LIFE OF DAVID: FROM SHEEPS TO CREEPS
1 SAMUEL 17:1-58
INTRODUCTION...www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4361829,00.html
I want to share a story with you from last week in the Rocky Mountain Newspaper in Denver, Colorado. The story centers around a hot dog vendor and a fancy restaurant. "The beef between a hot dog vendor and a Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Cherry Creek boiled over Tuesday in a victory for the cart owner. Efforts to push Valentina Petty and her hot dog cart 60 feet across the street from the eatery in Fillmore Plaza are done, the restaurant’s vice president said Tuesday. "It’s over as far as we’re concerned," Dennis Deslongchamp said. "We’re done with this."
Wolfgang Puck Express, part of a franchise owned by the celebrity chef, had tried to get the Cherry Creek North Business Improvement District to move Petty, who has sold hot dogs and other food at East Second Avenue and Fillmore Street for seven years. The eatery, which opened in March, contended the hot dog cart adversely affected its business. News of the restaurant’s plan to move Petty, a Russian immigrant and single mother helping her 18-year-old daughter, Maria, pay for college, generated public outrage.
Around lunchtime one particular week, a man walked in front of Wolfgang Puck Express holding up his hot dog to the window in one hand and giving the restaurant a thumbs-down with the other. More than a dozen customers and several employees were inside.
For Petty, the spat over her pushcart proved profitable. She said business picked up after people heard about her predicament. She said she’s had regular and new customers from Golden, Boulder, Westminster, Aurora - "from everywhere" - offering their support. "Everybody knows my name," said Petty, who is shy and soft-spoken. "It’s very nice."
The title of the article? "David Beats Goliath in hot dog cart battle." Now, if I told you the title of the article, you would have already known that the little hotdog vendor won over the big restaurant. The story of David and Goliath is one of the more well-known stories in the Bible. Anytime we see something large versus something small, the story of David and Goliath is referenced. Yet, this story in 1 Samuel 17 is so much more than an underdog story. TELL THE STORY OF DAVID AND GOLIATH FROM MEMORY (1 Samuel 17:1-58)
The story of David and Goliath is one that is easily remembered and it strikes something in us that we like. Especially Americans since we love an ‘underdog’ story. Yet, in this passage we see the life of David change dramatically. He has already been anointed the next king (1 Samuel 16), but now faces an obstacle. We will look at David and Goliath today and see how David went from tending sheep to facing this creep... and how we can face obstacles in our lives.
I. REALITY IS... WE WILL FACE OBSTACLES TO OUR FAITH (verses 4-11)
READ VERSES 4-11
The story of David and Goliath is one in which we see a great obstacle. The obstacle has a name. The obstacle has a huge spear and mighty armor. The obstacle has been trained to be a soldier since his youth. Can you imagine facing someone who was nine feet tall? The Philistines were constantly attacking and raiding Israel and it came down to a fight. Yet, in the way of Israel’s victory is this nine-foot tall obstacle.
Do you have obstacles in your life? Do you have obstacles when it comes to your faith? Many times our obstacles in our lives come from our lives and they hamper our spiritual growth. What is it that faces you as a nine-foot giant?
* Perhaps growing up you had incorrect ideas about God and you are still trying to get over those. Maybe you always felt that God was a taskmaster or a divine jokester. It could be you heard sermons or teachings that gave you incorrect doctrine or you misunderstood. Many times when we have incorrect views of God as children they affect us into our adult years.
* Perhaps someone in a church (not necessarily this one, but it could have been) has let you down or disappointed you. The church is full of people and people sin... even in the church. I have an uncle who has never been back to church because he overheard a conversation by elders of his church that crushed his faith. He overheard it in the supermarket that he worked. If someone in a church lets you down, it can cause many problems in our faith and cause obstacles. Paul knows that things like this happen and will happen and in Romans 14:13 says, "Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way."
* Perhaps you are dealing with an illness yourself or the illness of someone you love. Perhaps it involves the death of a loved one. Many times sickness and death create questions in our lives that have little or no answers. Or the answers that we get we do not like. It could have been a senseless death or a preventable one. It could have been a suicide. Sickness and death are obstacles that we all deal with , but they can impede our faith when we have unresolved questions.
* Perhaps it is sin. Maybe you have a sin in your life that you are not letting go. Maybe it is a secret sin that only you know. Sin certainly is an obstacle in our lives. Scripture lists sins that are obstacles for us: quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder (2 Corinthians 12:20), filthy language (Colossians 3:8), apathy, laziness, or whatever it may be. Sin blocks our relationship with God and it harms our relationships with other people as well.
I do not know your obstacle. I have tried to mention some and I hope by mentioning some of these that I have brought to your mind the "Goliaths" in your life. The fact is they are there. These enemies of our faith will come into our lives and will want to draw us away from God. Goliath came before the people of Israel and scoffed God. The Bible tells us (verse 43) that Goliath cursed the soldiers and David. The reality is... we will face obstacles to our faith.
ILLUSTRATION... http://www.cbn.com/entertainment/sports/ChristianAthletes/billy_blanks.asp
The words, "Not by sight but by faith" adorn the walls of Billy Blanks training center -- a testament to his faith in Christ to overcome many obstacles. "Faith without works is dead" -- is another scripture which adorns the training center walls. "I was the one who wasn’t going to be someone," Billy says. Billy is the fourth of 15 children born to Isaac & Mabelline Blanks. His father was a steel foundry worker by day and drove a garbage truck at night. His mother was a homemaker. They were a poor but hard-working couple from Erie, Pennsylvania.
Billy says his parents raised him with love and discipline. "Not a day goes by that I don’t recall my father telling me, ‘Billy, you have to work hard for everything.’" Billy had a hard time academically. He struggled with dyslexia, a condition not diagnosed until he was 37 years old. Additionally he was born with an anomaly in his hip joints that would impair his movement, and a clumsiness that earned him the taunts of his siblings and caused his coaches to believe he’d never accomplish much.
Billy found his answer to these challenges in karate. At age 12 he saw martial arts great Bruce Lee on TV and decided he wanted to be a world martial-arts champion. The discipline of the program began to transform his body. In 1975 he became the first Amateur Athletic Union champion, a title he won five times. By age 16, he had earned a black belt in karate and went on to earn a spot on the U.S. Karate team which won 36 gold medals in international competition -- becoming the captain in 1980. His hopes of Olympic glory were dashed when President Carter announced a U.S. boycott of the games in Moscow.
After teaching children for many years, in 1988 Billy moved his family to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He found a job in security, and soon landed a job as bodyguard to Catherine Bach who starred on "The Dukes of Hazzard." While guarding her on location in the Philippines in 1989, Billy was cast in his first movie role.
He went on to land parts in over 28 films. It was during this time in his life that Billy committed his life to the Lord.
As his competitive karate career slowed down, Billy stayed dedicated to physical fitness. It was while training in his basement gym that he began to combine his karate moves with dance music to create his innovative exercise technique, which he named Tae-bo. Billy is an active member of Crenshaw Christian Center. He normally goes to his fitness center every day except for Sunday when he attends church, and on Tuesday night when he’s at Bible study.
"You have it within your power to overcome almost any obstacle and achieve any dream," says Billy, who trains disabled people in addition to a long list of Hollywood celebrities. "All you need to do is believe in yourself and find the way to ‘Walk with faith and not sight.’"
II. REALITY IS... PRETENDING WILL ONLY LEAD TO FAILURE (verses 12-16, 38-39)
READ VERSES 12-16, 38-39
I want you to know that the major effort by the armies of Israel was to pretend that Goliath was not there. I guess that was what they were doing. Verse 16 tells us that Goliath came out to face a challenger twice daily for 40 days. That means that not one person challenged Goliath as he came out 80 times. What were these people doing? They were afraid and ignored him. They were terrified and chose not to deal with it.
I can imagine Saul being quite fearful when this young man approached him about fighting Goliath. Verse 33 tells us that Saul had great reservations about this match. He saw Goliath and knew the skills that this huge solider possessed. Saul wanted David to pretend as well. Saul gave David his armor and weapons. It sure makes sense to me. I am agreeing to send out this boy... I guess I had better make him look like a soldier and protect him a little. David probably looked like a kid trying on his dad’s shoes. David probably looked like a kid trying on his dad’s hat David probably looked like a kid playing soldier.
David knows that pretending will only lead to failure. What does he say? Verse 39 tells us that David could hardly walk around and he told the king "I am not used to them." This armor and sword would only hinder him. Pretending would only hinder David in what he had to do.
I hope you know that pretending that problems and obstacles in our lives do not exist is not the answer and it will only lead to failure and misery.
* What happens if you ignore a leak in your roof?
* What happens if you ignore mold in your house or business?
* What happens if you ignore a persistent pain in your side?
* What happens if you pretend you have no family issues?
We know that ignoring any of these issues will lead to a damaged house, possible death, and a broken family. Our spiritual and emotional issues are the very same. We have already seen that we all face obstacles to our faith. If we ignore them, they will come out day after day and whittle us down until we are nothing.
III. REALITY IS... VICTORY COMES THROUGH GOD (verses 34-37, 45-51)
READ VERSES 34-37, 41-51
The reality is that all of us face obstacles in our lives. It may be physical or emotional or spiritual. It may be another person. It may be an idea or a group of people. We all have obstacles... that is the reality of life. There is another reality that should give us hope and strength... and that is that victory comes through God.
David decides that he will go and fight Goliath. He stands before Saul and recounts previous victories that he has had. David tells Saul about keeping sheep and some of the perils that he has encountered. David tells of killing a bear and killing a lion and he did it through the help of God. Verse 37 is key because David is not counting on his expert shepherding skills to kill Goliath. Verse 37 is key because David is not counting on Goliath to trip or mess up. Verse 37 is key because of the faith and the fact that it proclaims. David says God will deliver him. What is Saul supposed to say? He lets the boy go.
Goliath looks at this young man and is insulted. I would have to agree a bit with Goliath on this point. He has come out about 80 times looking for a fight and after 80 times they send out a boy to take care of business. Goliath decides to rid the battle field of this young man and promises to feed him to the buzzards.
David again shows that victory only comes through God. In verse 45, David exclaims that he comes in the name of the Lord (who has been dishonored by Goliath), and will kill him. David even promises what he will do to Goliath... now that is guts! David promises Goliath to strike him down and cut off his head. And that is what he did. Verse 50 says, "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." Now that is good stuff.
So I ask you, did David win the day? Did David defeat his enemy? Did David conquer his obstacle? Yes, but only through the power of God.
CONCLUSION
I want you to know that David constantly faced obstacles in his life. He and his men even faced more giants just like Goliath. Did you know that?
READ 2 SAMUEL 21:15-22
You see, we will always face giants and obstacles in our lives. It truly is important how we face them. We can try and overcome these things on our own and we can be defeated. Or, we can rely on the power of God and be victorious.
Psalm 68:34-35 = "Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the skies. You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!"
Romans 15:13 = "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
