Turning Disappointments Into Appointments, Part 3of3, Evans Olang

1Samuel 30:1-30, “…And David encouraged himself in the Lord”

There are people who may be present but not present to encourage you. That is why we always have to know who we turn to for encouragement and for strength to encourage ourselves in Him.

Psalm 27:13, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” Believe me very few people will encourage you to the level you need to be encouraged. When you know what you are going through, encourage yourself in the Lord, bring back to memory the good things the Lord has done in your life before, let them be a stepping stone for what you are trusting God for. Remember someone would wish to be in your situation since theirs may be worse than yours. Don’t sit and have a pity party, speak like Paul who said, “…for I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day”, 2Timothy 1:12. I’m not talking about positive thinking or positive outlook; I’m talking about speaking God’s word that is able to defeat the enemy of our souls. Jesus defeated the enemy in the desert by the word.

Turning Disappointments Into Appointments, Part 2of3, Evans Olang

1Samuel 30:1-30, “…But David encouraged himself in the Lord”

The challenge with life is that there are times you go through things thinking you are the only one. Then there are those times you are going through them with other people especially those who are looking up to you. In these times, you don’t need those who add more pressure to your life, but those who are there to help you ease your burden. That was not with David.

Turning Disappointments Into Appointments, Part 1of3, Evans Olang

1Samuel 30:1-30, “…But David encouraged himself in the Lord”

David has just come back to Ziklag a place where he and his men’s families camped for some time. During this time, David had been anointed to be the next king while Saul was still ruling at this time. David’s reign was just around the corner, however his reign was not going to come easy. Saul was out to kill him, the philistines to who he had destroyed their champion had an issue with him and now the Amalekites had descended right into their camping site while David and his 600 men were away to team up with the Philistines to fight Israel. The Philistines did not trust David for they feared that David was in a position of turning against them while in the battle field to join the Philistine enemy. So they refused to allow him to team up with them and David and his men came back to their camping site.

Perception Of Preparation, Part 3of3, Pastor Phil Sessa

1Samuel 17:45 – 46, “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

Have you ever looked back at your life and saw that God’s divine handprint was upon the battles that you faced? As we mature in the Lord we begin to discover that God is truly the One that is winning and bringing the victory. Even though you look back and see victory in your life, did you see victory when you were in the midst of battle? I’ve heard it said that hindsight is 20/20, meaning that we seem to see so clearly when looking back but not as clearly when we are going through something, because we are in the midst of a situation. Are you able to use the situations that God has brought you through as a springboard to propel you on to future victories?

Perception Of Preparation, Part 2of3, Pastor Phil Sessa

1Samuel 17:38-40, “38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand”

My wife and I went to a marriage retreat one year where the speaker shared a story from his marriage about how he cut carrots verses how his wife cut carrots. Whenever he would see his wife cutting carrots he would correct her, and instruct her to cut the carrots his way. She would do it for a time although feeling uncomfortable doing it his way. When he left the room, she usually returned to the way that she initially was cutting the carrots.

Perception Of Preparation, Part 1of3, Pastor Phil Sessa

1Samuel 17:36-37, “36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee”

Growing up, I lived about fifteen minutes away from a Seeing Eye dog training center called Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Now certain dogs are being trained to one day be prepared to serve as “eyes” for a blind person. Of course the dog doesn’t know this while it is going through the training, but one day it will walk in its purpose. Have you ever experienced a season of difficult times, unknown times, unsure times, whereby you truly did not realize at the time why you were going through the situation that you found yourself in?

Give Me A Chance, Part 3of3, Evans Olang

1Samuel 17:1-58, “Then he took his staff in his hand; and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook…”

Here was a man with one cry, “give me a chance”, 1Samuel 17:32, “Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with the Philistine“. David made up his mind to please the Father. Everyone including the king did not feel David was ready for he was young, inexperienced, no training on war, but God readied him for this battle. Him and God were majority.

Give Me A Chance, Part 2of3, Evans Olang

1Samuel 17:1-58, “Then he took his staff in his hand; and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook…”

The bible is interesting in the sense that it could take time and dwell on something, fully describing it. Here is an example, 1Samuel 17:4, “And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath from Gath, whose height was six cubits and spans” through vs. 7 the bible describes nothing but how the giant was dressed for battle. The bible wants us to see something about this man. Just reading how equipped he was, I can see why the Israelites were afraid of him. This is no ordinary sizable man. I wondered why the bible wouldn’t just say he was a giant and a champion. I believe the Lord wants us to know that our enemy is not a wimp as many may think. He is prepared for you and I at any given moment. Goliath was more qualified, trained, prepared, ready, equipped, eloquent, developed, sophisticated, protected, confident, threatening and a fighter, what chance did David have? All the trained men, who have all that it takes to battle could not face the giant. I even wondered why the bible did not even take time to describe how Saul was dressed for the battle.

Motivated To Glorify Him, Evans Olang

Colossians 3:23, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men”

Let me select a few people in the bible who knew God and acted on what they believed to have been God’s will.