OPENING SCRIPTURE:

We are PRESSED ON EVERY SIDE BY TROUBLES, but we are NOT CRUSHED. We are PERPLEXED, but NOT DRIVEN TO DESPAIR. We are HUNTED DOWN, but NEVER ABANDONED by God. We get KNOCKED DOWN, but we are NOT DESTROYED (2 Corinthians 4:8 NLT)

• Pressed down, hunted down, knocked down. It is called Life! The question is who do we run to?
• David found himself in that situation at a place called Ziklag.
• Ziklag which in Hebrew means “Pressed Down

“But David STRENGTHENED HIMSELF IN THE LORD HIS GOD” (1 Samuel 30:6 NKJ)

• David discovered a new meaning for that word Ziklag: Fortress
• Ziklag means “Pressed Down” but also “Fortress.”

HOW DO YOU CHANGE YOUR PLACE OF PRESSING INTO A PLACE CALLED REFUGE AND FORTRESS?

#1: RUN TO HIM

The NAME of the LORD is A STRONG FORTRESS; THE GODLY RUN TO HIM and are SAFE. (Proverbs 18:10 NLT)

• The scripture here points out that the name of the Lord is a strong fortress.
• There is something very powerful, when we call onto the Name.
• At your lowest point in life is to run to God instead of running away from God.
• Why do we do run away from God? Guilt and shame.
• Here’s one thing that very wrong with Christians: we forget that we are humans.
• The spiritual diagnosis of depression: someone who has been running to the wrong refuge! away from God!

#2: RECEIVE HIS PRESENT HELP

God is our REFUGE and STRENGTH, ALWAYS READY TO HELP IN TIMES OF TROUBLE. (Psalm 46:1NLT)

• A fortress is a sanctuary: a place of refuge and strength.
• In that sanctuary, you’ll find God as your “Present help in times of trouble.”

#3: WALK IN FREEDOM FROM FEAR

The Lord is MY LIGHT and MY SALVATION so WHY SHOULD I BE AFRAID? The Lord is MY FORTRESS, PROTECTING ME FROM DANGER, so WHY SHOULD I TREMBLE? (Psalm 27: 1 NLT)

• When you turn on the light of God’s Word in your life, fear has to leave.
• When God is your light, you don’t have to walk in darkness.

YOUR WORD is a LAMP for my feet, A LIGHT ON MY PATH. (Psalm 119:105 NIV)

• The light of the Word coordinates your movement: physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

#4: ENJOY HIS REST AND SAFETY

Those who live in the SHELTER OF THE MOST HIGH will find REST in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is MY REFUGE, MY PLACE OF SAFETY; he is MY GOD, and I trust him. (Psalm 91:1-2 NLT)

• When you make God your shelter, your refuge, your fortress, you will find rest!

CONCLUSION:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through these messages?