From Burnt to Blessed Part One

Monumental Moments

Allen Snapp

Grace Community Church

March 16, 2025

 

From Burnt to Blessed Part One

Please turn with me to 1 Sam 30. This week I was going back and forth between three

different passages until I realized they all had the common thread of fire going through

them. So my plan is to preach all of them.

This morning’s message is From Burnt to Blessed Part One

30 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites

had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and

burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and

great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3 And when David

and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons

and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised

their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David's two wives also

had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of

Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him,

because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David

strengthened himself in the Lord his God. 1 Samuel 30:1-6

And my prayer is that the Lord uses these messages to encourage and strengthen you

right where you are. Let’s ask God’s blessing on this time in His word.

David and his men are still on the run from King Saul and they settle in a town called

Ziklag. While they are away for just a few days the Amalekites raid the village and burn

it to the ground taking all the women and children with them. When David and his men

return they find their city burned to the ground and all their wives and sons and

daughters gone. Their minds imagine their worst nightmare – that the Amalekites have

slaughtered all their wives and children.

These mighty warriors fall to their knees and weep until they have no more tears to

weep. Everything they care about has been burned to the ground. There is no joyful

welcome from their wives, no sound of laughter from their children. All that is left are the

charred remains of what once was their lives. The men, bitter in soul, begin to blame

After they had wept all the tears they had, the men got so bitter in souls they started to

blame David. Things couldn’t be more bleak. And in the midst of charred ash and smoke

and blame and weeping verse 8 says:

But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

David’s soul didn’t get bitter. He didn’t look for someone to blame. He encouraged

himself – strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

1Monumental Moments

Allen Snapp

Grace Community Church

March 16, 2025

Probably no one here is experiencing or has ever experienced anything on this level of

tragedy. But we all know what it is to get burned. The good news is that if David, with his

life burned to ash, can find encouragement from God, then we with lesser burns- painful

to us but smaller - can find encouragement and strength from God too.

The thought came to me this week: the enemy is an arsonist. He loves to start fires!

Last week several fires started in eastern Long Island. Janice and I are very familiar

with the area – the fire started in Manorville and we lived in Manorville our first year of

marriage. Investigators believe the fire that burned over 600 acres of pine barrens and

caused Gov. Hochul to declare a state of emergency was started by someone making

s’mores. Embers from his fire traveled by wind and started four different fires in the dry

pines.

Sometimes a fire can send embers on the wind that starts other fires. Sometimes we

are the ones getting burnt. Sometimes we are the one burning others. We all get

burned.

? Relationships get burned. We’ve all been burned by someone in our life and if

we’re honest we’ve probably at some point all burned someone in our life.

Burning embers of gossip and criticism get carried by the wind and starts all

kinds of blazes. Someone we once considered a friend suddenly cuts us out of

their life and it hurts. David knew what that was about.

? Marriages get burned. Over the past few years I’ve seen far too many marriages

that I thought were strong get burned to the ground.

? We get burned by leaders – sometimes even church leaders. Recently a family

member recently decided to leave their church. A leader in the church was

sexually grooming teenage girls. When several people brought their concerns to

the pastor, they were told to mind their own business. Now eleven girls have

come forward and the police are investigating. It’s good that this leader be held

accountable and the pastors who enabled him, but a fire will burn through that

church and hurt a lot of people.

? Pastors and church leaders can get burned by congregation members as well.

It’s a two way street. I’ve pastored two churches for over 30 years between the

two of them and while there haven’t been many third degree burns – I’ve been

blessed to pastor loving and gracious churches – but I’ve had some burns along

the way. And I’ve heard stories of pastors who were emotionally burned to the

ground by members of their congregation. Fire can burn in both directions.

? There’s a lot of inflammatory language on social media. Whatever side of the

political spectrum you fall on, someone thinks you’re a horrible, hateful person

because you see things differently than they do. I think it’s a beautiful thing when

2Monumental Moments

Allen Snapp

Grace Community Church

March 16, 2025

two people can disagree about important things and still be friends. But more and

more people think disagreeing (particularly about politics) justifies burning the

friendship down. It’s sad and unhealthy.

? Those are outer fires. There are inner fires as well. Someone can look fine on the

outside but inside they feel like ashes and smoke. Inner fires like depression.

Discouragement. Insecurity. Anger. Self-loathing. Hatred.

I could go on. We live in a world of fires. The enemy is an arsonist. If there’s any area of

your life that seems to be smoking rubble – whether big or small, it’s big to you – let

David give you hope that you can find strength and encouragement from the Lord your

God. I want to frame David’s reaction in a way that is helpful steps for us.

1. 2. Take time to acknowledge and feel the hurt

Fix your eyes on God, not on your situation

David encouraged himself in the Lord his God because there was nothing else that was

going to encourage him. His situation? Nothing but ashes. Wife and kids might be lying

dead in a ditch already. His men? His friends? They are looking for stones to stone him.

But it doesn’t say David tried to find encouragement in God. He did find encouragement

in God. He knelt in the ashes and found real strength from God to go on. God can give

you strength to endure things you don’t believe possible. God can give you

encouragement that is so real even when everything around you is bleak and hopeless.

David didn’t look to his situation for strength, he looked to his God.

It makes me think of Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the

Lord. Ps 121:1

David’s help doesn’t come from the hills – it comes from God. So why does he lift up his

eyes to the hills? David spent about ten years in those hills running for his life as Saul

was trying to kill him. Maybe when David looked at the hills, he remembered those

years and God’s faithfulness in his life. You have such hills in your life. Times when you

had to rely totally on God and He met you there. Remember that when you are kneeling

in ashes.

God is the God who brings beauty out of ashes. (Isa 61:3). Believe that God has

something beautiful that He’s going to bring out of this.

3. Cast your cares on God, don’t cast blame on people

His men were thinking of stoning him because they

3Monumental Moments

Allen Snapp

Grace Community Church

March 16, 2025

4. Ask God what you should do and do it

8 And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?”

He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” Vs. 8

18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two

wives. 19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or

anything that had been taken. David brought back all. 20 David also captured all the

flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him,[c] and said, “This is

David's spoil.” 1 Sam 30:18-20

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