When it comes to great speeches, Winston Churchill has given some of the greatest. His speeches were often inspiring. On June 4, 1940, he gave a rousing speech to the British Parliament’s House of Commons. Listen to his words:
“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
You probably noticed a common theme in those words: “we shall fight.” This speech was intended to bolster morale, but it was also intended to let the enemy know that the British would fight tooth and nail, and never give up.
Churchill’s speech actually reminds me of another speech given in a time of war. However, it was not given by any kind of leader. Instead it was delivered by a young shepherd boy. It’s quite an inspiring speech. In fact, WE should be inspired by it because it talks about the same God that we serve. However, a speech is only as good as the person who delivers it, so let’s take a moment to look at young David.
We’re introduced to David in I Samuel 16. Now when you think of David, you think of a warrior, right? But that’s not who David was yet. He was a shepherd boy. He would watch the sheep, write some psalms, and perhaps play his harp.
David was the youngest of eight boys. His family apparently did not think he would amount to anything; when Samuel comes to anoint the next king, David is left with the sheep! But God saw David’s heart, which was tender, strong, and full of faith in God. David loved to meditate on God’s Word and sing praises to the Lord, and God valued that devotion.
After the other brothers are rejected, David is brought in and anointed king. The others must have been shocked…and angry. This sets the stage for I Samuel 17 where Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, steps forth to challenge the Israelites to a competition. Goliath stood at 9 feet 9 inches tall! Suffice to say, no one wanted to fight him, not even King Saul. Whoever tries to fight him is going to die. Who would be stupid enough to do that?
This goes on day after day. The ugly Philistine would come out and make a speech talking about how strong he was, that he was embarrassed by Israel’s cowardice, and he would mock their God. David was eventually allowed to go to the fight to bring some food to his brothers, and when he arrived, he could not believe what he was hearing. David said, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” When berated by his oldest brother, David said these immortal words: “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?”
David goes in and talks to King Saul
And that brings us to the fight.
Let’s look at the three sections of David’s speech:
1. “I’m fighting for the LORD of hosts” (v. 45)
Contrast: Goliath is fighting with weapons; David is fighting on behalf of God
Who are you fighting for?
Joshua 5:13-14a, “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come.”
God doesn’t choose sides. Instead we choose to be on God’s side or not. David chose to fight on the Lord’s side.
The LORD of hosts—LORD is God’s proper name of Yahweh. David invokes God’s name in his fight against Goliath.
The God of the armies of Israel—God was representing the armies of Israel, but they weren’t representing Him very well. He would fight for them if they had the courage.
Whom thou hast defied—day after day Goliath defied God, but no one did anything about it. David (a mere teenager) was the one who had the faith and courage to say, “I’ll put a stop to this!”
Our culture defies God every day. What are we going to do about it? Expound.
2. “You will lose this fight and die” (v. 46)
Notice David’s confidence, but not in himself—his confidence is in God.
Hebrews 10:35, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.”
Don’t throw away your confidence. Who are you putting your confidence in? Yourself? The government? Your job? Or God?
Notice that David said, “This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand, and I will smite thee…”
Here’s an important principle: trust God for the victory, but be willing to step out and fight. That’s exactly what David did. Too often we ask God for the victory, but we aren’t willing to do anything. The Apostle Paul said, “Fight the good fight of faith.” You will need to fight, but be sure that your confidence is in the Lord.
3. “The battle is the LORD’S” (v. 47)
One plus God equals the majority, and David knew that.
“The Lord saveth not with sword and spear”— God often gives victory in unconventional ways. We see this many times in the Bible. God drowned the Egyptian army after opening up the Red Sea. Joshua was commanded by God to march around Jericho for seven days before they could be victorious. Gideon and his 300 men used torches and pitchers to overcome the Midianites. Namaan was cured of leprosy by dipping in the Jordan River seven times. The widow of Zarephath and her son were sustained by God after using the last of their meal and oil—they never ran out. In the New Testament, dreaded persecution caused the gospel to spread far and wide. You see, God often works in very mysterious ways, but make no mistake—God is at work!
“…for the battle is Lord’s…” The truth is, David could not defeat Goliath all by himself. I don’t think any of the Israelites could have. But with God they could. Because David’s confidence was in God, and because he acknowledged God publicly, God was more than happy to fight for David and Israel. It wasn’t Goliath vs. David, it was Goliath vs. God. In essence, God was saying to David, “I’ve got your back.”
We need to acknowledge, “The battle is the Lord’s.”
We know the rest of the story, and it’s exciting!
CONCLUSION
I John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
Are you fighting in the name of the Lord? Are you angry when you see our culture defying God? What will you do about it? While everyone else is cowering in fear, will you step out by faith and fight the giants of this world?
Is your confidence in God? Have you put complete trust in God that He will give you the victory? The world is tall and intimidating, but God is much bigger. He has already given you victory over sin and the devil, so trust Him to give you victory for the battles ahead.
Will you let God fight your battles? Will you acknowledge that “the battle is the Lord’s”? God doesn’t work in conventional ways, so don’t get discouraged when things don’t work out the way you want. God is at work! Acknowledge Him and see what He will do. He won’t disappoint you; He will fight for you.
Remember Winston Churchill’s speech from June 4, 1940? That was a good speech, but the truth is, Churchill didn’t know if they would win the war. When David gave his speech, Israel didn’t know that he would win. In fact, they probably thought, “We’re doomed! There’s no way this kid can kill that giant!” But David knew that he would win. It was a victory speech given before the fight! But how did he know he would win? Because he had God. God cannot lose a fight. Trust Him for the battles you face—“the battle is the Lord’s.”
