A Recipe for Encouragement

[0:00] Young Simon here trusted the Lord on his doorstep with our door knocking team only just a few weeks ago really.! Truly rich, truly rich.

[0:34] Let's go to God in prayer shall we? Lord we thank you for this time for our gathering together for your word Lord for your word that we've already heard and the word yet to be heard Lord let it be to our soul a strength and nourishment a feeding of our inner man.

[0:52] Lord minister by your spirit we pray do a holy work we pray in Jesus name Amen. Now this morning I want to talk about encouragement and I put to you we could all use some a good healthy dose of encouragement wouldn't go astray would it?

[1:09] We're going to talk about a man called David in the Bible and we're turning to 1 Samuel chapter 30 and David had his fair share of trouble and he found encouragement when he needed it.

[1:25] And in times like David's we need encouragement. There's a place called Ziklag and sometimes we visit a place called Ziklag ourselves at times.

[1:36] And 1 Samuel 30 verse 6 it says this, And David was greatly distressed for the people spake of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved.

[1:47] Every man for his sons and for his daughters but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. Now King David he knew times of fear, of failure, of doubt, of backsliding, of faith and of restoration.

[2:04] David had suffered the shame of having committed adultery and of murder. And for a while he had to hide in the wilderness while King Saul was hunting him down.

[2:16] And a few times David almost got assassinated. He knew what trouble was all about. David. His own friends turned against him and they were ready to kill him.

[2:28] David had great family tragedies. His son Amnon raped his daughter Tamar. And his other son Absalom murdered Amnon. Absalom led a revolt against his father David.

[2:41] And then Absalom himself was killed. Much to David's grief. Now this is a very human story, the story of David. He suffered many setbacks.

[2:52] He knew many problems and heartaches. Yet despite this, despite his many tests, David got through. Amen. David got through. And he became known as a man after God's own heart.

[3:06] We can learn from David today. When we face tough times, we can learn from what David did. What did he do? Back to 1 Samuel 30.

[3:17] At this time we see that David and his men were worn out. They'd just taken three long days march back home from the battlefront. And when they got back home, maybe they saw in the distance some smoke.

[3:31] You know, I've experienced that when there's some bushfires around. And I was heading home and I saw some smoke on the hilltop. And I thought, wow, that could be our place. That could be our place burning.

[3:42] And the smoke coming up. And maybe David and his men saw this smoke wafting up into the sky as they drew closer and closer to home. And when they got to home, they saw that their very city had been looted and burnt by terrorists.

[3:57] The Amalekites had invaded while they'd been away. And now their homes were smouldering ashes. You know, Julie and I know a couple, a family, and they had that happen to them.

[4:09] And we visited their home and it was just a, it's just like a piles of rubble. Just the bricks were still there, but it was a burnt out shell. They'd lost everything. And that was heartbreaking for that family.

[4:21] That was what David and his men found when they got home. Just smouldering ashes. And now even their loved ones were missing. They'd gone. It was a harrowing time.

[4:32] Ziklag. It was a place of distress and discouragement. Heartbreaking. Imagine their grief and despair when they got back home.

[4:43] In verse 4 we see, Then David and the people that were with him, they lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep.

[4:54] The Amalekites had taken everything. Their wives, their children, David's two wives all gone. And now to add to all of that misery, David's own army, 600 of them, his loyal men, they turned on him.

[5:09] They held him responsible, pointing the finger, David, you've brought this on us. David, you're responsible for what has happened.

[5:21] Now these were fearful times. It was a terrible crisis. It was overwhelming. And even David's own friends in their anger became his enemies.

[5:32] And they began to blame David. You know, they were starting to look around for stones to pick up, to hurl at him. Because they hated him for what had happened.

[5:44] They wanted to stone him to death. This was terrible. No wonder David was greatly distressed. If it had been a democracy, he would have been voted out of office.

[5:57] You know, if democracy is the system of government, you know, David was public enemy number one. He'd failed miserably in their eyes.

[6:08] But then David and the people, they did something. They lifted up their voice. They lifted up their voice unto God. And they wept till they had no more power to weep.

[6:21] And he said, here was David. He was under attack. From without and from within. Even from his very own men, his friends. Everything was gone. He was all alone.

[6:32] Ziklag. Have you been there? When trouble comes, where are we going to turn? Who are we going to look to? When we look at the circumstances, we'll get distressed.

[6:45] When we look at times of hardness, we'll get distressed. Yet there is a great unfailing power at our disposal. In the midst of trying times.

[6:58] But it is so often untapped power, isn't it? It's power. Unfailing. But untapped. Oft times.

[7:09] And we have the great resources of God that he's given to us that we can call upon. We are powerful in God. Circumstances might tell us otherwise, but we are powerful in God.

[7:22] When we look at circumstances, when we look at people, when we look at hardness around us, we get distressed. But when we look at him, when we look unto him, when we look at the Lord, we get encouraged.

[7:38] David knew the distress of letdowns, of people blaming, of the battling against the Amalekites, which represent the flesh.

[7:49] There's battles, there's weariness. What does David do when he's lost his family, his livelihood? His own life is under threat. The scriptures say, David.

[8:02] But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. He found his strength there.

[8:13] He went to the Lord. And the Almighty gave him wisdom and guidance and strength for his situation. And he can for you. Brother, sister, he can strengthen you.

[8:26] He can encourage you. David received strength. And it ended up, as we'll see at the end of the story, that David and his men recovered everything.

[8:37] Everything they'd lost. And more. Our Lord tells us, and we've got some scriptures here just so you can follow a little. I know there's a few here to keep up with me.

[8:49] But our Lord tells us in John 16, 33, These things I've spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer.

[9:01] I have overcome the world. We all face battles, hardship, sad times. It's the journey of life. Which road will we take in this journey?

[9:13] David could have taken the track of fear, of despair, of depression. Yet David was able to find encouragement in the Lord, his God.

[9:24] He found his joy there, his peace, his confidence, his trust. He found his victory there in the Lord, his God. You are going to go through some things in life.

[9:36] We all have to go through whatever it is. Question is, how? How are you going to go through? David went from feeling afraid to feeling encouraged.

[9:49] David and his men, they were afraid. They were grieving. They were angry. It was tough. And it was tough right then. David still. But David encouraged himself in the Lord, his God.

[10:03] And he was strengthened. Now James tells us that we should count it all joy. It's kind of, wow, how'd you get that? Isn't joy about having everything easy? No.

[10:14] Joy is about having him in the centre of your life. It's about knowing Jesus in the midst of trials and tests. And our Lord says, John 14, 27, peace I leave with you.

[10:27] My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid.

[10:39] He says, don't. Stop being afraid. Don't be fearful. Don't be troubled. When trouble faces us, what will we do? What did David do? He prayed. David prayed.

[10:51] It says that here in 1 Samuel 30, verse 8. Now it says that he sought the ephod, which we could understand today as the symbol of the great high priest.

[11:02] We could reflect on it as intending for us the word of God, of seeking the Lord, of seeking the will of the Lord, of seeking the word of the Lord. And David did that. He sought God's direction.

[11:13] He inquired of the Lord. Not only did he encourage himself in the Lord, but he inquired at the Lord. 1 Samuel 30, verse 8.

[11:24] David inquired at the Lord, saying, shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he, God answered him, David, pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them and without fail recover all.

[11:40] Now, prayer was David's habit. Seven times we read this said of him, that he inquired of the Lord. He inquired of the Lord. He inquired at the Lord. Seven times through the scriptures, David inquired of the Lord.

[11:52] Prayer was David's habit. And through prayer, he received directions. He received strength. He received God's will. You are to pursue them.

[12:03] Fight. Through prayer, David received the promise of the Lord, the victory. And you will overtake them and recover everything that was taken.

[12:16] You know, our hearts can be comforted as we pray. There's a strength there that's beyond our own. There's a resource beyond our own. There's a strengthening for the battle of our life, for the fight of the faith.

[12:31] Our Lord says to you, to us, Luke 18, 1, that man ought sometimes to pray? Always to pray.

[12:44] Always. Man ought always to pray and not to faint. How often are we fainting instead of praying? Why are we fainting?

[12:55] Because we're not praying. Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. Oh, because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

[13:06] Go to God. Seek him. Inquire of him. David asked himself, why art thou cast down, O my soul? Psalm 42, verse 11. Why art thou cast down, O my soul?

[13:18] Why are you worried? Why are you upset? Why are you disquieted within me? Perhaps he wrote this while at this very time. It could be at that very time. Certainly, we could reflect at other times when Saul was pursuing him.

[13:30] Things were falling apart. People were trying to kill him. Perhaps David penned these words and he encouraged himself. David had been crying night and day.

[13:44] The people were mocking, where is your God now? Psalm 42, verse 11. Why art thou disquieted within me? Why art thou cast down, O my soul?

[13:57] Hope thou in God. For I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God.

[14:08] Why are you disquieted? Why are you cast down? Hope thou in God. David told himself, hope thou in God. He shall deliver.

[14:20] Encourage yourself in the Lord. We don't rest on our own resources and strength, our own abilities. Like David, we can say, I will yet praise him.

[14:34] He shall deliver me. God is faithful. God is faithful. God has given us so many wonderful promises. Exceeding great and precious promises.

[14:48] For you. You've got a book full of promises. Amen. And they help us in time of trouble. Here are some things David said about trouble. In Psalms and other times and other occasions.

[15:01] Psalm 9, verse 9. For the Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed. A refuge in time of trouble. Psalm 9, verse 9. Psalm 37, verse 39.

[15:12] But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. He is their strength in the time of trouble. Psalm 46, verse 1. God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble.

[15:25] Can you believe it? That God is your strength. That God is your refuge. Now look, we're going to interrupt this sermon now.

[15:36] And I don't want to lose the gravity. I know I was talking to someone lately about the gravity of preaching. This is a little bit of time of just a, I want to give you a graphic picture here that sometimes these are the things people remember.

[15:51] So I'm going to call my assistant forward here, Russell. And we're going to give you a cooking lesson. A cooking lesson. Now some of you like to bake cakes and make things. So Russell's going to be my assistant here.

[16:04] And I'm just going to get appropriately dressed here for this cooking lesson.

[16:18] All right, so bear with me. I don't mean to make this too light-hearted. But something you'll remember. Amen. This is what I'm talking about right here. Okay, this is the secret to get rich.

[16:31] Thanks, Russell. I know I've put Russell on the spot here. But here's our mixing bowl. Just come a bit further forward here, Russell.

[16:44] And what we're going to do is we're going to do some mixing. And we're going to put some ingredients into this mixing bowl. Now, Russell, are you okay reading this?

[16:56] Maybe Russell read that one out here. Nice and loud. Psalm 38, verse 15. For in thee, O Lord, do I hope.

[17:07] Thou wilt hear me. Thou wilt hear. O Lord, my God. Amen. We'll put that in the mixing bowl. Right. Thou wilt hear. Hope thou in God. Here's another one.

[17:20] Isaiah 26, verse 3. Verse 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. His mind is stayed from thee. Because thee trusteth in thee. Right. Yeah. Okay, we've got some words in there.

[17:32] Now, the words have got to be mixed with something though. Words have got to be mixed with something. Right? Amen. It's a bit like what Peter was talking about before.

[17:43] So, we've got some faith here. Let's put a bit of faith in. Okay. Just do a bit of mixing there, Russell. The word has got to be mixed with faith.

[17:55] All right? That's the point I'm trying to make. All right? Here's another one. Now, the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.

[18:06] Okay? Now, we've got the word. We've got the faith. And here's the Holy Spirit. Okay? The water of the Holy Spirit.

[18:18] All right? It's going to be a great mixture here. This is going to be a great cake. Here's another one. God is our refuge and strength of very present help in trouble. We've got the word in. Amen? Let's get it mixing here.

[18:29] A bit more faith. A bit more faith with the word. A bit more of the Holy Spirit. You know? These things are spiritually discerned. The word of God is spiritually discerned. Now, you can come to church week after week for a lifetime and hear the word.

[18:44] You can hear the word. You can hear the preaching. But unless it's mixed with faith, it will profit you nothing. It will profit you nothing. Here's another one. Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord that walketh in his ways.

[18:57] Psalm 128 verse 1. Mix it with faith. Mix the word with faith. Because without faith, it's impossible to please God. No? Faith cometh by hearing.

[19:09] Here's the ear in the word. Faith cometh by hearing. And then there's going to be a prophet. We'll talk about it shortly. And just one more. It says, these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name.

[19:24] You can hear that. But without faith, it's going to profit you nothing. You've got to have faith. You've got to believe. Believe. Believe. Faith. Faith.

[19:35] Ask God the Holy Spirit to reveal his truth to you. All right? Thanks, Russell. Amen. Let's give Russell a hand. Thank you. Thank you. Amen.

[19:46] You did the hard part there. Now, I know there's a little bit of levity here, but I'm just trying to make a point that we can miss this point, this vital point.

[19:58] Faith cometh by hearing the ear, by the word of God. Faith. And then we know, we believe in our heart, the God, that Jesus died, that he rose again from the dead.

[20:13] We confess him with our mouth. And that's salvation. That's the ultimate prophet, isn't it? The ultimate prophet. So, where am I going with this? It's a recipe for encouragement. Amen.

[20:24] That's what it is. You remember nothing else. Think of this recipe for encouragement. Faith plus the word will profit you. Next time you're baking a cake or waiting for that cake to come out of the oven, think about the word.

[20:40] Hearing the word, but not just hearing the word, believing the word. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing by the word of God. Have one serve of the word and one serve of hearing, one serve of faith.

[20:53] It's this vital ingredient. We see that in Hebrews 4 verse 2, which is the point I'm trying to make here. Hebrews 4 verse 2. The word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

[21:06] Like I say, you can come to church week after week. You can know the Bible such that you can recite it and you've memorized it. And yet, without faith, you're missing the point.

[21:21] The word has got to be mixed with faith. Amen. And that's my encouragement to you today. When you take and hear a message, when you hear the words of God, when you hear these passages that promise you faith and hope and help, believe it.

[21:37] Believe it. Believe the word. And I thank Russell for stepping up and helping there. Stand on God's promises today. The word mixed with faith will profit you.

[21:49] But without faith, you'll miss it. You'll miss that which will profit you. Profit. The word plus faith equals the profit. And so stand on God's promises today.

[22:00] Our Lord says, my sheep hear my voice. God's truth can lift the downhearted today. These truths are eternal. They're for now. And it's purpose for us.

[22:12] In Romans 15, 4 it says, Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. In that word comfort, it's got a sense of encouragement.

[22:25] We can, through patience, through persevering, through the comfort, the encouragement of the scriptures, we can have hope. There's going to be something that will be a profit. There'll be a benefit.

[22:37] And there's a rejoicing there too. You know, Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet. But of Jeremiah it says, he said this in Jeremiah 15, verse 16, he says, Thy words were found, and I did eat them.

[22:50] And thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. For I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. Here's the weeping prophet.

[23:01] But Jeremiah, he was a man who was known for his lamenting of his weeping over the sin of his nation. And it says that, Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.

[23:16] And it can be for you, brother, sister, at your ziklag. David knew a time of fear, but he knew peace and assurance. David, in that time of testing, he found he had to hang on by faith, hang on to faith.

[23:29] In Hebrews 11, verse 1, it says that, Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Now, when all around my soul gives way, there's a substance.

[23:41] There's a substance. There's a rock solid faith that will hold us. That solid rock, that substance that is faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

[23:55] This substance, this faith that we have is strong. It's strong. It's sure. It's not shaking. And this substance is solid rock. David knew disappointment.

[24:06] Friends, we can maybe find ourselves in David's shoes from time to time. The enemy had stolen from him, but David knew that the enemy could not steal his hope.

[24:17] Amen. The enemy cannot steal your hope. The enemy cannot steal your faith. God is a very present help, even in the trouble.

[24:29] David's self-talk was God's promises, and it can be for you and me. God's promises. Why art thou disquieted? Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Hope thou in God.

[24:40] I'm going to believe God, no matter what. And David was moved from grief and fear to encouragement and strength by faith. David left camp disappointment and discouragement.

[24:53] He didn't stay there. He moved into the faith zone. David moved into faith. And he found strength there. He found empowerment there. He found profit there. He found power there.

[25:04] Strength comes from adversity. Now, friends, sometimes we shy away from testing things. You know, don't you just, I know, when you are doing some study and there's that dreaded test or there's that meeting with the supervisor, you're going to get tested, you're going to get evaluated, and we all can get a bit jittery and have fear about a test.

[25:34] But for the Christian, strength comes from adversity. Strength comes by the test. 1 Peter 1 verse 7, it says that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

[25:56] We've got the substance of our faith, it's the substance of things hoped for, and we've got the substance of that solid gold faith.

[26:07] You that are tested, your faith is gold. It will be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

[26:18] And Peter says in 1 Peter 4 verse 12, think it not strange. Don't think it strange when suffering comes. It's actually not strange. It's normal.

[26:29] 1 Peter 4 verse 12, beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you. You know, battles are normal for you as a believer.

[26:41] That's why you've got your gospel boots on. That's why he gives you an armour to wear. That's why he's with you through the valley and he'll be your victory. And the battle is the Lord's.

[26:53] You know, the intensity of the battle is right before the breakthrough, isn't it? The night is darkest before the dawn. And the intensity of the flame, the brighter the faith, the brighter the blessing.

[27:07] And we've got to go there, people, into the fire. But we will come forth as gold. That's what it says. It is written.

[27:18] You're going to come forth as gold. We can believe God for that. How often we miss the faith factor. Operate in faith. Let go of self-censoredness.

[27:30] Die to self. Some things are going to die. Think of it, the seed has to die for the plant to live. The heavenly gardener has to prune the vine for the vine to flourish.

[27:44] It's necessary. And it's the process of life. Sometimes it's those hard times that will make you stronger. You know, you look back as an older person. I can look back at times to tough things that I'm stronger for it now.

[27:59] It wasn't very pleasing at the time. But the trial of your faith, you look back and think, yes, God was in that. And I'm through that. I'm on the other side. And the trial of your faith, maybe you're going to have to go through it some way.

[28:13] Maybe multiple times. David is just one example of the process. Elijah is another. Elijah was known for his time of depression. And he found encouragement knowing that he was not alone.

[28:26] God showed him, you're not alone. And he found victory. And so will you. Our Lord himself, he was despised and rejected. So we could be accepted.

[28:39] If you're in a ziklag today, you will turn the corner. He will turn your mourning into dancing. He will give you such a rejoicing even after the night of weeping.

[28:51] And he will heal the brokenhearted. He will bind up your wounds. Friends, God wants to boost our faith. And sometimes that is through those very times, the ziklag times.

[29:04] A few more thoughts about how we can encourage ourselves. How can we apply this today? I put to you that God will give you a song.

[29:15] David encouraged himself. What was David? As well as the shepherd, he was the psalmist, wasn't he? You can imagine David singing. Can't you imagine David singing even at ziklag?

[29:29] Can you believe that he was singing? I think he might have been singing. We have the Psalms of David. There's at least 73 of the Psalms of David's Psalms. You can sing them.

[29:40] Put a tune to them and sing them. Another means of encouragement is fellowship. It says, as we know, the familiar one, Hebrews 10, 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the man of some is, but exhorting, encouraging is the sense, one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.

[30:01] You know, David encouraged himself in the Lord. He was just on his lonesome. But we've got the blessing of encouraging one another. Amen. There's mutual encouragement.

[30:12] I trust in some measure I encourage you and you can encourage me. And one another, edifying, exhorting one another, exhorting, encouraging is the sense of it.

[30:24] There's mutual encouragement. And a good way to encourage yourself in those discouraging days, in those ziklag times, is to get together with other believers.

[30:35] And you can encourage yourself in fellowship. You can encourage yourself in prayer. There's powerful words. Philippians 4, verse 6, Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.

[30:52] He wants to hear from you. He's waiting for your prayer. Let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

[31:05] Daniel prayed. Got him into trouble, but Daniel prayed and he kept on praying, didn't he? Daniel prayed and he had plenty of practice praying. And then he prayed even in the den of lions.

[31:16] He prayed. He was encouraging himself in the Lord. You can encourage yourself by the word. Confess the word. Mix it with faith. Don't forget the faith.

[31:28] Don't just read it. Believe it. Hear the word. Believe in your heart. Mix it with faith. Then it will profit you.

[31:40] Confess it. We all have to face up to our human side. David was in real pain here. He was greatly distressed. This was no easy moment for him.

[31:53] Notice then in the same verse there's a switch of perspective. David was greatly distressed, but David encouraged himself in the Lord. Even when you are greatly distressed, you can say, I'm going to step outside of those shoes and I'm going to encourage myself in the Lord.

[32:14] Amen. Get out of those shoes, as it were, that state, that perspective of being greatly distressed and say, I'm going to encourage myself in the Lord. And notice it was David's personal faith.

[32:28] He encouraged himself in the Lord. He is God. He was personal faith. It was personal testimony for David. It was the personal faith of David.

[32:40] He is God. Do you know him as your God? What perspective are you going to take? Will it be a spiritual perspective? Where are we going to look?

[32:54] It's a perspective thing. It's very important. Don't you just love this in Psalm 34? Read the whole psalm for your homework if you can. Psalm 34, beautiful psalm of praise unto God.

[33:05] An uplifting psalm, Psalm 34, verse 5 says this. It says, they looked unto him and were lightened and their faces were not ashamed. I reckon David looked unto him and he was lightened.

[33:23] God put the sunbeam, the sunshine on his face and his face was not ashamed. He will make your face to shine. Where will you look? That's the point. Where will you look?

[33:34] Will you stay in that greatly distressed or encouraging yourself in the Lord? It's one verse. It's the same verse. Where will you look? Encourage yourself in the Lord.

[33:46] Your God. Know him. Trust him. Just think. How can I encourage myself in the Lord my God? Just think about who he is. Our peace.

[33:58] Our hope. Our refuge. Our deliverer. Our defence. Psalm 103, David tells himself what to do.

[34:09] Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord. O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

[34:23] You almost got to, there's some healthy self-talk, you know. It's like they say with people that are self-employed. You know, if they're talking to themselves, don't worry. They're having a team meeting.

[34:34] But, no, bless the Lord. There's a sense of talking to yourself. That you're going to tell yourself, I'm going to bless the Lord. Amen. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to do what he tells me to do, and I'm going to tell myself what he wants me to tell myself.

[34:48] Think of all his benefits. Of all that he has done. His grace, his power. Don't let discouragement take over. Don't give ground. Don't give place to the devil.

[34:59] Don't give him an inch. Hold your ground. Fight the good fight of the faith. David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord said, go and fight. Fight the good fight of the faith.

[35:12] Encourage yourself. Brother, you can do that. You can do that because there's a whole lot of encouragement right here. This is jam-packed and overflowing with encouragement.

[35:24] And mix it with faith. Amen. Don't forget that. Get that mixing bowl out. Mix it with faith, brother. To greater faith, to deeper faith, to more faith.

[35:35] We have a blessed hope. Take your delight in God. There's joy in God. There's hope in God. There's help. David, he composed his psalms oft times in those very times of trouble.

[35:48] It's like John Bunyan who wrote the Pilgrim's Progress in that miserable place of Bedford Jail, didn't he? Just a miserable place that God gave him such revelation, I believe.

[36:03] Just the astonishing tale of the pilgrim. Bunyan found that story there in the darkness. And David, he composed many psalms in the midst of trouble. When he was pursued by Saul, he wrote Psalm 59.

[36:16] He kept on praising God for his help. When imprisoned in Gaff, David wrote Psalm 56. He trusted in God to help him. When fleeing from Absalom, David wrote Psalm 3.

[36:28] When in the wilderness of Judah, he wrote Psalm 63. David kept on trusting the Lord in trouble. He kept on praising. He kept on praying. He kept on encouraging himself in the Lord his God.

[36:42] Encourage yourself today in the Lord. Even if it's just you. Even if you're feeling like, I'm all on my lonesome. It doesn't matter. You can encourage yourself in the Lord your God.

[36:55] It's just you and God. It's the Word. And faith is going to profit you. You're going to get rich. Out of this world rich.

[37:07] Rich in faith. That's what matters. We can encourage ourselves in the Lord our God. By singing praises unto him. Praise ye the Lord. Proverbs 4 verse 22 tells us how the Word is like a medicine.

[37:22] You know, some people have got those cabinets at home full of all these bottles and pills. And mixtures of this and that. But friends, this is what we need.

[37:34] This is the medicine. This is God's medicine. Amen. Proverbs 4 verse 22. For they are life unto those that find them. And health. So all their flesh. There's health here.

[37:45] This is healthy. This is good. You know, sound doctrine talks about wholesome. It talks about health. This is healthy for you. Healthy teaching. And God promises a perfect peace for our minds as they're steadfast on God.

[37:58] In Isaiah 26.3, they will keep him in perfect peace. His mind is stayed on thee. Because he trusteth in thee. Faith. Where are you going to look?

[38:10] Is the question. And look, it's not to discount. Trouble. You know. I can't imagine what it would be like as our friends, their house burnt down to the ground and just nothing.

[38:24] Just a pile of ashes. They had to rebuild from nothing. Lost all their photos. And you can imagine what it would be like to have a house burnt down. Or to suffer some loss, some grief, some trial, some test.

[38:38] You might be right there, right in Ziklag right now. But you can not be greatly distressed. You can encourage yourself in the Lord. Move from that place of being greatly distressed and move to, I'm going to encourage myself in the Lord.

[38:52] Friends, you can do that. The word tells you. You can do that. He shows you how to do that. Trust in the Lord. Be steadfast. Praising, praying. We see just to close 1 Samuel 30 verses 18 through 19.

[39:04] What was the wrap up of all of this? It says, And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away. David rescued his two wives. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken to them.

[39:23] David recovered all. Just as God said would happen. There was a restoration of all that had been taken.

[39:35] Do you trust in the Lord? Do you encourage yourself in the Lord? Do you enquire of the Lord? Will you find that peace?

[39:46] Will you come by prayer, by praise? Will you take the precious promises? Will you know that precious faith, that gold, solid gold faith?

[39:57] It only comes by the trial. Will you know that precious fellowship? Friends, this is precious. This profit here is profitable unto all things, isn't it?

[40:09] Godliness is profitable. This word will profit you. It's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. There's profit here. This will profit you deep, deep down in your deepest soul.

[40:23] And that's what we need, isn't it? I urge you today, find encouragement through this time of your life and know God is with you. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that your word is our great resource.

[40:37] Lord, it's unfailing and it is a relevant message. It is yet untapped by many.

[40:48] Lord, help us to turn the tap on. Help us, Lord, as it were, to mix the hearing of this word with faith. As we know the gospel is received as some would hear it and believe it.

[41:01] As they would receive the word, as they would receive your gift, then you make eternity happen inside the heart of a man, of a woman who trusts in you.

[41:13] Lord, we pray if there's any here present that have yet to even trust you, that have yet to find that faith. Lord, that in your mercy, that they would receive that enlightenment, that the light bulb would go on and they would say, yes, Lord, I believe.

[41:31] Help my unbelief, I believe. Help me, Lord, to believe stronger, to believe more. Help us, Lord, in the zig-legs of life when tragedy happens, when it's tough going.

[41:43] Lord, help us to find our resource in you and to encourage ourselves in the Lord. No matter what, we're going to press through and we'll fight with your stream, knowing your power and knowing that wonderful prophet that comes to the soul that knows you, that prophet that is more profitable than gaining the whole world.

[42:06] What shall it profit if someone gains the whole world? There's no comparison with the prophet, that benefit, that value that we can know of eternal life and to know you as Saviour and Lord.

[42:21] We pray each one might know that trust, that saving faith and to know that gracious work of your Spirit in our hearts. For your praise and glory, we pray.

[42:32] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.