When There’s No One but God

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; 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. 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. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 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. 1 Sam 30:1-6 (KJV)

There were a number of low points in David’s life. It is difficult to say that one was any worse than the other but one thing is for sure, I would not want to go through the situations that David went through. He was king of all Israel but he paid a dear price before and during his reign. Our text today presents one of those situations before David became king. In fact, at the time of the event in today’s scripture, David was a fugitive from Israel leading a group of approximately 600 men and living in the land of Israel’s enemy, the Philistines. David went to live with his enemy because Saul’s death threat on his life had him convinced that he would not live long in Israel’s territory. From his position in the land of the Philistines, David conducted secret raids against Israel’s enemies while covering it up by reporting it as raids against Israel. This assured the king of Gath that David would be hated by his own people and would therefore be a loyal servant to him. David’s cover-up involved killing all of the inhabitants of the places he raided so that there would be no eyewitnesses of his deeds. It was during one of these raids that David’s enemy raided his new home city and took all of the women and children captive. When David and his men returned home and discovered their misfortune, they cried until they could cry no more. After this, David’s men turned against him and talked of stoning him. With his family taken captive and his followers rebelling against him, all David had left was his relationship with God.

I. No One wants to be a Stranger
A. He was Living among His Enemy
B. His Family was Taken from Him
C. His Friends were Turned against Him

II. When You have Cried Your last Tears
A. What’s Next when You are done Feeling sorry for Yourself?
B. You need to take a serious Look at Your Situation
C. Something has to Change

III. Be Encouraged in the Lord
A. Don’t Throw in the Towel
B. God never Leaves You
C. God always Loves You

David did not stay in the self-pity mode. He was determined to change his situation. He was determined but he was not desperate. Desperate people too often make critical mistakes because they think that any change would be better than their current situation. Be careful because things can get worse no matter how bad they may seem. David turned to the one constant in his life, i.e., God. Rather than do something and hope for the best, David turned to God and asked him for directions. Note that he did not ask God, What should I do? Instead, he asked God to evaluate his plan of action before he acted. He asked God if he should pursue his enemy. Then he asked God, Will I overtake my enemy? So now David wanted to know if his plan would be successful. How comforting it is to have the assurance of God that you have a good plan and that your plan will succeed. Why do we wait until there is no one else but God? When God is able to provide guidance and assurance, why not pursue God first? Yes, God knows our hearts but he also wants to direct our steps. God intends for us to have good success. We should go to our knees without being driven there. We should constantly seek God’s face rather than his hand. We should give God our hearts rather than wait just to give him our problems. God has already provided the way for us. God commended his love towards us in that while we were yet in our sins, Christ died for us. Jesus died so that God could be our first choice rather than our last resort. Jesus lives so that we can have someone interceding for us. When there is no one but God, be encouraged.


Robert C. Hudson
November 8, 2009

Trying to Fit In

And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. Luke 22:59-62 (KJV)

It seems as though part of our maturing as Christians involve going through a phase when we try to be good Christians and try to be okay with non-Christians at the same time. This is not to say that we should not strive to be at peace with all people. Neither is this a statement that Christians ought to remove themselves from society and go start or join an existing convent or otherwise community of faith. It is these types of actions that often lead to the formation of cults and other religious anomalies. People that are Christians through the new birth are made different by the Spirit of God working in us. This is not just evident among those who knew us before and after but even to those that may never have known us there is something different about a person that has been born again. As we examine our text today, Peter is denying Jesus for the third time. He has followed the crowd that arrested Jesus from a distance but after they arrived at the high priest’s house, Peter moved into the crowd to get a little closer. John said that it was a cold night the crowd had made a fire to keep warm while Jesus was being questioned and abused by the religious community. Peter, undoubtedly, was confused and curious at the same time. He attempted to fit into the crowd around the fire but he stuck out like a sore thumb.


I. Peter’s Identity Questioned
A. The first Young Woman studied His face in the Fire-lit Courtyard
B. Another Person noted that He looked like one of Jesus’ Disciples
C. An Hour later, A third Person observed His Speech

II. Peter is Tortured by His own Denial of Jesus (or Attempt to Fit In)
A. He lies about Who He Is
B. He lies about His Knowledge of Jesus
C. He began to Curse

III. Jesus sees Us
A. In the midst of Peter’s Lying, Jesus looked at Him
B. Jesus had Suffered all Night for Peter
C. Peter responded in Tears


Christians, or perhaps I should say, Christ followers, sometimes go to great length to deny our own identity. We first try to fit in and hope no one notices. When we are noticed, we attempt to divert the attention from ourselves. We will sometimes go a little farther in trying to act out of character in order to impress on others that we are not who we really are. But try as we do, our new person in Christ continues to make us stand out like sore thumbs. If this world were so great, we would not have needed to be delivered from it in the first place. Of course, all of this is easy to say after we have been through a few fireside denials and come to learn that there is no way to hide our new identity in Christ. How can we? If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Christianity can be socially uncomfortable until we begin to mature spiritually. Unfortunately, many Christians want to be saved and unchanged at the same time. Salvation only comes through the new birth and the Spirit of Christ takes up residence in us. It is the indwelling Spirit of Christ who brings about a change in our very person. We look the same and may even walk the same but our speech does change and it will give us away. You don’t have to punctuate your speech with hallelujahs and amen’s for others to know who you are. Just be a Christian and others will know even in your manner of speech. Your new self takes on the personality of Christ. It can be very frustrating to try to lead two different lives. Spiritual maturity requires that we be ourselves at all times. When we are saved, we can never fit into the world again. The world is against God and we who are saved can never live a life that is against God. We are still in this world but we are no longer of this world. Today we celebrate who we are by remembering what Jesus did for us. Today, we again commemorate Jesus’ death for our sins. This celebration is a reminder that we can never fit into the world again because our new citizenship is in Heaven. We strive now to bring our daily living in line with who we are in Christ. The unleavened bread reminds us that Jesus was without sin. The fruit of the vine is a reminder that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin. We did not deserve this wonderful gift but by the grace of God through our faith it is ours.


Robert C. Hudson
November 1, 2009