INTRODUCTION
In the animal kingdom, the fight-or-flight response involves stress. Animals are inclined to fight or flee impending dangers such as predators and environmental stressors. For humans, the response is based upon an infinite number of factors, from fears to friends, from habits to hang-ups. And as is true in the animal kingdom, sometimes fleeing isn't so much an indication of weakness but of wit.
Sometimes we have to choose whether to stand up and fight a powerful enemy or wisely flee a wicked temptation. In the case of fatherhood, fight or flight is what you teach your kids, not what you do to them. There is perhaps no better (or worse) picture of this than is played out in the familiar story of David and Goliath.
BODY OF SERMON
(Note to pastor: As you transition into the body of your message, summarize the story of Israel's monarchy.)
Following Israel's occupancy of the promised land and Joshua's death, a new generation was born who did not know God or the mighty things He had done (Judg. 2:10).
A horrible cycle of disobedience began where Israel would rebel, be oppressed, cry out to God, and then be rescued by God via the judges, men and women who were called to speak God's truth and rescue God's people. The Book of Judges ends with the startling words, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted" (Judg. 21:25).
It was moral anarchy and led to a time of struggle. The Book of Ruth begins with famine and ends with the birth of several soon-to-be kings.
First Samuel ushered in the monarchy. The prophets and the priests protected the prescribed worship of God in days when God's word and prophetic visions were scarce (1 Sam. 3:1). And in chapter 8, against the warnings of their faithful prophet Samuel, the people demanded a king. To Samuel's dismay, the Lord commanded him to give in to their demands (1 Sam. 8:1-22).
There was no one more impressive or qualified than Saul, who became Israel's first anointed king--and first rejected king because of disobedience to the Lord. David was named Saul's successor; however, before David could become king, Saul would have to cease and desist, which was unlikely. Not as unlikely as the future king being placed in the current king's court as a soothing harp player, but that's what happened nonetheless (1 Sam 16:14-23).
Being challenged and engaged in all-out war, Israel's face-off with the Philistines brought on a new kind of battle. It would be survival of the fittest, a fight to the death, winner's tribe takes all--the Philistine fighter Goliath versus any man of Israel who dared.
READ 1 SAMUEL 17:1-11.
(Note to pastor: Highlight Saul's fear and the fear of Israel. Compare and contrast 1 Samuel 9:2 and the description of Saul and 1 Samuel 17:4-7 with its description of Goliath.)
Israel's best was afraid of the Philistine's worst. Physical appearance had already been proven important to the Israelites (see the description of Saul in 1 Sam 9 and the admonition of the Lord in 1 Sam. 16) so naturally, the giant would have been an object of great fear.
READ 1 SAMUEL 17:20-32.
Enter the future king, ready to tackle the challenge of fighting the Philistine and defending the honor of god and the people of promise. When all Israel's trained warriors stood on the sidelines, God sent a small boy to do a man's job.
READ 1 SAMUEL 17:33-40.
Saul provided David with reasons why the bold plan would not work. David was just a boy with no formal training, and Goliath was a professional fighter. This should have been enough to keep David back in the fields, but God had a different plan.
(Note to pastor: It's unnecessary to complete the rest of the chapter. Most congregants will know the outcome of David's victory. Today we concentrate on his response to the battle, not his results. Transition the remainder of your message to deciphering truths for dads--lessons they can learn from the David and Goliath story.)
1. FATHERHOOD IS FRIGHTENING, BUT FLEEING IS NOT AN OPTION.
For Saul, becoming king had to be his greatest joy. But it quickly became his biggest challenge. The leader focused on conquest had met his match.
As moms and dads, the day we hold our kids for the first time is life's greatest joy and from that moment forward, it becomes life's greatest challenge and often presents the biggest of giants. In response to such giants our choices are always to stand and fight or to flee in flight.
Sadly, that is the case of 24 million children in this country. Their dads have simply left, opting for a life other than full-time care of the family they started. Many of these kids have been fathered in the foundation of a family where the mother and father exchanged vows and made promises that are now broken.
Regardless of the situation, fatherhood can be frightening, but it must never be flown. Our responsibility is too great, and the stakes are too high.
2. FATHERHOOD IS FRIGHTENING, BUT TO DO NOTHING IS NOT AN OPTION.
David had already seen God's hands in smaller successes. Now it was time to trust God for the ultimate. It was time to fight the biggest of foes.
It is not enough to be in your home. You must lead your home. The soldiers in Saul's army didn't flee the scene of the battle, but none of them stepped forward either.
RE-READ 1 SAMUEL 17:16.
For 40 days Goliath issued his challenge, taking a stand against the army of God. For 40 days, Saul and his army stood back and did nothing. Jesse (vv. 17-19) assumed because his sons were there under the command of Saul that fighting was taking place. Little did he know that nothing was happening.
As a church, we cannot assume that just because a dad is in the home that he is being a dad. We cannot assume that his hand is on the heartbeat of the family. The church's role is to support and encourage and equip.
There is a difference between watching a battle on the front lines and fighting in one. There is a difference between front-row seats and playing in the game. It is time to courageously fight for the lives of your wives and children!
There is a real giant out there demanding the surrender of our children. It is popular culture and moral relativism. It is sin, and, left unchallenged, it will bark at the door of your home and bank your children as its prize.
3. FATHERHOOD IS FRIGHTENING, AND WE MUST FIGHT AGAINST THE FEAR.
First Samuel 17 does not give us a picture of a David who entertained fear of anything but the Lord. His confidence was in his God. God is bigger than our fear and stronger than our foes. When David went to battle, God went with him.
Like Caleb and Joshua before him, David's faith was met with opposition. Saul gave great reasons why David could not stand against the Philistine. When David went to battle, he wasn't wearing another man's armor but the strength and favor of the Lord.
And when David went to battle, David won. He was the least likely candidate to be named king, but God instructed the prophet Samuel not to look at a man's outward appearance but at his heart (1 Sam. 16:7). For David, to dishonor the Lord was more grave than to defy a giant.
APPLICATION
Parenting presents its own set of challenges. Sometimes it seems that doing the right thing, standing up for conviction, disciplining your children, being consistent in boundaries and persistent in love (although sometimes tough) only serve to win a badge of unpopularity. And because each of these endeavors takes hard work, many husbands and wives choose the easier route. Spoiling your kids is easier. Keeping up with the Joneses is more comfortable. Letting television and video games occupy your kids is easier Focusing on grades and athletic achievement can become easier than developing godly character.
Raising God-fearing, fruit-bearing Christ-followers seems to be a "giant" to many families when compared to just letting kids be kids and grow up under the shades of gray present in the world around us. It doesn't have to be this way.
FAMILIES CAN BE ACTIVE IN THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO RAISING A GENERATION WHO KNOWS THE LORD, REMEMBERS WHAT HE HAS DONE, AND RECOGNIZES WHAT HE IS DOING.
CONCLUSION
This story is familiar, and you know the ending. David killed Goliath. There was another moment in the life of King David that is all too familiar--the story of David and Bathsheba. It would be nice to leave that one alone today. But the connections are too clear.
When David, as a young man, faithfully stood up to fight, he honored God and killed the giant. As an older man, when David abandoned the battlefield where he should have been fighting, he fell into sin. The moment in life when it would have been right to flee was a moment when David chose to stay engaged. The consequences of that choice lasted for generations, and had it not been for David's willingness to stand and fight against his pride and humbly repent of his sin, those consequences might still be in effect.
Sometimes men, in the context of the flight, get distracted by their sin and neglect to consider how their sin so deeply affects their family. Some men need to stand up and fight against the sin in their lives and in the lives of their children. That fight begins and ends in repentance, perhaps the art of Christian living that requires the most skilled fighter.
Repentance takes courage, maybe as much as facing giants. We must fight against evil and against complacency and fear. We must flee from evil and protect our kids. We must do it to honor the Lord, and we must do it to fulfill our call as men and women of God to fight for what is right rather than run from what we fear.
