From Zero To Hero Pt. 2 Series

FROM ZERO TO HERO

HEROES TO MODEL YOUR LIFE AFTER(DAVID)

I Samuel 17:1-11, 24-25, 32-33

ILL. Rudy the movie- small kid, no athletic ability, had a dream of playing football. Went to Notre Dame and wanted to make the football team. His family said he couldn’t do it, his friends said he couldn’t do it, his school said he couldn’t do it, but his heart was too big and his determination to great to be stopped.

He made the team and worked for 4 years as the practice dummy all the while his team mates who once laughed at him now had incredible respect for him. At the end of his career in his very last game he would ever play he got in for one play and made the wait worth it.

Rudy was a hero that day. His life has been an inspiration to millions of people who have been told your not good enough, your not big enough, your not strong enough, your not smart enough. So many of us have had to take that abuse. And maybe we have quit, maybe when someone told you weren’t good enough you believed it, but I want to tell you today that what they told you is a lie. You can be a hero that impacts millions of lives for Jesus Christ.

Today we are continue our series on how to go from zero to hero in our spiritual lives. It’s not about learning to be a hero in the world’s sense. That is temporary that doesn’t last. The world’s fame last for 15 minutes, but God’s heroes last for eternity and receive a reward incomprehendible compared to any shiny trophy.

Last week was week 1. We looked at the life of Abraham and how Abraham made up the first of four main hero qualities, sacrifice.

That to be a spiritual hero we must be willing to sacrifice anything or anyone the lord ask us to. There can be nothing in our lives that stands between you and God.

Today we are looking at one of my favorite heroes in the bible, David. David, to me, is God’s Rudy. He is our spiritual Rudy. He is the guy that when you read and study about his life you are thinking, not Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, but David, David, David. He is the underdog. He is the hero that nobody thought could do it. They thought he wasn’t big enough, strong enough, skilled enough. His family and his king doubted him. But David had something that these doubters couldn’t understand. David had unfailing courage in our Almighty God. His courage and faith would help bring him victory when everyone else thought all hope was gone. And courage in God is the second quality we must obtain to become a Spiritual hero for Christ.

I Samuel 17:1

The Philistines now mustered their army for battle…Saul countered by gathering his troops…So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them. Then Goliath, a Philistine champion…came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 150 pounds. He also wore bronze leggings, and he slung a bronze javelin over his back… his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed fifteen pounds. An armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a huge shield. Goliath stood and shouted across to the Israelites, "Do you need a whole army to settle this? Choose someone to fight for you, and I will represent the Philistines. We will settle this dispute in single combat! If your man is able to kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel! Send me a man who will fight with me!" 24 When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. "Have you seen the giant?" the men were asking. "He comes out each day to challenge Israel. And have you heard about the huge reward the king has offered to anyone who kills him?32 "Don’t worry about a thing," David told Saul. "I’ll go fight this Philistine!" "Don’t be ridiculous!" Saul replied. "There is no way you can go against this Philistine. You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!” 1 Samuel 17:1-11, 24-25, 32-33

The Israelites have a big problem. The Philistines prepare for battle. The Israelites hear about this and they prepare themselves as well. Then it says that both armies faced each other on opposite hills. Every time I read this I think of Braveheart. Where you have William Wallace and his militia of Scotsmen ready to fight the evil English Empire. There is the famous FREEDOM screeming scene towards the end of the movie where for awhile the two armies just stare down each other. They taunt one another, yell