Title: 5 Smooth Stones
Theme: To show 5 things David did to overcome the giant. 5 teachings of the faith that are important.
Text: 1 Samuel 17
1Sa 17:1-11 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered together at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. (2) And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. (3) The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. (4) And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (5) He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. (6) And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. (7) Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. (8) Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, "Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. (9) If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us." (10) And the Philistine said, "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together." (11) When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
1Sa 17:20-24 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. (21) For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. (22) And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. (23) Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. (24) And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.
1Sa 17:32 Then David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
1Sa 17:37 Moreover David said, "The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you!"
1Sa 17:40-47 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. (41) So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. (42) And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. (43) So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. (44) And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" (45) Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. (46) This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. (47) Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands."
We have a clear enemy
The enemy of David was Goliath. He taunted Israel and when David prepared to fight he taunted him. He mocked him. He laughed at him. He was arrogant and felt like he as undefeatable.
There is a clear enemy
Goliath stood – 9ft 6ins
Goliath helment and armor weighed – 126
Goliath’s staff “like a weaver’s beam” – 15lbs
We have a clean enemy – The Devil
The Bible reminds us in 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 shows us Satan’s fall from heaven. Because of his pride.
The devil is cunning.
The Bible gives the following descriptions of Satan's character.
1. Proud
Satan is described as being proud.
not a novice, lest being puffed up he fall into the condemnation of the Devil (1 Timothy 3:6).
2. Fierce And Cruel
He is described as a lion who walks about looking for things to devour.
Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
3. Powerful
The Devil is a powerful being. Even Michael the archangel would not rebuke him without calling upon the name of the Lord.
But when the archangel Michael contended with the Devil and disputed about the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a condemnation of slander against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 9).
4. Deceitful
Satan's methods consist of deception.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil (Ephesians 6:11).
5. Subtle
He is also described as subtle.
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3).
https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_69.cfm
We have a clear God – knowing who God is
Act 17:22-23 NKJV Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; (23) "for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
To get a good understanding of this verse we must first back up and then we will go forward. Let us get the whole picture.
Act 17:15-16 NKJV So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed. (16) Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.
Here Paul is on what is called his second missionary journey. Paul began at Syrian Antioch and traveled toward Asia Minor. He entered Cilicia (Acts 15:41) and then to Tarsus (his birth place). Continuing he revisited Derbe and Lystra and established some churches (Acts 16:1-4). Next to Galatia (Acts 16:6) then to Troas (16:6-8). From Troas he went to Macedonia by boat. Then from there he went to Philippi (You may remember Philippi as the place where Paul and Silas were thrown in jail after a young woman was “relived from the spirit of divination.”) This is also when the Philippian jailer and his family was saved. From here he went to Amphipolis then to Apollonia. Then finally to Thessalonica. In Thessalonica Paul found a very influential group of Jews. They not only had their own synagogue but also had procyleted many Greeks into Judaism. He did have many converts which caused pressure from the unbelievers. They made him leave so he went to Berea. Again the Thessalonican Jews came to Berea and he was forced to leave to Athens. Here in Athens he again began to reset camp and begin to wait on the others to come.
About the 13th place into the second missionary journey.
I can imagine Paul setting up camp and setting up his business. As we know Paul was a tent maker and he earned his living by making tents. I believe that maybe he began to make his tents and try to sell them in the great market of Athens. Athens was known for its cultural diversity. It had many different people from all religions there. It was a gathering together of many people. (Kind of what America has become) The Athens prided themselves on their knowledge of religion, of all religion. (They also prided themselves on their tolerance of religions) As Paul was walking we see he noticed that the cities were given to idolatry. Everywhere he looked there was evidence of idol worship.
This stirred his heart. We know from Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Paul probably had this verse in his mind as he was walking about the city and looking at all the idol worship.
So he began where he always begins when he goes into a city. He began at the Jewish synagogue preaching Christ and Him crucified. As he was disputing with the Jews some Epicureans and Stocis heard and began to join in. This is a sight because the Epicureans believed you should give in and indulge the flesh and all its desires, this was their religion and the Stoics believed you should starve the desires of the flesh to draw closer to God. But they were always looking for a better way.
This is where we pick up here in verse 19. They wanted to hear Paul. They had a just in case religion. What I do is alright but just in case there is a better way let me listen. This opened the door for Paul. Which leads us to what we are here to talk about.
Act 17:22-23 NKJV Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 "for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
They thought they had all the bases covered. They even had an altar to “The unknown God”. Paul introduced them to this “unknown God”. Let us look now.
I. He Made the World: V 24-26
Act 17:24-26 NKJV "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 "Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
A. God is the creator “made the world and all things therein”
B. Dwells not in temples made with hands. “does not dwell in temples made with hands”
Most of the cities of Asia Minor prided themselves on the temples to the goddess (Ephesus: Diana) and Zeus
“"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!” (1Ki 8:27 NKJV)
Paul probably remembers this also from Stephen in Acts 7. Step
Act 7:48-50 NKJV "However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: (49) 'Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest? (50) Has My hand not made all these things?'
Stephen also looked up and saw Jesus on the right hand of the father.
C. He needs nothing “as though he needed any thing”
They were making this altar just in case. As though God needed it. As though he would use it. Our God doesn’t need any thing. He has all he needs.
D. Gives Life to all “gives to all life”
He is not a taker but a giver Gen. 2:7. He can give life. He is also the one who has place nations where they are. This is what we see in vs. 26
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II. He Can Be Found: V 27-28
Act 17:27-28 NKJV "so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; (28) "for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'
A. "We may feel after Him" grope for Him and Find Him
God put it in every mans heart to search for him. As we will see the search doesn’t have to be a long one for he is right there but in all men's heart there is that desire.
B. "He is not far from each of us"
He is not far from us if only we would reach out to him.
C. "In Him, we live, and move, and, have our being"
If we find him then we will find that in him we life. Our very being is in him. We were made in his image. As we see in the next verse
D. "We are His offspring"
Yes we are his offspring. We were made by him and he is our father. The relationship was severed with the fall but through Christ it can be put back together again.
III. He Is a Great God V 29-30
Act 17:29-30 NKJV "Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. (30) "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
A. Once winked at ignorance of idol worship
There was a time when God shut his eyes to the paganism of this world. It was done in ignorance but now God has shown the light to the world. All can hear and know.
B. Now everyone must repent
1. Simple operation.... Turn a¬round, go God's way.
2. God will appoint the terms
3. Wrongs can be righted only by repentance
Why must we repent?
C. He will judge—world vs. 31
Act 17:31 NKJV "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."
1.“in Righteousness”
The only way to judge is by the right manners. Not by even the moral standards of society but only by what is right.
2. By that Man whom he hath ordained Christ
The judgment will be done by the one with the nail pierced hands. The one with the battle scars.
3. We have assurance (Because He Raised Him From the Dead)
The judgment will come the assurance is that Jesus Christ has been risen from the dead. As we have said the proof to all the world.
IV. He can be Received Now V 32
Act 17:29-30 NKJV "Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. (30) "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
1. Some mocked
2. Some Procrastinated
3. Some accepted Christ
Conclusion:
Closed with Communion
We have a clear enemy but we serve a big God. A God who wants to know us. To get close to us.
This is what communion is all about. It is about remembering God. His healing by the stripes. His cleansing by the blood. Why? So we could know Him.
