Sermon Brief
Date Written: August 28, 2013
Date Preached: September 1, 2013
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Series in 1 Samuel
Sermon Title: Facing the Giants of our Time
Sermon Text: 1 Samuel 17 [HCSB]
Introduction:
What are the giants of our time? In our society today, the church faces some ‘giants’ that may seem to be over-whelming!
Things like what is going on with same-sex marriages in our country… it is beginning to look like churches and pastors will run into legal troubles if they attempt to deny same sex marriages from happening in their churches or refusing to officiate them…
Doctors who have sworn the Hippocratic Oath to do NO harm, but with the new health care laws that this administration & congress want force on our country… a doctor cannot deny an abortion and he cannot abstain from performing one…based on his religious conviction.
Things like the laws that have been proposed regarding ‘Hate Crimes’, there are laws proposed that would actually make it a criminal offense to speak out against the homosexual lifestyle because that would be considered hate speech… this would extend into the pulpit as well!
The church is up against what would seem to be enormous GIANTS in our country… in our society…
More and more our society is forcing God out of the public eye and they are even beginning to infringe upon a person’s personal beliefs and convictions…
More and more the State is saying you can’t believe like this or you cannot say this is wrong or that this is the only way…
The secular humanism being shoved down our throats today preaches what they determine as ‘tolerance’ which is not tolerance at all… it is simply believe our way or else... they do NOT tolerate the Christian worldview.
BUT this has ALWAYS been the way it was for Christians, there have been times of peace and non-persecution BUT the church has suffered great persecution in the past and it LOOKS as if persecution for being a Christian will happen again… and IN THIS COUNTRY!
So I would say as a church… as a fellowship we see these things rising over the horizon and we see these giants looming over us and many of us are fearful of what may happen!
But not only are there giants in society, but what the giants in YOUR life?
Maybe you are facing a family situation that you don’t see how things can work out…
Maybe you are facing a health issue that won’t go away or you don’t see a happy ending…
Maybe you are facing a financial crisis so immense that you have lost hope…
We face giants every day in our lives!
This morning we are going to take at the classic story of the taking on a giant! In fact it is this story that is used to this very day to describe the underdog facing and overcoming tremendous odds against them…
But for us here at Oak Park I can point out one very specific ‘giant’ looming in and around our fellowship! This is a giant that has ‘bullied’ us for many years. This is a giant that has many names and many faces…
We know him as the changing community… this place is not what it USED to be…
We know him as the shrinking congregation…people just don’t want to come, we don’t have anything to offer people!
We also know him as smaller offerings…we cannot afford to do ministry, we can barely keep the lights on!
We also know him by the name of ‘not enough volunteers…’ – Have you ever heard of the 90-10 rule? It is where 90% of the work gets done by 10%of the people/members… it leads to burnout and discontentment!
This giant of many faces is looming around many churches, and he is threatening our fellowship! Many of us may look at him and say, “WE JUST CAN’T BEAT HIM!”
We may think, "We cannot minister to this community, we are too different from them!"
We may think that we don’t have enough people to do ministry that we need more people in our congregation before we can be effective in to ministry;
We may believe that we cannot minster to this community because we don't have enought $$...
We just CANNOT beat this giant!!
This giant places great fear & dread in the hearts of our members! This giant causes great disappointment & leads to a sense of hopelessness when it comes to our church growing back to the levels where it once used to be!
In the past, Oak Park represented Christ well BUT as a fellowship today we cannot focus or pine for the past… BUT we ALSO cannot continue to focus on this ‘giant’ that is looming here in the present!
So preacher what are we supposed to be focused ON? That is a simple answer, but not an easy one. We must focus on what God is calling us to, as a fellowship…we must focus on where God is leading us as a body of believers!
Where we focus our efforts and hearts is instrumental in whether or not we can overcome this ‘giant’ that looms in and around our fellowship…
Our focus must be on obedience to God and THAT kind of focus in the fellowship WILL lead us to slay this giant!
God has called Oak Park to be obedient to Him, but what does that obedience look like for us here at Oak Park? Now when we look at obedience, we see that the world believes obedience is simply doing what you are told…
Encarta dictionary defines obedience as… THE ACTION OR CONDITION OF OBEYING AUTHORITY…or doing what you are told to do...
But there is something about obedience that this world or the dictionary does not include in their definition of obedience…AND these are 2 things that God requires in obedience. They are WHEN you obey and WHY you obey.
So in other words, in God’s eyes obedience IS doing what you are told, BUT it is also doing what you are asked WHEN you are told and doing it WITH the right attitude…
This is a difficult for us. As parents we all faced a child that we told to do something…and they are semi-rebellious in that they do not obey right away, they put off obedience to a later time OR they begin to do what they are told but have a terrible attitude about what they have to do…
When we think about great men and women of the Bible, most of the time we don’t’ see the small details that MADE them truly great…
This morning I want to look at one of the greatest from the Bible. I want us to look at the man we know as King David, and I want us to examine what made him great…
Here the obvious things about David that made him great in the eyes of the world…
• As a boy, he fought off vicious predators with a slingshot & protected his father’s sheep…
• As a boy, he defeated and killed a giant, named Goliath to save his country…
• He was anointed King but had great character and would not depose the sitting king Saul…
• And although He had several opportunities to kill King Saul, his integrity caused him to respect God’s chosen, even tho’ Saul was trying to kill him…
• David submitted God and with God’s direction, he led Israel to greatness! They became the most powerful & influential kingdom in the known world…
• We know that even when David fell to temptation and sinned greatly against God, instead of blaming others, he prayed with a broken heart for God to forgive him!
• King David passed on a great kingdom to his son, Solomon…who had a great kingdom too.
David is probably the greatest Israelites to have ever lived…
But why was David so great? Was it because of all his exploits and leadership abilities?
What we have to understand is that David was great NOT because of his exploits on the battle field… The reason David was great because he was willing to trust God and be obedient to Him!
This morning we are going to 1 Sam 17:15-20 to read a short but very simple story that reveals a great hidden truth about David and why God was able to shape him into a great leader… One central truth to David's greatness!
Read passage here…
15…but David kept going back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock in Bethlehem. 16Every morning and evening for 40 days the Philistine came forward and took his stand. 17[One day] , Jesse had told his son David, “Take this half-bushel of roasted grain along with these loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18Also, take these 10 portions of cheese to the field commander. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring a confirmation from them. 19They are with Saul and all the men of Israel are in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines. 20So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him.” 1 Sam 17:15-20 (HCSB)
Now I can bet that this is NOT the part of this story that you thought I was going to read… This part of the story is obviously NOT what people think about when it comes to the ‘greatness’ of King David.
However, within these few verses, David’s true character is beginning to be revealed! It is this type of character that God wants from us and looks for in all of us…
In fact in the previous chapter David had been anointed King of Israel by Samuel and when Samuel had doubts about God’s choice of David… we read in 1 Sam 16:7, “…man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart…”
David was a young man of great integrity, a focused work ethic and a desire to be a godly man. So as we look at this story we see it starts off with Jesse, David’s father wanting David to run an errand for him.
Now this errand was really nothing extreme, it was pretty much mundane. Although this errand Jesse asked David to run, on the surface it does not even seem very exciting… and although what Jesse asked David to do was merely a simply, ordinary errand to be done in obedience...
Jesse made a request, David answered his request in obedience, without question. Now as believers, what we must see as believers is that God calls us and chooses to use us the in the simplest of obedience… in fact, God’s call normally comes to us during the everyday and ordinary circumstances of life.
We may not think or believe that God could not use the routine or what we may consider boring things of life to serve Him…
BUT when believers are open to God’s calling in the simple things then we can rest assured that God is going to bring about even greater opportunities for those who are obedient to His call…
In our passage this morning, Jesse, David’s father, has instructed David to take some food to his brothers at the battle front and bring back the latest news…
David responds to his father’s instruction with obedience v.20 simply says, “…So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him…”
It is that simple… there is no fan-fare… there is no publicity or ceremony for his obedience… David simply gets up and begins to do what he was told to do by his father!
But what I want us to see is that David is obedient in his actions… BUT also we see David respond immedieately to his father's instruction WITH the right attitude in his heart…
Here is where it gets interesting! David responds in simple obedience to his father's instruction, but when David gets to the camp, he sees what is happening with Goliath’s challenge and the lack of response by Saul or the army!
We all know what happens after that right? David goes out and defeats Goliath! In his actions, David reveals his faith in God and that he was not afraid to live by that faith!
David’s obedience to his father’s simple task put him in a position to serve God in a time such as this…
Though some may see his victory over Goliath as a ‘spur of the moment’ event, but in reality it would not have happened without David's obedience in the small things! And David was only able to do this thing because he had been preparing for this for many years!
For years David had been faithfully obedient in tending his father’s sheep against all predators and now he was confident that God was walking with Him against Goliath, like He had in the meadows with the sheep…
Not only did David trust God in the quiet places of the Judean hills…But David understood that God was always with him & so when he got to the camp and saw Goliath...
David knew he was also ready to do battle for God who had protected him in the field and now he believed God would protect him against this giant!
But I don’t want you to miss the one central truth for David's greatness… WE see David’s victory in this story as a wonderful event as it reveals God’s deliverance in a time when all seemed lost… BUT I want you to write down the once central truth here:
If you don’t hear ANYTHING from me today, I want you to know this phrase when you walk out of here! Are you ready for the phrase? Are you ready to write it down? This is the ONE central truth for David's greatness and his victory over the giant!
Before the victory, comes obedience! Let me repeat it for you, ‘before the victory, comes obedience’!
You see what we read here is that David was willing to submit in obedience to do:
What he was told,
When he was told and
He was willing to have the right attitude about it.
God saw David’s heart & used David in a mighty way & as a result of his obedience! David was not victorious over the giant b/c of his prowess or courage! The victory came only after David was willing & faithful to obey God's calling…
Now we must be like David. We must be willing to:
Do what God has called us to do…
WHEN God calls us to do it and
We must keep the right attitude in our hearts while we are doing it!
We will find that BEFORE we ever see victory in God’s economy that obedience must come first! God is going to reward the obedient and submissive heart!
Now this has been basically a ONE point sermon on OBEDIENCE! David was victorious over his enemies... over the giant b/c he was OBEDIENT to God!
David fleshed out his obedience in 3 separate ways!
His obedience was real...
His obedience was immediate…
His obedience was with the right attitude…
We have learned that BEFORE the victory comes the obedience…THis means that before we can slay the giant that looms here in our fellowship... there must be obedience in our walk with God!
This means that any and all victories we have in Christ are going to be the result of our direct obedience to His calling in our lives! So how can we take this central truth of what we have learned today and apply it to our lives?
We are all called to obedience but what does that mean? How can we be obedient? All obedience begins with the small things -- by being obedient in the small things David was used in a mighty way by God! But what are the small things we can do to be obedient to God’s calling?
If you profess Jesus as your Savior then God has called you to serve Him and to follow Him… so you need to get to know God more and more! You need to grow in Him…
1st we can do this by reading our Bibles…as we read about Him we get to know Him and learn from Him!
2nd we can do this by pray without ceasing as Paul instructs us…prayer draws us closer to Him!
By reading our Bible and praying every day we commune with the God we profess to serve! The more we commune with Him the more we KNOW Him & the more we know Him, the more we see where He is leading us! These are 2 basic areas of obedience for the believer, but what else?
You are called to serve Him in your homes! Being a good and godly parent, setting an example of Christ for your children/grandchildren! You are called to leave a legacy that points to God!
What about your work? You have been called by God to serve Him, not just here on Sun mornings or in your home, but also Mon-Fri at your work… you are missionary on call from God at while you are at work! You must be Christ-like in all you do and how you live at your work!
You are called to do this at your school…
You are called to do this in your neighborhood…
People we are called to get to know God in reading our Bibles and praying, but we are also called to live out our faith on a day to day basis in all areas of our lives… Do people see Jesus in your life?
Just living a Christ like life may not sound exciting, but this is what we are called to do… just like David taking food to his brothers may NOT have sounded exciting to him…
David could have told his dad, “Hey dad, I am a shepherd… you have made me a shepherd and that is what I do… I am NOT a food delivery boy… I am NOT a messenger boy… I am a shepherd!”
But we don’t see David doing this, we see him willing to be obedient, to do so when he was told to do so and to do it with a good attitude...
You are NOT called to do everything for God, but what you are called to do, God expects obedience! It may not seem exciting… in fact you may think, “God this is boring… I want to be part of something exciting! How is this helping the kingdom?”
But realize this… David could have said the same thing, but BECAUSE he was obedient to the little things… God opened up an avenue for a great victory over a Giant that seemed UNBEATABLE! So...
People do you want to see victory over this 'giant' that has haunted our fellowship for the past 10 yrs?
Do you want to see victory for Christ in our community?
People do you want to see victory in our ESL and Adult Reading ministries?
People do you want to see victory in souls being saved and lives being changed in Christ?
To see God's victory, then we must realize one central truth: BEFORE the victory comes the obedience! Are you willing to be obedient to God today?
As Jason comes to lead us this morning with our hymn of invitation… I want to call on you to surrender in obedience to Him today! If you know Christ as Savior… he is calling you… are you willing to submit in obedience today?
Today you may be here and NOT know Jesus as your Savior… you have been living your life by your rules and you have found that life is empty and hollow… you are searching for something to fill the void, but no matter what you try that emptiness is still there…
I can tell you today that you are trying to fill a Jesus shaped void in your life with the world and it will NOT fill it… it will not satisfy your yearning…
ONLY Jesus will satisfy and only Jesus will fill your heart with Joy! I call you to come this morning to surrender to Him today… submit to His Lordship and come to know Him as your Savior!
Come as we begin to sing…
