|
Sunday Night Sermon
March 28, 1999 (updated)
February 10, 1991
Fair Avenue Baptist Church
Responsive Reading: I SAMUEL 30:21-25
Text Verse: VERSE 24
Let me set the stage for this chapter here in
I SAMUEL. David and his men have been in
battle not only with the foreign enemies, but
also for a while they had to battle King Saul,
who wanted to kill David.
These 600 men had been loyal to David and had been fighting for a long time. As we come to I SAMUEL 30, they had been running from Saul, but the leader of the Philistines told them to leave their land.
So here they are, going home. David and his
600 men were going home to Ziklag. After
months and months of fighting and running from Saul, they are about to go home.
They had been away from their families, their
homes, and the peace and quiet for a long
time.
They had been marching three days. They were tired, worn out, weak, hungry, thirsty.
Then as they come over the top of the hill,
they see the smoke coming up from Ziklag.
They see their hometown burning, and I can see them running to the city to check on their
families.
They get to the city and midst the smoke and
fire, they see that their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.
NOTICE VERSE 4 - they wept and they cried
Wait a minute, these were big, strong, brave
men weeping. They were heartbroken. They had been away for a long time. They had fought some hard battles. They had seen friends killed, they had seen their buddies wounded.
They were sick, they were tired, they were
weak, and when they found their families gone, they cried.
And you and I would do the same thing. If we had to trade places with these men, we'd do the same thing.
They had been looking forward to some rest.
They were looking forward to spending some
time with their wives and their children.
They had built their hopes up so high and then had them come crashing down.
Can you see them there, tired, weak, crying,
and torn up about their families and their
homes?
NOTICE VERSE SIX - the men were angry
They wanted to stone David because they were so grieved over their losses - their sons and daughters.
And David was "...greatly distressed..."
NOTICE THE LAST PART OF VERSE SIX - “David encouraged himself”
Let me tell you something, sometimes you may have to encourage yourself. There may come a time and place in your service to the Lord that you will have to encourage yourself.
That's a message in itself.
VERSES 7-8 - David talks with God
David asked God what to do and God told him to go get them. God also promised David that everything would be all right, that the men would recover all their families and goods.
VERSE 9 - So David and his men take off
VERSE 10 - Notice here that 200 of the men
stayed
VERSES 11-15 - David and his men find a
servant who had been left behind by the
Amalekites
They find this servant, feed him, promised not
to harm him, and he tells them what happened.
Then David asks him to take them to the
Amalekites.
VERSES 16-20 - They find the Amalekites
The servant led them to the Amalekites and
they find them dancing and having a good time because of the spoils that they had taken from Ziklag.
So David and his army fought the Amalekites
for over a day and whipped them good and
recovered everything that had been taken.
Just as God had promised, they recovered
everything, not a thing was missing.
"...David recovered all."
VERSE 21 - They head back to Ziklag and come to the 200 men who stayed at the brook Besor.
And now we find out why the men stayed behind.
They were faint and not able to follow David
and the army.
VERSE 22 - Then some of the men who fought got mad. In fact, they argued that the men who stayed behind didn't deserve anything back except his wife and children.
But I also want you to notice that it calls
these men, wicked, and men of Belial, meaning they were men of the devil, full of the devil.
VERSE 23 - David said, Hold it, fellas, that
ain't the way it's going to be.
VERSE 24 - David said, Wait a minute. Some go to battle and do their part, and some tarry by the stuff and do their part.
Did you notice that - tarrieth by the stuff.
Aren't you glad that God is a down to earth
God and not some stuff shirt?
You know, I think God is sick and tired of
this high and mighty, nose up in the air
crowd, who likes their anthems and pipe organs and their holy, holy, holy's.
I'm glad my Bible said "stuff."
But David said, wait a minute. Some do their
part by going to battle and some do their part
by tarrying by the stuff.
VERSE 25 - And David believed it so much that he made it an ordinance. He made it an
ordinance that it was just as important to
tarry by the stuff as it was to go to battle.
NOW HERE'S THE MESSAGE - TARRY BY THE STUFF!
What do you mean, preacher?
I'm just saying that if you are doing all you
can do, all you are capable of doing, just
TARRY BY THE STUFF.
You know Mrs. Vicki, you and Bro. Oscar may not have the largest bus route in the state of Texas, but if you are doing all you can do, if you are giving all you've got - that's fine - just
TARRY BY THE STUFF.
Mrs. Way, Kristain, and Ashlie, you may not have the largest bus route in town, but when you get to the point where you are giving it all you've got - when you're doing the best that you can do - that's fine - JUST TARRY BY THE STUFF.
Bro. Richard, you may not have the largest
Youth Group, you may not have the largest
Youth Group at Youth Camp this summer, but if you are doing you're best, the best you know to do, and you're giving all you've got - that's fine - just TARRY BY THE STUFF.
Hey, we will never be as large as the Longview Baptist Temple, or we may never be as large as the Windsor Hills Baptist Church, but when we get to the point where we are doing the best we can do, when we are giving it our best - that's fine - we're just as important as those other churches are because we are TARRYING BY THE STUFF.
Let me give you four points and we'll be through.
It's not these four points that'll take a long
time, it's these 22 subpoints that'll take the
next hour.
You say, preacher, I'm not a bus captain, I'm
not a Sunday School teacher, I'm not able to
do much, what about me?
Preacher, I'm not very talented. I can't sing
like some of these other people can. I can't
handle small children so I can't be a bus
captain.
Preacher, let me be honest. I'm a little old.
I just don't have the strength to do some of
the things I'd like to do.
Preacher, I don't read real well, I think I'd
have a hard time teaching a Sunday School
class.
Preacher, what about me?
OKAY, tonight’s for you. This message is for
you. I want to give you four things that
EVERYONE, I said, EVERYONE, can do, and TARRY BY THE STUFF.
1. TARRY BY THE BIBLE
I'll be honest with you, I'm sick and tired of
all these so-called Bibles on the market. I'm
sick and tired of all these perversions. Like
the:
NIV - No Inspired Verses, or New Idiotic
Version
RSV - Removed Scripture Version
ASV - Another Stupid Version
NASV - Now Another Stupid Version
RV - Reversed Version
NKJV - New Kinky Junk Version
Listen, if you can't do anything else - you
can stand and believe in the Word of God - The King James Version!
I wish I could get to realize the perversion
that takes place in those so-called Bibles.
They take out scriptures that they don't
like...
They remove verses that talk about the deity
of Christ...
They remove verses that deal with the Virgin
Birth...
They do what they jolly well please...
And don't talk to me about the originals - no
one has seen the originals in over 450 years.
Don't talk to me about the original Greek - no
one has seen the original Greek in over 450
years.
Just give me a good old King James Version and I'm ready to charge the devil and his crowd.
Just give me the King James Version and I'll
be ready to charge hell with a water gun.
If you can't do anything else - you can TARRY
BY THE STUFF and stand for the Word of God!
AND SOMEBODY NEEDS TO BE SHOUTING RIGHT NOW!
2. TARRY BY THE LITTLE THINGS
Listen, you may not be able to drive a bus...
teach a class...
sing in the choir...
sing a special...
preach...
BUT BLESS GOD - ALMOST EVERYONE CAN KEEP THE NURSERY!
For some reason you think that driving a
bus...
or teaching a class...
or singing in the choir...
or singing a special...
or preaching
IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KEEPING THE NURSERY,
but sister, are you ever wrong.
I'm just saying that keeping the Nursery is
just as important as any of those things
because without the Nursery, those things
would never be able to reach people like they
do.
Listen, you may not be able to drive a bus...
teach a class...
sing in the choir...
sing a special...
preach...
BUT BLESS GOD - EVERYONE CAN HELP CLEAN THE CHURCH!
For some reason you think that driving a
bus...
or teaching a class...
or singing in the choir...
or singing a special...
or preaching
IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN CLEANING THE CHURCH, but brother, are you ever wrong.
I'm just saying that cleaning the Church is
just as important as any of those things
because without someone cleaning the Church, those things would never be able to reach people like they do.
I'm just saying that someone can help with the
Office Work.
HEY, I know that Mrs. Young is not able to walk the streets and knock doors. I know that. Her health won't permit her to do a whole lot around the Church.
But thank God she's willing to keep the
Sunday School records for the Church.
And you know what else, she's over 70 years
old - WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE?
I'm just saying that she may not be able to do
some of the things you are doing, but she's
giving it all she's got, she's doing the best
she knows how to do, and it's the little
things like that that help the Church.
TARRY BY THE STUFF!
TARRY BY THE STUFF!
TARRY BY THE STUFF!
QUIT MAKING EXCUSES!
STOP LYING TO YOURSELF!
TARRY BY THE STUFF!
TARRY BY THE STUFF IN THE LITTLE THINGS!
How about saying AMEN?
It is scriptural to say AMEN you know...
It's in the Bible...
Why can't you say AMEN?
Listen, saying AMEN doesn't make you
spiritual, but it sure helps keep you awake...
Saying AMEN doesn't mean your spiritual, but it sure fools the devil every once in a
while...
Saying AMEN doesn't have to mean a thing, but it sure keeps the spirit high and the
enthusiasm going...
HEY - if you'll shout at ball game and not say
AMEN at church, SOMETHING'S WRONG!
SHOOT - let's get some excitement in this
auditorium tonight.
Bro. J.W., you move back there
Bro. Kenneth, you move over there
Bro. Brian, you move back there
Oscar, it's time you piped in some more like
you used to.
Bro. Tim, it's time you put some muscle behind those AMEN's.
Jack, it's time to be a man and say AMEN where people can hear you.
OKAY - let's try it - You men say "AMEN"
The Bible is the Word of God - AMEN
The King James Version is the Word of God -
AMEN
It's right to be faithful to church - AMEN
The Bible says you're supposed to tithe - AMEN
The Bible says you're supposed to witness -
AMEN
The Bible says you're supposed to see people
saved - AMEN
The Bible says yo
|