HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div                                                                        [wpedon id=”36898″]

RECOVER EVERYTHING THAT THE ENEMY HAS STOLEN FROM YOU:

ROADBLOCKS ON THE ROAD TO DESTINY.

 

1.  THE LAUNCH OUT OF DAVID:

David was a shepherd boy spending his days taking care of the sheep when God launched him into his destiny. The Prophet Samuel came to his home and anointed him as the next King of Israel. David carried that anointing upon his life and looked forward to the fulfilment of his destiny and the plan of God upon his life. However, he soon started facing the most difficult challenges of his life. Soon after he defeated Goliath and won some victories for his people, King Saul became jealous of his growing popularity and sought to kill David. Now David had to flee to save his life.

We should not be surprised when we also face such attacks of the enemy after the Lord anoints us for His purpose. Many times we are faced with the challenges from within the church and our home. We may not understand the anointing but the enemy knows it and the recognized it and therefore, they turn up the pressure. That is what God wants for you so you can build character.

Let us read from the Book of 1 Samuel 16:10-13 ^“Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. ¹¹ And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. ¹² And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. ¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

2. THE LOSERS:

When David was fleeing from King Saul, a large group of losers, people who were frustrated and disappointed with life joined him and he became their leader. David transformed these people into a disciplined army and their lives now had purpose and meaning. He took these people in their miserable condition and lifted the level of the quality of their lives. They owed a lot to David for the transformation of their lives.

We may also have helped many people in their distress and transformed their lives and they may owe us a debt of gratitude.

This is what Samuel had to say, 1 Samuel 22: 1-2 “David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. ² And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.“

3. THE LOSS

Once when David and his men returned from a venture they found that the Amalekites had raided their town Ziklag and taken captive all the women and children and burned down their town. David and his men had lost all their wealth and their families. It was a total disaster that they were facing. It was a major shock to David.

David carried the anointing and the promise of God. He was called to be the next King of Israel. But before the fulfilment of his destiny, he faced a severe attack of the enemy. It looked as though everything was lost. Oh, no brethren, you haven’t lost anything if you are in Christ Jesus our Lord. Remember this world is not our home, we are only pilgrims and strangers passing through.

We may also face situations when it looks as though we have lost everything even before the promise of God is fulfilled in our lives and our destiny is yet to be attained.

Let us read 1 Samuel 30:1-3 “And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; ² And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. ³ So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.“

4. THE LAMENTATION

When David and his men realised what had happened, they began to weep and kept on weeping until they had no more strength to weep. They were completely heartbroken and discouraged. They had lost all hope for their lives. They were shaken to the core by this tragedy.

Even though David was anointed to be the future king of Israel, he had to go through this heartbreaking experience before he could become King.

We may also go through heartbreaking experiences on the road to destiny in our lives. We have from time to time share in different experiences. Know that the trial of your faith worketh patience and this is all in the plan of God to strengthen us in faith.

Let us read from the Book of, 1 Samuel 30:4-5 “Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. ⁵ And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.“

5. THE LOYALISTS

David was in great distress and agony. He had lost all his wealth and his family. Now in the midst of this great tragedy he faced an even greater challenge. His own men who were his supporters and loyalists until then, now turned against him because they were so bitter over the loss of their families. These men no longer remembered all the benefits they received from their association with David. They wanted to stone him. Now David was all alone in this terrible trial. There was no one to stand with him in his hour of need. In this time David turned to the Lord.

We may also experience the pain and loneliness of being all alone in the hour of distress. Those whom we have helped and those who have been our supporters may also turn against us due to their own sufferings. Like David, we must turn to the Lord who will never fail us nor forsake us. Oh, Hallelujah. He is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

1 Samuel 30:6 “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”

6. LORD OF STRENGTH

David found strength in God. He encouraged himself in the Lord. He did not give up hope. He did not get discouraged in this situation. He sought the word of the Lord. All the human voices around him spoke against him. David looked beyond the human voices and sought the voice of the Lord. In the midst of this hopeless situation, the Lord spoke to David. The word of God was a word of hope and encouragement. The Lord told him to pursue the enemy as he will surely recover everything that was taken away from him. The voice of God was such a life-giving source of faith and confidence in the midst of a hopeless situation.

When we face a hopeless situation we must seek the Lord and hear His Voice. The word of God will turn our despair into hope and confidence and enable us to triumph over every situation.

1 Samuel 30:7-8 “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. ⁸ And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.“

7. THE LOOT

David obeyed the voice of God and pursued the enemy and recovered everything that he had lost and in addition to that, he took all the spoils of the enemy. He ended up more prosperous than he was before. What the enemy thought was the destruction of David, ended as a great triumph for David and he was more blessed now after this experience. He went on to become the greatest king of Israel and fulfilled the destiny that God had prepared for Him. David did not lose hope because of the severe attacks of the enemy that he faced before the promise of God was fulfilled in his life. He triumphed in every battle because he found his strength in God and went forward to fulfil his destiny.

We must receive God’s direction and strength to recover everything that the enemy has stolen from us. The Lord wants us to be victorious and triumph over every attack of the enemy. We must go on to fulfil our destiny and the plans and purposes of God for our lives. We should not lose hope when we face the attacks of the enemy on the road to destiny.

1 Samuel 30:9-20 “So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. ¹⁰ But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. ¹¹ And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; ¹² And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. ¹³ And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.¹⁴ We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.¹⁵ And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company. ¹⁶ And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. ¹⁷ And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. ¹⁸ And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. ²⁰ And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.“