A Spiritual Wake-Up Call

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Call to Worship — Psalm 100
• Hymn — All People That on Earth Do Dwell
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Belgic Confession, Article 1
• Scripture Reading — Acts 13:44-52
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Hymn — The Solid Rock
• Sermon
• Lord's Supper
• Hymn — Fairest Lord Jesus (stanzas 1–2)
• Lord's Supper Distribution
• Prayer of Thanksgiving
• Hymn — Fairest Lord Jesus (stanzas 3–4)
• Benediction — Hebrews 13:20-21

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Sermon Title: A Spiritual Wake-Up Call

Scripture: 1 Samuel 30:1-10

I. The Reason for the Spiritual Wake-Up Call

A. David and his men return to Ziklag after a near-death experience at Aphek, only to find the city burned and their wives and children taken captive by the Amalekites B. The grief is overwhelming — they wept until they had no more strength to weep (1 Samuel 30:4) C. The men turn on David and speak of stoning him, described as "bitter in soul" — the same language used in 1 Samuel 22:2 of those who had originally aligned with David D. This crisis is traceable to David's earlier spiritual drift

1. In 1 Samuel 27:1, David consulted his own heart rather than the Lord, reasoning that he must flee to the Philistines
2. This led to David deceiving Achish, joining the Philistine campaign, and being away from Ziklag when the Amalekites struck
3. In 1 Samuel 29:8, David called the pagan king Achish "my lord and my king" — God had been reduced to the background of David's life E. Application: Hardship is not always the result of particular sin (cf. Job and his three friends), but it is wise and healthy to trace our steps backward and discern where we have gone astray — see Psalm 139:23-24

II. The Resolve of the Spiritual Wake-Up Call

A. 1 Samuel 30:6 — "But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God"

1. This verse is a hinge point for the remainder of 1 and 2 Samuel — from here until 2 Samuel 11 David walks closely with the Lord
2. God had not been mentioned on David's lips since 1 Samuel 26 B. Strengthening oneself in the Lord means actively recalling and laying hold of God's promises
3. Parallel in 1 Samuel 23:16-17: Jonathan "strengthened David's hand in the Lord" by reminding him of God's promise that he would be king
4. David was in great distress, yet actively — not passively — engaged his soul in the promises of God C. The model prayer for active faith: Psalm 43:5 — "Why are you cast down, O my soul? … Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God" D. Application: The church today suffers from a passive faith — waiting for circumstances to improve before trusting God's promises
5. Philippians 4:8 — "whatever is true … think about these things" — an active, deliberate command
6. We must take God's whispered promises and, through meditation, turn them into a shout
7. Connection to the Lord's Supper: baptism is passive ("you are baptized"), but at the Table the Lord commands take, eat, drink — an active engagement of the soul in the promises of God

III. The Response to the Spiritual Wake-Up Call

A. David goes to Abiathar the priest and inquires of the Lord through the ephod (1 Samuel 30:7-8)

1. Abiathar had been with David since 1 Samuel 22 — the sole survivor of Saul's massacre of the priests at Nob — yet David had not consulted him since 1 Samuel 23
2. The spiritual wake-up call does not merely strengthen David inwardly — it drives him to seek God through the appointed means B. The Lord answers: "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue" (1 Samuel 30:8) C. Typological application: Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb (John 20) mirrors David's distress and restoration — Jesus speaks her name and sends her with the word "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God"
3. David strengthened himself in the LORD his God and came to God through the priest
4. We strengthen ourselves in the Lord and come to the Father through our risen, ascended High Priest, Jesus Christ, who always lives to make intercession for us D. Application: A spiritual wake-up call is not complete until we run to our great High Priest and through him cry "my God, my Father"
5. Christ at the Lord's Table invites us into his own eternal relationship with the Father — "my Father and your Father, my God and your God"
6. We are called to forsake living in allegiance with the world (as Judas ate and drank judgment) and to come in living faith, taking hold of Christ and through him calling on God as our Father