Introduction

Good morning, Church family! I am so excited to share with you the Word of God today. We are going to open our Bibles to the Old Testament, to the book of 1 Samuel. And we'll be focusing on a very specific verse, 1 Samuel 17:37.

Opening Scripture Reading – It reads, "The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." This is David speaking, a young shepherd boy who would soon become a king. He's speaking these words on the eve of his battle against Goliath, a giant who had been terrorizing the Israelites.

David's faith in God's deliverance is the heart of our message today. It's interesting to note that David's faith was not a blind faith. It was a faith based on experience. He had seen God deliver him from the lion and the bear, and he believed God would deliver him from Goliath. This reminds me of a quote from the great Christian author, J.I. Packer. He once said, "Faith is a reasoning trust, a trust which reckons thoughtfully and confidently upon the trustworthiness of God."

Isn't that beautiful? David's faith was a reasoning trust. He thoughtfully and confidently reckoned upon the trustworthiness of God. And that's the kind of faith we need to have as well.

Believing in God's Battle

We're here today to dig deep into the Word of God, to really understand what it means to have faith like David. David, who was just a young shepherd boy, but who had the audacity to stand up to a giant because he believed in the power and the might of God. He believed that the battle was God's, not his. That's the kind of faith we need to have.

A. Now, let's look at the first aspect of this idea. David was not a soldier. He was a shepherd. He didn't have any formal training in warfare. He didn't have any weapons. All he had was a sling and a few stones. But he didn't let that stop him. He didn't let his lack of experience or his lack of resources deter him. He stepped up to the battlefield with confidence because he knew that the battle was not his, but God's.

B. The second aspect we need to look at is David's reliance on God. He didn't rely on his own strength or his own abilities. He relied on God. He knew that it was God who had delivered him from the lion and the bear, and he believed that it was God who would deliver him from Goliath. He didn't put his trust in his sling or his stones. He put his trust in God.

C. The third aspect is David's understanding of the nature of the battle. He knew that the battle was not just a physical one, but a spiritual one. He knew that Goliath was not just a giant, but a representative of the enemies of God. He knew that by defeating Goliath, he was not just winning a battle, but advancing the kingdom of God.

D. The fourth aspect is David's declaration of faith. He didn't just believe in his heart that God would deliver him. He declared it out loud for all to hear. He said, "The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." He proclaimed his faith in God's deliverance, and in doing so, he inspired others to have faith as well.

Application – So, what does all this mean for us? How can we apply these truths to our own lives? Well, we may not be facing a literal giant like Goliath, but we all have our own giants to face. We all have our own battles to fight. And like David, we need to believe that the battle is God's, not ours. We need to rely on God, not on our own strength or abilities. We need to understand that our battles are not just physical, but spiritual. And we need to declare our faith in God's deliverance, not just believe it in our hearts.

Let's take a moment now to reflect on these truths. Let's ask God to help us have a faith like David's, a faith that believes in God's battle.

Bragging about God's Greatness

As we continue to immerse ourselves in the richness of this passage, we find ourselves standing shoulder to shoulder with David, on the precipice of a battle that seems insurmountable ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO