Transcript of a published sermon by Michael Malin, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.
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Summary
Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.
His Answer Is Greater Than My Question
- The head text is David's inquiry at Ziglag: 'Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them?' — two questions, but God gave three answers: pursue, you shall surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
- The God preached here specializes in the need brought to him — healing, salvation, the Holy Ghost — and he never barely gets the job done: he is not just the one who heals but the healer, not just the way-maker but the way, and he gives the best wine at the last.
- The brag on God runs through his works: the leper made whole, the prodigal given the best robe, five thousand fed with twelve baskets left over, the Hebrew boys brought out of the furnace with only their ropes burned off, the Red Sea crossed on dry ground, the widow's oil paying the debt with enough left to live on.
Scriptures: 1 Samuel 30:8
Ziglag: Encourage Yourself in the Lord
- The chapter is walked from the top: the Amalachites — the enemy Saul was told to eradicate and only partially obeyed over — have burned Ziglag and taken the women, sons, and daughters captive; what one generation fails to destroy, the next generation has to fight.
- David had drifted from faith to fear, living among the Philistines he once fought; faith makes you do things you never thought you could do, but fear makes you do things you never thought you would do.
- David and the people wept until they had no more power to weep, and the people spoke of stoning him — but David encouraged himself in the Lord, remembering past victories (the lion, the bear, the giant), and before he inquired he called for the ephod: to hear God's voice, crucify the flesh and get into the spirit.
- At the brook, two hundred were too faint to cross and four hundred pursued — the church's own picture: when I'm too weak to fight, you're strong enough to fight for me, and next week I'll fight for you.
Scriptures: 1 Samuel 30:1; 1 Samuel 30:2-3; 1 Samuel 30:4; 1 Samuel 30:6; 1 Samuel 30:7; 1 Samuel 30:9-10
Recover All — And More
- The enemy is found spread out eating, drinking, and dancing over the spoil; David smote them from twilight until the evening of the next day and recovered all — and rescued his two wives.
- Delay is the danger: Jesus said the thief comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy — the progression runs steal, then kill, then destroy, so procrastination breaks the promise; the devil's lie is not that you have no time but that you have plenty of time.
- The recovery is total and then some: there was nothing lacking, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil — God gave back everything and added the spoil of every other place the Amalachites had invaded.
- Restoration in God's hands is greater than the original — like a restored truck that comes back with more than it left the showroom with — and David, who knew that restoring power, could write, 'He restoreth my soul.'
Scriptures: 1 Samuel 30:16; 1 Samuel 30:17; 1 Samuel 30:18; John 10:10; 1 Samuel 30:19; Psalm 23:3
Scripture index: 1 Samuel 30:8; 1 Samuel 30:1; 1 Samuel 30:2-3; 1 Samuel 30:4; 1 Samuel 30:6; 1 Samuel 30:7; 1 Samuel 30:9-10; 1 Samuel 30:16; 1 Samuel 30:17; 1 Samuel 30:18; John 10:10; 1 Samuel 30:19; Psalm 23:3.
Transcript
Once again, I'm so glad to be home. And uh I'm 48 years old. I'll be 49 in October. be 50 next year. I remember when 50 seemed old and uh I started the school here when I was four years old in kindergarten and I I've never done what I'm getting ready to do. I have never corrected Bishop McCoy in my life, but he said that I he knew me when I was a little boy. I don't think I've ever been little. Bishop, I give the highest honor to Bishop and Sister McCool. Amen. They deserve it. Pastor and Sister McCool, I just love them dearly. Also, Pastor Nate, Sister Ashley, Pastor Anthony, Sister Kelly. And don't they just have some of the most beautiful children? Just awesome kids. I love them. They're just wonderful people. And I'm so thankful to have my mom and dad here tonight. And uh Chuck D's in the house. And uh my parents don't like when I brag on them publicly, but I just want to say just like we have the best bishop pastors and their wives, I have the best mom and dad in the world. And I love and appreciate them very, very much. Love each and every one of you all. Well, if you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of 1st Samuel, the 30th chapter. We'll read one verse, then we'll go back into that chapter in just a minute. 1st Samuel the 30th chapter, verse number eight. And David inquired 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." Notice something about this verse. David only asked two questions, but God gave him three answers, and it made me think of this tonight. This is my title. His answer is greater than my question. Would you set your Bible down? Would you lift your hands in your hearts? Would you help me pray tonight? Lord, we love you and we thank you for your word. We thank you for your spirit, your anointing, your people. God, anoint me to preach this word. Anoint your people, God, to hear it, to receive it, to respond to it tonight. We give you praise for who you are and what you're going to do in this place. In the mighty, matchless name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Can we clap our hands one more time? And the Bible says not only to clap, but to shout. Can we add a shout hallelujah to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? Amen. You can be seated today. If I had a problem and I maybe needed a lawyer, I could go see Brother Lambert and he may not specialize in that need and he'd have to send me to a colleague. I might go to a doctor's office and they might diagnose me with something and they might say, "Well, that's not our area of expertise. We're going to have to send you to another doctor." But one of the greatest things about the God that we serve is that he specializes in your need. He specializes in your problem. It doesn't matter if you came here tonight and you need the Holy Ghost. He specializes in it. If you came here tonight and you're sick in your body, he specializes in healing. If you came here and you're lost, he specializes in salvation. It doesn't matter what you're going through, it doesn't matter what you're facing. The God that we serve specializes in your need tonight. And all the ladies in the house, let me tell you a little secret. Your husband likes to be bragged on. My wife learned a long time ago. She I I tell her I say, "Honey, you don't have to tell me every six months to get that done, I'll get it done one day." But she learned a long time ago if she if she just constantly tells me to do this or do that, I'm not going to probably get it done. But if she starts talking about how good-looking I am, and she starts talking about how nobody can mow a yard like you can mow a yard, and nobody can paint a wall like you can paint a wall, that gets me that makes me want to get off the couch and makes me want to grab my toolbox. makes me want to hop on the mower because men like to be bragged on. And you know what? We're created in the image of God. And I believe that God likes to be bragged on. So, let me brag about my God for just a few minutes. His answer is greater than my question. His provision is greater than my problem. He is our Jehovah Gyra. He is our provider. His blessing is greater than my need. His healing is greater than my sickness. His grace is greater than my guilt. His mercy is greater than my mistake. His blood is greater than my blunders. His salvation is greater than my sin. And I come to tell you that he never just barely gets the job done. But he's a God that always goes above and beyond. His answer is greater than my question tonight. See, it's not just that he heals, but he is the healer. It's not only does he make a way, but he is the way. It's not just that he tells the truth, but he is the truth. He didn't just come to give life, but he came to give life more abundantly. It's not just that he comforts me, but he is the comforter. It's not just that he's a friend, but he's a friend that stickketh closer than a brother. Not only is my cup full, but it runth over. He's not only gives me joy, but he gives me joy unspeakable and full of glory. He's not just the prince of peace, but he gives me the peace that passes all understanding. I'd be happy tonight with the fact that he forgives my sins. But he doesn't just forgive my sins. He forgets about my sins. And not only is he able, but my Bible says he's able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we can ask or think. I'm just bragging on my God for a little while because his answer is greater than my question. I'm reminded when when Jesus went to the to perform his first miracle at a wedding. Mary hears that they're out of wine. And she goes to Jesus and she says, "Jesus, they're out of wine." And what he says next, if I said to my mama, I'd be preaching like this tonight. Would cuz my daddy would have knocked every tooth out of my head. He says,"Woman, what have I to do with you?" And Mary didn't get offended. Mary turned at the crowd and she said, "Whatever he tells you to do, do it." >> I I heard a long time ago, we need more Nike Christians that'll just do it. We need less Reebok Christians. We got to pump up. But if we would just do what he tells us to do and do what the word of God tells us to do and do what our pastorial staff tells us to do when they're preaching the word of God, everything would be a lot better in our life. But he goes and he tells them, he says, "There's water pots." He said, "Fill those water pots." And he said, "Draw out." And he said, "Give to the governor of the feast." And somewhere between the filling and the drawing out, Jesus miraculously turned that water into wine. And when the governor of the feast took a sip of that wine, he said, "Uh, this is a new thing." He said, "I I've never seen anything like this." He said, "Usually you save uh the you you serve the best wine at the first, and then when everybody's can't taste anymore at the end of the service, at the end of the wedding, that's when you give the cheap wine." He said, "But this is the best wine." Because he never gets the job barely done. His answer is always greater than my question. He didn't just give them wine, but he gave them the best wine. And I've got news for you tonight. I believe that that he's still saving the best for last. I don't think our best days here at FAC are in our past. I think our best days are in our future. >> The lepous man wasn't just healed. He was made whole. Cuz his answer is greater than my question. The prodal when he came home, he didn't get a moth eaten stinky robe that's been in a a rubbermaid somewhere in the back of a closet. But his father put on him the best robe because his answer is greater than my question. Whenever he performed the miracle of feeding the 5,000 with the loaves of of bread and a few fish, there was 12 baskets of leftovers. It's as Jesus was saying, I'm going to take care of my disciples also. I can feed the thousands, but I'm going to take care of you, too. Because his answer is always greater than my question. The three Hebrew boys, if I'd have been one of those guys, I'd have been happy if I'd have came out of the fiery furnace and my hair was singed and my clothes were burnt and smelled like smoke. I'd have just been happy that I came out of the fiery furnace. But that's not how our God operates. Not only did he bring them out of the fiery furnace, but their hair wasn't singed. Their clothes weren't burnt. As a matter of fact, the only thing that burnt off of them were the ropes that had them bound. Why? Because he he's a God that always goes above and beyond what we need him to do. When the children of Israel are crossing the Red Sea, if I'd have been a Hebrew that day, I'd have been okay having to leave a goat or a cow in the mud. I'd have been okay if I'd have had to leave one of my air Moses flip-flops in the mud. But that's not how God works. God said, "Not only can I part the Red Sea, but I can miraculously make it dry ground." As if God was telling them, "Not only can I part the sea, not only can I make it dry ground, I could have left it muddy if I wanted to, but you would have got stuck. You'd have got stuck in your miracle. You'd have had to leave some things behind. A wagon would have gotten stuck. An animal would have gotten stuck. But God said, "That's not how I work. My answer is always greater than your question and I can always do more than what you need me to do. And so they walked across on dry ground. The widow woman came to the prophet and she said, I I've got credit due or creditors coming after my payment and I he's going to take my boys because I don't have money. And he said go and borrow empty vessels, fill them up with that oil and sell them and live off the rest. All she asked for was for the debt to be paid off. But his answer is always greater than my question. And he said, "Not only can God pay off your debt, but he can take care of your tomorrow." What are you saying, preacher? I'm saying, "Whatever you need from him tonight, he won't just barely get the job done. He won't just barely get there to the need, but he's a God that always goes above and beyond what we need him to do. Back to our original text, 1st Samuel the first chapter, first verse. 1st Samuel 30:e 1. It came to pass when David and his men came to Ziglag on the third day that the Amalachites had invaded the south and Ziglag and smitten Ziglag and burned it with fire. Now, if you're a Bible reader, that word Amalachi should jump out at you because it was in previous chapters that God told King Saul, "Saul, I want you to completely eradicate the Amalachites. I want you to kill man, woman, baby, boy, girl, animal. I don't want there to be anything left on them on planet Earth." And and and if you don't know the story, Saul went down and he he he partially got it done, but partial obedience in full obedience. And he he goes down and he he kills the Amalachites and he saves the king and he saves the animals uh to bring them back. But God told him to completely annihilate them. And I read I read verse number one. I think to myself, if Saul would have done what he was supposed to do, there would have never been an Amalachite invasion on David and his people. You know what that tells me tonight, moms and dads, grandparents, this generation? It tells me that there's some spirits and there's some things that we've got to destroy and we've got to kill in this generation so that our children won't have to fight the same battles that we fought. so that the next generation won't have to fight the Amalachites that God is telling us to destroy today. Verse two says, "And and they had taken the women captive that were there, and they slew not any, neither great or small, but they carried them away, and they went on their way. And David and his men, they came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters were taken captive." So, this is how I read the Bible. I read that verse and I think, where was David and his men? Why weren't they home protecting their wives and children in their homes? Well, if you read the previous chapter, David and his men were living with the Philistines, the God haters. Yeah. The same Philistine that David spent his entire career fighting against. David at this point in his life, he was running from King Saul, from his wrath and his fury, the hatred and the bitterness that was fueled by jealousy. And David, when he stepped out on that battlefield that day as just a young shepherd boy, and he faced an almost 10- foot tall champion of the Philistines by the name of Goliath, that was faith operating in David's life. But now we find that same David not operating in faith. But now he is operating in fear. And can I tell you the main difference between faith and fear? Faith makes you do things that you never thought you could do. But fear makes you do things you never thought you would do. David never envisioned when he let that stone go from his sling that one day he would be hiding with the Philistines. And and so I want to tell somebody in this house tonight that you need to understand we don't need to operate in fear. We need to operate in faith because when you operate in faith, God can take you to levels and God can take you to places in the spirit that you never imagined that you were able to do. But if you operate in fear, you'll be just like David and you'll do things you never thought you would do. The Bible says and David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and they wept till they had no more power to weep. Verse six says, "And David was greatly distressed for the people spake of stoning him." Isn't that just like ministry? One day they're singing songs about you and the next day they're ready to stone you because the soul of all the people was grieved every man for his sons and his daughters. But notice this. David encouraged himself in the Lord. You need to understand something tonight. Your pastor is not always going to be there. Your bishop's not always going to be there for you. You're not I'm not saying they're not there for you, but they're not always going to they're not going to be at your work. They're not going to be at your school. They're not going to be out in your life. Your your parents, young people, your youth pastor, and your parents aren't always going to be there. You've got to learn the fine art just as David did of encouraging yourself in the Lord. That even whenever I'm the only apostolic in my workplace, I'm the only apostolic in my school, I'm the only apostolic in my family, and when things seem bleak and hopeless, I've got to learn how [groaning] to encourage myself in the Lord. >> How did David do that? Well, the Bible Bible doesn't say this is the MIV, the Muppet International Version. But I think David reached down in his pocket and he felt four smooth stones. I think he reached down in his other pocket and he felt a claw of a bear and a claw of a lion. And he encouraged himself because he said, "If God took care of me then, if God won a v a victory and a battle through me then, he can still do it today." And I want to tell you how you can you can you can encourage yourself in the Lord tonight is you need to remember some past victories. Now, usually I preach don't look to the past, but every once in a while, not we don't need to look to our sin and our mistakes, but every once in a while, I need to take a trip down memory lane, and I need to remember what God has done for me. I need to remember the time he I killed a giant. I need to remember the time I killed a lion and a bear. Hey, if God's ever healed your body, if he did it then, he can do it now. If God saved your children, then he can save your children now. If God made a way out of now way then he can make a way out of now way now. He won't never leave you. He won't ever forsake you. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. You need to encourage yourself in the Lord tonight. And David verse 7 said to Abathar the priest, Emile son, I pray they bring me hither the ephod. And Abathar brought thither the ephod to David. See, you got to understand something. David smelled like the Philistines. David smelled like the world. And he had to change into an ephod, a priestly garment before he could hear the the the voice of the Lord. And if we want to hear the voice of God tonight, we've got to take and crucify the flesh and get into the spirit just like David did. Verse number eight says, "And David inquired at the Lord." David didn't call a 1 1900 psychic hotline. And if they know so much, why don't they know the lottery winning numbers? David didn't read a self-help book. If you go to the library and ask for a self-help section, are you defeating the purpose? He didn't lay on a psychiatrist couch. He did not consult Dr. Google. He did not consult the University of YouTube. But he went straight to the Lord. I'm not preaching against doctors. I'm not preaching against medicine. I'm not even preaching against mental health help. But I am preaching before you go anywhere else. Uh you need to go to the Lord in prayer and say, "God, I need you to speak. God, I need you to work. I need Hey, we need to quit relying on everything else." and start relying on the one true God tonight. And David inquired and said, "Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them?" See, David only asked those two questions. It wasn't that David didn't have faith that God could that God could help him recover all, but David was a man of war. And David knew that in times of war, things would be lost along the way. So it wasn't so much that he was doubting God, but he just knew. He was just keeping it real and he was just saying, "If I can just go back down there to to the enemy's camp, if I can just get some of the things, God, that that they stole from me, I'll be happy. If I can just get some of the things that I lost, that'll be okay." But David, that's not how our God works. His answer is always greater than my question because God said pursue. He answers the question, you shall surely overtake them. He answers the second question. And then God says it's my nature to always go above and beyond. And not David, not only shall you pursue and not only shall you overtake and defeat them, but without fail, David, you're going to get everybody back. You're going to get your wife's back. You're going to get your children back. You're going to get your money back. Everything the enemy took from you, you can get it back tonight. So David and he So David went he and 600 men that were with him and they came to the brook bases where those that were left behind stayed. But David pursued he and 400 men for 200 a bow behind which was so faint that they could not go over the brook bases. You know, that's one of the things I'm so thankful about being a part of the church tonight. I'm thankful to be a part of the body of Christ. That that story tells it right there because 200 were too weak and too faint to go and fight. They left them there beside the brook and 400 went and fought. And if you fast forward into the story that that there were some that said, "Hey, we we shouldn't give these people back what they had. They didn't come and fight." But David said, "No, that's not how this works. We're fighting for all of us." And that's what I love about being a part of the church and a part of the body of Christ. Because when I'm weak, too weak to fight, you're strong enough to fight for me. And whenever you're too weak to fight, I'm strong enough to fight for you. We've got to get past this stuff where it doesn't matter about this person or that person. We're all in this together. And we all got to fight for each other. And we all got to say, even if you can't do it today, I'll fight for you. and you can fight for me next week. Skip to verse number 16. And when they had brought him down, behold, they were spread spread abroad upon the earth, eating and drinking and dancing. They were having a party because of the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines and out of the land of Judah, the land of praise. See, the enemy wants to come into your praise and take your stuff. Because the enemy knows that your praise is determined by what you possess. He understands that if he can take your possessions, he can take your praise. But let me show you a whole another realm tonight. The demon-possessed man in the New Testament in Mark the 5th chapter, the demon-possessed man in the country of the Gatherines, he had lost everything. The devil said, "I'll take his possessions. I'll take everything from him, and that'll take his praise away from him." He had lost his way because the unclean spirit would drive him into the wilderness. He had lost his family and his job and his home because he was living in the tombs. He had lost his clothes because the Bible records that he wasn't wearing any. He had lost his peace and his rest because the Bible tells us that he was crying out day and night. He had lost his sanity because he was cutting himself with stones. But there's one thing that the enemy could not take from him. Cuz in Mark 5 and six, when he saw Jesus a far off, he ran. He didn't praise Jesus because he didn't have anything. He the enemy had taken everything from him. So, he took his praise. But there's one thing he still had is he still had his worship. The enemy can take your stuff. He can take your possessions and he can take your praise, but he cannot take your worship tonight. Hey, I might have been laid off from my job and the bills are due. I don't feel like praising you tonight, but I'll still worship you as the way maker. I might be sick in my body and the doctor didn't give me a good report. I don't feel like praising you, but I'll still worship you as the great physician. So, the enemy thought if he could take the stuff from the land of praise, he could take their praise from them. But David and his men find them rejoicing over all they had taken. And the verse 17 says, "And David smokeote them from the twilight even until the evening of the next day. And there escaped not a man of them save 400 young men which rode upon camels and fled." And notice ver verse 18. And David recovered all. David recovered all that the Amalachites had carried away. And David rescued his two wives. David recovered all just like God said that he would do just like God promised him a few verses ago that he would do. But I want you to understand something tonight. If David would have waited a few days, if David would have said, "God, I'm thankful for that promise, but my guys are are are wore out from crying. Give me just a couple of days to rest. Give us just a couple days to get our stuff together. Let us just give me a couple days to rest my mind and and rest my body. We've been fighting a while. We've been journeying a while. We're we're heartbroken. God, give us just a couple of days and and we'll go get it. But God said, "You're going to recover all if you go right then." Because he understood something. If they would have waited, there would have been some things killed and there would have been some things destroyed because procrastination breaks the promise tonight. Because you've got to understand the progression of your your adversary. Jesus said in John 10:10, "The thief cometh not but to steal and to kill." But that's not where he stops and to destroy. David, they had already stolen from you. If you waited any longer, they would have killed some things in your life. David, if you would have laid it waited any longer, they would have destroyed some things in your life. So, you need to understand, David, you don't need to procrastinate. You need to go down and take what belongs to you. And I want you to I want to expose the devil tonight. It's not that the devil tells us that we have that we don't have enough time. It's that the devil tells us that we have plenty of time. He'll tell you, "Don't go to the altar tonight. Don't repent of your sins tonight. Don't get baptized in Jesus' name tonight. Don't get the Holy Ghost tonight. Don't get your miracle tonight. You've got plenty of time." But where procrastination will break the promise, David, if you want to truly get everything back, you've got to do it right now. And I've come to tell this church tonight, if you want to get back what the devil has stolen from you, you can't wait till Wednesday. You can't wait till you retreat this weekend, you can't wait till bishop or pastors are preaching, you've got to say, "I'm going down to the enemy's camp tonight. I'm taking my marriage back. I'm taking my sanity back. I'm taking my children back. I'm taking my joy back. I'm taking my peace back. Let me break it down for you further. If this building, God forbid any of this happens, but if this beautiful building, was ever burlized, they took some stuff, insurance can cover it, but it would be it wouldn't be easy, but that would be stealing. If somebody came in here and ripped up the ripped up the pews and busted out windows and busted mirrors in the bathroom and broke the TV monitors and and spray painted graffiti on the walls, that would be the that that would probably kill our spirit for just a little while. So, but if somebody, God forbid, once again, if somebody came in here and burnt this building to the ground, that would be destroying something. That would be I I know we got the blueprints. We could build it again. We can raise the insurance and give us money. We could raise the money. We could try to build, we could try to get the exact stone, the exact pew, the exact carpet, but it's still not the same building because that building not only has the enemy stolen from us and killed killed the spirit, but he has also destroyed and there's nothing left to restore. So David and people of God in this house tonight, if you leave it too long in the enemy's hands, not only is he going to take it from you to steal it, and not only is he going to try to kill it, but he's going to try to destroy whatever it is he's taken from you because he knows the God that we serve is a God of restoration. And he's trying to not only steal and kill, but he wants to completely destroy. except that there's nothing left for God to restore. See, some things some things are taken from us and we don't even know until we need them. I I preached for a pastor down in South Mississippi and he told me he had a credit card that he kept in his office upstairs of his house. He went on vacation. He said he hardly ever went up there, but he went on vacation one week. When he got back, the a few weeks later, the mail ran and he had a bill from that credit card company where somebody had bought a bunch of stuff online and he went upstairs to his office and the window had been knocked in, shattered, and someone had broke in and stole that credit card. So, in other words, there sometimes we don't know things are taken from us until we need them. Sometimes we don't realize they're gone until we go to find them. and they're not there anymore. But sometimes things are taken from us and it's not our fault. If somebody comes up to you with a knife or a gun and tries to take your purse or try to take your wallet, that is not your fault. You did nothing wrong there. That's just the way of this world. There there there's thiefs out there. There's robbers out there and they're just trying to steal from you. But if ladies, if you go shopping tomorrow and you sit down on a bench to rest for a little while and you lay your purse on the bench beside you and you walk away to say, "I've got to go down here to another store." And you forget your purse on the bench and you go to pay at that next store and you realize my purse is not on my shoulder anymore. That is your fault. You set something down that was valuable and forgot about it. And in the spirit, there are times that we don't even realize the enemy has snuck in and take taken things from us. There are times where the enemy just because his nature is to be a thief. He just comes. We We're not doing anything wrong. We're living for God. We're shouting. We're dancing. We're praying. We're fasting. We're doing everything we are we can do. But the enemy will just come and take things from us. But then there are times where we get to a place where I say, "My prayer life is not important. I'll just set it down. My my church dedication is not important. I'll just set it down. My praise and my worship isn't important. I'll just set it down." But the problem is when you go back to pick up that prayer life and to pick up that faithfulness and to pick up that praise and worship, the enemy's already came in and he's already stolen it. And it's his desire to kill and destroy it tonight. See, you can't wait to take get your stuff back. You have to do it tonight. Verse number 19. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters. But notice how God is, neither spoil. See, God is such an awesome God that not only did he give David and his men their wives, their children, their clothes, and their money back, but he also gave them the spoil from all the other places that the Amalachites had invaded. That's the kind of God I'm preaching about tonight. What are you saying, preacher? I'm saying this. When you go to the enemy's camp to get back what he has stolen from you, not only are you going to get everything back, but because of the nature of the God that we serve, and his answer is greater than your question, not only are you going to get back all, not only are you going to get back everything, but now you're going to get even more than you had before. He might have took your joy, but God's going to say, "Here's your joy back. And how about a little bit of peace? He might have took your sanity. Here's your sanity back and here's a little bit of happiness because that's how God works. David, not only are you going to get back everything, but I'm going to give you more than you ever had before. And if you'll stand tonight and you'll get a mine in this place and you'll say, "God, I'm going to come down to this altar. I'm going to come down to the enemy's camp tonight and I'm going to take back what the devil stole from me. I can't wait one more service. I can't wait one more day. The enemy's already stolen it and I got to get it back before he kills it and before he destroys it. But the greatest thing about you coming tonight, not only are you going to get back all, but God's going to give you even more. >> No wonder David could write Psalms 23 and three. Remain standing. He restoreth my soul. If anybody in the Bible knew about the restoration power of God, it was David. But you know, I love I Brother Jeremy knows what I'm talking about. When we were kids, our uncle next door had an old barn. And in that barn was two old trucks that belonged to our great-grandfather. And I used to go down to the barn and sit in that truck. And I used to dream about one day restoring that truck. But and I love watching shows or I'm sorry if you don't like TV. I love listening to the radio about restoring old cars and trucks and vintage items. I love watching shows about that. They'll take some old rusted thing and and no value and before but when they get done it's it's beautiful. But you know what I've always noticed about when they restore things? Brother Eddie Bernard knows he's restored a bunch of vehicles. But what happens? It never is the same. They might not have had power brakes when it rolled off the assembly line 50 years ago, but when you restore it, you put power brakes in it. It didn't have power steering. It didn't have power windows, but when you restore it, you put power steering and power windows. You put a a better stereo. You put better seats in it. Why? Because when you restore something, you don't just restore it to its natural beauty. You don't just restore it to the way it rolled off the showroom floor, but you restore it even greater than it was. And I want to tell you tonight, the God of restoration is in this house. And his answer is greater than your question. And he doesn't just want to restore you back to what you were, but he wants to restore you even greater than you've ever been before. As every head is bowed, every eyes closed all across this house. The God that we serve is here tonight. And he wants to give you more than you had because his answer is greater than your question. David, you're not only going to pursue, you're not only going to overtake, but you're going to recover all and you're going to get the spoil. And I can't help but think that in the spirit tonight, there's some Davids in this househ that if you'll walk down to this altar tonight in some symbolic gesture that I'm walking down to the enemy's camp, I believe God, the God of restoration is in this place. And I believe he's going to give some people back what the enemy stole. But you can't wait another day. You can't wait for another altar call. Tonight is your night. You've got to take back what was stolen before it's killed and before it's destroyed. And not only are you going to get back all, but he's going to restore you not just to your natural, he's going to go above and beyond because his answer is greater. Come on, somebody. The enemy has stolen some things from you. It's time. You You've cried about it long enough. You've talked about it long enough. You've tried to figure it out on your own long enough. It's time to march down to the enemy's camp and kick kick the door in tonight and say, "Give me back my marriage. Give me back my children. Give me back my finances. Give me back my health. Give me back my sanity. Give me my peace back. Give me Give me my health back." Come on, somebody. Come on. Step into that realm tonight. Step into the enemy's camp tonight and boldly declare that I'm going to recover all. Don't leave this place without getting everything back that the enemy has stolen.
Scripture references as spoken: 1 Samuel 30:8; 1 Samuel 30:1; 1 Samuel 30:2-3; 1 Samuel 30:4; 1 Samuel 30:6; 1 Samuel 30:7; 1 Samuel 30:9-10; 1 Samuel 30:16; 1 Samuel 30:17; 1 Samuel 30:18; John 10:10; 1 Samuel 30:19; Psalm 23:3.