The Making of a Protector

Greeting

Good evening gentlemen. How many of you are thankful to be here standing next to your brothers?

Look at your neighbor and tell them, “You’re not ready for this…”

[Pause]

Whenever I prepare for a sermon it begins with the scriptures. I love to preach line by line through the Bible. That to me is the most sincere way to approach a message.

But every now and then, the Lord will deposit a message into my spirit. I’m talking about an entire download, right into my head, heart and soul, all at once.

A little over a month ago I was out for a run when God deposited this word into my soul for this evening, and I have been so stirred to preach this word. As a matter of fact, today could not come soon enough! It’s been marinating inside of me…

And today, I am excited for what God wants to say.

So with that, shout back to me, “I’m ready!”

Yes you are… let’s go.

Reading

1 Samuel 17:45–47 NIV

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. 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. 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.”

The Making of a Protector

Introduction

There are many stories in the Bible that have inspired generations and influenced culture, but none have had the impact of the story of David and Goliath.

Think about that.

Every March when it is March Madness and a number sixteen seed faces off against a number one seed, the announcers will say, “This is a David and Goliath match up.”

It is far beyond scripture now and it has become colloquial language to describe the under dog.

Everyone likes the underdog, right?

The Miracle on Ice

The Rumble in the Jungle, the aging Ali fighting the young George Foreman

The Wild Card New York Football Giants facing the undefeated New England Patriots

And the list goes on and on…

What makes them so intriguing?

It is the little guy taking on an unbeatable giant, and the story is rooted in 1 Samuel, based on the real life events of the boy would become King, but not before slaying the giant Goliath.

Transition

And today my assignment is to talk to you about how does one become the Protector of his home and family, the way David would become the Protector and King of Israel?

Hidden in the plain sight of scripture is the pathway that we must all walk if we are to become the Protectors of our home.

I’ll give them all to you now, but we’ll work each one out…

We must learn the principle of The Promise, The Pasture, The Psalms, and The Predators.

And yes, I mispronounced Psalms, but it alliterates better when I say incorrectly.

The Promise

Our introduction to David in the Bible is when he is anointed by the Prophet Samuel to be the next King of Israel.

Before we read the text I need to explain what happened… Saul was the King of Israel but he stopped obeying the Lord’s commands.

He started feeling himself.

He felt as though the rules were for others, but they did not apply to him.

After Saul failed to obey God more than once the Lord rejected him and would send the Prophet Samuel to anoint the next King of Israel.

He told Samuel where to go, and what family he needed to speak to, but Samuel would have to rely on God to determine which son of Jesse was to be the next King of Israel.

One by one, Jesse presented to the Prophet his sons that he felt could be king, and there was one son he conveniently left off. That boy was David.

Let’s pick up in our reading.

1 Samuel 16:11–13 NIV

So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

Scholars believe that David is only 17 years old at the time the Prophet comes to his home and anoints him to be King.

Could you imagine?

Could you imagine if one day you walk into the door from your job at Chipotle and there is a Prophet of the Lord there in your living room and he anoints you, the baby of the family, in the presence of your father and older brothers, to be the next President of the United States of America?

This is what is happening there in the home of Jesse…

Now, I want to be careful, because we are using David’s story as descriptive, and not prescriptive. I am describing to you men today the events in David’s life so that we grab principles and make applications to our own lives.

I’m not here telling you that today God is going to anoint you to be the next strong and powerful man to lead this country.

But what I am telling you is God will anoint you to lead your marriage, your children and your home.

And this is what I call, The Promise.

God has chosen you to be that leader, and He has uniquely designed and wired you for that assignment.

God has called you and chosen you to be the husband to your wife and the father to your children and in order to become The Protector of your home, it begins with seeing God’s promises to you in the home that you lead.

Did you know that God believed that there was no better person to raise those children in your home that you?

Those kids could have been born to anybody, but God saw you. God chose you. God hand-selected you from the millions upon millions of men in this world to raise them, and His Promise to you is that there is no one better for the job.

But like David, we often feel incapable of the job…

David’s father certainly didn’t feel like David was the guy. He didn’t even tell the Prophet that David was there.

The guts you have to have to LIE to a Prophet.

Then when confronted by the Prophet he doesn’t even try to how he feels when he says, “He’s outside with the sheep.”

Culturally, at this time being a shepherd was one of the lowest jobs a person could do. It was reserved for the boys that men thought nothing of…

Why would Jesse feel this way?

There is a belief that David was born out of wedlock. David was the son of Jesse’s side piece. Jesse wasn’t proud of this boy. He hid the boy. He didn’t want to acknowledge him.

And yet in spite of this, God saw David.

There’s so much more that we can say about this moment, but can I share with you three principles from the Promises of God.

Principles of God’s Promise:

God does not consult your past because He knows your future.

God does not consult with others because He sees your heart.

God often uses the least likely person so that He gets all of the glory.

The Pasture

After this life-altering moment, what happens next to David?

Nothing.

He goes right back outside to lowly job that his father gave him and he went right back to watching the sheep.

How do we know that?

Because the next thing the writer tells us is that King Saul was troubled by a tormenting spirit, and someone recommended the sheep watching, harp playing, David to come and play for the King. The King has NO IDEA what has happened with David, but God is already positioning him for what is next, and here we have it in the text.

1 Samuel 16:19–20 NIV

Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.

Send me your son David who is with the sheep.

David had EVERY reason to demand that his father give him an upgrade around the house when it came to chores.

David could have asked for laundry duty, dish duty, or anything else that kept him out of the hot and arid Middle Eastern Sun.

Remember men, David isn’t living in Carlsbad. The inside would have been a nice change from all that sun.

But David goes back to the pasture, because those fields and those sheep became his first place of ministry.

Men, can I tell you that your first and most important place of ministry is your marriage and your family.

It is not your career.

It is not your hobbies.

It is not your role at church.

Nothing is more important than your pasture.

Sadly, many men have neglected their pasture while looking at others.

Comparing what they have with what others have.

Trying to find identity in stuff, rather than standing in their identity as Fathers, and bringing their best self to their wife and children.

I am always troubled by men who say things like, “I’ll die for my family!” And yet, they do nothing to live for their family.

I know the pasture can feel hard. The days are long. The routine can suck the life out of you. But the pasture is your formation. Until you see your pasture as worth showing up for every single day, you will never embody the role of protector to your family.

Principles of God’s Pasture:

Family is not a stepping stone for ministry, it is your ministry

If you succeed at the wrong things, you’ve still lost

Your family prepares you God’s promise over your life

The Psalms

The Predators