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"Cancel Your Ticket to Ziklag"
I Samuel 27:1 I Samuel 30:1-6
Illust: It was the young man’s first day on the job in the produce department of the grocery store. A lady came up to him and said she wanted to buy half of a head of lettuce. He tried to explain he couldn’t do that, but she persisted. Finally he said, "I’ll have to go back and talk to the manager." He walks to the rear of the store where the manager stands, not noticing this woman is walking right behind him. With her standing right there he says to the manager, "There’s some stupid old bag out there who wants to buy half a head of lettuce. What should I tell her?" Seeing the horrified look on the face of the manager, he turns around, sees the woman, and adds, "And this nice lady wants to buy the other half of the head of lettuce. Will it be all right?" Relieved, the manager said, "That will be fine." Later that day, the manager congratulates the boy on his quick thinking, and then asks, "Where are you from, son?" The boy said, "I’m from Toronto, Canada, the home of beautiful hockey players and ugly women." The manager glares at him and says, "My wife is from Toronto." Without missing a beat, the boy replies, "And how long has she been playing hockey, sir?"
It is easy to say and do some stupid things when you’re not careful. It’s especially easy to stumble into folly, instead of walking into wisdom, when God seems to be a missing Person.
David’s fear causes him to make some very foolish choices. He decides the only way to get away from Saul is to go to the land of the Philistines, Israel’s enemies.
A. Until you make up your mind that the only safe place in all the earth is dead center of the will of God ..... You are carrying a ticket to Ziklag.
B. Until you become convinced that you cannot Hide from the Will of God ....
Then YOU are carrying a ticket to Ziklag .
Ziklag was a real place with a real address upon the earth in the South region of Judah during the time of the Kings.
C.When David fled from Saul he and his 600 men sought refuge with Achish, a King of the
Philistine city of Gath
1. Is Really the SAME David Of whom it is written in I Samuel Chapter 16:13“That the Old
Prophet Samuel took his horn of oil and poured it over young David and the Spirit of the
Lord came upon David from that day forward……”(NKJ)
2. Is this the same David that Killed the Giant with a sling?
I Sam 17:49-50-- And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it,
and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell
upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a
stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
3. Yes this is the Same David and This was NOT his finest Hour!
D. Here he stands before a Philistine King and he has dragged 600 of his finest men in
humiliation and dishonor.
1. He has brought his men to the level of what was akin to going to the Devil' s Camp and
begging for a place to sleep in safety like a dog begs for a bone or a cat whines to come in
out of the rain
.
Philistine! Philistine!
2. The mere mention of that name strikes terror in the heart of every human being who loves life
and embraces anything about anybody that is decent and kind and right
3. Philistines! Philistine!
E.These were the worst of the worst! Wicked - Vile ----Depraved --Men with a bloodthirsty
obsession with senseless evil! I can verify in the scripture that a conversation took place
between Achish and David that went something like this
Achish said to David I don't like you But I need you And as long as you think you need me .....
Then we can do business! You can move down south to Ziklag and make raids against the
Nomadic tribes around that region and help me stay in power and I will let you build a military
fort around your bed if you want to and you won't have to worry about Saul or anybody else
And knowing Philistines like I do . I can tell you with certainty that After that conversation ....
when Achish went into his house and closed the door…He said ..... I don't know who that kid
is but we'll use him as long as we can ..... and then we will cut his heart out.. .. and feed it to
the dogs!!!!
And David got his ticket to Ziklag
We call it, “The Power of SIN!”
A..Ziklag would become the base from which David would Run military raids into the surrounding
areas and pay the devil his rent with the blood of innocent men, women and children
1. David made up his mind that he didn't care anymore
2. As long as he didn't have to worry about SAUL .
B. The will of God does not Usually Lead down a velvet path strewn with flower pedals and
with somebody at every comer to wipe your nose and take your spiritual and emotional
temperature just to be ever so sure that you do not encounter anything that might look or feel
like STRESS
2.But the DEVIL will tell you that if you'll come on over to HIS side With the Philistines He will
give you that kind of LIFE .
3.You can stop looking over our shoulder.
4.You can stop worrying about what people think about you
5.You can chill out and kick back and enjoy the good life
Welcome to Ziklag!
A. This was supposed to be the place where David could finally get free from King Saul and his
men. It was not that David did not have a chance to kill Saul in I Samuel chapter 26:8-9
9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the
LORD'S anointed, and be guiltless?
1. God placed Saul and the men around Saul in a deep sleep So deep that Abishai was ready
to take Saul's own spear and pin him to the ground with it and be done with him
2. But David stopped Abishai before he could .
3. David's adversary was not spared because David did not have the opportunity to kill him
4. David's adversary was spared because he did not have God's permission to kill him.
I am here to tell you the BIBLE says over and over that you always pay a higher price for
dealing with your enemies on our own than when you let GOD deal with them
.
B. You may not like the way God is dealing with your enemies this morning .
1. He may not be moving fast enough for you
2. Hoping against HOPE that there might be somebody who
can HIDE you from your Adversary
.
C. When you start looking for a place to Run from God ..... The Devil always has somebody
about 2 steps away from you who will take you to Ziklag!
D. When David surrendered to his own fear and moved across the border and aligned himself
with the Philistines ..... He disobeyed the known will of God for his life .. His men and their
families.
E. There is a NAME for that --------It is called SIN.
1. Sin is a willful transgression of the known will of God
2. Sin is when you make up our mind to do things Your WAY instead of God's way .
F. Sin is that slow lethal dose of spiritual insanity you feed yourself enough times that you hold
still long enough for the Devil to put a hook in your nose and drag your soul closer to hell
than you ever thought you would go and every minute of the journey you giggle and grin like a
silly school girl because you think you have found peace .
Welcome to Ziklag
From the burning ruins of Ziklag I can preach this morning about:
1. The POWER of Sin
2. The Provision of Sin
3. The Price of Sin
THE POWER OF SIN IS BASED ON LIES:
I Samuel 27 : 1 " Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul"
A. That is Lie # 1 : You will die before your time .
1. David became enslaved by his fear and convinced that GOD was going to let him die!
2..That was a lie. If you believe the devil' s lies long enough he will eventually tell you one that
sounds credible enough you will actually start to believe it.
B. The Truth Is that David was God's Choice to lead Israel.
I Samuel 16:12-13 Hear the Word of the Lord! !!!
" ……..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.
I am preaching to somebody this morning ....
God has his hand on you and nothing or nobody can destroy you until you accomplish the work God has His hand on you to do!.....and If you don't have a purpose from the Lord this morning it's time for you to make it your business to get one
I Samuel 27:6-7 I find a SECOND LIE .....
" So Achish gave him Ziklag that day therefore Ziklag has belonged to tbe Kings of Judah to this day. Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months"
Lie #2: THE DEVIL WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU!
A. 1 Year & Four Months And David Risked his Life and the Lives of His men and their families
every hour of every day they were there Just to stay there .
B. Then the Lords of the Philistines .... The Big Boys ..... The Heavy Hitters ... The SHOT
CALLERS Found out about him And told ACHISH TO SEND HIM HOME!
While David and his men were out humiliating themselves marching in the shadows of the rear flank of a Philistine battalion
.
The Amlekites came and Burned Ziglag to the ground
Welcome To Ziklag!
C. This is the way ACHISH will take care of you
1. He will use you foolishly .
2. He will humiliate you publicly ..... and He will destroy everything you own and carry off
everything you love .
D. When he got back to Ziklag-----It had been burned with fire
1. If you think for one minute That the Devil is ever going to let you have a HOME .
2. A REAL HOME Where you can be at peace
3. You need to read your BIBLE
4. And Listen to Your Preacher it won’t happen
5. Because THAT DAY IS NOT GOING TO COME.
THE POWER OF SIN IS BASED ON LIES!
II. THE PROVISION OF SIN IS BASED ON MORE LIES.
I Samuel 27: 1 "There is nothing better for me than I should speedily escape to the land of the
Philistines."
That is LIE # 1: It will never get better as long as you are serving the Lord!
A. Immediately David learned that the very problem he had with God was the same problem he
was going to have with the Philistines
1. Those in AUTHORITY turned on him and sent him away
2. David was in Ziklag for ONE REASON and that is because Achish was USING David to
subdue the Nomadic Tribes around his region And That was the ONLY reason David was
allowed to go to Ziklag
3. As LONG as David returned to Ziklag every night with the blood of Nomadic tribesmen
dripping from his hands and his sword Achish greeted him with open arms. Where was
Achish when Ziglak had been burned with fire and David had lost everything he owned and
been robbed of everyone he loved?
Sin EMPLOYS
Then Sin DESTROyS .
Sin provides for one person and one person only; and that is the Devil himself-----The Prince of Darkness and the Father of Lies!
I. THE POWER OF SIN IS BASED ON LIES
II..THE PROVISION OF SIN IS BASED ON MORE LIES ...
FINALLY
This morning from the smoldering ruins of Ziklag I must preach on
III. The PRICE of SIN!!
You have heard it and you must hear it again .
* Sin always takes you further than you want go .
* Sin always keeps you longer than you want to stay .
* Sin always costs you more than you thought you would have to pay.
Sin Fascinates .... and Then it assassinates
It Thrill.......................……..and then it Kills
You have been lured to Ziklag or something like it .
.... By the promise of personal peace and immediate power .
You are tired of being the hunted .
You want to be the hunter .
You were told you would own the city
.
You are nothing but a puppet and when you have danced until you can dance no more they will cut the string and let you go back up the road just far enough to see that they have destroyed everything you own and stolen everything you loved
Welcome to Ziklag .
UNTIL YOU BECOME CONVINCED BY SOMEBODY SOMETIME THAT THERE IS NO PLACE TO HIDE FROM THE CALL OF GOD OR THE WILL OF GOD
..... YOU ARE CARRYING A TICKET TO ZIKLAG.
UNTIL YOU MAKE UP YOUR MIND THAT THE ONLY SAFE PLACE ON THIS EARTH IS DEAD CENTER OF THE WILL OF GOD ....
YOU ARE CARRYING A TICKET TO ZIKLAG
.
I have come to tell you this morning it is your TIME to CANCEL your Ticket to Ziklag!!!!!
The only way to find Lasting Peace is to come to the PRINCE OF PEACE……………………….
Isaiah 9:6 says: His name shall be called Wonderful-Counselor ...-- Mighty God ...Everlasting Father---------PRINCE OF PEACE .
In Psalm 4: 8 "I will both lie down in peace, and sleep, for YOU
ALONE oh Lord make me to dwell in safety!
Yes, David figured it out
.
He pursued the Amelikites and
I Samuel 30:19 says: God will help you recover whatever it is you have LOST in your foolish journey to Ziklag
But you must do as DAVID DID ... in I Samuel 30:6: David Strenthened himself in the LORD .....
The Place to start this morning is at this altar .
Repent of your Sins .
Turn from your wickedness .
Look to JESUS ,
And Strengthen Yourself in the LORD!
