When No One Believes In You Series

We begin a new sermon series today titled; “When you are in a tight spot!” We are going to look at several Old Testament Heroes and discover some principles and lessons to help us when we are in a tight spot.

Today’s hero is David and the account in his life is his conflict with Goliath. Immediately all of us are saying we know a little bit about that story. Even if you were not brought up in church, most people know something about David and Goliath. Millions of people carry the name David on their birth certificates as a first or middle name. Thousands of flag poles in Israel carry a flag with the Star of David on them. There are 56 chapters in the Bible that record the events of his life. Michelangelo carved a 14 foot statue out of marble and dedicated it to David. We know about David.

Today I want us to go beyond knowing about David and begin emulating him as we see how he handles being in a tight spot.

The truth is we have all been in tight spots before; a Tight Spot may be…

An ethical choice you must make in an unethical world

Or an uncompromising decision in a world where compromise is the name of the game

Teenagers you may be in a tight spot when you choose to live by godly standards when all of those around you seem to have no standards at all.

Money, relationships, temptations all have ways in putting us in tight spots.

One of the best ways to get out of tight spot is to have a friend who comes along side of you and helps you, either being a shoulder to cry on or able to give you support when times are tough.

Proverbs 17:17, Reminds us a friend loves at all times and Solomon continues to note the importance of friends when he writes, A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother Proverbs 18:24

What happens when we don’t have a friends stand with us in our tight spot. What happens when ware abandoned by everyone and no one believes in us?

That is the story of David and Goliath – David is in a tight spot and no one believes in him.

1 Samuel 17 reads like a play as the drama unfolds we see how David handles his tight spot.

ACT 1 - Understanding Israel’s Tight Spot

The Israelites were at war with the Philistines. In the course of the battle they come to a standoff. On one side of the mountain were the Philistines and on the other was Israel. It was normal for the armies to size one another us and then charge down into the valley to participate in hand to hand combat. This time the combat would be different. Instead of everyone fighting – the Philistines offered Goliath as their champion, in a winner take all grudge match. Even King Saul, who stood head and shoulders above the men of Israel, was no match for Goliath. Israel was facing a crisis they believed they could not win.

Their Crisis or tight spot was, in many ways, like the tight spots we face in our life. Notice the characteristics of the crisis.

The Tight Spot was larger than life.

Goliath was a champion; his armor weighted 125 pounds, his spear 15 pounds.

As far as the Israelites were concerned he was indestructible. Goliath was too big to be defeated.

Is that how it is with your giant? Whether it is cancer, or a broken marriage, a strained relationship or financial pressure. Your giant always seems bigger than you expected.

The Tight Spot is greater than your resources.

1 Sam 17:8-11, Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us." Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

The army of Israel was not used to this type of challenge they were the ones who were usually victorious. After all their forefathers had conquered Jericho with a march and a shout. But this time shouting was not going to help; it was going to be one on one combat. There simply was no one who could fight this giant. They did not have the resources.