5 Smooth Stones, God Get's the Glory

5 Smooth Stones – Week 2

God Gets the Glory

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Sermon Series Slide

Next Week, I will be out of town with Renee, So, Joey will be preaching here in the Sanctuary for his final regular sermon and Conner will be preaching in the Common Ground.

And don’t forget, Ash Wednesday will be February 22 and we will gather in Christian Life Center for the service. It will be something that I hope is meaningful for you as we prepare our hearts for the season of Lent.

But today, we are in week 2 of our series on the early life of David as we look at the story of David facing Goliath. If you recall, last week we considered what it looks like when the Challenger, the Enemy, comes at us… We were reminded that the Devil is like a lion looking for whom he may devour. We saw that the Devil, the enemy, will make us question, he will make us doubt, and he will use fear to keep us from doing what God created us to do and be.

Today, we are still going to mention Goliath a little, but now we are going to start looking more and more at the unlikely hero David and who it is that David give the honor and glory.

Turn with me to 1 Samuel 17 again as we continue to saga, this epic adventure of David and Goliath.

You know, when we read scripture and we read these stories we think of the figures of faith as super-heroes. I mean, read this story – we know that David would become a warrior king who would unit the tribes of Israel into a great nation, and that he would rule as a man after God’s own heart… We know that David wrote 2/3 of the Book of Psalms as a poet… We know that David sinned greatly against God and humanity, and then when he came and humbled himself before God he was forgiven and continued to serve God and rule the Kingdom. It’s hard for us to remember the fact that David was only a 16 yr old boy when we read this passage.

Sometimes these ideas about David make us forget his ordinary stature and upbringing. David became a mighty king, but he began as a humble shepherd boy. He had a family, brothers, chores, and many of the normal things a young man of his time would have. The point being, he wasn’t abnormal or superhuman, he was simply called by God – JUST LIKE YOU ARE!

OK, Let’s look at today’s passage:

1 Samuel 17:12-28 (NLT)

This is where we start learning a little more about this Shepherd Boy David. I want us to take a few minutes to dig into the character of David so we can learn just who the man of God really was.

First of all, we know David was young.

David was Young

Even if we hadn’t read chapter 16, we learn here chapter 17 that David was the youngest son of Jesse.

If you were to back up and read Chapter 16, you would see that David was the little kid brother that watched the sheep. Remember, Shepherds were the least likely people to be successful in the near-eastern culture… Even today, they aren’t the people you want to hang around with there. The stereo type is that they are dirty, they are foul, and they are rude. Having been flipped off by one in Israel, I can tell you – there’s a reason for the stereotype.

So, in chapter 16, we read that Samuel went to the house of Jesse to anoint the next King. God had revealed to Samuel that Saul would not be king much longer and it was time to anoint the next king. So, when Samuel arrived at Jesse’s tent, all the other brothers were gathered, each in their finest clothing. One of Jesse’s sons would be the next King. One by one, from the oldest and strongest to the next to youngest paraded in front of Samuel… none of them were the one. In fact, when Eliab, the oldest stepped forward, Samuel thought, surly this is the one… I mean, he looked like a king. He looked like a warrior. He looked like a leader… but God said something profound to Samuel in 16:7

1 Samuel 16:7

“Do not consider his appearance or his height… the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. May looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

What a powerful statement God makes to the prophet Samuel! God does not judge people like we do, God looks deeper, He looks at the heart.

So, Samuel says, “Are these all the sons…” and Jesse had to say, “Well, there is one more, but he’s the youngest… he’s the shepherd… he wasn’t worth bringing before you…”

Can I ask you something? Has anyone ever told you that you were not enough? Has anyone ever told you that you were too young? Has anyone ever told you that you were too old? Has anyone ever told you that you were not smart enough, or strong enough, or whatever?

I want you to hear this… you are enough! God created you, each and every one of you. God created you and gave you the tools you need to slay the giants that come before you. You have your 5 smooth stones in your hand. God has already given you the tools! And you are enough.

David was like each of us so often… he was a book, judged by the cover. You know, we want to blame Jesse… We want to blame Saul… we want to blame the brothers, but we do the same thing. We judge based on the outward appearance, or what we’ve heard of others, or of what we read on social media… don’t we.

Before I was in ministry, I worked for Farmer’s Insurance. When I was going through training, as a 27g year old, I was sent to Los Angeles, CA, to the home office for training. And the company put us up in the Hyatt Regency on Sunset Strip. I mean, it is next to a famous comedy club, it was across the street from the House of Blues… It was in the middle of the action. I thought, wow, this is going to be awesome! Then I found out the hotel was owned by Little Richard. That’s right… Good Golly Miss Molly and everything else! Well, I had this idea of who he was… then I heard a story of his entourage kicking one of the Farmers Adjusters out of her room because they needed the room… and I just had this idea that Richard Penniman was a jerk who was just in all this for the money… had this big fancy hotel… all his gold records… he was just like all the other celebrities.

Then, I walked into the bar one evening, and there he sat. Up against one of the walls at a table. Yes, he looked like Little Richard always looked, but I thought, “I’ll never have another chance to meet one of the icons of rock and roll” so I went to say “Hi” and get an autograph. What followed was a 5 minute conversation about God and him asking about my faith and how he could pray for me…

I had judged a book by it’s cover… or makeup… and boy was I wrong.

Our stereotypes and our judgements will so often limit the blessings in our life.

And here’s the thing… consistently throughout scripture, God chooses to use people who are the youngest, weakest, poorest, least educated, marginalized, and forgotten about.

So, Jesse judged David by his age and his size and his job as a shepherd. We will see later in the story that Saul judged David by his age and size. Goliath looked at his size.

But, our God seems to delight in using the weak and unexpected things of the world to humble the powerful. And at the end of the day it’s all for His glory, not ours.

David was Looked Down Upon

Even though God chose to use David for great things, as in this battle with Goliath, it did not stop people from doubting him. Even those people closest to him, people who you’d think would be the first to advocate for and support him.

How many of you have brothers or sisters? Our siblings can be our biggest advocates or our biggest adversaries. Amen.

David has been sent by his father to deliver cheese a crackers to the front line of the battle… and when he gets there, he drops the snacks at the tents and heads out to the battle field to find his brothers… and here’s what big brother says.

1 Samuel 17:28

I’m not sure what the dynamics were, but Eliab didn’t want David around! His anger burned against his brother… he snided, ‘Whose watching the sheep little shepherd boy’… He called him conceited and wicked hearted… he accuses him of just coming to watch the battle…

In other words… Eliab was looking down on David.

I don’t know if it was the inexperience, or maybe the big brother was intimidated by the younger, or maybe it was just because he was young.

But here is something to remember. The Bible has something to say about youth…

1 Timothy 4:12

Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

Paul was sharing these words with his young protégé Timothy. Paul seems to understand this reality: people will find ways to look down on you, especially when you’re young. They will criticize certain aspects of your life. They will talk behind your back. They will try to give you tons of reasons you cannot do something great for God.

There is so much we can learn from our young people. I look at some of them and their closeness to God and I long for what I see in them. We don’t need to be looking down on them, we need to be learning from them as they “set an example for believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

Have you seen the revival starting at Asbury Seminary. Students spending hours in prayer, young people accepting Christ as their Savior. Healings taking place... And it is spreading. Indiana Wesleyan University is reporting about their chapel service… Other youth groups in other places are seeing a revival. We need to be looking up to our youth and learning from their spiritual walk. We need to have the faith of a child. Amen!

Here’s the thing I love about David here. He didn’t let what his brother said about him interfere with what God had called him to do. David, in his youth was about to become an example of faith and courage for an entire army!

David looked beyond what the people saw. David looked beyond what the soldiers heard. David looked beyond the feeling of shame and doubt the others had. David was lazer focused on one thing and one thing alone.

We get a glimpse of His mindset in 1 Samuel 17:26. As the men are standing around looking at Goliath and hearing him slander them:

1 Samuel 17:26

David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”

David wasn’t focused on all the things of man like the soldiers around him…

David Was God-Focused

Did you catch the last thing David asks in this verse? “Who is this pagan (uncircumcised) Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

David wasn’t focused on the challenger. David wasn’t focused on the army. David wasn’t focused on the weapons.

David didn’t refer to Goliath as one who is allowed to defy the armies of Saul, or Israel.

He says, who is this that would defile the Armies of the Living God! David was God focused!

Sermon Slide

It’s passages like 1 Samuel 17:12-28 that show us why David was called a “man after God’s own heart.”

What would happen in your life if you were to do as Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 and “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…”?

What would happen in your marriage and in your family if your focus was on God when you were making decisions?

What would happen at our jobs and in our community groups if we “counted everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

What would our church look like if we were laser focused on God and the things of God?!

Let me encourage you for a second. The title of this series is 5 Smooth Stones… because that is what David picked up as he crossed the creek bed walking toward Goliath. Those 5 stones and the sling, in the hands of David were an awesome tool that he used to slay a giant. Those 5 stones were the gift God gave David… but you have been given your own stones. You have been created in a specific way, you have gifts and passions… you have talents and traits… you have abilities that other people do not have. God created you and gave you the tools you need to face your giants.

There will always be “Goliaths” in our lives seeking to incite fear and doubt in the minds and hearts of the people of God. But what happens if we believe, like David did, that the almighty God is bigger and more powerful than any “giant” who comes.

David was able to conquer the giant in front of him, not because of who he was, but because of whose he was. He didn’t seek his own power and his own prowess. David didn’t go to battle in his own strength, or with his own wisdom. David walked out on the battlefield knowing that God had gone before him, that God had prepared him, and that God was with him.

And, when the giant had fallen, it was God who got the Glory. Yes, David was elevated to king eventually and the story of his bravery went before him… but the only reason he was brave was because he knew God was with him and that God deserved all the glory!

And so it is with us…