1 Samuel 17 (Part 3) Bible Study (David and Goliath) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

If you're joining us for the first time, we are going through a Bible study in the book of first Samuel, and we are still in one chapter in that book, and it is chapter 17. So meet me there, please. I hope you brought your Bible to Bible study. And put our finger on that verse, we're gonna ask the Lord Jesus to help us once again. Lord, we praise your name because you've opened the eyes of our hearts to see your glory.

Thank you for saving our souls. Thank you that our eternal destination is secure. Thank you that you will complete the work that you've begun in us. Lord, we ask that this bible study would be a contribution to our sanctification and that we would be chiseled into the image of Jesus Christ. But Lord, as we heard earlier, apart from your grace and power, nothing will be accomplished.

And so we pray for the spirit of wisdom and revelation to be known in this place, that you would brood over our hearts and that you would speak, let there be light. And we would sense revelation and it would cause us to know you more, to love you more, and to serve you with a greater intensity. Lord, like on the mount of transfiguration, hide every person and reveal Christ. We wanna see him. And Lord, like those disciples who were asleep, they only could see the glory when they were fully awake, and we ask that you would awaken us.

Help us see you. Whatever motivation we came in here with, let it be destroyed in light of the motive of knowing Christ. This is our desire in this house. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

David and Goliath, if you grew up in church, not only did you hear that story, you probably memorized it. But our ambition going through this chapter is to look at it in a deeper way. To look at it in a way in which we can grasp more than just a underdog story. And our last discussion surrounding this this scene deals with David arriving at the battlefield, not knowing what he was about to face, though God knew, and him stumbling upon the news of a giant that is threatening the people of God and the armies of the living God. And here we see that without a doubt already, if you were here last week, that we saw the shining heart of a man who is after God's own heart.

And he stood in great contrast to those who were cowering in fear, not believing their God, and not stepping up in desire to defend the honor of their God. And yet it's only going to continue, because where we ended last week is just going to be the beginning of the culmination of this great victory that we are also familiar with. And instead of speeding to that point where we see David and Goliath in that duel facing off, we're going to take our time because there's way too much important factors to ignore for the sake of our walk with the Lord. And let's read a couple verses in verse 28. Now Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab's anger was kindled against David.

And he said, why have you come down and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart for you have come down to see the battle. And David said, what have I done now? Was it not but a word? And he turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way and the people answered him again as before.

So here's what's happening. You remember, right? David the delivery boy shows up on the scene. And as he arrives, people are murmuring and talking and and he hears in the distance in that valley a thundering voice that's challenging the people to come fight. And so David's inquiry, David's words now begin to drown out the words of Goliath, and the conversation in the camp is changing.

It went from being afraid of Goliath to now curiosity being in the air because now this this random young person who just showed up, he's not a soldier, he's not wearing armor, but he's now he's now willing to actually fight this Goliath. And the word gets to his brother, Eliab, the eldest. And would you know it, the one person out of all the armies, the one person who would criticize this man's passion and his faith and his willingness to serve God at the expense of his life, is ready to criticize him. This is the point I wanna make to you tonight. If you are going to be a servant of God and if you wanna emulate a man like David and do great things for God, know this, that the greatest servants of Christ have been the object of the greatest scorn and slander.

And I wanna prepare you tonight through these two verses, so that when that time does come because it will, you will not be disappointed or shocked or surprised at why these fiery trials are coming from the most unlikely people in your life. If you don't want to serve God, if you don't want to be consistent, if you don't want to be consecrated, you don't have to worry about this part. But I'm talking about those who are willing to stand out in holiness and stand out as you stand for truth when an entire culture including Christian culture is crumbling under the weight of those who are saying, you actually believe that book? Why did this happen to David? Why is this occurring?

Because Satan will do everything he can to try to stop you from advancing in obedience to God. Even if he has to find an open door from within to try to bruise you and harm you in the process of your pursuit of living for Christ. You better understand that. And it's unfortunate, but you can do everything by the book, just like David is doing here, and still be the conversation of criticism in the mouths of so many others. Let's look at this.

Look at the first question of the brother in your bibles. Eliab's anger was kindled against David and he said, why have you come down? This is bible study. Let's try to make it as interactive as possible. You answer the question, why did David come down here?

To bring supplies for his brothers. To bring a good report from his brothers back to their father. And so as David comes down, to do what? Actually help his own, he's being criticized. Lesson number one, you want to serve God?

You better be ready to be hurt by the ones that you're trying to help. I know it's shocking. I know it's inconceivable, but you better believe it. And if you think that you are exempt of such a thing, then you think that you are more worthy than Jesus Christ who was criticized by his own brethren himself. When he came to do only good, to save and to redeem and to heal and to forgive.

And he was still scorned by the lashes of the tongue of those who are envious of him. And here's David. He's coming to help his own and his own are willing to harm him and to hurt him, his own brother, his own blood. This is true of the great saints of the ages including in the scripture. You think about Moses, poor Moses, a pastor of a church of 2,000,000.

And Moses delivered the people out of bondage and guess what? There was more than one occasion that they wanted to stone the guy. And not just stone the guy, culminated they said, why don't we just replace him? Yes. The one who laid down his life to serve others was willing to be killed by the same ones that he saved.

You better believe that those that you help have the ability to be so emptied of the spirit and so filled with carnality that they can dismiss any good that you've done, any sacrifice that you have performed, and the same hand that you extended to feed and to help will bite it. Expect it. Don't be disappointed when it happens. But let's look at the second thing he asks. And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?

That's not a gen that's not a genuine concern or a question. That's an accusation in disguise. And so he is actually trying to make David feel as though he is irresponsible. And you know what he's doing? What many professing Christians do do.

Eliab is making a final judgment based on the the next part where he goes, I I know your heart. You're an evil person. He's ready to make a final judgment without gathering all the facts. Had Eliab operated with the wisdom of the spirit, he would have waited for David to give his answer before he made his final conclusion. But no, he doesn't.

He assumes. He has one perception. All he sees is David here, and David not with the sheep, and he does the equation in his mind, if you're here and the sheep are back there, you've left the sheep and you've come so that you can watch us fight. Teaching Christians what? Proverbs eighteen seventeen.

The one who states his case first seems right, until another person comes and examines him. Memorize that verse. The one who comes to state his case first seems right until the other comes and examines him. What does that tell us? That somebody can come with one side of the story and it is extremely convincing, and many people make judgments based on that until another person comes and brings the evidence, and brings another side to the situation, and you have a whole different conclusion of the matter.

Why do you think Solomon and all his great wisdom who wrote thousands of problems would include that? Well, it wasn't Solomon, it was the spirit of God. Because he knew that humans are prone to make judgments without gathering all the information first. And one of the signs of being a person who is filled with the spirit of wisdom is that you know how to put the brakes on making final calls on someone's character or reputation and wait for all of the light to come on the matter. There are many people in here I've heard over the past few months that are pursuing counseling, and are going to school for counseling.

Praise God for that. Many people from this church wanna pursue ministry, and that's a wonderful thing. But let me give you some advice from somebody who's done counseling for a few years now. If you wanna pursue it, you better know this, that you can sit with a person and hear one side of the story and it can be extremely convincing. And it can erupt emotion and it can be a very persuasive experience, until you bring the other parties in, and you hear what they have to say.

And oftentimes, what it does is it balances the wrongs and sometimes it even cancels everything that was said from the initial person and makes them out to be a complete liar. If you're gonna do life with Christians, if you're gonna be a part of a family, you better know because you're gonna hear things, Christian steps on each other's toes, and unfortunately, the devil finds open doors within the church. And if you do not know how to calculate what you hear before making a judgment, you will destroy unnecessary relationships, and you will embarrass yourself when the truth comes out. Eliab should have blushed after knowing what happened with the sheep. What happened with the sheep?

Go back to verse 20. We are told what happened with the sheep. And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and took provisions and went as Jesse had commanded him. That's what happened with the sheep. But see, Eliab didn't know what was happening in the background, but he didn't need to know because he just wanted to make a judgment to satisfy his flesh.

In Proverbs 30 verse 10, we are told, do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you and you be found guilty. Do not slander. Do not say something false. Do not come up with an untrue statement about someone else, lest that master investigates the matter, or less that master who knows his servant better than you do, discover that what you're doing, whether you did it intentionally or unintentionally, whether you have a malicious ambition, or whether you're just a puppet because you did not have the discernment to hear what you hear and to chop it up before you digested it. Whatever the case may be, you are prone to being cursed by someone else.

And the person you were trying to make look guilty, all that guilt will end up being heaped up on you. Scripture says, a fool is hasty with his words. And when I look at a verse like this, I can't help but relate it to a new testament verse. And in the new testament we are told in Romans fourteen four, who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls and he will be upheld for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Paul is telling these Christians who have different convictions in gray areas. You have some who are more strict with days and diets and yet others who felt like they had more freedom because they understood the gospel of grace. And Paul by the spirit intervenes. And he says, I'm hearing that you guys are judging one another because of these things that are not foundational or as black and white. And here's what I want to tell you, who do you think you are to judge the servant of a master.

And I look at that and I think of Proverbs thirty ten in the background, and here's the application. If you're gonna go about slandering, if you're gonna go about passing what you hear like a hot potato because you can't handle it, Know this, if that person is a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, you're gonna have to deal with his master. You're gonna have to deal with the master who knows him better than anybody else. Who knows the intent of his heart, who knows what he does in secret. And if your accusations do not line up with his understanding and you've went around to speak against that servant, his master will intervene.

I'm trying to save you from unnecessary trouble in your life. I'm trying to save you from embarrassment. And I wanna actually equip those who serve God long enough to realize that you will be slandered. Let's look at the third aspect of this. I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.

How confident is this man? I know. David, I know. So here's the tricky part. Right?

Because Elam is doing another thing that many Christians do. He's making judgments based on what he feels about the person. I have certain knowledge about you. I have certain insight about you. Last time I checked, Eli wasn't a prophet of God.

And here's Eli who says, I know the wickedness of your heart. Isn't it fascinating that we studied not too long ago that God examined the same heart and said, this is a man after my own? And yet Eliab comes claiming to have omniscience, and the very same heart that God said was pure and after my own was evil and wicked according to this other man. And so be careful what you feel if you don't have evidence. Be careful what you sense because your heart is deceitful more than anything else in this world.

It's very tricky. But I feel it, it's so strong. And we can talk about discernment another day, I'm not talking about discernment. What I'm trying to say is this, how do you know that the voice in your heart that's telling you about that person isn't the voice of jealousy? The voice of envy?

The voice of insecurity. And that's the voice that you're listening to to make a judgment upon a faithful servant of God? But I feel it, it's so strong. Yeah, jealousy can be strong. So can pride, and it speaks, and it criticizes, and it tears down.

So you have to understand that just because you think you're confident, you can be dead wrong. Especially when, like Eliab, you have other creepy vices that are corrupting your soul. Why is Eliab saying this? Look at the text. What impression do you have of Eliab that gives us gives us some kind of clue of why he is endeavoring?

Because listen, he's doing this publicly. He didn't grab David to the side. He's saying it in front of other soldiers. He's trying to smear his character and his reputation. Here's a hint, when it says that all the armies fled when they heard Goliath's voice, did that include Eliab?

Or that it exclude him? No, it included him. Now think about it now. Here's Eliab, wonderful stature, built like not just a soldier, we were told earlier that even Samuel said, this guy is suited to be a king. And he's cowering away and here's David coming on the scene, little brother all sweaty, smelling like sheep, and he's like, anybody gonna take care of that giant on the other side of the valley?

And a lie, it's like, people are, is that your brother? Is that your youngest brother? Hey, I know why you're here. You're here to you're here to check out the battle, aren't you? I know the evil of your heart.

See, David's faith convicted Eliab. David's trust in God. David's spirituality intimidated Eliab. And so what did he do? Let me tear him down.

Let me have this one shot to tear him down, and he doesn't do it just we're not assuming Look here. Look at the the middle part again. Look at the second question. Read it slowly. And with whom have you left those what?

Few sheep. He's trying to belittle him. He's trying to make him seem insignificant. He's trying to, in the ears of others, make it sound like David's not a big deal. Hey, where did you leave those few little sheep that you babysit?

What happened to those sheep? And so this is an attack on the person because it's coming from a place of insecurity. It's coming from a place where you don't have your identity in Christ. Your identity is in your performance, even in the name of Christ. And when you see somebody that is operating in wonderful gifting or calling from God, it shakes you.

Because you don't know intimacy with Jesus. And you don't know how to be fulfilled by the presence of God. And so when somebody else comes to fulfill what God's called them to do, it throws you into a loop. And this is unfortunate coming from a brother. You know, when I hear people tearing down others, tearing down others who demonstrate faithfulness and humility, and they do so without substantial evidence, I question that person more than the person that they are trying to get me to dislike.

I questioned that individual more than the individual that they're trying to get me to think differently of. It's awfully quiet here tonight. Verse 29. And David said, I love this. This is David's response.

This guy is a teenager, and he shows more spiritual maturity than so many people who have claimed to be in the faith for years. Look at this. And David said, what have I done now? Was it not but a word? David is demonstrating a wisdom that we find in our Lord Jesus Christ.

When he was accused on many occasions, Jesus would ask some questions. He put Eliab on the defensive. And he said, hey, what I'm just asking a question here. And what he is doing is, he is forcing Eliab to examine the legitimacy of his claims. And he left he left alive to figure that out himself because look at the next part.

What he does next is more impressive than the fact that he asked questions. And it says here, and he turned away from him and toward another, and spoke in the same way and the people answered him again as before. I love that. So here's a lie of trying to make David feel small and others to seem like David is insignificant. And you know what David does?

I'm just asking a question. What's what what is all this about? And he goes like this. Do that. Do it a lot.

David discerned his brother in this moment. David understood where he was coming from. David wasn't stupid. David was anointed in the midst of his brethren, we are told in chapter 16. And David knew that this criticism is not worth giving any of his attention and energy toward.

He was able to stop himself, subdue his emotions, conquer his fleshly impulses in the moment and say, I'm not gonna deal with this right now. And he turns around to focus on the mission at hand. Why is that? Because he wants to preserve his focus, his faith, his energy, his efforts towards the real threat in this story. And on top of that, David was more concerned as you learned last week about God's name, than what Eli was saying about his own name.

And when you're so consumed with God's honor and God's kingdom and his reputation, when people try to tear down your own, it does very little. You know what could have happened? David could have get caught up in this. If David was in the flesh, you know what he would have done? Probably?

A lie of embarrassing him, his older brother trying to distract him and shame him. And David could have been, hey, come here, bring him to the side. What are you doing in front of all these people? You're embarrassing me? I'm here to come help you.

I brought food, dad called me to come here. And this is let's go call let's go call the other brothers. And they go and they go into the tent, you know what, I'm gonna call dad. And he goes back and gets dad, and dad comes in, and there's an intervention, and there's arguments, and guess what? All that time, he could have missed Goliath.

Because he got caught up in this word battle instead of the real battle that actually mattered. Do you want to know one of Satan's strategies? Hey, you serve God? You want to know one of Satan's strategies? This is it.

That when you are focused on the call, when you're focused on the gospel, when you're focused on spiritual advancement, spiritual maturity, growing in the things of God, the enemy can easily find undiscerning Christians. Unspiritual professing church goers, to cause little issues in your life so that it would demand your focus, and your sleep, and your time in prayer, so that you don't give yourself to what really matters in the kingdom of God. You better know how to hear things about you from other people and when it doesn't hold weight, I'm not talking about genuine correction, I'm not talking about genuine criticism, I'm talking about things that are baseless, that are shameful, that hold no weight. You better learn to say, really? And turn around.

Or else you will spend your days on things that won't matter and Satan will have his legs crossed with his hand on his chin, laughing as you squander over things that have no eternal value. Serve God long enough and you'll realize what I'm saying. It might sound foreign to you, but serve God long enough and you'll realize that this is very true. Look at verse 31. When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul and he sent for him.

So now, the words didn't just reach Eliab's ears, Now it is catching like wildfire and the king himself hears it. So he sends for him. And David shows up and he said to Saul in verse 32, let no man's heart fail him fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. What a courageous man of God.

He shows up this teenager, this delivery boy, and he goes, let nobody be afraid. I'm here to serve God. And now David, he overcame he overcame Eliab's assaults. Right? He he won that victory and now he has another hurdle to deal with, and it's Saul's words.

So we think this chapter is just about Goliath. No, there are many battles in this chapter. And the first one was the slander and the accusation of his own blood, and now he comes to Saul and he has to deal with a leader who lacks spiritual perception. And look what Saul says, and Saul said to David, you are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with them for you are but a youth. And he has been a man of war from his youth.

In other words, Goliath has been a soldier longer than you've been alive. And you think that you're gonna come and you're gonna actually do something about this whole situation? Now what Saul does here, we can't criticize him too much because there is, to a certain degree, a wisdom in this. You know, if somebody lacks experience in something, you don't hire them for such a great job. You don't put them in a position that has great consequence if they fail.

But this doesn't apply to this context. Why doesn't this apply to this context? Why is experience not a matter of importance in this specific circumstance? Anybody have an idea? I want you to think back at the times that we've covered in the Old Testament, the wars and the battles throughout the Exodus and throughout Joshua's conquest.

Let me give you a hint. What was the one thing that God required from his people in order to see victory? Obedience, but it's more specific. Faith. Faith was the qualifier for great conquest.

In fact, in Deuteronomy, when Moses preaches that lengthy sermon, Moses gives at a certain part the laws of warfare. The laws of warfare for Israel moving forward and here's the first thing that is said, it's in the first verse of Deuteronomy chapter 20. When you go up to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them for the Lord your God is with you who brought you out of the land of Egypt. So what's happening in this moment is, every single person in this scene except for David is obeying this command. Everybody else was afraid.

Everybody else was hiding in their tent, cowering behind their shields, and you had one person who was obeying what the law said concerning warfare, and he wasn't even a qualified soldier. So Saul's concern here doesn't apply because in this covenant, at this time, faith, it was was the thing that required was required for the soldiers to see victory and David had it. The others didn't. But you know what Saul is doing here? What we've seen so many times before, Saul lacks the spiritual perception.

He's only thinking in the flesh. He's not considering God. He hasn't considered God up to this point. And surely, when he sees David a man of faith, he doesn't he doesn't make the equation that this is the guy that we need. And so David has to deal with a person that's carnal, and he's a leader, and he's a king.

And so what does he do? He confidently presents his case of why he has the credentials of faith to be able to fight this battle. Now, this is why David is wise. When it came to Eliab, who was criticizing his character, he's like, I'm I'm not dealing with you. I'll deal with you at home.

But when it came to Saul, who challenged him, David took his time to prove himself. See, you need to know which battles to fight and which hills to die on. You need to know where to give your energy, when to speak, when not to speak, when to defend yourself, when not to defend yourself. This is teenager, man. And he understands these social skills that many people lack.

He says, I'm gonna prove to you in this moment, king, why I am worthy to go out and fight this giant. And so he speaks. Verse 34, but David said to Saul, your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And where there came a lion or a bear and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he rose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.

Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them for he has defied the armies of the living God. And look what he says in verse 37, David said, the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. So much in that. There's so much in that. Consider this, that all that time in obscurity, all that time where he was not known, nobody knew his name, nobody considered him, his own father didn't consider him to be a candidate when the prophet came to his house.

All that time, David was doing one thing, being faithful. Giving his life even for one sheep, catching them by the beard and punching them in the nose. And here, I I have a feeling that throughout that whole time, it didn't run through David's mind once, that as he killed bears and lions, that he was gonna be ready to fight a giant one day. Because I know why I'm killing these bears, it's because I'm gonna face a giant one day. You think that crossed his mind?

Just like you when you serve in some obscure ministry, unknown with a small group of people, unappreciated, undervalued by the by others, and you have no idea what this is preparing you for. You have no idea what this is leading to. And you have no idea that your level of passion and dedication, and your prayer, and your consistency, you have no idea how that's gonna contribute for the challenges ahead that will bring great glory to God. And this man says, I've seen it. I've seen it.

I've seen God come through. My faith has been built. And God in his providence knew what he was doing in David in those times, building his faith, allowing him to see what he needed to see. And that time, all that time, even though he was demoted, he went to the palace and he's like, Here we go. The prophecy is coming true.

And Saul's like, Thank you, but we're gonna call you when we need you. Oh, wait, wait, wait. You called me in here. I'm I'm supposed to be the king. Now go back.

And he goes back, and he experiences this roller coaster, and all the while it's God's training program. Don't despise the day as a small beginning. Saul satisfied. He's like, hey, the Lord be with you. Very rare does he invoke the name of the Lord.

But he says it. Now look what Saul does. Oh, Saul. Verse 38, then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed them with a coat of mail.

And David strapped his sword over his armor and he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them. So David put them off. So here's Saul, spiritual Saul. The the guy just finished telling you that he killed lions and bears with his own hands.

And he's like, come here. And he puts on his helmet and his coat of mail and it's oversized, and Saul is like, I think you're ready to go. And David, I can just imagine the helmet tipping over and the thing oversized over his knees, and he's like, I can't do this. This isn't this isn't mine. This this isn't belong I haven't tested this.

And he takes it off wisely. I want you to think about something. Does this description of the material sound familiar? Who else was wearing bronze from head to toe? Goliath.

When we were introduced to Goliath, we're told from head to toe he was covered with bronze. And I believe this is what Saul is trying to do here. He sees Goliath covered in bronze. He looks at David, no armor whatsoever, and he thinks that in order to beat Goliath, we have to do it Goliath's way. If Goliath has certain weapons, let's fight Goliath with the same weapons.

And so he he puts these things on. He's not a man who understands faith. Faith. He's not a man who understands what he just heard concerning the spiritual vitality that David possessed. He's still thinking worldly.

Is armor wrong? No. But in this context, we are being suggested the idea that Saul didn't get it. And here's what we can do if we're not careful. You know you're in the flesh when you are being assaulted by someone in the flesh and you want to retaliate in the flesh.

It's the same concept. You're not fighting back the way Christ calls you to fight back and it's no different than Saul calling you to wear the same armor that Goliath is wearing. So when somebody curses you, what do you wanna do? I'm a curse you right back. Someone slanders you, oh, you wanna play that game?

Then I'll smear your name just as much. Oh, you wanna cheat me? You wanna steal from me? Let's see who's better at it. And you think that you're gonna get more done by playing the same game and using the same weapons, you're no different than Saul.

Can I tell you the first step into being successful in spiritual warfare? The first step? Realizing that people are not your enemies. The first step. That's like the first step.

If you do not understand that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, you've already failed. That's ABC of spiritual warfare. Though people are being used, there is an entity, there are beings, there are things behind all of this. And once you understand that, you know what weapons to apply. You know that instead of using your mouth, you're gonna hit the knees on the floor.

You're gonna call upon God. You're gonna use the scriptures as your guide to overcome evil with good. But it's not just the description. What are we told? It's the owner of this of this bronze instruments here.

Who did it belong to? Saul. So it wasn't even fitted for David. So he tried to dress him with what worked for him. This worked for me, so it's gonna work for you.

And the illustration is brilliant in light of feeling the temptation of wearing someone else's fill in the blank because it worked for them and you think it's gonna work for you. So you see somebody with a certain method of ministry, and you think because it works for them, it should work for you. You see somebody's personality and you see how people are drawn to them, so you're saying, I need that same personality. This is a temptation for preachers. They see somebody preaching in a certain way, with a certain style, and a certain tone of voice, and they go, wow, look how big their church are.

I gotta preach the same way. And then they go up and everybody's like, that doesn't sound right. It's just as awkward as David walking around with Saul's armor. It didn't fit him. And what Saul think thought would work for David would actually hinder David, and it's no different for you and me.

When you try to imitate, when you try to be someone that God has not wired you to be, you're actually doing more harm to yourself than good. God made you with your quirks, with your personality, with your height, with your tone of voice, with your haircut. God wired you to be you, and the Holy Spirit will bless what you believe is true. When you begin to step into something that's not you, you're in falsehood and the Holy Spirit can't bless that. He can only bless what is true and sincere.

And so David did the wise thing, he took off the armor. This isn't me. I'm gonna be who God called me to be and I'm gonna operate with the gifting that God has given me. The moment you try to do things that God has not gifted you for, you step outside of the lane of grace and things start falling apart. You wanna know Watch, if I try singing, you'll you'll get the sermon application right there.

You'll understand very well what I'm talking about. Stay in the lane that God has called you in, and perfect that, and pray over that, and trust that God knows exactly where to place you and put you for his kingdom. And so David takes it off. And you know what he does? Well, you know very well.

He pulls out a slingshot. And he's gonna fight this giant with a slingshot. Now, here's how we always understood it. David took a slingshot and he took a stone, and the point is, God uses the weak things to bring down the seemingly impossible things. I'm sure you can say that.

But you know the Old Testament, don't you? Was a slingshot a foreign weapon in Israel's army? Was it? Judges twenty sixteen tells us that there are certain group of men from the tribe of Benjamin who were snipers with the slingshot. And we are told that they were so precise with the sling, that they can actually get rid of a single hair even from a distance.

So when David suggested a slingshot, when David pulled out a slingshot, it wasn't like all the armies were like, what is this guy doing? He's a fool. He's not doing that. They knew that their history, that their people use this as a weapon. So the application again goes back to my first point.

It's not about the weak things though it's true to a certain extent, obviously, when you compare David and Goliath, but it's about David utilizing what God has made him an expert in. It's about David staying in his lane, using his gifts and God empowering that and not what he wanted or what Saul wanted because it worked for Saul. So if you want the Holy Spirit to bless your ministry, know your ministry, trust that God has gifted you for that ministry, and you will see fruit in that ministry. So David takes off the armor and he says, let's do this. In verse 40, then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch.

His sling was in his hands and he approached the Philistine. And here we are. This is what we've been waiting for, three weeks. This face off between David and Goliath, we all know it. I'm sure we can close our Bibles and we can all rehearse it perfectly.

Let's look at some details that we often overlook. Just some of them. How many stones did he pick up? Why? Say that again.

There are five others. So Goliath had some brothers. And when you read on later on, you realize that David with his 30 mighty men actually had to deal with more Goliaths, relatives. So some humorously say that David wasn't just gonna come after Goliath, he was coming after the whole family. Sure you can say that.

I remember hearing once, it was creative at best, but not a good application whatsoever. The five stones represented the five letters in Jesus' name. J e s u s. And through Jesus we No. No.

No. No. Don't do that. Don't do that. Creative at best.

Don't bring that in a sermon. Don't do that. Why did David have five stones? You wanna know why? Just in case he missed with the first four.

That doesn't sound very deep or inspirational. You're right, but it's intensely practical and God honors practicality. David was preparing. David was wise. He was operating in faith, he trusted God, but he also did what he had to do in the natural.

And the point I'm trying to make is what you heard two weeks ago or last week, either one or maybe both, that that works just just as right with providence. Remember providence? God working in our lives, putting things together apart from our immediate knowledge and only looking back saying that was God when he made me meet that person and open that door and close that door. That was God. But but providence doesn't work with passivity.

See, if David sat on his hands and was lazy, it's very likely that Jesse wouldn't have called David to go and deliver the things to his brothers. So providence doesn't work with laziness or passivity. Providence partners with faithful activity. And as you walk in obedience, providence is at work. Obedience is the pen that you place in God's hand to write out your story in providence.

And it's no different than with God's power. Look at all the miracles that you see in Jesus' ministry and many of them is his power in partnership with practical obedience. Hey, we're gonna turn this water into wine. Go fill these jars with water. Could not have Jesus just filled the jars with wine right away?

Sure. Roll away the stone. And then Lazarus came out. Mark, at the end of Mark, the gospel mark, and the apostles went out to preach and the Lord assisted them by performing signs. What's the natural?

You go and preach. What's the supernatural? God will perform the signs to confirm the message. And so what is David doing? Alright.

Through practice and precision and process, I'm gonna do my part and I'm gonna trust that God is gonna intervene at the right time with the supernatural ingredient. And he did. And so David goes out with these smooth stones and Goliath sees this teenager running down through the valley, like, are you kidding me? Verse 42, and when the Philistine looked and saw David, he he disdained him. For he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.

You're bringing to me this good looking country boy? Are you kidding me? I I want you to realize all that David had to endure up to this point. He had his brother scorn him, He had Saul not believing in him to a certain extent, and now he has this Goliath trying to destroy him with his words before he does with his bare hands. All to say what?

Reminder, you want to serve God? You will get hit from all sides. But know this, if you have a relationship with God like David did, nothing will bring you down. Nothing. Your brother, Your pastor?

The government? Enemies? One with God as majority. And so we see that they go back and forth. He's threatening David.

David's like, you're birds food. You're finished. It's done. And he throws that sling, he nails him in the forehead, and then we are told, here if we come down to verse 48. When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground. And you can just imagine as the Philistines watched, and the Israelites watched, and Eliab's there like, what just happened? He fell on his face. That's very precise language.

Pull out the rear view mirrors in your knowledge of this book, and let me ask you this question. What else early on in first Samuel fell on its face in light of God's presence and power? Think. Something that fell on its face. Yes, you said it.

Was that what you're gonna say? Yeah. Dagon. Go to first Samuel chapter five verse two. And I want you to see this.

Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. Like false god, like false god worshiper. So Dagon falls on his face, and Goliath was among who?

The Philistines. Goliath worshiped Dagon. And the same power, the same presence from the same God that took down Dagon, took down Goliath. You know, there's a scripture in the book of Psalms that speaks about false idols and it says, those who make them will become like them. So do all who trust in them.

Those who make them will become like them. So do all who trust in them. That's amazing because you read those verses before and it says, they make eyes, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear. They have mouths, but they don't have voices to speak.

And then at the end it says, those who make them will be like them and those who trust them as well. I remember reading that for the first time, and when I read the description of false idols, they have eyes but they don't see. They have ears but they don't hear. They have mouths but they do not speak. They have hands but they can't deliver.

What is that description? Let me put it this way. If I were to show you a body here that had all its members but was not in operation, what do you describe that body? Is dead. Those who make them become like them.

Those idols are dead, and if you worship something that is not living, and there's only one living God, you're just as dead. Oh, you're existing, but you're a dead man inside. Because your God is not alive. He's fake. He's false.

He's hollow. He's a man made idea. And guess what? What you worship you become. And the fate of all the false gods in this world from all of history, will be the same fate of all those who worship those false gods.

Total destruction. But that applies in truth. If I worship the living God, then I will know life. And if if who I worship is what I become, then if I worship Christ by the Spirit of God, I will become like Christ. So Goliath in this moment was no more powerful than that wooden statue Dagon in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant.

Now, when we think about David and Goliath, we're coming to a close here. When we think about how David overcame Goliath, we often associate in our minds the imagery of the stone and that sling launching and hitting his forehead with a supernatural force. That's where I believe God's power was. It was a supernatural force. But we often forget the latter portion.

And the latter portion is here in verse 51. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. That's not the part you hear in Sunday school. And the point is not to understand that the man was decapitated. The point is David did it with his own sword.

That's the point. And I love that point. Because I remember this being read in my devotional time many years ago and it dawned on me. The very weapons that the enemy tried to use against David not only failed, but they were used back against them. And that is no different than with our enemy.

That if you continue to walk in the spirit and walk by faith, anything and everything that the enemy tries to strike you with will not only fail, but it will be turned against him and he would regret trying to hurt you with it in the first place. You have to believe that. That is the principle of all things work together for good for those who love God and who are called according to his purpose. Even the sword of Goliath. You know what that tells me?

The redemptive power of Jesus Christ. Why? Because no matter what trauma you've endured as a child, no matter what kind of scars you have on your soul from the failures of others, no matter what disappointments, no matter what kind of things you face, no matter the trials that took the breath out of your heart, if you give it to Jesus, he's able to recycle it and use it to do damage to the enemy, do good for you, and glorify his name. That's the beauty. That's the picture.

The very sword that Goliath was waving in the face of those armies, David took and cut off his own head with it. And I can tell you that many people who have chosen to give it to Jesus have turned those trials into wonderful testimonies and have you you have heard it many times, a lot of mess into great messages. But you have to give it to Christ. Only he has the wisdom and the ability to take what seems irredeemable, even evil, and make it glorious. And that's what happens here.

David cut off his head and the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. So much for the promise that Goliath made. Right? Remember? Hey, if you beat us, we'll be your servants.

If we beat you, you will become our servants. Principle, temptation always lies to you. They promise you something, and when you come to it, you'll always be disappointed. They fled. They fled.

And the men pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Sharaim as far as Gath and Ekron. And you've heard it before, but may I say it again. Here's a picture of the gospel. When no man can stand up to Goliath, David stood up to Goliath. And that is Christ.

Christ who was sent by the father, Jesse, into the battlefield to overcome what no man could overcome. Scorned by his own brothers and defeated an unlikely foe. And through that victory, those who couldn't overcome death and sin can now know the rewards that were purchased by the greater one, the greater son of David. And so now they are relishing in the prizes that were purchased by this one man's victory on their behalf. That's what you and I have in Christ.

See, you gotta escape this idea that the gospel is about you just going to heaven. There are much more things, read Ephesians one, all these treasures that have been unlocked because of the blood of Christ. If that's all we have to offer people, then that's not much of a gospel. It's still glorious. We escape the wrath of God, but we also escape the power of sin.

We know that we know joy, we know peace, and we know the ability to reach heights of holiness and Christ likeness. That's what the gospel purchased. Your your blood washed heart made a landing place for the dove of the spirit to dwell and abide. That's the gospel. Not just you going to God one day when you die, but God living in you.

And let's stop preaching and start living it first, so that people can be convinced of our message. So what happens? Come to a close. I promise this is the end of here. As soon as Saul saw David in verse 55, go out against the Philistines, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, Abner, whose son is this youth?

And Abner said, as your soul lives, oh king, I do not know. And the king said, inquire whose son the boy is. And as soon as David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, whose son are you, young man? And David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

Final questions in our bible study. What's concerning about these verses? Somebody tell us. Shouldn't he have known David? He was his armor bearer.

He was his harpist. He personally sang and played music over him when he was tormented by by evil spirits. He attended to him in his palace. And Saul sees his victory and he goes, who is this guy? Abner goes, Find out who he is.

I'm curious about him. Why do you think he didn't know? Self absorbed. Self absorbed to the point where he didn't care or even consider somebody else that he've met before? Perhaps.

He thought himself above his servant, so he didn't even inquire about his servants. He should have known his servant, but he didn't. It's like the CEO that doesn't really know the people down below him and he's like, who is this guy? Even though he attended to him. Sure.

Any other ideas? Rhetorically asking? Maybe. Say that, go ahead and then you go ahead. Jealousy was starting to arise, maybe.

Okay, for what reason? Okay. So Samuel, who told Saul, there's someone who is your neighbor, who's gonna take your throne. And now he just witnessed a kid kill a giant, though it was his responsibility as a king to do that job, and he's thinking, is this the guy? Good.

Yes. Another good observation. Saul wasn't too good up here. Remember, the evil spirits, they they mess with him and and now it's even beginning to affect him in his in his thinking, in his process, even in his memory. Remember, he was tormented in the mind.

Could it be that it's even affecting his ability to know somebody that he once knew? What's the answer? You have to come next week to find out. Because this is where we're closing, and the reason why it's closing is because it it ties directly into chapter 18. And because of chapter breaks, we sometimes think that's where the thought closes, and no, it connects greatly and some people already brought up the stitches that connect these truths that we're gonna see next week.

Shall we pray together? Heavenly Father, we thank you for this book. It is supernatural. We feel its power. We sense its wisdom.

There is no other book like this book, for it is your voice. You speak through these verses because they reflect your eternal will. Lord, in this moment, much has been said and we don't wanna just gather information in our minds. Lord, let it reach our hearts and let it change us. Lord, if there's anything that it has touched in our lives, may we repent of it, and ask you by your power to change it.

Lord, make us a wise people to know how to look at all sides and gather all facts before making judgments. And Lord, help us endure when we try to serve you, and the most unlikely try to harm us. Lord, help us believe as many in here serve you at different capacities, that what we are doing now will be an investment into the future, whether we recognize it or not. And Lord, help us believe that no matter what kind of things we've endured, even though it came from hell itself, the same weapons that were formed against us can be used against the foe that try to hurt us, as we give you everything and ask you to fight our battles. And Lord, we ask that as we continue in this book, that you would make us men and women after your own heart.

That's the most important thing. Help us arrive there week after week. And no matter what men says, whether they say we're wicked, we're selfish, we're evil, Lord, as long as you say, that's a man after my own heart. As long as you declare, that's a woman who loves me above all else. That's all that matters to us, Lord.

We ask that you would work in us to bring us to that place. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You have the freedom to stay seated or to stand up, but just worship the Lord tonight. Thank him for what we ate tonight.

Thank him that his Holy Spirit is able to make these things true in our lives, and we will close together. Let's worship the Lord. You have freedom to do what you need to do.