The Great Moments

I want to begin by sharing a story with you. Grand View University and Southeastern University were playing each other. It was a close game and Going into the bottom of the 7th inning the final inning in softball Kaitlyn Moses walks to the plate with the bases loaded.

With the swing of the bat the loud clang of aluminum hitting that softball it is a sound that is unmistakable. The ball goes flying through the air and Kaitlyn knows it. She has just hit a Grand Slam walk off home run. As she jogs toward first she is so excited. Her team has just won the game and she did it. She is the hero. She is pumping her fist in celebration. She rounds first heading to second when the unthinkable happens.

She hears a pop in her hamstring and she falls to the ground. She tries to get back up but as soon as she stands the pain takes over. She falls down again. She realizes the home run won’t count if she can’t make it around the bases. She also can’t be helped by her teammates because that is against the rules. She is there in the dirt between first and second and she is defeated.

Now wait a minute Pastor Andy. That slide says Great moments not sad moments. Don’t worry we will come back to the story. It was Kaitlyn’s story though that I was reminded of when I was reading this mornings passage. It is a familiar passage for us this morning. Many of us grew up hearing this story. In fact even people who may not have ever read the bible know of this story.

David and Goliath. Let’s pick up this story and read part of it.

1 Samuel 17:4–11 NIV

4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. 8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

Israel was Defeated

Looking across the field they saw this man who stood tall over all of them. To help give you some perspective. A Cubit is roughly 18 inches and a span is about half of that at 9 inches. Goliath then stood at approximately 9 ft 9 inches tall.

I am roughly 6’1’’ that means Goliath stood 3’8’’ taller than me. It is tough for us to imagine what that would be like but if you really think about what it would take for someone to battle him. His height would also increase his reach. It would be difficult to even get close to him because of that level of reach.

Than you see him and realize he is decked out in strong armor and he is able to move in it with ease. It is no wonder that the Israelites were feeling defeated when they saw this man.

They were overwhelmed by the fear of not only death but the fact the whole battle would hinge on you as an individual.

This feeling of despair for forty days. Each day passing and no challenger.

Than David shows up.

1 Samuel 17:32–37 NIV

32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

David’s Moments

David saw and heard what Goliath had been doing and he was not shaken. Instead he drew upon the moments of his life that at the time he had no idea what they would mean to him someday.

Think about it for a moment. David in the field tending the sheep as he was supposed to. The lion and bear come trying to carry off the sheep and what does David do. He defends his sheep struck them down and rescued the sheep. The terror and fear that would come with facing an animal like that had to be great yet, David stood the test.

David was ready to defend Israel because he had been prepared for this moment in his life. He had faced trials and faced challenges but God was with him. Those small moments led to this big moment. IT was David’s moment to shine and to become the King that not that long before this Samuel had anointed him to become king. He was Ready. Those small moments became something bigger. Bigger than David could possibly imagine.

Kaitlyn’s Home Run

Kaitlyn was sitting in the dirt between first and second in pain, unable to stand, and watching the game slip from her as she needed to finish the run. No one from her team could help her. She couldn’t walk. Out of nowhere the 2nd basement comes over to her and helps her to her feet and puts her arms around her and then the shortstop comes over on the other side and starts to help her finish the run around the bases. Slowly as they walked her around the bases allowing her to touch 2nd and then 3rd and finally home the crowd is cheering and is in unbelief of what they are seeing. The opposing team helped their opponent win.

The two young ladies saw the pain and hurt on Kaitlyn’s face and didn’t want her to lose the moment of hitting that grand slam.

What I find interesting about this story is none of us would have probably heard about it if it wasn’t for this moment. NAIA is the lesser known of the two main Collage athletic organizations. Many of us have heard of the NCAA but not many of us know of the NAIA. The NAIA doesn’t make ESPN or even the local news often. The majority of fans are connected to the school as parents or alumni.

This game would not have made national attention but it did because of a moment of powerful sportsmanship, care, and concern for a fellow competitor. In fact, for many it is the attitude displayed in this game that we hope to see in athletes. It set an example and it became something bigger to point to.

1 Samuel 17:40–50 NIV

40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

God’s Triumph

The truth is that David was successful but it wasn’t his moment. IT was God’s It was in this moment that God used the man he had been preparing and blessing to become King to stand up on behalf of God. God at anytime could have struck Goliath down. Yet, God used David. The world uses this story to glorify David.

We use this story to glorify God. To be reminded that God is with us. To look to his promise and to be encouraged that no matter what we face he can use it for his good.

It reminded me that we don’t know how God is going to use the different things that we face and the different challenges and how small moments that seem insignificant at the time become something bigger than we can possibly imagine. I think of some of those moments in my life. I am imagine if you look back in your life you might find moments where you didn’t fully understand why things were happening the way they were but yet somehow God has turned them for good.

Or you might be going through some hardship right now and you don’t know where God is going to take you through it. Trust that in the hardship in the times of uncertainty this is the time that we need to turn it over to him to trust even more and to know that his strength will carry us through.