Goliath is big but David’s got game
1 Sam 17:32-37
Pastor John Bloch, pastorbloch@hotmail.com
Cross Community Church, Crosscommunitychurch.net
32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. 1 Sam 17:32-37 (KJV)
What a bold young man David was, to go and stand before Saul with such confidence in himself. A young man who up till now had spent most his days in a field watching over sheep is now walking into a camp of soldiers, on the edge of the battlefield, right into the presence of Saul and now questions the hearts and faith of not just the entire army but Saul.
David makes such bold statements and declares that he will go out without the formal training of a soldier and go head to head with the giant Philistine known as Goliath. What in the world could be going through David’s mind at this time? Is David just full of himself as most young men are today, Thinking he is indestructible, full of youth and confidence in himself?
Let’s look at four questions that must be asked, answered and understood.
#1, what was driving David’s decision making?
Did David have any training as a soldier at this time or was he equipped by God to deal with Goliath? David was probably like most young men, daydreaming and using his imagination. Just like boy who gets his first BB gun and spends hours in the back yard in battle with imaginary enemies. I’m sure that David was watching over the sheep and as most boys do, he got bored. Then his mind starts to drift and suddenly the boulders become swordsmen ready for battle. All the trees suddenly transform into a wall of archers ready to rain down arrows upon him and his sheep. What can David do to stop this attacking force that is threatening him? He picks up a stone and places it into his sling and starts defeating his enemies one by one, they can’t stop him, and the mighty David is a force that they have never seen.
Eventually David gains some real skill with his sling; he knows how to find the perfect stones that will fly true and with his years of playing this game in his mind God has been equipping him, just as God is still equipping everyone that He calls into His service today.
Not only did David spend time playing games but he spent time with the Lord our God as well. As David is growing stronger in his talent he is also growing in the Word of God, and with all the time he had on his hands in the quite fields he had a very important advantage over most of us today. David learned to be still and listen to God.
As David is growing in his skills and growing in the Lord…God starts equipping him with something else, something so powerful that no giant could ever stand before. God starts to build David’s trust in God, confidence in his skills and the courage to act on his faith.
David is faced with protecting his sheep from the beasts of the wild, David had the skill and trust in God to run right up to the loin and the bear slay them so that he could be not just a good protector and guardian of the sheep but a faithful servant who has confidence in what the Lord has called him to do.
What was driving David’s decision making? David had faith in God, trust in the Lord and bold confidence that he was equipped to do exactly what God called him to do.
#2, What made David mad?
As David walks though the camp looks into the eyes of the soldiers he can see their hearts, he can see their fear and he can see the fact they have lost confidence in themselves. They have heard the stories of Goliath and now they have seen him in battle, fear and self-doubt has taken control of them. That’s exactly why David says “Let no man's heart fail because of him”.
David can see that Goliath has taken the fight out of them and has already won the battle in their hearts, so David offers himself up to Saul and makes another bold statement, that he will go and fight this Philistine. Saul responds to David with doubt, he reminds David that he is just a boy.
David gets upset and yes maybe even mad, he gets mad because of all the soldiers and their training, all their experience, they have lost heart, they have lost their confidence in God. And here is a young man, with the faith in God that he can slay lions and bears, faith that God has given him all the tools needed for victory, all the experience needed to show the glory and power of God, is the only one willing to face this giant.
#3, What gave David passion and courage?
David had passion and courage because of his personal relationship with God. David has seen the hand of God working in his life, building him, forming him, equipping him. David such passion in facing Goliath because he had such passion for God. He spent countless hours listening to God, praying for Gods will in his life and David had such courage because he had faith. Courage might not be the right word to even use here, was it courage or was it total faith in his relationship with God?
The word of God worked in David’s heart, the evidence was in his past that God would see him through any challenge in his life.
Did David draw anything from his past?
David had confidence in himself didn’t he? He had such faith in himself, why? How could such a young man stand so boldly in the face of danger and even death? He could do it because God said he could! He knew God in his life, he has seen God in his life, he had faith in God to hold him up, build him up and move him up for Gods kingdom and Gods people.
I’m not the best at mathematics but I’ve got this equation down,
Courage creates doing. Doing creates being. Being creates passion.
Courage + Doing + Being + Passion = being used by God
