we will suffer the repercussions of our actions just as Saul suffered what he didn’t do. 

He disobeyed God. He did things his way, and it caused trouble for the entire nation. If you don’t obey God, you are causing trouble for yourself and your family. If you don’t obey God, you are causing trouble for your neighbors. If you don’t obey God, you are causing trouble for other people.  

Do you know why? Because God knows best, and you don’t.  I don’t know best. He does. So, what we ought to do is obey God. Even when we don’t understand, we ought to obey God. Even when we don’t know what’s happening, we ought to obey God. Even when we are confused, we ought to obey God even when things don’t make sense.  

David ran from Saul. He went over to the Philistine team. Remember, the Philistines are making war against Israel. And Saul runs. He asks God for help, and God doesn’t answer him. So, he runs to a witch to seek counsel.  Is that a good idea? Would it be a good idea to ask a witch for guidance?  That’s straight-up foolishness, right?  

So Saul runs to the witch and asks her for guidance.  Samuel shows up. Samuel’s already dead. Samuel shows up and tells Saul that you will die because of what you’ve done.  If you pursue the ways of the devil, you’re bringing death on yourself.  If you pursue and have you other than God’s will, you’re bringing death on yourself.  

Because Jesus is life, and He is life everlasting. Anything outside of Jesus is death. We can only have a genuine and true life in Him. So, always turn and cling to Jesus.   

The Battle Against the Amalekites 

David spends a year and four months in this foreign country, pretending to serve this king. While doing so, he’s fighting his enemies, but he tricks the king and makes the king think he’s fighting the king’s battles. 

But David is weeding out his enemies so that most of his enemies are destroyed when he gets on the throne. The king decides we will go into battle against Israel and David because you and your 600 men have been so faithful to me. I want you right by my side. David tells him I’m with you. David knows they’re going to battle against Israel. I don’t know if David would have fought Israel or not. We don’t know. It’s only speculation. 

He never made it to that battle. David and his men go up for a battle, but the king’s advisors say, hold on, no way, that’s David.  Our enemy that we will fight against, they sing praise songs about that man.  Remember, O King, of him. They say Saul killed a thousand, and David killed ten thousand. 

You heard them chanting that song on the battlefield. That’s the man they’re singing about. I’m not going to fight with him by my side. He’s our enemy.  The king, listening to his advisors, tells David, No, you can’t go to war with us.  So you take your army and go back home. So, after marching for three days to get there, David and his army march back home for three days. 

So that’s six days on the road. These men are tired.  After a six-day march, wouldn’t you be ready to go home and go to bed? Wouldn’t you want to embrace your wife and play with your kids? These men are looking forward to their families, but when they get there, their homes are destroyed.  Their entire city is burned to the ground. 

Their families are kidnapped.  So, they grieve because the enemy has stolen. Have you ever felt that way?  Have you ever felt like the enemy has come in to destroy your life? Does the enemy have a city? 

To destroy your home, to flatten your hopes, to wipe away your dreams, to rip hope right out of your heart. Have you ever felt like the enemy has come in to kill, to rob, and to destroy you?   

The Power of Prayer 

Today, we must hear from God because God tells us something special.  We can take a lesson from the life of David to listen to what God has to say.  

David was weeping, and he was sad. His men, as you remember, his 600 men, they’re misfits and rejects. He built his army off of the guys that nobody else wanted. They’re the rejects nobody else wants, but they cling to David because he treats them equally.  So, they stick to David because they see that element of humanity in him. 

They see something unique, the anointing of God coming from David, and they’re attracted to him.  So David is with his men as they are weeping and crying. They cry so hard their strength leaves them. They turn on David, and they’re going to stone him.  They have to blame somebody. Have you ever felt so tired of life that you lash out at people? 

In your logic, you know it’s not his fault.  You know it’s not his fault, but you just lash out at him. Or you speak harsh words to your wife when you know she didn’t do anything wrong, but your attitude makes her your target.  That’s what these men are doing. They know it’s not David’s fault, but they’re attacking him. 

They’re ready to stone him because they want to blame somebody.  Does David fight back?  David could quickly have started fighting with his men. He could have drawn his sword and started saying, okay, you guys want to fight me? Do you want to stone me? You may kill me, but I’m going to take a few of you out as you do, so come on.  

He could have done that, but he didn’t. What did he do?  Sometimes Christians take that attitude, don’t they? Sometimes, they say, you want to fight? Come on, I’ll fight you.  You want a red carpet in the church. We don’t need a red carpet. We need a green carpet. Come on, let’s fight over it.  

You want to sing a song, Amazing Grace. We sing that every Sunday. I’m tired of that song. Let’s sing this other song.  And they’re ready to fight.  Sometimes, Christians bicker amongst themselves. But we don’t need that attitude. We need to have unity.  We ought to have unity in the church. We need to have unity among the believers. 

That character of unity and Christ’s love among us will testify that we belong to Him. It’s the love that we have for one another that will tell this world that we belong to Jesus. It’s that love that will testify there is something different about us.  Even the siers can take care of their families. 

Even siers can choose to do good humanitarian things. Even siers can do positive things for this world. But only the Christian can live and walk by the love of Christ. Only the Christians can allow the love of Christ to radiate through them. So, this is our goal. We need to strive. To let the love of Jesus flow through us. 

We ought to be characterized by the love of Jesus. What ought to be said of us, out of everything people say, what ought to be said of us. It is that we are people of love. We are people of genuine Christ-like love.  Can that indeed be said of you?  Can that truly be said of me?  We ought to strive to have more love, shouldn’t we? 

Yeah. One of the ways that we have more love is to do what David did. What did David do when his men were ready to kill him? David doesn’t fight back. David asked the priest.  Hey, priest. Remember, Saul killed all the priests. There was one priest who escaped Saul and killed all of God’s priests. One priest ran to David and turned to this priest who escaped Saul’s wrath,  and David asked him to help him call on the Lord.  

David asked for the ephod, part of the priest’s garment, and called on the Lord there.  God and ask God, what should I do? This is what a faithful Christian ought to do. When we face difficulty and know the enemy has come to destroy us, we must turn to God and say, “What should I do? 

We don’t need to get on Google searching for the answer first. There’s nothing wrong with doing that. But that shouldn’t be our first move. Our first move should be getting before God and saying, what do you want me to do? We don’t need to turn to psychologists for the answers. We need to turn to God for the answer. 

We need to turn to God for the answer.  We need to do what David did. And say, God, I call on you. What do you want me to do during this time?  Do you want me to go to battle against these enemies?  God answered him. Did you know that if you pray, God will answer? God will hear your prayer. So, David Heard from God, and God said to him,  yes, you need to rise, go against this enemy, and you will overtake them, and you will win.  

I believe that’s what God is telling us this morning. When we recognize the enemy has come against Mount Oliver Church of God, we need to hear the voice of God telling us to rise and stand against the enemy. You will overtake the enemy because Jesus has already won. Get ready for battle because Jesus has already won. 

Rise and take back what the enemy has stolen. Go and get your family because the enemy has stolen them, but God says you can claim them in Jesus’ name. David’s family was kidnapped.  Has the enemy come to kidnap your family? Has the enemy come to take your children away from you?  Are your children trapped in the bondage of sin?  

Are your loved ones on their way to hell?  You can claim them today. Call out to God and say, God, the enemy’s come against my wife! The enemies come against my husband, the enemies come for my son, the enemy has come for my daughter. What do you want me to do? I believe God will tell you to go and get your family. You will overcome the enemy.  

He wants your children to be more part of the Christian family than you want them to be.  Turn to God and fight with history, lean on him, and go into victory on the word of the Lord and the word of the Lord.  When you obey God’s word, you will always have the promises of God on your side.  

When you have God on your side, who can stand against you?  Who can defeat you? When God is on your side, when you stand on God’s word, who can take away your foundation? When you stand on the promises of God, who can take away your hope? When you stand on the promises of God, who can rob you of your victory because your victory is not in your circumstances? 

Your victory is on the cross. Your victory is on the cross. Your victory is on the cross. There is nothing on this earth. There is nothing above this earth. Nothing beneath this earth can remove you from the hand of God.  Your victory is on the cross of Jesus Christ. So, stand on the promises of God, his promise to David. 

And I believe that promise is still true today.  

The Victory of David 

You should rise against the enemy because God has already won the battle.  David and his men, only 400 of them, 200 were too weak to go into battle. So David took only 400 men with him into battle.  He goes against the enemy, and that enemy is so large, the Bible says.  

They are spread across the land, enjoying their spoils, celebrating, and dancing.  David attacks them, and the battle takes place all night and all day.  How many hours have you had in battle? That’s a long time.  David and 400 of his men attack the enemy, and they fight.  He kills everybody except for  400 men,  400 Amalekites, who escape by cavalry.  

The army’s so large he kills everybody except only 400.  That’s a large army.  It’s only 400 that escape.  That’s the size of David’s army. He goes in with 400 men. Including himself, that’s 401 men.  David didn’t lose any soldiers.  But he defeats the enemy, and the rest run scared.  Why? Because David inquired of the Lord.  

He accepted God at His word.  This is what we ought to do, isn’t it? We need to call on God. When you feel like the enemy has come in to destroy your family,  contact God and say, God, what do you want from me? God, what do you want me to do? Lord, I am here. I am your humble servant. Show me the way. 

Join me in prayer.  

 Let’s all pray right now and ask God to show us what he wants from us. Let’s call on God and ask him what you want from me. What should I do in this situation?   Heavenly  Father, we thank you.  Thank you, Lord. We thank you for this opportunity to come before you.  

Lord, we know the enemy comes in like a flood, but you will raise a standard against it.  We understand that the enemy comes to rob. But you are our protector. We know that the enemy comes to destroy, but in you, we have life. We understand that the enemy seeks to destroy us and take away our families.  But we know that we have victory in you.  

Show us what you want us to do. How do we rise in your name? How do we stand firm on your word and march in your victory?  Speak to our hearts and show us how to claim the victory we have only in you.  Praise your holy name.  Praise your holy name.  

You may visit the blog post: https://timothyrcarter.com/1-samuel-30-take-back-what-the-enemy-stole/

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