The Word (Part 6): God’s Equipping of Us!

Introduction

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

1 Samuel 17:31–50 ESV

31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 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.” 34 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, 35 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. 36 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.” 37 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!” 38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 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. 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. 41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 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. 44 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.” 45 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. 46 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, 47 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.” 48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 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. 50 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.

As we draw near to God through His Word…

1) …He Equips Us With Confidence!

All of the armies of Israel trembled in fear, but David drew his confidence from the Lord.

This confidence was not new in the moment. He had experienced life with God.

God had been working in David’s life for a long time.

He had seen God do incredible things when he faced lions and bears. He knew the impact of God and what the Lord could do in him and through him.

His trust in God led to confidence and his confidence led to greater trust which led to greater confidence…

Psalm 27:1–3 ESV

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

As you and I draw near to God through His Word we grow in our confidence, not only for ourselves, but be become confident that God is the only hope for others also.

When David faced Goliath, it was not on behalf of himself, but in the name of the Lord and on behalf of the armies of Israel.

Our lost world around us needs people who are are so close to the Lord through His Word and so confident in the Lord that will get off the sidelines and declare the hope of the Lord instead of treating Him like He is some private preference.

If we don’t let God grow our confidence in Him through His Word, we will continue to see lost people around us lose the battle for life, when Jesus has already secured victory on the cross.

As we draw near to God through His Word, He equips us with confidence not only for ourselves to face the challenges in front of us but also gives us a confidence that He can and will bring hope to others around us.

2) …He Equips Us With Courage!

Confidence determines our mindset, courage determines our actions!

David didn’t just talk a big game, he ran to the battle field.

It would seem that David had no fear in this moment and that may or may not be true, but what we do know is that if there was fear, it didn’t hinder him.

Courage is moving forward in the confidence of the Lord even if we are fearful.

Courage is letting the faith we have in the Lord be greater than fear of the unknown.

Psalm 31:21–24 ESV

21 Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. 22 I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. 23 Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. 24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!

In Psalm 31 David expressed a time of fear when he felt that he had been, “Cut off” from God’s sight, but he still cried out to the Lord and knew God was hearing him.

This led to the declaration of love for God, praise for His perseverance and faithfulness, and a call to courage.

Because of David’s relationship with God and the confidence he had in the Lord, he moved forward in courage.

You and I need to learn from David’s example and do the same.

We need to draw so close to the Lord that we move forward in our lives in courage.

We need to be the thermostats in our homes, our work places, our neighborhoods, our city, our state, our nation, and our world.

We need to stop being fearful of all of the “what if’s” and let our confidence in the Lord drive us to courageously engage our world for Christ!

This kind of courage only comes as we draw near to God through His word and take His word seriously!

As we draw near to God through His Word, not only does He equip us with confidence and courage, but He also…

3) …He Equips Us With Character!

When David expressed confidence and stepped out in courage, he was met immediately with man’s solutions.

Saul put his own armor on David, but David refused it.

Saul also gave David his sword and strapped if over his armor, yet vs. 39 says, “he tried in vain to go” so David refused these things.

David proceeded, trusting that God would provide victory with only a staff, a sling, and 5 smooth stones.

As he approached the giant, David stayed true to the character of trust in the Lord God had developed in him.

It didn’t make sense to everyone else, but David knew that the Lord’s hand upon him was stronger than his hand upon a sword.

David’s declaration to the enemy was not boasting in himself or relying upon his own strengths…it was relying in God’s strength as he had witnessed many times.

1 Samuel 17:45–47 ESV

45 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. 46 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, 47 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 Samuel 17:50 ESV

50 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.

Psalm 20:7 ESV

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

When we draw near to God through His Word and grow in our relationship with Him, we are able to rely on His character on display through us.

We are able to face the battles in our life with confidence and courage, but we are also able to do it outside of the limitations of human reasoning because God equips us with His character.

We are able to accomplish God’s purposes and think outside the box, not relying on our own conventional thinking, but rather we are relying on God’s wisdom He has given us through the character He is building in our lives.

CLOSING

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

As we draw near to God through His Word, He equips us with confidence, courage, and character.

As we draw near to God through His Word, we are able to THINK, LIVE, AND CARE BIBLICALLY.

As we close this series, we have been challenged to be a people of the Book. We have been charged to let God’s Word be our authority, be our blessing, inform us, examine us, redirect us, and now equip us!

If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you must embrace and love His Word!

Will you dedicate yourself to allowing God to equip you with confidence, courage, and character?

Will you devote yourself to knowing God through His Word?

Will you commit yourself to Thinking, Living, and Caring Biblically?