Triumph out of Tragedy

Milford BC (e-service) – 17th May 2020.

Good morning everyone and a warm welcome to this week’s e-service.

This is our 10th e-service, and as we remain unable to meet together physically, we draw comfort and strength from the fact that we continue to worship together as a family, a fellowship of believers, a community.

The overwhelming feedback that we have received about these e-services has been around the sense of unity, togetherness, and connection amongst our church family.

As we praise God now together in sung worship, remember that there are others worshipping with you at this very moment – what a privilege to be part of God’s family.

We begin with the hymn Praise to the Lord, The Almighty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCnQNwQG5GI

Let’s pray togetherHeavenly father, we thank you for holding us together as one community to worship you today. Thank You for Your great love for each one of us and for Your faithfulness. Thank you that you know the depths of our hearts, you know our needs, you know how we are feeling and however that is - you love us all the same.  Please bless our time together and please be at the centre of all that we do.  Amen.

And we continue in prayer as we come before God in a time of confession.Heavenly father, You know us better than we know ourselves.As we come before you now, we all share a deep need, for we are all lost without your grace.Search us, O God, and know our hearts. Test us and know our troubled thoughts.Give us true repentance. Forgive us all of our wrongs.Transform us by your Spirit to live for you each day, to learn to serve each other and, through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord, to come at last to heaven.Amen.

Words of Assurance:God is slow to anger and full of compassion.He forgives all who humbly repent and trust in his Son

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as Saviour and Lord.There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Cf. Exodus 34:6-7; Romans 8:1

Let’s reflect on those words of assurance using the song “Here is Love Vast as the Ocean” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8YOPj5TnUM

At the end of April, Andy Kittow (one of our regular visiting speakers) spoke to us on the theme of “Hope in a Time of Crisis” based on Psalm 27. We are delighted that Andy has returned to bring us our message again with a sermon entitled “Triumph out of Tragedy”.You can read it in the following pages of this document or you can watch it here on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXQJalHuBeM&feature=youtu.be

Let’s pray as we prepare to hear God’s word.

Heavenly fatherWe thank you for the gift of your word. As we read or listen to Andy, please open our hearts and our minds to hear your voice. Please give us understanding to know what it means, and the will to put it into practice. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Triumph out of Tragedy1 Samuel 30 NIV

BackgroundToday we come to a remarkable and true story in the Bible. We have a depressed and jealous King, a handsome and brave fighter who is on the run. There is deep loyalty and love, deception, beautiful women, rape, slaughter, betrayal, and intrigue. Every good story has the hero brought to the brink of destruction. This is better than any film. At one point the main character is lowered out of the bedroom window by his wife to escape, whilst soldiers wait nearby to arrest him.The life of David features in no less than 66 chapters of the Bible. There are 59 references to him in the New Testament and about half the Psalms are attributed to him. We would do well to pay attention to perhaps the greatest person in the history of Israel.We recently drew inspiration from Psalm 27 by David. He was being hunted down by King Saul as a fugitive, yet he was confident in God. Most of David's Psalms were written out of his ups and downs and today we look at the lowest point in his life when he is most desperate. Saul was so jealous of David's success and standing with the people he wanted him dead. David had fled as a refugee to the Philistines, Israel's arch enemy. There he ran a protection racket by destroying mutual enemies of both Israel and the Philistines. He

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cunningly gained a good reputation with the king of the Philistines and with his 600 men was marching out with them to attack Israel. The Philistine commanders did not trust him and sent him home. We continue the story in:

1 Samuel 30 1-9

'David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them but carried them off as they went on their way.When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So, David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit'.The gripping story continues like a thriller:David's men find a sick slave abandoned by the Amalekites who eventually leads them to the raiders. David immediately attacks and the battle rages all night and all day, securing an overwhelming victory. All captives are recovered along with a large amount of plunder. David ensures that everyone receives a share, including those too exhausted to get to the battle. He even sends gifts to twenty or more settlements in southern Israel.

Summary: We divide the story into four sections:

Rejection Ruin Renewal Restoration

David and his men were profoundly frustrated at their rejection by the Philistine commanders. They were spoiling for a fight and good at it also. Note the unseen hand of God preventing the terrible prospect of David slaughtering his own people.It takes three days for David to reach home, in addition to all the marching with Philistines troops. There they find total ruin having lost everything at Ziklag their home. Further exhaustion ensues as everyone weeps until they have no energy to weep any more. They are bitter at the loss of their families and turn on David threatening to stone him.The pivotal point comes in v 6. David was greatly distressed. He is in a tight fix. He is a refugee. He is rejected by his host country. Now he is rejected by his men and everyone is exhausted. They have lost everything. Where is God in the darkest moment?

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What do you do when you are in a fix? Maybe when you have done all the right things and life conspires to kick you in the gut? Do you look for comfort in the wrong places? Do you feel sorry for yourself? Do you take out your frustrations on those close to you?

Renewal: David found strength in the Lord his God. By contrast when Saul was in a fix he consults a medium and receives a death sentence.How did David strengthen himself in God?Maybe he talked to himself: Why are you downcast? Put your hope in God! Have you ever heard a Wimbledon tennis player under pressure shouting Come On! There is good biblical precedent to speak to your soul: Praise the Lord Oh my soul ! The Lord is close to the broken hearted. He certainly talked to God: Please Lord rescue me!Come quickly Lord and help me! The Lord is my shepherd. He renews my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. You are my stronghold!We find all these statements in Psalms that David wrote. He knew how to find renewal in the face of rejection and ruin.Previously we noted that David routinely consulted God for direction. He does the same here and God gives much reassurance. 'You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue'. Where is God when you need him most? Answer : Right by your side!The story reaches its' dramatic conclusion with total restoration of all that has been lost. He moves fromRejection and Ruin to Renewal and Restoration. Indeed, his standing has increased. He has been doing the work of a king in destroying implacable foes of Israel. The Amalekites were the first to attack Israel on leaving Egypt and God had decreed destruction over them. Saul failed to wipe them out. David succeeded and we hear little of them again in the history of Israel.There is more! Whilst David was at his lowest point, king Saul was tragically losing his life in battle. After thirteen years David was completing God's training school for a king. The way opens up for him to be crowned king and fulfil his God given destiny.

Application:We see the unseen hand of God in this roller coaster of a story. We should trust God as David did when circumstances are beyond our control.In our darkest moments God is still right by our side. He wants us to draw strength from him as David did. This is easier if we habitually lean on Him daily.God uses the ups and downs of life to shape us and equip us for the destiny he has for us as he did for David.

A prayer: Lord you are the same today as you were for David. Help us to trust you when everything seems out of control. Help us

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to draw strength from you when we are down. Thank you that you can use the worst of circumstances to achieve your beautiful plans. We choose to trust you. Amen

Let’s respond to what we have heard using the song:I Will Bless the Lord Forever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahscQk-QAX0

Prayers: We come now to our prayers of intercession.

Loving and healing God, we, turn to you in prayer, confident that you are with us and with all people in every moment.We stand before you as people of hope, trusting in your care and protection.May your faithful love support us and soothe the anxiety of our hearts.

Generous God, fill us with compassion and concern for others, young and old, that we may look after one another in these challenging days.Bring healing to those who are sick with the virus and be with their families.May those who have died rest in your eternal embrace.Comfort their family and friends.

Strengthen and protect all medical professionals caring for the sick and all who work in our medical facilities.Give wisdom to leaders in healthcare and governance that they may make the right decisions for the well-being of people.

We pray in gratitude for all those in our country who will continue to work in the days ahead in so many fields of life for the sake of us all.Bless them and keep them safe.

O God of creation and life, we place ourselves in your protection.May the mantle of your peace enfold us this day and tomorrowAmen.

As we continue with our own personal prayers of intercession, please include the requests from the prayer pointers section of the newsletter in your own prayers, both now and throughout the week ahead. Amen

Closing songs:We come to the end of our e-service for this week with a choice of one or both of the following songs:

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Strength will rise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yubLGTOcm8cHow Great Thou Art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdE_NKyY_o0

A Final Blessing:

And so, we close our service by saying The Grace together and to one another.

Amen

Please email your suggestions for future e-services to andi@benandi.com

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