Faith In The Face Of A Giant

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Title: FAITH IN THE FACE OF A GIANT

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:1-54

Key Verse: 1 Samuel 17:45: “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

Probably all of you know the story of David and Goliath, but just in case you’re a little fuzzy about what happened when those two met, I’m going to tell the story to you.

The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. A giant from the city of Gath, by the name of Goliath, appeared on the Philistine side.

He was over nine feet tall. He wore a bronze helmet, and he was covered with armor that weighed 125 pounds. He carried a bronze javelin with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds, and a shield-bearer went before him.

He yelled at the Israelites, and what he said belittled their manhood. He proposed a fight-to-the-death between himself and a champion chosen from among the Israelites, and then he added that whichever man won for his nation that the other nation would be their slaves. When Israel heard what he said, they were worried and afraid.

David had three brothers who joined the army to fight the Philistines, and one day David’s father asked him to take them some food. When he arrived at the camp, the armies were facing each other and arrayed for battle. As he was talking with his brothers, Goliath came once again to ridicule Israel, as he had done for several days. David listened and he saw all the men of Israel run away from the giant. He couldn’t believe his eyes, and he told those around him that if no one else would fight Goliath, he would. Now when they heard what he said, they reported it to Saul; and he sent for David.

Then David and Saul have a conversation where David tells Saul that he will fight the Philistine, and Saul tells David that he didn’t stand a chance, because he was certain to lose because of his youth and lack of experience. David responded by telling the king how he killed a lion and a bear when they attacked his father’s sheep. Furthermore David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And then Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” After that, Saul placed his own armor on David and he even gave him his sword, but it was all too heavy for him, so he took it all off. He picked up his staff and 5 smooth stones, and went out to face the Philistine. When Goliath saw David he headed straight for him. He made fun of the Israelites for choosing a boy to do their fighting, and he cursed David for thinking he could defeat a warrior as fierce as he is. Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts…”

When the talking was over, David ran at the Philistine as he was preparing for the fight, which he was sure he would win easily. “Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.” David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem. That’s the story, so now we can get into today’s message.

Introduction

Don’t you just love the enthusiasm and confidence of a kid who has just joined the little league baseball team, the Boy Scouts or the Swim Team? He hasn’t even played his first game or attended his first meeting, but he wants to sleep in his uniform. Though inexperienced, he believes there’s no ball that can get by him, no hill that’s too steep for him to climb or another swimmer that’s as fast as he is. David was like that. He was the youngest of his brothers, the runt, and a shepherd with a few sheep, yet he was called a man after God’s own heart. Against all odds, David had faith, even to face a giant.