Sermon 4 - Back To Life, Back To Reality Series

Introduction:

A. Let’s start with a Peanuts comic strip.

1. Peppermint Patty falls asleep at school.

2. When she awakes, she says: “OOPS! Sorry Ma’am! I guess I dozed off for a second.”

3. She continued: “I dreamed I had just been given a scholarship to Vassar.”

4. Then she mutters: “Well, back to reality!”

5. That’s how life is sometimes – after a moment of hopefulness or reprieve, reality can come crashing back upon us.

B. I’ve borrowed the title for today’s sermon from a catchy, funky song from the 1990’s recorded by En Vogue.

1. It’s a phrase we often sing, in our family when we want to express the experience of getting back to reality – “Back to life, back to reality.”

2. That’s something that David surely experienced in the aftermath of killing Goliath the giant.

3. People sometimes say that the toughest trials come just after a victory.

4. That’s certainly a time when we are often most vulnerable to temptation and to discouragement – at least that’s been my experience.

5. Following David’s victory over Goliath, David stepped into a situation which was almost more than he could take.

C. One of the ways that God was gracious to David and is gracious to us is that God gives us only one day at a time.

1. I’m convinced that one of the best things that God does for us is to keep us from knowing specifically what will happen beyond today, except for the general promises of His presence and provision, and eternal life.

2. We must take life one day at a time – that’s the way God dispenses life.

3. A person might think that after David killed the giant, then he immediately was given the throne, but that’s not what took place.

4. As a matter of fact, after the giant-slaying David faced some of the deepest, longest, and darkest valleys of his entire life.

5. David didn’t become king until he was 30 years old and that was 10 to 15 years down the road.

6. This young man who had proved himself faithful among the sheep and on the battlefield, went from the highest pinnacle of success and popularity, to the lowest point of despair as he became a fugitive on the run from a demented king.

D. I’m getting a little ahead of myself, so let’s review last week’s lesson for just a minute.

1. Last week we witnessed the young David, not yet 20 years old, a man who had never worn a uniform in the army of Israel, who had never once run onto the battlefield or had never carried a sword, but he ran out onto the battlefield, faced a giant almost 10 feet tall, and overcame him with one throw of a stone from his sling.

2. As a result, David gained instant prominence and popularity - he became a national hero.

3. The people began to sing his praises and Saul made good on his promise to enrich the man who killed Goliath.

4. David became a permanent member of the king’s court.

5. All of this happened overnight – very few people could take all that in stride, but David did.

6. David really did have the right kind of heart. – humble and faithful.

E. At that point, as David’s life unfolded, four different relationships became very significant.

1. God’s hand was on David, for sure.

2. Ultimately, God was preparing David to become one of the greatest kings in the history of Israel, but in order to do that, God had to shape him and sharpen him.

3. David was about to enter the crucible of pain and suffering – which is often the best training ground for spiritual growth and preparation for leadership.

4. Let’s briefly look at each of these significant relationships that developed in David’s life and see what lessons the Lord would have us learn from them.

I. David’s Relationship of Submission with Saul.

A. One of the first things that happened in the aftermath of the victory over Goliath was that Saul would not let David return to his sheep.

1. The Bible says, “From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house…Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army.” (1 Sam. 18:2, 5)

2. Notice that David was the champion of champions, the slayer of the giant, and yet he went wherever Saul sent him.

3. David lived in loyal submission to his king – he did so for the next 10 – 15 years, in spite of Saul’s treachery.

4. And what was the result? David prospered. Four times in this chapter it says David prospered.