I. Courage To Step Up For The Fight

This devotional is the 18 th in a series as the ministry is in this time of transition. Be blessed as you support this ministry during this critical time of change. Here's an important new change. Rev Greg Moser has created a "digital" version that you can listen to online. If you want us to automatically send you the link to the digital version to your iphone or computer e-mail address, e-mail your request to enews@mykairos.org Here's the link to the digital edition: http://www.mykairos.org/docs/pr/devotional18.m4a Here's this week's devotional: 1 Samuel 17:1-58 Anyone who knows anything about the Bible knows that beyond question, the central character and the hero of the entire Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ. With the exception of Jesus Christ, one individual has more scripture devoted to Him than any other individual. Would you know who that is? Here s a hint: It is neither Paul nor Moses. This character is mentioned in I and II Samuel, I Kings, I Chronicles, and seventy-five psalms. He is the first person named in the New Testament after Jesus Christ and he is the last person named in the New Testament except for Jesus Christ. Answer? David - that's right. More verses in God's Word are devoted to King David than to any other person mentioned with the exception of Jesus Christ. That alone should tell us that King David is worthy of some serious study on the part of any one who is serious about God. I think it is safe to say that if we were to play a word association game today and I were to say "David" the vast majority of people would respond, "Goliath." The story of David and Goliath is one of the greatest stories in the history of literature. It is not only the first full-blown story we read about David, but the one that most people know about and remember. If you know anything at all about David, you know the story of Goliath. As a matter of fact, people who have never read the Bible and many people who have never even heard that there is a Bible, know the story of David and Goliath. The heavy-weight champion of the Philistines, a giant named, Goliath, had challenged any man in Israel to a "one-fall winner take all" match. But, nobody wanted any piece of Goliath. Nobody wanted to fight him. Every day every body had a headache. Look at the other side and the benefits offered by the king to a victor over this giant. His bank account would immediately swell by millions of dollars. He would become a part of the king s family, the king's son-in-law by marrying his daughter and he would never have to pay taxes againbeautiful bait, but still nobody would bite. 1

It reminds me of a very rich man, who had a daughter who was extremely ugly. He was trying to get her married, so he invited a hundred of the finest looking young men in the county to come to his mansion. He made them this offer - he had filled his swimming pool with alligators and to any of the young men who would be willing to jump into that pool and swim from one side to the other successfully, he would give to them their own mansion, an oil well that would produce millions of dollars of income, forever, and his daughter. Everybody was pretty pumped until they heard about having to marry the daughter. Nobody moved. Five, ten, fifteen minutes went by and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. All of a sudden, there was a splash and with the speed of lightening, a young man went from one side to the other side of that pool and got out gasping for breath. The millionaire came rushing up to him and said, "Son, that was tremendous. I suppose now you want to marry my daughter?" The young man said, "No way." He said, "Oh well, I suppose you want my mansion." He said, "No, I don't want that either." He said, "Then, I guess you want the oil well." He said, "No sir. I don't even want that." The man said, "Well, what do you want?" The man said, "I just want to know the name of the guy that pushed me in." In this scripture nobody was pushing anybody into this fight. Nobody could be bought, bribed, or bullied into fighting this huge giant until a nineteen year old country boy, a shepherd, a no-name called David, volunteered, went out with just a sling-shot and a stone, killed Goliath and accomplished, perhaps, the greatest upset of any contest in the history of mankind. The truth of the matter is there are going to be times in your life and my life when we will face a threat or a problem or a challenge that is far bigger than we are. It may be a marriage that is failing, a disease or illness or it may be a financial shortfall. Life is full of battles and whether or not you experience the agony of defeat or the thrill of victory in those battles will be determined by how you face that giant. We learn through this unbelievably fantastic magical, but true story that victory in the battles of life is literally, "A Stone's Throw Away", because what David had, we have and what David did, we can do. Like David, we must have... I. Courage To Step Up For The Fight 2

Now as the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs, Larry Munson, would say, "Now get the picture." A giant is facing the entire army of Israel. He is 9' 6" tall. He would make Shack look like a midget. He wore a bronze tee-shirt that weighed 175 pounds. He carried his spear - the head of which weighed 25 pounds. In short, he would make The Hulk look like a punk. When this human tank grumbled to the valley he turned the army of Israel into a track team whose specialty was running backwards. "When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid". (I Samuel 17:24, NASB) What Goliath did was a common occurrence in warfare in the eastern world, because oftentimes the armies would choose representatives to go one-on-one and whoever won the one-on-one contest would give victory to the entire army. Goliath issues this challenge every morning and every evening for forty days. That is the way it is with giants in our lives. They don't come just once and leave; they meet you in the morning when you get up and they go to bed with you every night. If you don't confront them and conquer them they will make your life miserable. Every time Goliath would issue the challenge, Israel's battle line would begin to move - backwards at warp speed. Every day these soldiers were getting great aerobic exercise, but they weren't fighting anybody. It reminds me of a little boy that was playing in the garage during the holidays and he heard his dad telling his uncle about a recent argument that he had with his wife. He said, "Uncle John, I let her know exactly where I stood and I told her how it was going to be around here and the next thing I know she was crawling toward me on her hands and knees." The little boy piped up and said, "Daddy, is that when Mommy told you to get out from underneath the bed and fight like a man? For forty days, not a man could be found. The king wouldn't fight. The generals wouldn't fight. The commanders wouldn't fight. The soldiers wouldn't fight. They were all paralyzed by fear. Then a nineteen year old shepherd boy literally steps up for the fight. "Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, 'What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?' The people answered him in accord with this word, saying, 'Thus it will be done for the man who kills him.'" (I Samuel 17:26-27, NASB) 3

"When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him." (I Samuel 17:31, NASB) You can't really appreciate this kid until you see where he came from. There is a progression in David's life that is really beautiful to the home. When we first read about David in verse 15, we find - "But David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's flock at Bethlehem. (I Samuel 17:15, NASB) The we read in verse 17, "Then Jesse said to David his son, "Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers." (I Samuel 17:17, NASB) The next thing you know you hear David saying to Saul - "Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." (I Samuel 17:32, NASB) David had gone from feeding sheep and running errands to confronting giants. God had been preparing David for the big thing, by teaching him to be faithful in the little things. David had learned by tending sheep, running errands, and defending his flock how to step up and do a job that nobody else wanted to do. The first thing you have to do to solve any problem in your life, to meet any challenge in your life, to overcome the giants in your life, you've got to have the courage just to step up. The reason why most people can't solve a lot of their problems is because of rather than stepping up to the problem they run away from the problem. The motto of the king's guard in Ancient Greece were these words, "All men have fears, but the brave put down their fears and go forward sometimes to death, but always to victory." There is one thing any army knows in military warfare and that is there is never victory in retreat. There are some of you here, right now, and you think your biggest problem is the problem that you are facing when really your biggest problem is not the problem you are facing. The biggest problem is you are not willing to face the problem. You can't solve marital problems when you cut and run. You can't solve financial problems when you cut and run. You can't solve spiritual problems when you cut and run. The first step that you have to take, if you are going to win life's battles, is the courage to step up to the fight. Then we must have... 4

II. Confidence To Step Out For The Fight When David first volunteered to face Goliath you would have thought everyone would have breathed a sigh of relief and there would have been great joy in the camp. You are going to see now why David was the only one in the entire nation willing to face this giant. There was a tremendous difference between where David was looking and where everybody else was looking. What was the army saying? "The men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who is coming?" (I Samuel 17:25, NASB) In other words, the army was saying, "Do you see how big, how brutal, how strong this man is?" The king was saying the same thing. "Then Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth." (I Samuel 17:33, NASB) The hot topic of conversation with everybody else was Goliath, but the hot topic with David was God. It took a shepherd boy to remind a king of just how great God was and how powerful God was and what great things God could do. One of the biggest problems you and I have in facing our giants is we forget what we ought to remember and we remember what we ought to forget. We tend to remember our failures and forget our victories. We remember our low points better than we remember our high points. Your mind has a hard drive just like a computer. When you erase from the hard drive of your memory what God has done for you in the past you will doubt what God will do for you in the present. David had been out there tending sheep, running errands, fighting off bears and lions and all that time, God was teaching David the greatest lesson He ever wants to teach any of us and that is this - Trust Me with your problems and your problems become possibilities for Me to work in your life. What Saul called "naive; and what many in the army called "youthful foolishness", God called "trust". David didn't say, "He can deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." David said, "He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." There were two ways that David knew that - not only because of what God had done for him in the past, but also of what God always does in the present if we trust Him. 5

The key statement in this entire story and the key to understanding the real meaning of this story is found in what David said to this giant in verse 47. "...and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands." Write down these five words somewhere in your notes or in your Bible - The battle is the LORD'S. David had a totally different perspective from everyone else. David was not fighting for God; God was fighting for David. David was not fighting God's battle. God was fighting David's battle. We could save ourselves a lot of needless energy and a lot of foolish worry if we would just remember that God doesn't need anyone fighting His battles for Him. He won't let anyone fight His battles for Him. We need God fighting His battles for us. Giants are God's reminder that if we will take care of our faith He will take care of our fight. In other words, when we give God our complete trust, then He gives us complete triumph. David had the confidence to step out for the fight. By the way, King Saul was more than happy to let him. That s the way it is with people who want to stay on the sidelines instead of get into the fight. They will say to that one person that has the confidence to step out for the fight, "Go get em Tiger. David did step out because he had the last thing we need to have which is... III. Commitment To Step Into The Fight Have you heard the announcer say, "Let's get ready to rumble!" As the battle is about to be joined, it is extremely anticlimactic for Goliath. As a matter of fact, you have to feel a little sorry for him. He has waited forty days to face the best that Israel had to offer and what do they come up with? A nineteen year old redheaded shepherd boy who is coming to him with no spear, no sword and no shield. At that moment, he felt just like Rodney Daingerfield - "I can't get no respect!" Not only could they not send a decent soldier to fight him, but then they have to insult him and humiliate him by sending out a punk kid. If Goliath only knew... Just like everybody expected the fight didn't last long. The only difference was it didn't turn out like anybody thought it would. David takes a sling shot and a stone and sends a divinely guided missile that hits Goliath right between the eyes and drops him like a bad habit. The battle can be described in three words. There was a chunk, a plunk, and a 6

thunk and it was lights out for Goliath. That big dud hit the mud with a thud and the battle was over. For one brief moment you could have heard a pin drop in that valley. May I let you in on a little secret? This fight was fixed. Goliath never had a chance, because I want you to get this down in your heart. David did not kill Goliath for God. God killed Goliath through David. David took Goliath's head and his sword and his shield and his weapons and put them all in his tent. I can't prove this, but I believe that David had a trophy case. In that trophy case was the sword, the shield, the head of Goliath, the mane of a lion and a paw of a bear. They were reminders to David that every problem he faced was a possibility for God to work if he would just put his trust in Him. You name any problem you face, any challenge staring at you, any difficulty you need to overcome and no matter how big it appears to you, it is a midget compared to God. The same God that fought for David then, wants to fight for you today. The same God that gave David victory then can give you victory today. When David and Goliath met The wrong against the right; The giant armed with human power And David with God's might; God's power with David's sling and stone The giant low did lay; And the God that lived in David's time Is just the same today. Are you up for a fixed fight? Step up. Step out. Step in. 7