Making a Stand
Making a Stand
An atheist was standing on the street corner yelling that God does not exist, after a while a crowd gathered, so with all this attention he yelled “God does not exist and I will prove it.” Everyone stood there in amazement wondering what he was going to do. The atheist looked up and screamed! God if you are up there, if you do exist come down and hit me right now!!!! Knock me down right here right now!!!!! He waited, everybody looked around in fear not knowing what to expect. Soon the atheist said “see I’ll do it again” so he yelled out!!! “God if you are up there, if you do exist come down and hit me right now!!!! Knock me down right here right now!!!!! Still nothing, the atheist feeling pretty confident said it one more time, when out of the crowd comes a marine and hit the man square on the jaw knocking him to the ground. When the atheist looked up he said what was that for? The marine said “God was busy so he sent me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love that HE SENT ME. That marine took a stand. And sometimes as Christians we need to do just that. I want to share with you today a person in the Bible who did just that. If you have your life manual, turn with me to the book of:
1 Samuel 17:23-26
23Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”
26Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
31-33
Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
37-39
Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
38So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
Pray
Now before we go on let’s look at Goliath or better yet, at the road block satan put in the way.
Goliath wore a bronze helmet and a coat of scale armor weighing 5,000 shekels, that is, about 125 pounds, and bronze greaves.
He was armed with a bronze javelin, and a long spear with a 15-pound iron tip!
Goliath: according to the Dead Sea scrolls, was "four cubits and a span" (six and a half feet) rather than the "six cubits and a span" (more than nine feet) of other texts. Most sources agree that a cubit in the Bible was equal to 21.8 inches, an Egyptian cubit was equal to 20.6 inches, a Greek cubit was equal to 18.3 inches, and a Roman cubit was equal to 17.5 inches.
Now that was some road block, so we can agree that Goliath was at least 6’6” but under 10’.
Now I mentioned several weeks ago about King Saul not being in the bloodline. This is what I meant. God choose Abraham and God made a promise to Abraham:
Genesis 22:15
15Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16and said:“By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
So from Abraham we have Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Bahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David. And so on until Jesus.
Now back to what is going on with this huge road block for God’s chosen people. They were lined up for battle, BUT No one would make the first move. They stayed there for forty days:
• Why did they wait forty days to begin the battle? Probably for several reasons, everyone was afraid of Goliath. He seemed invincible. Not even King Saul, the tallest man in Israel, had stepped out to fight. Also, the sides of the valley were very steep. Whoever made the first move would have a strong disadvantage and probably suffer great loss. Both sides were waiting for the other to attack first.
33And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
37-39
Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
38So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
“He’ll fall, just like the lion and bear!” When David offered to take on Goliath, Saul was skeptical, but David’s enthusiasm and stories of his boyhood feats finally won Saul over; he sent David to the task with his blessing. David had been faithful in little things; now the stage was set for greater things.
Luke 16:10
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much;
You can’t help but think that Jesus was looking back at the Old Testament when He said this.
But this boy, this youth had faith, more so than the entire Israel army did. Now I the past we look at hero’s that was in their 80’s and now a youth. Now I ask you would you face the road block with nothing but a sling some rocks. But David knew the power of God. (Church we do not.) I mean would you even think about facing a giant, a fully armored Giant with a fully armed army behind him? David never gave it a second thought, because he knew he had all he needed. ALL HE NEEDED was the faith in the one true God and he could face lions, bears and yes giants’ even armies. We all have God wanting to fight are battles for us but we do not have the faith it takes to do so.
• David chose not to wear the King's armor because it felt cumbersome and unfamiliar. David was comfortable with his simple slingshot, a weapon he was skilled at using. God will use the unique skills he's already placed in your hands so don't worry about "wearing the King's armor." Just be yourself and use the familiar gifts and talents God has given you. He will work miracles through you.
• David's faith in God caused him to look at the giant from a different perspective. Goliath was merely a mortal man defying an all-powerful God. David looked at the battle from God's point of view. If we look at giant problems and impossible situations from God's perspective, we realize that God will fight for us and with us. When we put things in proper perspective, we see more clearly and we can fight more effectively.
• When the giant criticized, insulted and threatened, David didn't stop or even waver. Everyone else cowered in fear, but David ran to the battle. He knew that action needed to be taken. David did the right thing in spite of discouraging insults and fearful threats. Only God's opinion mattered to David.
Somewhere down the line we have become so worried about what someone else thinks that we have become cowards. “If I stand up for Christ people will look at me funny and I will lose friends, If I go up front and pray or kneel at the altar people will think, I THINK I’m holier than them!!! Church who cares Because your best friend, husband, wife, mother, father, boyfriend, girlfriend will not get you into heaven, nobody’s opinion should matter to you except one. I only haft to answer to one for all I have done. And that is the “All Mighty God”.
Church if you want to see super natural miracles in your life then start showing super natural faith in your life.
Close with story of teen challenge kid and the car wash:
Questions for Reflection:
Are you facing a giant problem or impossible situation? Stop for a minute and refocus. Can you see the situation more clearly from God's vantage point?
Do you need to take courageous action in the face of insults and fearful circumstances? Do you trust that God will fight for you and with you? Remember, God's opinion is the only one that matters.
Philippians 4:13
13I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
John 16:33
33These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
AMEN