Lions Bears and Cheese Oh My

The reason for this selection by God can be found back in the 13th chapter of the same book and is echoed by the Apostle Paul in his sermon to those at Antioch when he said

Acts 13:22 NIV

After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

That’s quite an endorsement isn’t it?!

To have the God of the universe describe you as a person who is after God’s own heart and as a person that He can trust to do what He wants you to do

Because of this endorsement we can be confident that by looking at the life of David we can find an example for how it is that we ought to live

Let me put this another way, in David we find the answers to all of our questions about how to successfully live for God

David demonstrates for us how we ought to respond when we have sinned

David demonstrates how we ought to respond to trials

David demonstrates how we ought to respond to the ability to bless others, including our enemies

David demonstrates how we ought to respond to being betrayed

David demonstrates how we ought to respond when life treats us unfairly

David demonstrates how we ought to respond when tragedies of gigantic proportions strike

David’s life was a series of marriage problems, family feuds, personal tragedies and the consequences of sin and yet in spite of all of that and more God could still say with confidence through Paul that David was and remained a man who was after His own heart

And so I think that it’s only appropriate for us to take a closer look at this man and see what we can learn from him so that we can become the kind of person that God knows he can count on as well

Now there is just way too much material on David in the scriptures for us to cover it all without making it a really long series (which I have been known to do) and so instead we are just going to focus in on a brief period of time in David’s life

Perhaps the most famous period in his life and certainly one of the most well known stories from the Bible

A few verses after Samuel anoints David as Israel’s future king in , the prophet begins the next chapter of the story by telling how the Philistines had gathered for war against Israel and then he describes their champion warrior, a man by the name of Goliath

He was over nine feet tall and his battle armour alone weighed about 200 pounds

Each day Goliath would come out and call on the Israelites to choose someone to come fight him all while mocking and defying them and their God

Verse 11 of chapter 17 tells us that Saul’s army, of which David’s 3 oldest brothers were a part, were “dismayed and terrified” on account of Goliath

Meanwhile David was back on the family farm taking care of the sheep oblivious to all that was taking place out on the battle front

That is until his father Jesse, decides to send him to the front with a bunch of bread and cheese for his brothers and their commander and David hears for himself the taunts of Goliath

The audacity of Goliath’s taunts is too much for David to contain himself and so when King Saul sends for this young shepherd boy who is stirring up his troops Samuel records

1 Samuel 17:

1 Samuel 17:32 NIV

David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

As all of this unfolds there are a few important lessons that we can learn from David and apply to our own lives so that we can be people who are after God’s own heart

The first thing is, don’t expect everyone to applaud you and support you in your endeavour to live for God

In verse 23 David first hears Goliath’s taunts and in verse 24 it says that he watch as all of Israel’s brave fighting men ran in fear from this Philistine

David is both appalled and sickened by this whole scenario and so he begins to inquire what the deal is

That’s where verse 28 comes in to play

1 Samuel 17:28 NIV

When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”

As the youngest in the family I can totally empathize with David here as his oldest brother lashes out at him

Instead of the support that he had probably hoped for, David gets a verbal beat down by one of those that was closest to him

Wanting to put God first in all you do is not going to make you popular, not even with those whom you expect to be your biggest supporters

David may have expected those who did not know him to doubt him, but his own brother?

I would remind you this morning however that Jesus Himself was a man that knew what it was like to be alone as He walked in obedience to God’s plan

Jesus even knew what it was like to have one of His 12, one of those with whom He shared life and ministry, betray Him to those who were out to destroy Him

And to top it off, when that happened the other 11 all deserted Him

Worse still is how one of His closest friends,one of the inner circle of 3 denied Him

Luke 22:54-

Luke 22:54–62 NIV

Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.” Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

But like Jesus David didn’t allow the criticisms of others to stop him or to keep him from doing that which God was calling him to do

Let me assure you this morning that when you come to the place where, like David, you are willing to set aside everything else for the sake of serving God you will be criticized and ridiculed, maybe even by those whom you consider to be brothers and sisters in the body of Christ

The question is whether or not you are going to allow that to stop you, whether your focus will be on the praise of men or the praise of God

Because David’s heart was bent on pleasing God he refused to allow the lack of favour from man to deter him and we must do the same

The second thing we learn from this story is that God can and will use our past and present to bring about His future glory

Shortly after the incident with his brother David is summoned to go before King Saul and he tells the King not to worry because he will fight and defeat Goliath

Of course the king responds much the same way that David’s brother had and tells David that he can’t allow it because the young boy doesn’t stand a chance against the seasoned warrior

That’s where we read,

1 Samuel 17:34-

1 Samuel 17:34–37 NIV

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, 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. 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. 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.”

Have you ever stopped to consider how David felt about being a shepherd?

I mean we have already heard from his oldest brother how others perceived this job

Lonely, bored, afraid, underappreciated, overworked, all this and more I’m sure were part of David’s experience of looking after the families sheep

Now add to this that the greatest Prophet in all of history comes along and pours oil over your head and tells you that you are very special to God and that He has chosen you to be the next king of Israel and you’re just sitting here out in the desert looking after a bunch of sheep

It probably never dawned on David at the time that God was using those times and those experiences to prepare him to do the things that he was going to be called upon to do

David’s time as a shepherd were producing in him character and skills that God would then be able to call upon at a future time to bring about His own glory

Who knows what would have happened if instead God had chosen to show David what would be required of him in the future and then left him to get himself prepared

David didn’t realize that day as he made his way to the battlefield that he would be fighting one of the most vicious warriors in all the earth, he was just delivering some cheese

In fact for all we know he may have been upset that he had been taken away from his regular duties only to be made a delivery boy

God didn’t show him what the future held but God had adequately prepared him to face what was about to come

The same is true of each of us, God is able and willing to take those things that have happened in the past, the lessons that we have learned, and then use us to bring about His glory

But only if we will let Him do that

You might not realize what it is that you are walking into and you might not think that you have anything to contribute to the situation but God sees in you the lessons learned long ago that are the exact thing needed in the here and the now

To have a heart like David, a heart that wants to please God we have to be willing to say to God I am willing to let you use my past to accomplish your present plans

Remember the words of wisdom that Mordecai said to Esther when she was caught between a rock and a hard place ,

Esther 4:14 NIV

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

God could have used any one of those Israelite soldiers to defeat Goliath but they all said no so God asked David to step up to the plate

Make no mistake that if David had said “No” God still would have accomplished His plan through another source but He wanted to use David just like He wants to use you if you are willing

Now what exactly that means and what it will look like, I have no idea whatsoever, God hasn’t shown me your immediate future but this I do know, that God has called you and equipped you through your past for exactly what He needs

The third thing that we see today from this story is that David clearly had his focus on God and not on the battle

Let me read for you again verse 37 and then jump down to verses 45-47

1 Samuel 17:37

1 Samuel 17:37 NIV

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.”

1 Samuel 17:45-47

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.”

How was it that David was able to literally run into the presence of such a giant? the answer is simple, it’s because David wasn’t looking at the giant, he was looking at the Lord

Remember the words of the prophet Isaiah,

Isaiah 26:3-

Isaiah 26:3–4 NIV

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

This is why David could write with confidence

Psalm 121 NIV

A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

If we are going to learn to be like David, to learn to be the kind of people who desire the heart of God than we must learn a few lessons

We must learn to prioritize the praise of God over the praise of men and strive to please Him

We must be willing to allow Him to use us and our past experiences to bring about His present glory

Our focus needs to be on Him, not on the battle, not on the giants that we face, not on the difficulties that lie ahead but on the God that is greater than them all

So let me finish the message this morning with one more scripture, this time from the writer of Hebrews

Hebrews 12:1-2

Hebrews 12:1–2 NIV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.