For the past 2 weeks, we have been discussing the topic, ¡§How To Stand When You Do Not Understand¡¨ ¡V
In Week 1, we spoke about the fact that we can stand even in the Midst of Failure as we looked at the life of Jacob who had lived as a cheater and failure most of his life until that one night he wrestled with an angel until the breaking of the dawn, and the blessing was received. His name was changed from Cheater to Israel, or ¡§Prince With God¡¨.
Last week, we spoke about how that we can stand in the Midst of Faithlessness, and the life of Peter who followed the Lord faithfully, however in his moment of Testing denied the Lord 3 times. However, instead of turning against God, he realized that God still had a purpose for Him, and ultimately Peter became a great Preacher of the Gospel of Christ in the early church.
There are times that each of us find ourselves in the midst of Failure, but needing to Stand, and also in the midst of Faithlessness, but needing to get back on track with God.
Today, we are going to look at STANDING IN THE MIDST OF FEAR.
Just the other day I was watching the news, and words of warning were being expressed to America that we are still in the midst of a war, and that the Terrorists are doing everything within their power to be sure there is another attack of some kind between now and the 2004 Presidential Elections.
We now live in a nation that is often wondering what is around the corner, and also wondering what color the Terror Alert Level is going to be, and then fearful that we won¡¦t even know what the color means when it does change.
Terrorists are threatening our Nation on a daily level, as the ¡§Goliath of Fear¡¨ rears it¡¦s ugly head in the newspapers, internet, and around the world.
Our world drastically changed after September 11, 2001 ¡V However, the concern now is that Americans will tire of hearing threat after threat, and warning after warning, without seeing attack, and be lulled into a sense of complacency which is exactly where the enemy would like to see us.
Even as Christians, there are times we feel that we must tone down the message of the Gospel of Christ for ¡§fear of offending¡¨ someone else.
How Do We Stand During These Times of Terror?
We cannot be full of fear, yet we cannot be unconcerned.
We are going to look today at David who was facing a threat to his Nation, as well as God¡¦s name.
As mentioned previously, we always saw three areas in each of these difficult times.
1. The Test
2. The Travail
3. The Triumph
We are going to look at these 3 areas again today, and realize that we serve a God who has everything in control regardless of what we see with our physical eyes on the outside, and gain new insight to how we can stand even when we do not understand.
First of all today we look and see:
I. THE TEST ¡V DAVID WAS CHALLENGED TO DELIVER A NATION
The people of Israel were being intimidated on a daily basis by the great Philistine Giant named Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:1-11
[4] And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. [5] And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. [6] And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. [7] And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. [8] And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. [9] If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye 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 those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
1 Samuel 17:16
And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
It was said that Goliath exceeded 9 feet in height, and in the eyes of the army of Israel probably looked 90 feet tall as he continually called out to them to send a man to battle him.
King Saul probably felt the most pressure to go out into battle as we know that he was about the tallest that Israel had to offer, and he was chosen to be King mainly because of his physical appearance. If Saul were running for office in America today, they wouldn¡¦t care what he actually believed in, but as long as he looked good, he would get the vote of many people.
David was still a shepherd boy, and was not part of the army, however we see in
1 Samuel 17:17-18 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; [18] And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
Basically, David¡¦s father told him to go and deliver lunch to the big guys out in the midst of the battle, so we see that David went and did as he was told to do.
As he was there with them, we see that Goliath came out once again to challenge the Israelites and strike terror in their hearts with his words.
David asked what the deal was.
1 Samuel 17:26
And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
As David looked around, all he could see were the backs of the people as they were once again retreating from the enemy in fear and terror: 1 Samuel 17:24
And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
He probably looked at the faces of his big brothers, (after they turned around), and the faces of others, and saw the fear that gripped them, and then knowing the God he served, wondered why everyone was so gripped with fear.
Then we see that
a. David¡¦s Motives Were Questioned
1 Samuel 17:28
And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
Here was the first part of the Test that David was facing, and it had to do with the false accusation of a brother. It is also clear that Eliab didn¡¦t call him aside to discuss it privately.
David¡¦s entire purpose for visiting the battlefield was not to come watch his ¡§heroic¡¨ brothers beat up on the enemy, but it was simply to obey what his father had told him to do, and that was to bring a blessing to his brothers in the form of food.
This can be applied so directly to today, and the world we live in, and yes, at times the churches we as Christians may be involved in.
We can be going along simply obeying the Father to bring blessing to our brothers and sisters in Christ, and before long someone begins to question our motives, and accuse us of having motives that are not only questionable, but at times sinful.
These are times of testing when the faint of heart will often give up, not in the face of the enemy of our souls, but the criticism of the family of God!
When the Bible tells us that we are not to judge one another, it is referring to judging the motives and intentions of another, and not so much the ¡§fruits¡¨ of another persons life. We are to be ¡§fruit inspectors¡¨, but we cannot judge the motivation behind a person¡¦s efforts unless we see fruits evident of self-seeking purposes.
1 Samuel 17:29
And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
I really believe that David did not understand ¡§why¡¨ others were cowering in fear while the Name of God was being trampled upon.
Criticism couldn¡¦t stop David. While the rest of the army stood around, he knew the importance of taking action. With God to fight for him, there was no reason to wait. People may try to discourage you with negative comments or mockery, but continue to do what you know is right. By doing what is right, you will be pleasing God, whose opinion matters most.
So David continued to stand when he remembered ¡§why¡¨ he was asking the question, and the nobleness of his endeavor as opposed to dwelling on the negatives that we so often find ourselves dwelling upon.
Not only were his motives questioned, but we see also:
b. David¡¦s Abilities Were Challenged
1 Samuel 17:31
And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. 1 Samuel 17:32-33
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.
Imagine the sight. This young Shepherd boy being brought into the presence of the mighty King of Israel while mighty ¡§warriors¡¨ all around were probably laughing and having a good time of making fun while others were genuinely upset with him.
His desire to act only magnified their desire to cower in fear!
Saul looked at him and sized him up, and sized the situation up, and made what would seem to be a sensible judgement call regarding David¡¦s abilities, and that was that he didn¡¦t stand a chance against Goliath especially since he was a giant, and had been a man of war all his life.
Previously we know that David¡¦s own father underestimated him as the prophet Samuel went to the household of Jesse to anoint the next King of Israel. The proud Dad, Jesse paraded all of his sons before the prophet, and still someone was missing.
1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
1 Samuel 16:10-11
Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. [11] And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
1 Samuel 16:13
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
Perhaps in David¡¦s mind, he thought, well here I am again, being underestimated because of my appearance, but they don¡¦t know the God that I know!
David continued to stand in spite of the Questioning of his motives, and the Challenging of his abilities.
We too must continue to know our God even in times of the same types of questions! This will help us to stand even when we do not understand.
So not only do we see the Test as David was Challenged to Deliver A Nation, but we also see:
II. The Travail ¡V Convincing A Fearful, Faithless King
1 Samuel 17:32
And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
Again, imagine this young Shepherd boy coming into the presence of King Saul with the kind of faith that was needed to get the job done.
Someone once said, ¡§It¡¦s not the size of the dog in the fight, but it¡¦s the size of the fight in the dog¡¨, and David was full of confidence, but the confidence rested in the Lord as we will see.
I believe that:
a. Previous Victories Had Prepared Him For Present Challenges
1 Samuel 17:34-37
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.
David took time to rehearse in his own mind, as well as verbally in the presence of King Saul the fact that God had met him in the past in very dangerous situations, and the same God that met him then would meet him now.
We as humans are too quick to forget the good things, and too slow to remember the blessings of God! We live so much in the now, we forget the God of the past who met us right on time with answers to our payers.
We need to take time often to look at Landmark moments in our lives to help us get through the stress of the day!
One of the greatest ways we can stand when we do not understand is by going back and rehearsing both in our minds, and verbally the times that God met us. Each trial from the past served as a building block of faith for the future.
Philip. 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Well, here David was in front of King Saul making Saul look smaller all the time, but King Saul thought the least he could do was to provide David with the finest of Armor, so David had a challenge set before him:
b. To Trust In Man¡¦s Armor, Or God¡¦s Strength
1 Samuel 17:38-39
And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. [39] And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
Saul felt like if he could not go and fight, at least he could offer him something to help along the way.
David tried it all on, and realized that it was just not going to work out. He was going to have to trust in what God had already provided him.
So often, during our times of trial, we are offered lots of advice. Some of it solicited, and most of it unsolicited. Some of it encouraging us to have faith, and most of it encouraging us to trust in the armor, or answers of the World.
If we are going to stand during these challenging times, it is going to have to be with the Whole armor of God, and not the wisdom and knowledge of man.
Ephes. 6:13-18
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. [16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
David¡¦s travail was convincing this King that he was God¡¦s answer for this situation, and of course we know that Saul allowed this to happen. David did not just rush in without going through the proper channels even if everyone was filled with fear around him.
Lastly today, we see
III. The Triumph ¡V Bringing Victory To An Entire Nation
The nation was at a crisis moment. Someone had to rise up in response to the threat of the enemy who was attempting to bring them down.
It seems that God has always been willing to respond with miracles when just one, or a small number would just take time to believe in Him enough to want to honor His name.
Noah and his family were saved from the flood.
Lot and his family were saved from Sodom and Gomorrah.
Gideon used an army of 300 to defeat an army of thousands and thousands.
And while the list could go on and on, we know that he also used ¡§his only begotten Son¡¨ to bring Salvation to the entire world if they would respond in obedience.
Ezekiel 22:30
"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
As we look at the familiar story of David meeting Goliath, we see:
a. David Defeated The Enemy Without
1 Samuel 17:40-50
Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
[41] Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. [42] He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. [43] He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. [44] "Come here," he said, "and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"
[45] David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. [46] This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. [47] All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands."
[48] As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. [49] Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
[50] So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
There are the obviously destructive enemies that are out to destroy the church, and the individual believer.
We see the enemy of our souls represented everyday in our newspapers, as we fight a moral battle in America. The enemy often seems larger, and better equipped with more money and resources, however, we must know that we serve a great and mighty God.
Terrorists are constantly on the prowl looking for a chink in our armor, or an opening where they can spread their venom of hatred and destruction.
Families are being attacked through the constant barrage of unholy images brought into the home through the television, radio, and Cd¡¦s.
I believe that our greatest threat in America is not from some foreign land, but from the constant decay of morality that has defined us as a Christian nation for so many years.
David may have been all alone, but he knew who was fighting right beside him. He knew that if he was going to stand even while a nation was gripped in fear, it had to be with a total and complete dependence upon God.
I believe that the Christian of today must have the resolve of David who said "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.¡¨
Our greatest weapons is not the might of our armies, but it is the praying Grandmother seeking God on the behalf of her nation. It is the weeping wife lifting up her family even in times of financial and spiritual trial.
Our dependence is upon God.
Not only did David defeat the enemy from without, but we see also that
b. David Defeated The Enemy Within
1 Samuel 18:5-14
Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well.
[6] When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. [7] As they danced, they sang:
"Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."
[8] Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" [9] And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
[10] The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand [11] and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I’ll pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice.
[12] Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul. [13] So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. [14] In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him.
When a proud man hears another praised, he feels himself injured.
-- English proverb
We see here in this portion of scripture one man who defeated the enemy of pride from within, and another man who was defeated by this dreaded enemy.
If we are going to stand when we do not understand, we must deal a death blow to that enemy of Pride that will continually clamor for attention in our times of success, and make us feel shame or jealousy in times of challenge as we look around and see others prospering in a greater way than seemingly we are.
If ever there is an enemy that we have to deal with, it is the enemy known as pride.
Pride is spiritual cancer; it eats the very possibility of love or contentment, or even common sense.
C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)
Homiletics (Jan.-Mar./96) told of a turtle who wanted to spend the winter in Florida, but he knew he could never walk that far. He convinced a couple of geese to help him, each taking one end of a piece of rope, while he clamped his vise-like jaws in the center.
The flight went fine until someone on the ground looked up in admiration and asked, "Who in the world thought of that?"
Unable to resist the chance to take credit, the turtle opened his mouth to shout, "I did--"
ƒÞ Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 2.
We go on to read more in the word of King Saul¡¦s repeated attempts to take the life of David, the next King of Israel, however, God protects those who honor Him in Word and Deed.
Even while fear was all around David, we see a man who fought through the challenges to his motives and abilities.
We see a man whose previous victories prepared him for present challenges, and a man who trusted in God¡¦s strength more than man¡¦s man-made answers.
We also see a man who defeated the enemy without, as well as the enemy within.
May we be like David as we live in these challenging days, and overcome fear with the help of our Lord.
