INTRO: In the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Ben Johnson of Canada won the 100-meter dash, setting a new Olympic record and a new world record. Our American contender, Carl Lewis, came in second and most were shocked that he hadn’t won the gold. After the race, the judges learned that Johnson had had an illegal substance in his body. He ran the race illegally, so the judges took away his medal. Though he ran faster and made an unforgettable impression, he did not deserve the reward.
Hours behind the runner in front of him, the last marathoner finally entered the Olympic stadium. By that time, the drama of the day’s events was almost over and most of the spectators had gone home. This athlete’s story, however, was still being played out.
Limping into the arena, the Tanzanian runner grimaced with every step, his knee bleeding and bandaged from an earlier fall. His ragged appearance immediately caught the attention of the remaining crowd, who cheered him on to the finish line.
Why did he stay in the race? What made him endure his injuries to the end? When asked these questions later, he replied, “My country did not send me 7,000 miles away to start the race. They sent me 7,000 miles to finish it.”
-As I read this story I wondered how many of us would have made it to the end, knowing you’re in last place, as you’re running the fans are turning and leaving. I wondered what went through his mind.
Review: So far we’ve looked at the giant of fear and intimidation and last time the giant of discouragement.
Today we are going to look at a different type of giant. I call it the giant of the journey.
-This giant has to do with time. In the case when David defeated Goliath it probably took a few hours from the time he heard Goliath challenge to conquering him.
-But the giant of the journey can be only conquered over a long period of time. It’s not a quick fix, it’s more like a season.
TITLE: The Giant of the Journey
TEXT: 1 Samuel 27:1-6
When you face this giant rather than a quick battle, you’re in and out and it’s over, this is going to war and it’s hard for a long period of time, one thing after another, day in and day out. Let me try and explain by David’s life.
I. Background. After David’s great victory against Goliath, King Saul stood up and took notice of this young valiant warrior.
A. King Saul was so pleased with him that he took him into his courts.
1. The king’s son Jonathan loved David, they became the closest of friends.
-It seemed whatever David did he was successful.
B. The season seemed to change. It happened when the king overheard a song proclaiming David killed more enemies than the king.
1. The king’s heart changed toward David. Rather than blessing him, the king became paranoid that David was going to take over his kingdom.
-So the king tried to kill him but he failed.
2. The king became fearful of David so he sent him away as a commander. David was very successful.
-So the king gave David his daughter Michal in order to trick him. He’d have the Philistines kill him.
3. This failed so Saul went on a rampage to kill David but he failed again.
C. David had a couple of different opportunities to kill King Saul, but he didn’t even though David’s men wanted him to.
1. David has been running for his life for quite a period of time. He has a band of outcasts with him.
TS: David has been running so long he probably feels this is his last stand.
II. David was worn out. Saul had been getting the best of David, leaving him to sleep in caves and lurk behind trees.
A. These outcasts and their families depended on David, further adding to his burden.
1. David’s running from a crazed king, hiding wherever he can, leading a ragtag group of soldiers.
-Feeding more than a thousand mouths, the demands are great.
2. David reasons that Saul is going to kill him one day. So the best thing to do is to go to the camp of the enemy so that Saul will stop searching for him. 1 Sam. 27:1 – Read
Q: Have you ever been so worn out you go over to the enemy’s camp to get some relief?
B. No hope and most of all, David’s attention is too focused on King Saul.
1. David walks so long in this fear of Saul that he’ll get relief at any cost.
2. David knows better. On brighter days David modeled how we should follow God. The first time he faced the Philistines in the wilderness, David inquired of the Lord (1 Sam. 23:2). When he felt small against his enemy, David inquired of the Lord (1 Sam. 23:4). When attacked by the Amalekites, David inquired of the Lord (1 Sam. 30:8). Puzzled about what to do after the death of Saul, David inquired of the Lord (2 Sam. 2:1). When crowned as king and pursued by the Philistines, David inquired of the Lord (2 Sam. 5:19).
3. When David was confused, David talked to God.
When David was challenged, David talked to God.
When David was afraid, David talked to God most of the time—but not this time (1 Sam. 27:1).
a. David talks to himself. He does not even seek the council of an advisor. This journey has been so long and this giant so persistent that David makes a terrible mistake. (He depends on himself.)
TS: David is so worn out he just wants to get out.
III. David got out. David leaves and goes into the enemy territory.
A. King Saul calls off the hunt. David leads his ragtag team into the land of idols and false gods.
1. He basically pitched his tent in Goliath’s backyard.
B. Initially David feels relief. Saul gives up the chase.
1. Finally, at long last David and his men can sleep with both eyes closed. The children can attend kindergarten. The suitcases can be unpacked.
2. Understand hiding out with the enemy brings temporary relief only.
Ex. Stop resisting alcohol and you’ll laugh for a while. Move out on your spouse and you’ll relax for a time. Indulge in porn and you’ll be entertained for a season. Stop your tithe and pay off some bills and you’ll feel relief for a time.
-But soon guilt, loneliness, heartbreak, pain and suffering will come in like a tidal wave.
3. The Bible tells us there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. (Prov. 14:12).
TS: David wore out, so he got out, until finally he sold out.
IV. David sold out.
A. David strikes a deal with the enemy king, the king of Gath.
1. The enemy king gave David and his men a city to dwell in. David would then become his servant.
-Note David’s self-assigned title, the servant of the enemy king (your servant, if I have found favor in your eyes).
-Why would David want to find favor in the enemy’s eyes? (He wanted relief.)
2. The enemy king gives him Ziglag the city to dwell in with the idea that now David is on his side.
-David goes and makes raids against the enemies of the Hebrews (Geshurites, Amalekites) but when the king Achish (enemy king) would ask where he was raiding David told him it was against his own tribes.
B. This is not David’s finest hour. He has gone over to the enemy’s side, he is lying to the Philistine king and covers up his deceit with bloodshed. He lives this way for 16 months. Max Lucado tells us there were no psalms written during this period, that David’s harp hangs silent.
1. When the Philistines were going to attack King Saul, David wanted to go into battle with them. It was the outcry of the Philistine commanders that prevented this.
-Do you see how far David had sunk?
C. The giant of the journey wore David out. It fact David was so worn out that he wanted out at any cost even if that meant going over the enemy camp.
-He sold out.
1. David failed to pray, to get good advice. He, in the end, did what he thought was right. As a result of all this –
2. His home and the homes of his followers were burnt to the ground and all their possessions were taken along with all their loved ones.
-To top it all off his followers were so angry with him they wanted to stone him to death.
Thought: David was at a very low point in his life. The journey has been long and hard. I’m sure if you asked David, he has done some things he is not proud of.
Q: This morning do you find yourself in that place of despair? The journey’s been too long, it’s been too hard, and you’ve done some things you are not proud of.
-You need to do what David did. David turned to the Lord and found strength (1 Sam. 30:6).
3. In the ashes David found strength in the Lord. He not only found strength in the Lord but he sought the Lord in what to do.
-David and his men went out and got their families back.
D. More important, David’s giant of the journey was about to be cast off.
1. King Saul dies, and as a result David becomes the next king of Israel.
-No more hiding in caves, running from a crazy king. A new set of challenges awaits.
In Conclusion
Don’t make the mistake of Florence Chadwick. In 1952 she attempted to swim the chilly ocean water between Catalina Island and the California shore. She swam through foggy weather and choppy seas for 15 hours. Her muscles began to cramp, and her resolve weakened. She begged to be taken out of the water, but her mother, riding in a boat alongside, urged her not to give up. She kept trying but grew exhausted and stopped swimming. Aids lifted her out of the water and into the boat. They paddled a few more minutes, the mist broke, and she discovered that the shore was less than a half mile away. “All I could see was the fog,” she explained at a news conference. “I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”
