People of Valor, part 3

Review, Part 1 - Position, Description, and Transition

I am in a position to be a person of valor

problems, obstacles, situations are opportunities

you have to face them, might as well face them with valor, bravery, faith

Description - As a Christian, God is with you, so that’s why you can be a person of valor

Review, Part 2 - Commitment

one act of valor that is often overlooked, but so essential is commitment

to calling, purpose, ministry, dream, marriage, church

you will hang in there and

be committed despite reasonable excuses

be committed no matter what direction life takes you

be committed despite having to deal with people

ultimately you will be committed to God by submitting to his will

and it is my desire that you apply these principles to your personal life, your family, and this church.

and today, part 3, and old school Bible story for old school day . . .

Reasons to be Brave

Background

Israelite and Philistine armies have drawn up battle lines

but then a Philistine Giant, a warrior named Goliath, who stood over 9 feet tall, challenged Israel to send out a fighter against him

the Israelites were so terrified that no one responded to him, not the soldiers, officers, nor the king, though he challenged them, and taunted them for forty straight days

even though the king offered a great reward to anyone who would face Goliath and win

Well along comes a shepherd boy from Bethlehem, named David, coming to deliver some bread and cheese to his brothers who were in this army.

and while he is there, he hears the challenge from Goliath

and from the scripture we will learn reasons to be brave

Reason 1: Be brave so that you won’t miss opportunity.

in the rough spot that you are in, there is opportunity . . . be brave/be valiant so that you won’t miss it

1 Samuel 17:26 NASB95

26 Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will 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 taunt the armies of the living God?”

all of the men of Israel are thinking, “I could go out there and get killed”

David is thinking, “What’s the reward?”

David is thinking, an opportunity has presented itself, I’m stuck as the youngest son, watching sheep, but here is opportunity

I could go out there and get rich, get a wife from the royal family, and eliminate taxes for my family”

When you remember that you have God on your side, it keeps you from missing opportunities that are in plain sight . . . every soldier could rehearse the words of the reward, but they could not see that opportunity, they only saw danger, trouble, impossible task

but David was brave, slew the Giant, and got all those rewards . . . and understand this, many times this danger/opportunity is by God’s design. This became OPPORTUNITY for David to get in the national spotlight and eventually become a king himself

God wants us to be brave, so that we won’t miss out on opportunities

The people who had a chance to invest in Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon when they were just getting started, but did not, only saw danger . . . I might lose my money

but those that saw opportunity and became billionaires

When we started Ekklesia, word was sent out that we needed teachers, but the problem was that we could not pay as much, and pay was not guaranteed (it was)

no, one responded, through we tried all channels

because teachers only saw danger

well my sister responded one year, I responded the next year because we saw opportunity to serve the Lord

my sister trying to build some stability coming off financial difficulties

I had only been married a little while - wife, 7 year old, and new born (needed something solid)

but we looked less at the danger, and more at the opportunity . . . so we decided to be brave

What was the result of this

she got paid for 24 years straight, 23 for me (some checks were late, also surprise bonuses)

job turned out to be very stable

none of the headaches of public school system that teachers have to go through

make curriculum to fit our students

real input in direction school went

small classes

staff that got along

put hands on kids that needed hands put on them

parents forced to build relationship with us

talk about Christ all day long

no counting sick days . . . just trust you

emergencies understood . . . we got you

maybe two real fights in 24 years, no worried about weapons

blessed to be in a family that got along so, I got to see and work with my sister almost every day for 23 years, and mom and dad for some years . . . what if you got to work with one of your best friends

Whatever danger/obstacle is staring you in the face, there is opportunity there too

so be brave, be a person of valor, and don’t miss that opportunity

Reason 2: Be brave because somebody needs to be!

somebody has to be brave, why not you?

1 Samuel 17:32 NASB95

32 David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

if you and your spouse are facing a big challenge, or your family is facing a giant problem, or your church is dealing with a Goliath sized issue

at least one of God’s children should say, “let no man’s heart fail on account of this, I’ll go and fight”

somebody needs to have that faith, the Godly bravery, be the person of valor

to step up and say, “don’t worry about it, I’ll fight, I’ll go, I’ll take the risk”

whatever the problem, situation, circumstance . . . when there’s a child of God in the mix

someone must be willing to be brave and fight!

and I propose that because God has positioned you here, at this time, at this place, why not you?

we often make the mistake of thinking of “they should step up” instead of “is it me O Lord”

in this narrative, King Saul should step up, or his general Abner should step up, or one of the captains, ore one of his brothers who are in the army . . . Bu David, who is not even in the army . . . is the one who says, “let no man’s heart fail, I’ll fight this Philistine.

somebody has to be brave, somebody needs to be brave!

if the husband won’t step up, the wife must say, “I’ll fight”

if the parents won’t step up, the children (like young David), must say I’ll fight

someone in each family must step up! one of the siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts,

in the church, somebody must fight

if the preachers is feeling discouraged, the deacons ought to say

if the deacons can’t see the opportunity, the ushers ought to say

if the mighty men are slippin, the SOS ought to say, I’ll fight

if the SOS are slippin, the youth department ought to say, I’ll fight

While you’re waiting on everyone else to face the Giant, you could be the brave one

I love how Lyons and Jones approached me about working with the youth

they saw a need and said, “I’ll go” . . . instead of the church needs to do something with the youth, when is pastor going to do something about it

you should be brave because there is opportunity

you should be brave because somebody needs to be

Reason 3: Be brave because the battle is not yours, it’s the Lords.

They brought David to King Saul, and the king took one look at him and said, “you can’t do it, you’re just a youth, this giant has been fighting longer than you have been alive

1 Samuel 17:34–36 NASB95

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.”

let’s examine the last part of verse 36, where David gives one reason why he is being brave

“he will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God”

I will win because this guy has insulted God, by taunting God’s people

in other words, Goliath thinks he has challenged us, when actually he has challenged God

so it’s not me vs. Goliath, it’s God vs Goliath

too often we have the wrong idea about who will be fighting in the arena

we think it is us vs . . . . . problem, giant task, impossible odds

when actually it is God vs. . .

you don’t have to win it, God will do the winning!

God will figure it all out

God will put it all together

God will make the way

God will move the mountains

God will smooth out the rough way

God will make it work together for your good

your job is to have faith, and do whatever role God has assigned you

you should be brave because there is opportunity

you should be brave because somebody needs to be

when you have the spiritual maturity to see that the battle is the Lord’s . . . you have another reason to be brave

Reason 4: Be brave because if God did it before, God can do it again.

1 Samuel 17:37 NASB95

37 And 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 may the Lord be with you.”

let me summarize

I don’t look like much, I don’t have experience, but God delivered me from the Lion, and God delivered me from the bear, and God will deliver me again

in other words, if God did it before, He can do it again

a truth so simple that we miss it

if God delivered me from this, he can deliver me from that

that thing, this thing

this problem, next problem

that situation, my present situation

picked me up before, pick me up again

made a way out of no way last time, he will make a way out of now way this time

We apply this concept with the world, why not with God? . . . I’m still amazed at how much faith we put in the companies we work for or with

we will work a week, two weeks, a month in advance, do contract labor. . . and trust that they will have the money to pay me at the end of it

we don’t give a second thought to the fact that companies and businesses struggle and close down unexpectedly all the time

you don’t know what company borrowed money to meet their last payroll

or which company that only made it because of a government relief program

or that that business would have shut down if that money from a contract had not come through at the last moment

Why do we have such blind faith? because they paid me last month, and if they paid me before, we figure they will pay me again

Why not give God at least the same amount of faith??!!

if you just reflect on the trials, problems, test, tribulations, that God has brought you through . . . you should respond like David, “The Lord who delivered me from that thing, will deliver me from this thing”

I know I don’t look like much, I know I don’t have much, but my bravery is not based on what I look like . . nor what on what I have . . . my bravery is built on the fact that God is faithful!

and if he did it before, he will do it again

that’s one reason I am so excited about our building program: if God built a building before, he will build a building again

You have reasons to be brave:

you should be brave because there is opportunity

you should be brave because somebody needs to be

you should be brave because the battle is the Lord’s

and you should be brave because if God did it before, he can do it again

There is a question that must be answered

I have been saying be brave and fight, well . . .

How do I fight?

wrong question!

supa hot fire would say, “wrong number” (social media reference)

The real question, the important question is . . .will I fight?

fight for my purpose, family, church

once you are brave enough to volunteer, once you make that decision, then you get to the answer of “how do I fight” . . . . and King Saul gives the answer, “Go and may the Lord be with you”

What matters is that God will be with you, and since he is with you, God will take care of it, God will show you what to do

look at David:

with a bear and lion he attacked and grabbed them

with Goliath, he tried the king’s armor, but he knew that wasn’t it

he ended up using a slingshot, and later took Goliath’s own sword and used that

you just don’t know, but God will lead you

God told Joshua to march and shout

God told Queen Esther use a dinner

Ruth used a comittment

Jehoshaphat used a choir in front of the army

so don’t put too much time into trying to figure out how . . . figure out “Will I be brave?”

in this challenge in my life

this challenge in my family

this challenge that my church is facing

and I should be brave because:

there is opportunity

somebody needs to be

the battle is the Lord’s

if God did it before, he can do it again

Will you be brave?

Invitation

will you be brave enough to accept Christ and be baptized

living for Christ is not an easy task, but will you be brave and say, “Yes, Lord”!

and then God will save you, lead you, tell you what to do, but you must be brave enought, have the faith to accept the OPPORTUNITY FOR GRACE that God is offering

Jesus . . . .

extra announcements

History Moments - men, women volunteers

it can be kind of hard to keep those acts of kindness going . . . .

great job on bulletin board in the hallway

who put it up?

youth department added things to it