“And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.” (1 Samuel 17:17-30)
“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”
(John 18:37)
Today, I feel the need to speak to you on the matter of causes. While the world has told us to do just what feels right, and to be your own authority and even that there is nothing worth living for, tonight I want to ask a simple question once asked by a simple shepherd boy, Is here Not A Cause?
[Background on the battle that results in the sending out of champions]
David’s older brothers had followed King Saul into battle against the Philistines, but David was not old enough, so he stayed behind to take care of his father’s sheep. One day his father asked David to take his brothers a care package of cornmeal, bread, and cheese, find out how they’re doing, and bring back a report.
Once he arrives on the scene, David learns that the Israelite army is cowering in fear, afraid to go out and face the giant Goliath. David starts asking around, “What’s going on? How come nobody’s fighting this guy?”
David’s oldest brother sees him and says HEY, What are you doing here, I get it, you just showed up to watch the battle.....
What would you have said? I probably would have gotten an attitude and told him, I was just doing what dad said, bringing the bread and other food, but no David ignored him slightly with a "huh" type comment and then followed up with "Is There Not A Cause?"
Cause: noun- a : a reason for an action or condition : MOTIVE b : something that brings about an effect or a result c : a person or thing that is the occasion of an action or state; especially : an agent that brings something about
He strolls on up to the king and says, if none of these guys are going to live for God and kill this giant, then I will.
After the king stopped laughing, and regained his composure, he realized that David was serious; he asked him what on God’s green earth made him think he could do what everyone else was afraid to try.
David said hey man, I’ve been in situations before, first there was the lion and then there was the bear, and this joker mocking MY God will end up just like them, deader than a door nail.
You see David realized that the giant was just a circumstance just like the lion and the bear; and circumstances change easily, especially when God’s on your side, and when you are driven with a cause. David knew he was there to do a job, bring some bread that his dad packed....Hey when someone brings the Word from God and people receive it, circumstances WILL change. That means that the giant’s defeat wasn’t the cause, it was just a circumstance. So if the giant’s blasphemy was just part of the circumstance, when what was the cause?
David said you come at me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to you in the name of the LORD!!!!!!
Jesus is the Cause!!!!
David came to the battle because his father sent him with some bread and cornmeal for his brothers and some cheese for some other cowards. He heard the enemy blasting and because of his commitment he delivered his people from bondage. He took the giant’s head.
David said that there is a battle to be won, and that with the Lord’s help the challenge wasn’t a challenge, but a stepping stone. While everyone else was saying that the problem was too big to defeat, but David said the challenge was too big to not take down and due to its size the harder it will fall!
Yes its great that David was a tool for the Lord to defeat the giant, BUT and this is a BIG BUT, that wasn’t the cause that DAVID was talking about…..
You see the giant had defied the Lord of Hosts, not only of His Name, but His Will or His Cause.
We know His Name is Jesus, but what is His Cause? What cause drove The Lord?
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)
Let me tell you this, when you were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we took on not only His name, but we also took on His Cause.
Let me talk to you about some causes:
Population of Bellevue & Newport: 6.5k & 17k = 23.5k
Population of Campbell County: 88.6k
Population of Kentucky: 4.1 million
Estimated Population of the World: 6.6 billion
Average number of people in the workplace: 35
Number of people per day that leave this life and enter eternity:
What do all of these numbers mean? It means our priority “cause” is SOULS
This is our third cause.
OTHERS We need to reach the lost, there are many souls that we come in contact with that we are responsible for reaching. There are those in our family: siblings, parents, spouses, children. We need to show them the light of the Gospel, not only in Word but in our lives. If they never see it in out lives they will refuse to see it in the Word.
The next cause I wish to talk about is more important than the first. But Bro Travis what can be more important than the lost? Well, I’ll get to that in just a second. Because before you can understand why its more important, you must first understand something about CAUSES:
Denominational churches want to talk about vision casting, I disagree with that because we need to be cause casting.
• A vision is personal, but a cause is bigger than any one person is
• People generally won’t die for a vision, but they die for a cause everyday around the world.
• Vision is something a person can possess, but a cause possesses the person.
• Vision leaves you with options. But a cause leaves you with no options
• You can ignore a vision but you can’t ignore a cause.
• Vision lasts for a lifetime, but a cause’s last forever.
• You can change a vision—but the cause never changes.
• A vision will generate excitement, but a cause generates power
Jesus said it was for ‘THIS CAUSE’ that I came into the World.
He Came for us!!!! He came so that we might receive something of Him.
And if we realize that when we are brought out of darkness and into His marvelous light that when we take on the name of Jesus in the waters of baptism, we too take on that cause. You and I also were born AGAIN for a cause, and our connection to the world is that same cause, and it’s the cause of the King and of His Kingdom.
He didn’t just save me to sit on a pew! Nor did He save anyone of you to fill space in the congregation! We ALL were saved for the cause!
He saved us to:
To bring forth CHANGE into our lives, [preach]
To WORSHIP the King of Kings, [preach]
To REACH the lost, [preach]
To DISCIPLE new converts into maturing Christians. [preach]
We need to purpose in our hearts to live fully for him for our own soul salvation, there is a heaven to win and a hell to loose, now tell me, Is There Not A Cause?
Years ago, when the Lord began dealing with me about the call to ministry, I remember that several nights in a row I had a dream about a great revival and that I was one of the main speakers. And since that time, every so often the Lord gives me more glimpses not only of that revival but other messages not yet delivered, and I often ask the Lord when will I be that great preacher. It wasn’t until recently that the Lord replied with "That’s not you preaching son, that’s me; you just finally became a submitted vessel for my cause." HEY! When we submit our will to His will, and let our cause be His cause, then we will finally see our dreams and His promises come to pass.....if you have been dreaming of revival, get a hold of the cause. if you have been waiting on the promise of your family’s deliverance, submit to the cause. If you want anything deeper from God, YOU MUST GET SUBMITTED TO THE CAUSE OF CHRIST.
Most of All we need to live for Him because of who he is! There are angels who’s sole purpose and job is simple worshipping Him by crying Holy Holy Holy, Holy Is The Lord Almighty!
What is our cause? 1) Our Lives MUST reflect Him to the world and be their example. 2) Salvation 3) He Is Worthy
You cannot tell me there is no cause.
ILL.- John Gossip of England, said, “Years ago in Glasgow, Scotland, I was hurrying to a church meeting one Sunday morning and noticed what was then a peculiar sight. The pavements were chalked at intervals with invitations to a hall.
“I stopped a policeman and asked what they meant. He said, ‘These people are socialists and since very early this morning they have been out, inviting the whole universe to a little place that will hold scarcely anyone. Believe me, I disagree with them, but men so much in earnest as they are, are sure one day to sweep the city. What can hold them back? What can keep them down?’
“And then he added, ‘Why are you Christians not out and at it too? You have a cause that is far better and more glorious. If you would work as hard as these men do for their cause, you would sweep the world!’”
Friends, we do have the greatest cause in the world and we need to do all we can to advance this cause, the gospel of Jesus Christ! But before we can take this cause to the streets we need to take it in our own hearts.
Closing:
Years ago before I was born and term was coined that has been repeated for years. The phrase is “Rebel Without A Cause.” At one point or another in our lives we end up trying to fit ourselves into that label, that way we can have an identity without having a cause. It is my belief tonight that the Lord is calling for not only the saints of God but also to the lost to become Servants With A Cause.
If you have either been wondering without a cause, seeking something that will satisfy, or whether you know that you have been rebelling from what you know God has called you to, I offer you hope at the altar.
In the book of Acts, Peter was preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and he explained to them that it was because of the people in attendance that the Lord of Glory was crucified and that His innocent blood was on their hands. Something happened within them, they got desperate for a release and way to make heaven their home, they saw the cause. “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:37-41) The bible shows here in verse 41 that they that gladly received his word were baptized, that not everyone caught the cause, but those that did ended up making heaven their home!
It is my hope that today you have received something in the word that will help you realize there is a cause in Jesus Christ.
