Don't Mess With the Army of God
Tom Shrader walks through 1 Samuel 17, the account of David and Goliath, emphasizing that the Israelites' terror in the face of Goliath was a failure of faith rather than a failure of military strategy. David enters the scene and reframes the entire confrontation as a theological issue, insisting that the living God is greater than any human obstacle. The application throughout is personal: whatever overwhelming circumstances believers face, those circumstances are never larger than the God who promises never to leave or forsake His people.
“We are helpless a lot, but never hopeless — our hope and trust is in God.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Samuel
Recorded: 2009 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 51 min
Themes: fear, faith, courage, trust, overcoming obstacles, God's power, doubt, victory, feeling overwhelmed, facing impossible odds, struggling with fear, new believer, young adult, navigating crisis, feeling abandoned, losing hope
Scripture: 1 Samuel 17, 1 Samuel 13, 1 Samuel 16:13-14, Psalm 20:7, Psalm 33:16-17, Romans 8:31-39, 2 Corinthians 1
Theological Themes: providence, sovereignty of God, faith over fear, theodicy, biblical narrative, God's faithfulness, immanence of God, covenant promises
Full Transcript
Don't Mess With the Army of God
Open your Bible to First Samuel chapter seventeen. That is what we are going to look at today. We will spend the entire time working through that chapter. If you need a Bible, raise your hand and there will be some folks going through the church here in the chapel and the conference center who have a copy of the Old and New Testament — it is somewhere around page two hundred and ten.
As you are turning there, let me make a couple of comments. I was not here last week, and several people have said, "How did you enjoy your week off?" Well, it was not a week off. I was at West Valley Bible Church. Many of you who have been around here will have noticed that every year about this time I go out there to celebrate their anniversary Sunday. It was their fifth anniversary, and it was a wonderful time. They send their greetings to you. They consider you the church that planted them, and it truly was a planting relationship — we did not give much money, but we invested a tremendous amount of time and energy into them.
Core Values and Church Planting
Let me take a couple of minutes to talk about some core values we have here at the church. We revisit them every two or three years, sometimes with a small adjustment. About three years ago we added a core value stating that we wanted to be an influence beyond this campus and beyond this generation. I knew it had gotten into the water when I started hearing guys repeat it back to us — that we want to be an influence beyond this campus and beyond this generation. That value has both obvious and some more subtle aspects to it.
Certainly, church planting is at the core of that value, and church planting can take many different forms. West Valley was really a group of guys getting started on the west side. We developed a particular relationship with one of them, brought him in, gave him a lot of training, and as I said, they would consider us the church that planted them. Second Mile is another church we planted, and I will be visiting Second Mile in about a month. There is yet another situation getting ready to launch a plant at the end of the year out in Mesa. We really value these. I think they are critically important.
I want to be transparent about something that genuinely concerns me. One of the things that weighs on my heart is large churches that never successfully make the transition past either the founder or the pastor who led the period of growth. It would break my heart if East Valley Bible Church experienced a decline based on whether I am here or not here. I think that would be presumptuous of us to assume, and I do not think it is going to happen. More people seem to worry about it than I do, because I believe we have really prepared for the transition — most places do not.
The Cost of Church Planting
For us to come alongside these guys who are out planting churches, and it is a tough road at the moment, is something we deeply value. The greatest resource we give them is honestly not money. We are very good stewards, and we are a little careful on the financial side — we believe that if you do not earn it, you will not spend it wisely. The real cost of church planting is not in dollars. It is in personnel.
As Mesa prepares to launch, those shepherding group and small group leaders here are going to lose three or four key leaders from their groups. They are going to lose key support people. In children's ministry, Ellen talks to me regularly about this — each plant draws people out of that area as well. When I talk to the children's ministry team, they say these last two church plants have really taken their toll.
A Call to Step Out or Step Up
So here is what you are going to hear from me regularly from this point forward. The words may change, but hear my heart: it is time for you to either step out or step up. It is time for you to step out and join one of these plants, or it is time for you to step up here. If you are going to stay here, we need you to step into the gap, because there are significant holes being left. It is not a bad thing — it is a good thing, because it is about the kingdom.
Stepping Up and Filling the Gaps
We are about building the kingdom, not just Valley Bible Church. As people move into these plans, it is going to require some of you who have been sitting here for a long time to ask what you need to do and get in the game. Maybe you are newer to the church, or you have been around for a while but have not quite engaged — you need to get in the game and figure out where you fit. If you feel ready to step up in your area, call your area pastor and tell him you are ready to lead a small group or fill a need. Look at children's ministry as well — even as we come into summer and get ready for Blast Extreme and all that, there are real needs there.
My kudos to those who have served so faithfully. Let me take it one step further and talk about money for a moment, because not only do people leave during hard times, money leaves with them. I have looked around and virtually every meeting I have been in with the large churches in town, there have been some layoffs of staff. We have not had any — we have not even had a conversation about it — and that is a thank you to you. We continue to tighten and tighten, trying to be good stewards while getting ministry done in a healthy way, and it has not touched staff at all.
Here is what I want you to hear from me: an incredible encouragement to get involved, a step-out or step-up mentality. For most of you, it is not about stepping out — it is time to step up, figure out where the holes are, and fill them. I hope you heard that challenge, and I hope you also heard a huge thank you. I am in the same boat you are — I went through all the 401k losses and everything that goes with it, the same drop in buying power. What Susan and I did at that point was understand that we needed to step our giving up, because we knew others simply could not. If you do not have a job, you cannot give, so we need to be in there to make up that ground.
You are amazing, wonderful people, and we talk about that everywhere we go. Our children's ministry team was just out and when they came back, one of the great things they said was how good it was to be reminded — after being out with other churches — of how God has blessed us. You are the blessing in that, and we are truly grateful.
A Story from the Crisis Pregnancy Center
I want to share one last thing — a bit of a tangent, but last night we were at a crisis pregnancy center banquet. Crisis pregnancy ministry is one of my favorite organizations, and I think that is partly because Haley worked there. You hear the stories, and it is just a wonderful ministry. If you are looking for a place to be engaged and to serve, this is one to consider.
Haley worked there full-time, and then when she had the boys she decided to stay home, but she volunteers on Friday afternoons and comes home with amazing stories. She had a guy and a girl come in the other day — what she does is a little ultrasound scan so people can see that it is not just a mass but a baby. The guy was acting like a punk, and the plan was to get an abortion. So Haley did the scan and called the guy in, and all of a sudden he saw the image on the screen. They have little models as well, and Haley said, "Let me show you your baby." That hard punk kid just melted when he saw that this was a baby. He said, "I don't know what we're going to do, but we can't kill this baby." That is a great story.
One of the statistics from last night is that every year there are 10,000 babies killed in Arizona — that is about 30 babies a day in this state. We can grow numb to that number, but this problem is right here, and the solution is right here too. We just need to love people. It means you are going to have to come alongside some moms. Adoption becomes a huge option, and there are people right here at East Valley Bible Church who are really pouring their hearts into the idea of adoption, so you can rally around that.
It is dark out there, and if you watch enough news you can get cynical and pessimistic about what is going to happen. But the reality is that God is in control, and the way He is going to deal with things is through His people — through you and me, right here. You heard the challenge, and you heard the thank you, all at the same time.
Prayer for the Crisis Pregnancy Center
Let me pray for the crisis pregnancy center right now, because I love that organization. There are many others like it, and you always get in trouble when you single one out, but it is so fresh on my mind.
Father, thank You for the crisis pregnancy center. Thank You for Barb and her team and their commitment to saving lives. We pray that they would feel Your protection. We know that when they come against an enemy like this, they are going into spiritual battle, and we ask that You cover them. In Jesus' name, amen.
1 Samuel chapter 7
Setting the Stage
When we get to chapter seventeen, we encounter probably one of the most familiar of all Bible stories. Even if you've never been around the Bible, you know the story of David and Goliath. That's what we have here in First Samuel seventeen. This is a story, not a fable. It is not something fabricated to make a point. This is a historic event. It has probably been romanticized a little too much — the image of the small, clever, agile, fragile boy who takes the stones, launches them, and slays the giant. Almost always it is taught in the context of facing and slaying your own giants, your Goliaths. I want to stay away from that today, but I do want to make sure we understand the story, see the principles that are there, and apply them to our lives, because there is huge application here. The circumstances are vastly different from ours, but the principles are the same.
David and Goliath Within the Larger Story
We could get distracted from the greater story if we are not careful. The story of David and Goliath is a story within a story. The larger story is obviously one of God's redeeming work, and specifically of David's ascension to the throne and the pushback of opposition that comes from Saul. Saul was told by Samuel that he had done a foolish thing — we saw that back in chapter thirteen — and that God was going to find His own man. Samuel said it this way: "The Lord has sought out for himself a man after his own heart and has appointed him as ruler over the people, because you have not kept what the Lord has commanded you." Then, as Tim was teaching last week in chapter sixteen, we see in verse thirteen that Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers.
Now look at what happens next — this is huge to the story. The Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward, and Samuel arose and left. Then verse fourteen tells us the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. There is a massive spiritual change, and both of these men know it. Saul knows that the Spirit has left him, and he understands that it is going to affect his role as leader. You will see today that he fails miserably in this giant test. At the same time, David understands that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him, and that begins to fuel him in his role as a leader.
A Story of Faith
What we see today is an extraordinary story of faith. One author writes this short paragraph: "This chapter reminds us of the principle of David as king of faith. Although a step in his ascension to the throne is a military victory for David, this would be accomplished through trust in God. In this, David sets up the key role of his kingship — not military strength, though he is a mighty warrior, but the issue of faith."
The Setting of the Battle
When we look at chapter seventeen, beginning at verse three, we see the Philistines on one side of the mountain and Israel on the other. The Philistines controlled the area along the coast. The Israelites controlled the area inland. Between them were a series of valleys, and those valleys were where the battle was to be fought. You needed to control them for security, and there was also commerce involved — goods and services moving from Africa and Arabia to Asia to Europe, all traveling through this region. So there are all sorts of motivations at work here, and the battle lines are drawn.
David Enters the Scene
There are a couple of other things worth noticing. David does not actually appear until about a third of the way through this chapter. And something really interesting: up to that point, we have not heard one word from David's mouth. He has not spoken — at least, nothing is recorded for us — until we get about halfway through the chapter, to verse twenty-six. Up until then, we have a defiant Goliath and we have the men of Israel who are terrified. That is the backdrop against which David arrives.
As I said, he does not speak until verse twenty-six. When he does speak, he introduces a theological dimension into the discussion. Everything up to that point has been about the battle — about Goliath and his power, his might, his size, and about the nation of Israel and how afraid they are. Then David comes in, and he comes in rather abruptly and with very low expectations placed on him. There was no expectation on him at all. His father, his brothers, and his peers clearly considered him weak militarily. In fact, he is not even fighting. Three of his brothers are fighting alongside Saul, while David is left to tend the sheep. But David bursts onto the scene, and all at once he takes this military question and turns it into a theological question.
Meeting Goliath
What happens in verse four is that we meet Goliath. The champion came out from the armies of the Philistines, and his name is Goliath.
The Giant and His Challenge
A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistines into the open. Goliath was his name — nine feet, six inches tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor weighing one hundred and twenty-six pounds. He wore bronze shin guards, carried a bronze sword, and his spear was like a fence rail — not a small spear you might throw, but like a fence post, with the point alone weighing fifteen pounds. And as imposing as that was, he also had a shield bearer walking in front of him.
To put that in perspective: I went to a Suns game the other night, and I was reminded just how big Shaq is. But he was playing against Yao Ming, who is a half a foot taller. Goliath is two feet taller than that. This is a massive man — so strong that one hundred and twenty-six pounds of armor didn't restrict him at all, carrying a spear of enormous proportion, an utterly imposing figure.
And then he began to bellow. Verse eight: "Why do you come out up in battle array? Am I not a Philistine and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourself. Let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, we will become your servants. If I prevail, you become our servants." It is a winner-take-all proposal — something we have never seen before. You send a man down, and whoever wins that single battle determines who dominates whom.
Then in verse ten he bellows again: "I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me the man that we may fight together."
The Word That Defines the Conflict
One of the key words in this chapter is the word translated "defies" — also translated "taunt." Look at how it appears throughout the passage. In verse twenty-five, the men of Israel say to David, "Have you seen the man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel." David then speaks at the end of verse twenty-six: "Who is the uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt the armies of the living God?" In verse thirty-six the same idea appears again — he has taunted the armies of the living God. And in verse forty-five, David pushes back against Goliath directly: "You come with sword and spear and javelin. I come in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted."
The word "taunt" or "defy" carries with it the idea of disobeying or disregarding. Goliath has no regard at all for God and who He is. He has no regard at all for the nation of Israel as being God's people.
The Tragic Error of Looking Through Human Eyes
Verse eleven says, "When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistines, they were dismayed and greatly afraid." They were impressed and depressed. They saw Goliath as an imposing figure — they saw his armor, they understood that this man was impressive beyond anything they could imagine on a human level.
God had said to them on more than one occasion: don't look at what man looks at. God looks at something else. That principle applied when the people wanted a king — they looked at a man and said, that is what a king ought to look like, that is the man we want. And God challenged that way of seeing. These soldiers make the same tragic error. They look at Goliath and they see his mass, his strength, the fact that he has been a warrior since he was a child. They evaluate him entirely on human terms and fail to understand that this is not about Goliath the man — this is about God, the one true living God.
So when someone asks, "Who are the Goliaths in your life?" you understand what they are getting at. They are asking: what are those things in your life that appear so wrong, so massive, so enormous that you say, "I don't think I can possibly handle this"? That is why the Word of God comes back again and again, moving us over and over, to not look at things as men do.
Boasting in the Name of the Lord
It is the same David who writes in Psalm 20, verse seven: "Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord." And in Psalm 33, verse sixteen: "The king is not saved by a mighty army. A warrior is not delivered by great strength." And then verse seventeen: "A horse is a false hope for victory."
Put that in our language and he is saying: you are not strong and mighty because you have a certain degree or level of education. You are not strong and mighty because you have attained a certain level of success. You are not strong and mighty because of who married you or what you look like or what you drive. That is what man looks at. Man looks at the outside — the shirt, the hair, the car, on and on. And God says, don't be deceived by any of that. A horse is a false hope for victory. Whatever it is you are trusting in apart from Him is a false god.
False Gods Always Fail
False gods never fail to fail. We talk about this all the time. The only God who will be with you, never leave you or forsake you, is the one true God — the God that David is talking about. In our lives, we need to understand that we are helpless at times, but never hopeless. There are moments when we are in way over our heads humanly speaking, but God will never leave us or forsake us. He is not going to test us or tempt us beyond that which we can endure. He will always come in, in the midst of whatever that difficulty is, and He will be right there with us and He will sustain us.
Do not be dismayed or afraid, because it is not an economic battle you are fighting. It is not a relational battle. It is not an educational deficiency. Just like with David, the issue is theological. How big is your God? He is huge. He is bigger than any circumstance that can come into your life. That does not mean it always ends up exactly the way we want it to, but it means He will never leave us. He will be there with us. Do not be deceived by looking at the circumstances, seeing their appearance, and thinking, "This is so big — I don't think God can handle it."
David Arrives at the Battle
Here is what happens in verse 12. The scene shifts and we meet David. Though he is a king who has been anointed, he is back out with the sheep — he is a shepherd. Verse 13 tells us that his three older brothers were fighting, and verse 14 tells us that David was the youngest and that the three oldest were following Saul. David was going back and forth from Saul to tend his father's flock.
We get a new piece of information in verse 16: the Philistine came forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand. He was coming out twice a day with the same taunt. The Israelites were dismayed and afraid on day one, and now it is day forty, episode eighty. They are very much afraid. They feel overwhelmed and defeated.
Jesse says in verse 17 that David should take a sack of grain, some loaves, and some cheese down to his brothers and find out how they are doing. All the men are down in the valley. So according to verse 20, David arose early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, took the supplies, and went as his father had commanded him. He arrives at the scene, and in verse 22 he leaves his baggage with a baggage keeper, runs to the battle line, and enters in order to greet his brothers.
David Hears Goliath for the First Time
As David is walking in, behold — the champion of the Philistines, Goliath, is coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke the same words. David is beginning to see this thing firsthand. He hears that bellowing voice. He sees that imposing figure for the first time. And when all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled and were greatly afraid.
Verse 11, from The Message paraphrase, captures it well: "When Saul and his troops heard the Philistines challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope." That is where these men are. They have literally given up. They fled and said, "Have you seen the man who is coming up? Surely he is coming to defy Israel."
Then David hears of the proposal the king has made — that anyone who kills Goliath will receive great riches, the king's daughter, and his household will be made free. David is encountering these frightened men, and then he hears this offer. So David speaks to them and says, "What will be done for the man who kills the Philistine and takes away the reproach of Israel?" Tell me that deal again. A bunch of money? His daughter? You get a sense of what is going on here. And then David asks the deeper question: "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt the armies of the living God?"
The Theological Issue
David interjects into this situation the truth that God is present and God is powerful. That same God who brought Israel out of Egypt is the same God they serve today. In our own context, that is the same God who would cause David to slay Goliath, and that is the same God you and I follow. The promises He makes are promises He makes for all of life.
God is not limited. It is important to understand that God is immutable — He never changes. Nothing limits God except God Himself. Can God do everything? No — He cannot act contrary to His own nature. He cannot lie. But any restraint on God is a restraint God places on Himself. And what does He promise you? He promises He will never leave you or forsake you.
Nothing Can Separate Us
Let me read some familiar words from Romans chapter 8. "What shall we say if God is for us, who is against us? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? What can separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword? In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus."
That is what David understands right here. He gets who God is. He is saying, "What are you all so upset about?"
This Is a Theological Issue
This is not a military issue. This is a theological issue. Goliath is a big man — nine foot six. He is so strong that 126 pounds of armor does not faze him. He can take that spear and wield it like a toothpick. He is huge, but he is not as big as our God.
Insert yourself in the picture. There are those same ideas, those same circumstances that come into our lives that seem so imposing, so overwhelming. Are they big? Sure. But they are not bigger than our God. Whatever it is, He is in control. He is sovereign. He is God.
I do not have to wonder, guess, or speculate about that. Nothing can separate me from the love that God has for me — not my love for Him, but His love for me. My love is going to fluctuate. There are some days when I love Susan far more than others, basically in accordance with whether she deserves it or not — I am teasing about that. But the same fluctuation happens with our kids, with anything, and even with God. Some days I can feel like we are walking along and He is right there. Other days I feel like I cannot find Him anywhere. But His love for me never changes or wavers. That is what Paul said: what can separate us from His love for us? Nothing.
David Stands Alone
David is calling these men to an incredible understanding that this is a theological issue, and he gets zero support. The people answered him along the lines of what would be done for the man who kills Goliath. Then his older brother comes along and says, "Why have you come down, and with whom have you left the few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart, for you have come down in order to see the battle." He is essentially saying: you are here for the same reason someone goes to a hockey game to see a fight, or to NASCAR to see a wreck. You are just here for the spectacle.
David responds, "What have I done now? Was it not just a question?" All he did was ask about the reward and the terms. He wanted to make sure he understood the deal. He turned away, asked someone else, and got the same answer — this was a recurring thing. Eventually word gets back to Saul that David has been making these claims, so Saul summons him and David gets an audience.
David says to Saul in verse 32, "Let no man's heart fall on account of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." Do not worry. Do not be concerned. I am going. Saul replies, "You are not able to go against the Philistine to fight him. You are but a youth, and he has been a warrior from his youth."
In a real sense, David is fighting three Goliaths. He is fighting his brother and the popular view that says he could never do it. He is fighting Saul, who says he is just a young kid — not even old enough to serve in the army. And obviously, he is going to fight Goliath himself.
The Testimony of a Shepherd
David's response to Saul is this: "Your servant was tending his father's sheep when a lion and a bear came and took a lamb from the flock. And I went out after him and attacked him and rescued it from his mouth. And when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard, struck him down and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them since he has taunted the armies of the living God." Then David adds, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion, from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of the Philistines."
David is saying: I know this God. This is not theoretical to me. I have seen Him work. The life of a shepherd is a rugged, dangerous life, and there have been times when a lion or a bear has seized a lamb and I have had to go after it without any concern for my own life. And when I did, it was not my strength or my skill that saved me — it was the Lord who delivered them. And He is going to do the same thing with this big man. I have seen Him work.
The Power of a Long Walk with God
That is the power of seeing God work in your life. That is what an extended life of faith produces. There is nothing richer than sitting down with someone who has been walking with Jesus for a long time and saying, "Tell me how you have seen Him work."
David and Mary Lamb were probably the best picture of this for me. Some of you from Grace Community Church will remember them — wonderful people. About once a quarter I would go over and visit them at their apartment. I would try to get David to go make some tea, and then I would say, "Mary, start telling me stories." And David would come back, and the two of them would go story after story after story.
One story was about wanting a piece of land for an orphanage, a school, and a church. Finally, someone gave David a piece of land — but the only reason they gave it to him was because it was literally a swamp, absolutely worthless. David would go out every day and pray, "God, dry up this swamp." And one day he went out and it was dry, with a flower growing right in the middle of it. The school, the orphanage, and the church are there today. And that was just one story among many.
That kind of faith comes from walking with God over a long period of time. David could stand before Saul and say, "I know this is going to happen. I know because this is the kind of God He is. I have had this experience." Have you built that same kind of testimony? That idea of remembering what God has done — it is a powerful thing.
You Weren't Made to Wear Someone Else's Armor
Finally, Saul was convinced and said, "Go. May the Lord be with you." Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put his bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with his armor. David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, but he had not tested them. He said, "I can't do this. This doesn't fit."
This may be spiritualizing a bit too much, but you were not made to wear somebody else's armor. You were not made to have somebody else's faith story. Don't try to live through other people. What is God doing in your life? I don't want to hear about what happened in 1996 or 2006 or 2007 or 2008 — what is God doing in your life now?
You have a relationship with Him, and you are unique with Him. He sovereignly blessed you. He sovereignly brought you into His kingdom, and He sovereignly allowed certain things to take place in your life. Some of them, let's go ahead and say, are really bad. Why would He do that? For His honor and His glory, because He is going to use you in the midst of it.
The Comfort That Comes From Shared Suffering
We had a situation in the church when we were over on Dobson — this was a long time ago. We had three couples, in a congregation of maybe 300 people, who all lost a baby over a period of six months. All three of them lost a baby right at birth. It was just an incredible, painful thing. By the time we got to the third couple, I would call and ask if they wanted me to come up, and they would say they didn't need me to — the other two couples were already there, ministering to them.
What am I going to say? I don't understand. But those other couples could say, "We understand." That is the whole principle of Second Corinthians chapter one: why would I have this suffering and pain? So that now I can comfort others with the comfort that I myself have received. That is how God works. He builds on it. He teaches through it.
You were made to have your experience, and I was not made to have yours. You don't need to be like me — one of me is enough — and I don't need to be like you. However God has brought you, He sovereignly made you. Some of you are going to be huge people of prayer. Some are going to be devoted to studying the Word. Some are going to say, "I just want to be with people." Be the man, the woman, the student that God called you to be. David said, "Get it off me," and he took a stick and five smooth stones from the brook, and off he went.
Goliath's Taunt and David's Answer
Look at verses 41 through 44 — the word "Philistine" appears five times. Goliath dominates the text. The Philistine came on the approach of David with his shield-bearer in front of him. The Philistine looked and saw David and disdained him because he was young. He said, "Am I a dog that you bring a stick?" He called upon his gods to curse David, and the Philistine said to David, "Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field." In other words: come on, David, and you will be roadkill. The birds will pick at you, the dogs will have you, because I am going to slaughter you.
Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This God will deliver you into my hands. I will strike you down, remove your head, and give your dead body to the army of the Philistines. This day the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth are going to eat you — not me. And all who are assembled may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands."
Faith That Is Visible
David was saying: we are going to do this God's way, and then everyone will look and see the mighty God we serve. That is why, when we talk about faith, we say our faith is to be visible. People ought to be able to see that there is something in you that is unique and different. It is because the heart is different. A transformed heart leads to an informed mind, and an informed mind leads to a radical life. Because the heart and mind are different, a person begins to act differently — but it is not about that person. It is all about Him.
It is not about being clever or smart or having a better business plan. Some of the best business plans in the world are not now worth the paper they are written on. It is not about human wisdom. Does that mean we are supposed to check out and let God do everything? No — we work, we plan, we use our gifts and talents. But those gifts and talents themselves are from Him. It is all about Him. You are here as a vehicle to display Him to the world so that people will glorify Him. That is why you are here.
David Ran Toward the Battle Line
David told Goliath he had it all wrong — Goliath was the one who was going to die. Then it happened that when the Philistine rose and came out and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. Goliath never expected that. There he stood — nine feet six inches tall, 126 pounds of armor, with his great spear — and out he came. And here came David, not standing back, but running straight toward him.
David's Victory Over Goliath
He's not cowering — he's running out. "Bring it on, big man. Let's go. I'm ready." David put his hand into his bag, took out a stone, slung it, struck the Philistine in the forehead, and the stone sank in. He fell on his face. From what I've read, the stone was probably no more than two or three inches across, and these men were highly skilled. David would have been practicing with a sling constantly while working as a shepherd, and a skilled slinger could generate speeds of around 100 miles an hour.
Here comes this rock, 100 miles an hour. I remember a buddy back home whose cousin was fighting his first professional bout, so we went to see him. He came out to the middle of the ring — bam, one, two, three. The fight lasted 13 seconds. That's what this was. But don't miss this: it's not about David and his ability with a slingshot. It's about God and God's provision.
David looks around and realizes he doesn't have a sword. So he takes Goliath's own sword and cuts off his head. The Philistines see that their champion is dead and they run. The men of Israel and Judah arose, shouted, pursued them, and went after them. The sons of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines and plundered the camp. Then David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem — a somewhat grim thing, carrying around a dead head. He put Goliath's weapons in the tent.
When Saul saw this, he said to one of his commanders, "Go find out who this young man is and bring him in here." So in verse 57, David returned from killing the Philistine. Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine's head still in his hand. Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" And David answered, "I am the son of your servant, Jesse the Bethlehemite."
Faith Over Human Strength
It is an amazing, wonderful story of God's grace and mercy, of David's incredible faith, and of a humanly overwhelming obstacle. Yet throughout the entire account, we never see David as a strong figure — always as a weak one. His brother tells him he's a pain to deal with. Saul tells him he's too young. Goliath tells him he's a runt without the right equipment. The armor meant to help him would only have slowed him down.
Let me read the paragraph we started with. "This chapter reminds us of the principle of David as a king of faith. Although a key step in the ascension to the throne was a great military feat, for David it would be accomplished, even that, through trust in God. In this, David sets up the key role of the divine kingship — not military strength, but of faith."
The application for you and me is straightforward: do you have that faith? Do you understand that the obstacles in your life are not greater than your God? And it doesn't matter how long you've been walking with the Lord — you need this truth every week.
What We All Need: The Gospel
Every week we receive prayer requests, and we pray through them as a staff. Two requests from last week really struck me, and I want to take a moment to read them to you. The first said this: "Pray for me. I'm a Christian man. I'm also a fraud, a liar, a cheat, and a thief. Most of my problems are somehow connected to alcohol abuse, but I worship the idol of self. I'm a sinner in need. That's about it. Sorry to drop this on you guys."
You didn't drop anything on us we didn't already know about ourselves. That's your story right there — he just had the courage to write it. You're a sinner. You're not perfect. You pretend to be a son or daughter of the one living God, but then periodically you don't act like it. You steal and rob God of His glory when you sin. When you first read something like that, you might wonder whether he's even a believer, and everyone wants to dissect it. But no — he's a man who's been saved and delivered from the bondage of sin, yet the effect of sin is still in his life, and he still struggles. That's why we need the gospel every day.
This man is a Christian — what does he need? The gospel. It's the same thing I need, the same thing you need. We need to be reminded that we are sinners. We need to be reminded that He is a Savior. Here was another prayer request: "I'm struggling to know if any of this is real. I know a lot about Christ, but do I really know Him? I guess I just need some prayer that God will really melt my heart for Him. Thank you for all you do in God's name." That is the same prayer we all need — God, melt our hearts.
The Same Grace for All of Us
In the midst of this life, we can see all of this clearly. David is a perfect example. You might expect this man to finish strong — yet he has murder ahead of him, adultery ahead of him, all sorts of sin ahead of him. This same man, this same man who is after God's own heart, is no different from you and me.
Father, thank You for this amazing, wonderful truth. Thank You for David and his faith. He is indeed a man after Your heart — not because he is perfect, for he still sins and still falls short. Father, we pray for the people here this morning who have obstacles in their lives, things that look so impossibly large to them —
Closing Prayer
Father, we could be distracted by the bellowing, by the impressive, daunting obstacle in front of us — so much so that we forget that we serve You, the living God. Father, we are helpless but never hopeless. Our hope and trust is in You, God. We pray that You indeed would make Yourself clear to us. Thank You for this word and this truth. We thank You in Christ's name. Amen.