Illus: This passage reminds me of the story of the little mother of seven children. She was leaving to go to a surprise party, and all seven of them wanted to go with her. One asked, "Mom, can we go with you?" She said, "No, it is a surprise party." One of the little ones asked, "Why don't you really make it a surprise party and take all seven of us with you?"
The life of David was full of surprises.
Let me give you a little background leading up to this historical event, so you can see what I am talking about.
In 1 Samuel 17 we are told...
• The army of the Philistines had gathered on a hillside
• The army of Israel had gathered on the opposite hillside
• As the men in these two large armies stood looking at each other, the nine-foot-tall giant, Goliath, stepped out
• Goliath had challenged the soldiers of Israel, saying, "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together" (17:10)
• David had come along to bring his brothers some food, and got involved in this
All of us can relate somewhat to the situation. That is, all of us have faced, or are facing, some big, ugly giant (or giants) in our lives, and they seem too big for us to handle.
But, there is hope if we will learn from this historical account of David, and do as he did.
Let's examine the FIRST SURPRISE.
I. THE SURPRISE OF THE FEARFUL
The reason we are surprised is because the army of Israel was filled with many BRAVE, TRAINED SOLDIERS! These were not an army of WIMPS. THEY WERE BRAVE SOLDIERS.
They had won battle after battle, but when they were confronted and challenged to match one man against the giant, every Israelite soldier was FEARFUL and wanted to FLEE.
Not only was Goliath a tall giant, but there were some others behind him, perhaps almost as tall as he was.
Two things about their situation are similar to things we face that can cause us to fear.
A. THE THINGS WE HEAR CAN CAUSE US TO FEAR
In verse 11 we read, "When Saul and all Israel HEARD THOSE WORDS of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid."
Things that we hear have a tremendous affect on us. Words have meaning, and they can be used to BUILD US UP, or TO TEAR US DOWN.
Illus: Spousal abuse is not necessarily THE PHYSICAL BEATING of the spouse. Many do this, and their wives literally LIVE IN FEAR. Generally men who do this have a very low self esteem, and they are afraid their wives will leave them. Their logic is, if they can prove, by beating them, that they are stronger, then they will be afraid to leave.
However, some men and some women would never physically abuse their spouses, but their fear causes them to frequently beat the other spouse WITH DESTRUCTIVE WORDS!
This causes the spouse to feel that she or he is not good enough for anyone else, so they are afraid to leave.
Illus: One very attractive couple got married. As the years went by, the wife did not weather the years as well as the husband did, and she was afraid he might leave her for another woman who looked as good as she used to look. She began to abuse her husband by making derogatory and degrading remarks about him IN PUBLIC and IN PRIVATE.
She did not even realize it, but she was trying to convince him that he was almost worthless, and he should consider himself fortunate that she would live with him. He told his pastor, "Nothing I do satisfies her."
And, like Job in the Old Testament, the thing she feared the most happened to her. He met a lady that used words to build him up, and he married her.
• Never UNDERESTIMATE the damage that words can do. They can permanently scar a MARRIAGE, or any kind of RELATIONSHIP!
• We also must NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF WORDS TO BUILD PEOPLE UP!
However, the words spoken to the army of Israel served their purpose.
THEY BROUGHT DISCOURAGEMENT AND FEAR.
Perhaps some of you have heard some startling words and they have shaken you. Perhaps some of you have heard...
• That you may be laid off from the job you have invested years of your life into, and planned to retire from
• Some bad news from the doctors, and you do not know what the end result will be.
• That your very best friends had some awful things to say about you, and now your heart is crushed
There are all kinds of things that we HEAR every day, and if we aren't careful, we will allow those things to BECOME NINE-FOOT GIANTS that will DISCOURAGE us, and BRING FEAR to us.
This is exactly what caused the army of Israel to become so fearful.
They HEARD that nine-foot tall giant SAY THINGS THAT BROUGHT FEAR INTO THEIR LIVES.
What we HEAR is not the only thing that can bring fear to our lives. Notice also...
B. THE THINGS WE SEE CAN CAUSE US TO FEAR
Listen, if the soldiers had all been blind, perhaps they would not have been so fearful, but they could SEE that nine-foot giant as well as HEAR him.
In verse 24 we read, "And all the men of Israel, when they SAW THE MAN, fled from him and were sore afraid."
That was not the kind of reaction you would expect to be exhibited by trained soldiers who had fought and won many battles.
This is our FIRST SURPRISE, THAT THE ARMY WAS FEARFUL.
The SECOND SURPRISE was...
II. THE SURPRISE OF THE FAITHFUL
Basically we meet two kinds of people each day.
(1) Those who live IN FEAR, scared to death
(2) Those who FAITHFULLY SERVE THE LORD
Those who serve the Lord are not afraid. They know that the God they serve can take care of them! David was such a person. Notice...
A. DAVID SAW GOLIATH, BUT DID NOT FEAR
When David saw that NINE-FOOT GIANT, it did not frighten him in the slightest.
Look what happened when David arrived on the scene.
Look at verses 22-23. We read, "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..."
Notice, when David came, he saw the same thing that the army of Israel had SEEN, but David's reaction to seeing Goliath was entirely different from that of the army of Israel.
• The men of Israel's army thought, "He is too big to fight against!"
• David thought, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall!"
David SAW that big giant, but DID NOT FEAR HIM IN THE SLIGHTEST.
What was the DIFFERENCE between David, and the men of the army of Israel?
1. The trained soldiers who were afraid, had been trained to depend on their skills and weapons.
They took one look at Goliath, and knew they did not want to confront him with their SKILLS or their WEAPONS. They knew they were no match for such a giant.
2. David was a shepherd boy who had learned how to depend on God!
He took one look at Goliath, and decided that Goliath would be no trouble at all to the God he served.
When our problems are bigger than the God we serve, we have a PROBLEM!
Sometimes OUR ABILITIES and OUR RESOURCES can be our worst enemy.
Illus: One young man graduated from Bible College. He had a wonderful voice for singing, and had one of the best personalities that a young man could be blessed with. But he relied on these things, trusting them to take him everywhere that he desired to go in the ministry. He got his first church, and came up against his first giant, and did not last much more than a year. He was such a failure that he got discouraged, and went back into a life of sin, and does not even attend church today.
Like that young man, we all are going to meet some giants, and we are going to discover that:
• Even with all our ABILITIES, we are still inadequate
• Even with our RESOURCES, we are still inadequate
But one day, they will be confronted with a giant, and they will recognize that the only thing they can do is TRUST IN THE LORD!
David was a shepherd boy. He was not like all those trained soldiers that had learned to trust in their SKILLS and ABILITIES.
All he knew was that the giant had blasphemed the name of his God, and SOMEBODY HAD TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, and if no one else would, he would!
David SAW THE GIANT, but he WAS NOT AFRAID.
B. DAVID HEARD GOLIATH, BUT DID NOT FEAR
David HEARD the same THREATENING WORDS that the Israelite soldiers had heard, and that had caused them to want to run and hide, but there was one vast difference - David did not run!
What made the difference between David and the soldiers?
They both had SEEN AND HEARD THE SAME THING. The difference was...
• The SOLDIERS OF ISRAEL were trusting in themselves and their weapons, and they knew what confronted them was more than they were able to cope with.
• David, a SOLDIER OF GOD was not trusting in himself. He knew that the giant Goliath, was no bigger than a grasshopper in the eyes of God, in Whom he trusted,
DAVID FACED A GIANT BUT HE HAD A GIGANTIC FAITH IN GOD!
1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear..."
Look at the faith in the life of David. It caused him to...
(1) TALK WITHOUT FEAR
We see his trust in the Lord in verses 45-47, "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands."
Not only was he able to TALK without fear, he also was able to...
(2) WALK WITHOUT FEAR
Verse 48 tells us, "And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that DAVID HASTED, AND RAN toward the army to meet the Philistine."
That was just the opposite of what the army of Israel had done. When Goliath spoke, they ran from him, but when David heard him speak, HE RAN TOWARD THE GIANT!
Conclusion:
We are no match for any giants we may come up against in our lives, but God is more than a match for any and all of them! 1 John 4:4 says, "...greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
I. THE SURPRISE OF THE FEARFUL
II. THE SURPRISE OF THE FAITHFUL
