Where are the Heroes?

1 Samuel 17:1–53 NKJV

Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening. Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. Then 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. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. So 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.” Then 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?” And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.” Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did. Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And 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.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 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!” So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David 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. Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, 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. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.” So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents.

Nations are birthed by heroes.

Nations exist because of heroes. The nation of Israel was delivered by a hero named Moses. Israel began possessing the Promised Land because of a hero named Joshua.

The United States was birthed because of heroes who were willing to lay down their lives and livelihoods to gain freedom.

Nations are preserved by heroes.

The United States has maintained its freedom because of our military heroes who fought to preserve its.

The army of Israel was paralyzed with fear of Goliath of the Philistines. They were at a standstill. No one had the courage to face what seemed to be insurmountable odds.

David rose to the challenge. He faced Goliath not in his own strength or ability but through faith in the LORD and His cause.

David killed Goliath and became a national hero. David’s courage inspired the army of Israel to get out of their foxholes of fear and into the battle to defeat the Philistines.

David’s courage inspired and gathered many mighty men who helped strengthen him in his kingdom.

The church is in existence today in our generation because of the heroes of former generations.

We must remember and celebrate heroes.

so that a new generation will understand the price that was paid for their present freedoms and privileges.

Memorial Day is a day set aside to remember our national war heroes who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms.

Heroes are under assault.

Many want to erase our national identity and virtue by demonizing our national heroes. They are tearing down statutes and removing the stories of our heroes from our nation’s history books. They are rewriting history to make it seem that our heroes were evil oppressors.

They want to offer us new heroes of Marxism, to overthrow our Constitutional Republic and replace it with Marxism, Socialism, and Communism.

Many want to weaken our nation’s resolve to fight to preserve our national heritage for future generations. They want to demoralize the youth generation so that they no longer feel that our nation is worth fighting for. They are robbing us of the next generation of heroes.

Our nation needs a new generation of heroes.

Heroes who will not be intimidated by the cancel culture.

Heroes who will stand up and defend our Constitutional and our Constitutional Republic.

Heroes who are willing to pay the price to stand up for what is right and oppose what is wrong.

Heroes who will be a voice for God in our nation and make laws and judgments to uphold the Biblical values upon which our nation was founded.

The church needs a new generation of heroes.

Heroes who will stand up for what is right in a wrong world.

Heroes who will stand up for what is good in an evil generation.

Heroes who will refuse to go along to get along.

Heroes who refuse to be silent when threatened to be silenced.

Heroes who refuse to sit still when it is time to advance.

Heroes who will stand for truth in the face of lies, distortions, and deception.

Heroes who will overcome fear with love for God, love for truth, and love for the lost.

Heroes face fear with courage.

Fear paralyzes faith.

Courage is not the absence of fear but the determination to face fear and do what is needed to do what is right and what is needed.

We overcome fear by facing death with faith and love.

Humanity is 100% mortal. (Hebrews 9:27)

Perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)

Those who believe in Jesus have victory over death. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

Where are the heroes?

Where are the mighty men? Where are the Davids? Where are the Elijahs? Where are the Moses’? Where are the Daniels? Where are the Shadrachs, Meschechs, and Abed-Negos? Where are the Ruths? Where are the Esthers? Where are the John the Baptists? Where are the apostles? Where are the Martin Luthers? Where are the Jonathan Edwards? Where are the Susanna Wesleys? Where are the John Wesleys? Where are the Charles Finney’s? Where are the D. L. Moodys? Where are the Charles Spurgeons? Where are the Billy Graham’s? Where are the Reinhardt Bonnkes?

This generation needs new heroes of faith, beginning in the home.

The church needs new heroes of the faith to lead a new generation of disciples.

Will you become a hero of faith in your generation? Will you be added to the Great Cloud of Witnesses” (Heroes)?

Hebrews 11:32–12:2 NKJV

And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.