Man Up!

Introduction:

What is the most scared you have ever been? Think about that time for a moment. Perhaps you can begin to understand how the Israelites feel in I Samuel 17 every morning when Goliath steps out onto the battlefield and cries, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together” (I Samuel 17:10, ESV). About 10 feet tall, a weaver’s beam for a spear, mail that weighs nearly as much as one of the Jewish soldiers—Goliath is a monstrous sight. While each of the soldiers are willing to take their chances with survival in the midst of an army against army fray, none of them are willing to take their chances one-on-one with the giant. The restless armies stay in their camps for 40 days as Goliath issues his challenge twice a day, morning and evening. Goliath is looking for a man, shouting for a man, waiting for a man. And each day he defies Israel and her God to find a man. But God is doing nothing. His people quake in their boots, and God sits idly by, just watching. The God who defeated Nahash the Ammonite through Saul does nothing to Goliath. The God who defeated the Philistines once before through Jonathan and his armor bearer remains silent in the face of Goliath. The God who used Saul to defeat Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Amalekites, and even Philistines keeps quiet at the taunts of Goliath. What on earth is God waiting for? And then it becomes obvious. Like Goliath, God is looking for a man. He is waiting for a man. I don’t know how many males Saul has with him in his army. When they faced Amalek, he had 210,000 foot soldiers (I Samuel 15:4). I assume the numbers are similar for this battle. Despite the tens, even hundreds of thousands of males, there is not a single one who will man up and step onto the battlefield. Not even King Saul, a man head and shoulders above the rest of them (I Samuel 10:23), the “Goliath” of the Jews, will man up, step on the battlefield, and be God’s champion against the uncircumcised Philistine. What is God waiting for? A man.

Do you ever look around today and wonder what God is waiting for? We witness the attacks of atheists, secu-larists, Muslims, and false Christians and we wonder what God is waiting for. We bemoan the decaying state of mo-rality in our culture and wonder what God is waiting for. We watch as families fracture, splitting apart at the seams and wonder what God is waiting for. We see once faithful Christians beset by intense sin, we see once mighty men fall to the enemy, we see faith dwindle in one after another and we wonder what God is waiting for. We see young people grow up to abandon the Lord and His church and wonder what God is waiting for. We fret as once thriving churches plateau and dwindle, dying on the vine and wonder what God is waiting for. And I can’t help but wonder if God isn’t still waiting for the same thing He was when Goliath defied Him and His army—a man. Nothing against the sisters, but today I want to talk to the males. And of course, I wonder if the sisters aren’t glad to hear this message as well because some of them are also waiting for a man, or perhaps waiting for a male in their life to man up. I know my wife has spent time waiting for that.

Brothers, we need to understand the war is on, the battle is raging. Christianity is not a Sunday game like foot-ball. It is a daily battle. We are the army. While we sit here in this building, we are on the sidelines. But Goliath is on the field taunting us. Sometimes Goliath is a co-worker who would mock us for being a Christian. Sometimes he is a classmate who tempts us to disdain the spirituality we profess while in this building. Sometimes he is a temptation to lust, immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, gossip, etc. Sometimes he is even the brother or sister in Christ who stands in the way of growth and victory. Sometimes he is simply the apathy and procrastination that causes us to put off and ignore the battle. How many times do we think we’ll face Goliath…tomorrow? What is needed in this fight? A man. A man to step on the battlefield. A man to lead the way. A man to say enough is enough and he will no longer allow the enemy to defy the living God unopposed. A man to strike out at Goliath and show all the other males that they too can be men. A man to man up.