The Kings Business Required Haste
I Sam 21:8
And David said unto Ahimelech, and is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.
Introduction
David was on the run from a mad King. He runs to the Priest for food and weapons. The priest inquires as to why David is by him self, so David makes up a story to appease the inquisitive priest. The truth of the matter was Saul was out to kill him so in reality the king’s business required haste.
Haste means: to move or act swiftly; hurry.
Exodus 12:11
And thus shall ye eat it; [with] your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it [is] the LORD’S passover.
Vs. 33-34
And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We [be] all dead [men].
And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
Vs. 39
And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
I. Procrastination has always been the killer of good intentions
a. Rick Warren gives what he calls the mindset of a procrastinator.
Phase 1 -- I’ll start early this time.
Phase 2 -- I’ve got to start soon.
Phase 3 -- I should have started sooner.
Phase 4 -- There’s still time to do it.
Phase 5 -- What’s wrong with me?
Phase 6 -- I can’t wait any longer!
Phase 7 -- Just get it done!
Phase 8 -- Next time I’ll start earlier.
b. Explain scripture setting
i. One year old Lamb, without blemish.
ii. Take the blood of the Lamb and paint the doorpost
iii. Cook the meat, and eat
iv. With the clothes on, ready the leave at a moments notice
v. The left their home in such a hurry that the bread they took was unleavened, because they “could not tarry”.
c. Leaven in the Bible is a type of sin
i. Leavened bread is made by combining leaven, most commonly yeast, with he other ingredients, usually sugar, salt, and shortening, in addition to flour and liquid. Yeast acts by the process of fermentation, generating tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the mixture, or dough, distending or raising it and making it light and porous. Chemical leavening agents, notably baking powder, are sometimes used in the preparation of so-called quick breads. In quick breads, distention of the dough is accomplished by the interaction of carbonates and acids, considerably reducing the time required by the yeast process. Unleavened bread consists essentially of flour and liquid.
d. With leaven in the bread one must be patient to wait and let the leaven work.
i. Just sit and let is rise.
ii. And so it is with sin. If you don’t separate your self, sin will infect you
iii. I Cor. 5:6-7 states, “…Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump…”
e. The Children of Israel had no time to sit and wait
II. Because of Procrastination:
a. Lot nearly lost himself and his family in the city of sin
Gen. 19:16“And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”
b. The dead had to bury the dead
Matt 8:21-22 “And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.”
c. Felix missed out on the greatest opportunity of lifetime
Acts 24:25“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
III. When dealing with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords haste is a requirement
a. When the Lord Jesus is dealing with your heart make haste.
b. Don’t nonchalantly, slowly, put Jesus off
c. Procrastination means: To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.
d. Jesus Instructed Zaccheus to, “make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.” Luke 19:5
i. Zaccheus didn’t halt between two opinions, but rather came down and received the Lord joyfully
e. We often put things off until tomorrow, for tomorrow might present a better opportunity than today. But it won’t.
i. Paul emphasizes the need of haste when he said “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor 6:2)
ii. James wrote “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14)
f. In his book Being the Best Denis Waitley writes, “When you stop to think about it, there is no such thing as a future decision. You face only present decisions that will affect what will happen in the future. Procrastinators wait for just the right moment to decide. If you wait for the perfect moment, you become a security seeker who is running in place, going through the motions, and getting deeper in a rut. If I wait for every objection to be overcome, I will attempt nothing. My personal motto is, Stop Stewing and Start Doing”
g. Today and Now are in you hands, what will you do with this opportunity
IV. Conclusion
a. Paul wrote to Timothy as sat in a Roman Jail in the closing moments of his life, “do thy diligence to come before winter” ( 2 Tim 4:21)
b. The urgency of his words were inspired by the fact that winter was coming soon
i. Travel would be impossible, the seas upon which Timothy would have to sail would be to turbulent with the approaching winter.
c. The message is clear, “come before winter”. Paul not only faced the season of winter but also the winter of life. The end no doubt looked emanate, he was a weary soldier, he fought a good fight and death was near. In other words, “Timothy, come before I’m gone”
d. The seasons of life sometimes make the road to Cross hard to travel. The cares of this world entangle us, we become hardened by materialism and the seed of the Word of God no longer grows in the hard ground of a spent life.
e. Make haste, Now is the Time, Come before It’s to late
