COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH
SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 28 JULY 2024 – MR KEITH
WILSON
1 SAMUEL 27
Here we are at a dark time in David’s life,
when he found himself discouraged, alone.
Last time we looked at Daniel and the words of chapter 2 “he purposed in
his heart”. Here we have a contrast in
chapter 27 verse 1 “and David said in his heart.” It was not from God. He meant what he was saying. “I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul.” A wrong thought that he was thinking. The darkest of thoughts. Usually in those times these are always wrong
thoughts. In the workplace when we think
about something someone has said or done, you could come home and think
something is not right. Everything was against
David. His life was one of constant
battle. When the Lord saved me that is
when the battle began. Because of David’s
sin the Lord had said “the sword would not depart from his house.” What made David great? When we read these words we are not thinking
of a great king but rather someone in defeat, who allows discouragement to come
into his life. Instead of putting it out
they have dwelled in that discouragement.
What made David great was not the people around him or his surroundings,
it was God who was for him, who had come to him and anointed him to be king
over his people of Israel. One of my
favourite stories from David’s life is 1 Samuel 24 when Saul took 3000 men to hunt
David. Saul came to the cave where David
was. David had his back against the
wall. He could have killed Saul but he
didn’t. He was a man after God’s own
heart. “The Lord forbid that I should do
this thing against the Lord’s anointed.”
Verses 6 and 7 everything was against David for a large part of his
life, his circumstances were against him.
I want you to understand this morning circumstances can be against us as
the children of God. God is for us. We can find ourselves in difficult or
impossible situations but God is with us.
He can perform the miracle, turn the circumstances around in an
instant. That is what he did for David. Not
at this time though. He allowed this to
happen in his life. He was not standing
up to the giant Goliath at this stage in his life. He found himself saying in his heart “I am now
going to die. One day Saul will take my
life, I will perish.” The real test of
the Christian walk is how we treat others especially those who do us
wrong. David is a perfect example. That is why he found favour with God. That is why God called him “a man after his
own heart.” Samuel said these words to
Saul after he had sinned against God.
Saul did not obey God in the war with the Amalekites. 2 Samuel 5 he was the first king of his own
tribe, the tribe of Judah. David is
saying “I am going to perish.” What a
wrong thought that was. We can be one
moment rejoicing in God’s word then the next moment a thought can enter into
our heart. God provided for David. He had proved his faithfulness in the past. It is possible that these thoughts he was
having now were not from God. God’s
focus was on David not on Saul. David’s
back was against the wall, totally defeated and discouraged just like the times
when his brethren came against Goliath.
David finds himself in the same position. Broken.
Defeated. He wants to hang his
head in shame. It is always darkest
before the dawn. Saul was about to
commit suicide. David did not know that
Saul would fall on his own sword. God
knew but David did not. Saul had been
running from God for years. He had more
opportunity to take Saul’s life and he didn’t do it. Sometimes people do wrong things against
us. We can feel hurt. That hurt is always strongest in the
church. Maybe been friends with someone
for years and then all of a sudden things go astray. It is what we do in those situations that is
important. Where we direct our thoughts. The thoughts David had were not right. They led him down a path of discouragement
and defeat. Away from the presence of
God. David was not singing any psalms at
this point in his life. He was not in a
relationship with God. Where was
God? He still had his hand on David. No matter how far into the land of the
Philistines David found himself God’s hand was still on him. God allowed him to experience this
situation. David did not know why. Maybe you are afraid of something this
morning or someone today. Persecuting
you. Damaging you. Fighting against you. Could you be feeling like king David
felt? God will prove faithful. He will deliver you. He will prove himself to you. When I come against a difficult person I
always come up with the same answer – “God will never forsake me.” I have been praying for something for
years. This situation is getting harder
and it feels like I am losing the fight, my back is against the wall. Psalm 46 verse 1 “God is our refuge and
strength, a very present help in time of trouble.” It might not be someone, it could be doubt,
fear, illness, maybe nothing at all at the moment. It is a life of battle for the Christian. We are in a war against the evil one. The devil is like a roaring lion and we could
be days from his grasp. Remember God is
our refuge. He is our strength. Our very present help in trouble. David didn’t need to fear that day, that one
day he would perish at the hand of Saul because David had proved God
continually in his life. 1 Samuel 17
David defeated the army of the Philistines by killing their leader. Even when he was a shepherd boy minding his
sheep he had killed a lion and a bear.
David knew his God and he knew that his God had delivered him in the
past and one day he would deliver him again in the future. The beauty about being a Christian is that we
have this hope. Our God is in the midst
to defend us. Why did David go through
this? I have asked myself the same
question – why God have you allowed this to happen? Maybe you are asking “why is this happening?” Maybe you have a husband or wife or a child
who no longer is walking with God. Maybe
there is a friend for whom you have been praying for years. David learned so much through his experiences. He asked for a land – verse 5. He was planning to stay, not go back to the
people of Judah. The king, a Philistine
gives him the land of Ziglag. David would
have learned so much in that land.
Prepared him for the plan God had for him. In God’s plan nothing alters. David’s plan would be for him to be king of
Israel. We look forward to the day when Christ
will return. God has a plan for the end
of time. He will come back and dwell
amongst his people. On the cross he was
forsaken by man but one day he will sit upon the throne of David as the King of
all the earth. That is what we have to
look forward to. Sometimes we can look
at the television and ask ‘why is this all going on?’ It is all recorded in scripture. Wait until the Tribulation when it will be
even worse for the Jewish nation. We may
not always know what God is doing. We
might not always understand the hand of God but we can trust the heart of
God. If you find yourself in a situation
you cannot work out or you are worried about family members rest in God
today. Trust in him because God was the
one that was faithful to David and he is the one who will be faithful to
you. You don’t need to doubt God in that
sense. We don’t need to be afraid. “Let not your heart be troubled ye believe in
God believe also in me.” Our hearts get
troubled and we look at situations instead of looking at God. God was preparing David for a time when he
would be king over Israel. That is what
God is doing in each of our lives today.
David was to find encouragement from God. David went with the Philistines to fight
against Israel. David was put at the
back of the army. People asked what he
was doing there. They did not want to
fight with him. David left and went back
to Ziglag where he discovered the place had been destroyed. People blamed David for all that had
happened. He should never have been in that
situation at all. David did what each of us need to do. He encouraged himself in the Lord. 1 Samuel 30 verse 6. David’s heart was turned back to God. He came back to know God again and he gave
him back all that he had taken from him.
God had a plan David didn’t know about.
He ran from that plan just like Jonah ran from God’s plan for the
Ninevites. God has a plan for us. Why is the church decreasing? Why are people leaving and are not interested
in the things of God? The time of the
end “and they shall depart from the truth.”
Many will go down into the land of Philistines and seek refuge away from
God’s people. Therefore it is good to
find ourselves in God’s house today. It
is good that God has saved us. Where
else would you rather be? David got back
to the place where he should have been with God. He took 600 people with him. A lot were killed while he was away from
God. Maybe your heart is not where it
should have been. Instead of saying “I shall
now perish.” Maybe it is time to come
back to God, our refuge and strength in the time of trouble.
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