Five Smooth Stones Series

David wrote the 27th Psalm - and it’s a Psalm about how to face conflicts in life. It’s a Psalm about relying on God. A Psalm of HOPE. A Psalm of FAITH. And when I read this Psalm, it can kind of reminded ME of David facing Goliath. The psalm reflected David’s mindset when he went out to face the Giant.

But there was something odd in the story of David and Goliath because, before David went out to face the giant he went down to the river and he picked something up. Do you remember what David picked up from the river?

Five Smooth Stones.

Now, why would David pick up 5 stones? I mean did he believe he’d needed all of 5 stones to kill Goliath? Did he lack faith that God might be able to help him defeat the Philistine with one stone, so he wanted a little extra insurance? Well maybe… but I don’t think so. You see, I think David was planning ahead. Goliath had 4 brothers, and David needed only one stone for Goliath - but, he had 4 more stones just in case the other brothers showed up.

So I don’t think David picked up the 5 stones because he lacked faith. I believe he picked them up so he’d be prepared to not just face Goliath… BUT also his brothers.

ILLUS: I read the true story of a lawyer who a very small man, and he arrived at court with a briefcase bulging with paperwork. The lawyer for the other party was literally a Goliath of a man who just laughed at the short lawyer, and he mockingly said: “Well, little man, whatcha you got in the briefcase?”

Without looking up, the small man replied, “Five smooth stones.”

In that simple statement, that little lawyer was saying: “You might be an imposing opponent… but I can take you!”

APPLY: Psalm 27 was David’s way of saying “I expect to face imposing enemies, but (with the help of God) I can take em! Throughout this 27th Psalm David noted that he’d faced false Witnesses, and adversaries and enemies, and people who would threaten him with violence. But he never lost his faith, because he said that “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

You see, in our lives, we’re going to encounter giants. We’re going to face situations that will threaten our lives or our future, our dreams. And the question will arise: “Will we be able to stand against those threats in faith?”

Jesus said “In this world you’re going to have trouble. But take heart because I’ve overcome the world” (John 16:33) Jesus was promising that we’d face troubles, but we’d never face them alone. It’s not a question of whether we’ll face problems in our lives - it’s gonna happen! The ONLY question is whether we’re going face those problems with Jesus at our side… or not.

ILLUS: I was looking some things up on the internet, and I ran across a quote by Orson Welles… and he said: “We are born alone, we live alone, we die alone”. And I thought – how pathetic. How sad is that? That’s how that great actor thought about life, but we Christians have a different perspective.

We’re born of God… we live with God… and die with God at our side. We never have to face life alone.

ILLUS: Someone once noted that in the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, God didn’t put out the fire. The fire was still there. But God put Jesus right in there with them in the midst of the fire; and when all was said and done, those 3 men came out unsinged and without even smelling of smoke.

It’s not about God stopping all the bad things that look bad in the fires of our lives; It’s about Who’s in there with us.

In the 27th Psalm, David wrote that God was always there for him. David DID face enemies and adversaries and those who’d threatened him, but he was never afraid of them because God was always (in) there with him.

Now, there’s a part of the story about David facing Goliath that we often overlook. “When the Philistine (Goliath) arose and came and drew near to meet David, David RAN quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.” I Samuel 17:48

DAVID RAN TO MEET GOLIATH? Yep!!!! That must have taken a lot of confidence. And yes. David was confident. But David didn’t just have CON-fidence, David had something called GOD-fidence.

ILLUS: Someone once noted that GOD-fidence is different than CON-fidence. (Lane Sebring - website: PreachingDonkey.com, quoting Ed Young)

CON-fidence relies on ME. I do what I do because I am confident that I’m ABLE to do it. But GOD-Fidence relies on God.I do what I do because I believe that WHAT I HAVE is from God. My abilities are from God; my gifts are from God; and my tasks are from God. If I am a GOD-fident person, then I believe – God’s in my life. I believe it is all about HIM! Not me. If God called me to it, then God will prepare me for it.