God’s Unlikely Champion

I. Introduction -

A. The story of David and Goliath is know to most people, it is the quintessential of all underdog stories and who does not like an underdog story?

B. When we look at these stories, films like Rocky was the highest grossing film of that year, and he lost. The Karate Kid was number five that year. Americans love the underdog.

1. I think of Kurt Warner. a Christian football player,. He graduated from Northern Iowa and spent fur years trying to get on a NFL team roster. He was final picked up by Green bay, only to be released prior to the regular season and so he played three years with an arena league team, where he took the team to the arena bowl twice and was named all team. Then he was signed but the ST Louis Rams and allocated to the European league, where he lead in passing yards and TD. In 1999 he was on the Rams roaster as backup when there lead, Trent Green, went down with an injury. Kurt came in and the Rams had the Greatest Show on Turf. He lead the Rams to a 13-3 record, won league MVP and won the Super Bowl and the SB MVP. He is considered the greatest undrafted player, was the only undrafted player to win a NFL MVP, lead his team to a Super Bowl victory and win the SB MVP. Watch his story An American Underdog.

2. Another I think of that was even more God Like was Brandon Burlsworth, a walk on offensive lineman. He not only gets a scholarship by year two, but he is the driving force, in his senior year, to the Arkansas Razorbacks going form the worse to a tie for league champion. He was drafted by the Colts and was expected to start his first year, but was killed just before the Colts signed him. The amazing thing he did was not on the field, it was off. He goat a masters degree in the four years of college, and he got a large portion of his team to his Bible study. He woke up every day, prayed, read his bible and then went to practice, studying for hours at night.

C. But I do not see David as an underdog, he is following what God wants him to do.

Prayer

II Preparation

A. David

1. We know by Charles’ sermon last week, David was Anointed as King 1 Samuel 16: 13 “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.”

a. From that time on Saul lost the Spirit of God and it was given to David. He began to live engaged in God.

b. 1 Samuel 17:34-36 “But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when 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 arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears"

c. David;s anger toward Goliath’s taunting of God’s people 1 Samuel 17:26 b“ For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?””

B. Goliath

1. 1 Samuel 17:4 “And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.”

A. the tallest man recorded in our time was Robert Wadlow at 8’11.1” picture of him and his dad

b. The average American male is 5’9”

c. There is debate about Goliath’s height, it was any where form 8.5 - 9.9 and how tall he actually was, is not significant. With David thought to be around five foot and the average male at that time was 5.5 and Saul was six foot

2. 1 Samuel 17: 5-7 “He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him.”

a. Estimated to be about 125 pounds of armor with a shield, sword, javelin, spear

b. He might have weighed upper toward 600 pounds.

3. Equally important was the fact that he had trained since his youth 1 Samuel 17:33 “And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.””

III Battle

A. 1 Samuel 17: 36-37 “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 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.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!””

David knows it is God’s job to deliver Isreal from the Philistines, he is but a tool for God

B. 1 Samuel 17: 38-39 “Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him 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.”

Renounce the armor of Saul, he decided that God did ont use him in the past with help from man, he should move forward with God only

C. 1 Samuel 17:40 “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 hand, and he approached the Philistine.”

Five stones - if David has confidence in God why not one stone. We must be prepared, David likely knew Goliath had four brother’s

2. He can prepare all he wants, if he does not go into battle, what would it matter? His faith is coming through

D. 1 Samuel 17: 41-44 “And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.””

Goliath detained him there was nothing in David to strike fear in Goliath

Am I a Dog? - the Hebrew word for Dog here is Kaleb, which is used for male homosexual prostitutes, it is the utmost insult to his manhood

Philistines curse God, and the battle is over.

E. David’s response 1 Samuel 17:45-47 “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.””

1. Note David was bold, but he was bold in the name of God

2. All the earth and equally the Israelites will know

F. The attack 1 Samuel 17: 48-49 “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.”

Goliath approached, but David ran to meet him, and in one fall swoop, it was over, Goliath lay face down, knocked out.

Interestingly, the god Goliath worshipped, Dagon, Goliath fell on his face. 1 Samuel 5:2-5 “Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. And when the people of 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. But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.”

G. Victory 1 Samuel 17: 50-51 “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 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. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.”

David begins his military career.

IV Conclusion

A. The point of this story is not that David was this brave talented warrior, it is that he he was so attuned to God that God was able to use him to bring the Israelite back to God and show the world that they followed the one true God.

Hebrews 11:32-34 “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”

God chose fishermen to be the men that started his church. He does not want you because of your abilities, He wants you because of your love and devotion to Him

B. This is not an underdog story. It is not about a short stature teenager that kills a seasoned giant warrior. It is about a young man that embraced the spirit of God and was willing to do what God directed him to do so that a nation, and a world, could see that the God of Isreal was the one true God.

B. America is under attack by communism, CRT, Gender Identity, and more. We cannot be Isreal standing in fear taking the assault. Our church members are being attacked by apathy, the idea that gender identity is some how accepted by God as well as adultery, idolatry and some many other sins.

C. In Max Lucdo’s book Facing Your Giants he writes:

“The slender, beardless boy kneels by the brook. Mud moistens his knees. Bubbling water cools his hand. Were he to notice, he could study his handsome features in the water. Hair the color of copper. Tanned, sanguine skin and eyes that steal the breath of Hebrew maidens. He searches not for his reflection, however, but for rocks. Stones, Smooth stones. The kind that stack neatly in a shepherd’s leather sling. Flat rocks that balance heavy on the palm and missile with comet-crashing force into the head of a loon, a bear, or, in this case, a giant.

Goliath stares down from the hillside. Only disbelief keeps him from laughing. He and his Philistine herd have rendered their half of the valley into a forest of spears; a growling, bloodthirsty gang of hoodlums boasting do-rags, BO, and barbed-wire tattoos. Goliath towers above them all: nine feet, nine inches tall in his stocking feet wearing 125 pounds of armor, and snarling like the main contender at the World Wide Westlenig Federation championship night. He wears a size-20 collar, a 10 1/2 hat, and 56-inch belt. His biceps burst, thigh muscles ripple, and boast belch through the canyon. “This day I defy the ranks of Isreal! Give me a man and let us fight each other” (1 Sam 17:10). Who will go mano a mano conmigo? Give me your best shot.

No Hebrew volunteers. Until today. Until David.

David just showed up this morning. He clocked out of sheep watching to deliver bread and cheese to his brothers on the battle front. That’s where David hears Goliath defying God, and that’s when David makes his decision. Then he takes his staff in his hand, and he chooses for himself five smooth stones from the brook and puts them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch that he has, and his sling in in his hand. And he draws near to the Philistine (17:40).

Goliath scoffs at the kid, nicknames him twiggy. “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” (17:43). Skinny, scrawny David, brutish Goliath. The toothpick versus the tornado. The minibike attacking the eighteen-wheeler. The toy poodle taking on the rottweiler. What odds do you give David against the Giant?

Better odds, perhaps, than you give yourself against yours.

Your Goliath doesn’t carry sword or shield; he brandishes blades of unemployment, abandonment, sexual abuse, or depression. Your giant doesn't parade up and down the hills of Elah; he prances through you office, your bedroom, your classroom. He brings bills you can’t pay, grades you can’t make, people you can’t please, whiskey you can’t resist, pornography you can’t refuse, a career you can’t escape, a past you can’t shake, and a future you ca’t face.

You know well the roar of Goliath.

David faced one who foghorned his challengers morning and night/ “For forty days, twice a day, morning and evening, the Philistine giant stuttered in front of the Israelite army” (17:16). Yours does the same. First thought of the morning, last worry of the night - your Goliath dominates your day and infiltrates your joy.

ARE YOU DAVID - or just one of the solders awaiting for someone to fight your Goliath?