Authenticity 1 Samuel 17:38-40NKJB
Haddon Robinson once gave this word of wisdom "In any situation, what you ARE determines what you see, what you SEE determines what you DO." Keep that in mind as we study David, Saul and Goliath.
So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
David was certainly the underdog in this situation because he encountered, according to Scriptures, a nine foot nine inch champion clothed in an armor that weighed 125 pounds. This Goliath from Gath dismayed, discouraged and scared the people of God.
The valley of Elah became the second home for this professional giant named Goliath, he dominated the field. He challenged anyone to come and fight him. Goliath had never lost, his game was winner take all.
David the shepherd had never contented in this type of arena before; moreover, he had never worn a armor suite~ much less Saul’s armor.
Hear this word~ Upon leaving your field of specialty, you'll find many people that want to give you advice, instructions, they even want to send you off to a training workshop, along with armloads of books.
David listened to Saul and allowed Saul’s armor to be placed on him. The Bible say’s, “David could hardly move.”
It wasn’t easy to do what David did that day, because David loved Saul. He admired King Saul, He served King Saul, but when it came to wearing Saul’s armor, David quickly found out he couldn’t.
Ephesians 6:13TM Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet.
Name some of those weapons:
Salvation.
Faith.
Righteousness.
Peace.
Total truth.
Prayer.
I was a very young pastor~ 28, our church had grown from 7 to over 300, I was asked to give a testimony of how John Maxwell’s leadership material had helped me grow the church. The only problem was I didn’t use his material. God had grown the church His way~ through willing vessels.
However, because I was asked and felt pressured, I tried to testify, but to no avail, I literally became tongue tied.
Praise God for David, because he was both modest enough and bold enough to reject the suggestion that he do his work the way Saul did.
David needed what was authentic to him, he had shepherded with his sling and some stones. In the past, David had killed a lion and a bear!
2 Corinthians 10:12NLT Oh, don't worry; we wouldn't dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!
The question is~ Are you going to live your life from you knees imaginatively and personally? Or are you going to live it conventionally and second-handed?
Do you want the admiration of a King Saul or by King God?
In John 17, Jesus’ prayers covers the whole chapter, and after his sweet fellowship with His Father, He enters a garden where He would be taken, eventually tried and persecuted.
Listen to John 18:1TM Jesus, having prayed this prayer, left with his disciples and crossed over the brook Kidron at a place where there was a garden. He and his disciples entered it.
There’s 3 things I want you to always remember:
Be authentic.
Refuse to die a copy. Be yourself, God created you like no one else so stay true to yourself.
Ephesians 2:10NKJB For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
David used the resources God had developed within him.
To become authentic means to become genuine.
Hints in becoming genuine.
1. Honest -- Speak the truth.
2. Direct -- Speak in terms that are clear, concise and focused.
3. About here-and-now -- Speak about what is going on right now.
4. From you -- Report your own experience of the here-and-now.
5. Non-judgmental of others -- Speak about what you are experiencing around others, not of your judgments of others.
2. Use your imagination.
Dream, meditate, listen for God’s queue.
Ephesians 1:17-18ESVB That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
Hear this “Only a prayer saturated imagination accounts for what made holy history that day in the Valley of Elah.”
3. Always stay in close fellowship with Jesus through dialog, and prayer.
Rick Warren once said: You will never grow a close relationship with God by just attending church once a week or even having a daily quiet time. Friendship with God is built by sharing all your life experiences with him.
Of course it is important to establish the habit of a daily devotional time with God, but God wants more than an appointment in your schedule. He wants to be included in every activity, every conversation, every problem, and even every thought.
You can carry on a continuous, open-ended conversation with him throughout your day, talking with him about whatever you are doing or thinking at that moment. “Praying without ceasing” means conversing with God while shopping, driving, working, or performing any other everyday tasks (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
A common misconception is that “spending time with God” means being alone with him. Of course, as Jesus modeled, you need time alone with God, but that is only a fraction of your waking hours. Everything you do can be “spending time with God” if he is invited to be a part of it and you stay aware of his presence.
1 Samuel 17:40TM Then David took his shepherd’s staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.
The classic book on learning how to develop a constant conversation with God is “Practicing the Presence of God.” It was written in the 17th century by Brother Lawrence, a humble cook in a French monastery. Brother Lawrence was able to turn even the most commonplace and menial tasks, like preparing meals and washing dishes, into acts of praise and communion with God.
The key to friendship with God, he said, is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do. What you normally do for yourself, you begin doing for God, whether it is eating, bathing, working, relaxing, or taking out the trash.
Today we often feel we must “get away” from our daily routine in order to worship God, but that is only because we haven’t learned to practice his presence all the time. Brother Lawrence found it easy to worship God through the common tasks of life; he didn’t have to go away for special spiritual retreats.
Benediction.
