On the Wrong Side of the Battle - 5/31/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

I love that song. Every time Gayen sings

that, that helps me. And uh, man, I

appreciate you. Thank you for singing

that this morning, brother. And I

appreciate the Lord's blessings. Amen.

Boy, he's been good to us. Amen.

>> I thank him so much for allowing us to

be here uh in the service today. If you

have a Bible, I invite you to turn with

me to the book of 1st Samuel, 1st

Samuel, chapter number 29. And I know

you all just stood up, but one more

time, I'm going to ask you to stand.

Amen. And uh it's all right to do things

a little different every now and again.

And uh but it's also all right to do

some things the same. Amen. And I

appreciate God's blessing. Appreciate

you being your visitors. Thank you for

being with us today. We're so glad

you're here and make yourself right at

church today. And always I never heard a

complaint from the visitors saying that

they didn't feel welcome here. And that

means so much. That means so much as

your pastor. And I hope you do. I hope

you feel welcome this morning. and I

pray that God would touch and help you

this morning as a result of this

service. 1st Samuel 29. I'm going begin

reading verse number one. 1st Samuel 29

verse number one. The Bible says, "Now

the Philistines gathered together all

their armies to Aphek. And the

Israelites pitched by a fountain which

is in Jezrael. And the lords of the

Philistines passed on by hundreds and by

thousands. But David and his men passed

on in the re-reward with Akish.

Verse three says, "Then said the princes

of the Philistines, say that phrase with

me, church, what do these Hebrews hear?

And Akus said unto the princes of the

Philistines, "Is not this David, the

servant of Saul, the king of us, which

hath been with us with with me these

days or these years? And I have found no

fault in him since he fell unto me unto

this day." And the princes of the

Philistines were wroth with him. And the

princes of the Philistines said unto

him, Make this fellow return, that he

may go again to his place which thou

hast appointed him, and let him not go

with us to battle, lest in the battle he

be an adversary to us. For wherewith

should he reconcile himself unto his

master? Should it not be with the heads

of these men? Is not this David of whom

they sang one to another in dances,

saying, Saul slew his thousands and

David his 10 thousands? Then Akus called

David and said unto him, Surely as the

Lord liveth, thou hast been upright, and

thy going out, and thy coming in with

me, and the host is good in my sight.

For I've not found evil in thee since

the day of thy coming unto me unto this

day. Nevertheless, the Lord's favor thee

not. Wherefore now return, and go in

peace, that thou displeased not the

lords of the Philistines. And David said

unto Akish, But what have I done? And

what hast thou found in thy servant, so

long as I have been with thee unto this

day, that I may not go fight against the

enemies of my Lord the King. Now, I hope

you realize just how weighty those last

words that I read are. You see, we have

David, the king of Israel, is in a very

confused place. I don't know where

you're at this morning, child of God,

but I'll tell you this. You have one

Lord. That's

>> right.

>> His name is Jesus.

He is our one Lord. Amen. And I want to

preach this morning out of this text,

out of verse number three on that

phrase. I ask you to read with me this

morning. Then said the princes of the

Philistines, what do these Hebrews hear?

What do these Hebrews hear? I want to

preach on this thought. David, what are

you doing here?

David, what are you doing here? You see,

the king here in the text found him in a

place he should have never been.

>> You're right. I want to preach on that

thought this morning for just a little

while. Let's pray. Father, thank you so

much for allowing us to be in the house

of God today. For the privilege that we

have to pray, for the privilege that we

have to gather and worship and glorify

and honor our great savior. And Lord, I

pray, Father, today, God, that you would

help us as we've gathered here to hear

from your word. I pray you would hide

the ignorance of my youth and give me

the tongue of the learn today to speak,

Father, with wisdom, Lord, in uncction

and power, God. I pray, Father, that you

would be glorified and honored today. I

pray, Father, that every heart would be

touched and challenged by the word of

God. But not just challenged, but

changed this morning as a result of this

sermon. I pray that we'd see no man save

Jesus only in our midst. Help us to

receive with meekness the engrafted

word. And save every soul, Father,

that's on their way to hell this

morning. For what you do, we give you

thanks for it because we ask you in

Jesus name. And for his sake we pray.

Amen. You can be seated. Thank you for

standing this morning. This text here

marks to us a moment in the history of

Israel that looks very dark. We studied

this morning concerning the life of Saul

and some of his last days in Sunday

school according to chapter number 28.

And I want to deal this morning with

David in this text. Now David in this

text is not king of Israel yet. He has

not yet allowed himself to that place.

He's already been anointed king by

Samuel in the text. According to chapter

28, we are reminded again that David has

been anointed to be the next king in

this text. But I find David has been on

this path of fear. And what we realize

all the way back to chapter number 20 of

this chapter, David has been running

from Saul for fear of his life because

Saul has wanted to take his life because

he's realized that his throne is in

danger because of this man David. And

what we see and understand that David is

in fear in this time and his decisions

are not being made rationally. And I

want to say this to you this morning.

Decisions made in fear often times will

bring destruction. And that is what we

find in this text. And you say,

"Preacher, well, what's the setting

here?" Well, we realize according to

verse number one that the Philistines

are gathered together. They've gathered

all their armies, those that have linked

up with them, uh, to come and fight

against the Israelites. The Israelites

there are pitched in a mountain, but by

a fountain which is in Jezrael,

according to verse number one. and the

Philistine army, thousands of them have

passed on. And the Bible says that David

and his men have passed on in this

re-reward with Akish. Now, Akish, this

man that's mentioned in this text is the

king of Gath. Now, you you might know

that word Gath, that name Gath in

familiarity by the name of the man that

David once slew just several chapters

prior, chapter 17, I believe it is.

David takes down a man by the name of

Goliath. How many of you heard of that

Goliath? A man and David wrought victory

for the children of Israel that day in

the Philistine army by taking down

Goliath of Gath. But literally just less

than 15 chapters later, we find David

instead of fighting against the

Philistines, he has now linked up and

joined himself in affinity with the

Philistines. And all of this has come

about because of the fear of David. And

you say, "Preacher, how is that?" Well,

notice chapter number 27 of 1st Samuel

and verse number one, the Bible says in

verse one, David said in his heart, "I

shall now perish one day by the hand of

Saul. There is nothing better for me

than that I should speedily escape into

the land of the Philistines, and Saul

shall despair of me to seek me anymore

in any coast of Israel. So shall I

escape out of his hand." Notice verse

two. And David arose, and he passed over

with the 600 men that were with him unto

Akis, the son of Mayaok, king of Gath.

And you say, "Preacher, what are you

trying to emphasize this morning?" Well,

firstly, I want to emphasize this

morning, just remember when you decide

to walk out of the place God's put you,

you're not going to go alone.

>> You're right.

>> Amen. David took 600 men with him in the

text, the Bible tells us, and out of

that there is their families that are

represented. And I'll say more about

that here in just a little while. But

I'll say this, Saul represents the enemy

here. He represents the devil. And you

say, "Preacher, how do you know that

David was out of the will of God?" Well,

the Bible says in verse four, it says it

was told Saul that David was fled to

Gath. Notice this. And he sought no more

again for him. You say, "Preacher, what

does that represent?" Well, you see,

David had gotten to a place where the

enemy was no longer after him anymore.

You understand? Sometimes you and I will

get out of the will of God, walking in

our own desires and our own fleshly

lust. And what we find, it's not the

enemy that's caused us to sin, but it's

by our own choice that we are sinning.

He's no longer having to pursue us

because we're not in conflict with him,

but we are ACTUALLY GOING ALONG WITH

HIM. You're

>> right.

>> And so Saul is no longer pursuing David

in this text. And I notice out of this

David goes and the Bible says that for a

year and four months he lives with the

Philistines. He dwells there in the text

with Akish in a city called Ziklag

that's mentioned here in the text. Akish

the Philistine there gives him this city

and David pretty much dwells there and

is king or little ruler over this little

realm where him and his men are

dwelling. Verse seven, he dwells there

for a full year and four months. And the

Bible says in verse number eight that

David begins to make advances within the

land and to take out some of the

Philistines. And I want to lay five

things on your heart this morning if I

could concerning this thought on David.

What are you doing here? You say,

"Preacher, what are you trying to say

this morning?" Well, you see, David had

to do some things in order to keep

himself hidden when he was in the place

that he shouldn't have been. And let me

say this to you this morning, child of

God. If you're going to go out in this

world, what you're going to find is is

that the world is going to pick you out

from a crowd just from the very

beginning. And I'll remind you, amen, it

was just like Peter when he denied the

Lord. Amen. They were standing around

that fire and Peter was warming himself

and he denied the Lord three times. And

that third time they asked him said,

"You surely you were with one of them."

AND YOU REMEMBER WHAT THEY SAID? THEY

SAID, "YOUR SPEECH betrayeth you.

>> You talk like them."

>> Right? You're one of them disciples. And

let me say this, it ought to give you

great assurance to know that the world

can say that about you.

>> Amen.

>> But I'll say this, what it should remind

you is that you're somewhere you do not

belong.

>> I notice in this text, I want to give

you just a few things here and I'll be

done this morning. We consider David's

placement in chapter 29. David mentions

here in the text. The Philistines

question first his placement. They are

going to battle Akish. Here the king has

brought David along here in the text

with his 600 men and they are going to

fight here in the text with Israel and

you understand that creates a conflict

because Israel is David's people. Amen.

He was supposed to be reigning over them

even at this present time. But what we

find out is David is here with Akish.

Akus has got him to go with him to

battle. And the Philistines see David in

verse number three. The Bible said,

"Then said the princes of the

Philistines, what do these Hebrews

hear?" And so they're questioning the

placement. What are these boys doing

here in this battle when we are fighting

against their people?

>> You know, that's what it looks like when

the children of God go to the world and

begin to bash the church.

>> You're right.

>> Amen. What are you doing here? Why are

you saying that?

>> Why you acting that way?

>> You're not one of us. Let me say this.

If you're saved by the grace of God,

you'll never fit in in this world.

>> Amen. They'll pick you out every time.

They'll wonder, "Why are you here? What

are you doing with us?" Amen. And Akis

says to him, "Hey, this is David, the

servant of Saul, which hath been with me

these days or these years." He said, I

found no fault in him. And you notice

this last phrase, since he fell unto me

this day. That phrase, he fell unto me,

literally means that David was running

in fear from Saul. And David has told

the enemy, told the Philistines that he

was afraid of his own people.

>> You're right.

>> And Akus says, "He's fell unto me."

Basically, Achus says, "I've took him in

for protection." You know what I'm

seeing a whole lot of in this day and

time? People are leaving the church and

running to the world for protection from

the church.

>> This ain't going to be a shout message.

Amen. I'm going to preach it anyway.

Amen. aches. Here in the text, he says,

"He fell unto me for protection. He is

seeking protection." You say, "How is

that, preacher?" Well, I want you to

understand Saul. You You got to realize

Saul was not an enemy that could hurt

David,

>> right?

>> God had his hand on David.

>> And Saul couldn't do nothing with David.

It didn't matter how hard he tried. And

David, the reason that he ran in fear is

because he was operating in his flesh.

God could have would have protected

David every time. And he did protect

David all the way through his mistakes.

But you got to realize David never had

to do what David did. You're

>> right.

>> But what I find in this text, David has

to do some things here to allow his

presence to stay. They question his

placement. They question his purpose. In

verse number four, the Bible says he

there in verse four, the prince of the

Philistines were wroth with him. That's

Akish. The prince of the Philistine said

unto him, "Make this fellow return, that

he may go again to his place which thou

hast appointed him, and let him not go

down with us to the battle, lest in the

battle he be an adversary to us. For

wherewith should he reconcile himself

unto his master, should it not be with

the heads of these men?" Basically, the

Philistines are playing it smart.

They're using common sense and saying,

"Hey, David's going to ambush us from

behind while Saul's ambushing us from

the front." What he's saying is is,

"Hey, we got to get this man out of here

because he's a liability to us."

>> You're right.

>> Amen. They're questioning his placement.

They're questioning his purpose. They

also question his past in verse 5, look

what he says. Is not this David of whom

they sang one to another and dances,

saying, "Saul slew his thousands and

David is 10 thousands." You see, the

greatness of this man David has preceded

him.

>> You're right.

>> The work that he has done for God and

for the people of God has preceded him.

And so they've got a right to question

him. And what I notice in this text

number one in the message tonight is

David has to tell some degrading lies

to stay with these people. You say, "How

is that?" Well, now turn back back with

me just a chapter this morning to

chapter 27. The Bible says in verse 8

that David and his men went up and

invaded the Jesherites and the Gazarites

and the Amalachites, for those nations

were of old, the inhabitants of the

land, as thou goest to shure, even unto

the land of Egypt. And David smoked the

land, and left neither man nor woman

alive, and took away the sheep, and the

oxen, and the asses, and the camel

camels, and the apparel, and returned,

and came to Akish. And the Bible said in

verse 10 that Akish asked him,

"Wherether have you made a road today?"

or David, where have you been fighting?

And in verse 10, David, look what he

says. Against the south of Judah and

against the south of the Germalites and

against the south of the Kennites. You

say, "Preacher, what does that mean?"

Well, David in essence says he was

fighting against his own people.

>> You're right.

He calls out the people that's living in

his own land, the Kenna, the Jeremites,

those people that were his own people,

the south of Judah. What is he revealing

here? He's saying that he himself is

fighting against his own people. But

that was a lie. Who was he fighting

against? He was fighting against the

Philistines. But you know what this did

to Akus? This degraded his character

because David was supposed to be king.

David was supposed to be the one that

was next in line. And he has to tell

this lie. Let me say this to you. If you

going to stay in the world as a child of

God, you going to have to tell some

lies.

>> You're right.

>> Amen. Cuz they going to find you out.

>> You're right.

>> Amen. They're going to pick you out.

Amen. And they're going to reveal to

you. They're going to show to you, Amen,

who you really are. And what you're

going to find is you can't yoke up with

them because what's on the inside ain't

going to let you. But also, THEY DON'T

WANT WHAT YOU GOT.

>> RIGHT.

>> AMEN.

>> David had to lie about what he was

doing. And let me say this, IF YOU'RE

GOING TO STAY OUT IN THE WORLD AS A

CHILD OF GOD, you'll have to tell lies.

Amen. And I've seen it. You've heard the

stories of those boys and young ladies

that's grown up in church. Amen.

Preachers kids and deacons kids. Amen.

And Sunday school teachers kids. And

they go out in the world and yoke up

with the world's crowd. And you've heard

the stories. THE WORLD'S CROWD LOOKS AT

them says, "Well, you're part of that

church going bunch,

>> right?

>> You know what it does? Just stirs up

anger on the inside,

>> right?

>> It just makes them mad." So, you know

what they do? They lie. That's

>> right.

>> Amen.

>> People will go to the world. Listen to

me young people this morning. It's a

young people message. I know we postpone

you Sunday, but I'm going to preach it

just like the Lord give it to me. Amen.

But I'm saying to you this morning, you

can go to this world. Amen. And they'll

somebody hands you a drink and you

they'll ask you, "Have you ever drunk

before?" And you'd be ashamed to tell

them no.

>> You're right.

>> So, you know what you do? You waste your

sobriety.

>> You're right.

>> You waste your purity.

Some girl, some boy asks you if you've

lost your virginity and you tell them

yes, but you lied about it when you know

all along that you're still pure, that

you've never done anything WICKED LIKE

THAT. HEY, SOMEBODY HELP THE PREACHER

THIS MORNING. YOU'LL TELL SOME LIES

that'll degrade your character cuz

here's what's going to happen to you.

You'll end up staying there.

>> And you'll end up losing what you said

you'd already lost. That's

>> right.

>> Amen. That's exactly right. He told some

degrading lies to stay in the world. And

why did he do this? Because he was

afraid.

>> He wanted to fit in in the world. You

say, "Preacher, well, I'm not going to

do that." This is David. You remember

who we talking about here?

>> This is David.

>> He's lying to these men so he can

protect himself.

Notice this. Not only I see there's

degrading lies that are told, but

there's a divided loyalty that's

mentioned in the text. Verse three.

Notice it again. What do these Hebrews

hear?

Why are these boys here? We're going to

fight against them. Why are they behind

us?

>> Furthermore, Akish, why have you got

these men protecting you? I MEAN, THINK

ABOUT HOW THIS LOOKED in the Philistines

mind. Those princes, those lords looked

at Akish, king of Gath, and they see all

these Hebrews surrounding and they're

like, we're going to FIGHT AGAINST THEM.

WHAT IN THE WORLD'S GOING ON? YOU SAY

WHAT IT WAS in their heart. They were

trying to protect themselves. They were

just hanging WITH DAVID. BUT THE TRUTH

IS THEIR LOYALTY WAS STILL TO ISRAEL.

>> RIGHT?

>> But you know what they were about to do?

They were about to go fight against

Israel. And you know what I believe from

this text? According to what it tells

me, David would have fought with his own

people.

I'm going somewhere. Stay with me.

>> David would have fought with his own

people. You say, "Preacher, how do you

see that there was divided loyalty?"

Well, notice verse eight. They

questioned his placement. Why are they

here? They questioned his purpose. Is he

going to reconcile with King Saul? They

question his past. Remember that song,

those dances that they talked about how

he slew his thousands and David slew his

10 thousands? And then David, as if

that's not enough in the text, the Bible

says that Akish comes to him and says,

"Look, David, you got to get out of

here. You got to leave. You can't be

here. These men are not happy with you."

And listen to what David says in verse

eight. What have I done? And what hast

thou found in thy servant so long as I

have been with thee unto this day that I

may not go fight against the enemies?

Notice it again. Of my lord the king.

You say, "Preacher, why is that so big?"

Well, this king is the king of the

Philistines. You're

>> right.

>> This is David's sworn enemy.

>> Y

>> these are Goliath's people. The one that

he just took down a few chapters before

in the power of God. He's now bowing

down to him as king. That's

>> right. He himself is a king.

>> Oh friend, did you hear what I just

said?

>> David's a king. You know what he's

doing? He's bowing down to the world.

You're

>> right.

>> You realize what you are this morning,

child of God.

>> Amen.

>> You are a joint heir

>> with Jesus Christ.

>> Right.

>> You have an inheritance. Peter said,

"You have an inheritance incorruptible,

undefiled, reserved in heaven for you."

>> That's right.

>> And you know what? This morning, why are

you bowing down to the world?

>> Go ahead.

>> You know what that is? That's divided

loyalty.

>> Yes, sir.

>> David called him king, but his people

was Israel.

>> Amen.

>> Hey, don't follow this world and its

fads and its trends and its fashion and

its music and all the THINGS THAT IT HAS

TO OFFER. IF YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD, YOU

OUGHT TO FOLLOW THE THINGS THAT BELONG

TO GOD. YOU OUGHT TO STAY WITH THE

PEOPLE OF GOD. YOU OUGHT TO STAY WITH

THE HOUSE OF GOD. YOU OUGHT TO FIGHT ON

THE WINNING SIDE. AMEN. BECAUSE IF YOU

GO TO THE OTHER SIDE, YOU'LL DIE THE

SAME WAY THAT they will.

>> You're right.

>> There's divided loyalty. He said, "Why

can I not go fight against the enemies

of my Lord McKeen?" Do you realize who

he's calling the enemy here?

>> His own people.

>> You're right.

>> Hey folks, this church is not your

enemy. That's

>> right.

>> These people are not your enemy. The

devil would have you believe. LISTEN TO

ME, CHURCH. LISTEN TO ME. LOOK AT YOUR

PREACHER THIS MORNING. THE DEVIL WOULD

HAVE YOU BELIEVE THAT SOMEBODY ELSE IN

THIS BUILDING IS YOUR ENEMY. BUT LET ME

SAY THIS TO YOU. THE DEVIL IS YOUR

ENEMY.

>> HEY, THAT OTHER PERSON THAT YOU'VE GOT A

SCHISM OR A PROBLEM WITH, YOU CAN GET

THAT SETTLED BECAUSE THAT PERSON IS NOT

YOUR ENEMY. HE SAID, "WE WRESTLE NOT

AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST

PRINCIPALITIES, AGAINST POWERS, AGAINST

RULERS OF DARKNESS AND SPIRITUAL

WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES. THAT IS THE

DEVIL HIMSELF. YOUR BATTLE IS NOT WITH

YOUR BROTHER OR SISTER THIS MORNING.

You're

>> right.

>> If the devil could separate you and get

you on his side, just like in the text,

he would do it every time.

>> Come on.

>> Notice not only

>> the lies, the divided loyalty, but

notice the defeat.

You see, this story doesn't end in

chapter 29. David leaves, but all the

while David's busy with his loyalty to

this Philistine king. Look what happens

in chapter 30.

Chapter 30 and verse number one. And it

came to pass when David and his men were

come to Ziglag. That was a place he was

living. Remember who was there? He had

600 men with him, all their wives and

children. Look what happens in the text.

On the third day that the Amalachites

had invaded the south and Ziglag and

smitten Ziglag and burned it with fire

and had taken the women captives that

were therein, they slew not any, either

great or small, but carried them away

and went on their way.

You see, David's lies,

his degrading lies, and his divided

loyalty. You know what it led to? It led

to defeat. You're

>> right.

>> With the real enemy.

You see, all the while he's pledging his

loyalty to the Philistines, the

Amalachites. You say, "Preacher, where

did the Amalachites come into play?"

Well, notice what had happened just a

chapter prior in chapter 27:E8.

David and his men went up and invaded

the Jesus and the Gazites and the

Amalachites.

Well, the Bible says that they smelt all

of them. They didn't leave any of them.

But isn't it interesting that chapter 30

shows up three days later?

Look what the Bible says. as the

Amalachites invaded them, took their

house,

took their land, took their wives, took

their children, took all their cattle

and herds and left with it. And you know

why they got it? Because David was in a

was was pledging his allegiance to a

king he didn't have no business bow down

to.

>> Right?

>> You know what you going to do, daddy?

While you're pledging your allegiance to

this world,

>> come on.

>> Fighting with the church, your wife and

children's going to be left behind.

>> You're right. And you know what'll

happen to them? They'll be taken away.

That's

>> right.

>> Go ahead.

>> Same for you, mama.

>> What you're doing while you're fighting

with your brother or sister or down at

the church house fighting over

something, what you're fighting with,

what you're going to look around is

you're going to find all those fallen

behind you is going to be gone one day.

>> Right?

>> Cuz you were too busy fighting a battle

you didn't have no business being in.

>> Or matter of fact, you had a business

being in it, but you were on the wrong

side of it.

>> You're right.

There was defeat and loss. David lost

his wives. He lost his children. The

Bible says in the text, not only there

was defeat and loss, but there was

division. And David was loathed in the

text. Look what the Bible said in verse

six of chapter 30. And David was greatly

distressed. For the people spake of

stoning him because the soul of all the

people was grieved, every man for his

sons and for his daughters. You see,

this reveals to us here in the text that

David because of his mistake, because of

his failure, he had led these men to

lose their wives and their children.

>> And I can I say this again, you never go

alone. You're

>> right.

>> It never happens alone.

Why? Why are you going out there?

You say, "Preacher, well, I'm not out

there." Well, let me just say where out

there is right now. All right. Let me

tell you where out there is. It's

Facebook's where it is.

>> It's social media. and you get on there

and you talk about things

>> that really you shouldn't even be

talking about behind closed doors.

>> Things that you shouldn't even be

discussing.

>> Things that really you shouldn't even

know about because of the gossip line.

Amen.

>> Amen.

>> You say, "Preacher, you think this

church has got some?" Every church has

some.

>> You're right.

>> And you know why? It's perpetrated by

people who are instigators.

>> You're right.

>> People who desire to stir up strife. And

you know what that is? That's a battle

that you don't need to be. You need to

be on the battle that's shutting that

stuff down.

>> Hey, when somebody brings you something,

it ought to die with you. You listen to

me this morning. If they tell you

something, Amen. And you got, if you

going to listen to it, you got to tell

them, Amen. this ain't going nowhere.

And really, I don't know if what you're

telling me is true. Cuz there's three

sides to every story. And you need to

realize this morning, hey, there's some

things that's in your mind, you just

need to let go to the trash bin. And

they just need to burn there. Somebody

say, amen. It just needs to burn there.

You need to let it out and quit giving

it to other people for them to THINK

ABOUT IT. AMEN. Let your life BE THE ONE

THAT GOSSIP DIES WITH. AMEN.

>> That's the fight we're dealing with.

>> That's why people walk away. WELL,

THERE'S NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF

HYPOCRITES down there. Well, here's the

problem with it. All right. There's

hypocrites down at the Walmart. But

here's the difference. You don't have no

fellowship with them people at Walmart.

>> This is a place of fellowship. This is a

place where there's supposed to be

unity. And the reason why people will go

back to Walmarts cuz they it ain't a

place OF FELLOWSHIP. IT'S A PLACE OF

BUSINESS. But when we're in a place of

fellowship, the relationships have got

to be right. AND YOU NEED TO BE ON THE

RIGHT SIDE OF THE BATTLE. AMEN.

>> You say, "Preacher, what does that look

like?" WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN THE

PREACHER PREACHES a standard or gives

you something that you need to do to

help YOUR CHILDREN AND PROTECT YOUR

FAMILY, YOU DON'T GO HOME AND IN FRONT

OF YOUR CHILDREN, TALK ABOUT THE

PREACHER AND TALK ABOUT HIS FAMILY.

AMEN. AND SAY, "WELL, WE JUST DON'T

really believe that. He's just too TIGHT

ON THAT." NO. WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO FIND

IS IS WHILE YOU'RE CONVERSATING about

how tight I am or how wrong I am, you're

going to look around and your children's

GOING TO BE IN A MESS.

>> YOU'RE RIGHT.

Go ahead.

>> Look, friend, I love you this morning. I

don't know a thing. If I did, I'd still

preach it anyway,

>> but I don't know a thing.

>> Here's the truth this morning. You got

to realize what I'm doing is trying to

protect you,

>> right?

>> What I'm doing is trying to protect you

and your children. You see, David, if he

had only listened to his leadership,

>> say, who was his leadership? Well, it

was God,

>> right?

>> You see, David has had no conversation

with God

>> in this time. None whatsoever. He's not

talked to God. You know, when David

starts to talk to God is in verse number

six. When the people's divided, they're

distressed, they're about to kill him.

Then the Bible says, "Then David

encouraged himself in the Lord." And we

get strength from that. I draw strength

from that. Man, you ought to encourage

yourself in the Lord. But you realize

what it took David to get to that point.

>> Go ahead.

>> They was ready to kill him,

>> right?

>> Why is it that people let their family

get on the verge of busting in a million

pieces? Yeah.

>> Wife's about to leave. Husband's going

to lose his job. And the babies are in

all types of sin down at the

schoolhouse. And then we run TO THE

PREACHER. PREACHER, WOULD YOU HELP US?

>> Go ahead.

>> Come on.

>> No. You need to deal with it when it

just starts. You need to get IN THE

RIGHT PLACE. YOU NEED TO FIX IT BEFORE

IT GETS TOO BIG TO FIX.

>> People wait till they get to the divorce

court, THEN THEY START PRAYING. FRIEND,

YOU OUGHT TO BE PRAYING FOR YOUR

MARRIAGE EVERY DAY. EVERY DAY OF YOUR

LIFE. YOU OUGHT TO BE PRAYING FOR YOUR

WIFE. YOU OUGHT TO BE PRAYING FOR YOUR

HUSBAND. CUZ YOU REALIZE, FRIEND, THIS

LIFE IS BUT A VAPOR. AND IF YOU'RE NOT

CAREFUL, IT'LL SLIP THROUGH YOUR FINGERS

THIS MORNING.

>> Cuz there's things you don't know about.

>> There's things I don't know about. And

if God don't help us, friend, we can't

hold a marriage down.

>> Right.

>> I've told my wife this. I told it from

the start. I said, "If this if this is

going to work, it's going to have to be

him."

>> That's right. And anytime I get out of

fellowship with him, my spiritual litmus

test is my relationship with her.

>> That's right.

>> If we get out of sorts, you know why?

It's cuz I ain't right with him.

>> Go ahead.

>> Cuz I'm not right with him. ARE YOU

HEARING ME, MEN? LISTEN TO ME.

>> When we get OUT OF SORTS, IT'S CUZ I'm

not right with him.

>> Go ahead. Come on. Good.

>> There's been a lot of good women bashed

and thrown under the bus by a man that

was never right with God. Probably not

even saved. and dispute and destroyed

his own family because he thought that

everybody else OWED HIM SOMETHING. I

DON'T KNOW WHY I'M PREACHING THIS THIS

MORNING, BUT I'M GOING TO PREACH IT.

AMEN. YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND AND BETTER

REALIZE, DADDY, HUSBAND, YOUR

RESPONSIBILITY, YOUR FAMILY IS TO BE THE

SPIRITUAL LEADER OF YOUR HOME. AND IF

IT'S GOING TO FAIL, IT'LL FAIL ON YOUR

TERMS.

>> SAY, PREACHER, WELL, my wife walked out

on me, but why?

>> Come on.

I know we don't like it.

>> Come on.

>> I'm telling you the truth this morning.

If you refuse to love your spouse, you

got to remember something, friend. God

told you first.

>> You're right.

>> Husbands love your wives.

>> Even as Christ also loved the church and

gave himself for it. You understand?

God, he loved us. The Bible says, "But

God commendeth his love toward us in

that while WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST

DIED FOR US." I'M SAYING TO YOU THIS

MORNING, FRIEND, YOU BETTER GET ON THE

RIGHT SIDE OF THIS THING, OR IF YOU'RE

ON THE WRONG SIDE OF IT, YOU'LL BE

SEEING A LOT OF DESTRUCTION SHORTLY come

to pass.

>> You say, "Preacher, you putting all the

responsibility on the man?" No, I'm not.

>> I'm just telling you, he's first.

>> Amen.

>> And I've never seen a divorce happen.

You mark my words. I've never seen

divorce happen. I don't know why. I

don't even know why I'm preaching on

this, Miss Betty Jean.

But I've never seen a divorce happen

where the man did not have some fault in

it. You're

>> right. Go ahead.

>> He may not have been all at fault, but

he had some fault.

>> Matter of fact, he had he was most at

fault.

>> Go ahead.

>> Come on.

>> I know it's quiet, and I'm going to

preach it anyway.

>> Love your wife the way you're supposed

to. Amen.

>> What does that look like, preacher?

Well, it's staying in the right place.

See, here's what happens. All right,

David, if he would have been in the land

of Israel, we've been talking about

Abraham on Wednesday nights, and I made

this statement Wednesday night. I said,

"Anytime Abraham got out of the city,

>> out of the land, you know what happened?

Bad things took place."

>> You're right.

>> Every time Abram stepped foot out of the

land of promise, you know what?

Something happened.

>> Anytime David, where's he at? He's

outside. He's in the land of the

Philistines.

>> What's happened? and he's lost his

wives. He's lost his children. He's lost

these families. But I tell you this, it

gets worse. Say, "Preacher, how does it

get worse?" You say, "Preacher, I know

the story." And that matter of fact, it

gets better. And you would be right

partially. David recovers all. Amen. We

know the story. This chapter, chapter

30, David goes and they fight. They take

the Amalachites out and they bring their

wives back and they're all rejoicing.

Everything's good. But you know what?

There's another chapter after that.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Come on.

>> Say, "What do you mean?" Well, David's

degrading lives and his divided loyalty

led to a defeat and a loss. It led to

division and loathing. Yes, they

recovered all, but you know what? There

was some that were lost.

The Bible tells us in chapter 31, notice

verse one of 1st Samuel 31.

Now the Philistines fought against

Israel, and the men of Israel fled from

before the Philistines and fell down

slain in Mount Gilboa. Verse two. And

the Philistines followed hard upon Saul

and upon his sons. And the Philistines

slew Jonathan and Abinadab and Melisua.

Saul's sons. You say, "Preacher, I

thought Saul was the enemy." You're

right. Saul was the enemy. But Saul had

a son who was David's best friend.

>> You're right.

>> His name was Jonathan. And David loved

Jonathan as he loved his own soul.

David got his wives back. He got his

children back. But you know, because he

was on the wrong side of the fight. Go

ahead.

>> He lost his best friend.

You say, "What is it, preacher? It's

death."

David, what are you doing here?

Because he was on the wrong side of the

battle. His best friend died,

>> right? You say, "Preacher, you really

think David could have saved him?" I

know it could have.

>> You're right.

>> David and those 600 men alone could have

took out the Philistine army because God

was on the

>> You're right.

>> Amen. Amen.

>> But you know what? Jonathan died because

David was on the wrong side of the

battle.

>> You're right.

>> You say, "Preacher, but David recovered

his family." And you're right. He did.

But you know who he lost? He lost his

friend.

>> That's right. You say, "Preacher, what

do you mean?"

I can tell you for a fact this morning.

Reason why this hits hard is because I

I've lived this. Okay?

When you when you go to a fight, you may

walk out victorious.

Dave would come out unscathed, but what

you'll find is he got his wives back and

all those men rejoiced.

And there's a lot we could say about

Saul. There's a lot we could say about

Jonathan at this point. This is the

point I want to make to you. David was

supposed to be king,

>> right?

>> We know that he honored Saul. I I know

every bit of that. But David still could

have went to battle.

David still could have went to war with

the Philistines, with Jonathan, and with

Saul. He still could have done it. And

you know what? They could have had

victory.

>> You're right.

>> But David wasn't there.

You ever not been there when somebody

needed you?

>> Amen.

>> Matter of fact, have you ever been on

the wrong side of an issue

and realize it too late? That's

>> right.

>> You better believe you've been there.

>> Every one of us have.

>> And here's what I want to want you to

get out of this today.

I guess I should title the message on

the wrong side of the battle.

When you're on the wrong side,

inevitably there's going to be somebody

that dies.

>> You're right.

>> I I looked up illustrations and I

couldn't find none that satisfied me.

And so I I just thought about, you know,

there's a lot of times that soldiers and

fires sometimes different throughout the

years, different types of warfare. I

think particularly about guerilla

warfare, the trench warfare that went on

early on in the 20th century.

And men would find themselves in the

wrong trench.

>> You know what would happen out of that?

A lot of times it would be something

called friendly fire that would bring

somebody else's death to pass.

>> You're right.

>> Because they found themselves on the

wrong side of the fight. You say,

"Preacher, how does this apply to me?"

Well, I wonder what what what fight

you're fighting. Number one. But number

two, I'll say this. I wonder which side

of it that you're on.

Because there's a whole lot of talking

goes on. There's a whole lot of problems

that people have. Because wouldn't we

all agree this morning where there's

people, there's what?

>> Problems.

>> Right.

>> And here's the thing about it. You can't

escape the battle. But you can be on the

right side.

>> You're right.

>> You say, "Preacher, what if I don't

know?" You stay where you're supposed to

be with God.

>> That's right.

>> And he'll put you on the right side.

>> Yes, sir.

>> You know where David got out of sorts?

It's when he stopped talking to God.

>> Right?

>> And when he stopped talking to God, he

got on the wrong side of the Bible.

>> Right?

>> I'm just going to leave it at that. You

know what God God needs from you this

morning. Every head bowed and every eye

closed this morning. She's going to

begin to play.

I wonder where you at this morning.

Say, "Preacher,

preacher, I don't know." Well, I don't

tell you this. David didn't either. You

see, chapter 31, Jonathan slain. It's

not until 2 Samuel chapter 1 that David

2 Samuel 1 · chapter mention

finds out that Jonathan's dead.

And that discovery

shakes David to his core.

It rips his heart out.

You say, "Preacher, well, I don't know

where I'm at." Well, I tell you this,

God does.

You say, "Preacher, what's the cure?"

Well, you need to talk to him. You see,

because, and I've said this a lot here

lately, I feel like my sermons have been

somewhat redundant. Some of you need

some help. Obviously, I think that I

need some help with it, too. You need to

get on the right side.

You say, "Preacher, how do I do that?"

Well, you get on the Lord's side.

You know where you find him? You find

him in his word.

You find him in that time of prayer.

you find him in that sweet fellowship

because when you don't know what side to

be on cuz here's what I'm going to tell

you. The enemy's he'll pick sides for

you if you allow him to.

But if you'll stay in the right place,

you won't end up on the wrong side of

the battle.

If you'll stay in prayer,

if you'll stay in your Bible,

if you'll stay at church and be

faithful.

Faithful.

You might end up on the wrong side, but

God will deliver you from it.

And you see, David got brought out, but

it wasn't without somebody else's death.

Say, "Preacher, would you pray for me?"

There's nobody looking around but me.

How many of you be honest? You say,

"Preacher, I I've been on the wrong side

of the battle before."

Every hand in this building

could go up on that. Let me tell you

this this morning. Say, "Preacher, how

how can I really practically apply

that?" You want to know how to really

practically apply it? Husband, your

battle's not with your wife.

Wife, your battle's not with your

husband.

Do you know what you battle in your

marriage? It's yourself.

When you start fighting against you,

getting you straightened out.

You say, "Preacher, what if it doesn't

work out?" that wall that really matters

is if you get straightened out. Cuz your

battle ain't with that other person.

They got to fight their battle for

theirel and you can't fix them.

But I'll tell you this, you can fix you.

Hey children, your battle's not with

your parents.

You need to listen to them.

Battle's with yourself.

Hey mom and dad, your battle's not with

that weward child.

You just need to stay right with God so

when they do come home, you're not

bitter at them when they get back.

So,

>> here's what you'll do. You'll sit at

home. You'll be mad at them for leaving

you, not doing you right. And you know

what? All of that may be true.

But what a shame it would be for one day

for that prodal to come home and you'd

be mad at them when they get there.

Job when he went and preached to Nineveh

or Jonah when he went and preached to

Nineveh, the Bible says he preached and

they had a great revival. But you know

what? After that great revival, he went

and sat under that tree. And you know

what? He won't wish that he might die

because of all those peoples whose sin

were forgiven. He was bitter at them.

But you know what? His problem wasn't

them people. His problem was himself.

May each one of us take this to heart

this morning. And you say, "Preacher,

I'm here today and I I don't know that

I'm saved.

I I know God's big enough he could have

give you something out of that message."

I'll tell you this. If you're always

going in step with the world,

if you can do whatever the world does

and get by with it, if there's never any

remorse, if there's never any conviction

over that,

the Bible says, "If you be without

chastisement, whereof all our partakers,

says a hard word, but it's true. Then

are you bastards and not sons? You don't

belong to Jesus. You say, "Preacher,

would you pray for me? I don't know that

I'm saved." There's nobody looking

around but me. I'll pray for you this

morning. You slip your hand up and I'll

pray for you today. Say, "Preacher, I

don't know that I'm saved.

If you can't take me to a place in your

life where you ask Jesus to save you and

forgive you of your sins,

you need to be saved.

But I'll say this for the rest of us.

Whatever bitterness or burden you're

bearing this morning, you need to

forgive. You need to roll that thing in

faith over on the Lord.

He's bigger than that.

He'll give you comfort through it. Know

it won't be fixed overnight, but he'll

help you get there if you just trust

him. Father,

Lord, thank you.

Thank you, God, for being merciful to

me.

Lord, we know David went on to be king.

You blessed him abundantly. You said he

was the man after your own heart.

Lord, even though he failed and found

him in a self in a place where he should

have never been,

God, would you help us,

Lord? We find oursel in places we

shouldn't be, on the wrong side of the

battle.

God, forgive me, Lord, because I know my

battle is not with man.

Lord, pastoring has really given me a

glimpse, Lord. I don't even know the

half.

I don't even know the half, Lord, of

what you experience in dealing with me.

Cuz Lord, I know you speak to my heart

all the time. And Lord, I I fail. I fail

you.

Lord, pastoring reminded me, Father,

just because I tell people the truth

doesn't mean they're going to do it.

Because Lord, you've told me the truth

time and time again and I've failed you.

Lord, you help me to be who I'm supposed

to be first.

God, maybe it won't be so hard on me

when others don't listen to me cuz Lord,

I know I'm not the final authority,

but Lord, your word is.

Help me to be who I'm supposed to be.

And God, for every heart in here, I pray

they'd make that their resolve today.

We ask it all in Jesus name. Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you'd join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.